Leadership Lessons from Bill C-69. Lesson 1: About the Value of Certainty
Certainty is a huge part of any successful business and achieving it for a leader should be a top priority. Here are just a couple positive consequences when we communicate for certainty in any organization and then I'll apply the principle of certainty to the very contentious Bill 69 currently before the Canadian Senate and talk about how it works and why it matters.
Tangible Benefits of Certainty to Business
- When an employee knows exactly what you expect of them they'll give it to you 90 + percent of the time. The biggest root cause of non performance is overwhelmingly: I wasn't sure what you wanted. Certainty around task gives you results and makes them happier by putting them in control. If they can see it they can achieve it. They can spend more time doing and less time stewing.
- When a colleague of yours knows the realistic lead time you need to get something done for them great things start to happen. Tell them the lead time for a common request they make of you is 24 hours and they now are in control. It is primarily their choice that is responsible for getting what they need from you. Choose to give 24 hours and be certain to get what they asked for. Choose not to give 24 hours and live with the uncertainty of that choice (you'll try your best but they are ultimately responsible if it can't happen).
- When a customer knows how to get best value from you as a company it makes them happier and drive more desirable behaviour from them. Two examples:
a) A Trucking company I work with is fanatical about being on time for their dock appointments with their customers. Unfortunately their customers didn't always return the same respect of being ready for them when they showed up. Sitting/waiting is costly and if the trucking company stays silent nothing will change because silence = acceptance. So here's what they did: They realized that the certainty they give their customers around being there on-time on a consistent basis creates value for the client. Because they create value they were in a position to ask to be valued in return. They went out to their customers and explained that they understand that circumstances happen where they can't be ready for a truck when it arrives for its appointment. They also explained the cost that it represented to their trucking company when a truck is forced to sit and wait for an extended period of time. They implemented and are successfully being paid a per hour waiting fee when customers can't receive their on time trucks on time. The truck company stays whole and the consequence to the client for not being ready probably has them placing a more appropriate importance on being ready! Win. Win.
b) The biggest headache for a ski lift manufacturer I've worked with was that the ski hills they serviced would order parts for their lifts at the last moment before ski season opened and were always in "urgent" mode to get them (even though they knew they needed them for months). The uncertainty of that environment put unbearable levels of pressure on their plant and their people at certain times of year. It also created an environment where customers never seemed to be happy because they were constantly panicked about getting a part to make sure they could service their skiiers. You'd think that the ski hills would have learned from their own stress but the same "last minute" ordering persisted. Given the multi million dollar valuations of many of these parts, keeping higher levels of inventory to manage the situation would turn my client unprofitable as the carrying costs would be huge. The solution: They implemented a spring sale. They told their customers that they could save a small percentage = huge dollars on a million dollar + sale if they ordered the parts they knew they needed in the spring for the following year. The certainty of saving money rapidly switched their clients behaviour to order during the spring sale. In fact over 90 percent of orders switched to the spring sale. That new behaviour created an environment of certainty for my client whereas they could now plan production over a larger period of time and vastly reduce the stresses their production & people were under. Happier staff. Happier clients. How? They intentionally and actively put certainty in a business situation and let it work.
My question to you:
Where is uncertainty hurting your company's results today? Given the couple examples up above what are your opportunities to improve your situation?
Learning's from Bill C-69
Full Disclosure before I talk about it . I was born and grew up in Southern Ontario. For the last 27 years I've lived and worked in Calgary, Alberta. I love and am blessed to live in the country I live in. Having said that the politicalization of this issue (Bill C69) on all sides in all regions frustrates me to no end. In support of today's topic we should be looking for solutions that CERTAINLY benefit the country and not a political party or one specific region. Here are my thoughts on Bill C69 & Certainty:
- Certainty does matter and CAN attract investment. It doesn't guarantee it will!
The Liberal government is promoting this bill on the basis that certainty and a streamlined process will help drive investment back into your energy sectors and create jobs, allow for mega infrastructure projects, pipelines etc. Things they call "Good" projects.
It isn't often the case for me, but on this point I unequivocally agree with the government. Related to all the benefits I mentioned above it is true that certainty CAN influence and drive investment into a region/industry etc. They aren't wrong on that. It doesn't mean it will though and thus point #2 which is where i think their current strategy falls down.
2. Certainty needs to be Realistic and fit the Environment you operate in.
To follow up on the 'it CAN' but there is no guarantee part of certainty: It does depend on the environment the certainty you create operates in. For example:
a) If the trucking company that is now successfully charged a waiting time fee doesn't place a continued emphasis on creating customer value by consistently being on time for their appointments, they will lose the right to ask for value in return when they have to wait. If they aren't seen as "Better" and "More Reliable" they will have little ability to charge for waiting times.
In some industries given your competitive environment being awesome is just your entry ticket to getting business and your customers will show no willingness to pay you for waiting. Seen as simply one of many industry suppliers, waiting becomes the cost of the privilege of working with them.
How do you know the truth about your industry? Try it. Build Value then Ask for it. Having served Canada's trucking industry for 25 + years I know many in the industry would have lumped trucking into the "its the price you pay" category. Good on this client for not accepting the norm and building a better business model on the principles of certainty!
What does that mean for Bill C69? Bill C69 inserts itself into a Canadian Natural Resources Environment that has certain realities. One of them is that contrary to foreign lobby group campaigns, Canadian Oil & Gas is amongst the most responsibly produced resources in the world, period. One certainty about Big Oil is this: Yes they have investments in fossil fuels they still want to get returns on, but they also want to be your supplier of Green Energy sources in the decades to come (Check out Shell Oil for example. Their goal is to be the world's number 1 Electricity supplier within a couple decades). The effectiveness of Bill C69 will be determined by how realistic the goals/standards/hurdles it creates for these companies to navigate/manage are. If it sees these giants as partners and the bill aligns with their existing efforts to become more and more environmentally responsible chances are Bill C69 will present the positive certainty to drive investment back into Canadian Resources and Canadians will appreciate the results of its implementation.
If they are seen as enemies and the provisions of the bill are totally unrealistic and represent a punishment despite the industries best efforts, Bill C-69 will become the bill of certainty in a negative way: Certainty of no new projects. Absolute certainty of no new pipelines. etc.
So how do we know which way it will go? Confession: I don't know how many of you have actually read Bill C69. I confess I haven't. What is almost impossible to do is to figure it out through the wide ranging plethora of ideas on our news and political talk shows. So see point #3.
3. Use Data not Opinions/Feelings to measure the effectiveness of your Certainty
While the Liberal government's arguments for Bill C-69 are communicated in a way that makes them sound so socially responsible and caring and balanced and progressive and Canadian ... I'd really trust them a lot more if they had companies aligned to invest back into the Canadian Resource Sector with its introduction.
Maybe I just haven't caught it (please leave a comment if you have heard of who they are) but I don't see any companies doing that. You can be certain that if they can't align with this bill then Bill C-69 will be an exercise in Canadian self righteousness that will drive increased Canadian unemployment/deficits and global uncompetitiveness.
As a huge fan of the benefits of certainty I was looking for that corporate alignment based on their involvement in the process to create Bill C-69 and I don't see it. That data speaks volumes louder to me than any analyst's opinion that may emotionally sway me one way or the other in the moment but in reality be driven by self financial or political interests.
The data I have seen is that despite a long period of knowing Bill C69 was coming and some pretty clear indications of what it would involve, investment dollars continue to run not walk out of Canada and its resource sector.
The data right around me is a friend who lives on a cul de sac in Calgary with 11 homes. 9 of those homes have families that are unemployed professionals. Now you may ask if this is a world wide trend in Oil & Gas economies? If it were.. you might tell them you feel bad but that they need to suck it up and find another industry/profession.
But here are some interesting facts:
Alberta's Current Unemployment Rate: 7.0 percent
Texas's Current Unemployment Rate: 4.0 percent
North Dakota's Current Unemployment Rate: 2.6 percent
We seem to be the only geographic area blessed with natural resources to be struggling these days. The data strongly suggests that Canadian's are addicted to self inflicted pain through both environments of uncertainty (unable to work together over the past 13 years to get major projects done even those approved by the NEB) and now Certainty which should be good but seems to be further sending the negative message that "Canada is closed for Business" with respect to our Natural Resource Industries.
In closing i want to do a couple things:
I want to challenge you no matter what industry you are in to consider the power increased positive certainty can have for your business and your success. What can you take away from this discussion to open up new opportunities for your business in your environment?
I also want to preview the next blog in the Bill C69 series with this factual observation I want you to think about:
Our friends and neighbours to the south while investing heavily in green have also doubled their natural resources production in the recent past and are now the number one oil & gas producer in the world. On the surface you might assume that this was done by reckless drilling under the hastiness of the current Trump administration. You'd be wrong. It hasn't slowed down but it didn't start there. Where it did may surprise you:
It started with the most Environmentally focused US President of all time: Barack Obama. In today's heated discussions the two seemingly can't mix: Oil & Green working together? Impossible right?!. So was President Obama a hypocritic and just pulling the wool over our eyes to create an American competitive advantage? American competitive advantage yes. Hypocritic: I don't think so. I think he was/is genuine in his concerns for the environment and a desire to leave a more positive footprint for future generations.
What did he see that we don't?... check out my next Bill C69 blog to be released this Sunday.
A hint: It involves Vision. I believe that the well intentioned vision expressed by our current government is far too narrow and severely weakens our abilities to both influence positive environmental stewardship and create a Canadian advantage than leaves a healthy & prosperous foundation for future generations of Canadians.
I think Obama saw it and the US is benefiting from it.
One thing for CERTAIN: Canada needs to elect a leader this fall that can SEE it so we can achieve something that ironically pulls both sides of this heated debate together on one team for the common good.
Until Sunday ... Have a great weekend,
David
www.authorenticity.com [email protected]