Issue #3 – The Changing Business Environment
The third issue that keeps me up at night is the changing business environment. A serious study of the current environment should lead one to the conclusion that great “uncertainty” abounds. Yes, we have seen similar business cycles – high unemployment, low interest rates, flat growth, etc. Yes, we have seen similar political cycles – gridlock in Washington, an unpopular President, a pivotal upcoming election, etc. Yes, we have seen similar international cycles – the collapse of European economies, the rise of Islamic radicalism (the Arab Spring), the dangers from rogue regimes (e.g., Iran), the rise of a new military power (China), etc. So, is this really new?
Call me a cynic, a pessimist, or a prophet – but I think we now operate in a business environment that is completely different than anything we have ever faced. The core fundamentals of this new environment are different. The rules by which we are expected to play in this new environment are different. And the challenges we face in this new environment are different.
What makes this new business environment so different? Why do I think that the rules of how to operate have changed? Why has the business landscape changed? Let me offer five reasons that separately, and in combination, fundamentally change the business environment we operate in.
1. Regulatory Matters
The regulatory environment that businesses now operate in has never been more complex or punitive. The Federal Register at the end of 2010 was 81,405 pages long of which 46,758 pages were dedicated to rules or proposed rules. This is nearly double the number of pages dedicated to rules or proposed rules as compared to the 1980’s. This mountain of regulation makes it more difficult and expensive to open a business, operate a business, hire an employee, keep an employee, fire an employee, purchase equipment, maintain equipment, dispose of equipment, etc. As long as businesses are hesitant to invest, grow, and hire – the economy will remain for the near-term in a slough (think a swamp or a swamp-like region). This hostile and uncertain regulatory environment is new and unprecedented in American history.
2. Structural Matters
Continuing a 20-year trend of polarization in the labor market, employment losses in the 2008-2009 recession were more severe in middle-skill white and blue collar jobs than in either high-skill, white-collar jobs or low-skill service occupations. Strong productivity gains driven by labor-saving technological and organizational changes mean that many of the lost middle-skill jobs are gone for good. Many of the displaced workers, especially those unemployed for long periods of time, do not have the training and experience required for new high-skill jobs. Nor will new entrants to the labor force with just a high-school education. (That’s one reason why the unemployment rate of those with just a high-school education is more than twice the unemployment rate of those with a college education or higher.) As the economy attempts to recover, labor-saving and skill-based technological change will continue to drive further polarization of employment opportunities. This will mean even more structural unemployment, reflecting a growing mismatch between the demand for skills and the supply of skills. Whereas industrialization in general and electrification in particular (see Nicholas Carr) created as many new office jobs as they made factories more efficient, computer automation is not creating a broad new class of jobs to take the place of those it destroys. Even the arrival of universal grid computing portends a very different kind of economic realignment. Rather than concentrating wealth in the hands of a small number of companies, it may concentrate wealth in the hands of a small number of individuals, eroding the middle class and widening the divide between haves and have-nots. These fundamental, structural changes are new and unprecedented in American history.
3. Debt Matters
You have heard that the size of the federal debt now exceeds $14 trillion. You have heard that it equates to about $48,000 per person. You have heard that the interest alone to fund that debt exceeds $1 billion a day. While I find those statistics interesting, they are not particularly comprehendible. Enter Dave Ramsey: “If the US Government was a family, they would be making $58,000 a year, they would be spending $75,000 a year, and they would have $327,000 in credit card debt…..These are the actual proportions of the federal budget and debt, reduced to a level that we can understand." I find those statistics outright concerning! While the size of the federal debt has been an issue in the past, there are two differences this time. First, the size of the federal debt has grown to the level that our economy cannot grow fast enough to carry this burden. For the first time, the size of the federal debt is serving as an anchor. Second, the only reason that federal government finances have not fallen apart completely already is because the federal government is still able to borrow huge amounts of money very cheaply. In 2010, the U.S. Government paid out just $413 billion in interest even though the national debt soared to $14 trillion. If interest rates on U.S. government debt return to historically “average” levels (around 5.7%), the U.S. Government would see $4.9 trillion added to the cumulative deficit by 2020. Thus, it is safe to say that a return just to “average” levels is going to be absolutely catastrophic. What happens if rates go above “average”? The state of our federal debt is new and unprecedented in American history.
4. Polarization Matters
Nicholas Carr noted in “The Big Switch” that electrification hastened the expansion of America’s mass culture, giving people a shared set of experiences through popular television shows, radio programs, songs, movies, books, magazines, newspaper stories, and even advertisements. The rapid advent of the internet and social networking is likely to do the very opposite. Psychologists have long recognized that the more people converse or otherwise share information with other people who hold similar views, the more extreme their views become. Given how easy it is to find like-minded people and sympathetic ideas on the internet and given our innate tendency to form homogenous groups, we can see that “ideological amplification” is likely to result. Each extra piece of confirming information heightens their confidence in the rectitude of their opinion and, as their confidence increases, their views tend also to become more extreme. Not only will the Internet tend to divide people with different views, it will also tend to magnify the differences. In the long run this will pose a threat to the spirit of compromise and the practice of consensus-building that are at the heart of democratic government. As Brynjolfsson and Van Alstyne suggest: “The balkanization and the loss of shared experiences and values may be harmful to the structure of democratic societies.” This “balkanization” of our civil society may explain why we see gridlock in Washington, Occupy Wall Street, uncivil discourse, teachers squatting in a state capital, bombastic rhetoric, and class warfare. The advent of such polarization is new and unprecedented in American history.
5. Constitutional Matters
The founding fathers birthed a country was an aberration in history. It was an experiment. They formed a government that intentionally was not a monarchy, not an autocracy, and not a democracy. They saw the sinfulness of man (read the Federalist Papers) and created a constitutional republic with three branches of government (each with checks and balances) that intentionally avoided “mobocracy” (my definition of democracy) and implemented a bi-cameral legislature (the Connecticut Compromise) with equal representation for small states. This governmental structure ensured that government would serve the people (the people would not serve the government). It would ensure that we maintain our liberties (to worship, to assemble, to bear arms, to be free of tyranny, etc.). The Constitution embodied “American Exceptionalism.” Yet, for the first time in our country’s history, we are poised to throw American Exceptionalism away. Whether it is a President who has a disdain for American Exceptionalism, an educational establishment that seeks to undermine its’ historical roots, a Supreme Court who wants to re-write the Constitution by reading into the Constitution that which was never intended by its authors, or a populace that is ambivalent to our greatness and uniqueness – we are entering a new and unprecedented time in American history.
O.K. Mr. Pessimist, if half of what you say is true, “What are we to do?” First, become a student. Read books on history, politics, economics, and philosophy. Base your ideas on knowledge and truth. Second, become engaged in politics. Work to elect politicians who embrace the Constitution, American Exceptionalism, fiscal restraint, and lower regulation. Third, be creative. Recognize that even in this new, uncertain environment that products will be needed and services required. Fourth, never lose hope. God raises up kings/governments and takes kings/governments down (Dan. 2:20). We must bow to His wise, sovereign plan knowing that “God causes all things to work together for good (think Christlikeness) to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Finally, embrace the challenge. This new, unprecedented set of matters does keep me up at night – but it does not paralyze me and it does not scare me. It motivates me to prayerfully consider how I can best be of service to God and those who He has given me to serve – my family, my friends, and my neighbors, and my co-workers.
Friday, December 16, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
What Keeps Me Up at Night (And What I Can Do About It)
Introduction
The story is told of a monastery in Portugal, perched high on a 3,000 foot cliff and accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket. The basket is pulled with a single rope by several strong men, perspiring under the strain of the fully loaded basket. One American tourist who visited the site got nervous halfway up the cliff when he noticed that the rope was old and frayed. Hoping to relive his fear he yelled down to the monk in charge: "How often do you change the rope?" The monk in charge replied: "Whenever it breaks!"
Fear is an amazing sensation. In some, its presence can result in paralysis. In others, it is the impetus that results in spectacular success. It is something that must be minimized. It is also something that must be managed. For CIO’s, fear is that sensation that occurs at the end of a long day when one divorces themselves from the busyness of the job and contemplates those issues that are not in one’s complete control. It is those issues that keep a CIO up at night!
The purpose of this primer is to discuss six issues that require my consideration and study. These six issues cannot be ignored. These six issues must be managed. These six issues are in no particular order. They merely represent what I believe are the biggest issues keeping me up at night – and what I can do about them.
Issue #1 – Consumerization of IT
The consumerization of IT is a rather ambiguous phrase. Some describe the consumerization of IT as the penetration of employee-purchased mobile devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Android phones/tablets into the internal IT environment. Unfortunately, this oversimplifies what the trend really represents. Consumerization of IT isn’t only about employees bringing consumer devices into the internal IT environment (i.e., a bring your own device [BYOD] world). It’s also (and more importantly) about consumers – employees, customers, partners, and/or suppliers -- becoming the primary users of internal IT applications. And the number of these consumers is far greater than the company’s internal user base.
This proliferation of consumers becoming primary users of internal IT applications will be a difficult challenge for every IT organization. First, if you think your current internal users have a variety of devices, wait until you see what the rest of the world has! The notion of building an “approved device list” will be laughable. Second, application loads will become much more variable. Predicting loads based upon a known user population and common use patterns is simple. Predicting loads based upon an undefined set of user with unknown use patterns will be daunting. Third, application loads will likely be much higher. You will be subject to new consumer use profiles which will likely drive enormous traffic to your internal IT systems. Finally, your systems will need to be easy to use and the functionality will always have to work. In the old days of enterprise applications, users could grumble, but what options did they have? They were employees and employees could in essence be told: “Open up and swallow!” In the new consumerized world of IT, your users will include customers, suppliers, and providers. And these consumers will not be so lenient!
As difficult as these two challenges are, it is a something else related to the consumerization of IT that keeps me up at night. What keeps me up at night is the perceived expertise claimed by these new consumers. “I can go to Staples, buy a laptop, and have it operational in hours. Why does it take two days to get a laptop through the PC depot?” “Why do I have to have a passcode to connect to the WiFi at the office? I don’t have to have one at the house?” “Isn’t there an ‘app’ that will allow me to enter my time sheet information into Kronos using my cell phone?” “Why can’t I schedule a pickup much less view the status of goods that are in shipment via a web site?”
The users we serve perceive themselves to be as or more knowledgeable of technology as those in IT. Unfortunately, they do not understand how the proliferation of devices, users, interfaces, and applications greatly complicate the environment that IT must support. They do not understand that IT is responsible for meeting security, privacy, SOX, and PCI requirements. They do not understand that a web site can be operational in 48 hours but integrating it with other internal IT applications can take time (and require extensive user testing!). Their view of technology is simple. The reality is that it is not. Their perceived expertise – just enough knowledge to be dangerous – and the inability to understand the complexity of the technical infrastructure required to support and enable the functionality they request is the first thing that keeps me up at night.
What can I do about this? First, I must accept that this phenomenon will not go away any time soon. It is here to stay. Second, I need to understand what they are really asking for. Sheila Jordan (VP of Communications and Collaboration at Cisco) says it best: “The end users might be saying they want Facebook and they want Twitter, but that’s not necessarily exactly what they want. What they really want are the capabilities. They want the user-friendly features and functionalities of social media, but they want them integrated and tied into their business systems.” Third, I need to get ahead of the users. I need to partner with vendors to learn what will make up the next generation of tools and toys that consumers will want to use to access internal IT applications. Pursuing a pro-active strategy may enable me to evaluate and/or pilot those devices and capabilities to discern how they may be of value to my consumers. Fourth, I need to educate my internal consumers (i.e., employees) of the complexity that surrounds the tools and devices that they are requesting and using. Good luck! Finally, I need to be collaborative. I need to work with them and not against them.
In summary, the consumerization of IT is far more profound than slapping a pretty interface on a decade-old enterprise application. That's just lipstick on a pig. It's even more than enabling BYOD in your environment. It's all about recognizing that the boundary between your company and the rest of the world is getting blurry. Letting our consumers engage with our systems can transform our business relationships and our economics. We just need to be sure that we are ready for the real consumerization of IT and the perceived experts that this trend is birthing.
Issue #2 – Employee Retention
The second issue that keeps me up at night is employee retention. When it comes to customers, retention matters even more than acquisition. With customers, the usual figure is that repeat customers are five to ten times more profitable than newly acquired ones. Likewise, great employees are worth at least ten times what average ones are worth. [1] Given that there is a shortage of talent and given that the marketplace is actively seeking for talent, what can I do to retain this talent? Let me give you five practical things you can do to keep great employees.
1. Know Them [2]
First, know your employees. Lincoln revealed the cornerstone of his own personal leadership philosophy, an approach that would become part of a revolution in modern leadership thinking 100 years later when it was dubbed “Management By Walking Around” by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman in their 1982 book -- “In Search of Excellence.” It has been referred to by other names and phrases, such as: “roving leadership,” “being in touch,” or “getting out of the ivory tower.” Whatever the label, it’s simply the process of stepping out and interacting with people. It is simply the process of establishing human contact.
We need to know how our people will respond in any given situation. We need to know who will have a tendency to get the job done on his own, or who will be more likely to procrastinate and delay. We need to know who can be counted on in an emergency and who can’t. We need to know who are the brighter, more able, more committed people. We need to know who shares are strong sense of ethics and values.
The most important asset a business organization has is its employees. So why not spend some time and money striving to more thoroughly understand who are your really great employees?
2. Listen to Them [7]
In his book, “Leadership Gold”, John Maxwell tells the story:
“A couple of rednecks are out in the woods hunting when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls 911. He frantically tells the operator, “Bubba is dead! What can I do?” The operator, in a calm, soothing voice says, “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is silence, and then a shot is heard. The guy’s voice comes back on the line and says, “Okay, now what?””
It is no accident that we have one mouth and two ears. Steven Covey writes: “When we listen with the intent to understand others, rather than with the intent to reply, we begin true communication and relationship building. Opportunities to then speak openly and be understood come much more naturally and easily.”
This is particularly an important point to know when it comes to great employees. Great employees really want to be listened to, respected, and understood. When leaders listen to them and use what they hear to make improvements that benefit the organization, then those great employees put their trust in those leaders. They want to work with those leaders. When leaders do the opposite – when they fail to listen – it damages the leader-great employee relationship. When great employees no longer believe that their leaders are listening to them, they start looking for someone who will.
3. Lead by Being Led
Third, lead by being led. As just stated, great employees want to be listened to. Great employees want their suggestions and recommendations considered and implemented. Our goal is to foster an environment in which our great employees sense little oversight and a large amount of freedom to “set the pace.” With great employees, we merely need to direct or point them in the proper path and allow them to lead us down that path. Rather than ordering or dictating, we need to refine our ability to direct others by implying, hinting, or suggesting.
One of the marks of true leadership genius is to create an environment that great employees relish to work in. Paraphrasing Lao Tzu: “A good leader is one who talks little, and yet, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, all his followers will say: ‘We did this ourselves.’” [3]
4. Don’t Send Your Ducks to Eagle School [7]
In his book, “Leadership Gold”, John Maxwell shares a lesson learned from Jim Rohn:
“The first rule of management is this: don’t send your ducks to eagle school. Why? Because it won’t work! Good people are found, not changed. They can change themselves, but you can’t change them. If you want good people, you have to find them. If you want motivated people, you have to find them, not motivate them…..Chalk it up to mysteries of the mind, and don’t waste your time trying to turn ducks into eagles. Hire people who already have the motivation and drive to be eagles and then just let them soar.”
This counsel very much applies to “retaining” great employees. Once you “know” who your great employees are, don’t try and turn your ducks into eagles. It just doesn’t work. Here’s why it doesn’t work:
o If you send ducks to eagle school, you will frustrate the ducks. Ducks are not supposed to be eagles – nor do they want to become eagles. Who they are is who they should be. Ducks have their strengths and should be appreciated for them. They’re excellent swimmers. They are capable of working together in an amazing display of teamwork and travel long distances together. Ask an eagle to swim or to migrate thousands of miles, and it’s going to be in trouble. Leadership is all about placing your great employees in the right place so they can be successful. As a leader, you need to know your great employees and let them work according to their strengths. As a leader, you should always challenge people to move out of their comfort zone, but never out of their strength zone. That is one reason you don’t send ducks to eagle school. Secondly…..
o If you send ducks to eagle school, you will frustrate the eagles. Eagles don’t want to hang around with ducks. They don’t want to live in a barnyard or swim in a pond. Their potential makes them impatient with those who cannot soar. People who are used to moving fast and flying high are easily frustrated by people who want to hold them back.
As a leader, your job is to help your ducks to become better ducks and your eagles to become better eagles – to put individuals in the right places and help them reach their potential. You shouldn’t ask someone to grow in areas where they have no natural talent.
5. Give Them the Credit/You Take the Blame [2]
Finally, if you want to retain great employees, give them the credit and you take the blame. As leaders, we’d like to think that when people leave, it has little to do with us. But the reality is that we are often the reason. Some sources estimate that as many as 65 percent of people leaving companies do so because of their managers. We may say that people quit their job or their company but the reality is that they usually quit their leaders. [7]
So what is one solution to retaining great employees? Always give credit where credit is due and, conversely, accept responsibility when things go wrong. When a great employee does a good job, praise, compliment, and reward the individual. On the other hand, be prepared to shoulder the responsibility when they make mistakes. Always let your great employees know that the honor will be all theirs if they succeed and the blame will be yours in they fail.
Abraham Lincoln practiced this laudatory style right up to the final days of his life. During his last public address, made to gathering of people outside the White House on the evening of April 11, 1865, he was filled with modesty for himself and praise for the soldiers who had won the union victory: “No part of the honor, for plan or execution, is mine”, he asserted. “To General Grant, his skillful officers, and brave men, all belongs.”
Likewise, the president readily accepted responsibility for the battles lost during the Civil War. He tried to let his generals know that if they failed, he too failed. Throughout the war Lincoln accepted public responsibility for battles lost or opportunities missed. In the days following the battle of Gettysburg, for example, the president was distressed Meade’s delay in pursing Lee before his army made it back across the Potomac River. Well after the battle, in an attempt to spur the general into an active confrontation with Lee, the president sent him a letter urging an immediate attack. “If you can now attack him on a field no worse than equal for us,” said Lincoln, “and will do so with all the skill and courage, which you, your officers, and men possess, the honor will be yours if you succeed, and the blame will be mine if you fail.”
Endnotes
[1] Adapted from “A Manifesto for 21st Century Information Technology” by Bob Lewis
[2] Adapted from “Lincoln on Leadership” by Donald T. Phillips
[3] Adapted from “It’s Your Ship” by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff
[4] Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, Page 5-6
[5] Adapted from “The Mark of a Leader” by Doug Keeley
[6] Adapted from “The Ten Rules of Good Followership” by Colonel Phillip S. Meilinger
[7] Adapted from “Leadership Gold” by John Maxwell
The story is told of a monastery in Portugal, perched high on a 3,000 foot cliff and accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket. The basket is pulled with a single rope by several strong men, perspiring under the strain of the fully loaded basket. One American tourist who visited the site got nervous halfway up the cliff when he noticed that the rope was old and frayed. Hoping to relive his fear he yelled down to the monk in charge: "How often do you change the rope?" The monk in charge replied: "Whenever it breaks!"
Fear is an amazing sensation. In some, its presence can result in paralysis. In others, it is the impetus that results in spectacular success. It is something that must be minimized. It is also something that must be managed. For CIO’s, fear is that sensation that occurs at the end of a long day when one divorces themselves from the busyness of the job and contemplates those issues that are not in one’s complete control. It is those issues that keep a CIO up at night!
The purpose of this primer is to discuss six issues that require my consideration and study. These six issues cannot be ignored. These six issues must be managed. These six issues are in no particular order. They merely represent what I believe are the biggest issues keeping me up at night – and what I can do about them.
Issue #1 – Consumerization of IT
The consumerization of IT is a rather ambiguous phrase. Some describe the consumerization of IT as the penetration of employee-purchased mobile devices like the iPhone, iPad, and Android phones/tablets into the internal IT environment. Unfortunately, this oversimplifies what the trend really represents. Consumerization of IT isn’t only about employees bringing consumer devices into the internal IT environment (i.e., a bring your own device [BYOD] world). It’s also (and more importantly) about consumers – employees, customers, partners, and/or suppliers -- becoming the primary users of internal IT applications. And the number of these consumers is far greater than the company’s internal user base.
This proliferation of consumers becoming primary users of internal IT applications will be a difficult challenge for every IT organization. First, if you think your current internal users have a variety of devices, wait until you see what the rest of the world has! The notion of building an “approved device list” will be laughable. Second, application loads will become much more variable. Predicting loads based upon a known user population and common use patterns is simple. Predicting loads based upon an undefined set of user with unknown use patterns will be daunting. Third, application loads will likely be much higher. You will be subject to new consumer use profiles which will likely drive enormous traffic to your internal IT systems. Finally, your systems will need to be easy to use and the functionality will always have to work. In the old days of enterprise applications, users could grumble, but what options did they have? They were employees and employees could in essence be told: “Open up and swallow!” In the new consumerized world of IT, your users will include customers, suppliers, and providers. And these consumers will not be so lenient!
As difficult as these two challenges are, it is a something else related to the consumerization of IT that keeps me up at night. What keeps me up at night is the perceived expertise claimed by these new consumers. “I can go to Staples, buy a laptop, and have it operational in hours. Why does it take two days to get a laptop through the PC depot?” “Why do I have to have a passcode to connect to the WiFi at the office? I don’t have to have one at the house?” “Isn’t there an ‘app’ that will allow me to enter my time sheet information into Kronos using my cell phone?” “Why can’t I schedule a pickup much less view the status of goods that are in shipment via a web site?”
The users we serve perceive themselves to be as or more knowledgeable of technology as those in IT. Unfortunately, they do not understand how the proliferation of devices, users, interfaces, and applications greatly complicate the environment that IT must support. They do not understand that IT is responsible for meeting security, privacy, SOX, and PCI requirements. They do not understand that a web site can be operational in 48 hours but integrating it with other internal IT applications can take time (and require extensive user testing!). Their view of technology is simple. The reality is that it is not. Their perceived expertise – just enough knowledge to be dangerous – and the inability to understand the complexity of the technical infrastructure required to support and enable the functionality they request is the first thing that keeps me up at night.
What can I do about this? First, I must accept that this phenomenon will not go away any time soon. It is here to stay. Second, I need to understand what they are really asking for. Sheila Jordan (VP of Communications and Collaboration at Cisco) says it best: “The end users might be saying they want Facebook and they want Twitter, but that’s not necessarily exactly what they want. What they really want are the capabilities. They want the user-friendly features and functionalities of social media, but they want them integrated and tied into their business systems.” Third, I need to get ahead of the users. I need to partner with vendors to learn what will make up the next generation of tools and toys that consumers will want to use to access internal IT applications. Pursuing a pro-active strategy may enable me to evaluate and/or pilot those devices and capabilities to discern how they may be of value to my consumers. Fourth, I need to educate my internal consumers (i.e., employees) of the complexity that surrounds the tools and devices that they are requesting and using. Good luck! Finally, I need to be collaborative. I need to work with them and not against them.
In summary, the consumerization of IT is far more profound than slapping a pretty interface on a decade-old enterprise application. That's just lipstick on a pig. It's even more than enabling BYOD in your environment. It's all about recognizing that the boundary between your company and the rest of the world is getting blurry. Letting our consumers engage with our systems can transform our business relationships and our economics. We just need to be sure that we are ready for the real consumerization of IT and the perceived experts that this trend is birthing.
Issue #2 – Employee Retention
The second issue that keeps me up at night is employee retention. When it comes to customers, retention matters even more than acquisition. With customers, the usual figure is that repeat customers are five to ten times more profitable than newly acquired ones. Likewise, great employees are worth at least ten times what average ones are worth. [1] Given that there is a shortage of talent and given that the marketplace is actively seeking for talent, what can I do to retain this talent? Let me give you five practical things you can do to keep great employees.
1. Know Them [2]
First, know your employees. Lincoln revealed the cornerstone of his own personal leadership philosophy, an approach that would become part of a revolution in modern leadership thinking 100 years later when it was dubbed “Management By Walking Around” by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman in their 1982 book -- “In Search of Excellence.” It has been referred to by other names and phrases, such as: “roving leadership,” “being in touch,” or “getting out of the ivory tower.” Whatever the label, it’s simply the process of stepping out and interacting with people. It is simply the process of establishing human contact.
We need to know how our people will respond in any given situation. We need to know who will have a tendency to get the job done on his own, or who will be more likely to procrastinate and delay. We need to know who can be counted on in an emergency and who can’t. We need to know who are the brighter, more able, more committed people. We need to know who shares are strong sense of ethics and values.
The most important asset a business organization has is its employees. So why not spend some time and money striving to more thoroughly understand who are your really great employees?
2. Listen to Them [7]
In his book, “Leadership Gold”, John Maxwell tells the story:
“A couple of rednecks are out in the woods hunting when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls 911. He frantically tells the operator, “Bubba is dead! What can I do?” The operator, in a calm, soothing voice says, “Just take it easy. I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is silence, and then a shot is heard. The guy’s voice comes back on the line and says, “Okay, now what?””
It is no accident that we have one mouth and two ears. Steven Covey writes: “When we listen with the intent to understand others, rather than with the intent to reply, we begin true communication and relationship building. Opportunities to then speak openly and be understood come much more naturally and easily.”
This is particularly an important point to know when it comes to great employees. Great employees really want to be listened to, respected, and understood. When leaders listen to them and use what they hear to make improvements that benefit the organization, then those great employees put their trust in those leaders. They want to work with those leaders. When leaders do the opposite – when they fail to listen – it damages the leader-great employee relationship. When great employees no longer believe that their leaders are listening to them, they start looking for someone who will.
3. Lead by Being Led
Third, lead by being led. As just stated, great employees want to be listened to. Great employees want their suggestions and recommendations considered and implemented. Our goal is to foster an environment in which our great employees sense little oversight and a large amount of freedom to “set the pace.” With great employees, we merely need to direct or point them in the proper path and allow them to lead us down that path. Rather than ordering or dictating, we need to refine our ability to direct others by implying, hinting, or suggesting.
One of the marks of true leadership genius is to create an environment that great employees relish to work in. Paraphrasing Lao Tzu: “A good leader is one who talks little, and yet, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, all his followers will say: ‘We did this ourselves.’” [3]
4. Don’t Send Your Ducks to Eagle School [7]
In his book, “Leadership Gold”, John Maxwell shares a lesson learned from Jim Rohn:
“The first rule of management is this: don’t send your ducks to eagle school. Why? Because it won’t work! Good people are found, not changed. They can change themselves, but you can’t change them. If you want good people, you have to find them. If you want motivated people, you have to find them, not motivate them…..Chalk it up to mysteries of the mind, and don’t waste your time trying to turn ducks into eagles. Hire people who already have the motivation and drive to be eagles and then just let them soar.”
This counsel very much applies to “retaining” great employees. Once you “know” who your great employees are, don’t try and turn your ducks into eagles. It just doesn’t work. Here’s why it doesn’t work:
o If you send ducks to eagle school, you will frustrate the ducks. Ducks are not supposed to be eagles – nor do they want to become eagles. Who they are is who they should be. Ducks have their strengths and should be appreciated for them. They’re excellent swimmers. They are capable of working together in an amazing display of teamwork and travel long distances together. Ask an eagle to swim or to migrate thousands of miles, and it’s going to be in trouble. Leadership is all about placing your great employees in the right place so they can be successful. As a leader, you need to know your great employees and let them work according to their strengths. As a leader, you should always challenge people to move out of their comfort zone, but never out of their strength zone. That is one reason you don’t send ducks to eagle school. Secondly…..
o If you send ducks to eagle school, you will frustrate the eagles. Eagles don’t want to hang around with ducks. They don’t want to live in a barnyard or swim in a pond. Their potential makes them impatient with those who cannot soar. People who are used to moving fast and flying high are easily frustrated by people who want to hold them back.
As a leader, your job is to help your ducks to become better ducks and your eagles to become better eagles – to put individuals in the right places and help them reach their potential. You shouldn’t ask someone to grow in areas where they have no natural talent.
5. Give Them the Credit/You Take the Blame [2]
Finally, if you want to retain great employees, give them the credit and you take the blame. As leaders, we’d like to think that when people leave, it has little to do with us. But the reality is that we are often the reason. Some sources estimate that as many as 65 percent of people leaving companies do so because of their managers. We may say that people quit their job or their company but the reality is that they usually quit their leaders. [7]
So what is one solution to retaining great employees? Always give credit where credit is due and, conversely, accept responsibility when things go wrong. When a great employee does a good job, praise, compliment, and reward the individual. On the other hand, be prepared to shoulder the responsibility when they make mistakes. Always let your great employees know that the honor will be all theirs if they succeed and the blame will be yours in they fail.
Abraham Lincoln practiced this laudatory style right up to the final days of his life. During his last public address, made to gathering of people outside the White House on the evening of April 11, 1865, he was filled with modesty for himself and praise for the soldiers who had won the union victory: “No part of the honor, for plan or execution, is mine”, he asserted. “To General Grant, his skillful officers, and brave men, all belongs.”
Likewise, the president readily accepted responsibility for the battles lost during the Civil War. He tried to let his generals know that if they failed, he too failed. Throughout the war Lincoln accepted public responsibility for battles lost or opportunities missed. In the days following the battle of Gettysburg, for example, the president was distressed Meade’s delay in pursing Lee before his army made it back across the Potomac River. Well after the battle, in an attempt to spur the general into an active confrontation with Lee, the president sent him a letter urging an immediate attack. “If you can now attack him on a field no worse than equal for us,” said Lincoln, “and will do so with all the skill and courage, which you, your officers, and men possess, the honor will be yours if you succeed, and the blame will be mine if you fail.”
Endnotes
[1] Adapted from “A Manifesto for 21st Century Information Technology” by Bob Lewis
[2] Adapted from “Lincoln on Leadership” by Donald T. Phillips
[3] Adapted from “It’s Your Ship” by Captain D. Michael Abrashoff
[4] Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, Page 5-6
[5] Adapted from “The Mark of a Leader” by Doug Keeley
[6] Adapted from “The Ten Rules of Good Followership” by Colonel Phillip S. Meilinger
[7] Adapted from “Leadership Gold” by John Maxwell
Monday, October 10, 2011
Entrepreneurism & The Corporate Perspective (Pt. 2)
Myth #3 – Entrepreneurs Who Are Also Great Leaders Never Fail
Many organizations hold romantic views of entrepreneurial heroes. Even those organizations that are unmoved by exaggerated tales of inspired underdogs overcoming long odds, can be tempted to embrace stories about how great leaders are able to always implement great ideas.
This is simply not true. While not dismissing the importance of choosing the right innovation leader, choosing a talented leader is never enough. This is because innovation and ongoing operations are always and inevitably in conflict. What do I mean? The greatest strength of a successful organization is repeatability and predictability. By definition, innovation is neither repeatable nor predictable. It is exactly the opposite. It is non-routine and uncertain. Thus, the inherent conflicts between innovation and ongoing operations are simply too fundamental and too powerful for one person to tackle alone. Entrepreneurs who are also great leaders need the support of the organization and assistance from its resources to have any chance of being successful.
Jeffrey Hazlett told a group of CIO’s the story of a great marketing campaign that was intended to revolutionize Kodak. Having seen its consumer film business decrease from $18 billion to less than $1 billion in three years (the digital camera revolution), Kodak decided to take on HP laser jet printers. Their value proposition was to offer a printer at a fair price and charge 50% less for ink than HP. (Did you know that if you had to buy HP ink to fill up your car that it would cost you over $450,000!) To launch this new printer they decided to run an advertisement before a set of first run movies and have the movie-goers send a text to Kodak with their address/contact information.
The advertisement was a piece of genius. It begins with Vinnie Pastore from the Sopranos (aka “The Big Pussy”) opening up a trunk. He immediately begins telling the occupant of the trunk how disappointed he is in them, how they have been unreliable, and how they have been wasteful. The camera changes to allow you to view who he has been talking to – an HP printer. The next scene shows the HP printer in the middle of a road next to the car and not very far from the East River. Standing above the HP printer is Vinnie Pastore with a baseball bat. After delivering a final “Godfather-like” verdict, Vinnie beats the printer into oblivion. The advertisement ends with Vinnie back in the driver’s seat with his arm around a Kodak printer in the passenger seat proclaiming to the printer – “Welcome to the family.”
Hazlett, the CMO of Kodak at the time knew that the advertisement had graded out “off the charts” in preview tests. That first evening of the campaign, he went from movie theater to movie theater watching the audience roll in the aisles in laughter. In the morning he could barely wait to find out how many texts Kodak had received. They had spent millions on this advertising launch.
When he got to the office, his team met him in a conference room. They pushed a report showing the results of the program across the table. The number “2” was on the bottom of the report. He said: “2 million!” They shook their head. He said: “200,000?” They shook their head. Kodak had received only 2 texts!
Hazlett immediately summoned his entire marketing department into a conference room and proceeded to ask a series of questions. “What did we do wrong? How did this happen? What could possibly have been the reason for such a monumental failure?” After telling everyone that they could not leave the room until they found out the answer to this problem, one person sheepishly raised their hand. Hazlett asked him to speak up. He said: “What is everyone asked to do before the movie trailers start?” That’s right! They turn off their phones. The moral of this story is that even great innovation leaders – Hazlett is legendary in how he almost single-handedly enabled Kodak to reinvent itself – can and do fail.
Myth #4 – Effective Entrepreneurs Must Be Rule Breakers
Entrepreneurs are often called risk takers, mavericks, and rebels. The fact that innovation and ongoing operations are inevitably in conflict makes it easy to create a mythical drama. What will our hero do? What obstacles will our hero have to overcome? Who in the big, bad organization is our hero’s arch villain?
This romantic story usually results in our hero overcoming the stubborn forces arrayed against innovation by “breaking the rules.” It is important that you don’t want to let this notion take hold in your organization. This is because:
o Innovation leadership is not best thought of as civil disobedience. The odds are stacked against rebels and mavericks. Moreover, an organization full of rebels and mavericks fighting the system is not an innovation powerhouse -- it is an undisciplined and chaotic mess.
o Innovators need the organization. Innovation may very well signify the future. But the successful organization is the proven foundation, and if it crumbles, there is no future.
o Conflict is not due to the organization being evil, rather, it derives from the endeavors of good people doing good work. It arises from efforts to achieve the most basic goals of every business – producing, delivering, selling, marketing, servicing, and more with speed and efficiency.
The bottom line: innovators must do no harm to the organization’s existing capabilities.
Myth #5 – Everyone Can be an Entrepreneur
Most employees desire to be empowered. They liked to be viewed as being “special.” They believe that they have something unique to offer. They believe that they can innovate. But this mindset overlooks a harsh corporate reality – resources are scarce, and the bulk of resources in any established organization must be dedicated not to innovation but to ongoing operations. As such, resources for innovation must be allocated carefully.
A “turn the masses loose” approach ensures that resources are thinly and indiscriminately spread. Spreading resources in this fashion will result in three specific disappointments. First it will produce a disjointed overall effort. Second, it will favor very small initiatives. Individuals pursuing their own inspirations with their limited free time can only execute tiny experiments. Third, it will overemphasize the front end of the innovation process. It will overlook the back end – execution.
Ideation is everyone’s job. Employees should strive to make small improvements in their direct sphere of responsibility. Just be realistic enough to recognize that companies must concentrate their scarce resources for innovation to a subset of employees working on a handful of ideas. You can’t ask the whole organization that is in charge of today to also be in charge of tomorrow. This is because the urgent always squeezes out the important.
As an example of how one corporation addressed this problem, consider USAA. USAA opened an Innovation Center. This center takes up nearly 11,000 square feet in the corporate office. At any point in time, nearly 80 full-time employees are assigned to this Center. While there, they are relieved of their day-to-day responsibilities and are dedicated to working on “innovation.” The Center has numerous rooms with multiple white boards, markers, stickers, and computers so that ideas can be captured. The Center has space for building prototypes – physical and virtual. The Center has its own kitchen so that people can eat at any time of the day. Space is even set aside for people to play games and take a break from idea creation.
The first Innovation Center was so successful – hundreds of new ideas have led to tens of millions of dollars in new revenue and bottom line earnings – they are in the process of opening four more Innovation Centers across the world. (Demo the on-line check deposit capability introduced by the USAA Innovation Center.)
Myth #6 –Innovation Requires Wholesale Organizational Change
Most liken innovation projects to “running face first into a concrete wall.” That is because most organizations are poorly designed for innovation. Proven organizations are designed for ongoing operations, not for innovation.
This leads some to believe that an organization must be broken down and built back up in order to innovate. The problem with this approach is that it may be successful! It may make an organization much better at innovation but lousy at ongoing operations.
Innovation does not always require extensive change -- it requires targeted change. Support functions must be willing to make exceptions to standard policies for the Innovation Team. For example: HR must allow for a different bonus/commission plan for the Innovation Team. IT must be willing to support an effort that consumes disproportionate amounts of resources. Finance must be willing to use different ROI metrics than are normally used for projects/initiatives.
Just remember -- Your first obligation is to do no harm to the existing organization. Innovation may divert resources from ongoing operations, it may even cannibalize the existing business over the long run, but it may not dismantle or damage the on-going organization. (Comment on “How Stella Saved the Farm.”)
Myth #7 – Innovation Can’t Be Measured
How should innovation initiatives be managed? Some innovation leaders have a quick and ready answer: “Don’t even try. Innovation is unpredictable. It cannot possibly be managed.” While there are different rules for innovation, the innovation team must still be measured. Different does not mean undisciplined. While it is true that innovation initiatives are unpredictable, this does not make them unmanageable. The innovation team must be just as disciplined as the on-going organization. Companies must adopt a distinct but disciplined approach to innovation.
What does a distinct but disciplined approach to innovation look like? First, one must formalize the experiment. The organization should write a custom plan for each initiative, with custom metrics and cost categories. Second, be prepared to evaluate innovation leaders subjectively. While this cannot be done for the larger organization due to the risk of “favoritism” or “discrimination”, it does make sense for innovation projects. Just know that it will require closer than normal observations. Third, be willing to apply unique metrics. Never assume that metrics and standards used to evaluate the existing business have relevance for the innovation initiative.
Conclusion
This concludes our survey of the seven myths surrounding “innovation and the corporate environment.” I hope that you will have learned that the limits to innovation have nothing to do with creativity, nothing to do with technology, and nothing to do with the size of the organization. They have everything to do with management capability. Thus as entrepreneurs in a college setting, do everything you can to learn management skills that will make innovation possible in whatever type and/or size of organization you choose to go to work in.
Many organizations hold romantic views of entrepreneurial heroes. Even those organizations that are unmoved by exaggerated tales of inspired underdogs overcoming long odds, can be tempted to embrace stories about how great leaders are able to always implement great ideas.
This is simply not true. While not dismissing the importance of choosing the right innovation leader, choosing a talented leader is never enough. This is because innovation and ongoing operations are always and inevitably in conflict. What do I mean? The greatest strength of a successful organization is repeatability and predictability. By definition, innovation is neither repeatable nor predictable. It is exactly the opposite. It is non-routine and uncertain. Thus, the inherent conflicts between innovation and ongoing operations are simply too fundamental and too powerful for one person to tackle alone. Entrepreneurs who are also great leaders need the support of the organization and assistance from its resources to have any chance of being successful.
Jeffrey Hazlett told a group of CIO’s the story of a great marketing campaign that was intended to revolutionize Kodak. Having seen its consumer film business decrease from $18 billion to less than $1 billion in three years (the digital camera revolution), Kodak decided to take on HP laser jet printers. Their value proposition was to offer a printer at a fair price and charge 50% less for ink than HP. (Did you know that if you had to buy HP ink to fill up your car that it would cost you over $450,000!) To launch this new printer they decided to run an advertisement before a set of first run movies and have the movie-goers send a text to Kodak with their address/contact information.
The advertisement was a piece of genius. It begins with Vinnie Pastore from the Sopranos (aka “The Big Pussy”) opening up a trunk. He immediately begins telling the occupant of the trunk how disappointed he is in them, how they have been unreliable, and how they have been wasteful. The camera changes to allow you to view who he has been talking to – an HP printer. The next scene shows the HP printer in the middle of a road next to the car and not very far from the East River. Standing above the HP printer is Vinnie Pastore with a baseball bat. After delivering a final “Godfather-like” verdict, Vinnie beats the printer into oblivion. The advertisement ends with Vinnie back in the driver’s seat with his arm around a Kodak printer in the passenger seat proclaiming to the printer – “Welcome to the family.”
Hazlett, the CMO of Kodak at the time knew that the advertisement had graded out “off the charts” in preview tests. That first evening of the campaign, he went from movie theater to movie theater watching the audience roll in the aisles in laughter. In the morning he could barely wait to find out how many texts Kodak had received. They had spent millions on this advertising launch.
When he got to the office, his team met him in a conference room. They pushed a report showing the results of the program across the table. The number “2” was on the bottom of the report. He said: “2 million!” They shook their head. He said: “200,000?” They shook their head. Kodak had received only 2 texts!
Hazlett immediately summoned his entire marketing department into a conference room and proceeded to ask a series of questions. “What did we do wrong? How did this happen? What could possibly have been the reason for such a monumental failure?” After telling everyone that they could not leave the room until they found out the answer to this problem, one person sheepishly raised their hand. Hazlett asked him to speak up. He said: “What is everyone asked to do before the movie trailers start?” That’s right! They turn off their phones. The moral of this story is that even great innovation leaders – Hazlett is legendary in how he almost single-handedly enabled Kodak to reinvent itself – can and do fail.
Myth #4 – Effective Entrepreneurs Must Be Rule Breakers
Entrepreneurs are often called risk takers, mavericks, and rebels. The fact that innovation and ongoing operations are inevitably in conflict makes it easy to create a mythical drama. What will our hero do? What obstacles will our hero have to overcome? Who in the big, bad organization is our hero’s arch villain?
This romantic story usually results in our hero overcoming the stubborn forces arrayed against innovation by “breaking the rules.” It is important that you don’t want to let this notion take hold in your organization. This is because:
o Innovation leadership is not best thought of as civil disobedience. The odds are stacked against rebels and mavericks. Moreover, an organization full of rebels and mavericks fighting the system is not an innovation powerhouse -- it is an undisciplined and chaotic mess.
o Innovators need the organization. Innovation may very well signify the future. But the successful organization is the proven foundation, and if it crumbles, there is no future.
o Conflict is not due to the organization being evil, rather, it derives from the endeavors of good people doing good work. It arises from efforts to achieve the most basic goals of every business – producing, delivering, selling, marketing, servicing, and more with speed and efficiency.
The bottom line: innovators must do no harm to the organization’s existing capabilities.
Myth #5 – Everyone Can be an Entrepreneur
Most employees desire to be empowered. They liked to be viewed as being “special.” They believe that they have something unique to offer. They believe that they can innovate. But this mindset overlooks a harsh corporate reality – resources are scarce, and the bulk of resources in any established organization must be dedicated not to innovation but to ongoing operations. As such, resources for innovation must be allocated carefully.
A “turn the masses loose” approach ensures that resources are thinly and indiscriminately spread. Spreading resources in this fashion will result in three specific disappointments. First it will produce a disjointed overall effort. Second, it will favor very small initiatives. Individuals pursuing their own inspirations with their limited free time can only execute tiny experiments. Third, it will overemphasize the front end of the innovation process. It will overlook the back end – execution.
Ideation is everyone’s job. Employees should strive to make small improvements in their direct sphere of responsibility. Just be realistic enough to recognize that companies must concentrate their scarce resources for innovation to a subset of employees working on a handful of ideas. You can’t ask the whole organization that is in charge of today to also be in charge of tomorrow. This is because the urgent always squeezes out the important.
As an example of how one corporation addressed this problem, consider USAA. USAA opened an Innovation Center. This center takes up nearly 11,000 square feet in the corporate office. At any point in time, nearly 80 full-time employees are assigned to this Center. While there, they are relieved of their day-to-day responsibilities and are dedicated to working on “innovation.” The Center has numerous rooms with multiple white boards, markers, stickers, and computers so that ideas can be captured. The Center has space for building prototypes – physical and virtual. The Center has its own kitchen so that people can eat at any time of the day. Space is even set aside for people to play games and take a break from idea creation.
The first Innovation Center was so successful – hundreds of new ideas have led to tens of millions of dollars in new revenue and bottom line earnings – they are in the process of opening four more Innovation Centers across the world. (Demo the on-line check deposit capability introduced by the USAA Innovation Center.)
Myth #6 –Innovation Requires Wholesale Organizational Change
Most liken innovation projects to “running face first into a concrete wall.” That is because most organizations are poorly designed for innovation. Proven organizations are designed for ongoing operations, not for innovation.
This leads some to believe that an organization must be broken down and built back up in order to innovate. The problem with this approach is that it may be successful! It may make an organization much better at innovation but lousy at ongoing operations.
Innovation does not always require extensive change -- it requires targeted change. Support functions must be willing to make exceptions to standard policies for the Innovation Team. For example: HR must allow for a different bonus/commission plan for the Innovation Team. IT must be willing to support an effort that consumes disproportionate amounts of resources. Finance must be willing to use different ROI metrics than are normally used for projects/initiatives.
Just remember -- Your first obligation is to do no harm to the existing organization. Innovation may divert resources from ongoing operations, it may even cannibalize the existing business over the long run, but it may not dismantle or damage the on-going organization. (Comment on “How Stella Saved the Farm.”)
Myth #7 – Innovation Can’t Be Measured
How should innovation initiatives be managed? Some innovation leaders have a quick and ready answer: “Don’t even try. Innovation is unpredictable. It cannot possibly be managed.” While there are different rules for innovation, the innovation team must still be measured. Different does not mean undisciplined. While it is true that innovation initiatives are unpredictable, this does not make them unmanageable. The innovation team must be just as disciplined as the on-going organization. Companies must adopt a distinct but disciplined approach to innovation.
What does a distinct but disciplined approach to innovation look like? First, one must formalize the experiment. The organization should write a custom plan for each initiative, with custom metrics and cost categories. Second, be prepared to evaluate innovation leaders subjectively. While this cannot be done for the larger organization due to the risk of “favoritism” or “discrimination”, it does make sense for innovation projects. Just know that it will require closer than normal observations. Third, be willing to apply unique metrics. Never assume that metrics and standards used to evaluate the existing business have relevance for the innovation initiative.
Conclusion
This concludes our survey of the seven myths surrounding “innovation and the corporate environment.” I hope that you will have learned that the limits to innovation have nothing to do with creativity, nothing to do with technology, and nothing to do with the size of the organization. They have everything to do with management capability. Thus as entrepreneurs in a college setting, do everything you can to learn management skills that will make innovation possible in whatever type and/or size of organization you choose to go to work in.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Entrepreneurism & The Corporate Perspective (Pt. 1)
Introduction
A very successful businessman had a meeting with his new son-in-law. "I love my daughter, and now I welcome you into the family," said the man. "To show you how much we care for you, I'm making you a 50-50 partner in my business. All you have to do is go to the factory every day and learn the operations." The son-in-law answered: “I hate factories. I can't stand the noise." "I see," replied the father-in-law. "Well then you'll work in the office and take charge of some of the back office operations." "I hate office work," said the son-on-law. "I can't stand being stuck behind a desk all day." "Wait a minute," said the father-in-law. "I just made you a half owner of a profitable corporation, but you don't like factories and won't work in an office. What am I going to do with you?" "Easy," said the young man. "Buy me out!!!"
Entrepreneurism is most often associated with small and medium-sized businesses. Yes, we know of small businesses who rode entrepreneurial ideas into large and profitable companies. But most of the time we view entrepreneurs to be small business owners. It is my goal to challenge that thinking. Entrepreneurism not only births large corporations, large corporations give birth to entrepreneurial innovation. In fact, this is the first of eight myths related to innovation in a corporate environment that I want to address. For purposes of this presentation, I will be heavily drawing from material/ideas in Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble’s work entitled: “The Other Side of Innovation.”
Myth #1 -- Only Start-ups Can Innovate
The reality is that many innovation challenges are out of reach for start-ups. Many innovation challenges can only be tackled by large and established organizations. Why? It is because organizations have mammoth assets at their disposal, assets that entrepreneurial firms can only dream of. As such, those of you with an entrepreneurial bent should be open to joining large organizations.
Myth #2 – Innovation is All About Ideas
There are more than 10,000 climbers each year who attempt to reach the heavily glaciated summit of Mount Rainier in the Northwest. It is perhaps the world’s most difficult climb that is accessible to novices, so long as they are accompanied by expert guides.
The first hour of the climb is easy. Each subsequent hour is harder. At dawn, the climbers get their first glimpse of the summit – majestic and inspiring. With each step, however, their labors become more excruciating. Muscles ache. The air becomes thinner. Some of the climbers become dizzy. In fact, nearly 50% of those that start out, turn back failing to achieve the summit. For those that persevere, the summit brings jubilation and exhilaration. Months of preparation comes to fruition. To be atop Mount Rainier is to sense that you are on top of the world. The city of Seattle lies more than fourteen thousand feet below.
But their adventure has only begun. They still have to get back down. And the descent from Rainier’s summit is actually the most difficult part of the expedition. Climbing a flight of stairs may be harder than descending but this is not the case with a descent from Mount Rainier. It is a dangerous mountain, one that claims a few lives each year. The snow on the surface of the glacier can collapse into interior caves and tunnels, and climbers can slip into deep crevasses. As each hour passes, sunlight and rising temperatures soften the snow and increase the risk. Added to these risks is the fact that climbers are deeply fatigued and prone to mistakes. No matter how many times they are told of the dangers in advance, climbers naturally relax at the summit. The glamorous part of the quest is over. The big aspiration – the big dream – has been fulfilled. The trip down is an afterthought.
There is a Rainier-like summit in entrepreneurism. It occurs when an organization says yes! That’s a great idea! Let’s take it to market! Let’s make it happen! Getting to the summit can be difficult. The challenge of reaching the summit lures many. It captures the imagination. It is easy to get others excited. Getting to the summit can seem like the fulfillment of a dream, but it is not enough. After the summit comes the other side of entrepreneurism – the challenges beyond the idea – execution.
Entrepreneurs tend to place too much emphasis on ideas and not nearly enough emphasis on execution. Thomas Edison said: “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” As an entrepreneur in an organization, innovation is not just about an idea. You need to encourage your organization to shift more attention to the other side of innovation – execution.
Myth #3 – Entrepreneurs Who Are Also Great Leaders Never Fail
Where you find an overemphasis on great ideas, you often find an overemphasis on great leaders. Many organizations hold romantic views of entrepreneurial heroes. Even those organizations that are unmoved by exaggerated tales of inspired underdogs overcoming long odds, can be tempted to embrace stories about how great leaders are able to always implement great ideas.
This is simply not true. While not dismissing the importance of choosing the right innovation leader, choosing a talented leader is never enough. This is because innovation and ongoing operations are always and inevitably in conflict. What do I mean? The greatest strength of a successful organization is repeatability and predictability. By definition, innovation is neither repeatable nor predictable. It is exactly the opposite. It is non-routine and uncertain. Thus, the inherent conflicts between innovation and ongoing operations are simply too fundamental and too powerful for one person to tackle alone. Entrepreneurs who are also great leaders need the support of the organization and assistance from its resources to have any chance of being successful.
Myth #4 – Effective Entrepreneurs Must Be Rule Breakers
Entrepreneurs are called risk takers, mavericks, and rebels. The fact that innovation and ongoing operations are inevitably in conflict makes it easy to create a mythical drama. What will our hero do? What obstacles will our hero have to overcome? Who in the big organization is our hero’s arch villain?
This romantic story usually results in our hero overcoming the stubborn forces arrayed against innovation by “breaking the rules.” It is important that you don’t want to let this notion take hold in your organization. This is because:
o Innovation leadership is not best thought of as civil disobedience. The odds are stacked against rebels and mavericks. Moreover, an organization full of rebels and mavericks fighting the system is not an innovation powerhouse -- it is an undisciplined and chaotic mess.
o Innovators need the organization. Innovation may very well signify the future. But the successful organization is the proven foundation, and if it crumbles, there is no future.
o Conflict is not due to the organization being evil, rather, it derives from the endeavors of good people doing good work. It arises from efforts to achieve the most basic goals of every business – producing, delivering, selling, marketing, servicing, and more with speed and efficiency.
The bottom line: innovators must do no harm to the organization’s existing capabilities.
A very successful businessman had a meeting with his new son-in-law. "I love my daughter, and now I welcome you into the family," said the man. "To show you how much we care for you, I'm making you a 50-50 partner in my business. All you have to do is go to the factory every day and learn the operations." The son-in-law answered: “I hate factories. I can't stand the noise." "I see," replied the father-in-law. "Well then you'll work in the office and take charge of some of the back office operations." "I hate office work," said the son-on-law. "I can't stand being stuck behind a desk all day." "Wait a minute," said the father-in-law. "I just made you a half owner of a profitable corporation, but you don't like factories and won't work in an office. What am I going to do with you?" "Easy," said the young man. "Buy me out!!!"
Entrepreneurism is most often associated with small and medium-sized businesses. Yes, we know of small businesses who rode entrepreneurial ideas into large and profitable companies. But most of the time we view entrepreneurs to be small business owners. It is my goal to challenge that thinking. Entrepreneurism not only births large corporations, large corporations give birth to entrepreneurial innovation. In fact, this is the first of eight myths related to innovation in a corporate environment that I want to address. For purposes of this presentation, I will be heavily drawing from material/ideas in Vijay Govindarajan and Chris Trimble’s work entitled: “The Other Side of Innovation.”
Myth #1 -- Only Start-ups Can Innovate
The reality is that many innovation challenges are out of reach for start-ups. Many innovation challenges can only be tackled by large and established organizations. Why? It is because organizations have mammoth assets at their disposal, assets that entrepreneurial firms can only dream of. As such, those of you with an entrepreneurial bent should be open to joining large organizations.
Myth #2 – Innovation is All About Ideas
There are more than 10,000 climbers each year who attempt to reach the heavily glaciated summit of Mount Rainier in the Northwest. It is perhaps the world’s most difficult climb that is accessible to novices, so long as they are accompanied by expert guides.
The first hour of the climb is easy. Each subsequent hour is harder. At dawn, the climbers get their first glimpse of the summit – majestic and inspiring. With each step, however, their labors become more excruciating. Muscles ache. The air becomes thinner. Some of the climbers become dizzy. In fact, nearly 50% of those that start out, turn back failing to achieve the summit. For those that persevere, the summit brings jubilation and exhilaration. Months of preparation comes to fruition. To be atop Mount Rainier is to sense that you are on top of the world. The city of Seattle lies more than fourteen thousand feet below.
But their adventure has only begun. They still have to get back down. And the descent from Rainier’s summit is actually the most difficult part of the expedition. Climbing a flight of stairs may be harder than descending but this is not the case with a descent from Mount Rainier. It is a dangerous mountain, one that claims a few lives each year. The snow on the surface of the glacier can collapse into interior caves and tunnels, and climbers can slip into deep crevasses. As each hour passes, sunlight and rising temperatures soften the snow and increase the risk. Added to these risks is the fact that climbers are deeply fatigued and prone to mistakes. No matter how many times they are told of the dangers in advance, climbers naturally relax at the summit. The glamorous part of the quest is over. The big aspiration – the big dream – has been fulfilled. The trip down is an afterthought.
There is a Rainier-like summit in entrepreneurism. It occurs when an organization says yes! That’s a great idea! Let’s take it to market! Let’s make it happen! Getting to the summit can be difficult. The challenge of reaching the summit lures many. It captures the imagination. It is easy to get others excited. Getting to the summit can seem like the fulfillment of a dream, but it is not enough. After the summit comes the other side of entrepreneurism – the challenges beyond the idea – execution.
Entrepreneurs tend to place too much emphasis on ideas and not nearly enough emphasis on execution. Thomas Edison said: “Genius is 1 percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.” As an entrepreneur in an organization, innovation is not just about an idea. You need to encourage your organization to shift more attention to the other side of innovation – execution.
Myth #3 – Entrepreneurs Who Are Also Great Leaders Never Fail
Where you find an overemphasis on great ideas, you often find an overemphasis on great leaders. Many organizations hold romantic views of entrepreneurial heroes. Even those organizations that are unmoved by exaggerated tales of inspired underdogs overcoming long odds, can be tempted to embrace stories about how great leaders are able to always implement great ideas.
This is simply not true. While not dismissing the importance of choosing the right innovation leader, choosing a talented leader is never enough. This is because innovation and ongoing operations are always and inevitably in conflict. What do I mean? The greatest strength of a successful organization is repeatability and predictability. By definition, innovation is neither repeatable nor predictable. It is exactly the opposite. It is non-routine and uncertain. Thus, the inherent conflicts between innovation and ongoing operations are simply too fundamental and too powerful for one person to tackle alone. Entrepreneurs who are also great leaders need the support of the organization and assistance from its resources to have any chance of being successful.
Myth #4 – Effective Entrepreneurs Must Be Rule Breakers
Entrepreneurs are called risk takers, mavericks, and rebels. The fact that innovation and ongoing operations are inevitably in conflict makes it easy to create a mythical drama. What will our hero do? What obstacles will our hero have to overcome? Who in the big organization is our hero’s arch villain?
This romantic story usually results in our hero overcoming the stubborn forces arrayed against innovation by “breaking the rules.” It is important that you don’t want to let this notion take hold in your organization. This is because:
o Innovation leadership is not best thought of as civil disobedience. The odds are stacked against rebels and mavericks. Moreover, an organization full of rebels and mavericks fighting the system is not an innovation powerhouse -- it is an undisciplined and chaotic mess.
o Innovators need the organization. Innovation may very well signify the future. But the successful organization is the proven foundation, and if it crumbles, there is no future.
o Conflict is not due to the organization being evil, rather, it derives from the endeavors of good people doing good work. It arises from efforts to achieve the most basic goals of every business – producing, delivering, selling, marketing, servicing, and more with speed and efficiency.
The bottom line: innovators must do no harm to the organization’s existing capabilities.
Thursday, July 28, 2011
The Ten Commandments of Speaking -- Part 3
#7 – Thou shalt not flail like a duck.
Thom Singer writes: “Specific and well-planned movements will express a powerful thought and help you make a lasting connection with the audience. However, stiff and awkward gestures distract from your expertise and make you appear like a novice, nervous, and uncomfortable.” Gestures can be one of the most powerful tools in your speaking arsenal. They can be used to draw attention to an important point. They can be used to emphasize an important fact. They can be used to visualize an important point. Just remember they can also detract from your presentation. Use them judiciously and wisely.
#8 – Thou shalt use stories in your presentations.
The greatest teacher of all time, Jesus Christ, largely taught in parables. Why? People easily remember stories. Embrace story-telling in your presentations. Whenever possible, frame your presentation with a single story. Whenever possible, illustrate key points with stories. Whenever possible, use stories in your introduction and conclusion. This takes work but it will make your presentation more effective and memorable. One other side note – include humor and wit in your stories. The audience is not expecting you to be a stand-up comedian (and you should avoid trying to become one). Learn the difference between telling jokes and adding observational humor to your stories and presentations.
#9 – Thou shalt memorize (a part of) your speech.
There is nothing worse than sitting in an audience listening to a speaker read their speech. Why don’t they just pass it out! Being a visual learner, I would prefer that! I am not suggesting that you memorize your whole speech. I am suggesting that you memorize your opening, your key stories, and your closing. This enables you to start strong, drive home your key points, and finish with a bang. If you want to be an effective speaker, this commandment alone will enable you to impact your audience. It allows you to let them leave with several memorable moments.
#10 – Thou shalt be personal.
Thom Singer writes: “Show your audience your personal side, even in a business presentation. Expose pieces of your personal life and your past mistakes and vulnerabilities, as this will make you easier for the average person to relate to you as a human being.” Speakers too often think that they have to appear as an authoritative expert. They think that being personal diminishes their effectiveness as a speaker. Nothing could be further from the truth. Authenticity is what makes an audience connect to a speaker.
There you go! This is not an exhaustive list of items one needs to work on to become an effective speaker. It is merely a starting point. Just know that if one masters these “ten commandments,” one will greatly elevate one’s speaking prowess and will be a long way down the road to speaking expertise.
Thom Singer writes: “Specific and well-planned movements will express a powerful thought and help you make a lasting connection with the audience. However, stiff and awkward gestures distract from your expertise and make you appear like a novice, nervous, and uncomfortable.” Gestures can be one of the most powerful tools in your speaking arsenal. They can be used to draw attention to an important point. They can be used to emphasize an important fact. They can be used to visualize an important point. Just remember they can also detract from your presentation. Use them judiciously and wisely.
#8 – Thou shalt use stories in your presentations.
The greatest teacher of all time, Jesus Christ, largely taught in parables. Why? People easily remember stories. Embrace story-telling in your presentations. Whenever possible, frame your presentation with a single story. Whenever possible, illustrate key points with stories. Whenever possible, use stories in your introduction and conclusion. This takes work but it will make your presentation more effective and memorable. One other side note – include humor and wit in your stories. The audience is not expecting you to be a stand-up comedian (and you should avoid trying to become one). Learn the difference between telling jokes and adding observational humor to your stories and presentations.
#9 – Thou shalt memorize (a part of) your speech.
There is nothing worse than sitting in an audience listening to a speaker read their speech. Why don’t they just pass it out! Being a visual learner, I would prefer that! I am not suggesting that you memorize your whole speech. I am suggesting that you memorize your opening, your key stories, and your closing. This enables you to start strong, drive home your key points, and finish with a bang. If you want to be an effective speaker, this commandment alone will enable you to impact your audience. It allows you to let them leave with several memorable moments.
#10 – Thou shalt be personal.
Thom Singer writes: “Show your audience your personal side, even in a business presentation. Expose pieces of your personal life and your past mistakes and vulnerabilities, as this will make you easier for the average person to relate to you as a human being.” Speakers too often think that they have to appear as an authoritative expert. They think that being personal diminishes their effectiveness as a speaker. Nothing could be further from the truth. Authenticity is what makes an audience connect to a speaker.
There you go! This is not an exhaustive list of items one needs to work on to become an effective speaker. It is merely a starting point. Just know that if one masters these “ten commandments,” one will greatly elevate one’s speaking prowess and will be a long way down the road to speaking expertise.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
The Ten Commandments of Speaking -- Part 2
#4 – Thou shalt not be monotone.
The only thing worse than listening to a boring speaker, is to listen to a monotone speaker. Speaking to an audience in a monotone voice is the quickest way to ensure that the audience “tunes you out.” Your content may even be outstanding but outstanding content delivered in a flat, monotone voice ensures that you will be an ineffective speaker. Your speech should include voice inflection (soft segments as well as louder segments), enthusiasm, energy, a change in pacing (faster and slower segments), and clear enunciation (be willing to even emphasize individual syllables).
#5 – Thou shalt avoid all verbal tics.
Thom Singer writes: “Many who are nervous or inexperienced about speaking in front of an audience are scared of pauses, and they fill in the gaps with filler words – ummm, ahhh, you know, etc. They often do not know they are doing it, and have no idea how the continuous use of such ‘verbal tics’ can cause the audience to lose track of their message.” There are several ways to know if you are making this type of mistake. First, you can have a friend “grade” you as you speak. Second, you can record your speech. Or third, you can video tape your speech. If you determine that your speech is full of verbal tics, practice reducing those verbal tics in your everyday speech. You may be surprised how this will aid your public speaking proficiency. And remember – do not be scared of a pause in your speech, even if you are searching for a word. Pauses are much shorter than they seem and can even be used for emphasis.
#6 – Thou shalt not have thy feet in concrete.
Do not forget to walk around while you are speaking. Nobody wants to watch a statue speak. Use as much space as you can. Get out from behind the podium. Walk into the crowd. Look into the eyes of the audience. Use movement to your advantage.
The only thing worse than listening to a boring speaker, is to listen to a monotone speaker. Speaking to an audience in a monotone voice is the quickest way to ensure that the audience “tunes you out.” Your content may even be outstanding but outstanding content delivered in a flat, monotone voice ensures that you will be an ineffective speaker. Your speech should include voice inflection (soft segments as well as louder segments), enthusiasm, energy, a change in pacing (faster and slower segments), and clear enunciation (be willing to even emphasize individual syllables).
#5 – Thou shalt avoid all verbal tics.
Thom Singer writes: “Many who are nervous or inexperienced about speaking in front of an audience are scared of pauses, and they fill in the gaps with filler words – ummm, ahhh, you know, etc. They often do not know they are doing it, and have no idea how the continuous use of such ‘verbal tics’ can cause the audience to lose track of their message.” There are several ways to know if you are making this type of mistake. First, you can have a friend “grade” you as you speak. Second, you can record your speech. Or third, you can video tape your speech. If you determine that your speech is full of verbal tics, practice reducing those verbal tics in your everyday speech. You may be surprised how this will aid your public speaking proficiency. And remember – do not be scared of a pause in your speech, even if you are searching for a word. Pauses are much shorter than they seem and can even be used for emphasis.
#6 – Thou shalt not have thy feet in concrete.
Do not forget to walk around while you are speaking. Nobody wants to watch a statue speak. Use as much space as you can. Get out from behind the podium. Walk into the crowd. Look into the eyes of the audience. Use movement to your advantage.
Friday, June 10, 2011
The Ten Commandments of Speaking -- Part 1
It has been said that speaking in public is one of the greatest fears that people have. In fact, I know of people who would rather risk life and limb than to face an audience of real human beings (of any size). While this fact is often made light of, a successful business career demands that one have – at a minimum – average public speaking skills. And if one acquires above average speaking skills, one can differentiate themselves from their peers.
The purpose of this short primer on public speaking – entitled “The Ten Commandments of Public Speaking” – is to provide the reader with a starting point. What are the basic elements that one has to master to be an effective public speaker? What does one need to focus on to improve their speaking skills? This primer is the result of much study, much instruction, and much practice. I hope that you find these ten commandments of public speaking understandable, relevant, and actionable.
#1 – Thou shalt know thy audience.
Thom Singer writes in The ABC’s of Speaking (a must-have for your library): “Before you accept an offer to speak, ask about the makeup of the audience. Age, gender, occupations, backgrounds, job titles, purpose of the group, and their expectations are part of the information you need to prepare. While many people who speak infrequently have a standard speech that they give, you must be sure that you customize your remarks to the demographics and needs of the individual audience. The more you understand about whom will be hearing you speak, the better you can tailor your presentation to create a connection with the group. Think about those who will sit in the uncomfortable chairs and make them the priority.”
#2 – Thou shalt know thy purpose.
In his best-selling book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey tells us to “begin with the end in mind.” Too many people take on a speaking assignment with no specific purpose in mind. Others jump in and try to “wing it.” Before you speak, take a few moments (at least!) and focus on the purpose of your speech. “Are you there to educate? To inform? To entertain? To tell a story? To motivate? To influence or encourage those listening? To deliver good or bad news? Is your presentation designed as a call to action for others? What is your personal motivation for being the person speaking?..... Know why you are there and be intentional in everything you do with regards to your presentation” (Singer).
#3 – Thou shalt know that language matters.
In his best-selling book, Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs, Bill Hybels writes: “Leaders rise and fall by the language they use. Sometimes whole visions live or die on the basis of the words the leader chooses for articulating that vision. When you put the right words to a vision or a principle, it becomes axiomatic. It begins to live! It becomes memorable and powerful…..The very best leaders I know wrestle with words until they are able to communicate their big ideas in a way that captures the imagination, catalyzes action, and lifts spirits. They coin creeds and fashion slogans and creates rallying cries, all because they understand that language matters.” For example, when Willow Creek was setting forth a strategic vision for members of the church, one of their key values was compassion. Instead of saying they were going to “be compassionate” (big yawn), they said they were going to “unleash unprecedented amounts of compassion into our broken world.” Which do you think is more effective?
The purpose of this short primer on public speaking – entitled “The Ten Commandments of Public Speaking” – is to provide the reader with a starting point. What are the basic elements that one has to master to be an effective public speaker? What does one need to focus on to improve their speaking skills? This primer is the result of much study, much instruction, and much practice. I hope that you find these ten commandments of public speaking understandable, relevant, and actionable.
#1 – Thou shalt know thy audience.
Thom Singer writes in The ABC’s of Speaking (a must-have for your library): “Before you accept an offer to speak, ask about the makeup of the audience. Age, gender, occupations, backgrounds, job titles, purpose of the group, and their expectations are part of the information you need to prepare. While many people who speak infrequently have a standard speech that they give, you must be sure that you customize your remarks to the demographics and needs of the individual audience. The more you understand about whom will be hearing you speak, the better you can tailor your presentation to create a connection with the group. Think about those who will sit in the uncomfortable chairs and make them the priority.”
#2 – Thou shalt know thy purpose.
In his best-selling book, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey tells us to “begin with the end in mind.” Too many people take on a speaking assignment with no specific purpose in mind. Others jump in and try to “wing it.” Before you speak, take a few moments (at least!) and focus on the purpose of your speech. “Are you there to educate? To inform? To entertain? To tell a story? To motivate? To influence or encourage those listening? To deliver good or bad news? Is your presentation designed as a call to action for others? What is your personal motivation for being the person speaking?..... Know why you are there and be intentional in everything you do with regards to your presentation” (Singer).
#3 – Thou shalt know that language matters.
In his best-selling book, Axiom: Powerful Leadership Proverbs, Bill Hybels writes: “Leaders rise and fall by the language they use. Sometimes whole visions live or die on the basis of the words the leader chooses for articulating that vision. When you put the right words to a vision or a principle, it becomes axiomatic. It begins to live! It becomes memorable and powerful…..The very best leaders I know wrestle with words until they are able to communicate their big ideas in a way that captures the imagination, catalyzes action, and lifts spirits. They coin creeds and fashion slogans and creates rallying cries, all because they understand that language matters.” For example, when Willow Creek was setting forth a strategic vision for members of the church, one of their key values was compassion. Instead of saying they were going to “be compassionate” (big yawn), they said they were going to “unleash unprecedented amounts of compassion into our broken world.” Which do you think is more effective?
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Vocation as a Mask of God
Do you want to know how you can influence the culture? How to have a strong family? Do you want to know the meaning of your life? Then attend to the Reformation doctrine of vocation. This strangely neglected doctrine has to do with how God providentially governs the world of human beings. It also constitutes the theology of the Christian life.
The doctrine of vocation, a term that is just the Latin word for “calling,” deals with how God works through human beings to bestow His gifts. God gives us this day our daily bread by means of the farmer, the baker, the cooks, and the person at the check-out counter. He creates new life – the most amazing miracle of all – by means of mothers and fathers. He protects us by means of police officers, firemen, and our military. He creates beauty through artists. He heals by working through doctors, nurses, and others whom He has gifted, equipped, and called to the medical professions. He proclaims His Word, administers His sacraments, and cares for His sheep through the calling of pastors.
Luther called vocation a “mask of God.” He said: “God milks the cows by means of the milkmaid. We see a menial worker and may even be so presumptuous as to look down upon her, but behind that humble facade looms God Himself, providing milk for His children.” And we too are masks of God in all our multiple callings. We have callings in the church (pastors, elders, choir members, parishioners); in the state (rulers, subjects, voters); in the work-place (employer, employee, factory worker, milkmaid, businessman); and in the family (husband and wife; father and mother; child; grandparent).
Before God, all vocations are equal. The purpose of every vocation is to love and serve our neighbor. “God does not need our good works,” commented Luther, “but our neighbor does.” In our vocations we encounter specific neighbors whom we are to love and serve through the work of that calling. Husbands and wives are to love and serve each other; parents love and serve their kids; office and factory workers love and serve their customers; rulers love and serve their subjects; pastors and congregations are to love and serve each other. And God is in it all.
Adapted from:
Gene Edward Veith
Tabletalk (March 2009)
The doctrine of vocation, a term that is just the Latin word for “calling,” deals with how God works through human beings to bestow His gifts. God gives us this day our daily bread by means of the farmer, the baker, the cooks, and the person at the check-out counter. He creates new life – the most amazing miracle of all – by means of mothers and fathers. He protects us by means of police officers, firemen, and our military. He creates beauty through artists. He heals by working through doctors, nurses, and others whom He has gifted, equipped, and called to the medical professions. He proclaims His Word, administers His sacraments, and cares for His sheep through the calling of pastors.
Luther called vocation a “mask of God.” He said: “God milks the cows by means of the milkmaid. We see a menial worker and may even be so presumptuous as to look down upon her, but behind that humble facade looms God Himself, providing milk for His children.” And we too are masks of God in all our multiple callings. We have callings in the church (pastors, elders, choir members, parishioners); in the state (rulers, subjects, voters); in the work-place (employer, employee, factory worker, milkmaid, businessman); and in the family (husband and wife; father and mother; child; grandparent).
Before God, all vocations are equal. The purpose of every vocation is to love and serve our neighbor. “God does not need our good works,” commented Luther, “but our neighbor does.” In our vocations we encounter specific neighbors whom we are to love and serve through the work of that calling. Husbands and wives are to love and serve each other; parents love and serve their kids; office and factory workers love and serve their customers; rulers love and serve their subjects; pastors and congregations are to love and serve each other. And God is in it all.
Adapted from:
Gene Edward Veith
Tabletalk (March 2009)
Monday, April 4, 2011
Career Enrichment Primer -- Part 3
Communicating (Protect Your Network)
Now that you have characterized yourself and connected with others – it is time to communicate with your network. That is, it is time to protect your network. When it comes to relationship maintenance, you have to be on your game – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year! Eighty percent of building and maintaining relationships is just staying in touch [1:181]. The number one objective in protecting your network is to remember a simple rule: “Above all, never, ever disappear” [1:94].
How often does one need to stay in communication with their network? Each member of your network needs to hear from you at least once a month. That can be done via an email, a phone call, or an in person visit. At a minimum, you need to distribute a monthly newsletter that updates your network on your schedule, your accomplishments, your challenges, and your thoughts. I have found the newsletter to be an effective way of keeping my network aware of what I am doing while also sending out pleas for assistance (e.g., tell your network that you are getting ready to select a product or a provider and watch how many people raise their hands to help!). The bottom line is you want to remain in the forefront of their minds.
How does one turn a contact into a substantive member of your network? People you’re contacting to create a new relationship need to see or hear your name in at least three modes of communication – email, a phone call, and a face-to-face encounter – before they will become a substantive member of your network. If you want to transform a contact into a friend, you need a minimum of two face-to-face meetings out of the office [1:183].
What tools should one use to stay in communication with their network? There are many excellent tools currently available on the market. You can maintain a “core” list of network contacts via Yahoo!, Gmail, or Outlook. You can leverage Plaxo or LinkedIn. You can maintain a blog and/or web site. Simply put: there are numerous tools and services that one can use to stay in communication with their network. Pick one and work it!
While maintaining your network, don’t forget about important events – anniversaries, birthdays, significant life events (the passing of a parent, the adoption of a child, etc.). While it is a lot of work, start now gathering that type of personal information. It enables you to distinguish yourself from others while ministering to your network. The governing principle is repetition. Just find a way to contact people regularly without putting too much strain on your already busy schedule. Building a network of friends and colleagues is about building relationships and friendships. It should be seen as fun, not time-consuming [1:97].
Endnotes
[1] Keith Ferrazzi, “Never Eat Alone”
[2] Tim Sanders, “Love is the Killer App”
[3] Donald Phillips, “Lincoln on Leadership”
Now that you have characterized yourself and connected with others – it is time to communicate with your network. That is, it is time to protect your network. When it comes to relationship maintenance, you have to be on your game – 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year! Eighty percent of building and maintaining relationships is just staying in touch [1:181]. The number one objective in protecting your network is to remember a simple rule: “Above all, never, ever disappear” [1:94].
How often does one need to stay in communication with their network? Each member of your network needs to hear from you at least once a month. That can be done via an email, a phone call, or an in person visit. At a minimum, you need to distribute a monthly newsletter that updates your network on your schedule, your accomplishments, your challenges, and your thoughts. I have found the newsletter to be an effective way of keeping my network aware of what I am doing while also sending out pleas for assistance (e.g., tell your network that you are getting ready to select a product or a provider and watch how many people raise their hands to help!). The bottom line is you want to remain in the forefront of their minds.
How does one turn a contact into a substantive member of your network? People you’re contacting to create a new relationship need to see or hear your name in at least three modes of communication – email, a phone call, and a face-to-face encounter – before they will become a substantive member of your network. If you want to transform a contact into a friend, you need a minimum of two face-to-face meetings out of the office [1:183].
What tools should one use to stay in communication with their network? There are many excellent tools currently available on the market. You can maintain a “core” list of network contacts via Yahoo!, Gmail, or Outlook. You can leverage Plaxo or LinkedIn. You can maintain a blog and/or web site. Simply put: there are numerous tools and services that one can use to stay in communication with their network. Pick one and work it!
While maintaining your network, don’t forget about important events – anniversaries, birthdays, significant life events (the passing of a parent, the adoption of a child, etc.). While it is a lot of work, start now gathering that type of personal information. It enables you to distinguish yourself from others while ministering to your network. The governing principle is repetition. Just find a way to contact people regularly without putting too much strain on your already busy schedule. Building a network of friends and colleagues is about building relationships and friendships. It should be seen as fun, not time-consuming [1:97].
Endnotes
[1] Keith Ferrazzi, “Never Eat Alone”
[2] Tim Sanders, “Love is the Killer App”
[3] Donald Phillips, “Lincoln on Leadership”
Friday, February 4, 2011
Career Enrichment Primer -- Part 2
Connecting (Build Your Network)
Now that you have defined “who” you are, determined what makes you unique, and packaged that into a brand statement – that is, you have characterized yourself – it is time to connect with others. To better enable you to connect with others, let me address five questions about networking.
1. What is networking? [1:8-15]
It is the process of sharing your knowledge and resources, time and energy, friends and associates, and empathy and compassion in a continual effort to provide value to others, while coincidentally increasing the value of your network. It is not an impersonal effort. It is really about connecting with others. Real networking is about finding ways to make other people more successful. It is about working hard to give more than you get. It is a constant process of giving and receiving – of asking for and offering help.
2. Why should one network?
One should network, first, because you can’t get there alone. No matter how smart you are, how much innate talent you’re born with, where you come from, and how much you started out with – you will be unable to achieve your goals in life alone. Success in any field, but especially in business, is about working with people. The individual who know the right people, for the right reasons, and utilizes the power of these relationships can become a member of the “club”, whether or he started out as a caddie or not! [1:15]
Second, we live in an age where relationships are more important than seniority. Where employees once found generosity and loyalty in the companies we worked for, today we must find them in a network of our own relationships. [1:17] You can amass a large network of relationships by feverishly connecting others. The more people you help, the more help you’ll have and the more help you’ll have helping others! [1:16]
Third, networks are like muscles – the more you work them, the stronger they become. [1:19] Too often, we get caught up in focusing solely on the work that will get us through the day. We are too busy meeting deadlines, racing off to soccer practice, and watching our favorite TV show to invest in connecting. Taking this course of action causes our network to become limp and weak. We become less effective in helping others while assuring that our network will be of less value when it is needed for our own career advancement. The idea isn’t to find oneself another environment tomorrow – be it a new job or a new career – but to be constantly creating the community that enables you to find a new job (or a new career), no matter what may occur.
3. What does one share when networking?
Tim Sanders nails this answer in his wonderful book, “Love is the Killer App.” We are to share our knowledge, our network, and our compassion. Let me provide you with some details around his answer.
o Knowledge
By knowledge, I mean everything you have learned and everything you continue to learn [2:13]. We live in an age where information is more important than experience. In fact, information (or knowledge) is value currency [2:67]. Someone talking about the latest reality television show may attract a brief audience at the coffee machine, but someone who tells people about Nicholas Carr’s “The Big Switch” and who finds a way for them to connect the ideas to their careers so that they own the book (so that they can use it themselves to succeed in their jobs), is a person of genuine value. It’s the difference between knowing which sports team is in first place and which new business idea can propel a career forward. [2:68]
Power, today, comes from sharing information, not withholding it [1:146].That is why you transmit knowledge. You’re not just handing out some weight-loss hint or a workout tip or a recipe for a great tasting low-fat cake. You’re giving someone knowledge that can advance a career. You want to become a “theory-slinging, expert-quoting, knowledge-throwing” [2:68] person that makes you stand out from the pack and keeps them coming back!
Where do you obtain this knowledge? First, you focus on books. They are complete “meals.” They contain hypotheses, data, research, and conclusions. Second, you need to be reading magazines. While they aren’t necessarily intended to transfer entire thoughts, they can contain a kernel of an idea that prompt you to do further study. Third, you need to be perusing blogs for the same reason you read magazine articles – to grasp an idea that is worthy of further study. Finally, you need to be attending seminars. These seminars enable you to hear thought leadership while interacting with peers. Bottom line: Share your knowledge!
o Network
By network, I mean your entire web of relationships [2:14]. Each person in your network is relevant. Sometimes people who may appear powerless or insignificant are potential networking superstars. These connections within your network can accomplish almost anything. They can open doors for job seekers (including you). They can make it possible for you to be introduced to a contact (a person or a company) that you did not have a direct relationship with. They can enable you to spin your “web” out farther and farther. The bigger your network gets, the more attractive it becomes, and the faster it grows. Real power comes from being indispensable. Indispensability comes from being seen as “super-connector” – a person who is able to parcel out as much information, contacts, and good will to as many people as possible [1:174]. Become a super-connector. Share your network!
o Compassion
By compassion, I mean that personal quality that machines can never possess – the human ability to reach out with warmth, whether through eye contact, physical touch, or words [2:17]. Showing your compassionate and caring nature will aid you in forging a successful network [3:37]. By expressing your compassion, you create an experience that distinguishes you. When you create an experience that distinguishes you, people remember you. When people remember you, your network grows quickly and exponentially.
How do you show compassion? You make it clear right away that the focus of the conversation is for the benefit and happiness of the other person. You don’t remind them of what they can do for you. Rather, you focus on what you might be able to do for them. You seek to listen rather than to be heard. You seek to understand rather than to be understood. You seek to learn what problems they are facing (i.e., what is your “pain”?) and you emphasize with their pain. You seek to understand what they have committed to do for their boss. You seek to understand how you can make them a hero. You ask: “How can I help you?” rather than “How can you help me?” You ask simple questions like: “How are you?” The surest way to become special in the eyes of other people is to show them compassion.
I believe that sharing compassion is one of the most underappreciated assets in business today [1:145]. Every conversation you have is an opportunity to risk being seen as weak or vulnerable. You risk revealing the real you. What’s the worst thing that can happen? They don’t respond in kind. So what, they probably weren’t worth knowing in the first place! Sharing compassion enables you to engender deep emotional bonds that both enrich and extend your network – for you and for those in your network. Sharing compassion creates a higher level of commitment from those in your network and it even provides you with a larger margin of error during those times when you are less than perfect [2:160]. Be a love-cat (Tim Sanders’ term), share your compassion!
4. Who do you network with?
You network with everybody. You include every fellow employee, every vendor partner, every friend, every person you meet at a seminar, every person who will connect with you via LinkedIn, and every peer that you serve with on a panel or governing body. Adding individuals to your network works best when it’s done with the under-lying philosophy that every person is potentially relevant to you and your network [2:119]. Each person in your network should be seen as a partner [1:139].
All of this takes work. It involves a lot of sweat equity. It means setting aside 3-5 time slots a week to “network” (e.g., coffee, office appointment, breakfast, lunch, dinner). It means you have to think hard not only about yourself but about other people. Once you are committed to reaching out to others in an attempt to expand the number of your connections, you’ll benefit from an ever-growing, vibrant network of people that you care for and who care for you [1:13].
5. What are the benefits of networking? [2:42-50]
The benefits from actively building and exercising a network are numerous. First, you build your brand. There are few ways to better market your brand than to be known for having a dynamic network or seen as a super-connector. Second, you create an experience. When you are seen as being knowledgeable, generous, and compassionate – you are not just a name, a service provider, or a product. You are fun, you are interesting, you are valuable. Third, you gain access to people’s attention. Others get only time. Fourth, you gain their trust and respect. People will presume that your arguments are correct, your recommendations are solid, and your referrals are valuable. Fifth, you receive exceptional feedback. People keep talking to you. You learn what crashes, what craters, what flies, and what soars. Finally, you gain personal satisfaction. You benefit from serving others.
Now that you have defined “who” you are, determined what makes you unique, and packaged that into a brand statement – that is, you have characterized yourself – it is time to connect with others. To better enable you to connect with others, let me address five questions about networking.
1. What is networking? [1:8-15]
It is the process of sharing your knowledge and resources, time and energy, friends and associates, and empathy and compassion in a continual effort to provide value to others, while coincidentally increasing the value of your network. It is not an impersonal effort. It is really about connecting with others. Real networking is about finding ways to make other people more successful. It is about working hard to give more than you get. It is a constant process of giving and receiving – of asking for and offering help.
2. Why should one network?
One should network, first, because you can’t get there alone. No matter how smart you are, how much innate talent you’re born with, where you come from, and how much you started out with – you will be unable to achieve your goals in life alone. Success in any field, but especially in business, is about working with people. The individual who know the right people, for the right reasons, and utilizes the power of these relationships can become a member of the “club”, whether or he started out as a caddie or not! [1:15]
Second, we live in an age where relationships are more important than seniority. Where employees once found generosity and loyalty in the companies we worked for, today we must find them in a network of our own relationships. [1:17] You can amass a large network of relationships by feverishly connecting others. The more people you help, the more help you’ll have and the more help you’ll have helping others! [1:16]
Third, networks are like muscles – the more you work them, the stronger they become. [1:19] Too often, we get caught up in focusing solely on the work that will get us through the day. We are too busy meeting deadlines, racing off to soccer practice, and watching our favorite TV show to invest in connecting. Taking this course of action causes our network to become limp and weak. We become less effective in helping others while assuring that our network will be of less value when it is needed for our own career advancement. The idea isn’t to find oneself another environment tomorrow – be it a new job or a new career – but to be constantly creating the community that enables you to find a new job (or a new career), no matter what may occur.
3. What does one share when networking?
Tim Sanders nails this answer in his wonderful book, “Love is the Killer App.” We are to share our knowledge, our network, and our compassion. Let me provide you with some details around his answer.
o Knowledge
By knowledge, I mean everything you have learned and everything you continue to learn [2:13]. We live in an age where information is more important than experience. In fact, information (or knowledge) is value currency [2:67]. Someone talking about the latest reality television show may attract a brief audience at the coffee machine, but someone who tells people about Nicholas Carr’s “The Big Switch” and who finds a way for them to connect the ideas to their careers so that they own the book (so that they can use it themselves to succeed in their jobs), is a person of genuine value. It’s the difference between knowing which sports team is in first place and which new business idea can propel a career forward. [2:68]
Power, today, comes from sharing information, not withholding it [1:146].That is why you transmit knowledge. You’re not just handing out some weight-loss hint or a workout tip or a recipe for a great tasting low-fat cake. You’re giving someone knowledge that can advance a career. You want to become a “theory-slinging, expert-quoting, knowledge-throwing” [2:68] person that makes you stand out from the pack and keeps them coming back!
Where do you obtain this knowledge? First, you focus on books. They are complete “meals.” They contain hypotheses, data, research, and conclusions. Second, you need to be reading magazines. While they aren’t necessarily intended to transfer entire thoughts, they can contain a kernel of an idea that prompt you to do further study. Third, you need to be perusing blogs for the same reason you read magazine articles – to grasp an idea that is worthy of further study. Finally, you need to be attending seminars. These seminars enable you to hear thought leadership while interacting with peers. Bottom line: Share your knowledge!
o Network
By network, I mean your entire web of relationships [2:14]. Each person in your network is relevant. Sometimes people who may appear powerless or insignificant are potential networking superstars. These connections within your network can accomplish almost anything. They can open doors for job seekers (including you). They can make it possible for you to be introduced to a contact (a person or a company) that you did not have a direct relationship with. They can enable you to spin your “web” out farther and farther. The bigger your network gets, the more attractive it becomes, and the faster it grows. Real power comes from being indispensable. Indispensability comes from being seen as “super-connector” – a person who is able to parcel out as much information, contacts, and good will to as many people as possible [1:174]. Become a super-connector. Share your network!
o Compassion
By compassion, I mean that personal quality that machines can never possess – the human ability to reach out with warmth, whether through eye contact, physical touch, or words [2:17]. Showing your compassionate and caring nature will aid you in forging a successful network [3:37]. By expressing your compassion, you create an experience that distinguishes you. When you create an experience that distinguishes you, people remember you. When people remember you, your network grows quickly and exponentially.
How do you show compassion? You make it clear right away that the focus of the conversation is for the benefit and happiness of the other person. You don’t remind them of what they can do for you. Rather, you focus on what you might be able to do for them. You seek to listen rather than to be heard. You seek to understand rather than to be understood. You seek to learn what problems they are facing (i.e., what is your “pain”?) and you emphasize with their pain. You seek to understand what they have committed to do for their boss. You seek to understand how you can make them a hero. You ask: “How can I help you?” rather than “How can you help me?” You ask simple questions like: “How are you?” The surest way to become special in the eyes of other people is to show them compassion.
I believe that sharing compassion is one of the most underappreciated assets in business today [1:145]. Every conversation you have is an opportunity to risk being seen as weak or vulnerable. You risk revealing the real you. What’s the worst thing that can happen? They don’t respond in kind. So what, they probably weren’t worth knowing in the first place! Sharing compassion enables you to engender deep emotional bonds that both enrich and extend your network – for you and for those in your network. Sharing compassion creates a higher level of commitment from those in your network and it even provides you with a larger margin of error during those times when you are less than perfect [2:160]. Be a love-cat (Tim Sanders’ term), share your compassion!
4. Who do you network with?
You network with everybody. You include every fellow employee, every vendor partner, every friend, every person you meet at a seminar, every person who will connect with you via LinkedIn, and every peer that you serve with on a panel or governing body. Adding individuals to your network works best when it’s done with the under-lying philosophy that every person is potentially relevant to you and your network [2:119]. Each person in your network should be seen as a partner [1:139].
All of this takes work. It involves a lot of sweat equity. It means setting aside 3-5 time slots a week to “network” (e.g., coffee, office appointment, breakfast, lunch, dinner). It means you have to think hard not only about yourself but about other people. Once you are committed to reaching out to others in an attempt to expand the number of your connections, you’ll benefit from an ever-growing, vibrant network of people that you care for and who care for you [1:13].
5. What are the benefits of networking? [2:42-50]
The benefits from actively building and exercising a network are numerous. First, you build your brand. There are few ways to better market your brand than to be known for having a dynamic network or seen as a super-connector. Second, you create an experience. When you are seen as being knowledgeable, generous, and compassionate – you are not just a name, a service provider, or a product. You are fun, you are interesting, you are valuable. Third, you gain access to people’s attention. Others get only time. Fourth, you gain their trust and respect. People will presume that your arguments are correct, your recommendations are solid, and your referrals are valuable. Fifth, you receive exceptional feedback. People keep talking to you. You learn what crashes, what craters, what flies, and what soars. Finally, you gain personal satisfaction. You benefit from serving others.
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