Blogs

On this page we will provide a series of articles aimed at stimulating collaboration and critical thinking. 

Link the Value Chain

“It’s a team sport where  members must accept accountability to achieve the desired result”. – John Lieblang, The Measured Value Way

Results must be owned, and to gain ownership, accountability must be accepted. It is one of the main reasons organizations employ RACI charts, organization charts, roles and responsibilities. A RACI helps create clarity on ownership for a result. However, the RACI falls short of the intended purpose, as it names one and only one person accountable. It opens a lack of commitment from others in the value chain and provides a mechanism to make an excuse for why a result was not achieved

A RACI states only one person is responsible for an outcome, but that is shortsighted. Simply put, an individual can claim, “I was not accountable.” Remember our earlier point: Accountable people get the desired result. Leaders find ways to rise above circumstances and achieve results. The same holds true for job descriptions and organization charts. While needed for various reasons in an organization, job descriptions provide a means to excuse one from being accountable. The famous line, “It is not my job,” is enabled by a job description. The same holds true for organization charts. While understanding the hierarchy for decision-making, escalations, and reporting lines, organization charts can also create silos of accountability and ownership.

Therefor we preach The Linked Value Chain™. The Linked Value Chain™ links accountability vertically and horizontally. The Linked Value Chain™ is a disruptive technique. It is designed to change operating models and cultures and further instill accountability into a culture. The immediate reaction by some people in the value chain might be that this is unfair. For the VP of Sales, how can he or she be accountable for technology when the technology organization does not report to them? For the VP of IT, how can that person be accountable for sales when the sales team does not report to them? Those are the views organizations tend to have when they are viewing the world through the lens of silos, job descriptions, or titles, not through the lens of results achievement. Again, we iterate: getting the result is doing the job, and getting the result is what gets rewarded.

Football provides an excellent example of the Linked Value Chain™. The result that the offense wants to achieve is to score a touchdown. Everyone is linked to that result. Yet, everyone has a role or job to do. The quarterback’s job is to call the play, read the defense, and pass or hand off the ball. The center’s job is to hike the ball, adjust the blocking scheme, and block. The receiver’s job is to run the pass pattern for the play called, block, and catch the ball. But what happens when the ball is fumbled, or a play breaks down in mid-flight? Do the players look at each other and think, “I am the quarterback, center, or receiver, not the fumble recovery person?” Do they stay with the play called because that is what their job description says? Or do they adjust to the breakdown, do what needs to be done, and focus on achieving the result? The answers are obvious. They own recovering the fumble. They adjust their roles in mid-flight when they notice the fumble, or the play is not working. They are linked to a common result. As equally important is that their desired result is embedded in their reward system.

So as you move forward and have desired results to achieve ask yourself who is needed for the achievement of this result to be successful.

Why Clarifying Results Matters

“Focus on facts, and quantifiable data points to remove emotional decision making and stay centered on results”. John Lieblang, The Measured Value Way

The foundation for success is established by clarifying results and accountability. Results are the true measure of success, and shareholders or owners evaluate a company’s success based on results. This is not to say that shareholders and owners do not value hard work, dedication, and commitment, nor does it diminish the importance of products, people, and customer service. These are all crucial elements of success. However, when all is said and done, results must be achieved, and clarity of the desired result sets the foundation.

It has always been about results. Listening to company earnings calls reveals a consistent and common theme: CEOs and CFOs speak in clear and definitive terms about performance and results.

Andy Jassy, CEO Amazon made results clear in his April 11, 2024 letter to the shareholders.  “April 11, 2024 – Andy Jassy (CEO, Amazon) letter to the shareholders: “In 2023, Amazon’s total revenue grew 12% year-over-year (“YoY”) from $514B to $575B. By segment, North America revenue increased 12% YoY from $316B to $353B, International revenue grew 11% YoY from $118B to $131B, and AWS revenue increased 13% YoY from $80B to $91B.”

Measures, metrics, quantifiable outcomes or “desired results” provide clarity to an organization and throughout an organizations ecosystem. As a CIO, I would invite all our vendors into town hall meetings with the entire organization to hear about our collective performance, engage in conversations and align to our “desired results’. The goal was to remove emotional decision making from the conversations.

Decision making can propel and organization, paralyze progress or cripple performance. At Measured Value we have observed 3 primary reasons decision making is difficult.

  1. Results are not clear:
    • Results are not defined in terms of business, process, technology, and people.
    • Results lack quantifiable measures and/or agreement on those measures.
    • There is confusion between results, deliverables, and activities.
    • Results are not publicly published and communicated throughout the organization.
  2. People are not equipped:
    • People lack the experience, skills, or competencies to achieve the result.
    • People are not fully confident or do not believe the organization is supportive.
    • People are focused on roles, job duties, and job descriptions rather than results.
    • People lack the tools, data, and/or facts to enable decision-making.
  3. Culture is a barrier:
    • The culture impedes diverse, new, creative, or out-of-the-box thinking.
    • Rewards are activity-based rather than outcome-based.
    • Measures and accountability are viewed as ways to punish rather than promote.

At Measured Value we have a 4-Phase approach to achieving results. Phase 1 is Clarify Results. The work performed in this phase sets the foundation for Phases 2, 3, and 4. Phase 1 has 5 steps.

  1. Establish clear and measurable results
  2. Create accountability
  3. Link the Value Chain
  4. Communicating results and performance
  5. Analyze and learn

Collectively, these 5 steps are aimed at reducing or eliminating emotional decision making. Here is an example of why the 5 steps above are important. This example illustrates how different roles in an organization view results. Several leaders in an organization were discussing a major technology project, which would result in $20 million in cost savings per year. The savings would all drop to the bottom line as pure profit and boost earnings and shareholder value. As the team discussed the effort, it became clear there was a difference of opinion on the desired result. One person defined the desired result as being a state-of-the-art data center that would have automatic (real-time) failover in the event of a failure and help to manage costs and reduce or eliminate on-call personnel needs. It would establish the foundation for moving to the cloud. A second person stated the result was to develop resources that would be more efficient and effective and lower costs. A third person indicated the desired result was multi-millions in cost savings regardless of the technology and people elements. In the end, it turned out all three people were right. The business result was $20 million in cost reduction. The technology result was a highly stable and efficient data center, and the people result was highly competent, self-sufficient resources who could effectively and efficiently manage the technology implementation and refresh processes with less stress.

 

The Importance of Achieving Results

“If I can be of help to one person, then I’ve achieved success”. John Lieblang

Activity Versus Results

We often hear familiar sayings: "Results Count!", "Activity gets noticed, but results get rewarded." A senior executive at Ford Motor Company once said, "I appreciate the hard work and activity, but I'm not interested in activity—I'm interested in results." If achieving desired results is what truly matters, why do so many focus on activity, job descriptions, and responsibilities when the results themselves fall short? Are these excuses, or is it simply a misplaced focus?

Integrating Activity into the Big Picture

Performing activities and tasks is important, but they must serve the larger purpose of accomplishing desired results. This perspective is at the heart of Measured Value’s approach: "The Measured Value Way: Guiding Leaders and Teams to Results Success." The "Result Life Cycle™" outlines four phases to achieve results:

  • Phase 1: Clarify Results
  • Phase 2: Define Deliverables
  • Phase 3: Establish Mindset
  • Phase 4: Execute Plan

Clarifying Results: The Foundation for Success

Focusing on clarifying results, there are six recurring reasons why desired results are not achieved:

  • Reason 1: Results lack measurable terms and precise deadlines. Measurement sharpens focus on outcomes, actions, and accountability.
  • Reason 2: Success frequently requires cross-functional ownership, yet ownership is typically linked to specific roles or functions.
  • Reason 3: Undefined or missed deliverables in a work breakdown structure lead to underestimated work efforts. Organizations may act on to-do lists, resulting in high activity but minimal progress.
  • Reason 4: Some individuals lack the educational or psychological skills to achieve desired results. Assignments outside comfort zones can create fear, doubt, and anxiety, hampering performance.
  • Reason 5: Plans often lack detailed tasks and activities tied to deliverables. Achieving a result is like a journey that requires careful navigation.
  • Reason 6: Emotion-driven decision-making can take over during execution, especially when objective criteria for measuring, ranking, or assessing performance are not well defined. Quantifiable measures help prevent impulsive decisions and keep teams focused on clear, goal-oriented, and measurable success indicators.

Summary: Results as the Measure of Success

The foundation for success is built on clarity of results and accountability. Results are the true measure of success, and shareholders or owners assess a company’s achievements based on results. While hard work, dedication, products, people, and customer service are all crucial to success, achieving clear, desired results ultimately sets the foundation for lasting achievement.