Monthly Archives: April 2017

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Getting Better

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The other day a colleague postulated that all organizations have a maximum maturity/ performance capability plateau dictated by the culture and the resources.  I took strong exception to this opinion.

Its all about leadership

In high performing organizations (or high performing teams) the performance/ maturity bar moves higher continously.  Sitting on ones laurels (i.e., stagnating) leads results on a downward slope.

The culture of the organization/ team is motivated by leadership.  In the best case scenarios everyone takes some leadership role and the motivating effect is multiplied.

You get what you believe

If you believe some artificial maturity/ performance barrier exists it likely will.  It is a self fullfilling prophesy.  Continual striving for greater success does not happen by magic.

The leadership and of course the team members themselves need to both buy-in and therefore support this approach.  A belief that a hard ceiling exists is a powerful inhibitor.

For Example

My colleague noted, personal experience has led to their belief the plateau exists.  In their experience it always appears at some point. While the world might not be full of high performing organizations, they do exist.

Tesla, Apple, Google are all top of mind obvious examples of organizations that continually strive for improvement.  These are not static companies.  Constant change for the better is clearly  built into their DNA.

This companies outcomes speak for themselves.

So for me, it is a real hot button.  You need to believe in better and continously put out the effort to get there.  It never stops.  And if you believe otherwise, sadly it will probably be true.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Self Aware, Situation Aware & Balance

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Whatever you are trying to achieve, how you behave is a critical success factor.  This applies whether attempting to make a sale, get agreement, achieve consensus, build understanding, gain support and the list goes on.

Sterotypical behaviours are often associated with the goals.  Things like the pushy salesman, the receptive consensus builder, understanding  listener  and so on.

Do what works!

Situations can drive us toward different kinds of behavior.  In sales mode we might feel a little directness is needed .  Maybe some superiority, at very least there is probably a desire to at least appear knowledgable.

More important, and effective, than pre-concieved behavior is adopting your action to the exact context.  That is being fully aware of yourself, the other parties and the environment.

This awareness enables you to customize your behavior to the needs of the situation, ongoing.  Ultimately what you do becomes reflective of what needs to be done in order to achieve your goal.

Seek a balance

Successful outcomes of any interraction are far more likely to occur when they provide benefit to all participants.  Although you will have an objective, a critical success factor which always applies, is that everyone gets something.

This perspective is often called win-win.  In essence it simply ackowledges the best interactions are those that everyone feels good about.

Over time this type of approach builds reputations.  Those who focus on benefiting themselves become recognized for this type of practice.

Ultimately this impacts their  ability to sustain results overtime.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Restricted Trade Practices

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I often wonder what would happen if the only constraint on buying and selling goods and services (world wide) was supply and demand.  What effect would this have on the worlds economy.

Trade restrictions,  both political and financial have long histories around the world.  Basically for as long as countries have existed.  There are no examples of unrestricted trade to examine.

Unfortunately without the benefit of real experience the argument over controlling a societies destiny based on geography becomes philosophical and emotionally entrenched.

Patriotism has a cost

Countries enable specific societal and cultural practices to be enforced within controllable boundaries.  What if these constraints did not exist?

Laws, both creation and enforcement would need to be managed worldwide.  Is this feasible without regional boundaries covering specific populational sizes and associated areas?

It has never happened so far in the history of humanity. So albeit might be a good idea, seems like something that is not going to happen organically.

For me, intuitively, removal of artificial barriers to buying and selling sets the value bar in the most realistic way.  Of course,  it eliminates the opportunities for exercise of control and power through political practices, therefore,  those in governing roles find it a hard concept to grasp.

It’s all about me

Lately on a world wide basis, whether exemplified by Brexit or Trump trade positions or Euroexit politics, people are becoming insular and focused on “it’s all about me”.

Trade is good as long as it benefits me (my country). What benefits me is probably at the detriment of others, but thats okay. What a sad attitude.

And the truly sad part is currently this view is becoming more and more popular world wide.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Unplanned but not unprepared

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A colleague shared an interesting thought with me today.  It was the title of an on-line article he had recently seen  “Unplanned but not unprepared.”

On first blush it sounds like an oxymoron.  Planning is about preparation, so typically, if you don’t plan then by definition you are also unprepared.

This thought intrigued me and some investigation was warranted.  The title refers to a short story about someones career.  In that context it makes a lot of sense.

Simply put, the object of the story did not plan her career but was ready to embrace the opportunity as it unfolded.  In a word, it was serendipitous ( I stole the word from the story).

Embrace the opportunity

Personally I have great faith in the power of planning.  Planning lays the groundwork for success and without it the outcomes might be positive, might be negative but simply are not highly predictable.

However, even if not planned, embracing opportunity, that is taking a chance while  relying  on hard work (not luck), can be a very fullfilling approach.

This is not to say planning and fore thought should be cast aside, rather, that opportunity should not be ignored just because it was unexpected.

Reacting in the Moment

The unexpected throws me off.  I like to be ready, to be prepared.  This of course requires planning.  Surprisingly though some of the best events in my life just happened.  I embraced them and all turned out well.

So really, like all things there is a balance including times when things are not planned but you act prepared and take advantage.  Be ready, you never know.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Some thoughts about Results

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Good results have to be maintained.  Once achieved, relying on past success to be sustained into the future, without continued effort is wishful thinking.

That being said, it is true maintaing a strong positive reputation can be easier than resurrecting one from abysmal failure.  A powerful reason to seek success and when achieved work to continue it.

The Underpinning of Success

I had an interesting discussion today about whether good outcomes can arise by accident or whether planning and effort is required.  Can poor operational processes lead to success.

Obviously happy accidents occur.  People do win the lottery, although the odds are very low and winning is totally unpredictable. And conversly great effort does not guarantee good results.

The risk of failure is higher with bad processes and small effort, hence good risk mitigation dictates putting in the effort and trying hard (whether success is a guaranteed outcome or not).

Controlling Your Destiny

Whatever the level of effort, defining expectations, that is baselining success is a key element in achieving strong results.

Over the years I have seen many projects simply change their duration, cost or scope goals and then when the project is finished, pronounce success.

Moving targets to allow for achievement of same does work but personnally I don’t view it as a successful outcome.   In my experience though this is not an uncommon practice.

Ultimately though, it is like a pyramid scheme, not sustainable.  You can stretch the results for a while but eventually reality catches up.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Assessing Maturity

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Maturity is all about  the appropriateness of your behaviour within a given environmental context.  A key question, is how do we evaluate whether a behavioural response is of low or high maturity?

Measuring is of critical importance because without measures adjusting the maturity level or even planning a strategy to change behaviour to a higher level is impossible.

Behaving maturely or more maturely, without knowing what that looks like, is like banging around in the dark.  You might luck out and escape but who knows.  Hard to predict the result.

Assessing Maturity

The simple and most effective measure of maturity is outcome/ consequence based.  Did the results of your behaviour increase value, pleasure, happiness? Were the results accidental or will they be consistently the same and can they be sustained.

The greater the level of behavioural maturity the more likely you can predict the result (this is now based on past experience) and given the behaviour worked positively, it makes sense to keep repeating it and sustaining the success.

Experience Required

Improving maturity requires experience.  What types of behaviour lead to consistent, sustainable positive outcomes?

This does not need to be personal experience, relying on others works well but drawing on experience of some sort is an absolute requirement.

The native Americans recognized this intuitively and is one of the key reasons elders are revered so highly within their culture.  They might not be the activists or leaders of the band but they are key sources of knowledge and maturity and recognized for that.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Communication Maturity

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The maturity theme continues.

Todays focus is on humans most critical skill.  Whether living your life to the fullest, striving to be best or just seeking basic satisfaction, communication underlies everything you do.

Communication is simply the providing or recieving of information.  There are a multitude of ways to exchange information (i.e., communicate).  My blog, of course, is an outstanding example of this.

Of course once sent or recieved the information must be processed, always the tricky part.  Whether in an  individual or organizational context, the processing (which includes filtering) is most impacted by both parties maturity levels.

What is Communication Maturity.

One person tells a story to another.  They understand the information they have shared and check with the reciever “Got that”, “Yup” is the affirmative response.

Oh if it were really so simple.  In this example the receiver certainly got information, that was confirmed, but was it what the sender intended.?  Who knows?

Interpretation of information can be influenced by your personal filters, bias and most of all experience.  Maturity is all about experience and when applied as objectively as possible to information exchanges it can increase the likelihood of consensus understanding.

Consensus does not mean agreement rather common understanding.  For mature dialogue that is the goal.  A key attribute of successful  exchanges is understanding not agreement. This is the ultimate goal.

It is far more important that all parties view the base information the same way even if they don’t agree.  Without exception this leads to better outcomes.

Developing conversational maturity takes time (you need experience afterall) but it also take focus and effort. Experience is of little value if not applied.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Define, communicate, practice

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In the 1980’s the Software Engineering  Institute of the Carnegie Melon University formed and partnered with the US Department of Defence (DoD) to develop a model that could be used to assess how likely a software development contractor was to deliver a quality on time product.

Software development at the time was notorious for being late, over budget and not satisfying all the requirements.  The DoD was eager to find a tool that would help them select vendors that could deliver.

Price matters, but a product that works  can trump price when the result of defects and failure can be catastrophic. (e.g., the software in a jet fighter).

Capability Maturity Model Integrated

The current version of the original model is called the Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI).  The model comes in three flavours now and can be used to assess organizational maturity on a scale of 1 (chaos) to 5 (highly capable, consistent and sustainable).

The key feature of this methodology is the requirement to define, communicate and practice.  With consideration to continuos improvement, reviewing and updating ongoing is a critical aspect.

Does it Work

I have had the good fortune to be exposed to the model on a number of occassions in different ways.  I have implemented the processes from definition to practice as well as observed the outcomes from organizations operating  at both high and low maturity levels.

In every case,  with successful implementation and certification as a level 3 maturity or better, I have observed significant  material improvements. (For lower maturity organizations it’s never clear what the outcome will be.)

Three key benchmarks in software or product development projects (on time, on budget, on scope) typically change from being achieved less than 40% of the time before CMMI is implemented to over 80% after.

 

 

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Maturity

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The concept of maturity is about behaviour.  In essence, the greater ability to respond to the environment in an appropriate manner, the higher level of maturity.

Maturity responses are generally learned/ experience based rather than instinctive or emotionally driven.   Mature behaviour is reasoned and results are usually positve.

Capability and Maturity

The ability to perform effectively (skill/capability) does not in and of itself equal maturity.  That being said, mature actions require capability to execute.

Ability is easier to measure objectively.  For example a high jumper who has the ability to jump higher than all others in a particular competition is clearly demonstrating strong ability.

If their winning high jump is followed by a dropping of shorts and waving a bare bum at the crowd in a victory salute, many might question the maturty of their behaviour.  On the other hand a slight bow and gracefull acceptance of the applause might be considered more mature.

Both these assessments of matuity level are subjective,  based on perceived acceptability of the given behaviour.

The Value of Maturity

Albeit a subjective assessment, on the whole,  mature behaviour coupled with average or better capability will generally produce better results.

The principle basis for this derives from the fact maturity is experience based (i.e., learned behaviour) and so the results are predictable.  That is based on past experience you know what to expect.

Maturity does not just apply to individual behaviour  but can be applied to a collective whole.  As a group behaves at a higher maturity level the results improve are more consistent and sustainable.

Sadly even with a wealth of experience, behavioural maturity can still be average or even low.  Maturity is gained through experience but having experience does not necessarily mean your behaviour is mature.

Random thoughts – keeping you on your toes

Structuring for Success

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Groups of  people bonded together by a common purpose require a defined organizational structure.  This applies whether it is a large corporation, charity, non-profit, government agency, to name just a few of the numerous  types of groups, right up to just a simple family.

The structure can develop organically (e.g., the parent child relationships in a family) or can be very complex requiring a lot of time and effort to develop.Outside consultants may be hired to provide guidance in the more complex cases.

Whether, organic, intuitive or intracately detailed the purpose of the structure is to guide the organization toward efficient and effective achievement of it’s purpose.

This is quite different from the individual goals and objectives that may cascade throughout the organization.  The organization structure enables seemless integration of disparate operations all focused on the overriding purpose of the organization.

Every Piece is Critical

Many years ago, I heard the story of a janitor at one of the Boeing aircraft factories whom, when asked what his work was clearly stated ” I build airplanes”.

The point is clear.  Boeing  builds airplanes and everyone who works there, regardless of their own specific role, plays a part in the companies ability to achieve their outcome.

Well crafted organization structures are a critical tool in making this happen.  Like a school of dolphins or military aircraft in close flight successfull completion of the journey requires every part to fully understand not only their role and accountabilities but all the others as well.

Everything must operate in perfect synchronization to ensure success.

So organization structure is critical, what next?

Hopefully I have set the frame in this post for how critical your structure is to your operations overall success.  In future posts I will explore key aspects to consider while developing that structure.