Author Archives: Tom Foster

About Tom Foster

Tom Foster spends most of his time talking with managers and business owners. The conversations are about business lives and personal lives, goals, objectives and measuring performance. In short, transforming groups of people into teams working together. Sometimes we make great strides understanding this management stuff, other times it’s measured in very short inches. But in all of this conversation, there are things that we learn. This blog is that part of the conversation I can share. Often, the names are changed to protect the guilty, but this is real life inside of real companies.

Customer Focus Gap

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Joel posted this question in response to yesterday’s post.

Question:

I am assembling a “Mission statement/mission focus” plan, and I have a question: I think my team simply needs a more positive and customer driven focus. Misbehavior is not the main problem (as far as I can see), but if I can tune up any issues at the same time it would be fine. What changes would you make to the above plan?

Response:

Widen the question. How can we, as Managers, create a discussion about any topic to stimulate thinking, and a positive response in behavior?

Using this skill is one of the most important activities of the Manager. I use this process in the classroom and in most meetings I run.

It’s a simple Gap Analysis, containing three parts.

  • What is the major benefit if we solve [this problem], make progress in [this area]?
  • What is stopping us from solving [this problem] or making progress in [this area]?
  • What can we, as a team, do get [this problem] solved?

Here is what it sounds like related to customer service issues.

  • What are the major benefits if we are able to create a culture that focuses on the customer?
  • What are the conditions, what are the elements that stop us from focusing on the customer?
  • In what way can we, as a team, make changes to create a culture that focuses on the customer?

Get your team together. I usually allow seven minutes for each question, with seven minutes as a wrap-up. This is a powerful thirty minute meeting. -TF

Changing a Mindset

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Our next Leadership program kicks off Wednesday, January 9, in Fort Lauderdale. For registration, simply reply to this email or visit www.workingleadership.com.
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In response to yesterday’s post, about the Manager with problem employees rule-breaking behind his back.

I see three origins of this behavior.

  • Malicious, destructive rule breaking.
  • Lazy, non-compliant rule breaking, when the boss is not around.
  • Fun rule breaking, light hearted, poking fun at authority, when the boss is not around.

Here is one thing we understand.

The team members know the rules. People don’t break the rules without knowing the rules. So, this is not a training issue. This is a mindset issue, which is a bigger problem.

Changing a mindset rarely comes from the outside. A Manager cannot dictate that a person change a mindset. Those of you with children can attest. It simply does not work.

The solution will require a multiple set of meetings. I would recommend twice a week, 10 minutes per meeting. So, pick a Monday and Thursday, or Tuesday and Friday, first thing in the morning. As the Leader, simply ask these questions and flipchart the responses from your team. Keep your thoughts to yourself. Post the flipcharts in the break room and leave them there.

  • Meeting 1: How are we doing, working together as a team?
  • Meeting 2: What impact do we, as a team, have on the customer?
  • Meeting 3: In what way can we, as a team, have a more positive impact on the customer?
  • Meeting 4: What impact does our individual behavior have on the behavior of our other team members?
  • Meeting 5: In what way can we, as a team, have a positive impact, helping each other create a more positive customer experience?

The purpose of these meetings is to:

  • Get the team talking about behavior, not the manager talking about behavior.
  • Re-focus the energy of the team from misbehavior to customer focus.
  • Get the team to create its own accountability for behavior, even when the Manager is not around. -TF

Rule Breaking

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Our next Leadership program kicks off Wednesday, January 9, in Fort Lauderdale. For registration, simply reply to this email or visit www.workingleadership.com.
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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I am a young store manager of two and a half years with no previous managerial experience. Through this time, I have problem employees doing things behind my back, against the rules. I never have enough information to reveal the responsible person or the only information I get is confidential. Mostly, I do not have the time to be involved all day with rule breaking when I am not in the store. What can I do differently to improve this situation?

Response:

It is difficult to understand the nature of the rule breaking, so I can see three causes.

  • Malicious, destructive rule breaking, when your back is turned.
  • Lazy, non-compliant rule breaking, when the boss is not around.
  • Fun rule breaking, light hearted, poking fun at authority, when the boss is not around.

For your part, it probably doesn’t matter. If your boss was aware of the hijinks behavior, it would reflect poorly on you as the Manager. This is tricky, and the solution is likely counter-intuitive. Your efforts could easily backfire and make the situation worse.

So, let’s get some input from others. If you have a response for this dilemma, please post your comment below. If you would like to read the responses, just follow the link to today’s post. I will have some thoughts tomorrow. -TF

Work Contracts to the Time Allotted

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Our next Leadership program kicks off Wednesday, January 9, in Fort Lauderdale. For registration, simply reply to this email or visit www.workingleadership.com.
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Time Management has always been an elusive concept. For the past twelve years, it has been a classroom subject, yet I observe that few people make real improvement. While the principles of Time Management are easily understood, understanding doesn’t help. The principles only help when continuously applied in a disciplined way.

It is not the idea, but action that creates the difference.

This is not a book review, though the ideas are succinctly captured in the book, the 4-Hour Workweek. In fact, these two ideas are not new, but when applied together, create a powerful combination.

Work expands to the time allotted. If we give someone a day to accomplish something, it will take them a day to complete it. Parkinson’s Law.

Eighty percent of the results come from twenty percent of the causes. Eighty percent of your sales come from twenty percent of your customers. Eighty percent of your personal results come from twenty percent of your personal efforts. The Pareto Principle.

Have you ever noticed your personal productivity the day before you go on vacation. On that day, you intuitively apply these two powerful principles at the same time. Because you are working in an unreasonably short, yet unmovable time frame (Parkinson’s Law – work contracts to the time allotted), you only spend time on those tasks that truly make a difference, the twenty percent of effort that creates eighty percent of the results (Pareto Principle).

So, now, you tell me. How can you make this work for you during those work weeks when you are not leaving for vacation? -TF

Starting the Plan

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Our next Leadership program kicks off Wednesday, January 9, in Fort Lauderdale. For registration, simply reply to this email or visit www.workingleadership.com.
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Lauren, sitting at her table, moved all her papers, notebooks and other junk to the side. From a folder, she drew a single sheet of blank paper, selected her favorite pen. “Where do I start?” she asked.

“What is today?” I replied.

“January 4?”

“No, in your imagination, it is December 31, 2008. Close your eyes and think. Think about your different customer segments, your product lines and product mix, your services and service mix. What position do you hold in the market? What is your market share? Who are your key personnel? What are your core competencies? What breakthroughs have you achieved during this past year? What processes have changed? What does your physical plant, your facilities look like? Economically, what were your revenues? What were your gross margins and net to the bottom? Remember, it is December 31, 2008.”

Lauren was furiously writing the questions. “This is going to take some time,” she finally spoke.

“Yes, and it’s likely to take more than your brilliant brain to create this vision. Why don’t you gather your best and brightest minds together to help you?” -TF
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If you would like to download our 2008 Planning Template, it’s free on our website, www.managementblog.org.

Effectiveness

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“I know planning is important, but I have so much to do today,” Lauren explained, hoping I would let her off the hook.

I nodded my head. “I know you have a lot to do, today. How much of what you do today will be effective?” I asked.

“What do you mean? I have phone calls to return, emails to answer, meetings to go to. I have a couple of employees I have to speak to about things they were supposed to take care. I have a couple of projects that are behind schedule. A lot of things piled up over the holidays.”

“How much of what you do today will be effective?” I repeated.

“Well.” Lauren stopped. “I know some things are more important than other things.”

“And, how do you make that decision? How do you know what you do is effective? How do you know what you do is important?” Lauren’s posture shifted. She backed off the table between us. She was listening. “I will venture that 80 percent of what you do today will be wasted time and only 20 percent of what you do will be effective. How will you know you are working on the 20 percent?” -TF

Imagination

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Welcome back to work. The holidays are behind and a new year begins whether we are prepared or not.

Our next Leadership class in Fort Lauderdale kicks off January 9. We still have a small number of openings for the class. If you have a manager that you would like to place in the program, please reply to this email or visit www.workingleadership.com to register.
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“What’s going to be different about this year?” I asked. “What’s changed? What has happened in the past 12 months that will have an impact on the next 12 months?”

Lauren looked pensive. “It’s been a tough year,” she replied. “Much of our business was connected to the housing industry and that’s been in the tank. We launched some new projects in response, but it wasn’t fast enough. We lost a few good people.”

“What do you plan to do?”

“I have some ideas, but I don’t know if they are going to fly. We have to be very careful with our expenses and make sure we don’t squander away what opportunities we have.”

“How are you going to make sure that happens?” I continued to push.

“I know, you are going to ask me about our planning for this year. I don’t know, it’s just difficult to imagine what this year will bring.” Lauren stopped. She was waiting for me to agree with her, but I stood my ground and let the silence do the heavy lifting.

Finally she picked it up. “Okay, so it’s difficult to imagine the next 12 months, but, it is still important.”

“It is important. Not the plan itself. The important part is the process of imagining what your future will be like.” -TF
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Our planning template is available on our website as a free download. Here’s the link. www.managementblog.org.

And to All, a Good Night

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Originally published December 23, 2005.

As Matthew looked across the manufacturing floor, the machines stood silent, the shipping dock was clear. Outside, the service vans were neatly parked in a row. Though he was the solitary figure, Matthew shouted across the empty space.

“Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night.”

He reached for the switch and the mercury vapors went dark. He slid out the door and locked it behind.
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We hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Management Skills Blog will return on January 2, 2008.

Don’t forget that our Leadership program kicks off the New Year on January 9, 2008. Register now at www.workingleadership.com.

Speed in Essential Skills

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I manage a drafting department of 12 people and have been quite successful over the past 5 or 6 years in improving the quality of our work and the morale of our people.

I have a member of my team who has good skills but takes forever to get anything done. In my effort over the years to make him more productive I’ve afforded him the opportunity to become skilled at many different tasks, each time hoping that this would be the one that “clicked”. His production level, however, never improves even after the “learning curve” of any new skill is overcome.

I’m finally facing the fact that this guy will not ever make the shift from being a thinker to a doer. Letting him go is difficult for me though, since I’ve acted all this time as his “enabler”. I probably should have realized his limitations a lot sooner and avoided the situation that I’m in now, that being, having a multi-skilled individual who ironically has become a liability.

What’s your take on this?

Response:

Some people master a skill quickly; others may complete a task only after some hard work (which takes time). Your response (training him in many skills) to the amount of time for task completion may have been misguided, making matters worse, even slowing his production time.

1. Determine what you need this team member to do. This should be based on what the company needs from him. What is his role? Write this down. Instead of training him on many different tasks, focus on the essentials of his deliverables. Don’t create a role around him. Determine the role and determine his capability to fill that role.

2. Baseline evaluation of the “candidate.” This is a very serious conversation. You have had these conversations before, this one is different. Your prior conversations have been searching for something he might be good at. This conversation will focus on what the company needs from him in his role. This will be a focusing conversation. The next conversation will be your evaluation, after one day, of his baseline performance in that role.

3. Improvement metrics. Rather than looking to train him on many different skills, the focus should be on throughput speed in the essential deliverables the company needs from the role. Examine each step in the process that speeds him up or slows him down. We don’t need him to learn a whole bunch of other skills, we simply need to get him faster at the essential skills.

4. Evaluate his long term contribution. After a period of three weeks, as a manager, you will know whether his behavior is becoming more effective or staying the same. As his manager, it will be time for you to make a judgment. It will be time for you to make a decision. Is the candidate becoming more effective in the essential role that we have for him? This is a yes or no question.

5. If the answer is yes, then you have a contributing member. If the answer is no, inform your manager that you are de-selecting this person from your team. If your manager has another role which might be suitable, turn this person over to your manager for placement. If your manager has no other role, it is time to release this person to industry.

Every part of this should be explained to the candidate. There should be no secrets. The candidate should understand the consequences of underperformance. At the same time, underperformance does not make him a bad person. It is likely that he will be relieved that he can look for a position more appropriate to his speed level, rather than live in the shadow of underperformance and constant scrutiny. -TF

A New Leader

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The group had been working for ninety minutes. They were working in a simulation to complete a complex task. Once the task sequence and its steps were decided and practiced, the test was to complete the entire sequence in a twenty minute time frame.

I stopped the simulation to ask a simple question. “Which of you has become the leader?” There had been no formal selection, but the group immediately looked at Sam.

“What is it about Sam, that has made him the leader?” I continued.

The team members began to exchange glances, wondering if they were all thinking the same thing. “Well, Sam seemed to know how to organize this thing together,” Marvin volunteered.

“How did he do that? You have not worked together as a team before.”

There was a brief moment, then Kyle piped up. “Sam pulled us all together, asking questions about what each of us thought. Within three minutes, he had formulated a plan, assigned some individual responsibilities and we started working.”

So I am thinking to myself. Sam was chosen as the leader because he had understood the complexity of the situation better (at least faster) than the others.

At that moment, Emma stood up. She had been sitting on the sidelines, in fact, I wondered if she had been paying attention.

“I think we can complete this task in five minutes, instead of twenty,” she said.

All eyes turned. In an instant, a new leader emerged. -TF