Bear On Business

Additional Feedback from 9-9-9 Sessions (Ken’s meetings)

Dan Caruso — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 07:02:05 +0000

I am typically somewhat skeptical of overly structured communication programs in favor of the theory developed in the early days of Hewlett Packard (and later popularized by management guru Tom Peters) termed “Management by Walking Around”. The idea behind the style is that by spending the majority of time with employees, customers, and suppliers management will have a solid grounding from which viable strategic direction can be set. However, there are two practical difficulties with this approach. First, as working managers with our own deliverables, we can’t spend our whole day speaking with our constituents (employees, customers and suppliers) – as much as we might like to. Second, “walking around” is problematic when many of the constituents are in different geographies.

So, I like the idea of the 9-9-9 sessions. It provides an opportunity to speak with managers that we don’t generally bump into in the hallway and has given me insight into some very real and specific challenges. While I have only held a handful of sessions so far, below are some of the common themes arising to date.

1) ZEN does a great job of communicating appropriately and employees have a good understanding of the strategy and what they need to do to create value

2) zColo has had some de-integration / integration challenges (to be expected), but is actually more cohesive and focused than I would have hoped given its short history as a stand-alone business

3) ZB is very customer focused (this came across consistently from each conversation)

4) All of the businesses (ZB, zColo and ZEN) have process challenges that need to be addressed (provisioning, network inventory, data management, etc)

5) We (Dan / Ken) need to do more Zayo Group communication

I hope to continue these sessions and through these conversations encourage an ongoing dialogue with employees that will help me understand our specific challenges. With a better understanding of these challenges, I can better support our operational management and allocate resources to where it provides the most value.

Feedback from 9-9-9 Sessions Underway

Dan Caruso — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 07:10:46 +0000

I’ve had several 9-9-9 Sessions. Here are a few interesting comments that came up:

1) ZB is very good at big project implementations. Very impressive how the broad team comes together to focus on these. However, ZB needs to improve on the smaller, more routine orders. (ZB)

2) ZEN regions are confident they will be able to create value through local strategies that leverage fiber assets (ZEN)

3) It would be helpful to have Roadmap for on-boarding new employees. (ZEN)

4) One of challenges is to eliminate job security fears that employees feel when we do additional acquisitions: “Am I going to lose my job when we consolidate?” (ZB) (See my perspective below)

5) Some ex-Fibernet customers do not know who their ZB Account Executive is. They should reach out to all customers. (From zCOLO, though comment about ZB)

6) A year ago, staffing and communications was a problem. However, we have made significant progress in both areas. (ZB) (Dan editorial—this comment almost certainly doesn’t apply to many areas within Zayo)

7) Optronics inventory is well understood. However, fiber inventory isn’t. We are good at seeing routes on a map, but haven’t captured reliable data on where we can splice into the fiber or excess fiber capacity. (ZB)

Several people cited the confidence and respect they had in their specific management teams. Most people expressed satisfaction in what they are doing and they feel Zayo offers is a good long term fit for them. Some people were complimentary of the work environment, citing “open and honest culture”. Other people warned about certain aspects of the culture—with the need for management to foster more open and respectful communications. Likewise, some people feel like they are empowered to get their job done, while others feel stifled by the need to participate in too many lengthy meetings.

On the job security question, I suggested that this is best handled through direct conversations with lines of management. Many people have little to fear—and it would behoove their line of management to communicate this. Others might not be able to get the reassurance they might be looking for—I caution management against giving their employees a false sense of security. Zayo Group is growing organically—and I expect this to continue. This is a positive fact that helps job security. However, the fiber-based telecom industry will consolidate—and jobs in certain areas of telecom will reduce. This might be discomforting, but it is a reality that all telecom professionals should consider.

The sampling is very limited at this point, so I caution against over-reacting to the positives or the negatives.

10-10-10 Sessions renamed “9-9-9 Sessions”

Dan Caruso — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 07:10:22 +0000

Blame Suzy Welch. She wrote a book on “10-10-10: A Life-Transforming Idea”. Her meaning—though different—is interesting. I’m not sure why it took a whole book (instead of a blog post) to describe it. Maybe because her idea is Life-Transforming. Or maybe because her husband’s name is Jack Welch.

In any case, I decided it best to change the name of my sessions to 9-9-9. What am I going to do with the 3 extra minutes? Last week, I wrote a blog post describing the “10-10-10 Sessions” . Ken desGarennes, Zayo’s CFO, and I are having sessions with senior team members to learn more about the inner-workings of Zayo. Thanks to the suggestions of one of our readers, I am also going to tweak the format.

The new agenda will have 3 nine-minute sections, where the first section is titled, “You and Your Role at Zayo.”

1. “You and Your Role at Zayo”

2. “Constructive feedback to Help Me do My Job Better”

3. “What Questions are on Your Mind?”

During “You and Your Role at Zayo”, we will cover:

How you came to be a part of the Zayo team?
What you do for Zayo?
Is it working out as you had hoped?
Do you plan to stay? Why/why not?
If given the opportunity, what would change about your role?

The “Constructive Feedback” segment is meant to entice you to share your suggestions and ideas. These can include what Zayo does well…what we need to improve…and what opportunities we are missing.

“What Questions are on Your Mind?” is your opportunity to ask questions. Don’t be shy.

Bear Chat

Dan Caruso — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 07:03:24 +0000

On Monday, I announced that Zayo Group will begin a new employee communications program. The program is likely to have four components:

10-10-10 Sessions
Executive Round Tables
zTube
Bear Chat

Over the past three days, I summarized the first three. Today I will cover Bear Chat.

For those of you who would be disappointed if I didn’t come up with a sarcastic line about the name, Bear Chat comes from combining the Bear (my affectionate nickname) with Chat (as in Chat Room). Very creative, don’t you think?

The format probably will require some experimentation. It is likely to be ad hoc sessions about twice a month, where I set aside an hour to hang out in a chat room. These might not be planned in advance…it might be announced a few hours in advance. We might blast an email and anyone who has time and desire to hop into the room would be able to. Given the format, we might need to limit attendance. This will be the experimental part of the Communications Plan, but if Kate Geosselin can hold a chat session, I suspect I can as well. I have no idea if Kate ever held one, nor have I ever watched her show. I do follow her via TMZ’ web site.

Employee Communications is extraordinarily important. Remember, it is more important for the hosts of these sessions to listen and learn than it is for them to talk and educate. I encourage all Zayo leaders to step their communications. Please feel free to piggyback on any of the formats above—or invent your own. If you use the 10-10-10 format, please respect that it is trademarked, copyrighted, and patented. Royalty checks should be sent to www.bearonbusiness.com.

zTube

Dan Caruso — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:01:19 +0000

zTube will be launched on an internal Zayo Social Network (and perhaps some will find their way to Bear-on-Business). zTube will feature 3-5 minute clips on topics that might interest Zayo employees. Examples of topics are:

Why all the Hoopla about Bandwidth Infrastructure?
Zayo Bandwidth’s Myopic Focus on Raw Bandwidth for Large Customers
Durable Revenue & Unique Network
Strategy and Tactics for zCOLO
ZEN’s need to focus on Bandwidth Infrastructure
Why Salesforce.com is so Important to Zayo Group
Pricing Trends in the Bandwidth Infrastructure Industry
All the Right Reasons to Work at Zayo Group
It is all about the Capital Expenditures
Marathon, not a Sprint
The Boom, The Meltdown, and the Resurgence of the Telecom Industry

For those of you who are common-sense challenged, the zTube name comes from combining the Z from Zayo with the Tube from YouTube. :)

Once we get this going, I will encourage employees from throughout the company to submit business-pertinent video clips to post to the site.

Executive Round Tables

Dan Caruso — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 07:58:41 +0000

I will repeat my opening from yesterday. Employee Communications is extremely important. The flow of information should be two-way…with the senior team making sure it is doing at least as much listening and learning as they are talking and explaining.

Yesterday I introduced 10-10-10 Sessions. The 10-10-10 format might be unique. The next part of the Communications Plan will be round table sessions. My guess is many of you participated in this format in the past. It is straight-forward. We will invite 8 – 10 people to participate. Either Ken or I will host the session. We will talk about whatever the group wants to discuss.

For those of you who are geometry-challenged, the Round Table title comes from the notion that many of these sessions take place at a table that is round. :) At the risk of confusing our astute team, many of our sessions will take place via conference call or, perhaps, a rectangular table.

I will also repeat my closing from yesterday. Team success and Great Culture are every employee’s responsibility. The round table sessions will give many of you the opportunity to provide valuable feedback and perspective. Please be candid and constructive with us.

• “What are your career objectives and how can Zayo better help you meet them”
• “What constructive feedback do you have re: Zayo? That is, what do we do well that we should do more of…and what do we need to improve? And what opportunities are we missing?
• “What questions do you have for Dan or Ken?”

For those of you who are math-challenged, the 10-10-10 title comes from 10 minutes on each of the three areas. J

Team success and Great Culture are every employee’s responsibility. These sessions will give many of you the opportunity to provide valuable feedback and perspective. Please be candid and constructive with us.

10-10-10 Sessions

Dan Caruso — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 07:48:45 +0000

Employee Communications is extremely important. The flow of information should be two-way…with the senior team making sure it is doing at least as much listening and learning as they are talking and explaining.

As part of Zayo Group’s Communications Plan, we are rolling out 10-10-10 Sessions. You might be interested in the origin and history of the 10-10-10 format. If so, I will provide it here: I made it up. So, please bear (no pun intended) with me if we need to modify.

10-10-10 is a one-on-one session. Senior team members will be invited to participate. If you are invited and are uncomfortable participating, please let us know. The sessions will be either with me or with our CFO, Ken desGarennes. We spend 30 minutes, spending 10 minutes each on the following topics:

For those of you who are math-challenged, the 10-10-10 title comes from 10 minutes on each of the three areas.

Zayo Group Communications Program

Dan Caruso — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 07:53:34 +0000

In the Employee Surveys, a message we hear consistently is that employees crave more communication and information. I, too, crave more communication and information. So let’s kill two birds with one stone.

Over the next few weeks Zayo Group will begin a new employee communications program. The program is likely to have four components:

10-10-10 Sessions
Executive Round Tables
zTube
Bear Chat

We will describe each of these over the next few blog posts.

The Soul of a Great Serial Entrepenuer

Dan Caruso — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 20:21:00 +0000

Last week at Venture Capital in the Rockies Winter, Dan gave a great keynote presentation about one hit wonders, entrepreneurs gone bad and the special breed of great serial entrepreneurs. Watch the video at http://www.coloradotechtv.com/dan-caruso-vcir-keynote-video.

ZEN Visions and ZEN Values

Dan Caruso — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 07:15:24 +0000

ZEN is Zayo Enterprise Networks. With the snow capped Rocky Mountains as a backdrop, ZEN’s senior team put together a Vision, Strategy, and Values statement. I thought some Bearonbusiness readers might find it interesting.

ZEN Vision, Strategy and Values

Strategy – How we will achieve our vision

1. Drive the business locally
Empower local teams to drive business decisions
Enable GM’s with financial reporting and hold accountable for full P&L performance
Ensure centralized resources are delivering value in the minds of the GMs

2. Focus on leveraging and growing our on-net assets
Sell from the “Network out” to our target customers
Invest in fiber and colocation capacity to create long term value
Synergize with Zayo Bandwidth to extend the reach of the network for both

3. Offer simple, IP and Fiber based services
Deliver core IP and Fiber-based services to enable on-net Data, Voice, Video solutions
Resell on-net ZB services to broaden offering, increase wallet share and margins
Maintain intense focus on cost reductions for all offnet or service related costs

4. Make every customer an Advocate for ZEN
Compete by offering unique connectivity options and great service
Focus on mid-sized enterprises in Healthcare, Education and Business
Enable Regional Telco’s / ISPs with our on-net capability

5. Develop an entrepreneurial team
Retain, recruit skilled results oriented people consistent with local autonomy and value adding central services
Offer compelling employee value through skills and leadership development and competitive salary, benefits
Communicate openly to ensure alignment

At some point in the future, I will shed more light on why ZEN and ZB are operated as separate businesses.