The 18-Month Factor

Many executives tolerate B and C performance from their key reports for far too long. I have had the privilege of sharing a speaker's platform several times with investor, serial entrepreneur, author, speaker, consultant and all around good guy Dave Berkus. Dave coined the phrase "The 18-Month Factor" to describe how long it takes from the time you acknowledge having an underperforming manager to the time you have a fully effective person producing critical results. Dave's theory, with which I agree completely, is as follows: You (the CEO or Senior Executive) first realizes the problem by noticing that "Joe" is not getting it done. You say, "Well, I'll give him a bit more time." Interestingly, this patience only seems to apply to people, not other key business decisions, right?

3 months go by, then you say, "Well, I'll talk to him about it." Joe agrees to change, so you give him 3 more months, and still nothing has changed, so you give him a warning. Shape up or else. At that point, 50% of the B and C players become "mentally unemployed". Some of them actually start looking, but some just eat up your payroll while their performance actually gets worse. And, it is expensive in indirect ways too - lost opportunities, etc.

So, at about the 9 month point, you decide you really must do something about Joe. You launch a search. The search takes the usual 3 months, and you find a new person who looks like an "A" player. By the time that individual is on board, and the get-acquainted honeymoon is over, you're in the 13^th or 14^th month, and it will surely take 3-4 months before you can expect meaningful change and better results. Presto, 18 months have gone by.

Strategic replacement takes brave, decisive action. My grandfather used to say, "The first loss is the best loss," because business loss is really valuable information, and if you pay attention quickly, you can cut the next loss. 2010 is a very meaningful year for executive change. As companies jockey for position to see who is going to rise first in the recovery, there will be a scramble for market share. For many companies, that will require stronger people. Don't find yourself stuck with B and C people in an 18-month cycle.

If you are a business leader, and you've survived the past two years, you probably have keen judgment. Make sure it applies to more than financials, inventory, operations, etc. Apply it to your #1 asset as well – your people.

Attention to Detail or Micromanagement?

I am a possibilities and alternatives thinker, so when an idea is presented to me, even a great idea, my first instinct is to think, how else could this be done? My thinking also drifts to: what could go wrong with this, is this the best way to do it, etc. Funny thing is, I perceive myself as a conceptual idea person who hates details, is low-data, makes decisions easily, and wants to be strategic. However, when I ask my "what-if" and why questions, others easily can get the opposite impression, that I am too into the details, too analytical, and even micromanaging. The person who generated the great idea can get frustrated and feel judged and underappreciated.

Until I had a trusted employee point this out to me, I had no idea that what I thought was collaborative what-iffing could sometimes be perceived as frustrating nit-picking.

I'm a strong believer that with human behavior, there is no reality, only perceptions. It isn't always important whether I'm "right" or "wrong" about what I'm doing. However it is really important how my actions affect others – their work output, their job satisfaction, etc. If my behavior and my style of communication isn't productive, and it obstructs progress by producing frustration, then it is important to look at it and change it. For me this week – lesson learned!

Stepping in a New River

Bear with me… I usually give very concrete advice, and today I'm going to philosophize.

Heraclitus, who felt that change was central to the universe said (around 500 BC), "You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to you." In other words, a river is never static, it is in each moment a different river, because the water keeps flowing. Just as each moment brings new water down the river; each moment brings a new experience into our existence. What happened just now is now over.

It takes effort to embrace change. We are creatures of habit - we expect to step into that same river. At my advanced age (jk) learning something new or experiencing something differently is a great thing - a true delight. Most of us experience new things through filters based on our similar previous experiences - we play old tapes in our head. It actually takes work to see things without that set of filters. Letting go, clearing the head to see things as they are, or even to just see them fresh, with new eyes, or to be open to a new point of view, is not automatic. But, practice does improve the art.

Friday night is a good time to clear stuff out. Start the weekend with a blank-slate attitude, and I'll bet you will step into a new river. Happy wading.

Google Yourself - We Do!

Most hiring experts advocate background checks, but many employers don't take the time to do this before hiring, or they just don't take formal checking tools seriously. A free and easy way to look at someone's background is to simply Google "first last" in quotes. Unless the name is unusually common, you can find out lots about people. Most headhunters do this on candidates. I can see all the routine things you might expect, AND, people can see if you have ever made a political contribution, or if you have been tagged in a photo of a beer bash that someone posted on Facebook, Picasa, etc. If you have been named in a lawsuit, or convicted of a crime, that often comes up. If you had an unhappy breakup, maybe you or pictures or videos of you, are posted on a psycho ex boyfriend site, or on YouTube. You probably want to see all these things before I do!

If you should find that there are things that are unfair, untrue, etc., there are steps you can take to change the items, but at the very least, you may need to be prepared to explain yourself to an employer if there are damaging items.

For tools to correct problems, visit: Wired Wiki, or use a Google remove request. To stop Google from indexing you, use a "no-index" robot.

An Update on our Survey

Survey results:

40% of people responding to our survey question "The best way I could advance my career today would be..." answered: "Build / Improve my Network". The second most popular response (24%) was "Leave and get a different job" [Based on 229 responses].