All posts by Steve

Management Style

We have all worked for managers who were very assured in the manager – subordinate relationship. If they wanted to talk to you, they called you into their office. If they wanted you to do something, they told you what it was they wanted you to do, probably when to do it, and possibly how to get it done. They were very much into reaffirming both with you and with themselves that they were the boss.


 


That type of situation and management practice will have a tendency to reduce the interaction, and flow of information upwards to the manager. Since subordinates opinions will seem to carry less value, they will eventually stop being offered. This type of management structure will be successful only if the manager is never wrong. I think it has been a long time since the last infallible person was on the planet.


 


Leaders must remember that they are part of the team. Everyone in the organization will know that they are the manager. There are normally all sorts of announcements and group meetings to introduce and reinforce this fact. The leader should however make sure not to set themselves so far apart from, or position themselves to be the superior to the rest of the team.


 


A good leader needs to adapt themselves to interpersonal requirements of the situation, but still be able to be the leader. Being able to deal with and talk to the team on a peer basis will be key. Inviting, respecting and acting on opinions other that your own will assure that you will continue to get good advice from the team. Phrasing requirements in the form of a request and using please will probably get more things done quicker than shorter, direct orders.


 


At least that is what I have found to work well, with the possible exception of anything I ask my kids to do.

How Resolute are You?

In every assignment you will see that there are things that will need to be changed. They can be large or small items, but you will want them done your way. The issue will arise from the fact that they are not currently being done your way. They are being done some other way. Further complicating the issue is that the people currently performing these tasks in some other way than your way are comfortable and capable of doing them that way.


 


Now if you were able to follow all that you are doing well.


 


The point here is that any change that you may want to make to your business will be met with a built in resistance from within the organization itself. People may understand that what they are currently doing may not be the optimal or even correct course of action, but it is something that they know how to do. When you ask them to do something else that they may not have done before, you will meet up with resistance. You will be asking them to leave their current comfort zone.


 


The greater the change that you want the greater and more widespread will be the resistance to it. The success of proposed change will be directly proportionate to how resolute you are. It may actually come down to your force of will. If you show a willingness to accept anything short of the new level of performance that you want, then that is what you will get. The closer people can stay to the status quo, the closer they can stay to their current comfort zone.


 

Resolute leaders make the changes they want. They don’t accept anything less. Resolute businesses get changed only incrementally, if at all. They have a built in impedance and resistance to change. How resolute you are, when it comes to changing the way your business runs will have a greater impact than the type of changes you decide to make.

What’s a Cycle?

We have all heard the phrase “cycle time”, but what does it really mean to your business? The simple definition of a “cycle time” is the amount of time it takes to complete an operation or activity. It has now been adopted by, or applied to just about everything in a business. Again, simply put, you need to know and understand the various cycle times – how long it takes to do things – in your business.


 


Each aspect of your business has an associated cycle time. Your sales cycle time is the time it takes from when you initially introduce the sales opportunity to the customer, to when you get their signature on the order. Your production cycle time is from when you get the order to when you actually have a completed product meeting the order specifications ready to ship. Your development cycle time is the time from product concept to generally available deliverable product.


 


Another lesser know but equally important cycle time is the Marketing cycle time – The time from when you introduce a marketing program to when you actually see a change in the sales volume from it. It will take time for the market to understand the program. The program will then (hopefully) modify buying behaviors and change the sales cycle time. It will then appear as a change in sales volumes.


 


Although we might all want our business actions to take immediate effect, we must understand the cycle times we are affecting when we do things. We must understand how long it takes for effects to be seen. We do not want to tie up scarce resource resources waiting for the effects, but we also do not want to be caught without resources when the effects are manifested. Understanding the cycle times of a business enable you to plan and schedule business instead of react to changes as they occur.

It Ain’t Over Til…..


All projects, plans and strategies are implemented with the best of intentions. We get started. We pay attention and we follow up. Then something else happens and we have to work on it. Then another thing occurs, and another, and another. In short business happens, and we lose track of that which we were following.

 

It is easy to assume, or hope, that someone will step up and make sure that nothing gets dropped. You need to remember that the someone responsible for that is you.

 

We are in a multi-tasking world, but that does not relieve us of the responsibility of finishing what we start. It does not matter how well a product, project or plan is worked if it is not brought to conclusion. It is the end game, the result that is important and what is ultimately measured. Just as new products, projects and programs get started, old ones must be completed.

 

Bringing something to completion or closure is a way of measuring progress. Everything else is activity. We have a tendency to sometimes confuse activity with progress. I think Yogi Berra was right. It ain’t over till it’s over, and it falls to the leader to make sure that it is in fact done.

Be Cool






I mentioned in an earlier post that two of the essential traits for a successful leader to have are being opinionated on, and having a passion for your business. The counterbalancing trait that will also be required is composure. Being passionate and opinionated can make you a strong and decisive leader. Lacking composure will make you appear to be a rash and foolish manager.


 


It is always better to act in a measured way than to react in any way. Coming off as a hot head will greatly decrease your effectiveness as a leader. Maintaining your composure in the face of difficulties will present a much stronger image and leadership trait for your team to follow.


 


Maintaining a calm demeanor while demonstrating a passion for your business is a difficult balance to achieve and maintain. The key items I try and keep in mind are:


 



  • It’s important but it isn’t life and death
  • This too shall pass……
  • We’re supposed to be having fun here

 


I just wish I could get better at it faster.

The Debate


There comes a time in every business leader’s tenure that we
feel the urge to participate in a debate in an open forum. We can be involved
with senior management, peers or subordinates. The issues can be competition
for resources, strategic business directions, or just about anything at all. Entering
into the debate can be a very difficult urge to fight. The value of these types
of public debates is minimal, but the damage that can occur to ones public
perception can be significant.

 

Before engaging in a debate, it pays to remember a few
items. Everyone believes they are correct. No one enters into an argument
believing they are wrong. Most arguments are not black/white, right/wrong
propositions. They probably shouldn’t be forced into that mold either. The
“winning” or “losing” of the public debate will be forgotten over time, but the
perception of being combative or argumentative will stay with you for a long
while.

 

Management looks for leaders that are opinionated and
passionate about their work. They recognize that those traits are keys to a
leader’s success. They also recognize that leaders must work together. If
forced to choose, management will normally select the less confrontational
business leader who can avoid the public debate, and appear to build consensus.
If there is going to be a debate, it needs to be in a private forum, not a
public one.


It is a fine line to walk, but it can be done. Learning to disagree politely and constructively in public is an art. I wish I was better at it.


Anticipation


Businesses prize individuals that work well in a crisis. We have all seen this. A situation becomes very tenuous and the fire drill starts.The fire fighters are called in. A great deal of activity and commotion ensues,and then usually a good result is obtained. The crisis team’s and the firefighter’s reputation continue to grow.

 

This has always seemed to be a dysfunctional organizational structure and habit to me. Much the same way that the public is urged to “help prevent forest fires” instead of becoming better fire fighters, we should urge management to do the same. Business leaders need to anticipate business situations and take action to avoid a crisis, instead of allowing a crisis to occur and then applauding those that fix it.

 

There are some very simple steps to anticipating, avoiding and preventing a crisis. The biggest step is to be realistic. Understand the state of the economy and plan appropriately. Understand the state of your industry and plan appropriately. Be aware of your sales and expense monthly/annual profiles and don’t bank on the fourth quarter “hockey stick”. Have a back-up plan ready if you should need to adjust to changing conditions. Track your progress in the numbers. You know that your management will.

 

Finally, act early. If you are deviating from plan,smaller course adjustments to your business plan early in the year will help you avoid the necessity of drastic changes later in the year. There will always be a need for fire fighters. A good leader who anticipates the needs of his business just won’t need them as often.

The Power of Information


Information is power. We
have all heard this. It enables us to make intelligent decisions. It helps us
create strategies and chart courses. It is vital to the continued well being of
any business. That is why we continue to pursue it, search for it, and mine it.
However, the real power of information is not in just having it. The power of
information is in sharing it.

 

This idea sometimes runs
counter-intuitive to what we believe. As we progress through our assignments and
our careers, we acquire more experience, more responsibility, more power and
more information. It is part of what we believe makes us valuable to the
business. It is for these reasons that some managers try to “horde” their
information. It is an effort to become indispensible.

 

Information that is horded
and not shared is the same as no information at all. If you know something and
don’t tell anyone, it is no different in the eyes of the business than if you
did not know it. The more information you give to, and share with the
organization, the more valuable you are to the organization.

 

Most of the good things that
have occurred in my career were usually the result of my bringing the knowledge
that I had acquired to a larger group, without being asked. It helped others
make better decisions and create better strategies. It helped me bring value to
the organization.

A Tree in The Forest


I am sure as children we have all heard the parable “If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound?” No matter how you answered the question, the rejoinder was “How do you know for sure?”



The business equivalent of this parable is “If you work very hard all month, and you do not generate a monthly report of your activities, did you really do any work?” The answer to this one is a little bit simpler. If you did not document your progress and activities then in reality you didn’t do any work. If you want to argue this point, my rejoinder will be “How will management know for sure?”



I have heard many reasons and excuses for not generating a monthly report. It takes too much time. I didn’t have a great month so I don’t want to document so little progress. I had a great month so I don’t want to seam self aggrandizing. The bottom line is that there is no excuse for not generating a monthly report.



They don’t take a lot of time. If they do, you’re probably doing them wrong. Some monthly reports may be stronger than others. That is the nature of business. The fact is that a brief 1-2 page monthly report is your opportunity to capture the value that you and your team brought to the company. Businesses are focused on generated value. If you are not showing and documenting your value, how can they know what value you are to them?

Take Action…..Items

We have all been in meetings where it seemed there a lot of decisions being made and things were getting done. We all felt good about the progress that was being made. It was uncommon for everyone to feel this way, especially in a meeting. The meeting then adjourned and we all went our separate ways. We all waited to see the fruits of our labor – to see the things we decided get done. We waited and watched…..and waited….and waited.

But we seemed to see very little get done. It always seemed that the other guys did not get their jobs done. The funny thing was that the other guys were saying the exact same thing about you. Meetings are fine, but unless an individual has a specific responsibility it won’t get done.

The answer is to take Action Items at each meeting. Make sure each individual at the meeting knows what their going forward responsibility is before they leave the meeting. You also confirm it afterwards as well, when you publish the Action Items. By creating a reviewable public record of what was to be done you create a sense of ownership for individuals that may not exist for the group at a meeting.

It also helps get things done.