Culture of Experts
Module #10
An Expert-Driven Organization
Business Plans
An expert-driven company starts with an expert-driven business plan. With an ever-escalating skills gap; employee acquisition, development and retention need to be an integral part of every company’s business plan. For each new year, your company should have an updates business plan.
First, here are some traditional business plan examples, that don’t use Culture of Experts perspectives:
Sales focused business plan – previous year revenue overlaps projected new year growth.
Last year’s numbers
Next years projected numbers
Gap between the two heavily depends on the sales team
In the new year, how can the company fill the gap to add growth onto last year? In this plan, the burden often falls on the sales team. If the gap represents a 20% increase in revenues, The sales team is expected to come up with new strategies and work harder at closing deals.
On the production end, there is an assumption that there will be growth, although, the number might not be a hard 20%; as the sales team is not guaranteed to hit that number. Production growth can come in the form of efficiencies, new equipment, employee overtime and the hiring of new employees. If the sales team produces purchase orders that supersede the previous year, these expenditures will be supported by revenue.
This business plan puts a lot of pressure on the sales team without the benefit of new revenue generators.
New product focused business plan – previous year revenue overlaps projected new year growth.
Last year’s numbers
Next years projected numbers
Gap between the two heavily depends on new goods and/or services
In the new year, how can the company fill the gap to add growth onto last year? In this plan, there are new goods and/or services to fill the revenue gap. The burden is spread more, as there are development teams and marketing teams heavily involved, in addition to the sales team.
On the production end, there is more risk. To put out a new goods or services, there are usually large expenditures that might take away from or use up production budgets. If new machines are purchased to make product, there will be high expectations that they are part to good use.
This business plan puts a lot of focus on the new goods and/or services and the customers who buy them. Customer acceptance is crucial.
Marketing focused business plan – previous year revenue overlaps projected new year growth.
Last year’s numbers
Next years projected numbers
Gap between the two heavily depends on the marketing department outreach
In the new year, how can the company fill the gap to add growth onto last year? In this plan, there are new and/or old goods and/or services to fill the revenue gap. The marketing department will be given a budget and it is expected that their message hits the right people and inspires them to buy.
On the production end, there are expectations that any large investments in marketing and advertising reap rewards in purchase orders. Again, money can get tight.
This business plan puts a lot of focus on the marketing department, as well as the goods and/or services they are promoting. The best strategy is to have sales campaigns that tie into marketing efforts, for maximum impact.
Let’s look at how Unconventional Expert ability can influence a business plan. The below pairing sheet can be filled in for the following positions:
Sales
The sales managers (or sales people) developing sales strategies
Sales people administering sales strategies and making course correction as needed
Marketing
Marketing managers developing high level initiatives
Marketing geniuses coming up with specific ideas
Product development
Company leadership to set the vision
Marketing managers and product managers to create products
Engineering/technical to make the work
Production
Operations leadership to make product ion efficient
Key position/key employee pairing sheet
Key position name: __________________________________________________
Expert-level worker who fills it: ________________________________________
Workers title: _________________________________________________
Department? (circle one)
Sales ________________________________________
Marketing ________________________________________
Product development ________________________________________
Production ________________________________________
Position’s key tasks that follows company process to complete task?
1)
2)
3)
Employee traditional institute-driven abilities needed to complete task?
1)
2)
3)
Position’s key tasks that are:
• Unstructured
• Complex
• Creativity-driven
• Strategy-dependent
• Project-oriented
1)
2)
3)
Employee’s Unconventional Expert abilities to accomplish the tasks, within their own individual work-process?
1) Foster curiosity
2) Initiate activity
3) Gain relevant information
4) Discover possibilities
5) Strategize
6) Commit to a project
7) Create ideas
8) Realize ideas
9) Test ideas, find success or failure
10) Use failure as a platform for new and better ideas
11) Repeat part or all of the process
12) Eventually, find achievement
Bonus – Ultimately, gain some level of mastery
1)
2)
3)
Company meetings
As Unconventional Experts forge their own path, leadership will need to make sure that their achievements are moving in a direction that is advantageous to the company. In t his module, we will look at ways to assure forward progress, when initiating a Culture of Experts.
Company meetings and Unconventional Experts
It is always recommended that leadership meet with employees within regular one-on-one meetings. Discussions usually include a status or progress report and plans for next steps. When meeting with Unconventional Experts, a review of the individual work-process can aid in the sharing of information that is often disregarded.
Manager asks employee:
a) What captured your interest? Intellectual curiosity
b) What new activities did you put into motion? Initiate activity
c) What new relevant information did you gain and from what source? Gain relevant information
d) What possibilities did you see, that could benefit customers in the long run? Discover possibilities
e) What new game plans did you develop? Strategize
f) What project updates are there? Commit to a project
g) What new ideas did you come up with? Create ideas
h) How did you develop your best ideas and how did that translate into productivity? Realize ideas
i) What ideas did you test and what was the test? Test ideas, find success or failure
j) What ideas failed? Test ideas, find success or failure
k) What did you learn from the failed ideas and what new ideas did they lead to? Use failure as a platform for new and better ideas
l) What parts of the process did you repeat, to duplicate successful activities? Repeat part or all of the process
m) What achievements did you have? Eventually, find achievement
n) What progress have you made on your expert-trek, to find mastery? Ultimately, gain some level of mastery
We can also add two attributes of unconventional positions (module #1), to add to the information exchange.
Manager asks employee:
• What unstructured facets of your position where challenging and how did you face the challenge? Unstructured
• What new levels of complexity did you reach within your position and how were you able to adapt? Complex
Regarding project updates, if work is encapsulated within an unconventional project (module #6), updates can be specific.
Manager asks employee:
• Summarize the movement of the project?
• Are there any adjustments to the project’s expectations and goals?
• What benefits does the project bring to the company?
• What influence does the project have on personal growth?
• What customer reach, market reach or internal department interaction has the project generated?
The power of mastery
In module #3 we saw how important it is for Unconventional Experts to have a realistic understanding of the level of commitment required to reach some level of mastery. Over time, there should also be a deep respect and reverence for mastery and the Masters who achieve it. Leadership should continually romance the concept of Master-level performance and make certain that their experts are not delusional; as they compare their skills and achievements to those who stand at the top of their vocation.
Manager asks employee:
• Of those who share a similar expert-trek, what exposure have you had to top performers?
• How far away are you from achieving a similar degree of mastery within your career?
• How will you develop your expertise differently?
Free-time activities
In module #3 we looked at the Unconventional Experts in their free-time, as they forwarded hobbies, arts, crafts, DIY home improvements, connoisseurship, inventions and disciplines. As long as the employee is comfortable with the conversation, comparing personal experiences with workplace experiences can be beneficial. It should be a goal of leadership to make sure that their employees are as confident at the workplace as they are at home.
Work-journey check-up
The individual work-journey is the chemistry between the worker and the work. If the work-journey is not positive, there will be limited job satisfaction and the quality of work will suffer. For Unconventional Experts, the level of curiosity and ability to either fulfill or expand curiosity will play a big role in the health of their work-journey. If there are company barriers that stand in the way, there should be efforts to remove or minimize them.
Sparking employee curiosity:
• Abbreviate and share all interesting industry information.
• Have employees attend trade shows and conferences.
• Expose employees to the marketplace where goods and services are sold.
• Share stories where company goods or services have helped end-customers.
• Dedicate time to meetings, where employees can share work-journey stories.
• Expose employees to master-level experts, relevant to their position.
Expert-trek check-up
Within most organizations, employees are rated within formal quarterly and yearly performance reviews. These reviews cover a lot of ground, however, they rarely review an employees level of expertise and mastery. As difficult as it is to rate these qualities, expert-trek progress should be reviewed on a regular basis.
Manager asks employee:
• What achievements have you made within your position, as compared to similar positions within the industry?
• What unique abilities do you offer to your position, as compared to similar positions within the industry?
• What ideas or philosophies do you hold, that might be considered unorthodox to the industry?
• What industry knowledge do you have, that not typically found within publications or reports?
• What unique situations have you experienced, as compared to similar positions within the industry?
• Where are you in your pursuit of mastery, as compared to those at the top of their vocation, within similar positions within the industry?
Troubleshooting an issue within a Culture of Experts
• Was the issue within operational company-process or within an individual work-process?
• If operational company-process failed, can future issues be diverted by changing it?
• How did the failure fall within each of unstructured, complex, creativity-driven, strategy-dependent, project-oriented work?
• Can any of the above be fixed by, or transformed into; structured, repetitive, task-oriented, company-process-driven work?
• If individual work-process failed, where was the failure and how can it be addressed?
1) Foster curiosity
2) Initiate activity
3) Gain relevant information
4) Discover possibilities
5) Strategize
6) Commit to a project
7) Create ideas
8) Realize ideas
9) Test ideas, find success or failure
10) Use failure as a platform for new and better ideas
11) Repeat part or all of the process
12) Eventually, find achievement
Bonus – Ultimately, gain some level of mastery
• Are the expectations too high, requiring too much in the way of individual work-process?
• How can workers be assisted in meeting the requirements that will help avoid similar issues, moving forward?
Communication Takes Time
A small team met with the CEO for three hours. It took three hours to explain one complex concept that had many facettes. After three hours, everyone understood. Leadership means taking the time to completely communicate vision. Leadership requires communication.
Unconventional manipulation
Within a company’s quarterly meetings, the CEO earned a reputation for being uncomfortably judgmental when fielding employee questions and responding to their contributions. Often, he would use these exchanges to highlight individual inadequacies and team weaknesses. Employees became hesitant with their participation, but knew that it was mandatory. A small group of the employees discover that they could slightly manipulate these meetings by presenting contrived positive contributions, one-each, on a relatively grand scale. As each performed, the others would silently nod with appreciation. Over time, they perfected this strategy and where able to change the flavor of the meetings.
Outside of a Culture of Experts, Unconventional Experts hide. Outside of productive change, Unconventional Experts are instrumental in change.
Communication Through Stories
Everyone loves a good story. For both children and adults, it is the best way to share situational information. For a candidate within an interview, conveying a work experience within a short story can be priceless. Like every children’s story, it should include the obstacles and the way in which they were overcome.
Assessing Opportunity
Looking at a new opportunity of any type means:
• Assessing time risk as well as monetary risk.
• Determining worst case scenarios. These can includes potential legal ramifications, mental health sacrifices and a potential breach in reputation.
• Determining best case scenarios. Remember, net gains might also include increased knowledge and expansion of ideas.
The finishing touch to a Culture of Experts
Initiating a Culture of Experts and adopting the concepts within this program means to change the way a company views and utilizes its human capital. Words have power, and including these descriptive names within the company lexicon will go a long way.
Culture of Experts
Unconventional Expert
Unconventional position
Unconventional project
Individual work-process
Company work-process
Work-journey
Expert-trek
Corporate Culture Assessment Questions
Module #10 – An Expert-Driven Organization
18) Do you think that is would benefit your company to adopt a Culture of Experts?
See all of the module assessment questions in module #11
Culture of Experts Interview Questions
Module #10 – An Expert-Driven Organization
Currently, there are no interview questions for this module.
See all of the module interview questions in module #12
Culture of Experts is a free talent acquisition and employee development program created by Martin Haslinger. All Rights Reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.
Please proceed to module #11: Corporate Culture Assessment
© 2024 Martin Haslinger