The Strategic Process of Wasting Time

Last week, we spoke about authenticity in the workplace. Earlier this week, I authored a piece on the desire for Empathy from Leaders. Today, we will take this a step further...why must we be so dishonest in the workplace?

Think about it....we hold back emotion, frame language to sound more appropriate, dress a certain way, and neglect pointing to things with which we disagree. All because we don't want to be unprofessional.

I think we have it backwards! I think we should drop the bravado and get down to what helps us win!

Disclaimer: No, I am not advocating that you say what is on your mind, in any audience, at any time!

What I intend to impress upon you is that we waste a lot of time allowing "process" to trump common sense. We think ourselves experts, we design strategy....and we often forget common sense.

Here are 3 considerations for common sense in the workplace:
Exceptions to Expectations
The Real Reason You Care
Consideration of Audience

Rules, Rules, Rules.....
I remember over hearing an Administrator ask our General Manager if she had to fill out a report for the XYZ vendor approval.

To which he answered: "Yes, and what's the XYZ vendor approval?"


Must we have a formalized process in place to defend each and every decision we make? It may be conveyed that this is the best way to prioritize resources.....it really means we have to have documentation to cover our ass.

How much time is wasted on "process"?

We have meetings about meetings. You are held on the phone for 30 minutes to hear excuses from someone who does not have 30 minutes to complete the documentation you requested. Wouldn't it be refreshing if we could approve or deny business initiatives on the spot and move on with our day? Why can't we?

The Meltdown
I wish I had a dollar for every time I have seen an adult throw a tizzy fit. We are on the phone, web, or in a conference room deciding how to manage a particular project. Any ideas....?

Yeees, there are plenty of ideas, a whole lotta chiefs, and not nearly enough Indians. Are we genuinely focused on the team's success or do we just want our name stamped on a project. Do we think this directive will assist in organizational development or do we want the validation of having an idea adopted? Do we really need to conduct meetings about meetings or are we just there to speak and pretend to be part of something?

The boss is coming, act busy....
The most idiotic thing I've done as a professional is spouted my opposition to organizational directives in the presence of a Vice President. The VP didn't make his annual visit to hear about the mundane detail of my day, I had no evidence to support my claim, and my teammates cringed as I put myself on the 'people to fire' list.

There will be times when you can speak openly, there are co-workers with whom you can be completely honest, and there are times when you might have to stick up for yourself. But, consider your audience.

A VP doesn't want to hear excuses. Just because your friends think you are right doesn't mean they want you to speak on their behalf. You should respect the guy in the warehouse as much as the lady in the board room.

It comes down to this....we waste an inordinate amount of time on process and idea promotion. In reality, we don't care about either.

At some point we need to determine that there are things we cannot change. The best way to accept the inevitable is to smile, keep your mouth shut, and let those who do nothing pretend to be part of your success.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Show Up & Care

Why would anyone want to be a politician? To have your personal life opened up, to play audience to special interest groups and lobbyist, to constantly be under a microscope, for every decision to be questioned by the less talented...all for much less money than you made as a business leader?

As The Great Jesse Ventura put it, "If Not Me, Then Who?"

My skepticism of the position vs The Governor's optimism makes the case pretty clear:
There is Nothing Easy About Progress!

If everything was easy, we would all be drunk in the town square every day, celebrating our Utopia. We have all learned in recent times that the hours of thankless effort far exceed those spent celebrating in the sunshine. Therein lies our challenge. To put our heads down and progress knowing that the gold stars may be few and far between.

To develop the ability to win in the face of constant adversity with diminishing rewards is a task that less than 25% of American workers are willing to accept. When faced with the challenge of being Genuinely Engaged in your career you can ask yourself but one question:
"If Not Me, Then Who?"

Develop Metrics for Progress Beyond Results
Find Other Avenues
Know That the Willingness to Try Eliminates 75% of Your Competition

Encouragement in All Forms
In a recent survey I conducted regarding workforce engagement, respondents indicated that encouragement from one's peers is equally as important as that from one's manager. This is often because a Manager is caught up in finish line results...that's what pays the bills. There are metrics beyond revenue to get to revenue that when encouraged properly can produce long term success. Whereas, short term revenue may be a stroke of luck or a quick fix product dump.

It is vastly important for organizations to understand business critical behaviors more than just the results they produce. It is even more important to develop programming and training that enriches such behaviors instead of just analyzing results and brow beating assumed under-performers.

The Definition of Insanity
We have identified that life in business is not fair, especially in a floundering economy. Still businesses increase prices, increase quotas and figure that margins will justify themselves in accordance. The thought being....we don't need to produce if we can adjust what we currently have to make up for our lack of production. As such, your loyal customers suffer, your account support spends all day explaining unilateral decision making and your sales people make up for their lack of ability by selling the wrong products & services at the wrong prices to the wrong people....this is exactly how NOT to run a business.

We have to produce by means of DAILY development. Your goals are cemented, how you get there is up to you. Find new ways to penetrate the market, up-sell current customers, develop products and add value.

You can walk into a wall, run into a wall or find a pick axe and bust a whole in it.

Then Who?
A study by HR Solutions indicated that 25% of the workforce are engaged in their work. This seems like a high number. This means only 1 in 4 workers even care about the work they do....what an opportunity! If you know three quarters of the people you walk by every day don't even want to be part of the game, it should be really easy to win. All you really need to do is show up and care.

The odds are steep, the rewards diminishing and the future uncertain. The easy thing to do is give up. If you do then you open the door for the less skilled to take what is yours simply by default.

It is time to no longer accept what we cannot change and change it! To ignore the statistics that serve only to demotivate you, to set your own course, to derive hope from the ambivalence of others.

Show up, find a way and never stop moving forward!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

In Case You Forgot

Friends,
The purpose of the 'don't forget to remember' blog and my forthcoming book 'unzip your soul' is:
Elimination of mundane frustration in pursuit of ultimate purpose

Unfortunately, I am better at giving advice to others than accepting it for myself. So in my beloved cyberspace I challenge, get pissed and question. My intent often misinterpreted. My frustration still getting the best of me from time to time. The thing is: I love working...my job, my industry, the people for whom I work, the customers I have the pleasure to service. No kidding; getting up early, staying up late and all of the effort in between is a pleasurable existence for your humble narrator.

What comes along with a stringent work ethic and the according competitive drive is an intolerance. A lack of ability to accept those who are not candid with themselves. A driving ambition to question those with badges and the merit upon which they received said badge.

Here's What I Know to be True:
* Hard Work Pays Off
* Listen More Than You Talk
* Know Your Target Market

Endure
You can earn degrees and certifications, take cutting edge leadership courses, and read a million books. But, if you are not willing to work really hard all the time, your odds for success are in jeopardy.

Nothing beats rolling up your sleeves. You cannot do this a couple days a week. If you consistently work hard and endure the cycle of success/failure; you will ultimately find riches. Don't give up!


Two Ears and One Mouth
Whoever said 'Selling is Telling' was wrong! In fact, most premonitions of sales are wrong. It does not take dynamic presentation skills, harsh negotiating skills or a knack for numbers. All you have to do is listen more than you talk.

1. Know your prospect
2. Ask questions that feed their needs into your services
3. Help them discover the solution
4. Differentiate a mutually beneficial strategy
5. Give them all the credit

Get in Where You Fit In
You cannot sell crack to a junkie if you have no street smarts...nor can you position your solution to a fortune 500 company if you do not have Global bandwidth.

The frustration in Sales comes from wasted effort. Don't waste your time trying to be someone you are not. Find the companies whose needs suit your solution based on size, industry and market. Never pursue a sale with people who are jerks in the selling process - they will be terrible customers.

Take my advice, use frustration as fuel for your effort and find what works for you.

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

There Are No Experts

Do you ever see a profile of someone that proclaims them a "social media expert"?

Hmmm....can they really know everything there is to know about their craft, are they able to apply it to any customer situation and articulate a strategic solution in any conundrum...Maybe? Outliers says 10,000 hours of experience is a prerequisite to expertise. So, if I work 8 hour days (like that exists anymore) at any job for five years, I am technically an expert?

My question then becomes:
At what point do I lose my expertise badge?

Is not the world of business changing at a rapid pace. If a software suite is upgraded to 2.0, do I then have to put another 10,000 hours into learning the upgrade? If I get to the point where a particular situation stumps me, is my expert badge revoked? Is there an Outliers police that drops down from the sky and changes my Linked In profile to former expert?

Allow me to advise the experts out there:
People like to be heard before they are instructed!

If you march into their office and start preaching; you will offend them. This regardless of your education, how many books you have written or how many followers you have.

Get off your soap box, loosen up that tie and listen.

'Tis better to become an expert communicator than to pretend to know everything about everything. Here is a simple guide to doing just that:
* Listen
* Diagnose before you prescribe
* Empower your audience to be part of problem solving
* Don't be a pompous ass!

I quote the Great Benjamin Folds: "It's OK if you don't know everything"

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

Break the Mold

In an interview yesterday I was asked what was the best Tweet I ever saw.

Here it is:
@benjaminmccall - If I personally belived all statistics, then I wouldn't have accomplished anything! Break the mold.

Ben, like me, seems to be a guy who believes that convention is what got us in this mess in the first place. I am concerned that organizations are using this down time not to re-invent but to scale back. I am continually concerned that when things get better organizations will go back to the same old thing and hope it works this time.

In my consulting efforts I am always asked for 3 things:
References
Case Studies
Best Practices

People thirst for defendable statistics to take the guess work out of decision making. Essentially, "tell me what other companies are doing and we'll do that because if they decided it will work, it must".

If there is no where to go but up why not take a chance......if the other stuff didn't work why try it again....if everyone else is doing something and failing, does that make it right?...if Jack Welch jumped off a bridge.......(you get the idea)!

I know we're freaked out but FEAR will not move us forward, in fact, it will drag us back.

Be Bold, Be Couragious, Take a Chance.....Break the Mold!

Don't Forget to Remember!

Dave

References:
http://twitter.com/davidkovacovich
www.linkedin.com/in/davidkovacovich