Archive for 2009

This week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom is on Strategic Marketing.

“Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted, and the problem is I do not know which half.” – Lord Leverhulme (1851-1925) British founder of Unilever and philanthropist.

Wash your mouth out with soap…

Lord Leverhulme was correct, but today, his pain can usually be avoided.
I am sure that more than half of British small business people do not really know what marketing is.

Quickly! £950 on Inside Front Cover to win at Cheltenham, 33/1…

So many leaders view marketing as an expense; a flutter; a gamble; a punt. The four-colour ad in the inside front cover of Widget Monthly that yields no business. The trade shows. The brochures. The websites. The disappointment is endless.

Let’s get strategic…

Strategic marketing is about understanding your target market segment (TMS). Who you want to get into bed with. You may have more than one TMS. I have two. A TMS is defined as a group of organisations that buys in the same way. Simple as that. They have other characteristics but that’s the main one. They are interested in what you do, and can be turned on by a well crafted offer that meets their needs, and will pay you for it.
When you do this, you have a target.

Ready, aim, fire…

It’s all about defining the target. You cannot aim if you have no target.  Or if the target is so diffuse and ill-defined, you may well hit it, but seldom in the bull’s eye. Companies spend ages and lots of cash getting ready. They have the finest guns for the firing part. But they have no clear target, so cannot aim. Ready…fire…ready…fire! Dumb.

Strategic marketing is also about clearly stating your Value Proposition (VP) – what is the value you and your competitors bring? Sort out your value proposition – in thirty words or less (this is usually obvious).

Strategic marketing is also about your unique selling proposition (USP)…why should your prospect choose you over all the other guys? Sort out your USP – in thirty words or less (be bold, but tell the truth).

And next on our agenda is…

Put your hand up if you work in an organisation that doesn’t have marketing as a permanent item on your management team or board agenda?

I suspect most of you have your hands up. This is madness. Without strategic marketing you’re winking at a girl (or boy) in a club in the dark. There may be some girls or boys in the club who are interested in you…but it’s likely there’s a more target–rich environment somewhere else in a different club.

Here’s what to do…

Identify a customer you have who delivers about 80% of the value you have ever had from a customer. Not your absolute best customer….because there may not be so many of them. Choose one who is good…solidly good for you. They value you, they pay, and they are satisfied with what you provide not because they are uncritical but because you fit their needs. They buy from you repeatedly. You like them and they don’t treat you or your staff like dirt.

Write down as many characteristics as you can to describe this company – sector, location, how they buy, who does the buying, how important your product or service is to them, what they read, where they go, etc.

You now have a target market segment.

Not tonight darling…

Pursue your TMS with aggression. Have the courage to say “no” to those outside your TMS. They may be smiling at you but your true fit with them is sub-optimal and this will come out sooner or later, usually sooner.

Once you’ve cracked strategic marketing (which you can do at very little cost) it’s on to tactical marketing – how to get to your TMS with your crisp VP and clear USP.

That’s for next week when I’ll explain why in today’s market most companies can avoid Lord Leverhulme’s quandary and how you can measure your return-on-investment on all routes to market – cheaply and quickly, allowing you to stop doing what doesn’t work and do much more of what does.

Mark

This week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom is on…

Time Management for Dummies
Write lists…

You must have lists. With everything on them – everything. Work through your lists constantly and try to score out more than you add on.

You must…

…become obsessed with your tasks. Get through the small stuff first, to clear the decks for the big stuff. Please those around you first: do what your boss/partner/child asks you to do. We need to get along with people. Answer the phone when it rings. If you’re serious, get a nice leather binder with all the pages you need – diary, a page for phone numbers, London underground map, metric to imperial conversion charts, international dialling codes….

Well done! You’ve mastered time management for dummies.

Now…

Time management for smarties is different.

This is what to do…

Understand your goals. If you don’t have goals, move quietly away from the computer and call me…NOW.

Once you have goals, then define your High Payoff Activities (HPAs) – they are the critical actions that deliver your goals. Add two more – planning and physical exercise. You should have less than ten in total.

Half full…

When you plan your next week or fortnight, fill 50% of your time with HPAs (including meetings with yourself to do any HPAs that require no one else). Use your diary, or better, an electronic calendar like Office or Google (type calendar into Google).

For everything else, (emails, phone calls, actions collected throughout the day, actions collected in meetings, post etc) process them all as follows:

Decide whether you will  -

* Bin it,
* File it,
* Delegate it,
* Might do it one day, or
* Action it.

For the things that you may do one day, add them to a list entitled “Might Do It Today” Put this page in tomorrow’s slot in a bring-forward file (a concertina folder with 31 slots marked 1 to 31 for each day of the present month and a second concertina folder with 12 slots marked January through December for the months we’re not in at the moment).
If you must…

For those that you must action, and only those, do the following –

* If it will take less than 2 minutes, do it now.
* If it will take 2 – 15 minutes, put “the action” (hardcopy email, handwritten note etc) in your bring-forward file to do it on a specific day (just before it must be done, no sooner). File all associated stuff (email, notes etc) or bin them. Don’t leave anything in piles, in your inbox etc.
* If it will take more than 15+ minutes to do it, schedule time for it in your diary and put “the action” (hardcopy email, handwritten note etc) in your bring-forward file to do it on a specific day (just before it must be done – again, no sooner). File all associated stuff (email, notes etc) or bin them. Again, don’t leave anything in piles, in your inbox etc.

The moment I wake up…

At the start of every day, look at your diary (week to a view) and your bring-forward file. Your diary is your plan. Remember, if you don’t have a plan, you are part of someone else’s plan. And do you know what they have planned for you? Nothing much.

Your bring-forward file for the present day will contain the trivia that you MUST do, and your “Might Do It Today” page of things you may do one day, or may never do, but don’t want to forget about. Each day, you will look at this list and you may decide to elevate one or more of the items to actions which you will then process as above. Once you have done this, put the “Might Do It Today” list back in the bring-forward file under tomorrow’s date.

Do you have piles…?

The great thing about this approach is it gives you clarity and focus. The HPAs get done. They are your number one priority. There are no piles on your desk, piles in your inbox, piles in your head and bits of paper everywhere that cause a general sense of malaise.

In this system, everything has been processed and if it merits your time it will be in your diary or your bring-forward file.

This system is not just for work, it’s for life.

Twinkle, twinkle…

Do this for a month. Then increase the time spent on HPAs to 60%. Do this for a month. Then 70%. That’s probably as far as you can go, but by then you will be spending almost 5 times as much time as most people on your HPAs. You will feel in control, on your front foot, more confident and you will achieve more and more. It’s a virtuous cycle. You have become a star player!

Merry Christmas.

Mark

This week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom is on The Truth.

“The truth is rarely pure and never simple.” – Oscar Wilde

Despite this, leaders must deal with the truth.

Ouch!

The government has just slapped a 50% tax on bankers’ bonuses – payable by the banks, not the bankers. This seems to have quietened the thronging mass.

Brilliant politics.

This will do nothing. The Chancellor, despite the stated objective of curbing bonuses, knows his actions will make no difference and is happy for this to be so.

Why?

Because the truth of the matter is that the rock star traders and their complicit bosses have stolen the banks. RBS is making £6 billion in profit in investment banking and paying out £2 billion in bonuses. We could curb bonuses in the banks we own, but the unpalatable truth is that to do so would damage them. This is the truth. The rock star traders have all they need in their heads. They can walk, and routinely do.

How has this happened?

Well, I’m no student of the banking sector, but what I do know is that it all started decades ago with firms like Lizard Frères relocating to New York after fleeing the Nazis in Europe in the 1930s. Lazard invented investment banking. It was owned by the partners. If they made £6b, then it was theirs to do with as they wished. Fine. Their capital. Their risk. Their profit.

Can I play?

Then the normal, staid banks thought they’d get in on this action. In time, as the talent pool mixed, the salaries in these new entrants rose to mimic those in the old, private banks.

Our issue with the bonuses is largely envy. I know.  I am distressed to admit I feel it myself, more than a wee bit.

I don’t care…

But we shouldn’t care about this. The real truth is that, as the governor of the Bank of England Mervyn King has said, “If a bank is too big to fail then it is too big”. This is the central issue and I do not see anyone doing anything about it.

There is some talk of a “living will” to allow the orderly winding up of an ailing bank, but as this requires the intervention of healthy banks, I’m far from clear how this would work if there’s a mass suicide.

We did it once…

We have conditioned the banks to believe they cannot fail, and therefore, if anything, we have increased the likelihood of this happening again.

I don’t care what private organisations do, as long as it is legal. I don’t even care what publically owned banks do. But to manage them with the primary purpose of assuaging our envy is blinkered.

Didn’t see a thing, guv…

The only people who can wrestle back the banks from the employees are the shareholders, the vast majority of whom are pension funds, not governments. But the pension funds won’t do it – they’ll either stick around for the dividends or quietly walk away.

And each morning…

…the horrible truth remains. The banks are still too big to fail and no one is doing anything about it.

I want some truth. I want some leadership. I don’t see it from the government or the opposition. The Bank of England tried and was dismissed out of hand. The church has made some ineffectual noises. The journalists obsess about bonuses.

I don’t mind Darling’s 50% tax. He is in a difficult political position. What I do expect is for our leaders to identify and act on the core truth.

Ah…Mr Bond…

I thought it was only in films that huge corporations controlled the destiny of the world. I thought this was inherently rubbish as governments always had the last laugh – they can legislate.

It is time to start laughing.

Mark

This week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom is on…

Leadership

“A leader is a dealer in hope. “ – Napoleon Bonaparte

Being a leader is easy.

There are many leadership models.

It’s primal…

Daniel Goleman’s is one of the best. He refers to six leadership styles in his book “Primal Leadership”:

* The visionary leader inspires; believes in his own vision. Explains how and why people’s efforts contribute towards the dream.
* The coaching leader helps people identify their own strengths and weaknesses and is a counsellor who encourages and delegates.
* The affiliative leader promotes harmony, is friendly and empathetic.
* The democratic leader is a superb listener, teamworker and collaborator.
* The pacesetting leader has a strong urge to achieve, lots of initiative, high personal standards, is impatient, micromanages and is numbers driven.
* The commanding leader says “do it because I say so”; is threatening, has tight control and drives away talent.

Best fit…

For any given situation there is a best fit leadership style.

The visionary leader is great when a radical change is needed. The coaching leader is just right when competent, motivated employees are available and performance improvement can be nurtured over the long term.

The affiliative leader works when there are rifts in the team, or great stress. The democratic leader is superb when consensus is required, and employee input sought.

The pacesetting leader is useful when the team is high performing already. The commanding leader is good in a grave crisis.

It’s not all good…

Two of these styles are generally seen as having a negative impact on the broad organisational climate. Can you guess which two?

And the losers are…

Firstly, the pacesetting leader, because he requires followers of a strange disposition – they need to be competent, and motivated, yet require no empathy, no feeling of being involved and great resilience to micromanagement. This type of follower exists only rarely. If this leadership style is used exclusively, or poorly, as it often is, it is very negative on organisational climate. It is a style that is seldom necessary and never sufficient. I did have a pacesetting boss once.  He was talented for sure. The experience was unpleasant (for us both).

Secondly, the commander, because he drives away talent. Nobody with any real individuality and self-esteem can work for someone who simply required their will to be carried out because it is their will. It doesn’t work with kids, so why should it work with adults? This is the traditional military model of leadership. I used to work with an organisation that recruited ex-officers for their leadership capabilities. It never worked out. Never. Not once.

It’s all about me…

My leadership style is coach. That’s why I do what I do now. I like to think I have developed real vision for my own business, and that there’s room for democracy and affiliation. I have no interest in pace setting and commanding.

We all have a preference for our individual leadership style. Sometimes we assume our comfortable preference must mean that that preference is appropriate, or right. That’s a mistake. Comfort does not equal correct.

Do you feel me…?

And leadership isn’t about you, it’s about the situation, and how to generate resonance with the team. So they feel you. More than hear you…feel you.

It all comes easily to those with high emotional intelligence (which involves four abilities: self awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship management).

Sharpen your pencil…

And the great thing about emotional intelligence is that the four abilities are not innate, they are learned.

Leadership is situational – the right kind at the right time, to the right extent. You need to be the right leader for the situation. It’s not so much about what each individual needs – that’s more a management style issue, which I may write about next week.

The kicker…

I said at the start that being a leader is easy. But that’s not leadership.

Being the right kind of leader at the right time is hard. Unfortunately, that is leadership.
Mark

This week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom is on…

Process

You don’t stand a snowball’s chance in hell of achieving anything in any organisation unless you have systematised everything you can.

When I was a young boy…

…I travelled across the Pennines to work in north Manchester at ICI, Purchasing and Supply. My first commercial job. This department was ISO registered. There was a procedure for everything. I didn’t know the first thing about purchasing and I wasn’t going to ask anyone. Oh no! Not me.

I worked every day and then, in the evening, when everyone had gone home, I read the procedures – 2 hrs a night. After 2 months, I knew how purchasing and supply worked. It did nothing for my negotiating skills, or commercial brain. But that’s not what procedures are for.

It takes two…

The skills part lies parallel to the procedure. One is not a substitute for the other.

Without skills, flexibility, experience and creativity: the procedure is a hollow shell.

Without procedure: skills and experience remain largely untapped.

My background has…

…largely been in manufacturing. It’s highly regulated. We had procedures for most things – manufacturing, health and safety, HR, how to walk to your office with a hot drink…

…except sales and marketing.

Except sales and marketing. Oh yes. Sales people are creative, dynamic. They have the gift of the gab, they are flight of foot. They are supreme; saviours of the business. You cannot tether this sort of mercuric talent with procedures. Procedures are for the little people. The office-bound dullards, with their chit-chat about last night’s telly.

This is, of course, crap!

I have a dirty secret…

It’s staggering that so many sales and marketing people have managed to largely get away with not being proceduralised; not using a systematic process. I was one of them. Here’s a dirty secret – sales and marketing is a process. Sales people and marketing people are not born. You don’t need special talents. You don’t need the gift of the gab unless you’re selling from a market stall. You’re not doing that, are you?

Today’s winners…

…don’t allow the critical functions of sales and marketing to be anarchic. They understand it is one of the business’ core processes; the key word being process.

In marketing…

…they understand their Target Market Segments, their Ideal Customer Profile, and how to get to them. They understand their Value Proposition and their Unique Selling Proposition. And they act accordingly. They don’t spend a penny piece on any form of marketing communications unless the return-on-investment can be rapidly calculated. They do marketing experiments – cheap and quick. If it works; do more. If it doesn’t; stop. It’s a process.

If you run your own business and you do not have systematised marketing (i.e. getting those who are interested in what you do to come to you without you hunting them down, one-by-one; your life will be a misery.)

In sales…

…they know how to prospect (and why); how to sell; how to close; how to deliver; how to resell; how to ask for referrals. And when and why all these things should be done. It is not left to chance. They do them all, all the time. It’s not left to what the sales rep feels like doing today. It’s a process.

Of course skill and flair and all that other stuff are important; and with all else being equal they will win the day. But I’d rather have six solid guys following a process, than six prima-donnas who don’t know what day of the week it is, but they’re great guys you know…customers love ‘em.

Too many people…

…spend most of their time unfocussed, unguided, goalless, on autopilot, distracted, anxious, fearful and doing the wrong things for the wrong reasons at the wrong times. OK I exaggerate a wee bit, but not so much.

They certainly spend most of their time doing the one thing they think is important that they are comfortable doing. This is not enough. It really isn’t enough. It isn’t good enough. Not for their organisation. Not for them.

I have seen the light…

People can achieve great things. They have the potential. Challenge your colleagues, bosses and subordinates to develop processes for what they do. Because it’s the foundation that allows their brilliance to shine every day, not just on the occasional day when the chaos allows it.
Mark

This week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom is on…
Motivating Others
“The triumph of hope over experience” – Samuel Johnson
I am often asked; “how do I motivate my team.” “How do I bring others with me?”

Well it’s really easy, this is how you do it -

Share your vision. Describe a shiny, sunlit future where all is sweetness and light. Outline the part the person in front of you must play…they will swell with an abundance of motivation because they cannot fail to see the compelling future you have so beautifully painted. Group hug. The End

Thank you for reading this week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom. See you next week.

Eh…no…

You cannot motivate people. You cannot motivate people where it matters.

Different situations –

Every day motivation – you work, you get paid. Seeking pleasure. Avoiding pain. Not really about motivating others.

Motivation others for superior performance…

You can drive performance – a football team at half-time for instance. They might be having a bad game but they’ve been training four times a week since they were eight years old. They ARE motivated. The manager might re-focus them at half-time. But the motivation is within the players.

A motive is a reason for action.

But where motivating others would be really useful – for example in turning ingrained poor performance into sustained, superior performance; it isn’t effective.

Kiss enough frogs…

You cannot motivate a frog to become a prince…

“Sit down Kermit. I am extremely disappointed that, despite our repeated conversations around how it would be better for both you and this organisation if you were to become a prince, I cannot help but notice that you are still a bloody frog. What’s wrong with you?”

…unless the frog is driven to want to be a prince and therefore doesn’t really need external motivation.

The frogs that can turn into princes either have done so already or work tirelessly every day on their cunning plan to do so.

You can harness…

…their intrinsic motivation, but if it doesn’t already exist within them you will struggle to create it.

By the way, there’s nothing wrong with being a frog. We need frogs. They have a role.

You can make a difference…

You can demotivate frogs. Oh yes. This is easy. Treat all the frogs the same, regardless of their potential. That’s a good way to demotivate those with prince-potential. Or even better – promote a frog with no prince-potential so he’s in charge of frogs with prince-potential – that’s the quickest way I know to jettison any excess motivation you might have in your organisation. Try it (…if you haven’t already.)

Motivation comes from within. It cannot be instilled. You can help someone to realise that they have huge potential, and you can work on their confidence, and their skills, but these are different issues.

Because motivation is…

…about attitude. The frog-princes know it. They feel it. They are intrinsically motivated. The good frogs who don’t want to become princes are also intrinsically motivated, but not to become princes, and that’s fine. I’m not having a go at good frogs.

All aboard…

Get the right frogs on the bus. You need some that have become princes, some with potential, and also lots of simply good frogs who are happy to be well-adjusted frogs. What you don’t need are the frogs who bitch, moan and whine about the colour of the bus, how much the princes get paid, how their own prince-potential has been cruelly overlooked by every manager they’ve ever had…yada yada yada.

Kick them out…

Sell them to the French. You cannot rehabilitate them. You cannot motivate them. They are toxic frogs and they do not improve with age. They fester. They have faulty thinking and they got it a long time ago. You will not make the difference. You are not a social worker. Spend your time on the princes and the good frogs.

Ask yourself…

Are your princes and frogs on the bus? Are all the rubbish frogs on the pavement? If not, sort it out. But avoid at all costs the desire to rehabilitate. 100% of all the motivation any frog will ever have is already within that frog. Then close the bus door, start the engine, eyes front and drive.

Mark

This week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom is on…
Self-Discipline

“If I want to be great I have to win the victory over myself…self-discipline.” – Harry S Truman
Self-Discipline – the ability to control yourself.
Self-discipline is what turns goals into achievement through the magic of action – the right ones at the right times. Not just the actions you like; like a rat in the lab, doing tasks for treats. All of them.

We are not robots…
Sorry that’s actually wrong. Perhaps a more accurate statement would be we have the potential to be more than robots. We are robots, for the majority of the time. But that’s OK – we need most of what we do to be on autopilot. Otherwise, there’s simply too much to think about. As robots, we move towards pleasure and away from pain; satisfying our desires, most of which are healthy and keep us alive and reproducing.
Higher ground…
However, it’s a higher level function to reflect; to use our external eye, our self-awareness. Where we can see ourselves from somewhere other than the place where we live, just behind our eyes. To use this ability to gain insight and change what we do. To be better.
Self-discipline is not…
…doing what you like and calling it work (although it may be)
…pleasing yourself because it’s pleasing to do so (rat/experiment/treats)
…avoiding discomfort
…to be confused with arbitrary and externally imposed self-denial
…easy
Self-discipline is…
…doing the first things first
…doing all the important things, not just the ones you like
…being your own leader
…ultimately your victory over the robot within you
So here’s a test…
What’s the most important thing you should to do that…
a) is an ongoing activity, not a one-off?
b) will take your job/life/relationships (whatever) to a higher level? And,
c) you are not comfortable doing?
I’m not talking trivial stuff here. Something that will really take you forward. Take some time to think.
God or Dog…
If you have no answer to this question you may be either a) a self-actualising mega-being or b) a robot that is following your programming by avoiding the pain of self-reflection.
If you have an answer to the test question, and if you are doing this thing, then you are self-disciplined.
If you’re not doing this thing, then I’d say, at this point, you are not exhibiting self-discipline. (That is not to say you are not capable of it, or have not exhibited it in the past).
Take control…
For those of you currently experiencing self-discipline, you are probably aware that in time, the third criteria, the one about not being comfortable doing it, will become less of an issue. This is good. In time, you will develop the habit of doing this activity and you will find that you have transported this critical activity from outside your sphere of control (don’t like it and don’t do it) to inside your sphere of control (like it, or perhaps manage your dislike, and do it).
Well done.
Then you have to move on…ask yourself the test question again, and act accordingly.
Repeat to fade.
This is on-going self-discipline. It is a series of battles in a war against being a robot: a war to be human.
What to do.
Take your answer to the test question, this important activity that you don’t like. Do it. Don’t find the time to do it. Schedule the time to do it. And then do it. And again, and again.
Search and destroy…
Discomfort is not to be avoided; it is to be identified, challenged and annihilated.
And the more of these battles you win, the more human you are.
It is simple, but not easy…
But like most things; with repeated action, they don’t get harder; they get easier.

Mark

This week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom is on Limiting Beliefs.

“Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world.” – Arthur Schopenhauer
Oh what a mess…
The British Home Secretary Alan Johnson is responsible for the government’s drug policy. He uses the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to advise him.
High class…
The government has recently returned cannabis to Class B, reversing its previous demotion to class C. (Incidentally, the classification relates to harm caused: C = bad; B = worse; A = don’t be stupid).
The chairman of the ACMD, Professor David Nutt, has accused ministers of devaluing and distorting evidence and said drugs classification was being politicised. He believes cannabis should have remained at Class C.
Got any horse?
Now, Professor Nutt, through his independent publicity unit, has recently pronounced that taking ecstasy (Class A, alongside heroin), is no more dangerous than riding a horse. There have been some other lurid comparisons as well.
Mr Johnson retorted that few of his drug-addled Hull constituents had cause to worry about falling off a horse and promptly sacked Prof Nutt. His colleagues are now threatening to resign. Some already have.
What a mess.
So who’s right?
No-one.
Each is wrong, independent of the other. But the scientists are more wrong so I’ll concentrate on them.
Limiting beliefs…

The scientists and their supporters believe that they are right, and therefore it is right for their rightness to be fully enshrined in government policy, because after all policy is simply their rightness turned into an action plan. And if this does not happen, their rightness allows them to go public with lurid comparisons with scant regard for the impact they may have on all concerned.
This is called a limiting belief because it limits the scientists’ ability to do their job – to influence government.
That’s a classic…
It’s actually a classic limiting belief that’s been around forever, and afflicts scientists. The scientists’ believe that absolute truth is all there is. This is noble, but only in the lab and the pages of peer-reviewed journals. In the messy real world there is more to think about.
The government is not obliged to simply turn scientific advice into policy. In this case, where the issue of harm arises, there is no effective truth to promote anyway, because few consumers actually think they are going to come to any harm.
Alan Johnson in his way, is not the first politician to ignored scientific advice.
Red alert…
In the cold war, John von Neumann was a scientific advisor to President Eisenhower. He developed game theory to calculate how each side in a two-player game can minimise their losses. It seemed clear that the Russian spy network had obtained many of the details of the US atom bomb design and it was only a matter of time before the Soviet Union became a nuclear power to rival the US.
Von Neumann therefore recommended to Eisenhower that the U.S. launch a nuclear strike at the Russians, as now was their window of opportunity. The huge advantage the US had in possessing the atomic bomb would soon be lost. Game theory says that the US should have pressed home their advantage when they had the chance in order to avoid a far worse war later. Von Neumann was right, within the limited scope of his analysis.
Clearly, Eisenhower, who had been around a bit, ignored him.
So what are your limiting beliefs? If you have any recurring problems in your life, look under the surface. There might be a limiting belief lurking there.
Mark

This week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom is on…

Trust

“You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.” – Frank Crane
Merit trust…
Keep your promises to everyone. Especially loved ones, bosses, subordinates and children. I said everyone. And if you break a promise for reasons out of your control; explain, explain, explain. And bend over backwards to make it up. Never let a broken promise go unremarked, unresolved. But they should be very rare. Keep the promises you make to yourself as well. Don’t disappoint yourself. It breeds laxity, and worse.
And in goal setting…
…don’t call them goals. Call them promises. Try it, it works.
Don’t lie…
Let’s assume you’re not a pathological liar. Let’s assume you lie for the right reasons –
To avoid embarrassment…
…so you’d rather lie than be embarrassed? This is a self-esteem issue. If you’ve done something to be embarrassed about and it’s got out the bag, you need to stand up in the glare and take it. Those around you will admire you, think more of you. Whereas to be caught lying, even over something trivial, especially over something trivial…
To avoid hurting others’ feelings…
…most people would rather know the truth. Most, but not all. Frankly, someone who asks for your opinion wanting only one answer has put you in a no-win position and deserved all that they are just about to get.
To escape punishment…
…this is cowardice. Twenty years ago, I was in the back of a police car, in Hexham, having been stopped for over-exuberant driving, on an empty dual carriageway, late on a Sunday night. I already had more than my fair share of points on my licence, and if I got any more I was taking the bus. Plus, I’d just accepted a new job in a new city, involving a lot of driving…
One of the policemen explained the technology that was used to ensnare me. I was familiar with it and said so. He turned to look at me and said:
“Are you a copper?”
Moment of truth time…
Say “yes” and maybe get let off? I’m not a bus person, I don’t have the time. I’ve got this fabulous new job…I’m on a mission and the rules don’t apply to me…I deserve this break, I am special, I really am!
It may seem trivial now. But it didn’t at the time.
I said:
“No, I’m not a copper”.
I took the bus, for 6 months. I took my medicine. It was foul, but due. And it did me good.
Above, I said “Let’s assume you lie for the right reasons”. Trick statement! There are no right reasons.
We’re all adults…
Now, I’m not suggesting that you lose the filter in your mind that stops everything you think from being turned immediately into speech or emails. You must be diplomatic, and diplomacy is not about lying. Diplomacy is about understanding the impact you have on others and acting accordingly to minimise any unpleasantness. Minimise, not eliminate. We’re all adults here.
Be trusting…
…give people the benefit of the doubt. I have done innumerable psychometric tests where I have been said to be overly trusting, or even naive. This is crap. I am neither. I would not let a stranger look after my children, my money, my home. I am not a fool. But I’ll give new people my time, my attention, my focus. I will assume they will respond appropriately. And if they don’t I have learned something…that they are fools.
But if I don’t trust them…I am the fool.
To not give trust…to be overly guarded, suspicious, sceptical, defensive…is to never dare to taste a strawberry because it might be sour.
So what to do…
To be trustworthy and to offer trust are things that we can control. We have dominion over ourselves. We can choose to be and do these things. However, there is no guarantee that people will trust us, or merit our trust in them. But that’s their loss.
Keep doing what you say and saying what you do; be consistent; be truthful; be transparent and open; offer trust to all; have faith in humanity.
You will taste many more sweet strawberries than sour.
Mark

This week’s Pearl of Leadership Wisdom is on…
Planning
“Nothing is more difficult, and therefore more precious, than to be able to decide.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
Fail to plan…
…and you plan to fail. End of story.
You wouldn’t pretend to run anything significant without a plan. Yet some people never plan anything…their lives…their time. They waste something much more important than money. They waste their time. And their time is the currency they exchange for the chance to realise their potential…to be what they want to be. A waste indeed.
If you have a job…
…it can be tempting to feel that because you have hired your time out to your employer, having your time wasted by yourself and others is not so bad. That only works if you don’t want much in return for hiring out the prime of your life to someone else. Don’t be cheap.
Planning’s not for me…
It may not suit you. You may be a smell-the-roses person, in the moment, not future-focused. Well, the future’s focused on you and it’s coming at you, one inexorable second at a time.
Bondage…
But a plan is not a straight jacket. Your plan is a roadmap to your desired goal. Your plan may not withstand first contact with reality, but it’s the planning that counts. When you have a plan, obstacles are smaller, setbacks more minor. You will find a detour. Your drive and motivation are higher. You are more win-able; more able to win.
Note to self…
…when was the last time I hit a barrier? If you cannot remember, a siren should be going off in your head. Maybe you have a do-nothing plan. Sometimes this is appropriate. Maybe in the short-term. Seldom in the medium and beyond-term.
Set goals in stone…
…and plans in the sand. You need to know what your goals are and what you need to do to make them happen – the high payoff activities I go on about incessantly. Then you need to fill your available time with these activities. This is where planning fits…it’s the bit between goal setting and achievement. It’s about a) defining your high payoff activities and b) making sure you have the space and resources to execute them. That’s it. Simple.
Stop the clock…
But you need to be crystal clear on your goals. Don’t skip this bit. Without this, you can only plan to get through all the stuff that’s already surrounding you. Your to-do list. Then, you are indulging in what is laughably called time management. As if you can manage time. This is like being busy on the Titanic.
Abandon ship…
But if you are clear on your goals, and then plan, plan, plan…then you’re not time-managing, you are self-managing.
And in first place we have…
The number one high payoff activity for everyone is planning. So plan to plan. Schedule time for it. Give it space. You will free up infinitely more time by planning than the planning process itself will consume. Spend time to save time. Planning is the turbo charger on your productivity. Do it yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, daily.
So – what to do?
Start small. Plan for tomorrow…today. Ten minutes with your notebook, diary, whatever you use. Write down the high payoff activities that will consume 60 to 70% of your day tomorrow. The things you will do that will deliver what you want, come hell or high water. The things you will do first.
Then, in the morning, pursue these activities with maximum prejudice.
Do you think this will make a difference to you?
In a month?
A year?
A decade?
This is self-management. Maybe it’s even self-leadership. After which, all is easy.
Mark