I’ve been working with this one client for about six years, so I know them well. I can recite their history of success – and failure – in setting priorities and sticking to them. Their biggest challenge is a lack of bandwidth to manage any large initiative. Everyone, from the CEO on down, is so busy focusing on client projects that they can’t support any large change. The move to matrix management? A failure. Market expansion? Mediocre results. So the purpose of inviting all the managers and senior staff to an off site meeting was to reverse that trend. I walked into the meeting, hoping that the CEO would do a good job championing our plan to delegate more project responsibility so that the leadership “bandwidth” could grow. I’d been coaching her for more than a month in preparation for this meeting.

She started off with her vision – and quickly got a barrage of questions. “How are we going to define these teams?” “Who’s going to set expectations?” “How are we going to manage internal chargebacks?” People in the room were way down in the weeds before they’d even stopped to think about why it was necessary to create a more decentralized structure. So I guided the CEO back to some crucial questions: Why was her vision important? What was the business rationale? What did she see as the transition plan? She settled into her rhythm, started talking about the benefits and the steps she envisioned. At one point she said: “If we don’t do this, I think we’re going to get gobbled up by the competition. That’s how serious it is.”

The responses shifted from skepticism to statements of support. After about an hour, I asked the group to signal whether they supported the CEO’s vision by standing up. All but three people stood up. I asked them: “Please share your concerns. Why do you think this is a bad idea?” I reminded them that this was a safe place to express their “inner scripts.”

The fervor of their emotions surprised me. “We represent the support staff, and we’re caught in a hard place between operations and programs. Everything gets dumped on us – and nothing in this plan changes that.”

The CEO paused and said: “I totally hear what you’re saying. But I respectfully disagree. My vision is that the support staff will be integral members of these teams. Communication will get better. Coordination of projects will get better. You still have to play a support role – that’s your job. But I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised by how much different it will feel. I don’t think you’ll feel dumped on. You’ll feel like a member of a team.”

The rest of the meeting focused on how to implement the new structure. Once it was clear that it was safe to express real concerns, people opened up. I made sure everyone got a chance to talk and express his or her concerns. It took another hour, but by the time we were done, everyone was highly supportive and marching in the same direction.

As we were leaving the meeting, I asked the CEO if she thought this initiative would turn out differently. “I do,” she said. “This time we took the time to listen to each other. It wasn’t always pleasant to hear what people said. But I think that’s what will make the difference.”

Learn more about LRI consulting or read our case studies.

Marcia started the day with an hour-long Straight Talk® workshop. Its purpose was to help the team members – 12 in all – understand each other’s natural preferences for communicating and making decisions, and how they related to other people on the team. All 12 had taken the Straight Talk survey in advance. Using Straight Talk’s sophisticated online system, they viewed each other’s in-depth profiles, compared styles with one another, and got tips on communicating and relating to one another more effectively. The online system also displayed the team on a map, showing all 12 in terms of their communication styles. (Note: The online Straight Talk® system is free to anyone – go to www.gostraight.talk.com).

Marcia identified team members whose styles were different and asked: “How could you communicate more effectively with each other?” One team member said her passivity got in the way of expressing her ideas. “Look at where I am compared to the rest of you,” she said. “I simply need to be more assertive.” Her colleagues chimed in and said “yes, please!”

Another team member said she’d caught a major payment error, but hadn’t told her colleague about it because he was too busy. “I’m not,” he protested. She paused and looked at him. “Your profile confirms it,” she said to him. “You’re always moving on to the next thing.”

“Yes,” he said, “but I am truly interested in talking to you, anytime. I will drop what I’m doing to talk to you.” Score another win for team-building.

As the hour progressed, Marcia turned the team’s attention to the overall team dynamic. “A lot of people on this team have high Director and Expresser scores. That means your team likes to run fast, make decisions quickly, and be entrepreneurial. That’s great, but you need to counter-balance that tendency for the team to function at its peak potential.”

Marcia’s insight triggered an interesting discussion. One person said the team “had a high failure rate on our most recent hires. Maybe too much gut instinct is at play.” Someone else noticed that “we have three people with strong Thinker scores. Maybe we should incorporate them more into our decision making.” After some discussion, the team’s leader said: “I think we should consult with at least one of those three before we make a hiring decision.” That idea eventually got incorporated into the team’s operating principles.

Marcia got some great feedback from the client about this workshop. One team member said: “Thank you for an excellent day. I have gone to many workshops of this type and this was one of the very best I’ve ever attended!”

If so, you may have wondered from time to time how your colleagues think. Do their minds process information the same way you do? Do they look at a report and see the same thing – and think of the same questions? When they hear about a problem, do they respond the same way you do?

Most of us don’t have the time or sophistication to understand how our colleagues think or make decisions. But imagine a tool that did that. How useful that would be!

Straight Talk® is that tool. A simple 32-question survey reveals your style. It’s called your “communication style,” but it’s more than how you communicate. It reveals how you listen, how you think, and the assumptions you make. It reveals insights into who you are and how you like to process information, how you relate and how you respond to people.

The Straight Talk® online system also enables you to compare styles. You can invite other people to take the survey and then see a description of how you relate to each other. It enables you to set up teams and view profiles of your team’s communication. The system maps your place on a matrix of styles. It gives you tips on how to apply Straight Talk® and communicate more effectively.

Here are some examples of how groups have put Straight Talk® to use.

A volunteer group:

“We are much more patient with each other because we appreciate how different our learning styles are.”

A management team:

“We have much more effective discussions now because we ask each other better questions. The other day, someone asked: ‘Given my style, I need a holistic picture of how this fits into our suite of services. Where are the synergies? Why does it make sense?”

A group of students:

“We use Straight Talk® to make up our study teams. We try to match people with different styles in order to expand our thinking and maximize our collective brainpower.”

So what are you waiting for? If Straight Talk® can help you and your group work together more successfully, why not try it? By the way, the people behind Straight Talk® keep adding new features and content. So it pays to keep coming back each week to see what’s new.

Straight Talk^® mojo? What’s that, you say?  It’s what happens when you put yourself into perspective – and appreciate who you are, how you like to communicate, and how to be more effective in your communication. Straight Talk^® mojo means you’ve discovered both your strengths and weaknesses as a communicator – and done something about it. Straight Talk^® mojo comes with using Straight Talk^® and getting your Straight Talk^® in-depth profile.

Here’s what I might suggest to Obama: I’d urge him to tell every member of Congress to learn Straight Talk^®. It will help them appreciate each other’s positions. It will help them communicate with more self-awareness. It will help every member of Congress be more effective in explaining their differences – and finding points of common ground. I’d counsel him that it would help him communicate more sensitively with his enemies. And be more confident in asking favors of his friends. Ultimately, I’d say that it would help him be a better President, and Congress be a better representative of the people.

People often ask me why we call it Straight Talk^®.  The answer is: Because it enables you to be more confident and direct in your communication. Because once you know your style, then it’s easier to say (as a Thinker would say): “I need to take a bit more time to process the information and talk about it before making a decision. I appreciate you want quick turnaround. But that’s not how I like to get things done.”

Straight Talk^® doesn’t mean shooting from the hip. Straight Talk^® means letting people know where you’re coming from, so you can be more direct and effective. Taking the survey, reading about one’s style, comparing styles and learning how other people like to communicate – that’s the Straight Talk^® prescription. It takes a few minutes – and of course once you dive into the online system, you can spend hours inviting people, reading profiles, and comparing notes. But if the net effect is the ability to be more effective and strategic in your communication, isn’t it worth it?

Okay, fine, you say. But let’s get back to the President. What’s his Straight Talk^® style? If I were to guess, I’d say he’s a Persuader – a combination of Director, Thinker and Harmonizer. If you’re reading this blog and have access to the President, urge him to take the survey and let us know about his style.  His country wants to know!

https://GoStraightTalk.com

1. Goals: What results are we trying to achieve? What does success look like for us? How will we achieve them?
2. Governance: Who makes decisions, and at what levels of the organization? What decisions should the Board of Directors make? What decisions should the chief executive and the staff make?
3. Capabilities: What capabilities do we need to be successful in achieving our goals?
4. Structure: How should we structure ourselves to optimize our effectiveness?
5. Culture: What kind of culture do we want? What values do we want to guide our behavior?
6. Feedback: How do we measure our performance? How can we design “learning loops” so that the right people have the right information at the right time?
7. Continuous improvement: How can we best assure that we are continuously improving the services and products we deliver?

A skilled outside consultant can be invaluable in helping an organization navigate change and address these different questions. The consultant can provide insights into where the organization is currently – and where it needs to evolve – in order to operate at a higher level. An outside consultant can also provide immense value by guiding the process and providing the perspective to focus the organization on the right things in the right sequence – so that the process of change occurs in a careful, thoughtful way – and to keep the process moving.

About Our Firm

Leading Resources Inc. (LRI) was founded in 1998 in California and is dedicated to developing leaders and leading organizations. LRI has grown steadily since its founding and serves clients in California, across the United States, and around the world. LRI’s practice areas include:

• Strategic Planning: giving voice to vision, shaping priorities, and defining performance measures;
• Leadership Development: increasing leadership skills through individual and team assessment, training, and coaching;
• Performance Management: enabling people to utilize information to improve performance;
• Governance Development: facilitating the adoption of best governance practices and developing clear decision-making roles and responsibilities.

We work with Boards of Directors, executives, and management teams to achieve higher levels of performance by:

• Facilitating strategic planning processes to assure that leaders share a common vision of where the organization is going and what results it intends to achieve.
• Helping to clarify what the Board and executive staff need to do to achieve those results.
• Developing feedback loops so that performance measures are used at all levels to help people make decisions.
• Coaching Boards of Directors and leaders in the skills of effective governance, decision making, leadership, and management.
• Assuring that roles and responsibilities are clarified at each level of the organization.

To learn more about our services, call 1-800-598-7662 or email info@leadingresources.com.

When a major disaster looms, the prepared executive knows exactly what to do. They’ve planned for different scenarios. They have different responses at the ready. At stake is nothing less than the fate of your organization. Even a relatively small crisis can cost your organization dearly if handled poorly. Your crisis management planning should include the following seven elements:

1. Plan for Different Crisis Scenarios

Every organization should list the possible crises that could befall it. There are seven categories of crisis:

Natural disasters: These include storms, fires, earthquakes, epidemics, and interruptions of power. In general, the public will not blame an organization for any fallout from a natural disaster – unless human error or misjudgment compounds it.

Economic crises: These include labor strife, labor shortages, major declines in share price, major fluctuations in earnings, and economic disruptions. This type of crisis is likely to be triggered by grave errors in judgment, so it will be tempting to try to cover up. Remember the trust-empathy matrix!

Information crises: These include computer security breaches, breach of copyrights, breach of patent, and loss of confidential information. These can either be the result of criminal activity, internal error, or a combination of both.

Physical crises: These include breakdowns in key equipment, disruptions of assembly lines, loss of key facilities. Again, these are typically the result of both internal error and external factors.

Human resource crises: These include loss of key executives or employees, and legal problems such as embezzlement or sexual harassment. These are typically self-made crises. Cover-ups are likely to occur in this area, so watch out!

Reputation crises: These include libel and slander, and damage to corporate reputation. These will already be exposed in the media, so a cover-up is not in question. What’s in question is how to assume responsibility when the damage is self-inflicted.

Criminal crises: These include product tampering, bomb threats, terrorist acts, shootings on site, kidnapping, hostage taking, and other forms of workplace violence. Typically these require immediate action by police and other authorities – so you need to be prepared to work closely with them. At the same time, you need to expand your frame of responsibility and be prepared to launch broad protective measures.

2. Have a Crisis Response Team in Place

When a crisis hits, a response team must be ready to take charge. This crisis response team should be prepared ahead of time to assume responsibility. The team should be composed of people who are both senior in the organization and trained in how to respond. It needs to have a clear line of succession so if one person is not available, another can step in. In large organizations, this team may consist of five to ten individuals, including the chief executive.

3. Develop Response Modules

Once you’ve listed the possible scenarios, develop responses modules that can be combined and adapted for use in different scenarios. Preparing different modules will give the crisis management team greater flexibility and make it easier to respond quickly.

Individual response modules might include the following: go to back-up power, notify fire or police, quick evacuation, essential services only, lockdown the facility, and transfer to secondary location. A major storm might trigger “quick evacuation” and “notify fire and police.” A different set of modules might be used to deal with a major interruption of power (“back-up power” and “essential services only”). A storm threat might also trigger “notify police,” “quick evacuation,” “lockdown,” and “transfer to a secondary location.”

4. Define Communication Protocols

Each response module should define who’s in charge and how they will communicate. Specific signals need to be established for various events. How severe is the crisis? (Many organizations use a three-stage system signified by codes yellow, orange, and red). How do you signal a decision to move from normal to “crisis” mode? How do you let people know that things are back to normal? Questions like these must be answered beforehand.

Pay particular attention to redundant systems of communication. What is the primary channel of communication? Radios? Cell phones? Are they compatible with other emergency responders? What’s the back-up system? The crisis response team should work out these details in advance.

5. Establish a Command Center

The crisis response team needs a place where they can meet and coordinate their activities. Copies of the various response modules should be available. The center should have sufficient communications capacity (redundant power systems and redundant television, radio and internet access) to enable people to connect quickly. It should be large enough so people can congregate there without getting in each other’s way. A backup command post, located some distance away, is also important.

6. Have Resources on Hand

Certain response scenarios require adequate reserves of food and water, backup power generation, fuel, and medical supplies. You may think you can negotiate these on the fly, but remember – it’s going to be a seller’s market. When a disaster hits, you’ll be glad you’re not out looking for food and clean water along with thousands of others.

7. Run Simulation Exercises

Every organization should test its crisis response plans at least once a year. These exercises should test the crisis response team’s ability to adapt the response modules to a highly detailed scenario. After the exercise, people should be asked to evaluate what went well and what needs to be improved. Check the communications gear, command post, and tangible resources more frequently to make sure they’re operational.

Note: Leading Resources Inc. (“LRI”) can help you develop a comprehensive crisis preparedness plan. Contact us at info@leadingresources.com

The MBO system awards financial bonuses based on achieving specific goals over a set period of time. The mechanics are fairly simple. You decide on a specific percent of base salary as the potential bonus. Objectives are assigned points, with the total points equalling 100. For example, if the potential bonus is 20 percent of base salary, a manager earning $50,000 could earn a $10,000 bonus. A manager might have 5 objectives, each worth 20 points. If he only achieves four of the objecties, then he would receive 80 percent of his potential bonus.

Let’s work though an example. A marketing manager might list the following objectives:

1. Generate 2 million sales for new product – 30 points
2. Build 80% customer awareness of new product, measured by online survey – 30 points
3. Make website available in 8 new languages – 20 points
4. Open new customer service center – 20 points

After the marketing manager develops this initial list, he shares it with his boss. She might say: “These look good. But I think you should earn 15 points for generating 2 million sales, and 15 points more for generating 3 million sales. Otherwise, these all look fine to me.” The marketing manager would make that change, both parties would sign the list of MBOs, and both would keep a copy.

In most cases, MBOs are either quarterly or 6-month objectives. At the end of that period, the marketing manager sits down with his boss, presents evidence to show whether the objective was achieved, and the boss determines the total points awarded. For example, if sales were 2.8 million, the boss might say: “You certainly got 15 points here, but you missed getting the full 30.” Assuming the other goals were achieved, the marketing manager’s total points would be 85 and his bonus would be 20 percent multiplied by the compensation for that period multiplied by 0.85.

So where can this system go wrong? In the first place, each objective must be measurable, and both parties must agree on the means of measurement. If the objective is too vague, like “open a new market in Europe,” then determining success will be difficult and contentious. In a similar vein, objectives should not be too easily attainable. The key to success is putting the onus on the employee to present a draft list of objectives, along with the means of measuring them, and then honing the list until the objectives are both meaningful – i.e. requiring significant effort with import to the company – and measurable.

The last point is key – to be meaningful, the management by objective system has to set a high bar for success. No one should routinely get 100 points. Some objectives might be relatively easy, but some should truly be “stretch” goals. A good rule of thumb is that good employees should regularly earn 50-85 points. Earning 100 points – and the full bonus – should be an exceptional case.

Lastly, it’s worth pointing out that the MBO system has built-in flexibility for the organization, because each manager’s bonus can be set differently. Senior-level managers might earn 80 percent of their base salary in the form of bonus compensation. Lower-level employees might be eligible for a bonus compensation of 10 percent. It’s entirely appropriate for a CEO to have a base salary of $100,000, with bonus compensation of 1,000 percent, based on achievement of specific objectives. The system, if done right, can truly be designed to help motivate success and generate significant returns to the organization.

If you’re interested in learning more about how to develop an MBO system in your company, please call Leading Resources Inc. LRI can advise you on setting it up or help you both implement a customized system and train your managers in how to manage it effectively.

Afterward, I got an email from one of the participants who wrote:

“Nice job yesterday. In my past work with strategic planning, the agency has had a Mission statement.  Is our new purpose statement the same thing as our mission, or is the vision looking like our mission? I understood the mission to be how we are going to make the Vision statement happen.  Please advise.”

I wrote her back the following:

“What I’ve found is that purpose and vision together with core values provides an organization a sense of clarity about what is important – why are we here (purpose), where are we going (vision), and what’s essential for our success (the core values). Organizational mission statements tend to be a mishmash of core values, purpose, and vision, resulting in clarity about none of them.”

Furthermore, I replied:

“There are times when a mission statement is useful. The most famous case is NASA, when it defined in the 1960s its mission to reach the moon by the end of the decade. That was neither NASA’s purpose nor its vision. But it did represent the single most important priority for the Agency during a specific period of time. Similarly, Volvo has a mission of making customer service paramount. Southwest has a mission of low fares. Sometimes the mission is communicated internally (Volvo). Sometimes externally (Southwest). But they are not substitutes for purpose, core values, and vision.”

Note: the first and second chapters of my book, “Leading at Light Speed,” offer more examples and explain in detail the advantages of this approach.

What is Good Customer Service?

I recently bought a new Nissan hybrid. As part of the deal, I turned in my previous Nissan, which I had leased. The sales manager at the dealership told me they’d take care of all the “turn in costs,” including any excess wear and tear on the vehicle (it had some minor scrapes on the fenders). We didn’t put that part of the deal into writing. It was a verbal acknowledgment. I had their word that they’d take care of it. “Good customer service,” I thought.

To my surprise, three months after I bought the new car, I got an excess wear and tear bill from Nissan on the old car totaling $250. Not a lot of money. But I wasn’t going to pay it. It was the dealer’s responsibility. We had a deal.

So I called the dealership to talk to my salesperson. Unfortunately, he had left the company. I was transferred to a man named Glen. After I explained the situation, Glen said he would handle it for me. “Thank you,” I told him, my trust meter rising. “Just fax me the invoice from Nissan,” he said. I did, and I figured that was the end of it.

A month later, I got a call from a debt collection service. “Where’s the money you owe us?” a Mr. Frezell asked. I explained the situation and said that the dealership had promised to take care of it. “You should talk to them,” I said.

“We don’t talk to anyone but you,” said Mr. Frezell in the tone of voice that only a debt collector can love. After a few attempts to get him to see the situation from my point of view, I hung up the phone.

My next call was to the dealership. How could they not have taken care of this, I asked myself? We had a deal. My trust meter was dropping. My relationship with Nissan hung in the balance.

When Glen got on the phone, I explained the latest chapter. “This debt collection service has called me and said I still owe this money.”

“I don’t get it,” Glen said. “Let me look into it and call you back.”

Less than 30 minutes later, Glen called back. “I researched this. We wrote a check to Nissan three weeks ago. The check has been endorsed and deposited. I’ll fax the check so you can see for yourself. And give me the number of Mr. Frezell and I’ll be happy to talk to him.”

Latest update: Glen called Mr. Frezell and wrote him a letter, including copies of the check showing that Nissan had deposited it. No further word from the debt collection agency.

Today, my trust meter in Nissan is at a high point. This story of what is good customer service could have gone the other way – and cost Nissan a long-term loyal customer. But because of Glen, the scales tipped toward trust. It helped me remember that every customer relationship hinges on small but crucial moments of good customer service.

The same phenomenon happens in groups. People who hold strong opinions about something perceive that anyone who asks questions is biased against them, regardless of how neutral or innocent the questions are.

I saw it in action this week during a meeting of the executive team of a health care company. Ten people gathered in a large conference room overlooking San Francisco to discuss the strategic issues faced by the organization. I asked each person to reflect on these questions: “How is the health care environment changing in California? What are the most important opportunities for the company? What should be our priorities over the next year?”

For the most part, the ensuring conversation was excellent. One team member talked about the “triple transformation:” the realignment of state government, health care reform, and the emergence of community care organizations. Another said she was worried about trends in work force development and the growing need for people with expertise in integrated care. Yet another talked about the importance of marketing services to public agencies.

Then Michelle spoke. She was vice president of marketing, new to the management team. She started by saying: “In my old job, this would be called channel management.” Eyes turned to her. “In a dynamic environment, we need to look at each customer segment and provide a unique value proposition.“

A team member asked: “Can you give us some specific examples?”

“You’re missing my point,” Michelle said. “We need to think more like a business.”

“In what ways?” said the team member.

“We need to be more business-like with our customers. We assume our customers will be there tomorrow, when that’s not necessarily true.”

There was an awkward silence. I could feel the tension ratcheting up in the room. “Which customers are you referring to?” she was asked.

“All of them,” Michelle said. “It should be obvious.” She stared defiantly at her inquisitor.

After the meeting, the CEO asked for my impressions. “I thought it was a good, productive discussion,” I replied. “With one exception.”

“Are you referring to Michelle?” he asked. “That was classic. There should be a name for what she did.”

“There already is,” I replied. “It’s called the hostile media effect. She’s highly opinionated and perceives innocent questions as hostile to her.”

“Is it curable?”

“Only in cases where you can get them to eat a large piece of humble pie!”

Learn the habits of high performing organizations in my new book: http://leadingatlightspeed.com.