Under cover of darkness, “America’s Wine Superstore,” with 100 stores in 15 states and offering 8000 wines, 3000 spirits, and 2500 beers, quietly opened at a prime intersection just outside the city limits of a first ring Minneapolis suburb possessing 3 ho-hum municipal liquor stores. Now, a mere 5 months later, “Edina blames Total Wine for falling revenue.” This headline in the Minneapolis Business Journal caught my eye because I lived in Edina a dozen years ago and know exactly how exciting those stores are. Edina, hello-o! That store was not built overnight. It is not a tiny, unrecognizable threat. Furthermore, you got a huge reprieve when Total Wine lost a full year battling for a liquor permit. Meanwhile, what did these stores do to prevent the revenue loss? Probably what many businesses do:
A second snowstorm in less than a week forced many Boston companies into a second costly closure. The next day, while the CEO of one of those companies and I were discussing the value of organizational clarity, she raised a perfect example. The employee in charge of closures had struggled massively the day before. “Should we or shouldn’t we close?” His head was filled with conflicting thoughts: trucks on clogged streets, snow falling an inch an hour, people waiting for deliveries, and a painful backlog from the previous snow days, to name just a few. He agonized and agonized. In the end, he had to come to the CEO for a decision. The CEO responded with one word: “Safety.” The same answer she would have given the week before and would be prepared to give with the third and subsequent storms. Suddenly the decision was easy. But in the meantime, this single decision sucked up several employee hours, created significant stress, and left the CEO wondering why otherwise capable employees are so often crippled by decisions. Why does this happen? Why couldn’t this employee see that safety must reign?
During a film review on NPR, the reviewer applauded the film’s brilliant and creative use of its underlying formula. “Underlying formula”? I have to admit my first reaction was skeptical. How brilliant and creative could it be if it followed a formula? Sounds like a “brilliant” copy of other films. Then I thought a bit about what that underlying formula might actually look like: Boy meets girl. Boy and girl fall in love. Life gets in the way. OK, now they’ve got us on the edge of our seats, dying to know if the boy and girl can overcome the obstacles and live happily ever after. Not only does this formula work, it has worked for centuries. From Romeo to Juno and The Newsroom. With more thought, I realized that I’ve triggered that same skeptical reaction in others. It happens quite often when I talk about the formula that helps people make better decisions faster!
I don’t respond to RFPs. I have in the past, but I’ve learned my lesson. Nonetheless, I still receive them. This one just arrived and it seems a perfect opportunity to explain: Why I will ignore it Why no one should use the RFP process First, you need to know that this RFP is totally typical. I’ve changed nothing but identifying information to protect the innocent. THE RFP We are seeking proposals from Vendors with expertise and experience in conducting organizational culture assessments. Specifically, we want to determine what cultural changes will be required to align the entire organization with the Strategic Plan. Also, we expect that the feedback from this assessment will provide valuable insights about skills and behaviors (e.g. leadership; management; and communication) the Executive Team and Board of Directors may need to exhibit in accomplishing the Strategic Plan and leading the desired changes. Note: Proposals are due by Dec 26 Project Description and Deliverables 1. The Vendor will facilitate a strategic planning meeting with HR and/or Executive Team to ensure that the key expectations and objectives will be met. 2. The Vendor will develop a customized on-line assessment to be reviewed by HR and/or Executive Team. 3. Once the data has been collected, the Vendor will analyze it and identify where we have opportunities to move the culture in the desired direction. 4. The Vendor will prepare a draft report of outcomes and recommendations. 5. Once the draft report has been finalized, the Vendor will meet with the Executive Team and the Board of Directors’ Human Resources and Compensation Committee to review outcomes and recommendations. WHAT’S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE? Let me count the ways!
It’s here! The cheat sheet for clarity! The best quick tips for getting better results faster with greater confidence and commitment at your fingertips! Download Ann’s Clarity App from the iTunes store today! It’s loaded with tips you can use and share immediately to improve decisions, meetings, planning, holding others accountable, and more! Imagine the value gained from sharing and using nuggets such as the: only 6 types of outcomes for any meeting 4 steps to better decisions, 3 of which are usually skipped biggest mistakes people make when planning how victim-hood prevents us from managing our time 2 criteria you should use to include others in your decisions 4 words that will make your productivity soar and more, including more to come! Since shared clarity is the most powerful clarity, encourage your colleagues to download Ann’s Clarity App right away as well. Need another incentive to act now? The introductory price can’t be beat! Once you’ve tried the app, I’d love to hear your reaction. And don’t forget, new content is on its way!
Nothing drags a decision to a halt faster than a list of lousy options. As a matter of fact, many decisions fall between the cracks about then, never to be heard from again. You can see it coming: Silence and sighs replace ideas and debate Energy levels drop below freezing Everyone wants to talk about something else This almost happened when looking at my healthcare options a few months ago. I didn’t like any of my choices and might have dropped the ball entirely if my husband hadn’t insisted that any health plan was probably better than no health plan. So here is how to deal with lousy options:
Five minutes and 15 questions could save you 50%! Why? Because clarity produces better results faster with greater confidence and commitment. Wondering how clear your organization is? Check Your Clarity Index now!
Stories of drought in the west led me to fear too little water when I arrived at Utah’s Canyonlands National Park. I was wrong. Our five days and 53 miles of paddling down the Green River were gorgeous, fascinating, and nerve-wracking. High water meant the normally copious sandbars were submerged along with the campsites and picnic sites they usually provided. The heralded side canyons with their sparkling trickles and mostly dry creek beds were nowhere to be found. Our shoreline came in three flavors: Vertical walls, Quicksand muck, and An invasive called Tamarisk so thick it may as well have been another vertical wall My companions could not understand why I, an expert canoeist, would be anxious. The answer was simple. We had so few options! There was no going back and extremely few opportunities to get off the water. One of the things I do for my clients is create the clarity that allows them to recognize the best options when they see them. Tough to pick the best option when you haven’t any! We were at the mercy of rising water, falling water, flash floods, heavy winds, storms, the setting sun, and luck. For me, luck is not a strategy. Another thing I frequently do is increase the number and quality of options my clients can see. Wish I could have pulled that trick on the Green. A fast and powerful river with a quicksand bottom holds all the cards. I did it once though, when the water level fell a foot and a half leaving our canoes mired in muck a hundred yards from flowing water. No time for that story here, but remind me to tell you the next time we talk! In the meantime, I suggest you distinguish between your average decision and those where… read more →
Companies that would never tolerate disruptions to a production line tolerate sloppy thinking and massive confusion every single day. Everything takes longer than it should! And the farther you are from the production line, where both flow and snags are obvious, the less aware you are of the waste and mistakes. Are you clarity blind? Can you see the extent to which confusion sucks up your profit, time, opportunity, and morale? It is time to make your company’s cognitive processes as efficient as your physical processes! The potential is enormous. This could be your new competitive edge! Act now: Watch my short video about creating clarity to improve results, speed, confidence, and commitment. Get started by sharing these clear, pragmatic, and valuable publications with your organization: – How to Make Better Decisions Faster – The Worst Mistake to Make When Overloaded – Poor Communication – What Does It Really Mean? – Ten Points for Smarter Email – The Secret to Great Meetings that Every Employee Should Know – Simplify – Why Training Fails Contact me to learn how I have helped other companies create the clarity that produces better results faster with greater confidence and commitment. It is time to raise the bar. Don’t put up with another minute of sloppy thinking, poor communication, delayed decisions, or struggles with commitment, engagement, and accountability. If you would like to receive a complimentary copy of my value-packed monthly newsletter, you are invited to subscribe today.