A professor stands in front of his class.  On the desk, sits a jar and a pile of rocks.  He asks a student to fill the jar with as many rocks as possible until it is full.  When the student finishes, the professor asks the class if the jar is full and they all say ‘yes’.  The professor presents a pitcher of sand.  He pours the sand into the jar and it fills the space around the rocks.  He asks the class again if the jar is full.  They exclaim ‘yes’.  He then takes a pitcher of water and pours it into the jar until it begins to spill over the top.  Now the jar is full. 

The lesson is that there is often more room in the jar than you think, but only if you put the big rocks in first. 

For the last 6 months, I have been extremely busy – a bit over-committed with client work.  As good as that is for my bank account, I know it’s not really a sustainable business model.  I have been so busy delivering, I haven’t really made time for business building.  So, last week I allocated time for big rocks – 4 hours per day working on my list:

1)      Begin design on that new client training/coaching program I’ve been meaning to do

2)      2011 financial planning and set up of systems and files

3)      Re-write  that research paper I did into a more usable white paper for my audience

4)      Mindmap/outline the Flying Solo Live talk for September

5)      Create a schedule and library of future blog posts

Over the week, I was able to make significant progress on items 1, 2, and 3 and make a good start on 4 and 5.  It’s not as much as I had hoped to achieve, but it’s significantly more than I’ve achieved in the last 6 months. 

But, I can’t do that every week.  So, how I will I sustain it?  Clearly, these tasks have to go in the jar first.  Each of these tasks required significant head space just to make a start.  They can’t be squeezed in between client work or meetings.  For my business, that means being more careful with my time:

• Set an appointment in my diary for this work.  Treat it with the same respect and attention that I would give a client
• Keep a prioritised list of ‘big rocks’ to tick off the list – aim for 1 per week.  That could be 50 per year!
• Remove distractions – no email, phone calls, or Twitter while working on the big rocks
• Get moving  -  If I get stuck on something, don’t turn to the internet for a distraction…get moving!  45 minutes of walking time is great for new ideas

Hypothesis:  Chefs given the advantage should perform better than those with none.

Actual result:   2 out of 3 chefs with advantage performed worse than those without any preparation or planning time.

Welcome to the unpredictable nature of human beings and performance.    Welcome to management lessons from Masterchef Australia*. 

According to Alvin, who was eliminated from the competition on Monday night, “I had an advantage, but cooking is a whole different story”.

Ralph Stacey** would agree.  Cooking requires innovation and innovation cannot be planned in advance.  Innovation occurs in the moment and in reaction to the conditions of that moment.  The task of cooking Adriano Zumbo’s amazing V8 cake contains too many unpredictable elements for the planning time to be an actual advantage.

So what kind of planning could Alvin have done?  Peter Senge*** would suggest to focus on the conditions for success by carrying on a learning conversation with the self –

• use the planning time to imagine the self creating the cake – what are the positive and negative thoughts that occur?  Examine them and address them honestly.
• be curious about how the brain is thinking about the task and try to create an internal picture of the future that the self believes
• give the brain space and permission to learn in the moment instead of panic - practise mindfulness by observing the thoughts without becoming the thoughts

These are some of the same skills our wise leaders are trying to learn for the same reason – the ability to think and react innovatively when things are not going to plan.

It’s not that planning is not important or useful – just make sure you are matching your level of planning to the nature of the task.

*Not watching Masterchef?  This short video will help: http://www.masterchef.com.au/video.htm?channel=S2MCLastSupper&clipId=2729_822MC200710CR”

** Stacey, R. D. (1996).  Strategic management and organisational dynamics (Second ed.), London.  Pitman Publishing.

*** Senge, P. (1990).  The fifth discipline:  The art & practice of the learning organization.  New York:  Currency Doubleday.

The technician is usually the one who gets you into business in the first place – you take the stuff you love and turn it into what you do.  But, the business also requires an entrepreneur…a visionary who will dream and scheme to create new things and a manager who will create order. 

In larger businesses, these roles are done by 3 separate people and there is a natural tension that exists between them that pushes the business forward.  But businesses that are small in size and young in age often do not have the luxury of 3 different people to fill these roles.  This means that you tend to gravitate to your favourite role, which can lead to stagnation,  or active inertia (lots of activity without change), which can lead to burnout.

What’s the solution to all of this?  Gerber says that if you are going to make your business your life, then make sure it’s the one you want.  Here is what you need to do:

• Understand your goals and motivations:  what specifically do you want to achieve and what would it mean to achieve it? 
• Define your organisational strategy:  what will this organisation look like when it grows?
• Define your management strategy:  By what metrics will I measure the organisation?  (cash flow, sales pipeline, etc)
• Define your people strategy:  How will I select and motivate them?
• Define your market strategy:  Who are your customers and why will they choose to do business with you over the alternatives?
• Define your systems strategy:  How will the work get done?  Don’t manage the business in your head.  Document how things get done so that others can step into roles as you grow.  Pretend it is a business that will be franchised, even if it isn’t.  That will make what you do repeatable and predictable.

Sound hard?  Well it is and it isn’t.  The hardest part is finding the time and head space to work on the business instead of in the business.  And if you want to reach your goals faster, try using some outside assistance.  Read about Two Heads Business Advisory Board services here.  

*Gerber, M. E., (1995).  The E-Myth Revisited:  why most small business don’t work and what to do about it.  Harper Collins, New York, NY. 

• The coach of a soccer team whose 30,000 members now decide the team line-up for games
• The bank whose only role in lending money is to match subscribing investors to borrowers 
• The organiser of a conference where the attendees create the conference agenda – on the fly
• The elected official who lets the citizens vote on how stimulus funds will be shared in the community
• The US president who is attempting to change the health care system by asking the citizens

In all of these examples, it’s not the leader who has control, it’s the individuals.

So what’s causing this change?  Researchers believe that it’s society moving from industrialisation to information.  Command and control models of leadership were better suited to predictable, orderly structures, like machines and factories.  But it’s not the machines doing the work anymore, it’s people.  And, it’s not a product we are producing, it’s knowledge.  And once your society relies on people to produce innovation, things get considerably more complex.  Leadership 2.0 is about conversation, not control.  In a world where social trust trumps power and transparency trumps regulation, Leadership 2.0 has the upper hand.  And, if you are going to succeed in this new world, you may need to make some changes… 

Leadership 1.0 was about planning, power, and delegation.  Leadership 2.0 is about unpredictability, trust, and participation.  If you and your fellow managers are not discussing how to build skills for leading like this, you may find that your customers, employees and voters are no longer following.  Here is what you need to do to keep them:*

• Be clear on the vision
• Accept that you don’t control the outcome, you only control the boundaries
• Stop the blame game – spend your energy on empowerment
• Allow communication to include tension…quality of communication drives quality of result

Can you do this?  Can your team?  What would the marketing department say?  How about the IT department?   Depending on the culture of your organisation and the styles of your leaders, this can be a difficult shift to make.  The leaders who are able to make the shift are those who learn to let go, who don’t feel threatened, and who are willing to accept the consequences.  If you are ready to start exploring this type of change, here are some great resources to get you started:

• http://www.usnowfilm.com/ – to see film and discussion about how our online culture will change the way we lead
• www.paulmcleaymp.com to see how the MP for Heathcote is letting the community decide how to spend its stimulus dollars (due to go live 1 October). 
• www.handspring.com.au/book-review-immunity-to-change/ book review for ‘Immunity to Change…a great resource for helping people and organisations move to more complex ways of thinking and dealing with the world

Thanks to the Hon Penny Sharpe MLC and the coordinators of NSWsphere  (4 September, NSW Parliament House)…a 1-day conference intended to start a conversation on what these changes mean for government and how government can meet new citizen expectations.  They set a great example of leadership 2.0.

*List adapted from Crawford, D., & Brungardt, D. (2000).  Building the corporate revolution:  real empowerment through risk leadership.  College Park, MD: Academy of Leadership Press

1. Quarterly comprehensive strategy – the opportunity to step away from the daily and weekly issues that tend to occupy most of our attention and take a holistic view of the business
2. Monthly strategic – the time to review ‘parking lot’ items that have come up in weekly tactical meetings and wrestle with and decide on the critical issues.
3. Weekly tactical – resolve issues, remove obstacles, and ensure everyone is on the same page
4. Daily check in – wait…don’t panic!  This is only 5 minutes per day and it will save you heaps on time in the rest of your day because you will coordinate schedules and cut down on email chains

I actually had the opportunity to implement this in my own organisation once, and I can say…it really worked.  Some people will object with ‘it’s too many meetings’.  But, as Lencioni points out, if you add up the hours your management team spends leaving voice mail, roaming the halls to clarify issues, and the lag time of staff waiting for clarity, the methodology suddenly doesn’t seem quite as overwhelming.  Doing meetings right is about getting it right the first time so everyone can get on with the business at hand. 

Tips for success:

1. Daily:  don’t sit down, keep it administrative, hold it daily, regardless of travel schedules
2. Weekly:  don’t set an agenda.  Start with a lightning round where each manager gives an update and shares key metrics for 60 seconds.  Let the group set the agenda after the lightning round, based on what is most important.  Postpone strategic discussions until the monthly meeting
3. Monthly strategic:  Discuss, deal with and decide critical issues impacting long term success.  Do research prior and engage in ‘good conflict’
4. Quarterly off-site:  Don’t overstructure, but don’t turn it into a boondoogle either.  Consider using an outside facilitator

The book is written as a management fable, which sometimes feels a bit insulting to the intelligence.  But, it’s worth persevering.   We all know how frustrating and time-consuming un-productive meetings can be.  I can speak from personal experience – this is a powerful tool that can make a huge difference to productivity and job satisfaction.  Need help?  Give me a call.

*Lencioni, P. (2004).  Death by meeting.  San Francisco, CA:  Jossey-Bass.

Are you worried about the impact the economy will have on your business or your life? What are you doing about it? Reflective thinking is an important trait for anyone – time to think about where you are and where you want to be and plan for things so they don’t sneak up when you least expect them. But, coaching research has proven that reflection that doesn’t lead to insight and action is actually counter-productive and can increase anxiety and depression. In other words, don’t confuse reflection with rumination. Change your focus.

If you had more time to focus on your business or your career, what would you be doing? New products? New markets? New skills? New ways to connect to people and customers? Maybe now is the time to think about the strategic stuff.