Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’

The Inside Story of How Creative Business Is Done

Translating the backstory of the iconic Robin Williams photo into lessons on leadership

When extraordinary talents work together, results can be truly spectacular. This is the story of Robin Williams and Michael Dressler, who took the Time magazine cover photo that the National Portrait Gallery installed to memorialize Williams following his death on August 11. The original Time cover from March 12, 1979, bore this bold cover headline: “Chaos in Television…and What It Takes to Be No. 1.”

The historic Time magazine cover photo courtesy of Michael Dressler

The historic Time magazine cover photo courtesy of Michael Dressler

Former colleagues called Williams a human vente structure gonflable dynamo, a genius—the guy in Juilliard’s scholarship program who left in his junior year after being told there was nothing more they could teach him.

Dressler is an accomplished photographer of people—from presidents to humorists, scientists to athletes, celebrities to the Ku Klux Klan. Driving him is the passion for taking photographs that would be important 10 years from the day he shot them.

In any competition, success is sweetest when the stakes are high—like making it to the cover of Time, the nation’s top news magazine in 1979. Time’s West Coast photo editor demanded “impeccable perfection,” and it was Dressler’s job to get it.

Two Talents, Like Minds

At the launch of his TV career and before the Time cover shoot, Williams held an audition for a photographer. Dressler got the nod, after an hour or two. In an interview with him, Dressler told me, “[Williams and I] hit it off. We were very much of the same mind. We had the same humor. We even looked like brothers.”

Often, Williams invited Dressler to visit him and his wife at their Malibu beach house. Dressler would ask, “With or without camera?” It was always the photographer’s call. When Williams encouraged him to body surf, Dressler would decline, preferring to walk on the beach and snap a picture of the actor in action.

The two played off each other’s humor and strengths: Williams, with his boundless spirit, and Dressler, with his quest for taking photos that were honest, which meant nothing staged or contrived.

Dressler explained to me, “I usually don’t do multiple shots at a single time. I get it, or I don’t.”

He felt responsible to capture the moment for the many people who weren’t there.

Plans for the Time shoot unfolded quickly. Dressler got the go-ahead around 8 p.m. Williams met him at the studio at 10 p.m., following a rehearsal. Assistants and observers converged, including Williams’ agent and Dressler’s brother, who had worked with him in advance on the setup and strategy. Dressler, who aims for spontaneity, had to get his best, honest shot in a film studio where everything is controlled.

Williams was playful that evening, and as usual, the two helped each other. Dressler suggested ideas, Williams gave them a try, and the ideas evolved. A lively Robin Williams was photographed holding a brightly colored card, until someone suggested replacing it with a small TV. The drama intensified; it was late in the evening when assistants rushed out to locate an open appliance store. They finished the shoot at midnight, ran the film to Hollywood, then to LAX, where a private plane was waiting. Once in New York, the Time staff inserted the image of a mellow Williams onto the blank screen.

Was it the impeccable perfection Time wanted? The mystery loomed until the very last minute. Dressler received the “yes” call after the cover was in print.

“When I told him, Robin was so excited,” Dressler recalled. “He was off the charts, so touched that the two of us did it together.”

A few days later, it felt like everyone in Malibu had that cover in hand.

Takeaways for Business and Leadership

Dressler’s Robin Williams story helps me understand the challenges of a creative business. Once again, I realize that when you reach out to creative people, you become more sensitive to the creative mindset and how to bring it into your life and work.

• “Make It Honest” was Dressler’s mantra, passion and style. He focused to seize the moment and make it real. In business, honesty affects everything: the quality of decisions, relationships, outcomes, success in the marketplace, credibility and trust. More than ever, honesty is a business imperative as 24/7 news, social media and engagement expose problems and poor results faster than ever.

To keep it honest, executives need to create an uninhibited exchange of ideas. It takes candid, open relationships to get unfiltered facts, unburdened by spin and politicking. It requires you to be honest with yourself and to expect that colleagues will do the same. Only with the best information and dialogue can you stretch and make that “iconic shot.”

• Be Flexible. But there are no guarantees that a challenge will match your strengths. Business managers need to be flexible, which can be difficult for tough-minded executives. Many are locked into an approach or a career track, even as it becomes obsolete. Becoming a dinosaur can happen overnight. You need to stay current and adapt to change. I encourage my colleagues to talk with people from different fields to spark creativity and spot new possibilities and threats.

• Create the Shared Thrill of Pursuit. The Williams/Dressler relationship demonstrates what happens when talented people share common views and values. It is easiest to do your best work when you collaborate with people who think the same way about the factors affecting success and innovation. The alignment of minds fuels the thrill of pursuit, a focus to create something incredible and an openness to figure out how.

• Recognize Accomplishments. Unlike many business people, Williams was comfortable giving feedback and recognizing great work. Dresser remembers the actor’s spontaneous reactions. Williams was so proud of what they did together, and he made it known. Following the cover shoot, he told Dressler, “I think you have the cover of Time magazine.” Robin Williams was joyful, at peace.

Posted on the Wharton Magazine blog, October 9, 2014

The Case for Thinking Differently about Consultants

Pricey engagements too often disappoint

Your client wants to accomplish an aggressive list of priorities. As a consultant, your job is to help them create the right change that will make a substantial difference. But that’s not what usually happens.

Pricey consulting gigs too often disappoint. Acquisitions hobble companies when their leaders are unable resolve conflicting views. Transformation, initially the goal, becomes a debacle as mid and lower levels watch the big ideas crumble. Unfortunately the human side of change and growth is hugely neglected, including the biases and faulty assumptions of leaders and their advisors.

In 1995, John Kotter, Professor of Leadership, Emeritus at Harvard, published research showing that only 30% of business change initiatives succeed. McKinsey’s survey of executives in 2008 showed that the number of successful change programs was still 30%, and several years ago, two of its consultants pointed to “The Inconvenient Truth About Change Management: Why it isn’t working and what to do about it.”

With this record as a backdrop, I was fascinated with the commentary about Duff McDonald’s new book on McKinsey. The author explores “the remarkable… disconnect between the advice McKinsey offers and the ultimate results.” The list of bad advice is startling. So are observers too quick to blame a company for a failed initiative or strategy, as though the vente toboggan aquatique gonflable data, facts and logic behind a strategy or deal tell the entire story? A client’s inability to convince others to act on a final plan is just one of many factors that fuel bad outcomes.

A consultancy needs to keep ahead of change and make the most of a client’s strengths while bringing forth fresh ideas, new behaviors and insights. They should be engaged to add value and do what the company can’t do alone. Their advice should help the client avoid the missteps that lead to bad decisions and botch implementations. I’d push expectations even higher: consultants need to inspire innovative, but “doable” recommendations and plans.

Broad-based innovation is one of the most important drivers of growth today. But it won’t happen unless clients are able to think differently and honestly about their businesses, their M.O. and their leadership. Companies can’t lock into a model for success when the environment is radically changing, or the consumer is moving to a different place. A consultant that gets the client to reimagine or invigorate a business, even to include ideas that were once off the table, has a valuable and much needed skill set.

What makes these consultants uniquely effective?

They ask the right questions, for example: Are the big ideas big enough, and supported by the right data? Are clients so afraid of risk that they are overlooking some of the most promising opportunities of the century? Are they stuck in their own story? Are they afraid to deal with the currents and truths that are blocking results?

They listen, ask, and then listen more. In the creating strategy and the solutions, they look for the missing pieces, connect the dots, and spot connections that create new options. They are able to present alternatives, backed by facts and logic, in a way that the client will hear and engage. They suggest ways to leverage emerging trends and needs, even if the client is inclined to stay the course.

They encourage clients to develop new collaborative efforts inside and out – to save development time and create the discipline to invest in their own ideas with greater confidence. They understand how connections beyond stakeholders can open doors and spark new partnerships.

They seek information and opinions from a wide group that goes beyond the “inner circle” of top executives and cuts across generations and levels.

They think broadly even if the client doesn’t; they know that in a complex, unpredictable world, no one problem can be considered or solved in isolation. While a client asks for a study that targets a single function, product, or problem, context matters. Casting a wider net catches the critical insights and the intriguing ideas beyond the client’s usual line of vision.

They view each business from all relevant perspectives, which means taking a global view, looking outward considering critical constituents, competitive activity, customers, and technology, as well as inward including infrastructure, capabilities and capacity.

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My research shows that innovative business leaders know that actions designed to make their current businesses marginally better aren’t enough in today’s markets. They understand the importance of speed and creating a strong sense of urgency. They have a “ruthless” focus on people and their cultures that is hardly typical today. These leaders need consultants who can think big but create proposals that work. I’ll continue to explore this new breed of consultant in a future blog.

What Makes a Formidable Innovator?

Does an unstoppable innovation company simply sell ahead-of-the-herd products that give customers exactly what they want? No doubt, Apple is one of the most innovative companies of the century. Their superior products command premium prices from the stickiest customers imaginable. But head-of-the-curve products regularly appear in the market, only to be one or several-hit wonders.

So what makes a company a formidable innovator capable of transforming industries and consumer behavior? I can think of several things, largely invisible to the naked eye.

1.  A company’s strategy successfully moves the business and consumer to another place and gets people to think and act differently.

Steve Jobs made Apple great by moving beyond computers and deciding that Apple would sell the public something they didn’t know they wanted. The parc gonflable innovative thinking behind the new devices allowed Apple to invent new markets and up-end industries.

The combined iPod, phone and Internet connector called the iPhone changed consumer behavior and captured the attention of the business world. I remember watching the traders on CNBC’s Fast Money ridicule the new phone on its launch day, 2007.  These same market strategists soon became believers.

Then with the iPad, Apple penetrated the barriers of established markets, including stodgy law firms and financial institutions. This newest device intrigued the business world by engaging entirely new consumer segments, educators, the medical community, Gen Y – even the parents of children with severe forms of autism (see 60 Minutes). Consumers discovered they could do things they never did before, and marketers jumped to make digital media part of their consumer and in-store strategies.

Bloomberg Businessweek said in late March, “The iPad was at once familiar [to iPhone users] and radically new to consumers – an instant hit.” It was a huge game-changer. Tech observers predict that the tablet could overcome the PC “as consumer tech’s center of gravity” as competitors rushed to redefine their offerings, add features, and create new partnerships.

Apple proves it’s a formidable innovator every time its products strengthen or build the capabilities and competencies of consumers, businesses and universities. Its specialists have worked with prominent media companies to develop marketing innovations to support their franchises. Independent developers (a burgeoning industry) have created over 600,000 apps for the iPhone (plus another 500,000 for Android phones). “Boundary-less” has moved beyond theory to the real world as silos, language barriers and technical hurdles are torn away.

2.  The business’ culture bolsters and sustains innovation.

So-called innovative companies are everywhere, though many can’t sustain their markets and ultimately go away or play a diminished role. The business culture needs to drive innovation if a company wants to be a formidable innovator – and that starts with the mindset and behaviors of the business’ leaders. Apple came up with the iPod, not Sony.

In 2005, Motorola took the market by storm with the RAZR, but couldn’t duplicate its success in a quickly changing market. They stopped innovating following the sudden death of CMO Geoffrey Frost, [called the father of the RAZR and an iconic marketer], and failed to invest in the next big wave of groundbreaking consumer devices. CEO Ed Zander is said to have abandoned Frost’s mission and his distinct culture for growth in which the marketing and technical development teams thrived.

That hasn’t happened to Apple – not yet. CEO Tim Cook acknowledges that Innovation is their focus and their culture fuels it. For Cook, his company’s culture is “so unique and special” that he’s committed to work hard and keep it that way.

3.  Leaders have big ambitions for change even when their markets look challenged or sleepy.

There are leaders who can find a different angle, a way to create a more unique customer experience, to rethink what’s possible amid the most entrenched or difficult environments. Look at Kohler and Ikea, for example, when each was confronted with the Great Recession.

In 2008, Kohler moved quickly to counter a declining U.S. market – they cut production at domestic factories by 30% to build the export business and altered the product line to capture the Chinese market, especially the top end. A priority product was the Numi, a robotic toilet that sells for $6,400 to consumers who are obviously looking for more than utility in a plumbing fixture. Expensive but luxurious, the consumer enjoys leg-warming porcelain, music, special lighting, motion detectors and three bidets. In March, the Wall Street Journal reported that half the revenues came from China.

But Ikea took a different course – to restructure the way the business is run with the goal of continuing to improve the lives of customers while giving them lower prices each year. Managers would separate good and bad costs and use every cost reduction to build up the essentials of the business or turn the savings back to the customer in lower prices. The results were noteworthy –10% top line annual growth and stable margins in a severely challenged economy.

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A formidable innovator commands admiration, respect and wonder in the marketplace – formidable means a powerful contender, but not always the biggest. These companies sustain their position over long periods of time. At the opposite end of the innovation continuum is what John Bell, former CEO of Jacobs Suchard, calls the Hustlers: companies that make incremental changes – tweak after tweak, easy to copy.

Figure out what’s right for your business. But weigh the costs and benefits of the path you choose.

The Charisma Debate

The issue of charisma emerged early in this presidential election: concerns that Romney lacks sizzle while Obama wins the charisma bowl. Some experts say leaders (political or otherwise) must be charismatic to succeed. Others – including some of the best CEOs I know – believe that great leadership has less to do with personal magnetism. It’s strategy and results that really matter.

Dave Thomas, founder of Wendy’s, was a bigger-than-life executive whose reach extended far beyond the fast-food industry. His self-effacing style and charisma connected him to his consumers in over 800 TV commercials – 90% of Americans knew who he was! But it wasn’t just charisma that made Thomas’ Wendy’s the third largest fast food restaurant in the nation. Even “born leaders” need a compelling strategy and message, and the people behind them to make change happen.

I’ve found that charisma will not sustain confidence among a leader’s constituents unless he develops a credible message and reinforces repeatedly how vente chateau gonflable and why the strategies will work – and are working. Without a candid exchange about the future and a viable strategy for change, a leader is likely to face intractable apathy and subpar performance.

In her blog on 9/11, Rosabeth Kanter, professor at the Harvard Business School, argued that we can’t discount charisma: She says, “The emerging leaders and rising entrepreneurs on whom I place my bets have one thing in common besides a promising idea: a lot of charisma.” Kanter believes that, although we tend to discount charisma of late, this personal magnetism makes people believe a leader can attract the best talent and deliver.

Certainly charisma is helpful, but executives with less charisma can succeed with the right messaging, a convincing commitment to get it done, and decisive action. I encourage my clients to formulate an impelling vision, spark excitement for change, and develop a viable plan for action. Creating the excitement of charisma through messaging and vision usually works when coupled with the right amount of input and practice. Ultimately, an organization needs to feel successful and see that success in the numbers.

Harry Cannes was a young business leader who lacked long-held accomplishments in the high tech world. He was extremely charismatic, eager to make a mark in his company – and that’s what he did. He listened to advice and worked hard to demonstrate new behaviors and skills needed in the business. Even veteran managers rallied around him and helped him develop his big ideas. The business soared.

No doubt, it wasn’t easy. Harry worked hard to lead the change; he methodically mapped out a number of action steps. Among them, we shaped messages that encouraged change and respected everyone; we aligned the structure and organizational capabilities with the intent of his new business vision. We also looked at the culture and adjusted both goals and incentives to balance risk-taking with a focus on customers and profits. And we engaged large groups of leaders and staff in re-creating the culture.

A less charismatic Alan Jones was highly respected and known for his ability to turn businesses around. His message was charismatic in substance and tone: “A turnaround is in our future, and essential to sustain the business,” he proclaimed. “Without question, we’ll have to work hard. I am confident we have the strategy and know-how to get this done. Trust me – I promise that the results you deliver will be rewarded.”

How did Alan fare? The organization bought it. They believed his message. The new focus and follow-through generated a palpable sense of spirit and confidence across the organization; we saw it in the actions of people in every discipline.

If you believe you have charisma and want results, it’s important to persuasively express any change you are promoting. Whether you have the “sizzle” or not, it’s vital that you create a powerful message and support it with broad-based strategies that will evoke excitement and commitment. People need to believe in the importance of what they are doing.  In business, magnetism helps, but will get you just so far. You need to package your message so people get it, want it, and want to be a part of it. There’s much you can do to get everyone to lean into the business.

We’ll see how the presidential race goes. Governor Christie of New Jersey assured the press that qualifications will trump charisma. He says, Romney is who he is – look at what’s he’s done. He may just be right.

Let’s hear about your experience. How do you create the right amount of magnetic excitement in your business?

BMW

From "Ultimate" to "Iconic" in 60 Seconds?

Talk about drive.

In its ad push for 2012, BMW is trying to accelerate its image beyond the “ultimate” in “ultimate driving machine.” The company wants to sell car buyers (and investors, employees and the public) on the idea that one of the world’s top brands means more than you think, and more than a road experience.

As a loyal Bimmer driver, I’m ready to believe. And as I look around me, I see that Bimmer fanatics are ready to genuflect.

But believe what? What car brand needs to promise—and deliver—more than great engineering, speed, safety, major fun factor—not to mention the status medallion?

As a leadership and strategy consultant, here’s my answer:  BMW wants iconic. I haven’t seen them use the word, but I rank “let’s get to iconic”—ambition plus execution—as the single best strategy to survive and thrive right now. And I read iconic when they say: There’s nothing like owning a BMW. Or when Ian Robertson, BMW’s sales and marketing chief, talks about transforming the automotive retail experience or setting new standards for dynamic performance.

We know iconic when we see it: the Beatles, the Oreo, and the U.S. Constitution. 

It means creating and keeping a reputation that’s near bulletproof. And it means capturing the market with product after product (or service or invention) that proves it. An iconic company isn’t just “Best in Class.” It defines best in class before others even start looking for it.

If that was never easy, it’s harder now. It’s the rare company—or CEO—that can settle into a Blue Chip slot in the DJ 30 and assume a lifetime membership. The Dow 30 might not even be the club you want to join these days. In this economy, old icons (Kodak) and new (Avon, RIM) can be booted off anybody’s short list in no time.

That’s why my first advice to leaders, even those who are already thinking big and innovative, is to sit down and unpack the idea of iconic, then apply it where it counts, inside the organization and what you and your organization do on the outside with consumers, investors, policy makers, the community and people who have no obvious stake in your business.

Meanwhile, check out this CNBC documentary on BMW.

Let me know, what company now strikes you as iconic?

It Never Hurts to Ask Everyone

What do a business author, a financial journalist, a medical illustrator, and a software architect have in common? If I said advice on innovation, would it surprise you?

Practically Radical, William C. Taylor’s latest book, is a wonderful thought provoker, full of stories of companies and their leaders who take a novel approach to improve profits and create new enterprises. One of Taylor’s main concepts addresses the idea of engaging customers and in some cases any interested persons for ideas for new products, solutions to business and technical problems and even product design. Although companies are constantly receiving feedback from customers, Taylor encourages readers to reach beyond customers – and well beyond the responsible employee group – to track, value and encourage participation from the human race.

This is very reminiscent of the data presented by financial journalist James Surowiecki in The Wisdom of Crowds: Why the Many Are Smarter Than the Few and How Collective Wisdom Shapes Business, Economies, Societies and Nations. Surowiecki asserts that ideas submitted by a wide range of people are better and more innovative than those of a single individual or an ongoing committee.

Software architect Blaise Aguera y Arcas illustrates the power of collective intelligence in his demo of the Photosynth project. Photosynth technology takes Flicker photographs, which include partial images (e.g., of a structure or landscape) submitted by anyone, anywhere and intelligently combines the partial images of a subject (e.g., the Eiffel Tower) to create a perfect image of the complete structure for all to use and enjoy. This convergence of independent images to create a whole may lead to new discoveries, connections or historical revelations drawn from the wider audience that the picture now reaches. See the TED Talk, Blaise Aguera y Arcas demos Photosynth.

In the same vein, in the well-known TED talk, David Bolinsky Animates a Cell, Bolinsky, a medical illustrator and animator, explains that he took on a project for Harvard to animate a cell in an enlarged movie format to unveil the amazing activity that goes on in these complex metropolises called our cells. “Cells work to help our bodies – huge entities that they will never see – function properly,” he says.

If we think of each individual as a cell, we can extend that thought to say that each of us is ultimately working to make this world function better, even if we don’t realize the part we play. As in the Photosynth project, the contributors don’t necessarily know about the end product that’s being created. This concept is proven in Taylor’s Practically Radical. Over and over, he provides instances where contributors, unrelated to the business’ reward system, offer profitable ideas for improvements.

4 Ways to Get to Your Best Solutions

So how can your business achieve benefit from the arguably infinite number of ideas in the collective intelligence? Here are 4 ideas:

1.  Expand the decision process and encourage diverse opinions when developing your business vision, strategies and product plans.

2.  Create a structured system to evaluate options and put ideas into action.

3.  Restructure your reward and recognition systems: no leader or business unit should feel it has to come up with the answer alone. To assess performance, focus on business results (instead of the source of innovation) to encourage everyone to accept others’ ideas.

4.  Develop a recognition program for submitting ideas so business units seek a wide range of ideas and encourage active participation.

The best strategies and initiatives are developed with extensive input and participation, tapping into the intelligence of many. As I advise clients, it never hurts to ask everyone.

Sharon Terry, Director of Strategic Initiatives at LaserBeam Consulting, helps executives unleash their own and their business’ full potential, allowing them to amaze their customers, leapfrog competitors and grow rapidly.