Tag Archives: managing

May 1, 2012 · 11:02 am

Being Prepared

A very long time ago that seems like yesterday, I was a Boy Scout.  Given that it was the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, being a part of a quasimilitary organization (or even any organization other than a rock band) was a fairly brave thing to do on my part although I certainly didn’t see it as such at the time.  The thing that scouting impresses upon you almost from the outset is the need to BE PREPARED.  Yep, in caps.  Be prepared in mind, be prepared in body.

"A Boy Scout" Boy Scout Cigarette Card

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I got to thinking about that the other day as I left a meeting.  I had spent several hours getting ready – trying to anticipate questions I might be asked, learning about the company and person with whom I was meeting – and the prep work paid off.  We had a very productive session, hopefully the first of many more.  Rather than spend a lot of time going over preliminaries, we were able to move into the real questions each of us had for the other.

When you drive beyond a town you sometimes come across a sign for a new housing development that’s nothing more than some roads.  It’s easy to say “I have no clue what this is, what it will look like, if it’s worth thinking about, etc.”  But someone has to build the road first. Sure, it’s all empty lots, there’s not much around. But being prepared is building the road.  Equipment and workers can’t get in without a road; nothing much can happen in any project or meeting without prep.

I used to say I didn’t want to walk into any meeting where I hadn’t already answered the questions.  What I meant was that I always wanted my team to get ready in advance by thinking through all the possible options, the potential questions, and projected outcomes.  That wasn’t about predetermining the outcome.  It was about being ready to discuss any and all thinking.  More importantly, it was showing respect to the other participants in the room by not needing to get up to speed or to schedule another meeting because you need a lot more time to gather information.

So today’s thought is the scout motto:  be prepared.  As a teacher you learn that every hour teaching is preceded by an hour or more of prep.  It’s been a good lesson to carry forward into business – devote as much time to preparing as to doing.  You’ll be surprised how much more actually gets done.

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April 9, 2012 · 9:09 am

Taking An Unplayable

The things we learn from golf!  I know, I’ve written about that before, but yesterday’s conclusion to The Masters provided such a great example as to why the lesson of the golf course apply to the world of business.

I’m talking, of course, about Phil Mickelson‘s decision-making on number 4. For those of you who didn’t see or haven’t heard about it, Phil was at the top of the leader-board when he hit an errant shot on a par 3. His error was compounded by the fact that it hit a grandstand and bounced further away from the hole. In fact, it wound up in some thick brush. This piece provides a good overview.  For you non-golfers, when your ball winds up in a place like this, you can do one of four things:  Play the ball as it is or take a penalty stroke and use one of three options under the “unplayable lie” rule.  In Phil’s case, two of the three options weren’t available to him – it’s too long an explanation for this space – but the third one – replay the last shot from the previous spot certainly was.  That would have been back on the tee, hitting your third shot (on a par 3) into the green.

San Diego's favorite son pitches one of only a...

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Phil elected to play the ball as it was and ended up making 6, and given where his ball was that was about as good a score as he could have expected.  His decision-making process is a great business example.  Phil elected not to cut his losses (take the penalty and start over) and I think it cost him the golf tournament.  This is the same guy who lost the U.S. Open a few years ago making exactly the same decision – try to hit an impossible shot instead of cutting your losses.  Obviously he won The Masters a couple of year back trying and making a difficult shot onto a par 5 from the trees (no, golf is not played in the woods – some of us just go there a lot).  In some ways, that just reinforced what is generally not the best course of action.

None of us like to admit that we need to take the hit and start over.  Most of us talk about “throwing good money after bad” as a negative.  The hard part is stepping back and assessing the situation without emotional involvement about all you’ve invested so far.  You need to build in decision points and discuss where you are with others and adjust the plan.  The caddy is out on the course not just to lug the golf bag and whether it’s in-house staff of consultants like me, someone needs to help make the decision to take the unplayable and live to fight another day.

What do you think?  How do you know when it’s time to go back to the tee or when trying to stick it out is the best course of action?

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March 30, 2012 · 8:56 am

Cooking Tips For Business

We’ll end the week with our usual food-centric piece.  Today, I want to direct you to a piece by Food Network Magazine – the 100 Greatest Cooking Tips Of All Time.  While the list is far from exhaustive, it’s pretty good.  Many of them revolve around a few themes and many of those themes have application in business.

The first one comes from Marcus Samuelsson:

If you’re cooking for someone important — whether it’s your boss or a date — never try a new recipe and a new ingredient at the same time.

Well, I haven’t cooked for a date in a very long time, but I have presented to new clients, and I definitely see the application of this principle.  When it’s important to put your best foot forward, it’s not the time to experiment.  Stick to what you know works – there will be curve-balls aplenty even under the best conditions.  Your job is to reduce them to a manageable number.

Next is something I was taught to do many years ago by an Italian grandmother and comes from Chef Issac Becker:

When making meatballs or meatloaf, you need to know how the mixture tastes before you cook it. Make a little patty and fry it in a pan like a mini hamburger. Then you can taste it and adjust the seasoning.

At the risk of singing one of my familiar refrains, this is all about feedback.  Analytics.  Measurement.  Tasting as you go (to paraphrase Chef Anne Burrell‘s tip) is how you keep a business on track.  If something is off, you need to adjust the seasoning (or the plan) and you can’t know that unless you taste.  Otherwise, the dish (and the deal) can turn out inedible.

Finally, the value of planning from Chef John Besh:

Take the time to actually read recipes through before you begin.

and Chef Gabrielle Hamilton

Organize yourself. Write a prep list and break that list down into what may seem like ridiculously small parcels, like “grate cheese” and “grind pepper” and “pull out plates.” You will see that a “simple meal” actually has more than 40 steps. If even 10 of those steps require 10 minutes each and another 10 of those steps take 5 minutes each, you’re going to need two and a half hours of prep time. (And that doesn’t include phone calls, bathroom breaks and changing the radio station!) Write down the steps and then cross them off.

One of my great culinary joys is getting a four course meal on the table for 20 people at exactly the time the Mrs. informs me dinner is to be served to the guests.  That can’t happen without thoughtful and careful planning.  Then again, that project is much simpler than many of the business tasks we all face.  I’m surprised at how little planning goes into many of the most complex tasks.  Failure to think a project through to completion, to break it down into the component steps and to plan accordingly, is one of the great causes of failure.  It leads to cost overruns and shortages of time.

What’s your favorite cooking tip?  How does it apply to work outside of the kitchen?

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