Leadership Limerick: We Are All Creative

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.
 
But “I’m not creative” they say
You can hear it most any day

People stopping before they start

Denying they can play a part

In trying to find a new way

Many people equate creativity with generating completely new and breakthrough ideas.  Since that isn't always their forte, they determine they have no contribution to make to the creative process.

But being creative is about making different or novel connections, generating fresh insights, and envisioning previously unforeseen possibilities.  It doesn't necessarily imply that the creativity has to occur at some grand and mystical level.

So the next time someone says "I'm not creative," gently push back on that self-imposed limitation.  Why?  Because we live in a world in which one of the few things that cannot be commoditized is creativity itself.

Toward a More Sustainable You: Alternative Belief to Consider #3

Our beliefs and mental models deeply influence the choices we perceive available to us and the expectations we need to meet.  In a new workshop entitled Toward a More Sustainable You, I've been offering four of the current beliefs that I believe inhibit our effectiveness and four alternative beliefs that, if adopted and implemented, could lead to a personal and professional life that is robust, yet more sustainable.

Each Friday in June I explore one of these beliefs and its alternative.

Belief #3:
To succeed I have to keep climbing the ladder.

Alternative Belief #3:
My definition of success may involve ladders and lattices.

More.  Bigger.  Upward advancement.  These are the usual hallmarks of increased success as defined in North America.  But are they yours?  It's important to know because they almost always involve trade-offs you may or may not find acceptable.

If a promotion means more money, but less time with your family and friends, what is the end result for your quality of life?  Moving from a committee chair to a board member position likely means reducing your involvement in hands-on projects and increasing your time spent on policies and strategy.  How does that match with your interests and strengths?

While many suggest it is universal truth that "if you're not getting ahead you're falling behind," we don't have to make our decisions based on criteria or beliefs that don't reflect what we value in life.  Your priorities may require taking one step back in some areas to go two steps ahead in others.  Making life decisions based on others' definitions of success is rarely fulfilling.

In his book, The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work, author Alain de Botton says, "What I want to argue for is not that we should give up on our ideas of success, but that we should make sure that they are our own. We should focus in on our ideas and make sure that we own them, that we're truly the authors of our own ambitions. Because it's bad enough not getting what you want, but it's even worse to have an idea of what it is you want and find out at the end of the journey that it isn't, in fact, what you wanted all along." 

You Got Me in the Door. Now What?

I recently used a Groupon to visit a local restaurant, one I otherwise probably would not have tried.  In that sense, the Groupon was a success for the merchant in that it brought in a new customer.  Getting people to try you out is great; getting them to come back is better.

Many organizations focus so much attention on getting people in the door (registered for your webinar, sampling a product,  trying out association membership, attending an event, et al) that they don’t spend enough time considering how to convert the one-time visit into a pattern of repeated engagement and interaction. 

Fundraisers model a basic principle worth emulating.  First-time donors usually receive a thank-you and an additional solicitation.

Dear Jeffrey:  Thanks so much for your generous gift of $50.  We welcome you into the community of people who care about ______ and will be able to accomplish much more with your support.  The need is great, however, and our ambitions quite bold.  Another $50 contribution from you right now would immediately allow us to _________.

This additional solicitation is actually a test, a simple way to assess just how interested and committed someone is to the cause.  We can do the same thing in our organizations, offering a nominal inducement upon a first-time expression of interest in an attempt to deepen an individual’s level of commitment and engagement.

Dear Jeffrey:  It was great having you at the luncheon workshop for potential new members last week.  I hope you enjoyed the keynote speaker as much as I did and that you have already put some of her great info to use in your own work.  This program is just one example of how we can help you connect with like-minded colleagues and strengthen your professional skills.  We hope to have you as a member of our community and see you at many more events in the future.  We’d love to have you as a colleague so much that if we receive your completed membership application within the next 30 days, we’ll immediately send you a complimentary set of session CDs from last year’s Annual Meeting.

While the example I gave is related to membership, the same principle applies to volunteering.  We don't always know the potential interest or commitment level of individuals volunteering for the first time.  We need to debrief with them after their experience, thank them for their contributions, and then learn if they would like to remain engaged, exploring the possibilities for how they can do so.

Some people are 100% satisfied with the one-night stand and are not looking to marry our cause or organization.  But we don’t really know that if we don’t put out a second invitation.

Transactions can be transformative if we intentionally try to cultivate longer-term relationships and convert one-time visitors into long-time colleagues.

Leadership Limerick: Getting All the Facts

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.
 
The tough calls can be a source of pride
But brutal facts aren't something to hide

As a group you’re more able

With all the info on the table

When you have something big to decide

I can no longer be trusted with a half-gallon of ice cream.  I've deluded myself for many years saying I'll limit myself to a cup of ice cream each day and no more, but the evidence of empty cartons only days later would suggest my willpower is definitely lacking.  As a result, I no longer buy ice cream to keep in the house.  Accepting the need to make that decision took a very long time.

Leaders are confronted with choices dramatically greater in scope and consequence than my self-imposed ice cream cutoff, but the difficulty in coming to terms with the truth is not that much different.  Jim Collins first explored the importance of confronting the brutal facts in Good to Great and then examined the consequences of not doing so in How the Mighty Fall.  He suggests that leaders must have faith in the ability to prevail, but not let that faith obscure the brutal facts of an organization's present reality.

We must help create a safe climate throughout organizations that allows difficult truths to be expressed without blame, as well as ensure that any decision-making sessions engage the complete set of facts and explore their real implications for the choices we make.

It doesn't take much leadership to make the easy calls or avoid reality.  The true test of leadership lies in doing just the opposite whether we are leading an organization or leading ourselves.

Toward a More Sustainable You: Alternative Belief to Consider #2

Our beliefs and mental models deeply influence the choices we perceive available to us and the expectations we need to meet.  In a new workshop entitled Toward a More Sustainable You, I've been offering four of the current beliefs that I believe inhibit our effectiveness and four alternative beliefs that, if adopted and implemented, could lead to a personal and professional life that is robust, yet more sustainable.

Each Friday in June I explore one of these beliefs and its alternative.

Belief #2:
I can't pass up such a good opportunity.

Alternative Belief #2:
If I never say no, I can't be fully committed when I say yes.

Here is a truth I have come to accept: good people usually have more good opportunities available to them than they should rightfully accept.  Talent, commitment, dedication, and generosity lead to abundance, not scarcity.

This can be difficult to remember when a great opportunity comes to you at a less than ideal time.  "But if I say no now something like this may never come around again."  Perhaps.

But applying that logic also can lead to overcommitment.  None of us are capable of accepting every possibility that comes our way.  Only when we carefully consider the consequences of saying yes to a possible commitment can we more fully understand how it might affect the other obligations we already hold.

And if we never say no when opportunity comes knocking?  At some point we won't have the strength to get up and answer the door.  That just might be the time when the possibility truly is too good to pass up.  Saying no every now and then frees up your ability and energy to say yes and engage in the future.  Committing beneath your means, not exhausting your capacity for doing so, is the sustainable choice.

Read about the first alternative belief here.

Your Meeting Needs a Gallery

I stumbled across this picture in a BizBash article about TED (yes, TED is overexposed, but deal with it) and the wall the conference created with colorful placards of all its speakers.  I immediately became enamored with the possibilities it could offer for meetings and even see room for improvement.

Imagine doing something similar for one of your conferences, but instead of just listing speaker names, you include one provocative statement from the speaker related to the content of their session.  Now this wall becomes a learning/takeaway device.  You could even add session info (date, time, location) to make this a scheduling/planning tool.

No need to limit the wall to speakers though, why not involve participants (particularly in a smaller meeting) in making their own posters and sharing one concrete idea others can learn about by speaking with them during the event?

Years ago at one of the Real Time conferences it sponsored back then, Fast Company magazine captured real-time quotes from speakers in sessions, immediately printed them out on 11x17 posters, and had them lining the hallways outside the meeting space right after the sessions ended.  Instant learning reinforcement!

And while it's currently all the rage to have television monitors project a scrolling Twitter wall with Tweets from conference participants, I must admit to favoring these more old-school, handcrafted applications a bit more.  Scan the posters for any of these simple approaches and you immediately have a content-rich slide deck or PDF to provide participants as a conference takeaway.

Adding some sort of wall display or gallery creates a new community space, one where people can gather with others, engage in informal conversation, and create new connections.  What other possibilities can you envision for adding a gallery wall to a conference?

Doing Nothing is the Real Risk

There is an incredibly pervasive belief among people that it can be too risky to speak up, to try new things, to do something very different.  But that belief offers nothing but false security.

Doing nothing could risk everything.

If we are unwilling to fail or fall short at something, we will never innovate anything.

Individuals who are in temporary volunteer leadership roles can be more  risk-averse.   They don't want to be the ones who "screwed things up."  Individuals bring their own beliefs about risk into the work setting and the boardroom.  We would be wise to help people make their own perspectives transparent and to discuss how those beliefs relate to the level of experimentation and risk-taking that needs to occur for them to be good stewards of the organization or their particular responsibilities.

Harvard Business School professor and popular author Rosabeth Moss Kanter suggests a mix of experiments in her innovation pyramid.  It can be a useful framework for leaders looking to make strategic investments in calculated risks.  Determining the right mix depends on an organization's goals and the returns it needs to generate. something individuals should understand from their own financial planning efforts.  And this HBR blog post from Innosight's Scott Anthony highlights four low resolution ways to test possible innovations.

At some point,  every individual or organization has to put something at risk and in play in order to ensure or increase their future success.  I'd rather have lots of times at bat to achieve winning results:  strike out sometimes, get base hits other, and continue to work my way around the bases.

If the only way to win is to get a grand slam home run in the bottom of the 9th, that may be the riskiest position of them all.  So now is the time to step up to the plate and take a swing at something.  The next time you find yourself in a situation where everyone is tlaking about what can't be done, see if this question helps move you forward:


What's the most significant action and step toward innovation that we can commit to right now?

Leadership Limerick: Letting Go

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.
 
Imagine if everyone would
Just do what you think that they should

But on any given day
It won't work that way

So thinking it will does no good

I know.  It's frustrating when people don't do what we think they should.  It would be so much easier if they did, right?  But people do things for their own reasons, in their own timeframes, and on their own terms. Despire knowing his obvious fact, we still often spend a lot of energy lamenting its reality.

We need to spend more time understanding their perspectives, not judging their shortcomings.  So change your "if only they would …" into "if only I could … "

• get a sense of what matters most to them
• appreciate what they feel holds them back
• gain insight into why these don't see what I propose as desirable
• try on their worldview for this situation

Focus on shifting your own actions rather than imposing your will on others.  Changing ourselves often is the best first step to influence others.

Toward a More Sustainable You: Alternative Belief to Consider #1

Our beliefs and mental models deeply influence the choices we perceive available to us and the expectations we need to meet.  In a new workshop entitled Toward a More Sustainable You, I've been offering four of the current beliefs that I believe inhibit our effectiveness and four alternative beliefs that, if adopted and implemented, could lead to a personal and professional life that is robust, yet more sustainable.

Each Friday in June I explore one of these beliefs and its alternative.

Belief #1:
I have to be the one to do it.


Alternative Belief #1:
I need to make sure it gets done.

It is too easy to assume too much responsibility for situations that do not require us to do so.  Yes, things have to get done, but that doesn't mean it is our job as managers or leaders to actually do all of them.  Instead our role is to ensure things get done and this means enabling others to act, one of the key commitments for extraordinary leadership outlined in The Leadership Challenge by James Kouzes and Barry Posner.

When we take responsibility in a situation where (1) it does not right belong to us, (2) we are not uniquely skilled or positioned to assume it, or (3) we will be taxed to follow-through accordingly, we do ourselves and our colleagues a disservice.  By becoming over-responsible we enable others to be under-responsible.  When others do even less to complete a project, advance an initiative, or the like, we not feel compelled to take on even more responsibility given how invested and associated we have become with the effort.  This, in turn, allows further under-responsibility from others.  This dangerous cycle is explored in Roger Martin's excellent book, The Responsibility Virus.  Download a PDF article that Martin authored about about board governance and the responsibility virus here.

So pause the next time you find yourself thinking, "I have to do this."  Think about whether or not something really needs to be done right then.  If so, be sure to consider whether or not you are the person who needs to do it.  Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Making Things Work by Design

Tom Peters has been championing the importance of design long before it was the darling of the masses.  He has an entire section of his website devoted to posts about its importance, it is mentioned widely throughout many of his books, and he has at least one publication devoted exclusively to its value.  Moreover, his own corporate graphic identity is about as crisp and as clean a design as you could ever create, simply his name followed by an exclamation point, a simple reminder of the boldness of his ideas and the energy he brings to his work.

Yet, I've always felt his slides didn't reflect the amazing value of his content. (see the sample slide from one of his recent talks).  So some time ago I Tweeted that very observation, and this was his reply: "they work in a room, which is all I care about."  Personally, I found this an interesting definition of success: they work.  I'm not 100% sure they work as well as he might think, but Peters is in good company suggesting this as a standard for success.  It's often the reply of Craig Newmark when people suggest that Craigslist could be better designed.

Whether we be an individual speaker, a presenter talking on behalf of a multi-million dollar company, or an association volunteer speaking to a group of peers, we all have to decide the standards by which we will deem our presentation a success.  At minimum, our content and any visuals we use to support it, must indeed work.  Those attending our presentation must be able to grasp the key points we are trying to make.

But for a presentation (and all that goes with it) to also work, I believe it also must reflect the principles we espouse and the values we hope to have associated with our work.  Some presenters may see this as aspirational, I see it as fundamental.  The more consistent we are in exemplifying our identity, the more people expect all of our efforts to be in alignment with our beliefs and values.

Tom Peters is one of the most intelligent, engaging, and hard-working thought leaders we are likely to ever see.  And he has been a relentless champion of the importance of design.  As long as his substance remains strong, I'll work harder to read slides whose design I find difficult or challenging.  But I'll also continue to wonder why they don't reflect the amazing visuals that you find in his books and on his web banner.

The rest of us aren't Tom Peters, and the audiences we address may not afford us the same consideration.  If our standard for what works makes them work too hard, we may not find them sticking with us … as presenters or as leaders.  While we each can set our own internal standard for what works, ultimately those who choose to follow us will make that determination for themselves.

Leadership Limerick: Putting a Price on Value

Every Monday, I offer a leadership limerick, highlighting an idea or strategy about effective leadership in limerick form. Searching for leadership limerick will identify previous posts.

Everywhere around you can see
Offers for things that are free

But while it may seem very nice

To find zero as the price

It makes you wonder what the value will be

Give something to get something.  Debates about the merits of free admission or giving away some content or product to entice individuals into membership or subsequent purchases are likely to occur forever.  Chris Anderson addresses the topic quite nicely in his book, Free, the preceding thinking for which can be found in this WIRED magazine article.   Some professional associations have attempted the freemium model in which a base level of membership and benefits is provided for free with more valuable programs and services available at higher-priced levels of affiliation.

In The Art of Pricing, author Rafi Mohammed, suggest eight pricing strategies: the nine and zero effect, payments to promote satisfaction, prestige pricing, anchor pricing, quantity suggestive pricing, larger vs. small losses, stuffing the bundle to convey value, and everyone loves a bargain.  Pricing is such a critical consideration there is an organization, The Professional Pricing Society,  devoted exclusively to its practice.

You shouldn't just play around with price.  Whatever you opt to charge for an individual program or service, make sure that:

1. it is part of a comprehensive strategic approach to value and pricing, one informed by data and not just individuals' opinions;
2. you have clear metrics in place for determining whether or not the pricing strategy is successful;
3. it is based on an understanding of what your competitors charge and their position in the marketplace; and
4. it reflects the overall brand qualities and value propositions you want people to associate with your organization and its efforts. 

In my own work,  I regularly am asked to write or speak for free in exchange for exposure or asked to reduce fees to meet an individual organization's budget constraints.  Groups making such an offer are in a stronger negotiating position if they can prove such exposure has led to subsequent engagements.  I've never had any organization follow up with me to learn what business I may have received as a result of this free trade we did for exposure.

In those few cases when I choose to vary the normal investment required for my professional services, I always invoice the fee normally associated with the services provided and then subtract the reduction as a charge against my annual pro bono contributions.  It's a small attempt to ensure the value (and what I charge for it) remains as the anchor associated with my work.

As Marco Bertini and Luc Wathieu note in their May 2010 Harvard Business Review article entitled "How to Stop Customers from Fixating on Price," there is indeed a cost to be associated with free.

"The constant undercutting to capture customers sometimes spurs efficiency gains, but more often it damages brand equity and erodes profit margins. To make matters worse, customers in these markets develop low expectations and grow disengaged: They fixate on price and lose interest in marketing communications and all but the most radical innovations."

Remember, too much discounting of individual offerings can potentially cause members or customers to discount the quality of what you are offering or the value of your organization overall.  If what you do is truly of value, you'd be wise to count the potential negative consequences if you seem to diss it in your pricing strategies.

Using 3x5 to Accomplish More 9-5

Despite being a fairly early adopter of most technology tools, I'm pretty old school in a few ways.  Perhaps no better example exists than my use of a daily index card, a habit I picked up when I was state student council president back in the dark ages.

Each day, I fill one side of a fresh index card with my appointments and list of things to do.  I leave the other side blank for action items that come up during the course of the day, ideas I want to remember, and appointments or other commitments I make.

At day's end I take a few minutes to review the card and take the necessary actions (transferring the info to another place, moving appointments to my calendar, carrying over any unfinished tasks, etc.).

While I can do all of these things on my iPod Touch, I like the functionality of the index card.  It's always powered up and can be read in almost any light.  It's lightweight, portable, and easily accessible in my pocket.

But perhaps most important, the act of reflecting at day's end and then planning for the days ahead is a brief ritual that helps me make meaning of my efforts.

Leadership Limerick: The Power of Story

A story can allow others to see
The way it's been or could be