Category Archives: Fitness

Start at the Finish

Phillip was interested because his team performance, heck, his performance wasn’t getting the results he expected. It wasn’t getting the results he wanted. We were talking about habits.

“So, how do I pick the right habits? Just tell me what to do and I will do it,” Phillip asked, sounding this side of desperate.

“I can’t tell you what habits to choose,” I replied. “You have to pick your habits, they have to be yours.”

“Yes, but where do I start? Everything sounds like a Boy Scout promise. Trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly.”

“That’s not a bad list, but a random list of Pollyanna habits will only get you to a random destination. You have to be much more deliberate. You asked where to start? Where do I always want you to start?”

It took a second to kick in, but Phillip knew the drill by now. “You always want me to start where I plan to finish.”

“Exactly. Work backwards from your destination. You have to build into your thinking, those habits that will carry you in the right direction. Here is your assignment. Meet me here tomorrow with a word picture (your vision) of what life is like when you get there. Then we will talk about the habits you may want to choose.” -TF
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Not Because We Choose

“Seventy percent of goal.” Phillip was exasperated. Month end review was not kind.

“So, what is causing the shortfall?” I asked.

“Well, for the past two years, we have only had to answer the phone, but the market is getting tighter. We are trying hard to get more proactive, but it’s not enough.”

“So, what has to change?”

Phillip was quiet. I knew he had been working long hours, but not getting the right results.

“Look, Phillip, what happens to us in life doesn’t happen because we choose it or want it. In life, you will never ever get what you want. You will only get what your habits deliver.

“If you want to make a change, you only have to look at your habits. What you are doing, over and over, day after day, delivers the consistent results you receive. An occasional effort brings an occasional result.

“What are your habits? What habits do you choose to make a change?” -TF

So Simple, We Failed

Marcus was already in the conference room when I arrived. He had some papers spread on the table. I could tell by the look on his face he already had the answer. We were drilling down on an installation project that was under water.

“I knew when you asked for the production reports,” he started, “that we would find the problem within 30 seconds.”

“And?” I queried.

“You don’t even have to read the reports. The first three weeks, things are very repetitive. So repetitive that, starting in the fourth week, you can tell someone just photocopied the reports from the week before. The only change is the date at the top of the page. Then starting in week six, the reports stop.”

“And what does that tell you?”

“Well,” Marcus grimaced, “the quality of these reports follows exactly the real production curve in the field. We were meeting targets for the first three weeks. Things began to slide in week four and by week six, things went to hell in a hand basket.

“This is a very repetitive job, and it is very apparent that the weekly planning process just stopped. Everyone figured they would just keep working instead of stepping back to check progress and adjust. It seemed so simple, they lost the discipline of planning.

“The managers probably saved three hours per week in planning and checking, but lost more than 180 man hours in productivity. And they didn’t even know it until it was too late.”

“What’s the lesson?” I asked.

“Don’t get lulled in by the appearance of simplicity. You still have to plan and check. In this case, the payoff would have been three hours to save 180 hours.” TF

What Happened?

I don’t know what happened.” Marcus grimaced. “Sure we were working under some tight restraints,” he explained. “During the first part of the contract, things were going well, but by the end, the wheels were coming off.”

“What do you think happened?” I asked.

“The contract called for several thousand feet of installation. We hit it with enthusiasm, high energy, everything clicked. I don’t know, but midway, we began to fall behind. Because of the working conditions, we could only work eight hours each day. Maybe we got sloppy, in the end, trying to finish, our quality got so poor that we had to go back and re-work several sections. First our margins disappeared, then our budget went completely underwater.”

“What do you think caused the erosion?”

“I don’t know. It was like we ran out of gas. I mean, everyone knew what to do. Technically, everyone was trained. The daily punch out was identical from start to finish. In the beginning, it was easy. In the end it was impossible. We just couldn’t keep up the momentum.”

“So, it wasn’t a matter or know-how or training. It wasn’t a matter of external conditions. Was it a matter of incentive or motivation?”

“No, you could see it in the eyes of the crew. They were in it, they were with it. They just could not produce.”

“Tell you what,” I interrupted. “Let’s pull the production records of the crew for the past six months and see what we find.”

Marcus went silent. I could tell he had mentally stumbled upon the reason. Before he left the room, he said he would have the records by the next morning. -TF

Don’t Remain Vulnerable

“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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Our next Leadership program begins in Fort Lauderdale on February 26. Visit www.workingleadership.com for more information.

Sucker Punched

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

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

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

“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

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