Credibility Zone

we are all bound by our choices, past and present, and by our beliefs.  our only freedom from this cage is our imagination and innovation.  beliefs are necessary for survival, but in business they can blind us from the change that is so necessary to that very same survival.

when i work with a client on the development of a business strategy, we are often initially bound in by the beliefs of the client.  even if the developed strategy is extremely viable and even potentially visionary for that industry, it can often prove to be unsalable to the client.  why; because of a presentation and opportunity discussion that was not within the belief framework of the client.

our belief system can often fence us in so that we cannot entertain the possibility of an inflection point change in our business; even if that inflection can possibly make the difference between long-term success or a slow death for the company.

so how do you get the client to open their mind and possibly accept a path that could prove to be extremely profitable for them and their company.  the answer is that you begin with an understanding;  an understanding of management's values, beliefs, and experiences.  this is why i like to spend social "out of the office" time with my clients.  because it is in those periods of life where a clients values and beliefs become the most visible.  

once you understand the beliefs you need further to understand that beliefs are firm, but not perfectly rigid. all beliefs have a "credibility zone" around them where the client can still hold on to the spirit of their belief while at the same time moving left or right to some extent.

so what i am saying is that before you get all excited about the great strategy that you helped develop, think about the clients beliefs (the instincts and experiences that are guiding them every day in their business decisions) and frame the description and delivery of the strategy presentation within the credibility zone of their beliefs.  you are not changing or destroying the strategy, just framing the delivery within the belief framework of the client.

in other words think deeply and critically before speaking and begin with an understanding.

Change + Stability

as i have said many times, we live in a word of change -- constant change, every day of our lives

as a business leader we experience that change every day in every market and across ever customer segment.  we often talk about building companies that not only adapt to the change, but learn to anticipate it and to capitalize upon it

so we are all very aware of change, but we often forget about stability; the stability that forms the platform, the strength and the energy to support all of that change

without stability we cannot live with, adapt, nor capitalize upon change.  so where does that stability come from?

it comes from strong, convincing, open leadership
it comes from a corporate mission which is consistent, clear, and well understood by every professional in the company
it comes from values; corporate values that become an everyday way of thinking, life, and operation
it comes from customer delivery of products and services that exceed expected standards each and every time

so stability and change are yin/yang; very different, but both very necessary

want your professionals to always out-perform in a turbulent and ever change world -- give them stability -- and no that is not a contradiction in terms

Today's Professional Role

Today’s Business Professional Success Model

The Rules of the Road

1.       Understand your company’s values and share them with every person every day; understand the values of each member of your work team in your company

2.       Always strive to belong to or help create one of the top 2 to 3 companies in a value space (see definition is earlier entries) – business success will follow

3.       Your goal is to become a trusted partner/counselor of senior management – good things will then follow and selling yourself will become unnecessary

4.       Make an investment in understanding the business challenges your company is facing now and will likely face in the future

5.       Be present; observe with your eyes and ears what is happening within your company’s businesses, not just what is complained about

6.       Obsess around company impact – so what value did I or we as a team add this month?

7.       Forward think around what value you can add to your company’s business – if you don’t make senior management uncomfortable sometimes, you are not pushing the envelope enough

8.       Have a thoughtful contribution to every business meeting – never go to a meeting unprepared or to one that does not have an agenda

9.       No surprises – business meeting, prepare, prepare, prepare – not only your team, but senior management also – no surprises

10.   Whether you know it or not, you are an information technology professional today (at least to some extent) – lack of functional information technology knowledge today is a career killer

11.   Technology is not the vision or the answer – seamless business/technology innovation is

12.   Before you answer management’s technology question, begin with a business understanding of what is driving the question

13.   Be honest with your management, even to the point of polite dissent – it’s your duty

14.   Make your work transformative and high impact – tell management something that makes them think differently about their business

15. Never define your role exclusively by the wording of a contract or agreement  -- seek out opportunities to help your company outside of your defined duties – what about your supervisor’s important upcoming meeting, how can you help her excel

16.  Pay for and reward staff performance, not hours, sales or events – cross pollinate team thinking

With a history of value, you are unlikely to be displaced

Fear

i have never begun any business strategy without some measure of apprehension -- almost fear

the questions that spawn the apprehension are many;
who is this client -- really?
how does the company function in reality; not how the org chart says it should
how do they think?
what are their foregone conclusions?
where is there ego
what data/facts will be open and what will take extra work to discover?

you would think that after 30 years of in-depth and ever changing, cross-industry strategy experience the fear would go away -- but it doesn't

so what is the message -- it's that fear doesn't go away, we must just face it and move forward

the second message is to have an "empty mind", no foregone conclusions, and to let the data speak.

if you don't know the answer yet; that means that you don't have enough input -- dig more, ask more questions -- probe client minds

when you have the input (data), just read and study it, listen and think.  let the data speak and the answer will become visible