The Happy Burro

(originally published July 20, 2008)

Does your organization have values? I mean written, published, communicated values. Ones that extend beyond the mission statement and goals. General Electric professes the values of: curious, passionate, resourceful, accountable, teamwork, committed, open, energizing. Each is linked to one of four actions: imagine, solve, build, lead.

If you’re in the business of making money for shareholders (public), carrying out the mission of the owners (private) or serving the agenda of elected officials (public service/government), why does the leader of your organization have to communicate values? After all, your goals, promotions, even incentive pay, are based on results, right?

Values As Marketing

“The Best Food In Town” , “We’re the dealer you can trust” , “Employees are our greatest asset”. If you have to use basic tenets of your industry or restate a simple customer expectation as a ‘value’, you’re way off track. Have you ever eaten at a restaurant because they their values include “serving a good meal”? Hmmm…no. Values such as Integrity, Trust and other platitudes are what you and your people should be showing up with every single day – and not rely solely on posters, wallet cards or inspiring leadership speeches.

Values As Camouflage

Enron’s values (2001) were:

Communication
We have an obligation to communicate. Here, we take the time to talk with one another… and to listen. We believe that information is meant to move and that information moves people.

Respect
We treat others as we would like to be treated ourselves. We do not tolerate abusive or disrespectful treatment.

Integrity
We work with customers and prospects openly, honestly and sincerely. When we say we will do something, we will do it; when we say we cannot or will not do something, then we won’t do it.

Excellence
We are satisfied with nothing less than the very best in everything we do. We will continue to raise the bar for everyone. The great fun here will be for all of us to discover just how good we can really be.

I bet they had slick brochures, printed wallet-sized cards for every employee, and posters in every hallway. Visible on the outside. Did anyone internalize these values? Was this part of any performance management plan?

Values As DNA

“…a good mission statement and a good set of values are so real they smack you in the face with their concreteness.”

“Clarity around values and behaviors is not much good unless it is backed up. To make values really mean something, companies have to reward the people who exhibit them and “punish” those who don’t.”

- Winningby Jack and Suzy Welch

Communicate, communicate, communicate. Unless you want to have a bunch of faded posters on your office walls that are the butt of several jokes, make the values real. As a leader, model and exemplify them. As a member of your organization, talk about them every chance you get. Make the values part of how you hire, fire, promote, and reward employees. Instill it in every part of the organization and in every action. If people don’t follow the values, call them on it. If you as a leader let values slide, what do you expect your staff and the rest of the organization to do?

___________________

What are the values that guide your organization? Are they marketing, camouflage, or ‘DNA’?

Joe Raasch :: Feb.26.2010 :: Uncategorized :: No Comments »

(originally published March 1, 2008 as part of the Issues Managers Face in the Workplace series)

Ever wonder if people in your organization or on your team are doing tasks just to keep busy? Does it appear that everyone nods their heads in agreement at an idea, then goes about working on that idea in so many different ways? Is all this busy work necessary? Valuable? What is the end in mind and the best path to get there? Rebecca Thorman, guest-writing about Social Media and Next Generation Leaders at Valeria Maltoni’s Conversation Agent blog, shared this story: 

 Sam Davidson tells a good fisherman story about a man that finds another man fishing and explains to him that if he catches many fish, well then he could eventually buy a boat. He could then catch many more fish, and could buy another boat, and another and another until he had a whole fleet of boats. And he would sure catch a lot of fish then, and with all of that he could then do whatever he wanted.

And the man replies, “You mean, fish?”

Occam’s Razor

The Franciscan friar William of Ockham is best know for his logic theory, “entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem” – Latin for ‘entities should not be multiplied beyond necessity’. He reasoned that one should not waste time on observations or ideas that held little or no relevance to the explanation of a hypothesis or theory. Have you ever experienced a project where people seemed locked into the analysis phase, not finding a way forward to make decisions and implement the idea? This is typically due not to a lack of intelligence, enthusiasm or ideas. The stall in decision making is more that managers don’t know how to separate ideas and focus them on what truly impacts the ‘end in mind.’

More here on Occam.

Simple is not Simplistic

Applying the heuristic maxim of Occam’s Razor does not mean choosing the easy path, process or project. The prevailing philosophy is to choose which path, process or project has the least assumptions and unmitigated complications. Paraphrasing, all things being equal, the simplest solution is best. Simple, as in best defined, tested, risks mitigated, etc. Not easiest. In fact, having a way forward that is defined, tested, risks mitigated: that is usually a harder road! Though not necessarily a more complicated one. Ever solve one problem only to cause another problem? That is what happens when processes, ideas and paths get simplistic instead of just simple.

The Critical Path

Do you have a budget that covers everything you want to do in your department or organization? Do you have enough resources, people, tools, to accomplish everything? Do you have enough time in the day, week, month, year, to do it all? Most of us don’t have enough budget, resources or time. Why would we waste ANY of these precious commodities on unnecessary complications to our projects? Next time you’re working on a project or process with your team, start with the end in mind. Then build back to the current day. You’ll have a plan that will be over budget, need too many resources, and take too much time. Now go back and find the critical path – the work that truly makes it right. This will allow you to compare alternatives without as much unnecessary complications – applying Occam’s Razor!

 _________________

Keep your team focused and your projects simple to get sustainable results versus getting lost in the process!

Joe Raasch :: Feb.17.2010 :: Change Management, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Performance Management :: No Comments »

(eighth in a series titled Issues Managers Face in the Workplace – originally published February 1, 2008)

Each day we start out with a full tank, an emotional and physical energy source, replenished nightly. Through our interactions each day, these resources are depleted, leaving us ‘spent’ by day’s end. Same goes for our teams. One difference: as managers, we may be called upon to be a significant emotional fuel source for our employees.

One of my all-time favorite television drama series is The West Wing. Bradley Whitford portrayed Deputy White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman in the fictional Jed Bartlet Administration. Josh is easily the most engaging character in the series, IMHO.

I Am Not “The Guy”

On The West Wing, Josh was told by President Bartlet, “You’re not The Guy. You’re the guy the Guy relies on.” This understanding and clarity was a tremendous boost for Josh and showed just how important his work was to the President. Does your team know how important their work is to the organization?

This Is Where I Eat

Working as the top aide to the President’s Chief of Staff required a tremendous amount of courage, patience, energy, edge, enthusiasm, and execution skills. Josh was continually under an incredible amount of pressure. In one particular situation, most of the staff had been working 18 hours straight and it appeared they would have to work through the night. Many people were tired beyond exhaustion. Yet Josh seemed to have boundless energy. When asked why he was so enthused with the work ahead, he responded, “Are you kidding me? This is where I eat.” Imagine being that connected, that committed, to your work that you look at an insurmountable challenge as right where you want to be. His courage led the team through the obstacles and on to success the next day.

Let’s Make Big Plays Today

Josh was fond of walking briskly into the office each day, seemingly holding five conversations at once, with his faithful assistant, Donna Moss, at his side with phone messages, meeting requests, and many fires to put out. His morning greeting to his team? “Let’s make big plays today!” Cheering, leading, expecting, excellence. If you demonstrate and give excellence to your employees, and expect excellence in return, you will make big plays with your team as well.

__________________________

Don’t underestimate the emotional commitment and maturity it takes to lead people. This is the one skill that is constantly being honed by even the best of the best. Here are a few resources to help you with emotional intelligence and managing people:

• A book by Daniel Goleman
• Research by Cary Cherniss, PhD
• The Wikipedia view

Joe Raasch :: Feb.14.2010 :: Employee Engagement, Leadership, Performance Management :: No Comments »