Better Implementation!
Last week I wrote “Consensus to Implementation.” In that blog post I focused on consensus. Click here to read the post. For this post I want to focus on the implementation piece. So, here is my definition of implementation: A process that includes and respects all parties, and generates as much agreement as possible sets the stage for greater cooperation in implementing the resulting decisions.
“Where do great initiatives go to die: implementation.”
It is sad, but we see it all the time; great initiatives, ideas, or legislation die during implementation. I have seen this during my time on the Indiana State Board of Education, in schools, and many other organizations. Sometimes this is by design, which is very sad and a whole other story – thus why monitoring will be one of the keys I mention to successful implementation. As I see it, there are keys to successful implementation of anything:
- Organization
- Role development
- Planning
- Resources
- Communication
- Monitoring
I want to speak to two of these specifically. One of the great things I learned at Harvard is how important the role development part of implementation is. It is an element that many leave out of the process. But, it is very important for everyone involved in the implementation of anything that he or she understand their role in carrying out the initiative. This might be the most important element, but is many times left out.
The other important piece is monitoring. As leaders, we must get optics on the necessary data to make sure initiatives are being implemented with fidelity. This might be one of the toughest elements, particularly when it comes to legislative/policy initiatives. Sometimes the optics on the data just is not possible. Therefore, initiatives that really could have done a great deal of good, become failures – not because the concept was bad, but because of implementation. Again, make no mistake, sometimes implementation failure is by design. This is a sad, but true, fact.
Therefore, it is very important that the ability for the correct individuals, governing bodies, or stakeholders be built into the consensus to implementation process. If it is not then great ideas, legislation, and initiatives are doomed to die in implementation. Let’s all strive for Better Implementation!
Turning Scattered Ways Into Saner Days
It seems that any time leadership is discussed the topic of planning and time management comes up, and rightly so. If you think about it, it really makes sense as to why so many of us do a poor job of planning our day – we are “doers.” We want to get our day started and do something, not plan it. But, John Manning (2015) reminded us in this week’s lesson in The Disciplined Leader that, “Planning helps you plot out the best strategies and actions for achieving your vital goals and how to overcome foreseeable obstacles (Kindle Locations 1011-1012).” It is important to remember that planning is an important part of being a disciplined leader. 
We must make time to plan our day if we want to get the most out of our time and be focused on the things that matter. Carving out time, any amount of time, in the day to focus on true strategy or long term planning is also critical. Another very important thing leaders should spend their time on is carving out some time every day for themselves. Time spent improving yourself, your skills and even learning new skills, is never time wasted. It is one more critical action you can take as you model the behavior of great leaders!
For me this really becomes more about doing the right things each day. Manning (2015) pointed out that we must attack our day by having a plan ready the night before for the next day. Great advice! I also read a few years ago, and follow the advice of spending 15 minutes of my morning personal professional development time each morning planning out the day. This has worked well for me. Also, keeping a running list of things I need to do and then looking at this list each day to see what needs to be added to that days priorities also works. Now, I don’t want you to get the idea that I am good at this – I’m not. Some days, in fact, I am terrible at it. If we are all honest, we probably all struggle to be good at this all the time.
The bottom-line is we must take time to plan and review our day, every day. As I stated above, I set aside the first 15 minutes in the morning to note the tasks I need to accomplish each day. Some leaders I know do this as they commute to work. Because I prefer to listen to books when I commute, I don’t use my commute as planning time. We also need to remember to finish the day by reflecting on what went particularly well and where we could improve our performance. We need to take time to reflect on what went well and how conversations or meetings could have gone better.
A little planning can help us to us to turn our scattered ways into saner days. How can you improve your daily plan?
Reference
Manning, John (2015). The disciplined leader: Keeping the focus on what really matters. Berrett-Koehler Publishers. Kindle Edition.
“Chance Favors The Prepared Mind”
“Chance favors the prepared mind” was the statement Louis Pasteur, the 19 century scientist, used to describe his remarkable ability to invent and innovate across a complex set of problems.
Peter Drucker believed we needed to notice the little things that other people miss (Maciariello, 2014). If we study Louis Pasteur’s research accomplishments – from his studies of crystallization and fermentation that aided industries ranging from dairying to silk-making to his work with germs and microorganisms that opened up whole new fields of scientific inquiry; we find that he was truly ready for chance to “happen” to him. Some people believe Pasteur was just lucky. Pasteur’s greatest gift may have been his ability to notice the little things that other people missed. Some of those little things proved to be the source of his lucky breaks (Maciariello, 2014).
As leaders and innovators we must immerse ourselves in our work at a level such that we can identify a breakthrough event when we spot it. In order to find significance in life, we need to prepare and dream. This preparation will enable us to spot unexpected opportunities. In 1888, the famous Pasteur Institute was named after him, and upon his death in 1895, he was hailed as a national hero. His last words were, ”One must work; one must work. I have done what I could.” In the last and 52nd entry in “A Year With Peter Drucker,” Maciariello (2014) poses a great question for us as a guide: “What would it take for me to take advantage of this opportunity right now?”
Reference
Maciariello, J. A. (2014). A year with Peter Drucker: 52 weeks of coaching for leadership effectiveness. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Leaders Framing Themselves As Victims
Graphic of GoodLeader/Bad Leader Discusion Drawn by Mike Fleisch
This week’s entry (#12) in John Manning’s (2105) The Disciplined Leader was entitled “Eliminate the Victim Mentality.” Our Focused Leader Academy participants had a huge discussion about this back in November during a Good Leader/Bad Leader discussion. The context of our discussion was how leaders blame their decisions, or lack there of on others or circumstances allegedly out of their control. Instead of being a victim, I call this “excuse-making.” This excuse-making, or blaming and justification are all contained within the excuse-making thought process. In our society today, some leaders have become adept at using all of these strategies to rationalize their actions. Here is where the danger lies in leaders taking a victim approach. The core of victim thinking is the belief that if you’re a victim of something, then the results of your decisions and actions don’t apply to you. Consequently, if you’re not responsible, then you don’t have to change anything: it’s somebody else’s fault. Remember, great leaders take responsibility for things that don’t work and give the credit to others for what goes right.
“Because the workplace culture often has a way of taking on the personality of its strongest leader, be aware that through consistent strength and optimistic, powerful messaging, you won’t just better yourself but will effectively impact others for the better, too. When people around you feel your optimism, they will also be encouraged to ward off thinking or behaving as victims.” ~ John M. Manning
If you want to be a well-respected leader, you can’t afford to act or think like a victim. Leaders are those who see a complex problem and figure out a way either individually or collectively to solve it. Let’s face it, you don’t have to be or feel like a victim. We all have the ability to become the leader we want to be in any area we choose. It is is important to remember we all have the responsibility to lead from where we are; no matter what our position. You are the very person who dictates whether to assume a leader or a victim’s role. The one person with the most influence over you is YOU!
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” – John Quincy Adams
Today, everyone can be a leader. The position of leader is not just for those leading top corporations as CEOs. Today’s leaders are everywhere, including teacher leaders choosing to bring out the best in our children, artists creating social change in our cities, youth bringing about social change, and YOU! Great leaders own and are in control of their own leadership actions. They embrace change and welcome the challenges of their context to learn and own their own personal and professional growth. As leaders, we must embrace our circumstances and understand that today we are stronger and wiser because of the context we find ourselves leading in. As aspiring leaders we must take control of our thoughts and create the inspiring stories of creating the change we want to see in the world.
Are you a leader or a victim?
Reference
Manning, J. (2015). The disciplined leader: 52 concise, powerful lessons. Oakland, CA: Barrett – Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Driven Crazy By Data
Yesterday I was involved in some pretty deep discussions on education. During one part of the discussion I made the comment that many times instead of being “driven by data” we are “driven crazy by data.” As usual, I got some weird looks, but it’s only because I was stating what many aren’t willing to discuss. I am calling this Part One because today I am going to use a personal example from our farm to make my point and will come back later in another post and prove an educational example. I believe those of you outside education in other industries and organizations will be able to use this example as well.
Today, my son and I needed to install a continuous 65′ run of matting for tie stalls in our dairy show barn. Pretty great Saturday Dad and Lad activity for a Saturday, I might add. Now here were the data points: Mat roll was 65′ long
Mat is 75″ wide
Mat weighs 2,000 pounds – 1 ton
Need to leave two inches on each end for the mat to expand
Needs to be 22″ from the wall at the top of the mat
The Mat as Shipped
Location of Mat Istallation
Success!
I am guessing that no matter what field you are in you can relate to this. Those in education could make a list of all the data points able to be tracked. But… we need to make sure we focus on data that really matters. Data that informs instruction and highly effective facilitation of learning is what matters most. If we are to be successfully driven by data, we must not let data that does not matter drive us crazy!
What data in your organization drives you crazy? What are the data points that will drive you to success?
Project Fascination
Well, my friend Sally Hogshead has done it again. What has she done? Found a way to take FASCINATING off the chart. I am amazed and in awe of her! “Who is Sally Hogshead?”, you ask. Sally Hogshead is a Hall of Fame speaker and the New York Times best- selling author of How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination. For the first half of her career, Sally was one of the most award-winning copywriters in the world, creating campaigns for brands such as Nike, Godiva, and MINI Cooper. She learned that when a brand knows how to fascinate customers, it becomes more profitable, admired, and loved. Since then, Sally has measured the communication traits of more than 700,000 people. Oh, and about the other question your likely to ask. A “hogshead” is a wooden barrel that holds 62 gallons. In Sally’s case, the barrel holds 62 gallons of fascination.
Sally Hogshead
Good morning!
First of all I want you to know how incredible it has been to be on our climb up Mount Everest in 2015. While we are not at the summit yet, we are certainly making progress to the higher elevations of a culture of excellence at Hoosier Academies. I am both honored and comforted to be securely safety harnessed to all of you as we make the climb together. I wish you all a happy holiday season and an incredible start to 2016.
During our November Focused Leader Academy session, we did a session called Good Leader/Bad Leader. I have attached Mike’s graphic of the session to this email. Also, please check out this blog post to get a description of how I used what I learned from our teacher leaders and the activity:https://byronernest.wordpress.com/2015/12/07/good-leaderbad-leader/
Here is Dana’s first blog post:
https://danamsmithblog.wordpress.com/2015/12/04/how-the-world-sees-you/
From reading the blog post you now know the book I chose for Dana’s professional growth. After she took the Fascination Rapid Report, she told me she wished our entire staff could take it. Well, you know me – I said make it so! Well, actually my friend Sally Hogshead made it so! A day later, Dana and I received emails giving us each $1,000 worth of Fascination Rapid Reporting to give away however we chose. So, we would like to share our gift with you all as our holiday gift to you. You can read the description of how to use our gift below and learn more about my friend Sally.In order to have enough codes, if your last name ends in A-M use Dana’s code and if your last name ends in N-Z use my code. I guarantee you will be fascinated.
Use this code to discover what Dana & I love about you:1. Go to HowToFascinate.com/YOU
2. Enter the code + your information
3. Click START NOW!
Who is Sally Hogshead? (And is that her real last name?) Sally Hogshead is a Hall of Fame speaker and the New York Times best- selling author of How the World Sees You: Discover Your Highest Value Through the Science of Fascination. For the first half of her career, Sally was one of the most award-winning copywriters in the world, creating campaigns for brands such as Nike, Godiva, and MINI Cooper. She learned that when a brand knows how to fascinate customers, it becomes more profitable, admired, and loved. Since then, Sally has measured the communication traits of more than 700,000 people. Oh, and about your other question. A “hogshead” is a wooden barrel that holds 62 gallons. In Sally’s case, the barrel holds 62 gallons of fascination.
In closing, I want you to know how fascinating I believe you all are, and look forward to climbing even higher in 2016!
Positively Fascinated,
Byron
Immediately after sending this, I started getting email responses. Here are are the responses to date and I will keep this updated for a few days:
- I love this stuff!!
- Honestly, this is the best staff gift and holiday email ever.
- Thank you so much for this!!! It was pretty right on for me!
- This is very cool!
- Thank you for including me! J
- This was very meaningful. Thank you! I can’t wait to discuss with my colleagues.
- I don’t know how you find all the great stuff you expose us to, but I’m glad you found us and that you share who and what you know with us.
- Thank you to you both. I loved this and got chills when I received my report. It’s so MEEEE and I can’t wait to dive a little deeper to figure out how to use my “Passion” to fascinate.
- Only you would send this as our holiday wishes email. You fascinate me.
I’m not gonna lie…I liked that last one…a lot! Like I said, I will keep the list updated. As you can see, Sally’s gift has fascinated. This gift also gives us a concrete example of what paying it forward is all about. I’d love to hear what you are doing to start the fascinating conversations of personal professional growth in your organization. As Sally says, “To become more successful, you do not have to change who you are–you have to become more of who you are.” How are you helping both yourself and those you lead become more of who they are?
“What On Earth Am I Here For?”
Thomas Jefferson’s tombstone mentions several of his accomplishments but not that he was president.
It is important, especially as one ages, to think about the purpose of one’s life. The title of this post was a quote from Rick Warren during a keynote address at the Drucker School Alumni Alumni and Friends (Maciariello, 2014). Drucker (2014) believed it was important to ask yourself, “What do you want to be remembered for?” Honestly, in my view the thing that has the most worth of being remembered for is the difference one makes in the lives of people. Drucker believed that organizations should develop people and that the most durable ones do (Maciariello, 2014). Thus, why I am such a believer, as a leader, that we must strategically spend resources and time on developing our staff. I have personally committed a portion of my time to this with our new Focused Leader Academy.
As we age and mature we focus away from ourselves toward the contribution we would like to make in the lives of others. I have heard others ask it this way: “What would you want your tombstone to read?” When I think of this I am always struck by Thomas Jefferson’s tombstone. You would think he would have had President of the United States on it. But he did not want that because it was a personal accomplishment. Authoring the Declaration of Independence and founding the University of Virginia were accomplishments that contributed to countless lives at the times and now millions of lives since, including my own as a proud U.S. citizen.
So, I thought a little about my own tombstone. As of today, I would like for it to read: “14,030.” Leave it to me to have something off the wall like that. Let me explain. In 1963, the year I was born the average milk production per cow in the U.S. was 8,670 pounds per year. Now, 52 years later, the average per cow production is 22,700 pounds. This is a 14,030 pound increase in average per cow milk production in the last 52 years. As an guy who taught agriculture science for 26 years and marvel at the advances in genetics, management, and nutrition, I am in awe of a 14,030 pound increase in average milk production. Therefore, it is my hope that when my life here is over that it can be that I improved, lifted up, and made a difference in the number of lives (former students, staff, teachers, family, and acquaintances) that would be comparable to a 14,030 pound increase in milk production. I would say if others can say that, then my life will have been worth something.
What on earth am I here for? To improve and develop the lives of others.
Reference
Maciariello, J. A. (2014). A year with Peter Drucker: 52 weeks of coaching for leadership effectiveness. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
Bumping A Disciplined Leader
I’m going to admit that I was not planning to write a post to my blog this morning. Then I got an email from Becky Robinson of Weaving Influence. Here is a sentence from the email:
“It was six months ago that we had the honor of helping promote John Manning’s new book, The Disciplined Leader: Keeping the Focus on What Really Matters. It was a successful launch, and it’s time to revisit this book and give it a quick “bump.” Will you help me?” ~ Becky Robinson
As you know Becky has allowed me to be a part of her extended team to review books and help be a part of book launches. This has been an incredible experience and I appreciate being a part very much. When I saw she wanted to do a “Bump” for John Manning’s book The Disciplined Leader, I immediately jumped into action. Reading The Disciplined Leader and having the chance to get to know John through Twitter – yes, it is a great way to build relationships, I felt compelled to blog immediately.
“Bump” is such an appropriate term when talking about leadership. Just as Becky wants to bump the exposure for John’s book, we all need a bump every so often to keep us on the right track and hone our leadership skills. Working with John Manning I was able to use The Disciplined Leader to do just that. I put author signed copies of the book in the hands of all the participants of our newly formed Focused Leader Academy. This is an employee development and engagement program. The idea is that great minds and great motives still matter. Teachers with school leadership aspirations have the opportunity to become part of a cohort which will take part in monthly leadership training and be part of supervised leadership projects of the school. Cohort size is at least 10% of teaching leaders per year. The Vision is: Leadership will be born out of those who are affected by it. The Mission is: Leadership will appear anywhere and anytime it is needed. Our Theory of Action is: If we empower our teachers through leadership skill development…Then we will have teacher leaders ready to contribute to the success of Hoosier Academies and be an important part of our talent pipeline.
In my opinion, what we are trying to do matches perfectly with the book. The book is organized into 52 lessons. So what we are doing with our year-long program is reading a lesson per week. As you know, I am a believer in the power of blogging as a personal professional growth tool, so all Focused Leader Academy participants are expected to write (most had to create a blog site for the first time) a blog post each week on the lesson. You can follow all our learning, including blog posts, on Twitter using the hashtag #HoosierFLA. I am doing the same thing right along with them. Click here to read my latest post. Some were a little uncomfortable at first, but we just had our monthly session this past Saturday and the overwhelming opinion is that this is an incredible experience. The participants were commenting on how applicable the book is to what is happening in their lives as teacher leaders. I must say that is true for me as well.
This is an incredible book! Therefore, if you are needing a “bump” to help you to be the best leader you can be I recommend getting a copy of The Disciplined Leader today. Better yet; buy copies for everyone in your organization today and blog together.
Living By Core Values
This week’s A Year with Peter Drucker (Maciariello, 2014) lesson deals with an area, core values, that I have really come to understand more fully in the last few years. I believe me admitting this really explains where most organizations and individuals are on this. We talk core values. We spend time developing core values. We post core values on the wall. We can say we have core values. BUT, do we live our own core values? BUT, does our organization live its core values? BUT, do our personal core values and the organization’s core values match? BUT, is our organizational strategy driven by our core values? In education we say “student’s first” is a core value. The power of core values is living and making decisions by them, not developing them. We must live this and make decisions based on it. I am proud that we have organically begun to build this into our culture at the school I am currently a part of turning around. It brings me great pride when in meetings, our staff will say, “Ok, what is the best thing to do for the student(s).” And, really mean it! The only way for this to truly become embedded is for all to use core values as the “mirror” (Maciariello, 2014) test for all decisions.
“You become a person by knowing what your values are, what you contribute, and it is outside yourself.” ~ Peter Drucker
Let’s face it, values without the corresponding behaviors are meaningless. Authentic leaders bring organizational core values to life. I told you we were building a culture of using our core values. Here are a few ways we have done this:
- Using our core values to guide us while we execute strategy, achieve goals, and reward results.
- Asking what behaviors express our values.
- Asking what are we doing that undermines or conflicts with our values.
- Tell stories of how values are expressed in daily decisions.
- Evaluate daily behaviors with values statements.
- Define how living by values enables your organization to execute strategy and achieve goals.
Interestingly, as I am writing this I had one of our principals just come in and aske me a question about an end of the semester procedure that affected students who might be coming to us or going to another school next semester. The principal actually said, “We think we should do… Because it meets the test of doing what is best for the students. It is more work for the teachers, but it is best all day long for our students.” My response: “Make it so.”
I am excited to be working in an environment where I can exemplify my personal and organizational goals. I don’t think I have ever been anywhere where my own core values and organization’s core values like they match up in my current situation. To work in an organization that has a value system that is incompatible with your own core values forces you to compromise and a loss of self esteem. In my own case I can pass the “mirror test.” What I do fits well within my value system. The contribution I am striving to make is something I want to devote my life to and something I want to be remembered for. Drucker (2014) taught us if we cannot pass the “mirror test” we must do something about it. Do you pass the “mirror test?” Does your organization’s strategy in action match its own core values; and yours?
Reference
Maciariello, J. A. (2014). A year with Peter Drucker: 52 weeks of coaching for leadership effectiveness. New York, NY: HarperCollins Publishers.
RYOBI’s® Beaming Leadership
When coming back in this morning after the 4 AM trip to the barns for milking, feeding, and checking cows I felt compelled to write a blog post a little different than my normal posts. I am, however, using the best practice of sticking to my themes of leadership or education. This morning I needed to check on a cow that is close to calving. She is out in what we call the east pasture (east side of the house – pretty high tech naming convention here). When the weather is good we would much rather have the animals outside than forced inside. They all have the option to come inside, but generally choose not to if the weather is nice. This morning it was nice, no wind, 38 degrees, but fog as thick as pea soup had settled in. You know the kind – total darkness, mist curling around you like rain.
Of course, the cow was in the furthest point she could be. I did not know this at the time, but I would need to set out on the journey to find her. This was going to be one of those eerie times that was both wonderful and a little unnerving at the same time. There was an owl hooting (one of my favorite early morning sounds), a rabbit ran out in front of me, and a possum played, well, possum as I walked passed a hay feeder. I was also thinking about the game my son loved to play of flashlight tag. I guess I was playing flashlight tag with cows. Do I have a great life, or what?
Anyway, about this flashlight that I was playing tag with. That’s what this post is really about. The light I was using was my RYOBI® 18V ONE+™ Xenon Hi-Beam Spotlight. I just got this light a couple of weeks ago and I have to tell you, I’m glad I did. This the best light I’ve ever used on a morning like this this morning. It cut through the fog like the lighthouse on Asateague Island (one of my favorite places).
The RYOBI® 18V ONE+™ Xenon Hi-Beam Spotlight features a high intensity beam for maximum lighting in dim areas. This 2,800-lumen light features a lock-on button which allows the user to activate the light without continuously holding the trigger switch. It has a runtime of over 90 minuutes per charge using the P108 18V ONE+™ High Capacity Lithium-Ion Battery. The battery is really what I want to talk about from a leadership standpoint because without RYOBI® going to the high capacity lithium batteries I would not still be using RYOBI® tools.
Really, RYOBI® showed great insight in how they entered the market. RYOBI® offers all tools in the “One+™” series in both a “kit” form (with batteries and a charger) and in a “bare tool” form for use with your existing RYOBI® 18V batteries/charger. The “One™+” concept is simple: you can start out with one existing 18V RYOBI® tool — or purchase a tool in “kit” form — then add to your collection inexpensively by purchasing “bare tools” to use with your exisitng accessories. Here’s a list of what I have:
- Drill/driver
- Driver
- Impact wrench
- Right angle “close quarters” drill
- 5-1/2″ circular saw (w/laser)
- 10″ chain saw
- Variable-speed orbital jigsaw
- Variable-speed reciprocating saw
- Rotary cutter
- 8-1/4″ miter saw
- Caulk & adhesive gun
- Finish sander
- Nailer/stapler
- Flashlight
- Handheld wet/dry vac
- 4 -1/2″ angle grinder
- Spotlight
I’ve probably forgot something, but I’m sure you get the idea of what all is available. It should be noted, however, that I almost threw them all away. The original batteries just would not hold a charge. Then came RYOBI® out with the new P108 18V ONE+™ High Capacity Lithium-Ion Battery. This saved the day. RYOBI® even went a step further and reinvented the ONE+™ line going to a green colored new and improved line of tools. The great part is, though, that all the batteries still fit all tools.
Another great example of brand leadership is the development of hybrid tools. New products have been developed that can run off of a 110 volt electric cord or a RYOBI® 18V battery, making it compatible with all tools, batteries and chargers in the RYOBI® 18V ONE+™ System. The dual power source gives users limitless mobility and power. My son purchased the hybrid Bluetooth radio/stereo. Great for tunes while working in the barn.
Hopefully you see why I believe RYOBI® leadership is beaming. By the way, no baby calf yet.
Byron's Babbles 
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