Hidden Treasure: Stop Wasting Your Valuable Re$ource$ and Recover Lost Productivity

Paralyzed by Priorities

“Yes, those are the key priorities,” said my CEO as he nodded during our one-on-one. I was stunned and a little disappointed. The whiteboard was covered with more than 20 projects that were on my team’s plate. I was hoping to get clarity on which ones were mission-critical, which were important, which were nice-to-haves and which were pipedreams - because even working long startup hours, we didn’t have the resources to execute them all at once.

Speed is the unspoken core value of every high-tech startup, and even as I explained the challenge, my CEO was very hesitant to treat any of the listed projects as a “lower priority” for fear of letting things “slow down.” I was struggling to untie this Gordian knot that I’ve since learned exists in many startups.

Among the many pieces of wisdom in J. Allan McCarthy’s book Beyond Genius, Innovation, and Luck: The “Rocket Science” of Building High-Performance Corporations is a creative but proven approach that sidesteps the flaws of traditional planning for startups and large corporations alike. Allan was kind enough to share this method and supporting tools in this guest blog post.

Wasted Time and Money

It’s highly unlikely that your company is using its resources efficiently. Why? The logic on which traditional planning is based is flawed. And, it can introduce huge inefficiencies into the daily operations of a company. On the surface the operational plan might look great and make sense—but if it doesn’t use “sequencing” as the organizing principle, then behind the scenes that same plan is draining productivity by as much as 15% to 27% (1) or more. No kidding.

How much money does a 15% to 27% productivity loss equate to? You can do the math for your company. It could be a few million dollars in an early stage organization to hundreds of millions of dollars in lost productivity (and related market opportunity) in a large corporation.

The Problem with Traditional Planning 

A traditional planning approach goes something like this:

1. The company defines its vision and purpose. This is why the organization was formed, where it’s going, and what it will look like when it gets there.
2. Leadership will also define its mission statement or “What they are striving to achieve”—looking out 18 to 24 months.
3. Next, a string of high-level objectives are typically identified (let’s call these imperatives). Then the functional leaders (Sales, Engineering, Marketing, R&D, Finance, etc…) identify the work needed to be done, meaning, list the key projects and programs in order to achieve these objectives (let’s call these initiatives).
4. The Initiatives identified by the functional leaders are then aggregated into a plan. That’s when the fun begins. Bright, motivated leaders debate priorities and make a case for resources. I call this “resource roulette” because at this juncture, resource allocation might as well be gambling since the logic on which it is based is severely flawed.  Why?

When there is a high interdependency between imperatives and initiatives, which is the case in almost every modern-day corporation, then sequence, or the order in which work is performed (like building a house) becomes extraordinarily important. When building a house, a foundation must be built first. There is no debate about this. Next, walls must be erected before plumbing and wiring can be installed. No one would dream of putting on the roof before the walls were built—and in reality it couldn’t be done. When one builds a house, there isn’t debate about priorities. The house is built on the basis of sequence or the logical order in which work needs to be accomplished. And here in-lies the root problem: organizations are very, very complex systems (even start-ups) with a high sequential relationship between imperatives (high level objectives) and initiatives (where the work gets done)—but this sequential relationship isn’t obvious. The “sequence” is further hidden when bright, energetic functional leaders act independently to create their respective plans of work to be performed. Without a sequenced-based plan, the organization is doomed to essentially work against itself as an army of motivated employees pursue goals and objectives that aren’t in unison.

The Power of Sequencing

Let’s review a powerful, numbers-driven example, to illustrate the power of sequencing in the planning process. (See Excel spreadsheet: Sequencing Analysis)

A CTO Group in a large corporation was struggling with their ability to meet general company objectives, made worse by a perceived lack of headcount and funding. The group had 111 employees and an $83M annual budget (excluding R&D capital). Prior to beginning the planning refresh cycle the current plan documents showed: 8 imperatives and 126 initiatives that the 7 CTO Group executives had aggregated from their various departments into a plan.

After refreshing the Mission Statement, we identified 10 imperatives that were needed in order to achieve the Mission. Next, we mapped the 126 existing initiatives to the new Imperative set. See column #1 “New Imperatives Identified in Plan” and column #2 “Existing Initiatives Mapped to Imperatives.” Examine the Initiative count by Imperative. (Note: At this stage you can’t read the actual Imperative description to know if, for example, 32 Initiatives is the correct loading for Imperative #1. We’ll save that discussion for a later time.) To this point Initiatives have been identified and put in motion based on executive debate over priorities. Remember, building a company is like building a house. There is always an inherent sequence that should be the organizing principle on which a plan is based. Now let’s demonstrate the impact of sequencing as the organizing principle of the plan.

Next, the executive team performed a very simple sequencing activity (on the new ten Imperatives) called the Interrelationship Digraph. I've seen companies invest only a few hours of time in this kind of exercise and literally save months of wasted person-hours of effort on out-of-sequence execution. This is a common sequencing tool used for a variety of applications. After sequencing (see lower portion of Excel spreadsheet green and red areas) we learned that Imperatives 8, 5, 4, 3, and 9 (ordered high to low) were the drivers or, keeping with my sequencing metaphor, building the foundation and walls of the house. In other words, these Imperatives needed to be finished (or at least significant progress made) before the lower in sequence Imperatives could be efficiently completed. It turned out that Imperatives 1, 10, 6, 2, and 7 (in this order high to low in sequence) were the followers or the wiring, plumbing and roof of the house. Notice that at this stage there is no debate about priorities! So, for example, it’s very difficult to build a sales plan without a market analysis. This is a no-brainer. Unfortunately, with literally hundreds of initiatives in queue in most companies, it’s very difficult to determine where these might fall in sequence unless there is an explicit mechanism in place to identify it.

Figure 1.1 – CTO Group Sequencing Analysis

Green= Initiatives that are Drivers/Precursors identified in Sequencing

Red=Initiatives that are Results/Followers identified in Sequencing

After completing the sequencing activity this is what we learned:

1. 63 of the 126 existing Initiatives were cancelled or suspended. These were deemed too low in sequence or simply unnecessary at this point in time.
2. 22 new Initiatives were added—not in anyone’s queue—and deemed mission critical; 14 of these addressed high in sequence Imperatives.
3. 32% of the allocated resources (headcount and dollars) were rebalanced from low in sequence Initiatives to high in sequence Initiatives.
4. The executive team’s confidence level grew and the weekly staff meeting debate ended over headcount and dollars.
5. The CTO Group executive team’s confidence in plan execution grew significantly. 
6. Stakeholder confidence and sponsorship increased exponentially. The CTO also presented this plan to the CEO and Board of Directors (CTO had previously been challenged by the BOD on his resource requests). He received accolades for plan composition and transparency. 

Summary

Is the organizing principle behind your company’s plan sequence or prioritization? I’ll bet it’s the latter. This means that you’ve got hidden treasure in terms of significant productivity gains awaiting discovery. Now, go get it.

Allan McCarthy

www.mccarthyandaffiliates.com

650-823-4253

(1) Research performed on 87 companies between 1999 and 2009 pre and post planning process results. Planning process documented in Beyond Genius, Innovation & Luck: The “Rocket Science” of Building High-Performance Corporations, J. Allan McCarthy, November 2011, 4th Edition Publishing, available at Amazon.com.

Take Your "Self" out of "Self-Promotion"

No Way Out

The look on Sam’s face really caught my attention. I wasn’t sure if he was coming down with something, or if he had eaten something bad at lunch. He did not look well. “I have to do it. I know I have to do it. I hate the thought of it, but I know I’ll never get what I deserve if I don’t do it,” said Sam. He wasn’t talking about some brutal new workout program or cleaning the muck out of his rain gutters. He was talking about self-promotion.

I asked what was making him so uncomfortable. He responded, “Well, on one hand, I’ve made a lot of key contributions to the department that seem to go unnoticed. They won’t be visible unless I make them visible. On the other hand, I hate the thought of becoming the new ‘Mark.’” Mark was a notorious self-promoter in Sam’s department. Mark made a big deal out of even small achievements. It had gotten to the point that everyone dreaded his updates in team meetings because it became a predictable laundry list of the “great” things Mark had done that week. And Mark was oblivious to the fact that he was hurting his own credibility, and annoying his coworkers.

A Better Approach

Many high-tech professionals rising up the ranks struggle with this. We’ve all seen our share of “Marks.” In the best case, they’re boring. In the worst case, they’re distracting, obnoxious, and even malicious. But high-tech companies are full of smart, competitive, hard-working people who sometimes go unnoticed. Hoping that your accomplishments “speak for themselves” is a recipe for slow progression, and possibly even a pink-slip.

Here are five suggestions that will increase your visibility without suffering from “Mark-itis":

1. Don’t mistake “Necessary” for “Important” – If you’re working on something that your boss or her boss don’t care about, they also won’t care whether you’re doing it well or not. “Jack” was the Product Marketing Director on my team  who maintained the pricing guidelines for our enterprise software company. He worked hard but was frustrated that the CMO never paid any attention to him or recognized the results of his work. Without question, the price list was necessary – Sales couldn’t quote deals without it. But what was most important to the CMO was positioning, competition, and lead volume. The CMO never woke up in the middle of the night worrying about pricing, and he never ran around the office high-fiving people because of a great change to the pricing guidelines. Jack moved to another Marketing function where his hard work and talent would be “on the radar” with the CMO and his professional “stock” began to rise quickly.

2. Align with your manager on your career development plan (CDP) – Most managers like to promote the achievements of people on their team, which is another good reason to make sure you and your manager are aligned on your CDP. If you and your manager agree that your next step is to become a Senior QA Engineer, and that one of the key components is for you to demonstrate process improvements, it’s highly likely that she’ll  “advertise it” when you deliver. She wants her boss, your peers, and her peers to be aware of your achievements so that when she recommends you for promotion, those same people will think “Of course he’s being promoted. Look at all of the process improvements he’s delivered!”

3. Shift from “Me” to “We” – Good news tends to spread virally in high-tech companies. The best way to make it easy for people to advertise your accomplishments is to make it about their accomplishments. Consider these two emails:

Version 1:

From: Mark

To: Sales Team

My social media tactics are paying off! We passed 5,000 views on our blog last month! I've been watching our competition, and I think they're starting to copy my moves. Oh well, I guess it's the "sincerest form of flattery," right? ;-)

-Mark

Version 2:

From: Sam

To: Sales Team

CC: VP of Engineering, VP of Public Relations

Good news. We passed 5,000 views on our blog last month. Blog traffic is now contributing more than 10% of our Sales leads.

Kudos to the PR and Engineering teams. Our product innovations and steady stream of interesting news are really getting people to “tune in” to our blog. Let’s keep it up!

-Sam

The second email celebrates a team accomplishment, puts the accomplishment in terms that the audience cares about (Sales cares about leads, not  blog views), and explicitly recognizes the contributions of others. Note the CC: to the heads of PR and Engineering, who will probably forward this good news to their teams (or maybe even to the CEO). “Sam” will be associated with a big success on something he owns (the corporate blog), lots of people will hear about it, and Sam hasn’t annoyed his co-workers with clumsy self-promotion. Score!

4. Focus on results, not your “hard work” – You led the project team through dozens of meetings over 6 months. You worked over the weekend to prepare the project summary. You even canceled a planned vacation when the project started to slip early on. Nobody cares. The right people will know what you did behind the scenes – calling it out just makes you a self-promoter. Quantify the results in the context of your department or company KPIs.

5. Take a long-term view – If you’re worried that celebrating a “team” win will mean that you don’t get enough “credit” for the critical role that you played, you’re missing the point. Career advancement, raises, bonuses, equity grants and other rewards rarely come from one single, heroic achievement. They come from continuous achievement, being a team player, and delivering bigger and bigger wins for the business over time. Being associated with a big win is enough, whether your efforts drove 80% or 20% of the results.  You’ll get the recognition and rewards that your contributions deserve without having to “apportion credit” across the team.

What strategies have you used to make your contributions more visible? Please share your experience. If you found this interesting, please use the toolbar below to share it with your network.

Get Comfortable with Corporate Politics

The Proverbial “Love-Hate” Relationship

Very early in my career, I was a technical support engineer and was pretty good at it. In fact, many colleagues asked me “You’re great with customers. Why aren’t you in Sales?” I would quip “Well, I have to sleep with myself at night.” You see, in my profession, I was dealing with all the problems that bad sales people created e.g. wrong expectations about what the products they sold could actually do. Also, I had a problem with money being the primary driver of my decision making and thereby clouding my vision for what’s best for customers. On the other hand, I also understood that salespeople are “royalty” in the company. They are the ones that take on a lot of risk and deliver the revenues that feed product innovation and ultimately my paycheck. Thus, I had another saying “I love sales people twice a year… when I get my 6-month bonus!” It’s apparent why some salespeople get away with questionable actions.

In the latter part of my high-tech career, I transitioned into Marketing. I was catching up with Larry, a CMO colleague of mine when he described his “love-hate” relationship with Sales. “When they hit their number, it’s because they are great salespeople. But when they miss their number, it’s because Marketing didn’t deliver the support they needed - air cover, leads, tools and training, competitive intelligence, and more.” Larry also shared a memorable exchange he had when his VP of Sales asked “Why don’t you drop everything and get your whole team to help me make my Q1 number?” Larry responded “Because I have to help you make your 2011 number!”

CEOs create their leadership team to execute the corporate strategy for the company. Every line of business ("LOB") function has clear goals to ensure the company hits the quarterly and annual plan. But misalignments in priorities frequently manifest in functional and even departmental goals. Although Marketing, Sales, and other departments have a shared commitment to the “corporate plan,” they frequently diverge in how to get there. 

Typical Line-of-Business Tensions

Every company has natural tensions between business functions. Here are some examples:

• Marketing-Sales: Marketing is responsible for both near-term (qualified leads) and long-term (market positioning, thought leadership) initiatives that support Sales, but Sales mostly cares about the immediate-term e.g. “how are you going to help me make my number this quarter?”

• Sales-Engineering: Sales needs more product features to sell, but Engineering is constrained by resources. They also disagree about which features are most important for customers. And Sales doesn’t primarily care about product quality, unless customers start complaining – causing Sales to waste valuable “selling time” reviewing product issues.

• Engineering-Services: Engineering frequently wants to release more products faster, and often defines “done” as code-complete, QA-passed.  But Services is very concerned about “whole product” – end-to-end product quality, documentation, installation, usability, supportability, support readiness, etc. Low ratings in any of these categories will eat into Services margins and create customer satisfaction headaches.
• The list goes on with Finance, IT, HR, etc.

Corporate Politics – “Love it or Leave it” is Not an Option

In the same way that the US constitution is designed with the 3 branches (Legislative, Executive, and Judicial), each corporate function along with their natural business tensions are like a built-in “checks and balances.” Getting alignment between business functions is not difficult to achieve provided the right leadership team and process is in place. In this economy, high-tech companies are demanding higher productivity and greater results to catch up to or out-pace their competitors. This puts you and your colleagues under a lot of pressure to perform. When you depend on another business function to get your job done, you don’t have a lot of time or patience for bureaucracy or politics. However, you need to find ways to embrace these tensions or you will spend all your time “fighting the system” vs. getting it to “work for you”.

1. Build Strong Relationships – Once you get to know someone at a personal level (and vice versa), it’s much easier to work through professional difficulties and disagreements. Developing mutual respect and personal connections among colleagues lays the foundation for constructive business relationships. As a former CMO, I’ve had some of my greatest breakthroughs when I’ve vehemently disagreed with my CTO on our Go-to-Market strategy. But since we were good friends, we were able to respect each other’s position amidst our heated debates and got to a common point of execution. This would not have been possible if we had an antagonistic relationship. 
2.  Play Psychologist – “Seek first to understand, then to be understood” is one of Steven Covey’s famous quotes from “7 Habits of Highly Effective People.” If you’re able to understand other people’s incentives and objectives then you will have a valuable perspective and greater ability to communicate with them effectively – and only then should you advocate your position. We work extensively with high-tech executives on how to successfully navigate through “Line of Business Tensions” so they’re able to influence decision-makers.
3. Embrace Conflict – One of our earliest blog posts talked about why avoiding conflict is a bad for your career. It’s certainly easier said than done, but when you are in the heat of conflict, don’t take it personally. Business is business so you should expect that each LOB has their own business interest in mind. A good person with the best intentions may disagree with you and that doesn’t make them a bad person. Get on the same page so you can agree to what can and cannot be done. For example, Marketing execs should work closely with their Sales VPs to map out quarterly programs. You only have a limited Marketing budget and resources so get your Sales VP to agree on what’s most important to her and then lock-in the plan with her. That way when her priorities change (and they will), you can both come back to the mutually agreed upon plan. 
4.  Stay Focused on the BIG PICTURE – You lose credibility when you’re viewed as a person who acts out of self-interest. The more you demonstrate that you are thinking outside and beyond your own personal interests and LOB function, the more you’ll be viewed as a team player and leader. Earning the trust and respect from other executives will give you more influence on big decisions and will swing those decisions in your favor.

Distractions and disruptions from corporate politics will sap away your valuable time and energy. Your ability to focus solely on what you have control over is a necessary survival skill. Thriving in a corporate culture where people play fair and by the rules is ideal so that you don’t have to waste time an energy looking “behind your back.” On the other hand, if you are able to master the ability to mitigate and filter out the toxic effects from people who are overtly trying to undermine you, you’ll be able to rise up to the next level… where the political dynamics are most certainly even more intense! More on that in a future blog post….

What strategies have you used to work through corporate politics? Please share your experience. If you found this interesting, please use the toolbar below to share it with your network.

Don't Roll Your Sleeves Up Too Far

“I’ll Do Whatever it Takes”

I’ve never been a “not my job” kind of person, whether I was a front-line technical services professional at Oracle or a VP at a billion dollar software company like Business Objects. If the team had a job to do, and if I needed to stretch outside of my basic job description to help get the job done, I’d gladly do it. Moreover, I truly felt that I was  modeling the business culture that I wanted my team to embrace and “leading by example.” It’s only in hindsight that I’ve become aware of the pitfalls and downside of that attitude, and how it could hurt me, my team, and even the company.

I was a VP of Marketing at a startup company. It was the day before a big trade show and we were inside a large convention hall setting up our booth. I had decided to run the event with minimal staff. That meant that there was only one other person from my team there to set up the booth. Not only would it take much longer with one person, but there were some sections that were physically impossible for one person to assemble. So I did what I thought any team-player and startup person would do. I spent hours helping to screw pieces together, hang graphics, arrange collateral, test demo stations, and more.

The new VP of Sales (we’ll call him “Rich”), who had spent most of his career in very large organizations, came by during the setup because he wanted to talk to me about an important partner meeting that we were tag-teaming later that week at the show. Rich and I got our game-plan together and outlined exactly what each of us would do to impress the partner and make them excited to do business with us. As we parted after our meeting, Rich said “Well, you probably have to get back and vacuum the carpet in the booth.” I thought it was a good-natured joke about how I was really “rolling my sleeves up.” It wasn’t. In hindsight, he was clearly concerned and maybe even annoyed that his executive wingman for the big partner meeting was also the guy with an allen wrench assembling the booth. In my mind, I was being a team player. In Rich’s mind, I didn’t know my role and had chosen to apply myself to low-value, manual tasks rather than strategic opportunities. He probably wondered why we hadn’t chosen an “executive” to be our marketing leader.

Consider Your “Stage” Presence

We’ve written about company stages and stage-relevant skills before. As your company grows and evolves, the way you execute your job and even the image and tone that you project must change.

Early-stage startups are often wary of “big company” executives coming in. They’re afraid that a new executive will join who’s no longer capable of doing real work, and instead just wants to build out a team, hire an admin, and set priorities and direction without helping on execution. When my startup was only 15 people in total, I often didn’t have any options when it came to handling mundane or administrative tasks here and there. To me, it didn’t matter that in my prior job at 4,000-person company, I had a global team of 35 and an admin. The work had to get done.

As we got more traction and our growth accelerated, we got into bigger deals, bigger customers, and bigger partnerships. We got on the radar of our competitors because they saw us as a potential disruptor in a very large market. The culture generally remained team-oriented, fun, and aggressive without being self-important or self-serious and I loved it. By the time the Rich came in, we were significantly larger and still scaling the business. In that world, executives didn’t set up booths.

My failure to recognize that perspective (which was also likely shared by other new-hires who came from larger companies) created unnecessary obstacles . In one sense, it’s as if some ideas or initiatives that came out of my team were viewed through one of two lenses 1) a good idea from a strategic, experienced marketing executive and industry veteran, or 2) a questionable idea from a “grunt” who puts booths together. That made me less effective, created some headaches for my team, and was a (minor, but meaningful) negative for the company.

Here are some suggestions to avoid typecasting yourself in a “small company” role as your organization grows and transitions to the next stage:

• Recognize and embrace organizational change – Once successful, your company will grow and the personalities and attitudes will evolve. This is true for mid-sized companies growing from 1,000 employees to 5,000 as well as early stage startups growing from 10 to 100. Rather than trying to preserve the status quo in terms of culture, approach, and how you perform your job, recognize this change and push yourself to evolve ahead of the curve, not behind it.
• Play your position –It’s an old marketing joke that you can’t market the same product simultaneously as a floor-wax and a tooth-polish. It’s true for people as well. Earlier in my career, I was a featured speaker at a breakfast seminar. One of the field marketing managers no-showed, so I volunteered to help hand out name tags. That’s when the lone marketing manager said “For this event to be a success, I need everyone here to see you as a subject matter expert when you’re on stage. If they see you first as the guy handing out name tags, they won’t be able to accept you as a thought leader when you’re up there presenting. So do me a favor and don’t help with registration.” It made perfect sense then but I should have internalized it in a big-picture way rather than as an isolated event.
• Do what’s best for the company with a long-term view – If you’re like me, you feel snobby, self-important, and egotistical when you don’t pitch in to help. But a short-term decision to “help out” can create long-term challenges. It’s not worth creating doubt or potential instability for your team just to fix a minor emergency. Look for other ways to fill in the gaps. In my case, I easily could have spent a few hundred dollars of my budget to get a contractor to help set up the booth, or even pulled in another employee. If I had found another creative solution, it would have resulted in better outcomes not just for me but for my team and for the company.

How have you adjusted your approach as a leader in a high-growth company environment? Please share your experience. If you found this interesting, please use the toolbar below to share it with your network.

Get "Offensive" In Your Interview

I Thought I Had the Job “In the Bag”

Justin was heading into final round of interviews for a VP of Services role at a hot Silicon Valley startup. He was very confident since his future boss-to-be, the General Manager, had indicated to Justin that he was her first choice. You see, Justin had worked with both the GM and CEO of this new company at Hyperion Solutions before it was acquired by Oracle. He approached the interview thinking that it was his to lose. It sure was.

The CEO greeted him. “Hey Justin, it’s great to see you again!” After they finished getting reacquainted, the CEO proceeded with “I knew you at Hyperion as a Marketing guy, and never thought of you as a ‘VP of Services,’ so what do you do you really want to do?” Without a hitch, Justin responded “Yes, my early career was well grounded in technical services and the latter part of my career in marketing.” Delivering what he thought was his power position, Justin completed his response with “so as you can see I have a wealth of experience across different business functions and therefore can do anything you or the business needs me to do!” Justin didn’t get the job.

Offense vs. Defense

Most people are familiar with the phrase “bring your A-game.” However, in the competitive job search game and interviewing, that A-game needs to be offense-minded. You’ve got to compete for the job with the perspective of the interviewer - what are her top pain points and what needs to get done? Instead, Justin made the common mistake of playing defense. He told them what he thought they wanted to hear and delivered a generic response to a pointed question and by doing so, closed the door of opportunity. The company was hiring for a very specific role, VP of Services. However, Justin presented himself as a “Jack of all trades.” He assumed that his broad “wealth of business experience” would be viewed as a valuable asset but instead he was viewed by the CEO as someone who was “confused” and uncertain about his career path, and not committed to the VP of Services role. Offense employs deliberate action of attack with the intent of scoring (i.e. competing for a job on your own terms). Defense, on the other hand, involves tactics that prevent scoring (i.e. reacting to the questions and going along with the interview process “not to lose the job”). The difference, while subtle, will make all the difference in whether you will impress the prospective employer and get the offer or not.

3 Keys to Execute Your Offensive Attack

The longer you go without having a job, the more emotional and financial stress can undermine your confidence. The pressure of landing a job together with one rejection after another can erode your poise and positive attitude. And before you know it, you’ve slipped into “desperation mode” without even realizing it. This is the root of becoming “defensive” in your job search and interviews. It’s crucial for you to turn this around because these signs are more obvious to the interviewer than they are to you! Remember, they’re not evaluating whether you can competently perform the job, they’re evaluating whether you’re the best among the many candidates they’re interviewing. So “not blowing it” in the interview is a losing strategy. Here are some points to consider that can make you much more effective in your interviews:

1. “Need a job” vs. “Want that job” – When you act like you “need a job,” any job, it’s impossible not to project negative attributes like anxiety, fear, and self-doubt. Justin had been out of work for over 6 months. His previous job was VP of Marketing at a well-established SaaS leader. At this point, he was willing to take any job so he opened up his job search to Services roles, falling back on his experience and professional track record from 10 years earlier. Justin needed a job and he unintentionally projected that very clearly to the CEO. However, Justin didn’t really want to go back to Services, he wanted to pursue his career in Marketing. Once he changed his mind set to “want that job” (i.e. Marketing), he was able to focus on what made him an excellent marketer, what kinds of companies and environments he’d thrive in, and he pursued those marketing roles with new-found confidence (which he leveraged to effectively negotiate his next role). Put another way, interviewing for a job you don’t really want makes you far less likely to get it.
2. Reactive vs. Proactive – Another symptom of being defensive is not wanting to “rock the boat.” When an interviewer takes you through an endless list of questions, it’s hard for you to do anything else but to fire back with your answers.  The best interviews are when 2 people are having a dialog, not a one-way “interrogation.” Interview dynamics are very tricky and the worst thing you can do is to be reactive and just respond to questions that are thrown at you. This is even more true when interviewing for senior roles. How can someone hire you to manage a team, a project, or a product line if you can’t “manage” an interview? So when you find yourself in this situation, take control. Be proactive by asking questions to disrupt the Q&A pattern. Find a way to up-level the discussion with an insightful question that will get the interviewer to share more about his pain or needs. Then you’ll have an opportunity to promote your experience and skills in context, directly mapped to the interviewer’s needs. Otherwise, you’re just guessing and hoping that something in one of your answers resonates and “sticks” with your interviewer. Speaking as an experienced hiring manager, I appreciate when candidates ask smart questions and turn the interaction into a dialog. I dislike interviews where I’m pulling reactive answers out of a candidate one-at-a-time.
3. Eliminate the Guessing Game – All too often, people tell me that they think the interview went fine and are later surprised to find out that they were not selected to go further in the interview process. Before you end any interview, you should ask the interviewer “How do I fit with your expectations for the role?” or “Do you have any concerns about my ability to perform well in this role?” Not only will you find out exactly where you stand, but most importantly, in the event that there are any reservations about your qualifications then you’ll still have a chance to address those concerns and to convince them that you can do the job better than any other candidate.

Having the discipline to stop looking for the “wrong job” and start focusing all of your efforts on getting your “ideal job” will pay off by giving you self-assurance and poise that are contagious. You may surprise yourself in how direct and bold you can actually be, and better yet, those traits will be viewed as valuable leadership attributes. In fact, once Justin made the shift from defense to offense he got his swagger back landed his VP of Marketing role within one month.

We appreciate your thoughts, so please weigh in with comments.

For more information on leadership development and career management, please visit ExecCatalyst.

Negotiating Your VP Title When Changing Companies

How to Secure Your VP Title Upfront
Last week we scrutinized the practice of probationary promotions and focused on the importance of getting the higher title that’s commensurate with the level of responsibility. Negotiating your title when you are joining a new company can be equally as arduous. A friend of mine (we’ll call him Mark) was interviewing for his first VP of Marketing role at a startup after holding Director titles at much larger, public companies. The CEO wanted Mark to lead the Marketing organization (reporting directly to the CEO), but proposed that Mark come in initially as a Director, deliver results, and then be promoted to VP after 6-12 months on the job. Basically, the CEO wanted to “de-risk” himself so he could “test drive” Mark before spending the political capital to make him a VP.

Mark was faced with an important negotiation. Here’s the advice I gave him:

1. First impressions mean a lot - You only get one shot at a first impression so bringing you in at a Director level will set the wrong expectations when you join the company. You will be introduced at a lower level and everyone will think of you in that light.
2. Use your compensation leverage while you have it – Your greatest ability influence your compensation structure is before you join a new company. Remember, if you are in the Offer Phase then you are the person they want. The CEO has “chosen you” and doesn’t want to keep looking so he’s very motivated to bring you on ASAP. Once you join the company then you are part of the standard HR process and it’s more difficult to negotiate your terms. And in the executive ranks at startups, equity (i.e. stock grants, options and RSUs) is a much more significant component of your compensation package. There are some rules of thumb and expectations among investors about what amount of equity is appropriate for a VP, and it’s substantially more than what a Director would typically be offered. Theoretically, Mark could get the additional equity once he’s promoted to VP, but companies are much more willing to allocate equity to attract a new rock-star talent than to thank/reward talent that’s already on board and committed.
3. Expect and enjoy the negotiation – As I mentioned in last week’s blog post, how you handle your title and compensation negotiation provides your new employer with a preview of how you will conduct yourself in business. If you are unwavering in your terms, it could be a major turn off. On the other hand, if you cave in too easily, you will project weakness i.e. how you will handle negotiations with peers, vendors and customers. Focus on the business reasons that support why it’s better that you come in as a VP. And as anxious as you may get, don’t rush the process. I know one executive that took 2 months to agree to terms… now that may be stretching it.

How to Negotiate Your Future VP Title
While it’s usually best to secure your VP title upfront, there may be extenuating circumstances that call for you to switch to “Plan B” i.e. negotiating your future VP promotion into your offer letter. Before I joined one of my early startups, I came across a Director role in my job search that was reporting to the CEO. Given that I’d been at the VP level for several years, I didn’t want to take a “step back,” but with this opportunity I felt that as long as the role was reporting to the CEO then I was at the right level. Within 20 minutes of my first meeting with the CEO, I knew I was his top choice. At the end of our meeting, we started talking about title and compensation ranges. I then came to understand that he had set the expectation with the Board (and the rest of the company for that matter) that he was not going to hire a VP. The company had previously made “big bets” on VPs that didn’t work out (which is why he posted a Director job). This was important company history to understand and I leveraged this knowledge to create a win-win. Here’s the success strategy I used:

1. Make the boss look good – I knew if I forced the CEO to bring me in as a VP then there was a fair amount of political damage for him if he were to “change his tune.” I made sure that he understood that preserving his leadership credibility was of upmost importance to me and that I was ready to come on board to help him work through this challenging time in the business. However, I made it clear that I was not coming to the company to be a Director i.e. my pride made it hard for me to take a Director title
2. Secure the VP role commitment – I helped him understand that my career progression would be shot if I took a step down at this stage e.g. if he hired a VP above me. So I suggested that we have a 6-month review. If I was doing what was expected then I would be promoted immediately. And if not then I would leave the company, giving him an “out.” This made it really easy for him in either scenario i.e. back to point #1, “making him look good.”
3. Negotiate built-in promotion terms – We were very specific on the triggers for the promotion and also built in the VP compensation elements (i.e. salary, bonus, and stock) into the offer letter. This made the 6-month review a very simple cut and dry process. In fact, he seemed more comfortable with this part of the negotiation because from his perspective, it was a “safe bet” – he’d only have to provide that compensation if he was convinced after 6 months that I would be a great VP.
4. Put walls around the Director role – Here’s the part that’s easily overlooked. I made sure that the VP and the Director roles were clearly distinguished, for example, the VP role had direct reports and the Director role didn’t. This is counter-intuitive for people who think that taking as much responsibility as possible would create the fastest path to VP. We clearly outlined the focus, responsibilities, and tasks as a Director and the comprehensive responsibilities as a VP. If the roles were not markedly different then the VP title (and compensation) would be less significant. I was very careful to make certain that I didn’t creep into doing the VP job without the official promotion.

Within months of joining the company, things were going very well and the CEO was so pleased with the immediate impact and contribution I brought to the business that he wanted to start giving me more responsibility. With Point #4 above in mind, I told him “If you’d like to accelerate my promotion to VP, I’d be very happy to take on the full VP responsibilities."

There is another key lesson here. Coming in as a Director lowered the expectations and optics around my on-boarding period. Given the company’s history with prior VPs who didn’t work out, my near term focus on prioritized projects took the tremendous pressure out of the system that would have existed if I had come in with the VP title i.e. needing to “walk on water” and fix everything that was broken. The success criteria were certainly more realistic which is important for anyone starting a new job.

And what happened to Mark? Well, Mark successfully negotiated and helped the CEO to see that he, the CEO, and the company would all be more successful if he came in as a VP. And here’s the kicker: Mark found out later that the company’s Director of Product Management, who joined at the same time, came in with the “test drive” deal. More than a year later, that Director was still struggling to create a sense of urgency for the CEO to finally promote him to VP.

What promotion negotiation strategies have worked for you? Please share your thoughts.

Perils of Probationary Promotions

The Win-Win-Lose Proposition
When I was at Oracle, there was a major reorganization and a new department was formed. I was a Sr. Manager in operations and my boss, a Director, was tapped to join a temporary global taskforce and disappeared for 3 months. Here’s where it gets interesting: his manager, the VP, needed me to do my boss’s job but he couldn’t promote me, at least not yet. I was offered the “job of a Director,” but didn’t get the title. On face value everything seemed fine:

1. The company wins – The job gets done and business moves forward.
2. The manager wins – The job gets done and s/he also feels good about giving you the “opportunity.”
3. You win... really? – You get more responsibility and learn more skills.

Here’s what’s wrong with the picture: You lose too! From a financial perspective, you get more work but have the same pay. You lose salary and bonus upside because you were compensated at the lower pay grade.

But the political ramifications are more serious. You have accepted a new role but don’t have full organizational support. Titles are important, particularly in mature organizations, because they give you the clout to represent your business function and to make decisions. Without the formal title and recognition, you are vulnerable to complexities and delays because people are questioning your authority. It’s effectively “the buck stops here” credibility that encourages people to work with you instead of going around you to make things happen. Also, without the title you have to swallow your pride because people in the organization will ask “why are Karen and Mike (your peers) Directors and you are not?” or “if you’re doing your boss’s old job and he was a Director then why aren’t you a Director?” Furthermore, when your promotion is finally official, the formal announcement is anti-climactic because you’ve already been doing the job. And worse yet, if you still haven’t been promoted then you are floating in limbo, while others are trying to figure out how they can get that promotion before you do.

How You Got Into This Predicament
Probationary promotions are commonly practiced within high-tech companies. They happen for several reasons: 1) your manager doesn’t have the power (or possibly the political will) to authorize your promotion 2) it’s outside of the focal/annual review process so you have to wait as a matter of policy. At any rate, managers play this card in order to get you to take on more work and hope that this “new responsibility” will be enough to keep you motivated and happy for a little while longer. One argument for the probationary promotion (instead of the “real deal”) is that it’s a good way to observe you in the role. It’s a low-risk “test drive” for your management where they can watch and see if you succeed without risking their political capital of officially promoting you first. That’s hogwash so don’t fall for it. If you are qualified enough to be given the responsibility, then you are surely qualified to get the title promotion and compensation that’s associated with it.

Negotiating Your Promotion
Let’s discuss how you can gain control over the process. Every high-achiever will chomp at the bit to get more responsibility and looks forward to being hand-picked to lead a new project. When you’re early in your career, taking on new challenges is a good way to get visibility and to demonstrate that you have high potential. Negotiating hard for that promotion at this early stage of your career is less important than when you are vying for Director and VP roles. At these levels, much more is at stake with respect to business need and impact as well as the professional risk and personal sacrifices that you take on. Here are important points to tip the balance in your favor:

1. Build your business case – articulate why it’s better for the business that you are promoted. Focusing solely on your own motivations can put your manager in an immediate defensive posture if he is not ready or able to promote you. Whatever you do, don’t build your case for a formal promotion around your needs and goals. Your boss might be able to ask for an exception to company policy for the good of the business, but he’ll never be able to ask for an exception because of your individual needs and goals. So equip him to make a case that his superiors can respect and support based on the business need.
2. How it benefits your manager – it’s in your manager’s best interest for you to be successful. Sending you off into the company to drive change, manage critical projects, etc. without the proper support can come back to bite him or her if you fail. Help her to realize how sending you in at the wrong level can undermine the projects that are most important to her. Another point is that the more senior her direct reports are, the stronger the case is for her next promotion since she’ll be managing Directors instead of first-line managers.
3. Show your political savvy – your promotability has as much to do with acceptance up, down, and across the organization as what your manager thinks. If your manager promotes you and then receives a backlash of criticism, his own credibility is shot. Do you know how others feel about your expertise and contribution to the business? You should have a strong understanding of this before you push for your promotion. If there are any concerns raised, then this is your opportunity to correct any misunderstandings. Removing these barriers will help to align the political timing of your promotion to the benefit of your manager and the overall business.

Give Yourself a Promotion
How you handle and present your case for promotion is an important preview of your leadership skills and style. Your ability to demonstrate balanced thinking around business, managerial, and personal benefits will provide insights to your potential as a leader and future executive. The more you think and act like the level you want to be at, the more people will view you as already being there. Moreover, applying the principles of SMART objectives (specific, measureable, attainable, realistic, and time bound) helps to ensure that you and your manager are on the same page regarding your promotion expectations. When the requirements for your promotion are “SMART”, you’ll be working hard based upon a clear set of objectives vs. suffering from the “moving goal post” phenomenon where your manager just invents a new requirement or throws out a new challenge for you to overcome before the promotion process can continue.

Observing how your manager handles this situation is equally telling. If he’s fully committed to your success, then he will work with you according to the principles mentioned above instead of keeping things very loose, unspecific, and open-ended from a timing perspective.

Have you ever taken a probationary promotion? Did it work out eventually, or did you get stuck in the “slow lane” as a result? How did you deftly avoid a probationary promotion or accelerate a formal promotion? Please share your thoughts.