Are your business silos working for you - or bringing your company down?

Have you ever wondered about the effectiveness of business silos?  Most of us have seen them or worked in them.

The metrics, the P&L and certainly the culture, do not encourage co-operation between divisions, capabilities or regions.  The results can look good from silo to silo - maybe - but the global result for the business may not be so strong.Resources are often duplicated, efforts may be directed silo against silo, and there is frequently internal competition between executives.

From inside it is often impossible to discern what would be the greater good, and the pressure to protect the near-in is too great to resist. 

The Economist tells the story of how this culture changed at Ford, and how this change is credited with its recent massive financial turnaround.  Here is an excerpt from that story:

Soon after Alan Mulally arrived as Ford's chief executive in September 2006 he organized a weekly meeting of his senior managers and asked them how things were going.  Fine, fine, fine, came the answers from around the table.

"We are forecasting a $17 billion loss and no one has any problems!" an incredulous Mr Mulally exclaimed.

When he asked the same question the next week, Mark Fields, head of Ford's operations in the Americas, raised his hand, and - in what once would have been a moment of career suicide - admitted that a defective part threatened to delay the launch of an important new car.  The room fell silent, until Mr Mulally began to clap his hands. "Great visibility," the new boss added.

Four years on, Ford is making record profits.  Its revival began with this new willingness to recognize its faults.  In the old days management at Ford was preoccupied with executive rivalry, recalls Mr Fields. "Now it is about who's helping whom," he says. When Mr Fields stuck his hand up at that meeting and won Mr Mulally's approval, colleagues soon began chipping in with helpful suggestions to overcome the problem with the new car.  It was more than a symbolic moment for a business which used to be run like a collection of principalities rather than a global enterprise.  As far as Mr Mulally is concerned, demolishing those management divisions has been the most important factor in turning Ford around.

The importance of listening

~ ACTIONABLE EXPERT ADVICE ~
First Published in Cynopsis Classified Advantage


One of the most important skills you should use in your job search is listening carefully, both literally and metaphorically. You have to listen to your friends when they tell you about opportunities. You have to listen to your bosses and clients to learn about your strengths and weaknesses. You have to listen to your heart to know what you really want to pursue.

You especially have to listen to the wording of the job ad. What does it actually say they are looking for? You have to listen closely to the recruiter and to your interviewer.

You will already have invested large chunks of time developing your own unique positioning to separate you from the pack. You have probably crafted yourself a script for your elevator meetings, a template for your cover letter, a set of anecdotes for your interview. And all this as it should be. If you have thought it all through and internalized it and what it means, it will do its magic for you. But if you are determined to stick to your script willy-nilly this investment might all be for nought.

Listen carefully to what is said and also between the lines to what is unsaid. And that means listening not only in the moment of the interview, but it means listening to the research you will have done in advance. Listen to what the company says on the website. Listen to the story the recruiter tells you about the job. Listen to the LinkedIn profile of your interviewer. Take it all in and frame your responses and approaches accordingly.

If you are safely in a job but aspire to a promotion or a new assignment, listen to your boss, to your co-workers, to the press so that you can create the opportunity and be there as the obvious person to fill it. This comes not just from wanting it  and telling your boss "I want the bigger title," but from asking the right questions of the right people and listening to what is needed, so you can tell them you will provide just that.

People like to be listened to. They like to be heard. They do not like to be ignored. So tell them you heard them by responding directly and positively to something they said. Don' t stick to a script  be ready to improvise. If they feel you have not listened to them, or worse yet responded with a " No, " they will shut down and they will not listen to you. Listening keeps you relevant and smart. Their awareness of your listening to them keeps them engaged with you. I can' t stress this enough.

A way to help your client and grow your business

Do you have clients who don't know what else you can do for them?  You know all the things that your company can do, but unless you tell your clients, how are they going to know? 

I was talking to the client of a design firm I was working with, and discovered she was taking a huge chunk of her creative project - which my client could have been doing - to another company.  "I didn't know they could do that too," she said.  "Why didn't they tell me? It would have saved me a lot of trouble." 

And she's right.  You can't just assume that everyone knows what's going on in that room down the hall.  Since your client already trusts you creatively, she will very likely consider a new service or talent that you are offering.  So it is up to you to make sure she knows about them.  Introduce her to your other teams.  Cross-sell her your other services.  Show her the work and tell her how it can help her. 

How to Develop a Happier, More Productive Creative Team

There are people in your company who don’t know what your company does.  Sometimes people who sit right next to each other have no idea what their colleagues do, and they don’t have any way of understanding what it all adds up to.  Are the designers talking to the tech people?  Do the creative directors talk to each other?  Does the receptionist know what the company does? Do they know where their part fits into the overall vision?  Do they know what the overall vision is?  If each understands what the other can do, they can use it and learn from it.  If people know where their part fits in and what the company as a whole is trying to do, they can help to support and grow it, and the organization will get stronger.

There are people on your team who aren’t on your team.  You might have a hard time believing this (or not), but I have actually met someone in a company whose personal agenda is working against the greater good.  (“Say it’s not so,” I hear you cry!)  The creative business encourages individualism and outside-the-box thinking, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have some common goals and work together.  There are creatives who go to their workstation, put on their headphones and don’t resurface all day.  You know who I mean.  Get in there and talk to them.  Find out what they want.  Find out how you can help them, and how they can help others in the organization: and in so doing make a better product and build their career and the business together.

These things could never happen in your company …right?  But I’ve seen it happen all around. Take a look and see.  Maybe there are some simple ways to engage and involve your team so you can build a stronger, happier, more cohesive and more productive creative operation.

13 snapshots from coaching = 13 ideas for you

Journalist or personal brand?
A journalist is working with me to define her long term goal.  Super-busy and writing for major titles now, but where is this going, she wants to know.  Is it about books or appearances or a content specialty?  We have moved towards defining the aspirational goal and are embarking on tactics that will bring us closer to it while still maintaining and enriching the base of work.

 But it’s not self-promotion!
A client who was never comfortable promoting herself has developed an effective way to reach out.  She now says  “I’ve proved the theory: if you ask you get it.  I feel good about myself.  I am more comfortable calling people: its not pushy, it’s doing  something for them.”

 Transition to a management role
A client who was a very good craftsman had been promoted to running his whole creative office.  This transition is not as easy as it looks for most creative types. He was helped to develop more effective time management practices, prioritization and delegation techniques and to figure out how to motivate creative staff and to keep them happy.

 Meeting Prep
Research as much as you can about the person you are going to be meeting.  Don't assume anything.  The more you know the smarter you will be.   A client followed this advice this week and what she discovered “gave me a different sense of the company.”

Strength in your stories
Another client fed back to me in her own words one of the core ideas we had been working on: “I have to have my stories back in my mind and draw on them and bring them out at the appropriate time. The fact that I have been working on them and focusing them makes them that much stronger.”

Sweat your resume
A client working on a resume discovered that its communication can be powerfully affected by the choice of layout, type face and emphasis.  He created several versions, varying the summary and the layout.  Together we evaluated them making choices to get the best possible result.

 But what do you really want to do?
I am working with clients to focus their long term dreams and goals, so that we know whether short to medium term decisions are heading us in the right direction.

 How to think about your website
Planning a website with a client we thought through what a potential buyer is looking for when they come to the site and then decided what we want him to do when he gets there.

 Interview prep rocks results
During interview prep with a senior executive who was meeting with a corporate CEO I made up some likely questions and we practiced her responses.  After the interview she emailed me that many of his questions were “straight from our rehearsal.”  So she was ready for them.

 How to thrive in a corporate restructure
I have a client in a leading TV firm who is facing corporate restructuring.  She will thrive and advance in the evolution, not least because we have put thought and time into defining her turf and job scope and strategizing, on a weekly basis, how to manage up and across effectively.

 Plan B and Plan A
Working with a couple of clients on two fronts: a "corporate job" front and a "start my own business" front.  In the short term when there are bills to be paid and investment to be made it is the practical solution.

 Startup marketing
With a client who is starting a new business we have developed the main message and begun on the website – now we are moving to targeted outreach.  We have defined our tactics and are now providing the motivation to make progress on sales calls and affordable marketing programs.

 KickStart your marketing
A design firm for whom I led a Marketing Intensive KickStart Workshop has launched its new website – on schedule.  They emailed:  “Thanks for all your input in helping us pull this together."

Q+A: What if my boss doesn't like me?

~ ASK THE EXPERTS ~
Questions from our Readers
Answered by Michael Pollock
FIRST PUBLISHED IN CYNOPSIS ADVANTAGE

Q: I'm pretty sure my boss does not like me, though my work has always been complimented. Should I remain silent about this awkward issue, talk to him about it, talk to someone else? I really believe it's personal, and it makes me feel uncomfortable, but what if I am wrong and do talk to him? Doesn't that make me look like an idiot? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

A: If your boss is making you uncomfortable by demonstrating his dislike in an inappropriate way then you should talk to someone in HR. I do not recommend that you ask him directly why he doesn't like you: this will not be productive. But I do suggest that you go to him and say that you would like a performance review and please could you set a time to meet with him for this. This review is not going to overtly address his personal likes and dislikes, but it is likely to uncover issues that pertain, and it gives you the opportunity to ask how you could improve your performance. This exchange may elicit what you need to know. If this doesn't clear the air, then the next step could be to ask for transfer to another group.

Creative Manager - Part two

Itʼs always helpful to know what the boss is thinking – whether you are trying to advance within a company, or to get hired. I spoke recently to Aaron Harvey, Partner/COO of digital agency Purple, Rock, Scissors of FL and NY. Asked how he recruits creatives, Harvey told me that he doesnʼt advertise jobs – he posts them on the companyʼs website and they have some partnerships with select schools; but mostly the way they get new employees is by word of mouth. And he added: “We are all music fans here – when we are hiring we look at peoples iPod lists.”

When Harvey first came to Purple Rock Scissors, he told me: “We were a revolving door. There is a challenge when you bring in young people to a smaller company. They get to do a lot more and get much more experience than in a larger company, so they are likely to be wearing more hats more quickly. If they talk to their friends at bigger shops they start to think – ʻHey, I am underpaid for what I am doing here.ʼ A lot of this comes down to the culture,” he says. “There is a lot more that goes into the decision to stay with a firm than just money. The culture and the vision of the company are very important in the decisions made by creative employees.”

“The title thing is important to empower people: there s a level of achievement. We may want to give the best, most devoted developer a promotion – though he may not be able to stand up in front of a client or have the ability to sell his work. So we try to groom people as much as possible. We include them in more and more client meetings – first to watch and then gradually to participate until they can do it on their own.”

“The issue comes when the internal move isnʼt working and you bring someone new in. Then toes are stepped on. I may have promoted the designer to Creative Director, but they canʼt sell the work and canʼt manage a team. We learned to deal with this by being very specific in defining job specs, with the employeeʼs help, so they know they are not just evaluated on their design but also on selling, and management and other factors. There is a formal evaluation process: we have them do self-evaluations and then see how they stacked up – and on how they manage their time sheets.”

Click here to see more of Aaron Harvey's insights

This article by Michael Pollock first appeared in Cynopsis Digital Advantage.

Keeping staff happy: a creative manager's POV

I have been talking to the COO of a digital agency about the special issues that arise when managing a staff of creatives. This is certainly interesting to other creative managers; but job-seekers too will find useful insights and there is good information for staffers aiming for promotions. Part One of this conversation is contained here.

"Without constant revitalization, minds can start to wander," says Aaron Harvey, Partner/COO of digital agency Purple, Rock, Scissors of Orlando and New York, as we talk about the special issues related to managing creative staff. "If you don't have a revival on a quarterly basis then people do start to complain. The conversations start very quietly with whispers."

"The only way to mitigate that," he says, "is to get involved one-on-one with your employees on a personal basis - so they can let out the things they are thinking and you can do a temperature check and quash the issues before they become a problem. Otherwise unhappiness can spiral out of control very quickly."

"Information is also key - when people are disconnected strategically - when they don't understand the direction of the company and are not invested - when thy don't know about new business pitches, or a new sector the company is pursuing - if they are siloed off - this is a cause of discontent." He tells me that communication with the staff is "a two-way street. We open up dialog through social space. We have an online area in a Basecamp where we get ideas from staff - but this needs nurturing, sometimes it is active, but sometimes it goes quiet."

"To motivate better work, we have to play to how they like to do it; give them freedom to get in the zone and not just have to stamp against the clock; give the freedom to work from home or the beach - letting them know that it is due on Friday," Harvey told me.  As the company grows, things get more complex: "We have to empower mid-level people to find a way that says: If you rock this out for me over the weekend - here's a little reward."

Harvey says that he believes there's an inbred mentality in ad agencies to exploit their employees. "We hire out of school: super-green, super-hungry. We give them the experience and we make them work. We are a deadline driven industry - so when we hire them, we tell them they may have to work a 40-hour week or an 80-hour week - that is the nature of the beast. Every ad agency has a foosball team. I am a major advocate of the bonding that comes with this. It is good to be able to take a break at 6 o'clock and play foosball together. It makes it that much easier to get back to work later."

Learn what Aaron Harvey had to say about giving promotions and how he recruits new employees in Part Two.

Staff morale and motivation

I have been speaking to leaders of creative businesses about what it will take to strengthen the morale and motivation of their creative staff.

I have seen some businesses that quantitatively poll their people, asking them to rank such things as their work-life balance on a scale, and also to rank their satisfaction with their salaries. Hmm. I wonder what sort of answers they are getting. Actually the answers they get are not that helpful and it is tough to know what to do with the information - which appears on a scale of 1-10. It is good that the attempt is made to discover the issues, but the combination of the questions asked and the numerical scales and the general resistance of creative types to filling out forms, makes it less useful than one might wish.

I suggest instead that they consider doing some qualitative research that would allow us to learn in more detail about the aspirations of the staff members and their drivers for success. It should be conducted in the spirit of a “positive enquiry” that will emphasize discovery of the strengths and the opportunities. Tailored of course to the organization, questions might include: “What do you look forward to every day when you come into the office?” ”What project that you did at the firm was most professionally satisfying and why?” “What opportunities do you see for yourself at the company?”

I recommend that these kinds of questions are posed by an outside investigator rather than someone from management or HR. The independent researcher usually gets franker responses than does someone from inside. When the findings have been carefully analyzed and the right insights obtained, this is likely to be a more productive survey than the quant – and in the right hands lead to constructive action steps.

And it can be a refreshing change from the familiar list of general gripes with no constructive way forward indicated.

How to Ensure that Your Company’s Creative Talent is Helping to Build Your Business

Pollock Spark provides 5 tips for getting the best out of creative staff
Pollock Spark, an executive consulting firm that specializes in working with creative professionals, has put together a list of helpful tips for companies to maximize the business-building potential of their creative staff in the New Year.

“Creative professionals are found working in many fields including: PR, advertising, film, television, design, architecture, fashion, music, journalism and digital communications,” says Michael Pollock, Founder of Pollock Spark. “They’re also producing ideas and designs in almost every level of organizations from retail to manufacturing."

“You know the work that your creative brains do is critical to your business’s success. But experience has shown that they often don’t respond well to many of the traditional training and professional advancement programs meant to increase their business-building capabilities.”

To help companies find ways to maximize their creatives’ potential, Pollock Spark has compiled these five tips for companies to consider in 2010.

1. Ensure that managers give creative staff constant positive feedback. For creatives, deep down, this is usually more important than the financial rewards. Sometimes just noticing their work and considering it makes a difference. Rejecting an idea out of hand is the single most destructive act to a creative mind.

2. Enter their work in industry competitions and encourage them to win – they are all competitive spirits and awards are tangible recognition of their value – this in turn will foster better work which in turn will attract more business. Working for a firm that can help creatives win awards is a key driver for retention and recruitment of the best talent.

3. Communicating progress and selling ideas does not come naturally to many creatives and often conflicts can arise between business and creative teams. Design specially crafted workshops to help them communicate more effectively to colleagues and clients.

4. Be sure that they have the right physical environment to work in – visual stimulation can be very important – but don’t just put them in a big lively “bull pen.” Provide them the opportunity to hide in a “bubble” where they can have privacy, while still feeling like part of the larger group.

5. Some creative department managers are promoted to their position because they are good at what they do, but they lack managerial experience. Give these individuals solid support – such as carefully selected mentors or coaches – to help ensure that they transition smoothly into their new role.

Keeping your idea people happy will not only get you stronger business results, it will greatly help with retention, and attract the best candidates when you’re hiring. Highly motivated creative staff will produce better work that will make it easier to grow existing business and win new clients.


About Pollock Spark
Pollock Spark is an Executive Coaching and Consulting firm that specializes in working with Creative and Media professionals. Led by Michael Pollock, they provide coaching services and experiential workshops for companies who want to strengthen the performance of their creative personnel and to foster the recruitment and retention of their most talented creative staff. Pollock Spark also works with individuals in film, TV, advertising, design, marketing, music and the Internet, bringing them the experience, techniques and inspiration to take their businesses and careers to new levels of success.

Creative insecurity and streamlining businesses

The talk this day is of companies merging divisions and streamlining operations with fewer offices. This leads to talk of identifying key creative talent and thinking about how to retain them. Of how to get merged teams to work together. Creative people are necessarily fragile and can be unproductive when they are uncertain about what is happening. I know I am! Though arguably a certain insecurity is a terrific driver for great creative product. Well it is - isn’t it?

Interesting discussion too about how non-creative people don’t recognize the cues of creative people and how they work. How it sometimes look as if nothing is going on, but that in fact is when the really good stuff is happening. That is hard for a non-creative to understand and very hard for them to manage. Good creative folk are very special – nurture them. Understand them.

Are you good at everything?

Not everyone has to be good at everything. And that includes you. And me.

It is not a sign of weakness to admit that while there are things you are good at, there are also things that you are not so good at. In fact knowing your strengths and getting others to help you are basic requirements for building a successful career or business.

I meet a lot of people who want to be all things to all people and do it all themselves. When you meet someone like that don't you find yourself asking them "What is your core skill? What are you really good at?"

If you can be the best at something - be the best at it. Know what it is and be proud to be able to offer that to people who need it.

Be special. Be remarkable. That way happiness lies - and success.

It's like starting over

Do you sometimes feel that you are starting again? For many people and businesses that really is what is happening.

In the past couple of weeks I have been asked to prepare workshops on career transition for creative professionals, I have been asked to be part of a resume workshop for creative job seekers, and I have been asked about helping to integrate "traditional" and "new generation" creatives following mergers of departments and companies.

This is the time to apply our creativity very firmly to our careers and businesses. We need to spot fresh connections, use our imaginations, exercise our curiosity, think laterally, harness our uncertainty and be open to opportunities we never dreamed of. Say no to nothing. Explore, research, network. There are no rules.

Be open. Be persistent. Be fearless.

Creative Pros need coaches too

The suits get coaching. Why shouldn’t the creatives get a coach?

There used to be a stigma attached to having an executive coach. But this has changed. According the Harvard Business Review, coaching was once considered remedial – to help toxic managers to fit in better for example. But today most CEOs have an executive coach. And we know top athletes and singers have coaches.

So what about the Creative Professionals. They seem to be the last to be taken care of. But creatives: your time has come. The worldwide head of a global ad agency recently observed to me that they have been taking care of developing their suits, but neglecting the development of their creatives – and they need to fix this.

Watch out world. Great talent with great coaching is a powerful combination.

Look at Tiger Woods. Look at Steve Jobs. They have coaches.

Are we too busy?

I just saw on my facebook feed that a friend had “drowned" her kindle and has to go back to real books. The first comment was “when the hell do you have time to read?”

This follows on a client this morning lamenting that he was exhausted. And that all his clients are exhausted. Everyone is working so hard and is so stressed and yet we just keep on going. And getting exhausted. We were talking about how much time and effort goes into our marketing and brand building and how corporations are hiring interns to twitter for them and staff time is taken up with facebook marketing - and it never stops. Everyone is pushed to the breaking point and there is always more to do and never an excuse to quit. I have a new client (well, a prospect actually) who spent a few days in the mountains of northern CA last week and was out of touch. We should all do this from time to time. (I hope he had a wonderful time and didn't feel guilty. Well I know he felt a bit guilty because twice he went out of their way to find a connection and get in touch with me about when he was going to get in touch with me. Ah well I hope he had a good time anyway.)

I was asked last week what “content” impresses me at the moment. I was delighted to realize that I am in fact reading a book right now. It’s a fascinating and challenging – and very long – book. It has been a while since I was immersed in a book and I am liking the feeling. It's a historical novel and on the face of it has nothing to do with my work. But it didn’t take long for me to find the work relevance and now I feel that this is no longer recreational reading. It’s work. Thank goodness I love my work. But I am reading it into the early hours of the morning so I am still exhausted.

So what are you going to do?! Tired but happy – that is the best I can offer you.

Be honest with your staff

We all need to cut our expenses: Conde Nast staffers are staying with friends instead of in hotels (Gasp), our cash flow is already miserable and GM and GroupM and the rest are going to make us lend them large amounts of money for 60-120 days if we want to work for them, and what did you decide to do about your corporate jet anyway?

So what are you going to tell your staff? Well on the whole you should tell them the truth. Not just because your mum told you that is good practice, but because if you don't they will make up something much worse, or else they will continue to buy very expensive meals on your credit card.

So sit them down all together, because then they will all know that everyone was told the same thing. Tell them what is going on - they read the newspapers so they kinda know. And tell them if you can that their jobs are secure for at least 3 months or that they need to take a pay cut in order for you to stay in business or that they need to help you win new business or that they need to bring their own candles because the electricity will be turned off next week, but won't we have fun all in it together.

Whatever you need to tell them, get them engaged in helping you to mitigate the problem. They want to work. They want some sense of certainty. If they feel like you care and you are trying your best they will respond positively. And the chances of them getting hired anywhere else just now are pretty darn slim.

Coaching: "I laughed, I cried."

When I start working with a new coaching client I send them a questionnaire to answer before our first session. It gets the juices flowing and helps us to hit the ground running.

The questions are pretty challenging - designed to make you think. A new client this week sent me this along with his answers: "I laughed and I cried answering your questions. Thank you."

Wow - that is a wonderful response. I love my work!

Our clients tell us...

"I don’t know what Pollock said to (my Exec. Creative Director and my Head of Production) but now they’re managing their work a whole lot better. I thought I was going to have to let them go – but thanks to this we are picking up business again."


"Michael (Pollock) has a very strong ability to focus deeply on a company and draw out important, often overlooked, issues. Michael has been instrumental in helping us clearly define goals and working towards achieving them."


"This (coaching) was a terrific experience ... Thank you for your creativity, honesty, and insightfulness. You're easy to open up to. I never felt judged. You were always prepared and able to quote things I had said 2 sessions before. It's invaluable as a human being to be listened to on that level, and incredibly empowering as a businessman."


"I said good things about you to your face and I'll say them behind your back as well. I thought you navigated a potentially difficult internal political situation at our company very well (difficult because of the self-perception differences between the partners), advertised your services accurately and delivered an analysis that is relevant, clear and integral to creating forward movement."

"Your support and wisdom have already improved our business, and we're looking forward to continuing the collaboration."

Executive Coaching for your Firm's Creative Professionals

Experienced and Effective
Michael Pollock, President of Pollock Spark, has helped many talented creatives in advertising, film, and design firms to deal more effectively with clients, become more strategic, reduce derailing behaviors and build stronger teams. He has built departments at TBWA, JWT and Digitas, so he has a deep understanding of the challenges faced by people in creative businesses.


Specializing in Creative Professionals
Pollock Spark only works with creative businesses. Creative professionals are hungry for what coaching can do, but they say: “The coaches I’ve had didn’t understand me. They may be good for bankers, but they don’t work for me.”

To coach creative people successfully takes someone who really “gets them”. Relationships are particularly fragile, due largely to the lack of absolute success metrics. Success is often based on the taste or opinions of a supervisor or client. This leads to high levels of insecurity, often fostered by similarly insecure managers. Coaching can be invaluable in helping manage these challenges so they can focus on the creative work they are so good at.


Executive Coaching Leads to Sustainable Growth and Change
o “Studies show business coaching and executive coaching to be the most effective means for achieving sustainable growth, change and development in the individual, group and organization.” HR Monthly

o A survey of Fortune 1000 clients found the return on investment for coaching services over a 6-12 month period:
• Monetary return was 6 times the coaching investment
• 71% improved relationships with their bosses
• 77% reported improved relationships with their direct reports

Adventures for all!

I met a wonderful PR person last week. We had a spirited conversation about her business and mine and the possibilities and opportunities. And the next day she sent me an email that said "Thanks for making it all an adventure."

Well why not? Every day should be an adventure, otherwise what's the point? I hope yours are.