Genuine Curiosity

Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.

 

[Review] Big Ideas to Big Results

Many organizations reach a point in their existence when they hit a plateau or begin to stagnate. When that happens, they often seek a "breakthrough" in their performance. Sometimes, they succeed and sometimes they don't.

I recently read "Big Ideas to Big Results," by Michael Kanazawa and Robert Miles, which is all about increasing your chance of success when you're seeking to re-vitalize your company. This book had a unique attraction for me, since I worked with Mike and Bob on one of the transformations they discuss in the book (it was called "Taking Charge" and is referred to at various points throughout the book, but specifically summarized on page 118 & 119).

The authors have worked together on a number of corporate transformations, and they share their experiences to help us minimize the chances that we'll run the "typical" course: some lame, corporate feelgood program that achieves nothing. I've been there and it is not a fun fate.

Beware of zombies

The authors do a nice job of keeping things interesting by telling colorful stories to illustrate their points. One I enjoyed is Michael Kanazawa's discussion of "Zombie Projects" which he encountered, ironically, while working in the same area as Dilbert's creator Scott Adams.

"Zombie projects had supposedly been killed through inattention or lack of formal funding, but, in fact, they continued to live on as pet projects of key manager who couldn't or wouldn't let go."

These kinds of projects suck resources and motivation from the rest of the organization, causing "drag" on the business. The authors discuss the reasons these projects are allowed to exist and most of the book deals with how to ferret out and get rid of these kinds of useless activities.

Set the right drumbeat

Another interesting topic covered in the book deals with how leaders can make or break their team's success through the "drumbeat" they establish. Examples of leaders who to force too much "sense of urgency," which often has the opposite effect; rather than getting people to work harder or faster, their "urgency" shuts down debate and makes people feel anxious or frustrated.

They offer some powerful tips for how to manage your team's "sense of time" so that people use their times productively, without panic, and without feeling like they'll slow down progress by injecting their opinions or challenging things that are happening.

Engage the masses

One of the things that comes out strongly in the book (and one of the most memorable aspects of the Taking Charge project I was part of) is that the authors have developed a true methodology for engaging  people across a company and focusing them on a specific set of outcomes. Their construct called "Tablework" is a big part of encouraging innovative thinking and microcollaboration among small teams, which is then reconnected back into the company's larger objectives.

Perhaps the most powerful aspect of their approach is the drive to create "leaders at all levels" - crucial in creating a self-sustaining, effective business that can scale. A big part of that is letting people throughout the organization own various aspects of strategy and execution - and holding them accountable.

But one other vital aspect of this is making sure people feel recognized for their part in the company's success, and helping them discern the difference between things they must do and things they must strive for. They present the latter using a concept I really love - the distinction between "promises" (absolute goals) and "declarations" (a statement of intent when the means to get there are unknown).

Get big

This book is jam packed with information and techniques, but is fun to read. I also believe it can be a handy recipe book to help managers and leaders deal with specific problem areas, even if you don't go through the whole transformation process form end-to-end.

If you're a leader looking to drive your business out of the "same old same old" then I highly recommend Big Ideas to Big Results.

 

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[Updated] Execution Revolution Review

[Update:] When I originally reviewed this book back in April, it was based on my reading of a pre-release copy in PDF form. Recently I received the hard copy and re-read the book. I liked the book even more in its finished form, and have some updated thoughts on it, reflected in the text below. I also realized just how much more I engage with a printed book vs. an on-screen book - no wonder I print out lots of PDF's to read them on the plane...

Gary Harpst's "Execution Revolution" is a book designed to get your business to the next level. I loved this book, and I think the subtitle sums it up quite well: "Solving the one business problem that makes solving all other problems easier." What's the "one problem?" Execution.

Voice of experience

If you're unfamiliar with Gary, he was the founder of Solomon Accounting (very popular software back in the 80's and early 90's when the PC industry was very young). He grew his business from a startup to a large, successful enterprise - finally selling the company to Great Plains Software (since purchased by Microsoft) for a hefty sum.

One of the things I love about Gary's methods and style is that he incorporates his own lessons learned, successes, and experiences into his books - and that makes his guidance seem much more actionable and achievable.

More than a memoir

Don't worry, though - this book is not about hyping up Gary's past. Instead, he presents stories we can learn from (like when he had to layoff half his company) and provides structure and techniques so other small-to-medium businesses (SMB's) can avoid some of the problems he encountered. The other thing I noticed very early in the book is that Gary uses tons of data to support his ideas (but I guess that makes sense from a guy who started an accounting software company).

The stories Harpst relates (his own and specially selected vignettes from other companies) rang true for me - whether he was talking about the problem with communication as an organization grows, the tendency to refrain from action even when you know the right thing to do, or problems that occur when you don't factor human nature into the difficulty of making business changes.

A book of action

This book is centered on a methodology designed to guide you through actionable steps to become better at execution within the business, with the goal of taking your business to the next level. Just as his first book focused on Six Disciplines, Harpst has focused Execution Revolution on a 6-phase system to address problems with execution:

  1. Decide what's important (Strategy)
  2. Set goals that lead (Plan)
  3. Align systems (Organize)
  4. Work the plan (Execute)
  5. Innovate purposefully (Innovate)
  6. Step back (Learn)

And the whole thing repeats.

Knowing vs. doing

Now, at a glance, you might think "OK - that all sounds obvious or familiar..." but I encourage you to see what Harpst has to say. After all, how many business have a pretty good idea what they should be doing, but are falling short on delivery and execution? Harpst has obviously been there along with the rest of us, and has devoted his attention to helping organizations break through this obstacle to become high performers.

Harpst's book goes beyond platitudes, and his recommendations are meaty and actionable.

The Power of Compounding

One notion I really liked is how Gary applied the concept of "compounding interest" to businesses operations and individual actions. He states that "...compounding teaches us our lives are built on our past," and discusses how even small decisions really matter:

"Building an organization that knows how to execute is based on how you do the little things; every goal you set, every interaction with a team member, every person you hire, every customer interaction. They all matter. And they are all compounding for good or for something else."

This whole concept is about building sustainable, thriving businesses - not just opportunistic, "flip this house" kinds of businesses - and Gary does an excellent job of making this point.

This is not a 'getting started' business book. It's a 'getting better' or 'getting results' book that is well-suited for established SMB's who are in the midst of (or in fear of) a plateau or decline in performance. If you want to jump the curve and get better results in leading an SMB, this book is one you should read.

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Map simply

A long time ago, a man named Harry Beck came up with a way of cleanly mapping London's Underground station network. It was revolutionary in that it hid complexity by focusing less on details and more on the big picture. Beck's method has become the standard for clarity, efficiency, and effectiveness in public transit.

Map_simply_3

As I was waiting for a train this morning and saw our local "Beck style" map, I wondered how this applies in corporate settings.

When organizations communicate vision, direction, initiatives, etc. how often do we confuse people by being too detailed, accurate, and "busy" in our maps?

Our challenge is to come up with a map of our organization's vision that Harry Beck could be proud of.

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Cool news roundup

I've been a bit busy lately but, in cleaning up my inbox I found several very cool news updates that I want to share with you:

SameCell is now at Version 2.0!

I've written about SameCell in the past (here and here) and still think it is a very cool app for the Blackberry. It is even cooler with their version 2 (full list of new features on the SameCell web site).

Beyond some nice interface improvements I think my favorite new feature is their new Events feature (example at right), that lets you create new events (and even new event categories) and broadcast them to other SameCell users nearby. You'll notice an intriguing "Speed Trap" event, for example. You can also customize how you broadcast any event to others - including whether you share your contact info, your location, etc.

They've also added some tagging and rating features to you can tag favorite locations, rate restaurants, and things like that. Very nice additions to an already powerful application.

And it's still free. Find out more or sign up at the SameCell site if you're interested. I've already dropped my hints there that I'd love to see an iPhone version, by the way.

Free photo calendar creation tool available

Thanks to Kathy for telling me about a free online tool to create calendar pages with the photo of your choice. You can print any month's calendar with an image you upload on the page size you select. In a few seconds, you have a PDF of that month's calendar that you can print or share. Perfect for hanging at work or around the house.

My kids will have fun with this one! If you want a sample, click here to download an August 2008 calendar page I made. It features the picture I used to create the current Genuine Curiosity banner background (it's one I snapped of a museum in Cannes, by the way).

You'll note there is not advertising or anything else on the calendar - just your stuff. Pretty cool.

Corporate Change Manifesto at ChangeThis!

My friend Mike Kanazawa (author of Big Ideas To Big Results) has published a paper at ChangeThis called, "People Don't Hate Change, They Hate How You're Trying to Change Them." I worked with Mike and a team of others on a corporate transformation at Symantec Corp. back in the 90's and really admire his perspective. This manifesto is no exception. My favorite section is "Do More On Less" - which is a great treatment of the power of focus in a corporate context.

Download Mike's manifesto today - it's great reading. And watch for my review of Mike's book coming soon.

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Focus on your top three

When life gets busy (or my curiosity gene kicks in), it can be hard to focus on what's really important. As you've seen before (see "Related items" at the end of this post), I often turn to tools like PowerPoint and Mind Manager to make my life easier.

As for focusing on priorities, I have found that PowerPoint's "Smart Art" tools are particularly useful for creating a "Top 3 Focus Areas" list each month. On this one-page cue, I add my top 3 focus areas, and my top 3 desired outcomes for each. Essentially, these become my "must get done" items for the month.

I then print out the page, carry it around with me and make notes on the page to help track my progress, update my boss & peers, etc.

This is amazingly simple and very effective. I happen to use PowerPoint 2007, which has some snazzy templates (I often change them around just to make life more interesting - a couple of examples are shown here).

Give it a try, and see if it helps you focus.

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