E-nspiration

Now that I have spent some time away from the Internet, I realise how much energy and stimulation I get from it.

Jumping from blog to blog, clicking through various links, tweeting and re-tweeting (both words accepted by the blogspot spellchecker - which doesn't recognise blogspot!) about things that mattered to me. Those were the habits I developed through an unconscious connection with my mouse, a connection developed as I did most of my work on the computer, on the net.

But over the last two weeks, I have been immersed in an off-line world, even using actual scissors and tape to cut and paste. While still picking up e-mails and opening and closing Firefox, I spent most of my time writing and revising a couple of books - intended to be purchased through the net, of course.

I now realise that I haven't tweeted in a week. That I haven't blogged properly for (almost) a week. I didn't even realise that Liz Taylor died last week. Luckily I was still downloading my podcasts and found out through the NowShow. Maggie the cat died! How did I miss the death of such an icon?

But I digress (as usually happens when I surf (the net).)

It was only today that I realised why I'd lost the will to blog, the will to tweet, to contribute to the discussion groups in LinkedIn... I lacked e-spiration.

But now that I have identified what I need, no doubt I'll be back - my right hand is getting tired of holding a pen and can't wait to get back to resting on my mouse.

Making the most out of Meetings

For those of you who find yourselves in meetings regularly, I would just like to let you know that I have finished the series Strengthening the Team with the final post After the Meeting, now ready in the Unusual Connections Leadership blog.

Just click here to read it.

The Power of Stories

Something lovely happened to me yesterday. I got an e-mail from a university friend of my parents. My parents lived in Palo Alto for four years when they were in their mid-20s, from 1968 to 1972. If you consider the social environment in California then, compared to that in Spain, you can imagine the influence these four years had on the rest of their lives.

I grew up looking at the photos of them in California, with the raccoons, the Old Faithful and I also kept hearing the same names of their very close friends (also in "study exile"). So when I received an e-mail yesterday from one of them, politely asking for my parents' contact details and thinking that I probably didn't remember him, I felt a really warm feeling inside. Interesting, because I can't remember meeting him - but his presence had stayed with me for years, through my parents' stories.

I am fond of Stanford - because my parents were. I visited it once in 1988 and felt like I was home. I feel like the Robinson family were part of my life - I never met them but they provided my parents with a home away from home for some time. And I know that my lack of fear of leaving my country at quite a young age was the result of being brought up by two people who set off on an adventure themselves.

I'm glad I got that e-mail yesterday. It has made me wonder where I would be without these stories. I can't wait to continue creating some of my own.

Fomenting Transparency

I posted this in the Unusual Connections "official blog" and I just wanted to share it here too.

I would like to share with you an inspiring anecdote told by Alan Mullaly (CEO Ford Motor Company) to Peter Day in the episode of Peter Day's World of Business In Business "Back on the Road" broadcast on 30 December 2010. (The link seems to still be live, so click here to access the podcast.)


In "Back on the Road", Alan Mulally, CEO of the Ford Motor Company, explains how he built a culture of transparency and collaboration which helped him to turn around the company.
He started by pulling everyone together by organising weekly virtual meetings in a room full of TV screens which linked worldwide top managers with the home team in Detroit. Every Thursday at 7am the group still meets to develop project plans, shaping the details and sharing where everyone stands in relation to the plan.

Mulally also created a system of colour-coded charts (red, yellow and green) to show the status of the projects and identify problems, all over the world. As you can imagine, at first it was difficult to get a true picture of what was going on, as nobody seemed to want to report a problem or concern, so the charts tended to be covered in a beautiful green.

The breakthrough came during the launch period of a new model. During one of the meetings, the data was pulled together, pinned up on the walls of two rooms and on tv screens, networked around the world. All covered in green. And yet, losses of 17 billion dollars were reported.
Mulally, could not but stop the meeting and address everyone and, "in the nicest possible way" (his own words) said "Is there anything that's not going well? We're about to lose 17 billion dollars, is there anything that's not going well?"

You can imagine how the floor suddenly became the most interesting place on earth for everyone present in person and virtually, as they avoided eye contact.

The following week, Ford was getting ready for a launch in Canada. The data for the launch came up: all red. The tension could be cut with a knife. To everyone's surprise, Mulally started clapping and addressed the project leader: "That is fantastic visibility. Is there anything we can do to help you? 'Cause we know you're working on it."

And soon the other managers started to contribute to the solution by pointing out issues they've addressed before, similar problems they had solved themselves and offering other  suggestions.
Week by week the project charts became yellow, then green. And then all 320 charts became "like a rainbow" full of reds, yellows and greens. A true picture of what was going on in the company.

This is an inspiring story from a CEO ready to hear both good and bad news.From someone who truly believes that  a culture of transparency and collaboration can only be created by acknowledging that, at some point, things will not go according to plan and from someone who fully understands how to show true support during tough times to make sure the business moves forwards.

Book: The Right Fight

I first came across this book when I read an article in strategy + business, co-authored by one of the book's writers. The authors of  'Getting Tensions Right' (Ken Favaro and Saj-Nicole Joni) have found that, far from avoiding or suppressing tension in their organisations, "the most successful chief executives have an uncanny ability to turn conflict, dissent and disagreement into progress". As I am a great believer in collaboration - of the kind that includes listening to those we don't agree with and learn from their point of view - I especially welcomed the quote from Brian Pittman, former Lloyds TSB Chief Exec:

"You need real disagreement first to get true agreement later."

Not all tensions are productive and of course, not all fights are worth fighting, and that is precisely where 'The Right Fight - -how great leaders use healthy conflict to drive performance, innovation and value', comes in.

The book will be really useful for all those wanting to instigate change in their organisation or needing to fight for what they believe in. It will also be of interest to assess the challenges we come across in life.

The Right Fight is full of case studies - and I am glad to say that those mentioned in the s + b article are not all included, making the article an interesting complement to the work of Saj-Nicole Joni and Damon Beyer, and not just a summary of the book.  Some of the case studies are inspirational stories of success, where individuals and teams have turned around organisations. Others can serve as  warnings - when individuals have not been able to see beyond their own points of view and egos.

What struck me most about the case studies, was the range of organisations and projects featured: from usual suspects such as Dell and General Electric, through the Acumen Fund and the Oval Office, to The Lion King Broadway show. And in case the reader has difficulty in relating to the leaders at the top of their game, the authors end the first part of the book with the story of Jack, a middle manager, a story which "takes into account the human side of what it requires to engage in right fights".

The book begins with examples of fights not worth fighting for and of "right fights fought wrong". The learning points from the case studies go right to the heart of leadership. For example,

"The role of Harvard's president must be to create an environment where other smart people want to be present, where there is openness to differing views and real collegial give and take when decisions need to happen."

Part Two consists of 'The Right Fight Decision Principles' - how to identify whether a fight is worth fighting. (The book ends with a list of questions to help you identify the right fight, which might come in handy if you lose a sense of perspective or can no longer look at the problem with fresh eyes.)

1. Make it Material.
What's a stake needs to matter.

2. Focus on the future, not the past.
It is important to dissect the past only with a view to improving the future.

"Beyond blame and accountability, there is the excitement of possibility."

3. Pursue a noble purpose.
Go back to basics, what is this organisation for?

Following the principles which a right fight must follow, the authors suggest the best rules to apply during the fight.

A) Make it sport, not war.

"Most companies tend to conceal or smooth over deep divides in the mistaken belief that the appearance of unity is the best way to get business done. It is far more productive, however, when an effective referee uses the energy present in the tensions between opposing viewpoints to move things forward."

B) Structure formally but work informally.
The importance of professional relationships based on expertise and trust and not hierarchy.

C) Turn pain into gain.
This last point highlights the importance of knowing team members as individuals, to make sure those who lose the fight also benefit from the results in some way. This chapter is also a good reminder of the need to "figure out how to set the bar high enough to require people to stretch, but not so high they have no hope of clearing it."

I would recommend this book: it is a good reminder that right fights are worth fighting for, that they involve listening to a range of people around us and above all, that they take time.

"Executives who engage in right fights constantly balance the tension between what's good for their team member's performance and what's good for the company as a whole."