Maneuver and Values-Based Leadership in Business

Learning to Lead – Outside Your Comfort Zone

2005-10-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Many businesses and academic institutions struggle with teaching their people how to lead: classroom-based instruction is often criticized for being “too theoretical” and “intangible”, while “feel good” events, such as ropes courses, fail to relate to real-world business needs.

Below, we describe how we custom-tailored an intense, “hands-on” leadership training / team-building event aboard sailboats to the real-world business needs of a highly regarded asset management firm. For those of you familiar with the Wharton Leadership Venture to Quantico, this sailing event was the same experience as the U. S. Marine Corps’ famed Leadership Reaction Course (LRC) – in a non-military environment.

Event Design

Our over-riding intent was to take participants outside of their respective “comfort zones” by placing them in conditions of simulated uncertainty and urgency and challenging them to maintain their composure, make rapid-fire decisions, and collaborate. Rotating through “captain” and “crew” positions on the boat, everyone had the opportunity to lead his/her team, and everyone gained a greater appreciation for each other’s contributions in the process.

After each race, we provided participants with immediate feedback on individual leadership skills and team dynamics. Because of the high (and increasing) level of difficulty, learning occurred through "a-ha!" experiences of self-realization, and we were able to identify tendencies that otherwise would not have manifested themselves during everyday firm operations.

Said participants:

“I thought it was a great experience – definitely difficult and sometimes frustrating, but very beneficial. The theme was decision making in the face of uncertainty and that is what we were forced to do . . . Next time I'm going to wear my hockey helmet”
“Personally, I found [being pushed outside of my comfort zone] extremely rewarding . . . an effective way to see what you're capable of”
“I thought it was fantastic that we received immediate feedback during the day. The comments that Vince & Jason had for me, really made me aware of how I am in the office. I learned that it is important to focus on a goal, but you have to be aware of what's going on around you and with your own team members. I also learned a lot about my colleagues”

Event Description

Along with certified sailing instructors, we joined four 4-member teams for four 1-hour races aboard identical 24ft J/24 sailboats.

Race 1 – “No Designated Leader . . . Then Sail Backwards.” After the crews learned about basic sail control, seamanship, and safety in the harbor, we moved to the start line and began our first race – without designating a team leader. And for the last leg of the race, boats sailed backwards. Our aim here was to see: 1) who was willing to take charge of the situation while still listening to his/her crew and 2) which teams were able to agree on a race strategy and roles & responsibilities in the most expedient manner

“I think getting together to communicate on a non-technical basis helps each of us understand better where the other person is coming from. Needing to work together was definitely good. I liked the fact that with the boat underway, there was no chance to debate about who would take the lead. Fast action was required so under the circumstances people were ok accepting orders whereas they might not have been if urgent action wasn't needed”

Race 2 – “Sail Change.” In this race, we designated a team leader but introduced two major disruptions: an unannounced sail change (i.e., “change the jib now”) and a subsequent announced sail change (i.e., “at the buoy 200 yards ahead, you will need to change the jib again”). Our aim here was to see: how the leader was able to 1) react to rapidly changing events and 2) then prepare for a reoccurrence and communicate a plan. Crews that proactively anticipated potential problems (and captains that provided advance notice of upcoming decisions) were able to avoid crisis situations that required heroic yet reactive efforts to “put out fires”

“I learned a lot about communication - what works, what doesn't, different approaches to try with different team members”

Races 3 & 4 – “Inclusive Team Leader.” In this race, the team leaders were blindfolded, and we challenged them to rely completely on the observations and recommendations of their crews to navigate the sailboats. Our aim here was to see: 1) how the boat captain was able to leverage diverse inputs from the crew to make decisions in the face of uncertainty and 2) what level of comfort the boat captain had with an impaired sense of control. Boats were successful when crewmembers provided blindfolded boat captains with detailed, tangible descriptions – in a unified voice

“The blindfolded exercise was incredible. It made me more conscientious of how I could improve on my own communication skills”

Event Wrap-up

After the races, we related lessons learned from the day’s activities and prescriptions from our book, The Marine Corps Way, to the firm’s specific business needs – communication, people development, and defining / reinforcing culture – in a relaxed dinner setting:

“I found the dinner presentation and discussion afterwards as useful as the exercise itself”
“Without [the wrap-up] presentation, the day would have been left hanging a bit, but it really tied everything together. Military-related analogies and anecdotes definitely keep people's attention”

Observations

Across all teams, we noticed two noteworthy trends:

Teamwork: we were most pleasantly surprised with the exceptionally high degree of cooperation and composure that all boat crews displayed: teammates were quick to help one another, boat captains maintained their poise under challenging conditions, and everyone was very receptive to the input of their colleagues

Leadership: In general, boat captains appeared reluctant to take charge of and direct their crews. Many boat captains attributed this reluctance to the high degree of uncertainty (which was “by design”): their lack of familiarity with sailing hindered their ability to make decisions with confidence.

Our advice to reluctant boat captains: Remember the "80% Rule"** - the longer you wait to make a decision and provide your team with a general strategic direction, the more likely are competitors – who may be just as uncertain and uncomfortable as you – to make a decision and move ahead – while your sailboat remains stalled . . . pointing directly into the wind (**the "80% Rule" holds that any decision made with more than 80% of available information is hesitation)

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Recognizing Superior Achievement

2005-09-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

This posting on recognizing superior achievement in an organization is the third in a three-part series on how we helped a consulting client effect major cultural change. Our previous two postings (July and August 2005) described how we helped our client improve downward communications and create a meaningful set of core values.

* * *

Many managers dismiss the recognition of superior achievement as "touchy-feely" or "nice to have . . . if I weren't so busy." But in those companies that are widely heralded for having high-performing cultures - such as Southwest Airlines and FedEx - recognition of superior achievement remains a top priority for managers at all levels. Below, we describe how we helped a 300-member organization revitalize a program for the tiered recognition of achievement, which not only bolstered morale but also served as a powerful means to reinforce desired behaviors, such as initiative, creativity, individual responsibility, and cross-functional cooperation.

The Challenge

Despite numerous "individual acts of brilliance" that enabled the organization to succeed in spite of considerable resource constraints and corporate "involvement", individual contributors and junior managers were not receiving their due recognition for "going above and beyond the call of duty." Although two formal programs existed, recognition was simply not a priority for senior managers, who were preoccupied with their own day-to-day responsibilities, and HR, which was focused on enforcement of corporate policies and regulations.

How We Solved It

Questioning the sustainability of an intense working environment where people did not feel appreciated, we challenged everyone - particularly senior managers - to make recognition a priority.

Revitalized the two existing recognition programs. The first existing program - "Gem Cards" - enabled peers to reward each other for relatively small achievements; Gem Cards could be redeemed in sets of 5, 10, 15, etc. for gift certificates or dinner vouchers. The second existing program - "Extra Effort Awards" - enabled managers to recognize individual contributors for more significant achievements; one Extra Effort Award could be redeemed for a team dinner, where the manager would often praise the individual contributor in front of the entire team. Curiously, both of these programs had "fallen by the wayside" over the previous four years, as the organization's work environment intensified in the face of deteriorating market conditions. Realizing their value and not feeling the need to "re-invent the wheel", we "dusted them off" and added a third.

Created a special award for behavior that exemplified the organization's core values. For the most noteworthy achievements, we asked the general manager of the organization to recognize a select group of individuals in front of all 300 employees at each quarterly "all hands" meeting. Two weeks before each meeting, we solicited nominations via a special e-mail address that IT created for us. We then reviewed the nominations and categorized them as "yes - pending further investigation", "maybe - pending further investigation", or "no." When we agreed that a nomination warranted a "yes" or "maybe", we conducted follow-up, in-person interviews with the submitter, the nominee's manager, and the nominee's peers; the follow-up interviews were always necessary to provide the additional color we needed to complete brief (300 word) narratives for "yes" nominations or make final decisions on "maybe" nominations. When we did not deem the achievement commensurate with the highest level of recognition (which was approximately 50% of the time), we encouraged the submitter to nominate the individual for an Extra Effort Award or Gem Card. Then, before each quarterly "all hands" meeting, we asked the general manager to 1) read the narratives that we had completed and 2) present the selected nominees with personalized plaques and mounted copies of the narratives. While these "Core Values" awards carried no monetary compensation whatsoever, they were embraced at all levels of the organization and proved to be a highly effective source of motivation.

Communicated the details of the three tiers of recognition to the entire organization. At the first quarterly "all-hands" meeting of 2004, we provided both verbal and written descriptions of the Gem Card, Extra Effort, and Core Values awards and their corresponding criteria. And prior to subsequent quarterly "all hands" meetings, we reminded all members of the organization to submit nominations via e-mail.

Formed a special committee to institutionalize the recognition process. The repeated use of "we" in the above paragraphs was intended to highlight the participation of a cross-functional committee of dedicated volunteers, who individually investigated "yes" and "maybe" submissions and collectively decided on nominations. Ensuring that the right people were being recognized for the right achievements in the right manner was a time-consuming and (ironically) thankless endeavor, but the volunteers' dedication ensured the program's ongoing success - even after the initial novelty wore off.

Lessons Learned and Prescriptions

Employees who witness their peers receiving recognition for superior achievement say to themselves one of two things: "I sure would like to be up there" or "this is bogus." The narrative is absolutely critical: the effectiveness of the recognition is absolutely dependent upon who is recognized for what and why

Who: be sure to double-check the submission with the nominee's supervisor and peers. In one instance, we failed to solicit input from a recipeint's peers, and the "Core Values" award actually had a damaging effect because the recipient, who always managed to maintain appearances with supervisors, was actually notorious for failing to follow through on commitments to teammates
What: thorough research begets tangible, illustrative examples that resonate with audiences infinitely more than do flowery words. Many of the cryptic or incomplete written submissions we received required us to conduct follow-up inverviews in person
Why: you must explain the linkage between the recognized achievement and your organization's core values, strategy, or business needs in the clearest and simplest terms possible; what may be obvious to you may not be as evident to others, who lack your perspective

Making recognition of superior achievement a priority is a time-consuming endeavor that you cannot abandon after the initial novlety wears off

Don't initiate a recognition initiative unless you are prepared to "stick with it" over the long haul

Similarly, the degree to which you are able to encourage nominations from "busy" submitters depends on the amount of work you are willing to do. In an effort to avoid dissuading potential submitters, we allowed "free-form" nominations via e-mail, but these nominations invariably required significant follow-up research and refinement on our part

Consider creating a simple template of required questions that submitters must answer

Presenting an award for the sake of presenting an award is tempting

If the achievement is not commensurate with the award, do not present the award; you will undermine the credibility of the recognition program. From the outset, we made it very clear to the entire organization that there could be quarters when no one would receive an award

Please send an e-mail to info@santamariamartino.com if you would like us to notify you of new postings, which will occur on the fifth day of each month

Making Core Values Resonate

2005-08-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

This posting, which describes how to make your organization’s core values more meaningful, is the second in a three-part series on how we helped a consulting client effect major cultural change. Next month, we will describe how we helped that client create a system for the tiered recognition of superior achievement to boost morale and reinforce desired behavior.

* * *

Most organizations have core values, but many organizations’ core values fall short of resonating with employees. Below, we describe how we helped a 300-member organization not only draft but also reinforce a set of (previously non-existent) core values, thereby creating a baseline for the establishment of a common, cohesive culture.

The Challenge

As a result of large-scale lateral hires and years of “scrambling to stay on top of” rapid growth, the organization lacked a common, cohesive culture. Core values were non-existent, as corporate executives had never before invested in their creation. And this underinvestment created a void: employees hungered for something to shape their decision-making criteria, define appropriate behavior, and set priorities in the organization.

How We Solved It

Conducted an informal poll. After assisting in the formulation and communication of the organization’s long-term strategy, we informally polled numerous employees as to what they thought the organization should “stand for.” Where we saw trends in the responses, we began to construct a list of 7-10 possible values; we then attempted a first draft of 7-10 possible definitions.

Narrowed the list and refined definitions. We then assembled a cross-functional team of employees, ranging from individual contributor to executive, to review the list and narrow the number of possible values to 3-5. After what seemed like countless iterations, we reached agreement on 4 values and their definitions. We then “beta tested” the values and definitions with employees outside of the committee, solicited input, and further revised the language.

Published a final draft: the final version we published was warmly received at all levels of the organization. Written by a representative sample of the very people who were being asked to embrace the core values, the final version: 1) fit the organization’s long-term strategy, 2) was easily understood, and 3) consisted of pledges (“we will . . .”, “I will . . .”), rather than dry definitions.

The following are the values the committee drafted:

Excellence: we will think and act as one team to deliver products and services that create breakthrough value for our customers
Integrity: we will uphold the highest standards of ethical behavior and honesty at all times
Ingenuity: we will embrace change, be creative, and take calculated risks to make [our company] successful and meet the dynamic needs of our customers
Ownership: I will accept personal responsibility and accountability for the work I do and the commitments I make so that people can rely on me with utmost confidence

Challenged everyone in the organization – especially managers – to “walk the talk”: The exhaustive effort of drafting the core values was just the beginning; the real effort came as we endeavored to reinforce the core values. We posted signs wherever we could – on doors, in hallways, in conference rooms, and over work stations. Senior managers committed to upholding the values through their actions and holding their teams accountable for doing the same. Project team members repeatedly asked each other, “is this decision / course of action consistent with our core values?” Finally, we worked with employees and senior managers to create “core values awards” for recognizing achievement that exemplified the values (more on this initiative next month . . .).

Lessons Learned and Prescriptions

Whether you are creating a set of new core values or placing renewed emphasis on an existing set of core values, senior managers should remember three things: 1. Constantly uphold those values through actions and hold your people accountable for doing the same 2. Constantly uphold those values through actions and hold your people accountable for doing the same 3. Constantly uphold those values through actions and hold your people accountable for doing the same
If you are going to ask your people to embrace a set of core values, include them in the planning / drafting effort; don't just impose values from the top-down!
Values should further your organization’s long-term strategic goals
Wording should be crisp, compelling, and easy-to-understand; an organization generally should have no more than six core values
Finally, remember that at work, people are seeking not only a paycheck but also a sense of belonging. Give them a set of ideals with which they can identify and to which they can aspire

Please send an e-mail to info@santamariamartino.com if you would like us to notify you of new postings, which will occur on the fifth day of each month

THE PLAN: Everyone Formulates; Few Communicate

2005-07-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

In the recently-released Making Strategy Work, Wharton professor Lawrence G. Hrebiniak surveyed 443 executives and found that the number-one problem they face when executing strategy is the inability to manage change effectively or to overcome internal resistance to change. Furthermore, subsequent investigation and panel discussions placed culture at the core of many change-related problems: "to many of the respondents, 'change' and 'culture change' were synonymous" (p18).

This posting, which addresses improving downward communications in an organization, is the first in a three-part series on how we helped a consulting client effect major cultural change. Next month, we will discuss formulating a meaningful set of core values. And the following month, we will describe the creation of a system for the tiered recognition of superior achievement.

* * *

An interesting self-admission that we hear from all of our seminar and consulting clients is that they do a poor job of communicating the plans they formulate. Below, we describe how we helped the senior leaders of a 300-member organization formulate and communicate their plans downward, through multiple levels of the organization. With each “cascading” communication, the message narrowed in scope and increased in relevance – so that ultimately the most junior individual contributors understood the larger context into which their efforts fit.

The Challenge

The senior leaders – General Manager, Vice President, and Directors – of this organization spent a good deal of time & energy formulating strategic and operational plans, but they did not invest a comparable amount of time & energy in communicating those plans to their mid-level and front-line personnel. Accordingly, their communications attenuated as they passed down through the ranks: quarterly and annual outlooks became increasingly cloudy, customer needs became less apparent, and tasks became increasingly discrete. Individual contributors felt as if they were “working in a vacuum” in constant “react mode.”

How We Solved It

Institutionalized the concept of “commander’s intent”. We challenged all levels of management to restructure the communication of their plans so that each communication explained: 1) what needed to be accomplished rather than how, 2) customer needs and why they should be addressed, and 3) how each plan fit within the context of the plans of higher levels of management. We also began posting select communications of “commander’s intent” (presentations, memos, etc.) on the company intranet, so that all members of the organization could access them at will.

Ensured that “commander’s intent” cascaded downward, through the entire organization. The General Manger began sending weekly e-mails that shared his thoughts & impressions and described recent customer developments. The Vice President convened an “all hands” meeting in which he 1) laid out his intent (“creativity and ingenuity”) and the goals & objectives necessary to realize it, 2) addressed all of the upward feedback he had been receiving over the previous six months, and 3) challenged his Directors to do the same. After a first-ever collaborative planning effort, Directors followed the Vice President’s presentation with an “all hands” meeting of their own, in which they laid out their respective intents and their progress towards his goals and objectives. And mid-level managers sat down with their respective teams and held hour-long “teach-ins”, in which they conveyed their personal philosophies and expectations. Importantly, these efforts were never-ending: managers at all levels seized every possible opportunity to reinforce their intent and “sell” their teams on the merits of their respective plans – not only through their words but also through their actions.

Lessons Learned and Prescriptions

While our solution was not particularly earth shattering, the commitment made to the communication of plans was an all-important first step toward cultural change in the organization. Expanding the sphere of understanding of employees at all levels boosted both morale and initiative. Directors and mid-level managers could make decisions with greater certainty, and individual contributors could allocate their time and efforts more effectively. Individual contributors and mid-level managers perceived senior leaders as more receptive to new ideas and thus began offering invaluable insights and suggestions for improvement. And by making additional information available to their teams, managers were able to ask for increased levels of personal responsibility and accountability in return.

From this experience, we can make the following generalizations:

Make the communication of your plan to your people a top priority, and do not shy from challenging them to “step up” in return
You can’t order your people to take initiative, but you can motivate them by arming them with the “bigger picture”
Ensure that “commander’s intent” narrows in scope and increases in relevance as it cascades down through your organization
The reinforcement of your intent – through words and actions – is a never-ending responsibility, exasperating as it may be
“Never tell your people how to do things; tell them what to do, and they will surprise you with their ingenuity” – General George S. Patton

Please send an e-mail to info@santamariamartino.com if you would like us to notify you of new postings, which will occur on the fifth day of each month

NEW BOOK: Making Strategy Work

2005-07-01T14:22:00.000-06:00

In the recently released Making Strategy Work, Wharton professor Lawrence Hrebiniak "sheds powerful new light on why businesses fail to deliver on even their most promising strategies" and "offers a comprehensive, disciplined process for making strategy work in the real world. "

We enjoyed Dr. Hrebiniak's book and wanted to highlight the findings of two surveys that served as its inspiration:

A joint research project between the Gartner Group and the Wharton School, which asked 243 managers involved in strategy formulation and execution about the biggest challenges they faced as they made decisions and took actions to execute their company's strategy to gain competitive advantage
A similar survey conducted by Wharton Executive Education that asked the same question to 200 managers

According to the two surveys, the Top 8 Obstacles to Strategy Execution were as follows:

Inability to manage change effectively or to overcome internal resistance to change
Trying to execute strategy that conflicts with the existing power structure
Poor or inadequate information sharing between individuals or business units responsible for strategy execution
Unclear communication of responsibility and/or accountability for execution decisions or actions
Poor or vague strategy
Lack of feelings of "ownership" of a strategy or execution plans among key employees
Not having guidelines or a model to guide stategy-execution efforts
Lack of understanding of the role of organizational structure and design in the execution process

The surveys also mentioned a few additional results of execution methods as being highly problematical:

Employees don't understand how their jobs contribute to important execution outcomes
Time and money are wasted because of inefficiency or bureaucracy in the execution process
Execution decisions take too long to make
The company reacts slowly or inappropriately to competitive pressures (p20)

These findings have prompted us to launch a 3-part series on how we helped a client effect major cultural change. This series will begin on 5 July, and we hope you find it useful.

Please send an e-mail to info@santamariamartino.com if you would like us to notify you of new postings, which will occur on the fifth day of each month

Selling Solutions Instead of Pushing Products

2005-06-05T08:00:00.000-06:00

Many companies nowadays announce an intention to sell “solutions” but instead continue to push products. Below, we describe how we helped a hardware and software development organization (which we will call “R&D”) leverage its technical expertise to solve the problems that had been “keeping its customers up late at night” – and the promising revenue-generating opportunities that followed.

The Challenge

R&D had developed a product that was so superior to competing offerings that it had, for many years, been able to “push” new releases to a relatively captive customer base. In many cases, relationships with customers could be characterized as adversarial. Development processes, designed for repeatability, were rigid and sequential in workflow; R&D’s focus was alarmingly insular. And talented engineers, who possessed deep technical expertise and sophisticated problem-solving skills, were isolated from customers.

But as R&D sought to grow beyond its core market, into areas where it did not enjoy a dominant position, it realized that it would to need to be “pulled” by customers who were often uncertain of their needs and whose needs seemed to be constantly changing. R&D would have to begin delivering creative solutions that met customers’ underlying needs more accurately than the competition.

How We Solved It

Performed an in-depth competitive analysis and communicated its findings to all members of R&D. We scoured analyst reports, market research reports, company web sites, annual reports, and SEC filings to construct detailed profiles of R&D’s top five competitors: strategy, recent developments, products, strengths, and critical vulnerabilities . After confirming our findings with R&D senior leaders, we posted our competitive analysis on the company intranet and delivered in-person summary presentations to audiences of 15-30 participants – until all 250 members of R&D had attended.

R&D’s previously insular focus has given way to an acute awareness of market challenges and competitive threats. And the “eyes and ears” of the organization are now trained outward, in search of breakthrough opportunities. A wake-up call, indeed.

Matched engineering managers to key customer accounts. With R&D senior leaders, we matched mid-level engineering managers to key customer accounts, provided them with guidance on what to look for, and challenged them to: attend sales calls, establish relationships and ongoing dialogues with their technical counterparts in customer organizations, and perform on-site demonstrations and trials in customer testing labs.

Inspired by our tactic of reconnaissance pull, this initiative has enabled these managers to 1) become direct conduits between their project teams and the customer and 2) lead the rest of R&D to breakthrough market opportunities. In one noteworthy instance, two R&D managers, operating on extended assignment in a customer’s product testing lab, played an instrumental role in the recent closing of a multi-million dollar sale to one of the largest telecom service providers in the U. S. – an account that R&D had not been able to penetrate previously. Not only did the R&D managers “wow” their customer counterparts with their technical prowess, but they we also able to uncover fundamental, underlying needs that R&D’s non-technical sales professionals, who managed the customer relationship at a high level, would not have even considered.

Established a limited number of “virtual R&D partnerships.” Leading by example, the Vice President of R&D assigned himself to select customer accounts. Establishing trust-based “virtual R&D partnerships” that effectively blurred the line between vendor and customer, he and his senior technical counterparts agreed to a) co-design products, b) share development risk and resources, and c) collaboratively lead combined teams comprising engineers from both organizations.

One of these partnerships has already produced impressive results: IP Telephony Magazine’s 2004 Product of the Year and a large backlog of orders.

Lessons Learned and Prescriptions

Customers may not know what their true underlying needs are.

Use your technical experts to “dig one level deeper” than you previously thought possible to uncover those needs and rely on them to lead you to breakthrough market opportunities!

Competitive analyses, which are normally only shared among senior management and strategic planning personnel, serve as a powerful “wake-up call” for personnel who are not normally exposed to the “ups and downs” of the market.

Share your competitive analyses with everyone!

Senior business managers and mid-level technical personnel in customer organizations have different perspectives.

Consider your selling process a team-based effort targeted at multiple levels of a customer organization. Match your salespeople to customers’ senior business managers and your technical experts to customers’ mid-level technical personnel, and then compare notes!

“Virtual R&D partnerships” can be powerful, but only with the right customers.

Challenge your senior leaders to establish trust-based development relationships at the highest levels where appropriate!

This approach, which received an overwhelmingly positive response from the engineers involved, does not have to be limited to hardware and software development.

Whether they’re “quants” in financial services firms, “creative types” in advertising agencies, or development personnel in brand management companies, free your “doers” from the “back room” and increase their exposure to the customer!

Please send an e-mail to info@santamariamartino.com if you would like us to notify you of new postings, which will occur on the fifth day of each month

Business-Team-Self

2005-05-11T14:37:00.000-06:00

Given that maneuver requires a selfless approach to leadership, an over-arching theme to keep in the back of your mind as you read our postings each month is Business-Team-Self:

Your business exists first and foremost to make a profit. Your team is indispensable in accomplishing that objective. You exist to support your team and to enable them to do their respective jobs.

As you prioritize your efforts and make difficult decisions, keep this hierarchy in mind, and constantly challenge yourself to overcome your own tendencies toward self-interest:

When your supervisor praises you, do you take credit? Or do you pass credit on to your team?
When things go awry, do you assign blame? Or do you step up, assume responsibility for the shortcoming, and champion a solution?
Do you expect to be listened to? Or do you aggressively seek and listen to your team’s insights and feedback?
Do you expect to only have to say something once? Or are you constantly repeating and reinforcing your vision and values, as exasperating as it may be?
Do you seek to derive power and influence by hoarding new information? Or do you share information freely with other parts of your organization?
Do you and your team “lob” things over the proverbial wall? Or do you ensure that hand-offs are smooth and information flowing downstream is clearly understood and acknowledged?
Do you put off uncertain or extremely difficult tasks because they are unpleasant to you? Or do you put these tasks at the top of your “to-do” list?
In uncertain situations, do you focus a disproportionate amount of effort on familiar but non-essential tasks? Or do you attack the most critical aspects of the challenge at hand, even if they are out of your “comfort zone”?
Do you manage resources? Or do you lead people?

Practical Application of Business-Team-Self

One of our seminar clients went so far as to make Business-Team-Self an integral part of its company culture. “B-T-S” signs are posted in conference rooms and at workstations. Almost all noteworthy communications from senior management include references to “B-T-S”. Before meetings are adjourned, team members ask each other if the consensus they have reached is consistent with “B-T-S”. Finally, all employees are asked in performance evaluations to describe specific instances where their actions have exemplified “B-T-S”.

Please send an e-mail to info@santamariamartino.com if you would like us to notify you of new postings, which will occur on the fifth day of each month

Introduction

2005-05-11T14:25:00.000-06:00

Welcome to our weblog (more commonly known as a “blog”). We hope you find our postings relevant and interesting, and we strongly encourage you to post your own questions, comments, and insights.

For the past two years, our firm, Santamaria & Martino LLC, has been helping companies: 1) formulate and implement strategy, 2) encourage behavioral and cultural change, and 3) develop leadership capacity. Owing to our extensive interaction with a large number of talented clients and bright readers, our ideas and approach, which trace their origins to our book, The Marine Corps Way, have evolved considerably.

With this blog, our intent is to build upon our interaction with you and create something more than a monthly newsletter. By sharing our experiences and lessons learned and soliciting your feedback and insights, we hope to establish a forum for the exchange of ideas pertaining to maneuver and values-based leadership in business.

On the fifth day of each month, we will post our thoughts on a real-world challenge that one or many of our clients have faced. Specific topics we plan to cover through the end of 2005 include:

How to sell solutions instead of pushing products
How to encourage behavioral and cultural change in your organization through: cascading communication of intent, formulation of meaningful core values, and recognition of superior achievement
How to develop leaders through “hands-on” experiential learning opportunities
How to accelerate time-to-market (for you techies, we’ll be talking about our experience with agile development methodologies here)
How to break down barriers to cross-functional cooperation
Anything else that you suggest

As the repeated use of “how to” suggests, all postings will be practical, tangible, and fact-based. Each will include a description of the challenge faced, the actual steps we took to resolve it, and “lessons learned” that can be generalized to similar situations.

Please send an e-mail to info@santamariamartino.com if you would like us to notify you of new postings, which will occur on the fifth day of each month