Business Systems Strategist GJ dePillis On Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader…

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Business Systems Strategist GJ dePillis On Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Uncertain & Turbulent Times

Do not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Once you have achieved a goal, you can set a new goal, but keep your integrity and reputation in tact. Do not do something contrary to your goal and undo all the efforts of your team. If you do feel the need to deviate, you need to tell your team before you do it. Shocking your team will only erode trust in you which will be difficult to rebuild. That breech will result in delaying deliverables, sloppy work, and people simply not caring about the results.

As part of our series about the “Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader During Turbulent Times”, we had the pleasure of interviewing G.J. dePillis. G.J. dePillis is a global business systems strategist with over 15 years of improving the future of corporations. She is guided by, “Will this make your job easier and better?” and, “Will this make your supervisor look good?”. Her analysis techniques clearly highlights what works and what does not. Gaining expertise with multinational biotech and pharmaceutical companies, shepherding the technology through overhauls, transformations, and mergers, dePillis draws on her experience to synthesize expertise and “Lessons Learned” so you avoid pitfalls and the mistakes of others. Leading people while harnessing “just enough” technology to be efficient, profitable, and keep the design with Humans in the Loop (HITL) means her expertise applies to various industries as corporations navigate an uncertain future.

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

I did not set out to be an expert. Events occurred which pulled me into this role.

Having consulted, I understood that no matter how cutting edge a technical solution may be, you still need to consider the people impacted by the deployment of that solution.

Early in my career, I learned that technology and systems are only tools. A tool in the hands of a willing expert produces amazing output. That same tool in the hands of a demoralized employee means they are sloppy on input, and you get garbage as output.

The most efficient solution is always built on a foundation of trust and cemented with respect. Once that foundation is laid, you would be surprised at how creative your curated team can be when developing solutions.

One defining experience was when I was asked to take over fixing audit violations logged in a medical device manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico. At first I questioned why they wanted me in Puerto Rico, as I did not speak Spanish. I later learned that three teams had already preceded me, tried to fix things, and failed. The Board of Directors had even decided to lay off around 200 jobs because of repeated audit violations and poor profitability. I only learned that toward the end of my assignment… not before.

First, I analyzed the root cause of every violation.

Then, I evaluated the people and why these violations were occuring on their watch. I focused on people motivation to understand the technical and procedural violations. I met with every department, built morale, consulted Best Practices and created Standard Opreating Procedures which were more realistic and met regulatory standards, clarified goals, and created a ten-year roadmap to end “firefighting” and bring proactive stability.

Finally, within months, we passed inspections from both the FDA and the Japanese Ministry of Health. This was a jaw-dropping win to pass inspections from two of the toughest regulatory agencies in the world. That win stopped the layoffs in their tracks.

Since then, I’ve helped global teams find efficiencies, merge systems from companies they acquired, and navigate change without losing their most valuable asset: people.

I believe every organization has “tribal knowledge”, the insights and undocumented “know how” which reside only in the minds of experienced employees. That knowledge cannot be documented, nor outsourced.

In my opinion, it is always better to re-educate staff on missing skills instead of laying off and then hiring supposedly “cheaper” staff. It actually costs more in the long run.

When you build that wall which will insulate your company from turbulent times, the first layer is TRUST. Everything else becomes possible: profitability, innovation, and navigating choppy chaotic waters while keeping team morale high and loyalty strong.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

A while ago, I had a position in Norway and I was just learning the language. I felt confident enough to use it once somebody asked me a question I could understand. The question was “What is this key used for?”

The answer was “Your key is used to unlock that glass door at the end of the hallway in case there is a fire and the escapes are blocked.” I knew my linguistic aptitude was not sophisticated enough to convey that idea, so I was determined to answer using the limited vocabulary I did master.

In Norwegian, I am sure my reply sounded like, “That key is for the big fire. You run away through that door.”

When I was greeted with a perplexed expression, I knew it was my duty to augment my explaination with arm geestures and more direct pithy instructions.

I said earnestly, “Big fire is bad. Big and bad! When big fire come, you must run very fast!” (pointing to the door) “Big fire bad.” (now trying to make myself appear larger ) “You use key to run from big fire.”

After a couple of rounds, the requestor seemed to politely thank me and walked away.

Satisfied with myself for having my first Norwegian conversation, I was smugly pleased for the rest of my workday. …until I went home.

It was at that point, before walking into my humble abode, that I saw a fire alarm mounted on the wall… and the word said “Brannalarm”.

It was then that I realized that the word I was using was “barnealarm” which sounds close, but means something different. I realized I was fervently giving instructions to flee quickly from the big bad baby…not fire…

Yes, I was using arm gestures to firmly instruct the requestor earlier that day to use the spare key to run away from a big bad baby child.

What lesson did I learn? That no matter how confident you are in your knowledge, you may not be conveying your message in a manner which the recipient will understand. Be sure to get feedback from your audience. Tailor your message to your audience.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I overheard somebody reference the September 1992 New York Times article “Part Showman, All Genius” where physicist Richard Feynman said, “We are not that much smarter than each other.” This resonated with me because I believe that any success is derived from the efforts of the community or support system around you.

What I mean is that I am only as good as the team around me. If one person in a relationship wants that relationship to fail… it will fail. You need everybody to want to succeed as a team.

The Nutrient Network or nutnet.org is used by ecologists. Marcin Jakubowski, who earned a PhD in fusion physics, wanted to help farmers build farm equipment and created an open source set of blue prints called Global Village Construction Set (GVCS) and founded Open Source Ecology (OSE) — The .org website is opensourceecology.

There are also business focused organizations: American Statistical Association (ASA), Association of Data Scientists (ADaSCI), Data Governance Professionals Organization (DGPO),Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), and UK basedInstitute of Analytics (IoA)… and many more.

Just the existence of these organizations and the conferences they organize are intended to help people learn from each other so that everybody can benefit from shared knowledge.

If you are asking about who helped and impacted me, I would have to say the heroes would be my parents. For their input and inspiration, I am eternally grateful. They have been a prime example of how a family foundation can help you take more business risks.

Once as I was taking a martial arts class and going through a belt elevation, I was asked to do a move which was much harder than my skill level and got injured. During my long recovery, it was my parents that said I took a physical risk and got injured, but that simply opened the door for me to take creative risks. It was during my recovery that I started to write fiction. So, although I had physical limits, I nurtured and expanded my mental and emotional capacity.

This, I think, gave me a level of compassion and sympathetic understanding for others undergoing sudden changes in their lives. I get it. That feeling of frustration over not being able to do what you once took for granted and never thought about, with feeling trapped by this newly imposed limitation. But that simply forces you to get creative and find a way to produce something; preferably something which will make somebody’s life better.

Extensive research suggests that “purpose-driven businesses” are more successful in many areas. When your organization started, what was its vision, what was its purpose?

My purpose has always been to use data to connect humanity.

For example, many people have gotten addicted to their electronic devices. They got used to constant interruptions which trained them to have short attention spans. It was for this reason that under a pen name, I created a series of printed book adventures which are clean enough for any age. Each series has a leader guide called “Conversation Station”, which is intended to get people to interact in real life.

These books have been so successful because you can be as introverted or extraverted as you like. You can be solitary or use it as a group activity to learn how to connect IRL (In Real Life).

Although these are fictional works, they are researched and based on factual elements. I wanted to have a platform which encouraged people to hone the skill of conversation and interaction to make new close friends.

I take that mindset into every project. I want to connect the technical and emotional aspects. I want people to fall in love with a new software system. As long as you are at work, why not have some fun and be productive while you are at it. I want people to look forward to my meetings and feel accomplished when they are done. I want to empower people to be their best, and encourage others to be their best… I avoid layoffs as much as I can.

Empower, don’t replace.

I have shown that you can be profitable, people-focused, and still leverage cutting edge technologies. Whether improving data quality in medicine or optimizing operations, I want teams to see that trust and transparency are necessary efficiency tools.

Everybody makes mistakes, but if you dwell on the past, you remain in the past.

My vision? Look forward.

Thank you for all that. Let’s now turn to the main focus of our discussion. Can you share with our readers a story from your own experience about how you lead your team during uncertain or difficult times?

The story that stands out most is from that same guidewire manufacturing plant in Puerto Rico.

When I arrived, morale was low, audits had failed repeatedly, and everybody I was supposed to work with had already given up. Unbeknownst to me, others had tried and failed, and executive confidence level in a turn-around was so low they started planning for layoffs.

The first thing I did was find the root cause

Next, I discovered the “why”

Then, I prioritized building trust.

Here is an example: If I asked somebody to work, I was also working in case they needed something. I wanted to show that I would not ask them to do something that I, myself, would not also do.

This project had parrot infestations. Hot humid days brought mosquitos which may have had Malaria, I sprayed insect repellent on my legs and by nightfall, the chemicals had eaten holes into my nylon stockings.

Once when testing some equipment in a half-built room where electric wires were exposed, somebody accidentally turned on a water main which started to flood the floor, causing me and my team to find wood to hop onto and save the equipment by quickly unplugging it, ordering electrical to be cut until we could get equipment to address the flooded water so we — and the equipment — could safely leave.

After the big problems were addressed, I could then plan ahead and build a program they could follow (which they did with much success). I created a ten-year roadmap. Together, we passed both FDA and Japanese Ministry of Health audits, preventing the factory closure and layoffs.

A leader needs to demonstrate quick thinking and calm clarity.

I was honest about what looked bad, but I also celebrated small wins to demonstrate that team collaboration was making a difference. Together. We were all in this and moving forward together because we were focused on one common goal.

Did you ever consider giving up? Where did you get the motivation to continue through your challenges? What sustains your drive?

Did I ever feel tempted to give up? Sure! Was baseball legend Yogi Berra who said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it”?

To me that means it is better to move than to remain frozen. If it is the wrong direction, I give myself permission to learn from that mistake and course-correct.

I feel it is my duty to evaluate every situation, even if circumstances are outside of my control, and at least attempt to find a solution.

There are a couple of Bible verses which remind me to investigate, find the root cause, and see if it is within my power to make a change. If it is, I need to do it. I need to take that risk. If it is outside of my control, I will ask God to grant me insight into what my next steps should be. After all, people’s lives may be impacted by my choices.

  • “Acquitting the guilty and condemning the just — both are detestable to the LORD.” The Christian Standard Bible version of Proverbs 17:15.
  • “And you are great at drinking and mixing drinks. But you are in for trouble. You accept bribes to let the guilty go free, and you cheat the innocent out of a fair trial.” The Contemporary English Version of Isaiah 5:22–23.

What would you say is the most critical role of a leader during challenging times?

I would say your team needs to know you are fighting for them; that you are on their side and you want them to win.

When the future seems so uncertain, what is the best way to boost morale? What can a leader do to inspire, motivate and engage their team?

Morale is boosted by example. You need to be realistic and recognize the problem is real.

Your team is a great resource. Create an environment where they will be comfortable to suggest solutions. People really can handle bad news, but in a vacuum of no information, the outlandish stories will develop. No information gives rise to more invention. So give factual information when you can. Ask your team for their suggestions and then explain why you chose the solution you did and what will be required of whom.

Once you involve the team in the solution, communicate the “why” behind your decisions. Allow your team to have hope as they share the problem solving to keep them resilient and motivated.

What is the best way to communicate difficult news to one’s team and customers?

Honesty and empathy are the best ways to explain a difficult solution. Make sure to avoid “doom and gloom”. The traditional way may not be the answer, but maybe a little bit of “out of the box” thinking with a dash of “risk” mixed together with “team input” and that could be your formula for a success when everybody else assumed failure was inevitable.

Your team may hate your message, but they will respect the messenger for being factually frank.

Honesty + Integrity + Trust + Facts = DePillis Framework, a path to solutions

How can a leader make plans when the future is so unpredictable?

A leader can absolutely make plans while riding an economic roller coaster.

Before sharing the secret practical framework which can be used by any corporate leader, I must insist that leaders always act with Honesty + Integrity + Trust + Facts.

DePillis Framework (apply to any industry)

  1. Clarify the problem
  2. Historic reference. Search history for a problem which had a solution. This historic framework will be your basis for your modern solution.
  3. Get input. Solicit ideas from your team, stakeholders, experts in your field, and end users
  4. Narrow down realistic options
  5. Apply the plan. Make improvements. You have permission to be smarter tomorrow than you were yesterday.

This framework can be used for any industry. It allows you to adapt and change with new information. Identify simple metrics to use and short feedback loops to make continual improvements.

dePillis Framework Example

Let me demonstrate with a problem-solution using this depillis framework with a hypothetical situation: .

1 . Clarify the problem: Farmers are not able to sell their crops and are worried about losing their farms.

  • Assume costs are rising (fertilizer, seed costs, patent restrictions, etc
  • Assume costs to buy and repair and fuel equipment is expensive
  • Assume traditional customers have drastically reduced buying
  • Assume aging farmers cannot find replacements to keep the farm in the family
  • Assume unpredictable weather patterns make crop cycles unpredictable
  • Assume farmers have had to take out loans on equipment and mortgages resulting in constant pressure and stress on the farmer, staff and farmer’s family.

2 . Historic Framework Research.

Colonial Problem: New colonies had economic uncertainty and did not have a lot of resources. Plantations and farms were struggling.

Here is how I break down this research….

What is Blue Gold?

The Indigofera plant is the source of Indigo Blue dye. During Colonial days, it was nick-named “Blue Gold”. An Indigo brick was compact, easy to transport, did not have an expiration date and was durable and “in demand”. It was first created in the South Carolina Colony near Charleson in the mid 1700s.

Eliza Lucas Pinckney (1722–1793), the daughter of a British officer, is credited with developing the first successful indigo crop and processing method. She is the inspiration for the Jane Austen meets Agatha Christie large print series by Wynter Sommers called “Firebrand”.

How was it it used?

During a turbulent time in our history, paper Colonial Notes used for currency had drastically lost value. Carrying hard coins was not very efficient. Because of this, a barter system arose where Blue Gold could be traded for needed goods.

These indigo bricks of dye were used for trade and even export, which stabilized the economy. Some accounts say it was used as late as the 1790’s. Others claim this is why the first uniforms of American soldiers were blue. The young Colonies became so good at making it, that they started to export it to Britain.

This was such a versatile product that it was used to dye fabrics, pen (quill) inks. It was mixed with gum arabic and iron salts to use for map making and other artwork. It was diluted for early indigo watercolor washes for technical and architectural drawings.

Some used indigo in ship food storage rooms because it deterred insects (some Caribbean sugar estates and South Carolina plantation manuals (1760s to the 1790s) explain the “clean blue” techniques. Some may have used it for a topical astringent or to detoxify. Others used it for cosmetics. Waste indigo was used for some fertilizers, and even more uses.

How does this background apply ?

The Colonies underwent a turbulent time and the farmers were distraught when they learned the currency they had was worthless. They had to think outside of the box and create a new currency which could be used. The solution was Blue Gold.

During turbulent times today, we can use this example as historic framework

3 . Get Input

Get all your input sources together. Include end users, stakeholders, experts, your team, and customers. Even if you are an expert and know exactly what to do, soliciting input means you are open to capturing a new “good idea”.

Think about elements which you do not produce to create a full life cycle and determine which new partnerships you may need to form.

Use case scenarios

Example 1:

If farmers are producing too many soybeans, before they bring a harvested crop to silos, enlist drivers from a delivery services (such as UPS, FedEx, DHL, Amazon, or even the United States Post Office to assist with logistics) to help act as drivers and collect the excess stock and drop it off at a processing plant to create a new product with soybeans, creating a new revenue stream for farmers. You would need to create an incentive for these delivery routes to collect crop pickups at either the farms or at the overflowing silos.

Example 2:

If farmers need local processing but the land does not have a power source on it to help with post-harvest production, consider using MDI AirWall to create a microgrid for harvested product processing.

Example 3:

Open source ecology. Offer blue prints for small and mid sized farmers to create and maintain simplified farming equipment. You can partner with the larger farm equipment manufacturers so they also get a incentive. Larger farmers will still buy existing farm equipment, but they can innovate with lower cost “Do It Yourself” DIY equipment for farmers which do not have the budget for full equipment. It behooves these companies to increase customer base instead of watching their customers go out of business because they cannot afford to fertilize their crops.

Example 4:

Encourage each farmer to have at least one mobile vertical farm for simple crops, such as lettuce, herbs, microgreens, mushrooms, and other short crops, which they can deliver to food deserts. This would address a hunger issue and deliver fresh produce to people who do not easily access it. This would be funded by Department of Energy or USDA for regenerative agriculture.

Example 5:

If the farm wanted to also leverage their land to collect energy (wind or solar), then ensure that the collectors are high enough above the soil to allow for livestock feed to grow. This way, they could use a timeshare model to have livestock visit their farm for grazing and collect rent from those farmers while also collecting energy to distribute to the local community. This would also help if the farmer wants to cooperate to develop a GREEN AI center. A traditional AI server model will pull energy from the community, increasing costs. A green AI center will produce enough energy to feed the AI training model and possibly excess energy to give to the local community so the local residents look favorably at the AI training center. This is a win-win, allowing the farmer to keep their land, get an extra income stream, and the AI center retains the good will of the community because they actually benefit.

Soybean product options

Output 1:

Soybeans can be used as part of food or animal feed.

Output 2:

Soy oil residue could be used to process aerogel or polymer to create more efficient insulation materials. soy-based carbon foams such as crops. This leads to carbon precursor (maybe mix with silica or cellulose). This leads to aerogel. This results in a high-value insulation product.

This can be used for greenhouse insulation, solar panel thermal regulation, battery cooling, and cold-chain storage (for food or medicines or insulation for AI data centers). Maybe a polymer derived from soybeans could be used for building materials (to help a housing material shortage), automotive seats (to help with Made in USA car interior parts), insulation, soy based plastics for electronic casings, packaging, lubricants for hydraulics, or Pyrolyzed soy oil (biocrude or bio-oil produced in oxygen free environment) for energy storage batteries or even adhesives

Output 3:

Land could be leased for solar, wind, compressed air, or hydrogen energy sources

Output 4:

Mobile vertical farm means year round the farm could produce unique herbs for restaurants as customers or simple short crops for delivery to food desert communities. Also consider that it could grow mushrooms which could be used for vegan-leather or the soy proteins could be used for “vegie cashmere”. Fermented bio-hydrogen could also be evaluated for fuel cells or a form of graphene for conductive film to be used with semiconductor sensors.

Output 5:

When processing soybeans, there is waste. That wasste can be leveraged for compost, fertilizer, and excess water could be repurposed to offset irrigation costs.

Partner options:

Partner 1: Alternate energy

MDI or Zero Pollution Motors: Compressed air engines for farm equipment and AirWall for rural microgrids for energy to process small batch product.

Partner 2: Logistics.

Think of Amazon, UPS, USPS, DHL, FedEx, etc. With incentives to pickup and deliver.

Partner 3: Equipment and supplies.

Open Source Ecology to help crowd-source proven and tested blueprints for building and maintaining equipment for farming and post harvest product processing. Partner with existing farm equipment manufacturers to open up a new revenue stream for them to sell low cost raw material kits to small farms. Build feed and seed mixers, tractors, combines, hay balers, fertilizer spreaders, etc. This includes John Deere, AGCO Copr, CNH Industrial, New Holland Agriculture, Caterpillar, Kubota, Vermeer, Claas, Kinze, Case IH, and others. It also means partnering with regulatory bodies to make sure that the red tape is minimal and safety is respected.

Partner 4: Material scientists

Get material scientists to create new uses or develop new materials for existing crop overages.

Supply chain option:

  • Farmers grow soybeans (existing)
  • Farmer resource would be with equipment and supply partners who can provide smaller farms with DIY more affordable options while still being compliant with regulatory guidelines (compressed air engines, hydrogen, solar, wind etc. )
  • Logistic partner collects excess on established scheduled “farm relief routes”
  • If farmer chose vertical farm, determine regular customers for output (herbs and mircogreens for restaurants or crops for food deserts or mushrooms either for food or vegan- leather products, for example)
  • Micro hubs for product processing are powered with green energy to avoid burdening existing infrastructure. Excess energy collected can go to feeding a Green AI training center
  • Soy can convert to bio resin, fuel, lubricant, or an aerogel for high heat/cold insulation — Check with material science experts for specifics.
  • Evaluate by-product use (for example would CO2 and water feed algae or other aquaculture crops?
  • If farmer has opted for contributing to a local AI green data center make sure the terms of agreement benefit: Sufficient energy for AI model training, Sufficient income for farmer, and sufficient excess energy/ clean water to provide to local community
  • Make sure all steps result in payments to the participating farmers and partners to ensure proper accounting and revenue share to ensure long term participation. Check with accounting experts.

4 . Narrow it down

At this point, you need to get feedback from stakeholders and end users to ascertain what is realistic and do-able.

Pick an option from the previous brainstorming session and get team alignment so every person knows how they will support the plan and where they hand off to another team to continue the process.

5 . Apply Plan

Here is where you actually set dates and apply resources to a unified goal and make improvements along the way. You would be surprised by how far you can go.

Is there a “number one principle” that can help guide a company through the ups and downs of turbulent times?

One principle which can guide a company is compound trust. When you hired your team, you searched for skills as well as character. You trust your team. They should be able to trust you. You are accountable and they know you appreciate their skills. That trust compounds over time, forming a strong bond. This trust can be used as currency you can spend when times get tough.

Trust is the cheapest and most valuable arrow in your quiver which can slice through the chaotic air of uncertainty and hit your target.

Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen other businesses make during difficult times? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?

Withholding information creates a vacuum to be filled by gossip instead of facts, causing unnecessary fear. The skills from your team will be depleted because instead of focusing on how to solve the problem, they will spend their time looking for another job. Instead, over communicate and make sure your message is consistent.

Fast cuts is for short term thinking. The fastest way to savings, some believe, is layoffs. But you destroy your own future. Instead plan ahead before hard times and plan to re-skill existing staff so they can pivot and patch the holes and gaps, which you need filled, to keep your boat afloat.

Dismissing tribal knowledge. You will not realize until it is too late that the reason the job looked so easy for your most seasoned employee is that they are the expert. It is not effortless for a new person because any job is half skill, and half the unwritten tribal knowledge and nuances needed to get a job done well. Instead, reskill the person, move them to another part of the organization, but keep that tribal knowledge.

Complexity kills agility. Keep things simple, measurable, and make sure the output is consistent and clean. You can get fancy later. Focus on doing the basics right.

Here is the primary question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a business leader should do to lead effectively during uncertain and turbulent times? Please share a story or an example for each.

1 . United we stand. Divided we fall. Make sure you keep your team cohesive. This means you need to operate with integrity and communicate often. Remember Operate with Honesty + Integrity + Trust + Facts = dePillis Framework, a path to solutions.

  1. Clarify the problem
  2. Historic reference.
  3. Get input.
  4. Narrow down options
  5. Apply the plan

Example: During one project which required harmonization of systems in various regions in the United States, I saw that the traditional way of inviting all the workers to an in person all-day report out session was not getting me the information I needed for progress of which system to retire, replace, or train new users on. I developed a public score board that any team could consult to see their status, as well as the status of the other teams. I introduced “micro meetings” into the culture. I would schedule 5 minute meetings at the same time every day. That representative was expected to step out of whatever meeting they may already be in, call me for 5 minutes, tell me what roadblocks they had and what they needed to resolve it, as well as quick wins and then hop off the call. This allowed the quiet introverted people to tell me the truth about the situation. It also allowed me to see quickly who should collaborate because they had the same issue with similar systems. It actually brought the team together so that when we did host “all hands”, each team knew where they stood and were able to speak up with confidence. 1. Clarified the problem : I was not getting the info I needed to harmonize and consolidate nationwide systems. 2. I needed historic reference and I looked back at the company history 3. I got input via micro meetings 4. Because of the micro meetings, I was able to narrow down realistic strategies and 5. I applied the plan and showed progress with transparency. This helped people feel motivated to move ahead.

2 . Leverage technology & experts. Use AI with Humans in the Loop (HITL) design. The goal is to enhance output, not replace people. Ironically, once you create the beneficial aspect, you will discover new customers who value the humanitiy in your design. When part of your plan involves expertise you do not have, get the best you can find to iron out the details of your plan. Your output should bring value to the end user — Do not give your customers a blank canvas, claiming you painted them a snowstorm.

Example: Radiologists examine medical images or scans of various body parts to evaluate, for example, tumors. A company Flywheel.io offers a software which can leveage AI to evaluate large datasets of images from many patients to identify patterns or trends and then bring that evaluation to a human radiologist to confirm. Additionally, if there is one scan of a single patient, it can send around the same image to selected radiologists and get their opinions. Then send that result to a senior radiologist to determine if they agree or not with all the various opinions and state why. This speeds up the time to final analysis, increases the accuracy of the analysis and is also useful training for the junior radiologists.

Another company, chemetrian.com, uses AI earlier in the process. They help chemists identify the molecule of interest to help the chemists determine which molecule would be a likely candidate to develop into a medicine. This use of AI keeps humans in the loop, but speeds up the process of medicinal research to make the jobs of chemists much easier, with the added benefit of making their boss look good with higher success rates.

During another project with CSAT TV, I collaborated with the station owner to develop a TV show interviewing experts who can help people bond with nature and community. The show won a Telly Award. We encouraged team integrity and trust by being honest during development and ensuring that topics were researched with facts. The audience is educated, so they can tell when something is faked. We spent the effort to unite the team around this ethos and it resulted in a few awards. This method can apply to any industry be it Biotech or Agriculture or Entertainment.

3 . Logic needs stories. You will not persuade people with facts alone. Always explain the facts wrapped in a relatable story to show that by using your product or service, it will

  1. Benefit them by making their lives easier
  2. Benefit their boss by making the boss look good.

Example: A Laboratory Information Management Systems (LIMS) software company asked me about the CX with their GUI (CX= Customer Experience and GUI = Graphical User Interface or what the customer sees on screen). Their design was better, but they were not landing clients. I hosted a demo with various competitors using the a Water District as a customer to understand what was important to them. They need to take water samples in lakes. So, all the LIMS were allowing the test results to be logged with X,Y coordinates. This means they could find where the test tube was stored in a grid. The test tube is two rows down and ten columns across- or 2,10. But the Water district had to take water samples in lakes. They needed to log latitude and longitude, which are a geographic coordinate system that uses a grid of imaginary lines to specify any location on Earth. They also needed depth. So, they needed X, Y, and Z coordinates. The system they selected as “best” for them was one which allowed them to mark the location of the water sample overlayed with a navigation map. They were able to get driving directions to the location and then latitude and longitude on the lake. Then they could extract the water sample from the same depth. Then I suggested to add a simple feature, allow the user to export and share that location in case somebody else wants to take water samples at that same location a few months from now to determine if there has been any change. Those comparative lab analysis results should be easy to export into graphs to show the executives what has changed.

In other words, I was able to tell this story to them so they understood that the customer did appreciate a slick and attractive layout on screen, but what they really need was an easy way for the customer to get the the functionality they had to offer. They needed a way to get directions to their sample and to log the Z coordinates. So, the company needs to think about visual appeal, yes, but also about how easy is it to use for the customer. By following my plan, they would be able to show the customer how their lives would be made easier by getting access to the heart of the software functionality… and the results could be presented to the executives to show how much progress they are making.

4 . Prioritize. When everything is urgent, nothing gets done. I understand you may be in the “fight that fire” mode when everything is flashing red emergency signs, but you need to make an effort to identify one thing to focus on for a set period of time and make progress. Develop a plan to avoid a similar fire in the future. You should get to the point where everything has a process and the number of emergencies as greatly reduced. Once this happens, pull your team together. Congratulate them and say that now the process is stable, you can start creating something fresh which will enhance the company offerings and start adding on and growing.

Example: When an executive starts a new position, they want to show that their leadership style makes a difference, that it was a good idea for the company to hire them on. They will likely be greeted with a waterfall of problems, just as I was when I was greeted with the manufacturing facility which failed inspection. I started with one thing: Understand if there was a pattern in the problems and if there was a single root cause. There was. Nobody had any structure, so everybody was confused as to what to do. So my priority was to structure their priorities consistently. Then, I could address each individual problem with a tailored solution.

5 . Do not snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Once you have achieved a goal, you can set a new goal, but keep your integrity and reputation in tact. Do not do something contrary to your goal and undo all the efforts of your team. If you do feel the need to deviate, you need to tell your team before you do it. Shocking your team will only erode trust in you which will be difficult to rebuild. That breech will result in delaying deliverables, sloppy work, and people simply not caring about the results.

Example: One executive at a technology company wanted to save money, so he put a stop to excess spending, but then he bought equipment for the data center without asking any of the technical people who maintain the data center. In essence, he approved payment for equipment which was not compatible with existing infrastructure and was even too large to fit through the door. It was a very expensive paperweight. He was making progress with saving money, but the “automation” he purchased could not be implemented. He should have consulted the data center manager before buying anything worth that amount of money.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

All of these quotes have the same spirit: The harder you work, the better the output.

  1. “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters.” Colossians 3:23 (New International Version)
  2. “Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in forced labor.” Proverbs 12:24 (New International Version)
  3. “All hard work brings profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” Proverbs 14:23 (New International Version)
  4. “Easy writing’s vile hard reading” Richard Brinsley Sheridan in 1772 wote this in Clio’s Protest (The Picture Varnished)
  5. “Oh that I had the art of easy writing / What should be easy reading.” Lord Byron wrote Stanza LI of Beppo, a Venitian Story (1818)
  6. “And now, gentle reader, the easiest writing is **** hard writing” Thomas Hood wrote in Copyright and Copywrong, (London. Published in The Athenaeum: Journal of English and Foreign Literature, Science, and the Fine Arts, Issue No 527, page 155 on March 4, 1837)
  7. “Easy writing makes hard reading”. Samuel Putnam penned this in 1947 Paris Was Our Mistress as he attributed it to Earnest Hemingway.

How can our readers further follow your work?

You can reach out to me at any time using my LinkedIn page linkedin.com/in/depillis

https://www.linkedin.com/in/depillis/

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

I really appreciate that you gave me a forum to fully explain my methodology. If anybody else needs my advice, I am always happy to help. I believe helping one, helps all. All boats rise with collaboration. Giving my advice today may plant a seed which grows into a flourishing harvest which many others can benefit from tomorrow.

Flashcards about the dePillis Framework is here: https://notebooklm.google.com/notebook/af0a4fdd-66da-41c5-8a64-ac608f2281dd?artifactId=1b668c4c-d1bf-4dfc-b892-470888a69eae

Image of Indigo Dye from the Technical University of Dresden in Germany by By Shisha-Tom https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=21154929

Indigo dye factory in BASF plant around 1890 By Unknown photographer — alte Photographie, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=847914

Indigo cake By David Stroe — Own work, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25102943

All other photos are either of GJ dePillis or are generated by AI

Business Systems Strategist GJ dePillis On Five Things You Need To Be A Highly Effective Leader… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.