Category Archives: Corporate Culture

What’s Important ….

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If you want competitive advantage, here is the place to start.  Hyatt and De Ciantis take us on a journey of discovery in one of the most interesting areas of our lives – our values.  Working with values allows us to keep track of what is really important to us. I use this process and program within academic courses at the undergraduate and graduate level as well as executive education. We also use the software package – you can go online and explore, the details are all in the book. It will be added to my course work for Business Anthropology at the Copenhagen Business School this summer (only 7 more sleeps until my flight!)

It makes for a great discussion around the kitchen table or the office. A conversation that needs to happen on a regular basis – just as a reminder that there is more to life than daily routine. The Values Perspective Survey is one of my favourite tools, I highly recommend it.

Popular, thought-provoking, stimulating and (best of all!) fun – working with values perspectives will give you insight towards making better judgments and decisions – for yourself, your family and your organization.

What’s Important: Understanding and Working with Values Perspectives

The Moment of Clarity

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I’ve been busy preparing for a new summer course at the Copenhagen Business School this summer called “Corporate Anthropology and Organizational Ethnography” – a juicy title for academics!   For normal people, the course is designed to examine corporate culture – how to create and maintain cultures that drive competitive advantage.  One company who will be coming to visit the class is ReD Associates, a group of corporate anthropologists who have offices in Copenhagen and New York. I found this interesting group last year while wandering Copenhagen.  Two of the partners, Christian Madsbjerg and Mikkel Rasmussen have written a new book – The Moment of Clarity: Using the Human Sciences to Solve your Toughest Business Problems.  I am also using this book as a text for the business course – so you know how much I like it!  Why? To quote the authors “The business culture is using the wrong model of human behaviour. It is getting people wrong.”  The authors are introducing a different lens to look at customers, consumers and employees – one that takes into account human emotion. They also show why smart organizations are looking for business anthropologists to join their ranks.  The authors deliver a practical framework rooted in both theory and experience and a problem-solving method to help you start to get people ‘right’.

Do you want to attract top talent to your organization? This book helps pave the way. Its available in hardcover and kindle (I have finally succumbed to carrying my favourites on my computer – it helps to eliminate overweight luggage). Happy reading!

The Moment of Clarity: Using the Human Sciences to Solve Your Toughest Business Problems

Creative Confidence

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The Kelley brothers from IDEO are at it again. After David Kelley has his brush with cancer, he decided to focus on what was most important to him – a wake up call not so gently delivered. The result is this new book on Creativity. Ever since Ken Robinson stated that ‘creativity is as important as literacy‘ – it has become a cause worth promoting and celebrating. I had the pleasure of listening to David Kelley last week talking about design thinking, bringing to the forefront the human element in products and in organizations. Innovation comes from people, and people can enhance their innate creativity. Nothing is more important to economic viability then leveraging creative capital in our people. A message worth repeating over and over again. The piece that many executives seem to miss is that working from this mindset increases employee engagement, reduces turnover, keeps your talent at home and drives profitability. So what is holding us back? A worthwhile read to get you headed in the right direction.

Creative Confidence: Unleashing the Creative Potential Within Us All

The Crowd Sourced Performance Review

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Canada is big on crowdsourcing – in fact, Chaordix out of Calgary, Alberta – is leading the field worldwide (we can produce something other than hockey players). Crowdsourcing is a lot more than just likes and dislikes. This new technological approach to customers and clients also is an excellent resource for the HR department with employees.  When was the last time you had an accurate performance review that reflected your true contribution to your organization?  Never? Same here.  Talk about an archaic practice.

So … how about rewriting the rules around performance reviews to make them a valuable and more importantly, ACCURATE reflection of performance?  How about a dynamic and collaborative system of performance measurement that bypasses bad bosses, insecure bosses and the like? How about feedback from everyone you have worked with? Positive feedback that feeds your individual growth and your worth to your organization?  You need this book – its a must read if you care about keeping and feeding your talent.

Eric Mosley and Globoforce have developed not just the why but the what and how of performance reviews that will make a difference.  Its a great way to manage and cultivate a healthy corporate culture. Mosley has reinvented employee recognition so that it delivers on its true potential – keeping the best and brightest employees. He has combined the power of crowdsourcing with social media and a positivity-dominated workplace. Its an amazing collaboration that will revolutionize how you manage and motivate your employees.

An A++ for excellence in my bookspace.

The Crowdsourced Performance Review: How to Use the Power of Social Recognition to Transform Employee Performance

Linchpin

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Back from Copenhagen and getting over jet lag. So catching up on my reading and went looking for a little treasure that is a great start to the Fall madness.  Seth Godin put this book out in 2010 and if you haven’t done so, its worth the read. Our economy is sluggish and the only people who can pick it up – is us. Linchpin is a reminder – sometimes not so gentle – but maybe a little push is needed. One of the quotes from the book that sticks in my mind is “Raising the bar is easier than it looks, and it pays for itself. If your boss won’t raise your bar, you should.”

Maybe its the influence of hanging out for the summer at a world-class business school in Copenhagen. Maybe its heat stroke. But it gets me to thinking. What if we all decided to raise the bar? Regardless of what our employers expect? What if we all started to change the ending of our own journey? Godin speaks to the fact that many of us have been asked to hide our empathy and our creativity in service to a job description which is more than likely, outdated. What if we went outside our own ‘box’ and started using our innate creativity – for our own purpose? Even if you aren’t sure what your purpose is, you probably won’t find it in your job description. Your family doesn’t know either or else you wouldn’t be looking for it now.

So a little expansion while we still have great weather?  Methinks its worth the effort.  Part of my expansion is working on a Tedx talk for September 14th in MIlton, Ontario. A little part scary and a big part exciting. The theme? Linchpins. Hope to see you there.

Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?

 

Ctrl Alt Delete

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OK the title got me.  I spent years hitting those keys.  Needing a little break from summer school, this book called my name. Yes, fun reading – but big message.  The new true marketing imperative is telling a great brand narrative. One word? Storytelling. Mitch Joel takes us on a journey that will open your eyes to the future that is already here.  He maintains the true opportunity for business going forward to to create and maintain a direct relationship with consumers. To look forward with the eyes of a consumer and not as a business person.  Consumers are social – more than they have ever been before. Consumers are more hands on – because they can be.  A great example used by Joel is “Kickstarter” – a New York startup founded in April 2009 and has raised more than $275 million for more than sixty-five thousand projects since it started. Can’t get the attention of venture capitalists because you are too small (or too whatever)?  Kickstarter may be the vehicle for you. Driven by consumers. Supported by consumers. A great example of crowdsourcing – if your public supports you, who needs VCC’s?

Some simple rules:

1. Deliver value first.

2. Be open.

3.  Be clear and consistent.

4. Create a mutally beneficial world.

5. Find your true fans – your evangelists.

Start looking at media as one platform – text, images, audio and video. Once your delivery platform becomes one digital pipeline – you can put it anywhere.   The biggest challenge will be to figuring out exactly where that ‘where’ is. Our world now entails the exponential growth of new media.  What does that mean? Think fast and agile AND slow build.  Responding to market forces or even better, staying ahead of the trends while at the same time, a slow build with your customers – relationships take time.  That relationship gives you insight – not just data. And then he turns to rebooting your life. A very interesting read!

Ctrl Alt Delete: Reboot Your Business. Reboot Your Life. Your Future Depends on It.

Leading Out Loud

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Terry Pearce followed his heart and went back to school – something dear to my heart. Even better, he was drawn to the same program that I took a few years back – a PhD in comparative mythology and depth psychology. In his studies, he explored what it meant to lead across cultures, deepening his understanding of why people do what they do. I know I am biased, but, I believe no better preparation for the complexities of our current global world of business.

Pearce first published “Leading Out Loud” in 1995 and it quickly become a classic in the field. In this third edition, he expands on the reflective work necessary, no demanded, by authentic leadership in order to inspire commitment and action. He asks the question ‘where do passion and commitment reside’? Answer: in inspiration – and this book will act as both guide and nourishment for the journey to the authentic Self. Pearce has taught leadership communication at UC Berkeley, the Haas School of Business and the London Business School. He draws upon a wealth of experience and adds a deepening of perspective in the authentic leadership model.

A worthy addition to your reference library.

Leading Out Loud: A Guide for Engaging Others in Creating the Future (J-B US non-Franchise Leadership)

Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity

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Keith Sawyer has a lot to say about creativity and I find myself listening closely. He has a great academic pedigree and is a jazz pianist, does improv and writes games. So … he practices what he preaches. He focuses on some key questions – how can each person be more creative  and – how can the organization work together to translate individual creativity into organizational innovation. As that is my primary area of research, I dove into this book.

It seems that most books on creativity have steps or stages attached 🙂 I guess it comes with the territory of attempting to harness the creative impulse into something that we all can both understand and replicate.  Psychology has been studying creativity for decades and one thing we know for sure – these stage models work. Creativity is a non-linear process which is why there are so many ways to explore the creative impulse. It usually does not descend like a bolt of lightening – but instead responds to constant tending. This book is like a personal trainer for the creative impulse. Interesting exercises that can be done daily. Practice makes perfect! and it takes a lot of practice (10,000 hours according to Gladwell) to become an expert where you are comfortable in your own skin.

The thing I like most about this book is the emphasis on creativity as a discipline – you do it every day. The more you practice the process, the better the results, the faster the ideas, and the easier the implementation.  Just like learning how to drive – learn the process until it becomes automatic.

Steps are: (1) Ask (2) Learn (3) Look (4) Play (5) Think (6) Fuse (7) Choose (8) Make.  Similar to many others but again different.  Some great exercises, quizzes and lots of stories. An easy fun read.

ZigZag

Zig Zag: The Surprising Path to Greater Creativity

Disciplined Dreaming: A Proven System to Drive Breakthrough Creativity

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When you straddle the world of business and the world of the arts, it can sometimes be a stretch.  Josh Linkner reminds us that the only thing that can’t be commoditized is creativity.  He has come up with 5 steps to follow that both discipline and enhance creativity process – for as those of you know who work in a creative space, creativity is also a discipline.  When you are fighting to maintain ‘share of mind’ – some solid tools help the process.  Simple and yet effective. The five steps are : (1) Ask (2) Prepare (3) Discover (4) Ignite (5) Launch.  Linkner believes that this methodology can help anyone and encourages you to let your ideas come out and play.  In order to play to win – instead of playing not to lose – to stand out and be truly remarkable – creativity is the only sustainable competitive advantage.

Some questions from the book to whet your appetite:

1. What percentage of your time is spent creating something new, as opposed to working out operational details or protecting the past?

2. List five ways you can beat your competition.  How can they beat you?

3. If you were entering your industry as a start-up, how would you break the mold to beat the incumbents?

4. What elements of the past or status quo are you clinging to? What do you need to let go of?

5. List five ways your company is stagnating; for each of these, list at least two ideas addressing how to break through those barriers?

Some great food for thought and would work at the beach.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0470922222/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=0470922222&linkCode=as2&tag=wwwmythsamong-20

The 7 Virtues of a Philosopher Queen

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It has been a really hectic couple of months.  Finishing off the school term, a couple of academic papers and a major conference presentation in Doha, Qatar has kept me running. Doha is an amazing city and I loved being there. Keep your eyes on Qatar – economy moving at light speed and dedication to education and health care. An idea that a few other countries (like Canada) should keep in mind!

One last conference keynote was on the agenda before the next adventure of teaching in Copenhagen at the Business School this summer.  The Journey 2 Success Women Entrepreneurs Conference in Oakville, ON was a couple of days ago and what a delightful treat it turned out to be! Not only a great conference, but found a treasured gem that now has an honored place on my bookshelf.

The luncheon speaker was Barbara Stegemann of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her book, The 7 Virtues of a Philospher Queen tells her amazing entrepreneurial story. Barb started a perfume company that purchases its perfume oils from war-torn regions of the world and her motto is  “Make Perfume Not War”. She believes that we can use our buying power to empower families in those countries that are rebuilding after conflict or any other disaster.  The book is dedicated to a close friend who was wounded in Afghanistan – you have to read the book to find out more!  Great storytelling, sound enterpreneurial advice and social innovation make a great read for the summer.

I love her story and the 7 Virtues Fragrance selection to my nose, is a winner. I am sorry to report I have left my favored Jo Malone perfumes for another woman. My choice was a harmonious blend called “Middle East Peace” – a combination of grapefruit, lime and basil that is just yummy.  Available at the Bay stores in Canada and Lord & Taylor in the US.  You can get the books online (link above) or purchase at the Bay or Lord & Taylor’s while you are testing out the perfumes. Just think, buying a bottle of perfume as a way to reduce conflict. Teaching people how to fish instead of giving them ‘aid’. Social innovation at its best! Great book. Great perfume. Great woman!!