A Drive for Excellence at Ashland Inc.
By Bill Wilson
Jim O’Brien, Chairman of Ashland Inc., brings a vision of a cooperative synergistic company, all of whose multiple business units would rank in the top 25% of their industries. These business units, with 2004 revenues totaling $8.4 billion, include Valvoline, Ashland Specialty Chemical, Ashland Distribution Chemical, and Ashland Paving and Construction. One of his strategies is to use management development and training as a vehicle to achieve that vision. I’ll talk some about the shape that training is taking, but first it’s important to see how business targets and training connect at Ashland.
Ashland has a history of making a serious commitment to management development and training to promote core messages. Let me give you what I have experienced as evidence of this serious commitment.
1. No quick fixes. Power + Systems’ involvement began in 1994 as part of an effort called “Simply the Best.” The business focus at the time was to create a more synergistic chemical company. “Simply the Best” was more than a catchy slogan; to support it, the company undertook a serious commitment to leadership development. The program included four weeks of leadership training delivered over a three to four year period. Between 1994 and 1998 700 hundred managers – from the president down to second shift supervisors - participated in four weeks of training.
2. Commitment to depth. Power + Systems’ Organization Workshop was a central component in the first year of the program and, for the second year, a variation of that workshop was created that served to refresh, deepen, and extend the messages. It was never a matter of “We did the workshop, so now let’s move on.” The goal was to continue to work the experiences and concepts so as to reinforce and deepen the learning and connections to day to day organizational life.
3. Continuity and breadth. In 2001, in order to bring new management hires and promotions up to speed, the company asked us to create a condensed version of the program, which we did.
4. Common language. Language that is developed in certain programs is used in other programs and in a variety of settings. For example, the concept of Door B is a central message of the Organization Workshop. Whereas Door A is the blind reflexive response we make that results in unproductive personal and organizational consequences, Door B is thoughtful and involves taking a stand for effectiveness. Example: When we’re Top, instead of sucking responsibility up to myself and away from others (Door A), my stand is to be a Top who creates responsibility throughout the organization (Door B.) Door A weakens me, disables others, and is unproductive for the organization. Door B strengthens me, others, and the organization.
Once the concepts of Door B and Stand are established, they become the bases for mutual coaching and for clarifying choices managers are facing.
5. Synergy in training. Companies often bring in a series of specialists; each trainer does his or her thing without much interaction and mutual learning among them. This has not been the case in our work at Ashland. Just as synergy among business units is a key business strategy, so is synergy among training technologies a central training strategy. From the very beginning in 1994 and continuing today, training specialists were encouraged to understand, learn from, and build upon one another’s expertise. Often we become partners in designing and carrying out new programs – synergies. The language and frameworks of the Organization Workshop - particularly the notions of Door B stands - support and build on other aspects of the program including Situational Leadership, MBTI, and a 360° feedback exercise. My personal favorite is connecting the Organization Workshop framework to the movie “Remember the Titans.” We get lots of comments about how that movie allows people to see examples of the concepts we’ve been presenting. There are many moments demonstrating empowerment, initiative, “stuff” getting in the way, Door B stands. If you would like to discuss them in detail, please get in touch with me directly.
The Current Initiative: PACES and High Performance Leadership. All of these principles come into play in a current initiative in which management training supports a business mission. One of Jim O’Brien’s goals upon becoming chairman was to create common processes across businesses all of which drive excellence. One of these common processes is management training. Valvoline, Ashland Specialty, Ashland Distribution, and Ashland Paving And Construction managers would all go through a common training series, and the training series is directly linked to the new corporate vision.
Ashland has constructed and articulated values, vision, and behavioral indicators underlying the change initiative. The behavioral indicators are PACES: Proactivity, Accountability, Collaboration, External focus, and Speed. The High Performance Leadership training is geared to examine how PACES and Values play out in the workplace.
The Organization Workshop is one key component of the program; but in this case, the workshop is contextualized in terms of the corporate themes of PACES. For example:
- What are the possibilities of a system in which people at all levels and in positions are living PACES?
- What keeps us from that possibility? What are the special challenges in each place?
- What stands and strategies can we use to get there?
I have considerable contact with people at all levels of Ashland, and the major change that I see is that the drive for excellence is now more universal.
