I hope you had a huddle with your team last week and asked the question, “What did we learn from the marketplace this week?”. I did. Guess what happened? My team liked it. The meeting was for one business unit – our human resourcing product – deployed recruiters and HR consultants to our clients. The question started a conversation. The conversation was not about me talking. The conversation was about staff working together and sharing. We learned a lot about the customers and prospects we talk to each week. However, the real benefit in this case was the team realization that they need to talk to do their jobs well. That the insights give them confidence, and with confidence they feel more in charge. We also stopped ourselves when we became aware of our internal focus – when we were not focusing on the impact of our thinking on the customer. It helped bring us back to our purpose.
I asked a coaching customer to start this. He agreed, but then admitted that rolling a new meeting format out was difficult. “We don’t talk about this sort of thing; we barely talk about the day to day”… almost in mid-sentence he stopped himself. “Wow, no wonder communication is always on our agenda”. The big aha? It is hard to talk about something strategic or something new if your meeting rhythms are out of whack (or non-existent).
I asked my good friend Tim, who runs a sales organization, how they gather intelligence from their marketplace. Tim said it best. He asks this question with each of his 27 staff. In one-on-ones. In team meetings. In annual kickoff sessions. But it is what they learn that enable him to ask each time. Tim does something with what he learns. Tim has changed and altered a sales process. Simplified the customization of his products. Taught his leaders to ask questions and listen to the answers. His organization is now market driven or Outside-In®!
Three simple things to do:
1. Bring sales and service staff together around the question. Once the fireworks subside there is tremendous learning that takes place.
2. Repeat the question in every internal meeting for three weeks to build the habit. Staff need to be certain it is not the leadership flavor of the month.
3. Shift your focus external to your constituents.
Most importantly, ask yourself the questions: What did you learn as leader about your marketplace this week? See any trends? Identify any opportunities for staff development? See anything you want more information on?
Popularity: 11% [?]
The other day, I was leaving the office and heading to a wonderful lunch with my wife. No business talk, no talk of teenagers and braces or obligations and plans. Frankly the weather was ugly – raining and 34 degrees. NOT the day to spend much time outside. Then it happened. As I was leaving our parking lot I noticed an older gentleman with a cane walking around his car ankle deep in water, mud and melting snow. His car? Stuck in the mud, having missed the turn due to rather poor visibility and driving conditions. The gentleman’s wife was in the car and she could not get out without the use of a walker.
Do I drive away and continue with my plans? I only have an hour for lunch. Did they notice me? Someone else will stop, right? We all fight this internal dialogue. Trying to get their car out of the mud and waiting an hour with them for AAA was easy. In fact, it started to feel great. What struck me was how good it felt to help someone who needed it. To walk by, take notice and do something about it.
As I was standing outside, I started to think about this story and think about our habits as leaders. As leaders we know how to plan our days and stack meetings on top of one another. We let the world know how self-important we are by the pace we push and the company we keep. However, who on your team is stuck in the mud and cannot get out? Who needs us to stop, take time out of our day and help? How many times as leaders do miss opportunities to serve by rushing right past someone who needs us?
Later that day, I stopped what I was doing and I went around and actually looked at each employee. I asked them how they were. Offered to help. I listened. Not sure how many “cars I got out of the mud”. However, it felt as good as my earlier community service!
As a leader who have you stopped to actually help today? Go take action now! It costs little, yet pays huge social dividends!
Popularity: 9% [?]
Today we face unprecedented marketplace challenges for our business’ and our careers. The economy takes one step forward and one backward almost daily. How to deal with the uncertainty of this as leaders? Well for one, being a student of change is critical to all of us today. We have a choice every day. Are you the victim? I lost my job and it is their fault! Or my sales are down and there is nothing I can do about it! Or will you learn to embrace change; maybe even relish in exploiting it. Yes taking full advantage of it. There is on old proverb, ” Now that the barn is down I can see the moon”. In action there is always something to take advantage of. To use to your advantage.
There is something to be said to being a student of change and knowing the phases of it:
1. Blame. It is not your fault at all.
2. Acceptance. It has happened and there is nothing I can do about it.
3. Embrace it. I know it is a way of life and I am willing get on board.
4. Exploit it. I intend to make the change itself. I am going to take advantage of change around me and use it for good. To make improvements.
As a leader this has a real impact on how we handle the day to day. We are in the era now of relatively limited growth markets and where demand is quite limited. This has a tremendous impact on our approach to business and the environment we create. What should we be thinking about? I may have more questions than answers.
1. How do we rethink careers paths in an environment of limited growth?
2. How do we make the right investments in our business that actually get a return?
3. How does your business model transition to this new era and make money?
4. Are you actively involving employees in your business? Gathering their ideas as they talk to customers?
5. Are you willing to reinvent your leadership persona?
As a leader in an entrepreneurial business over the last 20 or so years I have seen leadership success and setback. The common denominator is a willingness to embrace change that is rooted in good instincts and hard work to gather information as you make strategic directional changes to the business. Nothing stays the same. Leaders must be willing to shed legacy thinking and be willing to cannabilize their own success and know that destruction is part of the process of business success!
Popularity: 20% [?]
