04-Managing a project team

Managing Change, One Day at a Time

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http://hbr.org/2014/07/managing-change-one-day-at-a-time/ar/1

Are you currently managing organizational change? Seeking to transform your department, team or company? If so, read the full article as it provides an interesting correlation between effective transformation and addiction treatment programs. Ferrazzi presents 10-steps, but I have no doubt we can identify a few more to round it out to 12.

The 10-steps for change:

  1. Nothing happens without readiness to change.
  2. It’s important to replace old habits with new ones.
  3. Peer support and pressure drives change.
  4. Sponsorship deepens commitment and sparks results.
  5. Community without hierarchy is a catalyst for change.
  6. You are the company you keep.
  7. Continuous introspection is key.
  8. Changes in practice may represent breakthroughs.
  9. It pays to acknowledge small wins.
  10. The goal is progress not perfection.

My two take-aways from Ferrazzi:

  • Be persistent. Change is hard.
  • Know that people can adapt to new ways of thinking and acting you may just have to find some creative ways of getting them there.

I am interested in organizational change and how others have managed developing plans to enact change, worked through the process within your team or organization, and any strategies or success stories. Please share!

07a-Crafting an effective formal presentation, 07c-Telling stories, slide-craft, storyline structure

Structure Storytelling into a Formal Presentation

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I will admit that I am not the best at crafting formal presentations. However, I also would not consider myself the worst. I have a technical background and my slide craft and delivery tend to reflect that. Why do my presentations tend to lean towards the technical and away from creativity and storytelling? I think it may because of my misperception that developing a presentation around storytelling means sacrificing structure until the presentation becomes “fluff”.

Nancy Duarte, a self-described communications theorist and empathy architect, is the CEO of a firm that specializes in the application of storytelling and visual thinking to communications in business settings. Duarte has also authored several books on the topic of communications: Guide to Persuasive Presentations, Resonate, Slide:ology, and Slidedocs. Duarte gave a TED Talk (view here) that has changed my understanding of the structure involved in successfully integrating storytelling into a formal presentation.

Here are a few notes that I took away from Duarte’s talk:

1. Understanding Proper Role Assignment

The presenter is not the hero of the story, the audience is the hero. Duarte states that the presenter needs to play the role of a mentor, guiding the audience along from the current state forward to the presenter’s idea.

2. Three Part Structure

Every story has a beginning, middle, and end, right? Yes, but Duarte provides a little more substance. The story should start with a likeable hero who has a desire. This hero should then encounter a roadblock or obstacle. Ultimately, the hero emerges transformed. This is the kind of structure seen in most movies.

3.  Presentation Shape

Should there be a structure to a good presentation? Most novels have an arch shape, in which they start, build into a climax and then return as the story is resolved. Duarte studied several famous speeches and recognized a similar structure, a repeating step function. The beginning starts with “what is” and compares it to “what could be”. Here is how things currently are, but look at how they could be. The remainder of the presentation should be based on the amplification of the gap between these two. The middle of the presentation repeats the back and forth motion of what is, what could be, what is, what could be. The goal is to make the current status quo and normal condition look unappealing. Finally, the end should be a call to action. The presentation should end on a high with the audience imaging how the world could be with your idea.

Two of the presentations that Duarte analyzed that exhibited this structure were Steve Job’s 2007 presentation to introduce the iPhone and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s “I have a Dream” speech. For more information regarding Duarte’s work, check out her website.

05-Creating & constructing good solutions, 07a-Crafting an effective formal presentation, 99-Applying business intelligence

Differentiating on Customer Service

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We all had some frustrating experiences with customer service representatives in our lives. Fortunately, I did not experience anything as severe as the one recorded example below by with a Comcast representative.

How much of the recorded conversation is the employee’s fault and how much is it the company’s? Obviously the representatives are not trained to react this way, but surely the “let’s-keep-a-customer-at-any-cost” strategy influences the representative’s behavior.

Why, in 2014, some companies are still able to differentiate themselves from the competition by providing great customer service? I would think that in our day and age, good customer service should be the standard, especially with the viral effect social media has on extreme customer experiences (good or bad). Why don’t Comcast’s management provide a better set of guidelines and solutions to their representatives? Why can’t you get the best deal (from any service provider) without dropping the “I’m leaving” bomb?

The switching costs are decreasing in the TV-provider industry. I now have an option to choose from four different providers, up from one (guess who) four years ago. Do you think Comcast is going to revamp their customer service strategy soon? Or can they keep it as long as they still have a monopoly in many markets?

Any part of the recording will do the trick, but to get the full effect please listen to the entire thing.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/14/the-comcast-call-from-hell_n_5586476.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000063

07c-Telling stories

Laughter Is The Best Visual Aid

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What if I told you, your high school class clown would be a Fortune 500 CEO one day? Would you laugh at me?

This may not be as off-base as one might assume. Laughter not only creates positive affects for the individual, but also can create a contagious and viral benefit – to those you are surrounded by in the workplace.

Personal Benefits

When you laugh – there are a number of different things happening in your body.   Your blood flow increases, your immune system boosts, your blood sugar levels are reduced and you may even adapt healthier relaxation and sleep patterns.

Medical studies, like this one, from the University of Maryland Medical Center have shown that laughter offsets the impact of mental stress as well as decreasing cardiovascular disease. So, while your brains’ cognitive area is thinking and getting a joke, benefitting your personal intellectual abilities, you also have the ability to bring these positive attributes to others, in the workplace.   Not to mention, laughter decreased your stress levels which, as we all know, is a huge benefit to your own personal performance in your job.

Funny person = Creative person

Generally, a funny person, or one who gets humor, and is able to use it to their advantage, provides a number of different benefits in the work place. Individuals winning in the “Comedy Category” are seen as approachable, and individuals who can instantaneously make others feel at ease around them. You’ll also notice benefits in communication, whether it is with your boss, cross-functional team members or Executive leaders.   Just by creating that humor-filled bubble with positive thoughts, you are fashioning a space that is more bonded and cohesive.

A number of companies have seen productivity, employee retention and workplace performance associated with positive emotions, while exercising humor in the workplace. This enthusiasm can create trust, and though you may think can easily go un-noticed, companies have stated in interviews– they have seen intelligence and creativity stem from funny people.

So whether or not at this time you are looking back, wondering if your high school class clown is now a Fortune 500 CEO, as you think of your day to day job – think about lightening up the workplace by spreading some cheer.   You may find yourself interacting with cross-functional team members more positively, able to give a funny “elevator pitch” while you catch a top ranking executive in the sandwich line, or generally start the branding process as an individual who is a team leader, who is approachable and caring, all because you simply have the aptitude to lighten-up a situation, or have a few chuckles each morning with a few co-workers.

Be the leader you would like to see in your leaders, today. Ones who make you feel at ease, ones who are amicable and good-humored and who can simply have a smile on their face at the coffee machine right before their first eight-am meeting. These positive affects not only can help within your body’s immune system and de-stressing, though can assist indefinitely in your advancement in the workplace.

You can find some additional reading on laughter in the workplace below:

http://www.workforce.com/articles/no-joke-stand-up-comedy-training-for-employees-can-improve-workplace-culture

https://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/laugh.html

http://umm.edu/news-and-events/news-releases/2005/school-of-medicine-study-shows-laughter-helps-blood-vessels-function-better#ixzz2qfYaJPA3

http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2007-11-05/humor-in-the-workplacebusinessweek-business-news-stock-market-and-financial-advice

http://www.inc.com/marla-tabaka/5-ways-laughter-can-boost-productivity-and-earnings.html

99-Applying business intelligence

Healthcare & Business Intelligence

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I took a sociology class in undergrad that focused on the healthcare industry, specifically evaluating the efficiency and quality of delivering services. Most of what we focused on was from the patient perspective and how the system either did or didn’t support patient needs. This article focuses on applying business strategy and intelligence to the healthcare industry from the perspective of the supplier/organization.

With the mounting scrutiny on healthcare costs and quality, especially with the implementation of the ACA, it will become increasingly important for innovative leaders to bring business savvy to the industry. I think it’s the moral debate at the heart of healthcare and whether it’s a human right vs. a service rendered that makes the issue even more interesting. Leaders who effectively balance business acumen with responsible decision-making (keeping patient needs in mind) to turn hospitals profitable, or at least sustainable, are in short supply.

With the vacuum of innovative leadership, the industry is in drastic need of smart reform so it’s nice to see the skills we’ve already been practicing in class outlined in tangible ways within healthcare. I wonder, as places like Emory start to merge their business schools and schools of public health or medicine, if the right solutions will tend to arise more prominently out of public policy initiatives or business practices? Systems like the National Health Service in the UK arose out of necessity through public policy after WWII. Without a national crisis such as that, the transition of our system to predominately government-based organizations rather than private will be far more gradual. In that time, the application of the cited business intelligence will hopefully highlight the best parts of competition and business practices while embracing the benefits of greater access.

http://www.healthleadersmedia.com/content/TEC-90944/Applying-Business-Intelligence-to-the-Needs-of-Healthcare-Organizations.html##

07b-Using good information design, 99-Applying business intelligence, 99-Spreadsheet modeling, charts & graphs, tables

What is the Best way to Pull data from the Internet? #GrowthHacking

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A lot of times we find ourselves in the need to pull a database of information online, but copy and pasting (for example a government database) would take too long.  This forces us to either abandon the data infusion that might give us great insight or to make bad assumptions.

As with many of these types of problems there is a startup working on it.  This specific problem is solved by Import.io.  Their slogan is:

Web Data Extraction Made Easy,  Transform any website into a table of data or a Structured API in minutes without even writing any code.

This software really does what it says and is super simple to use.   Turn any website domain or page into an excel document!  While this is probably a big win in productivity for a lot of us, dont miss the big picture.  There are a bunch of these type of programs available that will make your work easier, but, often times they are either hard to find or we are just not aware that there is a solution for it.

I recommend everyone sign up for these services two newsletters: Product Hunt and Beta List.  They will keep you on the bleeding edge of whenever a new problem solving software comes out!

 

 

 

01-Structuring a problem, 99-Applying business intelligence

To Make a Better Bet, Use Trial and Error

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Sometimes we expect things to turn out perfectly the first time. If you do not, then you may be one of the the few. In order to (hopefully) have our ventures turn out the best as possible, we tend to brainstorm and plan ahead to circumvent any issues we may run across. However, it has been suggested in a Harvard Business Review post by Josh Sibel that we use trial and error.

Some of the greatest innovations we benefit from are offspring of trial and error. We have our ideas, notions of proper execution and their outcomes. Essentially, we plan to perfection. As eloquently stated, “perfection is often the enemy of success,” and the pursuit of such perfection sometimes proves to be a detriment. Trial and error allows one to learn from their mistakes and create a product that could have a better outcome than the one that we planned to be perfect.

We think of Apple as the bastion of perfection, but though it appears to be a well oiled perfect machine is not without the use of trial and error. Think about it, just about every iPhone release or iOS release has not been without subsequent modifications to improve the product.

 

01-Structuring a problem, 05-Creating & constructing good solutions, creativity methods

The Art and Science of Problem Solving in Any Business

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Many of you have been encountering any type of problems to solve for your workplace. I have been dealing with different types of problems over last 15 years, mostly should provide engineering solution to clients. As one of team members or project lead to work together with other colleagues to confront complex issues, I should sometimes develop the solid and comprehensive methodology to overcome internal conflicts. In order to do that, I should have adapted particular skills and processes to achieve team objective, valued business and engineering solution to clients.

I am always seeking and researching for tips and techniques for problem solving – from structuring problems to delivering solutions. I found two short articles which I think useful to share with my MP cohort.

The first article is “Art and Science of Problem Solving in Any Business” and second one is “the most 4 effective ways leaders solve problems” Two authors made two valid points for problem solving skills. The first is “People & Management” and second is “Strategy and Opportunities”.  The People & Management is that a great many problems are actually due to policies and processes being reinterpreted by management as they’re being implemented, which in turn causes confusion about how and when things are supposed to be done. The Strategy and Opportunities is that  defining the problem, as well as in dealing with it in such a way that you not only resolve the immediate issue but use the opportunity to improve your business as strategy. They are very simple and straight-forward thoughts. But, I have overlooked them in the process of establishing the project team and scope as well as delivering final solution to management team.

The Art and Science of Problem Solving in Any Business

The 4 most effective ways leaders solve problems

 

04-Managing a project team, team dynamics, team roles

Listen, Learn and then Lead

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2) Planning the Work of a Team, 3) Managing a Project Team

http://www.ted.com/speakers/stanley_mcchrystal

So I openly admit bias on my inspirational and informative reference (but in fairness most of my other Military Officer vets have incredible admiration for the guy). The former commander of US and ISAF forces in Afghanistan, General Stanly McChrystal, gave an incredible lecture via TED that is applicable to anyone wishing to take on a leadership role in a not just challenging environment but seek to implement transformational changes to said organization. As with many of my peers, I too have been in (and will seek post-MBA) leadership positions that have entirely different duties and responsibilities than my previous roles. From the transition from a Platoon Leader as a Second Lieutenant in a Sapper Platoon (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hp5LqGCtzYI ) to my other less interesting (and more plans-oriented) positions I realized that there are certain traits that make leaders excel in any field or organization that they are placed in.

One of the common themes at the US Army Officer Candidate School is leadership is leadership: irrespective of your specialty or organizational level responsibility. It has taken years for me to develop (and am still learning in the corporate world now) but the key traits I have observed and am now especially cognizant of are best summed up by General McChrystal:

Listen, Learn and then Lead.

Reflecting on all the skills one learns during his or her MBA experience I believe it to be equally important to understand how to implement your ideas to fully utilize lessons learned from classes such as Management Practice. In the course of leading often skeptical clients or coworkers (or Soldiers and civilians in the General’s case), McChrystal suggests to first listen. Listening is quite possibly the most difficult task leaders have, particularly as we are prone to defaulting to preconceived notions on how the role and responsibilities should play out before we even arrive; this is especially difficult when compounded with issues such as generational differences, prior experiences and job diversity. Throughout the learning phase (continuous) the main goal is to build trust and rapport; people tend to work harder and with more conviction when they believe someone has their best interest in mind; this is particularly true when it comes to leading higher risk maneuvers or actions where the natural tendency is risk-aversion to prevent failure / negative performance reviews. Finally there is learning when to fully lead. “When in charge be in charge” is one of the idioms always taught to military officers; when you have demonstrated the listening and learning traits to your group this becomes significantly easier to execute. I have found these leadership maxims to be of extreme value regardless of leading Soldiers in warzones or my peers when implementing a new sales strategy as a novice to seasoned sales representatives.

The “Listen, learn and lead” design is paramount to a leader’s success, particularly of importance when leading teams with informational and generational differences.

04-Managing a project team

Microinequities and Management

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I attended a Microinequity conference hosted by Stephen Young, the former Senior Vice President and Chief Diversity Officer at JPMorgan Chase, who managed the firm’s diversity strategy worldwide. If you are not aware what Microinequities are, the excerpt provided (from his website) summarizes it well. Being aware of, and controlling, Micro-messaging is just as important for a brand new manager as it is for a tenured one.  If after reading the description below, if you think that learning a little more about this would be beneficial, I have included links to three articles for you to gain a little more depth on the subject.

Research shows that words mean very little in terms of the real messages that we send and receive. The meaning of our messages is frequently delivered through subtle micromessages. These subtle, often subconscious signals represent the core of the messages we send, and can either demonstrate inclusion or exclusion.

Listening with your arms folded, losing eye contact with the person you are speaking with, ignoring a female colleague’s success while rewarding a male co-worker’s same accomplishments, are all examples of small yet powerful biases communicated in the workplace. Also known as, MicroInequities these often subconscious, negative messages and actions can affect company productivity and morale.

MicroInequities are cumulative, subtle messages that occur when these signals are negative or promote a negative bias. MicroInequities are not one-time events. They are cumulative, repeated behaviors that devalue, discourage, and impair performance in the workplace.

Research shows that words mean very little in terms of the real messages that we send and receive. The meaning of our messages is frequently delivered through subtle micromessages. These subtle, often subconscious signals represent the core of the messages we send, and can either demonstrate inclusion or exclusion.

Listening with your arms folded, losing eye contact with the person you are speaking with, ignoring a female colleague’s success while rewarding a male co-worker’s same accomplishments, are all examples of small yet powerful biases communicated in the workplace. Also known as, MicroInequities these often subconscious, negative messages and actions can affect company productivity and morale.

MicroInequities are cumulative, subtle messages that occur when these signals are negative or promote a negative bias. MicroInequities are not one-time events. They are cumulative, repeated behaviors that devalue, discourage, and impair performance in the workplace.

Harvard Management Article

Time Magazine Article

Star Ledger Article

MEMBA learning community, Fall 2016- Spring 2017