We talked for more than three hours brainstorming different ideas, playing out possible scenarios (some of the more outrageous ones really broke the tension) and finally came up with a plan that Ben felt comfortable implementing, based on his desire to stay at the company and belief that Jeana really couldn’t see what she was doing wrong and that she used to do it right.

Ben agreed that it wouldn’t be a quick fix, but that it was worth the effort.

Here’s an overview of our plan: as with the mule (described here) first we had to get Jeana’s attention; then help her develop a new version of how she used to be, since the old version was based on who she was before the promotion and that person really didn’t exist any more. Sounds simple, but accomplishing will be anything but.

During our brainstorming, we decided that the best 2×4 would be Jeana’s own words, so Ben dug out an old voice activated recorder that he could use to tape solid examples of both her talk and her walk.

Once he has a good selection, he’ll transcribe them and send me a copy. We’ll sort through them for the most obvious contradictions between talk and walk.

We agreed that the most critical aspect of the operation would be how Ben brings it up so we decided to wait until we have all our ducks, organize them and see what makes the most sense. We want to avoid creating a confrontational atmosphere.

The one thing we’re sure of is that it will be totally private, with nobody involved except Ben and Jeana. Ben has no interest in embarrassing her and knows that the whole thing could backfire and he’d be out. Even so, he feels it’s worth it, since he’d be gone anyway and, based on the weekly recruiter calls he gets, another job isn’t a concern.

Ben plans to start collecting “samples” right after Labor Day. It’ll be awhile, but I’ll keep you posted.

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I received an email last weekend that I want to share with you; obviously, the names and any identifying information have been changed.

Hi Miki, I’m at my wits end and writing you is pretty much my last resort. We’ve been out of touch for several years, so I don’t know if you remember me, but it was really you who taught me how to manage when I first became a manager way back in ‘99 and I’ve followed and built on that ever since, plus the info in your blog has given me yet more insights over the last 18 months.

I believe that it’s those skills, or MAP as you now call it, that helped me build my reputation as a manager whose group (department, now) always had the lowest turnover in every company I’ve worked for, and the main reason I was hired into my current position as director of engr. But I don’t think I can stay.

My wife is aghast at the idea, and I’m not happy about it, but I’ve been here nearly a year, and things aren’t improving. The company is fantastic and well positioned and the CEO and other sr execs are great, but as I said to my wife, I’m really being forced to quit over religious differences-my boss thinks she’s God and I don’t (forgive me, I’m trying to keep my sense of humor).

I made sure that culture was a main component in all the interviews with my boss and everyone else, including the CEO and it seemed to be a perfect match.

When I asked Jeana, the engr vp, why the last director left, she said that turnover was extremely high and that director wasn’t able to reverse it. She said that my reputation for being able to both hire and keep a stable organization was a large part of my attraction. It was subtle, but in all our discussions she made it sound as if my predecessor was to blame for the turnover.

As I’m sure you’ve already figured out, the problem is Jeana, who doesn’t walk her talk. In a large nutshell, here’s a sample of the kind of stuff she does.

• She makes casual comments to my developers that are actually disparaging in one way or another and then says she was only joking when I call her on it.
• She’s an engr by training and makes suggestions that make no sense, but because she’s the vp everyone thinks they should listen to her.
• She doesn’t discuss, she states, and I’m supposed to agree because she “knows.”
• She’s read lots of books on culture and leadership, is always quoting them, but doesn’t seem to realize that she’s not practicing them.

Now, I’ve believed in open communication since the days when you first instilled it in my then-company’s culture and practiced it and seen it in action since, so I applied it in every way I knew to get her to recognize the problems she’s causing and that she need’s to walk what she talks.

But no matter what I say, or what examples I offer, she merely explains that I don’t understand, but with patience and her as an example my own management skills will increase to the point that I can accomplish what I was brought in to do. Jeana says that’s been the problem with all the directors since she was promoted, none of us have been willing to follow her lead and improve our skills, so she’s forced to do both jobs, director and vp. I’ve asked around, and it seems that this “god” complex started with her promotion.

So, that’s it, Miki, I still like her, but what else can I do? I have a bit of rope left and am more than willing to try anything you dream up.

Yours with high hopes,

Ben

I remembered Ben vividly and on the one hand was delighted to be back in touch with him, but on the other, being the “last resort” for anything is daunting, to say the least, particularly in the case of a manager this talented.

I immediately called and we arrange a time to talk; strategizing something this complicated isn’t fit for an email exchange.

Continued tomorrow…

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Yesterday I wrote again about how changing a culture can save a company and I’ve highlighted dozens of similar stories discussing how culture underlies company success or failure over the last 18 months.

Culture is also one of the biggest causes of failed mergers, think Daimler and Chrysler.

A CNN Money.com article notes, “Some companies do it well. Johnson & Johnson and Cisco Systems in the 1990s cautiously evaluated target companies’ cultures and walked away from deals that made sense technologically, financially and strategically, but not culturally. “That’s smart, but rare,” according to Glenn Carroll, a Stanford Graduate School of Business organizations professor.”

Turnaround manager Martin Wobornik says, “…to treat these soft issues as seriously as you would a merger’s hard aspects, which include integrating accounting, human resource and supply chain systems. People are your most valuable assets. You can only make them stay (so long) with financial incentives. If they’re unhappy they’ll leave.”

The only difference between the incompatibility of cultures in a merger and the incompatibility of a candidate and a company’s culture is money.

Executives make money when mergers happen, whereas they lose money on culturally incompatible hires.

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In 2005, Merck was in crisis when Richard Clark was tapped as the man to save it and promoted to CEO. In addition to monster lawsuits and the upcoming loss of patent protection on two major products, “Merck’s labs, which other companies once hailed as a bastion of scientific innovation, were crippled by a culture that buried good ideas under layers of bureaucracy. But in the morass, Clark saw opportunity. “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste,” says the CEO.” Rather than doing typical short-term maneuvers, such as large layoffs, Clark chose instead to tackle the root of the problem—Merck’s culture.

Merck’s Board was smart in promoting the insider; during his 35 years, Clark had watched the company degenerate into a collection of fiefdoms more focused on advancing their own agendas than on getting the right drugs to patients. To revitalize drug development he’d need to get Merck’s 60,000 employees–scientists, regulatory staff, and salespeople–to work together.

Clark set out to blast open deeply blocked channels of communication. Over the years, Merck had fallen out of touch with customers. Clark wanted to get employees to stop thinking about their specific job functions and to instead focus on the diseases they were trying to conquer. So he began placing people in teams defined by therapeutic fields such as cancer and diabetes. He encouraged the teams to huddle with doctors who prescribe Merck’s products, patients who take them, and even insurers that decide whether or not to pay for them. “It’s a different way of doing business,” says Clark…Bringing disparate voices together from Day One “is the way work should get done in companies.”

Clark also recognized, and R&D chief Peter S. Kim concurred, that they needed to overturn some of the most deeply ingrained behavior of the scientific world, not just at Merck.

“One of the hardest decisions any scientist has to make is when to abandon an experimental drug that’s not working. An inability to admit failure leads to inefficiencies. A scientist may spend months and tens of thousands of dollars studying a compound, hoping for a result he or she knows likely won’t come, rather than pitching in on a project with a better chance of turning into a viable drug. So Kim is promising stock options to scientists who bail out on losing projects. It’s not the loss per se that’s being rewarded but the decision to accept failure and move on. “You can’t change the truth. You can only delay how long it takes to find it out,” Kim says. “If you’re a good scientist, you want to spend your time and the company’s money on something that’s going to lead to success.”"

Cultures don’t change overnight or in two years or even in ten, it’s an ongoing battle. Clark is “still haunted by the culture of complacency that left companies like his stuck in an innovation rut.” If you ever feel comfortable that your model is the right model, you end up where the industry is today,” he says. “It’s always going to be continuous improvement. We will never declare victory.”

There are good lessons for young companies in the fall and subsequent rising of 114 year-old Merck and a CEO who was a “low-key executive…from a very unglamorous post…head of manufacturing.”

Clark sums it up nicely when he says that finding a comfort zone, whether in your business model or your culture is one of the worst things that can happen to you.

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It used to be when managers had new and challenging situations they needed resolve that they’d read expert information and discuss it with friends/colleagues; then they’d think about what they’d read/heard and synthesize the input, tweaking it so it would fit their MAP and the situation perfectly and, in doing so, it became an approach that they truly owned.

Best, management skills evolved, both personally and on a wider front as they shared their solutions with other managers, who also thought about it, adding and subtracting based on their situation, experience and MAP.

Rarely did managers use the whole cloth from just one source, but, unfortunately, I find that happening more often these days.

Granted, the demands on managers’ time are greater than ever, but this trend seems to be based more in a belief that most, if not all, solutions are available on the Net if one searches long enough and because too many managers seem to feel that if a solution is a better-than-50% fit, it can be used as is.

Of course, that’s often better than the “do first, think later” school of management.

But the way to become a great manager is to mull, accept, reject, evolve and even change your MAP as you digest and apply the information around you.

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Some of these are making the rounds on the Net, some have been around for ages, but the first one is an original of mine.

I have a million GB memory running on 1k of RAM.

Out of my mind. Back in five minutes.

Ever stop to think—and forget to start again?

I smile because I don’t know what the hell is going on.

Earth is the insane asylum for the universe.

And the last two are well worth taking to heart

Don’t take life too seriously; no one gets out alive.

He who dies with the most toys is nonetheless dead.

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An interesting post by José de Francisco led me to a Business Week story on an experiment that NEC just started. José summed it up this way, “Basically, the experiment is about capturing and analyzing the researchers’ workday, including note taking, reading materials, water-cooler chats and brainstorming sessions. To regain a clear leadership in high-tech innovations NEC feels they need to develop best practices by first understanding how their own magic sauce comes about.”

What struck me in reading the article was that, in spite of the skepticism over the effort’s value, the effort itself required a major cultural upheaval and a lot of guts just to try it.

Further, since it’s not a fast experiment yielding quick returns the gamble is much greater than many companies would try.

And that, in itself, should be considered a win.

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In the wake of years of corporate misconduct, there’s been tons of talk about the necessity of building ethical corporate cultures. Along with the talk have come dozens of books, hundreds consultant offerings and thousands of articles detailing how to do it.Much of the advice is aimed at CEOs and the senior ranks of management and focuses primarily on building a culture that doesn’t lie, cheat or steal-obviously, a key requirement in today’s world.

But a true ethical culture goes well beyond that, valuing all employees at all levels, recognizing the need for, and developing ways to add, sustainability and environmentally positive practices, being socially responsible—all while staying profitable.

A good place to start is with plain old-fashioned decency, according to Steve Harrison’s new book, The Manager’s Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies..

“I know there are leaders are out there who’ll look at this and say, ‘I don’t have time for nice, just show me the money,’ ” Mr. Harrison says. “But being decent isn’t about being nice or doing things more slowly or spending more money - it’s about treating people fairly and focusing on what will make people want to stay in a company.”

Of course, decency is best when it starts at the top, but even when it doesn’t it can still be practiced at any level, by anyone, in the company.

Many acts of decency boil down to, or are grounded in, plain old good manners and politeness, the lack of which people have been bemoaning for years. The reason given is that they’re too busy to act politely—but it’s amazing how quick the same people are to notice rudeness and disrespect when they’re on the receiving end.

Whatever you want to call it—decency, politeness, respect, manners—try it in your life and watch your world slowly change for the better.

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I write constantly about the importance of culture, and that why your MAP must be, at the least, synergistic with the culture of any company you join, no matter your position.But outside validation is always nice and Dave McGinn in Saturday’s Financial Post offers telling proof.

According to a recent survey of 200 executives from across Canada, the overwhelming majority — 99.9% — report there is a direct correlation between corporate culture and financial performance. As well, 77% said cultural fit is more important than skills in external hires. When it comes to hiring from within, 61% of the executives said fit outweighs skills. The study was conducted by Waterstone Human Capital, a Toronto-based search firm.

“Fit is critical,” says Marty Parker, Waterstone’s managing director. “Everyone recognizes that both skill sets and fit are important, but even at the senior executive level, you can teach skills.”…

Jerry Stilson, a partner at Cenera, a Calgary-based human resource and business consulting firm, says…”You can have all the skills in the world, but if you don’t fit into the culture, if you don’t fit with the values of the organization, it costs the company big money to replace you. … it is a two-way street. People have to figure out the kind of organization that works for them, too.”

So what does all this mean to you, personally?

First, really know yourself, your MAP, not just your public persona, but who you truly are.

Next, define the parameters of the values, attitudes, and philosophy that you can whole-heartedly support—this is a totally subjective exercise and has nothing to do with any specific position, responsibilities or salary.

Finally, be prepared to walk away from an offer where the culture isn’t at least synergistic with, or truly doesn’t fit, your MAP, just as quickly as you would walk from a candidate who didn’t fit.

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A few days ago when I wrote Hiring follow-through I forgot to include an essential ingredient that both assures your new people that you value their input and enables you to improve your hiring process still more.You initiated a bonding process during the interviewing and offer stage, escalated it during your post acceptance actions and set the stage for it to swing into high gear on start day.

Normally a new employee spends much of the first day or two setting up her space, voicemail, email, etc. and filling out forms-insurance, IRS, and so on.

One form worth adding to the list is an interview evaluation form.

Handled correctly it will accomplish two major goals.

• Making her comfortable with the idea of critiquing peers and bosses at the beginning of her tenure creates a strong bond of trust and tells her that her feedback is important.
• Gathering the information while it’s still fresh from people who successfully navigated your hiring process offers a totally different perspective from that of those on the inside and is invaluable in improving and fine-tuning the process.

Here’s a sample form; you should tweak it for your own situation.

Interview Evaluation

In order to compete in today’s business climate, it’s critical that we’re able to hire the best people possible-people like you! As part of our continuing effort to improve our hiring process, we ask that you take a moment and fill out this form. Please be candid; if there is information that you feel is pertinent, but you’re not comfortable writing it down, we hope that you’ll discuss it privately with whichever manager you chose.

Name:____________________________________________________________

Position:__________________________________________________________

Manager:__________________________________________________________

Date of: Phone int. ____ First int.____ Second int.____Hired _____

We’d like your honest opinion of the following:

How was your phone interview; and

how can we improve it?

How was your in-person interview(s); and

how can we improve it/them?

Was the information about the position and its potential comprehensive and consistent among interviewers?

Was the information about our culture comprehensive and consistent?

How was your after-interview process; and

how can we improve it?

Additional comments, including any thoughts on making our hiring process better!

Use this evaluation with every hire, not just certain levels or positions. For example, you learn more when you find that an admin candidate was poorly treated in an unexpected way than when an exec is kept waiting a few minutes. Both are useful information, but the first may uncover attitudes that conflict with your culture and wouldn’t show up in the normal course of things.

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