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...

I was sitting with a colleague during lunch and we were talking about how many leadership decisions are taken today to avoid bad press from the people they are taking decisions for.

It's as if (sometimes) the fear of reaction dictates the decision that will be taken. Politics, business, etc., the examples abound of people in power who take the POLPOP instead of the right decision.

Ok, so we invented a new acronym... and I invite you to find the examples around you and identify the POLPOPs. What is it, you ask ?

Path Of Least Pissed Off People

So here's the introspection part: how many decisions do you take that are based on POLPOP and not the right decision ?

I don't often appreciate reductionist formulas where people say ' Do this and you're life will be better '. Life is so much more intricate and complicated.

However, I fell on this little formulaic reminder of corporate structure and priorities and thought it worth putting on the sticky side of my mind :

3 P = 2 P

Products + Processes + People = Profits and Phun (ok, I cheated on the last P, but it works)

Products : The right widget or service to fill the right need with the right message in the right market at the right time.

Processes : The right way of doing things to optimize revenues and expenses.

People : The right ready, willing and able people.

Equals

Profits : Not just financial, but also personal growth.

Phun : The most important part of the equation. If you're not having fun, STOP, go back to the left part of the equation and figure out what's wrong... then fix it.

I love getting to know the real person in front of me. And when I interview, I like to dig deeper than the standard questions to find out who I am really talking to.

So I am quite partial to open - ended questions and then take it from there. It's usually an informal setting where I try to put the person the most at ease. I know HR experts have different opinions about this, but my goal is to feel entirely comfortable with the person... and seeing how they react to non - standard questions is an excellent way of doing so.

Here are some sample questions I love to ask:

- If you stayed with your current company, what would be your next move?
- What makes you stand out from others?
- Tell me your greatest accomplishment
- Give me an example of a time when you took the time to share a co-worker's achievement with others
- How many hours a week do you need to work to get your job done?
- Do you take enough time to make a decision?
- Why do you want to work here?
- What are your salary expectations?

And my favorite :
- Tell me about yourself.

Sometimes, I come across stories that inspire me to be a better person, to excel and go beyond established limits. This story is from the Bible, from the book of Nehemiah.

Nehemiah knew that to be a good leader you had to have clean hands and a pure heart. The basic quality for leadership is the same as the basic quality for success in a person's life. And that is to be true to one's belief and values.

So what made Nehemiah so special ?

Nehemiah had a sense of calling.
Nehemiah patiently waited for the right timing.
Nehemiah established reasonable and attainable goals. You know one of the reasons why leadership fails is 1) they have no goals whatsoever or 2) they establish goals that are not reasonable, measurable or attainable.
Nehemiah made prayer and recollection a priority in his life.
Nehemiah rearranged his priorities in order to accomplish his goals.
Nehemiah acted decisively when it was time for him to act.
Nehemiah took time to rest, to plan, to pray, to think.
Nehemiah became personally acquainted with his task.
Nehemiah made shrewd use of his time.
Nehemiah surrounded himself with trusted allies.
Nehemiah provided vision for the people.
Nehemiah involved a broad-based work team in the work.
Nehemiah never wavered in the face of opposition.
Nehemiah executed a plan to accomplish his goal.
Nehemiah didn't hesitate to take emergency action when emergency action was necessary.
Nehemiah was very visible and approachable.
Nehemiah managed his resources very well.
Nehemiah verbalized his dependence on other's help, and he did it again and again.
Nehemiah was not afraid to get his hands dirty.
Nehemiah took care of his people financially.
Nehemiah personally sacrificed to accomplish his goal.
Nehemiah refused to live above his people.
Nehemiah didn't hesitate to discipline inappropriate behavior.
Nehemiah had a great view of the value of his own work.
Nehemiah exuded integrity before everyone.
Nehemiah showed discernment in dealing with people.
Nehemiah didn't hesitate to attribute his success to others.
Nehemiah kept his promises.

Whether you believe in the veracity of the Good Book or not is besides the point. The example given here of someone who wisely persevered against all odds is worth a moment of reflexion.

As business leaders, the best decisions are often not the ones we say YES to, but rather the ones we decide to say NO to.

Passing on an opportunity is one of the hardest things an entrepreneur or a company has to do, but (imho) it is the single most differentiating factor in its success.

What follows is a result of experience, mistakes, books I read and some gray matter.

Knowing how and when to say NO requires :
- knowing yourself and your values
- knowing your business and its capacities
- being able to qualify and quantify the opportunity
- creating and adhering to a solid vision

Here are the questions I ask myself when analyzing an opportunity
- what is the exact need that this fills ? where do I position myself to that need ?
- how convincing is the solution to that need ? what are all the details ?
- how does this solution distinguish itself from all the others ? what are the barriers to entry ?
- what is the short and long term potential for the opportunity ? any upside to leveraging with current assets ?
- what are the risks involved ? what assumptions were made that include a measure of uncertainty ?
- is there a realistic execution plan of the strategy ?
- are all the necessary resources there to back up the opportunity ?
- is the team ready, willing and able ?

Things that can block an opportunity
- existing markets : our clients would not like it if we ...
- existing business models : we don't generate $ here with this method ...
- existing distributors : our distributors would not like it if we ...
- existing strategies : we decided way back when to do things this way ...
- existing structures : we don't want to manage this new opportunity in this department ...
- existing arbitrary constraints : if we don't generate this or create this or have this result his, it will be a complete waste of time ...
- existing vocabulary : we don't understand it ...

In Sanya, Hainan, China, there is a street near the bus terminal that has close to 20 double sided boothes with an assortment of products to sell to tourists who wander by.

What is interesting there is the model of competition. First : every booth sells a variance of the same objects: pearls, jade, chopsticks, plates, etc...

Second, the proximity of the booths to one another is never more than 1 foot.

Third, the prices are already on the low side. The perfect storm of negotiating and good prices. I have rarely seen the power of the walk-away be so effective.

Whose the winner ? The consumer ... and the manufacturing company that produces those objects for the 20+ booths.

A few years ago, I was invited to do a conference at a tech show on innovation and entrepreneurship. Another speaker on the bill got me curious. He was talking about how to 'be approachable'. His name was Scott and he was dubbed 'The NameTag Guy'. Another corny gimmick I thought.

I popped in to see his presentation (I was secretly looking for a good laugh, I must admit). Was I ever wrong! To his credit, I felt like an idiot to have judged the guy without understanding his message. Full of sound content, he was showing us how to be 'that guy', just like he was the NameTag Guy. His moniker came from one day, as a student, wearing a nametag saying 'Hello, my name is Scott' and then deciding to never take it off afterwards - sleep and shower included. He even tatooed on his chest. This social experiment led him to discover how approachable he became just by wearing a permanent nametag. It also led him to become a world expert on personal branding.

I've been following his career and blog since then and he has not ceased to impress me with great content and material. I often use him as an example in my classes. Recently, he did a post that cuts to the core of branding for entrepreneurs :

what is your mindshare.

He describes the 4 variations of mindshare, with accompanying questions:
- When you’re the FIRST person that comes to mind. (Immediate Mindshare)
- When you’re the OBVIOUS person that comes to mind. (Duh! Mindshare)
- When you’re the ONLY person that comes to mind. (Sole Source Mindshare)
- When you’re the BEST person that comes to mind. (Number One Mindshare)

It got me thinking about what kind of mindshare I wanted to give off personally and professionally. I want to be 'that guy' but what is the 'that' ? In my case, the difficulty comes from having built and sold multiple projects. I'm close to figuring it out, but I thought the principe that Scott put forward should be shared.

The post here
The blog here
The main website here
The video website here