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Quick Links and Good Ideas, November 2010

As with most of you, I spent the last few weeks wading through the electioneering, and a good portion of last Tuesday evening listening to the winners, the losers, and the pundits trying to explain what the election results meant.

One of the major themes that I heard was that change was being made for the sake of change. Never good, yet, sadly, often done, especially when there is no plan except to get off the current path.

While this is not a political newsletter, my hope is that the folks we have sent to run the government, in DC and in various state capitals, will relearn how to work together to serve their entire constituency. While I know that this has not been proven recently, I HOPE (yes that four-letter word) that our elected officials remember that they are there to represent us all, not just those who yell loudest.

However, what I believe to be clear is that if we are waiting for the government to make changes that will help our business grow, we are in for a very, very long wait. If we want growth, we are going to need to do it ourselves.

Enough about the elections, let’s talk business . . .

When the going gets tough, the tough take charge.

In Turning Tough Times Into Triumph, we wrote about author Keith McFarland’s presentation to the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. McFarland spoke about three “ah ha” moments learned from researching his books. These were:

1. It’s not what you make; it’s what you make of it.
2. It’s not how you’re wired; it’s how you wire your company.
3. It’s not just about getting the right people; it’s about getting the people right.

The essence of the presentation was that it is in your hands to determine what you want to make of your company. We wholly agree with McFarland’s premise that addressing these issues is among the foundational elements for creating a breakthrough company.

Be part of the conversation or expect to have no say in your brand.

We also wrote last month about a presentation by Kellogg Professor Mohanbir Sawhney about “engagement” marketing. In The New Digital Reality: Your Brand Is No Longer in Your Own Hands, we shared some of Sawhney’s insights into the differences between the desire for exposure through marketing and the reality of engagement marketing. In today’s reality, whether or not you want to be present, you are.

Mistakes are your best opportunities for growth. Assuming you are structured to learn from them.

This month’s Harvard Business Review includes a series of articles regarding “Leadership Lessons From the Military.” While we will be reflecting on these in the weeks and months ahead, the title of the series brought to mind a book I read several years ago by Elliot Cohen and John Gooch, Military Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War. In the book, Cohen and Gooch develop a matrix framework for understanding failure that captures different organizational levels on one axis and different organizational functions on the other.

While we often analyze failure, too often the analysis is limited to the specific situation, limiting the ability to learn and adopt the lessons from the failure. In order for organizations to grow and prosper, they need to systematically analyze and capture what they have done wrong, as well as what they have done right, and create the means to learn from these mistakes. I strongly recommend reading this book as you think about what it takes to succeed. It will help you create a framework for learning from the inevitable mistakes.

A few parting words on the election results.

While we may be frustrated with the political environment, a couple of thoughts to put it into perspective are in order.

John Adams, in reflecting on government, said: "While all other sciences have advanced, that of government is at a standstill — little better understood, little better practiced now than three or four thousand years ago.”

However, I believe that Winston Churchill summed up the situation better than anyone else: "Democracy is the worst form of government except for all those others that have been tried."

Now that “silly season” is behind us, let’s make the most of the rest of the year.

Sincerely,

David Spitulnik, former Managing Director, Strategic Services
 

This publication is part of Blackman Kallick’s marketing of professional services, and is not written tax advice directed at the specific facts and circumstances of any person and/or entity. Contents of this publication are of a general nature, and you should not act on this information without obtaining professional advice from your business advisor that is appropriately tailored to your individual needs and circumstances. This written advice is not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used by any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding penalties that may be imposed under the Internal Revenue Code.