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Housing leaders have two heads! One is socially responsible – concerned for customers, and passionate about building communities. The other is a business head – concerned to manage risk well, attract investment and run an effective and productive business. Having two heads can prove challenging at the best of times as leaders seek to give clear messages to their organisations, board and stakeholders.
Giving a clear commercial lead is complex in financially uncertain times – on the one hand this year’s NHF spring conference for Finance Directors is upbeat about the signs of economic recovery, the ten year rent certainty and the HCA’s report that the industry is in good financial strength. On the other there are underlying global tensions and vulnerabilities, a range of threats to housing associations income, and the personal financial difficulties faced by many clients and communities.
Commercial success comes from building a commercial culture to shape day to decisions and behaviours. How visible are your commercial goals? One team I worked with were really focused on generating a surplus to build new homes – “Our target this year is to get an extra 220 homes built.” That’s pretty clear. Another Housing association has inspiring posters all over the place promoting their impact on customers – but where are the commercial equivalents about releasing resources and hitting financial targets? I worked with the senior managers of a Housing Association to raise their involvement in the annual planning process. They produced a broad, high impact plan – and then managed it well because they had “skin in the game” and understood better why the target and budgets mattered.
HCA are putting more pressure on Housing Associations to provide value for money –“they need to demonstrate they are not just saving costs, but are using their assets to maximum benefit, providing quality services and delivering high tenant satisfaction at the appropriate price. Each provider needs to include a value for money statement in their accounts and publish the results of their self-assessment on their websites.” Gary Moreton Guardian Housing Network.
We all do a great of thinking! The question is how commercial is our thinking? Are our meetings enabling wide ranging, intelligent commercial discussions? Do all participants know enough to make a great contribution? Or do they sit a little open mouthed and over awed as the Finance Director slices and dices the figures. How good are your commercial discussions? Here are some possible discussion points.
Jim Collins produced the dynamic “Good to Great” concepts. His most recent book “Great by Choice” looks at successful businesses. He spotted three key features of successful organisations They are great at using empirical data to shape their decisions – decisions are not driven by anecdotes, hunches, or high level figures. They use strong empirical data that looks at the impact of a decision and the resource implications. Empirical decisions are based on sound evidence and give organisations the confidence to move forward quickly.
They are paranoid – and well prepared for predictable surprises –“we anticipated government action on that” – and the unpredictable – “who would have believed that Russia would annex Newcastle?” Bill Gates once mistakenly published a memo with his worries for Microsoft – back in 1991 – he lost $300m with his paranoia – but it seems to have stood him in good financial stead in the longer term! Great organisations encourage innovation and change but recognise it’s not the quality of your ideas that count – it’s your ability to implement and use those ideas that really matters.
Commercial success is not the same for social housing as it is for others who are answerable to shareholders, investors and their owners. But all commercial success is driven by a healthy, productive, and innovative organisation culture. RSLs can learn from the success stories.
John Lewis is answerable to its staff – all are partners in the firm. The partners regularly engage with managers to find better ways of working, whether it be in the shops, offices or the distribution warehouses. All staff want the business to succeed – they understand the financial figures and the business makes full use of their expertise and commitment to deliver improvements. John Lewis improves and grows year on year.
Gazelles – one of the success stories for many firms is the Gazelle approach. The leaders invest considerable time in shaping and managing their targets – with daily reviews, weekly updates and a quarterly strategic priority setting meeting. Gazelles have clarity – people know what is expected of them and they are very deliberate about managing their finances, risks, performance, returns on investments etc. As the name suggests Gazelles move rapidly – because a strong management framework keeps them safe and responsive.
Mittelstand - £20m – £500m t/o are the stars of the German and other economies. Success comes from their cultures – a constant focus on improved efficiency and productivity, a strong customer reputation and regular customer contacts delivers the income they need. A commitment to innovation and respecting and engaging the work force creates the dynamic energy that makes growth sustainable.
Product and service development - commercial leaders looks closely at key customers – they know who contributes the most profit, buys the most services. They ask – what else might they buy? What services might they look for in the future? Successful companies use social media to get instant feedback and ideas from their customers. They engage customers in designing and shaping new products and services. They invest resources and time in looking for sound opportunities.
Three features stand out in a commercial culture – commitment, focus and constant improvement – across the whole organisation, long term and day by day. It shapes the dna.
Commercially successful companies have strong disciplines in place to manage what they have well – whilst investing resources and time in shaping the future. Four commercial challenges stand out
1) Do you invest enough time in interrogating your figures effectively – and have you got the right data to create a strong and robust empirical base for the future?
2) How frequently do you deliberately review the effectiveness of your organisation? How can you best strengthen its focus, operational management, and productivity?
3) Are you investing enough time and resource (your high calibre people and emerging talent) to explore opportunities for greater effectiveness, new income streams, likely market trends and issues, and risks?
4) Can you successfully turn commercial targets and goals into hearts and minds issues – where people are passionate about how commercial success is turned into greater social impact on your customers and their communities?
We are experts in leadership and change within Housing. Here are some practical ways in which we could help you.
Work with you to build a commercial culture -that impacts your meetings, decisions, behaviours and performance management. Help shape a change programme with a clear vision and tools to sharpen commercial thinking.
Executive coaching – our coaches work one to one with leaders to help them shape and deliver change. You can check out Schaller International, if you are looking for a team leader coaching.
Commercial training – ensuring your leaders and managers are skilled in interpreting data managing direct and indirect costs, creating robust business cases and creating a culture where all staff think and act commercially.
Establish commercial project teams – to help you invest in the future. These teams would be tasked with looking at specific issues such as product and service development, new investment opportunities, developing a cost effectiveness programme, building a commercial culture. We would facilitate the meetings to make them robust, innovative and a place to develop new thinking and solutions
The Caret team brings expertise in commercial management, delivering change, leadership and innovation. We work in close partnership with our clients to help them deliver improvement.
All supportive techniques, like meditation, yoga, chanting, music, tai chi, or walking in nature, share one common thread: they focus the mind. Training yourself to be present calms the nervous system.
Whether you pay attention to a piece of dark chocolate as it melts in your mouth and releases phyto-chemicals throughout your system, or you attend to your breath in Vipassana meditation, the calm center, so elusive in day-to-day life, expands before you like a vista of awareness.
The inner miracle of these ancient practices is how by cultivating your full attention, you come to know previously hidden aspects of yourself, your connection to all that is, the cyclic nature of life, and your innate ability to ride its waves.
Mindfulness can come bidden, as in a formal meditation or yoga practice; or, unbidden, when the awesomeness of a ripe peach floods your senses, or a loved one’s hug ignites primal feelings of connection. Opportunities to more fully experience life are available every day, provided we know how to access them through presence, silence, and attention. Formal practices help train the body-mind to this state of alert openness.
It may seem as if you only need to pay attention, but an open, receptive body enables you to fully experience the beauty inherent in nature, people, music, art, food—anything. Disciplines like tai chi, meditation, or yoga teach integration of the body, mind, and spirit. Each opens up the flow of chi, breath, or prana (the energy body) revitalizing you and making deeper connections possible.
Think back to a time when you were fully present. Maybe it was at the beach, in the mountains, with a loved one, or simply breathing in the fresh scent of the outdoors. If you remember it as salient, it was because your attention was completely devoted to experiencing that moment, and your body-mind was relaxed and open. You probably felt intensely alive, connected, and joyful. Those experiences do not have to be random, unusual, or infrequent. The good news is you can access wonderful states of being through fairly simple techniques. They may take a little time to learn and integrate into your life; but, once you do, you will have peak experiences on a regular basis.
Without a daily practice of yoga, meditation, or tai chi you have to wait for those natural highs to serendipitously occur. Learning how to catalyze them brings greater joy, serenity, stress relief, and perspective. In time, you will feel more in control of yourself and your reactions to the normal vicissitudes of life.
Paradoxically, sitting still in quiet meditation actually encourages a flexible mind. More than that, these practices lead to inner congruence between your true self and your behaviors. Of course, like learning to read, this can be a slow, non-linear process. Allow the inevitable backsliding, procrastination, and ambivalence. Be patient with a beginner's mind. Keep showing up. Even five minutes of daily meditation or yoga is a gift to yourself and your personal evolution. You don’t need to trek to Tibet, spend a fortune for a spa holiday, or devote hours a day. A steady, small practice will gradually become your path to inner peace and self-acceptance.
You might wanna check out Schaller International LLC to know more about leading your team.
