by D. Kevin Berchelmann | Jun 19, 2006 | Brazen Leader, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics, Organizational Effectiveness
I recently had a senior-level human resources professional ask me for creative ideas to market and showcase the value that the HR team provides. This executive went on to say how he was fortunate enough to work for a company in which HR works in close partnership with Operations. However, he thought they could do a better job of marketing their successes and accomplishments.
This is a great topic for HR folks, so pay attention…
If you’re really serious about it, approach the marketing effort strategically as would any business.
First, determine your market. This is absolutely the most critical step. It’s unlikely that your primary market is a bunch of employees unless you are solely an employee relations and benefits provider. In fact, if you still believe you are there as a simple resource for employees, you probably shouldn’t be reading my blog. You’ll just get frustrated.
Your primary customers may be a dozen executives or a couple hundred managers. Determine who your true customer is, and start there.
Then, as Tom Peters likes to say, “Do something really strange… TALK TO YOUR CUSTOMERS!” Find out how your customers want to be updated, communicated, and sold. They’ll tell you – if you are truly of value to them.
Now, if you want to find out what you should be doing, instead of just after-the-fact publicity, go to the next step in the planning process: Do a gap analysis. Determine where you are today, in relation to what your customer(s) want/expect from you. The delta between the two is the “gap,” or your targets of opportunity. This analysis will require substantial thought and time commitment; you’ll want to discuss, cuss, analyze, cipher, ad nauseum with a variety of key stakeholders within your organization.
Then, develop an action plan around that gap analysis, complete with measurements. Determine what your future will look like, then plan the steps to reach that future. Now, you’ve got your marching orders and marketing fodder — the easy part is “how” to get the word out. Trust me, when general managers see you as a resource for operational success, you won’t need to “market”…
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | May 28, 2006 | Brazen Leader, Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
I’m working on a really interesting project right now… the organziational design and restructuring of a $750M distribution company. My primary client is a private equity firm (they are acquiring), but of course, I must work closely with the executive team at the operating company.
The organization is fundamentally sound, and quite profitable. My charge, then, is to add to those results through efficiencies, logical processes, and helping organize corporate and support functions from a very decentralized position to something that offers a little more continuity and standardization. Add to that the need for keeping their succesful commercial operations as the “true north” of our efforts, and it’s quite an enjoyable challenge
Great project, lots of interesting twists and turns. Great bunch of people, too.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | May 28, 2006 | Brazen Leader, Executive Improvement, Kevin Berchelmann
This question is a regular in executive circles… are leaders “made” or “born?” Do we have to find that person who by birthright is destined for leadership greatness, or can we cultivate, foster, and nurture someone with currently-unrealized potential to be that leader?
Combat Leadership
Leadership is necessary in combat, but doesn’t hold its definition there; it may do so for current and/or former members of the military (of which I’m proudly included), but not necessarily the rest of the world. I’ve known many combat leaders who could only purportedly “lead” while in combat. They were ineffective without a crisis. Combat needs leaders; we don’t require combat, though, to have leaders. Long-term organizational leaders don’t have the “luxury” of crisis to be effective.
Critical Leadership
To use simple criticality as the overarching criteria, then trauma surgeons would be more of a leader than a high-performing CEO, merely because of job function. I don’t agree with that thinking, either. Again, crisis management — maintaining a calm, authoritative head under pressure — is an incredibly valuable skill. But it’s not the core foundation for effective leadership.
Leaders are made, not born. It’s easier, of course, to start with someone who has a known propensity (assessments or demonstrated performance) to “learn to lead.” It’s not, however, a necessity. If we take the time and effort, and are willing to marshall the appropriate resources, we can make the leaders of tomorrow from within our existing organization.
Additionally, leadership is entirely situational, which drives people to say things like “She has no potential to become a leader.” They actually mean “Given what I know about leadership from my experiences, this person doesn’t fit that description.” They could easily become an incredible leader elsewhere, as many have proven out in other organziations. the converse is also true: Given again that leadership is largely situational, a successful leader in one organziation may or may not be completely successful in another. Change the dynamics, change the opportunities for success.
I also believe that management and leadership are inextricably linked, so I don’t spend huge amounts of time trying to split hairs on the definitions. That, of course, is a posting in and of itself, so I’ll save the details for later.
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | May 28, 2006 | Brazen Leader, Human Resources, Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
I have a huge library. I like to read, and I like to stay abreast of current business thinking, in a variety of disciplines.
So, I have the 1969 edition of Dartnell’s “Personnel Director’s Handbook,” which is just chock full of valuable tidbits. For instance:
Personnel administration is never a job; it is a vocation, a ‘calling,’ carrying with it divine undertones.
And another…
As we said at the outset… women are really competing in a man’s world. Right or wrong. the simple fact is that man was here first.
Interestingly, we all realize how we’ve evolved regarding the second comment. Woman have ascended to all levels of organizations, including the CEO’s office, as well as reaching a great degree of parity in general development. We have work to do still, of course; but no one can argue that we’ve made incredible progress since those 1969 comments.
More disturbing, though, is the first comment. I have a friend who — long before I read this — would say simply, “It’s a job, not a calling.” He is so right.
HR professionals are business people first, functional (human resources) experts second. Our focus is not a “calling;” we shouldn’t provide anything to an organziation except better pathways to success through available human capital. Yet some of us remain confused — and believe that we are the “keepers” of an organization’s “soul,” or something similar.
We are not. Stay focused on measurable deliverables, and let the clergy worry about the other stuff…
by D. Kevin Berchelmann | May 28, 2006 | Brazen Leader, Human Resources, Kevin Berchelmann, Miscellaneous Business Topics
Well, I’ll tell you “so what.” At least from my way of thinkin’…
First, the year started out as good as it could… Texas walloped USC in the Rose Bowl, as Vince Young demonstrated his “unstoppableness” (my word, you can use it) against a team with two – count ‘em, TWO – Heismann Trophy winners. Methinks that the trophy voters should have reconsidered, as should the Houston Texans in ignoring Vince in their first round draft selection. But that’s another story; you don’t want me to start on that…
The rest of these are not necessarily in chronological order, nor are they in any sort of order of importance or significance. I’m just writing them as they come to me…
The democrats took control of both houses of congress in the November mid-term elections. The pundits are at odds on how much was a referendum against the war in Iraq, and how much was a call for “change” in general. Regardless, it’s significant, and will undoubtedly change the business and socioeconomic landscape in 2007.
Post Katrina efforts – wow, has that been crazy, or what?? One FEMA fraud after the other, tons of rebuilding efforts that have stripped down the supply of construction workers throughout the gulf coast, and likely much of the nation. It has certainly created an incredible demand around Houston for qualified workers. Most of the blaming for Katrina’s effects have subsided, finally, so people can focus more on the efforts necessary to put it back together.
Now, if New Orleans and the state of Louisiana could just marshal some credible leadership…
How about those one-quart airplane baggies? Do you hate them as much as I do?? I don’t know what bothers me more: that I have to put all my newfound miniature liquids in a one-quart zip-lock baggie (that must be zipped shut), or the fact that some rocket scientist really and truly believes this is somehow staving off a terrible incident. Let me get this straight – if I carry a 12-oz plastic bottle in my pocket, the metal detector we go through will never pick it up. But we believe the bad guys will somehow use a one-quart zip-lock bag so we can ensure there’s nothing bad going on?? Hmmm…
Immigration do-nothing. Non-reform. Whatever you want to call it. We have an issue; both sides of the debate acknowledge that we have an issue. Yet our lawmakers (on both sides of the aisle) are incapable of creating any legislative responses to the issue? Even, “we choose to maintain status quo” is an answer. This problem will not get better with age, and it’s here to stay. Big impact for 2007 as well.
Corporate malfeasance. I’d use an easier word, but would have to create a lengthy laundry list to cover all the transgressions this year. Seems we’ve finally put most of Enron to bed. Ken Lay passed away after sentencing, but before appeals, so his convictions have been overturned. Jeff Skilling received 24 years for his part in the demise. Andy Fastow, through some divine intervention, had his hardly noticeable sentence reduced between the time he made the deal and the time he was sentenced.
Then, there’s the stock-options back-dating brouhaha. Many a tens of millions have been cast aside or SEC-scrutinized these last several months, including some of the biggest names in corporate chiefdom.
Of course, there’s my favorite: Patricia Dunn’s corporate spying campaign at H-P. What in the world was she thinking?? Was she thinking? Could anyone really believe that was the right thing to do? Right when we start to think that “nothing can surprise us…” SURPRISE!!
Social networking became a household word. Web 2.0 brought us close, personal encounters via an impersonal internet, through such communities as myspace.com and youtube.com. And lest we think it was altruism or the desire to simply “create and online community,” how about the $1.6B (that’s “BILLION”) paid for youtube by Google, the online printer of American currency, who by the way, has a market cap far surpassing Ford Motor Co. Ford, less fortunately, is trading for less than 8 bucks a share… 8 bucks! They stand to lose about $10B this year (again, that’s BILLION”).
They say “billion” is the new “million,” and I’m believing it.
Of course, 2006 in review must include a look at energy prices. Gasoline soared to well over $3 per gallon in places, before settling comfortably, it seems, around the $2-$2.50 mark, a 30-50% increase from this time last year.
Philanthropy was alive and center-stage. Warren Buffet dusted off an old Berkshire-Hathaway stock certificate and walked it across the way to Bill and Melinda Gates to use appropriately within their charitable foundation. A billion here, a billion there, and pretty soon you’re talking about real money…
And finally, the most significant 2006 event… that one single happening that effects us all so deeply and lastingly. Pluto was demoted. Once a fully-tenured planet, it now has been relegated to some odd dwarf status. I’m guessing all the scientific challenges facing us at the time had all been overcome, hence the available time to spend on something so incredibly significant to humanity and mankind. Ok, I’m cynical… but really, this was vital to the world’s survival and continued existence… how??
Hope your 2007 is starting out great…
by Triangle Performance Staff | May 19, 2006 | Kevin Berchelmann, Organizational Effectiveness
So, I have had several emails asking about executive compensation in smaller companies. Apparently, some can see the detail in larger companies, but believe that the issues are fundamentally different in smaller and mid-market firms.
You probably don’t want to hear this, but base compensation is what it is, and should be close-to-comparable for a given accountability. Regardless, for the most part, of company size. Incentives and perquisites vary, of course, but again, base compensation simply is what it is.
Smaller private companies have long faced these issues regarding competition for executive talent, particularly with compensation. Fortunately, many public firms are beginning to curtail their biggest draw — equity options — since FAS 123Rnow requires that they expense them. So, don’t just throw up your hands.
Realize that the way to deal with executive compensation is via a well-thought plan, not simply a “base plus bonus” scheme. What do the investors/owners want from the company? Increased shareholder equity?? Relative stability?? Cash flow?? Net operating income?? Identify this first, since it will be your critical metric. Every plan starts with a purpose.
The key to keeping execs on target is a well-designed executive compensation plan.
On average, about 50% of a private CEO’s compensation is determined by how well his/her company performs within the chosen metric(s). The rest of the senior staff should still be north of 30%.
Consider, in addition to metric-based incentives:
- Modified gainsharing or goal sharing (for management)
- Deferred compensation (unfunded)
- Increased vacation/PTO
- Reimbursements for clubs, exercise facilities, etc.
- Conference attendance, with spouse allowance
There’s a ton more to do. Approach the effort holistically – you can’t get there with just a “base-bonus” philosophy.
Hope that helps some…
