Perhaps it is time to declare a crisis

Posted on July 19, 2011 by John.Myrna

When there is a major problem, what signals do your actions send to your employees?

What do you do when things are going dramatically worse than planned?  Merely hoping that things will get better is pretty risky.  Many of our clients have hit an icy patch, finding themselves in a situation with results far below expectations.  When one recently found themselves with sales dramatically below budget, they did two things.  First, the entire team drilled down to make sure they understood where they were and why.  As is often the case, there was no one reason but a confluence of events — a weakening market, an underperforming new business development effort, and too many dumb mistakes in handling the initial orders from the new customers they did attract.

Second, they declared a formal crisis.  Declaring a crisis while the company was still profitable may seem extremem but why risk waiting?  The biggest effect of shifting to crisis mode was to focus on making sure they were following up daily on tactical actions.  Each morning started with a 10-15 minute huddle to clarify exactly what they were doing today to bring in more business, what jobs were VIP-status and required additional attention to make sure they were performed flawlessly.  The mere act of meeting daily communicated to the entire company the need to focus on bringing in and retaining business. A happy side effect was the immediate improvement in cross-departmental communications and teamwork.

One of the overreaching goals of planning is to identify potential crisis points and take action today to prevent them from occurring. Preventing a crisis is by far the best approach. Organizations that are constantly fighting fires seldom reach their potential.

It’s easier to identify potential crisis points if you have a clear visualization of where your company is going. For a pragmatic take on how to develop, refine, and implement that visualization, review the first two chapters I wrote in the Business Expert Guide to Small Business Success.

If you’re interested in having a facilitated strategic planning meeting that moves you from concept to tangible implementation, check our our services, contact us or better yet, give us a call at (800) 207-8192 to arrange for a complimentary consultation to determine if our program is right for you and you are right for the program.

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Harry Potter and the power of vision

Posted on July 15, 2011 by John.Myrna

Mary and I have just gotten back from viewing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part Two. We have read, and re-read all seven books. We have listened to the Stephen Fry audio books over and over again. We have watched the interviews with J.K. Rowling and enjoyed every aspect of the series.

J.K. created a visualization of the future. She painted a picture of where she wanted to be in the future. Rather than start with today’s issues, she visualized the entire arc of the series. She wrote down the entire story line complete with the final sentence of the final book. She then worked backwards, focusing on matching her vision against the reality of where she was at the moment she started. (She had no reliable source of income, a child to support, no publisher, and nothing written to even market to a publisher.)

Knowing where she wanted to end up in the future, she identified where she had to change the status quo in the present. These became her strategic goals. She created action steps focused on executing those strategic goals. J.K. completed a version of the first book, found a publisher, accepted the need to adjust her brand from Jo to J.K., and acquired the essential element of any successful business — customers. Lots and lots of customers, a.k.a. readers. To assist in turning her vision into reality, she teamed up with excellent partners.

Success with each book provided the resources to move closer and faster to her ultimate goals. As the years progressed her vision grew to include not only the books, but movies and even a theme park.

In the word of the philosopher Yogi Berra, “You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you’re going, because you might not get there.”

Too often companies let fate take them to their destination. Sometimes it’s a good place. Often, not so good a place. Myrna Associates is all about facilitating the company process of turning vision into reality. It almost doesn’t matter what that vision is, as long as it is clear, understood by everyone who can help you get there, and informs the tactical actions you and your team are executing today, this week, this quarter, and this year.

If you want to convert the concept of strategic planning into reality, take a look at our process at myrna.com. Clients have tagged it “Myrna magic.” To arrange for a complimentary consultation to determine if the program is right for you and you are right for the program, contact us, or call us (800)207-8192.

Either way — good luck with your planning!

p.s. We loved the final movie!

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The most valuable asset you have is your team

Posted on May 31, 2011 by John.Myrna

Over the course of my career, I’ve seen many CEOs who underutilize their teams. This letter, written in response to a New York Times article, recently caught my attention. The author’s management insight is not limited to the medical profession.

To the Editor:

There are some medical issues I wish we could end once and for all. As Theresa Brown wrote, doctor superiority, especially at the expense of nurses and other staff, is one of them.

The best doctors I know consider themselves part of a team and use the team’s knowledge to the advantage of the patient. They think “patient first” and draw on the experience of nurses, laboratory technicians and other medical professionals. The patient receives the doctor’s best treatment advice based on the collective knowledge of the team.

Doctors who accept only their own counsel are putting ego before medicine, possibly at the expense of the patient. Hospital care should be based on collective wisdom to reach the best treatment plan. Nurses, doctors and all highly trained medical professionals each have a role to play, each of which is invaluable to the patient.

HERBERT PARDES
President and Chief Executive
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital
New York, May 9, 2011

Remember that your company’s most valuable asset is your team — don’t let your executive ego or thoughts of “I know best” get in the way of looking at all the pieces of the puzzle before you make a crucial decision. For more on strategic planning that lets you work through issues like this, review the first two chapters I wrote in the Business Expert Guide to Small Business Success. If you’re interested in having a facilitated strategic planning meeting that sets your strategy and launches its implementation, contact us (800) 207-8192 or johnw@myrna.com

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The next big thing could be in front of your face

Posted on May 27, 2011 by John.Myrna

My wife Mary and I love seasoning our food with black pepper. When I was growing up, I concluded that my mother considered black pepper an exotic spice, since I never saw her use it. We always had salt and pepper shakers on the table, but the salt shaker was the only one that ever had to be refilled. Mary opened my eyes to a whole range of spices. including freshly ground black pepper. As common as freshly ground black pepper was in our food, it wasn’t until we got a battery-operated electric pepper grinder as a gift that I really got onboard. I started to enthusiastically apply pepper when I grilled salmon and chicken wings. Our electric pepper grinder was great but wasn’t perfect. It had a small capacity for peppercorns, with a small refill hole that always led to spilled peppercorns all over the floor. The grinder held a charge for just a frustratingly short period of time, often losing power before we finished food preparation.

Then we discovered the ultimate grinder. It had a large capacity with an extra-large opening for refilling. It uses a lithium battery, like the one used in laptops and the iPhone. Fill it up, charge it up and you can use it for weeks before needing to refill or recharge it again. I find myself using 40% more ground pepper when I grill, enhancing an already great eating experience. Further, the grinder has an LED lamp that illuminates the food as I season it. This has become one of our favorite kitchen utensils. (In fact, I’d love to tell you how to get hold of this pepper grinder we love so much, but I can’t give you any information but the name, PepperMills Supreme Model 2000 Satin Nickel. It must have been designed by an engineer because there is no product name, manufacturer name, or web site location to be found on the product. Great engineering but lousy marketing!)

The wooden pepper mill was invented in 1842 with virtually no change in design since. An engineer — one with a love of pepper, I suspect — must have asked himself how he could apply 21st century technology to create a superior solution. He did and the Myrna family is the better for it.

A recent New York Times article discussed how a biomechanical engineer got to thinking about rib spreaders. Surgeons perform two million operations a year using a tool that hasn’t really changed since 1936. Utilizing 21st century technology and advances in bioengineering knowledge, he has developed a tool that has the promise of all but eliminating the painful side effects of that ubiquitous procedure. Dramatically fewer broken ribs, torn ligaments, and nerve damage will lead to quicker recovery times for patients, with fewer serious complications like pneumonia.

The opportunities for innovation are hiding in plain sight. For example, I have a new scanner/printer that scans in 4 seconds using digital camera technology. I use SuperFocus glasses that enable me focus on my computer screen or the horizon without the limitations of trifocals.

Take a fresh look around your company and ask yourself how you could perform a task more productively using a tool or process that wasn’t conceivable 30, 20, or even 5 years ago. (There is a ten-fold improvement in semiconductor chip performance every five years. That alone creates entirely new technology possibilities every five years.) The new product the can fuel your company’s next five years of growth may be right in front of you!

Of course, it’s easier to identify innovation like this if you have a clear visualization of where your company is going. For a pragmatic take on how to develop, refine, and implement that visualization, review the first two chapters I wrote in the Business Expert Guide to Small Business Success.

If you’re interested in having a facilitated strategic planning meeting that sets your strategy — including your approach to innovation — and launches its implementation, give us a call.

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Today’s youth don’t have the same values as I did

Posted on April 26, 2011 by John.Myrna

Jack, the CEO of one of my client companies, was complaining that people today don’t have the same values as he did. “Why, when I was a kid I had two paper routes. How many of today’s kids have the equivalent?”

I suggested that he was an exceptional person in his peer group. I asked him how many of his other childhood friends had two paper routes. “I don’t remember,” he said. Well, I asked, how many papers were there in your town when you were growing up? “Two,” he answered, one morning and one evening.” Well I suggested, since there were only two papers and he had the routes for both of them, there couldn’t have been anyone else who had two.

In every generation there are the 20% of people who are the top players. And 20% of those 20%, i.e. 4%, who are exceptional, platinum-level people like Jack. I believe that there is more to the story, however.

I believe that when it comes to employees, the best strategy is to only hire people who have the right attitude and aptitude. Even when that person doesn’t currently have the skills and experience, they will quickly gain them. Aptitude is relatively clear. If you don’t have the gray matter to grasp concepts and learn, no amount of effort will get you there. Attitude is another matter.

Attitude is largely shaped by the community you’ve been in. If your parents and peers told you that the secret to success is figuring out how to escape responsibility, avoid work, and do as little as possible — you will. When your enter the workforce, you will behave based on that attitude. If, on the other hand, your first manager set a different set of expectations and identified a different set of behaviors, you will likely align with those behaviors.

An employee will align with the “correct” behaviors, that is, if they truly want to succeed. Telling an employee to “man up” and be a good employee isn’t enough. Even having good role models growing up isn’t always enough. The manager has to provide some specific coaching as well as be a role model.

My son Adam and I wrote a pragmatic little book for the motivated, albeit clueless, employee on how to win the workplace race. Adam began his journey of self-discovery after a failed business startup. He had not fully developed the proper attitude to be a successful worker and manager, so he could not weed out those with the incorrect aptitude, nor could he provide the proper example of attitude for his employees to follow. He and I used those experiences and what he learned in the process to create a pragmatic book to motivate the willing employee on how to develop the right attitude to succeed in the “rat race.” “Winning the Rat/Workplace Race.” is available on Amazon.com. Take a look — the best strategic plan in the world will go nowhere without the right people to implement it.

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Productivity gains can come from small, simple changes

Posted on April 25, 2011 by John.Myrna

When Scientific Time Sharing Corporation was founded in 1969, it had a problem. It had nine locations and only six full-time employees. How could they communicate and coordinate when there were seldom more than two or three people in the same location or place? The obvious answer was email. The first primitive version went live in January 1970, followed by a fully functioned system built on our ground-breaking APL*Plus shared file system. That email system, written by Larry Breed, became STSC’s central communications technology.

666 Box, as the application was named, had all the features you’d expect, including the ability to CC and BCC users. (It also had a feature I sorely miss, the ability to withdraw an angry or poorly thought-out message.) When Mary, STSC’s Assistant Controller, and I decided to get married, it was first announced to the entire company a couple of days before we eloped in 1972. (I still have a copy of that email and the responses it generated.)

I made one major contribution to the system. I noticed that many people were spending a lot of time creating and reacting to where their name showed up on the CC (carbon copy) list. Colleagues would see that their name showed up fifth on the TO or CC list in emails from the president. I’d hear people saying things like, “I used to be listed third, have I done something wrong?” The president’s secretary would take an extra ten minutes to make sure that the VPs were listed before directors and directors before managers. I asked Larry to enhance the system to automatically sort the distribution lists alphabetically. All the angst and wasted time disappeared when the system automatically sorted the TO, CC, and BCC lists. I set the same standard for written memos in my department.

Sorting lists alphabetically became one of my standard modes of operation. People ascribe undue importance to where an item shows up in a list. For example, they may think that a perceived weakness listed fifth may be less important than one listed first when in fact all are potentially critical. Sorting a list removes this unconscious bias and enables people to focus on the entire list. People know that when I number and don’t sort a list, items are actually in priority order.

Effective strategic planning and implementation has been my single-minded passion for over twenty years. I’ve shared secrets I’ve discovered, developed, and refined in my webinars, books, and published articles. Our www.myrna.com website is a rich source of insights and techniques. I invite you to explore the website to learn more.

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The challenge of low turnover

Posted on April 20, 2011 by John.Myrna
Bill was bragging about his company’s low turnover. “The lion’s share of our employees have been with us for over ten years! We seldom have to hire anyone new for our plant. That continuity is one of our competitive advantages.”
In general, he is right on. The cost of low retention is extraordinarily high. The cost of constant recruiting and training, loss of institutional knowledge, and overall feelings of instability can easily be higher than a company’s profit margin. However, there are a few dark sides to low turnover.
One of the most obvious is that the average age of the work force gets a year older every twelve months. Eventually the entire workforce gets ready to retire at the same time. Less obvious is that the average compensation of each employee increases every year. While it is true that often there is a productivity gain to match the higher compensation, that productivity can derive from each individual developing such a unique skill set that it is impossible to replace them when they eventually leave the company.
Another issue is that anyone who does join the company doesn’t have any promotional opportunities. “The only way I can get promoted is for someone to die” is a common lament in situations like this.
A stagnant workforce also tends to become locked into processes and technology that are increasingly outdated. One of our clients who did technical writing, for example, had a cadre of writers who insisted on using typewriters instead of computers. The quality of their work was outstanding. They were incredibly productive, in their writing at least. However, the organization couldn’t keep up with their competitors, who utilized the most current publishing technology.
The greatest issue, however, is a pervasive attitude that things were better in the past. I’ve seen a growing sense among the workforce in low turnover companies that management is somehow abusing them. “I didn’t have to pay for healthcare five years ago. I didn’t have to run as many machines. I didn’t …”
We all have a tendency to romanticize the past. I for one, have nothing but warm memories of my Army basic training. One can develop a biased view without a steady influx of new employees sharing just how tough it really is out there.
The ideal workforce is one that is diversified in age, culture, and experience. Couple such a workforce with a proactive delegation strategy that continuously develops and crosstrains people. Ideally, you will continue to maintain high retention with innovation driven by fresh blood.
For some fresh ideas on how to utilize delegation to develop a productive, diversified workforce, read my published article of the subject or attend my prerecorded webinar at Business Expert Webinars.
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If you want to hunt buffalo then dress like a buffalo

Posted on April 19, 2011 by John.Myrna

I joined Scientific Time Sharing Corporation (STSC) in December 1969 as a programming elf. I was in the Army, stationed in Northern Virginia, with excess time on my hands. In grad school I had adapted a prototype Fortran implementation of the programming language APL to run on the college’s new SDS Sigma 7 mainframe computer system. I fell in love with the language, so it was only natural to see if I could moonlight for one of the three startups that were commercializing the IBM version of the APL timesharing system. In school, my graduate advisor and fellow grad students were convinced that APL was the greatest invention since sliced bread but… “It’s a shame that it will never make it as a commercial success.” (The APL language was known for its extensive use of Greek and mathematical symbols, a major departure from “English-like” languages like Fortran and Basic.)

The first startup I visited, The Computer Company, didn’t understand how someone who knew how to program in APL would be of any value. They said they would check with corporate HQ in Richmond and get back to me, which they never did. I repeated to myself, “It’s a shame APL will never be a commercial success.”

The second startup I visited, APL Washington, set my teeth on edge. They were operating from a plush office with a receptionist/secretary right out of “Mad Men.” They had a room full of expensive terminals but no users. The manager not only didn’t appear to know anything about APL, he also didn’t appear to know anything about computers and programming. It was clear to me that they were investing their startup dollars in the wrong things. Depressed, but not overly surprised, I repeated to myself, “It’s a shame that APL will never be a commercial success.”

The last startup I visited was Scientific Time Sharing Corporation, located at 2101 South Street, Washington DC. I walked in the building and asked where the president’s office was. The office was clearly upscale, with quality carpeting and furnishings. After asking around, the receptionist told me that I needed to climb the stairs to the top floor. By the time I reached the the top floor, the decor changed. No rugs, polished wood, fancy new desks and file cabinets. There were stacks of STSC-written user manuals crammed in every corner. And the president himself, Dan Dyer, invited me into his office of mismatched furniture with even more manuals and other marketing material in every corner. Dan invested the next couple of hours sharing his business plan, how he had left a successful IBM sales career and built this startup around a core of six technically astute APL fanatics, and, how one of the investors gave him the use of this office free. I left with the belief that this was the company that would succeed. In exchange for free computer access, I did freelance programming for STSC, and when my tour of duty was over in 1971, accepted an offer to be the Computer Center Manger for STSC’s datacenter.

STSC looked and acted like a startup that would focus its resources on what was important to its clients and long-term success. I believed that they would succeed and were worth risking my career with. I also sensed that prospective clients would reach the same conclusion. STSC’s initial users were looking for a partner that would be passionate about solving their problems. They wanted a vendor that was worth risking their careers with. (In a very real sense, a customer takes a risk every time they team with a new vendor.)

Many years later, the executive I learned marketing from had a catch phrase, “To hunt buffalo, you have to dress like a buffalo.” A startup needs to look like a startup. On the other hand, a well-established company has to look that way. (I remember a lunch I had with Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, when he apologized for the new luxury car he was driving. “The Board said that as we get ready for our IPO I needed to project a very successful image. It isn’t me but a successful IPO is all about marketing the company.”)

Over time a company grows, its markets evolve, and stakeholder expectations change. There is no such thing as a static strategic plan. Every company needs a strategic planning process. There needs to be a regular forum for identifying and dealing with issues as seemingly mundane as the corporate headquarters look and feel. For more insight on strategic business planning and implementation attend one of my webinars on the subject or read the first two chapters I wrote in the Business Expert Guide to Small Business Success.

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Why is the status quo so hard to change?

Posted on April 18, 2011 by John.Myrna

“It can’t be done.” So said Director of Operations, Wally as we discussed how to increase capacity in anticipation of the projected surge in demand in the next year. “Employees will never accept a fourth shift. They won’t be willing to change their schedules. They won’t. I asked them and they told me.” Strategic goals are strategic because they change the status quo. Why is it so hard in practice to actually implement truly strategic goals?

Any time you endeavor to change things there’s a risk involved and the potential for loss. Loss carries two to five times the impact as a gain. When there is fear of the unknown, people have a tendency to bunker down… hold their ground. That’s one reason why changing the status quo can’t be accomplished with the heroic effort of just one person. It takes the sustained effort of a team.

clip_image005The Hawaiians speak of a “crab-pot mentality”. When Hawaiian fisherman go crabbing, they simply throw the crabs they catch into a bucket. While you might wonder why the crabs don’t crawl out of the bucket, the Hawaiians learned long ago that there was no danger of that. Whenever one crab reaches the lip of the bucket and starts to crawl out, the other crab grabs it seeking their own escape and, ultimately, pull the leader back into the pot. While Hawaiians often criticize themselves for having this “crab-pot mentality,” it seems to be pretty fundamentally human.

image

We’ve all seen examples of this in the workplace. One person gets a bright idea for making things better and right away everyone gets busy saying why it will never work. And so there everyone stays… hopelessly stuck in the status quo like crabs in a bucket. Picture instead one crab making it over the top and pulling all his cheering team with him.

In the end, the Executive Team identified the myriad of concerns with regards to implementing a fourth shift. The action plan for implementation fully engaged the employees impacted by the change. The company dealt honestly with employees’ real and perceived negatives. Once the changes in operating schedules were made employees fell in love with it. (Heaven help the company if they were to suggest returning to the old schedule.)

Its unlikely that changing the status quo can be done in isolation by one heroic individual or department. It usually requires sustained effort across the entire company. The Executive Team needs to be on the same page, communicate their vision for the future, and to sustain implementation. For insight on how to do this review the first two chapters on strategic business planning and implementation in Business Expert Guide to Small Business Success.

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The Gordian knot — how you frame a problem influences the solution

Posted on April 6, 2011 by John.Myrna

Back in the last millennium, when I was a contract programmer, my customer asked me how long it would take to write a custom program he outlined for me. As I was getting ready to estimate the number of man-months and dollars, I remembered my Greek mythology and asked him what he intended to do with the program once I finished it. After he described the underlying problem, I told him I’d have his solution just as soon as I could drive over to CompUSA and purchase a readymade solution for $250. (A fraction of what a custom solution would have cost.)

The father of the gods had ordained that when it came time for the people to select a king, they must choose the first person to ride up to the temple of Zeus in a wagon. Gordius innocently fulfilled the oracle’s prophecy and was made king.

One of Gordius’ first acts was to dedicate his wagon to Zeus and to place it near the temple, the yoke tied to the pole by an intricate knot of cornel bark. The knot was a complex Turkish knot, having no ends exposed. Hundreds of tightly interwoven thongs of cornel-bark made the knot an impressive centerpiece for the shrine. There it remained as an important symbol for the Phrygians.

Month after month the bark hardened, people speculated as to its purpose, and eventually, an oracle foretold that whoever loosed the Gordian Knot would lord over the whole of Asia. The lore grew and grew.

Would-be rulers would make a pilgrimage to the temple to untie the knot. All failed until Alexander the Great. Big Al walked up to the yoke, took his sword and with one mighty stroke, cut the knot away, revealing the yoke underneath.

Why did so many smart and ambitious men fail? In part it was because the way the challenge was framed in their minds. Most were asking themselves how can I untie the knot. Alexander reframed the question as how can I reveal the yoke?

When I was in charge of product development I had a sign on my desk that read “Bring me problems, not solutions.” I’ve found that most people don’t come to you with a problem to solve. They come to you for help in implementing their approach to solving the underlying problem. Always drill down to what the underlying problem is. You have a greater chance of coming up with a solution that optimizes your products and skills if you can correctly identify the underlying problem and then define the implementation approach.

A Gordian knot approach is one that cuts to the core of the underlying problem. Employees can learn to become better problem solvers. (It was formal Wilson Learning sales training that opened my eyes. The training led me to shift my focus to identifying and solving the underlying problem.) Good coaching should be part of a your performance review process.

I’ve outlined a process for a better way to structure the job description and performance review process in an article published in the Business Strategy Series (Turning the Tables on Performance Reviews: How to Create a Better Process That Empowers, Energizes and Rewards Your Employees). Take a look, and contact me if you’d like to learn how to apply this process in your own organization.

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