Master Class Conceptual Overview January 2013

© Copyright 2013 Arceil Leadership Ltd. All rights reserved.

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conceptual overview

Structure
Is Everywhere


Business Has Plenty of Structure, Too

But it is oriented to the work of management,
not to the work of leadership.


Where?


What They’re Asking
in the Awareness / Focus Stage

Has our destination (our vision) changed?

Where is this strategy supposed to take us?

Where? Where is it likely to take us?

What is our timetable?
QUESTIONS
What are the odds of success?

Is this a non-strategic aberration?

Will I still have a job? Must I transfer again?


What?

Where?


in the Understanding / Curiosity Stage

What do they want me to do differently?

What do they want me to do faster?

What? What do they want me to do better?

What do they want me to do cheaper?
QUESTIONS
What do they want me to do more of? Less of?

What do they want me to stop doing, so that I

have time to do this?


Why?

What?

Where?


in the Acceptance / Passion Stage

Is this just another program of the month?

Why should I bother?

Why? Is there a coherent rationale for it?

What‟s the cost-benefit analysis?
QUESTIONS
Have they done their due diligence?

Why hasn‟t anyone talked to me about this?

Does anyone care about me?


Aristotle’s Rhetoric
Logos

• Appeal to power of facts, reason, and logic

• Examples: evidence, argument, case studies
If all A are B
• Must be interactive, iterative process
And all B are C • Socratic Dialogue can be effective

Then A is C • Leverage:
• Obvious threat (Pearl Harbor, Sputnik)
• Ambitious goal or lofty vision
• Data (ideally graphical and comparative)
• Clear, tangible penalty or rewards


Pathos

• Appeal to emotional state of listener

• Examples: hope, fear, pride, frustration

• Recognizes decisive role of intuition

• Leverage:
• Personal stories
• Shared values and experiences
• Common background or destiny
• Music, colors, uniforms, icons
• Human face and smile or frown


Ethos

• Appeal by character of the leader

• Examples: valor, wisdom, experience

• Leading by example, from the front

• Leverage:
• Overcoming large obstacles
• Standing on principle
• Sacrifice for the group
• Demonstrated courage, integrity


How?

Why?

What?

Where?


in the Commitment / Courage Stage

How much opportunity is in this for me?

How much danger is lurking in it?

How? Is this a one-size-fits-all thing?

Can our unit make it work for us? How?
QUESTIONS
What will it take—in terms of resources, time,

risk—to do this the way it should be done?

What hasn‟t senior management thought of?


This is the way the world ends.
Not with a bang but a whimper.

T.S. Eliot
The Hollow Men

Where Strategies and Initiatives Die

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* © Copyright 2013 Arceil Leadership Ltd. All rights reserved.

Let‟s look first at strategic focus.

Why is it important?

Why should we take the time and

go to the trouble of exploring it?

The threshold before
Awareness is the first
graveyard of strategies.

Gear Box for Engagement

Awareness Understanding Acceptance Commitment

(5.0) Overdrive Focus Curiosity Passion Courage

(4.0) Drive Attention Clarity Trust Cooperation

(3.0) Neutral Acquaintance Familiarity Ambivalence Inertia

(2.0) Park Distraction Confusion Apathy Neglect

(1.0) Reverse Alienation Denial Cynicism Resistance


What Focus Looks Like
Engagement of the Eyes

• Common view of purpose, direction, aspirations, priorities

• Preoccupation with challenges, goals, resources, expectations

• Alertness to operating metrics and milestones

• „Soft eyes‟ for industry trends, strategic opportunities

• Clear-cut emphasis on customer needs, sensitivities, expectations

• More concern for the team than for the self

Real Concentration

Olga Viola

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new

landscapes but in seeing with new eyes.

Marcel Proust

Carl Ford cannot hear the crowd

In '67, the Triple Crown was never

even mentioned once. We were so

involved in the pennant race, I didn't

know I‟d won the Triple Crown until

the next day, when I read it in the

paper.

Carl Yastrzemski
26 September 2012
as Miguel Cabrera was on verge of a Triple Crown

Far more than you may realize,
your experience, your world, and
even your self are the creations of
what you focus on.

The targets of your attention are
the building blocks of your life.

Winifred Gallagher

Rapt

A man lives by believing

something; not by

debating and arguing

about many things.

Thomas Carlyle
Scottish philosopher and writer

Thomas Carlyle

Focus Is Essential to Success
• Without focus, there is no direction

• Without direction, there is no progress

• Without progress, there is no achievement

• Without achievement, there is no success


Alice in Wonderland

Alice: Cheshire Puss, would you tell
me please which way I ought
to walk from here?

Cat: That depends a good deal on
where you want to get to.

Alice: I don‟t much care where.

Cat: Then it doesn‟t much matter
which way you walk!

Lewis Carroll
The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland, 1866


What are some

common barriers

to greater focus

in the workplace?

Environmental Barriers to Focus
• Constant, multiple distractions

• Steady increases in deliverables, decreases in support

• Ease and speed of access to other sources of data

• Short attention spans

• Preoccupation with personal issues and priorities

• Expectation of high “production values”

• Residual cynicism from past use of spin or silence

You cannot wish away these barriers,
but you must not ignore or neglect them.


Information Gridlock

• Dramatic recent rise in quantity of data

• Most of our work time is devoted to it

• Excess of 3,000 messages per day

• More than 1 million words read or heard per week

• Declining „signal-to-noise ratio‟

• Dubious benefits to wisdom and knowledge

Data Smog


Information is not knowledge.

Knowledge is not wisdom.

Wisdom is not truth. Truth is

not beauty. Beauty is not love.

Frank Zappa
Mothers of Invention


From Gridlock to Goldilocks

• Repetition of messages

• Flag key announcements

• Clarify responsibilities

• Favor face-to-face

• Provide advanced training

• Create systems of retrieval

• In-house Facebook


Self-Imposed Barriers to Focus
• Single delivery of information or messages

• Excessive, fickle, or unnecessarily complex messages

• Unrealistic assumptions, especially on cascading

• Settling for undefined terms, coining new terms

• Lack of empathy and respect for colleagues

• Information hoarding in middle management

• Treating too much information as proprietary

All these barriers are avoidable.

None should be tolerated.

What are some

bold ways to build

more focus

in the workplace?

Strategies for Nurturing Focus

• Never forget why customers are walking in the front door

• Settle on a few, sustainable messages

• Find creative ways to express them, and repeat, repeat, repeat

• Continually share new information around this core

• Use devices: stories, graphs, explanations, tables, metaphors

• Avoid new words, phrases, and acronyms—make strategy clear

• Use a few clear metrics and regularly update performance data

• Go hoarse asking lots of questions on a single strategic theme


Focus and Perspective

• Inspiring, ennobling inner sense of direction

• Of deep, transcending importance to people

• A vision must

▪ build on authentic values of the organization

▪ paint a vivid picture of purpose and success

▪ be exciting, specific, applicable, achievable

▪ speak to unique strengths and context

▪ leave no doubt as to resources or resolve

▪ offer real line-of-sight to people


Now let‟s look at strategic curiosity.


Why should we take the time and go

to the trouble of exploring it?

The cusp between
Awareness and Understanding
is the second graveyard
of strategies.

The Scotty Who Knew Too Much
James Thurber

Moral
It is better to ask some of the questions
than to know all the answers.

What Curiosity Looks Like
Engagement of the Mind

• Plain line-of-sight to strategic direction and intent

• Broad-based grasp of the implications of strategy

• Asking lots of good, rich questions about the business

• Sensitivity to business complexities

• Regular, energetic collaboration, cross-fertilization

• Anticipation of difficulties, threats to success

• Asking both why and why not

• A safe haven for impertinent, tough questions

Rigorous, Creative Thinking


The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.

Plutarch

The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is

expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem.

Theodore Isaac Rubin
Psychoanalyst

Be Relentlessly Curious

I am enough of an artist to draw

freely upon my imagination.

Imagination is more important

than knowledge. Knowledge is

limited. Imagination encircles the

world.

Albert Einstein

I can live with doubt and

uncertainty and not knowing.

It‟s much more interesting to

live not knowing than to have

answers that might be wrong.

Richard Feynman
Nobel laureate, physics

We make our world significant

by the courage of our questions

and the depth of our answers.

Carl Sagan

What are some

common barriers

to deeper curiosity

in the workplace?

Some Barriers to Curiosity

• A culture of self-satisfaction, excessive pride

• Priority for speed and urgency over collaboration and creativity

• Too much reliance on e-mail at the expense of face-to-face dialogue

• Insufficient time for unstructured communication

• Atmosphere of intimidation, especially sensed by diffident people

• Oversimplifying statements, confusion over meaning and intent


More Barriers to Curiosity

• Failure to make strategy relevant to individuals and work teams

• Insecurity, perceived threat of serious questions

• Physical, social distance between leaders and people

• Misplaced sense of accountability as to role of workers

• Discomfort with deep questions, inconvenient facts


What are some

bold ways to build

more curiosity

in the workplace?

Never accept that a

question has been

answered as well as it

ever will be.

Michael Lewis
Moneyball

I‟m looking for a lot of men with an infinite

capacity for not knowing what can‟t be done.

Henry Ford

Strategies for Nurturing Curiosity

• Be endlessly curious about things that matter

• Regard everyone as a teacher with something valuable to teach

• Encourage deeper and better questions

• Connect the dots, identify meaning, make sense of things

• Interpret impact of strategy on day-to-day work

• Explain and evaluate alternatives

• Show what you’re not advocating—and why not

• Clarify leadership intent at every opportunity

• Show compelling rationale and reasoning for decisions


Let‟s look next at strategic passion.


Why should we take the time and go

to the trouble of exploring it?

The most powerful weapon

on earth is the human soul

on fire.

Marshal Ferdinand Foch
Supreme Allied Commander
World War I
1851-1929


The cusp between
Understanding and Acceptance
is the third graveyard
of strategies.

What Passion Looks Like
Engagement of the Heart

• Real excitement and enthusiasm, eagerness for work

• Zeal for satisfying customers and attracting new customers

• Old culture of entitlement yields to partnership, participation

• An emotional connection to the purpose, promise, people, etc.

• Confidence in the decency, wisdom of leadership

• Respect for proprietary information

Wanting to Make a Big Contribution


“What is the central passion of a life?”

Or perhaps just

to question

as I am doing now,

& to teach by questioning . . .

Yes—this is both passion
& power

enough.

Erica Jong

If you work just for money, you‟ll never make it, but if you love what

you‟re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.

Ray Kroc

What are some

common barriers

to greater passion

in the workplace?

Some Barriers to Passion

• A severely dispassionate, cold, analytical, phlegmatic style

• Imbalanced purpose, too much emphasis on shareholder value

• Any perceived chink in your integrity

• Sense of isolation, rigid hierarchy, inclination to distrust others

• Too much talk of efficiency and technology, too little human touch

• Insufficient time devoted to team building, social down time

• Reluctance to share business information rapidly and routinely


What are some

bold ways to build

more passion

in the workplace?

Strategies for Nurturing Passion

• Show your own passion for the work you do

• Remind people of the importance of your customer‟s need

• Build relations of trust and resilience

• Create clear opportunities to show faith in people

• Show your vulnerability and authenticity

• Confront and disarm hostility; show your decency

• Offer the potential for deeply rewarding work

• Laugh! Find excuses to celebrate and enjoy life and friendship

• Offer yourself as an authentic person and servant


Finally, let‟s look at strategic courage.


Why should we take the time and go to

the trouble of exploring it?

The cusp between
Acceptance and Commitment
is the fourth graveyard
of strategies.

What Courage Looks Like
Engagement of the Will
• Genuine voice, participation in dialogue, speaking up fearlessly

• Constant wellspring of information, ideas, insight, intuition

• Productive resolution of differences (neither silence nor violence)

• Innovation, creativity, risk, new ideas and solutions

• Real opportunity for anyone to make a difference

• Perseverance, a strong dedication to mission and direction

• Willingness to challenge the status quo, to offer suggestions

Always Doing and Becoming More

Nelson Mandela

Wisdom is inseparable from courage.

Socrates
quoted in Plato‟s Laches

Your Impact Is In Your Person
People Respect People Who Speak Up and Speak Out

King George VI (Colin Firth): "Listen to me. Listen to me!"

Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush): "Listen to you? By what right?"

King George VI: "By divine right if you must, I am your King."

Lionel Logue: "No you're not, you told me so yourself. You didn't
want it. Why should I waste my time listening?"

King George VI: "Because I have a right to be heard. I have a voice!"

Lionel Logue: [pauses] "Yes, you do."

Inside my voice there is a soul, and in my soul there is a voice

India.Arie
Grammy Award-winning songwriter and singer
Strength, Courage & Wisdom

Cowardice asks the question: Is it safe?
Expedience asks the question: Is it politic?
Vanity asks the question: Is it popular?
But conscience asks the question: Is it right?
And there comes a time when one must take
a position that is neither safe nor politic nor
popular, but simply because it is right.

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

The Liberating Power of Courage

The most courageous act is still to

think for yourself. Aloud.

Coco Chanel

The only thing we have to fear

is fear itself.

Franklin D. Roosevelt

Courage doesn‟t always roar.

Sometimes courage is the quiet

voice at the end of the day, saying,

“I will try again tomorrow.”

Mary Ann Radmacher

Sculpture by Jeff Tritel


What are some

common barriers

to more courage

in the workplace?

Some Barriers to Courage
• „My way or the highway‟

• A desire to go along, to fit in, to be like everyone else

• Preference for the security of the known, what you have already done

• Subtle, implicit messages that discourage innovative ideas

• A one-way street of communication that stifles creativity

• Hostility toward any perceived challenge to one‟s authority

• Union representation, hostile work environment

• Theory X assumptions in a Theory Z world


What are some

bold ways to build

more courage

in the workplace?

Strategies for Nurturing Courage

• Demonstrate courage in ways small and large

• Acknowledge fear as a legitimate emotion lest it paralyze people

• Cultivate opportunities for people to make an impact

• Find excuses to involve people intellectually above their level

• Listen with the intent to learn, and be open to influence

• Nurture creativity, become an „idea factory‟

• Encourage diversity of perspective, opinion

• Incubate critical thinking and responsibility

• Have a predisposition to act today


If it is noble . . .
Do it because you can.

Do it because someone should.

Do it because you are here, now.

Do it because you are who you are.

Do it because otherwise you will always regret not doing it.

Do it because, one day at a time, the calendar of life is running out.

Do it because no one but you, and nothing but fear, stands in the way.

Just be sure to do it, before you cannot.


Master Class Conceptual Overview January 2013

Master Class Conceptual Overview January 2013

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