The Human Dimension – The Forgotten Element of Performance Measurement (PM)

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office presentation

The Leadership Driven Method to Performance Management can help senior leaders in the public and not-for-profit sectors make informed decisions and meet their strategic goals. 

Today’s post is by Bryan Shane and Patricia Lafferty, authors of THE LEADERSHIP-DRIVEN METHOD TO PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT: The How-To Book on Improving Performance Measurement In The Public And Not-For-Profit Sectors (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

While many articles and approaches focus on the science of Performance Measurement, meaning the step-by-step methodology, and the business processes required to analyze, interpret, report, and the quality of performance measures, this article will focus on the human side or the art of performance measurement.

What are the requirements for employees to fully participate and effectively use the PM System?

The first requirement is to understand the context of performance measurement. In other words what is a Business Plan and why is it important to performance measurement. Well, the answer is easy. The Business Plan provides the strategic direction of the organization in terms of its vision, mission, and objectives. It also provides a framework for decision making so that all decisions support the achievement of the strategic direction of the organization. But, in order to be effective each employee needs to know where they fit and how they contribute to the organization in terms of their function and daily work. Also, the Business Plan provides the standards against which the performance is measured. Without understanding the purpose and their fit within the business plan, the staff member has no context to understand the need or benefits of PM.

So, what is PM?

The next requirement is to understand performance measurement. The most frequent misunderstanding is that it is performance appraisal. It is Not. Many people confuse performance appraisal at the individual level with performance measurement at the organizational level. These are distinct concepts. A collection of individuals working as a group in an organization can achieve dramatic results. But no one person at any level, is responsible for overall organizational performance in isolation from their peers. Dispelling this myth makes performance measurement an innovative and positive force for creativity and achievement.

For our purposes we will define Performance Measurement as a management system – an ongoing process that provides a balanced, methodical attempt to assess the effectiveness of an organization’s operations from multiple vantage points – financial, client satisfaction, internal business and innovation/learning. It is used to provide feedback at all levels – strategic, tactical or operational – on how well strategies and plans are being met. This performance information is necessary to improve decision making within the organization, to enable proactive problem correction and to promote continuous improvement.

Why bother with Performance Measurement?

Performance measurement provides a framework for decision making to:

improve resource utilization,

demonstrate accountability,

facilitate excellent programs/services,

ensure motivated and productive employees,

enable a high level of employee client cooperation and coordination,

allow for the use of innovative best practices, and

provide the ability to deal with unexpected challenges or emergencies.

In short, it is a navigation system that helps management and staff adapt their operations to meet the goals of the organization while adjusting processes to the ever changing requirements in finances, programs, client needs, etc.

Organizations are constantly bombarded with ongoing changes to their finances, personnel, strategies and initiatives. Their external environments, especially client requirements and economic and political changes, are also in constant evolution.

So how does an organization move towards its strategic direction as outlined in its business plan when the foundation upon which it was built keeps shifting. The answer is the PM System. It acts as a navigation System allowing the organization to steer around the changing shoals of business.

How to break down resistances to a threatening project?

A performance measurement system can be perceived as very threatening to staff. In order to break down resistances, a process-oriented approach should be used. This process-oriented approach to developing and implementing a PM system ensures its acceptance through a gradual process of change in organizational culture. Stakeholders begin to understand that the focus is on identifying and dealing with issues that are interfering with attainment of the organizational mission, linking business plans with operational decision making, and on identifying and rewarding achievement within the organization.

As the development process continues, stakeholders in the organization shift their attitudes from awareness to understanding and from acceptance to use of the PM system. Over time this approach allows the development of an organizational culture that values and supports balanced and comprehensive feedback as an essential element in both rewarding achievement and providing the information necessary for effective business and operational decision making.

Is there a code of conduct used to develop and operate the PM System?

Organizations often make decisions based upon an implied set of values. The challenge of this approach is that implied values or principles can be misunderstood or misinterpreted. The LDM (Leadership Driven Method) approach to performance measurement requires that principles be defined, stated and communicated to the entire organization. These principles provide a code of conduct that govern behaviour for the development, implementation and operation of the PM system.

There are numerous techniques that gradually reduce/eliminate resistances and increase ownership of the PM system, the most important being ongoing leadership. Senior management must be directly involved and charged with communication to promote understanding and acceptance and provide financial support. These interventions create a climate of acceptance within the organization by stressing the importance of performance measurement and the need for staff to participate and cooperate fully in this endeavour.

LDM bookBryan Shane and Patricia Lafferty are the authors of THE LEADERSHIP-DRIVEN METHOD TO PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT: The How-To Book on Improving Performance Measurement In The Public And Not-For-Profit Sectors. They are also co-founders of BPC Management Consultants, a client-centered, management-consulting firm based in Ottawa.

For more information, please visit www.bpcgallery.com.

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Creativity Does Not Make Innovation Happen. Execution and Leadership Does.

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When it comes to innovation, focus is way more important than creativity.

Today’s post is by Alex Goryachev, author of FEARLESS INNOVATION: Going Beyond The Buzzword To Continuously Drive Growth, Improve The Bottom Line, And Enact Change (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

I often hear that innovation is primarily about ideas and creativity. With over 20 years of speaking with top innovators around the globe, I am biased to disagree.

I believe that when it comes down to it, innovation is about leadership, communication and execution. Without strong, informed leadership, there is no strategy, and without strategy, there is no innovation. And communication and execution is what separates ideas from results.

To be truly innovative, it’s not enough to proclaim weak platitudes like “Be creative,” “Spark your imagination,” or “Think Bold”—let’s not confuse corporate propaganda with actual strategy.

To keep their organization innovative, leaders across levels and functions must hold themselves responsible for clearly defined pathways, actions, and measurable outcomes. Remember, innovation doesn’t happen naturally—so an environment for innovation must be incentivized and supported.

As I write in Fearless Innovation, when helping others shape their innovation strategy, I often think about the work of Abraham Maslow. If you’re not familiar with Maslow, he was a  brilliant twentieth-century American psychologist, best known for developing the concept of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, typically depicted as a pyramid consisting of five levels that address our material and immaterial human needs.

At the bottom level, we have our most basic physiological needs, such as food, shelter, and clothing. The next level up is safety, covering aspects like personal safety and financial security. Level three is that of friendship, family, and a sense of connection, known as the love and belonging level. The fourth level is esteem, including self-esteem, status, and the feeling of accomplishment. And the top level is self-actualization, basically a level that’s all about being the best people we can be, focused on a sense of morality, personal development, and creativity.

I believe that when it comes to innovation, any goal can fall under one of four main categories:

Aspirational Innovation. Human aspirations are a key driving factor, and pretty much every innovation throughout history originally resulted from an individual or a group of individuals pursuing their ambitions. When it comes to the business environment, ambition, curiosity, and legacy play a major role in many leaders’ plans, decisions, and strategy.

Innovation for Survival. Survival is the market position you need to retain to remain in business. If your competitors are on top of innovation and you aren’t, it’s likely that you’ll see a negative change in your market share, or your entire market might just go away. As a goal, “just surviving” may not sound all that exciting, but if you remember Maslow’s pyramid, basic survival is essential to prosperity and growth.

Innovation for efficiency. Operational efficiency relies on optimizing the processes and costs in an effort to increase the speed of production or time to market. This goal, and any of its related strategies, has been popularized through lean methods, some to great fanfare.

Innovation for growth. Growth requires the greatest attention to the future. Here, your company shapes or creates new markets and increases its footprint and revenues. Ideally, innovation will ideally always lead to growth over time.

These innovation goals do not always come in a particular order and will vary based on current market conditions, as well as maturity of your organization. If you’re a sole proprietor launching a new project, you may have different goals than a well-established corporation whose business model is quickly becoming obsolete. Then again, there are times when even their goals will overlap.  Just like in the pyramid, as one set of needs are met, others arise, and they always will. Whether you’re focusing on one or all four, these goals will develop into an actionable innovation strategy.

Many might disagree, and my experience shows that a constant state of creativity does not move a company forward and could be counter-productive to getting results. To survive and grow, organizations need to develop actionable goals and strategy, mapped out in practical terms, that align horizontally and vertically, while identifying where innovation is necessary and efforts should be invested.

Remember, developing a clear innovation strategy is just the first step—you still have to execute on it, and you will surely pivot with time. Taking accountability and communicating to spread clear and measurable goals is where it all begins.

fearless innovation bookAlex Goryachev, author of FEARLESS INNOVATION: Going Beyond The Buzzword To Continuously Drive Growth, Improve The Bottom Line, And Enact Change, is the former managing director of Cisco’s global Co-Innovation Center, where he spearheaded programs and initiatives to accelerate innovation. Goryachev is a Silicon Valley veteran who is a sought-after speaker on innovation and is often referred to as the ‘innovation therapist’.

For more information please visit www.alexgoryachev.com

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Watch Out for Silver Bullets!

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silver bullets

Jim Everhart explains why every marketing program needs strategic messaging.

Today’s post is by Jim Everhart, author of BRAND VISION: The Clear Line Of Sight Aligning Business Strategy and Marketing Tactics (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

If you and your company are involved at all in marketing (and who isn’t?), you’re constantly being bombarded by sales reps, each claiming their marketing tactics or services are the silver bullets that will put you over the edge, into viral heaven.

Everything from search ads to email to analytics programs to social media influencers are being promoted as the next big thing.

In all fairness, many of these tactics play important roles in effective marketing campaigns. They wouldn’t exist if they didn’t.

The problem is with the tactics-first approach they seem to be advocating. Let me explain.

Too many companies begin marketing campaigns these days by diving right into tactical execution. Like choosing between Facebook and Twitter. Search marketing or email. They’re casting the TV spot, worried about the media buy. Arguing over product placement. Unleashing PR people, web developers, search marketing experts, email specialists and front-end designers on the world to do their own thing.

They churn out tons of material. Take up gigabits of storage space. Burn through a lot of cash.

But those tactics-first approaches almost always fail.

Oh sure, maybe they get some likes. Or some heart emojis. But sales and leads? Not so much.

So while Marshall McLuhan proclaimed decades ago that the medium is the message, I’m guessing he didn’t mean that the medium should create the message.

And maybe what he meant was that you should choose the medium based on the message you want to deliver.

Not the other way around. The way all too many marketers do – picking a medium and letting that choice dictate your message. Or worse yet, hoping your media choices ferret out the message lurking somewhere in all that stuff you’re generating.

I’m a writer. A content guy. Always have been, always will be. And I think that before you select a social media platform or hire a celebrity influencer to make your pitch, you need to know what you’re going to say.

I have a writer’s solution to the problems marketing faces today – the creation of strategic messaging. A single-source, definitive document that defines the messaging around your offer (whether it’s a product introduction, a market initiative or a brand awareness effort) and presents all the relevant information your creative teams need to understand, present and deliver that message.

Here are the elements of that document:

 

The strategic landscape – how this project came about and the technology issues, the competitive landscape and the market dynamics.

A list of goals, as specific as possible, laying out what you’d like to accomplish.

A clear definition of the product, initiative or offer and the customer value proposition that differentiates it from the competition.

An integration statement showing how the project fulfills or validates the corporate strategy.

A customer profile (or preferably, a full persona) identifying the prospect and their motivations or hot buttons.

The strategic vision for the campaign: the one-sentence summary that aligns the product with the corporate strategy, connects it to the audience hot buttons and differentiates it from the competition.

The reasons to believe the Strategic Vision and the proof points that support them.

A map of the marketing campaign listing the proposed tactics (like emails, ads, posts and web pages) and showing how they work together to advance the sale.

An accountability plan, not only making it easy to optimize the program, but also measuring your success in achieving the objectives.

 

That’s not your typical product manager’s brief. Or even a creative director’s instructions to the creative team. But rather a hard-as-nails, comprehensive account that gives the creative team their marching orders.

Above all, it elevates clarity. A clear statement of the product’s advantages, shorn of corporate vanity, marketing voodoo and campy creativity. And lays out the proposed path to success.

It connects corporate strategy to the marketing process by making the brand, service or product the incarnation of the corporate positioning and keeping it top-of-mind as marketing tactics are developed and implemented.

It connects to the audience by highlighting the prospect’s pain points and making them the focus of the key messaging elements, specifically requiring strategists to call them out when they’re defining messaging reasons-to-believe and proof points.

It makes campaign integration possible, issuing a single set of instructions to the array of PR, advertising, social media, email and web teams you have generating the content in different silos. By different people. Working in different buildings. Perhaps for different companies. Maybe on different continents. Soon, on different planets.

It makes the best use of your subject matter expert’s time. You’re capturing all the information at once and working with them to make sure it’s accurate. Before it’s given to the different content teams to disseminate. So they only have to give the final materials a cursory look-through as the campaign is finalized and the paid ads, Tweets, e-mails and videos roll out.

It facilitates accountability and ROI measurement, both of which are not possible without the discipline of campaigns. Sure, you can measure impressions, likes, emojis, clicks and click-through rates. But to what end? Want to show any of that data to your CEO? Not hardly.

By organizing marketing efforts around strategic messaging. we marry strategy and concepts, messaging and campaigns. And we set the stage for program measurement, optimization, accountability, ROI reporting and even predictive analytics.

That’s the goal of strategic messaging. Nothing short of rescuing marketing from the snake-oil salespeople and the tacticians. And giving today’s businesses the marketing they need and deserve.

brand vision bookJim Everhart, author of BRAND VISION: The Clear Line Of Sight Aligning Business Strategy and Marketing Tactics is a freelance strategist and writer, working with corporations and agencies to develop marketing communications tactics and campaigns. He spent more than four decades in the marketing industry, most of it at Godfrey Advertising, one of the largest business-to-business marketing agencies in the United States.

For more information, please visit www.brandvisionbook.com

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Question Everything Always

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pile of question marks

There are no stupid questions. There are only stupid people who don’t ask questions.

Today’s post is by Gary Douglas, the founder of Access Consciousness®.

People have always told me that the way I do business is different. I may indeed have a slightly different point of view about most things in life – and I’ll change my point of view on a dime. I question everything all the time.

Innovation occurs when you are willing to be in the question and to ask a question always. Whatever conclusions we come to become the limitation of what we can actually achieve and receive. Don’t assume: “We’ve got this part of the business right,” which is what Kodak did. They assumed: “We’ve got it right. There will always be film.” They didn’t get innovative. They knew about digital and electronic imaging.

Did Kodak look at that and ask: “Which is the direction we need to go? What do we need to create here?” Or did they go to the conclusion that they would always have the answer? Once you decide that you have the answer, nothing that doesn’t match your conclusion can come into your awareness. You’ve got to be willing to see what kind of awareness you could have if you were willing to question.

The purpose of a question is to gain awareness. With increased awareness, different possibilities become available to you. When you become aware of the possibilities, you can make choices. Choice creates. With each choice, you can look at: “If I choose this, what will this create?”

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5 Managerial Behaviors to Improve (and 5 Habits to Avoid) for Hybrid Managers

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number 5

We took a recent survey of 1,000 employees and compiled the top behaviors that hybrid managers can improve (and avoid) to keep their team engaged and productive.

Today’s post is by Alyssa Mertes, Lead Copywriter at Quality Logo Products

Managers face unique challenges leading hybrid teams across multiple work environments. The good news is that many hybrid managers appear to excel at it. A new Quality Logo Products survey on boss habits reveals that over half (51%) of hybrid employees think their bosses manage employees “very well.” On this measure, hybrid managers outperformed both their remote (45%) and on-site (39%) counterparts.

In today’s challenging employment landscape, however, businesses need to do all they can to retain and engage quality employees. This often starts with improving relationships and satisfaction in the workplace. In fact, around 64% of employees surveyed said that their relationship with their boss is their most important one at work.

In this article, we’ll discuss five managerial behaviors to improve and five to avoid to keep your hybrid team happy and productive.

The Top 5 Managerial Behaviors to Improve

  1. Communicate well

If you want to improve your workplace leadership in a hurry, your communication skills make a great place to start. While nearly half (48%) of employees say that hybrid bosses communicate “very well,” it’s hard to overestimate the importance of this skill. In fact, employees ranked interpersonal communication style as the second most important management quality in a boss.

Your team members need useful information that helps them understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. Good communication requires both clarity and transparency, whether that means explaining your expectations well, providing the necessary context for projects, or owning up to your own mistakes as a manager.

  1. Listen thoughtfully

Good communication starts with careful listening. If you’ve always thought that strong leadership means doing most of the talking, try to flip the script and spend more time listening. Keeping your ear on the ground not only generates goodwill with your employees, but can also lead to improvements in team productivity and maybe even some innovative ideas for the company.

  1. Respect your team’s opinion

Make your listening even more meaningful by valuing what team members bring to the table. An overwhelming 83% of employees said that respecting others’ opinions is a key attribute of a good boss. Employees who feel valued are more likely to respond in kind by respecting others, exhibiting honesty, and maybe even going the extra mile for you.

  1. Treat employees fairly

Full-time employees spend around one-third of their waking hours at work. So, feeling that their boss treats them fairly can make a huge difference in overall satisfaction—in fact, 91% of employees say they want fairness from their boss. Try to delegate tasks equitably, give credit where it’s due, and present any negative feedback privately rather than calling out employees in front of others.

  1. Give feedback often and positively

Nearly half (46%) of hybrid employees think their bosses give feedback “very well,” but that means over half think otherwise. No one likes to work in a vacuum, but the dangers of disconnection rise for employees working remotely.

Take steps to raise your visibility by regularly acknowledging your employees, encouraging informal check-ins, and letting them know they can contact you with questions or feedback. Always remember to keep it positive: providing actionable feedback in a constructive rather than destructive style can make the difference between demoralizing team members and inspiring them to do their best.

The Top 5 Managerial Habits to Avoid

  1. Talking down to employees

More than any other attribute, employees dislike condescension in their boss. Around 78% of professionals indicated this as a mark of a bad manager. When a boss exhibits arrogance—whether by acting superior, talking down to employees, or simply wasting people’s time in meetings—workplace morale can suffer.

  1. Creating a negative work environment

Striving for a competitive edge in business does not mean that your business’s work environment needs to feel competitive. Nearly three-quarters of employees surveyed named “creating a hostile or competitive work environment” as a major negative in a boss.

Just like in sports or any other team environment, infighting weakens the group rather than strengthens it. A great leader knows how to make a team competitive without pitting its members against each other in a negative way.

  1. Micromanaging your employees

If you think that micromanaging poses less of an issue for remote employees, you are right—but that doesn’t make it any less important. In fact, hybrid bosses may rate more highly with employees because they don’t stand over them telling them what to do. Micromanaging ranked as the number three characteristic of the worst bosses, with 75% of employees saying they dislike it in a manager.

  1. Appearing out of touch

When describing a bad boss, one of the worst characteristics that employees chose was “out of touch.” Even more than “pushy,” “annoying,” or “inept” bosses, employees don’t like leaders who don’t seem to understand the realities of what they do every day. Listening thoughtfully and respecting your team’s opinion will help you stay in touch with their needs.

  1. Blaming employees when things go wrong

Good managers give credit to their team. Great managers never take credit themselves, unless they’re taking credit for failures. While it may not always seem fair, part of being a leader is having extra responsibility. Your job involves figuring out how to get the best out of your employees, not blaming them when things go wrong.

Conclusion

If you manage a hybrid team, take heart that hybrid employees are generally more satisfied with their bosses than their remote or in-person counterparts. To make sure your team members feel the same, keep raising your own personal bar with some of the tips suggested in this article. Your employees will appreciate it—and hopefully stick around for the long haul!

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Even the Best Leaders Can Be Ageist – Make Sure You’re Not One of Them

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Learn how leaders can get ahead of any age-related problems in their workplace and create a truly diverse and age-inclusive workforce.

Today’s post is by Patti Temple Rocks, author of I’m STILL Not Done: It’s Time to Talk About Ageism in the Workplace (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

If there is a common trait among all the great leaders that I have worked with throughout my 4-decade career it is that they have high standards – for themselves and those they lead. They are measured (rigorously) on their performance so if you bring them a problem, they will solve it quickly. Sales are down? Let’s mix up territories. Growth has stalled? Invest in the innovation pipeline. Recession headwinds getting stronger? Tighten spending. Wrongful dismissal due to age discrimination lawsuit? Call HR and write a settlement check.

But there is another common trait I have observed among those leaders – at least the ones I admire and like the best – they genuinely and deeply care about their people. Those leaders would not just write the check to make the problem go away, they will understand that behind that litigation there is a much longer story and most likely an employee who is hurting.

Here is how leaders can get ahead of any age-related problems in their workplace and create a truly diverse and age-inclusive workforce.

Do Your Research. Assess Your Organization

The first and not surprising task is data based and straight-forward. Do some Google searching, and it will take no time at all to confirm that ageism is rampant in the workplace. In May of 2021, an AARP reported that an astounding 78% of workers between 40 and 65 had either witnessed or experienced ageism on the job. That is the highest number they’ve ever reported and up a whopping 17% since before the pandemic. Your Google search will also find all the stats on the cost of litigation and that the American Bar Association predicts even more age-related lawsuits post-pandemic. You will conclude that ageism is in the workplace is an issue

But…maybe you might think, ‘well yes, but not here.’ That is when you need to move on to the next phase of your research.

The Mirror Test

You can’t solve a problem you don’t understand so I recommend engaging your teams to hold a mirror up to your own organization. Direct your HR team to conduct an employee census to determine if the age groups that work for you represent the general population (spoiler alert: most do not). Look at the stats of the voluntary and involuntary quits. I can assure you very few of your voluntary quits will be over 50. Research shows that the most loyal and engaged employees are in that age cohort. Ask your recruiting department to review your job postings for ageist language. Your marketing team should review your website – all your external messages – to ensure that all age groups are represented visually as well is in the written word. Re-read your DE& I policy – does it specifically call out age as category for protecting (don’t be shocked if it doesn’t). What is your standard practice for discussing retirement with your employees? And if you have a practice at all, congratulations, you’re in the 10% club.

By looking honestly at your company, the chances are good that you will discover that ageism is an issue for your organization as well. And an issue that you must address.

But, as a leader as empathetic as you are decisive, there is a much more important task you must take on.

Lead by Walking Around

This is not a new idea – it was originated by HP’s David Packard in the 1940’s and popularized by 80’s and 90’s business guru, Tom Peters – but it remains viable today, even if walking around is now a Zoom call.

As concrete and definitive as some of the legal markers of age discrimination are there are many more that are not. Older workers talk constantly of feeling marginalized from being excluded from meetings or talked over in the meetings they are invited to. They don’t understand why they are no longer considered for training opportunities or for that new job opportunity in an expanding market or division. They tell me about having to smile through gritted teeth at some of the ageist comments or jokes people make. I suspect that much of this ageist behavior is non-intentional and likely based on some unconscious and long-held biases about older people in general. But intentional or not, these all add up to an employee who can’t help but feel devalued or diminished – some even go so far as to say they feel “invisible” in the workplace.

Ugh. It hurts my heart to hear about what the end years of long, successful careers are like for many. Leaders do so many things right to make sure they have an engaged, happy, and productive workforce but many miss the boat when it comes to ensuring the same for their older workers. No one should have to feel this way (presuming the obvious, that they are adding value to the company) simply because they got older.

I promise you, if you walk around – virtually or otherwise – and talk to your workers over 40, and especially those over 50 and invite them to talk freely and without judgement about their feelings and experiences as an older worker you will be both enlightened and motivated to do better.

I know I was.

Im Still Not Done BookOver the course of an impressive four-decade career, Patti Temple Rocks has held senior leadership positions in three different sectors of the communications industry: PR, advertising, and client side. She served as the Chief Communications Officer for The Dow Chemical Company and Chief Reputation Officer for Leo Burnett Worldwide. She is an inspirational leader, builder of teams, creative thinker, problem-solver, and agent of change.

The author of I’m Still Not Done: It’s Time to Talk About Ageism in The Workplace, Patti is passionate about discussing and fighting age discrimination and helping people understand how ageism stunts business growth and reflects poorly on our society. As a public speaker and consultant, Patti works with businesses that wish to change for the better and implement effective practices to fight ageism in the workplace. During her impressive career in marketing and advertising, her valuable ideas and strategies were implemented by world-class organizations including McDonalds, Unilever, Bacardi, and Walmart. To learn more about ageism and get in touch with Patti, visit http://imnotdone.rocks.

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Strategic Creativity is Your Secret Business Weapon

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woman with laptop and paint brushes

Strategic creativity is a secret superpower. It provides a handle on what people desire or need—even before people know they want it or need it.

Today’s post is by Robin Landa, author of Strategic Creativity: A Business Field Guide to Advertising, Branding, and Design. (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Strategic creativity is a secret superpower.

The person who possesses strategic creativity is tactical, resourceful, ingenuous, and extremely attractive (perhaps I’m getting carried away). An infiltrator, influencer, and eavesdropper. Strategic creativity provides a handle on what people desire or need—even before people know they want it or need it.

For you—sitting in the C-suite, a business owner, a CEO, or a business professional—to get what you need to launch a brand, organization, or individual, to move a brand forward, to grow business, or to raise funds, you need to understand how creative professionals work their magic to conceive and construct strategically creative solutions. You also need to know what will work and why it’s well-conceived, well-designed, and well-written; and why pedestrian ideas won’t get you anywhere except overlooked. Think of me as your personal “Alfred Pennyworth”—I’m your special creative forces wingman, who will supply all you need to commission and evaluate creative solutions.

It’s Really About the Insight into the Target Audience

A consumer insight is a realization—a real eye-opener—about the target audience’s need, behavior, or the true nature of how they think, feel, or behave—a human truth no one has yet noticed brought to light.

That insight warrants a response—a change in the way you look at a behavior, situation, branded product, or service—and it should be the catalyst for strategically creative idea generation and brand storytelling.

Insights into the audience are vital to breakthrough creative solutions. What does the audience need? Desire? Why does the audience do what they do? On which media platforms do they spend their time? Which causes do they care deeply about? Will they align themselves with your organization’s or brand’s values?

Jeff Fromm, president of Futurecast, believes that insights are more about the category than the brand; insights reveal more about how people want to feel, than what they think; and insights inspire new ideas, not the same old stuff.

Be An Antenna of the External Zeitgeist

It’s challenging to read the political news due to so many alarming events. If you can’t manage the political zeitgeist (though I heartily recommend being informed), at least stay abreast of the cultural climate that affects our collective critical and creative thinking. For goodness sake and your business’ sake, don’t be out of touch with what your audience (and beyond) is thinking and feeling or oblivious to the issues of a diversity of people and communities.

Once you are aware, make your organization or brand an antenna of the external zeitgeist, one that transmits relevant messages that will resonate.

Know What Drives People

Most of us in corporate leadership positions, advertising, marketing, and branding don’t hold PhDs in psychology, however we must have a handle on human behavior to best understand people. Human behavior is first and foremost a kind of investment. Individuals do what they do because of either implicit or explicit benefits. Ask: How does your idea serve the audience’s self-interest?

Respect Everyone

Commit to uplifting all members of society, including people living with disabilities, people who are unsheltered, different socioeconomic groups, races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexualities, religions, and ages.

Take up the mantra: Do No Harm. Nothing in culture happens in a vacuum.

Do your part to build a better culture, a culture of respect.

Employ strategic creativity. Quash pedestrian ideas.

An idea has the power to affect people; it can change the way people think about a brand, entity, cause, issue, individual, or even themselves. It can offer proof, create desire, or stir an emotion that imprints the message. An idea can reframe a conversation, do social good, taunt a competitor, empower, motivate, endear the audience, or simply entertain.

Put an end to pedestrian ideas. Because no one will take notice of uninteresting messaging.

My hope for you, dear reader, is that this knowledge will be your strategic advantage, equipping you with a secret superpower—Strategic Creativity. Please feel free to invent your own code name.

Carry on.

strategic creativity book

Robin Landa is a distinguished professor at Kean University (her Walden’s Pond) and a globally recognized ideation expert. She is a well-known “creativity guru” and a best-selling author of books on ideation, creativity, branding, advertising, and design. She has won numerous awards and The Carnegie Foundation counts her among the “Great Teachers of Our Time.” She is the author of twenty-five books including Strategic Creativity: A Business Field Guide to Advertising, Branding, and Design.

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How to Spot and Handle Red Flags with Your Leadership

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red flag

Leaders sometimes mistake form for function without truly understanding and appreciating the impacts on their teams. Failure to do so can lead to major issues. You need to think through what you want your team to deliver versus focusing on how they’re delivering it.

Today’s post is by Robbie Hardy, author of Upsetting the Table (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

RED FLAG. This was the text I received from a woman I had been mentoring for a year or so. She had recently been promoted to a senior management position in the software division of a large technology company. We had developed our own language for when she had a serious professional problem. Texting RED FLAG was a call to action.

We met that evening and she shared the reason for her text.

Eighteen months ago, her division had adopted the Agile methodology, which is basically a set of principles for software development where requirements and solutions progress with collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams. Agile introduces a new way of thinking, speaking, and acting with its own vocabulary. Her division had fully committed to it and they had experienced extraordinary results.

Unfortunately, not everyone evaluated the results the same way. The chairman of the company had come to the last board meeting, very frustrated with her division explicitly. He told the CEO that there was a serious problem due to the lack of a solid roadmap for each customer. He proceeded to share a bound set of client and technology specifications, written in excruciating detail, from another company where he is a board member.

His colleagues were impressed and so the board, determined to have their own set of bound, detailed product roadmaps, voted unanimously to make it happen.

The RED FLAG text came after the senior management team was informed of the Board’s decision. The CEO was implementing quarterly all-day meetings to produce a similar set of customer and technology roadmaps to share with the board. The CEO reminded everyone that the chairman was also the lead investor, so it was VERY critical that this be given top priority. He then proceeded to announce that these all-day quarterly sessions would be mandatory and held on Saturdays.

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The Secret Key to Maximizing Your Productivity

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key and clock

A great executive assistant is only half the equation. Learning how to work with him or her effectively is the real key to maximizing your productivity.

Today’s post is by Jan Jones, author of The CEO’s Secret Weapon (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

For my new book, The CEO’s Secret Weapon: How Great Leaders and Their Assistants Maximize Productivity and Effectiveness, I interviewed the world’s #1 leadership thinker, Marshall Goldsmith and management guru Ken Blanchard, who expressed a deep appreciation for the value executive assistants bring to the lives of time-constrained executives. Business leaders Richard Branson, Donald Trump and others echoed their sentiment.

Yet, despite the ringing endorsements of assistant’s capabilities by these and other business luminaries, many executives don’t capitalize on this resource that can help smooth out their day and relieve them of untold minutiae.

By not capitalizing on the advantage assistants bring to the table, executives are cheating themselves out of an abundance of talent. While a minority of executives do this because they just can’t let go, many executives are oblivious to the expertise of their assistants because they’ve never learned how to utilize an assistant, or experienced top quality support before. But you can have this support if you consciously recruit and develop an assistant who can take on a leadership role and serve as your “right arm.”

To find your exceptional assistant, start with a candid analysis of yourself. What is your work style – big picture, or myopic? Do you prefer someone whose work habits mirror yours? Are you a micromanager? If so, you will be irritated with a self-starter who takes the ball and runs with it. If you don’t want to be bogged down with details, a self-starter will suit you just fine.

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Understanding The Leader’s Journey

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journey

Leadership is in all of us. All we need to do is unlock our potential.

Today’s post is by Mark Rapier, author of The Leader With A Thousand Faces (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

Leadership is a fascinating topic for many. One aspect of leadership often overlooked is that it is a process. How we lead changes as we progress in our careers and join new organizations. We are all on a leadership journey. Understanding how to navigate the voyage is essential.

Preparing for the Journey

To take a good trip, you need an itinerary. There are three key things to understand to make your journey meaningful and rewarding. The first is to recognize the difference between leadership and management. Managers direct activities to achieve measurable results. Leaders motivate people not just to achieve results but to inspire them to want to achieve those results and more. There are many types of leaders, and learning how to recognize them is essential. Perhaps the most important are informal leaders: they are not team captains but locker room leaders. You can learn so much from them after you find them. Lastly, you have to recognize and ignore myths. One of the greatest is that “leaders are born not made.” Anyone can be an effective leader if they are willing to do the work.

Learning Through Observation

The journey begins with learning. Formal learning provides a solid foundation for leadership growth. The most important education some from closely watching leaders in different situations. Paying close attention to what works and what does not is what gives you perspective. Two essential factors are Competence and Communications. To be an effective leader, you must be good at what you do. To be a financial leader, you have to understand accounting and finance. You also have to be able to translate facts and figures into something actionable. This is where communications come into play. You have to be able to help people understand. Building shared understanding allows you to rally people to a call to action.

Putting Learning Into Action

Opportunities will come in many forms. Early in your career, they will likely be in the form of leading projects or programs. Your managers will evaluate your performance to estimate your leadership potential. As you grow, the programs will get larger and more complex. There are times when we have to respond to a crisis. A crisis demands immediate action. Our response will determine whether, in the long term, we will be enhanced or harmed by the event. When we change jobs, we are often asked to change the trajectory of the organization we are joining. Turning these situations around requires us to change the mindset of the team. In addition to analysis and action, effective coaching is needed to change behaviors. Occasionally we are presented with the opportunity to create something entirely new. Visionary leadership requires the ability to inspire others to walk away from what has worked before and do something completely different.

Maintaining Momentum

For most of our careers we operate in a steady state mode. When things appear calm, there is a temptation to turn on the autopilot. Many vital activities require focus during the regular day-to-day. We must work to develop the next generation of leaders. There need to be people ready to take over when we decide to move on to our next journey. More importantly, many people have helped us along the way, and we need to pay that debt forward. To lead, we must be able to follow. We receive direction from others that we must translate into objectives for others. We must have empathy for those on our team. To help others grow and succeed, we have to be able to follow their journey while we are on ours. We must also plan for our future opportunities. Opportunities come mostly to those who make them happen.

Evaluating Your Journey

Our journey to leadership is forever repeating. Through both self-evaluation, trusted advisors, and coaches, we must constantly learn from our experiences and the experience of others. We must constantly push ourselves to expand our horizons and set expectations for ourselves. We must develop a strong moral compass to prepare for our next leadership adventure.

Mark Rapier is the Managing Director of The Rapier Group LLC. His book, The Leader With A Thousand Faces, (CLICK HERE to get your copy) describes the leadership journey we all experience and gives perspectives to consider before you find yourself needing the answers.

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Reimagining B2B Brand Awareness Through Real Faces: How it Benefits Organizations

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two employees

Nurturing employees to be the voice of the brand sustains an ecosystem for innovation, bridging marketing efforts and connecting them with the stakeholders.

Today’s post is by Dhanshi Kittusamy Murthi, Regional Head of US Marketing at Vuram, a global hyperautomation services company.

Organizations across industries are exploring ways to shape a sustainable work culture that enables their people to perform at their highest levels. One way to do this is by presenting people with opportunities to be recognized for their expertise: this not only nurtures outstanding results by building confidence among employees but also boosts the visibility of the brand.

Enabling employees to be the voice of the brand sustains an ecosystem for innovation and productivity, and content is the vital piece of the puzzle to achieving this. It boosts brand awareness and acts as a means through which an organization’s employees can showcase themselves.

Generating Content that Represents the Brand:

According to a 2021 Statista survey involving business-to-business (B2B) content marketing professionals, 91% of the organizations responded that creating brand awareness was one of the goals of their content marketing activities. While chalking out the marketing plan or budget for branding campaigns, marketers should factor in an essential segment that can champion the voice of the brand in the truest sense: its own people.

Every growing, successful organization is driven by passionate people and a work culture that appreciates their efforts. When the employees love what they do, they take pride in what they learn and advocate the best practices. Encouraging them to share their expertise builds a repository of trustable knowledge and content that truly represents the brand.

Building Trust-Based Stakeholder Relations:

Showcasing people as the face of the brand allows businesses to communicate authentically while having a host of benefits. Beyond making an impact in the industry, the ripple effect drives innovation and progress in society by organizations committed to making a difference. In the B2B context, the content created by people who directly work with prospects fosters a bond between the company and its clients, when the spokesperson directly interacts with customers, potential or active. This not only boosts the brand image but also uplifts the morale of the employees and builds trust-based stakeholder relations.

For instance, let’s take an organization specializing in emerging technologies; they constantly innovate and experiment to deliver cutting-edge solutions to solve the problems the customers are facing. The technology experts within the organization can talk about the technologies they are passionate about through short knowledge-sharing videos covering technologies tied to their core work or those they are passionate about. Video being a powerful form of content as it is, reaches business audiences multifold. According to a Forbes Insight report, 75% of the surveyed C-suite executives stated they “watch work-related videos on business-related websites at least weekly”. Imagine speaking to these decision makers about various technologies, in this example, how the company can help solve the crucial challenges they are facing.

The Power of Authentic Content:

People who are camera-shy or prefer writing over the visual form can write about how their core expertise can help their target audience. Coming from a valid source, such knowledge-sharing assumes more value among the audience; it helps resonate with the brand image—of innovating and experimenting—and what the company stands for. Down the line, such authentic content inspires prospects to follow the company updates and be interested in its offerings and, not to mention, form a personal brand for the spokespeople. At a company level, it attracts fresh graduates on the lookout for a learning environment and inspires new employees to conquer the steep knowledge curve and explore ways to innovate as they pursue their careers.

Representing the Brand in Their Own Way:

As organizations embrace the new normal and transition into hybrid working, content generated by experts expands into meaningful branding and visibility opportunities for employees and the organization. Within the organization, the activity instills a learning culture that nurtures future spokespeople. Hence giving people the freedom with responsibility to represent the brand and share ideas and knowledge that matter strengthens the social and professional well-being of employees in an organization.

Creating opportunities that give people exposure and recognition is vital to increase job satisfaction and happiness at work. With remote working, similar initiatives help employees to showcase their potential, initiate internal conversations, and strengthen their visibility among their colleagues. These initiatives will deepen the foundations of open communication and transparency in the workplace, motivating people to share new ideas and focus on ways to innovate.

At a time when trust and transparency are paramount for businesses, shaping a healthy brand image driven by sincere communication from its people matters a lot. Strengthening the brand message is crucial for resilience and building confidence for all stakeholders involved in the ecosystem.

dhanshi murthi headshotAbout the Spokesperson

Dhanshi Kittusamy Murthi is the Regional Head of US Marketing at Vuram, a global hyperautomation services company. Her 8-year career experience spans teaching, content writing, and marketing. In her current role at Vuram, she is responsible for strategizing and executing marketing campaigns for the US region.

 

 

About Vuram

Vuram is a global hyperautomation services company specializing in low-code enterprise automation. Since its inception in 2011, Vuram has maintained 100% customer success and 100% customer references. Powered by passionate people, Vuram has successfully driven digital transformation for several happy enterprise customers across the globe.

Vuram has received several prominent recognitions, including being featured among the Inc 5000 fastest-growing private companies in the United States, HFS hot vendor (2020), Rising Star- Product Challenger in Australia by ISG, Fast Company – Best Workplaces for Innovators 2022, and recognized as a finalist in the Excellence in Change Communication category in the Gartner Communications Awards 2022. Vuram has consistently ranked in India’s Best Places to Work, certified by Great Place to Work® institute.

Vuram’s hyperautomation technology stack encompasses business process management (BPM), robotic process automation (RPA), optical character recognition (OCR), document processing AI, machine learning (ML), and analytics.

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Ultimate Influence Via the Parry

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fencing

Use this tactic of deflection to avoid needless conflicts and turn your adversaries into allies.

Today’s post is by Bob Burg, author of Adversaries into Allies: Win People Over Without Manipulation or Coercion (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

“Who is mighty? That person who can control their own emotions and make, of an enemy, a friend.” – Talmud

Our 16th U.S. President, Abraham Lincoln, was one of the best when it came to turning adversaries into allies.

“…{On one occasion}, when another official sharply criticized Lincoln’s judgment, the president responded to a reporter’s interrogation by saying he had great respect for the other man, and if this official had concerns about him, there must be some truth to it. Such discretion disarmed divisiveness that was intended to draw Lincoln into side-skirmishes, it won the hearts of his friends and foes and it allowed Lincoln to maintain focus on more important issues.”

What Lincoln did was to utilize the tactic of “deflection.” This means to softly “parry” a challenge or accusation, deflecting it into another direction where it misses entirely.

This is actually a common boxing move. When one fighter throws a jab, the intended target will, very coolly, simply wait until the punch almost reaches him. He’ll then just parry it away with a very slight flick of the wrist. Harmless.

Lincoln did it. You can too.

Use the Other Person’s Force…To Your Advantage

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