Recently in Good To Great Category
Ok, so I finally finished the book "Good to Great" and now I have to write a 500 word (roughly) review type thing of what I've learned.Once again, you can click the extended link at the bottom of this post to read the proper assignment, but if you can't be bothered, here's a really brief overview...
To create a thriving business, you need to check yourself out, making sure that you're taking responsibility for the ups and downs of the company, you need to make sure that you have the right people on-board that will be motivated and fully committed to the overall vision. You then need to be realistic about where the company already is and what it will take to move forward. Once you've done that, you need to consider what it is that you're passionate about, what you can be best in the world at doing, and what one thing is gonna create the best results, and every decision from that point on needs to be checked against those 3 points, and scrapped if they don't fit. And remember, it's the accumulation of small steps that brings a company to its breakthrough potential.
And that's it. Simple huh?
Right, onto the next book....
Continue reading Good 2 Great - The Review....
It appears that the answers to all our problems don't lie in technology - in fact, many of the problems a company face are only increased by investment in technology.It's so easy to fall into the trap of always trying to have the latest technology (websites, equipment, and generally things that make our lives a little easier), and I should know, I'm a total gadgeteer!! But what Collins suggests here is that great organisations don't invest in technology through fear of falling behind, or competition with rivals, but by listening to their little hedgehog and seeing how new ideas may fit with the basic company concepts.
Like the book says, great technology won't build a great company - it won't help you achieve any of the points I've mentioned from previous chapters - but knowing what your organisation is about, making small measured steps to move with technology when appropriate (if it fits) can make the difference between good and great.
And that applies to all the principles in this book - doing anything that doesn't fit totally with the shape of your little hedgehog is a BAD IDEA!!
Sounds good to me!!
So the question is... hows does the NYSFC website fit with our little hedgehog. And more to the point, what does our hedgehog even look like?
I guess I'll find out soon enough!!
Right, I'm off to PC World to look at speedier laptops!!
Chapter 6 is done and dusted, and a yet another great read...I'm not going to go into a huge amount of detail about what it says, as you can read it for yourself if you're interested. These are just a few questions that it raised in my own little mind...
Wouldn't it be great if there was no hierarchy in a working environment? Well, actually I think "no", it wouldn't be great. I do however think that ruthlessly eliminating the need to flaunt status in front of work colleagues is and excellent idea. It'd be so good if all the team could be totally focussed on achieving for the organisation rather than looking good to get a better status!!
Also, I've discovered myself (usually the hard way) that working within a wide framework can actually free you to be far more creative (and therefore productive) than either having a really rigid work discipline or, on the contrary, an anything goes type approach. And yes, I know that we're all wired differently, but surely either extreme is a bad thing? The whole freedom within a framework idea works for me every time.
So, where does that leave us?
Well, it would appear that to create a GREAT organisation, you need to put loads of great people on a bus, be brutally honest about how bad things are (whilst remaining faithful that "you CAN do better"), work out what your hedgehog looks like, and even rinse your cheese if it'll make a difference to the quality of the hedghog.
Simple!!
Right, I finished Chapter 5. And here are my findings...Firstly, I find it funny that this whole principle is based on the characteristics of an animal that has to be explained to people as they aren't native to the USA (where the Author lives).
Secondly, I am excited by the "3 circles". I think that applying the whole idea of a council that asks the hard hedgehog questions could be a real life-changing thing.
The basic idea is that there are 3 circles (or questions) that you need to consider and then align to discover your own personal hedgehog. These are:
And that's it!! Simple huh?
- What could you be "best in the world" at?
- What drives your economic engine?
- What are you deeply passionate about?
Well, actually, no. But it's interesting to put that into my present situation - my work at NSYFC. What could we be best in the world (although surely thinking regionally would be more realistic) at? What one thing we do (or could do) produces the biggest results (kids saved/ financial support)? And what are we as a team most passionate about?
I don't have any definite answers to any of those questions, which apparently is no bad place to start from, so trying to link them together is almost impossible at this stage, but I can definately see how working through this process and coming back to it regularly for the long term could be really benificial.
Maybe I need to talk to Liz (my boss) about putting a "council" together to work through this stuff, or maybe there already is one, and I just don't know about it, or maybe she'll read this blog entry, think "hey that's a great idea" and then suggest it herself on Monday morning?
I'll let you know what happens.
Right, dinner and then to chapter 6 (at last)...
Knowing that the next MLS gathering is less than 2 weeks away, and I need to write a review of this book and a character study to be "marked" before that, I figured that I need to crack on with getting through "Good To Great". The trouble is, that there's so much in there, I'll forget most of it unless I write stuff down as I read it.So this weekend could well be a bit of a "blogathon" as I plough through the Good to Great concepts and jot down my random thoughts along the way.
And here's the first one...
I have, so far, loved this book - especially the bits about getting a great team around you. The thing is, as I read more into the "Strategy" type section I'm starting to ask some tougher questions of the book.
For example, I'm half way through the chapter on the "hedgehog" concept, which seems to make good sense - the idea that you need to not think about what you "are" good at, or what you are already doing, but to think about what you have the "potential" to be the best in the world at. Now that does make sense, but some of the concepts seem to be written cleverly yet somehow mis-aligned.
Here's what I mean.
The book compares 2 companies, one that thrives in building pharmacy stores, and one that plummets by investing in the (growing) home video market amongst other things. Collins suggests that the reason one failed whereas the other thrived was that the first company had a simple, single focus, while the other spread itself thinly by investing anywhere that could lead to growth. Great so far, but he also mentions that as part of the pharmacy chain, Walgreens made investments into photo processing in all stores and other "risky" investments. So surely, the only difference is that one company invested in a product that didn't work, whereas the other invested in one that did? Nothing really to do with the hedgehog principle, but just taking a chance on investing in a product range that either does or doesn't work.
Again, maybe I'm missing something, but I am slightly concerned that the comparison companies mentioned throughout this book (especially in chapters 4 & 5) are just better or worse at seeing potential in investments.
Anyway, back to the book...
So, it would seem that facing the "brutal facts" is really important in business and I would say also in any environment if it is to thrive. I was really excited to read about the paradox of being realistic rather than over-optimistic, whilst having un-wavering faith that you will succeed.Having thought about it for a while, doesn't this just mean that deadlines are a bad thing - i.e. "We will have acheived this by Christmas" vs "We will achieve this, no matter how long it takes". - It seems that this flies in the face of modern business thinking.
Is it that the whole thing about being over-optimistic is a bad thing only when it comes to circumstances that are beyond our control? It's almost like this amazing book about being totally focussed on success and building a great team has suddenly said, "but don't be in a hurry about it as setting deadlines will just de-motivate you". And I kinda see where Mr Collins is coming from, but it just isn't sitting comfortably with me yet.
Any thoughts would be really appreciated on this one.
And now I finally get to find out what the "hedgehog" thing is all about...
It's been over a week now since I last blogged on here, and the main reason for this is that i wanted to try to digest some of the stuff I've been reading before I went on any further.
And here's some of my thoughts...
I fully agree with the whole idea of level 5 leadership, and the idea of putting together a team who have the right attitude and personality to take an organisation further toward its goal. I also think that the idea of encouraging your team to discuss the stuff that's going well (or where improvements need to be made) is really valid.
My issue though, is that I know leaders at both ends of the spectrum - those who clearly show level 5 leadership in the way they build a team and mobilize them to "play to their strengths", and those who can clearly see where God is calling their organisation and can pretty much inspire anyone to get on board and run towards the goal without necessarily thinking through the whole strengths and personality issues discussed in "good to great".
So where does that leave me?
I guess, the big question in my head at the moment is - "if you work on the whole level 5 leadership and playing to strengths ideals, then won't you end up with a vision based on doing what the people on your team happen to be good at, rather than having a clear focus for the organisation as a whole that everyone will throw themselves into?"
Any thoughts on this would be gratefully received. But as for now, I guess it's back to the book.
And here's some of my thoughts...
I fully agree with the whole idea of level 5 leadership, and the idea of putting together a team who have the right attitude and personality to take an organisation further toward its goal. I also think that the idea of encouraging your team to discuss the stuff that's going well (or where improvements need to be made) is really valid.
My issue though, is that I know leaders at both ends of the spectrum - those who clearly show level 5 leadership in the way they build a team and mobilize them to "play to their strengths", and those who can clearly see where God is calling their organisation and can pretty much inspire anyone to get on board and run towards the goal without necessarily thinking through the whole strengths and personality issues discussed in "good to great".
So where does that leave me?
I guess, the big question in my head at the moment is - "if you work on the whole level 5 leadership and playing to strengths ideals, then won't you end up with a vision based on doing what the people on your team happen to be good at, rather than having a clear focus for the organisation as a whole that everyone will throw themselves into?"
Any thoughts on this would be gratefully received. But as for now, I guess it's back to the book.
Apparently, knowing where you're headed is nothing compared to the people you travel with, and I actually completely agree, from a human perspective (which is the only one I have), but I've never thought about it in terms of leadership before.I've also always agreed with the idea that "people are your greatest asset" so it's so refreshing to consider that it's not just people - it's the right people that make an organisation great. My big concern though with this idea, is the issue of hiring & firing staff that don't hit the mark...
I totally agree that under-achieving staff need to be dealt with effectively, but does that mean changing them for a better worker, or working hard at inspiring them for the task? In youth work I've always worked on the basis that discipline is important, but that if your programming is excellent then kids won't want to mis-behave, they'll want to participate, so surely that applies to staff - if they're playing to their strengths and have a grasp of the overall vision, then they'll perform, and if they aren't then surely that's more of a reflection on the leader not maximising people's potential effectively.
But that leads to the question - how can you know who the right team are unless they have a grasp of the vision that you're about (which according to GtoG, doesn't even exist yet).
Am I missing something here, or am I being stupidly naive?
So, I read through chapters 1 & 2 of "Good to Great" and I was pretty much captured by some of the concepts.The first chapter really just tells you how the author (and his team) went about getting the data they needed from various sustained "good to great" organisations, and then made comparisons with other "good" or "non-sustained" great companies to discover the primary differences. The chapter also gives you a really brief overview (and a neat little diagram) of each of the factors that were present in the "Good to Great" companies, but lacking in the "Good" ones.
From Chapter 2, the rubber really starts to hit the road as we deal with the issue of Level 5 leadership. The basic premise is that there are 4 levels of leadership, from being good at what you do, and knowing what you're about, to being a motivated leader who desperately pushes an organisation forward through pursuit of a clear and compelling vision, in an attempt to better the company, and one's own status within it.
And according to the author, there lies the problem - Level 5 leaders focus all of their energies into building the company and developing leaders around them, whilst accrediting success to the people around them, helpful environmental & industrial factors, and even luck in some cases. In fact, the only time that "Level 5 Leaders" seem to look to themselves is to diagnose problems within the organisation, rather than blaming others, the environment, or "bad luck".
It's referred to as "the Window & The Mirror" principle - Leaders of "Great" organisations look out of the window at others when things go well, and look hard into the mirror when times get tough, however for leaders of "good" companies, the opposite is true - The mirror is for the good times, and the window is for accosting blame.
So, what does all that mean to me?
Well, I guess it means that I need to work at being a level 5 leader, but can you become one, or is it inherent? The book suggests the former, but as a natural result of working hard on the other principles covered in later chapters.
I'd like to think I do pretty well at the whole "not biggin' myself up" thing, but hey, we can all get better at it. I think the key thing for me so far is that I need to start putting more energy into my role at NSYFC and less trying to build a secure postion for myself.
And I guess the other issue is "Where does the whole GOD thing fit in all this?" And I'm sure the answer isn't that Leaders should just give ALL the praise to God when things go well - It's much more extensive than that - but I'm sure that there's a correlation between encouraging vision & determination in others, and inspiring faith in people, that God can acheive amazing results in us when we chase after him with everything, leaving ourselves behind and going for the goal.
Not a big challenge then?
Ok, so I'm about to start reading "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. I thought it'd be agreat place to start.I'll keep you updated as I read through it. It usually takes me months to read a book properly, but we'll see. Maybe this whole leadership thing will get me motivated to just plough straight through.
Watch this space!!
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