Ember Carriers Blog | From Possibility to Results

How fast would you go? Business Performance vs Speed of Business

January 14th, 2013

Mary Hladio

Assume someone lined your company up against ten other competitors and told you that if you could beat them in a race you would receive compensation equal to doubling even triple your annual revenues. How fast could you go?

How fast can you go?

Now assume that same person told you that the distance was exactly 1000 miles and you could cover it however you wanted. How fast could you go and what method would you use?

Now assume that the goal was to travel as far as possible in the next 1095 days. You could only use specific vehicles and you were be given a specific amount of fuel and resources. How fast would you go and what would you do first?

Lastly assume that the goal was to travel as farinflatable sumo suits as possible in the next 1095 days (you are still limited to the type of vehicle, fuel and resources). You are given a team. Your bonus would be double if you ensured that all of the team members completed the race within 5% of your time, but EVERYONE must beat the average time of last years race by at least 10%. Now how fast would you go and what would you do first?

Oh yeah – If at any point during or after the race if it is discovered that you cheated in any way, you must return all of the winnings, PLUS a minimum of 50% in penalties.

Company performance is a collection of individual performance which is a function of aptitude, and attitude; in other words ability, and effort (which is a function of motivation and engagement). Responsibilities, accountability, goals etc set an organizational framework for performance appraisal and measurement.

At any given point of time, the ability is invariable/constant, we can only increase the effort based on perceived rewards and risk. what do we know:

The distance is 1000 miles however we don’t know the terrain or the start and end points
The resources are limited so efficient planning is essential
Its not just your individual performance that needs to be efficient but also the team

The concept of quality, effectiveness and performance is at the core of many ideas about management and leadership over the past decades. Dr. W. Edwards Deming once define the 14 points are for organizational performance excellence.

Create constancy of purpose for the improvement of product and service.
Adopt a philosophy of cooperation (win-win) in which everybody wins.
Cease dependence on mass inspection to achieve quality. Improve the process and build quality into the product in the first place.
End the practice of awarding business on the basis of price tag alone. Instead, minimize total cost in the long run.
Constantly improve the system of production, service, planning or any business activity.
Develop an organizational development plan to update skill sets.
Adopt and establish strong leadership for the management of people, recognizing their different abilities, capabilities, and aspiration.
Drive out fear and build trust so that everyone can work effectively.
Break down barriers between departments and abolish competition by building a win-win system of cooperation within the organization.
Eliminate empty slogans, mandates and targets asking for zero defects or new levels of productivity. Such demands only create adversarial relationships.
Eliminate numerical goals, numerical quotas and management by objectives. Substitute leadership goals and outcomes for performance.
Remove barriers that rob people of joy in their work. This will mean abolishing the rating or merit system that ranks people and creates competition and conflict.
Institute a vigorous program of education and self-improvement.
Put everybody in the company to work to accomplish the transformation and new vision.

Performance for performance’s sake is seldom the driver of excellence and success. It is the combination of goals, responsibility, accountability and rewards that make performance measurement an effective tool.

What are your thoughts?

Call a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a 30-minute complimentary consultation to discover how to FUEL success in your business.

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio

Myths regarding performance management(business.financialpost.com)
Five Ways Managers Can Improve Their Performance(under30ceo.com)
Are Deming’s 14 Points Still Valid?(qualityandinnovation.com)

Business Success Can Breed Failure

January 7th, 2013

Mary Hladio

Death of a business

During a conversation with a strategic business colleague, Gary Rushin regarding success and business the conversation drifted to his recent blog post. With his permission I have reposted his post for the Ember Carrier tribe. We have all heard about the stories of companies that once dominated industry but later fell into business decline. There are many reasons for a business’ demise and the usual suspects for business decline include:

Becoming to dependent on existing customers
Inability to adapt business models to deal with disruptive or destructive technologies
Lack of leadership and/or
Focusing on short-term financial performance

One reason not often mentioned for a decline in business is the hindrance of learning about the true causes of business success in the first place. Lessons learned both at the individual and organizational levels. As an entrepreneur and business leader it is important to be a scientist of your own business. Taking a critical view of the inner and outer workings of the company.

Success can breed failure. Learning enhances your capacity to face and respond to situations, however, from the business success perspective:

We draw wrong conclusions about the business success. We believe our success is because of the strategy, the talent or the business model used is the cause of the success creating a false premise.
We fool ourselves developing an overconfidence bias. Faith in ourselves strengthens our self-assurance to make a decision and execute a strategy, it can also breed closed mindedness and foster a “well if it worked before, it will work again” rational, which isn’t considering environmental changes or just plain luck.
We do not fully analyze the causes of the business success. We will ferret the causes of a failure because we have to know why something bombed. However, we will not devote the time and resources to find out why the company was successful—again maybe because of false assumptions.
When companies catch the upward draft of success, the arrogance of the enthusiasm kicks in. Not surprisingly, the virus of success can become fatal in five or ten years.

Think of Research In Motion (RIM) and AVON, companies currently in decline. The downdraft winds of business decline are a factor of the business life cycle. The death cycle of business decline encompasses three factors: company size, company age and company success. One of these three factors can result in increase in:

The number of layers in management
The number of departments
The amount of formal procedures
The length in time the long-term planning process
The number of budget items
The amount of meetings
The quantity of reports

A problem is when the company loses its mojo, so to speak. Success blinds management and causes them to lose touch with its customers and employees. Bureaucracy grows, information gets filtered and delayed breeds and arrogance . Unfortunately, management will begin blaming others for performance slippage when the company begins to slide due to the downdraft of business failure.

Recommended actions include:

Question the causes of business success and failure – do not get stuck looking merely at just the symptoms.
Do not get enamored at a cult personality be it the CEO, influential leader or industry expert. Question decisions and recommendations. Remember, there is no such thing as a stupid question. What is stupid is when you fail to ask the question.
Have strong, independent advisors or board directors and meet regularly.
Complexity is the “fog of noise designed to hide reality,” find and streamline to clarity.
Align pay and remunerations with associate risks.

Corporate failure is never the results of a random set of events. It is normally a reflection of deep-seated corporate shortcomings. I’m interested in your thoughts – leave a comment below on examples of failure leading to success or advice for businesses in decline.

Company leaders, call a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a 30-minute complimentary consultation to discover how to FUEL success in your business. At Ember Carriers we want our clients to not only be more profitable and productive but, to enjoy more rewarding work experiences throughout their career.

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio

Sources:

Gary Rushin (2012), garyrushin.com/my_blog/

Chartered Institute of Management Accounting. (February 15, 2012). Understanding the causes of corporate failure. Retrieved December 15, 2012, from Financial Management Magazine

Edmondson, A. C. (2011). Strategies for learning from failure. Harvard Business Review , 89 (4), 48-55.

Kolind, L. (209). The second cycle: winning the war against bureaucracy. New York, NY: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Why I Love Hiring Failures(inc.com)
Why Failure Is Good for Leaders(forbes.com)

The Best Entrepreneur in the WORLD – Santa Claus

December 13th, 2012

Mary Hladio

I know, I know. You are thinking, really Santa, up against the likes of Bill Gates, Andrew Carnegie, Andy Grove, John Rockefeller, Thomas Edison. W.K. Kellogg, Henry Ford, Ray Kroc, Sam Walton, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Martha Stewart, Jeff Bezos, etc?

Santa is all business

Santa is no “fly-by-night” operation that he runs just once a year. Most people think Santa Claus only works one night a year. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sure, product distribution takes place on one magical night, but Santa’s operation runs year round and is one of the largest manufacturing and distribution operations in the world. He’s busy all year long and runs a very successful business and is perhaps the worlds Best Entrepreneur! We will all benefit and greatly improve our Home Income if we will incorporate Santa’s 5 key secrets of success.

1. He Sees You When You’re Sleeping…He Knows When You’re Awake! That’s right…he keeps a close eye on his customers and monitors they’re activity. Santa knows his market.

2. Have You Been Naughty or Nice? Santa separates his customers into groups. Not all customers want the same things. He doesn’t waste his time marketing products to a group that has no interest. Santa target markets.

3. He’s Making a List and Checking it Twice! You must make & keep a list of potential customers and stay in touch with them. The best marketing in the world is fruitless if you don’t deliver on your promise. True enough, a lot of people may try you once and then leave if you don’t deliver. It pays to keep customers happy. It costs 5 times more to get a new customer than keep one. Santa makes a list & delivers what his customers ask for.

4.What Do You Want for Christmas? Santa is always asking his customers what they want? He listens! Santa Knows what his customers want.

5. He had a Very Shinny Nose…They use to Laugh & Call Him Names! Santa couldn’t run his business by himself. He had to develop a team that worked together in harmony. Everyone has a talent whether they know it or not and a few have a very unique gift like Rudolph…and once recognized…they all loved him! Santa built a strong team and a few Key leaders.

Finally, some may question his ‘lack of an exit’ as proof that he’s not in the same league as others. But look at it like this Santa, Inc is worth Trillions, yes Trillions with a T. Just the naughty/nice mailing list linked to the world’s wants and wishes would be worth 10 times Google. The valuation on Santa’s tech would be off the charts as well. If and when Santa exits, he’ll have plenty of dough to setup the Santa and Mrs. Claus Foundation as the world’s largest charitable organization.

There’s no question in my mind: Santa Claus is the World’s Greatest Entrepreneur.

Would you like to know how you can become a great leader and entreprenuer? Call a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a 30-minute complimentary consultation to discover how to FUEL success in your business.

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio

Impacting Organizational Change

December 3rd, 2012

Mary Hladio

I recently read a story about social change:

This is an excerpt from the book by Ken Keyes, Jr. “The Hundredth Monkey.”

Making a paradigm shift

The Japanese monkey, Macaca Fuscata, had been observed in the wild for a period of over 30 years. And in 1952, on the island of Koshima, scientists were providing monkeys with sweet potatoes dropped in the sand. The monkey liked the taste of the raw sweet potatoes, but they found the dirt unpleasant.

An 18-month-old female named Imo found she could solve the problem by washing the potatoes in a nearby stream. She taught this trick to her mother. Her playmates also learned this new way and they taught their mothers too.

This cultural innovation was gradually picked up by various monkeys before the eyes of the scientists. Between 1952 and 1958 all the young monkeys learned to wash the sandy sweet potatoes to make them more palatable. Only the adults who imitated their children learned this social improvement. Other adults kept eating the dirty sweet potatoes.

Then something startling took place. In the autumn of 1958, a certain number of Koshima monkeys were washing sweet potatoes — the exact number is not known. Let us suppose that when the sun rose one morning there were 99 monkeys on Koshima Island who had learned to wash their sweet potatoes. Let’s further suppose that later that morning, the hundredth monkey learned to wash potatoes.

THEN IT HAPPENED!

By that evening almost everyone in the tribe was washing sweet potatoes before eating them. The added energy of this hundredth monkey somehow created an ideological breakthrough!

But notice: A most surprising thing observed by these scientists was that the habit of washing sweet potatoes then jumped over the sea…Colonies of monkeys on other islands and the mainland troop of monkeys at Takasakiyama began washing their sweet potatoes.

Thus, when a certain critical number achieves an awareness, this new awareness may be communicated from mind to mind.

Although the exact number may vary, this Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon means that when only a limited number of people know of a new way, it may remain the conscious property of these people.

But there is a point at which if only one more person tunes-in to a new awareness, a field is strengthened so that this awareness is picked up by almost everyone!

I found this to be a very appealing and believable concept. The concept of Jung’s collective unconscious, Gladwell’s in his book “Tipping Point” and the biologists’ morphogenetic fields offer parallel stories that help strengthen the possibility of this concept.

The question is can we apply this concept in our everyday business operations to influence organizational change. What would it take to make a shift in your team or even in your company? How many people would need to make the shift to tip the balance in favor of the new change? In the story of Imo, the Japanese Monkey it was a small change with a huge impact.

I challenge you to make one small change. Stick with it. Show others. And change your world for the better.

Call a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a 30-minute complimentary consultation to discover how to FUEL organizational change.

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio

What is Effective Collaboration?

November 26th, 2012

Mary Hladio

The word collaboration has become widely used but is it just empty rhetoric?

Business Collaboratio

Collaboration is defined as “the act of working together to produce or create something.” In this complex business environment people are being asked to share knowledge freely, to learn from one another, to shift workloads flexibly, to help one another complete jobs and meet deadlines, and to share resources-in other words, to collaborate. This activity is about behavior, work habits, culture, management, and business goals and value.

With that said I ask, “How likely are your employees to say they “sink or swim” together, want one another to succeed, or view their goals as compatible?”

Bringing people together is no longer a choice … it is the only way to assemble the knowledge and experience required to accomplish the complex tasks your organization faces.

Here are Six Ways to Build Collaboration

1. Model collaborative behavior – Your actions send a clear message – do yours “say” collaboration is important? When the senior team works well together and internal communication is frequent and open the collaborative nature trickles down throughout the organization.

2. Create a culture of generosity – Regular mentoring and coaching helps establish a culture of generosity and cooperation in place of a more transactional “I’ll do this for you if you do that for me” culture. When individuals give freely of their time to support the success of another employee everyone wins.

3. Ensure the right skill set – Employees are encouraged to cooperate and they want to cooperate, but do they know how? Crucial skills include holding difficult conversations, appreciating others, questioning to clarify ideas, attentive listening, disagreeing in a constructive way and productively resolving conflicts. Explicitly develop these skills – don’t let it be left to chance.

4. The right team leaders – Teams need strong leadership and strong leaders are often task- or relationship-oriented. When a complex problem is at hand assigning leaders who are both task- and relationship-oriented will support the high level of collaborative behavior required for success. Which of your leaders possess strong project management skills and the ability to foster the environment of trust and cooperation which supports knowledge sharing?

5. Role clarity – Collaboration improves when the roles of individual team members are clearly defined and well understood. Without such clarity, team members are likely to waste too much energy negotiating roles or protecting turf, rather than focusing on the task.

6. Rewards – How does your company reward its employees? In a culture of collaboration rewards are based on team performance – it can’t be a zero sum game or heavily weighted to individual results.

Does your organization’s culture truly support collaboration? Strengthening your organization’s capacity for collaboration requires a combination of long-term investments in building relationships and trust and developing a culture in which senior leaders are role models, AND smart short-term decisions about the ways teams are formed, roles are defined, and challenges and tasks are articulated.

Looking for a way to increase collaboration and communication within your company? Call a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a 30-minute complimentary consultation to discover how to FUEL your business communications.

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio

How to Make a Career Development Plan

November 19th, 2012

Mary Hladio

A key way for organizations to retain their best employees is to provide development opportunities. Employees are interested in their professional and career development, and cite development as one of their five leading factors that must be present for satisfaction and engagement at work.

Small Business Career Development

Other factors include being treated with respect, feeling as if they belong by having access to information, influencing decisions that are made about their jobs, and having someone trustworthy be in charge. When forming an effective career development plan, it is important to focus on aspects of the employee’s career and professional development goals.

However, the employer should not guarantee or promise that the company will provide training or any other promised benefit. At most, the company should say it will help the employee as much as possible while taking into consideration things like company growth, economic circumstances, and priorities. Managers should also avoid taking responsibility for implementing the plan because the career development plan belongs solely to the employee and must be overseen by him or her. Managers can help employees by exploring options, providing opportunities when possible, and encouraging the employee to set goals for growth and expansion.

Looking for a way to create development plans for your company? Call a senior consultant with Ember Carriers at (513) 984-9333 for a 30-minute complimentary consultation to discover how to FUEL your business communications.

Web: www.embercarriers.com|Twitter: www.twitter.com/embercarriers|LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/mhladio