jdean3 - Tales of Transformation

There is a terrific metaphor in Lance Secretan’s book “Inspire!” that provides one of the best descriptions of many corporate workplaces I’ve seen.  I’m surprised I haven’t seen it in Dilbert!

We all know the term “copycat” as it applies to someone or something who imitates or adopts the behavior or practices of another.  Although it is cute when we are kids, it can be annoying later.  While imitation may be the best form of flattery, it can prove to be disastrous if we are following the WRONG behavior (even inadvertently).

The “copyfrog” label, however, combines this notion of imitation with the story of how a frog is boiled.

It seems that if you place a frog in HOT water it will immediately jump out.  However, if you place a frog in cool water and slowly heat it, the frog will stay until the water boils and it is too late to escape.

Lance Secretan lists one of the reasons we find it difficult to change is this copyfrog effect: …someone who is afraid to speak up for fear of ridicule or feeling alone, or appearing not to be a team player, even though many others may feel the same way, and are also afraid to speak out.  The result is that we copy the perceived (but not the real) beliefs of others — we copy others who are copying us.

Quite simply, by not jumping out of the water (or changing behavior) we are endorsing the status quo and ultimately leading to our collective demise.

If we model ourselves after those who have been successful (or appear to be so) rather than being authentic to our own souls it is easy to be trapped in denial when things turn bad.

Is it possible we have all been guilty of being a Copyfrog at one point or another in our lives?

One of the first questions I’ve asked myself when setting this blog into motion was “who in the world would ever take the time to read what I wrote?”

I’ve never been drawn to anything quite so narcissistic as a public diary (my original understanding of a blog) and my life is a tad bit boring (as my teenage kids will readily attest).  Yet, the more research I read on the art of penning one’s own blog, the more I feel compelled to try.

Clearly, my initial “pre-postings” were, at least, interesting for those that are close friends and family as they dealt with a number of personal issues.  The diversion from a normally secretive persona made the entries dealing with my physical recovery after an accident something to talk about.  Even if we’ve never met, most people can relate to injuries that require time to heal.  I was glad to get it all out of my system (so to speak) and it serves as good background for those that might find it interesting to watch how this blog has progressed.

I have been told by some colleagues that they are looking forward to some “dirt” on the Company we work for.  Unfortunately, this will never occur.  Aside from the water-cooler talk,  I have no interest in memorializing how close my corporate life is to the Dilbert comic strip.  Besides, there are plenty of other sites that rant on with automotive or employer bashing…we don’t need another.

Instead, I simply chose to document and follow a few of my own passions in a public forum.  Perhaps over time, this will reveal part of a transition I’m unaware of at the moment.  Nevertheless, I am compelled to find my own rhythm of starting the conversation.  I hope  that the more people I make aware of this site, the greater the chance we can actually have dialogue.  I continue to experiment with the “comments section”, but I clearly have hopes that I am successful in engaging readers along the way (or at least provoking a reaction).

So what can you expect to read and why should you tune in?

I hope to entertain you (at the very least).

My commitment to transparency quickly exposes the fact that I am simply a happily married, middle-aged, corporate grunt, father of 3 wonderful kids in college or high school.  I deny that I am going through any mid-life crisis (my kids joke that I must be) and I have no experience as an author of anything outside of grad school or work related activities. But after you get over my self-effacing boorish chatter, it will surprise you to learn my interests are…..well, interesting.

I promise to keep my postings short (600-800 words max) so it forces me to get to the point quickly.  As my confidence grows (no guarantees), I may post more than once a week.  I also leave room that I may decide to use video or audio clips, but for now I’ll stick with simple written submissions.

I’m also finding I have tons of friends that, like me, were really stuck in the past (the designer of my website called me “so web 1.0″).  I hope to also introduce them to the world of blogging as I teach myself a few new tricks.

So Stay tuned.  Bookmark this site…subscribe to the feed…or simply check in every weekend and participate (voting on the posts are also anonymous and a good way for me to judge if I’m on the mark or off base).

Next deadline: 1/2/10

I admit, I started my 2010 New Years Resolution last September when I initiated this blog.  I spent several months pre-populating the blog with various tidbits of a personal nature to practice using WordPress (the platform you’re reading) and to experiment with a number of topics.  While I have learned a great deal, I have far to go.

The point of this posting is to state that a New Years Resolution should be communicated. It should be a statement worth sharing.  It can be personal, which means you would only share it with close family members or a privileged few…but it is nevertheless a statement and requires the courage to communicate.  For it to “count” you must do more than just think about it.  You must have the courage to place it in view of someone.

I obviously told a couple of close friends & colleagues about this site while it was under development, even though I wasn’t yet sure I knew where it would lead.  It was necessary to gauge the level of expectations of my intended readers and to make adjustments when necessary. The best example was the revelation that anonymous postings were absolutely required if I wanted to entice people to participate.  At Ford Motor Company (and I’m sure many other fortune 1-100’s), it is a kiss of death to be viewed outside of mainstream.  So, the addition of the ability to join this conversation with an alias was born.  Anyone may log in and add value to this site without the fear of someone misinterpreting their devotion to their employer.

My resolution is simple:  I will stick with this blog and focus on  Transformations. I will post, at least, 52 weekly entries intended to spur conversation as well as personal & career reflection.

Of course, it’s not the only thing we will see on this site.  I fully intend to maintain my focus on mentoring others, pontificating my own “point of view”, sharing my own fascination with the study of the future and any/all tidbits associated with true value.  To make things interesting, however, something as personal as transitioning is worthy of my primary focus.

Feel free to jump in.  Learn from my mistakes (hopefully this blog isn’t one of them), learn from the experience of others commenting (tbd) and read my thought process and decisions during the next year or so and decide for yourself how you can do the same.

What is your New Years Resolution?

This story of transitions, will document several transformations at once.  It is blurry and confusing in the midst of such upheaval, but I am hoping more clarity unfolds as the story develops.  In the meantime, I will simply write what comes to mind.

——————

I made a rather bold accusation in an earlier post that one of the terrible by-products of a massive downsizing was the loss of passion in employees.  Indeed, many lifelong loyal employees at my own Company were walked out the door (or asked to leave) in a massive restructuring that extended throughout the entire automotive industry.  The survivors of this restructuring are struggling with how to re-engage.

Even those that remain in positions of leadership feel the lack of cohesion and synergy around them.  Remnants of our old culture mixed with the birth of a new culture not yet embedded make for a confusing environment to encourage true passion in your work.

Many simply won’t re-engage.  They are aggressively pursuing other interests and it is only a matter of time before they find something that will draw their attention.

Others, however, want to stay and make Ford the best automotive company in the world.  They just don’t know what or how to mentally and EMOTIONALLY reconnect at the same level they were previously.  We shouldn’t underestimate this huge leap of faith and courage that will be required to do so.

Our HR departments are now tasked with the monumental assignment of kick starting “employee engagement”.  How much will it cost to recapture your heart?

It is not a criticism of leadership or negative commentary on the decisions that were made during a painful restructuring.  It is a simple statement of a natural human phenomena of recovery.  In a traumatic event many people enter a period of shock.  It is a self defensive reaction that takes some time and attention to resolve.

Unfortunately, the easy answer of money won’t fix the issue of lack of passion or true engagement.  Sure, we would all like to have more money…it helps compensate for a lot of other things.  But even if you gave everyone a 20% pay raise (which would be a ridiculous move for a corporation), it would be a short lived improvement in satisfaction and ultimately no impact on real engagement or passion in employees.

We have to get back to the fundamentals of what makes people tick.  It’s about each individual and their own desire to feel wanted and connected.  Restoring their sense of value can be helped with pay raises…but their sense of feeling wanted and connected takes something else.

The obvious mandate is to provide a sense of purpose for everyone.  Restoring the health of the Company, hitting profit targets, sales targets, product & service targets are all worthy goals that every member of the team can aspire to improve and know how their contributions impact those results.  I believe this is hard work but most managers are skilled in helping employees know how their department or job impacts the goals of the organization.

The more difficult task, however is encouraging true engagement (or “passion” as I call it).  Employees can easily resign themselves to simply having a job.  They may be satisfied with their job (even rate it “completely satisfied” on internal surveys), happy with their surroundings, work-life balance and generally enjoy the relationships they have in the office.  They may even acknowledge a sense of purpose in what they do and perform their jobs competitively and typically in an acceptable manner (sometimes even much better).

To some inexperienced managers (or worse, those that don’t know the difference), they could feel their department was fully engaged.  Their employee satisfaction scores look really good….they don’t have visibly unhappy people walking around…they see people having fun at the water cooler.  They may have no reason to suspect their Company is being “shorted”.

A passionate employee is more likely to be less satisfied in this environment regardless of how they answer corporate surveys.  They see more potential for themselves, their Company, their teammates, etc..  They are often frustrated with limitations, bureaucracy or micro-management.  They are incredible assets to any Company that can harness their energy and unleash them in the right environment.

Fostering passion in employees is not a skill set that is universally developed in most corporations.  In fact, a manager that has the ability to spot passion and channel it effectively is rare.  To fully succeed in a globally competitive arena however, it is a requirement.

What would make you passionate about your job?  What would it take to make you the biggest ambassador in the history of your Company?  If they made a list of the most influential employees (in the eyes of consumers) would you be on the list or do you aspire to even be considered?  It’s a question that EVERY company needs to ask if they want sustainability.

You can’t Buy passion….you can only foster it.

It has been a few weeks since I first started to fill this blog with various “pre-posts” to learn WordPress and various features as well as test my ability and desire to publish these tidbits on a regular basis.  During that time, my wife and kids (and a few friends) have asked repeatedly, “Why are you doing this?”   It seems I have surprised those who know me most with a sudden change of direction.

It’s a fair question. After all, I’ve made a fairly strong argument over the years that my privacy is paramount and my ability to keep my personal life separate from my professional life has been a huge part of my defined personality. Now I am posting some of my most personal (and professional) experiences on a public forum for anyone to read. And it deserves explanation.

This is a “foreign” activity for me.  In the past couple of months I’ve joined myspace, facebook, linkedin, visualcv, twitter and created this blog.  I’ve quickly jumped head first into a new world of social media that I’ve simply avoided for years.  While I knew all of these technologies existed, it wasn’t until I witnessed the explosive growth of the Fiesta Movement that I decided to join the “conversation” in a more direct way. I am learning a great deal, and I am energized by the revelation that I can match whatever quality of communication I desire.  It has been interesting to be so involved.

My own Transformation

The fact of the matter is, however, this act is simply the first of several steps I will argue are part of any real rebound.  If you have read any of the earlier postings you know one of the prevalent themes on this blog is about “transitions”.  Regardless of whether we are talking about personal, professional or company transformations, the process is the same.  After a vision is established (or change requirement identified) action must occur.

The FIRST step of any transformation requires initiative  — ie taking matters into your own hands. Pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps is an old metaphor that I don’t entirely understand but use to describe having the courage to take the initiative to fix your own problem.

If something needs to change…change it.  If your not happy with your life…fix it.  Don’t wait for someone else to show you the way.  Letting things unfold around you lends itself to being a victim of circumstances, and that is rarely pleasant unless you live a lucky life.

While I’m not quite good enough to clearly envision what I want–

I most definitely know that the status-quo is unacceptable.

The fact that I was injured in an accident in 2005 that forced me sidelined from my career track for 4 years in an industry that simultaneously experienced a historic worldwide restructuring, has left me to ponder my options. I feel a bit like the storybook Rip Van Winkle who awakens to find the world has passed him by.  Professionally, my support network is gone and the prospects for returning to a commensurate level (pre-accident) position within U.S. operations seems bleak.  There doesn’t seem to be anything I can aspire to in our present structure.  My loyalty to Ford Motor Company for standing by me during my accident is strong, but the majority of my school buddies and recent departures from the Company advocate a different career. I’ve learned I can’t assume everything will turn out alright.

It seems I need to broaden my skill set and find alternative ways to contribute to this Company or another, regardless of what I do.  While it wouldn’t take much to be paralyzed by the complexity of the situation, I began to look for something to sink my teeth in.  Clearly, I have much to learn.

My physical injuries taught me a great deal about taking control of my own health care (ie let me out of this hospital…no more meds…get rid of this crutch…I need physical therapy every day…I’ve got to get back to work).  My propensity for spreading the virtues of demonstrating “initiative” (one of the defining characteristics of anyone successful) force me to practice what I preach by taking matters into my own hands.

So now I am taking the first step in taking control of my own destiny.  I am learning something new along the way (social media) and it feels a bit awkward (narcissistic) and vulnerable…but in some ways it is exhilarating to be stepping “up to the plate”.  The act of demonstrating the initiative to take the first step is the start of every turnaround.  Sure, a vision of where you are going is required….but due diligence requires action!

I will likely follow up with a separate posting on the art of “futuring” (envisioning future scenarios and actions to achieve a desirable outcome) as it applies to this transition story.  However, there are no guarantees as this process has risks and the potential for failure and setbacks.  I’ll likely document those too.

This is the start of a simple story about a transformation and survival.  Am I making a mistake?

Point of View Graphic

Background: Perhaps one of the greatest internal developments within Ford Motor Company during the 90’s (Nasser Era) was the institutionalization of BLI (Business Leadership Initiative) and specifically the personalization of the “Teachable Point of View”.  Forcing every employee to develop and articulate a statement of what they valued and how it translated into their decisions and actions was a tremendous revelation to many people.  Initially, the simple act of slowing down enough to reflect inwardly was awkward but when we really applied the process truthfully (some did) and accurately acknowledged the conflicts that existed in our work-lives/personal values, it became a powerful tool to help launch a mentoring mentality, a collaborative mindset and greater sense of openness and honesty that was absent within our culture.  I have found no greater tool than the expression of an individual PoV to drive synergy or teamwork in an organization.

My First Attempt: The bulk of this posting was taken from my first presentation of my own point of view of success.  It was given on August 11-12, 1998 at the Tanglewood Resort in Lake Texoma, TX to my staff of 18 Zone Managers/Schedulers in the Southwest Region.  I’m sure I spent weeks preparing for the presentation as my notes were extensive and my outline on the entitled “IRA & Six Pack” (9 concepts and values that formed the basis of my PoV) was three pages long.  It was a huge success with the team and gave me the confidence to keep building upon my PoV as I matured.

Use of Graphic: Not everyone uses a graphic to depict their professional PoV, but I have found it invaluable.  Although I have amended the core values “titles” from time to time, the main message remains intact.  I have utilized the Powerpoint triangle graphic because it was easy to recreate, but I have long since wanted to develop a different/more appropriate depiction that doesn’t prioritize or minimize the value discussion points.  Any suggestion?

Basic Tenants of my PoV: Each of these tenants deserve their own postings, so I will only summarize them here.  [Note:  I will update this posting with links to a more thorough explanation of all points when they are available]

• Data Driven Decisions. The foundation of my PoV rest with the notion that all decisions, evaluations and forecasts must be based upon the facts.  Quantifiable and qualitative data collection is easy to collect in our industry and yet we often fail to hold people accountable for them or to use the data to make our decisions.  It is also imperative that we clearly articulate an individuals contribution to the data results.  This is especially important when there are so many variables that impact product performance in a market.
• Sustainability. We simply must get comfortable with doing the right thing for the long term.  This isn’t about doing the same thing, however.  To truly sustain something it must be evolutionary.  It must adapt, and conform to maintain.
• Mentoring. Everyone needs a mentor and you can not lead without becoming a coach for business acumen, courage and personal intiative.
• Accountability. The assumption of responsibility is one of the key drivers of success and is often avoided at all cost.  A leader must step forward and take control and ownership even when things aren’t going smoothly.
• Efficiency. On one hand this has to do with “getting more output than input given”; on the other it has to do with effectiveness.  Success has to do with your ability to clearly demonstrate INITIATIVE.
• Transparency. Honesty and consistency are paramount to successful leadership.  The comfort of predictability is what creates followers when you need them most.  Open door communication is not enough, you must walk the talk and encourage your team to push back when something seems inconsistent.
• Focus on Others. This is the true test of a leader worth following.  If “its all about me”, no one will care to join. Your teammates want to know your focus isn’t on yourself.
• Fostering Passion. We need more passionate employees!  Providing an environment for that passion to excel will drive huge returns to the team.  Our rules and constraints too often do the opposite of what we need to unleash the power of passionate employees.
  
• Inspiring Purpose. Although not every employee aspires to passion in their work, everyone needs a sense of purpose in their job.  Knowing how they contribute to the objectives and success of the organization seems obvious, yet it is most often missing.