Is it on their radar?

Think about a radar…

There is an object that is “out there” – as you move toward it you send out waves and how they bounce back tells you what is out in front of you and around you. Any slight changes in that object get noticed and impact what is bouncing back to the radar. People change their course and actions towards their destination based on these signals that come back.

When it comes to leading this provides a useful thinking tool.

We as a team are heading in a direction. Us, as the leaders are moving towards our goals. Our people look to us and watch everything that we do – we are the object that is :out there” and our people watching us are the are the “waves”. We all think about the big things we want to model – but the radar comparison also reminds us that little things send out changes to what people see as well. Now stop and think for one second – do you spend more time sending out big messages or little messages?

Exactly – our whole day is little messages. So much so that if we take care of the little things, the big things don’t catch us; and if we ignore the little things, the big things come crashing down all over us. This is especially true with the messages we send out with our small words and deeds.

Take 20 minutes over the next few days and think about yourself as the center of your team’s radar. What are they seeing? More importantly, what are the small signals you are sending out? Do any of these signals change their picture enough to make our people change course that moves them away from our goals? Pay attention to these little things – they are the ones that prevent goals from being achieved. The little things and signals are powerful things, both to the positive and negative. Take a few moments from time to time to really zone in on what little signals are being relayed.

Are the small signals we send on our people’s radar?

We better believe it – and we better act like it.

I can name that tune in 1 note...

As we approach the end of the year and think about goals and objectives – I am reminded of the game show “Name that tune”

The gist of the show was that based on your knowledge and the clues given by the host you would name a song in the fewest notes possible.

So what is the strategic lesson here?

Ken Blanchard talks about goals being “one minute goals” or no more than 250 words – i.e. short enough to be easily read in a minute. If you have never done this – it is a great idea.

Other people talk about one-page strategic plans – an extremely valuable tool.

There is another exercise that always reminded of “Name that tune” – we used to joke and call it “8 is enough”. Went something like this:

1) Think of a strategy, objective or key point you want to focus on.

2) Write down your best thought or description

3) Edit it down to 250 words (thank you one minute manager!)

3) Edit it down to 125 words – look at getting rid of adjectives

4) Take it down to 50 words – Sentences can be chopped and combined; think more about the key you want to communicate and less about composition. No duplication of ideas.

5) Take it down to 25 words – usually this ends up one long sentence.

6) Highlight anything that is a verb or a noun

7) Cut it down to a single phrase that is 8 words or less (it is OK to add in an adjective or adverb here if needed)

I suggest you take the most impactful goal you can think of and walk through this exercise. The process and result give our focus a clarity of thought, and a huge level of impact. “8 is enough” is a worthwhile (and challenging) exercise that I highly recommend.

The end of the year is when we focus on our goals for the next 12 months. When we think of them for our team, it is important that we look to make sure that they can be easily understood, repeated and transmitted. A process like the one above is a great way to push our thinking and communications about goals to the next level.

It may not be as impressive as the one note answers from the game show – but imagine how great our team would perform if they could “Name that goal” in 8 notes or less.

Drill or hole?

Harvard professor Ted Levitt famously pointed out “People don’t buy a quarter-inch drill bit, they buy a quarter-inch hole.”

We often focus on the product or process – or what I will call things. But we must always remember that what things produces is a solution to a need. And we must remember that these “things” are vital, not necessarily because they exist, but because of the job they do for the customer or user.

The process or product is the drill – the need is the hole. Two key points to think about

1. There is no need for the drill without the hole. We come up with an approach or product to suit the needs of a job – the thing does not exist without the need
2. Without the drill, the hole would be must harder to create – and almost impossible to insure the right quality or create improvements

Each is extremely important to the other. But the process and solution are distinct entities.

We can focus on the solution and need, while also focusing on better process, or product – because while the needs that we have to achieve are pretty consistent, the tools we can employ can, should and must always change and improve. We can shape and craft the tools and approaches we use so we constantly get better at getting the job done.

Look around your world today and ask… what jobs are these people looking to get filled? How would a customer answer? How about an employee? How about your supervisor? A vendor? How about each of us? How about yourself?

So let’s make sure that while we are using the best drills, we remember that our focus, and purpose, is the hole we are trying to make.

It don’t mean a thing if you ain’t got that swing….

I wanted to review two key tenets that we have discussed before

1. Discipline is the basis of morale
2. Standards are the basis of improvement

Wanted to add a third rule to this… structure and schedule are the basis of flexibility and improvisation. We need to create a rhythm to our work world. If we have a rhythm, we can make changes as needed during the day. If we have no established structure and schedules (or rhythm for short) than we have made it hard to a) adapt to new situations and b) to get things back on track after something new has come up.

Whether it is a music band, a sports team or a work team – you have to develop a rhythm of how you work. This allows everything to flow together. You cannot wake up one day and expect it to be there. Any more than a band that gets together for its first practice would expect everything to be in the same time the first go round, or a sports team to anticipate each other’s moves in a first practice. This rhythm is essential to achieving excellence – and is something that must be deliberately worked on.

The key point to remember here is this: You have to work to create a structure, schedule and rhythm. And the good news/bad news is – we can never stop working on it. if we are doing great, we need to keep it up, if we are having some challenges – well we have to keep it up.

Checklists, calendars and regular meetings/updates are all part of how we establish rhythm.

Standards, expectations and schedules help us make rhythm habitual.

Debriefing and reviewing lessons learned are also a part of establishing and improving rhythm.

And this type of structure than gives us the power to:

1. To adapt to anything that comes up in a positive way
2. Frees us to focus on how we can be better; as opposed to simply how we keep going.

The more structure and systems we can put in our day, the more freely we can address the challenges in front of us and the opportunity ahead of us.

Discipline, standards, structure and schedules = Morale, improvement and rhythm.

That is our winning formula.

What's for Breakfast?

We often think of goals and objectives as key. And of course they are vital. As the cliché goes (roughly) “if you do not know where you are going, any road will take you there.” So over the next few weeks we will be talking about objectives and direction a good bit.

But there is an important internal check we must think about, and honestly assess before we begin the crucial, direction setting work that is goals and objectives. And that is about getting our words and actions in line with one another. When our words and actions are reflections of one another, we are in alignment. If they do not match up, we are out of alignment.

A company’s whose culture is in alignment is a powerful thing. And conversely if we are out of alignment, it is very difficult to move forward positively. There is another remark that is almost a cliché that is normally attributed to management guru Peter Drucker:

“Culture eats strategy for breakfast.”

So before we worry about the direction we head, if we do not want to get eaten for breakfast (and who does?) we should take a moment and think the words and actions of our culture.

What areas if we were out of alignment would be the most damaging? What areas do we have the best alignment? Our ability to think about these questions, and then address them together is a crucial job for all of us.

So take a moment, and let’s think about our foundation, which is our culture. What values to we say we have? What values do we act out every day? Where we are out of alignment we are weak and it makes it hard to build. If you ever see any of us acting out of alignment, it is vital – and required – to let us know. We must be each other’s check and balance for keeping our actions and words in line.

But where and when our alignment strong, watch out world, because from there we can build something powerful and strong together. We must also point out to each other when we are getting it right so we can aggressively build on success.

So we, as managers and leaders, must spend a lot of time talking about where we are heading – which is to say our objective. But to make sure that we are not “eaten for breakfast” we should take a moment, and make sure that the foundation we are building from is strong and built from both our actions and words.

Actions and words, in line and in harmony with each other – this will be our breakfast of champions.

Vision = objective = to dos

A quick thought ....

Often we think of vision, execution and to-do lists as distinct.

David Allen (of "Getting Things Done" fame) defines a project as an objective to achieve. I think visions are the same. (check out his website for books, newletters etc... I am a big fan - http://www.davidco.com/)

And once we have an objective to achieve defined, it is on us to begin putting down tasks to accomplish this vision. (http://bit.ly/95O28w - - a nice column from USA today on a business plan as a business tool not just a financing presentation - sent to me by http://www.smartbrief.com/index.jsp - also a great service)

Resist the temptation to look at tasks and tasks planning as menial work. Instead recognize that it is the point, and function, of making strategy happen. Strategy and objectives exist for the purpose of execution, not the other way around. Think of it this way... if you stopped strategic planning tomorrow you could still be successful and operate as a business and person for a long time. If you stopped executing tomorrow... well you have stopped.Do not get me wrong ... strategy, objectives and vision are vital aspects of business and leadership. I just want to make sure that we have them in the proper perceptive ... they are servants to execution not masters. Have a dream, have a vision, but remember Thomas Edison's famous quote "Vision without execution is hallucination."

We often flip the importance of vision, strategy and execution, which may be why we so often complain about not getting things done.

A nice editorial from USA Today that talks about a business plan as a business tool that leads to tasks and to-do lists as opposed to simply a VC financing tool - http://tiny.cc/n6634

Are you a model?

References to small talk and pick-up lines notwithstanding, the answer to the question of “Are you a model?” is simple and powerful.

YES. YES. YES.

As a leader, your team looks at everything you do (and don’t do) as a model of how they should be, act, and what they should think is important.

You are a model with every action you take. As we have done in the past, think about the example you want to set. Then observe yourself for a day and then ask yourself…how well did I model the example that I wanted to set?

We model what we think, value and want with every action from the moment we walk in, until we leave. Take some time and think about how powerful of a tool that is. We can send a resounding message about our values and goals every day, in a powerful way, that is impossible to ignore. Embrace the power of being a model and use it to lead your team.

We do it every day, imagine how powerful it can be if we focus on using this reality as the powerful force that it is.

So imagine the example you want the team to act on, imagine the attitude you want them to have … and then be a model. They are watching, and looking to follow – let’s be intentional, positive and powerful in how we choose to lead. You are a model every day, choose to be the one you want to be.