Some sooner is better than all later

 As a child I remember when my mother Shirley (who just turned 80 last week!) would whip up a tasty cake on a Saturday afternoon.

The ingredients would come out and then one by one they'd go into the mixing bowl. After the 'mix' and the 'pour' into the cake tin, the bowl and the beaters were mine… all mine! <evil laugh>

Tasty cake mixture that hadn't seen the oven yet! Some cakes mixture leftovers were tastier than others but it was a hint of the saying 'some sooner is better than all later.' Sure, I would have a little of the cake once it was cooked, but there was always that test or taste of what was to come, with some baking time.  

It's the same with projects, ideas you're working on and pieces of work on your 'to do' list. 

Get it out there so people can have a taste of some of it sooner, rather than waiting and giving them the whole finished thing later ... which they may not like the taste of. Gone! All that time working on something that wasn't to their taste. 

Software developers and other types of technology workers use this approach often. They deliver smaller working pieces of their projects quickly so that people can test them out and give feedback. Changes are made and the next working version or piece is tested and delivered.

The Lean Startup movement sees it as a 'minimum viable product'. 

Quality gets built in. Overall delivery to market will be quicker and you'll stay more competitive. And there is the 'buzz' of getting something shipped that helps motivate and inspire us to action… and then more action.

Ok … so what have you got sitting there on your list or the 'not quite done' project file that could be put out there now? Today. As it is.

Give people a taste of it now. Ask and listen to feedback. Make improvements. And then keep that conversation going about what they want and how they'd like it. Mmmm tasty. Yum!  

PS. That visual up there of my mum's cake, that's your free hand drawn icon this issue. I'll quickly sketch an image of a cake to represent key concepts like: celebration, anniversary, birthday (of course), reward, end of project, years or duration (number of candles). An oval shape for the top, lines down the side, through the middle for the layers, and some thicker lines for candles with little lines for candle flames. 

Leading Corporate Transformation

To lead organisations through significant change and transformation, you need broader and deeper thinking, and use more than emotion alone - so said Hans-Ulrich Maerki, former Chairman and General Manager of IBM in Europe.

He gave a presentation last week on how to lead transformative change.

He also referred to the book of Louise V Gerstner Jnr, former IBM Chairman and CEO : 'Who says elephants can't dance' which details how the fortunes of IBM were turned around. 

Above all he asked 'how closely are we living up to the values' of the organisation. 
 
My visualisation of his 20 minute presentation is this week's sip of information distilled from a presentation. 

Stop starting. Start finishing.

I'm interested: how do you control and monitor what you're doing? What you're working on? What's next on the list?

In the office of one of my transport industry clients last week, I noticed again how all of their work areas have ... not coffee machines, but ... whiteboards. Offices have them, every other working area has them, and pod and desk areas have group whiteboards. 

But these are different to most I've seen before. Every whiteboard is structured, labelled with columns and full of information about 'what's going on'. Many of the boards have permanent lines, permanent marker headings with erasable or movable content on Post-it notes or cards. 

This business is proud of the visualisation they use. It helps them monitor what's on, what's coming and what's done and it is certainly a key reason why their performance is on the rise!

While visualisation might be an obvious must-do for a business in production, logistics or project management, it can also be a lesser-known but still powerful tool for small business, entrepreneurs and businesses going through change.

I'm loving Kanban : the visual process management approach that has its origins in Japan's just-in-time production methods. There are variations and applications of Kanban, so keep it simple for your team or business - or for the family!

The 'three bin' system of categorising work-in-progress (WIP) and workflow is a way to stop adding more things to the 'to do' list and start completing things. 

Try these three headings to start:

• To Do
• In Progress
• Done

And limit the numbers of tasks or work-in-progress to two or three items. The 'Stop starting. Start finishing' mantra of Lean and Kanban methods means you can't keep adding to the To Do list; you need to get some of the In Progress stuff done!

This truly helps you and the team visualise activity, performance and outcomes, and it answers the 'what's going on' question exceptionally well. Talk people through the board. Have a stand-up meeting at the board. Point to the board. Refer to the information on the board. 

A grand outcome I can 'see' is that collaboration, communication and buy-in is boosted, throughout what can be unsettling times of transformation and change.

This e-news : Done. 

You are a leader. Prove it.

There are a lot of announcements going on at this time of year in business – reshaping, reshifting, rearranging, budgets cut, departments changing and roles shifting.

But there always will. No matter the time of year.

There will always be things that leaders need to say. Not just write it in an email, hit send and hide. But say it, speak it, announce it and deliver it.

Here is an announcement for leaders: Stop the Spin.

Stop the waffle-laden, couched-in-uncertain words and riddled-with-vague-descriptions announcements. Stop it. They’re not listening and they don’t believe you.

Stop the spin.

Stop the ‘we’d better say it like this or else….’.

Stop the ‘hush hush’ meetings where you’re supposedly ‘framing’ or ‘positioning’ information before you say it.

Admit it. You are spinning.

After my previous career in communications and public relations I know a good spin when I see it or hear it.

Leadership communications –  announcing good news and bad - needs three key things:

Humanity.

It comes first. You’re dealing with people. Not ‘resources’, numbers, EFTs or heads.

Clarity.

You’re confusing people with your long-winded sentences, waffly phrases and ‘I can’t quite say it how I want to say it’ speeches, riddled with workplace catch phrases that send minds into orbit and off topic.  

Get clear. What is the message? In normal speak. Say it like that.

Elegance.

This is different to spin. It means something has style and good taste. It is concise. Take your normal speak message and give it some elegance.

You are a leader. You are a communicator.

Prove it.

Every time you open your mouth. Speak like a leader.

1. Show humanity first.
2. Be clear with your message.
3. Present it elegantly, concisely and with style.

Delete waffle, long sentences, boring phrases and work-speak.

Be original. Be unique.

Everything about a leader speaks, especially when they speak.

Allow warm-up time

It was a Friday night and the live band started playing in front of the audience. I remember one person in our group of friends said to me ‘come on, get into it’ ... as in, 'start enjoying yourself now, would you?!'
 
But the music had only just started and it was taking me a little while to get over the busy Friday at work, the phone calls and conversations and to ease in to the evening of socialising and entertainment. I couldn’t ‘get into it’ at the click of her fingers. I needed time to shift from one environment to another.
 
The same happens when you bring people together for a meeting, conversation, workshop or discussion. You can’t announce ‘start collaborating..... now!’ or 'OK folks, come up with your best ideas - now!’
 
Too often I see team or workshop leaders who haven't created a suitable environment or allowed time to help people ‘get into it’. 

So when you bring a team together, do these things:
 

• Refresh and shift. Help people get out of the environment they've just been in. Offer a cool drink, a hot tea, tell a story, ask how they are...

• For the set up and opening, take it slow. If you rush now, you won't get the best out of the group. The group will achieve more with a great environment where it’s comfortable to participate. And yes, sometimes this is anti-rush; people rush in to a workshop or meeting and will want to rush out; that doesn't mean your session needs to be a rush too. Set the tone, pace and environment.

• Explain: why they are there, what's the purpose, what's the outcome you're driving towards, what's the bigger picture, what you're hoping to get from them. 

• Give the group clarity about what will happen in this session. 'We'll hear from Tim about the history of the project, then move on to discussion about the obstacles getting in the way, then identify what we can do to meet the customer needs on the service'. A few points on an agenda, a process outlined or a structure for the session is crucial. This helps people settle in.

And throughout the band's set of songs, I certainly ‘got into it’, singing along, dancing, cheering and applauding. Woo hoo!

At the end, the musicians didn’t rush off the stage. And nor should you or your team. The band waved, thanked, cheered, clapped the audience and bowed. Make sure you wind up, close and wrap up the session or workshop – spend time at this stage so that actions are clear, next steps are articulated and people are acknowledged. 

Avoid the 'rushed meeting of the invisibles' as I call it: strangers in a cold environment, rushing to try and make wonderful things happen. It won't happen.

Spend time to set the scene and help people shift - the investment will be worth it.