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Preventing Gridlock

“Success” or “Failure”? It’s All How you Shape Expectations

https://businessadvance.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/harper_report-success-or-failure-shaping-expectations2.pdf

As we ramp up into the first quarter of 2012, we’re seeing an interesting paradox. The latest news from the U.S. Department of Commerce is that fourth-quarter growth of 2.8% is the fastest in 18 months. However, despite this good report, some economists are painting a less optimistic picture that our expectations of a rapid recovery may not be met. On a smaller scale, we’re all managing expectations – some more successfully than others.

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Preventing Strategic Gridlock Receives Another 5-Star Review

Pamela S. Harper’s critically acclaimed book, Preventing Strategic Gridlock, has garnered another 5-star review on Amazon.com, from Mary Clare Garber, Vice President of Princeton Legal Search Group, LLC. This recent review starts:

“Have you ever found a gem of a book that you know you’ll hold unto and use again and again? I found that book, Preventing Strategic Gridlock by Pamela S. Harper. The value of the book is twofold; the ideas and concepts about how to identify the root causes of seemingly mysterious organizational problems she calls ‘strategic gridlock,’ as well as a process to follow to break through the gridlock and accelerate progress toward high performance results – regardless of the economy…”

To read this and other reviews in full, visit Preventing Strategic Gridlock on Amazon.com.

Pamela S. Harper’s Book Now Available on Amazon Kindle

One of the core principles we’ve learned over the years, and featured in Pam’s book Preventing Strategic Gridlock® is the importance of communicating with stakeholders through the channels they actually use.  So as Amazon.com’s Kindle book reader has increased in popularity with business readers, we’ve decided to make the book available to you using this channel as well as traditional hard copy channels.

Of course another aspect of communication is stakeholder feedback.  So here’s our question to you: Are you reading more books with Kindle or through traditional hard copy?  Please respond below to start a dialogue on this topic.

Listen to Pam Harper on the “ Entrepreneurial Moment ” Radio Show

Time does go by…. several weeks ago I received an email from Brian Sullivan, host of the “Entrepreneurial Moment” radio program in Kansas City, MO:
“Pam, I want to thank you for joining me on HotTalk 1510AM radio and our Entrepreneurial Moment radio show. Your tips about Gridlock will no doubt help a ton of our listening “business owner” audience to remove the obstacles and get to the Top more quickly than ever. Great interview!!!
Click here to listen to the interview

How to Make Conflict Work To Your Advantage

Over the past week, I’ve been interviewed on the radio twice on the subject of fixing conflicts. While I was able to give some pointers that can help in resolving clashes between co-workers, the implication was that conflict in the workplace isn’t a good thing.  Actually, I believe that conflict in the workplace has a better chance of producing high performance results than insisting on a “peaceful” workplace.

The fact is, we all have different values, attitudes, beliefs, needs, ideas, and experiences.  This rich mix of backgrounds can be the source of discovering new opportunities and innovation. The problem isn’t that we have conflict in the workplace, the problem is that we’re often not comfortable or skilled at expressing our conflicts, so they get pushed down while being acted out in all kinds of passive-aggressive ways (Example: think about the colleague who says “yes” to a request but is always “too busy” to deliver on the promise; or the person who loudly snaps gum despite your repeated requests to stop).  The reality is that a conflict openly expressed has a better chance of leading to positive outcomes than one that is suppressed to keep “peace” at all costs.

So what are the keys to making conflict work for you?  Here are three ideas:

    • Catch conflict at its earliest stages: Let’s face it – someone has to confront the situation, and it’s better if it’s you because you’re taking control over what’s happening.  Even if the other person denies the conflict, it’s hard for him/her to hide if you identify observable behavior in the here and now.  For example, notice not just what someone says, but his/her body language and tone of voice during the interaction.  Cues such as lack of cooperation with your requests, abruptness in manner, and lack of eye contact could potentially signal that a conflict is building.  Note: These behaviors could also mean something else, so it’s important to check out your perceptions with the other person.

 

    • Uncover the underlying problem:  Be prepared for new information to come out into the open.  Usually, there’s more to a conflict than what you can easily observe. Depending upon factors of time, your ability to be objective, and the criticality of the problem, a facilitator can sometimes help. For example, when two executives spent time deconstructing the issues underlying their conflict, they realized that they had each been operating under a series of mistaken assumptions about their objective, the timing, roles, and accountability.

 

  • Focus on finding a common point of agreement and problem solving:  Even in cases where colleagues simply don’t like each other, I’ve seen tremendous teamwork happen when everyone could agree upon the benefits of an objective.  This led to a willingness to work jointly on coming up with new ways to solve the problems and move beyond the conflict. However, even if you can’t find a common point of agreement, knowing about a conflict and where it’s coming from can help you evaluate your own options and decide how you’ll move forward individually if necessary.

Conflict is natural. While confronting these issues can be uncomfortable, it’s definitely safer than stuffing the issues down and watching problems build up until progress totally grinds to a halt.  Let’s stop being “peaceful”, and start talking about what’s really on our minds.

Listen to Pamela S. Harper “ Live ” on 8/21/09 “ Tom On Leadership ” Radio Show

What does John Caslione, co-author (with Philip Kotler) of the new book Chaotics have in common with Pamela S. Harper (me), author of the 2003 book Preventing Strategic Gridlock?

We’ll both be interviewed on the topic of “Habits of Strategic Thinking and Planning” tomorrow morning, August 21, 2009, on the “Tom on Leadership” radio show on BlogTalk Radio.

To listen to the entire show, tune in at 10:00am EDT. My interview will be in the second half hour, starting at 10:30 am EDT.

How Resilient is Your Organization?

Regardless of the economy, every organization must be prepared to face unexpected challenges and setbacks.  My new keynote and workshop “The Art of Resilience: Leading Your Organization to Unparalleled Performance” is targeted to leaders of businesses, associations, and nonprofit groups.  It comes from my experiences working with organizations that not only bounced back from tough challenges, but bounced higher than they ever thought possible.  In this session, I’ll address how to:

  • Respond to economic upheaval without sacrificing long term objectives
  • Find hidden opportunities for growth and profitability
  • Increase your credibility with stakeholders in the middle of chaos
  • Foster a culture committed to creating lasting value

For more information, or to reserve a date contact us.

How Diffcult Deals Can Succeed

From media reports, it seems there are two points of view on the probable merger of Delta-Northwest Airlines:  1) The merger will immediately create tremendous financial and market synergies, OR 2) The merger will immediately create tremendous hassles and is not likely to succeed.  The fact is, both points of view may be right.  The question is, can difficult deals succeed despite extreme challenges?

While every deal has challenges, some are clearly more difficult than others. That being said, here are a few of the ways to increase success:

  • Create realistic expectations for the deal:  It’s a recipe for disaster to focus on the positive side of the equation while downplaying the known risks.  For example, we already know that the two airlines have vastly different aircraft, organizational structures, and cultures. We also know that Northwest’s pilots are protesting the deal. Given these challenges, leadership needs to assess what is truly realistic to expect in one year, in two years, and in three years. If the answers don’t meet their criteria for “success,” then it may be a wiser choice to explore alternatives.
  • Create unity at the top:  I’ve seen more problems during integration when the new executive team (and board) are out of synch with each other.  When the new team clearly shares the vision, mission, values, key objectives, and strategy for the merged company, it’s easier to accelerate subsequent decisions about supporting goals, priorities, and infrastructure.
  • Communicate about the plan: Once it’s probable that the deal will occur, employees across the merged organization need to understand how the integration plan will unfold so they can make adjustments to their jobs accordingly.  For example,  purchasing systems that had been in place and functioning well for years suddenly vanished immediately after two major companies merged .  Because there was no communication prior to the change, no one was prepared. This caused major delays on several key projects, as employees struggled to figure out who to contact for what.   The solution is a balancing act: find out from employees what information they need in order to continue to do their jobs well; share information to the extent that you can; and update them with enough lead time for changes to happen without firefighting.

Just because a deal is difficult doesn’t mean it can’t succeed.  However, it does require everyone to take off the rose-colored glasses and think through – in advance of making commitments – how they’re going to pull this off so that risks are minimized and the projected benefits can really happen.

Better Late Than Never

When I arrived slightly early at the Asheville, NC airport for my flight to Newark, I was greeted by the following sign:

Continental Airlines

 

As it turned out, the flight actually departed and arrived on-time.  While this was clearly an employee’s idea of humor, the timing was poor considering that it coincided with the release of a report citing slipping quality across US airlines (including more frequent delays), and increased complaints from passengers.

What can we learn?

  1. Consider what else is going on and the perceptions of others before using humor
  2. Don’t do anything you don’t want to see published on someone’s blog.

How to Avoid The Pitfalls of Mergers and Acquisitions

Lately, we’ve been hearing quite a bit about difficult deals, from Microsoft-Yahoo to Delta – Northwest Airlines.  What do CEOs and presidents need to know to avoid the most common pitfalls and lead a successful merger or acquisition?

I’m delighted to tell you that on Thursday, March 20, 2008 from 3:00-4:00pm Eastern, I’ll be interviewing William J. Kroll, CEO and Chairman of Matheson-Trigas, a leading supplier of industrial gases and equipment, as part of the “AeA Leading for Success” series.  We’ll discuss:

  • Leadership lessons from Bill’s experiences with M&A
  • Keys to picking the right target
  • Guidelines for valuing a company
  • How to minimize culture clashes and maximize productivity
  • Tips for integrating operations and rewards to improve performance
  • Ways to retain key talent

William J. Kroll, was named one of the top 25 entrepreneurs in NJ. He has 30+ years of executive management experience in almost every area of business, including forming joint ventures and international acquisitions.   AeA is a trade association dedicated to “Advancing the Business of Technology.”

This is a program exclusively for CEOs and company presidents. Can’t make the “live” session?  A link will be provided to the recorded session.