Ready or not, Autumn is here. It’s time to evaluate the year and the plan and then project for the future. For some companies it’s already 2010. For some, this time of year (especially this year) will be a scramble to execute the annual “plan” before elements of it and its goals must be written-off. The 2009 “plan” will soon be “overtaken by events” …
“We’re drowning in information and starving for knowledge.”Rutherford B. Rogers, Yale University Librarian – 1985 (before the internet explosion …)
At a recent seminar the presenter recalled a professor of one of his business courses who challenged his students to pursue failure early in their careers. Odd advice on the surface. The message – face yours fears head on - take risks. Question: How many people reconfigured their 401(k) portfolios to “max. aggressive” back in March because they believed that a recovery was certain? Crazy? In mid February it would have seemed madness to invest $100,000 in Ford Motor Company stock. Such an investment would have been worth over half a million dollars a few weeks ago. Hindsight you say. I know a man who knows and studies Ford stock, owns Ford cars and knows how that company was and is different than the rest of the automobile companies – he invested when F was $1.50/share - he did “okay”. He invested in what he knew and believed.
Do you run an organization? Are you the expert for running it? Do you have to make judgments about those who do? What do you know and in what do you believe? As we emerge from the recession we are all like fresh graduates – it’s a clear, clean table we have before us - - - the Zamboni has just left the ice! So know what you know, believe in what you believe, act, pursue success and face failure with fearlessness.
Sometimes we forget that the greatest take-away from college was that we learned how to learn. We also learned how to get up after falling down and we learned that we could always change our minds. Now’s the time – it is an uphill pursuit and there are new rules that will require us to do things differently with perseverence, patience and the freshness of youthful fearlessness. That perspective should be exhilharating!
“Love gave me confidence and adversity gave me purpose.”Eunice Kennedy ~ Rest in Peace
The recession has stripped the varnish off and exposed many a management style. Openness, Loyalty, Integrity have all been tested. Nothing has been lost on employees who have been carefully watching - noticing every move made by management in the breech. The present unemployment rate is a dam holding many employees in place – biding their time. When that dam opens some enterprises may suffer an exodus of disgruntled employees (some justified by their action and some not). There is a risk of losing key individuals upon whom were heaped the work of layed-off colleagues for the good of the enterprise. Managers may think – “fine, from the frying pan into the fire”. Before the year is out – it’s a good idea to genuinely recognize where recognition is due. Intelligent employees understand the financial contraints of the economy - so money need not be the only currency of gratefullness. When profits allow – have a memory.
“The six most important words: I admit I made a mistake. The five most important words: You did a good job. The four most important words: What is YOUR opinion? The three most important words: If you please. The two most important words: Thank You. The one most important word: We. The least important word: I.” - Author unknown
This calls for a segue to a discussion on stakeholders. Who are the stakeholders? Years ago while instructing young Ensigns headed for the fleet I was often asked for one pearl of wisdom that would guide them as they entered their new world afloat. I found myself repeating this advice, “In everything you do, ask yourself - what would the Captain do?” An easy statement to casually make, but a leadership concept that actually requires great effort on the part of the Captain and organizational culture, through a chain of command, that enables each crewmember to follow and serve with competence and WITHOUT thwarting creativity, ingenuity and pro-activity amidst myriad variables and unplanned circumstances – a mouthful. True competency is manifested in professional agility. I gave that “sage” guidance knowing that the Captains out there and the Navy would do their part.
What would the Captain do? What would the CEO do? In few other places is the concept of total responsibility and accountability so clear than in command of a ship at sea. The Navy compounds the responsibility by adding dynamic, challenging and second-splitting missions on top of the basic need to stay afloat and get from point A to point B in a completely man-made object (“you can’t walk home from here”) and in the unforgiving, changing and corrosive sea environment where equipment malfunctions are a matter of course. Now do all that with seamlessness, military precision, a largely young population (the average age of a crewmember on a U.S. warship is roughly 19) of mixed race, gender and place of geographic origin and do it in clean - pressed uniforms. A Captain must know and nurture his stakeholders.
So, who are the stakeholders? The Wikipedia definition of Stakeholder in the corporate sense is; a person, group, organization, or system who affects or can be affected by an organization's actions.
Investors, customers, employees, suppliers, lenders, the local community and market are the stakeholders. What “affects” flow between your operation and them. This is the key responsibility of business leadership – stakeholder stewardship. As the business leader – here’s the challenge; to what extent are YOU willing to establish vivid and revealing reporting tools and “transparency mechanisms” that hold you accountable to your stakeholders AND which bring them to a place of knowledge that enjoins them to do their part because they are stakeholders? Doing the right things starts with having the right information upon which to take action. What do lenders and investors say? “No surprises.” Employees, Suppliers and Customers want that too. Can every employee in your enterprise answer the question, “What would the CEO/Owner do in every circumstance? A book that builds on this: The Great Game of Business (by Jack Stack, © 1992 by Doubleday) suggests a way.
“In order to trust, support and anticipate, stakeholders need to know that YOU look at problems and opportunities not in segmented parts, but that you take a watershed view and concern that each stakeholder is thoroughly aware of their role, it’s consequences and the significance of their contribution toward the whole.”
Are you a Scanner or a Diver? We are all created different and companies often make the mistake of driving employees to excel in areas in which they are simply not suited – square pegs jammed into round holes. Robert Lewis, in his program titled “Winning At Home And At Work” points out that individuals who engage in activities for which they are uniquely designed and for which they have certain natural strengths (gifts) are energized by those activites and actually draw energy from exertion in them. Imagine a workforce setup such as that! You don’t have to imagine it – you can have it – even if you don’t have a sophisticated HR department. I can vector you to experts on this!
“A scholar is someone who sticks to something. A poet is someone who uses whatever sticks to him.”- Robert Frost
A network acquaintance recommended a book that provides considerable insight on career focusing and the personalities and “turn-ons” of key employees. The book, I Could do Anything – If I Only Knew What It Was, by Barbara Sher (© 1994 by Dell Publishing) is a journey of personal introspection as well as a platform to understand what makes people tick in their professional capacity. In it you will read about Scanners and Divers. WARNING: This book may hit you right between the eyes. I’m gifting this book to my children.
“We’re drowning in information and starving for knowledge.”Rutherford B. Rogers, Yale University Librarian – 1985 (before the internet explosion …)
At a recent seminar the presenter recalled a professor of one of his business courses who challenged his students to pursue failure early in their careers. Odd advice on the surface. The message – face yours fears head on - take risks. Question: How many people reconfigured their 401(k) portfolios to “max. aggressive” back in March because they believed that a recovery was certain? Crazy? In mid February it would have seemed madness to invest $100,000 in Ford Motor Company stock. Such an investment would have been worth over half a million dollars a few weeks ago. Hindsight you say. I know a man who knows and studies Ford stock, owns Ford cars and knows how that company was and is different than the rest of the automobile companies – he invested when F was $1.50/share - he did “okay”. He invested in what he knew and believed.
Do you run an organization? Are you the expert for running it? Do you have to make judgments about those who do? What do you know and in what do you believe? As we emerge from the recession we are all like fresh graduates – it’s a clear, clean table we have before us - - - the Zamboni has just left the ice! So know what you know, believe in what you believe, act, pursue success and face failure with fearlessness.
Sometimes we forget that the greatest take-away from college was that we learned how to learn. We also learned how to get up after falling down and we learned that we could always change our minds. Now’s the time – it is an uphill pursuit and there are new rules that will require us to do things differently with perseverence, patience and the freshness of youthful fearlessness. That perspective should be exhilharating!
“Love gave me confidence and adversity gave me purpose.”Eunice Kennedy ~ Rest in Peace
The recession has stripped the varnish off and exposed many a management style. Openness, Loyalty, Integrity have all been tested. Nothing has been lost on employees who have been carefully watching - noticing every move made by management in the breech. The present unemployment rate is a dam holding many employees in place – biding their time. When that dam opens some enterprises may suffer an exodus of disgruntled employees (some justified by their action and some not). There is a risk of losing key individuals upon whom were heaped the work of layed-off colleagues for the good of the enterprise. Managers may think – “fine, from the frying pan into the fire”. Before the year is out – it’s a good idea to genuinely recognize where recognition is due. Intelligent employees understand the financial contraints of the economy - so money need not be the only currency of gratefullness. When profits allow – have a memory.
“The six most important words: I admit I made a mistake. The five most important words: You did a good job. The four most important words: What is YOUR opinion? The three most important words: If you please. The two most important words: Thank You. The one most important word: We. The least important word: I.” - Author unknown
This calls for a segue to a discussion on stakeholders. Who are the stakeholders? Years ago while instructing young Ensigns headed for the fleet I was often asked for one pearl of wisdom that would guide them as they entered their new world afloat. I found myself repeating this advice, “In everything you do, ask yourself - what would the Captain do?” An easy statement to casually make, but a leadership concept that actually requires great effort on the part of the Captain and organizational culture, through a chain of command, that enables each crewmember to follow and serve with competence and WITHOUT thwarting creativity, ingenuity and pro-activity amidst myriad variables and unplanned circumstances – a mouthful. True competency is manifested in professional agility. I gave that “sage” guidance knowing that the Captains out there and the Navy would do their part.
What would the Captain do? What would the CEO do? In few other places is the concept of total responsibility and accountability so clear than in command of a ship at sea. The Navy compounds the responsibility by adding dynamic, challenging and second-splitting missions on top of the basic need to stay afloat and get from point A to point B in a completely man-made object (“you can’t walk home from here”) and in the unforgiving, changing and corrosive sea environment where equipment malfunctions are a matter of course. Now do all that with seamlessness, military precision, a largely young population (the average age of a crewmember on a U.S. warship is roughly 19) of mixed race, gender and place of geographic origin and do it in clean - pressed uniforms. A Captain must know and nurture his stakeholders.
So, who are the stakeholders? The Wikipedia definition of Stakeholder in the corporate sense is; a person, group, organization, or system who affects or can be affected by an organization's actions.
Investors, customers, employees, suppliers, lenders, the local community and market are the stakeholders. What “affects” flow between your operation and them. This is the key responsibility of business leadership – stakeholder stewardship. As the business leader – here’s the challenge; to what extent are YOU willing to establish vivid and revealing reporting tools and “transparency mechanisms” that hold you accountable to your stakeholders AND which bring them to a place of knowledge that enjoins them to do their part because they are stakeholders? Doing the right things starts with having the right information upon which to take action. What do lenders and investors say? “No surprises.” Employees, Suppliers and Customers want that too. Can every employee in your enterprise answer the question, “What would the CEO/Owner do in every circumstance? A book that builds on this: The Great Game of Business (by Jack Stack, © 1992 by Doubleday) suggests a way.
“In order to trust, support and anticipate, stakeholders need to know that YOU look at problems and opportunities not in segmented parts, but that you take a watershed view and concern that each stakeholder is thoroughly aware of their role, it’s consequences and the significance of their contribution toward the whole.”
Are you a Scanner or a Diver? We are all created different and companies often make the mistake of driving employees to excel in areas in which they are simply not suited – square pegs jammed into round holes. Robert Lewis, in his program titled “Winning At Home And At Work” points out that individuals who engage in activities for which they are uniquely designed and for which they have certain natural strengths (gifts) are energized by those activites and actually draw energy from exertion in them. Imagine a workforce setup such as that! You don’t have to imagine it – you can have it – even if you don’t have a sophisticated HR department. I can vector you to experts on this!
“A scholar is someone who sticks to something. A poet is someone who uses whatever sticks to him.”- Robert Frost
A network acquaintance recommended a book that provides considerable insight on career focusing and the personalities and “turn-ons” of key employees. The book, I Could do Anything – If I Only Knew What It Was, by Barbara Sher (© 1994 by Dell Publishing) is a journey of personal introspection as well as a platform to understand what makes people tick in their professional capacity. In it you will read about Scanners and Divers. WARNING: This book may hit you right between the eyes. I’m gifting this book to my children.
All the Best!
Bill
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