Inflection Points of a business… focus on fewer things to insure success!

Over the past year, I have had the pleasure to work with more than a dozen different clients in my consulting practice, ranging from small technology and food startups all the way to global biotech leaders.  While the work is extremely varied, it has been fascinating to see a number of “common denominators” that I keep bumping into regardless of vertical, size of organization, or the specific nature of my assignment.  In many cases I see the importance and impact of personal leadership, at times as moments of success & acceleration, and at times as major barriers/impediments for organizational growth.  In many moments I have seen the importance of taking decisive action in the marketplace, turning strategies/concepts into “real” tactics and actions to affect the challenges/opportunities facing the business at the moment.  Today, I want to highlight a third “common denominator” that I am seeing in my consulting work, that being the need to narrow your focus (focus on fewer things) at the key moments that are inflection points of an organization and a business.

It has been exciting to be brought in by CEO’s/Founders, or boards to work on the challenges and opportunities facing the leadership teams of my clients.  Often times, the call to bring me in is precipitated by a critical event or issue facing a business and often times those businesses are at critical inflection points:

inflection point

NOUN

·       1Mathematics 
A point of a curve at which a change in the direction of curvature occurs.

·       2US (in business) a time of significant change in a situation; a turning point.

At times these might be moments of rapid expansion and growth for a startup, or in another situation a major pivot for a large established company; but regardless of the specifics, the moment facing the business/organization is critical to its future success.  Reflecting back on this past year, these “inflection point” moments abound in my consulting work and I constantly find myself working with senior execs and leadership teams to narrow their scope and focus on fewer things.

Often the circumstances surrounding these “inflection point” moments are filled with complexity, and there is a tendency for senior leaders to try to focus on all of the moving parts at the same time.  While sometimes “do-able,” this scattered approach typically gives all things a little bit of attention, versus giving a few VITAL topics complete focus.  I am currently involved in an assignment where a young startup organization is in the middle of a major marketplace launch of a new product line.  While its certainly true that future innovation, expanded funding sources, team capacity/capability issues, along with a myriad of other topics are facing the senior team and the CEO, the truth is that if THIS launch fails, there is a high likelihood that the company will fail!  (A true inflection point for the company, and a moment that requires complete and maniacal focus on the new product launch and the work/actions required to insure its success. ) While this example pertains to a startup company that I am working with currently, the lesson is one that I continue to touch across my consulting practice and client base.

As you look at the business situations that you are dealing with, think about the “inflection points” facing your company/organization today and push yourself to “narrow your focus”, push aside as much of the “noise” of extraneous tasks in your day-to-day work life and maniacally “focus” on turning the “inflection point” that you are facing into a major moment of success!

First ask “why” … then do it 5 times!

Its interesting how many times I see senior executives (and maybe a few consultants like yours truly) feel like they need to have the answers … all of the answers … and they always have to be right.  As crazy as that sounds, think about your own situations.  Consider how many times you have been in front of a senior exec, a board member, or a highly paid consultant and you DIDN’T expect them to have all the answers.  No leadership team or single executive, nor a board member or board, nor a consulting practice or a single consultant can or ever will have all the right answers.  It’s unrealistic and frankly not appropriate.  What is key is that we need to expect and require those same senior executives, board members, and consultants to ASK the right questions all the time and that process starts, and always starts by asking “why?”

While it may seem simple enough, we often start with the two “wrong” questions if we even start with questions versus misplaced proclamations.  Typically, we start with “who” … (“who’s in charge?”, “who’s responsible for these results,?” “who is working with whom to get this mess fixed?”, and the list goes on.) If we don’t start with the “who” questions, we often go straight to the “how much” set of questions …( “how much are we behind plan,?” how much did this budget variance cost?,” etc.)    I want us to consider that we all need to first start by asking “why”, trying to understand the core issue at hand before we do anything else.  “Why has this situation happened?” or “why is this problem continuing to recur?” or why do you feel we aren’t making progress against our goals?” are all three good places to start.  Using “why” questions is a good way for everyone, senior execs, board members and consultants in particular, to frame the issue at hand and to use the discipline of “questions” to work to gain common alignment on the problem that is trying to be solved.  A HUGE step forward in all strategic work is to define the problem you are trying to solve and to have a common understanding of the problem at hand.

First asking “why” is key and in my experience it is pretty rare especially at senior levels.  While I clearly think it's a “required” first step, it is rarely “sufficient” to do the job at hand … thus my encouragement to then “ask why” 5 times!  While there is no magic specifically in the number 5, there has been a lot of work done in this approach, focusing on the best approach to get at the “root cause” of any issue and the “ask why 5 times” is a fundamental element of that approach.  Pioneered by Toyota in the 1950’s, this discipline/technique has been applied broadly across industries, companies and functions and is one of those fundamental business skills worth NEVER forgetting.  I learned this approach in early training classes at

The Coca-Cola Company in the early 90’s and I still refer back to them today.  The image above is a simple tool that helps the process and I have filled quite a number of flip-charts over the years with these “fishbone diagrams.”  To understand more of the approach, it’s background, and application, take a look at the following link,  https://open.buffer.com/5-whys-process/

Regardless of the intensity of the moment or the risks at stake, work hard to try to start with a question and hopefully that question begins with “why.”  If you can frame the situation with a “why” question, then gather the team to do some “digging” and work your way to keep going, “ask why 5 times” to get underneath the veneer of the problem at hand and have a deeper understanding and deeper alignment on the root cause of the problem that needs fixing!

A tearful morning and an inspiring walk

Waking up this morning, October 2, 2017 I was floored by the reports of the mass shooting last night in Las Vegas.   “Mass shooting”, “lone gunman,” fifty dead,” automatic weapon,” “innocent concert goers,” high capacity clips,” senseless violence,” and may other headlines filled the news this morning.  Filled with shock, anger and deep sadness I began my Monday with a week of work and travel ahead.  Telling Jennie, Marie, and Bryson (via text, he a sophomore at UCLA), that I loved them, I packed my bags and headed to the airport for a flight to Miami.

Once again I looked for a moment of solace at the Atlanta airport and headed straight to Concourse E and the MLK exhibit that includes a replica of the Nobel Peace Prize that Dr. King was awarded in 1963.  I often find my way to this specific spot and you can see my writings on it in previous blog essays.  This morning, after taking a moment at in front of the Nobel medal, I went into the little “interfaith chapel” behind the display.  Sitting quietly in a plastic folding chair, I said a few prayers for the victims of Las Vegas, prayers for their families and friends who are living a nightmare of tragedy today and more broadly prayers for our country.  Senseless death, violence against innocent strangers and escalating hatred and violence CANNOT be the legacy that we leave to our next generation nor a vision of a civilized society that we share with the world.

Sitting in that little while plastic folding chair I pulled up three passages/quotes that gave me strength this morning, each of which I want to share:

  The first being a major passage from Dr. King’s Nobel Prize acceptance speech: 

o   “I accept this award today with an abiding faith in America and an audacious faith in the future of mankind.  I refuse to accept despair as the final response to history.  I refuse to accept the idea that the “isness” of man’s present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal “oughtness” that forever confronts him.  I refuse to accept the idea that man is the mere flotsom and jetsom in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him.  I refuse to accept that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.”

 The second quote is from Gandhi:

o   “When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love always won.  There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall.  Think of it – always.”

 The final inspiration is a passage from the old testament, Micah 6:8,

o   “ He has told you O Mortal, what is good and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your god.”

Leaving the little chapel on Concourse E, I decided to walk back to my gate on Concourse A (always good to get some steps in!!) and started thinking about my trip ahead.  In the walkway between Concourse B & A, there is an art installation that mimics a Georgian forest scene, with sculptured leaves, birds chirping, etc.  Not paying much attention this morning, I walked upon a young family who had stopped and the kids had begun “jumping in the raindrops” projected on the floor.  At first I was annoyed that my way forward was blocked but before I knew it two or three other kids, from another family “joined in” and all five or six of them played together in the “virtual rain.”  That moment of the kids playing together floored me and quire literally “stopped me in my tracks.”   Surrounded by the despair and senseless violence and hatred of the shooting in Las Vegas, maybe there was a sliver of hope and inspiration for humanity, exemplified in the children dancing in the “rain” between concourses at the Atlanta airport!

Leading in Uncertain Times

Over the past few years I have had the chance to work with a wide variety of executives across a range of companies and industries.  Ranging in size from an emerging technology startup to a multi-billion $ global bio-tech leader, each of the engagements have been unique and challenging experiences, each with unique situations/dynamics that have required me to learn a lot and to tap into a range of experiences that have spanned my 32+year business career.  While the assignments have varied widely, there is a common thread that has become evident over the past few months.  Each executive (or executive team in some instances) that I am working with this year are facing uniquely challenging dynamics in their space and as they work to finish out 2017 and turn their attention to the year ahead, each of my clients are facing very uncertain times ahead.  It's in this context that I have reflected back, and what to share, a few lessons or focus points that might be helpful for leaders (or leadership teams) who are "navigating the waters" of uncertain times.

Optimism:  When times are uncertain, it is tempting for leaders to become frustrated/negative/cynical as they face the uncertain road ahead.  While tempting, this approach is desperately wrong and damaging to an organization.  Leaders need to work on being optimists and being optimistic about the path forward especially if the road ahead is uncertain.  In a previous essay, I commented on this idea of impact of optimistic leaders in the essay "Optimism, a force multipliers for leaders." (https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2016/03/optimism-force-multiplier-for-leaders.html)   The fundamental idea comes from a quote from former Secretary of State Colin Powell where he connects optimism to morale in the armed forces and how optimism expands the impact of the force deployed. This idea is deeply true in business and especially when things are tough or uncertain.

Flexibility:  It may seem obvious but when you are dealing with moments of change and challenge, you fundamentally don't know exactly what is coming next.  You may be faced with a competitive intrusion, a marketplace shift, an organizational restructuring, etc. and while the dynamics of change and challenge are clear, the path forward may not be evident in the least!  It is in these moments that it is vital for leaders to stay flexible or to "stay loose!"  In a previous essay "Stay loose until rigor counts" (https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2010/10/stay-loose-until-rigor-counts.html) I comment on the need to "stay open/stay wide/stay loose" in moments of challenge.  Tempted as it might be for leaders or leadership teams to "tighten up" and stay focused on the "tried and true" actions of a business/organization, challenging and uncertain times really call us to stay strategically and tactically "loose" or flexible, being ready to adjust to the unseen changes ahead.

Discipline:  I know that it may seem counter intuitive for me to highlight "discipline" just after advocating "flexibility" but these ideas actually go together well.  Having a regular disciplined process for planning and performance management of a business is very important regardless of the challenges that lie ahead, but doubly so when things are tough and uncertain.  For years I operated a monthly performance management system in past operating roles that worked well over time.  During challenging moments, I "accelerated" the process and moved to a bi-weekly then weekly review process/cadence in order to stay on top of the changes in the business and take action into those changing moments even more quickly.  I wrote about this approach in an early essay, "Ownership, Accountability, & Discipline"  ( https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2011/10/ownership-accountability-discipline.html)

Focus:  While I am always an advocate of having a strategic viewpoint, my encouragement is for leaders to keep a tight view or focus on the weeks/months and MAYBE quarters ahead when times are uncertain.  DON'T get to far ahead of yourself (or the market) when dynamics are changing.  A long time friend and co-worker suggested to me that leading in business is like driving a car, and you are always needing to keep your eyes "over the horizon and over the hood." At times you need to look "over the horizon" to anticipate and plan for the marketplace ahead, while at other moments you need to look "over the hood," to insure you avoid the pitfalls immediately ahead.  The amazing reality of driving a car and leading an organization is that you actually need to do both of them (over the horizon and over the hood) at the same time to be effective.  See the essay titled "over the hood & over the horizon"for more on this concept.( https://fylegacy.blogspot.com/2012/04/over-hood-over-horizon.html ) 

Postscript: As a final note, I want to comment on leadership "posture" in changing and challenging times.  While I don't have a previous essay to reference, I want to suggest that is is important for teams to "see" their leaders in tough times more then ever.  Be present at team gatherings, let the organization see you smile and hear your thoughts on the business today and the road ahead even if the path isn't completely clear.  I have seen leaders literally "hunker down" in tough times, staying behind closed doors, rarely being present or even visible and it is always damaging to an organization.  Think about your "posture" with your team and find ways to let your physical presence reflect your commitment to the themes above!