Tropical islands, companies giving staff time off to create, reading a book from cover to cover, time away from emails, learning a new language, working from home while looking after the kids, getting home at a reasonable hour, joining a gym. Lifestyle options all but not achievable by all and it's the constant challenges and obstructions at work that many see as the reason the above are not achieved. A blame game to deflect admissions and short comings in a life lived unbalanced.
Liberty holding the scales of justice is the analogy many use as life and work constantly seesaw in priority. Yet the scales never seem to be in line and balanced, in fact they always seem tilted towards work with life scrambling for attention. Thousands of books, articles and presentations by eminent psychologists, lifestyle consultants and the ever present corporate drop out who claims to have found the successful formula for life and work balance are thrown at the challenge every day. Even companies are getting involved, thinking if they give back time, the problem is solved. VW recently agreed to shut off the Blackberry accounts of workers once their shifts ended, in the hope they really do clock off.
So many options for a work life balance, the permutations offered by the experts and companies concerned for their employees are often as confusing as the outcomes. In the end one factor holds sway over the equation, control, control over decisions and contributions at work and control in family life away from work. Therein lies the biggest challenge, not many people are in control and because of that, they blame work or external forces for the in-balance in the lifestyle scales.
Where balance seems an easy concept to achieve, via quick fix self help books et al, control is the benchmark if the scales really are to align. Reading life lessons from others won't give you control, listening to motivated corporate drop outs won't give you control and watching the Lifestyle channel will get you no closer to a life of control. Looking for the quick fix, comes from a victim's view point on life, it's always someone else's fault you don't have enough time for family, work and your personal growth to be in harmony.
No one wants to hear about getting control back into their lives because it takes work and admissions that maybe you don't know how to get that control and maybe you have become a cog in a system and you don't quite know how that happened. It's not for the Lifestyle expert to give you back that control, it's about you understanding the requirements of change and working towards goals giving you back the ascendancy of a life well managed. For many that could be admitting you prefer to be at work rather than having a BBQ with the in-laws on the weekend because lifestyle is not about tropical islands for everyone.
The scales are a bad analogy for work life balance as they often only align as they pass each other on the way up or down your chaos. For many, work is life, so it's the successful controlled merge of the two, that could be the answer.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Dirt.
Did you here about Mac at the party? What about the invoice screw ups from finance? How about those guys from supply not delivering the right products? Can you believe what she wore to work yesterday? I'm not sure I can work with the new boss, especially coming from the competition. I can't believe they are now going out? Did you see that picture on Facebook?
Studies by the University of California Berkeley, in the Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, say the above may be good for you. Seems dragging someone down, casting aspersions on their character and having a good gossip at their expense is therapeutic for us. Therapeutic in that heart rates rise when bad behaviour and inappropriate deportment is encountered but it is significantly lowered when we tell someone about that behaviour. Who knew we were preventing heart attacks by hanging around the water cooler dispensing salacious gossip.
Robb Willer, one of the study co authors, looked at idle chatter along with in depth character gouging and came away with findings of stress reduction, prevention of exploitation and maintenance of social order. The experiments, involving hundreds of volunteers, highlighted the benefits above and suggested that "gossip gets a bad rap" according to social psychologist Willer.
Participants in the experiments were put into situations where the passing of information regarding bad behaviour, including cheating and exploitation of others, was so strong that some participants by passed monetary reward to make sure the "goss" was got. This passing on of the "goss" quietened people's frustrations about situations and made them feel better about others not being exploited by the ones behaving badly.
What came out of the study was known as 'pro social' gossip and according to Matthew Feinberg as the other co author, "we shouldn't feel guilty for gossiping if the gossip helps prevent others from being taken advantage of". Seems altruism plays a part in all of this water cooler talk and the higher levels of selflessness a person has the more they feel the need to gossip and save people.
That's probably the reason we have so many gossip magazines, reality TV shows about bad behaviour and an entire Internet filled with rumors, scuttlebutt and tattle tales. Seems we are all just looking out for each other and making sure our lives are not as entangled, dis engaged and chaotic as those we confabulate about. Looks like the structure of society is safe, as long as we continue to chin wag our way through the raunchy demeanor of co workers, the unsuitable conduct of competitors and the trifle dalliances of friends and family.
In business, gossip no longer exists and long ago was replaced with market intelligence and competitive information, but no matter the semantics, a double edged sword of gossip is difficult to parry if you happen to be on the end of the gabfest. So the cliche of how you want people to see you and treat you comes back to your own reputation and how you manage that with everyone you meet. If that is worth disseminating, then Frank had the right idea, "Start spreading the news".
Studies by the University of California Berkeley, in the Journal of Personal and Social Psychology, say the above may be good for you. Seems dragging someone down, casting aspersions on their character and having a good gossip at their expense is therapeutic for us. Therapeutic in that heart rates rise when bad behaviour and inappropriate deportment is encountered but it is significantly lowered when we tell someone about that behaviour. Who knew we were preventing heart attacks by hanging around the water cooler dispensing salacious gossip.
Robb Willer, one of the study co authors, looked at idle chatter along with in depth character gouging and came away with findings of stress reduction, prevention of exploitation and maintenance of social order. The experiments, involving hundreds of volunteers, highlighted the benefits above and suggested that "gossip gets a bad rap" according to social psychologist Willer.
Participants in the experiments were put into situations where the passing of information regarding bad behaviour, including cheating and exploitation of others, was so strong that some participants by passed monetary reward to make sure the "goss" was got. This passing on of the "goss" quietened people's frustrations about situations and made them feel better about others not being exploited by the ones behaving badly.
What came out of the study was known as 'pro social' gossip and according to Matthew Feinberg as the other co author, "we shouldn't feel guilty for gossiping if the gossip helps prevent others from being taken advantage of". Seems altruism plays a part in all of this water cooler talk and the higher levels of selflessness a person has the more they feel the need to gossip and save people.
That's probably the reason we have so many gossip magazines, reality TV shows about bad behaviour and an entire Internet filled with rumors, scuttlebutt and tattle tales. Seems we are all just looking out for each other and making sure our lives are not as entangled, dis engaged and chaotic as those we confabulate about. Looks like the structure of society is safe, as long as we continue to chin wag our way through the raunchy demeanor of co workers, the unsuitable conduct of competitors and the trifle dalliances of friends and family.
In business, gossip no longer exists and long ago was replaced with market intelligence and competitive information, but no matter the semantics, a double edged sword of gossip is difficult to parry if you happen to be on the end of the gabfest. So the cliche of how you want people to see you and treat you comes back to your own reputation and how you manage that with everyone you meet. If that is worth disseminating, then Frank had the right idea, "Start spreading the news".
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Kodak Moment.
The recent announcement of Kodak filing for bankruptcy is another pillar of the past knocked down. From a ubiquitous position globally, the film maker finds itself a part of history it never expected to encounter, extinction. The scary part of this whole situation is people are taking more photos now than ever before as evidenced by the 100 billion photos just on Facebook. Kodak didn't see that coming and along with music, books, magazines and newspapers, film and television, taking happy snaps has increased dramatically but not in the traditional sense.
More music is listened to now than ever before, but not in the traditional way, more books are published now, but not in the traditional sense and more film is being produced and watched than ever before, but not on traditional media. You can see the trend, tradition is not strong enough to stave off innovation and change. The people at Kodak were keepers of the traditional method of film making, the biggest in the world and too big to fail. Sounds like something from a few years ago when talking about Lehman Brothers, doesn't it?
The one thing that stands out when looking at the changes in direction over the last few years and that is more and more convenience. Who would think about sending a roll of film away and waiting a week for photos that can only be looked at, not photoshopped, not shared and not carried around on your phone? Why wait to play the latest album from your favourite artist on the record player at home, when you can just download the best songs, carry them in your pocket and share them with your friends? Why race home to watch your favourite TV show when you can rip it, Tivo it, send it to your phone or tablet all while riding the bus to work? Why wait for the news agency to open to get the mornings newspaper, when a whole world of information can now be consumed in real time on every imaginable piece of technology in your house, including the fridge?
The trend seems obvious and I wonder if convenience will bring other companies to their knees? The factors of convenience, saving time, saving energy and saving frustration gave us things such as the car, supermarkets, ATMs, very large airplanes and convenience stores on every corner, which all ended up ubiquitous and part of normal life. Photos taken, downloaded, shared and manipulated to within an inch of no longer being the original, is today taken for granted as part of daily life, with no remorse for the Kodak's of the world. It's about what is important for the photographer and it was never about the film, something Kodak forgot as it's product was being commoditised by upstarts and start ups.
What used to be a "Kodak moment" now belongs to companies that didn't exist a decade ago and must have George Eastman, who incorporated the company in 1889, rolling in his grave. Sandisk, Digital, A ram, Micro and Transcend were all winners in the commoditisation stakes that Kodak never saw coming or admitted to seeing in their corporate future as competition. Analysts have engaged Biblical quotes about the Armageddon of convenience but an open mind to opportunities should never be blinded by avarice or short sightedness and Kodak has only one company to blame.
More music is listened to now than ever before, but not in the traditional way, more books are published now, but not in the traditional sense and more film is being produced and watched than ever before, but not on traditional media. You can see the trend, tradition is not strong enough to stave off innovation and change. The people at Kodak were keepers of the traditional method of film making, the biggest in the world and too big to fail. Sounds like something from a few years ago when talking about Lehman Brothers, doesn't it?
The one thing that stands out when looking at the changes in direction over the last few years and that is more and more convenience. Who would think about sending a roll of film away and waiting a week for photos that can only be looked at, not photoshopped, not shared and not carried around on your phone? Why wait to play the latest album from your favourite artist on the record player at home, when you can just download the best songs, carry them in your pocket and share them with your friends? Why race home to watch your favourite TV show when you can rip it, Tivo it, send it to your phone or tablet all while riding the bus to work? Why wait for the news agency to open to get the mornings newspaper, when a whole world of information can now be consumed in real time on every imaginable piece of technology in your house, including the fridge?
The trend seems obvious and I wonder if convenience will bring other companies to their knees? The factors of convenience, saving time, saving energy and saving frustration gave us things such as the car, supermarkets, ATMs, very large airplanes and convenience stores on every corner, which all ended up ubiquitous and part of normal life. Photos taken, downloaded, shared and manipulated to within an inch of no longer being the original, is today taken for granted as part of daily life, with no remorse for the Kodak's of the world. It's about what is important for the photographer and it was never about the film, something Kodak forgot as it's product was being commoditised by upstarts and start ups.
What used to be a "Kodak moment" now belongs to companies that didn't exist a decade ago and must have George Eastman, who incorporated the company in 1889, rolling in his grave. Sandisk, Digital, A ram, Micro and Transcend were all winners in the commoditisation stakes that Kodak never saw coming or admitted to seeing in their corporate future as competition. Analysts have engaged Biblical quotes about the Armageddon of convenience but an open mind to opportunities should never be blinded by avarice or short sightedness and Kodak has only one company to blame.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
New Job.
Following on from the previous article, I thought I'd escape the tech race (rat is so last century) and look for an occupation more suited to my style and grace with less impetus on ticking someone else's box and more about what I want to do. My first port of call was the annual list, from CareerCast, on the most and least stressful jobs available, to see if any fitted my profile. That profile includes low stress levels, late to work, early to leave, 8 weeks annual leave and public holidays from all countries in the UN, Bill Gates like remuneration, office masseuse and free lunches.
Like many I was prepared to compromise on a couple of must haves, after all the end game was less stress, so why start aggressive in negotiations? The most stressful job list was perhaps the easiest to tackle, so I at east knew what to avoid. From the obvious soldier, firefighter, pilot and police officer to taxi drivers, I encountered a couple that bring new appreciation of the tasks at hand. Seems event planners along with PR and senior executives lead a life of stress induced danger brought on by expectations that disaster recovery belongs to you and that everyday you have return on investment thrown in your face. How easy to end up bitter, twisted, tortured and stressed when you are only recognised by mistakes?
Throw in jobs I'd never get, like emergency doctors and nurses along with marriage counselors and the list of what I don't want to be when I grow up, is extensive. Interestingly some of the least stressful jobs are also in the above medical field where records and laboratory technicians at number 1 and 5 give cause for concern the next time I need accurate up to date medical information.
As I look down the list of least stressful jobs, a couple jump out at me, shouting Ollie, you can do this. Can I see myself in "salon O" working on your coiffure, what about measuring your inside leg (a whole raft of possibilities spring up here) or even restuffing your couch? Hairdressing, tailor and upholsterer are at the top of the no stress and tension list accounting no doubt accounting for the long waiting lists at TAFE for the couch stuffing course.
Others to make the list are audiologist and precision assembler, neither of which I know much about, but if they include less tension and enmity, then a lifestyle of putting stuff together with precision is the life for me. Interestingly no stress jobs of the past, like hippie, pirate, Mr Whippy driver and Minister for Racing and Gaming made the grade, no doubt due to long waiting lists indicating those "professions" are now out of the question.
If I look closely at the full list of least stressful jobs, one thing is obvious, they are jobs of passion and people approach them with a different attitude than the daily grind, daily commute, daily struggle jobs. The old adage of never having to work a day in your life if your hobby or passion is your work, still rings true for those in the less stress list. So if you are serious about that next job being "the one" then consider following that passion and find people you want to work with, create your own brand and values, stick with it while designing your future and all the while travel to the beat of your own drum.
If that life job is never going to float your boat, then you need to look at what you can do now, that will derive some passion and bring a spark to your work. You don't have to be like everyone else, even in a factory setting. That drum in your head can still beat to the rhythm of your own song and you can still make a difference. Bring that couch stuffing attitude wherever you work.
Like many I was prepared to compromise on a couple of must haves, after all the end game was less stress, so why start aggressive in negotiations? The most stressful job list was perhaps the easiest to tackle, so I at east knew what to avoid. From the obvious soldier, firefighter, pilot and police officer to taxi drivers, I encountered a couple that bring new appreciation of the tasks at hand. Seems event planners along with PR and senior executives lead a life of stress induced danger brought on by expectations that disaster recovery belongs to you and that everyday you have return on investment thrown in your face. How easy to end up bitter, twisted, tortured and stressed when you are only recognised by mistakes?
Throw in jobs I'd never get, like emergency doctors and nurses along with marriage counselors and the list of what I don't want to be when I grow up, is extensive. Interestingly some of the least stressful jobs are also in the above medical field where records and laboratory technicians at number 1 and 5 give cause for concern the next time I need accurate up to date medical information.
As I look down the list of least stressful jobs, a couple jump out at me, shouting Ollie, you can do this. Can I see myself in "salon O" working on your coiffure, what about measuring your inside leg (a whole raft of possibilities spring up here) or even restuffing your couch? Hairdressing, tailor and upholsterer are at the top of the no stress and tension list accounting no doubt accounting for the long waiting lists at TAFE for the couch stuffing course.
Others to make the list are audiologist and precision assembler, neither of which I know much about, but if they include less tension and enmity, then a lifestyle of putting stuff together with precision is the life for me. Interestingly no stress jobs of the past, like hippie, pirate, Mr Whippy driver and Minister for Racing and Gaming made the grade, no doubt due to long waiting lists indicating those "professions" are now out of the question.
If I look closely at the full list of least stressful jobs, one thing is obvious, they are jobs of passion and people approach them with a different attitude than the daily grind, daily commute, daily struggle jobs. The old adage of never having to work a day in your life if your hobby or passion is your work, still rings true for those in the less stress list. So if you are serious about that next job being "the one" then consider following that passion and find people you want to work with, create your own brand and values, stick with it while designing your future and all the while travel to the beat of your own drum.
If that life job is never going to float your boat, then you need to look at what you can do now, that will derive some passion and bring a spark to your work. You don't have to be like everyone else, even in a factory setting. That drum in your head can still beat to the rhythm of your own song and you can still make a difference. Bring that couch stuffing attitude wherever you work.
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Original Thought.
I'm sure I've had some. I think it was in the 70s, but then I'm not sure it wasn't organically enhanced? Original thinking, innovation, creativity and seminal newfangled practices are expected from all levels of employees today as the factory model slowly sunsets. This no doubt raises the anxiety level of all who see shortcomings in such areas. I wish I was as creative as Steve Jobs, as smart as Warren Buffett, as organised as Bill Gates, as polished as George Clooney and as erudite as Malcolm Gladwell are verbalisations for many trying to figure out the new expectations. For most employees in the workforce, it takes time, an increase in skill levels, practice, meditation, mind exercises, not to mention a good haircut. Nothing comes easy, except to some, it seems.
The perception everyone has something to offer in the above is an exhausting thought to most, as 90% of the day is taken up with menial tasks while waiting on inspiration to strike from the blue, all the while trying not to attract the attention of the boss. Yes the new boss, who reads all the magazines online and who now only wants to hire creative, innovative and thought provoking staff. Everything we read, everything we view and everything we hear, seems to come from online media where the achievers dwell. Seems you are behind the times if you haven't had a million hits on your own Youtube video, tweeted 10,000 insights to your million followers, designed an app in your spare time and are halfway through publishing your first novel, while blogging on the advantages of open source coding.
It seems everyone in the digital world has the capability and expertise to launch satellites into space while updating their Facebook profile, all before morning tea. Companies are expecting levels of creativity, thought leadership and original thinking from their employees that aren't achievable for most, and even if it were, the chaos and disruption it would cause the normal running of the company would be too great to sustain productivity. It's the keeping up of the high levels of thinking and innovation, exhausting for most, that is adding to the anxiety of job risk, from the next digital native walking through the door.
Change caused by such disruption can catch even so called innovative companies by surprise if they fail to keep up. No one for example, 5 years ago, would have picked global phone companies Nokia, RIM and Motorola, who controlled nearly 70% of the smart phone market to be also rans to Apple and Samsung today. As ambiguity, chaos and change increase, the pressure on employees to function within this new environment and produce sizzling results becomes such, that many back out and look for pastures requiring less inspiration with less mental aptitude. Companies need to be careful about expectations they put on employees, if they want to keep them long term. If you are in the car industry, why didn't you invent Zipcar, if you are in the publishing industry, why didn't you invent Kindle and if you are in telecom why haven't you got at least 6 Apps in your top drawer ready for the morning's meeting? That's the message playing in the heads of many and paralysing many more.
The corporate world is changing so quickly, with work space designed for innovative thought processes, team oriented management without offices to provoke creative collaboration and ceding to young minds for original thought. No wonder a large demographic of the work force feels pressured by the "can't teach an old dog new tricks" looking backwards in nostalgic glances at the 3.30 factory whistle.
The perception everyone has something to offer in the above is an exhausting thought to most, as 90% of the day is taken up with menial tasks while waiting on inspiration to strike from the blue, all the while trying not to attract the attention of the boss. Yes the new boss, who reads all the magazines online and who now only wants to hire creative, innovative and thought provoking staff. Everything we read, everything we view and everything we hear, seems to come from online media where the achievers dwell. Seems you are behind the times if you haven't had a million hits on your own Youtube video, tweeted 10,000 insights to your million followers, designed an app in your spare time and are halfway through publishing your first novel, while blogging on the advantages of open source coding.
It seems everyone in the digital world has the capability and expertise to launch satellites into space while updating their Facebook profile, all before morning tea. Companies are expecting levels of creativity, thought leadership and original thinking from their employees that aren't achievable for most, and even if it were, the chaos and disruption it would cause the normal running of the company would be too great to sustain productivity. It's the keeping up of the high levels of thinking and innovation, exhausting for most, that is adding to the anxiety of job risk, from the next digital native walking through the door.
Change caused by such disruption can catch even so called innovative companies by surprise if they fail to keep up. No one for example, 5 years ago, would have picked global phone companies Nokia, RIM and Motorola, who controlled nearly 70% of the smart phone market to be also rans to Apple and Samsung today. As ambiguity, chaos and change increase, the pressure on employees to function within this new environment and produce sizzling results becomes such, that many back out and look for pastures requiring less inspiration with less mental aptitude. Companies need to be careful about expectations they put on employees, if they want to keep them long term. If you are in the car industry, why didn't you invent Zipcar, if you are in the publishing industry, why didn't you invent Kindle and if you are in telecom why haven't you got at least 6 Apps in your top drawer ready for the morning's meeting? That's the message playing in the heads of many and paralysing many more.
The corporate world is changing so quickly, with work space designed for innovative thought processes, team oriented management without offices to provoke creative collaboration and ceding to young minds for original thought. No wonder a large demographic of the work force feels pressured by the "can't teach an old dog new tricks" looking backwards in nostalgic glances at the 3.30 factory whistle.
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Talent Review.
Lists of the best companies to work for, remuneration reports and New Year resolutions are popular discussions at this time of the year, as people wonder if they can do better than their current job role. Many people with time off to reflect, between bouts of food coma bought on by ham overload and their Grandma's trifle, see visions of greener pastures dance in their heads.
Reports indicating the high percentage of workers looking to move is causing distractions for many, questioning their roles and responsibilities. Workers who in the past, changed for one or two issues encountered at work, now have a whole check list of reasons to exit, making it more difficult to identify the really green pastures. Salary, working environment, including that over bearing boss and recognition were always benchmarks and companies have gone to great lengths to shore up any shortcomings in those areas.
Yet even with the above at acceptable levels, people still leave and companies are challenged attracting new talent. So what else are people looking for when they leave or when they arrive? Depending on the age group there are still enough variants to drive HR crazy.
Culture, as in engaging, exciting and open is a big attraction as companies try and find ways to emulate companies like Zappos, who have a waiting list of people wanting to join. Project work, that used to be defined as the last thing you did before leaving by the side door is now searched out by many as a way to keep the job stimulating and giving avenues for employee passion. Career development, so difficult for many companies, remains high in interview questions and expectations are now much higher from the digital generation. Does management really care, is often on the lips of future employees who are looking for a more nurturing environment. How am I measured and how will I be developed is a catch cry for many of today's Millenials looking at giving companies a good 12 months to prove their effectiveness under threat of moving on.
Yet for many it is a flexibility of work and technology that really matter. Bosses who need to see you at your desk are losing effective staff who have the ability to do more work on their own schedule. ROWE (results only work environment) have proven staff to be healthier, happier and more productive and companies offering such flexibility show increased profits of up to 30%. It's easy to find out if people are spending time at the beach instead of doing their work, suntans for one thing but results and achievements are easily measured recognised.
Along with that flexibility of hours spent in the office many today are also looking at the freedom to socialise on the web and bring their own technology to work. Cisco's latest study looking at 18 to 23 year olds across 14 countries found that 40% to 45% would take a lower salary to have access to social media and bring their own technology to bear in the company environment. Seems Facebook on an iPhone is more important for many, who are eschewing company Blackberries and work stations. Not one to be left behind, Cisco is trialling BYOD (bring your own device) at work as they understand that the opportunities to keep staff are now much wider than just a salary and a clean desk.
So HR now has the opportunity to use a much wider range of attractions for future employees, which makes it a shame to still see so many companies with a factory mindset. Where would you rather work?
Reports indicating the high percentage of workers looking to move is causing distractions for many, questioning their roles and responsibilities. Workers who in the past, changed for one or two issues encountered at work, now have a whole check list of reasons to exit, making it more difficult to identify the really green pastures. Salary, working environment, including that over bearing boss and recognition were always benchmarks and companies have gone to great lengths to shore up any shortcomings in those areas.
Yet even with the above at acceptable levels, people still leave and companies are challenged attracting new talent. So what else are people looking for when they leave or when they arrive? Depending on the age group there are still enough variants to drive HR crazy.
Culture, as in engaging, exciting and open is a big attraction as companies try and find ways to emulate companies like Zappos, who have a waiting list of people wanting to join. Project work, that used to be defined as the last thing you did before leaving by the side door is now searched out by many as a way to keep the job stimulating and giving avenues for employee passion. Career development, so difficult for many companies, remains high in interview questions and expectations are now much higher from the digital generation. Does management really care, is often on the lips of future employees who are looking for a more nurturing environment. How am I measured and how will I be developed is a catch cry for many of today's Millenials looking at giving companies a good 12 months to prove their effectiveness under threat of moving on.
Yet for many it is a flexibility of work and technology that really matter. Bosses who need to see you at your desk are losing effective staff who have the ability to do more work on their own schedule. ROWE (results only work environment) have proven staff to be healthier, happier and more productive and companies offering such flexibility show increased profits of up to 30%. It's easy to find out if people are spending time at the beach instead of doing their work, suntans for one thing but results and achievements are easily measured recognised.
Along with that flexibility of hours spent in the office many today are also looking at the freedom to socialise on the web and bring their own technology to work. Cisco's latest study looking at 18 to 23 year olds across 14 countries found that 40% to 45% would take a lower salary to have access to social media and bring their own technology to bear in the company environment. Seems Facebook on an iPhone is more important for many, who are eschewing company Blackberries and work stations. Not one to be left behind, Cisco is trialling BYOD (bring your own device) at work as they understand that the opportunities to keep staff are now much wider than just a salary and a clean desk.
So HR now has the opportunity to use a much wider range of attractions for future employees, which makes it a shame to still see so many companies with a factory mindset. Where would you rather work?
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Sliced Bread.
Nothing like breaking bread to bring people together, and who hasn't had a cheese sandwich with a friend? So along with the wheel, the steam engine, plastic, the phone and the PC, sliced bread makes my list of great inventions. The problem with some of them, like the steam engine, which kick started the industrial revolution, is they decimated villages and turned everything into cities of isolated individuals. The sharing and caring village environment became a thing of the past as accumulation of wealth and objects took hold to splinter communities.
Where am I going with my ramblings? I'd like to add something new to the above list bringing back the village life, web aggregation. We may not live in grass huts any more but online we have found new ways to connect and share and sometimes care. Aggregation sites from the largest social connectors, all the way through to niche players with small tribes attached are having a village effect on our daily lives.
Whereas business has long figured out ways to make buying easy via aggregation, think expedia, think eBay, sharing and caring are only just coming into their own, usually on a local level to start with and often with just enough economy to keep things moving. What used to be a village sharing for the benefit of all, what used to be co ops optimising local products or labour and what used to be the neighborly thing to do, share a cup of sugar, has spawned a web explosion of sharing. Sharing cars, clothes, tools, couches, meals, homes and property, is bringing back the village feeling, missing since the first steel mill turned us inwards.
Today sites cater to that long forgotten sharing gene enabling people to share assets and extract value from stuff they already have but don't necessarily use everyday. Last year over 3 million people from 235 countries couch surfed, while millions shared bikes, others set up micro lending schemes and not for profit car sharing business, all the while not having to produce or buy another product to make it happen.
Rachel Botsman, who coauthored What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, tenders thinking that ownership is going full circle and maybe we had it right a hundred years ago. Add to this, many Millennials not physically owning a lot of stuff like music, images, books and even social relationships, the potential for sharing on the web has opportunity to increase and bring back the good feelings when people shared and cared.
The biggest hurdle the free and altruistic sharing and caring sites have, is the opportunity to make a dollar out of asset sharing. Sites such as, Parkatmyhouse, Zipcar, Airbnb and Sharespark, take über consumption to another level and have taken the unused asset model and applied monetary rules for profit. If the dollar can be kept at arm's length, then the slow process of bringing back the helping gene has a chance because the web is big enough for everyone, big business and those wanting to share their good fortune.
Think about what you could do to bring people together? Time to break bread, online.
Where am I going with my ramblings? I'd like to add something new to the above list bringing back the village life, web aggregation. We may not live in grass huts any more but online we have found new ways to connect and share and sometimes care. Aggregation sites from the largest social connectors, all the way through to niche players with small tribes attached are having a village effect on our daily lives.
Whereas business has long figured out ways to make buying easy via aggregation, think expedia, think eBay, sharing and caring are only just coming into their own, usually on a local level to start with and often with just enough economy to keep things moving. What used to be a village sharing for the benefit of all, what used to be co ops optimising local products or labour and what used to be the neighborly thing to do, share a cup of sugar, has spawned a web explosion of sharing. Sharing cars, clothes, tools, couches, meals, homes and property, is bringing back the village feeling, missing since the first steel mill turned us inwards.
Today sites cater to that long forgotten sharing gene enabling people to share assets and extract value from stuff they already have but don't necessarily use everyday. Last year over 3 million people from 235 countries couch surfed, while millions shared bikes, others set up micro lending schemes and not for profit car sharing business, all the while not having to produce or buy another product to make it happen.
Rachel Botsman, who coauthored What's Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, tenders thinking that ownership is going full circle and maybe we had it right a hundred years ago. Add to this, many Millennials not physically owning a lot of stuff like music, images, books and even social relationships, the potential for sharing on the web has opportunity to increase and bring back the good feelings when people shared and cared.
The biggest hurdle the free and altruistic sharing and caring sites have, is the opportunity to make a dollar out of asset sharing. Sites such as, Parkatmyhouse, Zipcar, Airbnb and Sharespark, take über consumption to another level and have taken the unused asset model and applied monetary rules for profit. If the dollar can be kept at arm's length, then the slow process of bringing back the helping gene has a chance because the web is big enough for everyone, big business and those wanting to share their good fortune.
Think about what you could do to bring people together? Time to break bread, online.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
Stories.
I often write articles with a first person view, based on something that has happened to me or something I have encountered and as such have formed an opinion or view on. I do this, to give people a sneak peek into my thinking and add humanity and personality to what are sometimes just dry facts and figures. Nothing makes a slide pack of facts and figures go quicker than a good anecdote involving the presenter and how they used the screened information in real life. It seems that adding humanity or personalisation, as anecdotal stories or anecdotal evidence in meetings, lacks validity for many and is often called into question. Called into question because empirical data has substance and is black and white but hard to remember without some colour added.
Anecdotes are used every day in everything we do and they add paint to the stories told, making them vivid in life and in business. Plausibility is added especially if a fact can be humanised in narratives that create believability by virtue of coherence. So says Daniel Kahneman, Nobel prize winner in economics, who believes our brains are wired to believe in stories. We are more inclined to believe if something happened to you or me via the facts presented. We want to believe in people, not facts.
If we look at the definition of anecdote, the above rings true as "short account of an incident" and "the act of informing by verbal report of history or biography" take us back to a time before the current tablets and more attuned to stone tablets. The pictures painted by anecdotes fall into two categories, truth and bullshit, and this is the divide that many, especially in business, find hard to bridge. The difficulty in telling the difference comes down to a couple of important factors, credibility and trust in the teller.
The story tellers of old, wandering from village to village, were appreciated for their skills entertaining people but gravitas and truth was accorded the village elders who were tasked with the anecdotal history that mattered for the future. Today the view is, that trusted history is kept in ledgers by the CEOs and CFOs of companies and the story tellers are now the conference speakers, used to motivate the villagers to work harder and smarter.
With corporate corruption today, that doesn't always hold up and again it comes back to the individual and the credibility they carry, to give their anecdotes and stories weight and measure, for the listeners. The old, "trust me I'm a doctor" has long since died, along with the believability of the "Enron brigade", and business today has more counters and balances but the quick summary via anecdotal evidence remains to test the listeners.
I'll continue to use anecdotes and stories because I'm not an accountant but I'm careful because people today are more questioning in regards to trust and credibility and that still matters to me.
Anecdotes are used every day in everything we do and they add paint to the stories told, making them vivid in life and in business. Plausibility is added especially if a fact can be humanised in narratives that create believability by virtue of coherence. So says Daniel Kahneman, Nobel prize winner in economics, who believes our brains are wired to believe in stories. We are more inclined to believe if something happened to you or me via the facts presented. We want to believe in people, not facts.
If we look at the definition of anecdote, the above rings true as "short account of an incident" and "the act of informing by verbal report of history or biography" take us back to a time before the current tablets and more attuned to stone tablets. The pictures painted by anecdotes fall into two categories, truth and bullshit, and this is the divide that many, especially in business, find hard to bridge. The difficulty in telling the difference comes down to a couple of important factors, credibility and trust in the teller.
The story tellers of old, wandering from village to village, were appreciated for their skills entertaining people but gravitas and truth was accorded the village elders who were tasked with the anecdotal history that mattered for the future. Today the view is, that trusted history is kept in ledgers by the CEOs and CFOs of companies and the story tellers are now the conference speakers, used to motivate the villagers to work harder and smarter.
With corporate corruption today, that doesn't always hold up and again it comes back to the individual and the credibility they carry, to give their anecdotes and stories weight and measure, for the listeners. The old, "trust me I'm a doctor" has long since died, along with the believability of the "Enron brigade", and business today has more counters and balances but the quick summary via anecdotal evidence remains to test the listeners.
I'll continue to use anecdotes and stories because I'm not an accountant but I'm careful because people today are more questioning in regards to trust and credibility and that still matters to me.
Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Listmania.
It's that time of year when we are inundated with opinions on past and future happenings that will make our lives more fulfilling or bring us crashing down to earth via the compulsion to put everything into a list from the past or predictions for the future. Lists containing the 10 most viewed cats of 2011, 10 tweets that should never have see the light of day, the 10 unluckiest TV celebrities caught in their under wear all the way through to the 10 good, the 10 bad and the 10 ugly in technology in 2011. The more stupid and inane a list, the more press coverage it got as they pandered to the outlived reality TV concept that the dumbest people watch and read, so why work any harder than needed putting lists together.
Even veritable press media like Time and The New Yorker, know the more salacious and voyeuristic the list heading, the more likely a readership is found. It seems a fundamental human need to classify the good and the bad in our lives, to validate or excuse behaviour over the last 12 months. The lists then lead onto predictions for 2012 by people supposedly informed and expert in their fields. It would take no more than an hour Googling the hottest topics of today, to come up with predictions that mirror the experts, making their predictions less expert and more mundane.
So far be it from me, to vary too much from the news cycle and not put forward my own list of predictions for 2012. They are in no particular order, nor are they any more informed than the current experts in the press, who read the same information we all do.
Having seen the movie and marveled at the special effects, especially John Cusack's driving skills, I don't think the world will end in 2012 as predicted by the Mayans. After all the Jetsons predicted we would be living in bubbles and driving flying cars by now and that hasn't happened yet. I'll take George Jetson over someone from the jungles of Central America any day. I know my good friend Karsten Horne will achieve great things via his micro financing site Rehope and make a difference in the lives of many in Malawi. I think Mark Zuckerberg will eventually go to an IPO but will have learned the lessons from counterparts like Zynga and RenRen and look to be more like Google and do a partial float, while keeping greater control over his product.
I think Qantas will use 2012 to once again take a place in the hearts and minds of Australian travellers via a marketing frenzy aimed right at our nationalist pride. As Boomers age another year, nostalgia will become an even bigger money spinner for concert and media events aimed squarely at those wanting to remember a simpler time, especially with a sound track from the 60's and 70's attached. These same Boomers will become the back bone of global volunteerism as they figure out, it's time to give back for a life well lived. After all, they changed the world in the 60's, so why shouldn't they try and do the same again.
With 2012 being the year there will be more phones than people in the world, the six degrees of Kevin Bacon will make way for the one degree of Poke-ability as social media becomes the norm for all communication. Like Elvis before him, Steve Jobs will start turning up at supermarkets, packing bags, as the conspiracists among us feed the need for his return. I know my friends and colleagues will hit significant milestones and accomplish more than they set out to, and because of that, my world will be a better place. I will of course continue to write so my Mum has something to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays and with any luck the NY Times will come a calling.
Enjoy the coming year and have an interesting, fulfilling and happy 2012.
Even veritable press media like Time and The New Yorker, know the more salacious and voyeuristic the list heading, the more likely a readership is found. It seems a fundamental human need to classify the good and the bad in our lives, to validate or excuse behaviour over the last 12 months. The lists then lead onto predictions for 2012 by people supposedly informed and expert in their fields. It would take no more than an hour Googling the hottest topics of today, to come up with predictions that mirror the experts, making their predictions less expert and more mundane.
So far be it from me, to vary too much from the news cycle and not put forward my own list of predictions for 2012. They are in no particular order, nor are they any more informed than the current experts in the press, who read the same information we all do.
Having seen the movie and marveled at the special effects, especially John Cusack's driving skills, I don't think the world will end in 2012 as predicted by the Mayans. After all the Jetsons predicted we would be living in bubbles and driving flying cars by now and that hasn't happened yet. I'll take George Jetson over someone from the jungles of Central America any day. I know my good friend Karsten Horne will achieve great things via his micro financing site Rehope and make a difference in the lives of many in Malawi. I think Mark Zuckerberg will eventually go to an IPO but will have learned the lessons from counterparts like Zynga and RenRen and look to be more like Google and do a partial float, while keeping greater control over his product.
I think Qantas will use 2012 to once again take a place in the hearts and minds of Australian travellers via a marketing frenzy aimed right at our nationalist pride. As Boomers age another year, nostalgia will become an even bigger money spinner for concert and media events aimed squarely at those wanting to remember a simpler time, especially with a sound track from the 60's and 70's attached. These same Boomers will become the back bone of global volunteerism as they figure out, it's time to give back for a life well lived. After all, they changed the world in the 60's, so why shouldn't they try and do the same again.
With 2012 being the year there will be more phones than people in the world, the six degrees of Kevin Bacon will make way for the one degree of Poke-ability as social media becomes the norm for all communication. Like Elvis before him, Steve Jobs will start turning up at supermarkets, packing bags, as the conspiracists among us feed the need for his return. I know my friends and colleagues will hit significant milestones and accomplish more than they set out to, and because of that, my world will be a better place. I will of course continue to write so my Mum has something to do on Tuesdays and Thursdays and with any luck the NY Times will come a calling.
Enjoy the coming year and have an interesting, fulfilling and happy 2012.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
