There are some projects that you work on in life that change how you see things – completely.
I am in the midst of one of these now. The project was just a website. Done a hundred before, but this one was bigger in scope and in importance to the company’s future success.
For this project to be successful, a lot of people had to come together on issues where they held very different points of view. We knew it had to be fixed. But not by ramming a new website through the organization. No one would buy into or support such a one-sided approach.
– Each business unit and each sales team worked in a culture of relative independence.
– The business models and messages that resulted, while consistent within business units, were not consistent as a whole.
– The orientation of the website was clearly US-centric, but the company was global.
Result: the website had become a complicated morass that defied business focus and customer usability.
– How do you overcome a culture of silos and create a website that could grow business for the whole company?
– How do you use such a project to spawn a more cohesive company-wide brand positioning?
– How do you overcome personal opinions that are in conflict with one another?
I often think back on some of my college classes where the professor put us on team projects. I always felt it was unfair because the sandbaggers got the same grade as the pushers. But learning to collaborate was one of the most critical skills that came out of those four years. I just didn’t know it at the time. Collaboration on this big, global project was essential.
The first barrier we broke down was our US-centricity.
We packed bags and took the entire US development team to Brussels to meet with our marketing counterparts in our European headquarters. We met for three days. It took us awhile to hear what they were really saying. In part, because we were still clinging to “the truth as we knew it” and were not hearing the facts as they saw them. Again, those listening skills from back in college became important. But along the way in life, we seem to listen less and talk more. This time we listened, and it changed how we thought about this project in deep fundamental ways.
Then we pursued common focus across silos.
The conversations in Brussels and back home in Cincinnati set us in a new direction, especially in evolving what would stand as a new global value message that could help all our business units and all our geographic regions.
The most important thing we did in all this was – to listen.
Amazingly simple thing to say you will do, but oh so hard to execute. To listen means you have to put your own ego aside. It means you have to go into a service-mentality. It does not mean rolling over to everything you hear, but instead requires you to hear what people need, to diagnose what you hear, to resolve conflict, to find a winning strategy and eventually to hold firmly to a common vision. Otherwise, listening can create the camel when you wanted to create the race horse. But it begins with listening.
8 comments
3/13/2005 at 11:52 am
Nicole
I know that a problem I run into a lot is that I have very strongly-held feelings and beliefs, so even if I am hearing what someone is saying, I may not actually be listening. I am very stubborn in that respect, and although it helps in some cases, I can see where it is a big flaw of mine as well. Do you have advice on how to really listen to someone who has opposing views without letting my predispositions come into play?
3/13/2005 at 2:19 pm
Megan_R
This to me is a great illustration about how some of the things we are learning now will be put to use in the business world. I always dread group projects because there are always people who don’t pull their weight or even contribute ideas. Obviously we are forced to do this because it teaches us to work with and collaborate with others, as well as teaches us the value of listening to everyone involved. It’s good to know that we are gaining something from all these group projects that get thrown at us. I know I will take what you have said into consideration the next time I am working with a group. Thanks for sharing!
3/13/2005 at 6:19 pm
Lara
I also sometimes find myself dreading a group project. I know its selfish, but it is hard to put four people’s name on a project if only two people actually did the work. I know that not every group assignment/project is going to put me in that predicament, but its hard to get rid of that mindset. I do see the upside of working in groups though. I am a firm believer that some of the best ideas are thought up of as a collaboration of many ideas all compiled into one. Listening to other people’s ideas ensures creativity, diversity, and a quick cure for “writer’s block.” At times it is hard to listen and let the ideas actually sink in before you disregard them as nonsense, but after reading the first post about listening and now this one its hard to ignore the fact that listening is important.
3/13/2005 at 9:45 pm
Karen
Thanks for your honesty in your post. I think a lot of times people in America are very set in their ways and don’t even think of changing for any reason, even for the furthering of their business. To know you actually took time to pay attention and listen to your global counterparts is a great thing. I’m sure you can be assured that your website will accomplish many goals because you took the needed steps and time to ensure it would work for everyone.
3/15/2005 at 10:22 pm
Elizabeth Wood Rodgers
Sometimes I get a little anxious when it is time for a group assignment. AS of yesterday, I was placed into a public speaking class group and we are to present a speech about a problem we face here at our university, Auburn. I think it is good experience to work in groups to learn to work together but each person has to do their part and that’s where some people fail. It gets frustrating at times and people get lazy. It is important like Dale said to listen. WE just forget sometimes and we don’t want to do anything. I feel it is comfortable in a group project when you are giving a speech, like in my case, but sometimes it can become uncomfortable when people don’t get along, but that is just something you have to deal with in life. It is so important to listen and we often forget that. We need to definitely remember this advice and use it when things like this come up.
3/16/2005 at 12:50 pm
Allison_p_c
The question now is how do you listen affectively? For instance, in a group I am in now, I try to listen to my group members, but some of them have not given me a reason to care what they are saying. (i.e. the sandbaggers) They may have a good idea, but in my own harsh judgement I simply push it aside. I think to myself, why do they suddenly have this insite about the project that they obviously don’t care as much about. I know that may be harsh, but I honestly don’t think others have never thought like that. So, after we have made these judgements, how do we get away from them and take it all in?
3/16/2005 at 5:55 pm
Dale Wolf
Allison, it is good to see you struggle with such aspects of leadership. I certainly don’t have all the answers, either. But I would suggest that a leadership role — even one just on a class group project — calls for you to pull the best ideas from the group and then to lead excellence in execution. That means at times you need to yield your ego and take a good idea from someone not looked upon as a contributor. If you pull that person along into a more productive role, you will have learned a lesson more important than the grade you get on the project.
3/20/2005 at 10:59 pm
Dianne C
Thanks for the reminding us the benefits of listening. Group projects can definitely be both a blessing and a curse. It’s great if you’re in a group feeds off each other and develops creative ideas, but chances are good that people are going to bump heads. The hardest part is putting your pride aside. But keeping the outcome in the forefront of your mind, instead of yourself, will make listening to others worth your while and the organizations.