This Is The Way We Do It, But…

As we were reminded in a recent post a little over a week ago, being open to new possibilities can be rewarding.  It certainly was for my daughter’s friend who came to realize that by implementing a different approach to food management she would change her overall backpacking experience for the better.  In other words, a seemingly small change can really be a big one in disguise.

Of course, getting to the point where people will consider ‘change’ is key.  Sometimes that’s a tough nut to crack. There are a million reasons why people resist change.  My experience tells me that ‘comfort with the status-quo’ is near or at the top of most people’s list.  That’s why ‘this is the way we do it’ seems like a mantra in some organizations.

I’ve found that there are generally two types of people when it comes to change—those that tend to be open to it and those who aren’t. Here are some characteristics of:

Those who tend to be open to change:  they’re curious, they’ll mess with the status-quo if a new approach holds promise, they don’t mind rocking the boat, they tend to equate change with opportunity, or they see ‘change’ as part of their legacy (a driver for some senior executives).

Those who tend to avoid change:  they’re not terribly curious, they’re confident that the status-quo is sufficient for their needs,  they aren’t ‘boat rockers’, they tend to equate change with risk, or (frankly) they just don’t want to be bothered.

Let’s be fair here.  Life’s experience and personal temperament has influenced many to be risk-avoiders.  Many have gotten burnt after having stuck their neck out.  Others just don’t have the stomach for it.  And sometimes the proposed change doesn’t make sense—the timing is wrong, there are bigger fish to fry, the proposed change is ill-conceived, or a myriad of other perfectly good reasons.

Let’s face it, leaders and managers (especially in organizations steeped in hierarchy) who are risk-adverse will throw cold water on most change efforts.  That’s unfortunate, but it happens.  If you’re in one of those organizations, it makes your efforts to improve things that much harder. (Note: Chip and Dan Heath’s book Switch is a thought-provoking treatise on change—personal, organizational and everything in between. Chip and Dan share several experiences of those who faced great odds—including resistive bosses or cultures—and made a difference.)

I’m currently working with an organization that is world-class in their management practices. Their approaches are reflected in a myriad of best-practices lists around the world.  Yet, they strive for perfection.  In learning about how they approach things, their people will explain (in effect) “this is the way we do things, but….”   Virtually everyone in their organization thinks about it this way.

This organization has ‘proved’ many of their approaches.  In other words, their approaches work.  They get great results.  If ever a company would be a candidate for complacency it would be them.  Yet, they realize they’ve got a ways to go.  They aren’t about to rest on their laurels.  That’s why you hear the word ‘but’ as a qualifier when they explain how they do things. They want to learn from others.  They want to recognize their blind-spots—to the extent they exist.   In short, they want to get better.

What a different approach from those who hold a bias for the status-quo!  Being open to new possibilities is important—especially in today’s current business climate. Great companies think differently.  This is one such example.  In my next post I’ll explain how the mind-sets play into all this. As you’ll see, they do—prominently!

 

Ain’t Maturity Grand?

Senior citizens may cringe when being referred to as mature, but hopefully the rest of us will take it as a compliment rather than a slight.  I don’t know about you, but I love dealing with people who are able to:

***receive constructive feedback without being defensive.

***be genuinely happy for someone who may not be their favorite.

***learn through others experience.

***say “I was wrong”.

***speak of accomplishments in ‘we’ terms, not ‘me’ terms.

These are signs of maturity—the good kind!  They’re also signs that you’re dealing with a professional.

 

Applying The Mind-Sets To Tough Meetings

Got a tough meeting coming up—one in which involves critical problem-solving, or one in which emotions may run high?  If you’re like me, you’ll need all the help you can get.  Here’s a tip.

Assuming you’re dealing with a group that’s familiar with the seven mind-sets, at the beginning of the meeting ask the group two questions:

*** “Which mind-set is most critical in ensuring we achieve our desired outcome?”

*** “Which mind-set (or its absence) is most likely to trip us up?”

If the two questions are properly facilitated, a lively discussion will ensue.  Ultimately the group will settle on a mind-set that pretty much fits the bill for each question.  Post the questions and answers on a white board or on a flip chart where they can be seen over the course of the meeting.  Don’t assume everyone will agree with the mind-set that ultimately gets chosen for the two questions.  In the end, it doesn’t matter.

This brief exercise (which should probably take less than five minutes) will have accomplished three important things:

1)      By default, it provides an invaluable review of each of the seven mind-sets…so in the meeting the mind-sets become top-of-mind.  It informally nudges people to be their ‘best-self’ in an atmosphere that may well prove to be highly-charged.

2)      It provides a great prevention that materially aids in keeping the meeting on-track.  The group will naturally circle back to the two questions (and corresponding answers) should the meeting tend to get off-track.

3)       It reinforces a laser-like focus on the desired outcome.  Of course the meeting’s desired outcome is—by definition—a first-cousin to mind-set #1 (having a bias for results).  Mind-set #1 was chosen to be number one amongst all the mind-sets for a reason…namely, that when people hold this mind-set, a lot of good things naturally follow.

I’m confident that this approach, if well executed, can help you.  The point isn’t what mind-set gets chosen in conjunction with the two questions.  The point is that this process appeals to people’s ‘best-self’ —largely because of their desire to ‘show up’ as a professional would.

The Right People…Do You Have Them?

A great organization is dependent on great people. Yet, even someone who is ‘great’ may not necessarily be right for your organization.  Jim Collins reminds us the right people:

***fit in with the company’s core values

***don’t need to be tightly managed

***understand that they do not have ‘jobs’, they have responsibilities

***fulfill their commitments

***are passionate about the company and its work

***display “window and mirror” maturity (e.g. they shine a light on others while taking little credit themselves)

This is a great summary–whether you’re hiring or evaluating your organization. For many of you, this is a reminder–hopefully a helpful one.

For those of you familiar with The Power of Professionalism you’ll notice a gazillion correlations with the seven mind-sets amongst Jim’s list. Again, that’s not surprising–after all, the book is all about personal leadership!

 

 

Adversity Trumped–Progressive Avoids Its Waterloo

In November 1988 California voters passed Proposition 103 which mandated sweeping reforms within the insurance industry. In effect, it meant 20% reductions in rates and significant refunds were in store for policy-holders.  The Proposition’s passage was California’s voters way of punishing an industry they were fed up with.

Progressive Insurance, which at the time ranked #13 in the American private-passenger auto-insurance market, had a quarter of its business in California. The Proposition’s passage took a big hit on Progressive.

After the initial shock, CEO Peter Lewis called his staff together and challenged them to built a  better company.  What resulted was nothing short of remarkable. Progressive instituted new innovative claims service with roving claims adjusters that work from a fleet of vans and SUV’s which could be immediately dispatched to policy-holders homes or even the scene of an accident. By 1995 80 % of the time Progressive adjusters were issuing claim checks within 24 hours of an accident. This improvement was one of many.

By 2002 Progressive’s industry ranking had risen to #4. Lewis later called Proposition 103 “the best thing that ever happened to this company”.

It would have been easy for Lewis and his people to whine about life not being fair.    They didn’t. Instead they saw it as an opportunity. It proved to be just that. They were committed to results (MS #1) and knew things would only get better when they did (MS#3).  It’s a remarkable story that Jim Collins memorializes in Great By Choice (page 168).

It’s a life’s lesson for all of us.

 

 

Good Meeting? Bad Meeting? Look In The Mirror!

Have you ever been in a meeting when:

***the group’s enthusiasm gets squashed due to a few individuals negativity?

***the group gets stuck in the weeds

***constructive discussion turns into contention as people’s passion spills over

***the group’s energy gets drained upon the announcement of an unpopular decision

***apathy prevails when a less-popular colleague leads the meeting

***a normally rock-solid colleague uncharacteristically belly-flops on a vital presentation

Because negative energy feeds on itself, it’s easy to get sucked into a downward spiral in these types of situations.  Meetings of this sort are painful, often becoming the grist for Dilbert’s mill.  That’s why MS #6 (getting a hold of your emotions) is all-important here.

It’s almost guaranteed that, absent an intervention, the meeting will be a negative experience. For the professional, it’s recovery time. As easy as it might be to join the majority who enjoy whining about the meeting, the professional is unwilling to settle.  The professional asks themselves, “what can I do to help get this meeting back on track?” (consistent with MS #1…’having a bias for results’)

Thus, in responding to the situations above:

***the professional offers a contrarian point of view—one that offers a healthy dose of optimism

***the professional interjects a question or comment that gets the meeting re-focused.

***the professional points out that the meeting has become unproductive and asks the group, “Given  our situation, what do we need to do as professionals to get this meeting back on track?”

***the professional reminds the group of a similar situation years earlier—one in which people’s fears were never realized.

***the professional tactfully points out the group’s dysfunction, reminds them of the big picture, and challenges them to do better.

***the professional who draws the group’s focus to themselves—stalling for time—all the while enabling their flustered colleague to compose themselves and ultimately recover.

To be clear, the professional isn’t being a ‘yes man’, isn’t being pollyannish about issues of substance,  isn’t playing politics.  Rather, they are attempting to make the best out of a sometimes poor situation—in an objective, yet optimistic way. Professionals know that a good meeting—first and foremost–starts with them.

 

 

 

The Honest Broker–Wisdom From Seth Godin

Seth Godin (a wise man indeed) posted a piece this past Saturday warrants sharing as it compliments The Power of Professionalism so nicely.

I’ve taken the liberty of re-printing it here.  Enjoy.

The Honest Broker

It really is a choice, one or the other.

Either you happily recommend the best option for your customer, or you give preference to your own items first.

Either you believe in what you sell, or you don’t.

Either you treat your best partners better, or you treat everyone the same.

Either you shade the truth when it’s painful to do otherwise, or you consistently share what’s important.

Either you always keep your promises or you don’t.

Either you give me the best price the first time, or you make me jump through hoops to get there.

Earning the position of the honest broker is time-consuming and expensive. Losing it takes just a moment.

The Dreaded Heart-To-Heart Conversation With A Beleaguered Colleague

A colleague of yours (let’s call her Janet) isn’t meeting expectations—neither performance targets nor cultural norms.   You know it…everyone else does too.  What Janet is doing (or not doing) threatens the organization’s results.  That means a lot of people (you included) will likely get hurt if her shenanigans continues.

Your gut screams for you to have a heart-to-heart with Janet—you know, peer-to-peer.   What do you do?

It’s interesting the things we tell ourselves when faced with a situation like this:

*** ”If I speak up, our relationship will never be the same.”

*** “It’s not appropriate for me to speak up. This is a job for the boss…that’s why they get paid the big bucks.”

*** “I don’t have the communication skills to pull this off.”

*** “Surely, Janet will be offended if I speak up.”

*** “It isn’t my place to judge.”

I’m confident you can think of plenty of additional examples.  Notice what great lengths we will go to in justifying not speaking up.  Certainly, the situation with Janet requires good judgment and a great deal of decorum, but rest assured that many of us are masters at finding ‘cause’ for not speaking up. (And, yes, an organization’s culture can be an impediment to not speaking up.)

Yet, part of the motivation underlying our unwillingness to speak up (e.g. to be direct with people) is often our own desire to be liked—to be thought of well by others.  When that occurs, it becomes all  about us.

Admittedly, this is one of the most difficult things to get people to do in organizations.  Let’s face it…it’s   risky.  Yet it happens.  You see it in team sports, in the for-profit world, etc. The degree to which an organization’s colleagues (as opposed to just the boss) hold each other accountable is often an indicator as to how well the organization performs.

People’s willingness to speaking up to one of their colleagues is also a reflection as to how committed people are to the organization’s results…..in other words, the degree to which they hold MS #1—having a bias for results.  The commitment to the result becomes a lynchpin in helping us overcome our own human tendencies not to act.

Other MS’s help people in speaking up too; namely all the rest— MS #2- MS #7.  That’s unusual, but it just goes to show how it really takes a professional who is secure in their own skin to speak up in an admittedly uncomfortable situation like this one with Janet.

In spite of all the reasons one might conjure up to avoid approaching Janet, the professional speaks up.    The reason is simple—they’re committed to the result (MS #1).  They know it’s not about them (MS #2) and they know that they need to rise above the fray (MS #4).  Ultimately, they commit to do what they know is right (MS #5).  It’s rarely easy, it’s never fun—but, in the end, they do it.

It’s what professionals do.

 

 

 

When Unique Knowledge Trumps The ‘Wisdom’ Of Crowds

Our Nov 3rd post—Ask The Right Person The Right Question—pointed out that for us to be confident in the answers to our questions,  it’s imperative that the person(s) be ‘in a position to know’.  Perhaps that seems obvious, but too often questions are asked of people that aren’t really informed on the subject in question.   This is especially true when it comes to surveys.

Consider the sample survey we use to assess the strength of the mind-sets within an organization.  A seven point scale is assigned to each of the seven mind-sets—seven is great and one is terrible.  An organization may score consistently high (6.3) in mind-set #1 (professionals have a bias for results) across the entire enterprise.  Mind-set #2 (Professionals realize (and act like) they’re a part of something bigger than themselves) may also score well (5.4).

The score of 6.3 for mind-set #1 seems like a natural in light of the organization achieving 110% of its annual revenue goal—the organization’s most important objective for the year.  Across all departments, no department scored mind-set #1 lower than 6.0—showing great consistency across all departments.

Mind-set #2 is another story.  Every department scored mind-set #2 at least a six—except for one.  The CFO’s office collectively scored mind-set two a 3.1.  It was the scores from the CFO’s office that brought the overall score for mind-set two down to 5.4.  Was there unique knowledge contained within the CFO’s office that prompted the 3.1?  Turns out, there was!

In light of the great revenue year, the company was sitting on a pile of cash. Instead of paying down the company’s extensive debt, the organization’s leaders (by way of a contentious 60%/40% vote) elected to take generous bonuses instead.  This ultimately proved problematic as creditors later came with saber’s rattling.

Those in the CFO’s office had unique knowledge.  In turn, they scored mind-set #2 poorly—deservedly so.  Had the rest of the enterprise known the same, no doubt, they too would have scored mind-set #2 poorly.  What initially looked like a pretty good score for mind-set #2 turned out to be a false-positive.  This was caused by the lack of good information…people were simply ill-informed.

Sometimes what looks like a survey aberration is really an important by-product of unique knowledge.  It would have been a mistake to become confident about the survey results associated with mind-set #2 from the raw numbers alone.   Confidence should stem from informed choices….and reinforces the point that people aren’t necessarily ‘in the know’ as much as we assume.

 

Debra…Big-Time Difference-Maker

Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown of Slidell, Louisiana shares this instructive experience.

“Years ago while in a previous position, I traveled a lot and would leave my home around 6:00 AM.  There was a fast food restaurant between my home and the exit on the interstate where I would stop for a cup of coffee.  It wasn’t a big sale—less than a dollar.  This fast food restaurant was—believe it or not—special.”

“Normally, I would stop at the microphone at the menu sign and wait for the expected raspy, non-engaged voice asking me if I wanted the latest value meal.  That wasn’t the case at this place. Instead I heard the most pleasant voice say, “Good morning, this is Debra, how may I help you?” “

“Seriously?  Someone at a fast food restaurant who actually wanted to help me…and wasn’t interested in pushing their latest meal deal?   I was impressed.  Yet, it got even better.”

“As I sat at the window waiting for my cup of coffee, Debra appeared.  She had my coffee.  I gave her a $5.00 bill.  Her attention to detail and professionalism blew me away.  She placed her hand beneath my outstretched hand, placed the bills in the palm of my hand first and then added the changed on top of the bills which allowed me to close my hand without the possibility of dropping the change all over the parking lot.  Now I was even more impressed.”

“Then she handed me the cup of coffee and asked if I wanted cream and sugar for the coffee.”

“”Thank you for stopping by, have a very nice day.”  I told her thank you and to also have a nice day and left for my trip and left her a tip.  Tipping a fast food employee is unheard of, but I was thrilled to do it….as that brief exchange with Debra set an amazing tone for the rest of my day.”

“Every time I left on a trip I made a point to stop at THAT restaurant.  Every time the experience with Debra was the same.  It got to the point I stopped not for the coffee but rather to hear Debra’s voice and her good wishes.  I wrote a note to management and complimented them AND Debra on how she conducted herself and how professional she was.”

“Now for the rest of the story.  This experience was over 20 years ago–and I still tell that story to this day. It was about two weeks after I wrote the thank you note that I stopped by as usual for coffee.    When I pulled up to the window, this time was different.  Debra took my hand but not to put change in it.  She said, “I know it was you who wrote the note to my manager.  Because of the note, I got a raise and wanted to thank you.”

As Jim noted, he ended up going to that restaurant because of Debra.  She made the kind of difference that resulted in drawing people back to her (and the restaurant) over and over.  Imagine how many others like Jim she influenced.

Whether Debra ‘showed up’ as a professional because of her upbringing or because of the restaurant’s management—we’ll never know.  We do know that Debra’s capabilities were recognized by management and she was ultimately promoted.  Unfortunately for Jim the promotion meant that she no longer worked the window.  The service, Jim later observed, was never the same.

Debra was exceptional.  She stood out. She showed up as a professional would—yes, even at a fast food joint.  So impressed, Jim wrote a thank you note.  Nobody does that.

Every organization seeking competitive advantage should be scouring the countryside high and low, day and night for more Debra’s.  Now would be a good time to start.