Character: Cornerstone of Win/Win Success in Business

Steven Covey in his 1990 bestseller “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” devotes a number of pages of his book to discussing the 5 Dimensions of Win/Win. His premise is that thinking Win/Win is the habit of interpersonal leadership. This is a key point in that many of us are small business owners or sole proprietors and do not have the luxury of delegating the Win/Win of our business to someone else. We need to be sure we can master the Win/Win philosophy or we will not be able to enjoy the success we aspire to.

These dimensions include: Character, Relationships, Agreements, Supportive Systems and Process. Thinking Win/Win begins with character and this will be the focus of this article and I will leave you to get the book and read about the remaining four dimensions. Why is character of interest to me? It is what I can control or influence the most. It is the foundation and cornerstone of Win/Win.

Covey defines character as having three traits essential to a Win/Win paradigm. These are Integrity, Maturity and what he calls Abundance Mentality (there is plenty for everyone). We know these traits and often recognize them in others that we find are easy to work with, are trustworthy and provide a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment when a project is completed – Win/Win.

A penetrating question is do they have the same feeling toward us? How do we score ourselves in the fundamental character traits for Win/Win.

Character Traits

Integrity: Integrity is the value we place on ourselves. A primary measure of integrity is how good are we at honoring promises and commitments not only to ourselves but also to others? Is this trait important to you? Do you find it easy to work with someone who cannot fulfill what they have promised others? Do you find it easier to work with someone who you know will go the extra mile to make sure they deliver and support you?

Maturity: Maturity covers a lot of ground but deals with our ability to express our feelings and convictions with consideration for the feelings and convictions of others. We often find ourselves in urgent (confrontive) situations where it is necessary to communicate a difficult subject and we have choices in how we accomplish it. Are we overbearing and inconsiderate in our goal of completing the task or do we address the feelings of the other person and help them see our point of view. How do we react when we are taken to task on a matter and the other person tramples all over our feelings and convictions? Are we motivated to work toward a winning relationship? Are we more motivated by someone dealing with confrontation emotionally or in a mature manner that balances nice and tough? Do you deal with others in this type of circumstance as adults or as children?

Abundance Mentality: How do we share credit or recognition, power or profit? We all know what it is like to work with someone who “steals” the credit or “grabs” the power in order to make them look good. These people tend to be insecure and have low personal wealth. On the other hand people who have high self worth and security tend to be very interested in the welfare of those around them. It is much easier to work with someone that is not always looking for ways to make them look good and willing to share the credit and recognition with you and others.

Character is the cornerstone of the 5 dimensions of Win/Win. Some of us come by the three traits of character naturally. Others of us need to consistently work at it to overcome negative behavior.

So . . . how did you score yourself? What are you going to work on? If you are not sure of how you are really doing seek out a mentor (someone with integrity, maturity and an abundance mentality) who can offer you perspective on your character. You may this difficult and tough to do to be transparent and vulnerable but it is better getting feedback from someone you trust than through lost business or lost accounts. Seek out those in your workplace that seem to have the Win/Win profile and go to school on them on how they develop their positive character work traits. You might be surprised at how hard they work at it.

Remember Win/Win begins with your character!

Bringing Order to Chaos

We have all been there! Taking over a company or group that has lost its way or suffering under market conditions that has overwhelmed it. Or, a major customer relationship erupts requiring immediate triage to stabilize and return to a normal business relationship. Or, you are blind sided by a third party trying to disrupt your organization by hiring away key employees affecting product development, sales and operations, or undercutting you position at key accounts. What do you do?

Your plan of action is a result of a quick but careful assessment of the conditions that exist. Many contradictory factors may be in play: Lack of organization and individual confidence, trust issues (mistrust, blame, defensiveness), break down in business discipline, poor communication, poor vision execution, etc. The effectiveness of your action plan is based on how you organize and prioritize what you do first, second and so on!

The following is a five-step process that I have used successfully to deal with severe organization dysfunction and poor performance:

• Focus Employees On What They Can Control - The biggest distraction that I find that needs to be contained is the disruption that things people cannot control causes. Uncontrollable events can be very distracting to many employees and they are far more productive and satisfied when they can offload the unexpected and uncontrollable issues and Focus on What They Can Control.
• Establish a Crisis Path - As a sizable part of the organization returns to processing controllable events there needs to be a timely response to the uncontrollable. Every organization has people who are more adept and comfortable dealing with uncontrollable problems where boundaries are poorly defined. They thrive on solving crisis. These people are capable of rising to the occasion in creating and developing solutions that solve tough problems in a timely and effective manner.
• Establish a Horizon - A dysfunctional organization has lost track of what it is working toward. It may be difficult to target a long term goal right away. Daily (or in more severe cases hourly) goals or targets might be necessary at the beginning to measure progress and accomplishment for the organization. A sustainable track record of attaining daily goals will lead to increased confidence in setting longer term weekly and then monthly goals.
• Eliminate the Root Causes of the Uncontrollable - As the organization begins to redirect itself toward a successful direction and uncontrollable crisis are contained; resources need to be applied to eliminating the causes of repetitive crisis. Possible reasons for this condition are:
• Poor quality that is either occurring in the organization or by a supplier in the supply chain.
• Critical business processes that are not being complied with.
• Customer communication on commitments and expectations has broken down leading to an unrealistic demand on company resources.
• Honesty, Transparency and Communication - Through all of this it is imperative to be as honest with employees and customers as possible. Ongoing urgent or crisis situations breeds skepticism. Telling the ruth is golden over telling people what they want to hear. I have had amazing response from employees and customers alike when I present the truth about a situation rather than using double talk or worse - delay and deny - to deal with a problem.

Are these the only steps you can use to bring order to chaos. No! These five-steps have worked successfully for me in laying a foundation of stability in addressing severe organizational dysfunction in a number of management assignments in my career. Some of you may have circumstances that required a different tact and I would certainly appreciate hearing from you on what worked best for you.

Are you Managing or Leading?

I am passionate about the four key elements that I feel are critical to running a successful company. These elements are Leadership, Process, Metrics and Organized Financials. The cornerstone of this four-step methodology is Leadership. Do not use confuse this with the term "management" or "managing". Leadership involves inspiring others with a clear vision of how things can be done better. Those who manage tend to implement someone else's vision or what they believe is the "corporate" vision and normally slow things down by limiting what their part of the organization can do to just what has been asked or expected - to play it safe and no more.

Leaders work between the lines and interact with their organization to test their vision and assumptions by getting feedback from those who actually work in the operations they are responsible for. Taking the time to understand what is holding people back from higher levels of job satisfaction and job performance. Leaders try to find out how the employee can be unleashed to higher levels of performance than they thought possible and then get out of the way. This is true for individual contributors and those in intermediate supervision positions as well.

Too often artificial ceilings trap employee performance because of misunderstandings, poor vision implementation and access to the facts that drive the business. The Leader looks for this condition and gets to the bottom of the problem. Few people intentionally perform poorly when provided with reasonable training, equipment, work environment and motivation. The leader is conscious of the whole picture and looks beyond the traditional boundaries to see that his business (or department) is successful and that their employees are excited about what they are doing and are onboard with the direction of the business.

Have you trapped yourself into a "manager" mindset? Are you excited about your business? Are you transferring that excitement to others in your business? Can you recognize that excitement in those who produce your products or deliver your services. Take a fresh look at your business, take a new look at your business plan (even better - develop one), identify what is necessary to energize not just your key people but all employees. Become a facilitator and less a controller. Celebrate the independent accomplishments of employees and supervision when they do well and lift the performance of the team(s).

Be a leader!

WWDD: What Would Deming Do?

"No one has to change. Survival is optional." W. Edwards Deming

Several lifetimes ago (1983) I attended a 3.5 day seminar in San Diego and joined over 300 people from various manufacturing and service companies to listen to W. Edwards Deming. Deming is attributed to be the father of the evolution of manufacturing in the use of statistical methods to manage business processes and the attitude of continuous improvement.

We all sat at narrow tables in a large ballroom with Deming on a raised dais. We were equipped with a full 3" binder that contained a Xeroxed volume containing his many lessons on how to apply statistical methods to solve business problems and improve product performance. Deming was not a gifted speaker but his stories and anecdotes were riveting and despite the size of the group few people left early.

Deming did carry a chip on his shoulder since he had not, by then, received recognition in America for what he had done in Japan. Others, American based statisticians, were claiming ownership of the movement but it was clear that Deming had fostered a miraculous change in post-war Japanese industry that resulted in significant inroads in American markets with lower cost and higher quality products. In the early 80's it was clear that American companies were waking up to what they had to do to just catch up let alone get back in the lead.

What Would Deming Do Today? American industries have gone a long ways in implementing the the following Deming philosophy into their business.

Deming would evoke disbelief in his management seminars when he insisted that 94 percent or more of all problems, defective goods or services came from the system, not from a careless worker or a defective machine. He would go on to say that to improve an organization’s goods or services, the system had to be improved rather than searching for the guilty worker or broken equipment.

In almost all cases, when top managers implemented his ideas, they were surprised to find that they agreed with him: The management and the system they were managing were the true source of both problems and improvements.

However, in today's economy we find an increasing presence of government in business in terms of regulation, company ownership and increasingly complex taxation and fee structures. What role should government take in adopting the Deming philosophy as it becomes inextricably involved with the ability of business to operate in the free-enterprise marketplace. Can government, a body that sees some form of leadership change every two years, plagued by lack of accountability, has many political appointees that are not carefully recruited and placed because of their ability to perform in their jobs, has extreme difficulty in managing itself (post office, budget deficits, perks) let alone managing profit based organizations?

Successful adoption of the Deming principles begins at the top of the organization. It requires a constancy of purpose, breaking barriers between functions, driving out fear as the common denominator for change or performance, elimination of slogans, exhortations and targets and a solid understanding of the processes that they are managing. This is a tall order for a government process that consistently demonstrates an inability to be accountable to its citizens and other stakeholders for the management of basic services.

What would Deming do? He would get government out of the business of managing business.

Sailing with Martin: A Management Example

I recently had the pleasure of sailing in a sail boat race on Puget Sound at the invitation of Martin who runs a local high tech manufacturing company. It was a beautiful fall day with sun and plenty of wind for sailing. As a precaution I dressed for rain - the normal weather for this time of year. The boat was 42' long so it easily accommodated the onboard crew of 5. To be competitive in a race, the crew has to efficiently respond to changing conditions such as weather, water (current, depth, tide), proximity to other "vessels" and to effectively execute ship board maneuvers necessary to keep the boat tuned (trimmed) to the optimize its sailing characteristics.

Martin, who has extensive competitive sailing experience, was the captain. Sailing is a passion for Martin and the boat is his love. What makes Martin different from other experienced sailors is his ability to manage the multiple activities of processing the external factors affecting the boat - wind, current, etc. - and the onboard operations - steering, lines, sails, etc. and then effectively communicate what he needs to his "experienced" crew to perform. Of course this is all done in a foreign language that relies upon unusual words: leeward, sheets and stays, spar, weather, tack, jibe, luff, halyard, helm, guy, pinch, reach, backstay, about - to name a few key words. It is one thing to watch "Master and Commander" on TV and hear these terms and watch others understand what to do but another when you hear them thrown at you assuming you know what to do when the boat is under way, healed over, rail in the water, and everyone is moving fast toward their assigned job. As a novice I found myself often saying "Huh?"

Martin is in his element when the boat is under sail. He is constantly checking the trim of the boat to optimize its speed under the current heading. Is the mainsail right, could the foresail be tighter, is the helmsman falling off the wind or pinching too much, are the lines set for the next planned maneuver, what is happening to the boats ahead and what does that suggest will happen to him, what is the current depth, how fast is the current adding to or taking away hull speed, are we on course for the next turn? Martin is constantly in motion "managing" the boat to be as successful as possible under the prevailing conditions. His boat is not the youngest in the race and does not have a lot of the hot-technology equipment that many of the other boats have but Martin makes up for reasonable handicaps using his sailing savvy and tenacious sailing skills to be competitive.

How does this experience apply to business management? The similarities with running a business are striking. We are constantly buffeted by either known or unknown market factors that can affect your ability to navigate your business through uncertain business conditions. While you cannot control the unknowns you can address the "knowns" of your business to improve your ability to "weather" the storm successfully. In order to do your job well you find a way to constantly get a "bearing" on where you are in terms of your sales pipeline, your ability to keep your operations "trimmed" to operate at optimum profitability, how effectively you are communicating within your organization so that all know what to do and when to do it, be aware of market conditions and familiar with how the rest of the market is performing and what changes you need to make to perform better.

I have known Martin for many years and while I do not have a detail knowledge of his business management skills I do know that his industry has undergone stress and he has successfully "navigated" his company through troubled waters to profitable performance. I am sure his sailing talents are at work in his business office.

There is a lot we can learn by observing others in personal pursuits such as sailing and how we can apply those lessons or impressions to our business practices. While there may be obvious differences between businesses and industries it is amazing how common the skills and strategies are to managing successfully.

Dealing with Employees Consistently

My experience in manufacturing began in a UAW union plant. I was part of a turnover of the management team designed to bring a fresh approach to dealing with a number of issues that the manufacturing team was struggling with. The most significant issue was the number of outstanding grievances that existed between the bargaining unit and management which consumed a great deal of “productive” time on a daily basis.

Why were there so many grievances? There were issues on both sides. Initial recruiting standards for employees and supervision were poorly defined and cronyism existed where friends and family were often employed without regard to qualifications, temperament or character. This was most evident in the supervision ranks which were the primary interface between management and union employees. Individual supervisors were given a wide birth in what they were allowed to do and how to do it with regard to how they used and directed people. Consequently many “inconsistencies” existed which led to a great deal on complaints as to how discipline issues were dealt with on a daily basis – both good and bad! The union stewards had a field day highlighting and comparing good examples with bad examples and the previous management team responded in a defensive way which further exacerbated the situation.

How was the situation brought under control? Our new management team took on the issue of dealing with employee issues in a proactive way with emphasis from the top down and that consistency was the new way to deal with complaints and discipline throughout the plant. Top and middle level management were constantly on the floor observing, coaching and available to assist front line supervisors as they applied the new supervision process. In some cases “hard” headed supervisors who resisted the new direction needed to move on. Recruiting standards for new supervisors were raised to measure the supervision attributes, temperament and desire to work in a manufacturing line environment. In a few cases, line employees stepped forward and moved into supervision and this also included the first female line supervisors (a rarity in the ‘70’s).

Changes were also made in the recruiting of line employees as well requiring minimal education accomplishments as a way to measure the interest of the prospective employee to advance themselves. This was most effective when a slow down and protracted strike resulted in a number or early employees hired when the plant was first staffed, who were poorly prepared for a work environment, did not have to be brought back and they were replaced with new, motivated employees.

Slowly the contentious work environment changed. Incidents of on-the-line disputes reduced to zero. The triple digit number of grievances dropped to double and then to single digit. The time spent disputing (negotiating) grievances dropped from hours per day to a couple of hours or less per week. The productive climate in the plant changed dramatically and the plant became a top performer reversing the reputation that it had when the new management team arrived.

While there were a number of changes throughout the plant to cause this change in performance the most significant was the change in dealing with people and it had a great impact on me. As I moved on to other management position with companies that were non-union it was obvious that many of the other managers did not appreciate the management environment of a non-union business. I would always address the “violations” that I noticed in my departments to be more employee focused and measuring how consistent our practices were in dealing with performance, discipline and behavior and ultimately the quality of the work environment. Again, this often required people to make major changes in the way they viewed there subordinates and in a few cases changes in personnel. However, the result of dealing with employees consistently was always rewarded with an increase in productivity, reduction in turn over and a positive work environment that attracted high achievers.

Framing Job Value

Job satisfaction is often talked about in terms of what the company needs to do to make the job more rewarding and satisfying for the employee. The company has basic obligations to provide a reasonable and competitive work environment, effective tools and systems, training and compensation. Intangibles such as motivation programs, social opportunities to develop work relationships and teamwork add to a positive work environment.

Even if the company excels at all of these efforts, employees (owners included) can still struggle with job satisfaction. Why? Why does a company have a poor to mediocre attitude on the part of its employees when they appear to be doing all the right things. What are high performing companies doing to create a highly motivated work environment for their employees?
I recently heard a story about Bill Pollard, now the retired Chairman of ServiceMaster, who had to deal with a work performance issue at a hospital where the cleaning crew (janitors) had a morale problem toward their work duties resulting in a customer satisfaction problem. The crew seemed to be above average individuals and well qualified to do the work but they viewed themselves at the bottom of the pecking order in the hospital and this translated to the attitude and self image that they carried into their daily routine. They did not feel that what they did on a daily basis – clean floors, restrooms, hallways, etc. – had any value.

ServiceMaster took the novel approach of “framing” the job that the janitors were doing into an integral role in joining the healthcare professionals to improve the healthcare delivery and treatment of the patients. Turning their focus from cleaning floors to providing a “clean” facility where people could be treated better changed the value that the janitors placed on their jobs. Consequently the floors were cleaner, the restrooms regularly serviced and cleaned and job satisfaction improved significantly leading to a satisfied customer.

Are other companies helping their employees frame their jobs into one that has high value?

• Toro (lawn mowers) sent manufacturing employees to customer locations during slack production cycles – high quality golf courses such as Augusta – to work alongside the users of the equipment that they assembled and rarely had a chance to use or see in use. Result: These employees came back with recommendations on how to improve the product and produce a quality product.
• Disneyland has for years used the approach in training employees that they are actors providing entertainment for visitors – guests. They each have a role to play and are conditioned to be in character when in the presence of guests to create a high quality customer experience.
• Les Schwab sells tires but when you enter the parking lot and park your car you are often greeted at the car by an eager employee to respond to your needs. They don’t just shuffle over to the car since it is rare for them to not run over to you and present a professional appearance – clean uniform, recent haircut, and upbeat greeting.

There are many other examples but the common practice observed is the intentional effort to focus the employee on a role of value that they are satisfied with that will best serve the customer. Is this the practice at your company? Is this how you approach your job, how you interact with your employees and most importantly how this carries out to the customer.

Establishing a company signature culture such as Disneyland or Les Schwab can rarely be implemented without the full endorsement and “walk-the-talk” attitude from the owner or leadership team. This is something that is not someone else’s job and if you want to do it right, needs to permeate all that you and the rest of your company does on a daily basis. Inconsistencies will be quickly recognized and will erode all of the good efforts that others may do and you will come short of your objective.

Take a look at how your employees approach their jobs. Do they see value or drudgery? Come alongside them and redefine and “frame” what they see in their jobs into one that has value. You will be amazed at the impact this will have in their work life, personal life and the customers impression of your company.