Too Big to Succeed
As Toyota and Hummer have learned, growing too fast can be a dangerous thing.
From easily exploding cars to killer spinach and lead-laced toys, a look at products that we could have lived without.
By Daniel Gross | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Feb 25, 2010
From its origins, success in the auto industry has been about scale. In the early decades of the 20th century, Henry Ford was able to democratize the car and dominate the early auto industry because he built, and then continually tinkered with, an assembly line that could churn out huge numbers of cars in a short amount of time. Bigger was always better.
But two items from yesterday's dispatch in the ongoing car dramas indicate why that's not always true.
Item No. 1: The Toyota debacle. The mass failings of Toyota's legendary quality-control efforts are now on full display in the hearings that have subjected CEO Akio Toyoda to a ritualized set of apologies and humiliations. In recent years Toyota rode its efficiency and better financial management—it didn't have to contend with the onerous pension and health-care benefits that sandbagged the Big Three—to large gains in market share and significant growth. In 2007 Toyota surpassed GM as the largest carmaker in the world.
But something got lost in the process. As Toyoda acknowledged on Wednesday: "I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick. I would like to point out here that Toyota's priority has traditionally been: first, safety; second, quality; and third, volume. These priorities became confused." In other words, Toyoda seemed to admit, the company went astray by moving size—i.e., volume—to the front of the line.
Item No. 2: After a series of failed efforts to sell it, GM announced that its Hummer brand would be wound down. Hummer had a different problem with bigness than Toyota has. It wasn't that its production volumes were too high. In 2008 only 2,710 Hummers were sold. Rather, the outsize Hummer was simply too big—too inefficient, too out of step with the times—to succeed in a marketplace in which oil spiked to $150 per barrel and seems to have settled at a plateau above $70 a barrel. As the economy tanked, energy prices rose, and the zeitgeist shifted in favor of conservation, the gas-guzzling Hummer faced a double whammy: consumers had difficulty affording the vehicle's high sticker price as well as difficulty affording its high operating price.
Friday, February 26, 2010
Saturday, February 6, 2010
HBR.org: John Baldone, How to face your critics
How to Face Your Critics
10:49 AM Wednesday February 3, 2010 | Comments (10)
When people criticize you, what's the best thing to do? Show up and face the music.
President Barack Obama did just that when he met with Republican House members at their party conference last week in Baltimore. He met face-to-face with some of his sharpest critics, and in the process, demonstrated what it means to lead under fire.
In doing so, the President, whether you like or dislike him, provided a template for leaders to use when they need to face critics. Here's what we can learn.
Show up. Let your critics see you for the leader who you are. Adopting a "hide in the bunker" attitude only plays to them. It gives them free rein to paint you however they like — demon, demagogue, or do-nothing. By showing up you demonstrate that you are not afraid.
Be open. President Obama invited the media; you can shoot video of your meeting and broadcast it over a controlled-access website. In doing so, you demonstrate transparency and show your willingness to engage those who disagree with you. Videotaping also challenges people to be on their best behavior because they are being recorded.
Be cool. When people criticize you to your face, breathe deeply. As an opponent's voice rises, lower yours. Speak deliberately and with a sense of calm. The more control you have of your emotions, the stronger you will appear.
Acknowledge your shortcomings. Standing up to criticism is an opportunity to admit your own failings. Do it with a sense of earnestness, that is, demonstrate through words and passion that you have done what you think is best. At the same time, do not be defensive. Act with honest confidence, even when you admit mistakes.
Criticize gently. The spotlight may be on you, but the heat is also on your critics. Give as good as you get, but do it with a sense of diplomacy. A good-natured jibe here or there is good for you as well as others. It reveals your humanity.
Smile frequently. Lighten things up by relaxing your facial muscles. This demonstrates that you are in control. Smile when appropriate, but never smirk. Don't let them see you sweat, either. Smiling keeps you on a more even keel.
Leave them wanting more. Know when to close the engagement. You can ruin a good thing by hanging around on stage. It may be appropriate to meet and mingle off stage, in fact that's a great idea, but know when to get off the stage and let others talk.
When the heat is on, showing your face to your sharpest critics is a great way to demonstrate that you are in control of yourself as well as your message. Standing up to those who oppose you is a strong measure of demonstrating that you have what it takes to lead.
10:49 AM Wednesday February 3, 2010 | Comments (10)
When people criticize you, what's the best thing to do? Show up and face the music.
President Barack Obama did just that when he met with Republican House members at their party conference last week in Baltimore. He met face-to-face with some of his sharpest critics, and in the process, demonstrated what it means to lead under fire.
In doing so, the President, whether you like or dislike him, provided a template for leaders to use when they need to face critics. Here's what we can learn.
Show up. Let your critics see you for the leader who you are. Adopting a "hide in the bunker" attitude only plays to them. It gives them free rein to paint you however they like — demon, demagogue, or do-nothing. By showing up you demonstrate that you are not afraid.
Be open. President Obama invited the media; you can shoot video of your meeting and broadcast it over a controlled-access website. In doing so, you demonstrate transparency and show your willingness to engage those who disagree with you. Videotaping also challenges people to be on their best behavior because they are being recorded.
Be cool. When people criticize you to your face, breathe deeply. As an opponent's voice rises, lower yours. Speak deliberately and with a sense of calm. The more control you have of your emotions, the stronger you will appear.
Acknowledge your shortcomings. Standing up to criticism is an opportunity to admit your own failings. Do it with a sense of earnestness, that is, demonstrate through words and passion that you have done what you think is best. At the same time, do not be defensive. Act with honest confidence, even when you admit mistakes.
Criticize gently. The spotlight may be on you, but the heat is also on your critics. Give as good as you get, but do it with a sense of diplomacy. A good-natured jibe here or there is good for you as well as others. It reveals your humanity.
Smile frequently. Lighten things up by relaxing your facial muscles. This demonstrates that you are in control. Smile when appropriate, but never smirk. Don't let them see you sweat, either. Smiling keeps you on a more even keel.
Leave them wanting more. Know when to close the engagement. You can ruin a good thing by hanging around on stage. It may be appropriate to meet and mingle off stage, in fact that's a great idea, but know when to get off the stage and let others talk.
When the heat is on, showing your face to your sharpest critics is a great way to demonstrate that you are in control of yourself as well as your message. Standing up to those who oppose you is a strong measure of demonstrating that you have what it takes to lead.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
2 Minute Stories Help You Lead
by Stew Friedman
HRB.org
How a 2-Minute Story Helps You Lead
3:53 PM Tuesday August 4, 2009 | Comments (31)
Leaders gain trust and teach people what's important to them by telling stories. But these days there's so much to attend to — now! — coming at us so fast. You might be tempted to let slide your soft skills, like how to tell a useful story. Just get to the point and move on to the next thing on the list. No time for fluff.
Even President Obama, who masterfully demonstrated his storytelling skills in the campaign, was recently described as shuffling from one crucial issue to the next, like an iPod listener flits from song to song. No time for albums. Trying to do too much, too fast, and on too many fronts can be risky, yet today's environment requires that we get better at doing so.
All the more reason, then, for giving attention to how you get others to pay attention. The trick is to show movement on the issues that matter while, for each issue, helping your key stakeholders grasp the meaning of what you're aiming to achieve — why the goal matters to the team or the organization and how we're going to get from here to there.
So don't give up on honing your storytelling skills; instead, learn how to move faster among your different narratives. Through practice and feedback, improve your ability to connect through stories — while keeping them short to hold beleaguered attention spans. For even as the digital age compels us to develop ever-increasing capacities for a switch-your-focus-but-remain-present state of mind, as a leader you still have to be able to convey a narrative that resonates with your people and inspires them to move with you in the right direction.
A good leadership story has the power to engage hearts and minds. It has these six crucial elements:
1. Draws on your real past and lessons you've learned from it.
2. Resonates emotionally with your audience because it's relevant to them.
3. Inspires your audience because it's fueled by your passion.
4. Shows the struggle between your goal and the obstacles you faced in pursuing it.
5. Illustrates with a vivid example.
6. Teaches an important lesson.
Leaders at all levels and in all walks of life can improve their skill in telling a good, fast leadership story. Here's how: think of a story that meets these six criteria and convey it to someone — anyone who you'd like to teach — in less than two minutes. Then ask them what impact the hearing of your tale had on them. Where they moved? Did they learn what you wanted to convey? Next, repeat with someone else — but do it faster. Then again, faster still.
Let us know what you discover.
HRB.org
How a 2-Minute Story Helps You Lead
3:53 PM Tuesday August 4, 2009 | Comments (31)
Leaders gain trust and teach people what's important to them by telling stories. But these days there's so much to attend to — now! — coming at us so fast. You might be tempted to let slide your soft skills, like how to tell a useful story. Just get to the point and move on to the next thing on the list. No time for fluff.
Even President Obama, who masterfully demonstrated his storytelling skills in the campaign, was recently described as shuffling from one crucial issue to the next, like an iPod listener flits from song to song. No time for albums. Trying to do too much, too fast, and on too many fronts can be risky, yet today's environment requires that we get better at doing so.
All the more reason, then, for giving attention to how you get others to pay attention. The trick is to show movement on the issues that matter while, for each issue, helping your key stakeholders grasp the meaning of what you're aiming to achieve — why the goal matters to the team or the organization and how we're going to get from here to there.
So don't give up on honing your storytelling skills; instead, learn how to move faster among your different narratives. Through practice and feedback, improve your ability to connect through stories — while keeping them short to hold beleaguered attention spans. For even as the digital age compels us to develop ever-increasing capacities for a switch-your-focus-but-remain-present state of mind, as a leader you still have to be able to convey a narrative that resonates with your people and inspires them to move with you in the right direction.
A good leadership story has the power to engage hearts and minds. It has these six crucial elements:
1. Draws on your real past and lessons you've learned from it.
2. Resonates emotionally with your audience because it's relevant to them.
3. Inspires your audience because it's fueled by your passion.
4. Shows the struggle between your goal and the obstacles you faced in pursuing it.
5. Illustrates with a vivid example.
6. Teaches an important lesson.
Leaders at all levels and in all walks of life can improve their skill in telling a good, fast leadership story. Here's how: think of a story that meets these six criteria and convey it to someone — anyone who you'd like to teach — in less than two minutes. Then ask them what impact the hearing of your tale had on them. Where they moved? Did they learn what you wanted to convey? Next, repeat with someone else — but do it faster. Then again, faster still.
Let us know what you discover.
Fire Yourself: Act as a new hire to fix the company
Maybe You're the Reason Your Job Is Boring
by Susan Cramm HRB.org
4:20 PM Thursday January 7, 2010
If you are finding your job a little boring, you aren't alone. There are many who feel trapped in their current jobs since the economy has removed a few of the seats in the corporate game of musical chairs. But I challenge you to see that it's actually you, not the job, that's boring. First, see if you recognize any of these hard truths:
1. You're on autopilot.
When bored, our brains shift into autopilot. This isn't a good thing for you or your company. Unfortunately, shifting into autopilot is what our brains do best. Our past experiences create the neural pathways upon which our survival depends. The brain interprets current reality and responds to similar situations using behaviors that have served us well in the past. These shortcuts help us save time, but can also sap our interest.
2. Your energy level is less than impressive.
When we are bored, our energy level dissipates and we lose the focus and purpose so necessary to excel at the job at hand. Our brains no longer work for us and actually start working against us.
3. You've become a conformist.
It's not unusual for leaders to start sleeping on the job once they hit year three or four. At this point, they have molded the organization in their own image. They know their people, processes, and technology aren't perfect, but have adjusted to their imperfections and lose sight of the opportunities for improvement. Every day brings the same set of problems and the same responses. From a performance perspective, the sharp "blacks" and "whites" so obvious on Day 1 become indistinguishable shades of gray. "I can't believe what's going on here!" slowly but surely becomes "I can't believe how tired I am!"
So what's the solution?
Wake yourself up by renewing your leadership agenda. Re-engage by mentally firing yourself and spending the next few weeks acting as if you just joined the company. This entails assessing the current situation anew with the help of key stakeholders. Make it a disciplined process.
This isn't as easy as it sounds. Although you are bored, you are also extremely busy. Your only choice is to extract yourself from day-to-day operations while you redefine your organization's future. It's time to delegate or defer and make sure that the "First 90 Days" activities take priority in your calendar. Activities such as clarifying strengths and opportunities, confirming the mandate for change, and determining how to better allocate existing resources.
This approach is uncomfortable and definitely not boring. Take heart that your organization can operate just fine (for a while) without you and it's far better to fire yourself mentally today rather than wait for your organization to do so — for real.
by Susan Cramm HRB.org
4:20 PM Thursday January 7, 2010
If you are finding your job a little boring, you aren't alone. There are many who feel trapped in their current jobs since the economy has removed a few of the seats in the corporate game of musical chairs. But I challenge you to see that it's actually you, not the job, that's boring. First, see if you recognize any of these hard truths:
1. You're on autopilot.
When bored, our brains shift into autopilot. This isn't a good thing for you or your company. Unfortunately, shifting into autopilot is what our brains do best. Our past experiences create the neural pathways upon which our survival depends. The brain interprets current reality and responds to similar situations using behaviors that have served us well in the past. These shortcuts help us save time, but can also sap our interest.
2. Your energy level is less than impressive.
When we are bored, our energy level dissipates and we lose the focus and purpose so necessary to excel at the job at hand. Our brains no longer work for us and actually start working against us.
3. You've become a conformist.
It's not unusual for leaders to start sleeping on the job once they hit year three or four. At this point, they have molded the organization in their own image. They know their people, processes, and technology aren't perfect, but have adjusted to their imperfections and lose sight of the opportunities for improvement. Every day brings the same set of problems and the same responses. From a performance perspective, the sharp "blacks" and "whites" so obvious on Day 1 become indistinguishable shades of gray. "I can't believe what's going on here!" slowly but surely becomes "I can't believe how tired I am!"
So what's the solution?
Wake yourself up by renewing your leadership agenda. Re-engage by mentally firing yourself and spending the next few weeks acting as if you just joined the company. This entails assessing the current situation anew with the help of key stakeholders. Make it a disciplined process.
This isn't as easy as it sounds. Although you are bored, you are also extremely busy. Your only choice is to extract yourself from day-to-day operations while you redefine your organization's future. It's time to delegate or defer and make sure that the "First 90 Days" activities take priority in your calendar. Activities such as clarifying strengths and opportunities, confirming the mandate for change, and determining how to better allocate existing resources.
This approach is uncomfortable and definitely not boring. Take heart that your organization can operate just fine (for a while) without you and it's far better to fire yourself mentally today rather than wait for your organization to do so — for real.
Leadership Malpractice Susan Cramm
Susan Cramm
HRB.org Jan 2010
There's only one kind of leadership malpractice: wasting the lives of those we lead.
Consider this multiple offender (sent to me in response to my last blog concerning compassion in leadership):
"I'm to show these fools some kind of compassion? For what? So they can go back to their cubicle or cubicles and sit at their decks and talk on their cell phones to their friends and look at porn on the computer that I paid for? I don't think so. More than a few have been fired for just that reason. I do not give a damn about the hired help. You are there to make me a profit, just that simple. If you don't like it, hit the street."
Most leaders aren't this angry — or this clueless. But every leader makes errors in judgment that steal precious moments from the lives of others. A few examples:
* Sponsoring a project that isn't ready for prime time. Innovation is good, but must be approached in a way that is consistent with the organization's readiness for change. Asking a talented leader to go where no man has gone before, only to die in the process, derails careers and creates change cynics, not change agents.
* Overloading the star performer. Stars make it look easy. So easy, that it's tempting to keep on throwing balls in their direction, assuming that they will push back when they have too many in the air. Problem is, many times, overachievers don't know their limits. It's likely that the only feedback you'll hear is when the balls start dropping and people start complaining.
* Managing jobs rather than careers. A series of assignments doesn't a career make. Leaders are responsible for helping people manage their careers by challenging them to articulate longer-range objectives and formulate plans to close the gap. Failure to do so can lead to cul-de-sac careers in which the only way forward is to go back (which becomes ever more difficult as the years go by).
* Negatively labeling others. Good or bad, leaders get what they expect. In the words of Ori and Rom Brafman, authors of the fascinating book, Sway, "when we brand or label people, they take on the characteristics of the diagnosis." There's no doubt that the angry leader ranting above has an underperforming staff. Her expectations have become a self-fulfilling prophecy and, as a result, her people are acting out rather than acting right.
* Refusing to address performance issues. It's a fact that some people are better at their jobs than others. If one of your people is struggling, something is wrong. And, if you know it, so do they. Avoid the tyranny of unfulfilled expectations and get together with them — the sooner the better — to figure out what's going on:
1. Do they want to do the job? Do they understand and buy-in to the objectives or approach and are they personally interested in the assignment?
2. Do they have the time to do the job? Is the job doable given the current support, resources, and priorities?
3. Do they know how to do the job? Do they have the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities to get the job done?
Work together to remediate the issues identified. Once you have done all you can, if performance doesn't improve, make a change. Act prudently but quickly — for their sake and the sake of the people who work with them and for them.
In the stress of the day-to-day, it's relatively easy to commit leadership malpractice. Leaders carry a heavy burden and, in many organizations, the short-term rules over the long-term and the ends justify the means.
However difficult, leaders have an ethical responsibility to get the work done in a way that enriches the organization and the people within it. As you examine your beliefs and behaviors, try this exercise: Visualize one of your people coming home after a long day. As they enter the door, their loved one looks up and asks them about their day.
Now decide. What do you want them to say?
HRB.org Jan 2010
There's only one kind of leadership malpractice: wasting the lives of those we lead.
Consider this multiple offender (sent to me in response to my last blog concerning compassion in leadership):
"I'm to show these fools some kind of compassion? For what? So they can go back to their cubicle or cubicles and sit at their decks and talk on their cell phones to their friends and look at porn on the computer that I paid for? I don't think so. More than a few have been fired for just that reason. I do not give a damn about the hired help. You are there to make me a profit, just that simple. If you don't like it, hit the street."
Most leaders aren't this angry — or this clueless. But every leader makes errors in judgment that steal precious moments from the lives of others. A few examples:
* Sponsoring a project that isn't ready for prime time. Innovation is good, but must be approached in a way that is consistent with the organization's readiness for change. Asking a talented leader to go where no man has gone before, only to die in the process, derails careers and creates change cynics, not change agents.
* Overloading the star performer. Stars make it look easy. So easy, that it's tempting to keep on throwing balls in their direction, assuming that they will push back when they have too many in the air. Problem is, many times, overachievers don't know their limits. It's likely that the only feedback you'll hear is when the balls start dropping and people start complaining.
* Managing jobs rather than careers. A series of assignments doesn't a career make. Leaders are responsible for helping people manage their careers by challenging them to articulate longer-range objectives and formulate plans to close the gap. Failure to do so can lead to cul-de-sac careers in which the only way forward is to go back (which becomes ever more difficult as the years go by).
* Negatively labeling others. Good or bad, leaders get what they expect. In the words of Ori and Rom Brafman, authors of the fascinating book, Sway, "when we brand or label people, they take on the characteristics of the diagnosis." There's no doubt that the angry leader ranting above has an underperforming staff. Her expectations have become a self-fulfilling prophecy and, as a result, her people are acting out rather than acting right.
* Refusing to address performance issues. It's a fact that some people are better at their jobs than others. If one of your people is struggling, something is wrong. And, if you know it, so do they. Avoid the tyranny of unfulfilled expectations and get together with them — the sooner the better — to figure out what's going on:
1. Do they want to do the job? Do they understand and buy-in to the objectives or approach and are they personally interested in the assignment?
2. Do they have the time to do the job? Is the job doable given the current support, resources, and priorities?
3. Do they know how to do the job? Do they have the necessary skills, knowledge and abilities to get the job done?
Work together to remediate the issues identified. Once you have done all you can, if performance doesn't improve, make a change. Act prudently but quickly — for their sake and the sake of the people who work with them and for them.
In the stress of the day-to-day, it's relatively easy to commit leadership malpractice. Leaders carry a heavy burden and, in many organizations, the short-term rules over the long-term and the ends justify the means.
However difficult, leaders have an ethical responsibility to get the work done in a way that enriches the organization and the people within it. As you examine your beliefs and behaviors, try this exercise: Visualize one of your people coming home after a long day. As they enter the door, their loved one looks up and asks them about their day.
Now decide. What do you want them to say?
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