The Art Of Magazine: Volume 15 by The Art Of

The (Real) Story on “Management” Tom Peters

The New Truth About Closing The Sale Jeffrey Gitomer

The Grey Zone of Small and Big Data Martin Lindstrom

First Jobs for Women: The One Thing They Never Tell You Cathy Salit FALL 16 $7.95 CDN Price: $7.95

VOLUME 15

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CONTENTS

VOLUME 15

LEADERSHIP for WOMEN

TOP 5 LESSONS: THE ART OF LEADERSHIP FOR WOMEN Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter

LEADING WITH A SENSE OF PURPOSE Cheryl Stargratt

FIRST JOBS FOR WOMEN: THE ONE THING THEY NEVER TELL YOU Cathy Salit

LEADERSHIP LEADERSHIP IS NOT ENOUGH: HOW THE NEW RULES OF THE NEW WORKPLACE DEMAND A GREAT EMPLOYER BRAND Virginia Brailey

3 STRATEGIES TO MOTIVATE MILLENNIALS Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick

THE (REAL) STORY ON “MANAGEMENT” Tom Peters

THE STRATEGIC QUESTION Michael Bungay Stanier

LEADING THROUGH DISRUPTION AND TRANSFORMATION Dino Trevisani

THE OUTSIDER CHALLENGE Seonaid Charlesworth, PhD & David R. Shaw

LEADING WITH A SENSE OF PURPOSE

38 ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT WAVE OF WORK?

EVERYONE’S AN ARTIST

46 34

THIS IS THE MOST LIKELY REASON WHY YOU FEEL SUCCESSFUL BUT STILL AREN’T HAPPY Neil Pasricha

ARE YOU READY FOR THE NEXT WAVE OF WORK? Dan Latendre

MARKETING

TOP 5 LESSONS: THE ART OF MARKETING Avinash Kaushik

THE GREY ZONE OF SMALL AND BIG DATA Martin Lindstrom

CHEAT 52: GENERATE SERENDIPITY Brian Wong

WHAT THE BRAND IS... AND WHAT IT HAS BECOME Mitch Joel

NEW RESEARCH SHOWS HOW FAST COMPANIES HAVE TO BE IN SOCIAL MEDIA Jay Baer

EVERYONE’S AN ARTIST Ron Tite, Scott Kavanagh & Christopher Novais

SALES

THE NEW TRUTH ABOUT CLOSING THE SALE

THE NEW SPEED OF SALES: 4 RESOURCES AND TOOLS YOUR TEAM NEEDS TO THRIVE Dave Borrelli

FIVE QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK EVERY CUSTOMER John Jantsch

THE NEW TRUTH ABOUT CLOSING THE SALE Jeffrey Gitomer

5 CRITICAL SELLING SKILLS Matthew Cook

Queenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Leadership Program Realize your leadership potential in this 5 day program.

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“We don’t grow into creativity, we grow out of it. Or rather, we get educated out of it.” - Sir Ken Robinson We think that, in the broadest sense, art is created through new ways of thinking and trying something new. Something of value that the world hasn’t seen before. It’s taking risks and putting your passion and creativity into whatever the final product turns into.

Scott Kavanagh Christopher Novais

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Joey Van Massenhoven

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This is why we love doing what we do at The Art Of; we strive to present new and innovative ways to broaden minds and challenge thinking. Everyone should be an artist, so we urge you to take inspiration from everything you see, read and experience and be an artist.

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TOP 5 LESSONS Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter The Art of Leadership for Women conference came to Toronto on June 15, 2016 featuring six incredible thought leaders. Here are the key takeaways from Dr. Anne-Marie Slaughter’s talk.

Care is as important as breadwinning

While we, as women, were fighting for our place in the professional workplace, we systematically devalued the work that women traditionally did (“care”). We wanted to be in the work place but we don’t want to sacrifice the home life. We need to still value the work of care – at least as much as we value the resume.

Care is not only the woman’s responsibility

Yes, we need to put an equal value on care, however, that does not mean it should only be the woman’s responsibility. We need to get the men in our lives involved. Care is converting income into meals, and shelter, and discipline, etc. and the most important thing we can do is invest in the first five years of the next generation.

We must recognize and support the lead parent

People are much more likely to flourish with a greater support system at home. Look at the men who are stepping up as lead parent, support them and see them as secure and important. Men should get the same opportunities for care—parental leave, be able to move for their spouse—and we need to treat men the exact same as women.

Parenting is similar to leadership

If you were to pick up a book on parenting and a book on leadership, you’d be surprised how similar the advice is. When you invest in someone, and that person succeeds, you’ll feel proud. Think of advice you’ve been given on either topic and see how it could apply.

We need to change how we raise our sons

We’ve changed the way we’ve raised our daughters, but we need to change socially imposed gender roles and what we teach our sons about being equal care givers. Not only will valuing care open chances for women leaders, it changes the way we think about and treat men. It changes the expectations of men and that’s just equality, making you a better leader and manager.

Having a defined corporate mission or purpose that is closely linked to your corporate social responsibility strategy is key.

LEADING WITH A SENSE OF PURPOSE By Cheryl Stargratt Chief People Officer of Tangerine Being a leader can mean a lot of things. When most people envision the day-to-day life of a leader, they likely picture things like strategy meetings, budgets and a large focus on profit. While there is definitely truth to this, being a successful leader is about more than just managing the bottom line – it’s about embodying the values and culture of your organization, inspiring your employees and leading with purpose. Earlier this year I had the pleasure of presenting about leading with purpose, alongside Kornferry, at the Conference Board’s 22nd Annual Leadership Development Conference in New York. While many audience members were familiar with Tangerine, it was amazing to introduce them to our purpose, which helps define our culture and how we give back to the community – things that really set us apart. VOLUME 15

At Tangerine, our underlying purpose is to help Canadians live better lives. We do this by providing exceptional Client experiences and by providing the tools and resources that Canadians need to simplify their finances, make smarter decisions and live healthy financial lives. This is what we call Forward Banking. To keep us accountable to our purpose through all areas of the business, Tangerine has a set of Promises (We Dare, We Share, We Care, We Deliver) that guide our culture. We also help Canadians in the community through our #BrightWayForward community investment and sponsorship program. This program brings together our commitment to helping Canadians live better lives with our strong history of giving back to the community through financial resources and employee

LEADERSHIP for WOMEN

volunteerism. Through #BrightWayForward, we work with incredible charity organizations across the country that help empower Canadians, inspire self-esteem, and encourage a sense of belonging and acceptance — essential ingredients to creating a bright way forward. #BrightWayForward is important to Tangerine because it is rooted in our purpose and deeply connected to our corporate Promises, which guide our culture. We have a purpose beyond providing the basics of banking, a purpose that is aligned around core values, and defines why we exist. For us, it’s about helping Canadians live better lives. Having a defined corporate mission or purpose that is closely linked to your corporate social responsibility strategy is key. Some might say – “Okay, so what? What’s the ROI?” As Chief People Officer at Tangerine, I have the responsibility of ensuring Tangerine’s purpose guides our people strategy in addition to our unique, collaborative and transparent Orange culture. What we hear often when recruiting for new employees is how candidates connect with our purpose as an organization. For them, it’s about more than compensation, benefits and titles. We’re seeing more and more that people want to

work for an organization that shares their values. And it’s not just about hiring. When longstanding employees are connected with the purpose of your organization, they’re more likely to be engaged, productive and ultimately advocate for your organization and help drive your business forward. Once your purpose is identified, maintaining it is crucial. Just like a Marketing professional guards your brand, leaders must guard their organization’s purpose. Ensuring your purpose is embedded in your culture at all levels of your organization is key to maintaining your employer brand and keeping employees engaged as they grow in their careers at your organization. For example, building our #BrightWayForward employee volunteering efforts (what we call Orange in the Community) into our leadership curriculum is one step we’re taking to help sustain our DNA for years to come. In an increasingly digital world where authenticity is so important, leading with a clearly defined purpose that employees and clients connect with has never been more relevant. Are you connected with your organization’s purpose?

Cheryl Stargratt (far right) on the executive panel at The Art of Leadership for Women.

We’re seeing more and more that people want to work for an organization that shares their values.

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FIRST JOBS FOR WOMEN:

THE ONE THING THEY NEVER TELL YOU Congratulations, women of the Class of 2016! You’ve got a diploma in hand, and hopefully a couple of good internships under your belt. Now it’s time to start your first real job. Oh, the advice you’ve received about what you should do in order to succeed. (Like those internships mentioned above. How did they really go? Or is this already causing you anxiety because you never locked one down?) You’ve got to build strong skills! Develop new competencies! From general digital prowess and time management to emotional intelligence and organizational skills, work will frequently (okay, constantly) require you to do new things that make you uncomfortable. So let me ask you this: Has anyone ever asked about your acting skills? Deep down we want to believe that hard work and talent are what get us ahead in life... but you already know it’s not that simple. Time and again, women have shown their competence in every area of the workplace, yet only four percent of S&P 500 CEOs are women. Getting ahead is not simply about being good at things. So what’s missing? As a CEO who also spent her life in the theater, I have learned that success is more than just an amalgamation of all the skills you’ve learned. It is also about performing different roles for different situations—a new skill you can learn just as effectively as everything you worked hard to master from kindergarten up through college. I see you shaking your head no. You’ve heard all about the importance of authenticity. You don’t like the idea of being fake and you’re on a journey to discover your #mostauthenticself. Well, I want to challenge your perception of what it means to be authentic. Your authenticity does not live at a static address. If you’re looking for it, you’re never going to find it. That’s because we humans are constantly creating and recreating who we are. We impact, and are impacted on, by the people, circumstances and environments that surround us. And we are constantly contributing to how well or not well these things go. You’ve read the quotes on Instagram: Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. We only regret the chances we don’t take. Do something new each day that scares you. How are we supposed to do these new things? We must perform.

LEADERSHIP for WOMEN

VOLUME 15

By Cathy Salit CEO of Performance of a Lifetime and author of Performance Breakthrough: A Radical Approach to Success at Work Follow her on twitter @CathySalit

Has anyone ever asked about your acting skills? VOLUME 15

More and more women are pioneering in the workplace and successfully challenging the status quo because they are doing new things. They are trying on new ways of being. Sometimes it means feeling fake or unnatural— because doing things before we know how feels that way. (Remember that time you said yes to creating a spreadsheet for your boss and then spent 20 minutes Googling “how to write an if/then scenario”?) Through this activity of performing ahead of where we are—doing what we don’t know how to do—women are creatively expanding our capacities and developing into the leaders we want to become. You’ve heard the statistics: men are more likely to ask for a raise, speak up at meetings, apply for the big jobs and get them. Women are more likely to be perceived as nurturing, collaborators and perfectionists who avoid taking risks. I don’t like speaking in certainties, but one thing I’ve seen time and time again in business is this: you are going to need to do things you don’t know how to do. All the time. And in order to do these new things, you will need to perform who you are not....yet. According to one study, when female executives used what might be typically referred to as “masculine behaviors” in some situations, then switched back to more traditionally feminine behaviors, they received more promotions than men. I know, nobody likes concepts like “traditionally feminine.” I sure don’t. But this study is revealing – it shows that if we can let go of our circumscribed identities and grow our repertoire of performance choices, it frees us to try new things. And we can expand what we understand our authenticity to mean. We can perform confidence when negotiating a contract or making a presentation. We can make difficult decisions, manage up and place demands on our teammates. We can also give our compassion and our friendship to the people we are working with, and bring all of who we are to the workplace. With a final hearkening to your freshman lit class, I’ll paraphrase the great Walt Whitman: You are large. You contain multitudes. Use this opportunity to try some new performances in your life. I promise you won’t stop being you; in fact, I think you’ll discover just how large you really are.

LEADERSHIP for WOMEN

CONNECTED COMMERCE

LEADERSHIP IS NOT ENOUGH: How the New Rules of the New Workplace Demand a Great Employer Brand Have you ever wondered why so many new graduates want to work for Google, KPMG or Apple? What makes these firms so attractive to potential employees? These companies, along with top employers everywhere, understand the value of a strong employer brand. An employer brand is the commonly shared image of an organization as a place to work—from the perspective of current and past employees, as well as job candidates, customers, investors and the media. A strong employer brand rests on three pillars: leadership, culture, and opportunity. It’s important to distinguish between your organization’s commercial brand and its employer brand. The commercial brand focuses on increasing the organization’s positive profile as a place to do business, from the customer’s point of view. The employer brand focuses on increasing the organization’s positive profile as a place to work, from the employee’s point of view. It’s not a surprise, however, that many top commercial brands are also considered great places to work. Employer brands are not new, but they are becoming important as the workplace changes. In a recent global study, ADP found three profound workplace shifts that will make an employer brand a critical element for long term success.1

By Virginia Brailey Vice President of Strategy and Marketing, ADP Canada

Technology changes everything:

Talent is Global:

Structures are Eroding:

At the same time as technology is automating many tasks and even replacing some workers, it is helping organizations create massively collaborative cultures that help employees build deep personal connections across time and distance. Technology is also driving a shift in how learning takes place. The days of facilitated classroom training and paper workbooks are giving way to on-demand online learning and massive online open courses (MOOCs) that bring the cost of skills development to an all-time low—great news for smaller firms and for training budgets, but a challenge to manage.

These technology changes are also allowing companies to find and engage talent almost anywhere in the world. Our research shows that 61% of Canadian workers and 81% of American workers are eager or excited at the prospect of working from anywhere in the world.1 The majority also embrace the idea of companies searching globally for the best talent. We expect to see global centres of excellence emerging as companies move to regionalize top talent and create a proprietary resource for the rest of the organization to leverage.

As technology enables a global workforce, the nature of work and our relationship with it is also changing. Workers are increasingly interested in finding work that has personal meaning and broad impact. The carrot of a promotion is giving way to creating opportunities to move from project to project, picking up new skills and relationships along the way. As work becomes more project-based, traditional hierarchies will flatten, creating both great opportunities to collaborate along with management challenges as self-managed employees pivot from activity to activity.

In this new world of work, a strong employer brand will be key to successfully competing for scarce talent and hanging on to the key people required to lead and grow the business. Already 64% of Canadian companies report they are having challenges filling key roles.2 VOLUME 15

LEADERSHIP

Culture will be key in the new world of work, and is foundational for executing well. As Zappos CEO, Tony Hsieh explains “At Zappos, our belief is that if you get the culture right, most of the other stuff—like great customer service, or building a great long-term brand, or passionate employees and customers—will happen naturally on its own.” Leaders should be prepared to build cultures that transcend location and create a sense of meaning and purpose for employees, contractors and even vendors. It will not be enough anymore to have ping pong tables and unlimited vacation; leaders will need to define a higher purpose and communicate relentlessly to keep workers engaged. Opportunity, which was once defined as a career path with a clear goal and defined steps to achieve it is increasingly viewed less as a destination and more as an experience. Research shows that many Millennials aspire less to prestigious titles and big salaries and more to skills development and work-life integration.3 While our study showed that job security is still important to the majority of workers,1 highly mobile, highly connected talent will need to be managed thoughtfully and flexibly if it’s going to stick around for the long term. The final element in a great employer brand is leadership, and this is perhaps the part of the modern organization that will change most profoundly in the next few years. As selfmanaged teams collaborate in virtual spaces to solve problems and complete projects, traditional span-of-control management will begin to fade away. Performance reviews will be replaced with real-time feedback and recognition will take the form of access to better experiences and skills development. In other words, managers will shift from being parade leaders to dog sled drivers. Studies show that only 29% of North American workers report being highly engaged4; yet engagement will be key to finding and keeping the right people. A strong employer brand is a critical element to building and sustaining an engaged team. There are other benefits of a strong employer brand as well. According to LinkedIn, good employer branding can reduce a company’s cost per hire by up to 50 per cent5 and increase the quality of its talent pool by up to 54 per cent.6 Successful employer branding can also reduce employee turnover by up to 19 per cent7. A strong employer brand also supports the bottom line by turning employees into brand ambassadors. When they’re proud of what they do and where they work, they can help attract more talent and more customers to your organization In the coming contest for talent a strong employer brand will be a competitive advantage. The nature of work is changing and leaders need to be thinking about culture, opportunity and how they will find and nurture the next generation of talent. 16

LEADERSHIP

It will not be enough anymore to have ping pong tables and unlimited vacation; leaders will need to define a higher purpose and communicate relentlessly to keep workers engaged.

1. ADP Research Institute, The Evolution of Work, January 2016 2. Conference Board of Canada, Filling the Gaps. Recruitment and Retention of Top Talent in Canada. September 2015. 3. PWC NextGen 4. Gallup State of the Global Workplace report 5. LinkedIn Employer Brand Playbook 6. Corporate Executive Board & LinkedIn 2015 Global Recruiting Trends 7. Employer Brand International – Employer Branding Global Trends Report

VOLUME 15

10 BOOKS ON OUR RADAR

GRIT Angela Duckworth

INVISIBLE INFLUENCE Jonah Berger

SMARTER FASTER BETTER Charles Duhigg

EGO IS THE ENEMY Ryan Holiday

PRESENCE Amy Cuddy

HUG YOUR HATERS Jay Baer

EVERYONEâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S AN ARTIST Ron Tite, Scott Kavanagh & Christopher Novais

THE HAPPINESS EQUATION Neil Pasricha

ORIGINALS Adam Grant

BIG MAGIC Elizabeth Gilbert

3 STRATEGIES TO MOTIVATE MILLENNIALS As managers, we have to acknowledge that our coming workforce will be made up of temps.

Over the past twenty years weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve watched a few interesting revolutions in the workplace. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve coached leaders through globalization with all its cultural challenges, the dawn of the remote employee, even the commoditization of almost every product thanks to the Internet. Each revolution brings challenges in leading 18

LEADERSHIP

and engaging a workforce. The latest revolution? In 10 years, Deloitte predicts 75 percent of the worldwide workforce will be millennials (people now in their twenties and early 30s). And that presents challenges for some managers who remain unaware of the unique nature of this rising generation. VOLUME 15

By Chester Elton and Adrian Gostick

...more than 90 percent of millennials report they are job-hopping every two to three yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x201C; meaning most will have 15 or more jobs in their working lives.

VOLUME 15

First, we acknowledge itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tough to generalize an entire generation of people; we are all unique after all. However, there are a few trends that millennials exhibit in greater numbers than past generations. For instance, on average millennials tend to move jobs more frequently. Today, on average, a typical American worker stays in a job 4.4 years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, more than 90 percent of millennials report they are job-hopping every two to three yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; meaning most will have 15 or more jobs in their working lives. As managers, we have to acknowledge that our coming workforce will be made up of temps. So, what are the best leaders doing to get ready and maybe slow the churn a bit? Most importantly, they are getting to know what motivates each of the people in their care. Engaging people is a one-on-one game. We analyzed the results of 5,532 people who took our scientifically valid online Motivators Assessment for our new book What Motivates Me. These assessments were taken by full-time working adults in late 2014 through summer 2015. Cutting the demographic results by age, we found these are the most common top work motivators out of 23 possibilities for people aged 20-29.

LEADERSHIP

MOST MOTIVATING WORK CONCEPTS FOR MILLENNIALS: 1. IMPACT (76%. This concept appeared as a top work motivator in 76% of millennials’ Motivators Assessment results.)

2. LEARNING (59%) 3. FAMILY (51%)

LEAST MOTIVATING WORK CONCEPTS FOR MILLENNIALS: 1. PRESTIGE (22%. Appeared as a top work motivator in only 22% of millennials’ Motivators Assessment results)

2. AUTONOMY (22%) 3. MONEY (10%)

So what could keep a millennial in a job a little longer, and what could engage more of your young, valuable talent? How can you get people to stay and stay motivated and engaged instead of looking for their next job?

IMPACT:

Most millennials want to know their work is important. They often feel a sense of destiny and feel that they are supposed to do something that will lead to positive change in the world. And that means many can become frustrated and look for greener pastures if they don’t believe there is positive outcome from their efforts.

LEARNING: A majority of millennials thrive on trying new things and growing. For some, the pursuit of knowledge is its own goal, while for others the emphasis is on making themselves better at what they do. FAMILY:

This is an idea that has never really been addressed in engagement articles, but more than half of millennials are motivated by making their loved ones proud of them—it was the third strongest work motivator in our scientific study. Those motivated by this idea try to make family a high priority, which means balancing home and work time.

What is not engaging for the majority of millennials?

PRESTIGE:

Almost 80% don’t care about fancy job titles or working for a highly esteemed company brand.

AUTONOMY: Another almost 80% aren’t looking to be their own boss or work alone, but crave direction at this point in their careers. MONEY: And 90% aren’t motivated by the amount they earn. It’s not that compensation isn’t important to younger workers, but the research shows it’s a satisfier more than a motivator. 20

LEADERSHIP

Millennials are going to reshape the workplace, and it’s our jobs as leaders to make the adjustment. In addition to getting to know what motivates each of the people in their care, and sculpting their role accordingly, here are just a few other things we’ve seen that are working for leaders we work with: 1. Explain clearly the mission of your organization. Let them know how your organization makes the world a better place, and then detail how each person’s work specifically impacts the success of the enterprise. And then you say it again … and again. 2. Challenge them early to learn and make an impact. In the very first week set goals that they can accomplish in their first six months on the job, and ensure the goal is tied to at least one core goal or value of the organization. That way they are learning what is valuable to the organization and seeing the impact their role has. And then you do it again … and again. 3. Worry about their well-being. Many millennials haven’t learned how to shut off. While they may have lots of energy, young people need to be encouraged to take their vacation days, turn off the computer for at least twenty-four hours on the weekend, and go out regularly with friends or family to recharge their batteries. Millennials should learn to balance, and it’s a manager ’s job to help them adopt that skill. We’ve interviewed enough of this new generation to be able to say most are driven to learn and grow, and almost all really do want to make a positive impact on the world. Those are admirable qualities. The leaders that adjust to this new workplace revolution will win, those who continue to believe managers should treat everyone the same will be put out to pasture. Those are some of the high-level things we are seeing in our data, but we’d love to hear from you. What have you seen that works in engaging the millennial workforce? VOLUME 15

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THE (REAL) STO

“MANAGEM

“Management is the arrangement and animation of human affairs in pursuit of desired outcomes.” Management is not about Theory X vs. Theory Y/“top down” vs. “bottom up.” It is about the essence of human behavior, how we fundamentally arrange our collective efforts in order to survive, adapt—and, one hopes, thrive. The quintessential “management doctrine” is the U.S. Constitution! It artfully combines “vision,” “execution,” and a full-blown “theory of collective human behavior.” Constitution Hall in 1787 held the ultimate debate on “managerial philosophy”—i.e., creation of a bold experimental collectivity. The U.S. Constitution is the defining doctrine on the merits and demerits of “centralization vs. decentralization”: autonomy/ innovation/growth (the “big idea”) vs. control/ order (a necessary reality). My goal is to suggest there’s nothing pedestrian about “management” and, hence, there should not be anything pedestrian about the teaching thereof. Management is about the essence of collective human affairs. (Man, in our Darwinian adventure, experienced a “disruptive” brief period in which our brains grew like Topsy. The growth was not the genetic addition of logic/incipient math skills; it was primarily the addition of enhanced social skills, which enabled us to organize and thus surpass the rest of our fellow creatures. De facto “management” has been bred in/hardwired!) 22

LEADERSHIP

The U.S. Constitution is an exemplar of brevity— and for the subsequent 200-plus years there has been a battle royal between “small government” adherents and “big government” adherents. I must say that I come down squarely with Philip K. Howard in his latest masterpiece, The Rule of Nobody: Saving America from Dead Laws and Broken Government. That is, over time sluggishness increases and entropic forces rule. Among other things, this explains the pitiful longterm performance of large commercial enterprises; e.g., half the “Fortune 500” of 1999 dropped off the list a scant 15 years later. One sage said that dealing with technological change effectively is less about the technology and more about the lagging variable—novel human organizational formats that must be invented to cope with and flourish in concert with the new technology. I would wholeheartedly agree. But the primary work to be done must focus on the development of people and the organizational arrangements that allow firms to adapt on a dime and exploit rather than be run over by the technology. This is a million miles beyond mere organizational “flattening,” “streamlining,” and the “agile movement.” So where do, “leadership,” “culture,” “vision,” and “strategy” fit into all this—specifically relative to this newly expansive and overarching definition of “management”? The short answer is that all are important parts of the puzzle. Back to the U.S. Constitution: “Vision” is to an extent enshrined in the Constitution; so, too, “culture.” “Leadership” and its twin, “strategy,” are, in a way, the “execution” elements—how we bring to life this purposeful human organizational arrangement (the “management structure”). I refuse to put leadership in an exalted role, though

By Tom Peters

Management is is about the essence of collective human affairs.

“Management” as conventionally perceived as a dreary/misleading/constrained word. Management in standard usage is equal to shouting orders in the slave galley. Consider a more encompassing, accurate definition:

ORY ON

1. Strategy 2. Structure

MENT” at critical junctures it is of the utmost importance; at such “historic” junctures, sticking again with the Constitution analogy, it is the leader’s premier task to offer and effect “Amendments” to the overall human organizing framework. I am reasonably happy to treat each of these variables as essential, but not stacked in some enshrined hierarchy of importance. This paper focuses on the overall animating context, the “management structure” with our Constitution as case in point. That management structure gets my vote as primus inter pares.

The 7 “S’s”/“The McKinsey 7-S Model”: The enlarged idea of “management” floated here is in many ways a direct descendent of work that I and several colleagues performed at McKinsey & Co. in the late 1970s. McKinsey’s managing director at the time observed limitations to the firm’s focus on business strategy. He said that superb strategies created by McKinsey’s best and brightest amounted to little because of inability of the client to execute or sustain those strategies. In the past, the firm’s only, or at least principal, response to the strategy implementation failure was to concoct a “charts and boxes” organizational structure—these formal and rigidly engineered structures also turned out not to be up to the challenge of getting the job of implementation accomplished and sustained. I was handed the task of finding what was missing. After three years of labor and a serendipitous partnership with Bob Waterman, my In Search of Excellence co-author, the “McKinsey 7-S Model” emerged. Strategy and structure were not even close to enough, we concluded. Instead, developing an effective and adaptive organization meant dealing with no less than seven elements:

3. Systems 4. Staff 5. Style 6. Skills 7. Shared Values

It was not just the idea of seven requisite variables that stood out, but the fact that they could be classified as “Hard S’s” and “Soft S’s.” To the “hard” attributes—strategy, structure, systems— we added staff (people), style (culture), skills (core competencies), and shared values (raison d’être). We further insisted that there was no precedence among the seven. Deal with all seven—and the dynamic connections among them—or accept the consequences; namely suboptimal short-term performance and long-term failure to adapt to and thrive amidst changing circumstances. In 2008, a former McKinsey managing director commented to the business press on the 7-S framework as follows: “There is surely no ‘one size fits all’ solution that can guarantee success in business. However, among the array of techniques and theories that can help strengthen business, I have always found that the 7-S framework offers a sound approach to combining all of the essential factors that sustain strong organizations: strategy, systems, structure, skills, style, and staff—all united by shared values. A parting thought: Wouldn’t it be lovely if our “management” schools could be/chose to be a leading variable rather than a lagging variable in embracing this “tsunami of change”? This paper hardly holds the answer—but perhaps it amounts to a philosophic hint at how “management” (and business education) might be raised from its pedestrian associations and be reconceived as a discipline at the epicenter of adapting to/ exploiting the revolutions with which we are surrounded. We could do little better than start with Peter Drucker’s dictum that “management” is not a numbers game, but instead the quintessential “liberal art.”

Anyone keen on MBA as “Master of Business Arts”? Just a thought.

THE STRATEGIC QUESTION By Michael Bungay Stanier

MORE IMPACT. MORE MEANING. You know how there’s some work that you do that you absolutely love? It’s the work that absorbs you and excites you. It’s not just that the work is making a difference and having an impact; it’s that the work means something to you. Frankly, this is the work that, when you signed up for this

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job, you hoped you’d be doing. And then there’s all that other work you’ve got to get through. At Box of Crayons, we make the distinction between Good Work (the everyday, get-it-done, this-is-my-job-description type of work) and Great Work (the work with both more meaning and more impact), all with the goal of helping organizations and their people do less

Good Work and more Great Work. You can probably imagine how things might shift if you and your team were all doing, say, 10 percent more Great Work. But quite frankly, who has the time? You’re already behind on emails, meetings, deliverables, exercise, reading and family time. You’re at full capacity. How could you possibly say Yes to anything more?

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LET’S BAN “IT’S A GOOD BUSY” At the same time, perversely, in these hurly-burly days of endless connectivity, lean organizations and globalization, it’s de rigueur to humblebrag about being overcommitted and overwhelmed. “How are you doing?” they ask. “Busy,” you reply. “But a good busy.” We’re slowly waking up to the fact that being busy is no measure of success. George Bernard Shaw was on to something years ago when one of his maxims for revolutionaries stated, “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” 4-Hour Workweek author Tim Ferriss drove the point home recently when he said, “Being busy is a form of laziness—lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.”

LET’S ALSO BAN “WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER” People have lots of snappy advice for you. “Work smarter, not harder.” “Be more strategic.” These maxims tend to be TBU: True But Useless sound bites that sound good but are impossible to act upon. In fact, “strategic” has become an overused qualifier, something we add to anything that we want to sound more

important, more useful, more thoughtful, more . . . good. This isn’t just a meeting. It’s a strategic meeting. A strategic report. A strategic lunch date. A strategic purchase of that fantastic pair of Jeffery West shoes I can’t really afford but have been admiring for a while. It can all leave employees supremely indifferent to the idea of strategy. When you combine the overuse of the term with the fact that anything to do with strategy is often seen as being “their work”—when “they” are anyone two or three levels higher than the employees— well, you’re likely to encounter a nasty but predictable case of the SPOTS: Strategic Plans on Top Shelf. But strategy isn’t a thick PowerPoint document gathering dust somewhere. It’s far more fundamental and common than that. Of the many definitions of “strategy” that I’ve seen, I think I like Michael Porter ’s best, when he said, “The essence of strategy is choosing what not to do.”

THE STRATEGIC QUESTION: IF YOU’RE SAYING YES TO THIS, WHAT ARE YOU SAYING NO TO? This question is more complex than it sounds, which accounts for its potential. To begin with, you’re asking people to be clear and committed to their Yes. Too often, we kinda sorta half-heartedly agree to something, or more likely, there’s

a complete misunderstanding in the room as to what’s been agreed to. (Have you ever heard or uttered the phrase, “I never said I was going to do that!”? Me too.) So to ask, “Let’s be clear: What exactly are you saying Yes to?” brings the commitment out of the shadows. If you then ask, “What could being fully committed to this idea look like?” it brings things into even sharper, bolder focus. But a Yes is nothing without the No that gives it boundaries and form. And in fact, you’re uncovering two types of No answers here—the No of omission and the No of commission. The first type of No applies to the options that are automatically eliminated by your saying Yes. If you say Yes to this meeting, you’re saying No to something else that’s happening at the same time as the meeting. Understanding this kind of No helps you understand the implications of the decision. The second type of No you’re uncovering—which will likely take the conversation another level deeper—is what you now need to say to make the Yes happen. It’s all too easy to shove another Yes into the bag of our overcommitted lives, hoping that in a Harry Potter magical sort of way it will somehow all be accommodated. This second type of No puts the spotlight on how to create the space and focus, energy and resources that you’ll need to truly do that Yes.

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AND TRANSFORMATION By Dino Trevisani President, IBM Canada CEOs have told us that we are at a watershed moment. As the leader of IBM Canada, I couldn’t agree more. Technological advances are creating massive upheavals, with industries converging and companies transforming like no other time in our history. Last year, IBM surveyed business leaders from 21 industries across more than 70 countries. Over 800 CEOS told us that technology is at the top of the list of external forces buffeting their organizations, that the trend of “uberization” or industry disruption caused by an unlikely competitor has become a dominant concern and that industry convergence is causing them to look at new clients from new industries. As a result, more than two-thirds of CEOs said they plan to reassess their strategic direction and explore the potential for novel, non-traditional forms of growth. None of this surprises me. Disruption is pervasive—it’s happening in the tech industry (where change is the only constant!) and I see it every day in our clients’ industries. What’s most important in this time of rapid change is how leaders respond to lead their companies through it. Digital disruptors prey on complacency. Now is not the time for business as usual. All companies need to act like challengers and embrace disruption to reimagine their businesses. So how are some of today’s top CEOs

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responding? As part of our research, we also looked at what the leaders of the world’s most successful companies do differently. We identified a small group of organizations that have both a strong reputation as leading innovators and a solid financial track record. The Torchbearers, as we call them, comprise only four percent of CEO interviewees, but they provide valuable guidance from which leaders and aspiring leaders everywhere can learn. As a leader of a company that is experiencing and enabling some of this disruption, much of what these CEOs share rings true with my experience. They realize they need to sharpen strategies, energize engagement and accelerate transformation to win. Here are some of the highlights of what they told us as well as some of my own observations… SHARPEN YOUR STRATEGY Pursue disruptive innovation, not just incremental improvements. Torchbearer CEOs look for ways to exploit new and emerging technologies or business models, or apply

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old technologies in new ways, and look at other industries for ideas. They experiment with new revenue models that might provide additional sources of value and a stronger customer experience. And when they’re launching something new, they aim to cross the finish line first. In my opinion, speed is one of the biggest challenges but also one of the most important factors in success when it comes to disruption and transformation - speed of acceptance, speed of knowledge acquisition for the “new world” and speed of transition and execution. As a leader, you are constantly challenged with resistance to change, so creating the right environment for it is key. To help enable this, leaders need to challenge comfortable behaviours and assumptions while creating a safe environment for breakthrough insights. I motivate my team to continually act as challengers and not champions. We must work harder, smarter and faster than our competitors for the sake of our clients and at no time act as though we are on top. I think that comes from the Hamilton, Ontario Steel Town boy in me…act like you have to fight for everything you have and fight even harder to keep it. I have always believed that action inspires reaction. Too many times we are waiting for something to happen or to have the perfect insight to act. I would rather make mistakes that we can correct on our path to successful outcomes than to wait for the perfect moment to act. ENERGIZE YOUR ENGAGEMENT There’s no question that data is increasing for every industry at a phenomenal pace. Unstructured data like videos, medical images and social content will be the majority of data in 28

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the world and is expected to reach 44 zettabytes by 2020. That’s 1.6 billion years of HD video. Torchbearers know the implications of this. They employ more sophisticated predictive and cognitive analytics techniques than their competitors to decipher their data. And with these technologies, leaders can quickly investigate new trends, identify new customer segments and engage with customers at a deeply human level, as well as make smarter business decisions. Who wouldn’t want to be able to do this? However, data insights should never supersede a leader’s intuition to take risks and take action. I use data to guide me but to stand out among our competitors I will take risks that are not just supported by data. TURBOCHARGE YOUR TRANSFORMATION I am never satisfied with the pace at which we accomplish our objectives. As a leader, I spend more time setting challenging timelines to success and managing and leading the team to overcome obstacles to achieve those timelines. There is no success in trying to catch your competitor, you must set the pace for your team and lead the market. Top leaders today realize that speed is critical and they build a culture of rapid experimentation and prototyping to accelerate the release of new business models, products and services. They are prepared to make long-term investments in innovation, not just the sort of investments that deliver better quarter-to-quarter financial performance. They define the skills they will need in the future, as industries converge and ecosystems predominate. A leader must anticipate the market demand and prepare their team with skills and investments to capitalize on it. One of my favourite quotes is: “the will to win means nothing without the will to prepare.” VOLUME 15

Focus on what the market and your clients need and partner with other organizations, including competitors, to ensure you can bring the best forward. This will only strengthen the market and your brand. There is enough business to share with competitors if we are jointly making our clients successful.

I motivate my team to continually act as challengers and not champions. We must work harder, smarter and faster than our competitors for the sake of our customers...

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STAY TRUE TO YOUR PURPOSE AND VALUES In addition to the guidance above from the Torchbearer CEOs, I’d like to add a couple of things I’ve learned based on my nearly 30 years of IBM leadership experience. I strongly believe that staying true to your company’s purpose and values is absolutely essential to long-term success. The world has changed considerably over the past 100 years and while there is ample evidence of IBM’s ability to adapt and reinvent ourselves to meet ever-changing marketplace needs, there is also evidence of our commitment to core values, which have always been at the centre of our transformation efforts: Dedication to every client’s success; Innovation that matters — for our company and for the world and Trust and personal responsibility in all relationships. I am personally proud to be associated with living and leading these values at IBM. Today, we are more of a services provider and less of a hardware, software business. We transformed to a cognitive solutions and cloud platform company, yet we remain true to our heritage as a team of collaborative forwardthinkers, focused on being essential as we make business and society work better. In order to do this, we need to remain close to our clients and our people. I am actively engaged in meeting with clients and I engage daily at all levels within IBM. I am constantly learning of what is changing and what I need to change. My

team and clients can count on my commitment to listen and take action. ALIGN LEADERSHIP TEAM TO ACTIVATE AND DRIVE CHANGE But it’s not just my commitment that counts. This kind of commitment needs to be nurtured, reinforced and brought to life throughout the organization, with every leader leading by example. Transformational leaders do more than embrace change – they activate and drive change at all levels. Their mindset must be one of changing the culture, with a focus on moving the team out of their comfort zone and into a new era of doing business. Based on my experience, this requires significant communication, guidance and reassurance, while creating a strong sense of confidence in the change of direction. At the same time, a leader must quickly identify those that are engaged and supportive of the change and make these leaders of change examples to all others. It also means having the courage to move out those that resist change and fail to adapt, regardless of their institutional knowledge. They also know the value in engaging new employees and bringing new talent into the company to allow for fresh perspectives and energy to execute change. CEOs clearly understand they need to prepare for a future in which disruption is pervasive, where competition is completely redefined and transformation is inevitable. While it will certainly be challenging, if leaders follow the guidance above, I am confident they will be better positioned to navigate these tumultuous times ahead of us. What an exciting time to be a leader!

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THE OUTSIDER CHALLENGE Seonaid Charlesworth, PhD Senior Vice-President, Succession and Assessment at Lee Hecht Harrison Knightsbridge

David R. Shaw Non-Executive Chairman of Lee Hecht Harrison Knightsbridge

IT SEEMED LIKE A PERFECT FIT ON PAPER After an extensive search, a private Calgary-based oil and gas manufacturing company hired an outside CEO to take over from its founder, who was retiring. The outsider seemed to have all the prerequisites for success: an impressive track record, an established network in the market and extensive industry experience. However, soon after taking over, the new CEO began to aggressively introduce change, often without any warning to the board of directors. 30

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Coming from a larger organization, the CEO demanded greater autonomy than his predecessor and resisted the board’s attempt to intervene in business decisions. Friction between the CEO and the board became the rule, not the exception. Not surprisingly, the CEO who seemed like a perfect fit when he was hired exited less than a year into his contract. The board scrambled to find an interim executive to step in. At a time when this company needed to withstand the volatility of the oil and gas market, the company found itself mired in a leadership crisis.

WHAT WENT WRONG? Like so many private and familyowned businesses, this company simply did not understand the challenges of bringing in an outside CEO to an organization that had relied heavily on generations of stable, internal leadership. It’s a challenge that an increasing number of these companies are facing. Private and family businesses are forced to look outside for a new CEO for a variety of reasons: Founders retire; second- or third-generation heirs are not ready to take over, or choose another path; or there’s a realization that the pipeline of VOLUME 15

Private and family businesses are increasingly looking outside for CEO talent. But finding a good fit, matching expectations and keeping staff onside can prove daunting challenges

internal leadership talent has run dry or never existed. Is bringing in an outsider a winning strategy? It really depends on how the transition is managed. However, many boards and founders can be blindsided by the challenges that come with recruiting an outside CEO. At the top of that list is the concern that, without careful planning, the transition to an outside CEO can be disruptive, even destructive, to organizational performance. According to a June, 2012, study published in the MIT Sloan Management Review, although outside CEOs tend to perform on average just as well as internal candidates, they are not a good fit for every organization. The most vulnerable organizations will be those that have neglected CEO succession planning. As a result, they will not have anticipated all of the potential pitfalls and challenges of bringing in an outsider. Unfortunately, this is a common risk for private and family businesses. In most instances, the founders of family companies tend to spend most of their time focused on product or service development. Or, over time, they have become the face of their organizations and are extremely reluctant to leave the helm. In some instances, the company has grown so much that there are no family members with the experience to take over. An outside CEO can be, in the right circumstances, a good move. The MIT Sloan Management Review study found that companies suffering from pre-existing poor performance or rapid industry growth benefited the most from the fresh perspective that comes with an outside CEO. The studyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s authors also found that outside CEOs tended to thrive when they were allowed to bring with them a new executive team. WHEN DO OUTSIDE CEOs STRUGGLE? This is a difficult challenge for outside CEOs to comprehend, particularly if they come from larger companies and have not taken the time to develop relationships

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with key internal influencers, customers and partners of their new organizations. It can be even more difficult in the case of family entities, where an outside CEO will need to interpret and execute the interests of the family owners. In this scenario, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not unusual for the outsider to make too many changes, too quickly, in the post-succession period, without fully understanding the consequences. Not only does this create confusion in the ranks below, it can also cause friction at the board level. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not uncommon to hear new outside CEOs complain that their management teams are incomplete, lack the right experience and suffer from skill gaps, or that their boards are routinely shooting down ideas. Often, these decisions touch on how much cash needs to go back into the business, or requests for more CEO autonomy over major decisions. In family businesses, many CEOs may have expectations of enlarging and transforming the company, only to find out that the family-dominated board only wants a caretaker for the next generation. Much to their dismay, far too many outside CEOs find out too late that the fusion of ownership and control on the board of a private or family business is a formidable force. How can a family or private company fully prepare for the transition to outside leadership? Boards of private and family businesses must define the relationship with a new CEO as early as possible in the relationship. They will want to make sure that outside CEOs do their homework to truly understand the unique qualities of the organizations they are joining. CEOs, for their part, need to understand how capital decisions are made in these entities, and how to work alongside boards that are actively involved in business decisions. The principle here for both boards and outside CEOs is to ensure everyone is reading off the same page.

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The following suggestions for a successful transition are based on stories from outside CEOs who found success in private and family businesses.

IT’S NEVER TOO EARLY TO CLARIFY THE CEO’S MANDATE AND RESPONSIBILITIES. It’s critical to be clear on the role and powers of the new outside CEO before someone accepts the position. Explore the degree of input the board wishes to have in decisions and discuss important milestones related to the strategic plan. Make sure the working relationship is acceptable to a CEO candidate right at the outset of the interview process.

MAP THE DIFFERENT INTERESTS OF THE BOARD, OWNERS AND FAMILY. It’s important that the board of directors, family council or ownership council spend quality time with a new CEO to define the culture of the business and expectations for business decisions. Identifying the stage in the company’s life cycle at which the CEO has arrived, and the goals of the board, will provide the new hire with a complete picture and lessen the chances of conflict.

ENSURE THAT NEW CEOS UNDERSTAND THEY ARE THERE TO LEARN, NOT JUST LEAD. A common mistake of outside CEOs is to arrive on the first day of work thinking that they already have all the answers. When looking for an outside CEO, try to find someone who wants to work hard to understand exactly how his or her new organization works. An outsider CEO must engage employees by asking a lot of questions and genuinely listening to what people have to say.

ANTICIPATE THE IMPACT A NEW CEO IS GOING TO HAVE ON YOUR PEOPLE. Boards must ensure the outside CEO actively manages the anxiety and trepidation that can spread through a private or family business when an outsider arrives. Not anticipating this reaction, or dismissing it as weakness, can trigger widespread fear, which could block attempts at change. It’s critically important that the boards of family or private companies make this a priority to ensure a smooth transition.

It’s important that the board of directors, family council or ownership council spend quality time with a new CEO to define the culture of the business and expectations for business decisions.

If the board isn’t sure what it wants, and the CEO is inadvertently encouraged to be too aggressive or presumptuous, then conflict will surely occur. How can a private or family-owned business troubleshoot these problems and find solutions that allow for a seamless transition? If this is the first time a company is reaching outside for a CEO, it will be very difficult to anticipate all of the pitfalls. In these circumstances, one of the most important things any board or CEO candidate can do is reach out to other companies to hear directly about their experiences. Talking to board members from another company that has been through this difficult transition will give any company a much better understanding of the full range of dynamics that comes with outside leadership.

MANAGE THE TALENT.

This article originally appeared in the

The board should communicate to its new outside CEO that preparing for future CEO succession must begin the first day on the job. CEOs must be able to map out the top talent and make tough people decisions early on to remove underperforming leaders. Failure to act decisively in this regard can undermine a new CEO’s currency. Failure to adequately plan for the next succession can undermine the entire organization.

Director Journal, a publication of the

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Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD). Permission has been granted by the ICD to use this article for non-commercial purposes including research, educational materials and online resources. Other uses, such as selling or licensing copies, are prohibited.

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This Is The Most Likely Reason Why You Feel Successful But Still Aren’t Happy By Neil Pasricha Most of our successes fall into one of three categories, and we can rarely have all of them at once.

“How can I succeed?” It’s a question many of us ask ourselves and have trouble answering. Because what is success, anyway? Is it writing a book and selling a million copies? Winning awards? Or just feeling satisfied with your work? We’re often told that success is in the eye of the beholder—that we need to define it for ourselves, on terms that are meaningful to us. Which is true. But it doesn’t tell us how to do it, and try as we might, many of our achievements still wind up fitting a mold that suits somebody else—like our employers or society—at least as much as, if not more than, it suits us personally. And we still find ourselves left unsatisfied or unhappy, wishing we had something more or something else, no matter how “successful” we’ve been. Here’s a look at one of the most likely reasons why.

THE THREE KINDS OF SUCCESS As someone who’s studied and written about the psychology of happiness, I’ve discovered there roughly are three types of success. The trick—first—is to remember that you can’t have them all at once, and then to figure out which one you’re aiming at. It looks something like this:

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How do you feel about your accomplishments? VOLUME 15

1. SALES SUCCESS

is about getting people to buy something you’ve created or put on offer: Your book is a commercial hit! Everybody’s reading it, everybody’s talking about it, you’re on TV. You sell hundreds, then thousands, then even millions of copies. Dump trucks beep while backing into your garage to pour out endless royalty payments. (Most book authors can tell you the publishing business doesn’t work anything like this except for a lucky handful, but you get the idea.)

2. SOCIAL SUCCESS means you’re

widely recognized among your peers—people you respect. You’ve earned critical success. Industry renown. To extend the book author example, the New York Times reviews your latest novel. You’re short-listed for the Man Booker Prize, and the top tastemakers are all talking about you and your work (whether or not it’s a commercial hit).

3. SELF SUCCESS is in your head. It’s

invisible. Only you know if you have it, because it corresponds to internal measures you’ve established on your own. Self success means you’ve achieved what you wanted to achieve. For yourself. You’re deeply proud of and satisfied with your work. I got hooked on best-seller lists. Personal goals took a backseat to more tangible commercial ones.

These three categories are broad and therefore approximate, but that’s why they’re so useful: Chances are good that any major achievement you reach will fall more clearly into one than another. They apply to pretty much all industries, professions, and aspects of life. The point is that success is not one-dimensional. In order to be truly happy with your successes, you first need to decide what kind of success you want. Are you in marketing? Sales success means your product flew off the shelves and your numbers blew away forecasts. Social success means you were written up in prestigious magazines as a result, nominated for an award, or recognized by your company’s CEO. Self success? That’s always the same no matter who you are or what you’ve achieved: How do you feel about your accomplishments? Are you a teacher? Sales success means you’re offered promotions based on your work in the classroom, which your superiors want to magnify and implement more widely. You’re asked if you’re interested in becoming an administrator. Social success means well-regarded educators invite you to present at conferences, mentor new teachers, and the principal or school district administrators recognize you for your work. Self success? Again: How do you feel about your accomplishments?

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YOU CAN’T HAVE IT ALL— BUT YOU CAN STILL BE HAPPY

Here’s the catch, though: However they may overlap, it’s impossible to experience all three successes at once. Picture the triangle above like one of those wobbly exercise planks at an old-school gym. If you push down on two sides, the third side springs into the air. In our lives and work, it’s rare that any given thing we do—any single success we achieve, no matter how great—can satisfy ourselves and others in equal measure. Aspiring to that, if you ask me, is a mistake. Personal achievements don’t necessarily have a marketable strategy—so no sales or social success may follow from them. Sales success, for instance, can block self success. That’s what happened to me as a writer when I got hooked on best-seller lists. Personal goals took a backseat to more tangible commercial ones. “Make hay while the sun shines,” the saying goes, even if you feel like going to bed—but this is the artist who sells out. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with chasing commercial success. But you can see how it can block your personal goals sometimes— those that can’t be tracked on a retailer’s weekly sales rankings.

Personal achievements don’t necessarily have a marketable strategy—so no sales or social success may follow from them. 36

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However they may overlap, it’s impossible to experience all three successes at once. Personal achievements don’t necessarily have a marketable strategy—so no sales or social success may follow from them. That goes for the stunning birthday cake you bake for your daughter. Or the incredible lesson you, a teacher, put your heart into for weeks. The backyard deck you built with your bare hands. You wouldn’t expect royalty payments or critical reviews from those endeavors. You’re not trying to sell cakes, great teaching, or decks. You could! But that wasn’t your goal. Finally, it’s worth noting that critical darlings rarely sell—which means that social success can sometimes block sales success. One of my favorite movies of last year was Spotlight. Tense, dramatic—I was glued to the screen. The movie won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, a high honor. But its total domestic box office last year was $45 million. Furious 7 made $353 million. If you were a filmmaker, which one would you have rather made? Know which of the three kinds of success you want. Pick one, aim, and then fire.

In order to be truly happy with your successes, you first need to decide what kind of success you want.

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Are you ready for the next wave of work? By Dan Latendre

CEO of Igloo Software

The internet has changed the way we work. There’s no doubt. But even with advances in technology that have allowed us to do business better, many companies still struggle with information barriers and a limited understanding of organizational expertise. This can have a crippling effect on productivity, engagement, and innovation. Enter the era of the modern digital workplace. The traditional workplace was born before the intranet, so it’s not wired for it. That’s why many companies are adopting digital workplace strategies as a way of retrofitting modern tools and technology into their current infrastructures, while bracing for the next wave of challenges.

• The Mobile Workforce: Today’s workforce is becoming more and more distributed. In fact, GlobalWorkplaceAnalytics. com reports that approximately 20-25% of the global workforce teleworks at some frequency, and employees are not at their desk 50-60% of the time. With the ability to work remotely, with flexible hours, from whichever device they choose, employees can work across geographies and time zones. The challenge lies in fostering the kind of company culture you’d be able to achieve if everyone was in the same place.

• The Generation Gap: The majority of today’s workforce is comprised of two generations that entered the workforce during two very different times. The way Generation X and Millennials process information and the rules they each align to causes friction, and with a widening gap in digital fluency, there’s an urgent need to find digital solutions that drive productivity – no matter what attitudes and abilities are at play.

• Bring Your Own App (BYOA): More and more, people are opting to use their personal productivity applications like Google Docs or Dropbox to communicate and collaborate at work. Because they’re fast and familiar, and most importantly, they don’t require any involvement from IT. But accommodating for every employee’s app of choice can counteract communication and knowledge-sharing practices in your organization, not to mention the security implications involved.

• The Talent Wars: People no longer stay at companies for life. If you haven’t devoted significant resources to attracting, developing, and retaining talent, this can pose a challenge. Gone are the days of top-down management where executives rule from the top floor. Instead, innovative companies are adopting a ground-up approach that focuses on company culture and protecting their most valuable asset: people. Just as these companies build world-class websites for their customers, they’ve realized a need to create a virtual space for engaging their employees. 38

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INTRANETS TIE IT ALL TOGETHER Your company may be juggling productivity apps like Google for Work and Office 365; line-of-business systems like CRM and HRIS; or other file-sharing and messaging apps to adapt to the needs of your business. At the same time, you’re trying to find systems that make it easy for employees to access the information they need wherever they are, via mobile solutions and integrated portals. But implementing multiple disparate apps and tools can eventually overwhelm people. Even if they promise to be modern, cloud-based solutions, employees are still required to learn new functionality, processes, and ways of communicating and storing information. This can lead to underutilization, nomadic data, and even abandonment of new solutions, regardless of their initial perceived value. Modern intranets have emerged as the mission critical tool to band disparate apps together. A tool that was traditionally thought of as an IT-sanctioned document store or link farm now represents an avenue for organizations to create a sophisticated digital destination and corporate identity that connects their entire organization – across borders, boundaries, and organizational structures. VOLUME 15

5 WAYS TO BUILD A PEOPLEPOWERED DIGITAL DESTINATION Re-wiring your workplace is just as much about the people as it is the technology. It’s about modernizing a company’s brand, values, and ways of working. A digital workplace is not one solution – it’s the sum of all your tools and technologies, designed for people and backed by people.

1. Create a comfortable place for people to be productive With varying levels of digital fluency inside your organization, look for a solution that doesn’t require technological prowess to use. The user experience should be simple and lightweight, and don’t underestimate the power of pleasing aesthetics and an intuitive architecture. It should feel like something people want to use. It should be perceived as both a tool to help them get work done, and a comfortable place to ask questions and pose ideas.

2. Make the digital experience feel like walking into work As much as possible, your digital workplace should attempt to replicate what it’s like to physically be at work. Employees should be able to easily locate experts and information they need to do their jobs quickly and efficiently, while sharing their success stories and chiming in on the latest office chatter. Ultimately, it shouldn’t disrupt or change your culture; rather, it should augment the experience to highlight what’s working and fix what isn’t.

3. Cater to people, while serving the entire organization For every new tool your CIO sanctions company-wide, another unsanctioned one creeps its way into your employees’ daily workflows. They will choose apps and tools that are easy and productive for them. That’s why it’s important to implement a solution that offers both a compelling core feature suite and the ability to integrate with preferred apps that employees use to get work done. Ensuring that these apps have enterprise-grade security features in place, as well as authentication and access controls on your side, will help protect your corporate data.

4. Put your “people teams” in charge Companies that find themselves in the middle of this important digital transformation know that any change to the physical or digital workplace relies on a collaborative effort from their IT, HR, and communications teams. By aligning groups with similar objectives – to serve people inside your organization – you will start to realize the real benefit of bringing productivity and engagement together under the same umbrella.

5. Build for the future Find a platform that is built to evolve and scale and give it room to grow alongside your business and your people. You don’t want to waste time and money implementing another solution in another two years, so plan accordingly. Pick a solution that you can use as a tool for today, and one that can evolve with you in the future. How will you adapt to changing market conditions? How will you welcome new generations entering the workforce? Will you be ready to pivot when you need to? Keeping a future mindset when choosing new technologies will help you maximize your investments so you’re not repeating the same exercise year after year.

Any new technology should provide clarity about who should use it, how they should use it, and to support what objectives. Introducing an abundance of technology options with no focus on how they empower your workforce can be overwhelming and ineffective. As the workplace becomes more fragmented and less routine, it’s critical to look to technology that brings your people together with a purpose and propagates a company culture that everyone is proud to own. Work used to be a place – now it’s just what you do. Your digital transformation strategies should reflect that. More importantly, they should empower your workforce to do more than they’ve ever done before and drive the business results you’ve always set out to achieve.

Igloo Software works with thousands of organizations to design people-powered digital destinations that increase employee engagement, agility, and productivity across their organizations. Learn more at igloosoftware.com.

TOP 5

LESSONS Avinash Kaushik The Art of Marketing conference came to Toronto on June 14th featuring five incredible thought leaders. Here are the key takeaways from the funny yet insightful presentation by Avinash Kaushik.

Stop shoving people down the marketing funnel

The marketing funnel is an outdated framework to guide decision making, but we can’t expect our customers to follow a specific path down the “funnel”. Consider the See, Think, Do, Care framework instead. It is a measurement strategy (not a funnel or pre-determined path) that focuses on four clusters of intent.

Solve for Intent

Forget about demographics; it’s worlds more important to focus on behaviour. There are the four different audience intent clusters and we need to make sure we solve for all four. When determining the success of your initiatives, do not judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree; use proper metrics tied back to the intent.

Don’t be Short-Sighted

Make sure you are solving for future intent too; just because they aren’t buying from you now, doesn’t mean they won’t in the future. Hook them in with your content so that you’re on their radar when it comes time to make a purchase. And please… don’t have one night stands with your audience; make sure you are building those relationships.

Social selling does not work

To find success in social media, your content needs to entertain, inform and provide utility. Consider the Money-off-Roof Test (MoR for short). If you could create more “buzz” by throwing the money off the roof of your office, then don’t invest it in that social media initiative.

Stop with the data pukes

When communicating results to the CEO level, give less data and information and more plain English. They don’t need to see your graphs, your analysis, or your process – they pay you to do that, so focus on simplifying it in ways they would understand.

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Making any office more: Connected Collaborative Efficient Productive Engaged

Meet the new workspace Igloo is a modern intranet that empowers your people to do their best work. How? Our interactive digital destination connects them to the people, processes, information, and apps they need to get work done, wherever they are. Try an intranet youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll actually like. igloosoftware.com/theartof

Improve productivity

Drive innovation

Create competitive advantage

Enable company culture

Is it possible to encapsulate the mood of an entire nation, using just one tiny icon? If you’ve ever been to Russia, you’ll know that smiling isn’t an everyday phenomenon. In fact, you’d be rather lucky if you met anyone smiling. In Saudi Arabia, the desert sand dominates the landscape. The humor in UK is quirky; some may even say sophisticated. But what do all of these observations have in common? They reflect the emotional state of the populace. In fact, the emotional state of people around the world is represented by the volume of emojis they use to communicate. A telling study reveals a dramatic peak of heart emojis used in Russia, plants in Saudi Arabia, and emoji winks for Britain. Every day, we all leave traces of emotional DNA behind us. It might be how fast we type an inquiry into a Google search box, the application 42

MARKETING

we’ve just filled out to secure a loan, or how fast we scroll over a page. Each of these seemingly insignificant observations forms a bridge towards Small Data, shaping the next generation of how companies should tap into consumer information. In 2012, when Google announced their ability to predict flu outbreaks days before it actually would happen, the entire U.S. medical community had finally found a way to prepare themselves well in advance for an expected pharmaceutical demand. However, as good as it sounded, the Big Data had not taken one thing into account: the importance of Small Data. Humans rarely behave in predictable ways. Since their data required people to search Google for flu-like systems, even those who weren’t affected — and only curious — were caught in the net of Big Data. This resulted in numbers

double what they should have been, according to the Center for Disease Control. Google’s metrics focused only on the correlation—generated by Big Data— rather than the causation. Causation is the reason why things happen, which, with just a few consumer interactions, could have been detected and calculated into the model. So, what is the perfect formula needed in the future in order to mine and draw accurate conclusions on consumer behavior? All evidence point towards a combination of both datamining and Small Data. Small Data, or human observations and interactions, create the foundation from which subsequent hypothesis can be created. Then, datamining can commence, identifying correlations and verifying trends. But in order to fulfill this plan, we must VOLUME 15

ask this question, “what is Big Data and what is Small Data”? And where do we draw the line? Are the emoji trends from Britain, Saudi Arabia, and Russia Small Data or Big Data? And what about the pauses made in a search box on Google. Are they Small Data too? The answer is no. Despite the size of these observations, they are merely a bridge towards Small Data. They are not Small Data, as they do not reveal the reason why these actions are occurring. Instead, the frequency of certain emoji usages accumulates, without knowing why the use of those precise symbols seems to be off the chart. The challenge is that Small Data is rarely electronically generated. Instead, it relies on a combination of human interactions and observations, seeking to understand the reason why, drilling down in the layers of human choices. Some time ago, I went to a medical VOLUME 15

checkup in Switzerland. The doctor didn’t obtain six gallons of blood from me. Instead, he just took a couple of drops-- enough, based on modern science, to determine my health condition. Counter intuitive to what one may think, the statistical representative of that Small Data doesn’t need to be as accurate as one may think. That is the job for Big Data. The role of Small Data is to uncritically identify as many hypotheses as possible. From my blood, the doctor can see if I’m diabetic, low on white blood cells, high in cholesterol, or suffering from a host of other anomalies, all from a few drops. As technology advances, we’ll all be equipped with Fit Bits, Apple Watches, and homes packed with Nests. The Big Data from these devices doesn’t, in any way, explain why a person stops reacting to the never ending buzzing on the wrist, why, after a while, we lose

interest in the Fit bit and it ends up in the drawer, or why the automatic heating and light control is turned off after a couple of months. Technology only gives us one side of the story and fails to elucidate that people feel stressed with the buzzing, get bored with the Fit Bit, and that grandma complains about all this technology when the Nest tries to turn off her lights. Here’s the reality. There’s a reason why we’re labeled as human. With all of our flaws, and despite not fitting into a box labelled by Big Data, we should accept that our lives represents two sides of our behavior. The right and the left brain. The creative and rational side. Small and Big Data. Once we realize this and we also allow ourselves to be humans, the data we analyze is more accurate, useful, and relevant to our lives.

MARKETING

CHEAT 52:

Generate Serendipity

This is how serendipity works: You either hope it happens, or you make it happen. When great things seem to fall out of the sky, sometimes it’s just pure luck. Even though successful people don’t like to admit it, most of them were lucky in one way or another, although sometimes the luck they had is hard to recognize. Maybe their luck was just not having bad luck. Lack of bad luck is truly one of the great blessings in life. Even with luck, though, great things usually come because you’ve structured your life to put yourself in the path of opportunities, and sooner or later one comes your way. When it does, you’re smart enough to grab it. Then once

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you’ve got hold of it, you make the absolute most of it, and create even more opportunities. If you do all of that just right, some people—especially those who make no effort to create serendipity—may ascribe a beloved but scorned quality to you: just plain lucky. Some people are insulted by that. Me lucky? Like hell I am—I made my luck, and I’m proud of it! Don’t bother to be insulted, or to try to sort circumstance from striving. Just take what you’ve got, and keep your serendipity rolling downhill like a snowball, getting bigger and bigger. And keep your fingers crossed, too, because shit happens. While you’re crossing your

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By Brian Wong

Make it a mission in your life to intentionally aim for absolute excellence in all situations, because you never know what can come out of it. VOLUME 15

fingers, though, it’s also smart to create some contingency plans. Luck happens, too, and it’s just as important to prepare for good things as for bad. A couple of years ago I was at an event called the Digital Media Exposition Convention, or DMEXCO in Cologne, Germany. It’s one of those global events I love to attend, because you meet a lot of “lucky” people at them, and “luck,” as you may have guessed by now, has the tendency to be contagious. One guy I met was Charlie Crowe, who was the founder of the insanely important Festival of Media Global that I mentioned in another Cheat. When Charlie saw me speak at DMEXCO, he was impressed. I give everything I’ve got in my speeches—and it pays off. So he comes over to me and he’s like, “You should participate in the Festival of Media.” The Festival is held at various venues all around the world, and Charlie set me up at two of the biggest, in Singapore, and Rome. As I mentioned in another Cheat, I gave the keynote in Rome, and killed it. And as luck would have it, my performance there snowballed into bigger things, including more business for Kiip. Part of the reason it led to more good things, though, is because I kept looking for more good things. I look at every event I do as a possible springboard to more opportunity; I never do something thinking that it’s an end in itself. If you look at something as if it’s going to be a one-off situation, it will be. People with a shortsighted approach think, “Well, I lined up the fucking thing, so I’m gonna go in there, do my shit, be mediocre, and bounce.” Then nothing comes from it, of course, so they think, “I knew it was just bullshit.” The moment you decide to be mediocre, you lose every follow-on opportunity than can come from it. No matter what kind of presentation I’m giving—even if it’s a private session with some business people, or a quickie interview on television—I’m thinking about something I can get out of it, and that something usually happens. The person who approaches me may not have something I really want, but so what? Maybe later on they will, or maybe they’ll mention me to somebody else. Just being approached is flattering, and good for motivation, and it’s a sign I did something right.

The key is to be patient; if you expect an immediate payoff from everything, pretty soon you’ll be doing nothing. When you do line up something big, you gotta double-down, and give everything you’ve got, plus everything you’ll ever have, even if you have to pull it out of your ass. It’s amazing how much impact you can make with nothing but adrenaline and a big smile. The takeaway: Make it a mission in your life to intentionally aim for absolute excellence in all situations, because you never know what can come out of it. That is the essence of creating the snowball effect. First, you’ve got to know what the big moment is. That means research: studying your universe for opportunities that no one else sees, with risks or work that no one else wants. Then you’ve got to hustle for it. Nobody serves opportunity on a platter. You’ve got to email people, then follow-up, call them, then follow up, see them, follow up, and stay tenacious until the doors finally open. After that, you’ve got to go wherever that opportunity is, whether it’s halfway around the world, or in the worst part of town, or some Podunk place in the middle of nowhere. Those places are—for your purposes at least—all the same. They are where serendipity happens. Then you grab it by the throat and don’t let go. Before you know it, you’ll be rolling downhill with the amount of speed and mass that define major momentum, and everything will fall into place right before your eyes. It’s a sweet moment—so electrifying that you can’t even know how good it is until you’ve experienced it. It’s like you’re in a movie, playing yourself in a role that you wrote. The people who don’t want to see you succeed will jump out of the way as your snowball rockets down the mountain. The people who want to share your success will jump on. Everyone will ask, “How’d he do that?” Somebody will say, “He was lucky.” Somebody else will say, “He worked his ass off.” They’ll both be right—and good luck trying to separate the luck from the work. Once the ball gets rolling, you can’t.

MARKETING

What The Brand Is... And What It Has Become By Mitch Joel

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“The inventor hardly knows what the invention will really be used for.” That is a known turn of phrase. Still, when it comes to developing your business by leveraging mobile, technology, social media and understanding the consumer of today, it’s a whole other world. It’s also a narrative that we, as business leaders, often forget. A very senior marketing professional quipped to me the other day that mobile is a very expensive platform, and it’s only getting harder and harder to justify the costs. For brands, there exists a massive chasm between the development of native apps and the usage of the mobile version of their respective websites. That, coupled with mobile advertising, and there is a sentiment of “what really works?… and is it all worth the cost, time and effort?” when you layer in the marketing opportunities that exist in places like Snapchat, Instagram and, yes, even Tinder. It’s a fair sentiment. Companies made significant investment in websites and suddenly find themselves shelving that all to have mobile-primed experiences. Maybe they should just sit out mobile and wait for augmented or virtual reality to take hold? Well, what choice do you really have? For years, I have been writing, talking and speaking on The Art Of… stages about the “mobile-first posture.” In short: your brand experience needs to match the current customer expectation. Your consumers have been exposed. They are swiping, buying, learning, tapping, thumb-scrolling, messaging, and sharing more than ever on their mobile devices (hello, iPhone, hello, Android). Your mobile brand experience can no longer afford to simply be a watered-down/less-than version of your desktop website. Think about it VOLUME 15

like this: they can get a car (Uber) with a simple flick, and the same motion for a mate (Tinder…. not kidding), with little complication. They’re not going to stand for cumbersome Web user experiences that were halfway adapted for mobile (pinch, click, enter data, etc.)... Don’t believe me? A recent Media Post article has this headline: 85% Of Shoppers Unlikely To Go Back After A Bad Mobile Experience; 95% Want Issues Resolved On First Try. From that MediaPost article: “...a company gets one shot for resolving issues with a mobile shopper. To add icing to that, a large majority (85%) of consumers said they are unlikely to do business with the same organization following a bad mobile experience. On the other side, 72% say they are likely to do business with a company in the future following a good mobile experience.” Beyond current consumer’s usage, expectations and experiences (which is massive), consider this... Things are changing. Things will always change when it comes to technology. The concept of a mobile phone was created as a way for people to speak on the phone, and be reachable outside of their office and home (untethered). When it was first commercialized, many wondered what the point was, many laughed/made fun of those who used them, it all seemed so absurd at the time. Now, not only has that hurdle been jumped over (and, in the blink of an eye), but hardly anybody uses these smart”phones” to talk on at all. Voice/call usage is dropping big, as messaging, streaming and mobile data usage explodes. Think about the timeframe between the creation of

mobile devices to now. Amazing. The main reason that the technology was created and adopted has become the least important functionality that people care about. The problem, of course, is that businesses are the ones left having to build on that infrastructure... and deal with it. So, yes, deal with it. Simply complaining that it’s expensive doesn’t solve for the consumer or future-proof your brand today. If your consumer can meet another human being and get intimate with a few flicks of their thumbs on an iPhone, how much more difficult are you making it for them to connect with your business?

Mitch Joel is President of Mirum – a global digital marketing agency operating in over 20 countries. His first book, Six Pixels of Separation, named after his successful blog and podcast is a business and marketing bestseller. His second book, CTRL ALT Delete, was named one of the best business books of 2013 by Amazon. Learn more at: www.mitchjoel.com.

MARKETING

New Research Shows

How Fast

How Fast Do You Need to Answer Complaints On Phone and Email?

Companies Have to Be in Social Media

By Jay Baer I worked with Edison Research to design a study of the science of complaints that ultimately powered my new book, Hug Your Haters. When I first conceived this project, I anticipated a far different set of findings. I fully expected to discover that in today’s world, speed of response would have the greatest impact on custom er advocacy; that being fast would be the currency of satisfaction when it comes to customer service. But it’s not entirely true, at least not yet. Speed of response has an impact on overall customer satisfaction and the will-in gness of unhapp y custom ers to embrac e your business post-complaint. But the impact of speed isn’t massive. This is partially because when complaints ARE addressed, compan ies are doing a satisfactory job at answering them without delay. So the current problem – and the thesis of the book – is that many complaints are NEVER answered. If you want to retain customers with great customer service and customer experience, it’s not just about being fast, it’s about being everywhere. This is why the Hug Your Haters formula is: Answe r every customer complaint. In every channel. Every time.

Of haters who complain by telephone, 67 percent are satisfied with response time, and 75 percent of today’s telephone complaints are handled by businesses within twenty-four hours. E-mail doesn’t fare as well, with 61 percent of haters satisfied with response time on that channel. This is perhaps because just 52 percent of e-mail complaints are addressed within twenty-four hours.

How Fast Do You Need to Answer Complaints in Social Media? In social media and beyond, haters’ expectations for a speedy response are

Percentage of responses received within 24 hours, and haters’ satisfaction with response time, by channel of complaint Responses received within 24 hours

Satisfied with response time

100%

Businesses Must Reply to Complaints Faster

80% 75

60%

57 48

40%

20%

Phone

Social Media

Review Sites

Edison Research and Jay Baer, 2015

Boards/ Forums

quite different. This is despite the fact that 63 percent of social media complaints that are addressed are handled within twentyfour hours. But that’s not fast enough. Today, 39 percent of social media complainers who expect a reply want it to come within sixty minutes, yet the average

response time from businesses is five hours. Closing that expectation gap is a major element of the Hug Your Haters success formula.

Facebook is Far More Important for Customer Service Than Twitter Haters who complain on Twitter are the most satisfied with response time: 88 percent of complainers who receive a reply on Twitter are happy with the speed of that reply. This may be because many businesses have come to view Twitter as a primary customer service vehicle, and have assigned significant resources to the channel. But according to our study, this Twittercentric model of social media customer service may be misplaced:

U.S. social media complaints, by social platform

Nearly

71%

3/4

of all social media complaints are on Facebook

17% 6% 5%

Edison Research and Jay Baer, 2015

Certainly, Facebook has far more users than Twitter, which may partially explain the difference in usage. But many customers also take to Facebook to sound off in ways that may not be directly actionable or solvable. Often, Facebook complaints are structured, negative feedback more than they are cries for specific help. These are viewed as complaints VOLUME 15

by consumers, but may not be viewed as such by businesses. This discrepancy may cause companies to misjudge the scope and scale of customer service opportunities on Facebook. Most companies favor Twitter, where the overall participation may be lower, but the use of the venue as a direct customer service channel is more obvious.

To Be Great at Customer Service, Look Harder Your ability to find indirect complaints (negative comments about your business that do not explicitly tag you and are not written on an online site you control) varies by platform. On Facebook, for example, privacy controls selected by the consumer dictate how much indirect commentary a company can see and find, making software almost a requirement for companies serious about online customer service. Trying to find indirect complaints unassisted by technology almost ensures youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll miss important opportunities to answer them, which can have a massive impact on customer advocacy.

How Fast Do You Need to Answer Complaints On Review Sites? Since the pace and cadence of interaction on review websites are not as quick as they are on Facebook and Twitter, hatersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; expectations for response times on these sites are not as aggressive, and their overall satisfaction is higher. About half of the people complaining on a review site are happy with response times from businesses, and 62 percent of the replies received there occur within twenty-four hours. Speed is important, but just showing up and answering EVERY customer complaint is more important. Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ignore review sites, and definitely be paying attention to Facebook as a customer service channel.

MARKETING

EVERYONE’S AN

ARTIST Ron Tite Scott Kavanagh Christopher Novais

When Dr. John Semple, chief surgeon at Toronto’s Women’s College Hospital, faces a patient with a baffling health problem or tackles a complicated medical situation, he often finds himself grateful for one aspect of his training. That training, however, didn’t happen during his courses at medical school or during his many long shifts of residency. No, it’s not anything that hours of watching Grey’s Anatomy might lead you to suspect. What Dr. Semple is especially happy to have in his medical tool belt are his years of painting, sculpting and drawing. 50

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Long before Dr. Semple headed to medical school, he attended the Ontario College of Art (known today as OCAD University). After three years there, he completed an undergraduate degree in medical illustration at the University of Toronto. It’s those years as an artist that he finds of so much value in his present work as a doctor, researcher and medical administrator. Staring at a blank canvas (which is what all artists do either literally or metaphorically when they set out to create their work) trained Dr. Semple’s mind in a way no amount of textbook study or operating room drama could. “It’s the way you think as an artist that’s so important,” Dr. Semple told the Globe and Mail in a June 2012 profile. “Thinking as an artist means connecting the dots that aren’t next to each other… From a research point of view, that can mean looking at things in ways people haven’t looked at before.” He credits this mental flexibility with helping him make breakthroughs in his research on the effects of hypoxia on high-altitude mountain climbers and with allowing him to develop a mobile health project that lets patients use a smartphone app to reduce hospital visits after surgery. As he told us when we talked with him about his work, “People tend to be so siloed; we tend to focus on only one thing. But I think it’s the overlap areas, the areas between those

silos that is so interesting. Creativity lives in those areas.” Recently there has been a spate of articles, books and reports about artists or people with degrees in the liberal arts who are doing other things for a living. Or put another way, articles about highly successful people in the worlds of business, technology and health who have training in the arts and the humanities. Forbes magazine published a much reposted article entitled “That ‘Useless’ Arts Degree Has Become Tech’s Hottest Ticket,” which discussed the fact that the tech world is hiring just as many people with arts backgrounds as those with tech training. Time ran an article about ten CEOs of wildly successful companies, like Starbucks, Hewlett-Packard and Avon, who have liberal arts degrees. The Globe and Mail recently wrote a profile of a National Ballet of Canada dancer turned physiatrist, and the article about Dr. Semple, the visual arts major who became a surgeon. And much has been made of the fact that visionary tech designer and developer Steve Jobs took a creative writing course and studied calligraphy in his pre-Apple days (which he talked about extensively in his now famous Stanford University convocation address). So, what’s going on here? Is everyone just tickled by the idea that our high school guidance

Thinking as an artist means connecting the dots that aren’t next to each other. VOLUME 15

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counsellors screwed up, that despite their wellmeaning advice, we can build a successful career without an undergraduate degree in business or engineering? Yes, there are a good number of us who are happy that our guidance counsellors were wrong—about university courses, about career choices, about our chances of ending up in jail. But it’s more than that. Consider the way most of us live our lives. We are told to get off our FisherPrice booster seats and head to kindergarten. So we do. And we obediently continue on that pint-sized treadmill, through grade school and summer camps, high school and sports teams. As we move toward adulthood, we begin to think about employment—and how to get there. We take courses and degrees. We start at some entry-level position. We embrace the work culture of wherever we end up. And while we follow the rules of the workplace, we also follow the expectations of society—finding a partner, buying a house, having kids, signing up for a seldom-used gym membership. Although that time-honoured routine is practical and effective, it puts many of us in a rut. Before we know it, we’re at some meeting being asked to create a new approach for a business venture, and inspiration is as hard to find as someone who admits to being a Nickelback fan. Or we are faced with a tricky social situation, and the only solution we can come up with is to binge-watch the Food Network and hope it goes away. Or maybe our problem is even greater. Maybe we recognize the life we want to live or an accomplishment we want to achieve, but just can’t see a way to make it happen. What all of the articles about “arts success stories” are pointing to is that the conventional wisdom about how to succeed, how to achieve our goals, is not looking all that wise these days. In our highly competitive, overpopulated world, we are beginning to notice that it’s rarely the traditionalists who are breaking away from the pack, doing innovative things, changing the world, bettering lives and being truly successful in their fields. (Consider this: one third of Fortune 500 CEOs have arts degrees!) Sometimes training and disciplines that seem impractical or abstract or—God forbid—fun are

Sometimes training and disciplines that seem impractical or abstract or—God forbid—fun are intensely useful.

intensely useful. Many people in business, science and technology are recognizing that employees with backgrounds in the humanities, especially in English and philosophy, have been trained to think analytically, to process information, to find meaning and connections in a world awash in data. Others note that studies in literature, history and politics provide graduates with a deep understanding of the world and, most important, of people—an invaluable asset in a business environment crowded with techies and numbercrunchers. (Those working in sales are probably ahead of the curve: many have long recognized that salespeople with technical knowledge and arts backgrounds are best at explaining and pitching complex products and services to their non-technical customers.) While philosophy and history majors can finally stop defending themselves at Thanksgiving dinner, it’s the fine arts majors, the artists, who might have the most to teach us. Artists, we argue, hold the real keys to success in our modern world. Learning to do what they do can help us all succeed, achieve and solve problems.

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“Fresh, funny and practical... Shows how the habits of successful artists can help anyone become smarter, faster and better.” —Charles Duhigg, New York Times bestselling author of Smarter Faster Better and The Power of Habit

everyonesanartist.ca

The New Speed of Sales:

4 Resources and Tools Your Team Needs To Thrive By Dave Borrelli

Salesforce

The past 15 years have brought about a lot of change in the technology world. Flashback to the year 2000: a tablet was a piece of stone and birds were the only things that tweeted. It’s not just technology that has changed dramatically—the state of sales and how businesses engage with customers has too. The rise of mobile and social technologies has made customers more empowered and knowledgeable than ever before. Gone are the days when the salesperson was the go-to source for product knowledge and buying decisions were made solely in-store or after speaking with a sales rep. Today, the customer researches a product or service long and hard before even setting foot in a business or picking up the phone. In fact, according to the corporate advisory firm CEB, customers are already 57 per cent through the buying cycle before engaging with a salesperson. When customers finally do make contact and engage seriously with a brand, the selling cycle is competitive and compressed, and salespeople need to move quickly to close the deal. It’s clear that the invisible hand of technology is supercharging the sales cycle like never before and while potentially seen as a threat—businesses that equip their sales teams with the best tools and resources can be at a great advantage. When customers are primed and ready to make a deal, salespeople need to be ready to move. To make this happen, it’s important for sales teams to maximize technology, particularly analytics and mobile, and leverage the available expertise across their entire organization to help close the deal. Here’s how a sales team can stay one step ahead and help convert prospective customers into satisfied clients: 54

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Use business analytics A business no longer needs a full-time data scientist to break down data and conduct predictive analysis. Analytics for business users make it easy for sales teams to access and explore data such as revenue by quarter, year-over -year sales rep productiv ity and opportun ity conversio n rates to surface undiscovered trends and pinpoint areas to focus on to maximize future growth. Predictive analytics represents the next phase of analytics innovatio n by taking a look at historical and current data to make forward- looking predictio ns, allowing salespeop le to exploit patterns found in data to identify opportuni ties and isolate risks. This will not only help recognize the changing behaviour of customers but also provide salespeop le with real-time data around customer preferences, lifestyle, and purchase habits, and then allow them to act on that data to increase conversio ns and create a 360-degree view of the customer.

Go mobile If you haven’t made a mobile sales strategy in your business then today is the day to start. The universe of smartphones, tablets and apps in the consumer world has created equal demand for always connected mobile access in the business world. Today’s top sales organizations are significantly more likely to use mobile sales apps for everything from lead management to sales forecasting, letting them close deals from anywhere. A great way for a business to kick start its own mobile sales strategy is with enterpris e productiv ity apps and mobile CRM. Enterpris e productiv ity apps help

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sales reps become more dynamic on the go while mobile CRM improves sales reps effectiveness by providing real-time access to analytics, sales intelligence and account planning tools wherever they are.

Break down silos Organiza tions that are rising to the top are those that have mastered a holistic customer approach— they know that today’s sophisticated buyer has an equally complex and unique relationsh ip with a business, extendin g to every sales, marketin g, and service touch point. Your sales team needs to understan d this and see sales as the responsib ility of the whole company, adopting a true team-selling approach.

Master technology and innovation The best sales teams meet the needs of today’s customer s by working smarter with technolo gy solution s. They’re significan tly more likely to have already replaced all or most of their sales apps with cloud-ba sed solutions and have superchar ged their processes so they can spend time wisely—s elling and making customer s successfu l. They see growth opportun ities around connected devices and wearable s, and they consider how cutting-e dge advancem ents can help reps stay connected and informed. What will happen in the next 15 years, no one knows, but by using analytics, going mobile, breaking down silos and mastering technology and innovation, sales teams will not only be able to exist in this new state of sales, they will excel and be able to adapt to quickly-changing customer behaviours.

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FIVE QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK EVERY CUSTOMER

1. WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO HIRE US/ BUY FROM US IN THE FIRST PLACE? This is a good baseline question for your marketing. It can get at how effective your advertising, message and lead conversion processes are working. I’ve also heard customers talk about the personal connection or culture that felt right in this question.

By John Jantsch Constantly seeking feedback from your customers is a great way to learn how to market your business more effectively. If you’ve never done this before, do it immediately as it is one of the best ways to discover what you do that actually differentiates you from your competition. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked with a small business that had no idea what its competitive advantage was until we heard it right from the mouths of happy customers. Seeking feedback is also a great way to get better and plug gaps. I can tell you that if you’re not receiving a large amount of your business by way of referral or word of mouth, you’ve probably got some gaps in your processes. Below are five questions I like to pose to customers as they can provide a great discussion base for getting at what’s truly important to you and your customers. Create a form and get in the habit of surveying a handful of customers every month. I think you’ll be rewarded with tremendous insight and you’ll also find that your customers enjoy being asked what they think. One word of caution, don’t accept vague answers like “you provide good service.” While that may be true and good to hear, you can’t work with that. Push a bit and ask what good service looks like and maybe even if they can tell you about a specific instance in which they felt they got good service. 56

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2. WHAT’S ONE THING WE DO BETTER THAN OTHERS YOU DO BUSINESS WITH? In this question you are trying to discover something that you can work with as a true differentiator. This is probably the question you’ll need to work hardest at getting specifics. You want to look for words and phrases and actual experiences that keep coming up over and over again, no matter how insignificant they may seem to you. If your customers are explaining what they value about what you do, you may want to consider making that the core marketing message for your business.

create a meaningful innovation to your products

On the surface this question could be looked at as a customer service improvement question, and it may be, but the true gold in this question is when your customers can identify an innovation. Sometimes we go along doing what we’ve always done and then out of the blue a customer says something like, “I sure wish it came like this,” and all of a sudden it’s painfully clear how you can create a meaningful innovation to your products, services and processes. Push your customers to describe the perfect experience buying what you sell.

all of a sudden it’s painfully clear how you can

3. WHAT’S ONE THING WE COULD DO TO CREATE A BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR YOU?

5. WHAT WOULD YOU GOOGLE TO FIND A BUSINESS LIKE OURS? This is the new lead generation question, but understanding what it implies is very important. If you want to get very, very good at being found online, around the world or around the town, you have to know everything you can about the actual terms and phrases your customers use when they go looking for companies like yours. Far too often businesses optimize their web sites around industry jargon and technical terms when people really search for “stuff to make my life better.”

4. DO YOU REFER US TO OTHERS, AND IF SO, WHY? This is the ultimate question of satisfaction because a truthful answer means your customer likes the product and likes the experience of getting the product. (You can substitute service here of course.) There’s an entire consulting industry cropping up around helping people discover what Fred Reichheld called the Net Promoter Score in his book The Ultimate Question. Small businesses can take this a step deeper and start understanding specifically why they get referrals and perhaps the exact words and phrases a customer might use when describing to a friend why your company is the best.

BONUS I’m a big fan of building strategic partnerships and networks. Another question I would suggest you get in the habit of asking your customer is – “What other companies do you love to refer?” If you can start building a list of “best of class” companies, based on your customer’s say so, there’s a pretty good chance you’ve got a list of folks you should be building strategic relationships with.

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The

NEW TRUTH about closing the sale By Jeffrey Gitomer Every salesperson is looking for the fastest way, the best way, and the easiest way to “close” a sale. More than human nature, for salespeople, closing the sale is both a desire and a need. And the results are totally measurable. Either you win, or you lose. There is no second place in sales. Many people think that “closing the sale” is the fulcrum point of the process. All of those people are wrong. Closing the sale begins when the sales presentation begins. A sale is not “closed.” A sale is earned. In my career I have learned two powerful words that complete the selling process. They allow me to complete the sale without a feeling of discomfort or hesitancy. When it’s time to deliver those words, I know in my heart of hearts the sale is mine. The two words are: fair enough, and they are delivered to the prospect in the form of a question. “Fair enough?” “Fair enough” are the most powerful words to affirm the prospect’s intention to buy. You may be erroneously referring to the prospect saying “yes” as “closing a sale.” Not good. “Fair enough” asks for a commitment and validates the value and the fairness of your offer. If your offer is valuable, or perceived as valuable by the prospect, then the words “fair enough” will always be followed by the prospect’s affirmative answer. And vice-versa. The words “Fair enough” are also a self-test. Do you perceive that your offer is so valuable, that when you ask the prospect, “Is that fair enough?” you know in your mind and in your heart that in fact it IS fair enough. Always ask yourself the “fair enough” question BEFORE 58

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“Fair enough” are the most powerful words to affirm the prospect’s intention to buy.

you give a sales presentation. If you can answer “yes” to your own offer, it’s likely the prospect will answer “yes” as well. The words “fair enough” ask for a “yes” and a confirmation to move forward. They are direct, completely understandable, and are nonmanipulative. They don’t contain the phrases, “Can you see any reason not to move forward?” or worse, “Is there any reason you could not do this today?” Those are old-world, BS sales expressions of the worst order. “Fair enough” is pointed, powerful, and positive. And you don’t have to wait until the end of your presentation to ask. You can slip it in once or twice as you’re presenting to make certain you and the prospect are in agreement and moving forward. “Fair enough” gives you a transition from your presentation to earning the business.

THINK ABOUT THIS: If you have a bunch of presentation slides and offer to send some kind of proposal at the end of your presentation, you can never use the words “fair enough.” Your job as a salesperson is to figure out how your presentation can culminate with the words “fair enough” and that there’s enough perceived value in your presentation for the customer to say, “Yes, that’s fair enough.” If the prospect says, “That sounds fair enough,” or gives you some form of yes, that’s not just a purchase, it’s also a report card that your offer was perceived as valuable enough to move forward. VOLUME 15

START HERE: Review your entire sales presentation and see where the words “fair enough” fit into it. If there’s no place for them, then your offer is most likely not fair enough, and will be met with some kind of resistance or stall. This review process requires work on your part, and may mean you have to revise your sales presentation. This is a good thing! It will most likely mean you have to ask more questions, discover what the buying motive of the prospect is, and make certain you have value offerings that are in harmony with their true needs and motives to buy. If you are able to give prospects the answers they’re hoping for, you will have created the ultimate buying experience. Asking the question “fair enough” will become a joy. A financially rewarding joy. I just provided you with a major secret of selling – a secret that, when mastered, has the potential to double your sales and increase your earnings significantly. All you have to do is create a strategy to incorporate it. Fair enough? Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling. His best-selling 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling is now available as a book and an online course at www.gitomerVT.com. For public event dates and information about training and seminars visit www.gitomer.com or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com.

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CRITICAL SELLING SKILLS

By Matthew Cook

for the CPSA

Sales is tough. Even though there are over 22 million sales professionals in the United States and Canada alone, only 10% will actually deliver ROI while 40% will miss quota. Very few sales people actually have what it takes to make it in the field, to be assets to their companies, and to constantly achieve their sales targets and bring in high volumes of revenue. How can you ensure that you’re at the top of the echelon rather than the bottom? Refine key selling skills. The most effective sales people have the selling skills needed to sell faster and better. And these all-important selling skills are directly related to the buyers’ experiences.

The Skill of Education Today, buyers can find a lot of information they seek online. They can read reviews of products and companies. They can learn all about the different features and price points available to them. They can compare and contrast different options. And they can ask for advice and recommendations on social media. The buyer’s journey has changed and sales people are no longer the main point of contact when customers are seeking information, so you need to sell in a way that matches the way buyers now shop. Once buyers do come to you, you need to be able to bring value to the table. You need to go above and beyond when it comes to providing valuable advice and content because your buyers will be more knowledgeable and informed than ever before. You need to give them information they can’t find anywhere else, you need to offer brilliant new ideas they haven’t thought of, and you need to give a new perspective. Otherwise, why would they come to you? When you focus on being a valuable resource, you’ll win over your prospects.

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The Skill of Collaboration Collaboration isn’t most sales people’s strong suit. They’re used to working alone and being in control. If this sounds like you, you’re probably hindering your chances of making the sale because you don’t play well with others. Buyers now want to be an active part of the purchasing process. They don’t want you to tell them what to buy. They want to work with you to find the best solutions, so you need to start playing nice and work with them to co-create value.

The Skill of Communication In just about any field, communication is an important skill to have. But in sales it’s one of the most critical selling skills that you must perfect in order to close deals. You need to be able to write persuasive sales copy, emails, and presentations. You need to be able to paint a picture that your prospects can visualize. You need to be able to communicate emotions and to share ideas in a believable and clear way. This is how you’ll close sales.

The Skill of Active Listening Of course, you hear things each moment of every day, but that doesn’t mean that you’re actually listening. Active listening is a selling skill that many sales people take for granted. But buyers want to be heard—and I mean really be heard. They want to know they’re the priority in the sales process, as are their needs, wants, and challenges. They don’t want you to talk, talk, and talk about features, benefits, and prices. They want to know that you care about their needs, and this comes from actively listening to them.

The Skill of Empathy In the past, aggressive and persuasive sales tactics worked fairly well, but you shouldn’t be using them today. Buyers do not want to feel the least bit pressured into a sale. In fact, buyers are inherently distrusting of you, so you need to develop your empathy if you want to close deals. Prospects will buy from sales people they like and trust so connecting with them is critical. When you perfect empathy, you’ll be able to build trust, build relationships, and close deals.

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About the Author Matthew Cook has over 20 years of sales and sales management experience. He is the founder of SalesHub, an inbound marketing agency that helps companies generate leads, boost revenue, and adapt to the new way customers buy. About the CPSA The Canadian Professional Sales Association is Canada’s largest national sales association. Established in 1874, the CPSA has worked to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency and professionalism of the sales community by providing our 20,000+ members with the benefits, training, and resources they need to succeed. Visit cpsa.com/articles to access our virtual resource centre, offering hundreds of articles, whitepapers and publications to answer everyday questions, assist in further personal and team development as well as tools to optimize sales effectiveness and acumen. CPSA.COM | MEMBERSERVICES@CPSA.COM | 1-888-267-2772

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