tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10851904287682460722024-03-06T07:25:57.988+10:00The SquirreLogAlex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.comBlogger20125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-54213334310746578502007-11-27T05:36:00.001+10:002007-11-27T05:36:57.959+10:00For all the talk about culture<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Many organizational change jobs are about changing the 'culture'. I've seen a few definitions of what 'culture' is, some are complicated and others are simple. There are a few that consider a number of indicators and others that define 'culture' in a single sentence, usually something like:<br/><br/>"Culture is the way we do THINGS around here."<br/><br/>My working definition of 'culture' is similar:<br/><br/>"Culture is the way we do PEOPLE around here."<br/><br/>That's where I think it should begin. Just by looking at the way we treat each other in our organisation. If we change that, then we might not have to change anything else.<br/>On the other hand if our processes, structures and other THINGS prevent us from treating each other well, then we should look at changing those too.<br/><br/>No easy answers - it's not change the people OR change the structure, but I still think that the litmus test for culture is how we treat each other.<br/></div>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-12978997016964721862007-11-23T06:49:00.001+10:002007-11-23T06:49:34.684+10:00short-term management<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I was scanning my rss feed and from the BBC I saw "Airbus fears 'weak-dollar' death" - the weak dollar is threatening the survival of the European planemaker Airbus, its chief executive says.<br/><br/>So how long - really - has the dollar been weak? And so what? Is this company really so threatened by the short-term?<br/><br/>How come there are so many managers/executives blaming external circumstances so quickly for what might in reality be internal problems?<br/><br/>What really gets my goat is that if these guys had been properly strategic a weak dollar might have been part of their outlook for some time. I've been hearing predictions of it for at least 5 years.<br/><br/>The real question they need to ask themselves is along the lines of - <br/><br/>'Just how well have we fulfilled our responsibility to the company, employees and shareholders of building strength and resilience into operations?'<br/></div>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-79997959340581686792007-10-21T18:39:00.001+10:002007-10-21T18:39:34.865+10:00Culture is<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>Culture is mass behaviour. Look at 'Herd' to explain what the key mechanic of mass behaviour is - it's how we influence each other. Change the way we influence each other, what we influence each other about, and you change culture (organizational).<br/>Link this to 'Managing without Leadership' - organisations keep performing whether they have a strong leader, a weak leader, or no leader at all. (This means leadership as traditionally defined; a position like manager or CEO.)<br/>This is how organisations really work. Not like an organisational chart, nor even like according to a social network analysis which often a snapshot at another level. Influence comes and goes. One person is not more influential than another all the time. They are just more influential at that time.<br/></div>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-5310609515281595372007-06-06T19:27:00.001+10:002007-06-06T20:34:16.022+10:00The Myth of Organizational Change<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">There's a big myth about organizational change and here it is: that <span style="font-style: italic;">organizations change</span>.<br /><br />Organizations <span style="font-style: italic;">don't</span> change; <span style="font-weight: bold;">people change organizations</span>.<br /><br />I believe it's important to be quite clear on this. Particularly clear.<br /><br />The consequences of not being crystal clear are pretty simple - like the consequences of living under any other delusion - you'll be worse off after than before, even if you continue in denial.<br /><br />So think carefully before blithely launching into any 'change management' initiative.<br /><br />During your planning how are you representing where the organization will be to yourselves, how are you talking about it?<br /><br />If you are describing an organization transformed through the introduction of this technology or that new process, more measurement and reporting or better administration and control, then beware (be aware). The same applies if you're placing your bets on defining a mission, vision and strategy.<br /><br />[Be aware and beware, too, of consultants who talk like this!]<br /><br />It's not rocket science.<br /><br />Only people change organizations.<br /><br /></div>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-47902543689432891752007-05-16T16:13:00.000+10:002007-05-16T17:19:47.365+10:00JDYFJ - The Latest Management Fad<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVO9H8_N7aQgagHTuLkpAtt98AIjWz_ymMhrN_IR6TzlULdpTPTEVKSvul-qras6S0wkclVLlDOcayGqK59Nu0y1_SUiM5KwEcxGqbYypLQy8R2cXMr1aM4B4UeaPiyY0hLq6oEGcA0zD/s1600-h/nz364.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoVO9H8_N7aQgagHTuLkpAtt98AIjWz_ymMhrN_IR6TzlULdpTPTEVKSvul-qras6S0wkclVLlDOcayGqK59Nu0y1_SUiM5KwEcxGqbYypLQy8R2cXMr1aM4B4UeaPiyY0hLq6oEGcA0zD/s400/nz364.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065038215084407778" border="0" /></a><br />Thanks to Nick at <a href="http://www.nearingzero.net">Nearing Zero</a> for coming up with a management approach that just might work in the long term!<br /><br />I'm thinking about recommending this new approach to one client's management team.<br /><br />It's actually a simple enough, if novel, proposition to base a change management initiative on. Everyone should be able to understand it without the need to rely on outside <a href="http://www.nearingzero.net/screen_res/nz023.jpg">experts.</a><br /><br />The implementation might be a little tricky. I suspect it might start with facilitating real communication. You know, the type of communication that can happen when people come face-to-face and start to relate to each other as humans with a common purpose, rather than just as functions in a process.<br /><br />Who knows how much talent, creativity, innovation and energy might be released using this novel insight?<br /><br />Who knows just how much better each of us might be able to do our fricking jobs?<br /><br />Maybe that's what we're afraid of? (a bit of <a href="http://www.nearingzero.net/screen_res/nz297.jpg">reverse psychology</a>)<br /><br />[go to Nick's site: <a href="http://www.nearingzero.net">www.nearingzero.net</a>. It's worth the trip.]Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-10931884611366748882007-05-08T16:59:00.001+10:002007-05-09T00:56:21.740+10:00Am I a Failed Blogger?<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">I've often wondered why I don't blog more.<br /><br />Listening to the advice of many of those who advocate using blogs as a marketing tool, I'm committing a cardinal sin. Some say the idea is to blog, blog, blog just as the traditional approach might be to advertise, advertise, advertise. Otherwise people (prospective clients?) might forget that I am out there. Sort of a shotgun approach, I suppose, but I'm reminded of the old saw about money spent on advertising - only 50% of it is effective ... the trouble is you can't tell which 50%.<br /><br />There are others who look at blogging as a relationship tool. It's important to blog, blog, blog because otherwise your readers won't trust you. Well, maybe ... at least before RSS. With RSS the situation seems to me to have changed. There are some blogs I have sitting on my RSS feed that don't post all that often, but when they do it's similar to the feeling I have when an old friend gets in touch. I mightn't hear from them every day but when I do hear from them I know it will be worth it. And there are other blogs from people I like and admire, but gee sometimes I wish they would not say so much. Once again, thanks for RSS.<br /><br />It seems a shame to me to have to fill up the bandwidth with whatever simply because it is there and we can. More consumerism?<br /><br />When I go into the blogosphere, it's like I go into myself. How else could it be with all the millions of blogs out there? And, in a respectful (of myself), almost mindful approach, I'm hoping for something deeper. I'm not saying that this is the best approach, or the preferred approach. Just that it is what I'm comfortable with at the moment.<br /><br />I like what <a href="http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2007/04/30/kingsolver_food/index1.html">Barbara Kingsolver said</a>:<br /><br /><blockquote>Nonfiction requires enormous discipline. You construct the terms of your story, and then you stick to them. "Because it really happened" is the worst reason to write anything, leading directly to ramshackle prose and the painful American custom of oversharing. I suppose 10,000 bloggers would disagree with me on that point. Perhaps here we've hit upon the distinction between blogger and author.<br /><br /><br /><br /></blockquote></div>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-50830396773542452312007-03-30T17:49:00.001+10:002007-03-30T17:49:52.302+10:00The Importance of People at Work<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I'm still thinking about the real importance of work, following the suicide of someone at my wife's work. It was the second suicide from the same unit in a year, although the other person did it at home.<br></br><br></br>My thinking has lead me to ask the question, "What is the importance of people at work?", because my wife told me that she had heard about two disturbing comments from people higher up the hierarchy than the victims.<br></br><br></br>The comments were along the lines of "Well, there are a lot of people working here, so you would expect something like this to happen," and "It happens everywhere."<br></br><br></br>I'm sorry but I don't expect things like suicide to happen at work, and it's never happened at any other place I've worked at.<br></br><br></br>The cynic in my is expecting an official response of barring all windows to prevent jumping, and insisting that all new facilities be ground level.<br></br><br></br>I'm still left with the question - <i>What is the importance of people at work</i>?<br></br></div>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-12558973436790090412007-03-29T18:30:00.001+10:002007-03-29T18:30:09.518+10:00What is The Real Importance of Work?<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'>I often wonder about the real importance of work, because sometimes people don't seem to enjoy their work, or their workplaces.<br></br><br></br>I often wonder about the real importance of work, when sometimes people put work before family and friends.<br></br><br></br>I wonder about the real importance of work, when someone at my wife's work suicides by jumping from the top of the building.<br></br></div>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-28570185395249758672007-03-22T18:28:00.001+10:002007-03-22T18:28:34.694+10:00Company Fix-It?<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><a href='http://www.springwise.com'>Springwise</a> reports on <a href='http://www.neighbourhoodfixit.com'>Neighbourhood Fix-It</a>, which lets residents all over the UK pinpoint problems which are then sent to their local council to deal with. Stuff like graffiti, street lighting.<br></br><br></br>To quote from the <a href='http://www.springwise.com/government/tagging_repairs_for_local_gove/'>Springwise</a> report:<br></br><br></br><div align='justify'>As mySociety's (a charity that also created civic-action websites like <a href='http://theyworkforyou.com'>TheyWorkForYou.com</a> and <a href='http://pledgebank.com'>PledgeBank.com</a>) Tom Steinberg explains:<br></br><br></br> Fix-It aims to change the act of reporting faults -<br />turning it from a private one-to-one process into a public experience<br />where residents can see if anyone else in the neighbourhood has already<br />spotted and reported a problem, and to see how their council is acting<br />on it."<br></br></div><br></br>I wonder if the idea could be adapted to companies, too? Not just to report maintenance problems, like a non-functioning air conditioner, but also to raise other issues - HR, cultural, you name it.<br></br><br></br>There might be a lot of benefit to opening what normally is reported through a hierarchy and transforming it into a corporate experience where all employees can see if anyone else in the company has already spotted and reported a problem and to see how the company is acting on it - without time-wasting, unproductive, turning-in-circles meetings and the usual CYA behaviour.<br></br><br></br>Whoa, it could just take responsibility, accountability and effectiveness to a whole new level. Wouldn't that be something?<br></br><br></br>Not that expensive, either. Neighbourhood Fix-It apparently gives free access to the website's source code, although corporate ethics might require some sort of contribution.<br></br></div>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-91909586862468072082006-12-06T20:34:00.000+10:002006-12-06T20:53:28.272+10:00Personal Development for the Confused<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Do you think that <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">personal development is an integral part of being a leader</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">?</span></span></span></span><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" ><br /><br />Hmmm ... </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Well, it probably depends on what personal development means. Personally, :-) I think there's some confusion about this.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Would you, for example, expect that <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-size:100%;" >your boss should be more personally developed</span> than you because he is further up the company ladder? <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >What would that mean in terms of his behaviour?</span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />How about the CEO? Or even the President / Prime Minister of your country? From a personal development perspective, how comfortable do you feel about them being your leaders? <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(102, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >What would it mean for the company</span> or the country if they were more personally developed?</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />If Bill Gates is the richest person in the world, is he also the most personally developed?</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Perhaps we could ask <a href="http://www.anthonyrobbins.com/">Anthony Robbins </a>or <a href="http://www.stevepavlina.com/">Steve Pavlina</a> for their opinons? Lots of people do. There's a whole industry around personal development.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />It can be difficult to talk properly about some things in these politically correct and sensitive times, but <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">how do we decide if someone is personally developed or not? </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);font-size:100%;" >In comparison to ... what or whom?</span></span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />That's part of the confusion, I think. What's often called personal development might be better termed <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">personal accomplishment</span></span>, or even <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:arial;">expert accomplishment</span></span>.<br /><br />A balance of both is good. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" >Be accomplished <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">and</span> be a person</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">.</span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 0, 51);">What about your employees?</span></span> <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 0, 51); font-weight: bold;">How's their personal development?</span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />'Who cares!</span></span>', some might answer, <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">'as long as they do their jobs!'</span></span>.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Which attitude probably part explains any problems you might be having in that regard...<br /></span></span>in the opinion of someone who has quite a way to go with his own personal development.<br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span></span>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-55610898532487692892006-12-01T19:23:00.000+10:002006-12-01T20:01:27.861+10:00Corporations don't have Values, People do!<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">As part of a culture change process with a company I'm working with, I've asked the participants to <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-size:100%;" >design a new induction procedure</span>. Part of the induction will be an attempt to explain the corporate values and instead of presenting the usual values/mission statement here's the question I put to the group:<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">"How does working here allow <span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">me</span></span> to express my personal values?"</span><br /></span><br />The idea was to get individuals to relate some true stories about what they had done, what had happened and so give new employees (and perhaps old ones, too), some introduction to the culture of the place.<br /><br />A couple of points I want to make:<br /><br />Firstly,<span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);font-size:130%;" >it was <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span> hard for some people to stop with the corporate-speak</span>; you know, the 'employees are our greatest asset, blah, blah, blah'. I'm not doubting that these people believe stuff like that (or that they <span style="font-weight: bold;">should</span> believe it), but I wonder if they actually <span style="font-weight: bold;">felt</span> it? I certainly didn't feel any connection between the head and the heart from the people who spoke that way, and <span style="font-size:100%;">using corporate-speak doesn't tell anyone how <span style="font-weight: bold;">this </span>company is any different from another company - only the unique stories of what has happened here can do that.</span><br /><br />Secondly, I deliberately asked for personal values, not corporate values. <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">I seriously doubt that corporations really have values</span> and <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">maybe it's time we stopped kidding ourselves that they do</span>, and <span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">take personal responsibility for what we do in the name of the corporation</span></span>.</span> Sure, some committee may get together and formulate a nice sounding list but are those really the values of the whole corporation? Remember, the fact that a corporation has legal standing as a person is simply a fiction, something that's been enacted in law, but it doesn't make a company a flesh-and-blood, living, breathing and feeling person.<br /><br />(BTW, I've just downloaded '<a href="http://www.thecorporation.com">The Corporation</a>' via <a href="http://www.getdemocracy.com">Democracy</a>. I haven't seen it yet.)<br /><br />We could say that a company's values are evidenced by the actions of the company, but it is still individuals or groups of individuals who are really taking the actions. To say that the company is taking the action simply allows the individuals to legally, if not morally, shift responsibility, thanks again to that legal fiction.<br /><br />That's why I think <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);font-size:130%;" >it makes a lot more sense to ask people how working at a company allows them to express their personal values</span><span style="font-size:130%;">.</span> Now, if one person tells a story about that, then I can listen to him or her and judge whether I <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">wholeheartedly support</span> those values, or I can <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">just live with them</span>, or at the other extreme, find them <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">unacceptable</span>.<br /><br />Of course, if I find them unacceptable something's got to give.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">If lots of people share their stories, then we have a pretty good idea of the company's actual culture as expressed by actual behaviour. And we remember it.</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span></span>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-13387890671468190032006-11-24T10:46:00.000+10:002006-11-24T11:18:51.958+10:00BRFSStrategic announces a new C.F.O.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/6456/132469534761748/1600/751373/ZZ4E3D513F.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/x/blogger2/6456/132469534761748/400/541802/ZZ4E3D513F.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Following on from </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://brfsstrategic.blogspot.com/2006/11/acronyms-whats-in-name.html">'Acronyms: What's in a Name?'</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">, I'm pleased to announce that </span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >BRFS</span></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Strategic</span> has a <span style="font-size:130%;">new <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);"><br />C</span>hief <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">F</span>riendliness <span style="color: rgb(0, 102, 0);">O</span>fficer </span><br />as part of the team.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);">Claire</span></span>, pictured, at nine weeks already has a <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:100%;" >natural ability</span> for her main role <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:100%;" >concerning friendliness</span>, and is rapidly learning how to carry out her other onerous duties including lying/<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:100%;" >sleeping</span> under my chair while I'm blogging, reminding me not to take myself too seriously<br />and <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:130%;" >chewing everything in sight</span>!</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;" ><br /></span><br />Congratulations are also in order to the team at </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.booklovers.co.uk/">www.booklovers.co.uk </a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">on the appointment of their new C.E.O. (Chief Eating Officer).</span><br /></span>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-63783649765258462042006-11-21T17:17:00.000+10:002006-11-24T19:24:31.765+10:00Acronyms: What's in a Name?<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Acronyms!</span></span> <span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:130%;" >Love them or hate them?</span> You know what I mean - those words formed from the initial letters of other words. You can go to <a href="http://www.acronymfinder.com/">www.acronymfinder.com</a> and look up over 3,000,000 million of them.<br /><br />Governments are really good at making them up so that they are <span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-family:arial;">pronouncible but carry no meaning</span></span> other than identification: e.g.</span></span><br /><ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">NOFEAR (National Organisation for European American Rights)</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organisation), </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">CSIRO, pronounced 'sigh-row' (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation), </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">ASIO (Australian Security Intelligence Organisation),</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">and apparently about 3,000,000 others.</span></span></li></ul><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />Geez, I've even done it myself with <span style="font-size:180%;"><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);">BRFS</span>Strategic</span> - Big Red Flying Squirrel. <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">You'd think I'd know better!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">But consider when an acronym can become a <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">useful </span>metaphor full of meaning:-</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >NESST</span> - <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >National Executive Strategic Sustainability Team</span></span> - the idea being that this top-level team was to be <span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0);font-size:100%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">a nest to nurture various initiatives</span></span>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">CAST</span> - <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >Change Agent Support Team</span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"> </span>- for a team responsible for implementing change, the acronym made it clear that the team members were <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">the cast who were the main players in any effort, not just directing but actively participating.</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 153, 0);">NeWT</span> - <span style="font-style: italic;font-size:100%;" >New World Training</span></span> - for a training program designed to give participants awareness and tools to manage their own culture. Quite apt, because a newt is an animal <span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 153, 0); font-weight: bold;">capable of regenerating</span></span> lost limbs.<br /><br />What I found really fascinating was that the culture in each of these cases was 'robust' enough to tolerate some digs at these acronyms.<br /><br />For example, one wag described NESST as a place for those who were feathering their own! CAST was quickly referred to in some quarters as CAST-AWAY. NeWT left some people wondering what parts needed regeneration.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:100%;">These sort of meaningful acronyms tell a story of their own, and give people some way of judging when they are no longer apt </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0); font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >acronyms</span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"> but only </span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">anachronisms</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 0);font-size:130%;" ><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"></span></span> (sound pretty close don't they?), which could indicate it's time to change, give them up and do something else.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Do you have any favourite acronyms???<br /><br />addendum 24/11/2006: there's a lovely post about acronmyms by John Maeda <a href="http://lawsofsimplicity.com/2006/11/10/smpl">here</a>.<br /></span></span></span></span>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-22533011755525242332006-11-20T18:14:00.000+10:002006-11-20T18:18:54.526+10:00Buy In ... Sell Out<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">Do you have any phrases that when you hear them make your flesh creep or start to ring warning bells?</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Just about any sentence that contains the words “</span><strong style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">get buy-in</strong><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">” will do that for me. “Getting Buy-In” is a concept that I hate – I hate hearing it, I hate talking like that and I hate thinking like that.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />I hate hearing it because it automatically smacks of insincerity and manipulation to me. Like what we’re wanting to do isn’t quite palatable on its own so we have to spice up the dish somehow, like using curry to disguise meat that’s off.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />I hate talking like that because it feels like I’ve gone over to the other side, the dark side where I’m not relating to others as whole people but more as commodities that can actually be bought and sold. Hmmm, let’s see; exactly how much buy-in can I get?; as if I can measure how many grams of co-operation I can buy (extract) from another’s heart, mind and soul.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />I hate thinking like that because, frankly, it’s a cop-out. It’s too easy to assume that I can buy compliance at some level, rather than take my proposal to the people who will have to execute it anyway and genuinely, respectfully ask them what they think. It’s easier in the short term to go for compliance rather than develop co-operation or even collaboration.</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />Do you think that the people you are trying to get buy-in from don’t know? At some level they do – at some level they know that a very calculated exchange is taking place. And they are weighing that up constantly – not just at the moment when they have given you </span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">‘buy-in’, which most people wrongly assume is forever and unchanging.</span><br /><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br />That’s the essence of my objection to ‘buy-in’ thinking – it’s transactional rather than relational and don’t be surprised if at some point the people you thought you had eternal ‘buy-in’ from suddenly decide: “Right, well, I’ve bought enough of that! It’s time to </span><strong style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">sell out</strong><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">.”</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"><br /><br />And I think they have every right.</span></span>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-41823127658615134832006-11-16T20:14:00.001+10:002006-11-16T20:34:50.847+10:00Building the Pyramid, Running Round the Circle<div xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><div style="font-family: trebuchet ms; text-align: justify;"><img src="http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/zzzzazzdggg49.jpg" alt="zzzzazzdggg49.jpg" style="width: 402.02px; height: 218.954px;" border="0" height="218" width="400" /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><br />Hugh Macleod, somewhere on his <a href="http://www.gapingvoid.com/mt/mt-tb.cgi/187">Gaping Void</a><a href="http://www.gapingvoid.com/Moveable_Type/archives/000825.html"> </a>blog,</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> has this neat cartoon depicting the company hierarchy. It's a pyramid,</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> naturally enough, and at the base are 'losers', in the middle are</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> 'clueless' and at the top are 'sociopaths'. Fair enough, <span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">even if it's</span><span style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"> not totally fair. Perhaps it's only 95% fair ;-). And while Hugh labels the bottom layer 'losers', it seems to me that in this particular pyramid, everyone is a loser.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Dave Pollard's post, <span style="font-style: italic;"><a href="http://blogs.salon.com/0002007/2006/04/02.html#a1485">Living on the Edge</a>,</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> presents a diagram of a series of concentric circles - the outermost</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> circle which comprises 10% of the population are the innovators on <span style="font-style: italic;">the edge</span>,</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> and the innermost circle which comprises just 1% of the population are</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> the political and business elite. I suppose that if you had a conical</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> pyramid instead of the usual square and looked at it from a hot-air</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> balloon :-) both Hugh's and Dave's drawings might look similar. Not</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> that I equate Dave's edge-dwellers with Hugh's losers!<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">There's</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> another connection, too. Both Hugh and Dave have described systems -</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> very</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> sick systems, full of wicked problems: and full of people, too,</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> including some wicked ones no doubt.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Today a thought popped into</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> my head - <span style="font-weight: bold;">just what do most companies do that actually adds real</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> meaning to people's lives?</span> When I talk to business owners, and when I</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> talk to employees, I'm often struck by the similarity of the</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> conversations. The really serious conversations, which don't happen so often because they are so scary, all seem to lead to</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> 'meaning' ... like, "What does all this activity <span style="font-style: italic;">really</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> mean?" or "Well, now I've made it, it just doesn't seem to mean what I</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> thought it would". And the same inquiries could be made not just by</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> individuals but also by entire systems, however defined; a team, a</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> company or even a country.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Somehow I know that it doesn't matter</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> how much training you have or take, how many 'change management'</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> initiatives you introduce, or how many workshops, focus groups, </span><span style="font-size:85%;">seminars or Open Spaces you invoke, <span style="font-weight: bold;">nothing makes much lasting difference, nothing sticks,</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> without 'meaning'</span>. It's tricky</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> because 'meaning' doesn't get decided - - - it sort of <span style="font-style: italic;">arises</span>,</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> and I have a hunch that it does so individually AND collectively almost</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> simultaneously because we are relational beings. (If it doesn't arise,</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> then it's basically imposed, which is the cause of the lament of so</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> many business owners that their employees just don't seem to get it -</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> of course they don't ... <span style="font-style: italic;">it literally means nothing to them</span>.)<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Practically,</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> what does it mean, say, for a company? I'm of the view that most</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> strategic activity is basically what could be called sense-making. The</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> best analogy I've heard is that it's making sense of a game where no</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> one has told you the rules or how many players there are and the rules</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> and the players keep changing all the time! Which is also about wicked</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> problems.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">Sense-making is only a stepping stone to meaning. Lots of people tend to equate the two but I think there's a big difference. The best way I know how to explain the difference is through what my father told me about death: "We may comprehend death, but we will never understand it" - <span style="font-weight: bold;">sense-making is aligned with comprehension, but meaning is about understanding.</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">What's more, <span style="font-style: italic;">there's no sense in your making sense all alone</span> - you have to</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> communicate it to others, both to be affected by them and their perspectives and to test the</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> reality of your sense-making. In a company those others are what I</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> call a 'strategic team'. Teams really are the greatest strategic asset</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> you have in a company, but most so-called teams have quite a way to go before</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> they perform in this way. It's more than a functional or operational</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> arrangement, which is where most teams seem to be.<br /><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;">It's the</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> situation where you realise that without the team and the other people</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> on the team, your life would somehow have less meaning even if only</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> because being part of the team brings out the best in you, work-wise</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> and personally. Now that's a tough call for the company, for the team</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> and for the individuals. It's also a choice that involves paying as</span><span style="font-size:85%;"> much attention to the process of the team as to getting the job done.</span></div></div>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-16936373626739523132006-10-26T22:08:00.000+10:002006-10-26T22:34:58.859+10:00What sort of expert do you need?<a href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/6456/132469534761748/1600/EXPCRV.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/6456/132469534761748/320/EXPCRV.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I read </span><a href="http://www.leggmason.com/funds/knowledge/mauboussin/Are_you_an_expert.pdf"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">an interesting article recently about being an expert</span></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">. There was a neat graph in the article which showed where experts add value. What immediately struck me was the immediate correlation possible with <a href="http://www.cognitive-edge.com">Snowden's ontologies</a>, so I've fiddled about with the original graph and the result is what you see (hopefully).</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I think that Mauboussin is writing about 'technical' experts. I make a distinction between 'technical' experts and 'process' experts. The technical experts know what you think you want to know, the process experts know how to get you to deliver the results you want with what you already know. That's a simplistic definition but it gives the general idea. I'm a process consultant. I hesitate to say a process expert, because I'm always learning.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">When you're choosing an expert/consultant, it pays to be pretty clear about what sort of expert you need for the problem you're dealing with. Following both Snowden's ontology and Mauboussin's graph to classify your problem, just about the only time you need a technical expert is when you're dealing with a 'simple' problem or a 'complicated' one. This is the realm of best practice and all you really want to know is how the other guys are doing it, so you aren't falling behind the competition.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I have two caveats here - first,if you aren't already best practice, then you don't have the right people who know their stuff and second, what's best practice for one outfit might not necessarily be best practice for another, even in the same field. Why? Because no two companies are exactly the same.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">In any case, whatever a technical expert tries to teach you (and basically that's what they're trying to do) may not be what you need to learn. And the best learning is on-going, self-directed and experiential anyway, so I'm hard pressed to see why you'd hire a technical expert in the 21st century unless you were avoiding responsibility. There's quite a lot of that, though.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I'll always remember a meeting I went to, one of those peer-group mentoring type of things where the group was deciding what the topics of future meetings might include. The attendees seemed to be getting really excited about stuff like 'paperless office' and CRM and as a facilitator I was at least happy that there was some energy in the room. After the meeting one of the group told me that he'd never been so depressed in his life! He said that if he wanted to know about the paperless office, he'd get off his butt and learn all about it himself and there were more valuable ways to be spending the meeting. He was right, of course, and I doubt that he ever spent much on being taught in business - he was too busy learning what he needed to know, not what some consultant thought he needed. Back to the graph - and it's clear that the value of a content expert drops off pretty quickly once we're out of the quadrant of known simple problems and chunkable complicated ones. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">With complicated but knowable problems, the real skill comes in getting to see the whole and not just the parts. In a real sense too much specific expertise is the very thing that prevents you from seeing that the whole is more than the sum of the parts. With too much expertise you just can't get out of yourself enough to see what's really going on in the big picture. Some technical knowledge about what your company does is probably useful for a consultant, if only to put <strong>you</strong> at ease, but it's really the same situation as for a simple problem ... if <strong>you</strong> don't know <strong>your</strong> business from a specific content point of view then maybe you're in the wrong business?</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Complex problems become more about process. It's wicked (intractable) stuff and the only way through it is by collective sense making devolving into collective responsibility. The consultant might be EXPERT IN THE PROCESSES used to make sense collectively but probably not an expert in getting people to be responsible. If you're looking for an expert to tell you how to run your business then maybe you're in the wrong business, because as I said earlier you should have all the expertise you need right there in the business.</span></div></div>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-22591887293370396542006-10-25T00:15:00.000+10:002006-10-25T00:27:13.090+10:00Bella Italia<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I'm in Italy at the moment. This is beautiful and also frustrating. It is beautiful because there is no drought here, unlike Australia. It is also beautiful because the Italians have a particular approach to life ... which is also why it is frustrating. It takes about 3 weeks here to get a fixed phone line, but only about half an hour to get a mobile number. So I am sitting in the one and only internet cafe for the district, catching up on e-mails for the last two weeks. Next week we are off to Tuscany and when we get back, maybe the phone will be on.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Until that time, my apologies. Look forward to posting when the net comes on.</span>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-78611329497321797632006-10-01T12:37:00.000+10:002006-10-01T13:34:12.902+10:00We Are Not All the Same<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/6456/132469534761748/1600/kenyacrew.1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/6456/132469534761748/400/kenyacrew.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">In another life, I spent 4 years in Kenya. Every morning at daybreak, I'd pilot a <a href="http://www.madahotels.com/balloon.html">hot-air balloon</a> full of tourists over the Masai Mara game reserve.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> It was a fantastic time for me - I was doing something exciting in one of the most beautiful, diverse places on the planet.<br /><br />Each morning a crew of 15 Kenyans would prepare the balloon and help at the launch. The passengers would pile into the wicker basket and off we'd float over the magnificent landscape, game-spotting from our lofty vantage point and usually landing near some hippo pools, where the crew would have already raced ahead and prepared a full breakfast.<br /><br />For many passengers it was the highlight of their trip - perhaps even their lives! - sitting in the middle of the African savannah after an exhilarating flight, eating an English breakfast and drinking champagne. Most of the time they simply summed it up by saying, "Thank you for the best morning of my life!" Now </span><em style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">that's</em><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> </span><strong style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">job satisfaction</strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.<br /><br />But my job was easy, really: I was the 'bwana'. That's what the Kenyans often called me. It means a lot more than 'mister' and hopefully a lot less than 'master'.<br /><br />Most of the time, I let the crew get on with their work as a team, interfering as little as possible. After all, they had seen plenty of pilots before me. They worked hard physically, to unpack and pack the balloon - all 350,000 cu.ft of it fully inflated - and prepare the tables and chairs for breakfast. Everything had to be loaded and unloaded onto the back of an ancient Bedford truck manually. And their pay wasn't great; certainly not compared to yours or mine.<br /><br />Still, there was one guy, Gabriel, who never seemed to be doing much at all. Often seems to be the way with teams, doesn't it? I watched Gabriel for a few weeks and, by my judgement, he was certainly doing a lot less than the other guys on the crew. Not only that, he was always the first to have his breakfast which the crew did when the passengers had gone.<br /><br />"This guy isn't pulling his weight," I fumed to myself, "because, after all, it's only fair that they all do the same amount of work, isn't it?" So, I resolved to talk to the crew chief, a man named Makalla, to tell </span><strong style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">him</strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> to get his act into gear, talk to Gabriel and get him to pull his weight.<br /><br />Makalla came to see me and I launched into a lengthy explanation, which seems to be the way to make your point in Africa. Makalla nodded and nodded while I was talking, and the more I talked the more I agreed with my own point of view. "This is great - I'm getting somewhere," I noted to myself as I continued lecturing about team dynamics, leadership, equality and fairness. "Maybe I can make a difference here, be a leader.",<br /><br />When I finished, Makalla simply looked at me and said, "But bwana Alex, </span><em style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">we are not all the same</em><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">."<br /><br />I deflated, depressed. I wondered if they would ever get the point.A couple of weeks later, </span><strong style="font-family: trebuchet ms;">I got the point</strong><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.<br /><br />It was a windy dawn. The burners were roaring hot air into the balloon when the tether rope slipped and I was dragged under the basket for about 50 metres as the balloon was being pushed along by the wind. I had managed to turn off the burners and pilot light but was struggling to pull the rip-line which would open the top of the balloon and deflate it.Then I heard Gabriel shout - "bwana Alex! bwana Alex!", saw him running, and next, risk reaching in to grab the rip-line, very likely saving me from serious injury.<br /><br />How many of our organizational teams are as adept at dealing with diversity as my African team?<br /><br />How many of our organizational leaders really can accept that we are not all the same?<br /><br />How many of our organizational leaders can create environments where even the different can shine?</span><em style="font-family: trebuchet ms;"></em><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br /></span></span>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-54845402252290504292006-10-01T12:14:00.000+10:002006-10-01T12:25:06.714+10:00Buiding a Relationship, Building a Brand<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">What I’m trying to do here is just to let you in on what sort of person I am, and how I might have some useful perspectives for you.</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">First, from <a href="http://www.strengthsfinder.com/">StrengthsFinder</a> </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> – here are my top 5 strengths:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Ideation</span>:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connection between seemingly disparate phenomena.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Learner</span>:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Self-Assurance</span>:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">People strong in the Self-Assurance theme feel confident in their ability to manage their own lives. They possess an inner compass that gives them confidence that their decisions are right.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Strategic</span>:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">People strong in the Strategic theme create alternate ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant pattern and issues.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Input</span>:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">People strong in the Input theme have a craving to know more. Often they like to collect and archive all kinds of information.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The lights really started to switch on for me when I did the StrengthsFinder test – building on strengths seems a much better way to go than being ‘typed’ or ‘disced’ or whatever. I felt that I really had something to work with, to shape, for the future. Sort of open-ended, like many good questions are!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Secondly, <a href="http://www.rightpath.com.au/">RightPath</a></span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><a href="http://www.rightpath.com.au/"> </a>– produces a really useful ‘unique profile’ – useful because it’s practical.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Here’s mine:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Eight Strengths</span> -</span></span><br /><ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Initiating</span>, wants to set the agenda</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Sees the strategic/future potential</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Good at</span> meeting and <span style="font-weight: bold;">communicating</span> with people</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Has a dry <span style="font-weight: bold;">sense of humour</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Enjoys being in the spotlight</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Engaging and <span style="font-weight: bold;">a good listener</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Likes and <span style="font-weight: bold;">promotes change</span></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Works with broad concepts</span></span></li></ul><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Four <span style="font-weight: bold;">Struggles</span> –</span><br /></span><ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Can be judgemental and critical</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Can be naïve and too trusting</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">May tend toward restlessness</span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">May be too relaxed when diligence is needed</span></span></li></ul><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">See the parallels between the two profiles – StrengthsFinder was like the floodlight, while RightPath is the spotlight.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><br />That's the sort of thing I like to do when I work with organizations, too. Start with a floodlight and then use a spotlight.<br /></span></span>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1085190428768246072.post-90324281249179688862006-10-01T09:40:00.000+10:002006-10-01T10:28:21.304+10:00What do the initials B R F S mean?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/6456/132469534761748/1600/brfs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger2/6456/132469534761748/200/brfs.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">B R F S stands for </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >B</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">ig </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >R</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">ed, the </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >F</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">lying </span><span style="color: rgb(255, 0, 0);font-family:trebuchet ms;" >S</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">quirrel - really!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">It could also stand for '</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >Be Really Freaking Strategic</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">', but mostly I chose it so you'd remember it ... and who wouldn't remember a Big Red Flying Squirrel?</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I have to let you in on some secrets, though.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">BRFSStrategic isn't big - there's only me. I deal with just a few clients at any one time, personally. If you're my client, I'm committed to you in a big way.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Red is a great colour. It's the colour of emotion, the heart, and it means that I'm concerned with the whole person. Organizations are all about people.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Flying takes courage, especially when you don't have wings. Have you ever watched a squirrel leap from branch to branch? It </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >is </span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">almost as if they are flying. Plus, in one form or another they seem to be right across the world. In Australia we have squirrel-like </span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.australianfauna.com/sugarglider.php">sugar gliders</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">. When we are in Italy we watch with awe while the resident '</span><a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" href="http://www.syvum.com/cgi/online/serve.cgi/squizzes/italian/italian_animals_1.html">scoiattolo</a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">' performs its acrobatic jumps from tree to tree in the forest next to our place.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">The last letter, S, is for 'squirrel'. More importantly, S is also for success.<br /><br />One of the good things that happened after I decided about the name was coming across <a href="http://stevedenning.typepad.com/">Steve Denning</a>'s <a href="http://www.stevedenning.com/squirrel.htm"><span style="font-style: italic;">Squirrel Inc, A Fable of Leadership Through Storytelling</span></a>. If someone like Steve has faith in the squirrels, the rest of us probably can too.<br /></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">So, that's the story about how I decided to start branding this business.<br /><br />In fact, </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:trebuchet ms;" >I</span><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> am the brand because there's only me, but until you and I develop a relationship of some sort through this blog, or even working together, I figured Big Red would get us off to a flying start!<br /></span></span></span>Alex McCaffertyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17008773641556659029noreply@blogger.com0