I'm Somebody!

The Let's Talk Business! blog has been listed in Top 50 Resources for Students Attending Online Business Management Schools as a resource for Business Operations information.

But, wait, there's more.

I'm also listed in Top 50 Resources For Students Attending Online Organizational Leadership Schools.

I'm not sure what this is about. I usually ignore email like this, but I checked out the lists and looked at a couple of the other blogs listed. Some of them seem worth another look at. I'll take some time to check out some of the other blogs and list some of the ones I like here.

By The Numbers

Do you know who said this: "Guessing is dysfunctional. Ignoring prior experience is denial. Using valid numbers to project performance is rational."?

No? If I told you it was Harrison "Buzz" Price would you know? Don't know who "Buzz" Price is? I didn't either until today.

Mr. Price was a research economist. I don't really know what that entails, but Mr. Price was one, and he was very good at it. How good?

Mr. Price selected the site for Disneyland in Anaheim, CA in 1953. He also selected the site for Disney World in Orlando, FL. That's good.

How did he do it? By using numbers. Data, that is. Facts. He analyzed numerous factors, information like population trends in the area and how accessible the area was, to determine results. He didn't use gut feel or just follow what someone else was doing.

Today, we might say that sounds like Six Sigma or some other management fad (did I just call Six Sigma a fad? I didn't mean it to sound that way, because it's not.), but back in 1953 they probably just called it being smart.



Oh, the quote at the beginning of this post is from Mr. Price's book Walt's Revolution! and I read about him in the November, 2010 issue of Inc. Magazine

Who are They?

I know the name, but I no nothing about Richard Branson. Sir Richard Branson, I should say, of Virgin Group fame. Obviously successful, but when you only know someone from news stories about them you usually have some pre-conceived notion about them. Since I've never really paid attention to Sir Richard, I didn't really give him any thought beyond "probably just another arrogant rich guy."

But I read an article in Entrepreneur Magazine written by Sir Richard (what's the proper way to address him?) yesterday, and I now have a positive opinion of him. He makes some very insightful comments about something you probably haven't given any thought to, but certainly will if you read the article.

He writes about employees using the term "they" when speaking about something negative, but using "we" when talking about positive things. Very interesting, and thinking about it will change your perception of the culture of your workplace. As a leader, you want your employees to think "we" whether the news or issue is good or bad. "They", or Us vs. Them, is a mentality that hinders your organization's performance and must be overcome.

2010 Vietnam National Quality Awards

Vietnam's Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung announced that 96 Vietnamese organizations received National Quality Awards this year, 11 at the Golden level and 85 at the Silver level.

Having just served as an examiner for the Arizona Excellence Award this year (and for the Hawaii award in the past), I know the level of commitment that it takes to earn recognition in these programs. Congratulations to all the award winners and all participants.

I could only find this one announcement, or press release, with no information on the winners. Maybe later, as the award ceremony will be held at a later date. Here's two links to the same article, this one without a picture, this one with a picture (just in case having a picture with your text matters to you).

I've read articles that quote various numbers for how many countries have National Performance Excellence or National Quality Awards. They say things like "over 85 countries" or "over 120 countries". So I started to wonder just what countries, exactly, do actually have active programs. I started to put together a list, but haven't finished it yet. The most accurate starting point I was able to find is at the NIST website, home of the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (that's the U.S. national program). But I've found that the list is either out of date or incomplete.

It is interesting, though, to see the list of countries that have programs, many that I would not have thought of. Narrow mindedness on my part, I guess. When I get my list done I'll share it here or on my website.

If you are not familiar with the Criteria for Performance Excellence, you should definitely take the time to look at it. Even just reading the Criteria and being aware of the requirements will help you look at your organization differently, and lead to improvements.

Front Page News

OK, maybe not the front page, but there was a good size article on Hawaii Rugby in Friday's Honolulu Star Advertiser. Check it out here.

USA Rugby's head coach (men's) says that Hawaii is an untapped resource for rugby players. He'll be here to lead some clinics and scout some players. With the youth rugby doing well here, and the adult league continuing to progress in terms of organization and building the rugby community, there will be more and more high quality players coming out of Hawaii. Some are already making names for themselves.

I Can't Get No... Job Satisfaction!

According to some recent research, the number one reason that employees leave their jobs is because of their relationship with their direct supervisor. There are many factors, of course. Some people will remain in a job even if they have a very poor relationship with their supervisor, but in many cases, employees leave because of their boss.

I once went to work for a company that had an extremely high level of turnover and an almost toxic environment. This was a small company, and the owner directly supervised all the employees. The owner knew he was the cause of the problems and hired a consultant to help him. One of the results of the consultant’s work was that I was hired to manage Operations and supervise the employees. In effect, I was a buffer between the owner and the other employees.

I was a good buffer. Eventually, it didn’t happen overnight, I stabilized the workforce and the Operations of the company. However, the effects on my health of being the buffer were not good and I left the company. But the experience did give me first hand knowledge of the effects of bosses on employees.

Other research has looked at the factors of job satisfaction. I was looking at this after a question was asked about how to retain employees when, in the current economic conditions, the company could not give raises or bonuses to employees. While base pay is an important consideration in job satisfaction, it is not the top factor. The factors that affect job satisfaction are complex. Base pay is usually ranked in the top 5, but a survey done by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) in 2009 showed that job security and benefits ranked the highest, with compensation coming in third. Given the state of the economy at the time of the survey, that is not surprising, but that would not be surprising even in a good economy.

Many factors contribute to job satisfaction, but if you look beyond job security and compensation, you will see that there are a number of factors that relate to the job or the work itself. And, of course, relationship with supervisors and management are important. The factors that relate to the work and the relationships with management are important for Business Operations professionals.

Employees want to perform work that utilizes their skills, and they want to perform work that is meaningful. What does meaningful mean in this situation? It means that the work they do is important for the success of the organization, and in many cases, important to the health and well being of society in general. For Business Operations professionals, the challenge is to ensure that the employees work is meaningful. How can you do that?

One place to look is within one of the core principles of the Lean Management system. Lean advocates, no, relies on, employee participation and input. Workers play an important role in designing and improving processes, establishing procedures, and developing work systems. When the workers themselves are heavily involved in their own destiny, their satisfaction with the job is very high.

The takeaway here for Business Operations professionals is to tap into your employees knowledge, bring them into the process of designing and improving how you do things, and understand and improve your relationships with your employees.

Setting the Stage

When the curtain opens it's time for the performers to perform. All the preparation that is done prior to the curtain opening is the time for the leaders to perform.

The leaders set the stage so that the performers can perform at their best. If the stage is not set properly, the performance will not be the best. Whether it's Rugby or Business, the leaders set the stage.

Jeremy Guscott has a question and answer column on the BBC's Rugby website where he answers reader's questions about professional rugby, particularly the home nations (England, Scotland, Wales, & Ireland) and international test rugby. Recently a reader asked about the erratic performance by Wales and whether it was a reflection of the coaching or of the player's mental state. In one short paragraph (5 sentences), Mr. Guscott gets to the heart of the issue of both rugby and business. Since I can't say it any better, here's what he says:

"Coaches put in place an environment for players to perform. Preparation is meticulously
considered and calculated, strategies worked out and training geared for the match ahead. The players have everything they need and then they have to perform. If players don't or can't step up they have to be dropped, and others who can brought in. I feel coaches can only be blamed for poor selection or not creating the best possible working environment."

I've heard this message before. At a business presentation by former college football coach Dick Tomey, Mr. Tomey made the following statement: "To achieve Excellence you have to create the right environment."

Lest you think this thought only comes from the world of sports, I've heard the same theme expressed numerous times in the interviews I've been conducting for my forthcoming book, "Deliver on Your Promises". The leaders set the stage. The set the tone of the organization, they create the environment, set the standards, and hire and put in place the guidelines for hiring the right people. They give everyone the tools they need to meet the expectations they are given.

Then they get out of the way and let the performers perform.

If you're not creating the right environment, what can you do to create it?
If you're not hiring the right people, how can you hire them?
If you're not setting goals and expectations, how can you develop a system to do that?

It's up to you as the leader to put in place the environment so that your performers can perform.