Let's Be Successful Again!

FISH live!

I have just returned from a work-trip to Seattle, working with the amazing talent at Microsoft.

On our one morning free we went to the city's famous Pike Place Market, the home of FISH! Anyone unfamiliar with the story of the Pike Place Market and the FISH! philosophy can go to this page for the full outline. But my understanding is that the Pike Place Market was threatened with closure some years ago and the whole area was going to be turned in to a car park.

The traders had to think very creatively about how to reinvent the market. There are any number of initiatives the visitor can experience which are related to this mission to save the market. Local people who gave money to save the market got a floor tile with their name on (as you can see below) and these seem to cover the floor of the whole place, signifying that some of the donations were small ones from individuals committed to the future of Pike Place and that it required a lot of support to stay alive.

The FISH principles relate to the philosophy of the fish stall employees who are engaging, entertaining and knowledgeable about their products. They throw the fish at one another, not for the fun of it, but in order to get fish from the display to the guys at the back who are wrapping it and packing it. They are constantly busy, wiping surfaces, preparing fish, packing boxes or just saying hello to passers-by.

This is not a show. It isn't cabaret. It is delight in ones work.

By the way, at the first ever Starbucks across the road they also throw the take-away cups to one another...maybe inspired by the fish guys. It adds a lot of energy to the process of making a cup of coffee. It would also exclude me from becoming a barrista as I have no hand-eye coordination! 

The whole market, not just the fish mongers, seems to live by the FISH! principles. Crafts were sold by people who actually wanted to talk about their products and who offered their email address if you had a problem once you got the item home. Musicians smiled and spoke to shoppers. Even the shoppers seemed happy and relaxed - unsurprising in that environment.

Pike Place is small. It is probably smaller than the market in your town or your part of the city. And yet it has developed a powerful brand and a unique atmosphere. As a result it is still surviving and maybe even thriving in this difficult economic climate.

Text from the FISH website -

The FISH! Philosophy includes four simple, interconnected practises:

Be There is being emotionally present for people. It’s a powerful message of respect that improves communication and strengthens relationships.

Play taps into your natural way of being creative, enthusiastic and having fun. Play is the spirit that drives the curious mind, as in “Let’s play with that idea!” It’s a mindset you can bring to everything you do.

Make Their Day is finding simple ways to serve or delight people in a meaningful, memorable way. It’s about contributing to someone else’s life, not because you want something out of it, but because that’s the person you want to be.

Choose Your Attitude means taking responsibility for how you respond to what life throws at you. Once you are aware that your choice impacts everyone around you, you can ask yourself, “Is my attitude helping my team or my customers? Is it helping me to be the person I want to be?”

Entrepreneurial thought

I occasionally listen to Stanford University's Entrepreneurial Thought podcast when I am driving long distances. For some women, their secret shame is buying the latest copy of Vogue or TV Quick (or the Dobies catalogue...actually, that is my other secret shame) and flicking through with a nice cup of tea before anyone else in the household is awake.

Well my secret shame (apart from the Dobies thing) is listening to and reading stuff about business. This is stuff most people find boring but which I find stimulating in ways I can't really describe. Just as one might look through the latest trends in Vogue knowing full well they cannot afford the clothes, I listen to pocasts like Entrepreneurial Thought and read the Case Studies in Harvard Business Review knowing full well they are not really relevant to me with my little business.

However, I always pick up a few gems and this morning was no different. The speaker was the founder of  LinkedIn, Reid Hoffman. He is not a great speaker in that he doesn't have much stage presence and seems to find speaking to an audience rather challenging. However, every word he spoke made perfect sense. Listen yourself to hear everything he had to say.

But the part that has stayed with me today is his challenge that a good business is more than a good idea. Simple and obvious perhaps. But he argues that the best businesses set out to solve a simple problem where there is a clear need. They do not set out to solve difficult problems. When we set out to solve difficult problems it is usually because we want to test ourselves and our mental capacities and demonstrate that we can do something clever. In fact, this is a poor motivation for starting a business.

Instead, solve a simple problem, in a simple way if possible. Clearly the solution may not actually be simple and a great deal of technical knowledge and skill may go in to solving the problem but it appears simple to the user.

Hoffman provided me with a lot of food for thought today, questions I need to ask about my own businesses and the solutions we provide. However, that one seemed so neat, so simple if you like, that it may change the way I present what we do for companies. It isn't necessary to show off how clever you are if the solution meets a simple need, simply.    

Unsolicited news

Yesterday I had an email from someone I have met once sharing an upsetting and frightening news story from across the pond. This person thought that, seeing as she had come across the story, it might be useful for people she knew to have access to the information too.

I won't go in to detail about what the story was. It is rather irrelevant. But it was a typical scare story intended to worry mothers of young children (in this case) but providing absolutely no suggestion about what we should do to prevent such a fate befalling our children.

It's not that I don't want to know what is going on in the world. But every day there are millions of tonnes of fatuous news stories created by journalists trying to fill airtime and newspapers, here today, gone tomorrow stories disguised at public information.

During the height of the recession it was the same. I tried to sell various interviews with people like Martha Lane Fox and Deborah Meaden to the newspapers, in order to balance all the negative press. My interviewees, all successful business people, had more rounded views about the economy and the chances of businesses surviving than those we were reading every day and hearing on the news.

Did one newspaper print the interviews? No. I have sold stories before so it wasn't a judgement on my interviewing skills. Simply a judgement on my news sense. At that time, the papers didn't want positive stories.

Anyway, I don't mind journalists doing their job. But I tend to source my news from places I trust. I actually meet people who are in business, who are working in different fields, who have real experience,and  I talk to them. During the Summer I worked with someone from one of the large pharma companies so I asked about the Swine Flu drugs and got a far more rounded picture than from the media hysteria.

With so much information out there now it is important that we close down some of the channels through which this negative energy enters our lives. I am not only talking about news. We need to take care of ourselves. And sometimes that means keeping negative influences, whether they be the news, people who treat us badly, ignorant relatives or even bad lighting in our offices, to an absolute minimum.

Of course, unpleasant and difficult information does come our way. We do have to put up with people who annoy us occasionally. And the bulb in my office is going to flicker until the new batch arrives in the post! But where possible it is not a crime to keep negative energy out of your life. It might be one of the secrets to a happy life.

Bitter-Sweet tragedy

My question today is "Would you like to be managed by you?"

I recall from my years as a BBC producer that some of my friends progressed to leadership roles quite quickly and found themselves at the age of 30 managing large teams of even less experienced producers than themselves.

Alongside this transition came a transition of personality from a friendly, considerate, patient style to a snide, dismissive and intimidatory style. I found that sad.

I suppose the thinking was that, if this is what other producers and editors did, then it must be the best way to lead. And if you managed to survive and even thrive under such leadership then so would real talent under you.

I never ascribed to this philosophy. I believed (and still do) that leadership isn't about power-play and manipulation but about guiding, developing and nurturing talent. I don't believe you get the best out of people by making it hard for them to succeed. I believe you get the best out of people by enabling them to do their best work.

That's why I come back to the initial question - Would you like to be managed by you?

Think carefully about the answer. I can certainly think about things I do when I manage other people that I wouldn't appreciate. I am too talkative and probably waste people's time. And I am not always as direct as I could be so people may be confused by my motivations (this is something I am working on though and recently some people might have experienced a more "conclusive" style from me!).

However, if you discover that you are basically emulating a style of leadership you experienced when you were just starting out which regularly left you feeling insecure, worthless, lacking in talent, boring, confused, disengaged or any other range of negative emotions, ask yourself whether this is because you have chosen this style or just fallen in to it because you have nothing better.

Leadership is a skill which requires practise. Read articles about leadership, read books, go to lectures, watch those around you and see how effective (or ineffective) their approach is, experiment, learn from your mistakes and understand your strengths.

Become sophisticated...as sophisticated as you are at your "day job" whether that be as a salesperson, a marketing expert, a lawyer or even a BBC producer.

And, by the way, treat youngsters on your staff with some respect. They are only ever going to be as good as you allow them to be.  

Speak your mind

I have been having some conversations recently which have reminded me of the importance of speaking your mind. It isn't something I am very good it in normal life although in my work I seem to find the courage! Maybe because my clients are paying me to say what I think I have the confidence to tell it straight without mincing my words.

Yet, despite the great results I get professionally when I do this, I still find it hard in civilian life. In civilian life you are in danger of hurting someone's feelings or cutting off your nose to spite your face. You may find you got something off your chest only to discover you now have a whole new problem - your friends aren't talking to you!

However, there is a powerful case for speaking your mind when not to do so threatens your own well-being. I'm not talking about speaking your mind because if you don't you'll burst! But speaking your mind because if you don't you are being assaulted.

It's a strong word but occasionally other people's behaviour towards you feels like an assault. Words do hurt and when other people take you for granted, trample over your boundaries or make you the butt of their jokes it is time to stand up for yourself.

In such cases the motivation isn't hurting the other person back or trying to change their behaviour, it is rebuilding yourself. You do it because you are looking out for yourself and you have the right to expect better.

The other person may be upset or angry and there may be consequences. But if you have confidence in yourself, most of these consequences can be overcome too. The more you take care of yourself the more you find opportunities coming your way. The more you take care of yourself the more your confidence grows. And when confidence grows and opportunities come your way you can pat yourself on the back and know that it was worth speaking your mind.

Be honest

I have just come back from a three day retreat with a business group I belong to, Executive Foundation. For me it was an opportunity to step back from my business and consider where my business goals are in (or out) or alignment with my values and life objectives.

What became clear during the three days was that we all know what is best for us. We don't need to be told. The very act of speaking about ourselves reveals some of the truth. But what was most useful as far as I was concerned was that we had to consider what questions we wanted the rest of the group to explore with us. I wanted to know, for instance, whether there were any gaps in my plans. Clearly, I wanted to ask this question because I suspected there were gaps. Had I had a different suspicion I would have asked a different question.

Of course, this only works in a group of trusted friends and colleagues. In a less safe forum one might not be willing to share ones fears honestly or even ask for feedback. What they receive as a result might be motivated by all sorts of underlying biases - politics, ambition, insecurity or the need to be liked.

I think in our group we have reached a level where we can speak and listen openly.

But finding a group (or even an individual) with whom it is safe to speak, whether that be a partner, a friend, a colleague, a mentor, a coach, a minister or anyone else, must be a fundamental for success.

Without anyone to share our deepest feelings with in a safe and secure way, not only would success be hard to achieve but any success we did achieve would be meaningless.    

Playing the game

I have recently been talking a lot about politics - both conventional politics and office politics. And whilst people may be feeling a little disenfranchised and disconnected from party politics they are certainly obsessed with office politics.

No one likes to think of themselves as playing the political game (do they?) but most of us play it to a greater or lesser extent and with more or less success.

I am certainly political. I manage my messages, I manage my image and I manage my reputation as far as I can. Obviously you can't control what people think of you or what they say about you but you can influence it and I use that influence where it is important to me.

Why? Not because of vanity or the need to deceive or manipulate but simply because there are certain things I believe are important and certain changes I want to see and I feel the best way to bring about those changes is to communicate in a way that is most likely to bring about the end I desire or believe is right according to my values.

That sometimes means holding back on my opinion or saying something which makes people feel close to me. The bottom line is that I never say anything which I don't believe and I never knowingly betray a trust. I am a person of my word and I certainly feel I am genuine.

It could be argued that unless you express every opinion you have and every feeling you experience you are being political. But as a coach, I cannot always express my opinion or give voice to my feelings. They are irrelevant and constantly changing. I would always be interrupting my clients saying "I agree with that. I don't agree with that. Oh, now I agree. Now I am uncomfortable. Now I am fine". The client would rightly be saying "Let me speak, will you?!"

And that is true in situations outside of coaching too. When you listen to a friend without interjecting your opinions, when you support someone at a talent show, even when they haven't got much talent, when you tell someone "I know you can do this" even when you have doubts...all of that could be political. You are manipulating them and manipulating the message. But your motivation is positive - you want to encourage or enable because you think this brings out the best in others.

Very few people practise politics because they want to be a baddie. They do it because they want to bring about an outcome they believe in. They may be clumsy and you may not agree with their motivations. But be honest with yourself - don't you play the game too?

Speaking of creativity...

Increasingly I am asked to speak to audiences, mainly business people but sometimes a wider population, about some of the subjects covered in my books. In particular, people seem interested to hear about creativity.

I think there is a belief that creativity is somewhat magical and difficult to do and therefore any clues as to how to be more creative are valued.

However, I believe that firstly, creativity is not magical and is, in fact a rather practical skill which can be learnt (and which most people already do with some considerable ability without even realising it) and secondly, that creativity is not difficult but simple and rather obvious.

You might say "Well, you would say that wouldn't you because you are creative and therefore it does seem obvious and simple to you".

But whenever I speak to audiences who, granted, are self selecting because they have chosen to go to a talk about creativity but who, also, are at the talk because they believe they can learn more about the subject, I discover there is a huge amount of creativity in the room.

Some find it easier to originate ideas in the moment. Others will generate their ideas in the days that follow the talk but very few leave feeling that they couldn't get anything from the presentation. 

The key is to see creativity, not as something to do with inspiration but as to do with problem solving. And the first step, therefore, is finding problems to solve. Most of us are very good at that! We see what is wrong much more easily than we see what is right. Tomorrow, why don't you start by seeing how much you can find which could be better. The solutions may not come to you immediately but the brain will be working on it while you sleep, eat and watch Strictly Come Dancing - It Takes Two (or is that just me?).

I would love to know what you come up with!   

Sorry. That's never happened before.

As regular readers will be aware, I am moving house soon (this week in fact). This event, which happens somewhere in this country every day...hundreds of times a day I am sure...has thrown up a number of topics for discussion over the past few weeks and, again, does not disappoint.

My task today was to arrange for BT to redirect callers from my old office number to my new one. This is a service which many people use without a hitch (or so I was told on the phone by the very helpful helpline man).

This may not surprise many of you but they have messed it up. I won't go in to details but the helpline man reassured me that it was very rare that mistakes occur and that he was terribly sorry that, for 6 working days, no one will be able to contact me on my work number because it has been switched off. Until they can rectify the problem I assume anyone trying to call me will believe I have fallen off the face of the earth.

This reminds me of a joke I regularly share with my sister. We often ask seemingly obvious questions to shop people, helpline staff, sales professionals and ticket office types. Things like "Do you do this in any other sizes?", "Can you tell me when that will be finished?", "How many of these have you sold recently?" and "Could you provide a vegetarian meal on my flight?". And when we ask these questions we are often told "I've never been asked that before!".

I am exaggerating slightly of course, but it never ceases to amaze me how little people know about their jobs and how many mistakes they make. If any of you have ever been in the news you will know how inaccurate the reporting was, not just because of a bias intended to make the story more entertaining but because simple facts were wrong. And any of you who have tried to buy a house, a car, a plane ticket or a television will have discovered that there is often something wrong with it.

Given that these people do this job every day of their lives (my BT guy works in the Home Moving department of BT) you would think that they would become quite knowledgeable and skilled in their area.

Before this turns in to a rant (which it may have done already) I want to use this opportunity to draw out some useful lessons.

1. You may think that knowing your stuff is commonplace and does not distinguish you. After all, you are just doing your job. But remember it is rare and therefore worth a premium price. That is important to take in to account when you are selling yourself.

2. Systems should be able to be bypassed under extenuating circumstances. What would normally take 6 working days should be able to be achieved in 1 or 2 when the fault lies with the company providing the service and time is of the essence. This requires giving lowly staff authority to make decisions without jumping through a lot of red tape.

3. When things go wrong they should be properly evaluated afterwards and the cause of the problem rectified, even if this means redesigning the whole system. At SAP every complaint is logged and before a new version of software is released the glitches from the previous version are ironed out. It may contain new glitches of course, but all the old complaints will have been addressed.

4. Lowly staff (as they are seen by their bosses) should be empowered to compensate clients or customers who have been subject to mistakes without jumping through lots of hoops first. I would not be writing this now if my sweet BT man had told me I would be getting money off my next bill.

I am looking for other lessons out of this frustration. I am struggling to find more meaning than I have thus far drawn out (and even that was pushing it, I admit!). However, one consolation I always have - this too shall pass. In the meantime I look forward to some relief from the constantly ringing phone while I pack my boxes and wait for the removal company who, hopefully, have done this before!

Gladwell gets on my nerves!

The thing that really annoys me about Malcolm Gladwell is that he always says what I want to say but just a little bit better and a little bit before me!

In this great little film of Gladwell speaking at a Ted conference on the subject of "What Makes Us Happy" he explores the power of an "s". He looks at how thinking differently can dramatically transform a business. And he considers how, by asking the right question, you finally get the right answer. 

http://www.ted.com/talks/malcolm_gladwell_on_spaghetti_sauce.html