Making a Difference in 2023

To My Clients, Colleagues and Friends:

Happy New Year! I hope you are looking forward to a great 2023 – just as I am.

What drives me is to help make a difference for my clients in their business, work and life. I get just as much satisfaction in serving others to help them grow as I do to help organizations deliver on expected business outcomes (and generate more profit). 2023 will be a successful year if I have been a difference maker. The following are some of the ways I hope to be of help:

Difference Maker #1 – Help clients deliver on their promises of business results through a disciplined approach for planning

A great tool to utilize a methodology called “Rhythm”. A repeating rhythm approach called THINK, PLAN and DO. I like that it provides a common-sense, practical framework without being overly prescriptive about what steps you MUST follow. This methodology is comprised of three rhythms to create focus, alignment and accountability:

THINK about the business – a rhythm of strategic thinking to create focus for the future of the business
PLAN the execution – a rhythm of execution planning to create clarity for teams and individuals on what needs to be delivered to achieve success
DO the work – a rhythm of doing the work and being accountable for executing the plan

As a facilitator, I have seen how going about planning in a rhythmic and disciplined manner helps leaders build a sense of confidence that strategic, market and financial promises can be achieved. A company can be more rhythmic in THINK about gaining agreement on a company’s “winning moves” that provide a differentiated market advantage. A company can be more rhythmic about PLAN by having a Main Focus (like an overarching goal) such as achieving a revenue target for a new market expansion, improving execution excellence and improving inventory turnover ratio. A company can be more rhythmic about DO by having weekly meetings to review a “Red/Yellow/Green” performance dashboard so adjustments can be made as early as possible to influence the outcomes.

I had an opportunity to be a consultant for Saltgrass Steak House. The CEO asked me to help him institute a planning culture/approach with executives and department leaders to drive their growth from 5 stores to 25 stores. The process worked well but I wish the “Rhythm” approach would have been available back then.

Difference Maker #2 – Provide cutting-edge insights to executive teams on perspective/ mindset to impact how they influence the strategy conversation, drive innovation/change, and make better business decisions by leveraging differences in points-of-view.

Wearing two different types of sunglasses may change our perspective of what we see -- how much the lens disperses light, the shape of the lens and the thickness of the lens. As people, we also see situations/challenges in different ways based on our perspective.

I have been fortunate to be at the forefront of providing clients with cutting edge insights based on their perspective – as an early adopter of the Birkman Mindset Report. This report highlights a person’s unique perspective based on how they perceive themselves and the world around them. The real opportunity in business is to leverage those diverse perspectives in -- making better decisions on a strategic direction, understanding different appetites for risk, brainstorming conventional/unconventional solutions, etc. It’s not only about understanding the perspective. Here are how some clients have used the Birkman Mindset Report to leverage the team’s diverse perspectives for key business decisions/initiatives:

An executive team beginning merger integration planning
High potential leaders in a leadership development program being asked to make a business case for a cross-functional innovation opportunity that, if accepted, they would lead
A supply chain leadership team that needed to improve their cross-functional collaboration to be successful in delivering on their business goals for the year
An executive team, with an opportunity to grow the business rapidly, needed to set the foundation for growth by shifting its company culture

The following are the possible differences in leaders’ views around strategic differentiation/change/risk -- based on two opposite perspectives from the Birkman Mindset Report:

Perspective 1

“Having a perspective of seeing themselves as different than most people shapes their thinking around the importance of making distinctions – such as delivering value to the market that is unique compared to external competitors. More stimulated by the potential of new ideas, products, and markets as compared to the stability of the current approach. More likely to see risk in the status quo.”

Perspective 2 (Opposite to Perspective 1)

“Natural perspective around leveraging the tried and true, in a consistent way, to deliver a value advantage in the market. Will be cautious about embracing significant change rapidly but can be open to change that is well understood. Others should make a strong business case with data that considers the risks and implications before a person with this perspective will be ‘all in’ on the new.”

Difference Maker #3 – Be a coach that helps senior leaders be ready for the next role and mid-level leaders deliver results through people

Unlike most coaches today, I did not plan on becoming an executive coach 25 years ago when I received my first request from a client. They wanted a coach because they needed a highly valued subject matter expert to become more capable at sharing his unique expertise with those in similar roles in other business units around the world. Having coached hundreds of leaders in the last 25 years, I have learned that coaching is an art – where the “painting” (the growth of the individual) is NOT “by number.” Each coaching relationship takes on its own life based on what the coach brings, what the coachee brings, and whether there is a 1+1=3 effect of their collaboration.

I have enjoyed coaching senior leaders to help them become more prepared for the next role. Executives and senior leaders have a lot of accountability for the people they lead and what results those people deliver. They have to wear a suit with a big S on their chest. They are expected to be strategic and tactical, people and task oriented, extroverted while also being introverted deep thinkers, flexible yet disciplined, and more. When they get so busy meeting all those expectations of today, they don’t always take the time to consider what will be expected of them in a possible next role and where they stand vs. those future expectations. As their coach, I see my role as helping THEM objectively challenge how ready they are and gain experiences/skills to increase their readiness. Being ready is only half the battle. Positioning themselves to demonstrate their readiness so it can be observed is also key.

I also enjoy coaching mid-level leaders, especially those who are “high potentials.” They are often at the transition point where they are learning that the best way to scale their subject matter expertise or execution skills is through people. Their self-awareness is often increasing but not at a fast enough rate. They are beginning to learn more about others and how to leverage people that are different from them. Most importantly, they are learning about changing their mindset from one who gets results by doing things themselves to getting results through others. I enjoy helping them pursue their learning about important leadership skills such as strategic thinking, prioritization, listening, influencing, staff development, difficult conversations, and change leadership.

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I hope you will think of me during 2023 when you see situations where I could be a difference maker.

Thanks.