Topic: management

Few CEO’s enjoy the industry perspective Kimball Rasmussen has developed by working for the three power supplier business models. Holding a high senior or CEO position in municipals, cooperatives and investor-owned power utilities, Kimball has strong experience within each segment of the electric power industry.

Kimball launched his career graduating with an Electrical Engineering bachelor’s degree and a MBA degree from the Brigham Young University in 1986. Kimball rose through the power marketing department of Utah Power/PacifiCorp. Major milestones included Director of Power Marketing and Contracts and V.P. of Business Development for PacifiCorp.

In 1998, Kimball became Executive Director and CEO joined Southern Minnesota Municipal Power Agency with over 600 MW of resources and $150 million in annual revenues. Beginning in January, 2000 Kimball signed on as CEO for Deseret.
He is married and has four children.
* * *
Deseret Power is based in South Jordan, Utah and serves over 50,000 customers in California, Utah, Wyoming, Nevada, Colorado, and Arizona. Established in 1978, Deseret Power is owned by six rural electric cooperatives and operates the 458-megawatt Bonanza Power Plant near Vernal, Utah and the Deserado Coal Mine near Rangely, Colorado. Deseret also has a 100-megawatt interest in Utah Power’s Hunter 2 unit.

Do you like designing on whiteboards?  I do.   Colorful markers against a clean, white surface inspire all kinds of creativity and fun.

Recently David Crossett of Ready Receipts gave me a great tip.  He told me that instead of going to your local OfficeBOX superstore and paying $200 for a 4×8 whiteboard, just hit HomeDepot instead and get a $12 piece of showerboard.  It works just as good and if you need a smaller size they will cut it for you on site for no additional charge!  At that price, you can line your walls with thinking space.  Power to the Consumer–thanks David!

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com

Whenever I watch a business show on television, I am amazed at the number of times the word “expectation” is used to describe the performance of a company’s perceived value and stock price.  It seems that investor “expectations” often drive stock prices in the market.  When a company exceeds expectations, the stock price skyrockets and when a company does not meet or is below investor expectations, then prices plummet reflecting the dissatisfaction of investors in the performance of a company.

This same drama plays out on a much smaller scale with leaders and their individual team members.  Expectations play a big part of an effective relationship.  The only problem is that all too frequently expectations in the mind of the leader versus expectations in the mind of the follower are unclear, confusing, and ambiguous.  Yet, everyone wants to know what is expected of them.  We want to be clear about our obligations and duties.  We want to be able to anticipate the outcomes and requirements necessary to be a good performer and add value to an organization.

Expectations bind us together; they are the fabric that forms a relationship.  Expectations play a key role in building trust and confidence as we anticipate the probability of someone executing necessary duties.  When trust is high, we value and leverage our relationships more.  When expectations are not achieved our trust bank account is depleted.

Expectations are a key driver in the motivation and engagement levels of people.  When people understand expectations and buy in to them, they work harder to fulfill those expectations just like a company does in the financial market.  People want to know what is expected of them so they are then able to make decisions about the intensity and discretionary performance they are willing to give towards a task or job.  When coaches create a two-way agreement with their team members about expectations, they set the stage for the extraordinary performance necessary in a highly competitive world

CMOE is an advocate of a simple process that we call “the alignment meeting” as a tool to define and clarify expectations.  The alignment meeting or discussion should occur periodically with any team to maintain a clear picture of everyone’s expectations.  These alignment meetings only take one or two hours with a typical team.  They should occur more often for teams that are in a state of change or are in conflict, and less often for stable and harmonious teams.  Every time CMOE associates have facilitated an alignment meeting, the topic of feedback coaching and mentoring always surfaces.  People have a thirst to know how they are doing, where they stand, and where they are going.  They don’t want to be a non-performing asset in the enterprises portfolio of resources.  Most people want to be productive contributors, but in order to do that, they need information, feedback, and guidance from a coach.  This dynamic creates a “perfect storm” for the leader.  If the leader is able to capitalize on the need people have for feedback on their performance, and solidify an “expectation’s agreement,” the leader will then be in a position where people seek out and expect coaching and feedback.  This creates a legitimate reason to coach people on key factors that will drive performance for the team and the individual.  Coaching then becomes one of the central expectations of the team’s culture.  When a leader needs to courageously engage anyone on the team about an important topic or situation, they have an expectation platform or a “license” to operate from.  The leader has an understanding that it is their duty and obligation to share information, direction, and feedback.  It becomes the normal thing to do; no one feels singled out or targeted.  In turn, when feedback is lacking, people on the team are more likely to ask for it and hold the leader more accountable to perform coaching tasks.

The license to coach makes it easier to give and receive coaching.  It becomes a natural process.  Everyone buys into it because everyone understands that to run a business, you need to be able to talk to people about their performance.  When leaders create a license to coach by bringing sound skills to the process, people will excel and even exceed your wildest expectations.

There are plenty of good pieces on the Internet about how to build a good board of advisors.  Go ahead, Google them.  There is one super post about why you shouldn’t bother to build an advisory board by the smart guys at 37Signals.  Essentially, they’re saying that too many supposedly critical things are myths that keep you from building the company and products.  But what if someone has approached you to be an advisor to his company?  There aren’t very many pieces about how to be a good advisor.  So how do you provide value as an advisor?

1. Don’t be a professional advisor.  Don’t go seeking to sit on a bunch of advisory boards.  Few things deserve your time and attention so be selective – get involved only with companies where you have unique insight and passion to contribute.  And I mean don’t be a professional advisor. If you ask for cash compensation, you’re a problem and not a solution, especially for young startups with limited resources.  If the management team desperately wants to compensate you, accept a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of equity in stock options that vest over time.  Don’t be a resource drain.

2. Get out of the way.  Too many advisors want to get actively involved in a company’s operations and tell management what to do.  The management team should know more about its business than you do and if it doesn’t – you’ll never be an effective advisor for the company anyway.  Being an advisor should never be an exercise in ego.  If you have to insert yourself to feel valuable, you’re the wrong guy.  Only get your hands dirty if the management team asks you to dive in.

3. Challenge convention.  Unlike members of a formal board of directors, you as an advisor cannot be held liable for the company’s actions.  This allows you to be more objective and give uncensored advice.  This freedom is probably the most enjoyable thing about being an advisor.  You don’t have to have all the right answers, you just need to be gutsy enough to question everything the company does and how it goes about doing it.  This is where you can have the most impact on the company by helping management to consider different strategies.  Focus on strategy, not tactics.

4. Open up your network generously.  You’ve spent your whole career cultivating valuable relationships.  Connect the company to potential investors, partners, and customers.  Of that list, customers rank supreme.  Investors and partners will show up if the company has a growing customer base.  But potential customers could care less who a company’s investors or partners are.  So if you know someone or some organization who could use the company’s products or services, be the leadoff hitter on the sales team.  But hold the management team to high standards.  Make sure milestones are being met and progress is being made before you haphazardly make introductions.  Let management know that if they do their job, you’ll be their biggest evangelist.

5. Get out of the way.  Did I mention that already?  This time what I mean is to know when the company has outgrown your expertise and ability to contribute.  There is a lifecycle to all engagements and you don’t want to be the person to outlast your welcome and usefulness.

I’ve heard people make references to Geoffrey A. Moore’s Crossing the CHASM book for several years now but had’t read it until this past week. 

Moore’s book is a must-read for any IT company trying to launch a new product.  Although the concepts in the book are not novel (so admit’s Moore) the book brings a vocabulary and metaphoric dictionary to the readers allowing marketing groups, investors, and techies alike to communicate about the playing field in a proactive manner.

Moore discusses the importance of delivering continuous innovation, instead if discontinuous innovation.  Our new innovations need to help people do what they are already doing better, and not force them to abruptly change something that kinda works for something that they are not sure about that may possibly work better.

Moore introduces the Technology Adoption LifeCycle, complete with five categories of market segments.  He discusses how to market in succession to each group:

1. Innovators
2. Early Adopters
3. Early Majority
4. Late Majority
5. Laggards 

Finally, Moore introduces some business concepts you may have heard of by now, like the bowling alley, the tornado, and the fault line.

If you haven’t heard of these, then you need to get reading!

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com

I’m publishing my first book next month.  It’s about software quality management.

Quality management, that is, in the sense of improving software processes and production support methods, not about ‘how to test software.’

I include overviews of the four formal quality models: CMMI, Six Sigma, and ISO 90003, and ITIL.  I outline how to create a quality system within an organization and I discuss common fixtures it should have.

I talk about checklists, measurements, purpose, accountability, and continuous improvement.

So now I want your help.  Tell me what else I should include in a book about managing quality in an IT/Software Development/Production Support environment.

Also, suggest some titles.  Thanks in advance!

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com
 

I recently hosted Red Rock Research’s second weekly software development best practices seminar for the general public.  Our topic was Software Requirements Management.Requirements Management is perhaps the most controversial topic in software development.  Everyone seems to have their own technque.  It is also the most important skill-set–statistically more important than development skills–to the overall success of a software project (Standish CHAOS Report, 2009).Let me say that another way because this principle is not intuitive…if you want to improve the performance of your development projects, improve the skill-sets of your business analysts who generate requirements.  Statistically, this has more of a performance boost on a projects outcome than any other skill-based area.Many published requirements management techniques exists, and yet in a $220 Billion industury with a project failure/delay rate of 64%, it appears that most of these published techniques are not embraced.Our seminar covered Eliciting, Prioritizing, Validating, and Documenting a requirements baseline.  We discussed the progression of system context diagrams, UML actors, use cases, data-flow diagrams, High-Level Overview diagrams, High-Level Design diagrams and finally the Software Requirements Specification document.   We talked briefly about  a Concept of Operations document and a System Design Description document.We discussed the difference between a plan-based documentation stack, and a minimized Agile-development documentation stack–which would be generated during a Sprint-Zero.  (Yes BTW, you DO create documentation for Agile projects!)We discussed techniques to control scope creep after the requirements baseline, and then discussed techniques for dealing with what I call ‘approval noise.’What puzzles me the most about this topic is an entrenchment I encounter occasionally, as expressed by one of the seminar participants.   He stated, after the seminar, that all of this was interesting in a textbook-like manner, but that he felt none of it was pratically applicable.I asked him to explain how his company performs requirements practices and he said “Well, we have nothing written.  We have everything in our head and we just talk across the cubicles.”  He then told me he was frustrated at some additional items he was asked to add to his project that morning because it was supposed to be completed two weeks ago.  He also told me that the owner of his organization wished they had a structured approach to software project management, and that–oh, by they way–many of the programmers were given layoff notices at the beginning of the week because the company is failing.Hmm, it’s almost as if the problem is not properly in focus.  Downstream problems are caused by upstream actions or omissions.  I mean no disrespect, I just wish to point out the obvious that if companies like this would adopt upstream structure they would benefit from downstream success.You see, the problem proper requirements practices solves is not at the development effort level, it is at the project management, estimation, budget, and strategy planning–or business level.Software centric business level practices become predictable and executives can be proactive if their projects properly consume the time estimated.Projects will consume the time estimated if they include all of the functionality needed for a desired level of business value, and those functions are identified in whole, at the beginning of the project.  This way the software project time-frames and feature-sets can be included accurately in the estimation, budgeting, resource planning, and strategic planning of a company.  This way, scope creep will be minimal, and the whole company will benefit from a predictable project delivery process.Without proper requirements skills, entire feature-sets get missed upstream and need to be added ‘at the last moment’ downstream,  the risk of re-work increases drastically, and recurring cycles of this erode project managers and the development team’s credibility in the eyes of the executive team and the waiting customers.  In worst case scenarios, this can lead to layoffs and finally company failures.If you haven’t been trained on proper requirement management techniques, you are holding your organization at risk.  Attend our next three-day Software Requirements Management training course held September 7-9 in SLC.Mike J. Berry, PMP, CSM, CSPMwww.RedRockResearch.com

Recently, while attending the ‘09 Agile Roots conference in Salt Lake City, UT, Alistair Cockburn–the keynote speaker–referenced Miyamoto Musashi’s 16th-century book called The Book of Five Rings. 

I like Asian philosophy (and swords and such) so I picked up the book and read it.  The book was written in 1643 by an undefeated Japanese samurai master who was so effective he was rumoured to have spent the latter part of his career entering sword-fights purposely without a weapon.  Although meant as a battlefield manual, the book has gained popularity as a handbook for conducting business in the 21st century.

The book was translated into English by Thomas Cleary at some point and the edition I read was published in 2005.   Improperly named “The Book of Five Rings,” the book is actually a compilation of five scrolls.

The Earth Scroll: Musashi talks about how a straight path levels the contours of the Earth and how various occupations provide life-improving principles.  He talks about observing patterns and learning from them.  Certainly a great primer for any business trying to get across the chasm.

The Water Scroll: Here Musashi talks about how water conforms to the shape of its container.  He suggests a separation of one’s inward mind against it’s outward posture, maintaining that one’s control over one’s mind must not be relinquished to outward circumstances.  He translates these philosophies into about 80 pages of sword fighting techniques.  An interesting modern parallel is found in Jim Collins book, Good to Great, where he talks about how the most successful companies are able to say ‘No’ and not be influenced by immediate but non-strategic opportunities.

The Fire Scroll: As with any book written by a 16th century samurai master, you’d expect a core discussion on combat strategy.   The fire scroll is full of combat strategies, positioning, and pre-emptive theory.  Very interesting.  Did anyone notice how Apple’s announcement of the latest iPhone came about 1 day after the Palm Pre phone was officially launched–killing it’s market blitz?  No coincidence there.

The Wind Scroll: The wind scroll contains a directive to study and be aware of your opponents techniques.  Translated into business speak, this means one should always study ones competitors.  Be aware of new offerings, partnerships, markets, etc. that they persue.  Emphasis is placed on observing rhythms and strategically harmonizing, or dis-harmonizing with them as appropriate.

Finally, The Emptiness Scroll:  This scroll discusses the value of escaping personal biases.  Emphasis is placed on not lingering on past situations and being able to adjust quickly to new scenarios. 

Overall I found this book ‘enlightening’ to read.  If you like metaphors and inferences, or sword-fighting, then you will enjoy this book. 

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com

Recently someone on StackOverflow.com asked me to explain how to compute the defect removal rate for release candidate software.  There are two methods for producing this number and I teach both in several of my seminars, but I’ll explain the simpler method in this post…

Lawrence Putnam presented this model in his 1992 Book titled Measures for Excellence.  His book reads more like a math text than a software development guide, and suffers from an unfortunate formula typo which has lead to widespread confusion about his models in the industry, but I will  explain his defect removal rate calculation process.  (I hired a math wizard to examine his data and correct the formula!)

1. For a typical project, code is produced at a rate which resembles a Rayleigh curve.  A Rayleigh curve looks like a bell curve with a long-tail.  See my ASCII graphics below:

        ||||
    |||||||||||
 |||||||||||||||||
|||||||||||||||||||||||

2. Error ‘creation’ typically happens in parallel and proportional to code creation.  So, you can think of errors created (or injected) into code as a smaller Rayleigh curve:

        ||||
    |||+++|||||
 ||||+++++|||||
||||+++++++||||||||

where ‘|’ represents code, and ‘+’ represents errors

3. Therefore, as defects are found, their ‘detection rate’ will also follow a Rayleigh curve.  At some point your defect discovery rate will peak and then start to lesson.  This peak, or apex, is about 40% of the volume of a Rayleigh curve.

4. So, when your defect rate peaks and starts to diminish, factor the peak as 40% of all defects found, then use regression analysis to calculate how many defects are still in the code and not found yet. 

By regression analysis I mean if you found 37 defects at the apex after three weeks of testing, you know two things:  37 = 40% of defects in code, so code contains ~ (37 * 100/40) = ~ 93 errors total, and your finding about 10.2 defects per week, so total testing time will be about 9 weeks.

Of course, this assumes complete code coverage and a constant rate of testing.

Hope this is clear.

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com

The helm or steering mechanism of a ship adjusts the angle of the rudder, in turn, changes the direction of the ship.  In the 18th century as technology increased ships began to increase in size.  While this growth was advantageous, at the same time the ships became increasingly difficult to control.  Thus a shipmaster needed an invention to foster technical growth but at the same time keep the ship on course.  Today’s steering wheel was designed to connect to the tiller of the boat, with a block and tackle.  This addition provided a considerable increase in the ship’s mechanical capabilities and resulted in smoother operations with less effort.

I relate this story of the steering wheel because the national and world economy is going through some stormy waters.  Although the changes going may turn out to be good in the long run, it is still difficult to stay the course in the middle of these “troubled water”.  More than ever we need strong leaders to step up and take the “helm”, provide guidance, and “steer” their teams in the right direction.

A strong leader will effectively partner with each employee and provide direction, guidance, and coaching.  He or she can help team member adjust their personal courses and move into “smooth water”.

Providing constant support takes a lot of effort but it will be worth it in the long run. Consider the following points when helping your team stay afloat:

• Communicating frequently with each team member

- Will reduce or eliminate fear of the unknown
- Encourages confidence in individual performance

• Building understanding within your team

- Instills ownership in the tasks to ensure success
- Keeps each person focused on the goal

• Encouraging respect between members.

- Promotes synergy
- Supports a relaxed and engaging environment

• Maintaining your integrity

- Retains trust in you and the organization high
- Inspires integrity from team members

“It is not enough that we do our best; sometimes we have to do what is required.”
-Winston Churchill

As chief executive officer of the Larry H. Miller Group of Companies, Greg Miller oversees all automotive, sports and entertainment, and real estate divisions.  These holdings include 40 automotive dealerships and one motorcycle dealership located throughout six Western states; credit, insurance and advertising agencies; two professional sports teams; a motorsports park and an arena; an independent television station; restaurant and catering companies; a sports apparel retail chain; movie theaters; and an office complex.

Miller assumed his current position in July 2008 but has worked in the family business since 1979, when his father, Larry H. Miller, purchased his first auto dealership – a Toyota store located in Murray, Utah.  Greg Miller, who was 13 at the time, began his career by sweeping floors and working in the parts department.  Since then, the group has expanded into one of the nation’s 200 largest privately-owned companies.

Miller has 29 years experience working in a variety of positions that enabled him to learn the family business firsthand.  During that time, he focused on areas ranging from finance to minor league hockey.  His many accomplishments include: starting up Performance Automotive, which provides chemicals, printing and specialty products to auto dealerships; managing several multimillion dollar construction projects; and serving as general manager of both a Toyota and a Honda dealership.

Prior to his current position, Miller oversaw construction and had operational oversight of Miller Motorsports Park, in Tooele, Utah.  During his tenure, he was instrumental in developing and improving sales and marketing operations.  The state-of-the-art motorsports park garnered international recognition within its first year of opening.

Miller has served on the boards of several philanthropic organizations including: Larry H. Miller Charities; the Ron Boone Golf Classic benefiting the Huntsman Cancer Institute; the Utah Bicycle Coalition; and the Larry H. & Gail Miller Family Foundation.

An avid cyclist, Miller logs thousands of miles on his bike each year, and his interest in cycling led to several family vacations at the Tour de France.  He currently is chairman of the Tour of Utah, a multistage bicycle race that climbs 30,000 feet and is over 300 miles long.  Miller has played a significant role in the race’s growth and success.

During his teens, Miller developed an interest and appreciation of cars that continues today.  He still owns his first automobile, a 1965 Mustang fastback.

Miller has three brothers and one sister, and is the oldest child of Larry H. and Gail Miller.  He is married to Heidi Black Miller.  They are the parents of six children (three sons and three daughters), and their family resides in Sandy, Utah.

The English poet Shakespeare once said, “To be, or not to be — that is the question.” Given our current state of the economy there are many companies who are now asking themselves a similar question, “To train, or not to train? While organizations consider this question, I think it is important to keep the big picture in mind. What do I mean? Well, let me explain.

While times are tough and budgets are under the microscope, it would be wise for organizations to take a strategic and thoughtful approach vs. a reactive one. Determine what the most valuable assets are that will keep the business going long term. Arguments can be made for technology, more infrastructure, more resources and equipment, or more systems and processes. Of course, all of these things are important; however none of them will perform well without people to put them into action. People still remain and will always remain to be an organization’s most important resource. When the chips are down and dramatic changes are needed, it won’t be your computer to get it started, especially when it is the culture and environment that might need the most attention. There isn’t a technology available that can openly capture the level of motivation or disappointment that is going on within an employee’s psyche. So, how can an organization get through it all?

Let’s use the analogy of the stock market to help us consider a potential solution. While many people watch their 401K or other investments dollars declining, their gut reaction is to “stop the bleeding” and sell. However, an important formula called Dollar Cost Averaging exists that an investor needs to consider. While the share price may be getting slimmer and therefore account value is dipping, a key component is that you are buying more for your current dollar. It’s like a sale at the clothing store buy one (i.e. $50) and get the other half off ($25). Who doesn’t like to see 50% off the MSRP. The Dollar Cost average would be $37.50 each. We all like this. So many say, just keep steady and keep on investing, eventually the share price will rise, and as you have more shares, your total investment will increase. So is the same with training, but let’s not call it training, because it is actually development. If you want to see your business grow, keep investing in the development of your people especially when they may be looking for that reassurance from the company. The more you put into them, the more they will be put back into your organization. Call it a “stimulus package” that will spark renewal, commitment, and creative effort by your people to do more for the benefit of their team and the organization. Everybody wants some job security right now. Those organizations, that are willing to provide some investment, will retain their people and, in addition, drive a deeper level of partnership and collaboration from their employees.

We often hear that it’s hard for organizations to take time away from work to “train” their people. Well, here’s some everyday strategic thinking. If business is slower, there are less projects happening, so your people probably have more downtime and are therefore able to break away from work and go be “trained.” So, isn’t this one of the better times to get your staff ready? How is that for breaking the paradigm of it’s too time consuming to develop our people!

Another argument might be that training is too expensive. Yes . . . everything has a cost, some are obvious, and some are hidden. But you will run a bigger risk in not developing your people - which has all sorts of hidden costs that ultimately impact the organization’s profitability and success - vs. not spending money for people development and losing valuable experience. Keep in mind the stock market analogy….it’s easy not to spend money and think we’re doing a good thing but is this a good thing? If you stop investing in your people, won’t they provide you a much lower ROI in the long run? The strategic thinker will invest for the future.

This reminds me of one of the principles taught in university marketing classes. The best time to market is in a slow economy so people see your name; they build brand awareness and brand loyalty and confidence. These same results apply to people development. Put your budgets to work and sharpen the skills of your employees. Make them better tools of the trade to not only get you better results now but in the future. So, if you are asking yourself this question, “To develop people or not to develop people?” The answer is 100% yes, and invest more now and get more “shares” for better ldeveong-term results.

Cecil O. Samuelson began his work as the 12th president of Brigham Young University on May 1, 2003.

President Samuelson is a Salt Lake City native who has served at the University of Utah as professor of medicine, dean of the School of Medicine and vice president of health sciences. Prior to his call as a full-time General Authority of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he was senior vice president of Intermountain Health Care. He holds a bachelor of science degree, a master’s degree in educational psychology and a medical degree from the University of Utah.

Dr. Samuelson fulfilled his residency and held a fellowship in rheumatic and genetic diseases at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina. He has received numerous scholastic honors and is the author or co-author of 48 original publications, eight books or chapters of books and 13 abstracts. He also has served as a director, officer or member of several national medical and hospital organizations.

Elder Samuelson was called in 1994 to serve the Church of Jesus Christ as a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy. At the time of his assignment to BYU, he was a member of the Presidency of the Seventy. He has served the Church of Jesus Christ also as a regional representative, stake president, stake high councilor, branch president and missionary and as an area president in the Utah North Area and the Europe North Area. He and his wife, Sharon Giauque Samuelson, have five children and 11 grandchildren.

A week ago, the Los Angeles Times printed an article about Barack Obama’s desire to postpone the United States federally mandated switch to digital broadcast television.

When I read the first few lines, I thought “Why postpone?  Haven’t we been aware of the switch for years?”  Haven’t we been bombarded by media making us aware of this transition, the approaching deadline, and what we need to do?  This makes me think of holding people accountable.

The Government created a program where individuals could request a coupon that would allow them to purchase a new digital antenna box for their T.V.’s at a low cost.  According to this article, there are 1.1 million coupon requests that cannot be filled due to a lack of funding.  Furthermore, as the article stated, 8 million households rely on antennas and are unprepared for the switch.

When I read this, my thought went back to the concept ACCOUNTABILITY.  These 1.1 million people obviously waited until just a few months before the antenna box was required, rather than being proactive.  They knew of the transition, they knew what was required of them, and they knew the deadline was February 2009.

From my perspective, these 8 million people need a little tough love and a lesson on accountability.  The government shouldn’t be required to take care of every need or every issue facing society.  Especially when it comes to funding the availability to sit in front of a television set.  Shouldn’t these people either make do, or do without?  What about your organization.  Have you developed processes to have them put off or ignored?

Here are a few thoughts on accountability:

• Unaccountable behavior is costly for your organization.  How much is it costing you?
• As a leader, you have a greater challenge when it comes to accountability.  Not only do you need to model the behavior yourself, but you need to instill it in those you manage.
• People with integrity and accountability do make a difference in the organization’s performance which will translate to bottom line results.
• A culture of accountability will shift people from being reactive to more proactive.
• Accountability can be summed up as acting in a responsible way and following through on your commitments.

This article in the Los Angeles times is a great example of a lack of accountability.  It reminds me of the woman who spilled coffee on herself while at a major fast food chain.  She sued the organization for a few million dollars because she didn’t want to be accountable for her own foolish actions.  What’s next?  A 50 billion dollar Ponzi investment scheme?  Let’s start holding people accountable for their own actions.  If you have a good example of accountability or lack-of, post it into our comments section below.

Want to visit ground-zero for data security?  Experts from SANS, MITRE, SAFECode, EMC, Juniper, Microsoft, Nokia, SAP, Symantec, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s National Cyber Security Division last week presented a listing of The Top 25 Most Dangerous (Information Security) Programming Errors.  Expect to see future government and big-money RFP’s mandate these items be addressed.

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com

Have you been challenged with performing a high-risk task like upgrading a prominent server, for example?

Here’s an execution plan template that you can use to guide you.

I. Executive Summary
Brief overview of intended event.

II. Review of Discovery
Details of what efforts were made to research what is listed in the following sections.  Meetings, Vendor consultations,  OnLine Resources, and Conventional Wisdom can be included.

III. Pre-Upgrade Procedures
Steps identified to be taken before the event.

IV. Upgrade Procedures
Steps identified to be taken during the event.

V. Post-Upgrade Procedures
Steps identified to be taken after the event.

VI. Test Plan
Verification procedures to confirm the event was a success.  This section should define the success criteria.

VII. Rollback Plan
In case the worst happens, what to do.

IIX. Situational Awareness Plan
After-the-event steps to validate the success of the event with the system’s business users.  This would include a two-way communication between your group and the business users, announcing the success, and providing contact information for them to contact you in case there is still a problem.

IX. Risk-Management plan
A plan listing risks associated with the steps above and recommendations as to how to lower those risks.

X. Schedule
If the event spans many hours or days, you may want to draft a schedule for the benefit of all involved.  Include on the schedule the ‘rollback point,’ which would be the latest time a rollback could be successfully performed.  Your success criteria whould have to be met by this point to avoid a rollback.

Be sure the Execution Plan is in a checklist format, not a bullet-list format.  Require participants in the event to ’check’ completed checklist items and sign-off sections they are responsible for. 

For critical areas of high-risk, (ie: setting up replication), for example, you may want to require two individuals to perform the checklist steps and sign their names when that section is complete.   

If you like, add a ‘lessons learned’ section to be completed later, and keep a copy of the execution plan for historical purposes. 

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com

Managers and leaders have many tools available to solve problems, improve quality, increase performance, and change employee behavior. Back when TQM wasn’t a four-letter word, managers also had Cause and Effect Diagrams, Force Field Analysis, and Flow Charts to solve problems and resolve difficulties. Actually, we still use these tools today, but don’t attach their use to TQM. Instead, we quote philosophies like Six Sigma and Process Improvement, new names, but the same old process.

Managers “empower” a team to sift through information and come up with workable solutions or transfer problem and solution ownership to generate personal responsibility and accountability. Another tool that managers can employ is to impose a solution without any team involvement. Yes, managers and leaders today have many tools that can be used in the performance of their jobs. The problem often is, however, deciding which tool to use and when to use it.

When I explain to managers the importance in selecting the right tool for a particular situation, I tell a story that happened to me in 1966. I was about to build a cabin in the mountains east of Salt Lake City and needed to remove a large rock from our future driveway. The top of the rock was about four feet in diameter and about one foot of it was exposed above ground. It was late August and I needed the driveway cleared so the large trucks could make deliveries the next spring. However, since I am not a contractor, I didn’t know what tool to use.

My first tool was a shovel, but the more I dug around the rock, the larger it got. It seemed to grow with each shovel of dirt. Next I tried a sledgehammer. For the better part of a day I beat the rock with the heaviest sledgehammer I could find. At the end of the day, however, all that I had accomplished was a lot of scratches, a few minor chips in the rock and an aching back. The result was clear evidence that I had chosen the wrong tools.

A neighbor had hired a backhoe operator to dig his foundation, so I slipped the backhoe operator $20.00 and asked him if he would move he rock on his lunch break. By the end of lunch the rock was still there, only with a few more scrapes and chips. I got my $20.00 back.

Frustrated beyond description because winter was about to set in, I described my plight to an old farmer. He told me to drill a dozen deep holes around the perimeter of the rock and fill them with water. He explained that the freezing water would pop the top of the rock off before spring. The following spring I anxiously waited for the snow to melt, only to discover the farmer had also recommended the wrong tool. The rock was still intact.

Now I was in trouble. Delivery trucks were going to arrive any day and I had to find a tool strong enough to move the rock. Because I had used dynamite the previous summer to remove tree stumps, asked the dynamite salesperson if I should blast the rock. I didn’t know at the time that the person selling dynamite knew very little about explosives. Being totally unaware of his inexperience I listened carefully to his advice. He suggested that I use 15 pounds of a new type of plastic explosive that had just arrived. He said to pack the plastic explosives and a blasting cap around the rock, and then cover it with several wet blankets and mud.

Now, luckily in today’s world, a common citizen cannot purchase explosives, but my rock experience took place in 1966 when our society was much different. So on a Saturday morning, with the full cooperation of the local police who blocked off traffic on a nearby road, I lit a 15-minute fuse and hurried a half-mile away to await the impending explosion. But 15 minutes came and went, and there was no explosion.

Do you have any idea how stupid I must have been to walk up to the rock and remove the blankets? The blasting cap had gone off, but for some reason the plastic didn’t explode. The police officer let the cars through the roadblock and told me that I had to make a quick decision.

Something I did know is that a blasting cap would set off a stick of dynamite, because I had done it at least 20 times the previous summer. So I guessed that the dynamite detonation would set off the plastic explosives. I quickly reset the explosives with a blasting cap, one stick of dynamite, and 15 pounds of plastic explosives. Then I lit a 15-minute fuse and hurried to my vantage point a half-mile away.

I remember looking at my watch because I was really surprised that we coincidently had an earthquake at the exact moment my watch indicated the 15 minutes were up. Indeed, a half-mile away the ground actually shook, but it took a couple of seconds for the loudest boom I have ever heard to reach me. When I looked toward our cabin site, I saw what appeared to be a small volcano. Tons of rock, dirt, bushes and trees had been blown upward several hundred feet into the sky. As I gazed at this unbelievable sight, I remember wondering how long I would be sitting in jail for blowing up the mountainside.

That’s when I saw debris landing near me a half-mile from the explosion. In fact one rock about four inches in diameter almost hit me. Today, I have that rock in my office as a reminder that selecting the correct tool for a problem is critically important. Perhaps even lifesaving!

I learned later that the single stick of dynamite would have been enough explosive to remove the rock. If I had used the right tool, the explosion wouldn’t have flattened so many trees around the site. And it wouldn’t have required two dump truck loads of dirt to fill in the huge hole that was blasted into my future driveway. Even today, over 40 years later it is possible to see small rocks imbedded into the trees
that survived my application of the wrong tool.

The point is without effective tools managers can become handicapped and even powerless. The problem is which tools to use and how to use them. Clearly, not enough time is spent in today’s business world teaching about managerial and leadership tools. Without proper tools managers spin their wheels, create confusion, generate frustration, and generally become less effective than they could be otherwise. My advice: Be sure that you learn about the tools, and only use enough explosive to remove the rock. Remember, fill dirt is expensive.

Watch for upcoming blog posts on useful tools for managers and leaders. You can also browse past posts and find useful information.

I value Excellence over Heroics. 

‘Excellence’ can be defined as “the crisp execution of established procedures.”  Think about that for a minute.

Do you know of a software development shop where several prominent developers often stay up late into the night, or come in regularly over the weekend to solve high-profile problems, or put out urgent mission-critical fires?

The thrill of delivering when the whole company’s reputation is at stake can be addictive.  I remember once staying up 37 hours in-a-row to deliver an EDI package for a bankers convention.  I was successful, delivering the application just before it was to be demo’d.  I went home and slept for 24 hours straight afterwards. 

The problem with ‘Heriocs’ is that the hero is compensating for the effects of a broken process.  Think about that for a minute.

If heroes are needed to make a software development project successful, then really something upstream is broken. 

Most problems requiring heroics at the end of a project stem from improper effort estimations, inability to control scope, inadequate project tracking transparency, mismanaged Q/A scheduling, unnecessary gold-plating, or inadequate communication between the development team and the project users/stakeholders.

A well-organized development group humms along like a well-oiled machine.  Proper project scoping, analysis, design deconstruction, estimating, tracking, and healthy communication between development and the users/stakeholders will bring that excellence that trumps heroics.

Hey, I hear that Microsoft is looking for some Heroes.

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com

The unanswered question of all time is, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” While an answer to this question has yet to be determined, I will attempt to answer a similar question posed to me recently by a new manager.

CMOE is currently replicating its research on Coaching Skills, which was originally conducted in 1985.  Last month, I was conducting the one-on-one interviews for this research project. During one particular interview with a very new manager, I noticed him ruminating when I asked him about his coaching style, experience, and effectiveness. I asked him to describe a specific example of one of his coaching conversations. He contemplated the question for a while before saying “When I meet with my employees on an individual basis, it is because there is a problem. These conversations tend to be more of a negative experience for both me and the employee I’m coaching. This is mostly because I’ve never clearly understood when to meet with my employees. Should I meet with them when a problem arises? Or do I spend my time conducting proactive meetings to hopefully prevent problems?”

Essentially what this person was asking is, “What comes first, coaching or the need to coach?” This is a very interesting question and one that has been asked before in CMOE’s Coaching Skills Workshop. If this question is one you’ve found yourself asking as well, please take some time to think it over or post your own thoughts and comments for others to view. Also, stay on the lookout for Part 2 of this blog that addresses this question in-depth.

A few days ago, my son came to me with a difficult decision.  He was debating whether or not to stay in his position.  The problem was that he had been having some difficulty with his team leader.  As a member of a team, he felt a responsibility to keep this leader informed about the project he was supporting.  However, whenever my son met with this leader he became frustrated and often felt devalued.  This leader is addicted to his Blackberry.  He acts as though the device and what it was conveying was more important than any information my son had to give.  Because of this lack of attention, this leader too often missed the important information my son tried to convey.

Dr.  Steven Stowell and Ms. Stephanie Mead explain in their book, The Team Approach: With Teamwork Anything is Possible, there are eight internal forces that short circuit teamwork. Two of these, “excessive pursuit of self interest” and “inflated egos and intimidation” seem to fit the way my son felt about his supervisor.  I have to admit when I first read these forces I assumed that the authors were talking about the executive who does anything (ethical or not) to get up the ladder.

Excessive pursuit of self interest covers much more than the narcissist; it also covers those who think they are so busy that they fail to acknowledge those around them.  When you pay more attention to incoming calls, emails, and interruptions you are silently telling the one you are suppose to be talking to that  they are not worthy of your time or not valuable in your estimation.  In this case, the information that my son tried to share with the boss and was ignored, lead to an embarrassing situation when the boss was unable to explain why a project was behind to a major client.  More importantly, this embarrassing situation happened in a group meeting with representatives from all the different companies involved in the project.

When this boss returned from the meeting, a memo was sent out that was both intimidating and unduly demanding.  If only he had listened when my son met with him, he would have known the information he needed and the embarrassment experienced by the boss and the organization would have been avoided. Obviously, my son has a decrease of trust and respect for this person.  Dr. Stowell and Ms. Mead state, “Trust and respect are fragile and are earned over time through genuine actions.”

If you don’t take time to listen and assimilate all the information you are going to be embarrassed or caught off guard.  How can you assume that you know where to go or how to answer if you don’t have all the information about the situation ahead?   To quote Joe Namath, “To be a leader, you have to make people want to follow you, and nobody wants to follow someone who doesn’t know where he is going.” Are you too involved with the activity beasts in your life to hear those people around you?

Sadly, while my son liked his job and wanted to stay, he felt that he had to leave the organization.  Think about the costs to the organization when this lack of trust , respect, and courtesy is exhibited.   How much does it cost to replace team members?  How much transition time does it take to learn the business?  How long will it take for your client’s confidence in you and your organization be restored?  Isn’t it more cost effective to spend the few minutes of complete attention to a colleague?

A final thought.  Communication between team members is essential to the success of the team.  But just as critical is the basic recognition that each member is valued and important enough to be listened to.  James Humes said, “The art of communication is the language of leadership.’

A few weeks ago our Management Team had just finished our regular weekly meeting.  As we came out of the meeting, other co-workers informed us about a wild fire at the south end of the valley on the mountain side.  At first, we thought it was no big deal, even though another co-worker and I actually lived in that area.  I wasn’t concerned about the situation because I don’t often think about having my home burn down.  A few minutes later, my wife called me to let me know that she could actually see flames on the mountainside and while they were not very close to our home, she was becoming concerned.

Her biggest concern was if the fire authorities decided to evacuate people from their homes, there was no returning to the home until clearance was given by the fire emergency personnel.  She asked that I come home for the time being while she ran an errand as a precautionary measure.  At first I thought this would not be a necessary thing.  I highly doubted the fire would get close to our home, besides I had several urgent things that needed to be accomplished at work.  Several meetings had already consumed up a lot of my time at work so far and working from home for an hour or two was going to hamper productivity even further.  I just really didn’t want to do it; but I thought, “What is the most important priority right now?  Is it my work, or protecting my family, home and most valuable items from the potential threat of a real fire?”  I immediately headed for home.

It turned out to be a good decision.  While our neighborhood was not evacuated, 75-80 homes just East of us were evacuated and we were warned that our neighborhood was next.  At that point I was glad that I had focused on this priority.

Does this sound familiar?  I mean, how many times at work or in life, do we have “fires” that distract us from the work we need to get done and our priorities.  I feel that all too often we allow these fires to distract us and take us off course.  I suggest that we turn those fires into a positive action rather than looking at them as a negative event.  Just like in my personal experience, when the fire seemed like a threat, it helped me to focus on what was the most important issue at hand.  I think we can use this in our daily work life.  When there are fires at work, be aware of them and use them as a way to focus on what are the important priorities that you and your team are trying to accomplish.  Sometimes in all the daily activity and” busy-ness” of business, we can lose sight of the goal.  We get so caught up in doing things and prioritizing our schedule that we often forget to schedule in our priorities.  We can take advantage of the fires or the threats that surface to help us refocus and re-energize our teams and our commitment to the end result.

Hard Work
Here at CMOE we always have plenty of work to go around. I’m sure many of you can relate to this. On occasion, when we get overloaded during our busy seasons and we often bring in “temporary” people to help with a number of tasks. These workers help to reorganize the stock room and do landscaping beyond our normal service, or help with random projects that often involve significant physical labor.

On one occasion, we had the pleasure of working with a great individual who was helping to clean up after some remodeling. Benny was dependable, worked very hard and focused on the projects he was assigned to. Because of his dedication, we specifically requested his assistance from the temporary labor agency we were working with to assign him to us.

Background On Benny
One morning I was asked to pickup Benny on my way into work. During our drive to the office, Benny talked about his personal life. He was barely making ends meet it life and had some health issues. If I had to guess, he was in his late 50’s but looked much older. Benny had spent most of his life working on labor intensive jobs permanently in construction. While he liked this type of work, it was not very rewarding. Too many of the individuals he had worked with throughout his life were very autocratic and dictatorial and having spent some time in this industry myself, I knew the type he was referring to.

The Job Site
Benny worked on multiple job sites for us. One day a few of us decided to jump in and help Benny load some broken concrete into a dumpster. This would help get the next phase of this particular project a jump start and give Benny some much needed help and a bit of motivation to the backbreaking work.

After the dumpster was fully loaded, we took a break from the searing heat and dust. As we were sitting in the shade, someone said to him “Benny, you have been great! You’re such a hard worker and I appreciate your effort and attention to detail. I don’t know where we would be without you this week.” After the rest of us confirmed this comment, there was a pause for a few seconds. Benny responded with a quiver in his voice, “I really try to work hard and do a good job, but no one has ever told me that. Thank you. You guys have been good to me.”

The Impact
When Benny made this comment, you could see he felt undervalued for much of his life. I thought to myself, how unfortunate it is that no one has ever told Benny he does a good job. A simple “JOB WELL DONE” can go much further than we might ever think.

The Lesson - Talent Retention
As I think back on this, I wonder how many managers and organizations lost out on Benny? The concept of providing appreciation to employees is nothing new, but if it is not being communicated or taught to leaders and managers, organizations ARE and will lose great talent. It is not uncommon to hear that employees leave their managers and not their jobs. We can change this by providing some simple appreciation and recognition.

Application
Today, celebrate a success with your team.

Currently, I am reading Daniel Goleman’s book, Social Intelligence. He begins his book with a story from the early days of the second Gulf War. For me, this story is a remarkable example of strong team leader and a well developed team.

The story involves Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Hughes and a local mosque. His mission was to ask for help from the cleric in organizing the distribution of relief supplies.

However, fearing the soldiers were coming to arrest their spiritual leader or destroy their mosque, a holy shrine, a mob gathered. As hundreds of devout Muslims surrounded the soldiers, waving their hands and shouting, pressed in toward the heavily armed platoon. Hughes thought fast.

Hughes picked up a loud speaker and told his soldiers to “take a knee” meaning kneel on one knee. Then he ordered them to point their rifles toward the ground and “Smile.”

The crowd’s mood quickly changed. A few people still yelled, but the majority began to smile in return. Some people even patted the soldiers on the back as Hughes ordered them to walk slowly away, backward and still smiling.

Courage to Trust
Think about the trust that these soldiers had in their leader. A large group of people is moving towards their smaller group. The people are angry, frightened, and clearly agitated enough to cause bodily harm. Then their leader says, drop to a submissive position.

Would you do it? You are in high stress. Your body is telling you to fight or flee. You don’t want to hurt anyone; your purpose is to give aid. But you don’t want to be hurt or killed either. So, it takes a great deal of courage for you to follow this type of leadership. The deciding factor is your trust in this person, gained over time and with personal interaction. Trust is not developed in a moment. In their book, The Team Approach, Stephen J. Stowell and Stephanie Mead explain, “Trust and respect are fragile and are earned over time through genuine actions.”

Courage to Lead
Maybe more important to this incident was Hughes’ courage to ask his team to take a precarious position. It was possible that the situation would not have defused. It was a calculated risk. Dr. Stowell and Ms. Mead emphasize that, “Courage is primarily learned. It is something that team leaders must seek out, study, and emulate in response to specific obstacles and defining moments. Great leaders generate courage in the moment and recognize when action is required, regardless of the risks involved. Courage can be refined, and it becomes easier through regular practice.” Lt. Colonel Hughes’ courage was developed through dedication, conviction, and clearly defined values exercised daily. He was confident in his beliefs that he could respect the Mosque and what it represented. He was also not afraid to acknowledge the behavior that infuriated the local people and then take immediate action to rectify the error.

These qualities must have been demonstrated and observed long before this crisis incident. His team had to have seen his commitment, felt his conviction, and understood his values well enough to know that he would not easily risk their lives.

How does your team respond in a crisis? Do they trust you enough to follow a calculated risk? Perhaps it is time to re-evaluate your leadership style.

Eric Hansen and Terrance Crowe from Integratechs discuss current and future trends in IT Outsourcing including telecommuting, Utah’s 4-day workweek, outsourcing desktop support, the cost-benefit analysis of IT outsourcing, what kinds of businesses they’ve helped, and more

Integratechs Inc
703 East Technology Ave
Orem, UT 84097
Phone: 866-717-2260

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I have been actively managing my finances (i.e. budgeting, investing, etc.) for the past 4 or 5 years and have noticed that the process is substantially easier through the deployment of a personal financial management solution.

For the past 2.5 years I have been using the Utah-based start-up mVelopes for my financial management needs. I have really enjoyed the product, finding the user interface intuitive and complementary of my financial management strategy of budgeting first and spending only the allocated capital. Because mVelopes allowed me to support a local company, I truly tried to be an outstanding customer answering every survey sent my way and suggesting the product to numerous friends, a handful of which joined the service. However, in the last couple months the service has become patchy, ridden with connectivity and transaction issues. I am hoping that this is due to an increase in the user base, resulting in business growing pains. Yet, at the same time I can only wait so long for the engineers to resolve these problems as I am a paying customer .

The worst part about the mVelopes issues is the naïve attitude of the customer service. I have had to contact customer service at least 6 times in the past two months, resulting in the customer service agents tip-toe-ing around a real solution to the problem. It seems that they offer a temporary fix, but never offer me an end date for the actual solution nor compensate me for my loss of time and troubles. The connectivity issue is just a pain, but the missing transactions is disconcerting. For instance, once I noticed that I was missing a transaction and so contacted customer support to learn that in reality I was missing 28 transactions over the past 2 months that had hit their servers but weren’t being pushed through to my user interface. No apology, just a simple "we don’t do refunds due to our terms and services."

I would really like to continue using this product; however, I also need a solution that will consistently work.

As I contemplate switching offerings I noticed that the product characteristics that are a necessity for me, include:

• User Interface - I want an user interface that is intuitive. Sure there is a learning curve with any new tool, but I am hoping for something I can figure out relatively quickly that allows me to slice and dice my data (for example I really like being able to see spending over custom time ranges, not just month-to-month).
• Bank Access - When I first checked out Mint last year I couldn’t get access to a regional bank I use. That has now changed, but was obviously a major no when I first looked at the company.
• Security – Many companies in this realm are start-ups, which makes me nervous for two reason. First, have they accurately approached security, encryption and storage? Second, will they still be in business in a year or two and if not, where will my data end up?
• Reliability – These companies are dealing with my financials and must be reliable. What is the point of using a PFM solution if it doesn’t pull all my transactions?
• Live-Chat Customer Service - Customer service is a necessity and live chat is just my personal preference. I personally like "on-demand" help, if needed.

Product characteristics I don’t care about:

• Community - Does the whole web experience need to be social? Many of these companies tout the community aspect and I can see why this might be a draw to some people, but it just isn’t a priority for me to talk to strangers concerning my finances. Aggregation of articles and sites, sure. Random strangers giving me advice, not so important.

Players in this space include the following:

Company: Mint
Software / Online: Online
User Interface: Very good
Bank Access: 6,500 banks
Budget Capabilities: Yes, but as a goal section rather than priority
Reporting: Yes
Investment Monitoring: Yes, but still in private beta
Community: No
Security: Verisign, HackerSafe, Truste, plus they do not record the user’s actual name, only email address. Mint provides a whole video of their CEO speaking solely to security plus a scroll down page with each point thoroughly discussed.
Reliabilty: Unkown as I have had limited use
Customer Service: Email only.
Comments: This company has been hyped, but for some reason has never quite worked for me the four times I have given it a shot. Today was the first time I could successful add accounts, only having problems with one regional bank that has image verification security. I figured I would try contacting customer support with the issue. No live chat, but an email function that automatically responded back to me with a “help is on the way” kind of thing (nice). The email said they would contact me concerning the issue within 24 – 48 hours, yet over-promised and under-delivered as I have yet to hear back after 72 hours. One interesting feature is the user can input in his/her zipcode and get a benchmark of what others in the area spend in each category.
Price: Free

Company: mVelopes
Software / Online: Online
User Interface: Very good. The layout structure works really well for me but the company could make it look a little more professional.
Bank Access: 14,459 banks
Budget Capabilities: Yes, with a focus on the user sticking to a budget. The user sets asides the money in envelopes and when it is gone it is gone, unless the user pulls money from other envelopes.
Reporting: Yes, but I wish it had more features.
Investment Monitoring: No
Community: Yes, but quite separate from the main user face, which is nice
Security: Verisign, BBBOnline Reliability Program, Security Metrics Certified. The company provides a whole page discussing SSL, Session Management, Firewall Protection, etc.
Reliability: For the first couple years the product was fantastic. Within the past 3 – 4 months it has been have some issues.
Customer Service: A user can call, email or use live chat.
Comments: The company has been having some technical difficulties, specifically with connectivity (as mentioned earlier in my post). I really like the structure of the user interface as it makes the user think in terms of budgeting and staying within that budget. I wish their reporting capabilities where a little bit better and offered custom time frames. I do like supporting a local team, but their customer service has been hard to work with and would be the breaking point on why I switched services.
Price: ~$5 – 10 depending on the years of commitment.

Company: Wesabe
Software / Online: Online
User Interface: Ok. A downloadable toolbar or software is necessary to add banks. I have given this company a try on two occasions and this step has temporarily stalled me from continuing to the next phases both times.
Bank Access: Unsure on exact number, but both my regional banks were listed.
Budget Capabilities: Yes, in a goal tab. I wish they had budgeting set up as a priority rather than an afterthought.
Reporting: Yes
Investment Monitoring: No
Community: Yes, but too much. The community is mixed in with the interface and I want my financials to seem private.
Security: The company implements “industry-standard encryption” and strips each user account of personal identifiers.
Reliability: I have not used enough to comment in this area
Customer Service: Email only.
Comments: When adding a bank account it re-directs to the bank page and then back to the Wesabe site. I think I read this had something to do with keeping the passwords straight between the banks and community. I don’t thoroughly understand the technicalities of why they do this, but I don’t like that I feel as if I am leaving the main Wesabe site.
Price: Free

Company: Buxfer
Software / Online: Online
User Interface: Very Good
Bank Access: Unsure on number of banks, but both my regional banks were listed.
Budget Capabilities: Yes, but once again an after thought, not a priority
Reporting: Yes
Investment Monitoring: No
Security: A little hard to track down on the site. They state that they follow “industry standard encryption techniques and practices”, plus comment that passwords are encrypted prior to storage, transferred through SSL and decrypted only during authentication.
Reliability: I have not used enough to comment.
Customer Service: Email only.
Community: Unsure. It says you can add groups, but it appears that it adds people you know through email.
Comments: None.
Price: Free

Company: Yodlee Money Center
No demo was available and I didn’t want to just cough up my information. No review.

Company: Intuit Quiken for Mac (I am a Mac user so this would be the one of interest to me)
Software / Online: Both
User Interface: Very good but perhaps a little too technical that it isn’t completely user friendly
Budget Capabilities: Yes
Reporting: Yes, plus allowing custom date ranges
Investment Monitoring: Yes
Community: Yes
Bank Access: Unsure on actual number, but both my regional banks were listed.
Customer Service: A user can call, request a call back, email, chat, or check out their social media sites of Facebook, Twitter and Youtube.
Comments: This is definitely the most professional option for personal finance that also includes reminders for bills and a tax tracking area. I am unsure if it autosyncs transactions or if the user must actually download into the software.
Price: $69 for software ($53 with very accessible coupons) plus $2.99 for online version

After looking at this breakdown, it seems that many of the web players focus on limited functionality but with a free price tag. When it comes to my finances, I would happily pay if I felt the solution was helping me to save money, assisted in thoroughly tracking my finances and still allowed me access to customer service when needed. Looking at the competitors I still lean towards mVelopes, of which my subscription expires in January and at which time I will re-assess. I am truly hoping that their technical issues are resolved at that point, otherwise, I might have to make the move towards Intuit.

Employee motivation is an ever-present concern for most proactive managers.  Interestingly enough, motivation can come from both functional and dysfunctional sources. 

I’ve seen employees motivated for many different reasons: recognition, financial incentive, empowerment, personal growth, tension release, fear, and finally there’s that weird Lord of the Flies thing where employees get motivated together against another employee. 

In their book, Motivating Employees, Anne Bruce and James S. Pepitone describe the most effective ways to motivate a team.  They describe the three C’s which are vital to functionally motivating employees:

1. Collaboration: Be sure to involve employees in decisions and discussions where their efforts are involved.

2. Content: As they produce suggestions, act on those suggestions immediately.

3. Choice: Be sure to offer choices to your employees–even if you can predict what they will decide. 

These three techniques actually empower your employees.   Involving employees in decisions that affect them, or the outcome of what they are working on produces a level of buy-in that is hard to match any other way.

Bruce and Pepitone continue with an examination of Theory-X and Theory-Y motivation and management styles.  These styles were originally presented in the 1960’s by Douglas McGregor. 

McGregor states that Theory-X managers proceed from the assumption that their employees are uninformed, lazy, and needy of high-structure. 

Theory-Y managers, however, proceed from the assumption that their employees are qualified, intelligent, and capable of making proper decisions provided they are given proper goals, accountability, authority, and resources to accomplish their tasks.

Although Theory-X is the most effective approach during some situations, if you consider the amount of college-educated employees in the workforce today, it’s easy to see how Theory-Y, if applied properly, yields much higher performance.

The authors continue with a formula for encouraging Entrepreneurial Thinking.   Their five-step formula is:

1. Explain the organization
2. Demonstrate how the organization operates and generates income
3. Help your employees understand the competition
4. Encourage intelligent risk-taking
5. Inspire innovative thinking

Another great idea the authors present is to link motivation to performance.  They suggest you develop a written-list of performance standards for meeting and exceeding the expectations you’ve agreed upon during collaborative sessions with them.

The authors talk about how important it is to weave fun into everything your organization does.   This may sound like a unusual suggestion at first, but the authors point out that there is a direct correlation between fun on the job and employee productivity, moral, creativity, satisfaction, and most importantly–retention.

The final few chapters in the book discuss de-motivating factors (or individuals), and how to deal with them.  There is also a good chapter on conducting effective employee-reviews.

Overall I recommend this book to any manager.   It’s a great book to re-read every so often.

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com

We’ll be talking about Tim Ferriss’ book “Four Hour Work Week”, our book-club book of the month!

Go back a few years and think about the things you did on a daily basis to get results and achieve goals. Would you say your daily tactics, assignments, projects are the same today as they were five years ago? In most cases people I talk to said no. In my own work, while some of the tactical aspects of my job have remained, almost every other aspect of my job is different. Now, think about what duties your job will require in the future. One year, three years, or five years from now, will you be doing the same things you are doing today? Probably not.

Managers who operate strictly in tactical mode are not focused on their people, their future success, long term goals and strategies, and have difficulty being a well rounded effective leader. Strategic Thinking is an important tool for success in any organization. I believe that everyone can be more entrepreneurial and can drive more value in contributing to long term personal and business success by improving strategic thinking. If your people focus too much on the day to day operations and just getting through their task lists, what will happen to your future? The first skill to being strategic is what we call “Taming the Beast.” The beasts are those things that keep us from spending some time on strategic objectives, keep us from preparing for the future, and blind us from what is on the horizon.

Successful strategic thinkers understand and develop ways to combat their beasts. They find ways around the roadblocks and are in tune with organization needs and objectives, future opportunities, creative and innovative ideas, as well as worst probable scenarios that might hinder future success.

So what are your beasts? How can you tame them? Beasts are different for each one of us. One of my beasts is email. I don’t know about you but I am quick to stop whatever I am doing just to answer an email that could easily be done later. When that icon pops up on the computer, I tend to stop whatever I am doing to look and see who has sent me a note. Email is a huge distraction in my work day, therefore to tame my beast I keep my computer off for the first 15 minutes of the day. I spend that 15 minutes planning for key strategic objectives that are longer term and need some attention and detail today. When my computer is on, I have established three different levels of distinction for email. Now, End of the Day, and Later files were set up in my email system. Any email that arrives which deserves immediate attention goes in to the Now file and get answered every two hours. Email that is less important goes into either the End of the Day or Later file. At the end of my day I will spend whatever time I need to in answering the email. This system works for me and it is not to difficult to come up with a systematic approach to taming the beast. Here are two suggestions to tame your beasts.

1. Take some time and identify the beast that is distracting you most from strategic thinking time. Once you have identified the beast create a plan to tackle it.
2. Try to curb your appetite for activity and regularly schedule some time during the week to focus on long term issues. By doing so, you will be more in tune and prepared for future obstacles and opportunities.

With a little focused effort, you will be surprised at how easy it is.

The value of information…

Here’s a fun site if you are a news junkie.  www.NewsChime.com is a simple site that grabs news headlines from major news sites and lists them in an easy-to-peruse text-only format. 

I’ve got the site on my PDA which makes reading news articles perfect for that boring meeting or that inconvenient 10-minute wait you hadn’t planned on.

An interesting feature on www.NewsChime.com is the ability to search for keywords in past news headlines.  Want to know what has been newsworthy about Hillary Clinton, or Barack Obama?  Housing Crisis?  Gas Prices?  You can easily search for past headline keywords with this feature.

www.NewsChime.com also allows you to get news alerts sent to your phone or email.  I have news alerts sent to my phone about mortgage prices, home-loans, home-lending, and foreclosure because we talk a lot about this at work.  It’s been fun to be the first one at the office to know the latest.

www.NewsChime.com is a free service.  Enjoy.

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com

In a conversation with a friend once, they jokingly described their inability to play racquetball against other seasoned players as ”They are playing racquetball, while I am just hitting a ball around the room.”

I’ll borrow that reference and apply it to Software Production Support.

Is your Software Production Support group ”playing racquetball,” or are they “just hitting a ball around the room?”

From a distance they can appear like the same activities.  On closer inspection however, one is much more organized, elegant, patterned, and proactive–while the other is only reactive. 

Finding the order from all the choas separates the effective from the ineffective.

There are three particular areas your Software Production Support team should be focus on.  These three areas are:

1. Maintaining Systems
2. Managing Customer Expectations
3. Become a Quick-Reaction Force

1. Maintaining Systems:

Think of your production servers like a fleet of cars.  In a fleet plan, the company sends every car to get an oil change after x number of miles, a tire rotation after y number of miles, and a general tune-up, fluid change, etc. after z number of miles.  This pattern repeats itself for the life of the car that is serviced by the fleet manager.

How often are your server hard drives defragmented?  How often are the transaction-logs backed up?  How often are the indexes reindexed, and the statistics updated?

How often are memory settings adjusted for performance? Latest patches applied? How often are your servers checked to see if there any impending disk space issues? 

To maximize system performance, create a “fleet plan” for your servers which checks all of these items at regular intervals.

2. Managing Customer Expectations:

If a server fails, do you know which systems depend on it? If a database goes corrupt, do you know which applications need it, and which corresponding business units will be impacted when that happens? 

Do you have a way to communicate to those groups immediately?

Create a dependency map for your products.  A dependency map illustrates which servers host which databases, and then which databases are used by which applications, and finally the names, numbers, and email groups of the business users that are affected by that server/database failure.  This will enable your team to proactively manage your customers expectations.  You can notify them before they have to notify you.

3. Become a Quick-Reaction Force:

The SWAT team, the FireStation, and the Ambulance services all have something in common: they are ready to take action at a moment’s notice.

They have the information they need available to them, and additional services available with a simple call.

Do your products have support information organized and readily available?  Do you have the names and numbers of your account representative for each third-party product or tool you support?  Do you have the product-support phone numbers and your support plan credentials readily available?

Do you know who knows what about each application in your enterprise?  Who programmed it originally?  Who has supported it lately?  Which business units use it?  Where is the source code located?

Keeping information about each system updated in a central location should also be part of your “fleet plan.”

Another effective tool for a Quick-Response group is a monitoring system.  Something that indicates the overall attitude of each of your production servers?  Disk Space available? Will the system reply to a ping?  Is SQL Agent running? Is that required Windows Service up and running?  Monitoring tools like Nagios can do this for you.

 Another great idea is to keep a lessons-learned log for each component you support.  Track problems, fixes to problems, assumptions to be confirmed, and ways to test if the component is functioning properly. 

All of these pieces in place will make your production support much more effective.

So, think about it…is your Software Production Support team playing racquetball, or are they just hitting a ball around a room?

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com

In order to successfully position your organization in the marketplace, leadership teams must create a compelling and distinctive value proposition. Customers must believe you are there to champion their needs, not just to make a profit. However, defining a really attractive value proposition is actually the easy part. The hard part is getting the organization totally aligned and in sync with a customer focused value proposition. Everyone in the organization must understand and see that the customer is part of their personal responsibility. This customer-oriented culture relies on front line leaders that help people understand how they fit into the strategic management of the business and why they matter.

If you can get people to think strategically about the customer at an individual level and act in ways to exceed their current and emerging expectations, you can keep the organization well ahead of your rivals. However, developing a passion for customer problems and creating solutions doesn’t come naturally to most people and can be challenging to develop. Begin by thinking about your own experience. Ask yourself how well you like doing business with the last company that had lack of interest in your problem? In fact, you might ask even ask yourself if your current suppliers are anticipating your future needs and problems.

More than 30 years of strategic management and consulting experience has indicated to us that “customer acumen” is the heart of successful business strategy. However, creating this customer oriented culture is hard work and it is not an exact science. Here are a few tips to get started:

Insure everyone in your organization understands that giving customers value is a clear priority. Leaders at all levels have to instill a deep understanding and reverence for what the company stands for and what your value proposition is. In essence, knowing what the company is trying to be, why the company does the unique activities it does, and why these activities are hard to replicate by competitors. A customer centric culture is a function of the behaviors, attitudes, and training of each individual employee.

As leaders you have to preach customer value every opportunity you get. This movement must become part of the daily vernacular. Let people know that bringing value to the customer is the core goal of the organization. Then, coach employees to take responsibility and act in ways that show they embrace customer value.

Finally, give them honest and immediate feedback when they succeed and when they come up short. The end goal is to help members of your organization understand that creating value for the customer is the ultimate measure of their success. It is what keeps you in business and pays the bills. To do this, leaders need to understand their role as change agents and coaches. You must extend the call to all leaders to be courageous coaches and hold people accountable. It is also important that leaders receive development opportunities so they know what feedback and coaching looks like and feels like. These discussions are different than the usual business opportunity discussions. Robust coaching sessions will focus on strengths, weaknesses, and actual behaviors that are occurring on the job.

With active strategic management you can achieve long-term sustained success for your employees, customers, and owners. Once people understand their role as customer advocates, they will begin to see opportunities to grow the business and serve customers by exceeding today’s needs, anticipating future problems, and creating innovation solutions. As leaders and employees alike become comfortable challenging the status quo, they will create a dynamic and rewarding organization for everyone.

The market takes a breather after several weeks of blistering recovery from last winter’s doldrums. Commodities all around saw amazing advances. Crude oil rose 8.3% last week and has more than doubled over the last year. I remember taking my first car, a Honda (HMC) Civic, out for the first time and pumping gas for about $1.18 per gallon. This was also in the notoriously gas-expensive San Francisco Bay Area. Base commodities and gold continue to follow oil’s lead in going the opposite direction of the U.S. dollar. Will the likely Democratic presidency mean a material difference to the nation’s budget policies and thus the value of our currency?

The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite took a 1.3% dive last week. Does this in any way validate my technology industry bifurcation thesis? Absolutely not. Relative to the rest of the equity markets, the Nasdaq Composite performed decently. The S&P 500 stock index saw a 1.8% decline while the Dow Jones Industrial Average (a poorly constructed index) lost 2.4% over the last week. More painfully for investors anticipating a real estate recovery, REIT stocks lost 3.2% collectively. The Nasdaq Composite (actually a very well constructed index) performed better than other equity indexes. In essence, technology stocks as a whole, large blue chips and second tier small caps, did better than the old industrial giants found in the DJIA and the big caps in the S&P 500 by a significant margin.

We have seen very little evidence of second-tier technology companies suffering from the recent slowdown in economic activity. This is particularly interesting because one of the historic catalysts for technology capital investment by enterprises, the Microsoft (MSFT) operating system upgrade cycle, is not a large factor in this market. The Vista operating system has not caught fire like previous Microsoft operating system launches. The Windows XP operating system was a blockbuster and so were earlier versions of Windows. Prior upgrading cycles resulted in renewed investment in computer equipment, computer peripherals, and secondary software products.

Macro

I’ve alluded to my concern about Ben Bernanke’s ability to display great staying power in his effort to jump start the economy by lowering interest rates. With oil and commodity prices barreling higher every week, the specter of inflation looms menacingly and hampers the Federal Reserve’s ability to continue lowering rates. The macro themes of globalization and emerging giants like China and India have been the drivers of skyrocketing prices in oil and food commodities.

However, I see imbalances developing between asset prices and the underlying supply and demand curves. Crude oil’s meteoric rise to record prices never before seen in history is rooted primarily in fundamental, systemic growth in demand. But the recent, almost parabolic rise in oil prices suggests that speculators and trend followers are piling in, hoping for continued profits flowing. Speculators and trend followers, by definition, introduce inefficiencies and imbalances to asset prices. China’s trade surplus is growing at a decelerating pace. Our diminished dollar makes our goods and services much more attractive to foreign consumers. It also makes foreign goods and services much more expensive for Americans to buy. The trade frictions caused by our historically cheap dollar might just slow down emerging markets growth and thus the demand for oil. Oil is the hot investment right now, but it could be flammable for recent riders of the bandwagon. We might be caught in what I call the “Black Bubble.”

Micro

Priceline surges on strong earnings, outlook - Priceline.com (PCLN) hit an eight-year high as both its domestic and international businesses enjoy huge demand. The company’s business model, which allows travelers to name their own prices or bids, has been attracting legions of bargain-hunting travelers. How long will this last? Priceline.com is one of the few companies thriving in the travel industry. The airlines, other online travel retailers or portals, and car rental companies have mostly seen their stocks decline over the last year.

Constant Contact’s first quarter revenue soars - Email marketing is so Web 1.0, isn’t it? Older Internet users still rely heavily on email. Early adopters and younger users of the Internet are less reliant on email. Instead, they gravitate to other services such as instant messaging, text messaging, and social networking. Twitter, is a very interesting next generation platform that further reduces the need for email communication. All these usage patterns do not bode well for Constant Contact (CTCT), a provider of software for email marketing campaigns.

The CAPS Screen: 10 Small Caps on Fire - The Motley Fool includes Interactive Intelligence (ININ) in one of their interesting screening exercises. Interactive Intelligence makes software that manages call center or contact center operations. Screens are a good way to generate investment ideas, but a formulaic investment program based on screened variables does not automatically lead to good investments. Many investors employ screens to find stocks selling cheaply. Sometimes, companies are cheap because they deserve to be cheap as the economic merits of their businesses deteriorate. An investment decision made solely by screening and without knowledge of the competitive standing of the company in question is akin to marrying a girl solely because she comes from a good family. Full Disclosure: I currently have a long or short position in ININ in one or more of my private investment partnerships.

National Oilwell Varco, Inc. Q1 2008 Earnings Call Transcript - I mentioned that oil appears to have become a speculative market surrounded by a thin film of soapy substance. Bubbles don’t fizzle out, they usually burst or pop with ferocious force. National Oilwell Varco (NOV) provides equipment and supplies to the oil and gas industries and has been a big beneficiary of the rising price of crude. The price of oil may continue its amazing ascent or it may flush out the speculative latecomers, but the imperative to keep searching and producing oil will hardly diminish.

James River Coal 1Q loss widens on higher costs, stoppage - Alternatives to oil become more attractive as black gold becomes more expensive. Thus, oil shale, ethanol, coal, solar power, and biofuels become serious considerations. I have been investing with this thesis for over a year. James River Coal (JRCC), one of the worst managed coal companies around, has seen its stock move in lockstep with the rising price of oil. So although it continues to run into management and operating gaffes, the stock market has rewarded it and its highly leveraged balance sheet with new price highs. Full Disclosure: I currently have a long or short position in JRCC in one or more of my private investment partnerships.

A Year Long Process

This past year, I had the opportunity to spend five weeks with a group of twenty five middle-level managers from Latin America. We were involved in a program designed to help the group focus on a series of leadership skills that would ultimately add to their leadership development. This great experience culminated just this past week with some great training experiences. Even more exciting was what has happened in the lives of these participants over the course of a year.

The program started in Brazil and then made stops in Argentina, Uruguay, Honduras, the USA, and Mexico. The participants came from Brazil, Argentina, Honduras, El Salvador, Colombia, Venezuela, and Mexico. The members of this group were very diverse; in ages, in the work that they do, and the level of leadership experience. They brought with them cultural perspectives of different Latin American cultures and the unique challenges they each face.

It was obvious from the way that they interacted with others as well as in the way that they participated in some of the activities we did during the first week that some of the participants were hungry for new skills, yet others were quite skeptical and unsure of their need for this program. When we concluded this program, the maturation and confidence that each one in this group had developed, even in the one’s who thought that they “had arrived” was more than gratifying.

During the last session, participants shared the results of their personal business challenges that they agreed to accomplish during this year long program. Not only were the results of all their efforts excellent, some had very significant bottom-line impacts. We asked participants to tell us what specific training sessions and key learning’s they felt had a major impact on their ability to achieve the results that they did. Undoubtedly, one of the key things they gained was an internal change that takes place through self-reflection and application of the learning’s. This program definitely gave them the opportunity to do this. It also gave them a chance to see how leadership, even in small packages, affects the lives of those around them. There is no question that each participant was impacted by the contact they had with the others. It will leave a very long-lasting impression on all of their hearts.

More Than Just Business

Several life changing experiences had happened along this journey for these people - some became fathers, some lost family members, some faced major physical illnesses, and some moved families from one country to another. Many personal and private events helped to shape and form this future group of quality leaders. Leadership is not always about work and bottom line results. It is often about how we take our experiences to shape our future and the future paths of others. It is about how we share, teach and inspire. It is how we show kindness, thoughtfulness, and a helping hand at a time in need. Leadership is making ourselves a source for which to lift the life of another. This is where leadership really makes its mark. While it is important to see the business results; the way that you touch other people’s lives and the way that they will remember you is what makes a leader great.

A Leader Becomes A Leader: Inspirational Stories Of Leadership For A New Generation

This book definitely belongs in any office. It is a great resource for inspiration as well as a review on the elements of leadership. The only problem with this book is the dimension and size. It is such a rich resource that I would have preferred it in a shelf friendly size rather than for a table. However, it has found a place in my office.

This book has three major parts. The first two parts are so different from each other and complete, there is enough information for there to have been two books. However, together the parts offer the reader a more rounded and better understanding of the leadership virtues Mr. Sheehan chose to explore.

The first part of the book focuses on 64 virtues of leadership. The author has divided the virtues into segments of three. In each segment, the author gives a brief overview and three personalities of each of the virtues. This is followed by a brief article about a leader the author has chosen to represent that particular virtue. Did you get all that? He follows each segment with an in-depth definition of the three virtues.

The second part is a collection of photographs and quotes that define the characters of the presented leaders. Some leaders chosen may be a surprise, but they are leaders worth remembering and worth noting.

The third part is a very brief summary of what it means to be a leader. It is a nice conclusion to the book. Many leadership books end with a type of lecture about leadership. The author did not incorporate this type of ending – and it is refreshing.

The book is an easy read, artfully compiled, and spotlights lesser known figures as well as the most loved leaders of the twentieth century. The author chose leaders from many fields; musicians, activists, presidents, and ball players. I was especially impressed that he also included the unknown student at Tiananmen Square, Ruby Bridges, and Georgia O’Keefe. If you have forgotten who these people are and their importance, this book would be your best resource. The book is well worth buying, not only to get a complete understanding of what it means to be a leader, but to remember those leaders and the virtues they demonstrated.

Summary:
A well done book that is better than most others. If you’re looking for a gift, something for the office foyer, or want to read more about virtues of great leaders, this is for you.

Change for many people is stressful, but for others it can be tremendously traumatic. Dr. Thomas Holmes and researchers at the University Of Washington School Of Medicine, who developed the Life Change Index Scale rated the factors that caused stress from the low (11) a minor traffic ticket to a high (100) the death of a spouse. Different types of business change fell midway on the scale between 20 and 46. Because this study is based on averages, a change stress rating of 47 may not impact one person as much as it may another. As business leaders, we understand that change is inevitable. So we must be aware of how change affects our co-workers and steps we can take to make the transition more comfortable for them and in turn for the success of the initiative.

Resistance
Many times people will resist change by denying or ignoring that it is occurring. Sometime ago, a coworker’s wife was expecting another child. This co-worker was so resistant to the change in his family; he refused to even acknowledge that he had any part in the pregnancy. I remember that for weeks the whole team tried to get him out of his denial, anger, and refusal to accept the new baby. Then when the couple found out they were going to have twins, he became so agitated that we were worried he might leave his wife and the children. Of course, by the time the children were born, he had not only accepted the situation, he amazed the office with his compassion for the infants, especially one. The umbilical cord of one of the babies had been blocked; so the child (a little boy) had not developed at the same rate as the other child. This baby was not allowed to leave the hospital for weeks, and our co-worker visited that child every day and lovingly talked to the baby while gently rubbing the child’s back, a complete attitude change to the situation.

Acceptance
While this story may not seem to apply to the change going on in your organization, it does address the extreme to which some people resist change. This man could not see any benefit of this change in his life, nor was he ready to respond to the change. No amount of discussion, encouragement, or teasing would sway his thinking. He understood that he had only two choices, accept the babies or leave.

Acceptance of his feelings was the one thing that helped him most and it is the beginning act that can make a big difference for change in your employees. My friend’s wife never showed any anger or hurt when he expressed frustration at the upcoming lifestyle change. His supervisor set time aside each week for him to talk out his feelings about the situation. Little by little, he began to make comments about the upcoming event and the adjustments he was willing to make.

Because others acknowledged his right to have his feelings, he was able to sort out the real reason for his resistance. As he stated later, most of his apprehension was based on fear, fear of failing as a father, not being able to provide adequately for a larger family, and that the change would alter his wife’s feelings for him.

Application
Employees who are resistant to change may also be basing their opposition on fear. He/she may fear the change will change his/her position, affect job security, or lead to more and even greater changes. You can help your employees through the emotion of change by:
• Demonstrating commitment; clarifying your reasons for the change.
• Inviting questions and responding promptly
• Using active listening skills; show that you hear and understand the concerns of others, but don’t take on or “own” their burdens
• Increasing communication and information sharing
• Reinforcing the value of your team members
• Providing regular updates on the progress and benefits of the change (e-mails, bulletin boards, memo’s, briefings, etc.)
• Working through the “harsh realities” of change
• Being accessible to team members
• Setting aside time for individual coaching

Change is constant and if we learn to manage change, we will learn to embrace the value it brings.

Personal Example

In a previous organization, I worked for a manager who embraced new styles of leadership. Each time he attended a training workshop, he arrived at work the next day claiming it was a life changing event. Each time he would instruct his management team to immediately change their leadership style to incorporate his new learnings. While most of his initiatives were good and became part of our culture, unconsciously he created confusion, frustration, and finally he destroyed any trust his employees had in him as a leader.

This man’s intentions were true and good natured. He really wanted to be a great coach and for each member of his management team to be good coaches as well. So why did a man so intent to make the business better for all employees, through coaching, fail? Ultimately, he thought he had proved himself through physical and structural changes. However, it takes much more than just surface changes and training classes to make a good coach; it requires changes to the internal management style. Because he thought himself an expert and his role complete, he had become un-coachable.

A Look At Effective Coaching Behaviors

Dr. Steven J. Stowell and CMOE (Center for Management and Organization Effectiveness) through extensive research have identified 47 “Differentiating Behaviors that Distinguish Successful from Unsuccessful Performance Leaders.” Dr. Stowell then condensed these behaviors into eight categories that are taught in CMOE’s Coaching Skills Program.

Some of these significant behaviors that world-class coaches exhibit include:

• Gives recognition of employees worth
• Listens carefully, using reflective listening
• Provides positive feedback - gives credit
• Respects confidentiality
• Owns some responsibility
• Doesn’t point blame
• Asks questions to gather information, asks others to share their views
• Is collaborative and open to other methods to completion of tasks

As I reflect on these differentiating behaviors, I can identify that while my previous supervisor claimed to understand the importance of trust in a coaching relationship, his undermining behaviors with the other managers indicated it was not so. The following examples show his lack of trust.

The Wrong Methods

My supervisor had been told that employees need to take responsibility to grow both professionally and personally. His role was simply to “empower” his team and let them “figure out the rest.” Unfortunately when an employee failed in some capacity, the employee would be reprimanded by this supervisor. In some cases, the person would be ridiculed (he called it joking around) in front of the other team members, simply because he was left to guess his way to success, with no “true” coach helping him find the way.

Additionally, this manager seldom listened to his team. He made “snap” judgments without getting all of the facts or perceptions of anyone or everyone involved. He often cut into the explanations because he felt he had the answer even though he had heard only half the issue.

Finally, the most damaging trait was his inability to keep confidential remarks confidential. He often discussed his meetings with individual team members with other members, especially if some disagreement of thought was explored. With this type of feedback, it didn’t take long for communication from and within his team to cease.

The Making of a Disgruntled Team Member

If people within an organization are reprimanded, ridiculed, and have their confidentiality breached, it makes for a destructive environment. When managers “empower” others, it is critical to allot enough authority, support, and resources so that the employee can complete the task successfully. When a subordinate is asked to be a leader and then fails because they were not setup for success, that person begins to question his/her own judgment. That self-doubt can seriously inhibit their effectiveness to be resourceful or creative for the business.

Build a Positive Culture

To build and maintain a culture of trust, an effective coach must listen. A coach must hear out their employees so that conflicts, problems, and misunderstandings can be rectified. Further, a good listener must be calm and confidential. When there is a disagreement, personal beliefs need to be put aside so the beliefs of each party can be understood. A coach who doesn’t listen, doesn’t know what the real issues are and employees will not only distrust the supervisor, but each other.

In the case of my supervisor, his management team tried talking with him about his coaching and leadership style. Each time he explained that since he had the training, he understood the situation better than they did. Finally a Vice President called for a 360° survey assessment, and as a result, he left the company.

Does this mean all coaching training workshops will have the same results? No, not at all. What it does mean is that coaches need proven methods and processes in their training and education to become effective leaders. This man had many good traits; nevertheless they were overlooked because of his few bad ones. Had this man been given the right training he might have been able to develop his leadership approach that would create a strong personal leadership approach and team that would have taken the business to higher levels. Instead, the business faltered for two years before the team was able to rebuild itself.

Decades ago I had a friend tell me this question was posed to their High School class. I never found out what the class concluded.

Over the years I have thought often about the answer to this question.

My earlier conclusion was that professionalism meant a separation of work and personal life.  This is something that I think the older generation is better at.  The younger generation seems more transparent about personal matters in the workplace. 

As the years go by, however, my experience doesn’t support this conclusion as a definition of professionalism.  I find many professionals are actually quite personable.

This has caused me to re-evaluate the answer to this question.

I think the answer I would give now is that professionalism means ownership.  It means responsibility and accountability for producing the appropriate results.

I walked into a CostCo last week looking for a large household item.  I found a smiling attentive employee with whom I asked where I might find the item I was looking for.  He said “I’m new here,” and shrugged his shoulders.

There was this moment of pregnant miscommunication.

No doubt he was unable to help me due to his present unfamiliarity with the store layout, but as a customer I felt neglected.

I thought to myself, “Well, are you going to get someone for me who knows where this item is?” And then I realized I had, perhaps, misaligned expectations for customer service from a new employee at a wholesale warehouse selling everything from car tires to margarine.

Then the light bulb went on—a more professional employee would have “owned” my problem.  They would have found someone who did know where my item was and would have walked with me until my problem was solved. 

Suddenly I realized I had the answer to my decades-old question: Professionalism means ownership.   Ownership of issues.  Ownership of assignments.  Ownership of tasks.

My thanks go out to the anonymous clueless employee.  After several decades, I finally have my answer.

How would you answer this question?

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com
 

Long years of sacrifice and hard work have finally paid off. The grueling and intense interviews are finished. You have obtained a new leadership position. Your time has come.

Are you ready? Do you have what it takes? Have you developed the crucial skills that will make you an effective leader?

Organizations continually change and doing things the way they have always been done before will not cut it today. Leaders must be flexible and observant of the environment around them. They must think strategically and prepare themselves for new adventures and challenges. Your ability to transition into leadership effectively will define your potential and your ensure success in the future. While there are many skills and qualities to master, there are three areas that will get you started on the right track: influence, coaching, and team leadership.

Influence

Although some may disagree, influencing others is an art. It is difficult to master and too often the most underdeveloped skill. Command and control management, delegating without explanation, and saying “because I said so” is no longer effective. We live in a time where clear communication and collaboration are crucial to achieve desired results. Good influence skills motivate others into action. Leaders must pass on the vision to employees in a way that “the” vision becomes their vision. This is done by clearly articulating the assignments, reasons, objectives, or goals important to the success of the team member’s team, and organization as a whole.

Employees thrive on opportunities to collaborate improving conditions. When they understand how important their contribution is, they often perform at higher levels and increase their commitment not only to the team but to the company as a whole. For the leaders it means gaining solid listening, interpersonal, and communication skills. Leaders must spark excitement within team members and cultivate their desire succeed; but remember, to do this effectively, you must be sincere and genuine.

Coaching

Coaching is more than just one-on-one interaction with a team member, or telling them what to do and how to do it. Coaching is so much more. It requires patience, understanding, and a desire to help improve their performance as a team member. There is nothing more effective than a sincere and passionate coach. Successful leaders are those who can mentor and coach others in a way that is fair and easy to understand. Coaches must also model the skills that ensure success. Coaching isn’t something you can avoid or do once in awhile. Whether it is a formal one-on-one discussion or just coaching in the moment, you need to make the time and energy to give quality coaching to your team members. As their coach, you are developing their potential talent for success.

Team Leadership

In today’s world, most organizations utilize a team approach. So it is vital for new leaders to have the skills to create, build, and lead high performance teams. This includes addressing issues from team cohesiveness to conflict resolution. Most importantly, a team leader must ensure that the team’s direction is aligned with the aims and mission of the organization. By instilling a sense of cohesiveness and accountability in team members, you will put your team on the path to high performance because they will be focused, united, and therefore more efficient.

As you develop and foster your skills of influence, coaching, and team leadership, you will quickly discover the positive effects they will have over you and those around you. Develop these fundamental leadership skills, think strategically, and prepare now so that, you will be a great leader who is equipped and ready with the necessary skills for success.

A Quality Management System, sometimes referred to as a Total Quality Management (TQM) System, is a simple concept that will dramatically improve software production quality over time.

Companies that don’t have a quality system are commonly reacting to production and support issues due to omissive events.

A simple rule of thumb is to ask yourself how many fires your development team has put out this month.  If any come to mind, then chances are you don’t have a proper quality management system in place, and should read on…

I remember early in my career I struggled to get my employees to follow our procedures.  Whenever we’d encounter a production problem with our software, it would inevitably be a result of someone not having completely followed an established procedure. 

We would have a big discussion about what should have happened, and about how “we can’t forget to do that next time,” yet we’d experience the same omission later.

I would get frustrated because I could never seem to find a way to get my team accountable for following our established procedures–until I discovered the “Quality Management System.” 

A Quality Management System has the following three elements (the Three P’s!):

1. Process (documented–most of us have processes or procedures we are supposed to follow.)
2. Proof (a separate checklist, or “receipt” that the process was followed for each software release.)
3. Process-Improvement (a discussion, and then an addition or adjustment to the documented process.)

Most companies have an established–and hopefully documented–software development process.  (If you don’t you can download one from my website for Waterfall, or Agile here.)  This is the first ‘P’ and should be in place at every established development shop.

A great question to ask the team is “How do you know the process was followed for each release?”  This is where you may get the deer in the headlights response.  This is the second ‘P’ and is the piece missing from most software development shops.   

Think of this ’Proof’ document as a checklist accompanying each software release.  The checklist would include every major step in the documented process, names of team members performing specific functions, and locations of final source code, test scripts, install files, etc.  The checklist would also require a series of quality checks.  Ie: Were requirements signed off by the customer, stakeholder, tester, and developer?  Was the help file updated with the new release number and appropriate functionality?  Was the source code checked in?  Where is it located? 

As problems occur, the checklist would be added to so that the product would be protected against a similar failure in the future. 

The governing driver considered here is that one particular problem might broadside the development team once, but after the process is improved, that problem should never occur again.

For example, you might have a stored procedure that goes into production without a “Go” statement at the end.  After the error is discovered, and fixed in production, your team should have a discussion and conclude that a checkbox needs to be added to the quality document stating “All Stored Procedures Confirmed to have ‘Go’ at the end.”

From that point on, whenever a stored procedure is moved into production, the developer presenting it must check for ‘Go’ statements at the end and then sign their name at the bottom of the checklist.

This is the difference between process improvement, and hope.  Many companies view process improvement as a discussion and some verbal affirmations.  What they are really doing is “hoping.”

Actually, the “act” of process improvement is physically altering a written process or procedure.  This is the real definition of process improvement–the third ‘P.’

The final endpoint of a quality management system is to achieve excellence.  I’ve heard excellence defined once as “Crisp execution of established procedures.”

You can’t have excellence without procedures, proof, and process-improvement.

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com

Do you have one of those executives that harasses you with status updates to projects, yet never attends the status update meetings?

Perhaps they call you, email you, stop in to your office, and want to know what the latest on project X is?

Is the behavior effecient?  What suggestions do you have about how to convey project status communication within your organization?

Mike J. Berry
www.RedRockResearch.com