Impact Today™
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Do not follow Harry Reid’s lead
Harry Reid has created a huge mess for himself. With tremendous fanfare he announced that no Blagojevich appointee would ever be seated in the United States Senate. Undoubtedly Majority Leader Reid was trying to force Illinois to hold a special election instead of allowing Governor Blagojevich, accused of trying to sell the seat to the highest bidder, show he still was relevant as the state’s ranking official.
Then Blagojevich appointed Roland Burris, the former African-American attorney general, to the post.
Drama quickly abounded when senate Republicans and prominent Black Leaders locked arms saying Burris should be appointed as he was an honorable man well separately from the gubernatorial controversy. Senate democrats appeared as the lead story when they blocked entrance to the senate chambers to only black that will sit in Senate Chambers for the 111th Congress.
Defeated in popular opinion and the media, Reid has had to scurry to find a way out and try to put this issue in the past. He has now settled on letting the Illinois Supreme Court decide if Burris was properly appointed in spite of universal acknowledgement the appointment is lawful and Burris meets senate requirements.
Business leaders often find themselves in a similar situation. What Reid did wrong was make a decision based on a single symptom of an ill. He stated a position without thought to what the Illinois Governor’s ultimate action would or could be. By not considering all potential outcomes, he created a chasm that quickly engulfed him and tarnished his role.
He also missed the headlines that were suppressed by this bigger story. Across the nation it was unnoticed that Reid’s party had an almost invincible hold on the senate and Chicago papers and broadcasters no longer aired stories about the troubled governor.
Before you state a position, be sure to think it through completely, considering all potential responses and outcomes.
Harry Reid has created a huge mess for himself. With tremendous fanfare he announced that no Blagojevich appointee would ever be seated in the United States Senate. Undoubtedly Majority Leader Reid was trying to force Illinois to hold a special election instead of allowing Governor Blagojevich, accused of trying to sell the seat to the highest bidder, show he still was relevant as the state’s ranking official.Then Blagojevich appointed Roland Burris, the former African-American attorney general, to the post.
Drama quickly abounded when senate Republicans and prominent Black Leaders locked arms saying Burris should be appointed as he was an honorable man well separately from the gubernatorial controversy. Senate democrats appeared as the lead story when they blocked entrance to the senate chambers to only black that will sit in Senate Chambers for the 111th Congress.
Defeated in popular opinion and the media, Reid has had to scurry to find a way out and try to put this issue in the past. He has now settled on letting the Illinois Supreme Court decide if Burris was properly appointed in spite of universal acknowledgement the appointment is lawful and Burris meets senate requirements.
Business leaders often find themselves in a similar situation. What Reid did wrong was make a decision based on a single symptom of an ill. He stated a position without thought to what the Illinois Governor’s ultimate action would or could be. By not considering all potential outcomes, he created a chasm that quickly engulfed him and tarnished his role.
He also missed the headlines that were suppressed by this bigger story. Across the nation it was unnoticed that Reid’s party had an almost invincible hold on the senate and Chicago papers and broadcasters no longer aired stories about the troubled governor.
Before you state a position, be sure to think it through completely, considering all potential responses and outcomes.
Labels: Decision_Making, Leadership, Strategy
¶ 1/08/2009 0 Comments Links to this post
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
The Importance of Deciding What’s Important
One busy executive says she waits until the end of each day to return phone calls that she has missed. Answering phone calls is important, but not the task of greatest importance to her. By waiting until the end of the day, she discovered that many of the problems presented in the phone calls had taken care of themselves.
Her example offers a simple lesson in setting priorities, which is one thing great leaders do. Priorities do not have to be on a par with discovering a cure for a deadly disease, or working out a world peace agreement. They must only be of sufficient importance in order to clear a path for the executive to get his job done.
Let me give you some examples.
To continue reading, click here.
One busy executive says she waits until the end of each day to return phone calls that she has missed. Answering phone calls is important, but not the task of greatest importance to her. By waiting until the end of the day, she discovered that many of the problems presented in the phone calls had taken care of themselves.Her example offers a simple lesson in setting priorities, which is one thing great leaders do. Priorities do not have to be on a par with discovering a cure for a deadly disease, or working out a world peace agreement. They must only be of sufficient importance in order to clear a path for the executive to get his job done.
Let me give you some examples.
To continue reading, click here.
Labels: Decision_Making, Leadership
¶ 12/17/2008 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, November 24, 2008
Citibank proves my point!
It took Washington less than 12 hours to prove my point about the dysfunctional leadership by the American government in dealing with the current financial woes.
Overnight they committed $306 BILLION dollars in Citibank to ensure it would not go bankrupt. This is on top of an earlier $25 billion for a total of 13 times what the auto industry has asked for in total.
Again, no requests to sell or reduce use of the Citibank air fleet, no business plan, no guarantees how the money will be used, and no requests for hourly or salaried concessions.
If a bank goes under, the customers go to other American (many times locally owned) banks. If the North American automotive industry collapses, the money goes overseas?
Leadership is about having a clear long-term plan for your organization. No evidence has been given of any long-term vision. Nor have we seen any hint the people playing Santa with the banks and Scrooge with the cars have even done an analysis of the situation beyond the generic, “We must throw money at it”. Only the automobile industry has done that kind of homework – and their reluctance in sharing with the public is that they are sitting at a table next to two competitors that want to learn their trade secrets.
When crisis exists, leadership also dictates that you share your plan with those you want to lead. Nancy, Harry, Barney, George, Barack, Christopher, Henry – what is the vision? Share the plan concisely and thoughtfully with your people. In any organization the people being lead will do much better if they can see the leader’s vision of the future.
Absent that vision, and buy-in to it, the people and organization often fail.
It took Washington less than 12 hours to prove my point about the dysfunctional leadership by the American government in dealing with the current financial woes.Overnight they committed $306 BILLION dollars in Citibank to ensure it would not go bankrupt. This is on top of an earlier $25 billion for a total of 13 times what the auto industry has asked for in total.
Again, no requests to sell or reduce use of the Citibank air fleet, no business plan, no guarantees how the money will be used, and no requests for hourly or salaried concessions.
If a bank goes under, the customers go to other American (many times locally owned) banks. If the North American automotive industry collapses, the money goes overseas?
Leadership is about having a clear long-term plan for your organization. No evidence has been given of any long-term vision. Nor have we seen any hint the people playing Santa with the banks and Scrooge with the cars have even done an analysis of the situation beyond the generic, “We must throw money at it”. Only the automobile industry has done that kind of homework – and their reluctance in sharing with the public is that they are sitting at a table next to two competitors that want to learn their trade secrets.
When crisis exists, leadership also dictates that you share your plan with those you want to lead. Nancy, Harry, Barney, George, Barack, Christopher, Henry – what is the vision? Share the plan concisely and thoughtfully with your people. In any organization the people being lead will do much better if they can see the leader’s vision of the future.
Absent that vision, and buy-in to it, the people and organization often fail.
Labels: Decision_Making, Goals, Leadership, Motivation
¶ 11/24/2008 0 Comments Links to this post
Friday, November 7, 2008
The cocoon
The story is told about a man who once found a cocoon. It seems a small opening had just appeared in the cocoon and through this small opening the man watched as the young butterfly struggled to escape the confines of the container that had protected it during its metamorphosis.
After several hours it appeared the butterfly’s progress had stopped completely, prompting the man to take action. He very carefully took the cocoon in hand and used his fingers to pry it apart at the opening begun by the butterfly.
When the butterfly emerged the man noted its strange appearance. Instead of a beautiful butterfly he saw a swollen body and shriveled wings. He watched to see if it would continue to develop into the graceful beauty that adorns gardens but nothing changed. The butterfly just sat there unable to fly.
The man then began to realize that the butterfly would never fly. For it is through the struggle to escape the cocoon that the butterfly completes their transformation as the effort to break through causes the bodily fluid to flow to the new wings and gives them the strength they need for flight.
Life Lesson: Leaders must resist the urge to take control when someone is in a situation where their struggle can help them grow into an elegant butterfly.
The story is told about a man who once found a cocoon. It seems a small opening had just appeared in the cocoon and through this small opening the man watched as the young butterfly struggled to escape the confines of the container that had protected it during its metamorphosis.After several hours it appeared the butterfly’s progress had stopped completely, prompting the man to take action. He very carefully took the cocoon in hand and used his fingers to pry it apart at the opening begun by the butterfly.
When the butterfly emerged the man noted its strange appearance. Instead of a beautiful butterfly he saw a swollen body and shriveled wings. He watched to see if it would continue to develop into the graceful beauty that adorns gardens but nothing changed. The butterfly just sat there unable to fly.
The man then began to realize that the butterfly would never fly. For it is through the struggle to escape the cocoon that the butterfly completes their transformation as the effort to break through causes the bodily fluid to flow to the new wings and gives them the strength they need for flight.
Life Lesson: Leaders must resist the urge to take control when someone is in a situation where their struggle can help them grow into an elegant butterfly.
Labels: Anecdote, Decision_Making, Leadership
¶ 11/07/2008 0 Comments Links to this post
Friday, October 17, 2008
The frustrated owner
The store owner was so frustrated that sales and profits were down he decided to tour the facility in hopes of finding a way to cut costs.
Near the back door he spied a young man leaning against a stack of boxes whistling cheerfully. The owner thought it dreadful to pay someone to be so lazy. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a 50 dollar bill.
“Here, take this and get out of here,” he commanded. The young man grabbed the money and immediately left.
As he got to the door to reenter the sales floor the receiving manager approached.
“I just fired that stock clerk of yours for slacking off on company time,” the owner told the manager.
“Sir, that was not one of my guys, he works for the delivery company.”
Life Lesson: Hasty decisions are often bad decisions.
The store owner was so frustrated that sales and profits were down he decided to tour the facility in hopes of finding a way to cut costs.Near the back door he spied a young man leaning against a stack of boxes whistling cheerfully. The owner thought it dreadful to pay someone to be so lazy. He reached in his pocket and pulled out a 50 dollar bill.
“Here, take this and get out of here,” he commanded. The young man grabbed the money and immediately left.
As he got to the door to reenter the sales floor the receiving manager approached.
“I just fired that stock clerk of yours for slacking off on company time,” the owner told the manager.
“Sir, that was not one of my guys, he works for the delivery company.”
Life Lesson: Hasty decisions are often bad decisions.
Labels: Anecdote, Decision_Making
¶ 10/17/2008 0 Comments Links to this post
Monday, July 14, 2008
The consultant and the pillar men
With productivity falling below their goals, the board of the ABC Widget Company decided to hire a consultant to investigate potential avenues for improvement. The consultant set out right away to tour the plant.
Soon after entering the shipping area he noticed a man standing next to one of the pillars holding up the roof. After introducing himself, the consultant asked the man what his job was.
“I am supposed to stand by this pillar,” the employee said.
Curious, the consultant asked why he was suppose to stand there.
“I don’t know. My boss told me to stand by the pillar so that is what I do.”
Thanking the man, the consultant continued on his tour. When he got to the production line he noticed another man standing next to another pillar.
“Good afternoon,” the consultant said before explaining who he was. “May I ask you what you do here?”
The man by the pillar said, “This is my job. I am supposed to stand by this pillar all day. I’ve been doing it for five years.”
The following month the consultant presented his findings as the board reconvened. A discussion of the board members ensued and soon a decision was made as to how to handle the situation.
When the discussion had concluded, the consultant was tasked with firing one of the two men standing by the pillars.
Why? Click here for the answer.
With productivity falling below their goals, the board of the ABC Widget Company decided to hire a consultant to investigate potential avenues for improvement. The consultant set out right away to tour the plant.Soon after entering the shipping area he noticed a man standing next to one of the pillars holding up the roof. After introducing himself, the consultant asked the man what his job was.
“I am supposed to stand by this pillar,” the employee said.
Curious, the consultant asked why he was suppose to stand there.
“I don’t know. My boss told me to stand by the pillar so that is what I do.”
Thanking the man, the consultant continued on his tour. When he got to the production line he noticed another man standing next to another pillar.
“Good afternoon,” the consultant said before explaining who he was. “May I ask you what you do here?”
The man by the pillar said, “This is my job. I am supposed to stand by this pillar all day. I’ve been doing it for five years.”
The following month the consultant presented his findings as the board reconvened. A discussion of the board members ensued and soon a decision was made as to how to handle the situation.
When the discussion had concluded, the consultant was tasked with firing one of the two men standing by the pillars.
Why? Click here for the answer.
Labels: Anecdote, Decision_Making
¶ 7/14/2008 3 Comments Links to this post
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Change mind, get suspended
The importance of decision making became very clear to a referee in the Vietnamese soccer league. He was suspended for changing his mind after awarding a goal.
The league issued the suspension feeling the referee had given in to pressure from the opposing players, although the referee insists the defending team, which had stormed the field in protest, had nothing to do with his thinking.
The other referees in the game were also suspended because none of them reported the incident to the league.
Life Lesson #1: Trust your first instinct until real facts, not emotion, shows a need to change.
Life Lesson #2: When the person you work for makes a big mistake, you may suffer consequences.
The importance of decision making became very clear to a referee in the Vietnamese soccer league. He was suspended for changing his mind after awarding a goal.The league issued the suspension feeling the referee had given in to pressure from the opposing players, although the referee insists the defending team, which had stormed the field in protest, had nothing to do with his thinking.
The other referees in the game were also suspended because none of them reported the incident to the league.
Life Lesson #1: Trust your first instinct until real facts, not emotion, shows a need to change.
Life Lesson #2: When the person you work for makes a big mistake, you may suffer consequences.
Labels: Anecdote, Decision_Making
¶ 5/27/2008 0 Comments Links to this post
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Who says our role doesn’t control decisions?
Life Lesson: Diversity offers an array of ideas
There has been a lot of talk about the need for diversity in the problem solving process. Some argue only experts from the functional area where a decision is required should be part of the decision making team. Others say involve different disciplines to get to the right answer. If you aren’t sure which group is correct, consider this story:
Three people are in a car traveling down a steep mountain road. Suddenly the breaks fail. The driver, seeing a sharp curve over a deep chasm ahead, frantically tries to stop the vehicle. He spies a spot to the side where an opening in the guard rail allows access to a small meadow surrounded by bails of hay. He manages to pull into the area while his passengers breathe a sigh of relief.
The three people, all engineers of one sort or another, exit the vehicle and begin to access their situation.
“Hmm,” says the mechanical engineer, “It looks like a brake line was leaking - let's repair the split, bleed the brakes, and we should be able to get on our way.”
The systems engineer thinks for a while and says, “Maybe we need to contact the manufacturer and the dealer to confirm exactly what the problem is”
The software engineer slowly climbs into the driver's seat and, gesturing for the others to join him, says, “How about if we close all the windows and try again?”
There has been a lot of talk about the need for diversity in the problem solving process. Some argue only experts from the functional area where a decision is required should be part of the decision making team. Others say involve different disciplines to get to the right answer. If you aren’t sure which group is correct, consider this story:Three people are in a car traveling down a steep mountain road. Suddenly the breaks fail. The driver, seeing a sharp curve over a deep chasm ahead, frantically tries to stop the vehicle. He spies a spot to the side where an opening in the guard rail allows access to a small meadow surrounded by bails of hay. He manages to pull into the area while his passengers breathe a sigh of relief.
The three people, all engineers of one sort or another, exit the vehicle and begin to access their situation.
“Hmm,” says the mechanical engineer, “It looks like a brake line was leaking - let's repair the split, bleed the brakes, and we should be able to get on our way.”
The systems engineer thinks for a while and says, “Maybe we need to contact the manufacturer and the dealer to confirm exactly what the problem is”
The software engineer slowly climbs into the driver's seat and, gesturing for the others to join him, says, “How about if we close all the windows and try again?”
Labels: Anecdote, Decision_Making, Problem_Solving, Story
¶ 3/27/2008 0 Comments Links to this post
