Archive for May, 2009

« Older Entries
Newer Entries »

Are You Dot Competent?

Friday, May 8th, 2009

There can be few executives today who have not noticed the rush of interest in . com shares and e-commerce, but there are very few who really understand this area. Most know that they are not ready for this next revolution.

If you want to get a rough idea of the scale of revolution we are about to live through, and the impact on our lives, let me take you on a short, historical tour of the twentieth century.

Cars first began to appear about the beginning of the twentieth century and even in the fifties it was still very much the exception to own one per family; now we assume that most adults will have one.

When Queen Elizabeth II was crowned, it was only the prosperous that could watch it on TV. When man landed on the moon, in 1969 there was a major spread of TV. Now not only is there one in almost every home, but it is common to have 2-3.

25 years ago computers were the exclusive province of big businesses and the military. Even the president of IBM did not think they would spread further…

“I think there is a world market for maybe five computers.”
Thomas Watson, Chairman of IBM, 1943

Even 10 years ago my boss, the FD of part of a major multinational company asked me why, as chief accountant of a site of 2000 people running an £80m pa business, I needed one! Now we have 5 in the house, and kids get them for Xmas.

Less than 10 years ago mobile phones were a yuppie luxury, 5 years ago high powered businessmen began to get them, now school kids own them. Last year 24m customers spent an average £20.23pm giving an industry total of £5.61bn, and more than one in two British adults will own a cellular phone by mid-2000.

So cars, TV’s, computers and mobile phones are all now essential parts of most peoples’ lives and businesses, and these skills and facilities are taken entirely for granted, both by employers and customers.

The dot-com revolution will be at least as big as any of these, and faster… much faster.

E-commerce will change how we do business, and for some it will redefine their business. However, for most, it will not alter the fundamentals, only the methodology; by which I mean we will still have to deliver goods and/or services, satisfy customers and make a profit. So it is a question of dealing with these changes imaginatively. Those with the greatest flexibility and creativity will reshape our business and social paradigms.

It is important to grasp that whilst technology is a key enabler, it is not the major challenge, change is.

How will you use this technology to redefine how you deliver better value to your customer, have better relationships with your suppliers, make more creative use of your staff?

Whilst the business-to-consumer market will be huge, as can be seen by the success of companies like Amazon.com, the really big bucks are to be made in the business-to-business arena, a market estimated at between $1-7 trillion pa (and that is a number of literally unimaginable proportions!)

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) mobile phones are beginning to appear, and these will allow mobile web access. They will really come into their own when they move from the current 9,600 or 14,400 bps, which is pretty slow by comparison to what we are used to from our desktop computers which operate at nearer 50,000 bps to the new high speed GPRS modems that will be about 2 times faster than that!

Tony Blair has pledged to ensure everyone in Britain has web access within 5 years.

“I have pledged that by 2002, all schools will be connected. And what’s more, we will subsidise over 100,000 of our poorest families to get computers… We are setting up 800 IT learning centres to give access to IT.. I have already set as a goal that all government dealings that can be should be deliverable electronically by 2008.” Tony Blair 13 Sep 99

Meantime, web access is now available at little or no cost via the increasing number of free ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and now they are competing to lower, or remove the telephone cost of staying online (see recent offers from NTL & Alta Vista). In addition Sky and cable companies are providing the ability to use digital TVs to get on-line

It is interesting to reflect how radical and bold Freeserve seemed when it launched in September 98, and now the market is awash with ‘me too’ free ISPs. That’s how fast things can change in this environment. In the future, the very near future, the successful companies will be those who are able to change and change, and keep reinventing themselves and refining their relationships with their customers.

So Britain is getting on line in greater and greater numbers. The challenge and opportunities are huge. Not a day seems to go by without news of another . com millionaire.

So what do you need to do?

Here are some questions you need to ask yourself:-

  • Do I supply goods, services or both?
  • Is my business basically business-to-business or business-to-consumer?
  • What would I, ideally, like to change about my business?
  • What do I really want to preserve in my business?
  • Who are my customers and what are their needs?
  • What is the special value I deliver (my USP – Unique Selling Proposition)?
  • How could the web enable me to meet these needs quicker, cheaper, better?
  • What are the current barriers to change and expansion?
  • What are the current threats to my business?
  • What do my customers complain about?
  • Where, and to whom, to I lose business?

The answers to these very non-technical questions will help you begin to put in place your e-commerce strategy.

There are basically three levels of web presence:-

1. Information only: this covers the vast majority of sites and even though they have set their sights very low, just electronic sales brochures, most do it very poorly. This is largely because most failed to think through what they wanted to achieve.

2. Interactive: here there is some form of data collection, either overtly gathered via feedback forms or electronically gather via smart software

3. Trading: where goods and services are delivered and payment collected entirely electronically.

It is neither wise nor desirable to leap straight into the 3rd level. However, that is where the real rewards are to be won, and though it is not applicable to all businesses, the challenge is can you drive your business to that level?

It is important to recognise that for most the journey through these levels, and the opportunities that they represent is a voyage of exploration and should be embarked on in this spirit.

The key to success is to realise that this an area where the bold and imaginative will triumph. There are no unbreakable rules here and the skill is in deciding when to follow and when to lead.

What is called for is a whole new attitude in how we approach business. The young 24 year old may have more to offer in this environment than your seasoned campaigner, precisely because he (or she) does not know that ‘it can’t be done that way’.

How are you going to maintain team relationships in a world where it is possible to work with equal ease across the globe, where people don’t need to be in the office? How will you control and motivate your people? What will produce loyalty in this new environment? How do you make your customers feel valued and build relationships with them if they are just clicking on a web page?

Whilst there are some key ‘hard’ issues to be answered around technology, security etc, including ‘How do we deliver our goods?’ the key issues are these ‘softer’ ones.

You have much less time than you think. If you have already got a web site then you are ahead of the game, but by the end of the year this will surely be the norm, so what will you do then to stay ahead? You need to be thinking about it now, and actively working on it!

Posted in Articles, Other Articles | No Comments »

Gandhi Leadership Lessons

Friday, May 8th, 2009

There can be little doubt that these are testing times for society as a whole and for business in particular. As long as I can remember, the banks in Britain have been considered as paragons of security and probity (remember the song in Mary Poppins that ridiculed the very idea that they might not be so…) Today, 10th Feb 2009, the leaders of the four big banks are being dragged before the Treasury Select Committee to publically answer for their actions and strategies.

So it is clear that the old model has failed, or at the very least, that this is a very apposite time for questioning if there isn’t a better way of leading than our current carrot and stick method. I know it is a crude characterisation but by-and-large, most businesses say to their people “You get this if you are good, and if you fail this happens…”

However there are a number of things to consider in this:-

  • Who does a leader owe a duty of care to?
  • How do you measure your success and the success of your business?
  • How to you get people to change?

I’m sure there are many other big questions but perhaps this last one is the place to start. If you take a view that people are somehow wrong now and need fixing you will act one way. If you see them as full of potential and it is your job to help them discover this, then you will behave differently.

Gandhi was someone who saw things differently despite being surrounded by a system that told him he was wrong. He was a London trained barrister so one might expect him to assume the view of the establishment. He was appalled by what he saw in South Africa and accepted a job with an Indian law firm there so that he could do something about it.

“Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes.” Mahatma Gandhi

I don’t intend to make this a historical treatise but we should examine some of the ways he behaved and see what lessons there might be for today’s leaders. Firstly he wasn’t afraid to ask difficult questions of himself and those in power. Next he put himself at risk first and let others decide for themselves if they could do likewise. He didn’t tell anyone what to do, he showed them. He was committed to the long term good, not being diverted by short term expediencies. He communicated simply and powerfully with symbols and actions. He practiced what he preached to the extent of spinning the cloth for his own clothes rather than buying English milled cotton and supporting the status quo. He espoused non-violent confrontation so as not to give the British an excuse or a reason to attack him and write him off as a ‘traitor’.

He not only freed a continent and gave birth to two nations, India & Pakistan, but he influenced many of the great political leaders we still look to such as Martin Luther Kind and Nelson Mandela.

“If humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. We may ignore Gandhi at our own risk.” Martin Luther King

Gandhi counselled “Be the change you want to see” and that underlies his whole approach. If you want to transform your business then perhaps the easiest and best place to start is with yourself. When you start changing, those around you will notice and respond.

So perhaps when you have read this, you can shut your door for 30 minutes, and take some time to consider where you would like to start? Don’t be afraid to plan this and invest in it as you would in any other significant change programme and I think you will be surprised and delighted with the results and dividends.

Good Luck!

“Honest differences are often a healthy sign of progress.” Mahatma Gandhi

Resources:

Posted in General, Leadership | No Comments »

Vital Communication

Friday, May 8th, 2009

Communication, is it the air that we breathe? And if so are many of our companies choking to death? How long since you drew a deep lungful of sweet air?

This may all seem a fanciful analogy to you but let me develop it for you. Air is vital for our health, indeed, respiration is literally one of our vital signs. It flows in and out. It is exchanged between systems. It circulates round the body. Without it you die. Is there a single feature here that does not ring equally true for communication?

A good measure of the vitality and health of an organisation’s health is it’s ability to communicate both within itself to all it’s constituent parts and to the outside world. If you go into a building and the receptionist is really clued up on what is going on, animated and informed, then not only is he / she able to do their job properly but everyone dealing with them will start their business with that enterprise in the right spirit.

Let’s explore the analogy a little more. Communication has to flow in both directions. It has to be regular, natural and part of our way of life / work. The ‘airways’ have got to be clear and healthy in order for the right amount of flow to take place. Closed doors, mixed messages, a secretive culture, politics can all be impediments to good healthy communication.

Communication has to be exchanged; you ‘breathe in’ what I ‘breathe out’. What perhaps we forget is that communication is not just the words we say, the emails we send, or the notices we put up. In fact, studies show that only 7 % of the meaning taken from communication comes from the actual words. The rest comes from things like body language, tone, context etc. If you think that an organisation can’t have body language, think again! We have all come across open, friendly organisations, and dour, grey ones.

Also, we give great weight to logic, but logic is relative. How often have we felt that the other person’s logic is nonsense? There needs to be attention paid to the power of feelings. They are usually the real arbiter of our actions, no matter how we like to dress it up.

If the air that we breathe is communication, then the meaning we take from it is the oxygen. We would like to think that what we meant was what others understood, but we know, often from painful experience, that this is not always the case!

Who’s Reality? Yours or Mine?

A further difficulty in communicating successfully is that we have all our messages screened by a series of filters we are so used to that they are totally invisible to us. Let us examine the process which translates an external event into meaning:-

1. Something happens in the outside world [perhaps someone speaks to us].

2. We gather that data via the 5 senses [We hear them speak (remembering that we also hear tone and accent as well as just words.) We see their lips move, and their expression, their posture, who is talking (who it is and what kind of person it is. Think how different it would be to hear a policeman say “Excuse me..”, than to hear it from a small child)].

3. Our brains then receive that stimulus via the various nerves, and we have to decide what it means. What it means to us; what it means in this context, what it’s significance is.

[Click the model above to see a full sized version of this key model]

“Reality is an illusion, albeit a very persistent one” Albert Einstein

This process I have just described takes places constantly. If we had to decide what everything meant from base data, we would never get anything done because our brain is constantly being bombarded by stimuli.

In order to test this, take a moment to notice what you can hear right now, listen to all those noises you have tuned out. What are you wearing, can you now feel the material. Notice all the things around you were not consciously aware of, all the things in your field of vision that you have dialled out

So in order to stop your brain going into melt-down, it has evolved a series of filters to tune out everything that isn’t important. Now here’s the rub, just because we feel something is important, or is important to us, doesn’t mean that the other person’s brain filters will agree!

Importance is very subjective and is relative and contextual. It might be important to know that the mortgage rate has gone up by 2%, but would you want to be told in the middle of a soccer game if you were a big fan? Being told that you are stupid by another motorist is one thing, but if your boss said it…?

People’s filters are invisible and unique and we don’t know what they are, and most of the time they don’t either!

There are other sorts of filters, such as:-

  • Vows: Such as “I’ll never fly again!” This saves me making up my mind each time I have that choice on how to travel.
  • Beliefs: Such as “There is a god”. If I had to reason this out each time I need to have some moral guidance, I’d never act. So until something happens to change my beliefs (which is pretty hard to do), I will act as if this is the case.
  • Values: Such as “Charity is good.” These tell / remind me what is important to me.
  • Memories: I don’t have to fully focus on something if I can remember previous experiences of it. This is very handy with complex mechanical skills, such as driving.

All of these filters distort what we actually experience, into our own version of reality. This is why the police distrust witnesses who all give exactly the same version of events, because they only do so if there has been collusion. What we think is real, is actual and entirely internal experience!

So what can you do about this?

  • Remove as many barriers as possible. Everything that may get in the way, does get in the way.
  • Are they in the ‘right’ space? Physically ? Emotionally? Is this the right time?
  • Remember everything you do and day, and don’t do and don’t say is also communication
  • Consider what are they likely to be worried about and how they could misinterpret your message?
  • What’s important
    • To them (if your message is important link it to something that you know is important to them)
    • To us (don’t get distracted)
  • Remember and be clear about why are you talking to them?
  • What do you want them to:-
    • Do
    • Feel
    • Remember
  • Don’t expect them to see it from your view point, they can’t.
  • Don’t rely on a single form or channel of communication
  • Remember that if people have to choose between believing your words and your actions (as they interpret them) they always believe your actions

And as Albert Einstein advocated:-

“Make everything as simple as possible, but not simpler“

So good luck with your communications in future, and I hope that this article was a breath of fresh air!

Remember communication needs to be:-

B i-directional

Regular

Everyone

Attention

Trust

Hear

and

Once you’ve said it… it’s out there!

Xercise those communications muscles

Yare you telling them this?

Gather data

Emotions – how will / are they feelings?

N ever lie!

Posted in Articles, Communication Articles | No Comments »

Why doesn’t this Idiot get it!

Friday, May 8th, 2009

… or an object lesson in miscommunication

Here is a true story, only the names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Bill is entering the place of work, under his arm is a large painting that is both heavy and unwieldy, his fist is closed beneath the picture. His colleague, Mike, is leaving the building and they meet in the foyer.

“Take this!” Bill says. Mike goes to take the painting. “No! Take this” he repeats in a more frustrated tone. Mike is confused at being rebuffed and is unclear what Bill is asking him to do. He spots a bit straw on Bill’s sleeve and wonders if he is being asked to remove it. He leans in to do so, and it is clear from Bill’s body language that this isn’t it. Bill is clearly getting more exasperated and shakes his closed fist beneath the painting “No! Take this” he repeats for a third time (on the British principle that if someone doesn’t understand you first time, repeat it s l o w e r and louder.) It slowly dawns on Mike that he must have something in his closed fist. He places his hand beneath Bill’s and Bill awkwardly drops a key into Mike’s hand…

I was told this story together with an action replay, and I was gobsmacked by how beautifully it recreated so many communications challenges in one tiny story. Bill just assumed that Mike knew what it is expected of him. He was busy thinking about all sorts of important things he needed to do. He only partially engaged with Mike. When his initial efforts at communication failed, he automatically felt frustrated. His instinctive reaction was that the failure must have been due to willful stupidity on the part of his colleague. He took no time to reflect on what had happened, and just kept repeating his failed strategy, with increasing levels of frustration.

Mike was too polite and English to actually ask what his colleague needed, and kept trying to figure it out, taking responsibility for the failure rather than simply saying that he didn’t know what is being asked of him. All the while he felt vaguely guilty about his inability to do what was being demanded of him.

On further reflection I thought it was too perfect that the hidden item was a KEY. The thing that unlocks meaning and situations; the thing you need to decipher a code. The item being carried is a PICTURE, a representation of reality, but of course we all have our own personal picture of the world. We assume every one is looking at the same picture we have, but never trouble to check this (incorrect) assumption.

“The least questioned assumptions are often the most questionable” Paul Broca

When we are busy doing what we are doing, we seldom take the time to communicate fully or check if our communication1 is being received and understood. All too often people will tell us what they think we want to hear, in the hope that we will either just go away or that they will gain the time to find out what on Earth we are going on about! When our communication fails we tend to blame others. When our strategy fails, we often repeat it… and repeat it… in the hope that we might (somehow) get a different result.

It is a standing joke that male drivers will never pull over and look at a map, nor ask someone who knows how to get there. They just drive faster and faster in the wrong direction, in the sure and certain knowledge that they will see a sign somewhere that they can recognise. It is sad to say, a lot of us deploy similar tactics in everyday life too… and they are just as much a liability!

We don’t do the simple obvious things like:-

  • Stop… check if it is working
  • If it isn’t working, try something different or ask for more information
  • Say clearly and simply what it is we need
  • Take responsibility for our results (or lack there of) and adjust our actions accordingly
  • Focus fully on the person in front of us rather than giving them a fraction of our attention. People and relationships are more important than tasks.

This little ‘pantomime’ is obviously an extreme example, but a version of it is probably playing out in an office near you right now! Make sure it isn’t yours….

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it has taken place. George Bernard Shaw

Other resources:

1. NLP Precepts: There is some interesting thoughts here on communication

Posted in Articles, Other Articles | No Comments »

A Communicators Guide to Good Strategic Communications

Friday, May 8th, 2009

There are any number of golden rules to helping even very skilful communicators communicate better, but probably the golden rule is “If it is really important to get the message right, run it past the right person!” The thing is, just because it is clear in your head, doesn’t mean that it leaves your mouth in that same state! We tend to forget we have travelled a long journey from the beginning of an experience to the place where we are now; one of decision and understanding. It is a leader’s job to be out front like this, but it is essential that you realise that you need to help people cover the same ground that you have and don’t just announce your decision.

A good piece of strategic communication should tell a story. It needs to have a beginning middle and an end. This approach is particularly relevant in challenging times and more so in a crisis.

The Beginning: explains how you came to be in this situation, explains context and reminds people of the history. It gives overview and background for those who may not know it all.

The Middle: is a clear, calm overview of the current situation; sets out the stall of options, and assesses their up and down sides.

The End: explains your decision, why it is the best option for each relevant group of stakeholders, starting with your audience’s own concerns; states what is required of them and how they will know it is working and what is in it for them1 to back this course of action. It concludes with an opportunity to ask questions and a promise of being kept ‘in the loop’.

A trusted and skilled person can help facilitate the person whose job it is to give the message by:-

  • Asking ‘dumb’ questions such as:-
    • Why are we doing this?
    • What do you hope to achieve?”
    • How will you know if this is successful?”
  • Listening for what is missing?
  • Offering honest feedback2 about how they feel about the current situation and the message they have heard
  • Keeping the leader focused on the ‘end game’. Where do they want to end up and is this likely to get us there?

It is crucial that, if this important message is to come through and be effective, that people believe it. In times of stress, people begin to be more distrustful and more fearful. They scan every message for any hint of evasion, duplicity or weakness. It is therefore vital that the message is honest, and as complete as possible.

“Words are just words and without heart they have no meaning.” Chinese Proverb

Another key, related facet is it must be authentic. In other words, the message must be congruent with the person who is delivering it, and their values. It is a primitive, herd instinct3, but we know when people are hiding something, and this is enough to make others not follow you at times like this.

It is vital to start with the end in mind4, and one of the key things people look to the leaders for is a good plan. They need to believe you know where the business is going and have a viable plan for getting there. If you don’t know yet, better to be honest than to pretend, but you’ll need a good plan quick! Your message should be equally planned, and consistent with it.

Your message needs to flow naturally, so if you are the sort of person who finds this easy, that is fine, but if not you need to practice until, perverse as it seems, it comes out sounding natural and not strained.

Remember, your message should be a simple and as clear as possible, and the means you use to deliver it should be as direct as possible.

“The more elaborate our means of communication, the less we communicate.”
Joseph Priestly

Good communication requires good listening. Ensure that your audience is ready and in a state to listen. You need to maintain awareness of them and their mood during your communication so you can modify it if required; a plan, or speech, seldom survives encounter with the audience!

Remember, simplicity is the key to great communication!

Resources:

  1. WIFM factor
  2. Feedback
  3. Authenticity
  4. Steven Covey, Habit 2 Begin with the end in mind

Tags:
Posted in Articles, Communication Articles | No Comments »

Business Ethics

Friday, May 8th, 2009

I attended a seminar run by the Institute of Business Ethics the other day, where the issue of ethics in modern business was explored. Modern business people are now used to talking about their business values, things such as Quality, Excellence, Teamwork etc; however, perhaps less discussed are Ethical Values such as :-

  • Honesty
  • Transparency
  • Integrity
  • Openness
  • Trust
  • Respectfully
  • Fairness
  • Responsibility

Business values tell all employees what is important, and Ethical values tell them how to do business. The message about values goes beyond employees and is a commitment to all stakeholders such as customers, suppliers the community and shareholders as well.

We only have to think of the Enron debacle and the fallout from that to realise that failure to address ethical behaviour effectively can ruin more than one company. Click here to hear just how bad it can get!

Here is a variation on the ‘two cows’ theme:-

ENRON Venture Capitalism: You have two cows. You sell three of them to your publicly listed company, using letters of credit opened by your brother-in-law at the bank, then execute a debt-equity swap with an associated general offer so that you get all four cows back, with a tax exemption for five cows. The milk rights of the six cows are transferred, via an intermediary, to a Cayman Islands company secretly owned by the majority shareholder, who sells the rights to all seven cows back to your listed company. The annual report says the company owns eight cows, with an option on one more.

So getting it wrong can damage your business… think of how people feel about some of the big oil companies that have contribute to huge oil spills (remember the Exxon Vladez?).

If you are in a large organisation you probably have a neat little folder telling you about your company’s ethical standards. Interestingly, Enron had one too; it was written by lawyers and thus incomprehensible to normal human beings. Also, their system of reward & review only paid bonuses to the top 25% of the staff, so anything that might impact your performance affected your prospects.

As long as your Ethics Guidelines is just one more binder on your bookshelf it will do little good. It has to become part of the corporate culture, part of how you do things, part of your organisations DNA. You need to have an open culture where these dilemmas can be discussed. In the real world, no matter what a little book says, there are shades of grey. How do you handle foreign customers, suppliers and politicians who have different cultural norms? Just which countries cultural norms should you be abiding by?

Here is a simple three part test that can help keep you from making a misjudgement:-

1. Transparency: Would I mind if others knew what I have done? Or perhaps, would my gran be proud of me if she knew this?

2. Effect: Who, if anyone does my decision/action harm? Remember all those stakeholder groups!

3. Fairness: Would my decision be considered fair by those affected?

An interesting and salient fact is that businesses who get their ethics right out perform those who don’t on 3 out of 4 measures and survive hard times better. This is an issue that affects your bottom line! These days with a competitive job market, people don’t stay with employers that make them feel bad about themselves and their actions.. they walk. Can you afford ethics? Can you afford not to have them!

“Let me give you the definition of ethics: it is good to maintain life and to further life. It is bad to damage and destroy life. And this ethic, profound and universal, has the significance of a religion. It is religion.”Albert Schweitzer

For those of  those of  you who want to move into action here is some guidance on good and not so good practice in this area.

 Institute of Business Ethics Guide to making Codes of Ethics Effective

Good
Practice

Poor
Practice

Root the code in core ethical values

Pinning the code to the notice board

Give a copy to all staff

Failing to obtain board commitment to the code

Provide a way to report breaches in a confidential
manner

Leaving responsibility for its effectiveness to HR
or any other department

Include ethical issues in corporate training
programmes

Failing to find out what concerns the staff at
different levels

Set up a board
committee to monitor the effectiveness of the code

Not to feature the code in induction training and
management development activities

Report on the code’s use in the annual report

Not to have a procedure for revising the code
regularly

Make conformity to the code part of a contract of employment

Make exceptions to the code’s application

Make the code
available in the language of those staff located overseas

Fail to follow up breaches of the code’s standards

Make copies of
the code available to business partners, including suppliers

Fail to set a
good example by corporate leaders

Review code in light of changing business
challenges

Treat the code as confidential or a purely internal
document

Make sure senior staff “Walk the Talk”

Make it difficult for staff to have direct access
to the code

Tags:
Posted in Articles, Culture Articles | No Comments »

Ain’t What You Do

Friday, May 8th, 2009

‘It ain’t what you do it’s the way that you do it
And that’s what gets results….

It ain’t what you do it’s the time that you do it
And that’s what gets results’

Old pop song

Those are the words of an old song, that has been covered many times. They came to my mind the other day as a reminder of a deeper wisdom. Doing the right thing isn’t enough, it has to be done in the right way too. This is true in many environments but I was thinking about corporate culture at the time.

There are two complimentary elements to this idea. Firstly, as a leader you have to do things in the way you want things done. We are all familiar with the almost clichéd piece of wisdom “Walk the Talk”. However, if you say one thing and do another people always believe what you do! We are virtually hardwired to respond this way. We only take around 7% of the meaning from a person’s words, the rest comes from what they are doing. Also, people need to understand how to ‘do’ the new behaviour so you have to model it. There is another component of this thought; if you introduce a system which, say, is meant to look after people in a way that disregards their interests or feelings, you have already lost before you have begun!

Stephen Covey said, “The way you spend your time is a result of the way you see your time and the way you really see your priorities” and people understand this!

Organisations as well as people have ‘body’ language. People are adept in reading this; it is what they talk about by the coffee machine and notice board. This apparent gap between words & deeds is often why they are so cynical.

“Culture of the mind must be subservient to the heart” Mahatma Gandhi

The way we do something speaks to what is important to us, to what is in our hearts. So we need to make sure that our intent is the right one and that we communicate it in the right way; that we do so congruently.

Like the song says, timing is also crucial. Doing the right thing, in the right way at the wrong time still leaves you with a problem! You have to act soon enough to make a difference, but not so soon that people can’t see the problem you are trying to solve. You have to act when the organisation has the energy, will and resources to act. If you wait in order to make sure that you make the ‘right’ decision, you may well have left it too late. As a leader you need to have a finger on the corporate pulse and move in harmony with that rhythm.

If you are tempted to hum along to this catchy little tune “It ain’t what you do it is the way that you do it, it ain’t what you do…”

Think about how much of this applies to you today, are you acting congruently?

Tags:
Posted in Articles, Culture Articles | No Comments »

The Power of the Dark Side

Friday, May 8th, 2009

I went to an interesting talk the other day and thought I would share some of the learnings with you. It was a discussion about the impact of our ‘dark sides’ on our performance. We are all used to being asked various questions about our behaviours and have done countless psychometric profiles. This one started off with an apparently simple little test. Rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being high) on the following characteristics:-

Characteristic Score
Enthusiastic  
Shrewd  
Careful  
Independent  
Focused  
Confident  
Charming  
Vivacious  
Imaginative  
Diligent  
Dutiful  

As this is a list of ‘good’ things, people merrily mark themselves up “I’m all of those!” they say to themselves. However, if there are any of those that you have rated yourself at 8 or higher then clearly they are strong traits, and powerful things, if not properly controlled, tend to cause problems.

“Every one is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody” Mark Twain

There is a correlation between these behaviours and more serious psychological disorders. Imagine a spectrum of behaviours with normal at one end and clinical at the other. In the middle are the downsides of our own strengths.

behaviour spectrum

So people who are normally Enthusiastic, when under pressure can become Volatile, see the following table for the full list. Interestingly, if you think about some of the comments you might get from your colleagues or loved ones, and you will often see these are referring to your ‘dark side’ behaviours. You might even realise that under pressure you just close your door (either literally or figuratively), put your head down and start plodding on.

Positive Negative Description of Dark side
Enthusiastic Volatile Moody and hard to please, being enthusiastic about new people or projects and then becoming disappointed with them.
Shrewd Mistrustful Cynical, mistrustful, and doubting the true intentions of others.
Careful Cautious Concerns seeming reluctant to change and being too concerned about making mistakes.
Independent Detached Aloof or uncommunicative and lacking interest in or awareness of the feelings of others.
Focused Passive(covertly) Aggressive Independent, refusing to be hurried, ignoring other people’s requests, and becoming irritable if they persist.
Confident Arrogant Unusually self-confident, having strong feelings of entitlement, being unwilling to admit mistakes, listen to advice, or attend to feedback.
Charming Manipulative Enjoys taking risks and testing the limits, easily bored, and seeking excitement.
Vivacious Dramatic Lively, expressive, dramatic, and wanting to be noticed.
Imaginative Eccentric Acts and thinks in unusual and sometimes creative ways.
Diligent Perfectionist Meticulous, precise, and critical of the performance of others.
Dutiful Dependent Eager to please and reluctant to take independent action

The thing is, if these behaviours are coming from the person at the top, then they can be disastrous (read “Why CEOs fail for 11 case studies of big corporations such as Enron and Xerox brought down by this kind of behaviour.)

“We all need to look into the dark side of our nature – that’s where the energy is, the passion. People are afraid of that because it holds pieces of us we’re busy denying.” Sue Grafton

The truth is every one of us can ‘lose the plot’ a bit when we are under pressure and the very things which normally help us, taken to excess, can shot us in the foot. Realising this enables us to help others and gain help for ourselves. Ask people who know you and whom you trust “What 3 things do I tend to do when under pressure?” and you will almost certainly find that they relate to this list. Having established your personal ‘red flags’, then you need to get them to help you once they see them, even it is only saying “Freddy, you have shut that door again!” Once you realise that behaving badly isn’t the same as ‘being bad’ it is easier to accept help.

We all get stressed, and we all need a little help from our friends when we are in that place. Learning how to accept it may just be one of the most valuable lessons of your career. Recognising the danger signs in your team, may also do a vast amount to improve performance and morale.

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” Yoda

Posted in Articles, Other Articles | No Comments »

Experts and Questions

Friday, May 8th, 2009

I was reading an article in the Times today about our response to ‘expert’ advice and how it tends to cause us to switch off our brains and surrender our power. I found it sufficiently provoking that it triggered my blog today. We are currently in unchartered economic and political waters and we need to be careful who we turn to in times like these. After all, it was the ‘expert’ bankers that led us right up this brown, smelly creek, and it was they who told us we’d never need a paddle…

I explain in my blog that this phenomenon of surrendering power to ‘experts’ is a Fight / Flight response. When we are severely challenged we are chemically programmed to limit our options to attacking or running away. This can lead to us denying we have a problem, refusing to investigate alternative ways of working, discounting evidence of trouble, or just being otherwise unavailable. If you are too busy to listen to people at the moment then you really should pay attention to this!

“Questions are what matters. Questions and discovering the right ones are the key to staying on course….” Gary Kasparov

“The wave of information threatens to obscure strategy, to drown it in details and numbers, calculations and analysis, reactions and tactics. To have strong tactics we must have strong strategy on one side and accurate calculation on the other. Both require seeing into the future” Gary Kasparov

Experts, of course, have huge value, but we need to use them properly. They are there to provide information and to bring in another perspective, but we have to make the final judgement. They can give us new insights, or new tools to use, but you are the expert on your life and your business.

Asking questions of experts, of your staff, of your leaders and of oneself is absolutely critical. If these questions are uncomfortable, then they are probably even more valuable. The harder they are to answer, the better! We are seeing all sorts of innovative ways of solving problems at the moment. Vodafone are co-operating with O2, Tata have brought out a car costing only £1300… what are you doing that is radical?

I bet the heads of RBS and AIG and all those mega corporations that steered right over the cliff were up to the ‘wazoo’ in data telling them that they were on track! Using your intuition, your imagination and your common sense is absolutely essential.

Times like this are not comfortable; and we are programmed to head back to our comfort zone as quickly as our little legs will carry us. Helping us hold our nerve in this uncomfortable place is one of the very best uses of an expert.

One of the best gifts someone can bring you is a good question.

  • What is the most important thing for you to do right now?
  • What single thing, if left unattended, could sink your business?”
  • “What have you been secretly worrying about?
  • Who do you really trust?
  • What is the essence of your service to your customer? [For example Black & Decker customers need holes not drills!]
  • “What are you going to do differently tomorrow that will make all the difference?”

“Quality questions create a quality life. Successful people ask better questions, and as a result, they get better answers.” Anthony Robbins

Take some time out both personally and with your team to ask some uncomfortable and left-field questions. Stop doing what you are doing just long enough to ask, “Where are we going and what is the best way to get us there?” Good Luck!

ex means “has been” .. or once was or past … pert means “lively, sprightly, in good health .. bold, forward .. skilled” … so that an expert is one who has lost the innate intelligence of their childhood.

Posted in Articles, Other Articles | No Comments »

What HR Can Do To Give Change a Chance

Friday, May 8th, 2009

I would argue that Change, as a process never fails, because things always change. It is more accurate to say that we fail to get the results we wanted, or needed or anticipated. Change is a subtle, natural force and it can’t be turned on and off, it has to be harnessed. If we think about how sailors use the wind and tides, or how farmers use rivers to irrigate their fields we have a better idea of the required attitude.

“Wisdom sails with wind and time” John Florio

Change happens when we align ourselves with the natural forces in any system. If we feed things they grow; they grow where there is space (opportunities), light (attention) and nourishment. When King Canute commanded the waves to retreat he was held up to ridicule, but when a manager commands “Change”, people seem to think this is reasonable.

People will only do what they believe is in their interests to do. Let’s deconstruct that sentence, and look at some of the key words. They have to believe it is in their interests. If we fail to cover all three of these bases, then they won’t ‘play’. So, taking those elements one at a time:-

  1. They: it is what the staff think and feel that is crucial. The opinion of the company or their manager is only important to the degree that they hold influence / power over the individual. The greater the respect, trust or relationship that you have, then the more they will listen to you. However, never shortcut the step of explaining why this is something they need to do.
  2. Believe: This is a bit like a game of Monopoly, you can not move out of Jail until you have thrown a double. Nor can you begin your change programme till you have won people over. It maybe you need to start on something simpler or smaller first to gain their confidence.
  3. Their: everybody needs to know What Is in it For Me. We have been programmed by the forces of Nature and Evolution to survive, and each time we are asked to do something, some primitive part of our brain checks to see it helps our survival. If it feels too dangerous then we won’t do it. If the environment is one where we are not allow to make our feelings known we will say “Yes boss”, and ignore it in every way we can. It should be pointed out that management use this tactic all the time, but it is called ‘political savvy’ when they do it rather than ‘resistance’.

Too often well meaning managers try to say “Thank you” with M&S vouchers, flowers or days go-carting. In themselves, these are not bad things; they are just no substitute showing genuine, unconditional appreciation of the individuals and their efforts. Most people are part of a pack and they need a leader who inspires them and makes them feel safe. The safest member of the pack is the most valuable one. These are very powerful and very ancient drives, and not to be ignored. We all long for the approval of ‘parent’1 figures and in our world and bosses fall into that category. However, just saying “Well done” really doesn’t do it. You have to actually mean it, people can tell the difference.2 You need to show that you have seen the real them and appreciated their unique contribution.

After a merger I acquired a new boss who thrilled me initially by his fulsome “Well done!”s but after a while, I realised that he said the same thing every time, and so I started to ignore it, and ended up almost resenting his inability to differentiate between the good-enough and the good work. HR needs to understand this dynamic and guide and coach line managers in these areas.

It is a cliché to say that everyone is unique but it is true, and deep within us, we know this and we long for people to see, recognise and appreciate our unique gifts. Doing this makes us feel special, and this is a very heady ‘drug’ and we will go a very long way for more of it. However, I repeat, for it to work, it has to be real.

Change is a very human process and requires sensitivities and skills that the modern workplace tends not to value or nurture. There are few courses on sensitivity: communication courses deal with slide decks rather than telling your truth. HR have the opportunity, and hopefully the training, to be more aware and help those line managers who are less able in these areas, and support staff who are affected by this inability.

Too often businesses regard and treat their people as ‘human resources’. This is an accountant’s view of people as assets; indeed we often see in the company accounts “Our people are our greatest assets.” This leads to a rather mechanistic view of people. The business wants ‘reliable processes’ where things happen the same way every time. However, during a period of change, people are afraid, whether they admit it or not. They need to be cared for and looked after if they are to perform. There is a huge opportunity for HR to step into this ‘care vacuum’. If HR can demonstrate that they, and the business they represent, truly want the best for their staff, and will look after them, then, knowing this, the staff become far more trusting and less change resistant.

“First you need only look: Notice and honour the radiance of Everything about you… Play in this universe. Tend All these shining things around you: The smallest plant, the creatures and objects in your care. Be gentle and nurture. Listen…” Anne Hillman

HR has to become the part of the company that looks after people rather than processes them and their records. I was an accountant for 25 years, and I always thought that there was little difference between the accounts department and the HR one, apart from the things they counted. Managers are there to get the job done, but they are subject to all sorts of stresses and pressures, HR should be there to catch people when their managers can’t see what is required. They should bring objectivity to the care process. They do have the time, they should have the skills. However, as long as their prime role is ‘Hire’em ‘n’ Fire ’em’ then they will not be trusted and immediately become part of the problem for the staff.

By recognising Change as part of Nature rather than an industrial process we are much more likely to approach it with the care and sensitivities we need to make it successful. If you still aren’t convinced, then think back to some of the really good teachers either you or your children had… what were they like? They weren’t all about processes, flow charts, slide decks and emails were they? They listened, they got down to your level, they excited and encouraged you, and, when necessary, they picked you up, brushed you off and told you “Never mind.. it’ll be all right next time”

“He who nurtures benevolence for all creatures within his heart overcomes all difficulties and will be the recipient of all types of riches at every step.” Chanakya

Many mangers feel that they have to check ‘the real them’ at the office door and only pick up the mantle again once they get home to their kids. However, if they dared tried using some of these softer skills, awareness and intuitions to bring along their staff with them they would be vastly more successful. Business might need a hard-nose, but it also requires a soft-heart to make Change happen, HR should be at the very centre of this. A successful change leader knows which organ to use and when!

Resources:

  1. Parent-Child mode – Transactional Analysis
  2. Spotting the Bull

    Posted in Articles, Change Articles | No Comments »

    « Older Entries
    Newer Entries »