The Obvious?

I am sometimes asked to sign NDA’s (Non Disclosure Agreements) when working with clients. These are basically written promises on my part not to talk about things I need to know in order to work with the companies I do. Each time I do it, and I occasionally say no, it rankles me a little. It is invariably down to immutable corporate policy but it also feels like a sign of mistrust which is unfortunate happening as it does at the start of a working relationship.

It also occurs to me that as more and more of us live our lives online it should become increasingly unnecessary. Any indiscretions on my part will be much more obvious online and even if not clients would have the ability to do real damage to my online reputation if I ever behaved inappropriately. It feels much more accountable to have an online reputation I am keen to protect than to have a piece of paper filed away somewhere never to be seen again.

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The Obvious?

I probably seemed a bit curmudgeonly in my disdain for the royal wedding yesterday but I wasn’t negative about the pleasure other people found in watching it. I am not even against the odd bit of pomp and circumstance. In fact I even watched some edited highlights and these included Parry’s wonderful anthem I Was Glad which brought back memories of the many times I sang it as part of St. Salvator’s Chapel choir in St. Andrews. I remembered taking part in the many formal occasions that the royal couple must similarly been involved in while they were there.

So what’s been bugging me. I think it centres around a couple of words used by the BBC anchor man for the day. I was out of the room at the time but overheard him commenting on the size and enthusiasm of the crowd and contrasting this with our “cynical society” and “lack of deference”. At this point I yelled “Oh fuck off” from the kitchen much to my wife’s annoyance!

Both of his assumptions bugged me. I don’t think we are a cynical society. I think people are generally healthier, happier and in a better state than they have ever been and I marvel at the many ways they show energy and enthusiasm for all sorts of things. I also appreciate the best in people and even reckon the Queen does a good job in a tough role.

But the other word is the one that really gets me – deferential. Dictionary definition “humble submission and respect”. Why should I be deferential simply because of the position someone holds? Why should I accord the decidedly weird group of people who have become our royal family through some pretty dodgy dealings throughout history “humble submission and respect”? There have been enough occasions when people in positions of authority have shown that they don’t deserve my deference to make insisting on it a form of madness.

Respect – fine. Acknowledgment of authority – fine. But deference – oh fuck off.

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Mark’s Daily Thought – Ideas from Mark Fritz to help you Get Ahead, Stay Ahead and Be Successful

It’s our relationships that enable us to accomplish more and are often the most rewarding part of our work. Also, it can be that our strategic relationships make the most impact in our life, and that we need to invest more of our time in these relationships. What are your strategic relationships?

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The Obvious?

I am often struck by the way people circle around social media in business. They read case studies, write strategies, spend loads of money on tools – but when you ask them if they blog you get a blank look.

Part of me knows you don’t have to have done something yourself to manage it. I took on the management of fifty film and VT editors many moons ago having come from radio and don’t believe I was the worst manager they had ever had. I also have clients who are helping their organisations adopt social tools very successfully but ….. part of me still has a nagging doubt about why people don’t get their hands dirty and use the tools themselves.

I recently tweeted “Social Media 101 – put your own hands on the bloody keyboard and write something!” and I reckon until you have done so you can’t fully grasp the magic of what these tools make possible.

What do you think?

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The Obvious?

In order for the promised benefits of Enterprise 2.0 to become reality people have to be prepared to say what they think. Sadly in conversation about this many people say something along the lines of “most people don’t want to think”. I am beginning to suspect they may be right. The biggest challenge to getting people to share isn’t to do with technology it is to do with very personal challenges and issues that relate to their sense of self and their relationship with their employers. I find it really sad that through school and into the workplace it can become not worthwhile, or even dangerous, to think while at work. What was it about the corporate world that made this seem a sensible outcome? What was it about the individuals and the culture that made this a reality for many? What can we do to help make it different in the future?

I am going to tackle this topic in my session “Being Human” at Social Business Edge in New York in a couple of weeks time. My blurb for that session is as follows:

This whole Enterprise 2.0 thing can make it seem as if we are talking about something radically new but aren’t we just getting back to the future? Aren’t we just in a small way rediscovering being human at work? The whole Protestant work ethic thing about work being hard and dour and even scary has become so pervasive in so many workplaces that it has made sense to leave a large part of ourselves at the door when we arrive at work. But aren’t we leaving the best parts behind? The creative part, the social part, the very attributes that make us human and enable us to be the best we can be? How do we help this inclination to be more human at work to grow? How do we allow ourselves to tap the most effective parts of our characters in a place where to do so has, in many cases, been downright dangerous?

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Mark’s Daily Thought – Ideas from Mark Fritz to help you Get Ahead, Stay Ahead and Be Successful

We often look at others doing something difficult, and say – "they make it look easy". That’s right, for them it is easy because they have invested time to do their preparation. The invisible part of success, the part you don’t see others do, is their preparation. Do your preparation, and you will make it look easy.

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The Obvious?

I attended a funeral today. A very moving and nice tribute to a man who had a real zest for life and was very much loved by everyone who knew him. One of the readings was from 1 Corinthians 13 which I quote below.

As I listened I heard it in terms of some of the things that can seem to really matter in this brave new 2.0 world but which in fact maybe don’t.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

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You knew you were expected to be a public speaker… but did you realize you also had to be part investigator?

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Mark’s Daily Thought – Ideas from Mark Fritz to help you Get Ahead, Stay Ahead and Be Successful

Setting goals is part science and part art. As a leader, how we set goals for our people is important, as the goals can become a big motivator or even a de-motivator if incorrectly set. Therefore, the goals we set have to take into account both what needs to be accomplished, as well as the individual who is accomplishing them.

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Philip de Lisle

At some point in the distant past, a client was describing the problems he was having implementing a particularly tricky change policy on his company. While listening to him I realised that I’d been through this situation several times myself so we discussed what his options were to overcome objectors. Out of that discussion came a process I call “Slaying Dragons” which has the express aim of enhancing buy-in to change and strategy. One of it’s advantages is that it is as powerful working on the board of directors as it is in, say, the fleet management team. Another of it’s advantages is that it is simple to understand and to implement.

What follows is a one page overview of Slaying Dragons so that you can get a feel of how it works. It has been a fun process to facilitate and the outcome has always been positive.

Enjoy!

Slaying Dragons

Enhancing Buy-in

The Problem

One of the biggest problems faced by any leader is getting the team to understand, and more importantly, buy into a new strategy and/or plan of action.

Countless, and often precious, hours can be wasted persuading team members that a) the strategy makes sense and is the correct course of action and b) helping them to understand their role within the strategy. As we all know, team members are often afraid of change and what effect it might have on them and their jobs and so take entrenched positions which can ultimately harm both themselves, in terms of their career and standing amongst colleagues, or, more importantly, the success of the strategy.

Best Case Outcome

Clearly the best case outcome is that every member of the team instantly understands the strategy and the role they are required to perform. Sadly this almost never happens. Consequently we need to ensure that everyone understands and buys into the strategy collectively even if they are unsure or unhappy with the effect it might have on them personally. The power of this collective responsibility should never be underestimated, as not only is every member of the team committed to the agreed course of action, but they have also implicitly committed themselves to their colleagues to make it succeed; as we know, people are generally more worried about “losing face” with colleagues than just about anything else in the workplace. Slaying Dragons is a technique that delivers this. In anything complex in an organisation, many attitudes and anxieties (the “dragons”) remain hidden in “caves” and only come out later at inconvenient times, often with very disruptive effects on the change.

The Technique – Slaying Dragons

This workshop runs for about 4-5 hours (it can last longer than this depending upon numbers and the level of engagement from the participants) and uses a number of well understood concepts. It breaks down into 5 parts.

Part 1 – Strapping on Armour
Break up into pairs, choosing someone you do not know well or work closely with. Take turns to listen to each other and discovery 3 things that each of you is good at. Maximum 30 minutes total. (Appreciative Inquiry). This gets everyone into listening mode as opposed to talking mode.

Part 2 – Look into the Dragon’s Eye
Everyone comes up with a verb and a noun to describe the organisation. This is how the organisation is viewed today and is the starting point for change.

Part 3 – Taking Aim
Using the Value Discipline Model, everyone discusses where they believe the organisation is today. It is highly unlikely that there will be consensus.

Part 4 – Wielding the Sword
The same exercise as Part 2, but this time the words describe how the group sees the organisation at some agreed point in the future (i.e. in 2 years time).

Part 5 – Extinguishing the Flame
The group decides and agrees how to get from Today (Part 2) to Tomorrow (Part 4). This is where the proposed strategy can be analysed by the group and buy-in confirmed.

Conclusion

This technique is proven to be successful at achieving buy-in. It also has the (dis)advantage of modifying the strategy in real time based upon the group’s feedback. When this occurs, the buy-in is even stronger as the group recognises that it has shaped the outcome and is therefore even more committed to it.

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