This blog is about the relationship between organizations and the people who work for them. And, it’s dedicated to the millions of people around the world who go to work every day wanting to do a great job.
Work
Making “magic in the marketplace”
Today, thanks to Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels of Separation, I came across this key note address by Bill Taylor, the founding editor of Fast Company Magazine and author of Practically Radical: Not-So-Crazy ways to Transform Your Company, Shake Up Your Industry, and Challenge Yourself.
Here’s what really caught my attention: ”You can’t build something special, compelling, distinctive in the marketplace unless you also build something special, compelling distinctive in the workplace… Strategy is your culture. Culture is your strategy. Success today is about so much more than just price, performance, features, technology, pure economic value. It’s about passion, emotion, identity, sharing your values… Real magic in the marketplace is when you make your organization more memorable to encounter.”
And that my friends can’t happen when the relationship with employees is the last thing on the C-Suite’s agenda! It can’t happen when leaders do not trust employees [though they expect employees to trust them], where leaders are not loyal to employees [though they expect loyalty from them] and where they are not proud of employees and the work they do [though they expect employees to be proud of the leadership and the organizations they work for]. Broken cultures on the inside will always show on the outside sooner or later!
Recommend you take the 20+ minutes [Bill comes in at about minute 4] to watch it. Some great stuff on bench marking too!
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Two days. Two stories.
It started at a recent lunch with a past client. She’s a senior executive who’s been around the board rooms of some of Canada’s largest and most influential companies for most of her career. We were talking about the ‘soft’ side of institutional life and the potential power there is in strengthening the employee relationship. “I agree with you”, she said. Then came the bomb… ”but unfortunately the executives I know just aren’t interested. This is simply not on the agenda in the C-Suite”.
Fast forward a few days and I’m attending an evening with Dr. Jody Heymann, Canada Research Chair in Global Health and Social Policy and head of McGill’s institute for Health and Social Policy. She and Magda Barrera co-authored the recently published book “Profit at the Bottom of the Ladder: Creating Value by Investing in Your Workforce”. After years of research their conclusions are simple – listen to employees [especially those ‘at the bottom’], treat them with respect and you will reap the rewards of higher profits. This is not necessarily new news. Nor is it a surprise. It makes sense that you treat people well and they will be more engaged and productive.
So, how do we think about this apparent discrepancy between the research results and C-suite priorities? What’s going on?
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Why retire?
Why indeed. When you love what you do? Are connected to the community you do it for? And, have a vision beyond yourself for the work you do and the organization you do it for? Six minutes that will make your day:
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Mobile crazy
As the year begins, it seems like everybody is talking about mobile and the growing demand for ‘mobile hubs’. Single devices that can do ‘everything’, ‘anywhere, ‘anytime’.
It’s not a new story. Our insatiable appetite for connecting to information and people and things is being fuelled by new technology and new apps that make it easy to get whatever we want, whenever we want and wherever we want.
You see it on the street. You see it in cafes. You see it in your own TV room. Yes, we’re mobile crazy. So what’s happening at work?
I think it’s interesting that I haven’t had a client ask about mobile technology since the early days of the cell phone – when it was decided that guys that drive trains or go up poles had hands that were too big to handle the technology. Today many employees are able to work remotely. And most employees – even those with big hands – have company cell phones and laptops. And some have smart phones.
But are we thinking about how we can make it easy for employees to get whatever they want, whenever they want and wherever they want to do their jobs. Are we planning for a workforce that could be fully mobile. So I’m curious about what kind of thinking is going on in your organization and what you think the implications are.
Would being fully mobile make it easier for your workforce or parts of your workforce do their jobs?
Are you and your colleagues thinking about supporting employees with a single integrated mobile device? Should you be?
How would it change your workplace?
Is your intranet mobile accessible? Should it be?
What kinds of hardware and apps would employees need/want that they don’t have today?
What implications will this have for the content you develop?
And when and how should internal communications be part of the discussion?
Or would “mobile work hubs” be crazy?
I’m hoping to hear from you.
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The sustainable relationship quiz
I just finished reading an article in the New York Times – The Happy Marriage Is the ‘Me’ Marriage. Of particular interest since Michael and I just past the 35th anniversary of our meeting on – too cliché – New Years Eve (and yes I was just 5). Skip ahead to the ‘sustainable marriage quiz’.
The more I looked at the questions, the more I thought there might be something here to explore in terms of the institution and employee. So, here is the modified quiz:
“Answer each question according to the way you personally feel, using the following scale. Answers range from (1) not very much to (7) very much. Then, add up your scores and check the scale below to see how your own relationship ranks.”
- How much does being with your organization result in your having new experiences?
- When you are working, do you feel a greater awareness of things because of your work?
- How much does your organization/do your colleagues increase your ability to accomplish new things?
- How much does your organization/do your colleagues help to expand your sense of the kind of person you are?
- How much do you see your organization as a way to expand your own capabilities?
- How much does your organization/do your colleagues strengths (skills, abilities, etc.) compensate for some of your own weaknesses as a person?
- How much do you feel that you have a larger perspective on things because of your organization/colleagues?
- How much has being with your organization or working you’re your colleagues resulted in your learning new things?
- How much has working in your organization or knowing your colleagues made you a better person?
- How much do your working relationships increase your knowledge?
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Scores [as per the original quiz] |
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60 and above — Highly Expansive. You are gaining a lot of new experiences and reaching new goals as a result of your relationship. Chances are you have a happier, more sustainable relationship as a result. |
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45 to 60 — Moderately Exciting. Your relationship has led to moderate improvements in your life and some new experiences. But there’s definitely room for improvement. |
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Below 45 — Low Connection. Your relationship is not creating opportunities that help expand your knowledge and make you feel better about yourself. Make an effort to share new experiences with your partner to improve your relationship. |
If you’re working in an organization try it out yourself. Ask your colleagues to try it out. What do you think? Any insights about your organization? Your relationship with your organization?
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“Fear grows that it will be ‘freedom 75’”
For those of you who don’t live in Canada this headline from this morning’s paper will require a little explanation. Freedom 55 is a very successful London Life campaign that encourages people to save and invest using their financial products including life insurance so that they can/ will have the good life of retirement sooner – age 55 not 60. The TV and print ads show images of fit and active grey-haired couples in exotic locations, golfing, just sitting looking out on their secluded lake. Free to just have fun.
The good life view of retirement is something relatively new. In the west, sometime in the 1930s our governments began designing pension plans and tax laws to encourage the growing numbers of old to get out of the workforce. But, by the 1950s it was clear the “old” weren’t interested in retiring to do nothing. And so retirement was sold as the fun time we get after the slavery of our life up until then. [source]
Ah retirement! Ah Freedom 55.
Fast forward to today’s headline which goes on to say: “40 per cent of 25-to 34-year-olds concerned about when they can retire.” Why are 25 to 34 year olds concerned about when they can retire? I don’t mean they shouldn’t be saving or investing or planning for the future. They certainly should. But what I find discouraging is that instead of demanding more from their work and workplaces they’re worrying about how soon they can stop, get out.
Retirement. First it was a social obligation. Then an economic privilege. And now a personal entitlement based on a Faustian deal. Work hard at something you are neutral to, or dislike, and eventually you’ll get the prize. Retirement. Or maybe not.
And for this 40% who are focused on when they can retire it’s a huge loss – for them and for the organizations they work for.
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The 80/20 rule
I was enjoying a fabulous performance by the McGill Symphony Orchestra [Schulich School of Music] the other night, thanks to the generosity of a good friend, when I found thinking about the 80/20 rule.
You know, the Pareto Principle. Discovered in the early 1900s by Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto who “observed that 20% of people owned 80% of the wealth” in his country. Others observed similar phenomena outside of economics. This came to be called the 80/20 rule. Applied with rigour and discipline it should mean that organizationally we’re able to prioritize those elements of the business we must focus on as a priority. That 20% that are essential to delivering 80% of the result.
Back to my musical evening out. I found myself wondering. What is the essential 20% of this performance? Is it the score? Or maybe only 20% of the notes? The musicians? Or just the violins [it was a violin concerto]? What if that one soft ding of the triangle hadn’t happened perfectly in the Allegro? Would it matter? What about the conductor? Could he make 20% of the gestures and get 80% of the impact?
And, would 80% of the result be good enough for this orchestra.
I don’t think so. So, when did the organizations we work in start preaching the 80/20 rule. And what was lost as a result?
The liner notes for the concert read: “The talent, passion and dedication of our musicians are an inspiration to us all.” When’s the last time you looked around your workplace and thought: “The talent, passion and dedication of our employees/my colleagues are an inspiration to us all/me.” If not, why not? Has the 80/20 rule dulled our aspirations?
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Time warped 2
I’m reading “Where Do Good Ideas Come From?” by Steven Johnson for my book club. I’m not that into it, but there’s one thing reading it has reminded me. Sometimes your best and most creative thinking happens when you’re not trying. For me my biggest insights happen when I’m walking up Mont Royal or when I’m asleep [and yes sometimes I even remember them].
So that means that one of the conditions we need to create for ourselves if we want to have good ideas is downtime. Time away from the pressure to write, think, make, perform.
For anyone working in, or near, institutional environments knows that this is virtually impossible. We’re now working at least 10 hours a day, 6 or 7 days/week. More work piling on with every passing day. At the same time as virtually every organization I know is looking for more insight into and innovative solutions for their business and organizational challenges, and every government I can think of is looking to recreate our economic model, we’ve got less and less time to just down tools and let our brains do what they do – noodle when we’re not thinking about anything.
There’s something wrong here and we don’t have the time to stop and think about it.
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Time warped
Michael and I were on our way to London, Ontario from Montreal. For those of you who’ve made that trip you know that once you’re on the 401 you just want it to be over. It’s like you’re in a long and endless slip stream of traffic going 120 km/hour. We stop in Kingston for lunch. And as always at our favourite spot the food doesn’t come fast enough. 10 minutes – “Don’t they know we’re on the road?” 15-minutes – “Will it never come?” 20-minutes. “Oh yeah now I remember they make the burgers from scratch.” It’s what we love about the place. Delicious.
And today, I went to Birk’s Jewelers to see about having a sterling spoon repaired – you can’t drip bleach on silver. Who knew? The poor woman behind the counter was apologizing before we even started. “It will take a really long time just to see if the silversmith can do anything.” I know a long time. I once took a gift my mother-in-law had given me – a small leather agenda cover – back to Hermés for repair. It took nearly a year and came back like new. “That’s OK,” I said, “How long?” “Three weeks.” she said. “But even then if they can do something it will take another 4 to 6 weeks.”
Four to six weeks to have a master craftsman repair something with value beyond silver. Why’s she apologizing. Why aren’t we celebrating the mastery.
These stories I think say a lot about our relationship to time. We’re running. Heck we’re sprinting – at home and at work. We’re piling more and more into our days. And we’re forget that mastery takes time and it’s worth the wait.
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Recent posts
- Grey zones are costing your organization big time
- Saying goodbye to jargon
- Don’t leave them laughing
- A master class with Ed Sullivan
- Innovation & collaboration: Strategic priorities or not?
- The truth about the number 1 fear
- Want to know the secret to writing a great speech?
- Connecting for big business benefits
- Staying in touch with reality
- “Just hire a Dalek”
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