Archive for June, 2007

The Power of Questions

I was discussing the Fortune article about uber-consultant Ram Charan, titled “The Strange Existence of Ram Charan” with a few colleagues.  We reached the following conclusions:

1.  Ram Charan is a true road warrior.  Nothing we do or experience will come close to his schedule!

2.  His approach doesn’t rely as much on organizational development models or management consulting theories.   He just knows how to ask questions.

 RC

Per the Fortune article, written by David Whitford:

Generalizing about what Charan does for his clients is tricky, but that lack of definition paradoxically is at the heart of his success. His method is no method. He is wary of abstraction and belongs to no school of management theory. “Converting highfalutin ideas to the specifics of the company and the leader - that’s the trick,” he once confided to me in an elevator. “The other part is working backward to define what the need is, and then searching for what helps. Then you bring it to common sense, and common sense is very uncommon.”

“Observations, Curiosity, and Care”

This is also known as ‘head and heart.’  I posted a “Short, simple list of rules” last month that describes how I see Mr. Charan’s approach.  Teaching and learning, searching for the true and useful, give/get value, etc.  All using the power of questions.

Why Are Questions So Powerful?

They’re not, really.  Not just any questions.  Mr. Charan’s gift is knowing which questions to ask and when.  A three-year old can say, “Why?” many times.  Not always helpful.  Rarely helpful. The combined knowledge of business, coaching, and specific situational insight allows for the best questions.  This doesn’t have to be a ‘20 questions’ interrogation.  Observe, be curious, and, from Mr. Charan himself,

“Purpose before self.”

Joe Raasch :: Jun.15.2007 :: Change Management, Leadership :: 3 Comments »

Value the Offsite, or Boondoggle?

“I took off for a weekend last month
Just to try and recall the whole year.
All of the faces and all of the places,
wonderin’ where they all disappeared.
I didn’t ponder the question too long;
I was hungry and went out for a bite.
Ran into a chum with a bottle of rum,
and we wound up drinkin’ all night.”

-”Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes” (Buffett)

Ever attend a work-related offsite like that? Those year-end ’strategic planning’ or annual ‘operations conference’ sessions?  Big, buzzword-packed agendas, lots of senior-level presentations, bad coffee, Powerpoint, and…no action, no results.

WHY WE HAVE OFFSITES

1.  Networking - getting to know those in other groups, states, countries

2.  Learning a shared message - the new vision, mission, strategy

3.  A reward - not much work is done, but plenty of socializing

4.  Build the team - team-building exercises

5.  Brainstorming - innovations and new ideas

CAN WE SAVE THE OFFSITE?

Let’s try!

Cheryl Dahl wrote a great article for FastCompany in 2001 on just this subject.  Her seven point list to offsite salvation:

1.  Agree on a definition of victory that matters

2.  To get the right results, invite the right people (hint: they’re not all VPs…)

3.  If you want mind-blowing results, expose people to mind-blowing ideas

4.  What people think is influenced by where they sit

5.  To make it work, keep it real

6.  You don’t always have to beat the clock

7.  What gets measured gets attention.

Doesn’t sound all that hard, even when you read it out loud.  How does your organization accomplish this?

OK - I JUST WANT TO GET AWAY

That’s ok too.  If we go offsite knowing we’re rewarding our teams for a hard year’s work, then let’s do just that.  Why ruin good golf, great spas, or meals in Tuscany with flipcharts and presentations? We can have great conversation and review our progress without all the feigned hoopla. As my friend Jimmy Buffet says:

“It’s those changes in latitudes,
changes in attitudes nothing remains quite the same.
With all of our running and all of our cunning,
If we couldn’t laugh, we would all go insane.”
      

 

Joe Raasch :: Jun.08.2007 :: Change Management, Leadership, Organizational Development :: 3 Comments »

How Many “Ps” are in “Empowerment”?

Trick question. There are three! Read on…

I had the good fortune this past week of spending an hour with one of our human resources VPs. The agenda for our discussion was performance management strategy. We covered the detail on this. The overriding theme that emerged was one of simplicity.

Performance management isn’t just about managers writing up plans with/for their employees. It is the playing out of a culture of trust. Mr. VP told me of an encounter he had early in his career with a consultant by the name of Richard Byrd. Mr. Byrd shared with him the three “Ps” in empowerment:

1. Permission

You have to ask (or be given) permission before you try to change things. No one likes a consultant who shows up and revved for “change” and no one asked them to be there. Don’t be ‘that’ consultant.

2. Process

Follow what is there. This means awareness of the culture, laws, and procedures. You need to know how it IS done before you can move people to how it should be done.

3. Protection

This is where the manager helps most. Keep them in the loop on what you’re doing. They have the relationships and hierarchical influence that you may not. Having access to this protection goes a long way towards success.

There is more to empowerment than meets the eye. There is a reason the word ‘power’ is part of empowerment. There is considerable strength, confidence, and ability in those that are properly empowered - with all three Ps…

Joe Raasch :: Jun.04.2007 :: Change Management, Leadership, Organizational Development, Performance Management :: No Comments »

« Prev