The Power of Silence

A couple of years ago I phoned a client who told me that I had just made him $40K. He was negotiating a pay off and wasn't satisfied with the first offer. He simply remained silent while the offer grew and grew. The generous fellow that he is credited his Mitchell Phoenix experience to the result.

I received an email from another client yesterday asking if I had watched "Into the Storm", a movie covering Winston Churchill's war years. On the Governing Change program there is a story about how Churchill became Prime Minister. Lord Beaverbrook, the newspaper tycoon, made Churchill promise that he would remain silent for 3 whole minutes before giving Halifax the okay. Below is the clip from the movie showing the power of silence. It is a 1min 22secs. (Thank you, Piers)

The Power of Silence

Management Training Needs Expert Facilitation

When choosing a leadership and management development programme, one is likely to encounter courses which promise “facilitation by experts.” The experts will have a background in a particular industry, and will draw on this background as they develop managers from the same industry on their programme.

In this way, ex civil-servants will train other civil servants, ex manufacturing directors will instil leadership and management disciplines in those working in manufacturing, ex-lawyers will develop other lawyers, and ex IT professionals will inculcate “soft skills” in current IT professionals.

When the development focuses around technical information, it is easy to understand why those with a background in a similar industry might be preferable. Non-lawyers will have no grasp of technical aspects of law, non-IT professionals will know little about the technical issues facing those working at the front line of IT.

Where leadership and management attitudes and skills are to be developed, it is less clear why those with a particular industry background will be a useful choice. An impressive track record working in a particular industry suggests a person is expert at working in that particular field, rather than in developing others to do so. Further, the more impressive the track record, the stronger the hold it will exert over the person’s thinking. Hard-won experience is even harder to relinquish. Yet anyone who wishes to develop wider understanding must do just that: let go of the particular, loosen their grip on their individual insights and begin to see further than their own autobiography.

Developing and inspiring others is not the same as doing oneself, as footballers who turn to management often discover. Who had a better track record than Sir Bobby Charlton? In terms of industry experience, of “been there, done it, got the medals to prove it,” at one stage he was peerless in the English game. His management career underlined the gap between doing oneself and mobilising others. (His choice of subsequent activities shows how fast he learned this, and how shrewd and adaptable he is.)

What qualifications should one look for from those involved in management development? Expert facilitation: facilitation by those who are expert at facilitating, rather than those who are expert at something else, however relevant that may appear. Development by those who have a proven track record of developing others, and who can show measurable results from their work. Management based on principles which hold true for any environment, rather than tactics which worked in certain circumstances, but may not in others.

Hamsters on Wheels

“Time Management” is a myth. No matter how slowly time seemed to drag in the meeting you just attended, no matter how quickly a deadline appears to be thundering down on you, time passes at a constant rate. We cannot manage the passage of time any more than we can influence the phases of the moon.

What we can do is make decisions about how we fill the 24 hours we have in each day. Time management is really decision making on how we spend our time.

Yet most of the advice on time management available to businesses and individuals tacitly assumes that these decisions have already been made. Type “time management” into any search engine and scan the results. You will find tips on making to do lists, prioritising activities, and putting those activities in a diary. There is information on stopping procrastinating, filing documents so you can find them quickly and motivating yourself to press on and achieve your goals.

The question is how did you arrive at those goals? When you stop procrastinating, what exactly are you going to do? After all, the major decision is not to pursue a certain goal between three and five o’clock, but to work towards that goal at all. The available information on goal setting mainly revolves around how we should formulate and subsequently achieve them. In other words, traditional time management does not cover what you do, merely when you do it.

Imagine everybody in your department improves their time management. They choose goals, focus on them, and stick to their schedules scrupulously. Unless major decisions had been taken about the department’s strategic aims and how they will be distributed and achieved on a team and individual basis, everyone will simply get better at doing what they were already doing. The status quo will be maintained even more efficiently than before, like hamsters taking steroids so that they can run on their wheels for an extra hour every night.

In the second half of 2009 sound decisions around our time usage are more important than ever before. The recession has inspired a new more frugal attitude to what we really need: businesses have slashed costs and profligate practices, over-staffing is a thing of the past and in its place is a hard focus on what investment actually produces profit.

Kevin Yates, Managing Director of Mitchell Phoenix, sounds a warning note about our appetite for time management, “as we creep out of the recession, everyone is over-stretched. Clever diarising doesn’t help staff who are covering more than one position, or teams operating at half the strength they had two years ago. This is a problem for senior management. Only informed, strategic decisions about time usage from the top of organisations will create the conditions for more profitable behaviour throughout the business and ultimately secure the future.”

Phoenix or Leopard?

This morning the New York Times made the most promising noises yet, that the recession may be about to end. Unemployment is down, house prices are rising, productivity is up; all positive indications that things are improving. President Obama gave a stirring speech in Cairo committing to greater efforts for peace. GM’s Chief has told Congress “it’s our obligation to be open and transparent in all we do to reinvent G.M.”

It seems that we are on the brink of a new era. New thinking, new goals, new plans….change. A chance for us all to make that ‘New Year’s resolution”. Who of us has consistently stuck to their resolutions?

So there is the rub. What has business learned over the last 18 months and what will be the commitment to be different in the future?

The meaning of the phoenix in Mitchell Phoenix is derived from ancient mythology; the sacred firebird. The phoenix is a bird with beautiful gold and red plumage. At the end of its life-cycle the phoenix builds itself a nest of cinnamon twigs that it then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix arises. The bird was also said to regenerate when hurt or wounded by a foe, thus being almost immortal and invincible. The phoenix is a symbol of rebirth, regeneration and renewal.

If we view the recent past as a cathartic experience, emerging purged and refreshed, we have tremendous opportunities to be even stronger as a business. We can seize the moment to Govern Change, pro-actively operating in different ways at higher levels. It is also possible to let out a huge sigh of relief as we emerge from the bunker into watery sunlight, hand shielding the eyes, squinting at the sky. “Right! Where were we?” is the first phrase spoken on the road ahead.

What is the old saying about a leopard and spots? Be a phoenix instead.

Leadership - We Know It When We See It

Amid the public outcry over MP’s expenses and their discontent at the conduct of the Speaker, those seeking lessons on leadership might be forgiven for looking anywhere other than the Houses of Westminster at the moment.

And yet the Speaker can furnish us with some useful insights into what is required of leaders. His recent behaviour in firstly being unwilling to see the importance of the brewing scandal over MPs’ expenses, and then in savaging members of his own party when they questioned his judgement on the issue has dissipated his authority. The result of this has been a loss of confidence in the Speaker among MPs and calls for his resignation.

We might justifiably ask ourselves how this has happened – after all, it seems that he has done no more than misjudge the public mood and respond cantankerously to some hostile questioning. But in fact, he has not offered the leadership his position demands.

In business a position of authority is bestowed on a manager by those above him or her in the hierarchy. This authority is accompanied by a set of responsibilities and a level of trust. Should the manager then break this trust, it will not be long before he or she loses the job.

In order to successfully wield the power which accompanies a position of authority, a manager also needs the respect of the people below him or her in the hierarchy. If this respect is lost, the manager’s ability to exercise the power of their position is greatly reduced.

While the Speaker’s office is more complicated than that of a hypothetical business manager, the lesson for business people is that it is not enough simply to occupy the position of authority and wield the accompanying power.

Kevin Yates, Managing Director of Mitchell Phoenix, explains, “leadership is not simply an idea, nor is it expedient - something we can believe in one day and not the next. People will see straight through that. It has to be visible, applied, and strong enough to gain the respect of the people you lead.”

In fact, argues Yates, after it has been bestowed one then has to prove one is worthy, and to do this, one has to display the fundamental qualities of leadership: a sense of purpose about what it is one wishes to achieve, decisiveness in fulfilling that purpose, the ability to mobilise others in adversity, and a character which commands respect.

Sustainability in Business – What does it mean?

Sustainability is an increasingly common term in today’s world. It is most widely used to communicate goals around ‘saving the planet’, renewable energy and feeding the Earth’s population. The concept of sustainability refers to the ability to maintain balance of a certain process or state in any system and is central to studies of ecological and biological systems.

If we see business as an organism and start to explore sustainability as an overarching goal we will find that this idea has been around for hundreds of years. At Mitchell Phoenix we often ask people to consider ‘What is the purpose of Management?” the ultimate conclusion being “To secure the future”. If we accept that our purpose is to secure the future, then what is the implicit responsibility? It is to Govern Change.

Governing change is the act of generating sustainability in business through being pro-active. Adapting to change is evidence that learning has taken place Reacting to change based on how we have always done it simply stores up the need to handle the same thing again in the future. The ability to change and adapt is the key to sustainability.

President Obama, since his election, has made several speeches and has often used the question “Will our children thank us?” around difficult issues that need addressing now. Business needs to start thinking more about what it is creating rather than what it is taking, not what it is losing but what it is gaining. Change is often seen as a cost rather than an investment. “I haven’t got time” is a basic example.

We can wait for change to force our hand, new legislation, for instance, and conform. We can see the writing on the wall and reluctantly implement measures in readiness, ruing what once was. We can embrace change and make it our strategy, forging ahead with clarity and purpose. Already, corporate governance is upon us. We need to educate our people over Diversity and demonstrate our policies. Social Responsibility will become more and more of a requirement and managing our carbon emissions will be a burden or a boon.

If we want an adaptable, sustainable organization, Governing Change has to be core thinking for every business. In his book, “The Future of Work”, Tom Malone from the Harvard Business School explores in one of the chapters, putting human values at the center of business. By nurturing, growing, planning a legacy, preparing the future, he states that it is highly likely that we would automatically embrace and adopt principles and policies that are currently being legislated.

The World Commission on Environment and Development has articulated what has now become a widely accepted definition of sustainability: "[to meet] the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Sounds like a plan to me.

Susan Boyle and Untapped Potential

By now you can't have failed to hear about the incredible story of Susan Boyle. She is a 48 year old unemployed lady who lives with her cat, Pebbles in Blackburn, Scotland. Just over a week ago she became a singing sensation when she appeared on the TV show, 'Britain's got Talent. Miss Boyle blew away the audience and the judges with her powerful and moving rendition of 'I Dreamed a Dream' from the musical 'Les Miserables'.

She is an incredible discovery and has become an overnight celebrity. A question that needs to be asked is 'How many other Susan Boyles are out there in any capacity in life and especially in business?'

What are companies doing to ensure that they are aware of the business talents of all their employees? One of the most effective tools is The Appraisal, only companies don't know how to run an appraisal system effectively and continue to miss out on the rich potential their people represent.

An appraisal that follows a printed document designed to capture information for posterity is, as most managers will tell you, a waste of time. An appraisal is the one time during a year where bosses can truly listen to their employees. They can find out what they enjoy doing at work, what motivates them, what they take pride in and what sort of challenges they would like to face in the future.

So why not treat your Appraisal system as a "My Company's Got Talent" show and allow people to reveal their potential.

For those of you still unfamiliar with Susan Boyle here's a link to her performance on YouTube Susan Boyle - I Dreamed a Dream

Off Track: How Many of the Tech 100 Will Survive?

When the Sunday Times Microsoft Tech Track 100 was published in September last year, Lehman Brothers had just collapsed, $85 billion had been spent bailing out AIG, and the UK government was just over a week away from announcing their £400 billion rescue plan for the British banking system.

Against an economic background like this the unspoken question was: which of these companies will still be in the top 100 next time around?

Many of these businesses are growing fast because they have a powerful idea which they have made into a profitable business. To maintain their momentum, especially in a recession, they will need more ideas – about both their core business and also about how they run the rapidly growing organization which has built up around it.

“When companies grow to a certain size,” says Kevin Yates, Managing Director of Mitchell Phoenix, “they can no longer rely on a handful of individuals at the top of the company for all of their innovative thinking. They need to create a culture of innovation and the capability to implement those new ideas throughout the whole business.”

Yates argues this is even more important during a recession. “In difficult times the quality of ideas can make or break a business,” he explains, “after all, ideas and the ability to put them into practice is all that separates companies from their competition. Now is the time to ensure that your business is set up to foster and implement innovative thinking.”

When faced with recession in the early 1990s Microsoft, which now sponsors the Tech Track 100, invested in developing the culture and the people within the organization.

“Mitchell Phoenix did extensive work on individual and team capability and performance development,” comments David Burrows, Managing Director in Government Industry at Microsoft. “There was a good focus on delivering usable value to the business, and a willingness to adjust to accommodate client need.”

“Microsoft understood that it was important to place innovation and the implementation of new ideas at the centre of their culture,” says Yates. “They knew that a high performance environment is only developed consciously and deliberately, and they set out to do just that. In many ways this was one of the foundation stones for their success.”

The Several Habits of Highly Effective Organizations

Constancy of purpose, to take a leaf from Dr Edward Deming, is one of the prime contributory factors to business success. It is a commitment to the long-term and connected with a continual improvement ethos. In order for any organization to become highly effective at sustaining its constancy of purpose it has to develop several habits.

The first of these habits is Strategy. Strategic planning and on-going reference to strategy is central to mobilizing people, empowering them and maintaining a greater level of control over results. Strategy as a habit is akin to taking regular compass bearings to ensure the venture is heading in the right direction. Companies should strive to become accomplished at strategic thinking as far down their organization as possible. The greater strategic awareness, the more attention to detail is paid. Detail is competitive edge.

In order for Strategy to be effectively put into action, a second critical habit needs to be developed. Culture. The way people think, communicate and act will also determine effectiveness. If Culture is a conscious habit, then there will be a consistency of approach throughout a business that reflects a common set of values and beliefs. It makes for the possibility of an environment in which people can excel. A great Culture is the product of great leadership.

If ‘Change is the only constant’ (Heraclitus), then it should be embraced. Change is another habit of highly effective organizations. They decide for Change rather than having to always react to it. It becomes a habit coupled with regular reference to strategy and the ability to move quickly because of a strong culture. Change, if it is a habit, is seen as positive and quickly adopted. Standing still in business is the same as dying.

Highly effective organizations are in the habit of referencing Principles. A business that is guided by Principles is able to make quicker, more confident decisions. A decision is a pivot between the past and the future. Strong, confident decision making is a reflection of clear strategic focus and translates into more committed action. Recognized Principles communicate integrity and unite teams. A Principle is only a Principle until it costs you something.

When things go wrong highly effective organizations listen. Real listening is linked to Openness. When a company sees success and failure as two ends of

the same stick, everything is simply information. Not only does openness allow focus to quickly move to solutions, it reflects confidence and security in its ability to cope with a setback. A blame culture cannot exist when the habit is to seek to understand, make a new decision and Govern Change. An organization is able to learn. Openness is the gateway to creativity and innovation.

Future Orientation is at the core of any effective enterprise. Habitually focusing on the future prompts the question ‘How do we move forward?’ and is action oriented. Future orientation is a reflection of a strategic organization with a culture and principles that propel it forwards. When a business is Future Oriented it will use time better and achieve more. Turn hope into expectation.

All organizational habits are characterized, exemplified and adopted by people. One more habit is finding, developing and retaining the Right People. Highly effective organizations are uncompromising in their recruitment. It is more about cultural fit than technical fit. They create a learning environment and encourage involvement. Training is a commitment to the people and appraisal is looked forward to. Management is rewarded and feedback is on a regular basis. People work without fear. It is people who deliver an organization’s results.


It is possible to build these habits deliberately, quickly and easily into any organization. Mitchell Phoenix has been transforming businesses with core business strengths for over twenty years.

Earth Hour 28th March 8.30-9.30pm

It is 'Earth Hour' this Saturday 28 March. The whole world is being encouraged to switch off all its lights from 8.30 to 9.30pm in an effort to encourage awareness over Global Warming. 2,848 cities, towns and municipalities in 84 countries have signed up so far.

When you create common goals for good its easy for people to sign up to them. Business take note.

Will you be switching off this Saturday?

Management Fads Fade Fast

How is it that management fads come and go so quickly? See what Mitchell Phoenix have to say in their latest press release. Click here

Computer says "No"

Mitchell Phoenix's latest press release draws attention to the growing need to control your business processes rather than let them control you. Read more here http://www.journalism.co.uk/66/articles/533774.php

Confidence Tricks - Boosting your Confidence in Presentations

How is it that normally secure, confident, outgoing people can feel so nervous about giving a presentation? A recent survey of the top 10 things people most dreaded showed Public Speaking as top of the list closely followed by Death! Presumably if you were asked to give a eulogy at a funeral you would prefer to be in the ‘box’.

It is likely, as a manager, that you will be asked to present in some form or other to an audience. It may be something informal such as a “Good Luck and Thank-you” speech to a departing employee or a full-on presentation to the board. So what is it that prevents people from being themselves when it comes to public speaking?

The main factor is ‘stage-fright’, when you move centre stage and all the attention is on you, and you freeze. You are like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming vehicle at night. You are powerless; your legs feel like rubber; the room starts to spin, your throat constricts and your mouth is drier than the Gobi Desert. Don’t worry, it’s easily fixed. How? I hear you shout.

The simple answer is do lots of presentations since each time we survive the experience we know that we can do it and we know more and more what to expect. One of the biggest causes of feeling nervous is that we are unfamiliar with something that demands a level of accomplishment. We also tend to get nervous in new surroundings. This is completely natural. If the thought of giving lots of presentations to overcome our fear of public speaking isn’t practical or just stupid, then here are a few exercises to try out before and during a presentation.

Dress the Part

This is easy advice to follow. Really put the effort in to look good. If you know you look good, you will feel good. It is part of getting ready for something and showing commitment to it. “I’m doing this and I’m going to look great!”

Raise your Posture

Another simple tip to put into practice. Try sitting up straighter right now. You will feel yourself taking in a breath and sense that you are in a stronger position. When presenting feel yourself stretching to your full height (not on tiptoes!) and keep that posture throughout. You will feel stronger and more powerful as you speak.

Create an Anchor

An anchor is an association that you create between a time that you felt completely confident, completely comfortable and in control and a physical gesture. Cast your mind back to one of those times until the memory starts to bring back the confidence you felt and link it immediately to a gesture such as squeezing your thumb and forefinger together or gently pinching the skin on the back of your hand. Then, when you want to bring back that feeling of confidence, simply make the gesture.

Don’t Give a Hoot

When we care too much about something, raise its level of importance and weigh ourselves down with the expectations of others, then our ability to ‘perform’ can be severely effected. The trick here is to not care. That doesn’t mean to say that we will do a bad job, it means if something goes wrong treat it as nothing, shrug it off. “I can’t remember my next line”, so what? “My hands are shaking” so what? “The audience looks bored”, so what? Care less, perform better.

Become like Walter Mitty

“The Secret Life of Walter Mitty” was a short story written by James Thurber. Walter Mitty was a meek and mild-mannered man who as he day-dreamed could suddenly become anything he wanted to be; a fearless Naval commander steering his ship through a storm; a brilliant surgeon saving a life; a hero foregoing a blindfold in front of a firing squad. We can do the same. Pretend to be someone you admire and act like them.


Prepare your Opening

If you are going to freeze, it will probably be right at the start. Preparation is our biggest ally in presenting. If you do nothing else, prepare, prepare, prepare. By preparing especially well for your introduction you create momentum for the rest of your presentation. If you forget lines later on, don’t worry; the audience doesn’t know what you are going to say so they won’t notice!

Inspire by iPod

Listening to music that inspires you on the way to giving a presentation can also strengthen resolve. A lot of sports teams use this idea to send them out on the field full of confidence, ready for action. ‘I will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor; ‘We are the Champions’ by Queen; ‘The Theme from the Magnificent Seven’ and the ‘Theme from Rocky’; ‘Ace of Spades’ by Motorhead and ‘My Way’ by Ol’ Blue Eyes are some suggestions!

You can find breathing exercises to do; you can imagine the audience in their underwear as well as a host of other ideas to help your confidence. Ultimately it will be your belief, passion and purpose that win the day. Just standing up front shows the courage you have and be sure that the audience is on your side. They much prefer to be where they are than where you are.

Mitchell Phoenix inspires leaders, managers and businesses with the confidence and ideas to make a difference. We equip people with the thinking and the tools to measurably improve personal and corporate performance. We help turn strategy into action, objectives into results.

Click HERE to visit our website

The Emporor’s New Clothes and Management Theory

Andrew Billen of the Times said in this article yesterday http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/women/the_way_we_live/article5860232.ece
that management theory has been shown up as modern day snake oil. In fact, he has taken a sawn off shotgun to it, citing various examples of how theory strips people and organizations of good old common sense. He has a point.

When you impose systems on people that are a substitute for management or even a compensation for lack of management, eventually there will be a collision between man and 'machine'. Systems and theories remove the decision-making from organizations since a process has already been decided. All that's needed is for the guidelines to be followed. When the system fails it is because people have let it fail either consciously or sub-consciously.

Billen is essentially pointing at management theory and calling it 'naked' concluding that there is nothing to it. About 15 years ago I was invited to a round table discussion at the London School of Economics between business leaders and academics. The question under discussion was "What does business need from academia to help it evolve.?" You won't be surprised to hear that nothing new emerged. In fact if you really examine the evolution of management theory you will see that the same ideas have been introduced repeatedly, only renamed.

Ultimately, there is no substitute for people and timeless principles of management that are as relevant now as they will be in the future. When you have a real strategy you will see immediately the reason for poor outcomes and systems are designed to support people rather compensate for them. People make theories and systems work not the other way around.