Not Knowing "How".

I'm noticing increasing individual and collective asking of others in private, business and public life that they answer the following: "How...how are you (or am I) going to do that?"

In one of my last jobs as an employee, a contract came in for strategy consulting for a major retail client and was assigned to me. I was pressured by my manager to communicate "how" I was going to do it and my answer, explaining my experiential process, was not the answer my manager wanted to hear. During that time period, another strategy project was requested by a financial services client. The manager and another consultant determined that using a "thought tool", that someone in the company had read about, was "how" that project would be done. The general consensus was that I would surely sink and the other consultant would succeed.

In the days that followed, I spent a fair amount of time staring at a large blank whiteboard, doodling around with some terms that kept popping into my mind, thinking about experiences and learning that seemed to fit, following my intuition about what to research and who to interview, and playing around with some patterns, inter-relationships and visuals. Strategies began to emerge for potential large-scale client opportunities and the project was deemed a big success. The other project proceeded much more definitively than mine in a step-by-step path to meet the goal; and then it hit a wall because the final recommendations were pretty much common sensical, small, incremental improvements for the client that did not justify their investment. Concessions had to be made to the client.

So now, a decade later, I think: could I have done better answering "how will I do it"? Probably not to the satisfaction of the person asking. What I have learned is to be vigilant (the "V" in D.R.I.V.E.), and to help others be vigilant, about the negative power and creative buzz-kill in insisting upon asking: "how?".

Technorati Tags: creative process, leadership, solo professional service firm

May 01, 2008 at 03:34 PM in career, consciousness, solo professional service | Permalink | Comments (0)

Status Matters To Change Success

Today I read something that brought up a memory so uncomfortable that I had largely repressed it. I was working as a strategy consultant for a growing company trying to get itself bought. We were a tight-knit group and although the bloom was fading from the dot-com rose, it was a mostly optimistic organization. In an effort to make everything look as professional and capable as possible to investors, there were frequent re-organizations, mostly designed by people who had never previously heard the word.

I was the last one called in to be briefed on the last re-org before the company was sold. The owner who I was meeting with looked pained and was nervously chattering. He started going down the org chart...and down....and down... And there I was, not just at the bottom but barely even connected to anything, like an org chart dangling participle. My response was visceral and I thought at the time, totally out of proportion to the event. I was assured that I was highly valued and respected (and I was well compensated and got good projects). It was just that they "didn't know where to put me". And I could see why. I was happy to jump from project, to account, to consulting. I cared little about politics or management and always preferred to do creative work, rather than manage others doing creative work. I was, am and always have been a creative, entrepreneurial generalist.

So why could I not get past it? To everyone's surprise I left very shortly thereafter although it required relocation for a new position. Although I've stayed in touch with many of the people on that dreaded org chart, I never again spoke to, talked about or even looked at the person I met with that day. But I killed the messenger many times in my fantasies while at the same time beating myself up over my big fat jealous childish ego.

So today I read about a new NIMH study of the brain, specifically the medial prefontal cortex (involved in sizing up others), the striatum (the reward center) and the amygdala and posterior cingulate (emotional pain processing). The researchers scanned the brains of participants involved with a game that resulted in reward and loss of both money and status/reputation.

"We found that the brain reacts very strongly to the other players and specifically the status of the other players," Zink says. "We weren't expecting that profound a response," she adds, noting that the subjects seemed to be concerned with the hierarchy within the game even when it was of no consequence to how much money they could make.

So now I understand; mine was a normal brain reaction to a perceived loss of status even though I was never a person who cared about titles or climbing the corporate ladder. But this new knowledge is even more important to me as a change facilitator and executive coach because either real or perceived loss of status is a major factor that should be considered and communicated when leading large organizational or small business change. Leaders who can increase their own awareness and emotional IQ about the impact of status change on their people and culture, will more effectively help others through, and consequently increase the success likelihood of, their change programs.

Technorati Tags: leadership, organizational culture, self-awareness

April 25, 2008 at 04:44 PM in career, consciousness, solo professional service | Permalink | Comments (1)

Resilience Earned

I spent time yesterday with Joe, a long-time friend, colleague and mentor. Joe's is a terrific professional service firm story; its probably been 20 years since he started a boutique consulting and systems integration business serving the mid-market. That's decades of PSF and entrepreneurial stories and learning, and I soak it up like a sponge.

So much is written and studied about large organizational leadership; but in my opinion the case studies pale in comparison to a day, or year, or decade in the life of a professional services entrepreneur with staff. You'll read a lot about the resilient entrepreneur, as if its an innate character quality specific to the species, or as if its something you can arbitrarily decide to add to your persona and resume. But yesterday, catching up with Joe, it struck me that resilience is earned; its all merit.

I also took away:

Be really clear about and true to the 1 or 2 things you do really good and make it the foundation for everything that follows because everything but those 1 or 2 things changes..often and with little warning.
Don't beat a dead market segment; find a new one knowing that it will take at least two years to get traction.
When you get burned by really lousy people, become a better person yourself for the experience.
Family drama does not hold a candle to staff drama in terms of the time and effort required to manage it and the impact it will have on your life.
There are no failures, just learning.
Don't fire people, find them new jobs.
Have a great spouse.

One thing we agreed to continue to discuss and work on together, is an approach to marketing that communicates to potential clients and employees, the value of "merited" resilience and small business leadership like Joe's, as a point of differentiation and added value. Because, to quote Jerry Garcia, "You do not merely want to be considered just the best of the best. You want to be considered the only one who can do what you do."

And that's always earned.

Technorati Tags: leadership, marketing , self-knowledge, solo professional service firm

April 24, 2008 at 02:46 PM in career, consciousness, solo professional service | Permalink | Comments (0)

Turnaround

I talk to a lot of people who, because of the economy and business climate, are unable to resist the backward pull of old habits and beliefs in attempt to re-gain a safety and security footing that they feel that they once had, but gave up in a quest for a better direction that they now believe is out of their reach. I understand their concerns and also see the contradiction in their choices. So I try to offer an approach that at the minimum helps make these decisions less painful.

The RedShift approach is:

to assimilate and synthesize what I believe are the best teachings with my own experience and learning.
to creatively communicate those in a way that involves "right-brain" learning, including popular culture metaphors, graphics, mindmaps, music etc.
to make them more real by placing them in the context of practical business and life direction problem solving and decision making.
to combine them with easy to understand techniques and exercises to help clients quickly begin shifting in the direction they want and away from the direction they don't want.

A simple and effective technique, or exercise, is the turnaround, thinking about the problem from the opposite side of the coin so to speak. The examples that follow are specific to the kinds of challenges solo professionals and career transitioners are frequently experiencing in a weak economy with its accompanying ubiquitous reporting about lack of business opportunity and cutthroat competition.

But the fundamental principal of the turnaround exercise works the same for any problem in any area of life - health, wealth, love or life direction (the RedShift focus). The turnaround exercise helps clients consciously respond to change, specifically by answering the question: When it seems like things are falling apart, how can we suffer less, avoid habitual traps that convince us to go the wrong way, and stay aligned with our truth and desire for something better?

In the following mindmap examples, I thought about what most solo professionals and independent service practitioners want more of:

Money
Clients
Business Success

One response to worrying about what is not showing up, is to put oneself in the persona called "I'm the one who believes in lack". The turnaround response is to put oneself in the persona called "I'm the one who lacks belief".

Each persona has his or her own set of assumptions, feelings and proof(s), but the first is infinitely harder than the turnaround because it requires changing and controlling what is "out there" and responses are often irrationally driven by painful feelings and the need to avoid them. (click graphic for enlargement)

The turnaround persona requires only a shifting of beliefs, which we are free to choose to do in any moment, and does not attempt to control through will, that which is not and never has been in our control. Clearly the turnaround is an easier response and I recommend trying on each with respect to what you want, and simply noting how you feel. (click graphic for enlargement)

The one caveat is that you don't do this exercise with an agenda "to get". It doesn't work that way. Strategy is effective when working with the content of our lives and our clients' businesses. But when working with our consciousness and self-awareness, engaging the will through goals, agendas or strategies becomes another means to go the "wrong way". To quote Emerson, "Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen." All we need to do is be what we want and get out of the way.

Technorati Tags: self-awareness, solo professional service firm

April 22, 2008 at 02:30 PM in career, consciousness, solo professional service | Permalink | Comments (0)

Radical simplicity

20+ years ago I read an article about the joy of minimalism written by a middle-aged woman from Chicago who I believe was in both academia and the arts. Unfortunately I didn't save it because reading it was a defining moment in my life at which point I committed to radical simplicity.

I bring it up because so often I talk to people who can't move in the the direction they desire because they feel blocked by stuff. I sympathize; I've been there and it really is a self-imposed roadblock to a new direction. Its increasingly prevalent and its spawned an entire industry, including associations, retail stores, TV programs, books, coaches and consultants.

I'm always willing to help clients simplify but they never take me up on it. My philosophy is too radical, including:

You can never simplify by adding anything, only by taking away.

Small steps are slow torture; big commitments and fast action are required like: I'll reduce all my wires by 80%, or, I'll start loading my car and selling or giving away 50% of my stuff starting today and won't stop till I have 50% more space.

So if I can't inspire clients and readers to radically simplify their physical possessions, hopefully I will inspire them regarding their digital possessions. Because I've come through the darkness and into the light with my main business web site, a former digital disaster zone of files, code, tables and virtual tchotchke (in Polish: cacka). I've maintained my site for years, enjoy doing it, and through many iterations it just got bigger and complicated and harder to manage. I responded to the increasing difficulty just like people do in the makeover shows; if I needed to change or fix something, I just kept piling on more and more.

There was no clear path or process to simplifying my web site. My initial goal 3 weeks ago was to switch one obsolete web site code-generating software package for another newer and bigger one - essentially, adding more features and functions on top of my existing mess. Halfway through I felt awful; this wasn't me. To quote Niecy of Clean House, I had to "see the foolishness". When I did, I stopped, gave myself a CSS crash course, worked mostly around the clock for a week, ignoring other aspects of my business and personal life, and reduced the beast by 90%. Its a high. I feel like Niecy's virtual counterpart. I'm so grateful to all the CSS instructional web sites, like Dynamic Drive, that got me started. Not that my site is perfect, state of the art, or finished; its still not done. But its manageable and professional. Its a clean and simple platform for growth and moving forward and maybe SEO/SEM. Its my critical asset investment in my PSF.

Five years ago I gave a series of talks at Babson about solo professional opportunities for career transitioners. One of the criteria that I used to evaluate different models, i.e. free-lancer, independent contractor, program designer and developer, etc., was the degree of content ownership and control. I fielded the most questions on that point; my audience was doubtful about the value of content. If you're still a holdout, and think that content is not your most important asset, you should read Seth's blog post. He won't even consider an intern without content. If, like me, you've been accumulating online stuff for years, its probably time to take a long hard look with a critical and objective eye. Its great to buy help evaluating and overhauling if you can, but keep control. If you need a radical shove - call me.

Technorati Tags: content, solo professional service firm, simplicity

March 18, 2008 at 01:29 PM in career, consciousness, solo professional service | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Structure Paradox

Recently, I read a quote but forgot to bookmark it. It was something about the "joy of being able to control your own time". I've thought about it often because I talk to a lot of people transitioning to working independently and creatively, but who are discouraged and disappointed because they're not seeing the results they want. So they tell me that they're thinking about going back to being an employee because they realize that they "need the structure". Its my job to help them examine that belief.

I do so, not to try to convince anyone that being an employee again is the wrong choice. It may be an excellent choice. But I will probe by asking: what does "I need structure" really mean? Is it about financial reasons and wanting a steady paycheck? Is it about feeling lonely and isolated and wanting to be part of a team? Is it about wanting technical and business support systems and professional space? Or fear of recession? Or wanting a 9-5 schedule? I generally get weak and unconvincing "yes" answers to those questions.

So if its not really about those, is the belief "I need structure" about needing to give away control of your time? I can always count on an initially definitive no! response to that question because it touches a nerve, or hidden truth. The paradox is that, for many who later say they need the structure of punching the proverbial time clock, wanting to escape the confines and controls of corporate cubicle life was the driving force for their transitioning to "going solo" in the first place. The effects of the limiting belief - resentment, dissatisfaction and stress, disguised as "I need structure", show up in the home office just like they show up in the corporate cubicle. Its a cycle of frustration that reinforces the underlying belief in powerlessness.

How can the cycle be broken? I like the structure metaphor in this example; looking for it "out there" because limiting beliefs have over time, weakened the internal structure. But like crumbling blocks in a foundation, beliefs that contradict what is wanted can be uncovered, removed, and replaced; resulting in a powerful belief system and internal structure for professional and personal decision making and problem solving.

Technorati Tags: leadership, self-awareness, self-knowledge, solo professional service firm

March 03, 2008 at 06:31 PM in career, consciousness, solo professional service | Permalink | Comments (0)

Find Your Target Market At The Intersection

If you're a slash careerist, second or third careerist, or hard-core generalist you likely encounter a lot of confusion to your response to the question "so what do you do?" I've found that "I focus on the intersection of......" is a good substitute for "I specialize in....."

Technorati Tags: generalist, marketing , self-awareness, slash career, solo professional service firm

February 11, 2008 at 08:50 PM in career, consciousness, solo professional service | Permalink | Comments (0)

An O/S For Change

Getting clients to write, or in some other way ground, objectify and embody their change experience is like pulling teeth. We're in the habit of thinking mostly about what we don't want, and then talking about how we're justified in having these negative beliefs, thus further locking them in. Think of your belief system as your internal operating system that drives your life experience but has never been re-booted or de-bugged. Before you can clean out the bad code and replace it with an updated version, you need to dig into it to understand how it drives, or blocks, your fulfillment. Getting your beliefs down in writing, or in a recording, or in a visual are how you get them out of your head, where they spin and spin but nothing really changes.

If you avoid the step of objectifying your change process, and I've seen this so many times with clients, it takes much longer to understand your complex system of beliefs that direct, or counter-direct, your personal, professional and organizational responses to change. When you don't know what you don't know, you'll continue to feel powerless as you're buffeted by the changes impacting your life, your business and your organization.

One caveat about creatively examining your individual or organizational belief system: don't make it difficult by trying to make it perfect. If writing about your shift feels hard and stressful, then you can be sure that there's an unwanted belief blocking your progress.

A lot of new-age and mass-market personal improvement material is unconcerned with doing the work that results in a deep level of self-knowledge. It appeals to the desire for a quick fix for being stuck, or getting the fulfillment that eludes. Its understandable why we're seduced by simplistic positive thinking and creative visualization self-improvement models. But all too often, they just add more layers of "code" on top of an already buggy personal belief system. Improvements are fleeting, action plans are abandoned, and results are often disappointment and frustration. The reason is that hidden beliefs in what is not wanted continue to drive, even if they are hidden and ignored. Until recognized, examined, accepted and released, they will without fail, block quick fix attempts to get to something better, more meaningful and lasting.

The process is the same for collective beliefs as it is for individuals and its critical to leading and facilitating an organizational culture shift. Organizational cultures are collections of beliefs that largely determine the likelihood of success of any change initiative. To ignore, or not examine cultural beliefs is, like with individuals, a path to failure and frustration.

Technorati Tags: self-awareness, leadership, organizational culture, self-knowledge

February 09, 2008 at 08:31 AM in career, consciousness, solo professional service | Permalink | Comments (0)

Feng Shui Your Professional Service Firm (PSF)

I get wonderful support, collaboration and inspiration from my allies who are service practitioners in industries seemingly unrelated to mine. I differentiate my business from others in the management consulting industry.

My friend and ally Joan is a corporate escapee and now a natural living, health and wellness educator who is sought out for her Feng Shui programs. I joked that what she does with her Feng ShuI is the "space optimization" version of my "content optimization".

Joan responded that space optimization is exactly what her business clients are requesting! That sparked a lively conversation through which we discovered that our desired results for clients of our optimization programs are the same: alignment with the ideal and to improve the quality of experience for ourselves, our clients, our clients' customers and beyond.

Later, I read this HBS newsletter about authors of a new book, When Professionals Have to Lead: A New Model for High Performance. It was just an excerpt, but to me it painted a grim picture of the professional services field from both a manager and employee point of view. The activity and execution-based proposed new PSF framework is largely about setting direction and avoiding counter-direction.

Reading it, I thought: PSFs hunger for it, so where is the creativity..and the Feng Shui? Its not there, and that's sad. We're fortunate that as solo's, we have unlimited opportunities to create and align. Its so important to not waste them.

The dilemma, says HBS professor Thomas J. DeLong, is that the entire PSF landscape is in upheaval. Associates are harder to recruit and keep; competition for clients is increasing from boutiques below and global firms above; the clients themselves are more demanding; and management time is focused on short-term issues rather than long-term strategy.

As DeLong puts it, "In the past, the work of PSFs was a gentleman's game—and now it's blood sport."

Thomas J. DeLong: Professionals in professional service firms are reporting greater frustration, unmet needs, lack of shared purpose, poor morale, etc. PSFs promise one thing [to clients] and deliver another; clients are asking for more for less. The firms are becoming more global and more complex to lead. The professionals entering these organizations have higher expectations and more suspicion that leaders will treat them like cogs in the wheel.

Technorati Tags: optimization, solo professional service firm

February 07, 2008 at 02:16 PM in career, consciousness, solo professional service | Permalink | Comments (0)

Four Prerequisites to Content and Search Optimization: D.I.C.E.

In my previous post I described the major content optimization work that I'd recently done on my web and landing pages, using a concept map as a guide.

Before moving on, I wanted to answer the question: what content is worth optimizing? I came up with D.I.C.E.:

Distinctive - Content that supports a marketing strategy that positions for uniqueness in the industry and differentiation from the competition.

Integral - Content that evolves and increases in value through links, core elements, overlapping themes and descriptions, and a shared purpose.

Credible - Content that backs up, supports and is aligned with the desired, and implicitly promised, user experience.

Educational - Content that reflects a generosity of spirit and authentic desire to share learning.

It helped to make a mindmap first.

(click the graphic to enlarge)

Interestingly, a friend commented today that she saw me moving away from my coaching and soft skills work, and more into strategy and technical, with all this "optimization stuff". I responded that clients will need a great of deal of facilitation, coaching, project alignment, talent recruitment and leadership support when they undertake large scale content and search optimization initiatives; its a natural fit with my differentiation strategy. Its also a good example of how professional services firms can evolve and be poised and ready to catch the next wave of unmet client needs resulting from rapid change.

Technorati Tags: content, marketing , optimization, SEO/SEM, solo professional service firm

January 31, 2008 at 10:00 PM in career, consciousness, solo professional service | Permalink | Comments (0)

RedShift Blog

RedShift

Recent Posts

Favorites

Archives

License

May 01, 2008

Not Knowing "How".

April 25, 2008

Status Matters To Change Success

April 24, 2008

Resilience Earned

April 22, 2008

Turnaround

March 18, 2008

Radical simplicity

March 03, 2008

The Structure Paradox

February 11, 2008

Find Your Target Market At The Intersection

February 09, 2008

An O/S For Change

February 07, 2008

Feng Shui Your Professional Service Firm (PSF)

January 31, 2008

Four Prerequisites to Content and Search Optimization: D.I.C.E.

Twitter