Hello Wisconsin! - Presentation at the MRA Conference

Greetings from cold, rainy and 'hard-to-find-some-working-wifi' Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

I am here today to attend and present at the MRA's Annual Human Resources Conference titled : 'Take Your Game to the Next Level'. The MRA is a large professional employer's organization that serves members in the Midwest with development, learning, and other resources to help make them more effective.

An HR Conference being held at a baseball stadium with a 'sports' theme running all the way through the event? I am in!

My session is called 'Hitting the Curveball: Leadership in the Social Age', and is centered around some of the challenges that leaders and organizations face in the new world of openness and transparency, and offers some (I hope), useful suggestions for getting more comfortable and effective in this new environment.

I just uploaded the slides I will use today to Slideshare - you can take a look at them here, and they are also embedded below (email and RSS subscribers will need to click through to see the presentation).

Leadership in the Social Age - MRA

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Let me know what you think of the slides, it was not easy finding all the 'right' images to try and illustrate this topic.

Thanks very much to the great folks at MRA for inviting me to come to the event today, I just wish a Brewers game was on!

The Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy - Part V

The sage was at it again the other night during the Oklahoma City - Memphis NBA playoff game.

In case you don't know what I am referring to, former NBA head coach, and current TV analyst Jeff Van Gundy (JVG) dropped another bit of simple, yet essential knowledge about basketball that I think is also directly applicable to the workplace, management, and organizational dynamics.

By my reckoning, that is nothing new for JVG, and if you wish - you can check out the previous installments of the JVG 'wisdom' series here -  (Parts I, II, III, and IV).

But back to the story. During the game Oklahoma City forward Nick Collison made a smart play on defense to cause Memphis to lose the ball, hustled to the offensive end of the floor, and then positioned himself properly to make a scoring move when the ball was rotated to him in the flow of the offensive play. It was a brief series of actions that were not necessarily terribly athletic or skilled or even that remarkable, but as a kind of orchestrated series did add up to an excellent and winning (apologies Chas. Sheen) play.

Immediately after Collison, who is not a starting or star player on the team, completed the play, JVG observed that winning teams need guys like Collison, players that may not have all the physical skills of the top players on the team, but have found ways to contribute using capabilities and attributes that are mostly 'choices' and not simply genetic gifts.

The money line from JVG:

'Guys like Collison, guys that grind, are essential. The best ones are coachable, accountable, and professional. And you can win with guys like that.'

Coachable - willing to accept suggestions, able to make adjustments in style of play to fit the team goals, and cognizant that what may have worked in the past (in college, or on former pro team), might not be the desired behavior on the current team.

Accountable - understands the role, knows how the role impacts and contributes to the success of the team, makes the effort to put himself in the right situations, and simply does his job fully knowing the rest of the team depends on him to meet his objectives. And if other guys on the team, maybe the star players, are having an 'off' night, then he knows when to try and give a little more than normally needed.

Professional - in the narrow sense, we are all professional, i.e. we are paid to perform. But what JVG really meant was a level of personal integrity, pride, and dedication to himself as a player, to his teammates, and to the supporters of the team. This means showing up and giving your best effort even when times are tough, when the team is down, or when you are not meeting your personal objectives. It means being proud of your contribution in every game, and even every practice. It means setting an example for others to follow, even if you don't hold a formal title or leadership role.

Coachable, accountable, professional. All important. All under your control every day. Super talented people in any game or industry or field can get away with only one or two of these, and can still make incredible contributions to the organization. But if you are like most people, and are not in that rare category of naturally talented superstars, just focusing on being coachable, accountable and professional will go a long way in determining your success in any role.

And stacking your team, no matter what the game, with those kinds of players will make you look pretty smart as a leader as well.

And that my friends, is the Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy.

The Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy - Part IV

It has been a while, and certainly not for a lack of watching the NBA on ESPN on my part, but after a fairly long break, the latest installment of the ‘Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy’ series is back. JVG The Wise

As a reminder, Jeff Van Gundy (JVG), is a current analyst on ESPN’s NBA broadcast coverage, a former head coach of the New York Knicks and Houston Rockets, and a provider of consistently insightful observations and commentary on leadership, teamwork, and talent management.

Earlier installments of the JVG series can be found here - (Part I, Part II, Part III).

For this installment, I submit for your consideration an observation JVG made during a recent game telecast on the importance of star players to the overall (potential) success of the team -

If you want to be great, you have to have guys that are irreplaceable

JVG was talking about a basketball team, but I think the message and idea is broadly applicable to most workplace teams, whether they are creating systems, designing processes, or developing new and innovative products and services. ‘Irreplaceable’ is certainly relative, and in the workplace almost definitely transitory, as most groups do in fact carry on when star employees leave. But the essential idea that the team, in order to be truly great, (in basketball terms defined simply and clearly as winning championships), must have at least some superstar talent, and not just a collection of good, serviceable, and reliable players.

What are some of the implications of having irreplaceable talent?

Commitment - you have to be fully committed to acquiring, supporting, and quite frankly recognizing and rewarding top talent.  You have to, at times, demonstrate to these irreplaceable stars that you are willing to create an environment where they can showcase their talents and actually achieve great things.  You may have to bend or even break the rules sometime, as truly irreplaceable talent can take their talents to many willing and competing organizations. Finally, top talent often wants to go where other irreplaceable talent can be found. Just paying them may not be enough, (see James, LeBron).

Overall Talent Level - In sports, irreplaceable talent is often credited with raising the performance of the supporting cast.  In basketball this can be attributed to superior talent, e.g. making better passes that create easy shots for teammates, drawing more attention from opposing defenses, and inspiring other players to work harder and perform better to live up to the star’s standards and expectations. Making the rest of the team better is a trait ascribed to the very best basketball players, and I bet is also seen as a positive attribute of the best employees on any team. Whether its dealing with the toughest customers, solving the most complex issues, or skillfully navigating the company politics, irreplaceable talent creates a kind of vacuum effect that creates more opportunity for others to raise their games as well.

Confidence - As a basketball player when you walk into the locker room and you see a Magic Johnson or a Michael Jordan lacing up the sneakers, you are suddenly filled with confidence, enthusiasm, and belief that you are not only on a good team, but a great team that has the legitimate chance to win titles. Really successful workplace teams and organizations have the kind of talent, that one person that everyone can look to and (sometimes quietly), think ‘We got this, we have some superstar players on this team. Let’s get after it’.  When you have those kinds of situations, you had better treasure them, because one they are gone, and the ‘irreplaceable’ talent moves on, it can be a cruel shock.  As one-time Celtics coach Rick Pitino famously remarked after the departures of irreplaceable talent -  ‘Larry Bird is not walking through that door’.

It is often remarked and observed that organizations need solid workers, ones that come in every day, get the assigned work done on time and in an acceptable manner, don’t cause any trouble in the office, and go home. And that is certainly true. But an entire team, or organization, made up of these kind of role players is unlikely to be great, the kind of greatness that becomes transformative, enduring, and even legendary.  

If you want to be great, you have to have guys that are irreplaceable.

One last thing, JVG was clear to stress the ‘want’ part of the equation, simply having irreplaceable talent guarantees nothing, just a shot at greatness.

And that my friends, is the Wisdom of Jeff Van Gundy.

Lessons from Roadhouse

You remember ‘Roadhouse’ don’t you?  A classic film from 1989 that starred Patrick Swayze as Dalton, a barroom bouncer, (or more accurately a’cooler’) who takes on the daunting assignment of cleaning up a rough and tumble dive bar/club called the Double Deuce somewhere in rural Missouri, USA. When 'Not nice' time arrives

After doing some field observations of the bar, the employees, and the clientele (mainly consisting of leaning smugly against the bar and looking on as a series of brawls erupt), Dalton assumes his role as the cooler, and conducts his initial meeting with the team of bouncers. This is Dalton, the hotshot new team leader, recruited by the company owner himself, to lead a group of miscreants that for the most part is not all the happy to see him there.

At his first staff meeting (or what passes for a staff meeting at the Double Deuce), Dalton makes a measured and forceful speech about his managerial philosophy, his expectations of the team, and his feeling that all issues can be resolved by practicing and applying his time-tested principles and processes.  Kind of like Six Sigma for beating up drunken customers.

The highlight of the meeting and speech, is Dalton’s explanation of the three rules of nightclub security, which were exercised with varying degrees of success in the film (meaning, hardly at all), and also provide potential lessons for more general management and leadership of any kind of organizational team.  They also rank high on the unintentional comedy scale, because immediately after stating there are ‘three’ rules, Dalton really explains four different concepts, (I’ll label the extra item 1a).

Whatever, he is Dalton, counting is for losers.

Rule 1 - Don’t underestimate your enemy

The bouncers at the Double Deuce were used to simple fist fights with local drunks.  A hassle surely, but nothing too terribly hard to handle.  Once Dalton comes to town, somehow the caliber of thug goes way up.  The bad guys now seem to know some freaky martial arts (leveraging the pool cue as a weapon), and are way more of a challenge.

The problem was once Dalton started making an impact, the competitors and enemies of the DD now saw them as a threat more than an annoyance. Maybe your organization is a little plucky start up, under the radar but growing steadily.  Be careful of what might happen next, you may think you are beating your larger competitors but chances are they have not really noticed you yet, and have not yet begun their part of the fighting.  

Rule 1a - Expect the unexpected

How long did it take after your last staff meeting or planning session that you realized the decision you just made or the approach you just agreed to pursue has to be altered due to some unforeseen circumstance?  Fifteen minutes?  An hour?  Whatever the duration, the value of lengthy planning and strategizing often evaporates once the real world sets in.  Dalton rarely holds formal ‘planning’ meetings, most of the time is spent ‘doing’, and most of us should probably do the same.

Rule 2 - Take it outside

Unruly patrons, excessively drunk buffoons needed to be taken outside so as the disturbance and inevitable fight would not have too much detrimental effect on the bar, in terms of broken stuff and collateral damage.  The good customers would only see that the problem was handled, that Dalton and the staff were in charge, and they could continue to have a good time.  Problems in the workplace with staff or with customers often need to be handled the same way.  The team needs to know you will take care of issues when they arise, but don’t usually need to see and hear all the details of how you manage these situations.  A related lesson comes from the Godfather, when after the meeting with Solazzo, the Don takes Sonny aside and berates him privately, not in front of the lower level soldiers that Sonny still needs to command.

Rule 3 - Be nice. Until it isn’t time to be nice

Probably the simplest of Dalton’s rules, but the one that was the hardest for the bouncers to embrace. Be nice to the drunk that just threw a beer at me?  Not easy to do.  But Dalton was wise to know that in the long view, being nice as the initial reaction to conflict and adversity is a more sustainable and sane strategy.  Sure, at the Deuce the ‘time to not be nice’ came pretty fact, usually before the ‘take it outside’ rule could be exercised, but still it eventually helped Dalton and the team reach their (admittedly low) goals.  In the workplace I would also substitute the word ‘panic’ for nice in the rule and it would also apply.

There you have it, Dalton’s rules of management.  Hopefully in your practice of HR or management, or leadership, or coaching your 7 year old’s soccer team you won’t have to put these rules to the test by breaking bottles of Jack Daniels over people’s heads, or crushing them to death with a giant stuffed polar bear.

Does Technology Change Everything?

Over the weekend I watched the archive of a presentation given by Allen Delattre, Global Market Managing Director for Technology for Executive Search firm Korn/Ferry at last week's GigaOm Net:Work conference in San Francisco.

In the presentation Delattre makes some interesting predictions about the increasing impact of the major technological shifts that enable (or perhaps require) organizations to grow more global, collaborative, and virtual, while acknowledging that 'virtualization' and 'collaborative' have become so overused as terms that they have lost some of their punch. But despite this, the very real effect and impact on new technology from social, to mobile, to collaborative has had on organizations, augmented by the growing influence of the Gen Y and Milennial cohorts, have created such a new environment and set of challenges that the fundamental human resources issues of leadership development, identification of high potentials, and succession management all need to adapt to this new, technology-based reality. 

Delattre sees the ability to understand and successfully implement these new technologies as not only critical to organizational growth and survival, but that the most successful leaders of the future will be the ones that are best able to assess, adapt, synthesize, and implement new technologies to support business strategy and to unleash the best performance from employees.  And since the technology landscape continues to evolve and change so rapidly, Delattre theorizes that traditional organizational succession planning approaches that often emphasize 'coming up through the ranks' and often taking rotational assignments in different parts of the organization will no longer be the best way to find and groom future leaders. His remark that successors for big-time CIO positions used to count on 'surviving that SAP project and bringing in it only at double the original budget' is both sad and amusing.

This is a simple and really direct argument that the technology itself, is a primary driver and leader of the massive changes in organizational structures and that it presents significant impact on the nature of leadership and talent management.  When these kind of 'technology changes everything' speeches come from hot tech companies, or from systems integrators that stand to benefit greatly from the consulting and advisory fees they stand to earn from helping clients navigate the myriad choices on offer, you would be forgiven for taking the remarks with a grain of salt.  But when a Managing Director of a leading executive search firm makes the case that technology leadership is a fundamental and an imperative for tomorrow's leaders, then perhaps a second listen is warranted.

You can take a look at Delattre's presentation at NET:Work below, be warned, the first few minutes are a series of 'Did You Know?' style statistics about globalization, economic, and demographics.  I think by now we all get the idea the world is changing pretty rapidly. Delattre's remarks start at about 4:10. 

What do you think?  Do these new technologies present not just better ways of getting things done but rather a core and enduring change in what tomorrow's leaders must understand and master?