Consequences of What We Build

By far, what I've come to appreciate about my Far East Area role is the opportunity to interact and learn about each of the 11 “countries” in our Area – China (including HK), Taiwan (yes, not really a “country”), Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and Guam (for a very complicated reason, Guam is in the Far East and Japan is not).

One of my biggest work targets for this short period of time based out of HK is to connect with the implementation teams from each of the countries in the Area. We didn't have the luxury of physically visiting each country, but there have been conference calls, in person meetings in HK, etc. This is the one aspect of my job that I can't believe I'm getting paid for! A typical agenda has been as follows (significantly simplifying):

1. Meeting with implementation team (usually key change leaders of the local firm) – provide an indepth overview of the country practice – its history, challenges, strengthens, needs, etc.
2. Meeting with key leadership representatives to have similar discussion (usually the country managing partner, technical leader, etc.)
3. Review project implementation plan (this “project” touches pretty much most aspects of our business – people, technology, knowledge management, learning, resourcing, etc.). We have a discussion around the plan, challenge it, reinforce it, share best practices, etc.
4. Lunches, dinners to experience local food.. Usually spend time with the team from the local office, etc.
5. Develop action plan... some for the country, some for Area support...Basically a roadmap to drive change.

This usually takes about two days... In many ways this aspect of the job is similar to an internal consulting role. From a personal perspective, I get a chance to soak in all the cultural and business differences as the teams are running through the set agenda and questions.... and then you basically have an opportunity to ask pretty key people in the firm (we also call in a few service teams to make sure we’re hitting the mark with the practice as well) any question you want. Of course, these are questions with the interest of understanding, improvement, etc. in mind. Its amazing!

Okay… now that I have that out of the system, you understand the context of where some of my thinking is coming from.

The question that I've been really convicted with is how much depth and time do we spend thinking through the downstream consequences of the things we build. Whether we are “building” or “setting the tone” for infrastructure, processes, relationships, etc. These things inevitably have some positive or negative impact and instill change. This is also the reason I insist on having time on the agenda to go through history and background. Let me give you a few examples. One of our countries has engrained in the culture a desire for learning. They are one of the best in terms of having coaching networks, giving up their best people to instruct courses, etc. Its no coincidence that at one point in their history that they were not a part of a global firm, but were the head office of a regional Asian firm. They were the “global office” and all of their now senior partners were in learning, development, policy and management roles. They understood the need for such investments and their people see the value… even years later. Almost 100 years ago, the original founders of this regional firm were part time teachers at the local university. Some linkage? On the flip side, there’s also reasons why other practices or offices do not value technology, learning or whatever.

A few weeks ago, I was having dinner with my cousin in HK who is an architect. The conversation ended up shifting to the mid-levels escalator that I take home almost every night. Hong Kong is built off the side of a mountain. This escalator essentially takes people up and down the mountain between the mid-levels residential areas and the Central district. It's quite amazing – the longest outdoor covered escalator, 800m long, vertical climb is 135 feet, travel time is 20 minutes, etc. (For more information you can see (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central-Mid-Levels_escalator).

We were talking about how when the escalator was first proposed, there was both support and resistance against it. I'm not suggesting that everything about the escalator is good, but for some of the residents who complained about the building of the escalator, they also benefited from the skyrocketing of real estate values of this thing going through the side of their house. Today, this escalator is lined with shops, restaurants, bars, etc. Traffic patterns has also dramatically decreased because less people are sitting in taxis and buses zigzagging through these roads to get up and down the mountain. Where all the good and bad consequences of the escalator thought through when it was built? How dramatically has this escalator changed the shape of HK and the residents of HK? What are some of the untold or forgotten consequences of the escalator?

In addition to processes and infrastructure, relationships are similar. I was challenging a friend who just started with a new company to spend time thinking about the types of relationships he wants with his coworkers. Ever say to yourself – I'd love to go to lunch with that group, or that person sounds very interesting, but it'd be weird to go talk to them because I've never talked to them much in the two years I've been here. Sometimes we set a tone for a relationship that may be positive or negative right from the start. I'm challenging myself to think through this as we move to Taipei.

These are just small, not so good examples, of how we set-up processes, infrastructure, habits and relationships could have a lasting impact. It's easier to build things right from the beginning than to try to drive change later.

I'm enjoying the very real aspects of my job... but also very convicted and challenged to really reflect and think through the consequences of what we've building. It's good and bad, but things are moving so quickly here in Asia that we need and can make pretty important decisions quickly. It's a very different space than working at one of the Big Six Canadian banks! What will be the impact of this “network” or “coaching structure” or “learning approach” have on the firm and these people in five, ten or twenty years time? The neat thing about our business is that many of our people move on to key positions in different companies. In China, we're taking on over 1,000 new hires a year now. That's an incredible amount of people to train effectively. If we're not careful we can very easily lose control over how we want to build and mould these professionals into the firm.

The other very interesting aspect (for those of you who have worked in accounting firms) is that while I'm experiencing lots of cultural differences in the various countries I interact with, I also can see a very distinct E&Y and accounting firm culture. I felt at home almost immediately after arriving here because there was enough familiarity with how the firm does things. In some ways its like I never left!

I'm also recognizing that this grand treatment and respect that I've received in these initial visits have been out of courtesy for the role. These men and women who are leading these functions are very smart and very good at what they do. This isn't a case where any one person has superior knowledge or intelligence... but it's a case where we're able to pull together the right resources, right thinking and right action to get the most effective and efficient solution (there's Biblical concepts and solutions in here for sure!). I'm still struggling a bit to build credibility and respect with these contacts. I'm also very aware that its okay not to have an answer, but if I ever start delivering solutions or answers that have no substance – I'm cut off! Especially in Asia, if you don't have positional power, you have to have value, respect and relationship for people to pick-up your phone call when they see your name come up on the call display.

Anyhow.. that's from a work perspective. Just personally very convicted and challenged to be sure about what we recommend and build... Pushing our teams to do the same thing. There's a balance though I'm trying to feel between spending too much time challenging the assumptions and taking a risk and making a decision. I'm hoping to pay a visit to some friends at the firm in Toronto to talk through some of the things that we build back in 2002/2003 when I was in knowledge and learning there. It's a blessing to be a part of learning about all of this... and having a hand in driving some change in the short and long term. As much as we have professional and ethnical responsibilities towards our job, we do bring our own worldview, backgrounds and experiences to this. I've learned a lot at work that I've applied to “church” and a lot at “church” that have applied to the workplace. God has made us as complete and integrated people.

I'll end off on a more personal note. Along the same lines, I've seen how God has used relationships and people to shape us. As you know, I've enjoyed the blessing of catching up with many old friends from very different circles and walks of life. However, I'm more and more convicted that these connections are by God's design. He, as the master “designer” has put specific people at specific times in my life to shape you and I into who we are today. I see that more and more clearly as I have some more time to reflect and connect the dots. I encourage you to do the same in some of your spare time (this is really for another entry!)... but consider the people, books, events, themes, ideologies, challenges in your own life history and how these have shaped you. It may even give you an indication of where you’re headed into the future!

Okay.. gotta run. Its 11:35pm and the mid-levels escalators turn OFF at midnight. Don't really feel like walking up the mountain!