Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que
On our 3,108 mile, Drive for Strategy, one of my biggest surprises was Kansas.
I have been to Kansas several times before. However, the only place that I had been in Kansas, was Kansas City, Kansas to eat at arguably the best BBQ in the US, Joe’s Kansas City Bar-B-Que.
However, when you first arrive at Joe’s, you may be surprised, it is a gas station. How could the best BBQ be in a gas station? In particular, my son, Tyler, was very reluctant to wait 45 minutes in line, to eat pulled pork and pork ribs. As we were waiting in line, a family from Nebraska, asked, “Is this worth the wait?”
I said, “trust me.”
After a couple of bites, Tyler said that is the best pork ribs! On our way out, I saw the Nebraska couple and asked them, was it worth it? They smiled and said, “Absolutely.”
If Tyler, who wanted to get back on the road to reach St. Louis or this Nebraska family bailed out of the line, they would have missed some of the best BBQ they have ever had.
They were prejudging the location and questioning whether they should be patient. The patience paid off.
(Pro-tip: My friend and colleagues, locals, Tom Witty and Paul Harrell, highly recommend Joe’s. My brother-in-law Steve Smith, makes the best pulled pork, told us to get the burnt-ends at Joe’s with the pulled pork. Good call!)
Prejudgment and Strategy
Let’s define Prejudgment according to the Cambridge Dictionary:
An opinion about a situation or a person that is formed before knowing or considering all the facts.
For a CEO heading into a strategic facilitation, it is reasonable and fair, to believe they should have a prejudgment about where they want to go next. After all, this is where the majority spend their waking hours, leading and managing their business.
How and why can a facilitator who does not know every detail of the business help?
The biggest why is because the lens of the CEO and leadership is generally “IN the business”. They are appropriately focused on meeting the top line, serving their clients, managing cash flows, operations, gross margins, and the bottom line, they often miss, where is this organization really going? Not in terms of money, but strategic direction. Instead of focusing on saying “Yes”, they need to stop, and consider whether they should start saying “No”.
This is the importance of a strategic facilitation. Focusing on where you should be saying “Yes”, and a clear strategic focus, to be able to say “No.”
It’s hard to win, where you are trying to be everything for everyone. The late Jack Welch, CEO of GE, consistently said, you should try to be #1 or #2 in every market that you are in. If you can’t, you should get out.
When you are #1 and #2 in your market, clients come to you. They are willing to pay premium prices for you because you are the best in what you do for the particular market and vertical you are serving.
Therefore, it’s important, for the CEO and executive team, to have an open mind heading into a strategic facilitation. Listen to learn and understand the market trends, your position in the markets, your strengths, and where you have the best opportunity to win. Be open-minded about what you need for your People, Process, and Systems, to reach your intended destination. Your team will be motivated, confident, and excited to know they have an opportunity to be a winner at the end of your chosen race. |
