I am a voracious reader, and the business books marketing machine is perfectly happy with me. I am guessing that somewhere in a vast data mine my name appears in a list of people you need to try to sell the next management book to. They, and their authors, might be surprised with how and why I read what they offer.
I propose that were an organization tasked to place a value, net of investment, on all the business books purchased in the last year, it would be a negative investment. This even ignores the investment into full fledged improvement efforts aimed at alignment, effectiveness/efficiency, customer satisfaction, etc., etc. How many of those have failed in your organization? If you disagree with my almost untestable hypothesis (how convenient for me) I suggest you read on still.
My point isn't to tell you to stop reading. If I were to stop reading today, I believe I might die right at the moment of decision. I simply suggest a new way of reading. You must remember that every business book ever written (okay, that I've actually read) is based on a study, occurrence, or market bubble growth/bursting, discovery of evildoing in board rooms that arrives on the scene. These books weren't written about your company, your department, your division or your desk. You see, many of these efforts are put forth, rightly, to help us do one of two things (1) repeat the success or (2) avoid the mess. But we can't, precisely, because they aren't about us.
So to avoid the conundrum (what do I do with this information that doesn't apply to me), I recommend the following which has proved invaluable to me in my career:
1. Plan To Do Something. From the first moment you pick up something to read, or decide to attend a seminar be intentional about this: expecting to be different on the other side. You don't know what that is because you haven't read yet. It's the frame of mind I'm after here - don't read to simply take in, but with expectancy of being changed in some way.
2. Look for Your World. I just finised reading Michael Lewis' The Big Short, a fun-loving romp through the insanity of the meltdown of this country's, and in many ways the world's, financial system because of one industry - sub-prime mortgages. Kidding aside, when you read it you may become angry at the unbridled hubris and blind ambition of Wall Street investment banking firms or nausea may overwhelm you with tales of the honorless manner that mortgages were sold to people that had no business buying a home. But what will amaze you is that a few people figured it out before it happened, and they told others about it but no one would listen. So what's your business' 'sub-prime mortgage' that no one wants to face into? Maybe it won't lead to the demise of western civilization, but it might signal the end of your operation/division/company. Don't miss the metaphor.
3. Take On The Metaphor. Whatever it is in your world, you need to do your homework, speak to experts, organize your thoughts, meet with your boss and have the courage tell them what you've found out. If it is within your power, make the change. Fix the leak. Whether with a new system you successfully sell, or with baling wire, duct tape and a fire extinguisher, you need to address what you see.
Learning to expand the way we see what's going on around us and apply it to our lives is a gift you can give to yourself, releasing your energy toward making things better. Oh yeh, watch out for those tanned mortgage brokers driving around in new BMW's.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
BLT #3: You - Strategically Speaking
Strategy is such a cool topic. I have had the opportunity to work on strategy review and development efforts during the past ten years and find the work to be intensely challenging intellectually. The tools used in these processes are designed purposefully to help you think differently about your business and to search for insights not seen before. They begin by developing a clear understanding of the current state of the business, looking for trends and insights from the current trajectory of metrics or other feedback from the marketplace, customers and non-customers. Gaps are identified and assignments handed out to get them closed. More importantly, a new flight plan for the business is set.
What about you? When was the last time you performed a strategic review of yourself? Well, I think today is the day to make an investment in yourself by taking these three steps:
1. Understand where you are today. Take a look at your latest performance evaluation. Read over it as if were a report on a company's performance by it's customers - that's right your boss is a customer of what your doing everyday. What does it say about your overall performance? If it doesn't read like a glowing report from a customer saying they're going to be a repeat buyer and recommends you to all their friends and coworkers you must figure out why. Your boss may or may not be adept at developing people - you have to be. Leaving this up to others is victimhood. Be honest, if your current job doesn't take advantage of your talents and passions why are you still there?. There's a quick hint here - the best way to your next job is to do the one you have better than it's ever been done. Do your peers value your input, advice and leadership?
2. Look for strengths and gaps - admit your deficiencies. Write down areas of your performance that are simply not up to snuff for a person who wants to be valued and advanced. Heck, look at last week. Were you great, average or just hanging around. Challenge yourself like no manager could. It's not comfortable but there is a fact many of us don't want to admit - we hold ourselves back because we don't want to take a critical look at ourselves. It's liberating to tear off the constant defense of yourself and look hard at what you've been doing. Make sure you give yourself credit for the things your great at, whether at work or away from it. These are clues to what you should be doing more of.
3. Develop a flight plan for excellence. There isn't much sense in doing this little exercise if all your going to shoot for is 'achieves' levels of performance. You may not think so, but your better than that. Set a course to re-define what 'exceeds' performance looks like. Maybe you need to focus on one area of work. There's a story of a man who couldn't win his club's tennis tournament because everyone knew one thing that he hadn't admitted to himself - he couldn't hit a backhand to save his life. Once he admitted it, he played the next 6 weeks hitting nothing but backhands, literally avoiding forehands to run around it to hit a backhand. He lost every match in those six weeks. "How in the heck does that help?" you might rightly ask. As in life you can't win anything just hitting backhands. Our hero played in the club championship the next week, of course returning to his regular style of play, but now with a stonger and more confident backhand. He won the tournament without losing a set. He had a plan and he stuck to it in the face of continual failure, but his goal wasn't to win with backhands but to make himself into a better all around player.
Make yourself a better (insert title here) by admitting your own weaknesses (what's your "backhand"?) and put plans in motion to return to what you are - a champion. Not tomorrow, today.
What about you? When was the last time you performed a strategic review of yourself? Well, I think today is the day to make an investment in yourself by taking these three steps:
1. Understand where you are today. Take a look at your latest performance evaluation. Read over it as if were a report on a company's performance by it's customers - that's right your boss is a customer of what your doing everyday. What does it say about your overall performance? If it doesn't read like a glowing report from a customer saying they're going to be a repeat buyer and recommends you to all their friends and coworkers you must figure out why. Your boss may or may not be adept at developing people - you have to be. Leaving this up to others is victimhood. Be honest, if your current job doesn't take advantage of your talents and passions why are you still there?. There's a quick hint here - the best way to your next job is to do the one you have better than it's ever been done. Do your peers value your input, advice and leadership?
2. Look for strengths and gaps - admit your deficiencies. Write down areas of your performance that are simply not up to snuff for a person who wants to be valued and advanced. Heck, look at last week. Were you great, average or just hanging around. Challenge yourself like no manager could. It's not comfortable but there is a fact many of us don't want to admit - we hold ourselves back because we don't want to take a critical look at ourselves. It's liberating to tear off the constant defense of yourself and look hard at what you've been doing. Make sure you give yourself credit for the things your great at, whether at work or away from it. These are clues to what you should be doing more of.
3. Develop a flight plan for excellence. There isn't much sense in doing this little exercise if all your going to shoot for is 'achieves' levels of performance. You may not think so, but your better than that. Set a course to re-define what 'exceeds' performance looks like. Maybe you need to focus on one area of work. There's a story of a man who couldn't win his club's tennis tournament because everyone knew one thing that he hadn't admitted to himself - he couldn't hit a backhand to save his life. Once he admitted it, he played the next 6 weeks hitting nothing but backhands, literally avoiding forehands to run around it to hit a backhand. He lost every match in those six weeks. "How in the heck does that help?" you might rightly ask. As in life you can't win anything just hitting backhands. Our hero played in the club championship the next week, of course returning to his regular style of play, but now with a stonger and more confident backhand. He won the tournament without losing a set. He had a plan and he stuck to it in the face of continual failure, but his goal wasn't to win with backhands but to make himself into a better all around player.
Make yourself a better (insert title here) by admitting your own weaknesses (what's your "backhand"?) and put plans in motion to return to what you are - a champion. Not tomorrow, today.
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