Faith, Trust and Analysis in Innovation

It’s the first Friday of March.  My colleague, Mark Murphy brings you a great post about Innovation.  We hope you enjoy it!

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If you are doing something that hasn’t ever been done before, or striving for results that have never been achieved before, you will inevitably encounter plenty of reasons not to proceed.  You will almost certainly, at some point, question your own confidence.  It happens so often that Harvard Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter created Kanter’s Law (http://bigthink.com/ideas/5474):  Everything can look like a failure in the middle.  When you first formulate an idea, excitement peaks.  But the more you study that idea, the more you realize the challenges that lie in front of you.

Innovators must have faith.  Faith in their idea.  Faith in the intuition that was the seed of the idea.  Faith in their ability and capability to see the idea to its fruition.  It’s important to Keep the Faith.  But that faith must not be blind faith.  It needs to be tested. 

Just as innovators must have faith which is not blind faith, it is imperative that innovators have trust that is Smart Trust. Real innovation requires trust in others, but even more importantly, trust in one’s self.  Ronald Reagan said so famously, “trust, but verify”.  Stephen M.R. Covey and Greg Link, in their book “Smart Trust – Creating Prosperity, Energy, and Joy in a Low-trust World”, talk about the importance of “’smart trust’, enabling you to operate with high trust in a low-trust world by minimizing risk and maximizing possibilities.”

Click here to learn more about how trust empowers innovation and creativity

And finally, it’s important, that while you’re keeping the faith and trusting your intuition, you do appropriate due diligence.  The proper analysis of an idea is critical to determining its viability.  Scott Anthony, in his Harvard Business Review blog post of November 17, 2011:  A Few Ideas for Beleaguered Innovators refers to Michael Lewis’s baseball book, Moneyball. It describes how the Oakland Athletics exploited market inefficiencies to compete against baseball teams with more financial resources.  Scott Anthony writes that in the book “there was a discussion between A's general manager Billy Beane and his team of scouts. They were discussing a prospect, a University of Alabama catcher named Jeremy Brown. The scouts didn't like Brown, pointing to his "soft body" and "low energy." Beane's analytical team loved Brown, citing some of his performance statistics. A debate ensued. Beane shut the discussion down with a succinct phrase that summarized his organizational philosophy: "We're not selling jeans here." Brown became the 35th overall selection in the amateur draft.

Beane's point was that he didn't care about a player's physical attributes; he cared about whether the player would perform.  And his philosophy was that statistics provided a better way to identify high performers than a player's physique or mental makeup. In this case, the scouts might have had a point — Brown ended up with a grand total of 11 major league plate appearances (where he did bang out two doubles and a single). Nonetheless, Beane's admonition is a useful reminder that innovation leaders should make sure they are asking the right questions and focusing on the right variables.”

In the end, it all comes down to one question…or three:

• Do you have faith in your idea?
• Do you trust your intuition?
• Did you do your due diligence?

Mark Murphy, FranklinCovey Consultant                

Copyright © 2012 - Mark Murphy _____________________________________________________________

If you are interested in learning more about how FranklinCovey can help impact and increase innovation in your organization, consider setting up an appointment with our online appointment book (top right side of this page.)

Enabling greatness one organization at a time,

John Vakidis

Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey

214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com

The Demise of Dysfunctional Selling

Over the last 2 days, I was fortunate to attend one of our public sessions for Helping Clients Succeed.  I was in the room with very seasoned sales professionals, CEOs and sales trainers from around the country.  Everyone was there to learn a new and better way to work with their clients. 

Let’s face it!  Dysfunctional selling is all around us.  Salespeople are trying to sell solutions to help their clients all while trying to make a quota.  Clients are struggling with their businesses and need outside vendors, yet they don’t like “being sold” and withhold valuable information that could help the salesperson help them with their products and services.  Without trust the sale will rarely happen. 

Take the comic above for example.  Do your prospects feel like wallets rather than people?  If so, you will rarely close a deal.

Here is a typical scenario.  After a few short interactions, the client asks for a proposal just to see if the solution is in their budget.  Like a dog fetching a ball, the salesperson gladly chases that opportunity, wastes a lot of time drafting a proposal and drumming up internal support without ever knowing if the client is going to buy or not.  In most cases they don’t.  The sales rep is now back at the beginning of trying to drum up new business and starting this dysfunctional process all over again.  At the same time, the client is also frustrated because they need outside assistance, yet think all salespeople are out to get their money.  The next vendor approaches them and they repeat again, too.

If the above scenario sounds like your sales process, then you might want to take a look at our Sales Performance Solutions.  We work with sales teams with an entirely different approach.  Your sales professionals learn that “Intent counts more than technique” and to “Move off the solution” and to truly focus on the client, rather than trying to make the sale.  After they go through the process, when it is time to offer the client a solution, they provide them with one that “exactly meets their needs.”  These sales have a higher close ratio, are often much bigger and clients are happy to do business with you again and refer you to other clients.

Ready for a change?  If so, use the Online Appointment Book at the top right of this page and let’s set up a 30-minute call to explore your situation.  You can also learn more by ordering a copy of the book, Let’s Get Real or Let’s Not Play: Transforming the Buyer/Seller Relationship. 

Helping our clients succeed,

John Vakidis

PS - if you are an executive or a sales leader, consider joining us in Dallas on April 5^th for a ½ day session to better understand this process.  Contact me directly to register.  Seats are limited.

Organizational Trust - Alignment

Over the last 2 weeks, I have shared to posts by my colleague, Dr. Todd Wangsgard:

·         Trust - The Key to Confidence

·         Relationship Trust and Your Behavior

Today’s post wraps up this 3-part series.  Todd elaborates on Organizational Trust & Alignment.  Enjoy!

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Leadership and Team Trust – Keyword: Alignment

(Part 3 of 3)

I intend for employees to work well together. But sometimes they don’t.

I intend for people to understand the department’s goals. But sometimes they aren’t clear.

I intend for the production line to remain “up” all shift long. But sometimes it isn’t.

I intend for my kids to just know that I love them. But sometimes they wonder.

The difference between what we intend and what is could be called a credibility gap.  As we examined in my first blog posting in this series (see Leadership and Trust: Keyword – “Confidence”) every person, organization, team, process, or piece of equipment portrays some level of credibility. Credibility is the sum total of one’s integrity, intent, capabilities, and results. The gap I’ve described in the examples above is typical of that rift between good intentions and actual capabilities and/or results that occurs when something is out of alignment.

High trust teams require alignment.

This is where the leader can leverage his or her efforts to build personal credibility at the Self Trust level and the increased trust that comes from key behaviors (see my second posting Leadership and Relationship Trust – Keyword: “Behavior”) at the Relationship Trust level. These combine for the leader who must create trustworthy systems and symbols that are aligned.

A mid-level manager at a large auto manufacturer with whom I work quite closely expressed frustration when he had done everything he could to be a more trustworthy leader, develop relationships of trust, and still find that people were failing to “deliver the goods” on the job.  It wasn’t until he took a closer look at his department’s systems and processes, that he found one of them was broken.  He tried hard to be fair.  He was tireless in his communication.  He treated his associates with dignity and respect and expected the same of them.  However, the computerized system that made work assignments each day – determining which stations each associate would work at – kept putting some people on the same processes, shift after shift.  This created issues of boredom, repetitive motion injuries, low morale, and resentment.  “After all,” associates would think, “I’m sure the boss keeps me here because he doesn’t like me.”

When things get out of alignment and we fail to address them, people will quickly assume the worst.

It wasn’t until he discovered that there was a break-down in the training reporting system that ensured associates were qualified in the computer system to work in other areas that he was able to apply a quick and effective remedy.  He aligned the system with his good intentions.

Ask your team to examine the systems in your department – communication, budgeting, training, meetings, performance, etc. – and get their input on where these could be better aligned.  Your interest and concern alone will generate trust, not to mention the many ways you rebuild and refine systems and processes that ensure your team remains credible and successful, long after you are promoted.

And if your kids begin to wonder how much you care, give yourself an alignment: Tell ‘em and show ‘em!

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Thanks for coming back over the last few weeks to read Todd’s posts.  We hope they have been insightful have given you some insight into the powerful framework within our Speed of Trust Process. 

If you would be interested in visiting with Todd and your Client Partner, please consider scheduling an appointment in our Online Appointment Book (upper right hand side of this page).  Click here to learn more about Todd’s background and how he can help improve your team or organization.

Aligning organizations through The Speed of Trust,

John Vakidis

Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey

214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com

PS - Have you read The Speed of Trust yet?  Click here to view an invitation to an upcoming keynote with the author, Stephen M.R. Covey.  An executive books summary is provided on this page.  Enjoy!

Relationship Trust and Your Behavior

As a continuation from last week’s post, please enjoy Part 2 of 3 in a series by my colleague, Dr. Todd Wangsgard.  Todd expounds on Trust and how it impacts relationships.  Enjoy!

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Leadership and Relationship Trust – Keyword: “Behavior”

(Part 2 of 3)



Actions speak louder than words.

Years ago Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of The7 Habits of Highly Effective People, (and father to Speed of Trust author Stephen M.R. Covey) found himself teaching a workshop in Oregon where a participant related to him during a break some of the challenges he was facing due to his past indiscretions.  Dr. Covey was careful to bring out the principle that:

You can’t talk your way out of a problem you’ve behaved your way into.

Years later in his research, SMRC noted that while it is true you can’t talk your way out of a problem you’ve behaved your way into, it is true that:

You can behave your way out of a problem you’ve behaved your way into.

Once the leader establishes and continues to build personal credibility through the Four Cores (see my Part 1 blog posting, Leadership and Trust – Keyword: “Confidence”), it is critical to examine and practice the behaviors that will allow him or her to build trust in relationships with individuals – personally and professionally.

Let’s look at the headlines.

Without divulging specifics on these stories, let’s uncover what business headlines from the past few days suggest to us about the importance of trusting behaviors:

·         Fast food CEO has big plans to flip its ranking

·         Auto manufacturer changes body style to appeal to customers

·         Board of private company opens the books to dispel rumors

·         Company makes good on broken promises

Each of these speaks to the behaviors that are being demonstrated in order to build or rebuild trust. Those include at least five from SMRC’s 13 High Trust Behaviors list, such as Listen First, Get Better, Create Transparency, Confront Reality, and Right Wrongs.

Simply put, trustworthy leaders lead out when it comes to behaving in ways that builds confidence and they inspire others within their ranks to do likewise.  And just because you may have slipped and lost the trust of someone significant, it is often easier than you thought to rebuild that trust by quickly identifying the key behaviors that were/are missing and behaving your way back into the other person’s good graces.

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Join us next Friday as Dr. Wangsgard wraps up this 3-part series and discusses the power of Leadership and Team Trust.  Click here to learn more about Todd and the programs he can facilitate for your organization.

Restoring relationships through The Speed of Trust,

John Vakidis

Associate Client Partner | FranklinCovey

214.387.9960 | john.vakidis@franklincovey.com

PS - Check out our upcoming Speed of Trust event on LinkedIn!