Are
you one of the elite performers who recognize the exponential value of
leveraging outside advisors? Whether we’re talking about your golf
swing or your business acumen, the question is whether you recognize
the value in seeking out best practices from best practitioners.
Outside advisors can help us elevate what we do and the efficiency or effectiveness in how we do it for maximum results. I’ve been around gyms for most of my adult life, but I still engage a personal trainer, and a physical therapist (also known as pain and torture specialists!) who are not only knowledgeable about the equipment I should use to maximize my results, given my limitations (availability, physiology, lifestyle), but also provide accountability, consistency, and definitive progress.
As organizational leaders, we are trapped inside our own perceptions, our planning, our execution. Why would we reject the idea that consulting an outsider could free us to think and lead differently? And yet, many of us do. I’ve been musing lately on why, and it has led me to three core questions. As an executive, how would you respond to the following?
1. Are you confident or arrogant?
Confidence says, “I know a lot but there is still a lot that I can learn.” Arrogance says, “I know a lot and there’s nothing new I can learn.” I struggle with executives who seem to be allergic to outside advice. When they are offered an independent perspective, they respond with objections like, “She doesn’t know our industry.” Exactly! That’s why you need her! She doesn’t carry your industry or company baggage. She can also use her unique perspective and independent insight to challenge the critical assumptions you are making in the stewardship of this team or organization.
Dangerous assumptions surface as early as those first conversations about whether an outside adviser may be able to bring real value. When I hear a prospective client say things like, “We know our customers well,” at a cellular level, I’m compelled to simply ask “How?” One recently responded with “we have a great relationship with our customers.” Me: “Based on what evidence or observable behavior?” If I probe, I get archaic answers like sales volume. So you hit $2 billion. Is that because of what you’re doing right, or because a lack of competition makes you the de facto choice? Meanwhile, competition is coming that you don’t even know about. If you are a leader who aspires to a Tiger Woods level of performance, you need confidence, not arrogance.
2. Are you penny wise but pound foolish?
When a consulting services proposal is met with a “sticker shock” reaction, I’m curious where that comes from. Did the prospective client set out looking for a Mercedes expecting to pay a Hyundai price? Cars are easy to compare, because we’ve been educated on the brand promise that comes with each make and model. But it is harder to make comparisons for professional services. Is the prospect’s sticker shock due to a lack of the advisor educating him on the value of outside counsel? Or is it his lack of experience in working with expertise that will dramatically move his business forward? In either case, the moment is ripe for the advisor to educate the buyer—if he is not too arrogant to be open to thinking differently.
When I hear “It’s too expensive,” I think, compared to what? If an adviser helps you do one thing that dramatically improves the success of a product, or a campaign, or a team, what is the value of that one good idea? In my experience, budget constraints are seldom a financial issue; rather, they are a priority issue. It’s not that the firm doesn’t have financial resources; it’s that its decision-makers do not view outside counsel as a priority for an investment of the required resources. Have they considered the opportunity cost of failing to prioritize seeking the good idea that will yield truly transformative results? If you aspire to Tiger Wood’s level of play, there’s no ROI in being penny wise but pound foolish.
I’m reminded of the proverbial penny wise, pound foolish exchange between a CFO and a CEO:
3. Do you say “right relationship, wrong time”?
I’ve never understood that statement. When is it a good time to train your team, to audit your digital footprint, or to start building an agile workforce? “Right relationship, wrong time” reflects sequential thinking. The pace of business is too swift for that approach. Today’s leaders have to think in swim lanes. You have to be able to change the tire while the car is rolling down the highway. The moment you stop the car, pull to the side and get out the jack, you start to become irrelevant.
Of course the swim lane concept can get out of hand. I recognize that every firm must select strategic priorities; I’ve seen what happens when companies have too many initiatives underway. I’ve witnessed companies that hire two different firms to work on the same problem. That’s just silly. Because each brings a different lens, different skill sets, different market knowledge and experiences, one will recommend X and the other will say X is stupid, you have to do Y. But waiting to work on the identified problem isn’t the answer.
My three questions regarding confidence, fiscal resources, and priorities point to one key insight: The most effective leaders balance performance with learning. You need to become, in essence, your company’s “Chief Best Practices Officer.” Whose job is it to capture best practices across the proverbial silos? Especially in firms that are large, or geographically disbursed, or involved in multiple lines of business, this is key. It is no longer sufficient to say, “We’re a conservative company in a conservative industry,” to rationalize your refusal to seek business acumen from outside your fortress walls. Welcome to Generation Flux. Google didn’t get where it is by being conservative. Just ask Yahoo! Defense may win you Superbowl, but it’s not going to win you market share. Defense is not a strategy to thrive, or even survive, in a globally connected, always-on marketplace.
Why does Tiger Woods need a coach? Why do companies use outside counsel? In either case, the answer is the same—because we cannot see ourselves as others see us. Tiger can’t see his own golf swing, to critique and improve his performance. Companies can only see through the lens of their own budget constraints and business plan. Sometimes the best practice is to prioritize learning, to improve performance.
Nour Takeaways
1. An outside advisor can elevate your performance, if you have the confidence to recognize you have something to learn from someone not invested in your current playbook.
2. “It’s too expensive” usually reveals an issue with priorities, not finances. What is the cost of failing to invest in good ideas that lead to exponential performance improvement?
3. The pace of business requires a swim lane approach. Identify problems, and invest in outside counsel where it can accelerate your path to best-practice solutions.
sourced from Linkedin article / discussion by David Nour
Outside advisors can help us elevate what we do and the efficiency or effectiveness in how we do it for maximum results. I’ve been around gyms for most of my adult life, but I still engage a personal trainer, and a physical therapist (also known as pain and torture specialists!) who are not only knowledgeable about the equipment I should use to maximize my results, given my limitations (availability, physiology, lifestyle), but also provide accountability, consistency, and definitive progress.
As organizational leaders, we are trapped inside our own perceptions, our planning, our execution. Why would we reject the idea that consulting an outsider could free us to think and lead differently? And yet, many of us do. I’ve been musing lately on why, and it has led me to three core questions. As an executive, how would you respond to the following?
1. Are you confident or arrogant?
Confidence says, “I know a lot but there is still a lot that I can learn.” Arrogance says, “I know a lot and there’s nothing new I can learn.” I struggle with executives who seem to be allergic to outside advice. When they are offered an independent perspective, they respond with objections like, “She doesn’t know our industry.” Exactly! That’s why you need her! She doesn’t carry your industry or company baggage. She can also use her unique perspective and independent insight to challenge the critical assumptions you are making in the stewardship of this team or organization.
Dangerous assumptions surface as early as those first conversations about whether an outside adviser may be able to bring real value. When I hear a prospective client say things like, “We know our customers well,” at a cellular level, I’m compelled to simply ask “How?” One recently responded with “we have a great relationship with our customers.” Me: “Based on what evidence or observable behavior?” If I probe, I get archaic answers like sales volume. So you hit $2 billion. Is that because of what you’re doing right, or because a lack of competition makes you the de facto choice? Meanwhile, competition is coming that you don’t even know about. If you are a leader who aspires to a Tiger Woods level of performance, you need confidence, not arrogance.
2. Are you penny wise but pound foolish?
When a consulting services proposal is met with a “sticker shock” reaction, I’m curious where that comes from. Did the prospective client set out looking for a Mercedes expecting to pay a Hyundai price? Cars are easy to compare, because we’ve been educated on the brand promise that comes with each make and model. But it is harder to make comparisons for professional services. Is the prospect’s sticker shock due to a lack of the advisor educating him on the value of outside counsel? Or is it his lack of experience in working with expertise that will dramatically move his business forward? In either case, the moment is ripe for the advisor to educate the buyer—if he is not too arrogant to be open to thinking differently.
When I hear “It’s too expensive,” I think, compared to what? If an adviser helps you do one thing that dramatically improves the success of a product, or a campaign, or a team, what is the value of that one good idea? In my experience, budget constraints are seldom a financial issue; rather, they are a priority issue. It’s not that the firm doesn’t have financial resources; it’s that its decision-makers do not view outside counsel as a priority for an investment of the required resources. Have they considered the opportunity cost of failing to prioritize seeking the good idea that will yield truly transformative results? If you aspire to Tiger Wood’s level of play, there’s no ROI in being penny wise but pound foolish.
I’m reminded of the proverbial penny wise, pound foolish exchange between a CFO and a CEO:
CFO: “Have you thought about how much it will cost us to train these people, and then have them leave?”
CEO: “Yes. It’ll be a fraction of not training them and having them stay!”
3. Do you say “right relationship, wrong time”?
I’ve never understood that statement. When is it a good time to train your team, to audit your digital footprint, or to start building an agile workforce? “Right relationship, wrong time” reflects sequential thinking. The pace of business is too swift for that approach. Today’s leaders have to think in swim lanes. You have to be able to change the tire while the car is rolling down the highway. The moment you stop the car, pull to the side and get out the jack, you start to become irrelevant.
Of course the swim lane concept can get out of hand. I recognize that every firm must select strategic priorities; I’ve seen what happens when companies have too many initiatives underway. I’ve witnessed companies that hire two different firms to work on the same problem. That’s just silly. Because each brings a different lens, different skill sets, different market knowledge and experiences, one will recommend X and the other will say X is stupid, you have to do Y. But waiting to work on the identified problem isn’t the answer.
My three questions regarding confidence, fiscal resources, and priorities point to one key insight: The most effective leaders balance performance with learning. You need to become, in essence, your company’s “Chief Best Practices Officer.” Whose job is it to capture best practices across the proverbial silos? Especially in firms that are large, or geographically disbursed, or involved in multiple lines of business, this is key. It is no longer sufficient to say, “We’re a conservative company in a conservative industry,” to rationalize your refusal to seek business acumen from outside your fortress walls. Welcome to Generation Flux. Google didn’t get where it is by being conservative. Just ask Yahoo! Defense may win you Superbowl, but it’s not going to win you market share. Defense is not a strategy to thrive, or even survive, in a globally connected, always-on marketplace.
Why does Tiger Woods need a coach? Why do companies use outside counsel? In either case, the answer is the same—because we cannot see ourselves as others see us. Tiger can’t see his own golf swing, to critique and improve his performance. Companies can only see through the lens of their own budget constraints and business plan. Sometimes the best practice is to prioritize learning, to improve performance.
Nour Takeaways
1. An outside advisor can elevate your performance, if you have the confidence to recognize you have something to learn from someone not invested in your current playbook.
2. “It’s too expensive” usually reveals an issue with priorities, not finances. What is the cost of failing to invest in good ideas that lead to exponential performance improvement?
3. The pace of business requires a swim lane approach. Identify problems, and invest in outside counsel where it can accelerate your path to best-practice solutions.
sourced from Linkedin article / discussion by David Nour
