Customer Feedback Needed

I’m really looking forward to a week away with Annie from Saturday 2nd August. We will be leaving our two dogs and the house in the capable hands of my in-laws Eric and Pauline.

We are going on a residential acting summer school in Harrogate – should be fun!!

I was having an email conversation with David Wike and David rightly feels I should leave something ‘meaty’ on Simplicity Blog for hearty and meaningful discussion over a few virtual beers (wine for the more sophisticated among you).

So … having thought about it for at least 2 minutes I am going to ask you to discuss what sort of stuff you like to see on the Simplicity Blog – what works – what doesn’t etc.

I am always going on about my passion for finding out what customers think so please don’t be backward with your advice - as if you would have any hesitation anyway.

Discuss it among yourselves to your heart’s content while I am away.

Needless to say I'll try hard to resist visiting a PC next week but if I do manage to find an odd moment or two I may join in the conversation from sunny Yorkshire.

Enjoy the discussion and of course .... all the drinks are on David Wike!!!

Couldn't Resist!

Complexity
Annual Conference 2008

Directions to the venue for pedestrians:

Walk straight ahead for 139.53 metres and then turn left. Walk for another 73.86 metres and turn right. On your left you will notice a three story building with an overall cubic measurement of 2137 square metres, not to be mistaken for the building next door which as you will appreciate is only 2135 square meters. Walk past these two buildings for 63.87 metres and you will see facing you the Main Entrance to the Conference Centre. All regular Complexity Conference attenders will immediately notice the right hand door of the double door entrance is hung at 89.832 degrees upright rather than 90 degrees – forgive us for that. You may rest assured the carpenter will not be awarded further contracts with us.

You have now reached the venue.

For registration purposes please bring with you three forms of identity, one of which must be your 1000 Page Corporate Complexity Manual entitled ‘How to Boil an Egg' which as you know is one of the 79 Corporate Complexity Manuals you received as part of your induction pack when you joined us.

Do enjoy this year’s conference and please take four hours at the end of the conference to complete the 75 page evaluation form. This will ensure we plan future conferences with equal complexity.

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Simplicity
Annual Conference 2008

Directions to the venue for pedestrains:

Follow arrows please

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The joy of being appreciated

Regular readers of my Simplicity Blog will remember a few weeks ago I posted my thoughts on the Pain of Learning. This was about some poor feedback we had after one of our Trust Me I’m a Patient workshops.

This morning in my email inbox came this from the person who commissioned our latest Trust Me I’m a Patient workshop yesterday morning.

‘Thanks so much for such a fun and useful workshop. I had a great time and am really pleased it went so well. The few people on my floor that also attended were still buzzing when they got back – it was the talk of the office for the afternoon! Feedback was fantastic and it was wonderful to see everyone engaging and having fun’.

So my posting today is not about the pain of learning but about the joy of being appreciated.

Say 'thank you' to someone today - they will enjoy the feeling - you might just make their day. And I suspect you will feel good for doing it

Article Published - New technology - friend or foe?

My monthly Simplicity article on Training Zone.co.uk is published today – comments on the Training Zone Site welcomed!

Click here to access the article and to comment

Simplicity solves problem & saves money!

I've never been stupid enough to suggest complexity doesn’t exist.

It’s just that sometimes our mindset and our actions promote what I would call the myth of complexity when solutions are actually very simple and quite often staring us in the face. I am indebted to my great friend Sriram Kannan in Hong Kong for these two absolutely wonderful examples of what I am trying to say.

Thank you Sriram - I love this!!

Case 1

When NASA began the launch of astronauts into space, they found out that the pens wouldn't work at zero gravity (ink won't flow down to the writing surface). To solve this problem, it took them one decade and $12 million. They developed a pen that worked at zero gravity, upside down, underwater, in practically any surface including crystal and in a temperature range from below freezing to over 300 degrees C.

And what did the Russians do....?? They used a pencil.

Case 2

One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management was the case of the empty soapbox, which happened in one of Japan’s biggest cosmetics companies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a soapbox that was empty. Immediately the authorities isolated the problem to the assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department. For some reason, one soapbox went through the assembly line empty. Management asked its engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high-resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soapboxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty. No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent whoopee amount to do so.

But when a rank-and-file employee in a small company was posed with the same problem, he did not get into complications of X-rays, etc., but instead came out with another solution. He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan on, and as each soapbox passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.

Moral:

1 Always look for simple solutions.

2 Devise the simplest possible solution that solves the problems.

3 Always focus on solutions & not on problems.

Simplicity Blog in the Top 100

I was delighted to hear from one of my Simplicity friends John O'Leary that Simplicity Blog has been selected as one of the "Top 100 Management and Leadership Blogs" by HR World.

Click here for the evidence!

I'm never quite sure about these polls and who selects the Blogs but I am nevertheless thrilled to be mentioned in the same company as two of my heroes Tom Peters and Seth Godin.

I was particularly pleased that Simplicity Blog was in the category Creativity and Inspiration.

No fawning over Trevor please .... Compliments are very nice but just send me money....ONLY JOKING FOLKS!

PS - This is posting number 850 since I started Simplicity Blog in January 2005.

Simplicity and Google

I am indebted to my good friend Steve Sherlock in the US for tipping me off about a recent article. In the article, Google Executive, Marissa Mayer celebrates 'simplicity' as one of the most important principles in the success of Google.

There are critics who say simplicity is a ‘dated’ concept and that the world is really far more complex than people like me make out. We are all of course entitled to our opinion.

I am not stupid enough to think there is no such thing as complexity but I maintain with a passion that we make things far more complicated than they need to be.

Thanks again Steve for tipping me off – you can read what Marissa Mayer of Google thinks about simplicity by clicking here.

Friend of Simplicity - Dave Wheeler

My Friend of Simplicity interview today is with a good friend and fellow simplifier Dave Wheeler who lives in Little Rock Arkansas in the United States. I met Dave a few months ago through the Tom Peters Blog. He and I immediately hit it off as two people sharing similar opinions about leadership, front line employees and simplicity.

TREVOR: Hi Dave – Tell me a little about your career.

DAVE: Well, the majority of my professional life was spent in the U.S. Air Force. The first 12 of my 24 years were spent as an Aircrew Life Support/Survival Training specialist. We inspected and maintained a wide variety of aircrew survival equipment from oxygen gear, life rafts, survival kits, and parachutes for example. We loaded tons of equipment on aircraft. But the best part of this field was training. We trained them how to use the equipment, how to escape and evade and how to survive in five different biomes. I essentially got paid to go camping in places like Guam, Thailand, the Philippines, and got to duct tape officers to trees when they screwed up in evasion scenarios. It gets no better than that.

My last 12 years were spent as the military equivalent of a Business Consultant. The title was Director of Quality, Performance, and Productivity Management. I worked directly with Group and Squadron Commanders to "design and deploy" a complete performance management systems for their each organizations in the part of the wing. We started at senior leader level worked down to the lowest frontline group they had. I also trained and certified an “in house” consultant to keep them on track and moving forward. I facilitated strategic and human resource plans, built balanced scorecards of key performance metrics, customer and supplier identification and relationship management strategies, survey design, semi-annual audits of their systems to find strengths and areas for improvement, and training, training, training were the basics. It was the best job on the planet and an invaluable "hands on" education on the challenges and barriers to "doing” effective leadership on the job from the Boardroom to the Floor. I sometimes will pick up a book on leadership and management and wonder "Buddy, have you ever seen a workplace or spoken to a frontliner in your life?” Many can tell you a bunch about "what" to do, but they often don't have a great deal to say about the specifics of execution, the “why’s" or the “hows". I think that's the one thing the "Boardroom to Floor" scope of the consultant's role gave me. After leaving the military I went to back to school, was the Warehouse and Delivery Manager for a furniture store for a time, and have spent the past 6 years progressively as a customer service representative/technical support specialist/Manager/Training Manager in the Telecommunications industry. Decades of leadership and management experience to be sure. Blue collar and frontline to the core.... that would be me!

TREVOR: What stirred your initial interest in leadership?

DAVE: I think the one thing that unites everyone who has had a job is that at some point we have said to ourselves "if I ever get to be in charge here, things would be different". We had a list of things in mind we would change if we had the chance. . Funny thing is those lists were usually 1000% on point as to what the real issues were or what needed to be done to work smarter, more productively, and more efficiently. This is why I went straight to the folks on the frontline when I was told to figure out a way to work around a 25% reduction in staffing and 18% less funding. I always told myself if I ever got to a supervisor position, I would not forget what it was like to sit in that chair on the frontline and I would be the leader that I wanted to work for. I’ve managed to keep that attitude in every job I’ve had and it has served me well. I worked for some terrific leaders early in my career who kind of went against the "rank=knowledge" paradigm of the military and gave me a opportunity to “get out of the chair” and do some low level leading on some project teams. My interest in leadership was simple. First, I wanted to make sure I didn’t disappoint the folks who showed trust and confidence in me. Second, I didn’t want to go back to that frontline chair. The Air Force is unique in the fact that although, I was a relatively senior enlisted person the position I had essentially made me the V.P. of Quality. I had a seat at the conference table with “the big guys” and was a regular backbencher in meetings with the even bigger guys. I was able to listen, watch and learn. There are few folks I respect more than the Air Force officer corps from the lowest ranking Lieutenant to the most senior General Officer. The competition for advancement begins day one and the slightest mis-step can effectively keep a person from getting a position of command. They were generally assigned to a unit for 2-3 years and then move on. In that period that get constant assessments of their units performance, a degree of accountability not seen in the corporate world today. I was definitely lucky to work for and learn from some terrific leaders and I got to observe up close some terrific bad examples as well.

TREVOR: I know you are a great advocate of the Baldrige Quality Framework – can you briefly outline why you think this is important in a business?

DAVE: Well, to put it “Simplicity” I hope, if you have read a book about management or business practices over the past 30 or 40 years you will notice a few recurring themes. They talk about the need of involved and engaged leadership, customer focus and relationship management, data driven decision making, strategic planning, employee well being and satisfaction, managing the processes that produce your products and services, and using a balanced scorecard of metrics to continuously monitor and improve performance. These are the seven core things that an organization “manages”; it’s the stuff that we do on a daily basis. Most management books tell you what to do. They offer little as to why it is important and even less on how to go about doing it. That’s why The National Malcom Baldrige Quality Award’s Criteria for Performance Excellence is such a “value added” tool.

What exactly is the Baldrige Quality Framework? The Criteria for Performance Excellence is a framework that any organization, in any industry, of any size can use to design, “deploy”, and continuously improve a “world class” closed loop performance management system. Oh, and it’s free as well. Each of those seven core items listed above is addressed as a part of the system. The system has two pieces. There is a Leadership Triad that is the leadership, strategic planning, and customer and market focus categories make up. This is the piece of the puzzle that Senior Leadership is responsible and accountable for in any organization anyway. The “Results Triad” are the things that Senior Leadership and the rest of the organization “do” to produce the products and services the company is in business to produce. The categories in the this part are employee focus, process management and the actual data of the “balanced scorecard” of key customer, operational, financial, work force, and process/supplier data. The Measurement, Analysis, and Knowledge Management category is the data driven decision-making piece. It gives the management system the agility and continuous improvement capacity to react and adjust quickly to changes in customer needs and expectations or the competitive environment. Nothing difficult about the basics to be sure, just a better way of organizing the stuff we need to be doing anyway.

Why is a systems based approach a better way of doing business? In many organizations stuff often gets done in isolation. How often do key initiatives not get funded, or folks don’t get the training or other tools needed to produce good results? How many people look at a vision statement or mission statement and not see where their job links to the big picture? “That would be all the time Dave” you reply? The major benefit of a systems based approach is it enables all levels to link and align with company strategy. The Senior Leadership of air mobility might say departure reliability is a strategic imperative. If my army customer is waiting at “Base A” and needs to be in place at “Base B” with x number of troops and equipment at x hour, we had best be launching our planes on time from my base to be at Base A on time to get them moved. My piece of the puzzle in Life Support to make sure planes left on time was to make sure they were properly configured with all the survival equipment required for that type of mission and insuring all aircrew members were certified and current in their training. The Wing Leaders strategic imperative became one of mine so I could plan, train, and allocate resources to make sure that a late departure wasn’t because we didn’t do our job. Aircraft provisioning and aircrew training became key processes that we monitored and continuously tried to improve. Knowing the CRITICAL processes enabled me to identify the customers and suppliers for each. I knew their requirements and limitations, who to talk to for feedback or get involved in trying to do it better. A great snowball effect and possible only because we could align and link to what was really critical rather than spend time on the worthless many. Systems rule!

How does it work? Go out to www.nist.gov and you’ll see the link to the National Quality Award site. Next, just download a copy of the Criteria for Performance Excellence and read the overview and core values. The Criteria doesn’t tell you what to do because it’s not prescriptive. For example, the Strategic Planning Category has two Areas to Address. One is Strategy Development. The other is Strategy Deployment. The Criteria just asks questions and asks you define what process you use to align with that item. For example, Strategy Development will ask you to describe the processes you use for strategic planning, who are the participants, or how do you determine what your strategic advantages and challenges. How can you produce an effective plan if you don’t know those for goodness sakes? In Strategy Deployment, it asks you to describe how you translate goals and objectives into action plans and how do you insure that these items translate into resource allocations company wide or what human resource plans do you have to insure you can meet your key goals and objectives. If you have a process to meet that item…great. If you don’t, develop one. You will easily recognize many of the “questions” as concepts the books you have read pointed out you need to be doing. The Criteria take it a step better by giving you a framework to align with that helps show you how to make it work in your company.

Simple, free, and a process that leads to improving performance, productivity, and results. It gets no better than that.

TREVOR: Like me you have great faith in front line employees. How can managers get the best out of front line folks?

DAVE: You build a relationship with them. You become a team. You share accountability for producing results with them so you have a choice. The folks you lead can be your allies or your enemies and your actions help them decide which category they will place themselves in. I have found that making sure they know what the performance expectations are, understand how their performance is going to be measured, and getting the hell out of their way works great. We create an environment that promotes trust, teamwork, and continuous learning and improvement. My job is making their job as easy as possible. I give feedback, coach and develop, and get them the stuff they need to excel. It actually is easy, I’m just the kind of “boss” I wanted to work for when I was sitting in that chair on the frontline.

TREVOR: What do you see as the three greatest qualities of an effective leader?

DAVE: Number One is credibility. Second, would have to be credibility. Finally, yeah, credibility for sure.

My credibility is my leadership capital. Credibility + Consistency = Trust. Trust + Collaboration = Teamwork. If I’m not credible, we won’t be able to work in an environment of trust, teamwork, and continuous improvement. I can have allies or enemies. The best piece of leadership advice I received was from a General I worked for who said he would rather have everyone inside the tent “pee-ing” out than on the outside “pee-ing” in…paraphrasing the Lyndon Johnson quote about J. Edgar Hoover. Crowded but dry immediately became my goal for both the condition of my tent and my leadership ability!

TREVOR: Do you think the leadership model that you knew so well in the military is interchangeable in business or not?

DAVE: Absolutely. I just finished a great book “Leading from the Front, No Excuses Leadership Tactics for Women” that was written by former Marine Corps Captains Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch. They take their “lessons learned” from their time in the Corps and describe ten key practices to become a great leader. One that struck a chord with me and reminded me of a cornerstone of my leadership style was the “True Leaders Dedicate Themselves to Service~Take Care of Those You Lead” concept. My Father was also in the Air Force and he was a disciplinarian and stickler for detail. I recall he would show up in at his troops barracks early Saturday morning and escort them to the barbershop for a haircut or to inspect the cleanliness of their quarters. He was accountable for their appearance and condition of their quarters and he was doing his job. But he also knew them. He was forever in his pocket when folks needed something, if he had troops deployed somewhere he was always making sure their families were cared for and ok. I grew up thinking I had 20 brothers because there were always extra folks at the table on holidays that couldn’t be with their families. As Captains Morgan and Lynch point out “Be it on the battle field or off, I made sure the needs of my troops, both personal and professional, were met.” Take care of those to the right of you and the left of you and they will take care of you. I just shake my head when folks say that being a leader means you can’t discipline someone or hold them accountable for their performance and their actions. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Let one person slide or not pull their weight on a high performance team and see what that does to the team’s attitude and your credibility. “Leaders constantly recognize and demonstrate how important those under their command are to them and their mission,” observe the Captains. That captures it perfectly because it is the absolute truth.

TREVOR: What do you see as the main challenges for modern leaders?

DAVE: I think leaders will be fine. I think Managers however are in trouble. I really found your friend Brian’s observation that leadership is a decision, not a position to be most profound. Some would argue that the difference between being a manager and a leader is semantics. I would disagree. You don’t have to be a manager to assume a leadership position on a team or in the workplace. You also shared some research from your dissertation with me Trevor that pointed out the differences between the two were in their attitudes and actions… proactive versus reactive. Issues like employee retention, service quality, and an ever-changing competitive environment will place a premium on maximizing the skills, talent, and knowledge of the front liners. Credible leadership can make that happen. A manager who only has positional authority will most likely fail because their folks will bail. The costs of turnover are incalculable on damaging a company’s reputation with their external customers and in their community as being an employer of choice for those seeking career opportunities

TREVOR: Finally Dave – I know you have connections with England - tell us about that – and are we likely to see you over here in the UK at any time in the future?

DAVE: My Dad was stationed at RAF Northolt and I lived in Ruislip from 1958-1962. It is strange but I can’t remember stuff from three days ago but I do recall a great deal from the days in England. I think my screams are still echoing in the halls of the Chamber of Horrors at Madame Tussard’s, I recall rides on the tube to London, fish and chips wrapped in newspaper. I recall a Pan American 707 sitting on the ramp at Northolt on flat tires when the pilot mistakenly thought he was landing at Heathrow. I lived at 12 Cranley Drive and recall a nice couple up the street that always had a kind word and a tin of sweets for the kids in the neighbourhood. I knew them as the Krogers. It turns out however that the folks at 45 Cranley Drive were actually named the Cohen’s and in 1961 they were arrested and charged with espionage as Soviet spies. Those were interesting days indeed and a great time for sure. A trip to the U.K. is a possibility; one that I would say is more distinct than remote. Trevor, I promise you will know when it happens. I’ll be knocking on your door to pry you away from the keyboard long enough to go play a round or two (or twenty) of golf!

Friend of Simplicity - Tom Asacker

It is my great pleasure to introduce another 'Friend of Simplicity' - Tom Asacker who lives in Exeter, New Hampshire in the US.

Tom and I first came across each other ‘virtually’ about 6 years ago when Tom kindly sent me copies of his first two books ‘Sandbox Wisdom’ and ‘The Four sides of Sandbox Wisdom.’ Tom subsequently published the equally successful book ‘A Clear Eye for Branding.’

We have kept in touch ever since those early days of virtual communication and Tom is one of my first 'virtual' friends. Tom has often provided me with the wisdom of his advice.

In his ground breaking book 'Re-Imagine!' Tom Peters described Tom Asacker as a ‘Marketing Guru.’ You can see more about Tom here


TREVOR: Tom, I really appreciate you taking time out of your very busy schedule Tom to pass on the benefit of your wisdom to me and the readers of my Simplicity Blog. Tell us a bit about your career to date.

TOM: Thanks for inviting me Trevor. So, how much time do you have? It’s been quite a twisted and bumpy road. :) Upon graduating with a degree in Economics, I began my career with Burger King Corporation in their children’s marketing division. After a few years of clowning around, I left to join a high tech division of General Electric. I spent ten years there, during which time Jack Welch became CEO. He began to rapidly discard businesses that weren’t going to be number 1 or 2 in their industries which was our business unit so I participated in a management buyout of that company from G.E.

I eventually left that business to join a start-up medical device company as President and Director of Marketing. While there, I received a few patents and awards for innovation and design. The business was also eventually recognized by Inc. Magazine, MIT and YEO as a fast growth, innovative company. Any way, I ultimately had a vision collision with my non-operating partners, and so, I left. Are you beginning to see a pattern emerge? :)

I then started a strategic brand consultancy; wrote and published a book; wrote and published three more books; was increasingly asked to speak to organizations about my concepts; and . . . here we are today. I guess I followed the advice of the great 20th century philosopher, Yogi Berra: “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

TREVOR: Many people in the UK work as single handers and struggle with how to effectively ‘market’ their work. Can you provide a couple of pieces of golden nugget advice on self marketing?

TOM: There’s really no difference between successful product and service marketing and self marketing. The key is to be other-focused and provide compelling value to ones audience. It requires a shift in mindset away from worrying what people think about you and your business, to being obsessed with how you make others feel about themselves and their decisions in your presence.

I don't know why so many people and organizations get this wrong, but I have a guess. I think it's because being genuinely interested in others, and working to understand their feelings and motivations, is tough: it's imprecise, messy, and time consuming. It's much easier and faster to talk about something that we know a lot about . . . us and our stuff.

It's also easier to simply bury our heads and focus on getting things done, isn't it? "Five sales calls to make . . . better get hustling!" "Two ads to create, as well as a capability brochure and a direct mail piece. No time to think." But guess what? That's great news for single handers who get it! Because by being other-focused and truly interested in their audience, they’ll stand out. Simply because no one else is doing it.

TREVOR: What companies do you rate highly as role models in effective marketing and why?

TOM: There are a handful doing it right, but none as effectively as Apple. Their products, retail outlets and marketing communication are all culturally relevant, aesthetically appealing and entertaining, and they do a great job of focusing on the customer’s identity and experience and bringing it to life instead of focusing on their products.

TREVOR: You are also an internationally renowned business speaker Tom – what makes an effective speaker?

TOM: An “effective” speaker in what way? In ones ability to make a lot of money as a speaker? That’s simple: become a celebrity. :) On the other hand, if you’re asking me how to effectively convey ones ideas to an audience through the spoken word, it’s pretty much the same as it has always been: ethos, pathos and logos. Establish your moral character and credibility, appeal to people’s emotions by connecting to their beliefs and values, and back up your appeal with facts and data. The main difference today is that you have to be much more entertaining and engaging to hold an audience’s attention.

TREVOR: You have received great recognition for your entrepreneurial and innovator skills. What advice do you have for those who feel there is an entrepreneur inside them ready to change the world?

TOM: They don’t need my advice, because if they truly have a passion for improving people’s lives, nothing can stop them. Passion sells! It’s not what you know or who you know that determines breakthrough success. It’s how much you care about others, how much you believe in your idea, and how stubborn you are. As Goethe wrote, “In the realm of ideas everything depends on enthusiasm . . . in the real world all rests on perseverance.”

TREVOR: What do you see as the main challenges for leaders and managers in large organisations in the next few years?

TOM: The main challenge is the mental shift that’s required when thinking about the marketplace for products, services, causes, ideas, etc. The fundamental notion that customers are rational actors, who are simply trying to optimize their individual marketplace choices, is defunct. Value can no longer be reduced to a simple relationship between benefits and price.

Today’s modern marketplace is about subjective well-being, as opposed to material gain. People are not only trading their time and money for products and services, they are also expecting happiness as an integral part of their experiences. As such, customers are constantly on the lookout for better “value.” They not only want the brands they choose to be reliable and fair, they also want them to look good, be good, and do good. Yes, they want to save time and money, but they also want to be uniquely acknowledged, involved and engaged.

So to stay relevant, organizations must evolve with customers’ evolving concept of value. They must frequently reinvent themselves to stay fresh and uniquely add value to the brand experience. It requires vision, belief in collaborative innovation, empathy for the customer, and a passion for experimentation.

TREVOR: Finally Tom do you have any plans to come to England so that I can buy you that pint of real English beer I owe you?

TOM: I don’t have any near term plans to visit, so why don’t you come over to my side of the pond. I’ll buy you a pint of real New England maple syrup. :)

TREVOR: It's a deal my friend! - Thanks again for your time.

Longfellow on Simplicity

I am indebted to my friend Sriram Kannan from Hong Kong who spotted this wonderful quote yesterday in FORBES 'thought for the day.'

"In character, in manners, in style, in all things, the supreme excellence is simplicity." - Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, American Poet.

Amen and thank you Mr Longfellow - I'll drink to that!

Friend of Simplicity - Brian Ward

Brian Ward of Affinity Consulting, Edmonton, Canada

Today I'm launching 'Friend of Simplicity' a new feature on my Simplicity Blog. I intend to publish a series of interviews with people who have influenced my thinking about leadership and management.

I am delighted to say the first interview is with my good friend Brian Ward who is based in Edmonton Canada. Brian and I first ‘met’ about 6 years ago through a discussion board on Brian’s excellent leadership website.

TREVOR: Hi Brian – Can you tell me a bit about how an Irishman ends up living Edmonton, Canada?!

BRIAN: Hi Trevor. What a penetrating question to start with! I came to Canada mainly to afford my three daughters a better life, better opportunities. They are all adults now, and have graduated from university, and are well on their way to making a success of their lives. Dublin at that time, in the mid-eighties was in a bad state economically…not like now!

When people ask me why I emmigrated to Canada, I tell them that, but I also sometimes reply by saying ‘greed’. As you can imagine, this normally sets them back a little. But it also sets up the conversation to focus on the topic of motivation. This topic has always fascinated me. We all act out of self-interest, even when we are acting to help others. When others benefit from our self-interest, then we have what is often referred to as a win-win outcome. I believe that we need to be totally honest about our motivations, AND we need to pursue our goals in an ‘ecological’ way. By ecological I mean that we maintain a balance of fairness, we don’t play zero-sum games i.e. you must lose in order for me to win.

TREVOR: So tell me about what Affinity Consulting can offer online to folks here in the UK?

BRIAN: We work with leaders to help them and their teams achieve their goals. We help them get focused on what matters to them, and to maintain that focus. In organizations today there are so many distractions and competing entities and priorities, it’s very easy to get sidetracked and achieve mediocrity. To start with, folks in the UK can visit our articles website Excellence 2.0 at www.excellence2.com

TREVOR: I am very interested in the FACET model – can you explain what it is about?

BRIAN: Gladly. FACET is actually an acronym. It came about when I was coaching a senior leader, and we got talking about servant leadership. This resonated with him, but he was struggling to put the pieces together. So he asked me if I could come up with a 360 degree questionnaire that he could give to his staff, his boss and some other folk. We looked at a number of ‘off-the-shelf’ surveys, but none of them appealed to him. We had been using a customer satisfaction survey in a previous project with this organization, and he asked if he could just take that survey and give it to his staff, whom he saw as his customers. Well, it didn’t fit very well, but it did inspire the development of the FACET Model.

FACET stands for Focus, Authenticity, Courage, Empathy, Timing. You can read an article on our Excellence 2.0 website at www.Excellence2.com which explains it more fully.

TREVOR: I have often used your quote ‘Leadership is a Decision, Not a Position’ – can you elaborate on that for me?

BRIAN: Certainly. I come across many managers who are in management positions and doing a reasonable job, but have not made the decision to lead. By that I mean they have become caretaker managers, with a focus on control. To be a leader, you must decide on a new destination where you want to take people. That’s where the FOCUS in the FACET Model comes into play. Examples include Jack Welch of GE ‘Be the No1 or No 2 in each of our businesses’; Sam Walton of Wal*Mart with everyday low prices; Fred Smith of FedEx with overnight parcel delivery. I’m sure you can probably add to that with UK leaders such as Sir Richard Branson, Sir Alex Ferguson…I’m quite certain that they didn’t get their knighthoods by being ‘managers’!

TREVOR: From your experience of both the UK and the Canadian business cultures do you see differences and/or similarities?

BRIAN: Yes, there are many similarities and differences. I suppose you could describe Canada as being ‘mid-Atlantic’ as far as its culture is concerned. There are many British ex-pats here, and they bring a tremendous work ethic to this country, which everyone benefits from. Of course we are also part of the Commonwealth, and any time members of the Royal Family come here they get a great reception! There is a proud British heritage in this country…we still have the Queen adorn some of our currency!

On the other hand, we have a lot in common with the USA. We drive on the same side of the road, for one! We have an open and vast country, with major cities and highways that draw a lot of their architecture and culture from the USA, who are our greatest trading partner.

So I think I see a blend of European and North American cultures here, with cities such as Toronto and Vancouver having a more cosmopolitan feel.

From a management perspective, US research and practice exerts a great amount of influence on us, especially in the field of marketing and sales management. We tend to have a more ‘hyped’ approach to marketing and selling, less than the US but more than the UK.

TREVOR: What do you see as the main challenges for business leaders in 2008?

BRIAN: Well, for 2008 and beyond, I see so many challenges. The biggest one for CEOs is how can they keep their jobs, and keep their integrity. In many instances they are under intense pressure to produce results that are short-term, and this can make them lose sight of some of the fundamentals to long-term growth. Foremost amongst these is trust. WorldCom, Tyco, Enron and Conrad Black being really clear examples of where greed (there’s that word again) results in a zero-sum game. I think it is critical for CEOs to focus on playing a win-win game, and being truly authentic.

TREVOR: When we met in Dublin a couple of years ago you were doing some voluntary work building homes – can you remind me what that was all about?

BRIAN: Yes, thank you for asking. When we met in Dublin, along with our good wives, Judy and Annie, I was a Board member for the Edmonton affiliate of Habitat for Humanity. Judy and I were visiting Dublin with a group from the USA on an international build, which they call Global Village. Habitat for Humanity is a cause that is near and dear to me, and this gave me the opportunity to work on building homes (and building hope) for low income families in Dublin, my city of birth. It was a wonderful experience. And of course we got to meet you and Annie for the first time and had a few pints of Guinness together!

TREVOR: Finally Brian is there anything you miss about the UK apart of course from Manchester United with whom we both share a passion?

BRIAN: Oh, yeah, Man. Utd. Come on the Reds! I miss the telly a lot. Game shows especially, such as Terry Wogan (a fellow Irishman)…the ones here are all about the money; the weather believe it or not, as we get long sub-zero winters here; and fish and chips…not the same here I’m afraid!

TREVOR: Thanks a lot Brian.

Latest Simplicity article published

I’m delighted to say TrainingZone.co.uk has published my latest Simplicity feature article today and you can see it online by clicking here

I now write a feature article each month for this organisation which is the UK's most popular site for corporate training professionals with an online network of over 40,000 active members.

Hope you enjoy the latest offering.

Please feel free to make comments at the Training Zone site as well as here ..... and do tell your friends about TrainingZone.co.uk

Front liners know best yet again!

I think it is timely for me to say I feel honoured to have so many fabulous readers who make outstanding comments to Simplicity Blog. Thank you all so much.

Among many comments on my Simplicity posting on Wednesday this week, my friend John O'Leary said this:

“I was working with frontline workers to redesign workflow in an Ontario sawmill. When we solicited cost-saving suggestions from one worker and learned of a simple and quick fix that would save the operation millions of dollars, we asked him why he didn't mention it before. He replied, "I did 10 years ago, but my supervisor told me to just stick to my job, so I did."

Everyone who reads my Blog, my articles or my books will know I have a passion for enabling front line workers to just get on with the job with no interference. I also call for the obliteration of petty, silly rules and the 'control' attitude of some managers.

John's powerful comment reminded me of one of my favourite quotes from the great management guru – perhaps THE greatest – the late Peter Drucker who said;

“Ninety percent of what we call ‘management’ consists of making it difficult for people to get things done.”

Sums up the supervisor in John’s story perfectly wouldn’t you say?

Amen to Mr Drucker's words and thanks again to John – I just had to make a special posting of this one!

The Journey Through Change

Many times I see reluctance to accept change – including my own. I decided to summarise the typical story:

Stage One – Some research is done to indicate we need to change.

Stage Two – We rubbish the data and ask for more evidence of the need to change.

Stage Three – More evidence gathered which confirms the need to change.

Stage Four – We rubbish the data again but say that we are prepared to discuss it but make it clear we do not intend to change.

Stage Five – We reluctantly discuss proposed changes but remain unconvinced this is a positive way forward and complain that the old ways are better.

Stage Six – We gradually accept that changes may be required as we see others seemingly accepting the need for change.

Stage Seven – We get involved with others in implementing the change.

Stage Eight – We begin to see benefits in the new way.

Stage Nine – We start to promote the new way to others less happy with it.

Stage Ten – We become champions of the new way and start persuading others this is really the way forward (and, by the way, we supported it all along really)

Stage Eleven – Someone suggests changes to the new way.

We return to Stage Two …… and start again

Ok I accept that is very simplistic - what else would you expect from me? However I honestly believe there is a lot of truth in this from my experience in management for over 3 decades so do you agree broadly this journey through change is fairly typical or am I way off mark?

Training Zone welcomes simplicity

I’m delighted to say I’ve been asked to write a regular monthly column for TrainingZone.co.uk - the UK's most popular site for corporate training professionals with an online network of over 40,000 active members. My first article appears today and you can read the article by clicking here

Simplicity Wins Again!

In my reading matter I came across a story today that Munich-based software company Codemart was awarded the Innovation Prize 2008 of the SMB Initiative for its web-based mind-mapping tool MindMeister.

I am not into IT in a big way but what I loved most about the press coverage of this story were the following two extracts;

“The simplicity of the solution as well as the clear end user benefits convinced us“, said Prof. Dr. Carsten Felden, professor for Information Economy and Business Informatics of the Technical University Bergakademie Freiberg at the reward ceremony.

And this absolute gem - I promise I didn't write it!

"Codemart is a privately held software development company specializing in highly usable web applications, mainly built on the Ruby on Rails technology. Our team of skilled nearshore developers provide top quality services at attractive rates. Committed to the “less is more” principle, we think that in software, like in most things, simplicity is the key to success."

Amen to that - you won't find me disagreeing!

Tuesday Reflections ......

Every week since the beginning of 2008 I have been on the road more than I have been at home. To be at home this week therefore provides me with a wonderful opportunity to catch up with loose ends and do some writing. It feels good to be able to have time to reflect.

On Thursday evening we are going to see An Audience with Tony Benn at the Town Hall, Birmingham and on Sunday we have tickets for The Eagles in concert at the O2 Arena in London.

So it turns this is quite a nice week.

One reflection is about my previous life, working in the NHS and how I had 6 weeks and 2 days paid holiday every year plus every Public Holiday off duty. This meant I was paid to be away from my job for about 43 days every year.

A massive eight and a half weeks paid to be way from my desk.

Now that I am self-employed I have no paid ‘annual leave’. I have no regular hours - in fact I work longer hours than ever I did in my NHS career. I do not get paid if I am sick.

And yet ….. I am happier than ever before in my life.

Why? - 3 simple reasons spring to mind;

*I'm in love with Annie who supports me 100%

*I'm doing what I want to do

*I'm content

Life is good - love and contentment are more important than money.

Jack Welch and Simplicity

Jack Welch when CEO of General Electric:

“Insecure managers create complexity. Frightened, nervous managers use thick convoluted planning books and busy slides filled with everything they’ve known since childhood……. They worry that if they’re simple, people will think they’re simple minded. In reality, of course, it’s just the reverse. Clear, tough minded people are the most simple.”

Thank you Jack - I couldn't have said it better. We all know those managers!

Maybe Simplicity is catching on!

Does this posting make me a nerd? - No need to answer that!

There are almost 34 million Google entries for the word ‘simplicity’

I was therefore pleasantly surprised and very pleased to find my Simplicity Blog was the eighth highest rated Google entry.

Maybe Simplicity is catching on after all.

Doesn't prove anything of course but it makes me feel warm.

Trust Me I'm a Patient

Today we delivered the first of a series of 25 ‘Trust Me I’m a Patient’ workshops across the South Central part of England in the National Health Service (NHS) between now and the end of June.

This workshop is about winning hearts and minds of front line staff, clinicians and managers working in the NHS about greater patient involvement in health services.

Annie and I work together in these half day workshops and that just adds to my joy. Not only does it feel like we are trying to help NHS staff and managers to increase customer involvement but the fact I am working alongside the woman I love makes it doubly enjoyable – life does not get much better than this. Annie is first of all a wonderful wife and also a brilliant professional. Thank you God!

If you are interested you can see more about our workshops at my Website - click here

The first workshop today was in Southampton and it went well. We had excellent feedback in the evaluation.

One down 24 to go ….