Category Archives: Fitness

Don’t Remain Vulnerable

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“So what do we do?” asked Andrew. “The deal is lost.”

“What was your termination period?” I asked.

“Thirty days,” Andrew replied.

“So, what do you think is the termination period for the next guy?” Andrew, in his mind, was becoming unstuck. He had been focusing on the contract that he had just lost. “And you have told me about this other company. How long will it be before they fail to deliver?”

“Not long. And sometimes poor service can be an annoyance, sometimes it can kill people.”

“So, you lost this contract because you did not see the changes that were occurring with your customer. How will you win it back?”

“By seeing the changes that they will experience going forward?” Andrew stated, as a question.

“Even more than that. Understanding will only get you halfway there. Preparedness is the other half. Preparedness for action. If you are not prepared to take action, if you are not prepared to deal with the new reality, you will not be successful. If it’s business as usual, you will remain vulnerable.” I paused for a moment.

“By the way, what has changed with your other customers? The ones you still have.” -TF

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Sucker Punched

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Andrew was still upset. The contract was lost and there was nothing he could do about it. He had lost his appeal with the purchasing agent, the procurement manager and the director of operations.

“We did everything by the book,” he said. “This is the way we have earned all of our major contracts. Our reputation is stellar. I can’t believe this is happening.”

“You got sucker-punched,” I observed.

“What?” Andrew replied.

“Sucker-punched,” I repeated. “We often think that our future success lies in the fact that we had one small string of successes in the past. We think that the curve in front of us continues upward without hesitation. We do not realize that, as we continue to do things the way we have always done, the world subtly changes. The nuances of the deal creep up, new players enter the game without detection, and suddenly we are on our ass.” Andrew’s face showed no emotion on the outside, but his eyes betrayed a growing realization.

“There is good news, though,” I continued. “This is not a game. This is life. In a game, there are few second chances. The final period has an ending, even overtime is sudden death.

“In life, in business, there are lots of second chances and the final period can be extended. But only if you stop thinking about your past success and start thinking about what has changed around you.” -TF

Internal Discipline

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Emily spent the weekend thinking. We had a few minutes with coffee before the urgency of the day set its pace. She picked up on our discussion of competence and necessity.

“I thought about what you asked. What is it that I have to do? What is it that I have to do to become the manager, to become the person I want to be?” she started.

“And, where did you arrive?” I asked.

“I am back to competence. To be the manager I want to be, requires competence.”

“So, you have to become competent in the skills of management, you have to become competent in thinking like a leader?” I asked.

Emily paused to reflect.

“Two years ago, I took up the sport of cycling,” I said. “The more I rode, the higher my level of fitness, the more competent I became at the skills of cadence and wind resistance. In short, I did the things I had to do to reach a specific level of accomplishment. It was not a choice. To reach my goal, I had to do those things. Without those things, I would never have reached the goal.

“What is interesting to me,” I continued, “is that level of accomplishment has become who I am. And to stay at that level requires me to continue. It has now become one of my internal disciplines.

“I suspect, as the manager you want to be, you will have to practice in much the same way. You will have to become competent at the skills of management. You will do what you have to do to reach a specific level of competence. It will not be a choice. To reach your goal, you will have to do those things. Without those things, you will never reach your goal.

“That level of accomplishment, as a manager, will become who you are. And to stay at that level will require you to continue to practice. It will become one of your internal disciplines. Competency requires no less.” -TF

The Problem You Name

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It was early. Early, meaning we were the only two people on the plant floor. Emily had drawn a flow chart of how materials were received, then assembled and then carted off to QC for inspection.

Emily had defended the competence of her workers in the assembly process. “The issue isn’t assembly,” I said. “The issue is speed and accuracy. Have you ever counted rejects off the line?”

“Well, no,” replied Emily. “That’s what our Quality Department does.”

“So, when units leave this line, we have no idea which ones meet the spec and which ones are defective?”

Emily was searching in her mind for a better answer, but she couldn’t find one. “No,” she replied.

“Emily, we are talking about competence. The biggest reason for failure is incompetence. Most managers will accept all kinds of excuses. The problem is not that the line is running too fast or too slow or that it is too hot or too cold, or that we don’t have great health insurance or that the team isn’t motivated. The problem is incompetence. Most managers won’t call it incompetence, because they don’t know how to solve that problem. The problem you name is the problem you solve. The issue is speed and accuracy. The problem is incompetence.”

“So, what should I do?” Emily asked.

“Funny, you should ask. Tonight, in class, we are going to talk about control systems and feedback loops. Why don’t you come, as my guest? I will help you teach the subject.” -TF

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Competent at Accuracy

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“But, I just told you that my people are competent,” Emily protested. “They have been working on the line for several years.”

“Yes, they are competent at the task, but not competent at accuracy and speed,” I explained. “I used to work in an accounting firm. When I started, I thought I was great at adding up numbers. And I was. I was extremely competent at adding numbers (after all, I did manage to graduate from the second grade). But I was incompetent at accuracy and speed.

“Never in my life, was I taught to error-check a column of numbers by adding the column twice and comparing the totals. That practice had never occurred to me. And if it had occurred, I would have immediately concluded that it would take twice the time to add the numbers twice. Logic told me so.

“I had to learn a new skill. I had to become competent at using an adding machine without looking. I never did it before, because I couldn’t.

“Before, I would add numbers up with an occasional mistake. Now, I add them up twice in less time, virtually error-free.

“Your people on the line are competent at the task, but not competent at accuracy and speed.”

Emily was silent. Finally she spoke, “Okay, I think I get it. But I am not sure what to do. How do I bring up their competence in accuracy and speed?”

“First, we are going to have to count some things. Meet me back here tomorrow and we will take the next step.” -TF

Stupidity in the Workplace

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I was getting major pushback from Emily. As she sat in the class, she appreciated the logic, but, still, there was an internal struggle. We were talking about competence in the workplace.

“But, my guys on the line have been putting these things together for years. They have the experience. They are competent at the assembly,” she said.

“Then what are you dissatisfied with?” I asked.

“Well, we still get too many rejects and they always fall short in unit count at the end of the day,” she replied. “But they know how to do their job.”

“Then, what do they say the problem is?”

“Well, first, they say the daily target is too high. Some say the line runs too fast. Some say it runs too slow. It’s too noisy. For some it’s too hot, others, it’s too cold. You want more? I got excuses as long as my arm.”

“So, they say the cause of the problem is always an external factor, never because of their incompetence?”

“Oh, absolutely. Don’t even go there,” she cried.

“Then, let me go farther. Much failure is caused by stupidity.” I stopped. We don’t talk much about stupidity in the workplace. “The reason we don’t talk much about stupidity, as the cause of failure, is that, as managers, we don’t know how to fix stupidity. So we try to fix all kinds of other things. We speed up the line, we slow down the line, we change the temperature. But we never address the real problem, stupidity.” I could see Emily’s eyes grow wide.

“Emily, I use the word stupidity because you get the point in a nanosecond. Now, think about incompetence. Much failure in the workplace is caused by incompetence. But we, as managers, don’t know how to fix incompetence, so we try all kinds of other things. We never address the real problem, incompetence.” -TF

A Discipline of Mastery

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“It sounds too simple,” protested Emily. “People do things because they can? It sounds like circular logic.”

“It is what it is,” I laughed. “Emily, think about it. If you do not have the competence to perform a task, what is your confidence in your ability to perform?”

“You mean, if I can’t sing, I don’t sing?”

“Right. Why don’t you sing?”

“Well, I really am not a very good singer, so except in church (where I am a virtuoso), I am embarrassed to get on a stage or behind a microphone.”

“Fear drives a lot of behavior. It is a very powerful emotion and prevents us from much achievement. But competence trumps fear. That is why competence is a critical link in success.

“Incompetence creates most failure. But most people want to blame their failure on some external circumstance. Most people are unwilling to see their own incompetence. Most people are unwilling to look inward for the key to their success.

“Success is a discipline of competence. Success is a discipline of mastery.” -TF
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Podcast Alert
If you have are a listener, check this interview out.

Because They Can

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“Emily, why does a race car driver press the metal in excess of 200 mph to win a race?” I asked. We were talking about habits and how habits create outcomes. “Why does a singer perform on stage? Why does an ice skater reach their peak in international competition? Why does a manager manage?”

Emily knew there was a very specific answer to this question, so she waited.

“They all do those things because they can. They have spent great periods of their life creating the habits to support the skills that drive them to the top. They reach high levels of competence because they practiced, tried and failed, gotten better and practiced some more, with a discipline to master those skills. They perform at a high level because they can. The great numbers who have not mastered those skills, who are not competent, were eliminated in the first round.

“Those who achieve mastery are a select few. And that includes effective managers.

“It is a discipline of habits to achieve competency. For a manager, these habits support the leadership skills necessary to be effective. And that is where we will start.” -TF

Choosing Outcomes

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“It’s an inward journey.” Emily and I were talking about her next level as a manager. “Emily, you have the desire to move, but desire alone is not sufficient.”

Emily shifted to the edge of the chair. Anticipation. “Okay, I’m game. I want to be able to make things come out better, make my team better, make myself better. I want to make a difference. I want to change the outcome.”

“Emily, we don’t choose the way things turn out. Our habits do. And we choose our habits. If you want to know how to influence others, you have to first understand how you choose your own habits.” -TF

Breathe Deep

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From the Ask Tom mailbag:

Question:

I am a young manager, 24 years old. Lately, I noticed that I can come across as nervous and anxious during certain situtations. When interviewing applicants for a position open in my department, talking to an employee about performance, speaking to the group, I sometimes feel as if that’s the last place I want to be. My heart rate goes up, hands start shaking, voice cracks. It is as if I have no confidence in myself and am afraid of the person I am confronting/dealing with. Do you have any tips or advice to improve self-confidence as a manager and not be so nervous when dealing with confrontation or taking a leadership role?

Response:

Every single manager I know, at times, has these same feelings. There are probably a hundred things you can do that will help, but let’s start with these two.

First, is preparation. My personal stress level goes up whenever I have properly prepared. For an interview, that means creating a written list of questions. Talking to an employee, that means defining the objective for the conversation and several points that need to be covered.

Second, is to breathe. Whenever we are placed in stress, our heart rate does go up and our breathing becomes shallow. Slow down and deepen your breathing. This physiological change will reduce your racing heartbeat and physically calm you down.

Any other suggestions, post a comment. -TF