Micromanagement is usually scorned. But in The Leader's Edge Newsletter, consultant Stephanie Smith says it's not synonymous with bad management and has some advantages. You know exactly what is happening at all times. It can be empowering if you use micromanagement on projects to train an individual or group to do something well that they have never done before. It also helps build trust with staff, since they will be less anxious in trying new skills if they know you are around to help out.

The key is to know when to micromanage. It has a purpose and place when:

• Staff do not have the maturity to maintain progress or initiate a remedy on their own if a snag occurs.
• The stakes are high and people are learning new skills.
• You are put in charge of a group you didn't hire or that is known to be problematic.

If you decide to micromanage -- after considering carefully whether it is appropriate -- she stresses you must own the choice and enjoy the results.

Finally, she advises you to deploy micromanaging as a tactic, not a strategy. If you decide to micromanage for a period, openly state the reasons: "Until we work out the kinks in our new medical testing procedures, I'm going to keep a close eye on the process because I want to troubleshoot errors immediately. But after we analyze the first three months of data together, and we are comfortable with the results, I will delegate more responsibility to you."

See: http://www.amanet.org/performance-profits/editorial.cfm?Ed=714#blank

In the business world, market forces serve as feedback mechanisms, telling companies how they are doing and where effort should go. But leaders and employees of non-profits are constantly being pulled in different directions to serve multiple constituencies.

Missions, not markets, are driving forces, but in a Harvard Business Review article consultants Jeffrey Bradach, Thomas Tierney and Nan Stone note that "missions are typically better at providing inspiration than direction." In response to the growing pressure on non-profits to demonstrate they are achieving results, the consultants suggest leaders should be able to answer four key questions:

• Which results will we be held accountable for? You must translate the organization's mission into goals that are simultaneously compelling enough to attract ongoing support from stakeholders and specific enough to help you allocate resources.
• How will we achieve results? Explain how the organization, working alone or with others, will achieve the intended impact.
• What will results really cost, and how can we fund them? You may have a theory of change -- what you can accomplish, and how -- but if you can't fund it properly your theory will end up dead in the water.
• How do we build the organization we need to deliver results? You must bring funding and strategies into alignment, clearly articulating what the organization needs in the way of financial resources and identifying appropriate sources.

See: http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/

Negotiating expert Michael Sloopka says that you're more likely to be successful in bargaining if you apply the principle of bracketing. That involves ensuring that your proposal is an equal distance on the other side of your objective as the other side's proposal.

For example, if an antique dealer is asking $1,200 for an antique desk you covet, and you are willing to pay $1,000, you should offer $800. If you want a 5 per cent pay hike, ask your boss for 10 per cent. "So often in little things and in big things, we end up splitting the difference," he writes in his Negotiating Coach newsletter.

It's vital to get the other side to state its position first. Otherwise, when you give your position first, the other side can bracket you and gain its objective. "Get the other person to state his or her position first. It may not be as bad as you fear, and it's the only way you can bracket his or her proposal," he stresses.

See: http://www.negotiatingcoach.com/index.html

If you manage salespeople, Consultant Colin Wilson says there are three questions you need to ask in sales reviews:

• If you want your mission statement to have power, advertising guru Roy H. Williams suggests you follow the U.S. Declaration of Independence and tell people what it excludes. After listing four things the founders felt were self-evident, that hallowed document listed 28 things Americans were against and felt strongly enough to fight for.
  (Source: www.mondaymorningmemo.com)
• Honesty is a habit, advises Keith Sharp, UK and European marketing director for Tata Consultancy Services: "It's like when you are driving a car. You need to be in the habit of putting the indicators on when you are turning left. You need to do it always and not just when you are in heavy traffic.
  (Source: http://www.managementtoday.co.uk/news/812966)
• When hiring, try to speak with a minimum of four references. Listen for tone: Are the answers enthusiastic? Listen for important pauses that might indicate the person is wondering how to answer a question.
  (Source: http://www.justtellmehowtomanage.com/)
• In evaluating metrics, many people focus on the average or the median. But the more important figure may be the range. For example, if you have a customer who waited a day for your product and one who waited five years, it indicates your process is not under control. (Source: The Tatham Group web site)
  (Source: http://tathamgroup.wordpress.com/2008/07/24/finding-the-right-metrics-to-avoid-analysis-paralysis/ )
• Sales trainer Wendy Weiss says never use the word "appointment" when trying to set one up. Instead, use the word "meeting," which sounds more professional and important. (Sideroad.com)
  (Source: http://www.sideroad.com/)

Numbers can beguile. They can deceive. As one of the tips in today's Zingers remind us, collecting numbers must be paired with considering how to evaluate them. Or considering when to ignore them: It's easy for leaders to get in a lather over perfectly normal fluctuations in sales figures, for example.

That being said, numbers also help us to keep track of how we're doing -- if we pick the numbers that give us insight, and understand them. They can also be a spur to action: You can promise you will improve staff development, for example, but seeing a figure every month will keep you honest to your commitment. It might show the total money spent, how many conferences are being attended or how many people are turning up at brown bag development sessions you hold at lunch hour.

Scorecards can be used effectively by governments and non-profits as well as businesses. Robert Kaplan and David Norton popularized them in their series of books on The Balanced Scorecard. The premise was that the exclusive reliance on financial measures by management was prompting organizations to do the wrong things, because financial measures are lag indicators, reporting on outcomes that are the result of past actions.

The Balanced Scorecard supplemented financial measures with a broader range of performance drivers - be it lowering production costs, cutting errors, or improving customer satisfaction -- which served as lead indicators of future financial results.

They pointed to four areas, or perspectives, from which measures must be drawn: Financial, customer dealings, internal operations, and learning and development. But you don't need to be bound by those, and can pick whatever drivers you choose.

The key is that they truly drive your organization's success, and that you can find measures that chart that progress. Those then become a dashboard that you look at regularly -- daily, weekly, or monthly -- in the same fashion you look at the dashboard in your car when driving. Some measures, like your speedometer, will be looked at more frequently or with greater urgency, while others, like your oil gauge, will be checked less regularly and only be acted upon when an alert arises.

Some organizations aim for the figures to be presented on one piece of paper, coloured like traffic lights so you can tell at a glance where things are fine (green), where you need to be on alert (orange) and where there's danger (red).

A golden opportunity lies in then cascading these figures down to your staff, helping them to understand their contribution to your success by giving them personal scorecards. That helps align staff with what you are trying to achieve. But it's an easier concept to muse about than to put into operation, and requires you to consider your ability to establish and maintain an effective performance management system.

This past week we were delighted to have a chance to work with the United Way to present a strategic planning workshop for almost 30 participants from 16 public sector organizations.

What came out early in the discussion is that many executive directors, public sector planners and board chairs have suffered through their past strategic planning experiences. They were tired of same-old SWOT exercises (a scan of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats), bored with pointless mission statements and often frustrated by human dynamics. It seemed that strategic planning, while crucial, ranked somewhere between a snore and a root canal dental procedure.

Our view is that strategic planning discussions should be invigorating and energy-releasing, which happens when you focus on the "forks in the road". These are the key choices and sticking points that must be decided to provide focus for the whole organization's effort.

Many tools are available, from effort/payoff matrices to brainstorming "canvas" techniques, tools for developing strong value propositions, and "3 x 3" frameworks (boiling down all strategy-making to just three overall directions or priorities, each with only three objectives).

8020Info helps teams develop, communicate and implement more effective strategies. We would be pleased to discuss your needs and welcome enquiries at (613) 542-8020, or by email at watercooler@8020info.com.

"Everyone is entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts."

   - Daniel Moynihan