Secrets of a Master Planner - Working the Plan
June 19, 2008
I’ve been busy conducting planning sessions for several clients (partly explaining the lapse in posts). These leadership teams have successfully engaged in the process of building perspective that I discussed in my earlier post. As usual, we ended these planning sessions with greater clarity and a well-prioritized list of initiatives that will drive these organizations forward toward their goals.
It’s precisely at this point that an old saying applies:
If you plan your work and work your plan, the plan will work.
I know you’ve heard it and are perhaps rolling your eyes right now. But I can’t begin to tell you how many organizations flounder at precisely this point. That has fueled a general skepticism in organizations about whether or not their planning efforts will amount to a hill of beans. As one client said to me recently, “I want to see results before I consider this whole planning process a success.” It’s a fair comment, even if it makes people in the planning business a little nervous.
Why is this? It’s simple. Many organizations have divorced the doing of the work from the planning of the work. People who are often involved in planning see getting the ideas as the hard work. But let’s face it, a brilliant idea poorly executed delivers you precisely squat.
Planning work doesn’t end until the core initiatives that come from it are successfully implemented. And successful implementation comes from installing a management system that guides, supports, and drives steady progress on those few workstreams that will really make a difference.
Maybe the old saying has merit after all.
We welcome you to share the best methods you have experienced for managing key initiatives. The more you share with the Noonday community, the more we will all gain from participating!
Secrets of a Master Planner - The Whole
May 19, 2008
I’m lucky to work with very talented leaders, many of whom are stretching into new levels of responsibility. I recently spent a day with a young leader who is running a critical region of a multi-billion dollar telecommunications company. He is adjusting to his new role and new surroundings quite well. But he was frustrated with his leadership team on the day we met.
“No matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to get them to see the big picture,” he lamented. “They want to focus in on one aspect of our business model, ignoring the others. And it’s killing us.”
His pain is common. Talk to almost any CEO and she will say that she wishes her VP’s would see the world from her point of view. Ask a sales VP, and he will wish his sales managers (and those folks over in marketing!) could see the business from his viewpoint. And so on…
After a little perspective-building work with my client (see my recent post for more on this), we developed a one-page dashboard that captured important data and analysis from all aspects of this company’s business model on one piece of paper. Then we linked those data points to what’s important to his region over the next 6-12 months, linking the insights back and forth. All this was about putting perspective to work…
A lightbulb went on in his head at this point. “I need to get my leadership team to help build this dashboard and to use it to lead our whole region forward. This will keep the conversation focused on the whole business model instead of an isolated part.”
This (bright) leader had stumbled onto another of Tom Paterson’s master principles for bringing vision to life: See the Whole, Manage the Whole, and Lead the Whole.
Too many of our planning and management practices break the organization up into little pieces. Those who are charged with leadership must keep the whole in front of themselves and the rest of the organization at all times - or risk getting lost in the trees.
We welcome you to share the best methods you have experienced for seeing the big picture and keeping it alive in daily life. The more you share with the Noonday community, the more we will all gain from participating!
Dirty Word #17 - Rest
May 15, 2008
Paging through this week’s Crain’s Chicago Business, I came across an article about StanleyBlaylock, a new and influential leader at Walgreen’s. The article rightly pointed out Mr. Blaylock’s successful track record and critical importance to Walgreen’s strategy.
But it was a throw-away line that really got my attention.
Wiry and energetic, (Blaylock) says “sleep is my variable,” figuring he averages about five hours a night… Former colleagues recall late-night dinners and drinking bouts with clients on a deal in Sweden, followed by early-morning negotiating sessions.
Do you recognize this man? He may be working at a Walgreen’s near you…
This is the dominant image of a leader in our society. They are invincible, able to work incredible hours, party hard to grease those important relationships, and squeeze in sleep as an almost-optional activity. Rest and a sane pace are for less gifted, more mortal creatures (aka middle managers). The elite can run at a different pace with impunity.
Except for most people, this image is simply a lie! Most people need around eight hours of sleep (yes, there’s good research out there about that!). Most family/personal relationships need real quantity and quality time to flourish. Most human bodies need exercise and a sensible diet to remain healthy. Very few people can cheat these natural laws for long without consequences.
I’m lucky enough to have honest moments with very accomplished people at all levels of prestigious organizations. Many think they can run at Blaylock-like pace and cheat nature. But most crash (or crumble or slowly slump) to the ground at some point and realize a humbling fact.
They’re human…
Bummer.
The irony? When they start to make changes, many of the things that were persistently tripping up their work as leaders - irritability, impatience, interpersonal melt-downs, inability to focus on one thing long enough to actually get it done, poor health - many of these things start to improve, simply because they began to rest.
So Stanley Blaylock, hats off to you if you can truly run on 5.5 hours of sleep. To the rest of us, I wish a good night’s sleep.
Secrets of a Master Planner - Perspective Before Planning
May 8, 2008
How many times have you been part of planning meetings in your organization and had the thought bubble float above your head saying, “This is a total waste of time. Our plan is going nowhere fast.” Whether you run a company, a non-profit, a business unit, or a department, you probably engage in some sort of planning. Unfortunately, there’s a lot of waste in the process because too many plans end up still-born instead of alive and vibrant.
I’ve recently been getting to know the work of Tom Paterson, a master planner for nearly 40 years. He was an associate of Peter Drucker’s and he often took the role of putting the great theorist’s ideas into practice. Tom has learned a few things over the years. And while it’s not fashionable in our latest-fad culture to admit it, I think we should stop and learn a few things from our elders.
One of Tom’s core principles is that perspective must precede planning. Tom did some work in China at the request of the Reagan administration and was greatly marked by the Asian approach to planning. Instead of rushing through to action planning, they spend time really understanding their organization’s history and current reality.
Tom likens it to climbing a mountain via switch-back trails instead of trying to race straight up the rock face. It’s probably faster in the long run and eventually, you reach the top and you gain a beautiful reward: perspective. Even better, if you climb that mountain with others, you gain a powerful benefit: shared perspective. For impatient Westerners, that shared perspective (while frustrating to gain) yields accelerated implementation when you actually put the plan in place.
So take a look at your next planning process. How much time are you spending on gaining shared perspective? What conscious activities have you put in place to help your leadership team really see what is happening? It’s the first step to making plans that work.
We welcome you to share the best methods you have experienced for gaining shared perspective. The more you share with the Noonday community, the more we will all gain from participating!
Dirty Word #16 - Compassion
May 6, 2008
A friend of mine passed on a story that in one short week has made it from a chance encounter on the streets of Chicago to the nightly news. In the meantime, it’s raised more than $10,000 for a homeless man. The story, written by Pete Kadens on the site www.savetroy.com tells about how Pete ran into Troy McCullough, a Streetwise vendor trying to work his way back out of poverty, and began a mini-movement (aided by the viral power of the web) to get behind Troy’s efforts. In less than a week, he had met his goal for Troy’s financial aid.
Pete rightly keeps the focus of this story on Troy. But I want to turn attention to Pete for a second. He’s an entrepreneur who has started and sold businesses in his short career. While that’s not terribly unusual, his decision to use those skills for a broader purpose in this moment does set his actions apart. He’s more than an entrepreneur - someone who sees and seizes opportunity. He’s now a redemptive entrepreneur - one of those people who sees and seizes opportunity to make a positive difference in the lives of others around him.
When you read Pete’s story (please do it - it takes five minutes and will probably make your day), you’ll probably see what was most unusual about this account. We all see people in need. But Pete didn’t just see Troy. He noticed Troy. And then he took action - first by building relationship, then by listening, then by testing, and finally by supporting.
I don’t know Pete, but I don’t think he helped Troy so that he would gain anything. But as in many things in life, by giving himself away Pete gained immeasurably in return. I’m sure there will be twists in the story long after the 10 o’clock news has moved on to some other story. But Pete showed all of the marks of being that top class of entrepreneur in the early days of this story. And like any good entrepreneur, he’s already looking for ways to leverage this one success into others.
So look around. Who do you see? Who can you notice? What steps can you take? Your story may not get on the news, but for the Troy’s out there, that doesn’t matter. (And PS, “Troy” may sit in the office next door to you - and may even have a great job!)
The Real Deal
April 3, 2008
In my last post, I talked about the power of sincerity - authentic interest - (and the emptiness of faking it). A while back, I ran into a client who happened to know a long-time friend of mine. When I mentioned that I thought we had this friend in common, Gus (my client) gushed: “Dan is one of my heroes.”
I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t happen every day in my world.
I was curious what provoked this strong positive reaction. Gus proceeded to tell me this story:
I’ve known Dan for a long time, but recently lost touch with him because I was so buried at work. He left me several kind voicemails and I didn’t return one of them. I kept feeling more and more guilty about not calling him until I finally called. I started the conversation by falling on my sword, telling him how lousy I felt about not returning his calls and being an all-around lousy friend.
Dan interrupted me and said, “Gus, it doesn’t matter how long it’s been since we’ve talked. I’m always glad to hear your voice.”
I’m lucky enough to count Dan as a friend. And anyone who knows him will tell you he was being 100% straight with Gus. That’s just Dan being Dan.
Here’s what makes that sort of sincerity so powerful: it cost Dan nothing and it won him Gus’ long-term loyalty and friendship. If and when Dan needs a favor from Gus, what are the chances he might get an audience?
Who are the Dan’s in your life? Have you thanked them recently?
And who are the people like Gus in your life? Who needs the free, yet priceless gift of sincere interest?
Dirty Word #15 - Sincerity
April 1, 2008
A lot of my team’s work has to do with shaping and growing top-notch relationships with crucial clients, staff members, and colleagues. That sounds simple, but it’s amazing how many ways it can go wrong.
Take a key client relationship: you’ve honestly taken it for granted until you suddenly realize they’re seriously looking at a competitor. Or a key staff member: you’ve assumed they would stay with your team forever until you hear through the grapevine that their resume is on the street. Or a key colleague: yes, you’ve worked on many projects together but you haven’t heard from her in a long time and start to realize that she’s more aligned with a rival than with you now.
In any of these situations, the natural human reaction is to leap into action, turning on the charm. You send a gift that client, take the staff member to a “mentoring” lunch, or drop the colleague a “hey, I was just thinking of you” call. Unfortunately, whenever we talk to the other parties in these cases, they say basically the same thing. “I don’t believe the gesture. I think the (supplier/employer/colleague) is just doing what they always do: looking out for themselves.”
Here’s the simple point: interest in others and their well-being simply cannot be faked. You can’t replace it with money or tokens. If you’re looking for loyalty and long-term relationship, you cannot buy it - it must be earned through consistent, credible attention.
I’ve been lucky enough to be around people who model this sort of sincerity. They are people who have that intangible quality that makes you happy to work with them. They get that little bit of extra energy and commitment from those around them. And the reason is simple: they sincerely, consistently care about the interests of those around them.
Who needs some sincerity from you today (and tomorrow and the next day)?
Playground Lessons
March 26, 2008
I was traveling last week. Before crashing in my hotel one night, I called home to check in with my family. My 10-year-old son got on the line and we had what began as a typical conversation.
“What happened at school today?” (I’ve learned not to ask “How was school?” since it always gets the same answer - fine!)
“Well, I got in trouble with a teacher today.” (This is pretty unusual for my son, so I was curious.)
He went on to tell me that, while at lunch recess, he had been broken some obscure rule and had been made to stand against the wall for most of the recess rather than play with his friends. For my son, this is worse than having a limb amputated. In his own words, he was very upset.
As I talked with him about the situation, it became clear to me that he didn’t really understand the rule or what he had done to deserve his punishment. But I was still curious what he had gleaned from the experience.
“So what did you learn?” I expected him to say that he learned not to break that rule. I was in for a surprise.
He paused a moment and said, “To stay away from that teacher.”
I had to think about that for a few minutes after hanging up the phone. I realized the simple, profound truth my son had taught me. When we have negative interactions with people and don’t come to a common understanding about why the interaction went south, they learn something about us: that we’re unreasonable, dangerous people to be avoided or defeated. This may work occasionally when you only have to deal with someone a few times or you have the brute force to keep the balance of power in your favor. But if you need that person’s engagement, cooperation, or support at some point, good luck.
So think about your key business relationships: what have your employees, colleagues, customers, and suppliers/partners learned about you recently? Is that what you want them to believe about you? Will those beliefs support your own interests in the long term?
The (Internal) Practice
March 18, 2008
I received an article in the mail from one of my clients last week. It’s written by a Brian Martin, general counsel at a technology firm and poses a question that I’ve heard repeatedly from leaders of in-house professionals (legal, HR, IT, accounting) over the past several years.
- What are the competitive advantages of internal professionals?
- How can in-house professionals cultivate the value they provide to the business?
Too often when I work with internal professionals, they try to make cost their competitive advantage. “We cost less than those incredibly expensive outside resources.” This is often a dangerous line of argument to take with internal clients. Internal resources are rarely seen as inexpensive by their internal “clients” and cost leadership is a difficult advantage to maintain anyway.
The author’s conclusion is that in-house professionals have the unique ability to focus on one client and to become “students of their firms and their people.” Learn the company’s products, services, strategies, and challenges. Learn the people who make the organization run. (You can click here to read the entire article.)
This is easy to say and difficult to do in real life. Here are just a few of the barriers that I’ve heard in-house professionals share, any one of which makes “learning the business” a real challenge:
- We don’t get invited to the table. Line business executives simply don’t include us until they simply need approval.
- We’re busy. We’re under extremely tight timelines and simply don’t have the time to invest in learning the business.
- I’m a technical expert. My internal clients know they can call me and I’ll give them expert advice. They’re happy with that and I’m comfortable with it.
- I don’t know how to learn more about the business and the key people. Where do we start?
Many professionals encounter these barriers and wind up back in their offices, just cranking out the work requested of them by their business partners. But I’ve seen some take on the challenge with gusto. These unusual professionals are the ones who end up over time being invited to the strategy table and how contribute in a way that an outside professional simply can’t.
Here are the practices that seem to set these people apart:
- They orchestrate opportunities to interact with key business leaders (vs. just responding) so that they can learn more about the business.
- They plan and sequence these opportunities so that they have broad, deep exposure to the different people who shape the business.
- They have a ready-made set of questions that can quickly help them learn about the business: its priorities, its key processes, and how it measures performance.
- They ask, “What are you trying to achieve in the business this year?” more than “What do you expect of our department?” This allows them to see opportunities for creating value beyond just responding to the typical requests that people make of them.
What else do you see internal practitioners do that makes them uniquely valuable?
Dirty Word #14 - Listening (It’s about more than just shutting up)
March 3, 2008
I ran into an internationally known speaker and author over the weekend at a dinner party. We had just a few minutes to talk shop and he asked me what I saw as the most common need among leaders when I work with companies.
My answer was simple (and far from unique): Listen more.
In several of my team’s recent assignments, we have been asked to gather feedback on senior leaders and this is the common theme. People around these leaders (above, below, and to the sides) often don’t feel like they’re really being listened to.
Dig beneath the surface and there’s something more profound than the usual advice we get about listening.
- It’s not just avoiding the tendency to interrupt or finish someone’s sentences.
- It’s not just getting rid of distractions like email, cell phones, or papers on the desk.
- It’s not just asking questions.
All of these tactics are good and should be standard for any of us when we are in listening mode. People around us want to feel like they have our undivided attention and these tactics can help with that.
But go even deeper into the feedback and there’s an even more profound (and challenging) truth. The people we interviewed regularly talk about wanting to know that the leader in question is actually open to influence.
Here are the types of things we hear:
- My colleague asks good questions and paraphrases what I said. But she’s already made up her mind and nothing I say will change that.
- My boss does great at listening as long as he agrees with me. Otherwise, he’s just waiting for me to finish so that he can tell me the right answer.
These folks want to be able to say to themselves, “If I tell this person what I really think, he will actually entertain my ideas and may even change his own opinions as a result of the conversation.”
That seems to be more unusual the higher you go in an organization. What’s your experience? And if you see the same trend, what do you think is behind it?