Archive for the ‘Strategic Planning’ Category

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Save The Drama For Your Momma: Managing Expectations

March 5, 2011

You can bet that if you do not set and manage expectations, drama will invite itself in for an extended visit. When people do not know what is expected, they will create their own expectations – and they most likely will not align across the organization. Disagreements and controversy ensue, causing chaos and distraction from driving positive results.  While setting and managing expectations may seem time consuming, the cost – in time, effort, and drama – of not doing so far exceeds that of being responsible and clearly letting people know what you expect of them.

Before you, as a leader, can hold people accountable for outcomes, you have to let them know what success looks like and what you expect to see as a result of their efforts.  If everyone knows what is expected, the focus is on driving for results and monitoring against set standards. The benefit of setting and managing expectations is twofold:

  1. Clear, concise expectations drive actions and decisions.
  2. Explicit expectations are a primary driver of success.

If you fail to create an environment where expectations are well understood and respected by your people, you are highly unlikely to develop a high-performing organization… or deliver strong business results.

Expectations are like the rules in the board game Sorry! When everyone knows the “rules” or “expectations”, some may try and cheat (like my husband, who can’t stand to lose), but the other players will hold the cheater accountable. When no one knows the rules, it is impossible to be accountable, much less hold anyone else accountable to anything.  Organizations are no different – if you want your players to know how to play to win and hold others accountable, you are responsible for setting and managing expectations.

When setting expectations, consider these four principles:

1. Clarity

Expectations should focus on outcomes, not activities. Leaders often make the mistake of attempting to direct the process that will be used, rather than focusing on the desired outcome. As a leader, you should be responsible for identifying the goal, while the employee (or the team) is then responsible for developing how to meet or exceed expectations.

2. Relevance

Relevance helps define the “why” of what is expected. If employees have complete understanding of the importance of what they are asked to deliver, they will be more committed to the result because they see how it fits into the big picture, as well as how their efforts impact the company.

3. Simplicity.

Simplicity creates a sense of grounding for both individuals and teams. If you identify what is expected in simple, straightforward terms, there is a clear understanding of exactly what is expected.

4.  Consistency

After setting expectations, you must maintain a consistent approach to managing expectations that can be applied in most situations. This facilitates a sense of unity and equality, and will bolster morale across the organization.

Now, let’s consider three important components to managing expectations:

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Posted in alignment, Communication, Education, Global Leadership, Leadership, Managing Expectations, Multicultural Teams, Planning, Resources, Save The Drama Series, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Team Building, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Potential: Are YOU Reaching For It?

February 10, 2011

This post is about you - as an organizational leader. Lifelong learning is a critical component of our personal and professional growth that we often seem to forget as we rise through the ranks. Unfortunately, as most of us become more senior within the organization, there is an undeniable challenge we face – facilitating our own ongoing growth and development. It becomes more and more difficult to identify growth opportunities, training, relevant readings, etc. and to deny the pull to remain stagnant – focusing on what we already know vs. the potential we have to know more. Perhaps most importantly, there is often a stealth sense of false complacency that emerges as a result of past success. However, the reality is that with the frequency and scale of change in global organizations, the leader that is not continually growing and changing with the environment may very well find that  s/he has been left behind at the last jumping off point.

Ultimately, you are responsible for your own personal development…and reaching your potential.  Many leaders let the business take priority over reaching their potential, or wait for the company to assume ownership of their development. Is this really what is most beneficial for you, and by default, the organizaion?  As leaders, it is easy to forget that it is far more effective to stretch ourselves, and thereby our organizations, than it is to settle for the status quo.  But how do you continually push yourself to think harder and go further? You can employ any number of self-help philosophies, but the reality is that you will probably not follow through – and if you do, they will typically not generate the results you hoped they would.

Finding and engaging a good mentor may be a critical success factor you are missing. Mentoring is a process about enabling and supporting your personal and professional growth. Organizational life can sometimes feel like climbing up the side of a mountain – as we struggle up the steep parts we are breathless, challenged, single-minded, and in need of support and sustenance. There may even be some moves we can not make without being tied to a partner. Mentoring can help with your changes in altitude, and enable you to get to higher ground – where you just may be able to see things from a different perspective. You will be able to see the mountains in the distance and new ways forward that were just not visible from your position below. Your mentor should facilitate a process that leads you to consider different perspectives, new ways of thinking, and deeper self-knowledge.

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Posted in Are You Reaching For It?, Development, Education, Global, Leadership, Mentoring, Potential, Resources, Strategic Planning, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

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Potential: Leveraged Learning

January 27, 2011

In an ever-changing global marketplace, those who lead across boundaries and borders are increasingly required to become Extreme Team Captains – guiding the organization through unfamiliar and turbulent environments, while maximizing the functional, geographical, and cultural diversity of their teams.  In today’s multicultural, dynamic world, ensuring the continuous learning and growth of global leaders is critical to achieving high performance and sustainable growth in every organization.

With markets, suppliers, competitors, technology, and customers around the world constantly changing the rules of the game, traditional leadership models no longer work. Companies need leaders of exceptionally high caliber and quality, as they are a key component of the only true source of competitive advantage – people. But how do we create this Extreme Global LeaderTM? Is there the possibility of exceptional leadership that transcends accepted leadership characteristics to create a global leader that is emotionally, politically, and culturally intelligent?  How do these high-potential leaders evolve and become extreme? What is the most effective method of creating a transformational leader?

Last week we pondered potential and its source. If we look at the critical components of what we perceive to be potential (performance, emotional intelligence, motivation, and agility), is it possible to leverage potential through traditional training and/or coaching? Both are valuable tools for learning, but have entirely different purposes and outcomes.

The purpose of training is to teach:

  • skills
  • methods
  • theories
  • tactics
  • strategies

It is the process of disseminating information from the trainer to the leader. Training provides a pre-set curriculum and the trainer imparts what is important for the student to know. Trainers have subject matter expertise and an understanding of teaching methods that work well with adult learners. Training offers economies of scale so, even when customized, it is often less expensive than coaching for a comparable number of students. Because training is typically a one-time event with little to no reinforcement, the benefits may have a very short shelf life.

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Posted in Development, Education, Global, Global Leadership, Innovation, Leadership, Leveraged Learning, Planning, Potential, Potential Series, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Uncategorized, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Into The Deep: Sales Survival

November 24, 2010

As a leader in Sales, you are well aware that the waters are rough, indeed.  In the past, the goal has been very straight forward – make sure your teams are capturing customers and making their numbers. Good relationships and ongoing offers of discounted pricing – on products and services – kept sales flowing and ensured the all important numbers were on target.  Unfortunately, those days of smooth sailing are gone.  Adjusting to the new reality means acknowledging that things have changed – customers have disappeared or have greatly reduced purchasing power and costs do matter – even in Sales.

Here’s a life boat with some less well-known tips  that may help Sales to survive, when others around you may be sinking fast:

  • Critically evaluate structure, purpose, objectives, and KPI’s:   In many cases, all of these components may need to change. Perhaps it is wise to reorganize – combining functions, regions, or customer segments? The initial changes may be dispiriting, but if you can make them all at once and they are focused on those who do not display the attitude or aptitude required in the “new” organization, Sales will become stronger as a result of the changes. The goal is not only to reduce costs, but also to get everyone focused on what they need to do for the customer and against the competition. Make sure you understand what the new purpose, objectives, and  KPI’s encompass at each revised level, and that the necessary training is provided to ensure buy-in and commitment to the new organization.
  • Create an intelligent network:  Build information networks that span the clients organization, continually assessing customer pain points and providing solutions before they even realize they are challenged. As a leader in Sales, ensure you are transitioning your sales people into  the eyes and ears of the organization – a network that provides ground-level intelligence that can be used to fuel fundamental decisions regarding overall corporate strategy and tactics. This new, evolved sales person will need to have the capacity to analyze each client to determine current and future profitability. They need to be able to tell you how decisions are made at the client site, what the dominant psychology is, and how that psychology is manifested as it pertains to  client decision-making, forecasts, purchasing, promotions, and product lifecycles. They all affect your ability to sell… and collect.
  • Know what your customers cost: Have a detailed understanding as to how each client affects each piece of the value chain. A good customer on the surface may cause you to incur hidden costs if they demand frequent changes, customized processes, or unusual services/materials. These types demands may put undue pressures or costs onto  production or purchasing departments…or they may tie up too much cash by requiring unique materials or components. An important customer that pays late can also become a liability when the seas are rough and the company is managing for cash. When a client’s ability to pay or credit rating drops, you don’t want to be the last one standing on deck when the Tsunami hits…
  • Know which customers to drop:   Sales people need to be able to help the company answer some critical questions – Is a customer viable? What strains are they under? Are they highly leveraged?  What does their cash flow look like?  What is the real cost of doing business with the client? Obviously the decision to drop a client needs to be made in conjunction with the executive team, however you need to have done your homework in order to make a sound recommendation. If the business case points to the client as a significant risk and they must be dropped, ensure your sales people partner with the client to ensure a smooth transition to a new supplier. Remember, if the client has a positive experience there will be a mutual respect and the potential of working together in the future will remain intact… should the opportunity arise.
  • Link Sales to R&D: Assign your most  aggressive and business-savvy people to a dual role – sales and business development. Creating cost-effective  solutions to client challenges often emerge from  discussions amongst people with different knowledge bases.
  • Tie sales people to CXO’s: The best intelligence is useless unless it is put into the right hands. Set up methods to ensure what is learned in the field  gets to the senior team. Set up weekly conference calls between your best sales people and critical decision makers… or initiate a program where the executive team will call a few of your sales people each week.  Top executives will have the opportunity to pick up ideas or nuances  from your sales people that they would not get from a formal meeting or a report – it will allow them to discern customer patterns, while motivating those participating on the calls to become more curious and vigilant.

In turbulent times, the context of Sales changes drastically. With orders dissipating and numbers falling out of control, the wise leader ensures sales is a critical component to the solution, rather than part of the problem. With the right focus and planning, your organization can steer the lifeboat out of rough seas and become better, faster and stronger in the process.

Please engage the discussion and let us know how you keep sales afloat in rough seas. Please feel free to contact me at  Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.comor by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next post on Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.

Posted in Communication, Development, Global Leadership, Into The Deep, Leadership, Planning, Resources, Sales, Sales Survival, Strategic Planning, Strategy, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Into The Deep: Turbulent Times

November 5, 2010

As a business leader today, you have the unprecedented challenge not only of surviving, but accelerating through, the worldwide economic downturn. Credit is scarce, sales forecasts are depressing, unemployment is rampant, and the morale of remaining employees is sinking fast. To make matters worse, we are adrift at sea in a squall of epic proportions and no one seems to have a compass to navigate out of the eye of the storm. When we do eventually emerge, we have no idea where we will land or what the conditions will be. What we do know, is that this is a time of turbulent change worldwide – and with turbulent change comes both opportunity and risk. As people look to you for strength and guidance, you can be sure that you will be tested like never before. How you manage the ongoing crisis will have an enormous impact on your employees and your organization.

As the Captain of your ship, will you be the leader who seeks opportunity in chaos? Will you see the changes coming before others, put up the sails, and move faster than the competition? Will you ensure every business function, in every region, is aligned and coordinated so that everyone is in the same lifeboat, rowing in the same direction? Will you engage risk as a critical component of opportunity? Are you willing to rethink your strategy, so that you are financially agile and able to engage the opportunities the markets offer in times such as these? Or…not?

In recent times, the importance of holding cash has often been overlooked. However, as we struggle to stay afloat in rough seas, the best opportunities often reveal themselves when credit is tight and access to capital is limited. Cash allows access to hidden treasure – providing a mechanism to take advantage of market downturns when other investors are cash poor. The more cash is accessible, the better a company is able to gain access to capital and investment markets with a lower rate of borrowing for capital expenditures, acquisitions, or share repurchase.

Throughout the world, businesses are being forced to re-think how to operate in an environment where cash, once again, is king.  The ability to adapt to the changing tides remains a crucial competitive advantage – and for the foreseeable future, that competitive advantage is most accessible to those aggressively managing cash as a critical metric. Given today’s technology, there is no excuse for any leadership team not knowing the corporate cash position, across the organization, every day.

As you attempt to keep your eyes on the horizon, revenue growth is not the benchmark it once was. Now, every leader with financial responsibility must consider cash flow implications as part of the decision making process. That doesn’t mean savagely cutting all costs and hiding below decks until the storm has passed –  good investments should be made, however any cash expenditures should be carefully scrutinized and evaluated from three internal perspectives:  earnings from operations, working capital, and the sale of assets.  Sales should be weighed not so much by margin, but instead by how much inventory and receivables will be tied up and for how long. Projects previously evaluated on ROI, must now also be judged in terms of how much cash they consume vs. how much they can generate – and how soon they will actually bring in a return.

As leaders navigate their way through turbulent environments and confront the inability to secure capital due to increased credit restrictions, those who shift from a focus on the income statement to the balance sheet and cash reserves will triumph – coming out of the economic downturn much stronger, and more competitive, that ever before.  While top and bottom-line growth are important, the necessary condition to fuel growth is the availability of cash. As we are all well aware, even profitable companies can find themselves submerged in rough seas if they are not aggressively managing their cash. Although a critical success factor in its own right, profit is an accounting principle – bills and employees are paid with cash, not profit. With the ongoing financial crisis, companies that want to survive the storm had better hold onto cash as if were a life preserver, and declare credit dead weight. Those who ignore the need to refocus and neglect their cash flows may find themselves in Davy Jones Locker – as permanent residents!

How has your company changed the way it manages the financials in turbulent times?

Please engage the discussion and let us know how you stay afloat in rough seas. Please feel free to contact me at  Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next post on Leadership Across Boundaries and Borders.

Posted in Cash Management, Financial, Global, Into The Deep Series, Planning, Potential, Resources, Strategic Planning, Turbulent Times, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Mind The Gap: Innovation, Three Key Battlefields

October 9, 2010

 

In today’s challenging economic environment, business and leadership have never been more complex.  As global leaders, we are the Commanders of our troops and have a responsibility to ensure we are consistently pushing forward to ensure victory. While the obvious route is to cut costs, manage cash efficiently and hold down the fort until reinforcements arrive, it is merely defensive maneuvering.  It is absolutely essential that we, as leaders, recognize that we cannot win without going on the offensive to courageously engage innovation as a competitive weapon that will ensure we are victorious in the war for competitive advantage.  As Commanders, if we do not explicitly engage three key battlefields to ensure victory in the overall war, we are putting the overall mission at “Risk”:

1) Manage the present

There are fundamental stressors between managing the present versus selectively forgetting the past and creating the future. Many leaders, by default, are fully engaged in brutally fighting today’s battles, with little focus on winning the war. After all, if today’s challenges are not met the business will fail – this battlefield is a critical element of a successful wartime strategy. However, if leaders want to conquer the competition and secure new territory, they must also strategically engage the war.

2) Selectively forget the past

While we do not want to forget valuable lessons from the past and leverage what works, as Commanders we are also required to (often counter-intuitively) engage in creative destruction and constant re-innovation in order to prepare for the battles of the future. If leaders are not open to purposefully and strategically annihilating existing products and services in the interest of renewal and growth, enemy forces will ruthlessly destroy our armies and take back previously secured territory. Commanders that believe that what they have always done works, and do not actively engage in preparing for the next great battle, are doomed to defeat – just look at numerous examples throughout military history around the world. Every leader must realize a fundamental truth: What got you here will not get you there… Live by it!

3) Create the future

There is always an opportunity gap between what makes a company successful today and what is required on tomorrow’s battlefield. Leadership, technology, and environment are all constantly evolving to produce new and innovative opportunities to advance and defeat your opponents. The concept is simple, but it is not easy. The future is now. It is about what we are doing now to prepare for future battles – not what we will do to defend ourselves. There is a paradoxical tension between making money today and engaging the future, however if we, as Commanders, do not have the ability to focus on todays battles, while simultaneously engaging the war to ensure a strategic victory, both the morale of the troops and the ability to defeat opponents are at risk.

How focused are you, as a global leader, on each of these three key battlefields? Is your organization balanced between focus on the past, present, and future?

Please engage the discussion and let us know how you mind the innovation gaps in your organization. Please feel free to contact me at  Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.com or by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week when we will look at the characteristics of an innovative leader to determine how a highly successful commander engages the battle and what s/he will do to win the war.

Posted in Communication, Development, Global Leadership, Innovation, Innovation, Leadership, Mind The Gap Series, Planning, Strategic Planning, Strategy, The Battlefield, Three Key Battlefields, Value Creation | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments »

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Mind The Gap: Strategic Planning

October 2, 2010

I was in a meeting with a senior executive recently, when he shared his concern that the processes and approaches the company is using to develop the corporate strategy may not take the business forward as planned, but backward. As we discussed his challenges, there were some key gaps that the organization was likely to fall into that could easily be avoided with a strong planning process. So, here are a few of the more prominent reasons organizations fall into the strategic planning gap…How many of these are evident in your business?

Reason Number 1: Lack of leadership engagement

One important reason behind a company’s inability to create a visible and viable strategy is that, frequently, key senior leaders are not appropriately engaged in the development process. This frequently means that critical success factors are not considered, priorities are unclear, and incomplete strategies are developed. Leaders must engage in the process to understand how the gears of the business engage – how their domain aligns to and fits with the other critical pieces within the corporation.  Critical insights and knowledgeable contributions regarding all aspects of the business will provide the pivot point for the strategic planning process – key decisions emerge from a compilation and understanding of the leaders perspectives. Companies often believe that strategic plans can be developed in one or two day strategic sessions – this is simply not true. Strategic planning is a dedicated process that is developed over a period of time with all senior leaders engaged and participating – not to mention, an ongoing process that drives the ability to stay ahead of the competition.  Without a strong process for engaging leaders and formulating strategic plans as a unit, companies often end up with plans that are meaningless from strategic point of view.

Reason Number 2: Leaders lose sight of the difference between strategy and planning

Very often I come across companies that confuse strategy with planning.  The annual financial and operating planning process drives many corporate strategy exercises – which is a backward premise. They are different activities and should be treated as such: strategy is about developing a framework that drives future actions and decisions; planning is about resource allocation. Critical strategic decisions don’t fit within the annual planning timetable, and neither should the strategy development process. When strategy and planning combined, the plans thrust upon the organization are anything but strategic in nature. Upon closer examination one may find that these plans are (at best) a collection of tactical plans targeting operational efficiency – operational efficiency IS NOT by it’s nature strategic.

Reason Number 3: Too much data, too little insight vs. too much insight, too little data

Few companies have a structured process for scanning the environment and observing emerging trends. There is either an information drought or an overload of information – generally, there is no middle ground. When there is information, often companies do not know how to draw any strategic meaning from it. In the absence (or lack of usability) of relevant data, assumptions are made that may not reflect the reality of the environment, which means a rapid decline in credibility and relevance of the strategic plan. While it is definitely not advisable to engage in paralysis  by analysis – it is important to gather as many facts as you can, within a limited amount of time, apply what you know, and move forward with a decision.  It is key insights based on the information you have (depending on risk factors, often 70% is good enough), not excessive data, that will drive a successful strategy.

Reason Number 4: Insufficient alignment, commitment and communication.

When the process is structured correctly, the leadership team has invested significant time creating the strategy together. A common result is that they come to believe that the strategic intent is clear to everyone across the organization. In most companies this is far from reality, and the strategy is left up to interpretation. This creates organizational misalignment, with group or divisional strategies not fitting comfortably within the whole.  The strategy process should include ensuring that executive alignment and commitment is strong, but also that sufficient time and effort is spent on communicating the strategy throughout the entire organization to ensure there is understanding, buy-in, and integration across the company. Problems often surface when there is a lack of alignment and integration – strategically, operationally, and interpersonally.

As an organization continues to deliberate strategy as an abstract concept or simply a mandated process, the typical result is that strategic plans are not living documents and do not deliver the desired results.  Any one of a million reasons can derail the strategic planning process. As this repeatedly occurs,  the concept of strategic planning is eroded to such an extent that the exercise is taken up just as another routine, isolated from the business of the company. The strategy process should bring rigour and challenge to the leadership teams thinking – it should result in a strategic plan that is alive in everyone’s mind, engage community ownership, and provide a driving force that guides the company steadily toward competitive advantage.

Is your strategic planning process is on track?  Here are some potential indicators:

  • Are all of the organizational, divisional, team leaders engaged (at the appropriate levels)?
  • Is there a clear understanding, and separation, of strategy and planning? Is strategic planning a dedicated, extended process?
  • Is there a good balance and perspective between data collection and business insight?
  • Do all the key players understand their place in the strategy and how it all fits together as a complete puzzle?
  • Is every leader, at every level, committed to the strategy? Is it a cohesive group effort?
  • Is there a strong communication component within the strategic plan?
  • Is the strategic plan a living, breathing document that everyone is working toward achieving?

There is only one way to a great strategic plan –  a dedicated, integrated strategic planning process that ensures a climate of trust and the innovative business ideas of leaders.

Please engage the discussion and let us know how you mind the strategic planning gaps in your organization. Please feel free to contact me at  Sheri.Mackey@LuminosityGlobal.comor by visiting our website at www.LuminosityGlobal.com. Check back next week for the next installment of the Mind The Gap series.

Posted in alignment, Communication, Development, Global Leadership, Leadership, Mind The Gap Series, Planning, Strategic Planning, Strategy | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

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