transformation

Leadership Meditations for 2018
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Leadership Meditations for 2018

Here are twelve leadership meditations for 2018.  I coupled them with photographs of scenes in my favourite place, Newfoundland and Labrador.  Most of these meditations I have created or amassed over the years, some I know I heard elsewhere but can’t remember the source.. I apologize in advance if you have heard any of them before, but I truly believe they are all worth sharing and reflecting on.  I hope that you enjoy these meditations, and that they help you have a successful chapter on your leadership journey in 2018.  I wish you a happy, healthy and prosperous 2018!

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Remarks to Atlantic Director Education Event November 2, 2017
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Remarks to Atlantic Director Education Event November 2, 2017

Last week I had the great pleasure of speaking to a conference at the Sobey School of Business at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax.  The event was for Atlantic Canadian Alumni of the Directors Education Program from the Institute of Corporate Directors, and was on the topic of Governance and Disruption.

There were a lot of ‘big questions’ being debated in the room, particularly around the paradoxes that are arising in being a Director in times of such uncertainty and change.   The role of management and of Directors is changing, and every firm needs to think about how they are managing the interrelated areas of Innovation, Disruption, Customer Behaviour Change, and Technology Evolution – and the impacts of all of these on both the strategy and risk profile of a firm.

It was extremely refreshing to see such energy around the evolution of good governance! Bravo to the Institute of Corporate Directors, The Sobey School of Business, and the Atlantic Canada Directors Education Alumni for putting together such a great event!

My session in particular was around the steps that Directors need to take to ensure good  strategy and good governance in these times of disruption.   I thought I’d share my slides from the event here…obviously there was a lot of dialogue that went with the slides – so feel free to ask me any questions that you may have…

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If you really don’t want to know, don’t ask: when customer feedback research fails.

120758221I was recently making a purchase and the salesperson told me that I would be getting a follow-up email asking for feedback on my experience. He told me that he would really appreciate if I could rate him ‘10’ on all items (out of 10). He told me that anything less than a 10 is seen as failure at his company and it really badly affects his performance review and pay.

At first I thought this was the reaction of one overzealous salesperson. So I asked other people who I knew had done business with this company, with other reps and other locations. Every person I spoke with told me they had gotten the same heartfelt request from their sales person.

In my mind there are three main objectives of customer feedback gathering:

  1. To find out if there is something that has been missed with the customer so that you can act on it immediately,
  2. To learn what elements of your product or service experience are important to your customer, and
  3. To learn where you are excellent (protect that), good (improve that), and falling down (improve that quickly)

A company that has created a system where the entire organization is incented to get a certain score on every question, whether it is true or not, is failing at these objectives. In this situation I would suggest that the customer feedback gathering investment is not only useless, it is likely harmful and creating a company centric vs. customer centric stance in the team.

Communicating and sharing customer feedback with the front-line is critical. All employees need to be congratulated and rewarded for doing great and they equally need to know how they can do better. The key is to be able to use feedback throughout your organization in a way that builds a relentless curiosity for the truth of the customers’ feedback, and a passion for improving.   Doing this is tricky, but it absolutely can be done.

Building an honest and constructive feedback process is worth your energy, time and leadership investment. Don’t be seduced by the score – instead be relentless in truly learning how you are making your customers feel, and where you can improve your true results.

Driving Brand Influence in a Networked World
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Driving Brand Influence in a Networked World

The Internet of Things is taking over the buzzosphere! The Internet of Things (IoT) has taken its place alongside Cloud and Big Data as the seasoning that gets tossed into just about every tech talk these days… so I couldn’t help but toss them into my blog!

Don’t get me wrong, I believe that cloud, big data and IoT are actually tech concepts that every business leader should be getting to know and thinking about.  Why? First, it is inevitable that these concepts will become important in your business. Second, few businesses will incorporate them in a way that creates true customer value and sustainable advantage. Third, the businesses that find breakthrough ways to apply these concepts will be the market leaders of the future.

So please make sure you have at least a rudimentary knowledge of what they mean, and that you’re thinking of how to incorporate them in your business strategy going forward. And also think hard about how these trends will come together in your customers’ lives. For want of a better term, you can call the point where these trends come together the Internet of Everyone. Consider a world where all data is available (the cloud), curated in real time (big data) and shared between devices constantly (IoT).

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Most growth strategists are already considering how to incorporate various elements of these technology trends into sales and marketing strategy. Whether it is considering how to collect and curate all the data becoming available about customers; or understanding how to use machine-to-machine and location-based service opportunities in messaging strategy; or determining how to use the power of IoT in the distribution supply chain- the options for incorporating technology into marketing tactics are endless.

I believe it is very  important to have a clear and articulated strategy around how the use of these technology opportunities will impact brand strength. How will your ability to exert influence on your customers change?

In order to examine the potential impact on your brand’s influence, consider how your planned use of technology will impact each of the key dimensions of your brand in your customers’ minds. Think carefully about how to make the internet of everyone positively affect your brand dimensions, rather than putting them at risk.

The opportunity is ripe to be the company that uses the internet of everyone to build advantage – and that is surely the path to win. But remember, in this new era of interconnectedness, your every move is amplified. It has never been more important to look at every opportunity through the lens of brand impact.

Your thoughts?

Note:    If you have not yet completed a brand map to determine the unique influence levers of your brand, you can start with the five key influence variables as defined by Ipsos Reid: 1. Trust, 2. Engagement, 3. Leading Edge, 4. Corporate Citizenship; and 5. Presence.  (If you’d like to read more about Ipsos Reid’s definition of these influence factors visit this link to the Ipsos Reid Most Influential Brands in Canada 2013 report

http://www.ipsos-na.com/dl/pdf/knowledge-ideas/marketing/IpsosMarketing_POV_Influential_Brands.pdf )

 

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Mind the Gap! Don’t forget the TMO

Transition (Oxford Dictionary)

tran·si·tion, tranˈziSHən,-ˈsiSHən/

noun: The process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another.

verb:  Undergo or cause to undergo a process or period of transition.

It seems every organization, whether corporate, non-profit, or public sector,  is fixated on change these days. “Transformation” programs abound, and adaptability to change is table stakes for success in any role. That said, I often observe that not enough attention is paid to the transition phase. We obsess on the CMO (current mode of operation,) and the FMO (future mode of operation) – but spend too little time on the TMO (transition mode of operation).

I would argue that the TMO is a key phase that needs to be planned, managed, and harvested if you wish to have the best results in any change initiative.   In fact it is the TMO that dictates the success of your transformation initiative. If the TMO is too uncomfortable or poorly designed your organization will not have the ability to let go of their old ways and adopt your new process or design.

I met an author, Gail Blanke, a number of years ago who had written a great book on life changes “Between Trapezes – Flying into a new life with the greatest of ease”.   I loved the analogy she painted of change through the example of circus performers. She told me that the thing that people often fail to think about when thinking of trapeze artists is that they have to let go of the bar they are hanging on BEFORE they grab the new bar. For that tiny instant they are holding on to nothing at all. What courage it takes to let go of something and be completely helpless for that split second before you grab the next bar!

If you are managing a change initiative, have you spent enough time preparing your organization for that period of transition? Are you prepared for the anxiety and fear in that moment when the organization has to let go of the old way of doing things, but has not yet fully grabbed the new mode? Are you ready to help people understand what is required during transition, communicate their fears and support each other? I would suggest that all of these things are critical for a successful change program.

     In short, when driving transformation – Mind the Gap!