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.

Nail Down the Outcome

1 Reply

“Can you take a look at this job description?” asked Stan.

He slid the paper underneath my nose. It was well organized into different Key Result Areas. Each area contained descriptions of tasks, activities and responsibilities.

“What is the desired outcome in each Key Result Area?” I asked.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the problem with most job descriptions is that they tell you what to do, but don’t tell you how well something should be done, or by when. In each Key Result Area, what result does your manager expect?”

“I’m not sure,” replied Stan.

“If you can nail down the expected result, you will find this job description much more useful. Go spend some time with your manager and find out. I want to see an outcome connected to each Key Result Area.” -TF

Fear of Losing Control

6 Replies

I was working with a group yesterday and the topic was delegation. I asked them to make a list of all the reasons that we don’t delegate more often. The first word spoken was “Fear.”

“Fear of what?” I asked.

“Fear that the person will fail.”

“Fear of losing control.”

“Fear that the project will not get finished.”

“Fear that the quality will not be up to my performance standards.”

So, the reason that we don’t delegate more often, has to do with a powerful human emotion. It is a wonder that we can delegate at all.

So, here is my question. How do you deal with the fear? When you do delegate, how do you ensure that the project will not fail, that you will not lose control, that the project will be finished, that the quality will be up to your performance standards? -TF

Feedback Loops

2 Replies

From the Ask Tom Mailbag. By following the link to the right, you can email a question directly to me. I got this question last week.

“We are trying to develop a feedback loop to identify production problems. Developing the data collection and designing the reports is not the problem. The challenge is to create a sustainable structure of accountability, so that when defects are detected, someone takes corrective action and then reports the improvements. We suggested a monthly meeting, but we are getting pushback from those who need to be involved. What would you suggest?”

Meetings are one of my favorite accountability platforms because the group dynamic can bring about appropriate pressure for results. However, it seems you are experiencing a predictable resistance to a special meeting.

My first inclination would be to piggyback as an agenda item in an existing meeting that occurs with the desired frequency and is attended by a good number of the interested parties. Promise an efficient report that lasts no more than three minutes and contains only the critical information. If everything is on-track, there should be little discussion. If things are off-track, the group can decide how best to address the underperformance.

Second strategy would be a method of public reporting or posting of results (for all to see). This might be a tracking whiteboard in a conference room or an updated chart that gets posted in a special gathering place. The location might be best where those responsible for the results can see how their progress is being tracked.

Do you have a creative suggestion on accountability? -TF

Break This Thing Out

Leave a reply

“Do you ever get any kind of plan from your supervisors?” I asked.

“Sometimes,” said Kelly, “but it is usually a vague promise to do better.” We had been talking about a special project, anticipating some extraordinary effort including some overtime. Kelly had been having trouble getting a written plan out of her supervisors. There were material flow issues, capacity issues and bottleneck issues. It was a great, high-volume contract, but if it wasn’t managed, all the profit could erode in a heartbeat.

“Kelly, things are going to get tight around here for the next four weeks. If your supervisors give you target numbers, then you have something to hold them accountable for. If they give you only vague, softball stuff, then there is nothing they can be accountable for.

“Oh, sure there will be some yelling at the end. You won’t have the right materials and overtime will go through the roof. But, the yelling will be general, nothing specific. Your supervisors are good at the Teflon routine.

“That’s why you have to break this thing out. The contract says 240 units, that’s 60 per week for four weeks, ten per day on a six day work-week or twelve on a five day work-week. Your supervisor team needs to give you hard numbers and report back each day. It’s going to be a tough four weeks. You have to have a plan. No excuses.” -TF

Energy and a Picture of the Future

Leave a reply

“I am sitting with my team at the warehouse door. Every product carton is sitting in its bin with its barcode label facing front. On the clipboard hanging by the shipping table is a computer report showing, in order, the highest turnover items. The top fifteen items on the list occupy the fifteen bins up front next to the staging area.

“Our controller is standing with the group. He has two reports from his computer system. One report is our book inventory in the computer. The other report is the cycle count report from the inventory just completed. The numbers at the bottom of the report match.

“The UPS driver just showed up for his afternoon pickup. All outgoing shipments have been sitting in the staging area, ready to go, for the past twenty minutes. There is no picking backlog.” Calvin was proud as he described this picture of his warehouse two weeks in the future.

“Calvin, why do you think this picture is important?” I asked.

“There are a hundred details that make this picture happen,” he said. “Some of the details, we will put on a list, but others we won’t. But if we continue to work toward the picture, it will all come together.”

“Calvin, the most important part of this picture is the pride I see in your face, knowing that you have finished a complicated process. We can set all kinds of goals and performance standards, but it is that picture of the future that drives the emotional energy to attack and complete a project. The most important planning skill is to create that picture of the future. Now, go make it happen.” -TF

Third Time is the Charm

Leave a reply

“I don’t understand,” puzzled Calvin. “It was only a two week project. Why do you think we need a plan, now? All we have to do is get the labels on the product boxes.” Calvin and I were working on the implementation segment of a barcode project.

“You tell me,” I said. “How well did the project turn out?”

“Well, we’re still working on it. It’s a lot of boxes, and we missed some as we were going through the inventory.”

“How did you find that out?”

“Oh, my boss showed up late in the afternoon and started looking around. It’s amazing how he can always find the stuff we missed. It’s almost like he went straight to it. Boom. In five minutes he found 36 product bins that we missed completely. Now he is making us go back through and check every single item.”

“What is that doing to your completion schedule?” Calvin, just looked at me. No answer. “So, there wasn’t enough time to plan this thing up front? There wasn’t enough time to do it right, but there is enough time, now, to do it twice?

“Calvin, I know it seems you are really behind the 8-ball, but I want you to stop. Right now. Stop, and get your team around. I want you to draw out each of the steps with your team on a big piece of butcher paper. I want you to plan how you are going to get all the labels on and then plan how you are going to check for accuracy. You should be able to get that done in a half an hour. That half hour will end up saving you eight hours on the back end, and you shouldn’t have to do it a third time.

“Remember, doing it a third time is always an option.” -TF

Too Much Appreciation?

3 Replies

“Andrea, tell me, at work, do you think you receive too much appreciation?” We had been talking about motivation and her team. This question cracked her up.

“What, are you nuts? Nobody even notices me unless something is going wrong. My boss thanked me for something almost a year ago at the holiday dinner thing we have.”

“Andrea, one of the most powerful things you can do with your team is to give them honest and sincere appreciation, and do it frequently. When your boss thanked you last year, how did it make you feel?”

“It felt nice, nice to be noticed. But it wore off pretty quick. By the next Monday, it was business as usual,” Andrea replied.

“Your job, as a manager, is to create that environment constantly, so your team understands their contribution is important. This is something that you have to consciously think about. It does not happen automatically. You have to focus on it. Sincere appreciation is one of the most powerful things you can do to bring your team to higher levels of performance.” -TF

A Pure Emotional Choice

2 Replies

“Andrea, what is the critical factor between poor performance and superior performance?” We had been discussing her team issues about motivation.

Andrea pondered for a minute. “I guess it would be attitude.”

“Exactly, everyday, your team shows up with an attitude. That attitude is based on their experience the day before, the way they feel about their teammates, the way they feel about you, as their manager. It has to do with the way they feel about themselves. This attitude is a pure emotional choice. It has very little to do with logic.

“Each day, your team chooses their performance. That emotional choice determines their energy, enthusiasm and focus. It determines their cooperation and support of the team. Your job, as a manager, is to create an environment where that choice is a positive choice.

“Creating that environment is like creating Home Field Advantage for your team.”

That’s today’s question. What can you do, as a Manager, to create Home Field Advantage for your team? -TF

Like Showing Off for your Mom

2 Replies

“I really have to find a way to motivate my team,” said Andrea. “Sometimes they are so slow, I just want to scream.”

“Andrea, have you ever heard of Home Field Advantage in sports?” I asked.

“Well, yes. I know it is important, especially in the playoffs.”

“So, what are the real differences for a home team? Is the field any different? Are the rules any different? Is the ball any different?”

“No.” Andrea thought for a minute, then continued. “The crowd, the cheering crowd. The home team usually has a crowd cheering for them.”

“Do you think people perform better when they have a cheering crowd around them?” I asked.

“Of course. It’s kind of like showing off for your Mom.”

“Andrea, here is the bad news. As a manager, you cannot motivate anyone to do anything. Your only play is to create an environment where your team’s performance is like showing off for your Mom.” -TF

Lizard Eyes

Leave a reply

“Sometimes, when I ask them a question, I just get a blank stare,” complained Emily. “They look at me with lizard eyes.” We had been talking about getting more participation in her team meetings.

“So, you ask a question and get no response? Why do you think that happens?” I asked.

“I don’t know. No, they don’t know. It’s like maybe there is something in there, but I just can’t get it out.”

“Let’s start with that,” I replied. “Let’s assume there is something in there and it is our job, as the manager, to get it out. We need to prime the pump.”

“What do you mean?” Emily sat up straight, much more attentive.

“Whenever you pose a question to your team, especially a difficult question, you need to prime the pump. Provide some time for people to jot their thoughts down on a piece of paper. Even thirty seconds will dramatically improve the quality of their ideas. These written notes prime the pump with ideas that will now come flowing out.” -TF

P.S.
We will be taking an extended holiday this Thanksgiving week. Don’t eat too much. Hug your family. We will see you back here on Monday.