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Success

What Nick Saban Can Teach Us about Process

By Jack Malcolm / 8.24.2012 / No Comment

Like him or not, the man can coach

As a fan of the Miami Dolphins, who were left in the lurch by Nick Saban when he left to coach at Alabama, I am not a big fan of his, to put it mildly. Yet it’s important to give credit where it is due, and no one can say the man can’t coach college football, having won 3 of the last 9 national titles.

A recent article in Sports Illustrated talked about the system that Saban has put in place to achieve excellence, and how his approach is spreading through college football. “Instead of talking about wins and championships, Saban speaks about the Process. In its most basic form, the Process is Saban’s term for concentrating on the steps to ensure success rather than worrying about the end result.”

As Saban says, instead of the scoreboard, focus on dominating the man across from you; Instead of the title, think about finishing that 9^th rep in the weight room.

If he were coaching salespeople, he would tell you that, instead of thinking about your commission, you should think about the needs of the person you’re talking to; instead of quota, make that extra phone call. If writers: instead of dreaming about how many books you’re going to sell, focus on the page you’re writing right now. For anyone: instead of envisioning success, envision what you will do to deserve it.

The focus on process works at organizational levels, as attested by Saban’s success, but it also works at individual levels, during the actual performance on game day. As sports psychologist Jason Selk says, it’s OK to set product goals, but then we must focus our attention on process goals, because processes are the only things under our control.

I’m sure the article vastly oversimplified how the Process works, but these three elements are clearly central to its success:

Fundamentals: It’s about doing fundamental things well, not about gimmicks. Innovation is great, but if you didn’t execute with the last idea, what makes you think it will be different this time? In so many cases, execution trumps ingenuity, and ingenuity can even distract from what really matters. People are always looking for tips and tricks of the trade, when they should be focusing on really learning the trade.

People: It’s about getting the right people; the physical skills and talent need to be there, but just as important are character[1], attitude and intelligence. Find the right people, and then train them relentlessly, focusing on the smallest detail, to make sure they fit and contribute to the Process.

Clear expectations: DO YOUR JOB. This was the wording on a sign hung up by coaching great Bill Belichick when Saban worked for him. The Process requires that responsibilities and expectations are clearly defined for everyone who works in it, and then holding them—and getting them to hold themselves—strictly accountable.

The Process was summed up nicely by Jimbo Fisher, the head coach at Florida State and a former Saban assistant: “Everybody thinks it’s right here (on the field), or that it’s the X’s and O’s. That’s the last part of it.”

[1] Those familiar with Saban’s history might roll their eyes at his talking about “character”, but that points out the differences between “moral” character elements such as honesty and compassion, and “performance” character attributes such as toughness, resilience, etc.

Clear thinking

What Did You Unlearn Today?

By Jack Malcolm / 8.22.2012 / No Comment

"It ain't what we don't know that gives us trouble, it's what we know that ain't so"

At today’s pace of change, it’s obvious that the ability to learn is a critical life skill. What may not be so obvious is that the ability to unlearn is at least as important.

When things are stable, it is a virtue to learn something once and for all. A skill that becomes routine saves time and effort, freeing our mind for other things. Fundamental “truths” become a deeply ingrained part of who we are, providing a stable and dependable foundation for choices and decisions. And experts develop excellent intuition through the ability to unconsciously recognize patterns, which is why they can make swift, effective choices when needed.

But when that routine or that knowledge no longer fits the facts, predictions and choices can go awry. I saw a vivid and important demonstration of this in the late 80s, when I was studying for a graduate degree in Soviet Studies. When Mikhail Gorbachev came on the scene, with his ideas of glasnost and perestroika, the Soviet experts who were my professors were confused about how to interpret his words and actions. Drawing on their 40+ years of study, they interpreted Gorbachev through the lens of what they had seen before: it was another underhanded Soviet ploy to trick the West, or to make Reagan look bad. When the Soviets unilaterally declared that they would withdraw 500,000 troops from Eastern Europe, one of my professors declared that this would only make them more dangerous adversaries, because it would allow them to concentrate on quality.

In medicine, Australian doctor Barry Marshall, who won the Nobel Prize for medicine in 2005, was literally laughed at and booed by audiences of doctors when he presented his theory that ulcers were caused by bacteria. He finally had to resort to causing his own ulcer by drinking a culture of the bacteria, and then curing himself.

I had to unlearn something myself in writing this post. I was going to cite the example of Ken Olsen, CEO of Digital Equipment Corporation, who famously said in 1977 that there was no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home. Fortunately, I checked the statement before publishing, and discovered that the quote, while accurate, was taken out of context. Olsen was actually referring to a central computer that would control everything from lights, to doors, to preparing meals.

Sometimes the vividness of a lesson causes you to overlearn it, making it nearly impossible to unlearn. Military planners are famous for preparing for the last war, and I suspect that the billions of dollars spent on airport security since 2001 are a symptom of this. (Which reminds me of Mark Twain’s observation that, “the cat, having sat upon a hot stove lid, will not sit upon a hot stove lid again. But he won’t sit upon a cold stove lid, either.”)

Been there, done that—maybe not!

Faced with a situation, we match it to a similar experience, and do what worked then. Learning from experience is a form of reasoning by analogy, but in important situations you should examine the analogy you’re using.

Try to list the differences between this situation and the one in your mind.
Get a devil’s advocate, or become your own.
Look for disconfirming evidence. As uncomfortable as it may be, read something occasionally that you don’t agree with. When observed facts don’t match your assumptions, don’t automatically assume the facts are wrong.

Expertise is a wonderful asset, except when things are in flux. Then, knowledge and experience can be dangerous. When what you know blocks learning, you must unlearn it. What have you unlearned today?

Persuasive communication - Uncategorized

Communication Abroad: Three Resources for Cultural Sensitivity

By Jack Malcolm / 8.21.2012 / No Comment

You mean, we have a choice?

I’m getting ready to go to Japan and China to run some classes, and since I haven’t been there in a couple of years, I’ve gone back to some trusty resources to help me ensure that I can speak the language of my listeners. No, I’m not referring to actually learning Japanese and Chinese, but I do want to make sure that I am sensitive to the thinking and communication styles of my hosts and students.

As the world becomes increasingly global, it becomes more and more important for communicators to be aware that there is no one best way of thinking and communicating, and unless you get at least a passing familiarity with other cultures, you are at best leaving effectiveness on the table and at worst at risk of committing a serious faux pas.[1]

When I first went to China about fifteen years ago, I had the good fortune to read a book called Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands . It was good fortune because it provided practical advice that definitely helped me. I was at a dinner with all my hosts, when one of them said, “Mr. Malcolm, I would like to drink a toast to you,” with a shot glass of mao tai. Fortunately, the book had prepped me for this, and I replied, “I would be honored if everyone would join in.” If I had not done that, each one in turn would have proposed a toast, and I would have ended up with about 12 shots, while of my hosts only had one. As it was, they stopped toasting after about the third shot. Who says you can’t learn anything practical from books? This one covers 60 different countries, so it’s a useful resource if you travel a lot.

While that book is still an excellent resource for customs and behaviors, another resource I’ve found to be very useful is Professor Geert Hofstede’s cultural dimensions website. Based on research he did for IBM during the 1970s, Hofstede isolated five cultural characteristics and measured the degree to which they apply to various countries (the definitions are my own, and are vastly simplified).

Power distance: the amount of respect and acceptance that lower ranking people give to those of higher rank.
Individualism: the amount of emphasis on group harmony vs. individual needs.
Masculinity: emphasis on competition and achievement, vs. the feminine values of modesty and caring.
Uncertainty avoidance: the amount of tolerance for ambiguity and unstructured situations.
Long-term orientation: this dimension was added later, and describes the extent to which the members are willing to defer rewards.

It’s tough to go into too much detail in a short article, but I have found it helpful to, first, check out the US measurement for each characteristic, and then compare it to that of the country to which I am traveling. From Hofstede’s web site, here are the measurements for the three:

	USA	JAPAN	CHINA
PDI	40	54	80
IND	91	46	20
MAS	62	95	66
UAI	46	92	30
LTO	29	80	118

The web site also has a written explanation for each country that you might find helpful.

Understanding others often begins with understanding yourself, so a third resource that I’ve used and liked is Americans at Work: A Cultural Guide to the Can-Do People, by Craig Storti. It’s written to help those from other cultures understand us, and it makes for fascinating and sometimes uncomfortable reading. For example, did you know that many cultures consider that American managers don’t have good people skills? They consider us too direct, impatient and driven to truly understand the nuances of relationships and conversations. Our tendency to take things too literally leads to misunderstandings, as in this example:

BILL: We need to schedule the next team meeting.

HIROKO: Good idea.

BILL: How about next Tuesday morning?

HIROKO: Tuesday?

BILL: Yes, would 10:30 be OK?

HIROKO: 10:30? Is it good for you?

BILL: Yes, it’s fine.

HIROKO: I see.

After this exchange, Bill confidently enters the meeting date into the calendar, but Hiroko thinks he has made it quite clear that the meeting time is not good for him. He never directly answered Bill’s question, and never said yes.

Although these resources make for fascinating and useful reading, it’s important to keep in mind that they all address averages, not individuals. You can always find impatient Chinese, subservient Americans, and spontaneous Japanese, so don’t try to force-fit everyone you meet into a number.

Secondly, I haven’t seen research along these lines, but in my own travels I’ve noticed that frequently corporate culture exercises greater influence on how people think and communicate than national culture. I saw a dramatic demonstration of this in Japan two years ago, when I worked with two different companies in the same week. In the first, my audience consisted of salespeople, and they fit the Japanese image very closely. Later that week, I trained some engineers who were as open and challenging in the classroom as any American group I’ve worked with, shattering two stereotypes in the process.

[1] That’s a French term loosely meaning, “get out and stay out, you ignorant foreigner.”

Presentations

How Much of Your Presentation Will They Remember?

By Jack Malcolm / 8.20.2012 / 8 Comments

There’s a cure for this

The bad news for anyone delivering a presentation is that, despite all your hard work and careful choice of content to include in your presentation, most of it will go in one ear and out the other.

Researchers once ran a test to measure how much of a presenter’s message sticks in the minds of their audience. They found that immediately after a 10-minute presentation, listeners only remembered 50% of what was said. By the next day that had dropped to 25%, and a week later it was 10%.

Why is that important? In a typical strategic sales presentation, your audience members will not make a decision right after you’ve spoken. It might be a week or even longer after your presentation. By that time, they may no longer remember specific details but various audience members may each have their own “headline” in their mind that they retained from the presentation will retain an impression of your message. Or, they may have forgotten the impression but may retain an interesting story or intriguing statistic you gave them.

Since very little of your message will stick, you must be absolutely clear in your mind which 10% you want them to remember, and then design your presentation to make sure that happens. The first step is to choose a clear and compelling theme, as described in last week’s article. In effect, you first write the headline and then craft your content to reinforce, repeat and dramatize it.

If you want to be sure it’s saved in their memory, here are five tools under the acronym SAVER:[1]

STORIES: Stories stick. Humans have passed on learning for millennia, and our brains are exquisitely attuned to hearing them, getting drawn in to their reality, and remembering them. But make your stories have a purpose beyond mere entertainment: because they’re so memorable, it’s important that any story you tell supports your theme or one of your main points.

ANALOGIES: Familiar things are more easily remembered, and analogies make things familiar. If you’re presenting an idea that is a big change from the status quo, analogies can make it seem safer by its familiarity. If it’s a sales presentation, some of the best analogies are drawn from the way your customer does business. If you can show them how your solution fits with something they already do, you get the double benefit of familiarity and credibility.

VISUALS: Forget the myth about auditory, visual and kinesthetic. We’re all visual learners; pictures stay in our minds far more commonly than abstract concepts and words. John Medina tells us in his book Brain Rules that retention goes from 10% to 65% when pictures are used. While I would take that statistic with a grain of salt, there is no doubt that the right pictures can make a memorable impression. As with stories, this makes it important to make sure your pictures support your points, rather than just being decorative.

EXAMPLES: Examples make abstract things real. You see it every night on the evening news: if they run a story about the unemployment rate, they will profile a family struggling to make ends meet. Chip and Dan Heath call it the Mother Teresa effect, because she said, “If I see one, I will act.”

REPETITION: Churchill said, “If you have an important point to make, don’t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time—a tremendous whack.” This is excellent advice, but pay attention to the subtlety: Churchill repeated it slightly differently each time, so that it doesn’t sound repetitious.

When you craft your presentation, first make sure you get your facts straight, but then go back and use SAVER as a checklist to make sure they pack maximum impact.

[1] Actually, acronyms also work well, but I didn’t include them because I couldn’t think of an acronym for the extra “A”.