Vannoy and Ross

originally posted September 14, 2009

Imagine you’re the head coach of a professional American football team. You’re playing in front of 70,000 people, and there’s millions more watching on T.V. Suddenly, your team’s in a unique situation: It’s 4th down, and you’re just a couple of yards from the end zone. Do you take the risk and go for it? The crowd is in a frenzy! They’re chanting “Run! Run! Run!” But you also know that if you do – and fail – you’ll be fried like southern catfish on the Monday morning talk shows.

So you do what most coaches do: You play it safe – and kick.

Guess what? If you had gone for it, research shows you would have measurably increased your chances of winning the game. David Romer of the University of California, Berkeley, analyzed over 700 football games between 1998 and 2000. His work revealed that those teams who go for it on 4th down increase their overall chance of success compared with those teams who don’t.*

So why don’t more coaches “go for it” when they find themselves in such a situation? Perhaps more importantly, why don’t more people in your organization “go for it” when they have an opportunity to take a risk and advance the cause of the organization?

The answer is not that people are afraid of making a mistake; the answer is that people are afraid of the consequences from others when they make a mistake.

Just as the football coach has to face the chorus of boos from the home crowd – and the blistering analysis in the media – when his team fails, so do people like you have to face the judgment of others when you step up and try something…and fail.

It’s easy to consider how we feel our colleagues will respond to the ‘mistakes’ we make. But that’s not the point. The challenge is this: How do you and others respond when someone else takes a risk? Do you boo – or cheer?

In a very real way, the crowd of 70,000 and the media talk shows represent your culture. Does your culture support others when they “go for it” on 4th down? Do your part today to make sure it does.

*(http://elsa.berkeley.edu/~dromer/papers/PAPER_NFL_JULY05_FORWEB_CORRECTED.pdf).

Originally Printed: August 18, 2009

Are you teaching your competition a lesson? Or is your competition teaching you?

They say you can learn a lot from children. Even so, there’s one thing we don’t want to learn.  Children across the land are going “back to school.” This means, of course, that they’ve been out of school; they took a break from learning; they stopped improving themselves. Can you imagine what would happen if adults functioned the same way?

Can you imagine what would happen if adults functioned the same way?

Sadly, it doesn’t take much imagination to answer that question. Are there people all around you who are making a dire mistake? Indeed, there are entire organizations who are plagued by this “elephant in the office.”

In these unfortunate organizations, experiences – in fact entire days – are tossed aside as being worthless because people failed to leverage the events of the day by asking one simple question:

“What can we learn from this experience?”

Intellectually, people know they should be driving “learning organizations.” Such companies out perform their competition. Yet, in some organizations, day after day unravels and the question above is not being asked.

It’s a fact: If you don’t teach yourself, you’ll be tutored by your competition.

Given the current state of the economy, there is no doubt about it: School is in session. We’d best sit up in our seat and take notes. Only the ‘A’ students will graduate. Here are questions that will ensure you move to the head of the class:

1. During this period, what strengths have we discovered that we possess?
2. What did we learn from the period of prosperity that proceeded this recession – that we will remember to apply when the economy speeds up?
3. What have we done in past periods of difficulty that we can replicate now?
4. What have we learned about our customer needs that will guide us?
5. What motivations can we tap into that will inspire greater accountability?

Vince Lombardi once stated, “I never said it would be easy. I only said it would be worth it.” This inspires an additional question that will ensure you harvest perhaps the most important lesson:

How will we function today so that in the future when we look back at this period we can say “

…but it was worth it.”

Craig Ross and Steven Vannoy

Originally Run: July 21, 2007

Have you ever found yourself stuck in a conversation where the other person has nothing but “backward focused” things to say? Like a garbage collector they sift through the trash of the past, as if by turning it over they might find some hope.

Of course, the only hope you’re thinking about is “there must be some way out of this conversation.”

The average person, when in such a predicament, follows their focus (it’s what our minds naturally do). And as a result, they can quickly join in and become a thought-garbage collector themselves. Now it’s not a solo – where one person is singing the “what’s wrong with the world” song, it has become a choir, as an entire group of people are doing nothing but complaining.

When I find myself stuck in this mindset, I laugh at myself on the drive home. How dare I complain about how much I have to do, and how &%$#* my life is, when the truth is this: it was only I who didn’t have the discipline to step up and control my focus.

Stop the Garbage Collecting!

A man named Bob recently said, “When we find the conversation becoming negative there is something we can do.” We can stop the garbage collecting by “simply asking them, ‘What’s important?’ or ‘What do you want?’ And then, after that, we can ask them, ‘Why?’”

I know Bob and he’s not your average leader. He has delivered stellar results for his company for nearly 35 years. He said, “If we can get them focused forward, on what’s important and what they want, we can then begin to identify what they can do about it and how they can move forward. That’s the only way we’ll ever deliver solutions.”

Simple questions that help people out of the garbage: What do you want? What’s important to you? Why?

Know anybody that could use a lifeline?

 

 

Vannoy and Ross

 

 

“We have a bias for action” is a popular phrase meant to signal that someone is serious about getting things done. And, while it’s true there are people who like to talk about business rather than doing business, have you noticed that a “bias for action” doesn’t automatically equate to greater results? In fact, all too often a “bias for action” is costing companies money.

 What good is a bias for action…if the actions you take lead you backwards?

 

In many companies one has to look no further than the meetings being conducted to observe backward-action leadership. In an effort to get to “action” as quickly as possible, too many bosses do what they’ve always done: start by analyzing what’s not working, then determine where the problems lie, ask who or what is to blame, and finish with sharing their concerns regarding the plan forward.

 

This bias for the wrong action backfires in bad ways: communication stalls as defenses go up, confidence plummets because momentum vanishes, egos flare, and very little work gets done. As our friend, Per L., says, this is the “anti-solutioning” approach.

 

There’s a better approach. In your next meeting demonstrate your bias for the right action by focusing on solutions, what is necessary to improve, what you are learning, and how to make ideas work. This focus is accomplished by asking questions such as:

• What progress have we made since our last meeting that we can expand on?
• What are the three most important actions we should take to hit our target?
• What lessons have we learned that we want to leverage moving forward?
• How will we know we’re executing our strategy?

 

Demonstrating a bias for the right action moves teams forward faster. As “Quotable Joe” in Cincinnati reports, “We now leap-frog the commiseration stage of the meeting, and get more done – faster.”

School’s In: Are You ‘Schooling’ Your Competition –

or ‘Being Schooled’?

 Vannoy and Ross

Are you teaching your competition a lesson? Or is your competition teaching you?

They say you can learn a lot from children. Even so, there’s one thing we don’t want to learn.

Children across the land are going “back to school.” This means, of course, that they’ve been out of school; they took a break from learning; they stopped improving themselves. Can you imagine what would happen if adults functioned the same way?

Sadly, it doesn’t take much imagination to answer that question. There are people all around you who are making a dire mistake; indeed, entire organizations are plagued by this “elephant in the office.”

Experiences – in fact entire days – are tossed aside as being worthless because people failed to leverage the events of the day by asking one simple question:

“What can we learn from this experience?”

Intellectually, people know they should be driving “learning organizations.” Such companies out perform their competition. Yet, day after day unravels and the question above is not being asked.

It’s a fact: If you don’t teach yourself, you’ll be tutored by your competition.

Given the current state of the economy, there is no doubt about it: School is in session. We’d best sit up in our seat and take notes. Only the ‘A’ students will graduate. Here are questions that will ensure you move to the head of the class:

1. During this period, what strengths have we discovered that we possess?
2. What did we learn from the period of prosperity that proceeded this recession – that we will remember to apply when the economy speeds up?
3. What have we done in past periods of difficulty that we can replicate now?
4. What have we learned about our customer needs that will guide us?
5. What motivations can we tap into that will inspire greater accountability?

Vince Lombardi once stated, “I never said it would be easy. I only said it would be worth it.” This inspires an additional question that will ensure you harvest perhaps the most important lesson:

How will we function today so that in the future when we look back at this period we can say “…but it was worth it.”

Are there people on your team who are confused because the manner in which they conducted business in the past isn’t working anymore? And, do you know people who are frozen, unsure what to do next, because they’re puzzled about the future?

 

Welcome to the Era of Confuzzlement.

 

Confusion and puzzlement reign, leaving too many teams arguing about their past (a complete waste of time) and ridiculously slow to respond to the future. So slow in some cases, that the future becomes the past before they can do anything about it. Which means, of course, these teams then have new (old) material to argue about. And the cycle continues, in some cases leaving entire organizations confuzzled.

 

Lead by Stepping Out and Up.

 

“This is a crisis economy,” shares a friend named Rich. “You can’t follow the same rules. You can’t think like you used to. You have to step out and up. You have to lead different.”

 

Rich should know. He’s part of a team that is guiding an organization through difficult – and successful – changes. Below are some of the reasons why they’re winning. Use these steps with your team to step out and up:

 

1)    Create a culture where everyone is responsible for leading – everyone is expected to step out and up.

2)    Ask forward focus questions – and lots of them. Rich’s organization knows that the moment they get comfortable with “answers” that in time, people will become confuzzled. Leadership is in the questions – not the answers.

3)    Build a thinking system that responds to new ideas with “how do we make that work?” instead of the confuzzled approach of “here’s why that won’t work.”

 

If you are approaching business like you did three years ago, your customers will most certainly become confuzzled, too, and take their scarce dollars elsewhere.

 

You can lead today by clearing up the confuzzlement that grips so many. Today, step out and up.

 

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?

A reader, Sara, recently wrote, “I have a boss who is a ‘fear manager.’ He has been told to read your book. If this manager stays true to form, he’ll manipulate the material of the book to show how he is the organization’s savior among incompetents. I have my doubts he is capable of recognizing himself as an ‘elephant in the office.’ Quite a conundrum, huh?”

First, congratulations to Sara: By seeking ways to effectively influence her boss, she elevates her leadership. Instead of complaining, Sara is seeking solutions.

The task in front of Sara isn’t easy. There are no “magic-leadership-wands.” But there are steps Sara can take to “lead upwards”:

Elephants are Behaviors, not People

It is vital that Sara doesn’t see her boss as the elephant; it is his behavior that is destructive. This paradigm shift in viewpoint creates new possibilities because it is easier to change behaviors than people.

If Sara’s boss, upon reading Stomp the Elephant in the Office perceives he’s being fixed, he’ll become defensive. The “fix-that-person” approach always backfires. Conversely, when the boss knows Sara is fighting for him, trust begins to build.

Focus is a key! Many people have harmful conversations behind their boss’s back. But bosses are human; their intuition informs them of these conversations. Sara can dramatically affect her culture by focusing on – and providing feedback – in those areas where the supervisor is delivering constructive behaviors. This isn’t about “being positive.” Because the boss, like everyone else,  goes toward his focus, this is about moving behaviors forward.

Developing a Relationship of Trust

As a relationship of trust develops with her boss, Sara can enter into conversations where she can address behaviors collectively. “It’s important that we function with greater integrity…” And, “Where can we all improve in this area?”

Dad was right when he said, “You’re either part of the problem or part of the solution.” We applaud Sara and others who demonstrate the courage to proactively “lead upwards.”

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?

 

 

 

 

There are a lot of people dreaming right now. January marks the point for setting a course in the New Year. What is it you want to achieve? What do you want to do? Become?

Here’s some important advice: Don’t follow your dreams. 

Last year a big, hairy elephant stood in the way of millions of dreams. And he’s ready to trample your dreams for 2009 if you’re not careful. There is a better way.

Don’t follow your dreams – because following anything doesn’t guarantee you’ll get there. How many people set lofty aspirations – only to become sidetracked or disillusioned? “It wasn’t what I really wanted to do anyway,” they rationalized. Or, “That dream was ridiculous. Did you hear what would have been expected of me?”

So they go back to living the life they lived before. And there’s nothing wrong with that…unless you want to improve the life you lived before.

If you’re serious about achieving anything in 2009 don’t follow your dreams – drive your dreams. Bring a level of determination and control and commitment and passion and excitement that leaves little doubt change is what you’re about. 

Drive. Don’t follow.

Following dreams relegates people to never-ending analysis and the search for the perfect plan or method to achieving dreams. And because they follow dreams, they’re susceptible to following the next good idea that comes along. And the next. And the next…which gets them nowhere.

This year, ensure success by: 

1. Setting the vision/dream;
2. Choosing the strategy;
3. Then driving the strategy – consistently.

There is no secret strategy, no hidden code that creates success for some – while others languish in dream purgatory. The difference lies in the execution, in choosing to follow a dream – or drive it. 

ELEPHANT ALERT!

The American auto industry has been told by the U.S. government that, in order to receive financial assistance, they must prove they can “reinvent themselves.” This is easier said than done.

Here’s the elephant in the office: There’s abundant research proving that as most people expand their careers, their ability to try new methods and expand their knowledge grinds to a halt. They begin to rely on the tired skills and behaviors that brought them early successes – even when those skills and behaviors won’t deliver successes tomorrow.

This creates a dark future with one of two things happening: 1) The death of a career, or 2) The need to make dramatic “inventions” just to survive.

It doesn’t have to be this difficult.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

Some of the finest, most effective leaders we know work for auto companies. Yet, the overall culture of an organization will always dwarf the efforts of those in the minority. Thus, the consensus – or at least perception – persists: The US auto companies didn’t change as fast as the marketplace.

What can we learn from this? Answer: The most effective leaders and organizations reinvent themselves every day.

Most organizations fall short when reinventing themselves because:

1. They focus on their failures, which creates a culture of blame and defensiveness – which means they’re unable to generate the creative solutions needed. And,
2. They see reinventing themselves as an event, which means it won’t happen often enough to ensure success.

Use this proven formula to ensure that “reinvention” becomes a process, a way of life:

1. Focus on what’s working.
2. Consistently ask, “What can we do even better, more of, or differently to create greater results?”
3. Celebrate even the small advances.

This formula will deliver your most important invention: a “you” that succeeds.

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?

ELEPHANT ALERT!

Getting older often means “more aches and pains.” A friend, Jay, in his 40’s, regularly plays basketball. “It’s disappointing. The knees are swollen. My shoulder hurts. And the ankles are giving me fits.” 

And he keeps playing.

In many ways, today’s market is creating pains. Budgets, organizational confidence, 401K’s – they were once bulging as if on steroids. Now, perhaps because they were over-stretched, they spasm and cause sharp pain. 

What do most people do when they’re sore?

Here’s the elephant in the office: People everywhere are grabbing their ice-packs, aspirin, and heading to the sidelines. They show up each day with a “wait and see” attitude. Of course, because they’re unwilling to fully commit to the cause in front of them, they only ensure their team is less likely to win when the score is tallied.

STOMP THE ELEPHANT

The answer is in Jay’s approach. “Once you get the ball, nothing hurts anymore,” he says. “When you are determined to make a play, it’s all you can focus on.” And the aches and pains go away.

It’s a trite saying, but perhaps – at this crucial moment – it’s more relevant than ever: Get in the game. 

It’s a fact: If we stop exercising because of aches and pains – we exacerbate and give power to the very thing that’s knocked us down. The same goes in business. Just because things have gotten difficult doesn’t mean we should stop playing the game. We just need to play the game differently. 

Ask you team:

1. How can we flex our awareness and take greater action?
2. What questions can we ask to create greater focus?
3. In what ways are we getting stronger?

Pain may be a reality. What you do with your focus is up to you.

Where will you lead – where will you stomp elephants – today?