In Pursuit of Excellence

Dear Sir:

My name is John Everyman, and I’m one of the hundreds of people who work for you. Like me, many of my co-workers have started working here fairly recently after losing their jobs. You probably haven’t had a chance to get to know many of us or what we did before we came here, but that’s understandable. Since we’ve been working side-by-side, I’ll help you get to know a little about them.

Many of my co-workers have had impressive careers and responsible, important positions. Laid-off teachers. Highly skilled craftsmen. Entrepreneurs whose businesses have failed. College graduates, some with masters degrees. Ex-soldiers who risked everything. Parents who are successfully raising families, and grandparents who have already succeeded in that most-important job of all.

Since you don’t know me, I wanted to tell you a little about what I did before I came here. I managed thirty people and a seven-figure budget. My salary was quite a bit more than the wage I earn now, but that’s alright. These days money isn’t everything like it used to be. I have a lot to be grateful for…I’m working. You have no idea how frustrating it was hearing over and over that I was “too qualified” for other jobs I had applied for before this company finally gave me a chance.

In spite of my years as a captain, I haven’t forgotten how to be a good soldier. But now that I’m back to taking orders rather than giving them, I realize that I did forget some things that are very important to the troops in the trenches. I was a manager for so long I forgot what it felt like to be just a “regular person” on the front line. That’s not to imply that you’ve forgotten too. But just in case, I want to share this with you.

Some of the best people in the world reported to me. Those same people work here. While we may be the best, we’re easy to please. Nothing that matters to us costs much of anything! My co-workers and I…

• Want to help! Is what we know, see and think important to you? If so, show it to us now and then. For starters, just let us know you are really listening, that what we say is registering with you.
• Need to know we are making a difference, and we need to know how we’re doing.
• Need to know that we’re appreciated.
• Need a compelling vision to commit to; without that all we can do is comply to the direction we’re given. There’s a big difference.
• Are good soldiers. But we need clear marching orders from leaders we trust, before we will feel safe laying it on the line.
• Need a chance to better ourselves, not just through raises or promotions. We need opportunities to learn more, do more, apply ourselves more. People need to grow.
• Need to feel like our talents are being fully utilized in our jobs. Did you know that “wasting talent” is now one of the official Eight Wastes of Lean Thinking? Talent is a terrible thing to waste.

These are the same things that my employees needed more than anything else I could have given them, and these are the basics that I lost sight of in my years as a manager. I was too busy juggling the accountabilities of the position that I had far too little time to devote to the people who were capable of making or breaking me in that position.

My family has adjusted our standard of living and we’re doing alright, especially considering the economy. This job means a great deal to us-I need the paycheck and the benefits more than you can even imagine, unless you’ve recently been without one or the other or both. I really don’t care about “position” and I’m sure many of my co-workers are like me in that respect. But if I ever do get back to a position where I am once again responsible for leading others, I have learned some valuable lessons that I will not forget.

I hope you have not forgotten those things, because that’s easy to do. We’re counting on you.

Sincerely,

John

Behind the Everyman Letter

Talent Wars

Before the downturn, the big scare was a projected shortage of talent of significant proportions. But employee retention is still a key issue; and it is black and white demographics. The number of those entering the workforce over the next few decades does not even come close to being able to replace the droves of retiring boomers. At the same time, education attainment levels are plummeting-smaller percentages of young people are graduating from both high school and college.

The talent pool is evaporating, and the impacts cannot be ignored. Fewer workers, lower skilled.

It’s more than numbers that is scary. Those boomers who do retire will be taking with them the years of experience and knowledge that built most of the companies they are working for. They are the long-term do-ers and leaders of business and industry.

Career Shifters

Countless people have recently transitioned into new jobs, many of them taking a substantial cut in pay, position, and responsibility. Some may have taken a “lesser” job just to survive, others may not mind staying where they landed even when opportunities open up again. Their new employers don’t recognize the importance of this fact. When the downturn eases, many highly skilled, experienced people will be looking for meaningful jobs if they feel they can do better. Or, does their current job satisfy them enough to entice them to stay? The opportunity to create a high-involvement, highly engaged work force will never be greater. The highest quality raw materials are readily available.

People Who Need People…

It’s no secret that your people determine your success. From The Global Workforce Study, Towers-Perrin 2007:

While many factors can trigger failure, the most critical is often overlooked: people. Lack of support, buy-in, and readiness at all levels — your employees, frontline managers and CEO — makes the difference between an abandoned initiative and one that contributes to your company’s growth. 

The downturn has elevated the need for engagement. BlessingWhite noted in their 2009 report Uncertainty’s Antidote: Three Leadership Imperatives:

Now you need employees to stay focused and productive despite taking on the ghost work of laid-off colleagues, paused pet projects, eliminated perks, ever-shifting priorities, and the distraction of the latest market headlines telling them their 401k’s have been crushed again. Employee engagement is essential.

Retention, and the Payoff

If you manage to land good talent, you’d better work hard to hold on to it. What factors impact overall job satisfaction, and therefore retention? Forget the bottom level basic survival needs of the Maslow model. The work force is craving much more than just pay and benefits. I’m not a researcher, and I don’t care to list yet again the mountains of studies and data to validate this, but the studies are out there. Fact:

Companies with higher levels of engagement also experience greater profit, productivity and retention rates.

The bad news: you cannot buy engagement. The good news: engagement costs nothing.

 Leaders Expect…

Diligent people who produce

Company goals to be met

Productivity

Profitability

Followers Need…

Clear expectations

A compelling reason to perform above and beyond the call of duty

A feeling of belonging and worth, and of contributing to the cause

The knowledge, skills, abilities, systems and tools needed to meet their expectations

These needs and expectations are not in conflict. Rather, one leads to the other. People find meaning and the means to make a difference through their level of contribution at work, and their efforts directly impact the profitability and success of their employer. Seems like a basic concept. But if it was that easy, why hasn’t everybody been doing it, and doing it well?

For any of this stuff to be of value, there must be some sort of applicable plan–a strategy for the Pursuit of Excellence.  Following is all the pieces of the puzzle I am addressing here, in a (hopefully) logical process. There are links to earlier posts for reference back as appropriate.

Just one man’s opinion here-please chime in: what’s missing, what’s out of sequence?

This post is important enough that it will be upgraded to a page linked at the top right of the Pursuit home page, to retain future visibility.

ONE: ENGAGE. While it’s open for discussion, I am maintaining that it all starts with engagement, triggered by involvement and nurtured by the work environment and culture, with healthy doses of change management and communication as live-in caretakers. We must start with capturing the head, heart and hands of the team as Towers Perrin puts it, or we’re spinning wheels. And it is becoming more clear that there is a bottom line benefit in doing so.

Unfortunately, innocently tucked between the lines of the previous paragraph is what amounts to a full-time, career-crowning undertaking in many cases. Look at what’s involved in achieving engagement: high involvement, a favorable work environment (culture), change management and communication. Add to the shopping list the fact that engagement is a highly personal state driven by the individual’s drivers and values. No one said it was easy….

Now, to argue the lead-off position of engagement: don’t all the pieces need to be in place for people to feel as if they can safely engage? Systems and Alignment are among the key process components still to come. I can buy into the need for engagement to come after there is something of clear substance for people to engage with. I prefer to think instead that this highlights the need for an ongoing effort to sustain engagement beyond the initial jump-start.

TWO: DEVELOP a ROBUST MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, essential to provide discipline, clarity and consistency in everyday operations. A management system may be based on two key models: ISO9001 and the Baldrige Criteria. If an ISO-based management system, a key barrier to fight through is the self-inflicted perception of ISO being limited to product quality.

A key point: the ISO and Baldrige models do not have to lead to certification and winning the Baldrige respectively. They are simply best practices to benchmark, within the company’s scope and intent.

Systems need tools (six sigma, lean, balanced scorecard) to be maintained in top working order. And tools need systems to provide consistency in application, discipline in execution and standardization of improvements. What is the nature of the interface among the ISO and Baldrige models, and six sigma, lean et al?

There is a good deal posted on management systems within In Pursuit of Excellence–here is The Roadmap.

An integrated system of human resource development manages and improves the human element, the gateway to all things worth achieving. The HRD system is one of the most important business management systems, and the system that can typically stand to improve the most.

THREE: IMPLEMENT EFFECTIVE CONTROLS, in the form of meaningful real-time and actionable lead metrics. People play better when you’re keeping score, but you must measure the right things at the right times, and act on what the metrics are telling you.

FOUR: ALIGN the TROOPS. I struggled with the sequence of the alignment piece-it is critical but I still feel it must follow having systems and controls in place. Or, must it??! Alignment-getting people on the same page- is much easier if people have bought into their role in the success of the company via engagement. But it is also much easier to engage people if there is a clear picture of the target and how the journey to the destination is managed-systems and controls. And people must have the necessary systems to work within, so they perceive that the task is clearly do-able. Still, wouldn’t it be better if people were involved / engaged in developing the management systems and identifying the goals that need to be met  / actions to be taken to achieve the company’s strategy?

So….Chicken or Egg?

Cascaded goals, clear expectations and accountabilities provide focus and direction to engaged troops. This is not rocket science! It is a simple formula in which accountability is just one element:

Clear expectations +

Knowledge, skills and abilities +

Accountability +

Follow-up

= Results.

FIVE: EXECUTE! It all comes together here. If process steps One through Four have been successfully initiated, the actual execution ought to be a snap. Just Take Care of Business.

“Just”…..

Einstein said: Only measure what is truly important. However, not all that is truly important is measurable. Some anonymous Einstein came up with a very profound part two: But remember, not all that is measured is truly important.

How do you know if you’re winning or losing if you don’t keep score? People play better when there is a scoreboard, but what makes an effective metric? The ideal is for metrics to serve as a real-time indicator of how things are going, at an actionable level so those who are accountable can impact performance and make real-time improvements when needed. 

To Get the Right Results, Measure the Right Things at the Right Place, at the Right Time!

ROA and market share are outputs—the result of many different impacting processes. When people hear continuously about how they need to improve on ROA and other output measures, they are understandably frustrated. Who among us can easily recognize the direct impact of our work on the bottom line or on market share?

It makes a whole lot more sense to target metrics for the critical impacting processes and establish SMART goals with clearly owned accountabilities. Then, initiate controls and the mechanism to follow-up and follow through on metric anomalies and continuously improve critical process capability.

Outcome / Lag Measures are historical “how did we do?” Included in the “lag” category are Big Picture metrics like profit, ROI, market share, defect rate.

Lead Measures are predictive: if the Lead metric numbers are good, the Outcome / Lag metrics will be improved and we’ll be closer to achieving the goal. Lead metrics measure critical impacting processes and are actionable. Lead metrics are aligned with big picture lag metrics, which means I can do or not do something and I can understand how it will impact the lag metric.

Lag metrics are obtained after the journey is over; lead metrics measure the drivers that help reach the destination. Lag metrics may be meaningful to summarize in staff meetings, but they don’t hold much water on the floor. Examples:

A Quick 5-point Check-up

1. Are metrics easy to decipher at a glance and presented in everyday terms? The more graphics, and the fewer big words the better (Understandability)
2. Are critical impacting processes measured (lead metrics), not Big Picture outcomes-lag metrics? (Actionability)
3. Is real-time data collected and communicated? How often is it updated? (Timeliness)
4. Do specific functions understand their ownership of, and responsibility for, lead metrics that indicate performance of their critical impacting processes? (Accountability)
5. If #4 is “yes” are the lead metrics clearly connected to the Big Picture lag metrics? (Alignment)

A Roadmap to Alignment

Alignment is a bit of a baby topic right now, but it’s critical and will be added to soon and often. As the sub-title of In Pursuit of Excellence is “Engagement > Alignment > Execution > Results” I am maintaining a Roadmap for each of the first three topics, posted under “Pages” at the top right of the Home Page.

Alignment, pet term “being on the same page”, comes in many shapes and sizes, the most critical being alignment…

• Between the company’s goals and values and your own;
• Of your position’s accountabilities to the company’s top strategies; and
• Of your job and career to your personal strengths and motivators.

In A Roadmap to Alignment  are thumbnails for posts related to strategy and alignment. Scope of “strategy” includes vision, mission, guiding principles and how these are communicated and acted upon. Both personal alignment and business alignment are examined, per the three bullets above. NOT in scope is how to develop a plan. I’ll assume that your company already has a plan or you wouldn’t be here browsing around, you’d be on the street corner looking for spare change.

We are making a huge, dangerous assumption if we think that even a third of our people truly understand half of leadership’s strategic musings. Actually, can you be sure the individuals on the leadership team interpret your strategy the same way? If not, how can they execute?

Why is it so many mission statements never come down off the wall? Because they’re written in a foreign language. Same with strategy.

“An operational definition puts communicable meaning into a concept. An operational definition is one that people can do business with. An operational definition of safe, round, reliable, or any other characteristics must be communicable, with the same meaning to vendors, purchasers and the production workers. Same meaning, yesterday and today.” (W Edwards Deming)

Look inside and answer these questions with absolute honesty. Better yet, if your leadership team can openly discuss these kind of things, come to a group conclusion. The absolute ideal…have an objective outsider with assessment experience do an assessment of the front line troops. Then, listen and take action.

1. How widely understood is our company’s mission and / or vision and top strategy among our employees?

2. Do we have a published set of values or beliefs? How widely known are they? Do they make a difference?

3. What are the company’s macro metrics that are most communicated to the most people? How well are these macro metrics connected to the company’s top strategy? Can you easily tell which metric assesses which strategic element?

4. Do areas or departments have their own clear objectives that are consistent with / in support of the company’s mission / vision / strategy? How clear is the connection to top strategy?

5. Are local objectives measured? Can people impact their department’s metrics in their daily work? Are status updates provided real-time and areas of concern acted upon?

6. Do people know what is important about the job they do, and how they can move the numbers – how they really do make a difference?

Do any of your responses point toward an opportunity for improvement? So what are you doing just sitting there?

Exploring the wonderful world of competency-based employee development, the model of preference in the business world. Possibly scarier yet…this is how our education system thinks and operates too.

This is a segue into strengths-based leadership–be looking for more.

As it is important to be able to perform the job to which a person is assigned, focus is typically on beefing up any areas where a person “Needs Improvement”. Target: an “Acceptable Level of Competency”.  With all that attention devoted to fixing what’s broken, what happens to those competencies where a person “Exceeds Expectations”?

In the world of health care, what does “flatline” mean? (HINT: it ain’t good!)

Moral of the story…Let the Rabbits Run.

 (apologies for any funky layout issues…working on it, but not one of my “strengths”….definitely “needs improvement”.)

(see ACCOUNT (+) ABILITY = RESULTS (?) for Part One)

This is not rocket science! A simple formula in which accountability is just one element:

Clear expectations +

Knowledge, skills and abilities +

Accountability +

Follow-up

= Results.

The Formula In Action

1. Leaders set S.M.AR.T. expectations. Better yet, involve the do-ers in determining what needs to be done. Then, leaders provide the template through modeling, and performance management and coaching helps keeps people on track;
2. Don’t set your people up for failure! Communication, Training and Development must provide knowledge, skills, and abilities people need, to have a realistic chance to deliver on their accountabilities;
3. Accountability is nothing more than making sure people know what they are expected to do, and what the impacts are of their delivering the goods as expected, as well as the consequences of not doing so;
4. Follow-up includes manager / subordinate communication, regular performance management updates, and coaching when necessary to get a person back on the right track;
5. Results are realized in the form of goals being met, and in desired behaviors that have become routine — expectations, or norms;
6. Adjust expectations, repeat process

IF there is involvement in goal setting of those accountable with achieving the goals (engagement), and a clear connection to the top (alignment) then the level of commitment to achieve the goals ramps up.

Effective performance management kicks in, avoiding “fails to meet expectations” at year-end by truly managing performance throughout the year. If there is a performance issue, clarifying expectations and coaching to improve performance comes into play at the time and place of need.

Engage > Align > Execute!

Read My Lips…. “I AM a Good Communicator”  OK, OK…I believe you. But do your people? Why aren’t they getting the message?

It doesn’t matter what size of business, the nature of the business, or the make-up of the work force. The one most–often noted issue in companies is ineffective communication, hands-down.

Do a quick and honest self-assessment:

• Do you absolutely know what it is that your people want and need to know about? If you don’t know for sure, how can you be sure you are communicating the right messages?
• Are the messages being conveyed in the most effective way possible? The right channels, at the right frequency?
• Are the messages relevant, understandable, and most importantly, credible?
• How well do you communicate real-time information that people can act upon?

And the kicker….

• Do you have a consciously crafted communication strategy, or do you just share a lot of information?

Effective communication keeps the team fully engaged in the success of the company, ensuring flawless execution of the strategy and achieving desired results. It is also critical to managing the team through periods of uncertainty and change, making sure the team clearly understands the challenges the company faces, plans to address the challenges, and what their role is.

Any major initiative or broad-reaching change needs a change management strategy, and communication strategy. The sophistication of these strategies is in direct proportion to the size and importance of the initiative or change. Following is a primer on both.

Change Management Strategy

Anything new requires people to do things differently. And it’s human nature to resist change, count on it. (see Change is OK…Just Don’t Mess With MY Stuff) Change management requires, first and foremost, a change strategy, beginning with answers to these questions:

• WHY are we changing? Why Bother? Make the case for change a compelling one. What’s your burning platform?
• Change TO WHAT? Paint a clear, enticing picture of the future. Include goals, objectives and milestones along the way. If it’s a long journey you’ll want to define a few pit stops for the travelers.
• What do you EXPECT of us? Define expectations in clear terms, and make sure that accountability to deliver is crystal clear.
• HOW will we do that? Lay the roadmap on the table, at least in general terms. If you don’t know where you’re going, who is going to follow you?

Once all these questions are answered, the communication strategy to deliver the answers must be developed.

Communication Strategy

Crafting Communication Strategy oversimplified: consciously deciding what needs to be communicated, and how it needs to be communicated to effectively reach the target audience.

Elements of a communication strategy beyond the standard WHAT, HOW, WHO: frequency and duration (how often does it need to be repeated and for how long?) WHY should people care? WHO needs to deliver it? (the messenger. Level and function as well as messenger believability all come into play)

Finally, how can you make sure the messages are effective and not only received, but understood and even more importantly, believed?

Planned, disciplined crafting of both change strategy and communication strategy beats winging it. Simply following the process and answering the questions helps more clearly frame thoughts and action plans. Having a formal strategy provides a consistent message for one-on-one conversations, presentations, meetings, and any print or electronic media. Consistency is especially critical when there are a number of communicators and diverse media that need to deliver a consistent message. Consistency, among other factors, leads to credibility.

What Makes Communication Credible?

• Consistency in message–recurring themes, no conflicting messages or confusing implications. “Walking the talk” applies here.
• Connection to the top validates the importance of the message; and addresses the “why is this so important?” sentiments;
• Connection to the receivers, which is driven by relevance and WIIFM. If you can’t strike a nerve and get the attention of the target audience, you’re in trouble right out of the gate;
• Clarity of the message to ensure full understanding;
• Completeness of the information. Not telling the full story is worse than not telling any story. People tend to fill in the blanks on their own…not what you want to have happen;
• Credibility of the message and the communicator. I hear you, and I believe you!

Common Pitfalls

• Not meeting the basic needs of the receivers—not providing relevant information, or the right information via the wrong channels. Again, what do they want and need to know, and how do they prefer to get the information?
• Communicating everything and anything to the point that the really important stuff is indiscernible-the white noise factor;
• Missing the comprehension level of the target audience—either over their heads or too simplistic. One is techno babble, the other is condescending. Neither is desirable.
• Not including enough “WHY” to go with the information, including connecting the message to the top, both causing the importance of the message to be diminished or lost altogether.
• Not including clear expectations: people stand up and take notice when they get information that includes something that they are expected to do.

This has been a whirlwind tour of a topic that is much more complex than most give it credit for– the greatest reason that ineffective communication is hands-down the #1 prevailing issue in business and industry. We’ll give change management and communication strategy the attention they deserve…don’t touch that dial.

Highly recommended, to help find the right posts to meet your interests:

About In Pursuit of Excellence   ….   Roadmap of Categories and Topics 

Those of you who still have a job (I know you’re out there….) can you afford to wait until you are served notice? Be proactive….plan!

The meaning of “work” has shifted. As a boomer, my folks were of the generation that believed any job that paid the bills was worth fighting for, and eventually dying in. Forget “job satisfaction”…that’s why they call it “work”. “Put down the guitar, get a haircut and get a real job!” Not so any more, thankfully.

In the mid-90’s I got involved in Managing Personal Growth (MPG) from BlessingWhite (www.blessingwhite.com ). As part of certification, I completed the two-day values identification / career management process. By “values” I don’t mean the real kumbaya-type stuff. Besides family happiness, my core values include helping others, creativity, learning new things, and freedom from constraints.  So many major “AHAs” came out of that two-day workshop and my subsequent involvement with MPG that I won’t list them all, but two deserve noting:

1.  If your own values are disconnected from your company’s, and if your work does not satisfy your true core motivators, you’ll be miserable and will not be a top contributor. Self and company both are short-sheeted.

2.  If you take the time to establish your own values-based vision, mission and objectives you will stand a much better chance of surviving job loss and transitioning to a new and meaningful professional life. I will personally testify to that Truth….twice. I am currently seeking work for the second time in nine years, and my values-based plan is once again my Keeper of Sanity. It has yet to land me a new gig, but at least I know I’m looking in the right direction. I can even handle a “survival job” as long as it is in line with my values.

Except for a few tweaks, my overall strategy has stayed pretty much on course. At the very top is my Vision: Leave a Legacy. That is pretty much wide open—needs meat. Two key areas of influence became my Objectives: education / secondary schools through school-to-career; and business and industry, by focusing on engagement, alignment and execution. My approach to the latter is just as values-based as I can covertly get the message across. Ops managers, bless their hearts, do not care for values-based discussions as a rule. They are too busy running things. Don’t tell on me, please!

Further down my strategic hierarchy are more detailed tactics and action plans, which I am executing right now.

My peers were not so fortunate as they did not have quite as firm of a grip on their ideal future. Some of them thought I had finally cracked. I was smiling while the majority were racing to get control over the last few kleenex in the box.

The greatest disciples are those who convert to a religion. I have done everything in my power, both covert and overt, to guide people toward getting in touch with their values and setting a course for a brighter future. Especially in the nasty climate we’re in right now, if you can’t grab hold of your values you’re in deep, deep trouble.

To sum up—identify what really drives you beyond position, power and however much coin you need to be comfortable.  Establish goals and objectives, and craft your strategy for how you’re going to achieve them. Then, execute the plan and be true to your values. You’ll live longer, be more fun to be around, and be much more productive to boot.