03 Jan 10 It’s a New Year

So, 2010 is upon us and we’re making some changes here at the ole IMPACT headquarters. 2009 was a year of learning and one of the things we learned was that social media, and communication in general, is a lot more difficult to keep up with than we first surmised.

Actually, the problem I have always had is to figure out the difference between what I post on the blog versus what I write in the newsletter. In 2009 I tried to keep up with two blog entries per week and one newsletter per week. Nuts! So at the end of the year I took a break from both in order to rethink the purpose behind the different channels and how best to approach them for the next year.

I just finished re-reading Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything (P.S.)“> (If you haven’t read it, you should) and noticed something in the added material at the back of the book. Levitt and Dubner approached this issue in a way that makes sense to me. First, there is the book from which most of the discussion comes. Second, they have a website and newsletter that provides more or less updates to the book (they have a new one now called Superfreakonomics which I’m listening too on my various commutes…fascinating!). Third, they have their blog. The blog is a much more casual device for them with various observations, rantings and ravings but overall a better look into their own thinking just through the fact that it is so conversational.

There’s the model I want to use. I have tried in the past to create a blog that is educational and addresses substantive issues with leadership tips, etc. But that’s also what I’m doing with the newsletter. So I have decided that this year the blog will be much less scientific and a lot more…well, fun. It will be OPINION and hopefully in so doing will be not only an added thought value for you, but also more entertaining and engaging than the mini-lectures that have occurred here in the past. Also in a fit of independence and spontaneity, I will commit to at least a weekly blog entry but there might be some weeks where there are several. Who knows? Why not?

The newsletter on the other hand will become more substantive and provide more information and ideas than it has in the past. I am going to publish it in pdf format for those who like to print things or want to read them on their Kindle or Sony Reader (or iPhone or whatever). The objective of the newsletter is to create something that you will want to keep and to which you may want to refer. This allows me to have guest columns as well as much more useful content in one place on a monthly basis.

More than anything, as we move along on this quest to get it right, I invite you to give me feedback and input on what you think would be most useful. In the meantime, we’ll keep messing with the formula until we get something that works. For example, right now I have two websites: www.ImpactSuccess.com and www.GlobalLeadershipDialogue.com. I’m not sure this makes sense any longer and perhaps there should just be one. I think I have two partially valuable sites right now and not one that is a powerhouse. Maybe there’s a way to address that. Anyway, you get the picture. (If you have an opinion on this, I would love to hear it).

Off we go now into the new decade. We will keep learning and evolving and we invite you to do so with us. I suspect this is another case where there is no right or wrong answer, at least not one that is readily apparent. In the meantime, we’ll keep trying and see what we learn this time. Happy New Year!

Tags: engagement, Global Leadership, great leadership, trust, vision

10 Aug 09 Where there is no vision…

Vision, mission, purpose, values…all terms that represent some sort of organizational characteristic and all terms with which leadership teams consistently struggle. It’s unfortunate really because, in most cases, the struggle comes down to semantics. “Is our current statement a vision or is it a mission?” “Do these values statements really represent the way we differentiate ourselves in the marketplace?” “Can we stop talking about the bs-stuff and get to business?”

If you have been in any of these conversations, take heart at least in the fact that you are not alone. In my opinion, business schools, consultants and authors have done a disservice to leaders by trying to “brand” a process of definition that is, at its core, quite simple. I also suspect that some of you reading this will disagree with where I’m going in the conversation if for no other reason than it doesn’t represent what you learned as a definition. That’s o.k. too if what you currently have makes sense to you and is a clear actionable tool for your leadership. If not, at least keep an open mind.

Vision: The easiest way for me to think about vision is to go all the way back to bbc (before Boston Consulting). In Proverbs 29:18, King Solomon says, “Where there is no vision, people perish.” Whether the old testament is a primary source for your leadership training or not, this statement says a lot about a vision. A vision is not a statement. A vision is a dream of where you want to go. The statement comes later. Without a dream, it is difficult to get up in the morning and commit the energy and effort necessary to be successful.

Case in point: Amazon’s vision is to be a place where people can come to find anything they want to buy online. If you work for Amazon, you know that the vision of your company is not in being the world’s largest bookstore. Nor is the vision to have the greatest Return on Income of any online seller. If you look at Amazon’s recent moves into the shoe business for example, it makes sense given where they want to go. If you believe that shoes are something people want to buy online, and your vision is to provide “anything” that people want to buy online, then buying a shoe company might make sense.

I just listened this week to a group of graduate students arguing over whether the vision should be attainable or not. For what it’s worth, I’ve heard the same debate in leadership retreats and boardrooms. In my opinion, it doesn’t really matter. At some point the vision has to have a sense of reality in that it relates to what the organization (or individual) actually does. But it also has to have a sense of excitement. “Wouldn’t it be cool if we could actually say we have achieved this?”

Why would you not want a vision that you might possibly attain? You know what you do if you achieve your vision? You create another vision!!! The importance of vision is to put a point out in the future that you and your people can truly imagine. If all things were to work perfectly, if all problems were to be solved, and if we had a little bit of luck as well, we could attain it.

A vision is like magnetic north. It doesn’t actually move you anywhere, but it provides a point of orientation. That is why visions are not only corporate but also individual. You should have a vision for your organization, for your family, and for yourself. There are no limits to your vision because…well, it’s your vision. It’s where you want to be.

Don’t get hung up on whether this is a three-year vision, a five-year vision or a thirty-year vision. Who really cares? If it is exciting and if it focuses the effort of you and your people, go with it. I worked with a company one time that was in dire straits and nearing bankruptcy. This was in 2003 I think and there vision was, “Survival to 2004.” While this was meant to be something of a joke, it was also a compelling vision for a group of people who could not see how they were going to make it through the year. It was at the level of a “dream” for them to manage the challenges they had to the point of making the business work. They did, and they turned around a $500 million loss in 2 years as opposed to the projected 5 years that was assumed by heaquarters.

Helen Keller once said, “The most pathetic person in the world is the one who has sight but no vision.” Why? Because they have no direction. Vision is a dream that provides direction for action. You don’t have to measure the number of words in your vision statement, just measure the number of actions it inspires.

Tags: change, commitment, Global Leadership, great leadership, vision

03 Nov 08 Walking the Talk — Part 1 of 2

When we think of great leaders of whom we are aware either through our own experience or our awareness of somebody elses, there are a variety of ways these leaders have been great. Perhaps some were motivational, some were visionary or some were highly oriented to results. Without fail, however, there is one characteristic that is seen in all strong and successful leaders. They are congruent between what they say and what they do. They “walk the talk.”

As Albert Schweitzer once said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing people. it is the only thing.” Leading through example happens whether you decide to do it or not. You are doing it by default. You are, in essence, already “walking the talk.” The question is really, “What talk are you walking?”

This idea of congruency is a particular challenge in a global environment. Whether it is your company, your employees, or your peers that have diverse perspectives, these perspectives come into play when your behaviors are judged according to your words. Determining if we are modeling the behavior we espouse is further challenged by the fact that we are not typically adequate judges of the messages our actions communicate. The only way to truly answer the question about your own tendency to follow your words with appropriate actions is to get input from others and spend time in self-reflection. If you want to ensure you are in alignment with your expectations of others, you have to be brutally honest. In my next post, I will suggest five questions you should consider and some ways in which you might get the input you need to see if you are truly walking your talk.

Tags: congruency, feedback, global leader, great leadership