Montana Memories

On The Montana Trail!

I hit the trail the end of last month – The Montana Trail, that is.  It was part of the State of Montana’s annual HR conference.  Actually, it was just part of the workshop I did on Role-Based Assessment and the CHI Indicators.  The Montana Trail is a group experience designed to help a large group of people quantify the value of a Role-diverse, coherent team.

The Sheriffs of The Montana Trail

The most exciting part, for me, was finally meeting the team that’s been using Role-Based Assessment to drive change through their state.  Now keep in mind that not only does this state have a visionary Governor but they are also one of the very few states that is gaining in jobs, not losing them.  So you know they’re doing something right and they have the stamina to keep driving till they get everyone home safe from the trail drive.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...

With very little preparation from me, the Sheriffs – AKA the HR team -  jumped right in and made the game theirs.  They got their ten gallon hats, found a cowbell for me to call the rounds with, made sure I had pictures to show at the office (and here!), and, in general, made me feel as if I’d known them forever.  (That means a lot to this former New Yorker.)

But I shouldn’t be surprised.  That’s what coherent teams do.

Lessons From My Mother, Revisted

A year ago, I posted the eulogy I gave at my mother’s funeral.  Sunday, I will get my second chance to speak about her as her headstone is unveiled.  The custom is to celebrate the work her soul did on its trip through this life, so I had to think beyond what I originally wrote.  Here is what I’ll say.

My mother brought peace to the world, without ever winning a Nobel Prize for her work.  She just believed that people should get along and so she treated them that way.  She never held a grudge, at least not very firmly.  And she told me that while I didn’t have to be best friends with everyone, at least I had to give them a chance.

I remember her saying this about boys too, when I was dating them.  I remember thinking at that time, you can’t possibly mean this, Mom.  I mean, he might have been polite to you, but you didn’t see him gearing up for a teenage smooch-a-thon.  I always wondered if that would have changed her mind.

But it turns out that she was right.  What she was saying was, don’t make snap judgments on the basis of what you see.  It takes time to experience people, to value what is special about them, and to discover their flaws, fatal and otherwise.  And I realized that she, in her own way, knew the reason that Role-Based Assessment works.  Of course with RBA, you know the answers when you read their report.  As we say, it’s the ‘new way to know’.  But it’s based on something very old and as practical and enduring as a mother’s wisdom.

Coherence – Not Just for Teams!

I’ve been writing about Coherence for a long time, without always using the word. A discussion this morning reminded me of the first time the concept was published – in a book on parenting I wrote about 22 years ago.  I was talking about marriage, but it might just as well have been about people who work together. This is what I said:

It is difficult to put into words that which philosophers and poets have always struggled with. Assessing your feelings and expectations can be done through nonverbal means, such as drawing and miming. For instance, one way to look at some different styles of marriage is to symbolize the couple as eggs.

Some couples are like hard-boiled eggs. They’re firm and well done, but they can’t get very close to each other. They may shatter each other’s shell, but even that just brings their outer beings (the white part) together. Their inner selves (the yolks) are isolated from each other. The hard-boiled-egg couples have what’s termed a ‘marriage of convenience.’ No risk; no intimacy.

Other couples are like soft-boiled eggs. One healthy confrontation and they’re a messy puddle, impossible to put back together for a bit more cooking. Very young couples, especially those who have been forced to marry because of untimely pregnancies, are often soft-boiled-egg couples. High-risk; intimacy only when the inner selves are shattered.

Then there are the scrambled eggs. They have even given up their uniqueness to create a single, homogenized entity. They may have a feeling of ‘us against the world,’ but it is a false feeling of security, since neither can function alone. If there are children, they, too, may be expected to become part of the omelet, submerging themselves in the family. Low-risk for the couple; high risk for their children; and a false sense of intimacy.

Successful couples are like fried eggs, sunny-side up. When they are cracked open against the side of the pan, they obligingly plop in, their outer selves attracted to each other, coming together to form a mutual environment for the two yolks. The yolks may move around in their white field, sometimes touching and sometimes moving apart, yet they always retain their individuality. They risk moving against each other with enough force to break one or both, but their mutual base tends to slow down any confrontation. Their intimacy has room for additional little eggs; children are no major threat, since there is space for them to develop as individuals too. Acceptable risk; high probability of intimacy; and personal growth for all.

Now I think I would be more blunt and just describe the hard-boiled as rigid and the soft-boiled and scrambled as diffuse.

This might explain why it bothers me when people confuse Coherence with cohering, especially when speaking about functional teams – the coherent human infrastructure that’s required for successful business.

Listen up!  It’s not about sticking together in one big glob of scrambled eggs.  It’s about being so fully mature and productive that you can bounce off people and not break, and that you can work with them without giving up who you are as a valuable, unique individual.  It’s about being part of the human infrastructure that actually accomplishes something!

Singing in Three Parts, Harmony Optional

When I was very young and singing in the school chorus, we were divided into soprano and alto and taught some simple harmonies.  (This wasn’t a girls-only school.  We were so young that even the biggest boys were still high-pitched.)  I was entranced by the sound, the theory, and the math involved in this, counting up and down the scale to get a third and a fifth and so on.   What I wanted to do, more than anything else, was be able to sing in more than one voice, all by myself.  I couldn’t do it.

Now, through the wonders of technology, I have more than one voice.  I am not sure how they harmonize; that is left to the audience to decide.  These voices – there are three – can’t actually be created simultaneously, but they can be produced at pretty much the same time.  This blog became my voice two years ago.  It is now joined by two others, which can be accessed with the links in the right column here.

The first, CEO2CEO, debuted July 21, 2009.  It’s me, CEO, speaking to other CEOs.  But you don’t have to be a CEO to read it or comment on an entry.  Believe me, CEOs need all the input they can get from people who aren’t CEOs.  It keeps us from believing our own press.  (In fact, the latest post is about why we really need people who don’t ‘yes’ us into inaction and anti-creativity.)

The second, Tools4Careers, debuted August 1, 2009.  It’s me, survivor of more bad-fit jobs than anyone else I know, talking about careers.  It will probably have more actionable advice than anything else.  Between the dismal unemployment rate and the wretched ‘employed but miserable’ rate, I’m hoping to hit a few right notes that inspire people to find their fit.

And I’m hoping you’ll bring your guitar, your kazoo, a pot and spoon to bang it with – and, of course, your voice – and add to the harmony.  It’s always better with a chorus!

The Intern Diaries: Lessons Learned

The final four gave their presentations this week, talking about what they did, what they learned, how they changed.

Learning is changing.  I think they expected to learn but I a not so sure they expected to change.  The biggest change, for all of them, is how much more they now want to change.  To grow, to experience, to learn – all is to change.

I learned and changed too.

I had to laugh when one of the interns remarked that she learned she liked working with older people.  The funny thing is, I learned to like working with younger people – those who are coherent, strong in their Role, and like working on teams.

I learned, most of all, that the basic principles of building and supporting a Coherent Human Infrastructure are not dependent on age, experience, or ‘rank’.  Value is value, quality is quality, synergy is synergy.  And trust, respect, and faith in the Vision are still the alpha and the omega.

The Intern Diaries: The Beginning of the End

I agreed to expanding our internship program without too many expectations.  After all, even though they had the RBA results that predicted they would be successful to varying degrees, they are still in college, with no experience to speak of.  Well, I am now convinced more than ever that giving people with potential a chance – and giving them the Role-appropriate challenges to meet – is a better strategy than bringing people on with fat resumes but nothing else.

The interns are beginning to leave and on their last day they have decided to make presentations to us, and their fellow interns, on what they accomplished and what they learned.

Crystal was the first to leave this week.  She’s going to visit family in China.  She had been the last to join us, a week after the others, so she had the shortest time.  But oh did she ever use it well!  She presented market research on one of our ’skunkworks’ projects complete with data, analysis, suggestions – better than marketing presentations I’ve seen from senior executives.  But no wonder – as a strong Action Former who is also capable of being a Vision Mover, she is a powerhouse at any age !  And she learned enough about herself to be very clear on her entry level career goal – product management.

She was closely followed by Lindsay, now on her way back to Texas.  Since Lindsay is primarily a Communicator, I suggested to her that she just do an informal verbal presentation.  So I was surprised when she showed up with a PowerPoint.  Turns out while she didn’t think she had done much, when she started listing what she’d actually accomplished, she felt it would work better to do some writing.  I laughed.  Communicators are often thought of as lazy because they like to talk.  Even they can think of themselves that way.  But oh my, was she ever convinced as page after page of her accomplishments filled the screen.  Let’s just say the Social Marketing Optimization is in her future, whether she stays in her psychology major or not.

Best of all, while it is the beginning of the end of internship, it is not even the end of the beginning of these wonderful relationships!

The Intern Diaries: Week Seven plus

The realization is dawning that as July ends, the interns will be starting to leave.  Crystal, who’s going to Hong Kong and Macau to visit family, and Lindsay, who’s heading back to Texas, will be the first to go.  And I’m wondering how the others will experience their leaving.

It will be good practice for them, given that they are likely to see their colleagues come and go in their future jobs.  At least this isn’t a downsizing!  Speaking of which, there’s talk of an increase in distressing reactions to being downsized – sabotage, mostly of the technology sort.  Just the sort of behaviors that the non-coherent, short term thinking person is more likely to actually do.

But for our coherent, self aware bunch, I expect their future work life to be more productive and positive.  They understand that temporary setbacks shouldn’t be turned into permanent ones by letting stress overwhelm and alter behavior in a negative direction.  And they act on it.  Even in a down economy, coherent people are naturally attractive to employers.

And now I know that internship has long reaching effects on careers.  Lauren, our Spring intern, just wrote me.  I was concerned that with the job market so poor, she would be locked out, but no, it sounds like she got a job that not only fits her, but which will allow her to help others get a good school fit!

She said:

It is a sales/client services position. First part is I have to call potential students and give them information about Ashford and evaluate them to see if they are a good fit for the school. Once that process is over, I help them enroll and will be their guide through their first course. It should be a challenging but fun position. I just finished my 2 week training course and will start officially on Monday.

Congrats and good luck, Lauren!  They are lucky to have you!  And psssst, just between us, we are about to launch the Role-Based Assessment for careers!

The Intern Diaries: Week Six

What a week!  All six interns are now Certified Role-Based Assessment Consultants!  Week six and they are more than just onboarded – they’re integrated into our life, as a team and as the individuals that they are.

There was an article in the paper this morning advising workers to ‘brand’ themselves to make themselves layoff-proof.  Not a bad idea but it happens naturally when you, the management,  (a) know people’s Role,  (b) recognize and respect them for it, and (c) don’t force them into tasks they aren’t suited for and, therefore, dislike.

So herewith are their brands, at least as I see it:

Tristan is the techno-suit.  All the nerd stuff and he still dresses for success!

Rebecca is the journalista.  Give her an idea and she turns it into a piece of writing that fits the column width!

Kyle is the ‘give-it-to-me-I’ll-get-it-done’ guy.  I need it, I get it – does it get any better?

Crystal is the campaign planner.  Her favorite place is the conference room, favorite tool is the conference room whiteboard!

Kartik is the organizer.  And re-organizer.  If there is an efficiency to be had, he advocates for it!

And Lindsay is the deal broker.  She knows what’s going on and she knows where we want it to go, so she figures out how to make the contact happen!

Maybe I should have titled this ‘Six Weeks, Six Brands’.  I didn’t know how long it would actually take, given that they are new to the business environment,  but this is just about average for Coherent hires who are given Role-appropriate work scopes.

I’ve said it before: hire for Role and Coherence and you’ll get productuvity and teamwork.

The Intern Diaries: Week Five

Intern evaluation week, or at least according to the email I got.  No one’s come after me for a formal evaluation and that’s a good thing.  I’m pretty bad at meeting people’s expectations for ratings on their various attributes.  To me that’s too much like rating each note in a piece of music.

In fact, the more I think about it, the more I think we should be rating people on these things:

1. Willingness to dance with your co-workers.  (I don’t mean samba, I mean move with, against, or around them, as appropriate.)
2. Ability to harmonize with your co-workers.  (I don’t mean you have to hit the high notes.  You just need to not be so dissonant that people grimace.)
3. Making music some new way with your co-workers.  (It doesn’t have to be music, literally.  Just something that didn’t exist before.

Ok, I can rate everyone now.   All A’s, intern team!

Birthday Card for Liberty

I was looking for a speech I gave a long time ago and found this instead.  It seems timely for today, America’s birthday.  It was taken from a story I told to a modern day group of ‘game-changers’.  There were the mystical-sounding ‘rules of engagement’ and then my translations into what I thought they needed to know about applying them to the achievement of their vision of liberty.

Liberty Warriors: The Rules of Engagement

1. Water moves over rocks and ground; it parts around boulders and carries the sand. The warrior is persistent, even in the face of ignorance, adversity and derision, and is flexible enough to overcome the seemingly insurmountable obstacle.
2. Recognizing the futility of separating logic from emotion, the wisest leader enters the mind with the heart and the heart with the mind. The warrior stalks the quarry in the most vulnerable places with the most effective tools.  Where there are few warriors, they remind themselves all that they must be both warriors of the mind and warriors of the heart.
3. The elders have advised, act as though you have two faces on the same head, one to lead, one to follow; one to look forward, one to look back; one to listen and one to see. The warrior is not solely a leader or a follower, but embodies the best characteristics of both.
4. That which the farmer sows is not what the sorcerer reaps, nor does the brewer feel the intoxication. Each warrior brings a context for warriorhood: a lived life of circumstance.  The race is not to the swift… time and chance happen to all.
5. A corner brings together the three dimensions, yet itself has no volume.  Such is the warrior a container for valued treasures; the size is unknowable, but humility and self-knowledge increase it. The warrior knows his own box well before attempting to think out of it.

I concluded by exhorting them to go forth, knowing their own minds and their own hearts, and then guide others in discovering that their hearts and their minds crave liberty as they do.  I expect that a good many did and I hope they are celebrating today, together in the hope that we will all come out of our challenges, stronger and more flexible, as individuals, teams, a nation, and a global family.  As I hope you are.