Assumptions and Inferences

As Leaders, and everyone else for that matter, it is vitally important to eliminate assumptions and inferences from your interactions and day-to-day roles.   What are assumptions and inferences?  An Assumption is a thing that is accepted as true or as certain to happen, without proof.  An Inference is a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning.  We all know the danger of an assumption and how they can easily lead to negative rumors, but what is the importance of an inference?

Simply stated, another word for an inference is an educated guess.  If I call a team meeting and slam the door behind me as I enter the room, the people in the meeting might infer that I am mad about something.  This conclusion has been reached by taking in the evidence that I called a group meeting then slammed the door after I entered.  No matter how good a guess this is, based on the evidence available, it is still just a guess.  In fact, the only true way to determine if someone is mad is to ask them.  Go back to the definition of an inference...  A conclusion reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning; nowhere in this definition does it say based on fact.  Moreover, the inference or conclusion that a person comes up with is often based on their own paradigms and perceptions, which can mean that if two people have the same evidence in front of them they can both have difference conclusions.  

How do we combat the damaging acts of assuming and inferring?  The two best ways are to seek first to understand, then to be understood and also by getting to the root cause.

The following are excerpts, focusing on seeking first to understand, then to be understood are taken from 7 Habits of Highly of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey...

“Although it is risky and hard, seek first to understand, or diagnose before you prescribe, is a correct principle manifest in many areas of life.  It’s the mark of all true professionals.  It’s critical for the optometrist, it’s critical for the physician.  You wouldn't have any confidence in a doctor’s prescription unless you had confidence in the diagnosis.”

“Empathic listening takes time, but it doesn't take anywhere near as much time as it takes to back up and correct misunderstandings when you’re already miles down the road, to redo, to live with unexpressed and unsolved problems, to deal with the results of not giving people psychological air.

A discerning empathic listener can read what’s happening down deep fast, and can show such acceptance, such understanding, that other people feel safe to open up layer after layer until they get to that soft inner core where the problem really lies.

People want to be understood.  And whatever investment of time it takes to do that will bring much greater returns of time as you work from an accurate understanding of the problems and issues and work from the high emotional bank account that results when a person feels deeply understood.”

Diagnosis and getting to the root of the problem can be applied to more than just a process problem using the Lean tools.  Root cause analysis can be applied to any situation where a misunderstanding, rumor or confrontation has occurred.  Whether the misunderstanding is yours, someone else’s or both parties, a true leader (without a title) will strive to get to why the situation exists in the first place. 

The simplest tool for finding the root is to ask why and do this five times.  However, when you ask why of a person this has the tendency to generate defensiveness in the other person.  Think about it, the last time someone asked you why you did something your first reaction is usually to defend why you did what you did, right or wrong, to some degree.  Find a way to ask why with a softer approach; remember that the tone of your voice and body language play a huge role in how the other person will react to your question(s) and probing.  

When you’re getting to the root of the problem in a process you don’t have to worry about offending the process or hurting its feelings.  However, when getting to the root of a problem between two people you as the leader MUST consider the other person’s side of the story.  Avoid defending your side, using accusatory statements, blame, and judgement, doing these things will only make the situation worse.  Rather, be one hundred percent open to the other side’s concerns and beliefs and push yourself to see the other side of the situation.  As hard as this can be sometimes, this is what a true leader will do.

How Important is the First Impression?

I have people call on me all the time.  Some people do a good job of making a positive impression (through a little research), or conveying they can add value or some are the benefactor of good timing when they first call or drop in.  In each case, the first impression created when I meet someone gives me a huge indication as to what the future may hold.  This goes for interviews as well; In my opinion, being late without a phone call ends the interview before it even starts.

I very recently had set up an appointment with someone who was one of the benefactors of a well timed cold call, for a service that I had recently developed a need for.  The day of the meeting came and this person was late, without a call, she was 20 minutes late.  This was my first impression of her and the company she represented; moreover, it gave a potential glimpse into what service level I would be receiving down the road.  When she eventually showed up I told her the impression she had created and politely told her that I wasn't going to meet with her.  How would you handle that?  With so many options for every product or service out there, we can't afford to destroy our chances from the get go, the first impression is extremely important

Being late for an appointment, lunch or anything will happen to all of us eventually, but the defining factor is how we deal with being late.  Do you call the other party to let them know you're running behind?  Or do you show up late and hope everything is okay and the other person you're meeting is forgiving?  It's your choice to make.

A helpful tip used by some very good sales people I know; when you set up an appointment, try telling the person you'll be there between two times.  For example, "I'll be there between 9AM and 9:30AM."  This will give you a bit of flexibility in your arrival time.

Rule #3 Give Away Trust, You'll Get it Back

You will never be successful in life without trust.  You can not have true friendship without trust.  You can not be a great leader unless the people you're leading trust you.  You can not be a good parent if your kids don't trust you.  You can not be a great athlete if your team and or coach do not trust you.  You need trust, especially if you want to be successful.

Whatever you want give it away.  I first heard this from Ian Percy, who gives a talk titled The 11 Commandments for an Enthusiastic Team, for which the 9th commandment is "whatever you want, give it to others.  Since hearing this idea I've applied it as much as possible and most importantly with respect to trust.  Giving away trust has done wonders for me and I would highly recommend giving it a try.  Our world is getting more and more cynical everyday, where people almost instinctively do not trust others.  I say buck the trend a start with trust.  If someone hasn't given you any reason not to trust them, why not give away some trust?

The caveat to trust, I don't want anyone to be taken for anything, so you need to couple the trust with common sense and not become a victim of fraud, especially when it comes to investing or finances.  If it seems fishy then it just might be, ask a lot of questions and understand.

Rule #2: Don't Expect Anything, Earn It!

Gimme gimme and then I will perform.  I hear this all to often, especially in the work force.  People who believe that the way to climb the proverbial ladder is to demand more money or title, and only after they get the raise/promotion their performance will increase.  This is fundamentally backwards and can build big resentment between you and your boss/coach.  Think about it in terms of athletes, would it make sense for them to say, "give me the Gold Medal and then I will perform like a gold medal athlete."  Of course not, that's ridiculous!  Athletes need discipline and hard work to improve themselves every day to work towards their goal.  So why should anyone in any other profession or schooling think otherwise?  Golfers, for example, have to work on their game everyday and play in tournament after tournament for years before they might have a chance to win a tournament and receive a Million dollar prize payout.

Work hard and take on more, without expectation, and the reward will come.  There is so much pessimism in the world today that we can sometimes receive ridicule from friends or peers questioning why we're working so hard.  Don't let these negative people bring you down, besides, they're probably the ones not getting ahead and they have no idea why.  Persevere and keep going, knowing the reward will come.  You MUST to go beyond the bare minimum and perform at your maximum.  At work, proactively turn yourself into a resource for your peers and network so that you become the go-to person in one area or on as many topics as you can.  Don't let not knowing be a barrier, teach yourself a new skill or take a course.

Not all managers, bosses and companies are good at rewarding their people for higher performance, a sad but true fact.  It is possible you won't get rewarded for doing more, but before you make a change it is a very good idea to look at the situation from your boss' point of view.  Are you actually doing more or are you doing what your position requires but have maybe had a miscommunication of expectations.  Sit down with your boss, clarify your work expectations and get on the same page, which if done well using a win/win mindset could lead to your boss understanding exactly what you're taking on and possibly a raise and/or promotion.  Just remember, if you are in a situation where you're not going to be rewarded for taking on more that you have a choice.  A choice to stay or leave.

"If you build it, they will come."  This is a great line from the movie Field of Dreams, starring Kevin Costner and speaks well to this topic.  Think of this line when it comes to anything you want to achieve success in; your career, a sport, a hobby or something off your bucket list.  let's break down this line... Think of "build" as "work hard at", if you're going to build something substantial then it will take at lot of work.  Then think of "it" as "success", in whatever you want to be successful in.  Lastly, think of "they" again as success.  So this famous line can be translated to "if you work hard at success, success will come."

Yet again, all this comes down to your choice.  Go make it happen!

Regret or Discipline

Today I was listening to a talk by speaker Dean Lindsay, where he asks the audience what is more painful, discipline or regret?  This got me thinking...  This question is more than which one is more painful, it's about the choices we make for our success, goals and life in general.  I'm a huge believer in choice and that we all have a choice in everything we do.

Regret is much easier to deal with because you can put it off and not force yourself to deal with it everyday.  Regret can be tucked away, hidden and forgotten about.  However, at some point, which could be a day, week, year or lifetime away, regret will eventually get so big and unavoidable that it rears its ugly head.  Discipline on the other hand is hard work and needs to be focused on everyday.  If we're going to have discipline in achieving a goal and being successful in whatever we choose to be successful in then we have to work at it everyday, without fail.  Discipline is not easy, but neither is regret.

So, beyond which is more painful, regret or discipline, the bigger question is are we willing to deal with our own future today and everyday or are we willing to deal with the lack of success down the road?  If our choice is the latter then we have to be prepared to look in the mirror when regret makes an appearance and accept the fact the we, at some point, chose regret over discipline.

How great would we and the world in general be if we all made the choice of discipline?

Ideon Packaging Grows Again

Today was an exciting day at Ideon Packaging as we received our brand new HP Scitex FB7600 Industrial Digital Printing Press.  The press started its journey from Israel and across the Atlantic to the US where it was offloaded and shipped via truck to Ideon.  The weather was more than cooperative for the unloading of the FB7600 off the truck and into our building.

We've knocked down walls to make room for the press, which will sit in an area that used to be taken up by three separate rooms.  With only three of these machines already in Canada, Ideon will have the only one West of Ontario.  The packaging graphics opportunities are endless when we combine the capabilities of the HP FB7600 with our new ESKO XP production cutting table, which arrived yesterday.

Above is a picture of what the press looks like assembled.

What If

With so many opportunities to be getting so much more out of life and to be a positive influence on the world, I asked myself, what if...

What if we all did the right thing, instead of the wrong thing in the hopes that we get away with it?
What if we all had a positive attitude rather than a pessimistic or negative one?
What if we all ate a balanced diet and exercised?
What if we all kept our promises?
What if we all respected each other's religion, heritage and beliefs?
What if we listened twice as much as we talked?
What if we all gave to the less fortunate?
What if we all told the truth?
What if we all tried a little harder?
What if we all knew that each of the above is a choice to be made everyday...