Month: January 2013

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Social Media – When Will Google Crack Down?

Phone with social media and google icons

Guest Author: Srinivas Sarathy

There is no doubt that social media can and is being used by webmasters and SEO’s to improve rankings and drive traffic. And we are talking about real revenue producing traffic. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Reddit among others are being used to spread buzz virally and ultimately to send positive social signals for the purpose of improving search engine rankings and drive targeted traffic.. That is great for webmasters, right? Of course, and some might say it is too good to be true.

One might wonder if Google is taking a deeper look at social media, and how it impacts rankings. It is their goal to deliver the best search results to users, by whatever means they see necessary. Social media mentions are very much the flavor of the day for website authority signalling and have become a bigger player in search results.

Remember SEO in the old days?

Do not lose sight of what Google does when things are going too well. Remember when you could just optimize meta keywords and see your traffic rise instantly. Many less than scrupulous SEOs would even abuse keywords to rank totally off topic pages for high payout keywords. Of course it seems silly to think anyone could get away with that now. Google, and the other search engines of the time, cleaned that up once they really started to understand what was going.

Then there was meta descriptions, h-tags, and page titles. A good SEO could tweak the three and in a matter days the traffic would come running. This approach worked really well for a while. Again, many would say too well. Alas, Google eventually tweaked algorithms and removed quite a bit of the effect.

Next in line was offsite links. SEOs spent many hours building links or even went out and procured links. Rankings and the resulting traffic flowed pretty well to sites that were well linked. And as usual, Google put in updates that quickly minimized the value of these vast link networks.

Now Social Media?

Social media has moved in to the SEO realm over the last year or so. As with the other SEO tactics, it started small, with many SEO’s doubting the effectiveness at the beginning. Now you can buy followers openly. Not only can you buy followers, but you can actually buy social media mentions. It does not take much imagination to think of how Google feels about this.

When Will the Other Shoe Drop?

Call me a pessimist, but I truly believe the other shoe will drop eventually. Once things start going too well, Google will drop another update on us, and will minimize the impact of social media mentions. I don’t think it will happen too soon. But I feel very confident it will. It meets all the criteria. A tactic drives traffic. More people adopt the tactic. The everyone jumps on board. Then it works too well. Then Google puts out an update. Then everyone complains.

I’m sure I am being a doomsayer. But I believe this will happen.

Overall, I believe the webmasters and SEO’s who integrate social media tactics naturally and organically through creating buzz-worthy content will win overall in terms of SEO, however those who abuse this tactic I firmly believe will have their rankings hurt in the long run.

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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About the Author:

Srinivas Sarathy is a blogger and freelance writer who works with Interlink courier services. He talks on social media and the web.

For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Marketing and Social Media

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Growing Pains for Twitter’s Vine

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Porn problem creates crisis for video-sharing app

Twitter is pushing hard for its new Vine video-sharing app to become an integral part of the way people use its service, but in the midst of the hype it’s already experienced a significant setback.

Apple, which has an extremely close working relationship with the Big T, was initially happy to feature the app, which lets users share six-second video clips, in the popularity-boosting “Editor’s Choice” section of its App Store, but just this morning Vine was unceremoniously dropped from that list. The reason?

Well, an awful lot of people like to share porn on the Internet, and when you hand out an app that lets users record and post video anonymously, guess what they’re doing to do with it? While the tag #NSFW was already quite popular on Vine, the final straw came when someone at Vine accidentally set a pornographic video to “featured” this morning, displaying it in the feeds of all users. Shortly after, the app disappeared from the “Editor’s Choice” section, although it remains in the App Store.

Similar programs, including photo-sharing app 500px and video app Viddy, have been axed from the App Store entirely because of their pornographic potential, which is against Apple’s dev guidelines, specifically the section stating apps “that contain user generated content that is frequently pornographic” are not allowed in the Store.

Now Twitter and Apple are in a difficult position. Does Apple risk damaging its strong relationship with Twitter by removing Vine from the app store (assuming there are no pre-existing agreements between the two regarding the app, and we’ll freely admit that is a HUGE assumption) or does it lose face and credibility with other developers by allowing Vine to remain when it’s dropped others that provided virtually the same service?

Already Vine has taken one step to keep its spot, blocking the hashtag #porn from being used, but as we all know the denizens of the ‘net are far too clever to make that an obstacle for long.

New details in the story are still emerging as we publish this post, but we’re looking forward to watching the crisis management moves these two giants of the modern tech world make over the coming days.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

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Crisis Ripples Rock Herbalife’s Boat

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Legal actions against an entirely different company create crisis management scenario for vendor

You don’t always have to do something wrong to land in crisis, just ask nutrition supplement vendor Herbalife, whose shares dropped a worrying 11% as a result of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s actions against a completely different organization.

Here’s the story, from a Financial Times article by Dan McCrum:

Shares in Herbalife began falling during the morning when investors learnt the Federal Trade Commission was to hold a news conference later in the day to reveal action against a pyramid scheme which at that stage it did not name. They rebounded when it emerged that the commission was targeting Fortune High Tech Marketing, a Kentucky direct seller which is unconnected with Herbalife. Later shares began to fall again.

Herbalife does operate by selling to a network of individuals who then re-sell product to friends, relatives, etc., which makes it easily associated with pyramid schemes, and in fact the company has some vocal detractors who claim that’s exactly what it is.

This is a great example of a known risk. Much as companies that drill for oil can expect to face troubles related to spills, or doctors can anticipate the possibility of a malpractice suit, Herbalife should be well-prepared to cope with the possibility of being confused for, or even prosecuted as, a pyramid scheme.

Known risks are actually some of the easiest to prepare for in terms of crisis management. You often have the luxury of examining similar situations in the past, and can evaluate what worked and what didn’t for others. Of course, many known risks have potentially volatile outcomes, and as such the stakes are high, so take your advantage and work it!

Put the most solid plans possible into place, practice them thoroughly, and you can leave your mind free to focus on business at hand knowing you’ve done all you can to prepare for the possibility of trouble.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

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Lay a Foundation for Crisis Management

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Vulnerability audits key to finding the right direction with crisis management planning

So, you’ve seen one nasty case study too many and you’re finally ready to get proactive with your crisis management.

You’ve got pen and paper (well, probably more like laptop or tablet) in hand and are ready to crank out that awesome, airtight crisis management plan, but wait, how exactly do you make it as awesome and airtight as possible?

It all starts with a vulnerability audit. Here, in a quote from Employee Business News, Bernstein Crisis Management president Jonathan Bernstein explains how you get started:

Conduct a vulnerability audit

Look objectively at all the things within the entire organization that might make it more vulnerable to a crisis in general or to a specific crisis, advises Bernstein. Look for red flags in every functional area because a crisis can occur anywhere. A vulnerability audit could, for example, uncover that a website is unable to handle a sudden surge in traffic that typically accompanies a crisis.

From where the cleaning crew leaves their soap buckets to security procedures for transferring proprietary data, you’ll find vulnerabilities in many more places than you might expect.

Typically we ask organizations to make their own list before we arrive, and while a thoughtful organization may have noted 10-15 vulnerabilities, they are always shocked when we find pages worth of trouble waiting to happen.

You can’t prevent every single crisis, but you can greatly reduce the chances of encountering one, as well as the impact of any you don’t avoid. Start your planning off with a vulnerability audit and you’ll be headed in the right direction.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

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Norovirus Crisis Management Tips

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New strain of virus ups importance of specific crisis prevention planning

Reports from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate that a new strain of the disease norovirus, known for causing “nausea, forceful vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain” has crossed over to the U.S. from Australia.

According to the CDC, the new strain of norovirus accounted for 58% of reported cases of the virus last month. Frequently called “stomach flu” or confused with food poisoning, norovirus is a nasty disease that frequently takes those affected out of commission for one to three days and, as with most diseases, is particularly hard on children and the elderly.

CDC stats show 1 in 15 Americans will catch some type of norovirus each year, and the virus causes over 70,000 hospitalizations and 800 deaths per year in the U.S. alone.

Norovirus presents the most significant risk to organizations such as hospitals, long-term care facilities, daycare centers, schools, hotels and cruise ships because it spreads so quickly from person to person. What can you do to protect your business, employees and customers?

Spot the symptoms

Norovirus has many of the same symptoms as the flu, another virus that is commonly ignored until half the workplace is out sick and you’re working with a skeleton crew. Teach employees how to recognize symptoms early, and that it’s better to stay home than risk infecting the rest of the workplace. It costs very little to put things like remote-office programs in place to help minimize any lost productivity.

The CDC’s Norovirus homepage has plenty of helpful information to share as well.

Stop the spread

Remind employees that it’s critical to not only the health of customers or clients, but also their own, that they religiously follow proper procedure regarding regular hand washing, cleaning of produce, cooking of meat, and the disinfecting and washing of any even potentially contaminated surfaces, including laundry.

You can’t count on your employees to be diligent about this on their own either, if it takes instituting log books or random inspections then don’t hesitate to do so. There may be some grumbling, but it won’t be as loud as the one coming from their stomachs if they catch a case of norovirus!

Be prepared to talk

If, despite your best efforts, a norovirus infection sweeps your office, ship, school, etc, people are going to want answers. Be prepared to explain not only exactly what happened – from how the virus got a foothold to how many people were infected or hospitalized – but also what you were doing to prevent the situation in advance and what your plans are to minimize its changes of happening in the future.

The real danger for your organization in this type of crisis is in the chance of appearing incompetent, uncaring or unprepared – all pitfalls that are easily avoided. If you put real time and effort into planning, train everyone to handle their roles properly and remember to sprinkle a heavy dose of compassion through your communications with stakeholders and statements to the media, then you will be well equipped to weather a norovirus crisis.

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For more resources, see the Free Management Library topic: Crisis Management
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[Jonathan Bernstein is president of Bernstein Crisis Management, Inc., an international crisis management consultancy, author of Manager’s Guide to Crisis Management and Keeping the Wolves at Bay – Media Training. Erik Bernstein is Social Media Manager for the firm, and also editor of its newsletter, Crisis Manager]

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Tips for Fixing the Family Business

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Small Family-Owned Business Award Winners

One of my first jobs after coming back from the United States Marines Corps was an inside sales job, downtown in a family-owned men’s clothing store.

I had no preconceived notions. In fact, I didn’t know what to expect. I wanted to earn money and I was determined to do my best. However, it did not go well. After spending four years in the Marines in the Vietnam era and coming out a sergeant, I could take orders well. I was polite.

I said, “Sir.” What I wasn’t ready for was having multiple bosses, aged 16 to 60. I figured the oldest was the big boss and the youngest, but I had the least say since I was not family. Imagine “the few, the proud, the chosen” sweeping the walk and hanging up clothes in the back and being ordered about by a 16-year-old. I didn’t last long, but then again family-own jobs are not only the hardest to work for, they are the hardest to run. And, of course, our main question here: are they hard to train?

The communication and leadership dynamics are all different. In a regular business, bosses are selected based on a different criteria, albeit sometimes not the best if they are just the money man, but more often as not because they are good at what they do managing others and leading a business or company. In the military, setting the example and inspiring others, takes precedence or leadership over management skills. In fact, management is often delegated to the executive officer. In government, politics has a hand at the top promoting the Administration’s agenda, while civil servants get the job done; most of us would agree that this system is probably not the most efficient, but in some ways it offers a satisfaction other than financial. For non-profits, yet the system offers another dynamic of working with volunteers; however, family businesses run the gamut depending on individual wishes, love of the work and fear of disappointing loved ones–just to name a few.

According to Family Business USA, “Being in a family business is hard as it requires the balancing of the unconditional love and support as a family member with the operational and profit requirements of a business. It is no wonder that over 65% of family businesses across the USA do not survive to the next generation.”

You might not know it, but this, too, is a family-owned business.

So what can you do if you if you a part of a family business, and you find you hate going to work. You would love to leave and find your own niche, but you’ve worked hard here. However, there is no promotion because there are older siblings ahead of you–the family dynamic–who may not be as qualified as you. Naturally this where it gets sticky.

The best way to keep from having the family issues come up is to treat the family business as though it is a business without the family.

Hanna Hasl-Kelchner of AllBusiness.com has the right idea. She says for any business, and it is goes for a family business here as well, to thrive it needs to be:

  1. Using communication channels wisely, such as using a letter instead of a Twitter-style text message to accurately convey subtle or complex thoughts;
  2. Keeping communications respectful, constructive, and professional;
  3. Sticking to business and keeping sensitive information confidential; and
  4. Always striving for clarity and accuracy to avoid misunderstandings that can escalate into disputes.

Jobacle.com which says it offers unique career advice with an edge, gives us five tips for working for the family business that goes more into the family dynamic and is less black. In my mind, I’d say both views are right, you have to maintain perspective and boundaries at all times. I always say I offer advice from a variety of perspectives so you can see what works best for you.

I have seen some family businesses that seem to have so much fun working together that it seems such a neat idea, then I remember the times my wife and I have been home at the same time. I work at home, and I realized how little I accomplished. So, family can distract you from the job at hand. Also, being frustrated to get the job done can make family members feel the job comes first, when it should be family first. It’s true. You cover for family who are also colleagues; you probably wouldn’t do that anywhere else.

Sometimes the stress takes a toll on personalities, making the head honcho a tyrant, mom usually the concilitator getting in between her husband and everyone else; naturally the eldest brother and sister or aunt and uncle are in the middle. In-laws added to the mix make it more complicated. Have a problem with your sister-in-law, you can’t go to your brother. Or, if the problem is with your brother, you can’t have him fired, can you? “It can bring out the best in you and your relatives–and also the worst in your working relationships.”

Here are 5 tips, according to Jobacle.com to ensure that your family working environment remains as positive and healthy as possible.

1. Blood Is Thicker Than Water
Always remember that and speak to one another that way with respect and love.

2. Decide Who is Boss
The biggest issue is to decide the leadership. The usual default is to the patriarch of the family, but give this a lot of thought. This the person who will move the business forward and make final decisions–no questions asked. Don’t be fooled by loud and aggressive. There are different kinds of leadership styles. Make sure it is one that fits your family.

3. Set Boundaries
Work is work. Home is home. Keep the boundaries clear. We see a lot family cut-ups on TV–more than we should. Talk about work at work and personal issues at home. Simple as that.

4. Don’t Bottle it Up
This more important than it seems. Don’t keep things in when they are bursting to get out. One day you will slip and say what you are really thinking. Don’t be cast out of the family and your job. Bring the issues out in the open in the appropriate forum.

5. Talk Like Family
Be open with one another as you always are, but communication is important. Again in the appropriate place. Talking about family like at work stresses the work environment and vice versa.

As trainers, I caution you anytime you are asked to work with a family business–not that it is the mafia or anything like it, but the emotions are volitile and there is no easy fix. You aren’t just dealing with the CEO here but an entire family with a range of emotions so do your research well.

For more resources about training, see the Training library.

That’s all for me now. A reminder: I do have a website where you can find other items I have written including coupons for my best selling, The Cave Man Guide To Training and Development and my novel about the near future, Harry’s Reality. Happy Training.

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51% compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code

Scrabble tiles spelling the word "rules"

Grant Thornton have issued their annual Corporate Governance Review for 2012; which is a review of the annual reports of the FTSE 350 to analyse their compliance with the UK Corporate Governance Code.

The headline grabbing figure is that full compliance with the Code has hit a plateau, with 51% of the FTSE 350 being in full compliance. However, this initially pessimistic figure hides some very optimistic underlying statistics, including:

  • 44% of those companies that did not comply with the Code are intending to do so next year;
  • 73% of companies provided detailed reasons for their failure to comply (which was up from 69% in 2011);
  • 96% of companies are complying with the new provisions on the annual re-election of directors; and
  • 98% of companies are complying with the provisions relating to triennial external board evaluations.

On the other hand, there is still some considerable room for improvement, including:

  • 25% of chairman gave no information on their board’s governance practises;
  • only 5% of chairman are emphasising how important culture is to an effective governance regime;
  • two thirds of those companies who did not comply with the Code gave the same explanation as the previous year; and
  • nearly 20% of the companies had insufficient NEDs throughout the year.

It is, as always, a very detailed and informative report and I would recommend that anyone with the time, takes the opportunity to read it properly. The full report can be found here.

This article was written by Nick Lindsay of Elemental Cosec, UK process agent and providers ofcompany secretarial services. This article is for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as specific advice or acted upon without seeking legal advice.

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What Is Planned Giving?

Person untying a gift box

“A method of charitable giving that involves the donor’s consideration of their retirement plan and family estate plan, and usually means cash to a charity at the donor’s death.”

I’ve been relying on that definition for years of public speaking and training. It’s easy, short and accurate. Others may quibble. It’s served me well for 15 years of Planned Giving fundraising.

Deeply personal factors come into play when your prospect decides whether to include your nonprofit in her estate or retirement plan. She’s thinking about her husband’s, children’s and grandchildren’s needs; maybe her parents’ long-term care; and other relatives. Even dear friends may come into the picture.

It’s a uniquely personal decision whether to include a person—or charity—in one’s will.

I talk about the charitable bequest because it’s the place to kick-off any Planned Giving program, irrespective of your charitable mission or size. I’ll have a lot more to say about that in future articles.

Who do we include in our wills?

You’ll be asking prospects to put your charity alongside husbands, children, grandchildren, parents and close friends.

That’s a revered place for you to be. No one loves a nonprofit as much as family, but you rank pretty high. You’ve got to treat that gift with the respect it deserves.

I hope you recognize that the gift is made at the time she tells you she’s included you in her will, or used some other method to make a gift. The gift is now. It will be cash to your organization at her death, but she’s made a gift today. Steward that gift accordingly.

You don’t say thank you only once. You thank your planned gift donors when you first learn of their intention, and many times after.

I’ll say more about stewardship—including simple, inexpensive ideas—in future posts.

Some practitioners say the gift “accrues” or “matures” at your donor’s death. Though there’s probably video of me using those somewhere, I try to avoid them. They’re technical and jargony.

I want to make Planned Giving accessible. I want you to understand it.

My signature seminar is “Planned Giving Demystified.” I can’t tell you how many times people have told me that mine was the first Planned Giving program they understood.

That’s enormously gratifying. It’s also disconcerting. Too many speakers and writers are talking over the heads of hard-working fundraisers trying to get a grasp on a subject that has a technical side to it but that at the outset—encouraging gifts by will—need not be out of reach.

You don’t have to be a technical expert to have a wildly successful Planned Giving program.

My definition above mentions that cash usually comes to your charity at death. The exceptions are gifts directly from IRAs—when those were allowed—and a fancy, uncommon trust (the charitable lead trust).

In my Planned Giving series, I’ll focus on gifts that get you cash at your donor’s death, and are easy to understand.

Next month, “Why Have A Planned Giving Program?” What’s the value to your organization?

Welcome to the series!

My thanks to Hank Lewis for inviting me to be part of this blog.

Starting next month, February, Tony’s posts will appear on the 3rd Thursday of each month.
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Tony Martignetti, Esq. is the host of Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio. He’s a Planned Giving consultant, speaker, author, blogger and stand-up comic. You’ll find him at TonyMartignetti.com.
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Have you seen The Fundraising Series of ebooks ??
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User Stories and Documentation

Documentation of users story

I was reading about Agile and Scrum methodologies for project management when I came upon the term ‘User Story’. As an introduction, Agile is a methodology used for software development projects. It provides more control than just stepping through the analysis, design developing, testing, and implementing stages of a project as a whole. The Agile methodology breaks down each stage into subsets so that there is more communication, collaboration, feedback and discussion as each stage is completed. The Scrum methodology (a subset of Agile) is where each piece of a project is worked on as individual tasks for more accuracy and control.

A User Story (a further subset of the above methodologies) is a single sentence that describes a particular task that needs to be done. This need will define a particular project. As an example, suppose a manager is having trouble finding certain information on an employee. The manager may write the following sentence: ‘as a manager, I would like to find employees with have not taken any sick days so that they can be given an award.’ That sentence or User Story is then brain-stormed to understand what the manager is requesting and to discuss details as to how to accomplish the task. All subsequent ideas and solutions are noted and prioritized. The brain-storming sessions will also discuss items such as requirements, functionality, time, cost, tools, resources, due date, testing, etc., but not all in one meeting; each item is done separately and documented.

A User Story is not a Requirements Specification. The Requirements Specification is much more detailed and is basically an agreement which ensures that the client and the project managers are all on the same page. As a whole, it describes the project and outlines the client’s requirements and expectations up front.

In comparison, a User Story is brief and describes what the user wants in one sentence. If a User Story is long or needs to be broken down further (e.g., as a manager, I would like to find employees who have not taken any sick nor personal days so that they can be given an award), then it is known as an ‘epic’. The ‘epic’ will then be broken down into simpler sentences for clarity (e.g. as a manager, I would like to find employees who have not taken any sick days so that …. And as a manager, I would like to find employees who have not taken any personal days so that …). In other words, a ‘to do list’ is created. This list is known as a ‘product backlog’ and will be prioritized and managed by a product/project manager or technical writer. During various stages of the development, more User Stories (‘to do lists’) will be created either by the user, developer, or manager.

Are User Stories useful? Some say yes as it drives or communicates what a client wants and sets the stage for accomplishing individual tasks to complete a project, but others say that without the Requirements, Functional, or Technical Specifications, it is difficult to see how the finished product can be completed. No matter which methodologies are applied or what form of documentation is created, the written material should be able to explain in a concise and clear manner what was requested, how to accomplish it, and be focused on getting what the customer needs and that is what is important.

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Intersectional Thinking Requires a Different Mindset

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If an Agile Enterprise is an intersection of five big ideas that can, and will, change the way we experience work (see January 7, 2013 blog on this topic), how do we begin the process?

Many accomplished thinkers are addressing this question. For an ongoing review see The Drucker Society European Blog or Steve Denning. To join the conversation, the Stoos Network is having a global online event this week. If you are still on the sidelines and want to see how things unfold, consider this.

What is required, is a change in mindset for most leaders, managers, and employees. This is not insignificant and it is key to understand your current mindset if you want to participate in the evolution of business. So let’s start there.

Taylorism, and the form of management it generated, is based on a linear, mechanistic mindset. That means, a world that can be accurately analyzed and predicted, a strong predilection for the left brain cognitive operators (if-then duality, causality, and reductionism), and an objective reality that is (technically) completely knowable. Today this world exists primarily in the finance department and on the manufacturing floor (although Toyota Production Systems challenges even this idea).

While we may believe that we can operate in a world of complexity, non-linearity, and emergence from our linear mindset this is not only false, it is downright dangerous. To really understand the world today requires us to step across the divide and into a non-Newtonian world. From a complex mindset we are still able to use the tools of linearity (finance, SOPs, and planning) when they are applicable AND we can “Surf the Edge of Chaos” at the same time. This shift in mindset is not insignificant.

“…around 1475, the legacy of Prince Henry [of Portugal] inspired an expedition to cross the equator, and instead of falling off the end of the Earth, everyone came back to tell their tale. The breaking of this emotional barrier was similar in what it unleashed to breaking the sound barrier, the four-minute-mile, [etc]…” Edwin Friedman, A Failure of Nerve

“Once something is, we can’t work backward to change it. [Myron Rogers and I] were out walking and I remember we both stopped dead in our tracks, taking in the implications of this for our work …We can’t see what is coming until it arrives, and once something has emerged, we have to work with what is.” Margaret Wheatley, So Far From Home

“The shift is as fundamental and as necessary as the shift from a geocentric to a heliocentric view of the universe. You can’t “mend” the geocentric viewpoint that the sun revolves around the earth: you have to rethink fundamentally how the universe works.” Steve Denning, Forbes Blog, 11/27/2012

Why is this so hard? What is the problem?

To understand the dynamics of the situation we face when we consider the complexity of organizations, take a close look at the organizational map the Stoos21 participants came up with.

I defy anyone to explain this from a linear mindset! If the group got even 80% of the Root Causes, Intermediate Causes, External Causes, Symptoms and Consequences, and interdependencies on the map it is easy to see the complex mess we are faced with. So is the problem what is captured by the map or is it the mindset we are using to try to understand and change what we are seeing?

Can we view this map as “what has emerged,” understanding that “we have to work with what is?” Can we begin to “rethink fundamentally how the [organization] works?” Can we explore the edges and not fall off the Earth?

The intersection we are envisioning for organizations and business (Systems Thinking, Design Thinking, Lean Processes, Agile Framework, Leader/Manager as Coach) is not an innovation – i.e. a new answer or solution to an old question or problem – but rather a paradigm shift (see below). It reframes the world, changes the information that is relevant and important, and requires a new mindset from which we can act to create change. A paradigm shift begins the process of emergence anew, from different initial conditions, with curiosity and boldness.

With these thoughts in mind, and to further reflect on your mindset, let me leave you with the words of Gary Hamel (What Matters Now) and his 25 Moonshots for Management.

“I’m a management professor [read manager or leader], and I spend most of my time talking to business folks about nit-picky sorts of problems: How do you improve your planning process? How do you get more teamwork? How do you get products to market faster? …But what if we aimed higher? What if we dreamed bigger?

…management is the technology of human accomplishment. Solving the world’s toughest problems or, more modestly, creating organizations that are deeply human will require more than scientific breakthroughs; it will require new ways of planning, organizing, collaborating, allocating, motivating, and yes, controlling.

Mending the Soul

  • Moonshot # 1: Ensuring That Management Serves a Higher Purpose
  • Moonshot # 2: Embedding the Ethos of Community and Citizenship
  • Moonshot # 3: Humanizing the Language and Practice of Business

Unleashing Capabilities

  • Moonshot # 4: Increasing Trust, Reducing Fear
  • Moonshot # 5: Reinventing the Means of Control
  • Moonshot # 6: Inspiring Leaps of Imagination
  • Moonshot # 7: Expanding and Exploiting Diversity
  • Moonshot # 8: Enabling Communities of Passion
  • Moonshot # 9: Taking the Work out of Work

Fostering Renewal

  • Moonshot # 10: Sharing the Work of Setting Direction
  • Moonshot # 11: Harnessing the Power of Evolution
  • Moonshot # 12: Destructuring and Disaggregating Organizations
  • Moonshot # 13: Creating Internal Markets for Ideas, Talent, and Resources
  • Moonshot # 14: Depoliticizing Decision Making

Distributing Power

  • Moonshot # 15: Building Natural, Flexible Hierarchies
  • Moonshot # 16: Expanding the Scope of Autonomy
  • Moonshot # 17: Refocusing the Work of Leadership on Mobilizing and Mentoring
  • Moonshot # 18: Creating a Democracy of Information
  • Moonshot # 19: Encouraging the Dissenters

Seeking Harmony

  • Moonshot # 20: Developing Holistic Performance Measures
  • Moonshot # 21: Transcending Traditional Trade-offs
  • Moonshot # 22: Stretching Management Time Frames and Perspectives

Reshaping Minds

  • Moonshot # 23: Strengthening the Right Hemisphere
  • Moonshot # 24: Retooling Management for an Open World
  • Moonshot # 25: Reconstructing the Philosophical Foundations of Management

These 25 Moonshots help define the intersection we are creating and inform our journey.

For those of you with questions, comments, or needing help contact me directly or send me a note on LinkedIn (carolmase)

Dr. Carol Mase, carol.mase@cairnconsultants.com, 215-262-6666