DASHBOARD GROUP

Archive for December, 2011|Monthly archive page

Gifts

In About on December 26, 2011 at 8:29 am

This year, The Dashboard Group received lots of great gifts.  Some of the most notable ones were:

  • Fantastic clients, whose challenges inspired us to bring our “A-Game” every day
  • A fantastic board, who were a constant source of encouragement and support
  • A fantastic team, who worked tirelessly to build the company
  • A growing list of Shift Points readers, now dispersed all over the world
  • A growing list of Dashboard partners and affiliates, who have helped us accomplish incredible things

We want to extend a big, heartfelt thank you to everyone.  You were a great gift this year.

As we look forward to 2012, we are more bullish than ever.  We look forward to working with all of you.

The Shift Points blog is designed for Fast Lane leaders who want to leave their competitors in the dust.

Shift Your Thinking … Accelerate Your Results.


Related … But Different

In Teamwork on December 19, 2011 at 7:55 am

This week, most of you will be getting together with relatives.  For many, being with relatives can be pretty stressful.

Why?  Because you are related … but different.

You are related, which means that your DNA has some familial markers.  You have common experiences.

But, you are different.  In most cases, very different!  You grew up in the same environment, but now have totally different values.  You have the same parents, but now have opposing worldviews.  You used to be inseparable, but now barely speak.

For the next week or so, everyone will have to put aside their differences, and come together as a family.  Everyone must put “we before me.”

Now, if this is hard for families to do for one week, imagine just how absurd it is to ask unrelated … and very different people to come together to build an organization.

To do this, leaders must find common ground with such force, clarity, and intensity that it unifies unrelated people.

That is why we use the word “One” over and over again.  We advise clients to develop One Strategy, One Vision, One Defining Differentiation, One Destination, One DNA, One Dashboard, One Culture, One Playbook, (and more).  We have found that this level of clarity and precision is essential to bringing people together.

So they can work as One Team!

The Shift Points blog is designed for Fast Lane leaders who want to leave their competitors in the dust.

Shift Your Thinking … Accelerate Your Results.

 

Potholes

In Alignment on December 12, 2011 at 7:58 am

I love having a racing suspension in my BMW.  The car is locked-down tight, and handles like it is on rails.

However, last night I hit two potholes on the way home.  It was dark, and I never even saw them coming.  The force was enough to make me check to see if any of my teeth had been jarred loose!  And it was enough to knock my car out of alignment.

Organizations hit potholes too.  And just like my BMW, some of them are enough to knock the organization out of alignment.  Some of the most notable organizational potholes include:

  • The unexpected loss of a key executive, especially the CEO
  • The unexpected loss of a major account
  • Hiring a senior executive who is competent, but does not share the organization’s values
  • Re-organizations, especially ones that are not well planned
  • Mergers, which fail to achieve their stated goals 75% of the time
  • Failed new initiatives, especially ones that were sold as “essential to our future”

These potholes, while damaging, must be dealt with.  The organization has to go back to the foundational core and once again bring everything – and everyone – back into alignment with the vision, mission, values, and defining differentiation (the One Thing.)

Of course, it is a lot better if you just miss the potholes altogether.  This requires what we call “aligned agility.”

And excellent night vision!

The Shift Points blog is designed for Fast Lane leaders who want to leave their competitors in the dust.

Shift Your Thinking … Accelerate Your Results.

The Seven Stages of a Performance Review

In Performance Management on December 5, 2011 at 8:16 am

Many organizations do performance reviews in December.  Most do them very poorly.

So poorly that performance reviews are a frequent subject of the Dilbert cartoon strip.  A few years ago, Scott Adams, Dilbert’s creator, wrote a strip called The Seven Stages of a Performance Review.  In it, the Pointy Haired Boss (who is never actually named) comes over to Alice’s cubicle and announces, “It’s Time.”  (Alice is the woman with the big pointy hair.)

What follows, in Alice’s words, is a far too common occurrence:

  1. Denial – “What, these aren’t even my objectives!’
  2. Anger – “Who said these things about me!”
  3. Bargaining – “What if I make someone write a glowing e-mail about me?”
  4. Depression – “Morale slipping away …”
  5. Acceptance – “Whatever.  There’s no budget for raises anyway.”
  6. Trash-Talking – “Wool-covered pile of ignorant monkey spit.”
  7. Lunch

So, if you are a manager, and you are in the process of writing reviews, please go the extra mile.  Remember, managing people is a sacred trust.  Your people deserve more than a superficial and perfunctory performance review.

You can read the comic for yourself here: http://dilbert.com/strips/comic/2003-06-22/

The Shift Points blog is designed for Fast Lane leaders who want to leave their competitors in the dust.

Shift Your Thinking … Accelerate Your Results.

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