ChangeMaker International

Do they never learn?

2009-03-31T18:25:00.001+01:00

Leaders and leadership teams often grapple with how to change the culture and behaviours within a business.

If after a few attempts things aren’t working they will regularly revert to the services of outside consultants and communications specialists to develop and run an engagement programme in the hope that this will finally get the message across.

However what they all too often fail to note is just how closely, their actions, words and relationships are being observed by those who work for them. One misstep, however small can undermine all of the investment that has been made in the “Engagement Activities”.

Once again this week in the UK the subject of expenses for Members of Parliament has reared up its distinctly ugly head, and once again the “but I am only following the rules” defence has been rolled out.

I am not picking on any particular MP since I suspect that apart from those who currently stand in the cross hairs of the media’s telescopic sights, there are many others standing back and being quiet, hoping that the spotlight doesn’t swing on them.

So why does this defence fail to convince? It seems that there are two main reasons:

Ø It may be technically correct but is it morally correct? To follow a set of “rules” when you know that they are out of touch with the morale standards of those that you serve suggests a sense of arrogance and superiority. Leaders who retain long-term respect are those who demonstrate humility and respect for the moral compass of those that they serve.

Ø The rules are very different from those that these very same people set for the rest of us. If I fail to submit receipts with my expenses the taxman will tax me, to suggest that I am too busy to trifle with such trivia will earn me no friends. If I claim for expenses that are out of proportion to my salary, once again I get taxed. To live by different rules to those that you apply to others is simply hypocrisy and cynical and suggests that the leaders do not care about the people that they serve.

But it isn’t only politicians, what about the leader that expects people to respond punctually and is late herself, or the leaders who freezes pay and makes people redundant but pays himself more? What about the board that tells their employees that teamwork is important but work in factions themselves, or the executive who talks about the value of people but does nothing to develop others.

Don’t get me wrong; I think that engagement is critical since it dramatically impacts the performance of the business. I think that engagement programmes are valuable because they can help to accelerate the rate of change.

If the executive/leadership team is acting congruently with what they say and want, change and engagement will happen. It may be slow but it will happen and an engagement programme will accelerate that change.

IF however they are not acting congruently, it does not matter how much is spent the change will not happen or at least it will not be sustainable.

The good news of course is that most executives are not voted in by “their pubic”, they only have to convince the shareholders; but they can be brutal when things do not go as promised.

No special book this month but Google TED Talks - fantastic stuff - look for Sir Ken Robinson "Schools Kill Creativity" - magnificent

A Change of Leadership

2009-03-13T18:04:00.003Z

Perhaps too much has been written in the last few weeks about the packages that have been offered to and accepted by “disgraced banking executives”.

It is neither my place nor purpose to add to such personal vilification since, I, like I suspect most of the authors know little or nothing of the important details of each case.

What is clear however is that we stand on the edge of a significant opportunity to realign what we mean by leadership to a set of values that are more broadly held in the wider community.

Much has been made of the academic and career backgrounds of people who have achieved positions of power in industry and I am beginning to hear people question whether or not it is the increased focus on “business school education” that has led us into trouble.

Personally I believe that it is much wider than that. It is more to do with what we have allowed to become seen as “acceptable behaviour” that needs review.

Before I continue, I must make it clear that I run a business for profit and believe that without profit it is impossible to build sustainable organisations. In other words what follows are not the rantings of a left or for that matter right wing fanatic.

Let us start with the consideration that, if you allow your economy to become dependant upon people buying things that they don’t need with money that they don’t have, and cannot afford to borrow, you have an unsustainable situation.

But that was (and probably still is) the case.

In this economy, it became acceptable for people to earn sums of money from full time employment that previously would only have been possible had the individual taken personal risk and run their own business.

Hence the risk/reward balance was thrown out of balance and in a strange way that also affected how people applied the consequences of failure.

If you run your own business and take extraordinary risk, you may end up extremely rich or destitute. There are those of us who run their own businesses who do not wish to end up destitute and therefore we moderate the amount of risk that we are willing to take and hence we also moderate our expected earnings.

But the concept of personal risk seems to be almost totally absent from the corporate world and people are allowed to act in many ways without the fear of consequence. Indeed organisations often err too much on the side of “Fairness” and allow a limited number of irresponsible individuals to take advantage of their good nature.

It is not the fact that these failed leaders were given extraordinary payoffs, but rather, if the apparent facts are true, why were they not dismissed for gross misconduct?

Before however we raise the inevitable chant of “there’s one rule for them and another for the rest of us”, it is only fair to recognise that that is far from the truth.

The very same culture allows individuals to take unauthorised sick leave, or underperform at work in a variety of ways, without their manager taking appropriate action. It means that the only way that some organisations can ever get rid of persistent offenders to is to pay them an unjustified redundancy payment.

Perhaps the most consistent complaint on employee opinion surveys, after the predictable comments on pay and conditions, is the fact that poor performance goes unpunished.

There are many requirements of leadership, one of which is fairness. But what is fair? I hesitate to suggest that it is decided in the “court of public opinion”, but it is defined by what society generally defines as fair.

At work, fairness depends on the terms of the deal that is agreed between both parties at the start of the relationship. Generally it is agreed that the employer will pay the employee to deliver certain services and it is also agreed that certain behaviours are acceptable and others, unacceptable.

Should either party not fulfil their side of the bargain, then it is appropriate for the counter party to take appropriate action.

If we are to take the opportunity for change that has presented itself to us, let us not focus on what has happened in the past, however unpalatable that may be.

You can only change the future. Yes I accept that it would be great if our politicians took the lead but they won’t and the fact that they too will tell you that their expenses are “within the agreed policy” even if they are generally seen to be unacceptable, shows the depth of the problem.

What we need is a new style/form of leadership. One that is based in values; rather than power, cash or greed.

One that is based on consequences that are fair, equitable and palatable to the wider population and are applied with equal rigour at all levels.

One that is based on do as I do rather than do as I say but allow me to do differently!

Book Recommendations….

The Boy in the Stripped Pyjamas - by John Boyne - a beautiful and powerful story about two boys on different sides of the barbed wire in World War II

Venue of the Week, Month, Year!

Aravis, the most wonderful three days in stunning chalet - www.business-retreats.co.uk/home.html

A sense of perspective and responsibility

2009-01-29T15:54:00.002Z

With all that has been going on the last 12 to 18 months, the leadership challenge for 2009 is, “How can we get a real sense of perspective back into our lives and who is going to take responsibility for making it happen?”

In terms of perspective we need a clear understanding of what our own real situation is now and in the short to medium term future.

Last Monday I was having a bad day. My broadband connection had collapsed at home and after a totally wasted morning I grumpily climbed into my car and drove to the office to catch up on some urgent emails before setting off around the world on business. The very first email that I opened came from a friend in Kenya. Gideon explained in heart rending terms about the current food crisis in Kenya and the fact that his family were surviving by eating leaves and roots.

Suddenly my Broadband crisis seemed to be much less of a problem and I realised just how easy it is to lose a sense of true perspective.

The media will of course continue to promote doom with misleading headlines such as “The UK Economy has ground to a halt!”

I laughed when I heard this because at the time I was driving on a busy motorway having just left a large supermarket where the queues for the checkouts had been as irritating as usual. Had the economy actually ground to a halt, the motorway would have been empty, as would the shelves of the supermarket.

Somehow we have to rise above this hyperbole and keep things in perspective.

Equally importantly we are going to have to make sure that each and every person in our businesses understands their personal responsibility for solving the problems that exist and takes the actions to demonstrate that they accept and enjoy that responsibility.

When people fail to take responsibility it is deeply frustrating and annoying.

For example imagine that you are driving on a motorway in the outside lane. The traffic is such that you’re a making slow if steady progress past the two other lanes and of course leaving appropriate gaps for safe driving. Suddenly you notice another car, it is switching lanes, undertaking, and cutting in, causing other cars to brake; that otherwise unnecessary braking is slowing the general pace and will eventually result in a queue.

You feel tense, angry and frustrated that one person only cares about themselves and is not taking appropriate responsibility and what is more there are no police around to hold them accountable!

As I sat in the departure lounge at Heathrow last Tuesday, the TV’s were all showing the Obama inauguration. A member of the Heathrow team came and sat next to me to watch, as he put it, “History in the making”. In fact everyone seemed to be stopping to watch.

It seemed as if people hoped that this one man could change things that have taken decades to develop.

As I travelled via Beijing and Tokyo and eventually arrived in the USA, I was reading his book, The Audacity of Hope, in an attempt to better understand the man behind the cameras.

It is impressive. He appears to be a man of strong values, someone who is willing to listen to alternate views, see the other person’s perspective and even be influenced to change his own opinions. All great leadership traits. He is also acutely aware that things will only change with the consent and participation of the vast majority of the population!

My greatest fear for the man is that people have created such a sense of expectation, it will be impossible to be successful. I was reminded of a conversation with a CEO just before she took the stage at the annual leadership conference.

“I notice that you are making a series of promises about change and investment.” “Yes” she replied “Twelve in total”

“How many did you make last year and how many were actually delivered” I asked.

“I promised eleven and we did quite well in delivering eight of them” she smiled.

“HMM and which do you think will be remembered, the eight that were delivered or the three that were not? Perhaps this year you should promise six and deliver nine”

“But that would suggest that we lack ambition” she offered

“Well I guess it depends if you want to be remembered for being ambitious or successful!”

I have come to believe that Barak Obama is a man of vision, integrity and hope. Equally I believe that he demonstrates excellent leadership qualities, I just hope that people know that they also have to step up to their responsibilities and help him to achieve change.

Now let us put that in the current context in which our companies are facing great challenges and many are in a life and death struggle. Can you really afford to have people in your business who are not taking the responsibility that the business and their colleagues require them to in order to maximise the chances of survival.

Working one or more levels below:

A few years ago I was working with the Managing Director of a client. It struck me that she spent a lot of her time doing work that should be being done by someone else. Not just another member of the board, but actually someone two or possibly three levels away from her in the company.

At first I thought that it was because she had worked her way up through the industry and enjoyed the operational work so much that she could not resist to get involved in things that she really should allow others to do.

With further study I realised that the problem was being caused elsewhere. The company had a regional management and then local branch structure. The Regional Managers (who were a huge expense to the business) had poorly defined responsibilities and were people who had performed well as Branch Managers and been promoted to this role with little or no assessment of their potential.

Lacking a clear understanding of their expected contribution to the business and associated responsibilities, they filled their time going into branches and “fixing the problems”. Thus disempowered the branch managers became “super team leaders” and so on through the rest of the structure.

As there was no coordinating leadership and management at the regional level, the executive team were forced to step in and take that role, whilst also struggling to take the overall strategic lead.

As I held the mirror of reality up to the MD and her team, she took characteristically prompt and courageous action. The Regional management layer was removed saving the business several hundred thousands pounds per annum.
The good branch managers stepped up to the challenge and did not need regional “administrators” as the regional management team were labelled behind their backs. The ineffective branch managers who had been “protected” by the Regional Managers were exposed and replaced, and most importantly overall performance improved.

Are people in your business aware of their responsibilities and delivering against them? If not are you the missing policeman that everyone else wants to be seen to be dealing with them?

..and finally.

I do love travel. I will also happily admit that I really miss my family whilst I am doing it, but I think it is in my blood, if only because I love to see the similarities between people around the world. We do however still have our own unique issues to deal with.

In China, I found a continuing sense of optimism despite the fact that certain sectors have been very badly hit by the slow down in foreign trade. There is however a challenge that may be familiar to anyone who works in or with privatised ex-public sector businesses. It takes a long time to remove that culture of dependence and the expectation that it is someone else’s responsibility to take decisions.

In Japan, the issue is subtly different. I love Japan because it is such a friendly and polite culture. The only problem is that this means that they avoid conflict in business and struggle to challenge their elders who are so respected that “they should not be questioned.” So different to some tribal cultures in which leaders are the most humble people in the whole community.

..oh and one last thing.

As well as reading The Audacity of Hope - B. Obama, The Confessions of an Economic Hitman – John Perkins, is well worth a read. It tells the story of how America created the mess that the new President has to lead them out of.

Prepare for the Good Times

2009-01-16T19:10:00.002Z

I don’t know about you but I am now turning the radio off to avoid the media’s attempts to convince me that “the end of the world is nigh” and “we are all doomed”. The people doing the same at Speakers Corner never convinced me and just because it is being done with modern media does not make it any more plausible.

Let’s face it things will improve and the real question is not when will they improve, but will your business be there to enjoy it? Or will you have fallen into the arms of the administrator or been acquired by a competitor?

I listened to a government minister on the radio the other day who said that they had statistics that showed that those businesses that continued to invest in their people during a recession were 2 ½ times more likely to survive the recession and come out the other end stronger than they were at the start.

Now I admit that I am not a great believer in Government statistics or the spin of ministers, but since he had nothing to gain in terms of votes from saying this, I paid a bit more attention. It also reflects empirical evidence that I have observed in my 31-year career (ouch that hurts, 31 years since I was a fresh, cheeky and innocent graduate!).

This afternoon I was writing the latest Chapter for our Survival Kit for Sustainability (see our website) and I realised that there were certain things that businesses really need to do to prepare for the good times.

What follows is not exactly what I wrote in the Chapter this afternoon that would be far too lazy!

So what do you need to do? How can you continue to invest in your people when the cash is tight? What follows are merely headlines with a few thoughts, but do feel free to get in touch via email – chris@changemakerweb.co.uk

1) Make sure that you people actually believe that the good times will come. If you have already had to restructure your business and let people go, those who remain are probably sitting there in state of fear. Hardly the recipe for productivity. They are almost certainly not “grateful that they still have a job” so what are you going to do to lift them up and get them focussed again. This takes more time and not a lot of money but it is a big investment.

2) Sort out your business. In times of growth, businesses tend to become “fat, dumb and happy”, with inefficient processes, dysfunctional structures, and poorly defined roles and responsibilities. After all when the revenue is high it is often more about just getting things done rather than getting smart. Your people have probably been frustrated by these inefficiencies for ages but they have never had the time to stop the bus and sort it out. Now they may have so do it now and then, not only will you retain more of the revenue that you create today but also you will be able to fly when things get better. As you spend the time with them discussing their brilliant ideas they will see that as a big investment.

3) In the same way that businesses get complacent about processes, it is also true that they can suffer from culture creep. It is noticeable that successful companies create dependant cultures in which the business does ever more things for employees in the hope that this will create loyalty in a positive labour market. Take a hard look at the terms and conditions you have created in your belief that it will make you an employer of choice and sort it now. Now this may sound counter intuitive. Is he asking us to invest less in our people I hear you ask? No I am merely suggesting that you stop wasting money on things that they do not see as an investment anyway!

4) Use your own internal consultants. You remember those heady days when all of your people were so busy that you had to bring in external consultants to help. Well you may not be able to afford external consultants at the moment but things still need to change. So appoint your own team of internal consultants. They may need a bit of support and training, but at least they really understand your business! The skills that they develop will be an incredible investment.

My time is a bit limited today because I am preparing for a trip to China, Japan and the USA so I apologise for a lack of detail but do please email me if you want more.

On a totally different note. I hear that our Members of Parliament, yet again want us to excuse them the administrative challenges of submitting a proper expense claim every month and only having to submit receipts for items worth £25 or more.

I understand their point of view, I hate the balls aching admin. myself but I have to do it to meet the demands of the tax authorities that are carrying out the laws that these same MPs oversee.

Do they not recognise that this is not an administration question, it a Leadership issue. People who purport to be leaders should have the humility to accept even higher levels of scrutiny that those that they apparently lead!

And the book recommendation. Not the best month for reading, Christmas was a good excuse to submerse myself in loads of “trashy” thrillers and so this month it is not a book but a DVD in fact two DVDs.

The War on Democracy by John Pilger, disturbing, eye opening and all I can say is that Barak Obama is right about one this, it is indeed a time for a change.

Déjà vu by Crosby Stills Nash and Young, to be played at volume 11! A docu tour review of their tour in protest at modern conflicts, top stuff and a more than a few scary Americans!

A Christmas Change Message

2008-12-23T16:02:00.007Z

Hi, sorry but I have been off the air for a few weeks. First there was another stunningly enjoyable programme in the Kenyan bush with the Maasai and then a brief holiday in Spain...but now I'm back for a brief pre-Christmas burst.

Since we are in the run up to Christmas, The Muppet Christmas Carol DVD has resurfaced in our house and apart from the fact that I still cannot listen to Michael Caine without expecting to hear him say "I only asked you to blow the bloody doors off", I am constantly drawn to the power of Dickens' original plot.

He captures one of the true motivations behind all human change or rather all change that is sustainable - namely "The pursuit of pleasure or the avoidance of pain". The way in which the ghosts give scrooge an insight into what he used to be, what he has become and what he will become if nothing changes is a classic piece of NLP if ever I saw it.

2008 has been an entertaining year, I am sure you will agree, and I for one have had my fill of the media trying to tell me that the end of the world is nigh! I even had an email from a Maasai friend earlier in the year asking if I was OK in view of the "economic crisis". At the time he and his family were in the middle of a long drought. So whilst my level of comfort was under some threat, his life was on the line, and he was worrying about me!

If anything good comes from the current economic intrigues (and I am sure that it will) I hope that it can be like a visitation from the Christmas Ghosts. Let us look back only 30 or so years and realise what we considered to be success, happiness and a good life, let us compare it to where we are today and then extrapolate forwards another 30 years and see where it has left us. It was a good run whilst it lasted but you cannot build an economy on debt, let alone a business or a personal life.

And then let us get the world back into perspective. Only today I was listening to the radio as people bemoaned the fact that due to the "credit crunch" (heck I hate that term) they were only taking two foreign holidays a year. What suffering. When still 80% of the people on this planet can still not afford to eat well and regularly.

If we could only get those matters into perspective then we might also realise that the changes that we find so challenging and threatening at work are merely minor bumps in the long and winding journey and adventure of life.

So here is the leadership challenge for 2009. How can we get a real sense of perspective back into our lives and who is going to take responsibility for making it happen?

What needs to be done so that people start to take responsibility for themselves and their success and stop blaming their hardships on others?

Don't wait for the politicians or "the government", I don't think this is yet something else to expect from our teachers, it is down to each and everyone of us, especially those in leadership positions to take on the challenge and create some real change.

AND NOW..I have decided that every month I will post my favourite book of the month. It may be a worthy business book or a cheap thriller, if there was yet another Harry Potter to come, who knows it might have even made the list but this month it is "The Call to Brilliance by Resa Steindel Brown". If you want to know why I recommend it please feel free to email me and ask - chris@changemakerweb.co.uk

Career Sponsorship

2008-10-09T16:56:00.003+01:00

A few weeks ago I was invited to a Diversity Seminar arranged by Ernst and Young and organised by the delightful Stephanie Jeffs. One of the panellists, Simon Walker of Talent Smoothie, struck me as a particularly wise man and we agreed to meet a few days later.

Amongst other things, Simon and his team have been doing a lot of research related to Generation Y and during our conversation an idea started to form in my head. Your initial response may be “that could never work” but then significant change often requires the thinking of the unthinkable!

Let’s start with the challenge.

On the one hand, organisations want to hang on to their most talented people and retain the value that they have invested in their development. Generation Y however are a highly flexible generation and see no problem in developing a CV that involves numerous different companies, so long as they have been able to achieve demonstrable success through interesting and engaging projects and experiences.

Equally we know from research that approximately 70% a person’s development through their career is based on their experiences at work, rather than training courses etc. Experiences such as managing a complex project, rebuilding a dysfunctional team, opening a new market, closing a business etc. are incredibly developmental, particularly when considering the key competencies of leadership.

For many years now organisations have sponsored students through university, as a way to avoid having to compete for the best talent after they have graduated, so what about career sponsorship?

How would it work?

Imagine that you have recruited a young person who you have identified as future high potential talent, they have worked with you for a few years and they are looking for a new challenge.

Within your business no such challenge exists at the moment and you know that what they need at the moment is, for example, to work in a foreign country.

Rather than simply let them leave, you help them to find an appropriate job, possibly with a business within your supply chain or client base.

When they take up the new job, you continue to pay them a small retainer for which they commit to come back for a couple of days each year and share with you and maybe some of your younger up and coming talent, what they have learnt about business, management and leadership, from their new working environment.

You retain a mentoring relationship with them so that even if they leave that new job and move on to yet another business, the relationship continues until such time as you have an opportunity to re-integrate them into your own business again.

Obviously you could not retain this relationship if they went to work for a direct competitor. Equally, any new employer would need to be informed of the relationship and the individual would need to be contractually bound to maintain only one such sponsorship arrangement.

What do you get from it?

First and foremost you build outstanding loyalty with someone that you have identified as a high potential candidate for your business.

You can develop the individual potentially faster than you would within your own business by giving them the freedom to explore their own potential and have the flexibility that Generation Y seem to value more highly than previous generations.

For a relatively low development cost, the individual not only increases their commercial acumen and leadership skills but they share that wisdom with your other talent as they learn it.

You would build a reputation as an employer of choice for talented individuals.

What are the pitfalls?

Oh I am sure that there are many to be found and those who fear change will find many more than I could even imagine BUT remember if you can when people started to do this with under-graduates, there were many who said that it could never work.

As I said at the beginning, I was only trying to think the unthinkable because something will need to change if we are to retain the loyalty of this and successive generations and what worked for previous generations may not be the ideal solution in the future.

You may currently spend significant sums helping people go through MBA programmes, and they still leave when they have gained the badge. This may not be the eventual solution and equally it may not work for all businesses but CEOs all over the world are telling me that something has to change if they are to create sustainable and inspired organisations!

An abject failure of Leadership

2008-10-02T10:08:00.003+01:00

The intention of this Blog is not to make political points and I hope that I can walk the tightrope between using a political situation as a metaphor, without making a political point.

Last weekend “leaders” of the United States of America rejected a bail out deal for the financial markets, leaving their own and other global financial markets in a state of unhealthy uncertainty. The vote was split approximately 52% to 48%.

I do not profess to understand enough detail about the package to offer judgement as to which side was right or not, but it is the process and the outcome that I would suggest is an abject failure of Leadership.

The reasons given for denying the bill by many was that their email inboxes were full of mail from voters who thought that the bill should be rejected. It is worth noting that with an election only a few weeks away, the opinions of voters seem to carry considerable weight. But is that “leadership”?

I fully accept that leaders in all organisations should listen to their “constituents” indeed such listening is very much a demonstrable quality of leadership. It is what you then do with what you have heard and the courageousness of the subsequent decisions that truly mark you out as a leader.

Many others rejected or supported the bill based on long held ideological dogma.

But perhaps the most important question is how do people feel at a time of great uncertainty when they see their leaders totally split about what to do for the best?

A few weeks ago we hosted an event at the Institute of Directors in London and invited a group of Maasai to share their wisdom about leadership with business leaders from the UK. One of the questions that they were asked was “how should leaders act at times of uncertainty or hardship?”

Their answer was simple and compelling.

The first job of leaders at such times is to get into the community and create a sense of hope that like other times of difficulty in the past, this time will end and better times will follow. There is always a tomorrow.

At the same time as doing this, they are listening to the thoughts and feelings of the people within the community and building agreement that they must be given the time to make the right decision.

With this agreement in place they consult widely, with humility, to ensure that they gather all of the possible wisdom that is available, irrespective of whether or not the people that they consult come from the same position or not. Indeed they recognise that a diversity of opinions will probably ensure that a better decision is made.

Once they have gathered all of the wisdom, it is their responsibility to make a courageous decision, after all anyone can take the “easy” option and leaders are expected to be courageous. These courageous decisions will often involve challenging long held views, ideology and dogma, because without that challenge, change is not possible.

Finally the must get out into the community and explain the decision to people face to face and explain what people can do to make the decision come to life. At this time they must show a totally unified stance, because to do otherwise will cause confusion and re-ignite fear.

If you think about it is a highly accountable process.

As I thought about this, I questioned “did the leaders in the US have the time to consult broadly and take a courageous decision since events seemed to move so quickly?” But of course they did since this situation has been developing for 18 months, it did not start in the week of the 22^nd of September!

But metaphors are only helpful if you apply them to your own field of experience.

In recent weeks, linked to the changing financial situation, several businesses have been making people redundant and as I listen to my colleagues and contacts I find that in very many cases the leaders have ducked the issue, delegating the task to their own HR team or even external HR consultants.

They have not had the courage to face their own people and explain the hard decisions that have been taken. This, despite the fact, that they have been happy enough to accept the rewards of leadership for many years.

I wonder what that does to the respect that they command from those who are leaving and equally from those who still have a job and will be expected to perform in the future? What will be the impact on employee engagement and loyalty?

It is in the challenging times that true leaders step forward and do courageous things; it is at times such as these that they earn the right to lead and the right to receive the rewards of leadership.

What are you doing within your organisation to:

Create a sense of hope?
To seek agreement that you should be given time to make the right decisions?
To consult widely with all possible sources of wisdom?
To be courageous in you decision-making?
To ensure that every member of your community not only understands the decision but can act upon it?

Equally importantly, what are you doing with your next generation of leadership to develop that quality of courage?

Lessons from Japan

2008-09-24T17:35:00.002+01:00

Japan

After time in Shanghai and Beijing, I moved on to Tokyo.

It has been 10 years since I have been to the land of the rising sun and much has changed. Tokyo is still an energetic and vibrant city but there is a new mood and approach to business.

Japan boasted the big boom economy starting in the 1950’s and running through to the late 1980’s – a time that the Japanese refer to as the “bubble economy”.

I still remember in the 1970’ and 1980’s as Japan became the centre of excellence for motorcycle, car, camera and electronic manufacturing, not only did the whole world look on in awe but we all thought that this was the nation that would “take over the world”!

Everyone looked to Japan to learn about manufacturing techniques, quality control and innovation with the aim of re-invigorating their own industries and economies.

At the time, traditional Japanese businesses were not only very successful, integrated industrial giants but they were also quite closed to the Gaijin (foreigners) and exceptionally hierarchical in the way that they worked, reflecting traditional Japanese social structures.

In fairness of course, was that much different to British management structures in the 1960’s, ‘70’s and in some cases even ‘80’s and ‘90’s?

But Japan has seen an incredibly rapid economic cycle, reflecting in a little over 50 years what Europe experienced in a century or more. That is not to say that they had no industry before the 1950’s of course we know very well that they did, but in terms of developing global trade, global businesses etc. it has been a massive change.

In the 1990’s much changed, the bubble burst and then the emerging “tiger economise of Asia” started to forge ahead.

So what has happened in the last 10 years – well quite a lot actually and it is only when you are there that you realise just how much!

Whereas 10 years ago people wanted to join Japanese businesses because it was seen as almost “second class” to work for a non-Japanese business, the younger generations now have a totally different mindset. They want to work for “interesting” companies, companies that have an exciting brand and better meet their lifestyle and needs they really are not too concerned if they are Japanese or not.

And that has caused traditional Japanese businesses to look anew at the way that they lead and manage people, they are now open, ready, willing and excited about learning from the outside world. They want new and leading edge thinking and don’t mind if it requires the Gaijin to teach it to them.

Now whether you consider that change to be inspired or reactive, to some extent it doesn’t matter because the way in which they are responding to the changes is to seek out inspiration and new ideas.

Obviously they have had a burning platform for change, the rapid changes in their own and local Asian economies meant that they could not continue as they had in the past, the younger talent was looking for something new, fresh and exciting and did not see it in the traditional methods of the past.

The real question however is “so just how different are we?” If they can challenge what were frankly centuries old hierarchies and social norms in order to be successful, what discomfort are you prepared to endure to ensure the sustainability of your business?

How fresh and exciting is your business to Generation x and Y? What do your Brand, Leadership, Reward and Recognition systems look like through their eyes and how will you be able to sustain success if you can’t excite new and young talent?

How far are you travelling to see for yourself what best practice really looks like?

The Olympics - Inspiring Change

2008-09-17T00:36:00.004+01:00

16th September 2008 – Shanghai

Wow! What a surreal life. I sit in my hotel room overlooking the unstoppable growth of Shanghai; the complex mix of massive construction and modern life, juxtaposed with people still pulling hand carts, whilst watching the global news of significant, some might say tectonic shifts in the American financial markets.

As someone who worked for an American Investment bank in the late 1980’s (one of the first “big names” to be bought by a “normal” bank), I have to say that I am neither shocked, startled nor amazed.

But back to the interesting stuff – China! This is my fourth trip to China and my first to Shanghai. Each time that I have been here, I have been impressed and amazed by the pace of change and the apparent lack of real awareness in the “west” as to the impact that this change will have on our businesses.

On this trip however I have learnt something fascinating, and yes it is linked to the Olympics. As we in the UK watched both the Olympics and the Para-Olympics and were rightly impressed by the incredible efforts and results from our competitors, the Chinese were experiencing something quite different.

I asked several local people what they enjoyed most about the Olympics and there answers were consistent. No it wasn’t a sense of pride that they won so many medals, it was a sense of confidence!
A sense of confidence that China could not just stage the Olympics but that they could now truly compete on the Global stage. A sense that they could earn the respect of the rest of the world.

Now there’s an interesting lesson in Inspiring Change. For several years now the rest of the world has grown increasingly nervous about the potential power of the Chinese Economy but their own people were not yet confident that they could actually make it happen. Now they are!

It is seldom the logic that makes change happen; it is the faith that is actually possible. What are you as leaders doing to ensure that your people have that level of faith that the changes that you are promoting are actually possible? What demonstrations can you create to show just what is possible? How can you create a sense of hope for your people?

The Chinese economy is a fascinating example of change at pace. For several years now the main engine of growth has been the perception that China was a low cost economy.

That is now changing, not only has the cost of living steadily increased in China which has raised employment costs, but the rapid increase in the price of oil – hence shipping – has motivated several businesses in the US, for example, to “repatriate” manufacturing. Many European businesses are still looking East but closer to home in Central and Eastern Europe. So China can no longer compete purely on a cost basis, they have to master quality and customer service at a world class level.

If you think about it, the Chinese economy has, in just a few short decades or even years gone through a cycle that lasted for a century or more in Europe and at many decades in the USA.

So how are they going to cope?

Well according to many of the people that I have spoken to they see the need to Leapfrog. This means that they are not happy to train their people with the ideas, approaches and technology that sufficed in the “west” 20, 10 or even 5 years ago. After all why learn how successful businesses were run in an age and environment that does not reflect your own?

Since this is your competition that we are talking about, how modern are your development processes? How are you trying to “Leapfrog” your competition by investing in your people?

Equally, talent is a major problem in this market. Such incredible growth puts great pressure on the talent bank. In 2005, McKinsey and Company laid out the need that from an existing base of about 3,000 leaders, the Chinese had to develop 75,000 new leaders in the next 10-15 years.

Why? Because they realise that they cannot simply continue to “buy it in”, employing from outside the region or head hunting from competitors is not just expensive, it is totally unsustainable.

How sustainable is your talent pipeline? How many leaders do you need to be preparing for the future? Who are they and what are you doing to actively develop them?

The final comment on the TV before I finally decided that the time had come to turn it off was “and the US is still borrowing money from China to buy oil from the Middle East”. HMMM how much longer will debt-fuelled economies lead the world? Something has to change!

Early Lessons in Change

2008-09-08T17:02:00.013+01:00

Welcome to my Blog.

The aim will be to make this blog informative, amusing (as appropriate, obviously) and interactive (we really want you to get stuck in and add your thoughts as we go along!).

We have called it “Inspiring Change” for two main reasons.

Firstly because that is about the only thing that leaders can do! You don’t have the time to actually make change happen within your business and nor do you have the time to keep on top of everybody that is meant to be making it happen. What you can do is excite people about the prospect of change and inspire them to make it happen.

Our second reason was really simple; it is our business! We can’t make change happen in your business either but we can work with you and those that you have charged with implementing change in order to build the skills and behaviours that will inspire and deliver sustainable change with a significant return on investment.

My personal fascination with change started in 1987, when I joined an American Investment bank in London. I was amazed, amused and shocked at the profligate waste of money that they seemed happy to accept.

Despite my rather puritanical pleas to change the way in which things were done, the constant reply was “that’s not the way we do things here”. Until Friday October 16^th when not only did Sevenoaks lose most of the oaks but the FTSE 100 lost 23 percent of its value overnight. Now I had their attention!

Lesson Number 1 – if you can’t inspire them personally due to your position in the hierarchy, find a burning platform that means that it is no longer OK to “do things the way that we always have”!

Three years later, and now acting as an interim Corporate Planning Director for a major publicly owned organisation which, despite annual revenues in excess of £2 billion per annum, was still managing to lose the thick end of £700 million per annum, I was charged with producing a report that would lay out what had to happen to allow the organisation to compete with its privately owned competitors.

After due sweat and tears, a suitably substantial and well-researched report was submitted to the board; but I was already having my doubts about my future as a consultant if what I really wanted to do was to help organisations to change.

Lesson Number 2 – substantial reports, however well researched and written, change nothing, it is only people that change businesses.

Whilst the Board thought that the report really hit the spot and laid out some simple facts of life as well as practical ways to achieve the goal, they did not want to publish it since it contained some very challenging home truths about the number of people in the business and the overall structure of the business in general.

As they sat and continued to discuss the fact that the report really did create a clear vision for the future, absolutely nothing happened and most certainly nothing changed!

Lesson Number 3 – if you don’t tell your people what you want to happen, it is no great surprise if they do nothing to create the change that you are seeking.

Finally, the report was published; quietly. The leaders did not go out and present it; they just hoped that it would make as much sense to others as it had to them. The result, initially fear, uncertainty and doubt followed by resistance.

Lesson Number 4 – it is you, their leaders, who have the capability to inspire your people, consultants and their reports will never have the same influence as you

Anyway – that is enough for this first contribution and I promise not to continue in this style until I have finally explained Lesson 2671. At least I hope not since I passionately believe that change is much more simple than that.

I will attempt to bring you thoughts and ideas as they fly across my field of vision as I travel from place to place and observe change in many different cultures, both National and Corporate.

In the meantime please feel free to ask questions or add your thoughts and stories to this blog.

Learning from the Maasai

2008-08-26T14:47:00.007+01:00

Leading through an Economic Downturn

- Learn from the Maasai

The focus of this topic is in line with the relentless barrage of news and opinions we are seeing in the media. As the economic climate tightens so do the purse-strings and businesses are keen to get real value for everything they spend.

Why then did people spend good money to meet a group of Maasai elders who we sponsored for 2 days of meetings in the UK?

Learning Agility is the answer. Research has shown that the most successful executives have a strong pattern of learning from a wide variety of experiences. This is one of the key differentiators in the search for high potential talent and why we encourage our clients to experience a wide range of situations that can influence their ability to learn how to deal effectively with first-time situations or changing conditions.

The big question we posed was –
Do your Leaders have the experience to lead in times of "drought"?

Because the Maasai have learnt that times of plenty are usually followed by times of drought, they teach their leaders how to lead in such times and how to draw on the experience that has been learnt in the past.

At these two workshops, the participants were able to hear from and question the Maasai to explore their wisdom and then spend time considering their own current business situations before seeking specific "coaching" from the Maasai in order to deal with the problems that they face.

Read more detail on our website:Our News

One of our guests was Anna Wildman who is head of Global Leadership Development at KPMG:

"Thanks so much for inviting us to a truly excellent day, fascinating, colourful, sobering and energising all in one, just the most terrific opportunity, thank you for making it all possible".

We had considerable media interest for these events with coverage on TV and Radio, the internet and in the National Press. To find out more:

ITV News

The Telegraph

CityAM

Times Online

Leading through an Economic Downturn
– Sharing our Thoughts and Experience

One of the things we learned from the Maasai was that the Leader's role is to build direction and a sense of belonging and this cannot be achieved where trust is missing.

The good news is that that if you can build a high level of trust you are likely to outperform companies with a low trust rating by more than 150%.

Learning Agility is also one of the key factors we identify in our latest ThoughtPiece which is based on recent experiences with clients.

We recommend some key areas of human focus that will create trust and drive a Behaviour Strategy to complement your business strategy and we also include a very practical check-list of the things that Leader's need to do in turbulent times

Click here to download your copy of ThoughtPiece 8

If you want to beat the economic downturn and stay ahead of your competition contact us now for some practical strategies, and your free copy of the wall chart.

office@changemakerweb.co.uk