NC Transformation

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#8 Acquisitions to Become.

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One of my mentors, Christian Simpson has a saying, “Your business is not your business – your business is the thinking you bring to your business!” Talking about thinking, I’ve been thinking about the company I used to work at for many years and specifically the amazing growth and success it has achieved. For more than 20 years I watched as numerous acquisitions we made and integrated into what has become one of the largest technology companies in the world

As the company grew so the industry changed. Technology companies have had to navigate major shifts over the last 20 years. Tech companies have had to adapt from products to services to managed services, the Internet to Cloud to digital and now new technologies like automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and analytics means everything will continue to change. These are discussions for another day. What I want to mention today is the interesting fact that as the company I worked for was making all these acquisitions, some worked extremely well and others failed spectacularly. While there can be many reasons for this, I noted that one type of acquisition always failed and the best way for me to describe this is as follows.

Some acquisitions grow the company and some are for the company to become. When a company is growing it requires a business-as-usual approach to integrate the acquisition. Everyone is on the same page and integration means consolidating resources, solutions, clients etc. Challenges are easily addressed by integrating and moving data from one system to another. It’s not easy but because the focus is on growth everyone can quickly refocus.

When an acquisition is made, to become, a completely different challenge faces the company. This is like adding new attributes to the company, attributes that need to be preserved as-is and any attempts at integration will result in a loss of the very essence of the acquisition. I watched as great companies, leaders in their field, with amazing offerings were slowly dismantled and the company’s sales team became stronger, engineering was enhanced, leadership was enriched but the very essence of what was acquired slowly disappeared and the entire “new” offering ceased to exist.

How does one then acquire to become? I thought of Christians quote that “….your business is the thinking you bring to your business”. Could this mean that what needs to be retained is the thinking that exists within the acquisition? I recall those good acquisitions were due to the rapid integration of those companies into the new company. Branding was removed, product and service offerings were replaced and systems and processes were moved over to the main company’s. What was being done was to get the acquired company to now be like the new company and that would include thinking like the new company.

Put simply, acquiring, to become, is not easy and will need to involve preserving the thinking and the culture and adding it to the main company. This way the company has the opportunity to become something bigger but also broader with more to offer.

#7 Partnerships

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There is no doubt in my mind that partnerships can be very powerful and beneficial, especially when one person’s strengths supplements and fills in for another’s weaknesses.

“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Proverbs 13:20

You become like the people you partner with. It’s therefore important that you consider wisely when partnering. Chose who will add value to you and who you can add value to. If your partnership is a business, and the partnership has been established in wisdom, then both the individuals and the business will benefit and see much improvement and growth.

#6 Setting a better sail.

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The same wind blows on us all. The economic wind, the social wind, the political wind. The same wind blows on everybody. The difference in where you arrive in one year, three years, five years, the difference in arrival is not the blowing of the wind but the set of the sail. Jim Rohn.

I’m not much of sailor, well not at all, but a few years ago I had the opportunity to go sailing on the Mediterranian. We were a whole team and were allocated to several identical yachts each with a skipper that would show us the ropes. As we set out there was a slight breeze and while not ideal for sailing it did give us the chance to just sit back and relax after a long day of meetings and presentations. However, it did not take long for the different teams to start competing and soon a race had developed. I was amazed to discover how small changes to the sail would have a massive impact in speed over the other boats. I realised that while sailing looked easy in principle, it required much skill and intuition. Our skipper pointed out another boat that had moved ahead by some considerable distance and mentioned that the skipper was an Olympic champion.

The direction we headed in turned out to be an important factor as we would pick up more wind in different locations and the direction of the wind meant some boats would make better use of the wind from behind by tacking further out from the shore.

This whole experience came back to me this weekend as I read an article with Jim Rohn’s quotes and it made me realise that we all get to choose what we do with our time, who we spend it with and whether we decide to deliberately grow in our knowledge and experience. As Jim Rohn said, “It is not the blowing of the wind but the set of the sail.” It’s not what happens that determines your life future, it’s what you do about it.

Learning and growing are all about setting a better sail. We each get to set our sail and if we are deliberate in growing, the knowledge, skill and experiences we acquire will ensure we set better sails that will result in better more successful outcomes.

#5 You need to have already made your most important decisions.

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A few years ago I read an article in which the writer explains how a 737 was about to land at OR Tambo International when it stalled due to possible wind shear. Pilots are trained to respond to a stall by dropping the nose of the aeroplane so that the plane can pick up speed and the air can again flow over the wing and produce the lift required for the plane to fly. But when a plane is close to the ground our instinct will be to lift the nose that exasperates the problem. Most aeroplanes that have experienced late final stalls have ended in tragedy due to there not being enough altitude for the plane to regain stable flight and pilots that just can’t get themselves to drop the nose and then fly down toward the ground before lifting up and away to safety. The pilot in the 737 at OR Tambo defied the natural urge to lift the nose of his plane. He followed his training, dropped the nose, the plane recovered from the stall and he then landed at a nearby airport.

This got me thinking that many times in the heat of a moment we may be inclined to react based on what’s before us, what’s logical and makes sense, but success in some cases demands actions that have been considered well in advance.

Decisions that are based on our values would fall into this category. When we’re up against it and we need to make value-based decisions it may feel like we’re going to crash and that’s why we need to prepare for these decisions well in advance. Some decisions are made in principle, well in advance, because in the heat of the moment it will be impossible to reason and make the decision that supports your values.

In business and sales, I can think of countless reasons to adopt personal policies and positions that are supported by the decisions we make in advance. In this way, we can stay true to our values and of course stay out of trouble.

#4 Experience is not the best teacher!

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“Experience is not the best teacher!”

I heard John Maxwell say this on a mentorship call a few years ago. We all have experience at some level, and if we participate in life then we are continually gaining new experience. Why then is it that some people benefit and learn from their experiences and others don’t?

Reflection turns our experience into insight. The secret then is, experience teaches nothing but evaluated experience teaches everything. A great practice is to reflect daily on the experiences you’ve had. Ponder over them and become conscious of the lessons you can take out of the experience. Once you start applying these lessons you can then say, “My evaluated experience is the best teacher.”

#3 Digital Transformation can’t succeed without strong leadership

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For at least 5 years, the term digital transformation has driven many organisations to embark on major projects of rediscovery, to become the company they need to be to remain competitive and to stay in business.

“5 Steps to digital dominance”, “The top 10 attributes of a successful digital transformation project”, every technology vendor, systems integrator or consulting organisation have what they believe is the perfect approach to transformation. Agile and Lean-Agile has been adopted as the way for organisations to execute in a way that is responsive to market and customer demand. Technology has been at the core of most digital transformation initiatives but many organisations are becoming aware that it’s not all about the technology and that the people and leadership are key to success.

I believe that strong leadership principles are needed for digital transformation to succeed and that these principles are introduced and practised across all levels of the organisation. I’m sure most transformation project methodologies include the people and leadership factors, but I very rarely see digital transformation being driven with people and leadership as the foundation.

Transformation of an organisation also means the transformation of the people and the philosophies of the business – how products are developed, launched and supported. But it also includes how customers are treated and supported and the metrics used for success.

The implementation of a cloud service, a digital mobile app or an online customer portal is merely the window that reflects a potential transformed company, but deep down is where the real transformation lies. And a transformed company has its foundation in a transformed leadership team, a leadership with transformed philosophies.

Digital transformation must start from a leadership point of view before it then extends to the business model, the people and operations and finally to how technology will support this.

#2 Potential

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Have you reached a point in your life where you believe you could have done better, you should have been further along in your career or you’ve missed or messed up opportunities along the way? I’m sure we all feel this way at some stage during our careers. The fact is, if you don’t feel this way, it’s most likely because you’ve extended yourself, taken risks, made mistakes and did not play it safe. How many of us can say that’s the case for me?

I’m sure we all know that we’re capable of more and better. We know that we took our foot off the pedal, slowed down and coasted. Or some of us may be in the middle of a sprint and it feels like we should be better equipped to deal with the opportunities before us. We may feel that somewhere out there is the key to my success, I just need to keep looking for it.

I believe the secret lies not our there but inside each of us. It’s in you. It’s been there all along and the development and application of who you are and what’s inside you is the key to your success. Your full potential is in you.

That’s all very well but so what? How do I get what’s inside me to start working, to reveal the success I’m meant to have. There’s more to this than I want to discuss in this short post, but the main point I want to make is that you need to own who you already are. You need to develop your potential and you need to start doing what makes you fly, what inspires you and gets you excited. You need to be the best you, you can be. Only then will your true potential start emerging and will you start living instead of working. You’ll most likely work harder, but it will feel like you’re alive, like you’re doing exactly what you were born to do.

Spend time discovering who you are, what excites you and then grow into that direction. I can guarantee you that it will mean you need to adopt a deliberate, intentional growth strategy.

You can do it! Start today.

#1 Stretch Goals

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When we set goals we are being intentional about achieving a specific outcome or result. Goals are either realistic, meaning we can achieve them or they’re unrealistic, in which case they’re unachievable or we’re unable to expend the effort required to meet them. Stretch goals, to a degree, fall in this last category and it means we have to expand our efforts beyond our normal levels of engagement or we have to grow and develop our capabilities and skills required to meet such a goal.

When I work with sales and account managers I always get them to agree that the target or goals that have been set for them are an indication of the level of salesperson they need to be or to become to meet the goal. Once they grow to that level of competence and thinking the target becomes achievable.