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Tom has written dozens of articles on his favorite topics: leadership, strategy, entrepreneurship, transitions and workplace education. Below are this week's top 10 picks, based on reader polls.
How to Leave a Legacy How to (Really) Leave a Legacy
There is a common misunderstanding that a legacy is what is given to people after a life transition. Think of personal property assigned to someone in a will. But a true legacy is defined most importantly by the difference it makes in our lives. The more powerful the legacy, the bigger the impact it has on us.
Entrepreneurs and business owners and can leave a powerful legacy by supporting and educating the next generation of leaders. Some ideas:
Teach aspiring leaders by exploring the experiences of planning, decision-making, and implementation. Seek out opportunities everyday at work to emphasize principles rather than specific facts.
Recognize individual accomplishment, yes, but emphasize team success and your own business version of “the common good.”
Encourage the simple skill of listening. While there are remarkable leaders who have made great decisions in the moment, there are many more thoughtful business leaders whose skills were based on their willingness to first listen.
Help others to recognize their talents and not be overly burdened with the fear of failure.
Stress the importance of choosing your life’s work based on personal meaning and commitment, even if it means considering another career direction. Be honest with yourself.
Integrity is one of the most enduring values because it transcends all professions and disciplines. In this context, integrity is a theme that runs through most meaningful legacies, inspiring us to perpetuate the positive impact for others.
Curb Your Insanity Curb Your Insanity
Even successful companies are challenged by the economic tsunami we’re experiencing. Seismic economic shifts and sustained downturns warrant a different approach.
Case in point: Gene started his technology company four years ago, and it grew rapidly the first two years. Then, growth slowed. Cash flow evaporated. A plan to diversify the product base was only modestly successful. Gene decided to lay off some of his administrative employees and spare the veteran engineers.
Like most of us, Gene relied on the world view and skills that drove early success. But when the market changed he continued with the same approach—and things got worse. When you’re in this position—and you will be—here are four ways to regain your sanity:
1.When a marketplace change emerges (or better yet, you anticipate as a potential scenario), do nothing and consider your options thoughtfully. Stepping back reduces the likelihood of a flash decision and boosts your credibility.
2.Beef up internal reporting, especially financial reporting. Make sure you can rapidly amend projections as you recalibrate your market strategy and tactics. You need your best analysis when you’re making critical decisions.
3.Share your strategy and analysis with key partners, especially lending institutions, Board members, and investors. They can be invaluable resources—and most prefer to be included rather than surprised.
4.Hand off key responsibilities to peers with the right expertise, especially if you’re an entrepreneur like Gene. Many successful entrepreneurs eventually reposition or fire themselves in this way.
And that’s exactly what happened to Gene. After talking with a fellow entrepreneur, he decided to fire himself. Once he did, he “felt sane again.” Lesson: Never use the same, tired, unsuccessful approaches and expect a positive outcome.
Employees or Entrepreneurs? Benchmark: Employees or Entrepreneurial Thinkers
It’s been powerfully argued that job descriptions, pay grades, annual performance appraisals, and meetings have caused more damage than benefit in the evolution of modern business. Bureaucracy can bring some order in chaotic times, but when this needs ebbs away, the bureaucracy often continues to grow.
Test yourself: Do you have employees or entrepreneurial thinkers?
Do your people schedule meetings to discuss every aspect of a project or do they create as much as possible on their own or in specialty teams? Are most important business decisions made in meetings or outside of meetings? Is initiative generally applauded or criticized? When was the last time someone presented you with a creative idea, fleshed out and ready for implementation that they would like to lead to completion? When employees talk about what they “do” at your company, do they focus more on the process or the results from the customer’s perspective? When employees talk about their work expectations do they mainly talk about their job description or what they actually need to do to help the company and themselves succeed? The answers to these questions may have some value, but what you do based on your answers is the most important result.
4 Ways to Beat Discouragement 4 Ways to Beat Discouragement
Every leadership team experiences discouragements. But high performing teams, like world-class athletes, continually correct their behavior in response to the environment and internal stimuli. They understand that the emotional response that comes with discouragement is a behavior that can be changed, often by taking a new approach:
Take a break and review the current circumstances that are particularly discouraging. Be ruthlessly honest. List the elements that contribute to the sense of discouragement, and what you've been doing to beat it. Undertake the same review with your team members (1:1 if necessary) to determine the source and nature of their discouragement and what they've been doing to address it. Engaging a qualifed, objective coach can be useful. Sometimes a team members may have to leave the business. Reshape your strategy for success based on what you learn. A key principle: DO NOT repeat any well-considered task or initiative that's produced consistently bad results. (That's another definition of insanity.) Also, make the time to recognize, and even celebrate, the attainment of goals. Even big successes can ring hollow until leaders make a habit of reinforcing smart, productive behaviors. Nourish your soul. Very simply, look at your life balance and make healthy adjustments. Rest, nutrition, and social/family time are excellent medicine, particularly during crunch time. Lastly, leaders can double their encouragement by discussing it and dealing with it openly with co-workers. Openness and honesty are leadership traits of emotionally intelligent executives. Exercising them can inspire your performance--and that of your team.
Turnarounds: 6 Steps Turnarounds: Six Steps to Success
A business turnaround, by definition, is a change in direction and operations, based on the assumption (usually) that the business is on a money-losing path. Successful business turnarounds can be complex, transformative processes, but they always combine at least the following six steps:
1. The assessment of the business in all areas of financial and non-financial activity that concludes there is an urgent need to take action. When it's too late to rehabilitate a business, closing it down and liquidating assets is often the best strategy for "cutting your losses".
2. Going forward, it is essential to know your company's values and how they're clearly reflected in your goods or services. A disconnect between the two is likely driving your current difficulties and must be addressed.
3. Turnarounds often become necessary when a company has lost its way or position in the marketplace. Focus on both clear positioning and a solid business plan informed by key performance indicators.
4. Restructuring , at some level, occurs in every turnaround. It should be guided by the need to reduce expenses and create a foundation for future growth. It's also a wonderful opportunity to send a clear message about the values underlying the future direction of the company.
5. Careful cash management and general resource control are central to any successful turnaround, even in large public institutions. They must be in a prominent spot on your dashboard of performance indicators.
6. The quality of communication is critical. We often see turnarounds in companies that lack clear, frequent communication about the company's direction, performance expectations and financial results. Fuzzy expectations generally lead to fuzzy performance.
If you address these issues, you'll be headed in the right direction. Many turnarounds end up being enriching experiences, with a redemptive quality for those getting back on track after taking a wrong turn.
12 Ways to Create Value 12 Ways to Create Value
Value, like something precious and rare, is a rich mixture of perception and scarcity. The wider the audience that perceives the value, the greater the opportunity to leverage that value.
There are many ways to create business value. Here are a few basics for most CEOs and principals:
1. Be focused with an end in mind, however general, and be thoughtful in your decision-making.
2. Be clear about the expectations you have for yourself and others, both internally and externally.
3. Make sure the people you work with have the necessary resources to help build the business.
4. Have a simple, transparent system for reporting performance results.
5. Know your numbers and, if you're brave, encourage financial literacy at work.
6. As you build a customer base, always market first to existing customers and build from there.
7. Focus on continuous learning and encourage discussion, debate and some disagreeableness.
8. Insist on accountability and initiative. Hold as few meetings as possible.
9. Always use advisors and consultants to creatively consider your options.
10. Carefully manage your cash flow and invest in opportunities to grow.
11. In the long run, focus on generating sales and revenue over saving costs.
12. Embrace accessible, affordable technology.
One last point: It's OK for entrepreneurs to lose sleep from time to time. It comes with the territory.
You'll look back on those sleepless nights as simply part of what it took to build a successful enterprise.
No Need to Know It All No Need to Know it All
Of all the bad ideas circulating the grapevine, pretending that leaders must know everything is among the most ridiculous and harmful. Leaders earn their keep, not by knowing everything, but by knowing how to bring together the right combination of people and propel them toward common objectives.
--Crucial Conversations, Kenny Patterson et al
The Know-It-All syndrome is a trap set by personal ambition, ego and/or the belief that you alone must put the company on your back and win the game.
Successful companies are simply aligned teams of people who learn, over time, to use all available resources to create sustainable value. And the most competent CEOs do most of the following:
Encourage fellow employees to see the big picture daily so they may develop their leadership talents and practice decision-making skills. Help direct reports build decision-making models geared to the demands of strategic leadership, while considering the long-term implications of their decisions. Make themselves available to their teams, offering support without taking away their freedom to make decisions and experience the results of their actions. Seek advice from experts when they don't know the answer and share that information directly with their staff. Embrace life-long learning and bring that philosophy to work. Learning is to be enjoyed and nurtured. When you relax and allow your people to share in the learning, you inspire them. With a company of learners you'll have a lot of good answers when you ask the right questions.
Everyone Gets Fired Everyone Gets Fired
Veteran Wall Street Journal columnist, Hal Lancaster, once wrote that "getting fired is nature's way of telling you that you had the wrong job in the first place."
That observation rings true as most of us, somewhere along the way, have been sacked. And half the time we react with more relief than dread. Even skilled leaders sometimes get the axe. In fact, in many cases those fired leaders were expecting the pink slip, and furthermore felt powerless to alter their fate. One such terminated executive with whom I once consulted even described himself as feeling hunted. If this is your fate then consider:
You're in the wrong position. While there may be obvious financial and professional reasons to hang on, the position just may not tap your true talents. Ultimately, you're better off seeking a better match. A job that plays to your strengths is a win for you and for the organization. You're in the wrong company. A former client once told me: "I lived in fear that each major decision I made risked being ridiculed by the owner." Do you really want to work with that kind of pressure everyday? You're trying to do too much. In tough times, many CEOs worsen the situation by trying to do everything. They end up doing nothing well and suffering the consequences. Adopt a more strategic and above-the-fray perspective to discern what really demands your attention. You may be underperforming because of personal issues. Failing to address them could compromising your professional performance and even create a perception of incompetence. Most of us, even successful leaders, get fired at least once. But you'll rebound quickly by deepening your strengths, working on your weaknesses and maintaining your sense of humor. Remember: no work situation, like life itself, is perfect.
Build the Results You Deserve Build the Results You Deserve
Does this sound familiar?
Your financial results are below your targets.
Your cash flow is pinched; your bank isn't encouraging you to expand your line of credit.
Your team meetings seem rudderless, with little accountability for poor results.
Few in your company are taking ownership of the business plan you though everyone had embraced.
This is not an uncommon scenario for many CEOs and owners. It's impossible to simply flick the switch on, but it's possible to build a stronger foundation for future success with some deliberate, disciplined actions:
Since performance expectations start at the top, review your own. Assess them with an appropriate person at your level or with a consultant or coach. Invite input from a trusted supervisor, if you want to encourage transparency. Review performance expectations for each direct report. Focus on their understanding and your direction. This may lead to specific discussions about current plans and future projects. Leave no room for misunderstanding. When expectations seem fuzzy, encourage people to speak up and seek clarity. For team meetings, have a specific agenda and desired outcomes. Make sure everyone understands the key numbers and other performance indicators (teach them, as necessary) that define and drive business success. You are the architect of your company, responsible for its structural integrity. If you act as a good builder you will create a solid company that can respond to tough market challenges. The alternative is a shaky foundation with a leaky roof.
Unaffected Simplicity Unaffected Simplicity
Unaffected simplicity, or naïveté, is one of the keys to entrepreneurial success. It allows entrepreneurs to pursue bold ideas, without being overcome by the curse of perfectionism. They act, they learn and they stay in motion as they master challenges and build market force.
Fortunately, healthy naïveté is available to all of us. Anyone can embrace it in pursuit of a dream: a career goal, a new business venture or this week's project. Looking at your strategic goals or day-to-day tasks through this prism can yield much:
A sharpened focus on the goal at hand and how best to reach it. You're casting aside distractions that keep you from realizing your dream. An intensified approach to building key relationships that propel you to success (and withdrawal from those that sap your creative energy and activity). A better balance in your life, including committing yourself to learning new things and entertaining new ideas without the use of a television. I believe John Prine's "Blow Up Your TV" anticipated "The Kardashians". The risk of unaffected simplicity is that you may have some significant cleaning up to do, but the possibilities are well worth it.
Profit from Kindness Profit from Kindness
Yesterday, as I was entering a local market, a young man was holding the door open for an elderly woman. She was walking slowly, but he patiently waited for her to make her passage through the doorway. A teenager who was waiting on the other side mouthed "hurry up", but the man didn't respond except to smile. After she had safely passed through to the other side, the kindly man sought out a bottle of water and walked up to the cashier, who said, "No charge. That was my mom you just helped."
Kindness is difficult to price because its a generous act without an expectation of a favor in return. You will be pressed to find a management bestseller about it, but it is one of the most profitable strategies you can employ because:
Kindness often inspires a positive response. Most of us remember when we have been treated with goodwill at work, and we typically look forward to the opportunity to return the favor. Kindness reinforces the perception of leadership because it goes with other leadership qualities like maturity and fairness. Employees value kindness as an expression of the leader's ability to consider individual and group needs simultaneously. They feel that they will be treated with compassion even in difficult situations. Kindness helps business leaders nurture a sense of perspective. When you take a minute to slow down and focus on the immediate needs of another, you increase your ability to sharpen your focus on important issues, despite the hectic business environment. Kindness is not at odds with visionary strategy, tough decisions, guerilla marketing or aggressive competition. However, along with your other skills it can be a resonant differentiator in you internal and external marketplaces.
Teach a Manager to Fish Teach a Manager to Fish
Great CEOs know that experience is the best teacher. They've been in the trenches long enough to know the difference between a true crisis and an invented one. And they can spot a teachable moment a mile off know how to make them most of it.
Take Glenn Thoroghman, the CEO of Laron, a former client. Glenn isn't one to jump and "fix" his managers business problems; rather, he expects them to solve them on their own. He hangs back, offers context, asks questions and coaches his team to success. He creates what my associate Nikki Nemerouf calls a "thought legacy": an opportunity for others to think strategically, match wits with the marketplace and win. That's what often happens: people figure it out, gain confidence and progress.
By creating learning opportunities for his people, Glenn greatly increases both his value as a leader and the company's overall value.
By the way, Glenn isn't the only leader at Laron who operates this way. They all do.
Next time you have the urge to jump in and fix something, stop yourself, take a deep breath and think: Don't steal this learning opportunity from someone else. Instead, use it to build value.
Take a Hard, Inspiring Look Take a Hard, Inspiring Look at Yourself
When your organization has a chance to see itself as its customers do, do your leaders crowd around, trying to glean every insight they can about the story and your future, or do they prefer the status quo?
--Seth's Blog, Seth Godin.
One of the scariest things to do in the world is take a relentlessly honest look at your business life. However, the risks of not doing so are greater than ever, because the status quo is a rapidly changing marketplace that we sometime fail to fully grasp, much like we fail to appreciate that Earth is spinning at nearly 1,000 miles per hour.
When you fear the outcomes of a hard look, consider the following antidotes:
The hard look is the epitome of honesty combined with support to find potential answers. Respected leaders put themselves in the crosshairs first to inspire others to do the same. Effective leaders encourage a team approach in the midst of a search for the truth. A hard look is not about brutal criticism; it's about working together to uncover a business truth. And that's what good leaders strive to accomplish. Honesty paves the way for inspiration and creative effort. In a sense, honesty liberates your intellectual abilities that would otherwise be compromised by the resistance associated with self-protection. A hard look is a long-term look because it sets a stronger foundation for future success. In some environments the hard look doesn't occur for many reasons and a company stumbles along, possibly profitably. But it's a very narrow version of success, with much poverty for everyone along the way.
