Posted by
Ron Price on Monday, June 30, 2008 at 6:53 AM
Categories:
Leadership Development,
Executive Coaching,
Performance
One of my favorite weekend activities is reading. When I allow inquisitiveness to overrule my childish desire to finish one book before starting another, I like to read from several related books simultaneously. This weekend was one of those times. I moved back and forth from several different books exploring something I refer to as “quantum” leadership. It is based on synthesizing and applying much of what has been learned over the past two decades about quantum physics, quantum mechanics, and systems thinking. One of the most important aspects of quantum theory is that the relationship between the parts is more important than the parts. Here is one of the excerpts from my reading that is most stimulating to me in my own exploration of leadership:
“We tried for many years to avoid the messiness and complexity of being human, and now that denial is coming back to haunt us. We keep failing to create the outcomes and changes we need in organizations because we continue to deny that ‘the human element’ is anything but a ‘soft’ and not-to-be-taken-seriously minor distraction. We barely manage to survive the seemingly endless procession of organizational change fads and new ideas, each of which promises to make organizations more effective. CEOs acknowledge that about three-fourths of these efforts have failed. This terrible record of failure is, in my estimation, due to approaches that are predominantly technical and mechanistic. New technology is purchased; new organization charts are drawn; new training classes are offered. But most human dynamics are completely ignored: our need to trust one another, our need for meaningful work, our desire to contribute and be thanked for that contribution, our need to participate in changes that affect us.”
“Beyond the fads that have swept through large organizations, think of all the contemporary leadership problems that are variations on the theme that we don’t know how to work together. We struggle to help teams form quickly and work effectively. We struggle to learn how to work with the uniqueness that we call diversity. We are terrified of the emotions aroused by conflict, loss, love. In all of these struggles, it is being human that creates the problem. We have not yet learned how to be together. I believe we have been kept apart by three primary Western cultural beliefs: individualism, competition, and a mechanistic world view. Western culture, even as it continues to influence people everywhere, has not prepared us to work together in this new world of relationships. And we don’t even know that we lack these skills. In a simple example of the difficulties created by this ignorance, many MBA graduates who’ve been in the field a few years report that they wish they had focused more on organizational behavior and people skills while in school.”
“Leadership and the New Science – Discovering Order in a Chaotic World”, Margaret J. Wheatley
This hits close to the core of why Price Associates exists. We are explorers, along side our clients, to help discover new opportunities in a changing world.
Posted by
Ron Price on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 1:56 PM
Categories:
Leadership Development,
Executive Coaching,
Performance
I met with a great company this morning that is growing by leaps and bounds (who says there is a recession going on?) This company was started close to 10 years ago and they will generate revenue in excess of $100 million this year. The key to their success is also the greatest challenge they now face.
In the beginning stages, most companies succeed or fail based on the vision, passion and will-power of an entrepreneur. If they succeed the early years and grow, this same energy that was the key to survival can easily become the greatest limitation to continued growth. The problem: dynamic entrepreneurs can only carry the company so far and eventually the weight of their success begins to wear them out, or build a prison of their own making. The business depends on their decisions, their active involvement, and their motivation to continue its success. The problem is that growth creates more work and demand for decision making, energy and discipline than one person can provide. Initially, entrepreneurs work to solve this by adding “administrative assistants,” even when they give them titles like Vice President or Operations Manager. The title might sound like a decision maker, but the reality is that important decisions are still made by a solo practitioner at the top.
Smart entrepreneurs recognize this challenge and begin re-thinking their leadership role. They nurture others to take responsibility for performance, they learn to identify and develop leadership talent and they begin shifting their focus toward creating future success through wisdom and talents of others. They empower professional managers to build infrastructure, create systems and develop plans, all while avoiding a new set of organizational dangers; complacency, entitlement and bureaucracy.
It is a challenging journey, but many have successfully navigated this transition to a more professional, stable management style while not losing the energy, passion and uniqueness that brought their early success. The company I visited today is struggling with these realities and carefully laying the foundation for the next generation of success.
Posted by
Ron Price on Saturday, April 12, 2008 at 11:07 AM
Categories:
Leadership Development,
Performance
Last weekend I spent two days with my “mastermind group.” This is a group of peers that meets four times a year to share our ideas, resources, and to spur one another on in growing our businesses. I left our meetings with so much appreciation for our friendships and the depth of experience that I am privileged to tap into through this group. Our combined businesses cover the U.S. and our leadership experiences exceed 150 years (that’s a lot of mistakes to learn from along the way!) Our group is made up an electrical engineer turned organizational growth specialist, a consulting psychologist, a serial entrepreneur, a brilliant theoretical strategist, and me (still trying to figure out what I am!)
In a prior time, we may have viewed each other as competitors. Instead, now we recognize that we can learn a lot from each other and that those we serve can only be benefited by our relationships. One of the most enjoyable parts of each meeting is browsing through one another’s libraries (we rotate at our various businesses across the country). I always walk away remembering afresh the quote of Charlie “Tremendous” Jones – “You are the same person today you will be five years from now except for two things—the people you meet and the books you read.”
Posted by
Ron Price on Tuesday, April 01, 2008 at 8:34 PM
Categories:
Strategic Planning
Should I or shouldn’t I participate…in the recession.
I’m not sure whether we are really in a recession. Obviously, the media is convinced we are and there are some statistics that point that way—but the unemployment rate doesn’t line up with recession talk. And productivity continues to improve…so are we or aren’t we in a recession?
I have noticed that many people are in a “psychological” recession no matter what the real numbers are. However, I’m also hearing lots of good news. New businesses, record turnouts at Chamber events, rapid growth at our local Better Business Bureau…and happy, smiling farmers because of the great run commodities are having.
All of this to raise the question, “When there IS a recession does that mean everyone should put on a long face and accept the inevitable?” Or is it possible that we can “choose” to avoid a recession in our own business? Are there opportunities during an economic slowdown to actually increase our advantage? (Starbucks experienced dramatic growth during the last recession because they had a strategy for how to take advantage of the external realities.) What if we could innovate in such a way that our businesses grew more during a recession than when everything is going well? I’m excited about working with businesses that “choose” to opt out of the recession and to find new opportunities while others are singing the blues.
That is how I plan to respond to the current economic circumstances. I continue to believe Napoleon Hill’s quote, “Every problem or adversity has contained within it a seed of equivalent or greater benefit.” So, I’m looking for those seeds and I’m going to plant lots of them! I hope you will too!
Posted by
Ron Price on Saturday, January 19, 2008 at 2:58 PM
Categories:
Leadership Development,
Performance
Performance appraisals—most organizations do them but few, if any, enjoy them. Usually, performance appraisals are an HR-driven process intended to create an objective analysis and development plan for each individual’s work performance. In addition, performance appraisals often trigger increases in compensation. They can include a number of components, from supervisor-driven appraisals to co-worker input and personal evaluations by the person being appraised. But what about performance management systems for executives, and particularly for business owners, presidents and CEOs?
We have several experiences working with top management and governing boards on compensation and performance, and it is rare when we see a balanced, meaningful and invigorating process evaluating and driving executive performance. Even large organizations often fail to develop an effective approach and they often revert back to politics, arm twisting and adversarial discussions when dealing with executive performance. In some instances, the governing boards surrender to the direction of the chief executive because they have never received the training or resources to conduct effective evaluations of the executives they oversee. This is a shame when considering the significance of an executive’s performance in determining the overall success of an organization. It may also be part of the cause for the wide disparities that exist in executive compensation today.
How do you define superior performance at the executive level? How do you measure it, plan for it in the future, and maintain a proactive relationship with the executives that drive your organizational results? These are significant questions to be answered by anyone who cares about sustained success in any business.