CEOFlow: CEOFlow

 

Anti-Manager Notes (and Scared Organization notes below)

 

1.   Do You Motivate With Fear Or Through Aspiration?     People are motivated by fear and aspiration.  Which one do you use more?  "You'd better work harder to hit the numbers or you could be fired" is fear...."look at cold calling and prospecting as a skill you can develop now and use for life" is aspiration.  Bad managers use fear, good managers aspiration.  Fear can be ok in the short term, but long term is not a sustainable motivator - it will burn you and your people out.  Work to focus your motivation through aspiration.

 

2. Productive, energetic committment Comes From Shared Vision + Alignment.  Have you ever been so excited by an idea that you looked forward to going to work? Every manager wants their team to be committed to success and work energetically to make it happen.  But what drives that committment and energy?   1) They need a shared vision to aspire towards, and 2) They need to be organized so that everyone's energy is working in alignment towards the vision, and not at cross-purposes.  There's no limit to what people can do and their energy when they share a vision together!    That'Engage the team in creating a shared vision that people can aspire to.  We updated our "cold calling" team's vision every year.  In early 2005, the people on the team were most excited about making a difference, being the best, trying new things and learning, and then sharing with others: "Make a difference in the success of our team & company by being the best in the world at generating new business, through constant innovation and the sharing of our expertise"

 

3. Work For Their Success, Not Yours (see posting)

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4. Are You Paying Them For The Wrong Results?   What are the metrics your team is measured on?   How aligned with the company's goals are they?  It is always challenging in setting individual and team goals and compensation, especially when the results of the team aren't as easily measured as sales (business development, marketing, product management, internal audit...).   Are your team and individual goals really aligned with what the company wants?  Or are they just the easiest things for you or the company to track?  It doesn¹t matter how fast or well you solve the wrong problem.  For example, let's take a mature company who's board is focused on three things: growing cashflow, ROI and net profit. What should marketing be measured on?  Oftentimes it's the number of leads generated, especially if it'ss challenging to track the quality of the leads.  Measuring marketing on quantity of leads can actually be harmful if it encourages marketing to generate leads that are a waste of sales' time.  What about the number of leads that get positively qualified by sales?  Or, the revenue generated from the leads?  Or even better, the cashflow (or ROI, or profit) from the leads?  Companies don't measure marketing on this because 1) their systems can't report on it, and 2) "that's not how we've ever done it."  The closer you can align people and teams to the company's strategic goals (whatever they are), the more aligned and productive they will be, and you can stop paying them for the wrong results.

5. Control without controlling.  Executives and big companies love the idea of control (through in reality they never have real control, only the illusion of control).  [what are companies really trying to control, anyway?]  And people hate to be controlled, whether through arbitrary rules and regulations or management that is afraid of any kind of risk.  Not only is control frustrating to people, it kills the kind of new ideas and energy that creates new kinds of businesses through innovation!  Managers can choose to exert another kind of control: control of quality and results through vision, learning and development of judgment, rather than through rules and regulations.  If people have a clear vision of what is important to their team and company, and are encouraged to learn and develop and make good judgments, the need to 'control' in the first place will naturally go away.  [maybe use the example of the MSFT ipod branding video...all the 'control' around branding kills the product...when what they really want is to help their people achieve the vision of amazingly useful products]

6. Bite-sized chunks (productivity).  "How do you eat an elephant? One bite a time"  A great way to tackle seemingly-complicated projects - break them into smaller pieces.  Ex: improving a process, break it down into its logical steps (and define the desired outcomes).  A presentation.  A book.

7. Don't Delegate: JUST DO IT   (Or Do It Now)   (see posting)

 

8. Just Try It!  (Why don't we just try it?)   All too often when a teammate comes to a manager (or the manager goes to an executive) with a new idea, the executive's first reaction is to say "No".  It's actually part of human nature to want to say no to questions as a first reaction, without thinking.  As a manager, stop and think - if it's not a "below the waterline idea, why not just try it?  Even if you believe it won't work?  (Which actually it might)  Even better, perhaps you can run the experiment in a way that you learn something regardless of how the result turns out.  What's really the harm?

 

9. Always Discuss "The Why".  When you want someone on the team to do something - say run a report - it's much more effective to tell them why you need it and why it's important.  They'll have more clarity around what you may need and may come up with better ideas around how to get it.  Also, they'll truly appreciate knowing why it is important, rather than feeling like they're running an unimportant errand.

 

10. Work Less, Think More.  Thinking before you act can save you a tremendous amount of time.  Whenever we get a new project, we're tempted to jump right in and start, without considering "what are we trying to accomplish?".  Studies (find lean six sigman quotes) suggest that workers are only adding value to the business for about 5% of the time they are at work.   Of course workers are busy 95% of the time they're on the job, so what's the problem?  The problem is how much of the activity is a waste of time.  Consider a software developer that writes code non-stop for two weeks.  If it turns out that the code was sloppy, and it needs a week of QA and fixing to correct it, that's three weeks of activity for a beta.  What if the product manager that spent two weeks designing it in the first place didn't use customer feedback in his design, and realizes in beta testing that they need another two weeks of changes to fix it?  And what if the CEO realizes that the market he decided the company should get into, widgets, actually doesn't have the right margins and we're shifting to thingamajiggies and cancels the project?   All that busy activity added no value to the business, unless the people in the process learned, as a group, how to think more about what they really want to accomplish BEFORE acting.

 

11. The Message Is More Important Than The Action (short term benefit of an action isn't worth the long-term pain of the wrong message)

 

12. Simplicity Too Complicated?  Kill Clutter Instead: "Why is that important?" / "So what?"

 

13. Less is More (quality over quantity)

 

14. How To De-Innovate/Motivate With Conformity (Appreciate differences)

 

15. Role Playing Isn't For Kids

 

16. Everything is a learning oppty: appreciating constructive feedback

 

17. Break Things / Experiment - test everything (organization, people, training, tasks, assumptions)  You can learn more when it goes wrong

 

18. Reward Failure

 

19. Preparation, Not Execution (preparation is the key to success)

 

20. Don't Fight Differences / Acceptance

 

 

21. Self-management / self-organizing

 

22. Hiring people for future potential, not past experience

 

23. Don't Be A Manager (get in the trenches)  / Walking around

24. Appreciation (people hate being taken for granted, say thank you public and privately)

25. Transparency (a fundamental)

26. 3 Goals Per Day (what will make a difference / move the ball?)   3 work / 3 personal (?)

27. Remove obstacles

28. Words are promises that actions have to keep (it's not what you say, it's what you do...Make a promise, keep a promise...your word is your promise)

29. Don't make assumptions    (can lead to judgments, which stops inquiry/learning, makes people defensive, closes your mind)

30. Avoid Decisions

31. Why Is This Confidential?  share all information (we published comp) (confidentiality makes you think it's confidential...people spend more time figuring stuff out than working, increases gossip, decreases trust)

32. Solicit Ideas, Engage the team itself in decisions

33. Self-managing processes (fundamental)

34. Every interaction with people is an opportunity to learn/train/develop (think about something a new way)

35. Think about long term success...does something act as a crutch?  (Internalizing v externalizing pain)

36. Promotions / Career Paths

37. Assemble collaborators / internal board

38. Ask questions, have conversations (not commands or decisions) / get them to see both sides of the issue

39. Integrity (to yourself first, as well as to others)

40. Don't make assumptions

41. Attitude: their success is your success  (it's ok to not know everything)

42. Negative energy is wasted energy (appreciation / every experience can be a learning experience))

43. Balance, health

44. Breaking bottlenecks (quality example / stamping opptys as they're bumped instead of end of month)

45. Flow / Minimizing disturbance / drumbeat

46. Think outcomes, not activities (Rethink objectives; instead of getting an exec on the phone, how to have a productive conversation?)

47. Personal dashboards

48. Advice, Not Approval

49. Making choices

 

 

 

+ -

OLD TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

MAKING CHOICES

 

Shared Vision + Alignment = Commitment  (don't assume what you want is what they want...especially when you hire people)

Definition of success (yours and your teams, yours depends on theirs)

Alignment (including career paths, aspirations, values, compensation...)

Fear vs aspiration

Stay in the trenches  (see for yourself)

Bite sized chunks

Discuss "The Why"

Words are promises that actions have to keep (it's not what you say, it's what you do...Make a promise, keep a promise...your word is your promise)

Kill clutter: "Why is that important?" / "So what?"

Less is more / quality over quantity

Appreciate differences

Training / role playing

Preparation as the key to success

Acceptance

Self-management / self-organizing

Control without controlling (through vision, learning)

Hiring people for future potential, not past experience

Do it now / JUST DO IT

Appreciation (people hate being taken for granted, say thank you public and privately)

Transparency (a fundamental)

3 Goals Per Day (what will make a difference / move the ball?)   3 work / 3 personal (?)

Remove obstacles

Don't make assumptions    (can lead to judgments, which stops inquiry/learning, makes people defensive, closes your mind)

Avoid Decisions

Share all information (we published comp)

Solicit Ideas, Engage the team itself in decisions

Self-managing processes (fundamental)

Every interaction with people is an opportunity to learn/train/develop (think about something a new way)

Think about long term success...does something act as a crutch?  (Internalizing v externalizing pain)

Promotions / Career Paths

Assemble collaborators / internal board

Ask questions, have conversations (not commands or decisions) / get them to see both sides of the issue

Integrity (to yourself first, as well as to others)

Don't make assumptions

Attitude: their success is your success  (it's ok to not know everything)

Negative energy is wasted energy (appreciation / every experience can be a learning experience))

Health, balance

Walking around

Aligned compensation

Everything is a learning oppty: appreciating constructive feedback

Experiment - test everything (organization, people, training, tasks, assumptions)  You can learn more when it goes wrong

Breaking bottlenecks (quality example / stamping opptys as they're bumped instead of end of month)

Flow / Minimizing disturbance / drumbeat

Think outcomes, not activities (Rethink objectives; instead of getting an exec on the phone, how to have a productive conversation?)

Do it now / Just do it!

Personal dashboards

 

Why are you here?  What is important to you and the team?

Designing the team

Reducing Wasted Time and Energy

Building and Maintaining a team

People, Learning

 

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SCARED ORGANIZATION

• VALUES

  • Aristotle...the test of ethics occurs when they run couter to our self-interest rather than when they serve them

    • If profits are valued and rewarded more than ethics, people will make decisions for $ over ethics

    A value represents something we want or need and have been denied ceases to be a value once we secure or achieve it.  Onc e we complete what we value, we are able to move on to higher values.  Values therefore are what we have to sruggle for, what we cannot take for granted, what we need in order to survive and grow, what does not come easily to us, what we have to live up to, what we have achieved and need to protect, what is just beyond our reach or capacity.

    Appreciation, not obligation

    * Appreciation and value, not fear or pain

    * Obligation implies debt. No obligations  

• + - Organizational Webs
  • Concentric circles, not a pyramid
    • Semco has three circles: counselors, partners, associates (and coordinators)
• Leadership
  • Have teams select leaders from below, not by execs from above
    • Right now it's a popularity contest...among execs
  • Things that can't be taught or mandates, must lead by example
    • Trustworthiness
    • Do what I said I would do
    • Empathy
    • Integrity, Ethics
    • Craftsmanship
    • Values
    • Attitude
    • Dedication
    • Honesty
    • Courage, Passion
    • Forgiveness
    • Follow through
    • Flow
    • Collaboration
    • Initiative / proactive
    • Consensus
    • Letting go of control
    • OK to be wrong, learn from mistakes (value them
    • Understanding
    • Acceptance
  • Lao Tzu on leadership

    • The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.

      Next comes the ruler they love and praise

      Next comes one they fear...

      Hesitant, the best does not utter words lightly.

      When his task is accomplished and the work is done the people all say, "It happened to us naturally"

       

      Ubiquitous leadership is precisely a 'shadowy presence' that is everywhere in all organizations at all times, and feels as though it happens naturally.  It is democratic, and not separated by status, money, title, power or privilege from those who follow.

       

      The more agile, responsive and creative organizations become, the less possible it is for leaders to be imposed on passive subordinates from above.  

• + - Teams
  • + - Decisions usually made by managers, should be made by teams
    • 1. Who makes decisions to hire?  
    • 2. Who allocates work and assigns tasks?
    • 3. How is work evaluated and improved?
      • 360 degree feedback
      • Feedback has one purpose: improvement
    • 4. Who selects leaders?
    • + - 5. Who gets promoted, how, and by what criteria?

      • Eliminate grandiose titles, big wage discrepancies, autocratic power, hierarchical privileges, and compensation based on title or status.   Instead, a flexible matrix of skills, contributions, knowledge, seniority, difficulty of assignment, willingness to perform low-status work, voluntary efforts that benefit the team as a whole, and similar criteria should be used.   Applying genuine market principles to employment means that those who perform the least desirable tasks might receive the highest wages.

         

        Bidding for unwanted jobs?

        Rather than promote people out of jobs they do well into managerial positions they might do poorly, teams can create a broad array of rewards, including acknowledgment, job rotation, free time for creative projects, and opptys to develop natural abilities, leading to leadership roles and career development

        Allowing teams to select and promote their own leaders encourages teamwork and leadership development.  Internal career counseling, aptitude testing, aptitude surveys, and team selection can help teams eliminate burnout, elitism, tyrannical management, and the Peter Principle.

    • 6. Who gets trained in what?
    • 7. Who determines and enforces rules?
    • 8. Who resolves conflicts and how?
    • 9. How is compensation determined?

      • Studies have shown that when employees decide what to pay themselves, they not only set aside adequate sums for investment, but make thier products and services more competitive.  

        Leadership can train employees in accounting principles and budgets, and encourage broad participation in budgetary decisionmaking, or create an overall budget and let teams decide how to divide it.

    • 10. How are profits and losses divided?
  • Questions to consider in building a successful team
    • Who are we? (identification of the team)
    • Why are we here? (orientation to team mission)
    • Where are we headed? (creation of a vision)
    • What do we need to do? (clarification of goals and objectives)
    • What's in the way?  (acceptance of the challenge)
    • How will we do it? (identification of strategy)
    • Who will do it and by when? (creation of a plan of action)
    • How will we continue to learn? (feedback for self-correction)
    • What worked, what did not, and why? (evaluation of process)
    • Good work!  What's next? (celebration and renewal)
• Ego, Arrogance, Hubris, Assumptions
  • Ego is a destroyer
  • Once we feel we have the answer, all motivation to question our thinking diappears
  • Collaegues don't like know-it-alls
  • Making assumptions closes your mind
  • Being judgmental: People get defensive