This is the question I was left with after attending the leadership symposium yesterday in Calgary with Marshall Goldsmith, the world’s authority on leadership.

Marshall left me with a number of powerful yet straightforward thoughts that if applied consistently – should help to improve my leadership capability.

 1.  Quality X Commitment = Probability of Success

How often are we as leaders quick to find fault in others, happy to share insight to help improve an already great idea or eager to prove our intellectual prowess?  Every time we do so we run the risk of decreasing commitment by making the idea we are commenting on our own, thereby deflating the person who developed it to begin with.  Starting a sentence with, “Great work, BUT ….” means that there really is NO great.  Even worse, that perhaps you really don’t care about the effort and thought that has already been invested.  Every time you start a sentence with “no”, “but” or “however” – understand that you are demonstrating that you have NOT heard a single word the other person said.  Interestingly, if you eliminate all the parts of your daily interactions that contain comments that make you look good or someone else look bad you will gain back 65% of that time.  Talk about an instant productivity improvement!

 More often than not, the potential increase in quality from sharing our view is smaller than the corresponding decrease in commitment.  Our desire to win and add as much value as we can may have the opposite effect (i.e. decreasing the probability of success).  The lesson – before wading in with your seemingly brilliant value add, pause and ask yourself, “is it worth it?”

 2. “Help More, Judge Less”

At least two messages are imbedded in this quote.  First, it is equally important, if not more so, to consider how you will contribute, as it is to what it is that you are contributing.  Reflect on how you want to show up in each and every interaction.  Are your words and actions consistent with your values and beliefs?  Second, when was the last time you reached out to ask key people you interact with, ‘what do I need to do in order to be more effective?’  Marshall called this concept feed forward.  It is opposite of feedback.  We say we value our customers, that people are our greatest asset and that those we live with are important and yet we seldom, if ever, ask them what we can do to be better.  Why is that?

 3. Measure your performance each and every day

Conduct a self-assessment on a scale of 1 to 10 every day against a set of questions linked to the things you believe are most important.  Or better yet, work with an accountability partner, colleague or coach so that you feel a bit of pressure to do something when your score is low.  Questions might include:  Did I plan my day and did I actually work the plan?  If you are like me and getting on in age, this next one is important - Have I completed my annual health check?  Did I make value add time for my family?  Did you do your best to be happy; find meaning; be engaged; and, build positive relationship?  The questions are up to you.  Pause now and think of the handful of things you believe are important.  How did you do today in relation to each?  Tomorrow is a luxury.  Use your time right now to get at what truly matters. 

Three seemingly simple thoughts you might readily disregard.  Inertia is the enemy of positive change and successful execution.  Perhaps this is why leadership like dieting seems so simple yet so hard to do.    

Darcy

Strategy and the Giant Squid

 Recently I was watching a documentary on nature that featured the Giant Squid, and I came to two conclusions:

 1) The giant squid is an unbelievable marvel of evolution; and,

 2) There are uncanny parallels between evolution in nature and the development and execution of business strategy.

Business people have borrowed language right out of science textbooks and made it our own.   The documentary discussed how through the process of evolution, the Giant Squid became highly specialized for its environment.  The documentary also took us through the stages of growth in the Giant Squid’s lifecycle.  These words – evolution, specialized, growth, lifecycle, and environment – are all commonly used in boardrooms and business textbooks across the world.  After a quick Google search of each word I found that there is a “biological” and a “business” definition of each – with very similar meanings I might add.

Science would say that the Giant Squid’s development was guided by Darwin’s theory of natural selection, which led to the development of its powerful beak, changing skin colour, jet propulsion system, and sophisticated nervous system.  In other words, the Giant Squid developed specialized characteristics over time that allowed it to be successful in its external environment.  Without realizing it, the Giant Squid was constantly assessing its external environment, developing a strategy to evolve in a way that would enable survival, and executing this strategy by making physical changes to itself over time.  Of course, this evolutionary process took a few thousand years or so.  

Fortunately, as humans, we can be a lot more deliberate in developing and executing business strategies (luckily for us, our nervous systems are even more evolved than that of the Giant Squid.) Meaning we don’t need thousands of years.  Just like the Giant Squid, companies must constantly assess the external environment in which they operate, and develop strategies that will enable them to reach their goals within it.  However, just like the time-constraints faced by the Giant Squid, there are constraints that companies must balance too.  

Companies must balance between what management wants to do, what the organization can do, and what the external environment needs.  I.e.  When developing business strategies, management must take into account what the company is capable of doing internally, as well as what the external environment dictates is possible.  The strategic tension caused by these three factors needs to be balanced or the strategies will be difficult to execute.  

There are many examples in nature and business that demonstrate the impact of getting strategy development and execution very right, or very wrong.  

Zoom Airlines – a Canadian low-fare transatlantic airline with a sister company in the United Kingdom – was founded by a successful tour company operator from the UK.  The airline adopted a strategy of “direct-selling”, whereby they reduced the number of companies in the supply chain (i.e. “cut out the middle-man”), and passed the savings on to customers in the way of reduced fares.  This strategy had led the founders to great success in their previous travel companies; however, it was met with difficulty at Zoom Airlines.  They built up debt and failed to pay creditors which led to an aircraft being impounded in Halifax, and others being denied fuel in Calgary.  Passengers were stranded in both cities.  Searching for the airline on travel websites today will result in the line: “Zoom Airlines ceased operations on August 28, 2008.” 

In nature, the Passenger Pigeon failed to evolve to its changing surroundings quickly enough, and by 1914 the Passenger Pigeon was extinct.  A bird that once existed in massive populations was pushed out of existence by changes to its landscape brought about by humans.   

While neither Zoom Airlines nor the Passenger Pigeon continues to fly today, many of their counterparts continue to thrive.  There are still many species of birds and plenty of airlines that are taking-to-the-skies daily – so what did these successful species and companies do differently?  Darwin’s answer would be simple – survival of the fittest.  But perhaps for us humans it’s a bit more complex than that. 

When it comes to the development and execution of business strategy, consider the impact, and be deliberate.  Would you rather your company be a Giant Squid or a Passenger Pigeon?

_Tyler.

I’m one of those lucky people who has a remarkable mentor.  At the end of every single lunch when we get together, I feel buoyed (we always laugh – a lot!), inspired, and that (as quickly as the world changes), there are just some basic fundamentals that never really vary. 

Bill tells the story of his first CFO position for a highly successful (then private) company.  On reviewing the compensation structure, he discovered that the total compensation package of the VP Marketing was well in excess of that of the company President (also the majority shareholder).  With this information in hand, he could hardly contain himself in bringing this revelation to the President at their weekly meeting.  How could this blunder have happened?  Clearly someone had taken their eye off of the ball!

When Bill finally got to the President with the “news”, he was shocked by the leader’s calm response and quiet smile.  The Prez explained that because of the nature of the VP’s job (growing revenue in a specialized, highly profitable niche), the more that the VP earned, the greater the company’s (Enterprise) value.  So to him, the bigger the VP’s paycheque, the better.  A few years later, the company was acquired by a public company for … well let’s just say that the president received a paycheque that meant that he never had to worry about paycheques – ever again.

Increasingly, as the competition for talented people becomes more acute, company leaders stress about compensation.  Are we paying at market rates?  Can we keep “the best” for this level of pay?  What’s the competition paying for this same position?

True, these are all valid considerations, and critical in establishing compensation levels.  But, those comparatives are really just a piece of the picture – also consider the following:

1. Research shows that compensation IS an attraction factor – people choose between potential roles based on compensation.  BUT the things that keep people (retention) in those roles, and keep them engaged are quite different.  You can’t pay someone to be engaged in their job.
2. In determining compensation levels, consider the value of the role to the objectives of the company.  If growth, or increasing market share is on the agenda, who cares what the competition is paying if your guy or girl can bring in the numbers?! Similarly, if productivity problems are undermining the company’s ability to compete, doesn’t it make sense to bring in the best Chief Operating Officer and pay him or her accordingly?   In other words, pay should be tied to strategy and should commensurate with value to the organization!
3. Employees in general, and top performers in particular don’t leave companies, they leave bosses!  The best “compensation” for a top performer is leadership that helps them to grow and achieve their goals.

Obviously, this could open up a whole discussion on retention and attraction factors, etc., on which, in addition to research and my point of view, I’m sure, Bill has a full slate of stories, and opinions.  That’ll be a topic though, for another blog, or at least another very lively lunch!

- Lynne F.

Recently I was chatting with a friend of mine from University that had the opportunity to work for a digital marketing firm in Vancouver. Always a marketing major he poked fun at my apparent inability to understand the gravity of search function optimization and the potential implication of click-through rates driving sales to a company. It was that question really got me thinking about some of our clients.

“How do we drive sales?”  It’s a question that every business asks in their quest for growth and revenue. While many companies look to differentiating products, revisiting marketing plans and analysis of the external marketplace for answers as to how to improve their sales numbers (and perhaps using companies that promise high click through rates), often times the easiest ways to drive sales require no changes to product line-up, marketing strategies or any system at all.  It simply requires a change of thinking and acting.

What do I mean? In the past we’ve been approached by clients to assist in projects for driving growth and expanding their business. As part of expansion projects the topic of driving sales often arises as a point of contention and many companies comment that they couldn’t possibly drive more sales without expanding their sales force and sacrificing potential profits. It’s usually around this point we ask a simple question:

                “Do your existing sales staff follow-up with potential clients?”

Now this may seem like a ridiculous question, but it’s an area of focus often overlooked by many companies. For example, in a study performed by McGraw Hill, they found that out of the sales people surveyed:

• 48% of sales people never followed up with a prospect;
• 25% make a second contact and stop;
• 12% make three contacts and stop; and
• 10% make more than three contacts

So … What does this actually mean to you, and your business? In total, only 17% of sales are made in the first three contacts with a potential client. That means your sales force could be leaving up to 83% of sales on the table by not taking the time to follow-up on previous correspondence.

To further add to the gravity of the “follow-up”, the same study found that companies that increased their correspondence (with potential clients and return customers) during recessions saw a 275% growth over the preceding four years, while comparable companies that did not increase correspondence only  saw a minimal growth of only 19%.

In a similar study by Dr. James Oldroyd that focused on the dynamics of successful sales in the on-line marketplace, he found that regardless of whether the business relies on B2B or B2C sales, speed of follow-up matters.

He found that if a client has shown interest in your product or service, your chances of qualifying that lead decreases to almost zero if you don’t attempt to reach out to that client within 15 minutes of them showing interest.

Other findings of the study suggested that after 20 hours of not attempting to engage the client for the first time, not only have you lost the opportunity for that client but at that point if your sales staff is still trying to reach out, every attempt will actually decrease the likelihood of that client reaching out to you again.

Here are some other simple steps your sales force can take to improve their sales chances by following-up with potential clients:

1. Always Call: While it can be very easy to get trapped in sending generic template e-mails, this automatically decreases engagement. Potential customers are more likely to purchase from a company who engages them in person rather than by e-mail.
2. Be Genuine: If possible, don’t have your sales force follow a script when calling potential clients. A checklist of action items can ensure that the phone conversation covers the necessary ingredients for qualifying a lead but the ability to let a natural conversation happen builds immediate trust.
3. Keep Good Notes: When dealing with multiple customers it can become difficult to keep everything organized.  It is important to know what you have covered, and what may still need to be covered by the end of your call.  By keeping detailed notes of all conversations, your sales staff will be able to have a more personal interaction with your customers.

Nothing earth shattering right? If anything these tips probably seem more like common sense, but the numbers show that companies just aren’t using these tips (perhaps it’s too simple for common sense?). While I certainly won’t claim that following-up will improve your businesses sales figures by 50%, the potential gain for a relatively simple concept is statistically large.

So to all those managers reading, if you’re not sure if reviewing follow-up policies within your organization is useful or not, I recommend a simple test. Simply engage your own company as a prospective client and see how they do. Consider these factors as you engage with your own organization:

• Have you received a call or an e-mail?
• Was the call personalized or scripted?
• Was the e-mail personalized or scripted?
• How long was the time frame before your organization first contacted you?
• How many times did your organization attempt to contact you?

Depending upon how you answer these questions should suffice to answer whether your organization could benefit from some policy adjustments. So before you ask “how should we grow sales?” perhaps the first question to ask should be “how well do we engage potential customers?” If answered honestly, the results may surprise you. 

So the next time you hear that you need to optimize your search functionality, consider common sense first. Before you try to attract new customers, why not pick up more of the ones who are already interested with a few simple policy changes?  And if that doesn’t work, I can recommend a great digital marketing firm in Vancouver.

- Mike G.

The Young Guns (me, my sisters and cousins) took on the Stormin’ Normans (Grandpa and the other +45s) in a family board game this Christmas. While bantering over points, the differences in the generations became apparent. Us Young Guns were trying to gain advantage and argue for our points in a different way than the Stormin’ Normans, which led an uncle to make a comment about the “youngsters” and I thought: It’s not that we’re young; it’s that our generation truly does have different expectations. We take some things for granted that the +45s don’t. And the generational differences go beyond the living room and into the office.

Others have made the same observation. A study conducted by Sean Lyons, associate Professor of business at the University of Guelph, Eddy Ng, associate Professor of management at Dalhousie University and Linda Schweitzer, assistant Professor at Carleton University found that Boomers (currently between 45 and 60 years of age) and mature workers (currently over 60 years of age) were significantly more likely to rate “challenging work” as an essential element of their job. What did Millennials (those employees in their 20s) state as an essential element of their job? “Quick advancement”, “congenial co-workers” and “fun”. Not only that, but the study also found that Millennials expect to see their personal wages climb by 60 per cent in the next five years, while the average annual increase has only been three per cent year-over-year for the past three years.

The fact that Millennials today change jobs three times more than Boomers did before they were thirty (and perhaps why we played four different board games over the course of an hour on Christmas day … ) is not likely due to the fact that their wage hasn’t increased 60 per cent – because that is nearly impossible to find anywhere! It is more so a result of the difficult balancing act between finding companies that can keep jobs interesting and dynamic enough to provide the opportunities that help develop skills rapid enough for this ‘quick job advancement’ that Millennials desire. If the appeal for Millennials is to find jobs that strongly support their values, (which admittedly are difficult to achieve…), here are some quick tips to help your organization keep those talented and willing Millennials that you have invested in advance through hard work:,

1. CULTURE – As the above study found, Millennials will not hesitate to switch jobs, as they have done so three times more than the previous Generation had by their age. This is likely because they have been raised in an environment where they have so many options for work, they will not hesitate to switch jobs in order to find the culture – co-workers and office dynamics – that they desire. The better your organizational culture, the more likely you are to retain employees.

a. A fair warning: Do not exhaust resources to retain unhappy employees. No matter how much you may have invested in someone, it is never worth as much to keep them as it could be detrimental to have their attitude poison the organizational culture and workplace environment, which, in turn could cause other, more valuable employees to leave your organization.

2. MOVEMENT WITHIN – Millennials who want new opportunities to expand their skills, in order to rapidly advance their career (which the study proved is most of them), are more likely to stay within your organization if these aforementioned opportunities can be found within your organization. It is a win-win situation: Your Millennial expands his/her knowledge (and as a result, his/her opportunities for advancement), and you get to keep your investment in his/her talent.

3. LIFESTLYE INTEGRATION & FLEXIBILITY – Upon completion of the study, Professor Lyons articulated that a strong message is for companies to provide flexibility for the Millennials to live their lifestyle of choice. If they are working for your organization, they want your organization to work with them, and their values, in return. Need proof? Think of Steve Jobs – a representative of the age of digital culture – who stated “it’s more fun to be a pirate than [to] join the Navy.” This statement reflects upon the independence and flexibility which Millennials strive to achieve in their careers – and the edge they need to win board games.

So, while on a high-level this study may make my youthful generation of “fun-seekers” look lazy and self-righteous, we have been raised in an environment where we can do anything we set our minds to. What we’ve set our minds to is the same as any other generation; success, but through different means, which explains the desire for rapid advancement and its alignment with job-hopping. The future of the working world is dependent upon Millennials to achieve, and these three small tips can help you retain the younger generation to achieve success for your organization.

By the way, I would be remiss not to mention that the Young Guns won by one, hard-earned, point.

- Tori

As facilitator of strategy development and execution for almost 20 years, I am reminded of the importance of business processes in the effective execution of business strategy in every single client engagement.  There is some logic to my thinking that I provide in this article – a gift to all followers for this Holiday Season!

Michael Porter’s classic Harvard Business Review article from 1996 – What is Strategy – provides a definition of strategy that includes business processes as critical to competitive advantage.  I believe leading organizations fully realize this, while lagging organizations are just coming to this realization. 

“All differences between companies in cost or price derive from the hundreds of activities required to create, produce, sell, and deliver their products or services … Cost is generated by performing activities, and cost advantage arises from performing particular activities more efficiently than competitors. Similarly, differentiation arises from both the choice of activities and how they are performed. Activities, then are the basic units of competitive advantage.”

Source:  Harvard Business Review – November 1996 – “What is Strategy?” Michael E. Porter

The definition above examines the fact that activities (read processes) drive cost, which then drives price.  This is foundational for all organizations and is quite evident from the language.  A more subtle message from the language is the part of the definition that focuses on how differentiation arises from the choice of activities (again read processes) and how these activities are performed. 

As an example – all organizations invest in some level of customer service – some good, and some not so good.  Certain organizations recognize that customer service can differentiate themselves from their competition and, as a result, strategically invest in ensuring that their customer service stands above.  In these cases, the organization has chosen specific business processes as a focus for their competitive advantage, and they typically invest significant time and effort into determining how they will perform these business processes.  Without truly understanding the business processes that deliver this superior customer service, however, it is difficult to understand the specifics of the competitive advantage and ascertain the return on any strategic investment in these processes.   So subtly, there is a value derivation that is required for strategy to be executed in a manner that exploits your competitive advantage.

As additional evidence we can turn to Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton’s latest research on the importance of strategy maps – an extension of their Balanced Scorecard theory. 

Source:  Harvard Business Review – January 2008 – “Mastering the Management System” Robert S Kaplan and David P Norton

Again it is quite evident from their research that having a “process” perspective is critical for “balance” in strategy execution.  A more subtle message from an examination of the other perspectives and the notion behind “strategy maps” reveals that the value of business process analysis and modelling in achieving the strategies depicted is almost a necessity.  

I have leveraged business process analysis and modelling into almost all aspects of my strategic work with clients.  In every circumstance the business process analysis reveals opportunities for strategic investment – in fact, it reveals so many that you are typically at a point of grouping/aggregating/segmenting for the purpose of determining where to make your strategic investment.  Additionally, where I am working with more sophisticated organizations, we can use business process models to establish scenarios and analyze the potential impact of one strategic investment versus another – something that is not easily accomplished without some level of business process depiction.  

I recently attended the Palladium Group’s Balanced Scorecard Boot Camp.  I was pleasantly surprised by the number of times business process analysis and modelling entered the week-long dialogue created by the instructors/researchers who have worked directly with Kaplan and Norton since the beginning.  Every single day of this training strengthened my understanding of the power of Balanced Scorecard.  It also confirmed that I have interpreted the use of business process analysis and modelling as a complementary and necessary tool in both the development and execution of strategy.

And as a final testament to this theory I can share the wisdom of a very successful strategy consultant/colleague from the US who recently passed away.   He took the importance of process analysis and modelling to the extreme suggesting you cannot effectively develop strategy without understanding and modelling business processes.  A minimum requirement for his clients was the development of a one page process map that was acknowledged and agreed to by the senior leadership of the organization – something he referred to as a Level 0 Process Model. 

My gift to you this Holiday Season is passing along my theories and my colleague Hank’s wisdom! 

Here’s to successful execution of your strategies in 2012 and beyond!

- Steve Engel

Not long ago a past colleague mailed me (yes, through real snail mail) a newspaper clipping with a yellow Post-It that read “This reminded me of you!”.  The Globe & Mail article “Women, power and the imposter syndrome”, written by Margaret Wente, was a quick and insightful statement about women in the workplace, and our innate ability to underestimate and sabotage ourselves. Most importantly though, the article introduced me to Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer of Facebook, and her refreshing message to young women early in their careers… “own it”.

Now, let’s pause to highlight the massive career crush I have here. Prior to Facebook, Sandberg graduated with distinction from Harvard Business School and rose to the top with roles at the World Bank, McKinsey & Company, the United States Treasury Department and Google. Not to mention, she sits on the Board of Starbucks, The Walt Disney Company and Women for Women International (just to name a few).  Seriously. Huge. Career. Crush.

There is no question that Corporate Canada continues to struggle with gender equality in the workplace, particularly at the top. Statistics Canada recently reported that from 1987 – 2009, the proportion of women in senior management positions has virtually flatlined.  We aren’t improving as much as we’d like to believe.

It’s clear that corporations have work to do in bridging this equality gap. Things like offering more flexible work arrangements, mentoring programs, and utilizing best practices for hiring are helping to bridge this gap, as well as making it feasible for both women and men to achieve their personal and professional goals.  Over time, I believe we will see the results of these initiatives come to fruition and have a positive impact. But what is unclear, is what I can do today to beat the statistics. Even as society and corporations change in the years, decades or centuries to come, these solutions will likely come too late for me to benefit. So, what can I do about it now?

As a female in a new management role, with lofty professional and personal goals, I can’t help but wonder if the two P’s are impossible to achieve simultaneously. I’m not alone. I have a circle of female friends all bound on great career paths – a television news producer, a successful owner operator of a growing and well known event management company, an early learning program coordinator who’s classroom is modeled around our province, and several other career driven types. We are all facing the same reality – the statistics are against us (remember the flatline results) and we need to control and create our own solutions.

Sandberg offers honest, refreshing and manageable advice to young women in the workforce. Her message comes in three candid and simple bites, all within our reach. 

1. Sit at the table. We need to represent ourselves. Start reaching and believing in ourselves, negotiating harder for ourselves, and attributing our success to ourselves, not others.  Sandberg reminds us that no one ever gets to the corner office by sitting on the sidelines.
2. Make your partner a real partner. According to one study of married couples with children both employed full-time, women are still tackling twice the amount of housework and three times the amount of childcare. In those households where the housework and childcare is split down the middle we see the divorce rate cut in half… there are benefits to equality! We need to pair ourselves with equal partners.
3. Don’t leave before you leave.  Many of us fail to keep our foot on the proverbial gas pedal when we see change on the horizon. The mere thought of tackling our personal fulfillment goals sends us into a mode of “leaning back” – not taking on new projects, and not pushing our limits professionally. We need to stay focused and “in the game” until the very end.

As young women in the workforce, we have a choice to be passive or proactive.  If we all begin to own our successes and our path towards them, we can and will accelerate the change.

Start by owning it.

Megan

Through regular communication with clients, conversations with colleagues, and recently reading a large stack of resumes, it has become wildly apparent to me that we business people communicate in our own unique language. Words like “synergy,” “right-sizing,” “elevator-pitch,” and “post-mortem” form part of our daily vocabulary.  But when it comes right down to it, what do these “business buzzwords” really mean? Why do we use them? Are we using them correctly?  Certainly, the term “post-mortem” will have a different meaning to a health care professional than a business project manager…so is there an inherent danger in muddling our message by using these words?

Wikipedia provides a list of business buzzwords that is more than 200 words strong – and no doubt growing (in fact, the word “buzzword” itself, is actually listed as a buzzword). One thing this large-and-growing list demonstrates is that buzzwords are nothing new in the business world, and certainly show no signs of disappearing any time soon.  However, buzzwords do seem to shift in and out of fashion as time goes on.   What was “down-sizing” in the 90s is described as “right-sizing” today, but the meaning behind the words has remained constant.  Ultimately, it is the meaning behind the word that really matters.

Perhaps certain buzzwords become less appealing as their connotation becomes less and less positive; for example, “downsizing” doesn’t sound nearly as nice as “right-sizing.”  Perhaps another reason is that words are simply overused, and as a result, over time, their meaning is diluted or does not have the same impact as it once did.  I dare say that “synergy” (the “golden child” of the buzzword family for many years) may be an example of this.  A fairly commonly accepted definition is that “synergy” means: 1 + 1 = 3.  What does this mean?  To a scientist, that’s just poor math.  To a business executive, it might mean merging two companies (and their respective accounting departments) results in cost savings as processes and bookkeeping efforts are no longer duplicated.  To a sales manager, it may mean that teaming up two great sales people can actually increase their combined sales volume by more than just adding their individual sales volumes together, as a result of increased teamwork and collaboration.  So does “synergy” mean cost savings, or better production?  Perhaps both… perhaps something else altogether… perhaps “all of the above.”

So before you go touting the “synergies” your company is going to gain from its “results – oriented” strategy that utilizes “best practices,” ensure to have a clear understanding in what the true meaning behind the words is.  The message here is not to stop using buzzwords, or that buzzwords are not good   – their use can actually make communication much more effective – but to be deliberate in the way you use them so that your message is not diluted or misinterpreted.  Use them wisely, and the impact of your message will be strong.

After all, a well-placed buzzword can result in better communication, which is a “win-win” for everyone.

Tyler

One of the more exciting benefits of being part of a management consulting practice is the opportunity to get involved with organizations who seek a new vision and strategy.  It’s energizing to speak with people who are leading these transformations, as their endless ideas for potential are infectious.

While this development is an exciting and critical period for an organization, a bigger challenge we often face is sustaining momentum once execution begins.  This is typically where organizations fall short.

Without an organized and effective structure to execute ideas and implement change, the organization is doomed to tread along, half-clinging to its vision and half-holding onto its previous operating culture.  The organization often winds up somewhere in the middle and is inevitably forced to resume the process at some point.

Execution may not be the sexy side to strategy, but it is the area that separates the men from the boys – especially when faced with the not-so-sexy (and often overlooked) but critical practice of project management.

As individuals, we are all project managers at heart.  Think about it.  Almost everything we do in our personal lives can be thought of as a project.  Even this weekend’s Thanksgiving dinner.  My household is typically where the festivities are held – but this dinner isn’t just going to happen.

My wife and I spent precious time brainstorming a guest list and menu, while considering feedback from the rest of the family ‘stakeholders’.  From this, I developed a budget.  My wife developed a budget.  Then, we agreed on a budget.  Hers.

This past week, we’ve been engulfed in the ‘preparation’ stage.  Buying the food…cleaning the house….  preparing the guest room…movies for the kids…special requests….

Sunday we’ll be in full-blown ‘execution’ mode.  Get the turkey into the oven before noon (contingent on whether we remembered to defrost). Greet the relatives, provide the snacks, and organize a game of football.  Set the table; make some gravy, calm the kids down…… have a drink.  It’s over.

Wait – no, it’s not.  Now comes the massive clean-up.  And another drink.

Do we create a project plan and choose a project manager to oversee all of this?  Formally, no.   But make no mistake, as my wife can attest, these definitely both exist!

So, the challenge for organizations as I see it…is to better formalize our basic, innate project management skills into the corporate environment and execute strategically –  similar to how we plan, coordinate and execute events we face in our day-to-day lives.

Myron Moore

In the late 90′s I worked on a well-renowned golf course.  I was part of a small food and beverage team that ran the clubhouse – and much like the game of golf, many days were standard.  With the exception of one in particular.

Myself and my colleagues walked down the steps to display fruit and muffins on the 1^st tee – this was a standard chore before the restaurant opened.  Normally, there was already an abundance of activity down below, but on this day, there was nothing.

The girl in the starter hut was puzzled, as were the pro shop employees – including the golf pro himself.  What seemed like hours (yet was probably only minutes) a cart drove up.  Two people then each opened a book and acknowledged no one.  We looked around at each other, we were confused – this was strange.

“It’s Bill Gates,” I remarked quietly to my co-workers.

Soon afterward, everyone agreed it was indeed Bill Gates and his wife – and that was only verified through an abundance of phone calls – we didn’t have blackberry’s or iPhones to authenticate the info.  Right before I set down the basket of daily fruit, Mr. Gates managed to look around and make direct eye contact with me, and I couldn’t resist.

I reached into the basket and grabbed a stem ……”Apple?” I smirked.

I had no loyalty to Apple – certainly didn’t know who Steve Jobs was – I only knew there was a rivalry and naively thought my comment was clever.  One of those one-time-only opportunities.  In fact, I was almost fired over it.

More than a decade has passed, and although it’s been recanted as a decent story by those who witnessed – it has no merit in the scheme of technological advances.

Innovation is the introduction of something new or different.

The rivalry between Apple and Microsoft is unprecedented – but old – much like my story.  So what’s new?

• Hotmail is passé.
• Face-to-face is now facebook-to-facebook.
• Networking is now Linkedin.
• Connecting is now Skype.

And, all of these things you can accept or reject on an iPhone.

So, is innovation still considered the introduction of something new or different – or is it truly validated and measured by the ability to influence a mass market to adapt to what you’ve introduced?

Is it much like a jury decision of peers?  If you win a majority vote, the others are out.  Their voice will never be heard, so there is no choice but to give in.

I rebelled for many years – my personal slogan was “real life only begins where your internet connection ends…” Ironically, I learned of Steve Jobs’ passing on my smartphone, and I immediately shared the message via text.

Innovation is the product.

Market adaptation to that product is really the true measure of success.

Awesome job, Jobs.