Five Dysfunctions of a Team, The...

Author: Patrick Lencioni
Rating: 9

5 Dysfunctions is written as a leadership fable in the first section and then presents the fundamentals in the second section. This works very well as it gives the reader a great perspective on the utilization of the tools presented by the author in the second part of the book.

teamwork - remains the ultimate competitive advantage, both because it is so powerful and so rare - if you get all the people in the organization rowing in the same direction you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition at any time - however, teams are inherently dysfunctional because they are made up of imperfect human beings - success comes only for those groups that overcome the human behavioral tendencies that corrupt teams and breed dysfunctional politics within them.

* new CEO for the first two weeks spent time talking with employees, walking the halls, silently observing as many meetings as possible - realized tension was high and meetings slow and uninteresting with few real exchanges

* used a series of two day executive retreats to build executive team

* moments of truth are best handled face to face

* single priority - getting their act together as a team

* ok to disagree as long as the exchange is face to face - don't ever slam a teammate when that person isn't in the room

* a fractured team is just like a broken arm or leg - fixing it is painful and sometimes you have to rebreak it to make it heal correctly - the rebreak hurts a lot more because you have to do it on purpose

* started first team meeting stating that there will be changes - very possible that some won't find the new company the kind of place where they want to work - and that's ok - not a threat - just a realistic probability

* everything the executive team does at the off-site is about one thing only - making the company succeed - repeated that purpose as the opening statement every day for every off-site

* ground rules for meeting (a) be present (b) participate - be fully engaged in whatever we're talking about

* first exercise of the off-site was to have everyone answer five non-intrusive personal questions having to do with their backgrounds - hometown, kids in family, childhood hobbies, biggest challenge growing up, first job

* second exercise of the off-site was to spend five minutes deciding what each person believed were their single biggest strength and weakness in terms of their contribution to the company's success or failure - the CEO went first

* when everyone is focused on the team's results and using those to define success - then individual ego will not get out of hand because if the team loses, everyone loses - a team can beat a bigger, faster, more talented group of players - job of ceo is to create best team possible and not to shepherd the careers of individuals - ambiguous team goals makes it easy to revert back to focusing on individual success

* a team needs a scorecard to determine winning - do not leave interpretation for defining the team's success as doing so will give opportunity for ego to sneak in - examples of scorecard categories are revenue, expenses, new customer acquisition, current customer satisfaction, employee retention, market awareness, and product quality - example group picked new customer acquisition and then specifically the measurement was 18 new customers by end of year - should be measured monthly - adopt a set of common goals and measurements which the team actually uses to make collective decisions on a daily basis

* politics defined - when people choose their words and actions based on how they want others to react rather than based on what they really think

* meetings must have engagement in productive and ideological conflict, passionate and unfiltered debate about what needs to be done to succeed - think of the movie example - a movie is only exciting when there is conflict - without it we don't care - if there's nothing worth debating, then there shouldn't be a meeting

* one doesn't ever get completely used to conflict - real conflict is uncomfortable - key is to keep doing it anyway

* a leader listens, decides, and then commands

* consensus can be bad - if consensus happens quickly and naturally then ok - however, consensus is typically an attempt to please everyone (remember the space shuttle launch and disaster from o-ring malfunction after consensus to launch was achieved even though some members knew there could be a temperature problem) - most people don't need to get their way, they just know that their input was valued

* peer accountability most difficult - some are overly helpful but dropping a ball, others get defensive, others are intimidating, etc. - push with respect and never hold back

* trust defined - knowing when a team member does push you, they're doing it because they care about the team

* team member - be intolerant of behavior that demonstrates an absence of trust or focus on individual ego - encourage productive conflict, clear commitments, and group accountability at the peer to peer level - committed to team over your direct reports (called your first team)

* firing a team member is always difficult but may be necessary if the individual holds back the team - explain that this is going to be a tough conversation - state that you feel they are not fit for the team and that they don't really want to be here - explain that if they were to stay their behavior would have to change swiftly and if they really want to go through with that change - best to give them severance and make immediate exit - the remaining team members will have some degree of mourning and self doubt - explain that the reason it was necessary (the reason why you fire) is you don't want to lose the rest of the team

* Five dysfunctions form an interrelated model - if one isn't there it is potentially lethal for the success of a team - they go together, you cannot ignore one - teamwork deteriorates if a dysfunction is allowed to flourish

* first dysfunction - absence of trust (need for invulnerability) - trust is foundation of real teamwork - the most critical part of teamwork - great teams do not hold back with one another - they are unafraid to air dirty laundry - admit mistakes, weaknesses and concerns without fear of reprisal - conversely a team without trust has a lack of debate and interaction

* second dysfunction - fear of conflict (preserving a sense of artificial harmony) - harmony is bad if it comes only as a result of people holding back their opinions and honest concerns - result of artificial harmony is the issues are bottled up and carried around - delays decisions - veiled discussions and guarded comments

* third dysfunction - lack of commitment (allows ambiguity) - failure to buy in to decisions - when people don't unload their opinions (second dysfunction) then they won't really get on board and be committed (feigned agreement) - ** disagree and commit **

* fourth dysfunction - avoidance of accountability (allows low standards) - hold each other accountable for the team's goals - it's hard as people want to avoid PEER conflict - ** enter the danger **

* fifth dysfunction - inattention to results (need for status and ego ) - tendency of team members to seek out individual recognition and attention at the expense of collective results (goals of the team) - call also be division or department recognition above that of the team

Positive Model
==============
1. Trust another
2. Engage in positive conflict
3. Commit to decisions
4. Hold each other accountable
5. Focus achievement of team

** re-read p.195-220 often

Raving Fans...

Authors: Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles
Rating: 8

Simply a great book that gets it's message across using a simple story that can be read in a single night. The message is clear - customer satisfaction simply isn't good enough (there's no customer "ownership") - a dedication to creating raving fans will propel your business to the top.

* successful organizations have one common central focus: customers - success comes to those who are obsessed with looking after customers as goods aren't sold - products and services are bought.

* all good customer service is a result of a system - systems are beautiful - they guarantee consistency - systems set the guidelines - systems achieve a result - they need proper training to implement

* however, negative systems are bad - what is the cost of offending / alienating / abusing customers - example given was dressing room limits to stop the one thief offends everyone else who wants a better customer experience

* common theme in all stories - all staff had nametags - creates identification with the customer - more personable one on one - created a greeting that put forward a great first impression - a symbolic hug

* another theme is all employees are empowered (given the initiative) to provide the best customer service - they go beyond the system - even if that means purchasing a competitor's product for the customer - not only does this level of service impress the customer, but it also keeps the customer in your company's business (story was literally, but could also be figuratively) - grade employees on customer service - tie raises and promotions to customer service

* it's the little things that make doing business more comfortable or convenient that impress customers - examples given are play areas for children with supervisors, clean washrooms

* make the customer experience such that is makes it easy to buy your product or service

* provide a method of customer self service when appropriate

* track customer selections over time to provide suggested future purchases - sell more products or services by servicing

* customer defined: everyone touched by the product or service

* customer service defined: looking after every whim of the customer within the window you've defined in your vision as your particular customer service product

* listen closely to both what your customers (everyone touched by the product or service) say and what they don't say - trap#1 is to listen to the music as well as the lyrics or in other words what people really want doesn't show up directly in what they say - they may say one thing and mean another - trap#2 is customer silence - what they don't say speaks volumes as most people don't think it will do any good - therefore silence is a message and typically it's not a good one - trap#3 is the word "fine" - everything's fine really means problems - at minimal it's not a raving fan

* customers have focus - talk with them to find the focus - then mine it for information - either work it into your own vision or reject it - the narrower the customer's focus the more important that vision is to the customer and often no compromise is acceptable

* don't forget that while the customer's vision is narrow, they do care about everything - they just haven't thought through their whole relationship with you - they've only thought about a specific priority

* great quote during a discussion of customer service - Manager says, "all I hear is the thundering applause of one hand clapping" which looks like this - flaps his hand up and down waving good-bye

* attitude and courtesy - if you expect bad, you'll get bad - stop complaining - differentiate yourself from the competition - be courteous - smile

* customers allow themselves to become raving fans only when they can count on your products or service time and time again - the worst thing is to meet expectations one time, fall short another, and exceed every now and then - systems and training are what allows you to guarantee delivery

* big changes or achievements can be made by improving or changing 1% continuously - allows you to add flexibility (magic ingredient) rather than just change - visions either grow or they die - small, incremental changes allow the flexibility to change the vision with customer's changing needs and wants

* flexibility is the what and consistency is the how

* secret #1 - the source - decide what you want - you have to have the vision of perfection centered on the customer - that becomes the goal - impose that vision over the entire organization - convert the image to action - fix the bumps and warts

* secret #2 - the market - discover what the customer wants - alter your vision if need be - however the customer's vision is only in context to your vision - occasionally you must ignore the customer's vision and ask them to take their business elsewhere (being everything to everybody doesn't work) - constantly strive to improve

* secret #3 - the experience - deliver plus one - deliver every time with no exceptions contemplated or allowed - consistency is critical and creates credibility (a bonus, even if it's free, but not delivered to perfection causes customer anger) - start small, deliver perfection, then grow on success towards the total vision - meet what you promise first, exceed second - plus one is ongoing improvement, moving ahead beyond your vision, improve by 1% continuously going forward to keep from getting overwhelmed