Cordage Institute 2009 Annual Conference

Building a Winning Culture in Challenging Times

John Spence

Global Economy?

National Economy?

Competition?

For those who are prepared…

…chaos brings opportunity

The 4 P’s of Expert Performance

Passion

Persistence

Practice

Pattern Recognition

For the past 14 years…

Making the very complex… awesomely simple

• Vivid Vision• Robust Communication• Best People• Sense of Urgency• Disciplined Execution• Extreme Customer Focus

1. Vivid Vision

A superior TEAM that delivers real value through

elegant SOLUTIONS for their customers and looks for

appropriate GROWTH opportunities.

Three keys to an effective vision:

Over-communicate itAdjust it when necessaryLIVE it every day

2. Robust Communication

Honesty

Transparency

Courage

Consistency

3. Best People

Is you company a talent magnet?

Talent

Refuse to tolerate mediocrity…

4. Sense of Urgency

You must create a culture that…

• Rewards fast action-taking

• Punishes barriers

• Embraces change

• Tolerates risk

• Accepts failure

• Empowers everyone

4-Level Decision Making

1. You own it.

2. Ask for input… you own it.

3. Team decision… I own it.

4. My call… I own it.

5. Disciplined Execution

What Inhibits Execution?National Survey of 4,000 Senior Executives

4. Inability to work together (21%)

3. Company culture (23%)

2. Economic climate (29%)

1. Holding onto the past / unwillingness to CHANGE (35%)

Vision+

Values

Strategy

Commitment

Alignment

Systems Communication

Support

Adjust /Innovate

Reward /Punish

Where are we going + how will we behave on the way?

FocusDifferentiation“No”

Stakeholders + guiding collation

Vision + ValuesStrategyPlansGoals / ObjectivesTactics / Actions

Procedures / ProtocolsRepeatable ProcessClear / consistent / relentless

Training +time / money /

supplies / people

Measure / TrackCommunicate

Transparency Renewal

Praise + Celebration and

Eliminate Mediocrity

9 Steps forEnsuring

Effective Execution

6. Extreme Customer Focus

It used to be…

Good Cheap Fast

Common sense, but not common practice…

Show up on time

Do what you say you will do

Finish what your start

Say “please” and “thank you”

Always give a little more than they expect

Master the first five… and then focus them on number six!

1. Vivid Vision

2. Robust Communication

3. Best People

4. Sense of Urgency

5. Disciplined Execution

6. Extreme Customer Focus

Twice weekly surveys for five years of 4,000+ senior managers and executives at:

• IBM• GE• Morgan Stanley• Merck• 3M• Microsoft• CIGNA• Heineken• MasterCard

• Fidelity• Motorola• Ikon• American Express• Progressive• Bank of America• AT&T• SAP• Borders

Keys to effective management…

• Communicate clearly• Force the hard decisions• Focus on results• Remain flexible to change• Prove your value to the customer• Force collaboration• Rigorous but not ruthless

The Evergreen Project

• 10 year study of 160 top companies

• 40 distinct industries

• 200 management practices

• Winners, climbers, tumblers, losers

• Winners had an average Total Return to Shareholders of 945%... the Losers only averaged a TRS of 62%

From: What (really) Works by Joyce, Nohria, Roberson 9

The Four Primary Practices:

1. A sharply focused, clearly communicated and well-understood strategy for growth.

2. Flawless operational execution that consistently delivers the value proposition.

3. A performance-oriented culture that does not tolerate mediocrity.

4. A fast, flexible, flat organization that reduces bureaucracy and simplifies work.

From: What (really) Works by Joyce, Nohria, Roberson

The Secondary Management Practices:

• Talent = find and keep the best people.

• Key leaders show commitment and enthusiasm for the business.

• Embrace strategic innovation.

• Master the power of partnerships.

From: What (really) Works by Joyce, Nohria, Roberson

To help you apply these ideas…

Q & A

If you have any questions at all please do not hesitate to send a note or call. My email address is: john@johnspence.com

Also, you might find value in the ideas I share in my blog. You can sign up for it at:www.johnspence.com/blog

Lastly, these slides have already been uploaded to:http://www.slideshare.net/johnspence