The Decision And The Questions

THE DECISION AND THE QUESTIONS

In the world of business you and your organization can perform at any level you want, as long as you’re willing and able to pay the price. Remember: Consumers will only pay to watch those who are 'soaring' or 'adoring.' In the short term, you must at least soar. Over the long term, you must make the 'adore' standard. Today, 'best practices' can earn a living. Tomorrow, only 'best of class' will prosper.

What’s your level of performance today? Be honest. If it’s boring, prepare an exit strategy. If it’s adoring, keep up the good work and get on the consulting circuit!

Are you willing and able to lead your organization through the future? If you aren’t, prepare an exit strategy.

Are your organization’s members willing and able to change? If yes, proceed to the next question. If not, are you willing to terminate those unwilling to change? If you aren’t willing to make the tough decisions, including terminating those unwilling or unable to change, prepare an exit strategy.

Success in the future is like performing on the high wire without a net. Will you commit the time, energy, discipline, and other resources to achieve 'best of class' status? If yes, continue the process. If no, begin the 'harvest process' and recognize that you’ll need an exit strategy. The process is simple but arduous. You must:

• Arrange your equipment
• Rehearse your performance
• Execute flawlessly — you’ll eventually remove the net
• Constantly inspect the equipment and process and adjust as needed

THE EQUIPMENT

This is essential. If the equipment fails, the best case is that your performance suffers; the worst case is that you fall and die! Your life is literally on the line. Make sure everything is perfect. The best performer might be able to work on flawed equipment, but it’s not a risk you want to take. The equipment:

• Guy wires
• Support poles
• Platforms
• The wire
• Turnbuckles
• The net

You’ve seen the set-up. Do it right the first time. You won’t get a second chance!

Guy wires. There are two sets of these — one on each support pole. On the starting end, the guy wires are the organizational values. On the other side they’re the marketplace — your customers.

Organizational values are the absolutes in your systems. You must never compromise these values, which are the final arbiters of all disputes. What are your values? Is this the talk, or the walk? Values aren’t lip service; they’re a way of life!

Do all of the stakeholders in your organization (employees, customers, vendors, suppliers, and investors) respect and share your values? If yes, great! If not, can you sustain a relationship with them if you have conflicting values? Are you living by these values? If not, are you willing to do so in the future? Can you sustain the values you’ve selected over the long term? If not, change them so that you can be unwavering in your efforts.

The other wire is the marketplace. These are your customers — the reason for your existence. They’re the relationships that create the value of your company. If you can’t or won’t add value to the lives of your customers, you won’t sustain the relationships and your business will fail — you’ll fall from the wire!

What customer niches do you serve? Do your products and services satisfy their wants and needs? Do they exceed your customers’ expectations? Are your prices competitive? Can you deliver at a price that the market is willing to pay, and still turn a profit? If not, are you willing and able to innovate your processes to come in below the acceptable price?

Can you leverage technology to sustain profitable delivery? Do you have your finger on your customers’ pulse to anticipate and satisfy their developing wants and needs?

Support poles. On one end, the start point is your current reality. The other is the future ideal — the results you want and need.

The start point:

What are your internal (things you control) strengths? What are your internal weaknesses?

What are the external (things you can’t control) opportunities? What are the external challenges and threats?

The finish point:

Who are the stakeholders in your business? What are the specific results you need to ensure both short-term and long-term success? Will achieving these results benefit all stakeholders? If yes, move forward. If not, be certain that you don’t need the stakeholder who doesn’t benefit. In tomorrow’s world we’ll have unlimited options. We won’t need to participate in win/lose relationships. Win/win will be the only system that we can sustain.

Do you have effective monitoring and contingency systems in place? Are the responses to these systems appropriate? They must be.

Platforms. The starting platform is where you stand to begin your adventure, focus on and prepare for the risk, make final checks of all systems, and implement the process. It’s your plan, the process, and the implementation. Based on the desired results, what specific strategies and actions do you need? Does everyone know what their jobs are? Do you and your team have the same expectations? How? Who? When? Why? Where? If yes, great! If not, you must agree before the process starts.

Are your team members willing and able to do what you expect? If they’re unwilling, how can you motivate them? If they’re unable, how can you train them? If team members can’t perform to your standards, are you willing to remove them from the system? If not, you’re shortchanging those who are contributing to your success.

The finishing platform is the ending point. It’s where you relish success, reflect on the process, and review flaws and difficulties. Most importantly, it’s where you reap the rewards. It’s the compensation for your performance. It’s about the applause and adulation from the audience.

What was my role? Did I fulfill this responsibility? Did we agree on the value of this contribution? If yes, proceed. If not, negotiate your value before moving on. Was I compensated fairly? Does the compensation system sustain excellence into the future? If yes, continue. If not, adjust to ensure long-term success.

The wire. This is the bridge between today and tomorrow — from the current reality to the future ideal. It’s the medium for your journey — the playing field. When you have to walk it you understand it, while everyone else asks for a 'level' playing field. It must support the weight of our efforts. It must be tight. You can’t walk on a loose wire.

That’s why we use turnbuckles:

• Is the culture of your organization compatible with your values, goals, compensation systems, marketplace, and team members? If not, are you willing to undertake the near impossible task of changing the culture? Incompatible culture is equivalent to a frayed wire. You might need to build a new system.

• Can the wire support your efforts? Is your organization up to the task? Considering the strengths of your team, are your goals reasonable?
• Do you bring enough gravity to your goals? You must have weight to sustain the process. Goals that aren’t challenging can be as bad or worse than those that are unachievable.

Are you ready to start? Take one step at a time. Nothing else is possible or important.

The net. In the beginning this is vital — it literally saves lives. In the end, we take it down. You might use it for rehearsal, but never in performance. The 'best of class' don’t use nets; the risk is what makes the 'hearts beat fast.'

You must balance the net under the wire. If you don’t anchor it, the net will slow, but not stop, the fall. If it isn’t balanced and level, it won’t stop your fall; it’ll merely throw you to the floor. It’s critical to set the net properly! This is the attention to detail that so often makes the difference between success and failure in any performance, process, or system. The net’s four sides are:

The two ends (perpendicular to the wire)

• Preparation – your competence
• Execution – your confidence

The two sides (parallel to the wire)

• The needs/wants of the organization
• The needs/wants of the individual stakeholders

The net is temporary. The day it comes down, you must be absolutely certain that you no longer need it. This is a process of consciousness and competence:

• As we begin any process we’re often in a state of unconscious incompetence (we don’t know what we don’t know)
• Over time we move to conscious incompetence (we know what we don’t know)
• With time and practice we reach the stage of conscious competence (we can think and do — we’re a 'best practices' performer)
• Eventually we reach the ideal: unconscious competence (we can do without thinking)

As you set up the net, remember that this is a team project; it’s not just you on the wire. You and your team will spend much of your life walking the wire. Have you planned every detail? Do you know every desired result, the steps to get there, the best strategy for each effort, who does what, when, where, and how?

If you fall, ask why. What went wrong? Was it a failure of the equipment, the performer, or an unplanned contingency? If you don’t fall, analyze the effort. Was it good or great? Why? What does the organization want and need for itself and the constituencies it serves? If you achieve your plans, will everyone get what they want and need?

Does each individual member of the team trust the system? Without trust they won’t put their lives at risk! Have you conducted a meeting of the minds between the organization and each team member? Will the organization honor their part of the agreement? Will they hold each team member accountable for their contributions? Will the organization provide training for the unable, and motivation for the unwilling? Do you have the resolve to remove team members who can’t or won’t honor their commitment?

WALKING THE WIRE

This is what you do. Your team performs these functions. You get paid for this. This brings the spectators in and, done right, it’s what keeps them there. Done wrong, it sends them away and in a worst-case scenario, it can send you plunging to earth.

Hundreds if not thousands of practice rounds — that’s the reality behind every public performance. It’s a lot like flying: 98% boredom and 2% sheer terror!