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04-30-19

THREE CRITICAL FACTORS WHEN CREATING ALIGNMENT

FiveFighterJetsI strongly believe that alignment is Job One.

But every company must create alignment in a unique, One-of-a-Kind Way.

Three primary factors impact your company’s approach to creating alignment.

The first factor is your company’s life stage. Startups are worried about survival, and spinouts are focused on cutting the corporate umbilical cord. 

The second factor is your company’s operating model. Some companies run like denominations, and some churches run like corporations.

The third factor is your company’s business philosophy. Often, this is reflected in how many One and Only One corporate standards you use.

When you combine these three factors, the result is thousands of unique permutations.

However, regardless of your company’s unique situation, alignment is mission-critical.

Our goal was to develop One Methodology that would work for every company, regardless of life stage, operating model, or business philosophy.

This led us to develop the Drive One Direction methodology.

We believe that every company, regardless of life stage, operating model, or business philosophy, can—and should— apply the Drive One Direction methodology. However, every company should do so in a unique, One-of-a-Kind Way.

For example, every company has a brand. Your job is to create a unique, One-of-a-Kind corporate brand.

Every company has a culture. You must create a unique, One-of-a-Kind corporate culture.

Developing a One-of-a-Kind Way of creating alignment will differentiate you from your competitors. It will allow you to create a unique One-of-a-Kind Company.

Some of the exemplar companies, such as Amazon, use the term “DNA” to articulate their unique approach to creating alignment. We like that, since your DNA both identifies who you are and differentiates you from everyone else.

Alignment is Job One, but every company must create it in a unique, One-of-a-Kind Way.


SHIFTPOINTS® helps companies unleash the accelerating power of alignment, because Alignment is the ultimate competitive advantage™.  Contact us at start@shiftpoints.com or www.shiftpoints.com.

04-23-19

CORPORATE ALIGNMENT:  YOUR "ONE AND ONLY ONEs"

OneRunwayLI

Corporate. [core-per-it]. Adjective – pertaining to a united group.

A key insight from the exemplar companies in my upcoming book is that they created alignment at the corporate level.

The strongest form of alignment is the “One and Only One” model. You literally have One and Only One for the entire company.

No divisions, departments, geographies, or functions can have a different one. Your One and Only One(s) are absolutely, positively, and nonnegotiably the same everywhere in your company.

For example, Tesla has One—and Only One—Mission Statement. Netflix has One—and Only One—Code of Conduct. Bognet has One—and Only One—Way.

In most cases, these items are exactly the same everywhere. In some cases, they are essentially the same. (For example, your One Tagline might be translated into other languages.)

You might think this is obvious, but many organizations will handle this differently.

For example, you might think every company should have One—and Only One—Mission Statement. But we have worked with companies where every division, department, and team had its own mission statement, none of which was linked in any way to the corporate mission statement.

But surely, every company has One List of core values. Nope. (As you will discover in the Hilton case study, at one time they had thirty different lists!)

Making something a One—and Only One—Corporate Standard is simple to understand, highly effective, very efficient, and very easy to enforce.

Of course, it can also be perceived as too centralized and too controlling. Sometimes, One Size does not fit all.

One Vision might not fit all business units. One Expense Policy might not be fair to all locations. The fashionistas might rebel against having One Dress Code.

Some companies create alignment with many Corporate One and Only One(s). Others delegate more autonomy to their divisions or operating companies.

The corporate executive team should carefully balance the need for centralized control with the desire to empower EveryOne.

So, your company must decide.

What must be absolutely, positively, and nonnegotiably the same everywhere?

SHIFTPOINTS will help your company unleash the accelerating power of alignment!  Contact us at start@shiftpoints.com.

04-17-19

THE COST OF MISALIGNMENT

rowing rew red circleThe classic illustration of alignment is the rowing crew.

But imagine an eight-person boat with only seven rowers.

Or worse yet, imagine that one of the rowers is rowing in the opposite direction.

Misaligned crews lose the race. Misaligned companies lose millions.

In the last article, we explored the many aspects of misalignment, but how much does that misalignment cost your company?

Fortunately, you can calculate the cost of misalignment.

Let’s say your company has 1,000 employees, and your Corporate Alignment Percentage is 80 percent.

That means that 20 percent of your employees’ time and energy is wasted … which is the equivalent of 200 people lost.

You are paying for 1,000 people, but only getting the energy of 800. If your average loaded cost per person is $100,000 per year, that is the equivalent of $20 million dollars!

Now, you should do your own math.

What is your total payroll? What is your Corporate Alignment Percentage (CAP)?

How much is misalignment costing your company? Conversely, how much value can your company recapture by improving alignment?

Perhaps an illustration will help you understand the benefits of improving alignment.

A few years ago, I owned a twin turbocharged BMW.

In case you don’t have a degree in automotive engineering, let me explain how a turbocharger works.

In a normal engine, gasoline is mixed with air and is then ignited by the spark plug to produce power. This process is not 100 percent efficient, so hot gases flow out the exhaust pipes into the environment.

A turbocharger is a small device that looks like a fan. It “recycles” the hot exhaust gases and forces them back into the engine. It converts the energy that would otherwise have been wasted into additional horsepower.

Alignment is the turbocharger of organizational performance.

The Drive One Direction process “recycles” the energy that is wasted by misalignment and turns it into additional people power.

This enables you to zoom past your competition!

My assertion is that improving alignment is likely the highest ROI activity you have.

04-10-19

HOW DO YOU MEASURE ALIGNMENT?

How Do You Measure Alignment?A few months ago, I went to the car dealer for maintenance. As I entered the service bay, I drove over a special sensor on the ground that measured my alignment in real-time.

I was dismayed to learn that my car was out of alignment.

That’s right, the guy who was writing a book about alignment called Drive One Direction was driving a car that was out of alignment.

Imagine my shame!

I did some research and discovered that the system was made by Hunter Engineering Company in Bridgeton, Missouri (www.hunter.com). Here is what I learned:

“Hunter’s patented alignment check system is the quickest way to measure alignment angles that affect tire life. The test takes less than a minute to produce total toe and camber measurements for both axles. Results are displayed in easy-to-understand, color-coded graphics.”

Ever since that experience, I wanted to create a radically simple way for companies to measure their alignment.

During my CEO interviews, I always asked them about the importance of alignment.

“Alignment is mission-critical,” was the Number One answer.

Then, I would ask them about the old adage, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.”

Every CEO gave me the same answer, “I totally agree with that!”

Then, I would go on to say, “So, you told me that alignment was mission critical … and if you can’t measure something you can’t manage it.”

“That’s right!”

“So, how do you measure alignment?” 

At this point, there would be a long and awkward pause …

Measuring alignment is a complicated problem. We are still working on solving it. However, to get things started, we developed a simple One Question survey:

On a scale of one to ten, rate your company’s current level of strategic alignment.

  • 10 = We are like a perfectly synchronized rowing crew.
  • 1 = We are like a group of warring tribes. Civil war about to break out.

Go ahead … answer the question for your company … what’s your number? That is your Corporate Alignment Percentage™ (CAP). The survey is still under development. Who knows, perhaps it will become the Net Promoter® of alignment.

Regardless, we believe it is essential for your company to develop a way to measure alignment. There are three primary reasons.

First, strategic alignment is mission-critical. You simply cannot succeed without it. Second, strategic alignment is a leading indicator. Third, strategic alignment is EveryOne’s business. Thus, EveryOne can improve the metric.

So, how does your company measure alignment?

At SHIFTPOINTS, our mission is to help companies unleash the accelerating power of alignment. Our Acceleration IndexTM is a proprietary survey designed to assess strategic alignment. Visit https://www.shiftpoints.com/acceleration-index to learn more! 

04-03-19

Misalignment: The Root Cause of Organizational Dysfunction

PotholesI believe that the root cause of virtually every organizational problem is misalignment.

Why do I believe that? Let me count the ways!

When your market vision is misaligned, you miss growth opportunities.

When your business model is misaligned, you lose money. 

When your human resources strategy is misaligned, you hire the wrong people.

When your product development team is misaligned, you build the wrong product.

When your operating model is misaligned, people spend endless hours in internal coordination meetings.

When your mission-critical processes are misaligned, you miss your deadlines and irritate your customers.

When your management system is misaligned, decisions are frequently overturned.

When marketing and sales are misaligned, you miss your revenue targets.

When management and labor are misaligned, workers go on strike.

When the board and the CEO are misaligned, the CEO gets fired.

I could go on, but you get the point: misalignment is the root of virtually every organizational dysfunction.

We also see misalignment as the root cause of most interpersonal conflicts.

For example, recently I was coaching an executive who was struggling to meet his numbers. I asked him, “Why are you missing your numbers?”

He gave me an explanation that seemed plausible, but then I asked, “Would your boss agree with that explanation?”

“Probably not.”

Given that the executive and his boss were not aligned on the root cause of the problem, there was little chance that they would agree on the executive’s proposed solution.

In another session, a different executive was recounting her accomplishments. Again, I asked the question, “Would your boss agree with that list?”

“Probably not.”

In both cases, the executives and their bosses were misaligned.

Alignment is both a strategic corporate issue and a tactical interpersonal one.

That is why improving alignment is Job One!