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Archives for May 2007

PMN Podcast 1 Now Available

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Our first podcast explaining what we are trying to achieve with the Progressive Managers Network is now available at: http://www.podcastfm.co.uk/about.php?id=238

In our first podcast Lee asks Mike the story and ethos behind PMN and how Common Purpose and Gordon Ramsey has influenced its development! Why is it so different? A general FAQ type podcast for everyone who is a member of, or interested in PMN.

Hope you enjoy the show! We would love your feedback so that we can make it better.

Longer and shorter or Faster and slower

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Great Seth Godin post about how ads are getting shorter so we can get the message across more quickly at lower cost. As Seth points out in todays world people can choose whether they want to watch adverts – so you may as well make them long – and run them on You Tube for free.

And Peter Senge says that if differential calculus were invented today, no would learn it because it takes more then two days (and no-one spends more than two days learning anything in the business world these days).

So the world gets faster and things (adverts, training courses etc) get shorter. But then there is the slow movement – slow food, slow enterprise and slow management. Some processes can not be rushed if their fruits are to be fully enjoyed.

There are always choices, faster is not always better.  Efficiency is not always a good thing.

Managing Underperformance

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I am sure that every manager worth his or her salt has at some time had to confront the challenge of managing someone who is under performing.  So what is the first thing that you do:

  1. Collect evidence of under performance;
  2. Start to define the expected performance and look at ways to coach the person to close the gap;
  3. Avoid the issue and leave it for the annual review?

Well  the first two of these are pretty good options.  The third is probably the most common – and usually disastrous for all concerned – the manager, the employee, the organisation and the customer.

There is a better place to start the process of managing under performance and that is to ask ‘Do we really understand this person’s strengths?  Are we using them in a role that plays to them?’  Instead of putting the spotlight immediately on them, this gives us a chance to reflect on whether we really understand the person involved.  Are we really giving them the best possible chance to succeed?

This allows us to consider the option of developing the persons role so that the under performance simply goes away.  As Jim Collins puts it – it is about getting the right people, on the right seats on the bus.

Playing to peoples’ strengths rather than trying to ‘coach’ around their weaknesses is a fundamental characteristic of high performing teams.  Are you doing all you can to allow your employees to use their strengths?  Are you setting them up with an opportunity to win?

What Makes a Progressive Manager?

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I enjoy working with progressive managers. People who know that as a manager their focus is on making progress – and that this is best done by balancing personal development, the development of team members and execution of tasks. Progressive managers are not all that common. Here is my ‘starter for 10‘ for whether or not you are a Progressive Manager.

  1. You recognise that not only must your team achieve great results – but you must also develop the capacity of the team to perform better in the future.
  2. You continually develop new skills and behaviours that will make you more effective in your role as a manager.
  3. The outputs of your work make a positive contribution to the community.
  4. You recognise that ‘all power is trust’ and accordingly you strive to improve working relationships with team members and other stakeholders. You understand that relationships have to be worked on – they rarely just happen.
  5. You respect those who work for you – and understand that your success as a manager depends on their success. As such you see a large part of your role is to enable them to do their best work.

Can you suggest any further criteria for progressive Managers – or improve on the criteria I have listed here?

The Profit Distributing Social Enterprise?

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In a recent McKinsey article veteran researcher and business thinker Daniel Yankelovich reports that executives today in corporate America overwhelmingly agree that their businesses must not only make money, but must also serve the public good. Some 68% of executives believe that their business does both – only 48% of consumers agree with them.

It is clear that the ‘for profit distribution’ strategists are split over the role of ‘public service’ and ‘corporate social responsibility’ in the strategic mix. However the pendulum is clearly swinging in the direction of doing ‘public good’ as a core component of business strategy. The ‘profit distributing social enterprise’ is just around the corner – if it is not here already. Some would say that companies like SERCO, running everything from hospitals and prisons to railways and business support organisations, are already building this type of business structure – delivering ‘public good’ from a for profit platform.

What advantages will the third sector retain when more of the ‘for profits’ demonstrate a strong track record in providing public good? They might include:

  • the ability to release and channel the power of volunteerism in support of service delivery
  • the potential to attract philanthropic investments to fund the work
  • and perhaps most importantly a genuine passion for delivering the mission. A belief in doing it because it is the right thing to do; because it is an expression of what we value as human beings and not simply a preferred mechanism to increase return on investment to shareholder.

If we are serious about social enterprises challenging the dominant private enterprise model it is perhaps in these areas that strong management and leadership skills will be required.