The right thing. The right way. At the right time.
“Strategy is a philosophy of becoming.”
“A strategy,” he says, “isn’t a map. It’s a compass. Strategy is a better plan.”
And at the “compass, not a map” point, the $16 book paid for itself about a bazillion times over.
Seth has, does, and always will make me better. What is our philosophy of becoming? We’ll ride this strategy horse through the rest of this week.
“I’ll sell it the minute you turn in the driveway! I raised you to know better!”
He was probably right (he usually was right), yet this past weekend was amazing!
For me, the smell of diesel exhaust is triggering in the most positive way imaginable. A covering of corn dust seems more “right” than the sweat from the gym after a workout, too. After a weekend spent “running grain cart” during my buddy’s corn harvest, I feel nostalgic over “what if I’d have been a farmer?”
Dad did raise me to know better, and our small farm wouldn’t have supported both of us, anyway. So, I begin my white-collar work week with a grateful heart for my buddy trusting me with his $300,000 equipment, the time spent in the sun, dust, and diesel exhaust, and a fresh perspective on making a difference in his setting, not mine.
I also might have more of an issue with corn dust than I did as a kid, but every sniffle, cough and watering eye was worth it.
“Leadership means making something happen that would otherwise not happen.”
“Don’t just do something! Stand there!”
Oh, the conflicting quotes!
In a season where business is squirrely and times are uncertain for so many, we spend much of our time making things happen, ideally things that make a difference. So, kudos, Sumantra Ghosal!
In a season where “that corn ain’t gonna pick itself,” as Dad would have said, I’m spending the weekend with one of my closest friends and his family — true Blessings to me — “helping him” pick his corn. I might not be all that much help, seein’s how it’s been 22 years since I drove a tractor, but even if I’m just standing there (Dad’s way of saying “stop, think, plan, cipher or just smell the roses,”) offering moral support, it’s a weekend with people I love and who love me and not a single _______ will be given. Unless our Hawkeyes aren’t successful Saturday night. That might tick us off a bit, but I digress.
Back to the point. We won’t care about much this weekend, except that we’ll be together. And, too often these days, we forget to make that happen.
“Judge a man by his questions, rather than his answers.”
In the May – June 2024 issue of the Harvard Business Review, three contributors wrote an article, “Asking Better Questions.” It’s sort of a Master Class, I gotta say…
We are so quick to “tell.” Heck, we are taught to tell. Storytelling is one of the tools most critical to a Difference-Maker, yet Voltaire (is it weird that they had historians 400 years ago?) is just as right today as he was in 1778.
The article suggests five types of questions that are critical for leaders to master to get the most out of their teams. Important to note is that our experiential and natural biases need to be reigned in, just as they do when we’re “telling.”
First, we should ask investigative questions. Getting through the Five Why’s helps us clarify our purpose and detail what is known.
Speculative questions — think “What if…?” and “What else…?” help us drive change. There is a great example in the article regarding the New Zealand America’s Cup team that pretty much changed the game.
As business leaders and managers, we often focus on Larry Bossidy’s concept of metrics, milestones and bottlenecks. Bossidy was amazing at productive questioning, and in context, the approach is still important: How can we get it done? How will we synchronize actions? How will we measure progress?
Where science blends with art is when we deploy interpretive questions. This is where we ask, “So, what…?” Drilling down into what the problem’s really about, what happens if a trend continues, what have we learned so far, how is it useful, and, perhaps most important, are we asking the right questions –now we’re playing in the meaningful margins that most of our competitors won’t ever explore.
Finally, subjective questions get the team into what is otherwise unsaid. This is where great coaches separate themselves. We are supporting and coaching in this realm versus monitoring and controlling. The key to success is creating a safe space to discuss, disagree, and encourage divergent viewpoints.
If we are serious about being judged by our questions, we’d better be willing to listen to learn instead of listening to fix. It has been suggested that this is a male-specific trait — yet I wonder if title and rank don’t contribute to our belief that we have to fix whatever is being brought to us regardless of gender. Today, learner mode is at least as valuable as judger mode.
A mentor of mine took down a $1,000 framed picture (in 1988 dollars!) of a golden eagle that had always hung behind my desk, replacing it with an 8.5″ x 11″ piece of paper with “I don’t know what do YOU think?” handwritten. That was when my career shifted from managing business to creating leaders. That was when making a difference began to matter more to me than making a buck.
Editor’s Note: The Harvard Business Review is a Difference-Making publication. Subscribe. Thank me later.
“When we fail, it is often because we haven’t considered the emotional part.”
Planning, strategic or otherwise involves picturing outcomes. What does success look like? What does failure look like? Tomorrow, a deeper dive on better questions in the planning and execution process, but as a precursor, this take on post-mortem consideration of “why did we fail” sets the stage.
As often as not, we get the non-emotional pieces pretty good. The tactics. The metrics. The data and analytics in these days.
Considering the emotional impact – on our teams, our customers, our partners, and our vendors — before, during, and after the campaign – when we get that right, it provides a buffer for wobbles, misfires, or delays in the non-emotional aspects of what we do.
We’ll put a ribbon on this in the next two Diffs. Until then, make a difference today!
“The world is not a prison house, but a kind of kindergarten, where millions of bewildered infants are trying to spell “God” with the wrong blocks.”
The wrong blocks. Sometimes we do it to ourselves. We take the wrong tools out of the toolbox we’ve been provided. Sometimes we do it to our teams. We give them the wrong tools. Or the wrong expectations.
Worse yet, sometimes we give them no expectations or poorly defined expectations.
And, when they bring us the blocks that don’t even spell “dog,” but the ones that spell “cat,” “rat,” or maybe “albatross,” we get frustrated with them. Imagine how frustrated they must be with us.
As leaders, providing the right blocks is a great place to begin.
“Authority can be given to a person. Leadership cannot. People with authority often have no followers. People with followers often have no authority.”
What can be given can rarely be assumed. And what can be assumed need not be given.
Long-time subscribers know the old basketball addage: “Shooters shoot.”
The same is true with leaders. Leaders lead, regardless of title or authority. Leaders lead.
“No is a complete sentence. It does not require an explanation to follow. You can truly answer someone’s request with a simple “no.“
For years, I’ve been telling myself I get overcommitted, but I don’t. I am careful about making commitments, so technically, I’m not overcommitted. That said, I sometimes allow myself to get over-obligated.
Obligations are thrust upon us by people who ambush us with an urgent emergency, or worse, a “quick question.” These people know quick questions often have complicated answers, but they just don’t care. They hide behind the word “quick” to pretend they are asking for nothing more than a flickering moment of our time and attention.
Typically, we’re not committed to do what they ask of us, but we feel obligated nonetheless.
Just say no. (It’s not just for turning down drugs anymore!)
“Quick question?” “No.” See how easy that was? “Hey, let me run something by you…” “No.”
If that seems too harsh, we can crawl, walk, and run with responses like, “I’d love to help, but I just can’t right now. There are a couple things that require my full attention, so I can’t afford the distraction.” Or, “Dang! I’d love to, but if you’d be willing to send me a note so I can wrap my head around it later this week, I’d give you a much more thorough response.”
If they work for us, it’s an excellent opportunity to empower and encourage: “Steve, got time for a quick question?” “Look, Pat, if it’s just a quick question, trust your instincts and let me know how it works out. If things get sideways, then let’s set some time to address it once you’ve done your best…”
Don’t get me wrong. The water-cooler conversation has value if we has time! (Grammatical error made on purpose, cause sometimes I do that…)
Editor’s Note: If you don’t know anyone who’s struggled with Lyme Disease, you might not fully appreciate the “Lyme Warrior” part of Sharon’s bio. Lyme disease is a b****.
“If people looked at the stars each night, they’d live a lot differently. When you look into infinity, you realize that there are more important things than what people do all day.“
Calvin and Hobbes and The Far Side are engrained in my psyche. And, while I don’t remember where I found this quote from the former’s creator (I’m betting it was a Monday Morning Memo from Roy H. Williams), I’ve been considering eternity and infinity even more than usual, lately. And, when I’m reflective, more than usual, I quickly run to some old playlists that connect me to the best of me and the best of times.
One of my favorite bands is the Rainmakers. There’s a lyric in Long Gone, Long:
“Drinking underneath the stars
Watching counting meteors
Robert said you know those fell a hundred years ago
The light is just now reaching earth
I said man, for what it’s worth
I think you are wrong and you really don’t know”
Bob Walkenhorst‘s lyrical style and distinct voice have kept me drawn in for 43 years since I first saw them at a bar in Kirksville, MO. Another of their lyrics is from The One That Got Away:
“I’d give all I got for just one more shot at the one that got away…”
I’ve been thinking lately that it’s about possibilities more than probabilities, and it’s about tomorrow more than yesterday. Sometimes, in life and business, it’s challenging to remember those truths, let alone focus on them.
Whether the stars fell a hundred years ago or whether the one that got away shines more in our memory than it should, taking time to look into infinity and consider what we want our footprint to be is likely a worthwhile exercise. Making it a discipline will shape what we do here, now, on our way to leaving that footprint.
Editor’s Note: That second clip of the band was filmed live in Switzerland, where Rainmakers remain one of the largest-drawing musical acts. I feel oddly validated by that snippet…
“Big things are accomplished only through the perfection of minor details.”
No joke, Coach Wooden began every season by teaching his team how to put on their socks. No wrinkles meant no blisters, which meant no missed practice time, which meant, it would seem, 7 consecutive and 10-out-of-12 national championships. Editor’s Note: Yesterday, I incorrectly attributed the concept of “perfect practice” to coach Wooden. Read on, as it was another legendary coach who gets credit for that misnomer.
Vince Lombardi is often quoted as saying, “Practice doesn’t make perfect; only perfect practice makes perfect.” Lombardi knew a little bit about winning (the NFL Championship trophy is named after him), and his stringent expectations are legendary, especially in Green Bay, WI (home of the 13-time World Champion Green Bay Packers, but I digress).
Wooden, on the other hand, openly stated that perfection was an “impossibility.” Yet high school coaches, department managers, and lots of other yahoos claim to expect it from their teams. It’s the striving that compels excellence. It’s the minor details that drive better outcomes.
How much time are we willing to invest in preparing for the presentation? How much time does it take to research a Client well enough to thoroughly understand their business and their place in the market? In an era of instant everything, and in a season where “Poll A says this” and “Poll B says that,” how much time does it take to reach an educated position and make our best decision?
Since I threw out Gladwell Monday, let’s toss in a little Stephen R. Covey and seek to understand. Editorials in Forbes Magazine are always listed under the heading of Proverbs 4:7-9; “With all thy getting, get understanding.”
Turns out wisdom is a better goal than perfection. And wisdom takes more practice than just about anything else. Turns out, it’s worth the effort.
