Data-Driven OKR Success 

Power BI and lessons from Google

Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) are appealing to any company wanting to focus their people on achieving meaningful objectives. However, not everyone who sets out to implement OKRs does so effectively. As one of the original OKR success stories, Google abounds with insightful lessons, including that OKRs are driven by data.

What are OKRs?

OKR stands for objectives and key results: the objective being the big, aspirational thing to be achieved, and key results being the measurable steppingstones to get there. 

One of the most famous objectives ever set was by John F Kennedy:

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth." 

As big, hairy, audacious goals go, this was right up there. Kennedy made his speech in May 1961, putting NASA behind schedule before they got started. But NASA defined their key results in a specific, measurable, and time bound way. They put data at the heart of every step, analysing every success and failure to provide the understanding they needed to progress. In 1969, with the world watching, Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon, before being returned safely to earth. 

Not all objectives are as huge as putting a man on the moon, but using data to measure success and failure, is relevant to any goal.

OKRs at Google

In his book, "Measure What Matters," John Doerr explains the OKR system, and how he introduced it to Google. There was already a data culture at Google, so OKRs made a lot of sense to them. What OKRs added, was a framework to enhance Google’s performance.

Data Isn’t Useful without Communication

Data, analysis, and effective communication lie at the heart of successful OKRs. Merely setting an objective isn’t enough; leaders need reliable data and a robust way to communicate it. Otherwise, there’s no ability to learn from failure, and no motivation to improve. 

And as remote work becomes more prevalent, creating a culture of improvement becomes even more important. Rigorous and intentional data-driven communication becomes essential, as John Doerr points out.

Leveraging Microsoft Power BI

Fortunately, modern data technologies make data management easier. Microsoft Power BI, with its ability to connect to various data sources and powerful visuals, helps leaders monitor and communicate key results efficiently. Its versatility makes it suitable for addressing both simple and complex problems. The fact that Power BI Desktop is freely downloadable empowers leaders with a tool that can kickstart their data journey. While it might not mark the end of their data exploration, it allows proof of concept projects to get everyone started. 

Empowering More Leaders

The success of OKRs at Google demonstrates that data is an integral part of the OKR system. By harnessing the power of data and effective communication, companies can unlock their full potential. Microsoft Power BI offers a robust solution to support this process, as well as being accessible to a broader range of leaders.

Making OKRs Actually Work

As a goal setting methodology, Objectives and Key Results (OKRs) have increased in popularity. Super successful companies like Intel and Google have credited OKRs as being central to their growth. Whilst these companies were certainly in the right place at the right time, there were other companies with similar ideas who did not do so well. Both Intel and Google excelled at using OKRs to focus their staff’s efforts on their most important objectives. Which I guess makes the idea worth a try.

But now that OKRs are relatively well known, why do some companies still struggle to make them work? To quote John Doerr, “Ideas are easy. Execution is everything.”

Just like ideas, the objective is only half the work. Key results, that is the execution half of the OKR, is all about figuring out how to measure progress, and putting effective communication tools in place. It’s arguably the more powerful half of the OKR. 

John Doerr also says that when Andy Grove used OKRs at Intel, he “demanded rigor, commitment, clear thinking, and intentional communication.” Of course, not every manager can be an Andy Grove or Sergey Brin. What John Doerr is telling us is that any manager can follow the OKR recipe to improve results. That recipe is something like:

• Apply rigor in figuring out what data you need to get the best results.
• Be committed to use that data to measure, monitor, and analyse what’s happening.
• Find a way to intentionally communicate. Make the results and analysis highly visible, and allow everyone to have input into why things are going well or going badly.

Clear thinking sounds trickier, but actually improves by following the other steps.

I can think of many companies where managers play lip service to whatever goal-setting framework they are using. They set objectives, then forget about them almost as quickly. “Set and forget” is the very opposite of what OKRs require to actually work in practice. 

Are you using OKRs? Or another goal setting framework? Is your company guilty of “setting and forgetting”? Or are you benefitting from intentional communication?

Do Highly Effective Managers set Goals?

In theory, goal setting is an important part of business management. That’s what the management books say. Indeed, that’s what research says.

In practice, it’s a hit and miss ideal that is too often done by sleep walking through the process. 

Annika, a manager in a large global company told me:

“Yes, we set goals, but they tend to be reactive rather than strategic. There’s no formal reporting, they are just discussed one to one in meetings.” 

Patrick, who has worked in a (different) large global company for many years said:

“Yes, we have goals. But they don’t last long. They get forgotten and new goals are set. No one explains why the goals changed, and no one notices whether the original goal was met or not.”

Sally works in a (very) large public sector organisation, and she told me: 

“Yes, we have annual goals, but they don’t really matter.”

Is this typical? Or are there managers out there using goals in an intelligent and effective way?

In theory there’s no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is. Apart from this being one of my favourite quotes, when it comes to goal setting the gap seems wide and deep. 

So, what’s the reason? Have managers been scarred by trying to set goals that no one will get behind? Have they worked hard to create goals that at best don’t produce the desired results, and at worst actively harm the organisation? Or do goals seem to be easy, but in practice are complicated little beasts?

I suspect there are some good reasons why people find goal setting – and goal achievement – difficult in an organizational setting.

First, let’s just review what research tells us is a “good” goal:

• The goal is important. Oddly, people don’t like making an effort for goals that don’t matter. 

• The goal is difficult. What is commonly referred to as a stretch goal. However, it also has to be achievable. People don’t go above and beyond for something they don’t believe is possible. 

• The goal is measurable. Which implies you have a way to measure it. This isn’t always easy.

In the context of a busy division or department, when people are trying to work smart to get routine work done, you can see how goal setting doesn’t get done. Or if it does, it doesn’t get done well and everyone loses heart. 

Whether you are setting KPIs, or it's modern cousin the OKR, careful thought and work is needed to both create the goal and follow through with a good measurement sysem. 

So, is the reason that managers don’t set goals is that the process is difficult? And risky?

Would managers be more effective if they could set important goals, and follow through with accurate  reporting that allows everyone to see where they are, and what they need to do to be successful?

What do you think? Do you manage a team? Do you regularly set goals for your team? If so, how well does the process work? And how often do you follow through so that everyone can learn from the process?

Why didn't I achieve my goal?

“No one can hit their target with their eyes closed.”

- Paulo Coelho

At the beginning of the month, I set myself a goal. 

The goal was to finish a certain number of Pomodoros during the month. The details of how many, doesn’t really matter. For a long time now, I’ve measured the number of Pomodoros I complete in a day, a week, a month, etc. 

I set off with good intentions and a quiet confidence that I'll achieve my target. 

As I near the end of the month, it becomes obvious that things are not going well. By the end of the month, I’d completely failed to achieve it. In fact, I’ve achieved less than half the number I set as a goal.

So what? It happens. But does it have to? 

All data is good data, and perhaps this is just the stepping-stone I need. I attempt to figure out what went wrong. It’s a lot more fun to be successful than unsuccessful, at whatever it is you is trying to accomplish. 

Was the goal even achievable? Stretch goals are good, impossible goals are less motivating. 

Had I kept it in front of me during the month? Well, yes and no. I’d measured my Pomodoros every day, but if the information had been compelling enough, I would have reacted much earlier. By the time I’d realised I wasn’t completing enough Pomodoros, it was too late - I couldn’t get back on track.

What had gone wrong with my reporting? Why didn’t my data persuade me to act sooner?

The answer lies in the type of analytics I was looking at. I was reporting on how many Pomodoros I had done in a day, and week, or a month. I could compare to previous days, or weeks, months, and even years. I could look at trends and make comparisons. 

But none of my data told me WHY these things were happening. Why could I achieve more on one day than other?

The report I was using was descriptive, that is it reported faithfully what had happened. It might have had trends and comparisons, but it was still just descriptive.

What I need is diagnostic reporting. I need some insight into why some days are better than others. What factors make it more likely that my day will go well, and what are the danger signs that things are going off the rails. Diagnostic analytics reports on the factors that affect the outcome.

How do we know whether our analytics are descriptive, or diagnostic?

Descriptive analytics aggregates and compares data to understand trends and relationships. Achieving 15 Pomodoros in a day is descriptive. As is achieving 4 Pomodoros in a day (it happens).

Diagnostic analytics uses additional data to understand why it happened. An urgent deadline, and no appointments might be the explanation for completing 15 Pomodoros in a day. Back-to-back meetings and starting work late might explain 4 or less Pomodoros in a day.

Descriptive and diagnostic analytics can be used together or separately, and it’s worth knowing the difference between them. 

Think twice before setting objectives

I’ve worked with some exceptional business coaches: people who are committed to helping others achieve more. I've learned new ideas, and become more effective in the way I work. But, there's one area of coaching that I'm far from convinced about - and that's objective setting. 

Coaches often encourage the person being coached to set objectives - ideally to be accomplished by the next session. You decide on what’s most important, and then commit to one or more tasks. It’s a worthy idea, but one that can go wrong unless handled with care. 

Don't misunderstand - concrete objectives are the life-blood of getting important stuff done. BUT - and that was a big but - it has to be done properly.

Here's my take on problems to avoid: 

1. Don't set objectives too quickly. Coaching sessions are often an hour in duration, which is mostly not long enough to devise meaningful objectives. What might sound like a good goal, can have problems that further thought would uncover. Such as finding data to support the objective, considering how the objective could be “gamed”, or thinking through the full implications of achieving it. Business books are scattered with examples of worthy objectives that have unfortunate consequences. Taking the time to consider what you are really trying to achieve, and what objective would best move you forward, isn’t time wasted. It’s time that’s needed to set good objectives. 

2. Don't forget to consult with colleagues. Coaching sessions are often one-to-one, so the whole issue of consultation often doesn’t get dealt with as thoroughly as it should be. And let’s face it, consulting can be a nuisance. It slows things down, and other people have different ideas, and differences of opinion aren't always resolved quickly. But consultation is vital in setting good business objectives - no matter how long it takes. 

3. Don't inadvertently set useless objectives. This busy work seems important, but actually has no value. The low hanging fruit is often easy, and quick to identify. But it doesn’t always move things forward. Too often it results in a warm glow of satisfaction and little in the way of real-world change. Tough, stretching objectives that change the world are more likely to emerge from the fire of heated debate, a bit of mind-changing, and enough thinking time to get them right. 

4. It's no use unless you can measure it. Sometimes the measure is obvious, but not always, And sometimes figuring out the right measure goes to the heart of the objective. And sometimes measuring the objective is a project in itself, which can also be awkward when everyone is keen just to get to the results. But unless the measure is clear, you are not going to know how to improve and how to hit the target. Unless you count that warm glow as a measure. 

Figuring out the important things, rather than the easy things, is hard work. It often takes research, deep thought, and lots of discussion with people who are not afraid to challenge your thinking. But having great (not just good )objectives makes a massive difference to a team’s effectiveness. It just has to be done carefully.

What do you think? Have you worked with a great business coach who has helped you devise great goals? Are you a coach who struggles with figuring out the right goals for the businesses you work with? What's your top tip for creating great objectives that really make a difference?

Leave a comment and let me know!

The Language of Time

Stop and think. When were you last free from the worry of time passing? If you spend an hour daydreaming, you are wasting time. If your order takes too long in a restaurant, they are wasting your time. Did you sleep in? You have wasted the day! 

We also have a concept of who owns time, such as “do that in your own time!” Or doing things in “free time”.  

Even the idea that we have to stop in order to think gives us a clue. We are trying to live our lives at a speed which is too fast to even think.

The pressure of time is all around us. From an early age we have to be on time – nursery, school, lectures, and then work. Our language, and our culture, reinforces those beliefs all the time. 

What if we lived in a world without that pressure? What if our language did not reinforce the belief that time is well spent, or badly spent? What if ….

It turns out that there is a language that does express life as if everything is done to the beat of a drum. The Amondawa language[i], spoken by tribes in the Amazonian forest in Brazil, does not slice time into units, like hours or minutes, but into events. Instead of noon, there is the time to eat the mid-day meal. There is also something similar in the Chinese language – the time it takes to drink a cup of tea. 

I once read about ancient Aztecs using the cooking time of a potato[ii] as a unit of time measurement. They certainly ate potatoes, but their potatoes, in common with ours, would have varied in size. And the time they take to cook will vary with altitude. But maybe the time period was accurate enough for their needs. Or maybe the story is plain wrong. I don’t know but using time periods that are “accurate enough” is an interesting philosophical idea.

This argument does not just apply to ancient civilisations. Consider the time period used to measure sales in business. Measure sales monthly, and you shorten the sales cycle because salespeople are trying to close sales and get the credit before month end. Measure sales quarterly and the sales cycle is lengthened, for the same reason.

But how much influence does a salesperson have over the customer? Do they make their minds up at the speed that suits their business, not the seller’s? If you increase the pressure with a shorter sales cycle, you might risk more people cancelling after they have agreed. At the very least it is worth measuring.

What if you want a sales period that is not a month and is not a quarter? That is, we have no ready-made language for it, and no ready-made time unit, but it suits your business. This is not an esoteric point. Managing the sales cycle, giving enough time for each stage, and booking only solid business is beneficial to buyer and seller. 

The language of time has more influence over our actions than we are necessarily conscious of. Making our lives, and our businesses, fit within constructs that do not necessarily work for us may be more detrimental than we realise. 

We are living through strange times. Many notions that seemed immovable have moved. Like going into the office every day. Like putting up with the daily commute. Questioning our actions and questioning our language, could result in some interesting answers.

---

[i] Da Silva Sinha, Vera – Event-based Time in Three Indigenous Amazonian and Xinguan Cultures and Languages – 18 March 2019

[ii] https://skeptics.stackexchange.com/questions/16508/did-incas-use-potatoes-as-a-measure-of-time

She's back!

Inspired by a quote from Seth Godin, Getting to Excellent is back. My intention was always to think and blog about how people create extraordinary businesses; cathedrals in their field. Seth Godin, who thinks deeply about such things said “You’re either remarkable or invisible.” He is not far off. Huge numbers visit Notre Dame when they are in Paris, relatively few see La Madeleine despite its fascinating history and Parthenon-like façade.

It’s almost eight years since Getting to Excellent first appeared, and over a year since I last posted. Despite my absence (or perhaps because of it) hundreds of people read Getting to Excellent posts.

So in spite of the risk of reducing readership, I'm back ....

Super-charge Your Day - Six Steps to a Better To Do List

The To Do list must be the most popular productivity tool on the planet.  And it’s effective – ticking off jobs that have been done is as satisfying as a chip butty.  You may think there is no room for improvement, but here are six steps to super-charging your To Do list, and your day! 

1. Review your goals and plans before writing your To Do list.  No goals or plans?  Well that’s your first job.  If you don’t know where you are going, you can’t know how to get there. So anything on your To Do list will be just spinning wheels.  You might feel busy, but you are not systematically moving towards your goals.  Get an outline plan written, with measureable milestones.
2. Phrase tasks as questions.  Most people love solving problems and finding out if they can do things better.  If you phrase tasks as a question, you immediately challenge yourself.  Instead of writing “Write email to Henry” rephrase it to “How can I help Henry understand Tuesday's  presentation?”  You will write a better email, and be more engaged with your work.
3. Define when something is done.  Defining what we mean by “done” is often more complex than we think.  Is the task to write the email, or is it to get Henry to add the necessary resources to do the project?  By repeatedly asking what you mean by "done", you will have meaningful tasks, and jobs that actually get finished. 
4. Never carry a task forward more than 3 days.  If it’s been on your To Do list longer than 3 days, there's a problem.  Perhaps it is too big to be done right now, and needs more planning.  Break it down into smaller tasks that can be done.  Or it might not need doing at all, in which case stop cluttering up your To Do list.  If neither apply, then for the love of God, just do it.  Now. 
5. Review your To Do list at the end of the day.  Ask yourself how effective your To Do list really was.  Did it encourage you to think harder about your work?  What got done and what didn’t get done, and why?  Then write the following days To Do list before you finish up for the day. 
6. Stretch yourself, but don’t make your To Do list impossible.  Stretch targets are fun and motivating. Impossibly long To Do list just don’t get taken seriously.  If your To Do list could not possibly get done by three of you, you are either carrying over too many of yesterday’s tasks, or not planning your work properly.  See step one! 

What’s your top tip for a motivating and effective writing effective To Do list?  Do tell!

The Power in Now

How many jobs on your to do list are truly today’s tasks?  And how many are yesterdays or last week’s or even last year’s jobs?  Having a pile of jobs that haven’t been done is demotivating and distracting.

Getting up to date and staying up to date is the holy grail of time management.  If you are only dealing with today’s issues, everything gets done faster.  The issue is fresh – you only have to think about it once, deal with it once, and then it’s gone.  So your to do list becomes shorter, and your mind is clear to deal with today’s issues.

But – there are some catches.  Before you rush off to do every job that’s crying out for attention ask yourself three simple questions:

1. Does it need to be done at all?  I don’t mean leaving a problem for someone else to pick up, because that just passes work down the line, but is it a job that’s necessary?  Sorting playing cards into sequence (a real example – honestly) is a scary one, but there may be others if you look closely.
2. Can it be automated?  Perhaps not instantly, but if the job gets done every day or every week by many people it could well be worth automating.
3. Can it be delegated?  Empowering someone else to take responsibility for chunks of work spreads the load and increases job satisfaction all round.

 

If the answer is “no” to those three things, and the job will take no more than about 15 – 30 minutes, then you should go ahead and get it done.  Any job that takes less than 30 minutes doesn’t warrant being planned in and done later.  And the more you knock down, the fewer you will have to deal with tomorrow.

 

If it does take longer than 30 minutes, then it needs to be planned for some future time.  So jobs should only have two options – Do It Now or Plan it In.  Adding it to the ever growing pile of jobs to be done later shouldn't be an option!

 

A quick checklist for performing at your best

1. Eat a nutritious breakfast.  Fads come, fads go, but needing enough fuel to sustain your high-powered morning is a constant.  So eat a good breakfast.  Oats, porridge, scrambled egg, tofu, whole meal toast or whatever.  Go easy on the caffeine and focus on protein with slow releasing energy carbs.
2. Cut the caffeine.  Caffeine is fake energy that’s powering you towards a big crash later in the day.  Either cut the caffeine or make a point of having several days a week with no caffeine.  Power yourself with inspiration and motivation instead.  Caffeine also interferes with sleep which isn’t going to help anyone’s performance.
3. Stay hydrated.  Drink lots of water and herbal teas to stay hydrated through the day.  It’s good for the brain and the body. Dehydration is bad news when it comes to performing at your best.
4. Get enough sleep.  Whilst many people sing the praises of being up before the birds, there’s no escaping the fact that to perform well you need sleep.  Not too much, but not sleep deprived either.  So know what’s right for you, and get enough sleep to be able to conquer the world when the alarm goes off.
5. Take a break.  Working long hours, 7 days a week just leads to burnout.  Push when you need to by all means, but then take a break to recharge and refocus.  Socializing, seeing family and friends and taking holidays fit into the “important but not urgent” quadrant of the Eisenhower matrix.
6. Don’t get hungry.  Even if you are watching your weight (and who isn’t?) having a small healthy snack to stave off hunger pangs helps performance.  It’s hard to concentrate when all you can think about is lunch, so have an apple or half a dozen almonds to keep you going.
7. Get fit.  It’s counter-intuitive, but the more exercise you do, the more energy you will have.  But, you have to build up gradually, otherwise you will just fall asleep at your desk.

These are the foundation stones for week-on-week high performance.  Aim to perform for a solid “7” level performance each day, rather than expecting to perform at "10" day after day.  So when you need that bit extra of performance you have something in reserve and you can raise your game to an impressive “9” or “10”.

I'm lucky enough to be working with Nathan Douglas, a double Olympian and world-class performer by anyone's standards. This is his list for getting the basics right.  Do you agree or disagree with the list?   What would you add?  What's your top tip for staying on top of your game?

Company Culture as a Competitive Advantage

Get more done and be happier at work

For a company to grow it needs firm foundations, and foundations in the business world are made of systems and culture.  Systems ensure things get done, and get done properly.  And culture ensures the company stays nimble in a competitive world.

Without a strong and positive culture, decisions are agonizingly slow, and disagreements are alarmingly frequent. 

Systems and culture are the two things that don’t get thought about as a company is struggling to survive and grow.  But at some point, both become very important.

But what is culture?  And does it really have an impact on the bottom line?  Culture is a combination of strategy and the choices that are made to implement that strategy.  For example, if strategy is to service a small number of high value clients, then culture is the choices that are made in implementing that strategy.  Culture is a corporate shorthand – “the way we do things here” – and when it works it means that everyone understands how to make good decisions.

Even something as seemingly vague as culture  must be measured.  Without measurement you don’t know whether you are actually creating the culture you want, or whether people are just paying lip service to the ideals.  Culture is only an asset to the business when it adds value day by day and customer by customer.

Once you can define what sort of culture you want in your business, lots of decisions start to get easier.  Building capabilities within the organisation is done in line with company culture.  Handling clients is done in line with company culture. 

Once good measurements are in place you can clearly see how things are progressing, and have an idea whether you are on target or not.

Digital Disruption

Throughout history innovation has changed lives for the better, whether the printing press or electricity, air travel or computers.  At each juncture the world got a little easier to live in; people, goods and information moved a little faster.

Today we can work as easily with someone in another country as the next room.  All because of one invention - the internet.

The Internet of Everything

Arguably, the internet is like no invention before.  The impact is just starting to be felt but not properly understood.  The digital world is one where new boys Google, Wikipedia, Amazon and eBay call the shots.  A world where books are so freely available we struggle to get rid of them, rather than prize them as we have for centuries.

From a world where it took some small amount of effort to buy goods and services, it now takes “one click” to have your latest whim satisfied.  From a time where rarities were genuinely rare, now they surface like rabbits and collected together to be viewed and compared, for anyone to haggle over the price.  Where choices were once limited, now they are endless.  Professionals and experts see their hard won knowledge made freely available by eager bloggers.  This is digital disruption on a global scale.

Digital Advertising

Nowhere has the internet’s impact been more obvious than the world of commerce.  Where once high streets were filled with busy shoppers, now retail units lay empty or taken over by coffee shops.  Famous and familiar retail brands have vanished, unable to change fast enough when faced with online competition.  Bank branches have closed, long since replaced by an app.  Drip by digital drip, our familiar towns and cities have changed.

While the high street has been opening coffee shops, eCommerce has been adopted by retailers major and minor.  High street names let you browse and buy online, whilst small niche players open ecommerce sites easily and cheaply.  What years ago was known as “mail order” is alive and thriving on the internet. 

But there is a difference; a big data difference. Direct marketing always provided more information than traditional retail, but the internet has increased that by an order of magnitude. You can now see how long customers spend looking at your products, whether they open your email, whether they mention you on Facebook, or complain about your customer service on Twitter.  It all adds up to a tidal wave of information that’s there for the taking. 

Marketing Data Indigestion

Arguably one of the greatest challenges for the marketing profession is to make sense of all this data.  To sift, sort and decide what matters and what doesn’t. To adapt from a data sparse world, to a data rich world.

Data warehouses, cubes and user-centric spreadsheets are replacing the “take it or leave it” static reports traditionally used by marketing people. This, surely, is where the commercial battles are being fought.  

A world where data is ubiquitous, ownership is no longer the competitive differentiator.  It’s how you use the data, and how you adapt to what it teaches you.

Sell or Else

I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art for, but as a medium of information

That line was written by David Ogilvy, one of the most successful advertising men of all time. After having worked in advertising for many years, I know that Ogilvy chose his words carefully.  Too much advertising is entertaining, clever, confusing or enigmatic rather than focused on the product.  It’s just too easy to think that factual copy is boring, dull or that it won’t engage the reader.  So instead we attempt to entertain, tell stories, be mysterious, or a whole host of things that confuse the reader.

Even in this line Ogilvy is selling.  It’s the first sentence of his book “Ogilvy on Advertising” and it manages to inform, challenge and engage the reader all at the same time.  It is also one of the most fundamental principles in advertising – your time, work, and money is wasted unless your words sell something.  As soon as you open his book you meet the man face to face with his challenge – sell or else!

The challenge that Ogilvy sets is a big one.  To analyse the product or service so completely that the features and benefits are so well understood that the product or service can be clearly explained.  And that the most important benefit engages and enthralls the reader.  Just as Ogilvy’s copy does. 

Here is the man himself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Br2KSsaTzUc He spoke directly to his audience long before the days of YouTube or Google. 

He would have been pleased to see how many people have viewed his crackly old recording.  And would likely be amazed at how his predictions have turned out to be absolutely true. Actually, he was probably more confident than that.

Now, back to that letter I was writing.  My first sentence needs a little more work, I think …..

Do It Now and Get More Done

Is “Do It Now” still a valid time management strategy?  After all, didn’t Adam Smith demonstrate that we could do things faster by doing the same thing over and over, rather than suffering the overhead of switching between tasks?  So is it better to keep on top of expenses day by day, or pile them up to be done at the end of the month?  Should you write a month’s worth of blog posts all together, or day by day as thoughts occur to you?  Indeed, is it better to take a month off to study something important, or try and fit an hour in here and there?

I’ve tried both strategies to a lesser or greater extent, and on balance I come down on the side of Do It Now.  For jobs that take perhaps 15 – 30 minutes, and definitely need to be done, I think it is better to get them done and not let them get transferred from To Do list to To Do list.  When the idea is fresh in your mind, or the task has become apparent, it is extremely efficient to get it done as fast as possible, otherwise it starts to weigh you down day after day.  And the more little tasks can get cleared up, the more mental energy you have for the big things.

The danger is filling the day with “busy work” rather than important work, so timing is important.  I work best in the morning, so I try to do smaller tasks and tidying up jobs in the afternoon.  The key, though, is to keep on top of them so they don’t become a big job.

Another danger is that the job doesn’t really need to be done at all, and if you leave it, it will just go away.  That’s a valid point, I guess, but it leaves out the mental energy that’s needed to keep on top of all those “someday-maybe” jobs.  I think it’s better to make a yes/no decision and either do it or bin it. 

What do you think?  Are you a Do It Now person?

Teams Outperform Individuals - Sometimes

Tempting though it is to think we can do everything ourselves, in fact our best work gets done with other people. We depend on the skills, experience and knowledge of others to achieve really great work.

Think about scientific breakthroughs like Crick and Watson’s breakthrough with DNA. Think about Wedgwood’s brilliant partnership with Bentley creating the world’s most famous ceramics business. Think about Jobs and Wozniak creating Apple. Although Warren Buffet is the name we recognise as the world’s most successful investor, in fact he has a long-term partner and sounding board – Charlie Monger.  Just yesterday Buffett said that he had lost $873 million with a power utility stock. This was an investment he had made without consulting Monger. Next time, he said, I’ll call Charlie. It seems everyone needs to be part of a team.

Unfortunately, though, it’s not always so easy.  Not all teams are successful. In fact some are spectacularly unsuccessful, and would do better to have people work independently. So what’s the key?

Having complementary skills and experience seems to be a big part of it. With Buffett and Monger, Buffett is the optimist and Monger the pessimist. Between them they cover all bases and make outstanding decisions.

Think about a football team. If you had 11 goalkeepers, or 11 strikers, it wouldn’t be very effective. You need defenders, midfielders, even left and right midfielders, plus strikers and of course goalkeepers. All members of the team have to be proficient in their own right, but also good at working as a team to create goal scoring opportunities. I think the football team is quite a useful analogy in business. We can’t all be strikers. We don’t all have the talent, ability, experience or inclination. But we do all have specific skills that are important within teams.

The key is to understand and appreciate what each person brings to the team, and to ensure their skills are acknowledged and used in the best way.  It’s not always easy, but perhaps a key part of achieving important things.  

What would our businesses be like if we weren’t so obsessed with taking the credit for things? They might be more effective, and a great deal happier.

I’m a Secret Lemonade Drinker

Rod Allen was a founding partner of the successful London agency Allen Brady & Marsh and he wrote this memorable ad for R White’s lemonade. It was so effective that it was originally aired in 1973, revived in 1983, and remade in 1991. To turn an ordinary sunny afternoon drink into a guilty pleasure is almost as delicious as lemonade itself. It’s a world where bad mothers swig sherry from mugs, and chocoholics hide their stash for fear of sharing. Allen’s words were as delightfully daft as the tune was irritatingly memorable:

I’m a secret lemonade drinker (R Whites! R Whites!)
I’ve been trying to give up, but it’s been one of those nights (R Whites! R Whites!)
R White’s lemon-a-a-ade, R White’s lemon-a-a-ade
I’m a secret lemonade drinker (R Whites!)

At least three things that make this pure genius:

• Inversion. Turning an innocent pleasure into a guilty secret is memorable (as well as silly). Allen was a funny man, apparently fond of telling Marsh “I’ll come to your funeral, if you come to mine”.
• Research. Allen Brady & Marsh analysed market research data to great effect. Their ads were based on the best data their clients could buy. Mike Brady was the analytical part of the trio and no small part of their success.
• Advertises the brand. Crazy as it sounds; not all advertising does this. The brand name is repeated 7 times in this 30 second ad.

Allen is known for having made brilliant and economical use of words to great commercial effect with slogans such as “This is the age of the train”, “Milk has gotta lotta bottle”, and “That’s the wonder of Woolies”. All were backed by thorough data analysis and research which enabled them to understand their customers.

No man is an island

Microsoft has announced that Satya Nadella is replacing Steve Ballmer as chief executive. This is good news, not least because we have waited so long to hear it. The share price blipped up 1%, indicative perhaps that this was no great surprise. But Microsoft is such an important player in the software market that all eyes will be on Mr Nadella to see how well he performs.

What’s perhaps most interesting about this announcement, however, is that he will have the assistance of Bill Gates as Technology Advisor. Whilst it’s tempting to believe that the people who make the headlines are largely responsible for success, lessons from Microsoft and many more, show that it is the quality of teamwork that make or break a venture. Microsoft’s earliest days were a partnership between Paul Allen and Bill Gates. Their first operating system, DOS, was bought in rather than developed themselves, despite their obvious enthusiasm for software development. They could have had a crack at doing it themselves, but they smartly chose not to.

Whilst rumours abound about the personalities at Microsoft (both Gates and Ballmer have their critics) it’s hard to escape the fact that this is a story of partnerships as well as passions. Microsoft has certainly contributed to the sum of knowledge for great teamwork, and have massively improved standards within their own software development teams. So they have learnt their fair share about getting the best out of teams.

So will this be an inspired move? Gates has the tenacity and technical depth to be of assistance to any CEO. But he is also said to be abrasive and rude. So can he be a team player , as well as being competitive? The cloud and mobile technologies that Microsoft produce are amongst some of the strongest reasons why teams are more important to businesses than ever before. We now live in a world where relationships can now be as strong across oceans as they are across the table. Which is both empowering, as well as daunting. So I’m going to be watching this one with more than a little interest.

The Power in Reflection

As some of my longer standing (sitting? suffering?) readers may know, I completed an MBA a few years ago.  To say that it was a privilege would be a massive understatement – it was one of the happiest experiences of my life.  It was mind enhancing, brain stretching and ideas generating – I guess in common with education of any type.  I met lots of lovely people and it also taught me the power of reflection.  And in particular structured reflection.

So it was with some dismay that that I heard from my not-so-old tutor that the current offering of the MBA is less reflection oriented.  It caused me to pause and think.  (See, I did learn something!)

The rationale, apparently, is that it is better to be action-oriented than reflective.  I don’t know about you, but action isn’t necessarily one of my problems.  The right type of action, maybe, but I’m very capable of getting on and doing stuff.  What I’m less good at, and need to be reminded often about, is the need to reflect, in a structured way, about what I’m doing and whether it’s going in the right direction.

David Allen in his book, Getting Things Done, talks about the need to reflect, ideally once a week, on what you’ve achieved, what you’ve not achieved, what your goals are, and taking the long view.  It’s good advice, and from talking to people, advice that doesn’t always get acted on.

So this is my reflection for the week.  I need to make more time to reflect, to see where I’ve been, and where I’m going, and whether my goals still make sense.  And maybe update this blog more often.  I’ve said that before, though, so I don’t think I’ll repeat myself. 

Bon weekend, tout le monde!

How to Create a Strong Brand

What is a brand?

A brand is an identify that differentiates your product or service from those offered by others.  Your brand tells customers what they can expect from your company.  In other words, a brand is a promise of your distinctive delivery.

Poundland communicate their cheap products through shops with no-frills in off-high street locations.

Coca Cola communicate a promise of good times through sharing a Coke with friends, backed up with adverts showing happy smiling faces in the sunshine.  Their promise is that Coca Cola delivers enjoyment.  Nowhere do they talk about the qualities of their product.  They talk about the value it delivers.

Why is Branding Important?

Your brand is the accumulation of every interaction that customers and potential customers have with your company.  Every tweet they read, every time they buy from you, the way you behave when things go wrong, your advertising, your web site, your Facebook page, you blog, your business cards.  The lot.

Just as every time someone buys a Coca Cola they want the Coca Cola brand promise to deliver the same taste, each time someone interacts with your company you want them to have the same experience.  Whether that is good value (as with Poundland), a high level of technical proficiency and ability to deliver a working system (as with a software business), or whatever your particular promise is.

All this takes time, money and effort.  If your efforts get fragmented or if your message is different each time a customer interacts with you, they become confused about your promise of delivery. In other words they are not clear what will deliver when they buy from you. No wonder companies consider their brands to be amongst their greatest assets.

How to Create a Strong Brand

First you have to be clear about your promise of delivering. 

This isn’t nearly as easy as it sounds.  You have to understand who your target market is, and why they might buy from you.  Why would they exchange their hard-earned cash for whatever you are offering?  Why will their lives be better after the transaction?  After all, whilst you are focusing on the money going INTO your bank account, they are acutely aware that it is coming OUT of theirs.

Secondly, you have to communicate your promise of delivery in a clear, uncomplicated way.  Not because your customers have difficulty reading, but because they are busy, pressured people with multiple stresses to deal with.  Their attention span is limited. 

So the message has to be crystal clear.  Coca Cola = good times.  Poundland = cheapest anywhere.  McDonalds = consistently good burgers.   The Tea Bush = Beautiful gifts for now and for future generations.

So what are the components of building a brand?

• Distinctive identity – including visual identity and brand promise
• Repetition of key messages
• Consistency – in messages, and in interactions with customers.  Over a long period of time, with a large enough audience
• Delivering on your promise

6 Ways to Boost your Energy Levels at Work

No matter how well organized your “to do list”, it’s not going to help unless you have the energy and drive to get everything done.  So here’s six of the best to get more “get up and go” into your day:

1. More exercise.  It’s counter intuitive, but really works.  Whilst you may be tired after the exercise, over a period of time it gives you more energy, more get up and go, and more resilience to cope with whatever gets thrown at you.  Walking or running at lunchtime has the added advantage of giving some thinking time, and a complete break from the computer screen.
2. Less alcohol.  Although relaxing with a glass of wine or three at the end of the day is tempting, it tends to make the following day a little less dynamic.  Alcohol disrupts sleep, and takes the edge off your energy.  Best avoided during the week if you want to disappear early on Friday with a clear desk.
3. More vegetables and fruit.  In that order.  Most of us don’t have a problem with eating enough fruit – these days it’s grown to be sweet and delicious.  For increased vitality try adding more vegetables; raw or lightly cooked.  Try small amounts of nuts and seeds for snacks.
4. Less caffeine.  Tea and coffee is fine in moderation, but too much has a negative effect on energy.  You don’t notice it immediately, but little by little it creeps up.  Caffeine also affects your sleep and your mood, so knowing your limit will boost your energy levels.  Long standing Getting to Excellent readers – don’t say a word!
5. More water.  It’s easy to get out of the habit of drinking water, but I always find it helpful when I remember.  There’s a lot of discussion out there in cyber space about how much water we should drink a day, but I think it’s fair to say that most of us could do with a few more glasses of water, and fewer cups of coffee or green tea.
6. Less untidiness.  I sound like my mother now, but tidiness does help.  Working in a clear space calms the mind and reduces distractions.  So I’m told – this is work in progress for me! 

I’ve read lots of wonderful tips like splashing cold water onto your face, changing your socks and more besides.  But when you are feeling tired it’s the last thing you want to do.  For me at least, improving my energy levels is something I work at over a number of weeks and months. 

What’s your experience of working at your best?  Do share ….