Survey Results

"America has voted. Jennifer, Lucy, Paige, Tom, Nina, Damon & Danielle – this week…you are safe!"

From time to time, everyone needs feedback as to how they're doing. Students have report cards, politicians have polls and employees have evaluations. For the past 18 months, Fusion's Editorial Team has published a weekly post – it was time to see what our readers think. Here are the results of last week's five question survey:

Question 1: Should we continue publishing Cornerstones?

The response was a resounding "Yes!" – 90% of you want us to keep going. The Editorial Team is gratified…thank you. Like contestants on "American Idol," we're glad you want us back next week!

Question 2: Should we combine the three separate blogs into one?

Sixty percent voted to combine the blogs. This change is forthcoming. And to the 21% who responded "What blogs?" – the weekly email archives are accessible 24/7 via the "View the Archives" link at the bottom of this email.

Question 3: What topics are most important to you?

The top three responses were Communication, Sales & Strategy followed by Management, Corporate Culture and Editorial Commentary. Looks like we all agree that these topics are important…we hear you and will continue sharing Fusion’s perspective on each of these areas.

Question 4: This was the three-part "How would you like your Fusion today?"

Do you prefer the white text on a black background or black text on a white background? The vote was split. The black background/white text is preferred by 52%. From a branding perspective the black background is our "look"… we're still kicking this one around for the 48% who prefer white background/black text.

Does your system block the images?

Our resident graphic artist was happy to hear 75% of you can see his work! If you're one of the 25% that don't receive the images, you can view them on the blog.

Would you be willing to pay a subscription fee? Well, it never hurts to ask, right? Not only do 90% of our readers want us to keep publishing, they want to subscribe for free. That's alright with us – we’re having fun writing and publishing each week.

And speaking of feedback…wow! Question 5 was your opportunity to share your thoughts…What haven't we asked you? Here’s a sampling of the comments:

"I've been through the training, but – believe it or not – I don't remember everything I've learned. I appreciate the reminders."

"Unlike any other e-mail I get during the course of the week – I always read it."

"The emails remind me of the principles in Fusion and inspire me to aim higher professionally and personally."

"Sometimes the emails take a little bit to get to the point….shorter may be better. Love it though!"

"Consistently stimulates thinking."

There's some trepidation in asking for feedback. We've been wondering what you thought of the weekly emails. Your responses have been a gift. It will be our privilege to continue bringing the Fusion perspective to you each week. And, we'll do our best to keep the emails short and sweet; yet some subjects need more "column inches" to make the point.

Application

People wouldn't be so afraid to ask for feedback if it didn't have the potential to be devastating. Yet, it can be gratifying. It lets you know if you're on the right track…or not. Ask your family or your boss "How am I doing? What am I doing well? What can I improve upon?" Be open to what comes. Whatever the result, it will be better to know the truth.

Thank you for asking us back next week. See you then!

Restoring Nobility to the Workplace

"Our awesome responsibility to ourselves, to our children, and to the future is to create ourselves in the image of goodness, because the future depends on the nobility of our imaginings."

-Barbara Grizzuti Harrison
Author

This is the last in the five-part "What is Fusion?" series. Our purpose here has been to let our clients and friends see past our well-known communication specialties, and experience a deeper look into the soul of the firm.

Does Purpose have dimension? Size? Comparative Scale?

In our mind, Yes.

It's one thing to decide that one's life purpose is to sing – quite another to sing lead tenor in the Tabernacle Choir. Or Vienna. Or New York.

What about to feed one's self? To feed another? One's family? What about creating a strain of hearty wheat that extends harvests sufficiently to feed millions?

We suggest that Purpose can possess both magnitude and altitude. It can be both big and lofty. Or not...

Brings to mind the idea of Noble Purpose. Greatness.

Hard to have this conversation in the same world with "Jersey Shore" and MTV. Perhaps the reason it's so difficult to find motivated people today is that many conversations (at least in the public sphere...) have turned from greatness to the mundane. People seem less interested in summiting Everest than in the summit of the social scene in Mountain View, CA or Manhattan.

A perfect example is the fall from greatness of strategic planning. We are saddened to witness the devolution of planning from a moment to discuss changing the world to changing our profit plan. From changing the industry to changing our income stream. Perhaps the reason people are so involved with engineering their own careers today, is that the corporation seems so bent on its own ascendance or simply "so bent." It's easy to become sad and discouraged by focusing on the obvious bad in the world. We prefer to focus instead on discovering the hidden good. We've noticed that everyone dreams of – and hopes for – a lofty purpose (even while staying focused on keeping the family fed), and that one part of leadership is putting people back in touch with their own basic nobility and of their deepest aspiration for more.

Nobility is an attitude... which can turn a strategic planning retreat from an exercise in profit enhancement (or loss apportionment) into a quest. It's what turns the planning discipline from something barely tolerated into something we hunger after and reach for – a Cornerstone of Corporate Culture... Your job is to find the coals of creativity and interest in your corporation and fan them into the bright flames which can forge nobility and greatness.

Hey, maybe this is just "those zany people at Fusion" speaking, but we believe that life and work can become once again noble, and that greatness is within reach. One approach: treat strategic planning as something that begins with an imagined noble purpose rather than searching for ways to increase income. With immense respect for our highly analytical teammates; amounts, equations and calculations are all about the "how's, when's and who's" of life. When you finish with that, it's just "yawn, what's for dinner?" – it's all body and mind stuff. A Noble Purpose however, elevates the discussion from "How" to "What and Why?" and involves the heart and spirit... mobilizing the whole being – probably why we think holistics is worth pursuing. Nobility is about the "Why?" No one gets excited thinking about mere survival. But everyone has a hero inside just waiting to be called to service at the round table.

Application

1. For Yourself: It's hard to get excited about putting food on the table, especially if it’s just for yourself. Maybe you need to imagine something loftier. What about starting a soup kitchen?

2. In your Family: For you mothers, fathers, mates and partners...that band-aid, bowl of soup, advice on homework or picking up at the playground may not feel noble, but it is in their eyes.

3. In your Business: It's not just about the numbers. No business is. Every business is founded on serving a need. Decades – or even centuries – of success can obscure that fact and leave everyone merely serving the balance sheet. Unfortunately, such companies are on a downward trend – whether they know it or not. Imagining better is the first step to putting the organization back in the service of a noble purpose.

Join us in imagining a more noble future!

On Management

“Let’s see if your walk is as good as your talk.”

From “Zatôichi kenda-daiko”
(1968)

On Management – the fourth article in our five part "What is Fusion?" Series.

In this series we’ve talked about Communication, Sales and Culture Building. This article focuses on Management Development and applies to anyone who leads – not just those at the top. Around here, we do it in two flavors: Management Practices for Teams and Executive Counsel for Individuals.

Let’s begin with a specific First Principle, then discuss how First Principles are employed in Management Development at Fusion:

First Principle:

Life is a combination of the conceptual and the concrete. Actions and words. What leaders say and what they do.

The alignment, or lack thereof... between words and actions is what convinces us that this is a leader who's serious – who means what they say – who's worth following – emulating. Or not.

In the vernacular, it's called "Walking Your Talk."

Study Example:

At a national meeting, the leader delivers a rousing speech: Unique, Stylish, Passionate! Though she and her direct reports had enjoyed and mastered “Ready, Set, Go!®”; this executive was so taken with the feelings of the moment that she abandoned her hard won discipline and simply held forth! Unfortunately, the message to the troops was: Yes we spent millions teaching you to deliver as a team, working from a shared discipline, and a shared set of stories, but the Boss just went off the reservation and did it her own way. Of course everyone loved the speech; yet they wasted no time in pointing out the Actions vs. Words dissonance in the senior’s conduct. She didn't "walk her talk."

*Was there a mistake?

*How will the executive’s actions be perceived around the firm?

*Can she salvage the investment in "Ready, Set, Go!" or should she move on and not look back?

*Can she re-integrate the conceptual and the concrete and get her communication strategy back on track?

*Is it important for Management to Lead by Example in demonstrating mastery of the skills taught to the ranks?

Discuss.

The Art of Management may be best expressed as the mastery of the unique daily expression of such "First Principles."

One doesn't so much "teach" management, as much as facilitate or counsel individuals and teams in the process of becoming familiar with first principles, then introducing them into their daily flow. First, get the idea. Make it concrete! Don't change a winning game...stay on the reservation!

How We Do It

Management Practices

For leadership teams: to create a quarterly forum for the discussion of first principles and the steady accumulation of a shared team perspective about what Management is, and how it is most effectively practiced.

Over time, individuals become more practiced, nuanced and effective at managing, and contribute to the larger goal of creating an experienced and cohesive management team – all working from the same set of principles.

Group sessions, in retreat or by conference call.

Executive Counsel

For individuals: an intimate setting in which to get down to it! What's working, what isn't? Which principles apply, and how do we work them into our daily practice?

Private, in person, by email or telephone.

Life: a magical combination of the conceptual (words) and the concrete (actions).

"Walk your talk" and your people will follow you anywhere!

Building a Culture

Building a Culture - the third article in our five part "What is Fusion?" series.

So far we’ve focused on the art of public speaking, improving communication skills and the fundamentals of presentations – all through the use of “Ready, Set, Go!®”. Now your people know how to define excellence in communication – and how to manifest it. Let’s take the lessons of “Ready, Set, Go!” and apply them to creating the stories that the firm will tell in all media. But let’s not stop there.

*What if we started using “Ready, Set, Go!” as a framework for collaborative story development – getting people involved in the process from all over the organization? (No more carping about the exclusivity of the marketing team...)

*What if marketing used the same approach to create literature?

*What if we used the same tools on the sales desk?

*What if training were developed and delivered using “Ready, Set, Go!” as a model? In this way, people would see other departments in the organization demonstrating the same skills and thinking.

*What if this approach was used to manage and run meetings – even national meetings?

Now we'd have a shot at making "One Story, Many Voices!®" a reality – aligned communication channels with attendant improvements in sales volume and sales effectiveness. The demonstrated impact of a single message, repeated across all media and all communication channels is arguably the most powerful tool at management’s disposal.

So, now communication across all channels is pretty well handled and totally aligned. It's in the air we breathe. "It's the water in which we swim..." “It’s a Culture of Communication.” One might say we’ve created a foundation, in fact a “Cornerstone” on which our culture can rest.

Hold onto your hat – it’s about to get interesting...

Now let’s talk about sales.

Sales

What if we began to sell as counselors – an evolutionary change in our perspective and our practice? We’d talk less and listen more. Sometimes we wouldn’t suggest a product, but a service instead. We’d serve the client’s interests above our own. (Remember? Fiduciary. Profession.) Of course, this change doesn’t come about overnight. It might be the first step in once again elevating our firm, our industry and our nation to leadership. It might also be fun. And it might also become yet another cornerstone of corporate culture.

Want to take it further?

How do you keep all this training and skill from eroding when someone gets promoted?

Management

*What if your managers were the most skilled communicators in the company?

*What if they coached to the same standard of communication excellence?

*What if they drew the connection between excellent communication and excellent compensation?

*What if all managers shared the same understanding of what management actually is: a service provided by the manager to everyone in their department? Servant Management…(endless, cheerful, repeated coaching).

*What if management is not a promotion up, but a lateral move into the cultural structure of the company?

*What if, as a manager, you’re here to support and guide your reports as they take the firm to the next level? We’re here to help you grow into that much less egotistical and much more supportive role – it’s a lot like becoming a parent…it’s not about you, it’s about the team. Servant Management.

It might take a little training, and perhaps a manager support group and forum. Perhaps this is a Cornerstone, too.

So now the firm communicates with one voice, the management team has a shared perspective and a devotion to keeping the skills in place, and we’ve re-elevated sales to a service activity.

(Tired yet? This is the home stretch…)

Strategy

*What if all this emerged from an executive retreat where we relaxed, argued and created a broader vision for the future?

*Why are we here?

*What do we stand for?

*What can we contribute?

*What can separate us from our peers?

*How can we lead?

*How can we serve?

We think rediscovering the nobility in the work is what reawakens the individual dedication to career, company and country. We’d love to assist you in the search.

That’s it. Culture. What if we talk about it and teach it using “Ready, Set, Go!”? So the Cornerstones help us resist the urge to recreate it next month. Communication, Sales, Management and Strategy. Done right, it will outlast this generation and become the template future generations use to manage and grow the firm.

Crack this code and begin to play at a higher level. Fusion.