The Need for Continuous Learning (Peter Drucker, 1994)

It never ends. There is always the next new thing to learn.  And not just the next new thing, but, in reality, the new world — the whole new landscape, the changing approach, to work itself.  “The old has gone, the new” keeps coming…

Peter Drucker

Peter Drucker, who coined the phrase the “knowledge worker” in his 1959 book Landmarks of Tomorrow, wrote this in his 1994 essay: The Age of Social Transformation:

The great majority of the new jobs require qualifications the industrial worker does not possess and is poorly equipped to acquire.  They require a good deal of formal education and the ability to acquire and to apply theoretical and analytical knowledge.  They require a different approach to work and a different mind-set.  Above all, they require a habit of continuous learning.  Displaced industrial workers thus cannot simply move into knowledge work or services the way displaced farmers and domestic workers (the dominant jobs at the turn of the last century – R.M) moved into industrial work.  At the very least they have to change their basic attitudes, values, and beliefs.

A Summary Report on Mercer’s 2010 Employee Attraction and Retention Survey

Here is a special report on Mercer’s 2010 Attraction and Retention Survey provided by Talent Management magazine.  To read the complete report, check out other resources, and/or sign up for a free subscription, please click here.

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As the economy recovers and workforce expansion rises, concerns about engaging employees and retaining critical talent are top of mind for many organizations, amid continuing cost pressures.

Mercer’s 2010 Employee Attraction and Retention Survey found that more than one-quarter (27 percent) of participating organizations are expanding their overall workforce, while only 3 percent have instituted broad-based reductions. By comparison, Mercer’s Leading through Unprecedented Times Survey, conducted in May 2009, showed fewer firms (12 percent) indicated they were hiring/expanding overall, while more firms (15 percent) instituted broad-based reductions. Cautious optimism prevails, however, as almost half (45 percent) of organizations are hiring to replacement levels only, while another 25 percent are hiring just for critical areas among select staff reductions.

Conducted in April, Mercer’s survey assesses the talent and rewards challenges organizations are facing as the economy recovers along with the tactics they are using to promote employee attraction, retention and engagement. It includes responses from more than 320 employers across all industries throughout the U.S. and Canada.

According to the survey findings, almost half (47 percent) of organizations that assessed employee engagement over the past 12 to 18 months report that levels of employee engagement have increased.

“Higher levels of engagement can be a result of reward and talent programs adopted by employers that creatively seek a balance between responding to employee needs and coping with cost pressures,” said Loree Griffith, a principal with Mercer’s rewards consulting business. “Employees’ desire to preserve their jobs may have also contributed to higher engagement levels demonstrated by a willingness to go the extra mile, be resilient and embrace change.”

While the most common way to assess employee engagement is through employee surveys, more than half (53 percent) of organizations also gauge employee engagement through informal interactions with leaders, managers and employees. Focus groups and online forums are used by 33 percent and 7 percent of organizations, respectively.

Despite efforts to engage employees during a difficult year, organizations have growing concerns about whether their valued employees will stay once the economy recovers. Almost two-thirds (62 percent) of companies believe that voluntary turnover will increase as the economy and job market continue to improve. Moreover, Mercer’s survey shows that certain positions are more sought after than others because of skill shortage or market demand. These roles include R&D/scientific engineering and sales, followed by information technology and executives/top management.

“Typically, engaged employees are less likely to seek job opportunities outside the company and therefore have a more positive impact on both individual and business performance,” said Griffith. “By identifying talent needs necessary for future growth, employers can implement the appropriate steps for developing employees internally or hiring staff externally.”

With regard to the workforce, Mercer’s survey shows that the majority (75 percent) of organizations have an even balance between hiring externally and building from within. However, trends to develop employees internally are more prevalent than relying solely on new hires.

Rewards: 
As the job market picks up and concerns about engagement and retention remain at the forefront, cost pressures still loom. According to Mercer’s survey, slightly more than two-thirds (67 percent) of organizations will be influenced equally by external competitiveness and internal affordability when making pay decisions. However, about one-quarter (24 percent) of organizations report that affordability will have a greater impact on pay decisions.

Over the past 18 months, amid limited pay budgets, organizations increased their use of non-cash rewards as a means to enhance employee retention and engagement. Rewards offered more during this time period include communicating the value of total rewards to employees (27 percent), work-life programs (22 percent), formalized career paths (21 percent) and special project opportunities (20 percent).

Despite past emphasis on non-cash rewards, for 2010 and beyond, organizations plan to focus on money as well as career development to retain and engage the right talent. Leading reward elements perceived to have the strongest impact on employee retention and engagement for 2010 are base salary increases (41 percent), short- and long-term variable pay (36 percent), and training and career development (35 percent). Interestingly, approximately one-quarter of organizations report that programs such as work-life initiatives, employee communication campaigns and time-off plans – elements of importance during the past year and a half – will have less impact on employee retention and engagement going forward.

“Non-cash programs like career pathing, increased communication to employees and work-life initiatives are important in fostering employee retention and engagement regardless of the economic environment,” said Griffith. “However, as recovery occurs, employers want to revisit pay as a means to staying competitive and retaining top-performing employees.”

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For more info on the Mercer study, click here.

Larry Johnson and Meagan Johnson on “Younger Bosses, Older Workers: Five Tips for Effective Managing”

The Johnsons

Here is an excerpt from an article co-authored by Larry Johnson and Meagan Johnson for Talent Management magazine. To read the complete article, check out other resources, and/or sign up for a free subscription, please click here.

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Many Gen Xers and Gen Yers are advancing to management positions faster than they might have expected. Consequently, they may be responsible for managing individuals with comparable ages to their parents or older siblings.

Here are [two of five] tips for managers who find themselves in this somewhat daunting position:

Find your veteran sergeants: Great leaders surround themselves with advisers who may have wisdom in areas they lack. Making an ally of a baby boomer who holds the respect of the team will do the same for you. It will enhance your credibility with the entire team and give you support when things get rough. Best of all, the baby boomer with whom you build this adviser-advisee relationship will tend to feel more vested in your success and in the success of the group.

Show them what they’re missing out on: Like the WWI song “How You Gonna Keep ‘em Down on the Farm, After They’ve Seen Paree,” this principle is based on the notion that when you’ve experienced the benefits of something new, it’s hard to go back to the old way of doing things. For instance, in an effort to convince employees older than he was to be more customer-oriented, a Gen X car dealership owner contracted to send everyone through the Ritz Carlton new employee orientation, so they could learn how to live the Ritz Carlton mission: Ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen. He reported that the biggest changes came from some of the most hard-bitten, baby boomer salesmen who returned to work with a new attitude about serving customers and a willingness to try new approaches that the owner had never seen before.

Taking these [and other] steps can help to maximize the productivity and contributions of older employees while they continue to work for you. They are more likely to do so when they see that you’re willing to contribute to their success and give them credit for their work.

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Larry Johnson and Meagan Johnson, a father-daughter team, are the Johnson Training Group and co-authors of Generations Inc. — From Boomers to Linksters: Managing the Conflict between Generations at Work. They are public speakers on the subjects of generations in the workplace, building productive corporate cultures, and other management challenges.

Innovation and commercialization, 2010: McKinsey Global Survey results

To its great credit, McKinsey & Company allows at least limited access to a wealth of resources whose value is incalculable. To read the complete article and/or sign up for a free online subscription to The McKinsey Quarterly, please click here.

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After coping with the global economic crisis, companies are beginning to aim for growth again. But their approach to managing innovation and the challenges they face haven’t changed. The survey results suggest a few ways to improve. (August 2010)

As companies begin to refocus on growth, innovation has once again become a priority: in a recent McKinsey Global Survey, 84 percent of executives say innovation is extremely or very important to their companies’ growth strategy. [Note: In the field from July 13 to 23, 2010, this survey generated responses from 2,240 executives around the world, representing the full range of industries, regions, functional specialties, and seniority.] The results also show that the approach companies use to generate good ideas and turn them into products and services has changed little since before the crisis, and not because executives thought what they were doing worked perfectly. Further, many of the challenges—finding the right talent, encouraging collaboration and risk taking, organizing the innovation process from beginning to end—are remarkably consistent. Indeed, surveys over the past few years suggest that the core barriers to successful innovation haven’t changed, and companies have made little progress in surmounting them.

More positively, the results also suggest some ways that companies can become more successful at innovation. In particular, they can formalize processes for setting priorities and commercializing products and integrate innovation into their strategic-planning efforts.

Growth and innovation

Almost all companies are actively seeking growth again. For the largest group of respondents, 41 percent, the focus is on their existing core businesses. Only respondents in the high-tech industry differ. In addition, more executives say their companies are seeking organic growth through new products or services or new customers in existing markets (68 percent and 63 percent, respectively) than are pursuing growth through new markets or M&A.

Innovation is important across growth strategies. However, a slightly smaller share of executives at companies seeking growth in their core business, 80 percent, say innovation is very or extremely important, compared with 91 percent of those at companies still in the early stages of expansion.

Managing innovation

Just over half of all respondents, 55 percent, say their companies are better than their peers at innovation, a figure that hasn’t budged since 2008. Another consistent pattern is that far fewer respondents say their companies are good at the specific processes and tactics frequently tied to successful innovation—such as generating breakthrough ideas, selecting the right ideas, prototyping, and developing business cases. Respondents say their companies are best at adapting once they’re in the market, with 58 percent claiming to be successful. As in the past, executives have the most difficulty stopping ideas at the right time, with only 26 percent of respondents to this survey saying they do this well.

Fundamentally, the biggest challenge is organization: 42 percent of respondents say improvement in this area alone would make the most profound difference in innovation performance. This figure falls between the shares of respondents to a 2007 survey who selected allocating resources and aligning talent as their companies’ top challenges to successful innovation. [Note: In a 2007 survey that focused on innovation management and governance, 34 percent of respondents said one of their leadership team’s greatest challenges was allocating internal resources, and 50 percent said it was aligning and making available top talent for innovation initiatives. [Note: See “How companies approach innovation: A McKinsey Global Survey,” mckinseyquarterly.com, October 2007.] For this year’s respondents, organization is closely followed in importance by developing a climate that fosters innovation; commercializing new businesses, products, or services; and selecting the right ideas and managing a portfolio.

Respondents also indicate that their companies don’t make good use of many specific tactics. For example, only 27 percent say their companies are very or extremely effective at making business leaders formally accountable for innovation. Notably, even among respondents at early-growth companies, where innovation is likely to be a particularly high priority, only 34 percent say their business leaders are effectively held accountable. In a survey earlier this year that focused specifically on research and development, just over a third of respondents said their organizations had improved accountability for R&D performance and spending. Even so, these results suggest accountability isn’t high. [Note: See “R&D after the crisis: McKinsey Global Survey results,” mckinseyquarterly.com, April 2010.]

Nearly a third of the current survey’s respondents say their companies are effective in setting formal priorities for innovation during the strategic-planning process. This result is slightly better than related findings from 2007, when roughly a quarter of respondents said their companies included innovation as a formal part of their strategic-planning process, and from 2008, when just under 20 percent said their innovation processes as a whole were very or extremely formalized. [Note: See “How companies approach innovation: A McKinsey Global Survey,” mckinseyquarterly.com, October 2007.]

Respondents at companies that set formal priorities for innovation as part of the planning process are much likelier to say their companies are better at innovation than their peers (63 percent of those who prioritize versus 43 percent of others) and to say their companies are using these tactics effectively. The survey results suggest that simply ensuring innovation is tightly managed can boost performance.

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To read the complete article and/or sign up for a free online subscription to The McKinsey Quarterly, please click here.

Stephen Denning on “Best Practices for Creating Self-Organizing Teams”

Stephen Denning

In his latest book, The Leader’s Guide to Radical Management published by Jossey-Bass/A Wiley Imprint (2010), Stephen Denning offers his observations and suggestions as to how to “reinvent the workplace for the 21st century.” Here are what he considers to be best practices for creating self-organizing teams. When discussing each, he cites real-world examples as well as how own extensive experience with all manner of organizations.

1. Articulate a compelling purpose in terms of delighting clients.

2. Consistently communicate a passionate Belief in the Worth of the Purpose.

3. Transfer power to the team for accomplishing the team purpose.

4. Make the transfer of power conditional on the team’s accepting responsibility to deliver.

5. Recognize the contributions of the people doing the work.

6. Make sure that remuneration is perceived as fair.

7. Consistently use tools and techniques that create and sustain self-organizing teams.

The importance of the “compelling purpose” to which Denning refers cannot be exaggerated. It must be fully embraced by everyone involved and at all times discussed with first-person plural pronouns. Also, those selected to be members of self- organizing teams must be results-driven and led by someone who fully understand the wisdom of this passage from Lao-Tzu’s Tao Te Ching:

“Learn from the people
Plan with the people
Begin with what they have
Build on what they know
Of the best leaders
When the task is accomplished
The people will remark
We have done it ourselves.”

Life-Long Learning – Really!

Back around 1994, I was asked to speak to residents of a local upscale Retirement Community on Current Events.  The woman who asked me, the activities director at the Retirement Community, knew that I loved “keeping up,” and felt that I might help her residents stay connected with the larger world.

Now, 16 years later, I am still presenting “Current Events” at such communities.  My opening line at all of these places, at every session, is “I’m Randy Mayeux, and I’m here to talk about whatever is in the news.” (By the way, after all these years, the most unforgettable moment was a session I led discussing the Oklahoma City Bombing just minutes after I heard the news…).

It has expanded from one place to many, and it also expanded into other types of presentations, such as book reviews, and general presentations on multiple topics.  (My arrangement at all of these places is that when I have a “business engagement,” I will reschedule for the Current Events).

Some of the Life-Long Learners at Chambrel at Club Hill

A couple of years ago, at Chambrel at Club Hill in Garland, Jan Jordan, the “Director of Lifestyle Programs,” (the job title has changed a time or two, but I’ve worked with Jan for nearly the entire 16 years), asked me if I would lead a reading group.  It was actually prompted by a request from a well-read, thoughtful woman who longed for a gathering that took the conversations a little deeper.  (Sadly, the woman who started this has suffered a stroke, and is no longer at the community).

After a little experimentation, I finally decided on this course:  I copy an essay, magazine article, or speech, and we discuss this at our twice monthly gatherings.  We have worked through many of the speeches in Lend Me Your Ears edited by William Safire, numerous essays by Malcolm Gladwell and a host of others, and misc. other readings.

This past week we discussed the first third of the famous essay by Peter Drucker, The Age of Social Transformation published in The Atlantic in November, 1994.  It is a masterpiece.  Let me say that again — I am discussing Drucker’s famous essay with a group of retired people.  And it is a wonderful discussion!

The people that I speak to and read with in these retirement communities are remarkable folks.  They are intelligent, and absolutely want to keep learning.  If you have ever wondered if “lifelong learning” is possible, you should visit with these folks.

Yes, it helps to make the font as big as possible for the copies.  One woman puts these copies in her “reading machine,” that blows up the text to size really huge.  But the thoughts and comments that they share are just terrific, and their life experiences are so diverse and rich.  In this particular group, we have a woman from Germany, a woman whose parents came from Norway, and people who have lived all across the United States.

And the reading that I do to lead this group has helped me discover some real gems.

By the way, when we finish Drucker’s essay, we are next reading Frank Sinatra Has a Cold by Gay Talese.

Life-long learning.  Really!  It is possible, and actually goes on in these retirement communities, and, I suspect, in other places all over the globe.

Joanne Cleaver on “Three New Rules of Advertising to Women”

Here is an article written by Joanne Cleaver for BNET, The CBS Interactive Business Network. To obtain a free subscription to one or more of the BNET newsletters, please click here.

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The balance of power is tilting: thanks to fewer layoffs in female-dominated job categories, women are now just about half of the U.S. workforce.  They’re still controlling 73% of consumer spending. And — sorry, Martha — they’re fine with imperfection.

These changes may sound small, but they are a big reorientation for marketers and advertisers. I spoke recently with Ann Mack, director of Trendspotting for advertising agency JWT, about how the rising economic power of women is resetting the parameters for selling to them. [Click here.] Here are her top three observations:

1. You can reach women at work. How often do you take a little refresher at the website of a favorite television show or store?  The other day, I played around at the AMC website for “Mad Men“ and updated my Facebook page with a Betty’s-older-sister profile picture.  That was a perfect opportunity for one of Mad Men’s sponsors to reach me — during the day, not in my supposed leisure time. Hmm, what would I have been open to in that moment? An easy, retro recipe that my husband and I could have for dinner to get us in the “Mad Men” mood comes to mind.  If some smart company had served that up to me, I would have texted my husband the ingredients for the shopping list.

That’s exactly the kind of small value-add that ingratiates brands with women, says Mack. It’s the small things that make everyday life a little easier — and maybe even a little fun. And reaching women at work adds a little frisson of personal time to a typically stressed and jam-packed day. Mack is a fan of “flash sales” — discounts available for the next 36 hours — that arrive via e-mail. Of course, that means you can flash-shop from the office, the train, the airport or at a red light.

2. Every mother is a working mother — for real this time. Remember that tired “feud” between career moms and stay-at-home moms that the media reported on with metronomic regularity from about 1985 to 2005? I haven’t heard about it recently. That’s because nearly every mom works these days, in some form. That means that work-life “balance” has become more of a work-life blur, says Mack.

What does that mean for still-powerful icons like the family dinner table? For one major packaged-food marketer, it means using images that tug the heartstrings, like family members coming in from out of the cold to dinner served in a golden glow.  The “how” of getting a meal on the table is less important than the “why.” Watch for evolving icons of home and caring, with a “good enough” attitude about the details and an immersion in evocative images.

3.  Time efficiency is a prime driver. If your product can save time, prove it. If you can prove it, it will sell. That tactic is working for Frigidaire, says Mack, which guarantees that its appliances can save a mom at least eight hours a month.  “Demonstrate how the brand can simplify her life even if you can’t reflect her exact reality in each moment,” Mack says.  Moms — and the latest generation of dads — are about the people, not perfection.

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Since 1981, Joanne Cleaver has been reporting on all aspects of business for national and regional newspapers, magazines and websites. Numerous magazine and industry “best employers for women” lists use the equity index she developed to rank companies according to the presence (or not) of women in their executive ranks. She also leads the research firm Wilson-Taylor Associates, Inc., where her team measures and supports the advancement of women in accounting, cable, finance and other industries. Yes, she has an opinion: that when women fully engage in all business operations, companies will make more money in more ways.

Tony Schwartz on “Six Keys to Being Excellent at Anything”

Tony Schwartz

Here is an excerpt from an article written by Tony Schwartz for the Harvard Business Review blog. To read the complete article, check out other articles and resources, and/or sign up for a free subscription to Harvard Business Review’s Daily Alerts, please click here.

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I’ve been playing tennis for nearly five decades. I love the game and I hit the ball well, but I’m far from the player I wish I were.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot the past couple of weeks, because I’ve taken the opportunity, for the first time in many years, to play tennis nearly every day. My game has gotten progressively stronger. I’ve had a number of rapturous moments during which I’ve played like the player I long to be.

And almost certainly could be, even though I’m 58 years old. Until recently, I never believed that was possible. For most of my adult life, I’ve accepted the incredibly durable myth that some people are born with special talents and gifts, and that the potential to truly excel in any given pursuit is largely determined by our genetic inheritance.

During the past year, I’ve read no fewer than five books — and a raft of scientific research — which powerfully challenge that assumption (see below for a list). I’ve also written one, The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working [click here], which lays out a guide, grounded in the science of high performance, to systematically building your capacity physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

We’ve found, in our work with executives at dozens of organizations, that it’s possible to build any given skill or capacity in the same systematic way we do a muscle: push past your comfort zone, and then rest. Aristotle had it exactly right 2000 years ago: “We are what we repeatedly do.” By relying on highly specific practices, we’ve seen our clients dramatically improve skills ranging from empathy, to focus, to creativity, to summoning positive emotions, to deeply relaxing.

Like everyone who studies performance, I’m indebted to the extraordinary Anders Ericsson, arguably the world’s leading researcher into high performance. For more than two decades, Ericsson has been making the case that it’s not inherited talent which determines how good we become at something, but rather how hard we’re willing to work — something he calls “deliberate practice.” Numerous researchers now agree that 10,000 hours of such practice as the minimum necessary to achieve expertise in any complex domain.

There is something wonderfully empowering about this. It suggests we have remarkable capacity to influence our own outcomes. But that’s also daunting. One of Ericsson’s central findings is that practice is not only the most important ingredient in achieving excellence, but also the most difficult and the least intrinsically enjoyable.

If you want to be really good at something, it’s going to involve relentlessly pushing past your comfort zone, along with frustration, struggle, setbacks and failures. That’s true as long as you want to continue to improve, or even maintain a high level of excellence. The reward is that being really good at something you’ve earned through your own hard work can be immensely satisfying.

Here, then, are [three of the] six keys to achieving excellence we’ve found are most effective for our clients:

• Do the hardest work first. We all move instinctively toward pleasure and away from pain. Most great performers, Ericsson and others have found, delay gratification and take on the difficult work of practice in the mornings, before they do anything else. That’s when most of us have the most energy and the fewest distractions.

• Practice intensely, without interruption for short periods of no longer than 90 minutes and then take a break. Ninety minutes appears to be the maximum amount of time that we can bring the highest level of focus to any given activity. The evidence is equally strong that great performers practice no more than 4 ½ hours a day.

• Seek expert feedback, in intermittent doses. The simpler and more precise the feedback, the more equipped you are to make adjustments. Too much feedback, too continuously, however, can create cognitive overload, increase anxiety, and interfere with learning.

I have practiced tennis deliberately over the years, but never for the several hours a day required to achieve a truly high level of excellence. What’s changed is that I don’t berate myself any longer for falling short. I know exactly what it would take to get to that level.

I’ve got too many other higher priorities to give tennis that attention right now. But I find it incredibly exciting to know that I’m still capable of getting far better at tennis — or at anything else — and so are you.

Here are the recent books on this subject:

Talent is Overrated by Geoffrey Colvin. My personal favorite.

The Talent Code by Daniel Coyle

Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell

The Genius in All of Us by David Schenk.

Bounce by Mathew Syed

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Tony Schwartz is president and CEO of The Energy Project. He is the author of the June, 2010 HBR article, “The Productivity Paradox: How Sony Pictures Gets More Out of People by Demanding Less” [click here] and co-author, with Catherine McCarthy, of the 2007 HBR article, “Manage Your Energy, Not Your Time” [click here]. He  is also the author of the new book The Way We’re Working Isn’t Working: The Four Forgotten Needs that Energize Great Performance (Free Press, 2010).