More Consulant Crockery...

So, there's this question on LinkedIn, asking a plethora of "strategy consultants" a valuable, fairly straightforward question:

"Should we spend more time and effort on developing strategy or focusing on implementation?"

Now, never mind whether you believe we should focus more on strategy or implementation, per se. For the record, I believe that -- pound-for-pound -- we need more execution (implementation) today. But frankly, that's a separate conversation, and we can have that later.

No, today's topic is dealing with consultants... why in heaven's name is it so hard to just get a simple answer to a simple question?? Must everything be a philosophical waxing, destined to replace Lunesta and Ambien as executive sleep aids?

Responses to the simple question above included paragraphs -- paragraphs -- of babbling about strategy frameworks, tactical directions, holistic processes, organizational legitimacy, and analytical and implementation phases. One such response actually included the phrase, "...the holistic process of strategy is dependent of a number of variables within the two aspects of strategy."

What???

I've got a neat idea... instead of saying how the question is a "false premise," or missives about "...the iron fist of Shareholder Returns" (seriously???) just answer the damn question!

Strategy is not a difficult process. A bit complex, maybe, but not overly difficult. We (the global "we") tend to complicate things unnecessarily, and often consultants are leading that complication charge.

I have simple advice: Stop it. Keep it simple. Plan, execute, evaluate. Rinse and repeat.

And consultants... guys, really... just answer the damn question!

But that's just me...

KB

Kevin Berchelmann
www.triangleperformance.com

Nevermind Thunder -- Beware of Talent Bolts!

I was recently asked,

As we emerge from the economic doldrums, will our talent "bolt" for greener pastures?

I believe the bigger issue is which talent will bolt?

The issue here is one of perceived equity. Your TOP performers likely recognize the fact, and need to know that YOU are aware of their abilities and delivered value. In these times of "hunkering down," we may have lost sight of the care and feeding of those top performers...

So, in my opinion, it's not just a talent exodus that should worry us (which may or may not actually occur); it's the eventuality that, if we haven't been appropriately recognizing our top performers, letting them really know that we recognize their value to our organization, they will most certainly find someone who will.

And their impact, as a smaller subset, is much greater than the masses departing for perceived "greener pastures."

But that's just me...

KB

Kevin Berchelmann
www.triangleperformance.com

Performance Appraisals Made Easy...

...now all you have to do is push a button.

That's right -- I just read one of those annoying pop-up ads on a human resource oriented website, and that's what it said. Make 'em easy... a push of a button.

The problem, of course, is we frequently confuse performance appraisals with performance management. We make the appraisal process so damn onerous that no one wants to do anything but the appraisals... forgetting, of course, why we do those silly things in the first place.

Here's a clue: it's not for the documentation. Many will tell you that this documentation is essential; and sometimes it may be. Some of the best advice I ever received was from an outside counsel (who later was at Administaff as their Corporate General Counsel), when he said:

Never use the lower right hand corner on an employee performance appraisal form; that's where the law clerks for a plaintiff like to stamp exhibit #4.

And there's a measure of truth to that.

But back to the topic... the real reason we do appraisals -- those pesky documents that HR insists on getting in some timely fashion, badgering us until we break down and complete them -- is simply to memorialize the performance management discussion.

That's right, friends, performance management comes first; performance appraisals, then, are just the paperwork cleanup.

So, go ahead. Make Performance Appraisals so easy it takes just a push of a button. But don't water down the real reason: managing employee performance. Because, frankly, that's the only piece of that equation that really matters.

But that's just me...

KB

Kevin Berchelmann
www.triangleperformance.com

Last one out, turn out the lights...

Succession Planning. The final frontier... to boldly go where damn few have gone before, no matter how frequently they talk about it.

A recent article in the Houston Business Journal references a survey about succession plans at mid-cap and large companies. Well over 50% do not have enough successors identified to weather one or more key departures, and only 37% claim to even have sufficient future management available (never mind ready)within the organization.

Are you kidding me?? It is the height of irresponsibility to suggest that senior leadership is focused on the future -- on longer term, strategic ideals -- when it cannot weather a small storm caused by the departure of just one or two key leaders.

For those organizations without potential successors, 78% -- let me repeat... 78 PERCENT -- planned to hire from competitors or from outside the industry.

Now look, I'm no rocket scientist or mathematician, but if over 50% of all organizations don't have promotable in-house talent, and almost 80% of those same companies are thinking they will simply hire from the outside for key vacancies, then someone is grossly overestimating the availability of key leadership talent in this country.

The numbers simply don't work.

Talk about penny-wise and pound-foolish.

Oh yeah... and in this same article, the survey numbers show that 72% of the companies planned to develop high-potential employees within the company to assume C-level leadership roles. Yep, I've heard that before...

Quit the folly, folks. Spend the time and resources necessary to identify, plan, and develop future leadership. To do otherwise is simply an unsustainable plan, and an albatross around the neck of an otherwise sound organizational strategy.

But that's just me...

KB

Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/

When hiring, just as in poker, trust your gut... and always cut the cards.

Trust my gut?? Wait a minute, you say. There are a plethora of consultants, authors, academics and human resources gurus telling us that we should never trust our gut. That we should use testing, assessments, behavioral interviewing, and so forth. Nowhere does “trust my gut” come into play.

Pure heresy, you say. Trust your gut? Indeed, Kevin, you've gone mad...

Note that I did not say “trust only your gut.” Just realize that, after all the mechanical, methodical, process-driven mumbo-jumbo (some worthwhile, some… well, not so much), including assessments and appropriate behavioral interview results, you’re still left with a crap-shoot – “Can this person do this job for me at this company?”

When you reach that point, the 70-80% certainty and comfort level, trust your gut. Assess your visceral reactions when you met and spoke with the candidate. Ask others for their gut-check as well.

Trust your gut. Then make the decision.

KB

Kevin Berchelmann
http://www.triangleperformance.com/