Category: Blog

By: Gregg Dedrick, Co-Founder & President of David Novak Leadership

What is your True North as a leader? Tough question, I know. Identifying your True North requires hard work, and then intense determination to stay the course when people or circumstances tempt you to give up or change directions. And how do you identify your True North anyway? If you read my blog, Three Questions You MUST Ask and Answer as a Leader, you know the three questions that help you identify your True North. If you haven’t read it, I recommend checking it out. 

When I was President of KFC, I identified KFC’s True North by answering these three questions:

• Who are we?
• Where are we going?
• How are we going to get there?

Once I answered these questions, my next step was to communicate KFC’s True North to the team. The Pyramid Slide was the outcome. 

Did you know I used the same Pyramid Slide for five years? This single slide provided a roadmap for KFC brand revitalization, which was much needed at the time, and it helped us stay the course over the next five years. Our True North, or the top of the Pyramid, was Brand Positioning. All other levels of the Pyramid were viewed through the lens of Brand Positioning. We asked questions like the ones below around each level of the Pyramid to stay on course: Given who we are as a brand, 

• Menu Vision – How do we create food that’s consistent with who we are?
• Operations – How do we design the Back of House to meet our menu vision? How do we realign operations to deliver the menu vision?
• Asset – How can we ensure our assets look like the brand and carry out our brand promise?
• Values – How do we work together as a franchise organization to deliver who we are in a way that exceeds customer expectations?

The Pyramid Slide answered the question “Why are we doing this?” for my team. They knew before new initiatives could be added, they first needed to fit somewhere on The Pyramid Slide. For example, we made a decision to remodel 3,000 restaurants. We didn’t take this on for the sake of remodeling. We ultimately took on this initiative because we were revitalizing the expression of the brand through the asset. Our goal was to provide our customers with a great KFC experience, and brand remodels were one way we could accomplish our goal. I wanted my team to know the reason we took on this initiative tied back to our True North rather than have them think it was just another “to do” on a long list of “to do’s.” My team knew every initiative had a purpose.

We also had to think beyond a single initiative to reach our True North. Remodeling 3,000 restaurants impacted other parts of The Pyramid Slide. If we remodeled the asset without investing time and money into team training, we would veer off the path towards our True North, because a beautiful restaurant with poor customer service would not lead to a Wow! experience. We made sure team training was implemented prior to the remodel and grand reopening of the asset so our customers had an amazing overall experience, not just a shiny new building.

Are you starting to understand the beauty of The Pyramid Slide? It always brought us back to this is why we’re doing what we’re doing and it helped us remember what was most important. As initiatives were added, changed or completed, the Pyramid Slide was updated to reflect how our actions aligned with our True North. By reviewing the slide (at every single meeting, I might add), my team was constantly aware of the plan for reaching our True North – KFC Brand Revitalization.

What about you? What’s your True North as a leader? Work through this learning guide to identify your True North.

Identifying your True North is one thing, but sticking with it is a totally different challenge. In the movie Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln says, “The compass points you True North but does not warn you of obstacles and swamps along the way.” If you’ve identified your True North, but you’re unsure about how to handle the obstacles and swamps along the way, you don’t want to miss the final blog in this series. I’ll explain how focusing on the vital few helps you avoid the seduction of shiny objects.
In the meantime, who can you invite to help you identify your True North as a leader? Share this blog and learning guide with them and spend some time discussing what you learned and how to cascade this to your team. You’ve got what it takes to be successful! Go Lead!

By: David Novak, Co-Founder & CEO of David Novak Leadership

What’s your leadership mindset? Do you believe that you have to know more than everyone else on the team? Effective leaders know they don’t have all the answers. They approach each day with the mindset that there is always more to learn, and everyone I meet knows something I don’t.

I’m convinced that one of the keys to my success is I always make an effort to prioritize knowledge and ideas over ego and ownership. Why is this so important? Well, obviously the more I know about a problem, the more likely I am to make a good decision. But even more important than that, being able to admit up front that I don’t have all the answers helps establish an atmosphere in which the people I lead are more willing to share what they think and what they know. And if all members of your team are actively learning all they can about a problem and freely sharing their wisdom with you and with each other, then that’s the best chance you’ve got of coming up with a solution that makes your business a whole lot better.

As the CEO of Yum! Brands, I worked hard to cultivate a companywide commitment to always be learning, to being “know-how junkies.” The examples below are tangible benefits that came out of that commitment. They should give you some ideas about how you, as leader, can seek out opportunities for both you and your team to expand your knowledge about your business.

Breakfast at Taco Bell

The breakfast concept the company first developed seemed to fit perfectly with the Taco Bell brand. “Breakfast that wakes you up” integrated Mexican inspired flavors into breakfast products, like fiesta salsa, zesty sausage, and bacon grilled stuffed burrito. But after a highly disappointing test run (thirty days of advertising and people were only trickling into the restaurant), the team had to figure out what was going wrong. They found the new breakfast products and advertising were scaring people. Customers didn’t want a lot of “zesty” in the morning. They wanted to ease into their days with minimal excitement, and Taco Bell was offering the exact opposite of that. But rather than giving up on the opportunity, the Taco Bell team went to work building their know-how.

Former Taco Bell CEO, Brian Niccol, created a learning culture in the brand. He pointed out that while some people say “don’t be afraid to fail”, he thinks the right term is “don’t be afraid to iterate.” Niccol says, “Iterating is a way to learn, then taking those learnings and figuring out what we’re going to do next.” The team took the learnings and partnered with well-known and approachable brands like Seattle’s Best Coffee, Johnsonville Sausage, Quaker and Cinnabon. And instead of focusing on spicy ingredients, they appealed to customers by offering them value with the “Why Pay More for Breakfast!” campaign. By becoming know-how junkies, Taco Bell has significantly grown their business by successfully launching a new daypart that no one thought was possible. You can hear more of the Taco Bell story in the oGoInsider podcast with CEO, Brian Niccol.

Sharing on iChing

Yum! Brands is such a big company and there is so much know-how within it that one of our biggest challenges was figuring out how to share that knowledge efficiently and effectively. To figure out how we could make sharing easier, we assembled a cross-functional team that visited IBM, P&G, and Microsoft to find out about their systems for sharing knowledge. The result was iChing, our own internal network for connecting to each other and sharing ideas and knowledge no matter where we are around the globe. And the most amazing part is that the system was so successful, that other companies began looking at Yum! Brands as a best-in-class example of sharing know-how. We’ve shared our story with companies like Kimberly-Clark, Marriott, Best Buy and Disney, among many others.

I have found that for any problem you need to solve, learning all you can about it is the best place to start. As a leader, you need to recognize that you don’t have all the answers. You need to create a learning culture and encourage everyone on your team to become know-how junkies.

You can download this guide to learn four specific tactics to help you and your team become better know-how junkies. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” Are you someone who willingly engages in hard, solid thinking by becoming a know-how junkie?

Maybe your team needs some encouragement when it comes to building their know-how. Share this oGoInspire blog and guide with them and schedule some time to discuss how together, you can commit to becoming know-how junkies. Inviting them to join you shows you care and that you’re learning too. Go Lead!

What’s your leadership mindset? Do you believe that you have to know more than everyone else on the team? Effective leaders know they don’t have all the answers. They approach each day with the mindset that there is always more to learn, and everyone I meet knows something I don’t.

I’m convinced that one of the keys to my success is I always make an effort to prioritize knowledge and ideas over ego and ownership. Why is this so important? Well, obviously the more I know about a problem, the more likely I am to make a good decision. But even more important than that, being able to admit up front that I don’t have all the answers helps establish an atmosphere in which the people I lead are more willing to share what they think and what they know. And if all members of your team are actively learning all they can about a problem and freely sharing their wisdom with you and with each other, then that’s the best chance you’ve got of coming up with a solution that makes your business a whole lot better.

As the CEO of Yum! Brands, I worked hard to cultivate a companywide commitment to always be learning, to being “know-how junkies.” The examples below are tangible benefits that came out of that commitment. They should give you some ideas about how you, as leader, can seek out opportunities for both you and your team to expand your knowledge about your business.

Breakfast at Taco Bell

The breakfast concept the company first developed seemed to fit perfectly with the Taco Bell brand. “Breakfast that wakes you up” integrated Mexican inspired flavors into breakfast products, like fiesta salsa, zesty sausage, and bacon grilled stuffed burrito. But after a highly disappointing test run (thirty days of advertising and people were only trickling into the restaurant), the team had to figure out what was going wrong. They found the new breakfast products and advertising were scaring people. Customers didn’t want a lot of “zesty” in the morning. They wanted to ease into their days with minimal excitement, and Taco Bell was offering the exact opposite of that. But rather than giving up on the opportunity, the Taco Bell team went to work building their know-how.

Former Taco Bell CEO, Brian Niccol, created a learning culture in the brand. He pointed out that while some people say “don’t be afraid to fail”, he thinks the right term is “don’t be afraid to iterate.” Niccol says, “Iterating is a way to learn, then taking those learnings and figuring out what we’re going to do next.” The team took the learnings and partnered with well-known and approachable brands like Seattle’s Best Coffee, Johnsonville Sausage, Quaker and Cinnabon. And instead of focusing on spicy ingredients, they appealed to customers by offering them value with the “Why Pay More for Breakfast!” campaign. By becoming know-how junkies, Taco Bell has significantly grown their business by successfully launching a new daypart that no one thought was possible. You can hear more of the Taco Bell story in the oGoInsider podcast with CEO, Brian Niccol.

Sharing on iChing

Yum! Brands is such a big company and there is so much know-how within it that one of our biggest challenges was figuring out how to share that knowledge efficiently and effectively. To figure out how we could make sharing easier, we assembled a cross-functional team that visited IBM, P&G, and Microsoft to find out about their systems for sharing knowledge. The result was iChing, our own internal network for connecting to each other and sharing ideas and knowledge no matter where we are around the globe. And the most amazing part is that the system was so successful, that other companies began looking at Yum! Brands as a best-in-class example of sharing know-how. We’ve shared our story with companies like Kimberly-Clark, Marriott, Best Buy and Disney, among many others.

I have found that for any problem you need to solve, learning all you can about it is the best place to start. As a leader, you need to recognize that you don’t have all the answers. You need to create a learning culture and encourage everyone on your team to become know-how junkies.

You can download this guide to learn four specific tactics to help you and your team become better know-how junkies. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Rarely do we find men who willingly engage in hard, solid thinking. There is an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions. Nothing pains some people more than having to think.” Are you someone who willingly engages in hard, solid thinking by becoming a know-how junkie?

Maybe your team needs some encouragement when it comes to building their know-how. Share this oGoInspire blog and guide with them and schedule some time to discuss how together, you can commit to becoming know-how junkies. Inviting them to join you shows you care and that you’re learning too. Go Lead!

By: David Novak, Co-Founder & CEO of David Novak Leadership

Every year more than 300 college athletes are invited to participate in the NFL Scouting Combine. These athletes will go through rigorous physical and mental testing. They will be challenged, evaluated and scrutinized by coaches and general managers. All of them are super talented. They are willing to go through the ritual with the hope that they will in some way stand-out or be noticed so they can achieve their dream to play in the NFL.

You probably don’t think about your workplace as a scouting combine, but the reality is that you are surrounded by highly talented individuals and if you want to get ahead in your organization you need to find a way to standout.

Here are 5 tips that will help you get noticed in a sea of talented workers:

1. Be really good at what you do: Be the best at what you do. Develop a track record of good results, so people know you are good at your job and can be counted on. You might be capable of occasionally kicking a 60 yard field goal, but that won’t matter if you routinely miss from inside the 40. Only the consistent kicker will get the job.

2. Learn how to work well with others: Often the best results are achieved by working with others. The better you are at collaborating, the better your work will be. At David Novak Leadership, we have a saying: “develop your EQ, because your IQ isn’t the only thing that will make you successful.” In short, be a team player.

3. Be an avid learner: The world is ever-changing. Facts, trends, and consumer data are eternally being updated. You don’t want to be stuck in the past, so seek to learn what changes are happening. Study the marketplace. Know what the newest leadership trends are. Develop yourself. You’ll be seen as the kind of person who can grow as the company grows.

4. Think like your boss: If you center your work around your boss’s goals and the organization’s mission, everything you do will contribute to the bigger picture, and you’ll be recognized as someone who moves the whole business forward.

5. Be enthusiastic: Enthusiasm and positive energy are two highly sought-after qualities. Be the person who inspires others. When you point out problems, also bring solutions. Your team will seek you out and want to work with you because you’ll be perceived as a resource.

If you develop these traits, you’ll have no problem stepping into the next phase of your career. Department heads will be looking to trade-up to draft you on their team. So, what now? Check out David Novak Leadership for more great advice on growing in your career and developing your leadership skills.

By: David Novak, Co-Founder & CEO of David Novak Leadership

Welcome back, Crystal Pepsi! Those are four words I never expected to say, or write for that matter, considering I was responsible for the original Crystal Pepsi launch in 1992. Why is it shocking that I’m writing these words? Because Crystal Pepsi was my biggest career fail. Yet I learned a valuable lesson from this fail and it’s one that helped me change as a leader. Let me explain.

While head of marketing at Pepsi, I had a brilliant idea that I thought would be my career maker: Crystal Pepsi! Crystal Pepsi would be our answer to the momentum created by Clearly Canadian’s flavored water. I gained support from my boss, focus groups provided unbelievable positive responses, and it was even mentioned by Dan Rather on CBS Evening News after a successful test launch in Colorado.

When it came time to get the bottlers involved, I was so confident, I thought they’d probably stand and applaud by the end of the meeting. They did like the idea, but they had a concern: that it didn’t taste enough like Pepsi.

Sometimes our best assets can be our blind spots. When I look back, I realize I never really listened to the criticism because I figured I was the marketing expert and they just didn’t get it. I went ahead and launched the product anyway. And we did it so fast that we had a small quality control problem. The product tasted great in the lab, but had a bit of an aftertaste in certain markets.

The problems with Crystal Pepsi became sort of legendary with a Saturday Night Live skit pouring Crystal Pepsi on mashed potatoes and Time Magazine listing Crystal Pepsi in the top 10 marketing failures of the twentieth century.

It was hard for me to let go of my passion, confidence and perspective, so I didn’t listen to feedback or wisdom offered by others. Even the franchisees were suspicious of the longevity of the product and chose to sell it at a premium price, which was wise since the shelf life of Crystal Pepsi was short lived. I still wonder if Crystal Pepsi would be a permanent product if I had listened and incorporated feedback into the launch plan. Clearly, (pun intended) the fact that Pepsi recently relaunched Crystal Pepsi for a limited time shows that there was something to the idea!

Failure is a great teacher. The Crystal Pepsi failure taught me the importance of letting go of my confident position momentarily so I could actively listen to the wisdom offered by those around me, especially when people are trying to warn me that I’m about to drive off a cliff.

As a leader, it’s absolutely important to have confidence in what you’re doing. Yet it’s also important to consider this question: what if those opposed to your idea are right? I didn’t consider this question during the Crystal Pepsi launch. I now know how important it is to listen to opposing points of view and consider the potential barriers to success so I can make my plans more successful.

John Wooden says it best: Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be. I changed as a result of the Crystal Pepsi fail. What about you? Take a moment to consider how you respond to failure by reflecting on the questions below.

• Describe a failure in your life.

• What happened?
• Who was impacted?
• What was the outcome of the failure?

• Did you recognize the value of your failure and make changes to the way you lead? Explain.

• What can you learn from your failure?

• How will you incorporate what you learned into the way you lead today and in the future?

If you need some help embracing your failures, then download this guide on Learning from Your Mistakes. In it, I share tips that helped me adopt a “learn from your mistakes” mindset. As Zig Ziglar says, “It’s not how far you fall, but how high you bounce that counts.” Let’s commit to learn from our mistakes and bounce back as more effective leaders.

Leadership: It’s a quality hiring managers look for when interviewing potential employees; classes are taught on it, and books are written about it; organizations can’t function without it.

Leadership skills are a crucial asset that will most certainly help you develop in your career. But how can you grow in your leadership if the organization you work for doesn’t offer any training?

Don’t fret. You don’t have to be limited when it comes to developing your leadership skills.

Here are several ways you can grow as a leader:

1. Read great books. There are so many great leadership books out there. Buy a bestselling leadership book and study what it says. Or search for one that speaks directly to your situation, and learn how you can make an impact in your realm of influence.
2. Listen to podcasts. More and more people are creating podcasts on leadership. Podcasts are great because you can listen to them on the go, during your morning commute or while you exercise. It’s a convenient way to learn leadership skills.
3. Interview a great leader. Ask questions about their experiences, like “What is the greatest lesson you’ve learned in your career?” Most people are willing to share advice to help someone grow. If you’re hungry and want to become a better leader, this is a great way to learn.
4. Find a mentor. Ask someone you look up to if they will mentor you. Finding someone who can spend time with you, and who has the energy to coach you through your career, will be invaluable. You’ll gain insight by having someone who wants to see you succeed there to walk you through big decisions, and point out ways you can be better at what you do.

Ready for some good news? Our blogs are great resources to help you grow as a leader. On DavidNovakLeadership.com you will find great articles and learning guides on many relevant leadership topics like setting priorities, learning from your mistakes, dealing with setbacks, and the power of recognition. You will also find the David Novak Leadership Podcast. You’ll hear practical wisdom and insights from many of the top leaders in the country, like Target CEO, Brian Cornell; PepsiCo CEO, Indra Nooyi, Home Depot Founder, Ken Langone, JPMorgan Chase CEO, Jamie Dimon, and many more.

Listen to a podcast, or check out one of our recommended books. Even if your organization doesn’t offer leadership training, you can still grow as a leader. Learn something new today.

You can be an amazing communicator, have a great team surrounding you, be an expert in your field, but if you can’t figure out how to reach your organization’s goals, you probably won’t last long as a leader.

Setting a goal, and staying the course to get there, isn’t always so easy. There will always be something trying to get in between you and your goal. Distractions pop up along the way, team members have conflicting ideas, you run out of resources. What many leaders don’t realize is that the way you approach your goals can mean the difference between failure and success.

Which is why we want to share a secret strategy that will help you get where you want to go: Begin with the end in mind.

Think of it like this: you wouldn’t build a house without blueprints, right? Because if you did, there’d be no end to what might go wrong. You’d exhaust yourself trying to fix all of your mistakes, and once you were done, you’d have yourself an ugly house.

Beginning with no end in mind is like building a house with no plan. The old refrain “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road’ll take you there” still rings true today.*

Beginning with the end in mind isn’t just a tactic, it’s a mindset — a mindset that will enhance your effectiveness not only in your leadership, but in all avenues of life.

As a leader, maybe your goal is for your team to feel more connected to your company. Or perhaps you want them to go in a different direction. Approaching those conversations with the end in mind allows you to structure the discussion in a way that leads to the desired outcome.

Actress Lily Tomlin once said, “I always wanted to be someone when I grew up. I guess I should have been more specific.” Consider your own path. Where do you want to go? What do you want to accomplish this year? Think further into the future. Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

In whatever you do, think with the end in mind, that way you’ll know exactly what you’re moving toward.

_{*source, author Lewis Carroll}

By: Gregg Dedrick, Co-Founder & President of David Novak Leadership

Do you trust those on your team? Does your team trust other teams within your organization? If there is distrust and bad feelings among the people you work with, is it any wonder that business suffers? I’ve often told the story how, when I got the opportunity to become division president of KFC after being promoted from Chief Operating Officer of the Pepsi Cola Company, I quickly found out that I inherited not only a business in decline, but a system that was full of animosity. For a whole host of reasons (not the least of which was a pending contract dispute) the company’s leadership and the franchisees simply didn’t like or trust each other. I may have been new to KFC, but I understood right off that none of us were going to be successful in an environment like that. 

When engaged in conflict, someone has to take the first step to build trust. My gut told me my team and I needed to take that first step because the hatred was deeply seeded on both sides. So, my first official act as president was to get together with my executive team and let them know things had to change. I told them that I understood how hard things had been.  But, I said, I want you to know something.  I love working with franchisees. And from now on we’re going to trust our franchisees. Fighting isn’t doing either side any good. One thing I know for sure is, they don’t like losing any more than we do.  So I don’t want to hear anything bad about them.

Next I had to convince the franchisees that it was a new day, so I went out to all nine regional franchise association meetings and asked what they would do if they were in charge. I broke them into groups, and each group had to come back and present its ideas. Then I just sat back and listened.

After attending all the franchise association meetings, I developed an initial strategy based on a lot of their input. I listened to them and responded by incorporating what they shared into the strategy.  This built trust.

That was the beginning of a new relationship. And I truly believe that if I hadn’t started things off this way, what came next would never have happened. Two things largely credited with turning around KFC during my time as president are the introductions of two popular new products: Crispy Strips and Chicken Pot Pie. And both of these products came about only because we had a more open relationship with our franchisees. 

Crispy Strips started because a franchisee down in Arkansas created, on his own, a freshly prepared chicken strip that helped boost his business by 9 percent. When I heard about this, we took the first plane down to have a look.  (This was unheard of because corporate did NOT want franchisees to create new products. In the past, this franchisee would have been hammered for breeching the franchise agreement.) We not only loved his product, but he took us to his supplier, who worked with our R&D team to get enough supply so we could roll the product out across America. Crispy Strips became the most successful product since Original Recipe itself, bringing in over $100,000 of sales to our per unit average. 

Our Chicken Pot Pie also was a result of working closely with franchisees. I created what I called our Chef Council, composed of franchisees who had a passion for making great food. One of the Chef Council members came up with a recipe for a pot pie that started the ball rolling for another big success.

The thing is, this helped make my career. Crispy Strips and our Chicken Pot Pie hugely boosted sales and led to other new products that did the same. KFC started growing again and almost doubled profits in just three years. And I got the credit for turning around a brand that had been losing for a long time. The success earned me a reputation for leadership that put me in a position to eventually run Yum! Brands. If you ask the finance people what ignited the business, they will tell you it was the new products, but my answer would be that it was the triumph of the human spirit. It all started with one simple decision: to trust franchisees. That opened the way for them to trust me and the corporation in return, and together we unleashed the power of our people to succeed.

Building trust and relationships is important for leaders, but it’s not always easy. Here are some tips to help you move from me to we by building relationships based on trust.

• Know that people want to contribute.  Check your mindset on this.  Do you believe that people come to work with a desire to do good and try hard?  I used this mindset when we went to Arkansas to find out more about Crispy Strips, which then led to the KFC turnaround. Remember, if you don’t trust people, they won’t trust you.
• The more they know, the more they care.  I learned this from Walmart. One way to show people you trust in their abilities is to share with them what you know. Before asking the franchisees what they would do if they were in charge, I shared all I knew about the current state of the business. How often do you share what you know with your team? As Sam Walton says, The more they know, the more they’ll understand.  The more they understand, the more they’ll care. Once they care, there’s no stopping them.
• Ask questions that promote insight. One of my favorite questions to ask others is, What would you do if you had my job? This was the question I asked the franchisees, and they shared great insight with me. To really get to know others, you need to get outside of your comfort zone, or those you work with every day. Go two deep: connect with people two levels above and below you.  Have you shown others you care by asking them what they think and by getting to know them better?
• Take responsive action. Once you’ve found out what people think, you’ve got to show that you take their perspective into account. I did this by incorporating some of the franchisee feedback into my strategy. Even if you don’t follow through with every idea you hear, you can take the time to thank people for their ideas and share the reason you made the decision you did.  

These tips helped me build trust with others as I led at KFC and Yum! Brands. How well do you build trust with others? Download the Free Learning Guide to find out. As Booker T. Washington said, “Few things help an individual more than to place responsibility upon him, and to let him know that you trust him.” Let’s commit to moving from me to we by building trust with others and unleashing their power to make a positive impact in the world.

Do you know someone who could use help building trust with others? If your answer is yes, then share this blog and guide today. By paying it forward, you are helping them become a better leader. Go Lead!

Many first-time leaders are often walking encyclopedias.  They know all of the details of their projects and can tell you everything you could possibly know, or want to know, about how it works, the costs, the risks, the opportunities and the challenges.  These leaders are on top of their game. 

That type of attention to detail is important and their supervisors count on them to know their stuff.  However, often times when a senior leader asks them a simple question, they get a book full of information in return.  New leaders may feel compelled to tell everything they know about the project when the senior leader is simply looking for an insightful summary.  The encounter typically leaves both frustrated.

The answer to this problem is to develop the ability to

» simplify the complex «

This leadership trait differentiates good leaders from the rest of the pack.  

Mark Twain once famously said, “I apologize for such a long letter – I didn’t have time to write a short one.”  Simplifying the complex is not being simplistic.  It’s about getting to the essence of what you are communicating.  It’s the ability to take disparate information and distill it down to the main points.  It provides clarity and direction because it comes from a strategic versus tactical perspective.   

Simplifying the complex can be difficult, but it is a skill that you can learn.  Here are three tips that will help you master this important leadership skill.

• Know your audience. The mistake many new leaders make is assuming their supervisor wants a detailed response when they are really looking for a thoughtful summary.   Ask yourself:
  • What are they really asking?
  • Are they just looking for a summary of what I’m working on, a quick status update or an answer to a specific question? 

• Summarize rather than exhaust. Understand this is not your opportunity to show everything you know, rather it’s your opportunity to demonstrate that you have a firm grasp of the project or issue.   Ask yourself:
  • What is the minimum amount of information needed to answer the question or explain the project or issue?
  • Remember you can always go deeper if you are asked follow-up questions.

• Create an elevator pitch. This is a short description of the idea, project or problem.  The elevator pitch explains it in such a way that any listener could understand it in a short amount of time even if they weren’t familiar with it before.   Try it out on a co-worker or family member.  If they can understand what you are doing, it’s a good pitch.  If they can’t, you might want to keep working on it.   Here are some helpful things to think about as you craft your pitch.
  • What is the main goal or objective of what you are working on? What are you trying to accomplish?
  • What are the one or two issues, obstacles or challenges that you are trying to solve?
  • What will be the result when it is accomplished? What difference will it make?

Preparing and rehearsing an elevator pitch in advance will help you think strategically about your work.  It will also communicate to your supervisor that you have a firm grasp on your project.

The best leaders simplify the complex. They keep the focus on what they are trying to accomplish and learn how to communicate it in a succinct manner.  Developing this skill will help you become a more strategic leader and help you stand out among your peers.  How will you practice simplifying the complex this week?

Are you looking for more tips to grow in your leadership? Our Essential Leadership Traits Program is designed for emerging leaders just like you. Take control of your career and sign up today.

Being promoted to a manager position is exciting for any aspiring leader, but before you pop the champagne, you might want to take a moment and prepare yourself for the reality of the job.

It’s normal for new managers to feel pressure when stepping into a role with higher expectations. Taking on a management position can be tough, especially when your former peers have to report to you. Leading people isn’t easy, and when your team members come to you with problems that you don’t know the answers to, it can leave you scrambling or feeling unqualified.

Insecurities can creep in and suddenly you’re wondering how you got the job in the first place. During those times, you must remember one important thing:

You were given the job for a reason.

Even when your confidence wavers, you have to step up and fill that role. As a new manager, how can you do that successfully?

Here are three steps to help you overcome your leadership insecurities:

1. Respect the people you work with. Show people that you value and care about them, and they will gladly follow you. Respect and humility go a long way and if you have a good rapport with your team, they will stand by you when times are tough.
2. Embrace the mantle of leadership. When you step up into leadership, workplace dynamics change. While giving and earning respect is great, you might encounter negative attitudes from former peers that you now lead. Don’t focus on their attitudes. Instead, remember that you are the leader, and it’s your job to lead.
3. Have the confidence to lead. You wouldn’t have been given the role if no one thought you could do it. Keep showing that winning confidence that landed you the job in the first place. And if your confidence is wavering, ask someone you trust for advice.

Follow these steps and your confidence will grow. Remember, with time and experience, those initial doubts and insecurities will fade.

If you’re passionate about becoming the best leader that you can be, take this quick, 20-question survey and help you discover how effective you are at giving recognition to others.

By: Gregg Dedrick, Co-Founder & President of David Novak Leadership

• Leadership is challenging.
• Leadership is controlling things.
• Leadership is serving others.
• Leadership is directing others.

One reason I believe leadership is a privilege is because it places you in a position of authority. With your authority, you have the ability to help those you lead succeed or fail. You have the power to create a positive or negative work environment. You also have the authority to make people decisions that can launch or derail careers. You have the privilege of making decisions that impact those you lead, and that’s a big responsibility.

One way to lead others is by sharing what you learn. Did you learn something today? Who else would benefit from reading this blog? Take a moment to pay it forward by sharing these resources with others today. Go Lead!

By: Gregg Dedrick, Co-Founder & President of David Novak Leadership

Change is never over. This statement might generate some type of reaction within you, and it could be positive or negative. But if you pause and think about it, you’ll discover there’s truth here. We are all living in a state of constant change. Did you know that an average person stays in the same job for only 4 ½ years according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics?¹  That’s a lot of change! Even preparing to change jobs requires you to reposition yourself, your plans, and maybe even develop new skills. This can be uncomfortable and is not always easy.  

Some changes are minor, while others are major. Seven years ago, I experienced a major change when I retired from Yum! Brands. This change in my life was exciting, but also uncomfortable!

My life includes two acts so far. Act 1 focused on my family (being a husband and father), my career, and building a nest egg. I experienced much success and many failures during Act 1. I learned and grew. I made tough decisions because my family was a top priority.  And I achieved success as a business leader by serving as President of KFC and Chief People Officer at Yum! Brands.  

Act 2 began when I retired from Yum! Brands. The plot for Act 2 was different from Act 1 because I entered the world of entrepreneurship. I quickly discovered that being an entrepreneur required different skills – skills of nurturing a new company from scratch verses leading a large organization. Relationships also changed as my daughters became my business partners – but that’s for another blog. I couldn’t rely on doing things the old way anymore.

The biggest challenge for me in Act 2 was transitioning from my comfort zone of connecting personally with others to the digital connections driven by social media. Digital learning appeared to be the best approach for the business, but I didn’t know much about this. I was presented with a challenge: am I willing to humble myself and learn the new skills required to embrace the digital world? Am I willing to learn from those younger than me, who thrive on digital learning and social media? Will I embrace the way of the future or live in the comfort of the past? Will I stay stuck or dive in and become a student of digital expression? But the biggest question I faced was this: Do I care enough to change?

After thinking about these questions, I decided I DID care enough to change. I chose to embrace the future and I became a student of the digital world. I took online classes to understand how to build a digital platform. I sought advice from those younger and experienced in the digital world. And you are experiencing some of what I’ve learned so far. There’s more to learn, and Act 2 isn’t finished yet, but I’m excited about learning how to make a positive impact on many through digital expression.  

I’m not the only person faced with this question: Do I care enough to change? Let me share another example from Act 1 in my life. Andy Pearson, the Co-Founder of Yum! Brands with David Novak, was 70 years old when David began launching the recognition culture. Recognition made no sense to Andy. And rightfully so, as Gallup Research reveals people in the workforce 10-15 years ago rated compensation, benefits, job security, and a company’s financial stability as the most important factors for job satisfaction. Today’s workforce values the following factors: 

• Meaningful work where I can make a difference
• Feeling a sense of pride in my work
• Having someone invested in my growth and development
• Being appreciated for the work I do

Andy was faced with this question: Do I care enough to change? When Andy decided he cared enough to change, he was faced with a new challenge: How do I embrace recognition even though I don’t understand it’s value? Andy showed humility and courage as he learned about recognition from people who were younger and more junior in the organization. He demonstrated his desire to change through his actions, and employees noticed and provided positive feedback to Andy through his 360 Feedback Report. I respect Andy’s example of caring enough to change.

Do You Care Enough to Change? 

At some point in your life, you will be faced with this same question:  Do I care enough to change?  In fact, you will probably answer this question many times in your professional and personal life. Change isn’t always easy. You may have to spend significant time learning. Yet change is possible IF you are willing to invest time, energy and effort. Change is possible IF you are willing to humble yourself and ask for help. Change is possible IF you believe in the value of learning and IF you let go of fear.

If you are ready to make a change, download this guide. It includes a 3×5 exercise to help you identify who you are today and how you can be even better tomorrow. I’ve used this exercise throughout my career and it helps me stay focused on who I’m becoming. The guide also includes a sample of my own 3×5 exercise.

“Change has a bad reputation in our society. But it isn’t all bad — not by any means. In fact, change is necessary in life — to keep us moving … to keep us growing … to keep us interested… Imagine life without change. It would be static … boring … dull.”  This quote from Dr. Dennis O’Grady in Bottom Line – Personal reveals the value of change.  Will you take action to show you care enough to change?  You never know how you can inspire others by caring enough to change.  

Leaders also inspire others by sharing what they learn. Who can you share this blog with today? Paying it forward through a simple share can make a big impact in someone’s life.

¹ Source: http://fortune.com/2015/04/21/shahrzad-rafati-changing-careers/