Category Archives: Business and Politics

NO DEPOTISM & NO NEPOTISM

January 18, 2011 – 2:03 am

For all Tunisians alike, young and old, rich and poor, from the north to the south, these are extraordinary times. And we face an extraordinary challenge. The leaders we will soon choose will be faced with tough decisions in the months and years ahead. Their only responsibility is the commitment they have to serve our country and all of its citizens. No role in history could be more important or more difficult. Tunisians stand for freedom, in all its facets (forms).

We, the citizens of Tunisia, need to be united in our belief, vision, and mission of guaranteeing full representation for all. From Tozeur to Tunis, Bizerte to Bin Guirdan, Kasserine to Kelibia, Sidi Bouzid to Sousse, we need to be united against any man, group, political system, or nation that is hostile to our freedom.

The jasmine revolution equals any great revolution in human history. Our young generation led us to emancipation. For that we owe them a brighter future. They seek an end to injustice, tyranny, corruption, and exploitation. More than an end of a regime, we seek a new beginning.

Adversaries of freedom, some of whom are still in power, are now seeking to reap the fruits of freedom trees, irrigated by the blood of innocent young Tunisians. Their aggression is often more concealed than open. They have personally fired no guns. And they are seldom seen. They send their agitators, snipers, and militias to terrorize our kids, burn our businesses, and rob our homes. When we band together and march, their assassins kill and terrorize our sons, brothers, fathers, and sisters.

These adversaries of freedom plan to consolidate power, to control, and finally destroy the hopes of the bravest young men and women of the 21st century.

There is no simple single policy which will move us forward. Our commitment to freedom and street slogans are only but a beginning. What we need are intellectual maturity and wisdom, not destruction of property, in-fighting, and wealth-grabbing. There is much more we can do, and must do.

First, let us decide on who among us has the intellectual know-how to navigate us through these treacherous waters and uncertain times. This can only be accomplished through real, open, and honest dialogue. For if we are seeking a democracy, we need to begin now.

By lotfi saibi | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)

Leadership : a personal story of transformation

February 2, 2010 – 12:00 pm

As a result of my last post, 21st Century Leadership, many of you have written me asking for examples of such necessary transformation and adaptability. I thought of many scenarios of famous, well publicized leaders. Names of people we all respect a great deal, spanning politics, business, technology, etc. Instead, I decided to share a personal story I had submitted as part of a graduate paper for a class project at Harvard while discussing Leadership mini strengths.

In the summer of 2001 I received a phone call from a recruiting company asking if I would be interested in taking over as president of a company in XXXXXXX, Canada. The company was XXX . My immediate reaction was that the caller most likely was an intern, or first year associate, who had overestimated the qualities I had listed on my online resume. I without further ado discounted the phone conversation and went back to my Chess game. A week later I had received a second call. This time it was the principal of the recruiting company asking to meet me in person. To make a long story short, within a months’ time, I had met the owners and board of directors of XXX at some inconspicuous hotel in downtown Toronto. What began to emerge from the series of meetings that followed was that XXX was looking for a candidate that had traits that were dissimilar to the candidate being replaced. They were looking for a leader, first. They were looking for someone who can easily adapt to the changes in the market place. They needed an person who easily adapted to the cultural changes brought about the many faces, religions, and ethnic backgrounds that comprised the service industry in Canada. They had realized, accidentally, that the job required a leader with emotional intelligence, and not necessarily technical or subject expertise. A good leader, through collaboration and a common cause, can put together a team of people who are experts in their own fields, and good managers who speed up the company vision, they surmised. In spite of my lack of experience in leading anything more than a $10 million operation, they had decided I was that candidate.

I had many mixed feeling and thoughts, including occasional self-doubt, in taking on such a monumental task. But, for every moment of self-doubt, there were many that were exhilarating.  I remember talking to colleagues and any one that would listen about the challenges of the position. I asked many questions, and began reading anything I can get my hands on. Most of my research focused on vision, mission, team building, buy-in, transparency, accountability, and over all leadership. I enlisted the help of the internet in researching national companies in the US, who the leaders were and their success and failure stories. I made appointments with some notable companies in the Boston area that provided similar services to XXX Corp.

I officially took the position three months to the day my chess game was interrupted by a phone call from a head hunter. And almost immediately my excitement began to wane.  On my thirty-day anniversary at the position, I woke up to CNN broadcasting the twin tower terrorist attack on NYC. That was the beginning of what, undoubtedly, will be the most difficult time in my professional career. I never complained much about it, especially when reading news clipping of what America in general, and the families of the victims of the attack, in particular, were going through.

My challenges grew exponentially, and they were not just professional. My North African- Muslim background provided much of the fodder for the fuel my detractors needed. Add to that my no non-sense and straight forward style of leadership, and you had a formula for an explosive situation. On one occasion, a young disgruntled manager placed a box cutters in the trunk of car the day I was to drive back to Boston to see my son, hoping that customs would catch it.

I realized much-needed to be done, and quickly, that required very little in spreadsheets, charts, or weekly conference calls. With the help of the ownership, and a few supporters, I began a series of “town hall” meetings that would have made Barak Obama’s campaign manager during the last presidential elections very proud. I covered every division and outlet in a matter of weeks. I spoke to every employee, as most attended. Some were there to meet this young “American maverick”, others out of curiosity about what an Arab-American Muslim looked and sounded like. The rest, I had hoped, believed in my vision of change, and were there to offer support. As I recall thinking half way through this campaign, every leader of a large organization needed a road show like this one. For, I believe, I had learned some very valuable leadership lessons, and in the meantime, stumbled upon the very core of the problems ailing the organization.

Conspicuously absent from many of these voluntary meetings were several unit mangers and non-core administrative staff. They had not drunk the cool aid, and were waiting on the sidelines for the momentum of this new style of leadership to fizzle away. Perhaps they thought I would tire and give up. They were the old guard, and they were dead wrong. I actually anticipated and was ready for this part of the turnaround. What was really surprising though, was the amount of distrust and negative- counterproductive energy that permeated in the halls, dining rooms, and employee cafeterias. For years, according to most employees, the company took and never gave back. Soon I realized my promises for change would fall on deaf ears. Just like others before me.

My plan was to build not only consensus, but also ownership and buy-in, through accountability and transparency. I was the first to volunteer for this plan. I made my compensation public and a function of the general performance of the company. Soon afterwords, I suggested, through indirect influence, that all managers do the same, each reflecting the performance of his or her unit of operation. Then I made sure all that information was available on a company intranet that all employees could access with a simple user name and password. The results were not surprising. Within a year’s time, the old guard had changed to new, invigorated, and full of energy and passion type of future leaders. Employee retention improved by nearly 200%, and same store sales realized a double-digit yearly growth rate (The last part of the plan never took place. In fact, other internal issues within the company derailed these efforts from being realized, even though there was every indication that we were on our way)

I later decided that seeing my son more than just on the weekends was more rewarding, and returned to Boston. My mission of taking on a monumental challenge, and succeeding, was accomplished.

Disclaimer: Although this is a personal account; names, dates and financial data were changed to protect against any possible breach of confidentiality.

By lotfi saibi | Also posted in Sales Management, Strategy and Leadership | Tagged , , | Comments (0)

21st Century Leadership Challenges

December 25, 2009 – 9:10 am

The leadership world is divided in to mutually suspicious tribes – theoreticians versus practitioners, PR hogging gurus versus part time academics, supporters of the old command and control versus inspirational team builders, and finally leaders and managers themselves.

The business of running a business has always fallen prey to business school fads and consultant fraudsters, who suffer from a severe case of status anxiety. The very idea promoted by these so called experts that leadership is about anything other than people is preposterous, and has proven to be one of the great fallacies in the business world since Peter Drucker was accused of being a fantasist. The concept of re-engineering processes introduced by “experts”, in my opinion, focuses too much attention on efficiency as a goal – driven by lean, six sigma, or TQM processes- and not enough on efficiency as a means, driven by people.

In “The concept of the corporation”, published in 1946, you are struck by how similar today’s methods are to those of yesteryear. This is partly because, as technology and production methods evolve over time, what remains the same is the people, leading us to conclude that Leadership and Management is not a progressive science as some might want us to believe.

The 21st century has already spawned a sizable volcano of daunting new challenges. Deregulation, digitization, ecosystems, strategy life cycles, and competition present but a few, being tackled by leaders and managers alike. What remains unsettled is how to deal with employee issues as they change over time. Specifically worrisome are : a) broadening the scope of employee freedom, by managing less, without sacrificing focus, discipline, and order, b) creating an organization where the spirit of shared values and community dominate, not programs and policies, and c) providing for a mission that justifies extraordinary contribution.

The profile of the new century employee has certainly evolved over the years, more so in the last ten than in the fifty years prior. Traditional organizations and Human Resources Management programs taught us to look for diligence, intellect, and obedience as characters of the best employees. Today, and certainly in the future, obedience, diligence, and expertise can be bought for next to nothing; for we are living in an era where knowledge has become commoditized. The point is this: If you are to survive and successfully deal with these challenges, you need employees who are more than acquiescent, attentive, and astute – they must also be passionate, ardent, and enthusiastic. This clear shift in employee traits presents a conundrum for future leaders and managers. They are paid to oversee, control, and administer. Yet, as we move forward, the most valuable human capabilities are precisely those that are the least manageable. Current efficiency management tools cannot make employees more creative, committed, or zealous.   

Leaders of traditional organizations are very good at aggregating effort and coordinating activities based on shared competencies or objectives. They are not however good at mobilizing effort or inspiring employees to go the next step. They must face the challenge of turning bureaucracies in to communities where the work is less contractual, and more as a means of making a difference, or exercising a special talent. Employees must feel less as a factor of production, and more as a partner in a cause. They must get away from the web of rules and policies and into common values and partnerships.

Based on how effective organizations are in dealing with the above two points, employees will choose, to either give or withhold initiative, creativity, and passion. They are gifts that are passed on to organizations not by exhortation or rah-rah pep talks, but by managers and leaders asking themselves what kind of purpose would merit the best of everyone in the organization. To produce sustainable market gains, the next great innovation, or lasting financial benefits, organizations need a moral imperative that can’t be manufactured by smooth talking CEOs or hired consultants. Moral imperative must be the result of a vision, shared values, and it must be an end, not a means.

I cannot help but think of a quote I had come across a couple of years ago while working with a CEO, self proclaimed visionary who failed at leading miserably at every aspect of leading. It is from the Analects of Confucius ” The Master said, govern the people by regulations, keep order among them by chastisements, and they will flee from you, and lose all self respect. Govern them with moral force, keep order among them by ritual, and they will keep their self-respect and come to you of their own accord”

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AMBIDEXTROUS LEADERSHIP

October 23, 2009 – 6:20 am

Merriam-Webster defines ambidextrous as

1 : using both hands with equal ease
2 : unusually skillful : versatile
3 : characterized by duplicity : double-dealing

Let us compare a soccer player who is one-dimensional (either right or left footed) to one who is ambidextrous and can dribble with both feet. The latter leaves the defenders guessing as to what his next move is, or what direction he might be heading to next. The former is very predictable, and generally will lose possession of the ball very quickly. I was that player for many years, until I finally learned how to manage the ball with both feet.

I have to say that I have never driven a race car, but I can imagine an F1 driver trying to catch up with the pole leader, or one attempting to create some distance from his next follower. Such distances are not generally made up in straight-aways, but instead in turns, where you are most likely to outmaneuver the others. It is after all in tight corners where strategies and skill will shine, and where you separate the pretenders from the real winners. Tight, busy turns create opportunities for a driver to make up ground. similarly, a crisis is an opportunity for a leader of company to distinguish his company form the others. A good crisis should never go by the wayside.

What’s with the sports analogies, you might say…Think of a company CEO or division manager who can only focus on the task at hand. That is the equivalence of the one-dimensional soccer player, or the race car driver who can only pass on the straight- aways. They rarely accomplish their objectives. Instead, what is needed is a leader who can think beyond the goal at hand. Strategies have a shelf life that is determined by either a product life cycle, pricing, or competition ( supplanted by a more effective strategy). A leader who fails to recognize the difference between flexibility and firmness, cohesiveness and autonomy, and alignment and adaptability will fail in his or her duties to lead. This is the one-dimensional soccer player.

It is this juggling act that I refer to as ambidextrous leadership- the ability to manage effectively today, while planning and rehearsing the future. As my soccer carrer was short, so will yours as a one-dimensional leader.

In sports, as in the corporate world we live in, what makes good coaches great is the belief that special situations will arise in every game. And unless you anticipate these special cases and prepare for them, you will leave yourself unprepared and unable to take advantage of them, or worse, recognize them as they come about. Practicing the future is an essential duty of every leader. Run your company today as today’s customer requires, with an eye on the future. Ask Steve Jobs the CEO of Apple or any of the departed big three auto makers CEOs what they think of this. Play out the various scenarios and develop contingency plans accordingly. As anyone who has spent any time in the military will tell you – Generals who do not play war games and adopt to future technologies, will be sitting ducks when real bullets start flying.

An ambidextrous leader is the equivalent of a coach who will enter a game with more than one strategy at hand. For example, he can devise a game that features more offense than defense. Or, he can set up plays that anticipate the opposition tactics and attack their weaknesses. A company president who ventures in to new territories anticipating all kinds of obstacles ( market, culture, prices, competition, etc…) and different strategies to match (well prepared and rehearsed, for each scenario that might appear unexpectedly), will undoubtedly succeed. On a personal note, after my first visit to the MENA region and several meetings with potential customers, I realized that some of what I had learnt in the “streets” in North America, and in the class room at Harvard was of little use to me. Instead, I hurriedly, sought to devise different scenarios to accomplish my goals and overcome the many obstacles I met. Our company is more nimble today, and is in a more advantageous position to anticipate the markets and the customers’ needs. We can certainly help shape the future of our industry, instead of reacting to exogenous market conditions dictated by other factors or players.

Out of the ability to “juggle” with both feet, or hands in the case of some of my American born friends:), is born adaptability to current and future economic and market conditions.

In his new book Outrunning Change, Gary Hamel defines an adaptable company as “… one that captures more than its fair share of new opportunities”. I think of it more as, an organization that is constantly seeking new horizons. One that is always redefining its core business in ways that identifies new markets. Our company has recently ventured in to new territories in the MENA and South East Asia regions seeking such opportunities. To do this successfully, we needed leadership and management that recognize this essential need, brought about by market contraction and evaporating liquidity; forcing organizations to adjust to new price equilibriums- famous in microeconomic theories of perfect competition and zero profits.

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What kind of intelligence does a leader need to succeed?

September 22, 2009 – 1:22 am

Back in 1995 I read a book called Emotional Intelligence (Bantam), by Daniel Goleman. I have to admit that I really did not understand a heck of a lot of what he was talking about. You see, Emotional Intelligence was a new phenomenon. I had never really heard of it as a studied discipline. I was very familiar with IQ, high levels of technical knowledge, and the various descriptions associated with great leaders. Emotional Intelligence, No way I said. This past week, while finishing a project at Harvard for one of my management classes, i had come across the same book again.I will shamefully admit that i could not put it down.  

Goleman found that while the qualities traditionally associated with leadership-such as intelligence, toughness, determination, and vision-are required for success, they are insufficient.  This made me think of how Emotional Intelligence (let’s call it EI for short) operates and its relationship with effective performance. Happily, as I read the book once more, I realized we had covered several of those answers in the prior posts of this blog.  Tangible, quantifiable criteria, such as profitability, employee turnover, assessments, were used to differentiate the star performers at senior levels within their organizations from the average ones. Interviews and tests were conducted, and capabilities were compared. The results were as suspected. Intellect was a driver of outstanding performance. The top performers also possessed cognitive skills such as big picture thinking and long term vision. Equally satisfying to me, it was also concluded that, differences in technical skills among leaders, were of negligible importance.

As such, we will now continue with our series regarding the characterisitcs of great leaders, how to identify them, and work with them. This is called managing from all levels- The Stratosphere or the water cooler.

At 30,000 feet, you can see the total picture of your business, your industry, and maybe even the economy. You can detect interesting patterns that might create opportunities for your business — imperative to stay ahead of the game.

But if your thinking is always in the stratosphere, you might miss important details. You also have to be incisive, drilling to the specifics.

Otherwise your bold goals might be completely unrealistic; you won’t be able to pinpoint the priorities for your group, and you won’t know if your grand plans are being executed.

Also, those details have to be the right ones. Of all the observations you make, all the numbers your business generates, and all the sources of information available to you, you have to make a judgment about which ones really matter.

Patterns of Thinking

In business, how you think is just as important as what you think.

The ability to think at multiple altitudes, from 30,000 feet to 50 feet, is a distinct advantage in exercising your leadership know-how. But there are at least two other ways of thinking that are equally potent.

• Reframing

Reframing is being able to change your vantage point, to look at a phenomenon or problem from a very different perspective. It’s how leaders redefine their market and create new growth trajectories – MS going from competing in OS to competing in SEO.

You can use reframing to get team members to focus on a common goal rather than on their individual interests.

I once worked for a CEO of a hospitality holding company. He wanted to dig into the details of the business, so he went to work as a street cleaner. At that level, he noticed something he didn’t like: The hard-working janitorial staff viewed customers as the enemy who stood in the way of their mission to keep the parks and parking lots clean.

So he reframed their mission from cleanliness and safety to “giving customers the greatest day of their life.” Seeing their roles in a different light gave the staff a more positive attitude toward customers and paved the way for a better customer experience.

• Connecting the dots

Linear, analytic thinking is useful and important, but sometimes you have to take mental leaps in order to make sense of incomplete or seemingly unrelated pieces of information. You have to go beyond the charts and graphs and use imagination to connect the dots.

This mental process can be unconscious. If you ponder a problem for days and suddenly wake up one morning with a clear answer, your unconscious mind has done the work of connecting the dots. It appears to be intuitive.

Think how important connecting the dots is in a business meeting. As the dialogue flows among people, you as the leader should try to make connections between the ideas as they spontaneously arise. The better you get at this, the more productive the discussion will be as you synthesize the ideas rather than choosing among them

Anyone competing in the media or software development industry — or any fast-changing industry, for that matter — has to be able to make connections even as the dots themselves change.

By lotfi saibi | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments (1)

Leaders and their relationships with employees

September 5, 2009 – 12:45 am

The last couple of posts covered Superficial Leadership and The True Purpose of a Leader. Today we tackle the Leader’s relationship with his or her team. As a leader, do you spend as much time with your employees as you do with your business’ numbers? Is it quality time that shows sincere interest in them as human beings? And would they agree?

Or do you subconsciously believe that having an ongoing personal connection with employees is a waste of time? Maybe you rationalize your detachment by saying it’s your personal style to assign goals, provide resources, and let people loose.

An Atmosphere for Success

When I ask these simple questions of executives who want to build their organizational capability, they often become pensive. They begin to ponder what everyone knows — that most professionals want to do the best job they can, but a leader who creates the right ambiance and kindles the fire in people gets that extra something that drives organizations to new heights.

It’s a matter of attitudes, feelings and emotions that makes work enjoyable and ignites people’s energy to do more than they thought they could. Great leaders understand the numbers, but they also touch people’s hearts.

To get people fully engaged, you have to pay attention to them and make a personal connection with them. There are lots of different approaches to doing so, but here are some specific ways to improve how you lead people:

1. Spend time and listen.

There’s no substitute for personal interaction. Even the most competent, motivated professionals can lose focus, energy, and commitment when their interaction with the boss dwindles. Some people will assume others have your ear and feel less important. Others will simply feel overlooked and underappreciated.

You have to make the time to converse with people in person, by phone, through email, at lunch, or through periodic sit-downs one on one. Asking how a person’s current challenge is going and whether there’s anything you can do to help shows you care about his success.

An email following up on a formal or informal discussion reminds the person that she’s on your radar screen. Even a quick exchange in the hallway or elevator is a chance to show interest.

Listening is more important than talking. That’s how you find out what the organization is really wrestling with and therefore how execution is going. You’ll also learn how people tackle problems, and therefore how their minds work and what their talents are — all important in building a first-class organization.

But listening goes deeper. People feel different when they know they’ve been heard and that their input is making a difference. Access to you and your sincere interest are pivotal to their emotional connection with their work.

2. Help people see why their work is important.

It’s hard to feel engaged when you’re working in a vacuum. You can help people see their individual contribution as part of a bigger picture.

For example, a middle manager charged with designing an efficient flow of goods from China to a location in the middle of Texas can get totally immersed in the complexities of balancing cost, time, speed, and insurance risks.

As her boss, you can provide the broader context that shows how critical that work is to the company’s overall picture of streamlining the supply chain and conserving cash to make the company more competitive. When people see how their project, their job, and their goals fit into a higher purpose, they know their contribution matters.

3. Give people honest feedback.

It’s a human phenomenon: When someone is doing really well and you reinforce it with positive feedback, good performance becomes even better. People need to be seen and recognized — and not just once a year in a typically brief performance review. They need to hear what you think of their work often, with candor.

Maybe you think the high performers know they’re doing well, or should know because you pay them well. Don’t count on it.

When people aren’t meeting expectations, let them know that, too, so that they have a chance to improve. Don’t let your disappointments build and fester. If you talk to people regularly there’ll be no surprises.

4. Take an interest in people’s careers.

People will be all the more committed to their work when they know you’re the kind of leader who is truly interested in their success. Look for what people are naturally good at and work with them to find ways that they can leverage their talents. This applies to your underperformers as well as your superstars.

Talk about what they want to do, and what you can imagine them doing. Brainstorm possibilities, even if those possibilities are outside your span of control. And let your best people go to other jobs, other departments, even other organizations if that’s where the opportunity lies.

I’ve known many a retired leader who beams with pride at the success of leaders he helped nurture. And even decades later, those other leaders are deeply grateful to the person who helped them grow. Such emotional connections make life more meaningful.

5. Take an interest in the person beyond the job.

Not every conversation should be about work. People have lives outside of work; indeed, some people are very different outside of their jobs. People will know you care about them if you take time to learn what’s important in their lives.

The Full Measure of Leadership

Sure, you can hire a motivational speaker to fire up the troops. But the effect will last 15 minutes. If you really want to get your employees fully engaged in their work, you must be fully engaged with them. It’s you who makes the difference. It’s in your daily behavior, and it’s your energy that creates energy in others. It’s that simple.

Caring about people and wanting to draw the best out of them is something you can’t fake. If you’re self-centered and disinterested in others, leadership is not your calling. People know the difference. They’ll gravitate toward leaders whose concern is sincere.

Put your beliefs into action. Treat people like human beings with full lives, personal ambitions, and both the desire and the right to be valued and heard. Is it different from what you see around you? Maybe so, but that’s what leadership is all about.

 Disclaimer: author and source unknown.

By lotfi saibi | Tagged , , | Comments (1)

Purpose before Self-Your mission as a leader

August 23, 2009 – 9:24 am

In an era when many business leaders seek celebrity at the expense of their companies, others are quietly focused on something else entirely: the business.

What they care most about is carrying out the mission of the business, delivering the promised results, and building an organization they can be proud of.

They have a sense of purpose that goes beyond their own personal desire for extraordinary wealth, status, self-aggrandizement, or power. They put a broader purpose before interests that benefit only them.

Magnetic Leadership

Look around your organization and you’ll likely see leaders who are always thinking of what’s best for them or what will make them look good.

Then there are others who are driven to create something meaningful and enduring. Their purpose might be to make the organization the most respected in its industry, or to develop the best workforce in the world. One CEO I know has made it his purpose to recast his company as an innovation-driven organization.

These are the leaders people typically gravitate toward. The ones we trust, and who we want to be more like — not because of how much money they make, how much power they have, or how well-known they are, but because of who they really are, their inner substance.

Given the public transparency of the 21st century, leaders who put purpose before self are the ones to follow — and to emulate.

Actions Speak Louder Than Words

Some leaders make impassioned speeches about their glorious mission or lofty goals, but their actions reveal their true motivations. They want their own fame, power, and fortune more than anything.

Are you the type who says the right things, or the type who does the right things? Is your self-interest served by meeting a higher purpose?

Put yourself to the test by being intellectually honest in answering the following questions:

1. Are you willing to give up some of your turf for a broader purpose?

In 2005, a $20 billion company underwent a major reorganization, and one of the senior executives approached the CEO to tell him a portion of the executive’s new job really should belong to someone else.

What was he thinking? He was in a horse race to succeed the CEO and already had the smallest scope of all his peers and fellow contenders for the top job. Under those circumstances, many leaders would try to expand their span of control. But he believed the organization would work better if certain areas went to someone else.

This leader was not naïve or unambitious. It’s just that he truly wanted the business to succeed. Of course he hoped that his thinking would be recognized and appreciated. When his boss and the board get close to the succession decision, no doubt they’ll remember that this person revealed he’s not a greedy empire builder.

Caring about the good of the organization can mean ceding a portion of your span of control, voluntarily agreeing to cut back on projects in order to meet a budget goal, or sharing part of your leadership responsibilities with an up-and-coming leader who needs a development opportunity.

It might also mean giving up valued team members who would better serve the organization in a different capacity. In today’s global organization, letting go of good people is almost an imperative.

2. Do you place a high value on relationships?

Leaders who lead with a purpose understand that they must build and sustain relationships — with customers, suppliers, employees, colleagues, and others whose favor or contributions are important to their organization’s success.

They don’t see relationships as an immediate exchange of benefits. Their primary concern is not “What’s in it for me?” In fact, it may not even be clear exactly how a relationship could ultimately prove beneficial. Nonetheless, they’re happy to devote the time and energy.

One legendary leader who understood this was John Weinberg, the former head of Goldman Sachs. He was famous for regularly calling to check in on clients, even when he had nothing to sell them. He just wanted to be available to them to help with any issue he could.

The payoff was that he built deep, trusting relationships with his clients, who would often turn to him for advice. These relationships in turn helped solidify the reputation and strength of his business. It’s part of what brought him recognition as a great leader.

3. Can you value — and leverage — different perspectives?

If you lead with purpose, you understand that there’s little value — and much short-sighted paranoia — in dismissing or deflecting viewpoints that differ from your own.

If you try to create a picture from a higher altitude, namely the corporate viewpoint rather than a departmental or divisional viewpoint, you’ll be better able to reconcile conflicts. To do that, you have to be able to step into someone else’s shoes and see things through their eyes.

Are you given to clashing with other leaders in your company, or do you seek to build strong working relationships with them based on your shared commitment to the common good of the organization? Do you automatically push back on customer demands for earlier delivery dates, discounts, or more favorable credit terms, or do you try to understand why these requests are being made and work with the customer to arrive at solutions that benefit both parties?

Leaders who put purpose before self can recognize, accept, and even leverage different perspectives — often to tremendous advantage

4. Are you comfortable with transparency — because you have nothing to hide?

Transparency is the order of the day, and people are more willing to work with, work for, and partner with people they trust. Trust is, after all, the crucial glue of collaboration.

Those who are narcissistic, who cut corners, and seek the easy path when the right path appears too difficult, and who clearly put themselves first, are less effective because they’re held in much lower regard.

If, on the other hand, a higher purpose guides your actions, others will know where you stand and what you’re about because you have nothing to hide.

Mark Twain observed that if you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything. He offered this as a humorous observation, but as a leader you should take the spirit of the message seriously. If you put purpose before self, you’ll spend little time covering your tracks, “spinning” bad news, brandishing your image, or seeking to rebuild trust with others. And, as a result, you’ll have that much more energy to devote to your purpose.

Disclaimer: source and author unknown.

By lotfi saibi | Also posted in Sales Management, Strategy and Leadership | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Superficial Leadership, a common Malaise.

August 11, 2009 – 7:10 am

How often have you known a leader who takes command of the room the minute he walks in, gets all eyes focused on him, delivers a fantastic PowerPoint presentation, and has everyone eating out of the palm of his hand?

When that happens, people think to themselves, “Now that’s a leader!”

But as time goes on, the same leader makes terrible decisions or none at all. The people who report to him lose focus, the organization loses direction, and the business begins to flounder.

The so-called leader, it turns out, has no real ability to lead a business.

Style Before Substance

The issue comes down to style versus substance. Far too often, the people who identify, develop, and appoint leaders focus on the appearance of leadership. They miss the most important aspect of it: knowing how to run a business.

In his book Blink, Malcolm Gladwell notes that CEOs are on average three inches taller than the average male, and he attributes this fact to an unconscious bias. An imposing physical stature, he surmises, sends unconscious signals about who is or isn’t a leader, and thus influences who gets picked.

It may be hard to believe that people are swayed by such superficial qualities, and height is clearly an extreme example. But there are many other traps that cause us to put the wrong people in leadership positions, with terrible consequences for the person and the business.

Are They Really Leaders?

There are certain types of leaders who aren’t necessarily business leader. Don’t assume you’ve found a leader when you find one of the following:

  • The Pedigree

When you hear leaders making frequent references to their alma mater (“When I was at Harvard…”) or the big successful company they used to work for (“When I was at Toyota…”), be skeptical. Such people may be trying to impress by virtue of where they’ve been, rather than what they’ve done as a leader.

I’m not against education or valuable work experience. (In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m a proud Harvard guy myself.) The point is that some people are taken in and choose such “leaders” either because they assume something good must have rubbed off, or because they think it’s safe.

It isn’t. You have to look at the person’s skills and record of actual accomplishment to have any sense of the person’s capability as a business leader.

  • The Spiritual Leader

Some people have a way of stirring up energy and excitement in other people. They conjure a vision of something great and appealing and have extraordinary communication skills that fire up emotion. People believe them, and want to go where they’re going.

The ability to inspire others is indeed a wonderful trait in leaders, but not every person who can arouse emotion can link her vision to the practicalities of business, and emotion alone cannot get an organization where it needs to be.

When a spiritual leader, rather than a business leader, runs the show, the initial burst of excitement can be uplifting. But it inevitably fades when results fail to materialize.

  • The Brain

One way people gauge a leader is by how smart she is. We can’t help but be impressed by the person who reacts quickly, gets to the answer fastest, can speak knowledgably on a breadth of topics, and has instant recall of names, quotations, and numbers.

Sometimes such people let you know how well-read they are. But being quick on your feet is not the same as intelligence, and intelligence is not the same as being a leader. Do we want intelligent leaders? Absolutely. Just don’t choose leaders based on raw intelligence alone.

  • The Savior

A leader is running a troubled division. Margins are shrinking, quality is deteriorating, and customers are defecting. But he is undaunted by every piece of bad news. In every review, he assures his superiors that change is right around the corner.

He has a plan, meticulously detailed in charts and graphs. He wants you to trust him, and because he seems so confident and sincere, you do.

Optimism and confidence are appealing, but make poor substitutes for the know-how of addressing problems. And we all know that problems neglected have a way of growing. The person who promises the answer but never delivers on it is not a business leader.

Focus on Substance

There are lots of personal traits we want in our leaders — things like confidence, intelligence, and communication skills. But if we want our organizations to be in good hands, we have to focus primarily on the substance of leadership — whether the person really knows what he or she is doing.

If you’re an aspiring leader, don’t assume you were born to be a leader. Leaders are largely made, not born. You have to build your leadership capabilities. The time you spend polishing your PowerPoint presentations or building your reputation may get you ahead temporarily, but in this age of transparency, the inability to deliver results will eventually catch up with you.

Disclaimer: Article source unknown, author unknown.

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What is needed from a Leader in 2009.

August 11, 2009 – 6:59 am

I have often struggled to find convincing answers or a magic formula for what makes companies operating under similar circumstances, in the same verticals, identical markets, same starting point, you get the idea… end up 180 degrees apart, heading different directions, with nothing in the way to stop them. Now that I have you thinking of at least a few, you are probably saying to yourself that it is obviously the usual suspects (fill the blanks). The one intangible I keep coming back to is the person at the very top of the pyramid- the leader who sets the course months, sometimes years before the first employee is even hired. Like infants when they are born, companies thrive on their internal culture, sowed by leadersip. It is that culture, properly cultivated, that will lead to greatness. Just like the mind of an infant, filled with negativity, it will lead to mediocrity, at best.

Many books have been written about leadership, great leaders, and mediocre ones. I have, instead, chosen to share with you some real life scenarios of good and bad examples of leadership, from exisiting and long gone organizations. I am certain that these next few posts will enact a sense of deja vu for most of you. You will see that lack of leadership is often the common denominator for great plans, strategies, and companies that struggle, and in some cases vanish.

The first of this upcoming series is about Superficial Leadersip. Feel free to comment.

Diaclaimer: I have come across some great articles a few years ago that I kept, and have since made them required readings every so often. Most were from a series of articles by The Economist magazine. The next few blogs will contain some of those articles. Dates are unavailable.

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Rethinking Major Accounts Strategy, part 2d

July 25, 2009 – 8:23 am

As we come to a close of the Congruence Model, our last section being the Processes and Systems that allow for all other elements of this model to flow freeely and coherently. I would like to quickly say thank you to some of you who have actually taken the time to phone or email me, and in some cases, post a comment. For this is exactly the kind of forum I was hoping to create. A free exchange of ideas spanning many industries, experiences, and skill levels.

Processes and Systems:

This final element of the congruence model includes systems and processes for planning, managing information flows, identifying opportunities, measuring customer satisfaction, and many others. These systems and processes enable key account managers to effectively develop and implement strategies and plans for individual accounts.

The analysis of the key account helps the key account manager identify the full scope of potential opportunities and threats at the key account. This identification, together with analyses of competitors as well as your own firm, leads to a series of decisions regarding which opportunities to pursue (and which to avoid), which threats to combat, and the particular strategic approaches to pursue.

The key account manager needs to have complete understanding of the fundamentals that constitute the key account: they include organization, ownership, top management, locations, corporate culture, financial performance, and future prospects.

To develop the appropriate depth and breadth of data to conduct these analyses, the manager should attempt to become intimately involved with the key account’s strategic planning process.

The strategic key account analysis comprises four major elements: identification of mission, external analysis, internal analysis, and an analysis of strategic coherence.

These analyses will lead you and your team to a set of planning assumptions on which the key account strategy will be based.

Conclusion:

The material presented here is extensive and even overwhelming, in scope. It takes us back to the 80/20 rule and the value of key accounts. If it would hurt your bottom line to lose more bids, or be of immense value to gain a potential key account, then performing a full-blown situation analysis, isolating planning assumptions, and carefully identifying opportunities and threats is surely worth the effort.

Having a group of dedicated Business Development Managers is a short sighted solution- transactional sales that might increase revenue in the short term, but fail to garner any long term relationships- therefore future contracts and revenue. Because of the very nature of the payment plan BDOs receive, it contributes very little to company loyalty, and that contradicts what most mission statements has set to achieve. Additionally, it should be pointed out, that this approach was tried and abandoned by most  in the early 1990s. BDOs do not provide what most companies stands for and represents in their mission statement and value proposition. They are not the long term solution.

Increasing, or changing the incentive plan, is also a short term band aid, which does not address the core issues. Sure, consultants would be more motivated by additional financial compensations; however, a lot of what a consultant does is very subjective, and therefore hard to quantify. This front-loaded plan will most certainly motivate consultants to be more productive, and may increase utilization ratios across the company, but will fail to establish what you have established as a financial goal- positive, suatainable cash flow. 

Each of these two possible solutions has value to it, but will not on its own solve the current revenue crisis. Both solutions must not be considered as mutually exclusive. I mention this because of the remaining 20/80 of the equation- the other 80% of the customers that provide 20% of your companys sales, or Non Key Accounts.

What should be done next is provide a strategy, combining both the BDO and new incentive plans with the traditional “seller-doer” model to address the non-key accounts, which will increase revenue and position the firm more competitively.

The following publications have been used as references to the prior 4 blogs pertaining to Major Account Management:

  1. Capon, Noel. Management and planning
  2. The Wall Street Journal,
  3. The Economist,

      4.   Ingram, LaForge, Avila, Williams. Sales Management analysis and decision making. Sixth Edition

      5.   Forrester research, January 23, 2003

      6.  http://www.cnn.com/business/marketing

By lotfi saibi | Also posted in Sales Management, Strategy and Leadership | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)