jdean3 - Tales of Transformation

transition [trænˈzɪʃən] n : the period of time during which something changes from one state or stage to another

transformation [ˌtrænsfəˈmeɪʃən] n : the act of transforming or the state of being transformed (to alter or be altered radically in form, function, etc.)

I’ve caught myself on multiple occasions interchanging the terms “transition” and “transformation” when describing my intention to focus on specific topics in this blog.   Indeed, they are interchangeable for most of my purposes, but it does warrant some conversation.  In some respects, I use the term “transition” to represent softer changes than those implied by the term “transformation”.  I typically use the term transformation to reflect a “complete” turnabout or metamorphosis.

I believe life is FULL of transitions worthy of discussion.  Nothing seems constant except the inevitability of one transition after another…a constant state of transformation or some degree of fluidity. We often get use to many necessary transitions as they take time unfold:

• Childhood – Adolescence – Adulthood – Parenthood
• Social – Dating – Marriage
• Injury – Treatment – Healing – Recovery
• Grade School – Middle School – High School – College – Grad School

There are also multiple transitions we face with little or no stress (in hindsight, we often forget how stressful the moment was at the time).

• Meals, Sleep, Dressing
• Spring Cleaning, Seasonal decorating/clothing
• Daylight Savings Time
• Work days, Weekends, Holiday Schedules

There are clearly, however, a number of events or phases in life that can take us by surprise or force us to pause for reflection or make plans. These transitions (or transformations) are intentional, deliberate and usually require action (decision).

It is the transition that requires a decision that most interests me, although I will likely share some examples of transitions that I don’t believe required or were the result any particular decision point.  I hope the tales of transformation are as educational for readers as they are for the participants.

There are a number of transitions/transformations that I intend to include once we get officially started.  Some are deeply personal, some are simply professional or are stories I’ve gathered over time that have proven interesting.  You can be sure I will cover, at least, the following transformations/transitions in future posts:

• The Transformation of a COMPANY (ie Ford Motor Company)
• A new job…vs a new Career…vs a new assignment
• Transitions from Employee to Supervisor
• Retirement (assuming I keep blogging that long)
• Transformation of Religion
• Empty Nesting

I’ve been fortunate to have experienced more transitions in my life than I would care to list in a single post.  To be sure, I will focus on those transformations and transitions that have something of value for others (at least, in my opinion).

Note:  The real benefit of a blog is the ability to document a transition as it unfolds.  Transformations like the one Ford Motor Company has been undergoing for the past several years and will likely continue for several more, are especially unique to witness as it progresses.  I am hoping I stay true to my intention of honestly and accurately recording how it transpires from my own point of view.

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.

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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?

While I’m trying to remain totally transparent in this endeavor, sharing this string of “pre-postings” and revealing how vulnerable I’ve felt over the past couple of years recovering from an accident during a major industrial downsizing — I might add that I now find myself living through an unfamiliar experience trying to come off the “injured reserve” list!

After 4 years and 8 reconstructive surgeries, I remain indebted and thankful that the Company has allowed me to remain employed in a capacity that facilitated my recovery, but it is now a MAJOR challenge to re-engage my career and contribute at pre-accident levels.

At the time of the accident, I was fortunate to have held one of the most prestigious (and controversial) assignments in all of Marketing and Sales — the Regional Manager of the Detroit Region.  Of course, the day of the accident was also the start of a string of massive reorganizations for Ford-Lincoln/Mercury (3 in less than 18 months) and I was relegated to watch it all unfold while my injuries clearly kept me off the field.  The mishmash of new chains of command was incredible.  Politically, one camp after another had their turn running things and the worst of our culture prevailed while each camp destroyed more than the previous.  People were leaving the Company left and right.  It was truly surreal to watch.

The resulting remnant of our structure has finally settled and “jelled” and there doesn’t seem to be much to aspire to at this juncture in my old “territory”.  Not to mention, when you have been on the sidelines in an organization for as long as I have, you are officially an outsider.  It will take a “re-hiring” decision to find another role.

The options remain limited, and I find there are multiple hurdles in uncovering opportunities at my level.  To open doors, I have volunteered for nearly everything that presents itself.  I have specifically tried to broaden my personal knowledge of parts of the Company that I previously had no interest in pursuing.  It has been fun opening myself up to new technologies and initiatives (like social media).  I wish I had done so earlier.

The fact is, however, I will have to leave the only world I’ve known – North American Marketing, Sales & Service.  I’m prepared to do so, and I am hopeful I can find an area that allows me to repay the Company for standing by me through this recovery.  Coming off the injured reserve list is a lot more difficult than I ever expected.

If you’ve come to this site in 2009, you are early — but welcomed.

As I mentioned in the original post, I don’t plan to launch until 2010, and I am continuing to learn how WordPress works by documenting a number of personal notes-emails-conversations just to memorialize them and learn along the way.  Some of these topics alone are far too serious and/or depressing than most feel comfortable discussing.  Collectively, however, they are intended to provide a context for a transitional story of it’s own.

While my wife is mortified that I am sharing some of these personal vignettes, it is only an experiment I want to fully engage.  For a number of reasons, I am not overly concerned with the quality of the text in these pre-postings, although I hope they improve by the end of December.  The bottom line is, I am experimenting with personal topics that I believe will add value in the future.

Please don’t draw any conclusions from these early postings (all labeled “pre-post”) — or some of the personal revelations of trials and tribulations. Collectively, the group of pre-postings will build a base for readers to relate to and to have the confidence that this blog is at least authentic (even if embarrassing).

What a difference a year makes!  Once on the brink of disaster, the Ford Motor Company has turned the corner and is certainly showing signs of kicking on the “turbo machine” that Alan Mulally coined.

Although we still have a long way to go to recapture the hearts and minds of our employees that have been put through the proverbial ringer, signs around here are improving every day.

Stocks have rebounded from the verge of oblivion (aka 401k’s, stock options, pensions and attitudes correspond), the press has given more than enough positive coverage and the rumor’s of further cuts have finally taken a break.

Employees, although wounded, are noticeably relieved and becoming more engaged and enthused despite heavier workloads.  There is a renewed cautious optimism, not because things are great…but merely because there is light at the end of the tunnel now visible.

I’ve promised full transparency.

I’ve been asked by a number of people to simply post my resume on the site so it would show up with a simple word search.  Those that have asked are colleagues who have also spent years with a single employer and obviously like to compare formats and styles.  Here you go.  I haven’t updated it for the last few months.  After 25 years with a single employer, I haven’t had much practice doing so.  If you see something I’ve obviously messed up, please let me know.

Good luck.

A note after the 3rd major “reorganization” in 3 years of Ford’s U.S. operations:

I thought it was just me, but I was wrong.  I was convinced my personal depression/desperation that existed over the past several months was a reflection of my personal circumstances (injury & recovery, “temporary assignment”, professionally out of the loop).  I have come to realize, however, that I am not alone.  Without naming names or breaking confidences I now know that the potential loss to a company forced to downsize may be greater than most realize!  The shock factor to the organization is far greater than anything I’ve witnessed.

• How is it possible that someone can go from “Top Achiever” or “Outstanding Performer” to worthy of being fired in less than a year?
• How can someone be given a promotion, bonus or merit pay increase or be given a key assignment in a critical and growing component of the company be let go without warning?
• How can a new-hire or someone the company just relocated to another part of the Country be dismissed a few months later?
• How can someone who was so highly regarded the company paid to send them to an ivy league institution for higher education or management training now be asked to leave?

The questions and irony goes on but the incredible injustices that are perceived in a major upheaval like the auto industry has witnessed has dire consequences. Perhaps the greatest loss (beyond the obvious talent that is dismissed) is the destruction of passion in those that remain.

The outright injustice that exist when senior managers are allowed to remain when the real workload talent is walked out the door will ultimately play out and correct itself, but it is impossible to continue/restore the loyalty and blind obedience that symbolized this company for decades.

Along with their financial security, an entire workforce (at all levels) has lost their passion, their support network, their confidence and even their trust.

It was one thing to think it was just my own insecurity and self pity, it is another to realize the loss to this great company is so massive, it will take another generation to heal. Thank God the economy sucks.  Otherwise the brain-drain/exodus would be catastrophic.  The challenge of reviving our zombie staffs will be more than management has been trained to do–there has always been a deep bench of able players to pick up whenever called upon…but now there aren’t even spectators.