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Ceremony, Commitment, and Intent

by Jean F. Meeks, Ph.D. on February 28, 2012

Article Authored by Joe Paul, M.S. with the Aspen Family Business Group

The more complex the family business issues the more important ceremony becomes. Eight years ago the Smith family was in chaos over ownership and management issues. Now they are a role model for family governance.

At the 7th Annual Gathering the Smith Family Assembly the 6 members of the Smith Family Council stood behind six chairs arranged in a circle in the middle of a hotel meeting room. There are 3 family members from Generation-3 and three from Generation-4. The remaining 18 members of the Smith Family Assembly become quiet and take seats as they prepare to observe the Annual Meeting of their Family Council.

One at a time in no particular order each family member crosses the boundary of the circle of chairs. As they cross the boundary each of the 6 say “As I enter the Circle of our Family Council I promise to be a steward of our legacy and to always act in the best interests of our family.”

Harold Smith, age 68, a member of G–3 is the Chairperson of the Council. He calls the meeting to order and says, “As is our custom, we begin each Annual Family Council Meeting by hearing our Mission Statement and the Code of Conduct for Council members read aloud. Cousin Ellen, would you do us the honor?”

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A ceremony’s power is generated by intent, organization and symbolic meaning along with patience and creativity. Many of us are predisposed to first think of ceremonies as mumbo-jumbo practiced in exotic places or by impressionable, a-rational people in our culture. But ceremonies are not necessarily religious — they can be very practical and help people connect with what is most important within their family system. Ceremony is used to make a point about something in a way that people will remember the point. It does so by differentiating an object, a place, an event, or person so that we remember it. And we remember it because in a ceremony the object, place, action, event or person becomes symbolic of an idea. Family legacies are collections of memories that usually stand out because of remarkable events that were either intentional (ceremonial) or accidental.

An annual tax exempt gift check that comes from your grandmother’s accountant by mail will leave much less of an impression than the same check handed to you by your grandmother as she gives you her blessing for how you are living your life.

Interrupting the normal work day in your office by surprising a loyal employee with a vase of flowers and your public appreciation of an action they took will build a lot more good will mumbling “atagirl” as you pass her desk.

And in the Smith family described above, everyone, both Council members and observers alike, are more likely to feel they are part of something that is serious and important because of Harold’s ceremonial way of leading. It would be much less memorable if Harold had said instead, “Well folks, we have a hell of a list to get through today so I suggest we get started.”

If you are interested in being more purposeful in the events connected with your family and business you will enjoy a recently published book called The Power of Ceremony, by Linda Neale.

Copyright Joe Paul, January 2012

Joe Paul, M.S. works only with families in business, families of wealth and family foundations. Since 1978 he has helped families to communicate well, plan for their future, and grow their tangible and intangible assets.  We are excited to feature him as our guest author this month.

www.aspenfamilybusiness.com

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Deconstructing the Past to Build a Stronger Future

by Jean F. Meeks, Ph.D. on January 30, 2012

In everyone’s life there comes a time that in order to make a change happen we must “deconstruct” rather than just “remodel”. Deconstruct is the opposite of construct, it means to take apart piece by piece the focus of the change; albeit environment, relationship, organization, etc. Remodels are typically changes where you are willing to make improvements, but unwilling to take things down to the bare studs for many reason; i.e., time, money, talent, FEAR etc.

Don’t get me wrong, remodels are good. The speed in getting to a finished result is faster, and as we know faster is often the name of the game. After the remodel we look really good, but really good for how long? How “sticky” (meaning it has traction and forward movement towards an anticipated goal) is this remodel before the cheap handle falls off the door, or the paint peels, and the new windows leak? If the change that we want is minor and doesn’t affect an entire system, then remodeling is probably an economic way to make a difference in the bottom-line. We hear all the time of small rapid cycles of change, Plan-Do-Study-Act cycles.

What happens when continuous process improvement doesn’t gain us the long term change that we want and we find ourselves at a juncture in our process improvement plan? Many executives are facing this exact quandary. As one analyst put it, “They (executives) know how to do business with our parents, but not our children.” Shifting and looking from a whole different window pane, even better, constructing a whole new wall with glass that goes floor to ceiling is maybe what we need to really make change happen.

I am not a political person and I often joke that “being Canadian”, I can’t impact the political system anyway; but when Obama and every other bandwagon player started to shout, “Yes We Can!” I shuttered and thought can what? Change? Was America really ready for “deconstruction”, because the “remodels” of the past had the doors hanging from the hinges.

So where am I going with all this talk of “deconstruct vs. remodel”? I am heading into the January buzz word of resolutions – which mean change. We notoriously ring in the New Year, with a cadre of resolutions in hand, looking to be different by the end of the year, or in some cases within the next 30 days. In business we might shake the dust off the old strategic plan and open it up, wondering why we have not accomplished what we wanted to and how are we going to set the course again?

I want to leave you with four simple steps to getting traction with your New Year’s resolutions.

1. Look at the goal you want to reach, your resolution, and be willing and able (these are not necessary mutually inclusive) to articulate the goal using metrics and benchmark data.

2. Assess your past pattern of behavior. Have you tried this before? If so,what did you learn last time your tried it? What will you do differently this time?

3. Is there more to this “resolution” than meets the eye? Does this “resolution” really force you to “deconstruct” your life in order to succeed, or will a simple “remodel” do.

4. Once you are clear if this is a “deconstruct” or a “remodel” then you can lay down a plan, incorporating the time, treasure, and talent necessary to be successful.

Well for me this is a year of total “deconstruction”, I will let you know how I fair along the way. In the meantime I will sit back and watch Tom Hanks and Shelly Long in the movie “Money Pit”, because inevitably in a “deconstruct”, it is far more emotionally and financially expensive than we ever imagined.

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Cost, Performance, Accountability, Oh….and CHANGE!

by Jean F. Meeks, Ph.D. on December 20, 2011

I just delivered an overview of our META – Model for Change “TADAP” at the 2011 4th Quarter Meeting for the Consortium of Advance Management International (CAM-I). TADAP is a transformational model of change that looks at the “we”; which is a complex and dynamic arrangement between an individual, the organization that the individual resides in, and the greater community that encompasses the organization. I must say the topic of the session was on how do we take performance management and make it what I call “sticky”.

“Sticky” to me means that we actually agree to look at performance management, analyze the data, formulate actions for improvement from this data, and then actually make the changes necessary to improve performance. Oh, and then measure that we actually improved performance!

Well it sure sounds easy, but it’s not as simple as it sounds. It all starts with what I spoke on at CAM-I; it starts with assessing one’s state of reality. Where are WE? (again see “we” above). Do WE accept this as fact? Do WE have agreement that WE want to do something about it?

So now begins the dance of data and desire and it is a rather profound dance. You must really be able to bridge both the behavioral side (socio) and the systems side (techno – world of data, processes, and analytics). As we start to recognize this need for seeing change and performance through a complex lens; we can then start to assess an organization’s ability to take a change initiative and actually take it through implementation and see measureable results.

I must say that CAM-I has published an outstanding work piece titled, “Performance Management Maturity Framework”. This tool might be just the first piece in the puzzle to use as your organization looks to evaluate its current state of reality.

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“The Art of Appreciation”

by Jean F. Meeks, Ph.D. on December 13, 2011

Appreciate (v) – The act of recognizing the best in people or the world around us; affirming past and present strengths, successes, and potentials; to perceive those things that give life (health, vitality, excellence) to living systems.

What a powerful description! A description that in a world of perceived fear, turmoil, and trepidation, we can actually take facts and unhook the negative meanings to attach new positive meanings. These positive meanings will create the energy for positive change to happen. Confused, well let me give you an example. I just finished an intensive workshop focused on a change initiative where we looked at cutting an organization’s FY2012 budgets by 15%. Our goal was to determine how to get buy-in from the stakeholders that would allow these cuts to be swiftly and effectively implemented. The first and most crucial need was to attach a new meaning to the word “budget cuts”. When we hear the word budget cuts we immediately attached the following meanings:

• They (whoever they are) want me to do more with less, I am already overworked.
• This is all about more layoffs and downsizing.
• I have no more to give, I have cut everything I can.
• Etc, etc, etc…all meanings based on some perspective of the word “budget cuts.

Through the “Art of Appreciation, ” we are able to recognize the best in people, affirm past and present strengths, successes, and potentials of the organization, and change the meaning of “budget cuts”. Through this process we were able to attach the following meanings:

• Budget cuts are a vehicle to focus us on realigning our people and resources to work at their highest potential utilizing their greatest strengths. It is a way we can celebrate what is best in our organization, seek out benchmarks, and realign in order for all people to have the opportunity for fulfillment in the organization.
• When we take time to focus on the best use of our people and resources we allow our people to create work environments where they are valued, respected, and able to work to their strengths; ultimately, creating a strong, progressive, agile workforce focused on organizational success.

These new meanings allow organizations to look for solutions and change initiatives focused on a positive new future. This is a whole new way to look at the word “budge cuts”. Changing the meaning and looking at this through “the lens of appreciation” changes the way we show up and accomplish our mission.

There are great thought thinkers and leaders in the world of appreciation. A few that I would love to share with you are Dr. Dianna Whitney, CEO and Founder of The Corporation for Positive Change. I consider Dianna one of my mentors, and honor her ability live and breathe appreciation. Dr. David Cooperrider, Professor at Case Western University is a powerful, thought provoking leader in the world of appreciative inquiry. There are also compelling organizations that have taken the unpredictable and reframed tough decisions they have had to make during these economic times. These organization give back and celebrate the best in life. They show their appreciation in amazing ways. One of these companies that has impacted the world is TOMS. Check out their new initiative which is focused on “improving vision (that is eyes!), because the eyes are the lens through which we see the world and all its beauty.

TOMS Eyewear – Nepal Giving Trip

On a less global scale, I want to mention a former client and now wonderful friends who I greatly appreciate, Structure Home. Structure Home has successfully navigated an unfathomable 15 year housing market decline. They have taken the unpredictable and reframed their market through a lens of appreciation. They have realigned the best and forged new inroads in the marketplace. Working from strengths they are solving challenges in the residential construction industry one positive change initiative at a time!

As positive eye™ looks to 2012, I personally want to appreciate the people in my life who make me value the “BEST” of what life has to give; my husband, my children, my family, my friends, my colleagues, and our clients. I “appreciate” the sandbox that I get to work in every day, helping people to build their castles for the future! Thank you 2011!

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Texas EMS Conference – Model for Improvement

by Jean F. Meeks, Ph.D. on November 22, 2011

The Live Music Capitol of the World – Austin, Texas – has a different buzz downtown today. The convention center is filled with Texas’ volunteer and career emergency medical services caregivers. Held annually, the Texas EMS Conference rivals many national EMS conference events and draws industry leading faculty from across the country and caregivers from across the state.

Ernie Rodriquez, Director of EMS for Austin/Travis County EMS, has been a leader in advancing professional development for EMS leaders in the State. This year, he is joined by EMS leaders who strive to push EMS operations to the next level in a dedicated administration track. Dr. Dave Williams was invited to introduce the Model for Improvement – used throughout health care for process improvement – and share his experiences using the model with organizations across North America and Europe. The conference is always a great event and we welcome the opportunity to contribute.

 

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