If you like technology or have had to buy it for your business, you know there are two camps. Camp one: pay for a license to use the software and have the priviledge to leverage it for business gain. Camp 2: the world of open source software. There are pros and cons to both. Software choices can also be applied as a metaphor for styles of leadership.
There are those that “license” leadership. They keep information close and use it as a source of power and ultimately control. These leaders believe in traditional social mores in business. They see teaching as a job for a trainer, not a leader. Learning and knowledge are not “free” nor encouraged, unless it helps the employee make more widgets. Structure and process trump organizational speed and creativity. For a license leader things like salary, bonus, and other perks act as strings to be yanked to demand and expect high levels of performance. For the employee, performing for the license leader often requires a compromise on who they are and who they want to be. I have often heard they are corportate actors expected to perform in scripted corporate ways.
Now contrast this with my concept of “open source leadership”. The great thing about open source software is that the masses make it better – all that contribute own it. In most cases it is very equal for users and contributors. You can pay to use it or simply make it better. Innovation and problem solving can excel here. For an open source leader this means that you can have the “source code” as an employee. There are no secrets and information is always available; control and responsibility are given out to all. It means that as a leader you embrace that business is complex and the way to manage it is by getting all to be an equal part of the business. You really have the most control when you hand it out to your employees. When you give up contol, will the end result be exactly what you wanted? Probably not – which is most likely a good thing. New thinking, more folks involved, more eyes and ears paying attention are a benefit to everyone.
Now let’s lay out the truth – It is really, really hard to be an open source leader. It is hard to change just for the sake of change. There most be a compelling business reason, such as better results, more profit, more of something. Guess what – it will happen for you. Just not right away. And not every day. All Leaders have bumps in the road. It is how you smooth them out that really matters. And open source leadership is not for all. It is a challenge to trust and hand it out all of the time. It is amazingly hard to get the company communication thing “just right”.
It probably would not suprise you that my company utilizes open source software products. I was an early adopter as they say. I can tell you it is not perfect. Far from it. Just like any chosen leadership style. Yet for me it is the tool of choice. Fast, fair value, transparent, adaptive. Things I want to be as a leader everyday…
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Thanks for the feedback, glad to hear you liked my speech at the New Castle County Chamber. As one favorite alumni said to me, I hear it was “from the heart”. Classic Chris; classic Outside-In. This is the ultimate compliment. I hope that everything I do is somehow different from what others do. This is why I care so deeply about Outside-In thinking versus traditional thinking.
Why not contrast every day business situations and compare our thinking to “normal business thinking”. Keep in mind I do not expect you to fully convert, rather consider it learning and good fodder when you are looking for ideas, innovation or that that little extra in your business.
1. Only senior employees can make important business decisions. Why not involve everyone? Autonomy and involvement breed innovation and engagement.
2. Companies should stick to a niche market or specialize to maximize profits and market share. An Outside-In company is driven by the customer. Markets can come and go depending on customer tastes and preferences. The key to success is the relationship to the customer.
3. Big business interest is in shareholder creation only. This may be true in many businesses, but what happened to the customer or employee point of view? In an Outside-In company, we try to balance the needs and wants of all constituents – employees, suppliers, customers and shareholders. This is a long term perspective versus quarter to quarter thinking.
The common themes that make sense to me all revolve around the customer. For small business I know this seems obvious. Trust me, it all depends on how you learned to run your business. Few get it from a coach who has been there before. There is so much to learn about running a business and its many facets that is not uncommon to forget completely about those that pay the bills and your salaries. That frustrating, challenging, elusive entity – THE CUSTOMER.
Drop me a line if your business could be more customer centered or if it needs “Outside-In glasses“.
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The movie world is heading towards changing and altering our movie experience; it seems like every movie is now in 3-D! I went to see Avatar, paid my $15 bucks like everyone else in line expecting to be let down. Not about the movie, word of mouth had already told me it was a fun, entertaining movie. I mean the 3D or the added value and added cost for my movie going experience. Fifteen dollars is a lot of money and its hard to impress a customer that feels taken. Well, I take it all back. 3-D technology has advanced well beyond my last one — which I believe was Jaws 6. It all got me thinking; without the glasses it is a good movie. With them I see spaceships and flying reptile birds fly right up to me. I see seed pods land in front of me. It is all just down right cool. Back to thinking part…
What if you had 3-D glasses for your business? And what would they look like? What purpose would they serve? I am known for running and coaching leaders to run their business in an Outside-In way, meaning from the customer point of view. Now what do you see when you look at your business?
For fun, lets go back to that movie theater… It is the best one in my town, but fairly nondescript in every way. Probably just like your theater in your town. Give that General Manager my Outside-In magic 3-D glasses and what do they see? Lets start at the front door? I walked in and with glasses I saw that the trash cans were overflowing and that the place was pretty dirty. And why do I see this as GM? It is those glasses! I can now see things from the customer point of view! Not from my budget or from how the corporate office wants me to do things.
As GM, I get to the ticket line. And what do I see? People jumping in line. Cashiers going on break at what appears like a really busy business moment on a weekend night time rush. With my new glasses, I also see that my theaters have sticky floors. That I am understaffed in concessions. That maybe there are one too many commercials mixed in with the previews.
I will back off on my GM and their Outside-In glasses. Every business has its flaws. Call me and I will send you your Outside-In 3-D glasses for your business. Now stand at the door and what do your customers see?
Popularity: 14% [?]
Over the years I have done many talks and speeches about culture and the advantages its brings in business. Culturally led businesses outperform those that do not work on culture – it is that simple. What comes up the most? What exactly is an Outside-In® organization? I often start with the story of leaders in a boardroom. The leaders like to make decisions; to decide their own fate right? In fact, it is the role of the leadership team to know what is going on and to make decisions on the strategic direction of the business. As leaders we do make those decisions and set that tone.
A question we should all be asking ourselves is, “how many times are those decisions made with customer input or made based on employee perspective of those that are closest to the customer?”. The answer is: NOT often enough.
As leaders, the real momentum comes when your team knows they can speak up. That they can share what a customer said. That they can tell you when a policy is harmful (or just plain stupid). This kind of environment does not come about about overnight. It needs to be created and cultivated by leaders that believe in it and encourage it with their words and their actions. Too hard? Maybe. I know all of the arguments: Staff won’t see what they are not responsible for or what they are not measured by. It is not their job. They don’t have the training or inclination. We need their production, not their ideas! That is my job as leader. Some of those arguments may be true. However, you should view this as your competitive advantage or secret weapon that other companies won’t bother to implement or think to copy.
Imagine a world where every employee takes a few minutes each day to ask “what did we learn from the marketplace or customer today?”. Perhaps planning and asking the question is the easy part of all this. Imagine also that everyone asks the question and knows that you really want and value the answer. That is an Outside-In® company in its simplest state. Where the front lines run the show. Where good information is not lost; it is cherished and respected. Our job as a leader? Set the tone. Help folks interpret what they hear. Share any knowledge that gives the employee more context on what they observed. Help everyone understand the value. That today’s tidbit is tomorrows trend. And tomorrows trend is a customer solution or product line. Or business unit. Or next business.
Start by asking the question in a team meeting. What did we learn about the marketplace today or this week or this month?
Try this! More help on this in the next blog…
The daily huddle in your business drives the questions that get to the core of your business and how it will compete tomorrow. Most of us in business know enough to realize that our products five years out have not even been considered. Why not start right now? It is cheap – if not free.
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Every organization that I come across today – whether they are partners, vendors, clients or prospects – all rank driving new revenues and raising their top line as a top goal of their organization. Today’s organizations have lost more than 6 years. What do I mean? Most business are operating with top line revenue numbers in line with their 2004 reporting and staff levels on par with where we were in 2000. The toll of the recession has been six years of economic penalty and taken us back almost 10 years in terms of staff growth.
What do I do as a small business owner? Rethink sales? Make more commitments to marketing? Maybe add new services or kill non-performing offerings? All of us are in need of more and new customers.
Most simply increase their sales activity. We tell sales staff to make more calls. To see more customers. To send more emails. It is just a numbers game, right? The more you do the more you have in potential sales pipeline. Not!
I propose that we need to rethink the notion that more effort will get you more result, as there is a point of diminishing returns. Most importantly, is your sales process as customer friendly as the rest of your company; do you treat sales like you treat paying customers? Are you “earning the right” to build new relationships?
Earning the right involves building relationships. Earning the right means you must focus and shift to consultative sales. Earning the right is about learning about your new customer’s business. Earning the right is about being authentic. It is being credible by doing what you say.
Earning the right is NOT just about doing more.
If you are thinking about how you go to market and how you differentiate your business in the early stages of your companies relationships than perhaps you should do an “earning the right” audit.
Go sit next to your sales force. Are they earning the right or simply doing more of the same?
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The world has lost it a little bit lately. Leaders are pushing for everyone to work harder, make more phone calls and produce more numbers. It is all direct effort to a direct result. Few will trust the correlation of learning and knowledge to a better place or outcome. In leadership, you have to teach the right things and trust that people do the right things — it’s very simple. Because knowledge equals everything!
We all would rather run a 100 yard dash each day than train for the marathon! And today there is even less time. So we run like Forest Gump. We just run and run without even knowing why.
We must trust if I invest in you as your leader that the business will get some inherent value from it. But this is not the case as of late. The recession has depressed and altered the traditional career path, and with it, the importance of the learning curve. People want certain things in their career and we know it’s not only about money, it’s not only about benefits. With a learning curve we are challenged — it means we are tested. It means we get to work at something. It means using your mind. We get choice projects. We get the difficult challenge. We get to do more than our job description says! What happens when the learning curve stops? Everything stops. The person stops learning and soon the company stops too. As the saying goes, when we are not growing we are closer to death; this goes for the company and the employee! When the learning curve goes down, the company goes down. If the learning curve goes up, than the company results can go up too!
So one of the things that people really need is to continue to learn. Knowledge equals confidence and self-esteem. That’s what it means, and if people have that kind of confidence and self-esteem, they are more likely to do the things that produce results. If you have more knowledge you get more results. With confidence you make better decisions, take risks and you are more innovative, more creative, more tolerant, more disciplined. You trust that your results will be superior. You must trust that intangibles will turn into results!
This application also applies to more than business. It’s directly relevant to children doing better in school. The school system teaches kids to get a certain grade; it rarely teaches them to learn, retain and use the knowledge provided. Parents usually reward on just grades, not what is learned or applied. I have often thought about this with my son who is always “bored” with school and has the C’s and occasional D’s to prove it. As he leaned over my shoulder while I was writing this blog, he had a real light bulb go off. He might want to use what he learns some day! And it might help him get the career he wants or to have hobbies that interest him. And just maybe his grades will improve now!
If you are a small business owner or leader now is the time to differentiate and invest in the learning curve for your people and your organization!
Next post about how a leader can utilize the Holidays to their advantage! (more…)
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Leadership is so complicated because we make it so. We read how famous leaders did it. We model ourselves after our boss. We mimic the actions of our peer group and our leaders at work. Yet being one is different than imitating others. To stand alone as a leader is hard. And the way to do it even more challenging. My mentor explained to me years ago that the mark of great leadership is when we help our employees close the gap between how they are performing and what they are actually capable of. This is not necessarily by sending staff to training or by words alone. In many cases it is driven by a corporate culture that encourages experimentaion. That likes some kind of risk taking when it benefits the customer.
Most businesses today use the wrong motivator. We have all seen the surveys, leaders think that money and benefits rank highest for employees in terms of need/want. And perhaps today during the recession we are experiencing a narrow window of time where this is what people have their eye on. However, the rebound will come slowly. And all of us will forget eventually. And it may not be an era of free agency like the mid-90′s or of organized labor in the mid 1900′s. However, eventually all of us will want to be “actualized” at work again. We will want our salaries to rise, for a bonus to be possible, for career paths to be made clear again. And we will forget about how we have needed to make sacrifices and to be conservative at work, at home and in our communities to get by.
So what is the right motivator? It is not contests or short term things for long. They work for short bursts alone. These short term tricks of leadership are like the PuppetMaster manipulating from above. The employees are the puppet, they do what they are told, they follow along. Then one day it stops working. And on to the next contest right? Wrong. The best leaders lead without strings. They create an environment where others can move freely and trust. Where folks are encouraged to think about and explore what they are capable of. Think of it this way, in most companies trust is earned. You start on your first day with an empty bucket. And everyday through your actions, and performance a little trust goes in. Why not fill the bucket to the top on day one? The trust is there for the employee to cherish and to build immediately on. It is the this confidence and trust that help your employees close the gap.
To lead without strings you must create an environment of accountability. Where accountability comes from within. It comes from the team, not top down.
To lead without strings you must allow for failure. Do you celebrate it and learn from it?
To lead without strings you must be vulnerable as a leader. Do you share enough with your team or is there a gap?
To lead without strings you must be willing to admit that you are wrong. Is your leadership persona capable of handling it?
To lead without strings you must listen.
To lead without strings you must give away your authority.
To lead without strings you should help dream. Dream about what they want and what they are capable of. You must raise the bar and watch people achieve it.
This is a no strings zone!
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When was the last time you led by doing, by making something happen yourself? I know we are taught to delegate. To encourage others to grow and to develop new skills. Create more ”leverage” by getting others to do more than you can do yourself. In many ways this is the basis for any business. But how many times have you worked for a leader who is all advice and no action? I know a few. They talk a good game. In fact they talk a great game; because that is all there is to their game. The talk is easy and full of big words and it sounds good. Until you try and take it back and implement it, what did they actually say? I bet if you think about it, you know this person where you work too.
Leading by doing means helping to keep a new business deal alive by staying close to it. By listening and watching people do their work. It is our job to eliminate barriers to their success. To look to areas where we can improve the business. It means looking for ways that customer service might be slipping, or where an employee might need a kind word or strong push.
What do you see when you look? My father owns a few restaurants locally, Kid Shelleen’s and Klondike Kates. They are neigborhood landmarks. A college town meeting place for alumni and students. And the neighborhood pub. His leaders are taught in the business to start at the front door and look at the business with different eyes. What could be more outside-in (customer oriented)? Is there anything that could be done better to improve the customer experience? For the restaurant manager it means is the floor clean. Are menus wiped down and in the right spot. Are any customers trying to make frantic eye contact with a server. This list goes on and on. What is the equivilant for your business? Can you stand at your store front and see what needs improvement?
Truth be told I have been there myself. I have had employees work for me who would seek “translation services” from others in the company after leaving a long meeting with me. Nothing is more embarassing in the world as a leader than thinking you have had real impact and then finding out in fact you made things worse! We may only get 15 minutes to really energize and assist someone, and frankly that should be the goal. If I get 15 minutes a week to have a really incredible impact that carries an employee to the next week or next session, then that had better be the outcome. BUT, often times it is not.
Not that the ability to talk is not important for a leader. Leaders must “encourage the heart” for staff. They can do this by defining a business’s purpose. They create the future vision for the business. They can bring to life the “Why” for the reason the business actually exists. This is where the ability to communicate can have the right impact on a company. Regular storytelling makes sense here.
How can roll up your sleeves and have real leadership impact?
- Shut up and Listen. Make sure you know the real problem.
- Get up from behind your desk and do it yourself. Lead by example.
- Focus on the details. Don’t micromanage, rather get closer to the business.
- Get closer to your business. Get off your pedestal and dig in to the work.
- Ask questions and meet with staff with consistency and also when they least expect it.
- Teach others to plan their day and maximize what they achieve.
This list is certainly not all inclusive, and I would love your thoughts on how a leader can rollup their sleeves and make something happen in their business! What do you see when you stand at your store front and rollup your sleeves?
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