Sep 7, 2010 | Management, Operations
We all find ourselves dealing with ambiguity, preconceptions, vested interests, status quo methods, and often hubris as we set out to consider options in any management situation. In these circumstances, we usually mix quantitative data with what we know, and what we believe in a varying recipe that delivers a result we are comfortable with.
In this post by Eric Paley, the tensions inherent in these differing and mixed methods of analysis are beautifully articulated in a sporting story most can relate to.
Sep 1, 2010 | Communication, Management, Personal Rant
PowerPoint, the Microsoft program has become such a part of the daily regime of sharing information sharing that it has impacted on the way we communicate, and it has its detractors, of which I am one.
Some time ago, I was at a conference where a senior bureaucrat was presenting her departments position. The presentation was replete with animations, and the various tools in PPT to the point where she was prattling on about the great features of the program. What dross.
PowerPoint is the default position now in many situations, but is becoming a crutch, as illustrated in the NY times story.
The lessons are simple:
- Use minimum words on a slide,
- Dump most of the tricky features that just distract from your message,
- Use the opportunity to sell a simple proposition, not to do a “brain-dump” of everything you know,
- Watch and respond to the audience, connect with them,
- Use the program to illustrate your points, not just list them .
Aug 29, 2010 | Alliance management, Leadership
This hung election has generated a tsunami of comment, but nothing I have seen on the mechanics of collaboration, a key factor in any lasting resolution to the impasse I would have thought.
The idea of a “party” is simply an expression of the need for group action to get anything done. In the case of the two major parties the early collaboration around an idea has long been replaced by the institutional battle for survival, the original reason for the formation of the party forgotten.
By contrast, consider the Greens. They evolved from a protest group coalesing around opposition to the Franklin dam in Tasmania, through to political group with the power to protest in a wider forum of proportionally elected houses state upper houses, (Federal senate, NSW Legislative Council) from which all we expected was protest, to a party that now carries a veto over all legislation, which is a far wider remit than a one issue protest.
This last step is a game changer, one the Democrats failed. But what of the three independents in the house of Reps? Almost by accident they have the power of veto if they act collaboratively, but it seems to be emerging that consistent collaborative action may fail them just because the rallying point around which they can coalesce is far more ambiguous than the Greens “save the Franklin” and the Democrats “keep the bastards honest” and therefore the collaboration lacks some of the “glue” essential to a collaborative effort, and they lack the institutional organisation that is the alternative.
It will be interesting to watch, and I suspect that there will be an agreement that sees the “Mad Monk” as PM with the nominal support of the three independents, which will become very fragile as the next full moon impacts on Bob.
Aug 23, 2010 | Leadership, Management
Leadership is a subject that has filled libraries, kept researchers in businesses, and academics interested for decades. However, anyone who has been around organisations for a while probably sees it a bit more simply if they have given it any real thought.
To me, a leader needs to be able to communicate simply, and intimately (irrespective of the size of any group) a range of pretty basic things with those he/she is supposed to be leading:
This is why we are here
This is where we are going
This is why we are going there
This is how we are going to get there
This is what you can expect of me
This is what I expect of you
This is how, individually and collectively will take responsibility
This is what will happen if we fail at any of the above.
In the event that a leader “lives” all the above, others will follow, but there is little room for saying one thing, and doing another.
So much for the libraries!!
Aug 10, 2010 | Communication, Management, Small business
Sitting around many board and advisory tables over the years, I have observed that those that are successful follow what I have started to call the rule of thirds. Actually, there are four rules, but the first is generic to all meetings: have an agenda, follow it, take minutes, allocate a specific time to end, and follow up. The other three relate to the manner of organization of the agenda and are:
1/3 review the financials, the past period, and coming periods, with particular emphasis on cash generation.
1/3 Consider the immediate issues, gain agreement on actions, outcomes and timetables,
1/3 Consider the longer term issues, all those things that will not impact on the immediate performance of the business, but are in the medium to long term critical for survival.
Most board meetings tend to spend considerable time on the first, a bit on the second, and little on the third, but organizing the time allocated, and being disciplined about the manner in which the time is spent will pay dividends.
Aug 8, 2010 | Management, Marketing
Watching the current federal election campaign from both major parties, it seems they both should go back to marketing 101, and consider what it takes to engage with those to whom you want to sell something. Both to my mind are failing badly to create a brand that has a proposition that is attractive to those who take the time to consider their “purchase” rather than just buying the same one they bought last time.
From a different perspective, I had the pleasure of meeting with a couple of NSW shadow ministers with a group of business people last week. Their problem is that although the current NSW Labor government is so on the nose that is seems inconceivable that they will be reelected, very few in the electorate know anything about the alternative, and they have great difficulty gaining any media traction, so unlike their Federal counterparts, their problem is awareness, and how do they generate it, not that the product appears to be in tatters.
