Stuck between mediocrity and excellence

When you are in a hiring process and the interviewer tells you that " we're a consensus driven organization ," what does that mean to you?  To me, it can mean a variety of things.  In order to make a decision, we need to engage everyone that will have an opinion about the decision being made; or The organization makes a decision and if it's ever questioned, no one can really point to that single point of contact that really made the decision; or  To make a decision requires a lot -- and I mean A LOT of meetings to confirm, clarify, verify, and confirm the decision being made.  By definition, consensus means "a general agreement."  Therefore, my interpretation of the type of organization that is consensus driven is that they are a "generally agreeable"  organization.  Is that a good thing or a bad thing? And what happens if you are one of the ones that likes to challenge or disrupt agreeableness?  What I've learned is that there is a right way a...

 I am not any stranger to looking for a new job.  When I was in big firm management consulting, I used to say, "The one thing about this job is that you are always looking for the next one."  Whether you are on the bench or on an engagement, you should always be spending time out of your day planting seeds for the next engagement or job opportunity.  Unfortunately, I have not followed my own advice in over a decade.  Now, I'm  trying to resurrect relationships and break through AI job site filters -- and all the job search horror stories that happen on LinkedIn are happening to me. Whether you haven't looked for a job in a few weeks or since before COVID, here's what I've learned:  There are people that genuinely want to help. Cherish those people and reciprocate accordingly.  There are people that you thought you knew, that will disappear on you. (I think the kids call it ghosting). I'll be honest in that I'm no angel. I'm sure I've done it to...

  Probably not an even close comparison to the return of MJ. But the feeling is there.  It's been a few years to say the least.  I blame Covid... and my lack of motivation to put anything out on the inter-web.  That said, it's a different time and I'm a lot older. Things have changed, but they haven't.  I'm still trying to find that next gig.  Breaking through this so-called barrier of being a company leader or executive still alludes me.   And all my friends are more successful than I am.  So cheers to that. I look forward to writing more.  Cheers - PB 

The book, "Who Moved My Cheese?" has been on my bookshelf for more than a few years. Quite honestly, I don't remember if I read it end to end. So I picked it up and the story vaguely started coming back to me which means that I did read it, but didn't really READ it.  My thing about business self-help books like these are that the concepts and ideas being communicated don't really sit with you unless you are in a situation that makes the ideas hit home.  It's like being a sports analyst without having never really played the sport.  Nothing makes it real like having the experience.  A quote that hit home for me was,  "...a change imposed is a change opposed."  And yet this is how many corporations impose  their edicts expect change to happen within a workforce that is more than happy to oppose  the guys in the ivory tower.  Yes I'm talking about the latest safety policy, finance department "guidance", or expense policy ch...

An expectation is only an expectation if there are consequences.  An expectation is simply a wish if there is nothing to back it up. When you manage people, you have to start with setting expectations.  Expectations, standards -- whatever you want to call them. Start with the non-negotiable principles that define you as a manager or leader.  But that's only the beginning.  It's one thing to set your expectations.  It's another thing to back them up-- which is harder that it sounds.  People are emotional. People are manipulative. People know how to work the system.  Just ask any parent trying to raise a child the right way.  Standing your ground is a lot harder than it seems. The important thing is to have a set of expectations and stick to them. If you stick to them, everyone-- and everything will fall in line. 

If someone were to ask me what my ideal job would be upon moving on from graduate school, I would probably say something to the effect of,  "I'd like to be in a job that evokes a sense of respect from my friends, their friends, and most everyone that I meet. In addition to that, it needs to be a job that has path which leads to a cool title and a lot of money. I picture myself in a corner office with windows where you have an incredible view of whatever city I work in... "  Fast forward to today and let me describe my ideal job for you, "I'd like a job that gives me the flexibility to spend time with the ones I care about, provides me with enough money to live within my expected standards, AND allows me to work with people that I like that value my contribution." PERIOD.  What they don't tell you in business school is that the first description of an ideal job is far from ideal.  Sure,  everyone ogles over your title on LinkedIn and on your bus...

The thing that I miss most about working for a big firm is delivering engagement as part of a team.  Not just any team. But a team of high functioning individuals.  There is a lot to be said for feeling like you are a part of something bigger.  Connection.  There is no doubt in my mind that a consulting team delivers far better results than a seasoned individual.  One plus one equals three as they say.   Also it's common sense to say that a group with a common purpose and mission can affect a system more then one person.  Especially if you are paying them by the hour.  Don't underestimate the value of a consulting team that is focused, high functioning, and has a sense of urgency to work themselves out of a job.  The consultant that's out on an island that is connected to nothing is highly likely to make herself comfortable on the island and continue to search for something to connect with. 

At some point through a sales process, something has to get on paper.  After it's on paper, then ideally you want to get all parties to agree as to what's on that paper.  The simple example is that if I go to Chick-fil-A and I place an order, what's on my receipt should match what I ordered.  All the "my pleasure's" are a bonus.  In the consultative sales process, there is a give and take between client and consultant on exactly what service is being provided and to what degree (i.e., scope).  The more you talk, the more risk there is of offering advice for free.  The more you put on paper, the less chance there is of "disconnects in communication."  Consultative selling is hard because it's a lot of work to articulate what you think and what you think the client is thinking into communication that gets both parties to agree.  On top of that, you have to inject a point of view which means that you may have to actually think.  ...

The thing about advice is that you can selectively choose which part of it you want to take.  In addition to that, you can also choose which benefit will result out of the selected piece of advice that you have decided to follow.  Example: If I do any of the Beachbody workouts, my before and after pictures will look just like the ones I see on the infomercials.  Forget about the fact that there is a nutrition plan that comes with most, if not all, of those workouts that you have to follow.  Doing Insanity and then eating at 5 Guys won't get you a T-shirt. There is a lot to be said for understanding the bigger picture.  There is even more to be valued when you understand the full extent of what you need to take on and execute to get the results that you want. How many of us can say that we've really been "all in" what we want to accomplish? 

All you need to do is move the needle.  Work paralysis occurs when you get bogged down in the timeline of where you should be.  You want to lose 20 pounds, but it has to be gone by tomorrow.  You want to be at the next level in your job and you wonder why it's five years after you expected to be there.  You want your business to transform overnight, but you forgot how many years it took to for it to become what it's become.  Ctrl-Z doesn't work in life because life is a journey and a marathon.  All you need to do is move the needle in the right direction--- whether you feel it's an inch or a foot.  As long as it's moving.

Feedback can be a b*tch.  If it's positive, then the world is great.  If it's negative, or "constructive," as many of us like to say, then it can become instantly personal.  A lot of things have to be right for feedback to stick and be impactful.  Trust has to exist. Trust only comes through respect, credibility, integrity, and competency. Not a lot of people in the workplace score high in all of these categories.  Emotional intelligence has to exist . The ONLY being I know that that is truly in charge of his emotions is Mr. Spock from Star Trek. And he's fictional. The reality is that we are all emotional human beings-some more than others. The growth mindset has to trump the fixed mindset.  There is a book that is out called Ego is the Enemy by Ryan Holiday. It's probably for a good reason. In today's world of exhibiting false confidence and having swag, you eventually begin to believe how legendary you are. This immediately closes down all...

A question that can commonly come up in an interview process is, "Describe your ideal work environment."  My answers would be one where: I can wear many hats I can make decisions  I can lead people I have the support to grow personally and professionally I am always learning something new I am improving or making something better each and every day People are collaborative I work with others that are smarter than I am  Schedules aren't hard coded The one-liner is a work environment where I belong and don't just "fit." Because more than likely what I've done is mutated myself to make myself fit into the environment and the system.  In a world where nobody holds down one job for an extended period of time anymore-- that's a lot of square peg fitting into round holes. Do it long enough and you'll eventually end up not knowing what shape you are.  Isn't it worth it to define your ideal work environment and pursue that ...

Inherent in any organization is a system.  You can call it culture. You can call it the people. You can call it beliefs and values.  It's still a system.  The solopreneur has a system.  A group of partners running a small business has a system.  A multi-functional global organization has a system that is made up of many systems.  I'm not talking about technology.  I'm talking about how people behave. How decisions are made. How people treat other.  A system for how things get done. If you work in a large, global organization, the system is defined as "heavily matrixed," or "bureaucratic," or "influencing and persuading through relationship building."  People generally move ahead because they've figured out how to effectively work the office politics.  If you work for a small organization, the system is defined as "chaotic," or "one has to wear many hats," or "filled with growing pains."  ...

Leadership Advice From Kublai Khan

There are plenty of stories written in news articles and books about business turnarounds. Marcus Lemonis does it most of the time on The Profit . Jon Taffer makes it his sole mission on Bar Rescue to resurrect bars that should not even be in business.  Management consultants not only write about business turnarounds, but use them to support frameworks and points of view to help them sell service offerings.  Everyone loves the story of the 600 pound human that becomes the Biggest Loser .  There are 2 types of people in this world; people that don't want to change and people that want to help you change.  "People want to get better or improve. But they don't want to change." - Butchered Tony Robbins Quote If you are coaching a team or running a business, the hope is that you have more people that are in the category of wanting to change than the other.  If your team or company is filled with people that don't want to change, then it's ...

There are certain things that you take for granted when working for a corporation or a well run business.  These are usually the things that everyone complains about. They include: Processes and procedures Performance reviews HR policies HR in general. (ha) Templates and forms (e.g., expense reports) Management meetings Required training Etc...  As much as these things take us away from "doing our job," they are part of our job and are necessary to keep a company from becoming a big pile of mass chaos. The foundation of a company has to be stable and part of that foundation includes having a set of standards to live by.  No standards = inmates running the asylum.  No standards = inconsistency.  As Jim Collins said,  "The signature of mediocrity is not unwillingness to change; it's chronic inconsistency."  Businesses are made up of people.  People, by nature, are unique and variable.  Without anything...

Back in the dark ages when I was in business school, I decided to enter a supply chain case competition with a couple of classmates.  As a side note, both of those classmates are now supply chain PhDs.  It's safe to say that I was the not the smartest one on the team. My love for business books existed way back then. I vividly remember working long hours with my teammates and using strategic frameworks that weren't business school standard issued.  I figured that if we were going to win this thing, we should use something that would differentiate us from the other teams.  In this case, it was content provided by the book  Profit Patterns  by Moser, Mundt, Quella, and Slywotzky.  It was coming down to crunch time and I was spewing textbook rhetoric from the book for our case presentation. We were entering that period of working as a team where tensions were running high because of the time crunch and we had nothing in the form of a coherent s...

I was sitting in a class being led by Barry Deutsch  that addressed hiring and retaining talent.  I'm going to say that what I took away from the class is not what he wanted me to take away. That said, I still found the session entertaining because the look of fear from the people in the class around what he wanted them to do was priceless.  In one of our discussions on people, he talked about employees that have the case of the E and E's - Explanations and Excuses . (I love when speakers come up with a mnemonic or something catchy that resonates with a current situation that I am in). Everyone that reads this knows the type of people I'm talking about. Or, if you work in an environment that is solution driven and has a high caliber of talent, you have no idea what I'm talking about. I salute you.  When dealing with people that have a case of the E and E's, the easy thing to do is avoid them. I mean, if you keep going to the doctor and he has no cure as to ...

There is a word that becomes dangerous when declared enough times in a business or organization.  That word is "should." "Well... the process should be to notify our customer, but I've got too many things on my plate."  "We should be monitoring our inventory levels, but our systems don't allow us to get at that information quickly."  "Turnover really should not be this high. We're hiring the wrong people."  The reason that the word "should" is dangerous is because, like in the 3 statements above, an excuse typically follows.  Enough shoulds will equal a lot of excuses.  A lot of excuses equals organizational inaction.  Organizational inaction leads to a culture of purgatory.  Eliminate the word should from your vocabulary.  Replace it with "must" or "can" or "will".   Your organization will begin to move from inaction to action which will lead to the right kind of growt...

One of my favorite comic book characters is Bizarro .  Bizarro is the complete opposite of Superman and everything that he stands for.  Although, in one of my son's comic books, he does everything wrong, yet still manages to save the planet!  Businesses can be the same way. It is possible to do everything the complete opposite of standard and professional practices-- and still make money!  Profitability hides organizational dysfunction, substandard business practices, and a lack of leadership every day of the week. That's a shame. If you have a profitable business, then you are obviously doing something right (or something Bernie Madoff would do.) However, businesses are fragile entities. More than likely if you have found a way to be profitable, there is an 18 year old kid that can code his ass off that is ready to disrupt you in a heartbeat. So even though Bizarro, in this one instance, saved the world, the odds of him consistently doing it are not...