Walkie Talkie

I have been busily working away on a short video blog to clue up my series on P3 (personal professional plans – I know the acronym usually goes in the parentheses) and had intended on making it my next post. However, I recently participated in a test run of my company’s new version of their professional growth plan application and wanted to share on insights I had in the process. I should say I almost participated in the test because the link I was suppose to follow to log would not work given the remote location I was logging in from. Once tech support gets it figured out I will be back in business.

The first that I noted right away was that the facilitator seems really into the test. This is so important. If you have any role in working with others in the development of their growth plans, I think it is imperative that you have and show support and a belief in the process.

The other thing that really stood out to me was that I was even participating in the test. The process that we use at my company which is also discussed in P3 involves varying levels of continuous improvement. The version of the growth plan I completed with my company for 2011 works – there was room for improvement, but it works. They could have very easily left it as it was and employees across the company would have got use to it “just being that way”. Instead of resting on a process that should promise but could improve, they have involved the work force and have made efforts to improve.

The first thing to look at when developing your P3 is you company’s P3. If you want to be improving, they should want to be improving. Does your company just talk the talk or are they also walking the walking? (Hint: working for a company that talks the talk AND walks the walk is way more fun!)

Sandy

I Can't Seem to Remember What I Forgot

I think I have just figured out why I can’t seem to remember half of what I learned in university. I studied hard, got great grades, but now can’t seem to recall the information I know I once knew. I stayed up late studying the most imprortant stuff first – this apparently is exactly what I should have been doing. According to a new study on sleeping and testing, whatever info I study last will be more easily recalled the next day. My downfall? I woke up earlier than usual to do to continue studying. By doing this I robbed my brain of the REM sleep needed to solidify this new found knowledge into my long term memory. The result – great grades – not so great knowledge retention.

Well maybe I haven’t forgotten as much as I think I have – how would I know?

Sandy

Application is Meaningless

I have been spending a lot of time working on computer based training modules for my company (the one I work for). Having a background in education seems to continuously surface in all that I do professionally. I have tried to leave it behind me, I used to be a public school teacher, but I do enjoy teaching and absolutely love by being a student. I also believe that once you find a passion for teaching it will never leave you.

My passion for education has evolved over time. My focus now is educating adult learners and lately it had been directed toward developing computer aided learning programs. As part of my professional development plan for 2011 I committed to assessing an area of our control of work program and submitting ideas on how we could improve the process – training is one such avenue for me to fulfill this quest.

The applicability of computer aided learning is great with regards to my professional goals and is the next key criteria in the P3 process. Company goals need to be as specific as possible, they must hold some value or meaning to you, and they must be applicable to your situation. If you cannot find a way that the attainment of the company goal relates to your success – do you think you will actually strive to help your company succeed?

For instance, you clean the washrooms on the 5^th to 9^th floor. The company has a goal to reach 1 billion in sales for 2011 – quite specific. While meeting with your supervisor to discuss your personal-professional-plan (P3) she informs you that if the company reaches its goal of 1 billion in sales, all employees will be getting an additional 10% bonus in the new year. The company goal now holds some value or meaning for you. The discussion moves on to your P3 and you agree that one of your goals will be to have the cleanest washrooms in the building. You want to do a good job but you already know that there will some days (especially on Friday afternoons) when the washrooms probably won’t be as clean as they could be. As the meeting ends, you get up to leave but your supervisor has one last thing she forgot to tell you. She lets you know that her boss (the VP of sales) will be using the meeting rooms on the 9^th floor to hold meetings with prospective clients.

Your P3 has just taken on a new level of importance. Your boss informs you that most new clients will either use the washroom before the beginning of their meetings (first impression of the company) or just before they leave the building and commute across town (final impression of the company). Realizing that the company goal is directly tied to your goal, highlights how the success of your P3 applies to the success of the company.

The title of this posting, Application is Meaningless, is meant to show the difference between the two aspects of P3: applicable and meaningful. In fact, being able to apply the company goals to your goals can help increase the level of meaning you find in your company goals. As we progress through this process, it will be important to remember that although each aspect of goal setting (both at the company level and eventually at the personal level) are separate in their definitions, they are all intertwined and supportive of each other.

So we have a S, a M, an A and next we will look at the R – realistic.

Take care,

Sandy

Diversification is the Key to Success

After a two hour delay on a beautiful fall day because a piece of the anti-ice equipment on the plane Air Canada had decided would fly me from one side of this great country to the other was broken, I am finally on my way home. I just spent the past few days working on my business units’ objectives for 2012 in the area of diversity and respectful workplace (DRW).

I have served on my company’s DRW council for just under a year and have enjoyed the task. The council’s advisor is a very passionate and driven woman who has done an excellent job of bringing DRW issues to senior management in such a way that they listen. To be fair to senior management I don’t really think they had an option – good DRW policy is a necessity for good business.

During a break during the Wednesday session of the meetings I read an article in the Globe and Mail (IBM names Rometty as new chief executive – Wednesday Oct 26, 2011) by  Steve Lohr.

IBM has named Virginia Rometty as their new CEO – and they made a point to say that the appointment had nothing to do with her gender. I wonder if the same statement would have been made if the CEO had been named Frank or Jim or Bill? However, this diversification is not what I really wanted to write about today. Rometty has seen diversification in her path to becoming the top dog. According to the article, she has done everything from championing the purchase of a major consulting firm, increasing sales in China, Brazil and India and developing markets in areas like Africa. All pretty impressive when you consider that IBM is number two in all technology companies only to Apple.

What strikes me about this appointment is not that IBM has named a woman as their next CEO – who cares – but rather that IBM has obviously appointed someone who was identified many years ago (probably among several high potential candidates) and who has succeeded in the carefully planned positions she’s been asked to hold. This diversity in work experience has given Rometty the background needed to continue building the strong leadership IBM is used to seeing from Samuel Palmisano – the man who Rometty is replacing and who was in charge when IBM sold its personal computer lines and focused on services and software.

If part of your long-term personal-professional-plan is to become CEO, than now is a good time to evaluate your current work history (is that possible – current-history) and share your plan with your direct supervisor. Start diversifying your personal work portfolio so that you have the professional investments ready to cash in when needed.

Mr. Sandy Cooper 

How Much Meaning do you Attribute to Value?

Keeping in mind that we are looking at company goals at this point and not personal goal, the second item in our SMARTER acronym is MEANINGFUL. Most people who are familiar with the SMART acronym for goal setting will be more used to the word MEASUREABLE falling into the M slot. But we are working on a hierarchical system of setting a goal and each goal level will have a direct impact on the next. As we dive down further into writing SMARTER goals the criteria of measurable will show up – just not until we get down a little deeper than we are now.

This is a slightly different way of looking at goal setting than most of us are used to, so let me know you thoughts on this.

Now that I have ruined the surprise, well I suppose I did that in the August 4^th, 2011 posting, the ‘step’ in your company’s goal after being specific, is for it to be meaningful. The question is – Meaningful to who?

Whatever goals your company has, if you are going to base your personal-professional-plan on them, they better hold some meaning to you. If you don’t care whether or not your company actually achieves the goal – what chance do you have at helping them be successful? Sure you may attain the goal that you set out for yourself, but it won’t be a substantial goal, it won’t be an achievement that will help you in your move forward in your professional game plan. If the goal your company has set holds some meaning to you, if you can find value in helping your company attain its goal, your success will directly impact your life for the better, and reaching your goal will become all the more easier to focus on. That may have been the longest sentence I ever wrote.

Reaching a company goal just because the company said you have to, is not going to motivate you, it may in fact de-motivate you. Over time, with repeated occurrences of this, you may even start to look elsewhere, for another company, with better goals. Part of the responsibility for writing goals that you find meaningful is your company’s. They need to be aware of how they structure their goals so that their employees are motivated to work towards there attainment. However, if your company’s skills in this area are like the guy who shows up for a game of hockey with figure skates, clueless, then you may need to take some responsibility for yourself.

Try to speak with your boss and explain to him why you feel a re-wording of the company goals would add more value. If this is not possible in your working environment, then maybe you need to find a way that your company’s success will directly influence you. Try to add value or meaning to their goal so that it will enable you to better formulate your own. If you can’t find any way that the success of your company will benefit you, then something should change – the company you work for or your attitude!

To better establish a chance of success at both levels – corporate and personal - we want specific company goals that hold some level (the higher the better) of meaning or value for you. So start writing down how the company goals you have found could be reworded to hold more meaning for you yet still arrive at the same destination as original intended by your company.

Remember it is your company and its results are your results.

Keep growing,

Sandy