3 Ways to Ensure Your Business Grows at the Right Pace (guest post)

Excerpted from Pacing for Growth: Why Intelligent Restraint Drives Long-term Success, by Alison Eyring (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2017)

3 Ways to Ensure Your Business Grows at the Right Pace

It’s difficult to know what the “right” amount of restraint is for a business. Sometimes, leaders lead with too little restraint, sometimes with too much. What’s clear is that it’s really, really hard to get it just right.

One reason it’s so hard is because we are leading organizations, and an organization is a complex combination of many interconnected systems. An organization is like the human body, which is an amazing structure of 11 different, interconnected systems. Take the respiratory and circulatory systems, for example. The respiratory system brings air into the body and removes carbon dioxide. The circulatory system picks up oxygen in the lungs and works like a transportation system moving blood filled with oxygen throughout the body and then taking waste in the form of carbon dioxide back to the lungs to be exhaled. These two systems have to collaborate and have clear touchstones. One interfaces with the external environment and the other is an internal system. If the air quality is very poor, both suffer. If the body is sick, they are both impacted. If the body is very healthy and strong, they work better, together.

Endurance training systematically increases the capacity of our complex body to withstand the stress of training without breaking down. Just as bodies are impacted by the external environment and the health of the body itself, organizations also are impacted by external forces like government regulations, new technologies, competitor activity, and consumer preferences as well as the overall culture and health of the organization.

A company that anticipates external changes and effectively adapts is more likely to survive over the long term. This is why endurance training is an excellent parallel for how to increase a company’s growth capacity. Leaders who act like endurance athletes can systematically increase the capacity of their organization to execute their day-to-day business as they build capacity for the future— without damaging people and the business itself. Part 1 of this book builds off the endurance training metaphor to explore how leaders can push their capacity to the limit, but no further.

Principle One: Capacity Determines How Far and Fast You Can Go

Maximum capacity is the highest level of performance at which a system can perform without breaking down. It’s more than the sum of individual skills or attitudes, or the physical capability of a building or piece of equipment. When we understand the gaps between performance and capacity, and how maximum capacity in the future will be different from today, we can create a program to build capabilities that increase capacity. In turn, this process allows us to avoid “boom-splat” cycles of growth. When we break that painful pattern, we conserve human and organizational energy and resources to spend on building a base for sustained growth in the future.

Principle Two: The Right Capabilities Increase Capacity Capabilities are the power and practical ability to perform or execute a given task. To build capacity for growth, we need to master a few critical capabilities at the individual, team, and organizational level. Each business will have a small number of unique capabilities required by its strategy. In addition, our own and others’ research shows that there also are certain capabilities that predict growth. In this book, I focus on two capabilities that help to increase adaptability and speed: outside-in thinking and customer-aligned innovation. Building the right capabilities for growth allows leaders to increase capacity to execute the day-to-day business as it also builds capacity for the future.

Principle Three: The Right Pace Wins the Race

Pace is the speed at which we can perform for a given distance or period of time. As business leaders, we can push our organizations and people to go really fast for a short period of time, but if we go too fast for too long, we burn out our people and burn through our cash and other resources. In a race, we need to conserve some energy to maintain a fast pace and we need perseverance to sustain this pace even when it becomes uncomfortable. On the other hand, in training, we vary pace significantly because this triggers different development outcomes like strength or cardiovascular fitness. When you can train at “race pace” and can recognize “maximum effort,” you can pace yourself, your team, and the business to execute your strategies—and at the same time build new capabilities for the future.

Intelligent Restraint helps us manage the complexity that growth brings.

Where can you release more capacity for growth?

Alison Eyring is a global thought leader on building organizational capacity for growth. Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Organisation Solutions, Alison has 25 years of experience in large-scale organization design and change and executive development. She works closely with global leaders and their organizations, including Royal/Dutch Shell, BHP Billiton, Chubb Group of Companies, NEC, and Thomson Reuters. She also serves as an adjunct Associate Professor at the National University of Singapore. Her book, Pacing for Growth, will be released in early 2017. 

Extra Credit for Your Ego (guest post)

Extra Credit for Your Ego

By Nate Regier

I’m so proud of my daughters and their fine academic achievements. They’ve mastered the art of extra credit. Sometimes one of them will score well over 100% on a test by taking advantage of the extra credit option. Smart!

Our egos also like getting extra credit. It’s called Rescuer-Based Helping.

I see someone else in need. Perhaps they are struggling to figure out an assignment, or express anxiety about a relationship in their life. The compassionate me knows that the best thing to do is offer support, don’t try to fix it, and provide assistance only if asked.

And my extra-credit ego can’t let opportunity pass. So I jump in with unsolicited advice. The way I go about it sends the message that other person would be better off if they appreciated how helpful and smart I am. If they play the game, my ego gets extra credit.

Here’s the dark side…my ego is so invested in getting that extra credit that if things don’t go well or the other person doesn’t appreciate or want my help, I throw a fit. Whether I verbalize it or not, my ego is yelling things like:

Hey, I was just trying to help.

Come on, you know it’s for your own good!

You’ll thank me later!

Symptoms of an Extra Credit Ego

My ego just can’t let it go. It has this obsessive need to be recognized and appreciated. You know your ego is seeking extra credit if you experience any of these symptoms.

• Increase in anxiety or compulsion when people don’t listen or take your advice.
• You easily turn against people and criticize them when they don’t take your advice.
• You push yourself on people, even when they don’t seem to want it.
• You convince yourself that you are doing it for their benefit.

Your ego doesn’t need extra credit to survive. It can earn a good grade through compassionate accountability.

Tips for Practicing Compassionate Helping

Disclose your motive

·         Before you try to help someone, identify why you are doing it. What was stirred inside you that compelled you to want to help? Why is it important for you to help and be helpful? Who is this about?

Ask permission

·         It’s OK to want to help, with permission. Non-consensual helping is all about ego seeking extra credit.

Let go and move on

·         Whether they accept your help or not, walk away without strings attached, no judgment of yourself or the other person. If you can’t let go and move on, your ego is seeking extra credit.

About Dr. Nate Regier
Dr. Nate Regier is the co-founding owner and chief executive officer of Next Element, a global advisory firm specializing in building cultures of compassionate accountability. A former practicing psychologist, Regier is an expert in social-emotional intelligence and leadership, positive conflict, mind-body-spirit health, neuropsychology, group dynamics, interpersonal and leadership communication, executive assessment and coaching, organizational development, team building and change management. An international adviser, he is a certified Leading Out of Drama master trainer, Process Communication Model® certifying master trainer and co-developer of Next Element’s Leading Out of Drama® training and coaching. Nate has published two books: Beyond Drama and his latest work, Conflict without Casualties.

A Most Ernest Proposal (Guest Post)

The pigs are running the farm. So begins the story of Farmer Able. Everyone on his farm -- people and animals alike -- are downright downtrodden by him. He's overbearing and compulsively obsessed with profits and productivity. He's a typical top-down, power-based manager, forever tallying production numbers in his well-worn ledgers. But the more he pushes the hoofs and horns and humans, the more they dig in their heels. That is until one day when he hears a mysterious wind that whispers: "It's not all about me." Can he turn things around and begin attending to the needs of those on his farm, thus improving their attitudes and productivity?

The following is an excerpt from chapter 24 of Farmer Able.

A MOST ERNEST PROPOSAL

That evening, as Farmer Able walked back toward the house, the gentle wind kicked up again. He sensed a bouquet in the air as the wind swirled through the blossoming orchard and then encircled him. He had never noticed that sweet smell before. He had operated like old man Guthrie often quipped, “If you put your head down, get your back under it and keep your nose to the grindstone, that’s a pretty uncomfortable and unproductive way to work.” Now with his newfound freedom, those trees brought a fragrant new promise.

Things were not just looking up on the farm. No, they were growing broader, wider and deeper. Farmer Able wasn’t tallying life simply by pound, bushel and acre. The wind offered a new yardstick to measure things: The way to grow the harvest was more important than the harvest itself.

There it was, plain and simple. Every drop of milk produced, every field plowed, every egg laid—even every kernel of wheat or corn grown—meant nothing, if the way it was achieved was wrong. The greatest yield came from the nobility inspired in every hoof, horn, hand and feather.

As these thoughts whirled around him, brought on by the wind and the perfume of apple blossoms, the farmer smiled a knowing smile.

He heard another breathy utterance: Ours is yours. This he did not have to think about. Farmer Able knew immediately what it meant.

The next day he went straightaway to Ernie. “I was mistaken about the chickens,” he said.

“Ohhh-kaaaay,” Ernie said, knowing this was true but not feeling it was his right to fully endorse the point.

“And I had the wrong idea about how to get the horses stepping out as a team.”

“Well …”

“Go on. You can agree I had blinders on. But hopefully I’m seeing things more clearly now.”

“You do see a lightning bug best in the dark,” Ernie said.

Farmer Able had to smile at Ernie’s insight. “You were illuminated in a lot of this before I was. Now I need to fan that flame.”

“Ohh-keedoke,” Ernie said, not sure where the farmer was going.

“What I’m saying Ernie is this: I want to put you in charge.”

“In charge? Of what?”

“Of making things . . . the way things oughta be. Bringing out their best.”

Ernie was a bit intimidated by the idea of taking the lead.

“You certainly know your stuff,” the farmer urged. “And you also have heart.”

Ernie perked up. “Actually, I’ve always just followed my nose. That’s what a horse does. And a cow for that matter.”

Clarice and Harry, who were listening to this exchange, glanced over at each other. They’d never really agreed on anything. But when you have two eyes staring out over schnozzles as big and commanding as theirs, what Ernie said made perfect sense.

“I want to incentivize you, too.”

“I like that word,” Ernie said.

“You keep that egg output rollin’ in, I’ll give you a share. You figure the best way and make the changes necessary to get those fields planted and growing, and I’ll share some of the harvest.”

“I appreciate the generosity, but that’s sure going to cost you.”

“Not really. The way my new pencil figures it, I’m giving you part of an increase that wouldn’t be there if you hadn’t increased it. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir. It’s like what grandma Flora Belle always told her pickers when she paid them based on output. She’d rather have 90% of somethin’ than 100% of nothin’.”

“Yep, but I don’t want to stop there. Let’s open up this cistern to the wider world.”

When this phrase “the wider world” came out of Farmer Able’s mouth, this Old Dirt shook. It wasn’t an earthquake. It was just rumbling applause. The cows, horses and chickens felt it, too. But it didn’t stop there. Farmer Able wanted it to ripple far and wide . . . out from his acreage . . . to the county . . . from farm to shining farm. Because when a human agrees with the larger workings of the universe, it just can’t help but resound with hearty agreement.

*****

Art Barter believes everyone can be great, because everyone can serve. To teach about the power of servant leadership, Art started in his own backyard by rebuilding the culture of the manufacturing company he bought, Datron World Communications.  Art took Datron’s traditional power-led model and turned it upside down and the result was the international radio manufacturer grew from a $10 million company to a $200 million company in six years. Fueled by his passion for servant leadership, Art created the Servant Leadership Institute (SLI).

To learn more about Art and his new Servant Leadership Journal, as well as his book on servant leadership, Farmer Able: A Fable About Servant Leadership Transforming Organizations And People From The Inside Out, endorsed by Stephen M.R. Covey, Ken Blanchard , and John C. Maxwell , visit www.servantleadershipinstitute.com .

Put the Pressure on Yourself (Guest Post)

Put the Pressure on Yourself

By Brian Tracy

The following post is an excerpt from chapter 13 of Eat That Frog.

A word about frogs… It has been said that if the first thing you do each morning is to eat a live frog, you can go through the day with the satisfaction of knowing that that is probably the worst thing that is going to happen to you all day long. Your “frog” is your biggest, most important task, the one you are most likely to procrastinate on if you don’t do something about it. It is also the one task that can have the greatest positive impact on your life and results at the moment.

Put the Pressure on Yourself

The world is full of people who are waiting for someone to come along and motivate them to be the kind of people they wish they could be. The problem is that no one is coming to the rescue.

These people are waiting for a bus on a street where no buses pass. If they don’t take charge of their lives and put the pressure on themselves, they can end up waiting forever. And that is what most people do.

Only about 2 percent of people can work entirely without supervision. We call these people “leaders.” This is the kind of person you are meant to be and that you can be, if you decide to be.

To reach your full potential, you must form the habit of putting the pressure on yourself and not waiting for someone else to come along and do it for you. You must choose your own frogs and then make yourself eat them in their order of importance.

See yourself as a role model. Raise the bar on yourself. The standards you set for your own work and behavior should be higher than anyone else could set for you.

Make a game of starting a little earlier, working a little harder, and staying a little later. Always look for ways to go the extra mile, to do more than you are paid for.

Your self-esteem has been defined by psychologist Nathaniel Branden as “the reputation you have with yourself.” You build up or pull down your reputation with yourself with everything you do or fail to do. The good news is that you feel better about yourself whenever you push yourself to do your best. You increase your self-esteem whenever you go beyond the point where the average person would normally quit.

One of the best ways for you to overcome procrastination and get more things done faster is by working as though you had only one day to get your most important jobs done.

Imagine each day that you have just received an emergency message and that you will have to leave town tomorrow for a month. If you had to leave town for a month, what would you make absolutely sure that you got done before you left? Whatever your answer, go to work on that task right now.

Another way to put pressure on yourself is to imagine that you just received an all-expenses-paid vacation at a beautiful resort as a prize, but you will have to leave tomorrow morning on the vacation or it will be given to someone else. What would you be determined to finish before you left so that you could take that vacation? Whatever it is, start on that one job immediately.

Successful people continually put the pressure on themselves to perform at high levels. Unsuccessful people have to be instructed and pressured by others.

By putting the pressure on yourself, you will accomplish more tasks better and faster than ever. You will become a high-performance, high-achieving personality. You will feel terrific about yourself, and bit by bit you will build the habit of rapid task completion that will then go on to serve you all the days of your life.

Brian Tracy is one of the top business speakers in the world today. He has designed and presented seminars for more than 1,000 large companies and more than 10,000 small and medium- sized enterprises in 75 countries on the subjects of Leadership, Management, Professional Selling, Business Model Reinvention, and Profit Improvement. He has addressed more than 5,000,000 people in more than 5,000 talks and presentations worldwide. He currently speaks to 250,000 people per year. His fast-moving, entertaining video-based training programs are taught in 38 countries.

Brian is a bestselling author. In addition to Eat That Frog, Brian has written more than 80 books that have been translated into 42 languages, including Kiss That Frog!, Find Your Balance Point, Goals!, Flight Plan, Maximum Achievement, No Excuses!, Advanced Selling Strategies, and How the Best Leaders Lead. He is happily married, with four children and five grandchildren. He is the president of Brian Tracy International and lives in Solana Beach, California. He can be reached at briantracy@briantracy.com.

The 9 Ways Problem Solvers Distinguish Themselves (Guest Post)

The 9 Ways Problem Solvers Distinguish Themselves

By Nat Greene

Most people are not great at solving hard problems: they are either intimidated away from solving them in the first place, or attempt a few solutions that fail. After failure, they learn to live with the problem or create an expensive or tedious work-around. People fail even when they are smart, educated, motivated, and armed with a problem-solving process. The reason they fail is that they ultimately revert to guessing at solutions.

The way that great problem solvers distinguish themselves is by employ a more powerful set of behaviors. They approach problems fundamentally differently than others, and allows them to decisively identify the root causes of the hardest problems, and solve them permanently. If you want to get better at solving a problem, learn from those who do it well.

Here are the 9 behaviors that great problem-solvers use to solve hard problems with skill and panache:

1. Stop guessing. Stop taking stabs in the dark and just trying things out. After a few ineffective guesses at a hard problem, you’ll realize it’s time to try something new. But if you don’t have a way to work out a solution, chances are you’ll fall back on your old habits and the problem will go unsolved. That’s where the other eight behaviors come in. They will help you to address the problem effectively instead.

2. Smell the problem. Step away from your desk and get into the field. Use your natural senses and the tools already at your disposal to assess where the failure started and the pattern it took. Don’t bury yourself in reams of data. Ask relevant questions about that specific problem. This behavior may solve some moderately difficult problems right away. For harder challenges, it’s a critical step towards a solution.

3. Embrace your ignorance. Most people try to solve problems using the knowledge they already have. But it’s what you don’t know that matters, not what you do. Great problem-solvers embrace their ignorance. Instead of trying to protect their reputation as an expert, they ask questions others might find “stupid.” The behavior shatters old assumptions you have about the problem, so you can look at it with fresh eyes.

4. Know what problem you’re solving. Often, people work on the wrong problem entirely by making some implicit assumption about what’s causing it. But if you don’t know what the problem really is, you can’t fix it. Great problem-solvers take the time to define the problem in an accurate, precise way. Instead of jumping to conclusions, they take careful measurements. They invest the time to observe it so they know exactly what’s wrong.

5. Dig into the fundamentals. Learn how the process works, including the basic science behind it: every process and problem obeys the laws of science. Understanding that science is critical to discovering what’s causing the problem. Focus on how the process controls the specific problem, rather than try to wrap your arms around the entire process at once.

6. Don’t rely on experts. Too often, people delegate problem solving to internal and external experts. While experts are critical to understanding a complex system and its underlying functionality and science, they may not be as well positioned to solve the problem for you. The best problem-solvers always view experts as collaborators rather than saviors, and drive the search for solutions themselves. 

7. Believe in a simple solution. It might be comforting to believe the solution to a complex problem will be just as complex. Thinking “it’s just really complicated” makes it easier to give up before going through the necessary rigor. But great problem-solvers are tenacious. They won’t stop until they’ve gotten to the root of the problem — and that’s where the easiest, most economical solution will emerge.

8. Make fact-based decisions. Making a decision that’s based on opinion, a vote, an authority, or any other subjective system is a form of guessing about what to do next. Great problem-solvers insist on using only the facts to make a decision about a problem. They also relentlessly verify what they are told, and

check data streams to ensure that what they’re seeing represents reality.

9. Stay on target. When they deep-dive into a problem, people frequently seek to find as many potential causes as possible, so they can test them all. But this approach will waste time and resources. A hard problem has hundreds or thousands of potential root causes; it’s unlikely the true root cause will be in that long list. Great problem-solvers measure the drivers that most immediately control the problem, and then rule out as many variables as they can, as early as possible. This keeps them efficiently on-track and focused.

Great problem solvers avoid guesswork, taking a structured approach that reveals how the failure happened. By applying these 9 behaviors, they get a lucid picture of the problem, and stay targeted on an effective solution. And that takes care of another problem we all have: getting better at solving problems in the first place. Whether you’re tackling a production snafu, a crisis at home, or any other challenge, these are 9 behaviors that work.

            Which behaviors are your greatest strengths? Find out with this online quiz.

Nathaniel Greene is the co-founder and current CEO of Stroud International, and author of Stop Guessing: The 9 Behaviors of Great Problem-Solvers. Nat has a Masters of Engineering from Oxford University and studied design, manufacturing and management at Cambridge University, in addition to executive education coursework in Harvard Business School's Owner/President Management program.