Welcome to the June 2010 edition of Strategic Innovation newsletter, a free monthly newsletter on leadership, strategy and innovation. Delivered on the first Tuesday of each month.

Back issues are archived for free downloading at www.DanielLockConsulting.com.

Tips for improving business processes

• The recent BP oil catastrophe is a good example of risk management. Alwayshave a preventative plan in place and contingencies in the event thingsgo wrong. Always remember, contingent actions are more expensive than preventative.
• Service organisations usually have two majorconstraints, interface and resource/activity. Identify and crack thoseinterface constraints. They are often the cause of significant delaysand customer dissatisfaction.
• On a personal note, giveyourself permission to apply good work flow systems at home too. Stressand disorganisation will carry over to work, and vice versa.

4 Key concepts to process improvement

Your business operations can only go as fast as your process. Sure you mighthave slow and unproductive people, but the likelihood that a whole teamwould be poor performers is very unusual.

Managers talk about the ‘sales process,’ or the ‘reconciliation process.’ Butwhen it comes to the application of the principles of good work flowand improvement they say; ‘but were different.’

No, you’re not. I’ve heard it a thousand times.

I think the reason people negatively react and believe they are specialis because they don’t want the spirit taken out of their work. Ibelieve this is because all of the efficiency experts out there talk ofstandardisation. Who wants to be standard? No one!

Here are four key principles you can apply to improve process without losing creativity:

1. Specialisation versus Standardisation:

The first key is to understand, what good process calls for is firstand foremost, is specialisation. This is the concept of the ‘divisionof labour.’ Our whole free market is built on it. Every industrialisedeconomy will automatically move to this, given it is the mostproductive use of capital.

So don’t talk about standardising people, talk to your people aboutmaking them specialists. For example lately I have been working withsales departments, in complicated high-end, high value transactions.

Why are they entering data into systems, and doing and inordinateamount of administration when they should be out selling? After allthat’s their speciality: to have conversations with clients.

2. Standardise the work flow instead

Rather than focus on the individual and their work, focus instead onstandardising the work flow. Standard forms and templates to make theadministration and order fulfilment easier, with higher quality.

Have standard routings for work, a means of tracking that work. So makesure you understand where the process flows through resources andactivities. Either or both could present constraints in your work flowprocess.

3. Centralised scheduling

When people are busy specialising in their particular activities (forexample, in the field having conversations with client), they are notable to communicate very easily with the rest of the team andactivities happening (the system level). Nor should they.

Here what is required is to assign someone to scheduling, where theyspecialise in prioritising work that is released into the system,monitoring work as it flows through the process, bringing in andassigning resources to particular activities as required.

This person’s role is to synchronise the respective specialists.

4. Strong management

Henry Ford’s production line brought home the concept of division oflabour and the incredible efficiency it can bring. But it requiredmanagement. Strong management to tie all the separate pieces together,this wasn’t mastered until some 50 or 60 years later by Toyota.

I’m often loathe to talk about the car industry in my examples as mostof my consulting work is in the services industry and it only causesthe very obvious ‘but we’re different’ (see above.) But here theexample is apt. It’s hard to bring all this together.

Strong management decisions are required to allocate finite resources,the temptation is to do this in a soloed fashion and not on the systemlevel. A focus on efficiency in any one part of the organisation cancause bottle necks up and down stream.

Correct incentives and measurements are required, and good quality management information is required.

Bottom line:

All processes, even if it’s just one person, requires all of theseprinciples to be applied is it’s to be the most productive. A focus on specialisation, standard work flows, scheduling, and good management decisions.

Technique of the month: Managing yourself

Studies show that multi-tasking lowers your IQ more than smoking pot. So in theinterest of our IQ, and improving results think about these tips toavoid multi-tasking

1. The efficiency cost of moving from one activity to anotheris massive. Therefore batch activities in the appropriate bite sizedchunks.
2. Chunk activities, spending extended periods of time on one thing at a time, without interruption
3. Spend a block of time once a week, being your own personal workfloworganiser. Don’t actually do any work, just plan and organise.
4. Take advantage of those weird times to do the little activities. Forexample, waiting for a flight at the airport, get a couple of calls oremails done. This requires a portable list you can carry wi\th you soyou can tick it off when done.

Welcome to the May 2010 edition of Strategic Innovation newsletter, a free monthly newsletter on leadership, strategy and innovation. Delivered on the first Tuesday of each month.

Back issues are archived for free downloading at www.DanielLockConsulting.com

Tips for improving business processes

• Do it, delegate it, or defer it (add it to list to do later), but get it out of the inbox. Get it out of there.
• Createa sense of urgency for yourself and you team, stop being a victim andtolerating bad processes. Instead set up time to tackle and solve themhead on.
• Set up a work-flow coordinator for your team,this person will gather the work in one place and choke the release ofwork into the system, monitoring what is not done (Work in Progress -WIP). This step alone usually adds 20% capacity uplift.

3 Phases of work

Manyif not most of us rarely if ever think about the ‘process’ of work. Idon’t necessarily mean the processes of a business, something I deal inand consult on everyday, but the actual process of our own individualwork.

The agreements that we each are responsible for, the ones we signed up for.

Thinkingabout and analysing the way actually work is foreign to us, andintrospection is difficult at the best of times. When it comes to work,much of your time is spent in an overwhelming deluge of interruptions,phone calls, emails, and taps on the shoulders, in the course of aregular day.

It’s helpful to take some time to reflect on the process of work. There are essential 3 phases of doing ‘work.’

1. Doing ‘predefined’ work

Thisis the meetings you have to go to, the emails you must send to aclient, the calls you must make. All of these should be pre-defined andready to be actioned from a list somewhere, or your calendar (acalendar is just another form of a list.)

2. Doing work as it shows up

Theseare the phone calls, the tap on the shoulder from a colleague or boss,the emergency meeting and so on. You are re prioritising on the spotand deciding to this instead of pre defined work.

3. Defining work to be done.

Thisis the processing of in trays, emails inboxes, note books and so on.This is talking time to view your system as a whole and the commitmentsyou have and deciding on next actions and when and how they should bedone. Some actions maybe done there and then, others will be added tothe inventory of actions to be done later.

Thisis also the role of the work-flow coordinator for the team, butsometimes we need to stand aside to and do some work-flow coordinatingfor ourselves as individuals.

The insight is this: It’s all work. Oneof the most commons things people will say when resisting setting up aPersonal Effectiveness system is. “I don’t have time to define work (orplan).”

Whetherit’s doing the work pre defined, as it shows up or defining the work,its all work, and to a degree your doing it anyway. Just not structuredand consciously.

Whenand who must to do what work at any one time is the role of the manager(capacity planning), and is essentially the trade off – the ‘art’ ofwork if you like. Again you need to do the same for yourself, if yourabove capacity, you must renegotiate your commitments, drop some, orget some help.

Youcan’t really do more than one of each of the phases or work at a time,you need to devote some time to the care and nurture of your systems,the planning, defining the work in your life (personal andprofessional.)

Whether it’s managing a team of yourself, there is an eternal challenge of managing scarce resources with alternative uses.

Technique of the month: 4 Reasons for meetings

Lastweek I spent most of the time with a team running through and settingup their personal systems. To set up your own following thisstep-by-step guide:

1. Clear a space for 3 buckets, 1. You want and need, 2. You want to keep but don’t use every day, 3. chuck in the bin
2. Foreverything else that’s in your head, write down each item as an action,one sentence per idea, on a post it note. Dump these in an in-tray.
3. Process the first lot, chucking what is in bucket 3, filing bucket two, and keeping to had what’s in bucket one.
4. For all the things that were in you head, process each one and ask what should I do with this? What’s the very next action?

Is it:

• A project? Write it on a project list.
• A call to be made? Write it on the calls list.
• An email to send? Write it on the computer list.

Keep your lists somewhere easy and portable, and that you can tick off when done.

Work the lists.

You will now be well on the way to have a structured system setup for yourself.

Welcome to the February 2010 edition of Strategic Innovation newsletter, a free monthly newsletter on leadership, strategy and innovation. Delivered on the first Tuesday of each month.

Back issues are archived for free downloading at www.DanielLockConsulting.com.

Tips for improving business processes

• Quality is possible and rework eliminated when the causes of the errors are removed.
• Combining operations, moving people closer together, or automation can minimize the moving of documents and information.
• Waiting time can be minimized by combining operations, balancing work loads, or automation.
• Identifying root causes reduces trouble-shooting.
• The increase in complexity results in increasing difficulties everywhere as activities, decisions, relationships, and essential information become more difficult to understand and more difficult to manage.

Innovation Nation

Strategic Innovation Newsletter

Welcome to the October 2009 edition of Strategic Innovation newsletter, a free monthly newsletter on leadership, strategy and innovation. Delivered on the first Tuesday of each month.

Back issues are archived for free downloading at www.DanielLockConsulting.com.

Tips for improving business processes

• Bureaucracy often creates excessive paperwork in the office
• Managers typically spend 40 to 50 percent of their time writing and reading job-related material; 60 percent of al clerical work is spent on checking, filing, and retrieving information, while only 40 percent is spent on important process-related tasks.
• Evaluate and minimize all delays, red tape, documentation, reviews and approvals
• Management reduces bureaucracy by starting with a directive. The directive informs management and employees that each approval signature and review active will be financially justified, that reducing total cycle time is a key business objective, and any non-value added activities will be targeted for elimination.
• A bureaucracy step should be left in only if there is a sizeable, documented savings from the activity.

The 10 cornerstone tools to streamlining

The world of business innovation and strategic planning is ever-changing and always evolving into something new and exciting. Does your business have the strategic agility to survive the world-wide recession of 2009 and onward?

“It’s an ever-changing world,” you’ve heard the statement, but has it really sunk in yet? The world of business innovation and strategic planning is ever-changing and always evolving into something new and exciting.

Does your business have the strategic agility to survive the world-wide recession of 2008 and onward? Intelligent business owners understand the importance of modifying business strategies to embrace innovative ideas and survive.

For example, businesses that once operated from U.S. based call centers found that outsourced work to overseas call centers saved a lot of money and was a sound business decision 7 to 10 years ago.

Customer service became difficult simply because of the language barrier. Unhappy customers would move to another business that hired native English speaking employees.

More recently, the same U.S. based business may have come to realize that the work outsourced overseas is better and more easily managed by employees working from their home office. Even though the businesses may pay higher wages to home-based workers than they would to overseas employees, overhead was cut dramatically.

Taking the opportunity to hire and train employees who could effectively handle customer service from their home office relieved the stress of expensive building upkeep and other bills involved with operating from a large brick-and-mortar business location.

Customer service and retention are up because more workers are native English speakers and the communication gap isn’t a hindrance to customers when they call for assistance.

Strategic skills and competent business planning worked hand in hand to save the corporate world once again.

That was just one tiny example of how successful strategic planning can see your business through even the toughest economic troubles. Businesses around the world search for the perfect employees to fit their needs.

Smart CEOs and general managers embrace the idea of hiring people who are innovative thinkers and will help implement the ideas they propose. Tactical and strategic thinkers help businesses succeed and grow, no matter the economic outlook world-wide.

What is Strategic Agility and Why is it Important?
Strategic agility is the ability to transform knowledge competency into innovative ideas; the ability to successfully reinvent businesses over and over again.

Business, like everything else in life, is ever-evolving. In order to succeed at any type of business, you must have the flexibility, strategic skills and competent business planning to change as needed.

No single marketing plan will work forever.

Take a look at some of the most well-known businesses over the last 100 years. Would the soda companies be successful today if they hadn’t changed their look and tastes over the years?

Imagine for a moment if Coke didn’t take their businesses world-wide. Their success wouldn’t be nearly as obvious as it is today.

How Change Drives Growth and Success
Business is a game you learn as you go. Not one single CEO can say they haven’t learned a lot on the road to success. Business colleges do a great job preparing you for things that may happen, but the ability to really strategize and plan ahead aren’t something you can learn in school.

Common sense, innovative ideas and great business competency create strategic agility; the ability to grow and change your business into something that will last. Change is imminent, embrace it and let it guide your business strategies.

Look to the future by learning from the past. History repeats itself and as long as we are able to recognize and learn from the mistakes of failed businesses of the past, we will continue to grow and succeed.

Don’t let short-term success blind you to the long-term effects of any business decision you make. Always be willing to change and grow!

Strategic Agility, Flexibility & Speed
These four ideals, above all else, can help ensure a successful business. Strategic agility is much more than the ability to adapt to change. You must also know how to respond to change with strategic vision and competent knowledge. You must understand when it is time to dump old business strategies and recreate new ones.

Move on from existing competencies and create your own business rules. Focus on hiring people with who are good at creating new and different winning business strategies.

Flexibility and speed often go hand-in-hand to create the ideal workplace. Most businesses only welcome new business ideas from upper management.

Why? Because those are the people who have earned their way to the top; they’ve been to top notch colleges and are well-educated. Unfortunately, sometimes education isn’t enough. Some of your best business ideas may come from employees from anywhere in the company.

Start by asking your management teams, as well as the executive team, to help by creating new and different ideas or present potential business plans.

By allowing innovation to come forward you open yourself and your business to a whole new world of legitimate new trends and potentially wildly successful business ideas.

Technique of the month: Involve your people

Innovation is all about doing something new and different, and doesn’t necessarily mean spending more money. More often it just means slaughtering some sacred cows.

Below are three quetions to ponder, from the Theory of Constraints (TOC):

• What to change?
• What to change to?
• How to cause the change?

Strategic Innovation Newsletter

Welcome to the September 2009 edition of Strategic Innovation newsletter, a free monthly newsletter on leadership, strategy and innovation. Delivered on the first Tuesday of each month.

Back issues are archived for free downloading at www.DanielLockConsulting.com.

Follow Me, Follow You

I’m getting more into the online marketing space.

You can a find a page at Facebook and also LinkedIn.

Look forward to an online hand shake!

Tips for improving business processes

• Improvement of a process means changing a process to make it more effective, efficient, and adaptable.
• Preventing means you change the process to ensure that errors never reach the customer.
• Excelling means that the process works, it is stable, and meets customer requirements.
• Bureaucracy is bad, boring, burdensome, and brutal.

The 10 cornerstone tools to streamlining

Innovation is carried out by many Australian businesses both big and small. The ABS in its summary of IT Use and Innovation in Australian Businesses for 2005-2006, reported that 38.9% of Australian businesses are implementing innovation.

According to the report, approximately 21% of businesses are introducing new operational processes. About the same proportion (19%) are introducing new goods and services, while new marketing methods are being introduced by 14% of businesses. However, most of these are large businesses: 74% of those that implemented innovation employed over 200 people, while only 49% of those with 5 – 19 employees did so.

In terms of broad industry categories, those implementing an innovation during the period were manufacturing (45%), services (38%) and mining (36%)

Facts and Statistics

Results of the ABS 2005-2006 Business Characteristics Survey (BCS) revealed some significant statistics. In this survey, the Health and Community Services and Personal and Other Services were included as additional sectors. It also expanded the survey population by including those with 0-4 employees.

This change in the survey population and the level of stratification made the current results different from those of previous years so data contained in the two years should not be compared.

Innovation can be classified into four. These are product innovation (goods and services), process innovation, marketing innovation and organizational innovation.

“An innovation is the implementation of a new or significantly improved product (goods or services), or process, a new marketing method, or a new organizational method in business practices, workplace organization or external relations.” To be considered an innovation, the process or method must be new or a significant improvement of that already in place.

The Four Types of Innovation

1. Product innovation refers to new or significantly improved goods and services as to their characteristics or intended uses. Examples are significant improvements in components, materials, technical specifications, ease of use, the software involved or any other functional characteristic.
2. Process innovation refers to changes in production or delivery methods, including equipment and/or software and innovative techniques.
3. Organisational innovation refers to new organisational methods that are implemented in workplace organisation, business practices and external relations.
4. Marketing innovation involves new marketing techniques that involve changes in product packaging or design, product placement, product pricing or promotion.

In summary, then, a significant number of large Australian businesses are innovative in nature, while smaller companies tend to be less so. Innovation is a must for any business that wishes to retain their market share, or even improve it, in difficult financial times such as these.

Innovation can save money and increase productivity, and there are few doubts that new product designs are attractive to the consumer.

Technique of the month: Involve your people

Innovation is all about doing something new and different, and doesn’t necessarily mean spending more money. More often it just means slaughtering some sacred cows.

Below are three quetions to ponder, from the Theory of Constraints (TOC):

• What to change?
• What to change to?
• How to cause the change? 

Welcome to the August 2009 edition of Strategic Innovationnewsletter, a free monthly newsletter on leadership, strategy and innovation. Delivered on the first Tuesday of each month.

Back issues are archived for free downloading at www.DanielLockConsulting.com.

Follow Me, Follow You

I’m getting more into the online marketing space.

You can a find a page at Facebook and also LinkedIn.

Look forward to an online hand shake!

Tips for improving business processes

• Streamlining suggests the trimming of waste and excess, attention to every little detail that might lead to improved performance and quality.
• Streamlining provides a smooth flow.
• With streamlining, the process will operate with the least disturbance to its surroundings.
• Improvement of a process means changing a process to make it more effective, efficient, and adaptable.
• Preventing means you change the process to ensure that errors never reach the customer.

The 10 cornerstone tools to streamlining

 1. Eliminate bureaucracy

Bureaucracy occurs as organizations grow, because as each manager gets busier they hire someone new, which is fine, except they don’t hand off the decision making authority. After a few years of this ‘up and down the chain’ movement, you have bureaucracy.

2. Eliminate duplication

One of the most common places where duplication can be identified is in reporting or information. Always strive for having one point of truth, which can be accessed on demand, rather than having someone prepare this information.

3. Determine what adds value to the process

Evaluate every activity in the business process to determine its contribution to 
meeting customer requirements.

4. Simplify

As humans we have an innate tendency to over complicate things. The quickest way to simplify, is to ask the key question: “What are we trying to do?” In other words, if in doubt start with objectives. Confusion and complexity usually come about through a discussion of alternatives before the objectives have been understood.

5. Think Rapid Response

Determine ways to compress cycle time to meet or exceed customer expectations and minimize storage costs. All ‘waiting’ time is wasted time. Waiting doesn’t add value to the customer; it makes them think you have forgotten them. 

6. Use software and systems properly

Make effective use of capital equipment and the working environment to improve overall performance. There is a saying in the property development game about using land for the ‘highest and best use’, apply this to systems, equipment and software too.

The corollary of this is to not become technology centric. Rather technology must enable us to improve the process not introduce more problems.

7. Make it difficult to do the activity incorrectly

Then you don’t need quality checking, because it’s already done. Think of those ‘mandatory for completion’ fields in applications.

8. Reduce the complexity of the way we write and talk

Enough said.

9. Standardise – select a single way to do the activity

This means involving the key players in defining the ‘operational definitions’ and agreeing that there is in fact a best practice and consistent approach on how to do a particular task.

10. Involve your suppliers in your business

Create a structure and policy that encourages supplier feedback and partnership ‘big picture’ improvement – look for creative ways to drastically change the process to automate and mechanise. 
  

Technique of the month: Involve your people

Process is all about people. People running the process know more about your business processes than the CEO ever will. But remember to follow these three key rights of the worker, and they will be loyal to the end;

• I know what to do
• I know how to do it
• I know how I am going against targets set for me

Welcome to the July 2009 edition of Strategic Innovation newsletter, a free monthly newsletter on leadership, strategy and innovation. Delivered on the first Tuesday of each month.

Back issues are archived for free downloading at www.DanielLockConsulting.com.

Follow Me

I’m getting more into the online marketing space.

You can a find a page at Facebook and also LinkedIn.

Look forward to an online hand shake!

Top Ten Ways to Show Appreciation to Staff

A longitudinal study done by George Mason University in the ’50s, ’60’s, ’70s, and ’80s and probably in the ’90s as well, asks workers, “What motivates you?” The results did not vary throughout the 40 or 50 year period of time.

Are you curious what motivates people who work for other people? Reread the title of this article and you have the answer of what to do before you know what the number one motivator is!

The answer seems to be true whether you are the cleaner, the delivery driver, or the boss. If you are the owner, secretary,or manager, you are part of the staff where you work.

If you are a stay-at-home Mum, a one person home based business or a volunteer, you are part of the staff.

The number one answer, decade after decade, to what motivates people is“Appreciation of my work.”

The answer is probably not surprising to you because it is likely you also hold appreciation of your work in high esteem.

One thing I propose is that the appreciation need not always come from “above.”

Appreciation of work is invaluable coming from all directions!

A smart leader will teach staff to give appreciation to one another as well as look for it from the top.

With that introduction, the following are a few ideas to stimulate your thinking and encourage you to give sincere appreciation daily to every person on your staff and to encourage them to “Out Honor” each other, too!

Top Ten Ways to Show Appreciation to Staff

Think of staff as EVERYONE who contributes to the bottom line!

ONE: Say, “Wow!”

Allow yourself to be impressed on occasion.

Note such occurrences as longevity, perseverance, thoughtfulness, imagination, determination, desire and honesty. The list goes on!

When you notice something someone does, give them a, “Wow! You really impress me with your ….!” or “Wow! How do you ….?”

TWO: Say, “Please!”

I bet someone told you the same.

If the word is magic, why not use it profusely, habitually and zealously?

It is amazing how one word can so easily show appreciation.

THREE: Say, “Thank You!”

Speaking of one word — my Dad taught me that if one works well, maybe two will work even better.

The context might be different, but when you make the effort to use one word, the two words, “Thank You!” naturally become a way to put a bow on your gift of appreciation!

FOUR: Ask, “Did You Know ?”

Sometimes a straightforward approach helps you achieve the simplest of goals. What would happen if you walked up to someone at work and asked, “Did you know I appreciate what you just did?” When you receive a blank look back, be sure to add, “Well I do!”

FIVE: Ask, “How Did It Go?”

The question “How did it go?” need not be reserved for debriefing the tough tasks. The question, when given with sincerity and a listening ear is a remarkable way to
show appreciation.

You are showing concern and confidence.

SIX: Ask, “Could You Help Me?”

Sometimes the paradox works well!

Asking for help can show you are confident in the person’s abilities.

This probably doesn’t count in situations of wanting a cup of coffee.

When you ask for help, be sure to be a part of the team completing the task if you want to show appreciation.

SEVEN: Ask, “What Do You Think?”

Everyone who contributes to the bottom line probably has at least one idea that makes a positive difference in the work you do. Asking indicates your belief and confidence that they do care and have what it takes to make a difference.

EIGHT: Step Forward and “Open the Door!”

Politeness, thoughtfulness and helpfulness are great appreciation communicators.

Next time you notice something fall to the floor, someone approach a door, or stuff needing to be moved, respond to that gentle nudge inside yourself that says, “Pick it up!” or “Open the door!” or “Get up and give a hand.”

NINE: Say, “You Make a Difference!”

When attention is given to the bottom line with most every move you make, it is nice to know someone realizes you are also a person!

Let someone where you work know that you notice that they make a difference — not for what they do, but for who they are.

TEN: Ask, “What’s Your Plan?”

Bosses often fail to ask staff, “What’s your plan?” Denial might be a big reason. After all, your plan might be to learn all you can and move on in a year!

Regardless of longevity, each person’s plan influences your workplace. Encouraging people to talk about plans might also stimulate dreams that can make your workplace and even better place to work.

This works for short term daily plans as well as life goals.

Technique of the month: Perspective

So much of the current economic uncertainty is about perception. People allowing fears to get in the way of effective decision making. Banks scared to lend money, SME businesses afraid to grow.

Unemployment is at 5.6% or there abouts and tipped to go 8%, only a few years ago 6% was thought as being unobtainable.

I read recently that you could have bought GE in the states for $2 per share, and now its at $12. Some people, those who aren’t afraid did.

It’s time to gain some perspective.

Technique:

• Ask yourself, where are you holding back and allowing fear to stop you from moving forward.
• Define what is at the root of he fear.
• Clear the emotion out, name it and let it go.

Businesses make money by supplying products and services of value. Get out there and supply some value, and be aggressive. Buy GE at $2.

Strategic Innovation Newsletter

Welcome to the May edition of Strategic Innovation newsletter, a free monthly newsletter on leadership, strategy and innovation. Delivered on the first Tuesday of each month.

Back issues are archived for free downloading atwww.DanielLockConsulting.com.

15 Tips For Leading In Freaked-Out Times.

1. Leaders create order from chaos.

If there is no chaos, then there is nothing to put into order and, therefore no energy and creativity.

2. The leader is rarely — possibly never? — the best performer.

Leaders are field marshals, organising resources and talent. They are rarely the best performer, always looking for smart people (smarter than them) and put them to work at what they are good at.

3. Leaders make it happen.

Like the pizza man, leaders deliver. In heady times, cool and flash count. Now it’s all about performance, improved behaviour and outcomes.

4. Leaders design their own future.

Design your next five years, decide to be a leader, or find a leader to work for, as only leaders survive.

5. Leaders triumph through orchestration.

Great quote from Tom Peters: “Vision, sure. Strategy, yes. But when you go to war, you need to have both toilet paper and bullets at the right place at the right time. In other words, you must win through superior logistics…”

6. Leaders thrive on ambiguity.

What is going o happen I the next five years? Who knows? But we know this for sue. They will be a roller coaster ride; the recovery will be dramatic and swift. Too many people down prepare for success.

Making fact based decisions will be important, but what about making them on less than complete and accurate data. Leaders wallow in ambiguity.

7. Leaders improvise.

Change is with us, it’s always been wit us. In the nineties it was the Internet. We learnt to deal with that. Now it’s social media. Leaders need to understand the fundamentals (there are no ‘new’ fundamentals) and integrate them with the new environment.

Be ready to move and adapt. Re-structure, refine, adapt and change. 

8. Leaders trust their instincts.

Usually our intuition is actually more rational then we think. More often it is more accurate on the down side, and tend s to be overly optimistic on the upside.

If you aren’t feeling a sense of inspiration, stop wait, and look for more information. Leaders act from inspiration.

9. Leaders bring in different people.

Leaders know they need the right person for the right job, this creates diversity. Leaders bring in new people just to refresh the gene pool, if you need new thinking, go and acquire some new thinking. The first step is to open you mind to accept you need new thinking.

10. Leaders make mistakes — and make no bones about it.

Winston Churchill said it best: “Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.”

Most of us don’t get it right the first time, or the second, or third. That’s fine, at least you were trying and making a stand. As long as they were different mistakes.

Recognise mistakes early, deal with them, and then forget about them and move on.

11. Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders.

Successful leaders build leaders, they create environments that allow people to take risks, make mistakes with out fear of retribution. Leaders measure their success by how many leaders they develop.

12. Leaders wear their passion on their sleeve.

Tom Peters again: “There’s absolutely no question in my mind: Leaders dream in Technicolor. They see the world in brighter colors, sharper images, and higher resolution. Leadership, in the end, is all about having energy, creating energy, showing energy, and spreading energy. Leaders emote, they erupt, they flame, and they have boundless (nutty) enthusiasm. And why shouldn’t they? The cold logic of it is unassailable: If you do not love what you’re doing, if you do not go totally bonkers for your project, your team, your customers, and your company, then why in the world are you doing what you’re doing? And why in the world would you expect anybody to follow you?”

13. Leaders know: Energy creates momentum.

Every successful business, and project, requires momentum to keep it moving. But creating momentum, getting the project off the ground requires an enormous amount of energy. This is the role of the leaders, once it is in motion; the leaders job is guide it in the right direction and make the necessary course correction. Don’t underestimate the amount of energy required to create momentum. Benjamin Zander said it best: The job of the leader is to be a ‘dispenser of enthusiasm.’”

14. Leaders have courage.

Courage is the trait the ancient Greeks held to be the foundation of all other virtues. What’s the difference between an average leader and a great leader?

15. Leaders give respect.

Leaders care! Because they actual give a damn about what they are doing.
 

Technique of the month: The daily update

Use this when running multiple projects, or with new team members.

At the end of every work day, ask them to take 5-10min to do an update, any longer is too long and they are doing something wrong.

Answer these questions:

1. Jobs I did today and the results I got.
2. Challenges & problems that came up.
3. Questions I have for you.

Within 30 days you will have a good understanding how this person is working out.

Hire slow and fire fast. Take 60-90 days to get to know someone.

Welcome to the May edition of Strategic Innovation newsletter, a free monthly newsletter on leadership, strategy and innovation. Delivered on the first Tuesday of each month.

Back issues are archived for free downloading at www.DanielLockConsulting.com.

You Can’t Pass Laws to Enforce Good Judgment

It is sometimes discouraging to hear some people grumble about banning or monitoring internet access or e-mail. When asked why, they would quote a few incidents of abuse as justification for their actions.

Some people complain about internet decreasing productivity in organizations due to its uncontrolled use. Where is the evidence? Why should everyone be punished because of the actions of a few? What are the thought processes of those that legislate in this way?

It has been realised that this kind of attitude permeates all levels of business and society in general. Why can’t passengers be allowed to carry a child in his or her lap in the front seat of a taxi when school buses don’t have seat belts? Why should a business be obliged to submit sets of identical information to different government departments?

I attended a recent forum meeting comprising people esteemed in the field of ethics and business that discussed how social customs and ethics often combined and influenced legislation and regulations.

You Can’t Pass Laws for Judgment

You will not improve organisational efficiency and effectiveness by banning internet use because of inappropriate use by a few people.

We have all had experience of a bad attitude: poor service at a checkout,or abdominal treatment in a restaurant; being put on hold by a call center for 20 minutes or the petty official that delights in answering ‘no’. You can legislate for attitude no more than you can for judgment.

When you are hiring people you are looking for qualities that cannot be taught such as passion and enthusiasm for their work. You are also looking for judgment, but that is something that I believe can be taught.

Judgment is a Teachable Skill

Judgment is one of those skills that is useful in any calling – and it can be taught, and developed through proper training. The art of constructive thinking is not taught to most people, and many have poor judgment because of it. They cannot recognize a problem, evaluate it, assess the available information in an objective way and then come to a logical solution.

They can’t say that more information is needed – that “this is not right” -without being seen as negative and obstructive. People have to be able to say these things if they are to make sound decisions.

It is important the we identify poor judgment, and apply a process of training to rectify that before a lack of judgment affects our freedoms by imposition of unsound legislation and restrictions in our business,political and personal lives (How sad it is when I observe many people that do not achieve and succeed just because they put too many restrictions on themselves).

In today’s financial situation there are groups that seek to pass regulation without trying to seek out the root causes of the problems we are facing. Through poor judgment laws are being introduced that fool the people into believing things to be better than they are,trusting the poorly thought-out laws and not seeking out the root causes.

We must trust our own judgment as to with whom we entrust our futures, our investments and our businesses. Judgment is a skill – a very important and rewarding one, and it can be taught.

Technique of the month: Define the Problem

Good judgment, first requires you accurately define the problem. Next time you have a meaty problem note the following before jumping to conclusions.

1. Write out the problem in terms of its deviation from the desired performance.
2. Then in one column add what, where, when, and extent (how big).
3. In the next two columns write “IS” and “IS NOT:.
4. In each box write description of what the problem ‘is’ and ‘is not’ for each dimension of the problem (i.e the what, where, when, & extent).

Now you will have a fully described problem, and it will surely make it much easier to solve.

‘Helping Leaders build great organisations”

www.DanielLockConsulting.com

(C) Daniel Lock.

Strategic Innovation Newsletter

A free monthly newsletter on leadership, strategy and innovation.

Back issues are archived for free downloading at www.DanielLockConsulting.com.

Welcome

Welcome to the April edition of Strategic Innovation Newsletter, delivered on the first Tuesday of each month.

Last week I spoke at a networking event on how to thrive in these economic times, lots of questions and discussion, with the general consensus that now is the time to market more than ever. In order to do that you need to understand your customers. The following article of which I made a case study of was used in the speech. If you would like the link to the actual study, email me and let me know.

Best,

Dan

Inadequate Market Research: Why Business Strategies Fail

Inadequate market research is a major reason why business strategies fail. If a company wants to develop their brand, one of the most important things that it should establish is a reliable marketing research system.Customers buy or don’t buy a product for a certain reason, and it is essential for the future of your company that you understand what this reason is. What drives your customers?

Every marketer has two weapons that, when used correctly, can help him make good, informed decisions. These are intuition, or gut feeling, and hard facts: without both of these any decision is liable to fail through business strategies heading off in the wrong direction, with massive loss of resource and time, not to mention financial losses.

Inmany cases financial loss can be tolerated and recovered if the reasons for it is understood, but if it is not, and the company is spiralingout of control because of a misunderstanding of customer motivation,then it can frequently affect the brand. That is why is of such importance. What do people think of your brand?

Let’s have a look at a good example: that of Yalumba, an Australian wine company. Yalumba was selling well into the UK through Tesco and relyingheavily on their association with that supermarket chain, confident of their success because of the successful association. However, they began to be squeezed on margins, so had a close look at what was happening with Tesco, and were astounded at what they found.

They discovered that their brand was being marketed by Tesco as a commodity- offered on promotion and regarded by consumers as a good wine, but nothing special because it was generally offered at a special price.Their market research discovered that their brand was not considered good enough for special occasions because it was a Tesco ‘promotion’ wine.

It was not the consumer’s wine of choice, and there was little connection  between the consumer and the brand. This is a classic commodity trap,causing margin pressure, and not sustainable in the longer term. The company had created this problem of a commodity trap caused by a link between brand loyalty and promotions that led to an expectation of lower price and hence, ultimately, unsustainable low margins for Yalumba.

Apple,on the other hand, has the exact opposite recognition of brand amongst consumers that is referred to by Microsoft CEO, Steve Balmer, as “the $500brand”, where Apple is priced $500 more than their competitors. This is brand equity in spades, and exactly where Apple wants to be – and perhaps where Yalumba also want to be.

But where do you want to be? With Yalumba or with Apple: do you want your brand to be recognized as a commodity or as something special?Understanding your market is essential, and good market research will enable you to pitch your brand exactly where you want it to be.

Technique of the month: Conduct Your Customer Focus Group

This month, conduct you own Customer Focus Group.

1. Randomly Select 40 of your customers
2. Invite them to a morning or afternoon session to get feedback on your business.
3. Prepare a series of open questions about how well you meet their objectives.
4. Capture the results.
5. Write them up, email them back the clients with a thankyou note and the actions you will be taking as a result.