Consensus and Breakthrough Thinking
Friday, September 22, 2006
Oxymoron or brilliant combination?It's not a matter of "If", but "When."
A former CEO of Porsche said that his plan was to "decide democratically, implement dictatorially." He went on to say that a poor plan implemented well will outperform a great plan implemented poorly. His goal was to gain consensus on what needed to be done so that everyone was ready to act, then assign duties, responsibilities and deadlines dictatorially on the basis of this plan. This approach proved to be very successful for him. This CEO knew how and when to use consensus to move his company forward. The key was to get consensus up front, then end consensus building when it came time to implement. Will this approach work for you? Absolutely! Should you always strive for consensus? Not necessarily.
If you want breakthrough thinking, consensus is the last thing you want. You want chaos and disharmony. Creativity is born from chaos. How do you create disharmony? Propose a plan that you know will be resisted, then: - Remove yourself from the discussion
- Allow a discussion about why the plan won't work
- Ask for alternative approaches
It's through the diversity of ideas and lack of consensus that your team will be able to develop some creative approaches to dealing with the situation you face. Consensus will develop naturally as you blend the ideas offered. That's when you employ the Porsche chairman's methodology of deciding democratically and implementing dictatorially. How effective can this be? Recently a team with which I've been involved accomplished in a month something they had wrestled with for two years. Why the sudden change? The leader offered an unacceptable plan. It's counter-intuitive, but striving for chaos fosters creativity which lays the groundwork for action plan consensus and implementation. Help me add greater value to your business. Send me an email at dale@furtwengler.com outlining an issue that your company is facing. I promise to protect your privacy.
Surveying the Improbable
Monday, September 18, 2006
A waste of time?You may be surprised!A professional organization decided to survey it's membership about its pricing policy. One of the options offered was for the members to pay a combined fee which included their dues and programs fees for the entire year. Most of the board members felt that the membership would balk at paying for programs in advance because most of them could not attend all of the meetings.Surprisingly, the majority favored the combined dues, meeting fees approach. Why? They were weary of going back each month to get reimbursed for the program fees they paid. They also resented the accompanying question about the value they were getting from attending these meetings. Combining the dues and fees allowed them to submit one payment request and make one sales pitch for belonging to this professional association.Surveying the improbable may seem like a waste of time, but it often opens the doors to possibilities you might never have envisioned. Surveying the improbable is counter-intuitive, but it helps you discover new ways to serve your customers. If there are topics you'd like me to address, please email me at dale@furtwengler.com.
Metrics and Goals
Sunday, September 10, 2006
If you don't have a metric, do you really have a goal?PossiblyYou may have a goal, but you don't have a clear goal. Over the years I've noticed that when people set goals without metrics, they haven't developed a clear understanding of what they want to accomplish. If they did, the metric would be obvious. Let's take a look at two disciplines that often claim that their work doesn't lend itself to metrics - marketing and human resources. Marketing people often claim that it's difficult to measure the results of their efforts, in part, because effective marketing doesn't always translate into immediate sales.That's true, but all too often marketing campaigns are established without a clear goal. If the purpose of your marketing is to create name awareness and have it last, you can set a goal that 50% of people surveyed in your target market will think of you first when asked about products or services you offer. Better yet, set dual metrics - 50% surveyed think of you first six months after the end of the campaign.If your goal is to get existing customers to use other products/services you offer, establish a target percentage and track your customers purchases to see how many have tried another offering within a month, two months, six months.Similarly, in human resources it's said that the effectiveness of employee development programs are said to be difficult to measure. Again, it's because we don't have a clear understanding of what we want to accomplish. Effective employee development programs can:- increase productivity
- improve the retention of top performers
- minimize time spent in conflict resolution
All of these results are measureable. It may be counter-intuitive, but if you take the position that you won't accept a goal without a metric you'll greatly enhance your organization's success.If you have any topics you'd like me to address, email me at dale@furtwengler.com.
The Right People on the Bus
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Don't get too comfortable.The oft-overlooked aspect of Jim Collins' wisdom.Jim Collins in his book, Good to Great, emphasizes the importance of getting the right people on the bus. Indeed, in the 17 years I've been doing consulting work I've found that it's much easier to hire the right people than to change employee behavior. Unfortunately, those who take Mr. Collins' advice often look at "getting the right people" as a project. The presumption is that once you have the right people you're set for life. The reality is that employees':- interests change
- success satisfies their life-style choice and they stop learning
- skills become outdated because they stop learning
- needs for variety and challenge are greater than you can provide
- life circumstances alter their dreams
Any of these situations can result in an employee no longer being the right person on the bus. It's counter-intuitive, but having the right people on the bus requires continuous monitoring of the alignment between employees' goals and corporate goals. When the goals diverge, it's time to search for a new "right person."
If there are topics you'd like me to address, please email me at dale@furtwengler.comThis month's Special Report - Failure: Cost or Investment - is available. To order click on "Special Reports".
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