WOW. What more can be said. The sex scandal news is a true Greek Tragedy playing out in real life. And an amazing reminder that every action, every decision can have an explosive impact on one’s Legacy and Brand.
Success with Honor.
The idea – build a brand that lasts for generations. Doing what’s right, even when it’s hard. The senior leaders of Penn State forgot the mission. They did not weigh their decisions against the standard of future generations. It seems obvious that decisions made in 1998 and 2002 were evaluated through the lens of that present state. They forgot to do what was right - not legal, not the minimum - in the face of adversity and potential short-term negative consequences.
What’s Your Lens For Decision Making?
- Are your Misson and guiding principles clear, understandable and measurable? Success With Honor meets at least two (2) of these variables. Measureable? That is the harder question.
- Values must be genuine, personal, relevant – and measurable. Too often, Values are too soft for difficult decision making. That softness is a result of not being measurable, with appropriate rewards and consequences.
The recent Penn State disaster is a tragic example of not weighing every decision, especially the tough ones, against that Mission and measuring the impact on the Brand – present and future.
Many question the short and long term success rates of being a Values driven organization. Feeling that Values are a "soft" decision making criteria, real success cannot be garnered in any real competitive environment. Non would argue that big time college football falls into this category. Big money, big names and cut-throat recruiting are the norm. One program, however, stands above all others in terms of generating short term and long term success. That program is Penn State University. The following is a brief case study setting the background for their success and evaluating key measures of performance.
Background
Led by legendary coach Joe Paterno since 1966, he undertook what eventually come to be know as the "grand experiment". Paterno established an environment where his team would excel not only on the field, but in the classroom. Additionally, Paterno sought a student-athlete that would strive for "success with honor", not only on the field, but off the field as well.
Strategy
Summed up as "The Penn State Way", a term coined by his players, there are two core tenets. One is there is more to college than football, and two, there is more to football than winning. Values and a values-based system is essential component of this philosophy. As Bruce Reid of PSU notes, "The leader is the individual who establishes the personality of the team by blending their shared value system with organizational goals and managerial skills." This why, “a coach must be morally ethical” (Hyman & White, 1971, p. 49). One leads by example as Paterno said, “The things that make a difference in a person’s life-pride, loyalty, and commitment-are the things that make a difference in this country. We’re teaching them the realities of the competitive life” (Collier et al, 2000, p.10) (Reid, Coaching Styles, 2006).
While no program nor institution is perfect, the following actions and statistics showcase why the "grand experiment" is no longer an experiment, but a core component of how Penn State athletics operates today.
Results
Metrics may vary, but none would argue that there are a few key barometers of program success. These would include wins, win percent, bowl wins, bowl win percent, conference titles, national titles, NCAA recruiting violations, graduation rates, and overall financial contribution including revenue and profit.
Record under Paterno:
Bowl record under Paterno:
Major Bowl record under Paterno:
Perfect seasons:
- 1968, 1969, 1973, 1986, 1994
National championships:
Big 10 conference championships:
Source: Wikipedia
Recruiting violations:
- Penn State is the only public school from a major athletic conference without a violation since NCAA started tracking in 1953.
- According to the NCAA, there are 17 schools with major athletic departments (whose football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision) that have never been found guilty of any major violation in any sport since 1953, when the NCAA began tracking rule violations. That's about 14% of the total.
- The bulk of these schools (13) are programs like Air Force, Alabama-Birmingham, Bowling Green, Central Michigan, Florida Atlantic and Kent State that play in second-tier conferences where the pressure, the scrutiny, the level of recruiting and the expectations are smaller.
- There are only four athletic programs from major conferences on the list. They are Boston College, Northwestern, Penn State and Stanford.
- Three of the four innocents from major conferences (Boston College, Northwestern and Stanford) have a built-in advantage: As private schools, they're not required to comply with the Freedom of Information Act—a tool reporters have used to uncover wrongdoing at some public institutions.
Source: The NCAA's Last Innocents, WSJ, 6/22/11
Graduation rates and academic excellence:
- Penn State's 89% graduation rate and 85% Graduation Success Rate (GSR) were tops among all teams in the Associated Press' final 2009 Top 25 poll.
- 2010 Football Student-Athletes (four-year GSR)
- Penn State 84%, Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS): 67%
- Big Ten rankings: 1. Northwestern 95%, 2. Penn State 84%
- All Penn State student-athletes at the University Park campus earned a record (GSR) of 90% compared to a 79% average for all Division I institutions for students entering from 2000-01 through 2003-04. The 90% figure was second to Northwestern (97%) among Big Ten Conference institutions.
- African-American Student-Athletes (four-year federal)
- Penn State 75%, Division I: 53%
- Big Ten rankings: 1. Northwestern 83%, 2. Penn State 75%
- 241 Academic all-Big Ten selections since 1993 (a conference-high)
Sources: gopsusports.com, 10/27/10; The Morning Call, 11/6/10
Financial results:
- According to 2010 Dept. of Education data, Penn State ranks #3, behind the University of Texas and University of Georgia
- Revenue: $70,208,584
- Profit: $50,427,64
- Forbes ranks Penn State #3 (#2 in profit) behind the University or Texas and University of Notre Dame:
- Team value: $99,000,000
- Profit: $50,000,000
Sources: Huffington Post, 12/30/10; forbes.com, 12/22/09
Loyalty:
- 26 father-son combinations, including eight current (2010) players who are sons of former players.
Source: The Morning Call, 11/6/10
Excellence on the field, in the classroom, in recruiting, in financial performance, Penn State Football excels at these critical measures and shows that Values-based leadership can work, and over a sustained period of time. In future posts we will examine learnings from this case study and examples for implementation.
As always, we welcome comments and questions.
Consistency and Control?
Ask almost anyone about how to build a brand and they'll tell you that consistent and repetitious messaging is the key. Your message, approach, copy and creative elements should be consistent across various media. If you don't control your brand your customer or your competition will. The control and command philosophy was possible during the marketing monopoly that was paid media. Social Media has ushered in a new era. In this new era of customer controlled story and exchange, how can a brand "control" their message? IT CAN'T!
Let the Inmates Run the Asylum?
No control? No consistency? Heresy you say! Now before you get all caught up in your shorts, hear us out. We espouse great consistency and control, but driven through Vision, Values, Strategy, Personality not complete and absolute control of message and execution. Message and execution - sounds rather sterile, no? Geez is there any emotion, feeling or personality here? Is your brand represented by people and the things they make and do, or by features and benefits? Our customer's tell us time and again that their people are their greatest asset, yet they don't give them the guidance and freedom to become that valuable asset. Yes, freedom without guidance or limits is chaos. That's why your core brand platform is so critical.
Brand Platform Leads The Way
A clear an powerful Brand Platform can help you navigate this new era in customer relationships and communication. The customer is empowered, isn't it time you empowered your employees as well? Give the the long-term goal through your Brand Vision. Let them know how that progress will be measured. Give them the Values to help guide decision making and action. Let them know that they'll be measured based on their actions. Clarify your Mission or Purpose so they know what they should be doing today, and why. Help them understand how their Values, actions and language create and shape the company's Culture, which touches the customer at every turn. Give them guidance for the type of language they should use when crafting stories to better engage customers on the customer's terms.
It's The How and The What
How products, services and interactions take place are just as important as what types of products, services and interactions are delivered. Make sure your employees and customers know how you want to act and engage with them. This is the new definition of brand, not one that is built on message consistency, but on experience consistency.
Can change be directed and managed from above? Or is it a grass-roots phenomenon that happens internally and organically? We think a few questions can help guide the way.
First, what is the organization's culture of accepting failure? Is failure seen as part of the daily learning and development process or is failure final - where specific consequences are imposed? Is fear of decision making high? How are decisions made? Who makes decisions?
Second, are employees empowered to make decisions? What guides their decision making? Are they required to get approval for final decisions?
Third, how is success measured? How about under-performance? Do individuals share in team success or under-performance?
Fourth, is there a recognition that to initiate any type of change from the status quo, some level of failure will occur? How will this be measured? How will it be acted upon?
Fifth, are customers brought into the change process? Should they be? If so, how are they? When are they?
Our view: Change should be led, not dictated from above. It occurs through a clear Vision, Purpose and actionable Values. These Values, which are measureable, guide day-to-day action. Employees are empowered with clear decision making roles and responsibilities to take action that benefits the customer and organization. Select customers are engaged in the process, so they can reap the benefits of a collaborative partnership. Failure is embraced (note we did not say encouraged), understanding that it is part of the innovation process. Goals are established and measured frequently to minimize the downside of failure and maximize the upside. This insight will guide new, improved action for continuous improvement.
We think this is a great starting point for effective change. Do you agree?
Vision. The word brings up images of Leadership. Trailblazer. Focus. True North. Unwavering commitment in the face of adversity. A powerful Vision can become a roadmap for the future, guiding businesses in their investments, technologies, sales, marketing, hiring and decision making. In two previous posts, we talked about the Values and Culture of organizations. Values and Culture are most valuable when guided by Vision. When choices need to be made, what rules do companies use to assist them? To guide them? To provide a level of objectivity that puts team members on the same side of the desk? A powerful Vision can accomplish these.
Many confuse Vision with Mission or Purpose. From our perspective, a company's Vision should accomplish three things:
First, to describe the aspirational relationship between a company and its customers. It should be intimate and personal. It should be aspirational, yet ultimately attainable. It should describe the highest order value(s) or benefit(s) that you can bring to your customer because of the nature of your relationship. And it needs to be concise and easy to understand.
Secondly, it should be valuable to you, the company. It should help you attain the ultimate level of business success, as you define it, but this success should have your long-term, big picture in mind. It also needs stay personal, focused on you and the customer. Statements like, "be number 1 or 2 in our category" may be measures of business success for some, but doesn't express any direct benefit to you or to your customer. Remember, your success is directly connected to the value you bring to your customer. How will this be relevant to you?
Thirdly, it should be measurable. Not just in theory, but in practice. We've worked with organizations that saw business success as being able to expand business relationships (or product lines) per customer. For them, this went beyond revenue per customer, which could be attained through greater spending on one or two business lines. They felt that by expanding the number of relationships per customer, they could attain deeper "stickiness" and greater, more profitable revenue. But they had no way of measuring this. Internal data bases were siloed, not integrated. But they are working on making the investments to integrate data points to gather a complete, holistic picture of their customer, including revenue and profit.
This connected Vision - where company decisions and actions (present and future) are directly related and valuable to the customer, where the implementation of these actions build key business value for the company, and where it can be measured for ongoing success - seems like a simple proposition. Ask any CEO if decisions and investments are made for the value of their customer and you'll hear and emphatic "Yes". Yet as we've seen time and again, many business decisions are made to lever existing resources or competencies, or to meet the needs of stakeholders other than the customer. We've seen major strategic investments fail because of short term spending constraints or competitive threats, resulting in bolt-on solutions or pricing strategies that marginally touch the customer, but don't build or enhance the relationship with them. A firm commitment to your organization's Vision can help re-allocate resources for the most meaningful customer impact and benefit to both of you.
Finally, a Vision is flexible, meaning it can and should change over time. No one would deny that 9/11 and the financial meltdown have impacted people's thoughts and values. Stay close to your customer, and your customer will stay close to you.
Culture, only for tea toddlers? Think again. Many organizations claim that their culture sets them apart from their competitors. One of the first things a c-level execs says they want to change when things need changing is culture. Others struggle with how to define, identify or crystallize their culture. What is it? Is it another soft benefit, or is there something more substantial to it? What follows are some answers and some ways culture can be shaped and impacted.
Culture, a definition
For us, culture is the rituals and language used throughout an organization. More importantly, culture can be different for different parts of an organization, e.g., sales or HR. Why rituals and not just actions? We believe that culture is something deeper and more reflective of how a group or in many cases, a tribe, thinks, feels and behaves. It reflects the deeper connection between individuals. Often, there are certain, unique activities, habits and language associated with culture. These can be reflective of daily activities, or through special events.
Culture in action
The most powerful cultures cross-over to something different, such as fraternities or even more extreme, gangs. These groups, through their unique rituals and language, offer exclusivity. In order to be a member or join, you must be invited. Selective criteria used to deliver an invitation and even more selective criteria to determine acceptance. Rituals such as hazing or other rights or passage are common. These tend to be time honored traditions and activities passed from generation to generation. Language also plays a key part in culture, and many have a language all their own. Special passwords, greetings, handshakes, and oaths serve as gateways to connection. Culture separates and unites. It's common to hear the phrase, "the culture of gangs", or "the culture of the mafia". Yes this is the extreme, but this is where culture is most powerful, at the extremes of exclusivity.
Culture and business
Inside business organizations, culture and its rituals and language, are present throughout every department. At sales meetings, at after work gatherings for drinks, at lunch. You'll find people or groups gravitating to each other out of shared experiences, trials and tribulations. Because culture, through these very rituals and language tend to either include or exclude, they can be beneficial or harmful. What can business do to use the power of culture, and even shape the dynamics of it?
What businesses can do
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First, acknowledge that your organization has a culture and most likely more than one. Depending on the age of your company and the tenure of employees, your organizations' culture may be very ingrained.
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Second, take the time to observe your culture in action. Observe how new hires are welcomed (or not). Look beyond your formal welcome procedures to see how new hires are made part of the team. Watch how team or department successes and failures are recognized and handled. Listen for language, phrases and terms you may not be familiar with. Does this language seem to be inclusive or exclusive? Forwarding to company and individual goals, or detrimental?
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Third, identify the things that you have in place to influence culture. What types of interactions are mandated? What types happen organically? Are these unifying people and forwarding business goals? The key here is to focus on language and actions, and how they do or do not forward stated goals.
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Fourth, what is your playbook for guiding actions and language? Do you have one?
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Fifth, look real hard at your company Values. Are they fluff? How do you integrate them into daily activities? Decision making? Accountability?
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Sixth, put meaningful, accountable Values into action. Measure for usage and impact, both from a business, employee and stakeholder perspective.
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Seventh, be guided by a clear, understandable Vision.
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Eighth, watch your culture begin to change.
Want to discuss further? We're here to help, just drop us a line.
Brand driving business
In today's customer engaged economy, brand and brand fundamentals are more important than ever for an organization's performance and well-being. Gone are the days when only a few controlled faces and messages would represent the brand. Today, employees, customers, prospects and business partners all have a active say in how your business is performing. It is essential for those that interact with your business know what you stand for and how you'll conduct yourself in day to day interactions. This is the first in a series where we discuss key brand elements and how you can quickly begin tapping into its power.
Values first
Today more than ever, we hear the terms "values" bandied about when talking about improving business performance or driving organizational change. In the past, this vocabulary was the domain of non-profits, where soft and fuzzy stuff resided. Business had no room for values with the focus on immediate revenue ("Just win baby") and profitability. So what's changed that has made the idea of values so critically important in today's economy? We see two main reasons. First, we believe that the financial crisis, whose impact is still being felt, has changed the fundamentals of trust and accountability for years to come. Additionally, the Edelman 2011 Trust Barameter sheds some further detail on why. Second, we believe that true differentiation and brand value is grounded not just in what a company does, but in how it does it.
Values, what do we mean?
We use the broad definitions established by Abraham Maslow, the father of humaistic psychology, in his hierarchy of needs. These are values that motivate individuals on both on base and higher order (B-Values or Metavalues) levels. In the workplace, base or lower order needs would include addressing job security needs (financial security - steady pay, retirement/401K, health and wellness insurance, illness/accident coverage), social needs (teams, clubs, friendship, accountability, dependence on one another) and esteem needs (respect and recognition from others, self worth, esteem, knowledge and mastery).
B or Metavalues tap into higher order needs that individuals strive for that make life more fulfilling. Values like - Integrity, Excellence, and Caring (Truth, Beauty and Goodness), Autonomy, Collaboration (Synergy), Added Value (Richness), Transparency (Simplicity) - are some of the values that make for a productive, thriving work environment. Additionally, people that fulfill these values can be considered "peak performers", and tend to exhibit strong leadership qualities, regardless of position or title.
Values, why are they important?
All healthy individuals strive to lead full, vibrant lives, both personally and professionally. Whether at home, play or work, businesses and governments, through their actions, services and/or products, help individuals on their journey to better lives. Unfortunately, many of these values - job security, accountability, dependence, truth, transparency - that were once satisfied are no longer, due to the actions of the business community and in some ways, government. Look no further than to the almost 14 million unemployed Americans to understand why trust and confidence has been lost, and why businesses are suffering.
Values, tap into their power
It takes the right actions and behaviors - "Value-Producing Actions" - executed daily, to achieve these values. Make values a powerful part of your organization by letting stakeholders know what values are fundamental to how you do business, and what daily actions you will take to achieve them. Let employees know they are expected to implement these actions in their relationships with fellow employees, customers and stakeholders. Show your seriousness and commitment by making these "Value-Producing Actions" and responsibilities core to job performance and evaluation. Let customers know that any interaction they have with you will be driven by the quest to fulfill these values and will be measured accordingly.
Values, so what's the benefit?
At the end of the day, so what? Businesses exist to satisfy needs and, when done well, are rewarded accordingly. To do this, businesses want and need their employees to be "peak performers". When employees perform better, they are more productive, creative and innovative. Customers want to do business with companies and people that not only help satisfy their needs, but build trust along the way. Companies that share many of the same values and take actions to fulfill these values will be positioned for success. People, not machines, take value-producing actions. Technology is the enabler that makes it faster, easier or more efficient to engage in these actions. Competitors can try and emulate performance, but can never copy it - because it is your people that perform and people can't be copied.
Driving Values into your daily business
Which Values and value-producing actions are right for your organization? If you are looking to identify, clarify, integrate or measure the implementation and effectiveness of the Values and actions that guide and differentiate your business, please contact us, we're here to help.
As more technologists, especially at smaller shops, continue to develop their chops, we expect to see better and more enjoyable digital experiences being developed. And as the growth in handheld devices of all kinds continues to exceed expectations, we expect to see a continued explosion in the mobile web.
Wendy's new campaign line or tagline is "you know when it's real". I just saw a commercial where they advertise their fish sandwich with all white meat pacific cod. The obvious implication is that they do not use fillers or other cheaper types of fish. Yet at the bottom of the spot runs the disclaimer, "at participating Wendy's for a limited time". I know that disclaimers are standard operating procedure, but the thing that threw me was "for a limited time". So I visited their website and right on the homepage is the premium whitefish sandwich - with no mention of limited time offer.
So what gives Wendy's? Is the pacific whitefish cod used for a promotion? It wasn't a promo spot. It was a brand spot meant to substantiate the campaign line. So why the disclaimer? Can this really be the old bait and switch?
Come on Wendy's. Be straight up. Be transparent. We want to know when you're real.
Great #innochat today that focused on the question - innovation or execution?
Some of my topline observations from the chat:
- There are many definitions of innovation
- Three definitions were used interchangeably - as outcome, as process, as strategy
- Most saw execution as critical to the innovation process
- Many were intrigued by the idea of innovation in execution
- There was some discussion about incremental vs. large-scale innovation
- Most felt a major challenge of innovation was the exchange or "handoff" from ideation teams to execution teams
- The question of sustainable innovation came up when talking about service innovation
- Iteration and prototypes were seen as critical to execution improvement and successful innovation
- As usual, some described innovation as invention
- Most felt the term "innovation" is being used too frequently, too freely and out of context
My thoughts:
- Definition: I subscribe to Peter Drucker's definition of innovation as being change that creates a new dimension of performance.
- Performance being value-added (for business this would be economic value)
- I view innovation more as an outcome vs. a process - although there is an innovation process
- Innovation can take place in products, services, processes and business models
- Execution is an integral part of the innovation process. Without execution, innovation cannot occur
- Some ideas that develop through the innovation process may not lead to value-added performance - but may serve as the insight or foundation for a different innovation.
- One of the best ways to address the "handoff" issue is by collaborating with various disciplines throughout the innovation process
- Driving sustained innovation can best be addressed through a diligent focus on end-state goals and the various KPIs used to measure progress. I would recommend that in many cases, various levels of compensation and/or reward be tied to these KPIs.
In summary:
Innovation is a living, breathing process because people determine ultimate success or failure. People run business. People use products and technologies. People, not businesses (although they may represent business), buy products and services. By enabling and empowering people with the tools, techniques and permission to collaborate, share, ideate, create, and re-create, companies can begin to reap the benefits of innovation.
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