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Attributes of World Class Leadership Capability
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Bob Cancalosi GE Crotonville Director of GE Customer Education May 14th, 2015
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Imagination at work
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“The ability to learn faster than your competition may be the only sustainable competitive advantage that you can ever achieve”
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Underlying Premise on Leadership
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Peter Senge – The Fifth Discipline 2
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What You Do
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observations
World’s Best Leadership Companies Rankings
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~ 300 Global GE Customer CEO’s in past 3 years
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# 1 - Top Companies for Leaders, Aon Hewitt #1 - Leadership 500 Excellence Awards, HR.com #1 - Best Companies for Leaders, Chief Executive & The Chally Group #2 - Best Companies for Leadership, Hay Group
What I Think
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What I Read
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What I Hear
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Perspectives on Leadership
29 Years of Global GE Perspective
What’s the 1 thing? 3
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Top 2015 Companies for Leadership 1. General Electric
1. General Electric
2. IBM
2. IBM
3. Unilever
3. P&G
4. General Mills
4. EMC Insurance
5. ICICI Bank
5. Verizon
6. P&G
6. VF Corporation
6. Intel
7. Colgate-Palmolive
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Aon Hewitt & Fortune CEO Magazine & Chally Hay Group & Business Week
7. Southwest Airlines
7. McDonalds
8. Wipro
8. Samsung
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9. Novartis
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2. General Electric
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8. 3M
3. Coca-Cola 4. IBM 5. Unilever
9. Cooper Companies
9. 3M
10.Dow Chemical
10.Hewett-Packard
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10.Mahindra Group
1. P&G
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What do these organizations have in common?
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Aon Hewitt: What Differentiates Top Companies? 4 Disciplines
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For more than a decade, the Aon Hewitt Top Companies for Leaders® research shows what truly separates top companies from other participating organizations
Leaders lead the way
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An intense focus on talent permeates every level of the organisation
Unrelenting focus on talent
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Senior leaders have a passionate and visible commitment to developing leaders
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Practical and aligned programs and practices
Leadership strategy clearly reflects the overall business strategy
The development of leaders is an institutionalised practice and mindset
When leadership becomes a way of life
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Aon Hewitt Results
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Leadership Mindset Operating in the New World – 3 Key Attributes
Leaders who infuse their teams with purpose, commitment & authenticity
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Engaging Leadership
Leaders take risks, fail fast, and learn and adapt to win
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Engaging Leadership Resilience Self-awareness
Resilience
Self-awareness Leaders seek clarity to their own behaviors and modify their actions that affect outcomes of their colleagues
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CEO Magazine – 2015 Results
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Coaching & Mentoring
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Action Learning/Development
39%
Assessment & Feedback
34%
Hi-Potential Programs
34%
Exposure to Senior Executives
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49%
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Technique
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52%
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Survey participants cited coaching & mentoring as the #1 developmental opportunity within a formal process. Here are the top 5 developmental programs
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Formal Processes
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HayGroup – 2015 Results
Leaders create a work climate that motivates employees to do their best
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The Best Companies are better positioned for talent now and in the future My organization actively manages a pool of successors for mission critical roles
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Top 20
50
All others
87
General Electric
83
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People at all levels of my organization have the opportunity to develop and practice the capabilities needed to lead others
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67
84
57 90
There are a sufficient number of qualified internal candidates who are ready to assume open leadership positions at all levels
Percent of respondents
70
44 78 8
Innovation
2
Gender
Engagement
5
Execution
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Improvement
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Self Awareness
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Beliefs
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7 Leadership Observations
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Innovation as a key enabler
McKinsey- Large CAP Firms 2014
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“71% of companies say that innovation is a top priority, yet 31% of senior managers are reasonably confident they can reach it”
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Description
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Dimension
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Culture & Climate
The degree to which people are involved in daily operations, longterm goals, & visions.
Freedom
The independence in behavior exerted by the people in the organization
Trust/Openness
The emotional safety in relationships
Idea-time
The amount of time people can (and do) use for elaborating new ideas.
Playfulness/ Humor
The spontaneity and ease displayed within the workplace
Conflict
The presence of personal and emotional tensions in the organization.
Idea-support
The ways in which new ideas are treated.
Debate
The occurrence of encounters and disagreements between viewpoints, ideas, differing experiences and knowledge.
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Challenge/ Involvement
Risk-taking
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The tolerance of uncertainty and ambiguity exposed in the workplace.
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9 SOQ Dimensions to assess Climate
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SOQ as a tool for change
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Compares your team to Innovative & Stagnated orgs
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3,100 GE Executives in past 5 years 1,000 GE Customers in past 2 years Also using at Kellogg
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Gender Intelligence
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“An understanding of and appreciation for the natural differences between men & women that goes beyond the biological and cultural to include variations in brain structure and chemistry that influence thoughts and actions”
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Improved decision making & innovativeness Responsiveness to customers & markets Balanced Leadership Minimized risks & costs Superior financial performance
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1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
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The Five Advantages of a Gender-Intelligent Organization:
Benefits Balanced Leadership Boards achieve the following:
53% Higher Return on Equity 42% Higher Return on Sales 66% Higher Return on Invested Equity
Source: Barbara Annis & Associates Inc. – Global Leaders in Gender Intelligence
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Gender Intelligence
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Male
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Brain Component
Larger
Anterior Cortex
Larger
Insular Cortex
2X Larger
Hippocampus
Larger & more active
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Corpus Callosum
Amygdala
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Female
Larger & more active
Prefrontal Cortex Cerebellum
Source: Barbara Annis & Associates Inc. – Global Leaders in Gender Intelligence
Larger & develops earlier Larger
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Employment Engagement
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Are you engaging your employees?
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Execution: Strategy & Tactics Execution Quotient
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“Strategy is the set of interconnected decisions, all aligned and mutually reinforcing, towards achieving your vision” Dr. Roch Parayre- DSI
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The 4 Disciplines:
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Focus on the wildly important
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Acting on lead measures
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Keeping a compelling scorecard Creating a culture of accountability 16
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Continuous Improvement
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10,000 hours or 10 Years to become an expert
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Outliers- Malcolm Gladwell
Alexandra Kosteniuk
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Yet… Information doubling every 13 months Industry Tap into News 2015
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Self Awareness
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“It’s not what leaders are doing, but not being aware of what they are doing” ilw
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Dr. Rick Lash – Hay Group 2015
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Self Awareness
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Where most of the problems occur…
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Self Awareness
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What Derails Great Leadership?
1. Winning too much 3. Passing judgment 4. Negativity
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5. Making destructive comments
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2. Adding too much value
Flawed executive mindset – low understanding of market Delusional Attitudes – inaccurate reality Breakdowns in Communications and systems No commitment to correcting unsuccessful leadership habits
6. Telling the world how smart we
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7. Speaking when angry “However”
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8. Starting with “No”, “BUT” or
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9. Withholding information
10.Failing to give proper recognition
1. Unclear purpose 2. Destructive thinking 3. Low productivity 4. Fixed Mindset 5. Weak Energy 6. Not asking right questions 7. Poor presentation skills 8. Mistaking IQ for EQ 9. Poor Self Image 10. Not enough thinking 11. No daily rituals 12.Stress 13.Few Relationships 14.Lack of Persistence 15.Money Obsessions 16.Not focusing on strengths
Eliminate Jerks Slam doors, pound tables
Manage up, not down Start every sentence with “I” Undermine Authority Show disrespect (Blackberry) Betray trust Show lack of caring Show revenge
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Innovation
2
Gender
Engagement
5
Execution
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Improvement
7
Self Awareness
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7 Leadership Observations
Make Sense?
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Converting learning into action
So what is your most relevant learning from today and what are you going to do with it when you return to your organization?
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“The problem with execution is NOT the absence of knowing what to do, BUT the absence of doing it”
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~ Peter Drucker
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Principle of action based learning
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Lecture
5% 10%
20%
Demonstration
30%
50%
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Audio-Visual
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Reading
Average Retention Rate
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Discussion Group
75%
Teach Others/Immediate Use
80%
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Practice by Doing
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From Corporate Universities, Jeanne Meister
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+ 1 last thing…
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Perspectives on Leadership
24
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Follow Through in 30 days
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50%
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Impact of Follow-through
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50%
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Act
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50%
Role Models or
Top Talent or
Hi-Potentials
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Ask
12.5%
25
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“Thanks for your time and I wish you all a great year of effective and profitable leadership in 2015 and beyond”
Bob Cancalosi GE Crotonville Director of Customer Education 26
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Volume 24, Number 18
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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
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How Successful People Become Even More Successful
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Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter
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Introduction
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©2007 Marshall Goldsmith Adapted by permission of Hyperion Books ISBN: 1-4013-0130-4
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Career advancement is a topic of interest for most employees. Advancement often results from a specific knowledge, a specific skill set, or just hard work. In What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, Marshall Goldsmith states these attributes may allow advancement to a certain level but may not be sufficient to get to the next level. Behavioral flaws often reduce the opportunities for further advancement. Goldsmith identifies and provides examples for twenty behaviors which can slow a career. The remainder of the book outlines feedback strategies to recognize these habits and corrective steps to change these behaviors.
Section One: The Trouble With Success There are leaders who go through their career without the need for a roadmap. Marshall Goldsmith, considered one of the most influential practicioners in the history of leadership development, describes
these people as “grounded” and as “our role models and heroes.” Goldsmith sees his role as coaching successful people who have misplaced their “you are here” career map. Leaders typically possess a good work ethic, a high level of dedication, and a solid knowledge base. However, these attributes may not be sufficient to get these successful people to the next level. Many leaders reach a roadblock because of a particular interpersonal behavior, often unknown to them but offensive to others. The author believes these behavioral “bad habits” can hinder and even prevent successful people from getting to the next level. Through this book, Goldsmith aspires to help leaders identify behavioral flaws they may possess, show how those habits affect others, and help begin to correct those behaviors. Goldsmith’s coaching process begins with obtaining 360 degree feedback to obtain a comprehensive list
Business Book ReviewTM Vol. 24, No. 18 • Copyright © 2007 Business Book Review LLC • All Rights Reserved
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter
of a leader’s strengths and weaknesses. If the candidate accepts the feedback and agrees to attempt to change, the author leads them through a series of actions designed to correct the targeted behavior. Many people are reluctant to change their behavior, especially if they have been successful.
Key Concepts Goldsmith lists twenty behaviors which can limit career success. These include:
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4. Making destructive comments
5. Starting with “No,” “but,” or “however”
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8. Negativity, or “Let me explain why that won’t work.” 9. Withholding information
10. Failing to give proper recognition 11. Claiming credit that we don’t deserve
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The author thinks these beliefs can lead to superstitious behavior, defined as, “the mistaken belief that a specific activity that is followed by positive reinforcement is actually the cause of that positive reinforcement.” This thought pattern can lead to the belief success results from current behaviors and any change to behaviors, even annoying behaviors, may limit future success. Goldsmith writes about the need to know the difference between “success that happens because of our behavior” opposed to “success that comes despite our behavior.” Changing detrimental work behaviors cannot be forced on someone.
3. Passing judgment
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Successful leaders can be resistant to recommended changes in behavior, and these leaders believe they have succeeded in the past. Because of their past accomplishments, they believe they can succeed in the future. Leaders also believe it is their choice to succeed.
2. Adding too much value
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1. Winning too much
Some view their annoying behaviors as one reason for their success. Goldsmith believes some leaders succeed “because of their behavior”, while others succeed “in spite of their behavior.” Most successful leaders are guilty of deluding themselves about their accomplishments and take more credit than is merited.
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Goldsmith writes, “People will do something, including changing their behavior, only if it can be demonstrated that doing so is in their own best interests as defined by their own values.” The message is: changing bad behavior is more successful when it involves self interest.
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Section Two: The Twenty Habits That Hold You Back From The Top In this section, Goldsmith lists “twenty behaviors which hold you back from the top.” These behavioral flaws do not occur because of a lack of skills, a lack of intelligence, or an abnormal personality. Rather, these flaws are described by the author as “transactional flaws....challenges in interpersonal behavior, often
12. Making excuses 13. Clinging to the past 14. Playing favorites 15. Refusing to express regret 16. Not listening 17. Failing to express gratitude 18. Punishing the messenger 19. Passing the buck 20. An excessive need to be “Me” g g g g
Information about the author and subject: www.marshallgoldsmith.com Information about this book and other business titles: www.hyperionpublishing.com Related summaries in the BBS Library: The Next Level By Scott Eblin The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People By Stephen R. Covey
Business Book ReviewTM Vol. 24, No. 18 • Copyright © 2007 Business Book Review LLC • All Rights Reserved
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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter
leadership behavior.” These twenty habits and a brief description of each are outlined below.
examples where people ask for opinions and then proceed to pass judgment on the opinion. He suggests accepting ideas and opinions with “neutrality,” which should lead to decreased arguments and more productive conversations.
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1. Winning Too Much: This trait is defined as “needing to win at all costs and in all situations,” and is viewed by the author as the basis for many of the other behavioral Successful leaders become great leaders when they learn to shift the flaws listed in the book. The overlying need to focus from themselves to others. win can lead to reduced success because most issues turn into battles 4. Making Destructive Comments: The author believes instead of resulting in compromise. The example sarcasm and biting remarks often have uninused involves a couple arguing which restaurant tended consequences. A speaker may view these to choose. If the choice turned out to be less than remarks as amusing or clever, but a portion of the expected, Goldsmith asked clients, would it be imaudience may be offended. portant to point out themistake to your date? 75% 5. Starting with “No,” “But,” or “However”: Respondof people said they would be critical, that it would ing with any of these qualifying words can be difficult not to declare victory. The author inadvertently send the message, “You are wrong.” believes this “I told you so game” which results This behavior usually leads to reduced communifrom the need to win is a losing strategy. cation. 2. Adding Too Much Value: An extension of the need 6. Telling the World How Smart We Are: This behavior to win, this habit results in the desire to add opinis another variation of the need to win. The author ions which are not wanted and more importantly, believes there is a tendency, sometimes overtly, not needed. sometimes covertly, to show others how intel3. Passing Judgment: This behavior is defined as “the ligent we are. This behavior is boastful, insulting, need to rate others and impose our standards on and “rarely hits its intended target.” The example them.” Passing judgment alienates others, espeused for this behavior is a student interviewing cially if they are offering help. Goldsmith cites with a professor for a research assistantship. The professor conducting the interview felt a greater need to prove his intelligence than to conduct the interview.
About the Author
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Marshall Goldsmith is a preeminent executive coach who has worked with CEOs and other select business leaders worldwide. BusinessWeek listed him as one of the most influential practitioners in the history of leadership development. He received his PhD from UCLA and is currently on the faculty of the executive education program at Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business. In 2006, Alliant International University renamed their schools of business and organizational psychology to The Marshall Goldsmith School of Management.
7. Speaking When Angry: Goldsmith describes this habit as “using emotional volatility as a management tool.” This behavior is viewed as ineffective in the long term because one becomes labeled by that behavior, not by other measures of success. Bobby Knight, the college basketball coach, is used as an example. Because of his behavior, he is often viewed as the coach with a temper, rather than the coach with the most wins in NCAA Division I history. Anger directed at others often results because we are mad at ourselves. 8. Negativity: There are people in the workplace who seem incapable of being complimentary or positive. They frequently respond with phrases like “Let me tell you why that won’t work.” Work-
Business Book ReviewTM Vol. 24, No. 18 • Copyright © 2007 Business Book Review LLC • All Rights Reserved
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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter
15. Refusing to Express Regret: Not apologizing is often interpreted as saying, “I don’t care about you.” This behavior can be a major cause of hard feelings in the work environment. The author believes an apology can be cathartic because “it forces everyone to let go of the past.”
ers, who use negativity as “a default response”, become viewed as critics and are often avoided. 9. Withholding Information: This trait is defined as a more devious form of the need to win. Not sharing information is used as a strategy to obtain advantage. In other instances information can be withheld simply because we are too busy, forgetful, or just “clueless.” Goldsmith believes “not sharing information .... Rarely achieves its desired effect. .. In order to have power, you need to inspire loyalty rather than fear and suspicion.”
There is no telling what a group can achieve when no one cares who gets the credit.
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17. Failure to Express Gratitude: Not saying thank you can elicit the same responses and reactions as not apologizing. The author believes “gratitude is a skill that we can never display too often.” He also believes this is one of the easiest behaviors to correct.
18. Punishing the Messenger: This behavior ranges from blowing up at a subordinate for delivering unwanted information to scoffing at an assistant who says the boss is currently busy. Goldsmith states, “If your goal is to stop people from giving you input, ...perfect your reputation for shooting the messenger.” This behavioral flaw is easily fixed by simply responding, “Thank you.”
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10. Failing to Give Proper Recognition: Not providing praise and reward is often cited by subordinates as a major flaw of their superiors. To these workers, recognition provides a sense of closure. Goldsmith writes, “If you really want to tick someone off, don’t recognize their contributions.”
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16. Not Listening: This is one of the most common complaints encountered by Goldsmith. Not listening sends a number of negative messages ranging from “I don’t care” to “You’re wasting my time.” This form of disrespectful behavior can inadvertently lead workers, especially younger staff, to look for other jobs.
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11. Claiming Credit We Don’t Deserve: This is yet another corollary of the need to win and ties in with failing to give proper recognition.Goldsmith says this “interpersonal flaw generates more negative emotion than any other in ....feedback interviews.”
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12. Making Excuses: The author states making excuses can range from blatantly blaming others to not taking blame because “that’s just the way I am.” In either case, this habit often results in a negative view of the excuse maker.
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13. Clinging to the Past: Goldsmith considers clients who “cling to the past” and “want to understand why they are the way they are” to be his toughest assignments. He believes it is difficult but necessary to realize that the past cannot be changed. It must be accepted so one can “move on.” 14. Playing Favorites: Treating people differently, especially subordinates, is fairly common in the workplace. This behavior can lead to unfairly rewarding workers defined as the “super-skilled suckups.” Goldsmith says while most workers detest pandering to leaders, they don’t always detect that same behavior when they are doing it.
19. Passing the Buck: The author believes “blaming others for our mistakes” is a common, but ultimately fatal, work behavior. Workers with perfectionist characteristics often fear being wrong and can use others as scapegoats if mistakes are made. Goldsmith writes, “Infallibility is a myth. No one expects us to be right all the time.” Taking responsibility for one’s actions and apologizing when necessary is recommended to correct this behavior. 20. An Excessive Need to be “Me”: This behavior is defined as a “misguided loyalty to our true nature.” An example is provided of an executive who has a difficult time providing positive recognition to his staff. He views himself as a person not good at praising others and doesn’t want to appear phony. Goldsmith advises the executive to con-
Business Book ReviewTM Vol. 24, No. 18 • Copyright © 2007 Business Book Review LLC • All Rights Reserved
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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter
centrate more on the feelings of his staff and less on the feeling of “This isn’t me.”
go, and then to help measure progress.” The problem with feedback, especially negative feedback, is that workers don’t want to hear it and colleagues don’t want to give it.
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2. Tell the truth.
3. Be supportive and helpful, not cynical or negative. 4. Pick something to improve in yourself so everyone is focused on improving, not judging.
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Before moving on to how to deal effectively with these behaviors, Goldsmith writes briefly about goal obsession, the twenty first habit. Goal obsession is defined as losing sight of the bigger picture in order to achieve a goal. An example is given of an energetic and capable woman who has a problem retaining her talented staff. After obtaining feedback, it was determined the woman always needed to be in the spotlight. She claimed credit for everything, even if the credit was undeserved. Goldsmith believes goal obsession is actually a creator of flaws rather than an actual flaw itself.
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The author identifies the excessive need to win as the most common behavioral flaw seen through his experience as an executive coach. This behavior is The majority of successful people only accept feedthe root of many of the other behaviors listed above. back which agrees with their view of themselves. Goldsmith states, “We can become more successful if They tend to disregard feedback which is inconsistent we appreciate this flaw [the need to win] and work to with their self-view. suppress it in our interpersonal relationships.” Other behavioral Successful people become great leaders when they learn to flaws outlined in the book result shift the focus from themselves to others. from either arrogance or from the inability to take responsibility for In soliciting feedback for his clients, Goldsmith problems or failures. Most of the habits mentioned emphasizes the “Four Commitments” which are also revolve around either providing too much or too 1. Let go of the past. Feedback should focus on a little information, or showing too much or too little “positive future” not on the past. emotion.
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The author finishes this section with the example of the “Good Samaritan” research done by Darley and Batson at Princeton in 1973. Several theology students had prepared speeches on the Good Samaritan and were told they needed to hurry across campus to give the sermons to a waiting crowd. Along the way, a “victim” was acting as if he were hurt and suffering. Ninety percent of the students ignored the victim, and the message of their Good Samaritan sermon, to get across campus to give their sermons.
These commitments are designed to provide feedback providers a chance to be a helper, not just a critic. The feedback process can then become a win / win experience. Goldsmith writes, “Change is not a one-way street. It involves two parties: the person who’s changing and the people who notice it.” He also advises not to ask for feedback and then state an opinion contrary to the feedback. To obtain quality feedback, it is important to ask the right types of questions. A short list of questions designed to provide productive feedback is listed below. 1. Does the executive clearly communicate a vision?
2. Does the leader treat people with respect?
Section Three—Feedback and its Uses to Identify Behaviors
3. Does the executive solicit contrary opinions?
Goldsmith believes feedback, in the form of 360 degree feedback, is the best method to identify what is needed to improve work relationships. Feedback is useful to “tell us where we are, where we need to
5. Does the leader listen to other people in meetings?
4. Does the leader encourage other people’s ideas?
Other pertinent feedback questions are listed in an appendix to the book.
Business Book ReviewTM Vol. 24, No. 18 • Copyright © 2007 Business Book Review LLC • All Rights Reserved
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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter
The author next spends some time on feedback which can be obtained outside of a formal 360 degree process. He lists three major forms of feedback which include solicited, unsolicited, and observed. Solicited feedback is requested and is most useful when honest and most honest when confidential. This feedback should ask for advice rather than criticism, should be directed at future change not past behavior, and should be phrased in a way to inspire action.
When apologizing, Goldsmith advises, “Get in and get out. Don’t explain it. Don’t complicate it. Don’t qualify it.”
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The next step in the process of changing a bad behavior is to advertise the changes are being made. Showing effort to change helps coworkers realize one is trying to correct a behavioral fault. The author states “...you have to get 100% better in order to get 10% credit from you coworkers.”
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1. Make a list of casual remarks made about you. 2. Carefully watch non verbal behavior.
This is because co-workers view each other in a way which matches previous observations. Behavior needs to be consistently changed for a period of time for people to notice. This requires perseverance with patience. Listening and saying thank you, the next steps to changing behavior, tie in with feedback. Active listening is a great source of information on how the change process is progressing. Good listening involves thinking before speaking, respecting the speaker, and judging if a response is worth saying. Good, active listening makes people feel special. Goldsmith lists a set of listening rules which appear simple, but can be difficult to follow consistently. These rules include not interrupting, not finishing someone else’s sentences, not saying, “I knew that”, not being distracted, and asking intelligent questions. A skill seen in great listeners is the ability to make the other person feel “as if they are the only person in the room.” Bill Clinton was used as an example of someone possessing these qualities. After being a good listener, especially to feedback, Goldsmith advises not to agree or disagree with the person, but to simply say “thank you.” Expressing gratitude creates closure and allows the change process to continue.
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Goldsmith believes the most useful question to get answered when soliciting self feedback is “How can I do better?” Unsolicited feedback often comes in the form of “blindside moments”, where something is discovered which others know about us, but we don’t know about ourselves. The author believes that humans are often shocked by this discovery and that “the rest of the world usually has a more accurate perspective [about ourselves] than we do.” Observational feedback is simply getting feedback by “paying closer attention to the world around you.” Goldsmith outlines a number of methods to obtain observational feedback.
This apology gave a sense of closure allowing people to move forward. Apologizing is both easy to do and effective.
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3. Listen to your self-aggrandizing and self-deprecating remarks. 4. Examine relationships and actions at home.
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Feedback is the beginning of positive change. It tells one what to change, but does not provide details on how the changes should be made. Goldsmith covers this process in the next section of the book.
Section Four – How We Can Change for The Better
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Goldsmith strongly believes the change process must begin with apologizing. He calls apologizing “the magic move” because it encompasses both the recognition of mistakes and the attempt to get better. Apologizing also adds closure to a situation which permits moving forward. Richard Clark’s apology to the 9/11 commission is cited as an example. Clark said “Your government failed you, those entrusted with protecting you failed you, and I failed you.”
After apologizing, advertising, listening, and saying thank you, the next step in the process is following up. This often takes longer than the other steps because it is a continual process. “Follow-up is the most protracted part of the process of changing for the better,” says Goldsmith. He uses the example of former New York City Mayor Ed Koch who often asked his constituency, “How am I doing?”
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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter
2. Describe this behavior and your objective to change to one person.
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2. Pick the correct thing to change. It is important to prioritize and choose something that is changeable. The author also believes it is important not to over commit by focusing on more than one behavior at a time.
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3. “There is no ideal behavior.” Goldsmith believes leaders sometimes want to be perfect, which often stops them from attempting to become better. Setting a specific goal to get better and measuring the progress toward that goal will help the improvement process.
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4. “The best time to change is now.” Goldsmith writes only seventy percent of the people he coaches actually follow through and attempt to make positive change. The main reason stated for not following through was the lack of time. The author believes it is essential to take the time to change, now.
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1. Pick one behavior to change.
the media. The conclusion was the CFO needed to improve his media skills, not change an interpersonal behavior.
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Follow up is important because it measures progress. It is how we remind ourselves and others we are trying to change and that this change is an evolving and ongoing project. Goldsmith acknowledges that not everyone responds to executive development. In his work, he finds approximately 70 percent of his participants make an effort to change after his coaching. The other 30 percent don’t follow up often because, “they were simply too busy.” This suggests there is a disconnect between understanding and doing. For the leaders who did follow up consistently, their perceived effectiveness rose markedly. This leads Goldsmith to the observation that people don’t get better without follow-up. He states, “Becoming a better leader (or a person) is a process, not an event.” “The final step in the change process is feedforward. Feedforward is “feedback in the opposite direction”. It is asking someone how we can get better. Feedforward has four steps.
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3. Ask for two suggestions from that person on how to change positively for the future.
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4. Listen intently to the suggestions and say thank you.
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Remarks The contents of this book are appropriately condensed in the title,What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. Goldsmith believes there are many attributes, includinghard work and persistence, which are important foradvancement especially in the early phases of a career.
Section Five – Pulling Out The Stops
These characteristics help leaders to get where they are now, which is “Here”. However, there is often a point in a career path where workplace “bad habits” can prevent one from getting to the next level, defined as “There”. The author identifies and defines twenty behavioral flaws, most related to interpersonal relationships, which can prevent one from getting from “Here to There”. Goldsmith explains each behavior in detail and provides clear, concise examples.
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Unlike feedback, which focuses on the past, feedfoward focuses on the future. Goldsmith believes feedforward works because it is less personal than feedback and is viewed as help not criticism. Feedforward also concentrates on the future, which can be changed, not on the past.
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Goldsmith believes changing bad behaviors is a possible but difficult task. In this section of the book, he provides the rules of change, partially outlined below.
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1. Behavior change may not work for all flaws. The example was cited of a polished CFO who has the loyalty and respect of his colleagues but is getting blasted over financial matters by the media. This CFO believed the feedback he is receiving which said he was not a good listener. Goldsmith discovered the problem was not tied to listening skills but rather a case of not being good at spinning
In later sections of the book, the author outlines strategies to help identify which of these behaviors may be slowing one’s career. The chapter describing feedback
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What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
Marshall Goldsmith with Mark Reiter
is particularly helpful and interesting. Goldsmith next provides a framework for permanently changing behaviors which prevent career advancement. These strategies and frameworks are described in full detail with useful examples.
Chapter 7: Apologizing
This book is for leaders, aspiring leaders, and anyone who would like to improve interpersonal job performance.
Chapter 11: Following Up
The author advises readers not to concentrate solely on behaviors they believe they possess. He believes it is important to understand each of the habits and their effect on the workplace environment to ease the journey from “Here to There.”
Section Four: Pulling out the Stops
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Chapter 9: Listening
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Chapter 12: Practicing Feedforward
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Chapter 10: Thanking
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Chapter 13: Changing: The Rules
Chapter 14: Special Challenges for People in Charge
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Coda: You Are Here Now
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Chapter 8: Telling the World, or Advertising
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Reading Time: 8–10 Hours, 223 pages
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What Got You Here Won’t Get You Thereis divided into four sections. The first section serves as an introduction, the second section outlines twenty behavioral habits which can hinder advancement, the third section outlines strategies for positive change, and the last section lists the rules for changing. The book is filled with examples and lists so reads rather quickly. It is recommended to read the entire book in the order presented.
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Reading Suggestions
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CONTENTS
Section One: The Trouble with Success Chapter 1: You Are Here
Chapter 2: Enough About You
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Chapter 3: The Success Delusion or Why We Resist Change
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Section Two: The Twenty Habits Which Hold You Back From the Top Chapter 4: The Twenty Habits Chapter 5: The Twenty-First Habit: Goal Obsession Section Three: How We Can Change for the Better Chapter 6: Feedback
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Copyright of What Got You Here Won't Get You There - Business Book Summaries is the property of Great Neck Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
Business Book Review™ We Select and Review Only the Best Business Books You Should Read.
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Volume 21, Number 17 • Copyright ©2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
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Why Smart Executives Fail
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Sydney Finkelstein
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Adapted by permission of Portfolio
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©2003 Sydney Finkelstein ISBN: 1-59184-010-4
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And What You Can Learn from Their Mistakes
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Reviewed by Lydia Morris Brown
Introduction
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The rise and fall of the DeLorean, RJ Reynolds’s smokeless cigarette, Motorola’s failure in digital cellular telephony, not to mention the more recent headline grabbers—eToys, Webvan, Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Rite Aid, ImClone, et al.—all stand as evidence that the business world is suffering an epidemic of leadership failure. Despite this alarming trend, Finkelstein believes, however, that these kinds of disasters can be prevented, but only if the business world puts aside its traditional easy answers and begins looking at the real causes of corporate breakdown. In Why Smart Executives Fail, the author reveals the results of “the largest research project ever devoted to leadership failure.” Using these results, he imparts a practical analysis of business breakdowns that goes far beyond traditional ad hoc case-by-case explanations and exposes the root causes of this malady. It is a definitive approach that provides a framework for how to think effectively about business failure, a set of lessons and tools that can be used to predict and avoid failure, and valuable insights into the real components of success.
Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 17 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
Why Smart Executives Fail
Sydney Finkelstein
PART I: THE WHEN OF EXECUTIVE FAILURE
problem worse, instead of fixing it? Why do leaders, who have been successful for years, suddenly start getting everything wrong? Why do business leaders sometimes do things that seem completely irrational? How do they manage to ignore conspicuous evidence that their policies are not working? Why do organizations fall into the same traps again and again? Why are safeguards often suspended at the very time they are most needed? How can corporate boards sit and watch all these things happen? And, what can leaders do in advance to guard against making fundamental corporate mistakes? One of Finkelstein’s major findings is that businesses, which seemed on the surface to have nothing in common,
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It is an all too common scenario: A great company stands out from all the rest; the analysts are in love; the media is in a frenzy; the stock rises into the stratosphere; and employees, stockholders, vendors, and customers all sing the company’s praises. Two years later, however, the company has crashed and burned, the stock is worthless, and the CEO is under attack or even indictment. Everyone— journalists, employees, business gurus, managers, investors, and the general public—has an opinion on how this tragedy occurs—how, time after time, executives manage to turn apparently successful enterprises into corporate catastrophes. They believe that the executives were stupid, could not have known what “Standard explanations of why executives fail are clearly insufwas coming, failed to execute, were not ficient. Understanding why smart executives fail would be trying hard enough, lacked leadership much easier if we could rely on these explanations, but we ability, were simply a bunch of crooks, can’t.” or the company lacked the necessary turned out to have failed for exactly the same reasons and resources. in much the same way. For example, he discovered that Finkelstein’s extensive research of leadership failure most companies fail during four major business passages: has found, however, that these standard explanations are (1) creating new ventures, (2) dealing with innovation and insufficient in that they do not begin to address the essential change, (3) managing mergers and acquisitions, and (4) causes of major business failure, nor do they answer such addressing new competitive pressures. These multifaceted specific questions as: Once a company has made a really events involve some degree of complex corporate bad misstep, why do business leaders regularly make the transformation and are, thus, very perilous because they tend to bring out hidden weaknesses. Several factors are involved in making new-venture About the Author creation difficult, including the “principal-principal” Sydney Finkelstein, widely considered a top problem, the dangers of scale, and management. Although authority on business policy, strategy, and leaderAdam Smith pointed to the inherent danger in separating ship, is the Steven Roth Professor of Management ownership (the principal) and control (the agent) in at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, where he modern corporations, studies show that when the gap is the director of the Tuck Executive Program. As between ownership and control is minimal, value-reducing a leading figure in executive education, he created initiatives and strategies increase. When CEO/owners call the highly successful Strategic Leadership program all the shots, and no countervailing force controls individual for senior executives at the Australian Graduate School of Management and has taught in execupreferences, attention to value creation declines. It is a tive education programs worldwide. His articles phenomenon to which even established companies can have appeared in the Harvard Business Review, fall victim. Strategic Management Journal, Organizational In recent years, a great number of major new ventures Dynamics, Journal of Business Strategy, (especially “e-tailers”) have depended on scale for success, Administrative Science Quarterly, Organization spending vociferously to establish new brand names in Science, and other leading business journals. order to capture market share. Nonetheless, several fundamental truths accompany this strategy. First, it is For more information, please visit: www.whysmartexecutivesfail.com impossible to win without enormous amounts of capital. Second, even with sufficient capital, winning may still
Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 17 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
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Why Smart Executives Fail
Sydney Finkelstein
be impossible. When build-out costs are in the billions, and customer demand lags far behind, businesses die because getting and using money costs money. Third, the prospects of tremendous growth and “unlimited” potential attract other aggressive entrepreneurs who also see the opportunity for enormous wealth creation. If there are not barriers to their entry, trouble ensues. And fourth, by the time businesses with longtime horizons are ready for their offerings to enter the market, both the competitive landscape and the company’s ability to provide that offering may have changed significantly. If no “exit ramps” are created at critical milestones, a great mistake has no way of being remedied before disaster strikes. Finally, although new ventures, like older ventures, depend on management, two critical issues continually emerge in new ventures, making management the problem rather than the solution, CEOs and executives of new ventures tend to promote a new venture aggressively in order to stake out territory in the marketplace or promote their companies to important stakeholders. But, when they start believing their own hype, they inadvertently send signals about their own vulnerability, which only serves to wake up the competition and/or encourage their own people to become complacent.
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(a major component of history). For example, one of the primary reasons Motorola missed digital was because it could not discern which standard (CDMA, TDMA, GSM) would win out in the U.S. market. Years earlier, because it had backed the wrong horse and produced microchips for the Apple computer, it was concerned about making the same mistake twice. Moreover, in terms of its culture, Motorola is known as an engineering-driven company—an insular “internal think tank,” that views the market and customers as secondary. This culture has been so strong and successful that it is terribly resistant to change. The second organizational attribute is inertia (“wooden-headedness”). Senior executives create playbooks to guide managerial action and, though the world changes, in their quest for certainty, stability, and conformity, they sometimes stubbornly hold on to those playbooks rather than respond to opportunities to adapt and change. Finally, corporate often presents huge obstacles to success by installing dangerous incentives, abrogating responsibility for oversight, and/or micromanaging business managers. Mergers and acquisitions represent a standard business practice worldwide, accounting for hundreds of billions of dollars each year. And, though they fail from “The scorecard for new ventures is not determined by how stellar the resumes of the management team are. Don’t lose 50 to 75 percent of the time, companies continue to go down this path, with 82 sight of what counts: strategy, capabilities, customers, and competitive advantage.” percent of the executives in these failed initiatives believing that their deals were CEOs and executives also fall prey to “attribution error” successful. Examining this evidence, the author concludes and tend to overestimate the quality of their managerial that most businesses let their egos talk them into believing talent, relying on track records in situations that differ “we’re different” and can beat the odds. In addition, afraid markedly from the present new venture. Celebrity CEOs of what they may find, most follow the “don’t ask, don’t and “dream teams” are no substitute for the basics (i.e., tell” rule and fail to conduct any post-acquisition reviews a logical business model, attention to real customers, to ascertain what went wrong. development of valued capabilities, and an effective Although all acquisitions are predicated on the promise competitive strategy). of realizing cost or revenue synergies and creating value, Dealing poorly with innovation and change can also it is a difficult task. First, all synergies are not created be a costly mistake. Sometimes companies live in worlds equally. When the potential for synergy is significant, the were customer needs are changing dramatically, yet they challenge is dauntingly complex. Second, time counts. refuse to respond, or they are unable to do so. Their rigidity Synergies that are difficult to attain take longer to realize. has, at its heart, several organizational attributes that are Thus, cost savings that materialize several years after an potentially the source of deep dysfunctions. acquisition are not the same as savings that are immediate. The first is history. Really understanding a company Third, synergies are not free, often coming in at two to three requires understanding its history as well as its culture times the value of annual synergy benefits. And, fourth, Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 17 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
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Why Smart Executives Fail
Sydney Finkelstein
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synergies can be negative. For example, the synergies Sony comes from a fundamental misreading of the competitive expected from its acquisition of Columbia Pictures never landscape and (2) and bad administration of that idea. materialized because the hardware and software sides of Ideas are administrated badly because people are the business had different motives and cultures that neither driven by the natural desire to avoid uncertainty; thus, side would (nor should) compromise for the other. they ensconce themselves in a world of their own making Finkelstein notes that acquisitions should only take that is completely contrary to what the rest of the world place when they advance a company’s overall strategy in is doing. The author calls these people true believers in compelling ways and when the combination of “Just as board members at companies such as Enron and assets will create more value than it destroys. Tyco have taken the heat for standing by while accounting Thus, companies should consider whether a scandals ran amuck, they must be held responsible for proposed acquisition is justified in terms of acquisitions that defy logic.” purpose and importance. This will serve to motivate people and to serve as a beacon, pointing the way trouble. For example, An Wang (of Wang Labs), like some during the problems and confusion that inevitably occur other founder-controllers, broached little opposition, even during integration. An M&A strategy should be tailored when the dynamics of his industry had become more to the organization’s capabilities, people, and overall complicated, and his style no longer worked as well as competitive strategy. Finally, successful M&A companies it had in the early days. The Boston Red Sox, another must develop core competencies that make them superior example, failed to see how efforts by other major league acquirers. The experience people gain from participation teams to implement racial integration were improving the in one deal should be captured, disseminated to others, and quality of those teams. In the Red Sox organization, there built upon with subsequent deals. was no clear signal from the top that not only were racist Due diligence, which is all about the details, must also tendencies no longer acceptable, but also dangerously be considered. In addition to the publicly available data on counterproductive. companies, prospective acquirers can and should take the According to Finkelstein, strategic analysis must also time to listen to suppliers, competitors, distributors, and take the strategist into consideration, for when people make customers. And, acquirers can determine the solidity of decisions, they do so based on their own experiences, a target’s finances by looking at the red flags—cutbacks values, and personalities. For this reason, the strategist, in new project investments, reductions in discretionary along with the company culture, forms two “soft spots” expenditures, and open positions not being filled. that are leading indicators of action or inaction. Moreover, Mergers also fail because of a breakdown in integration. bad strategies are made worse when the strategist employs Once the deal is done, companies must know how to handle “desperate management” initiatives in a last-ditch effort to the inevitable cultural roadblocks (e.g., differences in right a floundering ship. compensation and benefits, management style, hierarchy, PART II: THE HOW AND WHY OF EXECUTIVE and financial management) and unintended vulnerabilities FAILURE opened up by the deal itself. They should use the time When strategy goes bad, and strategists continues between acquisition announcement and closing to generate to do the wrong thing in the face of it, boards have an a detailed integration plan. They should designate a deal overwhelming desire to rid themselves of the problem in champion, who takes personal responsibility for integrating one fell swoop and fire the CEO/strategist as a means of an acquisition. They should empower an integration team. effecting a turnaround. However, firing the CEO, even And, they should prepare for the unexpected. when warranted, does not necessarily solve the problem; The fourth perilous business passage involves new a deeper diagnosis of the underlying causes of strategic competitive strategies and how they are addressed. failure is needed. Finkelstein believes that mistakes in strategy can be parsed Any failure to execute operations effectively is a down to two major elements: (1) a wrong-headed idea that symptom of breakdown (one that usually develops late in the downward spiral), not a cause. Of all the many Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 17 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
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Why Smart Executives Fail
Sydney Finkelstein
business failures investigated, Finkelstein did not find a single instance in which a major breakdown was due to operations being carried out badly, but to the wrong operations being carried out in the first place. And, the one cause that appeared to be at the center of almost every wrong operation was “a seriously inaccurate perception of reality among executives”—mistaken perceptions that came from strategic misintent, negative transfer, and a one-track mind-set.
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insights, they must still consider how long the reality will remain valid. Sustained success means having an adequate understanding of which business conditions are likely to change and which will remain the same. This understanding involves: taking into account the possibility that several unlikely events could occur at once; distinguishing between projected innovations that require routine engineering and ones that require new discoveries; ensuring that a strategy, which makes sense at the big-picture level, also makes sense at the small-scale level, where it must “Where mistaken perceptions of reality were used to be implemented; focusing on the right competitors, guide large companies, there is one big, recurring paradox: What seems obviously false with the benefit especially new entrants; and considering the ways in which one’s entire industry could suddenly be of hindsight seemed obviously true at the time.” transformed or become irrelevant. Often, that which looks sound breaks down when Why these flawed perceptions are allowed to continue executives let themselves get caught up in “ ‘the one big idea’ despite the evidence of their destructiveness is, of course, fallacy without regard to the natural and practical limits to the critical question. Finkelstein says the answer lies in the logic.” They either focus on one principle or model to the internal policies that encourage and preserve these mistaken neglect of all others , pursue a strategy that is not perceptions. Primary among these is a willingness to attainable, or use an inappropriate barometer of success. create and propagate a close-minded culture that prevents Despite conventional wisdom that says concentrating anything being done about executive mind-set failures. It resources on a few core capabilities can command huge is the kind of culture usually found in companies that are premiums in the marketplace, negative transfer can get in the definitions of excellence, where success is expected, and the way of success. Four executive mind-set failures are where certain attitudes prevail—such attitudes as: “Watch at the heart of this problem: (1) CEOs assume that what us and see how it’s done. Trust us—we know what we’re worked in the past will work today. (2) They move their doing because we’re better than you are. Period.” We don’t companies into areas that require a different approach need customers telling us how to run our business.” “We from the one used previously. (3) They have an inaccurate have a positive attitude here; so no negative feedback, idea of their own competencies relative to the competition. please. Telling everyone [about our problems] will just make And, (4) they fail to take sufficient account of the specific it worse. We never settle for less than perfect.” “Whatever and often unique attributes that made a particular venture happens, it’s not our fault.” successful, whether that success is their own or that of the What makes these attitudes inescapable is an overly competition. aggressive team spirit. When team spirit is strong enough, When executives are plagued by one-track mind-sets, dissent becomes impossible—not because people are afraid their idea of what the customer needs tends to be based to express different ideas, but because different ideas do on limited models or experience. Sometimes, they try to not arise in the first place. The organization’s vision is operate in a culture without understanding all the unspoken unwavering. Employees have a deep loyalty to the brand conventions. And/or, they pursue rapid expansion at the and do not need the customer to tell them what is needed. expense of real profitability. The salesforce refuses to take no for an answer. And, Finkelstein notes that, while hindsight makes it obvious managers keep things running smoothly, paying close that these kinds of perceptions were mistaken, during the attention to internal metrics to the exclusion of all else. time they actually occur, they seem unquestioningly valid. Contrary to popular belief, however, this kind of company Thus, if executives want to catch misperceptions before is not a model to emulate, but a disaster waiting to happen, they do too much damage, they must stop and thoroughly or a disaster that has happened already—a “zombie business question everything, especially those things that seem … [that] systematically excludes any information that could patently evident. Moreover, after taking pains to verify their Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 17 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
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Why Smart Executives Fail
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contradict its reigning picture of reality.” Still, Finkelstein This disconnect can take many forms: lost or destroyed believes that eliminating or undermining the zombie information; no established communication channels; no attitudes is fruitless; thus, the only effective recourse is to motivation to pass information along to the appropriate counterbalance them. individuals; missing executive oversight in actively seeking To compensate for company pride and team spirit, it out potentially important information; excessive oversight is necessary to create internal advocates that champion that does not allow deviation from the routine procedures strategies and technologies introduced by competitors and sometimes needed to handle vital information; a culture others that are tackling similar tasks. Someone must be disdainful of creating proper procedures for handling given the responsibility of monitoring the competition’s information; “don’t-rock-the-boat” boards; special missteps and making sure that the company avoids them. treatment, given to exceptional personalities, that exempts Partnering should be used to develop new ideas and them from the normal supervision and controls that would practices. Reports are needed that present the strongest catch vital information; overly distant overseers with a contrasting position. Crossfunctional teams, and diverse hands-off attitude; and businesses that quickly move on work groups, that see things differently must be created. to new projects without learning the lessons to be gained Critical evaluations, from genuine outsiders, must be from small failures. sought. And, potentially innovative groups, who can In tracking vital information that has been ignored at support each other’s efforts, must be preserved. companies suffering breakdowns, Finkelstein found, in An organization’s vision of excellence, and its positive attitude also need to be “Often the most destructive policies sound like something a counterbalanced; thus, executives must company would want to encourage. … Yet as soon as these policies begin to insulate a company from things it doesn’t ensure that the value the company provides want to hear, they become a recipe for business failure.” is the value customers want and that each top executive take personal responsibility case after case, that the problem was not an isolated slip-up for dealing with important customers. Meanwhile, those or an instance of incompetence, but that the fault lay with employees who find flaws or potential problems in the the way the system had been set up. Mistaken pictures of company’s procedures should be rewarded. reality, zombie attitudes, and bad procedures for handing Finally, company perfectionism and its public relations vital information all support each other to create a recipe reflexes must be addressed. When old goals are being met, for breathtakingly gigantic failures, and someone (some instead of simply raising the bar, the organization should spectacularly unsuccessful person) has to be responsible change the goals, and external benchmarks should be for putting this recipe together. This requires some very used, especially for routine operations and centralized special qualities—what Finkelstein calls The Seven Habits support services. Senior managers must set an example by of Spectacularly Unsuccessful People. He notes that each of acknowledging failures and learning from them. Moreover, these destructive habits represents a quality that is widely they can use such devices as “Mistake of the Month” to admired in the business world. Moreover, these habits reward experiments that are highly successful in producing are regularly found in conjunction with truly admirable knowledge returns, but unsuccessful in producing financial qualities, for in reality, most destroyers of value are also returns. Finally, Finkelstein advises keeping the liability people of unusual intelligence and remarkable talent, who lawyers and public relations department out of basic have demonstrated a potential to create great value. planning and decision making. Rather than thinking in 1. Because they suffer under the illusion of personal and terms of “damage control,” it is far more effective to think corporate preeminence, spectacularly unsuccessful people of eliminating the problems that cause the damage. see themselves and their companies as dominating their Despite these healthy policies, a company might still environments; thus, they never recognize real competitive be at risk, if zombie attitudes have affected every part of threats. operations and caused a complete disconnect between 2. They identify so completely with the company that there relevant incoming information and the required action. is no clear boundary between their personal interests and Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 17 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
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Companies that are speeding out of control—usually due to rapid growth, technological change, and/or management turnover—cause executives to become overwhelmed and to make costly mistakes. This symptom can be identified by ascertaining whether the management team has enough experience to handle growth. Are there small, but critical, problems or details that are being overlooked by management? Is the company so successful that it is no longer in touch with what it needs to remain successful? Do the unplanned departures of senior executives signify deeper problems? A distracted CEO is another indication of potential problems. And, though studying a CEO for signs that he or she has become sidetracked will never yield a definitive answer, patterns do exist that provide important clues: Are there unanswered questions about the CEO’s background and talent? Is the CEO sending too much to fulfill personal missions that do not necessarily benefit the company? Are company leaders so consumed by money and greed that they are taking questionable or inappropriate actions? Excessive hype can hide problems or mask intentions, which, if known, would lead investors and managers to make different decisions. Is it possible that the excitement around the company’s prospects, new product, and/or merger or acquisition is just unfulfilled hype? Is the latest missed milestone part of a pattern that could signify deeper problems? Finally, Finkelstein notes that the single most important indicator of potential executive failure is the question of character—the question of whether the CEO and other senior executives are so aggressive or overconfident that it is difficult to really trust them.
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their corporation’s interests. Treating the company as an extension of themselves, their business decisions are made to suit their own personalities rather than the company’s needs. 3. They are control freaks, who think they have all the answers. Trusting no one, their aim is to dazzle people with their speed and decisiveness in dealing with challenging issues. 4. They ruthlessly eliminate anyone who is not 100 percent behind them, effectively cutting themselves off from their best chance of correcting problems as they arise. 5. They are consummate company spokespersons, often devoting the largest portion of their efforts to pitching the company’s new vision and becoming pop icons. Obsessed with the company image (they do not bother with details, and they use financial statements as public relations tools), their management efforts often become shallow and ineffective. Thus, instead of actually creating value, they settle for the appearance of having done so. 6. They underestimate major obstacles, treating them as temporary impediments to be removed or overcome. 7. They stubbornly rely on the strategies and tactics that made them and their companies successful in the past. PART II: PREVENTATIVE LESSONS LEARNED
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The preceding examples of when, how, and why executives fail contain valuable clues that foreshadow business disaster. Using these clues, Finkelstein has formulated a diagnostic, involving several aspects of a business that managers, boards, prospective employees, potential acquirers, and/or investors can use to assess the potential for trouble. While he acknowledges that his diagnostic will not provide all the data needed to make a positive identification of all the warning signs, the questions define some of the biggest problems and suggest how to isolate them. The first aspect is unnecessary complexity. Thus, one must ask, is the company’s organizational structure convoluted or complex? Is its strategy unnecessarily complex for a simple problem? Are accounting procedures overly complicated, opaque, or nonstandard? Or, is complicated or nonstandard terminology being employed? Occasionally, executives make structures, strategies, accounting practices, and terminology more complicated than necessary in order to provide legitimacy (i.e., cover) to a questionable course of action.
* * * Bibliographic notes by chapter and a subject index are provided.
Remarks Why Smart Executives Fail stands as a much needed complement to existing investigations into executive and corporate excellence, for Finkelstein believes that though it is vitally important to learn from the success of others, it is just as important to learn from their mistakes and
Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 17 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
Page 7
Why Smart Executives Fail
Sydney Finkelstein
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Ultimately, Why Smart Executives Fail is about people as well as about business. For the first time, many of the executives and managers who presided over the corporate disasters detailed speak out, providing a deeper analysis and capturing more of the complexities than would otherwise have been possible. Finkelstein uses these interviews to connect the facts collected from public documents and to employ findings from one company’s story to inform the reader’s understanding of another. It’s an understanding offered to people who are willing to face up to reality, put an end to delusional attitudes that protect flawed thinking, address breakdowns in information flow that cripple organizations, and move away from the habits of spectacularly unsuccessful leaders. Thus, by analyzing the problem of how smart executives fail, Finkelstein has shown those willing to take heed, how smart executives can ultimately succeed.
Reading Suggestions
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failures. Of course, there is no dearth of material in which explanations and insights are offered, ad infinitum, into the whys and hows of corporate breakdown, especially given the rash of disasters we’ve witnessed, in gory detail, over recent years. For the most part, each of these exposés (whether in books, business periodicals, or via the various electronic media) looks at each case in isolation and trots out a lineup of usual suspects—lack of competence, foresight, strategic commitment, leadership ability, and resources; failure to execute effectively; and larcenous greed. In each case, the most likely perpetrator is identified, its modus operandi detailed, and an indictment handed down, along with a judicious opinion as to what mode of rehabilitation is needed to right whatever wrong was commited. The results of Finkelstein’s in-depth study show how this approach is ineffective in that it fails to get to “the insidious and sometimes complex ways in which failure emerges in organizations”—fails to illuminate the destructive syndromes that are behind corporate breakdowns so that executives can understand the causes and patterns of failure and learn how to avoid falling into the same traps. One major finding—that patterns of failure can be applied not only to the classic, common business breakdowns, but also to the “Internet one year wonders” and to the “rogues” that have dominated recent years—is a serendipitous example of why the conventional wisdom surrounding executive failure is inadequate. Readers gain instant, indispensable, and very practical insights from seeing how, for instance: The failure of the Boston Red Sox to use African-American players stands as a template for the critical mistakes made by companies in widely different industries, during different time periods, and in different locations. And, the major scandals perpetrated by Enron, WorldCom, Tyco, Adelphia, and Imclone have origins similar in nature to the Red Sox as well as to such reputable companies as Johnson & Johnson, Quaker Oats, Satchi & Satchi, Motorola, Samsung, Rubbermaid, Sony, General Motors, and Mattel. The commonalities in their stories stand out to provide powerful and instantly actionable lessons. And, Finkelstein’s examination of these interrelated patterns provides a most effective framework for thinking about business failure that is easily and equally accessible to board members, CEOs, executives, lower-level managers, employees, investors, and other stakeholders, alike.
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Reading Time: 18-20 Hours, 331 Pages in Book
The author begins by saying, “Despite all that could go wrong for a company, the real fiascos can be blamed on surprisingly few causes. And they’re not the ones you might think.” He’s absolutely right—the results of his study, his analysis of these results, and the lessons drawn from the analysis are not at all what conventional wisdom has led most of the business world to believe. There are many surprises—truly novel and important insights—to be found within the pages of Why Smart Executives Fail, and they can only be mined, assimilated, and put to practical use by reading the book in its entirety and in the order presented. Finkelstein is an intelligent writer who offers a provocative, challenging, and passionately engaged book that has been meticulously researched and that is delicately attuned to the business issues of today. Moreover, though he is iconoclastic in his perceptive assessment of what constitutes leadership success, he is not contentious. The result is a timely, forceful, and sane analysis that is likely to elbow its way to the front of the crowd. Thus, we sincerely believe that once you begin Why Smart Executives Fail,
Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 17 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
Page 8
Why Smart Executives Fail
Sydney Finkelstein
you will find yourself compelled, without any urging from us, to read from cover to cover.
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CONTENTS Chapter 1: Why Smart Executives Fail PART 1: GREAT CORPORATE MISTAKES Chapter 2: New Business Breakdowns Chapter 3: Innovation and Change Chapter 4: Mergers and Acquisitions Chapter 5: Strategy Gone Bad PART 2: THE CAUSES OF FAILURE Chapter 6: Brilliantly Fulfilling the Wrong Vision Chapter 7: Delusions of a Dream Company Chapter 8: Tracking Down the Lost Signals Chapter 9: Seven Habits of Spectacularly Unsuccessful People PART 3: LEARNING FROM MISTAKES Chapter 10: Predicting the Future Chapter 11: How Smart Executives Learn
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A Note to Our Readers
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We at BBR encourage our readers to purchase the business books we review. BBR Reviews are intended as a service to busy professionals, as we recommend only those books that are worth your time to read in their entirety. We apply stringent criteria in selecting only the best business books, and in that selection process, strive to help you make informed book-purchasing decisions.
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This book is available at bookstores and online booksellers.
Business Book Review™ is a service of Business Book Review, LLC For more information about BBR, to subscribe to BBR, or to provide us feedback, visit our Web site. www.businessbookreview.com Business Book Review, LLC 1549 Clairmont Road, Suite 203 Decatur, GA 30033
Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved No copies may be made of this review unless appropriate license has been granted. ISSN 0741-8132
Business Book Review™ Vol. 21, No. 17 • Copyright © 2004 Business Book Review, LLC • All Rights Reserved
Page 9
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Copyright of Why Smart Executives Fail - Business Book Summaries is the property of Great Neck Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
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March 7, 2015
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Why People Fail
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The 16 Obstacles to Success and How You Can Overcome Them
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Siimon Reynolds
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©2012 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Adapted by permission of Jossey-Bass, a Wiley imprint ISBN: 978-1-118-10617-4
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Key Concepts
Success is a science, and can be achieved by following certain actions and methods of thinking.
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People must learn how to counter failure and overcome obstacles in order to become successful in any area of their lives.
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Having a clear purpose engages the brain’s ability to gather information relevant to that purpose. A focused person of average intelligence will perform better than a highly intelligent person who lacks focus.
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Negative thinking adversely affects both physical and mental abilities, and makes people more likely to quit in the face of obstacles.
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People can master several techniques to easily boost their daily productivity, increase their energy levels, and think more positively.
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The ability to speak in front of other people is crucial to success, and is a skill that can be learned with practice.
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Creative ideas are the basis of true success, more so than remaining endlessly busy with task after task. Individuals should set aside time each day to think through solutions.
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Since people’s thoughts create their experiences, establishing good habits and better ways of thinking quickly create positive change in people’s lives.
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Stress negatively affects nearly every aspect of life. People can practice methods to reduce stress and regain control over their daily actions.
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Individuals should strive to live a life centered on using their natural skills and strengths.
Business Book Summaries® • March 7, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
1
Why People Fail
Siimon Reynolds
Introduction In Why People Fail, business mentor and Photon Group cofounder Siimon Reynolds draws on his personal success story to explore the 16 most common causes of failure in people’s personal and professional lives. He provides guidance on how to avoid these pitfalls, suggests methods of thinking and alternatives actions that will enable people to achieve their life goals, and explains the science of success.
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Unclear Purpose
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Foggy purpose always leads to mediocre results, no matter how intelligent you are. In fact, if I had to choose between a person of average intelligence who was working with a clear purpose and a brilliant one who had no clear purpose, I would bet on the average person to win every time.
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1. Life purpose: People need to have a strong sense of what they want to achieve in their lives in order to be happy and fulfilled. Regardless of what it is, a life purpose provides inspiration, effectiveness, and growth.
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Most people lack a clear purpose for how to achieve success. Those who are focused on their purpose will succeed more easily than those who lack focus. There are three primary areas in which people need to have clear purpose:
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2. Job purpose: Workers who are unclear about the most important tasks their jobs entail are less effective and tend to achieve mediocre results. People must be able to clearly envision their ideal outcomes.
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3. Weekly purpose: Individuals should establish one or two priority tasks each week, and focus on accomplishing them. Once this practice becomes a habit, people will see a substantial increase in efficiency.
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Destructive Thinking
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A clear focus enables the reticular activating system (RAS) of the brain—the part that chooses which pieces of information are important out of the billions the brain receives. Focusing on a particular purpose enables the RAS to select the information and solutions relevant to it. A lack of focus, however, bypasses the RAS’s abilities.
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Destructive thinking has an enormous effect on success. A negative mindset adversely affects physical health, and also makes people more likely to quit in the face of obstacles. Positive thinking, by contrast, leads to productive actions, which in turn lead to better results. Techniques to strengthen a person’s ability to focus and think positively include: The SCORE technique: Before attempting a new task, individuals should monitor themselves with regard to self-discipline (progressing toward goals), concentration (focusing on present actions), optimism (anticipating a good result), relaxation (remaining calm), and enjoyment (appreciating the experience).
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The breath release: Reynolds encourages individuals to picture a specific stressor and breathe deeply; then on the exhale, envision the stressors flowing out of their bodies.
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Visualizing: Each morning, people should take time to relax and imagine the day going well.
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Affirming success: Saying positive phrases, or “affirmations,” out loud focuses the mind on an individual’s life purpose.
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The daily review: Each evening, a review of the day’s events can help people determine what went well and what could have been improved upon.
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Scheduling gratitude. Individuals should spend one minute each day thinking about what they are grateful for.
Business Book Summaries® • March 7, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Why People Fail
Siimon Reynolds
Low Productivity The pace of life has increased, and people today are often overloaded with tasks. To be productive, individuals must be able to manage their time effectively. The following are tips for remaining organized and productive: Plan before starting. Instead of being constantly in motion, people should take time to plan out the day, week, and year.
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Create blocks of time to do jobs. Individuals must set aside time for uninterrupted work each day.
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Think 80/20. About 80 percent of results come from only 20 percent of a person’s actions. Therefore, workers should focus on those vital 20-percent tasks.
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Rush unimportant tasks. While it is important to do a thorough job, individuals should set a time limit for getting unimportant tasks completed. “Good enough is often good enough.”
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Delegate what is not vital. People should delegate tasks that are unimportant, that they do not enjoy, or that they are not particularly good at.
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Split time into 10-minute segments. People can accomplish much more than they think they can in 10 minutes, as both their momentum and concentration are often increased. Even disagreeable tasks become easier to accomplish in short bursts.
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Follow the two-minute rule. If a task can be accomplished in under two minutes, it should be completed right away.
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Play baroque music. The tempo of this music style has been proven to improve focus and productivity.
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Use a negative ion generator. Unlike in the countryside, the air in and around cities is usually of a poorer quality. Ion generators rebalance the air and help people perform at their peak.
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Fixed Mindset
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Research has shown that there are two ways of thinking that strongly affect a person’s success or failure: the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. People with a fixed mindset believe that they have a set amount of talent and abilities and cannot exceed those limits. They tend not to work hard when challenged and give up easily, because they fear that failure will expose their limitations to others. They also do not explore activities that are outside the scope of their current talents.
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Imagine if there was a way of thinking that almost guaranteed that you would become a success . . . Imagine if this attitude was learnable and that when you adopted it, almost every area of your life would improve.
People with a growth mindset are focused on learning. They believe they can gain skills by practice and effort. They are very persistent and do not fear making mistakes. They thrive on overcoming challenges. They have a positive outlook, leading to lower stress levels, improved productivity, and happiness. A person with a growth mindset will seek continual improvement and will likely surpass a person with a fixed mindset, even if the latter is more intelligent.
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People’s mindsets also affect the lives of those around them. Individuals with a growth mindset make better leaders. They nurture employees, promote learning, and allow for failure, realizing that it can offer valuable lessons. As a result, they can often change the culture of a company and increase optimism, loyalty, and productivity among staff.
Weak Energy A high energy level is crucial to success. It enables people to persist in the face of failure and persevere in the hard work that will accomplish their goals. There are several methods for boosting energy levels: Business Book Summaries® • March 7, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Why People Fail
Siimon Reynolds
Sleep: Good-quality sleep of at least seven hours a night is crucial. It rejuvenates both mind and body and is linked to improved health.
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Diet: What a person eats has a direct affect on his or her energy levels. A healthy diet that is high in fruits and vegetables and low in meat is easier to digest and uses less of the body’s energy.
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Improved environment: A messy house or office is mentally stressful. Schedule 10-minute cleaning periods each day.
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Exercise: A physically fit body leads to a more positive mental outlook.
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Stretching. Stretching exercises and yoga activate energy meridians in the body, helping to stimulate energy levels and counteract fatigue and depression.
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Sunlight: People should strive to get daily sunlight to boost their mental and physical energy.
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Regulated lifestyle: A regular daily schedule of waking and sleeping allows the body to fall into a healthy rhythm and boosts energy levels.
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Music: Research indicates that classical music increases creativity, energy levels, and IQ scores. An environment that includes relaxing and inspiring music can enhance work and home life.
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Caffeine reduction: More than one cup of coffee per day can induce fluctuating energy levels.
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Positive self-talk: Individuals should make a habit of thinking about and talking to themselves positively throughout the day. Done consistently, positive self-talk lays the foundation in the brain for success.
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Green plants: Drinking green vegetable juice, whether in liquid or powdered form, is an excellent energy booster.
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Not Asking the Right Questions
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The quality of the questions people ask themselves daily can steer the course of their lives. These questions have an enormous effect on people’s actions and levels of success. Those who ask positive, inspiring questions about their priorities are more able to stay balanced, focused, and motivated. Ten powerful questions individuals should ask themselves are: 1. What are my values? It is important to clarify what is truly important in life.
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2. What would I do if I knew I could not fail? People should acknowledge their true dreams, no matter how unattainable they may seem, and work toward them.
People who habituallly ask themselves negative questios like “Why can’t I ever get it right?” doom themselves to an unhappy, unsuccessful life.
3. What could go wrong? Before pursuing any venture, a person would be wise to weigh potential negatives against the positives.
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4. How could I make 10 times more money? If people stretch their thoughts beyond their comfort zones, unforeseen paths to success are often revealed.
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5. What would X do? A problem can often be solved if a person pictures what a leader in the field would do if faced with a similar situation. Asking what someone else might do can allow a person to think in new ways. 6. Should I even be involved with this? Examining activities at a very basic level ensures that people are not persisting in a particular way of doing things simply out of habit.
7. How could my competition defeat me? Constant improvement and innovation are necessary to stay on top of the market, even during good economic times. 8. What is the best use of my time right now? Highly effective people use this question as a guide throughout the day. It serves as a reminder to focus on quality, not just quantity. Business Book Summaries® • March 7, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Why People Fail
Siimon Reynolds
9. When I die, what kind of life would I like to have lived? A person who clarifies what is truly important, and pursues it, avoids regrets later in life. 10. How could I improve that performance? Continual evaluation of progress is integral to excellence. These questions can serve as compass points for a person’s life. Reynolds suggests writing them down and referring back to them each month to stay on track.
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Poor Presentation Skills
Mistaking IQ for EQ
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Most speakers deliver a “classic” presentation. This offers the comfort of having a structure to follow, in which the speaker tells the audience what he or she is going to say, says it, then summarizes what was just said. Tips for delivering the presentation include practicing it aloud, making eye contact with the audience, pausing at the right moments for emphasis, and varying tone and pace. It is often helpful to deliver the presentation beforehand to a trusted friend or colleague to get constructive criticism. The resulting improvements make it easier to visualize the presentation going perfectly.
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Most professional speakers have learned how to use body language effectively. Those who use their hands while speaking capture the energy of the room and improve the effectiveness of their presentations by about 20 percent. Many speakers memorize the beginnings and ends of their talks so they can deliver them with more impact, and include stories to engage listeners. Preparation should also include arriving early to become comfortable in the environment and to set up any slides or props. Finally, many great speakers have learned from other great speakers by studying their presentations.
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Presenting well will increase your confidence and your salary faster than almost any other skill. Your boss will want you to lead more and your clients will trust you more. . . . You’ll feel in command and in control, and others will sense that they’re dealing with someone highly capable and dynamic.
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The ability to present ideas clearly and persuasively is essential to success. Even those who are uncomfortable speaking in public can learn to present well. Proper planning, self-confidence, and plenty of practice will make presentations easier.
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The standard intelligence quotient (IQ) test has been proven to be far too simple to truly measure the brain’s capabilities. Studies have demonstrated that emotional intelligence (EQ) is of far greater importance in determining a person’s success. EQ measures how effectively people use their emotions to further their purposes, rather than being hindered by their emotions. The two main areas of EQ are personal competence and social competence.
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Personal competence relates to how well people can manage themselves. Those with high EQs demonstrate self-awareness (recognizing their emotions as well as how they affect others); self-regulation (being able to control emotions and impulsivity); and motivation (being goal oriented and not giving up).
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People with high EQ demonstrate social competence—that is, empathy and social skills. Empathic people have a genuine interest in, and understanding of, other people’s feelings and are interested in supporting those around them. Those with social competence are able to present persuasive arguments on either side of a debate. They are good listeners and are able to focus entirely on the people with whom they are speaking. Individuals can improve their EQs by being consistently aware of their areas of EQ that most need improvement, soliciting feedback from others regarding interpersonal skills, and reading any of the multitude of books written about EQ studies.
Business Book Summaries® • March 7, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
5
Why People Fail
Siimon Reynolds
Poor Self-Image Self-image is the blueprint of a person’s life. A healthy, positive self-image provides supportive, happy feelings as well as persistence and steady action toward goals. A negative self-image, however, almost guarantees a lack of success. Essentially, people achieve what their self-images tell them they can achieve. To improve their self-images, people need to be aware of the thought patterns of their daily lives, and realize that their thoughts can either limit or expand their perceptions of their abilities. Reynolds proposes five steps to creating a healthy self-image:
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3. Emulating others. It is important to associate with people who support and reflect the self-image a person desires.
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2. Acting the part. People can act as if their new, better selves are already in place.
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1. Daily strengthening. A person should set aside time each day to focus on lifting up his or her self-image.
A strong, healthy selfimage is the launch pad not just to a more successful life, but also to a happier one. It’s not about being arrogant, but confident. Empowered. Inspired.
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4. Picturing the future. Visualization is a great tool. Creating a picture board of inspiring people and images of goals (vacation homes, a new car, etc.) is helpful.
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5. Attending to appearance. A person’s appearance can, in fact, affect his or her mood. Reynolds suggests that people buy high-quality clothes whenever possible, and that employees dress like those in senior positions.
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Not Enough Thinking
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Today’s fast-paced life tends to center around doing rather than thinking, and to reward busyness. The basis of success, however, is good ideas. If a person sets aside 20 minutes a day to just think, creative solutions will result. Specific methods to increase creative thinking and stimulate ideas include: The dictionary method: A person selects a random word from the dictionary, then relates the word to the current issue in as many ways as possible.
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The ridiculous idea method: An individual thinks of outlandish ideas for solving a problem, then thinks of how to put them to work. The creative thinking that results is particularly helpful when a person or company is in a rut.
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The different industry method: Solutions can be borrowed from a completely different, unrelated industry.
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The star emulation method: This interesting psychological strategy involves imagining what a famous person (e.g., the president, Bill Gates, a rock star) would do in a situation.
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The famous method: Individuals focus on a solution that could make them, or the company, famous.
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No Daily Rituals
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While creativity and inspiration begin a project, it is steady work, or habit, that allows people to achieve long-term goals. Success requires the ability to move through the tedious tasks in order to achieve goals. It is important to focus on the goal when facing the boredom of the many steps it may take to get there. Daily rituals (habits) will further progress toward goals and increase a person’s chances of success exponentially. Seven daily rituals can help people form habits of success: 1. Industry mastery ritual: Devoting 30 minutes a day to learning about an industry will lead to mastery in a short time.
Business Book Summaries® • March 7, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Why People Fail
Siimon Reynolds
2. Anti-procrastination ritual: To prevent procrastination, a person should clearly understand the goal for the day, write a list of actions, mark the two most important tasks, and begin immediately on the first task. Then he or she should spend at least 10 minutes on each of the other key tasks. 3. Social life improvement ritual: An individual should make a list of people to spend more time with, and contact one person per day.
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4. Goal achievement ritual: Reynolds suggests a person visualize achieving a goal three times per day; break the necessary actions down into smaller steps and set a deadline for each step; and set aside time daily to work toward the goal.
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5. Clean home ritual: Doing a 10-minute clean-up before going to work and before going to bed can make a home much more organized and prevent a mess from building up. Additionally, 10 minutes during the weekend spent discarding unnecessary items makes things easier to find.
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It’s what you get into the habit of doing that keeps you going, long after the initial excitement of your goals has faded.
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6. Happiness ritual: A person’s reaction to events, not the events themselves, affects emotions. It is helpful each morning to visualize successes and list the things that are going well. In the evening, a person should review those moments that went well and think of things to be grateful for.
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7. Fitness ritual: Regular, consistent exercise that is pleasant, even if just 15 minutes long, can become a habit. It helps if a person can visualize being in great shape and enjoying exercise.
Stress
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Stress negatively affects people’s physical and mental health, decision making, ability to focus, relationships, and success. Unfortunately, stress has become an accepted factor in most people’s lives. Reynolds recommends several techniques to help keep stress levels low: Deep breathing. Taking five minutes to go somewhere quiet and take deep breaths, visualizing the stress dissipating with every exhale, can be a quick way to relax.
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Releasing. Stress builds up over the course of a day. It is important to pause during the day and acknowledge the stress, then allow it to be released through deep breathing, visualization, and other methods.
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List making. Writing down daily priorities and goals provides a sense of control that is calming.
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Creating a circle of influence. Individuals should focus not on things they can do little about but on those things that they are able to change—that is, their circles of influence.
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Cleaning and simplifying the environment. A quick cleaning of an individual’s work area can lift his or her mood. Individuals should perform short periods of clearing out clutter and discarding things they no longer use.
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Regulating life. Creating healthy daily habits, such as getting up at the same time every day and organizing emails and calendars, can help people feel calm and ordered.
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Eating five meals a day. Smaller, more frequent meals are more conducive to maintaining a steady, high energy level than consuming three larger meals.
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Few Relationships The power of relationships cannot be underestimated. Successful people surround themselves with supportive, strong interpersonal relationships. This group dynamic sparks creativity, provides both emotional and professional support, and increases happiness levels. It is vital for an individual to establish both a professional and a personal inner circle of contacts.
Business Book Summaries® • March 7, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
7
Why People Fail
Siimon Reynolds
Included in these interpersonal relationships are work colleagues. People already spend a great deal of time during the day with their coworkers. However, it helps to spend much of that time appreciating to the work that others do, such as by noticing (particularly in front of other people) when a coworker accomplishes a goal or performs to a high standard. Additionally, coworkers should listen to one another, being sure to give full attention to those who are talking and taking a genuine interest in what is being said. An easy way to positively impact coworkers is to be upbeat. People enjoy being around those who have positive, upbeat energy.
Strong relationships are the glue that keeps the rest of the pieces of the success puzzle together. Master relationship building and you will be well on your way to mastering success.
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Other methods to build better relationships include: Complimenting people in front of others.
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Smiling often.
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Touching people occasionally.
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Making deposits into an emotional bank account—that is, doing things for others and giving time.
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Appreciating others’ points of view.
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Studying psychology, particularly human interactions and relationshipbuilding skills.
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Lack of Persistence
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Successful people understand that failure is a natural occurrence on the path to a goal, and they maintain their determination to find solutions to any obstacles that arise. Society celebrates achievement rather than persistence. Particularly lauded are the successes of famous people; the long journeys and countless obstacles overcome along the way are rarely showcased. This has a negative effect on others, who do not realize that those people endured many failures before becoming who they are today.
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A five-step persistence model can help a person improve his or her level of effectiveness:
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1. Repeat efforts. Just because a path of action does not achieve the desired results on the first try does not mean that it is flawed. It may just need to be changed in some small way, or presented to a different person, to be successful.
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2. Change strategies. If, however, a strategy that was tried repeatedly has not achieved the desired results, a new approach should be attempted. 3. Model the best. An excellent strategy is to copy the habits and actions of people who have succeeded in the same field. 4. Maintain positivity. It is important to remain positive in the face of disappointments. People should assume that their goals will be accomplished, and enjoy their journeys’ ups and downs.
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5. Return to the vision. Taking a moment to stop and visualize the larger picture of the desired achievement keeps a person from forgetting it in the course of performing all the necessary smaller, daily tasks.
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Money Obsession Research has shown that society’s obsession with wealth has negative effects. People tend to become materialistic because they are unhappy with themselves, they feel inadequate, or they depend on the good opinions of others in order to be happy. Those who focus on material things have higher levels of anxiety, depression, and anger, and are dissatisfied with their lives. They often have less energy and a greater propensity toward substance abuse. Even the ultra-wealthy strive for higher levels of income—yet research has shown them to be only one percent happier than the average wage earner.
Business Book Summaries® • March 7, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
8
Why People Fail
Siimon Reynolds
Rather than focusing on money, people can boost their happiness by connecting with and helping others, practicing gratitude, increasing the amount of omega-3 in their diets, controlling what their minds focus on, and taking action against any areas in their lives that they do not feel good about.
Not Focusing on Strengths
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People are more successful, and happier with their lives, when they focus on honing their strengths. Specializing in work for which they have a natural aptitude means people’s work becomes enjoyable, and they are motivated to perform well and to exceed.
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In order to live a life focused on their strengths, people must spend time discovering their strengths, then visualize a life centered around using them. They also must become aware of how much time they currently spend utilizing their strengths and negotiate ways to use them more often—in relationships, at home, and at work.
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Features of the Book
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Estimated Reading Time: 4–5 hours, 258 pages
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Why People Fail examines the 16 most common causes of failure in people’s lives and presents strategies to circumvent them. Author Siimon Reynolds explains each cause of failure and how society and self-image play important roles in people’s perceptions of what failure is and how to handle it. Reynolds presents alternate ways of thinking, examines what successful people do differently, and offers practical strategies for overcoming the causes of failure and creating the lives people desire. The book is for anyone who wants to better understand how to face failure and learn what characteristics differentiate successful people from others. Reynolds recommends reading the book in its entirety, then selecting three areas of failure to focus on and conquer.
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Contents 1. Unclear Purpose 2. Destructive Thinking
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Introduction
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3. Low Productivity 4. Fixed Mindset 5. Weak Energy
6. Not Asking the Right Questions
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7. Poor Presentation Skills 8. Mistaking IQ for EQ
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9. Poor Self-Image 10. Not Enough Thinking 11. No Daily Rituals 12. Stress 13. Few Relationships 14. Lack of Persistence 15. Money Obsession
Business Book Summaries® • March 7, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
9
Why People Fail
Siimon Reynolds
16. Not Focusing on Strengths Conclusion Recommended Reading Acknowledgments
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The Author
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Further Information
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Click Here to Purchase the Book
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Information about this book and other business titles: www.wiley.com
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Information about the author and subject: www.whypeoplefail.org
Related summaries in the BBS Library:
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Sometimes You Win—Sometimes You Learn Life’s Greatest Lessons Are Gained from Our Losses By John C. Maxwell
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The Road to Reinvention How to Drive Disruption and Accelerate Transformation By Josh Linkner
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About the Author
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Siimon Reynolds is the cofounder of Photon Group, which grew in 8 years from 2 people to over 6,000, becoming the 15th largest marketing services group in the world, with operations in 14 countries. A mentor to business leaders worldwide, he has won numerous awards for business and career success. He travels the world speaking on personal and business achievement, as well as personally coaching a select group of executives and entrepreneurs. A best-selling author, Reynolds’s books have been published in 10 countries. He lives in Los Angeles, California.
Copyright of Business Book Summaries, Business Book Review, BusinessSummaries and BizSum is property of EBSCO Publishing Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download or email summaries for individual use. Business Book Summaries® is a service of EBSCO Publishing, Inc. For more information about BBS, to subscribe to BBS, or to provide us feedback, visit our Web site. www.ebscohost.com EBSCO Publishing Inc. 10 Estes Street Ipswich, MA 01938 USA
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Copyright of Why People Fail is the property of Great Neck Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
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October 31, 2011
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
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Getting Good People to Stay
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Introduction
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©2008 by Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans Adapted by permission of Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. ISBN 978-1-57675-557-0
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Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
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In Love ‘em or Lose ‘em, Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans provide managers with a comprehensive guide to successfully engaging, developing, and retaining the valuable talent on their teams. It includes practical tools and strategies for holding on to employees who are too good to lose to the competition. The book is organized around an alphabetical list of key ideas on how to attract and retain the best and most motivated people, and create and lead engaged employees.
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Ask
The authors advise managers to frequently ask employees about their concerns and their interests. By asking employees why they stay, what would keep them, and what is most energizing about their work, managers can gain valuable insight rather than guessing what is on their minds. Asking also has positive
side effects: the employee who is asked will feel cared about, valued, and important. Many times, simply asking will lead to stronger loyalty and commitment to the manager and the organization. Asking and listening carefully to the responses is, in itself, a retention strategy. Many managers are reluctant to ask employees what would make them stay or what their concerns are because they fear employees will request a raise or a promotion. However, research shows that people want much more from work than just a paycheck. When surveyed, 91 percent of respondents listed at least one of these among the top reasons for staying at a job: •
Exciting work and challenge
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Career growth, learning, and development
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Working with great people
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
These qualities were listed before compensation. The differences between functions, levels, genders, and ages were minor. If talented people are not being challenged, provided with growth opportunities, or made to feel cared about, a big paycheck will not keep them for very long.
Key Concepts • Regardless of economic ups and downs, the best people have choices about where and for whom to work.
The authors recommend asking employees about these topics at frequent intervals: during job interviews, performance appraisals, monthly one-on-one meetings, or informally over coffee or lunch. This strategy is more effective than guessing or assuming they all want the same thing, and will make talented people feel valued.
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• Managers have more power and influence over the engagement and retention of their people than anyone else.
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• There are easy-to-implement, inexpensive, research-based strategies that managers can use to keep talented people engaged and committed.
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• Successful managers treat employees fairly and respectfully, challenge them, thank them, and develop them.
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• When talented employees retire on the job (become disengaged) the loss is just as serious as when they leave to join a competitor. • Attention should be paid to the steady, dependable, solid employees, not just the star performers.
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When supervisors and managers are asked why they lose good people, many blame organizational policies, pay scales, or the competition for the loss of talent. The authors believe that the buck stops on the desk of the supervisor or manager–the person in charge of keeping valuable employees. Managers, frontline supervisors, or project leaders actually have more power to keep good employees than anyone else. They have at least some control over the key factors that drive employee satisfaction, engagement, and commitment. One study found that 50 percent of work satisfaction is determined by the relationship a worker has with their immediate boss. Conversely, the supervisor’s negative behavior was the main reason people gave for quitting a job.
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Buck – It Stops Here
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A good boss who cares about keeping good employees will help them find what they want from the workplace. The authors recommend that all managers be held accountable for protecting the organization’s most critical asset–its people–by creating a retention culture where people feel motivated, cared about, and rewarded. The retention buck really does stop with the manager.
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Careers–Support Growth Managers must make time to talk with employees about their career plans and aspirations. If there has never been a discussion about an employee’s career, the chances of keeping that person engaged are greatly diminished. What employees really want are two-way conversations with their managers about their abilities, choices, and ideas, and they want the
• The cost of replacing a talented employee can be as much as five times their annual salary. g g g g
Information about the author and subject: www.keepem.com Information about this book and other business titles: www.bkconnection.com Related summaries in the BBS Library: Chasing Stars The Myth of Talent and the Portability of Performance By Boris Groysberg Talent Management Strategies for Success From Six Leading Companies By Larry Israelite, Editor
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
manager to listen to them. The basics for building the employee talent pipeline include the following: Know their talents – Help them think more deeply about their unique skills, interests, and values.
Discuss trends – Help them look beyond their current job to detect shifts and changes in the company and in the industry that might impact their careers.
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Discover multiple options – Help them consider multiple career goals while they grow within their current position, and give them permission to discover new possibilities based on their interests and values.
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Offer perspective – Help them reflect on their own reputations, the feedback they have received from others, and on the areas they need to develop.
The manager’s job is not to build the employee’s plan, but to stimulate them into identifying skills, development opportunities, and knowledge areas for each alternative. Employees have one thing in common: they want to know that someone cares about their careers. Helping the best employees find opportunities to sculpt their careers according to their own unique wants and needs may make them decide to stay a while and build their careers in their current organization.
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Asking good probing questions (avoiding ones that give you only yes or no answers) is the best way to gain a deeper understanding of what really matters to your employees. Approach this conversation with genuine curiosity. Dignity–Show Respect
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Beverly Kaye founded Career Systems International (CSI) more than 25 years ago, which has become a global leader in developing and delivering talent management solutions. CSI supports organizations including more than 60 percent of Fortune 1,000 companies. Her first book, Up Is Not the Only Way, continues to be a classic in the career development field. Before earning a doctorate at UCLA, Kaye completed her graduate work in organization development at MIT Sloan School of Management. Sharon Jordan-Evans, president of the Jordan Evans Group, is a pioneer in the field of employee engagement and retention. She is a sought-after keynote speaker for Fortune 500 companies such as American Express, Boeing, Disney, Lockheed, Monster, and Universal Studios. She has a master’s degree in organization development and is a certified executive coach. Sharon also serves as a resource for a number of national media.
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The one managerial behavior that talented people seldom tolerate for long is disrespect. Good managers will work to recognize each person’s unique qualities and then demonstrate respect in consistent, undeniable ways. This requires respecting– even celebrating– the differences between people. Diversity of talent and perspective strengthens a work group and contributes to excellent results, yet differences do get in the way. Managers should take a good look at their own beliefs, preferences, prejudices, and leanings.
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About the Authors
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Co-design an action plan – Help them identify the obstacles in their path and brainstorm ways around those obstacles.
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The authors believe that when managers trust their employees, most will prove themselves to be trustworthy. They will feel honored and respected when trusted with important tasks and heavy responsibilities, and allowed to do things in their own way. If the manager fails to show trust in employees, they will often feel dishonored, disrespected, and undervalued. Fairness is another important aspect of managing people with dignity. Talented workers will leave a boss who is perceived to be unfair. Unfair treatment translates to disrespect in many employees’ minds.
Enrich–Energize the Job Valuable employees are, by definition, savvy, creative, self-propelled, and energetic. They need stimulat-
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
The manager can provide job enrichment using these strategies:
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Rotate assignments
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Increase feedback
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Establish participation opportunities
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Nurture creativity
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Teach someone
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Form teams
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Mangers that help employees enrich their jobs can benefit the employees, their teams, and the entire organization.
Family–Get Friendly
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These losses can be prevented with job enrichment. Job enrichment means change in what employees do (content) or how they do it (process). Enrichment structures ways for employees to find the growth, challenge, and renewal they seek without leaving their current employers. An enriched job gives employees room to initiate, create, and implement new ideas; promotes setting and achieving personal and group goals; allows employees to see their contributions to an end product or goal; challenges employees to expand their knowledge and capabilities; and has a future beyond itself.
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ing work, opportunities for personal challenge and growth, and a contributing stake in organizational action. If they find that the company no longer provides these necessities, they may decide they have outgrown the place and will consider leaving, or worse yet, disengage on the job. In the latter case, their departure is psychological rather than physical and shows up in absenteeism and mediocre performance. Either way, departure or disengagement, the company has lost a valuable person.
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People quit when rigid workplace rules cause unbearable family stress. Companies that have a “family-friendly culture” are the most desirable workplaces. Employees are asking for a workplace that helps them balance the demands of their work and family lives, rather than forcing them to choose one over the other. A recent study found that 56 percent of employees rate work-life balance as the key criteria for For generations, the only acceptable career direction has been deciding whether to join or stay up. But here are at least five others ways a person can move with an employer. Work-life baltheir careers along: moving laterally, exploring options, enrich- ance is rated as the single most ing their current job, realigning their priorities, and relocating. important consideration among employees aged 21 to 30. Today, and from now on, organizations that are not familyA proactive manager can help people evaluate their friendly will definitely have a harder time finding and jobs and discover ideas for enrichment. These ideas keeping good people. will, and should, vary greatly among employees. Requests and discussions may center on these points: Greater autonomy
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Increased feedback
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Participation in decisions
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Opportunities for teamwork
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Increased variety of tasks
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Opportunities to affect the organization
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Contact with clients
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New challenges
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Learning beyond current levels
Talented employees do not have to look far to find family-friendly employers who offer features like these: •
Childcare facilities or subsidies
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Flexible work schedules
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Job sharing
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Telecommuting
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Eldercare assistance
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Extended and creative maternity and paternity leave programs
Another way to be supportive of family is to provide
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
employees with a list of services and Web sites that can help them meet everyday needs. One familyfriendly strategy will not meet the individual needs of all employees. It is critical to consider the different types of families in the group and then think about and discuss the approaches that will work best for each of them.
by trying a move that is not a simple vertical step. This will increase the chances that the organization will hold on to a valuable employee, and establish the manager as a developer of people.
Hire–Fit Is It By getting the right people in the door in the first place, an organization can increase the odds of keeping them. Hiring is among the most important tasks of a manager and it is a critical retention strategy. When a person’s skills and interests match the job requirements, and their values are consistent with the organization’s values, the result is a “right fit.”
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Goals–Expand Options
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Many employees feel the need to move up in the organization, but when vertical options are not readily available, managers can sometimes prevent turnover by helping employees identify other career options. There are five possible career moves in addition to moving up, and they are:
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1. Enrichment – Growing in place: employees expand the job, refine their expertise, or find depth in areas they really enjoy. 2. Lateral movement – Moving across or horizontally: employees apply current experience in a new job at the same level, but with different duties or challenges.
Once the right person is hired, it is important to continue to support them as they assume their new roles. Orientation and ongoing support are key pieces of the selection process and will increase the odds of the new hire’s success and contribution to the team. New hires come to the organization fully charged, excited about their new adventure, and filled with energy and potential. By effectively tapping into that energy, an organization can maximize it well past the first year.
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3. Exploration – Temporary moves intended for researching other options: the employee takes a short-term assignment in another part of the organization, participates on project teams, or schedules informational interviews.
Additionally, re-recruiting the best employees is as critical as hiring them in the first place. Often candidates and new employees are viewed as close to perfect, and they get all the attention. Long-term employees can feel less noticed, less appreciated, and even taken for granted as the boss carefully selects, orients, and trains these new hires. This can be avoided by re-recruiting all of the team’s talent.
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4. Realignment – Moving downward to open new opportunities: the employee takes a step backward on the career path to gain a better position for the Listen to your employees, respond to them and – bottom line next move. – treat them with respect and dignity. You don’t have to play
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5. Relocation – Moving to counselor, and you don’t have to have answers to their peranother organization: the sonal problems. Just listen. manager and the employee have searched the internal job market and both Great managers are great recruiters. If the right people believe the current organization is not a good fit. are hired in the right roles, the company will increase the odds of retaining them, and by continuously rerecruiting key talent, the company can protect their investment.
Helping employees reach their goals often means helping them consider moves they may not have taken seriously before. Help them see what they could gain
In this information age, powerful new businesses exist solely for the purpose of leading people to the information they want. This reality has changed people’s attitudes toward sharing and hoarding infor-
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When up is the only option, the manager’s job is to identify and communicate what the employee’s options could include, and provide straight feedback and continual coaching.
Information–Share It
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
mation. Information is power. Therefore, being out of the loop– lacking information– might leave one powerless. Research shows that people want a boss with influence and power in the organization, and they want that boss to bring them into the loop.
even when they are well paid, receive recognition, and have a chance to learn and grow. In fact, disliking the boss is one of the top causes of talent loss. A study reported that after 20 years of research and 60,000 exit interviews, 80 percent of turnover can be related to unsatisfactory relationships with the boss.
Silence is the greatest enemy of retention. When management does not update employees on the financial and business state of the company and rumors are rampant, turnover goes up and productivity goes down. While some people hunker down and hide, the best ones start looking. Information sharing during dramatic change is even more critical than during stable times. When top managers share information as early and honestly as possible and hold managers accountable for passing the news down, employees feel more important and valued, and the productivity dip is minimized.
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Jerk-like behavior ends up costing organizations more than just dollars. One company calculated the extra cost generated by one jerk manager, including the assistants he burned through, the overtime costs, the legal costs, and the anger management training. They found that the extra cost of one jerk for one year was $160,000.
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Changing jerk-like behavior may be the most important action a manager can take to keep talent from leaving the company.
What good is a high-powered career if it makes you miserable? What good is owning a beautiful house if you are never home? What good is being passionate about a hobby if you never have any free time to pursue it?
Kicks–Get Some
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Research shows that a fun-filled workplace generates enthusiasm, and that enthusiasm leads to increased productivity, better customer service, a positive attitude about the company, and higher odds that talented employees will stay. In today’s uncertain work environment, humor is not an option; it is a necessary way to boost morale. When employees clown around, they are not wasting valuable time; they are making use of one of the few tools available to increase and maintain their morale. Laughter may not change the eternal reality, but it can certainly help people survive it.
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The manager is expected to help the team look to the future, which includes providing information that supports their development and career advancement such as: The organization’s strategic direction and goals
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The profession, industry, and organization’s future
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Emerging trends and new developments that may affect career possibilities
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The cultural and political realities of the organization
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Research has found that firms with effective communications, when compared with competitors with poor communications, have a 19.4 percent higher stock price, enjoy a 57 percent higher shareholder return, are 4.5 times as likely to report a high level of employee engagement, and are 20 percent more likely to have low turnover rates.
Jerk–Don’t Be One If employees do not like their bosses, they will leave
Unfortunately, many workplaces are fun-free zones. The managers may have learned how to be the boss from fun-averse, serious taskmasters. They may believe that allowing fun at work will cause them to lose control or fail to achieve results, or that moments of levity will set bad precedents, and the group will never get back to business. In fact, there are many appropriate ways to get some kicks in even the most buttoned-up workplace. Research verifies that fun-loving environments are actually more productive than their humorless counterparts. A fun break can reenergize employees and ready them for the next concentrated effort. The secret to allowing fun at work is to be crystal-clear with employees about their performance goals.
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
When fun is added to the work environment, energy and productivity go up. Fun enhances creativity, fosters commitment, improves morale, mends conflicts, and creates effective customer relationships. Fun will energize, motivate, and keep talented people on the team.
organizations. Today’s knowledge workers need to link to others to get their jobs done. If links are weak or nonexistent, leaving is easier.
Mentor–Be One
Link–Create Connections
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To increase performance and retention, consider ways to support links between employees and several important communities. Much of what is learned on the job comes from these informal networks:
People with mentors are twice as likely to stay, which is why mentoring programs have doubled in numbers in recent years. Companies that want to maintain high-performing women and minorities are investing in mentoring programs; some believe good mentoring will break the glass ceiling. Mentoring has become a way not only to transfer crucial skills and knowledge but to inspire loyalty in new employees, emerging leaders, and older workers who might otherwise leave sooner. Companies are giving creative incentives to mentors, pairing mentors with new hires, and offering group mentoring and online mentoring to hasten the development of management and technical skills. The more a manager acts like a mentor to direct reports, the less these employees think about leaving.
The organization as a whole – A critical success driver is how well employees understand the company’s mission, strategies and goals.
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The team or department – Strong relationships at work are key to retaining valuable people and to their productivity.
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The professional community – Associations outside the organization give people a chance to helicopter up When Dave Goebel became CEO of Applebee’s International, from their own organization and learn what is happening he told his staff that he would not start meetings before 9 A.M. because he takes a daily morning walk with his wife. He sent elsewhere.
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The local community – Community service can help employees feel linked and give them a sense of pride.
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a loud message to his management team that it is acceptable, even desirable, to balance family with business goals.
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To help employees develop strong links, connect them to the people most able to fill their needs by looking for these skills:
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Model – Model ideal behaviors.
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Sponsoring – Find someone who can help them gain visibility.
Encourage – Provide support during the good and the bad times.
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Teaching – Find someone who can help an employee learn a new skill.
Nurture – Get to know employees’ unique skills and nurture their ideas and relationships.
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Teach Organizational Reality – Help them avoid the organizational minefields that are not in policy manuals.
Nurturing – Encourage them to build personal relationships within the organization.
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Mentoring does not require specific training or a great deal of time. Every good manager mentors naturally, often without realizing it. The following mnemonic device helps improve day-to-day mentoring skills:
Informing – Find someone who has information about what is going on inside or outside the organization and is able to share it. Advising – Find a person who is in a position to give good advice.
Connections are a major reason people stay with
Employees want managers to teach them the ropes, and they know their careers will suffer if that does not happen. Managers who mentor establish great rapport with their employees and find that there is a strong payback in engagement and retention.
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
Numbers–Run Them
tions and interests can help them seek out appropriate opportunities.
Numbers and financial statements are the universal language of business. Frontline workers and senior managers alike understand them. A careful assessment of the numbers might just convince managers to focus more heavily on retaining talent–most experts agree that replacing a key person will cost two times their annual compensation. Replacing a highly skilled professional could easily cost four to five times their annual salary, including direct and indirect costs such as advertising, search firm, referral bonus, interview travel costs, sign-on bonus, moving allowance, lost productivity prior to departure, time spent interviewing, orientation and training of replacement, and so on.
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Passion–Encourage It Passion for work means that people find what they do to be so exciting that sometimes it does not feel like work at all. Even those who have this passion seldom have it every day, but they know the feeling, and they know when they lose it. When people are doing what they love, they are at their best. A successful manager connects employees’ passions to their jobs, and the company reaps your employees the rewards. A team of passionate time to find people will not only produce great work, they will also help retain each other.
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Every business should calculate the real costs of losing and replacing key talent. The exercise will sharpen managerial commitment to keeping valuable employees fully engaged and on the team.
Research shows that, more than any other single factor, people stay in an organization because of opportunities to be challenged, to do meaningful work, and to learn. Successful managers must be opportunityminded on behalf of their people.
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Just as costly is the actively disengaged employee who stays on the payroll while acting out their unhappiness. Gallup’s ongoing research suggests that these disengaged employees cost the United States over $300 billion a year in lost productivity.
In addition to helping employees seek opportunities, a manager can also help them to see those opportunities when they are right in front of them by shedding the right light, pointing out features and distinctions, and turning the opportunity around or upside down to make it more visible. After seeking and seeing, the final behavior is seizing. To retain top talent, managers should teach them to seize opportunities when they come their way.
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If your definition of family-friendly is allowing to occasionally accept personal phone calls. It’s out what’s going on around you.
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Opportunities–Mine Them
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Managers who want to retain their best employees must help them find opportunities within the company to compete with the opportunities they will find elsewhere. The authors suggest a three-step process they call “opportunity mining.” Opportunity mining means opportunism in the most positive sense of the word. Its three key behaviors are seeking, seeing, and seizing. Many employees and managers fail to search for opportunities within their organizations. People who seek opportunities often see the glint of something new and can follow through for themselves and for their people. Managers should ask employees about the types of opportunities that might interest them and hold development meetings to discuss their careers. Managers who know their employees’ aspira-
People want to find work they are passionate about. Offering benefits and incentives are mere compromises. Educating people is important, but it is not enough. Far too many highly-educated people are operating at quarter-speed, unsure of their place in the world and contributing too little to the productive engine of modern civilization. They are not coming close to living up to their potential. If passion is missing at work, the best people may not be bringing their best to the job. Managers need to find ways to collaborate with them to uncover and discover what they love to do, and link them and their work to the company mission. Productivity explodes when people love what they do, and they will want to stay engaged, productive, and on the team.
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
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Question–Reconsider the Rules
do not stop there. Money alone will not keep talented people. Challenge, growth opportunities, flexibility, great coworkers, meaningful work, a good boss, and recognition are examples of things that matter more than money.
The odds of keeping talented employees are increased if they are allowed to question the rules about their jobs, the workplace, and even the business. Rules are necessary to provide safety and sanity in communities and in workplaces, yet progress demands questioning the rules. Rule questioners and ultimately rule breakers are innovators; they push for improvement and are the backbone of successful organizations.
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When evaluating rewards, such as an annual bonus, it is important to note that if an employee expects it, it may no longer be viewed as a reward. Managers need to go beyond monetary rewards and match rewards to their employees’ needs and wants. By asking them what they most appreciate, rewards can be tailored to fit individuals and the group.
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Successful managers respond eagerly and openly to employees’ questions and create a “question-friendly” work environment. They spend time brainstorming with their employees and collaborate with them to find answers to their questions. When no one takes the time to listen to the challenging questions of innovative people, talent is lost, often to the competition.
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Praise is the universal reward. Virtually all employees want to hear how valuable they are to the team, how important their work is, and what a great job they have done. There is no such thing as too much praise. When employees across the country were asked why they stay at their job, few had dollars in their top three reasons. People want recognition and appreciation for work well done.
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Rules, guidelines, policies, and procedures are necessary to some degree, especially to operate large, complex organizations, but rules sometimes take on a life of their own. They multiply, live in huge manuals, and stifle productivity and creativity. These overgrown rules An absence of communication can breed anxiety and paranoia, sometimes need questioning. If which leads to high turnover rates, gossip, and in some cases talented employees get bogged angst among once-harmonious colleagues. down in them, they will spend too much time navigating the bureaucracy and filling Space–Give It out paperwork. Conversely, they will spend too little People who feel fenced in, over controlled, or frustime innovating and creating new solutions, services, trated by their lack of power over their own situation or products. They may also look for an opportunity to usually express these negative feelings. People need work elsewhere, in a freer workplace with fewer rules both inner and outer space. Inner space is the mental and restrictions. and emotional space people need to feel like creative, The authors recommend allowing employees to ask productive members of the team. It includes space to about the way work gets done and about the rules be self-directed, manage one’s own time, and work that hinder their productivity and satisfaction. When and think in new ways. Giving inner space requires managers support their questioning and bend or that managers let go and trust their talented employbreak the rules to help them get what they need, the ees to manage and continuously improve their odds of keeping them are greatly increased. work. Outer space refers to the physical world and the employees’ work environment. It includes space Reward–Provide Recognition to design one’s own work area, work from different Decades of research and common sense indicate places, take a break, and dress as one wishes. that if people are not fairly paid they might leave. Allowing job sharing, flextime, telecommuting, or It is important to benchmark similar organizations working outdoors on a laptop are not examples of in the industry and find out what the pay scales, pampering. Managers need to listen to what people bonuses, and perks look like. A compensation system want, go to bat for them, and give them options and that is not competitive is cause for concern. The best opportunities to do things differently. Providing approach is to pay fairly and pay competitively, but
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
space to play, have a good time, take breaks, celebrate successes, and creatively attack problems makes for a retention culture.
not feel this way, they will disengage or depart. It is important to give full attention to employees who have something to say. A manager who tunes out or multitasks while pretending to listen will miss out on information that may be vital, and more importantly, miss out on having a respectful relationship with that employee.
Truth–Tell It Studies show that employees yearn for straight talk. They want to hear the truth about their performance and their organization, and they want to be free to tell the truth about their manager’s performance. When the truth is missing, people may feel demoralized, less confident, and ultimately less loyal.
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The authors recommend telling employees the truth about their work, their relative strengths and weaknesses, their blind spots, their overused strengths, and the flaws that may stall their careers. Ask them what areas of their performance they feel best about, and ask them to describe past successes. Most talented people are aware of their strengths and can describe them accurately.
The authors recommend that managers get to know their people and make time to understand them by really listening. Listening style can be improved with practice. These efforts will pay off. Employees who feel heard and understood will stay engaged and on the team. Those who do not will find another place to work, with a boss who will listen.
Values–Define and Align
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The risk of losing employees because of conflicts over values is far greater than the risk of losing them because of compensation. Values define what people consider to be important. They are Let your people mentor you. Managers who are open to learn- the standards by which bottomline needs are measured. The more ing from their own team members not only learn new skills employees’ work incorporates but also gain valuable insight into what goes on at a different their values, the more they will level of the organization. find that work to be meaningful, purposeful, and important. Research confirms that the absence of honest feedback Organizations have vision statements, mission statederails leaders at all levels. One approach that is gainments, and values statements, but they rarely have ing in popularity is 360-degree feedback: employees a process that helps employees determine the link receive feedback from managers, their peers, mentors, between those statements and their own values. Most customers, and direct reports. It also includes a selfemployees spend more time working than doing assessment that enables individuals to compare their almost anything else, including sleeping. They want own perceptions with the views of others. The feedto spend that time doing something they truly value. back highlights both strengths and opportunities to When values are left out of the work equation, the improve, and its purpose is developmental. Because work may still get done, but without the energy and it is usually anonymous, the individuals providing commitment. feedback tend to be very honest.
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Engaged employees want to be trusted with the truth about the business, including its challenges and downturns. They want to hear bad news face-to-face and as quickly as possible. When the manager is willing to tell–and hear– the truth, talented people remain engaged.
Understand–Listen Deeper Communication is critical to keeping valuable talent. If employees feel heard, understood, and valued, they will work harder and produce more. If they do
When employee values clash with the organization’s operating values, the outcome is “work avoidance”– passive, unproductive behaviors and a silent sabotage of projects and ideas. Organizations are more team based than ever, yet the failure to understand one another’s values leads to discord on teams. The team that cannot draw on its members’ values may end up arguing, wasting time, and failing. Team members lose heart when organizational values and their own values do not mesh.
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
X-ers and Other Generations–Handle with Care
Diversity of values builds strength in teams. Those who value creativity will be the innovators. Those who value independence will work productively for long stretches without prodding. Those who value order and routine will be the dependable solid citizens. The manager must recognize what each person values, and mind those values for the sake of the whole team.
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To succeed at retention, managers must learn the characteristics that define and differentiate each generation in the workforce. A generation is a group of people who share birth years and, therefore, share life stages. The people in these groups are influenced by the cultural events, changes, and challenges that they experience, especially during their formative years. As a result, they bring their own set of attitudes, perceptions, and values to the workplace.
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The match between employees’ values and the organization’s or team’s values is a powerful factor in keeping good people. Values may be difficult to uncover, but it is worth the effort. They are powerful forces in an employee’s decision to stay or leave.
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Generation Y (1977– 1998)
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Wellness–Sustain It
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Today’s workplace contains four distinct generations, each with its unique expectations and perspective:
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Companies that take wellness seriously find that the • Generation X (1965-1976) payoff is great, not only in retention, but also in energy for the job and in productivity. Today’s workplace is • Baby Boomers (1946-1964) typically highly energetic and highly productive. To • Matures (1933-1945) succeed, employees must be well and fit, mentally, emotionally, and ...[E]xperts and masters continue to ask for the truth about physically. In this competitive their performance, and they strive for improvement. Athletes, environment, wellness is a necessity. By focusing on employee musicians, and martial arts masters are examples of this pracwellness, managers can increase tice. You can establish an environment where truth is welcome. the odds that they will stay and And you can serve as a model for your employees as they play effectively on the team.
watch how you seek and receive feedback.
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Balance between work and personal life contributes to wellness and constantly challenges the wellness-minded manager. American workers want a break, and they want a life outside work. The pressures to do more with less, to move faster than the competition, to be more creative, more innovative, to do it with fewer dollars, and to be available at all times push many to say that work just asks too much. Although optimum levels of stress produce peak performance, overdoses can definitely lead to poor performance and even to illness. When people have balanced lives, they seem to have less work stress, or they just manage it better. Savvy managers view work-life balance and stress reduction initiatives as strategic business tools, not as employee perks. When employees are well and feel a balance between work and life outside the workplace, the organization is far more likely to function well.
There are dramatic differences in how each of these groups responds to situations in the workplace. Managers must learn about these generational differences, not to separate them but to understand them better and work with them more effectively. Retention is essentially an individual activity.
Yield–Power Down Most managers want to hold on to their power and prestige once they finally have it. They enjoy feeling important and powerful, but if they do not learn to yield occasionally to their employees, there will be costs in the long term. “Powering down” empowers employees to think for themselves, be more creative, more enthusiastic, and more productive. While there are no rules for managers to follow in the matter of powering down, there are key behaviors that make it successful: •
Trust employees to come up with the answers – Con-
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
sider the answers they create and support them all the way. Manage reactions when they fail – Instead of punishing, collaborate with empowered employees and help them learn from their mistakes.
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Serve them – Be a resource to them and give them guidance along the way.
Features of the Book
Give the spotlight away – Share the stage and the applause with team members.
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans indicate that they wrote Love ‘em or Lose ‘Em to and for managers. It is concisely written,backed up with data, and full of easy-to-do recommendations, specific tools, and hundreds of examples of how to care for people. Sample interview questions are provided to guide manager- employee discussions. Each chapter includes a to-do list to guide managers in applying what they have learned, and ends with a “Bottom Line” feature. Several self-assessment tools are provided to help managers measure their own attitudes and biases.
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See them as colleagues more often than subordinates – Do not give the impression that certain tasks are beneath the status of a manager.
Reading Time: 4.5-5 hours, 277 pages
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A final chapter recounts ten “pushback” conversations about the Love ‘em or Lose ‘em approach to engaging and retaining talent. It also invites readers to submit their favorite statistics, stories, and quotations at www.keepem.com.
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want to stay, innovate, and make their mark.
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The authors end with a Retention/Engagement Index (REI), which is a self-test for managers. Based on their answers to 26 yes or no questions, they are referred back to chapters in the book that contain advice they may want to reread.
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Zenith–Go For It
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Yielding will increase the odds of retaining the best people. As they are empowered to innovate, make decisions, and truly affect the success of the team, their job satisfaction will increase.
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They also provide a to-do list for getting started on a comprehensive retention strategy, which includes:
Score the Retention/Engagement Index and review relevant chapters.
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Get feedback from trusted employees and colleagues.
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Reward successes and move on to another strategy.
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Design an action plan and stick with it.
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Do “just one thing.”
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Resources are recommended throughout, including the authors’ own Web site at www.keepem.com where recent results of the “Engagement Edge” survey, a tool that measures engagement and retention inside organizations, can be viewed. The book can be read cover to cover, or the reader can select those chapters that apply to a current challenge. The authors recommend keeping the book on hand as a reference, and providing copies to all managers within an organization.
Contents Preface Acknowledgements Introduction
Final recommendations are for managers to evaluate themselves often and commit to improving continuously, and hold themselves and the managers who report to them accountable for building a workplace so productive and fulfilling that talented people will
2. Buck – It Stops Here
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Managers of managers are reminded to send a clear message about their responsibility to keep talented people. Senior managers need to embrace the process themselves if they want to bring about change.
1. Ask - What Keeps You? Do you know what they want?
Who’s in charge of keeping them? 3. Careers – Support Growth
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
Are you building their future or are you in the way?
19. Space – Give It
4. Dignity – Show Respect
Are your people on a short leash?
Do they know that you respect them?
20. Truth – Tell It
5. Enrich – Energize The Job
The truth hurts – or does it?
Do your people have to leave to find growth and challenge?
21. Understand – Listen Deeper
6. Family – Get Friendly Avoid making your employees choose between work and family life.
23. Wellness – Sustain It
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What matters most?
7. Goals – Expand Options
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Are they sick or tired?
There are five career paths other than up.
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24. X-ers And Other Generations – Handle with Care
8. Hire – Fit Is It
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They are different. Can you keep them?
Make a match or start from scratch.
25. Yield – Power Down
9. Information – Share It
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Give it up to keep them.
Do you have it? Do you hoard it?
26. Zenith – Go For It
10. Jerk – Don’t Be One
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Test your Retention Engagement Index.
Are you one?
Top Ten Pushbacks
Are we having fun yet?
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12. Link – Create Connections
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11. Kicks – Get Some
If you build them, they will stay. 13. Mentor – Be One
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22. Values – Define and Align
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When you tune out, you lose out – and they move out.
Got More? Notes Index About the Authors
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Are they learning from you? 14. Numbers – Run Them Calculate the cost of loss.
15. Opportunities – Mine Them
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Will they find them inside or outside? 16. Passion – Encourage It
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Help them find the work they love – without leaving. 17. Question – Reconsider The Rules Which will you keep: the rules or the people? 18. Reward – Provide Recognition Which matters more: praise or pay?
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Beverly Kaye and Sharon Jordan-Evans
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Love ‘em or Lose ‘em
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A Note to Our Readers
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We at BBS encourage our readers to purchase the business books we summarize. BBS Summaries are intended as a service to busy professionals, as we recommend only those books that are worth your time to read in their entirety. We apply stringent criteria in selecting only the best business books, and in that selection process, strive to help you make informed book-purchasing decisions.
Click to Buy This Book
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This book is available at bookstores and online booksellers.
Business Book Summaries® is a service of EBSCO Publishing, Inc. For more information about BBS, to subscribe to BBS, or to provide us feedback, visit our Web site. www.ebscohost.com EBSCO Publishing Inc. 10 Estes Street Ipswich, MA 01938 USA
Copyright of Business Book Summaries, Business Book Review, BusinessSummaries and BizSum is property of EBSCO Publishing Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download or email articles for individual use.
Business Book Summaries® October 31, 2011 • Copyright © 2011 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • All Rights Reserved
Page 14
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Copyright of Love 'Em or Lose 'Em - Business Book Summaries is the property of Great Neck Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
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April 24, 2015
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Barbara Annis and Keith Merron
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Breakthrough Strategies for Increasing Diversity and Improving Your Bottom Line
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Gender Intelligence
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©2014 by Barbara Annis and Keith Merron Adapted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers ISBN: 978-0-06-230743-9
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Key Concepts
Improved decision making and increased innovation. Studies show that gender-blended teams consistently make better decisions, are more effective at problem solving, and are more innovative. Their collective intelligence yields much better results than more homogenous teams.
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Years of quotas, targeted recruiting, flexible work programs, women-only networks, diversity compliance policies, and various other schemes have not collectively produced the gender diversity companies have sought nor have they delivered the equality women desire. What is needed is a sustainable solution based on gender intelligence—the recognition of and appreciation for the natural differences between men and women due to variations in brain structure and chemistry that noticeably affect their thoughts and actions. When organizations embrace gender intelligence and infuse it into their functions, processes, and systems, they experience numerous benefits, including:
Responsiveness to customers and markets. Gender-blended teams in research and development (R&D), marketing, sales, and customer service ensure that companies spot new opportunities faster than their genderblind competitors. They are more attuned to the experiences, propensities, and tastes of both genders, and therefore products and services are better aligned with customer needs and expectations.
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Balanced leadership. Studies demonstrate that when leadership is balanced between both genders, companies post higher financial performance on key indicators, such as return on equity, return on sales, and return on invested capital, and also tend to improve best practices in codes of conduct, executive remuneration, and other aspects of company culture.
Business Book Summaries® • April 24, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Gender Intelligence
Barbara Annis and Keith Merron
Minimized risks and costs. Gender intelligence protects companies from the high costs of lawsuits and harassment complaints as well as the significant hidden costs of lost productivity, lower morale, and job turnover.
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Tapping into a broader and more complete talent pool. When women are empowered to bring their unique strengths to work, talent utilization can be maximized and can enhance overall productivity and growth.
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Superior financial performance. The benefits of gender intelligence contribute collectively to a boost in a company’s bottom line. The most long-term study to date, using 215 Fortune 500 companies over 19 years, showed a strong correlation between a balance of men and women in leadership and higher profit margins, asset values, and stockholder equity.
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Summary
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Introduction
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Gender Intelligence and the Science Behind It
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In Gender Intelligence, Barbara Annis and Keith Merron explain how false assumptions have stymied true gender equality and diversity and call for a major paradigm shift. They point companies toward a sustainable solution based on a thorough understanding of the biological differences between the genders: gender intelligence. Only when these natural differences between the genders are acknowledged, valued, and leveraged to achieve better business outcomes will there truly be gender equality.
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Simply stated, gender intelligence is the recognition of and appreciation for the natural differences between men and women that are caused by variations in brain structure and chemistry and that noticeably affect their thoughts and actions. Without mutual understanding of these natural tendencies, gender blind spots—false assumptions about gender—cause confusion, frustration, and miscommunication in the workplace and limit companies’ potential for innovation and growth. Following are four of the most prevalent gender blind spots:
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1. The belief that equality means sameness: Many companies operate under the assumption that by treating men and women identically, they are achieving gender equality. This is perpetuated by the idea that men and women would engage with the world in the same way if they were not socialized differently. More than any other blind spot, this focus on sameness is most damaging to true gender equality.
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2. The male-designed organization: Since the Industrial Revolution, organizational structure has largely been designed by men, for men. Fast decision making, measurable goals, a clear hierarchy, and a focus on individual performance were ideal for the speed and efficiency required in a factory. Despite vast innovations, changes in the workplace, and the influx of women into the workforce, this has remained the prevailing, unquestioned structure.
Many companies who call on us have come to the realization that the focus on sameness and equality in representation has done little to produce meaningful change in the upper echelons of the organization.
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3. Fixing women to think and act like men: Most initiatives and systems put in place to help women have been focused on getting them to approach their careers like men. Women have been taught how to manage their way to the top, “dress for success,” negotiate assertively, and adopt other strategies to play the corporate game the way men do. The closer women approach the upper echelons of a company, the greater their feelings of disenfranchisement when their natural styles of contribution are dismissed or considered inferior. 4. Assuming the off-putting behaviors of men are intentional: The absence of gender equality may be glaring to women, but most men are not aware that their actions are perpetuating the problem. Women may assume that men do not care about gender equality, when in reality they are simply doing what comes most naturally to them.
Business Book Summaries® • April 24, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Gender Intelligence
Barbara Annis and Keith Merron
Collectively, these blind spots lead to some common organizational symptoms: Women “quit and stay” by delivering quality work but never advancing; senior leadership and key sectors like IT remain male-dominated; women achieve leadership positions primarily in support sectors such as HR and communications; senior women fear pushback if they focus on gender diversity; and diversity programs are passionately launched but end up merely being a façade. While these symptoms and others tend to be brushed off by leaders, the authors contend that these and other symptoms are indicative of a much larger problem.
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1. Corpus callosum: This bundle of nerves connecting the left and right hemispheres of the brain is largely responsible for how people process information. It tends to be larger, shaped differently, and contains more nerve fibers in women than men. This is one reason that women tend to perform left- and right-brained activities simultaneously and engage in broader, web-like, contextual thinking. Men are more likely to focus on a single, sequential thought process and see one task through to completion without interruption, and are less likely to consider a problem from alternative viewpoints.
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same on the inside, we make assumptions about how easy it should be for the other gender to think and act the same and we undervalue the differences when they show up.
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Companies need a new paradigm for gender equality and diversity. The feminist movement’s rallying cry of “we are equal” has been misconstrued as “we are the same,” but in the past several decades, science has become conclusive that men and women are hardwired very differently from birth. (The When we maintain authors are speaking in terms of gendered tendencies, a continuum where most the opinion that men people fall toward the middle of a bell curve.) While there are many areas of and women are the the brain where gender-based differences are evident, the following seven are the most striking and responsible for the most predictable behavioral patterns:
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2. Anterior cortex: Women tend to have a larger anterior cortex, allowing for more complex thought patterns and the integration of memories and emotions into a bigger picture. It is responsible for intuition and gut instincts, but it is also known as the “worrywart” center of the brain. Women tend to approach risks with greater caution and calculation, which may produce greater anxiety and delay action. While men are more apt to take risks, sometimes they appear to do so blindly.
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3. Insular cortex: This highly complex area of the brain influences people’s emotional responses to their surroundings, experiences of pain, and their sense of self. On average, it is twice as large in women as in men, making women significantly more sensitive to events, emotions, and the moods of others around them. 4. Hippocampus: With some functions similar to the insular cortex, the hippocampus is the center for memory and emotion and tends to be larger and more active in women. Women’s rich memory of past experiences can aid them in decision making, but also inhibit them from moving forward quickly. Conversely, men are more likely to take action confidently, but at times rashly.
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5. Amygdala: Part of the limbic system, the amygdala is best known for the “flight or fight” reactions to fear, stress, or danger. It is highly influenced by hormonal activity and triggers behaviors such as competitiveness and aggression. The amygdala is larger, more active, and has a greater number of testosterone receptors in men’s brains. Men are better able to respond to stressors quickly, stay focused on the current situation, and take action without making connections to past events or emotions.
6. Prefrontal cortex: The prefrontal cortex controls judgment, decision making, and consequential thinking. It tends to develop earlier in girls and is typically larger in women than men. This part of the brain also controls social behavior and acts like a brake on the amygdala’s more reflexive signals. This can change how women and men approach conflict resolution and negotiation; women tend to look for win-win solutions while men often assess a conflict as a competition and look for a way to be the victor. Business Book Summaries® • April 24, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Gender Intelligence
Barbara Annis and Keith Merron
7. Cerebellum: The cerebellum is important in motor control, coordination, precision, language, and regulating fear and pleasure. Working in concert with the amygdala, the cerebellum allows men to respond more quickly to sensory input and take action with greater self-assurance. Their larger cerebellum also means men tend to engage in more nonverbal communication (e.g., movement, physicality) than women typically do.
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Additionally, men and women produce very different levels of the same hormones—notably testosterone, oxytocin, and cortisol—which accentuate the differences of their brains. Gender intelligence views these differences as a source of strength, but one that is being underutilized.
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The Journey to Becoming a Gender-Intelligent Organization
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In the authors’ experience, an organization needs to understand and embrace seven “breakthrough insights” to become fully committed to gender intelligence:
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1. Transformation begins with leadership. Gender equality and diversity cannot be a mandate given to HR and undertaken out of a sense of duty, compliance, or for the sake of appearance. If leaders do not embrace gender diversity as having strategic value, then companies will not see a sustainable change. A company’s leaders must initiate the shift in its ethos by becoming personally educated about gender differences, treating equality as a strategic priority, promot- Diversity programs ing the presence of men and women in all situations, and self-correcting become window assumptions and behaviors that inhibit diversity of thought. dressing destined to
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2. Numbers don’t solve the problem. Simply meeting quotas or percentages gives companies the impression that they have done something, but they tend to obscure the high cost of turnover of female employees. One company finally took action when it discovered that its turnover of female talent was costing over $240 million per year. While men tend to leave companies for better positions or higher incomes, women tend to leave because they feel their contributions are consistently ignored or dismissed. This company discovered that in an effort not to burn professional bridges, however, women were stating that they left for “personal reasons.”
fail because they’re not linked to the financial goals of the company and lack the full support of top leadership, from whom everyone else takes their cues.
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3. Meritocracies are not enough. Many leaders believe their companies are very gender intelligent because all employees are evaluated by the same standards, and advancement is purely meritocratic. What can be difficult to see are the ways in which advancement is “male-modeled,” and how evaluations are phrased in ways that describe how a man would exhibit a particular competency. For instance, “thinking strategically” will most likely manifest itself very differently in a female versus a male executive.
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4. There’s a science to our differences. Companies need to understand that there are fundamental, hardwired differences between men and women and embrace those as complementary and equally valuable.
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5. It’s not just about women. Too often, organizations focus solely on women’s initiatives; this tends to further isolate women and alienate men who see the initiatives as giving women preferential treatment. Gender intelligence can only be achieved through the conversation and participation of both genders. 6. Gender intelligence accelerates all diversity. Some business leaders fear that prioritizing gender diversity over other forms of diversity will be problematic. The authors suggest that leading with gender is important because (1) both genders will always be represented in the workforce while its cultural, ethnic, and racial makeup is always in flux; (2) issues with gender diversity tend to be rooted in misunderstanding of biological differences, while other diversity issues are rooted in social bias and discrimination; and (3) questioning assumptions and discovering gender blind spots tend to have a positive domino effect on other diversity issues.
Business Book Summaries® • April 24, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Gender Intelligence
Barbara Annis and Keith Merron
7. Fear of stereotyping blocks progress. Most people are aware of and experience gender differences but are too afraid to discuss them for fear of being labeled discriminatory or stereotypical. Gender intelligence creates space for a discussion of differences, not stereotyping, that assigns value to both male and female styles. The Gender Intelligence Continuum designed by the authors helps organizations visualize where they are on the journey to Gender Intelligence and highlights discrepancies between how men and women rate their current state. On the continuum, there are six stages that correlate with six attitudes:
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1. Stage Zero: “We don’t care.” This is a company that sees no value in gender intelligence and views it as a distraction from more important tasks. The assumption at Stage Zero is that men and women are the same and that any lack of female representation in the upper echelons of the company is due entirely to women’s lack of desire or commitment.
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3. Stage Two: “It’s a good thing to do.” At this stage, companies have good intentions and put significant effort into gender diversity, but initiatives often falter because they are not viewed as having strategic importance. The focus is on a sense of obligation and fairness, not on how gender diversity could benefit the company. The public image of the company may be good, but the day-to-day work environment continues to send women looking elsewhere.
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but if it’s pursued solely for compliance or for the appearance of equality, it’s not going to create sustainable change.
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2. Stage One: “We have to do this.” These organizations may have targeted recruitment of women, but they do so simply to comply with legal mandates or quotas. Leadership is not convinced of its importance, but begrudgingly accepts that it cannot be ignored and passes off the responsibility of compliance to HR. In such organizations, men are often Gender diversity is resentful of what feels like reverse discrimination, and women are cogniclearly a worthy goal, zant that their natural styles of work are valued in name only.
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4. Stage Three: “We have business reasons.” These companies recognize that gender diversity is not only the right thing but the smart thing to pursue. They recognize the economic benefits of leveraging genderdiverse talent and see its positive effects in innovation, marketing, leadership, and other areas that impact the bottom line. This stage marks the crucial breakthrough needed to make gender intelligence sustainable.
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5. Stage Four: “We’re in transition.” This stage can be challenging as companies discover what it means to view gender diversity not in numbers but as “diversity of thought,” and infuse every aspect of the company with gender intelligence. While the business case for gender intelligence has been recognized, the key is changing company culture to reflect that understanding.
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6. Stage Five: “Authentically a gender-intelligent organization.” While they are few and far between, Stage Five organizations are gender intelligent to a point that they are not dependent on existing leadership to maintain it; gender intelligence is infused into all their functions, processes, and systems. They are continually evaluating how gender differences can be leveraged to make the company stronger.
How Gender Intelligence Affects the Organization
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Even when leaders have an “aha!” moment surrounding gender intelligence, it is tempting for them to use the same approach to gender diversity they have always used: more work-life balance initiatives, online training, and other bandage solutions. For the cultural change to be transformational and sustained, the functions, systems, and processes of an organization (such as those listed below) need to be fundamentally altered to become gender intelligent.
Business Book Summaries® • April 24, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Gender Intelligence
Barbara Annis and Keith Merron
Functions Marketing: Research shows that gender strongly influences buying decisions; how men and women “observe, prioritize, and process” information differs, and this affects each aspect of the purchase process—where, what, when, how, and why they buy something. When both genders are informing a company’s marketing strategy, it can recognize new opportunities and markets faster than its gender-blind competitors.
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Research and development: Gender Intelligence helps R&D teams develop products and services that meet the desires and expectations of their target consumers. Understanding how men’s and women’s motivations, attitudes, and experiences differ from one another leads to the development of products better aligned with consumer tastes.
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Sales: The sales function in particular has remained almost entirely male-modeled; The established norm for exceeding in sales involves being extroverted, aggressive, results-driven, and focused on hitting shortterm sales goals. Women, however, tend to value long-term relationships over short-term revenue opportunities, and female buyers tend to want Gender Intelligence a positive experience with the company, not simply an effective product saves us from our for a good price. Men and women bring complementary strengths to the sales function, and applying gender intelligence to this area is a sure way assumptions. of outshining the competition.
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Customer service: While men might share their positive or negative company experience with about 3 people they are close with, women will share it with up to 32, strangers included. Since women feel that their interactions with companies are more relational, having a gender-intelligent customer service department is crucial.
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Processes
Conflict resolution: People react to conflict at an instinctual level. Women tend to immediately internalize and personalize it (e.g. “What did I do?), view it as destructive to relationships, listen and stay silent first, and then want to talk through the issue to find a win-win outcome. Men tend to immediately assign blame to someone or something else, turn their anger or irritation outward, and treat it as a more isolated event, not a relationship-changer. They prefer to think through it alone, seeking a concrete solution and taking action. In the absence of gender intelligence, opposite genders tend to exacerbate conflicts in their attempts to resolve them.
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Problem solving: Problem solving is a key competency but is often defined in a male way at companies. Men tend to isolate problems, zero in on potential solutions, and settle on solutions quickly. Their strength is in convergent thinking. Women, however, tend to contextualize problems, expand their understanding of causes, and explore multiple solutions to seek out the best long-term one. Their strength is in divergent thinking. Gender intelligence can enable a better range of solutions to be considered but still allow for necessary efficiency in choosing one.
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Decision making: Similar to how they approach problem solving, men tend to think and act quickly, focus on facts, and take a step-by-step approach to a narrow goal. Women tend to think in more multidimensional and weblike patterns, use intuition and past experiences to guide them, and consider the broader consequences of each decision on everyone. Gender intelligence helps women see that men are not rash risk-takers and helps men see that women are not simply reacting out of fear.
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Systems •
Hiring: When companies state that there are not enough qualified women in the area they are looking to hire, their description of a successful candidate is probably written too narrowly. For instance, many IT de-
Business Book Summaries® • April 24, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Gender Intelligence
Barbara Annis and Keith Merron
partments state that they struggle to find qualified female applicants, but often only search among computer science graduates, a degree still dominated by men. A study of CIOs suggests that they are most interested in having women in their IT departments for their creativity, innovation, ability to build relationships with business teams, and boosting team cohesion and morale, not for extensive technical knowledge. A better balance of candidates can be considered by applying a gender-intelligent lens to job descriptions and the search process. Compensation: One of the main reasons there is still an income disparity between men and women doing the same job is that men tend to negotiate their salaries very directly and see this as a natural step in the hiring process, while women worry that it will cause a relationship-damaging confrontation. A genderintelligent organization recognizes that turnover costs will be higher when women do not feel appreciated for doing identical work and attempts to correct any compensation gaps.
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Performance management: Both men and women tend to be evaluated based on a male-modeled rubric of doing work, one that places value only on results and reaching those results as efficiently as possible. However, women tend to build relationships in the process of goal attainment, Study after study which is something that tends to be absent from annual reviews. Gender-inshows that companies telligent organizations evaluate employees based on timely, on-budget results with more gender- and measureable progress toward goals, but also on their abilities to build long-term infrastructure, networks, and relationships.
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As more organizations have sought gender diversity as a goal, consultants, associations, and researchers have been testing how and why gender diversity in the workplace brings economic benefits. What they continually find is compelling evidence, particularly in the following five areas, that gender diversity and equality is in every organization’s best interest.
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diverse top management teams financially outperform companies with less diverse leadership.
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1. Balanced leadership: Narrow and limited views of what leaders look like are what has primarily led to an absence of women in the upper echelons of companies. This is contrary to the belief that most avoid it because of family responsibilities or because they are not tough enough to handle it. In fact, in a McKinsey & Company study of 9,000 leaders and managers worldwide, women were rated more positively than men in all but one leadership function: “develops strategic perspective.” While this does not mean that women make better leaders than men, it does suggest that more balance at the top would significantly benefit companies. When leadership is more collaborative and the complementary strengths of men and women are working in unison, studies show that companies post higher financial performance on key indicators, such as return on equity, return on sales, and return on invested capital. They also tend to improve best practices in codes of conduct, executive remuneration, and other aspects of company culture.
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2. Gender-blended teams: Similar to the advantages seen at the leadership level, the benefits of having genderblended teams have been repeatedly proven. These teams are often more innovative, effective, and likely to challenge the status quo, and have better communication, problem-solving, and decision-making skills. Researchers found that the collective intelligence of groups accounted for “up to 40 percent of the variation in performance” between teams, whereas the average IQ of individual members did not predict higher performance of the group. In other words, “having a bunch of smart men in a group was not as valuable as having a blend of men and women.” 3. Market responsiveness: By having a balance of male and female voices in sales, marketing, communications, innovation, and other key functions, a company better mirrors the market it is trying to sell to, making its responsiveness to changes much faster than the competition’s.
Business Book Summaries® • April 24, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Gender Intelligence
Barbara Annis and Keith Merron
4. Risk management: Gender-intelligent companies will be protected from the high costs of lawsuits and harassment complaints. Apart from the substantial monetary expense of handling these issues, companies bear significant hidden costs, such as lost productivity, lower morale, and job turnover. 5. Talent utilization: Gender-blind companies are missing incredible opportunities by limiting the talent pool available to them. When women are empowered to bring their unique strengths to the workplace, talent utilization can be maximized and enhance overall productivity and growth.
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Getting Started
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When companies’ leaders begin to understand gender intelligence, they often wonder where to start. While the specifics to that answer will vary slightly from one company to the next, the authors present a broad, four-step action plan:
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1. Begin with leadership; begin with a willingness to be open-minded and uncomfortable. Moving toward becoming a Stage Five organization requires reflection, leadership commitment, and the recognition that changing a company’s culture is neither easy nor comfortable but is well worth the work.
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2. Take the organization’s “pulse” and get a diagnosis. Existing employee survey data rarely reflects the deeper issues present at a company. When consulting, the authors begin by asking for and gathering extensive data regarding hiring and promotion practices, key systems and processes, culture, turnover, financial success, and various other metrics and surveys. They conduct one-on-one interviews, use focus groups, and do a unique analysis of HR survey data to further uncover the underlying causes behind a company’s problems.
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3. Do a Gender Intelligence Diagnostic. This process results in a circular graph that clearly visualizes employee perceptions of 11 categories, separated by male and female responses. People are asked to agree or disagree with statements based on a 10-point scale that reflect level of satisfaction with these categories. The closer to the center of the circle a dot is plotted, the greater the satisfaction. While the gut instinct of many leaders is to institute more programs encouraging work-life balance, this category tends to have the least deviation between men and women. The results of this diagnostic help guide the company in making a plan.
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4. Create a transformation plan. This will vary slightly from one organization to the next, but the goal is to avoid simple bandage solutions (e.g., hire more women) and examine the results of the previous steps to choose actions that will have the most leverage. Executing and updating this plan will require a coalition of people to ensure that gender intelligence does not become the initiative-of-the-month and that its value is demonstrable to everyone in the company.
Conclusion
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Gender intelligence is already helping major companies such as Nissan, Dove-Unilever, Deloitte, IBM, eBay, and American Express move beyond simplistic gender diversity initiatives and leverage the different strengths of men and women to reduce turnover and deliver superior financial results. The authors intend for gender intelligence to transform corporate cultures and prompt a larger conversation about gender outside the business arena.
Features of the Book Estimated Reading Time: 5–6 hours, 272 pages Gender Intelligence provides a roadmap to achieving true gender equality and diversity in any type of organization. Barbara Annis and Keith Merron bring decades of research and experience working with Fortune 500 companies as they highlight how valuing the differences between men and women produces economic
Business Book Summaries® • April 24, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
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Gender Intelligence
Barbara Annis and Keith Merron
and social benefits to a company far beyond the scope of standard diversity initiatives. The book would be of particular interest to those in leadership or upper-level management positions, HR professionals, and anyone frustrated with the poor results of existing gender-equality and diversity schemes. Each chapter includes a wealth of real-world examples, most drawn from the authors’ personal experiences with large corporate clients. The book should be read sequentially for best understanding. It includes notes, an index, and links to online self-assessment tools.
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Contents Preface
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Part One: A New Conversation 1. Gender Intelligence
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2. The Science Behind Our Gender Differences
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3. Brain Science at Work 5. The Journey of Gender-Intelligent Companies
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Part Two: Why Gender Intelligence Is Next in the Evolution
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4. Breakthrough Insights That Are Transforming Companies
6. Past, Present, and Future 7. The Gender-Intelligent Leader
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Part Three: How Gender Intelligence Affects the Organization 9. The Economics of Gender Diversity
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8. Functions, Processes, and Systems
11. How to Get Started Notes
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Index
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Acknowledgments
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Part Four: Conditions for Success
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10. Gender-Intelligent Organizations Today
Further Information
Information about the author and subject: www.genderintelligence.com Information about this book and other business titles: www.harpercollins.com
Click Here to Purchase the Book
Business Book Summaries® • April 24, 2015 • Copyright © 2015 EBSCO Publishing Inc. • www.ebscohost.com • All Rights Reserved
9
Gender Intelligence
Barbara Annis and Keith Merron
Related summaries in the BBS Library: Difference Works Improving Retention, Productivity and Profitability Through Inclusion By Caroline Turner
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The Athena Doctrine How Women (And the Men Who Think Like Them) Will Rule the Future By John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio
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About the Authors
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Barbara Annis, founder and CEO of Gender Intelligence Group (formerly Barbara Annis & Associates Inc.), is a world-renowned expert on gender intelligence and inclusive leadership. She works with Fortune 500 companies and many organizations worldwide. Since 1987, Gender Intelligence Group has facilitated more than 8,000 corporate workshops, keynotes, and executive coaching sessions. Annis is the chair emeritus of the Women’s Leadership Board at Harvard Kennedy School and was recently conferred with the International Alliance for Women Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the author of Same Words, Different Language; Leadership and the Sexes; and Work with Me, cowritten with John Gray.
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Keith Merron, a senior associate with Gender Intelligence Group, is an organizational effectiveness and executive development specialist. He has more than 30 years of experience assisting executives and managers in business, government, and education. In partnership with his clients, he has successfully conducted more than 25 large-system strategic-, cultural-, and technical-change efforts. Merron received his doctorate from Harvard University in 1985; his studies there spanned the fields of human and organizational development. He teaches at the Hult International Business School and is the author of four books on organizational change: Riding the Wave, Consulting Mastery, The Golden Flame, and Inner Freedom.
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Copyright of Gender Intelligence is the property of Great Neck Publishing and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
