Several people have asked me what the big deal is about having a strategic plan. I believe that you need a starting point before you start planning, a resource that documents your intentions and desires.  The strategic plan is a living document that changes over time based on your experiences. The starting point for a strategic plan is your values.  The conclusion of a strategic plan is your operating plan.

In the beginning, we started with a blank page. We may have been born with some internal values, but we are easily influenced.  As we grow, we have experiences, are introduced to a culture, accumulate family traditions, and are exposed to many beliefs and religions. We all eventually merge all these elements into a set of values that we will use to mold our life. With all these variables, I can say that what works for me does not always work for you. Our influences are all different.

Once we develop a belief system, we look for reinforcement showing what we believe is right. As this bond grows, it becomes more challenging to modify your belief. A conflict may show up as we move to another culture of venture into a business. We are now faced with having to decide to change. We should be looking for information to expand our belief system while we remain aware of our existing belief system.  The concept is to accept small changes that can improve your outlook, not a wholesale replacement.

When writing a strategic plan, you combine your existing belief system, skills, and resources to form a purpose or mission. That can be for a business or a life.  Once you start to execute a strategic plan, you will be exposed to new experiences and beliefs that can suggest improvements to your plan.

The key that I take away from this is to keep an open mind. Seek new skills and experiences. Don’t be reluctant to ask for help or share your plan with others. This will create additional sources for information.  Stay focused on your plan.  Accept advice as information, not a directive.  

Our last entry started a discussion on teams, so this week I am starting a series about team dynamics. A team is a group of individuals working together to achieve a common goal. Teams typically have members with complementary skills and generate synergy through a coordinated effort, which allows each member to maximize their strengths and minimize their weaknesses. Team members like to feel like they are a valuable member of the team, and each has a perceived and real assignment within the team. Ideally, the perceived and real match.  When that all works its magic.

The primary difference I see between regular teams and High-Performance teams is how ridged they stick to the rules. High-Performance Teams have well-defined goals that are in agreement with the overall expectations or vision for the team. This is often not the case, and a team is just a gathering of skills to get a job done. Just as important as the mission of the team is the culture of the team. High-Performance Team members identify with the team and are proud of it. Members place the team first and know that team effort is key to overall success. They celebrate the accomplishments of the team and recognize the contributions of members. This is different than regular teams. Notice that a High-Performance team celebrates the team’s success but only recognize contributions. 

High-Performance Teams are constantly learning and continuously improving. True transparency allows a team to quickly adapt to unexpected events. Each member knows what is important and each member is committed to action. They are clear about what results they are committed to and they review and measure results frequently. They quickly resolve conflicts and move forward. A key element of the culture is the realization that trust is an essential ingredient. They communicate openly. They believe in a feedback culture, actively giving and seeking feedback. Many times I have seen teams that are not like this, especially in “professional” groups where each member is seeking success and recognition for themselves.

Sometimes ego gets in the way. Since all the members have knowledge of all elements of the mission assigned, sometimes a member will expand their role beyond their assignment. Gradually they start to take over roles. I have found teams that were really one active member with a lot of assistants. It is no longer a team. As this happens, members become disenfranchised and dropout. It was not unusual to find members waiting for orders and doing nothing. The team starts to lose synergy, and effectiveness drops. The perceived or real leader pushes harder for control, and the team dissolves.

It is the job of the leader to make sure that all members are participants, and it is the team that gets external recognition. Both overzealous and nonparticipants should be removed or reassigned from the team.  That is why I see skilled people pulled from teams. They can be valuable assets, just not team players.

I believe that becoming a leader is a journey.  You start as an employee. If you know how you will have a job is a saying that I remember from college. As an employee, you would have skills, and you would understand the job.  As you excel in the job, you get promoted to a management position. A manager understands the business plan, has a common purpose, good communication skills, and maturity.  The saying that goes with this would be if you know why you will be the boss. 

That brings us to leadership. If you can see the future, you will be the leader. That means you understand the strategic plan. A leader will have team spirit, passion, and empathy. Team spirit is when you really feel invested in reaching a goal together and are there to support each other.  Passion is a feeling of intense enthusiasm towards the vision expressed in the strategic plan and the mission of the team. Empathy is the capacity to understand or feel what another person is experiencing from within their frame of reference.

The leaders will have a direct impact on the effectiveness of your business, team, or even a country.  The managers control resources and will have a direct impact on the efficiency of your business. While leaders and managers impact all aspects of your business, the skill level and attitude of your employees or staff will have a direct impact on your return-on-investment.

Did you find some neat ideas in this blog? What are the exciting ideas you came up with, and how are you implementing them? Let me know by contacting me at dwfavor@catalystgroupinc.com.

Why did the plan fail?  This is often a question we hear in business, but it is not happening only in business.  I recently was part of a planned family event.  I mean, a planned event. Everything was thought out, or so we thought.  At the last minute, someone changed the plan without notifying the other members of this team.  This resulted in nine different events to be replanned and rescheduled.  Now, let me say upfront that it was more frustrating than it was a major problem.  When asked why they changed their mind, there was no good reason, and it could have stayed as-is.  When we mentioned the impact of this action, we got a confused look.  As we discovered the full effect, there seemed to be no awareness. Each of the nine events was minor, but a lot of time and energy was expended, correcting the course of events that could have been avoided.  The same thing happens in business.  If this happens a lot, the business process breaks down.

Over the years, I have seen several reasons as to why this happens.  Some people just do not like planning.  Not only dislike planning but can not do it and see no reason for it.  For these people, they would not recognize the nine things that did not happen above, and if told about them, would not see the relevance.  Their view was so focused that they never saw the big picture. That is the “being nice” side of this discussion. Some people just do not care, even if they understood the big picture. They want a specific task to do, and that is it.  This last group is best assigned task to do and are not team players or leaders. 

For the people that do not plan, some will become good team players if they know the details.  If they are told why and what about their assignment. One way to make that information available is to include them in the planning. That is also the “being nice” side of this story. Often, they either do not have the ability to see the big picture without a detailed explanation, or they just don’t care. Back in the ole days, we would call these people high-maintenance employees. It requires more energy and time to include them in the team. It is the responsibility of the leader to provide that information and to determine the benefits to the team.

Often the changes made are individually minor and easy to ignore.  It is the cumulative effect that becomes the problem.  Other than cost, there is an impact on the team.  Team members see this happening and gradually become a reactive only set of resources instead of a high-performance team. The adverse effect of this plan breakdown is poor process efficiency.  I have seen businesses where this is the norm.  They start with a great plan and a well-documented process but gradually bypass steps.  Over time the strategic plan becomes a dust-gathering forgotten document.  The rationale is, we always end up OK.  What they failed to recognize is that it cost more in time and money than it should have.  In a very competitive environment, you cannot afford to accept that deal.  This becomes a challenge for the team leader.

This discussion does not mean that there are never times when a break from the process is warranted. As my father would tell me, stuff happens.  What the team leader must do is recognize when this is becoming the norm. Did you find some neat ideas in this blog? What are the exciting ideas you came up with, and how are you implementing them? Let me know by contacting me at dwfavor@catalystgroupinc.com.

The “not my job” approach to work is one of the five most common team-busting habits, and based on a study by VitalSmarts, 97% of employees are guilty of exercising that  habit on a regular basis.

That brings to mind a story about four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. I am not sure who originally came up with this story, but I thought it was neat. There was an important job to be done, and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it.  Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but Nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have.

This hit close to home when I noticed that there were coffee cups lined up by the Keurig coffee maker.  I asked what was up, and the response I got was, the Keurig is out of water.  The water pitcher was empty next to the machine, the reservoir was empty, and the little blue light was on saying, please add water.  Since I wanted coffee, I filled both the reservoir and pitcher and made a cup.  As soon as I did that, people started to head to the coffee machine.

I was headed out to the deck with my coffee and thought this was worthy of some thought.  I wondered how many times a worker walked past a printer that needed paper or a coffee pot that needed water.  This behavior seems to go beyond the chance encounter.  I have been busy working on a project when a co-worker would ask, can you get me a pencil, paper clip, or whatever.  To do that, I have to stop what I am doing and get a pencil.  I have talked to several staff members that have seen this and done it themselves.  The most common opinion is that my job is not as important as their job.

At least two things are going on here.  The first is, no planning.  There is often no awareness that they need a pencil, or they just assume that there will always be a pencil available.  I have seen staff take supplies from a desk instead of walking to the supply cabinet.  Next, there is this importance thing.  You may feel that your job is important, and you may also have no concept of what other team members are working on. Either way, you feel that the job you are doing is at the top of the list.

Over time I have come to believe that it is a lack of knowledge about what is needed. Many times, it is due to a lack of experience.  Sometimes it is ego-driven, and it is not so easy to solve that problem.  Not everybody is a team player.  I also found that often people looked good on paper and were very skilled, but just had no street smarts. There is a place for these types, but not as a member of most teams.  I was taught to move them out and focus on team dynamics.

If the problem is a lack of experience, you can address that within the team.  If you see or hear about a “not my job” attitude, weed it out.  You do not want a poor attitude to spread, and second, it is a violation of the core values established for the team and the business.

I need a break, so I am getting some water for the coffee machine as soon as I put some paper in the printer.  Next week we can talk about enabling and delegation. Did you find some neat ideas in this blog? What are the exciting ideas you came up with, and how are you implementing them? Let me know by contacting me at dwfavor@catalystgroupinc.com.

Have you ever had a conversation start with the comment: Don’t make it so complicated?  It has been my experience that you didn’t make it complicated; it already was.  It can be on any subject from cashing a check to going on vacation.  The problem is usually related to all the behind the scenes work that has to happen first.  Most of the time, you have some warning time to react, and everything gets done.  Nobody knows what was done or cares.  Here is an example of an unplanned event with little or no reaction time.  It is Sunday afternoon on a holiday weekend, and someone says, let’s jump in the car and drive to the coast.  I say, OK, give me about half an hour and I will be ready.  The response back is why.  Well I say, I need to get some gas, the car needs service, and I need to transfer some money.  Then it happens, why do you make it so complicated.  Well, first of all, none of those items were complicated, and all were already in existence, so the best course of action is to just resolve the issues.

Now, you can always say that it was bad planning.  Probably true, but there was never a plan to go on a trip, and all three concerns could be resolved quickly.  So there are planning concerns on both sides here, but the problem seems to be caused by not knowing what has to be done.  One family member never thought about having fuel in the car, having the tires checked, or getting cash out of the ATM.  The other family member never thought about going on a trip on a short notice on a holiday weekend.  This is a simple example but not unlike what can happen at work any time.  You never know what will happen, and we seldom plan for every contingency.  Right now, I have a workstation down that contains an important data application.  It is Sunday, and my action plan is to repair it Monday when the IT department is open.  So what happens if I need the data today.  Now we are in the should have, could have discussion or it is the why do you make it so complicated.

The more experience you have with something, the more you will be prepared for unplanned events.  It is because you or someone you know has already had that event.  When you are looking to hire a new staff member, look for experience as much as you look for skills. You want someone that has been there before and has the ability to address unplanned events.

Did you find some neat ideas in this blog? What are the exciting ideas you came up with, and how are you implementing them? Let me know by contacting me at dwfavor@catalystgroupinc.com.

For more information on creating a strategic plan that works, contact cheryl@catalystgroupinc.com.

For the majority of remote teams, communication is the key to success. Each member of the team must know what the others are working on. This is something that can be easily lost when the entire team is working remotely. Remote teams simply cannot function with inadequate communication between its members. Short daily meetings over Skype or Zoom is a great way to do this. The truth is, it doesn’t matter which remote tool you decide to use; just as long as your team has a good line of communication, your remote workers won’t feel isolated from one another. The key is that all members of the team have access to it and can use it. 

Zoom sets up easily, and team members seem to adapt quickly. There are a few things to keep in mind with any of these tools.  You need a web camera and a microphone, which is standard on most laptops but need to be added to workstations.  Next, remember that you have an active camera and microphone once the meeting starts. Some security considerations must be thought through because you are extending a business discussion into a home or location outside of your control.

The lack of company culture can plague any remote team. Sure, it’s easier for the boss to pop in to chat with a team that works in the same office, but this doesn’t mean that you can’t do the same with a remote team. Set up a daily Zoom meeting that is more like a coffee break than a formal meeting. Other tools allow you to chat, exchange messages or E-mail, or just talk. You don’t need to get fancy, just be available. Here are a few ideas to create highly motivated and productive teams:

• Prioritize regular check-ins so team members feel you are paying attention to them.
• Instead of the phone, use Zoom; activate your camera during the call and encourage others to as well, so your team does not lose their sense of community.
• Virtual meetings may not create the same interpersonal connection of a face to face meeting. That doesn’t mean they can’t be fun. Who wouldn’t appreciate the chance to take their mind off of current events? Try to laugh before jumping into business, advice from ProHabits.com/thrive.

I have found that one of the key ingredients to work culture is regular events and a schedule.  We all start in the morning with our daily meetings and have a coffee break after lunch.  You can do the same with a remote meeting.

Again, it isn’t rocket science. Case managers and Firm Administrators should be working hard to ensure that each member of their team has a clear idea of their expected working hours, all deadlines, what it is that the team is working towards, and even the policy on taking sick days. Establish a routine and have team members check in often. Not keeping track of what’s being done, who is doing what, and who isn’t doing what they are supposed to, is something that can destroy any team.

You should be aware of how much work your remote team is getting done, and at what rate? Luckily, there is a simple way to make sure you don’t end up in this situation, and it’s also an easy fix if you do find yourself in it: monitor and evaluate your remote employees using the same KPIs you would when dealing with in-house workers.  There is an assumption that you have agreed to performance metrics.  Most law firms use a case management system to track cases and can use that same tool to keep track of work done.  The remote teams we have set up, keep track of everything they do in case notes, task checklist, and case milestones.  A few reports that are run each day or week will develop a trend which will show who the top workers are.

The amount of work being done can be too much or not enough.  Most managers are focused on getting the work done and who did the most, but you can also find a team member that does too much.  That is the person that is always online and working. They tend to burn out over time and, in some cases, can destroy the morale of the team.  Back to culture, set some expectations.  Those expectations should include breaks, family time, and time off. Everyone likes to know the rules of the game, and they all want an even playing field. It is OK to have a special project, but the norm should be the same as it would be in the office.  Tell everyone what the rules and expectations are and establish a routine.

Did you find some neat ideas in this blog? What are the exciting ideas you came up with, and how are you implementing them? Let me know by contacting me at dwfavor@catalystgroupinc.com.

Have you ever thought about meditation or been told to relax?  I went through both, and it took some discipline for me to start. Here is what I finally worked out after some coaching.  I go out on the deck in the morning, weather permitting, and watch the sunrise.  Take a moment and allow your heart to open, to become receptive. The bottom line, relax and find a comfortable chair where it is quiet.  I like to sit on my deck in the early morning with my coffee and our Sheltie. Now, look into three of your senses and name three things that you notice. In other words, name three things you’re seeing, smelling, tasting, feeling, or hearing. I usually select smell, feel, and hear. My taster is busy with my coffee and perhaps an English muffin. You select the three you like.

I do my three things for hearing, feeling, and smell.   I hear the wind in the trees, morning traffic, a bird chirping.  I feel the wind on my face, the cold chair on my bottom, and the deck on my feet.  I smell bacon cooking, coffee brewing, and the garden. At this point, I can do it again with more detail.  The wind feels cold, or the deck feels rough. The purpose of this exercise is to distract your mind from whatever is causing you to be anxious.

It does not take long to clear my mind from today’s worries.  After my three questions, I don’t give myself much time to get back into the worrying; instead, I announce that I am here and listen.  This was the hardest part for me because I was just too logical.  Who was I talking to? After a lot of thought and trials, I decided it didn’t really matter, just open my mind and listen.  Perhaps it was my mind talking or some supernatural source, who cares. Once I got to this point, the next hurdle was my desire to interpret everything.  Again, who cares.  Instead, just listen.  After a while, I started to ask questions. Ask yourself this question, allowing the answer to come naturally: What do I need? Expect the answer to be something like the need to be connected, loved, peaceful, or free.  If this stirred up any anxiety, I go back to my calming questions: what did I smell, feel, or hear?   Then I listen for the answer to my question.

Most of us have difficulty focusing our attention. I believe that we can’t focus on multiple things at once. So, when I’m thinking about an email response, it is difficult for me to listen, especially when what I hear is annoying or nonsensical babble. There I go with the judgments. I had to set a clear intention to be a better listener. I would catch myself getting lost in thoughts while I should be listening. Listening means to stop making judgments and forming responses before the message is completed. It takes some practice.

Now consider a second question: What do I need to hear from others? Words that we would like to hear are often what we would like to have in our life.  Get ready to listen again. In other words, be patient and don’t judge. If you heard that you need kindness, to belong, or more peace in your life, maybe the next thought will be: May I begin to be kind to myself. Don’t be surprised if you hear about the needs of others. The purpose of the questions is just to get the conversation going. 

I spent a long time fighting this idea of relaxing because I wanted to be in control.  Many months went by before I decided to get over it and just listen.  In my logical world, I decided that spending a few minutes could not hurt.  What I discovered was kind of amazing.  I am not going to claim any miracles, but I will stand by my amazing comment.  I solved problems I had been working on for a long time.  I decided to call people that immediately said I was just thinking of you.  I offered help to people that later said they had been worried about something for a long time.  After my first year, I concluded that we are more connected than we want to admit and that we have more abilities than we use.  Even if nothing amazing happens, I feel more relaxed.  The whole exercise takes 30 minutes, and I get some needed fresh air, and our Sheltie gets a piece of my muffin.

Did you find some neat ideas in this blog? What are the exciting ideas you came up with, and how are you implementing them? Let me know by contacting me at dwfavor@catalystgroupinc.com.

I recently discussed KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), where I was asked why I needed to see the vision and the mission statements for the law firm.  The answer I provided was; the key performance indicators are based on the goals of the business, which are defined by the vision and the mission found in the strategic plan.  That got a blank stare, so I tried the more official-sounding explanation. A Key Performance Indicator is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively the firm is achieving key business objectives. That didn’t exactly go over any better, and I was asked, what is an indicator? Before I drown in this analysis, let’s use the KISS principle.  When I use the term KPI, I think of measurements of performance.  Let me also say I have seen where every single measure is called a KPI. That makes no sense to me as not all indicators or measurements are key – some must be more important than others.

Let’s start at the beginning.  The vision statement defines what success looks like. It should contain all the key elements you want to be successful.  You could start with a simple statement saying the firm is a successful law practice.   What does that mean?  So you change it a little to be, the firm is a profitable personal injury law firm that is known for great client service.  

Now you just defined two potential measurements; being profitable and having great client service.  OK, so far.  If you decide these are key to your business, you just defined two KPIs. Now you develop a mission statement to realize the vision.  The mission could be to provide personal injury legal services.  Not very exciting, so you work on it some.  The mission is to provide legal services for personal injury clients in North and South Carolina.  You quickly find out that a lot of law firms do that, so you try and differentiate your firm.  The mission becomes; we provide timely and compassionate personal injury legal services with the best settlements in the Carolinas.  You have just defined several more potential KPIs. All of this was done before we completed the strategic plan or decided on any processes.

You complete the strategic plan and define some tools, processes, and procedures to meet your goals.  Each of those will have a few KPIs. The point of this discussion is, you will develop a unique set of KPIs based on your strategic plan. Using KPIs is a good way to look at the success of a business.  There is also a balanced scorecard approach. The balanced scorecard asks that you translate the mission statement into specific measures that reflect success. The balanced scorecard looks at the firm from four perspectives – financial, client, internal, and growth.  Within the strategic plan, you would develop measurements relative to each of these perspectives — potentially more KPIs.

One last observation, we all have a different idea of what the measurement focus should be. You can probably guess that I look at the strategic plan as the starting point to define the business.  Someone else may be focused on marketing and another on job performance. I have even seen a focus on process effectiveness.  All of these ideas are correct as far as they go, which makes my recommendation to consider all of them.  I would say that too many measurements may result in analysis paralysis.  I would aim for no more than 5 to 10 Key performance indicators.  The rest of your list of measurements are metrics to be used for early warning of problems, performance evaluations, process effectiveness, or prediction of outcomes.

Did you find some neat ideas in this blog? What are the exciting ideas you came up with, and how are you implementing them? Let me know by contacting me at dwfavor@catalystgroupinc.com.

For more information on creating a strategic plan that works, contact cheryl@catalystgroupinc.com. 

I recently had a discussion about KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), where I was asked why I needed to see the vision and the mission statements for the law firm.  The answer I provided was; the key performance indicators are based on the goals of the business, which are defined by the vision and the mission found in the strategic plan.  That got a blank stare, so I tried the more official-sounding explanation. A Key Performance Indicator is a measurable value that demonstrates how effectively the firm is achieving key business objectives. That didn’t exactly go over any better, and I was asked, what is an indicator? Before I drown in this analysis, let’s use the KISS principle.  When I use the term KPI, I think of measurements of performance.  Let me also say I have seen where every single measure is called a KPI. That makes no sense to me as not all indicators or measurements are key – some must be more important than others.

Let’s start at the beginning.  The vision statement defines what success looks like. It should contain all the key elements you want to be successful.  You could start with a simple statement saying the firm is a successful law practice.   What does that mean?  So you change it a little to be, the firm is a profitable personal injury law firm that is known for great client service.  

Now you just defined two potential measurements; being profitable and having great client service.  OK, so far.  If you decide these are key to your business, you just defined two KPIs. Now you develop a mission statement to realize the vision.  The mission could be to provide personal injury legal services.  Not very exciting, so you work on it some.  The mission is to provide legal services for personal injury clients in North and South Carolina.  You quickly find out that a lot of law firms do that, so you try and differentiate your firm.  The mission becomes; we provide timely and compassionate personal injury legal services with the best settlements in the Carolinas.  You have just defined several more potential KPIs. All of this was done before we completed the strategic plan or decided on any processes.

You complete the strategic plan and define some tools, processes, and procedures to meet your goals.  Each of those will have a few KPIs. The point of this discussion is, you will develop a unique set of KPIs based on your strategic plan. Using KPIs is a good way to look at the success of a business.  There is also a balanced scorecard approach. The balanced scorecard asks that you translate the mission statement into specific measures that reflect success. The balanced scorecard looks at the firm from four perspectives – financial, client, internal, and growth.  Within the strategic plan, you would develop measurements relative to each of these perspectives — potentially more KPIs.

One last observation, we all have a different idea of what the measurement focus should be. You can probably guess that I look at the strategic plan as the starting point to define the business.  Someone else may be focused on marketing and another on job performance. I have even seen a focus on process effectiveness.  All of these ideas are correct as far as they go, which makes my recommendation to consider all of them.  I would say that too many measurements may result in analysis paralysis.  I would aim for no more than 5 to 10 Key performance indicators.  The rest of your list of measurements are metrics to be used for early warning of problems, performance evaluations, process effectiveness, or prediction of outcomes.

Did you find some neat ideas in this blog? What are the exciting ideas you came up with, and how are you implementing them? Let me know by contacting me at dwfavor@catalystgroupinc.com.

For more information on creating a strategic plan that works, contact cheryl@catalystgroupinc.com.