A or B?

It’s a simple enough question, should we go with option A or B?

I think B.

What’s that you say?

Oh, maybe A would be better because of C, or D. So you think A then, right?

No?

Yes I see, there’s the chance that E will happen and then B would’ve been better after all. Hmmm.

Let’s just wait until the next meeting and then not make a decision then either. Cool.

Hear that noise? It’s the sound of the entire organisation spinning it’s wheels whilst you make up your mind.

The greatest gift a leader can have is the ability to decide.

I can’t find a direct quotation but I believe this comes from George C Marshall, 1880-1959, Nobel laureat 1953, Chief of Staff US Government 1939-1945 and originator of the “Marshall Plan”.

Neatly filed under Leading
Tags: decisions

Bringing a new product to market involves the product, the market and the bringing.

At some point on the journey, someone – that would be you then – decides it’s time to write a business plan. Time to crank open Word and Excel? Not yet.

Whether for a new product, a new business or a new period of the calendar, business planning has three distinct disciplines:

1. Data – what can we know?

There’s a lot of data points out there, the idea is to track down everything you can about the market and the competition. Don’t filter. Collect as much intelligence as possible, including: size, share, financials, products, new products, trends, lists, processes, names.

Next look inside. What can you know about your own organisation? Capacity, capability, financials, attention, focus. What are the strengths to build on and the risks to manage?

2. Discussion – what do we understand?

Time to crunch the data and get into detail about why things happen, what might happen and how they’re related. It’s critical to involve the people who will have to do the work. Getting the benefit from all the data demands a full and frank debate – this is no time for happy talk or leaving things unsaid. A robust plan is always based on robust thinking.

3. Decisions – what will we do?

Make decisions and, finally, commit the plan to writing. Words and numbers. Slides and spreadsheets. Powerpoint and Excel.

Anyone raising money (internally or externally) will probably need a longer piece of writing so allow a few more days for that long awaited appointment with Word. Whether you’re writing long or short, the process is identical.

Bringing a product to market actually involves bringing a company along too. A clear, well thought out plan puts the wheels on the bus.

Neatly filed under Leading,Managing
Tags: planning

What are you doing? Lots of stuff, right?

It’s easy to be seduced by action – doing all the whats of what we’re doing.

Image copyright: annnna

It feels good to be busy. It feels good to do stuff without thinking. To feel wanted. To roll along. To do.

So nice in fact that sometimes we get into things just because we can, or always have, or someone says please.

For one day only, see what happens if you ask yourself and your team, why?

1. It brings the what into focus
2. It defines success
3. We’re likely to be more motivated when we know why it matters
4. It releases creativity – for alternatives whats that get to the why better
5. It creates options and helps prioritise
6. A clear common cause aligns resources
7. Decisions are faster and firmer
8. It can save a lot of work – particularly if there is no why and you can stop, or not start

No getting away with “because I have to” or “you told me to” — to get the benefit you have to go deeper than that. Visit the why-stuff-happened world of root cause analysis to work out why stuff should happen.

The 5 Whys Method.

Legend has it that Sakichi Toyada, founder of Toyota Motor Corporation, invented and systematised the 5 whys method for engineers looking for the seat of a given problem, although anyone who’s been a kid knows that asking a bunch of whys is the way we’ve always learned. You can use his method to determine the future, not just analyse the past. Just ask why (about) five times.

I’m about to drive to Cambridge to attend a conference (the possible action)

• Why? – I need to connect with some people in our market (first why)
• Why? – To find some potential pilot sites for our next product (second why)
• Why? – We like to do live testing before we do any marketing (third why)
• Why? – We’re obsessed with quality (fourth why)
• Why? – The golden rule; treat others as you’d like to be treated. We don’t want to sell anything that hasn’t proved its worth in the real world and we know is up to the job (fifth why, root cause)

So going to Cambridge is the tactic that will fulfil some personal goals and further the strategy and values of the company. If the answer to number 2 was, “I always go, they expect me there”, I’d save myself an awfully long drive.

Whenever you need to commit resources, better know why.

Neatly filed under Leading,Managing
Tags: planning, resources, values

I’m in the market for a little outside help – which leads to the question, how to choose good people?

Whether looking for lawyers, accountants, developers, consultants, or anyone else, finding the right kind of help can be a challenge.

It seems to me the problem breaks down into three parts:

1. Deciding you actually need help in the first place
   In my world, I look for outside help when I know I want something done but I don’t have the vital ingredients of time, talent or inclination to do it myself.
   Time – like most people I’m pretty busy, there’s plenty of things I’m capable of but just can’t (or shouldn’t) prioritise the time to actually do.
   Talent – which really stands for talent or training. Some things I can’t do, like design or programming, whilst others I’m not qualified to do, like drafting contracts.
   Inclination – some things I could make time for and have the ability to do, but they’re just not high enough on my personal priority list. For example, B might need attention but all my focus is on A.
   There are obvious grey areas around things I could squeeze in, things I can do but am not very good at, and things I feel like doing but am not wholly committed to. Sometimes I have to force myself to be realistic.
   When I do decide to look for help the first port of call is always inside the organisation, there’s often someone looking for a challenge and who has the ingredients. But this article isn’t about them, so who?
2. Choosing the right people
   Two issues come to mind here – the right person to do what? and the right person? – that are often wrapped up together.
   Wouldn’t it be great if every time I needed help I knew exactly what was needed, I’d lay out the brief and ask for quotes. How much for this? Sometimes that even works. More often than not, working out exactly what needs to be done is actually part of what I need help with. What should we do?
   The harder the question, the more I have to rely on trust. Here’s my hit list in no particular order:
   1. A strong track record – can they point to their existing work or previous customers who can vouch for them?
   2. Informative – I like to work with people who know what they’re doing and can explain it in words I understand. This might mean a good web site or well written proposal but it certainly means someone who understands the why of what they do as well as the what.
   3. Attitude – will this person work in the trenches, getting elbow deep in mud if necessary?
   4. Focus – will they stay on point and get the job done, or would they rather be doing something else?
   5. Consistent – this is a catchall. Do they always turn up on time, sweat the small stuff, behave with courtesy and build their reputation in every meeting? In short, will they to continue to behave the way they did when we first met?
3. Getting along
   Having decided to get help, and then chosen the right help, it’s time to get specific and get the work done. Getting specific means deciding exactly what success looks like which normally happens after I’ve chosen my outsider and just before the actual work begins – it’s the final test. After that, it’s all about relationship and management.

The most common trap I’ve experienced is letting the project get off brief – both sides can be responsible.

Also, it’s easy to forget than even the most well paid, highly qualified and supremely confident person is still a person and likes to be told they’re doing a good job every now and again. If they’re not doing a good job, and they’re worth their salt, they like to know that too. In other words, managing an outsider is just like managing an insider.

There are certainly more robust ways of finding the right kind of help which are especially useful when making the most enormous decisions, but on the whole, the question that’s at the back of my mind whenever I’m sitting across the table from any kind of consultant is, “can I trust you?”

Neatly filed under Focus,Managing
Tags: consultants, hiring, Untitled

Image copyright: balakov

55 years ago tomorrow, 6th May 1954, Roger Bannister became the first man to break the 4 minute barrier, running the mile in 3:59.4. The report only made page 8 of the next day’s Times but it changed the world.

After being dropped six times during the war years the mile record was stuck. For nine years every attempt to push the record below four minutes had failed. Was the four minute barrier an absolute?

Bannister settled it. 46 days later Australia’s John Landy broke the mark again.

Now everyone realised what Bannister had known all along. The clock wasn’t the problem, there was no four minute barrier, they was only a psychological one.

Bannister was convinced that he could break through the barrier. His goal was clear, he had a plan, and used bucket loads of commitment and determination to see it through.

Organisations can suffer from old time milers’ fear; failing to deal with self imposed barriers.

He won’t support it, I’ll never get the budget, they won’t let me, I can’t call her, it’s too hard, it’s impossible.

But it is possible. Bannister showed the way; set out a clear goal, work out what has to be done, put the pieces in place, execute.

Neatly filed under Focus
Tags: mile, motivation, story