Performance Intervention

Wall Street Journal (blog) How to Be a Creative Problem Solver Wall Street Journal (blog) Gontin says that the ability solve problems creatively and collaboratively is a key skill for mid-level managers seeking to move up to the next level within...

Fast CompanyDesigning The One-Week Team Sabbatical That Will Transform Your CompanyFast CompanyAs Banner puts it, “Take the entire team offsite for a week, scope out the projects, and focus on getting things done.” What elements make for a...

I love the "factory week" name for this activity.  We have organized events like this for years.  I highly recommend them.  Here are some tips from our experience:

1. Get a facilitator and make a plan.

Factory Weeks don't fall into the same category as a Kaizen event... although one could.  Usually, these events don't fit into the typical formula.  They often require a formula of their own. Hire or assign a facilitator who can help you to develop a process that fits the challenge and the results you are working for.  Your facilitator can help you think through the process when determining the people and resources you should have available.  If you hit the ground running, you will likely have a great week with results that make everyone proud.

2.  Invite everyone you need

There are times when you need to get the whole system (or much of it) into the same place and time and shut out other distractions and focus.  So, don't limit it to managers -- in fact sometimes it may be many managers who help man the store while the others are doing the breakthrough building work. 

3.  Remember you are creating focus on a specific outcome

Focus is a rare commodity these days.  Focus is alingment.  Make sure you have limited distractions.  Make sure everyone understands the purpose and expected outcomes.  Have guidelines (ground rules) for the week and stick to them. 

4.  Work hard. Play hard.

Make work during your Factory Week as you would like work to be - enjoyable and fullfilling for everyone.  Winning brings that and in this week you will have opportunities to make big progress.  When you do, celebrate!   You will get a "2-fer" from the week: 2 accomplishments for the price of one: 1. A real breakthrough in accomplishing a task that has been hanging over your group for sometime and 2. A breakthrough in some important relationships.

Here are some events we have facilitated in the past, maybe they will give you ideas for your "factory week":

• Redesign of an organization and layout to make room for a new product unit
• Total clean up and "fix-up" of a key piece of equipment
• A nagging performance problem "that's always been there"
• Redesign of a website
• Development of a social media campaign
• Figuring out how to implement the local part of a global strategy
• Analyzing customer data and creating plans for
• Focusing on a specific customer, visiting them and working on specific improvements to help them and grow your business with them
• Cleaning up an important database and creating ways to use the data for improving sales or service.

As I was making this list, I realized I could go on and on.   The point is sometimes you have to dedicate time and resources to fixing a problem and a great benefit can be had by organizing a "Factory Week" to get the work done. 

The result will be the best team building you could imagine - and it doesn't cost... it pays.

If you would like more information or help on creating your own Factory Week, we would be happy to share ideas

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It isn’t enough for someone in a leadership position to get things done. A successful leader must also have good character. By Ronald E. Riggio.

Effective Leadership Requires Authenticity

to Live Long and Prosper 

Goffee and Jones describe this as authentic leadership in "Why Should Anyone Be Led by You?", while Ronald Riggio develops this into a clear and concise list of behaviours. The reference to sport set me thinking about a sport closer to my heart than cycling.  No laws were broken in what I am about to describe; I continue to admire those involved, even if I do not understand their reasoning or behaviour. 

My sport is football - always was and always will be.  I refer to the game using the round ball and not the one with all the body armour.  I am a life-long fan of Crystal Palace Football Club and though we have often travelled together through the valley of despair, I would rather give up watching the game than ever support another club.  

Crystal Palace is on the back of a 12 game unbeaten run.  They won 5-0 on Tuesday night to go top of the league.  Three weeks ago, their manager resigned and completed a lateral move (in organizational terms) to manage a club struggling at the other end of same league.  This manager, an ex-Palace player, has now taken the rest of his management team with him. 

Meanwhile, the players at Palace perform their socks off – just as Kimball Fisher’s classic “Leading Self-Directed Work Teams” predicts.  The quote before Chapter 19 (on the latter stages of Team Maturity) is by Raymond Gilmartin, the then CEO of Becton Dickinson.  He states, “Forget structure invented by the guys at the top.  You’ve got to let the task form the organisation.” How apt!

A fan is like an employee, watching the behaviour of its leaders and trying to make sense of it all.  Putting all the theory to one side, why does a successful manager, with a long history with a club, just up and leave when he is starting to reap the rewards on the field of play and the plaudits from his peers – he was named manager of the month in October?  Is it money, ambition, a fresh challenge or a rift behind the scenes?  Tweets and Blogs fill the void with rumour, speculation and, in some cases, vitriol.  But when I read Ronald’s list again, I realise that any harsh words are inappropriate.  The departed management team ticked all the behaviours on his list. 

And now we are happy.  The club have appointed one of the best managers in the league, with a reputation for winning promotion and at least for tonight, we are out-performing the competition.  Just as in business, it could all be different tomorrow, but at least for the day we will enjoy the ride… and wish the new management team at Bolton Wanderers our very best in every game they play, except one (of course). 

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San Francisco ChronicleWhat business can learn from Bruce BochySan Francisco ChronicleIn a Harvard Business Review article, Collins says a level-five leader demonstrates compelling modesty, shuns public adulation and is never boastful.

A Similar Experience

Years ago I was monitoring the progress of a very special and intense change process in Oxford Industries.  I was then the manager of the Oxford Education Center, our corporate development unit.  The change was a major move to redesigning our factories into "modules" - later they would be called "cellular manufacturing" and "self managed work teams".   At the time, we were the pioneers so everything was a grand experiment.  An interesting observation I made parallels this story about Bruce Bochy - our most successful factories were led by Bruce Bochy... well not by him - but by people very much like him.  Humility  was how we described the trait.  It was not the flamboyant managers or as others called them...charismatic.  The successful leader was  often described by others as "gentle", "soft spoken", " supportive", "open", and "open to learn".   They were also called "clear", "firm", "honest",and "present".  They made their facilities successful by moving  people forward - together.  They engaged people in conversations and were excellent listeners.  In fact, they were more about listening to others than telling others.  They didn't stand out in the crowd...at first.

I have tried to take lessons from these leaders.  It has not been easy.  Pride, ego, competitiveness, passion.  These often get in the way for me.  At the end of the day I try to remember that great leaders are certainly noticed by results and the impact when helping and serving others... more than words.

1. When aligning people, take a lesson from Bruce Bochy and the people like him...
2. Listen with the purpose of learning and lifting others.
3. In a true team workplace, team is very important - don't destroy the others with a high flier who puts self before team.
4. Provide space (time, place and activity) for people to build energy having fun.
5. Make your "talk" clear, and aimed at making connections to purpose and progress.
6. Act like other managers and you will rememberd for being like other managers.  Make sure your role models are the right ones.

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