When I met Bill Stanton he was on point to make sure more than 100,000 LED fixtures were selected, ordered, manufactured, shipped and delivered to more than 240 public schools in greater Tampa FL. Not only was the job big, but it had to happen fast. Bill knew his business and, with a handful of others, got that job done. In this episode, Bill and I talk about how a kid from Long Island learned to bridge electricians' and executives' worlds to get them on the same page. Here are a few ahh-ha! moments I had, along the way:   

4:39 - Blue jeans in the boardroom work when you do the math.

7:32 - Balancing customer and supplier objectives often get both what they need, but less than both hoped.

16:55 - Customers see certain pieces of the puzzle but might need educated on other pieces. That doesn't mean pressured. It means showing them a different way to think about their situation.

26:13 - One project, different returns on investment - such as the CFO and the maintenance crew.

34:57 - Framing trade-offs in the context of a supra-ordinate goal or objective, such as protecting the customer relationship.

41:53 and on - Math is math but do you have all the variables in your formula?

50:01 - How to not burn a bridge, even if it took nearly two years to cross it!

Take cybersecurity, for example. It's natural to think your IT shop is responsible for it because it is. It's less common to think you're responsible for it, but you are. Every time you log on to your work computer you're practicing cyber hygiene, or you're not. In this episode, Ret. Rear Admiral Danelle Barrett talks about how she led large-scale change which depended on people changing behavior, and how she got people on the same page to do it. Here's where I had some of my own ahh-ha! moments:

4:38 - Conventional cyber training isn't as effective as it needs to be because it's disconnected from what people do in their jobs. 

11:06 - Where we talk about what it takes to think differently to behave differently, by talking in terms of an organization's "no-fail" mission.

18:39 - When you present a problem that makes people feel helpless, that doesn't help you solve the problem. 

25:22 - Talking about risks in specific operational terms helps people understand what cybersecurity risk means to them.

31:36 - Where we talk about what it means to embrace change.

38:47 - How Danelle sees and works the adoption curve in a large organization like the Navy.

45:29 - Change is overwhelming and leaders need to take change management on, directly.

If Bob Nunnally and his team aren't on the same page, the first thing he checks is his communication. Other things could be happening, but if his team's not getting his meaning and intent, nothing else matters. Plus Bob knows that he models leadership behavior in how he handles the situation. 

 

In this episode, Bob explains specific ways he works the podcast's big questions - What's it mean to be on the same page? How do we get there? What if we can't get there? Then he frames everything he does as a leader's role and responsibility, including the responsibility to create leaders, not followers. With 30+ years' military and commercial executive leadership experience, there's a lot here you can implement. 

 

At minute 46:12, my 32GB memory card - with almost nothing on it - died. Bob and I were already wrapping things up, so we decided to not re-record the interrupted exchange. My apologies for the abrupt transition from conversation to close at that point. As always, here are some of my favorite ahh-ha! moments:

 

2:21 - The mission briefing contract as a way to make sure people are on the same page.

5:27 - Shared knowledge and shared intent increase the odds of accomplishing a mission or task.

10:44 - Being on the same page is knowing my role in attacking a problem, knowing everyone else's part, and what I'll do to assist, if needed.

16:09 - Communication is not like sending a fax.

27:08 - "We're not on the same page. Tell me what you think we should do."

31:06 - A mistake is a good intention gone bad.

37:21 - "None of us is as good as all of us together. The question is, have I created an environment where it's truly all of us together?"

43:51 - An operational definition of organizational culture.

Shit happens. Living a principled life doesn't. One works hard to truly live their values and my guest this episode, Amy Fadida, is one such soul. Our conversation is filled with stories about how she's learned to respect others to get on the same page for the sake of the relationship, or to part ways honorably if that's to be. You'll smile and have your own ahh-ha! moments, but here are some of mine :)

2:29 To get on the same page you have to set aside what you think long enough to see through someone else's eyes. You don't have to agree. But you have to see.

10:57 My husband is a naturalized US Citizen and West Indian born. We were married 8 or 9 years before an island painting hanging in a gallery made me realize he demonstrated his connection to my culture more than I demonstrated my connection to his.

24:23 Shifting perspective helps you understand what matters and why. I see this in the way retired government officials who consult understand challenges faced by current government officials.

35:53 When I was younger I could be "in your face" over social issues. When I got a little older I began asking people why they believed what they believed. Even with something as divisive as abortion, I learned I could understand and respect reasoning contrary to my own. I didn't need to agree to understand. Neither did I need to be disrespectful to advocate for what I believed.

48:08 Know why something happened. Even when I represented employees in grievance procedures, knowing why an employee and a manager did what they did opened up the conversation - and increased the odds for a more satisfying outcome.

If you think buyers knowing the financial health of their suppliers is better for one side than the other - particularly if the supplier is struggling - you're not alone. It seems counter-intuitive, but not for RapidRatings. They help buyers and suppliers strengthen relationships on the basis of a financial health rating and the data to back it up. Data they get directly from the public and private companies they rate. And it works. Large enterprises with hundreds or thousands of suppliers have a deep interest in the financial well-being of their suppliers. They're willing to step up as a partner when needed - if they know it's needed. Listen in for some true business savvy about building business relationships and resilience on more than the usual contract terms and conditions.

Here are a few ahh-ha! moments I had.... 

4:54 - It seems suppliers take risks when disclosing financial information to buyers, but in reality it doesn't work that way.

7:59 - Transparency is key in any relationship but when paired with strong analytics you get intelligence. With transparency and intelligence, you're on a good path for solving problems.

10:55 - How data and analytics create a same page for companies to get on.

20:10 - How RapidRatings' rating and the analytics behind them provide a platform for a business relationship - with financial issues being a part, not the whole.

26:16 - Financial statements and analysis are a reflection of the human condition, because what you're really measuring are the results of management decisions.

38:14 - How RapidRatings' teams facilitate what might be contentious discussions with positive energy, loyalty and empathy.

Dale Luddeke is a man of faith who infuses his leadership philosophy and practice with Christian love and respect. He doesn't preach or proselytize. That's not his job. His job is to lead business development and he does that in a business-like way. But he lives his faith in how he interacts with others to do his job, and that creates a unique meaning of getting on the same page. Here are a few ahh-ha! moments I had talking to my friend and colleague: 

3:03 - If you're thinking that you need to be on the same page all the time, you're not looking at it in the right way

6:15 - People feel an incessant need to always be right and always be relevant - and it puts our defense mechanisms up

6:51 - Engaging with humility and grace gives others room to be themselves, and abates fear of the unknown

18:42 - I say we're on our own pages and our job is to create same pages if we're to get on them. Dale says same pages exist to get on, and our job is to discover them. 

26:55 - What do you do when someone's behavior harms a team effort? Dale says there's more to learn before you move them out. 

43:31 - Embracing complexity as beautiful, and coming together in diversity

My colleague Don Weber has deep program and project management experience including leading change efforts which span companies, countries and cultures. In this episode we discuss how he uses time-tested project management techniques to create those ahh-ha! moments needed to get on the same page. Here are a few places I had my own ahh-ha! moments: 

3:22 Leading an ERP implementation for 3700 people in 16 companies across 10 countries 

9:41 Adding an objector to the team to get him on the same page

19:24 Using project targets and outcomes to get people on the same page

28:41 Retiring organizational debt to keep a team together

41:54 Motivating by milestones

Erik Jens has been getting international businesses on the same page in luxury industries for decades, including through major turnarounds and transformations. He uses supraordinate goals to do it, but he knows they don't get people on the same page by themselves. Learn about the unique way he diversifies teams, how he discovers what energizes them, and how uses a shared goal vocabulary to focus their energy on change. Here are some of my favorite ahh!-ha moments:

8:00 To change an industry, find and connect those people in it who think alike about the right thing to do

12:29 Change comes from finding the values and motivation of the individuals on my team and saying, "Is this what keeps you ticking?"

15:30 What was the change narrative you heard?

18:07 Self-esteem and the self-respect of learning, of creating additional value, keep people moving through change processes

26:47 A tool for learning what gives people energy, and what drains it away

42:19 How understanding motivation and showing respect for different views multiplies the investment people make in change

Esther Dyer has spent a career leading change and helping the CEOs of professional associations, not-for-profits, and healthcare, philanthropic and commercial organizations get people on the same page, with change. Learn how she draws on library science to make complex information usable, and to help executives prepare for and use "moments of change" as catalysts. Here are a few ahh!-ha moments I had:

 

6:28 Moments of change as inflection points

8:06 Moments of change need preparation

9:52 Engaging an exec with a vision in his or her own "how"

19:17 An exec who got in the trenches to lead change

24:42 Guiding change by being a guide to information

35:57 Collaboration technology has left the watercooler behind, and communication is worse for it

Tom Oates is Deputy Director of a national clearinghouse for child welfare best practices. With a team of 90 who work with customers in all 50 states, Tom has a lot of people to get on the same page to meet the program's mission. Listen to how he does it by sharing power up, down and across his team. Here are a few of my own ahh-ha! moments:

 

4:50 - The difference between empowerment and emancipating people from being told what to do, to be free in their thinking and communication

9:46 - Using commander's intent to create shared intent 

17:50 - How do you lead conversation to sort out differences in an honest way?

22:40 - What if someone isn't ready to get on the same page?

32:45 - Getting on the same page means creating that page with someone, not necessarily giving up your own

40:40 - As a leader there's a perception of your power you have to break

43:50 - "I see what you mean" as perspective shift