213 – Free Form Friday, March 28, 2014

Locked-Doors-Of-Opportunity
Chains and locks won’t stop us from opening doors of opportunity. Will they?

Well, here we are. It’s the last Friday of March. Due to my sickness I missed the last Friday of February. But thankfully, March brings with it another opportunity. Another chance to riff on about whatever I’d like.

Here’s a few of the points of today’s Free Form Friday – they’re mostly questions I’m asking YOU. I’d love to have your feedback. Email me at SupportBulaNetwork [at] gmail [dot] com.

  • Is there a market for online executive coaching in the form of a membership site? By executive coaching I mean coaching aimed at anybody who has direct reports. People who manage the work of other people, regardless of their title, are candidates for what most call “executive” coaching.
  • What do you think the subject matter should be? Think big or broad, then narrow it down. For example, if I think about communication (a broad category), there are many more narrow areas like peer-to-peer, staff meetings, one-on-one with direct reports, written (including email and texting) and group presentations.
  • If the platform included video, audio and text (PDF’s perhaps), how small should the content be broken down? In other words, should a single video/audio be no more than 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes…how long should each piece of content be? A topic that might require 2 hours of instruction could be broken up into as many smaller sessions as needed. Twenty-four (24) five minute sessions might be a little much, but a dozen ten-minute sessions might be okay. What do you think?
  • Would it be more powerful if it had an interactive component with me? For example, what if it were a relatively inexpensive monthly subscription (say, something under $50), but then supplemented with a closed webinar with me each month for a slightly higher price (still under $100 though). Is that a dumb idea? What are your thoughts?
  • I’m talking about comprehensive, action-oriented content designed to help people really move the needle in their ability to become more effective leaders and managers. I’m also talking about including areas that deal with selling, persuasion and marketing. I’d want this to be delivered in a logical sequence so people could make progress and not feel like they’ve got a fire hose aimed at them. I’m not talking about a once-then-I’m-done affair. I’d want to continue to add and update the material while addressing the concerns of the members. How much should something like this cost if I wanted to make it extremely high value, but I wanted to make sure the people who enrolled where serious about taking action?
  • Should it be strictly monthly with no annual opportunity, or should I offer a reduced annual rate?
  • My philosophy with all my work is to have customers think or say, “This is worth so much more than what I’m paying.” I’m a guy who has no problem leaving money on the table IF the result is a remarkable experience for the customer/client. I want to dazzle people. I don’t want to merely satisfy them. And that necessarily means I’m aware of managing the expectations with a price point. If you’re going to charge me lots of money each month, I’m going to ratchet up my expectation. If you’re going to ding my credit card a lower amount, I’m going to lower my expectation. My objective would be to err on the side of BLOWING AWAY a reasonable expectation. I’m also aware of retention rates of subscribers. It wouldn’t help me to have a high churn rate (the rate at which subscribers leave and I have to go find new replacements).
  • How valuable would an affiliate program be…for members only? I wouldn’t want to entertain an affiliate program for the open public. I’d only want people who are subscribers themselves to have that opportunity. What would be a fair affiliate commission?
  • Do you have any other ideas for me?

The door of opportunity often looks just like that picture. Closed. Chained. Locked. And intimidating.

Do you think this may be a door of opportunity for me?

Let me bribe you to share you thoughts with me. Email me your feedback using the subject line “MEMBERSHIP SITE” and include your Skype ID in the email. I’ll contact you and we’ll schedule a 15-minute Skype call so you can ask me anything you’d like. I’ll do my best to give you at least one great idea to help move forward.

Thanks for your help. Have a great weekend.

Randy

 

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212 – Climbing Up The Corporate Food Chain: “You’re Either A Money-Maker Or A Killer!”

Kurt Sutter's Outlaw Empires
Kurt Sutter’s Outlaw Empires

Kurt Sutter is the guy behind “Sons of Anarchy.” Back in 2012 he did a documentary on the Aryan Brotherhood for the Discovery Channel series, Outlaw Empires.

The Aryan Brotherhood was born in the 1960’s and grew from a prison system based band of criminals to one of the most feared groups in history. One person in the documentary, John  (one of the founders) revealed how the group finally realized they needed a more structured leadership. By the 1980’s they had established a 3-man commission. He was one of the commissioners. An articulate man imprisoned for life, he said, “There’s only two ways to get to the top. You either earn your way or kill your way. You’re either a money-maker or a killer.”

Don’t go thinking I know my way around climbing to the top of a criminal organization. I have no firsthand knowledge or experience. I have seen The Godfather and plenty of documentaries on organized crime so I understand the basic concepts.

In season 1 of Vikings (a History Channel TV series that is now in season 2), the main character, Ragnar Lothbrok, engaged in a one-on-one battle with Earl Haraldson, the local chieftain. The victor would be acknowledged by the society as the ruler. Ragnar killed Earl Haraldson and instantly became the chieftain. Survival of the fittest and all that.

In the business sector it’s not terribly different, except it’s less literal and more metaphorical. Power, fear and authority in the corporate setting often stem from a person’s ability to do you harm. Hopefully, no literal blood is shed. It’s bad enough to have a career that hemorrhages to death. At least you can go find another one and start over though. If you get shanked in prison and die…or if you battle to the death with a subordinate who wants your kingdom, let’s just say your opportunities for redemption are dead, too.

As for the money-maker or the earner, we all appreciate the person who can get us things we can’t otherwise find. From Radar on MASH who could work magic to get the supplies lacking at the 4077, to the rainmaker who brings in new clients to the law firm – and all the countless examples in between – we all have learned the value of the person who can bring in business or increase the assets. They become indispensable to the organization. They may become indispensable to us, too.

Money-Maker or Killer: Which One Are You?

Don’t confuse money making with just sales. It’s not merely about revenue generation. It’s about being valuable and other people seeing your value. It’s also why killing your way to the top works so well. It gains you instant visibility. And notoriety. Doing good work tends to keep you off the radar like a referee in a game who does a great job. You can become invisible if you report to work daily and do a good job. You can’t remain anonymous if you’re terrorizing people.

Now I don’t have to tell you that if you’ve got enough cold water in your veins to instill fear among your cohorts, you’re eventually going to encounter somebody whose blood runs even colder. Then what will you do? Or you may go after the wrong person, at the wrong time and find yourself lying in a pool of your own blood. Ruthlessness is a hard road to follow in getting ahead, but history is filled with success stories.

But there’s another kind of killer in the business world, the person capable of besting the competition. We tend to focus merely on people inside the company who get ahead at the expense of their peers. That’s a crummy way to go. Instead, it’s possible to add value to your organization because you have an ability to defeat the competition, or contribute heavily toward that cause.

Money makers and killers. It’s two completely different personalities, skill sets and inclinations. But both can achieve success others only dream of.

What if you’re neither of these? What if you’re not resourceful in bringing value and you’re not a killer either? Well, kiss your butt good-bye. You’ve got to add value somewhere, somehow. Then, you’ve got to be visible enough to gain proper recognition. Else…you’ll wind up like the millions who suffer daily with the frustration of feeling under-appreciated.

Some tips discussed in today’s podcast:

  • You have to identify and faithfully serve your number one customer. It’s not who you think it is.
  • You have to be able to see problems and solutions.
  • You have to be able to clearly communicate your ideas, and sell them.
  • You must believe in yourself and your ideas. It’s a confidence you must cultivate.
  • You can’t be bashful, but you can’t be overbearing either. You have to know when/where to pick your spots.
  • You must forge helpful alliances. Successful people don’t go it alone.
  • Visibility is key. You have to help others see your value else it will go unnoticed.
  • Your value is often determined by what others value, not what you value.
  • Life is not fair, but you can improve your odds by being capable, smart, confident and visible.
  • Gripe guts and malcontents won’t rise to the top and if they do, they won’t stay there long. Don’t join them. Avoid them.
  • Promote other people. Climb the ladder with colleagues. You need their help. Besides, it broadens your scope of influence.
  • It’s a marathon with countless sprints built in along the way. Be prepared to break away from the pack in an instant. You never know when your opportunity will come.
  • Do not let it go to your head. Keep your head on a swivel and stay on top of your game. Keep building value in your career.
  • Success is never final. Be prepared to suffer a setback.
  • Failure isn’t final either. Well, it doesn’t have to be. Be resilient. Bounce back. Be a fighter!

Randy

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211 – Leadership Lessons: 3 Reasons Why Your Team Is Miserable (And Planning To Stop Following You)

ducks-in-a-row
You’d better worry when you think you’ve got your ducks in a row.

“I’ve just about got all my ducks in a row,” he says. He’s a COO/GM of a $30M small business with about 75 people. He’s got half a dozen direct reports who appear to be doing good work. They’re hitting their numbers. Sales are solid. Profits are heading in the right direction. Life is good.

“Why do you say ‘just about’ – what do you lack?” I ask.

“Oh, nothing major really. I’ve got a couple of people along the chain who need to be shored up a bit, but some training will likely fix that.”

Delusional leadership is far more common than you may think. Just watch any episode of Undercover Boss and you’ll realize how true that is. The boss always finds things he or she never suspected. In some cases, it’s one surprise after another. Are you like me in thinking, “Why don’t these guys get out more?” Peters and Waterman called it “management by walking around” when they wrote In Search of Excellence. Clearly there’s not enough walking around going on today in many companies.

The COO/GM thinks he’s just about got things exactly the way he wants. That’s what he means by having all his ducks in a row. The fact that he thinks a couple of ducks downline need a bit of coaching isn’t much of a concern for him. The problem is, he’s got one direct report who is happy while the other 5 are hard at work to get as far away from him as they can. In the meantime, they’re doing their work – and doing it well – but they have no intention of following him longterm. Sadly, he’s got no idea. He sees himself as a spectacular success.

Success is always a roadblock to effective mentoring or consulting. It’s hard to argue with positive results. The problem is when you see the risks of losing that success. Well, to be fair, the real problem is failing to see the risks of losing that success. Leaders sometimes get blinded by the success and don’t see the coming problems that will wreck the present success.

Armed with positive numbers and success (however you measure it), many leaders jump into a defensive posture at any suggestion that things may not be quite what they should be. Find a leader willing to listen, comprehend the possibilities and investigate — and you’ve found a very special leader!

With 6 direct reports, this COO/GM was at high risk of losing 5 of them. To put that in report card terms, his score would be 16.66 out of a possible 100. If 60 is failing, then how bad is a sub-20 score? He was failing 83.34% of his direct report team, but he didn’t know it.

To be fair, there are probably an infinite number of reasons why people become discouraged, disgruntled and unhappy. Unhappy enough to make concrete plans to leave. Today, I’m just talking about the three that plagued this leader. My hope is that you can look at this story and learn. Honestly, you could fill in the blank with whatever you want to create your own list of reasons why people want off one team so they can find a better one. Make application to your situation.

“He’s too autocratic. I can’t take it any more.”

Autocrats are domineering or dictatorial people. They pick at everybody and everything. Thirty years ago I incorporated a phrase into work based on my own experiences with autocrats I had worked for.

If everything is important, nothing is important.”

The autocrat is a nitpick. Never satisfied with anything done by anybody else. His own work is superior. He believes he can do any job better than those who do it. It doesn’t matter if it’s a factory floor, a distribution center, driving a truck or occupying the executive suite – the autocrat can do it all vastly better than anybody else. He’s not reluctant to make sure people know.

The autocrat berates and crushes people with criticism. In his mind, he’s driving people to superior performance. At least that’s what he says. I’m certain he believes it.

The autocrat embraces the drill sergeant philosophy. In your face, yelling, screaming, asking questions without giving you an opportunity to respond – these are all easy tactics for him. Fear is his weapon of choice and he’s accomplished in its uses.

In short, the autocrat is all stick and no carrot.

“It’s all too subjective. I can’t see what I’m aiming at.”

Back in the 80’s I was managing multiple teams in a turnaround project. I was fresh to the task and quickly realized there were no measureables for the team members. They had nothing to aim at. I remember addressing them and telling them a story about bowling in the dark. We’ll go bowling, but we’ll turn out the lights and you’ll be unable to see the pins. Do you still want to go bowl? Of course not. If you can’t see the pins…if you can’t see how well or how poorly you’ve done…what’s the point? Exactly. There is no point if you can’t quantify the work.

“He criticizes how I do everything. Everything.”

“I can’t win for losing.”

“I don’t know what he wants.”

These kinds of statements characterize the feelings of many team members trapped by an ineffective leader. The one team member who isn’t making any plans to leave is treated better than all the others. For some reason the wrath of the autocrat doesn’t fall his way very often. However, for the others, they’re worn out from hearing “I don’t like that” or “I hate that” without knowing a standard of measurement.

Nobody wants their boss to sit across of them and tell them, “I don’t think you’re doing very good work.” You can’t do anything with that information. You need specific feedback based on something other than how a person feels. How you manage how a person feels – especially when they get up in a different mood every day?

You don’t. You leave!

“There’s never recognition for hard work or results.”

No matter how many hours, or how much effort the team members put forth, the boss took the attitude, “That’s what they’re paid to do.” Countless stories of staying late, coming in early and putting in the effort necessary to finish a project ended with, “And what did we get for it? NOTHING. Not a ‘thank you.’ Not a single sign of appreciation.”

Recognition and praise are hard for some leaders. Without any effort at all they can spot a problem and level a criticism, but ask them to find somebody doing something right and you’ll stymy them. I know. I’ve done it. It’s sad to watch a grown business person struggle to find one good thing to say about people without inserting a ‘but.’

“Well, Susan is punctual and she tries hard…but she won’t take much initiative.”

If it weren’t so sad it’d be funny. They just can’t give a compliment without ending it with something critical. It’s a hard habit to break, even if the leader wants to and in my experience, most don’t want to break it because they do believe it’s the proper way to lead. They’re wrong!

It’s not how much success you’re experiencing right now…it’s about how much success could you be experiencing?”

Imagine how much MORE success could be had? If 83% of the direct reports are miserable and searching for other places to work, but the numbers (the results) are deemed a “success,” imagine how much more successful the results would be if all the direct reports were fully engaged and more devoted to the organization.

I’d like to tell you that more often than not I win that argument, but I don’t. Potential is a tough concept to argue when you’re up against some level of current success. It’s a lot easier when you’re up against blatant failure!

Conclusion

I believe in people. I believe in telling people the truth. I believe people want to contribute and find meaning in their work. Many problems of leadership that I encounter stem from a faulty mindset or philosophy that believes people are lazy, they don’t do the right thing, they’ll steal from you, they won’t do good work — UNLESS — you use fear and force.

How is it with your team? Do you know how your people feel? Do you care?

What are their concerns? Do you have enough of a relationship where candid conversations can happen without your people having any fear? Why not?

What’s stopping you from being a more effective leader? And how good are you going to look when 83% of your team leave?

Just because the ducks appear to be in a row right now doesn’t mean they’re going to remain. It’s takes a watchful and caring eye to make sure the formation stays together. It’s the work of effective leaders. It’s also the dream for every team member or potential team members. They want to follow a leader who cares enough about them to help them be all they can be.

Randy

P.S. It’s good to be back. I’ve been laid up for 3 weeks. If you’d like to know more about that, listen to this episode of my Leaning Toward Wisdom podcast.

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