In 1994, Jon Kabat-Zinn wrote an interesting book with a provocative title: Wherever you go there you are. As we approach the end of 2009, many of us will engage in that annual ritual of making our New Year’s resolutions. Some will do it formally, some will resolve that a change is required, others will hope 2010 is better than 2009, and still others will toast to the New Year, light their second bayberry candle in a week and go to bed – expecting that the promise of luck and prosperity will be theirs in 2010.

And this is all nice if you believe hope is a strategy or you believe that changing your career, your job, or your geography, will make a difference. It won’t. As the title says, wherever you go, there you are. If only we didn’t bring us with us…but we do.

As you approach 2010, we suggest that you spend some intentional time reflecting on 2009 – look at the good times and the not-so-good times. Learn from the past – both the positive and the negative, then let it go. It’s done. Continuing to ruminate on the past is like driving your car at 80 miles an hour with your eyes focused on the rear view mirror. For some specific cues on what to ask yourself to facilitate your learning from the past year, make sure to see the Quick Tips on Thursday, and look at our December newsletter.

Next, a practice we have found helpful in our work is what we call ideal scening. We create a scene of our ideal future state, how our business will look in 2010, what we will accomplish, how we will bring value to our clients, what we will celebrate. To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson: we become what we think about all day long. We have a choice. We can think about our ideal 2010 or we can hope that 2010 is better than 2009. If we do the former, and think about it throughout the year, 2010 will be a better year. If we hope, well – wherever you are today you will likely be next year. The choice is yours – choose wisely and have a happy and prosperous New Year.

Copyright 2009 Kubica and LaForest

We have all heard it, and some of us may have said it: Don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions. There is an old saying – be careful what you ask for, you may get it.

Problem identification is easy; problem resolution is more complex, and done too quickly, often results in the wrong, or temporary at best, fix.

In one of our healthcare clients, there was a strong concern expressed by one of the clinical department directors that members of his department were leaving for more money. The director’s recommendation was to increase the salary of department members so they would not leave.

When we looked into the situation and did a root cause analysis, we found that in fact people were leaving. But they were not leaving because other hospitals paid more, they were leaving because the new department director was inconsistent in his decision making, failed to build a meaningful relationship with his new staff, and disregarded the culture that made the department successful.

The problem resolution was not to give the staff members a raise (although we do believe they would have liked that); it was to provide better training, guidance and coaching to the new manager, so he could be a good boss.

It is easy to look at what’s obvious and on the surface – to look at the symptoms. It is more difficult and time consuming to look at the root cause of a problem. It involves patience, honesty and exploration.

Demanding that your direct reports bring only solutions can backfire, as it would have with our client. You own the responsibility to be certain that:

• There is in fact a problem that needs addressing
• The problem has been analyzed and the root cause has been identified
• Recommendations are made that are consistent with the root cause analysis
• Recommendations are defensible

As the manager / leader your role is not to repeat trite and misunderstood management-speak, but to think through and understand what you want to accomplish and how it should be accomplished.

If everyone of your direct reports only brought solutions to symptoms, your budget would run out of control, you would not address the real problems confronting the organization, and your successor will have to “pick up the pieces”

Copyright 2009 Kubica and LaForest

One of the hardest things to do as a manager is to honestly admit something or someone in your organization is not working. One of the most important things you can do to be a successful manager is to identify what is not working and fix it.

Sounds easy, but it’s not.

We find that managers often do not or will not admit there is something in their organization that is not working. Whether intentionally overlooking it (thinking it is not important enough to deal with or because they don’t know how to deal with it) or it may truly be a “blind spot” for them such that they really don’t see it. (This is often the case in two conditions: new managers or ignorant ones). It could be an employee; it could be the management team; it could be how people communicate.

We worked with an organization that provided services to the energy industry. We were coaching two of their managers and it was clear that communication within and among management team members was poor. There was a lack of trust; managers would “talk around” an issue and frequently blame the other managers. That is they would talk with other managers who had no responsibility for the issue but avoid talking to the manager who had direct responsibility and could do something about it.

Based on the concerning themes we were seeing with his staff, we requested a meeting with the President. He said he was open to feedback and observations about the organization. We discussed the lack of alignment in the management team and how it could be contributing to some of the problems we observed, such as high turnover. He said, “ya I know, but we put a program in place and I understand it’s getting better”. Unfortunately, it wasn’t getting better and the President initially refused to address the issue. What we were getting and what the President was serving to himself and us was management pablum.

What are some of the signs that reveal something may be wrong in the organization?

• Good employees are leaving
• Having trouble hiring good replacements
• Employees are tired and frequently complain they are overworked
• Project deadlines are missed
• The number of on-the-job injuries and accidents is increasing
• Customers are leaving or not coming back
• The manager is spending more time listening to complaints about how other managers are not doing their job rather then discussing ideas and tactics to get the job done better
• There is little meaningful conversation and discussion at management meetings, but eloquent one-on-one (manager with the boss) conversation after the meeting

Problems in organizations have symptoms, just like people have symptoms when they get sick. If you are sick and the physician only treats the symptoms there is a good chance that the disease will get worse and the consequences for you could be catastrophic. Same with organizations, treating only the symptoms or ignoring them all together will only result in them getting worse and it will have catastrophic consequences to the organization. The only people who will be celebrating your inertia to act are your competition.

Fortunately in this case, the President did decide to take action after reviewing the evidence.

Copyright 2009 Kubica and LaForest

In spirit of the holiday season theme, let’s consider gratitude and celebration as it relates to business.

Have you woken up in the morning and the first thought that came to your mind was – ugh, I’m not looking forward to work today. Quickly the litany of all the things that could go wrong with the day are meticulously itemized like a shopping list. It begins a day of a downward spiral that can perpetuate into days, weeks, even years.

As you are falling asleep you grudgingly admit that the day wasn’t that bad after all, but then spend time on what was bad to put you to sleep! If you experience yourself frequenting these behaviors you are not only wasting your precious time and energy, you are wasting your career and you are wasting your life. And you are likely making the lives of others around you miserable.

On November 26^thwe celebrated Thanksgiving. Edward Sanford Martin (1856-1939) said it well: Thanksgiving Day comes, by statute, once a year; when really, it can come as frequently as the recognition of gratitude.

Applied to business, we find that gratitude, a recognition and thankfulness of what is right, offers a return. Do you celebrate what’s good? What is right in your business; what’s right with your employees; what’s right with your client’s. Yes, we are in difficult economic times, but the economy is turning to the positive. And it’s at turns like this where great opportunity exists. Gratitude feeds a spirit of optimism and it fuels resiliency.

To paraphrase Newton’s first law of motion – a thought in motion tends to stay in motion.

We see business owners and employees waste opportunities because they are subsumed in “ain’t it awful”. We saw the President of a manufacturing company refuse to increase sales and marketing of his successful product line because the economy was bad – yet there was no evidence that the economy had any impact on his company or the demand for his products. We’ve seen partnerships paralyzed because they focused on what wasn’t right in the other partner rather than what was right – and there was plenty to celebrate. We see self-sabotage, when there is no viable reason for it.

Of course the choice is always yours on whether you see opportunity or whether you see doom and gloom. If you think it is down right silly to be a bright-eyed optimist, then at least try for a balance.

Regularly practicing and acknowledging what is right-celebrating what’s working and your achievements – will build morale and confidence, relationships and forward momentum to produce even greater results.

How do you/your business demonstrate a spirit of gratitude and celebrate what is right?

Copyright 2009 Kubica and LaForest

1)    Have a person answer all of your calls

2)    If a person cannot answer all your calls, subscribe to a voice message service from one of the telephone service providers and include a message that you will return all calls within one business day – and do it

3)    Return all calls within one business day.  If late in the day, it can acceptable to wait till the next business morning.  Remember, the message and perception in timing/promptness is, “you count”– you are important and a priority to me.

4)    Return emails within one business day (two days maximum)

5)    Learn to be comfortable introducing yourself by your full name. When meeting in person, look at people directly in the eye, especially when you first meet them and insure you know how to give and reciprocate a firm handshake.

6)    Insure you clearly understand the customer or prospects need and priorities.  Do this by listening sincerely and asking clarifying questions. Listen FIRST and more than you talk/speak. Probe (ask questions to clarify understanding of) the client’s / buyer’s motivation to buy – but do so respectfully and carefully.

7)    Keep agreements you make to the prospect or the customer– When you say you will do something, do what you said you would do, and when you said you would do it. Emergencies should be the only exception.

    Eliminate negative surprises for the customer. If there is a problem, acknowledge it quickly, apologize if appropriate (read: your error) and do your best to fix it to the customers satisfaction.

9)    Always have the client’s / buyer’s best interest in mind –how will you help them to improve needs to be in the forefront.

10) Think of the long term sale- that means go slow, don’t push now to sell or attempt to up-sell. Think of the longer-term relationship and resulting opportunities forthcoming.

11) Warning- Flirting and fawning are forms of overselling (as well as demeaning) yourself. Realize how unprofessional and damaging these behaviors are with your customers and prospects.

12) Warning – Don’t expect the customer will understand that you are busy or short staffed … they won’t and they shouldn’t have to.

You may be thinking that this is obvious.  Yes, indeed, it is not rocket science. While it may be obvious, the truth is that it is also frequently not practiced.   And because it is not done well or consistently, it represents a key differentiator for your business.