Management practices tend to lead people to “stop talking and go to work” but they must be more versatile allowing “watchful talking” to be a part of work. The execution of a Strategic Plan is a universe filled with disruptive events. Such events may be relevant or irrelevant, complex or simple and they can support or derail a Strategic Plan. Whatever the event or combination of events, everyone involved must talk watchfully.
Asking specific questions against plan benchmarks is key to successful execution. Watchful talking is the art of using the answers to such questions to map the environment in which an execution takes place. What must be learned for our plan to work? What predictable events will occur in the short term? How will they affect the plan? Who will they affect in the plan? Who should we tell? The answers to such questions should result from looking at the environment as a whole, from inside and outside of the company. Connections should be drawn from large and small events, people and technology innovations, local and global economies, government regulations and/or proposed regulations.
While this first aspect of watchful talking protects day to day activities, future events must also be predicted to avoid impediments before they occur. Such future events are called watchful predictions and are a positive and useful by-product of watchful talking. People charged with execution gain an awareness of others’ environments from learning what events could cause impediments for them. Once determined, watchful predictions can trigger adjustments in the effected environment and allow a smooth execution. Forewarned by predictions, watchful talking will create necessary adjustments prior to derailment of a Strategic Plan.
Everyone must embrace talking at work in a way that enhances the execution of the Strategic Plan. Watchful talking is an art that leads to a structured mapping process for execution. As the mapping process unfolds, watchful predictions become self-evident; built from the plan’s environment as a whole. Watchful talking and watchful predictions are processes through which events are understood and execution altered for success.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
April 2007 Deep Insights
New beginnings are tools for success. They are a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is to be a student of past and present conditions; the opportunity is to build a vision that utilizes past and present strengths.
Past historical analysis provides an understanding of culture. What gave us what we have? Was our success based on riding a trend that anyone could have ridden? Have we experienced both growth and shrinkage? Faced adversity both internally and from the external world? Are we product innovators, product enhancers or low cost duplicators? Has our management come from within or are they hired from outside? What has been our economic engine?
Present environments must be evaluated in a way that respects reality. As an organization, we must accept what we are, not what we want to be. Are margins growing? Have our revenues been growing? What is the benchstrength of our personnel? Do we have technical skills required for today? Are our people capable of conducting research, identifying trends and capturing innovations to ride those trends? Do we know our echo system? Are we in touch with its world and understand how it influences our success? Have we built relationships with the echo system influencers? What activities are measured to determine strategic successes? Are succession plans in place for employees, management, CEO, customers and products?
The future is a portrait drawn by the past and present that assists an organization to embrace its possibilities. Do we need cash insertions? What cultural aspects do not fit? What gaps are evident in human assets? How will processes hold the organization accountable for commitment and action? How will our future affect relationships internally and externally? What learning must be acquired to be prepared for the next new beginning?
New beginnings are just NEW. Organizations must know “thyself,” have resolve to be flexible and ambidextrous with the discipline to accept ambiguity, moving tirelessly through this NEW, knowing another is a breath away.
Past historical analysis provides an understanding of culture. What gave us what we have? Was our success based on riding a trend that anyone could have ridden? Have we experienced both growth and shrinkage? Faced adversity both internally and from the external world? Are we product innovators, product enhancers or low cost duplicators? Has our management come from within or are they hired from outside? What has been our economic engine?
Present environments must be evaluated in a way that respects reality. As an organization, we must accept what we are, not what we want to be. Are margins growing? Have our revenues been growing? What is the benchstrength of our personnel? Do we have technical skills required for today? Are our people capable of conducting research, identifying trends and capturing innovations to ride those trends? Do we know our echo system? Are we in touch with its world and understand how it influences our success? Have we built relationships with the echo system influencers? What activities are measured to determine strategic successes? Are succession plans in place for employees, management, CEO, customers and products?
The future is a portrait drawn by the past and present that assists an organization to embrace its possibilities. Do we need cash insertions? What cultural aspects do not fit? What gaps are evident in human assets? How will processes hold the organization accountable for commitment and action? How will our future affect relationships internally and externally? What learning must be acquired to be prepared for the next new beginning?
New beginnings are just NEW. Organizations must know “thyself,” have resolve to be flexible and ambidextrous with the discipline to accept ambiguity, moving tirelessly through this NEW, knowing another is a breath away.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
March 2007 Deep Insights
Mentoring personnel, as execution of a strategic plan unfolds, is a critical step. Unfortunately, abdication often is the course chosen by executives. They believe their contribution has been made building the plan and others should be held accountable for its execution.
Strategic plan structure should have mentoring interventions that include executives. To accomplish interventions the plan should be laid out with benchmarks, sunset and sunrise provisions. Benchmarks are stars that will guide personnel to realize their progress in relation to the Strategic Plan. Benchmarks require interventions to determine midcourse achievements, troublesome situations and outside influences that may affect decisions moving forward. Sunset is an intervention structured to call a “time-out” which allows personnel and executives to pause and survey their current position within the Strategic Plan. How is the entire plan fairing? Are all aspects on target? What are the ramifications of being behind or ahead of plan? What has been learned? Who should we tell? Structured sunrise interventions inspire personnel to continue by sharing what has been learned, embracing necessary modifications, take initiative assisting those who have fallen behind, design transparent measurements in view of all personnel and create environments encouraging participation.
Mentoring should not happen by accident and should not have to be requested. Mentoring must be encompassed within the STRATEGIC PLAN. To be successful mentoring must include executives who help build benchmarks, sunset and sunrise dialogue. Mentoring is a process of “talking around,” listening to determine people’s understanding of what should be understood, transforming EXECUTION into a growth opportunity for organizations and individuals.
Strategic plan structure should have mentoring interventions that include executives. To accomplish interventions the plan should be laid out with benchmarks, sunset and sunrise provisions. Benchmarks are stars that will guide personnel to realize their progress in relation to the Strategic Plan. Benchmarks require interventions to determine midcourse achievements, troublesome situations and outside influences that may affect decisions moving forward. Sunset is an intervention structured to call a “time-out” which allows personnel and executives to pause and survey their current position within the Strategic Plan. How is the entire plan fairing? Are all aspects on target? What are the ramifications of being behind or ahead of plan? What has been learned? Who should we tell? Structured sunrise interventions inspire personnel to continue by sharing what has been learned, embracing necessary modifications, take initiative assisting those who have fallen behind, design transparent measurements in view of all personnel and create environments encouraging participation.
Mentoring should not happen by accident and should not have to be requested. Mentoring must be encompassed within the STRATEGIC PLAN. To be successful mentoring must include executives who help build benchmarks, sunset and sunrise dialogue. Mentoring is a process of “talking around,” listening to determine people’s understanding of what should be understood, transforming EXECUTION into a growth opportunity for organizations and individuals.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
February 2007 Deep Insights
Did you hear what I think I said?
A mature mind will always observe its audience knowing the prepared message may get caught in translation issues grounded in experiences. Theirs not yours -- caused by family, religion, education or employment. Life has many pathways that are not traveled by everyone or if traveled their time span is different.
Each person in the audience has their own story, their life story, which translates your message to them.
Families come in all sizes. A single child, to one of 9, 10 or more, oldest, middle, youngest…Mom and Dad, married, single, divorced, separated…Race, cultural backgrounds, close ties or not so close with relatives, geographically within limited time or distant…Neighborhood urban, suburban, working class, middle class, affluent.
Religion structures good and evil, fairness, what one believes to be destiny, how they relate to other individuals, communities, races, cultures.
Education directs knowledge and how one earns position in their chosen field…Was it liberal, conservative or centralist, focused or liberal acts, prestigious or accepting, open or directed, participative or dictated, taught to respect or be respected.
Employment with a company or companies that held performance as their standard or effort…Governance autocratic, democratic or consensus driven…Macro or micro managed, told what to do, asked to participate, rewarded and recognized for contributions, market driven success, years of experience or one year’s experience.
Knowing your audience is complicated but not impossible. Determining their translation of your message is a simple process:
Step One: Ask questions
Step Two: LISTEN
Step Three: Resolve the best possible path to YES is through NO
Step Four: Maintain a ritual of TALKING AROUND
Step Five: Refer to Step One
These five steps will help you know if your message has been translated as you desired. Unfortunately most people tire of “talking around” just when people are getting the message. Do not give in—stay the course.
A mature mind will always observe its audience knowing the prepared message may get caught in translation issues grounded in experiences. Theirs not yours -- caused by family, religion, education or employment. Life has many pathways that are not traveled by everyone or if traveled their time span is different.
Each person in the audience has their own story, their life story, which translates your message to them.
Families come in all sizes. A single child, to one of 9, 10 or more, oldest, middle, youngest…Mom and Dad, married, single, divorced, separated…Race, cultural backgrounds, close ties or not so close with relatives, geographically within limited time or distant…Neighborhood urban, suburban, working class, middle class, affluent.
Religion structures good and evil, fairness, what one believes to be destiny, how they relate to other individuals, communities, races, cultures.
Education directs knowledge and how one earns position in their chosen field…Was it liberal, conservative or centralist, focused or liberal acts, prestigious or accepting, open or directed, participative or dictated, taught to respect or be respected.
Employment with a company or companies that held performance as their standard or effort…Governance autocratic, democratic or consensus driven…Macro or micro managed, told what to do, asked to participate, rewarded and recognized for contributions, market driven success, years of experience or one year’s experience.
Knowing your audience is complicated but not impossible. Determining their translation of your message is a simple process:
Step One: Ask questions
Step Two: LISTEN
Step Three: Resolve the best possible path to YES is through NO
Step Four: Maintain a ritual of TALKING AROUND
Step Five: Refer to Step One
These five steps will help you know if your message has been translated as you desired. Unfortunately most people tire of “talking around” just when people are getting the message. Do not give in—stay the course.
Thursday, February 1, 2007
January 2007 Deep Insights
Your Strategy has been structured; you are thirty days into a new year with measurements in place for successful execution. Management recognizes a few weaknesses and begins to focus on “fixing the problem.” While “fixing” more weaknesses appear and management again refocuses on “fixing the new problems.” The cycle continues with a strategic plan becoming lost with effort focused on “fixing”, not results, for the strategic plan. How do organizations keep strategic plan results in focus and not get caught applauding effort for fixing problems that are not strategically significant?
First, the strategic plan must have activities defined with critical path steps designated as benchmarks that identify the need for intervention or cheers for success. If the benchmark calls for intervention or cheers for results, management must embrace a coaching role, helping others to analyze: What happened? How did it happen? What have we learned? What mid-course correction is required, if any? Who should we tell?
Second, this coaching should be transparent to the organization with direct ties of success or lack of to activities designated to meet the strategic plan. The organization remains focused on its strategy because management is focused, critical paths and benchmarks are observed with a focus on creating results from activities that are to guarantee strategic success. Observations of commitment become self-evident driving the organization to be self-actualized not allowing problems to grab resources unless they will lead to executing designated strategic activities.
Third, decentralization is a key factor for success. Audibles must become a daily results oriented event. When activities are executed but are not leading to strategic success, people leading the execution must be accountable for initiating changes. They must be given the authority to act with accountability for results. Management must COACH action, not take action, by actively “talking around and around and around” strategic plan activities.
To avoid “fixing problems” a strategic plan must be built with activities to achieve that plan. The activities must have benchmarks to celebrate successes or generate interventions with management coaching. The process must be transparent, decentralization must allow audibles to be called with people being held accountable for their actions and finally “talking around” must be embraced.
January 2007
Deep Insights
First, the strategic plan must have activities defined with critical path steps designated as benchmarks that identify the need for intervention or cheers for success. If the benchmark calls for intervention or cheers for results, management must embrace a coaching role, helping others to analyze: What happened? How did it happen? What have we learned? What mid-course correction is required, if any? Who should we tell?
Second, this coaching should be transparent to the organization with direct ties of success or lack of to activities designated to meet the strategic plan. The organization remains focused on its strategy because management is focused, critical paths and benchmarks are observed with a focus on creating results from activities that are to guarantee strategic success. Observations of commitment become self-evident driving the organization to be self-actualized not allowing problems to grab resources unless they will lead to executing designated strategic activities.
Third, decentralization is a key factor for success. Audibles must become a daily results oriented event. When activities are executed but are not leading to strategic success, people leading the execution must be accountable for initiating changes. They must be given the authority to act with accountability for results. Management must COACH action, not take action, by actively “talking around and around and around” strategic plan activities.
To avoid “fixing problems” a strategic plan must be built with activities to achieve that plan. The activities must have benchmarks to celebrate successes or generate interventions with management coaching. The process must be transparent, decentralization must allow audibles to be called with people being held accountable for their actions and finally “talking around” must be embraced.
January 2007
Deep Insights
November 2006 Deep Insights
Creativity is a state of mind. Creativity occurs when people are given the freedom to experiment and take risks. It can be the curiosity of one person, a collaborative group or people communicating from afar. The challenge sustaining creativity is forming a supportive culture for freedom and risk taking.
Individuals must be encouraged to ask questions, make recommendations and challenge status quo. They should be punished for not doing so; they should be mentored when not doing, to do. They need listening skills to hear what others say and the self confidence to build not destroy. They need to understand creativity is participation and learning from others. They have to embrace today’s work with tomorrow’s curiosity, combining both, making contributions to themselves as well as others.
Groups build and maintain creativity by collecting their wisdom and translating it into a common language to fully understand each other. They are then capable of expanding their wisdom by selecting and sharing creativity with others. When doing so the group will learn its role in the world in which it lives. It will be capable of drawing on new data sustaining creativity and building a thirst for others participation. The group will recognize the value of outside motivation for inspiration.
People communicating from afar must be prepared to share information without placing judgment. They must be willing to learn local customs that are not in their environment, they must be willing to listen to history, anecdotal and factual, that have positioned others in their current state and learn what their definition of creative is. Once they have grasped each others positions, dialogue can begin without insulting one another and contributions to common creativity can be structured. Afar situations require resolve, maintaining discipline, disagreeing without being disagreeable, for creativity to flourish.
Creativity is not just a Big Bang. It is a commitment to an environment that creates a culture of respect for new insight, rewarding those who participate and take risks and setting consequences for those who do not. Creativity is an end determined by the beginning.
Deep Insights
November 2006
Individuals must be encouraged to ask questions, make recommendations and challenge status quo. They should be punished for not doing so; they should be mentored when not doing, to do. They need listening skills to hear what others say and the self confidence to build not destroy. They need to understand creativity is participation and learning from others. They have to embrace today’s work with tomorrow’s curiosity, combining both, making contributions to themselves as well as others.
Groups build and maintain creativity by collecting their wisdom and translating it into a common language to fully understand each other. They are then capable of expanding their wisdom by selecting and sharing creativity with others. When doing so the group will learn its role in the world in which it lives. It will be capable of drawing on new data sustaining creativity and building a thirst for others participation. The group will recognize the value of outside motivation for inspiration.
People communicating from afar must be prepared to share information without placing judgment. They must be willing to learn local customs that are not in their environment, they must be willing to listen to history, anecdotal and factual, that have positioned others in their current state and learn what their definition of creative is. Once they have grasped each others positions, dialogue can begin without insulting one another and contributions to common creativity can be structured. Afar situations require resolve, maintaining discipline, disagreeing without being disagreeable, for creativity to flourish.
Creativity is not just a Big Bang. It is a commitment to an environment that creates a culture of respect for new insight, rewarding those who participate and take risks and setting consequences for those who do not. Creativity is an end determined by the beginning.
Deep Insights
November 2006
October 2006 Deep Insights
Performance appraisals are tools that provide feedback to personnel. Appraisals offer recognition for contributions, a thank you for commitment, a platform for the development of new skills, a forum to help individuals grow and the ability to build bench strength allowing growth to be staffed from inside. Why then do organizations and managers avoid performance appraisals and what can be done to embrace them?
Avoidance of performance appraisals occurs because the organization and its managers are too busy with day to day activities. Too busy translates into dealing with crisis as a reward system versus crisis being the trigger for analysis to determine root cause. Too busy translates into “stop talking and go to work vs. start talking and go to work.” Too busy translates into everyone does something but nobody is responsible for anything and somebody will pick up the pieces but nobody does. Too busy translates into critic’s corner not permitting coaching, mentoring or development. Too busy translates into growth or succession planning only to find the bench empty.
Embracing performance appraisals begins when an organization develops a process that parks “too busy” and holds executives and managers accountable to evaluate their organization’s current position. An evaluation strategy is developed to improve the organization’s position with activities that will lead to success. The activities are turned into processes that force dialogue: building commitments between executives, managers, business units, departments and employees. From this dialogue commitments become transparent, measured and publicly acknowledged for success or lack of success. Individuals are rewarded or suffer consequences for contributions, or lack of contributions. Coaches and mentors are assigned to assist successful personnel while guiding those that struggle, building bench strength for growth and succession planning, banning the critics to exile.
When an organization commits to strategy, is willing to establish transparency for accomplishments or lack of progress and embraces coaching, not criticism, performance appraisals become a welcome part of its culture.
Deep Insights
October 2006
Avoidance of performance appraisals occurs because the organization and its managers are too busy with day to day activities. Too busy translates into dealing with crisis as a reward system versus crisis being the trigger for analysis to determine root cause. Too busy translates into “stop talking and go to work vs. start talking and go to work.” Too busy translates into everyone does something but nobody is responsible for anything and somebody will pick up the pieces but nobody does. Too busy translates into critic’s corner not permitting coaching, mentoring or development. Too busy translates into growth or succession planning only to find the bench empty.
Embracing performance appraisals begins when an organization develops a process that parks “too busy” and holds executives and managers accountable to evaluate their organization’s current position. An evaluation strategy is developed to improve the organization’s position with activities that will lead to success. The activities are turned into processes that force dialogue: building commitments between executives, managers, business units, departments and employees. From this dialogue commitments become transparent, measured and publicly acknowledged for success or lack of success. Individuals are rewarded or suffer consequences for contributions, or lack of contributions. Coaches and mentors are assigned to assist successful personnel while guiding those that struggle, building bench strength for growth and succession planning, banning the critics to exile.
When an organization commits to strategy, is willing to establish transparency for accomplishments or lack of progress and embraces coaching, not criticism, performance appraisals become a welcome part of its culture.
Deep Insights
October 2006
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