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Archive for February, 2010

Members of the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team won gold and silver yesterday in the sport’s final Olympic event. It was the culmination of an amazing winter games for the team, which won medals in all three of the sports’ competitions. It was also one of the more amazing turnaround stories of the Olympics.

How Nordic Combined went from dead last in the world in 1988 to regular trips to the podium is a lesson in slow, deliberate growth managers at struggling US companies like General Motors, Delta, or even the New York Times Co., might take a page from.

Tom Steitz, who we first wrote up on the blog last week, took over as Head Coach for the team in those dark days of 1988, inheriting little money or athletic talent to work with. But he set a methodical approach to turning the team around, and set ambitious goals that put it on the path that would lead to Vancouver.

On February 14, one of the skiers he recruited and helped develop, Johnny Spillane won the silver in the first of three events, the first American ever to win a medal in the event. On February 25, Spillane repeated his silver finish in the large hill Nordic Combined, crossing the finish lines seconds behind teammate Bill Demong, who’s gold medal makes him the nation’s first ever champion in the sport. In between four of the American team, including Spillane and Demong, won the silver in the Nordic Combined team competition.

How do you get from dead last to dominating at the most important contest in the world? Steitz seems some lessons in the team’s transformation that can be applied to business. No longer the team coach, Steiz is now a leadership consultant who works for big companies like Johnson & Johnson and Hewlett-Packard. Be he’s still a welcome adviser to the athletes, and spent February at the Games.

Here are some of the lessons he learned from Nordic Combined that he thinks apply to businesses looking to win.

* Move the unproductive out quickly - Right away Steitz overhauled the coaching staff and started to hunt for promising athletes who had good team spirit, who wanted their teammates to do well.

* Set big goals, and plan to build to them - Just attending an Olympics couldn’t be anyone’s goal, Steitz says. They had to want a medal, and every athlete had to be improving whether they were already easily going to make the team or not. Steitz tied those goals to fund raising. He asked sponsors for modest contributions up front, but a promise that they’d give more if the team rose in the world cup rankings. That strategy took them from the worst funded team to the best competing in the 2002 Games.

* Spend time together – Steitz relocated the whole team and all their coaches, nutritionists and medical staff from all over the country to Steamboat Springs, Colorado. He lost a third of his athletes and staff, but he knew those who stayed were committed.

Not everything from sports transfers to business, of course. A coach will invest 10 to 15 years into training an athlete, Steitz notes, only to find that competitor’s age start to slow them down. Corporate managers face a different problem: the chance their great talent will jump ship for another company.

How likely someone is to pick up a headhunter’s call is one of the metric’s Steitz recommends managers track. And it’s one he uses to measure his own performance. Of course there’s no goal medal for coaching.

Management and Motivation Programe based on Bollywood Movies - 3 Idiots - Passion Leads to Excellence by Dr. Shailesh Thaker at - Goldan Glory Hall, Karnavati Club, S.G. Highway, Ahmedabad.

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The assumption that so-called “tough” leaders with a controlling and target-driven approach do better during tough economic times is simply not true, according to new research carried out in the UK. Instead, leaders who are people- and relationship centric are far more likely to display outstanding performance.

A two-year study by workplace think-tank the Work Foundation suggests that the most effective leaders think and act systemically, seeing the whole picture rather than compartmentalising. They see people as the sole route to performance and are deeply people and relationship centred rather than just people oriented.

Moreover, they are self-confident without being arrogant - they are aware of their strengths and their position of influence, yet use these for the benefit of their organisation and its people.

The study, based on over 250 in-depth qualitative interviews, in six high-profile UK organisations (BAE Systems, EDF Energy, Guardian Media Group, Serco, Tesco and Unilever), examined the behavioural differences between leaders who were perceived by their direct reports and managers as merely “good” and those who were seen as being “outstanding”.

Lead author Penny Tamkin said that the research showed that leaders who are fixated on numbers and targets need to change their mindsets.

“Outstanding leaders focus on people, attitudes and engagement, co-creating vision and strategy. Instead of one-to-one meetings centred on tasks, they seek to understand people and their motives,” she explained.

“Instead of developing others through training and advice, they do this through challenge and support. They manage performance holistically, attending to the mood and behaviour of their people as well as organisational objectives. And instead of seeing people as one of many priorities, they put the emphasis on people issues first.”

In other words, leaders who realise that only if they engage their people will they achieve great performance – acting as enablers, stretching and championing others and giving them the support they need to excel – are more effective.

“An approach which connects leaders to people and people to purpose defines outstanding leadership. Leadership that focuses on mutuality and respect is not only good for people but good for organisations too,” Tamkin added.

If you’re like most business leaders, you spent much of 2009 feeling down and just about out—an often-inescapable result of the worst recession since the Great Depression.

Odds are, you grappled with numerous challenges, uncertainties, and “don’t want to, but have to” decisions. As one weary bank CEO confided, “We’re barely hanging on, just trying to survive.” He wasn’t alone, either. Many executives and leadership teams shared similar sentiments with me. It was a difficult year, period.

Now, 2010 is here, and in the earliest days of the economic recovery it’s time to take the bull by the horns. Smart leaders will bypass the predictable New Year’s resolutions and, instead, start the decade with 12 essential questions:

1. What matters most?

The good news is, there’s no right or wrong answer. Yet, what was most important a year or two ago may not be the driving force in the business today. Press the reset button and, together with your leadership team, clarify priorities and commit to keeping them in focus.

2. What can I let go?

Adopting new strategies and approaches can require letting go of some old attitudes, habits, or behaviors. If something isn’t serving the business well, be willing to give it up. There is great power in purging, and you’ll make room for better ways of working.

3. What is one “problem” I can turn into an opportunity?

No need for rose-colored glasses—just view a current challenge through a lens of opportunity. Think about past successes in the business and figure out how to apply those skills to the issue at hand. Fact is, you grow by building on strengths, not “fixing” weaknesses.

4. What would really inspire employees?

Be careful about sending the message that you need people to hear. Think from your employees’ point of view—if they don’t feel understood, they won’t listen to you anyway—and resist the urge to tell them how they “should” think or feel. Also, inspiration doesn’t come only from motivational speeches to the masses. It starts with a leader who simply shows he or she cares.

5. What is our customers’ greatest pain?

Be relentless about knowing and meeting that need. Test your assumptions, but skip the complicated surveys. Instead, pick up the phone and ask. Listen and understand first—then get busy offering solutions.

6. What new business relationships will I pursue?

New opportunities come from new relationships. Inside and outside your industry, seek opportunities where there is potential for mutual benefit—not just “what’s in it for me?” Remember, too, that even in these boom days of social media, significant business relationships begin with real dialogue, not a tweet.

7. How can I think more strategically?

Skip the SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) exercise. Strategic planning isn’t an event; it’s a discipline. Get serious about setting direction, always starting with a big-picture view of the possibilities. Resist the urge to discuss and deal with tactics, until you’re clear on what you want to accomplish. Even then, don’t check strategy off your list. Put it into daily practice.

8. How can I make swift yet smart decisions?

Now more than ever, you can’t afford to overanalyze. Clear the clutter—the “mind clutter” that plagues even the best leaders—and make way for swift, smart decision-making. Hint: Slow down your thinking on the front end—during the planning process—so you can make faster and better decisions later.

9. What leadership skill can—and should—I get better at?

Truth is, your personal effectiveness affects the success of the business. Pick the leadership skill that most needs your attention—listening, coaching, or problem solving, perhaps—and commit to improvement. Small changes really can make a big difference. Just ask your team and others on the receiving end.

10. What is my role, really?

Your success as a leader is largely based on how you view your role. Use the New Year as an opportunity to assess and adjust. If you want to raise your game, determine how you’ll play differently from now on. Envision yourself performing at the highest level. What will the “new” you do?

11. How will I recognize success?

You won’t know whether the business is on the right track if you haven’t determined some key markers or indicators. What’s more, not all measures of success are quantitative, so consider how you’ll know when a result “feels right.”

12. What is my biggest fear, and how will I face it?

Name it, and claim it. If you don’t, it can be damaging, even deadly, to you and the business. After all, what you resist, you empower. Own your fear before it owns you, and decide how you’ll confront it.

New year, new thinking. With smart leadership questions, you can find smart answers in 2010.

Tenants in green buildings experience increased productivity and fewer sick days, says a survey. According to the study conducted by the University of San Diego and commercial real estate broker CB Richard Ellis Group, Green buildings have lower vacancy rates and higher rents than non-green counterparts, reports Chris Palmeri of Business Week.

Respondents of the survey said that an average of 2.88 fewer sick days in their current green office versus their previous non-green office. About 55 per cent of respondents indicated that employee productivity had improved. The study also found that tenants in green buildings such as the Behnisch Architekten-designed Unilever offices in Hamburg above are more productive based on two measures - the average number of tenant sick days and a productivity change.

The increase in productivity translated into a net impact of about $20 per square foot. The study also showed that green buildings have 3.5 per cent lower vacancy rates and 13 per cent higher rental rates than the market. Based on the average tenant salary, an office space of 250 square feet per worker and 250 workdays a year, the decrease in sick days translated into a net impact of nearly $5.00 per square foot per year.

The economic impact of the total green construction market from 2000 to 2008, the study found, was $178 billion. It created or saved 2.4 million jobs and generated $123 billion in wages. Another report out in the past week concluded that constructing new green buildings or retrofitting existing structures with energy efficient air conditioning, solar panels and the like will support 7.9 million U.S. jobs and pump $554 billion into the American economy over the next four years. The study, by the U.S. Green Building Council and Booz Allen Hamilton, determined that green construction spending currently supports more than 2 million American jobs and generates more than $100 billion in gross domestic product and wages.

The U.S. Green Building Council certifies LEED buildings and has an interest in the movement, but Rick Fedrizzi, Chief Executive of the group said, “Our goal is for the phrase ‘green building’ to become obsolete, by making all building and retrofits green - and transforming every job in our industry into a green job.”