carpe factum

It's Everybody's Iowabiz

2010-02-08T09:23:26-06:00

Three years ago, Drew McLellan approached me about writing a project management post a couple of times a month. About a year after it started, the Iowabiz blog moved under the ownership of The Business Record, and Todd Razor.

Last week, the Iowa Newspaper Association named Iowabiz the best newspaper blog in the state of Iowa. I've been honored that I get to play in their sandbox.

Congratulations to Iowabiz, Todd, and my fellow contributors on creating and maintaining an awesome community to improve the state of business in Iowa.

Carpe Factum!

Blabbermouth

2010-02-05T19:32:56-06:00

I got my new laptop this week... which meant a quick trip to Ed Snuffin at Iowa Computer Repair to do all the set-up and security work before I start to use it. Now I can rest assured that my "sidekick" is optimized and will run smoothly for years.

I had a few clothes that needed mending, so a trip to Frederick's Tailors in Clive. They always make all of my clothes look like new when they're done.

Next was a trip to the dry cleaners, Executive Cleaners in Urbandale, who get my clothes looking excellent every time. Never a quality issue, unlike many other cleaners in town.

Hungry for Italian, I always make an effort to stop at A Taste of Italy on University Avenue. The guys behind the counter frequently introduce me to new meats and cheeses (much to the chagrin of my wife).

But for the taste of the day, it was a chance to catch up with a friend over the best onion rings in Des Moines at Maxie's Restaurant.

And when it came time to pick up my prescription, John Forbes' Medicap on Douglas Avenue is a no-brainer for me.

Why am I telling you all of this? Is it just a shameless plug for some of my favorite service providers?

Well, yes and no.

Our accomplishments are a living testament. The outputs we as service providers produce are the inputs for somebody else (customers). Ang guess what? They are the feedback loop for our outputs. If we produce great outputs, they will tell lots of people how great we are. If we produce poor outputs, they will tell even more people how bad we are.

For me, I always try to provide my clients, my students, and my audiences with the best value possible. I want them to come away saying "Wow - I got more than I bargained for!" My accomplishments, my outputs exist to make their inputs (and therefore, their accomplishments) better.

So what are your outputs? Who is using them as inputs? Are they excited enough to tell everybody?

Now it's time to assemble my financial records to pass off to the world's best accountant, Lambert Blank.

(Disclaimer: None of these service providers knew I was writing about them, and I received no compensation for my telling you about them.)

Seize His Shadow

2010-02-02T01:00:00-06:00

It's Groundhog Day - a day proliferating the myth that a rodent can predict the weather six weeks out. Personally, the day means nothing to Iowans. There will almost always be foul winter weather during the high school basketball tournaments in March. And spring doesn't really arrive until my neighbor, Ann, and I come out of our mutual hibernations and have our first prolonged driveway chat.

But for a moment, let's assume this myth about seeing the shadow thing is true. We then have another example of how systems ignorance (the opposite of systems thinking) can mess up decision-making.

Dissect this with me. The groundhog makes a decision to leave his home and go outside. If he DOES NOT see his shadow, he decides everything is okay, and he can stick around for a while (thereby ushering in spring). If he DOES see his shadow, however, he freaks out, decides outside is unsafe, and scurries back into the safety of his abode.

Pretty absurd, eh?

A manager (or executive, or any other form of so-called leader) pokes his head out of his organization into the world at large. Seeing nothing threatening out there, he (or she, to be fair) decides that the environment is non-threateningly great and that he and his organizational can flourish. However, if the rodent manager sees that his actions (shadow) have had an impact on the outside environment, he becomes freaked out and retreats back into his cubicle, hoping a prolonged status quo will prevail.

OK, that's a little tongue-in-cheek. As organizational groundhogs, we need to seize the shadow. We need to recognize our role that our outputs are having on the environment around us. If we do see those impacts (positive or negative), we need to be accountable for them, embrace them, seize them, and own them. And if that means fixing them, so be it.

Will you simply see your shadow today? Or will you also seize your shadow as well?

Sick Sigma

2010-01-25T22:05:06-06:00

I love learning new things from the Wall Street Journal. Every day, there are great articles about virtually every facet of business, just waiting to be absorbed by my eager little brain. But some days, there's a bonus article which just validates things I had already intuitively figured out... but then somebody smarter than I goes ahead and does the research on it and writes about it.

Such is the case with today's Satya S. Chakravorty's article about "Where Process-Improvement Projects Go Wrong." As any reader of this blog already knows, I'm a pronounced Six Sigma Cynic, not because I don't believe in quality initiatives as a whole, but rather because Six Sigma is simply rehashed and repackaged TQM that is generally poorly implemented AND institutionalized (see Deming's 14 points) in most organizations. And according to Chakravorty's research, 60% of all Six Sigma corporate initiatives fail to yield the desired results. (Insert shocked face here.)

I liked how the article summed up the four major findings behind the tepid success:

First, the extended involvement of a Six Sigma or other improvement expert is required if teams are to remain motivated, continue learning and maintain gains. If the cost of assigning an improvement expert to each team on a full-time basis is prohibitive, one improvement expert could be assigned on a part-time basis to several teams for an extended period of one to two years. Later, managers could be trained to take over that role.

Second, performance appraisals need to be tied to successful implementation of improvement projects. Studies point out that raises, even in small amounts, can motivate team members to embrace new, better work practices. Without such incentives, employees often regress to their old ways of working once the initial enthusiasm for Six Sigma dies down.

Third, improvement teams should have no more than six to nine members, and the timeline for launching a project should be no longer than six to eight weeks. The bigger the team, the greater the chance members will have competing interests and the harder it will be for them to agree on goals, especially after the improvement expert has moved on to a new project. And the longer it takes to implement improvements, the greater the chance people and resources will be diverted to other efforts.

Fourth, executives need to directly participate in improvement projects, not just "support" them. Because it was in his best interests, the director in charge of the improvement projects at the aerospace company created the illusion that everything was great by communicating only about projects that were yielding excellent results. By observing the successes and failures of improvement programs firsthand, rather than relying on someone else's interpretation, executives can make more accurate assessments as to which ones are worth continuing.

While all good and valid points, I would add a fifth item to these: Most six sigma and lean initiatives focus too much on the process and not nearly enough on the inputs and outputs which bookend the process. It's like ooh-ing and ah-ing over power tools but never building anything or having a state of the art kitchen but always going out to eat. People care more about the accomplishments, the outputs. Every system allows for some degree of inefficiency; some even mandate it. This is why I completely downplayed the role of the transformation process in SWAT - Seize the Accomplishment. Those tools all exist, and they make sense. But if your organization can't master Chakravorty's four points (with my one addendum), no number of master black belts will help your organization get from point A to point B (but you will wander very efficiently).

Mr. Brown Can Woo, Can You?

2010-01-20T12:09:52-06:00

Congratulations, Scott Brown, Senator-Elect for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Normally, special elections are barely a footnote in off-years, but once again, this provides an excellent lesson in systems thinking; namely, when some element of the system gets out of balance, the environment or the system itself will pull it back into alignment. Sometimes, the realignment is a gentle nudge. In the past decade of national politics, the pendulum swings the other way with the force of a released rubber band tanked up on Red Bull.

Consider this: We as a nation put George W. Bush into office because we were sick of "Slick Willy." Within eight short years, the White House and both houses of Congress were controlled by Democrats. Simply a year ago, the world was gripped with Obama-fever as he took his Oath of Office. Now, Massachusetts, the bluest of the blue states, has elected a (GASP!) Republican senator in the midst of voter anguish. Kennedy family members of three generations are rolling in their graves (at least the ones were weren't "voting" yesterday).

While the politicians in Washington (and Massachusetts) are making excuses about why and how this happened, I can replace their excuses with explanations: the system corrected itself. Democrats and Republicans alike are losing sight of one fundamental truth: we live in a centrist society. Solutions are not at the extremes of political ideologies; they generally reside in the middle. Obama promised a "govern from the middle" approach and quickly violated that promise. And the system corrected itself by removing a filibuster-proof majority from the Senate.

Now the question remains - will the Democrats recognize this event for what it is (a system correction) and make the necessary adjustments, or will they keep pushing their agenda through the system? Only time will tell. But November isn't too far away on the political timeline. And systems will take one of two paths: they will continue to fix themselves, or they will break beyond repair. No matter how you cut it, Scott Brown recognized the system was broken, and he ran a campaign which resonated that sentiment. ("This is not Ted Kennedy's seat. This is the PEOPLE'S seat.")

How about you and your organization? Are your systems out of whack? Are they screaming at you for a course correction? Are you going to do something about it?

Good Ink

2010-01-19T05:15:13-06:00

It has been refreshing to read the feedback coming in on SWAT - Seize the Accomplishment, and I'm very appreciative of those who have taken the time to read it and share their thoughts.

Scot Herrick gave a great overview of the book, and he summed up nicely WHY systems thinking is so critical in this day and age:

In the Great Recession, the need for good Systems Thinking has never been more needed. As companies have lopped off divisions, pared back operations, changed credit policies and laid off millions of workers, what were inputs and outputs to systems have significantly changed. I doubt management has had enough time to really analyze what the company’s processes are now, much less if they have Systems Working All Together. As an employee, you are paying the price.

Timothy’s book is a timely reminder that we can’t really improve our businesses (or job satisfaction) until we embrace Systems Thinking into our work. Without it, all we do is solve one problem — and cause two more.

Thanks, Scot! It was this message that compelled me to get SWAT published. Kevin Eikenberry enjoyed the book so much, he's willing to offer an extra incentive for those who order it:

I like this book enough to give you an extra incentive to order a copy.

Last Fall Timothy was our invited expert during one of our Remarkable Leadership Learning System Guest Conversations. When you buy a copy of the book from Amazon, email us a copy of your order confirmation number. When you do, we’ll send you links for both the recording and transcript of this excellent one-hour conversation.

Closer to home, Claire Celsi gave a glowing review with her slant on why systems thinking is so important for today's professional:

I encourage anyone who interacts with medium or large corporation, or complex government agencies, to read this book. Communicators need to learn how to be at the table when big decisions are being made. One way to gain the respect and trust of the executives in your organization is to speak their language and realize that complex decisions sometime muddle the message coming out to employees and stakeholders. Encourage leaders in your organization to put the complexity aside after a decision has been made. The final decisions need to be communicated clearly and without management speak.

Big HUGE Carpe Factum THANKS to Scot, Kevin, and Claire. It is awesome to be able to know such amazing people.

To top it all off, I received some nice press from Lynn Hicks in the Des Moines Register today.

I also want to thank Michael Libbie for a super radio interview last week (even if I was befuddled by the chair), and I'm looking forward to another interview today with J. Mac McKoy. Check out the podcast below from my discussion with Michael:

Watch live streaming video from desmoineslocallive at livestream.com

The Pen IS Mightier...

2010-01-15T23:31:03-06:00

I have a confession to make on the eve of my first official book signing for my third book: I like to use a specific pen for my book signings.

There's really nothing special about the pen itself. It possesses decent enough quality (in a ball-point blue-ink kind of way), and I have about a dozen of them floating around the house. What makes the pen stand out for me is its association with a company with whom I no longer work.

You see, they have a few people on their management team who clearly thought I'd never make it. One executive even referred to me as "That blogger boy" (insert a tone of complete contempt and disdain).

So it only seems fitting that I use their pens, their ink to sign my name on my accomplishments. Is SWAT - Seize the Accomplishment on a best seller list yet? Nope. But it's still my accomplishment. And it's a book I'm proud to put my name on and sign my name in. And by getting all the way to a book signing, I feel like I'm winning a victory for every author who's at least tried, for every blogger who's posted or commented, for everyone who's ever tried a creative act in the face of people who said it couldn't be done.

So I'll be signing my name tomorrow... with a pen... from a company... who said it couldn't be done. Kind of like slaying the evil knight with his own sword, an author's poetic justice, if you will.

Who are your accomplishment naysayers? And how will you prove them wrong? (And crank up Elton John's "I'm Still Standing" while you're doing it.)

Another Fine Lott You've Gotten Us Into

2010-01-13T22:11:33-06:00

It's been fascinating watching the reaction to Harry Reid this week. He made some "inartful" comments about our President when Obama was still a senator/candidate. People are calling for his head. Al Sharpton and others are saying "No big deal." Now let's think back a few years... to Trent Lott... who made racially insensitive comments about Strom Thurmond... and lost his leadership role in the Senate over it.

Why the difference in reaction? Are they truly different? Is it another case of liberal bias? Perhaps. But I'm not going to go there. I commented about this event on Twitter and suggested that this was actually just a system breakdown. My good friend, Ernest Phillips, shot back with the response I was hoping for: "The system has a variable 'intent.' Offensive remarks are often about perceived intent which affects output." (Go, Ernest! That's why you're great at your job.)

In the system of communication, there are two inputs which are always present but often imperceptible to those in the system: intent and perception. Often we are faced with insensitive or rude or seemingly mean comments and the output of our communication is REACT. But should we ALWAYS react? I've been floored some times on Facebook when I'm just having fun being cheeky and somebody completely wigs out over a comment I've made. Those who know me best, know that I generally don't set out to hurt people randomly (intent). They also look holistically at the conversation instead of ONLY filtering it through their values and experiences (perception). Generally, I can disagree agreeably with most people because I can look at the communication and relationship systems I have with them... and I separate out the intent and the perception. The output of communication is generally much better when we can recognize intent and perception for what they are.

As for Harry Reid, the talking heads on CNN and MSNBC and Fox News will all scurry off to a different story, a new scandal, and a scathing attention/ratings grabber. And they will try their best to play with perceptions and intents to make us believe whatever they want. Is your system ready? Will you recognize it when it happens?

Gratitude Without Handcuffs or Flashbangs

2010-01-11T22:48:00-06:00

I made a decision many months ago that when my book launched, I wanted to say thanks to the Suburban Emergency Reponse Team (SERT) for allowing me to tag along to all of their training sessions over the past three years, for allowing me to pester them with seemingly trivial questions about SWAT work, for taking me on patrol ride-alongs, for letting me be an occasional role player so I can hone all of my bad-guy tendancies in a safe environment, and for asking me to be their training photographer.

Hence, my official book signing launch event is coming up this Saturday afternoon at Jake's Journey in the West Glen Shopping Center. I'll be there from about 1:30-4:30 signing copies of SWAT - Seize the Accomplishment (and will probably have some copies of GUST and Race Through The Forest as well). For every copy of SWAT purchased, ten dollars will be donated back to the SERT for them to purchase equipment or safety supplies or training needs. I hope to sell a whole lot of books because (and I can't speak for you) I want my SWAT team as well equipped as possible to handle whatever our uncertain world throws their way.

And why Jake's Journey and not a traditional book store? Well, after working on this project for five years, after putting in countless hours wrestling with characters and plot lines, after agonizing over the best chart/graph/picture for conveying the principles, after editing (and re-editing ad infinitum), after being cuffed, flash-banged, and tackled by camo-clad testosterone, after sorting through 15,000 photos to find the right one for the cover, after seeing systems and inputs and outputs in my sleep, after sending out numerous copies to bloggers and other media outlets, I can honestly say, LIFE IS GOOD!

See you Saturday!

How Binary Of Me

2010-01-10T13:43:20-06:00

01.10.10 (Hey, that's today)

Finally!

It seems like a lifetime ago when I wrote my first post about my experience with the SWAT team. Who knew so much of that would find its way into these pages? (OK, well, I did.)

Got some great reviews starting to come in on SWAT, so you can see what others are saying. Brett Trout, Franke James, and Tim Milburn have already posted reviews, as well as what Robert Stanke wrote last month. Thanks to each of them for getting the word out. One of Tim's comments especially hit on what I love to see from my readers: "I read it in one sitting. But I've been thinking about it all day." I've heard that comment from a couple of other people, and I'm hoping that this book really flash-bangs your thinking into some new paradigms. This is a book that I hope will "haunt and taunt" you long after you've read it.

This week, I'll be writing posts about what you'll find inside the cover of SWAT, some of the characters and how they evolved, and what you as a professional will take away from reading this book.

So get your game on... it's flash-bang time!