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.

Are you Essential?

This is a question worth asking yourself periodically.

From time to time we're all guilty of getting into a rut at work - slogging through paperwork, handling routine requests. In most companies, what we do is necessary, but are we essential?

Essential implies belonging to the very nature of a thing and therefore being incapable of removal without destroying the thing itself or its character

What are you bringing to your job that no one else could? Attitude? Efficiency? Ideas? Execution? How vital are you to your company?

Would your fellow employees vote you to the company All Star team?

Better to ask (and answer) this question for yourself, than have someone ask it for you.

The Benefits of a Smaller Company

Thanks to Seth Godin for posting a link to this video, which illustrates the problems of "group think" in larger companies. Not unlike Dilbert cartoons, this video parody struck a little too close to home.

It's what happens when the journey becomes the destination - when work activity trumps results.

Enjoy.

Waste

I've been spending more and more of my time recently looking at reducing process waste.

Once you begin looking for waste, you begin to see it everywhere.

It's like buying a new car. You only notice how many other people are driving YOUR model after you've taken delivery!

In my search for waste (process improvement) I'm involved in departmental projects throughout the company. And I've discovered that my I.T. department is not immune.

If I could magically undo some of our previous practices, I'd start by reducing the I.T. peripheral "clutter".

No more dual monitors.
No more personal printers.
No more PC speakers.
Fewer docking stations.
No more projectors.

We've all heard the arguments FOR all this stuff. I need dual monitors for productivity enhancement. Really? How many more sales will you be delivering if I get you that second monitor? Will you be completing projects faster? How much faster? Will you communicate better? How will we measure this?

Once the first dual monitor shows up, its not productivity that spawns the next one and the next one. It's generally a status issue.

The same holds for personal printers. While everyone knows that printers are idle 99% of the time, it seems like everyone has to have one sitting on their desk. God forbid we should have to walk 30 feet to a high speed network printer!

Consider the walk a printing deterrent. Consider it part of the company health plan.

Sometimes the argument is that we need a personal printer for "sensitive" documents.

Print sensitive documents? As soon as a document is printed, you've virtually given up all security control, unless you immediately shred it or lock it away somewhere. Printing is about the LEAST secure activity you can do. Better to leave the document hidden or password protected on the network than to print it! And think of the waste!

1. Unique printer cartridges require you to keep a wide variety in stock or risk continually ordering unique replacements.
2. It means having to "learn" the quirks of several dozen printer types.
3. It means supplying paper. Filing paper. Shredding paper. Discarding paper. Waste. Waste. Waste.
4. Filing storage (cabinets, floor space, key control, archiving process, off site storage, archival rotation and destruction).

And don't get me started on PC speakers.

There are few things more annoying than listening to a cubemate's latest YouTube selection. These days we can all purchase headphones for less money and greater privacy!

Docking stations do serve a useful purpose - if the laptop travels frequently. But in many cases, docking stations are installed in case a person has to travel. A quick walk around our facility at the end of a workday will demonstrate the point. Laptops sitting in docking stations. Or docking stations allocated to people who seldom travel. And in our company if you have a personal PC at home, you don't need to take your laptop from work to get secure access to your business files.

I'm not immune to wasteful practices. We recently had a projector bulb fail. If you've ever had to replace one, you know they can be expensive - around $350. And they never seem to last as long as the manufacturer says they should. One of my guys asked me to consider a large flat screen TV/monitor. I prefer the resolution better. They install neatly on a wall and they have a longer life than projectors seem to. Larger up front investment (maybe) but better value over the life of the device.

I used to work for a manager who could tell how efficiently a company was run by the cleanliness and organisation of the warehouse. A neat and quiet warehouse indicated to him, that operations were well organized and efficient.

I take the same measure by walking around the office area and counting PC and network peripherals.

(Full disclosure: I may be a freak of nature. My desk is completely empty except for one small pile of papers (mostly handwritten notes to myself) and my laptop.

No docking station. No additional monitor. No personal printer. No in/out box).

It wasn't always that way for me. In previous positions I was comforted by the piles of paper, the unread industry magazines, the overflowing in box. It wasn't necessary. it was just a habit.

It's amazing how execution can improve when you strip away the "peripheral creature comforts".

And you'll enjoy the cost savings too.

Leadership Presentation

I had the priviledge of speaking to a friend's MBA class recently. Here's the presentation I gave.