Tag Archives: Competence

How Do You Say “No”? Four Suggestions

Situation: A CEO has employees who frequently show up in his office with a request that he solves a problem for them. This takes up the time that he needs to solve bigger picture issues. He’s also concerned that employees should be able to solve these problems themselves. What tactics have others used to address this issue? How do you say “no”?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Don’t say “no.”
    • Saying “no” discourages future questions and reduces communication. Instead, answer their question with a question. Help them to see the next step in the process of solving the problem themselves.
  • What questions do you ask?
    • What do you think is the best solution?
    • Have you tried X, Y, Z?
    • Encourage them to use their peers as resources.
    • Focusing on #2 and #3, may give them insight into solving #1.
    • Have you spoken to (name) about this. (Name) may be able to help.
  • Another good response – “I can’t help you right now. Why don’t you try to solve it and I’ll follow-up with you when I can.”
  • It may be difficult to learn how to say no. Instead work on helping others to understand what you know about a particular technology or issue. Just ask questions to show them how to approach the problem, and then let them work through it.
    • This will take more time than “doing it yourself” at the beginning. However, they will rapidly gain more comfort working through issues and options on their own and will also gain both confidence and competence. Long-term it will save you time.

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How Do You Join a Not-for-Profit Board? Seven Thoughts

Situation: A CEO wants to build network of highly placed contacts. One method that she is considering is joining a not-for-profit Board. What are good organizations? Is it reasonable to expect a quid pro quo? How do you join a not-for-profit Board?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • Do your homework. Find out what the most influential Boards are in your community. For example, the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce is very active and includes in its membership many very well connected people.
  • Influential groups and boards will vary by community. In Silicon Valley, the Silicon Valley Association of Start-up Entrepreneurs (SVASE) is a good organization to consider. This and other Angel groups know small companies that need help. Others include the Sand Hill Angels and the Asian-American Multi-Technology Association. In other communities Chambers of Commerce or similar organizations are the movers and shakers.
  • Don’t count out Rotary, Lions, and similar organizations. All these organizations are struggling to recruit new members and some have movers and shakers.
  • Rather than thinking about the meetings, volunteer to join a committee. For example, volunteer to join the Finance Committee. Once the members get to know you, you may be invited to join the Board.
  • Raise money for an organization, this will bring invitations to join the Boards of other organizations.
  • Follow your passions in selecting an organization, you will be more enthusiastic.
  • It is reasonable to expect a quid pro quo? Yes, if you make a significant contribution and demonstrate your competence.

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How Do You Manage a Company Outside of Your Expertise? Three Foci

Situation: The CEO came into a company as a engineering consultant. Three years later the Board asked him to take on the CEO role. This created a credibility issue with staff because the CEO is a duck out of water, though a duck with better business sense than most others within the company. How do you manage a company outside of your technical expertise?

Advice from the CEOs:

  • The staff credibility issue may just be one of self-confidence. You have already demonstrated competence in revising company processes and improving profitability. In fact, your non-industry perspective may have contributed to your success to date.
  • Near term, in what areas should you focus?
    • Focus on building bridges which will give you more leverage to address key barriers, particularly within the more entrenched groups in the company.
    • Look at how the company communicates and exchanges information with clients. One thing that customers want is more self-service options and access to data. You have the opportunity to develop Web 2.0 capabilities which will to set the company apart in what is historically a very conservative and paper-oriented client culture.
    • These actions will help you to increase your credibility as an effective leader and CEO.
  • Longer term, what should be the plan?
    • Keep the ship running smoothly. This by itself will help to build appreciation for your talents.
    • Use any free time to create business plans of your vision for the future. Share these interactively with key staff members and incorporate their input into the plan. Involve them in disseminating the plan within the company.
    • As you develop your vision and plan, look for opportunities to attribute success to others. This will be a breath of fresh air to staff and will strengthen the bridges that you have worked to build. They will start to see you as a key ally who shares credit instead of hoarding it.

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How Do You Know Your Team Can Handle Planned Growth? Six Steps

Interview with Gene Tange, President, PearlHPS

Situation: An acquired company is poised for dramatic growth. The corporation that acquired them has questions about the current team’s capability to realize planned growth, and achieve their financial and operational targets. How can they assess whether the existing team is up to the task?

Advice from Gene Tange:

  • Think of this as an assessment process that accurately predicts the ability of the leadership team to realize planned outcomes while maturing key business processes. The leadership team is tied to both financial and operational outcomes that cover competence, continuity and alignment. This enables proactive management of organizational changes to support planned growth of the business. A real life example will illustrate the steps of the process.
  • The starting point was whether the current CEO had the right compliment of skills and capabilities to lead a high performance team. Could this leader see beyond the current stage of growth in terms of the talent and processes required for growth? Could he build a high performance team, align them and retain them to achieve results?
  • The CEO then laid out the future state organization. The essential question was whether he had teams of leaders in each of the key functions to assure success.
    • Specifically, the Product Development Team generated a competitive analysis comparing the current product with all others to assure a 2 year competitive advantage.  They were also tasked with improving cost of manufacturing.
    • The Sales Team installed an integrated CRM system to support large orders, including internal cross functional communication to increase customer visibility and satisfaction scores.
    • The Operations organization moved from a traditional batch manufacturing process to a state of the art, focused factory organization, eliminating WIP, reducing operational costs and increasing the speed of order to delivery.
    • Finally, the Finance and Administrative functions were assessed.
  • As a result, in 16 months the company grew 5x in revenue and increased margins. Time from order to delivery was reduced by 16x. Headcount was reduced while shipping volume increased by 5x.
  • A disciplined assessment process that predict business outcomes and ties your talent to the bottom line can provide a significant advantage in today’s highly competitive environment.

You can contact Gene Tange at [email protected]

Key Words: Growth, Experience, Assess, Capability, Processes, Predictive, High Performance, Competence, Continuity, Alignment, Organization, Structure, Manufacturing, Sales, Marketing, Customer Relationship, Finance

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