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Slide 3: About Pfeiffer Pfeiffer serves the professional development and hands-on resource needs of training and human resource practitioners and gives them products to do their jobs better. We deliver proven ideas and solutions from experts in HR development and HR management, and we offer effective and customizable tools to improve workplace performance. From novice to seasoned professional, Pfeiffer is the source you can trust to make yourself and your organization more successful. Essential Knowledge Pfeiffer produces insightful, practical, and comprehensive materials on topics that matter the most to training and HR professionals. Our Essential Knowledge resources translate the expertise of seasoned professionals into practical, how-to guidance on critical workplace issues and problems. These resources are supported by case studies, worksheets, and job aids and are frequently supplemented with CD-ROMs, websites, and other means of making the content easier to read, understand, and use. Essential Tools Pfeiffer’s Essential Tools resources save time and expense by offering proven, ready-to-use materials—including exercises, activities, games, instruments, and assessments—for use during a training or team-learning event. These resources are frequently offered in loose-leaf or CD-ROM format to facilitate copying and customization of the material. Pfeiffer also recognizes the remarkable power of new technologies in expanding the reach and effectiveness of training. While e-hype has often created whizbang solutions in search of a problem, we are dedicated to bringing convenience and enhancements to proven training solutions. All our e-tools comply with rigorous functionality standards. The most appropriate technology wrapped around essential content yields the perfect solution for today’s on-the-go trainers and human resource professionals. w w w. p f e i f f e r. c o m Essential resources for training and HR professionals
Slide 5: S Best Practices in Leadership Development and Organization Change S
Slide 7: S S Best Practices in Leadership Development and Organization Change How the Best Companies Ensure Meaningful Change and Sustainable Leadership Louis Carter David Ulrich Marshall Goldsmith Editors
Slide 8: Copyright © 2005 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Published by Pfeiffer An Imprint of Wiley 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741 www.pfeiffer.com No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400, fax 978-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, 201-748-6011, fax 201-748-6008, or e-mail: permcoordinato@wiley.com. For additional copies/bulk purchases of this book in the U.S. please contact 800-274-4434. Pfeiffer books and products are available through most bookstores. To contact Pfeiffer directly call our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 800-274-4434, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3985, fax 317-572-4002, or visit www.pfeiffer.com. Pfeiffer also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. ISBN: 0-7879-7625-3 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Best practices in leadership development and organization change: how the best companies ensure meaningful change and sustainable leadership/ [edited by] Louis Carter, David Ulrich, Marshall Goldsmith. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-7879-7625-3 (alk. paper) 1. Leadership—United States—Case studies. 2. Organizational change—United States—Case studies. I. Carter, Louis. II. Ulrich, David, 1953– III. Goldsmith, Marshall. HD57.7.B477 2005 658.4'06—dc22 2004021983 Acquiring Editor: Matt Davis Director of Development: Kathleen Dolan Davies Developmental Editor: Susan Rachmeler Production Editor: Rachel Anderson Editor: Suzanne Copenhagen Manufacturing Supervisor: Bill Matherly Editorial Assistant: Laura Reizman Interior Design: Andrew Ogus Jacket Design: Adrian Morgan Printed in the United States of America Printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Slide 9: S CONTENTS S Acknowledgments About This Book ix xi xiii How to Use This Book Introduction xv Louis Carter, David Ulrich, Marshall Goldsmith 1 Agilent Technologies, Inc. 2 Corning 20 43 1 3 Delnor Hospital 4 Emmis Communications 5 First Consulting Group 6 GE Capital 161 181 79 120 7 Hewlett-Packard 8 Honeywell Aerospace 9 Intel 213 239 195 10 Lockheed Martin vii
Slide 10: viii CONTENTS 11 Mattel 262 282 12 McDonald’s Corporation 13 MIT 309 334 14 Motorola 15 Praxair 346 16 St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network 17 StorageTek 403 423 439 365 18 Windber Medical Center 19 Conclusion: Practitioner Trends and Findings About the Best Practices Institute About the Editors Index 457 455 453
Slide 11: S ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Best Practices Institute Team BPI EDITORIAL TEAM Louis Carter, CEO and Founder Christine Alemany, Research Assistant Joanna Centona, Research Assistant Victoria Nbidia, Research Assistant Michal Samuel, Research Assistant Connie Liauw, Research Assistant Shawn Sawyer, Assistant S Contributors, by Representative Organization Diane Anderson, Agilent Technologies, Inc. Kelly Brookhouse, Motorola Susan Burnett, Hewlett-Packard Paula Cowan, First Consulting Group Susan Curtis, StorageTek Linda Deering, Delnor Hospital John Graboski, Praxair Joseph Grenny, Lockheed Martin Brian Griffin, Delnor Hospital Dale Halm, Intel James Intagliata, McDonald’s Corporation F. Nicholas Jacobs, Windber Medical Center David Kuehler, Mattel Jamie M. Lane, Motorola Craig Livermore, Delnor Hospital Ruth Neil, Praxair John Nelson, Emmis Communications Richard O’Leary, Corning Jeff Osborne, Honeywell Aerospace Melany Peacock, Corning Lawrence Peters, Lockheed Martin M. Quinn Price, Lockheed Martin Rich Rardin, Praxair Ivy Ross, Mattel Susan Rudolph, Intel Linda Sharkey, GE Capital Robert A. Silva, Agilent Technologies, Inc. David Small, McDonald’s Corporation Janelle Smith, Intel Andrew Starr, St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network Brian O. Underhill, Agilent Technologies, Inc. Karen Walker, Agilent Technolgies, Inc. Bob Weigand, St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network Calhoun Wick, Fort Hill Company Karie Willyerd, Lockheed Martin Tom Wright, Delnor Hospital Greg Zlevor, Honeywell Aerospace ix
Slide 13: S ABOUT THIS BOOK S T he purpose of this best practices handbook is to provide you with all of the most current and necessary elements and practical “how-to” advice on how to implement a best practice change or leadership development initiative within your organization. The handbook was created to provide you a current twenty-first century snapshot of the world of leadership development and organizational change today. It serves as a learning ground for organization and social systems of all sizes and types to begin reducing resistance to change and development through more employee and customer-centered programs that emphasize consensus building; self-, group, organizational, and one-on-one awareness and effective communication; clear connections to overall business objectives; and quantifiable business results. Contributing organizations in this book are widely recognized as among the best in organization change and leadership development today. They provide invaluable lessons in succeeding during crisis or growth modes and economies. As best practice organizational champions, they share many attributes, including openness to learning and collaboration, humility, innovation and creativity, integrity, a high regard for people’s needs and perspectives, and a passion for change. Most of all, these are the organizations who have invested in human capital, the most important asset inside of organizations today. And these are the organizations that have spent on average $500 thousand on leadership development and change, and an average of $1 million over the course of their programs, with an average rate of return on investment of over $2 million. xi
Slide 14: xii ABOUT THIS BOOK Within the forthcoming chapters, you will learn from our world’s best organizations in various industries and sizes • Key elements of leading successful and results-driven change and leadership development • Tools, models, instruments, and strategies for leading change and development • Practical “how-to” approaches to diagnosing, assessing, designing, implementing, coaching, following up on, and evaluating change and development • Critical success factors and critical failure factors, among others Within each case study in this book, you will learn how to • Analyze the need for the specific leadership development or organization change initiative • Build a business case for leadership development and organization change • Identify the audience for the initiative • Design the initiative • Implement the design for the initiative • Evaluate the effectiveness of the initiative
Slide 15: S HOW TO USE THIS BOOK S PRACTICAL APPLICATION This book contains step-by-step approaches, tools, instruments, models, and practices for implementing the entire process of leadership development and change. The components of this book can be practically leveraged within your work environment to enable a leadership development or change initiative. The exhibits, forms, and instruments at the back of each chapter may be used within the classroom or by your organization development team or learners. WORKSHOPS, SEMINARS, OR ADVANCED DEGREE CLASSES The case studies, tools, and research within this book are ideal for students of advanced degree courses in management, organization development and behavior, or social and organizational psychology. In addition, this book can be used by any senior vice president, vice president, director, or program manager who is in charge of leadership development and change for his or her organization. Teams of managers—project manager, program managers, organization development (OD) designers, or other program designers and trainers—should use the case studies in this book as starting points and benchmarks for the success of the organization’s initiatives. xiii
Slide 16: xiv HOW TO USE THIS BOOK This book contains a series of distinct case studies that involve various corporate needs and objectives. It is your job as the reader to begin the process of diagnosing your company’s unique organizational objectives. When applying and learning from the case studies and research in this book, ask yourself, your team, and each other the following questions: • What is our context today? • What do we (I) want to accomplish? Why? • In what context am I most passionate about leading change and development? Why? • What are the issue(s) and concerns we are challenged with? • Are we asking the right questions? • Who are the right stakeholders? • What approaches have worked in the past? Why? • What approaches have failed in the past? Why? For more information on Lou Carter’s Best Practices Institute’s workshops, research, assessments, and models on the most current leadership development and organizational change topics, contact Louis Carter’s Best Practices Institute directly, toll free at 888–895–8949 or via e-mail at lcarter@bpinstitute.net.
Slide 17: S INTRODUCTION S n September 2003, Lou Carter’s Best Practices Institute performed a research study on trends and practices in leadership development and organization change. BPI asked organizations in a range of industries, sizes, and positions in the business cycle to identify their top methods of achieving strategic change and objectives. The study found that there is a strong demand, in particular, in the following areas of leadership development and organization change (see Table I.1). Our continual research in the area of best practices in leadership development and change strongly support the assumptions and organizational case studies that we profile within this book. Based on this study, BPI chose the top organizations that are implementing leadership development and organizational change with extraordinary results. BPI found that each organization is unique in its methods of change and development. Each organization has different methods, motives, and objectives that are relevant only to the unique landscape of each of its individual dynamics and designs. Leadership development and organization change, therefore, are mere categories or a common lexicon for describing the way in which “real work” is done within our best organizations. This “real work” is illustrated within every chapter of the book in terms of the business results that are achieved as a result of the practices that were institutionalized within the following organizations (see Table I.2). A majority of our world’s best organizations describe leadership development and organization change as “the real work of the organization.” In the past few years, we have seen this shift occur in the field of organization I xv
Slide 18: xvi INTRODUCTION Table I.1. Program Method of Achieving Strategic Change and Objectives with Highest Level of Demand, in Order of Demand OD/HRD Topic Leadership development Performance management Organization development and change Innovation and service enhancement Coaching Ranking 1 2 3 4 5 development or “OD.” Organizations are finding that in order to compete, innovate, and become more effective, productive, and profitable in an increasingly global and challenging economy, the tools, techniques, and practices of OD are necessary in order to harness the great power of human capital—both in customers and employees. As you will see in this book, our best practice organizations prove the power of human capital through results-driven best practices in organization development and change. We have brought you eighteen of our world’s best organizations that have used leadership development and organizational change program design and development to achieve their strategic business objectives. MAJOR FINDINGS This year we talked to many organizations from a variety of industries with proven, practical methods for leadership development and organizational change to compile this book. We asked them to share the approaches, tools, and specific methods that made their programs successful. These organizations have a strong financial history, formal human resource management programs that integrate company strategy with its program’s objectives, a strong pool of talent, passion for positive change, and proven results from their initiatives. All organizational initiatives were carefully screened through a six-phase diagnosis for an extraordinary leadership and organizational change program (see under A Step-by-Step System to Organization and Human Resources Development, below). We chose companies that have succeeded in successfully implementing results-driven transformational organization change that achieves positive business results. These are the companies where change is facilitated through
Slide 19: INTRODUCTION xvii Table I.2. Listing of Best Practice Case Studies by Company, Industry, Number of Employees, and Gross Revenue Company Agilent Technologies, Inc. Corning Delnor Hospital Emmis Communications First Consulting Group GE Capital Hewlett-Packard Honeywell Aeorspace Intel Lockheed Martin Mattel McDonald’s Corporation MIT Motorola Praxair St. Luke’s Hospital and Health Network StorageTek Windber Medical Center Industry Electronics Communications Health care Media Business services Finance Computer hardware Technology and manufacturing Manufacturing, electronics Aerospace and defense Consumer products Leisure, restaurant Education Telecommunications Chemicals Health care Computer hardware Health care Employees 36,000 23,300 1,382 3,080 1,775 315,000+ 141,000 100,000+ 78,700 125,000 25,000 413,000 9,400 97,000 25,010 5500 7,100 427 Revenues ($U.S.) $6,010.0 M $3,164.0 M $235.1 M $533.8 M $282.7 M $131.7 B $56,588.0 M $22,274 M $26,764.0 M $26,578.0 M $4,885.3 M $15,405.7 M $1,664.7 M $26,679.0 M $5,128.0 M $424 M $2,039.6 M $54 M integrated, multilevel programs that are systemic in nature, connect directly to business objectives and continuous improvement, and include the following shared elements. Commitment to Organizational Objectives and Culture Most of the initiatives we examined made a commitment to the strategic objectives or culture of the organization. Almost all of these initiatives have a message or vision upon which change or development was built. Emmis Communication
Slide 20: xviii INTRODUCTION stressed the following objectives in its change effort to promote better understanding and agreement on its structure, strategy, and culture: “Great Media, Great People, Great Service.” Lockheed Martin designed its cultural change management program around its three core competencies: • Candid and open communication • Taking personal action to unblock obstacles that prevent effective performance • Acting when the need exists rather than ignoring issues McDonalds’s leadership development program for regional managers enabled newly promoted managers to meet expectations while furthering the organization’s mission and strategic objectives by building the following competencies: • Developing a strategic perspective • Maximizing business performance • Gaining skills in insightful reasoning, problem solving, innovation, and mental agility Motorola’s leadership development program centered around leadership competencies and behaviors that promoted customer focus and superior performance—envision, energize, edge, and execute—which were later dubbed the “4e’s Always 1.” First Consulting Group (FCG) began by exhibiting one of FCG’s primary values: “Firm First.” It detailed objectives directing that leadership should • Eliminate barriers to the achievement of FCG’s vision • Build succession plans; identify, train, and support future generations of FCG leadership • Create an environment that causes leaders to interact and depend on one another • Instill Leadership First’s program values until they are as ingrained in FCG’s culture as its universal personal characteristics. • Be truly substantive rather than a “touchy-feely philosophical/conceptual” program • Ensure that the initiative is not a short-term “fad” remedy for current problems but something to be kept alive for a multiyear period MIT’s program is designed around the goal of creating an organization that constructs, operates, serves, and maintains physical space in ways that enhance MIT’s mission to advance knowledge and educate students in science, technology, and other areas of scholarship. The program at Corning addressed the need
Slide 21: INTRODUCTION xix to stress innovation as one of the most important quality programs because it transcends and affects all areas of the organization, thus serving as a common thread throughout the entire organization. StorageTek redefined its organizational objectives and in doing so has made strides toward producing a culture that is more employee-centered. Demonstrating greater commitment to its employees has helped reconnect the company with consumer needs and has resulted in greater productivity and a more optimistic outlook. Hewlett-Packard’s Dynamic Leadership was designed to address clear and compelling corporate needs with well-defined outcomes. To translate productivity into a true growth engine, Honeywell has successfully evolved Six Sigma from a process improvement initiative to a fundamental component of its leadership system with the powerful combination of Six Sigma, Lean, and Leadership. Changing Behaviors, Cultures, and Perceptions Sometimes leadership development and change programs transformed perceptions, behaviors, and culture(s) within a company. At MIT, employees have been documented as saying that they find themselves being more authentic in their interactions with coworkers and have the desire to create and be a part of an organization that “anticipates” learning opportunities. Decentralizing the institution and control of resources improved the way that operating divisions, previously functioning in independent silos, were innovating. At Mattel, Project Platypus demonstrated that delivering on the values of trust, communication, respect, and teamwork could literally pay off and that creativity in the process of innovation should be the rule rather than the exception. At Praxair, the new management team had to transform a loose confederation of businesses with different cultures, operating procedures, values, and ways of managing employees into a market leader that combines speed advantages of being small with the scale advantages of being large. HP recognized that in order to compete successfully in new market realities defined by global competition, with highquality products from Asia and Europe competing for market share in the United States as well as their home markets, required a management culture that was capable of engaging in high-speed collaboration, raising and resolving issues rapidly, and making informed decisions efficiently. At Windber Medical Center, Delnor Hospital, and St. Luke’s there was a definitive shift toward patientcentered care and significant improvements in employee and patient morale and satisfaction. Competency or Organization Effectiveness Models Virtually all of these programs have some sort of explicit model, usually using behavioral competencies or organization assessment metrics. These range from General Electric values to the metrics within Motorola’s performance management
Slide 22: xx INTRODUCTION system. Many of the study’s programs were specific to the behaviors required of coaches and managers who facilitate the performance management process. First Consulting Group’s creation of targeted objectives to assist in achieving the organization’s vision through an intensified and streamlined leadership development program, incorporating 360-degree/multi-rater feedback, suggests that leaders previously lacked self-awareness. MIT used adapted models based on the work of Peter Senge, organizational learning capabilities, and W. Warner Burke’s key competencies for organizational learning. These models frequently form the basis of multi-rater and other competency-based assessment tools, and often provide a focal point to the systemic design of the program itself. Strong Top Management Leadership Support and Passion Top leaders at the organization must not only budget for the change and leadership development initiative, they must also strongly believe in the initiative and model this behavior throughout the organization. Support from senior management has been identified by 88 percent of the contributors as a critical step in overcoming resistance to change. GE Capital energized its business leaders by designing its program around its leaders’ behaviors and values, a focus that generated buy-in in high levels of the organization, and by having participants work on projects for the office of the CEO. Windber Medical Center’s patient empowerment program was driven by its CEO, Nick Jacobs. In his account of Windber’s organizational change program and what drove its emphasis for patient-centered care at the hospital, President Jabobs writes, “When a patient walks into the typical hospital, the overwhelming confusing signage, the smell of antiseptics, the curt and often unforgiving attitude of the employees, and the awesome power of the physicians are usually clear indicators that they should leave their dignity at the door.” Jacobs is passionate about patient care, and it shows in the programs that he has supported for years. When Agilent first became an independent entity, its CEO made development of future leaders one of his first priorities. He drew on initiatives already in place to ensure buy-in and then improved on these processes by making them universally applicable. First Consulting Group demonstrated a strong sense of support from top-level executives through its creation of the Leadership Development Committee, which included the CEO, two vice presidents, and an eighteen-member task force of director and vice president-level staff, whose responsibility was to aide in conducting organizational assessment and benchmarking survey data to assist in the development of future organizational leaders. At Praxair, the change team recommended a four-step leadership strategy design process to engage Praxair Distribution, Inc.’s (PDI’s) top 175 managers in assessing the current state of the leadership practices and the changes required for PDI employees to become a sustainable source of competitive
Slide 23: INTRODUCTION xxi advantage. Former chairman and CEO of Honeywell Larry Bossidy’s zeal for Six Sigma was without a doubt exactly what the company needed to get this initiative off the ground and on the radar screen of every leader and employee. FCG is unique in that the firm’s CEO and executive committee serve as facilitators to the Leadership First program sessions, and one member is required to be a sponsor for the participants. A STEP-BY-STEP SYSTEM TO ORGANIZATION AND HUMAN RESOURCES DEVELOPMENT The Best Practices Institute has defined a six-phase system to leadership and organization change, which may be seen in most of the case studies in this book: 1. Business diagnosis 2. Assessment 3. Program design 4. Implementation 5. On-the-job support 6. Evaluation Phase One: Business Diagnosis The first phase is usually a diagnostic step in which the business drivers and rationale for creating the initiative are identified. Critical to this stage is enabling consensus and a sense of urgency regarding the need for the initiative. A future vision that is supported by management is a key factor of success for these programs. All of the systems have some model as a focal point for their work. The best of these models capture the imagination and aspirations of employees and the entire organization. Designing the system also leads to strategic questions, such as those taken from the GE Capital example: • What are biggest challenges facing the business—what keeps you awake at night? • If you had one message to future leaders of this business what would it be? • What will leaders need to do to address the business challenges? • What is it that you want to be remembered for as a leader? • What was your greatest defining moment that taught you the most about leadership? • What excites you most about your current role?
Slide 24: xxii INTRODUCTION HP conducted a survey on “Reinventing HP.” More than seven thousand managers and individual contributors responded. Several themes emerged that underscored the need to accelerate decision making and collaboration. Respondents throughout the organization recognized the need to accelerate decision making and increase accountability for action, thereby reinforcing senior management’s call for greater agility. A well-thought-out diagnostic phase is usually connected to an evaluation of the desired business impacts in Phase Six. Phase Two: Assessment Assessments range from GE Capital’s assessment system (in which participants complete a 360-feedback survey that includes a question to describe a particular person at peak performance) to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) to the Leadership Impact Survey (a survey that correlates leader behavior with organization culture and value) to First Consulting Group’s system (in which individual participant assessment is conducted with five vehicles: participant self-assessment, 360-degree and multi-rater feedback, external benchmarks, managerial style profile, and behavioral needs profile). Assessment has become a norm for business. The question is how we use the assessment to drive change in our businesses and ourselves. Agilent used it to develop leadership behavioral profiles based on the company’s strategic priorities, core values, and expectations of those in senior leadership roles. StorageTek performed an internal scan to determine what components of transformation were lacking. Praxair conducted the assessment process to prepare the organization for future changes by engaging more than five hundred employees: 175 leaders in the top three levels of management and over 325 employees across all fifteen regional businesses. Organizations such as General Electric, Intel, Motorola, McDonald’s, and others use behavioral analysis tools such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or 360-degree assessments. Individual coaching often accompanies this assessment to facilitate behavioral change in participants. This coaching has been extremely successful for firms such as GE Capital, Intel, Agilent, McDonald’s, and others. Phase Three: Program Design The following outstanding programs have several unique elements that are worthy of note. • Coaching. Intel’s coaching and mentoring system features internal coaches and a support network of program participants and graduates. Emmis Communications used coaching to help managers overcome resistance to cultural change.
Slide 25: INTRODUCTION xxiii • Selection of participants. Agilent’s coaching program has a results guarantee so employees are required to undergo a qualification process, including an interview before being allowed to participate. Intel uses an application process to screen out apathetic or disinterested candidates. McDonald’s selects only high-potential candidates chosen by their division presidents. • Action learning. General Electric, Mattel and McDonald’s use action learning as an integral part of their leadership development systems. In particular, General Electric’s action learning program focuses on solving real business problems, whereas McDonald’s centers around operational innovations. These programs address such questions as What is a “doable” project that still expands thinking? How do we set senior management’s expectations for the business value that the learning will produce? How do action teams stay together as learning groups over time? • Leveraging multiple tools. Every organization from Mattel to GE Capital took great care to use a variety of methods to train, develop, and innovate. At Hewlett-Packard (HP), the final design was a fast-paced program that interspersed presentations with small group work, practice, and discussions in order to provide sufficient depth and practice without overwhelming the participants or requiring excessive time out of the office. At Mattel, a small group was recruited to participate in an immersion program that included the use of floor-to-ceiling chalkboards and a twelve-by-forty-foot pushpin wall that acted as living journals, and selfdiscovery speakers to help each participant discover a renewed sense of self and expressiveness. • Use of current practices. Corning uses past strengths and successes to leverage future success. Through focusing on history and storytelling, Corning is able to increase entrepreneurial behavior. StorageTek was careful to build its organizational changes upon programs and practices that were already in place in order to lend a sense of stability and consistency to its initiatives. • Connection to core organizational purpose. St. Luke’s Hospital and Health System embraces some basic concepts that foster a culture of service excellence and form the basis of its models for leadership development such as its management philosophy, vision for patient satisfaction, PCRAFT core values, service excellence standards of performance, and performance improvement plan. These concepts include 1. Employee satisfaction yields patient satisfaction yields a successful “business” (Build your people . . . they build your business)
Slide 26: xxiv INTRODUCTION 2. Employee satisfaction begins and ends with effective leaders who provide vision, clear expectations regarding care and service, development and education, effective communication, role modeling, constructive feedback, and recognition 3. Effective leaders can and need to be developed 4. Leadership development and education is based on educating to change behavior At Windber Medical Center, there was a clear program built on the following transformational changes. The organization determined that it would focus on patient-centered care as the number-one priority of the organization; provide a loving, nurturing environment to the patients and their families; address all patient and patient family issues quickly and efficiently; and become recognized locally, regionally, and nationally for this new type of commitment to care that did not compromise the patients’ dignity. Phase Four: Implementation Almost all of the initiatives have a formalized training and development program or workshops to propel the change or development process into action. The following are components of several noteworthy training and development workshops: • Lockheed Martin trained leaders to teach new behavioral competencies to their employees in order to overcome their own resistance through public commitment to the behavioral competencies. Lockheed Martin also focused on a group of opinion leaders within the company to influence their peers during the cultural change effort. • First Consulting Group’s program, Leadership First, prides itself on employing a situational approach rather than a more typical subject matter approach by incorporating case studies based on actual FCG work and scenarios. Unlike many other programs that focus on motivation and communication, FCG’s program focuses on various skills. For example, when completing a merger case study, the potential leader must focus on a variety of issues: financial, legal, business and revenue implications, emotional, motivational, and communication. FCG is also unique in that the firm’s CEO and executive committee serve as facilitators to the sessions, and one member is required to be a sponsor for the participants. • Mattel’s Project Platypus centered on individual development in order to maximize creativity directed toward product innovation. Trust, respect, and communication were all encouraged through the use of storytelling, creative culture speakers, and “face-to-face” connection. Outside experts such as a Jungian Analyst and a Japanese Tea Master helped hone the team’s observational skills. Using the concepts of postmodernism and the company as a living
Slide 27: INTRODUCTION xxv system, the original group of twelve brainstormed, bonded, branded, and even researched in nontraditional ways; their efforts resulted in “Ello,” a hybrid building toy for girls that is expected to be a $100 million line. • To ensure that dynamic leadership principles were put into practice, HP implemented a rigorous postcourse management system using a commercial follow-through management tool (Friday5s®). In the concluding session of the program, participants were asked to write out two objectives to apply what they had learned to their jobs. The following week, participants were reminded of their goals by e-mail. A copy of each participant’s objectives was e-mailed to his or her manager to ensure that managers knew what their direct reports had learned and intended to work on. The system made each participant’s goals visible to all the other members of his or her cohort to encourage shared accountability and learning. These were entered into a group-specific Friday5s® website. The following week, participants were reminded of their goals by e-mail. Other companies implemented change-catalyst programs to help prevent systemic dysfunction. • A key exercise in MIT’s transformational program was a visionary exercise that focused on helping developing leaders envision change and see themselves as a part of the whole system. Envisioning the department operating in a healthy and productive way in five years stimulated participants to discuss what they are doing today to help ensure that transformation. Participants became involved in thinking in a new way and realized the impact their decisions had not only for the future of the department, but also on each other. • At Corning, an innovation task force was established to focus on the company’s successes and also identify short-comings—both considered an untapped resource that needed to be made more visible and understood by employees in order to champion and embrace the concept of innovation. Formalized training programs for employees of all levels were set up and became part of the basis for promotion, reviews, and hiring. Corning also instituted a program named Corning Competes, which is designed for continuous improvement of business practices through reengineering. • StorageTek knew that for its initiatives to be successful they would need to instill a sense of urgency, as well as ensure buy-in at all levels. They partnered with a company specializing in transforming strategic direction through employee dialogue to create a learning map called “Current Reality: The Flood of Information.” The map was extremely effective in engaging not only top-level leaders worldwide, but all StorageTek employees in discussion about the company’s competitive environment. The next step, which included additional communications and initiatives around achieving a high-performance culture, served to sustain the sense of urgency.
Slide 28: xxvi INTRODUCTION • At Praxair the assessment phase lasted over fifteen months and was far more than a few surveys or focus groups. It was an intensive set of actions, engaging more than five hundred employees and simultaneously laying the foundation for implementation actions endorsed by those whose behaviors were expected to change. Resistance during the implementation phase was virtually nonexistent. Phase Five: On-the-Job Support These benchmark programs reach beyond the boardrooms and classrooms and provide on-the-job reinforcement and support. Work in this phase defines the follow-up support that determines whether change and development will transfer on the job. In several of the programs, the support system outside of training is one of the most salient elements of the organization development–human resources development (OD-HRD) initiative. Motorola installed a performance management system to help transfer the shared goals of the organization to individual behavior. McDonald’s integrated program-specific insights with the overall organization’s ongoing personal development systems and processes. Emmis Communication celebrated individual achievements during special events and used a balanced scorecard measurement system to incorporate the desired behaviors to measure the company’s performance. Agilent uses a slightly different approach in its coaching system, involving periodic “check-ins” with the participants’ constituents throughout the coaching process. The check-in is important in part because the developmental goals addressed by the Accelerated Performance for Executives program often pertain to the relations between managers and their supervisor, peers, and supervisees, and so forth, and also because these constituents are the ones that determine whether or not a participants have been successful in their development. Along similar lines, Mattel increased manager participation in its innovation process so that when employees returned to their original roles after participating in Project Platypus, there was smoother reintegration and improved utilization of new skills. The coaching and mentoring case studies in this book are specifically designed to provide ongoing support and development for leadership development initiatives. Both the coaching and mentoring case studies, Intel and General Electric, are excellent examples of organizations that provide ongoing support for leadership development and more specifically the organization’s strategic business goals and objectives. Other organizations take a more direct approach to providing ongoing support and development for change by installing review processes. First Consulting Group, Motorola, MIT, and Praxair have ongoing review, monitoring, and analysis processes in place to ensure that
Slide 29: INTRODUCTION xxvii the new policies and procedures are being followed. Delnor Hospital helped teams stay on track by requiring department heads to develop ninety-day plans that outline specific actions to be taken each quarter in working toward annual goals. This principle is also built into the hospital’s review and evaluation system so everyone is held accountable for his or her performance in achieving individual, team, and organizational goals. Phase Six: Evaluation Evaluation is the capstone—the point at which the organization can gain insights on how to revise and strengthen a program, eliminate barriers to its reinforcement and use in the field, and connect the intervention back to the original goals to measure success. Several initiatives deserve noting in this stage: • McDonald’s uses behavioral measurements to assess the participants’ performance after the program, including the rate of promotion and performance evaluations. • Emmis Communication measures revenue per employee, employee survey results, and the rate of undesired turnover to measure the success of the change effort. • Lockheed Martin used employee surveys to track changes in critical behavior. The results indicated that units that achieved significant improvement in critical behaviors also improved in their financial performance. • Intel Fab 12’s leadership development program measures the effectiveness of its program based upon increased participants’ responsibility after graduation, postprogram self-assessments, peer recognition letters, and results of WOW! Projects implemented by participants while in the Leadership Development Forum. • GE Capital surveys participants about actions taken at the individual, team, and organizational levels to drive change. The surveys follow the original construct of the program around the three levels of leadership after graduation. A mini-360 is conducted around each participant’s specific development need; 95 percent of the participants show an improvement as viewed by their original feedback givers. Program evaluations are also conducted to ensure that the design and content remain relevant and adapt to a global audience. • Agilent used a combination of mini-surveys, telephone check-ins, and face-to-face interviews to determine perceived improvement in a leader’s overall leadership effectiveness and specific areas for development. The
Slide 30: xxviii INTRODUCTION aggregate results were impressive in that close to 80 percent of respondents felt that the leader rated had been successful in his or her development. That coaching results are guaranteed is another testament to the effectiveness of the program. CONCLUSION Should companies invest in organization and human resource development? Having spent an average of over U.S. $500 thousand and showing a return on investment (ROI) of an average two times their investment in leadership development and organizational change initiatives, most of the organizational contributors in this book would make a strong case for “yes!” Most of the initiatives in this book have made significant impacts on the culture and objectives of the organization. The impacts on the business and transfer on the job may have taken the form of improved global competitiveness, increased profitability, new product sales, increased shareholder value, or hardening of a company for a merger or acquisition. The exact metrics for these transformational impacts need to be continually studied, tracked, and measured. The future of the field of human resources, organization, and leadership development rests not only in its ability to prove return on investment and measure outcomes on a consistent basis, but is also contingent on several factors that will help sustain its continued growth and development. All eighteen best practice systems share four main factors: • Implementation and design with a full understanding of the uniqueness of the organizational culture and organizational system within the context of its social system • Whole-scale organizational excitement and belief in the programs and practices that are provided • Continual assessment of hard and soft measurements resulting from the program evaluated against costs • The creation of a profit model for development that is tied to business objectives Not unlike other major industries, the consulting and development business has become increasingly competitive during the past few years—especially after September 11, 2001, and the Gulf crises in 2003, among several other factors that have contributed to economic instability. Higher unemployment and layoffs within consulting firms have left hundreds of thousands of niche-independent consultants on the market. Organization and leadership development directors
Slide 31: INTRODUCTION xxix within organizations must be more mindful than ever to keep focus on their organizational objectives and needs when dealing with any outside consulting firm. I am reminded of the statement by John Atkinson, “If you don’t run your own life, someone else will.” It is sage advice to listen to your own needs and instincts for your organization, supported with sound data from all levels of your organization. Clearly, there are prominently shared views and approaches across the various industries and OD-HRD practices of what is needed to address the challenge of making change. The formula for organization development and change remains an important goal, which companies need to keep as an asset. We look forward to tracking these and other organizations as they continue in their leadership development and change journeys. October 2004 Louis Carter Waltham, Massachusetts David Ulrich Ville Mont Royal, Quebec Marshall Goldsmith Rancho Santa Fe, California
Slide 33: S CHAPTER ONE S Agilent Technologies, Inc. Agilent Technologies’ corporate-wide executive coaching program for high-performing and high-potential senior leaders features a customized 360-degree-feedback leadership profile, an international network of external coaches, and a “pay for results” clause linked to follow-up measurements. OVERVIEW BACKGROUND Early Coaching Efforts Agilent Global Leadership Profile DESIGN OF THE APEX PROGRAM Initial Objectives Five Coaching Options Results-Guarantee Clause Worldwide Coaching Pool Internal Marketing ABOUT THE APEX PROCESS Qualification and Coach Assignment What Do Coaches and Executives Do in the Program? Follow-Up with Key Stakeholders MEASUREMENT: THE MINI-SURVEY PROCESS RESULTS Figure 1.1: Aggregate Results for Overall Leadership Effectiveness Figure 1.2: Aggregate Results for Selected Areas of Development Figure 1.3: Aggregate Results for Follow-up Versus No Follow-up KEY INSIGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED EXHIBITS Exhibit 1.1: The Agilent Business Leader Inventory Exhibit 1.2: The Agilent Global Leadership Profile Exhibit 1.3: Agilent Sample Mini-Survey ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS 2 2 2 3 4 4 5 6 6 7 8 8 8 10 10 10 11 12 13 13 15 15 16 18 1
Slide 34: 2 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE OVERVIEW As a 47,000-person Silicon Valley “start-up,” Agilent Technologies was presented with an opportunity to begin anew. The senior leadership team set out to pursue the company’s future strategy and new corporate values. A focused leadership development program aligned with the company’s strategic initiatives, including an integrated executive coaching program, quickly became a corporate imperative. This case study will highlight the development and implementation of Agilent’s APEX (Accelerated Performance for Executives) coaching program. APEX has served over one hundred leaders through a sixty-person, worldwide coaching pool over the past two and one-half years. Based on feedback from raters, over 95 percent of the leaders have demonstrated positive improvement in overall leadership effectiveness while participating in the program. The lessons learned by Agilent Technologies in the implementation of the APEX program serve as valuable insights for any organization committed to the continuing development of key leaders. BACKGROUND In 1999, Hewlett-Packard (HP) announced a strategic realignment to create two companies. One, HP, included all the computing, printing, and imaging businesses. Another, a high-tech “newco,” comprised test and measurement components, chemical analysis, and medical businesses. This second company would be named Agilent Technologies. Agilent became entirely independent on November 18, 1999, while being afforded the NYSE ticker symbol “A” in the largest initial public offering in Silicon Valley history. New corporate headquarters were constructed on the site of HP’s first owned and operated research and development (R&D) and manufacturing facility in Palo Alto, California. At the time of its “birth,” Agilent declared three new corporate values to guide its future: speed, focus, and accountability. Agilent also retained the “heritage” HP values: uncompromising integrity, innovation, trust, respect, and teamwork. With a clear understanding of the need for strong individual leaders to build and sustain the company, an immediate requirement emerged to construct the leadership development strategy. The development of future leaders was and remains one of CEO Ned Barnholt’s critical few priorities. Early Coaching Efforts A key piece of the emerging leadership development plan would include executive coaching aimed at further developing key executives who were already recognized as high-potential or high-performing leaders.
Slide 35: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 3 Executive coaching had an established track record within HP, but efforts were generally uncoordinated. Coaching hadn’t been strategically integrated within the company’s leadership development initiatives. Multiple vendors and individual practitioners provided different coaching programs at varied prices. Learning from hindsight, Agilent had a desire to accomplish two early objectives: (1) to create an outstanding “corporate recommended” integrated coaching program and (2) to benefit from a preferred discount rate. One of Agilent’s operating units, the Semiconductor Products Group (SPG), had engaged in a coordinated, “results-guaranteed” coaching program beginning in summer 1999 with Keilty, Goldsmith & Company (later to become Alliance for Strategic Leadership Coaching & Consulting). Over fifty of SPG’s senior leaders would receive one-year leadership effectiveness (behavioral) coaching, which included a unique “results guarantee.” The effort attracted positive attention in the company and would later form the foundation of the APEX program. In February 2000, Dianne Anderson, Agilent’s global program manager, was charged with designing the corporate coaching solution for the company’s senior managers and executives (about 750 people worldwide). She worked with Brian Underhill of Keilty, Goldsmith & Company to collaborate on the design and delivery of the new APEX program, based on the same successful coaching model used within SPG. Agilent Global Leadership Profile At the outset of the APEX program, it was agreed that a critical need centered on the development of a new leadership behavioral profile to clearly and accurately reflect the company’s strategic priorities, core values, and expectations of those in senior leadership roles. Although a leadership inventory had been previously custom-designed to begin the SPG divisional coaching effort, at this time it was largely agreed that an Agilent-wide profile would be needed to position the leadership behaviors throughout the whole organization in a consistent fashion. This next-generation leadership profile was drafted, based upon key strategic imperatives of top management, Agilent’s new and heritage core values, and SPG’s original profile. After gathering feedback from multiple sources, the Agilent Business Leader Inventory was created in summer 2000. The primary competencies are provided in Exhibit 1.1. Later, in spring 2001, Agilent decided to update the Agilent Business Leader Inventory and create a set of profiles that would span all management levels from first-level managers through senior business leaders. A multifunctional team of Agilent and A4SL Coaching & Consulting (A4SL C&C) people set out to create the new profiles. Through a several-month iterative process of document review, internal inputs, and refinements, a scalable and aligned Global Leadership Profile was developed for use throughout the organization. In the end, the midlevel/firstlevel manager profile turned out to be 80 percent the same as the executive
Slide 36: 4 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE profile, with only slight differences in some of the specific behavioral descriptions for “Leads Strategy & Change” and “Drives for Results” areas. Finally, both profiles were reviewed by a senior manager in each of Agilent’s business units and by representatives of non-U.S. geographies. Feedback from these reviews was incorporated into the final product, and hence the Agilent Global Leadership Profile was ready for consistent application across all divisions and has been in use since summer 2001. The primary competencies are outlined in Exhibit 1.2. Assessment Plus of Atlanta, Georgia, served as APEX’s scoring partner throughout the multiple revisions of the profile. DESIGN OF THE APEX PROGRAM Initial Objectives During the same time that the design of the initial leadership profile was taking place, the basic components of the new coaching program were being considered and crafted. From the outset, the Agilent viewpoint was a coaching program that could address multiple objectives, including • Senior manager and executive focus. Candidates for APEX participation included vice presidents, corporate officers, business unit leaders, general managers, directors, and functional managers. • Global reach. Agilent is a worldwide organization with facilities in more than sixty countries, including the United States. The APEX program would need to effectively serve leaders with coaches in the local region (as often as possible) or within an hour’s flight. The goal was to provide multiple coaching options within each geographic area. Awareness of local cultural nuances would be critical, and local language capability would be highly preferred. • Flexible and user-friendly. APEX needed to be user-friendly from start to finish. To accomplish that a simple menu of options was created, which was suitable for a range of budgets and varying levels of interest in the coaching process. Priority was also placed on creating a program that made it easy to initiate a coaching engagement and easy to administer payment for coaching services. • Accountability for results. APEX needed to provide added value for Agilent. In return for the company’s investment in them, participants would need to demonstrate positive, measurable change in leadership effectiveness as seen by direct reports and colleagues. Several months of design ensued to meet these objectives. The structure of several coaching options was outlined. A general program description was drafted. A global coaching pool was established, emphasizing locations of
Slide 37: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 5 Agilent’s key global facilities. Certification standards for APEX coaches were determined. Procurement standards were established to smooth the contracting process. Procedures to guide the 360-degree feedback and follow-up survey scoring were created. Finally, pages on the corporate intranet were developed that contained the program description, pricing, coach bios, and contracting information. The APEX groundwork was now in place. By design, APEX would be a behaviorally based executive coaching approach, focusing on improving leadership behaviors on the job. APEX would not be used for career planning, life planning, strategic planning, or remedial coaching. This distinction was to be made clear throughout the marketing process. In May 2000 at a corporate Leadership Development Showcase, the Accelerated Performance for Executives program was officially launched. APEX was introduced to human resource (HR) managers and leadership development specialists throughout the organization. The first participants signed up. Although refinements and new services were continually added, the APEX program history now shows two-plus years of delivering results consistent with the original program objectives. Five Coaching Options Based upon an achievement-oriented mountaineering theme implied by the program name, the full APEX offering includes five appropriately named coaching options: Base Camp. Executive participates in the Agilent Global Leadership Profile and receives a two- to four-hour face-to-face coaching session to review results, select area(s) of development, receive on-the-spot coaching, and create a developmental action plan. Camp 2. Executive participates in the Agilent Global Leadership Profile and receives six months of face-to-face and telephone coaching and one minisurvey follow-up measurement. Coach conducts telephone “check-in” with key stakeholders. Coaching work is guaranteed for results. Camp 3. Executive receives six months of face-to-face and telephone coaching and one mini-survey follow-up measurement. Coach conducts up to twelve interviews with key stakeholders and provides write-up of results. Coach conducts telephone “check-in” with key stakeholders. Coaching work is guaranteed for results. High Camp. Executive participates in the Agilent Global Leadership Profile and receives one year of face-to-face and telephone coaching plus two mini-survey follow-up measurements. Coach conducts telephone “checkin” with key stakeholders. Coaching work is guaranteed for results. Summit. Executive receives one year of face-to-face and telephone coaching and two mini-survey follow-up measurements. Coach conducts up to
Slide 38: 6 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE twelve interviews with key stakeholders and provides write-up of results. Coach conducts telephone “check-in” with key stakeholders. Coaching work is guaranteed for results. In addition, several add-on options were made available, including additional interviews, instruments, and team and group-based experiences. The intention of multiple options was to allow participants maximum flexibility and selection in their coaching experience. Participants in each option were allowed to upgrade or extend into the next higher option without penalty (for example, from six to twelve months). Some line executives have elected to add a team-building objective with intact team participation in APEX. The most commonly selected option has been High Camp. Results-Guarantee Clause Most of the APEX options include a unique offer from A4SL Coaching & Consulting: a results guarantee. Leaders don’t pay until coaching is complete and leaders don’t pay unless they improve. Improvement is determined by those working with and rating the leader, not by the leader him- or herself. This approach has proven to be popular among Agilent executives. In spite of a challenging market environment, leaders can continue their personal development efforts and delay payment for professional services for up to one year. Plus, leaders know beforehand that they will only pay for demonstrated perceived improvements in their effectiveness as determined via a follow-up mini-survey process. The results-guarantee clause requires “qualification” of potential participants (more on that below). Leaders leaving the program early or who have been determined to no longer be committed are billed a pro-rated amount for the professional fees. Further, in establishing a relationship with one coaching vendor, Agilent has been able to negotiate a preferred rate. Coaching fees are set as flat rates for each option. Coaches are encouraged to help achieve measurable change without incentivizing them to spend excessive billable time, wasting money and the leader’s valuable time in the process. Worldwide Coaching Pool A recurring challenge during the rollout of the program has been the assurance for the availability of qualified coaching resources on a worldwide basis. As a virtual organization, A4SL Coaching & Consulting contracts with independent coaches to deliver coaching services on a worldwide basis. This means A4SL C&C can add coaches to an Agilent coaching pool without incurring additional expenses. Coaches had to agree to be compensated in the same manner as the results guarantee—no payment (except expenses) until the conclusion of the coaching
Slide 39: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 7 program and no payment without successful improvement. Sourcing coaches in the United States was not difficult. However, in Europe and Asia, where executive coaching is less established, quality practitioners have been fewer in number and extremely busy, thus making it difficult to entice them to agree to the results guarantee. With the wide variance and lack of regulation in the coaching arena in general, it became evident from the outset that a set of coach certification guidelines was needed. Minimum APEX coach requirements were established, which included significant experience working with senior executives, experience as a behavioral coach, multiple years in leadership roles, and an advanced degree. The results guarantee serves as a natural qualifier. That is, generally, the quality coaches believe in their work (and have enough of it), so they can guarantee the results while affording a delay in compensation. Also, coaches agree to participate in company conference calls, remain current in their profession, and abide by a set of ethical guidelines. Coach bios are screened and potential coaches are interviewed in detail. The coaching pool has grown to over sixty coaches worldwide. Each coach participates in a telephone orientation and receives a sixty-page orientation package. Agilent now hosts quarterly conference calls to keep coaches informed on corporate news, learn about the coaches’ challenges in working with Agilent leaders, and provide a forum for peer-to-peer learning. Internal Marketing In that APEX stands as a corporate-developed recommended approach, there has never been a guarantee that any of the decentralized businesses would take advantage of the program. Early on, it was agreed that an internal marketing campaign was necessary to highlight the benefits of the APEX program. The Leadership Development Showcase served as an appropriate opening for the program. Similar presentations were then conducted in a variety of internal HR and leadership development sessions, both in person and via telephone during summer and fall 2000. As the program grew, word of mouth became an extremely effective marketing tool. As more leaders participated in the program, word began to spread internally. Some line executives have nominated themselves and entire reporting teams to go through the program together as a unit. Higher-profile leaders have been some early adopters, including multiple corporate officers and vice presidents (VPs). It became apparent that the HR managers were well networked with each other as well. As a result, word of APEX spread through the Agilent HR community. Finally, a corporate intranet site and supporting documentation were created, allowing for easy distribution of information about the program. Much time was spent crafting crisp, straight-to-the-point documentation to assist business leaders in understanding the program quickly.
Slide 40: 8 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE ABOUT THE APEX PROCESS Qualification and Coach Assignment Due to the unique nature of the results guarantee, APEX requires a participant qualification process. Potential participants conduct a brief interview with the A4SL Coaching & Consulting program manager to determine any specific needs and to ensure that APEX will meet their objectives. Participants need to indicate a genuine interest in the program (rather than being “told” to do it), be willing to receive feedback, select areas for development, and follow up with key stakeholders regularly regarding their development goals. Based on this initial conversation, the program manager sends the participant a set of bios for two to four coaches, based on the participant’s needs, style, and location. Participants then telephone interview the coaches, learning more about the coach’s style, approach, and background. At the same time, coaches ask questions to determine any unique needs or issues for this individual. In this fashion, executives have a greater sense of ownership in the process. Encouraging the participant to select a coach greatly reduces mismatches. As a further and final qualifier, leaders are required to fund APEX through their own budgets. (Agilent corporate sponsors the design and ongoing development for APEX but not the individual engagements.) What Do Coaches and Executives Do in the Program? What actually takes place between the A4SL C&C coach and the participating Agilent leader during the delivery of the APEX process? In the broadest terms, the coach’s efforts in the delivery of coaching services are directed toward two dimensions: 1. The overall feedback process—guiding the participant through the initial online 360-degree feedback solicitation and one or two minisurveys, as well as helping the participant both debrief and follow up with feedback raters and providers. 2. Content coaching—helping the participant become more effective in a targeted area (for example, listening skills, influencing without position power, coaching others). For most APEX assignments, the development targets are derived via the administration of Agilent’s customized 360-dgree feedback instrument, the Agilent Global Leadership Profile. APEX coaching assignments have tended to originate in one of two ways. The primary method is through individuals entering the program, generally at the suggestion of a manager or HR manager. In other cases, a senior Agilent executive nominates his or her leadership team to undergo development via the
Slide 41: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 9 APEX program. Each individual selects an A4SL C&C coach, and the process is initiated. As individual energies rise within the APEX coaching partnerships, team synergies also grow around the collective personal development efforts. The two objectives of personal development and team development are well served in this model. On a side note, there is a benefit in the team model particularly with regard to the online collection of the 360-degree feedback data. That is, when full teams are nominated to participate together as a unit, the data collection process happens simultaneously for individual members, and frequently the fact that the whole team is participating creates a greater sense of urgency. The APEX coaching process includes in-person visits coupled with regular, ongoing telephone or e-mail contact. In practice, coaches visit participating Agilent leaders approximately every six to eight weeks (in any given APEX assignment, the number of visits may be higher or lower). Telephone and e-mail contact during a typical month could range from one to six contacts. It is interesting that for an extended period spanning most of the APEX program’s existence, Agilent has been operating under a restricted travel policy. Although an immediate impact on some APEX assignments was a decrease in travel (particularly internationally), most APEX partnerships continued to benefit through the increased use of telephone and e-mail contact. This travel restriction was successfully handled, in part, through A4SL C&C’s global pool of coaches to supply local coaching resources particularly in key international sites. Also, some coaches have had multiple APEX assignments at a given Agilent site (for example Santa Clara; Denver; and Boeblingen, Germany), thereby making even regular travel more economical, since the cost was shared by multiple participants. During each individual coaching session, any number of topics may be covered: • Explore the current business context to determine what may be different or similar since the last coaching session • Review perceived progress toward the developmental action plan • Identify resources and tools to support the executive’s change efforts • Review the executive’s recent experiences with his or her behavioral goals • Shadow the Agilent leader and observe first-hand personal leadership tendencies (for example, staff meeting, team meeting, feedback delivery, key presentation) • Role play (coach and Agilent executive assume roles, do a practice delivery or dry run, and conduct critique and review) • Prepare for or review follow-up efforts with key stakeholders and feedback providers • Set action items to complete for next coaching session
Slide 42: 10 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Follow-Up with Key Stakeholders The APEX program was grounded in the A4SL Coaching & Consulting research regarding the impact of follow-up on perceived leadership effectiveness. In virtually every organization in which A4SL C&C has delivered coaching services, one lesson is universally the same: regular follow-up with key stakeholders equates with perceived improvement in leadership effectiveness. At least some of the Agilent executives who were seen as following up effectively probably informed raters of their development objectives during the initial debrief of the 360-degree results. The initial debriefing is ideally a focused, five- to ten-minute individual meeting held with each respondent immediately after the 360-degree report is received. The follow-up addresses • Thanking raters for providing anonymous 360-degree input • Relating the positive feedback • Disclosing the developmental goal(s) • Enlisting the rater’s help in the participant’s developmental efforts Having conducted this “initial debriefing,” APEX participants are encouraged to follow up with raters at regular intervals (quarterly on average) to pursue additional feedback on their improvement. Figure 1.3 provides some compelling data demonstrating the difference in perceived improvement among those APEX participants who followed up and those who did not. MEASUREMENT: THE MINI-SURVEY PROCESS APEX coaching includes up to two online mini-surveys (see Exhibit 1.3). In addition to providing a clear insight into perceptions of behavioral change, these mini-survey results are used to determine improvement for purposes of the results-guarantee clause as well. Mini-surveys are short, three- to five-item questionnaires completed by a leader’s key stakeholders. Raters are asked to measure improvement in the leader’s overall leadership effectiveness and specific areas for development. Raters also indicate whether the leader has followed up with them regarding his or her areas for development. Additional written comments are also requested. Aside from verifying individual improvement, mini-survey data can be aggregated to provide team, group, or corporate-level improvement data. RESULTS APEX results to date (as demonstrated by aggregated mini-survey data) are impressive. Figure 1.1 depicts aggregate results regarding improvements in overall leadership effectiveness. (Data originate from APEX as well as original SPG raters.)
Slide 43: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 35.0% 32.8% 30.0% 25.0% 21.6% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.6% 0.0% –3 –2 –1 Less effective 0 1 2 3 1.1% 1.0% 19.1% 11 23.7% More effective Figure 1.1 Aggregate Results for Overall Leadership Effectiveness. Source: Data collected and managed by Assessment Plus. Question: Has this person become more or less effective as a leader since the feedback session? Scale: 3 “less effective” to 3 “more effective” N 831 raters Seventy-three leaders Nearly 57 percent of respondents felt that APEX leaders had improved in overall leadership effectiveness to a 2 or 3 level. Over 78 percent of respondents felt that APEX leaders had improved to a 1, 2, or 3 level. Nineteen percent of respondents felt that leaders did not change, whereas nearly 3 percent felt that leaders got worse. Figure 1.2 depicts improvement in participants’ selected areas for development. (Once again, the data originate from all APEX as well as original SPG raters.) Improvement on specific areas for development selected by leaders Scale: 3 “less effective” to 3 “more effective” N 2276 raters Seventy-three leaders
Slide 44: 12 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE 35.0% 32.2% 30.0% 25.0% 20.5% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.7% 0.0% –3 –2 –1 Less effective 0 1 2 3 0.5% 1.6% 22.8% 21.7% 23.7% More effective Figure 1.2 Aggregate Results for Selected Areas of Development. Source: Data collected and managed by Assessment Plus. Nearly 54 percent of respondents felt leaders improved in their selected developmental goals to a 2 or 3 level. Nearly 77 percent felt leaders improved to a 1, 2, or 3 level. Nearly 21 percent of raters did not perceive any change, whereas 2 percent perceived leaders as getting worse. Results for those leaders who followed up versus those who did not (from APEX and the original SPG groups) N 831 raters Seventy-three leaders Of the 831 raters, 530 (64 percent) believed leaders followed up with them versus 301 (36 percent) who perceived no follow-up. Nearly 67 percent of followingup leaders were seen as improving to a 2 or 3 level, compared to 38 percent for those who did not follow up. More notably, 35 percent of leaders who did not follow up were perceived as staying the same (0) compared to nearly 11 percent who did follow up. Over 5 percent of those who did not follow up were perceived as getting worse, compared to 1.2 percent of the follow-up group. In addition, positive feedback was frequently reported through the qualitative remarks of the mini-surveys.
Slide 45: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 45.0% 40.0% 35.0% 30.0% 27.7% 25.0% 20.0% 16.6% 15.0% 10.0% 5.0% 0.0% 1.0% 0.4% –3 2.8% 0.2% –2 1.7% 0.6% 0 1 2 3 10.5% 22.4% 21.2% 34.5% 39.5% 13 21.1% –1 Less effective No follow-up More effective Follow-up Figure 1.3 Aggregate Results for Follow-up Versus No Follow-up. Source: Data collected and managed by Assessment Plus. Overall, APEX results to date have been very encouraging. Leaders are improving in both overall leadership effectiveness and their selected areas for development, as perceived by those working with the leaders. KEY INSIGHTS AND LESSONS LEARNED The following are some key insights and lessons learned from the APEX experience that may enable any organization to more effectively implement an executive coaching program:
Slide 46: 14 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE • Senior leadership commitment to APEX. In the last two years, from 2001 to 2003, the technology sector has suffered its worst downturn in recent history. Agilent’s APEX program stands as a visible demonstration by senior leadership of their continuing commitment to developing leaders by sponsoring executive and personal development even in a difficult market climate. Many “highprofile” senior leaders were early APEX adopters, and they inspired many more leaders to enroll in the program. • Personal commitment of Agilent leaders. The majority of APEX participants have displayed a high level of personal commitment to self-development as displayed through their respective individual coaching partnerships. The APEX program has experienced a very low percentage of participants becoming disinterested or dropping out; most participants enjoy favorable feedback from mini-surveys administered at the program’s conclusion. The investments being made in personal development pay dividends for most APEX participants over time. • Worldwide scope of APEX. A key challenge in the development of the program was locating and retaining high-level coaches internationally who are willing to work under the results-guarantee clause. Early difficulties have since been overcome in developing an international network of qualified coaches willing to work within the performance-guarantee clause. Prior to this, some coaches traveled internationally to deliver APEX coaching services. • APEX target audience. Since its inception, APEX has been and remains a developmental tool targeting high-performing or high-potential Agilent executives. It is not intended to serve as a remedial process for an underperforming executive or as a performance-assessment program. APEX candidates are first screened by Agilent’s Leadership Development Group to ensure that APEX is a good fit. • Coach follow-up with feedback raters. APEX coaches keep in regular contact with a leader’s key stakeholders. Coaches want to know whether the leader’s new behaviors are being noticed by their raters. The only APEX assignment to go full term without achieving successful results had a coach who was out of touch with the raters and did not recognize their continual dissatisfaction with the leader. Because raters are “customers” in the process, coaches regularly communicate with them. • Coach mismatches. The possibility of coach mismatches appears to have been addressed and minimized. Participants starting in the APEX program receive biographies of up to four A4SL C&C coaches within their geographic area. Executives then contact and screen from this set of prospective coaches, and ultimately select their coach. By allowing executives to largely self-select, the APEX experience has yielded very few mismatches. In those very few instances in which a mismatch has surfaced, alternative coaches have been made available.
Slide 47: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 15 Exhibit 1.1. The Agilent Business Leader Inventory • Delivers superior market-driven performance Focuses externally on the customer Drives for results Models speed Models focus Models innovation • Practices active leadership Leads people Actively manages talent Models accountability Models trust, respect, and teamwork Models uncompromising integrity • Builds equity in the Agilent brand Practices strategic portfolio management Promotes a global brand Creates a boundaryless organization Exhibit 1.2. The Agilent Global Leadership Profile • Delivers high-growth performance Focuses externally on the customer Drives for results Models speed Models focus Models accountability • Practices active leadership Leads strategy and change Actively develops self Actively manages talent Models uncompromising integrity Models innovation • Acts globally Creates a global organization Models trust, respect, and teamwork
Slide 48: 16 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 1.3. Agilent Sample Mini-Survey Agilent Technologies Mini-Survey Follow-up to the 360-Assessment Return Information: You are rating Alison Jerden. You are in the “PEERS” rater group. Your Web ID is 434-211667. You may take this survey online by going to . . . http://www.assessmentplus.com/survey or . . . Fax this survey to 1.413.581.2791 or . . . Mail this survey via traceable carrier (FedEx, UPS, etc.) to . . . Assessment Plus 1001 Main Street Stone Mountain, GA 30083-2922 YOUR FEEDBACK MUST BE RECEIVED BY AUGUST 09, 2000 If you have any questions, please call Alison Jerden at 1.800.536.1470 or email ajerden@assessmentplus.com Company Items C1 Since the feedback session, has this person followed-up with you regarding how he/she can improve? 1: No 2: Yes C2 Do you feel this person has become more or less effective as a leader since the feedback session? (Do not consider environmental factors beyond this person’s control.) 3: Less Effective 2: 1: 0: No Change 1: 2: 3: More Effective N: No Information Original 360 Survey Items Please rate the extent to which this individual has increased/decreased in effectiveness in the following areas of development during the past several months. 2. Distills market knowledge into meaningful trends and patterns 3: Less Effective 2: 1: 0: No Change 1: 2: 3: More Effective N: No Information 2a Do you feel that change was needed in the area mentioned in the previous question? 1: No 2: Yes
Slide 49: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 17 Exhibit 1.3. (Continued) 14 Effectively communicates higher organization’s vision –3: Less Effective –2: –1: 0: No Change 1: 2: 3: More Effective N: No Information 14a Do you feel that change was needed in the area mentioned in the previous question? 1: No 2: Yes 30 Openly shares information –3: Less Effective –2: –1: 0: No Change 1: 2: 3: More Effective N: No Information 30a Do you feel that change was needed in the area mentioned in the previous question? 1: No 2: Yes You are rating Alison Jerden Comments What has been done in the past several months that you have found to be particularly effective? What can this person do to become more effective as a manager in the development areas noted above?
Slide 50: 18 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS Brian O. Underhill is a senior consultant and coach with Alliance for Strategic Leadership Coaching & Consulting, specializing in leadership development and multi-rater (360 degree) feedback, executive coaching, and organizational culture. Brian designs and implements large-scale, results-guaranteed, executive coaching programs at multiple organizations. His executive coaching work has successfully focused on helping clients achieve positive, measurable, long-term change in leadership behavior. His clients have included Agilent Technologies, AT&T, California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Johnson & Johnson, Sun Microsystems, and Warner Lambert. Brian has a Ph.D. and a M.S. degree in organizational psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology (Los Angeles). Dianne Anderson is committed to helping individuals and organizations achieve learning, change, and growth. In her current position as global program manager for Agilent Technologies, Inc., she is responsible for all global executive coaching programs, and for learning and organizational effectiveness consulting to one of Agilent’s business units. Dianne’s career includes leadership positions and operational experience in worldwide marketing for HewlettPackard (HP), as well as positions in R&D. Dianne’s seventeen-plus years of operating experiences have prepared her to develop the skills, knowledge, and abilities of senior management so they can more effectively compete in the global marketplace. Over her career she has managed complex organizations with multi-million dollar budgets, with experience in line and staff positions at the business unit and corporate levels, and had responsibility for building key marketing and sales capabilities. Robert A. Silva, since January 2002, has served as head of the coaching practice area for A4SL Coaching & Consulting, a consulting group based in San Diego that specializes in leadership development. Prior to his current role, Bob served as one of the seven directors of Keilty, Goldsmith & Company from 1987 to 2001. Bob’s business background includes experience in the investment field with Paine, Webber in Boston, and fourteen years in sales management with Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Company in New England. During his fifteen years as a consultant and coach, Bob has focused on the design and delivery of training to promote leadership development, organizational values, and team effectiveness. Bob’s primary emphasis since the mid-1990s has been in the area of executive coaching, helping leading organizations succeed by enhancing the leadership effectiveness of key individuals. Karen Walker is the director of client solutions for Assessment Plus and directs the data services for the Agilent programs. Assessment Plus is an Atlanta-based
Slide 51: AGILENT TECHNOLOGIES, INC. 19 consulting firm specializing in web-based assessments to maximize results from leadership, team, and organizational effectiveness programs. Karen teaches a 360 Feedback Certification course for Corporate Coach University and a workshop on Best Practices for Implementing 360 Programs through the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Some of Karen’s organizational survey clients include Acushnet, Cox Enterprises, Lend Lease, Marsh, Porsche, Vicinity, and Consumer Credit Counseling Services. Karen coaches executives taking part in leadership assessment programs for organizations including the American Cancer Society, Citigroup, Lockheed Martin, Akzo Nobel, BMW, Kodak, and Sun Microsystems. Karen has a degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology and completed her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology at the University of Georgia.
Slide 52: S CHAPTER TWO S Corning A change and innovation system that enables best practices in marketing, manufacturing, and product development through Corning’s five stage gate process, manufacturing process, innovation pipeline, innovation process, learning coaches and continuous evaluation features. OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION DIAGNOSIS: STAY OUT OF OUR HAIR AND FIX IT Organizational Challenge Change Objective Assessment Approach INTERVENTION: KEY ELEMENTS Figure 2.1: Five-Stage Stage-GateTM Model Turning Point Critical Success Factors Figure 2.2: Innovation People! Innovation in Marketing Innovation in Manufacturing HIGH-TECH COMPANY Corning Competes Innovation Today Background Contemporary Success Story: Innovation at Its Best Figure 2.3: Manufacturing Process ON-THE-JOB SUPPORT: REINFORCING THE REINFORCEMENTS Innovative Effectiveness Figure 2.4: Corning Innovation Pipeline Ideas into Dollars 21 22 22 23 23 24 24 25 26 27 27 27 28 29 29 30 30 31 31 32 33 33 34 34 20
Slide 53: CORNING 21 Figure 2.5: Ideas into Dollars Table 2.1: Innovation Delivery Evaluation THE LEARNING MACHINE: DRIVING SUBSTAINABLE VALUE AND GROWTH Figure 2.6: Innovation Process The Learning Machine: Providing New Angles on Insight Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning Enhancing the Learning Culture: Building Bridges to Enable Innovation Figure 2.7: Accelerating Learning by Building Bridges Across Organizations Learning Coaches: Establishing a New Core Competency in R&D LESSONS LEARNED POSTLOGUE: CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR 35 35 36 36 36 37 37 38 39 39 40 41 42 OVERVIEW Many dream of reinventing themselves as nimble technology companies. Corning has actually done it. —Charlie Cray, Wall Street Journal For over a century, Corning Incorporated has been a company synonymous with technology-based innovation. Today the spirit of innovation is stronger than ever. This management case study will look at the evolution of the current innovation process practiced at Corning. The case will describe the approach used to successfully create, implement, and grow a world-class, systematic new product innovation process. It will also chronicle those who have championed innovation as a best practice for nearly two decades. In 1984, then Vice Chairman Tom MacAvoy was asked to “fix” Corning’s approach to innovation; the technology cupboard was bare. To get James R. Houghton (Jamie), Corning’s chairman & CEO (1983–1996; 2001-current) to bless this effort, MacAvoy stressed the significance of the innovation process as the most important quality program in the company. Learning how to innovate on a systematic basis over a long period, formerly a tacit matter, was now to be formally articulated so that it could be practiced across the company. Today, the innovation process is alive and well at Corning. In fact, it is clear that the company’s expertise in this area is going to play a significant role in positioning Corning for sustainable value and growth. As Corning’s current Chief Technology Officer Joe Miller states emphatically, “Innovation will lead the way.”
Slide 54: 22 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE INTRODUCTION Corning Incorporated, responsible for at least three life-changing product innovations—the light bulb envelope, TV tube, and optical waveguides— celebrated its 150th anniversary in 2001. Known for shedding old, mature businesses while establishing its leadership in innovative new product lines and process technologies, the company was awarded the National Medal of Technology for innovation in 1993. The drive to remain innovative and reinvent itself is at the crux of Corning’s identity and has been since Amory Houghton, Sr. (Jamie’s great-great grandfather) founded the company in the 1850s as a small, specialty glass manufacturer. In the 1870s, Houghton’s sons—Amory, Jr., and Charles—established Corning’s tradition of scientific inquiry and emphasis on specialty glass products. They believed very strongly in creating unique products for mankind and in staying away from the mundane and the ordinary. They believed, therefore, in innovation and research and development. The next generation, Alanson and Arthur, institutionalized research by bringing under management the company’s collective ingenuity. In 1908, they set up one of the earliest corporate research laboratories in the United States, one of four at the time. Corning’s experience since then offers countless examples in which innovative activities aimed at one objective have borne fruit in many arenas. Employees have responded to business challenges by finding new and innovative uses for specialty materials. The company’s best business successes have resulted from its ability to tailor specialty materials for particular applications. We will focus on one such example, EAGLE2000TM, in some depth later in the case, one that used the innovation process to achieve a great result. Starting with a semiformal, six-plus-stage process used in the 1960s and early 1970s, Corning’s innovation process has evolved through five iterations to its current manifestation as a centralized component of product development. DIAGNOSIS: STAY OUT OF OUR HAIR AND FIX IT As vice chairman with special responsibilities for technology from 1983 to 1986, Tom MacAvoy found himself the target of open resentment expressed by the operating divisions, which seemed to believe that they had been bearing the burdens of an insufficiently productive, centralized technical establishment for far too long. Business leaders were given extremely challenging profit and loss (P&L) targets to meet. They felt the high cost and inefficiencies of research, development, and engineering (RD&E) were a major stumbling block to meeting their numbers. “Stay out of our hair and fix it” was the message MacAvoy was hearing.
Slide 55: CORNING 23 Organizational Challenge Innovation at Corning, as in U.S. industry more broadly in the 1980s, was a concept that had fallen out of public favor. This did not mean that Jamie Houghton would cut the R&D budget as a percentage of sales; he reasserted his personal commitment to maintain research and development (R&D) spending at 4 to 5 percent at that time. Although this was twice the national average and quite competitive for the glass industry, it was hardly in the ballpark for a “high-tech” company, where 6 to 8 percent was closer to the norm. Today, in 2004, R&D spending is at 10 to 11 percent of sales and expected to stay at that level. One universal method of “fixing” R&D in the 1980s was to decentralize either the institutions themselves or the control over their funding, or both. At Corning, key managers still believed it was imperative to keep specialty glass and materials research physically centralized, but financial decentralization was a major plank of the profitable growth plan. The centrally located part of the technical community accordingly shrank from a high of 1,400 people in the early 1970s to a core force of 800 people, including central manufacturing and engineering. Today, R&D is a mixture of centralized and decentralized resource allocation. Corning works hard to excel at creating linkages between the technology and the business. In fact, this drive is so strong at Corning that it overrides the natural organizational barriers inherent between the two functions. Change Objective To get Jamie Houghton to bless this significant change effort, MacAvoy had to stress the connection to at least two of the chairman’s critical imperatives: performance, that is, 10 percent operating margin (at the time the OM was at 2 percent) and Total Quality Management (TQM). To be sure, Houghton’s preoccupation with quality was complete. MacAvoy recalls: “I’d worked out some very simple arithmetic. Let’s say we’re spending $150 million annually. We’re probably wasting about a third of it, we just don’t know what third it is. If quality is only about improving manufacturing we can get 5 percent at most improvement in gross margin. The rest has to be about improving the way we innovate. Finally I convinced him that this had to be one of the Total Quality objectives.” The change management mission was clear, and MacAvoy summarized the objective this way: a good research laboratory staffed by good people, skilled at sensing technical trends early; building relationships with OEM (original equipment manufacturer) customers in growing industries; excellent links between scientists and engineers and through sales and marketing groups to customers. It was also clear that to achieve MacAvoy’s vision, innovation would become a key driver for change: Corning’s #1 quality process, its #1 vital few. Innovation
Slide 56: 24 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE would challenge the traditional ways of thinking—it would challenge the corporation and its businesses to think differently about what was possible. Innovation would convert ideas into opportunities and those opportunities into sustainable streams of earnings for Corning. Assessment Except for a few key projects protected by top management and a few new products that had come in from the periphery, most other aspects of the RD&E program had fallen into a state of neglect. New product development was insufficient to sustain profitability, declines in new process development had allowed core businesses and acquisitions to become unprofitable, and the manufacturing sciences had deteriorated. There were, to be sure, pockets of promising technology here and there, but they were not strategically integrated even in the desired market-based businesses, end-use and systems-based products. Corning’s defensive moves of the 1970s and early 1980s—to reduce research funding (down 20 percent in real dollar terms over the decade) in favor of development and to confine new investments primarily to low-risk product and process extensions and renewals—had set up a cycle of diminishing returns. Corning’s traditional practice of sponsoring exploration and “reach” projects across the board, as well as keeping up a certain level of risktaking, had had the important side benefit of replenishing the company’s “technology till.” By the mid-1980s that till was in need of revitalizing—the cupboard was bare. Further, much of the rest of the company was paying no attention to innovation at all, while low morale in the R&D organization itself was undermining the effectiveness of its projects. Innovations that did occur were based on extreme measures. Efforts to innovate were succeeding by acts of heroism or by fighting the rest of the company. Approach With Houghton’s blessing, MacAvoy placed innovation under the umbrella of Total Quality and, with that, was on his way. The company’s innovation process previously had been defined only within the research, product development, and engineering communities, and now the company would work to make this minimalist, yet formal, process the central integrating mechanism across the broader community. A major part of MacAvoy’s effort consisted of a systematic appraisal of Corning’s many past innovation successes and failures—its best practices and lessons learned—from which he and his team aimed to develop an explicit, formalized description of Corning’s way of innovating: an innovation process.
Slide 57: CORNING 25 INTERVENTION: KEY ELEMENTS Innovation is possible in every aspect of our work together. —Tom MacAvoy As the first step toward significant change, MacAvoy set up the innovation task force as a quality improvement team to find out why the rest of the company was dissatisfied with RD&E. Members of the team—including recognized Corning innovators—invested months of their time, most of it over early morning breakfast meetings, which became commonly known as the Breakfast of Champions. So as not to ignore outside perspectives, the team retained an outside consultant as part of the program. The first decision was to focus on Corning’s past history of successful innovation as an untapped resource, one that could be crucial to rebuilding morale. They also believed that the understanding of innovation implicit in the company’s shared memory needed to be made more visible. MacAvoy proposed a slogan for this effort taken from a well-known saying of Corning veteran Eddie Leibig: We never dance as well as we know how. The group studied hundreds of Corning innovations, mining them for their larger meaning. Many of their generalizations matched those that were coming out in broader studies of innovation across the country: that high-caliber people who were willing to take risks and had good communication and team-building skills were key. Another factor stood out: Corning’s ability to very quickly concentrate maximum strength on a project of major importance, referred to internally as “flexible critical mass.” This method enabled Corning to tackle outsized opportunities. In addition, innovation at Corning had never been the sole province of scientists or even technical people. Corning had been good at identifying and developing innovative leaders with the right qualities throughout the company’s history, but this kind of leadership had gone by the board in the face of countervailing pressures to specialize, downsize, or reduce the asset base and shifts in balance between the short-term and the long-term. Finally, based on a review of current literature on innovation, the task force identified a five-stage StageGateTM model that could be adapted for Corning’s case (Figure 2.1). The innovation process, although depicted in a linear fashion for teaching purposes, is anything but linear. An iterative process by definition, innovation is one of the most fluid, yet socially complex of business processes. Innovation transcends the entire organization—it is a way of enabling people to learn together; it provides a framework for a common language. Further, Figure 2.1 depicts the concurrency of three functional disciplines—typically organized as crossfunctional teams for innovation activity.
Slide 58: 26 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Marketing Technology Manufacturing I Build knowledge II Determine feasibility Experiments III Test practicality IV Prove profitability V Manage life cycle Profits Ideas Projects Production Figure 2.1 Five-Stage Stage-GateTM Model. Source: Copyright © Corning Incorporated. Reprinted by permission. Jim Riesbeck, director of corporate marketing, acting as the marketing member of the Breakfast of Champions, cautioned against doing what many companies were doing at the time, which was to define the process of new product development in such minute detail that it reduced innovation to filling in endless checklists and inhibited creativity instead of enhancing it. The task force adopted a skeletal overview of the essence of a process, grounded in Corning’s own unique experience, to be used as an integrative framework. “We are going to make this a marketing document. . . . We are really going to use this thing!” exclaimed Riesbeck. As a second step toward significant change, MacAvoy orchestrated a twoand-a-half day innovation conference for more than two hundred senior Corning leaders that was intended to focus attention on innovation and re-introduce the innovation process. Moreover, he reminded those in attendance that the conference’s subject matter was in fact nothing less than the company’s defining activity: “In all cases, technology is involved and is at the heart of what we do. We lead primarily by technical innovation. Translating technology into new products and processes, into new ways to help our customers, into new sources of profit and growth—that’s what we’re all about as a company.”
Slide 59: CORNING 27 The task force had not limited its deliberations to celebrating Corning’s past achievements. It had also identified the key ways in which Corning had fallen short of innovating effectively. MacAvoy portrayed innovation as one of the top quality problems the company had. He firmly implanted the notion that improving the innovation process by 10 percent a year could cut costs in half. Doubling that rate would be equivalent to doubling the RD&E spending level. It came down to restoring several simple elements: an environment and culture of energy and enthusiasm, entrepreneurial behavior at all levels, the right people in the right places, sound business and technical strategies, improved processes for nurturing ideas, and organizational mechanisms that could support the organization’s drive for results. Turning Point The conference was a real turning point. The conceptual marriage of TQM and innovation was far more than simple rhetoric. Although it would be another seven years before quality programs and innovation would work together on the same track, at least they began running on parallel tracks. A full decade would pass before the change in attitude inaugurated at the innovation conference would be reflected in significantly increased RD&E budgets, but a new generation of innovators with the necessary integrative skills was in the making. Today Corning sees a reinvigoration of this marriage between TQM and innovation effectiveness. Critical Success Factors Several enduring success factors emerged from the innovation conference. First, the articulated formal process provided a framework for training programs at all levels of the company, becoming part of the structure for project reviews and the basis for hiring and deploying personnel. One requirement for attending the training was to be part of an established team. Starting with marketing and technology and later spreading to other areas of the company, attention was paid to fostering innovators and creating integrated technology plans. According to Charlie Craig, Vice President and COO, Science and Technology, “The graphic we use [three upside-down exclamation marks that resemble people, followed by three right-side-up exclamation points] says it all (see Figure 2.2). The Figure 2.2 Innovation People! Source: Copyright © Corning Incorporated. Reprinted by permission.
Slide 60: 28 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE exclamation points represent people, motivation, and the excitement of innovation—the most important ingredients.” The long-term benefit of having the five-stage innovation process and training people across the company in its use was that, in an era when “time to market” became the competitive issue for industry at large, Corning had already developed the routine practice of including all major parties in any new process or product innovation as early as possible. Ted Kozlowski, one of Corning’s key development managers for many successful products, commented that the relations between people were critical. Another consequence of the innovation effort was a rise in internal entrepreneurial behavior. At Sullivan Park, in particular, technologists were allowed to supplement an essentially flat R&D budget with sales of shelf technology, sales of services in which Corning had particular expertise, and increased government contracting for technologies they wanted to pursue anyway. Those who were willing to expend the effort were given the latitude to form small enterprises. Yet another success factor was possibly the most unusual for companies at the time: the continuation of a practice of collective self-examination that previous Corning generations had also employed. In reviving the practice of storytelling, the task force showed that reinvigorating shared memory was a powerful way to build the company’s collective ingenuity. It tied the notion of best practices not solely to the dictates of outside experts or to the examples of other companies, but to the recovery of grounded experience in the company itself. Additional components were to examine innovation as it impacted marketing and manufacturing. Innovation in Marketing I never believe it’s too early to bring in that marketing expertise . . . it’s marketing knowledge, it’s customer knowledge . . . where’s the product going to be used . . . let’s ask someone in that area and see what they think. . . . Once you’ve got a technology you think you can use for something . . . that’s maybe the secret . . . somebody’s got to believe . . . “I think it can be useful here.” —David Howard, Corning Telecommunications Corning needed to focus on its effectiveness in both approach and deployment of resources to understand current and future customer and market needs—a weak point traditionally. Included in this focus was—and still is—the assessment of current performance, development, and execution of improvement plans. The prescription involved people in all functions and levels collecting data, applying analytical tools, developing insight, and sharing that insight throughout the organization, which today supports “roadmapping,” “portfolio,” and the five-stage innovation process itself.
Slide 61: CORNING 29 Innovation in Manufacturing In addition to a renewal of innovation at its R&D centers—the obvious place where creativity matters—manufacturing processes, too, would benefit from a return to Corning’s roots. While Corning was working to regain its position at the forefront of innovation by inventing unique materials, processes, and technologies, its manufacturing operations shared some common problems that made it difficult to sustain their lead over competitors. The quality effort was already doing much to improve manufacturing discipline in all of Corning’s plants when management asked Roger Ackerman (who, in 1996, succeeded Jamie Houghton as chairman & CEO, until 2001) launched a companywide assessment of its manufacturing operations in 1986. As the innovation process evolved, the need to develop inherent linkages among technology, marketing, and manufacturing became critical, as each component was an equal leg in the three-legged stool of innovation. Ed Sever, former plant manufacturing engineer, states: “It’s as true in plants today as it’s ever been—anytime there’s a major project, we make sure that there’s a plant person assigned to the team . . . who knows they are the receiver, that it’s their job to help make this thing happen, and they ought to be pulling equally as hard as they’re [R&D] pushing.” HIGH-TECH COMPANY Knowledge, risk, cost, and time to market are critical to successful innovation in a high-technology company. —Charlie Craig By the early 1990s Corning had demonstrated by means of its effective adoption of quality and innovation as complementary disciplines that a future as a high-technology company was a strategic option. Jamie Houghton’s address to the Industrial Research Institute in 1993, on the tenth anniversary of his earlier address to that body, was a sign that this was so. Innovation, Houghton declared, was the glue that bound all functions into a cohesive team of inventors, producers, and innovators. Speaking of the obligations of general management leadership in high-technology product development and marketing, he argued that Corning had significantly improved the effectiveness of its RD&E—the quality and rate of its innovation—by applying TQM principles to innovation: “In my view, Innovation is absolutely an integral part of Total Quality; in the mid-1980s, it was the largest single cost of quality problem we had in the company. If we can continue to move forward on this, if we can get another 10–20 percent better in being more effective in linking our technology to the marketplace, we know what a huge opportunity it will be for us.”
Slide 62: 30 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Corning Competes Immediately following Houghton’s address to the Industrial Research Institute (1993), Corning launched Corning Competes, a program designed to reengineer its key business processes. Deliberate in its choice to reengineer rather than restructure, Corning Competes represented a reinvestment in Corning’s business processes through continuous improvement of best practices. It also provided the necessary tools for better communication among the technical and business constituencies. The company needed to enhance its capability to compete for present and future business while improving its financial performance. As the innovation process was the number one cost of quality in the company, the goal of the Corning Competes innovation effectiveness team was to enable Corning to get the most from its innovation investment in product and process technologies. To ensure that the company was well positioned for growth and profitability, the team sought to “reengineer the process by which Corning creates, identifies, evaluates, prioritizes, and executes against market opportunities.” Equally pressing within the technology community was the need to drive discontinuous improvement—to instill a “step change” within the continuum of best practice continuous improvement. The company had to manage a culture change that would enable it to strike a balance between continuous improvement and the step changes necessary to deliver breakthrough technologies. Some of Corning’s greatest profit-producing technology breakthroughs had come from just that—from achieving that delicate balance between incremental improvements on the one hand and breakthrough invention on the other, thus leading to new product and process commercialization. Going forward, this kind of innovation would be “the ticket” for Corning. Innovation Today The continued focus on innovation at Corning today—with an ever-evolving, dynamic process featuring pronounced cross-functional and cross-disciplinary integration—has allowed the company to make decisions faster and closer to the point of action. Implemented flexibly yet with rigor, the innovation process allows people and projects to overcome both internal and external barriers, to be agile—gaining, sharing, and acting on new information and insights— provide more opportunities to innovate, reduce product development time, and enhance customer relationships. In short, it allows the company to outlearn and lead the competition. Through generations of change at Corning, innovation is the sustaining thread throughout. “Innovation is in Corning’s DNA,” says Charlie Craig. It is what allows the company to reinvent itself—most often through the reuse of its technology—which it has done sixteen times in its 151-year history. The company champions and nurtures innovation; it uses innovation as a means to succeed.
Slide 63: CORNING 31 Here is a current example. One way Corning is dealing with the telecommunications industry collapse, in which an entire market disappeared seemingly overnight, is to repurpose and redirect its investment in intellectual property around optical technologies, clearly into a technology that is nontelecommunications related. Another use of a core technology resulted in EAGLE2000TM, a prime example of innovation at Corning today—innovation at its best. Background Innovation has always been the hallmark of our success. —Jamie Houghton Corning has a long tradition of building on and reusing its existing technology and knowledge bases to innovate and create new business opportunities. An important example is the “fusion process,” developed in the early 1960s by Corning engineers. Initially used in combination with a newly developed material, Chemcor (chemically strengthened glass for manufacturing automobile windshields), the fusion process lived on when the windshield market did not materialize for Corning. During the 1970s, Corning scientists at the company’s research facility in Fontainebleau, France, used the fusion process to manufacture sunglass lenses. Long a supplier of tubes to the television industry, Corning began to look for ways to extend its presence in the display markets. Using the fusion process, it began producing flat panel glass for liquid crystal display applications, such as laptop computers. As the markets for laptops, PDAs (personal digital assistants), flat screen monitors, and flat screen televisions began to grow in the 1990s, Corning scientists and engineers continued to use the innovation process and the Fusion process to meet the demands of its customers. EAGLE2000TM is an excellent example of the use of both processes. Contemporary Success Story: Innovation at Its Best The results for EAGLE2000TM have been fantastic. Not only did this project use the Innovation Process to meet the customers’ demands for lighter weight displays, it also improved our capacity and profitability as well. —Randy Rhoads, project manager We had interesting joint sessions very early on. Manufacturing, technology, and marketing worked very, very closely on this—in the first stages with product development, the detailing of the product, and what the customers really required. —Dan Nolet, display technologies
Slide 64: 32 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE With its combination of glass properties and manufacturing technology, Corning EAGLE2000TM flat glass substrates enable active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) manufacturers to make larger, lighter, thinner, and higher-resolution displays for computer monitors and home entertainment. This glass has the industry’s lowest thermal expansion, thus decreasing the effects of thermal down shock and breakage, and due to its remarkably low-density composition Corning EAGLE2000TM glass is the lightest AMLCD substrate on the market. EAGLE2000TM also has improved chemical durability over earlier substrate glasses, which minimizes glass damage during the harsh chemical processes involved with display manufacturing. Corning EAGLE2000TM glass is made using Corning’s fusion process. This close-tolerance glass draw process, combined with Corning’s patented composition, yields glass with truly remarkable qualities: pristine, near-perfect flat surfaces with improved thickness variations that don’t require polishing. By participating early in the innovation process, the manufacturing group— along with marketing and technology—ensured that the production-delivery process design accommodated all key operational performance requirements. A strong, cross-functional team was established right from the start. This early involvement helped the team avoid many of the later-stage issues that often arise when the manufacturing function is not an active participant in the early innovation stages. In this way, they were able to influence the design so it allows a more robust manufacturing process (see Figure 2.3). While marketing conducted an extensive study to identify and quantify the customers’ requirements, manufacturing defined the performance range of Advanced Display processes, so that technology was able to identify the various compositions that would not only meet customer needs, but would also work within manufacturing’s current and expected parameters. Evaluate opportunity Evaluate concept Confirm concept Confirm profitability I. Build knowledge II. Determine feasibility III. Test practicality IV. Prove profitability V. Manage life cycle Concept plan Development plan Profitability plan Commercialize plan Life cycle plan Figure 2.3 Manufacturing Process. Source: Copyright © Corning Incorporated. Reprinted by permission.
Slide 65: CORNING 33 The EAGLE2000TM product team noted the following additional benefits of using the innovation process: • The common language and understanding of the five stages made it easier to accommodate the many personnel changes that occurred throughout the project. It also provided the framework to hold their global team together. • The cross-functional team from the start enabled all functions to actively participate in the development of the project objectives. The shared ownership of the project objectives helped guide the project effectively throughout the five stages • The team, by proactively using risk management, had the ability to find a balance between market requirements, manufacturing capabilities, and technical competencies. The key for EAGLE2000TM was to find common denominators for all three areas. • The five-stage suggested activities helped outline the required work and deliverables for their planning process. ON-THE-JOB SUPPORT: REINFORCING THE REINFORCEMENTS The innovation process has evolved well beyond the rudimentary model we adopted two decades ago . . . and is now embedded in our culture. —Joe Miller On an ongoing and consistent basis, Corning requires employees on project teams to take its innovation training and follow a comprehensive set of guidelines and tools toward product innovation. The company has progressively broadened the training to more teams and functional units, “spreading the language of our business.” Corning also renews its innovation process periodically—most recently, for instance, to manage the innovation “pipeline” for new opportunities, g risk assessment, costs, and value added (see Figure 2.4). Innovation Effectiveness These innovation effectiveness processes are the underpinning for the growth of our company. —Charles “Skip” Deneka, CTO, 1996–2001 Innovation effectiveness is the umbrella term for Corning’s innovation effort. “Innovation effectiveness encompasses identifying opportunities (roadmapping), selecting opportunities (portfolio decision making), delivering opportunities (innovation project management) in order to realize benefit (dollars), and
Slide 66: 34 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Knowledge Building and Organizational Learning - All Along Pipeline Spin-out/Sell Licensing Ideas Major opportunities External technology sources External partnerships/ acquisitions Figure 2.4 Corning Innovation Pipeline. Source: Copyright © Corning Incorporated. Reprinted by permission. staying closely connected to customers and markets” (Bruce Kirk, corporate innovation effectiveness leader). Innovation effectiveness requires • Understanding the overall corporate and business strategies • Developing sound roadmaps based on understanding customers, markets, competitors, and Corning’s strengths and weaknesses and estimating resources required for each project submitted to the portfolio management process for funding • Applying the portfolio management process to evaluate, prioritize, and select projects • Executing the selected projects well Ideas into Dollars The following list and Figure 2.5 describe Corning’s best practice for enabling successful and innovative projects. • Roadmapping. Anticipating and planning for future opportunities. Requires customer focus and forward-looking thinking. • Project portfolio. Selecting the best opportunities, balancing the risks and benefits, and allocating critical resources. Applying process rigor while retaining flexibility to exercise judgment. • Innovation project management. Moving a product, process, or service idea iteratively through the stages of innovation to successful commercialization (dollars). Reduces development time, increases the number of commercially successful products, and cancels the
Slide 67: CORNING 35 Opportunities Selections Executions Roadmapping Project portfolio Innovation project management $ Customer and market understanding Figure 2.5 Ideas into Dollars. Source: Copyright © Corning Incorporated. Reprinted by permission. Table 2.1. Innovation Delivery 88 84 78 82 83 57 30 1995 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 New Corning products (less than four years old) as a percentage of market share Source: Copyright © Corning Incorporated. Reprinted by permission.
Slide 68: 36 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE less-promising projects earlier. This is the five-stage Stage-GateTM innovation process, referenced earlier. • Customer and market understanding. Truly understanding customers, markets, competitors, and anticipating their actions and reactions. The underpinning of the other three innovation elements. Evaluation At Corning, a significant measurement of the innovation effectiveness process is the percentage of sales of new products from R&D. Since 1998, Corning has delivered no less than 57 percent of its products to the marketplace within four years. That is a remarkable accomplishment by any corporate standard. THE LEARNING MACHINE: DRIVING SUSTAINABLE VALUE AND GROWTH The innovation process is a learning machine that drives the company’s sustainable value and growth (see Figure 2.6). Corning’s focus on quality and knowledge-sharing tools and practices provides the “rate-change enablers” that Sustainable value and growth Innovation Knowledge management Organizational learning Figure 2.6 Innovation Process. Source: Copyright © Corning Incorporated. Reprinted by permission.
Slide 69: CORNING 37 increase the rate of organizational learning—bringing Corning differential value and competitive advantage—and, in turn, increases the rate of innovation. The Learning Machine: Providing New Angles on Insight Without being overly prescriptive or bureaucratic, Corning encourages sharing of knowledge in the following ways. This has promoted a short cycle “learning machine,” which allows colleagues to share and test data and best practices. • Morning meetings A forum to share proprietary research results in progress Thirty-minute talk on work or current state of the science or project Additional time scheduled for Q&A and discussion Audience and speaker exchange ideas and gain insights • Technical tutorials Education on a technology, including orientation, strategy, technical components Offered at multiple levels Encourages tacit knowledge exchange • Research reviews Enable business leaders and technology community members to stay abreast of rapidly changing technologies and market trends Two hours in length, with time for interaction within the technology community, as well as with the business partners Begin with opening remarks by the specific project leader, followed by presentations by key project members • Communities of practice Individuals who come together over a common interest, one that could be directly or indirectly related to their current work Formal (sanctioned); for example, Centers of Excellence Informal (grass roots); for example, software programmers Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning These knowledge-sharing tools and practices are only a few of many examples that have emanated from within the technology community. They demonstrate how innovation is coupled with other ongoing Corning business practices into everyday activities and processes, providing new insights for Corning. Scientists, engineers, technicians, and commercial managers share knowledge, experience,
Slide 70: 38 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE and perspective on a regular basis. In doing so, they optimize, leverage, and re-use this key knowledge, experience, and perspective—all critical components of learning—within a technology context. For Corning, this translates into new product and process innovation—ideas into dollars. A key ongoing goal of Corning’s learning machine is to increase its knowledge re-use quotient. To do this, the company increases the number of perspectives (people and disciplines) within the organization, improves interdisciplinary sharing (the number of interactions that occur among disciplines), and provides the necessary tools to synthesize all those interactions to reformulate the company’s knowledge for re-use. Corning also includes tactical elements such as ergonomics and facilities design to ensure that these interactions occur; for example, secure video conferencing, facilities, and informal meeting areas. Increasing the knowledge re-use quotient means the real-time tapping of institutional knowledge and memory through people in a global culture and in everyday circumstances within the workplace. Another key element is building the knowledge (technology) warehouse. This is basically an archive—a technology cupboard—from which one can research, identify, and access technology for re-use. At Corning, technology investments are never lost: they are either shelved as tangible objects (samples, patents, technical reports, lab notebooks) or accessed through the intangible, tacit corporate memory through storytelling, oral histories, and other everyday means. The company constantly builds its knowledge cache, “packages” it in a complete, relevant form, and trains its employees how to access it for further use—a way to preserve and build upon its core competencies and critical capabilities. The innovation process—an iterative process— is the learning catalyst; it is what ties together both modes of learning into a “learning machine.” Enhancing the Learning Culture: Building Bridges to Enable Innovation In order to create and sustain the learning culture to enable innovation, bridges must be built. An example would be a move toward bridging manufacturing effectiveness with innovation effectiveness through process engineering (see Figure 2.7). Another leading example would be the bridging of two traditionally disparate internal initiatives—manufacturing process improvement and the knowledge management and organizational learning effort—focusing on the unifying theme of innovation. Doing so will provide a real-time opportunity to address pressing process technology issues facing Corning today—in short, an opportunity to drive improved profitability now, reinvigorate quality, and be “ready” for the next upturn. This type of interactive, dynamic collaboration will yield for the company not only the standard cost containment, greater resource availability, and larger internal target audiences, but will also help ensure the company’s stability
Slide 71: CORNING 39 Commercial Manufacturing effectiveness Industrial and Labor relations Legal/ Intellectual property Product development/ Design Process engineering Operational optimization Innovation effectiveness Safety and environmental Figure 2.7 Accelerating Learning by Building Bridges Across Organizations. Source: Copyright © Corning Incorporated. Reprinted by permission. and growth. It will help rebuild the network, enhance the learning culture, and expand technical know-how through optimizing synergies. Learning Coaches: Establishing a New Core Competency in R&D The only way to make sure the culture and discipline are sustained is to have an experienced advisor present. Our Learning Coach Center of Excellence will ensure company wide implementation and learning. —Charlie Craig Once the elements of the learning culture are in place, and the organization understands how it learns most effectively, the process is catalyzed with learning coaches, similar to Six Sigma black belts. These are individuals whose role it is to become knowledge networking “agents” or learning facilitators within the organization. Part of a Learning Coach “center of excellence” or virtual community of practice, they are trained as innovation project managers and are highly skilled at process excellence around innovation effectiveness and how people learn. These learning coaches join teams and prompt them to share knowledge, cross boundaries, learn together, and become more effective collaborators.
Slide 72: 40 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE A member of several project teams at once, a learning coach cross-fertilizes the teams with new knowledge on an ongoing basis and provides a learning bridge between projects for sharing best practices and lessons learned. The learning coach also instills “the thrill of a hobby” into the innovation environment, thus stimulating deeper and quicker learning and enabling greater satisfaction through work. By integrating capabilities and competencies and recycling learning, Corning is constantly optimizing the process. This is a virtuous cycle—it is all about prompting and leveraging change, building knowledge, converting intellectual assets into productive use, and learning better together to innovate better. Corning is thus able to realize in unique ways new opportunities and solutions it never before thought possible—discontinuous improvement and breakthrough invention. It is, in the end, about competitive advantage and setting the pace for innovation. LESSONS LEARNED Innovation is about flexible management and good judgment. —Roger Ackerman Lessons learned is a shared practice some call after action review that takes form to retain organizational memory of important RD&E projects. This practice includes the following actions: • Start with a strong, visible, influential champion, one who has a true passion for innovation, who acts as a rallying point and a change agent, and who inspires a cadre of true believers at all levels of the organization. MacAvoy was able to bring together marketing, manufacturing, technology, and human resources to “fix” the problem. Champions will change over time, but their presence and level of support cannot change. Corning has maintained its innovation champions for two decades; for example, MacAvoy, Deneka, Ackerman, Miller, Craig, Houghton. • Establish a strategic link between the initiative and the company’s core values and goals. From the outset, MacAvoy and his team underscored the significant tie to Total Quality Management, profitability, and growth. • Establish a progressive, formal yet fluid and iterative process with built-in flexibility. The process cannot be reduced to the checking-off of boxes, as in a cookbook—that’s the fastest way to introduce bureaucracy and stifle creativity. Today’s model emphasizes judgment by the project leader and the sponsor to determine the rigor needed at any specific innovation stage, as opposed to the original model, a linear one, in which the main activity was doing everything that the innovation guide indicated.
Slide 73: CORNING 41 • Encourage cross-functional, cross-disciplinary project teams, in which people openly collaborate, share, cross boundaries, and act on their collective knowledge, experience, and perspective. By definition, there should be a great degree of communication and “overlap” between project teams. • Learn from both best practices and lessons learned. When Corning effectively uses the innovation process, it allows management to overcome a natural inclination not to stop a project that is far down the pipeline due to resource expenditure. Corning is learning that it isn’t best practices alone, but also lessons learned that stimulate innovation. (At Corning, investment in technology is never lost; technology is re-used to develop new materials and processes to exploit new markets. For example, a material that failed at its initial target market—sunglasses— has become a steady, profitable business for the semi-conductor industry.) • Know who the customer is and what their requirements are. Never forget that market and customer understanding is the underpinning of the three core elements of innovation effectiveness: roadmapping, portfolio management, and innovation project management. As Corning reinvents itself for the future, Chairman and CEO Jamie Houghton points out that unlike when he first became chairman in 1983, Corning’s technology cupboard is full. He and others attribute this competitive advantage to a rigorous, dynamic, and fluid innovation process. This is all well and good, but the fact of the matter is that Corning, in this time of crisis due to the telecomm debacle, is about to find out, real-time, just how good it is at innovation effectiveness. Given Corning’s long history of innovation and reinvention, the attitude of the organization is to step up and welcome the challenge. POSTLOGUE: CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT Focus on a few areas that truly influence innovation’s process effectiveness: • Focus on the selection and prioritization of opportunities and projects: what to work on (innovation opportunities) is just as important as how well the innovation work is done (innovation projects). • Capture and share lessons learned at each diamond decision in the fivestage Stage-Gate (process). • Ensure senior leadership involvement to drive consistent use of the process. • Put the right people in the right roles in the critical elements for success: Quality of innovation project leadership Engaged innovation project sponsors Team skills matched to project objective
Slide 74: 42 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE • Install learning coaches to develop the skills of innovation project sponsors, team leaders, and team members. ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR Richard A. O’Leary is the director of human resources and diversity for science and technology at Corning Incorporated. He is also responsible for maintaining the strength of the technology community across both the centralized and decentralized organizations. Previously, he was vice president of human resources at Cytometrics, Inc., a biomedical high-technology start-up. He has held director-level human resource positions at the Public Services Electric & Gas Corporation and at Owens-Corning Corporation. He is nationally recognized for his expertise in organizational development and learning. Dr. O’Leary is an adjunct faculty member of the University of New Jersey School of Medicine, a Lt. Col. in the Air National Guard, and serves on the board of directors at Ursuline Academy. Dr. O’Leary was awarded the President’s Excellence Award in 2001 and Distinguished Alumni Award from Western Michigan in 2002.
Slide 75: S CHAPTER THREE S Delnor Hospital A cultural change model for achieving excellence in the five pillars of service, people, quality, growth, and financial performance through balanced scorecard, customer service interventions, accountability interventions, and emphasis on measurement of satisfaction for all stakeholders. OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION IT STARTS WITH A TOP-DOWN COMMITMENT TO BECOME THE “BEST OF THE BEST” Selecting the Right Coach Is Key Implementing the Right Model for Organizational Change THE NINE PRINCIPLES Principle 1: Commit to Excellence Principle 2: Build a Culture Around Service Principle 3: Build Accountability Principle 4: Create and Develop Leaders Principle 5: Recognize and Reward Success Principle 6: Focus on Employee Satisfaction Principle 7: Measure the Important Things Principle 8: Communicate at All Levels Principle 9: Align Behaviors with Goals and Values LESSONS LEARNED Exhibit 3.1: Structure for Delnor’s Customer Service Teams Exhibit 3.2: Delnor Scripting for Nurses Exhibit 3.3: Sample of Delnor’s Monthly Performance Scorecard Exhibit 3.4: Sample Agenda for One of the Two-Day Leadership Training Sessions Exhibit 3.5: Accountability Grid for Best Cost and People, March 2003–May 2003, Delnor-Community Hospital Exhibit 3.6: Heart Rhythms Before HeartMath “Freeze Frame” Intervention 44 45 46 46 47 48 48 49 52 53 55 56 57 59 59 60 62 63 64 65 69 70 43
Slide 76: 44 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 3.7: Heart Rhythms After HeartMath “Freeze Frame” Intervention Exhibit 3.8: Best of the Best (a.k.a. “BoB”) Award Form Exhibit 3.9: Hospital Employee Satisfaction Results Exhibit 3.10: Dashboard of Indicators Exhibit 3.11: Patient and Physician Satisfaction Surveys Exhibit 3.12: Team Goals Exhibit 3.13: Ninety-Day Work/Action Plan ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS 70 71 72 73 74 75 77 78 OVERVIEW This case study describes the key principles and administrative structure used by Delnor-Community Hospital to • Transform its organizational culture • Improve internal and external customer service • Achieve growth in patient volumes and operating margins • Enhance the quality of patient care Under the leadership of a visionary senior management team and through the coaching of a leading health care consultant, the hospital has emerged as a national leader in service excellence and patient, employee, and physician satisfaction. The hospital has also enjoyed significant growth in inpatient admissions and outpatient visits, while improving its operating margin to near record levels. Quality measures have been steadily on the rise, and the entire Delnor culture has been revitalized in ways that many beleaguered hospitals can only hope to achieve in today’s challenging health care environment. How has Delnor done it? By structuring the administration, patient care, and operations of the hospital around the five pillars of service, people, quality, growth, and financial performance, and by integrating the following nine principles into the fabric of the organization: 1. Commit to excellence 2. Build a culture around service 3. Build accountability 4. Create and develop leaders 5. Recognize and reward success 6. Focus on employee satisfaction
Slide 77: DELNOR HOSPITAL 45 7. Measure the important things 8. Communicate at all levels 9. Align behaviors with goals and values Delnor’s experience in implementing these pillars and principles provides a fascinating case study and valuable insights for other health care and non-health care organizations attempting to transform their culture to achieve higher levels of performance. INTRODUCTION It was January 1999, and Delnor-Community Health System President and CEO Craig Livermore knew his hospital had reached a critical point in its history. For years, Delnor had enjoyed a reputation in its service area as a “good” community hospital. Patient satisfaction was good. The quality of patient care was good. Employee relations were good. And the hospital’s financial picture was good. The problem was that “good” was no longer good enough. “Simply put, we made the decision that we wanted to become the ‘best of the best,’” recalls Livermore. “As a Board of Directors and senior management team, we committed ourselves to taking Delnor to the next level and becoming one of the top hospitals not just in our region or state, but in the entire United States.” What was the driver for this ambitious goal? “First and foremost,” says Livermore, “we felt we had a responsibility to provide our community with not just good, but exceptional patient care and service. That’s the heart of our mission and is our fundamental reason for being. But beyond that, we knew that in order to continue to be successful in the future we were going to have to establish the right niche for ourselves in the marketplace—something that would distinguish Delnor from other area hospitals,” Livermore said. After careful deliberation, the senior management team chose “service excellence,” and began focusing their energies on improving patient satisfaction throughout the hospital. But as they embarked on their journey, they quickly learned that achieving this goal was going to take much more than implementing quick fixes or a “customer service program.” “The deeper we got into the process, the more clear it became that what we needed to do was far bigger than focusing strictly on how to improve patient satisfaction,” recalls Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Linda Deering. “To become the excellent hospital we were striving to be, we realized that we needed to make major organizational changes that would transform the very culture of the hospital and impact every aspect of patient care and operations. It was a huge challenge, with the future success of the hospital riding on the
Slide 78: 46 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE outcome. But I knew we were up to the challenge and had the determination it would take to get the job done,” said Deering. Over the next three years, Delnor implemented a winning formula for success that propelled the hospital into the spotlight as a national leader in patient, employee, and physician satisfaction. The following case study will provide insight into the key elements of this formula and offer a “how to” approach for implementing “built to last” changes in your organization. IT STARTS WITH A TOP-DOWN COMMITMENT TO BECOME THE “BEST OF THE BEST” When discussing organizational change, many businesses make the mistake of focusing first on finding the right change management model, but at Delnor Hospital leaders found its first key to success was something far more basic and fundamental. Observes Livermore, The best system or model in the world isn’t going to do your organization a bit of good unless you have a top-down commitment to making it work. To me, that’s where it all starts. Your board of directors, CEO, and senior management team have to be firmly and passionately committed to becoming the “best of the best.” They set the tone and direction for the entire organization. It’s absolutely imperative that they recognize the need for major change and be the catalysts for making it happen. This creates a trickle-down effect throughout the organization. Once mid-level management and line-level employees see top executives leading the way, most of them will begin to support the initiative as well. “When our CEO and other top administrators began the drive to become the ‘best of the best’ what most impressed me was their dedication to taking Delnor to the next level,” says Hasi Smith, director of information systems. “I think it really showed us, as managers, that they were totally committed to the changes that were being implemented. Their enthusiasm was contagious. Not only did that help us buy-into what was happening, it also helped our staff buy into it as well,” Smith says. Selecting the Right Coach Is Key Just as in sports, having the right coach to guide your organization through cultural change is a vital key to success. At Delnor, the administration turned to Quint Studer, who was building a national reputation as a service excellence and change management consultant. Studer, who is president of the Pensacola, Florida-based Studer Group, had helped guide Holy Cross Hospital in Chicago and Baptist Hospital in Pensacola to new heights in patient satisfaction as CEO during the late 1990s.
Slide 79: DELNOR HOSPITAL 47 Studer offered a proven model for change, and, just as important, he brought a dynamic coaching style that made him the right fit for Delnor. “Quint has a real passion for improving health care and patient satisfaction,” said Deering. “And that really shines through in his work with clients. He has a motivational way of presenting to groups that really captures their attention and makes his message compelling. That really helped us in rolling our initiative out to hospital leadership and staff and gave credibility to what we were doing.” Implementing the Right Model for Organizational Change Delnor’s success in achieving cultural change and nationally recognized results can be attributed to the hospital’s adoption of Studer’s nine key principles and five organizational pillars. Nine Principles • Commit to excellence • Build a culture around service • Build accountability • Create and develop leaders • Recognize and reward success • Focus on employee satisfaction • Measure the important things • Communicate at all levels • Align behaviors with goals and values Five Pillars • Service • Quality • Cost • People • Growth Explains Livermore, Once you have a top-down commitment and have selected the right coach, the next essential element is implementing the right model, or system, for change. Quint’s nine principles and five pillars proved to be the right fit for Delnor. They provided us with the roadmap for improving every aspect of hospital performance and operations. From a communications standpoint, the simplicity of the “principles” and “pillars” helped us in communicating the model to both
Slide 80: 48 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE leaders and staff. It was something everyone could understand, remember, and relate to. And I think that was very important. If the design of your change management system is too complex, your leaders and staff won’t “get it,” let alone be able to implement it. THE NINE PRINCIPLES Principle 1: Commit to Excellence When Studer began working with Delnor, he told hospital leaders that establishing “a championship culture” begins with a commitment to excellence. “When excellence is reached,” he said, “employees feel valued, physicians feel an organization is the best, and the patients feel the service is extraordinary.” One of the first things Livermore and the board of directors did to “hardwire” this first principle into the organization was build a commitment to excellence into the hospital’s mission, vision, values, and strategic plan. Mission statement: To provide excellence in health care and to promote lifelong wellness in the communities we serve. Vision statement: Our community will turn to us first for health care and wellness. We will develop a tradition of service excellence. Patients and consumers will experience their care as connected and whole. Physicians will regard us as a trusted partner. Together, we will build a regional reputation for clinical excellence. Values: Excellence, service, compassion, respect, and integrity. Strategic plan: Service excellence became one of the eight driving strategies in the hospital’s new strategic plan. “By integrating this principle so deeply into the fabric of the organization, we sent a clear message to leaders and staff that our commitment to excellence was going to be fundamental to the new hospital culture we were building,” Livemore said. To facilitate this process, the administration used a variety of strategies, including • Employee forums led by the chief executive officer and chief operating officer • Employee, volunteer, and physician newsletters • Banners, posters, and flyers • Presentations to leadership and unit and departmental meetings • A contest in which employees throughout the hospital were challenged to creatively display the word “excellence” in their departments
Slide 81: DELNOR HOSPITAL 49 “We wanted leaders, staff, volunteers, and physicians to hear and see our commitment to excellence everywhere they went in the hospital. This was the first step in getting them to live the principle and make it a reality in everything they do,” Livermore said. Principle 2: Build a Culture Around Service In today’s competitive health care environment, most hospitals are offering basically the same menu of services for their patients. So how can a hospital differentiate itself in the marketplace and break ahead of the pack? One of the most effective strategies, according to Studer, is to build a culture around service. “A nationwide survey of hospital executives a few years ago found that the priorities at the top of most CEOs’ ‘to do’ lists were things like buying more up-to-date technology and improving payer reimbursement rates,” says Studer. “What was missing from this list was a very basic and fundamental priority: patient satisfaction.” This revelation struck a chord with leaders at Delnor, and confirmed a strategic direction they had already decided to pursue. “We knew that for our hospital to continue to be successful in the future we had to find the right niche in our local market. And for us, the one that made the most sense and was the most consistent with our mission was service excellence,” said Livermore. “So we established an organizational goal to become the best hospital in the area and one of the top hospitals in the country in patient satisfaction.” To achieve this lofty goal, Delnor implemented a service excellence initiative inspired by Studer that comprised five critical elements: (1) creating customer satisfaction teams, (2) scripting “words that work” for employees in their interactions with patients and visitors, (3) rounding by clinical leaders, (4) follow-up calls to discharged patients, and (5) service recovery. Creating Customer Satisfaction Teams. To put the necessary organizational focus and resources behind the patient satisfaction initiative, Delnor established a series of seven action teams, each charged with addressing a different aspect of the customer experience (see Exhibit 3.1 for a diagram of the structure for Delnor’s customer service teams): • Behavior standards. This team established standards of performance that support the mission and values of the hospital and foster excellent customer service. (For more about the behavior standards, see Principle 9: Align Behaviors with Goals and Values.) • Removing irritants. Identifying and addressing barriers to providing exceptional service to hospital patients and visitors is the focus of this team. “So often, there are things—big and small—that we do in the course of providing patient care that are irritants to our customers. But unless an organization has a
Slide 82: 50 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE means of identifying these and correcting them, nothing gets done about them,” says Deering, team chairman. “It makes so much sense to have a team in place whose mission is to look for these barriers and do whatever we can to work with hospital departments to remove them. It’s a win, win—it makes the patient’s experience at Delnor better, and helps to improve our patient satisfaction scores.” • Reward and recognition. Rewarding and recognizing top performers is vital to both encouraging employees to provide excellent service and achieving high levels of employee satisfaction within an organization. At Delnor, this team is responsible for developing and overseeing the hospital’s formal reward and recognition programs. (For more information, see Principle 5: Recognize and Reward Success.) • Physician satisfaction. “At Delnor, doctors are viewed as important customers just like patients,” says Livermore. “Without our physicians, we wouldn’t have any patients. So we felt it was important to establish a team whose sole focus is to enhance the physician experience at Delnor, whether that’s making it easier for them to practice medicine here, or recognizing their contributions to patient care and the hospital.” To accomplish the former, the team has worked with doctors to identify and address barriers they face at the hospital. To achieve the latter, the team instituted an innovative “Distinguished Physicians Awards” program. • Measurement. To monitor the hospital’s progress in improving patient satisfaction, the hospital formed a measurement team that is responsible for administering all patient satisfaction surveys and publishing and interpreting weekly, monthly and quarterly data. “It’s our job to analyze and report the data at a hospitalwide and individual department level,” says Michael Kittoe, a vice president and team chairman. “We help hospital leaders and staff understand their surveys and results so they can proactively take action on the data and work on areas that need improvement. We make the whole patient satisfaction survey process very visible throughout the organization. That keeps it top-of-mind for everyone and helps hold leaders and teams accountable for their scores,” Kittoe says. • Leadership development. This initiative is led by a steering committee and three subcommittees that are responsible for putting together the training and tools managers need to improve their leadership skills. (For more information, see Principle 4: Create and Develop Leaders.) Scripting. Another key element of building a culture around service is providing staff with scripting, or “words that work,” for critical interactions with customers. (See Exhibit 3.2 showing a sample of Delnor scripting for staff.) “The goal is to teach employees how to use the words or phrases with patients, visitors, physicians, and internal customers that are conducive to customer satisfaction,” says Deering. “By standardizing how staff interact with customers
Slide 83: DELNOR HOSPITAL 51 in certain situations, we’re able to provide better service more consistently throughout the organization.” The most widely used example of scripting at Delnor is the phrase, “Is there anything else I can do for you? I have the time.” Nurses, aides, housekeepers, and others ask a variation of this question every time they leave a patient room. The phrase has even caught on among employees in administrative departments when dealing with their own internal customers. Rounding by Clinical Leaders. At Delnor, nursing leaders make it a priority every day to visit with patients, families, and staff on their units. “There is no better way for me to stay in touch with what’s happening in my area and ensure that patient and family needs are being met than to do regular rounding,” says Deborah Dyrek, a nursing manager for one of the hospital’s medical floors. “By proactively looking in on patients and asking them and their families how things are going it helps me to address concerns before they become major problems.” Dyrek adds that patients and families are often surprised that a nursing administrator would take the time to stop by their room and talk with them. “This makes a strong impression and says a lot about the importance we place on patient and family satisfaction with the quality of care and service at Delnor.” Just as vital, says Dyrek, is the rounding she does with her staff. “It’s important to be visible, to show you care, to provide coaching, and to find out what your team members need to do their jobs to the best of their ability—those are the benefits of rounding for me.” Patient Call-Backs. Pretend for a moment that you’ve just returned home from having outpatient surgery. You’re in pain, you’re nervous about your recovery, and a dozen questions are running through your head that you wish you would have remembered to ask someone before you left the hospital. Imagine what a comfort and relief it would be if you received a follow-up phone call from your nurse asking you how you’re feeling and whether there’s anything she can do for you. This scenario is precisely why nursing leadership at Delnor decided to institute patient call-backs to every outpatient and inpatient following their discharge from the hospital. “It’s one more way we can add that personal touch to our patient care,” says Deering. “To some, making call-backs may not seem like a big deal. But you wouldn’t believe how important it is to the patient to hear from us. Most calls don’t last five minutes. But during that time we’re able to strengthen our bond with the patient, listen to their concerns, answer their questions, and reassure them that everything is going to be OK. It’s an incredibly powerful patient satisfaction tool.” The other important thing to note about patient callbacks, says Deering is that it’s good medical practice. “By following-up with our patients, we’re able
Slide 84: 52 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE to identify complications that may have developed since they were discharged before they become serious problems. It also provides us with the opportunity to make sure they understood their discharge instructions for self-care, or answer questions they may have about taking their pain medication. From a clinical quality standpoint, it’s the right thing to do. There’s no question that it helps to lower readmission rates,” adds Deering. Service Recovery. “No matter how hard you try, no organization provides perfect customer service,” points out Deering. “We’re all human and make mistakes. But if those mistakes are handled in the right way, you can quickly turn a negative into a positive and convert unhappy customers into loyal ones by following a service recovery process we call ACT.” ACT is an acronym for apologize, correct, and take action. And at Delnor, it has become the standard process by which staff respond to patient and visitor complaints. When faced with a dissatisfied customer, the first step in service recovery is to apologize for failing to meet his or her expectations. This immediately sets a conciliatory tone and lets the customer know you take the complaint seriously. The next step is to work with the customer to determine how best to correct the situation in an acceptable way. The final step is to move swiftly in taking action to resolve the problem. “At Delnor, we train our employees to view complaints as a gift,” says Deering. “It may sound strange, but customers are actually doing us a favor when they step forward with legitimate complaints. It sends up a red flag that a customer process is broken and needs to be fixed.” This becomes even more important, according to Deering, in light of consumer studies indicating that for every customer who complains about a problem, there are nine more who don’t complain but simply choose to go elsewhere for service. “On the positive side, research has also shown that most customers whose complaints are promptly addressed will return to a company or business for service. These statistics really underscore the importance of service recovery. It’s amazing how powerful the three simple steps of ACT can be in turning a negative customer experience into a positive one,” Deering says. Principle 3: Build Accountability Building a championship culture requires creating an environment of ownership and accountability at every level of the organization. “This principle is absolutely critical,” says Livermore. “From top administrators to line-level staff, we needed a team that was going to act like ‘owners,’ as opposed to ‘renters’ in their areas. And we needed to put systems in place that would hold everyone accountable for their individual and team performance, as well as the performance of the organization as a whole.”
Slide 85: DELNOR HOSPITAL 53 To help foster an environment of ownership, the importance of this principle was communicated extensively throughout the hospital to both leaders and staff in a variety of ways. It also was emphasized in the employee hiring and orientation process. Greater accountability was integrated into the culture through the development of monthly scorecards monitoring progress in achieving organizational and team goals. (See Exhibit 3.3 showing a sample of Delnor’s monthly performance scorecard.) Performance toward these goals was also factored heavily into year-end performance reviews for leadership and staff, and is a key barometer by which the board of directors evaluates the hospital’s executive team. Hospitalwide and unit- and department-specific patient satisfaction scores are widely publicized and posted throughout the building, as are the results of internal customer surveys (in which departments rate the service they provide to each other). Leaders and staff are also held accountable for the number of process-improvement and cost-savings ideas they generate annually through the Bright Ideas program. Principle 4: Create and Develop Leaders “In one of our first coaching sessions with Quint Studer,” recalls Livermore, “he asked our leadership team how many of them had received formal training to become managers. Very few hands went up. And that was a real eye-opening experience for me. “I realized that we, like so many hospitals and businesses, often promote people to management roles based on their knowledge, technical skills and past performance in other positions without providing them with tools they need to become great leaders. That’s why this fourth principle has become one of the most important factors in creating a new culture at Delnor,” Livermore said. To implement this principal, Delnor followed the Studer Group’s model for establishing an in-house leadership institute. The institute’s goals are to teach both new and existing managers new skills, competencies, and behaviors that will help them become better leaders and serve as catalysts for organizational change. (See Exhibits 3.4 and 3.5 showing a sample agenda for one of the twoday leadership training sessions, along the “accountability grid” each leader receives as a guide for action steps to take back to their teams to implement.) The institute is charged with creating customized, quarterly, two-day training sessions for the hospital’s leadership team. Each session has a unique theme and is focused on one of the five pillars of growth, service, people, quality, and finance. Presentations are given by a combination of Delnor leaders and professional outside speakers. Program content covers issues such as • Leading versus managing • Dealing with poor performers • Rewarding and recognizing employees
Slide 86: 54 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE • Recruiting, interviewing, and hiring new staff • Developing budgeting skills • Managing conflict • Giving positive and negative feedback to employees Following each session, leaders are required to share what they’ve learned and implement new practices with their teams. In addition to the quarterly meetings, monthly “lunch and learns” are offered to provide leaders with additional training opportunities. The leadership development initiative is coordinated by a steering committee and a series of subcommittees consisting of a cross-section of Delnor managers. Together, they develop the goals, theme, content, learning materials, and communications for each training session. They also make all of the logistical arrangements. “We invest heavily in growing and developing our leaders because they’re the ones who have the ability to implement and sustain organizational change at the team and individual employee level,” says Livermore. “Some executives I’ve talked to at other hospitals have asked me how we can afford to devote so much time, staffing, and resources to this principle. My response to them is, ‘We can’t afford not to!’” Nursing leaders like Katherine Barker testify to the success of the initiative. “I came up through the ranks as a registered nurse,” reports Barker. “All of my professional education and training was in patient care. When I was promoted to a nursing management position I had all the clinical knowledge and skills for the position but I had never received any training in how to effectively manage and lead a team. The training I’ve received at Delnor over the past three years has given me the tools I need to be a confident and effective leader. It has taken me to a whole new level professionally.” While leadership development has played a major role in helping Delnor achieve strong results, hospital administrators have also been sensitive to the added stress the cultural changes have created for the management team. To help leaders achieve optimal performance and emotional balance through these challenging times, the hospital partnered with HeartMath LLC. (See Exhibits 3.6 and 3.7 showing heart rhythms before and after using the HeartMath Freeze Frame technique.) “We knew that the transformation we were going through—while vitally necessary—was creating stress for our leaders, and we were concerned about that,” recalls Tom Wright, chief operating officer. “We began to look for ways to provide them with the support and resources they needed to more effectively cope with change on both a personal and professional level, and HeartMath turned out to be an excellent solution.”
Slide 87: DELNOR HOSPITAL 55 HeartMath LLC is a leading-edge performance training and technology company with demonstrated success in creating both personal and organizational health and performance outcomes. HeartMath uses a scientifically validated system of stress intervention techniques and objective biometric feedback. Science has known for some time that the heart has its own type of intelligence that communicates with and influences the brain through the nervous system, hormonal system, and other pathways. HeartMath’s research in neurocardiology shows that when we consciously shift into a positive emotional state, our heart rhythms shift, too. This response in the heart triggers a response in the brain, creating a favorable cascade of neural, hormonal, and biochemical events that actually reverse the effects of stress and improve performance. HeartMath workshops—which are designed to teach individuals how to better manage stress in the moment, sustain performance under pressure, and maintain a proper work/life balance—have become a vital part of the hospital’s leadership training. The results, according to Wright, have been impressive. Among the 422 leaders and employees who participated in HeartMath workshops in fiscal year 2001, turnover was only 5.9 percent, while the hospital’s overall turnover rate that year was at 21 percent. “There’s no question that the HeartMath workshops have helped our leaders reduce their stress, improve mental clarity and decision making, manage more efficiently, and sustain peak performance. In fact, the program has been so effective that we’re now offering it to all hospital employees and physicians,” Wright says. Principle 5: Recognize and Reward Success What are the biggest motivators for today’s workforce? If you answered pay raises or better company perks, you might be surprised by the results of a study conducted by Dr. Gerald Graham, a management professor at Wichita State University, which found that three of the top four workplace incentives were related to reward and recognition: • Personal thanks from manager • Written thanks from manager • Promotion for performance • Public praise “Never let great work go unnoticed,” was Quint Studer’s advice as he coached hospital managers on the importance of this principle. Rewarding and recognizing employees for excellent performance is not only the right thing to do, it’s also a powerful business strategy, says Studer. “When you praise employees, you increase their job satisfaction and create role models for their peers. In addition, studies show that complimented behavior will be repeated. It’s truly a win-win situation for staff and the organization.”
Slide 88: 56 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE At Delnor, top management began integrating this principle through leadership training. “We educated our leaders about the importance of praising their staff and taught them skills for how to do it effectively,” says Deering. “It sounds simple, but it’s amazing how many managers don’t take the time to tell their employees they’re doing a good job unless you build it into your culture as an expectation.” The hospital also formed a team to develop new reward and recognition programs, including the following (see Exhibit 3.8 showing a Best of the Best, or “BoB,” award form): • The Best of the Best (BoB) program. This program involved creating reward certificates that patients, visitors, leaders, coworkers, volunteers, or physicians can fill out to recognize an employee for providing excellent customer service. Staff members receiving the certificates can redeem them with their manager for prizes that include meal passes for the cafeteria or gift cards for local stores and restaurants. “It’s great when someone gives me a ‘BoB,’ says Cindy Masa, a registered nurse. “It really makes me feel like I’m appreciated for taking extra time with a patient or doing something nice for a coworker. And the gift certificates are like getting a little bonus. I love it.” Masa’s comments are representative of the entire staff’s response to the program, which has become one of the most successful aspects of Delnor’s reward and recognition efforts. • Monthly Excellence Awards. This is the next level of recognition. Employees who go above and beyond what’s expected in customer service receive special recognition at a monthly awards ceremony attended by hospital leaders and staff. • Annual Excellence Awards. A select few employees who do something extraordinary for customers or the organization receive these awards, which are given out once a year at an employee recognition banquet. First, second, and third place plaques and cash prizes of up to $1,000 come with this highest level of recognition. As Livermore said, “The awards dinner is our most celebrated employee event and is always one of the highlights of the year at the hospital. It’s a tremendous way to recognize the very ‘best of the best’ at Delnor.” Principle 6: Focus on Employee Satisfaction “What we have found is that there is a direct correlation between employee satisfaction and patient and physician satisfaction,” says Livermore. “By constantly working to keep our staff satisfied, we have been able to improve morale, while at the same time dramatically increasing our patient satisfaction and physician satisfaction scores. It just stands to reason that happy employees are going to provide better care and service to customers.” At the macro-level, achieving high levels of employee satisfaction depends, in large part, upon an organization’s success in integrating the other eight
Slide 89: DELNOR HOSPITAL 57 principles described in this chapter. “All these elements must work in concert to create an environment and culture that differentiates you and makes your hospital or business a place where employees feel valued and want to come to work each day,” observes Livermore. At the microlevel, the hospital has taken a number of steps to integrate this principle, including establishing an organizational goal to become the top hospital in Chicago’s western suburbs for employee satisfaction. “We built that goal into our strategic plan and formed an Employer of Choice team to serve as a catalyst for helping us get there,” says Livermore. Over the past three years, this group has researched and implemented the following successful strategies: • Developing programs to help staff achieve greater work–life balance • Enhancing opportunities for career development • Improving the competitiveness of the hospital’s wage and benefits program • Offering health and wellness opportunities for employees • Organizing fun activities that build employee spirit Thanks to these efforts and the hospital’s cultural transformation, Delnor recently achieved the highest score for employee morale in a national survey of hospitals and health care organizations conducted by Sperduto & Associates, a national research firm. (See Exhibit 3.9 showing the hospital’s employee satisfaction results as documented by Sperduto & Associates.) The hospital was also the 2002 winner of the Institute for Health and Productivity Management’s Corporate Health and Productivity Award. In addition to earning national acclaim, Delnor’s “employer of choice” initiatives are also producing bottom-line results for the hospital. Staff turnover has declined from 20.5 percent in FY2001 to 11 percent in FY2002, resulting in a savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars to the hospital in recruitment, training, and other expenses related to hiring new employees. Principle 7: Measure the Important Things “If you set a goal but don’t bother to measure your progress along the way, how will you know whether you achieve it?” asks Livermore in underscoring the importance of Principle #7. The keys, he says, are determining the most important and meaningful data elements to measure, and making sure something is done with the information once it’s collected. At Delnor, the hospital focuses on measuring data closely related to strategic priorities and organizational goals.
Slide 90: 58 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Dashboard of Indicators. “We selected key data under the five pillars of service, people, growth, quality, and finance and developed a “dashboard of indicators” to help senior management and the board of directors monitor the hospital’s performance,” says Gretchen Parker, director of planning. “Each measure is tied to an objective in our strategic plan, such as patient satisfaction, patient volumes, market share, quality of care, financial performance, and so on.” (See Exhibit 3.10 showing the hospital’s “dashboard of indicators”.) Customer Satisfaction. After making “service excellence” a strategic priority and establishing an organizational goal to reach the ninety-ninth percentile in patient satisfaction, Delnor implemented a rigorous system for measuring and reporting patient satisfaction data. Using Press Ganey, a professional, independent, national research firm, the hospital surveys every type of patient it serves (inpatients, outpatients, emergency department patients, and so on) continuously during the year. Patient satisfaction reports are generated and shared throughout the hospital on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual basis. (See Exhibit 3.11 showing patient and physician satisfaction survey results from national market research firms.) “Establishing a measurement system this extensive is a huge undertaking that requires considerable staff and financial resources, but we have found it to be well worthwhile,” says Michael Kittoe, vice president and chairman of the hospital’s Data Measurement Team. “By publishing this data so frequently it really helps our leaders and staff focus on patient satisfaction. What’s more, leaders and teams are held accountable for their scores and are expected to utilize the data to identify gaps in patient satisfaction so they can implement process improvements.” Top-scoring teams are recognized and rewarded, creating a celebratory atmosphere that’s infectious, says Kittoe. “It creates a healthy competition within the hospital among teams, and constantly challenges them to improve.” Achieving the ninety-ninth percentile (or top 1 percent) in patient satisfaction has become the hospital’s rallying cry, and top management emphasizes this goal at every opportunity with both leaders and staff. “Senior management sets the focus and tone for the organization,” says Barker. “When we see and hear how passionate they are about this goal it really fires up the rest of us to work hard to achieve it.” In addition to measuring patient satisfaction, the hospital also conducts physician and employee satisfaction surveys and community-based market research. As customer service action plans have been developed and implemented for each of those groups, the hospital has experienced dramatic gains in those scores as well.
Slide 91: DELNOR HOSPITAL 59 “Without a doubt, our achievement of national rankings in patient, employee, and physician satisfaction has coincided with our emphasis on measuring the important things and being committed to taking action on the results,” says Livermore. Principle 8: Communicate at All Levels Effective corporate communication is always important, especially during times of major cultural change. “Let’s face it, change is uncomfortable, and, at times, even scary,” says Livermore. “That’s why it’s so important for top management to clearly communicate their organization’s vision, goals, and strategic direction to leaders and staff. We have an obligation to explain where the organization is headed and why. To fail to do so causes confusion and paralysis.” To achieve this principle at Delnor the administration used a variety of communications tactics, including • Leadership meetings • Employee forums • Memos and e-mails • The employee newsletter In addition, team leaders communicated the changes and addressed employee questions at department meetings. “You can’t communicate something as radical as a new vision and strategic direction once and expect leaders and staff to ‘get it,’” says Livermore. “Our goal was to get the word out as often and in as many different ways as possible using consistent themes and messages. In situations like this, it’s virtually impossible to over-communicate.” In addition to top-down communication, Delnor also employs a technique called “managing-up,” in which employees are encouraged to proactively communicate with their supervisor on important issues. “We tell our staff to put themselves in their boss’s shoes and ask themselves, ‘What does he or she need to know about what I’m doing and how can I help the hospital be more successful?’” says Deering. “Managing-up is also an important way employees can make sure their priorities are in line with their boss’s expectations and team and organizational goals.” Principle 9: Align Behaviors with Goals and Values “Developing an organizational vision, values, and strategic plan is vital,” says Livermore, “but just as important is putting systems in place that integrate them into the daily behaviors, decisions, and activities of leaders and staff.” Delnor accomplished this most notably by adopting a series of behavior standards and by tying department and individual goals to organizational objectives.
Slide 92: 60 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Behavior Standards. To clearly define what’s expected of employees, the administration developed a series of behavior standards that emphasize the hospital’s values and address issues such as interpersonal communications, commitment to coworkers, personal appearance, and patient privacy. “At Delnor, we strive to be the ‘best of the best’ in customer service,” says Deering. “This means we must be consistently excellent during every contact with every customer on a daily basis. The behavior standards help us achieve this by making it very clear to employees how we want them to treat our patients, visitors, and coworkers. They set the standard for what we expect.” The behavior standards are spelled out in a manual that’s required reading for all new hires. They’re also publicized and reviewed monthly with all hospital staff through department meetings, bulletin boards, the employee newsletter, and other means. Goal Setting. “One of the most effective strategies we’ve employed to achieve the eighth principle is to require every department in the hospital to develop team goals that are aligned with our organizational goals,” says Livermore. “Then we take the process one step further by having managers work with each employee to set individual goals that are focused on achieving the team and organizational goals. This ensures that the entire organization is working in concert to accomplish our vision and strategic plan,” Livermore says. (See Exhibits 3.12 and 3.13 showing a sample of team goals and the ninety-day action work plan format used by Delnor leaders.) To help teams stay on track, department heads are required to develop ninetyday plans that outline specific actions to be taken each quarter in working toward annual goals. “These plans are a great tool to help leaders in focusing on goals and measuring their progress during the year,” says Livermore. This principle is also built into the hospital’s review-evaluation system so everyone is held accountable for their performance in achieving individual, team, and organizational goals. LESSONS LEARNED Through the journey of creating a championship culture at Delnor, the management team learned many valuable lessons along the way, including 1. Organizational transformation starts with a top-down commitment. The board of directors, CEO, and senior management team set the tone and direction for the organization. 2. A commitment to excellence must be built into the organization’s mission, vision, strategic plan, and values.
Slide 93: DELNOR HOSPITAL 61 3. The successful implementation of major organizational change does not happen overnight. It takes time, determination, and a willingness to transform the very culture of your organization. 4. There is no one right formula for becoming the “best of the best.” Any model for change and improvement must be customized to fit an organization’s unique characteristics, culture, and market conditions. 5. Building a championship culture requires creating an environment of ownership and accountability at every level of the organization. 6. Creating and developing leaders is key to organizational success. 7. Providing training and support in stress management and work–life balance is vital to helping leaders and employees sustain peak performance during time of major organizational change. 8. Never let great work go unnoticed. Recognizing and rewarding top performers is a powerful motivator and a key factor in employee satisfaction. 9. Focus on employee satisfaction. Happy, loyal workers provide better service to customers. 10. Measure the important things. If an organization doesn’t track its progress toward reaching goals, how will it know whether it ever achieves them? 11. Be flexible. The implementation of any change management model is a difficult and imperfect process. Be prepared to modify your plans to overcome unanticipated obstacles and adjust to ever-changing conditions.
Slide 94: 62 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 3.1. Structure for Delnor’s Customer Service Teams Service steering team (SOS team) Intensives BoB Team Behavior standards Jim Elsner Bright Ideas Diane Blake-Fischer Inpatient Satisfaction Linda Deering Customer Patients Family members Visitors Physicians Employees Volunteers Recognition and reward Michele McClelland Outpatient Satisfaction John Hubbe Measurement Michael Kittoe Communication Jim Elsner Logistics BOLD Board of Leadership Development Linkage Curriculum Engagement
Slide 95: DELNOR HOSPITAL 63 Exhibit 3.2. Delnor Scripting for Nurses SITUATION If a patient asks you when he or she can expect to see the doctor, please use the following scripting (pick one): Scripting • “Your doctor usually makes rounds about ________.” • “I am not sure when to expect him but I will call his (or her) office and ask the receptionist as to when you can expect him (her).” • If the physician’s office staff cannot provide a time, ask them to check with the doctor and call you back. Respond to the patient with: “I have left a message with Dr. ________ office and I am awaiting a call back. Is there anything I can do for you in the meantime?” SITUATION If you need to close a patient’s door to ensure their privacy while performing an exam, changing a dressing, giving a bath, or similar procedure, please use the following scripting: Scripting • “I am closing your door for your privacy. Is there anything else I can do for you? I have the time.” SITUATION To ensure prompt response to patient needs and minimize the use of call lights, please use the following scripting: Scripting • “This is my phone number. Please call me if you need anything. I will be able to meet your request more quickly if you call me directly. Is there anything I can do for you? I have the time. SITUATION During high-census periods, patients may become concerned about whether nursing units are adequately staffed to provide excellent care and meet their needs. Should a patient or family member inquire about this, please use the following scripting: Scripting • “Things are active today, but we have adequate staffing and we have the time to care for you. Feel free to call me at anytime. Is there anything I can do for you now? I have the time.” SITUATION Sometimes patients or families will ask questions that you may not have an immediate answer for. Here’s some scripting to help you respond in such situations. Scripting • “I don’t know. That is a good question. Let me check into it and I will get back to you by ________ today with an answer.”
Slide 96: 64 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 3.3. Sample of Delnor’s Monthly Performance Scorecard Section A. Hospitalwide performance As of:_________ Period:_________ Indicator/Definition Service: Average percentile ranking of the patient satisfaction surveys for Inpatient, Outpatient/Home health care, Emergency services, and Same day surgery. 5 = Average equal to or exceeding the 96th percentile 4 = Average from 93rd to 95th percentile 3 = Average from 90th to 92nd percentile 2 = Average from 87th to 89th percentile 1 = Average equal to or below 86th percentile Results FY 2004 year-to-date average People: Measured by the employee turnover rate annualized. 5 = Turnover rate 15.0% or lower 4 = Turnover rate of 15.1 – 17.0% 3 = Turnover rate of 17.1 – 19.0% 2 = Turnover rate of 19.1 – 21.0% 1 = Turnover rate greater than 21.0% FY 2004 year-to-date Quality: Surgical site infection (SSI) rate performance improvement. 5 = Implement at least three systemwide evidence-based interventions AND a statistically significant reduction in SSI rate 4 = Implement at least three systemwide evidence-based interventions AND a reduction in SSI rate 3 = Implement at least three systemwide evidence-based interventions 2 = Implement at least two systemwide evidence-based interventions 1 = Implement one or more systemwide evidence-based interventions FY 2004 year-to-date Financial: The actual operating income as compared to budget year-to-date. 5 = Exceeding budgeted income by 10.0% or more 4 = 5.0% to 9.9% above budgeted income 3 = 0.0% to 4.9% above budgeted income 2 = 0.1% to 4.9% below budgeted income 1 = Below budgeted income by 5.0% or more FY 2004 year-to-date Financial: Measured by the total inpatient and outpatient visits compared to budget year-to-date. 5 = Exceeding budgeted volume by 3.0% or more 4 = 1.5% to 2.9% above budget 3 = 0.0% to 1.4% above budget 2 = 0.1% to 1.4% below budget 1 = Below budgeted volume by 1.5% or greater FY 2004 year-to-date Year-to-date average score of Section A:_________ Note: 5 (Exceptional), 4 (Exceeds expectations), 3 (Achieves expectations), 2 (Below expectations), or 1 (Needs improvement).
Slide 97: DELNOR HOSPITAL 65 Exhibit 3.4. Sample Agenda for One of the Two-Day Leadership Training Sessions WDCH Live from Fox Valley Tri-Cities Channel 300 on Your Dial! Program Guide – Wednesday, March 19th, 2003 MC’s – Chad Gilliland & Karin Podolski Programming Early AM addition Commercial welcome Check your score cards - Review accountability grid (new) Drama Listing Register to win Chad Gilliland & Karin Podolski Chad Gilliland & Karin Podolski Radio & Television Personalities Heart Time (Live) Public Service Announcement E-learning and Trends Health Wise HIPPA Understanding of Delnor’s financial position, current, and future Need for leaders to achieve excellence in financial operations management Diane Ball HIPPA Task Force Michael Kittoe & Dan Yunker Break Decreasing Cost Through Better Supply Exercise To increase efficiency Refer to 1st item on your Accountability Grid HFMA Chain management Break Substance Abuse in the Workplace Exercise Better knowledge and understanding of substance abuse and work policy Dr. Woodward Refer to 2nd item on your Accountability Grid Advertisement HIPPA HIPPA Task Force (Continued)
Slide 98: 66 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 3.4. Sample Agenda for One of the Two-Day Leadership Training Sessions (Continued) Late Lunch Eating Enigma Weight Watchers Would You Believe It! Making the Year 2002 “Graduation” All Star Awards To Tell the Truth Game Show Audience Participation Managing Labor Costs: Dealing with work force shortages and the need to grow revenues with existing FTE targets. Refer to 3rd & 4th item on your Grid Quick run - the program starts in 5 minutes To improve productivity without increasing resources HFMA Exercise Station News Flash Delnor Highlights HIPPA News You Can Use HIPPA Task Force Anchor C. Livermore Coming Attractions
Slide 99: DELNOR HOSPITAL 67 Exhibit 3.4. (Continued) Program Guide — Thursday, March 20, 2003 Programming Good Morning WDCH A Day in the Making Listing First On Your Dial Learn where you are going Increasing confidence and self assuredness when taking emotional risks necessary to forge ahead for significant achievement Radio & Television Personalities Him & Her Chad & KP Moving Mountains Diane Ball Family Feud Game Show The Logistics Whether Forecast Yes, whether this or that Financial Projects through 2006 Tom & Michael Stretch, Wet, Chew Time Calories by Pipefitters. Sweet rolls, fruit, bagels coffee, tea or pee HIPPA PCC & Discharge Planners – See how actions speak louder than words in today's episode V- vision O- openness I- influence C- competence E- ethics S- social skills We Fit It to Your Hips Commercial Break The Gardeners HIPPA Task Force M. Schoolfield, L. Pertl, J. Joseph, K. Kalin, L. Adams 6 Secrets to Effective Leadership Refer to 5th item on your Accountability Grid! Brian Smith (Continued)
Slide 100: 68 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 3.4. Sample Agenda for One of the Two-Day Leadership Training Sessions (Continued) Rehab Renegades OP Rehab – Reality Program J. Polkow, K. Pennington, D. Hamilton, S. Black Lunching with the Best Talk Show Variety The Oldies but Goodies Delnor Glen – the story BEHIND the story D. Winecke, P. Faught, L. Spang, D. Sprovieri, C. Duer Public Service Announcement HIPPA HIPPA Task Force 6 Secrets to Effective Leadership continued Rolling Three Kidney Stones Refer to # 5 on the Accountability Grid 3 North – Talk Show Brian Smith C. Johnson, B. Nelson, W. Perez Rope Warrior Thinking Out of the Loop David Fisher Wright Show - variety Connect the Dots Tom Wright
Slide 101: Exhibit 3.5. Accountability Grid for Best Cost and People, March 2003–May 2003, Delnor-Community Hospital What Progress Note 04/17/03 Complete by Completed YN Who Team Leader and Coordinators Share with your team the challenges related to non-labor resources management. Create an action plan with 2–3 interventions. 05/01/03 Meet with Center Leaders. Identify your personal knowledge/practice changes related to new information on substance abuse. 04/17/03 Share with your team the challenges related to labor resources management. Create an action plan with 2–3 interventions. 04/03/03 Define a desired 7.5 percent improved productivity or supply chain cost result to be achieved and the related measure of the results. Timeline to be set with your Center Leader within the first 2 weeks. Select one of the 3 simple keys, create a personal action plan and share with your Center Leader. 04/03/03 Center Leaders Meet with your team leaders/coordinators to develop a training goal to ensure proper working knowledge of labor management software.
Slide 102: 70 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 3.6. Heart Rhythms Before HeartMath “Freeze Frame” Intervention 100 Heart Rate (BPM) 90 80 70 60 50 1 50 100 (Time in seconds) 150 200 Anger Exhibit 3.7. Heart Rhythms After HeartMath “Freeze Frame” Intervention 100 Heart Rate (BPM) 90 80 70 60 50 1 50 100 (Time in seconds) 150 200 Appreciation
Slide 103: Exhibit 3.8. Best of the Best (a.k.a. “BoB”) Award Form I commend of Department, for the following reason(s): Leader: Please write in the level of recognition: We would like to recognize those individuals who exceed your expectations. Best Of the Best Your Name: Your Department: Patient Staff Visitor Level of Gift Leader’s Inititals Please return this card to your Team Leader, Coordinator or Nursing Supervisor. Team Leader, etc.: Please send completed card to Maryann Russ, Information Systems
Slide 104: Exhibit 3.9. Hospital Employee Satisfaction Results Employee Retention Monthly Annualized Turnover Rate 30.0% 26.4% 26.4% Employee Positive Morale Sperduto Annual Survey 85% 81% 20.0% Actual 18.0% 18.0% 25.0% 80% 22.8% 13.2% 75% 15.0% 14.4% 13.2% 12.0% 12.0% 13.2% 12.0% 10.8% 74% Meets Expectations >76% 14.4% 13.2% 70% 10.0% 10.8% 9.6% 10.8% 10.8% 12.0% 10.8% 12.0% 6% 10.8% 7.2% 65% 5.0% 3.6% Exceeds Expectations >80% % with positive morale 60% New results for 2002! Delnor had highest score in Sperduto data base this year. 0.0% 55% Se 2002 p Oc 02 t0 2 3 2 3 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 v 0 ec 0 an 0 eb 0 ar 0 pr 0 ay 0 un 0 Jul 0 ug 0 ep 0 J J A F S M D No A M R.N. Annualized Turnover Exceeds Expectations <17% 50% Total Annualized Turnover Meets Expectations <20% 2001 Employee Recruitment Vacancy Rate (open positions) 12.0% 10.0% 8.7% 8.9% 10.0% 8.0% 8.7% 8.0% 6.5% 6.9% 6.4% 5.8% 8.4% 7.9% 7.8% 7.7% 7% 7.7% 6.3% 6.7% 6.5% 6.0% 4.8% 6.1% 6.0% 5.9% 5.7% % Vacancies 4.0% 3.9% 4.6% 4.6% 4.4% 4.2% 2.0% 0.0% Se p Oc 02 t0 2 3 3 3 3 3 3 2 3 3 2 3 3 v 0 ec 0 an 0 eb 0 ar 0 pr 0 ay 0 un 0 Jul 0 ug 0 ep 0 ct 0 J J O A F S M D No A M Total Vac. Rate MCHC Benchmark R.N. Vac. Rate DCH Target Total Vac. <6%
Slide 105: Exhibit 3.10. Dashboard of Indicators Service Employee satisfaction (Sperduto Survey) Patient volumes Surgical site infection index Market share ER LOS for admitted patients Consumer preference Return to ER Pressure ulcer incidence People Quality Growth Operating margin Financial Patient satisfaction (Press-Ganey) Physician satisfaction (PRC Survey) Employee retention (turnover rate) Compensation ratio Employee recruitment (vacancy rate) Days cash on hand Debt service coverage Medication report rate Falls Readmits Restraint usage Specimen occurrences Measures identified with a pillar are tied to performance evaluations and compensation for all staff. Note: Possible scores: At or better than target; Near or trending toward target; Far from target; and Under development.
Slide 106: Exhibit 3.11. Patient and Physician Satisfaction Surveys Patient Satisfaction Monthly Mean Score (Press Ganey avg of Inpatient, ER, SDS, Testing/Therapy) Patient Satisfaction Quarterly Percentile Ranking (Press Ganey avg of Inpatient, ER, SDS, Testing/Therapy) Start of New Press-Ganey Survey 100 98 96 94 92 90 88 86 84 87.9 88.1 89.5 89.7 87.5 89 89.7 88.6 89 89.9 90.7 88.6 89.5 Actual 100 93 87 86 Meets Expect >90th Exceeds Expect >95th 95 94 89 92 90 89 Percentile Score 81 70 60 Mean Score 80 85 Q Q Q Q Q Q Q 0 30 1 30 1 40 2 10 2 20 2 30 2 40 p Se Q 0 40 Q 1 10 Q 1 20 FY t Oc 02 FY 02 02 Y02 Y03 Y03 Y03 Y03 Y03 Y03 Y03 Y03 Y03 F F F F FY F F F F F lF ov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Ju Aug Sep N Physician Satisfaction — PRC Survey Rating of "DCH as a Place to Practice Medicine" 60 61.5 57.5 50 40 31.4 30 DCH % Excellent PRC % Excellent Physician Satisfaction — PRC Survey Rating of "Overall Quality of Care" 70 60 - New score ranks us at 98th percentile! - 59 question telephone survey. - 30–40 physicians interviewed quarterly. - 177 hospitals in PRC database. 60 52.5 57.5 48.7 48.7 New score ranks us at 92nd percentile! 50 31.9 31.9 40 31.4 31.4 31.9 30 20 10 0 Jul–Sep 02 Jan–Mar 02 Apr–June 02 Jul–Sep 02 DCH % Excellent PRC % Excellent 20 10 0 Jan–Mar 02 Apr–June 02
Slide 107: DELNOR HOSPITAL 75 Exhibit 3.12. Team Goals B. TEAM PERFORMANCE. Team performance can be measured at various levels. For example, it can be measured at the center (division), team (department), or the work unit level. Below are four or more team-based performance objectives and measures that were established by your team in collaboration with the organization’s leadership. One of the measures has to be a financial measure of team success. Two or more teams within the same center may share a common measure and each team within the center may have one or more measures unique to their team. A check mark will indicate your team’s achievement on each measure. Your Team Is: Emergency Department ____________________________________ Best Service: Patient satisfaction as measured by average quarterly mean scores for ER. [] [] [] 3 2 1 mean score equal to or greater than 87.8 mean score between 86.3–87.7 mean score below 86.3 Best People: Management of turnover as measured by twelve-month average for ER (Current 5 6.1%). [] [] [] 3 2 1 less than 10.0% between 10.0 and 12.0% greater than 12.0% Best Quality: Bright Ideas implemented in ER Team. Ideas must be for improvements on the team. [] [] [] 3 2 1 One Bright Idea implemented per FTE on the team ( 34) 0.5 FTE Bright Idea implemented per FTE on the team (17–33) Less than 0.5 Bright Idea implemented per FTE on the team ( 17) Best Quality: Skin Care as measured by time of admission documentation of skin condition for patients being admitted as inpatient. [] [] [] 3 2 1 90% or greater documented 80–89% documented 79% or less documented (Continued)
Slide 108: 76 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 3.12. Team Goals (Continued) Best Financial: Management of team financial performance as measured by the Financial Accountability Scorecard (FAS) for ER. [] [] [] 3 2 1 Score of 90 or better Score of 80–89 Score of 79 or less Best Growth: Increase in volume as measured by number of patient visits. [] [] [] 3 2 1 3% or greater above budget 0–2% above budget less than budget Comments and Goals (Optional): Average Score of Section B: _________ (Add each score in this section and divide by the number of measures.) Note: 3 (Exceptional), 2 (Achieves expectations), or 1 (Needs improvement).
Slide 109: Exhibit 3.13. Ninety-Day Work/Action Plan FY2003 Quarter: Dept: Leader’s name: 90 DAY WORK/ACTION PLAN Goal Action Steps % Time* Priority (1–3)* Support/ Direction (1–3)* 90 Day Result Report Best People Best Service Quality Cost Growth Note: *% Time: Percentage of leader’s time to be spent on goal. Priority (1–3): 1 needed; 2 supervisor input needed; 3 move forward on own. high; 2 medium; 3 low. Support/Direction (1–3): 1 supervisor approval
Slide 110: 78 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS Craig A. Livermore is president and chief executive officer for DelnorCommunity Health System and Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, Illinois. He earned his B.S. degree in business from Eastern Illinois University and a Master of Hospital and Health Care Administration degree from Saint Louis University. He is past-chairman of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council Board of Directors and a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives. He is also actively involved in numerous health care and community organizations. Prior to joining Delnor, Mr. Livermore was president and chief executive officer of Augustana Hospital and Health Care Center in Chicago. Thomas L. Wright is chief operating officer for Delnor-Community Health System and Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, Illinois. He also serves as chief financial officer of Delnor-Community Health Care Foundation and DelnorCommunity Residential Living. He holds a B.S. degree in mathematics and an M.B.A. degree with a concentration in finance from Loyola University of Chicago. He is an advanced member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, a member and past chairman of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council Finance Committee, and a Diplomat of the American College of Healthcare Executives. Mr. Wright is also very active in supporting local health care and community organizations. Linda Deering is vice president and chief nursing officer for Delnor-Community Hospital in Geneva, Illinois. She holds a B.A. degree from Northern Illinois University, and an M.S. degree from Northern Illinois University. She is an active member of the American Organization of Nurse Executives, Illinois Organization of Nurse Leaders, and Illinois Coalition for Nursing Resources. In addition to her work at Delnor, she works with other hospitals across the nation to facilitate organizational excellence and culture transformation.
Slide 111: S CHAPTER FOUR S Emmis Communications A change management process is for creating and implementing a distinctive firm brand and fostering a unique employer-of-choice culture while driving performance, accountability and innovation to higher levels. Initiative leverages executive strategic planning and alignment, leadership-development programs, performance-management systems, employee-commitment strategies, targeted organizational communications, and special events and recognition. OVERVIEW INTRODUCTION: RAPID GROWTH TO A MEDIA MID-CAP Distinctive Culture Internal Growth and Economic Pains COMPASSIONATE EMPLOYER OF CHOICE ASSESSMENT: ON THE AIR DIAGNOSIS: PLUGGED IN? New Business Realities: Drivers for Change Change Objective APPROACH DESIGN: WHO’S OUR CUSTOMER? INTERVENTION: GETTING TUNED IN Executive Alignment Malicious Compliance Leading for Results PROGRAM PROMOTION AND MULTIMEDIA BUILDING A HIGH-PERFORMANCE DISCIPLINE: CRANKING IT UP! Balanced Scorecards 80 81 82 82 83 85 86 87 88 88 89 89 89 91 91 92 94 94 Note: Some information in this case study was taken with permission from Emmis Communications internal and public documents. 79
Slide 112: 80 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Emmis Competency Model Performance and Reward Management Employee Training WHAT ABOUT INNOVATION? EVALUATION: MEASURING SIGNAL STRENGTH January 12, 2004, Q&A with Emmis Communications CEO Jeff Smulyan LESSONS LEARNED Exhibit 4.1: The Eleven Commandments of Emmis Communications Exhibit 4.2: Dual-Path Results Model Exhibit 4.3: Executive Session FAST Agenda Exhibit 4.4: Internal Communications Matrix Exhibit 4.5: Balanced Scorecard Sample Exhibit 4.6: Competency Feedback Exhibit 4.7: Competency Linkage to Culture Exhibit 4.8: Emmis Competency Model Exhibit 4.9: Performance Management Insights Exhibit 4.10: Performance and Reward Management Overview Exhibit 4.11: Performance and Reward Management Implementation Plan ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTOR 95 95 95 96 97 98 99 101 102 103 105 108 109 110 116 117 118 118 119 OVERVIEW I was certain that we could build a company that would stand for something different. Twenty years ago, radio was an industry characterized by short-term relationships—very few people ever thought of working long-term for one company, and absolutely no thought was given to building careers without moving around. I thought Emmis could create a different atmosphere. —Jeff Smulyan, CEO Emmis Communications, excerpt from twenty-year anniversary letter Emmis Communications is a small entrepreneurial radio company making the leap to being a much larger international company with holdings in various media. This change-management case study describes the systematic approach used by Emmis Communications to successfully create a distinctive firm brand and performance culture while extending the positive employer-of-choice reputation it had earned. Rapid growth required greater corporate structure and strategy clarification. Assimilation of newly acquired businesses required greater alignment and proactive strategies for “Emmisizing” the entire organization.
Slide 113: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 81 Under the leadership of a visionary and entrepreneurial CEO, Jeff Smulyan, the organization undertook a process of further defining its strategies, corporate structure, and culture. Using a variety of processes, Emmis drove clarity and focus companywide to drive business results and build the distinctive Emmis Brand and culture. In partnership with Results-Based Leadership, Emmis implemented a cascading and collaborative process of focus, education, communication, and performance accountability. The initiative used many change techniques and focused on a systemwide approach. The lessons learned at Emmis Communications are important for any organization undergoing a major change initiative that affects the organization’s brand, culture, performance, and business results. Companies experiencing rapid growth, overcoming entitlement behaviors, wanting to drive a distinctive culture through the company, building an employer-of-choice reputation, or evolving from a smaller company to a mid-sized company will particularly find these lessons useful. INTRODUCTION: RAPID GROWTH TO A MEDIA MID-CAP Emmis Communications Corporation (Nasdaq: EMMS) is the sixth largest publicly traded radio portfolio in the United States based on total listeners. Emmis owns eighteen FM and three AM radio stations that serve the nation’s largest markets of New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, as well as Phoenix, St. Louis, Indianapolis, and Terre Haute, Indiana. In addition, Emmis owns two radio networks, fifteen television stations, regional and specialty magazines, and ancillary businesses in broadcast sales and publishing. Founded in 1980, Emmis Communications launched its first radio station, WENS-FM, in July 1981. As Emmis (the Hebrew word for “truth”) acquired more radio stations across the nation, it established a reputation for sound operations and emerged as a radio industry leader and innovator. Emmis was the first broadcast company to own top-rated radio stations in both L.A. and New York, and it pioneered such concepts as the Rhythmic Top 40 and all-sports radio formats. The company launched its magazine division in 1988 with the purchase of Indianapolis Monthly, and later acquired magazines such as Texas Monthly and Los Angeles Magazine. Emmis became a public company in 1994, and moved into the world of international radio in 1997, when it was awarded a license to operate a national radio network in Hungary. In 1998, Emmis expanded into television by buying six television stations in markets throughout the United States. In the last three years, the company has added properties in each of its divisions. In fiscal 2000, the company invested more than $1.5 billion in acquisitions. Annual net revenues have grown from $140 million in fiscal year 1998
Slide 114: 82 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE to over $562 million in fiscal year 2003. Employee population in that same period grew from under 500 to over 3,100. Emmis maintains its worldwide headquarters in Indianapolis, where the company was founded. Distinctive Culture While I never could have imagined that Emmis would grow to its current size, I was certain that it could be a company with a culture that separated it from its peers. I believed we could create great radio while treating employees well and letting them profit from our successes. I believed we could draw great ideas from every person in the company, not just the ones at the top. I believed we could win by taking risks. I believed—and this might be the most important thing—that we could have fun and still make a difference. I continue to believe those things. As a result, the approach that made Emmis unique in the media world of twenty years ago makes us even more unusual today. —Jeff Smulyan With its emphasis on sound operations, integrity, community involvement, innovation, and fun, Emmis’s culture has been lauded by both its employees and its peers. Trade publications have regularly cited the company’s leaders as being among the best in the business. In 2001, Radio Ink magazine named CEO Jeff Smulyan its Executive of the Year. Jeff Smulyan has also earned a reputation in professional baseball from his ownership of the Seattle Mariners from 1989 to 1992. He is regularly interviewed by sports and news media about baseball and the economics of the game. In 2001, he appeared as a guest on the Bob Costas Show on HBO, and in 2002, as baseball appeared to be headed for a strike, he was interviewed by a number of media. The EMMIS culture carries at its heart the belief that in order to succeed, a company must take risks, treat its people well, and give them the tools they need to win. This culture has as its foundation the CEO-authored Emmis Eleven Commandments. (See Exhibit 4.1.) The original Ten Commandments were written as part of a speech CEO Jeff Smulyan delivered at an annual managers’ meeting; the Eleventh Commandment, “Admit your mistakes,” was added later, after Jeff’s experience with owning the Seattle Mariners. Internal Growth and Economic Pains It’s hard to describe what starting the company was like in those days. I was picking all of our music, writing our commercials, buying the equipment, making sales calls . . . in short, being involved in every aspect of the station. —Jeff Smulyan By 2000, Emmis began to feel the pains of its tremendous growth. The company had historically let the divisions and entities run mostly independently, albeit with Jeff’s leadership and strong values always being visible and
Slide 115: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 83 influential. But size and resource-management needs made it prudent to establish greater governance and professionalize corporate functions. Jeff Smulyan believed that the human resource (HR) function especially needed to be professionalized and staffed adequately to help drive the unique culture into all of the newly acquired businesses. This change would require new HR leadership, the establishment of Emmis Learning, and the hiring and budgeting of resources to develop processes and systems to drive the culture into the organization. As this process of change began, another factor began to draw attention: the economic downturn that developed in 2001, hitting the media industry especially hard. On September 10, 2001, when Jeff Smulyan was with a group of media and advertising executives in New York City, one executive commented that 2001 was the “worst advertising environment he had seen since the 1940s.” The historic attacks on New York and Washington, D.C., just one day later, obviously exacerbated the already gloomy situation. Throughout the year and into 2002, the division heads (Radio President Rick Cummings, TV President Randy Bongarten, and Publishing President Gary Thoe) asked their direct reports (general managers for TV and radio, and publishers and editors for magazines) to provide financial reforecasts and aggressively review their cost structures. In March 2001, the company launched ESAP (Emmis Sales Assault Plan), an initiative designed to increase the size and capability of the sales organizations throughout the company. This required new recruitment, hiring and training, as well as the implementation of performance-and-reward processes. This launch followed closely after the creation of a number of other significant initiatives, including profit improvement, procurement initiatives, IT/systems implementations, sales excellence programs and additional corporate approval-and-reporting requests. As a result of these initiatives and other factors driven by growth, the relationship between Emmis’s corporate headquarters and the entities in the field had been gradually changing, with 2001 and 2002 finding some in the field feeling the corporate headquarters was becoming increasingly intrusive. COMPASSIONATE EMPLOYER OF CHOICE Although this case is about the building of a distinctive and higher-performing culture, it easily could have been a case of best practices for building a strong employment brand. You will see, however, that the development and fostering of such a culture could also bring with it some unintended challenges. Emmis’s leadership realized that the development of an employment brand requires much more than slogans or value statements such as the Eleven Commandments. To establish such a strong reputation, the company recognized the need to invest in programs and practices that touch its employees and community in a regular and consistent manner. It would be the leadership’s
Slide 116: 84 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE investments, behaviors, and decisions regarding its people that would demonstrate the integrity and genuineness of the organization’s values. The following are some of the factors that have earned Emmis the reputation of a “great place to work”: • Commitment to employee stock ownership programs. The “One Share” program delivers one Emmis stock certificate to every new employee. Annual stock option events are designed to ensure that every employee in good standing gets a meaningful grant of options. • Employee benefit and welfare programs. Emmis has always had at the core of its HR programs a commitment to being highly competitive in employee health and benefit programs. The goal is to be generally “more generous” than its’ peers. Programs are reviewed annually, and visible changes are made based on solicited employee feedback. • Response to attacks of September 11. While employees at Emmis’s strategic radio cluster in New York City were particularly affected by the events of September 11, the company recognized that this was an event that touched every employee in the company. The organization’s response to the employee’s needs was swift and compassionate. For example, on September 13, Emmis Human Resources introduced an employee assistance program to all employees. Furthermore, Jeff Smulyan sent out an emotional and heartfelt e-mail that reflected on the events and described his personal feelings about how the tragedy touched the business and everyone’s life. • Employment policies and practices. Emmis has had a philosophy that employment policies should allow employees flexibility and freedom in their relationship with the company. It assumes an adult relationship between employee and employer. • Handling the economic downturn in 2001 and 2002. Emmis was forced to take cost-cutting actions to handle its debt-leverage situation. In total, Emmis had to reduce the workforce by approximately 8 percent—a new experience for Emmis. To address this situation, an enhanced severance package was created and outplacement services were created. Within hours of considerable TV division layoffs, Jeff Smulyan and TV Division President Randy Bongarten participated in a live TV satellite feed to speak about the events, state of the business, and concern for affected employees. • Maintained investments. Again during this difficult time Emmis executives had to make critical decisions about resources and investments. Two controversial investments were sustained during this difficult time: (1) Emmis Learning’s Leadership Development Workshops, and (2) the Annual Emmis Managers Meeting & Emmi Awards Ceremony.
Slide 117: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 85 • Annual Employee Survey. Emmis has conducted an annual employee survey since 1986. Not only does it include the standard scaled responses, but it also gathers verbatim comments, all of which are read by Jeff Smulyan. The organization has a formalized Employee Survey Reaction Plan process that ensures review and appropriate accountability for action on areas of concern. • Creative Stock Compensation Program. Probably most impressive is the innovative stock compensation program created to protect jobs and wages during one of the company’s most difficult financial periods. A program was designed to reduce payroll by 10 percent (approximately $14 million), while maintaining employees’ monthly net income through a special stock program administered every payroll period. This is not an exhaustive list of events, programs, practices, and decisions made at Emmis during the recent past, but simply a sample list to provide a sense of the general culture and genuine compassion for the employees of Emmis Communications. ASSESSMENT: ON THE AIR By January of 2001, the HR function was in place and a period of assessment began. Two primary areas were evaluated: (1) the state of the Emmis culture throughout the company, and (2) the presence of appropriate HR process implementations to support the business’s strategies and operational needs. The data-gathering period was conducted formally and informally through March 2001. Formal Data Collection • Employee demographic profiles and turnover trends from HRIS reporting • Annual employee survey data results and trends • Focus groups at the Annual Emmis Managers Meeting (March, Las Vegas) • Aggregated leadership 360 feedback results conducted for all 300 participants at the 2001 Annual Emmis Managers Meeting • Exit interview data and trends • Emmis Learning training-needs assessment Informal Data Collection • HR leadership visits to a large representative group of entities, where discussions and interviews were conducted with general managers,
Slide 118: 86 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE department heads, and key employees; also included all-employee general communication meetings with Q&A sessions • Interviews and numerous discussions with Jeff Smulyan and executive team members on state of the business and culture and perceived organizational needs • Review of all prior business plans and strategies • HR staff identification of morale, employee-relations, and leadership issues and trends • Review of all current HR processes, policies, and practices. DIAGNOSIS: PLUGGED IN? As hinted to earlier, over a number of years Emmis’s paternalistic, employeefriendly culture had created something of an entitlement culture among some employees who did not feel encouraged to perform at higher levels, but instead often felt that if they simply did their jobs consistently and reliably they would be rewarded at increasing levels. Rather than feeling loyal to the company, these employees often felt that the company should be loyal to them regardless of their levels of productivity. In addition to this observation, some other clear themes emerged. The following is the initial summary of findings that would shape the focus and approach to the organizational change initiative: • No clear, common, internal strategic planning process existed, making the prioritization of the investments, projects, and initiatives functionally driven and “opportunistic.” • Understanding and integration of the culture throughout the organization was greatly mixed. Most of the newly acquired businesses did not have a working understanding of, or buy-in for, the Eleven Commandments and Emmis culture. • The executive team had mixed interpretations and beliefs of the business investment priorities, as well as the Emmis culture and Eleven Commandments. • The divisions and entities preferred to operate as independent bodies, whereas the corporate strategy was increasingly focused on gaining cost advantages and synergies through centralization and business involvement. • There was general concern about the negative effects of growth (risk of losing small-family company feel) and about the standardization,
Slide 119: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 87 processes, and formality associated with growth and increased corporate governance. • Among the corporate and entity groups that had been with the company for many years, elements of entitlement and “job protection” hindered performance, accountability, and innovation. • Morale and employee commitment was generally lower in the entities that did not understand, or had not been exposed to, the Emmis culture. • Employees who had had more exposure to, and understanding of, the Emmis culture had high levels of pride. • Performance management and accountability was underdeveloped, inconsistent, and sometimes nonexistent. Pay decisions were more often based on internal equity and time-in-job than performance. • Jeff Smulyan was committed to continuing acquisition growth, building higher levels of performance and innovation, and fostering a high-loyalty culture created through the founding values. Not all members of the executive team had appropriate levels of alignment with this vision. New Business Realities: Drivers for Change The economy, competitive pressures, and debt-leverage issues created a necessary and compelling motive to maximize the company’s performance. The media industry is undergoing radical changes. Consolidation, acquisitions, and property swapping is redefining the landscape. This consolidation is being driven in part by new technologies that create opportunities that could be considered conflicts of interest. For example, with recent FCC changes, a media company could easily squelch unfavorable news items about itself in areas where it has market dominance. The larger, more powerful media forces could restrict distribution of a competitor’s products. Finally, the big players can cross-promote their products from one platform to another. Not long ago, this would have been considered outrageous. Today it’s part of the new business reality—although there is always the chance of FCC intervention until Washington steps in. These new business realities are forcing Emmis to reinvent itself in radio and TV and develop nontraditional revenue sources while continuing to acquire new properties when feasible. Making this effort more challenging is the company’s ongoing desire to complete this transformation and growth while also maintaining the industry-distinguishing Emmis culture.
Slide 120: 88 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Change Objective To drive business performance, Emmis needed more understanding and agreement on its structure, strategy, and cultural definition, starting at the top of the company. Processes needed to be put into place to drive this new clarity and focus throughout the organization. The company needed increased accountability and a balance between the deployment of strategies, goals, and objectives and the maintenance of the culture, Eleven Commandments and behavioral expectations. So the hypothesis behind the evolving organizational change initiative was that clear strategy, firm brand, and culture definition with supporting communication and performance systems would result in higher levels of employee productivity and commitment, as well as distinctiveness and value to customers and investors. APPROACH A key principle HR partner, Victor Agruso, was brought in as the strategy, organizational development, and HR effectiveness consultant. With the HR leadership, Agruso helped assess the best way to further clarify and implement Emmis values and strategies, and advise how best for human resources to make a positive contribution. A network of consultants were then appropriately engaged to support the developing change effort. Agruso helped create and implement the blueprint for achieving the external consultant’s project goals outlined in this case. Specific change approaches would include • An executive team definition of company structure, strategies, and culture • Strategies for widely communicating the direction of the company • Performance management systems for driving performance and behavior expectations and accountability • Communications, forums, and events to extend the unique Emmis culture companywide • Executive and leadership development programs to build understanding and capability to execute according to the strategy and culture • Measurement processes to influence performance and behaviors and guide the change initiative • Programs, symbolic events, and recognition to reinforce direction of the company and accountability
Slide 121: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 89 DESIGN: WHO’S OUR CUSTOMER? In the media work of radio, TV and publishing, the customers are traditionally considered to be listeners, viewers, and readers. Emmis challenged this paradigm in the course of its organizational alignment process, recognizing the need to define its internal audience and decide how to get its attention, commitment, and energy around the company’s “programming.” To do this, Emmis needed to take a dual approach to alignment. The model below portrays the definition and translation of the mission/vision and firm brand of Emmis into two parallel What and How paths to achieving results. The What column demonstrates the alignment of strategies, goals, objectives, and results measures; the How column demonstrates the alignment of the culture, competencies, and behaviors. The customer in this model is every employee in the company and the supporting systems, or points of influence, are identified in the middle of the What/How model. The model helps create a sequential approach to aligning the organization from the top down. It requires the executive audience to define the “programming” from the top and processes to cascade that programming down to the entire organization. Opportunity exists in the process to get audience feedback to ensure some level of collaboration and listening to the voice of the internal customer. The true “customers” of this change initiative are those who gain value through the success of the initiative: CEO Smulyan, investors, employees, and customers (Emmis’s advertisers). INTERVENTION: GETTING TUNED IN How clear, consistent, and strong is the signal about what the company is trying to accomplish, and how will it get there? It was clear that Emmis was an organization full of the industry’s best operators—innovating new successful formats and turning around underperforming operations. It was the strength of these operators that allowed the company to permit its divisions to operate so independently. However, it was no longer the same company of just a few years ago. A larger, now international media mix, significant acquisitions, and the development of a corporate structure required new focus and operational definitions. As the company grew, the unique culture was becoming diluted and more difficult to extend to new acquisitions. Executive Alignment With Emmis’s partners, Agruso and Results-Based Leadership (RBL), an approach to defining and aligning the executive team and organization was created. Jim Dowling with RBL customized a RBL FAST workshop into an executive two-day, off-site which was then scheduled (Exhibit 4.3). Norm
Slide 122: 90 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Smallwood, author of Results-Based Leadership, facilitated a session with the company’s sixteen top executives, who engaged in a challenging and sometimes emotional process of education, debate, and decision making. A second, follow-up FAST workshop was scheduled to continue the passionate discussions whereby the company’s strategic direction was verified and implications for leaders identified. The FAST workshop set anchor points for how Emmis chooses to conduct business and how it wants its leaders to be seen by their best customers. Several significant steps where achieved as a result of the workshops: • Corporate and divisional strategy was further developed • Allied corporate structure was established, with operational definitions taking shape. • A new era was defined: Establishing a new standard for performance and innovation. • A firm brand was created: Great Media, Great People, Great Service. • Scorecard development was addressed, and commitment, process, and designated teams established. • Critical strategic content was created for the next-level RBL leadership program: Leading for Results. • A need for additional executive development, alignment, and team building was identified. Worth noting is the conclusion of the company’s value chain: • The customer: the advertiser (in some cases the reader, where subscriber fees exist) • The product: desirable demographic pool for the advertiser • The production process: programming and editorial content that builds the product—the attention of desirable watchers, listeners, and readers The company’s firm brand then represents desired distinctiveness in these key areas: • Great Media: driver in production of audiences that are sold to advertisers • Great Service: attention to super-serving the advertisers, the primary customer • Great People: Emmis culture demonstrated through every employee and in their interactions with customers, audiences, investors, and other employees The new era—Establishing a new standard of performance and innovation— represents the company’s intention to focus the culture in a way that leverages
Slide 123: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 91 the positive intended elements of its culture while addressing growing concerns around performance and accountability. Malicious Compliance During the first two-day off-site workshop, signs of executive disagreement and resistance arose in a few key areas: (1) business portfolio makeup and decision making, (2) allied corporate structure versus a holding-company model, and (3) customer definition as the advertiser versus the listeners, watchers, and readers of the content. By the conclusion, the group seemed to be in agreement on the items listed above. After the event, however, there were signs that some key executives and some of their direct reports lacked confidence in their statements of support and communications of the work. This was later labeled “malicious compliance,” an effort to support what was decided as an executive team but with reservations and disagreement showing through in their communications. A few chose to continue to behave as though operating in a holding company structure, for example, and taking different courses of action, contradicting the executive team’s commitment, and sending mixed messages to the field. Dr. Jim Intagliata of the Northstar Group was engaged early in the change initiative to provide executive coaching to Smulyan and the executive team. This coaching and assessment work would play a role in shaping future executive team-building and alignment sessions, as well as supporting Smulyan’s management of the executives. Intagliata’s involvement in the strategy and behavioral work provided the coach tremendous insight to guide the alignment and “malicious compliance” concerns that had evolved. Intagliata was further engaged to conduct a competency modeling process, described later, a key tool in assisting in the focus the executive team. Leading for Results The next level of leadership consisted of seventy-five general managers, publishers, divisional vice presidents, and corporate directors. For consistency, Results-Based Leadership delivered workshops designed to build leadership alignment, commitment, and capabilities. A highly interactive workshop, Leading for Results, was delivered to these next-level leaders to understand Emmis strategy and examine how they will deliver results both individually and through others. The underlining philosophy was that key organizational leaders would be most influential in driving and extending the Emmis culture to the field locations. To do this, Emmis needed leaders throughout the company that understood the company’s strategies, firm brand, and culture intimately. These leaders need also to have the commitment and capabilities to deliver these messages and priorities to their respective staffs with passion. The following
Slide 124: 92 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE is a high-level agenda of the Emmis Leading for Results workshops: Day One: Develop Case for Change Opening: CEO and Executive Team overview and presentation of Emmis strategies, corporate structure, firm brand, and culture Focus: How leaders accelerate change Topics covered: New Business Realities Organization Change Why Quality of Leadership Matters Leadership Value Proposition Statement of Leadership Brand Day Two: Build Organization Capability Focus: How leaders get things done Topics covered: Shared Mindset Talent Collaboration Speed Accountability Learning Day Three: Individual Leader Implications Focus: Personal skill and accountability to deliver results Topics covered: Leader as Coach Personal Leadership Plan These participants were also responsible for translating the firm brand, culture, and leadership requirements into a definition of the Emmis leadership brand. The Leadership Brand is a statement of what leaders stand for at Emmis; it is linked to strategy and how Emmis wants to be known by its best customers and provides a focus for leadership development activities. These leaders created the following leadership brand: Emmis leaders embody deep customer understanding and quality product focus, communicate well, and turn vision into action. PROGRAM PROMOTION AND MULTIMEDIA As with Emmis audiences, repetition and mixed media help drive messages and influence buyer behavior. A key strategy for the Emmis change initiative involved using many communication vehicles for building brand awareness
Slide 125: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 93 and influencing the culture. All corporate communication mediums were identified with appropriate applications and objectives (Exhibit 4.4). These vehicles were strategically identified with timed announcements, stories, and special events. Emmis’s annual managers meeting is the company’s largest event, bringing together its top employees for training, networking, and recognition. The 2002 meeting was held in Indianapolis to reduce costs and give the noncorporate managers greater visibility to the Emmis corporate offices and staff. The event was timed to follow up on initial companywide communications (such as the Emmissary) regarding the new focus and direction of the company. The theme and agenda for the managers meeting revolved around the new firm brand and era, “Crank It Up! Establishing a New Standard for Performance and Innovation.” The program was structured to communicate the company’s strategies, firm brand, and cultural focus. Results-Based Leadership set the tone for the two-day conference. Additional speakers and events followed to reinforce specific elements of the era and culture. The speakers had all been previously introduced, shared program materials, and worked to ensure a common thread throughout their respective presentations. The program was designed to keep all the participants together and networked during the beginning, so all heard the same Emmis messages: • Jeff’s State of the Union—focus on new Emmis “era” • Norm Smallwood: firm brand, leadership brand, Balanced Scorecards, Emmis competencies, and performance management • Division head presentations on business strategy • Mark Williams of the Diversity Channel: great people and diversity awareness • Robert Spector, author of the Nordstrom Way: world-class customer service • Wall Street perspective from industry analysts and former FCC commissioner Post-meeting surveys indicated a clearer understanding of Emmis’s company strategy and firm brand and that managers could now comfortably communicate this strategy and firm brand to their respective staffs. The Emmi Awards are Emmis’s coveted annual awards for employees and entities to recognize the highest levels of achievement in a number of categories. In 2002, the award categories were altered to better reflect the company’s shift to a more performance-based management system and restated objectives. In making nominations, managers were encouraged to consider results more heavily than in the past, and to consider how well the employee met stated objectives. This was a new approach and a significant signal to the
Slide 126: 94 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE organization. The executive team spent hours reviewing the nominations and made objective, fact-based decisions about the winners, which were previously more emotionally based. The 2002 Annual Report introduced the new firm brand to the investor community. This was another significant step in clearly signaling to the employees that this was the new focus of Emmis and the commitment was strong. Emmis would be known for its Great Media, Great Service, and Great People. BUILDING A HIGH-PERFORMANCE DISCIPLINE: CRANKING IT UP! A clear need for a stronger performance and accountability discipline was apparent. From the executive team to front-line employees, opportunities existed to improve clarity about what was expected of them and development of an appropriate level of accountability and recognition. Now that the strategies were in place, the Balanced Scorecards and performance management systems would be developed. The new performance system would consist of • Balanced scorecards for Corporate Corporate functional groups Divisions • Developed competency model that combined strategically needed attributes, behaviors needed to off-set gaps, and Eleven Commandment reinforcement • New individual performance documents that combine “what” and “how” goals and objectives and behavioral competencies. • Performance based stock and merit compensation programs. Balanced Scorecards A key process for focusing the strategies and creating accountability would be built through the balanced scorecard. Results-Based Leadership consultants (including balanced scorecard pioneer, Rich Lynch) facilitated a process that built on the work that the executive team had completed. Teams were identified for each scorecard to be developed at corporate and divisional levels. Teams were made up of managers and key contributors within their respective organizations. The makeup of the teams was critical in the change process; competent and influential formal and informal leaders were sought out. The teams spent several days in workshops and participated in a number of follow-up events to
Slide 127: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 95 define measures to track strategic performance in four key result areas: investor, customer, employee, and organization. The RBL consultants supplemented the data through direct interviews with highly valued customers (Exhibit 4.5). Emmis Competency Model Core to the culture-change process was the development of detailed Emmis behaviors that both helped drive the new strategic direction of the company and supported the extension of the desired Emmis culture and Eleven Commandments. Jim Intagliata led the competency modeling process that became an important element of the performance management process. Since this was such a critical and visible tool companywide, significant involvement of the executive team would be required. One such document during the development process attempted to gather further feedback and participation for key members of the executive team in addition to the interviews and data gathering that they were engaged in (Exhibit 4.6). Particular attention was given to the integration of the Eleven Commandments into the competency model (Exhibit 4.7). The modeling resulted in eight core competencies for all employees, and five additional leadership competencies (Exhibit 4.8). As a result of the participation from the executives, the draft competencies were utilized almost immediately by a few of the executives with their direct reports. Performance and Reward Management Agruso and Results-Based Leadership conducted interviews, focus groups, and a survey with the executive team that provided current state and preferred results in four areas: design and control principles, planning performance, improving performance, and rewarding performance. In addition, insights were provided relative to the maturity and current state of the process compared to Stage 3 (Disciplined) organizations (Exhibit 4.9). As a result of this involvement and assessment, an annual cycle was designed incorporating compensation systems, organizational development, and talent forecasting (Exhibit 4.10). The Performance and Reward Management Implementation Plan was created to outline the sequence of all supporting communications and performance management events (Exhibit 4.11). Exhibit 4.11 visually presents the scope of the performance management implementation and the change events that were scheduled in phases to reinforce the overall change agenda. Employee Training In February and March, 100 percent of all employees and managers went through performance management and cultural training. In addition to the traditional performance-management and SMART goal development instruction, some unique, and “Emmis-like” training was delivered: two exercises, one centered
Slide 128: 96 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE on understanding the Eleven Commandments and another focused on building a strong understanding of the new Emmis behaviors. For example, the Eleven Commandments card game was introduced to create an exercise of understanding and dialogue around the Emmis culture. Cards represented various symbols and clip art that were related to a particular commandment. Teams matched the cards to the related value and talked about examples of the values at work in their environments. The second exercise required innovative exercises around the eight core Emmis behaviors. New teams were formed and each was asked to portray a behavior in one of three mediums that Emmis operates in: visual design (drawings), radio spots, or acted-out commercials. This was an entertaining, fun, and lively learning experience. The other groups would identify the team’s portrayal, and there would be some dialogue about their choice and art form. This specific exercise generated meaningful discussions about the new culture, accountability, and leadership. Further, the creative portrayals are certain to improve understanding, retention, and transfer of learning. WHAT ABOUT INNOVATION? “Establishing a new standard for performance and innovation,” so where’s the innovation? In addition to the Emmis core competency, innovation and agility, additional programs, systems, and events were developed to facilitate organizational emphasis on this important cultural value. The Great Ideas Contest had been in place for several years to help generate creative and innovative business solutions. However, it traditionally did not require actual results or implementation. In many cases the ideas were recognized with stock, but nothing was implemented and nothing was returned to the organization. In some regards the program slowed innovation, because ideas were held for the contest and not shared. The program was changed to encourage group involvement and results. Starting in 2002, in order for ideas to be recognized at the highest levels, efforts must be in the works to implement them or actual results must exist. In addition, teams were recognized for shared development of ideas and implementation. This further drove the message and focus around results and accountability. A symbolic “think tank” was created at corporate from an old soundproof production studio. The new meeting room was filled with beanbag chairs, toys, costume accessories, games, lava lamps and other bright and creative props. The room was designed for groups to use for brainstorming, team-building, or just to have fun in. It provides a place where employees and teams can step out of the corporate environment and think out of the box. Additional steps are being taken to use technology to drive information sharing, best practices, and a knowledge network through the intranet, employee
Slide 129: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 97 portals, or other systems. Technology will provide the organization an advantage in quality and speed of decision making. Ties to the Balanced Scorecard could provide executives and the organization real-time data through an enterprise guidance system. EVALUATION: MEASURING SIGNAL STRENGTH And so it was that, on July 4, 1981, WENS began to broadcast. I spent my first day as a station owner driving around the city trying to figure if our signal was strong enough to serve the market. It became apparent fairly quickly that we had found a niche in the market, and the station went on to become a big success. When I look back on those days, I realize that what made this company special back then is what makes it special twenty years later: We have always attracted great people with a passion for our business and a passion for the way we operate. If there has been one consistent theme from that first night until today, it has been that EMMIS stands for a different way of doing business. —Jeff Smulyan The question now is whether a “different way of doing business” was integrated throughout the organization. Smulyan had consistently demanded through this process that employees be “all on one page” and “know what is expected of them from their manager.” During the development of the corporate and divisional scorecards, three employee result areas consistently emerged: • Productivity: revenue per employee • Passionate and committed employees: employee survey results • Retention of key employees: undesired turnover Over time these would become the high-level measures of this initiative’s impact on the organization. The survey says? Well, there are telling results on the annual employee survey completed in May 2002. Keeping in mind that the change initiative was not very far into implementation and several of the performance management elements had not yet been developed, the result showed positive signs. The first percentage represents the average employee response to questions on the company’s annual employee survey; the second number represents the average score on similar questions for companies listed on the “Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For.” • I understand the importance of my job and how it relates to our mission/goals: 91 percent, 73 percent • I have a clear description of my job and I understand what is expected of me: 83 percent, 88 percent • I really like the people I work with: 86 percent, 84 percent
Slide 130: 98 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE • I’m not a number here, I’m treated as a whole person with life outside work: 78 percent, 77 percent • In the past year, I have discussed my performance review with a manager: 76 percent, 78 percent • My work has special meaning, this is not “just a job”: 77 percent, 79 percent • I’ll work for Emmis a year from now: 76 percent, 66 percent • Taking everything into account, I would say Emmis is a great place to work: 77 percent, 88 percent The company is continually assessing its annual survey and is considering additional questions that would determine a general employee commitment index score. There are survey questions that the organization would actually expect to decline in some areas as a result of new accountability and employee acceptance of clearly defined standards. Other measures will begin to track important performance trends on the scorecards. Productivity can be measured by revenue and earning per employee. Undesired turnover, or retention of key employees, will be tracked more effectively after a talent review and succession-planning process is in place. Technology is being developed to effectively measure and present this key performance data. January 12, 2004, Q&A with Emmis Communications CEO Jeff Smulyan Q: When you announced your third quarter earnings, you said the past year was the best in the company’s twenty-four-year history. Why? In our early days, as a private company, we succeeded in part because we had that start-up enthusiasm and entrepreneurial spirit. We had some truly great years. What makes this past year even greater is that we turned in a strong performance as a mature company competing against much bigger, tougher competitors in industries that are much more mature. We demonstrated that we can compete in any environment against anybody. In every area of the business, we’re more professionally run than ever before. I’m proud of what’s going on in our markets, where our people are finding new ways to succeed, and I’m proud of the services our corporate team provides—our HR, finance, legal, IT, engineering, support staff . . . everybody is contributing. I think there is a genuine feeling that we aspire to be as good as anyone’s ever been in these businesses, and I think we’re making good on that goal. A:
Slide 131: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 99 LESSONS LEARNED Lesson #1—Study the impact of previous corporate initiatives on this change initiative. Your change initiative may have to start with damage control of previous initiatives. Be aware of all previous corporate initiatives, their successes, failures, and, most important, impact or impression on the operations. Work with all corporate functions to collaborate on the new initiatives, starting with a postmortem of the previous “corporate” initiative list. Full engagement and support of all corporate functions will have to be achieved prior to moving such a key initiative into the field. Lesson #2—Constantly monitor and reinforce executive team alignment and involvement in the initiative. Having CEO support and confidence is not good enough. If any key leadership changes occur, invest a lot of time with the new leader to gain their sponsorship. Incorporate as much of their feedback into the product as possible. Provide enough focus on the business needs and executive input to ensure that it feels like their work. Do not assume that executive alignment will ensure next-level leadership alignment. Lesson #3—Leverage technology to drive communications and create constant real-time visibility of key company information, measures, and performance. Intranet, employee portals, and business intelligence and knowledge management systems should be built and implemented in concert with the change initiative. Make these parallel corporate support systems part of one corporate initiative. Lesson #4—Engage in visible beta tests and leverage field executives to drive sponsorships of program initiatives—upward, laterally, and downward. Gain next-level support through education, such as the Leading for Results workshops but, more important, through involvement in the design and implementation of programs before companywide rollout. Use the field beta tests as examples and utilize the field leadership to communicate to peers and employees their experiences. Lesson #5—Monitor and adjust the language, don’t scare them away at the onset with “consultant-speak” or “MBA-speak.” Integrate the unique culture of your organization into the new common strategy and performance language you are trying to create. A common language must be created, especially if one does not currently exist around performance and strategy. But be cautious: the mere impression of the language and formality may slow your initiative significantly. Recruit an organizational translator onto your change team, and use him or her at every step of the process. Lesson #6—Implement with patience and never take shortcuts. Utilize the change model and do not shortcut buy-in steps for the sake of speed. Recognize that an effort of this scale will take two to three years to yield measurable and consistent results. Set executive and employee expectations
Slide 132: 100 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE appropriately—undercommit and overdeliver. Credibility will be lost if expectations of a one- or two-year success are established or that success will be easy to achieve. This may be the most difficult process an executive team will ever need to execute; it will be met with resistance to change and will require consistency, tenacity, and visible alignment. Lesson #7—Monitor outside events and decisions that might contradict the initiative or dilute leadership’s credibility. Over the course of business, things happen. Decisions have to be made to adapt to the market, economy, and internal factors. It requires courage to portray to management how certain decisions and actions will be interpreted by the rest of the organization. Being the leader of an initiative that some may not be ready for, while also being the voice or messenger regarding contradictions or potential credibility issues, creates a delicate situation at times. Have courage, remind the organization of your role, and prove that it is in the best interest of the whole company and is not just being generated by self-interest. Lesson #8—Do not let politics get in the way. Ensure corporate functions are focused on what is best for the company, not on functional agendas, politics, or leadership egos. Such an initiative must include a strategic and proactive alignment of the corporate functions. It would be prudent to acknowledge and respect the internal pecking order and provide special attention to the internal opinion leaders. The creation of positive corporate results will speak for themselves later in the change initiative. Work to be the example of selfless leadership in the best interest of the corporation.
Slide 133: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 101 Exhibit 4.1. The Eleven Commandments of Emmis Communications XI. X. IX. Admit your mistakes. Be flexible—keep an open mind. Be rational—look at all the options. VIII. Have fun—don’t take this too seriously. VII. VI. V. IV. III. II. I. Never get smug. Don’t underprice yourself or your medium—don’t attack the industry, build it up. Believe in yourself—if you think you can make it happen, you will. Never jeopardize your integrity—we’ll win the right way or we won’t win at all. Be good to your people—get them into the game and give them a piece of the pie. Be passionate about what you do and compassionate about how you do it. Take care of your audiences and your advertisers—think of them and you’ll win.
Slide 134: 102 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 4.2. Dual-Path Results Model Mission/Vision Firm Brand New "Era": 2–3 Year Focus <=> WHAT • Corporate and Divisional Strategy Formulation • Balanced Scorecards - Customers - Employees - Investors - Organization • Entity and Market Scorecards • Department/Workgroup Goals and Objectives • Individual Goals and Objectives Supporting systems, processes, and events: Special Projects Performance Mgmt. Internal Communications Technology Talent Review and Succession Planning Reward Systems Emmis Learning Staffing/Selection Standards and Processes Executive Coaching and Development Employee Surveys Annual Manager's Meeting HOW • Desired Emmis Culture • 11 Commandments • Leadership Brand • Organizational Messages, Events, and Symbolic Acts • Management and Individual Competency Models • Individual Behaviors Desired Results
Slide 135: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 103 Exhibit 4.3. Executive Session FAST Agenda Business & Leadership Agenda R esultsBased Leadership FAST Workshop • Focusing and Aligning Strategies Together INTRODUCTION • Strategic direction • Leadership roles • Decision-making process • Accountability • Measures NEW BUSINESS REALITIES Corporate strategy Business strategy Some organization disablers Can we change inside the window of opportunity? FAST NOTES & TAKE-AWAYS Role of leadership Leadership during transformation Desirable outcomes of the workshop Change agenda What Emmis is about New business realities Forces acting upon the company Norm’s inventory of paradoxes Leadership value proposition (Continued)
Slide 136: 104 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 4.3. Executive Session FAST Agenda (Continued) Response to environment Corporate strategy How an allied model would impact bonus plan deployment Business strategy Accountability in an allied business The intellectual agenda Types of work Advantage capabilities Scorecard Attributes Balancing short- & long-term goals Leadership brand Enabling systems SCORECARDS Employee Organization NEXT STEPS
Slide 137: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 105 Exhibit 4.4. Internal Communications Matrix Primary Communication Vehicles, Their Content and Objectives Vehicle Emmis Weekly Update Medium and Frequency Two-page memo sent to all employees by e-mail every week; it is waiting for them when they arrive on Monday morning Objective/Use The Emmis Weekly Update is used to communicate to employees any information that will help them feel more connected to the company and informed about its operations. It is used for special massages from the CEO and other officers, but also to communicate about company news, media coverage of the company, analysts’ views of the company and its industries, and employee benefit news. The Emmissary is used to communicate bigger-picture information about the company to employees. It uses longer stories than would be possible in the Weekly Update to deliver strategic messages to employees, provide deeper information about employee benefits and company programs, highlight promotional activities of individual stations and publications, applaud successes, and, through fun features, introduce employees to each other and to their leadership. (Continued) Emmissary Two-color newsletter sent to all employees each quarter
Slide 138: 106 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 4.4. Internal Communications Matrix (Continued) Primary Communication Vehicles, Their Content and Objectives Vehicle CEO memos Medium and Frequency E-mails sent to all employees as needed Objective/Use CEO Jeff Smulyan occasionally likes to communicate directly with employees through informal e-mail messages to inform them about major company initiatives, comment on company, industry, or national events, or just boost morale. Smulyan also often communicates directly to individuals, individual stations, or specific divisions. “Emmis Announcements” is the e-mail address for e-mails intended for all employees. “Emmis Announcements” is used only for important communications to employees about company news or benefit information. To inform employees of a specific division about company news or initiatives For particularly important events or news, the company can host conference calls with all employees and provide them with PowerPoint presentations through the Web. Used only once so far, this was the vehicle for introducing employees to the Stock Compensation Program, which gave all employees a 10 percent cut in pay but at the same time gave all employees a 10 percent stock award. “Emmis Announcements” E-mails sent to all employees as needed Division e-mails E-mails sent to all employees in a single division as needed Annual (or more frequently if needed) conference call and PowerPoint presentation Companywide conference calls
Slide 139: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 107 Exhibit 4.4. (Continued) Primary Communication Vehicles, Their Content and Objectives Vehicle News releases Medium and Frequency News releases sent via e-mail as needed Objective/Use All major news releases, including quarterly financial reports, are e-mailed to all employees along with a short note from CEO Jeff Smulyan. Because virtually all employees are shareholders, Emmis views its Annual Report to Shareholders as an employee communication as well as a report to shareholders. Because virtually all employees are shareholders, Emmis views its quarterly calls with Wall Street analysts to also be a form of communication to employees and all stakeholders. Employees are specifically invited to listen to the conference calls. Annual Report Company annual report Quarterly conference call with Wall Street Quarterly
Slide 140: Exhibit 4.5. Balanced Scorecard Sample Television Scorecard Measure: Results, dimension, quantity or capacity of a business process output Formula: Frequency: How we would calcu- When we need to late the measure monitor this data Views: How we would want to slice the data Viewable by . . . Computes as . . . Reported . . . Operational Definition: How we would define the measure clearly to stakeholders Data Source: Where can we get the data Based on data from . . . Our measures . . . Tell us about . . . Customer HUTS share Nielsen formula based on stations’ targets PUTS share • Daily • Quarterly • Total review all day • News • Show • Syndicated • Network • Time of day • • • • • • Two times a year Beginning in completion of schedule Age Sex Lifestyle Behavior Viewer habits Consumer habits By key desired demographic of advertiser • Nielsen (available electronically) Ratings Percentage of viewers reached based on the universe of market Qualitative demographic research Number with decided characteristic divided by total demographic Profile of viewers who watch programs • • • • • Magid AR&D Scarborough Media Audit Marshall • TV scan • Ad connections Demographic hit ratio—reach Reach of commercial to targeted viewers or the number of target audience reached Target demographic; GRPs over a specified schedule
Slide 141: EMMIS COMMUNICATIONS 109 Exhibit 4.6. Competency Feedback EMMIS ATTRIBUTE MODEL Attached is a draft of the Emmis Attribute model that has been developed based on our work with RBL and the input that you provided individually in your conversations with Jim Intagliata. To produce this model, Jim has streamlined the standard RBL attribute architecture from twenty-seven attributes down to a more manageable twelve. He has also worked to incorporate all of the Emmis Commandments and Rules for Managers into the proposed model so that it is clear that these values are not being forgotten or discarded as we work to build a more performance-oriented culture (you will see these items bolded and noted throughout the text where they fit). Finally, on the initial page of the attachment he has provided a matrix that indicates which roles the attributes apply to and the key reasons these attributes have been incorporated into the model. As you will see, the proposed model has these key design features: 1. There are eight core attributes that will be expected to be demonstrated by all Emmis employees at all levels, and an additional four attributes that will be expected to be demonstrated by individuals who directly manage other people (managers) and by individuals who manage entire divisions or functions (executives). 2. For each attribute that is in the Emmis model there is a separate set of behavioral indicators, depending on the role the individual is playing in the organization. For example, with regard to Innovation and Agility, what someone is expected to do to demonstrate this attribute varies depending upon whether they are in a position of an individual contributor, a manager, or an executive. The intent of this design is to highlight that the way in which people are expected to add value to the organization changes over time as they grow and advance in their career. What We Need From You In order to refine and finalize this model we would greatly appreciate your input. Please take the time to read through the model and consider the following questions as you do: • Do you feel that any of the attributes included in the model are unnecessary and add no value? • Are there any important attributes that you feel are not represented at all in the model and need to be added? • As you read each attribute, do the differentiation and progression of expectation from individual contributor to manager to executive levels make sense to you? • Finally, as you review the wording of each competency, do you have any specific suggestions regarding how we might express the same idea but “Emmisize” the language more? We will be following up shortly to schedule a phone conversation in which we can gather your feedback. The deadline we are working to meet is to have the model finalized by _________ so that the Emmis Attribute model can be introduced as part of the Performance Management System roll-out.
Slide 142: Exhibit 4.7. Competency Linkage to Culture KEY ATTRIBUTES FOR EMMIS Role in Emmis Individual Contributor Middle Manager Senior Executive Why Needed? Behavioral Attributes High-Priority Core X X X • To keep up with pace of change in industry and outmaneuver the giants/gorillas • A new innovation standard for all aspects of business (not just product/content) • Consistent with “out of the box” element of Emmis culture • To help Emmis compete and get to the next level • Consistent with “never get smug”—“be passionate about what you do” values • Consistent with theme “Sets a new standard for performance and innovation” X X • Maintain and strengthen a fundamental Emmis principle/commandment • Differentiates Emmis with employees/ customers (quality people and service) X X X • Consistent with Emmis research expertise • Needed to discipline decisions more broadly 1. Innovation and flexibility 2. Passion to reach a higher standard X X 3. Personal integrity X 4. Informed decision making X
Slide 143: Exhibit 4.7. (Continued) KEY ATTRIBUTES FOR EMMIS Role in Emmis Individual Contributor Middle Manager Senior Executive X X X Behavioral Attributes Why Needed? • To improve overall results and deliver for shareholders • To be fair to those who really deliver/add value and attract/retain top performers • To support sharing of ideas, practices, people across organizational lines • Consistent with value for treating others with respect/having fun while working • Builds on current value of buy-in to shared Emmis vision • Takes it the next step to ensuring it translates into aligned action/execution • Responsive to felt need for sharper focus in the business 5. Accountability for performance 6. Teamwork and collaboration X X X 7. Turns vision into action X X X 8. Delivers the Emmis customer experience X X X • Create the Emmis customer experience— partner to deliver results/success • Quality service and people—differentiates Emmis from competition (Continued)
Slide 144: Exhibit 4.7. Competency Linkage to Culture (Continued) KEY ATTRIBUTES FOR EMMIS Role in Emmis Individual Contributor Middle Manager Senior Executive Why Needed? Behavioral Attributes Managerial/Executive X X • Consistent with values/commandments— “have fun, get people in the game” • Maintain the personal touch emphasis within Emmis culture • Be the employer of choice • Creates climate of teamwork and interaction in unit/across units • Leverages people resources effectively— working together vs. lone rangers • Required for better results and executing allied strategy • Reinforce/strengthen quality people—a differentiator for Emmis X X • Contribute to financial vitality of the business • To prioritize and focus use of key resources X X X • Business-unit heads need to understand their own challenges/opportunities and chart a course for success • Jeff can’t be the only visionary 9. Motivates and manages individuals 10. Builds and leads teams X X 11. Recruits, develops, and retains talent X 12. Manages resources effectively 13. Strategic perspective
Slide 145: Exhibit 4.7. (Continued) ATTRIBUTE LINKAGE TO EMMIS COMMANDMENTS/RULES FOR MANAGERS Emmis Commandments Emmis Manager Rules • Thinks out of the box and fosters creativity in others (Manager Rule #8) • Is flexible and keeps an open mind (Commandment #10) • Believes in self and ability to make things happen (Commandment #5) • Is passionate about what he or she does (Commandment #2) • Never gets smug or complacent (Commandment #7) • Never jeopardizes integrity; insists on winning the right way or not at all. (Commandment #4) • Is able to identify and admit own mistakes (Commandment #11) • Is rational and looks at all the options (Commandment #9) • Values relationships and treats others with dignity and compassion (Commandment #2) • Focuses on doing what it takes to add value to the overall organization, not on protecting turf or playing politics (Manager Rule #7) • Models personal buy-in and commitment to the Emmis vision/strategy (Manager Rule #1) • Focuses on the work to be managed—leaves politics to the politicians (Manager Rule #7) (Continued) Attribute Innovation and agility Drive to excel • Has a passion for everything he or she does (Manager Rule #6) Personal integrity • Has a good sense of balance and perspective about what’s important in life (Manager Rule #5) Fact-based decision making Accountability for results Fosters alignment and collaboration Turns vision to focused action
Slide 146: Exhibit 4.7. Competency Linkage to Culture (Continued) ATTRIBUTE LINKAGE TO EMMIS COMMANDMENTS/RULES FOR MANAGERS Emmis Commandments Emmis Manager Rules • Believes everyday that he/she and Emmis can make a difference (Manager Rule #11) • Is willing to “go the extra mile” for others (Manager Rule #9) • Is able to have fun, laugh at self (Manager Rule #10) • Knows who his or her customers are, thinks about, and takes personal responsibility for taking care of them (Commandment #1) • Doesn’t underprice self or medium; builds up the industry in dealing with others (Commandment #6) • Is good to his or her people—gets them “into the game” and ensures they have a piece of the pie (Commandment #3) • Is able to have fun, laugh at self, (Commandment #8) • Hires energetic people who believe in the Emmis vision and are smarter than himself or herself (Manager Rules #2, 3, and 4) Attribute Delivers the Emmis customer experience Motivates individuals and teams Recruits, develops, and retains talent Manages resources effectively Strategic Perspective
Slide 147: Exhibit 4.7. (Continued) ATTRIBUTE LINKAGE TO KEY RESULT CATEGORIES Employee Organization Customer Investor Attribute Sets Direction X X 1. Strategic perspective 2. Turns vision into focused action Mobilizes Individual Commitment X X 3. Motivates individuals and teams 4. Recruits, develops, and retains talent Engenders Organizational Capability X X X X X 5. Holds self and others accountable 6. Manages resources effectively 7. Delivers the Emmis customer experience 8. Fosters alignment and collaboration 9. Innovation and agility Demonstrates Personal Character X X X X X X X X X X X X 10. Personal integrity 11. Drive to excel 12. Fact-based decision making
Slide 148: 116 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 4.8. Emmis Competency Model Core Competencies for All 1. Informed decision making. Approaching situations objectively, gathering the facts and information necessary for clear understanding, and using logic and common-sense to make informed decisions 2. Innovation and agility. Working to develop innovative ideas, search for creative approaches and solutions, and adapt to change quickly so that Emmis can continue to excel and be distinctive within the industry 3. Passion to reach a higher standard. Being passionate about one’s work, never having or accepting an “entitlement” mentality, and consistently expecting more of self, others, and Emmis 4. Personal integrity. Demonstrating the fundamental beliefs and values of Emmis in all of one’s actions, decisions, and dealings with others 5. Teamwork and collaboration. Taking initiative to communicate actively and share resources, ideas, and best practices across organizational boundaries so that Emmis overall benefits 6. Delivering of the Emmis customer experience. Knowing who one’s customers are, being clear about what they expect and value most, and delivering it 7. Vision into action. Being responsible for understanding not only the overall Emmis vision but also what specific actions one individually needs to take to make it a reality 8. Accountability for performance. Taking personal responsibility for meeting all commitments, delivering results that meet or exceed one’s goals, and identifying and resolving performance issues in a timely manner Additional Leadership Competencies 1. Strategic perspective. Being able to take a broad, long-term view of the business and its future and acting in ways that contribute to Emmis’s longas well as short-term success 2. Motivation and management of individuals. Managing people in a positive way that “gets them into the game” by sharing responsibility and authority for accomplishing meaningful work and credit for success 3. Building and leadership of teams. Assembling teams of individuals with strong and complementary skills and leading them in ways that help them work effectively as a unit 4. Recruiting, development, and retaining of talent. Identifying and recruiting only the highest-quality talent for Emmis, coaching people so that they get the most out of their potential, and rewarding people in a way that reflects their level of contribution 5. Effective resource management. Planning and organizing work, managing resources efficiently, and understanding what is most important in contributing to growing the revenues and profitability of Emmis.
Slide 149: Exhibit 4.9. Performance Management Insights Leadership Brand Insights Performance and Reward Management Design and Control Principles 25 5.45 Low process and content ownership for corporate and for divisions. Minimal systems integration and virtually no accountability for execution. Absence of explicit criteria for process excellence. Low correlation between business results and performance evaluation outcomes. No enterprise guidance/knowledge management system capabilities. 3.2 Planning Performance 14.5 Individual performance plans generally not created, thus absent specific measures, attributes, or key projects that link well to business priorities. Very limited training capabilities. No way to differentiate performers via results-based documentation. Improving Performance 20.9 7.3 Performance coaching occurring more frequently in real time. No dedicated methods for evaluating and developing attributes. Leadership program provides basic training. Extensive multi-rater feeback program; albeit without connections to performance management system. No automated knowledge management capabilities. Rewarding Performance 18.2 8.6 0 10.0 Stage 3 Avg Emmis Scores 20.0 30.0 Performancce reviews generally do not occur at least once a year. Decisive, constructive action is perceived not to be taken to address problem performance. Low linkages between appraisal outcomes and employment-related actions. Solid use of direct cash variable pay systems with linkages to Corporate/SBU results (vs. individual), and without tight connections to performance management system. Some use of non-cash reward programs for both group and individual performance and reward management.
Slide 150: 118 BEST PRACTICES IN LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATION CHANGE Exhibit 4.10. Performance and Reward Management Overview June March FY 2003 Operating Plan March FY 2003 Performance Plans Q1 Results and Recognition Programs Q2 Results, Mid-Year Performance Reviews and Job Market Pricing Research December Q3 Results and Recognition Programs September November Organization Development and Talent Forecasting December March Q4 Results, Annual Performance Reviews and Cash/Stock Reward Programs March FY 2004 Operating Plan FY 2004 Strategic Plan Exhibit 4.11. Performance and Reward Management Implementation Plan November Communication December January February March April Letter from Jeff Smulyan Special edition of Newsletter Special edition of Newsletter Special edition of Newsletter Managers' meeting Special edition of Newsletter Emmis Announcements, Smulyan e-mails, and “blurbs” in weekly/biweekly conference calls LFR workshops Implementation Scorecard measures attribute architecture Manager alignment briefings Top downbottom up review of comprehensive measures, attributes, and strategic projects Reviewed with FY2002 actuals Final FY2003 performance plans with objectives, attributes, and projects Validation and refinement of executive and LFR Performance and Reward management task forces Roll out Train the Trainer • Work group scorecards • Corollary attributes Manager workshops Employee workshops Ongoing executive team follow-up during regular meetings