infinite pie thinking

Spotting change is perhaps one of the easiest things to do within the change process. Things aren't going well, sales are down, complaints are up, the chair is uncomfortable, this TV programme is rubbish. Whatever the reason for change is, spotting it is probably second nature.

Making that reason compelling is far more difficult, certainly if there are others within your immediate environment that either don't share your dissatisfaction with the status quo, or are too comfortable, caught up in something else more important to them, or just full of too much inertia to go on that journey with you.

Of course there are tools at your disposal, shouting is one, going ahead on your own, making the changes subversively another. But in order to make the right changes, and make them stick there is a list of things that need to be considered, scoped, planned for and implemented effectively.

1. Make the reason compelling. Don't just pay lip service to the need for change, and for goodness sakes, don't just change for change sake. Make the need for change compelling by giving it urgency, setting a time scale, showing the alternatives if change is not made, getting people on board, aligned to a preagreed goal is one of the biggest foundations of change.
2. Find the tipping point. This might be some good clear analysis done on your own, or with a small team. If there is a compelling need to change how much of the team or organisation needs to be affected? 10%, 30%, 100%? Finding that critical mass is extremely important, as these are the first group of people that need to be engaged, and need to get on board. These can also be your advocates sharing the compelling reason to the wider group. The wider group will need to communicated to as well. Change cannot survive in the dark, it cannot be kept secret, it must be allowed to grow and flourish in sight of everyone. If there is something that stops you from wanting to communicate the change, perhaps the reason is not compelling enough.
3. Overcome inertia. It's often said that people fear change. I would refute that with a simple piece of logic. People change everyday, they change their TV channels, the layout of their living room, their hairstyles, their Facebook friends, direction, clothes and so on. People tend to fear change that they dont understand, or believe is uneccessary. Communicating the compelling reason to the right people, turning inertia into momentum is what will keep your change on course.
4. Culture. What is the culture of your team or organisation, is it one of openmindeness? Mutual support? Driving towards a common goal? If the answer to anyone of those questions is no then the culture needs to be adapted towards accepting your change. I'll talk about culture in more detail later on, but getting to grips with the culture of your team or organisation is going to be the making or breaking of your change.
5. Communication. Not the transmission of data via presentation, email, or (god forbid) text messages. But crafting a message that can be understood, is simple to act upon and promotes the compelling reason to change in everyone.

This is a very small list, there are many more things to think about, but as a first step you wont go far wrong by giving some thought to the five points above.

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts on when change has worked, and why. Let me know.

MD

infinite pie

Billy Connolly once remarked that there was no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. I think that sums up infinite pie thinking beautifully. We can't always plan for every eventuality,but we can choose how we react to ‘bad conditions’.

So, working with a number of groups over the last few years I sometimes ask them to consider the following.

I am working in an office and at the end of the day I have to take several boxes to my car which is parked at the other end of the car park to the office exit. Typically as I pile the boxes by the door the heavens open and torrential rain starts falling. What could I do?

Think about that yourself and imagine that there are four or five people standing by the window of the office looking out at the carpark. What do you think their reactions would be?

Within minutes the group have come up with a good number of suggestions to what seems to be a very simple problem, although they have the opportunity to be completely objective and non judgemental of any solution offered. The suggestions could be;

·        Get an umbrella or coat

·        Run to the car; bring it to the front door

·        Get someone else to fetch the car for you

·        Leave the boxes

·        Wait for the rain to stop

·        Or even, get wet

The point is that within seconds they have come up with any number of viable options. However it is amazing how many people would stand at the window and complain about the "bloody rain."

We all have a choice to change, in life bad things happen to good people, we always have a choice in how we react. 

I'd be fascinated to hear how you have taken the choice to change and made an apparantly bad situation turn around.

AF

infinite pie

The Art of Science

One of the key mnemonics that I have used throughout my career is SOSTT. It’s a fairly common way to approach marketing projects, but can be used for pretty much any problem that arises and needs a rudimentary timeline analysis. Simply put SOSTT considers

·         Situation

·         Objective

·         Strategy

·         Tactics

·         Time or Target

Without understanding what the situation or ground state is, deriving the objective is pretty much redundant. It’s like planning a trip to the beach, and not knowing whether you own a car or need to take the train, or where you live.

OK, so it’s all well and good knowing the ‘science’ behind SOSTT, but applying it appropriately is where the ‘art’ comes in.

I’ll give you a good example, I was in Starbucks this weekend, and witnessed the art of science from a barista who was competent at the ‘science’ part, took my order efficiently, asked if I wanted anything else, proceeded to make exactly the coffee that I ordered in a timely fashion. The ‘art’ was that he engaged me in conversation that was genuine, warm and funny; all the while making me a coffee.

If we are to succeed in our ambitions, achieve success in what we do we need to lift our thinking out of the process and consider the impact of what it is that we are doing. By lifting the art out of the science and not being solely process driven we can start to achieve great things.

Let me know how pure process has helped or hindered you.

MD

infinite pie

I read a fantastic article written by Eric Jackson for Forbes today on why large companies are failing to retain their top talent. It’s fascinating to read that these reasons plague large companies as well as smaller ones, but the reasons are still the same.

If you are involved in a company that is knowledge based, and let’s face it most of us are you will need to rely on your talent to take your business forward. In the previous article ‘The Art of Science’ the point made was of mastering the process and then letting the art shine through. Reading through the list in the Forbes article, every single item on the list can be boiled down to mastering change, improving leadership skills and communicating effectively. What do you think? It might seem simplistic, but in reality the tools and techniques needed to retain talent are, it’s the application, the art of the science that makes all of the difference.

MD

Infinite pie

Imagine, it's the week before the Christmas break, wind down week. All the work is effectively done, no new customer enquiries so I spend a bit of time shopping online to finish off the last few bits and pieces. All in between taking the few calls that are coming in and making sure that my intray is well and truly empty.

If spotted by a Bad Boss, I am sure I would be presented with 'company policy on the use of non business websites'; whereas a Good Boss would satisy themselves that my work was up to date and my customers were happy.

Which one are you?

MD

infinite pie