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.

Building a Team, Quickly

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Saturday was a scary day for Team Discovery. One man cannot win the Tour de France, it takes a team. As the pace churned up, T-Mobile maneuvered successfully to separate Lance Armstrong from his team. Their three top riders, Jan Ullrich, Andreas Kloden and Alexandre Vinokourov blistered ahead, dropping all but the elite riders. Lance was separated alone against three. The strategy from that point was simple. The three T-Mobile riders could simply rotate attacks, forcing Lance to catch them, eventually wearing him down. Lance was alone with no team members in sight.

Levi Leipheimer, also an American, but riding for Team Gerolsteiner, found himself in the same boat. In the middle of an attack, without water in a scorching heat, Levi had to make a decision. Stay with the attack or drop back and fetch water. Either way, he risked getting blown out of the race. Head down, against the melting pavement, he drove forward to catch.

Lance reached down and handed Levi a bottle. Lance needed a team. Levi needed a team. Floyd Landis (PHO) offered another bottle and now they were three Musketeers against the trio from T-Mobile. They wore different jerseys, but they swore a short allegiance to fend off the attacks.

Ultimately, Lance was successful on the day, gaining significant precious seconds on Jan Ullrich. If he had not stopped for a small bit of teambuilding, things might have been very different. You can read the entire story from reporter Michael Dugard with Florida Sports.

Tuesday marks the last day in the Pyranees. Lance is one step closer to Seven. -TF

Standings after Stage 15

1 001 ARMSTRONG, Lance USA DSC 62:09:59.000 00:00:00.000

2 021 BASSO, Ivan ITA CSC 62:12:45.000 00:02:46.000

3 057 RASMUSSEN, Mickael DEN RAB 62:13:08.000 00:03:09.000

4 011 ULLRICH, Jan GER TMO 62:15:57.000 00:05:58.000

5 031 MANCEBO, Francisco ESP IBA 62:16:30.000 00:06:31.000

6 164 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA GST 62:17:34.000 00:07:35.000

7 066 LANDIS, Floyd USA PHO 62:19:32.000 00:09:33.000

8 019 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ TMO 62:19:37.000 00:09:38.000

9 101 MOREAU, Christophe FRA C.A 62:21:46.000 00:11:47.000

10 014 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER TMO 62:22:00.000 00:12:01.000

Reserve Power – On to the Pyrenees

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Three people have worn the Yellow Jersey through Stage 12 of this year’s Tour de France. David Zabriskie (CSC) was the first immediately out of the prologue, besting Lance Armstrong (DSC) by 2 seconds. He crashed in Stage 4 and abandoned the race in Stage 9. Armstrong took the jersey from Stage 4 to Stage 8, when he handed it over to Jens Voigt (CSC). Voigt’s reign was short-lived losing 31 minutes to Lance in Stage 10. Voigt was eliminated from the race in Stage 11 by time disqualification. Stage 12 also saw the exit of Tom Boonen (QST) who had captured first place in Stages 2 and 3 and second place in Stage 5. The carnage continues.

The winners during Week One finished looking like they had just bounded out for a short morning ride. The face on each of the riders is now looking gaunt and haggard. Yet every morning, they clip in and push each other down the road. The Pyrenees begin on Saturday with two of the toughest climbs, followed by six climbs on Sunday.

The breakaways and the attacks on the lead group continually test their reserve power. At the end, in Paris, it will be the team possessing reserve power, when all the rest are spent, who still can dig for more energy. How does this happen? It is a simple program of testing the body to failure, then resting.

In the organizations I visit, I constantly watch both, individual performers and teams, who possess different depths of reserve power. Those teams who can ratchet up performance to meet demand are those teams who have practiced and trained to failure, then rested. Then trained to failure at a higher point, then rested. They constantly push their maximum. At the other end of the spectrum are those teams whose minimums are practiced, and over time, their minimum becomes their maximum. Where is your team? How do you stretch your team to higher levels of performance? -TF

End of Stage 12

1 001 ARMSTRONG, Lance USA DSC 46:30:36.000 00:00:00.000

2 057 RASMUSSEN, Mickael DEN RAB 46:31:14.000 00:00:38.000

3 101 MOREAU, Christophe FRA C.A 46:33:10.000 00:02:34.000

4 021 BASSO, Ivan ITA CSC 46:33:16.000 00:02:40.000

5 038 VALVERDE, Alejandro ESP IBA 46:33:52.000 00:03:16.000

6 061 BOTERO, Santiago COL PHO 46:34:24.000 00:03:48.000

7 164 LEIPHEIMER, Levi USA GST 46:34:34.000 00:03:58.000

8 031 MANCEBO, Francisco ESP IBA 46:34:36.000 00:04:00.000

9 011 ULLRICH, Jan GER TMO 46:34:38.000 00:04:02.000

10 014 KLÖDEN, Andréas GER TMO 46:34:52.000 00:04:16.000

Prevent It, Don’t Just Pull It

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Donna was perturbed, “We have a real problem with consistency. I think everything is going okay and then boom, we get hit with a warranty event that uncovers a whole batch of bad product. I already have two people doing random inspections prior to shipping. Still, mistakes get through. I might have to add more inspectors, check everything, just to keep bad product off the shelves.”

“What do you do with the bad product?” I asked.

“Well, we can’t sell it and we can’t melt it down, so we throw it away,” replied Donna.

“Have you used your bad product to isolate the problem production area?”

“Oh, we know the three areas where we have problems, but rather than pull bad product in three places, I thought it best to inspect just before shipping so we can pull all the bad product at the same time, no matter where the problem occurred.”

I winced. “Donna, the purpose of Quality Control is not to pull bad product. The purpose of Quality Control is to identify where the problem is and fix the problem. Consistency doesn’t come from pulling 3 percent of your production. Consistency comes from adherence to systems. The bad product points you to the right area, but when you get there, you have to inspect how processes and people are adhering to system standards. Reduce bad product so you don’t have to pull it.” -TF

Three Things to Start Doing

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Yesterday, we started to look at the conversation between the Manager and the Team Member related to 360 Tool. The conversation is centered around these two questions:

  • What is the feedback?
  • Based on the feedback, how can we improve performance?

Shannon continues with the second question, how can we improve performance?

“This is a question for the Team Member. As the Manager, you probably already know how improvement can be made, but the point of the conversation is for the Team Member to arrive at those same conclusions. I typically ask for three things the Team Member will start doing and three things the Team Member will stop doing? Then I shut-up. My only contributions are to make sure these three things relate to the patterns in the feedback and that they are specific. The more specific, the easier it will be to hold the Team Member accountable.”

So, that’s Shannon’s story. I am curious about other’s experiences with the 360 review process. -TF

PS. On Monday, I asked you to post your comments about a Moral Dilemma. I offered a copy of the book Fierce Conversations to the person with the best insight. Congratulations to Jennifer. The strength of her comment was the insight about the long term nature of the relationship. Lying might capture one order. Telling the truth might lose one order, but capture a lifetime customer.

What is the Feedback?

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Response to yesterday’s Moral Dilemma has convinced me of one thing. The readers of this blog are incredibly smart. The New Guy needed more than advice, he needed support to do what he knows is right. Your immediate feedback was insightful. He is most appreciative. I will let you know tomorrow who gets the book.

New subject: A while back, we spent some time with Shannon who described a 360 degree performance system. We got this question related our web based tool.

Question: I am intrigued by your 360 Tool as a different way of handling performance appraisals. I am a little vague on how the interview goes between the manager and the team member?

Shannon’s Response: “The purpose of any performance appraisal system is to provide constructive feedback for improvement. That’s it. That leads to two questions:

  • What is the feedback?
  • Based on the feedback, how can we improve performance?

The 360 Tool provides the feedback, but the critical piece is still the conversation between the Manager and the Team Member. The conversation is centered around the two questions.

“What is the Feedback? I usually give a copy of the 360 Tool Report to the Team Member about 15-20 minutes prior to the conversation. Together we review each question, looking for patterns of responses. If one person says the Team Member is a jerk, perhaps it is just an isolated remark. If two people say the Team Member is a jerk, then we have something to talk about. If three people say the Team Member is a jerk, then perhaps we have a deep rooted area that will require significant focus. So, the first part of the conversation is to identify patterns in the responses.”

Tomorrow, we will continue with the second question, “How can we improve performance?” -TF

Moral Dilemma

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Question:

I have been working for my new company for six weeks, as an account manager. I supervise four customer service people, but I am in charge of the customer relationship. My biggest customer (I am the new guy, so it’s not the biggest for the company, but it is for me), has a trade show starting next Thursday. We’re in the printing business and have been designing their new brochure for three weeks. My manager just told me the press is going to bump the production run for a bigger order from another customer. My customer is not going to get their brochures in time.

Here is my dilemma. My manager wants me to lie and say the brochures will make it on time so my customer won’t pull the order. (My customer can re-order a short run of their old brochure from their old printing company.) My manager says the new brochures will make it for the second day of the show and I can just get on my knees and apologize, but at least we will still have the order.

You can see where this is leading. My customer is going to be really pissed. What should I do? I don’t want to lose my job, but I don’t want to lie. -The New Guy

To the Readers of Management Blog:

In life we have to make tough decisions. The New Guy could use some advice and support, and not just from me. I am inviting you to jump in. What would you do? What advice would you have for the New Guy? Post your response below. The best response (I will pick) will receive a copy of the book Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott.

Quiet Power of Fundamentals

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Christophe Mengin pulled away from the peleton at 23.5km into today’s race. He pounded through wind and rain for four hours, at times extending his lead beyond 8:00 minutes. In the end, the peleton caught him. With less than 500 meters in the race and the lead down to ten seconds, Alexandre Vinokourov launched from the pack to overtake the lone survivor. From the helicopter, you could see Mengin stretch into a hard right turn and, on the rain-slick pavement, go skidding across two lanes into the barriers.

The ensuing chaos saw riders pile up left and right. The top sprinters, positioned for the final gallop, found themselves upside down or skeetering around.

“Where’s Lance? Where’s Lance?”

Except for the time trials earlier in the week, these first stages have been fodder for sprinters, the top teams always up front, always launching their guns at the finish. Team Discovery quietly goes about its work. It keeps the pace quick but refrains from the frenetic and dangerous conclusions at the line. They have focused on speed in the time trials and keeping Lance safe during each race.

It’s not flash, it’s fundamentals. Quiet power and speed. In the overall standings, Team Discovery occupies five of the top eight places, with Lance Armstrong in Yellow and his teammate George Hincapie right behind.

So often, as Managers, we look for flashy sprint behavior to make our mark, but it is the quiet power of fundamentals that truly spells success. As a Manager, where do you focus your team?

Standings after Stage 6

1 001 ARMSTRONG, Lance USA DSC 17:58:11.000

2 004 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 17:59:06.000

3 019 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ TMO 17:59:13.000

4 028 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 17:59:15.000

5 023 JULICH, Bobby USA CSC 17:59:18.000

6 008 RUBIERA, José Luis ESP DSC 17:59:25.000

7 007 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 17:59:27.000

8 005 NOVAL GONZALEZ, Benjamin ESP DSC 17:59:37.000

9 021 BASSO, Ivan ITA CSC 17:59:37.000

10 022 ARVESEN, Kurt-Asle NOR CSC 17:59:43.000

My hat is off to OLN for their coverage of the Tour. I am trying to stay way back on this side of the hill as far as reporting the “action” while looking for insights that illustrate this small study of management. For those who are interested, detailed coverage of the TDF is available at www.olntv.com.

Honor for the Game

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David Zabriskie had worn the Yellow Jersey since Day One of the Tour. During Tuesday’s team time trial, he crashed his bike out of the stage and into the barriers, costing him almost :90 seconds to the finish.

While this clearly placed Lance Armstrong into the Yellow Jersey on Tuesday, he refused to start the race on Wednesday wearing Yellow. His gesture was out of respect and deference to young David Zabriskie. “Armstrong felt it was no way to take the lead away from him,” described Phil Liggett in his daily wrap-up.

And so we learn lessons about Honor for the Game. In the book Double Goal Coach, Jim Thompson talks about Honoring the Game, something far more than simple sportsmanship. Sportsmanship is mainly about restraining bad behavior. “Don’t yell at the officials, don’t thumb your nose at the losers.” Honoring the Game goes beyond sportsmanship to “energize and motivate people to live up to their best, rather than being simply constrained from acting down to their worst.”

Today, we saw Honor for the Game. Of course, Tour officials saw things a little differently and threatened to disqualify Lance should he not don the Jersey, so he eventually complied.

As a Manager in your organization, how do you teach your team members Honor for the Game? -TF

Tour Standings after Stage 5

1 001 ARMSTRONG, Lance USA DSC 13:45:12.000

2 004 HINCAPIE, George USA DSC 13:46:07.000

3 028 VOIGT, Jens GER CSC 13:46:16.000

4 023 JULICH, Bobby USA CSC 13:46:19.000

5 008 RUBIERA, José Luis ESP DSC 13:46:26.000

6 007 POPOVYCH, Yaroslav UKR DSC 13:46:28.000

7 019 VINOKOUROV, Alexandre KAZ TMO 13:46:33.000

8 005 NOVAL GONZALEZ, Benjamin ESP DSC 13:46:38.000

9 029 ZABRISKIE, David USA CSC 13:46:38.000

10 021 BASSO, Ivan ITA CSC 13:46:38.000

For complete coverage, visit www.olntv.com.

Discipline is Just a Routine

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“But, it is like pulling teeth to get them to change the way they have been working. They get started, but after a couple of days, things are right back to the way they were before.” Matt sighed one of those Manager’s sighs. “I just wish my team was more disciplined.”

“Matt, discipline is nothing more than routine. Discipline isn’t harder than any other way of getting things done; it’s just not what you are used to.” I had spied a workroom on my way in. It was a small room with some simple tools and a work bench, good lighting. It was where people took things that needed fixing. Not broken things, but rather, product defects. The seam didn’t line up quite right; there was a burr on an edge. Rather than documenting the defect and looking for a solution, the team had, over time, assembled this little “fixing” room.

“Tell you what, Matt. Hide the tools and put a padlock on the room.” I could see his eyes grow wide. “Then, have a meeting and tell everyone that the fixing room is off-limits for 21 days. During that time, have meetings twice a week to talk about the new documentation process. After 21 working days, you should have a new routine. Discipline is just a different way of getting things done.”

Matt was nodding, “So, after 21 days I can take the padlock off the “fixing” room?”

“No.”

Tour notes – Lance back in yellow.
Wearing the yellow jersey carries an unspoken behavior to defend the jersey. I am not sure Lance wanted it this early in the race, but the way the tour has unfolded, it just came sooner rather than later.

After four stages, Lance Armstrong carries a :55 second advantage over George Hincapie, his own teammate. The nearest non-team competitor, Jens Voigt, of Team CSC is :64 seconds behind in third place. The strategy at the moment for Team Discovery is to keep Lance safe from harm. Gaining more time will wait for the mountain stages to come later in the race. Read detailed coverage at www.olntv.com.

Tour Notes – Stage One

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Lance saw the rider ahead and became fixed on the target. Jan Ullrich had started :60 seconds ahead in the individual time trial, a race against the clock. As Lance approached, Jan might as well have been standing still. It was an awesome display of fitness. There is much ballyhoo about whose bike weighs the least, or the most precise aerodynamic position, but this race was about fitness.

Back at the office.
As managers, we look at our team members in several dimensions, product knowledge, technical skill, technique and attitude. Yet, often, success is determined by fitness, both physical and mental fitness. Team members pull ahead in their performance because they can. Others drop away or drag across the finish line.

Serious as a heart attack.
Do you have conversations with your team members about their physical health, nutrition, work-out routines and mental focus? One dimension of performance depends on fitness. As a manager, what do you demand from your team? What kind of example do you set? -TF