We Can Do This: Raise the Bar

I’m going to share an easy three-step process for raising performance in organizations.  Why consider this?  Because we’ve got to demand more of ourselves; we can work smarter.  We can be more effective.  Scroll down to the three steps if you don’t want to read the setup, the preamble, the case. 

Preamble, Setup, The “Case:”  As I work, I’m watching: I see people, good people, engaging in some irrational behavior: I see people engaging in habitual tasks which, seemingly, have little or no value to the enterprise.  So, the idealist in me is struggling to comprehend the level of fear, resistance that pervades the culture and climate of the bulk of organizations today; it is indeed akin to pushing the ball up the hill. 

I wonder: Is it job security — the terror of being unemployed — that has everyone hamstrung into “staying below radar,” avoiding innovation, with all our behaviors?  Rhetorical.  (As a Consultant since 1983, I’ve been unemployed at least half of my time in the last 25 years: I’m being a little sneaky: no Consultant can bill 100% of his time.  Lawyers, yes. 110%!  But, not Consultants.)

I am revisiting the theme of taking risks now — raising the bar, pushing the envelope of comfort — in an effort to create some new models that will better serve the organization and its constituents both now and when we have a more robust economy.  (Could it be any less robust?  Yes!)

I am advocating for more vibrancy, more “buzz” as one of my clients calls it.  At a time when reinvention is being demanded of us, we’re succumbing to the weight, the burden of “the work.”  The stuff that grinds and, perhaps, now pays  the bills but…is increasingly showing its cracks, its flaws, like a 16th Century Michelangelo painting.  What I see organizations doing, many of them, doesn’t seem to have much punch, value to the customers and constituents.  Enough preamble.

I have a cure for this common ailment; it involves three steps (isn’t that quaint?):

1. Forget the past, live in the now (ooh, Zen!)  OK: I have to admit: a little too squishy.  Forget that one.  Let’s try another first Step (this is, sort of, the three steps in action):

Step 1 (Reinvented): Look Up: Stop Working.  Leave your office.  Go outside (after you finish reading this whole post).  If you can’t leave your office: stare out the window or stare at the ceiling without the intent to do anything but stare.  Breathe.  Take it all in: the good, the bad, the ugly.  No one is going to die.  This is the precursor to “evaluation.”

Step 2: Become a “Good” Investigator: find the things you and your people are doing that are positive, successful, productive.  List the “base” items like “showed up for work today.”  I know this sounds crazy but it has an aim: to change what your brain focuses on: better brain “food,” better brain function: a mind that sees possibilities. Make the list big: “Rescued a customer today…didn’t yell or get angry at ___who made a mistake…” 

This is a precept of a relatively new process called Appreciative Inquiry that seeks to find the underlying strengths in groups and organizations.  Check it out.

Step 3. Become a Scientist: Experiment.  Take what you’ve learned from Step 2 and find new arenas in which to apply those assets: leverage.  Archimedes would be proud.  (“Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”)

Experiment: try some new methods; change policies; ask customers what they would like to see from you right now.   (See Dyson’s [the cool inventor guy] video on encouraging creativity: he talks about “silly” ideas that end up having some value.)

“If at first, the idea is not absurd, then there is no hope for it” — Albert Einstein

Machiavelli had a technique: built on domination, it was effective.  But, it is a method that has seen its day: it may have worked in crustier times, but it can’t work now.  Collaboration and creativity flourish in an atmosphere of experimentation. 
 
James Dyson on Encouraging Creativity – MarketWatch Video

I like to feel inspired about my work; you know, invest some passions for greatness, for doing something memorable, novel, innovative.  I have no aspirations to reinvent Edison’s light bulb, but…I like incremental improvements that are mined out of my imagination and desire for excellence.  It’s inherent in everyone: tap it. 

Powered by ScribeFire.

Disappointments Usually a Function of Failed Communications

When I take on a project, even a little one, I want to make sure that my clients are going to be satisfied, delighted even: like the feeling you get when viewing the puffy cumulus clouds linger in a cerulean blue sky.  The “pot shot” methods of getting things done, which I see, makes me wonder how tasks and work is being delegated within the enterprise, hence, the inspiration for this post: we’ve got to get it right.

So, this is a review of productive methods for getting things done by asking others to do the actual work.  Yes, my clients are busy and, often, they trust me (it’s well placed, I might add).  But, it’s not enough.  We need to invest the time: I remember some wise man telling me years ago, disparaging management methods in the U.S.: “yeah, in America, we don’t have time to do it right…but we’ve got time to do it over.”  Well, I don’t like doing it over.

Since most delegations are the equivalent of a “rain dance” — a lot of moving around wiht the hope of something magical — it’s a good to remind ourselves of some productive methods.  These are simple but powerful techniques.  You can put them into three steps, even: three’s an easy number.

First, the task is set out: “I need you to figure out how we penetrate this new sales channel…” The next step (Step #2) is the discussion of the “why” (I deserve to know the reason) and the “how.”  As the one giving the task, I can lay out the motivation, the “why.”  As I see it anyway.

The “how” (Step 3) is where the person doing the work has a chance to invest him/herself.  Thist takes time and sounds something like this: “So, how do you think it would be best to go about doing this?”  What results is a give and take: “yes, good idea and how about some preliminary research?” 

In the end, (maybe Step 4, OMG!) there is the task, the purpose for doing it and an agreement on an outline of methods that should be reviewed and agreed upon.  “So, we want to  do _______, because it will _________, and you’re going to do x, y, z.”  Yes, it sounds a bit childish, as if we’re working with a toddler but…it’s not.  So, if you’re not interested in following some productive methods, you can always count on the probable option: doing it over.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Public Debate Absent, Social Delicacy Takes Priority?

This is not a blog post about politics.  It’s about ideals, a principle upon which this country, the U.S. of A., was founded.  I’m concerned at how easily we’ve abandoned those ideals in the past few decades in pursuit of stuff that’s, now, worthless.

I’m disappointed that we can’t muster more courage, like the emerging bud of a spring-inspired tree, to talk about two, at least two, topics that need and deserve some discussion, attention.

My concern goes beyond the lack of discussion about our “wars,” or the scorched-earth politics being practiced in D.C. that is benefiting no one.  (One Republican Senator, Snowe, steps out of line to forge some new initiative in the healthcare field. Yikes!)  My desire begins to address the possibility of a unified message of hope and optimism that goes beyond personal needs and greeds and addresses our collective reality: we’re in this mess together — rich and poor, privileged and disadvantaged, white, black and brown.

So, the first conversation I would like to hear is the one that addresses a message, an affirmative dream, of how this society will look once we get through this economic debacle.  Where’s the new, compelling Vision (yes, with a capital “V!”) that is so critical to inspiring me and others to make the sacrifices that we — secretly of course — know we’re going to have to make?  (My window supplier and his family have shuttered their business; several local restaurants that are members of Chambers of Commerce are forgoing their dues in an effort to cut costs.)

The second discussion that I’m missing is the one that goes something like this: “Yes, these are tough times and, yes, we’re in this together….those of you who might have more privilege, more resources, more stable jobs, those folks need to extend a helping hand in a tangible way that cuts through all of the governmental and social institutions…”  Charity?  No.  Generosity of spirit?  Yes.

Yes, one of the barriers, a Berlin Wall of barriers perhaps, is that we don’t know how: we’ve gone for so long without helping each other that we don’t know what it looks like.  So, here are some possible
examples: “Dear Neighbor, If you’re struggling, lean on me.  If, when your kids come home from school, you need someone to watch them, ask me.  If you need a car for some trips to town, you can take mine. If you need some of my construction tools, please let me know.  If you are forgoing maintenance on your house because of a lack of expertise, tell me and I will help you.” 

And, now, here’s the pitch to you, my readers, the exhortation: We’re all stretched and many of us are hurting; we need to stretch some more and be of service to each other and our society.  This is the appeal for the next year, for leaders and, more importantly, for effective followers.

In business, this means that collaboration can be more effective than competition especially within the organization.  It’s time: 1) we can do this, and; 2) what can I do to help you?

Powered by ScribeFire.

Pain Is Likely from Rejection, But Methods Can Minimize the Sting

I’ve been “let go” twice and fired once.  Each time, it has hurt.  Even for someone whose self-esteem is bigger than mine, the experience proves wrenching.  But, I’ve learned that it can be more humane; the end result holds the possibility for both parties to feel better about a pretty crummy endeavor.

First, of course, the conversation does not have to come as a surprise (as most of mine have been).  If there has been no feedback as to performance or cultural fit or business pressures leading to the action, then the conversation needs to have some element of remorse or shame. 

I’m sorry if this comes as a shock to you, but, we’re having problems with_____(the economy, cash flow in your unit…) and we need to take some action to change the status quo.

The employee being dismissed gets at least a small slice of perceived sympathy.  And any sympathy or empathy can provide some salve on the wounds that get opened during this process.

For others, this tactic of mild subservience might not be required: one employee, Lou, that I had to discharge in the late 80′s, told me that he had wondered why I took so long.  Shame on me.  He knew that he just wasn’t doing the work despite my close coaching. 

Fear, of course, is the biggest motivator in all of these discussions — or lack thereof: the discomfort of a bad fit is so pervasive that neither party wants to bring it up.  The fear, though, doesn’t have to govern the process. Courage and enhanced skills can go a long way. 

OK, back to tactics: follow the old rules of 1) tell ‘em what you’re going to tell ‘em; 2) tell ‘em, and; 3) tell ‘em what you told ‘em.  So, there is the agenda: “we need to talk about something serious…something that’s quite uncomfortable for me..”  At this point, let everyone breathe: a big deep breath as you move on to Step 2.

“I think it’s been clear that we’re having some problems in the relationship…” (avoiding the word “you” makes the other party less likely to become defensive).  “Perhaps we haven’t been clear enough in our articulation of what we’ve been expecting or where we’ve been disappointed, but….we don’t think this is going to work out…”  Yes, it’s words; we’re talking about minimizing the “sting;” these are tactics that soften what is, ultimately, perceived to be a hammer blow to one’s ego. 

The tactic of taking the possibility of responsibility for the problem in the “relationship” provides a way for the worker to hold on to some self-esteem, to not feel totally blamed — which he or she is likely to do anyway — for the deterioration of events.  And for you, the terminator as it were, to not feel like Satan as you go back to your office, in whatever job security that you possess.

Right now, the person being spoken to has so much adrenaline running and fantasies occuping what little RAM he’s got in his brain — what do I tell my wife…where am I going to find another job…was I that bad??? — that he’s not likely to hear anything else.  Try anyway.  Find something, as specific as possible, that you found exemplary in his performance: “I really liked the way you were calm in the face of crises like when your computer crashes in the middle of a project…”  Don’t make it up: be genuine.

Step 3: Keep trying to penetrate the fog of the adrenaline and personal terror: find something very specific that was needed that you didn’t get.  “We really needed someone who could work lots of overtime and…your family situation just doesn’t allow that…”

Lastly, Step #4: Acknowledge the situation’s crumminess and validate: “I know you really tried to make this work; I’m sorry.”  Can this overcome the abysmal sense of rejection that the person is going to feel?  No, but it can help and, if you can, why not do it?  And, of course, apologize a great deal: “I’m really sorry about this.  Is there anything I can do for you?”

Yes, this is, in reality, a five minute conversation.  And, it is discomforting to both parties.  So, the exercise I propose to be taken is just a way to reduce the pain that is inevitable. 

Of course, the easiest way to avoid this nasty conversation is to take the time up front to make the fit successful: 1) identify the skills and behaviors needed to be successful in the job; 2) provide more than sufficient information to the hiree so that s/he knows what’s expected to be effective; 3) provide appropriate and necessary resources (training, office space, culture, tools, etc.), and; 4) create reward systems that reinforce the desired behaviors and provide feedback on a timely basis (not once a year, duh). 

Powered by ScribeFire.

We Can Make a Difference: Four Non-Profits, Five Consultants Offer Proof

September 2, 2009 was a monumental day for this challenged country and state: a small change, perhaps big impacts.  From a small conference room at a tech incubator in Rohnert Park, California, four non-profits went away with help from five skilled, compassionate and experienced business consultants.  Change in realtime.  Common people — not politicians or bureaucrats — working together, to make a difference.

Now called “The Minerva Project,” this was an effort born of dreams.  And frustration.  On more than five occasions, with more than four different local and state agencies, an idea of creating an army of consultants in California was ignored, spurned.  A friend and colleague provided comfort and inspiration after one such meeting: “forget them…we’ll do  it ourselves.”  Julie did  more good than she knew.

A simple aim of employing the unused capacity and good will of consultants was the “big idea.”  No one was willing to buy.  Unfortunate.  What does this say about our non-profit and volunteer institutions?  Seth Godin, an international marketing guru, had something to say about the non-profit world in one of his recent blog posts:

These organizations exist solely to make change. That’s why you joined, isn’t it?

The problem facing your group, ironically, is the resistance to the very thing you are setting out to do. Non-profits, in my experience, abhor change.

To read the whole thing, go to Seth Godin’s Blog.

Am I harping about the resistance to change?  No.  Am I blowing my own horn?  Perhaps, in a way, sure.  What I want to emphasize is that we/I are not beholden to outmoded ways of operating, thinking: I — and you — can make changes.  I don’t have to be thwarted by resistance to some new ideas; I can make things happen.  And, in fact, I am. 

I’m hoping, too, that this kind of thinking provides some needed inspiration for others to do similar things: harness unused talent and expertise for the social good.  I see the need for all of us, any of us, to provide inspiration for others: you can do this, too!  You can do something that will make a difference?

Now, I reflect on that May 2009 meeting with the Senior Management of a Volunteer Center; their response was not unfamiliar in my travels on this subject; I’d received a less than tepid response at the State (California) level, too.  I scratched my head a bunch of times: “why would some Volunteer organization whose mission — to encourage Volunteerism –  turn down an offer of help from a group of consultants?”  (BTW, you can’t find that organization’s website anymore: http://www.volunteercentersca.org. Pity.)

Let’s go forward and do something great.  Together.  It’s more than possible; it’s probable.

theminervaproject.org

Subscribe to The Minerva Project

Email:

Visit this group

Powered by ScribeFire.

Worriers Can Be Winners

“Lincoln, Churchill, and Newton, to name just a few famous mopers, all accentuated the negative.”

I have been accused, a good part of my life, for only seeing the bad stuff.  Some of this, possibly, is genetics — my hardwiring — and other pieces could be learning: it got rewards from my father and others.  Doom and gloom folks, though, seem to have skills that the optimists don’t: to see the future more clearly, the pitfalls, the dragons lurking in the dark that will breathe fire and…bite.

An Op-Ed piece in Business Week by Patricia Pearson, sheds light on the need right now for some balance.  She reports that optimists have an “attentional bias” to notice opportunities and look for rewards.  They’re unlikely to pay much attention, though, to the gathering storm clouds on the horizon.  That’s the domain of the somber.

For the scientists out there, the analyticals, there appears to be a genetic link between mood disorders and “problem-solving creativity.”  A plus.  Those with irrational optimism are, by contrast, not the best at creating a “Plan B.” 

Businesses, especially during difficult times, are encouraged to tap “depressive realism:” the gift given to the melancholy to see “reality more accurately.”  While they won’t  be warmly welcomed at today’s relentlessly upbeat sales conferences, they are needed and should be listened to.  (Remember Sharon Watkins who told Ken Lay [Enron] about the impending “implosion of accounting scandals?”)

Email me at george@theapgconsulting.com

Subscribe to High Performance Organizations

APG Consulting Website

Powered by ScribeFire.

Powered by ScribeFire.

Organizing Help for Non-Profits in North Bay

Mark Your Calendar: September 2, 2009 – 10am to 11:30am: Consultants Help Non-Profits (see below for map link)

Sonoma County, California is home to a great number of non-profits.  Ecological centers; social justice causes; disadvantaged peoples; reducing gang violence; sustainability: many agencies are working against the odds while doing some good work.  I’d like to help them and hope I can interest you!

Tough times for these non-profits — and everyone else too — means…THEY NEED HELP!  That’s what this post is about: using our talents to help non-profits who want that help. 

If you’re a business, computer, management consultant, coach, I’m angling for you to get involved.  Are you interested?  Even if there isn’t some financial payoff right now?  I’m hoping on that, though, at some point in the future: the long view. 

I like being used, having my talents exploited.  And, I assume I’m not that different from most other consultants: I believe most consultants are helpful folks, at their core. 

So, here is a chance to help, do some good work and get our talents exploited in the process. 

First meeting: we will be inviting forty (40) non-profits and about 30 consultants.  We’re hoping to pair organizations in need with the skills and expertise of consultants through some fun exercises and methods. 

Could you do this where you live/work?  Create a forum for consultants and non-profits to get together? 

Sonoma Mountain Business Cluster Map

For more information, email me at
george@theapgconsulting.com

Subscribe to High Performance Organizations

APG Consulting Website
Powered by ScribeFire.

Powered by ScribeFire.

“Customers’” Expectations Were Low: Too Many Women?

---

We just completed a Customer Perception Study for a client that is a unit of a University. (Yes, I have permission to share, in general, what we found in this context. And, yes, some parts of a University are concerned about it/they are perceived.)

We conducted informal interviews of the “customers” of this unit who are, incidentally, non-profits themselves. Eighty percent of those we talked with were women whose responses to this qualitative assessment, interestingly, were moderate in their perceptions: a calm pool of satisfied reflection.

Then, we have the men: the stormy sea? This was a smaller group consisting of 20% of interviewees — only a couple of slices out of the pie. Their opinions, though, were markedly different from those of their female counterparts: wondering why the unit wasn’t doing more. I thought there was something interesting here: a nugget.

If you refer to the diagram at right (S=P/E), there is a causal relationship between satisfaction (the “end” state) and the two variables that will affect that: Performance and Expectation. Not rocket science here, but, the formula, simple as it is, suggests that Satisfaction, the end state, can be altered by altering either Performance or Expectation. (Driving down expectations — or sending them off a cliff as some people seem to be doing these days — is one way to produce satisfaction and is a fine strategy….as long as everyone else is doing the same.)

So, think about this: if you’re interested in an easy way to increase the capabiliities in your organizations, consider finding and selling to the squeaky wheels; those customers who are, continually, looking for a process improvement in your service delivery model (how you get them product or the service you sell). You know, the ones that won’t let your organization off the hook with mediocre or stagnant performance.

They could be, in this case, male customers. Or, they could be the big buys instead of the smaller companies — or vice versa. Some people call them “gems.” Others, call them PITA. Yes, of course, those “demanders” might just create chaos and consternation within your group but…that could be the stuff of renewal, of innnovation, of enterprising ideas that put you a cut above your competition. And, do so in a way that your competitors won’t notice for some time.

For a sanitized version of the executive summary of that Report, email me at
george@theapgconsulting.com

Subscribe to High Performance Organizations

APG Consulting Website

Powered by ScribeFire.

“Garage” Remodel Reminds Me of the Mind’s Heaviness

About four weeks ago, we moved — from in-town — to a house in the country, the hills.  With views of vineyards and orchards and the Myacama mountains in the distance, it’s a splendid retreat, of sorts.  Not enough bedrooms, though, when our friends from Illinois come to live with us in August. 

The lime-colored garage three hundred feet down the driveway provides a place for two of the teenagers to reside…if we can extricate all of the termites and replace the damaged — holy, disintegrating –  with solid material.  With four hundred square feet, that should be enough for two of the animals, ahem, young men in our family. 

The first major remodel I’ve had in over a year, this project reinforces my desire to have some physical work, to accompany the brain work, in my life.  Yes, there is the planning and budgeting process, but there’s nothing like taking a Sawsall (reciprocating saw) to a 2×4 and making it free of encumbering, rusty nails.  Sawdust flying, sparks illuminating, I get the feeling of real power.  Best of all, I don’t have to talk or come up with anything pithy or important. 

This last idea is the crux of this post: how light it is to work without having to talk.  Just to be concerned with my safety and not doing damage to the structure: this kind of activity provides a place of healing.

In my work with groups, I usually try to provide something physical for them to do…besides the thought work: go find the cedar on the property and come back and tell us where it is; in hotels, I ask them to watch the kitchen staff do their thing (fascinating), or; find the person in the group whose shoes are the closest match to yours (for dyad exercises). 

I’m convinced that in order to do the “head” work, we must find “hand” work, to acccompany that.  In the early 90′s — last millenium, you know — my studies of effective leadership led me to an insight about “renewal” activities: they usually involved working with the hands and did not require talking (sorry, golf doesn’t fit the bill).  Gardening, walking, swimming, demolition even. 

Compared to all the thinking I have to do as part of my “main” job, I find a hammer — or even a sledge hammer — light by comparison. This idea, says my friend David, is profound.  Go hammer something, he advises.

Subscribe to High Performance Organizations

Doesn’t Take a Psychoanalyst to Figure This One Out

A client of mine, at one of the Cal State Universities, recently received notice of being furloughed (one day every other week; 10% salary reduction).  Her response, besides dread, involved deeply layered feelings of being unimportant: there was no empathy in the message, no humanity. 

She was already financially stretched and this challenge presented one more opportunity for her to figure out how to cut her own living costs — which haven’t gone down in California — or increase personal revenue.  This was not a scene from the 1958 Blake Edwards comedy pairing Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh in a comedy. 

This part-time layoff situation is part of the “economic crisis” that has shaped California life and politics over the last two years.  (I’m guessing, if we look beyond the numbers, we’ll see that about one in five workers is unemployed, underemployed or has just given up.)  The reality is unmistakable but the methods are anything but refined.

For any of you who might have to be in this situation where such a communication might be required, let me offer some tips on language that just might be more empathic:

• I’m sorry we have to do this, but…we don’t really have any other options left…
  
• I know this may place undue hardship on you, your loved ones and families; we’re all in this together…
• We will get through this…
• I can’t promise what will happen…
• I want to encourage all of us to support one another, not only financially but emotionally, during these highly turbulent times…
• I respect and appreciate the contributions and sacrifices that all of you have made and hope we can count on your continued support….

Just some ideas.  You could do better; you could do worse.