The famous book by Jim Collins- Good to Great was a synopsis of research on the traits of successful leaders and flourishing companies. The book turned out to be the #1 best seller, Since the findings were simple yet powerful in driving success. One of the traits was “Confront Brutal reality”. I consider this as a very powerful milestone for a journey towards success. Very often in our life, we tend to evade the truth. We rarely report the fact to seniors in the “as is” form. I believe there are many reasons that compel us to adopt such behavior.
A few of these reasons are:
1. Managers do not want to hear unpleasant truth. They like good news. As a result, the organization develops a tradition of sugar coating the “brutal reality“ before reporting it to the higher authorities. I wish this would make it really sweet.
2. The reporting manager hopes that he would be able to correct the “brutal reality” in a short time, and the lapse will be short lived. Seniors may not be aware of the fact. Unfortunately, very rarely it remains that way. Those of us coming from industrial unit background or sales background (FMCG, Telecom Service Providers, etc.) know very well that in order to show the numbers against monthly target, particularly when there is a shortfall, month closing is often dragged to 1st or 2nd of the following month. The cycle continues, and 2nd becomes 3rd, 3rd becomes 4th and so on so forth. But to no avail.
3. People have reluctance to confront the reality and resolve the issue. They keep procrastinating solving the issue. They forget that delaying a problem is not same as resolving an issue. Sometimes, capability to resolve a problem is also a concern.
Many a times, there could be other reasons too. I think the causes listed above are the most common ones in many companies.
I would like to emphasize that most of the companies are in the “Trap of not confronting the brutal reality”. If you look at the study by Jim Collins, only 11 companies out of 1435 good companies were classified as great companies in the study. This means, just less than one percent of the companies are great. Few of the companies from 11 slipped downwards subsequently. Nothing is perpetual. Change is inevitable. The Great companies will slide to good or bad depending on the prevailing leadership. If less than 1 % companies are really great, not all of us may get a chance to work in such an environment in our life time. My recommendation is to believe in this universal principle. If the environment does not allow it, try doing it in different form. Do not circumvent. It does not help.
I recommend internalizing the Principle of “Confront Brutal Reality”. You are fortunate if your leadership also believes in the principle, if not, try out different manifestations. Do not leave the concept.
Always remember, delaying a problem is not solving the problem. Confronting, leads you to look for solutions. It creates a better culture. It creates simple working environment which is based on truth. There are many more advantages.
The learning is: Confront the brutal Reality. Even though you have to pay the price in the short run, you will reap long term benefits. I believe “Confronting the Brutal Reality is like putting a strong foundation for a soaring structure. It is a must for sustained success.
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
Differentiation is the key for Success
Differentiation is a cultural issue. It is a mindset. It is the way managers create value in the organization and make the organization successful. Many times we keep on thinking about differentiating our products and services. However we find difficulty in coming up with a clear differentiator. I think it is a mindset issue. If we remember Darwin’s principle – “Struggle for existence” and “survival of the fittest”, the answer becomes very clear. We have clear choices- differentiate or die. The moment one internalizes this thought; one starts getting ideas that create differentiation.
The next question that arises is where to create this differentiation? The answer is simple. We can put in a single word – “everywhere” – people, process, product and technology.
Jack Welch showed an excellent example of creating differentiation. 20-70-10 rule was very famous in his management style. It was about classifying people in different buckets. The 10% at the bottom had to go. This created a performance oriented culture, a competitive environment and clarity of goals among people. The outcome was a boost in the performance of the entire organization.
Jack Welch also talked about getting out of the industry if you are not among the top three in any industry. This philosophy brings alive the spirit of differentiation. It helps. You have to look for the best of the class processes and the best of technology.
Life is all about differentiation. You have to keep it up or allow it to die. Companies suffer when every business and person is treated equally and bets are sprinkled all around like rain on the ocean. Each one of us has limited resources. However the winning leaders invest the resources where the payback is the highest. This again is the differentiation principle.
In fact it is very interesting to know that our school system, our play system and any system you can think of is nothing but a model of differentiation. The results are based on classifying people in different buckets. Isn’t this a classic example of differentiation? We all accept this fact in our school days but for some reason we struggle to accept this simple truth in our professional lives. Isn’t this a mindset issue? The answer is simple.
Here are a few myths about differentiation:
1. Differentiation is unfair because it pushes people, and processes out. One needs to understand that sending nonperformer out helps others who stay behind. Also non-performers find their own way and area where they finally emerge as winners. This is an adjustment process and fair to all. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that the system should not be polluted with politics. Keeping the system apolitical is the boss’s job. If the boss fails to keep it apolitical, the decline is certain.
2. Differentiation pits people against one another and undermines teamwork. I would argue that team work is a necessity for creating a great organization. In fact differentiation and team work can be integrated. One can create a differentiation at the team level as well.
3. Differentiation favors people who are energetic and extroverted and undervalues people who are shy and introverted, even if they are talented. Each role has its skill requirements. If being extrovert is a requirement of a role, then differentiation has to be created for it. Shy as well as talented people will emerge in top brackets for different kinds of role.
Therefore, differentiation is the key for success. The leader has to create an environment, a culture which supports differentiation, which is apolitical, and is based on merit. After all, results speak; neither numbers nor the differentiation, Principle lies. It is the ability of the leader to bring differentiation that is important and needs to be tweaked for achieving success. The bottom line is: differentiate to succeed.
The next question that arises is where to create this differentiation? The answer is simple. We can put in a single word – “everywhere” – people, process, product and technology.
Jack Welch showed an excellent example of creating differentiation. 20-70-10 rule was very famous in his management style. It was about classifying people in different buckets. The 10% at the bottom had to go. This created a performance oriented culture, a competitive environment and clarity of goals among people. The outcome was a boost in the performance of the entire organization.
Jack Welch also talked about getting out of the industry if you are not among the top three in any industry. This philosophy brings alive the spirit of differentiation. It helps. You have to look for the best of the class processes and the best of technology.
Life is all about differentiation. You have to keep it up or allow it to die. Companies suffer when every business and person is treated equally and bets are sprinkled all around like rain on the ocean. Each one of us has limited resources. However the winning leaders invest the resources where the payback is the highest. This again is the differentiation principle.
In fact it is very interesting to know that our school system, our play system and any system you can think of is nothing but a model of differentiation. The results are based on classifying people in different buckets. Isn’t this a classic example of differentiation? We all accept this fact in our school days but for some reason we struggle to accept this simple truth in our professional lives. Isn’t this a mindset issue? The answer is simple.
Here are a few myths about differentiation:
1. Differentiation is unfair because it pushes people, and processes out. One needs to understand that sending nonperformer out helps others who stay behind. Also non-performers find their own way and area where they finally emerge as winners. This is an adjustment process and fair to all. The only thing you need to keep in mind is that the system should not be polluted with politics. Keeping the system apolitical is the boss’s job. If the boss fails to keep it apolitical, the decline is certain.
2. Differentiation pits people against one another and undermines teamwork. I would argue that team work is a necessity for creating a great organization. In fact differentiation and team work can be integrated. One can create a differentiation at the team level as well.
3. Differentiation favors people who are energetic and extroverted and undervalues people who are shy and introverted, even if they are talented. Each role has its skill requirements. If being extrovert is a requirement of a role, then differentiation has to be created for it. Shy as well as talented people will emerge in top brackets for different kinds of role.
Therefore, differentiation is the key for success. The leader has to create an environment, a culture which supports differentiation, which is apolitical, and is based on merit. After all, results speak; neither numbers nor the differentiation, Principle lies. It is the ability of the leader to bring differentiation that is important and needs to be tweaked for achieving success. The bottom line is: differentiate to succeed.
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