Shipulski On Design

Posts Tagged ‘Success’

There is a dearth of engineering leadership capability, and it negatively impacts the company’s bottom line every day.  And it’s prevalent in all levels of the engineering organization.

Entry-level engineers feel the lack of engineering leadership capability as soon as they arrive.  They want to know how to get things done, how to address a lack of information, how to address a conflict, and how to develop themselves and their career. And yes, they want to know how to approach the work, use the tools, and follow the protocols.  But first-level engineering leaders don’t know how to help the young engineers in these ways because no one taught them.  And they don’t even know they’re supposed to give that type of guidance because no one ever gave them that type of guidance and support.

The result is a confused, disgruntled, and frustrated entry-level engineering crew who are unhappy and ineffective.  And the two things you don’t want in your entry-level engineers are unhappiness and ineffectiveness.  This directly impacts the bottom line.

Step up one level in the engineering organization, and though the needs are somewhat different, the problem is the same.  The mid-level engineering leaders don’t teach how to work across teams, how to assign work that will help engineers grow, how to create development plans, how to execute the work defined in those plans, and how to build confidence in their team members.

The result is more ineffectiveness and more frustration, but on a larger scale.  Talent retention becomes a problem, and engagement in the work wanes.  Both are bad for the bottom line.

Step up another level and, though the problems are different, the situation is the same.  The top-level engineering leaders can’t develop the mid-level leaders, the first-line leaders, and the entry-level engineers.  They were raised in the broken system and don’t know how to grow talent.  And the problem is so widespread that the engineering organization thinks it’s normal that no one gets guidance, mentorship, and support.  It’s such a big problem and so widespread that no one recognizes that there’s a problem.

But there is a problem.  A big problem.  And there’s a root cause that can be remedied.

The engineering organization is judged on completing projects as fast as possible and with the fewest resources.  And this forcing function blocks leadership development altogether.  And because of how they’re measured, the engineering organization believes there is no time to improve leadership capability and grow world-class engineering leaders.  But this thinking is wrong.

In a karma yoga way, the projects are the mechanism to develop engineering leadership.  Teaching engineers and leaders how to collaborate across teams IS leadership development.  Guiding young engineering leaders through a process to balance schedule risk and technical risk IS leadership development.  Working skillfully through resource conflicts CREATES engineering leadership capability.  Growing engineering leaders does not require extra work.  And it does not slow down the projects.  It makes projects go faster because skillful engineering leaders spot problems early (because someone taught them how) and fix problems immediately (because someone showed them how to do it on the previous project).

Engineers were not taught how to be an engineering leader in engineering school.  And we aren’t taught how to be engineering leaders in our day-to-day work.  And engineers are starved for engineering leadership, and engineering leaders are equally starved for mentoring and guidance.

Systematically developing engineering leadership talent is not a cost; it’s an investment.  What would happen to your bottom line if your engineering teams collaborated more effectively, if your engineers were engaged in the work, if engineering resources flowed naturally to the most important projects, and if your engineers and engineering leaders stayed with your company twice as long as they do now?

To improve your bottom line, invest in improving your engineering leadership capability.  This is The Way.

Image credit — Rob Roy

When the cost of the experiment is small, the downside of its potential failure is also small.

Small improvements cost little and can be implemented quickly.

Small improvements make a difference.

If the transformational improvement never sees the light of day because it costs too much to implement, its realized value is less than the smallest improvement that was implemented.

When a small experiment does not go as planned, the learning can be significant (and fast).

Small experiments are funded by small investments that don’t require approval.  Don’t seek approval. Run the experiment.

The second small improvement stands on the shoulders of the first one

If the improvement is never implemented, it’s not an improvement.

Small improvements can be tested under the radar.  When they work well, give the credit to someone who deserves it. When they go poorly, try something else.

Like ants, small improvements gang up to make a real difference.

Once a small improvement is implemented, it stays implemented.  Like a one-way ratchet, there’s no backsliding.

Small improvements add up over time, but only if you bring them to life.

When it comes to improvements, small is beautiful.

Image credit — Jim Roberts – Papa I’m only a little sparrow

Success locks in current practice.

May you have the blessing of declining revenues to see what must change.

Year-on-year growth hides inefficiencies.

May you have one bad year to help you see those inefficiencies.

Past success blinds us to the onset of decline.

May you have brave heretics to sound the alarm early in the decline.

A strong track record of growth prevents new ideas from seeing the light of day.

May you allocate revenue from that growth to bring the next-generation offering to life.

High market share creates intellectual inertia and stagnation.

May you have the luxury of strong competitors that get stronger every year.

A history of unassailable technical advantage breeds competence-induced failure.

May you have the courage to obsolete your best work.

A strong focus on process, combined with remarkable success, extends standard work beyond its useful life.

May you recognize that commercial conditions have changed, and it’s time to dismantle the very thing that generated your success.

Image credit — Thomas_H_foto

When the ocean gets tired from holding its water up to make high tide, it lets go and relaxes into low tide.  The ocean takes direction from the moon who knows it can’t always be high tide.  This is The Way.

When the earth gets tired from heating up the northern hemisphere it wobbles on its axis and relaxes its northern territories into cooler weather.  And the reduced energy demand in the north frees up energy for the earth to focus on heating up its southern hemisphere.  Taking direction from the  sun, the earth knows it cannot always be hot in the north or the south.  And it know it doesn’t have enough energy to make it hot in the north and south at the same time. And it knows it can’t be lazy all year and let it be cold in both hemisheres year round. It’s natural for winter to follow summer and for the hemispheres to be out of phase.  The earth and sun know this.  It’s natural for them.

Bears have their fun in spring summer and fall.  They are all-in on eating, taking care of young bears, and making new ones.  After three seasons of fun and games, bears know they need to hunker down and rest for the winter.  That is how it is with bears and how it will always be. It is natural bear behavior. And it works.

When you work out hard, your body knows it needs to rest the next day.  It knows it needs to recover from the elevated stress of the workout so it gives you feedback that it’s important to do less the following day. There’s nothing wrong with that.  In fact, there’s everything right with that.   It’s natural and it works.

And there are natural rest cycles at work,  After a full week of planning meetings, people need to downshift into work that is less taxing and gives their bodies time to process the plans.  This is not weakness, it’s natural.

And there are even natural hibernation cycles at work in the form of vacations and holidays.  Like with bears, our bodies need (and deserve) deep rest.  And just bears don’t check their email when hibernating, neither should we.  Taking time for deep rest is not irresponsible or wasteful, it’s natural

Without a trough there can be no crest.  And without rest there can be no high performance.  This, too, is natural.

Image credit — Geoff Henson

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)

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

At the start, it’s impossible to know the right thing to do, other than the right thing is to start.

If you think you should have started, but have not, the only thing in the way is you.

If you want to start, get out of your own way, and start.

And even if you’re not in the way, there’s no harm in declaring you ARE in the way and starting.

If you’re afraid, be afraid. And start.

If you’re not afraid, don’t be afraid.  And start.

If you can’t choose among the options, all options are equally good.  Choose one, and start.

If you’re worried the first thing won’t work, stop worrying, start starting, and find out.

Before starting, you don’t have to know the second thing to do.  You only have to choose the first thing to do.

The first thing you do will not be perfect, but that’s the only path to the second thing that’s a little less not perfect.

The second thing is defined by the outcome of the first. Start the first to inform the second.

If you don’t have the bandwidth to start a good project, stop a bad one.  Then, start.

If you stop more you can start more.

Starting small is a great way to start.  And if you can’t do that, start smaller.

If you don’t start, you can never finish. That’s why starting is so important.

In the end, starting starts with starting.  This is The Way.

Image credit — Claudio Marinangeli

Demoing something for the first time is difficult, but doing it for the second time is easy.  And when you demo a new solution the first time, it (and you) will be misunderstood.

What is the value of this new thing?  This is a good question because it makes clear they don’t understand it. After all, they’ve never seen it before.  And it’s even better when they don’t know what to call it. Keep going!

Why did you do this?  This is a good question because it makes clear they see the demo as a deviation from historically significant lines of success.  And since the lines of success are long in the tooth, it’s good they see it as a violation of what worked in the olden days.  Keep going!

Whose idea was this? This is code: “This crazy thing is a waste of time and we could have applied resources to that tired old recipe we’ve been flogging for a decade now.”  It means they recognize the prototype will be received differently by the customer.  They don’t think it will be received well, but they know the customer will think it’s different.  Keep going!

Who approved this work? This is code: “I want to make this go away and I hope my boss’s boss doesn’t know about it so I can scuttle the project.”  But not to worry because the demo is so good it cannot be dismissed, ignored, or scuttled. Keep going!

Can you do another demo for my boss?  This one’s easy.  They like it and want to increase the chances they’ll be able to work on it.  That’s a nice change!

Why didn’t you do this, that, or the other? They recognized the significance, they understood the limitations, and they asked a question about how to make it better. Things are looking up!

How much did the hardware cost? They see the new customer value and want to understand if the cost is low enough to commercialize with a good profit margin.  There’s no stopping this thing!

Can we take it to the next tradeshow and show it to customers?  Success!

Image credit — Bennilover

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_

If you don’t believe in the project, the team will sense it; energy will drain from the project; and no one will want to work the project.

If you don’t believe in the project, you can’t make yourself believe in the project.

If you don’t believe in the project, you can’t fool people and make them believe you believe in the project.  Your disbelief will flow from your pores like a bad smell.

If you don’t believe in the project, your disbelief will weaken an already weak project.

If you don’t believe in the project, your disbelief can twist a good project into a bad one.

If you don’t believe in the project, it may not be the right project, but you are not the right person to run it.

If you don’t believe in the project, but the company still wants you to run it, the worst thing for the project is for you to run it; the worst thing for the company is for you to run it; and the worst thing for your career is to refuse to run it.

If from the start you think the project will fail, tell the right people why you think it will fail. If after telling them why you think the project will fail, they then ask you to run the project, you have a problem and a choice.  Your problem is you’re the wrong person to run the project.  Your choice is to run the project into the ground or take the lumps for not running it into the ground.

My choice is to give someone else an opportunity to run the project.  I think life is too short to run a project you don’t believe in.

Image credit — Bennilover

If you try to change what you cannot, your trying will not bring about change. But it will bring about 100% frustration, 100% dissatisfaction, 100% missed expectations, 0% progress, and, maybe, 0% employment.

Here’s a rule: If success demands you must change what you cannot, you will be unsuccessful.

If you try to change something you cannot change but someone else can, you will be unsuccessful unless you ask them for help.  That part is clear.  But here’s the tricky part – unless you know you cannot change it and they can, you won’t know to ask them.

If you know enough to ask the higher power for help and they say no but you try to change it anyway, you will be unsuccessful.  I don’t think that needed to be said, but I thought it important to overcommunicate to keep you safe.

Here’s the money question – How do you know if you can change it?

Here’s another rule: If you want to know if you can change something, ask.

If the knowledgeable people on the project say they cannot change it, believe them.  Make a record of the assessment for future escalation, define the consequences, and rescope the project accordingly.  Next, search the organization (hint – look north) for someone with more authority and ask them if they can grant the authority to change it.  If they say no, document their decision and stick with the rescoped project plan.  If they say yes, document their decision and revert to the original project plan.

If you do one thing tomorrow, ask your project team if success demands they change something they cannot.  I surely hope their answer is no.

Image credit — zczillinger