Changing Business

If you want to know the answer

2009-12-22T10:13:58+01:00

If you want to know the answer, the trick is to ask the right question. This might seem too basic but bear with me a little while and you’ll see where I am taking you to.

Principally there are three types of question: one which is designed to show how cleaver the issuer is, one which genuinely enquires in search of an answer and lastly one that is simply a statement requesting no answer at all such as: “Marriage is a wonderful institution, but who would want to live in an institution?”

Like most of us, I am flooded with questions on a daily basis, it’s an important part of my job. Stupid questions (and yes there is such a thing as a stupid question) can be very irritating and time consuming unless (unlike me) you are prepared to be rude by telling those that ask them to engage their brains before opening their mouths?

For those of us that hold useful knowledge, questions can become a real pain. If we are too quick in giving answers our enquirers become lazy and simply rely on us to supply them with information wherever and whenever they want it, and yet, if we are too reluctant we are accused of being unhelpful.

In India, it was once the custom for a person to live a lifetime of servitude to a guru in the hope of one day being permitted to ask a question. Today most people feel they have the right to ask a question to anyone, even if they are not qualified to do so. For example, I would feel very uncomfortable asking Steven Hawkins a question on quantum physics because I do not feel that I have sufficient understanding of the subject.

I like the line from Joan Osborn’s song ‘One of Us’: “What would you ask if you had just one question?” (Referring to a theoretical meeting with God). This question is the question of all questions and drives us directly to ask ‘what is it that we need to know?’

I have been building some on-line questionnaires recently. The trick here is to know what the problem is that the questionnaire is solving and why you want to solve it, before writing the questions.

Too often questionnaires are too long and complex, posing questions to which no answer seems appropriate. And so it is in meetings. I like to prepare before I go into a meeting. For me preparation is not only a sign of respect but also a question of being efficient. Carefully thought through questions usually deliver carefully considered answers. By considering in advance how the receiver of the question might answer, focuses us on revising the question. After all what is the point of a question that does not lead to increasing understanding?

A very practical example of the need to form the right question comes with the use of internet search engines. We know the answer is out there somewhere but how can we find it without being bombarded with irrelevant and mind diverting material? For example try going to Google to find information on the Paris Hilton…

(If you want to become an expert in finding information on-line here is a good place to start: 20 tips for more efficient Google searches)

In this holiday season week I am reminded in the Christian bible that three wise men came to visit the baby Jesus, I wonder what Mary and Joseph asked them?

Happy holiday season

Have a good week,

Harley

Perfectionists make the worst motivators

2009-12-15T07:25:37+01:00

Have you ever worked for a perfectionist? For someone that no matter what you do or how you do it, it is never good enough? I know I have! The constant eroding away of one’s self confidence usually ends up with high frustration levels and the perfectionist having an ever increasing workload.

I have been described as ‘difficult’ from time to time, and as a perfectionist but I like to feel that there is a difference between encouraging people to push themselves to find new limits and taking the attitude that it would have been better and easier if I had done it myself? For example, to encourage people not to except sloppy first drafts but to check and double check that the presentation they are preparing communicates precisely what they want to say, first time right, is the normal role of a boss and coach. However, this can be taken too far.

I once worked for a boss in London who kept pushing me to ever higher standards, much higher than he held for himself. He was the worst boss I have ever had, not just because of his perfectionist demands but for the fact that he seemed to have no respect for me or, indeed, for any of his employees. And here lies the key indicator of the story, he didn’t like us and we didn’t like him.

If you are a perfectionist that has a deep respect for the talent that surrounds you, then there probably is no real issue. From time to time you simply need to re-learn the 80/20 rule.

On the other hand, if you are a perfectionist that feels that everyone around you is either incompetent or selfishly de-motivated, not acting as part of the team, then you may need to take a hard look at yourself, before blaming others…

What are the warning signs for the perfectionist de-motivator?

a) They constantly analyze every situation

b) They make detailed plans that only they seem to follow

c) They think they communicate but forget to use their ears

d) They are completely binary: ‘it must be like this because’

e) Not many people want to have lunch with them

This is not an attack on perfectionists, there are situations where a perfectionist that has an inherent dislike of those around them can be gainfully employed, for example as safety auditors for nuclear reactor plants, or as homicide detectives, or poets, even as financial analysts on fraud investigations. But I personally would not want one as a project leader or coach again.

Have a good week,

Harley

Please dont ask me how I am

2009-12-07T22:43:14+01:00

It’s all very well complaining about how customer service is not what it used to be etc. but if you take a step back, it’s often not too difficult to realize why? Here’s a true story that happened to a colleague of mine just last week.

He was phoning a client who he had not spoken to for a while. The call was important, a contract needed to be prepared and he needed some additional information. After trying a few times to get through, he finally managed and opened the conversation with:

“Hi there how are you?”

The reply was quite astounding:

“Please do not ask me how I am, if everyone who called me asked me how I was I would never have enough time to get my job done!”

My colleague was shocked but sympathized with her predicament. “I am sorry”, he said “I understand, but please I meant it genuinely, we haven’t spoken for such a while and I was just trying to catch up”. At that point she realized what she had said and apologized and they engaged in a short but meaningful exchange.

With the pressure of looking for ever greater efficiency from our staff, cutting the numbers back to the bone, year on year, it eventually becomes a matter of choice to decide how far we can and should go. As anyone that knows me is aware, I am a very busy person and I must say that I recognize myself a little in the story but at least I do try (most of the time) to show some interest when people ask me how I am, even if sometimes I don’t really have the time to reply.

At a reception last week someone reminded me of a joke I first saw on a poster back in the eighties, somehow today it seems to be far more poignant:

“If it wasn’t for customers phoning me the whole time wanting to place orders, I could get on with some real work!”

Have a good week,

Harley

Not everything needs to be useful

2009-12-01T07:33:29+01:00

While I was reading ‘The Black Swan’ I commented to a colleague that it was very interesting but I was not sure how useful it was, how (or if) I could apply it to my daily life or work? It was marketed as a ‘management’ book so, for me, it needed to be useful. My colleague politely reminded me “Harley, not everything in life needs to be useful”. And so it is that I have been contemplating ‘usefulness’ recently. One of the key obstacles that I face when managing change is peoples need to feel ‘useful’ and the web they tangle themselves up in to keep feeling it.

Surely one of the darkest feelings a human can ever experience is that of low esteem, the feeling of self uselessness? While we are in work, no matter how pointless our job might be, we kid ourselves into believing that this (along with our family) is our purpose, our reason for being. No wonder why so many people suffer so much during the early days of retirement?

Because the fear of not being needed is at the root of nearly all resistance, ‘vision’ and ‘belief’ need to become the change managers’ two biggest allies.

It is not surprising that negotiations become so ineffective when trade unions enter the debate because their fundamental stand point is that a job is a job and it is their task to save every single one of them, no matter how unwanted or useless they might be. And yet, if a persons’ job is no longer needed, if the employee knows that they are no longer wanted, what long term effect does it have upon them (and those around them) when their trade union has temporarily ‘saved’ their seemingly useless and unneeded job?

Generally change managers (for good reason) are not permitted to negotiate with trade unions, but I for one would like to spend time with union leaders talking about their approach to vision and belief and the dignity of the human soul, and not their usual outdated Marxist notion of ‘rights’ towards a job, any job.

In the 18th. century Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher, introduced us into the world of Enlightenment. At a time when the church and/or monarch ruled everything, he proposed “Always recognize that human individuals are ends, and do not use them as means to your end”. Kant knew that in essence there are more important things to life than work, family and politics. “All our knowledge begins with the senses, proceeds then to the understanding, and ends with reason. There is nothing higher than reason”. It is therefore important that we should start with things that please the senses and spend time studying seamlessly ‘useless things’, so that we can move on to understanding and eventually end up with reason.

I think my future lies with setting out to invent a new language for trade union negotiation. One that allows trade unions to become more effective. Not by imposing fear in the hearts and minds of those they ‘defend’ but vision and belief, based upon the new possibilities offered by receiving a large cash hand out and a chance for personal liberation.

Trade unions have proven themselves to be essential in their daily work of protecting employees from the worst elements of poor and exploitative management but I sometimes fear that in Western Europe they focus too much on trying to save every job that will disappear anyway, rather than negotiating honest and fair settlements and then using their power and influence to help their customers get through the fear barrier of life after their current work.

Have a good week,

Harley

How open are you for change really?

2009-11-24T09:40:39+01:00

One of the key points on understanding how change management works is to grasp the fact that in order for someone to change they have to be able visualize what the change might be like. Because new behaviors threaten the status quo (something that no one over thirty finds easy) I have decided this week to offer my readers a small challenge… How open are you for change?
It is a fact that many of us that are getting used to eating ‘instant meals’ on a fairly regular basis. What is also a fact is that those of us that eat them are beginning to resent the fifteen minutes it takes to cook, eat, wash and tidy up after the meal. This may be down to the fact that the level of enjoyment does not match the effort we have to invest. But if we are prepared to accept this lack of pleasure in eating our meals, then why not take it a stage further?
Most of us get stuck in traffic on the way to (or from) work, so why don’t we simply eat our meat and two vegetables in the car? (those of you open to change are beginning to visualize it now).
The principle is easy, ‘Dinner in a Bottle’. This is a full flavored meal that you simply drink. It has all the ingredients, minerals, aroma and flavor of a real meal but without all the hassle.

There are a wide variety of flavors on offer from Beef Stroganoff (pictured here) to Peking Duck, English Breakfast and even Pizza Prosciutto.
However, the second rule of change management (as referred to by Leandro Herrero, in his book ‘Viral Change’) is the ‘Tipping point’. Basically the tipping point is the moment in time when the scales of the norm begin to tip in the new direction. This is when more and more people become followers, based upon visualizing others behaving in a different way. So in our case this week, it means when we see teenagers drinking ‘Meat Water’ (that’s the generic term for the new drinks) at bus stops and fellow executives in BMW’s with a bottle or two in their drink holders.
If you are like most people over thirty then you will probably wait to see one of your peers try it first, after having said to many people what an outrage it is and statements like “what is the world coming to?”
However, if you immediately said ‘wow great idea, must try it’ then you are extremely open for change. Have I convinced you? Are you going to try Meat Water, or are you not yet ready?

Have a good week

Innovation just a buzz word or something more?

2009-11-16T11:27:44+01:00

Is it just me but it seems as if every public speaker and corporation seems to be giving seminars on Innovation these days? I have been invited to give three in the last four weeks! It’s almost as if innovation has just been invented.

At the age of 40, I was privileged to be the COO of a small but very innovative software company, right here in the heart of Belgium.

If you were to ask the design team of that company how come they always managed to beat the giant Texas instruments (with its teams of literally hundreds of engineers) to the market with better, more innovative, more performant software, I guess they would put it down to their super innovative and brilliant software development skills.

If you were to ask the same question to the sales and marketing teams, they would put it down to the fact that they were out there right in the middle of the market place listening to what was required right here, right now and not what was on some 10 year road map development program.

If you were to ask the finance department they would clearly say that it was largely down to the way that they could consolidate the financial book keeping of six legal entities in six countries in three continents in less than 30 days, simply using some spreadsheets and a simple database, with only two employees!

If you were to ask the CEO he would have put it down to his supernatural talent for reading the future and delivering what was required tomorrow today.

If you were to ask me, I would tell you it was the environment that I helped create, an environment that allowed the cross fertilization of ideas from each of the companies key disciplines.

As the company grew, the sales and marketing people no longer sat around the same dinner table with the development team and finance. And the CEO was always away on an important mission visiting someone, somewhere around the globe. At that point I could see things change and although I managed to ensure that each department still had the structure and space to remain innovative, something died. And this is the challenge for large companies with their departmental fortresses.

Innovation is the ability to do something new with something that already exists. Innovation is the new application of a tool, product, idea, action or concept based upon something that we already have. So why is it so hard for us to be so good at innovation?

I must dash because today I have been appointed Chairman at the ‘IT Enabled Business Innovation’ day for CIOnet Belgium’s annual top event!

Have a good week,

Harley

Build your own reputation

2009-11-08T22:31:41+01:00

How would you like people to regard you? I imagine you would want it to vary according to your target group? i.e. Family, lover, friends, colleagues, boss, employees, customers, suppliers etc?

It has occurred to me that to a large extent we are responsible for building our own reputations. It is true that sometimes our reputations are demolished by acts of chance or jealousy but mostly our reputations are built or destroyed by our own making.

Here’s a list of key words to choose from (select one from the two lists and see to which target group it applies for you):

Group One:

Honest, clever, sexy, funny, courageous, strong, creative, passionate, balanced, dependable, helpful, caring, considerate, open minded

Group two:

Focused, judgmental, unforgiving, tough, stubborn, narrow minded, arrogant, self centered, egotistical, driven, sly, dishonest, unreliable

Many successful people pay attention to their perceived weaknesses and then create mini publicity campaigns to compensate for them. The better they get at creating a new image, the more rounded and generally better received they become.

But why should anyone do this? Some people tell me that we should just be ourselves and act naturally. But I find this to be a cheap copout. Who are you? Who am I? What makes me me and what is natural? And what would I be if I was left to my own devices? I am told (and believe) that most of us would be thoroughly dishonest, if we knew that we would never get caught.

We can only judge ourselves by comparing with others and this becomes irrelevant as the very act of comparing changes the way we see ourselves. When we see a rich person, we see ourselves as poor. When we see a poor person, we see ourselves as rich. Thus when we ask our peers to describe us, we tend to try and ignore the stuff we disagree with and to latch onto the flattering comments, comparing with the person that gave them.

And so it is, those that build their own reputations are those that are making choices of who and what they want to be. They are the people that, more often than not, have a vision and objective to their life, loves or career.

So this week if I look somewhat distant, ignore me, its just that I am busy planning how to build my new reputation!

Have a good week,

Harley

I just cant take it anymore!!!

2009-10-31T15:49:14+01:00

There’s a time in all our lives when we will scream this out at the top of our voices, or at least desperately want to. Anyone that has witnessed break point will tell you what a dark and thoroughly unpleasant place it is. But what if you are confronted by it face to face and not by a distressed employee or boss but a supplier?

This week my PA’s company car was in for its annual service. The car took longer to repair than expected as the garage needed some extra parts that were not in stock. However, the garage asked her twice to return her replacement car so it could be switched for another (each time she had to re-fuel the car and make a 35km round trip). On collecting her car she calmly pointed out to the receptionist that she had found this very inconvenient.

You can imagine her surprise when the owner of the garage appeared from behind a screen and proceeded to shout and scream at her (in front of a waiting room full of people) at the top of his voice accusing her of being a trickster and how she had personally robbed his company of 130,000EUR last year on lost replacement car costs alone?! The verbal attack was so intense and unexpected even his reception staff disappeared leaving my PA to face the enraged manager alone. When the coast was clear she made a rapid exit, jumped in her car and drove off in a great deal of distress.

We all know how bad the recession is effecting the motor industry and most likely my PA’s innocent comment was the last straw for the stressed out garage owner? But what should we do if we notice a colleague or even find ourselves nearing break point?

One thing I know is that it is vital to find a way to keep a sense of balance and proportion. To try and see things for what they are. But this is much easier said than done and can only happen when our adrenaline level falls back to as near as normal as possible and when our emmotional state becomes calm.

If you are confronted by someone in such a state as the garage owner, check to see if there is any immediate physical danger either to yourself or anyone else. If you feel it is safe to do so, try and calm the person down. Be firm and say ‘I am not going to listen to anything more from you until you calm down, stop shouting and communicate in a normal voice’ (they will probably not notice that they are shouting). Suggest that the person leave the room and come back in again when they feel ready to communicate normally, with some dignity towards both themselves and others. If they ignore your instructions, leave the room (closing the door quietly behind you) keep calm and contact a colleague to decide what to do next. Think about safety first. Usually 15 minutes is long enough for someone to regain a more composed stature and begin to become calm again.

Here are my tips for those who might find themselves at break point

1. Try and take a step back to measure how stressed (close to the edge) you might be

a) Notice if the people (employees, colleagues, bosses, friends & family) around you are acting differently towards you in any way?

b) Ask those that you can confide in, if they think that you are acting differently from usual?

If so:

2. Seek professional help:

a) A life coach or mentor

b) A psychiatrist

c) Doctor

3. Admit to yourself and to others that you are not your usual self and ask for their patience during your difficult time.

4. Take some time out, even half a day to begin with

a) Delegate as many tasks as possible

b) Keep responsibility until it is clear that you are unable to maintain it

5. Remember the graveyard is full of irreplaceable people, don’t become one of them

Have a good week,

Harley

Brain dead? Food for thought leaders

2009-10-27T08:45:41+01:00

We all, every once in a while, encounter short term memory loss. Trying to recall a name or situation can be annoying but not half as bad as trying to find the words for an important e-mail or a simple solution to an issue when ones creativity level has sunk to an all time low?

This week I could not find inspiration for my blog, I thought it would be the first time ever that I simply drew a blank. I had some ideas in a ‘suggestions for blogs’ folder but none of them spoke to me as being any good. In short I was burned out of inspiration. It was then that I remembered that I had to give a lecture in Munich next week on Innovation and creativity, I am expected to show a group of managers how they can ensure that their workplaces stimulate creativity! So I ran through my lecture notes to see if I could apply any of them for myself, in short, here are my findings:

When creativity is lacking:

Firstly: Take a short break. Walk away, do not think or focus on the issue at hand. Even a few minutes of peace and quiet can make a big difference. Eyes closed, slow deep breaths (a kind of brain ‘reset’)

Secondly: Engage in thought provoking activity such as:

· Study a painting in detail (can be the one in your office or in a hallway that you never take the time to notice)

· Listen to a short story or play (BBC radio 4 via the internet)

· Listen to a piece of music that you have not heard for a while (preferably quite long 20-30 minutes)

· Read a paragraph of a stimulating book, short stories are very good for this

· Take a walk outside of 15 minutes or more

· Sleep (30 minutes in the day can work wonders) especially if you have young children keeping you awake at night

Thirdly: Come back to the problem and try again, apply more discipline, possibly involve others to help you get started.

Self discipline is very important because it forces us to focus our minds. Some of the greatest pieces of music ever written followed strict rules and patterns and were often written to very demanding timelines.

The next time you are struck short of inspiration try one (or some) of the steps above and you will find it always works. If your company loses one hour of your working day, only to have you back in a more creative mood, finding solutions to the issues in front of you, it will be a very fair exchange.

We are not machines. As thought leaders and managers our brains need stimulating in order to awaken our creative nature and stay productive.

Have a good week

Too much talking going on

2009-10-16T23:09:44+02:00

Some companies spend a great deal of time and money recruiting the best thinkers and then dump them in an office environment more suitable for assembly line staff, where talking is probably the only thing that keeps them from going insane.

I am someone that likes complete silence when I work; I admit I have been spoilt in as much that I have always had my office for the last twenty years or more, except for one assignment when working for a mobile phone operating company. The first day working there I thought I would go completely insane before the week was out, how can anyone work like this, I thought? But funnily enough I did kind of get used to it. My trick was that I found a quiet place where I could go for a few hours a day, and when I was not there, I was often in meetings.

Having started my first business at the age of 21, I quickly learnt the importance of making the most of every working hour. Every minute wasted was a minute impossible to regain. Later on, when I took on my first employees I was always conscious of their cost per hour too. (And that’s never gone away).

As an independent contractor, if I choose to have a social chat with someone in my client’s office for even five minutes, I am consciously aware that I must work at least five minutes more to make up for it at the end of the day. Anything else would be theft because nowhere in my contract does it say that I am entitled to invoice for social conversation.

I find that there are two kinds of talking in the work place. The first; which is 100% related to productive working, and the second; talking purely for the fun of being in the company of others. I know it is normal to have social communication between two consenting adults but there does become a problem when there are non consenters in the vicinity.

I think the open office rule should be this. If there are more than two people in any one office, talking should always be restricted to business except for the first sixty seconds of the day when a colleague enters the room and possibly again in the evening when they leave. Apart from that all social conversation should be restricted to a designated coffee area.

However, I realize that my rule is rather simplistic and is probably not always ideal or enforceable, especially in larger offices.

Fay, one of my PMI Master Class students, told me about noise cancelling headphones, apparently they work really well. I just wonder how they work socially? I mean if someone is driving you nuts in the office by talking all the time, do you simply say “yes very interesting” and then put your headphones on? I mean how does it work in practice? I also wonder if they could ever have some kind of long term negative effect on one’s health? I was thinking about repetitive white noise syndrome, for example? I haven’t ordered a pair yet but they could become useful if I get fed up with the sound of my own voice telling me to stay focused and concentrate more!

Have a good week,

PS here’s my conclusion on last week’s blog: Company Politics

Perhaps it will not rain, and even if it does rain, perhaps the Englishman’s boss and colleague will look at his umbrella and decide that it is not going to be that effective and run for cover instead!

The moral of the story is: There is no point in planning everything to the nth. degree, especially if you only look at it from your own view point. Risk planning is about judging when you need it and then when you decide you do, to always get a 360 degree view of the situation, which more often than not involves bringing in other objective view points.

It is highly unlikely that anyone will fight over an umbrella because getting wet is not such a big deal and the tool on offer to prevent was not the right one anyway! A pragmatic approach to both politics and risk management is always best.

As one of my commenter’s suggested, just raising the topic may have cleared the problem, but then again perhaps half an hour would have been wasted discussing over the likelihood of rain and its eventual consequences, rather than solving an important and engrossing business problem!