Light a Fire

A friend of mine recently blogged about John Kotter's new book in which he discusses urgency in business. How do you get people to act with a sense of urgency?

I've also heard it described as "lighting a fire under someone".

That's a pretty apt description.

There are three conditions that must be present to start a fire. You need a combustible material, a source of ignition and oxygen.

In business, the combustible material is the talented employee who isn't listened to (or who doesn't speak up). The employee who knows what is wrong and knows what to do to fix the situation - but doesn't feel that they have a voice. They are frustrated that their efforts are being compromised by poor process or ineffective execution of the current process. They clearly see an opportunity to improve, but feel powerless to affect change. They are a tinderbox of great ideas.

The "spark" (ignition source) is the observant manager who identifies the employee and the opportunity - who listens to the idea and puts the wheels in motion to help bring the opportunity to life. Provide the tools to help effect change and empower the employee to get it done. The "spark" could be a small capital investment in equipment, tools or additional manpower. Give a motivated employee the tools to help effect change they believe in and watch what happens. Allow them to own the idea and to make it a success.

The final ingredient is oxygen. Think of this as providing "breathing space" to your employee to work their idea. Allow them to make some mistakes, adapt and succeed. Resist the temptation to jump in and "be a manager". Coach, mentor, encourage, suggest, but don't do. Allow your employee to succeed on their own terms.

Once your fire is lit, watch how brightly it burns.

And start looking for your next tinderbox.

Getting Things Done

Thanks to Gene Wright who led me to this Robert Scoble and David Allen interview on Getting Things Done.



We've recently had some measure of success implementing a SharePoint intranet and I recognize that without planning it, we've managed to implement several of the steps that Dave Allen espouses to Getting Things Done.

Enjoy.

Hunters and Salesmen

Fall is approaching and here in Wisconsin, that means deer hunting season isn't too far away.

I am not a hunter, so this may not make any sense to those of you who are. But to the untrained eye, it appears there are two different approaches to hunting. Some set up tree stands in (hopefully) great locations and wait for the deer to wander by.

Others trek off into the woods in search of deer - looking for signs of activity, (mating, feeding, tracks) until they find their prey.

Both approaches still require similar skill sets to be successful - a good eye, a steady hand on the trigger, in order to hit the target.

I think that salespeople have similar traits. Some set up shop (network heavily) and wait for the order referral or the new customer to call. Then, armed with great product knowledge and selling skills, they close the order.

Others "hunt" for sales. They work Trade Shows. They call leads. They cold call potential customers. They follow up on every quote. They beat the bushes for business until they find an opportunity, then they move in for the sale.

When the deer population is exploding, tree stands will be as productive a strategy as trekking through the woods in search of prey. But when the deer population starts to thin out, tree stands don't offer the same opportunities as one might get by honing our tracking skills.

In a slow economy, your salespeople better learn how to track prey, or risk going hungry.