Horizon Point Consulting

Category: Beyond Leadership

Beyond Leadership is Horizon Point’s line of resources for managers of people. Managing ourselves is a distinct set of behaviors from managers the work of others, and we are here to help. Read stories in this category if you are ready to take the next step into people leadership (or if you’re looking for articles to send someone else…).

  • A Book Review of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

    A Book Review of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking by Susan Cain

    Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking is a must-read for introverts and extraverts alike. It explores the misconceptions of introverts and their many positive attributes.

    I have two children who are on opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to introversion and extraversion. This book resonated with me on so many levels. I also love that it has a Tips for Educators section at the end. 

    The back cover notes Quiet as The Book That Started The Quiet Revolution. It explains:

    At least one-third of the people we know are introverts. They are the ones who prefer listening to speaking; who innovate and create but dislike self-promotion; who favor working on their own over working in teams. It is to introverts—Rosa Parks, Chopin, Dr. Seuss, Steve Wozniak—that we owe many of the great contributions to society. 

    In Quiet, Susan Cain argues that we dramatically undervalue introverts and shows how much we lose in doing so. She charts the rise of the Extrovert Ideal throughout the twentieth century and explores how deeply it has come to permeate our culture. She also introduces us to successful introverts—from a witty, high-octane public speaker who recharges in solitude after his talks, to a record-breaking salesman who quietly taps into the power of questions. Passionately argued, superbly researched, and filled with indelible stories of real people, Quiet has the power to permanently change how we see introverts and, equally important, how they see themselves.

    Here are a few of my favorite quotes from Quiet:

    “We don’t ask why God chose as his prophet a stutterer with a public speaking phobia. But we should. The book of Exodus is short on explication, but its stories suggest that introversion plays yin to the yang of extroversion; that the medium is not always the message; and that people followed Moses because his words were thoughtful, not because he spoke them well.”

    “Introverts, in contrast, may have strong social skills and enjoy parties and business meetings, but after a while wish they were home in their pajamas. They prefer to devote their social energies to close friends, colleagues, and family. They listen more than they talk, think before they speak, and often feel as if they express themselves better in writing than in conversation. They tend to dislike conflict. Many have a horror of small talk, but enjoy deep discussions.”

    “So stay true to your own nature. If you like to do things in a slow and steady way, don’t let others make you feel as if you have to race. If you enjoy depth, don’t force yourself to seek breadth. If you prefer single-tasking to multi-tasking, stick to your guns. Being relatively unmoved by rewards gives you the incalculable power to go your own way.”

    Regardless of your MBTI results, you will find value in this book. Unsure if you are naturally an introvert or extrovert? You can check out 16 Personalities to find out for free!

  • Values Amidst the Storm

    Values Amidst the Storm

    “Culture guides the team in their everyday work. It’s the foundation on which people make decisions and take actions.”

    The Start-Up Playbook by Rajat Bhargava and Will Herman

     

    I took my first flight in over six months recently.  Headed to Orlando to speak at a conference, I booked a Delta flight connecting through Atlanta.  

    Before I left, my husband said, “Make sure you have your mask on the whole time during the flight.  Delta has been blacklisting people for life if they refuse the keep their mask on.”  

    As their CEO Ed Bastian said, “If you insist on not wearing a mask, then we insist you not fly Delta.” Delta don’t play.  

    And neither was I going to risk not being able to fly on my favorite airline over keeping a mask on while in the air.  

    It was evident throughout the experience that Delta wasn’t playing in every aspect of their flight experience safety.  Sanitizing wipes were handed out as you boarded. No more food and beverage service as usual- you get a plastic bag complete with a water bottle, napkin (a recycled one at that), cheese-its, and biscoff.  There’s another hand sanitizing wipe in that packet too.  The way they filter air through the cabins has changed as well as the way they clean and sanitize their planes.  It’s called the Delta CareStandard. 

    But why does Delta do all this when it costs more money to do it this way in an airline industry that is fraught with more woes than almost all other industries because of the pandemic? On my flights of less than 1 hour each, couldn’t they just skip the food and beverage service and sighting safety reasons and over multiple flights save themselves a ton of money?  They were close to losing $100 million A DAY in March and $27 million A DAY in June. 

    Well first of all, they are mandated to do some things, but in general, I think it is because Delta is governed by its Corporate Values.  

    These values are: 

    • Honesty
    • Integrity
    • Respect
    • Perseverance
    • Servant Leadership

    They intertwine with the mission of “The work of an airline is, at its core, about connecting people with communities, with experience, and with each other.  Making connections is Delta’s mission…” 

    Some things you see Delta doing show their commitment to their values because of the pandemic or what they’ve done pre-pandemic include:

    • Blocking middle seats through January (booking only 60% full), not to mention all the other Delta CareStandard actions.
    • Referring to their employees as, “Our family” 
    • Using the word “We” in much of their statements for example, “We- Delta’s employees, customers, and community partners…”

    Delta isn’t perfect, but what they continually do pre and post-pandemic is seeking to live their corporate values through their behaviors, decisions, and actions.  And sometimes our true values are best seen when things are at their very worst. It’s why they consistently earn top awards and have recently taken the number one spot on the list of the best airlines in 2020. 

    It’s why I’ll continue to fly Delta even if it costs a little bit more and even if I have to connect instead of flying direct.  And it is why Delta, even though it is in the midst of a massive storm, will come out better than before.  They are experiencing the opportunity of living out the value of perseverance here and now.

     

    How is your company living out its values amidst the storm? 

  • Relationships in Business

    Relationships in Business

    Written by: Lucy Orr, Horizon Point Consulting Summer Intern

    My name is Lucy Orr, and I interned with Horizon Point Consulting this summer. In my first blog post, I discussed what I hoped to learn from this experience. Not having a “dream job,” I was able to use this experience to get a taste of several different careers by observing Horizon Point as well as their clients. 

    While I certainly got a taste of different jobs throughout the summer, the part that struck me the most was the importance of relationships in every aspect of the business.

    The most obvious relationships that they spent significant time fostering were with their clients. By taking people out to lunch, forming friendships, and following through with timely expertise, each member of the Horizon Point team valued their relationships with everyone they contacted. This impacted me, not because of the novelty of the concept, but because of the sincerity with which they cared about each person and each business. From my perspective, the intentionality reinforced the quality of business that Horizon Point provides, both being equally important.

    The bond between the women that make it all happen was the most unexpected. I had never considered the importance of encouraging business partners, but it makes sense. They support each other, exalt each other’s accomplishments, and are attentive to each other’s needs. Though I was there temporarily, they welcomed me, were generous with me, and spent time to show they cared about me beyond the things I was doing to help the business. They are honest with each other about their strengths as well as their weaknesses which allows the group to come together and grow more efficiently. This is a great example of the community that is possible in a work environment- camaraderie that I can only hope to find or promote in my future workplace. 

    The last relationship that I noticed this summer impacted me the most deeply was the significance of family in work. I babysat for Mary Ila’s two older children regularly throughout the summer to give her a few hours at a time to focus on work, so I was able to learn from the intentionality with which she balanced these two things: work and family. This experience has shown me the blessing of valuing family. By constantly thinking of fun things we could do that her kids would enjoy or clearing entire days to spend time with them, she showed me that it is possible to work hard while prioritizing family. This balance definitely looks different for everyone, but it was so helpful for me to see such a wonderful example of this aspect of pursuing a career. 

    Horizon Point was a great example of strong relationships in each of these areas. When narrowing down my interests for a future career, I will look at how they play out in the workplace of each field. My time this summer gave me unexpected insight through simply observing Horizon Point’s focus on each type of relationship and realizing the difference it made in the all-around effectiveness of their work.

  • Birthing Babies & Businesses

    Birthing Babies & Businesses

    I seem to have a knack for birthing babies and businesses at the same time.  Blaming the hormones as a cause of a healthy dose of insanity, I launched my first business almost nine years ago when my now nine-year-old son was a newborn. 

    Our second child, a girl, came three years behind her brother. She was a well thought out and planned decision.  Her current personality actually reflects this truth. No businesses were birthed during her arrival but taking a leap to go beyond myself and out of the desire to integrate home and work in a way that was meaningful and purposeful for me, I hired my first employee when she was a newborn. 

    Fast-forward several years later, and my husband had convinced me we were done with babies.   We had two children, a boy and a girl, two thriving careers, a home, and a dog. What more could we need?  But, of course, my heart was telling me something, and after much prodding, my husband got on board as well.  I wrote about this decision in a blog post about Using Your Heart Not Your Head. 

    Our third child arrived almost to the minute of when our son started third grade and our daughter started kindergarten.  Not what I had planned. He was to stay in place until after I walked my ‘baby” who would no longer be the baby, into her first day of real school. 

    For the well planned out people we thought we were, this third child a boy, and the events so far of 2020, has proven to show us that sometimes planning is actually the worst thing you can do.  It impedes risks and can lead us to over rationalize, keeping us from making decisions and steps forward especially ones that come from the heart. 

    Of course, with this child being a boy, birthing a business had to come along with him. The new business was formally incorporated not a week after I found out I was pregnant with him, and we have spent much of 2020 albeit remotely, breathing life into the idea and goals of this new venture.  We would launch into a plan, then stop and change course more times than I can count in response to the ever-changing world and challenges around us. 

    Our new “baby”, MatchFIT, takes me down a different path than the first one.  This one requires even more risks than the first to be able to capitalize on the need to scale and scale quickly and to bring a team together at a faster pace than one every two to three years.  Just like the third child brings about more challenges than just the one. We are playing zone defense now, not man to man.  Of course, the business launch has hit a time when our product, a hiring tool, seems to be unnecessary when most businesses aren’t hiring.  

    Should we just quit? I’ve thought that more times than I can count. But our heart has told us to keep moving forward because we are passionate about our purpose. 

    Our need for moving forward sent us down a path of applying for Alabama Launchpad for seed funding. We made it to the finals last week and pitched our idea to the judges and then live through a social media streamed event.  It was a risk, and we lost.  

    As my husband said, we literally lost to sh*t, as the winner was a compost company.  The people running the venture we lost to were far from sh*t, though.  They seemed to be genuinely nice guys with a passion and heart for their business idea.  It was almost impossible not to be happy for them. 

    At the heart of this business and its start-up are the core values of innovation and creativity. We help organizations and job seekers also define their core values and find opportunities and relationships that allow for workplace engagement to take shape. 

    I find myself engaging in the best of myself when I live out innovation and creativity, even though it forces more risk-taking, especially because it requires more risk-taking.  And with risk-taking also comes the risk of embarrassment –  of literally losing to sh*t, live and publicly. 

    Just like the decision to have our third child, applying for Launchpad and pursuing a business venture amidst a global pandemic and global unrest seems to be a huge risk. 

    But what often seems counterintuitive from the outside looking in is usually an active process that is occurring from the inside out. One that is a step out in faith. One governed by living out the values that make us and businesses unique and allow us each to thrive. 

    More often than not, these steps out in faith lead to more joy than each of us can possibly contain.  The joy our third son brings to our lives is contagious, and the joy I felt despite the loss via Launchpad, in innovating and creating in a collaborative way with my business partner and the team at MatchFIT is full of joy in the journey. 

    I told the team we’d lick our wounds of loss over the weekend and then rise this week having learned and grown, thankful for the experience and exposure Alabama Launchpad has given us.  But most especially, for the opportunity to live out our workplace values in the process, and to be a business that helps others discover workplace relationships that do the same. 

     

    Do your organization and your life decisions allow you to live out your values?

  • The Misconceptions of Business Continuity Planning

    The Misconceptions of Business Continuity Planning

    Last week I had the privilege of leading a workshop in partnership with the Huntsville-Madison Chamber of Commerce to discuss Business Continuity Planning with leaders in our area. The Covid-19 Pandemic caught many organizations unprepared and they have struggled through how to keep their business going during this time.  One reason for the lack of preparedness is misconceptions organizations have regarding Business Continuity Planning. 

    Misconception #1: My organization doesn’t have the time to create a Business Continuity Plan. And besides, we’ll never need it. 

    Yes, Business Continuity Planning takes time. It’s not something you can create overnight. And it takes input from multiple sources within your organization and possibly even outside of your organization. A successful Business Continuity Plan is designed by a team, not an individual. And even once designed, it requires regular review and updates. But the time you spend up front to create a solid Business Continuity Plan will save you time should you ever need to respond to a large-scale emergency. It will also ensure that you’re able to get your organization back up and running quickly and efficiently and minimize the impact to your employees & their families, clients, vendors, and your revenue. 

    I think it’s safe to say that many organizations now understand and acknowledge that they do have a need for a plan. But they’re scrambling to try and create that plan as they respond to the impact of the pandemic and doing so could be detrimental to the design of the plan.  

    Misconception #2: My organization isn’t big enough to need a Business Continuity Plan. 

    Regardless of the size of your organization, you need to assess your potential risk due to possible large-scale emergencies and determine how you would need to respond in order to keep your organization afloat and to insure the safety and well-being of your employees, their families, and your customers.

    One of my biggest concerns during the pandemic has been small businesses and how they will survive. Many small businesses were required to close their doors and that had a major impact on their revenue and their ability to retain employees. Sadly, some may not survive. Creating a plan to help assess the impact and determine how to respond could be the difference between surviving a large-scale emergency or having to close your doors permanently.  

    Misconception #3: Our employees will know what to do in the event of a disaster. 

    Employees are trained and prepared to handle small-scale emergencies and can usually do so without much direction. Your system goes down temporarily, your power goes out for the day. But they aren’t trained or prepared to handle large-scale emergencies. They look to leadership to guide them and through that guidance to put them at ease. And leadership needs to be prepared in advance to provide that guidance, to make critical decisions and implement those decisions, to reroute employees to assist with the restoration of critical functionality, and to honestly be the calm in the storm. 

    Watching leadership flounder in a time of crisis could be devastating to an organization’s employees, customers, and vendors. It could also have a negative consequence on your organization’s public image and reputation. 

    Misconception #4: We’ll just communicate with our employees if the need arises. 

    Last summer my father had open-heart surgery which resulted in pneumonia and a second surgery. I remember talking with my mother when he was readmitted to the hospital trying to determine who needed to be notified, who was going to notify them, and what they needed to be told. Neither of our minds was in the right place to be making those decisions at that time (and I’m sure we forgot some people). 

    The same goes for organizations. Determining who needs to be notified, who is responsible for notifying them, and what information to share should not be done in the middle of a stressful situation. Plan your communication in advance. By doing so, you can create a checklist of who needs to be informed and when, who will handle that communication, and what needs to be shared. The information you provide to your employees may be quite different from the information you share with customers and vendors. And some notifications may need to be made as soon as possible, while some can be delayed. By creating a list in advance and drafting scripts for each group, you can efficiently get that communication out and be sure that all necessary parties receive notification. 

    Misconception #5: We have insurance policies to cover us. 

    Most insurance policies will cover physical damage, many will not cover, or fully cover lost revenue. Review your insurance policies and determine if you need to adjust limits on a regular basis. In addition, your organization may want to consider adding Business Interruption Coverage. 

    While these policies can certainly help in a time of need, none of these insurance policies are going to get your organization back up and running. They may provide financial assistance to do so, but it is up to your organization to respond to and recover from an emergency. 

    Designing and implementing a Business Continuity Plan is no small feat, but if the Covid-19 Pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that the unexpected can happen and we need to be prepared for if and when it does. Is your organization prepared? 

     

    Here are some additional resources on Business Continuity Planning: 

    Preparing for the Worst: Business Continuity Planning

    Defeating the Kobayashi Maru, the No-Win Situation 

    4 Keys to Leading Through Crisis

    Creating a Business Continuity Plan Webinar & Worksheets