BrandYou! Public Workshop on May 15-16  Designed by the tompeters!company, BrandYou: Inspired Performance presents the branding buzz in a fun but full two day format. BrandYou: Inspired Performance features a mix of engaging education, thought-provoking exercises, revealing assessments, compelling case studies, and more. Participants are led on an exciting, self-discovering quest incorporating video, audio, and the internet. Exclusive footage of Tom Peters at his best is integrated throughout. BrandYou: Inspired Performace is truly unlike any other training program available today. For more information on this rare public offering, please contact Shannon at 617-242-5522, or shannonsullivan@tompeters.com. To register for the event, click here. |
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Necessary Evil Acid-tongued Lucy Kellaway, whose column, "Business Life," is the first thing I turn to in the Monday Financial Times, allows as how she thought my somewhat well known Fast Company article, " The Brand Called You, " (cover picture above—ed) was "one of the ghastliest, most irritating articles on management ever written." Well, that does certify impact on a discerning reader. Now, a decade later, she still considers it "ghastly." But acknowledges, in a very amusing riff yesterday, that it may be a ghastly necessity. I guess that's progress. See for yourself. Posted by Tom on 3/27/2007 on www.tompeters.com |
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Purpose Beyond Profit As an adult, I have lived and worked in three types of organizations. In the military as an officer; in a large corporation as an area then regional operations manager; and now in a small consulting firm as ... well ... a jack of all trades! Only one of the three, in my experience, has suffered significantly from a disabling lack of clarity of purpose—the large corporation. I believe there is a link between this and the fact that most large corporations "Fail to achieve their potential." As the father of a three year old boy, I dread the day he announces that he wants to invest his talent, time and energy into—a large corporation. I believe that 'large' is doomed to mediocrity not due to size—but because of the inherent inability of 'large' to generate a strong sense of common purpose in the organization, beyond making money for it's stakeholders. I believe we as humans search for a meaningful purpose in everything we do. We are at our very best when we find it. My simple business hypothesis is based on the fact that when humans are at their best (i.e. are purposeful); they run/work in extraordinarily successful businesses. So, it turns out the leader's primary job is not to be a clever strategist or a brilliant technician (let alone control freak), but to help people find a clear sense of purpose (not revenue targets!) in the work they do. Profit will follow from this, not lead it. For many, despite the material perks and relative comfort, corporate life adds up to the kind of purposeless existence that I would hate anyone I cared about to live in. (Doubt this? Please read The Living Dead: Switched Off, Zoned Out - The Shocking Truth About Office Life by David Bolchover.) Abraham Maslow would say that in the absence of a stronger sense of shared purpose, self-interest (i.e. anything from survival to self actualization) prevails in decision making. You may well observe this in the behaviors of those around you. The converse of this is illustrated for us almost daily in a terrifying way by suicide bombers. If you believe (as I do) that everyone comes to work wanting to do a good job, you have to question why they (we!) tend to under perform as leaders when getting people to strive for a common aspiration. Unsurprisingly, I get a strongly defensive reaction when I talk about this to business leaders. One retorted " Yes but who is leading me?" To me this reply brought in to sharp relief the burden of leadership. As a leader, you have to be a self starter on purpose—finding meaning where none is apparent. You can't inspire unless you are inspired. So, if you are not inspired, it's your duty as a leader to discover it or disappear. If you can't/won't do this, the vacuum of purpose caused by your poor leadership will be rapidly filled with self interested behavior of those around you. Their purpose at work becomes self-promotion by playing the corporate game. Winning looks like promotions and pay rises. Their colleagues become 'the enemy'. Their boss (you) becomes a gatekeeper to be manipulated (when did you last hear the unvarnished truth from them?). Talking a good game, burying the truth, diverting blame, not making the decision, exercising the power of the org chart etc...etc. Of course I'm exaggerating to make the point, but not by much ... strip away the thin veneer of civility by announcing post merger job losses (for example) and unleash the dogs... Here's another reason 'large' is doomed. Large corporations are ideally structured to insulate the individual from any sense of anxiety about the market in which they operate. That's always someone else's problem. In doing so, they fritter away one important opportunity to align their people. Making the competitor threat feel more real will drive people to be more collaborative & entrepreneurial. They will start to fear the competition more than the boss. That's a good thing. I'm not suggesting we should align people with fear. History has proved this to be a short term strategy. For centuries, politicians have exaggerated the threat (nuclear annihilation and terrorism to name two contemporary examples) to their nation, while at the same time offering a solution to that threat. It makes us malleable subjects, not free citizens. However we eventually rebel ... watch out George, Tony, Gordon et al ... A far more powerful and enduring way is to align people with a purpose beyond profit, with a hope that their endeavors at work are meaningful in the big scheme of things. It's not as if we are short of opportunities to make positive changes to our world, is it? Chris Nel Lead Scout tompeters!company |
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Cool Friends  Robyn Waters is the former vice president of trend, design, and product development at Target. She now has a consulting firm, RW Trend, through which she advises companies on how to track and translate trends into sales and profit. Robyn is the author of The Hummer and the Mini: Navigating the Contradictions of the New Trend Landscape You can read her Cool Friends interview here. |
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Be An Engaged Follower In the book, Lessons From the Top: The Search for America's Best Business Leaders, Howard Schultz, the CEO of Starbucks, made the following observation: "Give people an opportunity to really be engaged." Employees really want to know how to be great followers. Here are some guidelines for those who sign on to follow. Have vision. Join in the leader's vision. Paint a picture with words that describes it for you. Ask others to describe the leader's vision in their own words, the vision of the company. How close is it? Are you on the same page as the leader? As you work, think about your company's vision. It needs to be on your mind every day, and reevaluated occasionally so that it stays current with the changing times in which we live. And remember, your leader needs to be just as involved as you in keeping your personal vision of your company up to date. Develop character. Without character, a follower has limitations—and may not learn how to play a critical role for moving the company forward and supporting their leaders. Without character, you are a burden to your organization. The real question is...are you aware of just what role you as a follower play? All great followers have taken steps to learn about their individual personality and what part it plays in their follower's style. So what's your follower's style? Find out—ask your teammates. "Just do it," as the Nike ad would say, and see how you rate with them. It's a good way to do a "character check" on yourself and your skills as a follower. Then, once you've asked these questions, answer for yourself, "Do I have the best follower's character? Does it match what the teammates are telling me?" If you feel the traits don't match who you think you are, then look a little deeper and be honest with yourself. Sometimes our first response is defensive. You might want to assess yourself with a different type of profile and then compare the results. So, are you a great follower? Or do you have the desire to become one? Remember, a great follower is someone who has a clear vision and purpose for their work and can turn that vision into a vivid picture that others can see. When you speak about your vision, it should be with a passion you feel in your heart; a passion that creates so much enthusiasm that your teammates will want to jump on board with you. Live passion. Your leader wants to see their employees' passion and courage for the adventure that the company has undertaken. Don't hide it. An extraordinary team will want to light the "fire in their bellies," to get themselves to feel passionate about the company and connect to the leader's vision. Passion is such a key part of connecting to a great leader. If you don't have it, your leader cannot inspire it. Think of all the great leaders throughout the ages who had followers willing to be inspired to experience their passion. These followers have courage and passion. It is infectious: When you talk about your own personal vision for the company, let your passion for your vision shine through. Others will feel it and recreate their vision so it's connected to the leader's passion. Make decisions. How do followers make decisions? Do they wait on the leader? Does their passion and courage show up in the decision making process? Some followers define a set process, and others fly by the seat of their pants. But don't you want to be one of those followers who make sure the leader experiences greatness? Become a decision maker using the 4 "B's": Be quick, but not hasty. Be committed to your decision, but not rigid. Be analytical, but don't over-analyze. Be thoughtful about all concerned, but don't be obsessive. When major decisions need to be made, encourage everyone to be responsible for his or her own actions. This way you are always growing, personally and professionally. Create teams. To become a great follower, you must develop a great sense of team playing—a sense that engulfs candor, courage and again passion. You can start this by sharing responsibility with your teammates. Be a team leader; make decisions and just do it. When projects aren't on track or your team is falling behind on deadline, rise to the occasion; be courageous and inspire confidence in your team. Alter plans and make new ones. Great followers know how to use their humor to keep the team's spirits up during a crisis. When an emergency hits, your team will look to you as the team leader who is also a source of strength as a successful and true follower. Have Fun. Followers know how to kick it up a notch. They work hard and play hard. It is a source of great power. Juli Ann Reynolds President & CEO tompeters!company |
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