The acronym WYSIATI, or “what you see is all there is” was famously explained by Daniel Kahneman (the only psychologist ever to win a Nobel Prize in economics!) in Thinking Fast and Slow (2019).
The impact of his work on HOW we categorize behaviors is significant and important for ALL managers and consultants.
In this article, I briefly review some of the current models and suggest that my colleagues become familiar with the VIA Classification assessment tools, which offer an alternate vocabulary based on character strengths and new, globally validated research.
You can apply this article published in the Family Firm Practitioner to your consulting, managing or leadership. With any team. Today.
Please share this article, then contact me to discuss how your team or organization can leverage your strengths.
At a recent meeting I asked, “What is your leadership succession plan?” After a blank stare from several business owners I heard:
“We don’t have one. What is it, exactly?”
“You’re looking at it. I’m all we’ve got.”
Family-owned business leaders are not alone. Business owners are not alone. As most FFI members know, family business leaders represent about 70% of the U.S. economy, and about 70% of new job creation. My experience is that 100% of family business leaders worry about succession planning. What about your clients?
This short article explains what succession planning is, and how OKR leadership can help your clients be more proactive than reactive. You have probably read that only 1/3 of family businesses survive from the first generation to the second. But the reason for that low success rate is because they are not well advised by FFI members. You, and your clients, can practice succession planning using OKR leadership. Think of this article as one more tool in your toolbox.
Definitions
Succession Planning is defined as a process for identifying and developing your next generation of key leaders. The goal of succession planning in family-owned businesses is to perpetuate your legacy and assets over generations.
Succession planning requires OKR Leadership. Let me explain. Objectives describe what to do (e.g., transition ownership and management to the next generation). Key Results (KRs)describe how you measure that objective (e.g., assess the strengths and weaknesses of each family member and director within the next 30 days).
OKR leadership is the process for managers and leaders to practice what matters. For example, if your business needs to develop a succession plan, then you may need to increase accountability and transparency using OKRs. At many of my client companies, OKRs are written by each director and each family leader. Those OKRs are reviewed monthly at family business meetings. You may know that OKRs have driven the largest migration of financial assets and technological innovation ever recorded in human history to Silicon Valley, California since the 1970s. OKR leadership is a radical process for top-down hierarchical organizations to implement, but it is attractive to many family-owned business leaders because it works.
Case study
Rick is an example…
Read the full article above for the case study.
For discussion about your family business or succession planning, please contact Doug Gray here.
Millennials think they are unique. Just ask one. However, throughout history there have always been population surges after wars, diseases and migrations. So, what makes the current population of millennials, born in the U.S. between 1981-1996, truly unique? They represent over 75 million people, 25% of the U.S. population, a larger population surge than the post-war Baby Boom, 30% of the voting age, more diversity than any previous generation, and about 50% of today’s workforce (see Brookings.edu). These millennials are uniquely qualified to use new tools such as digital technology to communicate, social media platforms to influence consumers and public opinions, graphic images and visual memes, ethnic and racial diversity to describe more inclusive perspectives. The result is massive impact from countless millennials in every workplace and business sector. Examples include social protests, outrage, political discord, lawsuits, reputational attacks. Millennials are agile learners who demand to speak and be heard. That fact requires that learning managers and leaders respond differently than ever.
I enjoyed writing that article. Let’s continue the conversation. Here are 6 great resources for you, your team, and your organization.
Free copy of the first chapter of my new book, Objectives + Key Results (OKR) Leadership; How to apply Silicon Valley’s secret sauce to your career, team or organization (2019).
Invitation to join the 2020 OKR Leadership Project. I am collecting examples at Invitation to join the OKR Leadership Project. Think of this project as the 2020 version of “Chicken Soup for Practicing OKR Leadership.”
Then write a review in your favorite social media platform. Mention my title: Objectives + Key Results (OKR) Leadership; How to apply Silicon Valley’s secret sauce to your career, team or organization.
Please share these testimonials with your team or organization:
“Doug Gray makes the complex understandable. More important, he makes it doable.”
Craig E. Aronoff, Ph.D., author, Chairman and co-founder, The Family Business Consulting Group, Inc.
“Doug builds on the OKR approach with practical and valuable guidance for individuals, teams and organizations. If you plan on implementing OKRs for your organization, you need this book.”
John Mattox, PhD, author, Head of Talent Research, Metrics that Matter, Explorance
“Introducing the OKR framework has not only allowed us to align our company goals throughout the organization, but it has also provided an easy mechanism to give visibility into how we drive operational accountability.”
Justin Jude, Acting President, LKQ Corp, North America
“Finally, a much needed leadership focus on the importance of clear objectives and specific, measurable results. This book will be useful not just for the present but throughout a practitioner’s career.“
Dave Vance, PhD, author, Executive Director, Center for Talent Reporting
This week, U.S. attorney General William Barr released a 400-page redacted version of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report on Russian interference in the 2016 election to Congress and the public. Consider how that data speaks to you. A client suggested that most people “see-speak-hear” that data as if we were monkeys… filled with bias.
Consider how these 3 data points speak to you…
Twitter removed 70 million fraudulent accounts in only two months in 2018 (source: Inc, May 2019)
Facebook removed 583 million fake accounts in the first three months of 2019 (source: Inc, May 2019)
In my world of leadership consulting, “a lengthy global effort to create standards for reporting human capital metrics is expected to be announced this week. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) will issue its guidelines for 23 human capital reporting measures, including a Leadership Trust Index (LTI) that may inform institutional investors, private investors and global business leaders” (Steve Maxwell presenting at the Center for Talent Reporting Annual Conference, February 21, 2019).
FACT: All leaders and managers struggle to collect and analyze data.
You probably know that ISO standards have defined quality improvement and safety investments in countless organizations since they were first introduced in 1947. These worldwide proprietary, industrial and commercial standards have been adopted in 164 countries.
What if your organization collected and distributed data on the following 23 human capital measures into these 9 categories?
Ethics (number and type of employee grievances filed; number and type of concluded disciplinary actions; percentage of employees who have completed training on compliance and ethics)
Costs (total workforce costs)
Workforce diversity (with respect to age, gender, disability, and “other indicators of diversity”; and diversity of leadership team)
Leadership (“leadership trust,” to be determined by employee surveys)
Organizational safety, health, and well-being (lost time for injury; number of occupational accidents; number of people killed during work)
Productivity (EBIT/revenue/turnover/profit per employee; human capital ROI, or the ratio of income or revenue to human capital)
Recruitment, mobility, and turnover (average time to fill vacant positions; average time to fill critical business positions; percentage of positions filled internally; percentage of critical business positions filled internally; turnover rate)
Skills and capabilities (total development and training costs)
Workforce availability (number of employees; full-time equivalents)
How would that data speak in your world?
Privately held companies may use these human capital data for directional initiatives such as replacing managers with high turnover ratios identified as “toxic managers” or investing in high growth departments that require training in OKR leadership skills. For details contact us.
Publicly held companies may use these human capital data for multi-directional initiatives designed to retain more diverse employees, eliminating bias in hiring, or retaining desired employees with external coaching and consulting. For details see www.hcmi.co.
Consider one final example. Imagine a 17-year district sales manager who had regularly been promoted within her company as recognition for her history of ratings that “exceed expectations.” Then she was asked to relocate into a new geography and had 4 different managers within 5 years. The goal incentives were increased 300%. She had to hire 3 new direct reports within 8 weeks. Then her new manager stated that she “should not speak to anyone in the corporate office, even when he did not repeatedly provide required information for business decisions.” How does that data speak?
FACT: All leaders and managers struggle to collect and analyze data.
OPINION: I predict massive changes ahead in public accountability and transparency and data-driven decision making.
If you need expertise in collecting and analyzing data for your organization, then you should contact us today.
FACT: The market demands that you will increase the probability of competitive success if you can make more informed decisions before others.
In response to a client’s request, I created a free digital course called “OKR Leadership Skills” that you can take here. The Objectives and Key Results (OKR) management process has enabled countless F100 and small business leaders to increase accountability and transparency. OKR leadership has been described as the “secret sauce” that explains the largest migration of financial assets in human history to Silicon Valley in the last 30 years. OKR leadership is another example of How Data Speaks.
Here is one final example. Here is a 3-minute excerpt of a keynote presentation on OKR leadership that I provided in March, 2019 to over 700 business leaders in Denver, CO. You may need a similar data story in your organization.
Here’s to you, at your best,
Doug Gray, PhD, PCC, CEO of Action Learning Associates, LLC
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