10 Things Every "Change Agent" Must Answer

Rarely does something I read or see compel me to send a link out or copy an entire article and post it to my blog. This is a good exception as I really like the way Bill Taylor summarizes the questions all of us should be asking our selves as we create, advise or decide the fate of many of our efforts in the business community.

So enjoy the following guest post:

Written by Bill Taylor courtesy of the Harvard Business Review

As leaders, we have no control over how fast markets grow or how wisely banks lend. But we do control our own mindsets and "animal spirits"--the phrase coined by John Maynard Keynes in the depth of the Great Depression. If all you've got is a spreadsheet filled with red ink and dire forecasts, it's easy to be paralyzed by fear and resistant to change. But if you can summon some leadership nerve, then hard times can be a great time to separate yourself from the pack and build advantages for years to come.

Indeed, when it comes to creating the future, the only thing more worrisome than the prospect of too much change may be too little change--especially in an economy where there are too many competitors chasing too few customers with products and services that look too much alike. Now is the time to rethink long-held strategic assumptions inside your company, to challenge decades of conventional wisdom in your industry, and to push yourself to learn, grow, and innovate. As Albert Einstein famously said, "Problems cannot be solved at the same level of awareness that created them." Or, in the spirit of some unknown Texas genius: "If all you ever do is all you've ever done, then all you'll ever get is all you ever got."

It's time to do--and get--something different. Here, then, are ten questions that leaders must ask of themselves and their organizations--questions that speak to the challenges of change at a moment when change is the name of the game. The leaders with the best answers win.

1. Do you see opportunities the competition doesn't see?
IDEO's Tom Kelly likes to quote French novelist Marcel Proust, who famously said, "The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes." The most successful companies don't just out-compete their rivals. They redefine the terms of competition by embracing one-of-a-kind ideas in a world of me-too thinking.

2. Do you have new ideas about where to look for new ideas?
One way to look at problems as if you're seeing them for the first time is to look at a wide array of fields for ideas that have been working for a long time. Ideas that are routine in one industry can be revolutionary when they migrate to another industry, especially when they challenge the prevailing assumptions that have come to define so many industries.

3. Are you the most of anything?
You can't be "pretty good" at everything anymore. You have to be the most of something: the most affordable, the most accessible, the most elegant, the most colorful, the most transparent. Companies used to be comfortable in the middle of the road--that's where all the customers were. Today, the middle of the road is the road to ruin. What are you the most of?

4. If your company went out of business tomorrow, who would miss you and why?
I first heard this question from advertising legend Roy Spence, who says he got it from Jim Collins of Good to Great fame. Whatever the original source, the question is as profound as it is simple--and worth taking seriously as a guide to what really matters.

5. Have you figured out how your organization's history can help to shape its future? Psychologist Jerome Bruner has a pithy way to describe what happens when the best of the old informs the search for the new. The essence of creativity, he argues, is "figuring out how to use what you already know in order to go beyond what you already think." The most creative leaders I've met don't disavow the past. They rediscover and reinterpret what's come before as a way to develop a line of sight into what comes next.

6. Can your customers live without you?
If they can, they probably will. The researchers at Gallup have identified a hierarchy of connections between companies and their customers--from confidence to integrity to pride to passion. To test for passion, Gallup asks a simple question: "Can you imagine a world without this product?" One of the make-or-break challenges for change is to become irreplaceable in the eyes of your customers.

7. Do you treat different customers differently?
If your goal is to become indispensable to your customers, then almost by definition you won't appeal to all customers. In a fickle and fast-changing world, one test of how committed a company is to its most important customers is how fearless it is about ignoring customers who aren't central to its mission. Not all customers are created equal.

8. Are you getting the best contributions from the most people?
It may be lonely at the top, but change is not a game best played by loners. These days, the most powerful contributions come from the most unexpected places--the "hidden genius" inside your company, the "collective genius" of customers, suppliers, and other smart people who surround your company. Tapping this genius requires a new leadership mindset--enough ambition to address tough problems, enough humility to know you don't have all the answers.

9. Are you consistent in your commitment to change?
Pundits love to excoriate companies because they don't have the guts to change. In fact, the problem with many organizations is that all they do is change. They lurch from one consulting firm to the next, from the most recent management fad to the newest. If, as a leader, you want to make deep-seated change, then your priorities and practices have to stay consistent in good times and bad.

10. Are you learning as fast as the world is changing?
I first heard this question from strategy guru Gary Hamel, and it may be the most urgent question facing leaders in every field. In a world that never stops changing, great leaders can never stop learning. How do you push yourself as an individual to keep growing and evolving--so that your company can do the same?

The $127.93 Latte

One of the strange trends that has begun surface in our society is this false sense of entitlement. We have become conditioned to believe that because of “x” we are entitled to “y” even though the two are mutually exclusive of each other. We have lost sight of the free market capitalistic social system that has existed for centuries and replaced with an artificial hierarchy based on wealth, social status, geography, ethnicity, religious affiliation, political affiliation or material possessions. (Don't let me get started on my soap box here)

I remember when I was younger Burger King had an ad campaign and tag line of “have it your way” and had the whole song to go with it “hold the pickles, hold the lettuce…etc”. This type of customer controlled customization was, at least I am beginning to believe, responsible this consumer behavior trend we are dealing with today. I am all for customization, I love the concept of the boutique business model, but i think we as a society failed in understanding its benefits, what it means and have taken it out of context in a way that is becoming self defeating.

I notice it most on a consumer level when I enter my local coffee shop and watch the types of orders that are placed and the behavior accompanies them. The epitome of this has to be Starbucks, where the simple act of getting coffee has turned into a dramatic expression of entitlement and bad behavior. Not only have the orders become absurd, the attitude in which the orders are placed has become down right obnoxious. In the case of Starbucks, I partially blame the evolution of this anomaly on the brand image combined with their abundance of accessibility, but that is a whole other post. Specifically in their case they created a type of customer expectation that then encouraged the subsequent behavioral pattern of their customers. What is freaky to me is how this behavior has segued into society and is gaining momentum.

This type of consumer behavioral pattern has infected our business culture and become a type of accepted negotiation tactic. It seems that committing to pay $X for Y services is just the beginning of the business arrangement as opposed to the totality of it. It has created a trend towards customized deliverables, enhanced services, changes orders and new features at no additional cost to the customer and all for the original contracted price.

Small businesses (as opposed to large corporations) seem to have become the targets here. More often than not they are made to feel obligated to bend, give or concede on things because they are small. Being small does not equate to being desperate or weak. More often than not the small companies are the specialists, the catalysts, connectors and agents of change. We are not small by force but small by choice. Think about this in terms of the auto industry, who would you rather be right now, Ferrari or Chrysler, Tesla or GM. This concept of specialization often gets lost on folks who confuse size for strength.

As a consultant I get contacted very often to help a company, event or organization develop a strategy or branding exercise. This issue of entitlement hits home for me with the occasional client who makes the assumption that “add ins” to our original agreement are part of the agreement. I have become accustom to it and have devised a very easy and clear solution to handling it. I listen, provide a verbal understanding of the request, outline the resources and time and then add: “sounds great we can do that for you as well, how do you want us to bill you for that, should we create an addendum to the agreement we have or should we do a separate hourly billing?”. It is usually followed by a long awkward pause form the client and a “let me get back to you on that”. Sometimes you (as the service provider) have to bite the bullet and give a little in the interest of good business and customer relations. But other times it is OK to just say “No” and let them know they cannot “always have it there way” but be prepared to explain why. More often than not this type of exchange will lead to a stronger relationship, a higher valuation of your contributions if handled correctly.

Back to Starbucks for a minute, I really feel for the front line at folks, those men and women do a great job dealing with some of the biggest A-Holes I have ever seen in our society. They are forced to deal with the customer who wants more from their coffee experience than a beverage. They want to customize their latte into a grande, double decaf, vanilla, chai, non fat soy with extra foam, in large cup, double pump of vanilla, one on the bottom and one on the top, extra hot creation. They want this for no more additional compensation to the person making it or increased earnings for the company supplying it other than that of price of the regular latte. I am always so impressed that the team members in there do it with a smile and efficiency that is inspiring. I am disappointed that they do not charge the customer for the customized deliverables, enhanced services, changes orders and new features…I cannot wait for the day when I hear the gal behind the counter say “no problem, that will be $127.93 ”.

Me VS Me

After a 5 year hiatus, a baby, a wife, new house, job, dogs and just about everything everyone else in the word is going through I decided the time was right to do something stupid. Okay maybe not stupid but definitely not the most rational thing one could do at 41 years old, I decided to return to competitive surfing for half a season and try my skills at gaining a spot on the world tour (http://www.aspworldtour.com/2009/).

For those of you who know me, you know I have ridden this wave before. I was lucky enough to have competed on the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals ) world tour in the past where I traveled the world for a few years pursuing an elusive world championship. On my journey’s I met some fantastic people, saw unbelievable places, had many amazing experience and gained a skills that help to define the person I am today. Along the way I had my share of successes and more than my share of failures, but all in all, I had some of the best times of my life surfing on the tour and to be honest I miss it. This time around it is a little different for me. I have no sponsors, no deadlines, no travel plans and I have no one to answer to but myself. I am not doing this to become famous, prove anything or try to make a name. I have all the fame I need, I have proven what I needed to and I like the name I have earned for myself. Why am I doing this???

I am doing it for me, to become better at all things this time it is me verses me.

Sport at any level forces us to commit. Commitment is a hard thing to wrap your head around until you distill it down its core elements and sports are a great way to do that. In competitive sports there is only one thing that matters, winning. Now winning in it self can be sort of ambiguous since it means different things to each of us. Winning can be achieving a goal of competing or even just participating, winning can be hitting a time or a high score…or winning can be taking it all and being the best. For me it is about winning and nothing else. I want to win and I enjoy winning.

I know I am not the best, but I also know I am not the worst knowing this gives me an advantage. The best thing about surfing is that the day defines the champion. Being prepared for whatever the ocean, Mother Nature or the environment throws at you, makes you a contender. It is a subjective sport and it is an emotional sport with history, personalities and challenges. Much like life. Our family life, professional lives and social lives are all so littered with variables its amazing we survive. Life is rarely objective and seems to be always subjective. We are driven by our emotions, guided by our history, persuaded by personalities and confront the challenges that never seem to end.

So at 41 I’m going for it. This is my competitive environment, the place where I get to come face to face with myself and engage the commitment, the honesty and reality of competition. This is where I go for my mental tune up, a refresher on life and get my head back in the game.

This time it is me verses me and may the best man win.

My thoughts on identity

I have been working for a while now in the world of social identity management and working with a fantastic team developing a platform that allows people the ability to consolidate social services, create and host content, contacts and images. We talk a lot about “owning your identity” and managing your identity in the work we do. There is a lot of debate on what identity means and how we can claim what we do with out really engaging what identity has come to mean in our society.

For me personally identity is not my Social Security Number, Drivers License Number, Checking Account Number or other number. They are important but, mean nothing to me and represent what I an only classify as a necessary evil in modern society.

Identity to me can be summarized into 5 descriptive categories:

1. Personal Image: How you choose to personally represent yourself. Some of us have issues (just being real) and choose to hide (yes hide) behind avatars, clip art or images that are definitely not the actual user. There are in fact others of us who choose to be ourselves and embrace the openness and connectivity the web make available to us and the opportunities that come from being approachable. You personal image is the single strongest facet of personal branding one can make. Your image is the package that you (the product) is wrapped in and displayed as.

2. Personal Description: How you choose to describe yourself contextually is the next form of identity. Think of all the online forms that ask you describe yourself. The audience you are engaging will determine the message you present. Professional = Professional, Social=Social and so on. How you describe yourself can be considered the ingredients, the integrity behind the packaging and the brand. Describing oneself is probably one of the hardest things to do and one of the most critical to building integrity behind the image.

3. Images Association: The images you choose to adorn your life space with (your office, your home, your bedroom, your car, your site) speak volumes towards your identity. They add dimension to your personal identity, associate you to groups, lifestyles, likes, dislikes and so on…Think of the all the sites out there where we (as individuals) have customized the images of the background to give depth to our identity. Can be surf, cars, bling, girls, liquor, landscapes, code, celebrities, events, friends, political, space and so on…all of these tell the next chapter in identity and give others an insight into what elements you consider part of your being.

4. Contextual Association: The verbiage used as a description beyond the brand image and the ingredients (Personal Image and Personal Description). When products “stick” to you and you are inspired to act (purchase) it is usually through contextual association. It is your personal tag line. Think about the iPod, Apple did a fantastic job of engaging their target audience by using music that was a big part of their target demographics world. Coldplay, U2 and The Verve. The lyrics more than anything drove the message of “cool” that Apple needed to engage their audience. The text we associate with our identity is a key facet to sharing/building our identity. We use quotes from books, recent events and iconic personalities to express our views or attitudes and hopefully use it to attract other like-minded individuals and build our brand.

5. Personal Associations: otherwise known as your “contacts”. This where we get to celebrate our successes and show off our social wealth through our social capital. How many followers on twitter, how many friends on Facebook, connections on Linked In…it all relates to relevance and social wealth. If I have a large number of “friends” I must be an authority on my identity therefore I am the alpha and you want to know me…follow me…friend me…connect to me…thus perpetuating the cycle. In consumer branding speak it the products you are grouped with speak to your value and relevance. In personal speak, who you show as your “friend” or contact will add yet another facet to your identity and your relevance in your chosen social sphere.

Online identity has been a very widely debated topic as of recent with many different approaches to control, sharing, managing, creating, editing and deleting. The fact of the matter is that the web is an open and wide canvas and the is NO way to control what can or will be posted, shared or created about you. What is out there now, is out there forever, embrace it, learn from it and enjoy it.

Fortunately for us there are many new initiatives that are introduced by both established companies and "startups" that seek to help us do this better. Their efforts are making it possible for individual’s personal brands and to become established in a way that makes the web a powerful personal tool. I am encouraged and excited by the discussions I have been apart of and or followed about this movement underfoot by so many in the tech community and feel the future is looking good.