100 Miles for Life-A Cancer Assistance Fundraiser
Note from Art: While I’m not racing for 100 miles, my friend and professional colleague, Ted Friedman is, and I’m pleased to offer my support for his efforts. I’ve known Ted for a good number of years and we’ve continued our connection even though our professional lives have diverged. We also share an unfortunate common bond…we both lost a parent to cancer.
If you’ve lived through the loss of a loved one or colleague to this miserable disease, you are no doubt aware how critical the caregivers and assistance providers are to the patients and to the families during these battles. Ted recently described his cause and his approach to supporting and helping those in need of assistance, and I’m honored to share his story and encourage you to offer whatever support you can afford. -Art
100 Miles for Life, Ted Friedman
In 2010, I started 100 Miles For Life, a charitable campaign focused on raising awareness and funds in support of an outstanding community services organization — The Gathering Place, in Cleveland, Ohio. The mission of The Gathering Place is to provide assistance to those whose lives have been impacted by cancer.
The Gathering Place opened in January 2000 as a nonprofit, community-based cancer support center to fill an unmet need in the greater Cleveland community. The programs and services offered address the social, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs of individuals with cancer and their support network.
The mission of The Gathering Place is to support, educate and empower individuals and families touched by cancer through programs and services provided free of charge.
My Dad’s Cancer Story:
My personal connection to The Gathering Place began in 2000, when I lost my father to cancer. My dad was originally diagnosed with colon cancer in 1995, but after surgery was fine for a few years. Then during a routine scan in 1998, doctors found his cancer had spread to his lungs and eventually to his brain. Unfortunately surgery was no longer an option. He was ill for 14 months, and underwent chemotherapy and Gamma Knife radiation treatments. He lost his hair and some of his independence and mobility, but never his love of life or his sense of humor!
While The Gathering Place didn’t exist for most of my dad’s illness, my parents became aware of it in early 2000, shortly after it was first founded. Since that time, the organization has helped countless families like ours, providing support to navigate the physical and emotional impact of battling the disease, and the challenges that arise in losing a loved one.
An Event to Symbolize the Severe Challenges of Fighting Cancer:
The Gathering Place operates on a limited budget, with operating funds generated 100% from corporate and personal donations, and privately-organized fund raising campaigns like mine. To provide a focal point for my efforts in support of this worthwhile non-profit organization, I will be competing in the 2011 Burning River 100-Mile Endurance Run on July 30th-31st.
To most people, the idea of running 100 miles is impossible. But that’s partly the point – I wanted to choose an event that was ridiculously difficult, to symbolize the severe challenges of fighting cancer and to show that things that may seem impossible actually aren’t if you have the right knowledge, attitude, and support. And that is what The Gathering Place is all about – providing knowledge, fostering positive attitude, and offering support to individuals and families in need.
I hope you’ll take a few minutes to read more about my effort at http://www.100milesforlife.org and consider supporting the campaign.
Leadership Caffeine: Do You See Beauty or Blemishes?
Filed under: Leadership, Leadership Caffeine, Performance, Professional Growth
If you’ve ever worked for or around someone who is an expert critic…one of those individuals who can look at a masterpiece and spot a flaw, you know how demoralizing the experience can be. They look at beautiful pictures or great outcomes and focus on describing the flaws.
If you are one of these “Negative Motivators,” this one’s for you!
No Gold Stars Here:
A client struggled with a boss who believed that motivation and inspiration were outcomes of criticism. He wasted no time at every opportunity identifying what he perceived as flaws in the projects, programs, and presentations of his co-workers. When a frustrated and bold employee finally screwed up the courage to ask why he never offered positive support, his answer was immediate; “That’s not my job. I’m supposed to make you perform better, not cheerlead. You want a gold star, go back to kindergarten.”
Uh…OK. Thanks for the inspiration, I guess.
Look, I’m all for constructive criticism supported by coaching. That’s what we’re supposed to do. However, motivating by providing a never-ending string of criticisms is only going to demoralize people and teams and suck the life and creativity out of your organization.
Beware When You Start Believing Your Own Attempts at Rationalizing Your Behavior:
Every once in awhile, I run into a “Negative Motivator ” who has a well-developed and almost believable rationale for their approach. A few of the comments I’ve heard over time:
We’re all adults, and we don’t need daily pats on the back.
No one achieves greatness because someone was there telling them how great they were every step of the way.
How do people know how to improve if I don’t tell them?
It’s my job to ensure that people meet my high standards.
People want to please the boss. I use it as a carrot that’s out there in front of everyone. So far, no one has caught up to it.
In isolation, there’s just a bit of truth in every statement (OK, the bit might be really small in a few of those!), but what’s missing is an understanding of the human cost (energy, inspiration, environment) from a never ending slow-drip of negativity. A more balanced approach that acknowledges beauty where appropriate and offers encouragement and criticism will in my experience, produce far greater results.
5 Ideas for Achieving Better Balance in Your Feedback:
1. Know thyself. Many of the Nattering Nabobs of Negativity (thanks, Spiro Agnew) aren’t as semi self-aware as those who commented above. In case you dont’ know which side of the ledger you come down on…positive or negative, run a little experiment for a few days and keep a tally of how many criticisms you offer versus how many times you offer praise during a day. If the balance is consistently skewed towards the negative, you have work to do.
2. Know thyself, part 2. Give your employees a chance to share their thoughts on your feedback skills and habits. While the results of an anonymous survey can be skewed when groups fear the boss, if you are genuine in your pursuit of feedback on your own performance, you will likely gain some frank and useful input.
3. Advance your philosophy in pursuit of better performance (yours and theirs). You’re not completely wrong in your thoughts on constructive criticism. However, great coaches and great managers encourage the development of strengths and carefully help people navigate the weaknesses. They don’t bludgeon them into high performance with all that’s wrong with their work. There’s a needed balance of positive support and constructive criticism.
4. Don’t change your style suddenly and starting handing out gratuitous praise…support it with clear examples. You know when people are doing good work. Find time on occasion to acknowledge the work and share very clear and specific reasons about what’s good with the work. Your clearly defined positive feedback reinforces what people did right. Your goal is to get them to do that consistently.
5. Beware feedback sandwiches of all types. Sandwiching your feedback is a bad habit where managers who are uncomfortable offering constructive input surround the negative issue with big pieces of positive praise. (For more on this odious technique, see my post: Why I Hate the Sandwich Technique for Delivering Feedback.) In the case of our Negative Motivator here, beware Reverse Sandwiching…hiding the praise between two big pieces of your moldy negative comments. The praise will be overwhelmed by the negatives surrounding it.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
You can offer positive praise without being perceived as weak. Some “Negative Motivators” are concerned about losing their “tough” image, and they wrongly associate praise with weakness. I’ve worked for and around tough managers…those with high expectations and standards, who understood that positive praise was an important part of the success formula. While their minds might be drawn to the problems and the negatives they see in every image, they are emotionally intelligent enough to recognize that others both need and deserve positive support for their good work as well.
You don’t need to stock up on gold stars, but for top performance, you do need to learn to talk about and reward the positives on occasion. Just for today, start looking at the beauty in work and try and not preoccupy on the blemishes. You might be surprised how people respond.
Send in the Clones. The Abuse of “Must Have” in Recruiting and Hiring
Aside from a few obvious technical and vocational roles, there are very few positions in most organizations that absolutely “Must Have” someone who has held the identical role in the same industry with the same job.
Nonetheless, the use of “Must Have” remains a staple in recruiting and hiring. It’s too bad, because over-reliance on “Must Have” can lead to a chronic case of mediocrity or worse, a terminal case of recycled bad ideas from industry participants.
Who Fits this Description?
Recently, a friend sent me a series of executive position descriptions he was considering responding to. His excellent qualifications exceeded the scale and scope of the roles, but didn’t quite match the exact requirements. The “Must Have” lists were long and loud, and just as they caused my colleague to pause, they are certain to frighten away most talented people who have not lived a life that precisely matched this nearly impossible-to-replicate list of required experiences.
While I get the need for some “Must Haves”…I don’t want a mechanic setting my son’s broken arm, and no one wants a real estate broker advising them on estate planning, there’s a point when the list turns from essential to ridiculous.
Now as a bit of truth in advertising, I’ve made a career out of scouting and engaging talent from everywhere but my competitors. I never had an urge to reinvent their same lousy practices or to recycle the people who have been busy changing badges but going to the same trade shows for years.
The excessive reliance on “Must Have” is particularly disturbing in an era when:
a. There’s so much remarkable talent available for hire.
And
b. Now more than ever, firms need to infuse established businesses with different ways of thinking and acting.
Measure Twice, Cut Once on Your “Must Haves”
The “Must Have” issues I am focusing on are for managerial or leadership positions where the keys to success are much more about critical thinking, leadership effectiveness, talent development and operating effectiveness, than they are about specialized industry experience.
“Do not apply unless you have X years working in Y industry.”
Great people with highly transferable and mature skill-sets are kept out of the game by an irrational belief that there’s something particularly special/unique/special about your industry and business.
Newsflash: your firm and your industry have the same general issues and challenges as every other firm and industry.
That’s crazy! We’re different. We’re unique.
No you’re not. You have the same challenges in your firm for creating winning strategies, engaging and keeping the right talent, operating effectively and responding to or acting upon global and industry forces. The variables change from sector to sector and firm to firm, but when you peel back the layers, the issues are the same.
It takes too long to bring people up to speed. We don’t have time .
When it comes to getting the best talent on your team, you always have time to help them learn an industry or marketplace. It’s much easier to teach someone an industry and market than it is to teach them how to think strategically, lead effectively and operate efficiently.
Having shifted industries four times in my life, I can tell you from experience that there is a learning curve, and once you power through that curve, the issues are eminently comprehensible. It doesn’t take a long career or a rocket scientist to understand industry forces, to plug in to customers, and to understand your firm’s “unique” position and value proposition.
A Few Dividends from Relaxing the Must-Haves in Your Hiring Decisions:
- You gain a broader pool of talent to draw from. Yes, this means more work for you. Take solace in the fact that it is the right work.
- The outsider offers a a fresh set of eyes with a broader base of knowledge on how problems have been solved and how customers in other worlds have been served. The observations and ideas can infuse a team and business with new life. (And yes, it will annoy those who are practitioners of the “That’s not how we do it here” religion.)
- You have an excuse to challenge conventional thinking. People with diverse experience aren’t burdened by the baggage of looking through the same narrow industry lenses for many years, and their presence provides an opportunity for you to tee up some “sacred cow” discussions in front of the barbecue.
- Professionals with a fresh view regularly ask annoyingly good questions, including: “Why do we do it this way?” Or my favorite, “What if… ?” followed by “Why not?”
- The effort you expend to help people learn and understand your business and market affords an opportunity for you to rethink issues and approaches. It’s always good to refresh your view and challenge your assumptions.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
The best ideas might be found far afield from where you’ve been working and watching. Whether they come from a different industry entirely or from a different part of the value chain, your best talent may be a non-traditional candidate who fails the “Must Have” test.
Relax the “Must Have” filters in the right places and take a broader look before you make your next hire. You might just be bringing in the individual who can help you rethink your business.
7 Tips for Nailing Your Presentation to the Board of Directors
Filed under: "To Do" List, Career, Marketing Yourself, Professional Growth
While some people view an invitation to present to the Board of Directors as a prison sentence (or worse), this truly can be a career enhancing opportunity. However, like any challenging situation, preparation and attitude are keys to success.
I’ve worked with dozens of professionals faced with this opportunity for the first time, and every encounter reminds me of my own early emotions as I prepared for and dreaded my first board presentation.
It’s not worth the churn, dread and sleeplessness folks, especially if you prepare properly and thoroughly.
7 Ideas to Help You Prepare for and Nail Your Board Presentation:
1. Start early and prepare your mind. Unless you are presiding over a disaster of monumental proportions and have been summoned to explain yourself in front of the firing squad, this is a positive invitation. It’s an honor to be invited. Time is at a premium for most Board meetings, and someone convinced the group you were worth some of that precious time.
2. Know who invited you and why. Since someone had to champion getting your name placed on the agenda, it’s important for you to tune into why you were invited and precisely what you are expected to deliver. Your sponsor in this case has a stake in your success and typically will do whatever it takes to help you prepare for success.
(Of course, if you are leading a monumental disaster, all bets are off on this friendly invitation advice. Start looking for your Teflon-coated Kevlar suit and don’t expect much support.)
3. Know your audience. This one can be difficult for individuals who have had very little or no prior contact with board members. Your inviting sponsor or your boss may have some insights, and of course, it’s reasonable to err on the side of assuming that the Board is comprised of some successful, smart people interested in facts, well-developed ideas, clear plans and how all of this will help the firm achieve its strategic and financial goals.
Warning: they are not interested in bullshit, excessive detail, petty politics, unfounded opinions or anything that sounds like you and your colleagues haven’t baked it long enough.
4. Plan your message. Whatever your topic is, you’re in front of the Board of Directors for just a few brief moments. You need to use this time with the skill of an entrepreneur who has just a few moments to make a positive impression when asking for funding. Your message must be crisp, your key points defensible and your defense supportable.
If you are looking for a helpful tool to organize your thoughts into a crisp and supportable message, try using a Message Mapping approach. (See my post: The Career Enhancing Benefits of Message Mapping.)
5. Bring your confidence. Board Members smell “lack of confidence” a mile away. Show fear or doubt and you’ll invite a line of questioning that a 15th century Inquisitor would envy. Planning and practicing your message is critical to building confidence in your content. Practice, practice, practice.
One more commercial for the Message Mapping technique. Used properly, it forces you to think through your support of your key points and core message. Almost all questions you will receive should be answerable using the points in the map. Link your answers to your key supporting points and ultimately your core message.
6. Focus on the message and keep the materials clean and simple. If you suck at building clear, crisp, bullet free and text limited materials or handouts, get some help. Call in a favor from a colleague or go into favor debt, but ask for help.
7. Admit it if you don’t know it. Or said another way, never, ever make stuff up. While this piece of advice might seem preposterous, the pressure of the event has overwhelmed many an accomplished professional’s common-sense, especially in the face of tough questioning. You are much better off admitting you don’t know something than attempting to bluff or b.s. your way through the answer. The cost to your credibility of anything other than indicating, “That’s a great question and I will get back to you,” is more than you should be willing to pay.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
Last and not least, remember that the prevailing attitude of the Board before you open your mouth is one of interest and hope. You wouldn’t have made the agenda if they weren’t interested in hearing and learning from you, and you can bet that good Board members are always hoping to uncover new talent. Make a great impression and you will be back. Perhaps in a new and improved capacity!
Leadership Caffeine: 4 Ideas for Navigating Organizational Politics
Filed under: Career, Decision-Making, Leadership, Leadership Caffeine
Overheard: “I don’t have the stomach for the political games around here.”
4 Universal Rules of Organizational Politics:
1. You ignore organizational politics at your own peril.
2. You engage in the politics of your organization at your own peril.
3. All organizations are political.
4. You need to get over #3
Wherever humans are involved, some form of what we reference as politics will emerge and dramatically influence how work gets done, who does what work and how people advance.
Much of the leadership and management writing in books and on blogs tends to ignore the political environment of the organization, yet it is the leader’s or manager’s ability to understand, adapt to and ultimately guide the political discourse that determines how successful he/she will be.
Taking Some of the Dirty out of Politics:
Much like the notion of “pursuing power,” the idea of “playing politics” conjures up dirty images of questionable behind-the-scenes machinations and a vision of toes or faces being stepped on by those engaged in a series of less than noble games. And while those environments exist, it’s been my experience that the political environment in most firms is a bit more collegial than the television-type drama we often associate with organizational politics. Having said that, don’t confuse collegial with noble or even nice.
It’s important for all of us to tune-in to the political environment of our organizations and learn the unwritten rules of success. The four ideas below were prompted by my observations while running a long-term project inside a very successful and aggressive large company.
4 Ideas for Effectively and Cleanly Engaging in Your Organization’s Politics:
1. Study and learn how decisions are really made in your organization. While you might assume that decisions flow from hierarchy, more often than not there’s an informal decision-making process that occurs somewhere other than at the highest points on the organizational chart. Top-level approval might be required somewhere along the way, but most projects, resource decisions and spending decisions occur elsewhere. In the case of my client, no one person typically holds Yea or Nay decision rights. While this ambiguity is at first a bit disconcerting, once you plug into the culture, you realize that the “Networking” and “Give to Get” approaches described below heavily influence decision-making.
2. Follow the fast-trackers. Assess what’s important to the most visible and aggressive climbers, and you gain valuable insight into the political environment.
Whether there’s a fast-track or not in your organization, some people are moving faster than others. Pay attention to how these people work and cultivate an understanding of what’s important to them in terms of support, visibility, involvement and information. Your knowledge of who these fast-trackers are and what’s important to them will help you engage in the political discourse from an informed perspective.
3. Learn to be a network connector. The importance of cultivating a strong internal network is a major issue in most organizations, and especially so in larger firms. In my client’s case, personal network strength equals power, and the pursuit of connecting is part of everyone’s daily routine. While my initial reaction was to be concerned over the massive investment in time that goes into this overt bridge building, I learned that the pursuit of being connected to the power-brokers and fast-trackers was a core part of the organization’s communication flows. The talk is typically laser focused on improving the business, although the individual motivation to gain sponsorship and support for an idea (thus potentially gaining resources, visibility and budget) is a visible driver for all to see. To the most persuasive go the spoils of responsibility. It might not be perfect, but it is perfectly clear.
4. Give to get: more lessons from my networking-obsessed client company above. The rules for connecting typically involve bringing something of value to the relationship. Talk is nice, but ideas are the coin of the realm, and actionable big ideas the gold. The most successful networkers are those bringing actionable ideas to solve big problems. To the firm’s credit, there’s a huge appetite for consuming big ideas and, those moving ahead and gaining more responsibility (and power) are the ones who are most successful in gaining sponsorship for their ideas.
The big ideas are golden, however, people actively trade in other denominations of political currency, including invitations for involvement, opportunities for visibility and the provision of resources, including budget and gray-matter.
The Bottom-Line for Now:
While the notion of “office politics” is often perceived as less than clean, all four of the ideas above are hygienic and healthy. Cultivating an understanding the flow of and currency of power in your organization is simply part of learning how to get things done. Engaging in the process is table-stakes for success. Of course, we all have the choice to engage above-board and for the right reasons or, we can use the same knowledge and system to assert ourselves by stepping on and over others. Make the right choice in how you will participate and be on the lookout for those who choose the seamy side of the political process.
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