Clarify decision making to accelerate performance… and stay away from the #3 "swamp!"

 

 

I had the chance early in my career to go through a lot of training classes/experiences as part of the process of “coming up” in large well-run companies.  The commitment to build the skills and capabilities of their young talent was a hallmark of companies like Kimberly Clark and Kraft Foods… early stops on my career journey.  When I took the role as marketing manager for The Coca Cola Company in 1990, 5 years into my career, I had no idea of the intensive and amazing training that was ahead of me!  This story comes from one of those experiences… probably from sometime in 1994 or 1995… now 30+ years ago!

During those days, Roberto Gouizueta was Chairman and CEO, and Sergio Zyman was CMO of the Coca Cola Company.  Both individuals were bigger than life to me at the time, and I had the chance to see them speak to groups large and small and to be in meetings with them a time or two early in my days at Coke.  It was at one of those meetings, a large worldwide marketing conference hosted by Sergio, where a major priority was for us as marketers to refine our approach, accelerate our work, improve the impact of our plans and in order to do these things we needed to clarify our decision-making approach.  While a bit theoretical, we broke out into small groups ( mixed with peers across the world) and began a training module on a “Decision Making Framework” that would help us clarify “Decision Roles” and thus accelerate our actions in the market… it was in these sessions that I learned to “stay away from #3!!

The training simplified ALL problem decision making moments (problem solving scenarios) into one of five categories and our job was to clarify which “category” was pertinent at the moment and accelerate the problem solving ahead.

Decision Making Scenarios

1.        I am the decision maker, and I don’t need and am not asking for any input on the decision.

2.        I am the decision maker, and I do need input and thus am asking for input from these specific individuals/groups/departments before I make the decision.

3.        WE are making the decision and may or may not need input.

4.        YOU are the decision maker, and YOU need input from me, other individuals/groups/departments before YOU make the decision.

5.        YOU are the decision maker, and you don’t need any input and are not asking for any input on the decision.

We worked through all the scenarios above in our small groups and came together to discuss the opportunities and challenges that the clarification process took… and to realize the “swamp” of #3.  We realized that too many times in our day to day work we were finding ourselves in discussions literally “circling” a problem, not making a decision, not getting key input, not clarifying decision rights… and ultimately slowing down the impact in the market.  We were setting stuck in the “#3 quicksand” and didn’t even realize it!

I share this little story from the early 90’s to encourage you think about this in your context today.  Whether in a small company environment, a non-profit organization, or a foundation (the three environments where I am spending my professional energy these days), ask yourselves if you have w=found yourself in the #3 “swamp” recently and work to push yourselves and your team in #’s 1 or 2… or maybe #’s 4 or 5…. but work hard to eradicate #3 from your team’s daily habits!!

 

“Dash or Dither”…. A leadership tempo dilemma

  

As a history fan, I read a lot of non-fiction history books and love to listen to podcasts that review key moments/events across the centuries and across geographies.  Listening to a recent WW2 podcast, the concept of “Dash or Dither” was explored it caught my attention.  The podcast was reviewing key events early in the war when both the British and German armies invaded Norway… and without realizing it they invaded at the exact same time.  I won’t take any time today to discuss the military or historic elements specific to these events, but the podcast hosts were discussing that one set of Generals/senior officers were incredibly slow/ planful/ deliberate as they approached the operation, while the opposing Generals/senior officers acted swiftly/impulsively/rashly against the same objectives.  The hosts used the “Dash vs Dither” language in their description, and it got me thinking about the application of this idea in the business leadership context.

To begin with, let’s start with a few definitions:

“Dash”: verb, “To run or move quickly or hastily

“Dither”: verb, “to act nervously or indecisively”

 

In our cultural context today, it is easy and potentially natural to praise the “dash” in a leader’s approach, and to critique those leaders who “dither.”  In my experience leading large organizations, it can be at minimum distracting, often actually dangerous for teams to actually see a senior leader “dither” (to be uncertain, having a hard time making a tough decision, vacillate between competing strategic alternatives, etc.) Equally it is troublesome and also dangerous to “see” senior leaders unthinkingly “dash” toward solutions that are ill considered or even ill-advised. 

 It’s in this context that I came to realize that neither “Dash” nor “Dither” SINGULARLY are the right or appropriate leadership tempos… instead a nuanced blend between the two seems to be the better, more balanced approach.  Back in 2012, I wrote an essay titled “Over the hood and over the horizon” ( https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2012/04/over-hood-over-horizon.html)  sharing the story of a lesson that I was taught about how leaders ALWAYS have to toggle their viewpoints between short term tactical/executional dynamics and longer-term strategic considerations.  Literally earlier this week I shared this story in a coaching conversation I was having with a young leader who works together with me on a non-profit board.  It dawned on me that in the same fashion of “over the hood and over the horizon,” successful leaders need to become agile and comfortable at a wide variety of leadership tempos… dependent on the circumstances.  There will be moments where a market-based opportunity presents itself and a leader MUST accelerate an organization to capture the moment.  Equally, a leader MUST remember the lessons from another old essay of mine titled “P/B/R” ( https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2009/07/pbr-maybe-not-what-you-think.html) where I shared an important lesson of leaders needing to learn how to “Pause, Breathe, and Reconnect.”  

The art of great leaders is neither to “dash” nor “dither” unilaterally …. but to be able to navigate the landscape and lead organizations at a wide range of tempos, best oriented to capture the opportunities that are present, or avoid the dangerous pitfalls that abound.

 

Slow is smooth… and smooth is fast!

It’s not often I reference a television character in my writing, but today I’ll make an exception for Phil Dunphy from “Modern Family.” In one hilarious scene, Phil rallies his family for a fire drill and uses the phrase “slow is smooth… and smooth is fast” to encourage a calm but swift exit from the house. That moment has stuck with me, and I’ve even repeated it to my own family in similar situations. 

Today, I want to explore how this idea can help leaders and teams focus not only on what they do (their deliverables and results) but also on how they do it (the processes that drive those outcomes).

Recently, as executive chair of a thriving private company’s board, I led a quarterly board meeting. The session was productive and hit all our critical objectives. Despite the meeting’s seemingly deliberate pace, we wrapped up 20 minutes and ahead of schedule. Once again, Phil’s motto echoed in my mind—“slow is smooth… and smooth is fast!” Embedded in this saying are two essential principles worth remembering.

Slow is smooth…

By establishing clear, methodical, and repeatable routines for your work, your organization, and your team, you set the stage for reliable performance. Such consistency minimizes errors, reduces unnecessary rework, and limits variability—especially important in today’s competitive, complex environments. As a leader, it’s crucial to create and uphold these disciplined processes and to demonstrate them through your own actions.

Smooth is fast…

It’s easy to envision how streamlined, well-honed business processes can lead to faster achievement of goals. As illustrated in our recent board meeting, executing a process smoothly and methodically enabled us to complete our work more efficiently, finishing over 10% earlier than expected.

My advice to readers is to review your core business processes, or start building them if needed, and continually refine them to be more systematic and repeatable. When your words and actions align in supporting these disciplined approaches, and when leaders model these behaviors personally, you’ll see better outcomes for your teams and organizations.

 

"Delay only increases the Danger”

 

 

A few weeks ago, I was sharing a walk and a focused “work conversation” with a dear friend.  He has been dealing with an emerging issue among the executive team at his company, and we discussed scenarios, alternatives and action plans as we “got our steps in” that sunny afternoon.   As the conversation progressed, the situation became clearer and more worrisome to me, the “outside observer.”  As I shared some advice (you knew I would have a couple of ideas, ha!) the primary message I was trying to pass along was regardless of scenario… take action NOW and get better prepared to take more action IMMEDIATELY!

 

This need for a heightened “sense of urgency” was clear to both of us as we finished our walk, and my friend headed out to start taking action that same evening.  I won’t divulge any details, but the action steps taken have led to major executive changes, organization realignment and board level communications on the new path forward.   A few days ago, this same friend texted over a quote from that reinforced the situation and the path we discussed…. “Once you know there’s a problem, delay only increases the danger” (David Ricks, Chair and CEO Eli Lily). 

 

 Across my career, I have been struck by how many times we waited too long to deal with things we knew were a problem.  I reflect on individuals who we KNEW weren’t making the grade…. often senior executives whose poor performance not only affected the business but was destructive to the organization/culture broadly.  In hindsight in each circumstance…” delay only increased the danger.”   None of the situations got better with time… quite the opposite, and just like my friend’s recent challenges you must dive in and get prepared Immediately to take action quickly.  It doesn’t just happen on its own…. You must work hard and fast to stop the delay at hand!

 

This whole situation reminded me of a moment when I worked for The Coca-Cola Company in the mid-1990’s.  Business was booming, stock prices rising, and Coke had just been awarded the most admired company two years in a row by Fortune Magazine (1995 & 1996).  As a part of the 1996 annual report, our Chairman Roberto Goizueta included a quote from the German poet/novelist/playwright Goethe in his annual letter ( see below.)  The focus was on taking action and the specific phrase that stayed with me was “Boldness has genius power and magic in it. Begin it now.”  At that moment, in early 1997 there didn’t seem to be any major issues or concerns facing The Coca Cola Company that we couldn’t handle… and in reality, we were on fire!  What none of us knew at that moment was that within 18 months Roberto would have passed away, we would proceed through four CEO’s and executive teams in less than 8 years… the stock price would plummet, major layoffs would begin, and in a very short amount of time we all KNEW there were a lot of problems all across the company!

 

 

 

 

 

 

The message of this essay is all about taking action, and not getting comfortable/complacent with delay.  I worked at Coke for another eleven years post Roberto’s letter above and worked hard on a myriad of areas that needed real help… all things that “delay” only made worse.  I had to work on my own “action orientation” and to be inspired by Goethe’s quote… “begin it now.”  I encourage readers of this essay to let these words…”delay on increases the danger” … to really sink in and work hard TODAY to take action where needed immediately!

When things are “murky”, use your “fog lights”

 

 

Many of you know that a few years ago (back in the summer of 2014) I bought an old car that I very affectionately named “Miss Kitty!”  I picked the car up near downtown LA, and my dear son Bryson and I drove her home, back to Atlanta, on a cross county multi-day road-trip that we still talk about today.  “Miss Kitty” is quite a character, with many unusual quirky features, but as you can see from the picture, she has some pronounced “fog lights” on her front grill. This essay is NOT a deep dive onto my old car’s unusual characteristics, but it was prompted by a recent experience I had driving on a foggy morning.

 

When driving in fog, I remember being taught in drivers-ed class to always use your car’s headlights, but to NEVER use the “high-beams!” If your car had “fog lights,” they were to be utilized in conjunction with your “low-beams” in conditions that were hazy, rainy, murky, or had limited visibility.  It was in just such a situation recently that I was heading to that the Atlanta airport, on a drizzly/foggy morning, when I realized that my old car’s “extra-large fog lights” were really needed to drive safely in the challenging conditions.  While those big yellow fog-lights did the job perfectly, it got me thinking about “murky/unclear” situations in life and in business that I was experiencing today.

 

How many times does your work environment lack clarity or appears hazy/unclear??   How many moments in your life do you face challenging situations and are uncertain of a clear path forward??  At least for me, these challenging situations happen all the time, and I for one often “turn on the high-beams” rather than the “fog lights” often to little avail!  Thinking about good old “Miss Kitty.” I realized that in those murky work/life moments, I needed to ditch the proverbial “high-beams.”  I didn’t need to add MORE intensity of introspection, MORE high analysis, MORE digging for clarity to make the matter clearer… instead I needed to SLOW DOWN and find/utilize the “fog lights” available to me. 

 

This imagery makes logical sense, and I am certain you understand the idea that I am trying to share… but I find the exercise very hard.  All my training and my 38+ years of a business career have been centered extensively on the “high-beam” curriculum!  How to accelerate your tempo, how much data can you connect with and how quicky can you do it?? I am literally writing this essay on a flight heading back to Bakersfield, and I am scheduling calls in 15-minute intervals for my layover in Phoenix…. more “high-beam” action!! 

 

As I look at my personal business landscape, I certainly see challenges and uncertainties that lie ahead.  Much more significantly, I look broadly at the political landscape domestically and internationally and see incredible challenges; illuminated today by the wars in Ukraine and Israel that are just two examples of tragic nightmares with no clear path forward in sight.  Now more than ever I am reaching for my “fog lights” to help navigate to road ahead, and I encourage all readers to be sure to keep them handy and in good working order… the path ahead does not look to be clearing any time soon and I think we will all need to use our “fog lights” regularly!

 

The “order” of things matter… remember “PEMDAS”

 

I remember the moment so distinctly… our son Bryson was in 5^th grade (now 12+ years ago) and he came home from school with a significant insight about Math.  He explained to Jennie and me that Math was based on a set of rules called “PEMDAS” that were “made up” or arbitrary (my word) and if you followed a different set of rules, like maybe “MEPDAS”, you would generate completely different answers.  While at that moment I realized I needed to brush up on my core math principles, I also knew that Bryson was a very smart boy who was able at a very young age to think about some funky abstract ideas.

 

Let’s take a step back and refresh ourselves on “The order of operations in mathematics.”

 

Definition:  In math, order of operations are the rules that state the sequence in which the multiple operations in an expression should be solved. 

A way to remember the order of the operations is PEMDAS, where in each letter stands for a mathematical operation.

The PEMDAS rules that state the order in which the operations in an expression should be solved, are:

1. Parentheses - They take precedence over all other operators. The first step is to solve all the operations within the parentheses. Work out all groupings from inside to out. (Whatever is in parentheses is a grouping)

2. Exponents - Work out all the exponential expressions. 

3. Multiplication and Division - Next, moving from left to right, multiply and/or divide whichever comes first.

4. Addition and Subtraction - Lastly, moving from left to right, add and/or subtract whichever comes first.

 

Let’s look at an example:

 

4x (5+3) = 4X8= 32… following “PEMDAS”

 

4X (5+3) = 20+3=23…following Bryson’s suggestion, “MEPDAS”

 

As you can plainly see, the order of operations is fundamental to successful math operations and a reminder to all of us that the “order of things” matter in many facets of business and life,

 

This lesson from Bryson’s 5^th grade math class has been on my mind recently, as I have been working with a team at Bolthouse Farms that is working on its processes and business “rhythms.”  I shares in a work session recently that I follow a very strict and consistent “order” to my weekly leadership/business routines, a method that I refer to as our “Performance Management Discipline.”  Daily I count on the “Daily Sales Report” to be published so I can track Net Revenue for the company as a whole and broken out by product and by customer.  Every Monday I take that specific Daily Sales Report and build out my Weekly Sales Report that highlights that net revenue trend for the past week, month, quarter and year to date.  I share that report with my leadership team Monday afternoon and EVERY Tuesday I hold a live leadership mtg (or zoom) with that weekly report as its central data document.  On Fridays of every week, I receive a forecast for the sales orders for the week ahead and calibrate where that will take us vis a vis our budgets and our production plans.  

This weekly cadence is complemented with monthly, quarterly and annual “Performance Management Routines” that directly connects to that daily sales report and to our top and bottom-line performance vs budget through the fiscal year along with connecting to the multi-year strategic planning process and the annual budget cycle.  This interconnected process needs to follow its own “order of operations” …. Its own “PEMDAS,” in order for the organization as a whole to stay on track.  Regardless of function or department, having a set “Performance Management Discipline” and staying true to following it is fundamental to success in business.  I encourage all of you to remember Bryson’s lesson of “PEMDAS” and ensure that you and your organization are staying true to your core “order of operations!” 

 

D=>K=>I=>A/A/A…. A foundational “formula” for success!

 

 

As a guy that does gravitate to formulas, processes and repeatable management disciplines, this essay has been brewing for a while.  A few weeks ago, I had a great conversation with a young friend Meg, who was interviewing for a number of very different roles.  In that conversation, we focused in on the fact that while the roles were very different (one in a small non-profit, one in a large ad agency), the actual “foundational work” of the roles had some clear similarities and those common ideas triggered this essay.  Regardless of your role, or nature of the organization where you work, these simple ideas or process steps are incredibly common and deeply important in order to drive successful sustainable results.

 

The foundational formula/process/discipline is made up of a set of actions that are done in sequence, and follow the path of: 

 

Data->Knowledge->Insights-> Action/Assess/Apply

 

D: Data

 

Noun: facts and statistics collected together for reference or analysis:

 

The first step is always to dig into the data…. and never get tired or bored, it always worth it!  I for example pull together a weekly performance dashboard for my leadership team, and rather than have someone in IT or finance pull it for me, I take an hour every Monday digging into last weeks results and building the dashboard myself.  I find that weekly process so helpful and EVERY WEEK I find little nuggets of trends, aberrations and surprises that allow me to understand where we are as a business and what actions we need to take going forward.  This first step, all about the data, is a step EVERYONE should do!  Don't let a fear of Math, or a lack of formal “data analytics training” stop you from diving in…. a vital and REQUIRED first step in this “foundational formula!”

 

K: Knowledge

 

Noun: facts, information, and skills acquired by a person through experience or education; the theoretical or practical understanding of a subject

 

By taking the step above and consistently digging into the data, we can gain knowledge and a deeper “understanding of a subject.”  Data on its’ own is relatively inert.  The purpose of the data dig “experience” is to gain understanding and build knowledge over time so you “convert” the data into actionable insights.

 

I: Insights

 

Noun: a deep understanding of a person or thing

 

Having a “deep understanding” of the work at hand is the big part of finding success.  While this evolves over time, the process steps reviewed above allow you to always be updating YOUR “deep understanding” of the business and will push you to take those thoughts/ideas and translate them into action!

 

 

A/A/A: 

 

A: Action

 

Noun: the fact or process of doing something, typically to achieve an aim

 

Take action, its time to have an impact!  Don't let the D->K->I phase lull you into passivity or inactivity.  This whole “foundational formula/process” is about taking thoughtful action in the marketplace and the “first A” is vital.  This step takes insights (mentioned above) AND COURAGE.  Step out there, make your recommendation be heard and drive to action!

 

A: Assess

 

Noun: evaluate or estimate the nature, ability, or quality of

 

With the “Action” step fully in-place, lets make sure we are ready to “evaluate” and learn from the “Action” deployed.  We can never learn enough, but too many skip this step entirely.  The amount of work to get the “Action” deployed is often so significant, many “run out of gas” at this step and lose energy to “evaluate” the impact/costs/ROI/etc. of the “Action” and fail to glean very available and much needed additional “Data” to help this process strengthen over time.  Many of you have read my essay on the “Curbside Debrief” https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2014/02/selling-curbside-debrief.html

This tool is a handy way to ALWAYS take a step to “Assess” or learn after every significant “Action.”

A: Apply

 

Noun: give one's full attention to a task; work hard, administer

 

This final step as another call to turn learnings into “Action.”  If you have “Assessed” the impact of “Action,” once again don't get passive!  Turn those ideas or approaches into immediate improvement plans and deploy…. No need to wait and start the process again, dive in and “Apply” those learnings and drive success!

 

 

Well there you go, the simple ( and vital) D->K->I->A/A/A model.  I hope you can use it in your work, whatever the organization / industry and let it have a positive impact of the challenges of the moment, and help you be more successful with your challenges/opportunities over time!

A “Virtuous Cycle” in the Pivot to Growth

 

 

Like so many companies and organizations, this past year has been incredibly challenging. Leading a company through the reality of Covid has been so intense and difficult, certainly the most difficult challenge of my 35 year career!  Here we are as we enter May, we are finishing up our on-site vaccination clinics over the next few weeks, finishing up our return-to-work planning and prep activities and starting to look at easing some of our Covid policies (e.g. outdoor mask policy, etc.).  Along with these policy/readiness adjustments, we are dealing with the difficult (and wonderful in many ways) challenge of a booming business, growing very quickly, that is pushing our capabilities and capacities across our system.  We are clearly in a big “Pivot to Growth” moment and I have refreshed myself on some lessons that will help us and may help you as well.

 

Virtuous Cycle

 

I want to emphasize the first word here, “Virtuous!”  When businesses are dramatically beating budget and forecast, and outstripping existing capabilities/capacities, it is very easy to devolve into a “Destructive Cycle” of anger/blame/finger-pointing/etc.  Do your best as a leader to stay calm, remind everyone that we are in this together, and that in so many ways we are lucky to have the problems of a high growth business.  Remind yourself that “anger/blame & finger pointing” are rarely highlighted and key leadership tools for progressive/successful leaders in good times or bad.  Stay calm, keep your cool, keep your team together and work the problem at hand!

 

Work the Problem

 

At least for our company in this Pivot to Growth, there are multiple problems all occurring at once.  That dynamic is actually not surprising and should not be allowed to cause confusion.  Look at the landscape, idea the problems and help the team to break them down into bite-sized chunks.  Remember “Aunt Lorraine’s Law”????  “Take small bites and chew thoroughly”!  

That lesson is so true now… help your team on this and get everyone focused on THE problem at hand and have other teams working on ANOTHER problem at hand but be careful to have one group working on many problems at once….. usually a situation that causes confusion and limited progress!

 

Search for Root Causes

 

As teams get into problem solving, we can find ourselves actually fixing a problem at hand and being tempted to quickly move on to the next issue at hand.  As a leader help your team to slow down enough to try to identify the “root causes” to the problem so we might possible not just fix the problem at hand but identify and solve the deeper “root causes” of the problem to we don't face this challenge again.  A technique that I learned many years ago is the “ask “why” five times” rule.  Once a problem/issue is clearly identified, force yourself and your team to go five layers deep…. Ask, “Why did this issue occur”??? then when that answer is clarified, ask “why” did that occur??? and keep that routine going for five layers of asking “whys?”

 

Deploy solutions and measure success

 

The best part of problem solving is actually fixing the problems/challenges at hand…. duh!  No brilliant insight there but again we are so often tempted to fix it and move on; not good enough!  Use the measurement tools at hand or build the measurement tools to assess just how much or how well we have actually fixed the problem and improved performance.  We only really learn true performance improvement through measuring our success and continuously improving on that improved performance.

 

Work the problem

 

Repeat the “Virtuous Cycle!”

 

 

I hope that this simple “cycle” can be helpful as you and your organization begin your pivot to growth post Covid!  There will be challenges ahead (there always are) but none so daunting as the challenges we all faced this past year.  We can work our way through the challenges of growth by keeping our cool, reminding the team that we are all in this together and working the “Virtuous Cycle” above….. those will be key ingredients for solving the growth problems that lie ahead!

Work the process & work ON the process!

 

It’s been a wild ride over these past 20 months since we bought Bolthouse Farms back from Campbell’s.  The challenges of turning around a business in steep decline, executing a “carve-out” of a business that had been integrated into a bigger entity, rebuilding a team across all functions/levels … and then Covid hit! In the midst of these significant challenges, the business is growing, the team stronger than ever, and we have learned so much and become stronger through facing and overcoming challenges in our way.  A great lesson was shared last week in a “zoom call,” that I want to pass along today.

 

Late last week, we had our weekly S&OP (sales & operations planning) call and one of our excellent, long-term Bolthouse veterans John (no last names on the blog!) was on the call early when I signed in.  He and I had a couple of minutes to catch up and were talking about our fast growing beverage business and how hard it was to get the right flavors, in the right size, in the right level of inventory, to the right customer …etc!  We were talking about how hard it was to run a tight S&OP process in a high growth business and John shared a powerful insight….” You know Bill, we have to work the process and work ON the process at the same time!”

 

That simple phrase really hit home in this moment/situation, but is so true broadly.  Too often we don't even do the first part very well; we often don't even have a consistent business process and if we do have one we don't execute it in a consistent, disciplined fashion.  Knowing this, the idea that we have to always “work ON the process,” identifying ways to improve WHAT we do and HOW we do it was the deep insight of John’s comment.  

 

Even though our business is booming, and so many good things are happening, we need to push ourselves to improve our processes broadly.  To often companies wait for things to go bad to start thinking about changes, the trick is to dive into this work when things are going well… that's the perfect time to work and work ON your processes!

 

A few helpful tips:

 

Ø  Think about your business/enterprise/organization and identify the key operational processes that are required to get the work done, and insure you have a structured, disciplined process in place.

Ø  Once those core processes are set, don't get bored with them!  Execute and lead those processes with intensity and efficiency and insure the broader organization knows that those process steps are key to the organization’s success.

Ø  Look for the processes and that need improvement and work ON those processes very publicly.  Identify and implement improvement steps and you will insure that your processes will continue to improve over time!

 

The accelerating “Trajectory” of talent

 

 

 

The simplest way to start this essay is an old lesson, one that I learned years ago from some un-named boss or mentor, that is captured in the simple line….“Yesterday’s A+ is tomorrow’s B-!”  the idea being that in a business that is growing, thriving, and dynamically responding to a changing competitive landscape the exceptional performance that drove exceptional results last year will actually look pretty “un-exceptional” when faced with the expanded and accelerated results expected in years to come.

 

It’s always good to remind us what this “looks” like mathematically on the chart to the right. Y=mX+b is the age-old formula for the line and when “m” or the slope of the line is positive, we have a line showing positive growth….. whether it’s depicting net revenue, gross margin, or EBITDA, the “m” being positive and in growth mode is what’s key!

 

At the center of this concept is a belief that an organization, and the key individuals that make up that organization, needs to keep learning and growing their individual and team skills/capacities in order to generate expanding results expected in future fiscal quarters/years.  It also assumes that a stagnant organization, a group of individuals not building their skills and capacities over time won’t be able to generate and create growth oriented results for very long.

 

This “lesson” is very present for me in my current role at Bolthouse Farms.  As I mentioned in earlier essays, coming back to Bolthouse Farms has been an incredible opportunity to have a “2^ndchance to work on your legacy” and I am trying to take full advantage of that chance. In that spirit we have rebuilt the team and have accelerated the business dramatically over the past 16 months since we bought the company back from Campbell’s.  It is in this context that I am thinking so much about this idea about “trajectory.”

 

As our business grows and changes, so do the needs and demands that are required from our team. Getting the business stabilized and back on its feet was job #1 ….LAST YEAR …. but now our focus is on building a platform for growth for the years to come and to build an organizational strength and depth to drive and sustain that growth for years to come as well!

 

This is the crux of the idea that as a business changes and grows, so the demands on and the expectations of its key executives change and grow correspondingly. What’s really interesting ( and very challenging) is when the growth itself accelerates….. e.g., when a business grew 10% last quarter, 15% this quarter and is planning on growing 25 % next quarter the reality is that the business is not just growing, but the growth rate is actually growing.  For those math nerds reading this essay, we are talking about a curve with a positive derivative as seen in this chart ….

 

In these business circumstances, it is very important to work to stay active in building the skills and capacities of your team.  Insure that you have a team ( and that you are modeling) which is focused on delivering the required results today AND in building their abilities to drive much greater results in the future.  Being a leader who is both an active learner and an active teacher is a key element of this “equation” working well.  As a leader be open to show all the new things that you are learning and working on…. Be open with what you have to learn to be great next quarter/next year/ etc. Too many leaders think about this as some sort of weakness…. nothing could be further from the truth! Equally have a “teachable point of view” and be active and patient as a teacher to your direct reports and your team.  Leaders that can combine both of these traits ( active learner and active teacher)  are positioned well to build organizations that can accelerate their capabilities and thus drive accelerating growth!

 

2020... A year of action, not intentions!

At times it seems amazing to me to reflect that we are beginning the second decade of the 21st century!  As a child of the 60's ( yes, the 1960's) and someone who started his business career in the mid-80's, I feel VERY fortunate to begin 2020 fully engaged in a wonderful business, working with a great team, and looking to the year ahead filled with optimism and energy.  Sure there are challenges and obstacles ahead, some that we can see clearly and others that I know are waiting around some dark corner, but regardless of that truth, I am certainly energized for the road ahead in the new year!

As I think about the year ahead, 2020 seems so pivotal as I think about the broader context.  It will certainly be a pivotal year for our business at Bolthouse Farms, where we are focused on "stabilizing the business to rebuild a platform for growth."  That strategic "mantra" has been our focus since we bought the business in June, and we will see that "return to growth" in 2020 without question!  While certainly a pivotal business year, 2020 is filled with great portent for our country and the world broadly.  We have a huge election in ten months that will dramatically affect the future of our country and the challenges ( and opportunities) facing our planet as we start the new year have never been more dramatic or more pressing!  Its within this context that I have thought about this essay, and am really struck by the need for action across the board ... action on the issues and opportunities ahead, not just good intentions, clever words,  and platitudinal inaction!

Take action in business: We certainly have a lot to do at Bolthouse Farms to get the business back on a track of growth for the exciting future that lies ahead.  Regardless of the department, role or function, there is a lot to do!  While at moments like this it can seem intimidating with the extent of  action that is required, the great thing to remember is to just dive in and begin!  Take action on the projects that lie ahead, take small steps and dig into the work that is needed, encourage your team- mates to dig into the work, not "talk" about the work!  Too often we swirl around issues, problems and opportunities "talking" a good game, but never "plowing forward" into the work required.  Whatever the business situation you are facing, my encouragement is to prioritize your "actions" on the projects that lie ahead in 2020 and stay focused on making a difference with the results of your "action filled" work!

Take action personally: This is a perfect time of year to take stock of where we all are personally, either as leaders, as parents, spouses or friends and decide what actions we can take this year to get better at the things that are important to us.  I am not a big fan of grandiose new years "resolutions;" too often a set of words and ideas that sound great but never actually happen or don't happen for very long.  As for me, now that I am working every week in California, I am focused on sleep and exercise... and my plan is to walk EVERY day and insure that I can get at least 7 1/2 hrs of sleep EVERY night.  I know it doesn't seem very inspiring, but for me to be effective, for me to be my "best self" in 2020, those two "every day" actions will be critical for a successful year ahead!

Take action in your communities:  We live and work in the context of communities that span the globe, and its too easy for us to live in our bubbles, listen only to our "echo chambers" of self curated news and information and forget the wider landscape of humanity we live within.  Get involved in food banks, food pantries, homeless shelters, etc. where you can give some of your time, and resources to those more in need.  Find ways to give back globally and locally to help strengthen communities that matter to you.  Finally insure that you are registered to vote and take action on election day in November! Our right to vote is precious and a foundation for our country and too many people blow it!  Get out there in the primaries and at the general election and cast your vote, take action for our democracy!


This headset on actions vs intentions is not new in my essays.  Over the past ten years I have covered this topic and idea from a few angles and for those looking for some "extra readings" in this area, check out the following essays:

"Our actions betray our intent"
https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2017/06/our-actions-betray-our-intent.html

"Act with intent : Redux"
https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2009/08/act-with-intent-redux.html

"Good ideas executed brilliantly"
https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2017/04/good-ideas-executed-brilliantly.html


I want to wish everyone a very happy and healthy new year and I am confident and that 2020 will be a year to remember because of the actions we take in our businesses, our families and our communities!!

"A Militant Commitment to the Basics"

Recently I had the pleasure to have one of my Bolthouse Farms leadership team partners ( and good friend) Zak spend some time with me in Atlanta!  We have been "working our brains out" since well before we closed on buying back the company from Campbell's last June and it was a real treat to have him stop by and stay at my house and for us to work together from my home office a few weeks ago.  He was routing through Atlanta, coming from one of our customer's annual conferences and shared a number of headlines from his time there.  One theme came from the main stage presentation of the conference when the speaker commented that to be successful, one needed to have ...." A militant commitment to the basics!"  This phrase has really stuck with me over the past few weeks.  It is highly pertinent to the situation that I find myself in today in my work at Bolthouse Farms and it rings VERY true as I reflect on my career over the past 30+ years.  I want to take a few moments today to dig into this concept, and do a bit of exegesis as we explore its elements.


Militant: adj.  "Aggressively active, (as in a cause)

So many businesses need 100% attention, focus and energy and the business we bought last June is a perfect example.  The previous management team was focused on "selling the business", not "running the business" and the the recent business results tell the tale!  NO business nor organization runs on auto pilot and ALL businesses and organizations need intense, active focus.  The concept of being "militant" or "aggressively active" feels so apt and appropriate... we as leaders should not aspire to JUST be active, we need to work on being "aggressively active" in our work and actions!

Commitment: noun.  "an act of committing to a charge or trust"

At any level in an organization, we are NOT taking a role to only partially commit to the work required.  If we are in a role, and this is especially true for leaders, we need to be 110% INTO the role and the work required.  Especially when times are tough, or when business results are challenged (both ringing true for me today,) we need to check ourselves and insure that we are 110% "committed" to the role/work/team/budget/challenges that lie ahead.  We can't control so many things in the landscape of our work, but we CAN control our own levels of "commitment!"

Basics: noun.  "something that is foundational or fundamental"

It is so easy, especially when things are troubled or challenging in business to look for a new approach or strategy to change trends and drive future success.  While certainly needed and appropriate at times, it is ALWAYS appropriate to dig or grind into the fundamentals or foundational elements of a business.  I have found that after being away from Bolthouse Farms for over 4 years, I have needed to dig back into the "basics" of the business to really understand where we are and where we need to go!

I am very appreciative that Zak shared this message from the customer convention and I am very appreciative and committed to our partnership along with the other leaders at Bolthouse Farms!  All of us would do well to dig into these words and this theme and to push ourselves to bring them alive every day.  I hope that you leaders reading this essay can find an idea or an approach to bring alive in your organizations and i am confident that taking a "militant commitment to the basics" will serve you well on the challenges that lie ahead!