Almost immediately thereafter, as I juggled and reorganized the rest of my items to try and help clean up the mess, my mother’s voice echoed in my head, “That’s the lazy man’s load.” Yep, Mom, the apple of your eye is still doing it at age 42. What am I doing? I’m looking for what seems to be the easiest, fastest route to get my requirements met with an approach that is in deep deficit of forethought, preparation, or planning. Sometimes what seems to be the easy way just doesn’t pay. 

Of course, this is not unusual to say the least. 

I’m sure you know what I mean. Much to my chagrin, it is not an uncommon practice in my life―just as painful, it is also fairly ubiquitous in business. 

One recent example is a customer who is getting increased pressure from a new boss to flawlessly execute the business strategy as a priority for 2012. What if the strategy and plans are based on the specter of seasons past? He’ll pass to his go-to people, and keep over-tasking the same direct reports with as much as possible, especially those items critical to executing the strategy (we call this “box-checking” as opposed to realizing business benefits and the strategic intent). Do these direct reports have any special skills? Probably, but none more important than just the willingness to sacrifice much to get the work done; sometimes too much. The problem is that these team members just get overloaded with tasks―an approach that is not only not sustainable, but also counterproductive. In fact, it’s the fastest route to burnout for the employee and the quickest trip to things going “SPLUNK” for the company. 

As an example, ask the large consumer products company being dogged by repeated errors in their supply chain, struggling to move product out the door, that may be losing strategic placement opportunities on their customer shelves and, maybe even worse, could be losing the faith of their consumers.

Your biggest boss may not declare that “Excellence in Execution” is what creates competitive advantage for your organization, but guessing, hoping, and taking what appears to be an easy road can lose your hard-earned, coveted ground. As you enter 2012 and conduct strategic planning for your life, your career, your business, consider what measures you are taking to execute flawlessly on strategies you put in place.

Are you starting with Why? Are you developing a sense of purpose, clear intent to be built upon as the foundation for success? Do you have a framework for identifying obstacles that can inhibit reaching your intended goals? Allow me to share a favorite quote attributed to Unknown: “There are always two choices. Two paths to take. One is easy. And its only reward is that it’s easy.” That’s the bad news. 

The good news is that you’re not doomed to do things the way they’ve always been done. Click here to learn more about how to fundamentally change the way work gets done in your organization and achieve more success in 2012.

One answer might be to hire people from these different cultures to help sell products in the regions in which they are from. In order to hire a diverse workforce, the company must promote diversity and attract a diverse talent pool. They may do this in a programmatic way by creating councils on diversity, celebrating heritage months for various cultures, and promoting diversity in recruitment efforts at job fairs. But then, what happens when people of different cultures join an organization? Some of the larger organizations, like IBM, have Chief Diversity Officers assigned to integrating diversity throughout their workforce. Former IBM Chief Diversity Officer Ted Childs is now a consultant on this topic and trademarked “Workforce Diversity: The bridge between the workplace and the marketplace.” When organizations have a less programmatic approach and a more sustainable approach to diversity, they can design, market, and sell more products globally. Diversity must be part of the organization’s mission and growth strategies, and then effectively communicated to all employees.

In doing consulting work for some larger organizations and talking with friends in the training industry, I am seeing a real growing trend in diversity training. Global companies are championing diversity and striving to incorporate it throughout their organization, starting with messages from the CEO to training first-level managers on how to deal with issues involving diversity. In order to effectively integrate diversity into any organization, the message has to be communicated not only to new hires, but also to every employee so that inclusion occurs. Then, someday maybe organizations will not need to spell out diversity in their communications; rather, it will be evident in their principles and mission statements.

And, the next time I step into an Indian house, the first thing I will do is remove my shoes without any hesitation, whether it’s a party of 50 people or 2 people coming over for dinner.

Let’s just do it. Let’s start by evaluating our efforts. Clearly one way to do this is to look at the KPIs that measure process output. We have them control charted don’t we? Of course we do, and so we are readily able to compare past average levels of our key output variables with the new levels using simple student t tests. We may need to look for expected reductions in variation, too. Maybe we find it difficult to do ANOVA tests or apply F-tests, but there is someone nearby who can do these tests in Excel or the stats package of their choice, even, these days, on their phone. Statistical tests are not the whole story though—we should ask the customers and other stakeholders involved or affected whether our efforts have been worthwhile. 

We also should ensure that we documented the journey we took in an interesting narrative form that includes a clear description of the issues with the existing situation, the barriers to success that we overcame, the happy end result, and the lessons to be learned for future change agents. Along with this, we should document any process changes that we considered but rejected, including the reasons we did so. Better for us to explain why a particular method would not have worked than for someone in the future to think that we ignored the possibility. Or worse still, that they attempt that change themselves, unaware that we already considered or tried it.

And finally, we should document our successes and failures in applying thinking and analytical processes. Very few organizations take the time and effort to examine how their thinking processes are working (“Is our brainstorming effective?”) or their analytical methods (“Are we coming up with good root causes?”), This approach of thinking about how we are thinking is alien to many organizations. We take it for granted that the methods we have used in the past are acceptable and that our means of deploying them are optimal. But this is seldom the case, and so some reflection will pay off for future analysts and decision makers. This does not need to be a complex process―a simple table will suffice with entries like “Five Whys analysis: Tried to use it, but got bogged down in details so resorted to building on an existing, detailed fishbone diagram instead.”

See―that hardly hurt at all. Three simple steps―evaluate, recall, and learn―that we know we should carry out, but seldom do. And three simple steps that can make the world of difference in ensuring solid and sustainable change in any Lean initiative.

In order to keep up this momentum, we have made it our resolution to continue providing content that helps you achieve your business initiatives and ultimately helps you make a meaningful impact for your organization and your customers. Our inspiration and ideas come from your comments and feedback, so please continue to let us know what topics, trends, or insights you would like our authors to write about.

As we reflect on the blog in 2011, we are inspired by the commitment and dedication of our authors. They are the voice and driving force behind our blog.  In case you missed them, here are some of our most read posts over the past year:

Practical Approach for Changing Organizational Culture by Dave Roitman

The Human Factor of Change – Walking in Other Peoples Shoes by Pete Floyd

Everything is Ok, Right? by Andrew Freedman

Learning to Learn by Butler Newman

Re-Thinking Performance Management by Dan Seamon

The athletes that invest in strategies to sustain their talents and results over time are the ones on the Wheaties box, on the talk show circuits, and eventually get to light the torch at future Olympic ceremonies. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if we aligned every action during our race or project with components of a solid sustainment strategy so we were asked to light the torch for future projects? As individuals, we are merely members of a larger organization. We need to help our colleagues across the finish line as well. However, it is vital that we set the stage for them to be stars in their own work. Their notoriety is our testimonial. Too often, the stage for individual success is set in the classroom. An effective strategy to sustain success focuses on the workforce: where they are, when they need it, and how they can make it their own. It focuses on performance more than learning and definitely more than training.

During a recent discussion with a client, he shared that the coming year was not really about setting new paths or strategies. Would his organization be doing so? Absolutely – in fact, they were in the midst of some large strategic shifts at the time we met. The key to his team’s success, in his opinion, lies not in charting the new course, however. Success exists in his two words:

Purposeful Execution

I could not agree more with his sentiments. Strategy formulation is very important in charting the course and setting the vision of how a team or organization will achieve the mission. None of it really means anything, though, without intentional, diligent and purposeful execution.

As we move forward into the coming year, I encourage you (as I know our client would, as well), to reflect on what it will take for you to successfully transform your team, business unit, organization, community – how will you execute flawlessly to ensure the realization of the strategic intent (of whatever is being executed).

Studies show that 70% of initiatives fail to deliver the intended business results. I’m not ok with that. Are you?

Learn how you can beat the odds here

Originally published on http://drewdice.wordpress.com/

Rapid eLearning can be defined as an approach that enables content authors and subject matter experts to quickly develop training that can be delivered via some technology-enabled format, usually online. The development approach typically involves use of off-the-shelf tools that are designed to eliminate the complexity of more traditional authoring processes and processes that have historically required some programming expertise.

The goal for most rapid eLearning is characteristically decreased time to develop and deliver content, as well as improved economics (faster and cheaper). The approach, then, is to convert PowerPoint presentations from instructor-led training to an online format and, in better examples, also adding at least some activity and interaction in the form of knowledge check questions interspersed throughout the slides.

Learning velocity, on the other hand, suggests speed for the learner—not the author—and generally suggests access to the right information at the right time and often in easily digestible learning “chunks” or nuggets. Needing to compress the message, seasoned instructional designers recognize that less is more in the message. But the thin line they must walk dictates that decreased quantities of information don’t sacrifice quality. They recognize that preparing a compressed message requires increased time to design a creative and innovative solution that captures the learners’ attention and delivers the punch line quickly, still leading to improved decision-making for the learners.

Much of the buzz around mobile learning is closely tied to this emerging theory around learning velocity as so many individuals are using their mobile devices to access information so they can more effectively decide, buy, select, direct, drive, etc. And isn’t that what training and performance support are really all about anyway: giving learners timely access to information and tools that allow them to perform more effectively? There’s the better!

To be effective, leaders need to understand that directions, visions, and strategies are merely promises; the job of the leader is to translate those promises into real, on-the-ground performance.²  So, how is that achieved? Norgaard and Conant go on to define a leader as “the person who brings a little magic to the moment.”³ While “magic” is all good and everything, it’s not a set of skills or behaviors unless the leader has been able to refine some basic abilities and employ a sense of intuition. Leaders can sharpen their magic wand by exercising the habits in the following prompts:

First – Listen up. In a previous blog, “Seven Listening Prompts for Tomorrow Growth Leaders,” I wrote about the art of listening and exposing it for the form of communication that it is. A leader sharpens his/her skill level through developing a knack for listening to the whole message; visualizing the whole picture if necessary; and surgically extracting key data, emotion, and root causes from the conversation.

Second – Assist others to frame the issue, or perform this on your own; just work to encompass the issue with some structure. This will bring a sense of urgency to the situation and clear the field of vision to create confidence in the next step. Framing the issue can be performed through summarizing, asking questions like: Would it be right for me to say…? or Did I capture all of your points clearly? In fact, it may be most effective to sketch a picture of the situation and possible solutions.

Third – Advance the issue to the next step, engage in the use of assistance from others, and identify the key stakeholders who are most affected by the problem and the solution. This is the step of necessary buy-in. Today many corporate initiatives lack some the dedicated participation from team members required for them to succeed.

Fourth – Be alert. I use to have a baseball coach who always shouted, “Look alert”; being alert is about being able to sense a situation as it is surfacing. Staying alert allows you to see opportunities that might otherwise be overlooked.

Fifth – Abundance. One very essential skill all leaders must develop and learn to harness is motivational power; essentially act as if energy and resources are initiated with the essence of abundance. Assume you have to lead with limitless resources; when obstacles arise become industrious and find ways to “get the job done now and next time.” Another avenue of abundance is to be enthusiastic of others who demonstrate their skills, show flexibility, and encourage urgency.

Sixth – Be authentic. Being authentic not only means leading, it also means following through with your actions. It’s demonstrated by those leaders that share in the steps of progressing towards a strategic goal. Such repeatable short-term goal display towards the end result tends to be contagious with enthusiasm about the tasks at hand.

Seventh – Be adaptable. Forget being one dimensional; it won’t work in the 21st century. The secret is to develop a broad range of skills so that you can adjust and adapt in the moment. Situations will transpire; it will be your role to evaluate whether you need to be directive, consultative, or inspiring. Ways of honing adaptive skills include using humor, providing clarity, deferring to others as the “experts,” asking precise questions, and offering ideas.

These skills must be part of the arsenal of leaders who command a presence and can inspire others to take up the battle. “What makes the team members give their very best?” Every leader must critically gauge the answer to this question for each team member and work to recognize the contribution of each person’s work.

Similarly, the leader has to have full engagement in the performance of others through the genuine feeling that the interest of others is of the utmost importance by offering solutions as a guiding source. Leaders are required to ask questions―more importantly, continue to ask the right questions such as:
“How can I help?”
“How did it go?”
“What was it that worked?”
“How can we do better next time?”

Such questions aim for the clarity in a situation. Focused questions also expose a destination target for the work being performed. The targets then become standards to work towards and benchmarks to achieve and to exceed the performance expectations.

Have you have experienced specific moments whereby you had to pull from your management skills to attain better team performance or momentum? Would you say your leadership skills demonstrate a methodical approach to attaining project momentum? How?

¹Conant, Douglas and Norgaard, Mette. TouchPoints: Creating Powerful Leadership Connections in the Smallest of Moments. Warren Bennis Series, 2011, p. 22.

²Ibid., p. 145

³Ibid., p. 15

What happens that when we have more access to information and education than ever, that health and wellness actually worsens??? Baffling, to say the least – or is it?

I see very much the same thing when it comes to business – organizations, leaders and front line performers have access to more data and information that could help them make sound business decisions than ever. Social networks offer easier access to customer input, insights and desires than ever before – and yet, consumer trust is down, overall levels of employee engagement (with the customer and the organization) continue declining, and, as opposed to thriving, business are limping along, struggling to keep their doors open and profits healthy (from the continued big pharma cutbacks to the small businesses who close their doors within the first year of operation).

The remedy? Here is one recipe for success:

• Start with culture, and align everything with the mission, values and goals. Whether we are talking about an organization aiming to prosper, or an individual seeking to improve her health, having a purpose that stands out like a beacon of light is a critical component. Being a part of something bigger than oneself brings immense power – one does not seek to get healthy and fit for the sake of being healthy and fit – there is a bigger purpose (legacy for children, as an example). By the same token, transformational organizations do not exist solely to make a profit. Profit is a byproduct of something greater. And when individuals feel connected to that mission, energy, engagement, and production will rise
• Apply the FID principle: Frequency, Intensity, Duration. Whether we are talking about exercise, sales, or overall business, these 3 components are critical to long term success:
  • How frequently will you: exercise, rest, strategize, energize, direct, lead, plan
  • With what intensity will you: exercise, strategize, plan, sell, lead – is it a ‘box checking’ activity, being performed solely to say the task was completed, or, is the passion of the mission and larger goals behind the activity? While this nuance is minor, the impact is massive
  • How long will this session last to: burn the needed calories, get the team aligned, properly map an account plan, understand customer or market analytics to make more effective business decisions

This is a critical time and place – as individuals, businesses and communities. It is time to get FIT and Healthy – and not just because a new year is around the corner. Are you ready?

What organizations and managers reach for under these circumstances is accountability. They want consistency not only of methods, but also of results. They want a commitment to energetic pursuit of specified goals, with a minimum of distraction and diversion. Often this seems to be a desire that can only be met by an army of clones or yes-men. So managers and leaders often revert, when times get tough, to command and control. But they are losing sight of a valuable and simple tool―the action item or task. Not coincidently, this same simple tool is the one we use when we are seeking to improve our accountability to ourselves―when we are interested in Getting Things Done.

Action items are those rows we fill in Excel sheets during meetings. The ones that the designated typist duly fills in and then reviews at the next meeting in order to uncork the torrent of excuses and justifications for inactivity. In other words, action items are ascertained and recorded during meetings and then not acted on. Or…action items can be reminders of our personal commitments to team success. The choice is up to us. The popular movement surrounding Paul Allen’s Getting Things Done (GTD) has many hints for prioritizing and processing action items. There is also a substantial community of practice focused on linking GTD and MS Outlook. This body of knowledge acknowledges that success in getting things done relies on selecting our most important goals, setting critical first steps for triggering action, and then allotting specific time to get them done. It’s even possible for Excel to talk directly (though visual basic) to Outlook so that those action rows are translated into Tasks in Outlook with assigned dates. Sally McGhee’s excellent Take Back Your Life is a guide for integrating Outlook and GTD to ensure accountability.

So, a large, and often overlooked, part of accountability is when things must be done and by whom. This accounts for two of the five elements of an action plan – Who, What, Where, When and How. But what of the “what”? Lack of specificity, clarity, and feasibility in the goals themselves contributes largely to weak linkage between the goals and activities. Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic, and Time-based goals are smart, of course. And Lean Sigma tools are powerful aids in driving just such goals. If we set measurable targets for ourselves that improve quality and eliminate waste as part of a transparent, analytical continuous-improvement process, we are more likely to be able to satisfy customers effectively and efficiently―executed by the right people at the right time―precisely the accountability that results from best-laid plans.