Moving from Calm

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“Sometimes you have to slow down to go fast,” I repeated. “How do you find calm?”

“That’s a very strange question,” Dalton replied. “Every part of my body wants to move fast. My manager wants this fixed, now.”

“Let’s temporarily set your manager aside,” I said. “What, inside of you, makes you want to fix this now?”

Dalton struggled with the question. He finally breathed. “If I don’t fix this, now, I will have failed. I was just promoted to manager two months ago, I was proud. Now I am failing. Maybe I was promoted by mistake. Maybe I don’t have what it takes to be a manager.”

“Which part of you is thinking that?” I asked. “What part of you is telling you that?”

Dalton’s eyes darted the room, looking for an answer. His vision finally settled in his lap. “It’s just a feeling, a tightness in my chest,” he finally said. “I feel it now. It feels bad, and as long as I feel this way, I don’t know what move to make.”

“Who else do you think you might disappoint?”

“I think about my father. He passed away seven years ago, but he is still on my mind.”

“And, what would your father say to you right now?”

“He wouldn’t judge me. He would probably tell me that he had confidence in me.”

“Can you give yourself permission to say the same thing?” I asked.

Dalton thought, and nodded. “Yes.”

“Then, we can move to the next step,” I said.

“There is a next step?”

Calm

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“But, there were reasons that the team didn’t hit their output target. Materials were late, a machine broke down, and Fred didn’t show up for work,” Dalton explained. “Ever since I got promoted from supervisor to manager, it seems like everything lands on me.”

“Indeed it does. How does that feel?” I asked.

“I fell overwhelmed. There are so many more moving parts. And, my manager expects me to anticipate and prevent things going wrong.”

“So, what do you think is causing your distress?” I prodded.

“It’s my manager, all the stuff that is going on around me,” Dalton commiserated.

“And, how do you feel about that?” I continued.

“Frozen. I don’t know what to do next. When I was a supervisor, I just had to react and fix. But, now, fixing doesn’t happen fast enough. There is too much going on,” Dalton breathed.

“How do you find calm?”

Dalton stopped. “Calm?”

“Sometimes you have to slow down, so you can go fast. How do you find calm?”

The Source of Our Trouble

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“Did you hear the one about the horse that walked into a bar?” I asked. “The bartender walked up and said – why the long face?”

Dalton looked up and a grin flashed across his face. “You’re talking about me, aren’t you?” he said.

I nodded. “Why the long face?”

Dalton sat up. “I just had a talk with my manager about my team’s performance, or should I say lack of performance. I tried to tell him the reasons why, materials late, a machine that broke down, Fred didn’t show up for work and didn’t even call in.” Dalton stopped. “My manager didn’t want to hear the reasons. He just told me to get out there and fix it.”

“And?” I prodded.

“And, I’m not sure what to do. I am almost in shock that my manager didn’t want to hear my story. My stomach is upside down. I feel guilty, like it’s all my fault. I know I will figure it out, but right now, it doesn’t feel very good.”

“May I share something with you?” I asked. “It’s not going to make your long face go away, but it will give you a place to start.”

Dalton’s eyes widened. He leaned forward.

I continued. “Whenever I am in distress, I realize that all of my discomfort is self-generated. All of my emotions like disappointment, resentment, anger, stress, guilt all comes from inside me. I may want to place that feeling on something outside of me, like my manager, but until I acknowledge that it is me, creating those emotions, I will stay stuck in that emotion.”

“Yeah, but this is different,” Dalton protested.

“I said ALL my distress. If you allow even one exception, you start down a slippery slope of placing all blame on things around you, instead of looking inside. So, why the long face?”

Output Capacity

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“Is is possible for sales to sell so much stuff that operations struggles to fulfill?” I asked.

“Yes, it happens,” Hector replied.

“So, what’s the problem?” I added.

Hector scratched the back of his neck. “Well, I would say that we have a communication problem. Sales isn’t communicating effectively with operations. Or, it could be a personality conflict that the sales manager doesn’t like the operations manager.”

“It always looks like a communication problem,” I replied. “But, more likely it is a structural problem, looking at output capacity. The output capacity of sales has outstripped the output capacity of operations. You can have all the communication seminars you want or conduct personality testing, but you will still not fix the problem until you understand the output capacity of each function. The solution is optimizing the output of each function so that it doesn’t outstrip the capacity of its neighboring functions. That’s integration.”

Not a Communication Breakdown

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“I think we are having a communication breakdown,” James shook his head.

“How, so?” I asked.

“My Sales Manager says the Operations Manager told him to stop selling, that Operatons was having trouble keeping up with the orders already in backlog.”

“That communication sounds pretty clear to me,” I replied.

“But, it’s creating friction between the two departments,” James said.

“I don’t think you have a communication problem. I think you have an accountability and authority problem.”

“What do you mean?” James wanted to know.

“Is the Sales Manager the manager of the Operations Manager?”

“No.”

“Is the Operations Manager the manager of the Sales Manager?”

“No”

“So, you have two people who have to work together, but neither is each other’s manager. And, you failed to define, in that working relationship, what is the accountability and who has the authority to make which decisions. It looks like a communication breakdown, but it’s an accountability and authority problem.”

Act of Creation

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From the Ask Tom mailbag –

Question:
I see the guidelines for creating a vision, but it seems a little far-fetched. Actually, I think most vision statements are far-fetched. They are too vague, or too warm and fuzzy. They describe a world that doesn’t exist.

Response:
Exactly, a world that doesn’t exist. Planning is about creating the future. And you are right, most vision statements are too vague. A vision statement should describe a specific point in time and should be detailed, rather than vague. Whenever I write a plan, my vision statement is often the longest part of the whole plan. It is detailed in its description of how things look and how things work. The more descriptive the vision, the easier the rest of planning steps flow.

What Gets You Out of Bed?

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Question:
You said the first step in planning is NOT goal setting. But when we plan, we sit around the table and set goals. What did we miss?

Response:
The biggest problem in planning is the “shoot from the hip” goal setting exercise. Setting goals are important, and there are two critical steps that come first.

In my younger days, my alarm would go off at 3:30a. In a groggy stupor, I would sit up and reach for the clock. Something kept me from sailing it across the room. Something kept me moving, out of bed, lacing my shoes for a 15 mile run to the beach and back. It was NOT the goal of running 15 miles. In fact, the thought of running 15 miles at 3:30a was about as negative as I could think.

I was training for a marathon. And the one thing that moved me forward was NOT the goal of 15 miles for the day, not even the goal of completing the marathon. The only thing that moved me forward was the vision of me, crossing the finish line.

The first step in the planning process is to create a clear and compelling vision. It is the only tool, for the manager, to paint a picture of the future, to create enthusiasm and excitement in the team to go forward.

Yes, I was quite dapper, hair in the wind, tape across my chest, crowd cheering me on, slim in my running togs. Shoes laced, out the door, training for a marathon. The first step in planning is to create a clear and compelling vision.

What’s the Level of Work?

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“But, we need to ramp up quickly,” Bruce explained. “We have a lot riding on this project.”

“What’s the rush,” I asked.

“We didn’t know if we were going to get the project, it was a very competitive bid process. But we pulled it off, at least the contract. It’s fast track, four months to complete with liquidated damages on the back end if we miss the deadline.”

“When you say ramp up, what do you mean?” I wanted to know.

“We have the production crew to do the work, they’re coming off of another project. But, the project manager is moving to Seattle to start another job. He was good, and a great opportunity for him. Unfortunately, that leaves us in the lurch. I need a project manager and I need one, now!”

“What’s the level of work on this project?”

Bruce stopped to think. “It’s only a four month project, so that’s S-II. I am hoping there will be a decent candidate pool. Sometimes, we post for a job and no one shows up.”

“How does risk play into understanding the level of work in this project?” I pressed.

“There are lots of moving parts, lots of detail, and if we miss the deadline, our profit could be wiped out pretty quick,” he replied.

“But, we have computer software to handle the detail,” I nodded. “What about the risk embedded in the uncertainty of the project?”

“What do you mean?” Bruce furrowed his brow.

“Will you need to trust your suppliers to deliver on time? Hold their pricing? Are the materials in the spec even available? What’s the lead time on materials? Will you depend on your client for approvals? What could hold up the permits for approval? I know you will have subs on the job. Are they dependable and available in each phase schedule? What if there are change orders? How quickly can you identify something out of scope and its impact on the contract? Is the client litigious? To keep the project on track, how will you schedule quality inspections to make sure each phase meets spec before you can move to the next phase?”

I saw the blood begin to drain from Bruce’s face. I continued. “I think this project has more to it than the 4 months timespan after mobilization. The relationships and synchronicity required have to be developed way before mobilization. The trust in your subcontractors needs to already be in place now. This is more likely an S-III project that started before you even got the contract. The biggest mistake most companies make is underestimating the level of work in the project.”

Uncertainty in the Project

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“Let’s look at some of the specific decisions that you have to make today that will have impact later in the project?” I said.

Taylor sat back. “Okay. Let’s just look at the buy out,” he started. “In the buy out, I have to purchase some large pieces of equipment that will be installed. I have to work with our project managers and also with our purchasing guy. Here are some of my decisions that I have to make today, but it may be months before we find out if it was the right decision.

“Will the price of this equipment (to be installed) go up or go down. If I make a commitment now and the price goes up, I am a hero. If I wait to make the purchase and the price goes up, I am a goat.

“Will the vendor that supplies the equipment still be in business a year from now. I may have to put down some deposit money. But even if we lose the deposit money, the real risk is trying to scramble at the last minute to find an alternate supplier. The costs may have changed and some of this stuff has lead times. If the project gets delayed because we don’t have the equipment on-site to be installed, we may be liable for a delay claim.”

Taylor stopped.

Hiring Criteria

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“Tell me, Julian.  Why did you pick this person out of the candidate pool?  Is he really the best candidate for the open position on your team?” I asked.

“I don’t think you understand,” Julian replied. “I don’t only have to think about the best person for the job. I also have a budget to think about. I get a little spiff on gross margin, but my net to the bottom in my department makes up the biggest part of my bonus.”

“I am looking at the salary requirements of the three final candidates. They are all within the salary range for the position. Why did you pick this one? I know his salary requirement is $20,000 less than the other two candidates, but is that really why you picked him?”

“Well, the best candidate is the one from Missouri,” Julian explained. “Best experience, interviewed the best. He has already relocated here. But his salary requirements, that’s almost as much as I am making. I just don’t think we need that much horsepower in this role.”

“And, the candidate you picked?”

“You’re right, not as much experience, especially on the equipment system we use. He will require a little training, maybe some hand holding until he gets the hang of things.”

“And, this new candidate, if something happens to you, would he be able to take over your position in time?”

“Of course not,” Julian pushed back. “If something happened to me, it would be tough. The company would have to recruit someone from the outside. I have a big job. I wouldn’t be easy to replace me.”