Jean Fahmy

Wow. I started drafting this blog a week ago because I wanted to encourage the innovators and the thought leaders to continue to persevere despite the many challenges we face. Ironically, I had no idea how much it would be relevant for me personally.

Media Transcontinental, in a surprise move yesterday, decided to abolish the role of Director, Digital Strategies. It was a role I created to offer education, guidance, consulting and digital thought-leadership to all internal and external stakeholders: the many magazines, the business publications, the weekly newspapers, the advertising clients, etc.

I believe strongly (and I know I am biased) that in recessionary times, it is INNOVATION that will eventually determine the winners from the losers. When the dust settles, the one who will have prepared for the future will beat out the competition.

The proactive always bests the reactive.

Especially in fields like digital media where the consumers are evolving. Traditional brands need to be where the consumers are and will be migrating, now more than ever. It really is innovate or die.

While it is discouraging to see a big media company take that defensive approach, I do wish them well. They have amazing brands and great potential to change peoples lives with the information they are providing.

I feel like the missionary in the desert who was stopped before reaching the Promised Land. I can see it on the horizon, but I won't be able to step into it with them. Because of the tremendous respect and appreciation I have for the owner-family, I really do hope that they find their way there.

This does not, however, change my resolve to keep educating, innovating and guiding those who will want to embrace the digital revolution we are experiencing. Thankfully, I already have quite a few interesting opportunities in that respect.

So to those out there trying to promote change and innovation in a difficult context, keep persevering. I feel your pain.

After all, this was found on the wall in the late 1800's...

Here is a Visa commercial that demonstrates negotiation in the most creative form I've seen yet. So many subtle lessons here:
- he who has the gold, makes the rules
- the greatest asset in a negotiation is not necessarily money
- it's not over until you have all the desired assets in your hand
- if you can't leave the negotiation table, you lose
- if you are the most creative and innovative, you win

Chrystian Guy (www.cguy.org), a friend of mine and literary artist came up with 4 'hanging approaches' to desperate situations. Impressive how it adequately describes our common reactions, all related to the word 'hang'.

The 4 'hanging' approaches when things go bad
1. Hang in there
2. Hang yourself over with any type of numbing substance
3. Hang yourself - period
4. Hang up on it.

He then brings it all together in a nice simple package with these words of encouragement for those of you going through tough times:
If you decide on #1, we could meet for #2, trying to avoid #3 and find ways to do #4...

Love it.

Former City of New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani gave us a brilliant and memorable quote at the Republican Convention a few days ago. (I'm not showing my colors - I've watched most of both Conventions).

This quote sums up everything I believe in about two grand concepts I love: change and strategy. I take it out of context and I do not apply it to American politics, but rather to my experience in the corporate world and in human relationships.

"Change is not a destination just like hope is not a strategy".

Bullseye.

I was roasting marshmallows the other day with my kids. While analyzing how the sugary treat reacts to the fire, I couldn't help drawing parallels between that activity and managing people.

For those of you who have never had the joy of marshmallows on the fire, here's what happens :
- You put it on the end of a stick, usually a piece of wood you handcrafted with the pocketknife you brought to impress your friends.
- You bring it near the flame ... and the distance is the secret. Too close, and your marshmallow catches on fire, leaving a black calcined (and some say cancerous) outside crust and a hard middle. Too far, and your patience is what will get burned.
- At the right distance, and by wisely turning the treat with the stick, you get a golden outside color with a very tasty gooey middle. A true delight.

As a manager, I want my people to be entrepreneurial and take initiatives that they think are great for the organization. Which means they will make mistakes. Which means I want them to learn from their mistakes. If they can grow through their mistakes and come out stronger, then that is success - for themselves and the organization.

So I need to learn to let them feel the heat of the consequences of their actions, but just at the right amount. Too close to the flame and they develop a hard black outside crust and keep a hardened middle. Too far from the flame and they never learn. Both cases eventually become nightmarish for me.

The ideal is to make them feel the heat just enough to create a learned experience, an ingrained new habit and a willingness to keep putting themselves out there and be entrepreneurial.

That's when I - and the organization - gets the delicious golden hue with the gooey center.

And then, as I look at my 4 year old, I realize it's the same darn thing with kids...

I've read some interesting quotes about strategy in the last months, prepping for the current strategy-focused position I have. The one that stuck with me was from Verne Harnish, CEO of Gazelles - a growth consulting company. It give an interesting view as to why we need solid strategy in a company.

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed...

every morning a lion wakes up. It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle...when the sun comes up, you'd better be running."

Strategy tells you where to run to either eat or to not get eaten.

Strategy.

A word that means everything and nothing at the same time. It is overused so much, I feel it's lost all meaning.

Since my current role at Transcontinental is one of 'Digital Strategies', it was was in my interest to come up with an easy, vulgarized, descriptive and rallying definition of the word.

So, true to form, I read over 30 books, countless blogs and even more web pages on 'Strategy'. I was searching for that common thread that would help cement what the word 'strategy' could mean in an organization like the one I'm in.

And finally I found it. Nothing groundbreaking, but the definition I formulated out of this process was one I could happily start promoting.

Strategy answers two important questions :

- What CAN you do ?

- What SHOULD you do ?

Now the key are the tools you will develop to answer those crucial questions. But that is for another blog...

Ahhh Internal politics.

I had very little notion of what that was until I joined a big corporation. I had heard about it, but it sounded more like a rumour to me in my small-company-cocoon. For 11 years, the only politics I knew about were the ones I created in my businesses. All the behind-the-scenes action was either non-existent or well hidden from me. (I prefer to think there weren't any, but I'm not that naïve...)

And then I got a bit of a baptism by fire and I was getting quite discouraged.

Everything changed for me when Francois Olivier, the CEO of our company gave me his definition of what company politics are. He said: ‘Jean, politics is a good thing if that means you are being polite and if you are delicately getting your point across on a sensitive subject. But, if a person is putting his own personal interests ahead of the company’s interest, well, that is bad politics.’

So here are my take-aways from my experience so-far.

1. Think of the company first
I now often ask myself: who do I really work for? When I drive down the value chain, I realise I work for the Marcoux family and the TCL shareholders. So the decisions I take are now focused towards these stakeholders. You may say ‘duh’ to the previous statement, but when you’ve always worked as the entrepreneur, it’s a revelation.

2. Get buy-in, get buy-in, get buy-in
Major projects require many experts within the organization. Even if I am a project lead, I am still working with a team of significantly qualified individuals. Their continued involvement and buy-in ensures that the project will be successful… and it valorizes everyone’s expertise.

3. Watch out for the big 3
This three-headed monster kills projects, demotivates people, ruins internal processes, increases churn, increases useless expenses and decreases profits…

- Personal egos
- Hidden agendas
- Keeping information for oneself

4. Titles don't equal real influence
Nuff said.

‘Is the project finished?’
‘Almost’

This back and forth happens all too often in corporations today with horrendous results. 80 % of projects today never get completed adequately because we have too many ‘almosts’.

From FGT, a boutique expert project management firm, comes a list of 8 Critical Success Factors (CSFs) for Project Management. These 8 answer the age-old question ‘Is the project finished?’ If you are able to say yes (objectively) to these 8, then pat yourself on the back, you’ve delivered your project. These 8 also kill the all-too-often-mentioned answer ‘I’m almost finished the project’ - which still give me shivers.

I’ve used these 8 CSF everywhere, they’re simple and they work.

Has your project been delivered:
-    on time
-    on budget
-    with the required specifications
-    to the satisfaction of the team
-    to the satisfaction of the leadership
-    to the satisfaction of the client
-    with an initial project justification
-    with an ending project evaluation

Now go and deliver.

Disclaimer: FGT is my dad’s project management company and can be found at www.fgt.com.

At my current employer, I have the lovely task of helping others innovate with their brands and their media mix. So I got to researching how big companies innovate. I knew of the '20% do-whatever-you-like' rule that 3M and Google use, but that didn't cut it here.

And then I found W.L. Gore.

"Pound for pound, the most innovative company in America is W.L. Gore and Associates," according to Fast Company. They are known for its premier brand Gore-Tex. They also innovate in the electronics, fabric and medical industries.

How do they do it ? 5 key philosophies that dictate how the company is run:

1. Small teams
With small groups, the company is able to respond and innovate quickly.

2. No rank
Instead of a rigid chain of command, which can delay decision making, the company eliminated rank. All employees are equal.

3. Everyone can lead
Without rank, it gives every employee the opportunity to be a leader.

4. Take the long view
Great innovations can sometimes take years, not months. By recognizing this, the company does not demand immediate results for quarterly shareholder reports.

5. Celebrate failures
Success requires failure. By celebrating failure, the company encourages employees to test every new idea because you never know which one will be a runaway success.

Lots of food for thought. And don't worry, I understand the need to frame these five chaotic suggestions in a controlled environment...