tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23941040243306655412024-03-19T00:31:46.365-07:00Human StrategiesGretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.comBlogger45125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-34062357319320027032010-06-18T16:21:00.000-07:002010-06-18T16:21:10.468-07:00OHUG Research LinksMany thanks to the OHUG team for another great conference. I had a few questions after the keynote about the research we cited - here are a few links. <br />
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Center for Creative Leadership: <a href="http://www.ccl.org/leadership/pdf/research/NatureLeadership.pdf">The Changing Nature of Leadership</a><br />
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Gallup: <a href="http://gmj.gallup.com/content/124079/next-generation-leadership.aspx#1">The Next Generation of Leadership</a> (subscription required)<br />
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Harvard Business Review: <a href="http://hbr.org/2010/05/mentoring-millennials/ar/1?fbc_channel=1#%7B%22id%22%3A0%2C%22sc%22%3A%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fxd_receiver_v0.4.php%22%2C%22sf%22%3A%22loginStatus%22%2C%22sr%22%3A2%2C%22h%22%3A%22loginServer%22%2C%22sid%22%3A%220.974%22%2C%22t%22%3A0%7D[0%2C%22loginStatus%22%2C%22InitLogin%22%2C%7B%22baseDomain%22%3A%22hbr.org%22%2C%22connectState%22%3A3%2C%22perms%22%3Anull%2C%22publicSessionData%22%3Anull%2C%22session%22%3Anull%2C%22settings%22%3A%7B%22inFacebook%22%3Afalse%2C%22locale%22%3A%22en_US%22%7D%7D%2Cfalse]">Mentoring Millenials</a> (May, 2010)<br />
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Harvard Business Review: <a href="http://hbr.org/2010/05/how-to-keep-your-top-talent/ar/1">How to Keep Your Top Talent </a>(May, 2010) <br />
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Harvard Business Review: <a href="http://hbr.org/2010/06/are-you-a-high-potential/ar/1">Are You a High Potential?</a> (June, 2010)<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1422125009?ie=UTF8&tag=altimeter0a-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=1422125009">Groundswell</a><br />
<br />
So what are YOU thinking about Leadership and Retaining Key Talent? Any other good research to share?GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-49464080712149282392010-03-24T13:43:00.000-07:002010-03-24T13:43:13.877-07:00The Tenure Trap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKM_n28LlO_7ggmRLcGtsw5Kdna4HKJiNJYaKXbKsxlEv4DiX3ODbuiJOLpYnLQ8_NwBA90Pke1Dw_FgW2MJ9d4arKQfyBOwt79IQQNJsh-hN-HPWd0WsAoshMUsbTowklTooxyvEgOYU/s1600/improvement_thinkpublic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCKM_n28LlO_7ggmRLcGtsw5Kdna4HKJiNJYaKXbKsxlEv4DiX3ODbuiJOLpYnLQ8_NwBA90Pke1Dw_FgW2MJ9d4arKQfyBOwt79IQQNJsh-hN-HPWd0WsAoshMUsbTowklTooxyvEgOYU/s320/improvement_thinkpublic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We had a contentious Music Boosters meeting last week: the High School Band Director was let go, and the Principal came in to explain his decision. I’ve been in the Principal’s shoes before – having to explain why a well-liked person was fired. But I was surprised to learn how much of the Principal’s decision was impacted by the tenure rules he has to follow. </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In California, if a school employee is slotted against a defined position, that person has to be given tenure, or released, at the end of 2 years. Think about that for a minute. What do you know about a person after 2 years? If they are a rock star, you’ve figured that out. Grant tenure and congratulate yourself on a great hire. If they are a D player, you’ve got that covered too. But what if they’re in the middle? They seem ok, but they aren’t lighting the world on fire. Or they were dealing with personal problems over the last 6 months, so work wasn’t their 100% focus. Or they look like they are about to turn the corner and grow into the rock star you know they can be. In the corporate world, we have tools to deal with that situation – the person meets expectations, gets a low salary increase and you focus performance discussions on how to get to the next level of performance. But in the school system, you don’t have that room. If you grant tenure, this person cannot be fired except for egregious actions.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After 2 years, the music program was improving, but not as much as the Principal expected. Students loved the teacher, and parents were fairly happy as well. But there was still room to grow on the overall excellence of the program, and the Director wasn't necessarily "owning" the vision for the department. So the Principal had to make a call: keep the Director, who is a great person, but hasn’t risen to the level you expect, or say "we can do better" and release the employee? Make a bet that a B player will grow to be an A, or cut your losses? </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Despite the pressure from students and parents, the Principal made the decision to release the Director. As he said, if he has the slightest doubt on whether or not to give tenure, he’s not going to do it. It’s far better to go through the short term upheaval of recruiting a new A player than get by with a B player for the next 15-20 years. </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I agree with the Principal’s decision – because I think it’s the right principle to establish in this situation. To me, the idea of making this long-term decision after only 18 months of performance is ludicrous. Other states grant tenure after 5 years, which gives an employee more room to take risks and grow earlier in their career. But if we’ve removed the idea of lifetime jobs from other industries, why is it still acceptable in education? How would you feel about granting tenure in this situation? Educators, or parents with kids…what do you think? </span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">[Image from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/thinkpublic/">Thinkpublic </a>used under creative commons] </span></span></div>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-79947956710329583782010-03-02T17:30:00.000-08:002010-03-02T17:30:00.379-08:00Presentations: Square One. Again.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3eUBkKaSuEh7Gih10AutLAm87UKgDFam9EaXb5n6S5eqPoo9v8p4nMVM5_qt0RvrO93CoxamGxYWdyhiVuXjFWqcVp4yVqJ-Qo4ST5rYu86suTtkd8_ckyOwD3fpOWLpe9TLUgTuWB8T/s1600-h/laptop+fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu3eUBkKaSuEh7Gih10AutLAm87UKgDFam9EaXb5n6S5eqPoo9v8p4nMVM5_qt0RvrO93CoxamGxYWdyhiVuXjFWqcVp4yVqJ-Qo4ST5rYu86suTtkd8_ckyOwD3fpOWLpe9TLUgTuWB8T/s200/laptop+fire.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">The 13 year-old arrived in the living room last Sunday with a wild look in his eyes.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">"<i>Mom, I have to do a presentation on my Math Problem of the Week. Can you teach me Powerpoint?</i>"</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">[NB: Once upon a time, I was, in fact, paid to teach people how to give presentations. So there's some precedent to the request.]</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">So we sat down at the table, fired up the computer, and I asked him what he wanted to present. In order, his answers were:</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">1. I need to show all of the content from my math assignment, because that's what the teacher is looking for.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">2. I need to do something that will keep people awake, because this could be boring.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">3. I want to do some cool transitions - do you have any with flames?</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">He's only 13, and already he's been taught that presentations should reflect all of your content, and creativity is limited to how you get from point to point. On the plus side, the idea of "keeping people awake" had some merit - although I think it had more to do with him not liking math, than thinking about presentations.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">45 minutes later, he had 19 slides - all text, with 1 thought per slide. As we were editing for font alignment, I decided to try again - <i>"How are you going to keep people awake?"</i> We brainstormed, and he loved the idea of framing the problem around creating a new Olympic sport. All the math calculations could be brought in as "supporting material" for presenting to the IOC on safety standards. We started changing graphics, adding new images, and talking about the difference between the Story, and the Slide Content. We finished by finalizing the math components, and agreed to practice the story on Monday.</span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Monday night. 8pm. <i>"Mom, I know we had a good idea, but I watched the smartest person in class give her presentation today. She had all of her information on the slides, and just read them. So I'm going to do that, too."</i></span></div><div style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"><br />
</div><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;">Sadly, it'll be a while before the IOC gets to learn about para-skiing ... however, I now know where to find animated slide transitions. Maybe I'll throw in some flames the next time I'm low on inspiration!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS",sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">[Image from <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/larachris/">Chris and Laura Pawluk</a>. Used under CC] </span> GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-67260787068944201752010-02-17T08:00:00.000-08:002010-02-17T08:00:01.920-08:00Thought Provoking: Linda Hill on Innovation<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq40yiIvCpzwwrbtsvyrSB3A_oCnRfSYkKbV6hOkwIRc0sdM1gA2dvY5jYB1Fx6cJ6kXb0GBBBigJW1OK2YElWQLHtXKZg6O-Y5kgq_GSLS4CtQLjrbvko6kgK_CWxPfEi9W-KtNHt_2mi/s1600-h/strategy+crosswords.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq40yiIvCpzwwrbtsvyrSB3A_oCnRfSYkKbV6hOkwIRc0sdM1gA2dvY5jYB1Fx6cJ6kXb0GBBBigJW1OK2YElWQLHtXKZg6O-Y5kgq_GSLS4CtQLjrbvko6kgK_CWxPfEi9W-KtNHt_2mi/s200/strategy+crosswords.jpg" width="200" /></a></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">I had the opportunity to hear <a href="http://drfd.hbs.edu/fit/public/facultyInfo.do?facInfo=bio&facId=6479">Linda Hill</a> of Harvard Business School discuss her current research last week. I'm always interested in listening to academics because they take such a different view of business. Right now, Professor Hill is looking at innovation, and specifically, the type of leadership that enables innovation within an organization.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">It's an interesting idea - how do some companies become more innovative, while others don't? Is there a recipe for innovation? Are there specific skills or competencies that you can recruit for to enable innovation? Her research is really looking for a magic bullet - how do you define innovation, and then how do you bring it into your organization?</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Hill's defines this leadership challenge as "creating an organization that is willing and able to innovate". As she expanded on the definition, the qualities need to make the organization "willing" aligned with a lot of what we've heard when discussing employee engagement: Shared Purpose, Aligned Values, Clear Rules of Engagement, Collaborative. However as she talked about making an organization "able" to innovate, she went in a different direction. In this area she defined 3 focuses: Creative Abrasion, Creative Agility and Creative Resolution. Her argument was that if you have an engaged and aligned team, you can generate ideas and have high degrees of debate. You can test ideas quickly, running pilot projects, or test cases. You can also make collaborative decisions. She pointed out that in this kind of environment, consensus is not easy to achieve, but you can reach resolutions. </span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br />
</div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Professor Hill pointed to examples from Pixar and several other companies who have participated in her research, sharing their experiences and approaches. One of the comments from Pixar hit home. The participant said "I don't read these types of books, because they say 'You're the leader, set direction' but by definition, I don't know where I'm going." Hill's response was that leader sets direction by creating the organization culture. It's an interesting way to think of a leader - as someone who sets the scene, not the person who directs the action.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Professor Hill's book is not yet published, but I'm adding it to my watch list. I'm very interested to hear more stories from the companies she's worked with. I think she's on to something in holding leaders accountable for creating a culture of innovation, and can't wait to read more of her research. </span>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-29255183950034512362009-08-27T14:56:00.001-07:002009-08-27T14:59:09.547-07:00Back to School Goals<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uSo8CEzJhPYBLSZYeOSjNa_XIADn0WO265A-3qyQ9e5iJ1dwka4zTByhl7xzivD79iIV8uYL-NXkpNArCkwk-lwWNvo1hvr7PXHPeafFPm-Fc4YobpD4s9kAqY6SV5eD3Ng4jVVi89zj/s1600-h/classroom_nolaclutterbusters.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3uSo8CEzJhPYBLSZYeOSjNa_XIADn0WO265A-3qyQ9e5iJ1dwka4zTByhl7xzivD79iIV8uYL-NXkpNArCkwk-lwWNvo1hvr7PXHPeafFPm-Fc4YobpD4s9kAqY6SV5eD3Ng4jVVi89zj/s200/classroom_nolaclutterbusters.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5374766076788517170" /></a><br /><span xmlns=""><p><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:10;" >School starts this week, and I'm looking forward to Back to School Night. At the beginning of the event, the principal will step up to the podium and present her goals for the year. She'll share the goals she is setting for the school, and her plan to hold the staff accountable. She'll then go a step further and ask the parent community to hold both her and her staff accountable for these goals as well.<br /></span></p><br><p><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:10;" >The first time this happened, 3 years ago, I was floored. Principals have goals? Beyond test scores? In fact, yes.<br /></span></p><br><p><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:10;" >I'm not sure why this was such a shock to me. Maybe it's because up to this point, I had viewed the educators in our school system as authorities. Teachers teach and evaluate students learning. Parents support, but mostly defer to the teacher. In the event of a problem, we'd call in the principal to discuss what needed to be done. It never occurred to me that I could be holding the school or teachers accountable to something more than teaching. They were the ones holding people accountable – namely my kids and me!<br /></span></p><br><p><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:10;" >What a refreshing change to have a series of goals to review. Now, as a "customer" of the educational system, I have better insight. I know what the principal is trying to accomplish, and I have a better sense of why they need help. For example, when they ask for more parents to help with Yard Duty, it's not just to give teachers a lunch break (as certain cynics might have thought), it's because the school is committed to intervening before bullying can start. That requires more eyes on kids during recess, and help from the community.<br /></span></p><br><p><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:10;" > Also, as an informed customer, I have a better way to interact with the teachers and staff. If I know what they are trying to accomplish, I can assess how my kids' experience fits with the goals. Parent teacher conferences are about more than just the report card. They can include questions about the school lunch program, the anti-bullying initiative, or the new technology focus. If something isn't working, I'm more comfortable asking for a change. Conversations with teachers changes to a dialog around how to get to the outcomes we both want to have.<br /></span></p><br><p><span style=";font-family:Verdana;font-size:10;" >Many people view the start of a school year as a time to set new goals. What do you want your kids to accomplish this year? Do you know how your goals for your children align with your school's goals? Shouldn't you? Maybe it's time to ask for some additional conversations with teachers at Back to School night. This year, go beyond the review of the syllabus and the homework policy. Ask them how they are held accountable, and how you can help them be successful. You may be surprised to gain a new insight into your school's systems.<br /></span></p></span>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-85403462508481632302009-07-21T09:33:00.000-07:002009-07-21T10:01:52.027-07:00Creativity On Demand<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61bR3MjauB_9bx82xbneW9Whp_WbFl0TqLdG8cad_9bAnmayssjAgeuaHphEo5MQp6zsfuqB1ZugUbBpRhIIYCmEliDackzzSTuOp0kUY5vN3JLHF4IoturUnfI4MRopCzkMOwIkGplXs/s1600-h/hairpulling_Evil+Erin.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5360959446484201762" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg61bR3MjauB_9bx82xbneW9Whp_WbFl0TqLdG8cad_9bAnmayssjAgeuaHphEo5MQp6zsfuqB1ZugUbBpRhIIYCmEliDackzzSTuOp0kUY5vN3JLHF4IoturUnfI4MRopCzkMOwIkGplXs/s200/hairpulling_Evil+Erin.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I had a great plan for last Friday. I was working from home, and for once had a free calendar. The only thing I needed to do was finish a presentation. So how, exactly, did I end up working ALL Friday night and until 2am Saturday? </span></div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><div><br />Friday turned into a day of writer’s block. By the end of the afternoon I had a very clean house, snippets of graphics, a few cool ideas, and some great quotes, but there wasn’t a story that hung together. So I gave up, decided that I’d write off the afternoon as unplanned PTO and headed out to pick up my daughter at school. An hour later, I was standing in the grocery store, and the answer arrived fully-formed in my head. As usually happens after a block, once the vision came in, it was completely clear. I had the idea, knew the path the story needed to take and had no choice but to focus entirely on the presentation until it was completely finished. Even though that meant working until 2. </div><div><br />It’s a cliché that engineers are known for working weird hours. While I was at the startup, it was common for the developers to come in around 11, take frequent breaks for World of Warcraft or foosball, and then work all night. As an HR person, I used to worry about this schedule – didn’t these guys have home lives? Shouldn’t I be encouraging them to work a normal schedule, or at least try to get them back to 40 hours/week? </div><div><br />The truth is that creativity is not available on demand. When you are managing people who work in a creative space, you need to acknowledge this fact. You will have people who work crazy hours, and deliver at random times. This will be simultaneously energizing and frustrating. Most innovators I’ve worked with are incredibly dedicated people but they are also demanding. As an HR person, and as a manager, I’ve found some principles that help in setting the stage to help innovators:<br />- <span style="color:#006600;"><strong>Focus on outcomes not hours</strong></span>. Some projects will seem easier than others, but you may not be able to accurately predict this. Better to make sure your team members are aligned on the goal, and not worry as much about the time required.<br />- <strong><span style="color:#006600;">Create frameworks for success</span></strong>. When assigning projects, give as much context as possible, and be clear if there are specific requirements such as a requirement for delivery, or a deadline that cannot be missed. Beyond that, try to leave ample room for innovation and creativity.<br />- <strong><span style="color:#006600;">Be ready to call “done”</span></strong>. Many creative people have trouble declaring something is finished. There’s always one more refinement, or one more thing to add. You may need to set earlier deadlines, or add in reviews to stop tweaking.<br />- <strong><span style="color:#006600;">Acknowledge the need for downtime</span></strong> (which may come from nowhere). An engaged creative person is likely to work insane hours. As a result, they will come close to burnout and may need a manager to encourage PTO. Or, they may catch themselves, and announce a spontaneous trip to Hawaii. This flexibility in time off will be necessary to balance the crazy hours and to allow them to recharge creative batteries. </div><div><br />The creative process isn’t a straight line. There are high highs and low lows, and there will always be late nights. But when you see an innovator deliver their latest product, or present a new solution, they aren’t thinking about the hours they put in. They have created something new, something they can be proud of. That’s the measure of accomplishment, not the hours that they worked.</span></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">[Image Source </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/evilerin/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">Evil Erin</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">. Used under Creative Commons.]</span></div>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-61237096783507595142009-07-10T08:00:00.000-07:002009-07-10T08:00:02.157-07:00A Whiteboard in the Shower<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMh71E4hXQfoYjbsMjpqsLbCt-U7hiRuuNqINdOWfWZu_srR6Z8gx0Y3Ey-pmjFo03eUmA6mVshoqKuVVZHSxdAwoVcd1tSk7BM2-gIWOqSdM1GLV8GkQi8PgSiXAiPG3dEQw8SMHR2nv/s1600-h/whiteboard-done_markdotpilgrim.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5356716606664521682" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMh71E4hXQfoYjbsMjpqsLbCt-U7hiRuuNqINdOWfWZu_srR6Z8gx0Y3Ey-pmjFo03eUmA6mVshoqKuVVZHSxdAwoVcd1tSk7BM2-gIWOqSdM1GLV8GkQi8PgSiXAiPG3dEQw8SMHR2nv/s200/whiteboard-done_markdotpilgrim.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">My husband and I have an ongoing game where we talk about all the home improvements we will make someday when we’ve hit the lottery. The last few weeks we’ve been focused on our master bathroom, which is a textbook example of all that was wrong with 1980’s décor. Most of my suggestions are usually pretty mundane - better lighting, move the linen closet - but there’s one requirement that always gets a weird look: a whiteboard in the shower.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">You see, both my husband and I have jobs requiring a lot of creativity. He spends his days dreaming up new products, and I spend mine looking at new approaches to business processes. In both cases, there’s a lot of opportunity to think and dream, and a lot of need to capture ideas.<br /><br />Years ago when I took a personality types course, our leader recommended that certain types of people keep a journal by their bed. She said that these types were known for processing the day’s events long after they were supposed to be asleep, and often would wake up in the middle of the night still thinking about what had gone on during the day. If they had the opportunity to write down their thoughts, she reasoned, these types would be able to sleep better. This works well for my husband, and he has a nice orderly journal where he writes most of his design ideas.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Unfortunately, my creative processes are a little less predictable. I can’t say I’ve ever woken up in the middle of the night with a brand new strategy. However, I can say that I have created multiple marketing campaigns and solved world hunger while on my elliptical trainer. I’ve written character studies, and planned out presentations while driving to and from work. And I’ve rewritten requirements, dreamed up product names and solved design problems in the shower. There’s something about these times when I’m focused elsewhere that my subconscious takes over and delivers a solution that is exactly perfect.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Of course, in most of these situations, it’s a little hard to document my brilliant ideas. I’m enough of a klutz to know that writing while on the elliptical trainer is a recipe for a broken ankle, and the CHP doesn’t really like people to write and drive at the same time. But HGTV shows bathroom remodels to add TVs, shower radios and telephones, so why not a whiteboard?<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">How about you – where are you when the creative idea hits? How do you capture it?<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">[Whiteboard courtesy of </span></span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/f8dy/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">Mark.Pilgrim</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">. Used under Creative Commons]</span></div>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-82416095236667299132009-04-23T13:20:00.000-07:002009-04-23T13:58:24.472-07:00Taking a Career Left Turn<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyCFQq58XErRxv4lT6WwgWDA2xUViTU2UnH4iB7lJOR8fvUF0mMwiDicCgWUJjPKW6Nkbh9vilot0MhTJZNndsj2mzB9Ngliya5FoVjeajjhv9UVPiv3l9UaAUmtXFJPbZNR7rc0HrDRq/s1600-h/curva_bruno+peck.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5327993468922487570" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 129px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXyCFQq58XErRxv4lT6WwgWDA2xUViTU2UnH4iB7lJOR8fvUF0mMwiDicCgWUJjPKW6Nkbh9vilot0MhTJZNndsj2mzB9Ngliya5FoVjeajjhv9UVPiv3l9UaAUmtXFJPbZNR7rc0HrDRq/s200/curva_bruno+peck.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">The dot-com bubble had just burst, and we were planning layoffs. As the afternoon wound to a close, our new CEO turned, looked me directly in the eye and said “Why don’t you take on product management?”</span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"> </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><br />….What?? I was only attending the meeting because I was the head of HR. I had to make sure we weren’t doing anything illegal, and give guidance on options around the layoff process. This wasn’t about me. “Think about it” the CEO said. “We need product management, and you’ve got the domain knowledge. Let me know by Friday.” This was different from past job changes, in that I wasn’t being recruited to the new role. I was being asked to take it. It was a big change, and I didn’t know what to do. I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in product management - that wasn’t on my 5 year career plan!<br /><br />Right now, people across the country are being asked to do something new. Maybe you are looking for a new role because you’ve been laid-off. Or you are picking up new responsibilities since others around you have been let go. Or you are being asked to transfer to a new team with new assignments. It’s a time of uncertainty and causes a lot of stress. My advice is to not over-think this transition. There are 3 main questions you need to ask yourself:<br />1. Can you do the job for 3-6 months?<br />2. How well do your skills match the job you are being asked to do?<br />3. Who will support you in making this move?<br /><br />Note that I didn’t say anything about your history or your career trajectory. In times of major change, you can’t plan for your 5-10 year career path. What you can do is identify what you can bring to the new role, which would make you successful. You can assess if this job would be a good landing place while you look for the “ideal role”. And you can identify champions within the organization who will help you be successful in the role.<br /><br />I ended up taking the transfer. My new manager and I set very specific goals focused on my existing skills so I could find successes early in the transition. My old manager agreed that if the new role didn’t work out, she would support me in receiving a decent severance package and recommend me for other HR positions. Most importantly, my dev lead, the UX lead and my HR partner-in-crime all went out of their way to give me time in the first 90 days to ask questions, to vent, and to find a comfort level with the new role.<br /><br />It’s been more than 7 years since I changed jobs. What I thought was a short term experiment to weather the dot-com bust turned into a career that I hadn’t planned for, but have found to be a great ride. Times of change can be times of great opportunity. Prepare yourself, and be open to taking a leap.</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-size:78%;">[img source: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/brenopeck/"><span style="font-size:78%;">Bruno Peck</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">]</span></span>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-60658964276721161312009-04-14T21:12:00.000-07:002009-04-14T21:22:35.564-07:00Virtual Trade Show - the Recap<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zljG-6RbcHZnziXf2AzMX4SXOanenQfHnAE_4dwxHKY22qVAuj9Zv0H7Ku5y1XTFhxwUaQvzXUPUB9VSlyfsPbEPMhwTeoxsYqz01HxVm6gYqBRs8QXLRNFHoc-kGHXKojz9q-veBw5p/s1600-h/vritual+trade+show.jpg"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5324768008291251906" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 80px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_zljG-6RbcHZnziXf2AzMX4SXOanenQfHnAE_4dwxHKY22qVAuj9Zv0H7Ku5y1XTFhxwUaQvzXUPUB9VSlyfsPbEPMhwTeoxsYqz01HxVm6gYqBRs8QXLRNFHoc-kGHXKojz9q-veBw5p/s200/vritual+trade+show.jpg" border="0" /></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Last month I participated in Oracle’s Virtual Trade Show. This was a first for me. Although I’ve done plenty of trade shows in person, I haven’t done one on-line, and wasn’t sure how it would work. We had very positive feedback on the event, which was great. I’d like to add a few additional thoughts.<br /></span><div><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">The pluses:<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Immediacy</span><span style="color:#ff0000;">.</span></strong> Since I had a scheduled chat, there were several people in the session firing questions. I enjoyed the focus on our topic, and the chance to interact real-time with these people.<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">No travel!</span></strong> There is value in meeting people face to face, but not having to go to Orlando or Las Vegas for what was essentially a one-day event was a nice change.<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Access to experts.</span></strong> Since this was done online, I was able to keep my instant messaging open. That way if a question came up that I wasn’t able to answer, I had the whole team available to ask.<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Sharing.</span></strong> With an online discussion, everyone participating could see everyone else’s questions. That way I could answer once and everyone could benefit. Similarly, participants could see other content that maybe they weren’t going to ask and may have sparked some other ideas.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">The minuses:<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">No feedback loop.</span></strong> I couldn’t see if my responses were meeting people’s needs unless they asked follow up questions. It was hard to gauge if I was giving good answers to questions.<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">System issues.</span></strong> We had a system outage midway through my chat session. Fortunately Danielle from our team was in the same room and online so she was able to relay the rest of my answer for me.<br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">I can’t spell!</span></strong> I wanted to respond quickly in the chat, but that meant that my thoughts went faster than my fingers, and resulted in atrocious spelling errors. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">On balance, I think the virtual trade shows was a creative idea, and something we should continue to explore. Although there were system issues, the opportunity to reach customers without requiring travel either for our staff or for our customers was a great experience. Big thanks to the Oracle marketing team for trying out this new approach and letting me participate.</span></div>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-17855184336198703152009-04-06T17:25:00.000-07:002009-04-06T17:43:57.982-07:00Presentation Special Case: Going to Court<p align="center"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuHg06OXt0vv1wKrqSXMC29xv-tSBgR1npex4zE_OHYvaX3edq5cjXTwbHbF5Z5opiVM30_8OlfdWWBMPvQSIfm2XwesuSl3X1ToI5tdWe5JxTyDclKhDCVcyCJV58JpMVrA6ZAUcasac/s1600-h/gavel_Joe+Gratz.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321742381164933938" style="MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 133px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPuHg06OXt0vv1wKrqSXMC29xv-tSBgR1npex4zE_OHYvaX3edq5cjXTwbHbF5Z5opiVM30_8OlfdWWBMPvQSIfm2XwesuSl3X1ToI5tdWe5JxTyDclKhDCVcyCJV58JpMVrA6ZAUcasac/s200/gavel_Joe+Gratz.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I spent Friday morning at Small Claims Court. I didn’t know if this would be more <a href="http://www.judgejudy.com/">Judge Judy </a>or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night_Court">Night Court</a>. Not only was it both, it was a classic learning example for presentation skills.<br />Which story would you rather hear?</span><br /><br /><blockquote><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Option A: It was a Tuesday, and I went to have my nails done, because I always go on Tuesday. So I was there and there was a bunch of talk about the ants, and you know how those ants can be. So anyway, she came over and sprayed something, I think it was Raid, and I told her not to because that’s so irritating. So then I left, and I tripped – oh now I remember, it was that generic Costco ant spray – and I fell to the ground. So I left and went home, and I was at a family gathering the next week and my knee was so bad, but I couldn’t think what I had done to it. So I got an x-ray – that was at Kaiser. And then I had to get another type of medicine and that was also really expensive. And when I called the salon they said they hadn’t sprayed any ant spray and so I decided not to deal with them and come here to you.</span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Option B: Your honor, I was at the salon on June 23rd. When I left the salon I slipped on some liquid, and fell. As a result, I incurred $4K in medical bills, which I believe the defendant should pay.</span></p></blockquote><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Option A was quite entertaining. The judge did a great job balancing the person’s need to express with his need to get the actual facts of the case. However, after the 3rd case with similar organization problems, I started to get a bit frustrated. Appearing in court is a type of public speaking. The rules don’t go away just because the audience is different. In fact, some rules become even more important. </span><br /></p><ol><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Organize your statement. Tell it from A-Z. Practice it before you get to the hearing.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Focus on the most important parts. No one cares if the salon uses Raid, Simple Green or just plain water – unless it affects the case.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Give detail where needed. If you need to describe multiple calls, or trace the history in detail, do it. But closely watch if the details enhance your story, or just make it longer.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Provide documentation – but make sure it’s organized and easy to follow. (HR people are always advising you to keep records, this is the time to use them.)</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Brainstorm possible questions from the judge or from the defendant, and be prepared to answer them.</span></li></ol><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Appearing in court isn’t a time when you want to be memorable. It’s a time when you want to be focused and convincing. Invest in the preparation upfront so you can have the best chance of winning the case. </span></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">[Image courtesy of </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/joegratz/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Joe</span> Gratz</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">]</span></p>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-17901449818266170912009-04-01T12:09:00.000-07:002009-04-01T12:19:49.236-07:00Lessons Learned from the School Auction<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrn620ST0fqyMa0xz9T6MgeN6lxrEhsbOBasRXXvLIK9JBq3x_i3h0w6uw5qCvvrEG08afeFzx_M0J56-diG17zq3_hswB246KMv_4kZS-YuE3l6BzxYr1o0wXcmnW2Lk5ZcnAgFJ8hXsC/s1600-h/schoolhouse_Rachels+flickrs.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5319804318383131586" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrn620ST0fqyMa0xz9T6MgeN6lxrEhsbOBasRXXvLIK9JBq3x_i3h0w6uw5qCvvrEG08afeFzx_M0J56-diG17zq3_hswB246KMv_4kZS-YuE3l6BzxYr1o0wXcmnW2Lk5ZcnAgFJ8hXsC/s200/schoolhouse_Rachels+flickrs.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I’ve always admired the moms who run the Home and School Club in our district. Many of them have stopped out of the workforce while their kids are young, and they are putting their work experience to good use in support of our schools. The work they do goes well beyond making copies and helping teachers in the classroom. Recently, I had the opportunity to see this first hand as I volunteered with annual school auction. So why volunteer at the school? Some ideas:</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Try a new skill</span></strong>: Volunteering is a great way to work on a skill you are developing. I worked with one person who hadn’t ever done marketing, but wanted to try it. She had a lot of questions and was open to new ideas because this was a learning opportunity for her.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Share expertise</span></strong>: Many of the volunteers naturally gravitated to the area they already knew. That meant we had a former accountant managing the books, a PR person managing the communications, and a small business owner in charge of logistics. They brought their skills to this project and helped make it a more professional endeavor.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Try a new approach</span></strong>: I was responsible for the auction booklet, which entailed writing concise appealing descriptions for the auction items. It was a departure from talking about software, which gave me the opportunity to try a different voice, and play with words in a different way than I do when talking about our products. I also tried out <a href="http://www.istockphoto.com/">istockphoto</a>, and was quite impressed with the results.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Expand your network</span></strong>: Working on a school project like this is a great way to meet new people. You have a common interest, and have a reason to build a relationship beyond nodding hello in the hallway. A few of the people I worked with are job-hunting, and this project was another avenue toward finding a new position.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#ff0000;">Try management</span></strong>: This sort of project is a great introduction to people management. The parents in charge of the event had to recruit volunteers to staff committees. They needed to find the right balance between will and skill to ensure the objectives could be met. They also had to keep volunteers motivated throughout the process and celebrate success at the end of the project. All are important management skills.<br /><br />In this climate schools continue to be strapped for resources, and welcome assistance. If you are looking for a way to contribute, and to broaden your skills, may I refer you to your local school?</span><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-size:78%;">[schoolhouse picture from </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/aricee/"><span style="font-size:78%;">Rachel's flickrs'</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">]</span></span>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-7677377149078673812009-03-09T10:49:00.000-07:002009-03-09T11:06:09.319-07:00Softball and Talent<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvekgurUkgqkfVVkwzA8hPKziQsRZXAGJuBymcukQ_IJWA1Qr0mge-6mxJC83HdsTpcKDhjmhs1VF5-QCnOB4dr-XWmheYwBSsEGlvMIaKqjWH7dc3efICXdOj3pCYaMLhof-ubsUT3Xr/s1600-h/softball_Teeny.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5311249913581052258" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVvekgurUkgqkfVVkwzA8hPKziQsRZXAGJuBymcukQ_IJWA1Qr0mge-6mxJC83HdsTpcKDhjmhs1VF5-QCnOB4dr-XWmheYwBSsEGlvMIaKqjWH7dc3efICXdOj3pCYaMLhof-ubsUT3Xr/s200/softball_Teeny.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">My 9 year old just started softball. She’s playing in an age-divided league, which means some girls have been playing since Kindergarten, and others are trying the sport for the first time. According to the rules, each player has to have equal time in the infield and outfield, but the coach can determine which positions they play. My daughter’s coach has decided each player gets to try each position at least once. The team they played yesterday has already specialized: the more experienced players are catching, and playing first or shortstop. All the new players are “helping pitch” or standing on second or third and counting on the experienced players to make the play. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><br />I’ve been reading <a href="http://www.gladwell.com/outliers/index.html">Outliers </a>recently, and my daughter’s situation lines up quite well with the examples Gladwell gives about age-rated systems, and how they impact the development of competitive hockey players. If the more experienced or better skilled players are given the better playing positions, they are going to further differentiate their abilities. When they are ready to move to a competitive league, guess who will be more likely to move forward?<br /><br />Thinking about this from a Talent Management perspective, how do you provide room for people to develop new skills? It’s easy to give the project to the person you know will get it done. They’ve done similar projects in the past, and you are confident in their abilities. But is that really the best thing for the team? Is there someone else – waiting in the outfield – who would really like to try something new? Now is a good time to see who on your team is up for a stretch assignment. Let them try a new position or project, and back them up with an experienced team member who can help them develop. You can use resource constraints imposed by the economy to help team members learn new skills and position them for future success. You may find you’ve had a star hidden on your team, just waiting for the opportunity.<br /><br />Are you trying new things with Talent Management in this new economy? I’d love to hear about it! Join me at the <a href="http://www.oracle.com/features/hp/oracle-applications-unlimited.html">Oracle Virtual Trade Show March 11th</a>.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">[No that's not my daughter, although I wish she would pitch. Image from </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/godby51/"><span style="font-size:78%;">Teeny</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">!, used under CC.]</span></span><br /></span>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-24071477051304008662009-02-03T08:00:00.000-08:002009-02-03T08:00:09.756-08:00Note-Taking -- How do You do it?<div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">How do you capture information? Are you a note taker? Do you draw pictures? What's your preferred way to ensure that you have captured the right take-aways from a meeting? I used to to work with someone who outlined every meeting. We could be having a 1:1, and his notes would read: </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">1. Catch up</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"> 1a Weekend conversations</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"> i My weekend</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"> ii Her weekend</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">1b Kid conversations</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"> i Soccer game</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"> ii Dance lessons</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"> iii Preschool drama</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">It helped that this person had the most beautiful handwriting I've ever seen. Each of the post-meeting outlines could have been framed for posterity. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I'm not nearly so organized when it comes to meetings. I've learned that I retain information better if I link related thoughts on the page. So my notes tend to have lots of arrows, and small text where I'm expanding on a topic. It's fine for me, since I'm the only one who needs to read the notes, but would make it very difficult to share those notes with anyone else. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I'm always impressed by people who capture information visually. There's something about the way they reflect the meeting that shares the content, but also draws connections that may not have been explicitly stated. When I've participated in a meeting with a professional graphic facilitator, I always feel that the notes/drawing presented at the end of the session represents the best outcome of the meeting. Not only is the content captured, but the way it's depicted it brings a different level of understanding. <a href="http://www.davidsibbet.com/david_sibbet/2009/01/obamanos.html">David Sibbet </a>from <a href="http://www.grove.com/site/index.html">The Grove </a>recently posted an interpretation that one of his consultants did of Obama's inauguration speech. It's a very different way to think about the speech, and I really liked it. </span></div></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJjUJBxtwmS2_EyAW0ZZvpHRmJUFETfVYKgWq5lsSNVnxlA0kUqlPiH030XjFC2YaDYoAn60t3ByUjs3DDNQJBHcysZuUbyZZo2sJUl8fks6UDhkO3geJ2v-kfS8a5y6jmUQX_vTW-_W8E/s1600-h/obama_inauguration_speech.gif"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5297269743764711714" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 250px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJjUJBxtwmS2_EyAW0ZZvpHRmJUFETfVYKgWq5lsSNVnxlA0kUqlPiH030XjFC2YaDYoAn60t3ByUjs3DDNQJBHcysZuUbyZZo2sJUl8fks6UDhkO3geJ2v-kfS8a5y6jmUQX_vTW-_W8E/s400/obama_inauguration_speech.gif" border="0" /></a><br /><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">So, what are your best tips for capturing information? Sound off in the comments.</span></p>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-90467762400031942302009-01-27T09:00:00.000-08:002009-01-27T09:00:00.529-08:00In Defense of the Details<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMnlf_kdOhAjkXD3JXvLVnDk1ycB3WByDxNZ6iFSy5J0WWjrEK8SuXXTUPa1CfxMYPjvejlqrKzBGES7dANWtt5Mg5rhrIcmOQrc9lY1lMplPTPLhOvXsxFISGB1Hvi-4h2EEmCTZ5quh/s1600-h/moon+flight+path+_+~BostonBill~.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285366898851250178" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 160px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvMnlf_kdOhAjkXD3JXvLVnDk1ycB3WByDxNZ6iFSy5J0WWjrEK8SuXXTUPa1CfxMYPjvejlqrKzBGES7dANWtt5Mg5rhrIcmOQrc9lY1lMplPTPLhOvXsxFISGB1Hvi-4h2EEmCTZ5quh/s200/moon+flight+path+_+~BostonBill~.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><a href="http://www.presentationzen.com/">Presentation Zen</a> has swept through the office, and we are all now working diligently on improving our slides. I'm a big fan of any concept that causes you to think more about your presentation, and the way to deliver content. However, I'm concerned that in focusing too much on this approach, we may miss a key concept: the audience's preferences for receiving content.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Consider: 1995ish. Our GM has a quarterly business review with his peers and the executive staff. In this meeting, they will review all aspects of the business (orders, ships, quality, plant performance, financials, hiring, expenses, etc.) In this environment we still refer to slides as "foils" and the deck is printed out onto transparencies before each business review meeting. Our assistant has mastered powerpoint, and puts all sorts of content onto those foils. She mixes charts and tables, and adds in every reference possible - often going to size 9-10 font to make the details fit. When completed, her decks have every piece of data you possibly could need for this review. Bind up the 40 foils, and you have the equivalent of a detailed briefing book. There isn't a piece of information you could ask about the business that can't be found in this deck. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Viewed through the tenets of Presentation Zen, this sounds like a nightmare. 10 pt font! How can you get across your main point? Why wouldn't you put all of this into a separate document, and have the slides be more focused on the message you want to send? The answer is that our assistant knows the audience. She has worked for the GM for 10 years, and knows all of the players who attend the meeting. They are all engineers by training, with an eye for detail, and each wants to review the data in his own way. If we had gone in with eye catching graphics and only highlighted the numbers we wanted to show, the assumption would have been that either we didn't know what we were doing, or we were trying to hide something. Neither were the case, and neither was the message we wanted to give to executive management. Instead, we led with the data, made it available to each person as a handout, and then raised the key points as we arrived at each slide.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Looking back on those decks, I wouldn't say they stand out as well designed. However, they do stand out as well-suited to their audience. I'm all for good design, and personally would have preferred to have a deck with better graphics, and less detail. But I wasn't the target audience. The people in that meeting wanted details, and these decks with the detailed slides were just what they needed to see. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Keep in mind that sending the message is not the same as receiving the message. While I encourage you to think about your graphics and making your presentation memorable, you also need to stay focused on your audience. Who you are presenting to, and why? How can you meet their needs? How can you use your slides/foils/videos/what-have-you to amplify your message, and make sure the audience receives the message you intend to give? Great graphics are a tool to add in to your presentation kit - but graphics alone do not make for a great presentation. In the end, the most important thing is to get your points across to the audience, and to do that, you might just have to make some really detailed slides. </span></div><br /><div></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">[Image from the amazing photostream of </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/8533266@N04/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">~BostonBill~</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">]</span></div>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-86973105056613802832009-01-21T16:41:00.000-08:002009-01-21T16:59:30.455-08:00Presentation Geek: The Inauguration Speech<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRZvQerrQzF8_gCwSNAFO-8NNSUNirxxO2RfBIbLp45Y62UerpXyKu-Zyg77OeElZF4Pc6NeGYF0HYagq1jyVNFqRn8QiN8FKLBTUXfZM6m5pkMsnpmFZRqzEAqcMTW7g2XwLWVpCmHIn/s1600-h/obamatagcloud_orangejack.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293915713515337298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 99px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMRZvQerrQzF8_gCwSNAFO-8NNSUNirxxO2RfBIbLp45Y62UerpXyKu-Zyg77OeElZF4Pc6NeGYF0HYagq1jyVNFqRn8QiN8FKLBTUXfZM6m5pkMsnpmFZRqzEAqcMTW7g2XwLWVpCmHIn/s200/obamatagcloud_orangejack.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">The inaugural address is a signature moment for a president. While he has other significant addresses – the election night speech and state of the union, for example – the inauguration speech is the one that is most anticipated. How will a new president set the tone for his administration? Will he focus on history? Will he confidently predict the future? Will he have a phrase that will capture our imagination? All ears are turned toward Washington, and we hope to hear something great. On Monday, NPR ran a segment with <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99552961">highlights</a> of inauguration speeches from 1925 to 2005. I was struck by the differences in tone and level of rhetoric. Of course, each president faced different challenges, and each had their own agenda to communicate. But all were trying to address the American public, and hopefully to inspire them.</span><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Several media outlets have commented on the difference in styles between Obama and Bush. There have been comments about having an Author-President, and what that might mean for the content and clarity of the inaugural address. I found the speech to be an interesting blend between ideals and pragmatic considerations. I also thought that the word choice sounded different, and wondered if this meant Obama might be reaching for a different level of conversation. As one media person mentioned “maybe he expects us to come to his level.”<br /><br />So I thought I’d try a little test. I took the inaugural addresses of Kennedy, Reagan (1st inauguration), Bush 43 (1st inauguration) and Obama, and ran the first 5000 characters through the assessment at </span></span><a href="http://bluecentauri.com/tools/writer/sample.php"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Blue Centauri</span></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">. This site includes word counts, and assesses against the more common writing indexes:</span><br /></span></span><div><ul><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Flesch Reading Ease. This measures the number of words per sentence, and number of syllables per word, and scales against 100 points. The higher the score, the easier the text is to read. Authors are encouraged to shoot for a score between 60-70. A number below 30 indicates an advanced college text.</span><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Gunning-Fog Scale. This is similar to the Flesch scale, however it focuses on “Foggy words” – those with more than 3 syllables. Scoring on this system is a scale of 1-20. This score is often used to show how print media target their content. Some comparisons: Fog score of 6 = TV Guides, 8=Reader’s Digest, 10= Time or Newsweek magazine, 11= Wall Street Journal, 15+=Academic papers.</span><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Flesch-Kincaid grade level. This algorithm sets expectations for what level of school would be most able to read and understand the content. (Assigned in years, 0-17).</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Here are the results:<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzbOhHRH1h6fQ326yu5oFy2wdkNujEXMXujcgsZOv71xGtoT-oFykqCMGEx6rT5vBtCo3y0aRW6gWzj6g1dCuQqUitk2rGlY_X7GX7eUX4-b6rrOjBuj-8MPje8_MuLxh0-6rlOpGbUnK/s1600-h/speech.jpg"><span style="font-size:85%;"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293913848433828306" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 131px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUzbOhHRH1h6fQ326yu5oFy2wdkNujEXMXujcgsZOv71xGtoT-oFykqCMGEx6rT5vBtCo3y0aRW6gWzj6g1dCuQqUitk2rGlY_X7GX7eUX4-b6rrOjBuj-8MPje8_MuLxh0-6rlOpGbUnK/s400/speech.jpg" border="0" /></span></a></p></span><p><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></p><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Of course, these speeches are more than 5000 characters long, but I do think this sample size leads to some interesting comparisons. Obama has the most dense sentences (almost 2x words/sentence compared to Bush). He also has the lowest Reading Ease, although he’s still just outside the target for most authors. Bush has the highest Reading Ease. I found it interesting that Kennedy and Reagan’s content were so close to each other, and fit right in between Bush and Obama. Most importantly, I think the results show the shift in approach between Bush and Obama. We’re moving from a President whose speech was accessible at the 5th grade level, with word choice targeted near Reader’s Digest to a President who set the bar at almost high school levels, and reaches the Wall Street Journal's level for word choice. I will be interested to see if this level of content stays, and how it impacts the public’s opinions of the President. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;">One side note. During the speech I started thinking about the speechwriters who toiled over those words, trying for the right turn of phrase, hoping the content would be there, and knowing that there would be many many edits before the final delivery. I’ve always wondered about speechwriters – I think it takes a special class of person to be able to write for presentation vs writing for print. It’s also a special class of person who is gratified to hear their words spoken, even though the credit will go to the President, and not to them. Kudos to the speechwriters, whoever you are. Thank you for once again delivering an address that inspires a nation.</span></span><span style="font-size:85%;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">[img: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/orangejack/">orangejack</a>]</span></div></div>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-46810735609448221832009-01-20T08:00:00.000-08:002009-01-20T08:00:01.424-08:00Inauguration Thoughts.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdv4svNd0Hb2Pjptw-wcAuzL9h9PeLErg9xQ8fIFiOJELpgOqO3QqmaOPI6ieBLpMRAEUHTfh7mITBIIhZs2-3oW3_hQHsZxK13trAqOASQI5_QkwqpVYAhFFV6fmx6KGJ6vN52hEfOC8c/s1600-h/Hughes-America-Again1938.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5289462627855337458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 244px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 320px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdv4svNd0Hb2Pjptw-wcAuzL9h9PeLErg9xQ8fIFiOJELpgOqO3QqmaOPI6ieBLpMRAEUHTfh7mITBIIhZs2-3oW3_hQHsZxK13trAqOASQI5_QkwqpVYAhFFV6fmx6KGJ6vN52hEfOC8c/s320/Hughes-America-Again1938.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Why isn't Inauguration Day a national holiday? Doesn't it have some level of importance? Of weight? Shouldn't we encourage people to take the day to witness the history, listen to the speeches, and recognize the value of living in a democracy? Especially this year, when the inauguration is the day after we celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday, a holiday seems appropriate. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">More on leadership and HR practices later. Today, I'm putting my American Studies hat back on, and pulling out my all time favorite poem about the American dream. A poem that seems incredibly apt given the current economic situation. I'm looking forward to hearing from a new president, and taking a day to celebrate the possibilities of a new administration. (Hat tip to <a href="http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/Hughes-America-Again1938.htm">mindfully.org </a>for having it posted, so I didn't have to retype.)</span><br /><br /><br /><br /><p></p><p></p><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Let America be America Again<br />LANGSTON HUGHES 1938<br />Originally published in Esquire and in the International Worker Order pamphlet A New Song (1938)<br /></p></span><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><br />Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain Seeking a home where he himself is free.</span></p><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(America never was America to me.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Let America be the dream the dreamers dreamed-- Let it be that great strong land of love Where never kings connive nor tyrants scheme That any man be crushed by one above.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(It never was America to me.)</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">O, let my land be a land where Liberty Is crowned with no false patriotic wreath, But opportunity is real, and life is free, Equality is in the air we breathe.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">(There's never been equality for me, Nor freedom in this "homeland of the free.")</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Say, who are you that mumbles in the dark? And who are you that draws your veil across the stars?<br />I am the poor white, fooled and pushed apart, I am the Negro bearing slavery's scars. I am the red man driven from the land, I am the immigrant clutching the hope I seek-- And finding only the same old stupid plan Of dog eat dog, of mighty crush the weak.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I am the young man, full of strength and hope, Tangled in that ancient endless chain Of profit, power, gain, of grab the land! Of grab the gold! Of grab the ways of satisfying need! Of work the men! Of take the pay! Of owning everything for one's own greed!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">I am the farmer, bondsman to the soil. I am the worker sold to the machine. I am the Negro, servant to you all. I am the people, humble, hungry, mean-- Hungry yet today despite the dream. Beaten yet today--O, Pioneers! I am the man who never got ahead, The poorest worker bartered through the years.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Yet I'm the one who dreamt our basic dream In the Old World while still a serf of kings, Who dreamt a dream so strong, so brave, so true, That even yet its mighty daring sings In every brick and stone, in every furrow turned That's made America the land it has become. O, I'm the man who sailed those early seas In search of what I meant to be my home-- For I'm the one who left dark Ireland's shore, And Poland's plain, and England's grassy lea, And torn from Black Africa's strand I came To build a "homeland of the free."</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">The free?</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Who said the free? Not me? Surely not me? The millions on relief today? The millions shot down when we strike? The millions who have nothing for our pay? For all the dreams we've dreamed And all the songs we've sung And all the hopes we've held And all the flags we've hung, The millions who have nothing for our pay-- Except the dream that's almost dead today.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">O, let America be America again-- The land that never has been yet-- And yet must be--the land where every man is free. The land that's mine--the poor man's, Indian's, Negro's, ME-- Who made America, Whose sweat and blood, whose faith and pain, Whose hand at the foundry, whose plow in the rain, Must bring back our mighty dream again.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">Sure, call me any ugly name you choose-- The steel of freedom does not stain. From those who live like leeches on the people's lives, We must take back our land again, America!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">O, yes, I say it plain, America never was America to me, And yet I swear this oath-- America will be!<br />Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, The rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, We, the people, must redeem The land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain-- All, all the stretch of these great green states-- And make America again!</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">[* Portrait of Langston Hughes, via </span><a href="http://www.mindully.org/"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.mindully.org</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;"> Original source: </span><a href="http://www.dclibrary.org/blkren/bios/hughesl.html"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.dclibrary.org/blkren/bios/hughesl.html</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">]</span></span><br /><br /></span></span>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-30083087626653700282009-01-13T08:00:00.000-08:002009-01-13T08:00:00.417-08:00Standing Up<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGrEBNnrtdMHIgdJFFSdGCoWi6Oi0McZ2EB_nrBpJLs2_XKl0sY62nTvGi1pN01UwUYcBUY0hxjZ3OUV2x9E_DdBLxV54pVXoxcOLrqwswKZir5iCfucnSICVLYMSQEEN5Z4nqnACedYD/s1600-h/peace_danny.hammontree.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286102216715647794" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 150px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 200px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxGrEBNnrtdMHIgdJFFSdGCoWi6Oi0McZ2EB_nrBpJLs2_XKl0sY62nTvGi1pN01UwUYcBUY0hxjZ3OUV2x9E_DdBLxV54pVXoxcOLrqwswKZir5iCfucnSICVLYMSQEEN5Z4nqnACedYD/s200/peace_danny.hammontree.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I <a href="http://human-strategies.blogspot.com/2008/10/leadership-in-new-century.html">posted </a>before about the amazing <a href="http://human-strategies.blogspot.com/2008/10/we-dont-need-another-hero.html">leadership panel</a> at Stanford: 6 panelists, all articulate, and each with a specific point of view to share. The combination led to great content, and I took away several good ideas. There was one moment though, that I’<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">ve</span> returned to several times over the last few months. It <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">wasn</span>’t part of the agenda, but I saw it as a significant leadership moment. </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"><br />The discussion had turned to the American political process, and panelists were being asked their thoughts on whether a leader’s private life should be considered in the election process. In course of the conversation, someone referred to the common phrase “the personal is political”. At this point <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Kavita</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Ramdas</span> interrupted. She called attention to that phrase, and said (paraphrasing here) “This phrase has a very specific meaning. It refers to women using the political process as a way to change the rules, and gain control over their rights. As a feminist, I can’t let you use this slogan that way.”<br /><br />“As a feminist, I can’t let you use the slogan that way.” How often have you heard someone stand up and interrupt a conversation and make a correction based on their beliefs? Especially in the middle of a large group? And to say this not as a request, but as a statement of fact. How would that play in a business setting? “As an HR person, I can’t let you speak about an employee that way.” Or “As a manager, I can’t let you use that language in a meeting. It’s not appropriate.” Or “As a representative of Company X, I can’t allow you to behave this way when you work with my team.” I can count the number of times that’s happened in my work life on one hand.<br /><br />Why don’t we say something? Is it because the person speaking is a customer, or a senior person, or a key player? Or do we think it’s better to address a behavioral issue behind the scenes rather than in a group setting? Is it fear of confrontation?<br /><br />It’s hard to be the one who stands-up. So instead we grind our teeth as people swear in the office. Or we put up with the condescending comments in email or in meetings. Or we tolerate the off-color jokes in the hallway… and maybe we turn a blind eye on content that could be seen as harassment. And as a result, we end up with high turnover, or a harassment suit, and wonder how we got there.<br /><br />Let’s make a pact for this year. Let’s agree to stand up. To call attention to the cases where there are behavior issues, or bad language. Let’s recognize that we have multiple cultures, values, norms and expectations in the workplace, and a flip comment could have significant ramifications. Let’s be open to feedback coming from others in the organization, and take it as an opportunity for improvement. And most importantly, let’s realize that this is part of a learning process. Mistakes will be made, but they are not intentional – and giving actionable, timely feedback is the best way to help someone improve.</span><br /><br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">[<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">img</span>: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/people/digitalgrace/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">danny</span>.<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">hammontree</span></span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">]</span>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-1490067629171585952009-01-06T08:00:00.001-08:002009-01-06T08:00:00.963-08:00A Small Business HR Case Study<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2uoi_60dmLxpqD3gUetLLOyf6MMDe-azidcpbf-h2Emp-zV14a8RMuaA8Y5gjU4L8wUotZH-vBtnE17xEGCEdE3RYvFx_InP0LvpNccnO4RmomDmN54LtGNfIOGpXO3K8-iUyWW7HoJm/s1600-h/clipped_whatknot.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5286884634952060594" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 240px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 180px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjL2uoi_60dmLxpqD3gUetLLOyf6MMDe-azidcpbf-h2Emp-zV14a8RMuaA8Y5gjU4L8wUotZH-vBtnE17xEGCEdE3RYvFx_InP0LvpNccnO4RmomDmN54LtGNfIOGpXO3K8-iUyWW7HoJm/s320/clipped_whatknot.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">My husband has had a tough week. He's launching a product at <a href="http://www.cesweb.org/">CES </a>next week, and to make the deadline, the factory in China shipped 50 prototypes early. Unassembled. To him, and not to the finishing guy in LA. So he needs assembly help - and he needs it fast. He posted an ad for technical assemblers on Craigslist, and thus started a quick HR challenge. </span><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">First: there was the volume<strong> </strong>issue. <strong>100 responses in a little over 2 hours</strong> on a holiday week is an unfortunate comment about the unemployment situation in the Bay Area. Or maybe he set the hourly rate too high. In any case, he needed a quick way to sort. So we had a chat about <strong>hiring criteria and goals</strong>. Since this was a short term project, he gave priority to skills, work history, time of response, and location. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Second: there were SO MANY errors and issues with the resumes. With such a high volume, <strong>if the resume didn't meet a quick scan test, it was quickly moved to the 'pass' pile</strong>. Even within the initial 'consider' pile, there were a lot of resume basics that hadn't been met, and that became an <strong>additional screening criteria</strong>. A few reminders, if you are job-hunting: </span></div><ol><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Name your resume something other than "resume.doc". Name it "gretchenalarcon2009resume.doc" or "Alarcon_resume.doc". Give the recruiter/manager an easy way to find it if they download to a file. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Contact info goes at the top. This should be obvious, but there were several resumes that had the contact info in the email and only the name in the doc. Don't assume the cover letter and resume will always be together. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">If you have a 2-page resume, add your name and contact info to the header/footer on each page. Again, don't assume multiple pages will stay together. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Make sure the contact information is for a phone/email that you will check frequently. If I can't reach you, I can't hire you. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Spell check. Seriously.</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Third: <strong>How do you pay these people</strong>? As an independent contractor, he usually works with other independents. Could he treat these people the same? Would they need a 1099? Would they have to be w-2 employees? The IRS site didn't have anything obvious on this, and it took over an hour of searching to confirm that he had the right forms. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Here's a hiring manager who wants to do right thing, and has a former HR manager to help him, and it still required research and planning, both of which he didn't really have time to do. There's a reason why we have employment laws, but without an easy way to find them or review them, I suspect many businesses are unknowingly out of compliance. This was a one-off, and I don't think he'll be hiring again any time soon. However, it's a wake up call for me to look into some <strong>small company HR options</strong>. Any recommendations out there for the small business owner? Specifically for sole-proprietorships that don't have staff on an ongoing basis?</span></div><br /><div></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">[img: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/whatknot/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">Whatknot</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">]</span></div>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-72820564736024228862008-12-30T15:00:00.000-08:002008-12-30T15:00:00.793-08:00Be it Resolved....<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6av8AH12cSTdzVg2JgS_IoOD6Gcr10tjNxBwQdenDhw3UwdmvwdO_Rm3b8eVKa5EisulC5qe_0OssMqedQUNXU5q7DY5TzfJGrXUp4TslPKV2WwKPwuAfVFflxZqyWS3agmRcWR8ZrUyP/s1600-h/fireworks.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5285374635563649458" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 140px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 140px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6av8AH12cSTdzVg2JgS_IoOD6Gcr10tjNxBwQdenDhw3UwdmvwdO_Rm3b8eVKa5EisulC5qe_0OssMqedQUNXU5q7DY5TzfJGrXUp4TslPKV2WwKPwuAfVFflxZqyWS3agmRcWR8ZrUyP/s200/fireworks.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I don't do New Year's Resolutions. It's not that I have anything against them, it's just that I don't think of the New Year as the time to set goals. I'm much more likely to be introspective around my birthday, or when the kids go back to school. But seeing that many people think about resolutions, or take stock at this time of year here are a few for consideration:</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Resolve to...do your own quarterly review. Write down what you've accomplished, and what you want to accomplish. Update your resume with these accomplishments before you forget them.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Resolve to...share your expertise. You know what you do well - do others? How hard would it be to send an email saying "I just upgraded my laptop and have some ideas to share if you're thinking about the same thing" or "I've got a great relationship with the Sales Ops teams, so if you need help getting customer info let me know."</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Resolve to...pass it on. How many emails do you get each day? How often do you pass them to your team? To the broader team? It's a fine line to walk, since you don't want to spam people, but in general, more communication is better than less. I'd rather get the information twice than not at all.</span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Resolve to...find something in each week that you enjoyed doing. And then do more of that. My daughter's class ends each week with sharing their "sweets and sours". It's a silly thing, but it does make you think about what you got out of the week - maybe you worked like crazy on the presentation, but you really enjoyed getting to work with a new team member. How can you work more with them next week? </span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Resolve to...learn. What do you want to look into? Learning opportunities come in all shapes and sizes. Once you identify your learning objectives, share them, and you'll see many ways to help you fullfill your need - from in class learning, to mentors to ojt. If you want to learn it, the information is out there.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Resolve to...lead. In the current economy, there are going to be plenty of people who are ducking and covering and being fearful. This is a perfect time to emerge as a leader in your organzation or group. Start the project. Pull the people together. Say "yes". Anyone can be a leader, all it takes is raising your hand. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Cheers to 2009!</span></div><div></div><br /><div></div>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-9325345440362471332008-12-22T13:00:00.000-08:002008-12-24T10:45:41.783-08:00What’s Your Lead?<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstScPM1YlkrcN9F9r-KxjNdzVIxNJrZoRQBRNyrgKFDlf4mOHHpiBQbQDyWWUgmA5uGiAbnum7xtHfVsO5LeicMYpFz_RiO8r9DAtszSTEGj_4tbMM7ZNTSG2vaUv1AAcvZQStMVgK9Wi/s1600-h/newspaper_from+a+second+story.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280204470975701298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 154px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhstScPM1YlkrcN9F9r-KxjNdzVIxNJrZoRQBRNyrgKFDlf4mOHHpiBQbQDyWWUgmA5uGiAbnum7xtHfVsO5LeicMYpFz_RiO8r9DAtszSTEGj_4tbMM7ZNTSG2vaUv1AAcvZQStMVgK9Wi/s200/newspaper_from+a+second+story.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Many of us struggle with the question of how to be heard. How do I get my point across? In meetings with my manager, how do I direct the conversation to the topics I want to cover? I don’t have every answer, but I’ve learned an approach that can change the dynamic of a conversation. Consider this situation:<br /><br />Manager: Hi, how are you?<br />You: Fine.<br />Manager: Great. Let’s talk about x-y-z thing I’m thinking about.<br /><br />You just missed an opportunity. Your manager gave you an opening, and you didn’t step in. What if instead, you did something like this:<br /><br />Manager: Hi, how are you?<br />You: I’m so proud of the team. <a href="http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/">Talented Apps</a> just was listed as one of the <a href="http://www.fistfuloftalent.com/2008/12/fot-talent-management-blog-power-rankings-2-draft.html">best Talent Management blogs</a>.<br />Manager: That’s awesome. Who gave the award?<br />You: It was from <a href="http://www.fistfuloftalent.com/">Fistful of Talent</a> and the <a href="http://www.hrcapitalist.com/">HR Capitalist</a>. Which reminds me, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about x-y-z topic.<br /><br />Look at that – you are now driving the conversation. Just like a journalist has to come up with a good lead story, you need to think about your headline, and use that as a conversation-starter.<br /><br />This applies not only in meetings, but hallway conversations, elevator rides, or standing in line at the cafeteria. You may want to think about one headline for the day, and repeat it to everyone. Or you might have multiple headlines depending on who you see: tell the Senior VP about the great customer win, but tell your peer about the mad scramble to pull data to get the win. (Or vice versa – what point are you trying to make?)<br /><br />It’s a simple change in how you start a conversation, but can go a long way to making your points. Try it for a week. Experiment with it. And tell me if your headlines made an impact.<br /><br /><span style="font-size:78%;">[Img: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/mbg_photos/"><span style="font-size:78%;">from a second story</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">]</span> </span>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-49504335728028690652008-12-15T16:54:00.000-08:002008-12-15T17:06:22.420-08:00You're Right-sized?!<a href="http://talentedapps.wordpress.com/2008/12/15/the-silver-lining-a-rif-story/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Meg's latest post</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"> reminded me that I have some old posts on my </span><a href="http://scarletsletters.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">personal blog</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">, that might fit better here. So I'm reposting, from June '05.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;"></span><br /><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">I’m told all the time that I speak in bullet points. And it’s true. I don’t like to spend a lot of time elaborating, or mincing words. It’s not that I don’t care about people’s feelings, and I’m certainly not taciturn. It’s just that when there’s a point to be made, I don’t see why you don’t just make it and move on. I think a lot of my brevity is a reaction to my time working in HR.<br /><br />When you think about an HR job, lots of nice words and phrases come to mind. Outsourcing. Rightsizing. Downsizing. HR has many different words for a basic statement: you’re fired. Of course, now Trump has made this the cool phrase, but in general, firing someone is one of the most emotionally charged things you can do in the workplace. Firing comes in 3 forms: </span></p><ol><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">The worker isn’t performing. This is the easiest for a manager, and often a relief for the worker. They both know it isn’t working out, and with the right counselling, the break-up is fairly painless. </span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">The worker is performing, but there’s a personality issue. This is hard for the worker, less hard for the manager. Usually, the manager has decided that the situation isn’t going to work out, and is ok with the news. For the employee, this firing often comes as a shock. </span></li><li><div align="left"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">The layoff. This is the most difficult for both sides of the relationship. The manager doesn’t want to deliver the news, but has to because they have to put the company needs first. The employee doesn’t understand why they were the one laid off, and there is often an emotional confrontation. </span></div></li></ol><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">In each of these cases, it’s easier for the manager and the HR person to rely on rote phrases. The phrases are not as charged as saying “fired”. They also are used in the planning process – while meeting to discuss the issues, HR and the manager get comfortable with rightsizing or downsizing, it feels more humane than "mass firing". So when the discussion with the employee happens, the manager uses the language he is familiar with. The problem is that those phrases mean nothing to the person being let go. They haven’t discussed the issue multiple times with HR, agonized over the decision, and made the call to fire. They are hearing the news for the first time, and don't understand the words being chosen.<br /><br />One of the worst firing situations I’ve ever been in was layoff round one at the dot-com gig. Steve, the manager I was working with, had never laid anyone off before, and the first meeting went something like this:<br />[Steve] Bob, as you know we’ve had some financial decisions to make lately. Due to our changes in the revenue model and the goal of raising additional financing, we have decided that this is the time to rightsize the company.<br />[Bob] Oh…?<br />[Steve] So, since the new business model doesn’t support having multiple revenue streams coming from the support organization, we’ve decided to restructure your group. I will be refocusing on the development organization and they will pick up a number of new assignments. Gretchen will help you with the transition details. Meanwhile, I want to let you know that you have my full support and I’m more than willing to help you with whatever you need as you go through this time of change.<br />[Bob]…time of change?<br />[Gretchen] Bob, you are being laid-off.<br /><br />Then Bob got it. Then Bob lost it, and we spent the next 60 minutes with Steve reiterating that yes, Bob really was being laid off, and no, there was nothing he could do to change the decision, and yes, he was really sorry, and on and on.<br /><br />Fortunately after this meeting, Steve was open to some feedback. He realized that he had defaulted to manager-speak because he was nervous and didn’t know what to say. As a result, the employee had been confused, and the interview was much more painful than it had to be. I rescheduled the rest of Steve’s layoff interviews and we did some role-playing. Over the next hour, he fired me about a dozen times. He practiced until he felt confortable delivering the news in a concise, compassionate way, and was prepared for the employee’s emotional responses. We structured the interview so he could see it simply:</span></p><ul><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Deliver the news – get to the point, don’t expand.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Pause, to let it sink in. Let the employee speak next.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Provide more detail, but keep it focused on the employee. Start directing the conversation away from the firing and into the next steps. Think short sentences, and simple concepts.</span></li><li><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">Refer the employee to HR or other resources for the questions that will come up once the shock wears off. </span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">The next exit interview went something like this:<br />[Steve] Mary, as you know we’ve had to make some tough decisions lately, and I’m sorry to have to tell you that you have been let go.<br />[Mary] Why?<br />[Steve] We had to reduce our headcount by 5%, and I made the decision to eliminate your position.<br />[Mary] But what about the rest of my team?<br />[Steve] Right now, I’d rather focus on making sure you have the information you need as you leave Old Company. Gretchen is here to talk about your benefits and last paycheck. Then, she’ll take you to our outplacement counsellors to talk about next steps. If you have additional questions, we’ll have a meeting Thursday to discuss them.<br />[Gretchen] So let’s talk about the content of your letter...<br /><br />Asking someone to leave is never easy. It takes you back to elementary school when someone said “You’re not my friend anymore.” After running 6 layoffs over the last few years, I can tell you each one is equally painful. But it’s a part of business, just as hiring is. Learning to do it humanely is an important management skill. The key is to get the bad news over with. The longer you draw it out, and the more you try to use euphemisms or management-speak, the harder it is for both sides. So, say it. Don’t confuse it, or hide the facts. Make your point, let them respond and move on. While you won’t feel better at the time, you will later. </span></p>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-44815200603245242332008-11-25T18:11:00.000-08:002008-11-25T18:24:28.559-08:00Giving Thanks<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hui0lODXcrCoTCVgsleKmZzvT5AGB3Ww7YfVFNIr22jwrx10-sHK5WAY7-C1RXB4RVaOx5tSHSnFUWvie112Bb0khUXg65C-9SBQdLL_iKX7nSvobLFsxbYkoMZdGFssHcxI2QmeSI3q/s1600-h/TG+bounty+-+klmontgomery.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272786286576611410" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3hui0lODXcrCoTCVgsleKmZzvT5AGB3Ww7YfVFNIr22jwrx10-sHK5WAY7-C1RXB4RVaOx5tSHSnFUWvie112Bb0khUXg65C-9SBQdLL_iKX7nSvobLFsxbYkoMZdGFssHcxI2QmeSI3q/s200/TG+bounty+-+klmontgomery.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">How much time do you spend at work? Or thinking about work? Or annoying your spouse as you rehash everything that happened at work? A lot, right? Why are you invested in your work? The project? The recognition? For me, it’s always been about the people I’m working with. However, years as an HR person taught me to be careful of making friends at work. I never wanted to have to sit across the table and lay-off a good friend.<br /><br />There’s value to work friendships that goes beyond having a lunch buddy. As <a href="http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/the-value-of-a-friend-in-the-next-cubicle/#more-116">reported in the New York Times last year</a>, researchers have found that having close friends at work leads to decreases in job-related stress. One of the researchers commented that because your co-workers are in the same environment, they “get where you are coming from”. Certainly my co-workers are much more interested in talking about the latest work challenges than my family, who roll their eyes every time I try to tell a work story. But I’ve also realized in the last month how much I’ve come to rely on my friendships at work.<br /><br />It’s easy to do the surface friendship things: ask about the family, share funny vacation stories, etc. But in times of crisis – family illnesses or loss – you see those friendships take another step. Last month one of my co-workers lost her husband, and her work friends banded together to support her, and assist in any way possible. This wasn’t just signing names on a card or covering meetings. This was a group of friends helping each other through a life event. Last week, when my husband was hospitalized, my work friends jumped in to offer help and to make sure I was supported – far and above the normal call of work colleagues. It’s these kinds of relationships, the give and take, the sharing and the support, that make you value your job a little more. It’s not just about the work, or the profits, or the customer success. It’s about the people.<br /><br />Thank you to my work friends (and customer friends!) for your support and friendship. You’ve helped me more than you know, and I’m very thankful.<br /><br /><br />[img: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/klm_digital_snaps/">klmontgomery</a>] </span>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-18396590623671611752008-11-04T22:24:00.000-08:002008-11-04T22:32:52.515-08:00Inspirational Leaders<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVb8nXVDnEQMxiFoZg93aLhPwzBrYXBtJONswndRIZE2mDOQ5_vbOAcA0Jhiacyw2tZAQ0Wi-qjS5PZkl1vxBqhSvvSzUlATy6X2hDrUdTEXHmAo-ayeu84UODgUoufhIf7dves5MmSsQ1/s1600-h/mt+rushmore+from+jimbowen0306.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5265057566401376466" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 200px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 150px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVb8nXVDnEQMxiFoZg93aLhPwzBrYXBtJONswndRIZE2mDOQ5_vbOAcA0Jhiacyw2tZAQ0Wi-qjS5PZkl1vxBqhSvvSzUlATy6X2hDrUdTEXHmAo-ayeu84UODgUoufhIf7dves5MmSsQ1/s200/mt+rushmore+from+jimbowen0306.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">As the final question of the leadership panel, Tom Brokaw asked each person to name a leader that inspires them. Then before letting them answer, he took Abraham Lincoln off the table. Apparently Lincoln is the response in almost every discussion of great leaders. (As someone who picked Lincoln as my favorite president in 2nd grade, he certainly would have been my choice!) The panelist answers were as follows:<br /><br />David Kennedy: <strong>Franklin Roosevelt</strong>. No one else could have brought an isolationist country into WWII, and then persisted through the dark times to end the war.<br /><br />Kavita Ramdas: <strong>A woman</strong>, (I didn’t catch the name) who while in an Afghani refugee camp, decided to start a school. She did this at great personal risk, but managed to not only teach her children, and her friends children. She wound teaching the children of the head of the camp. And then she expanded the teaching to the women in the camp as well. She won’t be known to the world, but she is a personal hero for Ms Ramdas.<br /><br />Xavier Becerra: <strong>Eleanor Roosevelt</strong>. While the country owes gratitude to Franklin Roosevelt for particpation in WWII, the people owe an even greater debt to Eleanor Roosevelt. She was not only a supportive first lady (under trying times!) but she drove her own agenda, and was instrumental in social programs throughout the country.<br /><br />John Hennessey: <strong>George Washington</strong>. He accepted command of the army, even though he knew he’d have to build it practically from scratch. He then won the Revolutionay War through brilliant tactics. Then, after 8 years as president, he had the humility to realize that it was time for him to retire from the public spotlight so that the democracy he had helped from could continue to grow.<br /><br />Anthony Kennedy: <strong>George Washington</strong>. We wouldn’t have had a constituion if Washington hadn’t been at the congress. Through his leadership he was able to keep the respresntatives together – no one would leave as long as Washington was going to stay.<br /><br />Carly Fiorina: <strong>Unknown women</strong> everywhere. The women who are living in poverty, disease, war, and still provide for their families. They raise their children and do their best to make the world a better place for them.<br /><br />Jeff Raikes: <strong>Lou Pinella</strong>. He had a great mentoring discussion with Lou a few years ago, and Lou told him his 5 rules for success. 1. Get along with the players. 2. Know how to keep the players at their peak performance. 3. Game strategy. Know it, use it. 4. Everyone needs PR (you may not believe what the reporters say about you, but if it’s said enough, the players and the public will). 5. Get along with the front office.<br /><br />Tom Brokaw: <strong>Martin Luther King</strong>. The nation owes a great debt to King as a leader who did what he knew was right, at great personal cost, to bring the forward the cause of civil rights.<br /><br />My take: I tend to look not only for an inspirational leader, but also one who was first to try something. My choice (assuming Lincoln is ineligible) would be <strong>Frances Willard</strong>. Like Susan B Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton she was a leader in the women’s suffrage movement. In addition, she led the creation of the WCTU – not just to argue for Temperance, but to raise women to a level of equality with men. In her words, she worked for "a world republic of women without distinction of race or color; with no sectarianism in religion and no sex in citizenship. Whatever touches humanity touches us." She was the first woman to be recognized with a statue in the US Capitol, and set the standard by which all further women leaders should be measured. </span><br /><br /><div><div><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><em>What about you? Who do you think of as an inspiring leader? Why?</em></span></span></div><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:Verdana;"><span style="font-size:78%;">[Img source: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamiedfw/"><span style="font-size:78%;">jimbowen0306</span></a><span style="font-size:78%;">]</span></span></em></div><br /><div><em><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;"></span></em></div></div>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-12943154894216750342008-10-20T12:21:00.000-07:002008-10-20T12:52:38.215-07:00Web 2.0 vs. Knowledge Management<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTUZ-QovuwTuE_5Vcg7DSQTiNljgA4nZV1e8tIMmWdOlQTDS3cTX6tp6YOFlqPIFrDYrSk3WELsBdQWT1sj6UvPuQcKRcnAtgTdpVy0Iz3hgxVrk1M_4oz_WfQjEuUwKh25rSS2qWNMFw/s1600-h/wheel+hs+10-20-08.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5259325276115018978" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTUZ-QovuwTuE_5Vcg7DSQTiNljgA4nZV1e8tIMmWdOlQTDS3cTX6tp6YOFlqPIFrDYrSk3WELsBdQWT1sj6UvPuQcKRcnAtgTdpVy0Iz3hgxVrk1M_4oz_WfQjEuUwKh25rSS2qWNMFw/s200/wheel+hs+10-20-08.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">I spoke at HR Tech last week on Web 2.0. During the session, someone asked whether Web 2.0 concepts are different than the Knowledge Management initiatives of the 90’s, or if we were just reinventing the wheel. I think they are different, and that they are part of a more systemic change happening in the workforce.<br /><br />The rise of Knowledge Management (KM) programs in the 90s stemmed from the transition to an information economy. Companies, particularly in financial services and consulting, realized that their primary competitive differentiator was the information in people’s heads. If someone moved on to a new assignment or left the company, that information could be lost. So the companies started programs to have teams document their processes, results, and learnings. That way if they had turnover, they would retain the intellectual property that their employees had generated. It’s a completely reasonable request to have employees share information and collaborate with others, and this was in line with the trend toward more self-directed teams. So why didn’t KM take off?<br /><br />When KM programs were implemented, they were seen as just another thing to do. (As one of my clients once said, “It’s Another Fine Program from HR.”) The systems were well-intentioned, but didn’t fit well into the processes the firm already used. Content had to be rewritten, and users had to change their processes to ensure their information went to the system. Once the system was installed, team members could collaborate or build upon content. But there were already processes in place for that, so again users had to change their processes to include the KM system. Also, team members weren’t as familiar with technology, so there was a learning curve involved in using the system. As a result, unless someone was mandating system use and including a strong change management program, the KM program became more a repository for finished documents and projects – a digital filing system.<br /><br />The difference with Web 2.0, is that the users are driving adoption of the tool. Rather than a top-down mandate to share information, Web 2.0 comes from the bottom up. A developer decides he’s tired of trying to find the latest version of a document. So he builds a wiki, puts documents there, and tells the rest of his team to do the same. Or a marketer wants a new way to look at content, so she creates a team workspace to capture ideas and build up new messages. Or an employee is tired of keeping up with all the blogs and PR content that is sent around the company via email, so he creates an RSS reader, and then shares what he’s done with other team members. These people aren’t waiting for a program, or a central source. They are familiar with technology and know that it can meet their needs right now.<br /><br />So what’s different? We are still capturing information, and making it available to others, just like we did with KM systems. We’re still allowing multiple people to view and build on content. But now, the focus is more likely to be individual productivity vs. intellectual property management. The workforce is much more familiar with technology, and willing to explore using new tools. In fact, they will likely bring the tools into the company themselves rather than wait for a corporate program. The new generation in the workplace expects to collaborate, to share and to use technology to do so. These systemic changes in worker attitudes and technology acceptance will lead to Web 2.0 adoption, and deliver on the promise of the original Knowledge </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Management systems. We're not reinventing the wheel - we're improving on it.<br /></span></span><div><span style="font-size:85%;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-size:78%;">[img credit: </span><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/12392252@N03/"><span style="font-size:78%;">http://www.flickr.com/photos/12392252@N03/</span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;">]</span></div>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2394104024330665541.post-903995896705840172008-10-15T08:00:00.000-07:002008-10-15T08:00:00.980-07:00We Don’t Need Another Hero<span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">One of the first a-ha moments for me in the </span><a href="http://human-strategies.blogspot.com/2008/10/leadership-in-new-century.html"><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">leadership panel </span></a><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">came when Kavita Ramdas was talking about her definition of leadership. As she expressed it, it seems that all too often these days we are conflating the definition of a leader with the definition of a hero. That led me off on a tangent: Is a leader heroic? And is a hero a leader?<br /><br />Let’s start with some definitions (source: Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. MICRA, Inc. Dictionary.com):<br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>Hero</em></strong>: 1. (Myth.) An illustrious man, supposed to be exalted, after death, to a place among the gods; a demigod, as Hercules.<br />2. A man of distinguished valor or enterprise in danger, or fortitude in suffering; a prominent or central personage in any remarkable action or event; hence, a great or illustrious person. <strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em></em></strong><br /><strong><em>Leader</em></strong>: One who, or that which, leads or conducts; a guide; a conductor. Especially: (a) One who goes first. (b) One having authority to direct; a chief; a commander.<br /><br />I think we have often considered heroes great leaders. If you think of George Washington or Winston Churchill they certainly were both. However, Ulysses S. Grant was a Civil War hero, but had one of the most worst presidencies in US history. Was he a leader? More importantly, why is it that we think a leader must have heroic qualities?<br /><br />You could say that heroism, or a heroic mentality, conveys a sense of personal commitment and responsibility. Heroes are laser-focused on the objective, take no prisoners, and will get the job done. If you think about examples of heroism in war, they are typically high pressure situations where action must be taken, and being focused and decisive is more important than being collaborative or empowering. Thomas Jefferson wrote "In times of peace the people look most to their representatives; but in war, to the executive solely." Translating that to business, heroes emerge in times of crisis: the manager who gets the product shipped on deadline no matter what. The sales rep who closes the big deal on the last day of the quarter. The CEO who turns around a struggling company and brings it back to profitability. Those are success stories, but they are also extreme situations, when the organization needs someone who won’t worry about the longer term impact of their decisions – they are just focused on getting the job done.<br /><br />The problem with rewarding these heroic behaviors is that you can create a culture where a “diving save” is seen as a good outcome regardless of the effort or longer term costs. Taken to extremes, these behaviors result in an individual walking around saving the world, but not empowering those among them, benefiting from their knowledge, or setting up systems where heroics are an exception rather than the rule. Just once, wouldn’t it be great to see Lois Lane and Jimmy Olson tell Superman that they have what he needs to resolve the situation, and they don’t have to depend on him to rescue them?<br /><br />Personally, I think it would be hard to work for a hero. I’d rather work for someone who has focus and judgement, but acknowledges that they need the intelligence and commitment of those around them to be successful. A leader can still take the hill, and be as successful as the hero, but how they achieve that objective will be different. They will set high bars for their team, and put systems in place to catch problems before they require heroics. They’ll hire to increase the overall knowledge and strength of their team, and value the contribution of those team members. They will make tough decisions, but the decisions will be tempered with empathy and an understanding of the broader implications. We don’t need more heroes in business. We need more leaders.<br /><br /><em>What do you think? Have you ever worked for a hero? How does that compare to working for a leader?</em><br /><br />Special present for children of the 80s: the video that inspired this post's title.</span><br /><br /><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/uiWuUAFI0ps&hl=en&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><br /><br /><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/uiWuUAFI0ps&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>GretchenAhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16761999614903557269noreply@blogger.com2