Archive for category Leadership
Fitting in at work
Posted by Steve in For Job Seekers, Leadership on February 24, 2010
How important is fitting in with your workplace culture? Its vital. If you do not, then you usually lose your job. And, if someone is not fitting in, should the employer do something? If the odd person is causing problems that prevent the group from working effectively, usually they get rid of that odd person.
An article on CNN, Good job, lousy coworkers, does not address these questions, but rather shows how employees just did not fit one place but fit somewhere else. The incidents were:
1. Colleagues did not want to have lunch with the person or do any outside activities with the person.
2. The employee in question did not participate in extracurricular activities.
3. An employee was older with a family in a company with mostly 20-something singles; and left for the evening to be with his family. The young people centered their life around the company and resentment built up.
4. One employee was very young compared to his coworkers and felt awkward and out of place.
5. A new manager jumped into a situation with everyone creating drama that was counterproductive.
6. The last person could not spout any new ideas as they were all shot down; everyone resisted change.
Given that I do not know the particulars of each situation and in each situation the employee moved on to bigger and better things. However, one thing stuck out. Each one of these situations is common in most companies, and the successful people learn how to leverage the situation, manipulate the people, or move on quickly.
In most of the situations outlined clearly the other parties were being jerks, fearful, resentful or just stupid. In ALL the situations, the employee could have done something about it. Here is my take on each one. You can read about them here: http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2010/news/1002/gallery.workplace_culture/index.html
1. Your colleagues are not your friends and buddies no matter how much they act like that to each other. They do not want to play with you? Invite them to lunch with you and make friends towards them, and do not expect them to initiate. You are probably the outsider. If they still do not want to be friends, then remember, they are colleagues and you are a professional.
2. Participate in extracurricular activities. A big part of getting things done in a company is to have people respect you, not fear you, and be comfortable working with you. This is best done in non-work environments.
3. The young people liked to play video games during their lunches. Join them sometimes. You have a family and they do not; but that does not mean you cannot try to make friends with them in off hours.
4. When you are very young compared to everyone else, keep quiet and listen. Learn. Find a mentor. Figure out how to be helpful. Support and give to others.
5. As a new manager, you are a leader. You do not fraternize yourself with everyones drama. When you realize this is a problem you set the tone right away that people need to get along and focus on the job. If it starts to interfere you need to address it one-on-one. The worst offenders, if it is interfering with work, are fired or transferred if possible.
6. People resist change out of fear for losing their jobs, having to work more for less, or just having to face the possibility of failure. Find out what they want to do to be successful and address that. What are their goals for the year and how can your ideas help them?
In general, here are the rules:
1. Keep your mouth shut. If you really do not like it there, then quietly look elsewhere.
2. Find something early on that you can do that can contribute to the company.
3. Offer friendship, assistance, and smiles. Do not demand it or require it comes to you first.
4. Figure out the culture and do your best to adapt to it and use it to your advantage.
5. Colleagues are colleagues and remain professional at all times. You can become friends, but remember, they are your colleagues.
6. If you are in a role that people work for you, act like a leader and not a manager. If you do not know the difference then learn.
8 Characteristics of Success
Posted by Steve in For Job Seekers, Leadership on February 16, 2010
This week a lot of news about TED. If you are not aware of it, TED is a series of presentations about cool ideas.
That is it. If you have a cool idea you present at TED.
This one is very appropriate for this blog. What is the SECRET of success. Richard St. John realized that he was at a conference of successful people; so he asked them. He asked 500 people and compiled the data.
His presentation is here: http://www.ted.com/talks/richard_st_john_s_8_secrets_of_success.html..
It is well worth the three minutes.
What leads to success?
Passion
Work (that is fun)
Focus
Persist
Ideas (that are good, which leads to )
Good (be good at something, get to be the best you can be at it)
Push (keep pushing yourself, just like your Mom pushed you)
Serve (remember, you are there to serve others, your customers and your employees)
This combination of eight characteristics leads to success. At least according to Richard St. John.? I agree.
Just makes me wonder what was number nine?
Write the Business Case and Keep It Simple
Posted by Steve in Leadership, Plan on September 9, 2009
I was recently in a meeting where the client was planning on launching a new product using us as a supplier. Unfortunately, the price he expected to get from us did not match up with what we had to offer; but an older price. The new price was too high and he could not make his margin (he would actually be losing money); so he requested we do the old price.
I asked for the numbers so I could make a business case. The client was frustrated asking why do we have to waste time on a business case it should be simply a matter of a) we do it and make X dollars or b) we do not do it and make zero dollars.
Fairly simple? You would think so until you realize you have to convince one or two people who are not familiar with the situation. They may think the client can make money with the new price is and is just trying to negotiate, or they may worry that the old price makes us lose money.
The problem with the “business case” is that everyone thinks it needs to be highly complex, multiple pages, and very formalized. Instead, make it simple:
1. Identify a list of options. Example: A, B, or C
2. For each option identify the costs.
3. For each option identify the revenue and benefits.
4. For each option identify the risks of doing it.
5. For the dollar amounts subtract costs from revenue and look at a few items: net income (or EBIT), and margin.
Write it all on one sheet of paper. If the numbers run into many lines, then add an appendix. At the top of the paper, write a 5-10 line summary at most with your recommendation. Below that, put the word Details, and then write the details. Most people will only read the summary.
Your audience will appreciate brevity. More importantly, they will appreciate you taking the time to really look at the problem and giving them a solid answer they can trust.
It is not just obvious. It is also about effective communication and convincing people to your opinion. Taking the extra step of creating a business case goes a long way.
Why is this important? Entrepreneurs often see things as obvious while investors do not. Furthermore, the entrepreneurs not only need to convince investors that this decision is sound but that the entrepreneur can make sound and timely decisions. Winging it only works so far, and in the long run, taking the time to look at the numbers, and present a winning idea shows that thought is behind running the business. All this builds the investor’s confidence in the entrepreneur and gets the entrepreneur closer to getting the next round of funding.
For the example I mentioned it took me 15 minutes and I was done. One of my strengths is doing the analysis. However, I avoid the two classic pitfalls: over analysis, and over-communication. This post talks about avoiding that over-communication.
Keep it simple. Keep it in sound bites. If they have to scroll their email to just get the recommendation then it is probably too long a message (does not apply to Blackberry screens).
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On a fun note, this is the 100th post of my blog that I am posting on 09/09/09 at 09:09 am. Enjoy the uniqueness of this number 9 day.
Developing your own FMEA
Posted by Steve in Leadership, Plan on September 2, 2009
Yesterday I wrote about developing a more comprehensive plan for risk and contingency using the FMEA program. The challenge is that FMEA was developed for the Ford Company. How would you apply this in your company when maybe the cost of life, and the other categories do not apply?
Come up with your own three categories, but apply the same logic.
One category addresses how often the problem may occur. Create a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 happening very frequently (every day), and 1 happening once in the lifetime of the project.
The second category addresses how easy it is to detect. Detectability is important to use because something that is very dangerous and impossible to detect (and occurs frequently) could destroy not only your product, but also your company (not to mention harm lives). Once again, create a scale from 1 to 10 that shows at each point what that detectability might mean. 1 might mean that it will be detected as soon as the problem occurs. 10 might mean that it would only be detected much later after the part breaks in the effect the breakage creates on other parts or other elements of the business.
The third category is typically the cost. If your part does not affect lives, then look at it as cost in replacement, or cost in lost sales, or cost in repairs. Once again, create your own scale to represent 1 being a very low cost and 10 having significant impact to your company (possible shutting the company or product line down permanently). Of course, if it does affect human life, 10 means death, and 9 means serious injury.
This approach is relatively simple and lends itself to directing the efforts and resources of the company. Furthermore, it creates a quantitative list that shows that you are thinking about how to manage your resources carefully. It shows a level of management skill that investors hope you have. Finally, this tool allows you to communicate that you are being proactive and are developing systems to manage the company through rough times (which WILL happen).
Why people run their own company
Posted by Steve in Leadership, Miscellaneous on August 27, 2009
People start their own company for many reasons but they often boil down to two:
- They believe they can make more money being in their own business.
- They need to be their own boss.
Very often the second reason outweighs any logic for the first reason.
For example, what if someone started their own company selling widgets for $100. Each one costs them $50, and the overhead costs them $20 each. Profit is $30. Someone else comes along and tell them they can sell under their name for the same price but the costs are $40 for each widget and $10 for overhead leading to a profit of $50. Logic says that the person would take the deal.
As much as it may seem logical, the value that people place in being their own boss and having control of their own destiny often outweighs any profit they may make from working for someone else. There is also the lure that someday they may be that big and make even that much more money. Furthermore there is the sense of pride that someone gets from creating a business on their own. For some they might be satisfied to give this up for more money, but for others it cannot replace that emotional need to manage their own business.
This comes into play when you consider exit plans or consolidating other people’s business under your own. Never forget the need to be your own boss as the motivator.
Convey that you have Experience
Posted by Steve in Experience, Leadership on August 13, 2009
This is one of the hardest things to do: how do you convey experience if you do not have the ability to convey that experience?
If you feel you already have this, then you can stop reading right now.
There are people that seem to naturally fill the role of leader, whether its in politics or businesses. They display the aura of direction, knowledge, and authority.
I do not believe they were born with it; rather, they learned it over time. If you do not have this yet, then you can get it.
There are two ways to do this. First, pick one or two mentors that you feel display their experience. Determine the attributes they have and emulate them.
Second, learn about those attributes and how you can get them. Read self-help books, take classes, discuss with associates…continuously strive to learn to be an effective experienced person (not necessarily a leader).
When you get these attributes, one thing you will learn is that leaders continue to learn. They have to continue to hone their skills—consciously think about them and work on them.
Passion is the Thing You Need
Posted by Steve in Leadership on August 7, 2009
What keeps you working on the project late into the wee hours of the weekend morning? What keeps you going when everyone tells you that it cannot be done? What causes you to return to focusing on your business idea when all your friends tell you to go get a real job?
Passion.
It is the intangible that the investor has to gauge. When you come across that one wall that no one else has been able to surmount, do you have it in you to overcome it, and succeed? To try and try and try and try, until you get it done.
Passion is not enough by itself, you need skills. However, without passion, you may give up too soon. That will kill your business and your dream.
I just saw the Soloist, about a man on the street who plays the cello. Discovered (or rediscovered) by a journalist, this man’s passion keeps him focused on what he loves to do most, play that cello. Watch the movie…and if you only have half that passion, then your business has a much better chance of success.
Investors look for that. Investors will see that.
Key Players need to be stated in the Executive Summary
Posted by Steve in Leadership, Pitch on July 8, 2009
In this series of installments I am discussing the executive summary and how to make it stand out. The executive summary should present the compelling reason for the investor to buy into the company.
Alternative title: Credibility is more important than secrecy.
For good reasons, entrepreneurs should keep their key players whether in a contractual relationship or in negotiations secret. However, when presenting to investors, or other key players, they need to weigh secrecy versus credibility.
Have you ever heard someone say, “Very important people are in the know”? Do they ever really state those “very important” people? Not really. The sad reality is that they probably do not have the connections. Investors have to be wary of this. Credibility should be more important than secrecy.
If you plan involves key players, state those key players. If it is in negotiations, state it is in negotiations. Include in the body of the plan, the backup if things fail; but state specifics.
Remember, investors invest in people. They need to see that these people are credible.
Tell the Investor Why this Management Team and this Company are the Right Stuff
Posted by Steve in Leadership, Pitch on July 2, 2009
In this series of installments I am discussing the executive summary and how to make it stand out. The executive summary should present the compelling reason for the investor to buy into the company.
Investors invest in people. More than one company can come up with the same idea, but the difference between them is the way they execute it and handle the ups and downs along the way.
The executive summary needs to show proof that these people are the right people. I look at six key points and then come up with a concise story covering what the investors need to know:
- Which top management and key members will be integral to the company’s performance?
- What experiences or types of products have they done, that the experience will be integral to the company’s performance?
- How long has the company or team been working on this project together?
- What major accomplishments (milestones) has the company hit in achieving their goals?
- What is the current state of the product/service line?
- What validation exists that this team can sell the product/service line?
When looking at this list it starts off with the information about the company, and the accomplishments. It ends with questions about the product line and the future of the company. With this information, you build your case that this team not only has achieved success so far, but can continue to do so with the advantages they have. Item 6 also includes outside forces that further validate that this team has formed in the right place at the right time to make this successful. Items 5 and 6 can also be used later in discussing other elements (like what is the money going to used for and how will it be marketed) but the focus in this section is how this management team as opposed to another management team will take advantage of the situation.
This may be the most important section as the investor will want to keenly observe how this management operates and then determine whether or not they will be successful.
Cultural Decay Part 1: Part of the problem or part of the solution
Posted by Steve in Execution, Leadership on May 11, 2009
I just read an article by Donald Prader at http://www.jewishworldreview.com/0509/prager050609.php3
It is a political article. The title is “If you love America, Why Transform it.” Prader’s point is that if you love America you should not want to transform it, and those people that have been saying Tranform it (i.e. Obama and Democrats) really do not love America.
Sarcasm alert à What a wonderful statement!!! Obviously, if you really HATE America you would want to change it. Same thing must apply to a company: if you love a company, then no matter how bad things get, you should just keep doing the same thing. Maybe when bankruptcy happens, people will still pay you because you loved the company so much?
Prader also talks about the LEFT loving a “vision” of America more than the “reality” of America. He then asks how can someone love his country and want to remake or transform it. He goes on to equate the thinking with such people as Karl Marx and equating loving the future as anti-religion. Quite frankly, I find such narrow thinking very disappointing.
Obviously, Prader must be living in a different country. In the country I live in, we have an energy issue, health care issue, social security issue, terrorist issue, an unemployment/economy issue, and a number of other issues. Can these issues be resolved? I hope so. Can we just sit around and do nothing? No. That was tried and the issues are getting worse. Action is needed. That action will be change, transforming, remaking…whatever you want to call it.
Our country has a long history of transforming itself, remaking itself, and improving. What about the time after the Civil War, the Depression, post WWII, and throughout the last 30 years. I recall the Republicans under Reagan talking about changing Amerca. Prader and people that think like him do not admit there are problems that need fixing. Why? It could be that in his position he has none of these problems and cannot understand or imagine that someone else could. He probably thinks that all these issues of the last year have been faked and are not that big. Obviously, if we just let things go as they are, everything will be okay. Things will get back to normal, but they really are not that bad. Sorry, should have another “Sarcasm alert”.
These cultures of denial and then attack the changer persist in any company that needs change. Change for the sake of change is not good, but change for the sake of overcoming new obstacles is good. Whether or not people like Prader have an agenda depends on each case. Usually, in a company, it’s a power struggle, or a perceived power struggle. The way a change agent gets people to change is she shows them how the change can benefit them and how it can be done to their advantage.
Are you part of the solution or part of the problem? Don’t be like Mr. Prader. Be a change agent.