Walk Your Way to Solving Your Most Complex Challenges

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StrategyDriven Practices for Professionals Article |Complex Challenges|Walk Your Way to Solving Your Most Complex ChallengesImagine an oil industry executive having a long, relaxed, open conversation with an environmental activist. Or a police chief casually chatting with a community leader. Or, within a company, a sales manager strolling and talking with the head of project development. What new ideas—ones that could potentially solve their most difficult challenges—might such encounters produce?

I had the opportunity to see the fruits of such an approach in 1998 in a lakeside town in the highlands of Guatemala. It was here that Hugo Beteta, a foundation executive, and Otilia Lux de Coti, an indigenous human rights campaigner, went for a walk.

They were an unlikely pair. Their country had been mired in a genocidal civil war in which the Guatemalan army had murdered hundreds of thousands of indigenous people, and Hugo and Otilia came from two worlds that were almost completely separated—politically, socially, and culturally.

But in 1996, the government and the rebels signed a peace treaty to end the war. On the day Hugo and Otilia took their walk, I was facilitating a leadership workshop on how to implement the peace accords, and I’d invited the participants to choose a partner who was most different from them and go for a 45-minute stroll outside the hotel.

I was sitting in the meeting room waiting for the participants to return when Hugo entered, looking stunned. He was almost staggering, and I asked him what had happened. “Otilia told me a story about her high school graduation that really shook me up. She’d received the highest grades of any graduating student and was given the honor of carrying the national flag onto the stage, but the school wouldn’t allow her to wear her traditional ethnic clothing to the ceremony. So, she was forced to choose between having her accomplishment recognized and offending her family and betraying herself,” he said. “I hadn’t grasped how we Guatemalans have built everyday mechanisms for perpetuating the racism and inequality that produced the genocide.”

Hugo wasn’t the only workshop team member to report gaining a deeper understanding of the situation in Guatemala as a result of the stories shared during the walking exercise. These shifts in perspective helped the group make progress.

Over the years that followed, the participants took many significant actions, separately and together, to build a better future for their country, including greater indigenous inclusion. Hugo, by the way, became minister of finance, and Otilia was appointed minister of culture.

A simple yet powerful exercise

I’ve used this paired walk exercise in many multi-stakeholder workshops around the world. It’s so simple, and yet it’s one of the exercises that participants say has the biggest impact on their understanding of their situation and their relationships with others. Why is this ordinary activity so fruitful?

On one level, the walk is effective because of its mechanics. Two people who want to connect move forward side by side, look at the world together, and talk casually, without any papers or other distractions. The walk offers people an opportunity to connect on a human level, as equals, and share their perspectives.

This experience can produce profound changes. Almost everyone who has gone on these walks over the years says that, like Hugo, they were surprised and affected to see the world through the eyes of their partners, with whom they expected to have nothing in common.

Lucila Servitje, a Catholic theologian who participated in this activity at another workshop I facilitated, offers a deeper explanation for why it’s effective. She suggests that the walk and the informal sharing of stories has an impact because they involve mutual acceptance, and this feeling of being accepted is what enables us to change our thinking and actions.

The sequence here—first, we’re accepted, and then we reconsider our position—is the opposite of the traditional Catholic confession, where, first, we confess, and then we’re forgiven. The walk, she says, is like God’s grace: love we receive that we don’t have to earn.

Creating a different space in the workplace

Pairing walking and talking is equally effective at work. In a typical workplace, people often feel unheard and judged and therefore act defensively. This makes it hard for them to change their thinking or behavior, even when they need to. The paired walk is an example of how to create a different kind of space, within which people can relax enough to see what they’re doing with fresh eyes and decide what they might want to do differently.

Even if you don’t send your employees on paired walks, you can apply the same principles in other ways by doing the following things:

Create opportunities for personal connection. Some teams can be effective in doing routine work as long as their relationships are professional or collegial. But teams that are doing tough work, or teams that include members with differences in perspectives and personalities, need to know enough about each other’s lives to be able to understand and empathize with one another even when they disagree.

At my firm, our in-person and virtual meetings always include time for sharing personal news and feelings. Enabling voluntary personal sharing helps diverse teams work together through their differences.

Require responsibility. Leaders of teams that are undertaking complex tasks have to go beyond telling people what to do. Leaders need their followers to take responsibility for what they’re doing and be self-reflective enough to learn and change. You can’t force someone to choose voluntarily, so managers must expect team members to make choices and take responsibility for the consequences of those choices.

Practice radical acceptance. When people are afraid that their colleagues, supervisors, or clients might think badly of them if they acknowledge their own shortcomings, it’s hard for them to be open enough to learn and make wiser choices. So it’s crucial for leaders to communicate radical acceptance. But don’t communicate this if you don’t mean it. Anyone can tell if you’re only pretending to care about them.

At work and beyond, most people want to be able to connect respectfully with others, to learn, and to make their own choices about how to deal with the situation they’re in. This is why the simple exercise of walking and talking is a potent tool for personal and systemic transformation.

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Adam KahaneADAM KAHANE is director of Reos Partners, an organization that helps people move forward together on their most important and intractable issues. He has worked in more than 50 countries with teams of leaders from business, government, and civil society, and his methods have been praised by Nobel Peace Prize–winners Nelson Mandela and Juan Manuel Santos. He is the author of five books, including his newest release, Facilitating Breakthrough: How to Remove Obstacles, Bridge Differences, and Move Forward Together. Learn more at adamkahane.com.

Approaching Process Optimization from a Modern Perspective

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StrategyDriven Process Management Article |Process Optimization|Approaching Process Optimization from a Modern PerspectiveProcess optimization can become quite tricky as the size of a company grows, especially in cases where new processes are introduced that interact with others in the chain. It’s important to leverage all modern solutions in that field and approach this from a modern perspective. It’s the responsibility of a good leader to continuously evaluate new methods for process optimization as they are introduced to the market and explore the possibility of integrating them into their own workflow.

You’re Probably Not Optimizing Well Enough

With that in mind, unless you’ve taken a determined approach to optimization that utilizes modern AI-driven solutions, it’s probably safe to assume that you’re not optimizing enough. Even if you don’t see any obvious bottlenecks in your processes, that doesn’t mean there’s no room for improvement. Those situations can be difficult to approach from a political perspective though, as they often involve convincing a number of people that there is a serious need for change in the organization, even though current data might not support that notion entirely. Predictive analytics can help in these scenarios by estimating how the company’s performance might be affected by such changes – but again, it mostly comes down to the ability to convince those with the power to make the necessary changes.

Advanced Optimization Methodologies

It’s a good idea for any leader to familiarize themselves with modern optimization methodologies – Lean and Six Sigma being perhaps the biggest contenders on that front. A professional Six Sigma consulting firm like Supply Velocity can be of huge help here, providing you with an in-depth analysis of what exactly is going on with your resource allocation and utilization, and identifying potential bottlenecks and opportunities for improvement. If a company has never been examined by a specialist with experience in the field, it likely has a huge unrealized potential in terms of optimization.

Leveraging AI for Large-scale Data Processing

Artificial intelligence has been a driving force behind huge transformations in many industries over the last two decades, and it’s no surprise that process optimization is on that list as well. Large-scale data processing remains a valuable asset when it comes to identifying patterns and leveraging them with the goal of improving the overall performance of the company. And given the huge efforts that were already being done to improve data collection and retention practices over those last few decades, it makes perfect sense that we’re now deploying advanced solutions to make more sense of what we’ve gathered. This will likely continue in full force over the next years.

Proper optimization is crucial for the long-term success of any modern business, regardless of what particular sector it’s involved in, or what the company’s size is. Various modern approaches to the problem have emerged, many of which are showing strong promise already. A responsible leader must always examine those opportunities if they might fit the company’s goals and investigate ways to integrate them on different levels of operations. Often, consulting specialists with significant experience in the field is crucial for approaching this correctly.

What Makes A Successful Real Estate Agency?

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Real Estate Agency|What Makes A Successful Real Estate Agency?When it comes to selling to an individual or a group, you have to make sure you have a few things sorted. It doesn’t matter what your line of work or the vertical you’re in, you cannot get by through luck. Regarding real estate and getting deals done, you have to make sure that you know the business and have a great method of dealing with people. If you’re looking to generate leads and eventually create big sales, there will be multiple tasks in your way.

A successful real estate company runs like a well-oiled machine and will falter when things break down. You need to have the right plans, the right ideas, the right people, and the right attitude when it comes to buying and selling properties. If you’re interested, here are a few factors that go into a successful real estate agency:

High-Quality Communication Skills

You need to earn and win the trust of people you’re looking to work with. If they feel as though you’re not exactly a group that will get them what they want, they’ll move on and find another. This isn’t harsh, this is just nature. People want what’s best for them and they won’t lower themselves just in case they upset you. Focus on your ability to connect with people and look to expand your charisma. This will make such a big impact.

Compassionate And Driven Agents

You can’t just be interested in making a commission. You have to really care about the job and the people you’re working for. If you have a passion for selling, then it makes this line of work so much easier for everyone. Finding homes for people is honorable and you need to recognize that.

An Extremely Professional Online Presence

It’s not just the physical office that matters, you’ll need to make sure you’re doing all the right things online, too. Look at the likes of Compass real estate and plenty others – their standards are high and their sites look extremely pretty. They’re easy to work with and easy to get in touch with.

The Ability To Find The Perfect Place

Everyone needs a home, but we’re in a world where any old home will not do for everyone. A home has a personality just like a person does, so you’ll need to match the home with the client. You won’t get too far if you try to cram people into homes that do not exactly sit well with them.

The Ability To Get Deals Well And Truly Over The Line

Closing deals is all part of the game. If you’re not doing this, then you’re going to go out of business pretty quickly. You need to do all of the above, but it’s all about getting the people into the homes that would fit them perfectly. You’re not exactly in the business of speedy turnovers and shoehorning people in, but you cannot afford to dither for too long. Promoting the perfect home and getting the perfect buyer is a skill.

7 Ways To Come Off As Professional & Trustworthy As A Sole Trader

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Sole Trader|7 Ways To Come Off As Professional & Trustworthy As A Sole TraderIf you are a one-man band, it can be difficult to get clients to trust you. People are often more inclined to do business with bigger companies, as it feels a lot safer than relying on one person. It is up to you to reduce this risk in their eyes by giving off more of a professional image and making your one-man band appear bigger than it is. Read on to discover how to go about it.

1. Invest in a professional telephone system – There are companies that can install a telephone system that is right for your business. Of course, it is unlikely that you will need a substantial system, as you only have one employee. However, if you merely put your own home phone number or mobile phone number, it can look unprofessional. It is better to choose a business system that comes with a number of features; for example, you could have a pre-recorded business message that is played while customers wait for you to answer.

2. Review the content on your website – Your website copy can make a huge difference. You need to ensure it resonates with your target audience while also giving off a professional feel. Instead of using “I” you should use “we” to show that your team is growing.

3. Outsource – It is incredibly difficult to do everything in-house when you are a sole trader. Outsourcing to the likes of an IT support company can help you to have a more professional image.

4. Create separate email addresses – This is one of the easiest and most effective ways to make your business look bigger than it is. You should have different email addresses for different areas for your business. For example, you could have an email address for support, complaints, and jobs.

5. Build your brand – If you want to give off a professional image, you need to work on building your brand. You need to ensure that your online presence is consistent. Your website should align with all social media platforms you use, so make sure the wording and images are consistent.

6. Use a virtual office – Using a virtual office is another way to make your business appear a lot bigger than it is. This means that you pay for an office location, but you don’t actually use an office – you can still work from home. What it means is that you get to benefit from a prestigious office address. This can do wonders for your corporate image, and will certainly make your company look a lot bigger and more credible.

7. Buddy up – Last but not least, another way to boost your one-man band is to partner up with a bigger company for a promotional event or a new product. Not only will this make your business appear bigger, but also it will help to boost your public image and create a stronger brand.

While there is nothing wrong with running a company by yourself, it can create a hurdle when securing clients. Use the tips mentioned above to break these barriers down.

Five Steps to Adopting a Beginner’s Mindset for Your Business

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StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article |Adopt a beginner's mindset|Five Steps to Adopting a Beginner’s Mindset for Your BusinessBusinesses often hire consultants to take a “fresh look” at things. It’s usually helpful to add an outside perspective to the inner workings of a business. But what if you could add a fresh perspective without having to outsource?

A beginner’s mindset is a Zen philosophy based on this logic: if you think you’re an expert, you’re more likely to dismiss the most obvious answer. And sometimes it’s the obvious answer that solves the problem.

When I’m new to a team or a company, I use that beginner’s mindset to learn by asking questions, understanding why things are done a certain way. Through that understanding the team and I can then develop new solutions that save time and money or create greater efficiencies or develop better processes. Here are a few ways you can implement this with your teams.

Break it Down

If a business process seems broken, analyze each step. Start with the basics.

Author James Clear emphasizes a beginner’s mindset for productivity in “Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results.” According to Clear, successful habits are developed gradually. For example, if you aspire to be more physically fit, you should start with a simple goal of putting on your running shoes several days in a row. The first two minutes make or break any habit, Clear says.

At Freeman, we streamline our supply chain by taking a beginner’s mindset and breaking down the process. The first step was to manage our inventory. Eventually, we transitioned to a national model with eight regional fulfillment centers, evolving from a local market model to a regionalized footprint.

Focus on the Why

Let’s say you own a car dealership and sales for compact cars are declining. Instead of brainstorming about promotions or marketing, you could ask your team: why do we sell compact cars? You might discover you’re selling them because they were popular 10 years ago, and nobody stopped to consider whether that was still the case. Asking the simple “why” brings you back to the beginner’s mindset, allowing you to reexamine your procedures from a fundamental perspective.

Remove Fear of Failure from the Equation

Fear of failure is one of the biggest obstacles people face in work and in life. People don’t worry about being perfect during their first day on the job, because they don’t know how to do anything yet. If you don’t know how to do something, you can’t fail — that’s the mindset you need. If you’re stuck, write down everything that could possibly go wrong, solve for it — then go forward.

Forget Perfection

Perfection is not the goal of the beginner, as beginners simply want to learn and get better. This is the key to success: constant improvement. Because perfection is impossible, holding yourself to that standard will only disappoint you.

Nobody has ever created a perfect company, nor trained a perfect employee.

Legendary NFL coach Vince Lombardi said, “Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.”

Get Up if you Fall Down

Remember when you learned to ride your bike? You were a beginner. You knew you’d fall. But you also knew it would be impossible to learn how to ride unless you climbed back onto the seat. This lesson applies to the business world. Every failure is a learning experience that will help you achieve your goal, just as falling off a bike was a learning experience that taught you how to ride.

Nobody is ready to fall. But the more you fall, the better chance you have to succeed.

As Arianna Huffington said, “We need to accept that we won’t always make the right decisions, that we’ll screw up royally sometimes – understanding that failure is not the opposite of success, it’s part of success.”

How can you apply a beginner’s mindset to your business?

About the Author

StrategyDriven Expert Contributor | Janet DellJanet Dell is President and COO of Freeman, where she leads all Freeman business operations across the globe. With expertise in global sales, digital transformation, process improvement, and worldwide client management, Janet has the background and the vision to guide Freeman into a new future. She is a dynamic and empathetic leader who has succeeded by putting people first in the process of transformational leadership. She encourages her teams to embrace change through constant communication, continuous learning, pragmatic thinking, tenacity, and by cultivating and inspiring her teams to redefine live events. Janet joined Freeman in 2018 as EVP and first-ever Chief Growth Officer. Her dual-role leadership made a tremendous impact on strategy and performance. Her efforts to refine business processes, streamline systems, and adapt go-to-market strategies for a digital-first world positioned the company for growth. Before Freeman, Janet served as CEO of Marsh ClearSight, a global leader in risk, safety, and claims management software. Prior to leading Marsh Clearsight, Janet served as Marsh’s COO of Global Sales, where she was responsible for driving organic growth. During her tenure as Marsh Global Sales COO, the company’s annual new sales topped more than $1.2 billion and global new business doubled. Janet has been recognized as a Woman to Watch by Business Insurance magazine and has received several awards for product technology innovation. She is a proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she earned a business degree in finance, investment, and banking.
To learn more visit, www.freeman.com. Follow Janet on LinkedIn.