I had the opportunity to share the concept of harmony with an energizing and passionate group of CEOs yesterday.
I always love the opportunity to speak about harmony out loud. Specially to a group that has not heard it.
A couple of quick thoughts…
1. REVIEWED OLD POSTS: I got a chance to review some of the posts from this past year. I want a system that is easier to index – because there are some very exciting posts that I want to reshare in some way – but they are tricky to access. Regardless, it made me realize that this has been a GREAT journey this year, and a lot of fun! THANK YOU for sharing this conversation with me.
2. EXAMPLES, EXAMPLES, EXAMPLES: I get the strong sense that everyone really likes to hear the concept of harmony shared through examples; life examples, word examples… I feel like I see and hear examples ALL day. I must capture them in some form to share them more readily.
3. HALF BAKED: I realize when I share the concept of harmony, that its still partially cooked. In my head it gets clearer and clearer, and you are helping me get there. But, I am not there yet. That is ok. Bear with me.
So, in the spirit of examples… I have two to share. One today and one tomorrow.
EXAMPLE 1:
A dear friend called me last night. He is working on transitioning the leadership of his dad’s company from his father to him and his brother. It is tricky as the business has lost a few key customers. The conversation was around who should be “CEO”.
As we talked at length – we explored the fact that in the situation he was “wishing” that this whole process could be faster. He was “wishing” that collaboration and alignment wasn’t so hard to achieve. He was “wishing” that he could just make more decisions without talking to anyone. So, we stopped “wishing” and agreed that what he wanted were two things:
1. He wanted to clarify roles and decision authority to speed up progress.
2. He wanted general agreement that in the end, he would be in the lead chair.
So, then we discussed the “absolute truth”. His brother isn’t ready to give him the lead chair right now, but is generally in agreement that he will get it. So, lets not force that decision today. It’s not needed. We talked at length. We pushed and pulled – but agreed on the key needs right now.
It reminded me of two critical components of the absolute truth.
Decisions have a “right time”. Timing is everything – and its about the organizational and individual “maturity” and ‘readiness” for different steps in the evolution toward greatness. When you make a decision before an individual or an organization is ready – it creates disharmony. Sometimes – the individual or the organization grow quickly and the disharmony is resolved – more often, the disharmony grows and the bad timing of the decision leads to additional bad decisions.
TIMING is CRITICAL. There are moments when a person or a company need to be pushed to the next level. If you miss the moment and act to slow – or if you move to quick – everyone knows it. It’s not about when YOU think the time is right… it’s when the organization is ready and capable to embrace and digest the change.
I was very proud of my friend. He paused. He gave room for everyone to share their thoughts and concerns, and backed off the throttle. He settled into a more appropriate conversation that the group was more ready to have – and allowed the process to move slower.
To me, that is the sign of a maturing leader. A leader that modifies his pace, when the situation allows him to, to match the pace of his company.
It’s like jumping onto a moving vehicle… if you are moving too fast or too slow – you MISS the opening and slam to the ground.
If you want to build a great company, listen for the truth about what the company needs AND what the company is capable of digesting – and match the two at the fastest rate possible for the optimal amount of progress.
Often the BEST progress isn’t the biggest progress that can be conceived – it’s the biggest progess that can be EXECUTED & EMBRACED.
I am enjoying helping this friend transform this company that has been around for decades into something new and bigger and better. He is a wonderful man, impatient at times, but always willing to listen.
I am betting on him!
Yours in harmony,
Nestor