Category Archives: Accountability

Comfort Zone

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“But, the ringleader of the team doesn’t believe in the project. As long as that is what she believes, the project is doomed,” Ryker explained.

“What are your alternatives?” I asked. “And, I am looking for more than one.”

Ryker thought a bit. “I could try to change what she believes. That’s one. I could try to change her influence over the team, find a new ringleader. Or, it might just be easier to resign the project, let it go.”

I nodded. “Yes, it would be easier to abandon the project, stay in your comfort zone.”

Ryker pursed his lips. Seconds ticked by. “Nope, not going to abandon.”

“Okay, then,” I stared at Ryker. “Then, tell me what you are going to do.”

Difficult Work

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“It looks like you have a fly in the ointment,” I said.

“You got that right,” Ryker replied. “We have a difficult project ahead, and one of the ringleaders on the team says it can’t be done.”

“How so?” I wanted to know.

“She has reasons that sound plausible. The work is too difficult, it will take longer than the deadline and the client is too difficult to work with,” he shook his head.

“I believe she is right,” I responded. “For her, the work is too difficult, she is not organized enough to meet the deadline and she doesn’t believe in the outcome the way your client believes. It can’t be done, by her.”

“But, I signed on to the project, because I believe it can be done,” Ryker stopped, then started again. “The work is difficult, we may have to learn some new methods. The deadline is tight, we might have to spend time to organize a solid plan. But more than that, I believe, like the client, that it can be done.”

“So, what is the difference between you and the team’s ringleader?” I asked.

“It’s obvious,” he shook his head. “I believe and she doesn’t. It’s a mental state.”

“But, mental state is not enough. To be successful in this project, you are going to have to learn some new methods and be organized. Not enough to think positive, you have to prepare. But, you won’t prepare unless you believe the project can be done.”

Positive Attitude is Not Enough

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I’ve been watching a lot of hockey lately. Disclosure, I am rooting for the Florida Panthers. I noticed a commercial pitting the heart and determination of any hypothetical hockey team approaching a game with its opponent. The message was that every player on both teams had the same dreams, the same exhilaration, the same passion to win. The commercial ends with a cliffhanger encouraging you to watch the game.

The commercial admits that we often think the team with the most heart will win, that positivity will triumph. I assume most people wake up every day with the full intention to do their best. There will still be winners and losers. Mental determination is not enough. It is competence that determines the difference. Competence is the combination of capability and technical knowledge, coupled with practiced performance. That will determine who wins the Stanley Cup.

Prepare for Intensity

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“These are three problems I see with the plan,” Stephan shared.

“Problems with the plan, or obstacles to face in the plan?” I asked.

“Obstacles, three big obstacles that will be tough to overcome,” he nodded. “But we have a mitigation strategy to work over, around or through, so I think we are under control.”

“What about the obstacles that are not part of your plan?” I pressed.

“I am sure there will be some hiccups,” Stephan agreed. “Something will happen that we don’t anticipate, something that we can’t prepare for.”

“Can’t prepare, or won’t prepare?” I replied.

“If we don’t know what it is, how can we prepare for it?” he wanted to know.

“We can mentally prepare, prepare for an increased pace, a practiced quality triage, improvisation of method. We may not know the real obstacles that lay ahead, but we can prepare with mental fitness.  Because, yes, there will be unanticipated problems.”

Steps to Necessity

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“My question still stands,” Erica was insistent. “How do I get my team to the point where they believe performance is necessary?”

“It starts with competence,” I replied. “We cannot perform at a level where we are not competent. If we are not competent, then, not only will it NOT happen, it cannot be believed to be necessary. So, the first step in believing in the necessity of performance is to build the competence required.”

Erica was a good student. “And, competence is a combination of capability, skill and practiced performance?”

“Moreover,” I responded, “if we have the capability, possess the required skill and practice to the point of habit, then necessity follows. The habit of pace, at quality spec, produces the necessity of performance.”

Broccoli and Power

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“So how do I get my team to the point where they believe in what is necessary? How do I make them believe?” Erica was stumped.

“Indeed,” I said. “If your team doesn’t believe it is necessary, you cannot make them believe. Sure, you can trick them with a bonus or maybe a plaque, but it is still a trick.”

“Like your broccoli story,” Erica remembered, “I have the authority as a parent to command broccoli, but my child has the power to determine if broccoli will be eaten?”

“Yes,” I nodded. “If you feel the need to compel behavior, does that say anything about the power others have over you?”

Nature of Necessity

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“How does necessity work?” Erica wanted to know.

“Think of something in your life that is necessary, nothing complicated, but something you do that is necessary,” I replied.

“Okay, I brush my teeth, not because my mother told me, though that is how I started, but because I believe it is necessary.”

“So, in the beginning, your mother told you, and you followed, not because it was necessary, but because you knew you she would continue to remind you until you complied.”

“And, now,” Erica picked up, “I do it because I believe it is necessary.”

“Now, think about your team. You want them to do something, perform at a pace, and in a way that meets a quality spec, because you believe it is necessary?”

“Yes,” Erica nodded.

“But is your team doing it because you believe it is necessary or because they believe it is necessary?” I prompted.

Erica shrugged. “No, they are only doing it because I told them to do it.”

“And, they will continue to do it as long as you are around to remind them to pick up the pace and pay attention to quality. But, the instant you are gone, they will only do what they believe is necessary. Necessity is not what you believe, it’s what they believe.”

Do You Feel Lucky?

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More than 30 years ago, I was interviewed for a job and one of the interview questions was, “Tell me about a time when you were lucky?”

Since then, I have determined there are many things that occur outside of our control. Working with CEOs, there are many things that occur, which have direct impact on the outcome, yet, are outside the control of the CEO. “So, do you feel lucky?” said Inspector Callahan in the movie Dirty Harry.

Many decisions are made based on data, and many decisions are made based on intuition. The best decisions are made somewhere in the middle. Based on the data in front of me, what I know, do I feel lucky?

How do we take advantage of luck? Two things – preparation and mental fitness.

We do not know what will happen in the future, so we have to be prepared, not just for what we think will happen, but for all the possibilities of what could happen. Gideon Malherbe speaks directly about this preparation in his talk on Scenario Planning.

But, being prepared is only part of being lucky. Just because we might know what to do, does not mean we have the capability to do it. Do we have the mental fitness to see, analyze, adjust and execute. More importantly, have we practiced seeing, analyzing, adjusting and executing. What would happen if your volume suddenly doubled (being lucky)? Do you have the mental fitness to pick up the pace, reorganize your sequence, focus on strategic constraints?

Tell me about a time when you were lucky?

Time Management

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“Jerome, by that look on your face, you seem a bit overwhelmed,” I observed.

“Is it that obvious?” he said, then looked around. “I guess you can see by the stacks of stuff on my desk that I am a bit unorganized.”

“That, and the scared look on your face,” I replied.

“I just, I just don’t seem to have enough time to get everything done,” he stammered apologetically. “I guess I need a course in time management.”

“Jerome, time cannot be managed. We can only manage ourselves in relation to time. So, you don’t need a course in time management, you need a course in self management. Look around your desk, at all the stacks, where is your focus, where is your attention?”

“I guess it’s all over the place,” Jerome surmised.

“Don’t guess, be deliberate. You see, you don’t have enough time, because you are all over the place. If you could determine your focus, the best place to focus your attention, you would have all the time to plan, to organize and determine next steps. If you are focused on the right thing, the right purpose, you will know in a nanosecond what needs to be done and what needs to be discarded. If you don’t have a focus, if everything has your attention, then you will probably have to carry around an organizer.”

Attention and Focus

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“What’s got your attention,” I asked.

“I don’t know. Lots of stuff,” Vincent replied.

“I want you to stop, look around, take stock of what is going through your head,” I nodded.

“Well, there is a quality problem out on the floor in one of the work cells. No one can seem to pinpoint the trouble.”

“And, if you are able to solve that, is that the highest return on your attention?”

“Oh, heavens no,” Vincent smiled. “The biggest return is on a new product rollout. We already have advance orders that exceed our capacity to produce.”

“Okay, then where should you be spending your time?”

“But, you asked me what has my attention, not where I should be spending my time,” he protested.

“Yes,” I nodded. “What has your attention will draw your focus. You never ever get what you want, you will only get what you focus on. Be careful what has your attention.”