Is your vision aligned?

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

I was at a meeting a while back when a business leader suggested the need to spend some time together to ensure our "visions are aligned" - There was great leadership in this simple request. In it, he would ensure the parties around the table truly had a vision and in turn understood their goals, as well as ensuring that there was a commonality and in that effectively work together. 

A vision, or vision statement is sometimes called a picture of you in the future, but it'’s so much more than that. Your vision is your inspiration, the framework for all your planning and all of your activities. Individuals and organizations should have a vision and it should be in a form that is easy to articulate... it should roll of the tongue effortlessly.

One obvious reason is that "everything you do" should be connected to your "vision for the future", allowing you will achieve whatever you have in mind for yourself. As the conversation between Alice and the Cheshire Cat tells us , "if you don't know where you are going, it doesn't matter what road you take" ( What they didn't mention is that some roads are easier to travel than others ).

Another reason for an articulated vision, and I will suggest even more important than above, is that very few things are ever built alone... success comes when you work with others. Having a vision that is very easy to articulate makes it simple for people to understand, engage, and align - People rallying around a common vision is how momentum to do incredible things gets started, and more importantly sustained. This is where motivational sayings are made. 

But, what happens when you find yourself in a situation where your visions do not aligned?

• Differing agendas and personal conflict.
• Poor and ineffective execution.
• Frustration.
• Lost opportunity and wasted effort.
• Mediocrity. 

This is a result of not being able to clearly articulate visions and determine if there is commonality, synergy and alignment to make things happen. Understanding this, is where leadership is made. 

Having different visions is just fine, but trying to build something with misaligned visions is precarious to say the least. It is important that all of us bring a clear vision to "the table", so we all know what we will rally behind ... or not.

gpe 

A business lunch and insights into dealing with a business truism.

I was at a business lunch recently, and inevitably someone began to discuss the challenges that come with business; I was instantly reminded of a core business truism... something fundamental to all that is defined as business and very complex. It goes like this - 

 Profit = Revenue - Cost*

• Revenue: money generating from the products or services you sell.
• Cost: the money needed to run your business (tangible and intangible)
• Success is defined as profit moves towards, and ultimately above zero.

Reflecting back on my salad and our conversations around the table, this is what I walked away with. 

Business is a people activity

No single person can run a business alone... it's simply too complex to have all the skills and knowledge needed, let alone the time. This is where building strong business relationships are important with trusted, smart and reliable people. As the old saying goes, "If you want to go fast go alone, but if you want to go far go together". 

Asking the right question is more important than having the right answer

Asking the right question that uncovers the answer to a better "line of sight" or understanding of a situation is key. It is much better to say, "I don't have the answer, but will find it", than not know what question to ask and in turn not get the answer you need. The old adage of "You don't know, what you don't know" rings true here, and remembering that business is a people activity, will help. The more good people involved in the discussion, the better chance you will ask the "right questions".

Listening is much more important than talking

Sharing thoughts, perspectives, knowledge and insight are important for you when tackling this truism. Let someone else have a turn sharing their thoughts. It will serve you well.

The Customer

If your business lunch doesn't include talking about the customer, then what you are having is just a lunch. Customers are - 

• The people who will buy your product and/or service contributing to revenue generation.
• The employee who will implement activities that either generate revenue, or help pull cost out of your business activities.
• The community where your business operates and is involved... this indirectly generates revenue and reduces costs, as well as supports sustainability.
• The shareholder who looks for profit and good governance.

Revenue is not easy to generate

Great ideas lead to great products... however, contrary to that popular saying, "great products sell themselves", they in fact don't. Generating revenue involves a large amount of work to develop customer relationships, communicate the value of your product, overcome aggressive competitors, and offer a service proposition that will have the customer purchase from you again. It is hard work.

Patience

Just because you want it really, really badly, doesn't mean others do; it takes time to communicate ideas, change perspectives and influence behavior. Endurance, persistence, risk tolerance and dedication are also other characteristics that will serve you well when dealing with this truism. 

In the end, it is your decision

Depending on your position in an organization, your decisions may or may not have direct ramifications on revenue or costs (or both). But we all have a part to play and responsible for the decisions we make; stand by them, and make them work. 

Revenue versus Cost

There is an attractive "bunny hole of a discussion" with regard to whether revenue generation is more important than effective cost management and governance. This is a pointless debate and is analogous to arguing that the heart is more important than the lungs in terms of keeping the body alive. It's best to focus on what you need to do and be as effective as you can be. 

One of the stories around the table involved someone working through a complex situation and they metaphorically said, " It just seems like every time we turn over a new stone we find a 'squiggly'"**. I laughed and laughed... not because of the problem they were dealing with, but because a very accomplished individual used a word like "squiggly". And this is why I like business.

Business is not easy and the truism of "Profit = revenue - cost" can take a lifetime to solve. But as you work through it, you are challenged, rewarded, learn something new everyday, meet amazing people who use the word "squiggly" - When you look back on it all, you will more often than not be proud of what you have accomplished, had fun and laughed. 

gpe

* If you believe this truism doesn't apply to you, then you are either not in business or you have "some" work ahead of you.

** Saying squiggly instead of worm as a metaphor for a "problem" just struck me very funny and also illustrates that they weren't necessarily nice looking problems (with all due respect to worms).

Dealing Blackjack... an analogy in team development.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here

I am a director on the board of a fledgling charity for the disabled*, and as with most small organizations, operating funds are always in short supply; having said that, I found myself dealing Blackjack at a games night fundraiser. By the end of the night we had raised some money, had some fun with friends and neighbors, and I saw a wonderful analogy in team development - This still resonates and I wanted to share.

For those of you who are not familiar with Blackjack (or twenty-one), it is a card game that involves getting closest to 21 without going over, where numbered cards are taken at face value, face cards are worth ten and the ace is worth one or eleven. A natural Blackjack is when you get 21 with two cards (an ace and a ten). There are various "house rules" that come with the game but ultimately a person is betting that they will get closer to 21 than the dealer and win their bet. Although all players are playing independently against the dealer, the cards they decide to draw (or do not draw), can impact the other players at the table.

As you can appreciate, most people came to have fun and support the charity, so many of the people who were playing at my table had not played cards before or if they were familiar with Blackjack, they really didn't understand the strategies needed to win. At the best of times the odds are stacked in the house's favor, so they were losing but having fun. And then Mike sat down.

Mike knew all about the game of Blackjack, its strategies, how to play the odds...when to draw a card and when to hold; he was just there to have fun. As he began to play he would openly say what he was doing, why he was doing it and suggested to others how they may want to play - He knew it was it was the dealer against them. As the night progressed, we continued to have great fun and I could see the other players using the techniques Mike was suggesting. Their confidence in how to play the game increased, as well as the number of times they were winning; the energy attracted others to play. In the end, Mike won, but everyone was better for it. 

Although it may be considered a stretch to call the people at the table a team, I think that with a little artistic license, it can be said that they all had a common goal to beat me and in this specific situation, there was a sharing of information, knowledge and influence to deal with that common goal - With this said, my time dealing Blackjack reminded me of this:

• All teams need common goals and clearly articulated expectations; including how success is defined.
• Build your team with individuals who are "superstars"** and "potential superstars" (as they are the future).
• Look to your "superstars" (like Mike) to set an example for the skills needed, the attitude required and how success is defined. This will help develop your "potential superstars". 
• Expect those up and coming superstars to learn, develop, emulate and exercise their abilities. 
• At any given time, some will win more than others, but their success should not be "built on the backs" of those on the team. Appropriate recognition of success is key.
• Celebrate your successes against your common goals.
• Team membership is forever changing (and should be in my opinion). Ensure you have a solid pipeline of potential new members. This will perpetuate long term success.

If truth be told, I also started dealing a little bit better when Mike showed up - A Superstar raises everyone's game.

gpe

* Connect4Life.  www.connect4life.ca 

** Superstar (or Rockstar) is a term often used in a business setting to describe a person who is considered very successful at what they do; they possess qualities people want and should be emulated. Common used among a sales team to describe over plan achievers.