Strategy – Page 2 – Leading from the front

December 9, 2014December 10, 2014

The Lessons I have learnt as a CEO & Consultant to CEO’s in 2014

This year has been a very busy and professionally rewarding year. As a Company The RESULTS Group has grown and moved into a different area. Our core business as “The Business Execution Experts” has remained the same and we have proven our “5 Pillars” framework (Vision, Strategy, Engagement, Accountability and Cadence) across every industry and every sized company imaginable. Ranging from the small 20 person company, the family held medium sized company through to larger NZ & foreign listed Companies, Government organisations and into several big organisations with a Billion or more in revenue. From the straight forward to the incredibly complex, from construction to the professional services (law, accountancy, survey, HR, Banking) to the technical world of IT and fast growth IP.

Realistic — Ambiguity leads to mediocrity but then so too does continually benchmarking and being realistic.

Our consultants have been challenged and pushed as they have focussed on our purpose of “Making a Difference” and ensuring our clients get the clarity so they they can execute their plans and lead change. It has been a year of change for us as a company and we have truly lived our core value “Live What we Teach” as we have sought to execute our own plan in amongst the busyness that “Business as Usual” presents. We have had to challenge ourselves to focus on the important rather than just the urgent which is the constant challenge of every CEO. So what have been my big lessons across 2014 as a Consultant, Executive Leadership Coach and professional CEO? I keep a journal reflect on the work I do and what I have learnt most days which makes it easy to look back and to reflect on the important stuff over the year. In no particular order;

Better, faster, cheaper: These are most common approaches that Companies have. These are not Strategies. Own the voice of your customer and look after them. Ask them often for feedback and listen to it. The magic will start.
Hope is also not a Strategy. You have to be deliberate and decisive in order to avoid being a victim of the market or dealt to by competitor moves.
A CEO adds at least 15% to the bottom line. (Research shared by Psychologist Dave Winsborough) by being inspirational, creating culture, expectations, a Vision and driving execution. The impact of good leadership is huge and measureable.
The number of senior leaders seeking to leave Corporates and the Public sector so they can have autonomy and so they can actually make a tangible difference is truly staggering! A sense of purpose is critically important to people.
A lot can happen in a year. Good & bad. Roll your sleeves up and make good stuff happen.
CEO’s are often afraid to be human. The soft skills, the least talked about and trained for are the most important ones. Being able to be vulnerable, to make mistakes and learn from them……so important for leaders and so often missing.
Making clear and concise powerful decisions is often a missing skill. Making good decisions based on the best information at the time and backing yourself to alter them if they need it is a really critical skill especially in times of constant change. Just make a decision!
The potential talent pool in women leaders is massive. I feel this is one area that is truly undervalued. We created a woman leadership group this year to address and discuss this and have also included a woman speaker (Melissa Clark-Reynolds) at our “John Spence” Leadership event planned for 25 March 2015 in Christchurch (Link here for details).
The value of having a massive network of people who you can support, ask for advice, learn from and add value to is truly priceless. I have so many people who support and contribute to our business and it is humbling to be able to support them in their roles and in their companies.
Any leader needs many mentors. Business and personal to grow in the complex world of modern business.
Formalising network Hubs or groups of people who can give you ongoing referrals and support is of high value.
John Spence taught me “you become like the 5 people you hang out with the most” Choose them carefully.
Hang out with those who know and ask a lot of questions. Learn from people with experience and acumen.
Lead from the front. Just lead and learn. People want to be led well. Make it a passion and never stop getting better at it.
As a CEO you need to make the big things happen. Get the rocks or cornerstones in place and make the things happen that move the Company in that direction happen. This is what CEO’s do.
Don’t seek to change people, seek to influence their activity, their behaviour and how they make their decisions. Seek to create an environment whereby they make consistently good decisions.
The art of reflecting and making clear observations and to be able to take an overview of the situation allows for better clarity. Practice it or have your team challenge you to do it.
Be tough. Firm, fair and consistent, but be tough in your standards and expectations of people. Be restless, seek excellence and constantly ask “Have I done enough?”. If the answer is no then step up and do more. Be the toughest on yourself……with power comes great responsibility.
Culture is king and Cash. No one can steal your culture. In fact thought leaders such as Tom Peters, Collin Powell, Richard Branson and John Spence all say that your culture is really your only truly defendable and significant point of difference. No one can steal it and if you get it right it will attract and retain top talent who in turn will look after your products, services and deliver excellent service to your clients. get that right and the magic begins!
Sadly in most companies the culture is just adhoc. No one plans it, discusses it and if they get it right it is by getting lucky. The best cultures in high performing companies are planned, a priority and protected by selecting only the best and by dealing with mediocrity very quickly. Leaving your company culture to luck means you are leaving a critical component of your “mission” success to chance.
Planning the year ahead in detail on a year planner (Sounds basic but try it) remains one of the activities that CEO’s rate as “most valuable”. Map out key dates, board meetings, reviews, training, holidays etc and plan the year ahead. Insist your team plans and gets clear around the year ahead.
Meetings are your number one leadership opportunity. Make them high value, fast, refer to good data/KPI’s and have fun. Most meetings in business today sap the energy from those who attend. Flip that around because leaders do people, leaders communicate and meetings are your number one opportunity to influence and live your culture.
Have more fun. Enjoy the ride. Its not a rehearsal.

Its been a big year and I have loved every minute of it. I’d like to thank my team and our awesome clients for everything. I can’t wait to be a part of the work we do in 2015 and all the challenge, fun and learning it will bring.

Keep safe out there.

November 30, 2014January 14, 2016

Feedback from Over 200 CEO’s: What they Learnt in 2014 and the Challenges They Face in 2015

Last year I went out to our Company network of Clients, thought leaders & Business leaders and asked them what they had learnt in 2013 and what they felt they would face in 2014. I was overwhelmed with the response and it took a lot to collate the feedback and to be able to articulate it. The resulting blog was one of my most read across 2014 (Link to it here).

This year I asked the same network (which of course has now grown quite extensively) the same questions. This includes Chief Executives of both publicly listed and privately held Companies across a vast range of industries. Mainly New Zealand and Australian Companies but also the USA and Canada. Some good friends (including John Spence) put it out to some of the Chief Executives in his North American network who also happily contacted me. I also asked my wide Military network of leaders (many still serving & many leading organisations all over the globe) and included senior leaders from other Government Enterprises. During 2014 we also had ongoing feedback from over 1000 business leaders who attended our speaking and leadership training events. Many of these were introduced through ASB Business banking and partner relationships with other professional services leaders including Accountants, Legal Firms and Leadership and Strategy Consultants and some of the Business Bank staff themselves from both Westpac and ASB.

I got some fantastic feedback and I thank all those who put so much effort into answering the questions I posed. Many commented to me on just how valuable they found it to have a reason to sit down and reflect on 2014 and the year ahead. Many also realised just how busy they have been, how much change they have been leading and just how much they have achieved. I worked through all this feedback before rereading the blog I wrote in November 2013. There are similar themes around talent but it shows definitively that the rate of constant change has really started to increase. More so than in 2013. This is particularly so in Christchurch (post earthquake boom) but is also reflected across all markets, countries and is the new big challenge for Chief Executives regardless of the size of their organisation.

What were the Leadership Lessons you learnt in 2014 (and/or Observations you have made);

1. “Change is Constant and is Both the Opportunity and the Challenge”: The Rate of Change is Increasing. Almost every respondent referred to the impact and effects of change and the challenge of getting things done (Execution). There is more change and it is constant. Leading through change is challenging and many referred to “expecting the unexpected” or the possibility that anything could happen (especially unplanned) and there was a need to iterate, be flexible and involve your people. To avoid stress the best method was learning “not to sweat the small stuff” or to “roll with it”. Self reflection was important as was having someone external who could help a leader to see the bigger picture and to take a more “unemotive” view point as to what was going on within their team/company. Planning was seen as important and doing more of it than ever before. Many feel it is important to develop new/better leadership skills to be able to lead change and to be able to get “stuff done”.

2. “Technology and the Younger Generation of Workers is having a major Impact”: Technology change and innovation is now affecting all leaders in some way. New cloud based software applications and mobile smart phones (and devices) are allowing for better information. This brings the challenge of training to use them effectively, integrating different software solutions and needing the work force to have different skill sets. Talent is hard to find, attract and retain and they expect different things. Collaboration (and a sense of fairness) is how young, smart, technology savvy employees work and thrive and this is now starting to show across the board. Challenging top talent, encouraging innovation and new ideas and building a high performing culture is key to retaining top people. On top of that, holding employees accountable to doing what they say they will do and getting them to consistently be highly productive has been a big challenge in 2014. Learning new leadership skills, building cultures that allow a “work/life” balance and training people has been a focus for many Chief Executives. Dealing with non performers is recognised as critical, most want to be better at it and have a desire to weed the “culture killers” out faster than they currently do. The challenge of growing as a “Leader” was referred to time and time again.

3. “What your Client Thinks and Says about your Company is Critical to Growth”: The last big theme to come through was reputation, brand strength and client loyalty. In an increasingly global economy and with the impact of social media, it is important to have people who love your products or services. Many Chief Executives referred to “getting cut through” in a busy market, being close to key clients and asking them regularly for feedback. It was generally accepted that print media is dead and that the future lies in the online, digital and social media space. Smart branding, immediate feedback (positive and negative) has a major impact on business growth. Most Chief Executives want to get better in this space, many are very involved and some (approximately on third of respondents) felt they would never catch up or get ahead of the change in this space. Many felt that getting their culture right and by having engaged and well trained people that clients would be taken care of and there was a desire to be able to canvas clients more easily (for feedback) and to measure it.

The next question I asked was “What are the challenges you feel you will face as a Leader in 2015?”

1. “The challenge of finding, recruiting, training and retaining top people is the Number one Challenge”. By far the most respondents considered the challenge of getting good people to join and stay in their Company as the biggest challenge they feel they face in 2015. Making it happen, getting better at recruiting, identifying top performers and then leading them is considered to be a major development area for the future of their organisation.

2. “Leading in Uncertainty”. A big challenge in 2015 is being able to lead in uncertainty. How to lead young people, other leaders, people in their team who are smarter and more technology savvy during times of change & uncertainty is a concern of many respondents. Understanding how to motivate and lead when the way ahead is unclear or simply unknown is something may want to learn about. A fear of making big mistakes, a need for good advisers (Financial, Strategic, Governance) was a major theme as was the feeling that the leadership space is a lonely place. More mentors and people they can trust, as well as interaction with peers and other leaders in similar situations were identified as being of high value to them in 2015 and leading in the future. Delegating to others to get things done was also seen as being critical to growth in the year ahead as was getting closer to customers and planning at the operational and strategic level.

3. “Focus and Getting things Done”: How to get “cut Through” or “focus” is seen as being more and more importance. 2015 will require more execution of the important things. Many want to spend more time planning and getting things done. Separating the “urgent from the important” is increasingly important to maximising production, resources and profitability. It is also getting increasingly harder to achieve. Focus on which customers to deal with, where and how to Market, what technology tools to invest in etc are all seen as key to getting really clear on what needs to be done. Then the challenge is to actually “make it happen”.

These were the main feedback areas that i have been able to collate. Of course there were hundreds of other comments, thoughts and reflections. Some themes that came through in not particular order;

A desire to have access to like minded networks of people.
Many are preparing for the next economic downturn and actively wanting to retain people & capability.
There were many who face the challenge of remaining profitable and competitive and the challenge of retaining and growing market share.
There were many facing succession challenges.
Getting better governance was a theme. Really valuable Board level advice.
More planning and third party reviews.
Specialist and generalist Leadership training is in high demand. In fact a recognised need for training in general is constant.
Learning to negotiate and lead in partnerships and in a more political (competitive) environment is needed by some.
Delegating and learning to trust.
Many Directors spoke of the need for them to get out of the way more. To let their people step up and own their roles.

Overall this has been an interesting and humbling experience. It is a privilege to interact with clever and busy leaders and to hear their reflections and desires. It is useful for us as an organisation that “Leads Business Leaders” because in effect it helps us to deliver better high value services which will truly support and assist those who we work with. That said most of the stuff identified here does not cost a lot of money. In the main it requires a focus on some of the Leadership or “softer skills”. The ones that are least talked about and the least trained for. It requires some change to the way you may interact, spend your day as a Chief Executive or what you will measure and therefore manage.

So what have you learnt in 2014 and what do you think you will face in 2015? Are you planning to succeed? Are you doing enough to stay ahead of change, technology and do you really know what your clients think about you?

Have a happy and safe Christmas and New Year and a big thanks to all those who have offered their feedback and thoughts.

Other stuff I you might like;

– Our social media wall which collates all our feeds and many other high values Leadership and Business resources. (Link Here)

– My Linkedin profile if you want to connect (Link here)

– Pride, Passion and Excellence. What I learnt from Anthony Leighs, CEO and Founder of Leighs Construction (link here)

December 10, 2013May 30, 2014

Leaders Must Take Time Out

Like you I am working some pretty long hours to finish all the things that need to be done prior to Christmas. Christmas is after all the ultimate “deadline” and as a leadership tool the “power of a deadline” is a well know tool for execution. People respond well to it. Come Friday this week I am taking 4 weeks off. It sounds pretty cushy I know but the reality is it actually takes planning, hard work and of course a lot of discipline to actually turn the technology off, disconnect e-mail and truly wind down. I wrote about the importance of leaders taking time out (Link here) some time ago when I was with RESULTS.com.

CEO’s, business owners and leaders are the worst at taking their time off and yet they owe it to those they lead to be at the top of their game. They must make good consistent decisions and lead effectively through all the change and pace of modern business. Any company feeds a lot of families and the responsibility of that alone means they should be led well.

So take some time out, truly disconnect, leave the phone at home, turn the e-mail off and divorce the laptop for a few weeks. It is important for you to have time doing other things, pursuing interests, looking after your family and recharging.

Happy Christmas.

December 3, 2013May 30, 2014

Feedback from 200 CEO’s: What They Learnt in 2013 & What They Face in 2014

I have been working on the Strategic plan for the Results Group. One of our core Values is “Live what we teach” so it is important to have a framework in place of quarterly & annual reviews. Any business needs to understand what their clients need and face. I recently wrote about the framework for “Making High Performance Leaders Better” (link here) and something I have spent a lot of time facilitating this year which is “Owning the Voice of the Customer” (Link here). Any company who regularly invests in owning the Voice of their customer not only develops products & services that are of high value but they maintain a Strategic advantage over competitors. This means speaking directly with them often and really hearing what it is you do well, what can improve. It takes an approach of seeking excellence by incrementally getting better & better at core business.

The Results Group helps CEO’s (Business Leaders) to “Lead Change with Certainty”. As part of my research I undertook to ask as many CEO’s to help me as I could. I went out to as many networks as I could. I asked questions on Linkedin, on my blogsite, in person, via e-mail and through both my team and other professionals who work with CEO’s. The result was feedback from just over 200 CEO’s. Many in Canterbury, most from within New Zealand and a decent number from Australia, the USA, Canada and beyond. Many are clients but not all. They are leaders I work with in primarily the world of private business but also there is feedback from the Public sector and larger Corporates. They all lead organisations and people and are CEO/Business Owners. Here are the results which took considerable effort to pull together into key themes. There were many answers as you can imagine so I spent time understanding the key themes/patterns that were common. I asked for the top 3 but feel there are 6 key areas that came through so I have included all 6;

The first question I asked was “As a leader what did you learn in 2013?”

– The importance of Leading by Example: In all you do be genuine, set standards you want others to follow. Be fallible and show that you make mistakes and learn from them, be tough with your staff but ensure they understand what you expect and then that they deliver it. The single most important thing to come through was the importance of being consistent as a leader & in how you deal with people & decisions.

– Empower your People to succeed : Invest heavily in developing, mentoring and training them. Ensure they have not only a clear role that defines what success looks like, but the autonomy to to do the job. Delegate to your staff. Keep them on track often and regularly. Celebrate the wins when they happen (big & small this was a key comment).

– Create a clear Vision & Values Structure: This is especially important for consistent decision making. It was also critical for the times when the way forward was not “obvious”. It gave a framework for making the important decisions. Speak about “Vision” all the time, make sure the team understand it and align with it and make sure the Values are alive in stories and awards.

– Communicate Clearly & Often: This came up in almost every reply. Be clear in your communications as a leader, set expectations, communicate them often, give good timely and direct feedback so people understand where they stand. Many said they had learnt the importance of communicating the same thing many times to ensure people “get it”. This applied in both large organisations and small ones.

– Have Good Mentors: Mentors internal and external to the business. Have good networks of professional people who want to see the business and those in it succeed. They keep you “real” and things on “track”. Most importantly it keeps you honest as a CEO. The need to ask for and take good advice was a central pattern of comments.

– Include Your Team: This related to including people in both building the plan and in how it will be executed. The need to trust people with information was a key learning as was the need to engage people in the plan. Seeking feedback on progress, opinions, ideas and on how things could improve was also a central theme.

The Second question I asked was “What are the Challenges you will face as a leader in 2014?”

– Building a Strong Culture: This was a very common theme. The need & desire to build a culture that attracts and retains top talent. In Christchurch this is definitely the number one challenge given that it is a tight labour market. Building a culture that is balanced between high performance and fun, a culture of achieving results. A culture that is a major point of difference over competitors were key challenges for 2014.

– Building Brand: This related to having a clear and strong brand in their particular markets & industry. One that stands for something and is well known. Getting clear on what their brand is and should stand for and being consistent in branding and marketing activities were key actions that needed to be addressed in 2014.

– Recruitment: Of key people. This tied into “Culture” but mainly related to the need and desire to have a good process in place. Challenges included the need to recruit top talent, the time and effort taken to actually run a good process that delivers a skilled recruit that fits the culture & who should be involved. Something mentioned by many CEO’s was the challenge of “understanding young people” and how how to lead them. Sound familiar?

– Leading Change: Change was on the radar for all those responding. The challenge of helping their team to change and to lead the change. A lot of technology change is on the agenda for 2014 i.e. implementation of new systems, software and technology. Changing the business structure also featured abundantly. The need to stay competitive, achieve high levels of staff productivity, introduce and develop new products & services. A key concern was how they were going to do this “when light on details” (plan) or where there was uncertainty on the process needed. Some talked about the “courage” needed by all leaders in the Company to implement change.

– Free up Time: A central theme was the need to delegate to staff more in order to free up time to lead and work on the business. Most were seriously time poor and needed to alter priorities in 2014.

– Learning not to Sweat the Small Stuff: There were many comments about learning to be comfortable leading when there can be no “perfection” and being comfortable with that. There was a recommitment to “bringing back the fun” and a desire to “not take it all so seriously”.

Overall this was a very interesting exercise. It not only engaged a lot of CEO’s to reflect on what they have learnt and on the year ahead but it was the first time I have done this on a large scale. I found leaders genuinely keen to help, to offer their thoughts, who wanted to engage in wider conversations and I learnt a lot. I saw themes & patterns common to all leaders (regardless of the size of the team or organisation they were leading) and themes & patterns relating to Canterbury (with the current post earthquake rebuild) and wider across industries.

The answers above largely tie in with what I have observed over a busy and challenging year closely supporting leaders in change. The desire to build strong cultures that attract and retain top talent being one I certainly have as the number one challenge on the radar for 2014.

What are your thoughts or comments? More importantly have you taken time to reflect on what you have learnt in 2013 as a leader and to define what it is you think you will face in 2014? How will you address the challenges? In my mind leading organisations and leading through others is and remains one of life’s biggest and most rewarding challenges you can face.