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Category: Culture

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Best Practices Culture Management Marketing Personal Development Sales

Are sales leaders ahead of the game in the ‘new normal’?

Yes!!!

Most of the things that leaders are coming to terms with and learning how to master with a remote team are already second nature to sales leaders. Conducting day to day business activities without being in the same room at the same time is par for the course.

It’s also the case at pretty much all sales leadership levels, specifically with field-based sales. In my case, running global sales teams, the people are literally all around the world, adding the lovely additional factor of time zones. For any of the regional leads, say across EMEA, the same is true, with multiple countries, cultures, and languages, as well as a sub-set of time zones. Even a territory sales manager is used to leading, coaching, and developing their sales reps, with very infrequent ‘windshield time’ or face to face office interaction.

The “new normal” for most office workers is the only way for most field-based sales team leaders. As a result, they have a wealth of experience as well as tips and tricks that can be valuable to people who are still getting familiar with working remotely.

Managing a virtual team still has the same fundamentals in the engagement of the team and individuals. It’s so important to truly be present in every interaction. “oh sorry, I was on mute” is a sure-fire indicator that you were not present!!! Video certainly helps here, especially in a 1:1 session or small groups. But it’s just as important in phone only interaction. Keep it short and focused but include time for beyond work chat.

That said, never forget the importance of in-person bonding. When the environment is right to allow group gatherings, it is hugely important. Many sales professionals will tell you it’s a lonely world, working remotely and only occasionally meeting their colleagues in the same team, or across other areas of the company. In my experience, the energy gained from occasional in-person team meetings is a critical component of leading a virtual team. This ranges from small team sessions, each quarter maybe, through to larger annual all-team gatherings such as sales kick-off sessions.

Bottom line, your company already has experts in leading teams in the ‘new normal’, your sales leaders, so be sure to capitalize on their experience, now, and as you plan the various steps to your post ‘Stay at Home’ environment.

Categories
Best Practices Culture Growth Health and Wellness Leadership

Focus on the Positive By Keeping a Journal

As human beings, we seem to be wired to focus on the negative. What fills the news – positive or negative topics? Negative news gets our attention.

We concentrate on what needs to be fixed. This habit is called “negative bias.” It is easy to get sucked into negativity right now. Our lives are dramatically changed by the pandemic.

In psychological terms, negative bias means that even when two events have equal objective value, we focus more on the more negative event—negative thoughts, emotions, or interactions. If Margaret is part of a virtual networking event where she has a positive interaction with a prospect and a negative interaction with someone else, she will brood or worry about the negative exchange instead of remembering the positive one.

Wanting to Fix What’s Broken is Normal

In some ways, this is logical. If your car is running smoothly except for a faulty air conditioner, you are going to focus on that air conditioner because you know you need to get it fixed. With a negative social interaction, you analyze it to see how you could have handled it more effectively.

However, if you focus on negative events to the exclusion of positive ones, you erode the self-confidence that allows you to say, “I want to improve my ability in this area, and I know I can do it.” Instead, you may beat yourself up for failure.

You can see how self-doubt, fed by focus on “failures,” can foster fears that you aren’t a good leader.

Keep a Record of Your Successes

It takes effort, concentration, and commitment to release the automatic focus on the negative. One way to build these psychological muscles is to record your successes.

To build this positive habit, I recommend a daily accounting. To begin, get a small notebook or use your phone. Every time you have a positive experience, make a note of it.

“Juan praised my monthly report.”

“In today’s meeting, I managed to get Shoshonna and Fernando to see each other’s viewpoint.”

When you get home, take some time during the evening to add these successes to either a physical or a computer file. Expand your notes.

“Juan said that my report did a great job of summarizing the key challenges we’ll be facing during the coming quarter. He especially liked my analysis of cost projections. I know that I worked very carefully on those figures, and I feel rewarded for that effort.”

“Shoshonna and Fernando were at each other’s throats. At first, I wanted to jump in and break it up, but I decided to sit back and try to determine the source of the conflict between them. I heard that they weren’t listening to each other, and I found a way to point that out without blaming either of them.”

If you like, you can go even further into the details of what made your strategies work so well.

Let Your Records Serve as a Resource and Morale Booster

You have a day at work that seems to wipe out your morale. You’re not a leader, you tell yourself; you’ll never get the hang of this.

Read through your journal. Take in each success. You’ve proven yourself a leader before. You have that ability. One day is ONE DAY; it’s not the rest of your life.

Then you may want to look objectively at the supposed failures of this one day. Note, without blaming yourself, how you could have done something differently. Write down what you’ll do the next time such a situation arises. You may find that reading about your successes can provide valuable clues to these problems.

The beauty of keeping such a record/journal is that it takes you out of your internalized gloom and allows you to analyze events without self-judgment.

That’s what good leaders do.

If you have doubts about your ability to be a good leader, keep a record of your successes. You can also record your mistakes in a thoughtful way, analyzing them so as to avoid future errors. These entries will provide a record to which you can refer to reinforce your confidence.

Pat Iyer’s father taught her to focus on the negativity. She’s learned to see the positive in life. Pat works with business leaders as an editor, ghostwriter, and book coach. Reach her through patiyer.com.

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Best Practices Culture Growth Personal Development

How We Define Wealth in a Post-Pandemic World

If one point of agreement exists among influencers and business leaders, it is that how people do business in the coming years will change.

In practical terms, the age of the huge conferences where many business people met clients may be over, at least for a while. Business trips may also be mostly a thing of the past. The question of how people will make business connections in the future requires immediate attention.

In my own business, I addressed this need by designing and giving a course on online networking in April 2020. The class filled quickly (evidence that many are recognizing the value of online solutions to networking), and the attendees participated with commitment and enthusiasm.

The success of the course has encouraged me to develop additional projects in this vein. It also brings home once again, the principle that has guided me for decades in my various businesses.

I have clarity about my priorities. One of these is to provide innovative services that my potential clients need. Another—and this goes to the heart of my business philosophy—is that my customers, clients, students, and authors are my wealth.

They’re Your Wealth, Too

More than has been true in recent history, potential clients and customers, both corporate and individual, are hurting financially. They will be spending more carefully and looking for the best value for their money.

They will also be looking for businesses that genuinely care about their needs, that want to help them to prosper. The time has come for any business that wants to succeed to recognize this:

  • The true wealth of any business is its customers and/or clients. Nurturing these relationships is more important than any other practice related to your company.
  • Businesses must find new ways to communicate and expand established successful practices.
  • Videoconferencing and other online techniques will continue to flourish. We can expect to see innovations and improved technologies and security.

However, companies will also need to develop increased expertise in written methods of communication. Blogs, newsletters, podcast transcripts, and books will proliferate.

To preserve and strengthen your business will take imagination and focus. Written communication can provide a valuable way to connect meaningfully with the wealth represented by your clients and customers.

Pat Iyer is one of the original 100 C Suite Network Contributors. She hosts Writing to Get Business podcast, found on the C Suite Radio Network, the largest business podcast platform. Connect with Pat at patiyer.com.

 

 

 

 

 

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Best Practices Culture Growth Personal Development

Do you Have Trouble Making the Transition from Work to Home?

Try this fast and free method.

Unless you usually work at home, the atmosphere and demands of work versus home are very different. It can be a challenge to make a smooth transition. Some people have a drink to relax. Others watch the news, but neither of these methods addresses the probability that too often when we come home from work, we bring remaining problems and issues with us.

Consider this simple and short writing exercise instead. It serves several purposes.

  1. You can give yourself the freedom to say anything you want.
  2. You can read over what you wrote later on and often see that the issues that troubled you either resolved themselves or weren’t as big as you’d thought.
  3. This no-pressure method can ease you into writing.

How It Works

  1. You can either write by hand or in a text file. Do whichever comes most naturally to you.
  2. Set a time limit for how long you will write. I recommend five minutes. If you find that you want to write longer, do so.
  3. This is freewriting, which means to write freely. Don’t check for errors. Don’t try to write well.
  4. Write without censoring yourself. No one will ever see what you write.
  5. Think of this as unloading. The thoughts that are racing around in your head need to come out of that crowded space and land on the page (physical or electronic).
  6. Don’t judge yourself for the thoughts that emerge. This is crucial.
  7. I usually re-read what I write every two weeks. If you do this, again, ignore typos and other errors. Focus on the essence of what you wrote. See if you have any new insights, and, if you do, write about them.

Why This Has Value

I referred to this process as unloading. This example may make that more clear.

You’ve been sitting at a desk all day, and your back hurts. You might start off writing, “Stupid back. Why do you have to hurt so much?”

Physical pain often reflects mental/emotional issues. You might ask yourself questions.

  • Who is a pain in my back?
  • Who do I feel has been kicking me?
  • Am I wearing a sign that says ‘Kick me’?”

Patience is Helpful

The questions and their answers may not initially come quickly. Once you’ve practiced the five-minute writing exercise for a while, you’ll find that the channel to understanding opens. The more you ask the questions, the more you’re telling yourself, “I want to know; I really do.”

Sometimes it may help, instead of saying,” my stupid back,” to say “my stupid life.” Then you decide what’s stupid about your life. Reminder: Do not judge yourself for your thoughts. Everyone who ever had a thought has had a lot of stupid ones.

Beneath the Garbage Lies Creativity

Although you may not be planning to write a novel or a self-help book or a memoir, five minutes of freewriting can jump-start your ability to work on the project you’ve chosen. This fast exercise, by helping you to give up judgment about your thoughts, will allow a new level of creativity to develop in a way that’s analogous to brainstorming. Thus, it can also enhance your ability in writing associated with your job.

Enroll Your Family in Your Program

Let them know your new plan. Explain that your engagement in five minutes of writing will make you a better and happier parent and spouse. Take it a step further and encourage them to try the five-minute writing, too.

Once you’ve unloaded, then you can relax with your family and turn home time into a time of refreshment and renewal.

Pat Iyer is a ghostwriter and editor who Is one of the original 100 C Suite Network Contributors. Check out her podcast Writing to Get Business on the C Suite Radio Network. And connect with her at patiyer.com.

 

Categories
Best Practices Culture Growth Leadership Personal Development

Is Your Company Sexist?

In June 2018, Ernst & Young, an accounting firm with $36.4 million in global revenue and 270,000 employees, demonstrated how deeply sexism is embedded in company culture.

At a day-and-a-half-long seminar on leadership and empowerment, 30 female executives received a barrage of information about how to “fit into” corporate culture. The basics of this presentation were contained in a 55-page document.

Noteworthy excerpts included:

“Don’t flaunt your body—sexuality scrambles the brain.”

A description of how women’s and men’s communication styles differ stated that women often “speak briefly” and “ramble and miss the point” in meetings. In contrast, a man will “speak at length ― because he really believes in his idea.” Men are more effective at interrupting than women, who “wait their turn and raise their hands.”

A masculine/feminine score sheet further reinforced sexist stereotypes. Some of these included the notions that women are loyal, sensitive to the needs of others, and yielding. Men are individualistic, independent, and competitive.

A senior consultant at Paradigm, a diversity and inclusion consulting firm, Evelyn Carter, said that while the Ernst & Young presentation took note of sexist stereotypes, it seemed to advise women how to live with them.

What’s a Company to Do?

Consulting with a diversity and inclusion company is a good start. I also recommend this article in Inc. “Women Should Not “Fix” Themselves to Fit Into Sexist Work Environments,” 

by Amy Nelson, founder, and CEP of The Riveter. Read this article for some specific suggestions about changing company cultures.

In addition, special attention needs to be paid to both verbal and written language so that it’s gender-neutral.

“Men” Is Not an Inclusive Word

The argument that it is, while archaic, is still used, as in the idea that “mankind” includes both men and women. The truth is that it leaves out women entirely; it makes men the default gender. Erasing that word from one’s speech and writing is a good beginning.

In that vein, the word “guys” also must go. A guy is a man. I can’t count the number of times a waiter addressed my husband and I as guys. “Thank, guys.” “What would you like tonight, guys?”

Some other words, like “businessmen,” “chairman,” and “manpower” should also be endangered. The first two only need the replacement of “person” and “people.” The third can be swapped for “personnel.”

One phrase that should be eliminated is “Man up” and similar expressions, some of which are genitalia-based. It might take a little longer to say, “Take responsibility,” but it has much more impact.

When my boys were little and enjoyed having me read bedtime stories, I edited the language in their books. Fireman became firefighter. Police man became police officer.  I even changed some elements of stories. If daddy was outside doing yard work and mommy was inside cooking, I added a sentence that daddy would take his turn cooking the next day. When my boys learned how to read, they realized how I’d changed the stories. We still laugh about this today.

 Use “They”

I agree with those who say that using “he and/or she” is clunky and awkward. The solution many are adopting is “they.”

“If an employee wishes to submit a complaint, she or he should forward it to the appropriate department.”

“If an employee wishes to submit a complaint, they should forward it to the appropriate department.”

Grammatically, it may look wrong, but it’s simple, and it does the job.

Overcoming Objections

One of the bigger objections is “It’s just an expression.” None of the phrases I’ve used here are “just expressions.” They are, rather, “reflections.” They demonstrate the underlying sexism that underpins far too much of company culture and culture in general.

Attention to non-sexist language also isn’t a phase that women are going to get over. They are in it for the long haul. It makes good business sense to understand and adapt to the values that are reshaping company culture.

Besides, it’s the right thing to do.

Pat Iyer is one of the original 100 C Suite Network Contributors. She serves business leaders as a ghostwriter and editor. Connect with her at patiyer.com.

Categories
Biography and History Culture Growth Management News and Politics Personal Development

2019 WOTY and NEOLOGISM…WHAT?

2019 WOTY and Neologism

The Word of the Year for 2019 is “existential” or “climate emergency” or “climate strike” or my personal favorite, “they;” depending on where you search. Each year a group of linguists from different organizations; i.e. Merriam-Webster, Oxford Languages, Collins Dictionary, dictionary.com, and the American Dialect Society, among others, pick their word of the year. Sometimes abbreviated WOTY, the word of the year is a singular word or expression that is significant to the public.

Linguists study the science and utilization of language. Their attention is on public practice of the term or expression and how it interfaces with the real-world. To become the Word of the Year, linguists consider the most searched words, the ones that have a significant spike from the previous year, and do they have lasting potential.

Merriam-Webster

The 2019 Word of the Year for Merriam Webster is they, having a 313% spike in searches over the previous year. Moreover, there is a shift in the way they is used, which lured people to their dictionaries to hunt for the current definition. The first definition states, “those people, animals, or things,” and the second meaning is, “used to refer to people in a general way or to a group of people who are not specified.”

As stated by Merriam-Webster, “English famously lacks a gender-neutral singular pronoun to correspond neatly with singular pronouns like everyone or someone, and as a consequence, they has been used for this purpose for over 600 years.” Now in the place of the word “he or she,” the singular pronoun to use is “them or they,” which is preferred in professional writing.

Oxford Languages and Collins Dictionary

The Oxford Word of the Year for 2019 is climate emergency, and Collins Dictionary chose climate strike.  One of the expressions represents a situation and the other designates an action, so I will address them together. Climate emergency is, “a situation in which urgent action is required to reduce or halt climate change and avoid potentially irreversible environmental damage resulting from it.” Climate strike is “a form of protest in which people absent themselves from education or work in order to join demonstrations demanding action to counter climate change.” Both expressions show that the environment is an ongoing concern being disseminated in the headlines.

dictionary.com

The WOTY for dictionary.com is existential, defined as, “of or relating to existence…concerned with the nature of human existence as determined by the individual’s freely made choices.” The word captures the struggle to survive, as topics of climate change and gun violence dominate our attention. It begs us to ask big questions of, why are we here, and what choices will extend our life beyond our self.

Altogether, dictionary.com added over 300 words, expressions, and acronyms this past year. Known as a neologism, defined as, “a new word, meaning, usage, or phrase; the introduction or use of new words or new senses of existing words.” Linguists consider how current words are being utilized and if used on a massive scale. Though the words have been around a while, in 2019 they were added to the dictionary. Here are a few examples.

Words Added to the Dictionary in 2019

In Conversations:

Deep Dive: “a thorough or comprehensive analysis of a subject or issue.”

Infodump: “a large quantity of backstory, or background information, supplied at once.”

Elevator Pitch: “a brief talk or pitch intended to sell or win approval for something.”

On Social Media:

Shitposting: “a form of trolling when someone ‘posts off-topic,’ false, or offensive contributions to an online forum with the intent to derail the discussions or provoke other participants.”

Crybullies: “a person who self-righteously harasses or intimidates others while playing the victim, especially of a perceived social injustice.”

It’s a good idea to add these two expressions to your vocabulary so you are able to call out people for what they are doing with their social media comments.

As far as acronyms go, here are two dictionary additions: JSYK: “just so you know,” and JOMO: “joy of missing out.”

Past Words of the Year

An interesting exercise is looking up Past Words of the Year to grasp what happened at the time; it’s like a walk-through history.

1992: not! – as in just kidding

1993: information superhighway

1994: cyber, morph

1995: web

1996: mom – as in soccer mom

1997: millennium bug

1998: e- – as in e-mail or e-commerce

1999: Y2K

2000: chad – Florida voting

2001: 9-11

2002: weapons of mass destruction

2003: metrosexual

2004: red state, blue state, purple state – as in 2004 US presidential election

2005: truthiness – from The Colbert Report

2006: plutoed – as in devalued like the planet Pluto

2007: Subprime – below a prime rate

2008: bailout – stock market crash

2009: tweet

2010: app

2011: tergiversate – as in changing opinions like politicians, the stock market, and public polls

2012: hashtag

2013: privacy – Facebook

2014: exposure – having all your information out there

2015: identity – big brother is watching

2016: xenophobia – fear of people of other cultures

2017: fake news – President Trump’s phrase

2018: misinformation – media’s skewed reporting

You can check the definitions of these words on dictionary.com.

American Dialect Society

By the way, The American Dialect Society has been announcing the Word of the Year longer than any organization, and they take it even further. The society chooses the Word for the End of the Decade, Word of the 20th Century, and Word of the Past Millennium. As with the WOTY, we can determine what transpired at that time.

Word of the Decade:      1990s: web        2000s: google (verb)      2010s: they (singular)

Word of the 20th Century:   jazz

Word of the Past Millennium:   she

Examining the Word of the Year provides a history lesson, recalling what happened during that year, and revealing what was the focus. Our language is not a static entity; it requires linguists to update the dictionaries by adding new words, and managing the definitions changed by the times. The English Language is integral for us to communicate, as long as we understand the meaning.

I wonder what the 2020 Word of the Year will be? Maybe it will be hoarding.

Categories
Best Practices Culture Growth Personal Development

I Kept My 2019 New Year’s Resolution

It’s that time again! The dawn of a new year brings about the desire to start fresh, begin again, and bring about changes in our life. At the onset, we reflect on what we accomplished, review how we ended 2019, and decide where we want to go. It’s a revivifying time, enabling us to reset and begin anew. One way to jumpstart the process is to make a New Year’s resolution.

Research shows that “while as many as 45-percent of Americans say they usually make New Year’s resolutions, only 8 percent are successful in achieving their goals.” www.history.com

Very few follow through with their resolutions. The following shows what typically happens:

Only 75% of people make it past the first week.

Only 71% make it past 2 weeks.

Only 64% make it past 1 month.

Only 46% make it past 6 months.

By the end of the year, only 8% of people have kept their resolution.

“In other words: the people who make good resolutions at the new year have given up on them by the end of June.” Proactive Mindfulness

So why make a New Year’s Resolution if we aren’t going to keep it. Because it’s fun? To see how long we can make it? The reason we make a resolution each year is Hope; New Year’s resolutions are about Hope.

Webster’s First American Dictionary defines hope as: “a desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable…Hope therefore always gives pleasure or joy.” It’s Hope that brings us joy about what can be, consequently, we resolve to change at the start of a new year.

At the end of 2018, I heard on the radio that going to a movie once a month will make a person happier. It sounded like a great idea so I made my 2019 resolution exactly that. I would go to a movie in a theater once a month for the entire year. To you, it might sound easy, but for me it was difficult.

I had not been to a movie in a very long time. Partly because I couldn’t sit still for 2 – 3 hours and partly because there wasn’t anything I wanted to see. Along with that, when I would happen to see a movie, it was with someone else and wasn’t one I would pick to watch.

Nevertheless, I wanted this to be my New Year’s Resolution so I had to make it attractive to me. I decided that I would go to the movies I wanted to see and was delighted to go by myself.

January came and before I knew it the date was January 30th. I didn’t want to fail the first month and be part of the 46% who don’t keep a resolution for more than a month. I got up and went to a late showing on January 31st.

Suddenly it was February 28th and I had not seen a movie for the month. Consequently, I made it to a movie that night. This happened in March and April too. Each month I would race to a movie so I wouldn’t fail with my resolution.

For the most part, when I would attend a late movie, I was either the only one in the theater or one of a couple of people. That was perfect for me. In May I decided to attend a movie during the day when people were at work. Still few to no people in the theater.

Next June came and schools were out for summer break. I was not excited about attending movies with kids in the audience because of the distractions. I changed my plan and just went to movies around 11 pm, or ones that were rated “R”.  Not hardcore “R” but movies like “Late Night.”

By now I was halfway through the year and had become one of the 46% of people who kept their resolution that long. Once school started up again, I was able to go back to my original plan. Each month I saw another movie, attending my last one on December 10th.

I was now one of the 8% of people who kept their New Year’s Resolution! It was exhilarating that I had made it. I reflected on what I had accomplished. Whether it was attending a movie monthly or not, I am happier than I was a year ago.

Some of the movies were satisfactory, some fell short, and a few were great. The interesting thing is that the movie I saw in January, “Cheney”, was the best one all year.

At the close of 2019, I heard on the radio that people who want to be more mobile and enhance their memory should learn a dance routine once a week. Both outcomes were very appealing. Just one thing was standing in my way; the pressure knowing I had completed my 2019 resolution so anything less than keeping my next resolution would be a failure. I thought about how I could change the pledge to learn one dance routine a month, making it achievable. Taking on too much would diminish my hope of completing the goal.

I spent some time pondering what I wanted to accomplish in 2020. More than anything, I wanted more writing exposure through blogging, and I wanted to make one-minute long videos. For that to happen, it was necessary to make it my focus.

Resolutions are about hope – “A desire of some good, accompanied with at least a slight expectation of obtaining it, or a belief that it is obtainable.” Accomplishing my writing and video goals is more than a dream; I yearn for it. Last year I achieved my goal. I see now that by making a resolution I can succeed. So here goes:

My 2020 New Year’s Resolution

I will post weekly, write a minimum of two articles per month, and make one video blog in January, two in February, and three from March on. I know I can do it. Now that it’s out there you can hold me accountable.

As for learning a new dance routine once a month, there is always 2021.

Categories
Best Practices Culture Entrepreneurship Industries Management Personal Development Technology

Combat Unpredictable Change with Anticipation

It is often assumed that people don’t like change, when in reality humans are born to instinctively love change. It’s why we take vacations and crave travel, because we want and need change. We must get out of our usual surroundings and witness something new in order to regain focus and refresh our perspectives. In this case, change is a choice, so we like it.

But there is also a negative side to change: when the change affects you personally, unpleasantly, and unknowingly. However, most of the changes that come “out of nowhere” are actually very visible months or even years before they officially hit. For example, people get burglar alarms usually after being robbed. We all tend to react to change and put out fires more than we anticipate what will happen based on the direction in which change is heading.

It’s time to become more anticipatory so you can see change coming and pre-solve problems associated with it before they occur. Only after becoming anticipatory will you be able to use change as an opportunity for growth rather than a crisis to be managed.

How to Be Anticipatory

There are two types of change that you can use to see the future accurately: cyclical change and linear change.

You’re in the midst of cyclical change every day: weather cycles, biological cycles, and even business cycles. In the United States, you know exactly when the next presidential election will be, when the next full moon will be, plus many other key things that cycle with time. You know that if the stock market goes up, it will eventually go down. Cycles are everywhere, and to be aware of them is to be anticipatory.

The second is linear change, and once this type of change hits, things will never go back to the way they once were. For example, once you get a smartphone, you’re never going back to a flip phone. Once the people in China park their bicycles and get a car, they will not go back to the bicycle as their primary form of transportation. Linear change is a one-way street with many predictable consequences.

When you look around and determine what cycles you experience in your business as well as what linear changes have been happening, you can turn the predictable changes into an advantage, which is the key to becoming anticipatory, turning much of today’s uncertainty into certainty.

These certainties fall into two methodologies I’ve discussed at length in the past: Hard Trends and Soft Trends. A Hard Trend is a projection based on measurable, tangible, and fully predictable facts. A Soft Trend is a trend that “might” happen, meaning that you can change or influence a Soft Trend.

The fact that Baby Boomers will age is a Hard Trend: it will happen, and is a future fact. However, the fact that over the past ten years fewer people have been becoming doctors, resulting in a shortage of doctors to treat aging Baby Boomers, is a Soft Trend: it’s something we can choose to address or ignore. It’s a future maybe. The ability to differentiate between the two will enable your organization to transform its culture into one that profits from change, uncertainty, and burgeoning trends.

Change the View

To get your employees at all levels to embrace change, you have to give them the confidence that certainty brings by having them identify the Hard Trends that will happen. Start by encouraging them to do the following:

  • Make a list of all the Hard Trends that are taking place in your industry, so you know what you can be certain about.
  • Make a list of all the Soft Trends taking place in your industry, so you can see what you can change or influence.
  • Have them answer this question: What do I know will happen in the next few weeks, months, and years, and how can I innovate to take advantage of what I now know for certain about the future?

Also, let your employees know this certainty: their roles will change over the next five years. Tell them, “You can either allow yourself to become less relevant or even obsolete, or you can see where your career is going and get the training and tools you need to become increasingly relevant and thrive.”

Finally, realize that how you view the future shapes how you act today, and how you act today shapes your future. Anticipation based on the Hard Trends and the certainties that are before you is key to seeing the predictable future and pre-solving problems before they ever occur. This allows your employees to embrace the changes before them. Remember, the good old days are not behind us. They’re ahead of us, and it’s up to you to make them happen.

Categories
Best Practices Culture Entrepreneurship Industries Management Skills Technology

Becoming an Anticipatory Leader™: The Missing Competency

We are all good at reacting and responding – a knee-jerk reaction, so to speak. Even organizations large and small have learned how to be lean and agile while executing a strategy at a high level. But despite these skills, General Motors still declared bankruptcy, Blockbuster closed its last store, and the record industry succumbed to Spotify, all despite their leaders and workers being responsive and agile and executing well. To thrive in this new age of hyper-technological disruption and change, it is imperative to learn a new competency: Becoming Anticipatory.

That may sound impossible, but it’s not. It is actually quite simple when you know where and how to look, and when you and your employees master this skill, you’ll be able to create what I call an Anticipatory Organization™.

A Proven Methodology

Based on three decades of research and applying the principles I’ve developed to organizations worldwide, I have a proven methodology for separating what I call Hard Trends from Soft Trends. Over the years, I’ve written about this extensively in several best-selling books, including my latest New York Times bestseller, The Anticipatory Organization, and hundreds of articles and blogs.

A Hard Trend is a projection based on measurable, tangible, and fully predictable facts, events, or objects. It’s something that will happen: a future fact that cannot be changed. In contrast, a Soft Trend is a projection based on statistics that have the appearance of being tangible, fully predictable facts. It’s something that might happen: a future maybe. Note that Hard Trends can be identified before they impact you, your business, and your customers. Soft Trends can be changed, which means they provide a powerful vehicle to capitalize on and influence the future with.

This distinction completely changes how individuals and organizations view and plan for the future. Understanding the difference between Hard and Soft Trends allows us to know which parts of the future we can be right about. When you learn how to analyze trends in this way, you can accurately predict future disruptions, identify and solve problems before they happen, and practice what I call “everyday innovation.” This enables you to solve challenges and problems faster and see the opportunities that were impossible just a few years before. In other words, you become anticipatory rather than reactionary.

Employees of an Anticipatory Organization understand that those who can see the future most accurately will have the biggest advantage. They know that you cannot change the past, but you can shape the future based on the actions you take in the present. As such, they actively embrace the fact that many future disruptions, problems, and game-changing opportunities are predictable and represent unprecedented ways to gain an advantage. They know that it’s better to solve predictable problems before they happen, and that future problems often represent the biggest opportunities. Above all else, they are confident and empowered by having a shared view of the future based on Hard Trends and what I call the “Science of Certainty.”

What is the “Science of Certainty”?

Once you can separate Hard Trends from Soft Trends and differentiate between the things that will happen from the things that might happen, you can accurately define the certainties going forward. We know that the newest iPhone will always have faster processing chips than its predecessor, we know that after 3G and 4G will come 5G and so on, and we know that we are putting more and more in the cloud with no end in sight.

Outside of technological examples, we know that Baby Boomers are not going to get younger, we know that governments worldwide are going to continue to issue future regulations, and we know the cycles of nature, like summer following winter.

There is so much we can see that it’s absolutely possible to create certainties using the Hard Trend/Soft Trend model I’ve developed. But why is this so important to business? Strategy based on certainty (on Hard Trends) has low risk, while strategy based on uncertainty (on Soft Trends) has high risk. With certainty, you have the confidence to say “yes” and move forward. But with uncertainty, you tend to get stuck in neutral.  

To succeed in business now and in the future, being lean and agile and executing well are no longer enough. You must anticipate the future. I see this as being the most important missing competency that we’ve seen in decades.

Ask yourself: 

How much time do I spend trying to keep up while putting out fires, managing crises, and reacting to change? Are these activities helping me to get ahead? Learning to be anticipatory will change that and allow you to successfully shape your future.

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Best Practices Culture Growth News and Politics Personal Development

Will Your Employees’ Prejudices and Penchants Hurt Your Company? Subtitle: NEVER BITE THE HAND THAT FEEDS YOU!

The Case of Starbucks

Starbucks learned the hard way that their own people can act based on fear, marginalizing an entire group of the human population. Starbucks found out that these actions can reflect negatively on an entire company that relies on everyone, not only a single group of people, for its image, reputation, and ultimately its profit!

Starbucks can’t survive a boycott by those offended. There’s a huge business message to be learned here—People vote with their money. And when a business marginalizes someone, that person will no longer vote in support. We admire Starbucks’s effort to take responsibility by starting a sensitivity program that addresses the issue at hand. But it’s still in their own best interest to do so.

These days, events of this nature can quickly go viral, and dramatically affect business. This startling reality has businesses thinking about their employees’ mindsets and how they represent the company. Hiring based on skills is no longer enough—someone’s mindset can turn business away!

Prejudice in Politics and Business

We’ve made a lot of progress since the Civil Rights Movement’s early days, but the behavior of our top elected officials has led many people to act on their deep-seated prejudices. These people feel that their actions are justified—that they have permission to marginalize others. They see powerful politicians ridiculing, dehumanizing, name-calling, and disrespecting entire groups of the population solely based on religion, race, or national origin—and some people follow this example.

ABC learned this lesson the hard way. After Roseanne Barr’s degrading tweet about Valerie Jarrett went far from unnoticed, ABC was forced to either cancel her program or face protest from advertisers who depend on sales to the whole market, not just one group.

This brings us to the double standard that exists in society today. Unfortunately, it’s “okay” for a politician to make remarks that marginalize people, but not businesses. Businesses are held to a much higher standard of respect, as far as the general public is concerned. It’ll take years for elected officials to be voted out. But Starbucks or ABC? You can vote them out tomorrow!

There’s Good News and Bad News

The bad news is—despite how far we’ve come, fear, prejudice, and stereotyping are all prevalent in our society, with some people going as far as to take action on their prejudices. Maybe they choose to follow news feeds that support their opinions. Maybe they want to take steps backward. Or maybe they truly believe that society is becoming more and more intolerant.

But, the good news is that most businesses have to serve the entire population. Unlike political figures, businesses can’t cater to a small base. Their advertisers, suppliers, and customers hold them accountable for each of their employees’ behavior. Now that we think about it, businesses that want to see everyone as a potential customer have become unintended defenders of civil liberties.

We say, “If you really want to change something, put a buck on it!” Oppressed groups, like LGBTQ+, Latinos, and African Americans, among many others, have become influential economic forces to be reckoned with. Employee sensitivity training may begin by addressing why we depend on one another, how our very existence stems from people of all backgrounds, and why our paychecks rely on each person’s patronage.

If we started thinking of everyone as a customer, maybe we would treat them with more respect. There’s no denying that minorities have financial clout. If one group is marginalized, another group may be next. Simply put—it’s bad business to allow prejudice into the market, period. Don’t ever bite the hand that feeds you!

For more, read on: http://c-suitenetworkadvisors.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/