The Leadership Rabbit Hole

Recently, I had the dubious honor to work with a senior executive who just doesn't get it.

Rodney was V.P. of Marketing for a leading manufacturer of networking technology. (Or so we'll say - substitute the leader, politician, or other important person of your choice.) As such, it is Rodney's job to create demand for his company's products. And yet after months of effort, demand had actually decreased, Rodney's team became alienated, and the company's performance suffered as a result of his work.

Rodney was always quick to point out that the economy was sluggish and therefore the problem wasn't his marketing but simply that people weren't going to respond to anything. Also, said Rodney, the Internet team was slow to respond to his needs, holding up his online marketing initiatives. Furthermore, he had made requests of his President for approval on programs but they were denied, so really the marketing woes were the President's fault. Rodney's list of reasons why performance was lacking, as you can tell, went on and on and included everything around him except the common denominator: Rodney.

Down the Leadership Rabbit Hole

The leadership rabbit hole is where would-be leaders go when they've "checked out" and stopped leading. Their reality is distorted and the hallmark is self-deception. More to the point, you can tell if your colleague, friend, or loved one is down the rabbit hole if they go to great lengths to make it clear that the cause of all the trouble in their life is somewhere "out there," outside the rabbit hole, well outside of their control and certainly not their fault. None of the issues at hand are the fault of the individual, all solutions worth trying have been tried, and you clearly don't understand the roadblocks - no, dare I say persecution - they face.

That is the leadership rabbit hole. That mentality kills entire businesses, friendships, and relationships every day.

If Not You, Then Who

The difference between true leaders at all ranks, good employees, and total losers is simple. True leaders at any rank of any company know that only they are responsible for the success required and therefore they must cause success. Good employees diligently deliver results, yet mistakenly believe that only a few need lead and that someone else is ultimately responsible. Total losers consistently think someone or something else is responsible, they think leadership is based in titles, and they fail to deliver results, the thing that counts.

I'm going to say it without reservation: Primary responsibility for our success as leaders rests with us and us alone, whether we are the owner, manager, or dedicated employee.

Not the economy. Not the whim and will of clients. Not whatever tax burden, law, or policy is being imposed by local or state legislatures. Not anything but what we personally accomplish toward success. These things and more may be factors, yes, but only factors and nothing more and to claim otherwise is an exercise in self-deception. The leadership rabbit hole.

Self-deception is a question of focus. Focus is shifted from a no-holds-barred dedication toward delivering on things that are truly factors critical to the end goals of the business (e.g. - revenue, profit, customer inquiries, sales, product quality ratings, etc.) to complaints about things that sound critical but really probably aren't (e.g. - systems delays, taxes, paperwork, etc.). To be sure, it is critical to plan for and solve roadblocks. But when they become the focus and the consistent refrain in defense of lack of performance when a more appropriate response would be no defense at all but rather a concise, well-formed plan for delivering results, that is proof positive we've entered the leadership rabbit hole.

In my experience, we most often enter the leadership rabbit hole as self defense when we're out of ideas and don't know how to accomplish the necessary. "I've tried everything I can think of and nothing worked. It must be everyone else's fault." Here's a fresh idea: ask for help.

If Not Now, Then When

It is extraordinarily popular right now to say that nothing can be done about business performance because of the economy. We have to wait. We're helpless. Sigh.

Hogwash.

To be sure, there are many businesses going under. But did you know there are also businesses doing great? In literally every sector and in every market, there is a #1 performer beating every one of their competitors.

And that is my point: somebody has to be successful. By giving into the self-deception and claiming that there's nothing we can do, we're not only hiding the reality that we don't know what to do, but also we're conceding the market to our competition. It makes perfect sense that some business in our sector will succeed and will be the best, even right now. But by adopting a defeatist attitude, we're in effect saying, "I'm not smart enough to make my business be the best."

I don't know why anyone would ever take that attitude, give up, throw in the towel, and declare the competition bigger, taller, stronger and smarter. If somebody has to succeed and become the best performer in your sector, even right now, why not do what it takes to make that somebody be you?

Out of the Rabbit Hole

I noted above that often we enter the rabbit hole because we don't know what else to do. Important keys to breaking out, then, include providing coaching toward professional skills development, visioning, and strategic and tactical planning. In this way, we give fresh tools, new ideas, and most importantly, new focus and direction away from blame and toward potential results.

Results must be delivered upon. So it is critical to provide accountability to facilitate achievement of the new vision and plan. A simple system of controls is critical to check for performance and provide corrective action.

Not surprisingly, a key factor is that this help and accountability must be accepted. If not, or if the desired improvements do not result - as was the case with Rodney - then it becomes critical for the individual to leave the organization whether by their choice or yours. This is especially sensitive if the individual in the rabbit hole is you and you're the top leader: we've identified the problem, and the problem is you. Now what?

Bye Bye, Wonderland

The leadership rabbit hole is no fairy tale and quite often there is no happy ending. While it will probably be very tempting after reading this article to march up to someone and declare, "You're completely down the leadership rabbit hole and don't even know it," that's not helpful. Connecting with and following the advice of a trusted advisor who can cut through the situation to facilitate the needed coaching and accountability, however, can make the critical difference.

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Dustin Walling is Principal of Dustin Walling Associates, a Seattle-based management consulting firm providing strategy and operational consulting. For article topics, questions, or comments, Dustin can be reached at http://www.DustinWalling.com.

All material Copyright 2007-2008, Wallingford Specialties, Inc. and Dustin Walling Associates, unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved.

Laser Focus and The Perfect Client

Laser Focus

If law enforcement officers were business people, they would never struggle with questions like, "Who is my Perfect Client?" or, "Will I run out of customers if I focus on a select niche?" They would just know with confidence who they're after. Take this extreme example from my past.

It was early January of 1993 when Officer Harlan Graham of the Iowa State Patrol pulled me over north of Decorah, IA. Having wrecked my car the week before and now traveling seven miles over the limit, I was an easy target.

As I sat in the squad car and the officer wrote up a collection of what he assured me would amount to nothing more than warning tickets, lights began to flash and an eerie whine sounded from a box on the dash. So I did what I do: I began asking questions. "What's that?"

"That's my radar," came the quick reply, "and the whine tells me a car is approaching." Sure enough, just then, a car emerged from the heavy mist, doing the precise 55 miles posted as the speed limit.

"Let me show you," Officer Graham then said, throwing the cruiser into drive and pulling onto the highway. With that, we were unexpectedly on patrol, with him explaining the finer points of how the radar worked.

Just then, a van approached at 63 miles an hour, 8 miles over the limit. Time for another question. "Tell me, how do you make the decision between giving a warning and an actual ticket?"

"I always give tickets starting at 8 miles over." Then, suddenly, and with what I would swear was a hint of ornery in his voice, "Oh... you want him??" And with that, Officer Graham reached down, flipped a switch and the dense fog began to flicker a brilliant white and red. I think I nearly swallowed my tongue as I realized we were pulling a u-turn in the highway to take down the van and give the hapless driver a ticket.

My point is simple. Harlan had ruthless criteria for what "clients" he was after. Furthermore, he had absolutely zero fear he would ever run out of clients. (Yes, I asked.) After meeting Harlan, it seems absurd to think any officer is ever wandering the streets with any less resolute internal guidance. Taken in the context of a law enforcement officer, the question of whether or not getting focused is valuable seems instantly and recognizably obvious.

Yet business people do struggle with questions of focus and their implications every day. Focus can feel limiting instead of empowering. The fear and confusion is natural, but let me be the first to assure you that if it seems absurd to imagine Harlan without focus, it should be no different for you in your business. Getting focused on your best possible clients, finding more of them, and executing a sound plan to win them over is your best plan for dynamic business growth.

The Perfect Client

Imagine you could buy a police laser gun you could point at the head of a potential client and it would instantly tell you whether they were a match for you. What dials and settings would your laser gun have? Put another way, what is the profile of the typical client you want and is most worth winning?

Where are they located? Within your city, your state, your region? Or further away? What size is their company, typically, and what is their budget for your product or service? Moreover, how much of your competitor's service or product are they typically using when you find them? Perhaps most importantly, put yourself in their shoes: what is their actual motivator for considering your product or service. That is, what pain do they feel that you solve?

Finally, a question too few think to ask themselves. Would your radar gun tell you how well the client pays their bills? Reliable payment is a prerequisite to be a "Perfect Client," right? Yet many businesses end up acting as banks because clients don't pay.

When I go through this exercise with my clients, I like to ask how they came up with their answers. In particular, I like to make sure the answers hold true when I look at only the most profitable clients for the past year.

The point here is to ask what it would look like if you took your knowledge about your clients a level beyond however good it may be right now, as well as if you were even more proactive about choosing the clients that you find and do business with rather than settling for what business comes through the door.

Finding Them

You've formulated a good picture of your ideal client base. Now let's get specific.

How many of your Perfect Clients are out there? What are their names? Who are the contact people you need to call? In sessions, people are often shocked as I wait for actual answers to these questions. Yes - actual numbers, names, and lists.

If you're looking for some tools to get you started, one of the best places to head is your public library to make friends with the people behind the research desk. They may have library-only access to paid resources like ReferenceUSA and Dun & Bradstreet business searches, as well as databases that will connect you to business associations in any industry you're working with. For call contact information, also try online sites like Jigsaw.com or ProspectsDaily.com.

Again, the goal is to determine how many Perfect Clients really exist within our territory. Think why this is important. Often, people don't get focused because they're afraid "focusing" somehow equals "limiting my business" and that means "I'm shooting myself in the foot. Or head." By taking the time to find out just how many clients in our territory match our criteria, not only are we performing a valuable safety step of validating our market focus, but often the result is a surprising realization of just how much business is out there.

Now go get it.

Your Plan of Action

Winning business means going and actually solving the pain of those clients you just identified. How are you going to do it? Will it mean letters, calls, visits, or something else?

Be more specific with your plan than feels natural at first. I don't like hearing things like, "We're going to divide up the list and have the sales people call" - that's not a plan. Try this: "Bob is going to assign each salesperson 20 names by the end of today. They have until Friday to call through their list. Their goal is to set four appointments for within the next two weeks. We'll know call campaign results by close of business Friday." THAT'S a good start to a plan.

The point isn't really what you plan to do but that you plan to do something and that you do it with precision and intention. Our consistent theme here has been intention, purpose, and proactive actions make the difference.

Everybody Needs a Laser Gun

The Perfect Client concept sounds simple, and it is, but it is amazingly powerful. Taken to its fullest extent, it really is the laser gun for your business, driving you to the level of proactive, focused action you need in order to get ahead.

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Dustin Walling is Principal of Dustin Walling Associates, a Seattle-based management consulting firm providing strategy and operational consulting. For article topics, questions, or comments, Dustin can be reached at http://www.DustinWalling.com.

All material Copyright 2007-2008, Wallingford Specialties, Inc. and Dustin Walling Associates, unless otherwise noted. All Rights Reserved.