Stan Heard

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Imagine waking up in a strange world one morning, totally unlike the world you knew yesterday. Your previous skills are useless and none of your cause-effect predictors work. Gravity is stronger in this new world, and it is all you can do to drag your suddenly overweight body across the room. That may seem like the world youve fallen into t...

Selling Sales Training in a Recession

 Whether you are a Mom-and-Pop operation or one of the larger talent development firms, you probably have some sort of strategy guiding you. Hopefully, this strategy has been documented and is the outgrowth of input from key people in the organization. But even if the strategy is only in your head, it is still waiting for action.Unfortunately, many strategic plans, which are key to the future of our businesses, are rarely executed fully—if at all. In the previous blog on strategic growth planning, I mentioned that some 80 percent of strategic plans fail to get executed. (I know I have read or heard this stat enough times to think it is true. But if truth be known, I don’t have a source to share with you to validate this alleged finding. Nonetheless, there is good reason to believe that most strategic plans are not fully executed as designed.)There are myriad reasons why this is the case, not the least of which are the normal changes to a business model or that leadership demands a different direction than originally proposed, deeming the original strategy moot. More importantly, in the ever-evolving talent development industry, one could even argue that sticking to a growth strategy could be counter-productive.  But what about strategic plans that are not subject to major interferences in the business model or competitive landscape? Why aren’t they  implemented? Execution Best PracticesA March 2015 Harvard Business Review article, “Why Strategy Execution Unravels—and What to Do About It,”  by Sull, Homkes, and Sull spells out several likely culprits, highlighting the myths many business leaders adhere to about strategy execution. Their research found that several practices actually get in the way of effective execution, including:inadequate alignment across business unitsundying commitment·one-way communicationstoo much of a performance cultureexecutive-only leadership.While the authors studied very large multinational organizations across many industries, these strategy execution lessons that apply to any organization.  Let’s take a closer look at each practice. Alignment:  To execute a strategic plan in a typical three- to five-year time span, senior leadership must be in total agreement about the direction the business is driving toward. Without this sort of alignment, major departments  and functions will continue to do their own “thing”—working at cross-purposes of the overall business.Interestingly, the research pointed out that while 40 percent of managers note alignment (or lack thereof) as the main cause of poor execution, the second major reason was failure to coordinate across units, noted by 30 percent of participants. Apparently, alignment alone doesn’t necessarily equate to execution—albeit it is a significant influencer.  So, while one of the primary goals of any strategic planning process is to achieve senior leader alignment, it also is important to align across all business units.Commitment: Most business leaders believe that alignment requires commitment to the strategic direction. But in my experience, alignment can exist (on the surface) without total commitment to the strategy. In this case, leaders agree with the overarching direction and some elements of the strategy, but not with all of it. In fact, unswervingly sticking to a strategic plan may impede its execution, given that many intervening factors and changes will surface over time. While commitment to the plan is initially necessary, ignoring the environmental changes taking place will undoubtedly result in leaders executing the wrong plan.Communications: The most likely reasons organizations fail to execute strategic plans:Leaders don’t provide communication to the rest of the business.Leaders provide communications that are unclear, foggy, and lack any inspiration for moving forward.Simply communicating the strategy from “on high” is too little to achieve a well-executed strategy. Instead, communications must create a dialogue that enables employees to offer input and questions so they can truly understand their role in the execution process. If a rational business case for the strategic direction isn’t offered to—and accepted at—the individual level, it will be difficult for employees to internalize the plan and their role in its execution.Performance Culture: Possessing a culture that is committed to performance is critical to execution. Organizations must establish a culture that recognizes and rewards practices like teamwork, experimentation, and flexibility, which may appear at times to slow down performance.  Although a high-performance culture values and demonstrates continual accountability, this head-down and all-hands-on-deck approach doesn’t allow organizations to slow down in the short term so they can move faster in the long term.  Indeed, the right delays—yielding the right results—should be perfectly acceptable.Executive Leadership: We often hear that true change must start at the top. But top-down involvement can impede the achievement of sustainable results. Certainly, the CEO and C-level team must lead the initial charge for execution, and even monitor its progress. However, the sooner frontline employees can internalize a strategy, the sooner they can rightfully execute it. Once the organization feels it must wait for executive approval, the process slows, engagement wanes, and innovation falters. In other words, it takes a village to effectively execute, not just a team of senior leaders who decide when and how execution should take place.Bottom LineThese execution practices are logical enough and, at some level, seem relatively simple to enact. Regrettably, they become more complicated in their actual operation. Perhaps, though, this is just the nature of most businesses that are growing—with growth comes frequent change and even alterations to the corporate strategic direction.Maintaining flexibility around strategy is a dual-edged sword, because sometimes flexibility can become an easy excuse for not following the original, well-thought out plan. Other times, flexibility makes complete sense and is, in fact,  necessary for the business to move forward. In either case, executing a strategic plan is a critical element of both the short- and long-term success of any business, including those in the talent development space. What’s more, minding these best practices can help any organization execute their strategy with success.How have you experienced poor to no execution of a strategic plan? Whether you were the leader or the follower, what were the reasons for this in your business? What were the real business consequences of the failed execution? How could the execution have been specifically improved? Share your experiences in the Comments below.  To learn more, check out my book The Complete Guide to Building and Growing a Talent Development Firm.

Growing Talent Management Firms: Strategy and Execution

Will 2015 be the year you transition into an exciting new job? One of the key skills that will get you that job is interviewing, and a phone screening is often the first step in that process. As a talent development professional, you undoubtedly have skills in engaging attention, building rapport, and educating anyone—including a recruiter who has called to screen you for a job opening. Bottom line: a phone screening is a little like training, with some key differences. You're not in charge of the agenda, there are no visual aids, and you're likely to be nervous. But with some preparation, you can overcome these challenges and make a great impression. Prepare for the "Pop Quiz" Factor Phone screenings are often unscheduled, so be ready. Keep a copy of all job announcements, along with your cover letters and resume, quickly available. When a recruiter says he's calling about X Company, you don't want to be struggling to remember "which job was that?" The call may catch you off guard, and the recruiter might subtly pressure you to "talk for a few minutes right now" even though it's not a good time for you. Asking to reschedule may put you at a disadvantage; a busy recruiter may simply move on to other candidates. But if it's really a bad time, it may be better to ask "Is there another time we can talk today?" rather than do a poor interview because you're distracted. Anticipate Possible Questions For the most part, phone screening questions are similar to those asked in a longer interview, so prepare answers to common interview questions. One tricky question at this stage is: "What are your salary expectations?" Avoid stating figures before you have a firm job offer. If they insist, you can mention that a certain broad range seems to be typical, without committing to it. For example: "I'm seeing salaries anywhere from $70-90K for this type of position. Of course, a lot depends on the responsibilities, the opportunities to learn and grow, and the whole package. I'm sure once we've decided there's a fit between me and the role, we'll be able to come to an agreement." No Visuals: Help Them "See" You, and Draw Them Out It has been estimated that as much as 93 percent of interpersonal communication happens nonverbally. In a phone call you don't have the visual aspect of body language, so make a point of smiling, which can be heard in your voice. Stand up to sound more energetic. You also want the recruiter to "see" you on the job—to imagine you being effective in your workplace (and by extension, theirs). So use a lot of concrete examples and short stories to illustrate your key points. It may be harder for you to "read" an interviewer's responses over the phone. For instance, you may wonder did she understand what I just said, or is she puzzled? Or, does she want me to go on or stop? There's a simple solution, but one we often forget to use: Ask. For example, let's say the interview started with the recruiter asking, "Tell me about yourself," and you're not sure how your answer landed. Draw them out with an open-ended question like this: "Is there anything I just mentioned that you'd like to know more about?" This is similar to training, isn't it? After presenting information, we check for comprehension and invite responses to create engagement. Honor Your Excitement, and Relax Anxious about interviews? As psychologist Fritz Perls said, "Fear is excitement without the breath." Your excitement is one of your best assets, since it communicates passionate motivation. So appreciate your excitement, and then breathe deeply to release the anxiety. Practice this and make it part of your everyday life, so that you can remember it "on the spot." Think of a particular word or short phrase you can repeat silently to help you relax and feel confident. Try the word "relaxing" or "good," or the phrase "letting go now," or "(your first name), you're doing great." Be aware of the "tone of voice" in which you use your relaxation phrase. You may have seen the Seinfeld episode where Mr. Costanza was bellowing, "SERENITY NOW!"—it didn't help. There are many other relaxation techniques you can use any time, anywhere. Experiment with a few, choose the one you like best, and practice it frequently so you're ready when you need it. If you want to build skill in being relaxed in interviews, practice it through mental rehearsal. Sit down in a quiet place free of distractions.Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths, and begin to imagine yourself getting a call from a recruiter. Imagine the sound of the recruiter's voice, the feeling of the phone in your hand and the feeling of excitement inside of you.Imagine yourself remembering to use whatever quick relaxation technique you prefer. Imagine that it's working, and really feel the relaxation.Imagine remaining calm and confident as you have a great interview! After the Phone Screening, What Type of Interview May Come Next?This post is the first in a series that will explore various scenarios, including panel, group, sequential ("all-day"), virtual interviews, and more. Reduce the "surprise factor" by preparing to succeed in any format!