Mapping Individuals Actions to Corporate Goals in 15 minutes!

Great comments on the last post. Thank you Scott and aa for these comments, great insights! I hope this post will add to the conversation. Look for additional posts that will address your comments in the coming weeks. Also, aa if you want to send me your email address we can continue some of the discussion one on one, thanks again for yours thoughts I thought they were very well articulated. Scott I already talk to you to much, ;-) that being said next time we grab lunch lets be sure to discuss further.


I have found that people in general follow a consistent pattern in being part of a team. first they will tend to do and move toward doing what they are good at. Second they will tend to do or move toward doing what they feel contributes most to their success on the team. HR departments in general are really good, as are profiling systems in helping facilitate the first part; getting people contributing in ways that they enjoy and are good at. However, the second part of the equation is all about the clarity of the project and if someone is feeling they contribute or have value. I cannot emphasise enough the enormous importance of this second part and how due to its subtleties it is generally overlooked to the dire consequences of the team member and the successful desired outcome of the project. Not being able to manage where people can best feel they contribute is in my opinion one of the most prevalent reasons projects, startups and companies in general fail. The first part of solving this is step one, the Clarity Questions, (as outlined in previous posts). The second part is a mapping technique I have modified from the Verbalised Summary Objective, (VSO) technique. As you may recall the The VSO technique is also the foundation on which I displayed how I liked to build a "10" word elevator pitch. I was originally introduced to the VSO technique by Paul, one of Sustainable Startup's followers. He directed me to the following 3 1/2 min video http://www.bnet.com/2422-13731_23-265800.html. The video is of Howard Muzio, CEO of Group Harmonics explaining the VSO technique. Howard is using the technique for a slightly different purpose but I have found that with a bit of a twist it has been a great tool for aligning peoples talents to the company's objectives. I encourage you to view the video now and then come back and finish reading this post.

A explained in the video the formula goes like this, I use "x" (my resources) with "y" (people) for "z" (result). I have modified it for our purpose to, I use "x" (my resources) with "y1" (people) and/or "y2" (to do) for "z" (result).

I will use Erika who works on this blog with me as an example. In doing this exercise I ask two key questions. First I ask; With respect to the Sustainable Startup Blog how do you currently spend your time and with whom doing what? When Erika and I did this originally the answers were:

1/3 time on the web researching.

1/3 time administrating

1/3 time marketing

The second key question I ask is: What do you want to be doing and what do you feel you should be doing to hit the goals we have outlined in the Clarity questions.?

(You will notice that this question address both the want and the contribution, "feel you should be doing" that make up the two areas that people most gravitate toward in doing a job or working on a team) The answers I get are also more thought out and more specific but the first question is still very important as it provides a base to build on. Also, I follow the formula closely when working through the second question, in particular by paying attention to the "z" for what result. You will notice in the example below each area of the work described now has a purpose that inevitably relates back to the clarity questions.

I spend 20% of my time researching other blogs and how they are building content.

I spend 20% of my time researching other blogs and how they are attracting followers.

I spend 20% of my time with Cameron reviewing my findings, discussing ideas, understanding where we are going with his writing.

I spend 10% of my time on administrative tasks so that people have a professional experience with the blog.

I spend 10% of my time updating PlanHQ so people can see how PlanHQ works and interacts with the blog.

I spend 10% of my time marketing the blog online in a manner that we can hit follower targets.

This process takes some work in terms of having to examine what someone is doing. At first, (assuming your clarity questions are done) this make take a hour. As you become more familiar and practiced at it you can complete it in 15 min. As a company or project matures and more people are added or as goals change you can spend 15min with team members redefining their roles as they best match the clarity questions. I have found few tools as powerful as this.

One question you may have is; What do I do if this is a new hire or potential hire? I share the clarity questions with the person and then start with question #2. It is a great technique to use in an interview to see if someone really "gets it" and will be a contributor to your team. If you hire the person I suggest that you go through this process the first day they start then again at the beginning of their second week, then again at the beginning of their second month, then again at the beginning of their second quarter and then on an as needed basis but generally no less than two times per year.

This post was not easy to write and this is one of those techniques best explained by doing or demonstrating. If anyone would like to spend an hour on the phone or in person going through this for them self or their team members I would be happy to do so. If you take me up on this offer I would ask that if you think the process is usefull that you refer a friend or collegue to participate in the Sustainable Startup blog. Please feel free to email myself, cameron@cameronchell.com or Erika, erika@cameronchell.com if you would like to take us up on this offer.

Hope you have a great week,

Cameron

passion x SIMPLE = practical

The newest member of Sustainable Startup is Pierre. Pierre describes himself as a "true believer" in spiritual ethic. Awesome, Pierre I am glad to have you as part of this community, Welcome.


This post is all about the second part of the Sustainable Startup People Formula, "Simple".


If your startup is doing less than $25mm per year and/or not doubling in size annually I would be very skeptical of its success potential if it has an “HR department”. That’s correct, “if it has an HR department”. I am not against HR departments or their function; in fact I think their intended function is the most important aspect of the business. So much do I think of the function of HR that in a startup I believe the function must be handled by the senior or founding executive of the startup. I am not talking about processing payroll or the administrative tasks of HR, I am talking about areas like employee strength analysis, job descriptions, compensation, performance reviews. Also, in a startup I am not for over analysis and/or overuse of “profiling” systems. These systems have their place in a statup and are very important as an organization matures but initially I think they are relatively ineffective.


I have not seen strict personality profiling systems be overly effect in startups. These systems tend to be very accurate and insightful but not overly practical in mapping to what is getting done in the startup and what needs to get done with the resources you have. As we all know the art of the startup is in succeeding with limited resources. Rarely do we have “unlimited” resources to call upon to hire the “perfect profile” for each job task, description or title we need in order to get to market. Using the process that I will describe and demonstrate next week we can map goals to the tasks currently being done by the people currently doing them. In doing this you will see your holes and more importantly who needs to attend to your corporate strengths. You can determine who best can currently fill in what is lagging and who needs to absolutely stay focused on what is most important, (What is most important to focus on is your strengths. Your strengths are your key differentiators, Clarity Question #4)


What have we covered in the SIMPLE part of the formula? 1.) You don't need an HR department for a start up, but that HR is the most important aspect of a startup to be handled by the senior executive. 2.) Profiling systems are good but generally assume you have the money to resource the perfect person for the specific positions you have to fill. Next weeks post will describe the practical process to map your existing resources to what most importantly needs to get done in your start up.