From the category archives:

Leadership

Own the work

by nick on January 17, 2012

The first email I read in the day is Chris Brogan’s and it’s usually before breakfast. He’s very revealing in a business sense and within that honesty you’ll often find gems of practical advice. His advice can be a little left field as he expounds about far more than just marketing per se by getting into some life and well-being thoughts, but it’s all very well received.

He wrote recently, Doing the Work is Sexy. From it, “I was an owner long before I was the boss. I owned my desk at my telephone company job, and that got me better opportunities, because I owned everything I could and make it my responsibility to do even more than the role required on paper. When I moved to my wireless telecom roles, I owned every one of them. I worked harder on projects that weren’t my assigned work while completing the job they paid me for as well.” This hit me squarely between the eyes.

I’ve been trying to articulate ‘ownership’ to my teams for over a decade with varying success. It’s surely the perennial problem of having others take responsibility for their world at work.

Owning and being responsible for projects, tasks, duties, etc means digging in and not pushing things back onto others. It’s seeing things through rather than dreaming up reasons and excuses why they didn’t float. It’s a buck-stops-here mentality, even though you may be well down the pecking order of the organisation chart.

Saying, “this is above my pay grade,” isn’t taking ownership. Neither are, “I don’t know why I didn’t complete X,” or, “sorry, I simply forgot,” or, “I never seem to find the time.”

The noun manager implies even more ownership. So synonymous is the relationship that you could actually switch job titles from Manager of X to Owner of X, but that would invoke a HR heart attack.

From what I’ve observed I’d say ownership is a mindset, albeit a difficult one to sustain. It comes at a personal cost as you invest more of yourself than your raw job description prescribes. Too few are willing to shoulder the commitment and resilience that owning your role demands. Yet, without blind luck and stumbling on good fortune, only through ownership can you ever become the boss. They go hand in hand, with ownership the first to be outstretched.

Side note:
Heston Blumenthal worked 120+ hours a week for 5 years. He took himself and his one employee to a huge team of chefs and three Michelin stars. He went from self-taught nobody to being mentioned in more or less every good restaurant guide in the world. That’s an awful lot of ownership.

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Leadership troubles

by nick on November 16, 2011

I came across an old post by Fred Wilson (via Ben Parr) who was saying that a CEO had three roles:
1) sets the overall vision and strategy of the company and communicates it to all stakeholders;
2) recruits, hires, and retains the very best talent for the company;
3) makes sure there is always enough cash in the bank.

I’d argue all three of these require great communication to succeed. They also take more than a smidge of team spirit if the leader is to claim glory. After all, success or failure is always down to the leader, right? They’re the heroes or villains based on the performance of others in their charge.

That’s why Martin Johnson’s resigned from his England rugby coaching role. The team’s performance wasn’t strong enough in New Zealand and he’s had to fall on the proverbial sword. The pressure to go must’ve been tremendous, as Johnson is about as much a quitter as Ryan Giggs is maritally faithful.

But what of Johnson’s French counterpart, Marc Lievremont. Lievremont is known to have huge disagreements with his team. His players would say he couldn’t manage the bean bags in a crèche. They were wholly disobedient, mutinous and counter productive to pretty much everything he said. After winning their semi-final match against Wales (we was robbed, ref!), Lievremont asked his players to not party. They saw that as their queue to go out on the town. He should’ve offered them a free bar in a strip club; perhaps they’d have disappointed him by staying in their rooms and getting an early night.

My question is, what if France had won their final in the World Cup? Would success still have come from great leadership? Would Lievremont be able to claim that he’d made decisions in the build up to the tournament that laid foundations for a great performance? That his tactics were what counted, not his personal appeal by the players?

If an organisation is winning, is it really thanks to its leader? Well, Johnson knows losing certainly is.

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Agenda setting

by nick on October 30, 2011

Seth wrote recently about ceding one’s responsibility via other people’s agendas. He said ‘Setting an agenda is often as important as checking the boxes,’ and I completely agree.

Setting an agenda for a meeting gives you the initial power. Obviously, it allows you to frame the context of the discussions. You might not win every position but you certainly get to discuss them if you’ve put them on the agenda.

Also, if a structured agenda’s gone out beforehand and no one had any amendments prior to sitting down, then you’d be in your rights to say, ‘Sorry, I don’t believe that’s on the agenda. We can schedule it in for next time, though,’ if something new comes up. This can be a great tactic to avoid a tricky area or just simply to keep the stupid stuff off the table.

Definitely avoid the ‘any other business’ pitfall, too. It’s the catchall that lets any number of elephants into the room.

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Kindle thoughts

by nick on September 29, 2011

Kindle FireAmazon has shown itself as the first true competitor to Apple in the tablet war. The launch of the Kindle Fire this week is an audacious move to out-price the iPad with a dumbed-down system costing just $199.

Tablets are a future cornerstone for the world’s data consumption. As ever, Jobs lifted the curtain on that future and then he charged us a fortune to let us walk behind it. Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has had the hindsight of not being the first mover – he’s seen others throw pebbles at the armour of Apple with their tablet efforts (HP’s TouchPad was surely the most ham-fisted go at it).

I agree with Jason Calacanis that price is the key here, as you need to flood the market to gain traction and lock out competitors. Of course the product needs to be sellable in the first instance. Free may convert latent demand but it doesn’t create demand. No price reduction is enough if the product is tat – you could stand on every street corner in the country selling Betamax recorders for 1p. If you’d raised a whole £1 after a year I’d be stunned.

Amazon also had the gumption to go big. To double down as the yanks would say. And it needs to be so audacious because the scale of winning in this tech war is simply stratospheric. It’s not just about a few million bucks on the hardware, that’s just the entry fee to the club. The real win is at the bar. Consumers are paying for data that the world thought would be free for all time until the App Store showed us otherwise.

And nowhere is content more available than Amazon. Books, music, movies and TV shows are there. And of course, physical products from the deepest marketplace imaginable. Regardless of whether Amazon want to outgun the iPad, they are undoubtedly set to sell a whole tonne of content.

This is a killer strategy that doesn’t work in a cash strapped start-up with very little runway money and time. It’s the epitome of a loss leader, but it comes with the double whammy of providing a huge content channel as well as seeing off hardware competitors. Advantage Amazon.

This is a great move and a business test case for millions of students in years to come. What can Microsoft come back with?

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Growth isn’t always what is says on the tin

by nick on July 15, 2011

The shock non-Murdoch news this week is that inflation appears to have fallen. The CPI rate is down from 4.5% to 4.2%. Most analysts would say the culprits are retailers (especially in electronics) thanks to their prevalent early summer sales, but it helps Mervyn King and his posse keep interest rates where they are, which most would agree is a positive.

But 4.2% feels inconsequential to most businesses that have seen costs rise massively over the past year or so. Utilities are a simple example with British Gas being the latest to announce a massive and non-negotiable price rise last week of 18%. Fuel costs, postage costs, raw material costs from carbon fibre to cotton – all have lifted by far more than four-point-something percent.

Suppliers will tell buyers it’s a globalisation effect, that China’s growth inflates prices, that Japan’s manufacturing inability increases scarcity, that a sterling-euro parity is to blame, that jumps in NI and VAT are a factor. Regardless of the reasons, just 4.2% would be a blessing to many who control the cost of sales in their businesses.

This is why I can’t help but smile when I hear a business leader say with pride that they’re up 5 or 10 or 15% year on year. Sure, in these troubled times, growth is something to cherish, but when it’s a given that your costs have risen, at what point is growth actual growth?

In 2010 and 2011, 10% sounds like standing still to me. How about you, what does your real growth number start at? Or, is any metric in the black, a reason to get the bubbly out?

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Three books to kick you

by nick on March 13, 2011

Do you like business books that inspire you to move into action, or books that break down what someone did in their business? If it’s the former then this month has seen a couple of excellent releases for you:

Gary Vaynerchuk is a hustler. His second book, The Thank You Economy is out this week. Gary took his father’s wine store turnover from $4m to $69m inside 5 years. He hustled. He expanded. He served. He innovated. He grew. He succeeded. This guy is someone you should hook into.

Seth Godin has released a short 70-odd page book called, Poke The Box. It’s about starting things, kicking off and shipping. Like so many of his short pieces he’s asking you to DO something.

A third beauty that I haven’t got ‘round to yet is Evil Plans: Having Fun on the Road to World Domination from Hugh MacLeod. It’s also his second release and another offering insight into an Internet and marketing powerhouse.

Enjoy (and then DO something).

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Is your marketing director for the toilet

by nick on February 20, 2011

Stranded Berlin Toilet

The Internet has only really been around for the masses since Microsoft brought us Windows 95 and the ever-present Internet Explorer. But over 15 years on, digital and digital marketing still remains a bolt on for many businesses that should really know better.

I’m always amazed when strong marketers tell me their marketing director (not HR or finance director) doesn’t know anything about digital or ‘The Web.’ This leaves the marketing managers or their assistants to direct any digital impact the firm achieves.

I mean, where the hell have they been for the past decade and a half, writing Yellow Pages ads?

This digital-is-an-extra-component mindset is the equivalent to the outdoor toilet. For decades the home toilet lived in the back garden. It was an outhouse; an extra to the main building. Of course, modernisation took place and toilets thankfully now live a lot closer to the bedroom.

Directors who think marketing is a whole load of ‘stuff’ plus a bit of digital on the side are dinosaurs. There’s a sea change coming thanks to digital TV and smartphones that beggars belief compared to what we have today, and these dinosaurs need to get on the bandwagon.

Not seeing digital as an integral part of your marketing and communications is as antiquated as an outdoor loo. Quaint, but terribly ineffective for all concerned.

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Never too early to train

by nick on January 30, 2011

Alt test

Like most UK retailers and caterers I’m avidly watching two TV programmes running at the moment: Mary Portas’ Secret Shopper and Michel Roux’s Service.

Secret Shopper
Mary Portas is her usual truculent self and she’s right to bemoan retail service – on the whole it’s dire with a capital D. Despite embarrassing some of the biggest names on the high street, I’m not sure an over-edited show (we saw the same clip five times) will have the desired effect and have management draw their swords, demanding the engagement necessary to perform at such a level.

Service
Last week’s Service showed a huge contradiction from the management team. When teaching recruits the basics of waiting tables they described eye contact and ghost-like speed, but neglected to mention to serve dishes from the customers’ right shoulder and to clear from their left.

As they didn’t teach this practice from the beginning, or in any of the live restaurant sessions, the recruits’ habit was to serve and clear over both shoulders. In most environments this wouldn’t matter one bit, but in last week’s 5 star restaurant at Bovey Castle it saw them pilloried.

The newly introduced procedure confused and frustrated the cohort, adding yet more pressure to an already stressful learning curve.

The rule here is simple: if something is crucially important and fundamental, say it upfront. Make up a song or a mnemonic. Do whatever is needed to drill the message home early, but don’t let your team drive on the right only to be told weeks later they should’ve been on the left all along.

Photo credit: pasotraspasto

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Mental boxes

by nick on January 13, 2011

Chris Brogan is a business hero of mine. He’s built his own escape velocity in every sense. His blog is great a platform showing a balance of marketing, business, new media and raw advice. This has got him to AdAge’s marketing list at #3 (behind King Seth and the much-overrated Copyblogger). He shares ideas and advice in a philanthropic and life-coach way. As such, he’s one the more sensible Americans in the Twitter elite.

I really like his three-word riff. It’s his clever play at managing New Year resolutions. Three words to constantly remind you of where you want to be for 2011. Here’s something else I’ve found equally helpful in the getting-your-head-around-your-busy-life department: moving boxes.

I set up a spreadsheet that shows an overview of what I’m trying to achieve in the coming months. It’s not a detailed life or business plan but it prevents me trying to take on too much today and allows me to see progress without thinking I’ve got a million things yet to do and how will I ever get there.

Firstly: compartmentalise

I find compartmentalising things immensely helpful. I can cope with far more tasks and projects as long as I’m fully aware what plates are already in the air, what’s on them and where they are in their lifecycle. Putting things into a compartment is the knowledge and ability to mentally file away new issues and tasks. It means new developments don’t end in tears when looking at an already lively workload.

- Split big areas into individual sections e.g. re-launching your marketing campaign would fall in your work category; increasing your own Twitter usage would come under personal promotion.

- Include things that will take mindshare in your business and personal life. Also don’t be afraid to list a reward e.g. hit sales target this quarter and treat yourself to a new toy or a weekend away (it’s important to reinforce a positive otherwise it can all become a chore regardless of good or bad results).

Secondly: be realistic with time

Economists would say everything comes down to scarcity of resources and this is born of the same breadth. You can’t physically do everything right now or even this quarter, so prioritising, delegating and monitoring all play a huge part in your work life.

- Split your areas across weeks or months

- Be realistic and don’t over commit

- Be ruthless and stick to the priorities you set yourself regardless of other distractions (e.g. you planned to book your 2012 ski holiday in June so stop wasting time, surfing through choices today).

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Characteristics of a manager

by nick on November 14, 2010

Close your eyes for a minute. Forget where you work and who’s around you on the organisational chart (and completely ignore what you saw on The Apprentice last week).

Now, imagine you’ve a blank sheet of paper and you’re picking a management team. Above, below or alongside you – it doesn’t matter – just an all-round ‘manager’, whatever they may be. What attributes and characteristics are you looking for?

Mine goes something like this: P.E.R.C.H.

Passion: neither the footballer, the waiter or the nurse are going to be particularly good at their profession without a passion for the role. Passion’s needed for the business, the company goal, your products and the market. From that point of view isn’t it a crime to be in a role for 40, 50, 60+ hours a week and not be passionate about it?

Passion spills into the product/service you trade in. You want to learn and grow yourself as well as the business; it forces you to improve your knowledge and skill. And most of all passion makes you obsessed with your consumer: what do they like, what would they change about your organisation, what else can we do for them?

Entrepreneur: this goes to the heart of it. Managers need to treat the firm as their own. Yes they could spend another £20 on semi-handy stationary this week but that would be wasteful. They could add 20 man-hours to the wages bill, but if the rota were juggled and tasks reprioritised then it wouldn’t be necessary. Spending is fine – expected even – but is the spending right? That’s where a manager orders as though it’s being paid from their own wallet and does it with integrity.

They’re not heard to say, ‘This place is rubbish…‘ because they really take their part in ‘this place’ as seriously as if it were their own. And as such they make their own decisions and don’t wait to be steered around every corner and bump in the road.

Responsibility: out of everything, responsibility distinguishes the shepherd from the herd. It’s where you take ownership – not to just say sorry when things go wrong, but to find the cause of the problems and prevent recurrence. It allows you to bounce when you fail and it’s “the buck stops here” mentality. In a way it’s being parental.

No, you’re not expected to write every email, to pull every tooth, lay every brick, stack every shelf, bake every loaf and sign every client, but when these things involve your team, then you’ve got to know that it – and they – are your responsibility.

Coach: managers need a desire to get the best out of their team, but with more in mind than today’s result. This might be additional life skills as technical wherewithall. To teach and have teams grow as individuals, to take pride in developing them even though it may hurt you in mid- to long-term as they move on.

Listening and empathy are two of the biggest strings to a manager’s bow and can be utilised fully here. Finally, please don’t forget, intimacy builds teams, not strategy.

Humour: this is seriously underestimated in business teams. Give me brilliant work, give me results, give me a strong team, but do it all without a smile? You’ll often hear military personnel say of their team, ‘They’re a great bunch.‘ Or when talking of a colleague, ‘He’s a top bloke; really good laugh.’ They know only too well the value that humour has in a stressful work environment.

So don’t leave your personality at home but don’t create one either. Understand that saying rubbish like, “I don’t do failure,” in every meeting makes you sound more like David Brent than Stuart Rose, i.e. clueless. Your personality and a little humour is likely to become the cornerstone of your team’s, and possibly, the organisation’s culture.

Wow, that’s quite a repertoire and the depth and breadth of it, is why so many new managers struggle with the role. Management is a skill, an art even. It’s made more difficult still as the line is blurring between management and leadership. It’s one that’s difficult to define and even more difficult to teach in today’s tight and pressured world.

What am I missing here?

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For Prime Minister read Project Manager

by nick on September 15, 2010

When the pressure really builds I think of how difficult leadership must be for the Prime Minister. Surely our everyday business ‘issues’ are nothing compared to the table of responsibility inside number 10.

That’s why I’m doubly struck by Tony Blair writing in his autobiography and mentioning in his PR interviews that he changed dramatically as a leader. It’s obvious he grew in confidence and his skin thickened with conviction, but he soon realised that his leadership wasn’t about ideological fixations of left versus right – by his own admission it was more about structural change, project management and delivery.

Next time you’re ruing your team or thinking your day should be more about business and less about people, take solace in the fact our country’s leaders have the same headaches as you.

Not sure if it makes it any easier to bear though.

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Confidence is catchy

by nick on August 7, 2010

I love meeting confident people. I don’t mean business networking arrogance; I’m talking about those who’ve really done something special. They stand that bit straighter, their heads that bit higher, with brighter eyes, and more alive faces.

Athletes have that confident look. So do military folks.

I recently met an ex-Marine commando who’d successfully led a Navy/Marine team to summit Everest and came back down rescuing another team’s casualty and won a Queen’s bravery award in the process. He exuded so much confidence it was like looking at the Ready Brek kid.

Unfortunately you can’t pick it up off a shelf in the supermarket, you have to earn it. The good news is that it can be earned in a small team SME every bit as much as it can from base camp on Everest. Team leader means the same in both all capacities.

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