At the beginning of the battle, a commander for the allied army sent orders to “advance when the drums sound.”  By the time the order reached the front lines, it had been interpreted as “advance, sounding the drums.”

Despite such a colossal miscommunication, the allies were able to fight their way to victory.  But misinterpretations and miscues are often one of the greatest hindrances within teams.

Crystal clear communication is an essential ingredient of success for any organization, and in order to communicate well, there must be a shared language; with words and phrases which become the daily building blocks of an organization’s culture.

At SEI, we guard our culture vigilantly.  Part of The SEI Way of doing business is not only ensuring that we share the same core values, but also that our language reinforces those values.

What kind of culture does the following terminology evoke in your mind?  And more importantly, what kind of action do the following words inspire?

• It’s not what we do, it’s how we do it.
• Plan your work and work your plan.
• Just do something.
• Fail forward.
• Think big, start small, scale quickly.
• We’ve got your back!
• We’re in the people business.
• Keep the small things the small things.
• I want to hear what I don’t want to hear.
• We’re the island of misfit toys.
• They don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
• Our service is so old school, it’s new school!
• Embrace the chaos!
• Focus on people, the numbers will take care of themselves.
• What’s your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal)?

These are a handful of words and phrases that we use at SEI daily; you’ll hear them in conversations, on our enterprise social network, in training and in meetings.

In contrast, what kind of culture does the following terminology evoke?  And what kind of action does it inspire?

• I’m too busy.
• It can’t be done.
• Failure is not tolerated.
• We don’t have time for that.
• You’re not measuring up.
• Why would you do that?
• What were you thinking?
• That’s not my job.

These are expressions that you might hear at a Big Dumb Company.  The same company that loses it’s greatest asset- it’s people- to companies that are intentional about building a great culture.

SEI’s Vision, Four Core Objectives and SR5 are the foundational building blocks of our corporate culture, a culture that is either constructed or deconstructed in the words of the SEI team.  The words we use in our offices, around the water cooler, at home, and in meetings, are representative of the culture we’re building.

If we are to work together as an effective and cohesive team, we must ensure that we bang our drums and advance at the same time!

Are there examples of a “shared language” at your organization?

Last week, I published the first in a two part series on the attributes of a Big Dumb Company.  In that post, I highlighted the the first 4 characteristics which were bureaucracy, prioritizing numbers before people, an intolerance for failure, and a lack of Vision.  Here are the final 4.

5. No Flywheel

Steve Jobs once said “I’m as proud of what we don’t do, as I am of what we do.”

Often, organizations that experience great success in their beginnings, do so because they do some thing well.  They offer a product or service that meets the needs of their customers and provides adequate revenue to sustain their growth.  But as a Big Dumb Company grows, it attempts to become all things to all people and it loses sight of its core-business; it’s Vision becomes blurred.

In his book “Good to Great,” Jim Collins writes that a great organizations remain focused on their core business.  Their “not to do list” is as critical as their “to do” list.

When an organization becomes distracted from its core business, it loses the competitive advantage that its flywheel provides.

6. Lack of People Development

I often say that leaders are in the “people business.”  They don’t fill seats with people who are content to simply churn out a lot of work.  Rather, they fill their bench with individuals who have an insatiable desire to become better.

Organizations that invest in training and development build the greatest competitive advantage- people!

In addition to investing in the development of skills, great organizations also invest in developing its leaders.  They recognize that there is a difference between a leader and a manager.  A manager works in the business; focusing on processes and procedures.  A leader works on the business; their focus is on developing people and creating opportunities.

An organization quickly makes the transformation into a Big Dumb Company when its employees cease to grow professionally and skillfully, and when its leaders forget that people are their number one priority.

7. They Measure the Wrong Things

The Big Dumb Company often places a higher priority on numbers than on people and it believes that people can be motivated with numbers.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s critical that individuals and organizations have goals and measure their progress toward those goals.    

At SEI, we use our SR5 performance measurement system to do so at the corporate, department and individual level.  We work with employees to define measurable goals that are aligned with the corporate goals.  It’s a synergistic approach that has had a positive impact for our company and for our customers, as is evidenced in our employee engagement survey results, our 98% customers retention rate, our 92% Net Promoter Score and in our double-digit annual revenue growth.

Great companies measure more than just the bottom line.

For example, if customer service is truly a priority, then performance is measured and results are shared.  The same is true for employee engagement, margin retention and revenue growth.

8. Don’t Communicate Successes or Failures

Another particularly damaging attribute of the Big Dumb Company is a culture of secrecy.  Leaders hide important information behind a bureaucratic veil and they view that information as a privilege that validates their authority.  To them, challenges become theirs alone to solve.

Great companies don’t simply communicate success, but also enlist the help of the entire organization by communicating challenges as well.  These companies attract “A Players” by giving them permission to do what they do best- solve problems.  Great companies know that when something is broken, “A Players” should be called on to diagnose and fix it.

When it comes to individual feedback, the Big Dumb Company doesn’t provide it with the consistent and crystal clear communication that ensures everyone is in alignment with one another.  This kind of feedback should not be relegated to a yearly review, it should be a consistent and continual conversation.

Great organizations view clear communication as a fundamental part of professional development and employee engagement.

These are 8 characteristics that I’ve identified of a Big Dumb Company.  What characteristics have you observed?

As an organization grows from its entrepreneurial roots as an innovative upstart into a larger organization, it must guard against developing attributes of the Big Dumb Company; attributes that repel the top talent that it had once attracted, depress revenue growth and margin, and alienate customers.

At Service Express, we vigilantly guard against “catching” the cultural attributes of, what we call, the Big Dumb Company.  Our leadership team is intentional about consistently communicating the values of SEI to ensure that everyone understands what makes our people and our culture great.  We like to say that we’re living the SEI way.

I have the privilege of being able to talk to SEI leaders and employees regularly about our business.  Because we’re a growing company, I often take those moments to remind them that we must continually guard ourselves against becoming the Big Dumb Company; a transformation that doesn’t happen over night but is gradual and almost imperceptible to those who are unguarded.

Here are attributes of the Big Dumb Company:

1. Bureaucracy

As the Big Dumb Company grows, so also do its layers of management.  Often, managers at the Big Dumb Company create these layers to “shield” themselves from ideas, problems and customers and it works.

The bureaucracy of the Big Dumb Company effectively repels those “A Players” that organizations desperately need.  “A Players” are problem solvers; but when a culture stifles their ability to solve problems, they leave.

The bureaucracy of the Big Dumb Company does one thing well- it retains “C Players,” who are content to hide behind the bureaucratic veil.

At the Big Dumb Company, innovators cannot innovate and the complacent can coast.  

2. Prioritizing Numbers before People

The Big Dumb Company loses sight of the people who are responsible for its growth and it shifts its focus to numbers and metrics.

I often tell leaders at Service Express to focus on the people and the numbers will follow.  Don’t misunderstand, it’s important to measure performance.  At SEI we do so through our SR5 performance measurement system.  But trying to motivate people with numbers is an indication of where the organizations priorities lay- in the numbers and not in the employees.

3. An Intolerance for Failure

The Big Dumb Company’s culture is one that penalizes failure and doesn’t recognize failure for what it can be; a valuable teachable moment.

This intolerance for failure stifles risk taking, and risk taking is a proven ingredient of success.

Great organizations minimize the effects of failure by building it into their processes.

At SEI, we think big, start small and scale quickly.  If we’re going to fail, we make sure that we minimize its effects by failing small then conducting autopsies to strategize what we can do differently.

4. Lack of Vision

The Big Dumb Company often has a mission statement, but they don’t have a Vision.  If you were to ask employees of the Big Dumb Company about their Vision, you would get very different answers.

Great organizations understand that people go to work for more than just a paycheck, they want to know that what they do matters.  And they want to know how their work aligns with the bigger picture.  Leaders must be Vision casters.

Each accepts that the other brings a unique personality and perspective to the table.  And each understands that the partnership is stronger when each focuses on the other’s strengths and not on their weaknesses.  Both learn that a strong partnership is a result of open and honest communication, and the goal is personal and professional growth.

As with marriage, many make the incorrect assumption that the best teams are conflict free.  They often equate conflict with dysfunction.  It’s an assumption that can lead to misaligned expectations (for others and for oneself), hurt feelings that turn into wounds, resentment and mediocrity.

Conflict in teams is beneficial when it:

1. Helps to break down perceived barriers of politics or etiquette that prevent open communication and the exchange of great ideas.  Again, a leader should intentionally give the entire team permission to debate freely and respectfully, ensures that hard feelings are left in the room and everyone is aligned and committed when they walk out the door.
2. Gets to the heart of the issue.  The most common dysfunction of a team facing a conflict is avoidance.   Teams cannot solve problems if their cultural reaction is to avoid them.  They also can’t solve them if their cultural reaction is to evade them.  That’s when individuals walk over to the water cooler or copy machine to discuss the problem on their own, sometimes sarcastically and sometimes worriedly.  Cliques are formed and work begins to get done in silos when people evade one another.
3. Crowd-sources the best ideas and filters out the weakest.
4. Causes individuals to defend their position so that they’re sure they’re standing on solid footing.
5. Promotes competition.  And competition pushes us beyond our perceived thresholds and causes us to bring our best “game.”

Initially, even healthy conflict is uncomfortable.  And it can be particularly unnerving in the workplace unless a safe environment is created.  Often that safe environment is created by a leader who pulls teams together to lay out the ground rules and give permission for people to disagree:

“I expect to hear differing views on this from each present, and, I don’t simply want to hear what you think is right but particularly about what you think is weak or wrong.”

Most will not engage at the level that they need to unless given permission to do so.  It’s different in the workplace.  From there, a leader alters his role; sometimes mining for conflict (often by surveying faces for disagreeable expressions while others are speaking) and will become an instigator when necessary.  At other times they will adopt the role of referee by ensuring everyone is playing by the rules and is maintaing a safe environment.

As is often the case, the key to fighting well is fair and effective communication.  Team leaders must clearly articulate that conflict is an expected, natural and necessary part of group interaction.  And they must reinforce that expectation (including the “why” behind it) often.  Doing so provides permission for those who have ideas and want to contribute, and for others it helps to minimize initial (and natural) feelings of rejection.

After being given the necessary permission, it doesn’t take long before team members are comfortable expressing their opinions, challenging assumptions and building on each others ideas.  They become energized, they feel closer as a team (conflict has a way of strengthening relationships), and they begin to produce exceptional results.

The true challenge for a leader is to shift the paradigm that says all conflict is bad and make others feel safe to debate and challenge one another freely.

Just as in marriage, when conflict is perceived as a dysfunction, it results in hurt feelings, resentment, anger, division, name calling and ultimately each person feels like they’re spinning their wheels and not going much of anywhere.  When conflict is viewed as a healthy and natural part of the relationship, done in a safe environment and played by the rules, it can produce exceptional results.

The honeymoon stage of life can be like-so-cute but quite short.  The words that we use, like “yes, my love” and “I was totally thinking the exact same thing at the exact same moment, we were totally made for each other,” eventually give way to conflict.  And that’s ok… if we learn to fight well.

Fighting well means contributing to the conversation through open and honest communication with grace and care.  It also means receiving others contributions with respect and grace.  And the most critical element is that we focus on the issue and not the person.  When conflict becomes personal, everyone loses.

Remember, none of us are as strong as all of us.

An organization’s capacity to achieve great results is proportional to its leader’s ability to communicate how those values align and impact results.

Here are 5 ways leaders can assure that they are communicating expectations effectively:

Communicate Clearly 

The biggest question that employees need answered is “what do you expect of me?”

They don’t want leaders who understand what the expectations are, they want leaders who can communicate those expectations with clarity.

Communicating expectations in a clear way creates alignment and ensures that the right things are being done.  At SEI that’s been a mantra for us, particularly this past year in leadership training.  We’re a growing company, with 24 offices in 12 states, we must communicate with clarity so that each of our offices are in alignment with Vision, goals, objectives and priorities.

Communicate Often

In his book, The Advantage, Patrick Lencioni (tweet him and tell him @ronalvesteffer says hello!) says that leaders must often become Chief Reminding Officers in order to ensure that their message and that their Vision is cascading through the organization effectually.

Clear communication isn’t effective if it doesn’t happen often.  One of the most critical roles of a leader is to ensure that it happens regularly and in a structured way.

At SEI we have weekly huddles; a time in which teams gather to talk about what’s going well and what isn’t, discuss corporate initiatives and announcements, and it’s an opportunity for leaders to set clear expectations and answer questions.  We also have monthly Executive Leadership strategy meetings and quarterly leadership training sessions at which time we bring our leadership teams in from across the US for a day to spend time working on ourselves and on our business so that we’re equipped on how to serve and develop our teams.

We also use something that we call SR5 (for more on SR5 view my post here) and it consists of written expectations and performance measurement.  It allows managers and employees to dig deeper, prioritize expectations and set clear goals.  It also insures that individual and department priorities are in alignment with our company priorities.

Be Honest

Honesty isn’t always easy, but it sure creates clarity and it builds trust.  Have you had bosses that gloss over conflict or try to sugar coat uncomfortable matters so that they can avoid conflict (healthy conflict) and coaching conversations that need to be had.  That isn’t leadership.  There is no value for the organization or for the employee when you don’t address problems in an honest way.  Leaders who truly care are honest in their feedback and most employees are receptive and appreciative for having received it.

Great results should be affirmed with people.  Poor results should be addressed with people.

At SEI, I present the companies quarterly updates, an annual business plan and a mid-year business plan for all employees.  I’m clear about the areas in which we’re doing well and in the areas that we’re struggling.  Because SEI has filled our bench with great people, I know that they’ll take ownership over the problem areas and find solutions.  We get some of our best professional development peer-to-peer when we break out into our groups and discuss how we’re going to apply what we’re learning.

Have the Tough Conversations Quickly

When an employee is not meeting expectations, leaders should have the tough conversations quickly.  If a deadline is missed, if work isn’t up to par or an employee is not adhering to those nonnegotiable values, it can’t wait for a weekly, monthly or annual review.  The conversation must happen quickly to prevent further problems and to protect other A players.

The more difficult the subject, the more important it is that leaders address it quickly and not put it off.

Focus on What, Not Who

Dwight Strayer, our Chief Operating Officer, often reminds his leaders not to focus on who, but on what.  Too often conversations become personal.  To be effective, leaders should focus on what is expected for the position, what the results currently are, and what needs to be done moving forward.

These are five ways to effectively communicate expectations and align goals and priorities that I’ve identified, I’d love to hear your take!

We are not born successful.  Whether you have talent in a particular area or not, you have to work hard to become successful.  The truth is, you can become successful at almost anything you set your mind to.

Through the years I’ve learned there are certain things we can do to become successful at almost anything.  Here are 7 that I’ve identified.

1. Find Your Passion

The first rule of success is to find what you love and do it.  Exerting energy in the work of something that you don’t enjoy is not sustainable.  Eventually you will burn out.

I have a teaching degree and am not highly technical, but I’m the President of a company that provides exceptional data center maintenance. My passion is developing leaders who impact our company as well as surrounding myself with the right people who have a passion for their particular area of focus within our company.

2. Surround Yourself with People who Push You

If you want to run better, find a running partner who runs faster than you.  If you want to work better, work with people who are high performers.

Studies have show that one of the biggest predictors of success is relationships.  If you want to see what you look like in 2 years, just look at the people you surround yourself with everyday.  Ask the important questions: are they driven?  Do they complain?  Are they positive?  Do they have a great attitude?  Do they serve others?  Are they honest? Are they high-energy?  Surround yourself with people who will push you past your comfort zone and who inspire you to be better.

3. Do the Important Work First

We have the most energy and are able to accomplish the most in the morning.  Yet many spend their mornings on mundane tasks.  Successful people do the work that matters when their energy level is at its peak.

By the time most have finished their morning routine of answering email, returning phone calls, and responding to the needs of others, their energy level is too depleted to be effective at much else.  Because our energy levels are at their highest in the morning, that’s when we should do the work that will have the greatest impact.  Consider rearranging your schedule so that you put out the little fires the afternoon or evening before and free yourself up to accomplish great things in the morning.

4. Learn More than the Next Guy

Benjamin Franklin said “If a man empties his wallet into his head, no man can take it away from him.  An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

If you want to be an expert at what you do, learn more than others who are doing it.  Read books and blogs.  Listen to audiobooks.  Attend seminars.  Knowledge is not only power, it is an essential ingredient to a successful life.

5. Seek Feedback, but Not too Much

It’s important to seek feedback and to accept it graciously.  But it’s also important to remember that you have skills and knowledge that others should trust you with.  Invite a handful of trusted individuals into your life who will give you honest feedback.  If you accept feedback from everyone, you will be forever changing.

6. Batch the Mundane

Our brains are attuned to the beeps and buzzes of our cell phones, computers and email.  Emails, phone calls, text messages, instant messages and social media are designed to be disruptive.  We have to be intentional about taming the disruptors.  Schedule times throughout your day when you can tend to those messages.  Then, turn them off when you’re working on the important things that shouldn’t be interrupted.

7. Take Breaks

In their book The Power of Full Engagement, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz say “We must learn to live our lives as a series of sprints – fully engaged for periods of time – and then fully disengaged to renew.”  In order to fully engage, we must reserve time to disengage and renew our energy in order to fully engage once again.  I’ve found that exercise is a great way to do it, but there are many other ways as well.  Find out what works for you.

Charles Schwab said “when we put a limit on what we will do, we put a limit on what we can do.”  Our opportunities are limitless if we’re willing to do the work necessary to build value in ourselves and to become successful.

These are 7 ways that I’ve identified to become successful at anything, what have you found that works?

Metrics and measures have a funny way of pushing their way into the forefront of a leaders attention, particularly during times when they’re facing economic hardship or increased stress.  Often they hole-up in their office and stare at numbers on their screen thinking that if they just stare hard enough, maybe they’ll move. They retreat and spend less time with their team.

When I see that happening, I encourage leaders to get out of the office and invest in their people first.  I’ve found that when we do that, the numbers will almost always correct themselves.

Performance measurement begins with investing in people.

In his book, The Carolina Way, Dean Smith says that it’s critical to focus on people and process, not on winning. Winning will be the end result. His rational – If

you focus exclusively on winning you’ll take shortcuts and success will not be sustainable.

This was illustrated to me some time ago when I was traveling.

My departing flight was delayed in Grand Rapids resulting in a late arrival in Cleveland. Despite that, I was able to get to the gate of my connecting flight a few minutes early but I was not allowed to board because they had closed the gate doors. So, the airline booked me on another flight.

After I had boarded and, while many on the plane were still putting their bags in the overheads and getting situated, the plane began to back away from the gate. Passengers were surprised and some were angry. In a few short minutes we would watch a video from the CEO of the airline assuring us that we were in good hands because the airline’s top priority was safety – yet here the plane was backing up while people were standing in the aisle with luggage over their head. Fail. I learned later that crews are measured on whether or not they leave the gate on time. As a result, they’ve learned to circumvent this bureaucratic rule by simply backing away from the gate before the designated departure time, whether the plane was ready to or not.

The airline had placed a higher emphasis on measuring departure times than on entrusting their flight crews to make better decisions- decisions that could have a significantly greater impact on the health of their company than arbitrary metrics.  In the eyes of this airline, employees and customers took a seat in coach.

These problems are not just endemic to airlines. Too often businesses place a higher emphasis on numbers than they do on people. That mentality inhibits innovation, drives talent (the “A Player”) away, and eventually it kills customer loyalty.

The next time that you’re considering driving people with numbers, reconsider how driving the numbers with people might change the game altogether for you!

Because SEI is a growing company with an exceptional culture, we’re fortunate that we attract applicants with a high level of skill and aptitude in their areas of expertise.

But we don’t just hire people who can do the job.  By the time they’ve made it past our initial screening process, we’ve determined that they have both the skills and the aptitude to succeed.  We also have many candidates who rise to the top because they have an advanced skill set.

It can be tempting for hiring managers to rush the process because they have extra work that needs to be off-loaded, they don’t have time to sit through more interviews, or they feel pressure from others to fill the position.  In my experience, rushing this critical process does a disservice to the new employee and to the business.  In the end, hiring the wrong person often leads to more work because employees are left to clean up.  Work loads are compounded, the recruiting process must begin all over again, and the pressure that hiring managers feel is exacerbated.

A recent study uncovered that 46% of new hires don’t make it past the first 18 months of employment.  Of those, 89% didn’t make it because of attitudinal reasons, while 11% didn’t make it because of lack of skill.  As a result, companies are experiencing high levels of turn-over which put s a significant strain on productivity, innovation, customer service, revenue, margins, growth and employee engagement.

At SEI we don’t hire the skill; skill can be learned.  We hire the will.

How to Be an “A Player” at Service Express

While there are simple tests that can measure both skill and proficiency, for many organizations finding A Players can be both challenging and more resource intensive.

Because one person’s attitude has a significant impact on the culture of an entire organization, recruitment should be a high priority.

David Packard once said “No company can consistently grow revenues faster than its ability to get enough of the right people to implement that growth.”

We guard our culture fiercely and decided early on that we would would take the time necessary to hire people who are a great culture fit for SEI.

SEI is exceptional because our people are exceptional.

Go Deeper: 10 Characteristics of a Great Employee