Monday, December 21, 2009

Sustainability: Working and Living Through Constant Change - part #2

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: Sustainability: Working and Living Through Constant Change - part #2


Monday morning: December 21, 2009


Dear friends,


As we move through this holiday season, I am reminded of the Third Law of Thermodynamics, namely as activity decreases, order increases. Our challenge this time of year is give ourselves the time and space to slow down and enjoy the moment. Rather than rushing through life, we need to engage more fully in the blessings of this season. That means we need to manage our energy, not just our time.


At the Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable, I also reminded participants that in the realm of adaptation and evolution, we have to believe that our work is absolutely the right things to do at the moment we commit to it. But at the same time, we need to remain open to the possibility that we are dead wrong and have something to learn. As Yehudi Menuhin wrote, “The difference between a beginner and the master - is that the master practices a whole lot more.”


The art of leading and living is a continual discovery process. During this holiday season and in the new year, we have to rediscover the the joy of making choices. This coming year we will be presented with the opportunity to make many difficult choices. Still, we should not loose focus on the goal of improving what we do at both the operations and strategic levels. The true goal for those of us willing to lead is to keep learning and living in a healthy manner.


This is my last Monday Thoughts for 2009. I will start them up again in the New Year. Until then, I wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season filled with many blessings and much joy. Thank-you for including me in this important work.


Faithfully yours,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, December 14, 2009

Sustainability: Working and Living Through Constant Change - part #1

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: Sustainability: Working and Living Through Constant Change - part #1


Monday morning: December 14, 2009


Dear friends,


It was the day after an all day strategic planning retreat. As I walked in with my roller bag before my afternoon flight, I noticed two women in an office cubical. One of them motioned me over. So I wove my way through the maze and sat down. One of them looked me in the eyes and said, “I am overwhelmed given all we talked about yesterday. I am working 14 hour days and have been doing so since the spring. I can barely keep up.”


Then, she started to cry and was very embarrassed by the depth of her emotional response. I gave her my complete and undivided attention while the other woman went looking for some Kleenex. Once back and with a box of tissues in hand, we moved to a conference room. She cried some more with lots of hand waving with the hope of not smudging her morning make-up.


She shared about her mother being sick, not sleeping well, and just wanting time to rest. I told her that her feelings were normal and OK. I also pointed out that she needs to take charge of her priorities. She was a smart woman who could figure this out, but she needed to activate her support network.


I explained to her that being the lone leader was not the key to her success. She needed a team, and she needed to ask for what she needs. Then, I asked her, “what do you need?” Her response was “I need someone to help me train all of the new people.” Having visited with the CEO, I knew she could ask for this as it had already surfaced in a conversation with the CEO. But she needed the courage to go in and ask.


This is the hard part of being a leader, namely finding one’s voice and then having the courage to use it. Some days we forget that courage comes from clarity, not from exhaustion or fear. The source of clarity and courage is not fear, but clarity of purpose or mission.


I think in many organizations clarity comes when we know what role we play in the vast and complex work of planning, execution and evaluation. During the Fall 2008 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable, I explained that empowered people have confidence in their ability and their knowledge. They have confidence in their team and their company. They believe they can make the right decisions, and they believe they are role modeling what is most important. From my experience, this confidence comes from an understanding of one’s role in the organization, and understanding what is one’s circle of influence. This confidence also comes from answering these three questions, namely “where have we come from?”, “who are we now?”, and “where are we going?”.


During this wild and wacky recession, there have been few sources of hope and many people have loss the passion for the work they are doing. Furthermore, some people just want to keep off the radar screen because right now their work place is a target rich environment for blame. The result is a roller coaster ride of emotions every day. Everyone is tired of worrying and everyone is seeking ways to regain perspective.


This week realize that personal perspective comes from personal discipline. When we are clear about our intentions, namely our purpose, our goals, and our attention, our focus, then we are moving forward in a healthy direction.


Have a good week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, December 7, 2009

Dealing With Resistance: The Constant Struggle - part #2

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: Dealing With Resistance: The Constant Struggle - part #2


Monday morning: December 7, 2009


Dear friends,


Some days, we forget that resistance comes in code.


Last week, I referenced the work of Jeffery D. Ford and Laurie W. Ford, in their article, “Decoding Resistance to Change”, Harvard Business Review, April 2009. As they wrote, “Resistance is, in fact, a form of feedback, often provided by people who know more about day-to-day operations than you do.”


When this feedback is delivered, many leaders do not understand it and get lost. To help them decipher this feedback, I often encourage leaders to read the following article about the work of Peter Senge called “Learning For A Change” in the May 1999 issue of Fast Company magazine. Here is the web address of this article: < http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/24/senge.html >.


For example, when a leader receives the following feedback, “our customers don’t want it”, “our competitors aren’t doing it”, or “why turn things upside down if our performance is good enough”, morelikely the followers are strugging with how the initial changes were presented and do not understand the context and urgency for change.


If a leaders hears “We don’t have time for this stuff!” or “We have no help!”, they need to realize people need control over their schedules in order to give the new ideas and systems the time and effort they deserve. They also need regular support, coaching and resources to learn the new way.


Finally, leaders may encounter a group of people who say “This stuff isn’t working!” or “We keep reinventing the wheel.” Clearly, a great deal of resistance comes when early results do not meet the expectations and traditional measurements that a group is used to working with and delivering to senior leaders. Furthermore, some groups will struggle if past changes are never integrated into sustainable change.


In the end, resistance Is reduced through timely and accurate information, involvement, and intervention. The goal of every change initiative is to mobilize talent and imagination which can not only challenge the status quo but deliver better results.


This week, read the aforementioned article with your team plus practice deciphering the code.


Have a great week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, November 30, 2009

Dealing With Resistance: The Constant Struggle - part #1

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: Dealing With Resistance: The Constant Struggle - part #1


Monday morning: November 30, 2009


Dear friends,


Last week, I shared the following quote by Robert E. Quinn: “Excellence is a form of deviance. If you perform beyond the norms, you disrupt all the existing control systems. Those systems will then alter and begin to work to routinize your efforts. That is, the systems will adjust to try to make you normal.”


Right now, many people in many different organizations are feeling the pressure to be “normal.” Exploring new ideas and new ways of working outside the box are not always welcome during tumultuous times. People seek order and predictability when they are in a continued period of instability.


When we push change or excellence, we, at times, encounter resistance. Realizing that people do not resist change as much as loss of control, we come to understand that what people are resisting is the loss of identity, values and self-worth that comes when orderly and predictable systems and patterns of work are changed.


There are days when we as leaders get so wrapped up in our work that we forget that change is a process, not an event. Gene E. Hall and Shirley M. Hord in their book, Implementing Change: Patterns, Principles, and Potholes, Allyn & Bacon, 2005, note that there are significant differences between the development and the implementation of change. An organization does not change until the individuals within it change. Therefore, facilitating change needs to be a team effort.


Every week, I meet leaders and organizations that are not prepared for resistance. As I mentioned before, people don’t resist change. They resist the loss of control and/or identity, and the pain that comes with this loss. But too many times, when encountering resistance, we as leaders focus on attitude when in reality those we are working with may need new knowledge, skills, and support .


Recently, Kevin Cashman in his book, Leadership From The Inside Out: Becoming a Leader for Life, Berrett-Koehler, 2008, reported that the Saratoga Institute did research on poor interpersonal skills. After interviewing 19,700 exiting employees and their bosses, they discovered that 85% of bosses said that former employees left for more compensation and opportunity. On the other hand, 80% of the exiting employees said they left because of poor relationship, poor development and poor coaching from the boss. It is important that we as leaders recognize that resistance starts with the health of the relationship between a leader and a follower. Unhealthy relationships increase the potential for resistance.


Therefore, I encourage leaders to expect resistance. As Jeffery D. Ford and Laurie W. Ford, in their article, “Decoding Resistance to Change”, Harvard Business Review, April 2009, point out, “Resistance is, in fact, a form of feedback, often provided by people who know more about day-to-day operations than you do.” As they continue, “Dismissing the feedback deprives you of potentially valuable information, costs you goodwill, and jeopardizes important relationships.”


This week, I encourage you to discuss the subject of resistance and loss, plus practice receiving feedback.


Have a marvelous week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, November 23, 2009

Achieving Consistent Execution: The Essence of Success

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: Achieving Consistent Execution: The Essence of Success


Monday morning: November 23, 2009


Dear friends,


Every day customers experience multiple moments of truth. The first happens when they choose a good or service from an organization. At this point, the process of making the decision and the actual purchase is based on perception, marketing, and/or past experience. The second happens when they actually utilize the good or service. Here, the customer has an expectation and the question is whether or not this expectation is fulfilled or unfulfilled through the process of using the good or service. Finally, the third moment of truth is when the customer reflects on whether or not the good or service lived up to its brand promise and/or their expectations. Depending on the good or service, how employees work with the customer also has a big impact on these moments of truth.


If we are seeking consistent execution on the employee side of the formula, then we, as leaders, need to do four things. First, we must create a micro-climate for consistent execution. Second, we need to engage employees within this environment. Third, we must enable the whole organization to support execution, i.e. create a macro-climate for consistent execution. Fourth, we need to implement and maintain the use of operational metrics and a productivity improvement system to make their execution better.


When we create a micro-climate for consistent execution, we need to remember that all organizations have a macro level of culture and a micro level of culture. We forget some times that the micro culture always trumps the macro culture just like status quo always trumps strategic change.


Furthermore, we need to remember the words of Robert E. Quinn who wrote: “Excellence is a form of deviance. If you perform beyond the norms, you disrupt all the existing control systems. Those systems will then alter and begin to work to routinize your efforts. That is, the systems will adjust to try to make you normal.”


Ronald Heifetz, Alexander Grashow, and Marty Linsky in their new book, The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World, Harvard Business Press, 2009, note that “status quo functions elegantly to solve a stream of problems and opportunities for which it has already evolved.” However, they continue, “overtime, the [micro] culture ... becomes deeply ingrained, self-reinforcing and very difficult to reshape.”


Characteristics of a healthy micro-climate include the ability to engage in crucial conversations, focus on the achievement of collective results, the recognition that the responsibility for the organization’s future is shared, and the institutionalization of reflection time and continuos learning.


To grow this kind of work environment, leaders need to hold more strategic dialogues and stop under-communicating who we are?, what we believe?, where we are going?, and how we are going to get there? Furthermore, in order to engage employees within this environment, we need to remember the advice and counsel of Marcus Buckingham in his book, The One Thing You Need to Know ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success, Free Press, 2005, who wrote: “To excel as a manager you must never forget that each of your direct reports is unique and that your chief responsibility is not to eradicate this uniqueness, but rather to arrange roles, responsibilities, and expectations so that you can capitalize upon it. The more you perfect this skill, the more effectively you will turn talents into performance.” This translates into clarifying expectations and making sure people have the materials and equipment they need to do their work right. It also means employees receive recognition or praise for good work, and have a supervisor, or someone at work, who seems to care about them as a person, and encourages their development.


When we seek to engage the whole organization to support execution at both the micro and macro levels, we must realize that in the end, it all comes back to the micro-climate. This week, first focus on improving the health of the relationships between the managers and their direct reports, and second continue to building healthy teams.


Have wonderful week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, November 16, 2009

Leading Through Complexity: The Core Four Actions - Part #4

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: Leading Through Complexity: The Core Four Actions - Part #4


Monday morning: November 16, 2009


Dear friends,


The last of The Core Four Actions seems simple but it is a complex leadership activity. As it states, “What you provide, activates and energizes.” The first verb, “provide”, focuses on what we supply or make available to those who report to us. To understand what leaders make available, we first need to understand the concepts of “activate” and “energize.”


The word “activate” means to “to set up or formally institute (as in a military unit) with the necessary personnel and equipment.” I like to think of this in the context of making sure you have the right people with the right equipment working on the right problems. Think Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman in their book, First, Break All The Rules: What The World’s Greatest Managers Do Differently, Simon & Schuster, 1999, where they explain the importance of matching talent with opportunity.


The word “energize” means “to put forth energy” or “to make energetic, vigorous, or active.” When we dig deeper into this concept, an important clue to it’s meaning is found in the definition of “vigorous” which means “to make strong.” When something is energized, it is made stronger and often with this increased strength comes an intensity of feeling and commitment.


So when implementing the fourth of the The Core Four Actions, many leaders think about creating SMART goals, realistic timelines, short term wins, functional and cohesive teams, empowered people, and continued talent development. Everyone of these is mission critical to short and long term success but they only deal with the surface. When leading through complexity, there needs to be more.


First, with complexity comes confusion. Therefore, successful leaders create clarity around what is our competitive advantage. They recognize that customers choose us for a reason. They delve deeply into this reason and make sure all know it and remember it when days are full and busy.


Second, with complexity comes overload. Therefore, they prioritize work and clarify who is responsible for what and by when it needs to get done. The combination of these two factors limits confusion and reinforces the focus on factors that make a difference.


Third, with complexity comes arrogance and hysteria. Some people tend to down play the difficulties and think it is no big deal while others go nuts and blow everything out of proportion. Therefore, leaders provide opportunities for in-depth strategic dialogue where they do not shy away from constructive ideological debates and conflict. This level of communication strengthens the organization and helps it to avoid the “hubris born of success”, a term from Jim Collin’s recent book, How The Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In, HarperCollins, 2009.


Finally, with complexity comes sloppiness. Working outside their comfort zone due to complexity, some people do not always get everything done or done well. Poor leaders let this slip by and do not take notice. Exceptional leaders provide a structure so that all are held accountable for their behaviors and actions. This is very important because it does not let a precedent get set which could end up becoming a cultural norm.


When we as leaders embrace the fourth of The Core Four Action, namely “what you provide, activates and energizes”, we are position the organization for sustainability in the midst of complexity.


This week reflect on what you provide different groups of people and the organization as a whole. Does it activate and energize?


Have a fantastic week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, November 9, 2009

Leading Through Complexity: The Core Four Actions - Part #3

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: Leading Through Complexity: The Core Four Actions - Part #3


Monday morning: November 9, 2009


Dear friends,


The third of the The Core Four Actions states “What you steward, endures.” For many people, stewardship is the monthly tithe at the church, or the occasional reminder that a good farmer cares for the soil as much as the crops. For some, it is an act of doing nothing about something that is completely intangible.


When we go to the dictionary and look up the word “steward”, it states that stewardship is “a responsibility to take care of something one does not own.” Reading it this morning, I am reminded of what James Belasco and Ralph Stayer wrote in their book, Flight of the Buffalo: Soaring To Excellence, Learning to Let Employees Lead , Time Warner, 1994: “The primary purpose of strategic planning is not to strategically plan for the future, although that's an important purpose of the exercise. It is primarily to develop the strategic management mind-set in each and every individual in the organization. The purpose of the process is not only to produce a plan. It is to produce a plan that will be owned and understood by the people who have to execute it.” One huge learning for leaders who embrace stewardship is for them to recognize that we really do not “own” the organization’s mission, vision, or core values. We are caretakers of them. The same goes, on one level, with the strategy and the strategic plan. We do not own strategy as a possession as much as take care of it and make sure that it is not loss in SOP and tactical execution.


For me, stewardship is a proactive and thoughtful leadership action revolving around the following four words: intention, integration, intensive and interactive. First, successful stewardship is the intentional management of key ideas, systems, and perspective. Too often, senior leaders and midlevel managers forget that having a strategic plan is not executing a strategic plan. The later requires discipline while the former requires patience.


Second, successful stewardship is integral to the development and execution of strategy. Through stewardship, we decide what business we are in and what business we are not in. And this is no small piece of work.


Third, successful stewardship is an intensive act of leadership. Every day, it seems we have to balance our history, our present obligations, our expectations and our challenges plus our future desires, hopes and visions. Every word we as leaders speak and every action we take, or do not take, sets a precedent within the organization and in the community. To balance all of these expectations, we have to consciously manage what is most important, i.e. the strategic nexus.


This leads us to the fourth key point about successful stewardship. It is interactive leadership. Think strategic dialogue. For example, in many no-profits, being successful has been a qualitative measure. If we had a good story to tell, we were successful. With the changes that have taken place in the last number of years, now successful non-profits have to be both qualitative and quantitative. We need to share the stories and the metrics. To do this, we need to engage with staff at all levels, listening and sharing about what is most important, and explaining how we measure our success in this new environment.


This week, remember that stewardship is intentional, integrated, intensive and interactive.


Have a fantastic week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, November 2, 2009

Leading Through Complexity: The Core Four Actions - Part #2

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: Leading Through Complexity: The Core Four Actions - Part #2


Monday morning: November 2, 2009


Dear friends,


It was a simple and yet comfortable office as we sat down together that afternoon in the early 90’s.


“Geery,” he commented. “I know rural heathcare in the midwest is not fancy, but we need a vision. We are dying for a vision.”


We sat quietly for a couple of moments and then he said to me, “We need to become the Embassy Suites of healthcare in our community. We need to deliver individualized service, personalized care, and exceptional medicine.”


I smiled because the birth of a vision is always special. The next afternoon he shared this vision with the executive team and many people agreed. They shared their thoughts about the best hotels they visited and how the quality of the service was critical. They talked about what the words “individualized”, “personal” and “exceptional” meant to them. With time, coaching and guidance, people became engaged, and the vision grew and evolved.


The second of The Core Four Actions states “What you envision, guides.” When we review the Dictionary definition for the word, “envision”, we find the following meanings: “to picture”, “to form in the mind”, “to exercise the powers of judgment, conception, or inference”, and “to have in the mind or call to mind a thought.” This morning I am reminded of a quote by Marcus Buckingham about leadership. As he wrote in his book, The One Thing You Need to Know ... About Great Managing, Great Leading, and Sustained Individual Success, Free Press, 2005: “You must become adept at calling upon those needs we all share. Our common needs include the need for security, for community, for authority, and for respect, but for you, the leader, the most powerful universal need is our need for clarity. To transform our fear of the unknown into confidence in the future, you must discipline yourself to describe our joint future vividly and precisely. As your skill at this grows, so will our confidence in you.”


I also am reminded of something that William Bridges in his book, Managing Transitions, Da Capo Press, 2003, pointed out, i.e. during transitions people need the following:

- The Purpose: the answer to the question “why?”

- The Picture: the look and feel when we reach the goal

- The Plan: the step-by step goals of how we are going to get to the above picture

- The Part: clarity about our role in the process


When confronted with the challenges and complexity of this fall, we as leaders need to generate a picture which will guide us. A good vision, according to Dan Cohen in his book, The Heart of Change Field Guide: Tools and Tactics for Leading Change in Your Organization, Harvard Business School Press, 2005, offers a compelling, motivating picture of the future and serves several important purposes. First, it clarifies the general direction of change by providing a kind of motion picture - a living, dynamic illustration - of the behaviors required for success at all levels. Second, it helps identify the behaviors that must be encouraged as well as those that must be eliminated. Third, a good vision helps pinpoint key performance measures, and motivates people.


Neeli Bendapudi, professor, and Venkat Bendpadudi, senior lecturer at The Ohio State University’s Fischer College of Business in their article “How to Use Language that Employees Get”, September 2009 issue of the Harvard Business Review, write: “In our research on executives who have instilled a great sense of purpose in others, introduced powerful brands, or managed successfully in turbulent times, we’ve found that they often use terms and metaphors that resonate with their employees.” This is the essence of a great vision and the second of the The Core Four Action. When you build a great vision, it resonates with all involved. They not only hear it. They feel it.


This week, begin the process of building a vision that people can utilize. If you need help, please do not hesitate to call. I would be glad to be of assistance.


Have a great week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, October 26, 2009

Leading Through Complexity: The Core Four Actions - Part #1

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: Leading Through Complexity: The Core Four Actions - Part #1


Monday morning: October 26, 2009


Dear friends,


It was a hot summer day as the senior team and I gathered for another meeting in the strategic planning process. As we walked into the corporate board room, the CEO took me aside and said, “I’d liked to make some opening remarks. You don’t mind do you?”


My response was “No. This is your team and your planning process. Feel free to set the tone for the meeting.”


Once we all were seated, he started the meeting with a passionate call to arms. As he explained, “we are getting sucked into operations, systems and problems at the micro level. We are so focused on fixing everything that we have forgotten the customer. We are not concerned about their service as much as we are concerned about our own welfare. We need to stop focusing so much on fixing everything and instead ask our selves the most important question of all, namely ‘What kind of organization do we want to become in 2-3 years?’ If we do not answer this question, then we will have everything fixed but, alas, have no customers. It is time to stop letting the tactics trump the strategic.”


I smiled as his words came pouring out. I agreed 100% with his analysis. In this organization, operational leadership was trumping strategic leadership. Furthermore, an operational focus at the team level was trumping strategic thinking and action at the executive level. They were, in essence suffering from strategic blindness.


This has become a common problem this fall. Complexity is creating strategic blindness, namely that the leaders within the organization do not see their strategy as a whole organization. They see bits and pieces of strategy but they do not comprehend it as whole.


Furthermore, another problem is surfacing this fall. Some leaders think that having a strategy is the same as executing a strategic plan. When people in leadership positions look at the parts and do not see “the whole”, the result is fragmentation and a general disorientation amongst all employees. When leaders think having a strategy is executing a strategy, there is a complete break down within the organization’s ability to synchronize it’s action and deliver a unified course of action.


When I encounter these kinds of problems, I always ask The Core Four Questions, namely “Who will lead?”, “Where is the vision and who has it?”, “What pace do you want to go?”, and “What should not be lost during the journey?”. The answers to these questions will point out whether or not the organization is caught in a pattern of institutional decline as described in Jim Collins newest book, How The Mighty Fall and Why Some Companies Never Give In, HarperCollins, 2009. They also will determine the path to recovery.


Once I have explored The Core Four Questions, I often have to instruct or coach those involved to utilize The Core Four Actions. They are as follows:

- what you feed, grows.

- what you envision, guides.

- what you steward, endures.

- what you provide, activates and energizes.


Today, we are going to examine the first of The Core Four Actions, namely what you feed, grows. Based on my early adventures when I first moved to Iowa many decades ago, this phrase is a popular one amongst those I have worked with over the years. The challenge is that many people focus on the word “grow” but do not comprehend the key word “feed”. When we turn to the dictionary for clarity, we learn that the word “feed” is defined by the following definitions: to give food to, to give as food, to furnish something essential to the development, sustenance, maintenance, or operation of, and to become nourished.


When we take these definitions and think of them as leaders, we learn some important information. The first definition states “to give food to.” Here, executives need to build capacity, collaboration and commitment. They can do this by rerecruiting their best people and recruiting new people with perspective and information. In a time period of sustained instability, people are looking for clarity, order and direction. Clear and consistent information about what is happening and where we are going is vital. The key is communicate more to your key people.


On a side bar for a moment, a second wave of people leaving organizations by choice is happening in the work place right now. While there was a small lull in late spring and early summer, now there is another level of activity that is starting to take place now. The good people are on the move and seeking to work with healthy and progressive companies.


Second, when we follow The Core Four Action called “what you feed, grows”, then we need to give as food things that build awareness and understanding. At this time period, we need to over-communicate a tremendous amount of historical perspective so people understand what is happening now, but also why it is happening. At the same time, it would be good to share an outsider’s perspective so that people do not loose touch with the customer and shareholder’s thinking. When we provide constant support and a well defined and executable strategy, we have the potential to shape cultural values and standards, align culture and strategy, and define what is and what is not important within the organization. We also define what needs to be monitored and understood outside the organization. In short, when confronted with complexity, we need to not loose focus on the whole.


This week sit down with your team and help them regain perspective and see the whole picture. Review with them what has happened in the past that has lead you and the organization to this point. Then, help them see how your current strategy is positioning you for the future.


Have a delightful week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, October 19, 2009

The Union of Evolution and Strategy - Part #4

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: The Union of Evolution and Strategy - Part #4


Monday morning: October 19, 2009


Dear friends,


The fourth principle, based on the research and writings of Richard T. Pascale, Mark Millemann and Linda Gioja in their book, Surfing The Edge of Chaos: The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business, that we explored during the Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable was the following: “You can disturb but never wholly direct a living system.”


Whether we like it or not, linear logic does not always apply to a living system. Optimization seldom yields radical innovation. Most of the time, it maximizes the preexisting model. These points alone can be quite difficult to accept. Senior executives love logic and they love optimization. Thinking like Spock from Star Trek and focusing on making things better has been a hallmark of many seminars. However, in fitness landscape terms, the above authors note that “it is impossible to get to a distant and higher fitness peak (discover radical breakthroughs) by climbing still higher on the peak one already is on (optimizing).” Rather one needs to descend into the unknown and experience a journey of sequential disturbances and adjustments. Think Trough of Chaos.


With that in mind, here is the big question for this Monday morning: Are there guidelines that can help us disturb things in the general direction we’d like them to go? The answer is “yes” when we follow the following three rules. First, “design, don’t engineer.” Second, “discover, don’t dictate.” Third, “decipher, don’t presuppose.”


Let me explain using an example from the previously mentioned book. Airport lounges surround each gate. There are no signs or attendants who tell us what to do or not do in an airport lounge. The seats are arranged so conversation is with the person nearby. The arm rests are fixed in order to prevent people from lying down. The seats are usually bolted together so they are not easy to move. The result is that this design achieves the desired behavior with no overt rules or commands. Thus, Goldilocks smiles. Remember the Goldilocks Principle from last week: “neither too many rules nor too few.”


This week, remember that “you can disturb but never wholly direct a living system.” Therefore, design with an outcome/purpose in mind. Discover what is working and build on this platform, and decipher what are the second and third order consequences rather than presuppose that it will all work as programmed.


Have an amazing week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, October 12, 2009

The Union of Evolution and Strategy - Part #3

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: The Union of Evolution and Strategy - Part #3


Monday morning: October 12, 2009


Dear friends,


The third principle, based on the research and writings of Richard T. Pascale, Mark Millemann and Linda Gioja in their book, Surfing The Edge of Chaos: The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business, that we explored during the Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable was the following: “... the components of living systems self-organize, and new forms and repertories emerge from the turmoil.”


On the surface, this principle seems completely obvious. Yet, we need to remember that self-organization is “the tendency of certain (but not all) systems operating far from equilibrium to shift to a new state when their constituent elements generate unlikely combinations.” The result of self-organization is called emergence. An example of this is when a jazz ensemble creates an emergent sound that no one could have imagined from listening to the individual instruments.

Now, remembering what we explored last week related to fitness landscapes, we need to understand that self-organization generates new routes on the fitness landscape. Emergence, on the other hand, generates new destinations on the fitness landscape


With this in mind, those gathered examined six guidelines for harnessing self-organization and emergence. The first, according to the book, Surfing The Edge of Chaos, is to “decide whether or not self-organization and emergence are really needed.” Ask yourself whether you are dealing with a technical problem or an adaptive problem. In particular, are new routes and new destinations sought?


Second, “analyze the health of your network.” Self-organization arises from healthy networks. If there are dysfunctional teams, personal or cultural elements in place, then this could reduce the ability of a social network to self-organize.


Third, “remember the Goldilocks Principle: neither too many rules nor too few.” I really like this one a great deal. In many organizations, there are too many rules and regulations and not enough common sense. In other places, there is so much freedom that it feels like a scene from the movie, “The Lord of the Flies.” The authors note that “the key to self-organization resides in the tension between discipline and freedom.” From my experience, this tension is manageable when there is a healthy strategic nexus in place, i.e. mission, vision and core values plus a high ownership strategic plan.


Fourth, in order to create self-organization and emergence, we must harness the power of Requisite Variety. As you may remember, The Law of Requisite Variety states that “... survival of any organism depends on its capacity to cultivate (not just tolerate) variety in its internal structure.” With this in mind, we need to bring more people together from different fields and backgrounds and then let them work on the problems before us together. This generates fresh perspective and new lines of thinking.


Fifth, we need to look for the preconditions of emergence. As one who does a lot of executive coaching, I often see these preconditions as problems that keep surfacing, or contradictions between words and actions. In an organization, there may be an incongruence between supply and demand, or unexpressed needs at the employee or customer levels. All of these elements hint at emergent possibilities and help identify when an issue is bubbling toward the surface. For those who have been with me for quite some time, think of Heifetz’s observation about ripe and ripening.


Sixth, self-organization and emergence should not be thought of exclusively as episodic occurrences. They can occur episodically and they can become a sustaining competitive advantage. More than one issue can lead to multiple moments of self-organization and emergence at the same time.


This week, remember that “the components of living systems self-organize, and new forms and repertories emerge from the turmoil.” Review the above six guidelines for harnessing self-organization and emergence. Ask yourself if you are living and working in a healthy network.


Have a terrific week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, October 5, 2009

The Union of Evolution and Strategy - Part #2

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: The Union of Evolution and Strategy - Part #2


Monday morning: October 5, 2009


Dear friends,


The second principle, based on the research and writings of Richard T. Pascale, Mark Millemann and Linda Gioja in their book, Surfing The Edge of Chaos: The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business, we explored at the Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable was the following: “Nature is at its innovative best near the edge of chaos.”


First off, Pascale and others pointed out that “the edge of chaos is a condition, not a location.” It creates upheaval but not dissolution. It is not the abyss. It is a sweet spot for productive change.


Next, they explained that “Innovations rarely emerge from systems high in order and stability.” Andy Grove, retired chairman of Board at Intel explained it this way: “First, you must experiment and let chaos reign. That’s important because you’re not likely to successfully stumble on the answer at the first sign of trouble. Rather, you have to let the business units struggle and watch the dissonance grow in the company. As this unfolds, you enter the second phase of change, which I describe as the Valley of Death. Doing away with established practice and established people - tearing apart before you can put together something new - is not fun. Talking prematurely about changes that disrupt people’s lives and are not truly believed can undermine efforts before you really know what you’re doing. But once they are in place, it is essential for leadership to speak clearly about what to do. At this point, you are on the other side of of the Valley of Death and you can describe the future that lies ahead.”


Now, before we go any further, I like the term Trough of Chaos much better than “Valley of Death.” The latter term would scare the pants off every beginning middle level manager and quite a few senior executives if it were used on a regular basis. Therefore, I will stick with the Trough of Chaos.


Recognizing that the trick is to navigate close to the edge of chaos without falling into it, Pascale says there are three essential navigation devices. First, there are attractors, analogous to a compass, which orient a living system in one direction and create an impetus to migrate out of the comfort zone. An example of an attractor is a vision or BHAG. It generates a compelling aspiration amongst employees to move.


The second navigation device is the use of feedback. How and when an organization amplifies or dampens feedback can act like a throttle or brake to the move in the first navigation device.


The third navigation requires us to understand the concept called the “fitness landscape.” This is a term used by ecologists and other life scientists to map the relative competitive advantage of species. As Pascale notes, the “higher degrees of fitness are depicted by linear height on the landscape,” and “the loss of fitness is visualized as going downhill in this three dimensional territory.”


Here is a great example of this concept from the book, Surfing The Edge of Chaos: The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business. “When a threatened species, such as the North American coyote, is driven from it’s traditional habitat by human extermination programs, it descends the fitness landscape toward the edge of chaos.... It must learn to cope with different terrain, climate, and rivals, and to find new sources of food.” Once it learns to adapt and urbanize, the coyote’s fitness increases and it carves out a niche on a superior fitness peak. As it moves uphill, i.e. better adaptation, a species will reach a subsidiary peak. Biologists call this perch on the fitness landscape, “a basin of attraction.” They also note that to get to higher peaks, a species must “go down to get up.”


In the world of business, Monsanto developed genetically improved crops, and the innovation catapulted it to a new peak. However, once the cultural environment changed and genetically improved crops fell out of favor, especially in Europe, then Monsanto was seen as “the instigator of Frankenstein Foods”. The result is that it went downhill from it’s new peak.


This week, first remember that “nature is at its innovative best near the edge of chaos.” Second, review the three navigation devices with your team and in particular where you are in the “fitness landscape.”


Have a wonderful week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, September 28, 2009

The Union of Evolution and Strategy - Part #1

THEME: Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable Report

FOCUS: The Union of Evolution and Strategy - Part #1


Monday morning: September 28, 2009


Dear friends,


This past week a marvelous group of people gathered together for the Fall 2009 From Vision to Action Executive Roundtable. It was a great time as we explored a diverse set of topics and engaged in many healthy and thought-provoking strategic dialogues. To include the rest of you who could not come, I have decided to spend the rest of the fall summarizing what we explored.


First off, the recommended reading for the Fall ‘09 Roundtable was the following: Collins, Jim. How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In, Harper Collins, 2009. This is a great resource for building common perspective and understanding. It continues the research Collins presented in both Built To Last and Good to Great. It is particularly important to read or reread it this fall as many companies have the potential to make the wrong decisions and thus enter into a spiral of decline.


With this book as a framework to our time together, I began the Fall ‘09 Roundtable exploring four key principles based on the research and writings of Richard T. Pascale, Mark Millemann and Linda Gioja in their book, Surfing The Edge of Chaos: The Laws of Nature and the New Laws of Business, Three Rivers Press, 2000.


Before I introduced the first principle, I explained that many organizational change patterns come from a social engineering background. From this perspective, many leaders assume that they are the head of the organization, and the organization is the body. They assume that in order to be successful all intelligence is centralized near the top of the organization. Next, many organizations and their leaders follow the premise of predictable change, namely that the implementation plans are scripted by a single senior executive or the senior team on the assumption of a reasonable degree of predictability and control during the time span of the change effort. Finally, many leaders follow the assumption of cascading intention, namely that once a course of action is determined, initiative flows from the top down. When a program is defined, it is communicated and rolled out through the ranks. Often, this includes a veneer of participation to engender buy-in.


As I pointed out, these assumptions work fairly well when the solution is known in advance and an established repertoire exists to implement it. However, given the current social and economical environment, these assumptions are, for the most part, obsolete. Therefore, one must ask the following question: What does it takes to be a successful leader and a successful company in this time of constant turmoil and ambiguity?


“Two imperatives govern survival in many industries today,” writes Richard Tanner Pascale in the spring of 2001. “The first requires agility in the face of high level of strategic ambiguity. The second is a shift in culture and capability from slow, deliberate organizations to forms that behave like living organisms, fostering entrepreneurial initiatives, consolidating learning and moving rapidly to exploit winning positions in the marketplace.” As he continues to explain, “Over many millions of years, nature has devised strategies for coping with prolonged periods of gradual change and occasional cataclysms in which only the most agile survive.”


The first principle we explored at the Fall Roundtable was the following: “Equilibrium is a precursor to death.” Pascale explains it this way: “When a living system is in a state of equilibrium, it is less responsive to changes occurring around it. This places it a maximum risk.” This principle comes from an obscure but important law of cybernetics called The Law of Requisite Variety. FYI: cybernetics is the science of communication and control theory that is concerned especially with the comparative study of automatic control systems as in the nervous system and brain and mechanical-electrical communication systems. The Law of Requisite Variety states that the survival of any organism depends on its capacity to cultivate (not just tolerate) variety in its internal structure. As he explains, “Failure to do so leads to inability to cope successfully with variety when it is introduced from outside.”


A wonderful example of this is a fish in a bowl. Here, it can swim, breed, and obtain food with minimal effort. There are no predators, but at the exact same time the fish is very sensitive to the slightest disturbances. On the other hand, fish in the sea work harder to sustain themselves. They have to evade many threats and can cope with more variations. Therefore, they are more robust when faced with change.


Now, equilibrium is a precursor of disaster must be assessed in the context of scale and time. In a small scale and a short time period, equilibrium is desirable. However, in a large scale, and long time period, equilibrium is hazardous because the environment is always changing. Furthermore, prolonged equilibrium dulls an organizations “to arouse itself appropriately in the face of danger.”


Therefore, one must ask the following question: “Why don’t all living systems spiral into the thrall of equilibrium and die?” The answer lies in two countervailing forces of nature, namely the threat of death, the eternal Darwinian struggle for survival, and the promise of sex, the recombination that introduces genetic diversity


According to Darwin, species do not evolve of their own accord. They change because of forces, indeed threats, imposed on them from the environment. This is caused by “selection pressures.” These selective pressures increase during periods of radical upheaval. Thus, when challenged to adapt too far from their origin and are unable to do so, a species will disappear. Sometimes, a species can do an “ecological upgrade” via having the ability to mutate and survive. The result is that they can fit better into the new environment.


The other solution is to these challenges is the promise of sex. Sex is nature’s second defense against stagnation. If being homogeneous creates vulnerability, then through sex there is the possibility of structural recombination which maximizes diversity. The classic business example of this element is when we routinely bring in outside people to work for the company. This “fresh blood” brings in a problem, too. We forget that external DNA challenges the existing social order. Often, the result is that the corporate body will identify the “foreign influences” and seek to neutralize them. In nature, these are called “equilibrium enforcers.” There are many of them out there right now.


This week, reflect on the principle that “equilibrium is a precursor to death”, and discuss this concept with your team.


Have a great week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, September 21, 2009

People management

THEME: Transformation in the Midst of 2009

FOCUS: People management


Monday morning: September 21, 2009


Dear friends,


Performance management and managing talent are the new buzz words for the fall. They are hot topics in every corner office in the country. While the best companies began working on this back in ‘05 - ‘07, if not before, every one else has hopped on this band wagon now and started to focus on these issues. I routinely get calls from current and perspective clients where the major problem is the lack of a performance management system. But, if the best companies were working on this nearly 4-5 years ago, what are they doing now?


As I wrote in last week’s Monday Thoughts, the best are building community. In particular, they are attempting to build and maintain healthy social relationships and networks. Still, when I reflect, visit and dig into what exactly the senior executives are doing, I discover that they also are returning to some important but not necessarily flashy or best seller level work, namely redefining or rebuilding clarity about mission and purpose.


We live in a world which has been shaken, if not stirred, during the last 12 months. People have been in denial about our interconnectedness and have been moving at rocket speed for so long that the recession over the last 12 months has really shaken up their perception of themselves and their world. As a result, some people are feeling overwhelmed and depressed. Others are numb from it all. Some are keeping themselves busy in order to maintain their denial. Finally, those who are still employed after all of the layoffs and restructurings, are attempting to stay under the radar screen. They are survivors and they are swamped by doing all of the work of others plus their own piles.


The big question many are asking this month is simple and complex: “Why?” In a fragmented world where hope is lost and struggles abound, many people are questioning their own self-worth and the worth of the work they are doing.


Here is where performance management needs a sound foundation because having a workable system will not make a difference unless there is a clear reason for why we do what we do. In successful companies, clarity of mission or purpose is the bedrock of everything else, especially people management. It creates focus and clarity. When combined with a well designed set of core values, it can help people not only know what to do and how to do it, but also why we do what we do.


Recently, I was visiting with a new manager at a company I have worked with for many years. I asked him what he had learned after 6 months. He said to me that the mission and core values are talked about at every meeting. “They are not words on the wall around here,” he explained. “They are really used to make decisions.” I smiled because I find this happens in all of the best organizations. It also is the critical difference to making performance management work so well. When a matrix for decision making is in place, then a performance management systems works so much better than if it is just a system for setting goals and checking on goals.


This week, go back and review how you are creating clarity about the mission of your organization. Also, continue to talk about mission and core values as you build or rebuild your organization’s performance management system.


Enjoy your week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Monday, September 14, 2009

Stakeholder Engagement

THEME: Transformation in the Midst of 2009

FOCUS: Stakeholder Engagement


Monday morning: September 14, 2009


Dear friends,


For years, I have sat in meetings, listening to executives talk about the importance of connecting with external stakeholders. I have also listened to them discuss how to connect better with employees. In each meeting, the desire to have a deeper relationship is genuine, and the recognition that making a connection of this nature is important. But, often the end result is bogus events or very lame initiatives.


Henry Mintzberg, the John Cleghorn Professor of Management Studies at McGill University in Montreal, writes a wonderful article in the July-August 2009 issue of the Harvard Business Review called “Rebuilding Companies as Communities.” As he explains, “Beneath the current economic crisis lies another crisis of far greater proportions: the depreciation in companies of community - people’s sense of belonging to and caring for something larger than themselves. Decades of short-term management, in the United States especially, have inflated the importance of CEOs and reduced others in the corporation to fungible commodities - human resources to be ‘downsized’ at the drop of a share price. The result: mindless reckless behavior that has brought the global economy to its knees.”


Mintzberg notes that the critical element to building or rebuilding community is with middle managers. He believes they are the ones “who see the connections between operations and strategy” and “can be instrumental in rebuilding a sense of community in businesses.” He also is a strong proponent of building trust in the work place and the development of a “robust, compelling” culture.


When I reflect on the successful companies that I have worked with during the last 12 months, it has become exceptionally clear to me that they are focusing now on midlevel managers. The best were doing this work before the recession and it is very clear that they will continue to do this work after the recession. In particular, they are expanding the knowledge and skill sets of their midlevel managers in the following manner.


First, they are routinely entering into strategic level dialogues with them. Starting in small groups, they are visiting about what the company is doing and why. They explore the trends that are transforming the organization and the ones that are emerging. This is not a once in a blue moon exercise but a regular process that is done, when possible depending on the size of the company, in a face to face manner. It is an investment that yields very sound results over time.


Second, rather than thinking that the CEO and the senior managers have all of the answers, the best companies are engaging their midlevel managers and front line people in proactive problem solving. This level of tactical and strategic level reflection and action generates trust on many different levels and as well as expands perspective.


Third, they are dealing with their problem people and problematic systems. Remember Kevin Cashman’s insight: “Leaders get what they exhibit and tolerate.” From my perspective, the same is true with companies. If they do not deal with their toxic people, they will not see the rise of a purpose filled community and a new and more healthy level of interaction between all stakeholders.


Finally, they have the courage to continue their own learning. The phrase “lifelong learning” is not an abstract concept in the best companies this fall. They understand that reflection and learning generate clarity and perspective. They also create the bonds that unite people when the learning is done together.


This week, step back from the work of the moment and ask yourself how you are creating community in the workplace. If we want to create a greater level of engagement, we, ultimately, have to build a work place where caring for each other and the quality of the work we do is paramount to success.


Have a great week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Customer Service

THEME: Transformation in the Midst of 2009

FOCUS: Customer Service


Tuesday morning: September 8, 2009


Dear friends,


As we approach the one year anniversary of this current recession, some organizations are still lost and struggling. Like deer in the proverbial headlights, they are close to panic. Fear abounds and clarity is lacking.


Other companies are beginning to see some light at the end of the tunnel and praying it is not the arrival of another train. They are entering this fall with a touch of hope and optimism. For them, flat is the new up and they are delighted to still be in existence.


As all of this is taking place, I am invariably curious about the companies who are doing well in spite of all that has happened. These organizations and their exceptional leadership teams are focused, and on track to meet their short and long term goals. They understand what is happening and yet remain dedicated to being successful. As John Roederer and David Christensen reminded me when I spoke last week to all of the teachers and staff at the

Mount Pleasant Community School District, their motto is simple: “high expectations, no excuses.” I like this statement because it is so direct and clear.


When I look at the successful, high expectations and no excuses companies and organizations at this time period, I note that their success revolves around the quality of their customer service. Now for decades we have known that quality customer service is a key factor in organizational success. And there have been endless seminars, consultations, workshops and books printed to prove or sell this point. But I believe there is a difference that is critical to the current success that some companies are experiencing.


The best companies now have moved beyond providing good customer service and are instead partnering with customers and their social networks. While this may seem like I am playing with words, I believe there is a profound difference between providing good customer service and partnering with a customer. In the former, the focus is on what we offer and what we do. We think up what is best and they follow us. The customer is the recipient of our efforts and actions. In the later, the focus is on how we mutually create the right solutions given their challenges or problems. Rather than assume that all intelligence is centralized with the provider, a partnership is a based on respect and understanding. In a partnership, we co-create the solution and then co-create the implementation. Through partnership, we generate more sustainable and less transactional solutions and interactions.


This week, step back from the piles of paperwork, meetings and e-mail. Reflect on what partnering with consumers and customers plus their social networks would look like in your circle of influence.


Have a fantastic week,


Geery


Geery Howe, M.A.
Consultant, Executive Coach, Trainer in
Leadership, Strategic Planning and Organizational Change

Morning Star Associates
319 - 643 - 2257