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!)