Important Questions for Malta and the Capital Region

Events vitally important for our area were set in motion some time ago. The idea was to bring a new era of prosperity to our community through economic development. Now it is coming to our town, our county, and our region, and it is coming in a rush. It is like a series of trains, very big trains, already moving fast and picking up more and more speed every day. For local business leaders and entrepreneurs it is important to recognize the impact those trains will have, and to ask the right questions so we may make the most of the value they carry.

The “construction train” which brought GLOBALFOUNDRIES to Luther Forest was just the first one. It is now being followed by the first “passenger train” bringing both local labor and transplant labor for the plant--approximately 1,400 people. After that comes the expanded administrative facilities train bringing maybe another 1,500 people. Then comes the “related businesses” train carrying--hopefully--some 100-plus businesses and potentially another 4,000 to 6,000 more people, maybe even more--and those are just the workers. Those figures do not include the family members. If multiply all that by about 2.5 we get over 30,000 people.

They (and we) will be looking for more services: more restaurants, more dry cleaners, more service businesses of all types and sizes. That means increased demand, which translates to more jobs, more opportunities, and a more vibrant economic base to build our communities on.

With all this growth comes questions. Questions for every sector of our community, our town, our county, our region. Questions that demand leadership at every level.

On a town and community level, political leaders need to be asking equally daunting and probing questions. “Are our processes supporting the economic growth opportunities that we are blessed with?” “Do we have a view of the future in mind that is guiding our planning, or our we committed to living in „yesterday‟?" “What are the innovative and viable alternatives to the way we‟ve always done business?”On a citizen level we also need to be asking a series of questions: “Are our political leaders asking the right kind of questions for our future?” “What is my role in voicing my desires for the future, and the future of our children and grandchildren?” “How can I be involved and make sure we have a solid foundation for the economic viability of future generations?” “How can I best take part in enhancing our town, county, and region, in ways that create a positive living legacy?”

And on a business level, every business owner and operator must be asking and finding the answers to questions like: “What are my opportunities with this coming growth?” “What kind of growth can I expect?” “What kind of growth am I equipped to make to support the local and regional growth?” “What new services or products can I add to my business?” “What do I want my business to look like in 3-5 years?” “Do I have what it takes to be a player in this new and growing economy?” And the list goes on.

All of these are serious questions we should be asking ourselves on a daily basis. Some things are already done deals; the “trains” are coming, at our invitation, and soon. The questions we ask and the answers we give will determine the resulting actions we take and the ultimate impact they will have on our community. For businesspeople this is an opportunity to step up and demonstrate leadership both in and beyond our own self-interest. It is a choice, a choice that we either will make, or one that will be made for us.

We in business tend to shy away from participating in discussions like these. We are far more likely to simply accept conditions--or complain about them--and try to find a way to work with them than take a hand in shaping them. But it is part of the job of the entrepreneur and business leader to create the conditions for prosperity. It would be a mistake to think of those conditions only in terms of what happens within our businesses. And it would be a mistake to let the train roar by to stop at another station.

Join in on the conversations or start some of your own at: http://www.izoca.com/groups/malta-ny/discussions

This article is a reprint by permission of The Boardroom Ballston Journal (http://www.theballstonjournal.com/news/local_business/) article, April 14th edition.

Business – It’s Complicated (and personal)

The following was published in the Ballston Journal - Business Boardroom:

Business is complicated. That is not news or a surprise to any of us who have been in business for any length of time. It really does not matter what size business you are in, or what your industry is, it is complicated. For those of us who are small business owners, we have to do all the “jobs” in the business, or we need to manage the outsourcing of those tasks we do not like to do, or we are not equipped to do. For those of us who are in organizations of any size, we also know that it is complicated, primarily due to the very thing that was highlighted in the movie “It’s Complicated” with Meryl Streep, Alec Baldwin, and Steve Martin. Unfortunately, small business complications are not a popular comedy, but a stark reality.

Business is complicated by nature, because it is about personal relationships and people are complicated. Even for small business owners, there is the mix of your own personality and relationships with those of your customers, suppliers, and the interrelationships with your own personality. For larger organizations, add the dynamic of employees with those of customers and suppliers.

So, what then separates the “great” from the “good” from the “just making it”? If business is complicated for all businesses, regardless of size, what really can be the discriminating factors in success? What can you do as a business leader to ensure that you and your organization are achieving the level of success that you really want?

To find the answers, I believe the first place to look is inside. Inside yourself that is. We have all heard it said that “Attitude determines Altitude,” “You get what you are looking for,” etc. I believe these are more than just trite statements or phrases. There is real truth in them, yet for many of us, we lose sight of these simple truths. If we think of the world as abundant, then we will look and act as though there is plenty to go around and we will share that with others. If we look at the world as scarce, then we will tend to hoard and not share.

So what does this have to do with the way we run our businesses and organizations? Answer the following questions truthfully to get closer to your inner self:
• Do we try to hoard information and only let out small bits just to get other things we can hoard? Or do we share information and let people see all the details they need to be fully successful themselves and at the same time make us more successful?
• Is our attitude one of real appreciation for others and what their role is in our business?
• Do we share that appreciation with them in ways that are really meaningful to them?
Psst: The only way we will know that is to be really observant and listen to them with open ears and minds.

I believe that is one of the many messages in the movie “It’s Complicated.” It appears that in their marriage, Jane and Jake didn’t have a common vision and set of objectives for themselves as individuals or as a family. As the movie unfolds, each had come to realize more about what they wanted for themselves, and thus could examine what they really appreciated in each other. I won’t say more about the movie, as I don’t want to give it away. The point is that appreciation is directly linked to attitude, and we do tend to find what we are looking for. If we look with appreciation, we see more positively. If we are more appreciative with our view of customers, employees, and suppliers, we tend to get more abundant results. If we share information to enable each to have a richer experience in their respective roles, we tend to get better results. An appreciative approach strengthens the bond of a relationship.

Think for a minute or two about some of your experiences. In those experiences where you felt really appreciated, where people really took the time to get to know you, or explain how you were an important part of their business, most likely you felt very good about being part of their business. I expect you told others and may have even gone out of your way to contribute to the success of the organization/business even more.

On the other hand, think about a different experience where you were “just a number” or “just a part of the process.” In this case, I expect you felt neutral or negative about the experience and did not go out of your way to do any extra to contribute to the organization’s/business’s success.

I have many experiences and stories to relate from both perspectives, and as a business leader, I like to share the positive stories of how people and organizations grow through appreciation. My colleagues and I, along with a number of others, call that Appreciative Leadership, and it comes from looking at all aspects of business with a view and focus of appreciating what everyone does.

A very successful businessman and friend of mine was a veterinarian. When we first met, he was a self proclaimed “Seagull Manager.” He would fly into the office making all kinds of noise and activity, then crap on everyone and fly out. You can imagine what that office looked like. Then he realized the impact that an Appreciative Leadership approach could make. He took the time to work with each of his employees so they understood the very important and even critical role they played in the total business success. He was able to link their individual success to the business success and show the reciprocal affect on their individual success. He made a fundamental shift in his practice and it was definitely reflected in the positive impact on the top and bottom lines of his business. It was all about personal relationships and truly appreciating everyone and what they could contribute.

By taking the time to understand the relationships and appreciating and reinforcing the positive, the real art of business becomes just a little less complicated and certainly more enjoyable for everyone involved. In the end, business may still be complicated, but with appreciation and understanding by all, it will be more understood, easier to manage, and certainly more fulfilling.

Leading From an Emerging Future: A Process for Creating and Leading

The future is now, and many companies and organizations struggle with developing strategic plans that can deal with a make-or-break horizon that is getting closer and closer every year. Struggle no more, says Ray Patterson of Capital Consulting Group.
Patterson helps clients construct an organizational vision, set goals and priorities and develop an action plan, seemingly at warp speed as compared to strategic planning methods of the past. How does Patterson do this? He combines his skills as a trained strategic planning facilitator with revolutionary computer software: AMCat, which was developed by Dr. Michael Thorne Kelly of Advanced Management Catalyst Inc.
By understanding the six steps necessary for creating wise decisions and efficient, goal-directed activities and by expertly leading clients through the process, Patterson effects “a high-speed interface between creative thinking and productive action.” The six steps include:
Step One: Creating the Vision
Creating the vision requires participants to gaze into a metaphorical crystal ball. After identifying a future date, they are asked to describe in simple, yet specific detail the aspects of that future they wish to create for themselves. Everyone contributes, and the descriptions are captured in a computer-generated vision document, which is displayed on-screen for all to see. Then each word, sentence and paragraph is revised until all participants are ready, willing and excited to sign their names to the vision and commit a portion of their lives to making it a reality.
In 2007, more than 100 citizens of Wallaceburg, a community of Chatham-Kent in the Province of Ontario, Canada gathered together to create a vision for an area that had experienced hard times and loss of its identity.
Hard times had hit with the loss of more than 3,800 high-wage manufacturing jobs over two decades. Loss of identity resulted when Wallaceburg – a self-sustaining community of more than 10,000 citizens – was amalgamated into a larger Municipality of more than 100,000 residents. To re-focus Wallaceburg residents, a task force was formed to create “a more positive outlook for the future as opposed to the reality of the now,” according to Stuart McFadden, Project Manager of the Wallaceburg Community Task Force.
Capital Consulting Group, LLC, was engaged to guide the strategic planning. The organization led an interactive, community-inclusive, three-day facilitated process. During the process, lead facilitator Ray Patterson helped turn the focus of participants from what they had lost to what remained that they could build upon. The result was the creation of “Wallaceburg Community Vision 2020.”
“We now have people engaged, working towards common goals,” according to McFadden. “Creating the vision gave us something we can focus on. That is, what Wallaceburg can be if residents choose to play roles. If we choose to play roles, we can make tomorrow better.”
Step Two: Brainstorming Options
With the vision completed, participants next brainstorm the ideas and actions they think will assist in making the vision a reality. No idea is considered unimportant. All the brainstormed ideas are captured and documented using the AMCat software, specifically designed to assist the facilitation team. At the conclusion of the brainstorming, participants assess the collected ideas then select specific ones they will work on to transform the vision to reality.
After being hired as the Director of the National Center for Aerospace Leadership, Robert Mansfield realized the need for creating a vision and strategic plan for the newly created organization. According to Mansfield, the standard practice of “taking a few weeks and using butcher paper, sticky notes and flips charts to create a vision and a strategy is so time consuming.” Instead he turned to Capital Consulting Group. “Ray and his colleagues have an automated way of moving through a definitive process so it can be done quickly.”
Twenty-one staff members of the National Center for Aerospace Leadership participated in the strategic planning process over a three-day period. In the brainstorming phase, expectation setting, facilitation and some participant conversation were preludes to idea generation in various topic areas.
“Doing brainstorming using a computer with groupware capability makes it possible to sort ideas in various ways,” Mansfield says. “People can think without being distracted by others talking but can also see what other people are writing, which may trigger additional ideas as well. This also adds to the richness of the conversation.”
Argument in the classical sense and disagreement are parts of the process, according to Mansfield. “The process and facilitation Ray uses drives the team to consensus. No one is forced to agree, but because the team is focused on achieving the outcome – strategy and an action plan – consensus is achieved. At the end, we all felt like we had created something that made sense to us, that we were comfortable with and that we could move forward on. We had a framework in which to operate.”
§ Step Three: Organizing, Identifying and Establishing
In this step, with the assistance of the AMCat software and the lead facilitator, participants organize the brainstormed ideas into logical groupings; identify the outcomes the ideas are meant to achieve and establish that the various groupings of outcomes are distinct from each other.
The Board of Directors and staff of the Economic Development Corporation (EDC) Warren County began their strategic planning process during a retreat facilitated by Capital Consulting Group.
After creating the vision and brainstorming options for a five-year strategic plan, participants continued the process subsequently at Board meetings and via a collaboration Web site set up by Capital Consulting Group. Organizing ideas, identifying outcomes and establishing distinct outcome groupings were key components that delivered an unexpected outcome, according to EDC Warren County Executive Director Len Fosbrook. “It brought us to understand the type of organization we are,” he says. “We are a knowledge organization made up of individuals, and we function better by operating in teams. The team coordinator can be anyone in the organization.”
Developing the strategic plan has been effective for EDC Warren County, according to Fosbrook. “Ray Patterson had the right magic. We’re a more cohesive group; people feel better about being part of a team and feel better about their contributions.”
Step Four: Prioritizing
Once organized into different strategic-level objectives, the ideas are prioritized through use of “forced choice” or “pair-wise comparison” to determine the true priority of the objectives. This step identifies what is holding the organization back at any given moment in time and determines what must be accomplished for the organization to begin to realize its vision.
The Board of Directors of Saratoga P.L.A.N. (Preserving Land and Nature) generated 97 ideas in a brainstorming session facilitated by Capital Consulting Group. Ray Patterson led the Board members through a forced-choice comparison of objectives using the AMCat software that presented the options and allowed members to vote on each option pair through a show of hands.
According to Lisa C. Nagle of Elan Planning & Design, Inc., Vice Chair of Saratoga P.L.A.N.’s Board of Directors and chair of the Planning Committee: “We saw how that dream list of ideas could be organized and prioritized, which provided direction and clarity on the vision and purpose of Saratoga P.L.A.N. and the tasks we can do as an organization. Without Ray’s skilled facilitation and the aid of the software, I don’t think we could have achieved what we did in one day. Ray allowed us to find consensus quickly and efficiently.” As chair, Nagle has brought the planning-oriented ideas to the Planning Committee for refinement.
“Having Ray come into our organization was a welcome opportunity because he’s good at feeding back the information important to us. Using the software makes his process even more powerful,” Nagle says. “We have a strategic vision now that we never had before, and I now see 97 prioritized things that Saratoga P.L.A.N. can do.”
Step Five: Staging Accomplishments
In this step, participants determine where each objective is in its lifecycle from thought or idea, through planning, resourcing, initial implementation, gaining feedback, through reaching independent momentum, through completion.
The Board of Directors of the New York State Capital Region Chapter of the American Payroll Association had elected new officers. “We had a lot of ideas of what we wanted to do, but we didn’t know quite how to pull it all together and build a distinct direction,” according to chapter coordinator Jim Pfeiffer, President of Pfeiffer & Associates, LLC/Time Plus Payroll,” so we turned to Capital Consulting Group to help us develop a vision and a direction.”
During two Saturday sessions, Board members met with facilitator Ray Patterson who led the group through the various steps of the process. After prioritizing the objectives, participants determined through consensus the accomplishment staging of each objective on a 0 to 10 scale. Precise characteristics define each stage. For example, at Stage 0, “We are opening ourselves to new possibilities in connection with our vision.” At Stage 4, “We are gathering the means to turn the plan into reality.” At Stage 9, “We are continuously improving our processes and products.” With Patterson’s help, the Board moved quickly through the staging step, according to Pfeiffer.
“Ray has a way of listening to information and nudging one way or the other based on how he sees things. That’s where his expertise comes in,” Pfeiffer says.
After the accomplishment stage of each objective was plotted on a diagnostic matrix, the Board had a clear visual of objective priorities, critical constraints and the context for subsequent action (i.e., research, development, implementation or production) aimed at fulfilling the vision.
“This is a well-organized and easy process,” Pfeiffer says. “Sure you’ve got to put the time in, but going through this really helps you get focused or re-focused on the direction you should be heading in as a company or an organization.”
Step Six: Leading the Implementation
The final step is leading the implementation. Collaboratively, participants organize the options within each objective into projects, prioritize the projects and assign the responsibility for each objective to a specific individual.
Having a list of projects and knowing who is responsible for each has been key for giving momentum to some projects and accelerating others, according to Eric Hamilton, chair of the Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway Coalition (MTSBC).
In 2007, the Coalition’s highest priority was “Refine Internal Operations.” The organization realized that in order to be successful, certain processes, such as grant administration, needed to be defined and documented. The process of soliciting and managing grant projects was defined, documented and the responsibilities assigned to members of the executive committee, including the newly elected Treasurer. With the successful implementation of that objective, the more core mission of “Inform and Promote the Byway” moved from #2 to #1 on the prioritized list of objectives to accomplish the following year.
“Looking at the matrix from one year to the next gives us a real sense of accomplishment,” Hamilton says. “This has been a very worthwhile process to go through. It has been enlightening, and I would highly recommend the process to any other organization. Specifically, I would recommend Ray Patterson and Capital Consulting Group.”
Since the future is as close as tomorrow, smart companies and organizations need no longer struggle with developing strategic plans to guide them towards that horizon. The expertise of Ray Patterson and Capital Consulting Group combined with the power of revolutionary AMCat computer software yields an end result of focused organizational energy that takes groups from where they are to where they want to be – seemingly at warp speed. For additional information or to schedule a complimentary initial consultation, contact Ray Patterson, Capital Consulting Group, llc, by email at: RPatterson@CapConsult.net or by phone at: (518)857-6500.

About the Author: Pauline Bartel is president and chief creative officer of Bartel Communications, Inc., an award-winning corporate communications firm based in Waterford, NY that builds the images of companies with words. Ms. Bartel holds a Master of Arts degree in Public Communications and a Bachelor of Arts degree (magna cum laude) in English, both from The College of Saint Rose. Visit the Web site at www.paulinebartel.com. Pauline was contracted to contact my clients and gain their insights and responses after participating in our Strategic Planning and Implementation Process workshops.