Team Tips - 22 {Ouch, that hurts - Part 2}

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So now you know how the Perfection Game works. It's one of the Core Protocols. It could be called the Perfection Protocol, but that could be problematic because we are only human and as much as I would like to improve I'm not counting on getting to complete perfection. I'm such a slacker.

Besides, it really is fun as a game: Do something, Perfect it (Caps meaning Perfection Game steps), do it again, Perfect it, etc. Kids love it. I'm glad I'm a kid.

When I wasn't a kid, I had this very serious corporate manager job being a very serious corporate manager and eventually became a very serious corporate manager of very serious corporate managers. One of the duties of being a very serious corporate manager was to evaluate employee performance, following a very serious corporate policy and filling in very serious corporate forms describing and scoring all manner of employee performance and behaviours.

I'm sure you know what I'm referring to:

• describe the employee's performance over the previous period
• highlight job responsibilities done well, or requiring improvement, for all 99 job duties
• from the following exhaustive sets of descriptors, choose characteristics that best describe the employee's attributes, and those requiring more focus
• etc., etc.
• provide an overall summary score out of 5

All of this is, at best, a well intentioned effort to provide guidance to the manager and to standardize a process that ensures the employee gets some information on their performance in a scheduled, repetitive manner.

But, at worst, it becomes a way to find enough sugar to cover the medicine of enough negative concerns to keep the final score centered on a bell curve. If everyone is regularly at a 4 or 5 out of 5 then they are over performing in their job, ready for promotion, and candidates for salary increases (when there is merit increase money available.) And as a boss, you didn't do it right.

That becomes a mess.

It is stressful for the manager, stressful for the employee, each jockeying for position. Feedback becomes a negative experience even though it should include amplification information as well as dampening. The score keeping becomes a case of “1 aw-shit cancels out 10 attaboys”.

Alternatively, imagine how pleasant and useful the Perfection Game plays out:

Boss:
"Continue doing this, stop doing that, add these things, and I'll be happy."
You: (Realizing the boss doesn't have his facts right, or missed some of your best moves)
"You didn't mention the amazing thing I did 6 months ago; do you still want more of that?
(Realizing the boss is asking for you to do something you are currently doing)
"I can certainly do that." 
(Realizing that you don't understand what is wanted) 
"Happy to give it my best shot; how would it look when I do it?" (Collecting requirements and a definition of “done”.)

As the boss, I don't have to wrestle my way through negative feedback, finding the right words, trying not to hurt feelings, struggling with cultural or maturity differences, etc., etc.

And if the employee follows all the Perfection Game steps and decides to ignore my suggestions, then I am already prepared for the next round - rinse and repeat - until one of you has had enough and you part company.

Now that you have read this far, here's some Perfection for You (provided as an example since you didn't actually ask for it):

• 8/10
• I like that you persisted, put up with my quirky humour, and got to this point
• For a 10, use the Comments area to note some employee performance examples for which the Perfection Game doesn't seem to work; and/or, when using the Perfection Game as your performance management method, a simple scheme to allocate merit increase money if it must be based on job performance.

(Back to your code window - I hear the boss coming!)

Team Tips - 21 {Ouch, that hurts - Part 1}

You've been to the doctor, right?

There's always the moment when the doctor or nurse has to give you a needle, or draw blood, or otherwise inflict some unmentionable procedure on, or in (ew), some unmentionable part of your humanity.

That's when you hear the phrase:

This won't hurt a bit.

Just like when a “best friend”, or business associate, or the boss at performance evaluation time thinks you really need to hear some feedback, some constructive criticism. After all doesn't everyone want to improve? See their mistakes and learn from them? Make themselves a better person?

This won't hurt a bit. This is for your own good!

It's a wonderful idea if you are the “helper”: being a good friend, advising someone with your pearls of wisdom. But it's not so much fun being the “helpee”. Particularly when it is “inflicted help”. (I think every instance of feedback should be automatically matched in strength and duration with a return message; not as defensiveness or revenge. Just to return the favour.)

Ah, Reeves, you just don't want to hear criticism. You just don't want to be a better person. I'm, like, trying to help you here!

Hmmmm: right; wrong; wrong.

Right: I don't want to hear criticism. I may not respect the source; I may not like the intent; and I've already got my own imaginary critic whispering in my ear.
Wrong: I do want to be a better person. Returning as a dung beetle isn't at the top of my list (see previous post).
Wrong: You really aren't helping. If you really intended to help you would ask me how I would like to receive the “feedback” you have for me.

What I would like you to do, when I ask, for the topic of concern:

1. Tell me how I'm doing numerically, roughly, on a scale of 1 to 10. 
2. Tell me what you like and think I should keep doing 
3. Tell me what I should do differently, or add, to make the score a perfect 10, from your point of view. 

Now:

• I have a quick idea of how I'm doing: 10 out of 10 means I'm good for now; 1 out of 10 means you have lots of improvement ideas for me. 
• And I know what things you think I should continue doing. 
• And, best of all, I know what you think I should do more of, or do better, or add to my game. 
• The final component is that I can decide to use, or not, any of your suggestions. Nothing inflicted. 

In fact, this can be seen as a game. We could even call it, say, the Perfection Game. Crazy! 

It could be part of the Core Protocols. 

Oooops; Jim & Michele McCarthy already thought of that.

10 /10 from me.

Team Tips – 19 {Ask, and ye might receive.}

Back when I was a kid my parents made me have a bath every Saturday evening - whether I needed it or not. I'm not kidding! Imagine. 

So here's a blog post whether anyone needs it or not.

There's no evidence that anyone reads any of my posts, but absence of evidence is not evidence of absence - in this case. Maybe Google Analytics forgot about me, and didn't check to see if someone has been peeking. Maybe the feature that allows comments at the bottom isn't working, or is too complicated for people to bother, or requires a secret handshake and the root of minus one for identification.  Maybe there are so many people trying to tell me that they live just for my posts that they are swamping the internet. Or have died waiting.

It was been a while since my last article, (Me Mum is fine, by the way, in spite of all previous indications to the contrary): some 23 months and 13 days ago if you like hard data.

So for all you billions of fans out there, here's a poke to say I'm still here, still kicking, still training and consulting and helping people be their best. When they really want the help, that is.

I've made lots of offers with few takers. If we're talking evidence, the data that there have been few takers seems to reinforce the human condition that we all love to forge ahead independently without asking for help because that's the err, umm, adult? thing to do. Our mature egos balk at looking like, or admitting, there might be something we don't already know, or are proficient at, or with which we could use some assistance.

Of course, how do we know help is available, or that the helper really knows something we don't, or can actually explain it so we can learn something, or might actually be useful and not waste our time when we are busy struggling? How do we even know what we don't know?

Welllllll - we don't. Unless we ASK.

Asking for help - about anything - is still one of the best kept secrets for success in the world.

That's why it is the “secret sauce” in the Core Protocols. Why it is the primary behaviour to learn to develop and to be part of a great team.

And you don't have to wait for Saturday evenings to do it. It works anytime, all the time.

Team Tips – 18 {A little cheese with that WHINE?}

Got a phone call from “me Mum” the other day. She was sad. The reality of having to finally put the family home up for sale had just hit her.

After telling me how she felt, she apologized to me for “whining”.

I was struck that at her 95 years of age, having dealt with WW2 in England, emigrating to Canada with a newborn (me), having no friends or family in this part of her world, etc., etc. that this was the first time I could recall her “whining” (as she put it).

It made me think of all the stuff I see in Twitter, and on Fussbook, and in the news where folks are continually, relentlessly, indiscriminately moaning and complaining and fussing and wailing about the latest pin prick in their lives. That's what I call WHINING!

And my reaction to all that stuff is: Ya want a little cheese with that whine?

Sure, there's lots one can complain about, and no shortage of bad news. The talking heads are paid to provide it, lay on the drama, get the audience worked up, introduce a little anxiety, move us to DefCon 3.

But seriously folks. How about a little perspective? A little dose of proportion? See - now I'm whining!!

We live in a world of abundance. In spite of all humanities mistakes we're still here on this amazing space ship. The sun appearing every day is cause for celebration.

And there are tools in the Core Protocols to recognize the problems and see what can be done with them (like Perfection Game.) Of course it's a lot easier to point out the concerns than to figure out a remedy or solution, and many times we would just rather complain.

That's also where the Core Commitments help too. For example:
 1. I commit to engage when present .... (b) To always seek effective help.
 3. I will use teams, especially when undertaking difficult tasks.
 4. I will speak always and only when I believe it will improve the general results/effort ratio.
 5. I will offer and accept only rational, results-oriented behavior and communication.
 8. I will seek to move forward toward a particular goal, by biasing my behavior toward action.

So - surprise, surprise - we CAN make choices. We can choose to complain, AND choose to do whatever we can about it.

And I figure if me Mum can get on with it, then I'd better too!

Team Tips - 17 {A word with you}

At first I didn't see this post as a "Team Tip". But of course learning is important for any team, and that's what I'm getting at here.

Here's my Best Business Books list.

• “Best” because I learned something important, and thought the author(s) explained it well.
• “Business” because I recommend these books to business associates for help with concerns in the workplace; however, they really apply to humans doing anything, anywhere.
• “Books” because most of them are books (they are all “learnings” but “learnings” doesn't have alliteration with “best” and “business”).

I was tempted to list them in some order of importance. But that is clearly in the eye of the beholder, so what you find useful isn't necessarily what I enjoyed.

Nonetheless, the critical few are “The Art of Possibility”, “Closing the Me-You Gap”, “7 Habits”, and “Software for Your Head”. And that's a reasonable order for increasing degree of difficulty, and volume and richness of concepts.

What is fun to do is to look for the similarities in fundamentals expressed in each - our essential stardust.

If you don't expect to read them all, I've added some of the concepts that were important to me from each to help you choose.

Please let me know of any you would add to this list.

Abrashoff - It's Your Ship

• how do you promote individual initiative and responsibility on a US Navy ship that is capable of starting World War 3?

Ackoff - Systems Thinking (YouTube)

• look for any of the lectures by Dr. Russel Ackoff on YouTube to understand the fundamentals of looking at entities as systems to avoid attempting to sub-optimize the various parts, and missing the interactions as the critical element

Collins - Good to Great

• insights from comparing very successful companies to their mediocre counterparts, determining the leadership, thought, and action that made a difference

Covey - 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

• what does it mean to truly be effective; i.e. work on the right things at the right time, and understand all of the roles in our lives and what is important for each?

Goldsmith - What got you here won't get you there

• from one of the foremost business coaches the insight that all the things that have made us successful so far aren't enough to guarantee our rise to the next level, and in fact might get in our way

Gray* - Creating Time

• how to use the Core Protocols from McCarthy Technologies to find more time than we thought we had for any endeavour

Gray* - Closing the Me-You Gap

• how to use the Core Protocols from McCarthy Technologies to build trust with others

Kahneman - Thinking, Fast and Slow

• explains the two systems of how we think - system 1 is fast, intuitive, and emotional, system 2 is slower, more deliberative, and more logical; however, both can lead us astray due to evolutionary forces, and poor understanding of their operation

McCarthy & McCarthy - Software for Your Head

• starting from the typical human faults we encounter in the software industry, this book reveals the anti-patterns and provides the positive alternative patterns (Core Protocols) that let us interact optimally with others in any endeavour to fully realize our potential

Ries - The Lean Startup

• applying the total quality management principles from the Toyota Production System (and similar sources) to any business startup, we are shown in solid detail how to proceed systematically with any venture in any situation where high uncertainty exists

Stone, Patton, Heen - Difficult Conversations

• how to frame the conversation with someone about a very difficult topic in order to reach a successful conclusion (at least to the conversation)

Zander & Zander - The Art of Possibility

• “It's all invented” - in other words, the systems we deal with every day aren't the final or necessarily the best answer, allowing us to find new possibilities at every turn in all we do

Again: please let me know of any you would add to this list.

[* Vickie Gray is my sweetheart and partner in all things]

Team Tips – 16 {An abundance of Angels}

When I was a District Manager of Customer Service at Xerox Canada one of my managers told me she had seen an Angel. The spiritual kind, the God's Helper kind.

Lizzie (almost her real name) was a professional, logical, coherent, mature adult who was a very “by the book” manager. I realized as she talked about her Angel experience that she was taking a big “career limiting” risk by sharing this with me, her corporate boss. Happily that meant that she trusted me enough not to judge her as crazy, or rat on her in to Human Resources.

I'm glad to say I listened quietly, kept my skepticism to myself, so she could share this secret. My task was to support her, not make things more difficult. In my mind I could conjure up some extenuating circumstances: her mother had just died, her husband was unusually introspective, she was stressed with a tough job.

Nonetheless, it was just plain weird in our cultural circle to admit to seeing Angels.

And I'm reminded of that situation when Vickie or I encounter some people's reactions to the Core Protocols or BootCamp.

We get:

• these concepts can't work, won't work, aren't feasible, won't be accepted
• the Core Protocols are too ... (insert negative adjective here)
• people won't use these Simple Rules and Tools
• people need to build their own
• there's no means to enforce compliance
• this is dictatorial
• people won't share emotions
• groups need facilitation
• we can't spend the time to come to BootCamp
• and several billion more

What's fascinating to discover, when a conversation is possible with an objector about any of these reactions, that the objector hasn't actually read the Core Protocols document, or has not attended a BootCamp, or seriously tried to investigate this material. Nor does the fact that thousands of people have found it helpful over the 15+ years that teams have been generating these ideas seem to make any difference to them. Or that an investment of five days is worth the value of changing one's life.

So what is preventing the level of understanding that all this might be genuine?

One possibility is fear.

When we talk about the potential for BootCamp to be a life changing experience and to effect your success for the balance of your life, that can be very scary. We know that some people don't really want to challenge their belief systems, or to deal with their true potential.

So when objectors deny the 15+ years of BootCamp success is possible, we just listen quietly, share the facts we have, and leave it at that.

If a world of abundance isn't what you want, if you don't want to realize your potential, or reach for the sky, then BootCamp is not for you.

You probably just aren't ready for a universe of possibility, or Angels either.

On April 21^st. Vickie Gray and I will conduct another Great Teams BootCamp. The details are at http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e6w31ovda52cdbb5

Team Tips – 15 {Our soufflé fell!}

I had another post lined up for Team Tips - 15 but then this gem popped up this morning on Twitter:

from @LeaderChat

BEST BUY: We Ended ROWE/Work From Home Because It Defines Leadership as 100% Delegation.... ow.ly/jrDjp By @kris_dunn

I was intrigued because a Results-Only Work Environment (ROWE) is a kindred spirit with the learnings and experiences gained from the immersion in the CORE Protocols at BootCamp.

So I followed the url above to Kris Dunn's post:

[the hr Capitalist]

http://www.hrcapitalist.com/2013/03/best-buy-we-ended-rowework-from-home-because-it-defines-leadership-as-100-delegation.html

March 21, 2013

BEST BUY: We Ended ROWE/Work From Home Because It Defines Leadership as 100% Delegation....

Kris ends his post with:

Take a look and soak - it's an interesting conversation. My gut tells me that the delegation angle is window dressing, and when times are bad, people want butts (plural!) in seats.

In this way he leaves the door open for debate on the reported statements on ROWE by the CEO of Best Buy, Hubert Joly, and connects us to the related post by the creators of ROWE:

Cali & Jody Blog

http://www.gorowe.com/blog/2013/03/18/beyond-telework/rowe-creators-set-the-record-straight-best-buy-ceo-doesn-t-understand-rowe/

ROWE Creators Set the Record Straight: Best Buy CEO Doesn't Understand ROWE

It’s disheartening to us that Best Buy's CEO, Hubert Joly, complains of his ideas being “misconstrued” and then in the same breath completely misconstrues another important idea. That idea is Results-Only Work Environment, which up until a few weeks ago was the innovative work culture of Best Buy’s corporate offices.

Jody Thompson continues to explain some myths about ROWE which you should read for the full story. To summarize, they are:

Myth #1 - ROWE is delegation

Myth #2 - If you can see people at the office, you know they’re working!

Myth #3 - ROWE is a one-size-fits-all program

And Jody ends with:

Either Joly truly doesn't understand what ROWE is or he doesn't know how to lead in a ROWE. Either way, he just doesn’t get it.

Fascinating, Captain!

Taking these posts at face value, and assuming Hubert Joly is a smart person with good intent, we have a conundrum.

• Perhaps he is misinformed about ROWE, or it's mechanics, or how it has been implemented at Best Buy
• Perhaps he has a bad speechwriter / press agent, or can't read
• Perhaps he has been misquoted, or might plead the Nixon-ism: “Those statements are not longer operative”

Given his quoted remarks it's clear he doesn't understand delegation. When he says no one should delegate the task of building a brick wall to him (because they wouldn't like the result) he seems to not understand that

• delegation of responsibility is only viable when the “delegatee” can produce the desired result, OR
• (and he should surely understand this as the CEO) when the “delegatee” can further delegate the task to a bona-fide bricklayer

Does Best Buy regularly designate responsibility for, say, accounting audits to their facilities people, or IT services to their logistics experts?

And Mr. Joly needs some assistance with the concepts of leadership. His description of possible leadership styles as “coaching, motivating or directing” are more accurately descriptions of parent-managing.

But we started with the belief that Hubert Joly is a smart person with good intent. Hmmm. Reductio ad absurdem?

He at least needs some help. A good executive coach might work with him on his integrity so that he can honestly say: "I don't like our implementation of the ROWE concepts. It hasn't worked out like I wanted here at Best Buy. We are changing direction and asking all HQ employees to work in the office." (BTW: that's leadership - at least in the traditional organization)

Perhaps even: "Butts in seats is good enough for Yahoo so it's good enough for us."

Whichever way you look at it, the chef shouldn't blame the recipe when he doesn't follow it.

Team Tips – 13 {What's in a name?}

On April 21^st. Vickie Gray and I will conduct another Great Teams BootCamp. The details are here.

You'll notice right away we are calling this one a “Creating Time BootCamp”. Over the years since 2003 that we've attended, helped at, or held a Camp ourselves we've always debated with ourselves what we should call each session.

Jim & Michele McCarthy coined the original name of “BootCamp”. The common explanation for this choice is that over the week each attendee adopts new “software for their head” (taken from their book of the same name). So then everyone “boots new software” - using computer jargon. But this stuff isn't a computer Operating System. It's the commitments and protocols that make up the CoreProtocols that have emerged from teams being great. And adopting these best practices gives you a new way to operate in the world. Your own new mental operating system.

So if you're into software, or are in any tiny way computer literate, you get the idea.

But.... We've also had parents call us that wanted us to straighten out their teenagers. They hoped we were running a Marines style drill Bootcamp. And of course if you are leery of the military, or drill sergeants, or pushups in the rain, then the name BootCamp is not so exciting.

Then we got keen on “Results Camp” because the whole outcome of BootCamp is to generate a team that knows how to produce great results every time.

And I like “Great Teams Camp”. After all, the Core Protocols emerged from great teams in action and have been handed on to help others become a great team, and it's the team that produces the great results, and ...

Later, Vickie and I found out about Human Systems Dynamics, a whole discipline generated by the doctoral research of Glenda Eoyang. Glenda's certification course taught us about the importance of simple rules and tools. And bingo! We realized that the Core Protocols package was just that. The commitments were simple rules for teams to follow and the protocols were tools of behaviours for them to be great.

Now we had the name “Simple Rules and Tools Camps”.

Then we conducted a BootCamp where the team was astonished by the time-dilation effect. They were getting much more accomplished much faster than anticipated. That lead to Vickie's first book: Creating Time.

So as you are signing up for our next session above, you'll see it's a “Creating Time BootCamp”.

And when you get your manual once you've registered you'll see it's called the “BootCamp Manual”.

If this is all confusing, don't worry

Under the covers, it's still the same fabulous content. The week is your time to immerse yourself in the best understanding there is of what makes great team work. And you get to experience it to produce a great product. Yourself. Sweet!

A rose by any other name ...

Team Tips - 7 {I, Robot}

Here's a challenge from some who have heard about, but not fully experienced, the Core Protocols in action:

Using protocols of behaviour turns us into robots.

Sure.

And the use of best practices in our work puts us in process hell, building quality into our results is expensive, rules inhibit creativity, great results require huge effort, and the earth is flat.

Just in case you haven't guessed yet, I have a bias. Yes, I am a fan of the Simple Rules and Tools for great teams – the Core Protocols from McCarthy Technologies.

And my bias is toward action, getting the best results with the least effort, being clear and explicit in communications, using standards of process to provide consistency of quality wherever possible, and promoting creativity and excellence.

If you have an uncontrollable urge to “roll your own” and be as free as bird with no constraints in developing and providing your particular product or service, then fill your boots.

I trust you won't be offended if I don't get into your car for the next trip across town, or get into the aircraft your company provides for travel. I'm just not that comfortable in blowing through stop signs and red lights because they are too constraining. Nor would I be thrilled if the pilots for my next flight didn't care to check the aircraft, do any pre-flight cockpit work, ignore air traffic control, and attempt the take-off from the taxiway with only fumes in the fuel tanks.

Yup; those dang protocols do inhibit things.

Like:

• using all the comfortable legacy behaviours that aren't productive and deliver low quality results
• having low bandwidth communication full of blather and unspoken assumptions
• spending more time on project management than on producing product
• getting tangled up in whining, complaining, and the Drama Triangle
• producing mediocre products or services so we don't achieve too much revenue

So if you are getting your very best results already, if you are sure there is nothing you can gain by trying a different approach, if you are completely, outrageously happy, financially secure, and have absolutely nothing else to offer the world, then please ignore the Core Protocols. Instead, please send me your own protocols.

The commitments from the Simple Rules and Tools include using the Tools – the Protocols – or something better. So I'm serious. If you have something better I need to know.

But in the meantime give the Simple Rules and Tools a try. How does any idea become a reality except by eventually trying it out and looking at the results?

Mainframe computers, became mini computers, became personal computers, became laptops, became hand held devices, etc. Computer assembly languages fostered compilers and interpreters, etc. Waterfall project management became more agile with – you know.

If you feel that protocols would turn you into a robot, then perhaps you need to be the one to show how they don't have to.

Of course you can also persist in ignoring the success of the Simple Rules and Tools, and sail your boat off the edge of the world.

Your call. :-)