Coachtalk- Business Dec 05

I recently read an article in the Harvard Business review by Jeff Weiss and Jonathan Hughes. The view they took was that managers get truly effective collaboration only when they realise that conflict is natural and necessary.

In coaching a CEO a few months ago he gave a commitment to undertake a 360 degree analysis with his senior staff with himself as the subject. This took courage because inevitably the process may mean that one’s senior staff will be critical of your leadership. So he sat down with his five senior managers and explained the process indicating that it would be a monthly event.

It took three meetings before a female manager voiced an opinion that the CEO was a poor communicator and explained why. The CEO asked all managers whether they agreed with this view. They said that the CEO often took it for granted that the managers understood his instrucytions and had the ability and knowledge to carry out a task successfully. In several instances the CEO had issued instructions which were unclear but the manager was reluctant to seek further explanation for fear of appearing to be less than competent. Could the CEO be more explicit in explaining what was wanted, why it was wanted and the expected outcomes?

Following discussion it was agreed that the CEO would ask the manager to paraphrase back to him the understanding of the question or instruction. If there was a misunderstanding it would be clarified on the spot. This meant that managers listened very carefully and the CEO took more care in explaining the task. Thus two way communication was improved tremendously.

What has this to do with conflict. The CEO had to accept and actively manage matters that were raised without getting into a defensive mode. By handling criticisms in a mature way he obtained better collaboration and earned a higher respect from the management team. Decision making was faster and costs were reduced via better used of shared resources. Moreover, due to the success of the 360 degree process I had little problem with persuading managers to institute the same process within their own departments. Conflict situations were turned into positives and improved business. The hardest decision is for the Manager is to take the decision to invite criticism upon him or herself. This is just one example of true leadership.

A week ago I attended the 50th birthday party of a friend, a business owner. One of his senior staff gave a small speech and it was such that I thought “Wouldn’t it be great if the employees in all companies could think so highly of their boss so as to make such a speech in a similar situation.” The employee became quite emotional and he took the opportunity to thank his boss for his thoughtfulness and kindness in managing him and their team. His loyalty was transparent for everyone to see. I took the trouble to speak to several of his staff during the evening. Every one of them spoke about my friend as a wonderful and considerate boss. Wouldn’t it be a great situation if every manager of people tried to engender a similar brand of loyalty in their respective teams. Alan
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If you are the owner of a SME and need experts to assist you in helping your business grow, think about the advantages of appointing an Advisory Board. For more information call me at 3376 4190 so that I can explain the concept to you in detail.

True story
Most of May, June and two weeks in July were spent in USA. I was asked by one well meaning lady if I could send her the schedule for the Vienna Boys’ Choir when I got home. I explained to her that Austria is that quaint little country bordering Germany in Europe. She looked non plussed. So I then told her that the Vienna Boys’ Choir performed every Wednesday night in Kings Cross as soon as the kangaroo races were over. But I said you can’t get into the races unless “You came naked.” She was suitably shocked. But I didn’t get any more questions about Australia. Another lady asked if Australia was in Washington State. I just said it was a little further west.
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Risk Management

Every business manager is required to manage a unique set of risks related to his or her business. Common risks include competition, revenue and profit sources, building a brand and etc. So how should you manage risk?

Step 1.Identify and assess your key strategic risks. Having identified them consider:
Severity.What percentage of your business’ value can be affected by the risk?
Probability. What are the chances that the risk will in fact occur?
Timing. Should the risk manifest itself when is it most likely to occur?
Measure forecast versus actuals. Is the risk increasing/ decreasing or staying the same as time passes?
Step 2. Develop a Strategic Risk Map. Having identified and assessed the major
risks draw up a Strategic Risk map ( a mind map – call me if the term is
unfamiliar) so that you can gain a profile at a glance.
Step 3. Quantify the risks. You can only do this if you measure the risk.. For
example cash flow at risk( one of the major risks with a SME).
Step 4. What is the potential upside of each risk? Your business can plan to
identify and maximise the upside for each risk listed in the strategic risk map.
Step 5. Devise a risk mitigation plan. Prepare a formal risk mitigation plan for each
major risk. This will outline your counter measures.
Step 6. Adjust capital decisions accordingly. For example budgeted capital
expenditure may need to be delayed, adjusted or shelved altogether. On the
other hand more capital may be required to expand, or a joint venture or
partnership may be explored.
(This article is a précis from the Harvard Business Review, April 2005)
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I take this opportunity to wish my clients, my readers and your families a very Happy and Safe Christmas.
May 2006 be one of your most bountiful years.

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In the past three months I have become an “on call” advisor to a number of businessmen. I have virtually become their ‘non investing’ silent partner. Some of the calls are as simple as to how to phrase a tricky letter. Others are providing advice on developing a detailed submission. These clients obviously value my advices. They believe the relatively small fee involved in having someone with whom to share opinion or receive advice from, as and when they need it, is worthwhile. If you feel you’d like to know more about having an independent ‘silent partner’ please call me.