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.

The Secret in the Picture

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“Oh, that was the easy part. I got that down in two sentences. It’s the rest of the plan that I am having trouble with,” said Jeremy. He was stuck putting a plan together. I had asked him to describe the picture of the project when it was complete, about 60 days in the future.

“Two sentences?” I queried. “How much detail can you fit into two sentences?”

“Well, since we just started the project, I don’t know how things will turn out,” stammered Jeremy. He knew where I was fishing.

“Exactly! If you cannot imagine how things will turn out, you will have difficulty influencing or controlling the results. The key is imagination. The initial visual picture that you create is the most important first step of any plan. It drives everything else in the plan. And here is the secret. The power of picture is in its detail.

“So, Jeremy, go back to drawing board and write me two pages about this project as if it is already finished. I want all the details. Use your imagination.” -TF

The Offer

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Jean was upset. After two weeks of interviewing, the committee had finally made an offer to a candidate for an open position. “I called her up and she laughed, said she took another position last week. So, we went to our second candidate, same thing. Our third candidate was missing two essential qualifications, but the committee didn’t want to start the process over. I just made the offer, but I am skeptical. I just hope it works out.”

“Well, hope is a strategy,” I replied. “Why did it take so long to make a decision on your first two candidates? You interviewed them almost two weeks ago.”

“Well, whenever the committee got together, we would argue about what was important for the position. Our meetings were more confusing than helpful.”

“The job description, wasn’t that helpful?”

“It’s funny, we didn’t actually write one until over this past weekend. It was only when we did, that the committee was able to agree on the qualifications and make a decision. It was just too late.”

Jean stared at the table, shook his head and smiled. “That’s where we should have started.” -TF

The Check-In

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Carly met me in the conference room that overlooked the plant floor. She was a new supervisor running a parallel line to another crew. On the job for three weeks, she had been having difficulty with her crew’s productivity next to the other crew.

“It’s amazing to me,” she said. “We start ten minutes earlier than the other line. In fact, they just stand around talking for the first ten minutes of their shift. But, within half an hour, they catch up and then hammer us the rest of the day.”

“Interesting,” I said. “Let’s get Jarrod up here and find out what he is doing differently.”

As Jarrod joined us, he talked about a number of things, but he saved the best for last. “One thing, I know you have overlooked, is our team huddle at the beginning of the shift. It is our team check-in. I have found the most important obstacle to productivity on a line like this is a personal stuff that’s going on. It has nothing to do with work, but has a bigger impact than anything else. It makes a difference in hustle, covering someone’s back, taking an extra measure for safety. That daily check-in helps my team to work together. It’s only five minutes, but makes all the difference.” -TF

Sweep Them into Action

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“Sometimes, I feel like I am fighting an uphill battle. I call a meeting and explain what I want done. We go over all the details, but it just gives some the chance to rain on the parade.” Camella had a new process she was trying to install out on the floor. “They talk it down in the meeting so it has no chance when it makes it to manufacturing. I know I want to do the right thing and get buy in before we get started, but I feel like I am stalemated.”

“Have you ever reversed the process?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” said Camella, gaining curiosity.

“Sometimes, when I know the explanation is going to draw fire, I just don’t explain. Sometimes, I just sweep people into action. Before anyone has a chance to protest or complain that something won’t work, we have demonstrated that it will work. We don’t have to go through the whole process, just enough to warm the team up to the idea. Then we debrief and go for buy-in, after they have proved to themselves that it will work.” -TF

Integrity with Yourself

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“Everyone says they have integrity, but I have to tell you, when Roger was talking about how he managed to skip out on the maintenance fee in that contract, I got a queasy feeling.” Alice was having difficulty even talking about this. “I know it was only a $130, but he was so proud that he was able to beat the vendor out of his money, I don’t know, it was just weird.”

Every agreement you make with other people, you are ultimately making with yourself. When you cheat other people, you ultimately cheat yourself. When you break a promise to yourself, you teach your brain to distrust your intentions and your behavior. You begin to sow the seeds of self doubt. You undermine your strength and integrity.

Every agreement you make with other people, you are ultimately making with yourself. When you keep your agreements with other people, you teach your brain to trust your intentions and behavior. Agreements you keep with yourself, that are invisible to others, are the most powerful because they are pure. They sow the seeds of self confidence. You build on your strengths with a foundation of integrity. -TF

Let Go the Outside World

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I looked around the meeting room. Raul was still on his cell phone. Barry and Jim were hiding their Blackberrys under the table, thumbs furiously pounding. George was reading the business section of the newspaper and Theresa was finishing some paperwork. They were a hard working bunch, but their minds were not in this room. And this was an important meeting.

I made enough noise to get the electronic units shutdown, the newspaper folded and the paperwork stuck in a briefcase, but I could see the minds were still charging about the world.

“Take a 3×5 index card and write down two sentences responding to the following question. What do I need to say to myself and to this group to let go the outside world for the next 45 minutes to be fully present here and now?”

There was silence. The 3×5 cards I had placed on the table remained blank. The pens were poised, but not moving. Seconds ticked off and the first response was put on paper. Then another. Soon, the ink was flowing and the pens finished their work.

As we circled around the table, each team member lost their grasp on events outside the room and began to focus on each other. Four minutes had passed and we were finally ready to work. -TF

Big Moves

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A friend of mine named Dan Wertenberg threatened to follow me around one day to evaluate my effectiveness. It was interesting. He said, as I went through my day, only 20% of the things I did would have real lasting impact on my business, my organization, my effectiveness. And I got to thinking about that.

As I look back on the last three years, what were the four or five strategic decisions that I made that had a lasting impact on the direction of my business? It was the opening of a new office, a key hire, the creation of a new business direction. The rest was just noise, busy work to make me believe that I was doing important adult stuff.

What was more interesting was the next question. In the next three years, what will be the important decisions that I make that will have a lasting impact?

In the next three years, what will be the important decisions that you make that will have a lasting impact on your career, your team, your department, your organization? -TF

Moving to a Real Time in the Future

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“Let’s hear the self-talk,” I said.

Lucy began to describe her vision of the project as it would be completed. Her words were tentative. “When we finish the project, the new territory should be ours. The competitors will think twice about ignoring our expertise. The client should have a new-found respect for us.”

“Not bad, for starters,” I said. “I want you to try something different. I want you to pretend the project is already finished. Close your eyes and visualize that we are one day beyond the closing date. Now open your eyes and describe it again.”

It took Lucy a moment for it to sink in. I could see her eyes blink hard as she moved her mind into the future. “We have finished the project and the new territory is ours. The competitors cannot ignore our expertise in this marketplace. The client has a new-found respect for us.”

“Lucy, it is more than just confidence. What else is different when you talk like that?”

“When I transport myself into the future, all of the problems that get in the way and slow us down are gone. All of the hurdles have vanished.”

The power of visualization, to a real time in the future, works to conquer more than problems. It conquers the fear and hesitation of moving forward. -TF

Earning Respect

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“Tell me about that picture of the next step for you.” I was talking to Jeanine.

“I can’t. I can’t do it until I have the authority to do it.” She was struggling with her position in the company. She was in position to help solve some communication issues between several teams inside the company. “I just don’t have their respect. If I had the title, it would just be easier.”

“Jeanine, I can’t give you the title. You have to earn the title. I cannot make people have respect for you, it has to be earned.”

“But, if I don’t have the authority, how can I get their respect?”

I paused. “Jeanine, it is really very simple. All you have to do is bring value to the thinking and the work of those around you. Stimulate their thinking, help them improve to the next level, show them how they can solve their own problems.

“People will always seek out others in the organization that bring value to their thinking and their work. I can assign a direct report to a manager, but if that manager is not bringing value to the party, the direct report will always seek out the person that is.

“If you want respect, forget the title. Bring value to the thinking and work of those around you. You will earn it.” -TF

Find a Mentor

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“I never thought of it that way,” said Julia. Her face showed a new brightness. “You mean you can really do that?”

For the past few minutes we had been talking about an open position in another department in her company. Julia had her eye on it. It would be a big step for her.

“So, have you applied for it? You know the manager that held that position before he got promoted. You sat across the table from him in many meetings.” I prodded.

“I really don’t know if I would be qualified. I don’t know where to start.”

“Look, Julia, most of us don’t know where to start. So, try here. Ask that manager if he would be your mentor for his old position. Start with an email or coffee in the company break room.”

Julia was resisting. “Why would anyone stop their busy day to help me learn?” The words were no sooner out of her mouth when she realized how absurd it sounded.

“Julia, people love to talk about how they successfully built their department and achieved their goals. You will be absolutely amazed, if you would just ask.” -TF