Hartford Business Journal

www.HartfordBusiness.com April 27, 2015 • Hartford Business Journal 25 BIZ BOOKS Key questions leaders must ask to strengthen their business "P eter Drucker's Five Most Important Questions — Enduring Wisdom for Today's Leaders" by Peter F. Drucker, Frances Hesselbein and Joan Snyder Kuhl (John Wiley & Sons, $20). Planning and continuous improvement fit hand-in-glove. Together they comprise "the process of strengthening what works and abandoning what does not … and making ongo- ing adjustments as condi- tions change." Whether you own a small business, run a nonprofit or are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, the answers to the five questions provide an insightful self- assessment of your business model's fluid dynamics. 1. "What is our mis- sion?" Succinctly identify why you do what you do. The mis- sion remains fixed while under- pinned strategy, tactics, pro- cesses, etc., respond to market realities. It's the cornerstone that guides decision-making and the yardstick that measures results. 2. "Who is our customer?" Don't think of the end-user as your only customer. There are also supporting customers — employees, suppliers, funding sources, etc. — on whom you rely to create products/ser- vices for end-users. Both types of custom- ers have "needs, wants and aspirations that continuously evolve over time." 3. "What does the customer value?" Don't answer this question until you talk with your end-user and supporting customers. The answer involves aligning what you offer with what they value. When talking to cus- tomers, you must "dig, frame and reframe" to delve into the why behind their answers. 4. "What are our results?" Quantitative results provide data; while important, they don't tell the whole story. Qualitative results provide individualized instances of impact. Use both to measure how well you stayed on mission and added value to end-user and supporting customers. 5. "What is our plan?" Build upon the strengths that drive the mission; abandon those that don't. Take risk; it's the only way to "look for tomorrow's success." Never really be satisfied with results; the finish line becomes the new starting line. Key takeaway: As you answer the five questions, remember that charting the path to the future isn't "my way"; it should involve spirited discussions with decision- makers to ensure that they have done their homework and buy in. • • • "Widgets: The 12 New Rules for Managing Your Employees As if They're Real People" by Rodd Wagner (McGraw- Hill, $32). Employees are human resources (i.e. intellectual capital) not assets (i.e. widgets) or expenses. Investing in ways that make them more valuable improves the bottom line. Managers' heads will nod in agreement with the previous sentences, yet Wagner's research shows that those nodding heads don't act that way. Across the global board, employee responses to the 100-question how-am-I-treated survey aver- aged between neutral and agree. Nineteen percent of the U.S. employees surveyed answered neutral or lower. Clearly there's a disconnect. Wagner offers 12 rules that will help your human resources thrive. Of these, "Getting inside their heads" tops the list. Businesses, especially large ones, "are adept at categorization rath- er than individualization." Categorizing them like interchangeable wid- gets overlooks the fact that motivation, learn- ing, abilities and goals are uniquely individu- al. There's no one-size-fits-all. To get the most out of their human resourc- es, managers must connect with them as indi- viduals. That doesn't mean becoming their friend or confidant. It does mean taking the time to find out what makes them tick. How? Regular, "what do you-need from me" conver- sations help the manager identify employee- specific drivers. The other 11 rules provide the framework for addressing those drivers. When employees believe they're heard and aren't part of the herd, there's positive response. Advice before reading the book: At WidgetsThe- Book.com, take the five- minute "New Rules" self- assessment developed from Wagner's research. The results help frame your perspective of employees as human resources. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak OTHER VOICES Liquefied natural gas, expanded pipeline could quell CT's energy woes By Michael Ausere, Stan Blazewicz, and Richard Paglia I t was just past midnight during the winter of 2013. Winter Storm Nemo was barreling down on our region with fierce intensity, and demand for heat and electrical power strained New England's energy system nearly to the point of failure. A senior executive with ISO- New England, the organization charged with keeping the lights on, said, "…it was a close call." It doesn't take much to connect energy to your family's security. Warmth, light, hot and cold food, and physical security: all are quickly in jeopardy without reliable energy, 24/7, 365 days a year. If you've been through a major storm, you know how quickly this security can be put at risk. Close calls on cold winter nights, and cus- tomers' record-high electricity bills this winter, have put New England at the center of the reli- able, affordable energy discussion. Every day, people are talking about new infrastructure to make New England's energy systems more reliable, clean, efficient, and affordable — not just for average consumers, but for employers so they can create and maintain jobs. Our region has made great strides in the shift to cleaner, money-saving energy as homeowners and power generators switched to domestic natural gas. And as more solar and wind power comes online, quick-starting natural gas power plants will help maintain energy reliability by jumping in rapidly when the wind stops and clouds hide the sun. New England, however, still does not real- ize all the savings and reliability benefits of the tremendous natural gas supplies in neighboring states. New England energy prices are consis- tently higher than the rest of the continental U.S. and energy shortages pose risks at critical times. Some say that Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is the solution for those critical, high- demand days. We agree — but to a point. LNG is a great solution to supply natural gas on peak demand days. LNG, however, doesn't have to come from a ship or from distant for- eign ports such as Yemen. New England can rely on existing land-based LNG, fed by cheaper U.S. natural gas, to be transported via pipeline, stored, and called upon when needed most. Why did New England see enormous price spikes during the now-infamous polar vortex days of 2013-14? Yes, it was a cold winter. But why didn't more LNG tankers show up to help keep prices down and make sure we had the low-cost energy we need? First, you can't turn a ship like that on a dime. We're not talking about the rudder, although that is also a long-held truism of seafarers on big ships. We're talking about financial markets. When LNG ships are getting paid much more for their natural gas in other countries than they would in the U.S., the choice is simple: They won't sail to New England just to keep us warm; they'll set course for the highest bidders in for- eign lands. It would take more than a few dimes to turn those ships around. Second, even if LNG importers wanted to sud- denly appear because they think New England- ers will pay them attractively high prices, they still couldn't get ships here fast enough to react to a cold spell predicted many days in advance. More foreign LNG did show up in 2014-2015. Why? World prices were lower, and New England was one of the world's highest bidders, so the region became attractive once again. Even with the additional imported LNG, wholesale electric- ity prices in New England increased 175 percent from December 2014 to February 2015. What's the answer? A natural gas pipeline expansion combined with enhanced land-based LNG storage for peak demand days. We can expand existing facilities to get gas to key elec- tricity plants when it needs to be there. ICF Inter- national estimates that New England consumers could have saved $2.5 billion if such upgrades were in service during the winter of 2013-14. We can't let our energy security ride on either the waves of the high seas or those of the often more volatile international energy markets. Let's give New England the assur- ance of a reliable, flexible, and domestic nat- ural gas supply — priced at U.S. rates — to keep us warm on the coldest nights. n Michael Ausere is vice president of Eversource Energy. Stan Blazewicz is vice president of National Grid. Richard Paglia is vice presi- dent of Spectra Energy. Eversource, National Grid, and Spectra Energy are co-developers of Access Northeast, a proposed project to expand existing natural gas pipelines and land-based LNG facilities in New England. ▶ ▶ Never really be satisfied with results; the finish line becomes the new starting line. ▶ ▶ We can't let our energy security ride on either the waves of the high seas or those of the often more volatile international energy markets.

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