Written by Patrick Boëdec, April 2, 2022
This has always been a subject of attention for me; how can we explain that, from the same starting point, we find ourselves, twenty years later, with two individuals, one surfing from success to success, the second suffering a dull career?
It is the same in our personal life, we always have, in our entourage, people with whom we have affinity, this is since they are more attentive, more positive, they take time to listen to us, comfort us, encourage us. They express their opinion, and we know that it is for our own good, while the others appear indifferent, distant, or even haughty.
The first people think "marginal" in their relationship with the others, the little time they devote to us makes the difference, in our eyes. In the end, the first one's win and the others lose.
With the hindsight of experience, inevitably with age, beyond management styles, beliefs, situations to be managed, I notice that the recipes for success are not found in any management manual, although there are thousands of them praising the best ways to be assertive, to exercise one's leadership, to express one's charisma or even to awaken the entrepreneurial fibers that lie dormant...
During my career, I have also seen people cross fields of embers, come back with starfish around their neck, kiss trees, an incredible number of ways to surpass themselves, but none of them explains how to always act appropriately.
Successful people, in the end, have the most precious gift, that of thinking in a marginal way, of having developed a different scale of value, therefore making better decisions, interacting with others more effectively.
Beyond a management school, Marginal Thinking is a state of mind. Marginal thinking is a way of understanding a complex situation more broadly, i.e., reading it in its entirety. I suggest you discover this concept which can be broken down into 10 golden practices.
1- Know how to observe and seize opportunities
We are not equal in our ability to read what is happening in the space of a second; on this point, the goal is to expand what we learn in a very short time, to be on the lookout for all the weak signals, the information that we can collect during an exchange, a meeting, a negotiation.
Actively listen, not just to what is said, but how it is said. Observe the language, the choice of words, the quality of the syntax, the tone, the speed of speech, the precision of the arguments, the level of preparation, but also the aplomb with which things are affirmed, without forgetting the position of the hands and the eyes, are they not said to be the mirror of the soul?
According to Professor Albert Mehrabian 93% of our communication is "non-verbal", I do not know if this percentage is accurate, but it is certain that our body reflects our emotions, our intentions, our repulsions, or positions. In short, everything that we do not want to reveal or express openly.
"The marginal is letting go. Stepping back to observe and understand what is not being said or read what is not being written."
This ability to identify the unspeakable, like all other skills, can be worked on and developed. It requires a little rigor and attention, but very quickly, it will prove to be prolific and of great help in seizing an opportunity.
In conclusion, one can gather a lot of information and therefore possibilities of action, in a fragment of time, if one knows how to observe and listen more...
Another element to consider in understanding the other person is his position in front of an implicating decision; he always reasons on three levels:
Political, Emotional and Rational.
Political: "What's the win for me? Can I stand out from my colleagues and competitors? If I take this or that position, what will the others think of me but also my boss? Is it dangerous? Can I get 'fired'?"
Emotional: "Is it ethical? Is it compatible with my values?
Do I believe in it? Is it feasible? Am I capable of doing it?"
Contrary to popular belief, the rational part is not the first criterion to be taken into account in a decision.
If the person you are talking to feels that he or she has something to lose or that he or she will put himself or herself at risk, regardless of the merits of what you are proposing, that person will try to buy time, to push the deadline further away.
Engineers are generally quite vulnerable to this decision-making pattern, they think that because it is logical and the arguments are based on a careful series of analyses, the decision will have to stand on its own. It rarely happens this way. People think first in terms of risks, power, benefits to be gained, before thinking "collectively", and therefore rationally.
If you have not understood what your interlocutors have to gain or lose on a personal basis, you cannot consider yourself in control of a situation and in this case, you run the risk of seeing the decision escape you.
2- Mastering time
According to Eisenhower's matrix, time management consists in focusing on what is urgent and important, delegating or postponing other tasks. If we consider that what we live is only the result of our decisions yesterday, the way we allocate our time today will determine whether we prepare ourselves for a life of happiness or misfortune.
Time is a trade-off, a matter of decision. It forces us to set priorities to find a subtle balance between effort and impact, to decide how best to optimize our resources and abilities.
It is therefore pointless to justify our erring ways just because of a lack of time. Everyone has the same number of hours in the day, but we use it to do other things. For example, some employees regularly arrive late for meetings or react late to emails... this is the result of decisions taken in full awareness, considering that nothing happens by chance. It is a signal that these people send to you and that has to be interpreted.
"The quality of a job is generally proportional to the time spent on it"
In thinking "marginal", we have an imperative to be generous in our efforts, until we reach the feeling of plenitude of a job well done. It is advisable to move away from the incidental tasks, that is, those that are not directly linked to a result, to concentrate only on the main thing. Don't get bogged down with peripheral considerations that don't add value to what you are trying to deliver.
Achieving this result requires concentration; it is more and more difficult today to reach it, while remaining deaf to the "over-solicitations" of our connected world. It is nevertheless a condition for success.
"The lack of time, as an excuse, should not hide a lack of know-how"
For example, rereading a presentation to make sure that each idea and each sentence is correctly argued and indisputable. It means rehearsing at least twice, before meetings, refusing to take the guesswork out of things, leaving nothing to chance, considering every possible scenario, brainstorming on all possible alternatives.
Increasing your level of professionalism means paying constant attention to detail. There can be no substance without form. By analogy if we compare the background to an engine, you will not put the power on the road without an excellent chassis, which is the form. The two are totally inseparable.
3- Expand the level of competence and autonomy.
Thanks to this ability to see more sides of a situation, the manager will also be able to make his teams progress to meet the challenges he must face.
One of the primary responsibilities is to push his team on the path of accomplishment, to transmit to them this imperative will to surpass themselves. Isn't the ultimate goal of management to increase the skills of the people who are hierarchically or functionally attached to you, both technically and behaviorally?
This spiral shows that professionalization is a prerequisite for autonomy, which itself generates motivation
Feedback is an excellent vehicle for progress and should be considered a precious gift, as it is a summary of refined situations of analysis and reflection.
"Feedback is the fastest way to progress; to refuse it or hide behind justifications is to regress and age prematurely"
It also means knowing how to reward and thank your employees regularly for the quality of their work and their contribution to the collective momentum.
4- Behaving Appropriately
Acting Apropos means adapting to any situation by putting into perspective the different components of a problem, i.e., separating the essential from the superfluous. Timeliness means seeing further, wider, and faster than your interlocutors to better anticipate.
"The marginal is letting go. Stepping back to observe and understand what is not being said, or read what is not being written."
To do this, it is necessary to gather and order the events, even the most insignificant, like pieces of a puzzle, to understand what is not visible at first glance.
Leadership consists of capturing what others do not see and bringing them together through its ability to give meaning to their actions. The goal is to convince, to set in motion the collaborators to make them do things that they do not want to do.
For example, in the construction sector, during the reorganization of a group, I came across a partner who had this gift of anticipation, this ability to project himself into the future, so that his interlocutors were always one step behind.
To get the division directors on board, he suggested that they agree on a few "structuring principles" to position the so-called "support" functions. Taken individually, these rules seemed harmless, common sense, even painless at first glance; but when they were combined, they became so restrictive that there was only one way to proceed, his way.
A "support" function is attached to the user who represents the greatest load
The "support" functions must be positioned in the organization, as close as possible, to those who use them,
Each service is subject to a service contract and will be billed to internal customers,
Each user can compete for the services of a division with companies outside the group.
With the support of these simple rules, the organization was successfully deployed and resized by the operational staff, who were forced to apply the rules that they themselves had validated. In these conditions, it is difficult to go back and resist...
To understand faster, it is therefore to anticipate in order to rally what is scattered to its cause.
5- Take control of your destiny and be ambitious
We need to challenge our existing ways of working, reconsider their principles, essence, origins and logic in order to better liberate the talents that contribute to them, every day.
When faced with a decision to be made or a malfunction to be resolved, we must make a clear distinction between indications and information. If indications have not been cross-referenced by several different sources, they cannot be considered reliable enough to make a decision. It is therefore necessary to fight against illusory certainties or peremptory assertions that become, with time, polluting.
Similarly, one must not confuse symptoms with root causes. If you act on the symptoms, you won't get results. It is therefore necessary to identify the root causes that have caused the dysfunctions.
They are what you need to act on, they are rarely located where the symptoms appear. Acting on these root causes not only provides an answer to the symptom, but also solves problems encountered in other departments due to transversality and interfaces.
"The marginal is to oversimplify something very complicated, which is the most elaborate form of excellence, that is, to help take the first steps in a direction."
Similarly, experience often translates into the ability to identify interdependencies in causality, which translates into depth of analysis. This quality helps us to step back and consider more realities of an event, to expand the number of possible actions, which brings us back to timeliness.
A reality is therefore a perceived structure, a set of references that are used by an individual to make decisions. It is formal and sometimes supplants the rational. Reality has its perimeter, its causality, its ramifications, its iterations, and its beliefs, it is existential.
It is made up of several superimposed levels and is generally incremental, it is the staircase reasoning.
"To communicate is to help others transpose themselves into another reality"
In conclusion, there is always a more subtle way of appreciating a situation and enriching its scope of action, like Russian dolls that fit together.
Everyone sees their own reality, part of a kind of "Meta" reality. The length of view of an individual depends on his experience, it can be limited to what is immediately readable, facial; For example, a distributor can be defined as a retailer of products, a second way of perceiving it would be to describe the job of distribution, not simply as a merchant, but also as a real estate job. A third way of looking at it would be that he must satisfy all the needs of a customer, throughout his day and in his activities. So, there is not one, but many realities. The talent is to see as much as possible to increase one's ability to appreciate situations and to decide.
6- Leave an imprint in the memory, play on the law of attraction
Seeking the marginal is like making an imprint, i.e., leaving something of yourself in the memory of your interlocutor. The best way to achieve this result is to teach someone something they don't know yet. You can also help the person to structure his reasoning by challenging his positions or making him see a consequence that he had not considered in his thinking until now.
In short, provide him with methodology and the diagram above shows how to approach a problem:
In all situations, whether it is for a company or for your interlocutor, you must start from the current situation, what we call in our jargon the "As Is". What is the level of competence, know-how, operational or financial performance of the company today.
In the same logic, we have a "To Be", a desired target; what should the company or the person be able to do in one, two or three years, this is the target model.
The "To Be" is usually imposed by regulatory changes, environmental constraints, competition actions, new entrants, consumer expectations, technological leaps... in short, whatever the reasons, your interlocutor must deliver a "To Be".
Naturally, between the target model and the current situation, there is a gap that the company will have to fill, a gap between what the company should be able to do tomorrow and what it is able to do today.
This gap has to be measured financially and this is what we call the top-down business case. There is no reason to stress an organization, to challenge employees by changing methods, tools... if there are no significant financial gains to go from "As Is" to "To Be".
Once the "Top Down" business case is validated by the management team, the "To Be" must be delivered. The company will then have to launch a series of projects to close the gap between the existing and the target. This is the "Bottom-Up" business case.
Companies are generally limited in their execution; sometimes in their financing capacity, or by the availability of their resources, but also for questions of competences or even by a logical sequencing of activities; one cannot launch such project until others have been completed.
To carry out this prioritization work, the company builds its budget and identifies priorities according to three criteria: the financial stakes, the level of difficulty and the speed of obtaining gains. The roadmap thus created starts with what is easy, fast and what pays off.
With this methodology, surprise your audience with your erudition, the structure of your reasoning, and your iconoclastic way of looking at the world, i.e., by taking more height and offering more perspectives.
Do not hesitate to dramatize to better touch the emotional fiber of your interlocutors. If we take numbers as an example, rather than writing 189%, say twice as much... The goal is to get the stakeholders moving and to unite them around a shared vision, yours.
Leaving a mark is the result of meticulous preparation. Improvisation is not acceptable during a meeting, think about optimizing every minute of the meeting, don't take up time that doesn't belong to you. At the end of the meeting, your interviewer should feel that he was right to meet you and that he did not waste his time! This is the condition to build credibility with your interlocutors.
Stay pragmatic, don't exhaust yourself rowing against the current if the effort to be made is disproportionate to the gains to be made. If your position is untenable, don't be stubborn, put on a brave face and play the next move! This "leap frog" strategy generally proves to be a winner in the medium and long term. Avoid behaving like Don Quixote, don't fight against chimeras, don't let your "Ego" lock you into positions "until the end" by dogmatism.
7- Focus on the result and not on the effort, increase the level of requirement
It is undeniable that the marginal requires the courage to work a little more, you can compensate for this load by efficiency and effectiveness and especially by speed. Generally, the method helps to be better in the movement of the search for perfection.
Based on the principle that every decision generates a consequence; performance is generally proportional to the effort made. If the result is not there, don't look for excuses, but for how to do better next time. Never hide behind a weather report to justify a poor performance.
On this topic, curiosity is a powerful fuel to create success. Learning, discovering, being surprised, deciphering, deepening everything that is new are invaluable qualities of a manager. Curiosity is also the ability to question oneself, the courage to revisit one's certainties, to look for innovations that will change our daily lives.
With someone who is curious, you can do anything or redo it. Personally, I have never recruited a candidate who did not demonstrate this ability, right from the first interview.
This is more important if we put into perspective the technological tsunami, already on our doorstep, which will reshuffle all the cards in its path like a groundswell.
"Constantly reinventing ourselves by shedding old certainties".
One only has to look at groups as famous as Alcatel, Nokia, Arthur Andersen, Dexia, Monsanto, Evergrande, to a lesser extent Boeing weakened with the design errors of the 737, Casino, Ubisoft, GM, or the recurrent weaknesses of Renault shares, Carrefour, the list is endless... Some have disappeared, others are forced to move closer together or to be absorbed cheaply. What all these companies have in common is the same diagnosis: they cannot manage to jump from one cycle to the next.
When you look closely, the decline of companies is generally the consequence of a management that, with its ancient victories, has been slow to question itself, and has remained, in a way, arrogant, entrenched behind outdated models. Yesterday's recipes are rarely tomorrows. It is the acceleration of the cycles.
8- Gérer sa carrière pour étendre son influence
To progress in an organization, to take more responsibilities is an obligation. To progress is to increase one's capacity to do.
Companies recruit managers not for what they are today, but for what they will be tomorrow, i.e., taking on more responsibilities to meet future challenges.
There are two types of promotion, the one called "elevation" climbing by being "in someone else's suitcases", and the one you get yourself by the quality of your network.
"The most effective way to build your network is to use the networks of others."
In the first case, it is necessary to identify the next leaders and to get closer to them, in the other case, it is necessary to build both one's own network and to use the network of others.
In both cases, you must create intimacy with your interlocutors to "get the right to"; that is to say, to approach more personal subjects, to share their ambitions: "You will become visible to those people who will count tomorrow. It is the same for those who could help you reach a higher position, simply because they will have understood that making you climb is in the general interest, that of society. This work must be carried out at a very early stage, hence the obligation to see far ahead and to anticipate what we have developed in the 4th good practice.
To reach your flight altitude, you will have to use your two engines, one with medium thrust, based on your results, and the other more efficient one whose power comes from the quality and efficiency of your network.
Beyond the balance sheets and the good numbers, almost all the leaders I have met have come out of the shadows thanks to the "Tinkerbell" fairies who bent over their "cradle" at a certain point in their career and never abandoned them afterwards. Their talent is to have appeared on the radar of their sponsor and to have been recognized as a creator of value for the future.
9- Act as an exemplary leader
Marginalization means providing your employees with that little extra touch of well-being at work and making sure that they are fulfilled in their environment.
Knowing how to give "positive signs of recognition" is a fundamental act of management. They make life more pleasant, help people feel good, recognized, and useful. These signs are simple, free, easy, and terribly effective.
To thank is to notice, it is the most fundamental act of management. Acknowledging what has been done is also giving meaning to the execution.
Thinking of devoting a few minutes of your time to your collaborators to give them encouragement, advice, or constructive feedback to make them progress more quickly is probably the best return on investment you could get in management.
Civility should not flirt with familiarity, and kindness should not rhyme with weakness. It is possible to create proximity while maintaining the necessary distance from emotions. Nevertheless, intimacy and credibility are two interdependent notions, they are the conditions to obtain "the right to" mentioned earlier, the one to progressively approach subjects that were unattainable until now, for example, sharing concerns, fears, ambitions, in short personal subjects to improve the communication channel between you and your targets.
This is more imperative if we consider that the company is composed of internal networks, that is the informal organization chart, generally resulting from mergers or common experiences. These groups can be sectarian or even clannish. Influences evolve according to the success of their leaders, the alliances formed... In fact, any relationship in a company can be likened to a concordance of interests that are perishable over time.
The easy solution is to lock oneself into the clan of the strongest of the moment. But internal struggles are made of cycles, of ups and downs. It is rare to ride the crest of the wave for long. Freeing yourself from belonging exclusively to a network is a condition for long-term sustainability.
Be transparent, never repeat, under any circumstances, what you have heard from your contacts. This is a sine qua non condition for moving from one clan to another. By applying this simple rule of neutrality, you will quickly become the best-informed person in the company.
Finally, a leader seeks simplicity, moving away from heroic paths that are riskier in nature. The Stanley matrix is a good example
"The fringe is about not spreading yourself too thin in the search for complicated solutions when simple solutions can be applied."
Ralph Stacey proposed a matrix representing both the degree of certainty about the solution to be delivered and the level of agreement between parties on a proposed solution.
As a result, the less agreement you have with your action and the greater the uncertainty of success, the more you reduce your chances of success.
The endless American "Make it simple and stupid" has its virtues...
10- Act as an entrepreneur and accelerate
Entrepreneurial culture is at the heart of "Think Marginal". Although all ideas, innovations, are visible to all, the entrepreneur is the only one to transform them into profit.
He also demonstrates another quality, that of adopting the "And" rather than the "Or" which is divisive. As everyone knows, life is neither white nor black, nothing is clear-cut. However, it is easy to put everything in opposition; the "Or" separates, distances even more the opposites whereas the "And" unites them, reconciles them. The "And" is subtle, it puts in perspective the different sensibilities, enriches the palette of options. It favors the proliferation of ideas, whereas the "Or" is reductive, sometimes clear-cut to the point of derision, and contributes to reducing the field of possibilities.
Another aspect of entrepreneurship consists in rejecting the "expensive" economies, those realized by low-cost acquisitions, which prove disastrous in use. The marginal will strive to spend or invest a little more, which, in the long run, will generate more value to the company.
The entrepreneur is also unique when it comes to launching a start-up or putting an aging group back on track. He is driven by a vision of his own that brings people together.
He analyzes market information, the competition, the environment... in an original, iconoclastic way. His personality emanates an irrepressible will to succeed. He demonstrates an unfailing determination, never doubting. He will focus on the search for work well done, without over-quality, without over-exertion, with the concern that everything must be perfect, readable, simple and as smooth as a polished pebble.
Today, management has no choice but to free itself from dogma and throw out all preconceived ideas, without any qualms about speeding up.
Enthusiasm is contagious, it re-oxygenates every cell of the company, it transforms the corporate culture and the individuals themselves in their desire to accomplish and conquer.
Conclusion
Marginal Thinking pushes you to act outside of convention, it forces you to appreciate a situation more broadly, to expand the field of possibilities, to be where no one expects you to be.
This eclectic state of mind, this new reading of a situation will turn into a beautiful road strewn with successes. These are the conditions to create a sustainable and constant value for the company, the employees and yourself.
Ambition is a break with what exists or what has already been done. Like the Japanese archers, who aim behind the target, ambition must be far ahead, beyond the "immediacy" of our societies.
Too many companies have become rheumatized, seized up over the years by their cumbersome procedures. They are therefore right to consider entrepreneurship and agility as the two vectors to give them back vitality and relevance on the market. Especially since technologies are becoming, day after day, existential conditions, and new barriers to entry.
Thinking Marginal is without a doubt, the best way to achieve this.
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