Ideas-to-Action

14 Words that will Change Your Life

Please.

Thank you.

I was wrong.

Forgive me.

I forgive you.

I love you.

The "Best Idea Ever"

I met the most amazing person earlier this week.  Jennifer Hale is a true expert in organizational development, leadership development, facilitation, and coaching.  Her joy and passion for helping people improve their lives and organizations radiates from her facial expressions, to the words she uses, to how she engages with people individually and as a group.  She has the unique ability to leave people in a better place than where they started.

In one of our training conversations this week, she told us about the "best idea ever".  I have thought about this idea, done some of it mentally, but never put the pen to paper. 

Life is about relationships.  We know that networking is critically important (both personally and professionally), but we often don't take the time to prioritize and invest in the relationships we want to build.  Now, we have technology like LinkedIn and Facebook to keep engaged with a variety of people who enter our lives, but...

Do you have your Top 20 list? 

Have you identified (i.e. written down on paper) the top 20 people who you want to build relationships with?  Notice, I did not say get something from (like a job recommendation or a work contract).  These are people that you are truly interested in and want to build a relationship that has 1) mutual enjoyment, 2) respect, 3) shared experiences, 4) trust, and 5) reciprocity (signs of a solid relationship from John Maxwell's "Talent is Never Enough").

You will find that your Top 20 will change over time.  Some people who were in the Top 20 will fall out, some will be added.  Always be open to new relationships.

For some people, getting to 20 is hard...stop reading right now, take 3 minutes and simply write down the Top 10 people that you want to develop deeper relationships with.  Was it who you expected?  Was it hard to find 10?  Who did you have to trade-off to get your top 10?  What are you doing today to invest in those relationships?  Do you have a plan to build the relationship?  Are your actions effective?  What could you do different?

One thought that was going through my mind as Jennifer was facilitating this week is that some people seem to treat the number of connections on LinkedIn as a "badge of honor" while others treat individuals with great honor and value.  We love to make connections through current technology.  They are easy and fast.  LinkedIn and Facebook are good tools to connect people, but then we must individually decide if we want to invest time and effort with specific people to build solid relationships.  We must take time to have conversations, not simply link to each other in the digital world.

How are you approaching networking and relationship building?  Are you investing in building solid relationships or simply created an on-line Rolodex?  Who is in your Top 20?

Jennifer, thanks for the spark...

Courageous Leadership

I am currently reading John Maxwell's new book "Talent is Never Enough".  First, I am a big fan of Maxwell's work (my disclaimer).  Second, I am really enjoying this read.  I particularly like his list about courageous leadership (pg 164)...

Courageous Leadership Simply Means I've Developed:

1. Convictions that are stronger than my fears.
2. Vision that is clearer than my doubts.
3. Spiritual sensitivity that is louder than popular opinion.
4. Self-esteem that is deeper than self protection.
5. Appreciation for discipline that is greater than my desire for leisure.
6. Dissatisfaction that is more forceful than the status quo.
7. Poise that is more unshakable than panic.
8. Risk taking that is stronger than safety seeking.
9. Right actions that are more robust than rationalization.
10. A desire to see potential reached more than to see people appeased.

Powerful.  Courageous.

Decrease in unsatisifed customers?

I am sitting here watching the news (or what is supposed to be news) and keep hearing about this poll and that poll regarding the different presidential candidates.  It reminded me of this quote from Evan Esar,

"Statistics: the only science that enables different experts using the same figures to draw different conclusions."

While it is almost humorous to watch the political pollsters argue over a few percentage points, we don't have that type of latitude in our organizations.  Data is the lifeblood for making sound business decisions.  Decisions that could lead to business growth and job creation or decisions that could lead to business decline and headcount reductions.  The data needs to be accurate and precise, and communicated in a way that it clearly represents the facts (or true truth).

I once heard heard some analysts talking about increases in customer attrition rates and they jokingly defined it as "a decrease in unsatisfied customers".

Please be careful how you collect data and communicate information.

...and speaking of pursuing your passion...

Maxine Clark has a great passion behind Build-a-Bear.  This story in BusinessWeek online is a wonderful little reminder about the joy you can receive (and help others create) by pursuing your passion.

I particularly like her closing comments:

Finally, you should always allow yourself to dream—and dream big—it's only through such thinking that great things happen. Don't limit yourself because you don't think your dream is attainable. You must start by believing you can truly achieve whatever you set your mind to, no matter how big it might seem. Not dreaming big enough is one of the biggest mistakes you can make—if you can't see your dream, how do you expect others to?

I have always been a strong proponent of dreaming big...or making your goals hilarious.

Doing

Hello everyone!  I am back from my unintended 6-week sabbatical.  What started as a simple delay in blog writing to "do" some work led to re-prioritization (my to do list was already long when I woke up in the morning) which ultimately led to procrastination (as I got a chance to take a breather).  Thanks for hanging with me during this time away.  Also, thanks to my friend Mark for holding me accountable to my blog commitment.

This has been a great 6-week journey of learning for me, particularly around the concept of "doing".  "Do" is a critical step in the knowledge building process.  "Do" is a key part of the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle, aka the Shewhart cycle or Deming cycle.  "Do" is where work is performed to execute the ideas and hypothesis defined during "Plan".  There is no substitute for "doing".

However, I have talked to many people that get stuck "doing".  They wake up each day, go to work, do the job, then get paid every other Friday.  They have a good job.  They are competent, hard workers, and the boss loves them.  Life is satisfying. 

Sounds like a great gig...here's the problem:  The world is constantly changing and we must spend time growing, developing, learning something new, and continuously improving our skills and knowledge.  Today's highly sought after skill is tomorrow's entry level position (or outsource opportunity).  We must actively manage our growth and career to continuously move up the value contribution curve.  It is about finding and pursing your passion with every ounce of vigor you have.  It is about growing yourself and helping to grow others.

Early in my career I was told that I had a choice to 1) live to work or 2) work to live.  I have come to believe that is the desperate choice of desperate people who have not found or do not pursue their passion.  A few weeks ago I was asked about the most critical characteristic I look for when hiring someone.  For me, it is easy:  passion.  A person with passion is determined, pursues excellence, is willing to learn.  Skills can be learned, but passion is fundamental to growth and adding value.  Pursuing passion nullifies the desperate choice of desperate people.

If you are struggling in the rut of "doing" and desire more, here are some questions to ponder:

• How much of your time is spent "going through the motions" of your job? 
• What have you done in the last month to grow your knowledge and skills? 
• How much protected time do you set aside each month for professional development? 
• Who is your mentor? 
• Who are you mentoring?
• What excites you?
• What do you want to do next?
• What type of work environment do you want in the next few years?
• What do you love?  and...What do you hate?

"Doing" is important, but if you find yourself trying to answer the question of "live to work or work to live", make up your mind that you don't have to make a choice.  Instead, vigorously pursue your passion and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Inspiring

I was extremely privileged and blessed to hear Nick Vujicic speak last Sunday.  Nick was born without arms or legs and offers an amazing, inspiring story and message.  It is impossible to hear Nick and walk away without some self examination about where we put our trust, what we do to put our faith into action, and how we let meaningless things steal our joy. 

You can get more information about Nick at Life Without Limbs.

Experience profound joy in your life and live a life without limits.

Create an Atmosphere of Innovation

In our ongoing series on business innovation, Clay Richardson and I just posted a new column on BP Trends.  In previous columns we explored creating value through customer-centric innovation and creating agility through disciplined, collaborative business process management (BPM).  This month we turn our attention to the human side of innovation and present a conversation about things you can begin doing today to  create an atmosphere of innovation in your organizations.

Read more about 1) stimulating creativity, 2) setting hilarious goals, 3) making your box bigger, and 4) executing faster...

We hope you enjoy the column.  Oh, and feel free to come back here and give us your thoughts.

Give Praise to Make Joy Complete

I came across this juicy piece of wisdom fruit from C.S. Lewis about how praise makes joy complete; and it made me take a strong look at what I am doing to make joy complete...

C.S. Lewis from "Reflections on Psalms" (pg 93 - 95):

"But the most obvious fact about praise - whether of God or anything - strangely escaped me.  I thought of it in terms of compliment, approval, or the giving of honor.  I had never noticed that all enjoyment spontaneously overflows into praise unless (sometimes even if) shyness or the fear of boring others is deliberately brought in to check it.  The world rings with praise - lover praising their mistresses, readers their favorite poet, walkers praising the countryside, players praising their favorite game - praise of weather, wines, dishes, actors, horses, colleges, countries, historical personages, children, flowers, mountains, rare stamps, rare beetles, even sometimes politicians and scholars ... My whole, more general difficulty about the praise of God depended on my absurdly denying to us, as regards the supremely Valuable, what we delight to do, what indeed we can't help doing, about everything else we value.

I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses, but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation.  It is not out of compliment that lovers keep telling one another how beautiful they are, the delight is incomplete till it is expressed."

...Delight is incomplete until it is expressed.

It is so easy to get caught up in the daily "doing" of life and work that we forget to give praise to the people and things that are the delight of our lives.  What do you take delight in?  What do you treasure?  What are you holding back?

Take some time, sit back and reflect on the joys in your life.  Is it your spouse, kids, parents, work, hobbies, God?

Give praise.  Complete your enjoyment.  Complete your joy.

Make Your Goals Hilarious

Here is a wonderful nugget by Mark Fusco at Squint.  He makes a really good point that your dreams and goals should be hilarious.  Live big.  Break the constraints of rational, logic thoughts and ideas.  Stretch.  Grow.  Change.  Innovate.  Transform.

Why wait to dream big...Great things are accomplished by people with hilarious goals.

Thanks Mark!

Quickest Way to Develop Leadership Skills

I am a strong believer that leadership can be learned.  While you may be born with personality traits that can help you be an effective leader, most of the skills are learned and honed through years of "doing leadership". 

The Problem:  Companies (generally) do a poor job of developing leaders.  Yes, your company may have the requisite training classes that you attend as part of your development plan...then you go back to your day job with little ability to hone the skills you learned because of the scope of your current position.  Also, companies tend to be reactive, focusing leadership training on individuals only after they have attained a level of management responsibility.  (Sidebar: leadership in companies tends to get attributed to the organization chart.  Whoever is at the top of the pyramid is the leader.  Don't confuse positional management responsibility with the ability to lead people and organizations.)

The Solution:  What you can do to develop your ability to lead people and organizations:

1. Check your motivation.  It is OK to be ambitious, seeking and desiring leadership.  Your leadership ambition should to serve others.  Selfish ambition is wrong - don't seek great things for yourself.  If you believe leadership is getting others to serve you, then you will always fall short.
2. Find problems to solve. Your company is full of problems that people don't want to touch.  Seek out high risk problems and volunteer to solve them.  Do this as a special project, outside the scope of your day job and, preferably, for an executive that is not your current manager.  Build a coalition of volunteers across your company (not just in your work group) that are willing to tackle the tough issue.
3. Lead volunteer organizations or projects.  Look outside your company and get involved in community, charitable, religious, or other local organizations.  It is one thing to manage people that work for you (i.e. get a paycheck from you), but it is entirely different to lead people who volunteer their time and talents.  Personally, I think this is the best way to develop and hone leadership skills and develop people acumen because the people serving with you can walk away at anytime.  Employees must do the work.  Volunteers don't have to serve.
4. Spend more time doing.  There is no substitute for doing, but "do" with a focus on application of what you learned, predicting outcomes, studying the results, and making plans for next actions (hmm, sounds like a PDSA cycle).  Grab a good leadership book (John Maxwell has a bunch of them), do a little reading, then build and execute a plan to develop a specific leadership skill.
5. Get a mentor.  A key skill of leaders is to reproduce leaders.  Leadership training is best suited for one-on-one relationships.  Leaders are produced one by one, not mass manufactured from a top-tier MBA program or a company leadership training program.  A good leader will take time to instruct, enlighten, discipline, and nurture an aspiring leader on an individual basis.  Find one.  Get engaged.

There is nothing holding you back from quickly developing the skills and preparing the opportunities to lead.  What actions are you taking today to build your leadership skills?

"Change" is meaningless

The "change" word seems to be everywhere.  Barack Obama seems to be making a lot of headway touting "change" (not a political endorsement).  While the word "change" may play well in during the political season, "change" by itself is meaningless in our personal and business lives.

Here is the problem:  Change does not mean improvement. 

Associates in Process Improvement have a simple and straightforward model that I have found useful to frame improvements in my personal life and business life.  The model is based on 3 questions:

1. What are we trying to accomplish? (Set aims)
2. How will we know change is an improvement? (Establish measures)
3. What change can we make that will result in improvement? (Select changes)

It seems so simple...and it is.  But, it is also very powerful.  Powerful enough that the Institute for Healthcare Improvement uses it as their base improvement model in their 5 Million Lives Campaign.

Peter Kim recently posted his resolutions for 2008.  He did a great job of identifying what he wants to accomplish (be more green, lose weight, save more money), identifying key measures to determine if he actually improves, and creating some hypotheses about what he can do to make an improvement.  He is also searching for expert knowledge (see his green resolution) on other ways to make an improvement.  There is no substitute for expert knowledge.

As you move forward into 2008, making resolutions and vows to change something about your life, I encourage you to move beyond the desire to change and take real action to improve.  Use the 3 questions to frame your improvement, then start testing your changes to see what works and does not work.

Remember, improvement requires making changes, but not all changes result in improvement....

Don't just change.  Improve.

Key Principles for Business Transformation

I am fortunate enough to attend and speak at the IIR BPM Conference this week.  There has been a tremendous amount of good information exchanged at the conference and I am very happy to see that BPM is making the transition from IT organizations to business organizations.  However, one thing that seems to be missing is the importance of leadership and guiding human change.  The more I learn about the difficulty leaders face to manage and improve their organizations, the more I appreciate the value of Deming's 14 Points as key principles to transform business:

1. Create constancy of purpose toward improvement of product and service, with the aim to become competitive and to stay in business, and to provide jobs.
2. Adopt the new philosophy. We are in a new economic age. Western management must awaken to the challenge, must learn their responsibilities, and take on leadership for change.
3. Cease dependence on inspection to achieve quality. Eliminate the need for inspection on a mass basis by building quality into the product in the first place.
4. End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag. Instead, minimize total cost. Move toward a single supplier for any one item, on a long-term relationship of loyalty and trust.
5. Improve constantly and forever the system of production and service, to improve quality and productivity, and thus constantly decrease costs.
6. Institute training on the job.
7. Institute leadership The aim of supervision should be to help people and machines and gadgets to do a better job. Supervision of management is in need of overhaul as well as supervision of production workers.
8. Drive out fear, so that everyone may work effectively for the company.
9. Break down barriers between departments. People in research, design, sales, and production must work as a team, to foresee problems of production and in use that may be encountered with the product or service.
10. Eliminate slogans, exhortations, and targets for the work force asking for zero defects and new levels of productivity. Such exhortations only create adversarial relationships, as the bulk of the causes of low quality and low productivity belong to the system and thus lie beyond the power of the work force.
11. a) Eliminate work standards (quotas) on the factory floor. Substitute leadership. b) Eliminate management by objective. Eliminate management by numbers, numerical goals. Substitute leadership.
12. a) Remove barriers that rob the hourly worker of his right to joy of workmanship. The responsibility of supervisors must be changed from sheer numbers to quality. b) Remove barriers that rob people in management and in engineering of their right to joy of workmanship. This means abolishment of the annual merit rating and of management by objective.
13. Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.
14. Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation. The transformation is everybody's job.

No, the 14 Points are not prescriptive.  They don't give you the how to guide for business transformation.  There is not a formula.  But they do give great guiding principles so you can make transformation real for your own organization.

Humility in Action

I just came across this great little post at Church of the Customer Blog that demonstrates true humility in action.  Capt. Denny Flanagan shows what it means to think of others as more important than himself.  He seems to have struck the fine balance between thinking less of himself than he ought to and thinking more of himself than he ought to.  He is not doing it to "market" United Airlines, he is doing it because he loves to serve.  He has a healthy ego.  He knows himself, he accepts himself, and he is being himself.

However, I do think McConnell and Huba missed the mark by recommending his techniques be taught as part of a pilot's regular training schedule.  It is not about skills and techniques, it is about heart.  It is not what you do, it is who you are.

"The final estimate of men shows that history cares not an iota for the rank or title a man has borne, or the office he has held, but only the quality of his deeds and the character of his mind and heart." Samuel Brengle (1860 - 1936), Commissioner of The Salvation Army

Rethink all the rules

I have been working on this post for several weeks.  Writing, rewriting, re-rewriting.  I still don't think I have my thoughts centered, or really getting my point across, but decided to move my "thoughts in process" to my blog and let nature take its course.  Fair warning before continuing:  these are my tragically uncool, but authentic thoughts...

The "bug in my shorts" is that there is way too much data and information available today to be consumed by the typical person...for that matter, even by the extraordinary person.  Everywhere you turn, there is data on the web, new information on wikipedia, a new blog, new business books.  There is good information.  There is bad information.  What is the basis for discerning the two apart?  Experience?  Knowledge?  How do I get information that is relevant to me and helps me solve problems, develop knowledge, and gain wisdom?

Is the answer technology?  I have 10GB of information in the knowledge base on my laptop.  Google Desktop helped me organized.  But it is still too much.  Technology is too linear.  Seth recently touched on a couple software breakthroughs that are closer than the horizon:  1) programs live on the web instead of your desktop and 2) desktop software that is truly web aware.  The data exists and is getting more rich everyday.  Our current bottleneck is the software.  However, as the software evolves it will stress and break the all the boundaries and rules by which we operate today.  We are moving at an exponential pace from a linear model with foundational business rules and delayed local connectedness to an nth-dimensional euclidean model with instantaneous global connectedness, where the rules are created, broken, and rewritten - not by us, but by the machines that have learned from us.  We can no longer feed at the trough of data overload.  The machines become us, constantly learning and choosing the data we are fed.  Technology has been linear.  Life is not linear.  As technology embeds more into our lives, it will need to become more like our lives.  Less linear.

Or, is the answer in simply turning the channels off?  Quietly disconnect to reconnect.  Focus.  Have you ever sat quietly, reflectively, with no disturbances for an hour?  For 30 minutes?  10 minutes?  Clarity.  Peace.  Depth. Understanding.

The Truth remains constant.  Everything else changes.

Postlog on technology:  Michael Wesch does an astounding job showing the evolution and impact of technology. A quick "hat tip" to my cousin Bryan Davidson for turning me on to this video.

Quality is Essential

McKinsey recently posted an interview (registration required) with Armand V. Feigenbaum, noted quality guru.  There are some good nuggets of knowledge in this short interview that marketing leaders should listen to as they consider implementing process improvement methods (especially Six Sigma) in marketing.

Some of his specific comments that are particularly important to marketers include:

"Improvements in quality lead to improvements throughout the organization.  Above all, quality must be understood as a management style, and an infrastructure has to exist that supports both the work quality of the individual and teamwork between departments."

"Some companies have an outdated idea of quality and how to improve it.  Managers think of quality as minimizing defects...This aspect has long been an entry-level requirement in competition, but is no longer enough from a customer perspective."

"Many companies don't understand that new market conditions require extensive changes in management methods."

Generally, here is my interpretation of these comments:

There is consistency with with W. Edwards Deming's Chain Reaction that shows how improvements in quality lead ultimately lead to staying in business and providing more jobs.  Building quality has a flow through effect throughout the organization.  Quality is not necessarily a function or something that a "highly trained Six Sigma Black Belt" can do.  Quality is something that must be a part of the fabric of management, part of the company's DNA.  If you are establishing a quality program or effort in addition to your existing work (or creating special categories of leaders to review and approve projects), you are creating "shadow work structure" that is unsustainable and will ultimately collapse under it own weight.  Quality must be a part of everyone's job.  Not a special function.  If you are waiting for a Six Sigma Black Belt to come fix your processes, quit waiting.  Take ownership and start improving.  If you need a guide to get you going, check out The Improvement Guide.

Be a Systems Thinker.  Too many people and companies try to work according to the organization chart.  This is not how work gets done.  Silos.  Barriers.  Frustration.  Politics.  Understand the white space.  Understand the processes.  Throw away the org chart and look at how work actually gets done in your company.  Look across business unit and function boundaries.  As marketers, we need to clearly understand the value chain so we can optimize how we go to market. 

Understand your company through the lens of your customers.  Quality of products is not enough.  Customers expect quality products.  What about their experiences?  How are you bringing customer knowledge back into your company?  How is it used?  How does it shape marketing?  Design customer experiences that expand their expectations.  How do you do it?  Quality.

Finally, as marketers, managers, and leaders in companies, we must always learn, grow, and improve our management methods.  Over the years, I have interacted with a variety of leaders that woke up one day and found their organizations being leap frogged in the market, backsliding, or stuck in a quagmire of operational ineffectiveness.  "We have always done it that way"..."We do it like this because we a different"..."our market is unique and we can't change it"..."we tried changing it once, but it did not work, so we went back to our old way"..."our industry is just too complicated for us to change"..."that would create too much pain in our company"...all words that lead to organization destruction and death.  Be willing to step out, test new ideas, try new concepts, reinvent some old ones.  Sitting still is sliding backwards.

Accelerating Business Innovation

Clay Richardson and I just posted a new column on BP Trends about "Accelerating Business Innovation".  If you missed our first column, "Business Innovation - Creating New Value with Ease and Grace", we are writing this column to explore both the business (Victor) and technical (Clay) sides of innovation.  Our aim is to motivate business and technology leaders to develop knowledge about business innovation and take action to guide innovation processes in their organizations.

In this month's column, we discuss how BPM has emerged as a business discipline and technology platform that allows companies to reduce innovation cycle time and "get to market" quickly.  Specifically, we explore the following five traits that enable this acceleration:

1. Shared development between business and technical teams
2. Flexibility to accommodate changes to requirements and customer demands
3. Reuse of existing business services
4. Rapid prototyping and stakeholder buy-in
5. Streamlined testing and deployment

We hope you enjoy the column.  Oh, and feel free to come back here and give us your thoughts.

Talent Spotting - Look Beyond the Resume

Finding great talent "is like finding a needle in a stack of needles."  I love the "understated" style of Harry Joiner at Marketing Headhunter.

The reality:  There are just too many sources for available for managers to locate talent...and then, there is a lot of chaff among the wheat.

The problem:  How do I find pools of great talent and how do I know if that talent is really great?

The bigger problem:  Most all managers have done it, and I know I have done it.  In the absence of the right talent, we hire a "body" to fill the role.  Resist the urge to simply fill the role.  This almost always leads to bigger problems for you, the person you hire, and the organization.

The solution:  The solution comes in two parts.  First, get to a short list of candidates based on knowledge independent of resumes, blogs, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.  The method that has been most successful for me is to reach out to my trusted network and let them know the type of person I am looking for.  Recommendations and referrals from a trusted network tend to be solid fits.  Depending on the urgency and level of your need, you can also engage professionals...like Harry.

Next, after you get a short list, drill down beyond the resume to get to the internal essence that drives the talented individual.  Last week, Sam Decker wrote a little post on looking beyond the resume to find competent, curious, creative and entrepreneurial people.  Sam created a tidy package, but I tend to look at some elements beyond his list.  Here is a short list of items I like to assess:

• Can the person be trusted?  Will the person do what he/she says?  Integrity?
• What level of passion does the person hold regarding convictions and ideas?
• Does the person strive for excellence (not necessarily perfection)?  What are the key motivators?
• Does the person know how "to get things done"?  How do he/she do it?  Does the approach build up and edify or leave bodies in the wake?
• Is the person a problem-solver or a role-filler?
• Does the person understand how to gain leverage from cooperation?  Psychology?
• Does the person appreciate a system?  What is the level of understanding regarding interdependence.  Does the person know how to optimize the system, not just the parts?
• Is the person coachable?  Do they know how to learn, then apply that learning?
• How will the person react to problems that cannot be solve with a linear approach?
• Do the person understand the impact of variation?

These items are not in any particular order - except trust.  Trust trumps everything.

Happy Talent Spotting!

Best Consulting Firms to Work for...

 

As many of you may know, I recently left a very long "industry-side" career in marketing and operations management to join the consulting ranks at North Highland.  Last week, I received tremendous validation for this decision as North Highland was ranked #4 in Consulting Magazine "Best Firms to Work for in 2007".  In a year when the competition for this honor is more difficult, North Highland is sitting with the classic consulting powerhouses of Bain, BCG and McKinsey.  Wow!

It was a long and difficult decision to leave a career path I have been cultivating since becoming a marketing major at Texas A&M, but one that got easier as I discovered and learned more about North Highland.  As I became more "mature" in my career, I found that I truly enjoyed and had passion for helping people and organizations overcome problems that hindered performance.  Incidentally, this is also why I started this blog. 

What I found in North Highland was a company purpose and a lot of mature consultants and leaders that wanted to do the same thing I wanted to do.  In addition to a culture that supports a holistic approach to work and life (i.e. no travel, employee owned, eat dinner with the family, go to the school play, etc.), there is an overriding passion to change the way people think about consulting.  No consulting glitz or glamor.  Simply mature, very real, highly skilled people with a strong desire to help companies and help people. 

I spoke with Dan Reardon a few weeks ago on how strategic decisions get made at North Highland.  He stressed the importance of assessing decisions through the lens of culture impact.  Growth is good, but not at the expense of culture...not at the expense of what makes us who we are.  Great effort has been made to build the North Highland caring, relationship-based culture; and great care is being taken to ensure its sustainability...something far too many leaders forget as their companies enter high growth phases.

Earlier tonight, I had to help my daughter with kindergarten project to "describe the type of work her parents do".  How do I describe my new job as a consultant?  Wow!  There are some great $50 words that are often used to describe consulting (most of which end in "ize") -- I really wanted to impress the 5-year olds!  Finally, I went back to North Highland's idea of changing the way people think about consulting and told her "I help sick companies get well".  She said, "Oh, you're a doctor."  In a way, yes.

Congratulations to all the people of North Highland that came before me, and thank you to the current leaders who put their faith and confidence in me to help carry this torch forward.

Facing Conflict

Conflict is part of our lives.  You can try to run from it, but you cannot avoid it.  You can try to hide, but it will find you.

Much of the strife in our personal and work lives is created by trying to avoid conflict.  Rather than embrace the resolution process, we bully (to get our way), we cover up (to save face), we ignore (hoping it will go away), and we appease (trying to make everyone happy).  In the end, the only path to joy in our work and personal lives is to face the conflict and do the hard work of resolution.

While not being prescriptive (there are plenty of books for that), here are some foundations that are essential for true conflict resolution:

• Start with the right attitude.  Begin with the belief that conflict can be resolved to everyone's benefit.  Your attitude is the compass that sets the direction for the conversation.
• Seek to understand.  Don't be too hasty to argue your case.  Too often we immediately go to "I'm right, you're wrong" and seek to win the argument.  Instead spend time exploring perspectives.  Why are certain beliefs held that contribute to the conflict?  What are those beliefs?  How do different experiences create different views of the conflict?  Example: In the corporate world, how do you seek understanding in the ongoing war between marketing and sales?
• Explore yourself.  How are you contributing to the conflict?  Are you trying to fix someone else, when you yourself are broken?
• Seek friendship.  Find areas of commonness to establish friendship, then work resolution from that friendship.  Otherwise, you may create an enemy, escalate the conflict, and end up publicly or legally exposed.
• Be transparent.  The frequency and tenor of conflict can be greatly reduced by simply being transparent in your everyday life so people know you, your beliefs, your perspective, your opinions, and your desires.  Don't play politics.  Don't operate with hidden agendas.
• Keep short accounts.  Accept the fact that you are not perfect and can be wrong.  Admit when you are wrong and ask forgiveness.
• Forgive.  At the same time, you will be wronged and hurt.  Be willing to forgive.  This does not mean that you are a "doormat" - you may need to protect yourself from harmful people.  However, it does mean that you demonstrate grace in trying circumstances.

Above all, be the peacemaker.  Don't run from conflict.  Don't hide.  Engage the resolution process and speak the truth in grace and love.

"Make Your Box Bigger" Opportunities

For those of you in Houston on weekends beginning Sept 8 & 9, Dr. Ed Young at Second Baptist Church is starting a series called "Business by the Book".  This series will take a look at the biblical principles found in some of the leading business books of the day.  If you can't be in Houston, look for the video and audio feeds here.  This should be a great series.

Also, as a follow up to my previous post on the Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman, be sure to sign up for the PMBA member forums.  This looks like a great place to interact and learn from others in the business world.

How big is your box?

I've been there.  You've been there.  There are people there right now.  The always hyped, sometimes glamorous workshop designed to create breakthrough ideas to solve an important business problem.  A room full of flip-charts, Post-It notes, markers, and whiteboards.  A witty facilitator kicks off the meeting with a few logistics for the day, and then turns it over to the sponsor who uses a variety of business cliches to rouse the participants into a frenzied froth of innovative energy. 

"Today more than ever, we are at a critical juncture in the life of our company.  We need to become a leading provider of {your product or service here}.  Our competition..blah, blah, blah....The future of our existence hangs in the balance.  We need to have a paradigm shift, use best practices, and grab the low-hanging fruit...Let's gain some synergy, maximize our leverage and, at the end of the day, be innovative to push the envelope for seamless integration across the enterprise.  Going forward, think win-win.  Focus on the 80% we can impact...." (create your own cliched speech)

Then comes the dreaded phrase, "Let's all think outside the box".  Blank stares.

The problem with "thinking outside the box" is that everyone has a box and each person has a box for a reason.  Each individual's box is the cumulative effect of experiences over a lifetime.  It is individual perspective.  It is the lens through which each person views life, work and the world.  Thinking outside the box is an extremely difficult, daunting, and painful task for most people.

So, what do you do?  Instead of thinking outside the box, work to "make boxes bigger".

How do you make a box bigger?  In the long-term, it is straightforward...more and varied experiences.  From reading different types of books to work assignments in different cultures to employee swaps among strategic partners, the more varied your experiences, the bigger your box will become.  Be a student of the world, soak in the unusual, stimulate your curiosity, and search for new ideas off the beaten path.

In the near-term (e.g. for a workshop or meeting) it is more difficult, but not impossible to expand boxes.  First, you will need to redirect minds away from solving the presenting problem and towards observing the world around them.  Staring at the problem too long will blind people to creative alternatives.  Next, get people to "overlap" their boxes through collective interaction and building on ideas.  Collective action and building on ideas creates a much larger footprint for alternatives.  The best answer is rarely a new idea created from scratch.  More often, it is maturity of an idea that has been built upon by many people and made relevant in ways that are truly valued by those we serve.

How big is your box?  What are 3 things you can do today to start making your box bigger?  What can you do to help others make their box bigger?

Nothing New Under the Sun

Companies are aflutter about innovation, but is anything really new?

• Twitter is the evolution of the telegram...
• Blogs are the evolution of cave drawings...
• Facebook is the evolution of "hanging out with friends"...
• Six Sigma is evolution of quality and statistical methods...
• Bionic is the evolution of the artificial limb...

Yes, there are many "new" technologies or configurations of existing technologies that enable us to live our lives and do our jobs better (according to the outcomes we specify), but nothing is being created that did not already have the potential to be created by man.  There is definitely dependency on previous discoveries and innovations, there is definitely sequencing of discoveries (i.e. Facebook could not have existed before the Internet), but there is nothing new that did not, or does not, have the capability to exist at its appointed time in human history.

Everything that is new today was simply waiting to be discovered.

What does it mean for us in our work and lives?  While there is nothing new under the sun, there is the opportunity to discover, configure, and innovate.  All the tools of innovation are available for everyone.  Everything that you need already exists.  Actively observe your surroundings.  What are people doing?  What problems can you solve today with a little observation, thinking and creativity?

The Problem with Corporate Marketing

Working in a corporate, or centralized, marketing functions can be painful -- particularly in organizations that are matrixed or organizations that separate strategy and execution.  Marketing can become the central function vs. the region, the business unit, or the field office.  Marketing can become less about accomplishing growth for the company and more about managing the politics of the company.  Marketing may spend more time "staring at its belly button" instead of learning and acting in the marketplace.

A key problem tends to be an alignment mismatch between the corporate function engagement model and the level of authority for execution and results.  My friend, Scott Ellis, showed me this matrix a few years ago, and I use it often as lens to begin understanding alignment mismatches and options for corporate functions to deliver value.

{Click image to enlarge}

Ineffective & Frustrated:  Pain is created when corporate marketing operates with an engagement model designed to "push" programs, standards, policies, campaigns, strategies, etc. to localized marketing organizations without the level of authority that makes corporate marketing accountable (e.g. "buck stops here") and responsible (e.g. perform the task, obligation to do the work) for execution and results.

There are two basic ways to alleviate the pain: 

1. Secure accountability and responsibility through a Sr. Executive directive.  This model is efficient and effective, but is often engaged through an effort to centralize the marketing function (i.e. reorganization).  It creates major organizational, structural, and process changes throughout the organization, and may take years to implement effectively.
2. Change the engagement model to one that operates in a consulting, shared service, or center of excellence capacity.  Instead of "pushing" work to internal marketing groups, find their points of pain and help them solve their problems.  Take the lead from the "regional" marketing groups and use the central marketing group to create value through a collaborative and participative process.  This engagement model requires a service delivery mindset for corporate marketing personnel.

Questions for action:  Where is your organization on this matrix?  Is your corporate marketing group ineffective and frustrated?  What actions can you take to become "effective & efficient" or "collaborative & consulting"?

Side note:  This is a simple lens to frame problems and begin understanding how to make a corporate marketing function more effective.  It is a demonstration of the matrix, or the 2x2 diagram at work.  Paul Williams does an excellent job explaining the 2x2 in this post.

Expand with LinkedIn

My "virtual" friend Adam Salamon makes a really good point today in his post "Connect with me on LinkedIn".  Use LinkedIn to grow, not just manage, your network. Sometimes we work really hard to constrain rather than grow our network.  LinkedIn is simply a technology that should help us grow.  The real leg work (yep, the 4 letter word called "work") is actively engaging, investing time and energy in getting to know people.

I will take his lead.  Feel free to connect with me on LinkedIn also. 

However, I will make one addition to his comments.  When sending a LinkedIn connection request, don't simply use the canned LinkedIn request wording.  Customize your request to the person.  Especially if you don't know the person, give a couple simple bullets to let him/her know why you want to connect.

The New First Impression

In the "golden oldie" days (circa 1991), first impressions were established with a firm handshake, direct eye contact, a sharp suit, polished shoes, and a resonate "good to meet you".  Your physical first impression may have been preceded by a strong resume or a defined letter of introduction from a colleague.

Today, first impression are established by blogs (posts & comments), Google searches, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter, Slideshare, MySpace and a host of other social media outlets.  Resumes come later, introductions occur quickly via email or IM.  Face-to-face meeting may never occur, but if they do, you only have 30 seconds to establish yourself.

We have more opportunities to shape and manage our personal brand than ever before, but we also have more opportunities to be careless. From your elevator pitch to your blog to your YouTube videos, take great care to establish and nurture your new first impression.

Personal MBA - A little jewel in a cluttered world of business education

For the longest time, "earning" a traditional MBA seemed to be the "Holy Grail" of the business world.  Get the much coveted MBA from a prestigious school and you've written your ticket to success.  However, I have had the long held belief that most MBA programs simply teach people to be good employees.  Real learning (the type that develops knowledge and realized value) occurs on your own time, on the job, through mentors, and through a continuous flow of reading and application.

So, today, I glanced at my feed from Seth's Blog and found a curious post on The New List.  What I found was a little jewel called the Personal MBA by Josh Kaufman.  I may be the last person to the party on Josh's manifesto (alternate view at ChangeThis), but I am sure glad I found it.  Inspired by Seth, Josh has passionately undertaken a mission to show people how they can develop business knowledge and work effectiveness by investing time and effort in a few of the leading business books today.  He has a great list of books -- many which I have read and are listed on my site, some which I need to get to continue my learning journey!

Hot Topic - Social Media, Micro-Blogging, MicroMedia

There is an interesting stream of consciousness occurring right now regarding social media, micro-blogging, and MicroMedia.  Check out these blogs and posts to get caught up on the action:

• MicroMedia Trendwatch at Web Strategy by Jeremiah
• When Less is More and More is Less at Micro Persuasion by Steve Rubel
• 3 P's of Personal Social Publishing by Peter Kim
• Platform Convergence Enabling the 3 Personas at Marketing Excellence by Eric Kintz

These blogs seem to capture the essence of this technical evolution in digital connectedness. 

At the core of this trend is the more fundamental driver of human connectedness.  We are social and relationship-driven beings.  These relationships and the frequency/depth of our connectedness exists on a continuum.  At one end, we have very deep, "carbon-based", 1-on-1 relationships.  These relationships are our anchors.  At the other end, technology has allowed us to be connected in a lighter way to a much broader community.  Facebook and blogs gives platforms to shape our public personas and create multidimensional channels of communication.  But engaging through each of those platforms take time (away from other endeavors) to develop, grow, and maintain.  Twitter gives us the ability to accelerate our connectedness.

I find myself in general agreement with the blogs listed above.  However, because we are social beings, I believe they missed the 3 R's of social media:

• Real:  As people are searching for greater connectedness, they want reality.  They will want to know you and me.  They will willingly share themselves.  There will be less patience for fakes, frauds, or companies just trying to push another product.
• Relevant:  Technology that speeds the cycle of relationship building is nice, but the content will need to be relevant to peoples lives.  The speed of communicating will lead people to communicate too quickly with thoughts, ideas, and observations that have little meaning to impact, shape, change, or improve lives. 
• Responsible:  Most of us in this realm of social network are striving to build relationships.  Hence, we need to "leave the place better than we found it".  We have an inherent responsibility to work toward improving lives and society.  The speed of communication could lead to carelessness that creates irreparable harm.

Here is a Twitter post (original story) from about the I35W bridge collapse in Minneapolis that demonstrates the 3 R's in action.

What do you think?

Screen Door on a Submarine

Over the course of 17 years in business and marketing, I have seen a variety of training and development programs with aims to improve skills and capabilities for individuals and companies.  However, what I find most perplexing is that training and education is often pursued without an approach to apply new learning.

The pursuit of knowledge without the application of what you learn is a fruitless endeavor.  It creates very little realized value.  Great potential is never realized.

Company programs tend perpetuate this problem with their approach to measuring training performance (i.e. # of people trained or % compliance to required training).  Which is more beneficial, measuring the number of certifications or measuring the changes in behaviors that lead to improvement?

I am a firm believer in constantly learning and improving yourself, your company, and society.  Each day is a new opportunity to learn, grow, and improve.  Here are some practical learning and application guidelines that constantly work to follow:

• Approach learning from the perspective of "how/where I can apply new knowledge", not from the perspective of "what will I learn?"
• Integrate learning and application with everyday life.
• Apply small bits of learning at a time.  Be iterative.  Test.
• Take responsibility for self-development.  Don't count on a company or others.
• Learn through relationships.  Get a mentor.  Be a mentor.
• Read at least 2 books a month (1 profession related, 1 non-fiction/personal/fun).
• Look for adjacencies and how you can apply learning from one area of life to another area of life.
• Be holistic.  Grow as a person, not just as a business professional.
• Be moldable.  Be coachable.

Learning without application is as valuable as a screen door on a submarine.

Engage the Naysayers

Why does it seem to be an accepted norm that initiatives to improve [a company, a process, an organization, etc.] will always experience resistance to change?

As owners and/or employees of organizations, we have a vested interested in the continuous improvement and sustainable profitability of those organizations.  Yet, when everyone should be motivated to bring unity and focus to productive change, naysayers seem to rise to the surface to distract and destroy.  Rather than focus collective energy, individuals resist change because of:

• Human pride
• Desire to retain power over others
• Attempts at self justification

Seth Godin did a glancing blow on this topic as he addressed toxic employees and toxic bosses (those who have trouble working and playing well with others).  In the simple eloquence that is Seth, he neatly described the "me first" attitude that can derail change.  He also commented that great marketers have both humility and confidence.  IMHO, I believe humility nurtures great confidence, and thus great leadership.

If you are leading a change, or even participating in a change activity, you must address the psychology of the individual stakeholders.  As much as you may want to keep the conversation and topics on the business case for change, you must realize that you cannot remove emotion from the conversation.  Very few times will change occur because a strong rational case has been presented.  You must become a student of psychology.  You must deal with the human factor.  Understand individual motivations and develop strategies to engage the naysayers.  Attract them to the change and make them part of the conversation.

Address Both Sides of Change

Leading change involves addressing both physical change and human change.  While physical change deals with processes and technology and human change deals with psychology, the interdependency of these change components can make or break success on a project.  Unfortunately, too many improvement projects focus mostly