Shipulski On Design

Archive for the ‘Culture’ Category

Growing a company is challenging.  Here are some common difficulties and associated approaches to improve effectiveness.

No – The way we work is artisanal.

Yes – We know how to do the work innately.

It’s perfectly fine if the knowledge lives in the people.

Would you rather the knowledge resides in the people, or not know at all?

You know how to do the work.  Celebrate that.

No – We don’t know how to scale.

Yes – We know how to do the work, and that’s the most difficult part.

It doesn’t make sense to scale before you’ve done it for the first time.

Socks then shoes, not shoes then socks.

If you can’t do it once, you can’t scale it.  That’s a rule.

Give yourselves a break.  You can learn how to scale it up.

No – We don’t know how to create the right organizational structure.

Yes – We get the work done, despite our informal structure.

Your team grew up together, and they know how to work together.

Imagine how good you’ll be with a little organizational structure!

There is no “right” organizational structure.  Add what you need where you need it.

Don’t be so hard on yourselves.  Remember, you’re getting the work done.

No – We don’t have formal production lines.

Yes – Our volumes are such that it’s best to keep the machines in functional clusters.

It’s not time for you to have production lines.  You’re doing it right.

When production volume increases, it will be time for production lines.

Go get the business so you can justify the production lines.

No – We have too many projects.  It was easier when we had a couple of small projects.

Yes – We have a ton of projects that could take off!

Celebrate the upside.  This is what growth feels like.

When the projects hit big, you’ll have the cash for the people and resources you need.

Would you rather the projects take off or fall flat?

Be afraid, celebrate the upside, and go get the projects.

No – We need everything.

Yes – Our people, processes, and systems are young AND we’re getting it done!

Assess the work, define what you need, take the right first bite, and see how it goes.

Reassess the work, define the next right bite, put it in place, and see how it goes.

Repeat.

This is The Way.

Attitude matters.  Language matters.  Approach matters. People matter.

Image credit — Eric Huybrechts (Temple of Janus)

When your idea is new, it (and you) will be misunderstood.  I urge you to see the misunderstanding as a vote of confidence.  Keep going.

When your position contradicts the mainstream, say it anyway.  They’ll appreciate your honesty and courage if you work at a good company.  If you work at a bad company, they’ll probably try to run you out of town.  Either way, you’ll know what kind of company you’re working for.

Change is difficult when the Status Quo has been successful for a long time.  Success will block your new idea because there’s no need for it.  Working on your new idea pulls resources away from the Status Quo’s initiatives, and the Status Quo will have none of that.  Don’t take its wrath personally.  That’s how the Status Quo goes about its business.

When your new idea is young, it is too fragile to be justified in an ROI sense.  Shelter it from the Accounting Police.

Your new idea isn’t right.  It starts the journey as one thing, and as the journey progresses, it will transform into something better.  This is how it goes with new ideas.

Without a new idea, you’ll do what you did last time. That’s no way to live.

If no one complains, your idea isn’t new.  You missed the mark.

If some complain but none are threatened, it’s not new enough. Try harder.

Image credit – denisben

It doesn’t take much to make a difference, but if you don’t recognize the need to make one, you won’t make one.

When you’re in a meeting, watch and listen. If someone is quiet, ask them a question. My favorite is “What do you think?” Your question says you value them and their thinking, and that makes a difference. Others will recognize the difference you made, and that may inspire them to make a similar difference at their next meeting.

When you see a friend in the hallway, look them in the eyes, smile, and ask them what they’re up to.  Listen to their words but more importantly watch their body language.  If you recognize they are energetic, acknowledge their energy, ask what’s fueling them, and listen.  Ask more questions to let them know you care.  That will make a difference.  If you recognize they have low energy, tell them, and then ask what that’s all about.  Try to understand what’s going on for them.  You don’t have to fix anything to make a difference, you have to invest in the conversation.  They’ll recognize your genuine interest and that will make a difference.

If you remember someone is going through something, send them a simple text –  “I’m thinking of you.”  That’s it.  Just say that.  They’ll know you remembered their situation and that you care.  And that will make a difference.  Again, you don’t have to fix anything.  You just have to send the text.

Check in with a friend.  That will make a difference.

When you learn someone got a promotion, send them a quick note.  Sooner is better, but either way, you’ll make a difference.

Ask someone if they need help.  Even if they say no, you’ve made a difference.  And if they say yes, help them.  That will make a big difference.

And here’s a little different spin.  If you need help, ask for it.  Tell them why you need it and explain why you asked them.  You’ll demonstrate vulnerability and they’ll recognize you trust them.  Difference made.  And your request for help will signal that you think they’re capable and caring.  Another difference made.

It doesn’t take much to make a difference.  Pay attention and take action and you’ll make a difference.  But really, you’ll make two differences. You’ll make a difference for them and you’ll make a difference for yourself.

Image credit — Geoff Henson

Improvement is progress.  Improvement is always measured against a baseline, so the first thing to do is to establish the baseline, the thing you make today, the thing you want to improve.  Create an environment to test what you make today, create the test fixtures, define the inputs, create the measurement systems, and write a formal test protocol.  Now you have what it takes to quantify an improvement objectively.  Test the existing product to define the baseline.  No, you haven’t improved anything, but you’ve done the right first thing.

Improving the right thing to make progress.  If the problem invalidates the business model, stop what you’re doing and solve it right away because you don’t have a business if you don’t solve it. Any other activity isn’t progress, it’s dilution.  Say no to everything else and solve it.  This is how rapid progress is made.  If the customer won’t buy the product if the problem isn’t solved, solve it.  Don’t argue about priorities, don’t use shared resources, don’t try to be efficient.  Be effective.  Do one thing.  Solve it.  This type of discipline reduces time to market.  No surprises here.

Avoiding improvement of the wrong thing to make progress.  For lesser problems, declare them nuisances and permit yourself to solve them later.   Nuisances don’t have to be solved immediately (if at all) so you can double down on the most important problems (speed, speed, speed).  Demoting problems to nuisances is probably the most effective way to accelerate progress.  Deciding what you won’t do frees up resources and emotional bandwidth to make rapid progress on things that matter.

Work the critical path to make progress. Know what work is on the critical path and what is not.  For work on the critical path, add resources.  Pull resources from non-critical path work and add them to the critical path until adding more slows things down.

Eliminate waiting to make progress.  There can be no progress while you wait.  Wait for a tool, no progress.  Wait for a part from a supplier, no progress.  Wait for raw material, no progress.  Wait for a shared resource, no progress.  Buy the right tools and keep them at the workstations to make progress.  Pay the supplier for priority service levels to make progress.  Buy inventory of raw materials to make progress.  Ensure shared resources are wildly underutilized so they’re available to make progress whenever you need to.  Think fire stations, fire trucks, and firefighters.

Help the team make progress. As a leader, jump right in and help the team know what progress looks like.  Praise the crudeness of their prototypes to help them make them cruder (and faster) next time.  Give them permission to make assumptions and use their judgment because that’s where speed comes from.  And when you see “activity” call it by name so they can recognize it for themselves, and teach them how to turn their effort into progress.

Be relentless and respectful to make progress. Apply constant pressure, but make it sustainable and fun.

Image credit — Clint Mason

Holidays aren’t about shopping, gifts, special dinners, or travel.  Holidays are about family.

On holidays, people travel.  They don’t travel to tourist sites, national parks, or big cities for big cities’ stake.  People travel to see their families.

On holidays, people eat special foods prepared in special ways and served on special plates.  But that’s not special.  Family prepares the food, family sits at the table, and family eats the food.  What’s special is family.

Oh holidays, people tell the same stories of old shared experiences.  Everyone knows all the stories, but they’re still told every year.  Sure, the stories are misremembered, but the storyline holds. The family’s shared experiences are reexperienced and relationships deepen.  Family is special because it helps us remember and grounds us.

On holidays, people don’t always get along.  Some of the same arguments arise and some new ones are born.  Tempers flare and then cool. Because of the significant body of shared experiences and shared memories, there are more opportunities to disagree.  And because family creates a safe space, sharing strong feelings is okay.  It’s easy to see (and hear) the arguments and it isn’t easy to see what makes them possible – shared context, shared memories, and a safe space built on trust.   Without these regular arguments cannot rise to the level of family arguments.  Family arguments are a higher genus of arguments; they are noble arguments. Family arguments can realized only by families.

I hope you can spend the holidays with your family.  If not, I hope you can have a great video call with them, have a meaningful phone call with them, or even a funny text exchange.  And if you can’t, I hope you can spend time with good friends who are like family.

Image credit – Craig Sefton

Here’s what it looks like when the same old tricks no longer carry the day.

Efficiency of effort

• For the same energy, you get more in return.
• For the same energy, you get the same in return.
• For more energy, you get the same in return.
• For more energy, you get less in return.
• Out of energy.

Efficiency of profit

• Increased profit and increased sales.
• Lesser increased profit and unchanged sales.
• Unchanged profit and unchanged sales.
• Decreased profit and unchanged sales.
• Decreased profit and decreased sales.
• No profit and no sales.

Vibrancy

• High-energy citizens with a strong customer focus.
• Medium energy team members with some customer focus.
• Medium-energy people with little customer focus.
• Lethargic nameless humans with no customer focus.
• Nobody home.

Time Horizon

• Long-term purpose, medium-term execution, short-term adaptation.
• Medium-term execution, short-term adaptation.
• Short-term execution, shorter-term bickering.
• Shortest-term floundering.
• Out of time.

Truthfulness

• Truthful communication is delivered clearly and skillfully.
• Truthful communication is delivered less skillfully.
• Partial truths delivered.
• Partial truths delivered unskillfully.
• No truths.

Trust

• Many tight groups of informal networks share information naturally and effectively.
• Informal networks share information naturally.
• Informal networks share information.
• Informal networks go underground to share information.
• Informal networks go underground and band together to protect each other.
• Informal networks give up.

Image credit — philhearing

If you want people to work together, give them a reason.  Tell them why it’s important to the company and their careers.

If you want people to change things, change how they interact.  Eliminate leaders from some, or all, of the meetings.  Demand they set the approach. Give them control over their destiny. Make them accountable to themselves.  Give them what they ask for.

If you want to create a community, let something bad happen.  The right people will step up and the experts will band together around the common cause.  And after they put the train back on the track, they’ll be ready and willing for a larger challenge.

If you want the team to make progress, make it easy for them to make progress.  Stop the lesser projects so they can focus.  Cancel meetings so they can focus. Give them clear guidance so they can focus on the right work.  Give them the tools, time, training, and a teacher.  Ask them how to make their work easier and listen.

If you want the team to finish projects faster, ask them to focus on effectiveness at the expense of efficiency.

If you want the organization to be more flexible, create the causes and conditions for trust-based relationships to develop.  When people work shoulder-to-shoulder on a difficult project trust is created.  And for the remainder of their careers, they will help each other.  They will help each other despite the formal organizational structure.  They will help each other despite their formal commitments.  They will help each other despite the official priorities.

If you want things to change, don’t try to change people.  Move things out of the way so they can make it happen.

Image credit — frank carman

Put it out there.  You don’t have time to do otherwise.

Be true to yourself.  No one deserves that more than you do.

Tell the truth, even when it’s difficult for people to hear.  They’ll appreciate your honesty.

Believe the actions and not the words.  Enough said.

Learn to listen to what is not said.  That’s usually the juicy part.

Say no to good projects so you can say yes to great ones.

Say what you will do and do it.  That’s where trust comes from.

Deliver praise in public.  Better yet, deliver praise in front of their spouse.

Develop informal networks.  They are more powerful than the formal org chart.

Learn to see what’s not happening.  You’ll understand what’s truly going on.

Help people.  It’s like helping yourself twice.

Don’t start a project you’re not committed to finishing. There’s no partial credit with projects.

Do the right thing, even if it comes at your expense.

And be your best self.  Isn’t that what you do best?

Image credit — Tambako The Jaguar

Be successful, but be yourself.

Accept people for who they are and everything else gets better.

Tell the truth, even if it causes stress.  In the short term, it is emotionally challenging but in the long term, it builds trust.

Disagree, yes.  Disappoint, yes.  Disavow, no.

Be effective, but be yourself.

If your actions cause pain, apologize. It’s that simple.

It’s easier to accept others as they are when you can do the same for yourself.

Judging yourself is the opposite of accepting yourself as you are.

When someone needs help, help them.

Be skillful, but be yourself.

If there’s an upside to judging yourself, I don’t know it.

When you’re true to yourself, people can disagree with your position but not your truthfulness.

When you help someone, it’s like helping yourself twice.

There are plenty of people who will judge you.  There’s no need to join that club.

When you stand firmly on emotional bedrock, your perspective is unassailable.

When you’re true to yourself, it’s easier for others to do the same.

Be yourself especially when it’s difficult.  Your courage will empower others.

If there’s no upside to judging yourself, why do it?

Some questions for you:

How would things be different if you stopped judging yourself? Why not give it a try tomorrow?

Wouldn’t you like to be unassailable? Why not stand on your emotional bedrock tomorrow?

Over the next week, how many people will you help?

Over the next week, how many times will you demonstrate courage?

Over the next week, how many times will you be true to yourself, even when it’s difficult?

Image credit – _Veit_

We wait because we don’t have enough information to make a decision.

We wait until the decision makes itself because no one wants to be wrong.

We wait for permission because of the negative consequences of being wrong.

We wait to use our judgment until we have evidence our judgment is right.

We wait for support resources because they are spread over too many projects.

We wait for a decision to be made because no one is sure who makes it.

We wait to reduce risk.

We wait to reduce costs.

We wait to move at the speed of trust.

We wait because too many people must agree.

We wait because disagreement comes too slowly.

We wait for disagreement because we don’t subscribe to “clear is kind.”

We wait when decisions are unmade.

We wait because there is insufficient courage to stop the bad projects.

We wait to stop things slowly.

We use waiting as a slow no.

We wait to reallocate resources because even bad projects have momentum.

We wait when we dislike the impending outcome.

We wait for the critical path.

We wait out of fear.

Image credit — Sylvia Sassen

When you catch someone doing good work, do you praise them?  If not, why not?

Praise is best when it’s specific – “I think it was great when you [insert specific action here].”

If praise isn’t authentic, it’s not praise.

When you praise specific behavior, you get more of that great behavior.  Is there a downside here?

As soon as you see praise-worthy behavior, call it by name. Praise best served warm.

Praise the big stuff in a big way.

Praise is especially powerful when delivered in public.

If praise feels good when you get it, why not help someone else feel good and give it?

If you make a special phone call to deliver praise, that’s a big deal.

If you deliver praise that’s inauthentic, don’t.

Praise the small stuff in a small way.

Outsized praise doesn’t hit the mark like the real deal.

There can be too much praise, but why not take that risk?

If praise was free to give, would you give it?  Oh, wait.  Praise is free to give.  So why don’t you give it?

Praise is powerful, but only if you give it.

Image credit — Llima Orosa