In an effort to educate our children on the horror of the holocaust, many teachers are having the students read "Night" by Elie Wiesel. The book is a disturbing memoir of his experience in the concentration camps. I am always surprised however, that they do not have them read an equally important book "Man's Search for Meaning" by Victor Frankl. Frankl was a psychiatrist who also endured the horrors of concentration camps,(the same one in fact) and ended up developing a psychiatric treatment approach (logo therapy) as a result.
It is important to read both accounts not because of their common horrific experience, but because their respective works are great examples of how such an experience can make a person view the world. Wiesel's book is documentary in its effect and leaves the reader with a very dim and hopeless view of mankind. Frankl's account does not sugar coat the events or his experience but he made a decision (in his estimation the reason for his survival) to live in hope and love and thereby discover a true meaningful existence. Wouldn't everyone benefit from reading such a powerful witnesses of hope?
Friday, April 3, 2009
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Directing your passion for better organizations
I have been thinking a lot about the dangers of misdirected passion these days. I am a Boy Scout leader and every year we have new scouts and their parents become part of the troop. When there is a large number of people with a lot of energy and excitement that join it is always exciting. I have learned a hard lesson however. Where there is passion there is also going to be some disagreement. If that passion is not managed during the disagreement then there is great potential for dysfunction. If the energy for change from the new members (which ought to be welcomed) is seen as a threat or an insult, then there will be resistance from the existing leadership. If that energy and excitement for change is not presented in the right way then the existing leadership can end up being insulted and resistant to the change.
It made me think of the following Scout analogy. Building a fire requires several things: a spark, tinder, kindling and fuel. The spark lights the tinder and the kindling provides the ability to maintain the fire until fuel can be successfully added to sustain the fire. Watching boys learn this I often find them trying to light kindling or fuel with the spark. It is frustrating and unsuccessful. Building organizations is very similar. All organizations need that spark of new energy and enthusiasm to keep the organization fresh and healthy. But if that energy and enthusiasm is not properly applied then there are a lot of sparks and friction but no fire. The new energy and excitement has to be carefully applied and targeted so that it catches and provides the foundation for the sustained growth everyone is trying to achieve. Just as you can't light a log with a spark you can't change an organization overnight. Be patient, build the relationships and be sure that you desire for change is motivated by the betterment of the organization and not the promotion of you own agenda or your desire to "save the organization".
It made me think of the following Scout analogy. Building a fire requires several things: a spark, tinder, kindling and fuel. The spark lights the tinder and the kindling provides the ability to maintain the fire until fuel can be successfully added to sustain the fire. Watching boys learn this I often find them trying to light kindling or fuel with the spark. It is frustrating and unsuccessful. Building organizations is very similar. All organizations need that spark of new energy and enthusiasm to keep the organization fresh and healthy. But if that energy and enthusiasm is not properly applied then there are a lot of sparks and friction but no fire. The new energy and excitement has to be carefully applied and targeted so that it catches and provides the foundation for the sustained growth everyone is trying to achieve. Just as you can't light a log with a spark you can't change an organization overnight. Be patient, build the relationships and be sure that you desire for change is motivated by the betterment of the organization and not the promotion of you own agenda or your desire to "save the organization".
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Hope
- “F” bombing governor looking for payoffs
- Shoe throwing reporters
- Wal-Mart employee crushed to death at a door buster event
- Large corporations guilty of mismanagement (at least) seeking government assistance to prevent a more drastic economic disaster while
- Many honest hard working people find themselves out of work with no “bail out” option
If ever the words of the Christmas Carol “O Come O Come Emanuel” made any sense they certainly do today.
So why should we be hopeful? The principal that makes it clear that prosperity will not last forever also makes it clear that economic crises will not last forever.
How can we be hopeful? Let’s start moving toward solutions to this situation. I don’t mean waiting for the government to do something. It will be impossible for it to design something effective for every community. Think of what you can do locally to solve this. Can you spare some time with a local job club helping with networking or resume review or job interview practice? Can you give time to a food pantry or shelter? What about your next door neighbor? See if you can do something without expecting a return for your effort.
I bet you will be surprised at how hopeful you become.
Monday, November 17, 2008
The Challenge of Corporate Social Responsibility
CSR Challenges
I have been reading up on Corporate Social Responsibility and found the most practical commentary in the following article. It is worth the time to read the entire thing but I thought I would offer the following summary.
Strategy & Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility. By: Porter, Michael E., Kramer, Mark R., Harvard Business Review, 00178012, Dec2006, Vol. 84, Issue 12
The challenges of balancing a company’s obligation to its owners, customers, employees, the environment and the community in which it operates makes this question an understandably difficult. In order to keep this initiative from becoming a complete waist of time or worse a public relations disaster inside and outside the company it is important to start with some basic considerations:
Why are you doing it?
This is the most important question to ask first, because unless you have a compelling reason, it will be impossible to get anyone inside the company to pay attention to it. Everyone has more than enough to do without being saddled with another initiative that lacks the clarity and company benefit of every other activity the company is working on.
What makes the most sense to do?
There are so many activities that can be considered ‘Corporate Responsibility Initiatives’ that you could spend years determining what to do. Begin by focusing on what the biggest challenges in your business are from a cost perspective. Process improvements in this area are likely to make your company more efficient, generate less waist and therefore less cost. This contributes to one of the largest contributions a business makes to society: JOBS! These process improvements will end up reducing waist in almost every area from energy consumption, solid waist generation, to labor costs. An efficient business is stable and contributes work opportunities, tax revenue for the community in which it operates and provides products or services that meet genuine needs of individuals, businesses and communities.
It does not make sense to work on something that is not related to your business. Studies have found that companies that attempt this are not always successful making cost improvements and do not even get a public relations benefit. For instance, carbon emissions are something that all companies might be concerned with, but some are more able to affect it than others. A global consulting company that has employees flying weekly to and from client work sites has a much bigger opportunity to impact this environmental concern than a web based business. Here it is critical for the employees to set the priority. They are the most able to determine where the biggest opportunities are and how they can best be achieved. Stakeholders outside the company are important to listen to as well but they will never be able to understand the company’s abilities and opportunities as well as those engaged in running the company on a daily basis. Nevertheless, it will be important to keep employees focused on a set of achievable and measurable goals in this regard.
Can you measure it?
If you want this effort to generate any results you will need to help keep the effort focused. It is here that you can employ all of the things you learned in the TQM craze of the 80s. Not only must there be a way to measure progress, there must also be some time boundaries. Measuring the effort will need to be objective and have realistic timeframes if you hope to get any stakeholder to see the value. So every effort should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time bound. If the pendulum swings too far and you have a host of committees working on social initiative at the expense of the company’s core activities then clearly there is a problem. Such a loss of focus will end up putting the entire company at risk. The social impact of a failed business to the employees and the larger community are far greater than the social initiatives that it might undertake.
In the Log Term
Initiating such an effort should not be a fad as it will end up making the company look insincere, and there are plenty of cases where that has backfired. Studies have shown that the CSR efforts require a long term commitment to be effective. As employees and customers become more attuned to these issues the company will need to be able to balance this concern with the responsibility to make a profit for its owners. It is possible to do all of this if there is a reasoned thoughtful approach that focuses on a shared value. If companies choose initiatives they know a great deal about they stand to make a much bigger and long term beneficial impact than a charity, or government could do.
I have been reading up on Corporate Social Responsibility and found the most practical commentary in the following article. It is worth the time to read the entire thing but I thought I would offer the following summary.
Strategy & Society: The Link Between Competitive Advantage and Corporate Social Responsibility. By: Porter, Michael E., Kramer, Mark R., Harvard Business Review, 00178012, Dec2006, Vol. 84, Issue 12
The challenges of balancing a company’s obligation to its owners, customers, employees, the environment and the community in which it operates makes this question an understandably difficult. In order to keep this initiative from becoming a complete waist of time or worse a public relations disaster inside and outside the company it is important to start with some basic considerations:
Why are you doing it?
This is the most important question to ask first, because unless you have a compelling reason, it will be impossible to get anyone inside the company to pay attention to it. Everyone has more than enough to do without being saddled with another initiative that lacks the clarity and company benefit of every other activity the company is working on.
What makes the most sense to do?
There are so many activities that can be considered ‘Corporate Responsibility Initiatives’ that you could spend years determining what to do. Begin by focusing on what the biggest challenges in your business are from a cost perspective. Process improvements in this area are likely to make your company more efficient, generate less waist and therefore less cost. This contributes to one of the largest contributions a business makes to society: JOBS! These process improvements will end up reducing waist in almost every area from energy consumption, solid waist generation, to labor costs. An efficient business is stable and contributes work opportunities, tax revenue for the community in which it operates and provides products or services that meet genuine needs of individuals, businesses and communities.
It does not make sense to work on something that is not related to your business. Studies have found that companies that attempt this are not always successful making cost improvements and do not even get a public relations benefit. For instance, carbon emissions are something that all companies might be concerned with, but some are more able to affect it than others. A global consulting company that has employees flying weekly to and from client work sites has a much bigger opportunity to impact this environmental concern than a web based business. Here it is critical for the employees to set the priority. They are the most able to determine where the biggest opportunities are and how they can best be achieved. Stakeholders outside the company are important to listen to as well but they will never be able to understand the company’s abilities and opportunities as well as those engaged in running the company on a daily basis. Nevertheless, it will be important to keep employees focused on a set of achievable and measurable goals in this regard.
Can you measure it?
If you want this effort to generate any results you will need to help keep the effort focused. It is here that you can employ all of the things you learned in the TQM craze of the 80s. Not only must there be a way to measure progress, there must also be some time boundaries. Measuring the effort will need to be objective and have realistic timeframes if you hope to get any stakeholder to see the value. So every effort should be SMART: Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time bound. If the pendulum swings too far and you have a host of committees working on social initiative at the expense of the company’s core activities then clearly there is a problem. Such a loss of focus will end up putting the entire company at risk. The social impact of a failed business to the employees and the larger community are far greater than the social initiatives that it might undertake.
In the Log Term
Initiating such an effort should not be a fad as it will end up making the company look insincere, and there are plenty of cases where that has backfired. Studies have shown that the CSR efforts require a long term commitment to be effective. As employees and customers become more attuned to these issues the company will need to be able to balance this concern with the responsibility to make a profit for its owners. It is possible to do all of this if there is a reasoned thoughtful approach that focuses on a shared value. If companies choose initiatives they know a great deal about they stand to make a much bigger and long term beneficial impact than a charity, or government could do.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Are you really helping?
One of the traps that is easy for a consultant or a mentor to fall into is of letting our expertise on a subject make us forget our role. We are hired or consulted to help. Kierkegaard made a very astute observation that is easy to overlook in these situations. He said a helper is a servant not a sovereign. Whether you are asked to lead or suport it is important that the client is ultimately the one deciding your role in the process.
If we are honest about our own experience we seldom want someone to tell us exactly what to do. We want someone to listen and help root out things that might have been overlooked.
It is presumptuous of us to assume we can know more about a particular situation and its intricacies as the newest resource at the table. Better to listen and ask questions than to prescribe a formula or process before you understand the situation and its challenges.
If we are honest about our own experience we seldom want someone to tell us exactly what to do. We want someone to listen and help root out things that might have been overlooked.
It is presumptuous of us to assume we can know more about a particular situation and its intricacies as the newest resource at the table. Better to listen and ask questions than to prescribe a formula or process before you understand the situation and its challenges.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Is your business leaking revenue?
No matter what stage your business is in there is always a risk that revenue is leaking. If you are a startup, the pressures to acquire and retain customers may lead you to engage in business practices that greatly increase your overall risk. If you are past the startup stage your business may have outgrown the basic processes you established to get it up and running. If you are a long established business you may have been lulled into business practices that are just not efficient and therefore are costing you money you should not have to spend. Or, (scarier) you may have employees or vendors that are taking advantage or outright stealing from you. It is always a good idea to take time to evaluate what you are doing and how it is being done to be sure that you are not leaking revenue.
Purchasing:
Are you really getting the best deal on the recurring expenses that are necessary to run your business? Have you analyzed the cost of supplies, mail, phone services over time? Do you know what it would cost you to move an office should the rent rise too much? Does your bank provide the services you need at a price that is competitive? Are you paying too much for credit card services?
Processes:
Are there processes that are too centralized giving one person a lot of control with little oversight? Is there someone who never seems to be able to take time off and who never shares the processes they do with others? Some assume it is a way to promote job security, but it is also a warning sign of potential fraud. Have you taken time to talk to the people who actually do the tasks within a given process? Chances are they have a lot of ideas on how to do it more efficiently. What kind of reporting do you do? Can you measure any of the processes you do?
These are just a few basic things you can do to get a sense of your revenue risk. I would be delighted to learn more about your business and the challenges that may make these things hard to do. Send me a note!
Purchasing:
Are you really getting the best deal on the recurring expenses that are necessary to run your business? Have you analyzed the cost of supplies, mail, phone services over time? Do you know what it would cost you to move an office should the rent rise too much? Does your bank provide the services you need at a price that is competitive? Are you paying too much for credit card services?
Processes:
Are there processes that are too centralized giving one person a lot of control with little oversight? Is there someone who never seems to be able to take time off and who never shares the processes they do with others? Some assume it is a way to promote job security, but it is also a warning sign of potential fraud. Have you taken time to talk to the people who actually do the tasks within a given process? Chances are they have a lot of ideas on how to do it more efficiently. What kind of reporting do you do? Can you measure any of the processes you do?
These are just a few basic things you can do to get a sense of your revenue risk. I would be delighted to learn more about your business and the challenges that may make these things hard to do. Send me a note!
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