The Relationship Engine

The Relationship Engine, Connecting with the People Who Power Your Business, by Ed Wallace, AMACOM 2016

So many books are out there about human interactions and where they go wrong, but there are fewer on working business relationships, a tougher, scarier challenge..  Author consultant Ed Wallace tackles this particularly daunting challenge with pared down advice and easy to read and follow business relationship builder charts.   If you've been so fortunate to have found or developed a few special business relationships, you may have in fact executed Wallace's advice to :

1.  Always be intentional about relationships.  Wallace says that a Relational Leader is anyone who intentionally puts the other person's goals and values at the forefront of each business relationship, creating an exceptional experience for others.  Think of it, in this ego-centric election season, leading an organization with the best interest of the individuals at center!

2.  Become great at observing behaviors

Wallace makes the point there are important business relationships and there are ad hoc, drive-by relationships in the business world, and it's essential to understand and see the difference.  The observed differences can be filtered and grouped into generational classes such as Boomer, Gen X or Millennials, but beyond recognizing the correct category, Wallace says this capability requires the observer to live completely in the moment, to think, and then to engage that person in well-thought-through questions, and build from there.  The exercise of being in the moment has always been difficult, and only becomes more so as leaders gain power and experience, but it remains.

3.  Respect At-will Relationships

While we were busy working, organizational structures shifted, and not quietly, from strictly hierarchical structures, to a mix of hierarchical and cross-functional approaches that respected and included expert innovation and input.  Wallace warns however, that the challenge is that compensation structures are not always geared toward the subject matter experts who are so well needed, and he says that as a Relational Leader, you must seek to identify and advance At-Will relationships in pursuit of overall performance objectives. 

4.  Power Relational Capital Through the Five Principles

Think back on your memories of best leaders, the ones you have observed and worked with over the course of your career.  My mind immediately goes to Romey Everdell, my old Rath and Strong boss, a WWII Navy Cross winner, Phi Beta Kappa smart, but someone who appreciated smart women, like his wife Rusty who was a lend-lease pilot and Sears award-winning sailor.  But, as Wallace reminds us, the best leaders, like Romey, had a purpose and an awareness of challenges bigger than themselves.  His performance reviews and compensation work were always intended to pressure performance, measuring even the lowliest interns against performance models at the top of the hierarchy - although this seemed ridiculously unfair at the time, there was a purpose behind it.

5.  Harness Your Relational Power

Its the job of Relational Leaders to see the larger good, the larger purpose of the organization, and to see their role in growing and supporting it.  Think Ken Iverson at Nucor Steel, or John Sammut at Firstronic.  It would do these leaders no good whatsoever to simply work toward their own compensation or ego-centric goals.  

Wallace has written a surprisingly unique book in an area that needs much work.  His examples and illustrations - although as a note to the editor, some of the charts are difficult to read - are just right to succinctly deliver visuals that clarify the principles.