THINKING ABOUT IDEAS

Ideas motivate me.  I don't work well without a kind of guiding idea that intrigues me and that seems to me to be just right for the situation.

For me, an idea is not a vision, not a solution, not a plan, not a strategy.
It's a concept that keeps me going.  It spurs me to action to test the idea.
It's not grandiose, nor mundane.  

I see companies that are straining to get lean with no purpose but leaness.
I see companies trying to pump up everyday work with too grand an effort.
I see companies with no overall idea of what they want to do or be.

Creativity research shows that the same idea comes to people who are geographically and culturally different.  It happens in science research all the time.  Don't be blind to the idea that your company wants to have happen.
How?
-Notice repetition of issues
-Be quiet and listen
-Don't bat away "foolish" ideas
-Drive by yourself for an hour or so
-Visit where your work hits customers. Do this in depth for one week.
-Scan whether Internet or books or magazines for headlines only. Notice what catches your interest

You'll catch trends (design is in by the way) but that is not the purpose.
The point is to fill your brain so that your business instincts and intuition
have something to work with.

One I have in my mind is "simplify the business don't multiply products that need solutions for complexity".  There is a point where individuation of services and products leads only to fragmentation and chaos.  Just an idea. 'Just'?????

THE ART OF LETTING GO

I'm thinking of how the ability to 'let go' matters immensely to the top team or person. Much organizational pain has been caused by hanging on too long to all kinds of things, such as:

*the strategy that looked so good and was so exciting in its conception that just is not going to deliver

*the person who was your close colleague in the past but who now reports to you and is not competent (enough) in his or her role

*the grudge you carry against someone who seemed to be a dirty player and who now you see has some good qualities 

*the stereotype you have about certain functions that prevents you seeing their contribution accurately

*past mistakes, your own or others that stops a fresh start dead in its tracks

*a wonderful tradition or ritual that has become stale

*the fantasy budget, the stretch goals that are a joke to the organization

*pride in past success and methods that keeps you stuck in repetition

*the reality that the day will come for you to leave ready or not

The art of letting go involves intuition, receptivity to input, flexibility and an awareness that you too will have to let go and go when the dance is over

FALL BEAUTY TRUMPS BLOG

SEE YOU NEXT WEEK!!

CEO'S LIVE IN PARADOX LAND--IF THEY WANT TO BE EFFECTIVE

Effective CEO's need a broad range in behaviors.
They have to be flexible on a continuum of opposites i.e. paradox.

Here are some to think about in terms of your own flexibility on qualities that differentiate CEO's from other leaders as studied by Russell Reynolds Associates:

—strong bias toward execution BUT not impulsive

—tough skinned BUT not insensitive to others

—urgent BUT patient in timing of action

—inclusive in decision making BUT pragmatic in owning the ultimate call

—expressive of emotions, BUT disciplined in sharing them

—seeks different perspectives, BUT does not over analyze

And some of mine:

—warm BUT not intimate

—open BUT private

—optimistic BUT healthfuily paranoid

—dominant BUT collaborative

—innovative BUT prudent

The skill is to be fluid along the continuum, able to move easily toward one end or the other, never stuck. This is why being CEO demands such self-awareness and maturity and character and judgment. Now you see why there are not enough great CEO's 

WHAT DOES GOOD COACHING LOOK LIKE??

I am occasionally bothered when I hear clients talk about previous coaching experiences.  A quote from Andre Agassi got me started on this today. He uses the word "student".  I substitute the word "client".

From the October HBR:
—Coaching is not what you know. It's what the 'client' learns.  
And for the client to learn, you have to 'learn' him or her.  The greats spend a lot of time understanding where the client is. The day the coach stops learning is the day he or she should stop teaching/coaching—

From me:

Good solid coaching:

—is not provocative or confronting as a common practice 

—does offer a challenge or experiment with each meeting

—helps you see your own actions and values more clearly

—creates curiosity about trying something different

—allows you to choose the work you want to do and are ready to do

—does not create dependency

—is creative in helping you generate new options of all kinds

—is very practical and realistic about the world you work in, but not limited by it

—should not be something you dread or makes you feel wrong or guilty.  

—should be enjoyable and creative which doesn't mean easy

—brings about insight that allows new behavior, satisfaction and a truer you 


There, my two cents.

RELISHING THE ROLE OF CEO MAKES ALL THE DIFFERENCE!

People want the CEO role for all kinds of reasons. Many have strained for years to finally get the top job. They want to "win" the role of CEO. Others are brought  to the role from outside from a company where they didn't "win" the role.
Not as satisfying as it might look. Others "accept" the role with a kind of gentle 
humility (whether false or true) and often don't "grab the role by the horns".
Some CEO's like the power and have a kind of mafia swagger to the top position. Most enjoy the perks and the money.  

There is, however, another profile for the CEO that can almost be sensed viscerally. There is the CEO who loves the literal job, loves the business, can't think of another career or work they would be happy doing and continue to be eager to do the job long after hired. This CEO relishes the day to day challenge and feels more alive facing them. Is their ego involved? Of course. Is the winning and money important. Yep. But the truth is that they are the CEO wherever they go. (Ask their spouses!) They will lead. They will create. They will push the envelope. They won't be satisfied. They will fill a room with their presence. They will irritate. You will know they have been in the room.  They will make a difference. Oddly some natural CEO's are not so great at other roles as they move up in an organization. They do best owning the whole ball of wax.

I write this in honor of a colleague  and friend who just became CEO of THE FRESH MARKET and of several others friends/clients in CEO roles now who RELISH the role. They love the good and the bad, the every dayness of it, the cup of coffee of it, the tough Board meeting of it, the fire hose of it. This is the "Duck to Water" CEO. Wanting the job is a huge part of doing it well. Good luck to all the ducks out there.

CHANGE HURTS

There are so many platitudes about change and mistakes that go with them.

'Change is hard but change is good'.
Riiiiight---if you are the changer,not the changee!

'Change is the only constant'.
Doesn't have to be if you hold on to loyalty and values and common culture.

Oh Bah.  Here's the truth.  My truth, my charter for change:

If need for change is created together and the future has some possibility for good and people can hang on to their history (good and bad) and the act of change does not destroy trust in leadership, then it still hurts, BUT it is worth the pain and can be exhilarating and draw people into a powerful unity.

If the above is not true, then change can be seen as:
—abusive
—aggressive
—survival threatening
—victimizing
—nonsensical
—hopeless
—exhausting

Now, go send your people out to do excellent customer service feeling distracted, scared, confused, not understanding what's going on and hopeless.