I’ll be right up front on this book review: I know the author.

Art Petty and I are professionally acquainted; we’re fellow leadership bloggers and our paths sometime cross on consulting projects. I’m a huge fan of Art’s writing about leadership—he’s extremely pragmatic, yet self-effacing. You won’t find bombastic pontificating on his blog. What you will see are in-the-trenches observations that are written with a sly wink and a smile. So when I found out he was publishing a second* book, I asked for a review copy.

Art has years of experience in corporate senior leadership, where he tried out the suggestions he offers in his book. The new book, Leadership Caffeine, is a collection of more than 80 essays from Art’s blog Management Excellence.  

You might be thinking, “Why buy the book when I can read Art’s blog?”  Here’s why: it’s packaged differently than a blog and therefore allows you to tap into some inspiration and information at a moment’s notice. Art has arranged his vast wealth of knowledge into bite-sized nuggets that can be easily enjoyed as your time allows. Think of this book as a form of caffeine for your leadership development: infusing a little jolt when you’re feeling a lag in leadership energy.

The book is organized into 10 sections:

• Developing Yourself
• Politics, Bosses and Other Realities of Organizational Life
• The Leader and Decisions
• Problems? Trying Looking in the Mirror
• The Nimble Leader
• Surviving the Tough Days
• Building High Performance Teams
• Timeless and Priceless Leadership Advice
• In Pursuit of Greatness
• The Lighter Side of Leadership Caffeine

As you can see, this isn’t your typical leadership business book. Art’s writing style is conversational and infused with humor so that you hardly even know you’re learning something as you read. (Sneaky, huh?)

The book doesn’t need to be read start-to-finish. In fact, it’s more like a magazine in that you can flip through the table of contents, see what appeals to you and go directly to that essay. Each written piece finishes with Art’s trademark “The Bottom Line for Now” summary. For example, in the essay Your Leadership Character is Forged in Defeat the Bottom Line is,

“Laugh today and keep moving forward. There are lessons to be learned from stumbling while on the road to victory.”

Now that’s what I call a good cup of leadership joe.

*His first was as co-author of Practical Lessons in Leadership.

Thinking of taking on a bigger leadership role, either inside your company or with a new one? Chances are you already know that getting a strong start is critical to your success. You may be surprised to know exactly just how early a start you need to get. According to authors George Bradt, Jayme Check and Jorge Pedraza – you should start your leadership transition before you even interview for the job. Now that’s what I call serious proactive measures.

The Book’s Premise

In their book The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build Your team and Get Immediate Results, the authors put forth the central premise of preparedness. In this revised, third edition the authors state “a new leader’s role begins as soon as that person is an acknowledged candidate for the job. Everything new leaders do and say will send powerful signals, starting well before they even walk in the door on Day One.” The authors mean what they say. Day One doesn’t even show up until Chapter 7.

The Rundown

In the first six chapters, the reader is given advice on how to:

• Find your leadership “voice” and chart your career path
• Interview for the job
• Conduct “due diligence” on the company, leadership role and team  
• Set up introductory meetings with key stakeholders prior to Day One
• Structure a pre-employment cascade of communications to set up a successful Day One.

Chapter 7 is devoted entirely to making Day One a highly productive and successful first day. It covers such far-reaching considerations as where to physically locate on Day One if you lead more than one geographical location, dress code considerations and a list of common first-day mistakes that leaders make.

Chapter 8 is a chapter on communication, covering both the types of communications modes to consider (teleconference, social media, face-to-face meetings, etc.) and the subtleties of storytelling and unspoken “signs and symbols” that a leader conveys.

Chapters 9 – 13 cover the nuts and bolts of a leader’s first 100 days:

• Embed a burning imperative
• Create key milestones to drive team performance
• Overinvest in early wins to build team confidence
• Get the right people in the right roles

My Take on the Book

One of the best aspects of the book is that it provides detailed timelines and worksheets, many of which are downloadable at onboarding-tools.com. Using the worksheets online is free, but you do have to register with your name, email address and a password to access the site.

The book cover touts this book as “a comprehensive onboarding strategy for leaders at every level.” I agree with the “comprehensive” label; this is indeed a very structured and detailed account of what a leader needs in order to make a successful transition either internally or externally into an organization. I have a difference of opinion on the “leaders at every level” aspect of the book cover. This is a book that would most benefit someone at a senior leader (think director level or above). Many of the suggestions the authors make would not be financially or physically practical for a front-line supervisor or mid-level manager.

The Upshot

This is definitely not “light” reading or for the seat-of-the-pants type person. But if you are serious about making a successful leadership transition and making a positive impact in your new leadership role, you’ll want to give this book a try.

Disclosure: I received a galley copy (pre-proof draft) of the book for the purposes of this review.

True confessions time: even though I’m in the field of talent management, I’ve never been 100% clear on exactly what that term encompasses. Ironic, isn’t it? Some folks in the industry focus on recruiting and hiring practices, others on employee skill development. Now, there’s a book on the market that corrals all the various facets housed under the vague term and creates a unified meaning. 

It’s called The Executive Guide to Integrated Talent Management. A collaborative effort between The Institute for Corporate Productivity and the American Society for Training and Development, the book brings together the best ideas of academics, consultants and practitioners into one place. Each chapter is authored by one or more thought-leaders and overall, the book succeeds in providing a semblance of order to a complex set of human resources disciplines.

Still wondering just exactly this book is about? Editors Kevin Oakes and Pat Galagan have organized the content into six key components:

• Recruiting
• Compensation and Rewards
• Performance Management
• Succession Management
• Engagement and Retention
• Leadership Development

Four Things I Liked About This Book

1. A thorough treatment of the topic. (Nope, no fables in this book.) Only solid, well-researched information with interesting visuals and case studies to support the concepts outlined.
2. Stellar contributing authors. Popular and well-respected gurus such as Marshall Goldsmith and Dave Ulrich contribute alongside less-known, but very accomplished practitioners like Karen Paul and Cindy Johnson of 3M.
3. Variety of writing styles and concepts. Each author writes in his/her own voice, contributing many different concepts from which you can draw your own conclusions.
4. Gender parity of authors. OK, I’m on my soapbox now, but it’s refreshing to see a relatively equal number of male and female contributing authors tackle this subject.

A Misleading Title?

The only issue I have with the book is its title. Naming it the Executive’s Guide may overlook a very important readership market segment—talent management practitioners. Sure, this book is a great read for executives, but I believe it’s even more important for an HR generalist, training specialist or organizational development consultant to crack the cover and glean this important information. Talent management professionals who dig deeply into this book are in a much better position to communicate with executives about human capital issues.

And that, in my opinion, is what makes this book worth reading.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of the book for review purposes.

A Book Review of Speak Up!
by Heather Stubbs

Most books on public speaking emphasize external attributes— projecting one’s voice confidently, maintaining eye contact and telling spellbinding stories. These are all important factors says author Heather Stubbs, but to be a truly powerful speaker, you need to first get your internal house in order. 

That’s the central theme of Stubbs’ gem of a book “SPEAK UP! A performer’s insights into the art and skill of public speaking”.  As the title infers, Heather draws on decades of experience as a musician, thespian and school teacher to craft a unique book that is equal parts memoir, speaking skills instruction manual and self-help guide.

Early in the book, Heather sets the stage by framing public speaking as “anytime you’re talking to someone other than yourself.” She asserts that if people widen the concept of “public speaking” to include activities such as going on a job interview or chatting at a networking event, then many more people can benefit from using the concepts she puts forth.

Throughout the book, I was captivated by Heather’s use of imagery to draw the reader in. She discusses the concept of creating energy between the speaker and the audience saying,

“Rather than simply transferring information, effective speaking is the marriage of content and energy. Your ideas ride the magic carpet of your energy to your listener’s mind.”

How evocative!

Beyond the wonderful images, the book delivers solid how-to advice as well. Using real-life anecdotes and actual drawings (for example, of correct posture), Heather provides a very comprehensive treatment of how a person’s internal and physical self must come together to be a complete speaker. The book is divided into two parts: Managing Your External Actions and Managing Your Internal State.

The section “Managing Your External Actions” contains concepts and practice activities about topics like managing your “stage presence” by strengthening your posture, voice control and gestures. This portion is very detailed and sure to give even seasoned speakers some new insights into the physicality of creating an engaging and energized physical presence. There is also a brief treatment on the use of one’s “props” (my words, not Heather’s) such as Power Point and avoiding jargon. There are more detailed books on the market for these “presentation tools” (Presentation Zen comes to mind) and Heather wisely steers clear of the details and instead focuses on her considerable knowledge base: creating positive energy between the speaker and her audience.

It’s when Heather discusses the speaker/audience relationship that this book really takes flight. For that reason, the Managing Your Internal State section was most helpful to me. Most public speaking seminars either gloss over, or completely ignore a speaker’s internal state of mind as a precursor to giving an effective presentation. In this section, Heather provides very specific evidence (citing brain research) and concrete skill practices for how to be confident, but not arrogant.

The theme of “relationships” runs throughout the book. Heather makes that case that the best speakers all share a common trait: they create a relationship with their audience that is genuine. It’s this authentic presentation of “self” that allows a speaker to create connections with their listeners and forge a bond that allows the speaker to let go of fears of audience judgment. In true walk-the-talk style Heather does some relationship-building as well— with her readers. She offers up personal stories about her early (and sometimes painful) performances as a child and how they shaped her views of public speaking. This modeling of being honest to the point of vulnerability with the readers gives her words of advice credibility.

I definitely recommend this book to the readers of The People Equation. As Heather points out, at some point or another, we are all in a position of talking with people. The ability to do so in an authentic and persuasive way is a skill we can all develop more fully. SPEAK UP! will help anyone, be they a novice speaker or a seasoned veteran, gain insight into their speaking abilities.

To purchase a copy of the book SPEAK UP! you may visit Heather’s website here.

Disclosure: I was provided with a free electronic version of the book for the purposes of writing this review.

Early in my career as a corporate trainer, my work team leader introduced me to a self-assessment tool called the Personal Profile System (now in a revised version called the DiSC® Classic Profile). We used the DiSC profile as part of our company’s curriculum for newly hired supervisors. The DiSC section of the coursework always proved enlightening to the new supervisors.

So it was with great interest that I read several passages from the new book From Bud to Boss: Secrets to a Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership. In the book’s extensive section on Communication, the DISC Model of Human Behavior figures prominently.

I was fortunate enough to snag an interview with From Bud to Boss co-author Guy Harris right before the book launched.  So I took the opportunity to learn more about his view of this well-known conceptual model and why he and co-author Kevin Eikenberry decided to feature it in the book. Guy was masterful at explaining how he uses the DISC conceptual model to help supervisors understand how to use influence in a positive manner. Even if you think you know “DISC”, I’d encourage you to read on.

Here’s an excerpt from our interview. . .

JVM: One thing that caught my eye when reading the book is your section on Communication. There are eight chapters devoted to this topic. I noticed that a significant portion of the chapters reference a conceptual model that you call the “DISC Model of Human Behavior”.

In a nutshell, what is the “DISC Model of Human Behavior”?

GH: It’s a way of looking at human behavior that gives us a language to describe behaviors, motivations and drives in objective and descriptive ways rather than subjective and judgmental ways. One way to look at it would be, “The DISC model provides me with a vocabulary to describe the way that other people see the world when they see it differently than me.” It’s a four-quadrant model that helps provide a frame of reference and insights into looking at differing behaviors. We believe that supervisors can use this information to adjust their communication style to best communicate with people.

JVM: Why devote the number of pages you and Kevin did to the DISC model?

GH: We noticed that when we did our Bud to Boss workshops [the precursor to the book], there was a high interest when we shared the information on the DISC model. It seemed to us that people were hungry for these insights, especially in how to apply this information. So, we built in a lot of “how to’s” into the book around this conceptual model.

JVM: I found this quote in the Communications section of your book as an introduction to the DiSC model:  

When you create an environment that challenges people’s needs, they struggle against you. When you create an environment that meets people’s needs, you develop greater influence and they will generally cooperate with you.

I believe this is related to the concept of “Circle of Influence” you cover in the book’s Chapter 9, correct?

Guy: Yes.

JVM: In the book, what’s the connection you make between supervisory influence and the DISC model of behavior?  

Guy: We use the DISC model as frame to understand the emotional needs people might bring to the workplace. Let’s use an example of physical needs to illustrate: if you and I are in a swimming pool and all of a sudden, I push your head under water, I’ve just put you in a situation where you cannot get something you need— air. And because you can’t get what you need, you are likely to struggle against me because I am the object of the struggle [because I’m holding your head under water.] However the reason for the struggle is lack of air, not me. So, when you’re in an environment where you have plenty of air you don’t think about it too much; it’s just there. But when you are in an environment where you don’t have air, you will struggle against the “obstacle” that’s preventing you from getting what you need.

It’s the same with emotional needs. So, looking at influence, if I as a supervisor can create the best possible environment where the people that I interact with can get their emotional needs met, they are less likely to struggle against me and are in a position to want to cooperate. The flip side is that if I as a supervisor create an environment where people can’t get their needs met, they will in subtle (and not so subtle) ways act out against me and therefore I won’t have influence. Here’s how influence and the DISC concept are connected: if I communicate with people in a way that meets their needs, that influences them to cooperate and work with joint effort rather than struggling with the conflict and stress that you often see in organizations.

JVM: But Guy, isn’t that manipulation?

Guy: I get asked that question a lot. Here’s my perspective: the techniques and strategies for manipulation and influence are identical. The difference is in the intention of the person applying them. Let me give you an example: a hammer. A hammer is a tool; it’s amoral—neither “good” nor “bad”. A hammer can be used to build a house for someone to live in; it’s a good tool. If I use it to bash their head, it’s a bad tool. The hammer didn’t change, I did.

So, looking at the concept of manipulation, if my outlook is “I’m going to get somebody to do something that serves only my will, for my purposes only”, that’s probably manipulation and it’s negative because I’m using that person as an object, not treating them as a human being. If I’m working with them to influence them for mutual benefit, well, now we both win and that’s ok. So the difference is in the intention and the application, not the tool itself.

Good stuff, Guy! Thanks so much for your time and for sharing valuable insight into this conceptual model of human behavior.

If you’re interested in learning more about making the transition to being a new supervisor, you can check out my interview with Guy in the post  Supervisory Transition: Roles, Relationships and Remarkable Principles  and you can purchase the book at frombudtoboss.com.

Disclosures: My consulting and training company SkillSource offers assessments based on the DISC conceptual model, and has a business relationship with Inscape Publishing Inc., the company that researches and publishes material under the DiSC® trademark. Yes, there is some self-promotion within this post, and yes, I’d love it if you’d contact me to learn more about this fantastic self-development tool, but that’s the extent of the “material interest” to me.

Oh, and one more “legalese” thing: Guy and Kevin gave me an e-copy of the book to read in preparation for my interview.

A Conversation with Guy Harris on His New Book “From Bud to Boss”

Last week I talked with Guy Harris, co-author of the new book From Bud To Boss: Secrets to a Successful Transition to Remarkable Leadership.

In the book, Guy and co-author Kevin Eikenberry craft a comprehensive treatment of the topic. It’s a practical guide for helping newly promoted supervisors make the transition from peer to leader. Guy had so much great information to share with me that I’ve created two blog posts.  What follows is Part I: Supervisory Transition: Roles, Relationships and Remarkable Principles.

 JVM: Guy, welcome and thank you for joining me today.

GH: It’s a pleasure to be here.

JVM: So, how about if we start with this: Why write a book about moving from “bud” to “boss”?

GH: The story starts with a workshop that Kevin and I developed in 2009. When facilitating workshops, we would get feedback that the content we were delivering would be helpful to a much broader audience of new supervisors. What we were seeing is that so many people get promoted to a supervisory role, yet get no training. We’ve all heard the stories of the best sales person in a company being promoted to Sales Manager and now that company has lost their best sales person and hired their worst Sales Manager. Through no fault of their own, newly promoted supervisors simply don’t have the skills needed to do their job from the get-go. They haven’t had the chance to practice. This book helps address that need.

JVM: In your research for this book, what have you found to be some of the biggest challenges that people face when moving from being an individual contributor to one of formal leadership?

GH: The challenges fall into two “buckets”: roles and relationships.

There are several challenges that new supervisors face regarding what we call “role transition”. There are issues around how a person’s role changes as a leader and the skill set needed to successfully fulfill that role. New supervisors are moving from an “I’m responsible for myself” role to an “I’m responsible for the output of others’” role. 

There are relationship changes that also happen in the transition and they fall into three categories:

-Your former peers (some of whom you now supervise)
-Your new peer group (including, perhaps, your former boss)
-Your new supervisor

So, a new supervisor has all these changes happening simultaneously—role transitions and relationship changes . . . and it creates some stress and frustration. Our book aims to offer a new supervisor some insights and perspective to grow supervisory skills so they can negotiate the transition much more effectively.

JVM: One of my first experiences as a supervisor was when I was promoted from within my peer group. Would you talk about the particular challenges that situation presents?

GH:  There are things demanded of the supervisory role that cause a behavioral change in the new supervisor. We’ve found that if the new supervisor doesn’t have an open, honest conversation about what those changes are, people can often misinterpret what’s driving the behavioral change. So, others start labeling it as “she [the new supervisor] thinks she’s better than me” or “you used to talk to me about things, now you don’t talk to me about them.” It’s better to put these things on the table upfront so you can head off any potential miscommunication that can lead to stress and poor performance and conflict.

So, one of our recommendations in the book is that newly promoted supervisors should be proactive in managing the transition. We suggest that they have specific conversations with each of the various groups that will be affected by the change in roles— their new team members, their new boss, their new peer group. They should be very upfront about discussing the expectations of each group and what the new role demands of the supervisor. By being proactive, the new supervisor helps minimize miscommunications.

JVM: What other interesting tidbits would you like to share about the book?

GH: In addition to roles and relationships, the book devotes a lot of time helping people develop the skills needed to be an effective supervisor in these five areas:

• Coaching
• Managing change
• Communicating
• Collaborating to build a great team
• Goal setting

Also, through out the book, we sprinkle in what we call “Remarkable Principles” for managing those relationship changes. For example, we cover the notion of “being friendly.” We believe that a positive, friendly demeanor is the best way to lead people. Our advice is to be friendly with everyone you lead, but know where to draw the line between “being friendly” and “being friends”.  We’ve found that by being very open and clear about the relationship boundaries, a supervisor can really head off at the pass any perceptions about favoritism.

(Bloggers note: here’s a bit more about the tips Guy and Kevin call “Remarkable Principles”. From the book: “A Remarkable Principle is a key principle for all of us as leaders. In many cases, these principles move beyond leadership to human nature and life in general. They are principles that support the [book’s] text around them. When you think about and use them, they will serve as a guide to you in navigating the complex waters of leadership for the rest of your career.” p. 4)

JVM: Where can people find more about the transition to leadership?

Kevin and I have created three avenues for people to learn more:

• For information on the Bud To Boss workshop: budtobossworkshop.com
• Information about the book: frombudtoboss.com
• A support community for people who have purchased the book: budtobosscommunity.com

JVM: Guy, thank you so much for your time today, and good luck with the book launch!

GH: You’re welcome.

Up next is Part II of my Interview with Guy Harris: Supervisory Influence and the DISC Model of Human Behavior

Disclosure: I was provided with an e-copy of the book to review in preparation for this interview.

Even though I sometimes grow weary of the whole “are men or women better leaders?” debate, I do think there can be value in paying specific attention to the development of women as leaders. Recently, I read a book that offers very concrete suggestions to help women discover their unique talents as leaders. It’s called the Power of Women, authored by Yale psychology professor Susan Nolen-Hoeksema.

From talking with my female colleagues, I know that even though women have parity in many workplace situations, there are still pockets where this isn’t true. Historically, women have not had access to many of the societal levers of power— land ownership, voting rights, marital equality and so on. This has steadily been changing, however, with our ever-increasing entry into the workplace over the past 50 years. We are at a time in history when women are finally positioned for professional success in a way that works for them.

According to Dr. Nolen-Hoeksema, that’s exactly what women should do: change the game by using talents unique to their skill set, honed by millennia of learning to work around the prevailing system. In The Power of Women, Nolen-Hoeksma outlines four key strengths that women bring to “every corner of their lives. . .to get the job done, fix problems as they arise and help people in need.”  She has identified four basic “strengths” and conducted research as to how women apply these strengths differently than men.

When I read the introduction to the book, my initial reaction was that these four strengths were fairly generic and definitely not just the domain of women. To my relief, early in the book Nolen-Hoeksema clarifies that both women and men possess these general skills sets. What sets women apart is that they employ these skills differently than do men. The book aims to give women the insight and tools to leverage their strengths on their terms instead of force-fitting themselves into a masculine format.

Four Ways that Women Shine

1. Mental Flexibility:  Women are very creative in finding solutions, focusing on getting things done, not just on doing things their way.

1. Sense of Identity: Women tend to create identities based on who they are rather than what they do, or what they have.

1. Emotional Awareness:  of themselves and that of others. Women can more easily identify and anticipate emotions than men, allowing them to forecast the emotional consequences of various life situations.

1. Relational Strengths: Women are skilled at understanding others’ perspectives and forming strong social networks that support them during stressful times.

 Don’t Like The Rules? Create Your Own!

True, there are external, societal norms that govern our workplaces.  Many of these “rules” are unwritten and subtly enforced by the predominant culture.  So, it stands to reason that if the workplace culture is dominated by males, then the rules will have a bias toward masculine norms. It’s equally true that these norms have been shifting over the past few decades to include a wider a variety of influences on the workplace culture: gender, ethnic, religious and lifestyle.

Successful women haven’t waited for these norms to equalize; they’ve made do with their circumstances and persevered in spite of them. As author Nolen-Hoekstra says,

 “Rather than focusing on the obstacles to their progress, women deftly go over, under and around these obstacles. They are not concerned with what women should be doing (Have children or not? Be in the military? Be national leaders?) Instead, women are concerned with how women can do anything they want and need to do.”

This message appeals to me: rather than complain about what one doesn’t have, find a way to go out and get it!

Built-In Support Tools

True to her theme of providing support, Nolen-Hoeksema’s book provides a treasure-trove of self-assessments and worksheets to guide the reader on her journey to self-empowerment. Even better, all of the worksheets are available for free via a download from the publisher. 

This book is a very meaty 336 pages, filled with solid research to support the author’s claims and interesting anecdotes about successful women from all corners of the globe and all walks of life. If you are seeking an affirming, yet practical book on making the most of your leadership skills as a woman, I’d highly recommend this book.

Chris Ferdinandi, author of Culture Convo

A few weeks ago, I got an email from Chris Ferdinandi, asking if I’d check out an advance copy of his new e-book, Culture Convo.  Chris is an HR Generalist with a learning and development focus for EMC Corporation, a global Fortune 500 company that helps organizations store and manage their digital data. As part of his role for EMC, he does some really cool development stuff using new media tools. He creates interactive career paths, produces weekly video podcasts, and provides training and webinars on career related issues. Check it out: http://youtube.com/emccareers, under the playlist “Global Services.  Chris also shares his personal observations on the human resources world at Renegade HR.

I love a good book, so I said “Sure!” and he sent me a copy. The book is an easy-to-read primer on how companies can incorporate social media practices into their existing corporate communication strategies.  When you purchase the book, you also get all sorts of cool freebies, like interviews with corporate culture powerhouses Zappos, Sodexo and DAXKO.

To give some context, I also asked Chris to share a bit about his new book with the readers of The People Equation. What follows is excerpted from a series of emails Chris and I exchanged last week.

TPE:  You have a full-time job. Why bother with a blog?

CF: For me, blogging started as a way to share my ideas about the profession of HR beyond my immediate network.

Over the last two years, though, it’s become something a lot more powerful. Blogging has given me a global network. It’s connected me to some amazingly brilliant, insightful and talented professionals I otherwise would have never met. It’s helped me personal and professional development in ways I couldn’t have imagined when I started.

TPE:  Your blog is promoted as “a blog about simple, back-to-basics human resources”. What does “back to basics” mean to you as it relates to HR?

CF: I think great human resources is really about giving people the tools they need to be successful, and then getting out of the way so people can do great work.

That means writing spending less time writing policies and more time helping managers become effective leaders.
 
TPE: Readers of The People Equation visit the blog to discuss workplace dynamics and leadership in the corporate world. How might your new book be of help to them?

CF: For readers who have great cultures and want to make more people aware how awesome it is to work at their organization, Culture Convo is a step-by-step guide to using social media to spread your “employer brand.”

For people who work at organizations with less-than-great cultures, or who are already well versed in social media, this book might not be for them.

TPE: Thanks, Chris, for sharing a bit about the world of social media and employer branding.

CF: My pleasure.

If you’re interested in purchasing a copy of the book, it’s promotionally priced for $19.00 until Friday, September 10 at midnight EST. After that, it’s $27.00. Click here to learn more.

Disclosure:  As mentioned, I did receive a complimentary copy of Chris’ book to review.  Other than that, I receive no compensation for the publication of this blog post.  Other than the positive feelings I get from helping out a fellow HR pro.  Which is payment enough for me.

John Spence, author of Awesomely Simple

Earlier this year, I discovered the book Awesomely Simple and wrote a book review on it for this blog. I admired the book’s down-to-earth approach and wanted to learn more, so I reached out to its author, John Spence. John agreed to sit down with me last month for an interview.

Jennifer: Thank you so much for your time, John.  Let’s start from the broad perspective. What’s has the reaction Awesomely Simple been?

John:

As I talk with people about the book, here’s what I’m finding: business owners are hungry for any idea that will help them improve their business. They are running so fast and lean that they don’t have a lot of time to work ON their business. They are able to get solid ideas [from the book] that they can implement immediately. I tried to write the book in as simple a manner as possible to help them out.

Jennifer: That leads to my next question. You say that the premise of your book is complexity versus simplicity and running an effective business is simple, but not easy. Why do you think sometimes the business books make it so complex?

John: Many business books today are written by academicians or people who are big serious thinkers and are seriously into research. These people get paid for being brilliant and making things complex so you have to hire them to explain it.  That is part of their job. I just wanted my book to be simple and clear to understand. Here is the important part:  if it is easy to understand, then it is easier to apply.  

During my presentations to leaders, I often ask: “How many have read “Good to Great?” Just recently, during a lecture I gave at Wharton, many raised hands. Then I asked, “How many used it?” Not so many hands raised.  Don’t get me wrong, I love Jim Collins.  I always think this is an interesting dichotomy; there is a big difference between reading a book, understanding a book and then applying the ideas in the book. To me a book is useless if you can’t get to the third stage of applying the ideas. I wanted [people to take] ideas to action in my book.

Jennifer: Is it that the ideas in some books are too esoteric?

John: It might be that they are a little too challenging to grasp. Too esoteric.  It’s that old “Knowing/Doing Gap;” a lot of people know what they have to do but making that gap as narrow as possible is extremely difficult to do.

Jennifer: So we are talking about how your book is different. It swings the pendulum in a completely different direction—back to simplicity. The book outlines six principles of business success. Have any of the six been resonating more strongly than others when you talk with folks?

John: “Best People” has definitely resonated. I am starting to hear something that businesses are concerned that when the economy turns around their employees will bail as they have been worked so hard, maybe with less pay.  This is a bad thing to hear a business owner say especially if they know they have some great quality personnel.

Another one that has resonated with many people is “Disciplined Execution”. Leaders are saying “I know these things, but I’m not doing them consistently. It’s isn’t about learning a whole new model, it’s being more consistent about doing the basics. I can’t believe we don’t nail the fundamentals.”

Here is a classic example. Everyone knows how difficult it is to lose weight and what has to be done: reduce your calories and increase your exercise. So simple, yet not many of us do it really well. You need courage, discipline and determination to do these things really well. In my book there are just six thing to focus on. Just do the fundamentals really really well and you’ll devastate the marketplace.

Jennifer: So what is getting in the way?

John: Tolerating mediocrity, being so busy trying to put out fires that they don’t take time to build a fire station, getting caught in the daily busy-ness.  People are so busy working in their business that they don’t have time to work on their business. They are always hoping for a magic bullet. The six [principles] I have listed are the most critical.

Jennifer: You mentioned tolerating mediocrity. I noticed this is a strong theme throughout your book. In your experience of working with a broad section of leadership, why is this going on?

John: There are a several sides to this issue. First of all it is impossible to create a culture of excellence unless there are clear standards of excellence. I think companies may tolerate mediocrity because they have not defined what superior performance looks like clearly enough.  You can’t hold someone accountable to a standard that is ambiguous. No one ever told them [employees] what good performance is and how it will be measured. You have to clearly outline the standard.

In my book I discuss:  Train/Transfer/Terminate.  I love the Jack Welsh quote: “I never fired anybody that was surprised.”  You need to tell the employee you have set clear standards. Leaders need to say “we know you are not meeting them, what can I do to help you?”

Tolerating mediocrity falls back on the leader to set standards, discussing those standards, holding people accountable for those standards, being honest, and having courageous communication around those standards and letting people know when their performance is subpar. 

Here’s another factor: consider the middle or senior manager who may not be performing that well either. They don’t want to shine a light of accountability on someone else because they know that light will be reflected back on them.

In “Five Dysfunctions of a Team” by Patrick Lencioni talks about this really well when he talks about vulnerability.  It is about people thinking: I am afraid to say “I don’t know” or to say “I made a mistake”. Then the thinking evolves to “I don’t want to hold anyone else accountable because I don’t want anyone to hold me accountable”. I think a lot of times a mediocre leader lets mediocrity go because they don’t want to be held to a higher standard either.

Lastly, I think it is very challenging for people to have the conversation around “your performance is not to standard.” Many leaders are reluctant to have this conversation because they are just afraid to confront it. They just hope the situation fixes itself. One of my favorite phrases is: hope is not a strategy.  Leaders need to get better at those courageous conversations. Allowing someone to perform poorly when it eventually puts their job in jeopardy without talking to them is really mean. It’s not fair to the person, or the company. So, the earlier you have those conversations, the better because there’s still a chance you as a leader can fix it. But leaders need to have those courageous communications so that they aren’t tolerating mediocrity.

Jennifer: Speaking of conversations, I think your book really outlined some helpful specific dialog and practical tools to use.

John: Yes, there are several tools I have put in the book to help leaders. They’re sort of common sense and yet have been huge hits. For example, there is the “four pieces of paper” to help with managerial the four levels of decision-making.  I just met with a board of director and taught him the four level decision-making process. He thought it was so fantastic and would be able to apply it immediately.

Jennifer: In the chapter outlining the “Best People” principle, you tell a story from your personal consulting experience in which you stood in front of a client’s entire workforce and told the truth, which in turn got you fired from the project by the company’s leadership. It was a great example of “telling the truth to power”.  Readers from my blog are external leadership consultants and internal leaders.  Please give them some advice on how to speak “truth to power.”

John:  First of all, if you are a consultant: As a trusted advisor, you have an absolute responsibility to tell the truth all of the time— as you see it. Even if that costs you your job.  [As a consultant] I have been terminated for saying things that were uncomfortable or saying things that no one else would say.

The things I share [with clients] are not based upon my opinion or my thoughts and feelings. I collect information from hundreds or thousands of employees. I deliver the message from the employees. Most of my stuff is based on interviews, confidential surveys, and gathering data, with just a little bit of my opinion added in.

Now, if you’re a leader receiving unflattering information: I believe that when someone delivers that kind of information to you [as the leader] that the good lead r (metaphorically speaking) hugs that messenger. The leader’s message should be, “I hate to hear that, I love that you told me.” It may be painful to hear but it is important to listen and be thankful.

Jennifer: John, this has been an extremely interesting conversation. Readers of The People Equation will benefit tremendously. Thank you so much for your time.

John: My pleasure.

NOTE FROM JENNIFER:

John has generously offered to give me three signed copies of his book Awesomely Simple to share with my readers.  Want a copy?  Write a comment here or at the SkillSource Facebook fan page to the following question:

“What’s the most simple, yet awesome advice you ever received from a leader?” 

I will take all comments, put them in a hat and draw out three winners.  Enter your comment by 5:00 PM (EDT) Friday April 23, 2010. I’ll contact you via email if your name is drawn.

Awesomely Simple by John Spence

Book Review:
Awesomely Simple: Essential Business Strategies for Turning Ideas into Action

By John Spence

In the introduction to his book Awesomely Simple, author John Spence declares: “everything in this book is from real life: you’ll find no fluff, no grand theories, no intellectual back-flips.” Readers who want complex organizational theories or a rigorously annotated bibliography will have to look elsewhere.  Spence promises a comprehensive roadmap for ensuring organizational success and he delivers.  To get the most out of this book, you’ll just have to trust that Spence knows what he’s talking about, based on his track record as a successful business owner, strategic consultant and guest lecturer at many prestigious universities.

Spence’s premise is that organizational effectiveness is simple, but not necessarily easy to implement.  He offers up his Six Principles of Business Success:

• Vivid vision
• Best people
• Robust communication
• Sense of urgency
• Disciplined execution
• Extreme customer focus

The above list isn’t ground-breaking. It’s common sense, which Spence acknowledges readily.   In fact, he says that the ideas set forth in his book are “largely common sense, but not common practice.”  Spence asserts that if companies consistently practice all six business principles, they will be far ahead of their competition because most only can manage to be good at just one or two principles.

This book has real “meat” to it.  Spence has a way of presenting the information very clearly, with just enough detail that the reader can envision doing what he suggests, rather than feeling overwhelmed.  That’s quite a feat considering the book tackles very broad subject matter.

I would highly recommend this book to:

• C-level players of small to mid-sized companies
• Leaders in Strategic Business Units of large companies who have the authority to affect organizational change
• Leaders in any organization who want to improve their leadership effectiveness, even if they don’t have ability to implement all of Spence’s ideas

Awesomely Simple is ambitious in its scope, yet pragmatic in its recommendations.  Read it and let me know what you think—which of these Six Principles can you implement in your organization?

[Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book as part of the review process.]