I suspect many people are similar: When initially confronting a
problem they perceive it to be much larger than it may truly be.
If
it is your own problem, the sooner you can put it in perspective and
supply the amount of concern it truly deserves, the more effective you
will be overall.
I have written a time or two
mentioning the difficult times we faced in the mid 1980's. At one point we
were being pressured by our bank over a minor item. I knew that in spite of their tone,
it was not a serious issue and was something we could (should) take in
stride. It was better to remain as calm as possible and do more
positive things. Two of our key staff members were upset with me
because I was not sufficiently "panic stricken" --- in their view. A couple of weeks later,
the crisis had resolved itself. Note: during this time there were more than enough major problems with which we had to deal.
I hasten to add that there have been other times when a problem loomed large, only to later indeed look smaller after it had passed.
Later, everyone could look
back and see that it was not nearly as large a problem as it had seemed
to some at the time. Time and time again, be it business, family,
personal or "whatever" this is the case. There are exceptions of
course.
Problems are (almost) always smaller in the rear view mirror!!
But if a customer calls with a problem, you'd better treat it with just as
much concern as he feels or you'll be considered insensitive, non-caring, or worse!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
Sometimes you have to say "This is how it is"
Then your job is still to get people to buy into it. If you have a vision and feel strongly about it, democracy and group decision making are probably not the way to go. Take your vision and run with it without wasting a lot of time in a process which dilutes your vision and renders something "less good."
Just tell your team that you have thought about it, developed and weighed alternatives to come up with the plan and here it is. You have to be sure they understand that if you have overlooked something or made a serious error they can speak up .... and that you want them to speak out forcefully. [See my post "Don't surround yourself with people who demand too little of you"] You may (should) choose to leave details of varying degrees to be "fleshed out" before final implementation.
Sound too autocratic? That's why you make the big bucks. Look at a football coach; he is in charge of the game plan. Some rely more heavily than others on their offensive and defensive coordinators to develop their plans, but you can bet the head coach puts together the basic plan.
Note: At other times group input to a decision, plan, procedure, or design is to be encouraged and has great value, but sometimes you have to say "this is it" without input. At other times, if there is not a concensus, or the process is taking too long, it is again your job to say "THIS IS IT!"
A long and potentially boring example follows. You may want to quit here.
At least 15 years ago, it was apparent that we needed a new accounting software system. We were still using a "DOS based" system (information for those who have a computer history going back before about 1990, when Windows 3 was released). I believed strongly that we should adopt a Microsoft Access based system that could be migrated to a SQL based system. Others believed we should buy a packaged system which, in my view, would have us caught in the clutches of the vendor we chose forever. An Access based system would be more "open" and easily customizable. I left no choice. We went with Access, going "live" on July 1, 2000. Now we have 12 years of data accumulated that anyone in the organization can probe to find answers to their questions. And some do. Though most in the organization choose not to create necessary queries and reports, the data is there and quite easily accessible. Just this week I created a detailed 12 year sales history for a particular product line so we can implement a new marketing strategy for that product. A couple others on the management team have done similar projects.
Just tell your team that you have thought about it, developed and weighed alternatives to come up with the plan and here it is. You have to be sure they understand that if you have overlooked something or made a serious error they can speak up .... and that you want them to speak out forcefully. [See my post "Don't surround yourself with people who demand too little of you"] You may (should) choose to leave details of varying degrees to be "fleshed out" before final implementation.
Sound too autocratic? That's why you make the big bucks. Look at a football coach; he is in charge of the game plan. Some rely more heavily than others on their offensive and defensive coordinators to develop their plans, but you can bet the head coach puts together the basic plan.
Note: At other times group input to a decision, plan, procedure, or design is to be encouraged and has great value, but sometimes you have to say "this is it" without input. At other times, if there is not a concensus, or the process is taking too long, it is again your job to say "THIS IS IT!"
A long and potentially boring example follows. You may want to quit here.
At least 15 years ago, it was apparent that we needed a new accounting software system. We were still using a "DOS based" system (information for those who have a computer history going back before about 1990, when Windows 3 was released). I believed strongly that we should adopt a Microsoft Access based system that could be migrated to a SQL based system. Others believed we should buy a packaged system which, in my view, would have us caught in the clutches of the vendor we chose forever. An Access based system would be more "open" and easily customizable. I left no choice. We went with Access, going "live" on July 1, 2000. Now we have 12 years of data accumulated that anyone in the organization can probe to find answers to their questions. And some do. Though most in the organization choose not to create necessary queries and reports, the data is there and quite easily accessible. Just this week I created a detailed 12 year sales history for a particular product line so we can implement a new marketing strategy for that product. A couple others on the management team have done similar projects.
Thursday, October 11, 2012
The Coach's Message
A guest post by my friend Dana Benning.
Last night, I took my son to the local high school varsity football game. My son is in the community youth tackle football program and was to be honored with the group during the game. Before the game, youth players and coaches were invited to meet at the high school to receive a message from the varsity coach - Mark Hubbard. I thought that it would probably be a "thanks for playing" speech with a "see you in high school" theme.
I was pleasantly surprised at the message that this young coach gave our players. The local high school has a talented, but relatively young team. They have lost more games than the community would like due to a newer offense and the turnovers that a new system can tend to generate. There has been negative talk in the community as is the case in most communities where pride sometimes clouds reasonable expectations.
Coach Hubbard began speaking about how proud he is of his players and stressed that his varsity team is composed of good kids. He admitted that the results are not what they wanted, but knows that the hearts and determination of his team is solid. You could really feel the compassion that he has for his players. He then told the kids his message for his players this week. In life, there will always be times when things don't always go your way. Whether it be a game, school, relationships, etc. The key is how you handle it. Coach Hubbard asked his players "Do you want to be like a ball or an egg?" You see, an egg when dropped will shatter, but a dropped ball bounces back. He stressed to these kids to not live life like an egg. His delivery was passionate and I believe that it meant something to the team. He went on to tell the young players to appreciate their opportunities and stressed the importance of showing appreciation to those who give time and talents to your benefit. He finished by telling this impressionable young group to value what they have and to never forget to say the words " I love you" to those who mean the most to you. Not a "Rah Rah" speech, but a moment to plant a seed in the hearts and minds of our next generation.
The local high school varsity team went out and won their game. I can tell you that I don't know a single player on that team, but I was both proud of their performance and happy for them. What I left with most is the knowledge that though the overall wins and losses are what the they will carry in the record books, the character built in their hearts and minds is what will carry them the rest of their lives. I would be proud to have my son play for this coach someday.
Editor's Note: As always, if you like this, please pass it on. If not, go to the richway.com site and send an email via the contact form asking to be removed from the email reminder for rich's blog. if you want to be on the email reminder list, follow the same procedure.
-30-
.
Last night, I took my son to the local high school varsity football game. My son is in the community youth tackle football program and was to be honored with the group during the game. Before the game, youth players and coaches were invited to meet at the high school to receive a message from the varsity coach - Mark Hubbard. I thought that it would probably be a "thanks for playing" speech with a "see you in high school" theme.
I was pleasantly surprised at the message that this young coach gave our players. The local high school has a talented, but relatively young team. They have lost more games than the community would like due to a newer offense and the turnovers that a new system can tend to generate. There has been negative talk in the community as is the case in most communities where pride sometimes clouds reasonable expectations.
Coach Hubbard began speaking about how proud he is of his players and stressed that his varsity team is composed of good kids. He admitted that the results are not what they wanted, but knows that the hearts and determination of his team is solid. You could really feel the compassion that he has for his players. He then told the kids his message for his players this week. In life, there will always be times when things don't always go your way. Whether it be a game, school, relationships, etc. The key is how you handle it. Coach Hubbard asked his players "Do you want to be like a ball or an egg?" You see, an egg when dropped will shatter, but a dropped ball bounces back. He stressed to these kids to not live life like an egg. His delivery was passionate and I believe that it meant something to the team. He went on to tell the young players to appreciate their opportunities and stressed the importance of showing appreciation to those who give time and talents to your benefit. He finished by telling this impressionable young group to value what they have and to never forget to say the words " I love you" to those who mean the most to you. Not a "Rah Rah" speech, but a moment to plant a seed in the hearts and minds of our next generation.
The local high school varsity team went out and won their game. I can tell you that I don't know a single player on that team, but I was both proud of their performance and happy for them. What I left with most is the knowledge that though the overall wins and losses are what the they will carry in the record books, the character built in their hearts and minds is what will carry them the rest of their lives. I would be proud to have my son play for this coach someday.
Editor's Note: As always, if you like this, please pass it on. If not, go to the richway.com site and send an email via the contact form asking to be removed from the email reminder for rich's blog. if you want to be on the email reminder list, follow the same procedure.
-30-
.
Friday, October 5, 2012
Don't Surround Yourself With People Who Demand Too Little of You
I adopted this paraphrase of a Kenny Rogers song lyric a long time ago. Not being a country music fan, I did not hear the song often, but it reached number 44 in the Billboard "Hot 100" in 1977, so it was far from never heard. The song is "Sweet Music Man" and the actual phrase is "And you surround yourself with people who demand so little of you"
Anyway, the point is to have good people around you because they push you to be your best and that makes the whole organization stronger. Be sure that your team members know that you want them to push you. You need people to challenge you when they disagree with you and to challenge you to do even better. In return, you need to challenge them to be constantly striving to do better and to be sure that they know you appreciate blunt, but honest, input.
You need bright people who are not "afraid" of you. Mere "yes men" or women are not what you are looking for. Nor do you want simple contrarians. You need a team that works together and that expects (demands) good leadership.
Two of the most valuable staff members that I have ever had were not hesitant to speak up and "call" me if they thought I was wrong. I relied on them for honest and frank opinions, given immediately. I, in turn, thought things out better and more clearly before presenting them to these people because I knew they would have logical and well thought out responses. (Both were bright and able to think through the issue quickly.) Their tenure at Richway overlapped by only a year or two, but between them they covered a 25 year period. My heartfelt thanks to both of them!
Links Below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7HhjQWgag8
http://www.musictory.com/music/Kenny+Rogers/Sweet+Music+Man
http://www.lyricsmania.com/sweet_music_man_lyrics_kenny_rogers.html
Anyway, the point is to have good people around you because they push you to be your best and that makes the whole organization stronger. Be sure that your team members know that you want them to push you. You need people to challenge you when they disagree with you and to challenge you to do even better. In return, you need to challenge them to be constantly striving to do better and to be sure that they know you appreciate blunt, but honest, input.
You need bright people who are not "afraid" of you. Mere "yes men" or women are not what you are looking for. Nor do you want simple contrarians. You need a team that works together and that expects (demands) good leadership.
Two of the most valuable staff members that I have ever had were not hesitant to speak up and "call" me if they thought I was wrong. I relied on them for honest and frank opinions, given immediately. I, in turn, thought things out better and more clearly before presenting them to these people because I knew they would have logical and well thought out responses. (Both were bright and able to think through the issue quickly.) Their tenure at Richway overlapped by only a year or two, but between them they covered a 25 year period. My heartfelt thanks to both of them!
Links Below
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7HhjQWgag8
http://www.musictory.com/music/Kenny+Rogers/Sweet+Music+Man
http://www.lyricsmania.com/sweet_music_man_lyrics_kenny_rogers.html
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