What are you building?
April 13, 2010
March Madness wrapped up a week ago. I was torn while watching the final. As the youngest of five boys and life-long fan of teams like the Red Sox, I love underdogs. (Remember, before 2004 the Red Sox were perennial underdogs fighting the Evil Empire. I know that’s partly a myth, but we BoSox fans are pretty invested in that particular myth.) So I was tempted to cheer for Butler’s Bulldogs.
But I can’t help admiring Duke’s Coach K. Here’s why…
In my line of work, I talk often with leaders about their goals. In my experience, they fall into three main groups:
- “I just want to make the numbers” leaders. These leaders see themselves as very results-oriented. They pay little attention to how goals are achieved. They simply want to hit them. (By the way, I’m not implying that they are are unprincipled. They just see little value in focusing on how’s.) Think of them as leaders who want to win a game.
- “I want to build a winning team” leaders. These leaders pay attention to both outcomes and process. They see the opportunity to make something special with the group around them – to do something remarkable that will be noticed and talked about for some time. Think of them as leaders who want to build a championship team.
- “I want to build a program” leaders. These leaders still pay attention to outcomes. But they are out to do something much more than make the numbers. They are obsessed with creating a self-perpetuating system that creates good and great teams year after year. The organization has traditions and practices that attract, develop, and churn out like-minded people who have been indelibly marked by the program. Think of them as leaders who want to build a dynasty.
That’s why I admire Coach K. Like other great leaders before him (dare I say, even the hated Yankees), he has created system that produces excellence year after year. No, they don’t win the championship every year, but it’s rare that Duke is horrible.
Certain factors conspire against any leader even setting out to build a dynasty. Publicly traded companies face the quarterly gauntlet of analysts. Compensation plans tend to run on an annual basis. Organizations have little tolerance for even momentary performance blips. But I still admire the leaders who look to the long-term and put in place the hard and soft infrastructure required for a dynasty.
What are you building?
Real values
April 5, 2010
Anytime organizations are charting their futures, the topic of values comes up. And when you bring it up, I can guarantee one thing: at least 40% of the room will give you that cynical look.
Really? Another values exercise?
Why is that?
Here’s my experience-based hypothesis: Most of the time, values are created through a fairly intellectual, sterile process that churns out motherhood and apple pie. ”We are customer focused” and “People are our greatest asset” may be intellectually true. But too often, these sorts of values reveal the lowest common denominator and ooze political correctness.
Maybe the few people in the room understand them and believe them for the 90 minutes they’re talking about them. But as soon as they’re on paper (and posters and websites) they lose that freshness and relevance that would make them useful. They are what we wish we would be – or maybe what we want others to think we want to be.
Regardless, these sorts of values are often worse than useless. They are endless sources of cynicism in our organizations and among the companies who interact with us.
My colleague Paul Krause used an ingenious method to get at much more authentic values in a recent engagement. Rather than gathering a bunch of leaders in a room to discuss values, he wanted to discover the values that were already active in the organization. So he conducted very brief interviews with a broad group of staff members and asked these simple questions.
- What makes your proud of your organization? What stories do you tell when you want to brag?
- What makes a good hire?
- What do you fight for? What do people feel so strongly about that they work to ensure others behave in a certain way?
- What derails a technically competent employee?
- What do others say about your organization?
- What attracted you here?
After identifying themes, he tested those themes through a simple survey. Sure enough, he discovered the five real values that drove decision-making and a sense of connection among the associates.
Everyone has values. They just aren’t always the ones on the glossy posters. What are yours?