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Newsletter

Enhancing Executive Effectiveness
Volume 1, Issue No. 12
December 2000

By

Dan Coughlin

This issue will cover four main areas:

  1. Last month's question
  2. Hot Issues For This Month: Making The Most Of Each Moment
  3. Questions For Top Performers
  4. Resource Recommendation For Top Performers

LAST MONTH'S QUESTION

The question last month was, "How can a manager increase the chances that their direct reports will follow-through and do what they said they would do?"

This is one of the most important aspects of management: to make sure that action plans are followed through on.

First, here are few ideas on what does not work: fear, threats, coercion and mean-spiritedness. At the very best, these will get people to do the action at a very, very low level of quality. At the very worst, the person will sabotage the efforts of others to ruin the assignment.

I suggest the key is to strengthen the level of commitment the other person has to the task. If they simply say, "Yes, I will do it," then they have one strand of commitment. To turn this single strand into a powerful cable of commitment, I recommend that you ask these three questions:

"What do you see as the positive benefits to you, the customer, your peers and our company if you follow through and do it?" Then pause and listen to their answers. Write them down. If you need to, reframe the question, ask it again and then pause and listen for the answers. Then ask the second question.

"What do you see as the negative consequences to you, the customer, your peers and our company if you don't follow-through and do it?" Then pause and listen to their answers. Write them down. If need be, reframe the question and listen again. Then ask the third question.

"Why do you think you will be able to successfully follow through on this?" Then pause and listen. Let them build a case within their own mind as to why they truly will follow through and succeed.

By asking these three questions, you will assist the other person in moving from a single strand of commitment to a strong cable of commitment.

If you have any other thoughts on this topic, please feel free to e-mail them to me at info@thecoughlincompany.com and I'll post them next month.

HOT ISSUE FOR THIS MONTH: LEVERAGING TECHNOLOGY

To start with, I'm going to define Effective Technology as "any device that increases the amount of time an individual has to develop value for a client or decreases the amount of time it takes to deliver that value to the client."

Value is anything that increases the chances that the other person will achieve what they want to achieve. Effectiveness is continually achieving better results in your highest priorities. Notice that technology does not add value or increase effectiveness just by having it.

Therefore, before you buy, create or upgrade a cell phone, lap top, video conferencing, headset, website, Palm Pilot, laser pointer, Power Point software, contact management software or ruler, I encourage you to ask yourself these two questions:

  1. Will this device save me time in doing certain tasks that will allow me more time to create value for my clients?
  2. Will this device help me deliver value faster to my clients?

If you don't get at least one yes, then don't invest the time, energy and money into getting it. From my perspective, too many people are rushing to get the latest technological gizmo without putting the purchase through any kind of filter.

QUESTIONS FOR TOP PERFOMERS

This month we're going to try something a little different. I'm going to give you a theoretical case study and you tell me how you would address it:

The VP of Sales of a national organization is faced with a dilemma. In the Southwest Region there is a salesperson who is generating extraordinary results. This person has produced a minimum of 25% growth in revenues and profits for three consecutive years. However, the Regional Sales Manager is complaining that this person is upsetting what was otherwise a happy sales team. At every meeting, this individual wants to ask the group tough questions to draw out their best thinking and then to look for ways to combine these ideas together to generate even better ideas. This person's motive in doing this is a belief that the whole organization can be more successful than it has ever been before. The problem is the other salespeople are comfortable with just reporting their numbers, having a light conversation and moving back into the sales mode. The top performer is getting frustrated at the lack of collaboration and is thinking about leaving the company. The VP of Sales is trying to decide what advice to give to the regional sales manager regarding this situation.

If you were the VP of Sales, what advice would you give to the Regional Sales Manager? Think it over and send your thoughts to me at info@thecoughlincompany.com.

Next month I'll include the best ideas that I hear back.

RESOURCE RECOMMENDATION FOR TOP PERFOMERS

Of the five books I'm reading right now, the one that has impacted me the most is Stephen King's "On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft." First, his own story is truly remarkable and a great example of perseverance and how to overcome both adversity and success. Second, his thoughts on writing (which I think apply to verbal communication as well) are very clear and powerful. Here's one example from page 114:

"The bread of writing is vocabulary. In this case, you can happily pack what you have without the slightest bit of guilt and inferiority. As the whore said to the bashful sailor, 'It ain't how much you've got, honey, it's how you use it.'"

I agree with King. Too often people are working to develop a vocabulary that no one else understands in order to be impressive. Authors don't impress me when I have to put their book down every twenty minutes to look up a word in the dictionary. I suggest that you allow your vocabulary to expand naturally as you read more. However, I do suggest that you invest your time and energy into making sure that the IDEAS your vocabulary creates are of true value to other people and can be clearly understood.

An audiotape program that I enjoyed immensely was Katherine Graham's autobiography "Personal History." This tough and tender woman lays it all on the line in terms of what it took to sustain and grow the Washington Post through some very difficult times. I think you will enjoy it and learn from it.

Take care and have a great month and a happy new year!!!

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