Strategy

a long view versus crisis management

Launching Ahead toward an Unknown Future

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When I was a Regent University doctorate student, I often wrote my assignments toward publication.  As I took my courses, I always tried to write on similar themes to reduce my research time and make me more efficient.  I would look at the environment thinking what topics would be growing issues. Yet, many of my peers were only looking at the near term (getting a passing grade to move on). 

 

 One article, “The Evolution of Leadership,” produced unintended consequences.  While in graduate school, I had this article published and forgot about it.  One day a tutor in the university’s writing center mentioned she recognized my name. The tutor stated that students were quoting me in their academic papers. Once we graduated, many of my classmates did not want to revisit past assignments for publication. 

 

I soon learned the consequences of looking ahead.  With over 6,000 views and picked up by more than 30 websites and publishers, my article, ‘The Evolution of Leadership, is now being used as a reference globally. That is the power of looking beyond the current situation.

 

With the economic crisis, many people have lost their courage and do not want to seek opportunities in emerging markets or new ventures.  Countries near and abroad are having financial problems.  Europe needs to double the size of its bailout to $1.3 trillion to shore up its banking system and stop the spread of its debt.  Americans watch their earnings decline as the cost of food and gas spirals upward. 

 

 Some people look to the government for help while other individuals leverage the goodwill of businesses to provide trickle down offerings from capitalism.  According to the Economic Policy Institute, 1.8 million of the United States 73 million hourly workers earned the financial wage in 2010; many workers are in the retail, restaurant, and hospital sectors.

 

Taking with a visionary stance to look beyond today’s pressing issues is a utilized by highly successful people.  Noted trend watcher Henrik Vejlgaard argues that it is possible for individuals to spot emerging trends and take advantage of them.

Vejlgaard explains, “Although the world is changing all the time and this flux may eventually affect the patterns behind the trend process, these patterns are deeply rooted in human behavior….By investigating the people who have started trends in the past, where trends frequently start, how trends emerge and grown, and why trends happen, we can define some rules for spotting trends.

 

Failure is always a possibility of leaping while others stay on the shore.  However, the biggest risk is doing nothing.  Charles Schwab, author of New Guide to Financial Independence, understands how to take risk in unchartered waters.  He started investing in 1957, and he became a pioneer in the discount brokerage business in 1974. 

 

He notes, “I’ve heard it said that people are motivated by hope of reward or fear of punishment….Truth be told, we’re all investors.  Each day we invest time and energy and intelligence in our children and our work. Investing for our future is just another aspect of it, but a critical one.” Therefore, any success should be couched with some common sense and calculated risks.

 

Discuss an emerging trend and how you or your organization can capitalize on this trend. 

 

© 2012 by Daryl D. Green                                    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2012 and the Brink of Destruction: Answering the Sustainability Question for America

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 While on vacation on the Gulf of Mexico, I decided to take an early morning swim alone. I marveled at the white sand and the tranquility of my surroundings. However, I did not see the danger.  Several days earlier I had walked out to a sand bar several yards away from the shore.  That day I found myself being adventurous by going further out.  I swam to the side of the sand bar and found myself in danger.  Luckily, an experienced swimmer saved me that day. Likewise, America is in danger…but some don’t know it.

Global trends make sustainability a difficult objective for most organizations. The year 2011 was a vintage time for massive protesters, from the awakening of the Arab world to the defeat of evil tyrants. Europe struggled to maintain financial stability while country after country faltered.  Japan suffered its biggest nuclear catastrophe. 

Even a Super Power like America has not been exempted from this financial crisis. The United States economy struggles along with its 15 trillion dollar national debt and a 9% unemployment rate choking the country.  With political gridlock happening on a regular basis, members of Congress, President Obama, media outlets, and frustrated constituents worry about the plight about the country.  Standard & Poor’s downgrading of America’s AAA rating for the first time in history was a quick wake up call to everyone. 

 Last year, big financial institutions such as Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase & Company announced that approximately 75,000 employees would be laid off.  Political groups, like the Tea Party Movement, attempted to challenge the political establishment with a return to fiscal responsibility of America’s debt.  Occupy Wall Street protesters attacked corporate greed and corruption as the catalysis for income inequity and employment opportunities.

Sustainability is important but often difficult to define. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defines the term as “everything that we need for our survival and well-being depends, either directly or indirectly, on our natural environment.”  One simple definition is the ability to use resources continuously without any long-term depletion.  There aren’t many things that are possible to be sustained without proper planning.

Discuss the ramifications of any negative consequences. 

© 2012 by Daryl D. Green

 

 

 

Sustainable Nonprofit Organizations

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Any student can tell you I set high expectations for them, regardless of their backgrounds and college classifications.  Yet, any time you ask some people to go beyond their comfort zone and stretch themselves a bit mentally, a professor is going to get some backlash. 

Nevertheless, I designed a new final project called Real World Application based on one of the top tiered business schools.  The objective was to provide students in my Operations Management course some practical applications from the course and assist  local organizations with their problems.   This is when I fully understood the challenges that many nonprofit organizations faced in this economic climate.

Most students selected private businesses while a few opted for nonprofit organizations.  Noriko Chapman, the past guest blogger, got me involved more with her project since she complained she needed to do well in my course.  Her project entailed assisting the Tennessee Vocational Rehabilitation Center (TRC’s), located in Maryville, to be more efficient and effective. TRC’s mission is to provide services that help lead individuals who have a physical and/or mental disability to employment and are designed to meet individual needs.  

Her employer, DENSO, had been working to assist this nonprofit organization with a contract that allowed disabled workers to earn income.  Her research helped TRC become more efficient.  Noriko’s final project was the main inspiration for her new book, Second Chance: An In-depth Case Study on Nonprofit Organization’s Resource Allocation and Operational Maximization.

During the economic crisis this year, the organization nearly lost $72K from government funding.  It was clear to me that nonprofits needed to get their act together and create more value to the sponsors and customers or face extinction.

With shrinking funds for programs and a more competitive environment, nonprofit organizations will need to rethink their corporate strategies for future success. In 2005, there will be approximately 1.4 million nonprofit organizations registered to the IRS.

The majority of nonprofits depend on volunteers at various levels.  In fact, 74% of all public charities and 83% of all foundations are small; they have less than $500,000 in expenses and limited staff. 

Nonprofit organizations are different from traditional organizations and require special considerations in their operations. Operations management (OM) has been a vital instrument in the pursuit of greater productivity in the business sector.

OM includes planning, coordinating, and executing all activities that create goods and services. Robert Jacobs, Richard Chase, and Nicholas Aquilano, authors of Operations & Supply Management, suggest that implementing OM assists organizations to be more competitive: “Compared with most of the other ways managers try to stimulate growth – technology investments, acquisitions, and major market campaigns, for example – innovations in operations are relatively reliable and low cost.” Today’s businesses have built elaborate systems for better efficiency and effectiveness. Yet, most nonprofits are forced to rely upon low-end technologies and outdated practices.

Demanding contributors and the public in general are demanding more accountable and efficiency after several high profile scandals.  Nonprofit organizations are often influenced by their stakeholders that include clients, board of directors, committees, government officials, community leaders, staff, and volunteers.  

However, most nonprofit organizations haven’t completely embraced this rigor due to various reasons (i.e. limited resources and the lack of knowledge).  Yet, nonprofit organizations have a greater need for increased effectiveness in their processes during this economic crisis.   

Describe your professional experiences with nonprofit sustainability issues.

© 2011 by Daryl D. Green                                    

 

 

Guest Blogger: Global Economy Affected by Natural Disasters

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On 3/11/2011, my younger son, Zane, and I were enjoying a beautiful early spring afternoon in Japan during our spring break. After strolling around the city of Kumamoto, we went back to my sister’s home where we were staying. As soon as my sister heard us come in the front door, she asked if we had heard the news about the earthquake that had just happened in the northern Japan.

 “Oh no, a tsunami is taking over the Sendai airport!” she screamed.  

My son and I rushed to the TV. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing live. There were people being washed away while still in their houses and cars. Houses and cars were on fire. Fishing villages were completely under water. Feeling helpless, we were afraid and shed many tears as we watched the natural disaster unfold.

How about my friend in Tokyo? Tokyo and Ibaragi, where the Narita International Airport is located, were the major cities directly affected by the earthquake. We saw people evacuating from buildings and rushing to the closest evacuation sites.

Is she safe? Where is she? I dialed her cell phone and home phone numbers, but received “out-of-order” messages. The telecommunication was out. It seemed that the whole nation was paralyzed and devastated. All the planes were rerouted to other airports rather than Narita, Haneda and others in the northern region.

How would our returning flight from Narita to the US in three days take place if the airport was temporarily closed? By watching the sad images on TV, we learned that the infrastructure damage was too severe in the north and east of Japan to recover and resume.

Water and power supplies, roads, and telecommunication were cut off at some point (and are still limited in certain areas). I soon remembered that many electronic components companies who supplied automotive components to our company were located in the area.

Some materials that were ready for departure could not be moved because air or ocean transportation was not operating. With this huge impact, I could only imagine that thousands of business properties and manufacturing sites would most likely be hopelessly damaged.

I wondered, will we soon see the parts supply shortage in the US, too? Manufacturing locations and warehouses wouldn’t be able to function right away. The parts inventory would be exhausted very soon. Will it be in two weeks or three weeks?

For two months after I returned to the US, my work days were consumed by evaluating and trying to restore the global supply chain as quickly as possible. More than 20,000 innocent people’s lives were lost in the Japan earthquake and tsunami. 4000 more people are still missing.

The disaster also tested the vulnerability of the global economy affected by the major disaster and left us with many questions on how we can best prepare for unexpected catastrophes. One isolated country’s disaster can have huge impact on the global economy. Recently, we’ve seen where hurricanes, tornados, floods, wildfires, and ice storms have affected the local or global economy.

How can future managers establish effective risk management to prepare and find the best investment options and alternative ways to maintain operations without interruptions?

© 2011 by Noriko Chapman

About Noriko Chapman:

Noriko Chapman, who is a native of Japan, is an international traveler and a role model to millions of women looking to overcome extreme obstacles in life. She is a production control supervisor for DENSO Manufacturing (TN).  A mother of two, she has over 16 years of experience in the automobile industry and is a cancer survivor. She is also a Lincoln Memorial University MBA student. Noriko led a successful campaign to assist the Tennessee Rehabilitation Center (TRC), which works with disabled adults to secure employment, with securing its government funding of $72 K.  Her new book, Second Chance, was inspired by the TRC. For more information, you can visit her on Facebook.com.

 

 

Bridging the Emotional Divide

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As we look at the number of underemployed Gen Yers in our nation, it’s easy to understand how they might be discouraged about their future employment.  How do today’s leaders inspire the next generation of employees? I don’t think it will be solved with the status quo.

In fact, employees are looking to follow a special type of leader in the future. In the 21st century, leaders who have the capacity for caring become an inspirational magnet to employees. Most managers don’t care about the personal welfare of their workers.

Furthermore, many managers do not understand how to care and love their employees. I’m not talking about sexual harassment or inappropriate conduct.  I’m talking about a leader with a genuine concern about the growth and well being of his or her employees.  Therefore, this relationship goes beyond this manager’s own self interest.  Contemporary organizations simply do not have sincere affection for their employees.

Unfortunately, some managers view their employees like any other business commodity (like a computer, fax, or cell phone). Jeffrey Pfeffer, author of the Human Equation, notes that today’s conventional wisdom holds that the way to economic success is to cut costs. This simply means cutting people. A company may be concerned on a very superficial level as in “how are you doing today,” but don’t feel a sense of caring for its employees.

If organizations hope to sustain any success in the future with the next generation of employees, managers will need to make a giant paradigm shift. Dr. Bruce Winston, my former dean and a leadership guru, advocates the need for more caring leaders.

Leadership is about giving, not taking. It’s more than just being the boss. John Hoyle, author of Leadership and Futuring, suggests three characteristics of this new leadership model. These characteristics include the following: (a) ability to communicate with followers, especially the organizational vision; (b) a capacity for caring and concern; and (c) a persistent attitude. Many leaders operate under a very authoritarian mode.

Sadly, the lack of concern for people is a growing issue for effective organizations. It also creates an unproductive work environment for employee development. What America needs is more people-focused leaders. If leaders are truly concerned about their employees, then the workforce will be transformed into a 21st century organization, thereby changing the world. However, it must start with a different leadership model.

Describe your professional and personal experiences with this new leadership model (concerned & involved leadership).

 

Visionary Sustainability

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Steve Jobs, Apple’s Founder and Legendary Innovator, announced he would resign from his CEO post several weeks ago.  Jobs co-founded Apple in 1976.  Many people would consider Jobs a visionary leader. Tim Cook, who had been Apple’s chief operating officer, was named acting CEO.

Cook is quite familiar with this position. Since January, Cook has been acting CEO due to Jobs’ medical leave.  Jobs’ absence for the company could mean more financial trouble for Apple.  To shareholders and investors, it’s déjà all over again.  Jobs has been battling a series of illnesses (i.e. battling cancer, a liver transplant, etc.) that have forced him to take medical leave three times in seven years. 

A good vision, clearly communicated, can propel an organization into high performance. In fact, a well constructed vision has several advantages, including (a) it captures senior executives own views about the long-term direction of the organization, (b) it reduces the risk of careless decision making by managers at all levels, (c) it builds support from employees at all levels and help convey a shared vision, and (d) it helps an organization prepare for the future. 

John Gamble and Arthur Thompson, authors of Essentials of Strategic Management, argue the staying power of a good vision: “An engaging and convincing strategic vision has enormous motivational value – for the same reason that a stone mason is inspired by building a great cathedral for the ages.”

Who will be the next master mason for Apple?  Jobs had to come out of retirement in 1997 (a 12 year hiatus) before to rescue the struggling company. With Jobs at the helm, Apple began making its creative presences heard with iPhones, iPads, and iPads.  

In fact, what separated Jobs from the rest of the CEO pact was his keen strategic mind and vision. Columnist Margaret Heffernan noted the shear persona of  visionary leadership: “It was because, at the beginning of the century, Jobs had put in place a product plan aimed at one great external future event: the moment that broadband penetration in the U.S. exceeded 50%. Once that occurred, digital entertainment became technically and commercially feasible.”  Many will predict the demise of Apple once Jobs is finally gone. 

Why? Steve Jobs is Apple.  Cross Research analyst Shannon Cross observed about Jobs’ impact on Apple, “Steve Jobs put in place at Apple a culture of innovation.”  Yet, many organizations will find themselves in a similar situation when their visionary founder is no longer a part of the organization.

How does an organization sustain a solid vision when the founding or inspirational figure is no longer communicating that vision to the organization?

© 2011 by Daryl D. Green                                    

Workforce Woes

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Why do we see managers so disconnected with workers? Many CEOs proclaimed they understand their workers. Yet, most don’t! In fact, one reason organizations do not reach peak performance is because managers do not understand their employees’ motivation. Since the industrial age, researchers have recognized that both technical and social factors impact organizational performance.

Daniel Wren, author of The Evolution of Management Thought, concludes that analyzing a social system gives management an avenue to measure conflict between the “logic of efficiency” demanded by the formal organization and the “logic by sentiments” by the informal organization.

 Workers are frustrated with the status quo.  According to a American Psychological Association study, four in 10 employees say a heavy workload, unrealistic job expectations, and long hours have created stress. With fierce global competition, I found it surprising that managers move toward the quick fixes like downsizing for short-term gain without analyzing the organization over the long term. This process isn’t easy. Yet, understanding workers need to be a priority. 

The current financial meltdown has forever changed our confident in traditional institutions. The private and public sectors are no exceptions. However, many organizations gain comfort in knowing that most employees will not leave due to this economic crisis. Yet, employee loyalty is at a three year low. According to MetLife’s 9th Annual study of Employee Benefit Trends, frustrated workers are secretly undertaking job searches in hopes of new opportunities when the market recovers.

In high-performance organizations, an environment is created where managers and workers coexist. In profit hunting, many businesses lose focus of the importance of socio-technical systems. Given precepts, it becomes evident that there is an increasing disconnect between leaders and followers in today’s organizations. To some managers, the problem with today’s workforce is simple a physical problem which is lack of motivated workers. Yet, the reality of the matter is that the workforce pressures are affecting workers holistically.  

What can be done to connect senior executives with the plight of today’s workers so that they can learn how to effectively motivate the workforce?

© 2011 by Daryl D. Green

[1] The Evolution of Management Thought by Daniel Wren

[2] “Workers eager to job hunt as morale plunges” by Laura Petrecca

[3] “Workers eager to job hunt as morale plunges” by Laura Petrecca

Guest Blogger – Mirror or Window Leadership?

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It seems that some leaders just think about themselves. Maybe you’ve experienced a leader who seemed to care very little about you; his or her behavior was inconvenient, annoying, unprofessional or even unethical. Think about this: Who was that leader serving? The person in the mirror, or someone else?

When you go through a typical day, is your personal leadership like looking in a mirror all day—constantly concerned with yourself, looking out for your best interest above others’? Or, are you looking out a “window” to focus on others? Does your personal leadership keep bringing you back to self-preservation and self-promotion? Or, does it help you think about ways to address others’ needs and concerns?    

I think you know where I’m going with this! The best leaders are “window” leaders. Their eyes are consistently looking outward to others, caring for them and serving them. As leadership expert Max de Pree said, “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.”

Be others-focused rather than self-focused, and you can experience the synergy of people working together well, united in purpose, and producing great results. Dean, professor, and professional leadership consultant Bruce Winston put it this way: “Employees and followers want leaders who are ‘others-centered’.” He goes on to explain that the paradox of this approach to leadership is that while the leader “…concentrates less on the organization and more on individuals, the organization gains more because the employees are working to uphold the organization’s needs.”

So you see, an others-focused practice of leadership can also yield greater return on investment for a business—it can reap monetary rewards. Simply put, when people are treated well they work more effectively. However, it must be intentional on the part of the leader. Remember the famous John Donne quote, “No man is an island”? This succinctly communicates our need for one another and especially the idea of connection to each other. “Window” leaders understand this vital connection. It is only by stepping away from our mirrors and turning to look outward to others that we begin to make connections to people around us and begin to reap the benefit of meaningful relationships.

Consider the profound urging of William Penn’s words: “I expect to pass through life but once.  If therefore, there be any kindness I can show, or any good thing I can do to any fellow being, let me do it now, and not defer or neglect it, as I shall not pass this way again.”  Turn from the mirror to take in the magnificent view outside. Be a “window” leader!

Please provide your insight on this topic.

Renée N. Hale, DSL is an Organizational Performance Catalyst, with over 25 years experience in guiding individuals and teams, leading seminars, workshops, individual mentoring, and on the job training experiences.  She is a former professional violinist, and also served for 15 years as an international representative for a non-profit organization in Africa. Renée works fluently in French, and facilitates cross-cultural leadership learning. Dr. Hale’s broad worldview offers distinctive insights, innovative applications, and the capacity to see, understand and apply significant conceptual connections.

Dr. Renée N. Hale is also founder and president of WellSpirit Consulting Group, Inc.—engaging organizations around the world to get well, stay well, and create positive futures. Visit www.wellspiritconsulting.com  today.  © 2011 Renée N. Hale

A Knowledge Revolution

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Sadly, many managers operate under a Tayloristic philosophy where managers “know it all” and followers are only subordinates with little insight or experience. Managers are smarter; therefore, they “lord” over their workers. However, advanced communication technologies and vast access to information by workers make this approach outdated.  As we are bombarded with data and information frequently, manage information becomes critical. The backbone of this transformation is knowledge workers. 

Knowledge management (KM) relates to an organization’s ability to systematically capture, organize, and store information. When dealing with KM issues, many people focus on intellectual capital or technology issues, rather than the human element. Dr. Jay Liebowitz, author of Addressing the Human Capital Crisis in the Federal Government, argues that knowledge management should be a critical element in an organization’s human capital strategy.

He further noted the cohesiveness of these terms. In an organization, human capital is derived from the “brain power” of fellow employees. This knowledge transfer is done in an organization in several ways, such as lessons learned, best practices, and culture. Therefore, knowledge management and human capital strategies should be tailored to the specific organization.

As a rule, an organization’s knowledge and capability depends primarily on its human and social capital. Knowledge workers create and capture information for the management of knowledge. This situation occurs because today’s workers are more informed than previous generations. However, knowledge workers are driven by different motivational factors than traditional workers.

 

Many executives are more concerned with managing resources and work processes than dealing with people. In fact, people become just another product to manage in a hectic environment. Yet, Christina Maslach and Michael Leiter suggest that the current organizational paradigm represents the dehumanization of today’s workers. Therefore, today’s managers cannot afford to manage and motivate workers in the same fashion; they must apply new approaches of leadership in order to inspire today’s knowledge workers.

What can US organizations do to maximize the usage of this knowledge workforce?

© 2011 by Daryl D. Green

Sustainability for the Future

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Do we really want to pry into the future? Some people do not want to consider it.  In the 1970s, Alvin Toffler, author of Future Shock, wrote, “Citizens of the world’s richest and most technological advanced nations, many of them will find it increasingly painful to keep up with the incessant demand for change that characterizes our time. For them, the future will have arrived too soon.”

Clearly, the future is a highway with varying lanes, but do humans have the capacity to accept unhappy endings? In general, it is my position that humans are incapable of accepting unhappy endings. In fact, futurist Edward Cornish argues that it is easier for people to sustain a long-term perspective when they have a clear vision.  In this discussion, we will look at how organizations can create sustainable existence in the future.

Futurists utilize many techniques to anticipate the future. For example, strategic foresight can provide an avenue where organizations can strategically analyze short, mid-range, and long-term planning. Thus, it’s a glance into the future. This concept is easily seen on the Big Screen.

 

Hollywood blockbusters are the chronology of happy endings. People want to believe that all stories have positive endings. This concept is derived from childlike innocence of Americans. Unfortunately, the future may include unpleasant outcomes. Life doesn’t always provide a nice story. For example, globalization can provide many job opportunities, but the outcome isn’t always positive. In fact, the future prediction for the full-time worker is bleak. It is evident that technology and outsourcing are now making the part-time worker a reality of today, not tomorrow.

In fact, Charles Handy theorized that unemployed or spare workers will create their own new work in the future. Therefore, individuals will control their own destiny and become entrepreneurs. However, this runs counter to our American culture. Grandma taught us “go work for a good company and get a good job with benefits.” 

In fact, Bruce Sterling, author of Tomorrow Now, further argues that simple, predictable, and solvable jobs will go to the poorly educated and unprepared or to intelligent machines. However, high-paying jobs will go to the highly prepared, teachable, and creative individuals. In the future, good jobs will be the apex of human difficulty. Technology and understanding of complex systems will require a well-grounded person. However, futurist James Canton argues that American youth, our future workers, will be unprepared in math/science and may be locked out of future opportunities.

Based on many observations, organizations and individuals don’t want to hear negative scenarios for future generations. This reality reaffirms that people don’t want to think negatively about their future. Therefore, they often operate in denial or ignore the future.

Clearly, organizational leaders need to develop a strategy to deal with negative consequences. Many people don’t have the patience to look beyond short-term gains. Therefore, effective leaders need to know how to deal with the possibilities of negative futures.

How do organizations effectively navigate their operations for sustainability in the future?

© 2010 by Daryl D. Green