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Real First

by Ron Potter

Recently I blogged about “firsts” in my life and how they shaped me (us). As I looked back through that blog of “firsts” in my life, I believe that for the most part, they were just a first for me. Many people had done those things, were doing those things, and continue to use and do them today.

First for Me

They included:

  • Typing Class
  • Survey Class (and the Curta Calculator)
  • Walking structural steel
  • Computers and Blackberries
  • Executive Consulting
  • Using software to speak into and convert to written text

Of all the things on that list, the Curta Calculator stands out as being completely unique. Mine is the only one I have ever seen. I still have it today and it’s still the only one I’ve ever seen.

History of Curta

I decided to discover the history of the Curta.

Curt Herzstark was born in Vienna in 1902. His family was in the business of building calculators in the early 1900s. The machines were big and beautiful, and expensive. Curt said, “I need a machine that will fit in my pocket and I can use to calculate.”

But then WWII started. German soldiers came to Austria where Curt lived. Curt’s mother was Catholic, but his father was Jewish. The Germans converted the calculator factory to one that made Panzer tanks. Everything was stable for a while but then two of the factory employees were caught listening to an English radio station. Their chief mechanic was beheaded. Everything changed.

The SS threw Curt into the Pankrác Prison camp where the torturing of Jews was routine. However, the managing engineer at the factory heard about Curts’s hand-held calculator (although still in his head and on a few drawings). The chief (German) engineer said to Curt, “We will allow you to make and draw your calculator. If it works we will give one to the Führer as a present after the war.” (Assuming they would win.)

The End of WWII

Herzstark had completed his drawings by April 1945 when the Americans showed up and freed all of the prisoners. Curt walked about 175 miles to the city of Weimar. It was about the only factory still standing. Curt’s drawing was so complete and clear it only took the factory about 3 months to make three prototypes. But then the Russians showed up.

Prince of Liechtenstein

The only person Curt could find who expressed any interest was the prince of Liechtenstein. About 110 miles away.
The first Curtas went on sale in Liechtenstein in 1948 (the year I was born) and continued to be produced until the 1970s when electronic calculators took over the market. 1948–1970. My prime growing up and education years.
What do you have to complain about? Here is a man that was put into a German concentration camp. He walked nearly 300 miles because he believed in what he had made. He went through pain, suffering, and atrocities and yet kept going.

Have you developed a similar character or are you brainwashed by today’s media telling us that we deserve to be happy all the time? Just buy (whatever) and it will make you happy. No, it won’t.  Become a person of character and realize that this life will bring you difficulties. It may not make you happy but it will provide a level of contentment that will carry you through life’s difficulties.

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BlogCulture

Communication

by Ron Potter

You’ve heard me talk often about the need to listen with the intent to understand.  The better you get at this the better you’ll understand what’s being said.

But the other side of communication is talking.  Just because you said something doesn’t mean your listener understands.  Simon Sinek says “Communication is about ensuring others hear what we mean”.  Just because you said it doesn’t mean your listener(s) understood it.

Communication

Our word communication is from the Latin communcare, meaning to share.  “The act of developing meaning among entities or groups through the use of sufficiently mutually understood signs, symbols, and semiotic conventions.”  To quote Simen Sinek again “Communication is not about saying what we think.”

Act like an owner

I once worked with a client that was publicly owned and had a leadership team from all over the world.  It seemed to the CEO that there was too much command and control attitude coming from his leadership team so he began talking with them about acting like owners, not just managers running a company that was owned by the stockholders.  He was hoping this “Act like an owner” attitude would institute a more caring and inclusive approach by his leadership.

However, one member of the leadership team seemed to “double down” on the command and control approach to his leadership.  The CEO asked me to talk with the individual to see if we could figure out why the message didn’t seem to be getting through.

I talked with the VP and asked what he thought of the “ownership” approach.  His response was very positive.  He agreed that the entire team should act like owners and that should produce some great results.  I was having a hard time aligning his words with his actions so I asked him what “ownership” meant to him.

As it turns out the neighboring country had invaded his homeland 600 years ago.  They took over all the land and essentially enslaved the native population.  To him, that was ownership.  Complete control to rule the land as they wanted with a complete command and control attitude.  His reaction was that the leadership team should absolutely act like owners!

Communication is about conveying meaning

“Communication is about ensuring others hear what we mean”   Ownership meant one thing to the CEO and an entirely different thing to the VP.  The meaning had not been communicated.  Because this leadership team was a globally diverse team, it became almost necessary that we parse the language to assure the meaning was understood— to ensure others hear what we mean.

Extraversion vs Introversion

I began to see a similar issue a few years later working with the Asian culture.  In North America, it seems that our extraverted, outgoing leadership style is the style that is associated with a lot of corporate leaders.  In Asia, it seems that the introverted, quiet, thoughtful style is the one that is more revered by the culture.

I began to observe that in North America if someone was walking past and the CEO was sitting quietly, apparently “not doing anything” it would be a good time to stick their head into the office and interrupt the “not doing anything” moment with a question or a statement.  In the Asian office, if the CEO was sitting quietly, the person would silently tip-toe past the office so they wouldn’t interrupt the CEO’s deep thought.

Two different cultures with different beliefs about the same action.

Communication is about sharing meaning

Our corporate world is becoming more global all the time.  The Covid pandemic has accelerated the use of virtual meetings which puts even more emphasis on speaking and listening with the intent to convey and understand meaning.

Communication is a two-way street:

  • Learn to listen with the intent to understand
  • Speak with the intent of ensuring others hear what we mean

We must do both for the betterment of everyone and the company.

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BlogTeam

Thinking on 3 Thoughts Together

by Ron Potter

My mind is a little bit crazy.  I often find that three very different ideas come together in my head at a particular moment. I have learned to pay attention to and think more about these three things.

It happened to me recently when three thoughts came together:

  1. Commute times.  Working with companies in New York, Boston, and California exposed me to commute times that I was unfamiliar with living in Michigan.
  2. American Express Travelers Cheques division moving from New York City to Salt Lake City
  3. Hearing leaders talk about the increased productivity they’re experiencing in the new virtual world

Commute Times

The first time I worked in New York City as a consultant I showed up at the office on east 42nd street at 8:00 am assuming that was the normal start time.  The office was empty.  People didn’t really start settling into their office until around 9:00.  As I got to know some of the team I would be working with I found out some of them lived in Pennsylvania.  They would take a bus from their community to the rail station, take the train to New Jersey, take the ferry to Manhattan then either cab or walk from west 42 Street to the office on east 42 Street.  It was nearly impossible to arrive before 9:00.

Then the office would begin to empty out by about 3:30 pm as the reverse commute took place.  I had similar experiences in Boston, Chicago, and California.  I always found it amusing in California when I would ask how far it was from one location to another.  The answer was never explained in distance (4 miles) is was always explained in time (2 to 4 hours depending on the time of day).

American Express

I was living in Salt Lake City when American Express moved their Traveler Cheques Division from New York City to Salt Lake City.  As I was reading about the move in the local papers, an American Express Official expressed how impressed they were at the increased productivity that came with the move.

Let’s think about that for a minute—

  • New York City business day: 9:00-3:30.
  • Sale Lake City business day: 8:00-5:00.

And you’re acting surprised by the increase in productivity?

Virtual Meetings

I’m having the same reaction about all of these articles from business leaders (most in major corporations in major cities) expressing surprise and pleasure about the increased productivity they’re seeing from working virtually.

Let’s see—

  • Commute times even in reasonable locations: 30 to 60 minutes.
  • Commute times for a virtual meeting: 3 to 6 minutes.

Increased productivity?  I don’t think so.  Just increased availability.

Teamwork

While this virtual world that we now find ourselves in may seem to be or even be more productive, it still takes more than that to build the kind of teams that will be trusting and innovative.

A client the other day asked me how to build a better team in this virtual environment.  I didn’t have a great answer.  It’s very difficult.  There is something very real about the shaking of a hand or sitting down to talk face-to-face and being able to look into each other’s eyes.

Virtual One-on-One

I believe we can do some of this in a virtual environment but it takes planning and commitment.  I have often done an exercise called “Assessment-Commitment”.  This exercise can be accomplished in the virtual world but it takes time and commitment.

Each pair of people on the team must commit to spending virtual time one-on-one.  Once this is accomplished, the team needs to meet (virtually) to discuss together the learnings that were accomplished in the one-on-one sessions.  This means that the virtual meetings can’t be all about productivity, assignments, and getting things done.  There must be time spent building the team!

Because we now find ourselves in this virtual world, don’t forsake the effort and time it takes to build great teams.  It may take a bit more effort but it will reward you and the company many times over down the road.

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BlogLeadership

Is it a Wonderful Life?

by Ron Potter

From the movie “It’s a wonderful life” George Bailey and his angel, Clarence.

Clarence was a wonderful gift for George.  Unlike us, Clarence was able to show George what life would have been like if he had never been born.

What did George learn from that experience?

Background

Let’s take a minute to remember the overall storyline.  Many of us have seen the movie at Christmas time through the years.

In the movie, George has a great yearning to travel and see the world.  Right after he is married and on his way for their first adventure with his new wife, the stock market crashes.  George worked for his father’s local building-and-loan business.  When it was obvious that something was wrong, George abandoned his trip and went into the building-and-loan to help with the chaos.  Pretty soon, George found himself stuck in the life he wanted to get away from.

Something Just Crashed and Went Wrong

Not only are we facing the changing world of Covid, as I wrote about last week, but the United States suffered the weakest growth for the ten years following the 2008 crash and recession.  It seemed that we were being told by our own government “get used to it, this is the new normal”.  I found myself getting depressed and worried over that attitude.

I also find myself even more worried today as I watch my grandchildren (ages 13-20) face this very scary new norm.  One article I read said, “many young people have lost hope seeing their labor produce so little reward”.  I consider myself very blessed in that all of my grandchildren have a good work ethic.  I even mentioned to one granddaughter that I lose track that she’s only a junior (now senior) in high school because she works so hard.   She seems all grown up going to school and working most afternoons and evenings.

And yet I hear her and some of her cousins speaking fondly of socialism.  But as one article said, “when the rewards for working and sweating end, prosperity withers and freedom dies”.

The Gift of Clarence

In the movie, George is actually able to meet his angel …it’s a movie.  It doesn’t fit with my Christian beliefs 😉 and this pays off in a wonderful reward.  George is thinking he would be better off if he had never been born.  Clarence allows George to see the world as if he had never existed.  George sees a very dismal world because he was not in it working hard, caring, helping, and loving.

Be a Clarence

Be a friend.  Be a mentor.  Be a parent.  Be a grandparent.  Help others —young people, children, and grandchildren see and experience A Wonderful Life.  It may not seem like they’re listening at the time but you would be amazed how much it sticks with them.  I remember mentors from decades ago.  I still remember their words, the circumstances of the situation, and the fact that they cared enough to share with me.  I may not have told them how much it meant but their words still stick with me today.

Be a mentor.  Share with someone.  Take time to talk with someone.  You may not be immediately rewarded but the lessons and wisdom you pass on will pay rewards for years to come

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BlogCulture

Science is Always Right

by Ron Potter

But scientists are not always right!  Even scientists have a perspective on the world that will shape the scientific data they see.

All too often I hear people refer to science as the answer that ends all arguments.  As a Christian, I especially dislike the one where Christians don’t believe in science.  I’m a Christian and I believe in science.  I’m not technically a scientist but I do have an engineering degree that depends a great deal on science.

Francis Collins might be considered this nation’s leading scientist.  He is currently the Director of the National Institute of Health (NIH) and a leader in the Human Genome Project.  Dr. Collins wrote a book titled, Language of God: A Scientist Presents Evidence for Belief.

Virtual Meetings

My point in this rambling is that we are entering a new era of virtual meetings versus face-to-face meetings.  I believe this is our future.  Many companies, especially the ones with collaboration platforms such as Webex, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and others are adding technology to improve virtual meetings.  I believe they will have a positive effect on meetings but they are also claiming that this technology will create high-performance teams.

I believe they’re missing a key point.

Tech That Aims to Improve Meetings

The Wall Street Journal recently printed an article called “Tech That Aims to Improve Meetings”.  For the article, they interviewed management experts, technologists, academics, and startup founders.  They broke the article into the following categories:

  • Who’s Paying Attention?  Worker’s posture and expressions are analyzed to determine positivity and engagement levels.
  • AI to Manage the Flow with an AI-powered moderator.  It would provide feedback, facilitate flow, monitor time, and interject if someone is getting cut off or talked over.
  • A Seat at the Table: The software would assure that the meeting includes a diverse ethnic and gender balance.
  • Immersive Presentations: Participants would use virtual-reality glasses to view materials such as PowerPoint slides and others.  The goal is to have the participants flip pages, go deeper and move their heads to flip between tables, charts, presentations, and the meeting itself, eliminating the need to flip back and forth between these things on a shared screen.
  • A Fitbit for Meetings:  In this one, each participant wears a smartwatch that analysis and tells them about their personal overall performance.
  • The Virtual Office Party: This is an attempt to provide the casual chat between participants by having their avatar hear only the voices of nearby avatars as they move around.
  • Data-Driven Collaboration:  Avatars are used in this one as well to “help” people casually talk while keeping track of personal interactions between employees to help match up people across departments when needed.

A line at the beginning of the article says “Critics say elements of tools under discussion raise concerns about worker privacy and may face resistance as being too intrusive.”  I think if they had explored this one point further the conclusion may be that none of this technology will work because workers will find it too intrusive.

The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups

At the same time that WSJ article appeared, I was also reading The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle.  I found the contrast between the two documents striking.  While the WSJ article may be focused on running meetings more efficiently, that does not translate into higher performance.   In The Culture Code, it’s stated that the highly successful groups talk about relationships.  There isn’t much in the WSJ article that talks about relationships.

One section of the books talks about patterns of interaction:

“When I visited these groups, I noticed a distinct pattern of interaction. The pattern was located not in the big things but in little moments of social connection:

Close physical proximity, often in circles

    • Profuse amounts of eye contact
    • Physical touch (handshakes, fist bumps, hugs)
    • Lots of short, energetic exchanges (no long speeches)

High levels of mixing

    • everyone talks to everyone
    • Few interruptions
    • Lots of questions
    • Intensive, active listening
    • Humor, laughter
    • Small, attentive courtesies (thank-yous, opening doors, etc.)

One more thing: I found that spending time inside these groups was almost physically addictive.”

MIT’s Human Dynamics Lab

There is also an interview with Alex Pentland who runs MIT’s Human Dynamics Lab.  He said:

“If I lean a few inches closer to you, we might begin mirroring.  It only works if we’re close enough to physically touch.”

Pentland says that words are noise.  Group performance depends on behavior that communicates one powerful overarching idea:  We are safe and connected.

Safe and Connected

All the technology currently available or available in the foreseeable future may in fact make meetings more productive.  However, I currently don’t see any that help people feel safe and connected.  This will be the challenge for the near future.

GPS4Leaders

In the app we’re developing, we do get at the issues that help people feel safe and connected such as trust and relationships.  But it will still require the participants to take corrective action and make changes when the data indicates these are a problem.

Star participants and leaders of the future will be good at this!

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Blog

Are you happy with your career?

by Ron Potter

During this time of lock-down when we have the opportunity for some deep thoughts, now may be the best time to ask yourself if you’re happy with your career choices or happy in the career you find yourself in.

People can get stuck in jobs that reflect what they’re good at rather than what they’re happy with.

One of the Best

I was working with a client that was very good at what they were doing.  They worked in the finance department and were constantly noticed by bosses and peers as one of the best.  Because of this deserved reputation, they had been promoted on a regular basis and were making a salary that was beyond what they dreamed they would be making at this point in their career.

We were having a one-on-one session when they said something almost shocking.  “I hate what I’m doing!”  They knew they had been treated fairly, were compensated well for what they did, and even experienced satisfaction when they accomplished the tasks that were expected of them.  But this is not what they wanted to be doing!  Given their preference they would be much happier working with people instead of numbers.  They wished that had made different career choices earlier.  Now they felt trapped by the position and salary.

One Career may not last

I worked in three very different industries—engineering/construction, computers, consulting—over my career.  I enjoyed working in each of the three but found myself searching for something new and different in each assignment.  When I got to the point where I needed to change, I often found that I had been working toward the new industry for about ten years.  At that point, it was a matter of pulling the trigger to move on.  I don’t want to give the idea that any of those changes were easy.  I’ve gone broke a couple of times.  I’ve spent several years on the bottom rung of a new position before feeling proficient at what I was doing.  It always impacted my family every time I changed!

But I did it!  It wasn’t easy but I did it.

Adam Kurtz in his book Things are What you Make of Them lists 7 steps you can take to be happier with your career.

  • Don’t look back in anger
  • Check your pulse
  • Do your research
  • Update your skillset
  • Hold yourself accountable
  • Step away and take a moment for yourself
  • Just go for it

Don’t Look Back in Anger

The client I mentioned earlier seemed angry at the career they found themselves “trapped” in.  We all make decisions with the best information we have at the time.  That information may even include personal and family needs; college tuition, aging parents, single provider, debts, etc.  Don’t second guess.  Make the best decision at the time.  Now may or may not be the best time to make a new decision.

Check your Pulse

A high pulse is NOT a good thing.  If your work is providing you with a high pulse on a regular base, make a new decision.

Do Your Research

After I wrote my book Trust Me a family member told me they had read the book.  After thanking them, I asked if it provided any insight.  Their response was “Yes, I quit my job!”  That wasn’t quite what I expected so I asked them what triggered that response.

Reading your book helped me realize that the company I had joined had changed over the years and I hadn’t noticed.  All the aspects of good leadership written about in the book were why I had gone to work for the company in the first place.  But, over the years that had all disappeared and I hadn’t noticed.  I didn’t want to work there anymore.  I wanted to work someplace where I would be happy.

Update Your Skillset

Every position requires a slightly different skillset.  Find out what the new ones are.  Learn about them.  Read.  Educate.  Practice.  Get better.

Hold Yourself Accountable

If you’re not happy with your career, there is only one person responsible.  You!

This goes along with the first piece of advice about not looking back in anger.  You’re responsible.  Make the decision that’s right for you.  Don’t look back.  Especially don’t look back with anger.  It was your decision.  Do you need to make a new one?  As the last point recognizes, make it.

Step Away and Take a Moment for Yourself

This is being forced on us by this lock-down portion of the pandemic we’re dealing with.  Use the time wisely

Just Go for It

I’m not a big Nike fan but just do it.  It means your happiness and likely your health.  If it’s right for you, just go for it.

Go for Happiness

The world tells us to go for the big bucks.  Be in a position of power.  Be seen as possessing the best skill set.  However, if you talk with people (and you should) who are at the end of their career or even approaching the end of their life, they’ll tell you to go for happiness.

When people are approaching the end of their life, their best memories are of the relationships they developed over the years.

When I was recovering from open-heart surgery and subsequent infection a few years ago, different friends would visit me almost every day.  Finally, the day nurse asked if I was part of a large family.  When I said no, she was surprised because she thought that my “brothers” had been visiting me every day.  I explained to her that “yes, they were my brothers” but they were not family.  She was envious.  They all seemed so close and concerned about me, she thought they were family.

Each of my “brothers” had been a part of the different careers.  I had chosen happiness.  It made me happy.

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BlogCulture

The Power of Positive Feedback

by Ron Potter

I received a note a couple of days ago telling me how one of my posts had positively affected a person’s life.  They mentioned a post I had written nine years ago.  Was I really writing blog posts nine years ago?  That surprised me.  My second response was that I didn’t remember that blog.  I had to go back and read it.

We were never allowed to be Victims.

That blog ends with a quote from Condoleezza Rice explaining how she made it from being a young girl of color in the South to being Secretary of State of the United States.  The headline above is her quote.  She was calm, confident and yet very humble.  She was an amazing person.

Easy to become Victims

In this pandemic that we’re all experiencing, it’s easy to feel like the victim.  It’s interesting to note that we’re already seeing the results of feeling like victims.  Our obesity levels and alcohol rates are already climbing.  We’re looking for an escape from feeling like victims.

As that blog noted from nearly ten years ago, the opposite of the victim is creativity.

Be Creative

Almost everyone I’ve talked with recently speaks to how lethargic they’re feeling.  They just can’t seem to get motivated.  I’ve experienced the same issues.  But as I mentioned in my last post, deep thought and creativity are the paths to feeling better under trying circumstances.  Just like exercise, which has tremendous benefits if you’ll just spend about 30-60 minutes at least three times per week, spending at least an hour in deep thought and reflection three times per week will increase your creativity.  You’ll feel so much better and think about your circumstances so differently, you’ll come out the other end being a much better and maybe totally different person.

This pandemic is very victimizing.  Don’t let it get you down.  Be creative.  Spend some time in deep thought and self-reflection every week.  View this as an opportunity that seldom happens more than once in anyone’s lifetime.

Positive Feedback

So what does this have to do with positive feedback?  Reading that comment about how my blog made a positive difference in one person’s life motivates me!  I was having difficulty keeping up with my blog.  I just couldn’t find the motivation.  And then that comment arrived.  I’ve been writing blogs almost every day since that feedback.

Positive feedback made a difference.  It only takes one.  In the nine years since I wrote that blog, I’ve written somewhere between 400 and 500 blog posts.  Did they all make a difference?  Probably not.  Did I hear some positive feedback on many of them?  No.  Did positive feedback on less than one percent of the bogs I’ve written make a difference?  Absolutely!

Pass on some positive feedback today.  It may be to that neighbor who just happened to wave “hi”.  It may be to someone at work where you’re trying to conduct virtual business.

Just give some positive feedback.  It makes a difference.

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BlogLeadership

Deep Work in Isolation

by Ron Potter

I seldom do a quick follow up after a recent blog but the next couple of blogs have been triggered by reader feedback.

Recently many readers commented on the blog post titled “Coronavirus and Deep Work”.  In that post, I recommended that you not waste this forced time at home.  Use some of it to sit quietly and think deep thoughts.  We seldom get a chance to do that during our former work life even though it is much needed.  I referred to Cal Newton’s book Deep Work where he goes into much more detail.

Isolation Advice

Then today—April 17—I was reading a Wall Street Journal article titled “Coronavirus Lockdown Lessons from Antarctica.” The article looks at many of the scientific teams that populate Antarctica during the wintertime and are completely isolated.  They focus on one team in particular from Norway that works at the Troll station.

“On a recent evening, Troll’s six-person team put together a list of advice for those struggling with extended lockdowns.

    • Give people space…folks have to be allowed time on their own to read books, listen to music, watch television.
    • Don’t let problems linger and get bigger—talk about it from the start.
    • Stay active, and even if you are in a small place, move furniture and get fit.
    • Take a deep breath, this is a time to be curious”

Curiosity

I think curiosity is the foundation piece to deep work.  Wikipedia says

Curiosity is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans and other animals. Curiosity is heavily associated with all aspects of human development, in which derives the process of learning and desire to acquire knowledge and skill.”

Development and Learning

Notice that curiosity is heavily associated with development and learning.  I once had a friend who was fond of saying “as long as you’re like the little kid pulling his wagon up the hill, you’re doing fine.  But as soon as you stop exerting the effort to get up that hill and you sit down in your wagon to rest, you’ll find yourself at the bottom of the hill”

Reflection

I think the first thing to be curious about is yourself.  Socrates is quoted as saying “To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom.”  I’ll give Socrates a pass because he was alive about 400 years before Jesus but the Bible says “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.”

Even if you don’t hold to the Christian faith, let’s put those two concepts together.  What they are really saying is that you must know who you are and how you fit into this life and humanity as a whole.  That doesn’t come easily.  A complete lack of this reflection is a sign of Psychopathy.  Just a few of the symptoms of Psychopathy include: Grandiose sense of self-worth, lack of remorse, guilt, or empathy.  Lack of long-term goals.  None of these symptoms show signs of self-reflection.  Start with yourself.

Notice that not having long-term goals is one of the signs associated with lack of self-reflection.  Where are you going?  What does the end of your journey look like?  What do you want to be remembered for?  These issues and others are not part of our busy lives, they are reached only by deep, reflective thought.

Opportunity

You’ve been handed an opportunity.  Don’t waste it!

  • What kind of person do you want to be?
  • How will you become a great leader?
  • What will make you an outstanding team member?
  • What is that thing inside you that you always wanted to learn or explore?

Build it into your routine.  Find a quiet place and a quiet time at least several times per week.  Force yourself to go quiet and think about these things.  You’ll come out the other end a better person.

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BlogCultureCulture Series

Culture – The Other Two of the Four Halves

by Ron Potter

In the last post, I discussed balancing the right side vs the left side of the Culture Survey, Stability vs Flexibility.  This week we’ll look at the top vs the bottom, External Focus vs Internal Focus.  You can see from the chart that the top half (External Focus) is driven by the Vision and Adaptability quadrants.

External Focus

Again, for very natural reasons, I often see more focus on the external than I do the internal.  For one, it’s easier to speak with external suppliers, press, buyers than it is to face the internal issues of making sure everyone is involved and engaged, living by accepted core values and reaching agreement and alignment across an organization run by many “type A” leaders.

One of my interesting observations through the years has been to see the CEO and COO work together as a team.  One of them often functions as “Mr. Inside” while the other one functions in the role of “Miss Outside.”  Don’t make the mistake of assuming the CEO functions outside while the COO functions inside.  The best transitions I’ve observed during a CEO retirement is when the COO takes over but still functions as the inside force.  The new COO is good at the outside connection.  This creates the smoothest transfer and keeps the company headed toward the future they’ve been preparing for.  Failure seems to happen when the board assumes that because the retiring CEO was a great visionary, they must hire a new CEO that’s also a visionary.  However, the new vision is often very different from the existing vision and the company has not prepared itself to move forward at the necessary speed.  A rotation that keeps the current vision in place and moving along at the right speed seems to work the best.

Internal Focus

Too often there is not enough effort to keep the people involved and consistency maintained to keep the company moving in the right direction at the necessary speed.  Never stop empowering the people, building teams and developing the strength and skills necessary to move into the future.  Involvement is critical to future success.

Consistency is tough to build but easy to lose.  If you:

  • Allow Core Values to be violated without consequences,
  • Don’t require a commitment to decisions that impact the entire company or
  • Allow departments and divisions to make decisions that help them but ignore the other teams

you’ll quickly lose consistency and the required, strength, resiliency and unity that is needed to create a great company in difficult times.

Balance, Balance, Balance

Great cultures required balance.  At any point in time, your company may require special strength and commitment to a particular part of the Culture Chart in order to deal with special market situations.  But even in that case, don’t let your chart get too far out of balance.  Balance, Balance, Balance.  It’s a requirement.

3rd Quartile

Regardless of the situation, you must have good culture scores in every element of the chart.  I would suggest that if you score in a range below the 50th percentile in any element, you work there first to correct the situation before moving on to the culture as a whole.  There may be particular strengths required for different market conditions (see next week’s blog about particular market conditions) but I believe that every element of the twelve should be in the 3rd quartile first before moving on to work on a particular situation.

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BlogCultureCulture Series

Culture – Consistency: Summary

by Ron Potter

Consistency

Image result for Image of give me a lever long enough

The last quadrant of the Denison Culture survey is Consistency, “Does your system create leverage?”

We first introduced the mechanical image of leverage when we introduced the “fulcrum” of Consistency.  Most people have seen or heard the quote from Archimedes when he said: “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”  As a side note, he also said “Eureka!” which meant “I’ve got it” or “I’ve found it.”  Leverage is what he found.

In the post about Coordination and Integration we talked about the lever and how that looks different in each part of the organization.

Together these two create “Leverage!”

The three sections of the Consistency Quadrant talk about achieving leverage.

Consistency is about Results

Dan Denison and his team at Denison Consulting may disagree with me, but in my mind, this quadrant is about results.

My belief is that if you’ve worked hard at each of the other three quadrants of Mission, Adaptability and Involvement, the results are great Consistency.

Take a look at some of the words within the individual questions related to each of the three segments:

  • practice what they preach
  • a distinct set of practices
  • a clear and consistent set of values
  • accountability
  • win-win solutions
  • we reach agreement, even on difficult issues
  • clear agreement about the right way
  • share common perspectives
  • coordinate across the organization
  • good alignment

These issues are results.  The organization has and develops leverage.  It creates a highly productive culture.

  • Should you set and live by a clear set of core values?  Yes.
  • Should you work hard at reaching agreement across the organization?  Yes.
  • Should you coordinate and integrate across and between divisions of the organization?  Yes.

But, if you try to accomplish these things without first establishing Mission, Adaptability and Involvement, they won’t amount to much.  There is no foundational work.  The structure will crumble without the needed foundation.

What is Culture?

We introduced the Culture Series many months ago with this start:

A dictionary definition says “the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an organization.”

Exciting environments come from leaders and teams developing people to face difficulties and obstacles in innovative thoughtful ways that utilize the skills and experiences present.

Productive environments exist when teams learn how to elegantly use the resources they have to get the most out of an organization in a simple way.

Why Build a Great Culture?

I’ll go back to the name of my company, Team Leadership Culture (TLC).  These are not distinct issues that you face and corrected one at a time.  Great companies and great leaders are always working on all of these issues.

One of the biggest mistakes that I see leaders make is to assume they’re high-level managers.  One of the more difficult transitions is to shift from being a great manager to a great leader.

Great Managers
  • Work in relatively stable environments
  • Have long-term views and line-of-sight
  • Usually have clearly defined direction and strategy
  • And because of these issues, have a limited need to re-direct themselves or those who work for them.
Great Leaders
  • Spend the bulk of their time on vision
  • Develop and lead teams that manage more of the detail
  • Constantly scan the environment both internally and externally to spot the need for change early
  • Tend to be more risk-takers and have a higher tolerance for risk.

Great leaders and leadership teams create great cultures.  Cultures outlast leaders and teams.  This applies to both good and bad cultures.  Make sure you and your team are focused on a great culture.  It’s the only thing that lasts.

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BlogCultureCulture Series

Culture – Involvement: Adaptability

by Ron Potter

Adaptability and Involvement

Adaptability and Involvement are the two quadrants that make up the left side of the Denison Culture Chart.  This side of the chart identifies “Flexible” cultures.  Cultures that adapt well.  Cultures that respond quickly to customers and markets.  In today’s fast-paced environment, flexibility is a requirement.  (Just as a heads-up, we’re going to talk in a couple of weeks about Stability being a required element as well.  Makes your head hurt doesn’t it?  That’s just one of the reasons that Leadership is hard.  It doesn’t just come with the title.

External Focus

So now we’ve seen that Mission and Adaptability (top of the chart) indicates an External Focus for the companies.  Companies strong in these two areas tend to sustain growth and are constantly listening to and looking at the marketplace.  They’re good at spotting the next big thing in the market place and making decisions that help them take advantage of those coming changes.

Flexible

The Flexible Cultures (Adaptability and Involvement noted above) indicated companies that are constantly changing.  Or maybe it indicates that the companies are good at working in ever-changing markets.

One company had a culture score that was lowest in the Vision and Strategic Direction and Intent areas while being quite strong in all of the Flexible areas on the left side of the chart.  We asked about the low scores in the Mission quadrant, wondering how they kept going without much vision or strategic thinking for the future.  They indicated that their market was changing so rapidly that figuring out a vision and direction was almost useless.  If they didn’t keep up with the rapid changes in the marketplace, they weren’t going to be around to worry about long-term (even 24 months) vision.  They were right.

Focus

In general, it’s always good to expand the Culture Survey as much as possible in every direction.  However, there are “seasons of life” and moments of focus that may require expansion in a particular area.

Maybe you’re in need of growth which will require an external focus.  You may need to expand some or all of the Vision and Adaptability quadrants.

Maybe you’re in the need to keep up with or get ahead of a rapidly changing market or a disruptive competitor.  You may need to focus on the Adaptability and Involvement quadrants (Flexible).

Be aware of your surroundings, history, and future.  Which quadrant needs the most attention at the moment?

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BlogCultureCulture Series

Culture – Mission: Vision

by Ron Potter

As we continue our look at great cultures, we’ve seen the four quadrants of Mission, Adaptability, Involvement, and Consistency.

We’re now looking at each quadrant in more detail.  In our last blog post we identified the three elements in the Mission quadrant as

  • Vision
  • Goals and Objectives
  • Strategic Direction and Intent.

In today’s post and the next two to follow, I’m going to look at each of those elements in more detail.

Today we’ll look at Vision.  As the Denison Culture Survey digs deeper into Vision, it tends to focus on two key aspects of Vision

  • The depth and motivating elements of the Vision
  • How the Leaders respond and react to the Vision
Depth

One of the questions in this arena is a two-part question of how deeply the vision has been shared and is it clear what the organization will look like in the future.

We’ve touched on the depth of sharing earlier but it’s worth going over again here.

I was working with a Fortune 50 company.  I had spent most of my time with the ranks just below the C Suite level.  At that level, they were very focused on the elements that would help them continue to flourish as one of the top companies in the world.  They were developing stories, creating videos and building the elements into their software.  They seemed to have a vision of their future.

Then I was introduced to one of the C Suite members and listened to him tell of the great vision that the CEO and other C Suite leaders were working on.  When I asked about all of the vision pieces I had recently been working on with others down in his organization he looked at me curiously and said: “I haven’t heard any of those stories but I’m excited about our vision.”

The leaders were talking about different things than the rest of the organization.   The did not have a shared vision!  The vision must be the same vision no matter where in the organization it is being expressed.

Motivation

Is the vision motivating?  This is the second part of the vision question.  There may be a vision that is unified and deep in the organization but if it doesn’t inspire people to put forth the effort to reach the vision, it’s not worth the ink it took to print it.

“Our vision is to be one of the top recognized companies in our slice of the market place!”  Not really inspiring.  I’ve occasionally tried a trick with some of my clients.  I’ll take their vision word-for-word but put one of their competitor’s names in instead.  When it’s obvious that it could apply to either company equally, it’s not inspiring.  What makes you unique?  What makes you different?  What is something only you can accomplish?  That’s inspiring.

Leaders Response and Reaction

The other questions in this section relate to the leaders’ ability to execute the vision.    Leaders often talk in terms of the long-term but make decisions that obviously have short term (read quarterly) impact.  They may be trying to satisfy the investors and market by hitting these quarterly goals but it hampers the companies to reach their vision.

I know that some companies have elected not to report quarterly.  I wish more companies would do the same.  It helps build a better vision and long-term health for the company.

Vision

Vision must penetrate deep into the organization and it needs to be motivating and inspiring as well.

Leaders must walk-the-talk.  It does no good to talk a good vision then make decisions to hit quarterly goals that will hamper the companies ability to reach that vision.

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