November is coming and with it, memories of football and cancer.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

Let's talk football for a moment... the North American type.

When the day comes for you to hang up the pads (and it always does), the next day you sign up to play "touch football". Touch football tends to embrace all the same rules as tackle football, minus the teeth rattling hits... well, in theory. I've played touch football for decades and always come back to one game that will stand out among the countless games I've played. The game went something like this.

The first game of the season was perfect... partly cloudy and crisp, with just a little wind. My defensive play was solid, particularly for the first game; as I leaped for an under thrown ball and saw my first interception of the season, "something went wrong".

What happened next is a recount from memory, and what my teammates told me after the fact.

The receiver, with an eye on that under thrown ball I spoke of, charged back with the intent to, at the very least, prevent the interception. The collision between our two bodies was "dramatic" and I was knocked back towards the ground with my right arm extended. As I watching myself hit the ground, the receiver proceeded to fall on me.

With the sound of whistles and players surrounding me, I clutched my right shoulder trying to become as small as possible to deal with the pain. Over the next ten minutes as I wrestled to get off the field, three classic "dumb ass" characteristics of being a guy were observed. 

Number One: As I lay on the ground fighting the pain and trying to understand my situation, someone came up and said, "That was a great defensive play man!" To this day, the comment and recognition is greatly appreciated.

Number Two: Somewhere in my mental haze I got it into my head that my shoulder was dislocated and there were at least two attempts where we tried to "pop" my shoulder back into place; just like in the movies. This of course was to no avail as my shoulder was very broken.

Number Three: When I was able to stand and slowly make my way off the field (dropping to one knee a number of times I might add), all I kept saying to myself was, "Whatever you do, don't cry".

X-rays revealed a rather bad break at the top of the humorous, and as I got used to the immobilizing sling I would wear for the next six weeks, I called my sister to ask if she could pick me up at the hospital. She said she would and I waited.

As we left the hospital, we laughed at the sight of the two of us... me with my newly minted broken shoulder, and her with a problematic knee that now had her using a cane. I realize now that this was the last time were really laughed.

Three days later my sister stood up at work and her femur snapped. 

Her stage four lung cancer had led to secondary bone cancer, which was so aggressive, it had weakened the bone to a point the femur could not support her own weight. My sister endured two leg surgeries, never got out of bed, had one round of chemotherapy that almost killed her, and fought every day for seven months, until on a cold February night, the cancer finally took everything away from her and she passed away. 

In those seven month my sister became my hero.

November is coming, and thanks to a pair of Australians, is affectionately becoming known as Movemeber; a month where men grow facial hair and formally support prostate cancer, as well as cancer awareness in general. My sister's situation is not unique... just ask around. You can always find someone who has a story about how this disease took everything away from someone. 

Battling cancer is about awareness, early detection and support. So gentlemen, with that said, please support the battle to beat cancer in our lifetime. Take advantage of the various facial hair styles available to you.

And ladies... for the gentlemen in your life, remember they sometimes just can't help being "dumb asses", so please encourage them to get regular checkups. And while you are at it, could you also encourage them to grow a little facial hair and spread the word that cancer touches all of us.

We can beat it.

iamgpe

More thoughts on businesses in transition... or Part Two.

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

Recently I wrote a blog on businesses in transition and quickly discovered that the topic was much bigger than a 500 to 750 word blog. In the spirit of what I started, this is the second in a series of thoughts on transition.

Transition (the noun) is defined as the process or a period of changing from one state (or condition) to another*, and with respect to business, I will say this is a constant state... the exception I suppose is when a business is stagnate (showing neither growth nor decline). Even this stagnation though will tip either towards growth or decline in time, and return the business to its natural state of change. BY DEFINITION, A BUSINESS IS ALWAYS IN TRANSITION... sometimes fast and sometimes slow, but always transitioning, one way or another.

One of the considerations that I put forward was Business Transition due to internal factors.

As a working definition, this transition and change in the organization is driven by internal activities and initiatives by leadership and employees to build a more viable and successful business. This is the transition that conjures up the images of people like Jack Welsh, Andy Grove or Steve Jobs whose leadership and vision created great companies and brands (not to mention a great PR machine that made them household names in business).

There are a number of elements that are needed to support this type of transition successfully but unfortunately often get forgotten or dismissed when the organization is small, or if the organization is large, can be unwieldy, administratively onerous, or make the organization slow to react to what's happening outside the company.

 

The first two elements are components of planning; the development of long term and short term plans.

The long term plan looks at the direction of the organization over the next five years... this is the strategic plan that ensures the organization is aligned with its vision, and keeps an eye on longer term goals to ensure short term activities have the evolution of the organization heading in the right direction. 

The short term plan looks at the next year and is very tactical regarding what needs to be done, how it will be done and what is measured to ensure success. This safeguards that the organization continues to drive activity in line with what it wants to do. In many cases the short term plan is part of the iterative process to get to the longer term goals.

Discipline is needed to ensure that the planning process is part of the business calendar, is properly resourced, and is actively communicated throughout the organization as a priority. Experience has shown that there are two critical components to the planning process: 

• A framework and process for planning: This will offer focus, context and a process for thinking when people meet around the table. I have always liked the McKinsey 7s model, and although a little long in the tooth, it has always worked to keep everything on topic and moving forward.
• A facilitator: You need someone designated to manage the planning process and ensure you end up with the deliverables... this also allows leaders the white space to develop their thinking, instead of focusing on the process.

 

The third element is the review of the people in your organization.

This is extremely important because people "run everything".

The only reason that this is not number one on this list is because you need to know what you are doing (and where you are going) before you can think about the people needed to help you. Every person in the organization should be assessed regarding skill sets, strengths, and weaknesses, so you can understand the capability of the people in the organization. This guides hiring, development, exiting, promotional opportunities and the skills (and people) needed for the future. This review is done at least once and year and supports the long and short term planning.

 

The forth element is having robust operating mechanisms to manage the business.

In other words, have a project and meeting calendar to execute the plans, and manage the workings of the business in an organized and on-going way. There is always a balance needed between not enough projects and meetings and having too many projects and meetings; in both cases nothing really gets done. What you are looking for is the perfect number of meetings and projects to successfully get things done... there are two main contributors to being effective, and that is leadership and having the resources available to get things done.

The fifth element is having as much transparent communication as possible.  

There are two aspects to this - 

• Communicate the vision, the plans, what needs to be done, how things are going, etc. as much as possible.
•  Work out the mechanisms as to how you are going to get your message out there and as deep into the organization as possible (town halls, quarterly reviews, team meetings, 1:1s)

The six element is a culture of urgency, meritocracy, respect, and curiosity.

This is the formula for success in my experience.

Can any of this guarantee success as you transition your business... unfortunately not. Although, not doing it, can almost guarantee difficultly through the natural transition of a business. And this isn't even before you consider external and revolutionary transition.

Not to worry, we will get to that soon enough.

iamgpe

"GOOD THING YOU LOOKED... YOU COULD BE DEAD!"

The following is the original and the rewrite can be found by clicking here.

I will admit I was shaking my head a little as I reached the curb; although to be honest the whole situation was nothing more than a fleeting moment in a busy day... that was until a driver pulling way from the pedestrian crosswalk and shouted, "GOOD THING YOU LOOKED... YOU COULD BE DEAD". 

I was struck a little by the lack of attention on the part of her driving, but this did get me to thinkin'.

I should mention that since I've been in the city I find myself walking everywhere, and to accommodate this activity, the city has very graciously set up pedestrian crosswalks; as you prepare to cross the road you push a big yellow button, then large amber lights begin to flash, all traffic comes to a swift and sudden halt, and you cross safely. An odd sense of power and control washes over you as you make your way to the other side.

On this day, the one that prompted the loud "drive by" commentary, I had pushed the yellow button, the amber lights started to flash and I noticed an approaching car wasn't going to stop (and as I suspected, didn't). I waited for it to pass and them proceeded to cross as the other cars waited patiently... I guess they weren't in as much of a hurry.

While I appreciate the fact that the driver recognized that not everyone obeys the crosswalk rules, I can't help but wonder why the driver would think I didn't have to look before I crossed the road. Maybe the loud "drive by" commentary was an act of frustration with all the bad drivers in the city, or a frustration with people who can't obey the rules, or maybe she just wanted to participate in the urban discussion.

I can't help shake the belief that's not it.

As far back as I can remember, I was always told to "look both ways before you cross the road"; not just me but everyone I knew... it was one of those golden rules of parenting, and in my house there was no way your independence would ever be achieved if this didn't become autonomic. Maybe deep down, I'm just a little offended on behalf of my parents that someone didn't think I was raised properly.

Admittedly, there is some truth to this, but that's not it either. 

I keep coming back to this feeling that the driver believed the flashing lights replaced my need to "look both ways before I cross the road"... a system and process had been put in place that would get me safely across the road with no worries. I will say that more than once I've seen people push the button, put their head down and walk into the crossing; if I had done this, the driver would have been right and I would be lying on the road.

For me, this is about a growing deference to ownership, and the belief it's someone else's responsibility.

Ya, that's it.

Maybe I am over reacting here... but then again, I COULD BE DEAD.

iamgpe.