Posted by: Shawn Grubb | 06/21/2010

Where I found Purpose

Purpose:

When I started with P&G, it was just too big to understand.  To me, it looked like a bunch of brands; appendages hanging from a centralized collection of processes.  Kind of like a nervous system connected by efficiencies, history, and standards that linked to some central brain in Cincinnati where the big decisions were made.

In trying to understand how a company the size of P&G can be united by something larger than just the brands, I started trying to understand the use of Purpose.  To do so, I picked up Roy Spence’s book titled “It’s not what you sell, it’s what you stand for.”  I chose this book because Roy Spence (and his company GSD&M idea city) is highly regarded as a thought leader when it comes to helping companies with purpose excel.  I first heard of Roy Spence when I was doing a case study on Southwest as part of my MBA at Xavier, and again through P&G when discussing the importance of purpose.

Below are some of the notes which have helped me to crystallize my thoughts on how to define, use, and propagate purpose throughout the enterprise.  Most of these thoughts came from the book by Roy Spence.  If you are intrigued about how to link your life, company, family to something larger, pick up this book.

Purpose:

Purpose begins with identifying:  1. what difference do you want to make in the world?  2. What does the organization believe in?  3. What does the organization believe it is here to do?  4. What difference does it make in the lives of the people it is trying to serve?

When you wake at 5 am, get up and write something down, it’s probably your purpose calling

What you are passionate about, what you are best at and what there is a need for; that is your purpose

Is where your talents and the needs of the world intersect; therein lies your calling (Aristotle)

 A good purpose statement:

  • Is a definitive statement about the difference you are trying to make in the world (wow!)
  • Must have clarity and fueled by passion
  • Has words that are chosen for clarity vs. beauty/cleverness.  Plain speech, no jargon
  • Force management to clarify what the company stood for (make choices)
  • Purpose dies with “I don’t think its catchy enough” or “I don’t know if our customers will get it”
  • Is seven to eighteen words long (shorter the better)
  • Crystal clear and single minded in focus, is not a laundry list
  • Is internal, and not a tag line
  • Is worthy of your life’s work (yikes!!!)

 Purpose vs. Mission vs. Vision

Purpose:  Definitive statement about the difference you are making in the world

(Save money so people can live better)

 Mission: core strategy that must be undertaken to fulfill the purpose

(Our mission is to drive down costs making products more accessible & affordable for everyone’s benefit)

 Vision: Vivid imaginative view of what the world will look like once your purpose is fulfilled

(Where all people can afford to live better)

 Sample Purpose statements:

  • Merck: to gain victory against disease and help mankind
  • Disney: use our imaginations to bring happiness to millions
  • J&J: To alleviate pain and suffering
  • P&G: touching lives, improving life, more parts of the world, more completely

 How to find purpose it in your org:

  • When they are at their best, what are they doing?  What are they best at (strengths?)
  • What are they passionate about (but what if its baseball?)
  • What do they think the organization does better than anyone else does?
  • What difference does the organization make in the world?

 Leadership:  You do not set out to be a great leader, you set out to fight for a cause you believe in

How to do the right thing:

  1. Know your purpose
  2. Put your purpose ahead of yourself
  3. Have the courage to do what needs to be done

Great book, and a mantra “It’s not what you do, it’s what you stand for”

Posted by: Shawn Grubb | 06/15/2010

Verdict: Corporate Athlete works

I recommend the Corporate Athlete program because I can now say it definitively works.  Six months ago I was 10 pounds heavier, my stress level was through the roof, I exerted effort to control my , I was tired all the time and my engagement index was hovering around 50  (see http://hpinstitute.com/assessment_profile.html for a free assessment).

In January 2009, after a particularly difficult week, I decided that if I wanted to live past 45, I needed to do something drastic.  Instead of just re-reading the Corporate Athlete / The Power of Full Engagement or taking a class, I re-read both books and volunteered to become a “Corporate Athlete” instructor for the internal P&G program.  Yes, in teaching my first class I did feel a bit hypocritical, but at that time I was practicing most elements of the program EXCEPT the exercise part.  The part I needed the most. 

This little trick worked perfectly.  The day after class, I started running.  Since that class I have run just over 200 miles in total, lost 10 pounds, I improved my sleeping cycle, and my stress level is under control.  My total engagement index is now at about 74.  Still not perfect, but trending the right direction.  The ultimate durability test of this change will be in October.  I just signed up for the Columbus half-marathon.  Something I would have never even thought of 6 months ago.

Posted by: Shawn Grubb | 06/07/2010

Barriers to Enterprise 2.0

So as part of research I was doing, I started working and thinking about Enterprise 2.0 and how the workplace can use some of the super cool things that have developed in the social media / web 2.0 space. 

This presentation started off as a research paper, but I think it’s more impactful as a PowerPoint.

Enjoy,

Shawn

 

Posted by: Shawn Grubb | 06/07/2010

Intro to Social Media

For those of you who are new to social media…

View more presentations from Shawn Grubb.

Posted by: Shawn Grubb | 04/26/2010

Are you an Expert or a Master?

The Problem:

I worked a business transformation project back in 2002 when one of the business users complained about having to talk to three different “IT people” just to map a single business process. While IT viewed his “single business process” as three separate areas, the business user was horribly frustrated with the ridged seams built across his scope.  One conversation between the IT Expert and the business user went something like “after the document X is created, my job is done, you then need to go talk to XYZ to ask what happens next.  I don’t know what they do with it”.  The business customer was not delighted.

The solution:

About a year later, I moved into a new organization, my new VP presented me with the solution to that problem. Let’s call him Ron.

During my first join up with Ron, I mentioned having solid “expertise” in one area and Ron simply asked, “Are you an Expert or a Master, because I want a Master.”  I hesitated.  Sensing an opportunity, he launched into a long discussion about the difference between Expertise and Mastery.   His distinction between the two changed how I have approached every role since then.

Expertise vs. Mastery

Ron described “expertise” as going down deep, knowing everything there was to know within you scope of responsibility, inside and outside.  This includes taking ownership for figuring out the wicked problems within your scope of responsibility and pushing for process improvement; continually refining the process through both kaizen and step change.  Expertise was good, but it was not sufficient for Ron.

Ron went on to describe “mastery” as that same deep knowledge inside your own domain (expertise), but it includes significant expertise in the adjacencies before, after, and around the field.  Going to a supply chain example, it means that a true “Master of Purchasing” would have business and technical expertise in the purchasing domain, but she would also develop measured expertise in planning, production and some knowledge in inventory management.  Some will argue “yes, but then you overstep your bounds” and I would argue that the true Master is aware of the boundaries and what they have the authorization to comment on, and what they don’t. For those they do not, they walk the customer to the right source.

Visually, I describe Expertise as a simple bell curve that represents a person’s knowledge and two parallel lines that describe the boundaries of responsibility.  The X’s are the events / tasks / questions that an expert would clearly feel ownership for working to conclusion. The N represents an event outside of the expert’s scope, but within their scope of knowledge.  The expert might respond to the N event with something like “you need to go talk to xyz, that’s not in my scope.”

Now lets look at the Master.  The Master has the same boundaries of responsibility, the same ownership for the events inside their scope of responsibility, but look at how the knowledge level is dramatically higher in the areas around their scope.  The Y represents event outside of the expert’s immediate scope, but the Master would have the confidence to respond to the Y event with helpful input, knowing when deferring is required.  Note how the N in this case is outside the scope and knowledge area.  The Expert would clearly defer this point to someone else, whereas the Master would be curious to know the answer (if not poke at it herself).

 Why:

Building true Mastery makes business move faster.  Instead of reaching out to another Expert, the Master has the knowledge at her fingertips and can articulate cause and effects relationships across organizations.  The Master blends/eliminates seams and learns to visualize the entire picture, seeing beyond silo solutions.  From a career perspective, the Master gets called on first to work / lead the most interesting projects and work the tough issues.

How:

Practically, it makes sense to understand your own domain first, but once you get a feel for where your boundaries are, start asking questions.  How does this widget end up on my plate? Where does it come from? Where does it go to after I manipulate it?  What do they do with it downstream? What kind of issues can happen prior to it being sent to me and what kind of issues could I cause for the downstream systems?  Sit with those working around you for a day, and if you really want to develop mastery, find a way to teach a course or onboard a new person in an area other than your own. 

Ron made it clear that achieving “expertise” was only the starting point, a given or the base expectation.  To truly contribute, he needed Masters to lead his business.

Posted by: Shawn Grubb | 03/30/2010

Staying Relevant: Invitation to speak

Some years ago I decided that I would never let my skills lose relevance (See “Weak signals of change: are you listening?” for the full story).  One of the best ways I found to do that was to connect back into the industry whenever I picked up a new area of responsibility.  In the project management arena, I taught PMP certification courses, when I worked in SAP, I ran an ASUG special interest group.  As I moved into Project Portfolio Management, I connected to quite a few different project portfolio managers to learn how to judge the maturity of a project portfolio process.

 Details aside, I know that I learn best by watching, doing and teaching… what better way teach than to teach at an industry conference!  Below is an acceptance letter I just got today for a presentation proposal I submitted to give a talk at the PMI Project Management Office conference in Texas later this year… too cool.

  

Shawn–

Thank you for your presentation proposal for PMO Symposium 2010.  The Symposium Program Committee reviewed over 95 high quality presentation proposals for a very limited set of approximately 25 speaking slots and I am pleased inform you that the Program Committee has recommended your proposal for inclusion in the PMO Symposium 2010 program.  I am happy to accept their recommendation and, on behalf of the entire PMO Symposium 2010 team and the Board of Directors of the PMI Program Management Office SIG, to invite you to join us as a presenter at PMO Symposium 2010.

If you are still interested and available to present during the Symposium (November 8-10, 2010 in Dallas, Texas, USA), please reply back to me with a confirmation.  Following your confirmation, an information packet will be mailed to you within one to two weeks that contains the Symposium Speaker Agreement as well as additional information concerning formatting your presentation, logistics and accommodations information, and a timeline for critical deliverables.  Please review the Symposium Speaker Agreement return deadline indicated in the packet as your participation is not confirmed until the PMO Symposium 200 office receives your signed Symposium Speaker Agreement.  Additionally, please note that if you submitted multiple proposals, the packet will clarify which of your proposals has been selected.  

As the Symposium presentation agenda will not be finalized until around May 1, I am not able at this time to provide you the specific day and time that your presentation will be assigned in the agenda.  If you have a travel or other limitation that would impact your assignment, please let me know when you reply back with your confirmation.

I look forward to working with you over of the course of the next few months as we prepare for PMO Symposium 2010 and also to meeting you in Dallas.

PMO Symposium 2010 General Chair

Vice-Chair, PMI PMOSIG

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