The 8020Info Water Cooler

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The 8020Info Water Cooler
Issue #100 - Vol. 7 No. 03
5 March, 2007

On April 28, 2001, we launched the 8020Info Water Cooler, and this issue marks the 100th edition. To commemorate the occasion, we asked members of the 8020Info consulting team to select some of their favourite Zingers from those years, which you'll find in an expanded Zingers section after our feature articles. Whether this is your hundredth issue or first, we hope every issue of the Water Cooler brings you the best of new actionable ideas that will serve your needs.

1. Leading Clever People

Success these days requires a clever team. But leading clever people can be difficult. It helps to understand them -- notably, the seven fundamental traits that Ron Goffee and Gareth Jones of the London Business School highlight in Harvard Business Review:

They know their worth. Their tacit skills can't be transferred to others without their active assistance.

They are organizationally savvy. They will look for ways within the organization to get the funding they need for their projects, even engaging in elaborate politics to advance those pet ideas.

They ignore corporate hierarchy. You can't motivate them with titles or promotions. But they do care about status, and may insist on being called "doctor" or "professor" if they have those qualifications.

They expect instant access to the CEO, or otherwise will assume the organization doesn't take their work seriously.

They are well connected, plugged into highly developed knowledge networks. Who they know may be as important as what they know. The networks increase their value to the organization but may also make them a flight risk.

They have a low boredom threshold. You must engage them and inspire them with organizational purpose, or they will bolt.

Even if you are leading them well, they won't say thank you. After all, they are clever and don't think they need to be led.

2. How To Create Accountability Top

Leaders are always searching for ways to increase accountability to get the results they need. On The CEO Refresher, consultant Bob Prosen suggests the following steps:

Establish the organization's top three objectives. They should be clear, concise, measurable, and obtainable.

Assign each team member his or her respective objectives. Your people need to know what they are being asked to do. When combined, those assignments should allow the organization to meet its top objectives. "In other words, the sum of the parts must be equal to or greater than the whole," he says.

Ask each team member what he or she needs in order to win. To help your team members achieve their objectives, you must remove the roadblocks in their way. Do this by having each team member identify -- in writing -- a maximum of three things they need to attain their objectives.

Agree on what the leader will do to help. Meet individually with each team member to clarify the roadblocks and agree on dividing responsibility for objectives. As leader, you have to assume some responsibility for subordinates achieving their goals.

Follow up, scheduling monthly meetings for each direct report with colour-coded progress updates -- green for where the subordinate is above the plan and red for where results are below expectations. Also, hold quarterly meetings with all direct reports to discuss lessons learned, identify new critical roadblocks, and make specific offers to help any team member behind plan. Finally, reward those who succeed.

3. How To Deal With An Irate Person    Top

When somebody is out of control, the general instinct is to calm our own voices to model the desired state we want that person to have. The assumption is that the other person will match us, leading to a calm and logical conversation. But on his Open Loops blog, school principal Bert Webb -- who has to deal with his share of angry people -- says it doesn't work.

Instead, he recommends the "pace and lead" approach, matching the person's intensity and emotions initially, without necessarily agreeing. So if the delivery person scratched the new dryer, the customer service response is: "They what!? You've got to be kidding! If that happened, it's unacceptable!" After that connection is made, de-escalate the intensity to a normal level, leading the complainant to a more conducive state for settling the matter.

4. Getting Innovative Ideas On The Table     Top

In his company's newsletter, Donald Cooper shares an idea for luring innovative ideas from staff that he picked up at a recent conference of marine operators. At each monthly staff meeting, the CEO puts a $50 bill on the table, and each employee suggests one idea to improve the business. It can be a customer service idea, an improvement in processes or systems, or some other suggestion to make gains. At the end, everyone votes on the winner, who pockets the $50. The average meeting generates 10 good ideas, at a cost of $5 each.

5. Zingers    Top

For our 100th Water Cooler, we asked our associates to recall some of their favourite Zingers from past issues. Rob Wood, CEO of 8020Info Inc, leads it off by citing:

Companies don't buy; people do.
(Source: Selling Power) Issue 72

Want to improve implementation? End every meeting with five crucial words: "What are our next steps?"
(Source: Smart Marketing blog) Issue 82

The most prized form of recognition by employees is a "Thank You," according to a report on an employee-run recognition program at St. Joseph's Hospital in Atlanta that raised morale and customer service.
(Source: Pay for Performance Report) Issue 55

Consultant Donald Cooper says "advertising is creative bragging! Lots of businesses think that they have an advertising problem when what they really have is a fundamental marketing problem. They aren't doing anything worth bragging about."
(Source: The Donald Cooper Corporation Newsletter) Issue 70

Don't schedule many meetings or other deadline-critical activities for the day you return from your vacation. Allow yourself time to re-enter the work force gradually, catching up on e-mail and obtaining updates on projects.
(Source: HR Focus) Issue 57

Patricia Wong, Advisory Board Member:

Verne Harnish, founder of the Young Entrepreneurs Organization, recommends starting meetings at odd times like 8:08 a.m., because people are more likely to show up on time when it's not scheduled for the half or quarter hour.
(Source: Profit) Issue 41

When using a marked-up copy to correct a document on your computer, start with the last correction and work your way to the beginning. You'll spend less time hunting for your place in the document since making a correction won't affect the position of the next one.
(Source: Tricks of The Trade blog) Issue 78

Leave your call-back number first thing in a voice mail message, so if the recipient has to play it back he or she doesn't have to listen to the whole message.
(Source: David Allen's Salon) Issue 84

Paul Blais, Consulting Associate (and Principal, Blais & Associates)

To build trust quickly in the sales process, consultant Alice Wheaton recommends disclosing some information about yourself (since people can't trust the unknown), and making a small promise that you quickly keep.
(Source: Small Business Canada) Issue 37

A nine-year study of middle-age men at risk for coronary disease found those who failed to take vacations had a higher risk of death from any cause than those who took regular vacations. A lack of vacations was also a predictor of heart attacks and early death among 749 women studied over 20 years.
(Source: The Wall Street Journal) Issue 38

The number one factor in working productively with anyone, and especially with an assistant, is that the handoffs between you must be tightly defined and maintained: It needs to be "real clear" whether you or the other person has the next action on something -- who has the ball.
(Source: Davidco.com) Issue 38

Alison Sortberg, 8020Info Consulting Associate

Fifty-nine per cent of complaining customers want an apology but only 5 per cent receive one.
(Source: Entrepreneur) Issue 47

Partner Chris Staples of Rethink advertising says that if he were to throw one ping-pong ball at you, you'd probably catch it, but if he were to throw five at the same time you probably wouldn't catch any of them. Most ads and marketing messages have at least five ping-pong balls, which is why they don't stick.
(Source: Profit) Issue 72

Donna Gillespie, Consulting Associate

Nestle USA has taken a step away from the tyranny of constant meetings by banning them after 10:00 a.m. on Friday. Instead, employees are freed to think about strategy and concentrate on priorities for the coming week.
(Source: Fast Company) Issue 3

Some research shows that people have to see or hear a message eight times before it registers with them.
(Source: Communication Briefings) Issue 20

Group outgoing phone calls. Setting aside an hour in the morning to do phoning is more efficient than making a call here and there throughout the day.
(Source: HomeBusiness Journal) Issue 36

Webster's Dictionary defines client as "one who comes under your care, guidance and protection." Columnist Sean D'Souza notes "it doesn't say someone you need to get money or make profits from. It asks, even beseeches, you to care, protect and guide your clients, like you would with your own child."
(Source: MarketingProfs.com) Issue 38

Deborah Melman-Clement, Consulting Associate

Research by Watson Wyatt Worldwide found that companies with the most effective employee communications program have significantly lower turnover rates than their peers.
(Source: Pay for Performance Report) Issue 51

Don't growl when the phone interrupts you for the umpteenth time. Answer with a smile, no matter how difficult that is.
(Source: Management Today) Issue 67

A sign that you are maturing is when you get feedback and appreciate it.
(Source: Heather's Marketing and Finance blog) Issue 75

Danielle van Dreunen, Advisory Board Member:

Jack Everly, who often guest conducts the National Arts Centre Orchestra, says his management style blends approaches from his three key teachers: one was patient, another a taskmaster, and another filled with passion.
(Source: Canadian Government Executive) Issue 71

Harvey Schachter, Consulting Associate

Research shows you shouldn't warn an audience in advance that the message they are about to hear is intended to change their mind, since it only puts listeners in an unreceptive or more critical frame of mind and dilutes the persuasiveness of your talk.
(Source: Harvard Management Communication Letter) Issue 11

Ask staff these two questions often: "Do you feel you're treated well?" and "What can I do to make your job easier?"
(Source: Communication Briefings) Issue 25

When considering the purchase of an office chair, don't just sit in it for a few minutes. Arrange to test at least two models for a day or two in your office, to really get an accurate evaluation
(Source: The Occupational Adventure blog) Issue 27

Next time you catch yourself saying "that won't work" to some new idea, ask yourself "if I had to make it work, how would I do it?"
(Source: Harvard Management Communication Letter) Issue 74

6. Q & A with 8020Info Top

Question: What are the most important skills we need from our board of directors?

8020Info consultant Harvey Schachter responds:

Boards increasingly are preparing charts or grids with the important skills and experience they need in areas such as marketing, finance and human resources as well, in not-for-profits, the constituencies that should be represented. But I think it pays to be alert to the dynamics of boards, and the importance of finding the right balance between people who will challenge and people who will collaborate. Ideally, you want people who can do both, but just as we seek specialists in other areas, we will often need to seek specialists skilled in collaboration or unconventional thinking.

Richard Leblanc, a professor at York who sat in on board meetings as part of his PhD research, found 10 behavioural types common to boards -- five that you want to recruit, and five that you want to avoid.

The five you want are:

Change Agents: They think broadly about the future directions in which the organization should go and are catalysts for fundamental change when needed.

Consensus Builders: They get along well with almost all board members and act as a conciliator when tension occurs.

Counsellors: They may not speak a great deal at board meetings but have high credibility that allows them to work out problems, generally behind the scenes.

Challengers: They are well prepared and ask tough but fair questions, challenging managers as well as fellow directors.

Conductors: This is the role for the board chair, who must be the hub for board activity, be flexible in dealing with the other behavioural types, and guide the board through its deliberations.

Who don't you want? He found five types: Controllers, who are generally dissatisfied, determined to dominate, and interrupt others; conformists, who are co-operating but non-performing directors who support the status quo without taking part in discussion; cheerleaders, who constantly praise the organization and everyone associated with it; critics, who constantly complain, in a poisonous way; and caretaker chairs, who can't manage the board, either because they are distant and non-performing, or controlling and disruptive.
My own feeling is that boards are least able to find, and support, challengers. So I'd list them as the people that boards generally need to seek, but the reality is you need a balance of all types of personalities, as well as the mix of functional skills we traditionally seek.

7. News From Our Water Cooler: Top

We started the Water Cooler with the hope of sharing with clients and friends some of the great ideas we were spotting in the course of our reading. The goal was to present ideas that would be practical and actionable -- things you could put to use fairly immediately, or that would change your thinking and therefore your actions. Today, there are many electronic newsletters, but we are constantly heartened by the special place the 8020Info Water Cooler has in recipients' hearts -- the generous praise it draws, and the pass-along readership that leads to new subscribers. With 100 issues under our belt, we'll start the next 100 in three weeks with a special issue on marketing.

8. Closing Thought Top

"The only person who likes change is a baby with a wet diaper."
--Mark Twain