When in doubt, break things to fix them. Don’t always heed advice to the contrary.
Only when something is broken can you truly see what it is made out of.
Tag Archives: Management
Transparency and Trust
Unless the key to a secret is murdered and disposed in a large body of water, people tend to find things out. You can try as hard as you can to guise things, but always prepare for the day when you need to own up to it (whether you blow the cover or someone else does).
When it comes to daily life, transparency may be the easiest and most genuine way to build trust. If you have nothing to hide, others will take comfort in believing you and run out of good reasons to hide things from you.
Throughout my entire management career, I have struggled with shielding information from my team to keep the machine running. Secrets don’t make friends, especially in business. As a common example, most managers pad deadlines so that their final deliveries can be met. In many cases, the real deadlines surface and proactive fake deadlines lose credibility. Why not admit final deadlines up front and set padded expectations for your team? Most people understand the truth and will respect you for being honest with them. They will deliver accordingly. Trust me.
Sometimes you need to keep secrets. If that is the case, at least be honest about the reason why (a security clearance or NDA contract are perfectly viable excuses). As hard as it may be for some people to accept, the honest explanation goes a long way. Don’t hide, don’t ignore, don’t dodge the question. Be as honest as you can when you can.
Down To The Wire
Deadlines exist for a reason. In spite of procrastination and poor time management, they make sure things get done. Sometimes, all it takes is a looming deadline to help you cross the finish line. If it wasn’t for a daily deadline, this blog probably would not exist. I would not have written this post.
If you want to get something done, impose a deadline and have others hold you accountable. Simple.
The Hat-Trick of Leadership
While it takes many different ingredients to make a leader, some of the greatest I study share the following three traits:
- Higher Purpose – for the mission and for humanity abroad.
- Steadfast Optimism – faith in people, the direction, and positive results.
- Genuine Patriotism – in service of and love for the family or organization at hand.
Do you have what it takes?
Why Before the How
Contemporary business culture moves faster than light. Every day, we’re bombarded with tasks and decisions. We are often forced to dive into problems and projects without context. Managers ask us to do things without explaining why. To protect our job, we do not ask questions. But we really should.
If you believe in what you do, you will perform better. To believe in what you do, you need to understand what you are supposed to believe first. Arbitrary assignments without context make it near impossible to connect with the material. Leaders are responsible for setting the stage, helping you understand why, and inspiring you to deliver.
If your boss fails to inspire you, take a moment to reflect on the tasks you’ve been asked to do. Avoid complacency at all costs. Know the “why” before approaching the “how.” If you cannot figure it out, ask for an explanation. You will do yourself and your company a favor.
The Controversy of Change: Netflix, Facebook, and Chameleons
Many people freaked over Facebook’s face lift and Netflix’s reorganization. Yes, these changes are inconvenient. Some may break your routine or even damage your business. But what would you prefer instead? For the company or service to stay exactly the same?
Companies that fail to change fall prey to the market evolving around them. Inevitably, they are slain by the next best thing. By asking them to stay the same, you are asking them to fail. You are condemning the brand you embraced for so long to a slow death.
No, change may not always be good or necessary. But you cannot know until after you try. And neither can brands. No one has a crystal ball. Not even Steve Jobs. Smart leaders fail more often than lesser leaders and learn from their mistakes. They know that the biggest risk is avoiding risk altogether. You deserve to be eaten if you sit still in the savanna.
Like puberty, change may always be an ugly process. Some coast through it smoother than others. Those who make it out clean never forget who they are or what they believe in. A strong brand transforms with the market, but keeps its core mission at heart.
Embrace the chameleon business. Invest in progressive brands with solid foundation, not products destined for revision or absolution. If you truly believe in a brand, you should trust in change. Forgive the minor transgressions and take pleasure in discovering the next step along the way.
Assume Procrastination
In one way or another, everyone procrastinates. In college, I accepted my procrastination after a while and budgeted the final six hours before papers were due to write them. Deadlines won’t go away. So how can we optimize our lives and get more things done?
The first option is to impose earlier deadlines – quicker turnarounds. It makes sense: just get it done earlier. I see two problems with this, however. First, you (and those you impose earlier deadlines on) will call your own bluff. “I know it doesn’t need to be done until next week, so why is my deadline tomorrow?” Second, urgent new accelerated deadlines can interrupt the flow of other work you are making progress on. Constant bombardment of short-term work will push more important long-term projects to the backburner.
The second option is a bit more abstract: connect project milestones sequentially. Most human beings have trouble switching back and forth between projects, so why not line them up one after the other? Move on to the next task when the first is complete? Parents try to teach this at a young age: “Finish your homework first, then you can go play video games.” The benefit to this method lies in a recurring completion gratification. It feels good to get something done. It may start feeling good enough that it also feels good to start something new.
Line up your impending tasks on a to-do list, re-order them as you see fit (or most fulfilling), and let no one interrupt your conquest. Knock them out one by one. And find joy in beating the deadlines.
The First Sign of Great Leadership
A great leader can make decisions quickly. Better than most, he or she can efficiently break a complicated problem down into its component parts and take action. Without hesitation. Without fear of being wrong.
Do not be afraid of being wrong. While leaders can only build great things with higher batting averages, it takes practice to hit the ball. With enough experience and mistakes, you should have better chances at making good choices. Over time, two wrongs can make a right.
Opportunities for decision making start small. If you cannot decide where your indecisive group of friends should dine together, then you probably cannot make important product, market, or life decisions.
You Cannot Be Proud or Stubborn to Run a Business
Risk Aversion and Ego are major obstacles to moving small companies forward. If you are afraid to take chances, your company will idle in a nasty spot, and your resources may slip out from under you. If you are too confident in your own vision, your company may miss out on necessary opportunities for collaborative iteration. Simply put, you must be open-minded and accepting of change as a small business leader. Being small affords you the intimacy to avoid the scope and communication issues large companies have. Embrace your size. Keep your ears open. Be flexible. Move forward.
The Back-Up Man
If your project or company depends on you alone (or one single person) to keep the system running, we have a problem. What if you get sick or quit? How does the company survive if you go on vacation or maternity leave? Who will pick up the pieces and keep your projects alive?
It is unwise to have only one person on staff with a set of specific skills, qualified approvals, or niche knowledge. It is equally unwise to let multiple individuals of similar talent fall out of touch with each other’s responsibilities. Network your team so that each individual has at least one other person’s shoulder to lean on. And make sure all the important pieces are covered should anything fall apart.
Have a back-up man (or woman) as a part of your back-up plan. The United States of America has a Vice President for a reason. You should, too.
Craig Ormiston 