STRUCTURE - CATEGORIES
STRUCTURE - CATEGORIES
1
Structure - Categories Structure, is the quantitative characteristics of the organisation. Its focus is on four different areas: 1. The categories we can impact and influence 2. The infrastructure we can access 3. The strategies we could and should be applying 4. The benchmarks for all actions
Whilst this is a little simplistic, it’s a great starting point for this discussion. The structure is the content we can impact. It’s the things we have access to. The infrastructure. IT INCLUDES (AND IS NOT LIMITED TO): The divisions of the business The departments within a business The infrastructure The physical environment The equipment The systems The operations manuals The checklists The templates The procedures The policies The plans The best practices The benchmarks we are striving to achieve The Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
2
The Four Categories The categories we can impact and influence
The divisions of the business
The departments within a business
The areas of impact within a department
The areas of impact within an operations manual
The infrastructure we can access
The infrastructure
The physical environment
The equipment
The systems
The strategies we could and should be applying
The operations manuals
The checklists
The templates
The procedures
The policies
The plans
The benchmarks for all actions
3
The best practices
The benchmarks we are striving to achieve
The Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)
Categories The categories we can impact and influence The divisions of the business The departments within a business The areas of impact within a department The areas of impact within an operations manual The categories are the areas of impact we can influence. This applies at a macro level all the way down to the smallest areas of impact. For example, a category could be a division of an organisation – the sales department. It could be a category of impact within that department – the number of conversions. If could be a category of impact within that category – how long those conversions take. And so on. Categories are what we have to deal with. For example, if someone asks me how to you run a business, I would have to break that down into several impact points. I would ask: ‘In what area?’ They might indicate marketing. ‘Okay, within marketing there are several areas that we impact to drive those results. We look at lead generation, lead experience and lead conversion. Which one shall we focus on?’ They might indicate lead generation. ‘Okay, within that we have several areas of impact. We have the Google ads, the landing page, the offer on the landing page, the email sequence once they’ve opted in, the offer during that email sequence, and the upsell. Where shall we focus?’ They might indicate the landing page. ‘Okay, the landing page has several impact points that lead to those results. There’s the headline, the offer (call to action), the benefits, the testimonials, the branding look and the disclaimers to make it acceptable to Google. Where shall we focus?’ They may indicate the headline. ‘Okay, a great headline must match the ad used on Adwords, must match the call to action and must be consistent with what the prospect is wanting. That’s one category. The other is the headline itself, and its creation. Which one shall we focus on?’
4
They may say they want to focus on the headline itself. ‘Okay, forming a headline has a number of things to consider. Let me teach you how to do this.’ So the one question about marketing has led to us moving down in detail many times. And for each and every category, there are sub categories and sub categories within those sub categories. The more you know and understand the categories, the better you can help others on your team. If someone didn’t know these categories and have it organised, and someone asked them about marketing, their answer could be something vague like: ‘Sure, let’s talk about it. Marketing is all about branding and making sure you go to marketing with something people in that market want. There you go.’ The answer is accurate, but vague and has stayed at the same level of abstraction as the questioner, so there’s no progress in knowing what to attend to and what to improve. Think of categories as impact points. Impact points are what you can impact, influence, change, adjust… These are the categories that we have available to us to drive results. The more you’re across these categories, the better you can do, because you have more available to you to impact and change. You may not know everything about what happens and how it happens in all the categories – nor do you need to – but you do need to know what could be impacted so you know the areas of impact you have access to. It also means you are able to ask the right questions. For example, a member of your team asks you about how to generate leads. You know there are several impact points – categories. They can learn about Google Ads, Facebook ads, Google SEO, Linked In, You Tube, Facebook fan pages, joint ventures, affiliate deals, free events… And so on. But if you don’t know the categories, how do you help direct them to what they need to learn? What about a team member saying they can’t do something you’ve asked them to do. If you don’t know the categories, you can’t help them or find out if their concern is accurate or an excuse. You’re left asking vague questions and hoping it works out. There is also a lot more certainty for your team if you know the categories and know where to direct effort and resources when a change needs to occur. If you don’t know, for example, how to drive more leads, then you won’t know what to do when they drop for some reason. You’ll be left having only what you know you can impact as your potential solution.
5
Education and Categories I believe one of the keys to leadership is education. Get informed about every category you can. Depending on your level of leadership within the business, you need to know more detailed categories. The detailed you can break down the categories into their sub parts, the more help and guidance you can provide at those levels. Which isn’t to say, you do it. It means you know the questions to ask people.
How to Ask Within Categories Learn to structure your thoughts within these categories so you’re organised and know how to ask questions in an order that makes sense – from the biggest category chunk down to the most detailed. Don’t start in the middle somewhere, and then just flay about from there. Be structured about it so there is a process and sequence that is logical. Big picture to detail is one way to go. The other is to go across the categories. For example, when speaking with a leader who has five categories that need to deliver results, you would ask… ‘So talk with me about your client satisfaction scores, your email turnaround scores, your outbound call rates, your systems improvement and your team participation scores, thanks.’ You are aware of the categories they are responsible for, so you ask about them. In some instances, it matters that you ask the question in a particular sequence. For example, with a process. ‘So walk me through the seven steps to the sale invoice process. Start with the first step.’ When you hear them give you a step out of sequence, and you know if they did the task out of sequence the task would not achieve the desired outcome, give them feedback. Re teach it. Demand and expect that they articulate the system they are supposed to be responsible for in a way that would cause the system to operate the way intended. When you go through the other sections in this module, notice how benchmarks and KPI’s interact with and are linked to all categories. Every category should have a benchmark – a standard of excellence that is measurable, that we want to achieve to know we are then tracking for our goals. Every category should have the best practice – the most desired outcome, attached to it, so we don’t ever just do a process to tick a box, but we do it to achieve a great outcome.
6
THE COACHING INSTITUTE Suite 40, 37-39 Albert Road, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia. Phone: +61 3 9645 9945 Fax: +61 3 9645 7002 Email: wow@thecoachinginstitute.com.au Website: www.thecoachinginstitute.com.au
SHARON PEARSON Disruptive Leadership Module 2 Structure - Categories Edition 1 | Version 5 | December 16 Published by The Coaching Institute Copyright 2016 Š The Coaching Institute All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, mechanical or electronic, including photocopying and recording, or by information storage and retrieval system without permission in writing from the publisher. In some instances, people or companies portrayed in this book are illustrative examples based on the author’s experiences, but they are not intended to represent a particular person or organisation.
NOTE TO READERS All products and services by our company are for educational and informational purposes only. Use caution and seek the advice of qualified professionals. Check with your accountant, lawyer, professional advisor, before acting on this or any information. The publisher and author and marketing agents assume no responsibility or liability whatsoever on the behalf of any purchaser or reader of these materials.
Video content available at www.disruptiveleading.com/book/the-journey/ Video content may not be available indefinitely.
Designed by The Coaching Institute Printed in Australia by The Coaching Institute
7
8