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Book Review: Strategy and the Fat Smoker

                  Want to Change a Client? - Read This First   

 

David Maister has written a new book titled “Strategy and the Fat Smoker”.  David has published a number of books over the years and he has a fondness for thinking big thoughts in the professional services space.  David is a former Harvard Business School faculty member and is very well-known in the professional services field.

 

 

David’s book is quite interesting on several levels.  The first and the most obvious one is that he tackles the problem that stymies corporations and consultancies. More specifically, he examines why companies have such a difficult time implementing a new business strategy.  It doesn’t matter whether a company is facing an immediate crisis and it must change on a dime or whether its sees change coming on the horizon and has the luxury of a methodical adaptation to the new strategy. Company after company fails to execute against its new strategy.

 

 

We’ve all seen it before.  A new CEO arrives on the scene to pull a company out of the ditch. A new vision and mission emerges from some back room or via a number of committees. Next, a hurried-up communication campaign is undertaken to roll out these new ideals to management and workers alike.

 

 

If you had any experience in business you know what happens next.  Naysayers, doubters and cynics start to pick apart the new vision.  Others adopt a wait-and-see attitude before expending their emotional capital into this new vision.  Others still flat-out ignore the new vision and maintain business as usual.  Will the new strategy falter?  Yes.  Why?  David addresses this at length in his new book.

In Chapter 4, Dave dissects a company’s workforce into a nifty little 2-by-2 matrix.  I will not spoil what David has written, but, I will say this one chapter is worth the price of the book alone.

 

 

In case you’re wondering, David’s book title is actually an integral part of the story he weaves.  You see all of us have our vices and most of us have a particular weakness or tendency towards one.  But, we really need to give up our bad vices if we are to become healthier and live longer.  And while we all know the logic why we should live differently, we still choose to do that most illogical and irrational of acts.  Remember that whenever your company or your client insists that your firm should embark on a new strategy.  No matter how rational and logical your arguments are for change, don’t be surprised if countless thousands fail to follow your lead.  It’s at that juncture you’ll wish you’d read David’s new book.

 

 

(According to David, the book will be available starting January 2008.  It will be published by Spangle Press.  Ask for by ISBN 978-0-979-8457-0-3)

More on the Primavera User Conference

                   Disruptive Technology Panel Observations

 

 

I participated in a panel discussion on disruptive technologies in the PSA/PPM space while at this conference. Moderating the panel was Jim Alexander (of Alexander Consulting and the author of several books on the services space). Panelists included the CTO of Primavera, Mike Sicilia, their chief technologist and EVP, Dick Farris, and me.

I jotted down some of the subjects we discussed as well as questions/comments that arose from the audience. Here they are in no particular priority:

-          Web 2.0 differences between commercial and consumer users of same  - We talked about how the free-wheeling “everyone can publish” world works in many settings. Consumers/personal users of public wiki data, product reviews and other information may not require perfect data but businesses need to have more discipline over the published content and/or need data to possess a higher degree of accuracy. This, of course, led to a discussion as to the appropriateness of wikis vs. intranets. Ease of setup and administration was pitted against the need to keep certain matters controlled.

-          We talked about the need to introduce more predictive capabilities into application software. It’s great that everyone’s got a BI/Analytics tool on top of a SOA platform, but, when are we going to see something new besides prettier versions of existing transaction data?

-          Audience members were quite vocal in stating how vendors should provide more tools that assess how well users are actually utilizing the software. In the PPM world, are users setting up new projects in the system correctly? Could project success rates be improved if the software did more to educate user management how far off their users are from acceptable/best practices?

-          New capabilities for applications were discussed in the context of:

o       Need to improve US GDP – What else can vendors do to improve the revenue/employee ratio in US businesses today?

o       How can professional services firms better retain the newest generation of workers entering today’s workforce?

o       Are the techniques embedded into today’s applications reminiscent of obsolete/aging management disciplines? Are these relevant in the business world today? Are we businesses evolving faster than technology vendors understand?

2007 Primavera User Conference

            Quick Update From the leading PSA/PPM Vendor's Conference 

 

Who is Primavera? 

 

Primavera is the largest project/portfolio management software vendor globally. Their core product, Primavera P6, serves project and program managers in a variety of industries including: Architectural, Engineering, Construction, IT and many more. Their product line also includes a high-end PSA solution (Evolve), Cost Manager, PertMaster and ProSight (a slick portfolio management tool with great bubble graphics).

Primavera has been in business for 24 years now. It has 546 customer companies with a total of 2 ½ million users. Customers are using the software in 130 countries. 

 

Key Conference Stats:

-          2100 attendees (up from 1700 in 2006)

-          Representing 26 countries and 723 customer companies

 

 

New Product Plans:

-          will integrate Evolve version 8.9 with ProSight versions 6.0 and 7.0 in a few weeks

-          will integrate P6 (their flagship PPM product) and ProSight in Q2 2008

-          lots of SOA and mash-ups capabilities being introduced

 

Development Technologies/Platforms that Primavera is Now Utilizing:

-          Virtualization

-          Web Services

-     Enterprise 2.0

-          Composite Applications

-          MSFT SharePoint

 

 

Quotable Comments:

-          “Change is not something that sometimes happens – It was an old-fashioned idea that was never really true” – CEO Joel Koppelman referring to how his firm must develop applications that support “agile project delivery”. He’s right. Change is definitely a condition of business and hence all technologies and methodologies should incorporate more of this flexibility into solutions. The concept of ceteris paribus (i.e., all other things constant/equal) for businesses was non-existent decades ago and is getting even less relevant today. Ask any ERP user: Does your company today even resemble the firm that started to implement this software 2 years ago? Change is a business requirement now.

-          Risk assessment is “best done at the beginning of a program or portfolio planning exercise” – Koppelman again. Here, he was making the point that risk management is something that must be done throughout the project lifecycle and that includes the portfolio decision making process.

-          New solutions must support “democracy not discipline” – Koppelman again. This comment recognizes several truths about the new workers in today’s workforce, the rise of collaboration technologies, etc. Top-down approaches to decision-making are getting less relevant, harder to enforce, etc. than ever.

-          Dick Farris, co-founder and resident technology guru, offered up these five “Picks for 2007”

o       WiTricity – the ability to send electricity via wi-fi signals and free remote workers from their power cords

o       Sony Reader – the eBook that Sony offers. It holds 160 books  and uses black & white screen to extend battery life to a ridiculous degree

o       Virtual Online Worlds – what happens when generations of people who grew up with these since being little kids enter the workforce?

o       Opera browser – the best part of the iPhone is also available for other cell phones and the Nintendo Wii

o       WiMax – a technology that will deliver on the promises wi-fi has yet to complete

CEO Interview - Beth Carvin

                Interview with Beth Carvin of Nobscot Corporation 

 

At last week's HR Technology conference in Chicago, I had a chance to sit down with Beth Carvin, CEO and President of Nobscot Corporation. (We also discussed the recognition software marketplace. Please see the prior post for more on this.) 

 

Her firm has software that allows workers to request and find potential mentors and mentees within their own firm.  The software allows mentees to choose from three types mentor in pools: General, special or affinity.  Affinity groups would include subsets of workers such as women or African American employees. Mentors from affinity groups should have a special understanding of unique issues and challenges that other members of that population face. Special mentor groups could include those individuals identified as either a high potential or high performance employees.  This would be helpful for those seeking guidance from others of similar classification or aspirational role. 

 

Large retail firms are they key buyers of this software.  Customers include Best Buy Home Depot and General Mills. 

 

Nobscot also offers a talent networking edition for their software.  This technology adds a social network solution and is issue, not mentor, focused in its scope.  As such, users can pose questions to the general population of workers or to specific groups to get help with their business related problems.

Social networking sites are also attempting to add mentoring capabilities to their products. These tools are most successful with identifying/facilitating mentoring relationships with persons outside of one's employer. Standalone mentoring systems or social networking solutions will likely continue to enhance and expand their respective mentoring capabilities. All of this action should make for a fun space to watch. 

Recognition Systems - A Good Fit for Service Firms?

        Observations From the HR Technology Show - Chicago Oct. 10-12

                                  A Technology That Could Get Misused

 

I got a chance to discuss the praise and recognition needs of younger workers in the North American workforce with Beth Carvin of Nobscot Corporation. Beth was a presenter at the HR Technology Show and is CEO of Nobscot.  (More on Beth in the next post)

 

We discussed how in today's talent pool, newer generation employees have gone through public education systems and other youth related groups (i.e., baseball leagues) where they are accustomed to receiving praise and accolades just for attending these events.  With the generation of workers who are used to receiving ribbons, medals and trophies for even the most basic completion of an activity, workers today expect to receive greater levels of recognition even for doing just the bare basics of their job. 

 

At the HR Technology show, vendors were on-hand selling these new recognition systems for this latest generation of workers.  These on-line “attaboy” systems even provide tabs for one to enter kudos for a coworker.  One conference attendee, a senior health care executive, told me that his firm now employs a recognition specialist.  This individual is responsible for providing this type of pastoral care to their workforce.  Their recognition specialist is even certified to provide this capability. 

 

Given how heavily the ranks of middle management have been decimated over the last few decades, it is not surprising that large numbers of workers are not getting the recognition they deserve.  When this recognition-lite environment is now houses so many newer workers that crave and need recognition on a constant basis, the need for recognition tools is actually increasing.  While an entire generation of workers has grown up without the need for such praise, especially when one was simply doing the job one was hired to do, newer employees are undoubtedly going to require greater care and feeding lest they leave their employer. 

 

It will be interesting to see how these new recognition systems play with certain kinds of organizations.  For example, businesses with an up-or-out philosophy have never been short on providing positive and negative feedback to individuals based on their performance.  Some of these firms, in fact, consciously seek out individuals who crave attention, validation and praise.  In some of the largest management consulting firms, the ideal candidate is a Type-A personality with a little bit of a self-esteem issue.  These people can be expected to work unbelievable hours, do a great job and come back hungry looking for more.  Furthermore, these individuals want to be told what they've done well and what they haven't done well. 

 

Sadly, too many firms offer too little feedback to their workforce. A common lament I heard at this show was that many firms are still struggling to give workers an annual evaluation. Worse, managers are still chafing as to the time and difficulty required of them to provide this essential feedback. Maybe these firms need some sort of recognition system as their managers lack the time or willingness to provide such to their workforce.   

 

Slackers, no matter what generation of the workforce they come from, are just that slackers.  No amount of recognition or rewards will turn some of these individuals into superstars.  In fact, many employers would be hard-pressed to get a decent days work effort out of these individuals even with a lot of positive feedback.  Several years ago, I witnessed one such individual on my son's Little League baseball team.  This less than stellar player was assigned center field.  When a ground ball got past him and went to the warning track, this player turned round pointed to the ball and announced for everyone in the stands to hear “Someone ought to go get that ball".  Rather than being embarrassed at his lack of baseball playing expertise, this player chose to stand immobile and deflect his failure to others on his team.  Sure enough, another outfielder came to pick up the ball that was only 15 feet behind the centerfielder.  At the end of the game, the centerfielder was treated to the same drinks and desserts that the other players on his team received. Did he learn a lesson? No. Did he become a better player? No. Did he miss an important learning and growth opportunity? Yes. 

 

When rewards and recognition are doled out to everyone they demean the efforts of the very best players or workers.  Why should the best and brightest work so hard to receive only the same recognition, rewards and compensation of the mediocre?  Rewarding incompetence or marginal behavior does nothing to improve the productivity of a U.S. worker or this country's competitive position in the global economy.  If rewards are to be meaningful, and helpful to everyone involved, they must be tied to performance.  Anything less is a joke. 

 

The bottom line: recognition systems may actually become HR technology components for some companies.  As such, enough of a marketplace may emerge to provide some modicum of success to those technology providers catering to it.  However, in and of itself, this niche may not ever get widespread acceptance.  We should expect to see though some ERP and other HR suite providers offer some of this functionality in their offerings over time.