LeaderLine

The Rocky Change Agent Journey!

Mahatma Gandhi summarized the journey for transformational change agents: "First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win."

"Ignore him; he'll go away!" gives way to: "Can you believe crazy Mahatma is at it again!" The laughter subsides and the agenda shifts--"How can we stop this?" Finally, when you can't lick them, join them--"What an icon! I can't wait for Hollywood to do the movie!"   

Change agents must have the fortitude, the vision and the courage to weather the onslaught significant change can generate. Don't expect approval; expect resistance. Learn to listen through the criticism to take insights worth using to invent the future. Trust that a vision-centered change that takes seriously your mission is your best strategy for ensuring eventual success.

Do you have some crazy ideas that people might laugh at now? You may not be on the verge of Hollywood making a movie of your life, but you may have what it takes to become a legendary story of what it takes to create the "new good old days" for your organization.

Where do you need to make some waves that could make a big difference?

Values Don't Change During Change

Sidney Taurel, Eli Lilly CEO, reminds us about the importance of values: "The first thing I think any leader should be judged by is a very strong set of values. I think there's a difference between leading and managing. Leadership is really to do with getting people to follow you to a place you haven't been, which is the future. It has to do with change. People won't willingly follow someone into the unknown unless they can trust that person's instincts and values. ... In the middle of change, you have to have some things that don't change, which are strong values. I think that is essential for any leader." 

Values can be your anchor and keep you steady through the sudden storms of change. They provide the compass that guides you when strategic maps don’t provide a clear path in uncharted waters.

But values don’t work unless you share them, make tough decisions using them and lead with them over and over again. Don’t leave them on the wall or in your annual report. Talk about them frequently.

When you make difficult choices and endure the cost that goes with them, people know values count. When you can honor and support a member of your team who lived by your shared values and lost a battle anyway, they will know you walk your values.

What are your rock-solid values you use in times of change? How do they show in what you do as a leader?

(Source: Sidney Taurel, Eli Lilly CEO, NWA WorldTraveler, August, 2007, pp. 48-51, 74.)

Clichés that Work!

George Lucas said, "Don't avoid the clichés. They are clichés because they work."

Change and innovation are both wonderful, but it's equally important to value the wisdom of the past to accelerate our progress today. We resented some of those parental lectures as a youth, but find ourselves repeating them to our children. Why? Because they are laced with timeless truths.

Clichés have power when they become shared wisdom valued by everyone on your organization’s team. They become anchor statements that your organizational culture treasures. They don't have to be explained, just repeated when necessary. Do any of these resonate with you?

"NO" is "ON" spelled backwards--Get back in the game.
Make every day a masterpiece.
Manners are the lubricating oil of relationships.
Care enough to confront.
You miss 100% of the shots you never take!

What are your team's clichés that unlock wisdom you can't afford to forget? This week, take time as a team to explore the timeless wisdom you value the most.      

(Source: George Lucas, in Dan Kennedy, Renegade Millionaire Magazine, Fall/Winter 2007, p. 23)

Surviving Shortages

Roger Herman had a gift at sharing critical trends: "We are at the beginning stages of the most severe shortage of skilled labor in history."

It may soon become even harder to lead, because it will be getting more difficult to attract and keep your best employees. The U.S. Labor Department forecasts a shortage of 10 million skilled workers by 2010. With more Baby Boomers retiring and fewer workers available, what is your plan?

How are you isolating young workers and selling them on joining your team? Have you positioned to use promising interns and given them reasons to join your organization? Are you mentoring young workers to help them take advantage of career opportunities without having to leave your organization?

What have you done to explore ways to keep valued retirees involved in your future? Few will want to work full time, but when you use their experience wisely and keep their skills updated, many who could retire will continue to serve. Give them a project assignment for three months, and then let them travel for three months. Use them as contingent resources. Old dogs can learn new tricks and know a lot of old ones that still work!

The true challenge will be finding, leading, motivating and keeping teams focused on making a difference where it counts. What are you doing now to position for the challenges ahead?

(Source: Roger Herman in Brendan Coffey, "Leadership Quotient," Executive Travel, May/June, 2007, pp. 42-48.) 

Who Provides Your Contra Team?

Ken Melrose, the chairman of Toro, makes sure nay-sayers get a voice: "Nay-saying in corporate America isn't popular. The contra team is a way to create negative views that are in the shareholders' best interest and the company's best interest."

With a study by Booz Allen Hamilton indicating that two-thirds of all acquisitions fail to meet their goals, Toro, the lawn-mower giant, wanted to curb unwise mergers. Like most organizations, they charge a due-diligence team to make a balanced case for any merger or acquisition. But Toro also turns to a "contra team" made up of a half-a-dozen vice presidents and directors with a mission of delivering a strong voice of dissent. A few years back, the "contra team" helped kill an eight-figure acquisition after discovering that their sector was facing a severe slump. The proposed acquisition's revenue has headed south while Toro has nearly doubled in sales.

Too many corporations and leaders prompt their teams to support desired deals, when they ought to be encouraging dissent to surface problems early. If you don't make it safe to disagree, after a decision fails, some will say, "I had a feeling that wasn't going to work!" You want dissent when it can help you make quality decisions quickly.

Due diligence in a rapidly changing world requires champions of support and dissent. Do you need a "contra team" in your organization? If you do, don't wait a moment longer. Act quickly by creating a strong voice of support and dissent early in the decision-making process. 

ng dissent to surface problems early. If you don't make it safe to disagree, after a decision fails, some will say, "I had a feeling that wasn't going to work!" You want dissent when it can help you make quality decisions quickly.

Due diligence in a rapidly changing world requires champions of support and dissent. Do you need a "contra team" in your organization? If you do, don't wait a moment longer. Act quickly by creating a strong voice of support and dissent early in the decision-making process. 

(Source: Ken Melrose, Chairman of Toro in Paula Kaihla, "Best-Kept Secrets of the World's Best Companies," Business 2.0, April 2006, pp. 82-96)

Stress Inquiry over Early Advocacy!

A.G. Lafley, CEO of P&G reminds us of an important lesson: "The ones who rise to the top have uncompromising integrity. I mean that in the moral sense, but I also mean it in the sense of thinking integrity and action integrity. They think with discipline and honesty. They sort through the flattery, through politics, and see things as they are, come to grip with reality, and then bring incredible integrity to the decision and the action. Second, they have courage. What separates talented people in the end is the courage to make the really hard call. A lot of hard calls are not tough because they are hard to figure out. They are tough because they have short-term sacrifice or emotional content that people don't want to deal with. It's human nature to avoid pain of that kind."

Strong, courageous leaders are comfortable being on the minority side of a decision. They have the courage to stand their ground while exploring options, even in the face of disapproval. Lafley has been trying to change from an advocacy system at P&G to what he calls an inquiry system. He requires a clear definition of the problem. He challenges all to hold off on advocacy until all the possible solutions are suggested and options are explored. Then, and only then, does Lafley want any of his people to advocate.

Many problem solving sessions would be far more effective if all parties would work first to define the problem and clarify assumptions and expectations. With that kind of clarity and by holding off on your advocacy, you just may surface more options and a better solution worthy of support. Life gives leaders many opportunities to keep their mouths shut. Take advantage of all of them. Be able to take a stand and make decisions, but take time to listen long and hard first

(Source: A.G. Lafley, P&G CEO, USA Today, 2-19-07, 3B.)

President Nido Qubein Brings WOW to Everything Done at High Point University

I have known and admired Nido Qubein for years, but that respect has only increased as a result of my recent trip to High Point University (http://www.highpoint.edu) with other members of the Speakers Roundtable (http://www.speakersroundtable.com). High Point University is a private liberal arts university located in High Point, North Carolina with approximately 3000 undergraduate and graduate students.

In late August, I joined some of America's top professional speakers in walking around the HPU campus in awe of the transformation that is underway. In less than two years as HPU President, Nido Qubein has made an amazing difference. The investment of capital to renovate existing facilities and expand others is unprecedented. Nido's emphasis on improving the education students receive and the options they have for learning is behind all he is doing. But above and beyond that obvious changes, there is something WOW that deserves mention in this post.

Nido confided something every change leader should keep in mind, "You can't make incremental change and transform a culture. You need big results or they wont' see or appreciate the changes. If it takes too long to see change, they will give up before they even get started. I had to create WOW changes fast and continually." Through Nido's leadership, the university is investing $82 million of the newly committed donations of $100 million in the first year to create impact on the university and its culture. When people can see the vision taking shape, more people want to join the party! Donations continue to come in. 

With new students just arriving at HPU, Nido and his team knew how frustrating that first day could be. He worked at changing that, "Positive experiences create brand. We want people to have a positive experience every three minutes when they first bring their kids to the university. We had bands playing music, free food and drinks at the kiosks around the grounds, free ice cream from our ice cream truck, and people ready to help with carts to carry luggage and boxes." Nido was there walking the grounds, shaking hands, giving high-fives, talking to parents and students. The faculty and staff at the university joined in to make the WOW experience!

Nido realizes that initial experiences need to be sustained and institutionalized in a hundred different ways. Nido shared, "We have a Director of WOW at High Point University. Their job is to find the un-WOW and make it WOW. When a student first visits a campus, you have three minutes to make an impression. For the average student, it's either 'I feel at home' or 'Get me out of here!' Since mothers are truly in charge, we focus on 'What would momma say?' Momma wants nice people, good food and a safe campus." Nido has instituted WOW cards that people can give to anyone who provides a WOW experience. He and his team are committed to leaving a trail of tangibles that reinforce the HPU brand. The HPU Promise is contagious--"At HPU, every student receives an extraordinary education in a fun environment with caring people."

Nido highlighted three WOWs that are making a big difference to students: "The best three things we did to create WOW were to bring a branded ice cream truck and kiosks for free ice cream, food and drinks, free car washes on the weekend and valet parking for students after 9 PM." The food and drink kiosks and the ice cream truck sell the value of generosity. The valet parking sells the value of safety and security; even on a safe campus, HPU goes above and beyond to ensure the safety of its students. Because of the dirt from all the new construction and renovation, the free car washes on Saturday show the value of respect for the students' property.

Nido Qubein's office doesn't have a closed door. Instead it has a bubble gum machine right outside. Students are invited to come by and talk. He feels that by rewarding students who have the confidence to come talk to him with gum, he's sending an important message. It isn't just what you know and learn that counts in life; you have to have the confidence to network and share your concerns and perspectives with others. He wants HPU students to develop the confidence to talk with the "big cheese" on campus. 

If your kids haven't picked a college to attend, you might want to add High Point University to the list. If I was a few...OK, a lot of years younger, I'd be signing up to be part of transformation that promises to make a difference for HPU students for years to come! I loved HPU and the lessons I learned about transformation leadership that can be applied anywhere!

Do you need a Director of WOW? What would you do to bring WOW to your organization's mission?

Great Ideas Reunion Actual Spurs Some Keepers and Questions worth Pondering

It takes a catalyst to start anything worth doing. Thanks go to Jeanne Hartley for sending out the call into cyberspace for an old fashioned salon with some of her most thoughtful and influential colleagues.

We're not talking about hair styles here; I've got too little hair left for that to be fruitful. Here we are talking about a "salon" as a gathering place where the currency is ideas. When you know the people you are talking with, the community leads to real conversations and deeper relationships. In short, community is the word people often use to describe what happens when people connect around purposes and perspectives in a way that relates to their lives. That happened today.

Jeanne sent out the call, provided the location and got to enjoy the results. Last Sunday, her band of verbal and enlightened OD practitioners, trainers, speakers and otherwise interesting philosophers actual took an afternoon to ask questions and think.

Each person attending will have a different list of conversation highlights; let me share my own window, as limited as it will be!

It starts with an unsettling key question? Why has their been so little progress in change management and healthy organizational development after so many management consultants, OD practitioners, trainers, coaches, authors and speakers have spent so many years trying to make things better? It reminds me of the classic line, "Last year, after the introduction of 1,000 new diets and exercise plans, Americans lost collectively one pound." Lots of talk, academicians producing many theories, trainers training, and OD'ers OD'ing...but where are the results?

We confessed that we have struggled with outdated models of change that implied a static change process of unfreezing and freezing in a new state. We decided that change needed a little less refreezing and a little more comfort dealing with moldable slush. We need no happy change movies with easy answers; we need a change soap opera where change never ends. Our very models may have created roadblocks.

We realized that we lack research models to capture the impact of what we do. The complexity works against us. The more variables you try to include the more complexity and the less valuable the insights. By decreasing the variables we may learn more useful insights but their application will remain limited. Quick increases in result are not expected, practitioners and HR professionals need to work to establish meaningful metrics to measure key assumed benefits and to map longitudinal results. Over time, we would expect interventions to make a difference in the quality of the work life, associate satisfaction, stock value increases, retention, customer satisfaction and bottom-line profit. Perfect interventions don't exist, but we ought to be able to see improvement over time.

We also realized that we have had the luxury of having worked in an economy that truly is the best in the world. We may not be that great, just very lucky to have been born here. Called in by organizations and leaders looking for help, we see organizational effectiveness through our experiences with less than exceptional organizations or parts of organizations. Just as psychology has taken on the focus on positive psychology, our professions need to take a good look at those organizations who are functioning and changing well without us. There are great organizations and corporations out there; we need to study what they are doing and build on the positive deviants we find.  If you are policeman who spends her life dealing with criminals, criminals are all you see. We need to nurture our own hope and the hope of those we serve.

The world economy is expanding. Good things are happening, and much of the time that happens without us! Are we spending time with the laggers and missing those who soaring! There was a sense of humility in the meeting. There are many things that are happening in the environment our clients face that is more important to our clients than the interventions we initiate--no matter how grand. What if you are good at something no one no longer needs? What if you are blind-sided by international competition? What if pension and healthcare costs take so much capital organizations begin to collapse under the weight of excessive obligations?

We realized that our own need to care and help can make it hard for us to be the truth tellers clients may need to hear. We decided there were many elephants in the rooms of organizations that leaders are not dealing with. We as professionals have some of our own. Could it be that caring involves tough love in the home and on the job?

We talked about polarities and the importance of tension and dynamic spirals. I left with big picture perspectives, no easy answers, some great questions and a sense that I am not alone. I think we are making a difference; I've seen it even though it may be too expensive or challenging to have measured those results.

I think we all had a healthy appreciation for the challenges before us. We take hope in the fact that opportunity and economic growth are both on the move. We hope and pray that freedom and peace can expand a bit faster. We saw the importance of revisiting healthy systems that has the capacity to sustain constant change. These positive deviants are out there. We need help in finding them to keep our hopes alive. Since the true professionals out there are not into creating dependence, we again reaffirmed the impact of client leadership. They are the ones who truly make magic happen. We're there most often to get people back on track so they can take off again on their own.

Now, if you're operating in a healthy organization, you know it when you're in it. If you are, what is working for you? We want to know.

I'm sure we will meet again. But before I wrap up, no gathering like this would be complete without a few suggested readings. Want some summer reading on leadership and change? These are just some of the books suggested at salon:

Washington: The Indispensable Man (Paperback) by James Thomas Flexner
Building the Bridge As You Walk On It : A Guide for Leading Change (Hardcover) by Robert E. Quinn
Built to Change : How to Achieve Sustained Organizational Effectiveness: by Edward E. III Lawler,Chris Worley,Foreword by Jerry Porras
Creating We: Change I-Thinking to WE-Thinking & Build a Healthy, Thriving Organization, by Judith E. Glaser
Spiral Dynamics: Mastering Values, Leadership and Change, Dr. Don Beck
Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything, By Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Getting the Right People on the Bus...Airplane!

Michael Burkhardt, a Southwest Airlines recruiter, talks about the team effort that goes into getting the right people on their airplanes: "We want to see how recruits interact with people when they think they're not being evaluated."

You don't just get a traditional interview at Southwest Airlines. You are auditioned from the moment you call for an application. After the initial call, managers jot down anything memorable about the conversation, good or bad. When the recruits fly out for interviews, they are given special tickets which alert gate agents, flight attendants and others they meet to pay special attention. Employee observations are passed on to HR. When recruits are asked to give three-minute talks, they are not only rating their ability to speak; they're seeing which candidates are paying attention and energizing others from the audience. Since 1987, Southwest Airlines has received the lowest number of customer complaints in the industry. You can see why! They work hard to pick the right people.

When a team is working well, there is a synergy, and it's a joy to come to work. The best organizations know the importance of getting the right players on their team. What can you do to capitalize on your whole team's observations and input in hiring associates who will fit and even enhance your culture? The cost of a poor hire is too high. This week, look for ways to involve your whole team in hiring the best associates you can find. 

(Source: Michael Burkhardt, a Southwest Airlines recruiter, in Paula Kaihla, "Best-Kept Secrets of the World's Best Companies," Business 2.0, April 2006, pp. 82-96)

Use Books to Support Lifelong Learning & Success

Joe Dudley, founder of Dudley Products, knows how to keep his people learning and achieving: "What made my company work? I sold people my mission-that they could be job-makers rather than job-takers. I called our office a `mental gymnasium': I washed out `I can't' and put in `I can.' People came from all walks of life and did very well. We had a sales meeting every morning. We still do. Volunteers meet at 6:30 a.m. to discuss books like the Bible, Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, and Secrets of the Ages by Robert Collier. They said we were a cult. I said `Yes, we're a success cult.'"

As hope merchants for mission-directed change, you can't limit yourself to selling hope once and expect it to stick. In a world preoccupied with what's not possible and what's not working, building a successful team takes picking the right people and providing the positive ammunition needed to fuel their drive. First, take time in interviews to discuss what you stand for and what can be achieved. If you don't see a spark in their eyes as you talk about the opportunity they have, don't waste your time. Secondly, once you've found and hired your "gold," keep it polished. Nurture and refine the attitudes of your team by investing time in sharing and discussing best practices wherever and whenever they find them. What works for you and your team in maintaining a "success" culture? What is required at your "success" gymnasium to complete a needed workout?

(Source: Joe Dudley, founder of Dudley Products, Success, page 14, April 1996.)