Month: January 2020

In 1997, managers at Samsung didn’t question a $13 billion investment that would take the company into the automobile industry because the idea’s champion, Samsung Chairman and CEO Lee Kun-Hee, was a forceful personality and a car buff. When Samsung Motors folded only a year into production, Lee wondered why no one had expressed reservations [Teams That Click, page74].

Robust discussion (RD) occurs when everyone in a group is allowed, encouraged, and even required to give their unfiltered input on issues. RD is beneficial because: Every idea or plan will be improved upon when submitted to the unfiltered wisdom and input of others.

Robust discussion is not just the right thing to do; it is the best thing to do. It’s not just politically correct, it is practically helpful.

The prelude to RD may sound like this: 

• It’s when the boss says, “I’ve got an idea and I would really value everyone’s input; I want you to be totally honest.” 
• It’s when a team member says, “My division is thinking about offering a new service, but before we get started, I want to hear your thoughts about it.” 
• It’s when a staff member feels the freedom to say, “I think we’re going in the wrong direction on this project.”

Bossidy and Charan teach that robust dialogue is based on openness, candor, and informality.

• • Openness—people are not trapped by preconceptions; they’re open-minded.
  • Candor—people express their real opinions. Truth is valued more than harmony.
  • Informality—informal dialogue invites questions, mental experimentation, and creative and critical thinking. Formality suppresses dialogue and leaves little room for debate. 

RD will help to maintain a transparent and healthy workplace. It’s amazing how often there’s an elephant in the room that no one is willing to acknowledge. Clarke and Crossland warn, “Every time your team avoids the critical ‘real issues,’ you lose. Every time the discussion outside the meeting room—physical or virtual—is dramatically different from the discussion inside the room, you lose.”

Often, we avoid challenging dialogue because we value unanimity and harmony. But when we ignore the tough issues, we inadvertently dilute any sense of consensus; true alliance is achieved only when all the major issues have been identified and wrestled with. Consensus is good, unless it is achieved too easily, in which case it becomes suspect.  

Leaders must be intentional about establishing RD as standard practice in the organization. Don’t just give your team permission to engage in RD, insist on it. A Hay Group survey found that, in general, people are less inclined to give constructive feedback to higher-status individuals. That’s why they must be given permission and even encouraged to speak up.

Here are some ground rules for healthy RD:

1. Everyone should be honest and frank with their comments but also kind and considerate. Don’t be timid about speaking your mind but don’t be tacky and rude.
2. When you proffer an idea and people begin to hack at it, don’t be insecure and defensive; we’re not critiquing you, we’re commenting on the idea. Don’t be “thin-skinned.” 
3. On major issues, everyone needs to speak. Often, those with an outgoing personality will speak first and most, and those who are quiet and reserved will be reluctant to speak. By soliciting everyone’s thoughts, all voices are heard. Furthermore, those who are most opposed to an idea may be silent in the meeting but sabotage the idea later on. By soliciting everyone’s opinion, potential critics are forced to speak up.
4. Assure everyone that opposing thoughts will not be punished. RD will not flourish if people think their frankness may be used against them. Even affirm those who express opposition. 
5. RD is helpful in making good decisions. Make it clear that, following RD, a decision will be made that may or may not align with everyone’s input. It’s an exercise in both open communication involving individual preferences and opinions and consensus-building that should lead to communal support.    

As a leader, it takes a lot of emotional maturity and fortitude to establish RD as an integral part of your organization. If you’re insecure, narrow-minded, or domineering, RD will be unsustainable.  

How do you know if RD is an acceptable practice in your organization? That’s easy to assess: if it’s not happening, it’s not deemed acceptable. If you seldom hear phrases like, “I don’t agree with that” or, “What’s another alternative?” or, “Could we discuss that further?” or, “I don’t feel comfortable with that”— RD is missing.

Feedback is a gift. It’s a way of giving help. A vigorous feedback system will strengthen you and your organization.

Five frogs sat on a lily pad; one decided to get off. Now how many frogs are on the lily pad?

We mustn’t confuse intentions, resolutions, plans, and decisions with action.

• Intending to do something doesn’t change anything.
• Planning to do something is not synonymous with doing it.
• Deciding to do something is not the same as doing it.
• Action is the sine qua non of change and the precursor to progress.

Granted, planning and action are mutually dependent. Action without planning can be ineffective and inefficient. Abraham Lincoln said, “Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” Good planning increases the effectiveness of action. But planning without action is just wishful thinking. 

Business consultant Peter Drucker said, “Ideas don’t move mountains; bulldozers move mountains, but ideas show where the bulldozers have to go to work.” Until you hear the rumble of the bulldozer and feel the resistance of the dirt, you haven’t bridged the gap between planning and action. 

Planning, by itself, can be deceptively easy—even enjoyable. Jerry Brown, former governor of California, said, “The reason everybody likes planning is that nobody has to do anything.” All great ideas must inevitably evolve into work.  

After you have planned, it’s helpful to immediately do something toward reaching the goal; this kickstarts momentum. Indira Gandhi, former prime minister of India, said, “Have a bias towards action – let’s see something happen now. You can break that big plan into small steps and take the first step right away.” All projects can be broken down into small, actionable tasks. Identify one and get started.

Maintain proper balance. Plan your work and work your plan. 

I ask again: how many frogs are on the lily pad?

 

We can learn just about anything in life if we will simply read and then reflect on what we have read (Warren Bennis).

Several years ago I was teaching the Lead Well workshop to a group of executives. In one of the sessions I casually asked, “How many of you have read Stephen Covey’s book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People?” Just about everyone had. I then asked, “Which of the seven habits did you best connect with?” No one responded. I gently prompted them on some of the habits (start with the end in mind; be proactive; put first things first) but blank stares and silence filled the room. Reading Covey’s great book had no lasting value for these executives because they had not retained what they read.

Because of that encounter, I formalized my approach to reading with the intent to learn.

In last week’s post, I listed the books I read in 2019. Here’s how I processed each one so as to maximize learning. Let’s begin with a reminder of the importance of reading.

1. Read.

“He who does not read is no better off than those who cannot read.” –  Mark Twain

“Those who do read are better off than those who can read but do not.” – Don McMinn

Make reading a regular part of your weekly routine. Some people read daily, others read for longer periods of time on the weekend. Make reading a priority, otherwise you won’t do it.

There’s a difference between reading for entertainment and pleasure and reading to learn. I read the daily newspaper to relax and catch up on the news, but I don’t read it to learn. I read a few novels every year but I don’t anticipate that I’m going to learn a lot; I read them for pleasure.

Determine that you are going to read with the intent to learn.

Identify written material that you can learn from. Don’t underestimate how hard this can be; a lot of printed material is intellectual cotton candy. Here are some sources for finding good material:

• Get recommendations from friends who enjoy reading good material.
• Read book reviews (the Sunday New York Times has an entire section on book reviews).
• Identify periodicals that feed your mind. I enjoy National Geographic, Smithsonian, The Atlantic.
• Discover what type of book works for you. For instance, I do not enjoy reading a large book on a single subject; I just don’t have the interest or the patience. I’m a generalist so I would rather read three shorter books about three different topics than one long book about one.

Discover your personal reading preferences.

2. Develop a process that will help you retain what you read. Read and mark.

I’ve developed the following system that works for me. Use it as a general template and craft your own system.

• Before you start reading, take a few minutes to anticipate what you hope to learn. What is the topic? Why have you chosen this book or periodical? Who is the author? Why should you spend time reading this material? How might it impact your life? Study the table of contents to get an overview of the book.
• Read the book with pen in hand. When you read something that speaks to you, circle or underline it and then make marks in the upper/outside corner of the page (one mark means “this is good”; two marks mean “this is really good”; three marks mean “this is outstanding.”) Also, in the margins, write key words or thoughts.
• Each person has his own reading/attention-span. Read until your mind begins to drift and then set the book aside, or switch to another book. I normally focus on three books at a time. I’ll read one for 20 minutes, then switch to another for 20 minutes. With practice, you can increase your ability to concentrate while reading.
• Quickly find links between what you read and real life. How can the thoughts espoused in the book be lived out in real life? If often helps to share with others what you have learned.
• When you finish reading the book, put it aside for several weeks.

3. Journal key thoughts.

Re-read the book, focusing on those areas that you marked. This should take about 1/5 the amount of time it took you to read it the first time. Record in your thought-journal, significant thoughts and passages from the book. Formerly, I wrote in a nice leather journal. Now, I use the Evernote app because the files are always with me and it has a search function.

Periodically, re-read your journal entries and highlight salient thoughts, particularly those you want to memorize.

4. Memorize key thoughts.

Knowledge without memory is useless so it’s helpful to memorize key thoughts and concepts. When committed to memory, thoughts will continue to grow, mature, and become clear.

For instance, years ago I memorized a significant thought proffered by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in your mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function.” When I first memorized the sentence I wasn’t sure what it meant, but it lingered in my mind for years and one day it came alive. Now it gives me solace and peace of mind.

So, as you re-read your journal entries, identify what you want to memorize. Develop a memorization system that works for you. Some people use index cards, I use Evernote.

The key to memorization is repetition and review.

5. Apply knowledge to life.

Finally, bridge the knowing-doing gap because knowledge without application is minimally useful.

Authors Pffeffer and Sutton wrote a terrific book titled The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge Into Action (2000). It’s a great read that exposes a conundrum we all face: why is it so difficult to do what we know we should do? Why do we know but we do not do?

In 2020, read more and process what you read.