Ok... what the #!@* went wrong?!

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"OK... what the #!@* went wrong?!"

 I will go out on a limb and say that many of us, to one degree or another, have said something to this effect; for those of us who are a little "over the top dramatic", I would suggest something even more "colourful" is used. What do you say when it was supposed to work, and for some reason... it just didn't?

You planned, you scheduled, you worked (very hard), you validated, you tested and you launched... it should have worked... but instead, you find yourself shaking your head and just asking such a profound question. Recent events have reminded me of a number of things and I thought I would share...

Plans, more often than not, will fall apart or become irrelevant the moment they are implemented. This is not to say that the plans and the work was wrong, substandard or misdirected, but as the "real world" comes into play it responds not quite the way you anticipated - Things go wrong. Inevitably your plan, and by extension what you are doing will be misaligned with the real world, and things "will not go entirely according to plan."

A leader I very much respect once said, " If you get it 70 % right, you are having it a good day". One can debate the percentage, but what is import to note is you will never get it 100 % right! You will manage "degrees" of success.

You are allowed to get emotional; you worked very hard so you have earned the right. Here is something to consider though... 1) You don't want to spend too much time as it really can be a time waster; as you know solving problems is an intellectual exercise, not an emotional one. 2) More often than not, these situations conjure up negative emotions which simply are not the fuel to get you out of the situation.

You will never get it 100 % wrong. It may not go as planned, but it is all about "degrees of success" and what you have learned. How does that saying go again? "I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways it will not work"**. It is all about what you have learned and the success you can build from it.

What do you do next? I recommend moving forward, although you could do nothing and just quit. Again, I recommend moving forward. 

• Assess what went wrong and more importantly what went right. And why?
• Bring in new perspectives to offer insight into what may be going on.
• Develop an improvement plan and build upon what went right.
• Communicate the situation early... be transparent, open and honest. This should also include the "improvement plan"
• Emotionally pick yourself up, "dust yourself off" and get back into the game.

As they say, for every action there is a "reaction"... you may not get the reaction you expected, but your actions are moving you forward and making things happen. 

And as much as I really like saying, "OK, what the #!@* went wrong", I thing maybe I will get into the habit of saying, "OK... now we are getting somewhere!!".

I've dusted myself off and am moving forward... wish me luck.

gpe 

* Feel free to insert any word you are comfortable with.

** They say Thomas Edison said this... and he did some amazing things.

Do you have "Millennials" as part of your network? You should...

Recently I caught up with some colleagues who are part of the very much talked about "Millennial" demographic; I consider them friends and part of my network so our range of topics were broad... everything from up coming proposals, to the trials and tribulations in the work place. As a late stage baby boomer, insight into their world is familiar enough, as I've been there and done that; but at the same time, they offer insight with regard to leadership, development and success in our ever-evolving world.

They say 80 Million plus "Millennials" are entering the work force in North America alone and represent the largest group to enter the work-force since the baby boomers; as a result of shear numbers, they are a force to be dealt with as you manage your business. A few points regarding the Millennials to ground us all and do remember this is from the perspective of a Non-Millennial - 

• The "Millennial" demographic is defined as anyone born after the early 1980's through to the late 1990's.
• Also known as the Y Generation.
• They tend to be well educated.
• Very technologically savvy.
• Like to operate in a team environment.
• Very sensitive to a work / life balance.
• Have aggressive expectations regarding careers, career development and career advancement (from and entry level position to Director in five years).
• Have a very high sense of self worth and ability... to the point of being perceived as arrogant and particularity self entitled.
• If not happy with a current situation they are very comfortable with making changes by "moving on to something else".
• The younger the "Millennial", the more profound these points are.

As a leader or a manager of "Millennials" I suspect you are nodding your head and saying to yourself, "Yes, that it about right. Look at what I have to deal with"... where I suspect if you are a "Millennial", you are saying something along these lines, " Yup that sounds about right... deal with it" - (Be Honest). 

More and more leaders and people managers are struggling to manage a growing percentage of this demographic on their teams, as well as a growing number of employees struggle with the working environment they find themselves in - There is a growing frustration with leadership, people management, building stable teams, as well as creating a environment for sustainable success. And this situation is destined to become more and more real as new economies continue to emerge, organizations struggle to achieve the bottom line and the need to have extremely effective teams just to survive... let alone thrive.

As my Millennial friends offer me their thoughts, it became very clear that they found themselves struggling with a few core themes and by extension struggling with their business pursuits. I am not suggesting these are all the struggles going on with "Millennials", but I have heard before:

• Career and skill development, as well as the next steps in advancement.
• Leadership motivation and inspiration.

Some quick thoughts on what I heard around the table (with wine in hand I should add)...

As career development and skill development goes, let me offer a perspective that I know my "Millennial" friends and colleagues do not like to hear; it is a "truism" that can not be disregarded, no matter how much you want to believe it to the contrary - Skill development needed for career development and advancement takes time... 10,000 hours for mastery they say. Although becoming a little trite, it is a fair benchmark with knowing when you will be good at what you do. So if career discussions is being discussed in months, and not years, there is truly a disconnect with expectations. And this makes for a very nice segue into the next point...

Although "Millennials" are looking for candid conversations regarding skill development, opportunity, performance and career advancement, what they are truly looking for from their leaders is "inspiration and motivation". They will look for this as individuals, and for the team in the broader sense (remember, by nature, they are team oriented, so they will speak for the team as a way of speaking for themselves). If you are a people leader, particularly if "Millennials" are involved, you need to ensure inspiration and motivation is part of your Leadership DNA - This is a full stop requirement when you lead "Millennials"; not simply a nice to have.

One last comment when it comes to leadership... it is a not a "directional sport" where leadership is just from the top... remember there is an expectation for everyone to manage up, down and side ways. The leader sets the tone for this, but in the end it is a "participation sport".

I appreciate the insights of my "Millennial" friends and they make up a key component of my professional network... they offer me a much needed perspective when looking at the situations and problems of the day. I highly recommend you get them into your network.

In the same breath, I hope they are saying, "I am glad I have an 'old guy' as part of my network" (or something to this affect)... which sometimes may be hard, as it is not part of their DNA.

Something to be worked on for sure.

gpe

Be Epic...

I was at a cycling event last weekend* and a friend arrived "sporting" a new T-shirt that said, "BE EPIC".

There was something in this simple phrase that caught the imagination and whispered countless possibilities- The deeds and adventures of heroic and legendary figures; stories standing the test of time... all Homer-like in grandeur. We were all caught up with the emotion of these two words, and shared the greater meaning among ourselves. 

Striving to "BE EPIC" is a stretch goal if ever there was one... it will take you places that you never thought you could go, and on adventures you didn't realize were in you; the only place for big, big dreams - "BE EPIC" makes for a great mantra! 

And then someone** said, "Or maybe, the shirt says BEE PIC." 

Looking at the stylized lettering, and with a little imagination, it wasn't hard to see how you could come up with "BEE PIC"... and of course that is short for "BEE PICTURE". With that, I just started to smile. 

By saying "Or maybe, the shirt says, BEE PIC", I was reminded that different perspectives will let you see different things... and "different" will lead to new thoughts, ideas, impressions and interpretations. For me, I was literally reminded of The Bumble Bee, a blog entitled " Every man has a story... even the Bumble Bee" and those characteristics we should emulate.

So now when I put on my "BE EPIC" T-shirt, I am reminded of this - 

• Dream and set your goals with EPIC proportion.
• Look at the world differently and embrace those who do.
• Be industrious and never underestimate the importance of hard work.
• Believe in what you are able to do... and do it.
• In the end, only true character is left standing.

And yes I bought a T-shirt.... wouldn't you?

gpe

* The cycling event was a Princess Margaret Ride to Conquer Cancer, where 4,799 of my closest friends and I rode 223 kilometers and raised $19 Million. I big thanks to Huey, Dewey and Puddly for riding with me... it was a pleasure and an honour.

**It was Huey. Introduced in a blog entitled "Reflections".