Create a path to reach your strategy

by Robert L. Bogue Takeaway: If you're having trouble getting your team to execute on its strategy then you may need to lay out the path in more detail than you already have. Here's how. Many organizations find developing a strategy a difficult and time consuming process, one that they're so exhausted by they just hope that it will implement itself. If you're having trouble getting your team to execute on its strategy then you may need to lay out the path in more detail than you already have. Here's how. Understanding strategy In most organizations, strategy is just a rough idea of where the organization wants to go. It's an ideal view devoid of the distractions that the real world brings. Understanding that a strategy isn't real helps to illuminate the fact that there's a gap between the current reality and the new vision. Never was this as true as it was at the Fishburn Group. The Fishburn Group had been in the recycling industry for years but recognized the change that was sweeping the nation as technology began to be cycled through organizations at an ever increasing pace. They were becoming so overwhelmed with material that they couldn't find a home for it. The bright young son of the owner realized that the key to success in the organization was a new inventory management system -- one that understood that even the same product had a widely varying value and could have a variety of uses. He visualized an inventory system that leveraged barcode labels and standard warehouse positions for material. He saw that if he was able to get control of what he had in his warehouse he could move several times the amount of material that he currently was moving and in doing so grow the business not just in volume but also in profitability. Bringing a plan Once a strategy is formed there's more to do than just tell everyone what it is and wait for it to happen. Each person's roll must be laid out and the pieces put together so that the destination can be reached. Converting the strategy into a set of steps that can be followed is often a challenging task for any organization. The strategies are easy to buy into. The effort involved with reaching the strategies isn't always as easy to sell. At the Fishburn Group there was always a lot to do. It always seemed like there was another load of material to inspect, another customer to call, and another employee to work with. However, the owner's son made time to research how to produce barcodes for the material; he even initiated a warehouse clean up task to help define more standardized warehouse locations. It seemed as if the plan was taking shape. Making the plan understandable The problem with converting a strategy to a plan is that the strategy is understandable to those who are expected to help make the transformation. A strategy describes the neat details of the vision without the imperfections of reality. A plan must, necessarily, dwell in reality where the details can often get in the way of understanding but must be equally understandable. Creating a plan that changes the way people work requires that the plan be detailed enough that it immediately makes sense and can be implemented. Making the plan understandable enough so that people can execute it, and want to execute it, is a difficult proposition. It requires the persistence to develop the steps to the plan and the metrics to monitor the plan to ensure that it hasn't gotten off track. At the Fishburn Group, this is where the great vision fell apart. Several parts of the organization made progress towards organizing the material and towards recording the material as it entered the building. However, the shipping department had never understood how it impacted them so they would ship out inventory without recording where it came from or what its item tracking number was. The loading dock started placing material in the areas that had been designated but would occasionally put a pallet of material in a spot without recording it. They didn't understand how to cope with times when the material came in faster than they could process it. The result is that the Fishburn Group has fallen back into the disorganized chaos that they'd always had. Material is handled in a "what you see is what you have" kind of mentality where the sales folks have to walk the warehouse to find material that they can sell rather than reviewing a database and posting up the material they know they have. Throughput is roughly the same as it was five years ago when the vision was conceived. The plan wasn't detailed and specific enough to be understood by the warehouse workers on the floor or even the front office folks who were buying and selling material. Getting on track If you've got a strategy that's gotten off track or can't seem to be implemented, here are a few simple steps to put things right again. Resell the strategy -- Go back to the organization and rally everyone behind the cause again. Help them understand that they need to make the strategy work for the organization to reach its potential. Create the plan -- Help create the high-level plan that will help you reach the strategy. Identify the key areas which must work for the strategy to be successful. Make the plan understandable -- Have the parties responsible for each of the major areas of the plan create a more detailed plan, one that can be understood by everyone within their part of the organization. Develop a monitoring plan -- Set up a mechanism for monitoring progress on the plan. Look for places where the organization doesn't fully understand what steps they must take to reach the strategy, and then educate those people.

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Getting leadership and management in your organization

by Robert L. Bogue Takeaway: There's a difference in the skills sets for leadership and those for management. Learn the difference and how to incorporate the best of both worlds in your organization. Early in my career, I thought that leadership was what the people at the very top of the organization did and that management was what all of the people in the middle of the organizational structure did. However, while this positional view is correct in many organizations, it does not need to be that way. Management and leadership are both necessary components of a successful organization of any size. Here's why. The differences between leadership and management The role of a leader in any organization is to set the direction. A leader is the first to envision a future position for the organization and first to evangelize that position. Leadership is about finding a point on the horizon and saying, loudly and firmly, we should go there. Management focuses on keeping the ship upright and moving in the direction that it's headed. It's not about picking a point on the horizon and going there. Management is about plotting progress towards the spot on the horizon. Tips in your inbox TechRepublic's free Strategies that Scale newsletter, delivered each Tuesday, covers topics such as how to structure purchasing, when to outsource, negotiating software licensing or SLAs, and budgeting for growth. Automatically sign up today! Great organizations realize that being good at only one of these two roles is a great feat in itself, but a person who excels at both leadership and management is very difficult, if not impossible, to find. That's why most organizations have a separate chief executive officer and a chief operations officer. The chief executive officer is the leader of the organization, responsible for charting a course. The chief operations officer is the manager responsible for making sure that the ship follows the charted course. They work together to make the organization as effective as possible. The formula for success An organization needs to synthesize a model of the leadership/management combination if it wants to be truly successful. If you're in the position to hire someone, you'll want to look for complementary skills. If you're a natural leader you'll want to hire someone with strong management skills. Similarly, if you're great at managing things you'll want to make sure that you include leaders in the organization so that you have a source for the leadership you'll need. However, hiring these skills is a luxury that few managers can afford. Instead, consider how to identify and encourage these skills in the people you already have working with you. Identifying a leader Finding a good leader as a subordinate -- or even as a peer, if the structure of the organization allows -- is a difficult challenge. We create managers in our business world. Each day we beat into the unsuspecting workers the need to manage and control. In short, we repeatedly demonstrate what management is and why it's important. Leadership often requires charting into uncharted territory. In other words, leaders must take risks. In western business, we don't train people to take risks very well. Leaders are often the impassioned people who will yell and kick and scream -- something that managers find detestable. When seeking out the leader that you need to support your ability to manage, look for the person most challenging to control. That person has potential as a leader. You may also be able to identify a leader in your midst by finding someone who always has an idea of how things can be done differently than the status quo. People who have the courage to challenge how things have been done have the raw materials to be come a leader. Identifying a manager If you're looking for a manager, the ideal candidate to tap is one who likes routine,This person arrives at the same time each day and leaves at the same time. People who are regimented in what they do are generally great at management because they're good at executing the same control processes day in and day out. You may also find a manager candidate in the person who is the most organized. The person doesn't have to be obsessed with being neat; however, there always seems to be organization to what they're doing. They seek to organize, classify, and create structure for everything they do. Engaging a counterpart In most cases, you'll want to try on your counterpart for size before announcing to them what you're doing. You'll want to start by asking your counterpart candidate questions and making requests which lead them into filling the role without exposing the grand vision. For your budding leader candidate, simple open-ended questions like "What do you think we should do about this opportunity?" can lead to a wealth of information. The manager may be able to respond to "Will you keep track of the action items for this series of meetings?" with the kind of support that you need. Once you're comfortable with your decision and the counterpart that you've chosen, it's time to let them in on the grand plan--after all you don't want her to leave after you've gotten to depend on her for something important. You'll want to explain that she's an important part of leading and managing your department. This may mean exposing to her your limitations but it's likely necessary to allow her to understand what you're saying. Respecting your counterpart Chances are that if you've followed the above process you've found someone within your organization to be your counterpart. That has in it an inherent challenge. As humans we tend to value, respect, and understand the value of the things we're good at. A leader will recognize good leadership and a manager will recognize good management. However, in order to keep the balance it will be important to learn to respect the attributes that your counterpart brings. On the surface, this seems easy but it may be the most difficult part of incorporating both leadership and management in your organization. If you're a leader, you'll be tempted to plow ahead without project review meetings, milestones, and action item reviews. But these are the very things that a manager needs to manage. Similarly, as a manager you may not understand half-day meetings to discuss strategy. Fight your natural tendencies and find a way to respect your counterpart and what he or she is doing to make you successful.

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5 tips for leadership success in 2010

Author: John McKee In this article, executive and leadership coach John M McKee provides five leadership approaches that he's seen used by very successful leaders to ensure success. ——————————————————————————————— This year is going to be tough.  The forecasters are all over the place about the outlook. Which indicators you use in your planning - economic growth, profit levels, unemployment rates, commodity prices, the value of the dollar, or others - how you see 2010 may be very different from the person right next to you.  We are in a period of uncertainty.  You can expect to face continual demands on your leadership and management skills.  Some leaders will fail; they won't be up to the demands. Others will shine and may look back on 2010 at a year that really fueled their career trajectory. Here are five tips that could ensure you're in the latter group: 1. Remember that it's not what - but who. The most important decisions you will make as a leader; are always about people.  You may think they're about systems, things, or money, but they aren't.  When I sit with clients and discuss the best and worst decisions they remember making, it's always the people ones.  Surrounding yourself with the best people is important at all times of course.  But during uncertain times - it's critical. 2. Don't tell.  Ask.  One of the traits rated most highly by those reviewing their bosses is that they are most likely to use "open-ended questions."  Those leaders who principally operate in a "telling" mode miss out on the opportunity to capitalize on new ideas.  2010 will need new ideas more than ever. 3. Step up to the plate. Once you've heard everyone's ideas/suggestions/concerns, etc., then you need to act like a leader.  As a leader, one of the things you're paid for is to make decisions.  And successfully implement them.  Show your team and your boss that you're up to the challenge.  It will result in your getting more opportunities at the plate.  More times "at bat" results in more opportunity for "home runs."  Baseball legend Babe Ruth learned this early on. 4. Don't focus on one great success. The best leaders, like the best organizations, usually do many things very well.  The ones who rise to greatness based on one success story usually flame out.  Learning to move forward in small steps that have strong foundations is always a sound approach - it's especially important during a period that's very difficult to forecast. 5.  Don't let your industry dictate your success. Or failure.  There are a lot of stories of failures today - individuals have crashed and burned, organizations have failed, entire industries are in chaos.  And yet, even in high-profile sectors that have been ravaged, like the auto industry and service sectors, there have been great success stories.  Check out Ford Motor's stock prices and the fact that they have the Car of the Year awards from several industry groups.  This is a turned-around company led by a guy with zero experience in this cutthroat business. As a leadership and business coach, I've seen how the power of one individual can make all the difference in the world to an organization.  You can do it, too.  Here's to a successful 2010!

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