Posts Tagged best practices
solution-based approach vs. problem-based approach
image by flickr artist, Dunechaser
there’s a distinct difference between a solution-based approach and a problem-based approach. let me give you an example of what i mean.
i was watching a show on pbs that was talking about battleground mobility — from the time of egyptian chariots through to today’s modern, technologically advanced tanks. i found the bit about the development of the tank to be quite interesting.
during the first world war, trench warfare had become the status quo. miles and miles of fronts in europe and russia covered in 6ft wide trenches. it made fighting a conventional land battle extremely deadly, and the allies were finding out just how difficult it would be to take down the german war machine. until a technologically curious winston churchill had an idea.
consultants consulting consultants
image by eqqman, flickr artist
it’s pretty easy when you’re working hard on a project to become engrossed in it. all your energy becomes focused on one thing, and one thing only: delivering results.
be careful, though, because you might be delivering the wrong results.
when we get that kind of laser focus sometimes it’s hard to break free from it. ”i have a deadline, i have to get this done, and i have to get it done right now.” so, being the good workers we are, we start to work towards accomplishing that goal. unfortunately, we sometimes go down the wrong path in getting to the finish line. instead of looking at our available options, we pick the one we know will work even if it has consequences. we’re not as efficient anymore. our processes can be improved. our tasks are disjointed. our products don’t provide value.
these things happen, and they happen often. it might start with priorities that all become worthless because every task now has ‘critical’ or ‘high’ importance. it might start with a demanding client who asks you to turn a demo into a fully functional work product within a week. but at the end of the day, it’s just something that happens. that’s why i think — especially for those of us who work as consultants — that it’s so important we don’t forget to turn a consulting eye on ourselves.
what meetings are we having? do they provide value? has the mission of our project team changed? do we still have the same goals in mind as we had 3 months before? 6 months before? 12 months before? does our leadership structure still serve the client well? does it serve the project team members well?
these questions and more are questions that need to be answered, but — perhaps more importantly — they need to drive tangible change. it’s really simple to ask the question (i just did!); it’s a bit more difficult to implement changes based on the answers you get in return.
sometimes you just have to look in the mirror.
knowledge is no substitute for hard work
image by sarahkim, flickr artist
i wrote not too long ago about the keys to an effective presentation. it’s strange how sometimes you don’t listen to your own advice, though, john… seriously.
guilty as charged.
i found myself this week in a situation where i had three briefs to deliver to three different audiences all within the span of a few short hours. it’s hard to ‘get up’ for those kinds of meetings, have a short break in between, and then recapture that tough mental focus again. (oh, and then repeat that once more for the last brief of the day) i was feeling confident, however (i usually do), especially since i was closing it out with the same marketing brief i had given dozens upon dozens of times already. but i should have known better than to take things lightly.
effective presentations start with preparation
image by misssluluu, flickr artist
i was recently in an internal marketing meeting with one of the higher ups in the firm (when you’re a lvl 2, pretty much everyone is “higher up” than you are..), and — not to brag at all, but — i nailed it.
while i had some high esteem leaving the conference room, i thought to myself on the elevator: “gee, i sure hope to god i did nail my presentation; i’ve been giving pretty much the same brief for a year now.” bringing a new capability to market takes a while, and i’ve probably sold my work to both internal and external stakeholders at least once a month since i started working at booz allen last february. that’s certainly no short amount of practice time.
so the other day when i was giving my brief about how we came up with the idea, and how all the different pieces all come together to create a singular picture, about all of the benefits that can come from using this tool, they were the same words that i’ve said a hundred times over. that’s where i think the lesson comes in at:
effective presentations start with preparation.
what if your phone calls were like your social media?
image by hensever, flickr artist
i’ve made this argument before: social media is social. you can’t just broadcast information; you have to listen to what’s coming back at you and respond.
recent conversation at work brought up the notion of pre-planning tweets for a client’s conference — or having pre-approved topics that one could tweet about. while some purists might find fault with that, i don’t.
there’s no problem with pre-planning your tweets because the tweet is just the medium. if you or a client are attending a conference or some kind of convention and you want to make sure that you capture certain topics or information in your tweets — go right ahead and do it. would you make a phone call to a friend or a client without first planning that also?
hint: your work problem is actually a time problem
i was in a training session recently with a few folks who had some concerns with the proposed new method of doing things. their main complaint, and one that i’ve heard from many others, was: “this is just another place i have to do work. i already have to check 4 web sites, and my email, and my voicemail — including my voicemail at home — and my txt messages…”
on the surface, it seems like a valid complaint. who wants to check 5 web sites, and all the rest, rather than the previous 4? but the problem isn’t really the amount of work you have to do, it’s that you have a problem managing your time.
no one says you have to answer every email as soon as it enters your inbox, or that you have to answer your phone and txt messages. that’s a choice that you’ve made. instead of looking at the amount of work you have to do — or the number of sites or information/communications channels that you have to monitor — start looking at the way you organize your day.
- manage your inbox. microsoft outlook gives you the ability to create rules for incoming messages, so why not use some? parse your incoming messages into certain folders, or create and make use of categories — then, once your messages clean themselves up automatically, create a schedule. only answer “project team” emails a handful of times each day. answer “corporate communications” emails once a week. answer “daily status” emails once a day. whatever you choose, stick to the schedule unless there’s an urgent need. email is not real-time; spoiler: it was never intended to be!
- screen your phone calls. utilize your voicemail… heavily. client calling? don’t answer it. boss calling? don’t answer that either. ”WHAT?! are you crazy?” no, i’m not — here’s why: you should always have a plan when talking on the phone with someone. because you don’t have visual communication, your words are all you have, and you need to make sure that you know what you’re talking about. the client has a question, and your boss needs a status; this is vital information to have before engaging in a conversation with them so that you can prepare. not only do you seem more intelligent, but you’ll also spend less time on the phone. unless you know why the person is calling, let your voicemail answer, and — again — create a schedule for checking your voicemail. check every day before lunch (people hate to chat when they’re on the way out the door in 15 minutes for qdoba) and sometime in the afternoon. but whatever you do always remember, return every call every day because people hate silence.
- make information work for you. in a world of RSS feeds and yammer, information comes to you if you let it. if you’re checking 4 web sites a day for work, why not use an RSS reader or add RSS feeds to outlook instead? you don’t need to be checking a site if there’s no new information, so don’t. using tools like blogs and micro-blogs such as yammer and twitter (if adopted by your project team) can help you collect information in the same place, categorize it, and push notifications. information will come to you if you do your part to build a platform that will support it.
the points above can be simplified into two simple rules: 1) automate what you can, and 2) create a schedule for dealing with that which you can’t. if you’re feeling overwhelmed, chances are you don’t have a work problem — you just have a time management problem.
it’s not easy to do. it takes complete buy-in and discipline, but if you can master your schedule you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish.
oh, hold on a second… i’m getting a phone call…
make SMART goals that work
this really is consulting 101 stuff here, but it’s also important to point out since it’s the new year and people are undoubtedly going to make resolutions that they end up giving up on in the end. listen up, because this is important…
when you set goals, you want to make them SMART:
- specific
- measurable
- attainable
- relevant
- time-bound*
example of a really bad goal: “lose weight this year.” first of all, losing weight is a stupid goal to begin with. most people don’t realize that muscle weighs more than fat does, and working out might cause you to actually gain weight. you should be looking for a better resolution.
example of a really good goal: “run in four 5k events for charity this year.” it’s specific, not just a random notion of weight loss. it’s measurable because you can mark off events as the days pass through the year; make it one run each quarter. it’s certainly attainable. asking yourself to run 4 marathons might not be, but a 5k is much more manageable and takes less time to train to. it’s not an ‘always on’ kind of goal and allows yourself some wiggle room. it’s relevant because your overall mission is to be healthier. your soul will feel better too because you’re doing it all for charity. and that asterisk i placed above is the most important for making goals… although i don’t necessarily see it in the same way as the textbooks do. instead of time-bound i say to make that T in SMART stand for ‘tell everybody you know’. telling other people puts that goal up-front and center. you can’t hide from it because you just might have someone say to you in june, “hey, i thought you were running those 5k things. what happened to that?”
so when it comes down to business, are you making SMART goals for your organization? for yourself? for your career?
it’s a new year, and there are no excuses. come up with smart goals, write them down, and make sure you’re taking steps towards getting them every day. start with something specific, measure your progress, make sure it’s feasible, ensure that it’s in keeping with your overall mission, and tell everybody about it. you haven’t failed in the past because you weren’t good enough; it’s because you weren’t reaching for the right goals.
it’s the culture, stupid!
image by syamastro, flickr artist
blog. wiki. ms excel file. ms project plan. ms sharepoint page. basecamp project.
they’re all tools. while people may prefer one tool over another, whichever tool it is will not take hold unless the culture there supports it.
i see a lot of proposed changes to current work streams and business processes fail because — even with support from leadership — the user base rejects those changes. there could be a few reasons why:
- it’s not simple. if the change is convoluted, adding extra steps to the workflow process or time to complete tasks, people are going to reject it – even if they agree in principle that the proposed new method is “right”
- they don’t understand it. if you make a change that people don’t understand the reasoning behind, they will have a hard time accepting and implementing it. #1 sign that you made boo-boos? hearing employees say, “uh.. why are we doing this again?”
- it doesn’t fit. if your changes contradict the way you do business, it’s only going to lead to confusion and frustration, and ultimately it will be abandoned.
if you’ve tried making changes to the way your team or organization does work in the past and failed, check the process again. look at what you’re trying to do, and see what your people think about it. when new tools don’t take hold, don’t discredit their use.
it’s the culture, stupid!
keep the tools and fix the culture.
important words if you’re being arrested, or a consultant
“anything you say can and will be held against you…”
those are some important words of warning to heed if you’re being arrested… or a consultant.
as client-facing staff, it’s hard to balance honesty, integrity, and some good old-fashioned self preservation. during the meeting i referenced in my previous post, a senior associate shared with me a lesson that i learned all too well earlier this evening on the day this post was authored: give the least amount of information you can, then move on.
you can use a hammer, but can you build a house?
for some reason, people think that because they know how to set up an account on twitter and facebook that they can use social media. but just because you can use a hammer, does that mean you can build a house?
social media isn’t just the tool. blogs, microblogs, wikis, forums, are all just the hammer. you can’t build a foundation, much less an entire house with just a hammer. there ought to be a plan, or a blueprint before you start using social media. understand what it is, and what it’s about before setting out on this journey of ‘modernizing’ your organization.
don’t set up a blog because you want comments (first!1!!! lolz!), and don’t set up a twitter or facebook account because you want the most followers [seth's blog]. you should be setting up a blog and twitter account to communicate with your readers and followers. remember that the whole premise behind social media is the social aspect of it.
before you start building, you should have an overall communications plan or strategy (your foundation), and know what your end state is (the blueprints). what are you trying to accomplish? an increase of 10% in your sales? an increase of 20% in brand loyalty? to increase your workforce by 5% in each region?.. to decrease your workforce by 5% in each region?
just like any good construction firm, you better have inspections along the way. identify the metrics you want to follow, and measure them throughout the process so you can tell if things are actually working or not. not getting the results you expected? is the third bathroom costing too much money? it could be time to change your approach (or at least lower your expectations).
you can’t show up to the job site with nothing but a hammer — and you can’t integrate social media into your organization just because you ‘know twitter’. a lot goes into building a house, just like a lot should go into your social media and enterprise 2.0 plans.
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