“Only a life lived in the service to others is worth living.” Albert Einstein
I met Melissa in the summer of 1983 at a teenager retreat. We spent a lot of time together with the other teenagers and alone with each other during the retreat. We became quite fond of one another. We lived several hundred miles from one another. We ended our time together, wanting more of a relationship. Melissa wrote me a letter a month later she had decided there is no future for our relationship. She planned to spend some of her college years in both the United States and France. She did not see a way we could grow our relationship with distance.
I cried for an hour after I read the letter. I knew she was 100% correct. She had much more intelligence than me, much more class than me, and her family was much more wealthy than mine. There were no viable means to grow our relationship. I ran into her several months later, unexpectedly. Our conversation was awkward. We wanted to continue our relationship, but the spark was gone. I have not talked with her or seen her since that day.
Melissa served both me and us with her leadership demonstrated in her letter. She considered the facts, made a choice, and communicated herself well. Her efforts form the basis for a successful leadership strategy.
Consider the attributes of this story. Then, consider how your people, the followers of your leadership, are wondering how to grow a relationship with you. Who makes the first move? Who makes the next move? How will these moves be made? Oh, and there is accomplishing the work they are being paid to do.
I shared in-depth recently about love. I also shared leading by serving is a formal leadership style. I shared over the past several weeks how leaders I identified have demonstrated love to their followers, along with those outside of their organization. If things went well for you this past week, then you are wondering now how to deliver love to your followers. If things did not go well for you last week, then you are wondering now if loving your followers is worth the hassle. Let’s talk about the second item first, and then we will cover the first item.
HASSLE AVOIDANCE OPTIONS
I see there are three options when it comes to relating to people. The first option is to love them. The second option is to hate them. The final option is to care less about them. This final option may be considered to be a form of hate, but I identify it as a form of ambivalence. It is not a form of apathy.
If I know my leader hates me, then there is no point in my trying to follow them. I may be forced to follow them, but I will not perform at my best potential to deliver my work. It seems to me this combination is an inescapable attribute of humanity.
If I know my leader is unsure of either their love or hatred for me, then I am thinking the day will come when they chose to either love or hate me. I will wonder which option they will choose with more and more thought devoted to this wondering until the day comes when they make their choice. I will not focus entirely on my work, as I will have part of my attention direct elsewhere. It seems to me this combination is an inescapable attribute of humanity.
If I know neither hatred nor ambivalence empowers my followers to work fully to accomplish their work, then it makes sense to be the only viable option is to love them. I know of no credible evidence where I should conserve love. Conserve, in the form of holding back at some point. I may be too tired to give love, but this condition is a call to rest instead of a call not to give love. If I want the best return for my investment of time, money, and perhaps even a bit of social status, then it makes sense to me to maximize my investment of love into my followers so they will have the best potential to deliver to me the work I ask them, and perhaps am even paying them, to accomplish.
LOVE DELIVERY OPTIONS
A relationship involves two or more people. If I have thousands of people in my organization, then it is impossible to spend individual time with each other. I must work with my direct reports to accomplish loving all followers of my leadership. I must instruct, model, and require my direct reports to love their direct reports, all the way to the lowest level of the organization. This step is what I call a mandate.
Next, I must know my direct reports are doing what I mandate of them. I must go to those at different levels in my organization and ask them individually to tell me their understanding of the mandate to understand what I required in my mandate is being accomplished. Talking in person is better. Talking by video is better than only audio. However, audio talking is better than not talking. It is more effective to go to the middle of the organization first, then the bottom when having these talks. This approach gives me accurate first-hand findings quite quickly. This step is what I call a measurement.
Next, I take any corrective action necessary to match what I mandated with what I measured to eliminate any variance. This action occurs speedily over a day or so. This step is what I call a demand.
If any of my direct reports disagree with my leadership, then it is best either I change my leadership, or they cease reporting to me. I am willing to discuss how I accomplish my work. I am not willing to discuss what I mandate. A mandate is derived by what I know must happen to preserve the organization, to grow it, and perhaps even turn it over to another leader at some future date. I know a mandate by the intersection of my worldview, my ethics, and my morals.
So, how about the followers? There must be enough of an intersection between leader and follower in their worldview, ethics, and morality for them to be able to accomplish the work in their hand. The best practices of both diversity and inclusion tell me I have a better chance of success with as much input as I can receive. Yes, there is a condition known as analysis paralysis. This condition is when a person cannot act on their work because they are taking in too many considerations. We covered this condition when we discussed being scared. The inputs never stop. So, it is best to have as diverse a follower set as I can have in my organization to ensure I have the most inputs possible. Furthermore, I had better love each of them if I expect each of them to be included in my organization by their choosing to do the work I have put into their hand.
BONDSERVANT
It is my considered position my loving anyone is a choice I must make daily. I must choose to make myself indebted to love. I do not force anyone to love me. It is impossible to achieve this action, so there is no reason to try and do it.
The idea here is to have a continuous conversation that matters. Matters, in the form of contributing productively to the desired outcome. It is spending the time talking about what organization members are supposed to be talking about: their work. Then, the purposeful conversations occur at all levels of the organization.
CAPTURING
Now, it is time to write out your action plan to know with certainty how you are going to lead your followers by means of love. Review the material we covered in our discussion on the topic of love. Then, write out a table with the following structure:
Column One, HOW. Write a sentence of how you will deliver love to your followers.
Column Two, STORGE. This column is populated with entries of YES or NO based on HOW you deliver love.
Column Three, PHILIA. This column is populated with entries of YES or NO based on HOW you deliver love.
Column Four, EROS. This column is populated with entries of YES or NO based on HOW you deliver love.
Column Five, AGAPE. This column is populated with entries of YES or NO based on HOW you deliver love.
This table now contains your Love Action Items list.
You should be able to write out twenty sentences of HOW you will deliver love without expending much effort. I encourage you to keep each sentence as short as possible while maintaining your clarity. Write out the HOW entries first, then come back and identify which love definition each HOW item matches. The result is each row in your table telling a specific action, matched with one or more specific love definitions, for anyone impacted by your leadership to understand your leadership style better. If you need some help with the HOW part, then read some of the work accomplished by Gary Chapman. Chapman realized there are five common love communication mechanisms.
My strategic partner David Daniels shared with me his thoughts on forming the Love Action Items list. “I have always welcomed different points of view, as long as they came from a positioning of the organization’s values and mission. However, once a decision was made, I fully expected my team to embrace and support the direction. I have watched so many situations where leadership gave the appearance of support to the leader and then went out and trashed the direction or lent unenthusiastic support of it.” I agree with David’s viewpoint. It is best to write your Love Action Items list from the position your people changes may involve changing some of your people who report to you directly, whether or not they serve as leaders.
Your analysis of your table containing your Love Action Items list will help you plan to deliver love to your followers. The best news is your followers will know how you are planning to act, know instantly how your actions match your plan and are empowered to contribute to your table by adding rows as you approve. The key here is your HOW items need to be received by your followers, and your followers HOW items need to be received by you.
Now, some good news. The four types of love expressed through five different options work out to be 465 different combination options. Clearly, there is no shortage of options available to anyone desiring to love anyone. Do some reading on permutations and combinatorics to learn more about combinations. Remember, the leader-follower relationship must work in harmony and not be forced to be effective. We will discuss the work you accomplished with your Love Action Items list next week.
So, I ask you: where do you want to go? I hope your answer is to develop the plans necessary to accomplish the strategy you know you need to achieve to arrive at your desired destination. If this is the case, then let’s get to work. If not, then I wish you the best of everything.
I hope we will see each other here next week. Email me if you need to talk before then.
Dr. Stephen H. Dawson, DSL
Executive Strategy Consultant
Stephen Dawson is an executive consultant of technology and business strategy, serving significant international organizations by providing leadership consulting, strategic planning, and executive communications. He has more than thirty years of service and consulting experience in delivering successful international business development and program management outcomes in the US and SE Asia. His weekly column, “Where Do You Want To Go?,” appears on Thursdays.
Dr. Dawson has served in the technology, banking, and hospitality industries. He is a noted strategic planning visionary. His pursuit of music has been matched with his efforts to lead by service to followers. He holds the clear understanding a leader without followers is a person taking a long walk alone.
Stephen has lived his life in the eastern United States, visiting most of the United States and several countries. He is a graduate of the Regent University School of Business & Leadership.
Contact Stephen Dawson at service@shdawson.com.
Thank you for visiting our Blog!
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
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Want to Inspire People? Learn to be Great at Giving Feedback
Think back in your life to a moment when you felt so inspired that you were ready to run through a brick wall to get what you desired. What was it that inspired you? Was it a speech you heard? Was it a YouTube video? While speeches and videos can be motivating, my guess is that’s not what revved you up to the point of running through a brick wall.
For me, it has been those moments when I have received feedback from someone who was great at delivering it. I have been fortunate to know more than one of those people in my life and I am grateful not only for the feedback they freely gave, I am grateful for the way they gave that feedback because it inspired me to do better and be better. I am also grateful for the example they set which I have attempted to emulate.
Let me take a step back and talk a bit about what feedback is and is not. Simply put, feedback is information received in response to some action on our part. From the moment we are born, we begin giving and receiving feedback. When a baby cries in response to being born, that’s feedback. It tells everyone within earshot that the baby is breathing and alive. As we grow, we get a lot of feedback from our parents, siblings, and surroundings. That feedback teaches us valuable lessons and inspires us to do things that are productive. When we touch something hot, the pain we feel is feedback teaching us to not repeat that action. When we take our first steps, the hugs, kisses, and cheers inspire us to take more steps. As we grow older, feedback comes in more sophisticated forms. We begin discerning the relative value of it and accept or reject it based on our value judgment. It becomes not just about the feedback itself but the way in which it is delivered. If the information (feedback) is correct yet delivered in a way that offends our feelings, it is often rejected. We call that criticism.
That leads me on a slight tangent. If you are currently using or have ever used the term “constructive criticism”, please stop. There is nothing constructive about criticism because it is seldom or ever meant in a constructive way. It is called “constructive” criticism because it makes the person giving it feel better about knocking the other person with no real intention of helping them. Criticizing someone may cause someone to change to spite the criticizer but that in my opinion is not inspiring.
Now, while giving great feedback is critically important, it is not the same as being great at giving feedback. How you deliver feedback is possibly more important than the feedback itself. After all, the feedback we give is a representation of how we perceived the other person’s words or actions. While it is 100% accurate from our perspective, it may or may not be 100% factual in an objective sense. So here are some elements of giving great feedback.
How you deliver feedback is possibly more important than the feedback itself. Share on X
Start with the good stuff. Be specific – Start by relating what the person is doing well or reviewing a recent positive result from their behavior. It must be something behavioral. It cannot be that they are a nice person or that they mean well. Everyone has things they do well. Pick at least two, tell them specifically what they are, how these actions benefit others, and be clear that you are encouraging him/her to keep doing those things.
Describe an opportunity for improvement – Rather than telling people what they are doing wrong, share opportunities for them to improve. It may sound like semantics but it is an important distinction. No one likes hearing what they are doing wrong. On the other hand, everyone has opportunities for improvement. Combining this with telling them what they do well first causes them to be more receptive to hearing their opportunities. Make it about their behavior. Keep personalities out of it. Also, keep it short. One opportunity at a time. More than that is overwhelming. The adage of one thing at a time applies.
Share feedback immediately – As Ken Blanchard always says don’t save it up for a holiday. Immediate feedback is more impactful because it is fresh in the person’s memory. Waiting makes them have to remember what happened and dilutes their focus on the opportunity.
Make time to discuss the how – Sharing opportunities to improve is less than 50% of inspiring improvement. Discussing how they can improve is where the inspiration takes root. Ask the person if they agree with the opportunity and then ask how they think they can realize the improvement. Human beings by nature are more committed to their own ideas. If all you offer is your own thoughts it will seem like you are telling them what to do and how to do it. Remember, feedback is not about you; it is about them. You want to show you are all about helping them. But a caution, be sincere about helping. They will see through insincerity in a heartbeat.
When you provide feedback in this way you will not only inspire improvement; you will inspire gratitude. Speaking from experience, I have had countless people not just thank me for the feedback they have asked me for more. When I have followed these four steps, I have always left people inspired to improve. I know that because when I see them next, they have greeted me with excitement, shared with me proof of their improvement, and asked for more feedback. As a mentor and coach, there is no better feeling. It shows me I am adding value to their life and after all, what’s better than that?
About Dave Roemer
Dave Roemer, Franchise Consultant with 30+ years in the industry will provide an overview of the franchise industry. Roemer will discuss a brief history of franchising along with the state of the industry today. He will give an honest assessment of the industry including the effort to increase regulation and why those efforts are growing. Finally, he will share why he believes franchising remains the best way for people to own a business and how interested parties can get help achieving their goal of business ownership
Today, Dave is an independent Franchise Consultant who helps people interested in purchasing a franchise determine which brands are the right fit and then helps them through the due diligence and discovery process. His services are free to the client as his fees are paid for by the various franchise brands with which he works.
Thank you for visiting our Blog!
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
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Evil
“War is a grim, cruel business, a business justified only as a means of sustaining the forces of good against those of evil.” Dwight Eisenhower
My maternal grandfather came over from Germany to the United States in 1926. He saw what was shaping up in Germany, concluded it was not good and decided it best he leave. He died when I was in grade school. I heard him often say, loudly, he was an American. I asked him how he knew things were going to go bad for Germany at such an early point in the events. He told me he saw people standing on others. This response is all he would share with me for his answer. I knew he was not talking about a cheering squad standing on shoulders. I liked him, but he was a stern man at times. He was nice to me. I miss him. I have learned over the years standing on others always goes bad. Standing on anyone is called oppression. A more accurate term for oppression is evil.
Dwight Eisenhower never served a day in combat. I am not sure how he rose to be the head of the effort to win World War II. Eisenhower worked for Douglas MacArthur about a decade earlier, but he ended up being MacArthur’s peer and boss even though Eisenhower was much junior in tenure to MacArthur. Life has no shortage of surprises when it comes to work promotions, demotions, and terminations. Eisenhower traveled across much of Europe after World War I to observe the terrain of the battles that occurred there. This first-hand information served him well in his role as leader. It seems to me he knew he would one day need this information gained by direct observation. It turned out to be part of his research for the strategic planning he did not know he would be forming in his near future. I wonder if he knew during his walks across the European terrain then how many people from such a diverse group would want to be included to help eradicate evil at Normandy.
We have found your effort to accomplish your strategic planning work is not going well for you. We determined you have a people problem causing your work not to be accomplished as you prefer. We are considering if this problem can be fixed and, if so, how to best fix it. You are looking to swap out some of your people by either changing their work assignments or having them leave your organization. You are looking for some new faces to do the work you need to be accomplished. Let’s see if working to keep evil out of your organization will help you find new faces to work for you.
EVIL
The definition of evil is simple: death. Evil always causes the result of death. There are times when death is welcome, necessary, even good. It is a matter of how each death occurs. I am saying evil is not good, and good is not evil. If I cause death to help my organization, then I am doing evil. Destruction is not death. I could raze a building to put up another building at the same site. If I harm anyone, then I hurt the organization I lead. This anyone list includes those who work for me, any matrix-supplied folks involved in doing work with my people, my customers, my strategic partners, and my supply chain network.
HOW MUCH HARM?
Anger is a prelude to violence. Violence is a prelude to conflict. Conflict is a prelude to war. I talked about abuse last week. It has been my experience strategic planning work that is behind schedule in any organization does not help form tranquil conditions in either those organizations or for anyone external to the organization who needs the strategic planning work accomplished. Tension among work relationships is often high when work is behind schedule, to the point of anger being more frequent among members of the organization. If these attributes are not the case, then the workers do not care about doing the work. The answer to resolving this condition is simple: get rid of those who do not care about doing their assigned work. They may pretend to care about their work, but what evidence do they provide to you to prove their assertion? They have contributed to the work delay by hiding their work values from you as their leader. They have enabled the conditions to happen in your organization. There is neither a viable reason nor means for them to continue to be a member of your organization. Reassignment is not an option. Their actions are an example of evil. It is best for the organization to end their membership, and do so promptly. Then, you have to consider how you let this happen in the first place.
THAT BAD?
If evil is bad, then how much bad do you want in your organization? Can you afford to have any form of evil occurring in your organization? How can you stop all evil? The answer is you cannot. What you can do is not allow it to continue once it is realized. I shared recently people conditions change, so they must be measured frequently. Frequently can be a matter of seconds.
The events of US Airways Flight 1549 ending up in the Hudson River show a good example of the work progress matter we are discussing. There was a clear plan: fly from New York to Charlotte. An in-flight accident occurred. The pilots landed the aircraft on the water where the aircraft would float. The flight crew then had the passengers disembark the aircraft by standing on the wings in an orchestrated manner. Boats arrived at the aircraft, taking the passengers onto their boats. Here is the key to the success of their collective efforts: no one panicked. The aircraft captain made it clear within seconds of landing what will happen next. If panic would have occurred, then it is probable at least one death would have occurred. It is also probable the aircraft would have sunk within seconds. I encourage you to watch the film Sully to gain a deeper understanding of these events.
How about you? How do you foresee you would have responded to these events as a passenger, as a member of the flight crew, or as captain of the aircraft? I will go out on a limb here and say I do not see evil occurred by either the flight crew or the passengers. I make this statement because I do not see evidence of it. I cannot imagine how anyone on that plane felt during that experience. I can say, for certain, a leader must be ready to handle such events in the minutia of their work. Planning, training, scenario concepts, and…here it comes…a strategy for what to do in your planning, training, and conceptualizing efforts. Meaning, you must live as a leader performing continuous strategy development to stay out of whatever conditions you define as bad.
David Daniels and I discussed the best practices of inclusion in the concept of diversity. Dave shared, “Tangible mission statements and values allow successful organizations to align diverse ideas while creating an environment that allows everyone to bring their best by inclusion. Inclusion, bringing the best out of everyone, is one of the critical strategic imperatives in any successful organization.” My experience with successful organizations shows those organizations determine how to achieve inclusion well before they face difficult circumstances. They overcome the difficulties by having their people placed in roles that suit them well, thereby structuring the organization to be focused on the same mission by living what they value.
CODA
I am averse to conflict. I am no longer into violence. I, for many years now, would much rather walk away from being ill-treated than to respond with like-kind behavior. Having made these statements, I both have fought and will fight tooth-and-nail to defend those who I love. I will define the term love to you in a forthcoming column. I speak in both the literal and metaphorical for the term fight. I would rather suffer harm defending them than have them suffer harm. I am fortunate I have only had a few life-threatening events in my life. I hope you never have one in your life.
You as a leader are asking your people to trust you in many ways with each second you serve them as their leader. I have no interest in risking either harm or experiencing any form of evil if I can avoid it. Any leader I chose to follow must have a good reason as to why they would need to subject me to harm in my followership of them. I will not, repeat…will not…allow any leader to expose me to any form of evil by their choice, whether their choice is planned or unplanned. The point here is their choice. We, they as my leader and I as their follower may face evil on the journey we are taking together. It is then a matter of what we allow to continue.
How about you? What are you asking your people to do for you? What conditions are you asking them to experience as they do whatever it is you have asked them to do for you? How much productive work output do you expect your people to accomplish as they work either with or in any form of evil you allow to exist in your organization? What is the quality level estimate you foresee for the work output your people deliver to you while working either with or in any form of evil you allow to exist in your organization?
Read the letter from Eisenhower to his people dated June 1944 to see if you have the same level of commitment to your followers. Then, decide for yourself if Eisenhower was serious about his commitment to his people. Then, read the radio announcement from Roosevelt to the United States to decide for yourself if Eisenhower had the support he needed to execute the planned strategy. Finally, read the note Eisenhower wrote to Roosevelt a few hours before the execution of the planned strategy. “If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.” These words are evidence of a leader.
If you view your job where you serve as a leader as too small to come close to the colossal events experienced by Eisenhower, then you would not be alone. I suspect your followers view your role as their leader as quite important to them. Lead them by serving them as their leader, holding the scale of your leadership work to give it the respect it is due. Then, see how fast things improve for your strategic planning efforts.
Please spend time this week watching the Sully film to see how Chesley Burnett “Sully” Sullenberger III, Eisenhower, Roosevelt, and you line up in your work today as a leader. Think about the present status of your strategy work effort. If the result of evil is always death, then what form of evil do you see in the midst of your organization?
So, I ask you: where do you want to go? I hope your answer is to develop the plans necessary to accomplish the strategy you know you need to achieve to arrive at your desired destination. If this is the case, then let’s get to work. If not, then I wish you the best of everything.
I hope we will see each other here next week. Email me if you need to talk before then.
Dr. Stephen H. Dawson, DSL
Executive Strategy Consultant
Stephen Dawson is an executive consultant of technology and business strategy, serving significant international organizations by providing leadership consulting, strategic planning, and executive communications. He has more than thirty years of service and consulting experience in delivering successful international business development and program management outcomes in the US and SE Asia. His weekly column, “Where Do You Want To Go?,” appears on Thursdays.
Dr. Dawson has served in the technology, banking, and hospitality industries. He is a noted strategic planning visionary. His pursuit of music has been matched with his efforts to lead by service to followers. He holds the clear understanding a leader without followers is a person taking a long walk alone.
Stephen has lived his life in the eastern United States, visiting most of the United States and several countries. He is a graduate of the Regent University School of Business & Leadership. Contact him at service@shdawson.com.
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
Breathing
“We’ve got to try. Do you know what happens if we don’t try?” “What?” “Nothing.” Braveheart
I only have time now to watch movies on Saturday nights. Not every week, but when I can. I turn off the world by throwing my phone out the window, getting away from my laptop, and remember when life was simple enough to enjoy two uninterrupted hours of rest. I breathe easier when movie time arrives, as it is a pivotal stopping point in my week. I like movies that have a historical significance. They help me understand more of the historical topic, though I remember theatrics could skew the facts. The act of muddying facts with opinions is an activity found in theology, philosophy, and even unstructured discussion. Sometimes, we realize we are only opinionating. Other times, we are able to stay grounded in facts. The rest of the time, it seems like we do not care enough to do either.
I shared last week the perspective I hold of 2020 from the strategic planning position. Everyone, for the first time in world history, had to throw the majority of their plans out the proverbial window, as I do my phone on Saturday nights. We were all trying to come up with a new plan to face the events of 2020. We wondered last year if trying to have a plan was worth it anymore. I faced that question myself. I learned this past week several readers of last week’s column also faced this question. Some of them shared with me a few of their recent experiences. We all stand in 2021 with the same multi-pronged question: do we need to plan, or can we even plan anymore? I am sure the reasoned response to this matter is a resounding yes.
UNASSURED SUCCESS
Yes, there are plenty of smart folks who fail at their strategic planning, who then try to abandon planning. The Wall Street Journal reported Vale settled for $7 billion this past week for their part in a collapsed dam. The same periodical also reported McKinsey settled for $573 million this past week for their part in the opioid epidemic. Singapore reported this past week they will need twice as much fresh water in 30 years than they have now. These stories represent significant failures by professionals in their practice areas. I hope they work things out for the best. Their failures do not limit my life. I hope they will not limit yours, either.
OPINIONS VERSUS FACTS
I read a recent opinion on when to change a strategy during a crisis. The opinion operates by first achieving four measurements, then responding to each measurement accordingly. I practice strategy. I sell what I practice. I spend several hours each week reading. I read weekly many facts, statistics, reports, and opinions. Sometimes, these items are even assembled into a form of foresight. I read an article this past week in the Harvard Business Review about why it is challenging to have workers operate using quality data now that computing has been around for decades. I also face this challenge in my work to serve my customers. The reason for the workers not using quality data difficulty is the lack of belief held by both the workers and their leaders to change their culture to only have and use quality data. It is a failure of leadership.
I read an article this past week in the MIT Sloan Management Review about growing a human-centered business. The term data does not show itself prominently in that article. Can we ever establish a productive organization without first having quality data? Can we ever have a productive organization without it also using quality data? It is doubtful. Again, more evidence of the need for facts in hand versus operating only by an opinion.
I do not remember reading the professional report on what to do when we all have to stay home for weeks. Neither do I remember hearing an opinion from those older than me about what to do when a global health crisis occurs. I provide guidance to folks. It is my advice based on the best research and recommendations I can deliver to them. I would commit a critical error if I stated facts and opinions could be separate in the practice of any field of work. What I can tell you with certainty is planning is easy when the necessary facts are in hand. What is difficult is assuring any fact is not in actuality an opinion.
A lifetime can be spent to accomplish what seems to be only a bit of fact-finding. Think back to the time when it was unclear if the world was flat or round. Think back to life before antibiotics. The rush to get something productive accomplished is neither bad nor good. It is a reasonable tendency to want to demonstrate productivity. “We’ve got to try. Do you know what happens if we don’t try?” “What?” “Nothing.” I agree life does not always let us wait for research to occur before action must occur. Thankfully, planning to get facts often helps us stay out of a mess by working continuously to know we hold facts. Note, I did not say work endlessly and never rest.
WHAT NOW?
I hope I have sold you by now on the need to plan the strategy you want to accomplish. I realize you may be feeling overwhelmed now. I offer the best advice I can to those in this condition. The advice is to follow a two-step process.
Step one, breathe. Step two, repeat step one. No smug intended here. Realizing the unquestionable need to undertake strategic planning can lead to the thought of quitting the work before beginning the work. My first trip to Chicago happened in early grade school. I first saw a train rail yard there. The operation’s size taught me a bit about the thinking, planning, and work required to build a railway that would help build a nation. Today, most trains are operated by electric engines. A steam locomotive needs oxygen to operate. It needs to breathe. The industrial revolution is filled with images of steam locomotives. Sometimes the train tracks are elevated. I cannot imagine how much fill dirt and gravel hold up an elevated railway system.
I am reminded of rail stressing when I look at older railway systems. It was not until hydraulics were invented before the rails could be treated to handle a railway system’s stress. I can only imagine the number of train wrecks on railway systems that were not treated with rail stressing. Take some time, breathe, think about living without a plan to accomplish your strategy, and see if you want to advance beyond a steam locomotive to execute your strategy.
STRESSING BREATHING
Doing the work to accomplish strategic planning involves research. The plan you write helps to inform others what they must do as a group, a team, a department, a company, a family, or even a country to achieve the strategy. A human-centered plan may include technologies. The research work could be boring at times, but it is not boring for those who need a viable plan to carry out their proposed strategy.
The endurance metaphors abound at this point in your decision to not quit on your strategic planning work. Pressing onward. Get up a head of steam. Get on track. Then, the big one: fight the good fight. Again, as I shared last week, I am not sure what fight is being fought in our contemporary society, but it is appropriate to include it in this list of go-get-’em slogans. I hope to focus you now on breathing leading to trying.
Gloria Gaynor asserted, “I will survive.” It seems as though she did, based on how many times I have heard her say those words over the years. A good way to get out of desperation is to form a plan, work the plan, and rejoice you are no longer desperate. I shared last week if you, at your lot in life, can understand strategic planning as a series of plans involving simple communications, then you have the necessary understanding to undertake your strategic planning efforts. I stand by these words. I urge you to spend time this week alone, breathing, and focus your thoughts on trying to begin to accomplish your research work to support you in carrying out your strategy by working on your plan. Yes, we should be breathing all of the time. Yes, I am saying to de-stress instead of distress. Yes, we are talking about your strategy as a metaphoric train to carry out your strategy. I am hopeful I can help you train yourself to breathe relaxingly, to consider the work you need to accomplish deeply, for you to undertake your work diligently, and for you accomplish your work with excellence.
So, I ask you: where do you want to go? I hope your answer is to develop the plans necessary to accomplish the strategy you know you need to achieve to arrive at your desired destination. If this is the case, then let’s get to work. If not, then I wish you the best of everything.
I hope we will see each other here next week. Email me if you need to talk before then.
Dr. Stephen H. Dawson, DSL
Executive Strategy Consultant
Stephen Dawson is an executive consultant of technology and business strategy, serving significant international organizations by providing leadership consulting, strategic planning, and executive communications. He has more than thirty years of service and consulting experience in delivering successful international business development and program management outcomes in the US and SE Asia. His weekly column, “Where Do You Want To Go?,” appears on Thursdays.
Dr. Dawson has served in the technology, banking, and hospitality industries. He is a noted strategic planning visionary. His pursuit of music has been matched with his efforts to lead by service to followers. He holds the clear understanding a leader without followers is a person taking a long walk alone.
Stephen has lived his life in the eastern United States, visiting most of the United States and several countries. He is a graduate of the Regent University School of Business & Leadership. Contact him at service@shdawson.com.
Vice President Strategic Planning or Business Development
by Dr. Stephen H. Dawson, DSL
February 4, 2021
Thank you for visiting our blog.
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
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Gather the Troops
Today I’d like to chat about the different types of support staff you need and what makes them so important.
There are essentially three key roles that need to be filled to set your business up for success:
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- The Technician
- The Manager
- The Entrepreneur
All of these roles need to be played simultaneously by different people with the right talents. It’s all about balance.
The Technician
This person represents the present and all that needs to be done for the physical aspects of the business-building process. They are the “doer”. This is usually the most visible person in the entire operation.
The Manager
This person represents the past and works to fix problems through learning from past mistakes. They are on the practical side of the business and is in charge of putting together the business and overseeing the planning.
The Entrepreneur
This person represents the future and the vision for the business. They are responsible for the creative side of the business and are always considering ways to enhance products/services, business image, branding, and more.
All three of these characters are essential in the success of any business and to build a solid foundation from the start, you need to work harder to find the right people to put in these roles. Obviously, you need to be one of these key people, but ensure you find the role that fits your skills and talents, not necessarily what you THINK you should be doing.
This may be a hard process for you as you will need to relinquish some control over the business and instill trust in people to allow them to do their jobs.
Most business owners are aware of the daily burden people in the wrong key roles create but aren’t capable of diagnosing it themselves. Share on XAfter all, change is HARD. A business coach becomes not only your mentor but your accountability partner during this process.
Michael Gerber, in his book “The E-Myth”, explores this concept deeply. For more information, or to set up a discussion with a coach devoted to helping you grow a profitable business, visit http://www.salesmarketingresults.com/
Helping businesses isn’t one thing we do. . . It’s all we do!
Adrian Sasine is a Business Coach and a Marketing & Sales expert! From Start-up to Sale – Adrian delivers customized, results-based coaching for every business owner! With over 20 years of hands-on experience, Adrian offers a proven ability to increase profits and drive business growth. His clients receive invaluable business knowledge and insight from his own successes, failures, and thirst for business knowledge. What began as a hobby consulting with entrepreneurs, has turned into an undeniable passion to help serious business owners generate more clients, close more sales and increase their overall revenue and profits >> quickly and inexpensively. His expertise is as diverse as his resume, which includes having owned and exited several small businesses and leading the marketing division of a Fortune 500 company.
Adrian Paul Sasine
Tel: 470-839-4769
Email: adrian@salesmarketingresults.com
URL: salesmarketingresults.com
Thank you for visiting our blog.
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
A Fresh and Effective approach to Strategy
How many hours are spent every year in meetings conducting strategic planning sessions only to find the plan ignored? Or, in today’s Agile approach to business, the confusion reigning with a lack of effective and timely communications of shifting priorities. The human element cost can be tremendous with employees left confused with engagement levels constantly fluctuating, impacting output.
Two very successful entrepreneurs have combined forces providing your organization with access to a fresh and effective approach to strategic planning and execution:
Dr. Stephen Dawson is a strategic internal or external consultant who provides exceptional-business building outcomes in the United States and Southeast Asia by utilizing his visionary abilities to design and deliver the next generation business productivity tools to assist regulators in accomplishing economic development. He has maximized his postdoctoral work in ways to blend his exceptional education with his outgoing personality and strong communication skills. He is also an Adjunct Professor with Regent University, serving with the Department of Business, Leadership, & Management.
Dave Daniels (BA/MA) is an accomplished senior business, human resource, and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) executive. Having held leadership positions throughout the country, Dave’s business approach is intended to exceed financial objectives by inspiring exceptional capabilities on the part of all team members. He is an accomplished facilitator and leader of results-oriented cross-functional teams. Additionally, Dave is a Certified Coach of the IDI (Intercultural Development Inventory) process, the most respected Diversity and Inclusion (D & I) assessment in the world. While he brings a wide range of experience, Dave’s expertise in the D & I space provides for full integration of this critical piece in our approach.
What we do:
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- Troubleshoot (assess) current plans and levels of communications and results
- Create “real” alignment and commitment to the best actions
- Become a trusted advisor to the CEO and the Executive Leadership Team (ELT)
- Define/refine desired outputs and impact
How are we different:
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- Identify and solve key pain points, immediately
- Provide a strong and relevant D & I lens to every aspect of your organization
- Access to the IDI process, as a value, add
- Flexible and Agile customization
Contact Information: Stephen and Dave may be reached via phone or email:
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| Dr. Stephen Dawson | David (Dave) Daniels (BA/MA) | |
| Executive Strategy Consultant | Diversity & Inclusion Consultant | |
| Phone: 1.865.804.3454 | Phone: 1.972.269.3400 | |
| service@shdawson.com | dave@davedanielsconsulting.com | |
| www.shdawson.com | www.davedanielsconsulting.com | |
The DDC Systematic Approach – Part 5 – Mentor/Sponsor Programs
Do Mentor programs really work? How do they differ from Sponsor programs? How do you select candidates? And how does an organization introduce these programs? These critical questions need to be answered proactively and thoughtfully before embarking on this part of the Diversity and Inclusion (D & I) strategy. Like any good business decision, there needs to be a predetermined Return on Investment (ROI = measurable results).
First, let us dive into the first question posed, because if your answer is “NO,” then usually you won’t pursue it. Here is my challenge to you, the CEO. How many times in your career have you witnessed a really good idea die on the vein due to several possible reasons? If you are like me, you file these ideas away to be utilized at another time when you can directly impact the outcome of the initiative. Examples of those failures could harken back to poor leadership, inadequate planning and/or funding, conflicting communications, or lack of commitment, to name a few reasons.
Allow me to explore the difference briefly and simply between Mentor and Sponsor programs. A standard Mentor/Mentee approach effectively establishes roles with the Mentee driving the process within well-defined parameters. A Sponsorship program should be reserved for the best of the best high potential employees, as identified by the organization’s Succession Planning process. This process is designed to be far more formal and structured with key checkpoints along the way. Unwavering commitment, communications, and accountability is a must to optimize success. While the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) member is key, I strongly recommend a central point of contact that both parties can draw on when needed.
These two powerful concepts can drive real change in your organization if you commit to the following steps:
1- Have the right person leading these processes. Competency and respect are paramount.
2- Use Succession Planning to identify the right high potentials pared with the right ELT.
3- Clearly define each program and the desired outcomes.
4- CEO commitment, follow-up, and regular involvement are a must.
5- Strive for continuous improvement with both processes. Learn from the past.
Determining the correct level of transparency will be critical to success. I work closely with CEO’s to determine what’s right for their culture. You guard current proprietary info closely. I believe that the Succession Planning process should follow this template. As a key part of this process, Mentor and Sponsor programs should follow this line of thinking.
Should you decide to implement and/or enhance Succession Planning in your company, I am available to guide you through the nuances. Next up: Diversity Councils and Resource Groups.
David Daniels, Daniels Consulting
Dave Daniels is an accomplished Senior Business and Human Resource executive with a proven track record of developing, implementing, and delivering upon both short and long-term results. He has held management and executive-level positions with companies large and small throughout the United States. Dave has managed his career in a way that provides him with an exceptional breadth of experience and capacity to contribute to improving brand and financial results for his employer in every capacity he has served.
Thank you for visiting our blog!
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
The DDC Systematic Approach – Part 4 – Succession Planning
All organizations can benefit from a robust Succession Planning process. Larger organizations often use sophisticated software solutions to administer the process which is often way too much for smaller businesses. Think SalesForce which I have found in several smaller organizations as their CRM and are not used due to their complexity. Like CRM’s, there are technology solutions for Succession Planning that fit the size of your company and have a much higher engagement level of use. While the administrative part of Succession Planning is important, identifying the desired “outcomes and impact” on the organization with Succession Planning needs to be clearly established along with a high commitment level from the ELT (Executive Leadership Team). Taking this step is a critical part of the equation.
Let us look at an example of a desired “outcome” of this process. An effective Succession Planning process should identify current and future gaps in organizational staffing and depth. Please remember from my previous Blogs, the D & I (Diversity and Inclusion) strategic approach is to bring an effective D & I lens to every aspect of the organization. Unfortunately, I often witness Succession Planning processes where desired outcomes and impact are not clearly defined and absolutely zero discussion on the demographic make-up of each business unit’s staffing levels. At best, company-wide demographic statistics may be available at the entire company level, but there is little to no understanding of how each business unit is doing. It becomes very easy to say: “We’ve improved representation of some under-represented groups“ and leave the session feeling progress (the Outcome) has been made.
As mentioned, a proactive and robust discussion on desired “Outcomes and Impact” will set the tone for ELT (Executive Leadership Team) preparation, expectations, and execution of the Succession Planning process. Often, it takes time for the ELT to get this critical process right, but a strong partnership of your HR and D & I leads should help you optimized this process. I recommend that your HR lead drive the Succession Planning approach with your CDO (Chief Diversity Officer) bringing the D & I lens to the process.
Now that we’ve examined one example of the desired outcome of the organization’s Succession Planning process, what’s the potential “impact.” Once gaps are established by business units and by position, the ELT member and their HR support have a much clearer understanding of the tactical step(s) to take to remedy the issue(s). Effective and focused action plans can be established i.e. targeted recruiting approaches (External) along with an improved focus on Mentorship and Sponsorship programs (Internal).
My next blog will explore the difference between Mentors and Sponsors and how they can become a strategic differentiator for the company. But for now, building a diverse pipeline of talent will enhance the future success of the organization. However, leadership, commitment, and execution by the ELT will provide the ultimate impact by creating a diverse and inclusive organization. Optimized results will follow.
David Daniels, Daniels Consulting
Dave Daniels is an accomplished Senior Business and Human Resource executive with a proven track record of developing, implementing, and delivering upon both short and long-term results. He has held management and executive-level positions with companies large and small throughout the United States. Dave has managed his career in a way that provides him with an exceptional breadth of experience and capacity to contribute to improving brand and financial results for his employer in every capacity he has served.
Thank you for visiting our blog!
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
The Dave Daniels Consulting Systematic Approach – Part 3
Measurement of business goals can be elusive. There are several measurement tools available, and my current favorite is an updated version of SMART, called FAST. FAST is much better suited to today’s Agile companies. But, this blog is not meant to discuss the merits of either approach. When it comes to the measurement of D & I goals and action steps, I often find quite a bit of resistance. For example, I often hear that setting specific demographic targets for staffing levels and/or promotability will lead to hiring and promoting individuals who are not qualified.
My response is always the same. Every goal that is set in any given organization has the potential for loss of integrity. I have seen people manipulate financials to make themselves look better. I have seen bosses give people they like (friends) slack in their performance appraisals. The list goes on & on. When it comes to D & I measurement, I often hear from ELT members that they are concerned the company will start to hire and promote undeserving individuals. This perception may or may not be true, but I always find it interesting that utilizing this reasoning to avoid D & I measurement is more freely shared vs. the examples cited above.
When it comes to staffing and promotions, it is in the organization’s best interest to widen the pool of qualified candidates. No D & I expert worth their salt would ever suggest hiring and/or promoting a person who is not the most qualified person for the position. The focus should always be on expanding the pool of candidates from under-represented groups. Why? Because it produces a diversity of thought and experience that clearly helps optimize the company’s results. Most importantly, it enhances the probability that the best available person gets the job.
This approach applies to all parts of the organization and to all groups of people. Clearly, many organizations will benefit from targeting under-representative groups of women and people of color. This focus will improve the organization and open new business streams and improved productivity. So, does this same thought process involve all demographic groups? The answer is yes. There will be situations where one or more groups are under-represented. “Reverse discrimination” is a phrase that implies that white men have been adversely impacted. I would suggest that this term does not describe this dynamic effectively. Under-representation can happen with any group, and it takes honest conversation and approaches to overcome this disparity.
Every business unit in the organization needs to honestly and openly assess where a lack of diversity exists. It is not good enough to look at overall business unit numbers; each position should be scrutinized. Why? Each department runs the risk of missing valuable diverse perspectives. This growing complex dynamic can be overcome. The right measurement approach that is driven by the organization’s values and is applied to all levels of the organization will go a long way to overcoming unintended consequences that occur over time.
Effective measurement should consider two levels: Outcomes and Impact. Unfortunately, most organizations do not spend enough time assessing the effectiveness of their measurement process which has led many organizations to avoid accountability. Allow me to share an example of the difference:
Outcomes: Short term & mostly intermediate changes that occur in organizations.
Example: Your organization increases its gender representation of its ELT.
Impact: Significant changes that occur within the broader organization.
Example: Due to the outcome noted above, your organization has gained access to new markets comprised of primarily women. Additionally, you have become an Employer of Choice for women, resulting in improved engagement scores that lead to measurable revenue growth.
As part of the DDC approach, I work closely with every ELT member and their teams to establish both Outcomes and longer-term Impact measurement. We start by assessing how workflow and decisions are made. A simple change such as discussing the make-up of cross-functional teams can have a dramatic impact. And, if your organization does not have a robust Succession Planning process, the ELT may be missing a critical opportunity to ensure that the best rise to the top. More on this topic in my next blog.
Dave Daniels is an accomplished Senior Business and Human Resource executive with a proven track record of developing, implementing, and delivering upon both short and long-term results. He has held management and executive-level positions with companies large and small throughout the United States. Dave has managed his career in a way that provides him with an exceptional breadth of experience and capacity to contribute to improving brand and financial results for his employer in every capacity he has served.
Thank you for visiting our blog!
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a comment.
Zooming through the Court System? Virtual Mediation is Moving Cases
The American justice system is known for a lot of things but certainly not speed and economy. And, the broad swath of Covid-19 has created a host of challenges for the system. A recent positive development is that virtual mediation has gained momentum as an expedient and efficient alternative to traditional litigation.
The Slow Pace, Logistical Challenges & High Cost of Court Cases. Before Covid, the average civil court case took 6-24 months from filing to disposition. If appealed, add another 6-36 months. The cost of taking a case through the system was also substantial. The cost of a typical civil trial ranged from an average of $43,000 for an automobile accident claim to over $100,000 for a medical malpractice claim. Discovery, pre-trial and post-trial motions, and the trial itself required substantial attorney time and fees, as well as expenses for travel, expert witnesses, consultants, and exhibit preparation. The Coronavirus shutdowns and restrictions have caused additional delays in the system. Participants and their attorneys have become increasingly frustrated with the slow pace of their cases and the logistical challenges of conducting trials in the Covid-era.
Mediation as a Proven, Sensible Alternative. All of these factors have contributed to the rapid growth of mediation, and now, virtual mediation, as a prompt and efficient way to resolve cases. Mediation is an informal process for discussing and settling cases with the help of a neutral professional known as a mediator. Judges often refer cases to mediation. Other times, attorneys and parties select mediation on their own. Mediation has been around since Ancient Greece but has gained popularity in the United States in the last 20-30 years. Depending on the state and the type of case, the settlement rate for mediated cases has ranged between 50-85%, and cases are normally resolved in one day– for a fraction of the cost of a trial. Participants like that the outcome of a mediated case is determined by the parties themselves, the proceedings are cloaked in confidentiality, and, when settled, cases are rarely eligible for appeal.
The Strong Case for Virtual Mediation. The heavy Covid-induced utilization of Zoom, Go-to-Meeting, Microsoft Teams, and dozens of other web-based meeting platforms has transformed the mediation process. Now, mediators throughout the country are holding virtual mediations where the mediator, the parties, and their attorneys meet together virtually, from the comfort of their own homes and offices, and negotiate their cases. Much to the surprise of mediators, attorneys, and parties, virtual mediation has proven to be as successful as in-person mediation. And, virtual mediation works for all types of cases, from personal injury and employment cases to complex multi-party contract and construction cases. “I have hosted over 100 Zoom mediations since March and do not believe the outcome of any of them was adversely affected by the video conferencing format,” reports Mike Smith, a 28-year full-time mediator from Pensacola, Florida. “The mediation process works almost as well in a Zoom conference as it does when we all get together in person.” Some mediators report that virtual mediation cases are being settled in shorter, highly-efficient sessions with parties saving thousands of dollars in attorneys’ fees, mediator fees, and travel and expenses.
A Bright Future for Virtual Mediations. Virtual mediation has proven to be so successful that many participants are now predicting that the virtual mediation process will continue to be heavily utilized by attorneys and their clients even after Covid-19 subsides and things return to “normal.” Virtual mediation has proven to be an effective, efficient, and successful way to bring civil cases to resolution. Cases are literally Zooming through the system.
Mike Perkins is an Alabama-registered and Florida Circuit Civil Certified Mediator who conducts in-person and virtual mediations throughout the United States. Contact Mike at 833/PERKADR or info@perkinsadr.com.
Thank you for visiting our blog.
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
Jim Weber – Managing Partner, ITB Partners
I hope you enjoyed our point of view and would like to receive regular posts directly to your email inbox. Toward this end, put your contact information on my mailing list.
Your feedback helps me continue to publish articles that you want to read. Your input is very important to me so; please leave a com