Empathy & Polarities: An interview with Facteon GM, John Cochrane
John Cochrane reflects, taking a balcony view on his industry and his leadership during the past year and preparing for what’s to come.
1. 2020 has been a challenging year in many ways. What has changed - and remained the same - in your industry?
In terms of what’s changed, customers are now coming to us with a more flexible set of requirements, meaning that they themselves are not always entirely set on what they want. In contrast, looking back a year or two ago, we would often receive a very detailed document pack — a request for proposal, a request for a quote — and the customer would be very, very precise with all sorts of details, right down to the deadline.
Now, we're finding a much more open approach, where the customer requirements are maybe half to three-quarters finalised and they are looking for a bit more creativity on our side — and a bit more challenge. (“Is this a good idea? Is it not a good idea?”)
I think this may reflect two things:
One, there’s a level of uncertainty. So perhaps customers are looking for reassurance that they haven't neglected any bright ideas, or conversely, any hidden dangers in what they're asking for.
Two, they're just more open-minded, realising again with the level of uncertainty that it’s not possible to have it all sorted and figured out. They are more open to additional ideas so that's a good change, I would say.
Another change is that timelines have started to become quite flexible. In some cases, projects that we thought we had more time on have been sped up, and in other cases, the reverse is true and customers have requested time to pause a project or reconsider a decision.
In terms of what’s remained the same, I would say a focus on continuous improvement, albeit with a different set of metrics around what improvement means. What I find very encouraging is that in spite of things like the pandemic, customers in the ecosystem that we operate in are all committed to advancing the other capabilities across the industry.
2. What has changed - and remained the same - for you as a leader this year?
While I've been with Facteon for two years, I came into this role as the General Manager only a year ago (December 2019). I think the thing that's changed, of course, is the realisation that most of the hopes and plans that I had entered 2020 with were pretty well dashed to pieces. So while there’s been a need to start from a clean slate to a certain extent, I also recognise that as a company we have core capabilities, core values, and so on that we retain always. So I’ve been considering how we repurpose those.
The pandemic situation has really brought home to me that when people are worried, they’re more likely to look for an authentic yet authoritative style of leadership. A little less reliance on the, "Let's figure this out together” and more of a leaning towards, "Okay, boss. Tell us what needs to be done. How should we respond in this?" That's been a change for me in my leadership style or approach.
In terms of what's remained the same, I guess it's really care and empathy — all the more so in fact. While I feel it's always been a core part of my leadership principles as an individual, a year like this one just underscores the importance of that.
“Most of the hopes and plans that I had entered 2020 with were pretty well dashed to pieces.”
3. Looking back at how you've steered your organisation through COVID-19, what would you consider your proudest achievement as a leader?
One of the things that I touched on in the end of year blog article I wrote was how quickly and effectively we adapted to going into the first lockdown.
We had been given a very unique opportunity to serve a new customer for the first time. They were in Europe and in the midst of a very strict lockdown themselves. So — going back to the empathy — we could understand each other. They were in a lockdown, we were in a lockdown, and nevertheless, we had to act on this project.
Through a combination of just, ‘let's try at a very human level to find a way to cooperate and get this project done’ and with the support of enabling technology, we were able to make it happen. Facteon is an advanced manufacturer that certainly embraces technology. However, up until that first lockdown, we’d been very focused on working onsite at our manufacturing facility. So to be able to get creative and within about 48 hours get our workers productive at home was a big shift.
We were able to adapt to where we delivered the project, meeting or exceeding all of the success measures the customer had put to us — during a lockdown — and worked in a very collaborative way with their overseas offices and our partner companies. That was a fantastic achievement for the year.
4. How are you taking care of yourself?
I read a phrase this morning that resonated with me: white space. I think it's just making sure that white space exists in life. Whether that's blocking out periods on my calendar for my own personal use or for professional purposes, both are important.
During the lockdowns, while working from home, this was vital. I acknowledged that yes, I have a family at home that needed things and needed attention. And sometimes the need was for me to go into another room and close the door.
That preciousness, that guarding of some white space in the day, in the week, is something I've focused a lot on.
“That preciousness, that guarding of some white space in the day, in the week, is something I’ve focused a lot on.”
5. What's your greatest fear looking out at the next 6-12 months? Your greatest leadership challenge or opportunity?
When I think about the next 6 to 12 months, one fear is that people will, rather than see all of this as a growing and a transformation opportunity, try to revert to the former normal, the former way of being. I believe that could be quite catastrophic in itself as businesses and communities and families try to go back to that former way.
I think my leadership opportunity is to bring the company, bring my colleagues along on the journey. As I said before, we're not going to go back to how we were working before, we are going to carry on in these new ways of working. Part of my job will be helping them see that that's not just a temporary thing that we were doing, that it’s ongoing, and it's beneficial.
“I think my leadership opportunity is to bring the company, bring my colleagues along on the journey.”
6. Imagine a phone call from New Zealand’s Prime Minister asking you, ‘What's your best advice for me right now on [your industry]?’ What would you say? What first step would you recommend?
This is an interesting question because it's one that, in my career, I've had a chance to ponder a few times going back to some of my government roles.
One of the opportunities that I think is quite amazing for New Zealand, especially considering the positive nature of our current national brand, is to stop focusing on the word ‘export’, and I put export in inverted commas.
Our prosperity as a country can't be based on just putting things on container ships. We need to build deep, international connections and invest in those connections by helping companies — through government programs and infrastructure — to truly internationalise the way that they do business so they can grow beyond simply being stay-at-home exporters.
If we can shift that language then the behaviours and the actions that go along with that language will also start to shift.
“If we can shift that language then the behaviours and the actions that go along with that language will also start to shift.”
7. What are your top priorities for 2021?
I feel quite lucky since, looking at our forward order book and our sales pipeline, our 2021 looks reasonably prosperous. But as the saying goes, we can’t count our chickens until they hatch.
One challenge for us is really going to be more about the workflow. How do we avoid a traffic jam and instead create zip effects that support us in getting various projects through? How do we activate the right talent profile in the company and make sure we have the right partner ecosystem around us as well?
It’s about rebuilding a stable flow of work through the business that’s more predictable and reliable.
8. In what ways do you think you and your people need to change or grow in order for your organisation to be successful in 2021 and beyond?
This may sound a bit contradictory to my previous statement but, going to the language of polarities, how do we manage both stability and the dynamic aspects of our work? It can’t all be stable. It can’t all be responsive and reactive. How do we benefit from both?
We'll have some customer relationships, revenue streams, partners and so on that will definitely prosper more in that balanced, stable, predictable space.
Yet simultaneously, there’ll be those that prosper more in the dynamic and even unpredictable space. So if somebody comes to us with a surprise request, how can we say “yes” even though it might look like our order books are full?
Another polarity is embracing the new yet paying honour and respect to the heritage, the legacy of the company. Somehow finding some balance between the two.
Finding ways to maximise the upsides of polarities like those are going to be a great challenge for us in the future.
“Going to the language of polarities, how do we manage both stability and the dynamic aspects of our work?”