Simples! - it isn't hard to be a good employer, or is it?

As a physicist, I value elegant and simple. It is natural for the world to trend to disorder and complexity, so unless you start simple life will never be easy.

In this vein I loved the following item that I found quoted by a business contact. In his article this was attributed to Lucy Kellaway of the FT, and i have now found it in an article on 30 January 2011. I think it is worth repeating and sharing.

‘We all know what distinguishes a good employer from a bad one. A good one provides four basic things.

First, it makes sure that everyone has a proper job to do.
Second, it pays them fairly.
Third, it makes employees feel that their efforts are recognised.
And fourth, it gives them nice people to work with.

That's all: there is nothing else'.

This seems so simple, but also seems to encompass all the important aspects. I have seen recently how it can be used as a litmus test when staff turnover is high. In the example I have on mind the first three aspects were deficient with a resultant annual staff turnover of 30-50%.

As managers, it would pay us to regularly "test" the environment we create for our staff and this is a simple one to use I would suggest that if two or more are below par then one can expect trouble.

Do you agree?

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Where do you leave your footprints in the sands of time?

Something happened today that set me thinking about where we leave marks that live on without us. I am not being morbid, but, "yes" including after you die.

The news today was from a friend and colleague in the US who consults in organisational design. Last year she asked if she could use the PARTNER model I created for a talk I gave, and use it with one of her clients. The did "americanise" one aspect, but that was all.

I was happy to think that it had been useful and thought no more about it. Neither it seems did my friend; until today, that is.

Today she was visiting her client to plan their next retreat and found that they have made laminated cards with the model on and keep it with them, using it to evaluate new opportunities. Not only that, but some other organisations are asking to see their model!

Well we all know the longevity of those laminates, so, having been cited as the author, my name will live on in the US mid-west for some time - chuckles. And I have never visited there!

While musing about this I was reminded of an incident nearly 30 years ago. I was a wet behind the ears, newly appointed officer of Bank of America, in my first role after training. I was sent to San Francisco and fortunately was bumped up to first class. Well if it is going to happen, better on a long flight to make it worthwhile.

I sat next to an elegant American lady. She was older than me, but I will say no more in case I get the age wrong. Let it suffice to say she was a successful headhunter and we had a very pleasant journey with, as I recall, some interesting conversation and some laughs.

When our journey ended she gave me a card and took details of where I was staying. I think she said we should have lunch, but I doubt I expected it to happen.

It did. We arranged lunch and I told my hosts who were immediately envious. The venue was an exclusive ladies' club in San Francisco called, I think, The Athenium. Men were only allowed in by invitation and my American colleagues had long wanted and frequently tried to get invited, but all had failed. And then this young Brit flies in and is invited in days!

Well it did my rep no harm and it was a very enjoyable lunch. The memory and the story lives with me as does the lady's name, Laverne Cislo.

I never visited San Francisco again or had any contact with my hostess, but the episode left a lasting and endearing memory with me and now, thanks to the Internet and whatever archives feed off this blog, Laverne's name will live on as an electronic footprint in a place I doubt she ever expected. Thank you.




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Emotional woodpeckers!!

Thuck, thuck, ..........thuck,........thuck, thuck. That was the sound that grabbed my attention and made me smile this morning.

So maybe I have got your attention :) I have two posts in mind and thought I would try and combine them in an interesting way.

The first does include a woodpecker. As I walked to the station in the morning, I cut through a cul-de-sac and past a large oak tree. It is the remnant of an old pub garden that has been developed, surrounding the tree with houses and fences.

Ironically the pub had been called The Kingfisher (because it was beside a man-made river that until not long go supplied fresh water to north London.

The sound however was distinctive and I immediately looked, without much hope, for the culprit. Happily I quickly spotted a green woodpecker in classic pose, gripping the truck high up and beating his morning tattoo. I am not sure why I said "he", but that is what it felt like.

Of course the lack of leaves made it easier to spot, but somehow finding a bird of the woodlands making itself at home in my neighbourhood seemed to be a good sign. I quite often see a large fox wandering the streets as I walk home, but this seemed to be in. Different league.

Now, where did the emotional element rise? Well, refers of this blog will know that I enjoy exploring the implications of coincidence and convergence. In this instance the convergence is two streams of thought coming together.

The first is round emotional intelligence (EI) or emotional quotient (EQ). This is the ability of an person to know themselves and undertakes, relate to and empathise with others and is cognised increasingly as an important contributor to professional success.

I am a member of an network called IQEQ which looks at matters around the importance and development of emotional intelligence in high IQ environments - they are not always found together! The current topic is "Engagement in Uncertainty".

The second thread was about a website and newsletter called mindtools.com . I do not recall where or when I connected with this site, but I enjoy the newsletters I receive and more than that I have a series of podcasts that either view books or interview experts that I have been enjoying. I am sure I did not pay for the podcasts, but it seems that maybe you have to be payment member to get access now. That is a shame, but the other materials are still worth accessing.

The newsletter is free and I received my latest one today. In it was an article about "authentic leadership" with an emphasis on integrity. The other piece was on emotional intelligence - now maybe you see the pattern emerging?

I won't plagiarise the work, but rather include the link here
http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCDV_59.htm#np

I hope you will find it interesting and I would commend looking at the mind tools site and signing up for their newsletter. Whether you want to pay for deeper access is a personal decision, but there is plenty for free and I will keep looking for free access to the podcasts.




So an there we have the "emotional woodpecker" post.


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Further advice of developing gravitas

As I have mentioned before a good number of readers who come to this blog do so as the result of Google searches relating to gravitas. This seems to be the result of my original post featuring high on searches for how to develop gravitas. The original post was a quote of ten top tips for developing gravitas as found on http://www.thechangeboard/.com and is, I believe, sound advice, but I wonder what more help could be given.

 

As I reflect on the question I am sure that one does not “grow” gravitas in glorious isolation. Instead when the advice already given is acted upon in concert with a few other skills or behaviours, the benefit will compound.

 

There are three aspects that I want to explore/expand upon here. They are:-

• Persona – one needs to have a presence onto which your contacts to can hang the perception of gravitas
• Timing – A much underestimated skill is that of timing, in particular timing interjections and contributions
• Context – Gravitas is but one of the personal Roman virtues. By understanding the others and considering how they support and enhance the perception of gravitas we can increase the overall impact of any development.

I use the term Persona to describe the physical presence one creates when interacting with others. My reasoning for addressing it here is as follows. One may make the most reasoned argument or valuable intervention, but if your contacts have no other reason to remember you then it is likely that they will forget your contribution, if not immediately then in a short time. I am sure there is some clever scientific principle behind this, but I report it based on personal experience and observation.

 

Of course repeated reinforcement of your contribution will help combat this in time, but we don’t always have the opportunities or time for this. As they say one only has one chance to make a first impression and they do say that most first impressions are formed in the first 90 seconds of contact.

 

So practically what do I mean and what are the other considerations?

 

Well, at the simplest level let us consider two contributors making the same point. The first is tall, well dressed (in context) and well groomed contributor, while the second is average height, in average clothes and with a days (unfashionable stubble). Consider who, and whose contribution, is most likely to be best received and remembered? Of course, one can go too far and let the presence overpower the recognition of any contribution; this can be either too much or too detracting. As examples someone who is over 6’7” (2m) or maybe lets’s their hair become unkempt and unclean (outside of a rock band!), is more likely to be remember for these physical aspects rather than anything they say.

 

So what to do? I suggest mimic, equip and accentuate (not exaggerate). Look at the environment you are operating in, find one or more people who have the gravitas you aspire to, and then look at how they present themselves and endeavour to mimic it. I say mimic as I am not suggesting that you become a clone, but rather you learn from better practitioners. This could cover style of dress eg suits rather than sports jackets, ties rather than open neck, leather shoes rather than sneakers, etc.. This has to all be in context so there is no single answer here.

 

In a similar way look at how your selected models equip themselves. In my world a MontBlanc fountain pen is a good accessory, as is a leather folio. Similarly a briefcase makes a better impression than a back pack. In other situations there will be other things, but I hope you get the idea.

 

Now the accentuate aspect could also be written as personalise. This is to help one stand out enough (but not too much) and avoid being a clone. In this it is a case of taking the items identified in the previous paragraphs and deciding how to make something “your own”. As an example I knew a guy who always wore red socks; he never wore any other colour to work and people knew him for it. Similarly I have known someone who used a fountain pen in their work, but always used purple ink, not black or blue. A briefcase does not have to be leather, but could be a designer bag.

 

Of course one can go too far. Patent leather shoes to work, rarely works for a man in my world – it tends to create an impression of being untrustworthy and the rest is then forgotten. Similarly “stand out” does not mean “bad taste”. If you are in any doubt ask for someone else’s opinion and do listen to what they say.

 

In terms of Timing I am thinking about one’s interaction in groups. Of course one has to be interacting to create the perception of gravitas. When one’s timing is “on” any contribution has maximum impact, but when it is “off”, eg inadvertently talking over other people, then one is likely to irritate rather than impress (see item 7 on the original list!). Another risk is that in not managing to interject at the right point the opportunity may be lost.

 

An interesting thing about thing is that timing is situational. I remember hearing Billy Connolly, the comedian say, that he found it easier to play large auditoriums and stadiums than small venues. Why? Well, because laughter took longer to circulate and settle in larger venues giving him more time to set up his next line/gag. In a business context think about handling a one to one conversation versus a large workshop.

 

Some people are lucky and have a natural sense of timing, others have to work at it. I think that like most things, being aware of the issue is the first part to solving it/improving matters. Using this awareness to spot the best exponents and see how they do it is a good start. See how they gain attention, how they open their statements, etc.

 

Another is developing the practice of a degree of self reflection after key meetings with the intent of assessing the effectiveness of one’s contribution.

 

In terms of developing the skills I suggest a couple of approaches. The first is to practice in meetings that are not important or when with friends. See if you can develop and adopt new ways where mistakes will not damage you. This is a bit like interview technique where one often benefits from using opportunities you are striving for as some practice before an important opening.

 

My last suggestion is to look laterally at places where timing is key and have courses/classes. An example I have been seriously considering was to do classes in standup comedy. I can see that this could help not only timing, but also fashioning/honing delivery.

 

This post has become longer than I planned so I will keep the last piece on Context relatively brief. In researching gravitas and what it is I came across a list of all the Romanitas or personal Roman virtues (taken from from http://www.novaroma.com/) . The list is quite extensive and, I would suggest, still very relevant. It seems that there is a large element of mutual support between them and I find myself asking why would one not aspire to any of them in the modern world. I think that if one used them as a blueprint for the “full package” one would not go too far wrong and the combination of progress in combinations would be powerful.

 

I will leave them here as a list, but may return to them in future posts.

• Auctoritas - "Spiritual Authority"
• The sense of one's social standing, built up through experience, Pietas, and Industria.
• Comitas - "Humour"
• Ease of manner, courtesy, openness, and friendliness.
• Clementia - "Mercy"
•  Mildness and gentleness.
• Dignitas - "Dignity"
•  A sense of self-worth, personal pride.
• Firmitas - "Tenacity"
•  Strength of mind, the ability to stick to one's purpose.
• Frugalitas - "Frugalness"
• Economy and simplicity of style, without being miserly.
• Gravitas - "Gravity"
• A sense of the importance of the matter at hand, responsibility and earnestness.  
• Honestas - "Respectibility"
• The image that one presents as a respectable member of society.  
• Humanitas - "Humanity"
•  Refinement, civilization, learning, and being cultured.  
• Industria - "Industriousness"
• Hard work.  
• Pietas - "Dutifulness"
• More than religious piety; a respect for the natural order socially, politically, and religiously. Includes the ideas of patriotism and devotion to others.  
• Prudentia - "Prudence"
• Foresight, wisdom, and personal discretion.  
• Salubritas - "Wholesomeness"
• Health and cleanliness.  
• Severitas - "Sternness"
• Gravity, self-control. 
• Veritas - "Truthfulness"
• Honesty in dealing with others.  

These are personal views, but I am happy to discuss or expand upon aspects if anyone wishes to contact me.

 

Question: What is a DIY Time Estimate?

Answer: About a third of the time it will actually take!!!

I am not sure where I heard this first, but I was reminded of it again yesterday as I completed the tiling of a bathroom. It has proven to be broadly true a number of times, yet still my key “stakeholder” (for fans of Rumpole – She who must be obeyed!) steadfastly ignores previous experience.

To be fair the criteria of success are usually met as the benefits are delivered and the inevitable scope creep is accommodated, though not necessarily as quickly and cleanly as expected.

Last year I totally refitted a large kitchen, including tiling the floor, and dug up an old rose hedge. Both are complete, yet took longer than expected. On reflection there are some good reasons that we still tend to overlook when we undertake change in a professional capacity. In no particular order I would give six aspects for consideration

• Life throws up many distractions
• When one is working at home, one is rarely able to focus entirely on the task in hand. Instead family and the world at large throw other things into the mix that have to be handled, often at inopportune times (at least in respect of the DIY imperative) and these create interruptions and reduce efficiency.
• Requiring one person to multitask reduces efficiency
• DIY is often DIA or do-it-alone. The implications were all too apparent with this recent tiling experience. I was not only laying the tiles, but cutting them, mixing the adhesive and having to self-labour, ie carry the (heavy) materials up stairs. This meant that it was hard to do any aspect as efficiently as possible eg I could not mix too big a batch of adhesive, else it would start setting before I could use it and thus be wasted.
• Scope Creep is only to be expected
• What started as a simple(?) job to install a new shower and move a bath has since become a total refit of the room. The result will be better and overall the family will be happier, but it has seriously extended the job. This is not uncommon and I doubt reverting back to my “project charter” would cut it with my wife. J
• Expertise, or rather a lack of it, results in learning in the job
• I start most jobs with high confidence, I have, after all, refitted two houses pretty much from top to bottom over the years, but that does not make me an expert in any aspect. What skills I have were never honed to professional levels and degrade between projects. This manifests in more time planning/puzzling each activity as I don’t know the short cuts/easier ways, a slower work rate is I check and re-check work and despite this a higher error rate requiring correction/re-work. While there is a satisfaction in learning how to do the job well in the end, it comes at a price.
• Experience is hard to build when so much is new
• The “newness” in this case is a mix of unfamiliarity, irregular application and changing tools/equipment. For example I can and do plumb, but don’t do it often. As a result the materials such as pipes and joints seem to change each time. Similarly when the no-nail type adhesives came in, they made some aspects much easier, but needed some different techniques to achieve the desired results.
• Unexpected things happen, but it is hard to manage contingency
• Of course when you lift some floor boards you are never quite sure what you will find, but rarely is it good news that makes life easier. Similarly a dropped tile and a chipped bath will change/add to your plans. Of course no-one expects these, especially the “stakeholder”, but I struggle to think of a DIY project that has not suffered at some point in some way.

So how can we do take these experiences and a) do better and b) transfer the learning into our profession life, or do we just need to adjust our expectations? There are four things I can offer here

• Manageable chunks
• By this I mean break the work into packets of work that can be undertaken and completed relatively independently of the rest. This allows for discernible progress/delivery and for learning and adjustment expectations. Of course things like AGILE and SCRUM are attempts in the professional world, but I think we still need to educate stakeholders about the intent and value of these approaches. I think that many/most still consider a project to be a contractual undertaking that should be delivered as promised, as if by magic.
• Evolutionary projects
• Certainly for larger projects we could look for a more flexible, evolutionary approach than is often provided. This would mean a clear focus on benefits (as opposed to deliverables) in order to drive and calibrate effort. This does not mean project anarchy, but is intended to avoid dogma. There is a project approach called EVO or Evolutionary Project Management that is aimed at supporting this approach. It has been championed by Thomas & Kai Gilb (http://www.result-planning.com/Project-Management), but in my opinion is under-appreciated.
• A greater learning culture
• In many of the changes I have been involved with increasing the preference has been to hire “expert” resource in the hope that this will negate the need for learning. While there is something in this, it is also true that learning has to be contextual, ie what was learned in one place, may be directly applicable, but more likely it will need introduction and adaptation – which all take time. How often do we need see learning factored into projects now? The most extreme example of learning related to the advanced weapons research where thy were looking to create the leading weapons in 25 years time. They do not know exactly what these will be or the technology that will be available, but they know they need to be prepared. As a result they put in place major learning programmes now, so they will have the experts  they need when they need them.
• Handle contingency better
• Over the years it appears to me that contingency has become a bad word, despite the continuing evidence that it is needed. In practice the best hope is that contingency is hidden within a project plan, with risk-based estimating or plain sleight of hand, because in most cases and overt contingency is scored out as being “fat” and unnecessary. In part this reflects the increasing demand for instant/faster results, and in part because it is perceived that project managers/resources have abused contingency in the past. The challenge I think is to revisit contingency and see if we can’t take a more mature approach to using it as a valuable element of planning.

iPad 2 - something of a let down!!!!

I have been an iPad convert since buying mine in mid-2010. I largely live with it, being mobile and virtually paperless.

I certainly don't regret talking the advice to buy the max memory and 3G. The argument was that you can't upgrade it so buy the best you can at the start. I have tried about four different covers and still not found my ideal. I have currently settled on a black leather Griffin cover that just folds over, but what I want is something more like the zip around folder I used with a paper pad that was also capable of holding some business cards, a pen, and other materials or even better the one I had with my Ipaq.

Ideally I would like a folde that when opened had the iPad on the left and the ability to have a small paper pad and some pockets for business crds etc on the right - oh yes, and a pen. Even better would be to have a sensitive pad that could be drawn upon and the image captured on the iPad - again much like smartInk did with the Ipaq.

Anyway I digress, I feel the iPad 2 is a disappointment. Looking at the enhancements it is not enough to make me want to buy one again.

• Do I want a White one? Not that much.
• Is the new cover, neat as it is, that much better than I am using nd warrant buying again? No.
• Do I want/need two video cameras in it? No I wanted the ability to attached an external webcam like device which would make it more usable in my opinion.
• Do I need a faster processor? No, this is perfectly good.
• Is it worth buying a new one to get a thinner, slightly lighter device? Again, no.

So I am missing any feeling of compulsion to upgrade(?).


What I would have liked and might have tempted me would have been an improved battery life, a USB port that could have opened the way for additional devices and maybe a SD card slot.

Of course I can see commercially why Apple would not add ways to increase the device's storage capacity as there would be a reduced need to buy the bigger machines, but still I think they have missed a trick.

I know that some people wanted/hoped for an improved screen, but a) I am happy enough with this one and b) it hasn't come anyway.

Maybe iPad 3 will bring enough to tempt me or more likely coincide with a failing battery in my current machine, but I guess we will have to wait noter year. Let's hope we are not disappointed again.

Recession? What recession?

Today I started a new role working in Canary Wharf, London. This is reclaimed and redeveloped old docklands to the east of London and now home to Banks like HSBC, Citi, Barclays and, in the past, Lehmans.

In my 30+ years working in London I have never, until today, worked there. I did visit a number of years back when many of the buildings had been constructed, but few businesses were there. It was a bit like a deserted urban science fiction set, but without the weeds that are usually spread around. It felt, harsh, cold and a little dangerous.

In interviewing for this job i visited the area a couple of weeks ago and was surprised to see it heaving with humanity; well dressed, generally happy and showing no signs of recession. Just tonight I walked past the Tiffany shop to get my train!

It certainly feels as if most of HSBC's 307,000 staff ( as reported in The Times this morning ) are working there.

Another first today was to travel via Stratford - I have spent the last 20 years travelling via Liverpool Street. As I alighted at Stratford I was faced with the new Westfield shopping centre, which is due to open in five months and is reported to be the biggest shopping centre in western Europe.

My next eye-opener was how big Stratford station is now with overground, underground and DLR tracks. Of course I have to walk the maximum distance to make my connection. As I write this, I recall I did visit Stratford nearly 25 years ago to interview with Manufacturers Hanover Bank. My recollection was just of a run down site, poorly lit and on a mega-roundabout. My, how it has changed!

The DLR then took past the site of the London Olympics for 2012. This was a hive of activity with arc welders flashing all over and mounds of top soil being "shifted" by great earth movers onto waiting trains.

So I ask again, recession, what recession. There doesn't seem to be much of it on my new route.


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