When Leaders Fail to Mentor, They Fail to Lead

Last week, I had the honor of attending a presentation by Jack Smalley. Jack did a great job of breaking down the top 10 qualities of a great leader. At the top of his list was Mentorship.

Mentorship is one of those things that business leaders forget about if they get caught up in the roles and accountability of leading an organization, large and small. Sometimes, they use the mantra "do as I say, not as I do," forgetting that what they do is what will lead their organization into success or failure. Additionally, effective leaders take time out of what they do to spend quality time with their charges.

I know that as a leader, I have failed dramatically with my mentorship role in the past. Specifically, I recall one key employee. She was wickedly smart, bringing a wealth of knowledge to our organization. And what she did not know, she knew how to find it quickly. Unfortunately, I as a leader did not take the time to mentor her on the differences between knowledge and wisdom. Wisdom combines knowledge and experience with the judgement to know when and how to use the information you have. So my superstar employee was a great asset in her knowledge, a bit low in experience, and definitely did not have the judgement to know when to speak up and when to shut up. As a result of her foot-in-mouth disease, I found myself repairing relationships and putting out smoldering brush fires from where she scorched important relationships.

Image via Wikipedia

The marketing firm that handled Chrysler's social media found this out, too. Their Twitter snafu dropped the f-bomb to its followers. Many Baby Boomer leaders are enamored with the generation of Millennials and their tech prowess. They forget, however, to teach discretion and the repercussions of actions made both in the workplace and at home. Facebook and Twitter, like all information on the internet, is forever. Top organizations need people who not only know how to work the technology but also how and when to use discretion with all those technology tools. This is not to hamper the activities of our young workers, but a call for executives and managers to step up and make mentorship a number one priority of their leadership development.

Have you been serving as an effective mentor recently? Ask you team for their feedback, and make it a regular part of your schedule to be engaged and active with each member your team.The difference between the knowledge and wisdom can make a huge difference is the success of your organization.

Many thanks to Michael Lee of Express Employment services for hosting the event. 

So how can lead as a mentor? 
First, tell me your story. We then decide together what resources, like training and executive coaching, will sharpen the leadership skills of you and your management team. We can also improve your mentoring program. Don't wait until your employees have a major malfunction and destroy relationships. Call me today at 206-782-4040 or connect on Skype at tracy.corley.

Could Shortsighted Futurists Cripple Our Economy?

The new year is in full swing and everyone is full of hope. I read the articles and see that everyone is making their new year's predictions on when the economy will return to "pre-2007 levels."

What these shortsighted futurists fail to realize is that the economic standards of 2007 no longer apply. For decades, our economic models and measures of prosperity used derivatives of industrial age standards. The Great Reset of 2008-2009 brought all those antiquated philosophies face to face with modern economic realities. The upswing in economic prosperity we're experiencing today requires new paradigms on how we measure, analyze, and monitor growth to deliver a true picture of prosperity and growth.

Few - if any - have written concrete rules on what the economy of the future will look like. Some have speculated, like William Knoke in his groundbreaking 1997 guide to the twenty-first century, Bold New World. Furthermore, Erik Brynjolfsson and Adam Saunders give us a clear look at the disruption that information technology brought to economic models in their book Wired for Innovation. These top economic thinkers from MIT examine official measures of the value and productivity of technology and suggest alternatives that better measure this economic contribution. Their explorations for the real sources of value apply not only to information technology, but other intangible inputs that drive nearly 85% of our nation's businesses, including intellectual property, services, and research and development.

To get a true sense of when we will see 2007-like prosperity return to the U.S. economy, we need to rethink our current measures, like the output of goods, retail sales, and credit card spending. True measures of gross domestic product, productivity, and prosperity will come when we are able to quantify intangible assets and integrate them into everyday practices. This means that small business lending will systematically include intangible assets in its risk assessments; service-based business valuations will be more in line with their goods-producing counterparts; information goods will take on the real value they deserve; and we will no longer rely on consumerism and debt as the driving factors for measuring consumer confidence.

According to Brynjolfsson and Saunders, information technology created the lion's share of the resurgence in productivity in the U.S. since 1995. It's time for our economic models to better measure the value that IT and other intangible assets bring to prosperity, productivity, and quality of life. Wired for Innovation delivers a first step at outlining how we can now measure, analyze, and manage the intangible assets of an information-based, mentisfacturing economy. Let's hope that our economic and government institutions catch on before the opportunity to leverage the Great Reset has passed.

What does this mean for you?
Our national economic policies have not caught up with the economic reality. That doesn't mean you have to sit around and wait for them to catch on. I've been working with a number of small business, mid-market, and nonprofit organizations who realize that they don't want to be at the mercy of misaligned economic policies. They hired me to solidify strategic plans, build strategic foundations, and map effective business models. Our process includes a gap analysis that exposes the holes in all critical area of your business model, including key partnerships, key activities, customer segments, cost centers, and revenue streams.

I invite you to take action now to optimize your products and services so that you don't get left behind by using old business models in a new economy. Call me at 206-782-4040 to schedule an initial consultation.

Take the plunge with your Strategy String

Happy holidays, everyone! As we bustle about getting last minute gifts and attending the myriad of get-togethers, many entrepreneurs, business leaders, and managers find themselves consumed with year end planning.

The start of 2011 is looming. Many organizations have faced immense challenges in the past three years that are shuttering doors and sending hardworking employees into the streets. Yet, some organizations are thriving. How can you beat the odds and make 2011 your best year yet?

Go deep with your Strategy String. When times are uncertain, logic tells us to hold back and play it safe. But setting strategy today requires amping up your competitive edge (as well as being nimble and vigilant, regardless of your organization's size). That means setting aside your fear and telling your story with increased fervor.

For example, Sarah Lateiner of Arizona changed directions when launching her small business. Instead of doing the logical thing and sticking with her educational path of becoming a lawyer, she used a personal experience to launch 180 Automotive, an auto mechanic shop. Instead of competing solely on being another "me-too" service provider, she uses her shop to educate and empower women to take care of their vehicles. The result is a strategic advantage that shapes a deeply-defined Strategy String. With educating and empowering women, her vision, mission, and values clearly show through in everyday actions, and her positioning sharply delivers a competitive edge that no one else can touch. Watch her story.

So take the plunge when crafting your Strategy String: don't hold back. Bring the core of your organization and its passion to the forefront. Use the Strategy String to continuously tell the story to your employees, your vendors, your customers -- all of your stakeholders. If you can substitute someone else's products and services into your vision and mission and it still makes sense, then your Strategy String lacks the depth to highlight your competitive advantage. You can survive without depth, but it's hard to swim when your knees keep bumping the bottom of the lake. Without taking the plunge, your purpose, people, and profits will always be wading in the shallows.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION
Does your Strategy String have the depth needed to showcase your competitive advantage? Do all of your stakeholders know about it? If your strategy is missing depth and keeping you from thriving in 2011, call me to schedule a planning session: 206-782-4040.

Order the Strategy String today! They make a great gift for your entire team and your clients. Call me for discount information on orders of 12 or more. 206-782-4040

Related articles

• Matt Wilson: Three Steps to Gain a Competitive Advantage (huffingtonpost.com)
• On Annual Planning Day, strategies for 2011 take shape on one sheet of paper (commercialappeal.com)

Keep Eager Beavers from Damming Productivity

Image via Wikipedia

Great new team member
or a potential source
of terror and rabies?

Talent reigns supreme in an economy that has shifted from goods-dominated to service-based. Organizations need enthusiastic, bright people with great ideas and the ability to communicate those ideas effectively. But if you're not careful, these bright-eyed, bushy tailed talents can turn into rabid nightmares for your bottom line. [Okay, beavers don't have bushy tails, but let's move on.]

How? New employees can get antsy. Our culture delivers instant gratification in so many ways: instant messages, on demand entertainment, personalized learning experiences, customized jeans. New recruits wonder, "Why can't I get instant results at work? I have a great idea that could save this place thousands/millions of dollars. And I've only been here a few weeks; why doesn't everyone else see it?"

Eager beavers bring fresh energy and ideas that at first glance, could generate thousands, if not millions, of dollars in increased productivity, new opportunities, and cost savings. Leadership, however, must be thoughtful before implementing new ideas. Balancing great ideas with due diligence and proper governance can be a challenge for any growing organization or one that is undergoing a significant change. Eager beavers often don't realize that building a dam at one location might improve the resources and depth of one line of business, but can dry out systems and revenue sources downstream. Each idea should be evaluated for effectiveness in the organization as a whole. And, more importantly, those ideas - and the talent - must fit with your Strategy String and organizational culture. So how do you keep eager beavers from damming the flow of productivity without stifling their creativity?

• Start with a trial period. All new people, including those who have been promoted or moved into new roles, should be given a trial period in which to demonstrate consistent performance. Trial periods also give new team members time to learn and understand culture, stakeholders, and direction. On his first day, make it clear how long the trial period lasts. Define what happens at the end of the trial: what if the employee cannot meet expectations? What additional responsibilities does he gain with successful completion of the trial period? Set a time frame that allows for the eager beaver to learn the needs of his position and that allows the manager to see if he can meet expectations and fit with the culture. The greater the role that person will take on in the organization, the longer the trial period. The last thing you want is a team member who doesn't play well in the swimming hole with others and constantly misjudges the depth of the stream.
• Set clear, realistic expectations. When on-boarding any new team member, establish minimum expectations for him to meet. If these expectations differ in any way from the job description used to recruit him, point out those differences. If expectations can change over time, point out how they will change and how they will impact his career. Managers should also be asking if the minimum expectations are realistic for one person to take on. If you set the bar too high, you guarantee that your talent will fail. Don't let good beavers spend all their time swimming upstream: they can get tired and drown if they don't find another organization's stream first.
• Measure performance each day. Can the eager beaver meet expectations and meet them consistently? Effective performance by anyone in your organization (new or old, eager or resigned) is measured by how well they consistently meet expectations each day. Exceeding expectations is inappropriate if employees fail to meet minimum expectations. Document how well the eager beaver meets minimum expectations, and ask her to document her performance as well. Check in at least every two weeks with her to compare notes on performance. Are expectations being met 100% of the time? If not, should her responsibilities be revised? Or does she lack the capacity to meet the baseline expectations needed for the role? Beavers who cannot swim should not be in the stream.
• Link great ideas to your Strategy String. Ideas are only great if they have the ability to relate. A Strategy String ties culture, stakeholders, and direction to performance. Eager beavers should be able to demonstrate an understanding of culture, stakeholders, and direction so that they generate ideas that are meaningful to your organization. Without this understanding, ideas are created in a void, without understanding of stakeholder concerns and market forces. Eager beavers and their supervisors can waste a lot of time living in the land of possibilities while real opportunities pass them by. Don't let eager beavers divert you into shallow streams and sewer pipes.
• Translate great ideas to performance-driven actions. When the eager beaver demonstrates that she can consistently meet minimum expectations and link ideas to your Strategy String, reward her with the opportunity to put those ideas into action. If she has a great idea for a new injection molding process and can keep up with minimum expectations, accommodate her by making the talent, space, funding, and other resources available to pursue the concept. Set a deadline by which she should present the results and demonstrate how the new idea will deliver long-term positive return on investment. If the candidate can translate the idea into sustainable, performance-driven actions, let her manage or lead the idea. If not, ask that the idea is not pursued further, and encourage her to come up with more great ideas to test in the future. Don't let eager beavers get discouraged: promote creativity and innovation.

Eager beavers and the dazzle of instant gratification can dam the flow of productivity and performance for the core products and services they have been hired to support. If they can show consistently, over time, that they can meet minimum expectations, show measurable performance each day, link new ideas to the Strategy String, and transform those ideas into sustainable, performance-driven actions, trust these energetic sources of talent to be creative and innovative in thoughtful, meaningful, responsive ways that support your initiatives for change and growth.

If you need help getting your eager beavers to demonstrate Vision Driven Results for your organization, give me a call at 206-782-4040 x104.

Manual High School's Strategy String Puts Students at the Head of the Class

As Rob Stein completed his third year as principal of Manual High School in Denver, Colorado, he knew that he had done what he set out to do. Stein managed to perform a turnaround that would make turnaround consultants jealous. In just three years, Stein converted a failing inner city high school into the third highest performer in the Denver Public School system.

So how did he do it? Stein interlaced Manual High School with a Strategy String.

Manual High School had been shut down due to poor performance. In an impoverished neighborhood where more than 70% of its students qualifying for free lunches, Manual boasted the lowest test scores in the entire state of Colorado and was stricken by low attendance and sky-high drop out rates. By organizational standards, the school had given up on its customers (the students) and allowed poor performance to close its doors.

In August 2007, Manual reopened as an Innovation School (a public school that thinks and acts a bit differently). This experimental school clenched a vision that committed the management team and staff to do “whatever it takes to ensure that students stay in school and are prepared for success in college, career and in life.” They then transformed that vision into an actionable strategy.

They began by scrapping the strategic plan. "Strategic plans are never fruitful," said Stein. The long-term strategic planning process of old turns into a massive "to-do list for lower level people" that disconnects from performance results. Instead, Stein and his team of volunteers worked collaboratively to answer, "Who do we want to be?" Through this collaborative process, they created a mission statement and Core Principles to support the vision of doing everything needed to keep kids in school. They linked the Core Principles to performance by creating Core Practices that state clearly how Manual's day to day operations would address performance and drop out rates.

For example, all teachers use daily learning goals to communicate and act on daily agendas. Daily learning goals and other consistent practices ensure that students get bell-to-bell learning and no time is wasted. "You will never see a teacher sitting behind [his] desk," said Stein. At Manual, day to day performance demands interaction. When teachers and students are required to provide evidence that they are reaching incremental and long term goals, there is no time for dilly-dally.

With regulations and reporting required by school districts, success measures require a mind-numbing amount of communication for the team at Manual. But constant, open communication with all stakeholders -- students, teachers, administrators, district leaders, and school management -- breaks through the hierarchy and keeps the Strategy String at Manual High School tightly woven to ensure that each student has a chance at a prosperous future. Students are the number one stakeholder at Manual, and its daily practices constantly remind you of that. Without open communication and participation by everyone involved in doing what it takes to ensure student success (including the students), stakeholders disengage and lose sight of the commitment that they signed on for at the school's relaunch. The same is true of businesses, nonprofits, and other organizations.

Aligning Core Practices with stakeholder needs also meant decentralizing decision making and putting more responsibility into the hands of the principal and management team. Like an entrepreneur, Stein was allowed to negotiate many of Manual's contracts to focus school functions on the needs of its students. For example, weekly access to psychotherapists and counselors often work in affluent, suburban schools. Not so much in intercity schools. If a student is dealing with a problem at home and has to wait a week for support, they are more likely to disengage or drop out than wait for that support. By providing regular resources like counseling services on site each day, the school was able to immediately address student cultural, emotional and social needs and quickly re-focus them on learning. That's not common in public schools. But with efficient management and the ability to negotiate services independent of school district mandates, Manual was able to shape a school that met the unique needs of its at-risk student population.

At the end of the 2009-2010 school year, Manual claimed the title of the 3rd highest performer in the Denver Public School district. This year, Manual will celebrate its first graduating class since the relaunch. By creating a responsive strategy that emphasizes daily check-ins with Core Principles and adherence to Core Practices, Manual High School possesses a Strategy String that will allow it to course correct for any changes to the needs of its teachers and students. Now that Rob Stein has turned over the reigns, I hope that the new principal can keep the string from unraveling. With Manual's collaborative, responsive method for connecting strategy to performance, if the ends start to fray, students, teachers, and community will do whatever is needed to keep its kids in school.

Check out the new movie about our education system:

Waiting for "Superman"

Great information resources for improving our country's education systems

Why clean tech is like a newer model smartphone

In a recent business conversation, I was asked to share my thoughts on what the future of the clean tech industry looks like. The question: are there specific clean tec sectors that our region should focus on developing for the future?

Traditional business practices and economic development focus on key industry sectors to nurture and grow for regional prosperity. Businesses were encouraged to choose a niche and keep their heads down.

Unfortunately, the clean tech sector cannot be segemented as simply as other industries.The information age is changing how we look at industry clusters and what we choose to nurture. The economic development of clean technology should be approached less like an industry cluster and more like a technology development. A cell phone is a great example.

My new Droid X is a master of operations and technology. It combines all of my social networks, email accounts, contact lists, productivity tools, and news resources with an internet browser, navigation system, text messaging, and a host of custom applications. Oh, yeah, there's also a phone.

If a person were putting together a wish list, I couldn't ask for much more. But when it comes to my cell phone, it's not a solo effort of Motorola or of Verizon Wireless. To create and deliver services for Droid X requires dozens companies, working together to create a complete experience. Clean technology promises a similar model.

The clean tech industry aims to reshape the experience of how we use technology and energy in our world. Like Droid's impact on communications, clean tech requires dozens companies working together, each collaborating with its expertise to create a complete experience for global citizens.

What is it going to take to develop a robust regional clean tech industry?

1. Start by asking, What experience would we like to deliver to the global economy? Would you like to lead the world in creating and supporting closed loop systems for waste management? If so, develop a broad-reaching vision that is inclusive of multiple industry clusters. 
2. You've defined the vision, take a look at your current economic landscape. Does your region currently host organizations that already deliver solutions related to that vision? The organizations do not have to be directly tied to the vision (for example, a waste management company). If a nonprofit organization delivers outreach and education to community sectors, they would qualify as one that could assist with future outreach related to your vision. 
3. Align existing organizations. As small businesses and support agencies grow, they need the support of enterprises, governments, and educational institutions. As enterprises, governments, and educational institutions strive to remain relevant, they need the input and support of small businesses and support agencies. Bring these players together to start and further conversations that promote growth and long-term development.
4. Establish policies and legislation that reward growth and encourage collaboration. A business must make it easy for customers to buy their goods and services, or else customers will go elsewhere. The same is true of economic ecosystems. Regional policies, rules, and regulations will determine how easy or challenging it will be for enterprises, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations to do form, grow, compete, and collaborate. Reach out to your customers -- the impacted organizations -- so that they can help inform and shape clean tech policies.
5. Invest in your vision. I know that this can be a difficult conversation in a tough economy, but regional leaders and influencers should be ready to put dollars on the table to support a clean technology strategy.The investors include governments, private industries, and institutions. They should work together with private investment interests, federal programs, and state/local governments and institutions to map a financial plan, determine ROI measures, and build a fund  (or group of funds) that would support long-term returns and investments.

Focusing on the experience instead of the industry subsectors allows your economic development plan to be vision-driven instead of action oriented. The Droid X makes for a seamless communications experience between my many blogs, Twitter accounts, email accounts, CRM systems, social networks, and other web-based systems. Making clean technology and clean energy accessible and applicable to your region requires creating a seamless, integrated experience for your target audience. It will employ thoughtfulness and a true assessment of your region's resources.  A sustainable clean tech strategy encourages collaboration instead of industry segmentation to exceed local needs for export and long-term revenue growth.

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• Ranken tapped to lead the Washington Clean Tech Alliance (techflash.com)
• Asia, the Emerging Clean Tech Innovation Hub? (triplepundit.com)
• Environmental Business Cluster and Autodesk Partner to Support Clean Technology (eon.businesswire.com)

Join us for Focus On: Tying Strategy to Performance on October 19th

Strategy as we knew it in the 20th century is dead. Even the Wall Street Journal reported in early 2010 that organizations must change they way they think about strategy and use strategic direction to drive performance from all stakeholders. So what does strategy look like today and how can you use it to drive performance?

Strategist, author, and entrepreneur Tracy A. Corley shows you in our October 19th Focus On: Tying Strategy to Performance. She delivers practical ways for nonprofits, small businesses, and corporate teams to create responsive strategies that improve communications, drive performance, and deliver results. Register today at www.seattlechamber.com/events.

Tracy’s new book, The Strategy String, will be available for purchase. Pre-purchase your copy on Amazon.com today.