LONG Excellence NOW Tom Peters/17 November 2012/Moscow (slides @ tompeters.com/excellencenow.com) Part ONE Little = 7X. 7:30A-8:00P. F12A. 7:30AM = 7:15AM. 8:00PM = 8:15PM.
Download ReportTranscript LONG Excellence NOW Tom Peters/17 November 2012/Moscow (slides @ tompeters.com/excellencenow.com) Part ONE Little = 7X. 7:30A-8:00P. F12A. 7:30AM = 7:15AM. 8:00PM = 8:15PM.
LONG Excellence NOW Tom Peters/17 November 2012/Moscow (slides @ tompeters.com/excellencenow.com) Part ONE Little = 7X. 7:30A-8:00P. F12A. 7:30AM = 7:15AM. 8:00PM = 8:15PM. Don’t like it? Don’t pay. Source: Granite Rock Co. Red light flashes= -10% Promised vs Delivered: +15% Source; Elgin Corrugated Box BEGINS (and ENDS) It in the … parking lot* *Disney $100+ purchase/ 3-cent 2-cent National “Brand”/ lemon candy Conveyance: Kingfisher Air Location: Approach to New Delhi “May I clean your glasses, sir?” “Let me help you down the jetway.” Socks = 10,000 1% $25M/$20M/$200K 30 minutes = Source: Container Store/increase average sale per shopper Bag sizes = New markets: Source: PepsiCo Big carts = Source: Wal*Mart <TGW and … >TGR [Things Gone WRONG-Things Gone RIGHT] TGRs. Manage ’em. Measure ’em.* *I use “manage-measure” a lot. Translation: These are not “soft” ideas; they are exceedingly important things that can be managed—AND measured. “Perception is all there is” Customers describing their service experience as “superior”: 8% Companies describing the service experience they provide as “superior”: 80% —Source: Bain & Company survey of 362 companies, reported in John DiJulius, What's the Secret to Providing a World-class Customer Experience? “Experiences are as distinct from services as services are from goods.” —Joe Pine & Jim Gilmore, The Experience Economy: Work Is Theatre & Every Business a Stage C *Chief e O* Xperience Officer Comeback [big, quick response] >> Perfection Acquire vs maintain*: *Recession goal: Higher “market share” current customers Conrad Hilton, at a gala celebrating his career, was called to the podium and “What were the most important lessons you learned in your long and distinguished career?” His answer … asked, “remember to tuck the shower curtain inside the bathtub.” You get ’em in the door with “location, location, location”—and a terrific architect. You keep ’em coming back with the tucked in shower curtain!* *Profit rarely comes from transaction #1; it is a byproduct of transaction #2, #3, #4 … is “Execution strategy.” —Fred Malek You beat yourself! Sports: “Execution is the job of the business leader.” —Larry Bossidy & Ram Charan/ Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done “When assessing candidates, the first thing I looked for was energy and enthusiasm for execution: Does she talk about the thrill of getting things done, the obstacles overcome, the role her people played —or does she keep wandering back to strategy or philosophy?” —Larry Bossidy, Execution WOW!! Observed closely: The use of or “we” “I” during a job interview. Source: Leonard Berry & Kent Seltman, chapter 6, “Hiring for Values,” Management Lessons From Mayo Clinic (1) Amenable to rapid experimentation/ failure “free” (PR, $$) (2) Quick to implement/ Quick to Roll out (3) Inexpensive to implement/Roll out (4) Huge multiplier (5) An “Attitude” (1) Half-day/25 ideas (2) One week/5 experiments (3) One month/Select best 2 (4) 60-90 days/Roll out Little = Part TWO FIVE First things Before First Things … If the regimental commander lost most of his 2nd lieutenants and 1st lieutenants and captains If he lost his sergeants it would be a catastrophe. The Army and the and majors, it would be a tragedy. Navy are fully aware that success on the battlefield is dependent to an extraordinary degree on its Sergeants and Chief Petty Officers. Does industry have the same awareness? “In great armies, the job of generals is to back up their sergeants.” —COL Tom Wilhelm, from Robert Kaplan, “The Man Who Would Be Khan,” The Atlantic #1 cause of employee Dis-satisfaction? Employee retention & satisfaction & productivity: Overwhelmingly based on the first-line manager! Source: Marcus Buckingham & Curt Coffman, First, Break All the Rules: What the World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently “People leave managers not companies.” —Dave Wheeler Suggested addition to your statement of Core “We are obsessed with developing a cadre of 1st line managers that is second to none—we understand that this cadre per se is arguably one of our top two or three most important ‘Strategic Assets.’” Values: XFX = #1* *Cross-Functional eXcellence explicitly & visibly & relentlessly manage to XFX standard! Never waste a lunch! “Personal relationships are the fertile soil from which all advancement, all success, all achievement in real life grow.” —Ben Stein % XF lunches* * Measure! Monthly! Part of evaluation! [The PAs Club.] XFX: Social accelerators … XFX/Typical Social Accelerators 1. EVERYONE’s [more or less] JOB #1: Make friends in other functions! (Purposefully. Consistently. Measurably.) 2. “Do lunch” with people in other functions!! Frequently!! (Minimum 10% to 25% for everyone? Measured.) 3. Ask peers in other functions for references so you can become conversant in their world. (It’s one helluva sign of ... GIVE-A-DAMN-ism.) 4. Religiously invite counterparts in other functions to your team meetings. Ask them to present “cool stuff” from “their world” to your group. (Useful. Mark of respect.) 5. PROACTIVELY SEEK EXAMPLES OF “TINY” ACTS OF “XFX” TO ACKNOWLEDGE—PRIVATELY AND PUBLICALLY. (Bosses: ONCE A DAY … make a short call or visit or send an email of “Thanks” for some sort of XFX gesture by your folks and some other function’s folks.) 6. Present counterparts in other functions awards for service to your group. Tiny awards at least weekly; and an “Annual AllStar Supporters [from other groups] Banquet” modeled after superstar salesperson banquets. XFX/ Typical Social Accelerators 7. Routinely discuss—A SEPARATE AGENDA ITEM—good and problematic acts of cross-functional co-operation at every Team Meeting. 8. When someone in another function asks for assistance, respond with … more … alacrity than you would if it were the person in the cubicle next to yours—or even more than you would for a key external customer. (Remember, XFX is the key to Customer Retention which is in turn the key to “all good things.”) 9. Do not bad mouth ... “the damned accountants,” “the bloody HR guy.” Ever. (Bosses: Severe penalties for this—including public tongue-lashings.) 10. Get physical! “Co-location” may well be the most powerful “culture change lever.” Physical X-functional proximity is almost a … guarantee … of remarkably improved cooperation—to aid this one needs flexible workspaces that can be mobilized for a team in a flash. 11. Establish “adhocracy” as S.O.P. To improve the new “Xfunctional Culture” (and business results), little XF teams should be formed on the spot to deal with an urgent issue— they may live for but ten days, but it helps the XF habit, making it normal to be “working the XF way.” XFX/ Typical Social Accelerators 12. Early project “management” experience. Within days, literally, of coming aboard folks should be “running” some bit of a bit of a bit a project, working with folks from other functions—hence, “all this” becomes as natural as breathing. 13. Work proactively to give as large as possible numbers of people temporary assignments in other functions—especially Finance. 14. “Get ’em out with the customer.” Rarely does the accountant or bench scientist call on the customer. Reverse that. Give everyone more or less regular “customer-facing experiences.” She or he learns quickly that the customer is not interested in our in-house turf battles! 15. Consider creating a special role, or even position. Specialty chemical company Buckman Labs established “knowledge transfer facilitators,” effectively former “middle managers,” with 100% of discretionary pay based on success at spurring integration across previously impermeable barriers. XFX/: Typical Social Accelerators 16. Formal evaluations. Everyone, starting with the receptionist, should have a significant XF rating component in their evaluation. (The “XFX Performance” should be among the Top 3 items in all managers’ evaluations.) 17. Every functional unit should have strict and extensive measures of “customer satisfaction” based on evaluations from other functions of its usefulness and effectiveness and valueadded to the enterprise as a whole. 18. Demand XF experience for, especially, senior jobs. For example, the U.S. military requires all would-be generals and admirals to have served a full tour in a job whose only goals were cross-functional achievements. 19. “Deep dip.” Dive three levels down in the organization to fill a senior role with some one who has been noticeably pro-active on adding value via excellent cross-functional integration. 20. XFX is … PERSONAL … as well as about organizational effectiveness. PXFX [Personal XFX] is arguably the #1 Accelerant to personal success—in terms of organizational career, freelancer/Brand You, or as entrepreneur. Excellence! 21. There is a “State of XF Excellence” per se. Talk it up constantly. Pursue it. Aspire to nothing less. hundreds of times better here “I am [than because of the support system. It’s like you were working in an organism; you are not a single cell when you are out there practicing.’” in my prior hospital assignment] —quote from Dr. Nina Schwenk, in Chapter 3, “Practicing Team Medicine,” from Leonard Berry & Kent Seltman, from Management Lessons From Mayo Clinic In the Army, 3-star generals worry about training. In most businesses, it's a “ho hum” mid-level staff function. Why is intensiveextensive training obvious for the army & navy & sports teams & performing arts groups--but not for the average business? (1) Training merits “C-level” status! (2) Top trainers should be paid a king’s ransom—and be of the same caliber as top marketers or researchers. I would hazard a guess that most CEOs see IT investments as a “strategic necessity,” but see training expenses as “a necessary evil.” No company ever Expended too much thought/Effort/ $$$$ on training!* *ESPECIALLY … small company Q3 2011/BLS +3.1/Non-farm productivity growth +3.8/Non-farm output +0.6/Non-farm hours worked +5.4/Manufacturing productivity +4.7/Manufacturing output -0.6/Manufacturing hours worked Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics/03 November 2011 “The root of our problem is not that we’re in a Great Recession or a Great Stagnation, but rather that we are in the early throes of a Great Restructuring. Our technologies are racing ahead, but many of our skills and organizations are lagging behind.” Source: Race AGAINST the Machine, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee Legal industry/Pattern Recognition/Discovery (ediscovery algorithms): 500 lawyers to … ONE Source: Race AGAINST the Machine, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee China/Foxconn: 1,000,000 robots in next 3 years Source: Race AGAINST the Machine, Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee “The doctor interrupts after …* *Source: Jerome Groopman, How Doctors Think 18 … seconds! [An obsession with] Listening is ... the ultimate mark of Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening is is is is is is is ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Listening Listening Listening Listening is is is is ... ... ... ... the heart and soul of Engagement. the heart and soul of Kindness. the heart and soul of Thoughtfulness. the basis for true Collaboration. the basis for true Partnership. a Team Sport. a Developable Individual Skill.* (*Though women are far better at it than men.) the basis for Community. the bedrock of Joint Ventures that work. the bedrock of Joint Ventures that grow. the core of effective Cross-functional Communication* (*Which is in turn Attribute #1 of organizational effectiveness.) [cont.] Respect . Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening Listening is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is is ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... EXECUTION the engine of superior . the key to making the Sale. the key to Keeping the Customer’s Business. Service. the engine of Network development. the engine of Network maintenance. the engine of Network expansion. Social Networking’s “secret weapon.” Learning. the sine qua non of Renewal. the sine qua non of Creativity. the sine qua non of Innovation. the core of taking diverse opinions aboard. Strategy. Source #1 of “Value-added.” Differentiator #1. Profitable.* (*The “R.O.I.” from listening is higher than from any other single activity.) Listening is … the bedrock which underpins a Commitment to EXCELLENCE Listen = “Profession” = Study = practice = evaluation = Enterprise value Is there a full-bore training course in 100% "Listening" for of employees, CEO to temps? If not, There [damn well] ought to be. Suggested addition to your statement of Core “We are Effective Listeners—we treat Listening EXCELLENCE as the Centerpiece of our Commitment to Respect and Engagement and Community and Growth.” Values: Complain all you want, but meetings are what you [boss] do! Meetings = #1 leadership opportunity Every meeting that does not stir the imagination and curiosity of attendees and increase bonding and cooperation and engagement and sense of worth and motivate rapid action and enhance enthusiasm is a permanently lost opportunity. Meeting: Part THREE Innovation’s BIG THREE READY. FIRE. AIM. H. Ross Perot (vs “Aim! Aim! Aim!” /EDS vs GM/1985) “We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were omissions we didn’t think of when we initially wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again and again. We do the same today. While our competitors are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design perfect, we’re already on prototype version #5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version #10. It gets back to planning versus acting: We act from day one; others plan how to plan—for months.” —Bloomberg by Bloomberg “What are Rutan’s management rules? He insists he doesn’t have any. ‘I don’t like rules,’ he says. ‘Things are so easy to change if you don’t write them down.’ Rutan feels good management works in much the same Instead of trying to figure out the best way to do something and sticking to it, just try out an approach and keep fixing it.” way good aircraft design does: —Eric Abrahamson & David Freedman, Chapter 8, “Messy Leadership,” from A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder Culture of Prototyping “Effective prototyping may the most valuable core competence an be innovative organization can hope to have.” —Michael Schrage “Experiment fearlessly” Tactic #1 Source: BusinessWeek, “Type A Organization Strategies: How to Hit a Moving Target”— “relentless trial and error” Source: Wall Street Journal, cornerstone of effective approach to “rebalancing” company portfolios in the face of changing and uncertain global economic conditions (11.08.10) In Search of Excellence /1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. A Bias for Action Close to the Customer Autonomy and Entrepreneurship Productivity Through People Hands On, Value-Driven Stick to the Knitting Simple Form, Lean Staff Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties “Fail. Forward. Fast.” High Tech CEO, Pennsylvania “The secret of fast progress is inefficiency, fast and furious and numerous failures.” —Kevin Kelly “Reward excellent failures. Punish mediocre successes.” —Phil Daniels, Sydney exec “It is not enough to ‘tolerate’ failure— you must ‘celebrate’ failure.” —Richard Farson (Whoever Makes the Most Mistakes Wins) Lesson46: WTTMTW Whoever Tries The Most Things Wins Better yet: WTTMTASTMTUTFW Whoever Tries The Most THINGS And Screws The Most Things Up The Fastest Wins 1/4096 “You miss 100% of the shots you never take.” —Wayne Gretzky We are What We Eat/We Are the company we keep The “Hang Out Axiom I”: “You will become like the five people you associate with the most—this can be either a blessing or a curse.” —Billy Cox The “We are what we eat”/ “We are who we associate with” Axiom: At its core, every (!!!) relationship-partnership decision (employee, vendor, customer, etc, etc) is a strategic decision about: “Innovate, ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ ” Measure “Strangeness”/Portfolio Quality Staff Consultants Vendors Out-sourcing Partners (#, Quality) Innovation Alliance Partners Customers Competitors (who we “benchmark” against) Strategic Initiatives Product Portfolio (LineEx v. Leap) IS/IT Projects HQ Location Lunch Mates Language Board “Futuredefining customers may account for only 2% to 3% of your total, but CUSTOMERS: they represent a crucial window on the future.” —Adrian Slywotzky, Mercer Consultants “[CEO A.G.] Lafley has shifted P&G’s focus on inventing all its own products to developing … others’ inventions at least half the time. One successful example, Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, based on a product found in an Osaka market.” —Fortune “Don’t benchmark, futuremark!” Impetus: “The future is already here; it’s just not evenly distributed” —William Gibson “Don’t benchmark, ‘Other’ mark!” We Are the company we keep! Manage it! “The Bottleneck … “The Bottleneck … Is at the Top of the Bottle” “Where are you likely to find people with the least diversity of experience, the largest investment in the past, and the greatest reverence for industry dogma … At the top!” — Gary Hamel/Harvard Business Review Diversity … per se … is a key … maybe the key … to effective and innovative decision making. “Diverse groups of problem solvers—groups of people with diverse tools—consistently outperformed groups of the best and the brightest. If I formed two groups, one random (and therefore diverse) and one consisting of the best individual performers, the first group almost always did better. … Diversity trumped ability.” —Scott Page, The Difference: How the Power of Diversity Creates Better Groups, Firms, Schools, and Societies “Who’s the most interesting person you’ve met in the last 90 days? How do I get in touch with them?” —Fred Smith We Are the company we keep! Manage it! Co-creation “The Billion-man Research Team: Companies offering work to online communities are reaping the benefits of ‘crowdsourcing.’” —Headline, FT Rob McEwen/CEO/ Goldcorp Inc./ Red Lake gold Wikinomics: How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, Don Tapscott & Anthony Williams Source: Forgetting >> Learning Forget>“Learn” “The problem is never how to get new, innovative thoughts into your mind, but how to get the old ones out.” —Dee Hock Zappos 10 Corporate Values Deliver “WOW!” Embrace and drive change. Create fun and a little weirdness. Be adventurous, creative and open-minded. Pursue growth and learning. Build open and honest relationships with communication. Build a positive team and family spirit. Do more with less. Be passionate and determined. Be humble. Source: Delivering Happiness, Tony Hsieh, CEO, Zappos.com through service. “Insanely Great” Steve Jobs “Radically thrilling” BMW “We are crazy. We should do something when people say If people say something is ‘good’, it means someone else is already doing it.” it is ‘crazy.’ —Hajime Mitarai, Canon 14,000 20,000 14,000/eBay 20,000/Amazon 30/Craigslist Where’s your “Craig’s List Every project: [WOW!] option”? Kevin Roberts’ Credo 1. Ready. Fire! Aim. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. If it ain’t broke ... Break it! Hire crazies. Ask dumb questions. Pursue failure. Lead, follow ... or get out of the way! Spread confusion. Ditch your office. Read odd stuff. 10. Avoid moderation! Wow Part FOUR FOUR Key Market Strategies Design Rules! APPLE market cap > Exxon Mobil* *August 2011 “Design is everything. Everything is design.” “We are all designers.” Inspiration: The Power of Design: A Force for Transforming Everything, Richard Farson “Design is treated like a religion at BMW.”* —Fortune *APPLE market cap > Exxon Mobil (August 2011) “We don’t have a good language to talk about this kind of thing. In most people’s vocabularies, design means veneer. … But to me, nothing could be further from Design is the fundamental soul of a man-made creation.” the meaning of design. —Steve Jobs “Only one company can be the cheapest. All others must use design.” —Rodney Fitch, Fitch & Co. Source: Insights, definitions of design, the Design Council [UK] Suit/Asda/$50 Suit/M&S/10X Suit/Saville Road bespoke/10X iPhone/$700 iPhone/”assembled in China”/$20 Source: John Kay/”Our Fetish for Making Things Fails to Understand ‘Real Work’”/FT/11.12 O* C *Chief Design Officer Hypothesis: Men cannot design for women’s !!?? needs “I speak to you with a feminine voice. It’s the voice of democracy, of equality. I am certain, ladies and gentlemen, that this will be the woman’s century. In the Portuguese language, words such as life, soul, and hope are of the feminine gender, as are other words like courage and sincerity.” — President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil, 1st woman to keynote the United Nations General Assembly “Forget China, India and the Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven by Women.” Source: Headline, Economist “One thing is certain: Women’s rise to power, which is linked to the increase in wealth per capita, is happening in all domains and at all levels of society. Women are no longer content to provide efficient labor or to be consumers with rising budgets and more autonomy to spend. … This is just the beginning. The phenomenon will only grow as girls prove to be more successful than For a number of observers, we have already entered the age of ‘womenomics,’ the economy as thought out and practiced by a woman.” boys in the school system. —Aude Zieseniss de Thuin, Women’s Forum for the Economy and Society “Women are the majority market” —Fara Warner/The Power of the Purse W = 28T > 2(C + I) W> 2X (C + I)* *“Women now drive the global economy. Globally, they control about $20 trillion in consumer spending, and that figure could climb as high as $28 trillion in the next five years . Their $13 trillion in total yearly earnings could reach $18 trillion in the same period. In aggregate, women represent a growth market bigger than China and India combined—more than twice as big in fact. Given those numbers, it would be foolish to ignore or underestimate the female consumer. And yet many companies do just that—even ones that are confidant that they have a winning strategy when it comes to women. Consider Dell’s …” Source: Michael Silverstein and Kate Sayre, “The Female Economy,” HBR, 09.09 2.6 vs. “AS LEADERS, WOMEN RULE: New Studies find that female managers outshine their male counterparts in almost every measure” TITLE/ Special Report/ BusinessWeek Women’s Strengths Match New Economy Imperatives: Link [rather than rank] workers; favor interactivecollaborative leadership style [empowerment beats top-down decision making]; sustain fruitful collaborations; comfortable with sharing information; see redistribution of power as victory, not surrender; favor multi-dimensional feedback; value technical & interpersonal skills, individual & group contributions equally; readily accept ambiguity; honor intuition as well as pure “rationality”; inherently flexible; appreciate cultural diversity. Source: Judy B. Rosener, America’s Competitive Secret: Women Managers “Headline 2020: Women Hold 80 Percent of Management and Professional Jobs” Source: The Extreme Future: The Top Trends That Will Reshape the World in the Next 20 Years, James Canton “I am often asked by wouldbe entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for myself?’ The answer seems obvious … Source: Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics “I am often asked by would-be entrepreneurs seeking escape from life within huge corporate structures, ‘How do I build a small firm for Buy a very large one and just wait.” myself?’ The answer seems obvious: —Paul Ormerod, Why Most Things Fail: Evolution, Extinction and Economics “Mr. Foster and his McKinsey colleagues collected detailed performance data stretching back 40 years for 1,000 They found that U.S. companies. none of the long-term survivors managed to outperform the market. Worse, the longer companies had been in the database, the worse they did.” —Financial Times “Data drawn from the real world attest to a fact that is beyond Everything in existence tends to deteriorate.” our control: —Norberto Odebrecht, Education Through Work MittELstand* ** * “agile creatures darting between the legs of the multinational monsters" (Bloomberg BusinessWeek, 10.10) **E.g. Goldmann Produktion “agile creatures darting between the legs of the multinational monsters" Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America —by George Whalin Jungle Jim’s International Market, Fairfield, Ohio: “An adventure in ‘shoppertainment,’ as Jungle Jim’s 1,600 cheeses and, yes, 1,400 varieties of hot sauce —not to mention 12,000 wines priced from $8 to $8,000 a bottle; all this is brought to you by 4,000 vendors. Customers come from every call it, begins in the parking lot and goes on to corner of the globe.” Bronner’s Christmas Wonderland, Frankenmuth, Michigan, pop 98,000-square-foot “shop” features the likes of 6,000 Christmas ornaments, 50,000 trims, and anything else you can name if it 5,000: pertains to Christmas. Source: George Whalin, Retail Superstars “Be the best. It’s the only market that’s not crowded.” From: Retail Superstars: Inside the 25 Best Independent Stores in America, George Whalin M IB to B I M “Never mind computers and tech services. IBM’s radical new focus is on revamping customers’ operations —and running them.” —Headline/ BW Planetary Rainmaker-in-Chief! “[CEO Sam] Palmisano’s strategy is to expand tech’s borders by pushing users— and entire industries—toward radically different business models. The payoff for IBM would be access to an ocean of revenue—Palmisano estimates it at $500 billion a year — that technology companies have never been able to touch.” —Fortune IDEO Product Design Product Design Training Innovation Training UPS “THE GIANT STALKING BIG OIL: How Schlumberger Is Rewriting the Rules of the Energy Game.”: “IPM [Integrated Project Management] strays from [Schlumberger’s] traditional role as a service provider and moves deeper into areas once dominated by the majors.” Source: BusinessWeek cover story, January 2008 “We’ll do just about anything an oilfield owner would want, from drilling to production.” IPM’s Chief: “Instant Infrastructure: GE Becomes a General Store for Developing Countries” —headline/ NYT MasterCard Advisors Huge: Customer “Satisfaction with product/Service” versus Customer “Success” “ ‘Results’ are measured by the success of all those who have purchased your product or service” —Jan Gunnarsson & Olle Blohm, The Welcoming Leader Part FIVE People First! People Second People Third! eople Fourth “Business has to give people enriching, or it's simply not worth doing.” rewarding lives … —Richard Branson “You have to treat your employees like customers.” —Herb Kelleher, upon being asked his “secret to success” Source: Joe Nocera, NYT, “Parting Words of an Airline Pioneer,” on the occasion of Herb Kelleher’s retirement after 37 years at Southwest Airlines (SWA’s pilots union took out a full-page ad in USA Today thanking HK for all he had done) ; across the way in Dallas, American Airlines’ pilots were picketing AA’s Annual Meeting) "If you want staff to give great service, give great service to staff." —Ari Weinzweig, Zingerman's "When I hire someone, that's when I go to work for them.” —John DiJulius, "What's the Secret to Providing a World-class Customer Experience" “Employees who don't feel significant rarely make significant contributions.” —Mark Sanborn EMPLOYEES FIRST, CUSTOMERS SECOND: Turning Conventional Management Upside Down Vineet Nayar/CEO/HCL Technologies “hostmanship”/ “consideration renovation” hostmanship “The path to a culture paradoxically does not go through the guest. In fact it wouldn’t be totally wrong to say that the guest has nothing to do with it. True hostmanship leaders focus on their employees. What drives exceptionalism is finding the right people and getting them to love their work and see it as a passion. ... The guest comes into the picture only when you are ready to ask, ‘Would you prefer to stay at a hotel where the staff love their work or where “We went through the hotel and made a ... ‘consideration renovation.’ Instead of redoing bathrooms, dining rooms, and guest rooms, we gave employees new uniforms, bought flowers and fruit, and changed colors. Our focus was totally on management has made customers its highest priority?’” the staff. They were the ones we wanted to make happy. We wanted them to wake up every morning excited about a new day at work.” —Jan Gunnarsson and Olle Blohm, Hostmanship: The Art of Making People Feel Welcome. “ … The guest comes into the picture only when you are ready to ask, ‘Would you prefer to stay at a hotel where the staff love their work or where management has made customers its highest priority?’” Brand = Talent. Our Mission To develop and manage talent; to apply that talent, throughout the world, for the benefit of clients; to do so in partnership; to do so with profit. WPP … no less than Cathedrals in which the full and awesome power of the Imagination and Spirit and native Entrepreneurial flair of diverse individuals is unleashed in passionate pursuit of … Excellence. Oath of Office: Managers/Servant Leaders Our goal is to serve our customers brilliantly and profitably over the long haul. Serving our customers brilliantly and profitably over the long haul is a product of brilliantly serving, over the long haul, the people who serve the customer. Hence, our job as leaders—the alpha and the omega and everything in between—is abetting the sustained growth and success and engagement and enthusiasm and commitment to Excellence of those, one at a time, who directly or indirectly serve the ultimate customer. We—leaders of every stripe—are in the “Human Growth and Development and Success and Aspiration to Excellence business.” “We” [leaders] only grow when “they” [each and every one of our colleagues] are growing. “We” [leaders] only succeed when “they” [each and every one of our colleagues] are succeeding. “We” [leaders] only energetically march toward Excellence when “they” [each and every one of our colleagues] are energetically marching toward Excellence. Period. From sweaters to people!* Les Wexner: *Limited Brands founder Les Wexner queried on astounding longterm success—said, in effect, it happened because he got as excited about developing people as he had been about predicting fashion trends in his early years “The leaders of Great Groups … love talent … and know where to find revel in … the talent of others.” it. They … —Warren Bennis & Patricia Ward Biederman, Organizing Genius Three People! “The ONE Question”: “In the last year [3 years, current job], three people name the … … whose growth you’ve most contributed to. Please explain where they were at the beginning of the year, where they are today, and where they are heading in the next 12 months. Please explain … in painstaking detail … your development strategy in each case. Please tell me your biggest development disappointment—looking back, could you or would you have done anything differently? Please tell me about your greatest development triumph—and disaster—in the last five years. What are the ‘three big things’ you’ve learned about helping people grow along the way?” Promotion Decisions “life and death decisions” Source: Peter Drucker, The Practice of Management 2/year = legacy. 53 = 53 People are not “Standardized.” Their evaluations should not be standardized. Ever. Standardized Evaluations? Sports?* Arts?* *“Pure” talent-driven enterprises Evaluating people = #1 differentiator Source: Jack Welch/Jeff Immelt on GE’s strategic skill ( !!!!) #1 “The key difference between checkers and chess is that in checkers the pieces all move the same way, whereas in chess all the pieces Discover what is unique about each person and capitalize on it.” move differently. … —Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know 70 cents “Development can help great but if I had a dollar to spend, I’d spend 70 cents getting the right person in the door.” people be even better— —Paul Russell, Director, Leadership and Development, Google the most important aspect of business and yet remains woefully misunderstood.” “In short, hiring is Source: Wall Street Journal, 10.29.08, review of Who: The A Method for Hiring, Geoff Smart and Randy Street “How to throw $500,000 into the sea in one easy lesson!!” TP: < CAPEX > People! Source: Container Store/Goal: increase average sale per shopper The Sky Is the Limit! No company ever Expended too much thought/Effort/ $$$$ on training!* *ESPECIALLY … small company Meanwhile in Rochester NY and Sao Paulo Brazil … Luiza Helena, Magazine Luiza Wegmans. 4 Words! four most important words in any “The organization are … The four most important words in any organization are … “What do you think?” Source: courtesy Dave Wheeler, posted at tompeters.com 8 Words 12 Words Change the World With EIGHT Words What do you think?* How can I help?** *Dave Wheeler: “What are the four most important words in the boss’ lexicon?” **Boss as CHRO/Chief Hurdle Removal Officer ********************************** Change the World With TWELVE Words What do you think?* How can I help?** What have you learned?*** *Dave Wheeler: “What are the four most important words in the boss’ lexicon?” **Boss as CHRO/Chief Hurdle Removal Officer ********************************** ***What [new thing] have you learned [in the last 24 hours]? ********************* * Helping Some Help With Helping … Help works when the recipient subsequently feels smarter—not dumber. Regularly help too soon—and you will set up expectation of inaction until your "help" is provided. Help poorly conveyed spawns powerlessness and resentment in recipient. Helping requires a sniper's rifle or surgeon's scalpel—not a shotgun or machete. Helping strategies vary [significantly] from individual to individual—leave the “cookie cutter” at home. Effectively "helping" may be the most difficult leadership task of all! "Help" is only truly successful when the recipient says, and believes: "I did it myself!" Near truism: Nobody wants help. But we would all liked to have received help. "Don't be helpful. Be available. Helpful people are a nuisance." Guitarist Robert Fripp: New day. New Game. “Things don’t stay the same. You have to understand that not only your business situation changes, but the people you’re working with aren’t the same day to day. Someone is sick. Someone is having a wedding. You must gauge the mood, the thinking level of the team that day.” —Coach K [Krzyzewski] 230 workdays = 230 “rosters” The Memories That Matter. The Memories That Matter The people you developed who went on to stellar accomplishments inside or outside the company. The (no more than) two or three people you developed who went on to create stellar institutions of their own. The long shots (people with “a certain something”) you bet on who surprised themselves—and your peers. The people of all stripes who 2/5/10/20 years later say “You made a difference in my life,” “Your belief in me changed everything.” The sort of/character of people you hired in general. (And the bad apples you chucked out despite some stellar traits.) A handful of projects (a half dozen at most) you doggedly pursued that still make you smile and which fundamentally changed the way things are done inside or outside the company/industry. The supercharged camaraderie of a handful of Great Teams aiming to “change the world.” The Memories That Matter Belly laughs at some of the stupid-insane things you and your mates tried. Less than a closet full of “I should have …” A frighteningly consistent record of having invariably said, “Go for it!” Not intervening in the face of considerable loss—recognizing that to develop top talent means tolerating failures and allowing the person who screwed up to work their own way through and out of their self-created mess. Dealing with one or more crises with particular/memorable aplomb. CIVILITY Demanding … … regardless of circumstances. Turning around one or two or so truly dreadful situations—and watching almost everyone involved rise to the occasion (often to their own surprise) and acquire a renewed sense of purpose in the process. Leaving something behind of demonstrable-lasting worth. (On short as well as long assignments.) The Memories That Matter Having almost always (99% of the time) put “Quality” and “Excellence” ahead of “Quantity.” (At times an unpopular approach.) A few “critical” instances where you stopped short and could have “done more”—but to have done so would have compromised your and your team’s character and integrity. A sense of time well and honorably spent. The expression of “simple” human kindness and consideration—no matter how harried you may be/may have been. Understood that your demeanor/expression of character always set the tone—especially in difficult situations. Never (rarely) let your external expression of enthusiasm/ determination flag—the rougher the times, the more your expressed energy and bedrock optimism and sense of humor showed. The respect of your peers. A stoic unwillingness to badmouth others—even in private. The Memories That Matter An invariant creed: When something goes amiss, “The buck stops with me”; when something goes right, it was their doing, not yours. A Mandela-like “naïve” belief that others will rise to the occasion if given the opportunity. A reputation for eschewing the “trappings of power.” (Strong selfmanagement of tendencies toward arrogance or dismissiveness.) Intense, even “driven” … but not to the point of being careless of others in the process of forging ahead. Willing time and again to be surprised by ways of doing things that are inconsistent with your “certain hypotheses.” Humility in the face of others, at every level, who know more than you about “the way things really are.” Bit your tongue on a thousand occasions—and listened, really really listened. (And been constantly delighted when, as a result, you invariably learned something new and invariably increased your connection with the speaker.) The Memories That Matter Unalloyed pleasure in being informed of the fallaciousness of your beliefs by someone 15 years your junior and several rungs below you on the hierarchical ladder. Selflessness. (A sterling reputation as “a guy always willing to help out with alacrity despite personal cost.”) As thoughtful and respectful, or more so, toward thine “enemies” as toward friends and supporters. Always and relentlessly put at the top of your list/any list being first and foremost “of service” to your internal and external constituents. (Employees/Peers/ Customers/Vendors/Community.) Treated the term “servant leadership” as holy writ. (And “preached” “servant leadership” to others—new “non-managerial” hire or old pro, age 18 or 48.) The Memories That Matter Created the sort of workplaces you’d like your kids to inhabit. (Explicitly conscious of this “Would I want my kids to work here?” litmus test.) A “certifiable” “nut” about quality and safety and integrity. (More or less regardless of any costs.) A notable few circumstances where you resigned rather than compromise your bedrock beliefs. Perfectionism just short of the paralyzing variety. A self- and relentlessly enforced group standard of “EXCELLENCE-in-all-we-do”/“EXCELLENCE in our behavior toward one another.” A 15-Point Human Capital Asset Development Manifesto Tom Peters/0615.12 Q3 2011/BLS +3.1/Non-farm productivity growth +3.8/Non-farm output +0.6/Non-farm hours worked +5.4/Manufacturing productivity +4.7/Manufacturing output -0.6/Manufacturing hours worked Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics/03 November 2011 “A bureaucrat is an expensive microchip.” —Dan Sullivan, consultant and executive coach G N R enetics anotechnology obotics Or: GRIN/ Genetics, Robotics, Information technology, Nanotechnology Or: NBIC/ Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Information technology, Cognitive science A 15-Point Human Capital Development Manifesto “Corporate social responsibility” starts at home—i.e., inside the enterprise! MAXIMIZING 1. GDD/Gross Domestic Development of the workforce is the primary source of mid-term and beyond growth and profitability—and maximizes national productivity and wealth. (Re profitability: If you want to serve the customer with uniform Excellence, then you must FIRST effectively and faithfully serve those who serve the customer— i.e. our employees, via maximizing tools and professional development.) 2. Regardless of the transient external situation, development of “human capital” is always the #1 priority. This is true in general, in particular in difficult times which demand resilience—and uniquely true in this age in which IMAGINATIVE brainwork is de facto the only plausible survival strategy for higher wage nations. (Generic “brainwork,” traditional and dominant “whitecollar activities, is increasingly being performed by exponentially enhanced artificial intelligence.) Three-star generals and admirals (and symphony conductors and sports coaches and police chiefs and fire chiefs) OBSESS about training. Why is it an almost dead certainty that 3. in a random 30-minute interview you are unlikely to hear a CEO touch upon this topic? (I would hazard a guess that most CEOs see IT investments as a “strategic necessity,” but see training expenses as “a necessary evil.”) Proposition/axiom: The CTO/Chief TRAINING Officer is arguably the #1 staff job in the enterprise, at least on a par with, say, the CFO or CIO or head of R&D. (Again, external 4. circumstances—see immediately above—are forcing our hand.) The training budget takes precedence over the capital budget. PERIOD. It’s easier fun to get 5. you picture taken next to a hew machine. But how do you get a photo of a new and much improved attitude in a key distribution center? But the odds are 25:1 that the new attitude will add more to the bottom line than will the glorious state-of-the-art machine. Human capital development should routinely sit atop any agenda or document associated with enterprise strategy. Most any initiative you 6. undertake should formally address implications for and contributions to human capital asset development. Every individual on the payroll should have a benchmarked professional growth strategy. 7. Every leader at every level should be evaluated in no small measure on the collective effectiveness of individual growth strategies— that is, each individual’s absolute growth is of direct relevance to every leader’s assessed performance. “Knowledge becomes obsolete incredibly fast. The continuing professional education of adults is the No. 1 industry in the next 30 years.” —Peter Drucker Given that we ceaselessly lament the “leadership deficit,” it is imperative, and just plain vanilla common sense, that we maximize the rate of development of women leaders at every level—little if anything has a higher priority. (It is an outrage that this has not been 8. the case until now—and is still not the case in far too many institutions.) (And, while there are no guarantees, women are more likely dispositionally to take a shine to the imperative of maximizing human asset development.) Maximum utilization of and continued development of “older workers” (to age 70—or even beyond?) is a source of immense organizational and national growth and wealth. 9. The rapidly aging population, with oldies far more healthy and vital than ever, Ought to be an opportunity rather than a pain-in-the-butt to deal with. The practical key to all human asset development activities is the 1st-line manager. 10. (“Sergeants run the Army” is an accurate commonplace. observation—supported by development resources.) Hence development of the full cadre of 1st-line managers is an urgent—and invariably underplayed—strategic imperative. Arguably, the collective quality and development trajectory of 1st-line leaders is an organization’s #1 human asset development priority. (Consistent with all the above, the 1stline leader’s skill at “people development” is her or his top priority—for which she or he must be rigorously and continually trained.) 11. The national education infrastructure—from kindergarten to continuing adult education—may well be National Priority #1. Moreover, the educational infrastructure must be altered radically to underpin support for the creative jobs that will be more or less the sole basis of future employment and national growth and wealth creation. “Human creativity is the ultimate economic resource.” —Richard Florida 12. Associated with the accelerated priority of the national education infrastructure is a dramatically enhanced and appreciated and compensated role for our teachers—this must necessarily be accompanied by rigorous accountability. There is no doubt that “teaching” (instilling) insatiable curiosity, say, which is the #1 attribute of a creative person, is no easy task; however, there is no way that it can be ducked if one looks at future definitions of employability. “Every child is born an artist. The trick is to remain an artist.” —Picasso The great majority of us work in small enterprises; hence national growth objectives based upon human capital development MUST necessarily extend “downward” to even 1person enterprises. Collective productivity 13. improvement through human capital development among small businesses has an unimaginably large—and underappreciated— payoff. While many small business appreciate the notion, they are unprepared to take the steps necessary to engage their, say, dozen employees in seeking productivity improvements. Needless to say, the activities imagined here will only be possible if abetted by a peerless National Information and Communication Infrastructure. Indeed, the work 14. here is being done—and the need is appreciated and reasonably well funded. The effort must not falter; the new information-based tools are the coin of the realm. 15. Associated with the above is a RADICAL reorientation of leadership education and development—throughout the enterprise/education/continuing education infrastructure. (E.g., Among other things, the MBA and executive education will require open-heart surgery—aimed at shifting focus from finance and marketing to human resource development. ) To deal with the most likely future employment scenarios, leaders will need to be masters of the liberal arts—said arts are, again, the determinant of responding to the emerging world. Blame nobody. Expect nothing. Do something. Globalization1.0: Countries globalizing (1492-1800) Globalization2.0: Companies globalizing (18002000) Globalization3.0 : (2000+) Individuals collaborating & competing globally Source: Tom Friedman/The World Is Flat “If there is nothing very special about your work … no matter how hard you apply yourself you won’t get noticed, and that increasingly means you won’t get paid much either.” —Michael Goldhaber, Wired The Brand You50: Fifty Ways to Transform Yourself from an “Employee” into a Brand That Shouts Distinction, Commitment, and Passion! "The illiterate of the 21st Century will not be those who cannot read or write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn." —Alvin Toffler Part SIX Leading MBWA “I’m always stopping by our at least 25 a week. I’m also in other stores— places: Home Depot, Whole Foods, Crate & Barrel. … I try to be a sponge to pick up as much as I can. …” —Howard Schultz Source: Fortune, “Secrets of Greatness” MBWA Managing By Wandering Around/HP You = Your calendar* *The calendar never lies. Your calendar knows Precisely what you really care about. Do you???? Don’t > Do* * “Don’ting” must be systematic > WILLPOWER “The one thing you need to know about sustained individual success: Discover what you don’t like doing and stop doing it.” —Marcus Buckingham, The One Thing You Need to Know one “If there is any ‘secret’ to effectiveness, it is concentration. Effective executives do first things first and they do one thing at a time.” … —Peter Drucker 50%. Un-scheduled. “Most managers spend a great deal of time thinking about what they plan to do, but relatively little time thinking about what they plan not to do. As a result, they become so caught up … in fighting the fires of the moment that they cannot really attend to the long-term threats and risks facing the organization. So the first soft skill of leadership the hard way is to cultivate the perspective of Marcus Aurelius: avoid busyness, free up your time, stay focused on what really Let me put it bluntly: every leader should routinely keep a substantial portion of his or her time—I would say as much as 50 percent— unscheduled. … Only when you have substantial ‘slop’ in your matters. schedule—unscheduled time—will you have the space to reflect on what you are doing, learn from experience, and recover from your inevitable mistakes. Leaders without such free time end up tackling issues only when there is an immediate or visible problem. Managers’ typical response to my argument about free time is, ‘That’s all well and good, but there are things I have to do.’ Yet we waste so much time in unproductive activity—it takes an enormous effort on the part of the leader to keep free time for the truly important things.” —Dov Frohman (& Robert Howard), Leadership The Hard Way: Why Leadership Can’t Be Taught—And How You Can Learn It Anyway (Chapter 5, “The Soft Skills Of Hard Leadership”) “The Discipline Of Daydreaming”: “Nearly every major decision of my business career was, to some degree, the result of daydreaming. … To be sure, in every case I had to collect a lot of data, do detailed analysis, and make a data-based argument to convince superiors, In the beginning, there was the daydream. By daydreaming, I mean loose, unstructured colleagues and business partners. But that all came later. thinking with no particular goal in mind. … In fact, I think daydreaming is a distinctive mode of cognition especially well suited to the complex, ‘fuzzy’ problems that characterize a more turbulent business environment. … Daydreaming is an effective way of coping with complexity. When a problem has a high degree of complexity, the level of detail can be overwhelming. The more one focuses on the details, the more one risks being lost in them. … Every child knows how to daydream. But many, perhaps most, lose the capacity as they grow up. …” —Dov Frohman (& Robert Howard), Leadership The Hard Way: Why Leadership Can’t Be Taught—And How You Can Learn It Anyway (Chapter 5, “The Soft Skills Of Hard Leadership”) “It’s always showtime.” — “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Gandhi “It’s always showtime.” —David D’Alessandro, Career Warfare “Nothing is so contagious as enthusiasm.” —Samuel Taylor Coleridge “The leader must have infectious optimism. … The final test of a leader is the feeling you have when you leave his presence after a conference. Have you a feeling of uplift and confidence?” —Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery “A leader is a dealer in hope.” —Napoleon Me first! “Being aware of yourself and how you affect everyone around you is what distinguishes a superior leader.” —Edie Seashore (Strategy + Business #45) “To develop others, start with yourself.” —Marshall Goldsmith “How can a high-level leader like _____ be so out of touch with the truth about himself? It’s more common than you would imagine. In fact, the higher up the ladder a leader climbs, the less accurate his self-assessment is likely to be. The problem is an acute lack of feedback [especially on people issues].” —Daniel Goleman (et al.), The New Leaders "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself" - Leo Tolstoy The “Have you …” 50 “Mapping your competitive position” or … 1. Have you in the last 10 days … visited a customer? 2. Have you called a customer … TODAY ? 1. Have you … in the last 10 days … visited a customer? 2. Have you called a customer … TODAY? 3. Have you in the last 60-90 days … had a seminar in which several folks from the customer’s operation (different levels, different functions, different divisions) interacted, via facilitator, with various of your folks? 4. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a small act of helpfulness … in the last three days? 5. Have you thanked a front-line employee for a small act of helpfulness … last three hours? in the 6. Have you thanked a front-line employee for carrying around a great attitude … today? 7. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of your folks for a small act of crossfunctional co-operation? 8. Have you in the last week recognized—publicly—one of “their” folks (another function) for a small act of cross-functional co-operation? 9. Have you invited in the last month a leader of another function to your weekly team priorities meeting? 10. Have you personally in the last week-month called-visited an internal or external customer to sort out, inquire, or apologize for some little or big thing that went awry? (No reason for doing so? If true—in your mind—then you’re more out of touch than I dared imagine.) 11. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific deadlines concerning a project’s next steps? 12. Have you in the last two days had a chat with someone (a couple of levels down?) about specific deadlines concerning a project’s next steps … and what specifically you can do to remove a hurdle? (“Ninety percent of what we call management consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.”—Peter “His eminence” Drucker.) 13. Have you celebrated in the last week a “small” (or large!) milestone reached? (I.e., are you a milestone fanatic?) 14. Have you in the last week or month revised some estimate in the “wrong” direction and apologized for making a lousy estimate? (Somehow you must publicly reward the telling of difficult truths.) 15. Have you installed in your tenure a very comprehensive customer satisfaction scheme for all internal customers? (With major consequences for hitting or missing the mark.) 16. Have you in the last six months had a week-long, visible, very intensive visit-“tour” of external customers? 17. Have you in the last 60 days called an abrupt halt to a meeting and “ordered” everyone to get out of the office, and “into the field” and in the next eight hours, after asking those involved, fixed (f-i-x-e-d!) a nagging “small” problem through practical action? 18. Have you in the last week had a rather thorough discussion of a “cool design thing” someone has come across—away from your industry or function—at a Web site, in a product or its packaging? 19. Have you in the last two weeks had an informal meeting—at least an hour long—with a front-line employee to discuss things we do right, things we do wrong, what it would take to meet your mid- to long-term aspirations? 20. Have you had in the last 60 days had a general meeting to discuss “things we do wrong” … that we can fix in the next fourteen days? 21. Have you had in the last year a one-day, intense offsite with each (?) of your internal customers—followed by a big celebration of “things gone right”? 22. Have you in the last week pushed someone to do some family thing that you fear might be overwhelmed by deadline pressure? 23. Have you learned the names of the children of everyone who reports to you? (If not, you have six months to fix it.) 24. Have you taken in the last month an interesting-weird outsider to lunch? 25. Have you in the last month invited an interesting-weird outsider to sit in on an important meeting? 26. Have you in the last three days discussed something interesting, beyond your industry, that you ran across in a meeting, reading, etc? 27. Have you in the last 24 hours injected into a meeting “I ran across this interesting idea in [strange place]”? 28. Have you in the last two weeks asked someone to report on something, anything that constitutes an act of brilliant service rendered in a “trivial” situation—restaurant, car wash, etc? (And then discussed the relevance to your work.) 29. Have you … in the last 30 days … examined in detail (hour by hour) your calendar to evaluate the degree “time actually spent” mirrors your “espoused priorities”? (And repeated this exercise with everyone on team.) 30. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by a “weird” outsider? 31. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group by a customer, internal customer, vendor featuring “working folks” 3 or 4 levels down in the vendor organization? 32. Have you in the last two months had a presentation to the group of a cool, beyond-our-industry ideas by two of your folks? 33. Have you at every meeting today (and forever more) re-directed the conversation to the practicalities of implementation concerning some issue before the group? 34. Have you at every meeting today (and forever more) had an end-of-meeting discussion on “action items to be dealt with in the next 4, 48 hours”? (And then made this list public—and followed up in 48 hours.) And made sure everyone has at least one such item.) 35. Have you had a discussion in the last six months about what it would take to get recognition in local-national poll of “best places to work”? 36. Have you in the last month approved a cool-different training course for one of your folks? 37. Have you … in the last month … taught a front-line training course? 38. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of Excellence? (What it means, how to get there.) 39. Have you in the last week discussed the idea of “Wow”? (What it means, how to inject it into an ongoing “routine” project.) 40. Have you in the last 45 days assessed some major process in terms of the details of the “experience,” as well as results, it provides to its external or internal customers? 41. Have you in the last month had one of your folks attend a meeting you were supposed to go to which gives them unusual exposure to senior folks? 42. Have you in the last 60 (30?) days sat with a trusted friend or “coach” to discuss your “management style”—and its long- and short-term impact on the group? 43. Have you … in the last three days … considered a professional relationship that was a little rocky and made a call to the person involved to discuss issues and smooth the waters? (Taking the “blame,” fully deserved or not, for letting the thing-issue fester.) 44. Have you in the last … two hours … stopped by someone’s (two-levels “down") officeworkspace for 5 minutes to ask “What do you think?” about an issue that arose at a more or less just completed meeting? (And then stuck around for 10 or so minutes to listen—and visibly taken notes.) 45. Have you … in the last day … looked around you to assess whether the diversity pretty accurately maps the diversity of the market being served? (And …) 46. Have you in the last day at some meeting gone out of your way to make sure that a normally reticent person was engaged in a conversation—and then thanked him or her, perhaps privately, for their contribution? 47. Have you during your tenure instituted very public (visible) presentations of performance? 48. Have you in the last four months had a session specifically aimed at checking on the “corporate culture” and the degree we are true to it—with all presentations by relatively junior folks, including front-line folks? (And with a determined effort to keep the conversation restricted to “real world” “small” cases—not theory.) 49. Have you in the last six months talked about the Internal Brand Promise? 50. Have you in the last year had a full-day off site to talk about individual (and group) aspirations? The Recession 44: Forty-four “Secrets” and “clever Strategies” For dealing Progressively with the Great Recession of 2007++ No peacetime generals in the history books: You will be measured by what you accomplish during tough times. (And remembered by how you accomplished it.) 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2007++ You come in earlier. You leave later. You work harder. You may well work for less; and, if so, you adapt to the untoward circumstances with a smile—even if it kills you inside. You volunteer to do more. You dig deep and always bring a good attitude to work. You fake it if your good attitude flags. You literally practice your "game face" in the mirror in the morning, and in the loo mid-morning. You give new meaning to the idea and intensive practice of “visible management.” 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You take better than usual care of yourself and encourage others to do the same—physical well-being determines mental well-being and response to stress. You shrug off shit that flows downhill in your direction—buy a shovel or a “pre-worn” raincoat on eBay. You try to forget about “the good old days”— nostalgia is self-destructive. You buck yourself up with the thought that “this too shall pass”—but then remind yourself that it might not pass any time soon, and so you re-dedicate yourself to making the absolute best of what you have now. 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You work the phones and then work the phones some more—and stay in touch with positively everyone. You frequently invent breaks from routine, including “weird” ones—“changeups” prevent wallowing and bring a fresh perspective. You eschew all forms of personal excess. You simplify. You sweat the details as never before. You sweat the details as never before. You sweat the details as never before. You raise to the sky and maintain at all costs the Standards of Excellence by which you unfailingly evaluate your own performance. You are maniacal when it comes to responding to even the slightest screw-up. 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You find ways to be around young people and to keep young people around—they are less likely to be members of the “sky is falling” school. You learn new tricks of your trade. You remind yourself that this is not just something to be “gotten through”—it is the Final Exam of character. You network like a demon. You network inside the company—get to know more of the folks who “do the real work.” You network outside the company—get to know more of the folks who “do the real work” in vendor-customer outfits. 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You thank others by the truckload if good things happen—and take the heat yourself if bad things happen. You behave kindly, but you don't sugarcoat or hide the truth--humans are startlingly resilient and rumors are the real killers. You treat small successes as if they were Super Bowl victories—and celebrate and commend accordingly. You shrug off the losses (ignoring what's going on in your tummy), and get back on the horse and immediately try again. You avoid negative people to the extent you can—pollution kills. You eventually read the gloom-sprayers the riot act. 44 “Secrets” and “Clever Strategies” For Dealing with the Recession of 2008-XXXX You give new meaning to the word "thoughtful.“ You don’t put limits on the flowers budget— “bright and colorful” works marvels. You redouble, re-triple your efforts to "walk in your customer's shoes." (Especially if the shoes smell.) You mind your manners—and accept others’ lack of manners in the face of their strains. You are kind to all mankind. You keep your shoes shined. You leave the blame game at the office door. You call out the congenital politicians in no uncertain terms. You become a paragon of personal accountability. And then you pray. K=R=P 139,380 former patients from 225 hospitals: Press Ganey Assoc: none of THE top 15 factors determining Patient Satisfaction referred to patient’s health outcome. Instead: directly related to Staff Interaction; directly correlated with Employee Satisfaction Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel “There is a misconception that supportive interactions require more staff or more time and are therefore more costly. Although labor costs are a substantial part of any hospital budget, the interactions themselves add nothing to the budget. Kindness is free. Listening to patients or answering their questions costs nothing. It can be argued that negative interactions—alienating patients, being non-responsive to their needs or limiting their sense of control—can be very costly. … Angry, frustrated or frightened patients may be combative, withdrawn and less cooperative—requiring far more time than it would have taken to interact with them initially in a positive way.” Source: Putting Patients First, Susan Frampton, Laura Gilpin, Patrick Charmel (Griffin Hospital/Derby CT; Plantree Alliance) K=R=P Kindness = Repeat Business = Profit. K = R = P/Kindness = Repeat business = Profit Kindness: Kind. Thoughtful. Decent. Caring. Attentive. Engaged. Listens well/obsessively. Appreciative. Open. Visible. Honest. Responsive. On time all the time. Apologizes with dispatch for screw-ups. “Over”-reacts to screw-ups of any magnitude. “Professional” in all dealings. Optimistic. Understands that kindness to staff breeds kindness to others/outsiders. Applies throughout the “supply chain.” Applies to 100% of customer’s staff. Explicit part of values statement. Basis for evaluation of 100% of our staff. “Courtesies of a small and trivial character are the ones which strike deepest in the grateful and appreciating heart.” —Henry Clay, American Statesman (1777-1852) "Let's not forget that small emotions are the great captains of our lives." –—Van Gogh Acknowledgement/ Appreciation/ “Thank you!” “The deepest principal in human nature is the craving* to be appreciated.” —William James *“Craving,” not “wish” or “desire” or “longing”/Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People (“The BIG Secret of Dealing With People”) “The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.” —John Dewey (In Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends and Influence People (“The BIG Secret of Dealing With People”) “Acknowledge” … perhaps the most powerful word (and idea) in the English language—and manager’s tool kit! Responsiveness/ Apology/ “I’m sorry!” “I regard apologizing as the most magical, healing, restorative gesture human beings can make. It is the centerpiece of my work with executives who want to get better.” —Marshall Goldsmith, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There: How Successful People Become Even More Successful. Relationships (of all varieties): THERE ONCE WAS A TIME WHEN A THREE-MINUTE PHONE CALL WOULD HAVE AVOIDED SETTING OFF THE DOWNWARD SPIRAL THAT RESULTED IN A COMPLETE RUPTURE.* *divorce, loss of a BILLION $$$ aircraft sale, etc., etc. THE PROBLEM IS RARELY/NEVER THE PROBLEM. THE RESPONSE TO THE PROBLEM INVARIABLY ENDS UP BEING THE REAL PROBLEM.* *PERCEPTION IS ALL THERE IS! With a new and forthcoming policy on apologies … Toro, the lawn mower folks, reduced the average cost of settling a $115,000 in 1991 to $35,000 in 2008 … and the claim from company hasn’t been to trial in the last 15 years! Part SEVEN Excellence/ Aspiration/ Service Immoderation 1982-2012: EXCELLENCE 30 Excellence1982: The Bedrock “Eight Basics” 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. A Bias for Action Close to the Customer Autonomy and Entrepreneurship Productivity Through People Hands On, Value-Driven Stick to the Knitting Simple Form, Lean Staff Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties” “Breakthrough” 82* People! Customers! Action! Values! *In Search of Excellence Hard is Soft. Soft is Hard. EXCELLENCE is not an "aspiration.” EXCELLENCE is … THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES. EXCELLENCE is not an "aspiration." EXCELLENCE is … THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES. EXCELLENCE Or not. EXCELLENCE Or not. EXCELLENCE Or not. EXCELLENCE Or not. EXCELLENCE Or not. EXCELLENCE Or not. EXCELLENCE Or not. EXCELLENCE Or not. EXCELLENCE Or not. EXCELLENCE Or not. EXCELLENCE Or not. EXCELLENCE Or not. is your next conversation. is your next meeting. is shutting up and listening—really listening. is your next customer contact. is saying “Thank you” for something “small.” is the next time you shoulder responsibility and apologize. is waaay over-reacting to a screw-up. is the flowers you brought to work today. is lending a hand to an “outsider” who’s fallen behind schedule. is bothering to learn the way folks in finance [or IS or HR] think. is waaay “over”-preparing for a 3-minute presentation. is turning “insignificant” tasks into models of … EXCELLENCE. EXCELLENCE is … THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES. Or not. 2007 Novosibirsk: Aspiration An emotional, vital, innovative, joyful, creative, entrepreneurial endeavor that elicits maximum Enterprise* (*at its best): concerted human potential in the wholehearted pursuit of EXCELLENCE in service of others.** **Employees, Customers, Suppliers, Communities, Owners, Temporary partners 2007 Sydney: Service Organizations exist to serve. Period. Leaders live to serve. Period. … no less than Cathedrals in which the full and awesome power of the Imagination and Spirit and native Entrepreneurial flair of diverse individuals is unleashed in passionate pursuit of … Excellence. 7 Steps to Sustaining Success You take care of the people. The people take care of the service. The service takes care of the customer. The customer takes care of the profit. The profit takes care of the re-investment. The re-investment takes care of the re-invention. The re-invention takes care of the future. (And at every step the only measure is EXCELLENCE.) 7 Steps to Sustaining Success: And it starts with … You take care of the people. Immoderation Kevin Roberts’ Credo 1. Ready. Fire! Aim. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. If it ain’t broke ... Break it! Hire crazies. Ask dumb questions. Pursue failure. Lead, follow ... or get out of the way! Spread confusion. Ditch your office. Read odd stuff. 10. Avoid moderation! Part Eight Top Top Twenty **Just one “secret” to innovation: It’s a messy world. We’re always operating half informed. Hence, “try more stuff than the other guy” and sort it out as you go forward is best way to up success odds. (“Ready. Fire. Aim.”— Ross Perot) **Paradox: Superb quality is an absolute necessity, and it requires superb systems; but superb quality with the wrong product flunks. Hence one needs to be organized (quality) and disorganized (innovation) at the same time. (Axiom: Management is art, not science.) **Waste #1: “Great branding”/marketing can not overcome a lousy product—it is largely wasted. The product (innovative, attractive, of the highest quality) comes first—though excellence in product and marketing is indubitably required to achieve a smashing success. Top Twenty **Everywhere: “Excellence” in quality and design is not restricted to the “high end.” Both characteristics can be imbedded in lower-end products and services. **Iron law: All organizations get worse as they become more and more enormous. No cultural differences. **Iron law: Over the long haul, national success is largely built upon SMEs, with growth and innovation associated largely with a large population of vibrant midsized enterprises—Germany’s “Mittelstand” is exhibit #1. **Paradox: Hierarchy is dead. Long live hierarchy. New market requirements and new tools can dramatically reduce hierarchy. Still, I don’t want to drive across a bridge that didn’t have a “command and control” structure to sign off on safety. Top Twenty **But: Hierarchy is often necessary—but relentless hot war must be declared on bureaucracy “24/7.” **“New marketing techniques”: The newest marketing technique is the oldest marketing technique but remains “new” because it is seldom practiced with requisite intensity. Namely, get the hell out into the market place and listen & listen & listen to customers. Then listen some more. **Always #1: Any nation’s Olympic team is as good as its athletes. (Duh.) Exactly the same is true with any (as in any!) organization: Investment in and development of great people comes first and is the greatest sustaining differentiator! **Motivator #1: Treating people with respect is always the #1 motivational “tool.” Top Twenty **Why not business: In the army and in the theater and in sports, training is always Priority #1. Why not in business? No organization ever devoted too much effort to training! **Success “secret” #1: Work harder/much harder than the other guy/s. There’s more to it than hard work but hard work is the sine qua non. (Again: Think of the Olympics.) **Speed’s enabler: The #1 cause of delays is invariably lousy cross-functional communication—the product developers don’t talk to the logistics people who don’t talk to the sales people. Etc. Etc. Excellence in crossfunctional communication must become a day-to-day topmanagement obsession. Top Twenty **New context, new leaders: Innovation (and execution) today is a collaborative process. Women are on average better leaders than men in collaborative situations. Men take to hierarchies—we invented ’em. Women tend to lead more by inclusion rather than coercion. **Customer #1: In retail and in products designed for retail, she is the primary consumer. Company leadership and the product-service portfolio should mimic, more or less, this fact. (You heard it here 1st: Men and women are different.) **New context, new skills; The Age of Brawn is largely behind us. Brains and creativity and flexibility have come to the fore. Not only are our organizations unprepared— but our schools get it more or less exactly wrong 100% of the time. Top Twenty **Acceleration: Technological change is accelerating as never before. It is not an exaggeration to say that “all bets are off;” adaptability and renewal are imperative on a short-cycle unimaginable only 10 or so years ago. (And we ain’t seen nothin’ yet.) **Mix it up: Company leaders tend to be look alikes. Only (only!) diversity on any dimension you can name induces creativity over the long haul—from the boardroom to the front line. **“Sexy”: Clever strategies and exciting products are important, but superb execution invariably carries the day. Asked his #1 success “secret,” peerless hotelier Conrad Hilton replied, “Don’t forget to tuck the shower curtain into the bath tub.” Amen! Excellence. Always. If not Excellence, what? If not Excellence now, when?