Friends,

I don’t know about you, but I am FIRED UP for 2017!!  I have spent the last week or so doing goal setting and strategic thinking for the year ahead.  On the advice of one audio blog, I spent some time listing everything I’d do if I could.  No judgment, no fear.  Just make the list.  Some are crazy and pretty much unlikely.  But, the exercise of just putting stuff on paper was highly impactful.  Some…just might make the cut as I continue to refine and make plans for the year ahead.

Whatever you do, be deliberate.  Whether for yourself or your organization, don’t just think about it.  Put it in writing.  Make plans.  Get everyone on the same page – focused, aligned, and prioritized.  As General Eisenhower once famously suggested:  “Plans are nothing.  Planning is everything!” 

On the professional / organizational side, I ask you these basic questions: 

1.      Does your team have a written, basic plan to guide your strategic direction for this next year?

2.       Do you have a handful of basic goals that focus time/energy on the answers to this basic question – Who are our primary customers and what do they want from us?

3.       Do you have a plan to review progress against those goals?  Remember, what the leader in-spects, the people will re-spect.  What is the frequency of these progress reviews and how will you hold people accountable?

4.       How are you communicating those goals to your internal and external stakeholders?

5.       Does your plan address these 5 common challenges that we find with most organizational goals (Own it if you can’t give unqualified ANSWERS!!!) 

a.      Do your goals focus INWARD and on yourself versus on your CUSTOMERS and those you serve?

b.      Do your goals further reinforce stovepipe behavior (i.e. accomplishment of the goals – by design – causes people or teams to focus on themselves and not corporate/team success)?

c.      Do your goals fail to inspire? (For example, are they written to challenge and stretch people or will they happen on their own?  Yawn!)  Do you have AT LEAST one BHAG (Big, Hairy, Audacious Goal) for the year ahead?

d.     Do you confuse mission for goals?  (Mission is what you are told to do, whereas true goals are determined by you in areas where you will do what you do…better, cheaper, safer, faster, and in specific ways that address the needs of your customers)

e.      Are your goals just “To Do” lists?  (Do this by June 30^th, i.e. written as on/off switches versus written in ways that can be measured regularly and you can see the needle move; most “To Do” list items are not truly goals but they are the “HOW” you will get to your goals)  Make sure you are not taking your eye off the ball and focusing on the HOW versus the clearly defined WHAT! 

If your answer to any of these questions was, “Uh…,” then let’s talk.  This is a major point of emphasis for our team this year.  We want to help  others develop fundamentally sound strategic plans, with a governance structure and communication strategies to gain consensus and alignment within the team and among key groups whose help is needed to make the plan happen.  Let’s do this! 

I hope each of you enjoyed your holidays and you are ready to get after it in 2017!  Let me know how I can help!  Lead the Way!  That's Leader Business!

P.S.  See our full schedule of "Open Enrollment" leadership "Boot Camps" in Southern California -- here!

Got Leadership?

As many of you know, I just got back from Maui after a week of R&R with my wife. It was a nice vacation, to be sure. I needed the time away and that is definitely a great place to do so. I mean, what is not to like: beautiful beaches, perfect weather, snorkeling, parasailing, eating WAY too much, and those drinks with the little umbrellas!

But do you know the first thing we did when we got back? We paid off our credit cards! Makes sense, right? We had saved up the money while I was deployed and then settled up once we got back. Now, contrast that with our “leaders” in Washington. What is the first thing they did after running up the credit card to the max and then doing nothing to pay it off? They created chaos in the markets, struck a deal that only raised the credit limit on the card, and then they all left town and went on…vacation!

Now, I don’t want these pages to become a political battleground. I generally stay out of politics here but then again, we find examples of good and bad leadership in all areas and it drives me crazy to see this example of horrific leadership. There is no sense of urgency, no building of consensus, very few new ideas, and no solutions. We have a real economic hairball, one that we would not allow in our own businesses, let alone our families. Yet this mess will inevitably damage our businesses and our families for generations. Those responsible for it pat each other on the back for making a deal, leave town, and avoid accountability! They stay away from hard choices, going for the “easier wrong” instead of the “harder right!” They blame each other instead of working together. Am I frustrated? You bet I am. Aren’t you? Little wonder that we have the lowest consumer confidence in 30+ years and approval rates among our political leaders that suggest they ALL may be looking for new jobs in November! That may not be such a bad thing!

Meanwhile, we HAVE to find solutions! I’d like to think that the framework for Leader Business might offer a few questions to help us figure our way out of this mess.

Plan – How do we develop a national plan for the way ahead? Note: Forming a committee ain’t it! Where in the world have you ever seen the solution to an emergency is to form a committee??? How about locking people in a room until they figure this out? How about cancelling vacations? How do we have an honest framing of the problem so that the citizenry can see the urgency and be ready to participate in the sacrifices that we’ll all have to make? What are our national Goals and Objectives? What is a reasonable timeline to get back to balance? Where are the bold solutions, what are the risks, and how do we mitigate them?

Prepare – How do we build the teams necessary to tackle these problems? How do we communicate with each other in order to prepare people for the upcoming challenges? What metrics can we agree need to be the focus of this dialogue and how do we hold our leaders accountable to them? What are our priorities and how do we align resources accordingly so that we keep our promises, take care of people, defend our interests, stimulate the economy, make meaningful, strategic investments AND live within our means?

Execute – What MUST we do and what can we put on our National “Stop Doing” list? How do we measure performance, hold people accountable, and WIN in those areas that matter the most (jobs, academics, science, defense)? How do we hold people accountable within our government such that they don’t get to retain their jobs when they don’t perform?

Learn -- How are we taking ownership of problems instead of blaming each other? Who is courageous enough to articulate how we got into this mess while describing the steps that ALL will need to take to improve? How do we avoid these problems in the future? How do we educate the citizenry on where we are, where we are going, and why it is critical to do so?

Friends, I won’t pretend to have all the answers. In fact, you’ll note that above is simply a list of questions. But I have no doubt that we need our leaders to start generating answers to these questions. We have a true financial crisis that is growing across the world. This isn’t time to go on vacation! Nor is it time to blame each other and try to posture to win the next election! It’s time to get to work. Let’s roll up our sleeves, quit fretting about our problems, and start solving them.

I regularly share one of my favorite expressions with my daughters when they are wasting time, wringing their hands over a problem instead of getting going on solving it: “We can’t step up the stairs if we are paralyzed staring at the steps!” It’s time to take the first step. Let’s call it, oh…I don’t know, PLANNING! The rest of the steps will follow. It’s a proven approach. The alternative is…paralysis. Unfortunately, that may be where we are now. It’s my firm belief that we are better than this. But only if our leaders get going and figure out a way to show some basic economic leadership like we expect in our own families and businesses. This isn’t a political statement. This is…Leader Business.

Strategic Planning

This week I spent a few days with my key leaders thinking through our strategic plan for this next fiscal year. This is a critical planning event that serves to ensure that our resources are aligned against our priorities, that we understand our mission, and that we affect the sorts of changes that are necessary to avoid complacency and irrelevance.

While I won't drag you through the details of the planning process (you can remind yourself of the key elements in the 5-part Mission Planning series, see Part I here), I do want to share with you how we set the conditions for our discussions. In the decision-making process it is the key first step in which we define the problem. This is the baseline against which strategic plans can be developed. If you haven't defined the problem, you are likely to come up with a pretty plan that won't see the light of day (and how many of us have been a part of those efforts?).

In the military planning process, Step 1 is to conduct Mission Analysis. This is the sort of detailed review that allows leaders to: See yourself; See the Enemy; See the Terrain. Now, before you think this is reserved for the military, think of it as a SWOT Analysis, with which most non-military leaders are comfortable: Analyze Strengths and Weaknesses (See Yourself), Understand your Opportunities (See the Terrain), and Know your Threats (See the Enemy) -- SWOT. This SWOT analysis is the type of review that must be completed before entering into detailed planning steps.

What I thought was worth sharing with you was the information we gathered as part of our SWOT or Mission Analysis. These are the elements that I felt contributed to the development of a plan that addressed our critical needs:

-- Internal workforce survey. What was working and where did we need improvement in issues like culture, values, counseling, and resource alignment? There is nothing like hearing these issues straight from your teammates.

-- Customer surveys. What do our customers think about our services and how we measure against critical issues like cost, schedule, and communication? Continued relevance demands that we have a finger on the pulse of our customers and their needs.

-- Recent After Action Reviews (AARs). We did not put our recently completed fiscal year "to bed" until we had completed a detailed examination of our successes and challenges. The former need sustainment while the latter demands our attention for key improvements that we know we must make.

-- We conducted a detailed analysis of the mission from our higher headquarters. Any plan we put together MUST address the specified and implied requirements from my boss. We reviewed their strategic plan to ensure that anything we might do is aligned with the vertical team.

-- We looked at our current plan. What actions were completed and where were we making progress...or not? Our strategic plan this year is likely to be continued progress toward our shared vision rather than a complete re-write so best to begin with an examination of how we are doing toward those goals.

-- We looked at data. What are revenue projections for the next few years? What are the implications for our workforce? Does any of it suggest a requirement for a different size or shape of the organization or different skills among our team? What are our demographics and does it suggest anything for the future composition of our team (retirement eligibility, grade and skill distribution, diversity, retention, etc.)?

-- We examined any future opportunities that we needed to consider or any threats that might cause problems for our team and its mission.

-- Finally, I gave my read of the terrain as the organizational leader. It was my assessment of those priority actions that needed to be included in our plan. It was my VOTE before break-out sessions that would build a detailed plan. I wanted to shape the future with some key points and emphasize their importance to my leaders.

None of this is transformational. But it certainly helped us put all of our cards on the table before we started shuffling them. Too often, plans are developed without a thorough understanding of the problem. Sure, we can come up with a plan but if it does not address customer needs, if it does not account for challenges within the workforce, and if it does not take advantage of future opportunities, it is likely to be a strategic plan that does like so many -- gathers dust on the shelf. No progress, no alignment, and no likelihood for the sort of impact that we expect from these efforts.

Have you held this sort of detailed, disciplined review session with your leaders lately? If you have, did you gather the necessary planning tools that would lead to realistic and relevant goals and objectives? If you have not, can I help you get started? Drop me a note and let's talk about your strategic planning process.

Our SWOT definitely set the conditions for a great planning session. This may not be a comprehensive list but it gives you an idea of the sorts of things that we needed to consider as part of our mission analysis. I think our leadership team believes that it helped produce a refreshed strategy that is what we need to improve our performance, align our resources, increase market share, and have a successful, relevant future. And that makes this critical first step of the planning process...Leader Business.

Image from www.corbisimages.com

Being Strategic

Friends,

I read a lot of business and leadership books. I'll admit it...I'm addicted. I appreciate the varieties of perspectives out there "in the arena" about what I call the business of leaders. Unfortunately, I rarely commend many of them to my friends. Frankly, I find most of them to be only marginally useful, rarely based in reality, and downright dull.

I have an exception. Erika Andersen is a consultant, advisor to CEOs, and author/blogger. I first saw some of her thoughts on her blog, The Simplest Thing That Works. And now that I've read her book, Being Strategic, I know she has broken the mold on business books. This one's a keeper. Read my interview with Erika below. If you are intrigued about her approach to strategic leadership or want a superb book for yourself or some aspiring leader, order a copy. I guarantee you will not be disappointed! Here's my interview with Erika:

First of all Erika, I thought you did a terrific book with Being Strategic. You found a way to connect with real people and real leaders using a framework I can really appreciate. Great job! I know that the readers and followers of Leader Business will not regret picking up a copy of your book and learning from a great writer and strategic thinker. Here are a few questions.

1. Erika, you frame your book around a "Castle on the Hill" and the leadership of Llewellyn Fawr, Prince of North Wales. Why him and what can we learn from his leadership?

Llewellyn Fawr was an unusually strategic leader. At a time when other Welsh leaders were simply arguing over bits and pieces of land, worrying about their relatives and counting their cattle, Llewellyn envisioned a united North Wales. He was able to look clearly at what and who he was dealing with – his current reality of strong-minded and independent Welshmen, and what motivated them and didn’t, what they had and hoped for – and to see the possibility of bringing them together. Then he was able to craft strategies and execute tactics for making it happen. He died in his bed, still Prince of North Wales and in his mid-sixties…a good long life by medieval standards. It was an astonishing accomplishment, and unique in the history of Wales.

2. I love your definition of "Being Strategic." You're right. I could not come up with a better definition. Tell us about being strategic!

I think the most important thing I’ve learned over the years about being strategic is that it is primarily a learnable skill. I’ve noticed that people tend to talk about being strategic as though it’s an inborn – and unchangeable – thing, like having blue eyes, or being tall! But I’ve found that almost anyone can improve his or her ability to think and act strategically, if they understand and practice the mental models and the skills involved. That’s really the core reason I wrote the book; I wanted to share these skills with as many people as possible, in a format that would make them accessible, engaging, and reasonably easy to learn.

And why, you might ask, would I want people to be able to improve their ability to think and act strategically? Well, it goes back to Llewellyn – if you have professional and personal dreams, things you truly want to accomplish, I believe that being strategic will make it much more likely that you’ll achieve them.

3. The first step to Being Strategic is to "Define the Challenge." You write, "people often propose solutions to problems before they're clear on what the problem is." This is huge. So many times we jump right into problem solving and getting to what you call the tactics before we have framed the issue. What are key elements of this first step?

As I’ve noted in the book, the first step is to take the time to clarify what isn’t working – that is, what’s the problem or challenge you’re trying to address. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve worked with people who sail right past this step and get themselves into seemingly inextricable knots. For instance, let’s say there are two adolescent brothers who want to go to a concert. The first kid is convinced the only problem is that their parents won’t want them to go, though he hasn’t said that out loud. The second kid doesn’t think that will be a problem; he’s just worried about getting there (though he hasn’t really said that out loud, either); they’re not old enough to drive, and none of their friends are going.

So imagine the conversation: brother A just talks about how to sweet-talk their parents, while brother B focuses solely on ideas for arranging transportation. That’s going to be a frustrating conversation, where each person’s focus is going to seem weird and nonsensical to the other. I call it ‘dueling solutions,’ and a more complex but equally frustrating version of it happens in boardrooms all over the world every day!

But once you’ve clearly defined what the true problem is, then you’re ready to start solving it. In the brothers-going-to-the-concert situation, both things might actually be problematic. So their challenge might be “How can we get our parents to let us go, and find a safe way to get there?” And if solving the problems posed in their “How can we…” question would feel like success to both of them – then they’ve defined their challenge, and can now start to try to address it.

4. You talk about "clarifying what is" by "pulling back the camera." I love this concept and know you use this term throughout the book. I call it "seeing yourself." Why is this important for being strategic? And why do we need to do this before we start formulating strategies?

I love this concept too, and it works for almost everyone because most people watch TV or movies. We all know what happens when you don’t “pull back a camera”: when a camera is pulled in really close to a shot, you only see whatever it’s focused on. For example, there might be a really close-in shot of a piece of paper with the word “no” written on it. Because the camera’s in so close, you don’t really know what that’s about – it could be referring to anything. You can speculate all you want, but you don’t really have enough context to understand what you’re seeing.

Then let’s say you pan the camera back a little, and you see there’s another piece of paper next to it that says “yes,” and that both are taped to pieces of wood. Hmmm, that’s a little more context, but still not enough to really make sense of what you’re seeing. So you pull the camera back even more, and now you can see that both papers are taped to piles of 2x4s; those in the “no” pile are warped; those in the “yes” pile are all straight. Ah-ha! Now it makes sense!

In the same way, when you’re trying to look at your current state relative to your challenge, and you really want to see it clearly, it’s essential to “pull the camera back” far enough to allow you to understand the critical elements IN CONTEXT. For example, let’s say your challenge is “How can I build a productive motivated team of employees?” You might think that someone on your team is a poor employee because she’s not fulfilling a part of her job responsibility. But then, when you ‘pull the camera back,’ you find that her previous boss never held her accountable for doing it and she doesn’t actually know it’s supposed to be part of her job! And when you pull the camera back a bit more, maybe you find out that the old boss was actually pretty unclear with everyone about what their jobs were. That new view would certainly lead you to deal differently with the situation: your strategies and tactics would change significantly!

5. Talk about "envisioning the hoped for future" as I know this is truly key to being a visionary, strategic leader. Can anyone get there or is this something we either have from birth or...don't have?

I think everyone can envision the future if it’s important to them. We do it all the time: lovers talk about what it will be like to be married; kids think about what it will be like when they get that new bike for Christmas; junior employees imagine how life would be different if they got a promotion.

The approach I outline takes that basic human capability to envision a different future and helps you to exercise it, strengthen it, and learn to direct it consciously. And, by employing that capacity to envision within the context of the whole process I recommend, you can make it really work for you.
That is, by grounding your “envisioning” in an accurate sense of the current state, you can ensure your hoped-for future is a “reasonable aspiration.” And by then considering the obstacles to your vision, and creating the strategic and tactical path to get there, you’re making it practically achievable.

Not everybody can be world-class at this – there are only a handful of truly great Nadal-and-Federer-level tennis players, for example…but almost everyone can learn to play fairly well if they practice. And many people can get really good!

6. Strategy, then tactics. What's the difference and can you talk about the concept of "FIT" to help ensure both are appropriate?

Strategies are “core directional efforts.” They’re the big paths you’re going to walk down to get to your vision. When I’m working with groups, I often say, “a strategy isn’t ‘I’m going to do this particular thing,’ it’s ‘I’m going to move in this direction.’ Tactics are then the specific things you do to move in that direction.

For instance, when my own company, Proteus, did our last vision and strategy session, one of our strategies was “Establish and sustain ways of operating that support our growth.” That’s not a particular thing you can run right out and do; it’s a statement of intention, of direction. It was us saying that we were going to focus time, energy and resources on improving our systems and processes…a necessary strategy for many growing businesses that have outpaced their infrastructure! Some tactics under that strategy were to document our current client processes; to identify gaps and ‘pinch points’; to find a resource for helping us upgrade our technology, etc. Specific, measurable things we could do to implement the strategy.

And FIT is just a great, simple screen for choosing both strategies and tactics: it stands for “feasible, impactful and timely.” And you use it by asking yourself, when you’re thinking about whether or not a strategy or tactic is right for you:
- “Can we actually do this? Do we have the skills, resources, bandwidth?” (feasibility) “
- “Will this move us farthest toward our objective with the least amount of effort? That is, does this give us the biggest ‘bang for the buck’? (impact)
- “Do we need to do this first? And is there a window of opportunity – that is, if we don’t do this now, might we be unable to do it later? (timeliness)

7. Finally, I would ask if this approach to being strategic is for individuals or for groups? Is it the same approach for both?

It is for both, and the core skills and mindset are exactly the same. The differences are all in application. That’s why I wrote the book the way I did, with the first half focusing on clarifying and teaching the approach itself, and the second half layering on the skills and understanding necessary to use the approach with a group.

And we teach and use it with both: we’ve taught hundreds of folks to use this skill in their own careers and lives, and we’ve worked with dozens of companies and teams to support them in working through this process to envision and achieve the future they want for their organization or their department.

And I hope the book enables many, many more people to do the same! Thanks for these great and thought-provoking questions, Tom.

Thank you, Erika. Your book is great. I know that "Being Strategic" will help anyone on the way to their "castle." I trust that you are on your way to yours! Being strategic is a key component of the growth of every leader. That makes it...Leader Business.

Mission Planning V

A recent study by the US Army War College investigated critical behaviors of senior military leaders. Few skills ranked higher on the required attributes list than the ability to plan missions, solve problems and make decisions.

In the last several posts, we have examined the key elements of mission planning and decision making. It can be used for any number of possibilities:

-- Putting together a strategic plan that will deliver your company (or your school, city, or bank) out of its current financial challenges.
-- Analyzing courses of action for your next job, your choice of colleges to attend, or your next home.
-- Managing crises that occur at home, at school, at work, or in our government.

This 4-step process is quite simple: analyze the mission; develop alternatives; analyze alternatives; make a decision and communicate the results. We just need to get more leaders to follow this process. Doing so would help us avoid some of these common leadership shortcomings:

-- Failing to understand the overall mission requirements leads to solutions that don't work, solve the wrong problem, or do not address customer needs or concerns. How often do we make decisions without a full understanding of our own strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or threats (SWOT)? How many products have we produced without actually addressing a consumer preference or considered what our competition is already doing. Good decisionmaking comes from this sort of detailed examination of the mission. This is step 1: Mission Analysis.

-- Failing to develop multiple alternatives causes leaders to be blind to the shortcomings of their plans or to consider more appropriate solutions. How many times do we fall into the trap of traditional thinking, following the "we always do it this way" approach? If you find yourself "inside the box" -- it is probably because you are not taking the time to develop or consider multiple, viable solutions. This is step 2: Develop alternatives.

-- Failing to evaluate potential alternatives produces too many surprises during execution. Evaluating various courses of action can help leaders see second and third order effects of their decision: "If I go make this decision, then this is what will happen; if that happens, then here is what might happen after that." This sort of foresight comes from a detailed evaluation of alternatives. When we don't, we learn of problems too late. We stumble upon complications we should have understood before implementation. This is step 3: Evaluate alternatives.

-- Failing to make a decision and communicate the results can play out in several ways. First, too many leaders hesitate after working through this deliberate process. MAKE A DECISION! That is what they pay us to do! Then, make sure people fully understand the details of your decision. If it is a major change or controversial decision, teammates had better understand the background and key components of how it will make the organization, or its products, better. This comes from communicating the results of our decisions, in a deliberate, comprehensive methodology. This is step 4: Make a decision and communicate the results.

My friends, this works. Most of us cannot say that good decision making is easy or something we are born with. Rather, it is a learned skill. Keep practicing. Tell me if I can help you. If you have used this approach successfully, share your story here. If you are struggling to implement this mission planning framework, let's talk! I have taken hundreds of leaders from amateurs to seasoned pros by following this time-tested approach. I can help you or your team as well. It's not rocket science. It is Leader Business.

Mission Planning IV

A recent study by the US Army War College investigated critical behaviors of senior military leaders. Few skills ranked higher on the required attributes list than the ability to plan missions, solve problems and make decisions. Previous posts here looked at the first four steps of mission planning. Now we will look at some applications such as planning in a timed constrained environment and other uses of this planning process.

Mission planning in a time constrained environment.

Many scenarios require immediate decisions and do not allow for such a deliberate planning process as we have described to this point. In these instances, steps are not skipped but are compressed to fit the time available. If possible, include the input of one or two trusted agents. (In combat, leaders will grab a few key subordinates and huddle over a map, spread out on the hood of a Humvee)

It might be as simple as this:
-- What’s the problem?
-- What are the available options?
-- What is the best course of action?
-- What are the possible 2nd and 3rd order effects of this alternative?
-- What are the risks and how can they be mitigated?
-- OK...here's the decision...let's go. We'll work out the rest during execution.

Understand that this approach to planning is not a constraining, lock-step process but a framework for logical decision making that can be applied to any business and any problem. Military commanders find that once they understand the process, it can be adjusted based on the enemy and friendly situations and the time available for making the decision.

Great leaders are ultimately able to do this exercise in their head, especially in time constrained situations. They are able to “see” relative future positions and anticipate second and third order effects as a way to shape decisions and anticipate outcomes. No doubt it is an acquired skill - one that comes from the experience gained through the more deliberate exercise.

Caution: Leaders who consistently find themselves in time-constrained decision making situations would do well to examine the cause of time constraints. Deliberate planning helps leaders anticipate (and often eliminate) future problems and enables early positioning (organizationally and individually) for future opportunities. Time-constrained decision making is usually a self-inflicted wound!

Application of the Mission Planning Process

Leaders should engage in mission planning only for those problems and decisions that must be made at their level. If subordinates are empowered to solve problems and make certain decisions at their level – don’t pull this authority back from them. Similarly, don’t allow them to get lazy and push it back up to you!

Communicate your decisions and mission plans. Ask “who else needs to know?” Check higher, lower, left, and right. All mission plans must have a communication component that includes the workforce, customers, suppliers, shareholders, your boss, and anyone else impacted by your plan.

Allocate an amount of time for mission planning that reflects the needs of the situation. Take all available time…but not one second more. If decisions must be made right away - make them. If not, allow the situation to develop, gather additional information, test your plan with those whom you trust, and wait. Don’t be in a hurry to execute poor plans drawn up in haste.

Be bold in your mission planning and decision making. As you identify possible alternatives, ensure that at least one takes the “road less traveled.” The future of your organization lies not in the safety of being good but in the excitement of bold risk taking that defines greatness.

Never allow the urgency of the situation to create an excuse for taking short-cuts. Commit to plans that are morally and ethically sound, regardless of how others may justify the ethics of the moment. No personal or professional short term gain from a dishonorable decision is worth its long term cost – ever.

Conduct regular after action reviews with your subordinates and review your plans – good and bad. Your growth as a leader will be directly related to your ability to learn from your mistakes. As you apply lessons learned to your subsequent mission plans, you will constantly, consistently improve yourself and the organization that you lead.

Good leaders make informed decisions. Great leaders understand that, when they follow this methodology and provide the necessary input to guide the mission planning of the team, they create an empowered organization. They unlock creative energies by providing the stimulus for subordinates to debate issues openly and with the freedom to determine how to accomplish the mission – consistent with the leader’s overall intentions. That makes mission planning -- Leader Business.

Stay tuned for one more in this series on mission planning as we look at applications in today's business and leadership environment!

Photo courtesy of www.teamworksweb.com.

Mission Planning III

In any moment of decision the best thing you can do is the right thing, the next best thing is the wrong thing, and the worst thing you can do is nothing.

-- Theodore Roosevelt

A recent study by the US Army War College investigated critical behaviors of senior military leaders. Few skills ranked higher on the required attributes list than the ability to plan missions, solve problems and make decisions. In the last post on this series, we looked at the first two steps of mission planning. We continue with those steps that translate intentions into action.

Step 1. Analyze the mission.

Step 2. Develop alternatives.

Step 3. Analyze alternatives.

Once alternatives are identified, they should be deliberately analyzed and debated with respect to their relative strengths, weaknesses, and risks. Potential courses of action should be measured against critical evaluation criteria (again, those criteria that will differentiate one alternative from another – i.e. cost/speed of implementation, savings, risk, etc.). Criteria with greater relative importance should be weighted accordingly.

Military leaders conduct a deliberate war game for each course of action. These are free-play exercises conducted on a map or in a computer modeling scenario that analyze alternatives by looking at enemy actions and friendly reactions, much like a game of chess. These movements are carried all the way through the final objective with notes taken, casualties assessed, and relative positions recorded. This is an effective way to understand second and third order effects of proposed courses of action.

War game results are entered into a “synchronization matrix” with entries for the enemy and each subordinate unit in relative time and space. Should a particular course of action be selected, this matrix becomes the basis for the detailed orders issued to each unit. While deliberate and somewhat time consuming, there is no substitute for seeing anticipated actions “play out” to enable an understanding of the strengths, weaknesses, and associated risks with the proposed alternative.

Step 4. Make a decision and communicate the results.

Leaders make decisions. That is what they get paid to do. After analysis of alternatives, it is ultimately the leader’s role to select a preferred alternative. If the recommended solution is not adequate or does not meet the intent of the mission, go back to the drawing board or, more likely, modify it as necessary to make it adequate. And while clearly the leader’s prerogative, exercise caution when rejecting subordinate recommendations (i.e. learn how to say no). Leaders must not destroy the creativity and motivation of the subordinate team.

Once an alternative is selected, move out. Leave no doubt about the decision and state, “OK, here is what we are going to do.” Issue mission orders and instructions to the entire team. Communicate task and purpose with guidance that is specific when specificity is required, and intentionally vague when subordinates have the latitude to work out the details on their own. Leaders must ensure that subordinates understand the big picture as well as their own individual requirements.

Army Ranger school is a lot more than surviving for two months on no sleep and one meal per day. It was a small unit leadership laboratory that emphasized the value of clear, detailed mission orders in the following format:

-- Situation – a detailed description of the big picture (both friendly and enemy perspectives). This provides the context for the mission.

-- Mission – the restated problem (from step 1). This section of the mission order gives subordinates the “5 Ws,” the most important of which, “Why?” provides the purpose and motivation for the mission.

-- Execution – includes a description of the overall concept of the operation along with specific tasks for completion and contingency activities based on friendly or enemy actions. All units receive both a task and purpose and understand whether they are in a support or a supported role. Coordinating details (time lines, mission rehearsal schedules, issues common to multiple units) further clarify subordinate requirements.

-- Resources– organizations are provided the necessary resources to meet the demands of the mission. Leaders understand the importance of their role as chief alignment officers and ensure that supplies and mission essential resources are sufficient to accomplish the mission. Forecasted resource demands are a critical output from the war game / alternative analysis step and help leaders proactively address key logistics issues.

-- Command/Communications – addresses critical communication issues pertinent for the mission such as the location of the leader on the battlefield and radio frequencies for communications during the mission.

Mission plans that result from this process are likely to be well thought out and reasonable solutions. They will synchronize the activities and responsibilities of the entire team. Most importantly, this approach to planning should produce a consensus decision, crafted by team members who take ownership of that which they must ultimately execute. Stay tuned for one more post in this series that looks at some other techniques for mission planning and decision-making.

Leaders who fail to plan – plan to fail. They ensure that the mission is well understood and that available alternatives are identified before moving to a solution. These are skills we demand from our leaders, no matter the operational context. That makes the planning process…Leader Business.

Mission Planning II

When you cannot make up your mind which of two evenly balanced courses of action you should take - choose the bolder.
-- General William Joseph Slim

A recent study by the US Army War College investigated critical behaviors of senior military leaders. Few skills ranked higher on the required attributes list than the ability to plan missions, solve problems and make decisions.

Times like these demand leaders who can plan, make decisions, and maintain a steady hand, especially under duress or during times of crisis. This series of posts on decision-making will highlight the four step planning process. These steps can be applied to any problem, whether to start a business...or to save one, whether to deploy an Army or to deploy a new product.

Step 1. Define the Problem

Mission planning cannot start without a deliberate effort to define the problem. Thus, this step begins with a thorough understanding of the big picture and the operational context for the mission. Leaders must have good situational awareness and be able to “see themselves” (organizational capabilities, individual skills and strengths, and activities of other “friendly” units with potential impacts on the mission), “see the enemy” (competitor actions), and “see the terrain” (operational environment, future trends, customer demographics). The business equivalent might be a formal SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats) analysis. This becomes a base from which mission planning can begin.

Next, facts and assumptions that apply to the problem must be analyzed and understood. Quantify what is known and make logical conclusions about what is not. Good situational awareness (SA) about the operational environment will generally allow for assumed future conditions that are close enough to support decision making.

Problem definition must then define specified and implied tasks and address:

-- What tasks are specifically required to complete the mission?
-- What tasks are not specifically required but are implied in order to reach the intended objective?
-- Of these tasks, which are absolutely essential, and must be highlighted as such in the final problem statement?

As with facts and assumptions, write out this list of tasks and make a special designation for those tasks deemed as “essential.” All tasks, whether specified or implied, must be assigned to some member of the team in order to successfully complete the mission.

Finally, restate the problem. Write out a mission statement that addresses the “Five Ws” – Who, What, Where, When, and Why? Ensure it addresses all essential tasks. The restated mission should be posted throughout the problem solving process to eliminate energy and time applied against the wrong problem – a common shortcoming in mission planning.

Following a detailed mission analysis and definition of the problem, leaders must provide the input that will shape the final plan. Issuing guidance later in the process results in wasted time and subordinate frustration.

Working with leaders at the Army's National Training Center, mission planning can be an exasperating exercise. Frequently, commanders would express their frustration about plans that were not what they wanted or that they knew would not achieve their intentions. Unfortunately, they never shared their intentions with anyone else! They failed in this critical step and had not provided the guidance necessary to shape the final plans. This is a critical leader task that cannot be delegated…or skipped.

Nor can this input be provided later in the process. I have watched numerous subordinate staffs “implode” after an all night planning effort was destroyed by commanders who interjected their guidance long after the “train had left the station.” Not only was critical planning time lost; so was the staff’s confidence in their leader.

Leaders influence the problem solving process by giving their vision for the end state and their general intentions for a solution. They identify what they are looking for in a viable course of action and those evaluation criteria (i.e. cost, speed, impact on customers, etc.) that have the greatest importance in the final evaluation. If leaders are willing to accept risk in some areas, and not in others, they make it known. Budget or time limitations are identified. The goal is to empower subordinates, to give them the freedom to develop creative solutions. Subordinates generally need only their left and right limits, if there are any. They’ll figure out the rest.

Step 2: Develop alternatives.

In mission planning, leaders should attempt to identify at least three possible courses of action, all of which must be viable alternatives for solving the problem. Each course of action must meet the following criteria:
-- Is it feasible? Don’t waste time on alternatives that have no possibility of accomplishment.
-- Is it sufficient? Does it address all the elements of the problem statement outlined above? A half-solution is no solution at all.
-- Does it meet the leader’s intent? If not, don’t consider it as a viable alternative.
-- Is it bold? At least one alternative should be audacious and blow through the boundaries of “business as usual.”

We'll review the final two steps (Step 3 - Analyze alternatives; Step 4 - Make a Decision and Communicate the Results) in the next post.

Leaders who fail to plan – plan to fail. These first two steps get the process rolling. They ensure that the mission is well understood and that available alternatives are identified before moving to a solution. These are skills we demand from our leaders, no matter the operational context. That makes the planning process…Leader Business.

Mission Planning

A recent study by the US Army War College investigated critical behaviors of senior military leaders. Few skills ranked higher on the required attributes list than the ability to plan missions, solve problems and make decisions. In fact, the top four behaviors detailed in the Army study highlighted the importance of mission planning skills in successful leaders:

-- Clearly explains missions, standards, and priorities.
-- Sees the big picture; provides context and perspective.
-- Can make tough, sound decisions on time.
-- Keeps cool under pressure.

Times like these demand leaders who can plan, make decisions, and maintain a steady hand, especially under duress or during times of crisis. The next several posts will highlight what it takes to plan a mission. These steps can be applied to any problem, whether to start a business...or to save one, whether to deploy an Army or to deploy a new product.

Combat leaders use a basic approach to mission planning - called the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP). When followed, it produces the leadership behaviors that the Army has highlighted as priorities for senior leaders: timely decisions, big picture context, logical plans, and clear mission orders. The MDMP is a reasoned approach to identifying and evaluating potential courses of action before deciding what must be done. It can be used for planning major campaigns or for discrete missions and operations. This is the battle-tested methodology that enables quality decisions and calm decision makers.

What follows in this series then, is a simple, four-step approach to mission planning:

1. Define the problem

2. Develop alternatives

3. Analyze alternatives

4. Make a decision and communicate the results

Leaders who fail to plan – plan to fail. Whether developing long term plans and strategies or putting out fires and conducting mission planning for day to day operations, leaders must be trained and equipped, with an appropriate decision making framework, to do so. These are characteristics we demand from our leaders, regardless of the operational context. It can be used for personal or organizational decision making – regardless of the scale, or the context, of the problem. Mission planning is…Leader Business.

Troop Leading Procedures (Part III)

For many people, the task of leading one's group can be daunting. Where's the training? What about some sort of manual? Well...we can forget about either one. For most, good old OJT (on the job training) is all that is offered to help in the growth and development of leaders.

So when it comes to procedures for leading "troops," why not benefit from the lessons of the military? What follows then is a continuation of our discussion on "Troop Leading Procedures." I first learned them at Army Ranger School as a logical methodology to translate a new mission into action for small units. I have since discovered that this approach is just as valid for large, civilian units like the one I now lead.

Here are what are known as "Troop Leading Procedures:"

L – Listen and receive the Mission.
E – Energize the Troops. (Issue a Warning Order)
A – Approximate Plans. (Develop a rough “battle” plan)
D – Drive towards the objective. (Initiate early movement)
E – Eyes on the Battlefield. (Conduct reconnaissance)
R – Refine your plan.
S – Share the Vision, Plans, Goals, and Objectives. (Issue your orders)
H – Hold Accountable. (Check, Double check, check the checkers)
I – Integrate changes. (Adjust your plan)
P – Prepare to WIN! (Supervise Execution)

In Part I, we looked at the first three steps (L-E-A). This was enough to thoroughly understand requirements, get out some initial instructions to the team, and start building a plan. People are energized, plans are taking shape, leadership is happening. In Part II, we examined the next 4 elements (D-E-R-S) and got people moving while we completed the plan and shared it with others. Let's keep going!

Hold Accountable. Check, double check, and check the checkers. As your troops leave, no doubt inspired by your very presence and ready to give their lives for mission accomplishment (well maybe not quite yet!), know that your job as leader has just begun. Team members must begin the hard work of accomplishing the tasks that you have ordered. Your job is to follow-up…and follow-through. Check the line workers to assess if everyone is getting the message and to gauge how well your orders are being received. Listen and get feedback. Walk the halls and see (first-hand) if schedules are being met and change is occurring as intended. Determine for yourself if your vision has reached every soldier in every foxhole on the battlefield! Hold subordinate leaders (checkers themselves) accountable for meeting milestones and accomplishing assigned tasks (i.e. check the checkers).

IBM CEO Lou Gerstner (Who Says Elephants Can’t Dance?) found that subordinates would only respect what the leader inspects and that the greatest failure for leaders was in “confusing expectation with inspection.” Most military leaders would agree. Checking the checkers holds people accountable for their part of the plan -- from top to bottom.

Integrate changes. Adjust your plan. Don’t fall in love with your plan. Recognize the old adage that “planning is priceless while plans are useless.” Since the standard for issuing initial plans and orders was “reasonable,” continue to gain feedback and integrate new information and emerging opportunities into your product. Be flexible. Don't become wed to the plan but view it as a work in progress and make changes as you go. Listen to your teammates and allow them to shape what will no doubt become a better, more executable product.

Prepare to Win! Supervise Execution. Recognize that no team is ready for the big game without practice – tons of it. Conduct rehearsals at every level to ensure a full understanding of the plan. Solve problems. Continue to train, even while fully engaged in execution. Decentralize decision making while remaining focused on task and purpose. Continue to circulate the battlefield and checking on the execution of the plan. Keep the lines of communication open and share information with the entire team.

These are Troop Leading Procedures. I hope you can print out the three parts of this discussion and spend some time looking at each step. Get your team together and go over what each element means in your organization and how you might better facilitate each step.

This is how we teach military leaders to receive instructions and turn them into action. So for those that OJT is the only training you received, I hope this helps. It works for me. Troop Leading Procedures are...Leader Business.

Troop Leading Procedures (Part II)

For many people, the task of leading one's group can be daunting. Where's the training? What about some sort of manual? Forget about it. For most, the school of hard knocks is all that is offered to help in the growth and development of leaders.

So when it comes to procedures for leading "troops," why not benefit from the lessons of the military? What follows then is a summary of "Troop Leading Procedures." I first learned them at Army Ranger School as a logical methodology to translate a new mission into action for small units. I have sinced found that this approach is just as valid for large units like the one I now lead.

Here are what are known as "Troop Leading Procedures:"

L – Listen and receive the Mission.
E – Energize the Troops. (Issue a Warning Order)
A – Approximate Plans. (Develop a rough “battle” plan)
D – Drive towards the objective. (Initiate early movement)
E – Eyes on the Battlefield. (Conduct reconnaissance)
R – Refine your plan.
S – Share the Vision, Plans, Goals, and Objectives. (Issue your orders)
H – Hold Accountable. (Check, Double check, check the checkers)
I – Integrate changes. (Adjust your plan)
P – Prepare to WIN! (Supervise Execution)

In Part I, we looked at the first three steps (L-E-A). This was enough to thoroughly understand requirements, get out some initial instructions to the team, and start building a plan. People are energized, plans are taking shape, leadership is happening. Let's keep going!

Drive toward the objective – Initiate Early Movement. Determine what things can be set in motion now that will contribute to the execution of the plan. For a military unit whose objective is simply “north” they can possibly start moving…north! What might your organization do now that should not wait until the plan is completed? Do subordinates need education? Will you need to purchase certain equipment or technology to implement your plan? Will you need new facilities to make the new plan possible? Will your people need new skills or will you need new skilled people? Even if your people don't fully understand the endstate, you do. Get the troops moving!

Eyes on the Battlefield - Conduct Reconnaissance. For a battlefield commander, reconnaissance is best conducted from a vantage point that will allow him, and his subordinate leaders, to visualize the battle – together. Each organization discusses the impact of the terrain and the enemy on their piece of the battle plan. They conduct reconnaissance of the route to the objective and highlight actions on the objective itself. They discuss their organization’s actions and highlight possible points of friction between each other as they complete their mission.

How does a business leader conduct reconnaissance? Get out in the field! Test the waters! Test the plan and its concepts with customers, with outside consultants whose opinions might help shape the plan, and with the men and women in the trenches who have to execute the plan. Run the plan by your trusted advisors and see what they think. Develop a prototype or a model to determine if your product satisfies your customer’s demands. Use polls, surveys, and the opinions of stakeholders, shareholders, and boards of directors. Conduct battlefield circulation and get out there with the troops to help shape and validate your plan.

Refine your plan. With a clear understanding of the enemy and the terrain on which you will do battle, it is time to work the details. Develop a plan that leverages the strengths of your team. Consider adding additional staff to reinforce your weaknesses. Get everyone into the fight. Project managers, sales, marketing, engineers, finance, and admin staff all should have tasks that contribute toward mission accomplishment. Develop a plan with specific details for each team member that will get the entire team to the objective. Use the results of your reconnaissance to put team strengths against critical tasks and against enemy weaknesses. Assign the task (what) and the purpose (why) and give subordinates the flexibility to conduct their own planning processes to arrive at the how. Work backwards from the objective to identify key milestones and intermediate objectives that must be accomplished in order to enable success.

Share the Vision, Plans, Goals, and Objectives. Issue your orders. Once you have completed a reasonable plan, in a reasonable amount of time, it is necessary to share the details with the troops. Notice the key word in the previous sentence – reasonable. No plan will be perfect. Acknowledge that the plan will likely be modified later (that is okay…what version of Microsoft Windows are we using now?), especially once you reach the execution phase. The old battle axiom, “No plan survives first contact with the enemy,” is as true in every combat engagement as it is in most any product or service rollout. For most troop leaders, a reasonable amount of time to develop plans is one-third of the available planning time. Give subordinate leaders two-thirds of the available time to complete their own planning processes (the military’s 1/3 – 2/3 rule).

We're almost there! The troops are moving, plans and instructions have been issued, and you are leading them onto the objective! In Part III, we'll look at what it takes to turn plans into action. That's Leader Business.

Read Part III here.

***Photo courtesy of http://www.army.mil/.

Troop Leading Procedures (Part I)

Your boss walks in with a big announcement. She has a mission for you. This is the big one. She has just handed you the opportunity you’ve been waiting for. Your mission, should you choose to accept it (yeah…right!), is to re-engineer the entire organization. Make it better, faster, leaner, and cheaper (is there anything else?). You’ve got whatever resources you need and you are in charge! OK…now what? As she leaves your office you ask yourself why exactly you wanted this leadership position? Where’s the training? Where’s the manual? Who can you turn to for guidance?

Consider the military leader. When told to capture some important objective, he cannot just pick up and move out. Similarly he cannot take all of the allotted time to develop a “perfect” plan that may or may not work and certainly won’t survive the first contact with the enemy. There must be a process that makes good use of available time, results in a solid plan that has a good chance of working, fully leverages the unique capabilities that every member of the team brings to the organization, and, most importantly, accomplishes the mission.

There is such a process…and to help simply remember the letters – L-E-A-D-E-R-S-H-I-P:

L – Listen and receive the Mission.
E – Energize the Troops. (Issue a Warning Order)
A – Approximate Plans. (Develop a rough “battle” plan)
D – Drive towards the objective. (Initiate early movement)
E – Eyes on the Battlefield. (Conduct reconnaissance)
R – Refine your plan.
S – Share the Vision, Plans, Goals, and Objectives. (Issue your orders)
H – Hold Accountable. (Check, Double check, check the checkers)
I – Integrate changes. (Adjust your plan)
P – Prepare to WIN! (Supervise Execution)

This approach has worked for me in Ranger training, in leading combat units, and in more traditional business settings with civilians. It's not magic. What it is though is a logical approach to go from receipt of mission to mission accomplishment.

Listen and receive the mission. Insure that before you begin to develop a solution, you’re solving the right problem. Clarify the precise objective. Did the boss say to reorganize every department or just yours? Did she want a 1-year or 5-year plan? How will success be measured - Company bottom line? Number of employees? Stock price? What are her expectations for communications? Do you have complete flexibility to develop and implement the plan or does she want a vote along the way? What is your budget? How much time is available? What people will you have working for you? What is known about your opposition? Get it right the first time!

Energize the Troops – Issue a “Warning Order.” This is that critical communication step that alerts teammates to the new mission. Too many leaders wait until the plan is “perfect” (we’ll talk more about “perfect” plans) before sharing information with subordinates. Tell them everything you know -- as soon as you know it. Let them start their own planning. Warning orders alert subordinates to future plans, give an idea of the timeline, and issue any known instructions immediately. There is no need to wait for the full plan to set some critical or time-sensitive things in motion. Warning orders allow subordinate leaders to begin their own planning based on known information. DO NOT wait for a full plan to begin engaging subordinates – you will need their input along the way. Your warning order will set a tone for how communications will proceed enroute to mission accomplishment.

Approximate Plans – Develop a rough battle plan. Now start making your plan. Gather facts and assumptions. Pour over the data. Develop courses of action and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of each. Develop a general framework for the plan. Share it with subordinates and get their input. Some of the best plans come from the bottom-up with participation and input from team members at all echelons. It is a lot easier to market your plan and get subordinate “buy in” when they have been allowed to participate in the plan formulation. Again, there is still work to be done before finalizing your plan. By this point, however, you should have a pretty good idea of your ultimate course of action.

OK. You are on your way. We will continue this discussion in future posts. We have covered the first 3 steps in troop leading procedures. Stay tuned for the rest.

That's Leader Business!

Read Part II here.

Reverse Breach Planning

A typical mission for a combat engineer is to breach obstacles. This means to find a way through or around impediments to the movement of the rest of the force. Combat engineers are out in front punching a hole through or making a way across minefields, ditches, wire entanglements, rivers, canals, or anything else that prevents movement of friendly forces in order to complete the destruction of the enemy and accomplishment of the mission.

As a trainer of combat engineers at the Army's National Training Center, I would spent countless hours helping engineer leaders think about how to tackle this very difficult mission. Difficult as in...perhaps the most complex mission any combat unit undertakes. The synchronization of artillery to pin down the enemy, smoke to obscure the enemy's view, positioning of friendly support units, movement forward of the engineers, creating and marking lanes, calling units forward to move through the breach and onto the enemy side, etc. -- very complicated stuff...especially when done under fire.

Success in this mission begins with a concept called reverse breach planning, a concept in which you begin with the end in mind. Instead of thinking about how you will begin the mission, what time you will leave your assembly area and where engineers are positioned at the beginning, reverse breach planning requires thought about what size unit is required on the far side of the obstacle in order to defeat the enemy, what the formation will look like and where they will be positioned when they have completed the mission.

Reverse breach planning would go something like this:

-- We need two companies of tanks on the far side of the minefield to defeat the enemy there in overwatch.

-- The lanes should be precisely in this location and at least 200 meters apart.

-- We need to put in two lanes to move two companies.

-- We need three platoons of engineers to make two lanes.

-- We need another platoon of tanks with the engineers to provide security at the breach point and to plow through the lane.

-- The engineer company (three platoons plus a platoon of tanks) will need to be behind this hill, moving as the artillery begins to shoot smoke, which will trigger adjustment of the friendly tanks in overwatch so they don't shoot our engineers moving forward.

--Etc.

You see...instead of starting at the beginning (where are the engineers in the march out of the assembly area), focus on the endpoint (what do we want things to look like when we are successful) and work backwards. This sort of planning produces intermediate objectives and synchronization between forces, triggers for successive action, decision points, etc. that makes complex operations possible.

It is my experience that this concept is not easily learned -- in combat or in business. Why is this? Policies, procedures, doctrine, and other process-focused (versus mission focused) administrivia! We use them like cookbooks. Go to page 1, step 1, and start reading. Do all the steps, in this sequence, and you will be successful. Mind you, you'll have no idea of what the end product will look like until you get there, nor will you have any reasonable hope for success when you encounter obstacles in your way.

I think we have to start with the last page, the last step, and work backwards:

-- When does the customer need the product, how many, what features, etc.? Work backwards to determine milestones, resources, and other enablers that will be necessary to get there.

-- What does a fully qualified, ready for college, high school student need to know by the time he/she graduates? Work backwards to structure an appropriate curriculum.

-- How much money will I need to comfortably retire by 60 and live til I'm 100? Work backwards to develop a savings plan.

-- What sort of projects do I think my team will be doing in five years? Work backwards to determine the sort of talent you should be recruiting for and the training you should be seeking to get there.

Conventional wisdom says we must develop a road map to get us to where we want to go. Combat wisdom suggests that to do so we must begin with the end in mind, see yourself and your team on the objective, and work in reverse to your start point. This sort of unconventional planning is the only way to be sure that the road you are taking will get you to your intended destination.

Obstacles along our respective routes must be breached. That's where leaders earn their pay. Using reverse breach planning will ensure that you can get your forces onto the objective, through the lanes, synchronized in time and space, to be successful. That's Leader Business.