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Positive Intent Lacks Objectivity

In business & life I have rarely come across truly EVIL people. Few people go out of their way to ruin days, businesses or lives. Don't get me wrong I don't think we live in a fairy tale but I genuinely believe that most people operate in the pursuit of 'greater good' for whatever party they represent.

The 'problem' is that far too many people base their decisions on the one thing that lacks ANY objectivity - emotion! Emotion in business is needed but so is clear objectivity.  I said during the election that I was not going to vote. I stood by that, not because I don't believe one party to be better or worse, or even because of a lack of trust for politicians. I did it simply because politics is based, on the main part, on a raw emotion.  Just look at the emotive outbursts, with zero evidence to back them up.

Rarely are the full facts evaluated in decisions. Party political manifestos have decided what the issues are BEFORE the party can have had chance to evaluate so we end up in a situation where the numbers are only ever used to prove why a party were right in the first place.

The student debate was deemed wrong by those in the student arena, and right by the politicians who only needed to save money....before any real consideration took place.

The other morning I suggested that Ladbrokes should give me odds on @DanniiMinogue replying to my tweet. Based on little/no fact I had a stream of responses from people saying that there was no chance on earth that she would reply to me. Dannii responded to me inside 10 minutes, helping me raise money for my charity in the process.  Those responding saying she wouldn't reply only did so because they felt she wouldn't.  They were not trying to ruin my day or anything, they were trying to help.

So where is this post taking me.  In simple terms it is the responsibility of people in any position of power, for example @Nick_Clegg, to consider facts, & do their utmost to put the emotions of the situation to one side.  For all others it is also to remain objective and to challenge, again based on fact.

The more we respect the actual detail in any given situation the easier it will be to make collective progress. As the saying goes, to err is human, but hell let's at least do it based on the facts, so that when we look back we can say objectively, when we got it wrong and move in the right direction.

Moment of truth

There is one universal truth in the private, public & 3rd sectors.  All, without fail, are busy tying themselves up in knots.  These knots cost them £billions a year, in lost sales, in increased costs, or even just in lack of clarity.

I am 110% behind the need to make sure that we 'stamp out' corruption.  I am 120% behind the fact that we need to make sure businesses are safe & look after their employees.  I am 150% behind making sure the consumer gets choice & protection....however......we are so guilty of overthinking and over engineering solutions to this.

Take, for example, the approved supplier list for Government contracts.  The process is so involved and drawn out (in some cases from tendering to be able to supply it can take up to 18 months for the approval to be given) that many drop out and even more importantly we don't get value as a tax payer.  I know of specific cases where local authorities have to use suppliers that are in excess of 50% more expensive because they are ON the list.

Take this example a step further where some lists are not reviewed for 4 years. This means as a taxpayer, if a 'breakthrough' solution to a problem came through just after the review cycle had finished, I (we) could be funding huge inefficiency for 5.5 years until the system caught up again!

This issue though is not just the 'ghost' of the public sector.  Private sector don't help themselves either.  Yes they are blighted by tax legislation that is, from I understand, now 4 x times longer (the pages in the manual) than it was 15 years ago, but more importantly they also curse themselves.

Quick, let's talk strategy. Oh....but which strategy?  Exactly I say in response.  Go in to any reasonable sized business and you will find more strategies and presentations about strategies than you can read in a life time.......either that or there will be none.  Either way, chaos reigns.  I saw a client at the start of this year where just one section of the strategy ran to.....wait for it.....750 pages! How the hell can anyone be expected to remember that.

Not to leave out the 3rd sector, let's try accountability here.  Ask many 3rd sector employees or volunteers who is accountable for 'something' in the business and you are almost exclusively going to get an answer that says a panel/a board of some description.  This is where the inefficiency of 3rd sector comes in.  Someone (not people) needs to have accountability for a particular task.  If you don't have that then inefficiency and indecision rule.

This is not just a 'random rant'.  We all need to exercise the moment of truth principle in whatever type of organisation.  Ask yourself one question.....one simple question....if x happens, who gets the phone call?  If you cannot instantly answer then the chances are I am 'victim' to some force of the above.  Sure I am being overly simplistic, as there are other questions you could ask but in all cases if you don't instantly know either (a) the answer, or (b) where to get the answer then you have a problem waiting to happen.

For workers it is frustrating as hell.  For customers it just gets in the way.  The bottom line is that all three sectors need to work together to help reduce this issue, and to learn from each other.  Stop seeing the world through their own 'lens', there are rarely new issues in business, just the same ones appearing in different places, or in front of people who haven't seen them before.  Before you write a paper, a strategy or a policy to cover it....step back and see how you can deal with it using what you already have.

The Blame Game

So it has been an eventful morning.  Have been discussing with @AlisonDuker the fact that children are far less active than they were 20 years ago.  The debate on Twitter gathered some pace.  There were references to lack of outside safety, lack of government funding, etc etc etc blah blah blah.....

To be honest though it's all a load of codswallop....this is exactly the thing I see in business each day.  This didn't work because x didn't do their bit, or because our competitors did this instead.

I am not trying to be unsympathetic to people or business but we really need to stop forward and take responsibility for our own actions.  For someone who has bitter personal experience in the area of weight management I have learnt a very important lesson over the last year.  Only I can make that difference, there are no miracle cures, fad diets, tablets, operations that will work.  The harsh reality I came to realise was that unless I personally take responsibility for the issue then no progress can be made.  So 2.2 million rowing meters later I realise that to get what I want takes blood, sweat and tears....as well as a healthy balanced diet.  In short Nanny McPhee only exists in fantasy.

How often do you see in business the same issue arising?  The fingers being pointed all over because senior managers don't wish to take personal accountability for things.  I have even been in businesses where an issue was the fault of the customers....for goodness sake, just accept the facts for what they are.

Facts are facts no matter how inconvenient that they may be to your view of the world.  If customers stop buying your products it is your product that is at fault not your customers.  My weight issue was because I didn't exercise enough, nothing more.  It may have been unpalatable to me, it may have been inconvenient but as soon as I got off my arse and did something about it I lost 6.5 stone in 6 months.  Proof enough me thinks.

The moral quite simply is this.  Accept the facts of any situation. Don't attack them. Don't blame them.  Focus your energies on changing them by making positive strides in the tight direction - it is no more complex than that. Period.

Own goals...

It has been a few weeks since my last blog and the reason for that is nicely tied in to the theme for this entry.  The role of goals in business & in personal life.  My blogging has had to go on hold as it was not 'in service' of my goals during this period.

This blog is inspired by requests from @hlsbs and @codebluecomms  

I have been working on three things recently:

1. My continuing fitness drive.

2. The Go For Growth Awards.

3. A big long term project.

In my experience that is probably about as many things as you can realistically manage at once, but more importantly in the context of goals it shapes the things we do/don't do.

I said in a #bizgptip today 'Being clear on your objectives means you can be clear on what you do (or don't) do.

In business, as in life, we need some 'frame of reference' which drives what we do and keeps us true to the original intent.  For example I have been training for a 50k Charity Row in aid of  Camp Quality the charity that I chair.  By focussing on this goal it drives my behaviour, so for example it is pointless being able to row the worlds fastest 5k (in my dreams) if I can't stay the distance so I have focussed on stamina, not speed to start ensuring I can do the 50k first and worrying about times later.  So having completed my 50k 'dry' run in 3hrs 47minutes I then accepted a further 'refinement' to the challenge from @JamesMarsh1974 to bring that time down below 3hrs 30minutes.  As you can see from the example my first objective was to 'just do the distance' in support of a worthy cause.  I could then refine that as I developed.

This model can also be applied to @codebluecomms question posed to me for this blog.  The focus model can be applied to recruitment of new staff very well.  So firstly you have to ask yourself 'What is the purpose of recruiting this person?'. What role are they to perform?  Within this you need to be clear not only on the skills you require from them but also the personality traits you need and the role they will play within the overall team.

Many mistakes are made in the final part of that last statement.  It is always easier to recruit for technical skills and 'rarely' do people get those quantifiable things wrong.  Of course 'can someone do the job or not is an easier measure to perform'.  The real challenge comes when you don't have a clear focus on the goal of 'What role does this person play within the overall team?'.  Getting that right is critical. How often do you hear about a new hire not working out because they just didn't fit in......the harsh reality is that in many cases the recruiting manager failed that person as much as the person failed the business.

My final point on recruitment is that just because someone is a line manager doesn't mean they are best equipped to recruit.  That person may lack the skills or aptitude and so sometimes in smaller businesses you may have to think very seriously about who recruits talent for the organisation.

My final point on goals is this.  Goals not only focus you on what is important, but more importantly they allow you define your success in achieving them.  It is okay to get goals wrong as long as you are measuring and framing your efforts using them.  It is a 'cardinal sin' to just do anything without any plan....you are failing yourself, and your customers in that case.  Having no goals may feel liberating as it means you can choose to do anything, reality is, though, that anything doesn't pay the bills.  If it did everyone would be rich.

Let's get physical

This is quite a difficult blog for me to write, but it is important for a number of reasons.  Firstly to allow me to 'face-up' to things, and secondly because there is a really important message that I want to share.  Over the years I have always battled with keeping my weight in check.  During my time at school this was never an issue, I played rugby 2/3 times a week.  I trained for running & javelin twice a week, and then would probably walk another 6-8 miles on top of that.  However, as I came in to the world of business I found myself at first a little limited in what I did.  As I progressed in businesses I found that became even more of an issue.  In fact I was either in a car, on a plane, on a train, or in a meeting almost all the time.  The weight went on, and on....last year I flew over 100,000 miles, I drove over 30,000 miles, I spent 30,000 miles on a train and then sat on my arse for more hours than I care to imagine!  No wonder, when I went on GMTV I looked like this.....Click on GMTV video

In fairness, I have a huge amount to thank Ben Shepherd for, seeing myself there made me realise I had to do something.  As Olivia Newton John said - 'Let me hear your body talk!', and in fairness mine was screaming at me so loud.

 

 

I had made excuses for far too long.  I have found in the weeks since that I can fit in 60 minutes of rowing quite easily if I plan it well.  Either 2 x 30 minute rows, sometimes only doing a 45 minute one, and if I have the time the full 60.  In those times even with a very light row you can cover 11k.  I am now doing around 14-14.5k in that time, and have not felt better for a long time.  I have shed close to 4 stone, or a small person as someone kindly pointed out to me!!

What does this really have to do with a business blog, I hear you ask.  Well i think it brings together a few things that I have talked about previously.  For example it demonstrates the importance of my comments in Action or perfection.  It opens our minds as mentioned in To hear or not to hear.

However most importantly of all, it gives us more energy, it keeps us at the top of our game.  People look at you differently and the sense of achievement as an individual has given me some real energy.  Exercise is good for the spirit & the soul, it is good for the health and provides me with an outlet to just 'get away' from it all.  It also provides a discipline & drive, something to aim for that is not jusy work focussed.  This journey has opened my mind in many different ways and I can only say I am so glad that I embarked upon it.  Now I want to travel to the moon and back, but that is a different song for a different time.  

 

What the Woody hell?

It is one of the most famous lines ever spoken.  In some eyes the Martin Luther line is possibly THE most important ever.  Almost 50 years ago, in late August 1963, he spoke these famous words for the first time. 

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character.”

 

 

Despite that, and much legislation since, discrimination in the workplace is rife.  This is a difficult and sensitive subject with much emotion attached to it. 

On one side clearly there is need to achieve change.  I, myself have been on the receiving end of a job rejection because, wait for it, I was 'too young', despite being taken down to the last three of the process that had 500 applicants, and all this for a Public Sector role.  Ironically I was still the same age at the end of the process as I was at the outset!

On the other side, there is the argument that positive discrimination is, in itself, unlawful.  After all, can 'fighting' discrimination with discrimination ever be right?

Discrimination takes so many forms, and that is really part of the problem. Woody Allen himself has so many quotes that show 'out loud' the issues, like, 'I've never been an intellectual but I have this look.'  Akin to the playground team choosing sessions.  That look tended to mean you were picked last.

I have always been a firm believer in building teams on the diverse range of skills and expertise required to 'get the job done', but having witnessed many recruitment programmes, and experienced the simply appalling recruitment practices of some companies and senior managers I can understand why we still have an issue.

Woody to the rescue again, he sums up brilliantly why many choose to go it alone - 'I'm short enough and ugly enough to succeed on my own.'

Recruiting managers need to learn so much.  Turning up to an interview unprepared is simply unacceptable.  Companies have much to learn as well, you cannot send people out to recruit if they are not skilled (qualified) in it.  I have, on occasion, found myself 'interviewing the interviewer' as they were so ill-equipped.

Another challenge to reducing discrimination in the workplace is removing the age old adage of 'it's less about what you know and more about 'personality fit' the more senior the role'.  This is so often used to hide the prejudices of the recruiter.  A fake mirror to hide behind, allowing it to be the candidates 'fault'.

Frighteningly this is just the start.  These are just the challenges to be navigated to get yourself in to a role.  Business must do more, employees must do more.  Life is about creating a win-win situation for all.  It is about leaving a legacy for others to remember (hopefully positively) you by.  Woody to the rescue again for it is true that all people in the unfortunate position to be subject to this 'torture' must feel that 'Life is divided up into the horrible and the miserable.'

Education must play a part.  Positive reinforcement of the behaviours you wish to promote, not penalties for the 'straying'.  Business has lots to learn, people have lots to adapt to, after all the beauty of life is all about the richness that different people and experiences bring.  Woody Allen may be an acquired taste to some, but in many respects people like him are needed to talk about things that others are afraid to.  'Some drink deeply from the river of knowledge. Others only gargle.', as he said demonstrates the deep understanding he has about people not spending time to find out.

If one day we might be able to harness the unifying power that music seems to have.  It may not be perfect but it is definitely a general step in the right direction.  The reason the video below is one of the most watched ever on the web is because whatever your background you cannot help but find yourself, in the groove, so enjoy!

 

And remember, as Woody says 'There are two types of people in this world: good and bad. The good sleep better, but the bad seem to enjoy the waking hours much more.'

Airplane, Airport - Leading through disaster

The 1970's spawned the series of Airport films, a morbid fascination with what may happen if disaster struck mid-flight (I wonder why there were so many scared of flying). The 80's brought us Airplane, with the brilliant Bridges and Nielsen. I prefer comedy rather than disaster so the latter will be used for this blog.

Firstly, why all this talk of disaster anyway? Well those that recently got my newsletter will know that leadership is close to my heart, and more importantly leadership is critical in times of disaster.  If you fancy getting my newsletter direct to your in-box, feel free to register here.  http://www.thebusinessgp.com/opensurgery/

The 'problem' is that faced with adversity many leaders panic (actually the worst thing you can do). Just when time, space, logical, rational and reasoned thought is critical, they decide to throw everything and the kitchen sink at er well EVERYTHING.  'Initiativeitus' I call it, or the 'Do more' syndrome.

That said like this excerpt from Airplane I can understand why: 'Nervous', 'Yes', 'First time?', 'No I have been nervous many times!'. I can understand that, leaders are supposed to be invincible aren't they? Infallible, god like. Wrong actually, being a human, asking for help, uniting teams towards a common cause is critical. People relate to people so don't sit there thinking (have to use this scene from Airplane too), 'Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit drinking' or 'Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit smoking' or even, 'Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit sniffing glue' and 'Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines' is just plain wrong.

Leaders bring people together, leadership is not hierarchal and therefore it doesn't matter who has the killer idea, just so long as to work together to make it happen, and really don't throw everything at the fan.  It will distract you and make things worse. Focus is key as I referenced 'in a fish bowl' here - http://ow.ly/1F5RF

Be bold, brave and trusting, and with the right people around you it is possible to succeed in almost every case. Whilst disturbing, this final link to Airplane sums up everything a leader must be able to demonstrate - 'There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?'

Business is a journey, together you can all enjoy the ride.

Wouldn't it be good....

It is amazing what can happen in a week!  This weeks post is brought to you courtesy of a topic picked by our very own Duncan Bannatyne.  In a week of ash, travel chaos and calls for emergency tax money Nik Kershaw provides us with some great words of wisdom.

I have never hidden my concern about the Governments of the world bailing out the banks.  Yes I know that people say some businesses are too big to fail, but the issue of not letting someone or something fail is that you (a) set a dangerous precedent, and (b) they don't learn the lessons.

There is a classic line in Nik's 'The Riddle' it goes - 'near a tree by a river, there's a hole in the ground, where an old man of aran, goes around and around, and his mind is a beacon, in the veil of the night'

How ironic these words are now, with Mr Darling playing the lead role as the old man of aran, with his money pit and all passing ships seeing this beacon of help.  How fitting that the head of BA was first to the 'hole in the ground'.  Now for those of you who will instantly call me an anti this and a pro that, I can tell you quite simply I am coming at this from the perspective of what makes commercial sense.

If we look at BA you can see instantly that the issue they have singularly failed to address is the cost-base of the business.On average 75 of their 250(ish) planes sit doing nothing all year.  Yes I know there are the need for 'spares' and maintenance, but would you run your business like that? To add insult to injury 1 in 4 don't land on time.  This, on top of the fact that there is an unashamed attempt to profiteer whenever possible.  Look at flight costs to South Africa during and post the World Cup this year to see what I mean.  Furthermore a quick look at Emirates shows that the airline is around twice as profitable performing on the same key indicators as for BA.

I have also seen this story being tackled from a perspective of 'helping our own' i.e. the people that were stranded.  This again would use taxpayers money to drive profits, in many cases to other countries.  I am sympathetic but things happen all the time which mean people incur costs, it is just life.  If you open Pandora's box then where do you stop.  The precedent started with the banks and now we will see how far we can move the 'begging bowl'.  Again to quote Kershaw - 'Old men in stripy trousers rule the world with plastic smiles'.

So where is this post leading.  I think in short it is saying we need to get back to running business (and the country) on a sustainable financial footing.  13% of all the money spent by Government last financial year was 'bailing' out the economy, this equates to 'basically' the increase in public spending. We need to get our businesses and economy back on a firm footing, rule with the head, not the heart, and recognise there will be some real pain to resolve the issues. 'No pain - no gain' as the saying goes.

I am going to leave you with a final quote from Mr Kershaw, 'I got it bad, You don't know how bad I got it. You got it easy, You don't know when you got it good.'  Maybe we need to step back and think about that a moment, as the song goes on to the say 'The grass is always greener on the other side'.

There is no such thing as perfect in life, we need to make the most of what we have, and in the week before the election for all those with short term memories remember this. Labour have failed in some respects for sure, and the Tories led us to 27% inflation, 3 million plus unemployment (in fact they changed the way it is measured to keep the numbers at bay) and they took us in to the EU for the good & bad that brings (immigration people think about it). If there was ever proof needed that nothing is perfect then that is it.