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Quickstart - Managing the Halfway Point
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Quickstart
Grow a Profitable Consultancy and Still Have Time for a Life
In this issue
Note from Beverley - Leadership Academy
One Step Further - Managing The Halfway Point
Personal Reflections - A Whale of a Time
Note from Beverley
Here is a resource you may not be aware of so I thought I would share it with you. This publication from SEEDA (South East England Development Agency) and the University of Surrey, offers opinion on leadership and business. It is called South East Leadership Academy Newsletter. I have an article in this edition and you can read the whole issue on my website at SELAN
Have a good week.
Beverley
bev@onestepfurther.co.uk
www.onestepfurther.co.uk
+44 (0)1258 817647
One Step Further
6th November is the halfway point between autumn and winter and as a middle or midpoint it reminded me that in many cases we plan the start of projects or business relationships and we review the end of projects, campaigns or change programmes but often the middle of these activities is neglected. In other words we don't review along the way and build in review or check points to monitor progress. And yet monitoring is a key activity in making sure what you intended to happen is happening in the way you intended it.
So what can you do to build in and use effective checkpoints to your projects and activities? Here are my top ten tips (not exhaustive I acknowledge but a start)
1. Start with the end in mind - Define at the start, with absolute clarity, what you want to achieve. What will it look, feel and be like when it is complete and what will be different from the start state
2. At regular time intervals, between start and completion, build in milestones which are key points that will indicate you are on track for your completion date.
3. Set a clear agenda for what needs to be achieved at each milestone.
4. Have a clearly defined change process if you need to alter part of what the original plan defined.
5. Be honest with yourself and your team about what success looks like at each milestone.
6. Act before a problem escalates - don't hide!
7. Communicate at each milestone and more if needed, to all key stakeholders, what is going well, what needs to be challenged or changed and what needs to be focused on.
8. Learn through your reviews and act on what you learn - how can the way you do things be improved?
9. Record learning for future projects and share this with all stakeholders. i.e don't lose valuable learning along the way.
10. Acknowledge mistakes quickly, learn from them and act to rectify them so you can get back on track ASAP.
The middle of the road can sometimes be a woolly, undefined place where wandering and straying is prevalent. Don't let that happen to your projects, programmes or relationships. Build in effective reviews and checks so that the middle of the road is a good place to be and one to move on from to the successful achievement of your plan
"We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive."C S Lewis
Personal Reflections
How do you tell a killer whale what to do? You don't. You ask him very, very nicely!
Whilst on holiday I went to see the "Believe" show at Sea World Florida starring Shamu the killer whale. This is the show that involves humans and killer whales and is quite simply amazing.
These beasts - albeit raised in captivity - weigh hundreds of pounds are predators and yet act like puppies besides their trainers.
They are taught to perform/behave in a variety of ways which entertain and amaze an audience. My favourite "trick" is when they splash the audience by scooping their tail and lifting bucket loads of water out of the pool onto the front 6-10 rows, soaking all in their path.
The bond between trainer and whale is something to behold when you consider the hours and hours of coaching that has lead to a few minutes of entertainment for the audience.
Some of you may have seen the show and some of you may have read the Ken Blanchard book Whale Done; a small parable type management book focusing on getting a positive response, feedback and recognition.
In the book the point made is you can't use a stick approach with a killer whale!! You have to show, persuade, coax and then reward the behaviour you want. In addition you don't "react" to the "wrong" behaviour you need to redirect the whale and then notice when they do something right and reward them again. In other words reward the behaviour you want and ignore or redirect unwanted behaviour. This works in business and personal situations - I've tried it!
Whilst the book is a bit corny and cliched in how it is written, the message is very simple and I encourage you to buy it read it and try the techniques.
Customers, employees, partners and children can all benefit from you using the reward the behaviour you want approach and it creates a much better relationship over time.
So whilst you may never be in a big pool of water with Shamu the killer whale you may have equally powerful relationships that you can change for the better by changing how you react and behave.
Best Regards
Bev
bev@onestepfurther.co.uk
www.onestepfurther.co.uk
+44 (0)1258 817647 |
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