Archive of posts from February 2018

On being missable

Would they miss you if you were gone?

Your teammates, that is. Who would miss you more? Who wouldn’t miss you that much? Why?

If you’re on a great team, you may never want to leave. But asking yourself this question may reveal where there’s important work to be done.

How about your team’s customers and clients? Would they miss you if your team was gone? Or would they merely “pick another” to buy from? Why?

Asking this question may reveal where–as a team–there’s important work to do.

The weak made strong

What if admitting weakness makes you seem stronger?

It always seems to be the most confident, proficient members of teams that are quickest to point to their mistakes and apologize for them.

And it seems to be the less-confident, less-proficient members that rarely apologize, or spot (or admit) their weaknesses–instead, apologies are replaced with versatile excuses.

• Sorry has nothing to hide: This person flags their mistakes publically to the team. They have a clear enough grasp of their work that no mistake gets shipped. Even if the mistake is their own.
• Sorry ‘owns the gap’: The space between error and resolution never goes unnoticed or unresolved for this person. Issues get caught, flagged and fixed, without requiring others to stumble upon their mistakes.

On your team, how often do you admit weaknesses? Your answer may point to your next growth opportunity.

Low MPG

“Life is long if you know how to use it.” – Seneca Ever said, “we’ll get around to that… someday”?

I hear teams say this often. And it’s always from passionate teams, full of energy and great ideas.

But we have the team.  We just don’t always use it wisely: we get stuck with Low MPG. The current obsession with workaholism is to blame:

• We get “Low MPG” when we don’t use our time right. Our bodies are machines, and our gas tanks are finite. We must mindfully refill them to avoid running out mid-trip.
• Decision-making suffers when we don’t use our time right. It’s a muscle just like a bicep is; training strengthens it but leaves it tired and torn. Rest is an essential part of training.

When we want to do more, we try to keep going when we should be maximizing the potential of our bodies.

How can your team bring your “someday” work closer, by avoiding Low MPG?

Define your role?

Ever taken a personality quiz? Or a StrengthsFinder?

My teams love these things, and they get to communicate more effectively with each other as a result.

But whether it’s ‘personality types’ or ‘position agreements’, there’s an important distinction: Define your role. Don’t be defined by it.

Introvert or Extrovert, Operations or Marketing, it applies equally:

• Personality results should fit you. You’re not supposed to fit them. By being your best self, if the results stay the same or change, they’re merely an indicator of you at this moment – a metric, not a box.
• Job titles should fit you. You’re not supposed to fit them. While there are responsibilities you own in your role, you get to redefine the role as you bring your full genius.

How are labels and roles defining you? How are you instead defining them?

Same vs Different

Which are we supposed to focus on?

There’s merit in both: in our similarities and in our differences.

As a team, we must focus on both, at different times:

• Within the team: great teams want to be working together. So, focusing on what makes us the same, not on what makes us different, enables new ways to bond more closely, and work on problems more deeply together.
• Outside the team: great teams know what sets them apart. So, presenting yourselves together based on what makes you different, not on what makes you the same, unlocks the potential for strategic market advantage.

What makes you the same? What makes you different?

Teams are not families

Teams are not families.

It’s common, particularly in the tech world, to see teams–regardless of strength or culture–referred to as ‘families’. In reality, the best teams realize they’re the supporter of families:

• Investing in strong bonds: we’ve talked before about how great teams want to be working alongside each other. But at the same time,
• Investing in their freedom: remote work beats ‘Foosball tables’ and free massages, for instance, because it enables members to spend more time with their families instead of in office buildings.

Teams that behave like families enable each other to thrive in their actual family units. No more Foosball.

Preach to the choir

What’s wrong with preaching to the choir?

We use this phrase to suggest something is redundant. But we have the choir’s attention. Shouldn’t they have ours?

• From sales to service: prospects need to find the faith. Converts need to go deeper in their faith. Take them there, be it with mini-courses, training, events or opportunities to go deeper with you.
• From lost to found: celebrate those who saw the light, be it with an endorsement, certification, featurette or gift.

Those who’ve not yet experienced your team’s work need a sales experience to help them make the right decisions. Those who’ve seen your genius need serving and celebrating more than they probably are.

How could you preach to your choir?

Too much cavalry

Is there such a thing as “too much help”?

We’ve talked before about how to “call the cavalry” on teams, to offer help and support when needed.

But cavalry can be overused.

By our definition of A+B players, team members grow (B-to-A) rather than regress (B-to-C).

• Growth means getting cover when needed, ensuring the calls are both rare and unique.
• Regression means not asking for the call when it’s needed (thus dropping the ball) or repeating the same mistakes.

Fire-drills are supposed to be common. Fires are supposed to be rare.

Having cavalry enables teams to keep better promises, providing everyone on the team uses it wisely.

Done, imperfectly

“Well, if you don’t have time to do it right, what makes you think you’ll have time to do it over?” – Seth Godin, Purple Cow Your work isn’t perfect.

And it doesn’t need to be. Yet it still needs to get done.

• “Done, imperfectly” = Done. Next comes refinery & optimization.
• “Not done but perfecting” = Not Done. Next comes procrastination.
• “Not done right” = Not Done. Next comes a redo, if the opportunity stands.

As team members and individuals, whenever we do tasks or assume responsibilities, we should remember in a pinch that:

• “Done, imperfectly” is the best of the three. Reply to the client right away. Get the product to market. Make the sales call. Imperfectly.
• Opportunities aren’t forever: If the client is compelled to look elsewhere, the product runs out of funding, or the lead goes cold, ‘perfect’ was too late.
• “Done, imperfectly” is rare. Despite “perfecting”-ers” failing just as fast as  “not done right”-ers, in a pinch.

What do you need to get done, imperfectly, today?

100 year beliefs

Ever thought, ‘If I knew the future, I could rock today”?

Yesterday we talked about intuition. Today we’re talking about beliefs.

From machine rights to literally sharing your thoughts with others, the future is sure to contain many “surely not” moments.

But what do you believe today that, in 100 years time, will seem totally ridiculous?

• Your industry: What could it look like? By considering beliefs that may become ridiculous, we can consider how to push today’s actions toward the future.
• Your team: What could it look like? By investing in skills and values that will still be valuable, we can consider how to develop a culture that stands the test of time.
• Your world: What could it look like? By considering beliefs that will eventually seem ridiculous (e.g. “climate change isn’t a problem”) we can shape our contribution to the world today.

What do you believe? Future-pace it and see what happens.

More human, Intuition

Last month we touched on 3 things robots can’t do.

Let’s touch on the first: intuition.

Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without proof, evidence or conscious reasoning, or understanding how the knowledge was acquired.

This enables us to say:

• “The future should look like this…” For instance, ‘no more slavery’, or ‘a phone for every human’. A vision for a destination that transcends transaction, instead focusing on an ideal.
• Forget ‘trends’, we’re heading over here…” For instance, predicting a new market or emerging sector with little-to-no proof. The ability to zag when everyone else zigs.
• “Forget data, this is what I think…” For instance, spotting a good hire or investment because it feels right.

Intuition behaves below consciousness, we experience it from our subconscious, away from focal awareness or critical-thought function (things AI will effectively simulate).

Aside from the eventually-autonomous parts of your work, how can you and your teammates bring more intuition to your work?

Knowing less and more

How much do you know?

Those who focus on what they know, know the least. The more you talk, the less listening–and learning–you get to do. The more someone enjoys the sound of their own voice, the less likely there’ll be wisdom in their words.

Those who focus on what they don’t know, know the most. Great minds ask great questions, talk less, and absorb the information in the room. When they do decide to speak, you know it’s worth hearing.

Teams thrive when members are more interested in learning from each other than convincing each other.

Which do you do prefer: talking, or listening?

Gary’s neckties

Ever been to a tie shop?

To some, a necktie is a necessary item in a store with too many options to choose from. $18 to “get me out of here.”

To Hermès, a necktie tells a story – one so important, they feature Gary, “the peerless expert”, to guide shoppers toward the right tie for them on their website and Madison Ave store. $180 to “tell my story with my ensemble.”

Most teams get to choose how they see themselves and the value they bring to the products and services in their market. Just like like Gary and his team did.

Who would you like to deal with? The “Get me out of here” *guys or the *“Tell my story with my ensemble” guys?

And who do you want to be? Thefaceless retail help peddling cheap ties to whomever, or “Gary the peerless-expert”?

What’s stopping you?

What’s your coachline?

Mark Court is really good at what he does.

If you’ve ever seen a Rolls-Royce with coachlines (stripes), you’ve seen his work.

That’s what he does: he paints coachlines.

• He mastered his skill: Rolls enabled him to do that. He got to perfect his skill, and use his genius on great works.
• He works with other masters: Because great coachlines don’t matter much if the rest of the car is shoddy.
• Team advantage: Because they mastered their respective skills, Rolls gets to keep their brand promise of “ultimate automotive sophistication”.

We’ve talked about how great teams of A+B Players invest in being that way. Everyone needs to know and nurture their genius to make a team truly great.

What’s your coachline?

Why or what

Which of these two statements do you prefer:

1. “Why did you do that?”
2. “What happened & what can we learn from it?”

If you’re like most people, you’ll much prefer hearing the latter.

The first leaves people feeling like whatever they tried to do was wrong, and that they shouldn’t do it again. That growth is too dangerous to attempt.

The second leaves people feeling like whatever they tried to do wasn’t perfect, and can be improved. That growth is too important not to attempt.

Next time you give feedback to a team member, which is it to be: Why or What?

Creator-curator

Be careful what you create.

Some teams try to create everything. And therefore nothing is truly amazing, simply because they had to try to do it all themselves. Even Rolls-Royce curates liberally from BMW parts, allowing them to focus their creative-genius on what makes them unique.

Other teams try to curate everything. And therefore nothing is truly unique, simply because they won’t create anything themselves. Even Amazon creates its own products, despite profiting almost-exclusively from selling other people’s products.

What do you create? Make it your genius, and make it the best work of your lives.

What do you curate? Work with the best, and let them make it the best work of their lives.

Fake watches and focus

Fake things can damage your focus.

One of my favorite wristwatch designs is Omega’s Seamaster 300. It’s around $5,000 to acquire. Fakes are apparently around $200.

Quality and ethics should be the least of a fake buyer’s concerns. Worse is the mindset it creates for that buyer:

• Compromiser: While even considering a purchase, one would have to begin convincing themselves of what “doesn’t matter so much”, from what they believe is ‘right’ to what qualities they can forgo.
• Regressive: One’s focus turns from growth to reduction, on how to reduce an ideal (“I don’t like it anyway”) rather than rising to it (“that’s a lovely piece”).
• Glass ceiling: Making a purchase would solidify what you think is–and isn’t–possible for you (“I could never have the real thing anyway”).

This has nothing to do with wristwatches, or what is/isn’t an acceptable price for something.

It’s about you.

Where is your focus: on uncompromising growth and potential, or on merely faking it?

Why does that rule exist?

Sometimes the only answer we have is, “Because that’s just how people do it.”

And it’s a terrible answer.

Teams the world over accept this answer without ever challenging it. What if yours did?

• Does that need to be done? (examples: Complex hierarchical org chart; One more meeting; Paperwork)
• Does it need to be done in that way? (examples: Top-down leadership; Live and in-person; PDF format)
• What if we changed it to be more…? (examples: Customer-centric; Fun; Simple)

Most rules were defined by people no smarter than you, and many standards are simply coincidental patterns we chose to accept.

How might things change for your team if you remember these facts next time someone asks, “Why does that rule exist?”

Learn or lose

When you screw up, what happens next?

Is your team a ‘Win/Lose’ or ‘Win/Learn’ environment?

If ‘learn’ means growth and ‘loss’ means the neglect of growth, let’s turn our attention to the differentiator: the pursuit of growth.

• Watch each other’s progress: You may spot growth opportunities that others may not. Be on the lookout.
• Watch ‘the seams’: Between roles, tasks, and hand-offs, are typically areas rich with growth opportunity.
• Help leaders lead: Sharing the potential growth opportunities you spot with team leaders means they can help facilitate that growth in others.
• Shared spirit: Remember why everybody is sharing growth opportunities–to give everyone on the team the best chance to thrive.

How could your team grow closer and stronger through a shared pursuit of growth?

A case for simple

A couple of years ago, auto companies presented their visions for the next 100 years.

Most of them flaunted exotic 3D interfaces and unconventional new designers.

Rolls did the opposite. Titled ‘103EX’, they removed the dials, switches and interface altogether. What remained was a couch.

Making things complicated is simple. Making things simple is complicated.

Last week, one of our teams was congratulated–during a sales presentation–for successfully leapfrogging the rest of the market as they’d experienced it.

Not for some sort of impressive display of complicated nuance and self-importance, but for an exercise in radical simplification.

What’s complicated on your team right now? Does it need to be?

Team aerodynamics

Are you ready for when it all goes right?

There are times you dream of as a team. Customers and clients beating down your doors. New orders coming in faster than you can keep track of.

Stop: “faster than you can keep track of”? That’s an issue.

In aerodynamics, frictional force increases with speed. Cars have lift force issues, teams have “dropping the ball” issues.

How well is your team designed to handle the frictional force of growth?

• Flow: Have you got systems in place to prevent burnout or over-promising?
• Responsibility: Does every piece of your system have a single owner, for on-the-fly decisions?
• Cavalry: Do those owners have someone standing by to take over on a dime?

Consider these factors your “team aerodynamics” and an indicator of how fast you can go.

How fast do you want to go? And what changes might you need to make to handle the frictional force that comes with it?

Thing of the week

Ever get to the end of a day feeling you should have done more?

Even if you were hard at it all day?

We often ‘feel’ when we’re truly contributing to our team (and when we’re not) regardless of how busy we are.

Conversely, have you ever got through half a week and felt like you’ve already “crushed it”? Let’s define that. I call it the “Thing Of The Week”.

It goes like this:

• Of the things on today’s list, which one thing–if done–would make today feel like a success?
• Of those top daily items, which one–if done–would make the week feel like a success? That’s your “Thing Of The Week”.

While the other things may still need doing, how would ensuring your “Thing Of The Week” gets done affect the way you feel about the coming week, and about your contribution to your team?

Start with success

Success is not a goal.

If it’s yours, you and your teammates are unlikely to achieve it.

I’d like to argue that “success” is a starting point, not a finishing line. An ingredient, not a destination.

Success: Trying until you reach a goal in the short/medium/long term. Failure: Stopping that trying process prior to goal attainment.

• If you try, then achieve the goal, that’s success.
• If you try, then stop trying, that’s failure.
• If you try, realize it’s unviable, change course then achieve the goal, that’s success.
• If you try, realize it’s unviable, then stop trying, that’s failure.

How does adopting the premise that success is a starting point change the way you approach your work, as a team or on a personal level?

Their favorite testimonial

Do you have a junk-drawer full of ebooks, courses, and products?

To solve hard problems, teams often rightfully employ the processes and systems of others. Often good systems, too, but with mixed-to-no results.

Let’s talk about the next time you decide to download a PDF or buy a product. Consider doing so while affirming this as a team:</p>

“We’re going to become their favorite testimonial” – your team What does this mean?

• You did everything it said and got the result. Most businesses wish people would do half the things they ask them to. “Seeing it through”–and creating a fantastic win for your team–thrills any provider.
• You found the holes and showed them. Most customers/clients barely scratch the surface of what a product or service can do and, if they do, they’d never share a way to improve it. Utilizing their work so fully that you found the holes–and shared them–asserts to your team that you got every ounce of value out of it.

If you resolve to become everybody’s favorite testimonial, how would that influence how you approach your next opt-in or purchase? How would it affect how much value you get out of every activity?

4 step solution

Every problem has a solution. Even the hard ones.

And while the road to a solution may vary, there’s comfort in knowing there’s a process of finding it. Turns out, the process only has four steps, posing as questions:

• Do you know how to solve it? Y/N
• If not, do you know how to find a solution? Y/N
• If not, do you know somebody who does? Y/N
• If not, find somebody who does.

Equipped with these steps, we’re unable to become ‘stumped’ or ‘stuck’ for very long.

Think about a problem you or your team is facing at the moment. How could these four questions help guide what you do next?

‘Hard’ work

Most things aren’t as hard as we think they are.

‘Hard’ often replaces words like ‘new’, ‘unfamiliar’, ‘unknown’, and ‘different’. For example:

• Persistent problems: If a business tries and fails to solve a problem, it becomes ‘hard’, even though there are people available to solve it for them, or show them how.
• New challenges: If a teammate takes on another responsibility that has lots new of moving parts to it, it’s deemed ‘hard’, even though it’s well-defined and comes with plenty of training.

There are ‘hard’ things out there. Fighting a war. Losing a family member. Grievous manual labor. But learning a new skill? Or consulting about a business problem?

Think about the ‘hard’ work ahead of you. How could redefining it from ‘hard’ to ‘new’, ‘unfamiliar’, ‘unknown’, or ‘different’ change the way you tackle (and feel about) that work?

Good vanilla sponge

Guilty. We all want to make our important work the very best it can be.

That’s why we like to add icing and sprinkles to things: to try and make it better.

• We want to do more: but often in doing so, we risk forgetting to master the basics.
• The icing is exciting: but more icing isn’t more substance. It’s just a sugar rush.
• But we like exciting: and a vanilla sponge alone isn’t that. But a good cake needs a good sponge.

While baking our next important work, if your mind (or brainstorming session) suggests “let’s add sprinkles”…ask yourself:

“Do we have a good vanilla sponge, yet?”

Unselfish feedback

How many times a day do you give or receive feedback?

Feedback can be one of two things:

• An understanding of how something meets a goal,
• A personal preference for how you’d do something differently.

Unselfish feedback propels good work forward. Selfish feedback not only slows it down but makes it lose its sense of direction. Of the two examples, can you tell which is which?

While giving feedback, ask yourself: “Is this feedback just ‘my style’, or does it help move things forward toward the goal?” If you’re unsure, you’re not clear enough on the goal.

Similarly, while receiving feedback, ask yourself: “Where’s the unselfish part of this feedback that will help me move things forward toward the goal?” This filter helps keep things on track.

Next time you give feedback, ask yourself, “Is this “Unselfish feedback?”