Work Rules: FINAL--Performance

Performance—Bock provides an in-depth look into the struggle that Google had with

performance assessment and why they separate it from development discussions. Pay: he suggests paying people “unfairly,” meaning that high performers deserve much more money than average workers; Bias: We’re all biased in one form or another, so remove it from the selection process. Check out the summary in the appendix of the book—in the “Work Rules” section.

New Kind of HR. In the “Afterword for HR Geeks Only,” the author provides a blueprint for this new kind of HR. This section will be critical to anyone trying to build a great company with great people. This book is a very worthy read as is this particular section.

Social Animal: #15--Final Social Words

Final Social Stuff: I can’t seem to get enough of this book. The section on “The Leader” was a fascinating recitation about politics. I loved Brook’s description of a stump speech: one section about You (the voters), a section about Me (the candidate), and one section about Us (both candidate and voters going forward)—a simple, powerful formula. His statements on how partisan we are at looking at the world got my attention. In Washington, Brooks noted, the people who write about finance, budgets and war talked to the titans, whereas those who write about family, education and social justice not only didn’t have that access but were also viewed as lesser influencers. About social trust, Brooks notes that markets that are not ruled by an unconscious sort of moral rule give way to overpolicing. And when politics is allowed to polarize, parties dehumanize each other and politics devolves into a boxing match rather than a healthy, honest debate. There’s a TON more in this book. Spend time with it and learn a lot!

Tell To Win: Post #5-Stories and Meaning

Stories and Meaning: One section of the book that resonated with me was Guber’s explanation of mirror neurons. These reflective elements in our brains allow us to interpret and imitate the actions of others. Not mentioned but worthy of note is that scientists equate the discovery of neurons/neuroscience with the same level of importance as the discovery of DNA in biology! And what stimulates mirror neurons are sensual activities…sights, sounds, smells, tastes, movements, etc. And stimulating these mirror neurons leads to activating the part of the brain that processes meaning. To make this point, Guber quotes Michael Wesch, a cultural anthropologist “’…humans are-meaning seeking creatures…we can’t remember anything without giving meaning to it…If you’re going to pass on ideas and influence people, you have to be able to tell a story’”(pp. 45-46). And the good news: We’re all hard wired for stories.

Tell To Win: Post #3--Emotions

Emotion: It’s the E-word that matters! Storytelling in speechmaking succeeds to the extent of the emotions it stirs in the hearts of the audience. Audiences (listeners/readers) need to be emotionally hooked in the introduction, have their emotions amplified in the body or struggle, and then be stoked to action by the conclusion.

Get Rid of Performance Review: Post #4

What’s the answer to this dilemma? In short: The Performance Preview (PP). Rather than performance reviews (also called assessments, appraisals, or evaluations) that spend time focused on what went wrong, did not meet expectations, or marginally contributed, Culbert and Rout push for something more effective. Their alternative is called the performance preview (PP). This performance preview offers a new collaborative model that holds both manager and employee responsible for successd employee to come to the table as partners rather than adversaries.

Marshall Goldsmith: MOJO vs. NOJO

#3. MOJO vs. NOJO: If some people have this connection with an inner positive harmony that generates positive things in them and radiates out such that others can feel that positive emergence, it follows that the opposite can also be true: NOJO (as Goldsmith calls it). These people are in the wrong jobs, unmotivated and have little happiness—the opposite of MOJO.

MOJO vs. NOJO
Take responsibility vs. Play the victim
Move forward vs. March in place
Run the extra mile vs. Satisfied with the bare minimum
Love doing it vs. Feel obligated to do it
Grateful vs. Resentful
Curious vs. Uninterested
Caring vs. Indifferent

Your Next Move: Surviving your next promotion

Michael Watkins has done it again with his latest book: Your Next Move (Harvard Business Press, 2009). A former professor at both the Business School and the Kennedy School at Harvard, Watkins scores a winner with his new transition book—which follows on the heels of his best seller The First 90 Days. With this new book, Watkins “officially” becomes THE guy when it comes to professional transitions. In fact, I think this book will get greater play than ...90 Days because it’s about all the most common types of promotional challenges such as, leading former peers, the international promotion/move, the realignment promotion, the turnaround promotion, and the on-boarding promotion. If you know someone either in the midst of a new challenge/promotion transition, this would make a great holiday gift. If not, just wait a year or two, and they’ll need it (transition is inevitable)! This week I’ll be reviewing Your Next Move in some detail in a series of posts.

Create a Culture of Candor

This the third and FINAL of several postings this week regarding the June issue of the Harvard Business Review.

What’s Needed Next: A Culture of Candor by James O’Toole and Warren Bennis (HBR June, 2008, 54-61)

According to the authors, in particular Warren Bennis, who is a world-class mind and Professor at USC, candor in organizations has always been and will be critical to those very organizations themselves. The authors say in a sidebar: Why Good People Do Bad Things: “….ethical problems in organizations originate not with a “few bad apples” but with the “barrel makers”—the leaders who, wittingly or not, create and maintain the systems in which participants are encouraged to do wrong.”

Their advice is simple and straight forward:

--Tell the truth. Leaders must tell people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. A record of candor is the only standard.

--Encourage people to speak truth to power. Leaders must create systems that allow people to tell the truth without retribution, or no one will tell you when your pants are on fire!

--Reward Contrarians: Listen to all sides. Don’t dismiss people’s value just because they don’t agree and thank them.

--Practice having unpleasant conversations. Getting good at having truthful, respectful conversations that leave people undamaged is a skill that’s only learned by practice.

--Admit your mistakes. Give people permission to be human—just like you are.

--Build organizational support for transparency. Protect people who tell the truth (not only whistleblowers) but create a culture of candor.

--Set information free: Become a transparent organization and give everyone the data…unless there’s some compelling reason not to. Remember: The truth shall set you free!

The Leadership Response

This is the 3rd of a series of posts based on my review of Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading ((Harvard Business School Press, 2002).

Of all the books I’ve read and reviewed on leadership, Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading would be one of the top 10 books I’d recommend to any leader—from first line manager to CEO.

a. The Balcony vs. the Dance Floor: As adaptive leaders get hit with resistance to adaptive change, the authors suggest alternatively working on the dance floor (tactics) and then moving on to the balcony (strategy). This technique of going from the fray to the front porch allows the leader a chance to get perspective. I liken it more to a football game with the guys in the booth far above the field to give the coach on the field, the benefit of a “balcony” view…they can see patterns of the defense and offence that the coach might not be able to see from the sidelines on the field.

b. How to Take the Temperature: The author’s insights here are brilliant and for me the most critical part of the book (which should be read in its entirety to really understand their brilliance).

--Observe superior authorities for their response to your adaptive change. HERE FIND THE BRILLIANCE OF THIS MODEL: Adaptive/transformative leaders find themselves on the end of a seesaw. They are at one end pushing for real, transformative change—that they were told by superiors to make. The issue or problem (with its supporters, often peers and subordinates and any others who might want to resist change) sits on the other end pushing in a counter direction…at first pushing only for the status quo.

1.But eventually if the leader’s pressure is too much, the issue side puts on more pressure to equalize the system. This requires the superior authority (and the fulcrum) to shift AWAY from the adaptive/transformational leader and TOWARD the issue (peers, subordinates, etc.) in an attempt to balance the seesaw. This movement involves a cooling of support by the superior—who may be calculating the cost to him or herself of the counter pressure on the issue side.

2. This dynamic makes the leader feel abandoned, isolated and betrayed because many times the superior TOLD them to go in and change things. The leader then feels like they’re on a limb with no support. But there are things that can be done on both sides of this seesaw. More later.

--Observe peers and subordinates signal their feelings by their hostility, pulling back, passive aggressiveness (my words not the authors). They will mouth the words but not the support. Ask them how they are and they say “fine” it’s likely they’re anything but fine. Again, true hard change…like a new system of accountability that threatens people’s status quo (bonus, etc.) and you have a real fight on your hands.

1. KEY: Push down the decision making and not may yourself as the leader the issue…but keep the focus on the issue itself by making those responsible for it….in charge of it.

--What Adaptive/transformational Leaders can do.

1. Move between the Balcony and Dance floor Leaders need to experiment with trying new techniques to relive pressure….and then reapply it to get things done, without destroying the process. They also need to step back (balcony) to objectively observe
the effect and dial it up or down. As one of my friends put it: “Bend, don’t break” leadership.

2. Take responsibility for being part of the problem. All leaders have flaws. Identify yours and work at them before they sink the ship. If you’ve been at the job more than a few months…you’re in the fray and need to look coldly into a mirror.

3. Pay close attention to superiors: They often reflect the heat in the organization. If they’re cooling, it’s a strong sign, your approach has caused a disequilibrium that the system is reacting against.

4. Keep supporters close and opposition closer. You need to pay close attention to your critics so that you don’t lose sight of what can be your undoing. May civic leaders fail to keep in touch with those constituencies that oppose them, and then are surprised when statutes they fight for are scuttled because of the work by those very groups.

5. Don’t be a solo act: Leaders are not smart enough or powerful enough to make transformative change alone. You need other people, allies to make things work. Think Survivor Island. You need help to get through the jungle.

5. Model behavior…you have to do what you want others to do. As a parent, you can’t smoke and tell your kids not to. As a leader you can’t tell people to change, if you’re not willing to yourself.

6. Accept losses/casualties: Some people won’t ever be able to make the transition and are poisonous to the team. They will eventually need to be replaced. Sooner than later.

7. Finally, Control the Temperature--turn the heat up and down. The authors call it “orchestrate the conflict.” What is meant is to add pressure when people slip into complacency on the one hand. But on the other, dial back the pressure when people show signs of severe fatigue…insubordination, emotional responses, undermining activity.

As an example of this technique, the authors use the movie, Twelve Angry Men starring Henry Fonda. Twelve men sit on a murder jury. Initially 11 want to find the defendant guilty. Only one, Henry Fonda, votes against. For the rest of the movie you watch Fonda’s character, masterfully turn up and down the heat to get to the issue of reasonable doubt. Fascinating example.

This is the first of a series of posts based on my review of Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading ((Harvard Business School Press, 2002).

Of all the books I’ve read and reviewed on leadership, Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading would be one of the top 10 books I’d recommend to any leader—from first line manager to CEO.

 

Ron Heifetz and Marty Linsky serve on the faculty at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and have written Leadership on the Line.  The book proposes that leadership—adaptive leadership (transformative leadership) isn’t for sissies. It’s a full-contact sport (art/skill). When you lead people to change, they often have to give up something and experience a loss, such as routine, comfort, values, or beliefs. It’s not easy for those following a leader who demands they focus on the truth—often painful. Rather than face the pain, they try to eliminate that pain: The leader who introduced the pain!

On the other hand, the leader has to know when to apply the heat of change and when to release the pressure valve. People can only take so much disequilibrium. So this book presents what I would call a kind of seesaw approach to good leadership with the leader on one end, the issue (including those who have to deal with it like subordinates, peers, customers, etc.) on the other end…all kept in some sort of balance by the leader’s boss/superior (sometimes the CEO)—who modulates the dynamic change and rebalances the disequilibrium caused by adaptive leadership.

This week, I’ll be making some posts about this important book. NOTE: I have reviewed an article by Heifetz and Linsky in a recent series and will also be reviewing their newest book out this year….that’s how important I believe this stuff to be. KUDOS to Heifetz and Linsky.  

Other Articles Worth Reading in the Spring 2009 issue of OnPoint

1. 7 Ways to Fail Big: Lessons from the most inexcusable business failures of the past 25 years (Carol and Mui). These guys studied 750 of the biggest business failures over the last 25 years (many of which could have been avoided). They came out with 7 big findings you might want to explore in depth: The Synergy Mirage, Faulty Financial Engineering, Stubbornly Staying the Course, Puesdo-Adjacencies, Bets on the Wrong Technology, Rushing to Consolidate, Roll-Ups of Almost Any Kind.

2. Reputation and Its Risks (Eccles, Newquist and Schatz). The authors set up the value in considering reputation management as a discipline in any company early on the article when they tell us that 70-80% of market value comes from brand equity, intellectual capital and goodwill! Thus, reputation is jugular! See the detail by reading the entire article that speaks about how to 1) Assess current reputation with stakeholders; 2) Evaluate performance in those key categories; 3) Close any gaps that you identify; 4) Monitor changes in stakeholder’s opinions and expectations: 4) Designate one person in charge of reputation management.

LOTS MORE IN THIS QUARTERLY. BUY IT FOR EVERYON ON YOUR SENIOR TEAM AND HAVE AN OFF-SITE RETREAT TO DISCUSS IT.

CEO Leadership in Uncertain Times

Below is the 3rd of a number of posts over this week based on my review of Ram Charan’s important new book: Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty,McGraw Hill, 2009. ~Please pass it along to colleagues who could benefit from this information.

CEO: From Chief of Strategy and Visionary to Commandant in the War Room

CEOs must step up and lead. It’s more about rolling up their sleeves than rolling out the red carpet. The best example (mine, not Charan’s) was the time the big three automaker CEOs all flew to Washington DC to ask for a cash bailout. But, they flew in private jets! JUST PLAIN NUTS…are the only words that come to mind. The game has clearly changed. So what should they be doing, according to Charan? Here a few of the many he suggests:

1. Recognize Reality: Things are tough, but fear is a killer because it freezes people in their tracks. Inaction becomes a disease that undermines the economy. On the other hand, CEOs have to acknowledge that we’re in for a ride that will last at least a few years.

2. Protect the Core: CEOs have to identify core elements, assets, customers, and leaders who must be protected as the storm is weathered and the new day emerges.

3. Be Transparent: The time for clear and plain communication is now. In fact, Charan argues that the two big responsibilities of CEOs in such uncertain times is information flow and motivation.

4. Other important areas that Charan comments on in this section are as follows: Be Bold, Change Your Company’s Psychology, Reallocate Your Time, Reassess Your Top Team, Be Visible, Know the Daily Numbers, Manage Cash, Reduce the Break-even Point, Par Your Customer and Supplier Base, Know When to Change Your Strategy, and Set Shorter-Term Milestones.

Six Essential leadership Traits for Uncertain Times

Below is the 2nd of a number of posts over this week based on my review of Ram Charan’s important new book: Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainty,McGraw Hill, 2009. ~Please pass it along to colleagues who could benefit from this information.

Charam offers what he believes are 6 behaviors leaders must have during hard times:

1. Honesty and Credibility—straight talk in the fog of war builds far more confidence and credibility than looking through rose colored glasses that are unrealistic.

2.The Ability to Inspire: In uncertain times, people need hope in the unseen. Leaders have to shape a new vision and get incremental wins to build confidence.

3. Real-time Connection with Reality: Reality for Charam is “a moving target” that changes from day to day. Leaders need to keep their heads in the game and react to accurate ground-level intelligence.

4. Realism Tempered with Optimism: More of the same. Practical but hopeful. Charan’s quote “Unadulterated pessimism is no more realistic the unbridled optimism.”

5. Managing with Intensity: Mentioned before…Head in, Hands on. With an ear to the ground for ground-level intelligence.

6. Boldness in Building for the Future: Keep a close eye on the present but don’t forget to look at the horizon…which will be here faster than we all think! And you have to b e prepared to thrive again.

The book breaks down in to several sections focused on key players in the company: The CEO, CFO, Sales and Marketing, Operations—as well as function areas, such as HR, R&D, Supply Chain, Staff Functions, and the Board of Directors. See the next few posts.

Best Business Book~Sidebars with Interesting Data

This is the first of several posts on The 100 Best Business Books of All Time: What They Say, Why They Matter, and How They Can Help You by Jack Covert and Todd Sattersten (Penguin Group, 2009)

One feature of this book that I liked was the great, informative sidebars. Here are few examples:

a. Best Selling Books: Good to Great (1,447,00 copies); Freakonomics (1,200,00); Blink (1,110,00); Who Moved My Cheese (940,000); and The Five Dysfunctions of a Team (652,000)….

b. Selling on the Silver Screen (movies that deal with the essence of selling): The Big Kahuna, The Boiler Room, Death of a Salesman, Glengary Glen Ross, and Tin Men.

c. Choose Your Approach: People learn differently, so the authors offer three book genres to appeal to everyone: Fables, Modern (last 10 years), and Classics. As one example the authors give on change:

i.(Fable) Who Moved My Cheese?; (Modern) Change or Die; Leading Change (Classic).
ii.They provide the same learning breakdown for Motivation and Leadership as well.

Persuasion: Authority

This is the 5th in a series of 6 posts from a book review of Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive.

Authority: Everyone has experienced the effect of authority on influence. From bosses asking us to stay late to the advice given to us by our lawyers—authority helps us make up our minds quickly. In one experiment, the researchers (Pfeffer, Fong, Cialdini, and Portnoy) asked participants to play the role of senior editor for a book publisher dealing with an experienced author. Those acting as senior editors were asked to consider a sizable book advance for the author. The editors were divided into two groups: One group read positive comments about the author, which were made by the author himself. The second group read the identical comments made by the author’s agent. The result: The editors rated the author’s comments more favorably on every element of comparison, especially likability, when those comments were made by a third party (the agent), rather than by the author himself. Bob Cialdini and his colleagues have written a great book—I suggest reading it!

Persuasion: Liking

This is the 4th in a series of 6 posts from a book review of Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive.

Liking: Benjamin Franklin once wrote: ‘He that has once done you a kindness will be more ready to do you another, than he whom you yourself have obliged.” Though this sounds counter-intuitive, it is not. Researchers (Jecker and Landy) conducted a study in which participants won money. At the conclusion of the experiment, the researcher approached one group of winners and asked if they would be willing to return some of the money they’d won from the researcher because he had used much of his own personal money to run the experiment. The rest of the group was not asked. In a follow-up survey, the group that was asked the favor rated the experimenter higher than the unasked members of the group. Bottom line message here: Ask people for help. Not only will you probably get a return for asking, but they’ll also like you more.

How about writing an endorsement for The Journey of the Accidental Leader on Amazon?

How to Be Persuasive

This is the 1st in a series of 6 posts from Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive.

As a big fan of Dr. Bob Cialdini, I have used his classic book Influence in my courses for many years. Now, he has collaborated with colleagues Noah Goldstein, Ph.D. and Steve Martin (the Ph.D. not the comedian!). The new book, Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to be Persuasive is an excellent read for any student of the discipline and anyone who wants to improve business. Here are just a few examples:

Reciprocity: In one experiment a social scientist Randy Garner tested the effect of yellow 3M Post-it Notes. He sent out a survey and cover letter three different ways: one set of surveys contained a yellow sticky Post-it on top of the cover letter with a handwritten note requesting completion on the sticky note; one set of surveys had a handwritten request only on the cover letter; the final set of surveys contained only the cover letter and survey, with no personalized note of any sort. The results: 75% survey completion rate for the first group (with the handwritten Post-It note); 48% return rate for the second group (with the handwritten note on the cover letter itself); and 36% with only the cover letter. I just bought more sticky notes!

Lincoln: A True Level-5 Leader

The sixth and final post in a series on Lincoln’s leadership: Leading in tough times based on a review of Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times by Donald T. Phillips with reference also to Jim Collin’s Good to Great.

In his book, Good to Great, Jim Collins talks about Level-5 leaders--rare birds who propelled companies from a good to a great status based on a rigorous set of parameters. Collins found only 11 such leaders over an extended period of history among excellent American companies. The two most distinguishing features he discovered were humility and will. Such leaders lacked huge egos but nonetheless had wills of steel and would not be deterred from their objectives. And if ever Collins were to research historical leaders, I’m sure Lincoln would be in the very short list of Level-5 leaders.

Why Good Leaders Make Bad Decisions

In the January 2009 issue of the HBR, authors Andrew Campbell, Jo Whitehead, and Sydney Finkelstein describe why good leaders can sometimes make bad decisions. Key quote of the article: “Our brains leap to conclusions and are reluctant to consider alternatives; we are particularly bad at revisiting our initial assessment of the situation(p.86)."

The authors offer three compelling unconscious reasons/distortions from neuroscience:
--Self Interest—if inappropriate, always distorts and corrupts decisions.
--Misleading Memories—subconscious pattern analysis sometimes sees what’s happening as the same pattern we’ve seen before, but that’s not always the case and gets us into troublesome decisions.
--Distorting Attachments—we fall in love with ideas, people, and places, which can become infatuations that take us down a road of infatuation that clouds judgment.

The authors point out “red flags” to look for. Here are just a few of the many they offer; :
--Lay out all options.
--Consider the principal decision maker—and assess his/her possible self interests, misleading memories, and distorting attachments (I have my clients always appoint a “devil’s advocate” for all major decisions. It can be a person or a team, but it/they keep the process honest).
--Consider anyone else whose opinion holds great weight in the decision- making process and consider his or her self interest, misleading memories, and distorting attachments.

Leadersip: Thriving, Not Just Surviving in a Downturn Economy

This is the second in a series of posts on leading in a downturn economy.

In the January 2009 issue of the HBR, Donald Sull of the London Business School writes "How to Thrive in Turbulent Markets" (pp.78-88). In a piece full of advice and boxing analogies, Sull notes that thriving in such an economic downturn requires leaders and companies both to absorb the blows and be agile enough to take advantage of emerging opportunities. The problem is that often times leaders often retreat into such a defensive absorption role that they forget that there are opportunities (offense) as well that must be exploited to ensure a strong comeback.

Measures of Absorption (defense). Have...
--Diversified cash flow lines
--Unique tangible assets
--Powerful business partners
--Low fixed costs

Measures of Agility (offense):
--Exploit change (my note: if you get lemons…make lemonade)
--Use the sense of urgency to move the company forward. (everyone unites faster when faced with a common threat)
--Attract entrepreneurial leaders.
--Reallocate cash and talent across units.

This is an article worth getting for all managers and fashioning a hard discussion around what your company is doing both to absorb the blows and counter-punch.

By the way, Sull likes Mohammad Ali as the best boxing example of his model—an ability to absorb or take a punch and the ability to be agile and throw an offensive blow.

Remember Ali’s famous chant: Float like a butterfly,sting like a bee. Good advice for leaders today.