A Blog that will change your Business.

Fear Increases Productivity

2009-07-11T12:17:00.002-04:00

A few interesting findings from the Fear Survey

Some business leaders feel that fear has increased their organizational productivity.

They are producing more per person than in the past.
People are staying on the job longer (reduced turnover). The consequences of this are reduction of the learning curve impact from on-boarding new employees.
The longer employees are on the job, the faster and more effectively they produce results.
People feel they have to demonstrate their strength of performance in order not to be laid off.
People are producing better quality and less waste because of tenure, fear of losing their job, etc.
There are fewer people and they are assuming expanded accountability for performance. So more is being produced by fewer people.
Do you have additional reasons?

What is the fear that is driving this increase in productivity?

People are in fear for job security.
Fear of income flow loss.
People are in fear of the unknown future.
People are in fear of losing their importance (their job is their image of themselves).
People are in fear of not finding as good a job as they currently have.
People are in fear of not finding a title as good as they currently have (career progression fear).
Others??

The question is; "Is this increased productivity gain sustainable as the economy stabilizes and/or improves?"

What are your thoughts?

Chad

Executive Interest in an interview about the impact of fear

2009-07-08T11:07:00.002-04:00

Hi, this is Donna Rae.

I am interested in identifying executives / managers who are interested in scheduling an interview with me about the impact of fear on performance within your organization. The interview can be done over the telephone, is confidential, and expands the data we are collecting on fear and productivity.

I will provide a copy of the report to you and I will also provide coaching to you on strategic methods for creating a fearless organization.

We are all facing and feeling the impact of this intense, unpredictable, unstable climate. Identifying and removing fear barriers allows organizations and individuals to be agile, to be nimble and to adapt... boldly facing and moving through today's challenges!

We can overcome fear, and thrive together!

Please either call, email me, or post a comment and I will set up a time to interview you.
donna rae

Adjusting My View of Current Reality

2009-07-08T08:05:00.002-04:00

I just read an article that caused me to adjust my view and filters regarding current reality.

The article had research information about our current economy as well as information about our economy over the past fifty years.

Without getting into detail, it said we have been experiencing an anomaly during the past fifty years in that the economy was in a continual expansion mode (a few justifications and reasons for this were provided), and that our current economy is the reality of what it will be like in the future.

Well!!! This article caused me to contemplate what that could mean for leaders moving forward.

Few to no leaders have experience from fifty years ago that aligns with the business needs of today's reality - we are currently learning to lead in new and different ways as we experience day to day revelations in this new economic reality.

A recalibration of what success looks like, sounds like, feels like and is measured like will be necessary. This will vary by the industry, function, situation in which leaders find themselves.

The way in which people are led will be different in that aspirational career growth, positional movement, personal development, travel globally, compensation adjustments, etc. could be reduced or not available due to tighter management of budgets.

Limited inventories and options will create the need for true leadership in selling versus order taking. Increased competition for discretionary monies will also require selling to step up and lead.

Marketing will take on a different look as more targeted messages are designed for smaller, unique populations. Again, reduced budgets could drive an increased need for greater ROI per customer, so targeting to higher potential buyers will be necessary.

Adroitness with new and existing technologies will be required to do more with less resources and increase the need for "high tech touch" to lead disseminated audiences of employees, customers, consumers, suppliers, collaborators, partners, etc.

Leaders will be required to become very good at providing clarity of direction, priority, focus and metrics in order that these dispersed audiences can operate independently and still stay aligned with the organizational imperatives. Partnering beyond the traditional company boundaries will also require sharing these aspects of leadership with non-traditional entities in order to compete effectively.

Leaders will also have to be better coaches, supporters, barrier-breakers and reinforcers of empowered followers in order to reduce errors and potential failure modes of operations as followers get up to speed and become leaders in their own business arenas.

These more micro-focused organizations will require a strong core of strategic structure and infrastructure from which independence can be enabled in order to make better decisions at the point of performance, move with speed and agility, and maximize the cost/service/quality requirements of the target audience.

Not to mention the leadership challenges for supply chain partnerships, purchasing reciprocity, legal licensing, financial refocusing, benefits contracting, recruiting & hiring, etc., etc.

I believe every strategic and functional aspect of how we have done business in the past is changing and that strong, agile, open to learning leadership will be required to challenge and adapt to the new economy as we move forward.

Okay, I shared some of my thoughts and filter changes.

What additional adds do you have based on our economy being more of the same as we have had this past year (2008-09), versus being the double-digit growth, fat and happy economy we have experienced since the 1950's?

Chad

A Reason To Believe

2009-07-07T13:21:00.002-04:00

A REASON TO BELIEVE

In today’s ever-changing business environment, leaders must be increasingly intense, intentional, agile, rapidly integrating and possibility-seeking learners. Leaders must actively and easily seek, see and seize unexpected opportunities, early indicators, trends and possibilities in the moment – faster than ever before.

These agile leaders have strengthened capability in four surprising areas:

Candid Self-Reflection

Leaders are objective observers by applying the habit of self-reflection. They acquire self-knowledge by observing their impact on others, linked to business results. A candid self-reflection question could be, “What am I thinking, saying or doing in this moment and what is the impact?”

In the Moment Innovation

These leaders are in touch with many different and contrasting views. They make the statement, “These are our first ten ideas, we have many more. Let’s explore our next ten ideas.” This habit is powerful in five minute bursts.

Feeding the Future

Wealth creation is inspired by future forward communication in simple, clean, clear verbal visuals. One of the highest performing real estate companies in the U.S. uses the color green to inspire belief in real estate wealth. What visual branding or picture can you create that enables people to become a part of that forward focus?

The Reason to Believe

Leaders help others have confidence to believe in themselves, the company and the business opportunities. Past history of overcoming challenges, producing results and collaborating is essential for creating a foundation for the future. When one of our global clients chose to make a challenging acquisition – the president inspired the workforce by highlighting magazine and newspaper articles from past successes. Create a wall of past positives that demonstrates the power of the past for your business strategy.

There is no better time than now to strengthen your leadership agility linked to achieving bottom line business results.

Strategic Planning is relevant to the context

2009-07-06T14:22:00.004-04:00

Posted by chad cook

I was working with an executive last week to prepare for a strategic planning session to update a plan that had been initially assembled in February.What I learned and pondered after a couple of pre-planning sessions was:

Sometimes we have a solid grasp of "what" we want to do, to the exclusion of considering alternatives.

Most of us feel very comfortable with a pre-economic downturn model for strategic planning.
Some corporate C-suite executives thinking is still at the level of the business entity.
Some corporate C-suite thinking is not yet broad enough to encompass a singular corporate entity concept in context and scope.
Some people are far too controlling around the "what" is to be focused on, and limit the scope of their direct reports accordingly.
Sometimes the "How" to get work accomplished is neglected in the push to get the "What" done.

My awareness (some new, some renewed) from this encounter were:

Leaders are still trusting their company's future to plans based on past history.
Corporate entity scope and context are significantly different than internal divisions/groups even if these internal entities are larger than most free-standing companies.
Leaders who control the strategic planning process too tightly are doing a disservice to their direct reports career development.
Fear of the unknown causes some leaders to limit others view of the possibilities and options present even in difficult times.
The discipline to balance the "What" and "How" of performance is understood and valued by only the most experienced top leaders.

As Chris Argyris would say, "Teaching Smart People How to Learn" is a tough job.

What do you think??
Chad

Omar Kayam Quote

2009-06-29T12:51:00.007-04:00

Posted by Chad Cook

This quote resonates with me as we go through these tough economic times:

"On the plain of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, on the dawn of victory, stopped to rest and resting died."

We all wait for something - our expectations could be that:

We are waiting for another person to act, be accountable, respond positively, say "Yes", ...
We are waiting for the right moment when we have time, when we finish our degree, when we feel good, when the opportunity is right, or when we....

We are waiting for our new budget, our friend, somebody to ask us, other people to start, ....

There is never enough money, there is never enough trust, there is never enough time, ...

Others resist change, others aren't capable, others aren't interested, others aren't available, ...

I don't have enough resources, I don't have enough authority, I don't have enough support, ...

It's too risky, it's not important, It's not a leap improvement, It's not worthy, ...
He/She is not worthy, they are not on board, we are not all aligned, the plan is not perfect,

...My belief is that some internal fear is causing us not to act and resists movement or taking action our our part. This hesitance keeps us following the same path, protecting the present, protecting ourselves when we should be moving forward, making progress and moving into the unknown.

What are you waiting for?

Chad

Bright Side Fear Surveys

2009-05-14T13:55:00.011-04:00

Posted by Shannon Valentine

Since January 2009, Bright Side executives have been interviewing and talking to leaders in many sectors of business about the impact of fear on productivity within their organizations. Since the economic crises of September 2009, fear has escalated and Americans have felt the squeeze. Bright Side wanted to informally quantify some of that fear.

So far, Bright Side executives have spoken to experts and leaders in the manufacturing, technology, and banking/ investment industries. This confidential survery is informal and includes questions like "are you aware of fear being present in your organzation?" and "can you imagine your organization without fear?"

Across all sectors of business and industries, all high-level executives interviewed replied "yes" when asked about fear being present in the organization. All interviewees responded that there is more fear present in the organization today than there was one year ago. Many respondants also replied that some employees seem paralyzed with fear and unwilling to initiate anything new or risky.

What does this mean for business that want to operate at a high level while still maintaining an engaged work force? Does fear need to cripple companies and organizations like this? The answer is NO.

The Bright Side model teaches organizations to face fears - on a personal, team and organizational level - release them, replace those fears, distractions, and barriers with engaging, positive and open habits, and then building on all that for a stronger organization.

Dr. Deming's "Drive Out Fear"

2009-04-23T15:46:00.016-04:00

The number one cause of fear in this day and age is the pace of change. There are more products released in any given month today than there were in an entire year - fifteen years ago. Today's Americans are always on the run: we can't stop checking our BlackBerrys or iPhones. To remain competitive and innovative, companies need to sell to a larger audience and publicize their brand more so they don't fall through the cracks. Trying to appeal to more consumers has led to globalization.

So the pace of change engenders fear. But isn't fear something that all companies, American workers, and professionals have to deal with to be successful and rise to the top? Not necessarily. Since fear is a learned behavior, you can unlearn it.

Using the Bright Side model, it is possible unlearn the fears, distractions, and barriers that we encounter on a day-to-day basis (on a personal, team, or organizational level) - release them, replace them with positive habits, and then build upon those new habits for accelerated business results.

Dr. W. Edwards Deming, the Father of Quality, was an early proponent of Bright Side and its Founder, Chairman and CEO, Donna Rae Smith. Deming, a renowned statistician perhaps best known for his work in Japan during the 1950's, layed out his business philosophy in his 14 Points - one of which, is "drive out fear so that everyone may work more effectively for the company." This maxim is a key compenent of Bright Side's work today.

Deming saw and understood the crippling effects of fear on an organization's productivity and well-being. He understood that fear causes employees' work to suffer. Bright Side's system is a method to release that fear so that organizations can more effectively reach their bottom lines.

For example, Bright Side worked with Procter & Gamble, more specifically the Global Oral Care, during its acquisition of Gillette in 2005. P&G had just acquired Gillette and had vowed to take the best of both organizations, bundle it all together, and then sell it for a stronger P&G. There was a lot of fear and mistrust swirling from both organizations about the acquisition. Bright Side executives knew that in order to make this merger successful, they needed to drive that fear out so that the P&G investment could be leveraged - from a personal, team and organizational standpoint.

Using the Bright Side model and working with leaders from both teams, Bright Side was able to foster one of the most successful mergers P&G had ever seen - all measured by extraordinary and robust business results and outcomes.

Take a look:

Procter & Gamble Global Oral Care Team Results
The post-integrated teams and leadership exceeded work objectives and delivered ahead of schedule!

•Doubled the size of the business
•Delivered >100% of committed cost savings
•Improved service levels
•A 98% retention of associates who relocated from Gillette
•A 50% improvement on the cultural assessment tracking leadership behaviors of risk-taking, transparency, inclusion

Procter & Gamble Global Oral Care Team Results
•#1 in key business metrics for high growth categories in P&G
•Ranked first in Engineering in three of the four critical drivers for retention
•Launched unprecedented number of initiatives with excellence, on time
•On track to deliver personal productivity improvement of a minimum of 1.0 hour per day

So is it possible to drive out fear in an organization for accelerated business results? Most definitely, and the P&G/ Gillette merger is just one example of how driving out that fear in an organization, however invisible it is, can lead to accelerated business outcomes.

Is this possible for you and your organization? Why or why not?