Dark Leadership

Various “abstract” thoughts on “Dark Leadership”… Welcome your thoughts!

Individuals and Collectives: Self, Content, Form, and Context

Individually, I am my-self, you are your-self, she is her-self, he is him-self, and it is it-self. Collectively, we are our-selves (content) and they are them-selves (content). Among us is a context (inner), among them is a context (inner), and between us and them is a shared context (outer to us and them). In the shared context, we exhibit our form and they exhibit their form.

Self: Identity, Values, Cause, Observe, Orient, Decide, and Act

An individual self’s identity is defined by the self’s values (which give it meaning) and cause (which defines its purpose). A self observes its context, orients & decides based on its identity (values and cause), and acts within is context.

Selves: Relate, Behave, and Language

A collective (community) of selves relate to each other, behave (cooperate, coordinate, collaborate, co-create) with each other, and language (communicate and converse in conversation) each other.

Collectives: Uncertainty, Tension, Anchoring, Focal Points

Thriving on chaos in an age of discontinuity — where the past is plagued with incoherence & inconsistency, the present is plagued with chaos & ambiguity, and the future is plagued with unpredictability & uncertainty (turbulence, stress, disruption, etc.) — is Reality!

As this is the foundation of every context, tension (conflict) naturally emerges as selves relate, behave, and language; and selves confront these forces and tension (conflict) by anchoring around various focal points (Schelling points or social objects that foster the social construction of reality), which are reified as commitment (to shared values) and alignment (on shared causes), from which various collective selves (enterprises) emerge.

A collective self’s identity is defined by the shared values and shared causes of its constituent individual selves (within the context (inner) of the collective self).

As the constituent individual selves organize (form, storm, norm, and perform), they sustain their identity, engage each other in the negotiation of meaning (shared meaning), experience a sense of belonging (or not), and generate a shared repertoire. Fundamentally, engaging, experiencing, and generating involve relating, behaving, and languaging; and organizing is anchoring.

As the constituent individual selves engage, experience, and generate, they shape and are shaped by one another directly and indirectly. Direct shaping involves intrusively changing a self’s identity (values and cause) and indirect shaping involves non-intrusively changing a self’s identity (values and cause) by changing its context. Fundamentally, to lead (others) is to shape (their context) and to follow (another) is to be shaped (intrusively or non-intrusively); leading/leadership is shaping and following/followership is being shaped.

Human nature (and human beings as social animals) can generally be explored relative to two dimensions, a system dimension and a socio-cultural dimension, wherein individuals form collectives around a joint enterprise. Relationships, when formalized, establish the structure of the enterprise. Behaviors, when formalized, establish the processes of the enterprise. And language imbues the culture and sociality of the enterprise. The enterprise prospers if there is commitment to values (meaning) and alignment on a cause (purpose), thus, a meaningfully-purposeful enterprise within the context of an ecosystem.

Aspects, Dynamics, and Wholeness

Generally, every individual self is an aspect of one or more collective selves; the dynamics among aspects within a specific collective self cultivate the wholeness of that collective self; and ultimately, various collective selves form an ecosystem wherein they establish a context for one another.

Thrive: Vitality, Health, and Resilience

An individual self contributes its vitality (individual health) to every collective self of which it is an aspect. A collective self’s health is a function of the dynamics among its constituent individual selves as well as the dynamics among itself (the collective self) and its context. A collective self’s resilience is a function of the dynamics among itself (the collective self) and other collective selves within its context. A collective self will ultimately thrive or not given its context!

Fundamentally, thriving and high performance involves activating human vitality, fostering organizational health (performance and well-being), and ensuring marketplace resilience. Anything that inhibits thriving and high performance is a dysfunction!

Love: Intimacy, Passion, and Commitment

Love involves intimacy, passion, and commitment among selves. Intimacy among selves involves their connectedness (relationships). Passion among selves involves their drive or energy (vitality). Commitment among selves involves their short term decisions to be together and long term plans and accomplishments together.

Darkness: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and Psychopathy

Darkness involves narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy. The Dark Triad, “a group of three personality traits,” involves these “theoretically distinct but empirically overlapping” constructs. See “The Dark Triad of personality: Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy” for more information.

• Narcissism involves an individual self (within a collective self) regarding/loving its own identity (values and cause) as more (or ultimately more) valuable than the identities of all other selves (within the collective self) such that it is willing to directly/intrusively/destructively (or non-intrusively) shape their identities to advance its own identity.
• Machiavellianism involves an individual self (within a collective self) engaging, experiencing, generating, relating, behaving, and languaging so as to treat other selves (within the collective self) as means to an end.
• Psychopathy involves an individual self (within a collective self) regarding/unloving the identities of all other selves (within the collective self) as less (or ultimately less) valuable than its own identity (values and cause) such that it is willing to directly/intrusively/destructively (or non-intrusively) shape their identities to advance its own identity.

Dark Leadership involves a self (within a collective self) who is narcissistic in valuing its identity, a psychopath in de-valuing the identity of other selves (within the collective self), and Machiavellian in actualizing its own identity through directly shaping the identity of other selves.

The Challenger Sale

Matthew Dixon (@CEB_SEC) and Brent Adamson (@brentadamson) of the Corporate Executive Board kindly honored my request for a copy of The Challenger Sale (Amazon) book.

For anyone who may STOP reading this blog post because they think they are not in sales, I suggest they consider Tom Peters’ (@tom_peters) “Yes, You Are in Sales!”

Based on my experiences with SPIN Selling and general thinking that we are all in sales, I was very intrigued by The Challenger Sale book!

The Book

Neil Rackham, the author of SPIN Selling, immediately engages the reader in The Challenger Sale‘s Forward:

We live in an era when product innovation alone cannot be the basis for corporate success. How you sell has become more important than what you sell. An effective sales force is a more sustainable competitive advantage than a great product stream.

The foundational question behind the book is “How can we sell our way through the worst economy in decades?”

Solution Selling

Chapter 1, “The Evolving Journey of Solution Selling,” introduces “solution selling,” “solutions approach,” or simply “solutions” and explores the transition from transactional sales (individual products) to broad-based consultative sales (“bundles” of products & services) (as a response to commoditization pressures and differentiation).

Transactional sales have the following characteristics:

• Nature of Relationship: “Supplier reacts to purchase orders”
• Selling Skills: “Strong knowledge of product portfolio”
• Customer Expectations: “Quality product/service at good price”

Notice that transactional sales emphasize being reactive, product knowledge, and quality & price.

Consultative sales have the following characteristics:

• Nature of Relationship: “Supplier viewed as a trusted adviser”
• Selling Skills: “Boardroom-level engagement with customer”
• Customer Expectations: “Provision of strategic insight regarding the customer’s business”

Notice that consultative sales emphasize being a trusted adviser, engagement, and insight.

The chapter then explores the burden that solutions place on customers as well as sales representatives and emphasizes that “as sales become more complex, the gap between core and star performers widens dramatically.”

The Challenger

Chapter 2, “The Challenger (Part 1),” focuses on a new model for high performance.

The model is based on an analysis of “over 6000 reps [or representatives] all over the world … representing every major industry, geography, and go-to-market model.” The model focuses on sales representatives’ “demonstrated behaviors” versus “personality types or personal strengths.”

Five Profiles

The study found that there are “five [statistically derived] distinct rep [or representative] profiles” which “are not necessarily mutually exclusive”:

• The Hard Worker is described as “Always willing to go the extra mile,” ”Doesn’t give up easily,” “Self-motivated,” and “Interested in feedback and development”.
• The Relationship Builder is described as “Building strong advocates in customer organization,” “Generous in giving time to help others,” and “Gets along with everyone.”
• The Lone Wolf is described as “Follows own instincts,” “Self-assured,” and “Difficult to control.”
• The Reactive Problem Solver is described as “Reliably responds to internal and external stakeholders,” “Ensures that all problems are solved,” and “Detail-oriented.”
• The Challenger is described as “Always has a different view of the world,” “Understands the customer’s business,” “Loves to debate,” and “Pushes the customer.”

Furthermore, “every rep has at least a baseline level of performance across all the attributes” that define these profiles, but “for almost every rep, a specific subset of these attributes defines their primary approach to customers.”

Performance

The study also found that there is “one clear winner and one clear loser” when comparing profiles based on “actual sales performance”. Comparing “the five rep profiles with actual sales performance,” “no profile dominates among average [core] sales reps,” but the “distribution of star performers” is dominated by the Challenger, followed by the Lone Wolf, followed by the Hard Worker, followed by the Reactive Problem Solver, and lastly followed by the Relationship Builder.

The following “statistically significant” attributes define the Challenger profile: ”Offers the customer unique perspectives,” ”Has strong two-way communication skills,” ”Knows the individual customer’s value drivers,” ”Can identify economic drivers of the customer’s business,” ”Is comfortable discussing money,” and ”Can pressure the customer.”

When these attributes are further categorized, a clearer picture emerges: “A Challenger is really defined by the ability to do three things: teach, tailor, and take control.”

With their unique perspective on the customer’s business and their ability to engage in robust two-way dialogue, Challengers are able to teach for differentiation during the sales interaction.

Because Challengers posses a superior sense of a customer’s economic and value drivers, they are able to tailor for resonance, delivering the right message to the right person within the customer organization.

Finally, Challengers are comfortable discussing money and can, when needed, press the customer a bit. In this way, the Challenger takes control of the sale.

Also, the results do not suggest that “customer relationships aren’t important for sales,” but “as critical as strong customer relationships may be, familiarity alone isn’t enough to win the business.”

Consider the Challenger and Relationship Builder:

Challenger reps succeed for all of the reasons we just discussed — they excel at teaching, tailor, and taking control. Meanwhile, as the Challenger is focused on pushing the customer out of their comfort zone, the Relationship Builder is focused on being accepted into it. They focus on building strong personal relationships across the costumer organization, being likable and generous with their time. The relationship Builder adopts a service mentality. While the Challenger is focused on customer value, the Relationship Builder is more concerned with customer convenience.

The Challenger rep wins by maintaining a certain amount of constructive tension across the sale. The Relationship Builder, on the other hand, strives to resolve or defuse tension, not create it. It’s the exact opposite approach. Granted, the conversation with the Relationship Builder is in most cases a very professional one, but it doesn’t really help the customer make progress against their goals. They’re likable, but they’re not very effective. The Challenger, by contrast, knows that there is value for both you and your customers in maintaining that tension a little bit longer in a manner that pushes the customer to think differently about their own business — about the ways in which you might be able to help them (to save money or make money) and, ultimately about the value you provide as a supplier.

Disruptive Sale

The study also found that “Challengers are the solution selling rep, not just the down economy rep” where “in complex sales, Challengers absolutely dominate” and “the only group that can even come close are the Lone Wolves;” that is, “the world of solution selling is almost definitionally about a disruptive sale.”

Challenge Customers

The authors summarize the research: “If you’re on the journey to more of a value-based or solutions-oriented sales approach, then your ability to challenge customers is absolutely vital for your success going forward.”

The Challenger Selling Model

Chapter 3, “The Challenger (Part 2),” focuses on exploring the core model.

A Challenger is defined by the ability to do three things — teach, tailor, and take control — and to do all of this through the use of constructive tension.

These are the pillars of what we call the Challenger Selling Model — an approach to sales that is based on what Challengers do.

If you teach without tailoring, you come off as irrelevant. If you tailor but don’t teach, you risk sounding like every other supplier. If you take control but offer no value, you risk being simply annoying.

The following principles underlie the model: “Challengers are made, not just born,” “It’s the combination of skills that matters,” ”Challenging is about organizational capability, not just rep skills,” and “Building the challenger sales force is a journey, not an overnight trip.”

Notice that the Challenger model is not merely about a sales representative’s ability to teach & tailor & take control while leveraging constructive tension, but also about the capabilities of the sales representative’s organization to equip representatives with the content of teaching messages/pitches and tailoring options.

The Challenger model defines “what ‘good’ looks like when it comes to rep performance” or the “new high performer”.

Teach for Differentiation

First, challengers teach for differentiation:

Challenger reps deliver insight that reframes the way customers think about their business and their needs.

Teaching is all about offering customers unique perspectives on their business and communicating those perspectives with passion and precision in a way that draws the customer into the conversation.

Delivering insight that reframes other people’s perspectives and thinking is central to the Challenger model — Differentiate Content!

Tailor for Resonance

Next, challengers tailor for resonance:

Challenger reps communicate sales messages in the context of the customer.

The ability to tailor the teaching message to different types of customers — as well as to different individuals within the customer organization — is what makes the teaching pitch resonate and stick with the customer.

Communicating insight with an awareness of other people’s context is likewise crucial to the Challenger model — Contextualize and Make Relevant!

Take Control of the Sale

Next, challengers take control of the sale:

Challenger reps openly pursue goals in a direct but nonaggressive way to overcome increased customer risk aversion.

Their ability to assert and maintain control over the sale … is all about the reps’ willingness and ability to stand their ground when the customer pushes back.

Challengers are able to assert control over the discussion of pricing and money more generally.

Challengers are also able to challenge customer’s thinking and pressure the customer’s decision-making cycle — both to reach a decision more quickly as well as to overcome that “indecision inertia” that can cause deals to stall indefinitely.”

Openly pursuing goals and overcoming other people’s risk aversion (risk avoidance and preference for certainty over uncertainty) in a non-aggressive manner is likewise crucial to the Challenger model — Advance!

Constructive Tension

Lastly, challengers use constructive tension:

Challenger reps seek to leverage constructive tension to their advantage across all dimensions of the sale.

And, leveraging tension constructively as a means to an end is likewise crucial to the Challenger model — Close!

The Rest of the Book

Chapters 4 (“Teaching for Differentiation (Part 1)”), 5 (“Teaching for Differentiation (Part 2)”), 6 (“Tailoring for Resonance”), and 7 (“Taking Control of the Sale”) delve deeper into teaching, tailoring, and taking control.

Chapter 8, “The Manager and the Challenger Selling Model,” explores how Sales Managers coach Challengers.

Chapter 9, “Implementation Lessons from the Early Adopter,” explores lessons from those already adopting the Challenger Selling Model.

And the Afterward, “Challenging Beyond Sales,” briefly explores applying the Challenger approach/model outside of sales. The authors emphasize: “the challenger model is one that, we believe, is a business concept, not just a sales concept.”

Leveraging the Challenger model as a “business concept” and not merely a “sales concept” offers the opportunity for innovation in approaches to Strategy, Leadership, Culture, Teams, Coaching, etc.

In Conclusion

Matthew Dixon’s (@CEB_SEC) and Brent Adamson’s (@brentadamson) The Challenger Sale (Amazon) book is a must read in today’s marketplace that is fueled by ideas and passion!

Thoughts on The BMC Agile Transformation: A Seven-Year Perspective

Israel Gat (@agile_exec) (Cutter Consortium Fellow and Director of the Agile Product & Project Management practice), who is recognized as the architect of the agile transformation at BMC Software, socialized “The BMC Agile Transformation: A Seven-Year Perspective” article. Please see Rally Software’s Case Study and the Agile Journal’s Case Study for more information.

Without doubt, Israel Gat among others must be commended for their tremendous impact on BMC Software!

BMC Software’s Journey

The article emphasizes “deeper reasons behind the success of the BMC rollout”:

This Executive Update represents my current understanding of the deeper reasons behind the success of the BMC rollout [2004-2008]. It reviews past decisions in light of knowledge, experience, and insights that evolved a long time after the decisions, for better or worse, had been executed. In general, it’s about my making sense of things and sharing my insights with Cutter clients.

The article addresses “why agile”:

Agile offered an effective antidote to the “loss of heart” problem; if we did it well, we could demonstrate results quickly.

The article provides contextual background:

The scale of the rollout was determined by organizational considerations; the business unit I was heading had more than 400 employees in seven countries.

Not much was known in 2004 about deploying agile at such a scale. In many ways, we had to roll on our own. We were aided by a few outstanding consultants and coaches, including Dean Leffingwell (@deanleffingwell), Ryan Martens (@RallyOn), (now) Cutter Senior Consultant Hubert Smits (@HubertSmits), and Jean Tabaka (@jeantabaka).

The article introduces “the ‘secret sauce’” and ever-so-briefly identifies its ingredients: Leadership, Know-how, Flexibility, and Patience. The article emphasizes:

At a certain point in time in 2009, I came to the realization … that numerous executives are reluctant to adopt the secret sauce without a clear handle on how they will govern the software process.

It’s quite surprising that “governance” (or oversight) was a later “realization” versus being a foundational aspect of the transformation journey!

The article then emphasizes the value to BMC Software:

After a couple of years of “agiling” day in and day out, I thought we were doing pretty well. However, I did not know that we were indeed doing pretty well.

The Ultimate Benchmark: Transformation

The article then introduces the “ultimate benchmark for a transformative rollout”:

Successful as the agile transformation at BMC was, it completely failed in what I today consider the ultimate benchmark for a transformative rollout: it did not alter the company’s philosophy and modus operandi beyond the level of “How do we make the sausage? We use agile methods.”

To “alter the company’s philosophy and modus operandi” is what we commonly refer to as a Transformation — a value/principle-based change that focuses on the DNA of an enterprise (collectives, individuals, etc.) — versus a Transition — a practice-based change that primarily focuses on surface level behavior (“How do we…” and “We use…methods”). Furthermore, such a journey at-scale must be more holistic and go “beyond the [mere] level [of] agile methods”.

The article then introduces three levels of “agile implementation”.

First-level Agile: Development & Test

First-level agile implementation involves “Development” and “Test”:

From my perspective today, this means that I was primarily concerned with two strands: development and testing. I was able to “merge” these two elements so that testing could start before development was complete — and testing informed development through tight feedback loops.

Fundamentally, balance among three core perspectives (define-detail, build, and test) is crucial.

Second-level Agile: Strategy & Delivery

Second-level agile implementation involves “Strategy” and “Delivery”:

In my humble opinion, the very same agile principles hold at the strategic level. The only difference is that the interplay is not between development and testing but rather between strategy and delivery. One merges the two so that delivery can start before strategy is complete — and delivery informs strategy through tight feedback loops.

Fundamentally, focus on both value discovery and delivery (essentially, “strategy”) is crucial.

Third-level Agile: Problem & Solution

Third-level agile implementation involves “Problem” and “Solution”:

At this [third] level, one merges the problem and the solution so that the solution can start before the problem has been fully understood — and the solution, incomplete that it might be, informs the problem through tight feedback loops.

Fundamentally, as discovery organizes around the problem and delivery organizes around the solution, they co-orient on one another’s targets via their integration.

The BMC Experience: Transition

The article then considers the BMC experience relative to the “Ultimate Benchmark”:

The BMC transformation was quite successful at the first level but did not really make it to the second level, let alone the third.

The inability to reach second-level agile implementation perplexes me to this very day. My hunch is that this probably reflects a lack of readiness at BMC at the time to accept unpredictability at the strategic level.

What I probably did not quite understand at the time was that BMC conceived strategy as largely fixed for prolonged periods of time. Rightly or wrongly, continuously grooming strategy (in a manner conceptually similar to the way one grooms the agile backlog) was perceived as too radical.

BMC’s journey really focused on “development” and “test”; it seemed to insufficiently encompass the define-detail perspective, however, ”Requirements Architect” is briefly discussed in the Case Studies.

BMC’s journey really focused on “delivery”; it seemed to insufficiently encompass discovery (or “strategy”).

BMC’s journey really focused on a technology-based transition; it seemed to insufficiently encompass a more holistic (business and technology) transformation.

Artful Transformation

Our approach, which we call Artful Transformation, is intentionally holistic and transformative!

Enterprise scale is not merely about “size” but about the whole enterprise (its wholeness, including all its aspects and dynamics)!

Agility is much more than “Agile Methods”! Boydian Agility readily trumps mere Agile Methods (or Agile Software Development)!

Transformation involves value/principle-based change that focuses on the DNA of an enterprise while Transition involves practice-based change that primarily focuses on surface level behavior.

Again, without doubt, Israel Gat among others must be commended for their tremendous impact on BMC Software (and the BMC Agile Transition), however, that success could have been so much more with a more holistic perspective and transformative approach!

Jonathan Fields’ Uncertainty

Jonathan Fields (@jonathanfields) (www.jonathanfields.com) kindly honored my request for a copy of his Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance book (Amazon).

Based on my experiences working with clients concerning transformation and how we appreciate and approach Uncertainty as a quintessential / elemental aspect of the transformation journey, I was very intrigued!

The Book

The book is a beautiful exploratory journey through the world of uncertainty.

The Introduction begins with The Three Psychic Horsemen of Creation:

One of the single greatest determinants of high-level success as an innovator or creator in any realm is the ability to manage and at times even seek out sustained high levels of uncertainty, bundled lovingly with risk of lose and exposure to criticism.

The Introduction then declares the purpose of the book:

Uncertainty is about what goes on in your head, your heart, and your gut as you strive to create anything truly extraordinary.

This book will give you a better understanding of your own creative process and a set of concrete daily practices and environmental changes that will allow you to reframe uncertainty, risk, and exposure as allies for creating and innovating on a level you never thought possible.

And with such an inviting Introduction, the book then delves into the heart and soul of uncertainty.

Why Uncertainty Matters

Chapter 1 emphasizes that “every quest to create something bold starts with a question, a hunch, or an idea” and that “creating” versus merely “replicating” “requires us to live with uncertainty”; thus, “we need to develop the ability to tolerate uncertainty”.

Notice the distinction between “creating” and “replicating”, and the expression that its a “quest” wherein “uncertainty” is a given such that we must cultivate the ability to “tolerate” it — if nothing else, this offers a refreshingly realistic perspective!

Far too many people sadly dull their natural ability to “tolerate” uncertainty by neglecting to renew their commitment to a quest and their extraordinary journey, but dwell (if not obsess) on the mundane and ordinary!

What Uncertainty Does to Us

Chapter 2 emphasizes that “uncertainty causes pain” which manifests as “suffering, anxiety, and fear” and fuels us to “do whatever we can to eliminate the bad feeling”; and the “rush to create certainty and eliminate risk and judgment” “unintentionally snuffs out our ability to create genius.”

Notice the whole notion of “creating certainty” versus “discovering” or “finding” it, and notice how “rushing” (versus deliberately acting to) “create certainty” conflict with “creating genius” — again, if nothing else, this offers a refreshingly realistic perspective!

The Myth of the Fearless Creator

Chapter 3 emphasizes that many seemingly “fearless creators” also “experience the same open-ended circumstance that shut most others down”, but they “build these things [situational changes, personal practices, and shifts in mind-set] into their lives, with great deliberation, as scaffolding that allows them to lean more deeply into the [creation] journey.”

Briefly consider the interplay between curiosity, uncertainty, scaffolding, and action.

• If one is curious, recognizes uncertainty, and has the appropriate scaffolding, they may be more inclined to act.
• If one is curious and does not recognize uncertainty, they too may be more inclined to act, perhaps to a fault!
• If one is curious, recognizes uncertainty, and does not have the appropriate scaffolding, they may be less inclined to act.

Perhaps, its the interplay between scaffolding and uncertainty that shapes how we bridge the chasm between curiosity and action!

Find Your Certainty Anchors

Chapter 4 explores “certainty anchors”, particularly rituals and routines, to “help counter the resistance that comes when you lean into the side of the creation process”:

Certainty anchors are experiences — ones that either happen naturally or that you build intentionally into your life — that serve as a source of psychology bedrock. They allow you to take more risks and embrace uncertainty in your work with more confidence in the name of creating better, deeper outcomes.

Essentially, certainty anchors may be considered behavioral aspects of scaffolding.

Build Your Hive

Chapter 5 explores “judgment-leveling creation hives” that are an “incredibly effective vehicle that can open you to the feedback you need to grow your ability and your endeavor as efficiently as possible”.

Essentially, hives may be considered environmental aspects of scaffolding.

Socialize Creation

Chapter 6 explores how to “shorten the time needed to arrive at certainty” by focusing on how to “test your ides, gather information, and build on what works, and eliminate what does not work” using “lean methodology” or “feedback-driven technologies”. Essentially, “adding certainty more often and in smaller chunks and fueling action.”

Essentially, feedback may be considered a workflow aspect of scaffolding.

Also notice the “incremental” (“more often and in small chunks”) approach to additive certainty and how it fuels action. Far too many people seek a “big bang” up-front approach to certainty (or resolving uncertainty) and resist action otherwise!

Train Your Brain

Chapter 7 explores “attentional training (AT)”:

Meditation, mindfulness and many forms of contemplation-driven spiritual practice are examples of something called attentional training (AT), practices that either innately or by will require intense, focused awareness. Through daily repetition, they create both physiological and psychological changes that can profoundly alter the way we experience and handle nearly any challenge or endeavor.

Notice the emphasis on “intense, focused awareness” and how such practices become certainty anchors.

See the Forest

Chapter 8 explores the “bigger question” that emerges “every time a new major hurdle presents itself”: “whether to keep going, to change what you’re doing, or to fold and shut down the endeavor altogether”; and this chapter also explores the “opportunity to lose yourself in the quest” that can be countered when we “establish a set of circuit breakers designed to allow you to come back from a question that has turned into an abyss”.

The ability to recognize, appreciate, and successfully confront the dark side of any quest is crucial!

Own the Story Line

Chapter 9 explores “reframing”, which “allows us to create and associate a different story line around” the “normal fear and anxiety” from “uncertainty and risk that comes with creation” “instead of defaulting to an automatic story that engenders negative emotion”.

Likewise, our ability to feed the dark side of any quest versus starve it is ever-present (and human)!

Bring it Home

Chapter 10 emphasizes that “uncertainty must be present in the quest to create anything deeply meaningful” and that “over time, facts and actual experiences will replace leaps of faith and hunches”.

Ultimately, when considering uncertainty, we should always remember: “Certainty, beyond the fact that you were born and you will one day die, does not exist.”

In Conclusion: The Alchemy of Fear

Jonathan Fields’ (@jonathanfields) (www.jonathanfields.com) Uncertainty: Turning Fear and Doubt into Fuel for Brilliance book (Amazon) is a masterpiece filled with human wisdom:

Doing all of these things pushed me — a lot. But they’ve also allowed me to lean with greater comfort than ever before into the uncertainty and fear that must be part of the quest to create something brilliant from nothing. I am no longer just an artist, an entrepreneur, or a creator. I’m training, and likely forever will be, in the alchemy of fear.

It’s my greatest hope that this book provides both the inspiration and the foundation needed for you to do the same.

Jonathan, thank you for beautifully sharing how embracing uncertainty may be wonderfully liberating!

Joseph Michelli’s The Zappos Experience

Joseph A. Michelli (@josephmichelli) (The Michelli Experience) kindly honored my request for an advance copy of The Zappos Experience: 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and WOW (@zapposxperience) (Zappified) book (Amazon).

Based on Tony Hseih’s (@zappos) Delivering Happiness (@DHMovement) and my experiences working with clients to leverage Tribal Leadership, I was very intrigued!

The Book

At first glance, The Zappos Experience may seem very similar to Delivering Happiness, however, Tony Hsieh immediately distinguished between the two books in The Zappos Experience‘s Forward:

So how is The Zappos Experience different from Delivering Happiness, and why should you care if you’re not in the business of selling clothing and shoes online?

In all likelihood, what your business does will be very different from what Zappos does. My hope is that Delivering Happiness will help inspire the why of your business, while The Zappos Experience (along with Zappos Insights) can contribute to the how of your business.

What is Zappos and the Zappos Experience?

The book starts with two questions: What is Zappos? What is the Zappos Experience?

The book emphasizes that it “will offer you a chance to learn from a company that is changing the paradigm for how to deliver excellent service by embedding that service into its culture” while quoting Peter Jackson’s Maps of Meaning, “cultures are maps of meaning through which the world is intelligible,” and emphasizing “at Zappos, leadership has offered a ‘map of meaning’ that produces success powered by a culture of service.”

The book then briefly explores Zappos’ history and emphasizes three historical pivot points that “offer insights regarding leadership decisions and staff efforts that kept the orders rolling in and the bankers, employees and customers happy”:

• Forging a Team with Diverse Strengths
• The Courage to Try to Do What You Think is “Right”
• Passion, Determination, and Humility

The book then briefly explores Zappos’ unique value proposition.

By making consistent choices to trust staff members and customers in often small but unexpected ways, the leadership at Zappos has essentially created customer wows, a loving family environment, and an enriched customer experience. Some Zappos customer communiques even sign off, “With love, The Zappos Customer Loyalty Team.” For some, “love” may seem like an odd concept in the context of business, but in the words of Peter Senge, author of the classic business book The Fifth Discipline, love is nothing more nor less than “a commitment to someone else’s growth and development.” Zappos lives that commitment to staff members, customers, and vendors alike.

Because leaders at Zappos demonstrate a commitment to the growth and development (“love”) of their company’s employees and their customers, consumers and staff return their love for Zappos through consistent referrals, positive social media chatter, and repeat business. This loyalty, resulting in 75 percent of orders each day being placed by returning customers, allows Zappos to spend less on marketing and advertising and instead invest more in truly delivering wow through service.

This resonates with my own experience of Love (in Business) and my appreciation of Starbucks.

Joseph Michelli then briefly introduces the Zappos Experience.

Building a vibrant culture, living in accordance with one’s values, and translating service directly into loyal return business are but a few of the many differentiators between Zappos and other well-intentioned companies. I have come to call the totality of these differences the “Zappos Experience.”

From my perspective, the Zappos Experience reflects a culture that is committed to impassioned service delivery, transparent communication, acceptance of differences, and weirdness — a highly playful, highly productive, and innovative business where staff members and customers become fully engaged an emotionally connected.

Then, Joseph Michelli introduces the “five core business principles” around which the book is organized (that offer “a map for your behind-the-scenes exploration of the company”) and emphasizes that “while these principles may seem fairly easy to grasp, applying them consistently may prove challenging” and “it is consistent execution that differentiates a Zappos from other well-meaning yet average businesses or mediocre individual service providers.”

1. Serve a perfect fit.
2. Make it effortlessly swift.
3. Step into the personal.
4. S T R E T C H.
5. Play to win.

The rest of Joseph Michelli’s book explores “how Zappos can help you zap your leadership, your culture, and your service, be it professional or personal, to the next level!”

Serve a Perfect Fit

This section opens with the following quote:

Coming together is a beginning
Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success.
— Henry Ford

This section, “Serve a Perfect Fit,” focuses on “how Zappos selects and orients for a service culture.” “The leadership at Zappos views culture strength as the foundation for employee engagement and, ultimately, for customer loyalty.” “Zappos has, in essence, made a priority of ways to ‘serve a perfect fit’ between its purpose and its people.” “By building a tight employee community, Zappos has developed a platform for outstanding service.”

• Chapter 2, “It All Comes Back to Culture,” focuses on “how the leaders at Zappos chose and uncovered the core values that underpin their company.”
• Chapter 3, “Culture Should Be a Verb”, focuses on how Zappos approaches “new hire orientation and on-boarding”.

Notices the emphasis on “service culture” versus merely “culture”; that is, a culture that is always in service of something beyond itself. Similar to Greenleaf’s “servant leadership”, this could readily be termed “servant cultureship“.

Notice the notion of culture as a platform wherein an engaged employee community fosters customer loyalty. Tribal Leadership emphasizes that leadership involves synchronizing culture and strategy naturally, which essentially involves fostering fitness between purpose and people.

Notice the emphasis of “core values” and “on-boarding” or culture (verb) or “culturing“.

Far too many so-called leaders are challenged when focusing on culture because their notion of culture is respectfully “self-serving” (internally focused) versus a “service culture” (externally focus), thus is seems far less relevant to their business objectives and goals.

Make it Effortlessly Swift

This section opens with the following quote:

The more effort customers must
put forth in a service interaction,
the less likely they are to be loyal.
— Jeffrey Henning

This section, “Make it Effortlessly Swift,” focuses on “how Zappos delivers wow through service without even having to make customer service personal.” “The leadership at Zappos has aspired to a more potent transformational and emotional service outcome, namely, to deliver happiness.”

• Chapter 4, “Less Effort, More Customers,” focuses on “how Zappos makes all aspects of the customer experience as effortless as possible.”
• Chapter 5, “The Ticket to the Big Service Dance: Velocity, Knowledge, Recovery and Surprise,” focuses on “how Zappos instills a sense of urgency into service delivery.”

Notice the emphasis on “transformational and emotional” outcomes that form effortless customer experiences delivered with urgency.

Step into the Personal

This section opens with the following quote:

The companies that survive
longest are the ones that work out
what they uniquely can give to the
world — not just growth or money
but their excellence, their respect
for others, or their ability to make
people happy. Some call those
things a soul.
— Charles Handy

This section, “Step into the Personal,” focuses on how “legendary and beloved companies seek personal, enriched experiences that are easily remembered and readily shared with others” while other brands “rely on operational excellence in service delivery to garner respect and differentiate themselves from less effective competitors”.

• Chapter 6, “More than a Wallet with Legs,” focuses on how “leaders foster an environment of authentic connections and real relationships with customers.”
• Chapter 7, “Connections at All Levels,” focuses on how leaders “openly and consistently provide feedback that helps staff members deliver personalized service to customers, vendors, and even non-customers.”

Notices the emphasis on “personal, enriched experiences” that are memorable and shareable versus merely “operational excellence”. Notice the emphasis on “connections” & “relationships” that are “authentic” & “real” being fostered by consistent “feedback”.

S T R E T C H

This section opens with the following quote:

If you want to be happy, set a goal
that commands your thoughts,
liberates your energy, and inspires
your hopes.
— Andrew Carnegie

This section, “S T R E T C H.,” focuses on “what businesses can achieve by being discontented, knowledge seeking, and unwilling to fall in love with the way things are or the way things have always been.”

• Chapter 8, “Zappos University,” focuses on “how Zappos stretches staff members to be subject-matter experts, better people, and future organizational leaders.”
• Chapter 9, “Beyond Shoes,” focuses on “how Zappos has stretched its brand elasticity well beyond its original product line into broader merchandising and even corporate leadership training.”

Notice the emphasis on “stretching” both staff members and the brand as fostered by being “unwilling to fall in love with the way things are”.

Far too many organizations fall in love with the way things are and no long seek to stretch.

Play to Win

This section opens with the following quote:

The master in the art of living makes
little distinction between his work and
his play, his labor and his leisure, his
mind and his body, his information and
his recreation. … He simply pursues his
vision of excellence at whatever he does,
leaving others to decide whether he is
working or playing. To him he’s always
doing both.
— James Michener

This section, “Play to win,” focuses on how “leaders see work and play as being intertwined” — “play is a powerful tool for alignment and social cohesion.”

• Chapter 10, “Play Well,” focuses on “how Zappos infuses a spirit of play on daily, monthly, and extended timelines throughout the workplace.”
• Chapter 11, “R.O.F.L.,” focuses on “how Zappos has transformed fun into a culture that is far from frivolous.” R.O.F.L. commonly stands for “rolling on the floor laughing” but in this Chapter it stands for “Return On Fun Lasts”.

Notice the emphasis on joy or enjoyment, that is, “finding joy in”! Mere Work and Play are different but may be intertwined, specifically, it’s the “spirit of play” that makes “work” “fun”.

Fundamentally, if you are not enjoying work, quite simply, stop working and ask “what’s missing”!

In conclusion

The book ends with one question: What’s your leadership legacy?

Zappos is no longer in the shoe business; it is in the happiness business! Its leaders became passionate about a goal that transcended products or processes. Those leaders shifted their attention from business success to transformative objectives and, in the end, elevated their significance and their legacy.

So what’s your leadership legacy statement? Go ahead and write it down — but, more important, live it! If you do, you truly will understand the transformational power of the Zappos Experience.

At the end of my Delivering Happiness blog post, I suggested if you want to understand the “Zappos Experience” — how Zappos has achieved greatness — read and reflect on Tony Hseih’s (@zappos) Delivering Happiness (@DHMovement), however, I now further suggest if you want to delve deeper, read and reflect on Joseph A. Michelli’s (@josephmichelli) The Zappos Experience: 5 Principles to Inspire, Engage, and WOW (@zapposxperience) — a treasure trove of practical wisdom!