Changing the Game... Connecting the Dots

The Dangers of Competitive Talking

I can’t tell you how many firms engage in some form of internal “competitive talking”.  Here’s what I mean:  The marketing department brags about their new initiatives or events, the account development people one-up marketing with stories about the new clients they’ve hooked, and so on. Not to be outdone…technical delivery staff can often be heard to utter “and who do you think produces the work?’ Your clients can smell that behavior on you…

Most teams are slightly dysfunctional, but if teams within your firm aren’t working together collaboratively, you’ve got a serious problem on your hands – end of story.  When competitive little silos get more substantial than the greater good for your clients and your firm, it’s time to take action and get everyone back in the same rowboat again. 

The next time your firm is pursuing a client, watch for subtle silo behavior.  Leverage diverse departments and resources.  Model collaborative behavior and the silos generally start to crumble.  It may take time, but it’s worth it.

After all, if you’re all too busy trying to seem better than each other, you’re probably missing out on the “issues behind the issues”…even with your best clients.

“Change is Pain” – And Now We Might Know Why

Here’s a shocker:  People don’t like being told what to do.  And it’s not because we’re lazy, unmotivated, or generally confused.  It’s just a subtle component of human nature.

If you’ve ever been on either end of a large-scale company reorganization, you know that it’s beyond frustrating.  On the leadership side, getting an employee of five years to dramatically alter his routine is a little like convincing a two-year-old to eat her vegetables.  And, from the employee side, well, the immediate reaction can be something like, ‘Why should I change?  I’ve been doing things this way for five years?’

What gives?  According to an article in Strategy + Business, it’s because humans are basically hard-wired to resist change.  The article, called “The Neuroscience of Leadership” is a must-read for anyone in corporate America, from the “C” suite to the mailroom.

So, what’s your take on change?  Have you found any strategies to help make reorganizations or transformational change less painful?   I’d love to hear about it.

The “I know this guy who knows this guy’s wife’s brother’s roommate” phenomenon

Our firm has been working on very intense and complex... capture/connection plans lately, and the results have been amazing  . . .

In the last three weeks, I’ve helped diverse groups working together as a team– IT professionals, engineers, construction and design people, and strategic real estate advisors – navigate their way through some pretty big pursuits:  Texas Health Resources, BP, The Mayo Clinic, United HealthCare, Microsoft, and other large companies with massive org charts.  From a distance, many of these mega-corporations can seem absolutely impenetrable – how do you even get a foot in the door?  For that matter, where is the door?

But, when everyone on your team is rowing, and working their own personal connections, the results can be surprising – once you get past the first 20 minutes.  That part is like pulling teeth. 

At first, everyone responds with blank stares and furrowed brows.  It’s pretty painful. 

The group:  “But, Wayne, I don’t even know anyone at Microsoft!”

My response:  “Okay, that may be true.  But, who do you know that might already be “connected” at Microsoft?”

And suddenly, we’re off to the races.  Fingers are flying as people log in to their LinkedIn profiles.  “Googling” in it’s finest sense and “thin slicing”, who is strategically linked to who, takes on other dimensions. Blackberries beep as participants scroll through their contact lists. 

All you need is a diverse group and a few laptops.  It’s the Wikipedia phenomenon in action – the formerly blank-faced group is energized as they realize that they used to work with a woman who now works at BP, or that their former college roommate is in marketing at Microsoft.  They are amazed at what they know, and what everyone else knows. 

The best part:  Two days later, they’re still thinking about it, adding names and information to the list of client intelligence.

Even better:  After three or four days, the summary of what everybody knows is stunning.

When you bring together a diverse group, everybody has a little slice of information to contribute.  There’s nothing quite like collective intelligence when trying to “connect” in a respective manner…with a complex client…with any client that matter.

Just Wordplay?

The real difference between a “world-class sales organization” and a “world-class account development organization”…

A sales organization can be too rooted in the linear:  Client pursuit starts with the business development person, technical staff is unevenly integrated, then the marketing department pretties it up, the sales team rehearses it on the way to the interview, and its tap dance time.  They may “win” the engagement, they may not . . . it’s a numbers game, and it’s primarily one-dimensional.

An account development driven organization relies on teamwork.  A pursuit can initiate anywhere in the organization:  technical staff, marketing, leadership, or business development – it doesn’t matter.  The real key is the “connection” strategy.

In an account development organization, everyone on the team shares the client capture plan; everyone uses tools like Google, Wikipedia, and LinkedIn to find connections and aggregate client intelligence.  Every member of the team can see how your firm is trying to connect.  Equally important, an account development organization understands the value of project delivery partners and vendors:  These firms can also contribute to client insight and they’re often overlooked.   Effective “connections” made with clients are multidimensional, team-driven, and most importantly….sustainable . . .

That’s world-class.

After all, is it really about “landing a lead”?  Or, is it about growing accounts?

“Yeah, You Look Fine”

What marriage could teach us about listening for “the question behind the question”

The difference between becoming a trusted advisor to your client and just “the person that delivered your strategic plan…or 3 design options” is a lot like the difference between a 30-year-old married guy and a 50-year-old married guy.  It’s about listening to the question behind the question . . .

Here’s what I mean:   A man and his wife are getting ready for a big night out.  She asks him, “Does this dress look okay on me?”  It’s a classic question, and the message behind the message is subtle.  A 30-year-old man might often say something like, “Yeah, you look fine.”  That answer might acceptable, if the question was really about the dress. 

Chances are, that question really means, “Are you still excited to be out with me?  Do you still feel like we’re going on a date?”  A 50-year-old guy might listen a little more carefully…get somewhat of a sense of tone…maybe spend some extra time to get at the real question.  He might ask a few more questions and find out what his wife is really fishing for…probably a little deeper than a compliment.

A healthcare executive asks, “How many hospitals has your firm built?”  You could reply, “Ten.”  Or, you could listen to what that executive is really asking:  “Do you understand the business and political issues we’re facing?  Do you know that my job is on the line if this project goes over budget?”

This really has nothing to do with age . . . or gender . . . it’s about listening.  And if you’re not hearing the question behind the question, you’re probably missing out on what a client really wants to know.

In Charge and Out of Touch?

A new spin on an old joke:  What do leadership teams and mushrooms have in common?  People keep them in the dark and feed them crap. 

It’s funny, but it’s not funny. I’m always amazed at how little some leadership teams actually understand about the impact of their own companies’ business and political issues on key decisions involving major project or scope executions.  It seems to me that as soon as each team member puts on the requisite dark suit and move up to the “C” suite, they can lose significant access to information that may matter.  If they aren’t careful, the leaders in any organization can become completely out of touch.

Let me thin-slice this for you:  In many organizations, the people who lead might not be as connected as they need to be.  And few staff members in the lower ranks are willing to point it out.

Leadership teams can be really isolated. They’re starving for context and perspective.  Often, they feel that it’s unsafe to ask a question because they are afraid of looking uninformed.  And to make matters worse, once they get up there and are dressed in dark clothing, others feel that they are suddenly unapproachable.  There’s a huge disconnect here.

If you’re a service provider, don’t be afraid to approach the “leadership cave” every once in a while.  CEOs are human beings searching for context and perspective – just like you. 

Stop Schmoozing; Start Connecting

Imagine that two people are applying for the same job:

Candidate A prepares for the big interview by researching the company and what it does, thinking about how she can help the company achieve its goals and preparing some strategic and creative answers to the predictable questions.  In short, she does her homework.  She differentiates herself.  She is ready. 

Candidate B doesn’t do a bit of research or information gathering beforehand.  She breezes into the interview with a fistful of rodeo tickets and an invitation to play golf next weekend.  She shakes hands and collects business cards.

Who would you hire?  It’s funny…but it’s not funny.

The next time your firm is pursuing a new client, think about your approach.  It’s just like a job interview. 

Do you give your prospective clients any compelling reasons to hire you over the other guys?  Do you offer your clients solutions based on thoughtful homework, or do you just buy a round of beer, check the relationship box, and then declare “positioning victory”?  At the end of the day, what has that prospective client really learned about how your firm can impact their issues more effectively than your competitors?

Most of us understand how to get ready for a job interview, but not everyone understands how to pursue a client respectfully.  You can learn many important aspects and “issues behind the issues” about an owner on the golf course…after they become a client. 

Are you Linked In?

Not your Teenager’s Social Networking Site

If you still think that online social networking is strictly for teens or college students, it’s time to check out LinkedIn.  It’s the MySpace/Facebook of the corporate world; a place for the entry level as well the “C” suite to trade expertise and lessons learned; a place to connect with former colleagues and mentors.  And it’s also kind of addictive, like an online, real-time game of “Six Degrees of Separation.”  You have connections, and your connections have connections, and so on. 

The beauty of LinkedIn is that it’s beyond simple:  Registration takes about 15 minutes.  You create an account, provide some basic information about yourself and your career history, and you start connecting.  Once you do that, search for current and former colleagues, classmates, and business partners.  You’ll be surprised how many of your associates have profiles already – I know I was.

Unlike many other social networking sites out there, LinkedIn is more than just a novelty:  As professional networking become increasingly virtual, social networking sites may provide several gateways to connecting to complex clients.  Your network is more than just a roster of colleagues and business partners.  People in your network can alert you to evolving milestones in target market segments, recommend you and your firm’s services, and connect you to potential clients.  In the corporate world, connections are everything, and sites like LinkedIn can help you build and maintain those connections.

After all, it’s not just what you know, but who you know. And how you know them. And who they know.

Start connecting on LinkedIn today.

Coaching vs. Training

To me, coaching means accepting people just as they are.  Everyone comes to the world of positioning with clients with their own set of strengths and weaknesses; things they’re good at and things that need some work.  I get that; it makes sense to me.  It’s kind of like my stepdaughter’s soccer team:  You’ve got your speed players; you’ve got players with a great, assertive style on the field – you even have players who look a little awkward out there, but have a serious head for strategy.  Being a coach is about seeing those things and appreciating them. 

Coaching is not about making everyone into identical little robots.  It’s about modeling:  Think of any coaches or mentors in your life, and you probably remember their actions and character more than you remember them telling you the one “right” way of thinking or doing.  Coaching is about respect.  It’s about letting someone get the context at their own speed.  It’s about using what you’re naturally good at.  A good coach gets who you are and helps you excel.

Training, on the other hand, can hover somewhere between the overbearing and insulting.  If you think about it, it’s beyond ridiculous.  You can’t take an adult (or a teenager, for that matter) and simply tell them how to think and act. Where’s the motivation in that? Think about your professional life:  has anyone ever tried to “train” you?  It probably didn’t work, and you probably resented it.  When someone “trains” you, they are putting you in a box and overlooking your unique skill set.  And when you feel boxed in, you’re more likely to give up.  Good coaches don’t want that, and they know how quickly that can happen. 

It all comes down to respect.  As a coach, I help people use their unique strengths to succeed.  I want to connect without being overbearing.  I don’t want to train anybody to do anything.

No robots, please.

A thought from Alan Greenspan...

From his new book...I heard Alan Greenspan quote a phrase that has some applicability to the subtleties of positioning with all levels within client organizations that we face week in ...week out

"If you swap principle for power...you often times end up with neither"