Clothes for the Emperor

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The emperor has no clothes, the onlooker said, to the gasps of others. It’s easy to identify in other people. “Only when the tide goes out, do we find out who’s been skinny dipping,” said Warren Buffet.

Who is the emperor? Pogo says the enemy is us. Why is that such a surprise?

We figure out the world as it stands, at least in relation to our small circumstances. We are comfortable. We build our lives on the routine. The biggest mistakes are made when times are good.

The world changes. The first step in the cycle of loss is denial. The tide goes out and reveals our exposure, and we are the last to see it.

Seeing nakedness in other people is easy. Not so much for self-awareness.

Not a Communication Problem

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Thinking about competence, we begin with individual competence. Ultimately, however, we have to think about organizational competence. It not just great output from a single performer, but the output of the organization as people work together.

Organizational structure is simply the way we define the working relationships between people. We represent this on a piece of paper called an organizational chart. We have both vertical working relationships and horizontal working relationships. How well these relationships work will determine the quantity and quality of organizational output.

And, this is where the trouble begins. On the org chart, we draw lines between people, up, down and sideways. We think we understand what those lines mean, but until we specifically define the lines, we will experience organizational friction.

Working relationships are defined by two things, accountability and authority. Most organizational friction looks like a communication problem or a personality conflict, but that’s just a symptom. Underneath, we have a structural problem where we have failed to define, in that working relationship, where and what is the accountability. And, in that working relationship, who has the authority to make what decisions.

People tell me they have a communication problem. I don’t think so. I think you have an accountability and authority problem. Because you failed to define it.

To the Point of Failure

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As a manager, how do we know a team member’s highest level of capability? Capability is invisible. We can only see the output of capability. For that, there is evidence.

We test people through project work. Step one is a quick assessment of their current applied capability. Look at the fruits of their labor. This is an intuitive judgment on the part of the manager.

Step two is to marginally increase the current complexity of the task, in the form of a project, with the promise of project debrief on completion.

If the project is successful, it’s a prompt for the next project, a bit more complex, with the promise of a debrief on completion. Continue. Continue until there is failure.

When a team member reaches the point of failure, we now have a better grasp of the individual’s competence. We know where they are successful and where they fail.

Give it some time and challenge them again. And again. As long as the team member is employed by the organization, it is a continual process of challenge to the point of failure.

Play at the Highest Game

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Skill is made up of two elements, technical knowledge and practiced performance. If the skill is to throw a ball, there is some technical knowledge you need to know about the ball. Does the ball have seams, round or oblong, fingers around the ball or inside the ball, underhand or overhand. You see, there’s some technical knowledge you need to know about the ball.

But if you really want to get good at throwing the ball, you also have to practice. When I interview a candidate, not only will I interview them for their technical knowledge, I will also interview them for their practice. What is your frequency of practice, depth of practice, duration of practice, accuracy of practice? Because if you don’t practice a skill, what happens to the skill?

And, so it also works with challenge. For a person to be happy in their job, they have to be challenged, at least for some material duration of time, to their highest level of competence. This may be as small as ten percent, maybe 40 percent, but some material duration of time. Without challenge, we get bored. Of course, we can complete the mundane portions of our tasks, but without challenge, we go home empty. We completed the checklist, but completed nothing of significance.

As we design roles for people to play, we have to adjust those roles so people play at their highest game, at least for a portion of each day. Because if we don’t practice a skill, the skill goes away.

Being Early

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Habits can be a double-edged sword. That routine grooved behavior is a shortcut to apply a known solution over and over. But, things change and a known solution to one problem may not fit another problem. Because it worked before and then again, it is easy to misapply a routine grooved behavior to a new problem that doesn’t fit.

If we are looking for unconventional results, applying a known solution, even when it works, may only yield conventional results, same as last time. Always ask what changed.

Some habits avoid the trap. The habit of showing up early rarely has a downside. Showing up early allows for a time of calm before the beginning, to think, mentally rehearse and settle the nerves. Showing up early is a discipline, a habit that is a way of being.

When you find yourself doing something over and over, examine your purpose and your intended outcome to determine if it’s a habit that helps or a habit that is just expedient. Or it could be a habit that always contributes, like being early.

Event Driven

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“I think I second-guess myself when I think about what will take our company from here to there, to the next level, so to say,” Kylie wondered out loud.

“How so?” I asked.

“I just know, that I come to work each day, thinking about what I want to accomplish. But, before I get to my desk, someone ambushes me with an unexpected problem that has to be solved. It is difficult to focus on something extraordinary in the midst of derailment. Not that I can’t get us back on track, but then there is another something that happens.”

“And, so you feel like your life, your organization is driven by a series of unexpected events?” I pressed.

“You are right. Life would be much better if we could anticipate and predict, even little things,” Kylie nodded.

I shook my head. “You think things would be better if you could predict the future, but even if you could, which you can’t, you would still feel the same way. As long as you are driven by a series of events, you will be frustrated. Only when you are driven by a purpose, will you sense movement, inch by inch. There will always be problems and events. First you have to find a purpose, a purpose that has you.”

What Holds You Hostage?

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“You can either work on the plan the Board expects, and will not object to, or you can think differently about a new destination that is more important,” I said.

“But, I operate at the pleasure of the Board,” Kylie objected. “They write my paycheck. They expect solid quarterly results. I cannot turn in a plan based on a whim.”

“Then, your thinking has to be more than a whim,” I prodded. “Until then, you are hostage to the normal, predictable expectations that makes your Board comfortable. And, when they are comfortable, you are comfortable, and nothing remarkable will be accomplished.”

“Thinking this way sounds dangerous, a bit risky. If I do what you suggest, the Board might reject my plan and me along with it.”

“Then, you will no longer be a hostage,” I nodded.

“I might also be without a job,” Kylie appeared nervous.

“Think about this question,” I countered. “What moves would you have to make to double the revenues in your company in the next 12 months?”

“That would be impossible,” Kylie pushed back.

“Maybe, maybe not. The point is not to double your revenue, but to examine the moves you might make to do it. What might you explore?”

The Frame of the Plan

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“You set me on a path to think more clearly about the future in our planning,” Kylie informed me. “But what I am thinking, might not be finished in the timeframe of this plan.”

“Extraordinary achievement is not the goal, which may be outside of the timeframe of your plan. Extraordinary achievement is a way of life. It is the journey toward the goal.”

“But my Board wants me to have a plan for next year, in fact, they want me to have a plan for next quarter,” Kylie was stumped.

“Yes, to achieve something extraordinary, your company has to be in a healthy state. Next quarter requires solid action. But, if all you ever think about is short term results, eventually your success will be short termed. If all you ever do is the minimum, pretty soon, your minimum becomes your maximum.”

New Patterns

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“A blank sheet doesn’t give me much guidance,” Kylie announced.

“Agreed,” I replied. “But if you are going to create unconventional results, you have to think differently. Creativity is all about the future. If we could be creative simply by thinking about the past, we would all be successful. But, we’re not. Only those who imagine the future will create it.”

“I am still stuck with a blank sheet,” Kylie repeated.

“You are very good at analysis. Think of all the elements that might impact your future, things like market trends, regulation, labor, technology. Think about where those are headed, what is their direction? What events might bend their path? Then what happens? Draw those trajectories onto the edge of your blank sheet. See where they intersect.”

“My blank sheet isn’t blank anymore,” Kylie smiled. “In fact, it is become cluttered with new patterns.”

Mediocre vs Extraordinary Results

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“I think the Board will like this plan,” Kylie said. “It’s a variation on the plan from last year. I upped the percentage increase in sales, added some resources. I think it will get support.”

“Why do you think it will get support?” I asked.

“Well, it’s similar to last year’s plan, and I got unanimous support for last year’s plan, so I expect the same support for this year’s plan,” Kylie replied.

“So, no one is going to challenge it? You like it because this thinking got support last year, including you, and it’s the same Board, who won’t push back because it fits the narrative, the same story. Your plan assumes nothing has changed. How could someone object to something similar that they did not object to last year?”

Kylie shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Look, I need to present something that will get approved without a lot of resistance.”

“It’s the same plan with the same thinking that got mediocre success this past year. If you keep thinking the same way, you are going to get the same results. If you want extraordinary results, you have to think in a new way.”