Employee Engagement and Innovation

Here in the UK, the government is pushing hard to spend vast amounts of money on a new high speed rail link (known as HS2) to reduce the time in which people can travel from London to Birmingham, and then eventually to Leeds and Manchester.

Successive obstacles are learning to increased costs and more delays, not least of which are public concerns about the plans.

I also have a problem with HS2. 

Not with building more infrastructure for transport, but simply because it's depressing to read about the boring train types that are being planned, and envision the outcome.

I grew up with a 1354mph aircraft that flew nearly 800mph faster than the latest Boeing Dreamliner, and a space ship that could fly into space with seven people, do cool stuff and then fly back home to do it all over again. 

(Try explaining to kids that humans used to be able to fly twice as fast as a bullet in large groups, but not any more).

200 years ago we started the rail network with steam, 100 years ago there was electric, and then diesel. 50 years ago In Japan the 200mph Shinkansen started to run followed by the TGV in France. 30 years ago Magnetic Levitation trains emerged, carrying passengers at over 270mph by monorail in Germany and more conventionally in Shanghai.

Current fastest? In China there's a train that travels at 302mph, which is pretty cool.

In Britain? We're going to reach.....wait for it......225mph - but only in certain small sections. Which is just great - it's really nice to be copying what other countries have - and it's safe to be behind the curve.

That's the secret of success isn't it? Incremental upgrades. Playing safe. Avoiding risk. Please everyone all the time.

Bollocks.

Any business that desires success needs to shatter expectations with something amazing. Something new and incredible that captures the imagination. Too many companies complain about a lack of innovation without encouraging it, daring to take risks or listening to 'left field' ideas of their employees.

When was the last time your company captured YOUR imagination? What was the last thing you did to build passion in your teams?

How can you expect engaged employees if you don't fire imagination with what you do? 

So what should HS2 be like? 

How about a nuclear powered zero emission magnetic monorail with passenger pods travelling at 760mph? I want to get from London to Birmingham in 8 minutes, not 40. I want the UK to have some ambition!

Invent that. Make something that changes the world, create a technology that can be exported to every part of the planet. The population will rally behind that.

Or how about building on the Victorian idea of a pneumatic dispatch tube like +Elon Musk with the Hyperloop concept? 

Please. Anything but the same old boring stuff.

We put a man on the moon in 8 years. But it's taken five years of 'debate' on HS2 and nothing has yet been done. Tragic.

Don't settle for 'dull' at work. Inspire engagement in your workforce by aiming high, leveraging passion, capturing expertise, and doing something amazing.

Focus on plans that speak to the heart and the head. Use your imagination and those of everyone around you to do things that wow.

Nobody woke up this morning and said, "I know, let's do something mediocre today".


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Bringing Some Romance To Corporate Culture

Sometimes it can be hard to explain the importance of culture in the workplace. There are many great quotes and literature that prove it's effectiveness, from the ever brilliant Edgar Shein "Culture Eats Strategy For Breakfast" to my own research into how pipeline development and deal closure are predicted by culture fit.

But sometimes it's easier to step out of the business world and look at things from a different viewpoint.

(If you just want to read the work bit, scroll to the bottom)

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Earlier this month, during the annual festival of roses and chocolates, my Wife and I were watching "100 Greatest Love Songs" and both having the 'generation' discussion - that the old songs were so much better than new. 

Many years ago I stood in front of my university class and gave a lecture on how the music industry was changing to reflect the needs of the film industry. Instead of music being picked for movie soundtracks, often the reverse was true - I set out the economic case for an industry change that led to multiple hits being written specifically for film. 

That trend came and went, although there are still some examples (Christina Perri with her song for Twilight),  but now it's more common for film directors to use songs from the 80's and 90's in their movies (see the resurgence of AC/DC from the Iron Man movies, Percy Jackson and Battleship) rather than commission new material.

Industry culture has changed, but can genres of music be affected by other cultural shifts?

A little statistical analysis shows that 80% the love song list were recorded over 10 years ago, when the internet was available to less then 5% of the global population.

Video killed the radio star, but the internet seems to have killed romantic love songs, and possibly romance too.....

Looking at the top ten of our televised list, five represent signature movie songs, with only one that wasn't written specifically for the movie (just reimagined for it). The lyrics are gentle, the videos contain plenty of hugs and kisses, there is very little flesh on display, and none of the stars look like they learned their dances in a strip club.

Now stop and think about current 'romantic' songs on the radio. I'll save you the trouble, because according to Buzzfeed, the top 22 romantic (heart melting) songs for 2013 include those below. 

There is certainly more skin on display than clothing, more simulated sex, and more emulation of the sex trade than the earlier sample. And now the lyrics are about bitches, 'niggas', drowning, and direct demands for sex.

Other facets of the same problem are internet porn, parental controls and unrestricted social media, all of which desensitise people to all kinds of sexual behaviour and encourage unrealistic expectations. I've written two blogs on the subject based on my own experiences as a parent and a friend. 

(You should also read this excellent blog from Joani Geltman about an 11 year old boy and porn peer pressure).

My Wife was recently listening to Rachel Morris (the Cosmopolitan sex therapist) talking about sexual expectations of teenage boys and girls. The detail was too explicit to discuss on national television, but she was clearly horrified at the data collected.

The conclusion, bluntly, is that for a large number of teenagers romance is dead (and I don't mean the type of romantic encounter that involves vampires).

We have evolved a culture that reinforces explicit, selfish sexual behaviour. The adage 'sex sells' has been extended to younger and younger audiences through music, film and the internet - and what we're seeing are the unintended consequences.

Nobody set out to achieve this, this is the end result of multiple decisions to improve profit, gain publicity, create unique features and push the boundaries of what's acceptable. Industry reaction to market forces without consideration for moral or ethical responsibilities. Sadly this is not going to change.

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How does this apply to workplace culture? 

Please be aware of what you deem 'acceptable' for managers, for employees, for contractors, for all of those that work within your organisation.

For example, profanity in the workplace is often seen as 'acceptable'. It's not. 

Somebody will be offended by it, and you'll see it in employee surveys if you ask the right questions. The profanity is not the problem, the offence caused to another employee is.

If you overlook it, then it will escalate, and before you know it there are words that should never be uttered emerging in client meetings - and valued staff who don't like it will find ways to leave for pastures new.

Sexual jokes? You may think that the threat of litigation has stamped it out. Not so. If you hear one at work, and you don't respectfully draw attention to it, you are encouraging it.

Your corporate culture is the result of a large, complicated cycle of events. Behaviours that you allow will escalate.....

The good news is that this works for both positive and negative aspects of your culture - rewarding positive behaviours will reinforce them. So look for the good, and promote it.

But don't let your unwillingness to confront bad behaviours hijack your efforts.

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Five Really Great Culture Articles

"Could you recommend some good articles on culture?" is a question I get asked a lot.......here are my five current favourites.

1. "Lessons We Can All Learn From Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh" 

Arguably Tony Hsieh started it all,  he is legendary in this field for starting the first truly great culture experiment with Zappo's. I've been fortunate enough to spend time in Vegas with the team - and pretty much everything you read is true (big thank you to the amazing Christa Foley and her team for putting up with me). 

This article from Jeffrey Hollender is as good a summary as you'll ever find.

2. Hubspots amazing culture slideshare. 

Don't be put off by the number of slides. Dharmesh and his team are doing amazing work putting culture front and centre of everything they do. Click through and I challenge you NOT to be moved by the power of this presentation - if you don't read this and then think seriously about your own culture, then there's something wrong with you.

3. Culture Gobbledegook. I'm being self indulgent with this one, but a friends son asked me for some help with his degree (yes, corporate culture IS taken that seriously) and I published some of our correspondence. I think it's a good "what's it all about" post.



4. Jack Welch of GE. 

One of the most compelling culture statements ever. "Never tolerate brilliant jerks" came from a Netflix slideshare from 2009.  Take some time to go through it (later) - but the focus on that single message is critical. In all companies I work with, the most resistance to change is found in retraining, or removing the brilliant jerks. Read this from Jack Welch about culture, and then the quote below:

“Everybody in America,” Welch said, “not just Goldman Sachs, has got to pay attention to the culture as much as the numbers. Great cultures deliver great numbers. Great numbers don’t deliver great cultures. So when you’re measuring people, you’ve got to have a set of behaviors, whether they be, like, treat people like the way you’d like to be treated yourself, treat customers the way you would want to be treated, whether it be speed, whether it be trying your best to promote them. You measure performance against that, against your performance in numbers. You put people on quadrants.

• One quadrant is great culture/great numbers. Onward and upward for these people.
• Another quadrant is bad numbers/bad culture. Bad news. Easy. Get them out.
• The third quadrant is good culture/tough numbers. Give them another chance. They buy into what you’re doing. They might have a family problem. Give them a shot.
• The one the kills companies is the fourth quadrant—the horse’s ass, the one who has cultural problems and good numbers. The CEO says, given them one more quarter and the problem will be fixed.”

5. Fish! By Lundin, Paul & Christenson

There can be confusion about the difference between employee engagement and corporate culture. Both are interrelated, but if you want to learn about the basics of engagement I suggest you pick up Fish! and read it. My short review here. It is a highly effective blueprint for owning your own levels of happiness and engagement at work.

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That's it - I hope you feel inspired to go and grab the corporate culture beast by the horns and wrestle it to the ground. Remember it all starts with YOU. Go forth and make a difference in your company today.

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Fluffy Bunnies & Corporate Culture

I'm sorry about this, I really am. But I feel the need to point out a few basics about corporate culture.

Corporate culture does not mean happy, friendly, fuzzy bunny teamwork.

It does not involve sympathy, peace, understanding or doing the right thing for others.

Nor does in mean showing respect, reciting core values and promoting personal development.

It MAY mean some of these things; but I keep having conversations where people are clearly mentally substituting 'culture' for 'hippy'.

Here are some diverse organisations for you to think about for a moment....

(Apple, US Navy Seals ,Google, British Olympic Cycling Team, Starbucks, IBM, UK National Health Service, JCB, Virgin Atlantic)

Do they have the same culture? No.

Do they have strong cultures? Yes.

Are they successful at what they do? Yes.

Could they do better? Always.

What they DO share is a group of people drawn to others with the same beliefs, visions and aspirations as themselves. They provide an environment where people can 'fit', feel comfortable and be part of a large tribe working towards a common goal. Could most employees from one easily fit in another? No.

The culture of a company is what defines it's heart & soul. Changing culture means changing (and challenging ) behaviours, perceptions and beliefs. 

Never try and emulate another companies culture - be proud of what you have, remember that people came to work with you because they were drawn to you.

• If you need to change your culture, make sure you know what your culture looks like today, and make sure you properly measure it's current state.
• Be absolutely clear on your business goals, and why the culture you have is a risk to their delivery.
• Then work towards changing culture from the top down, the bottom up and the middle out. 

Use employee engagement methods, behavioural changes, leadership training, communications skills, corporate events, fire the people who don't fit, promote those that do, make your actions match your words and commitments.

But above all else - measure the effects of everything you do. Measure the engagement improvements, the attrition rates, the effect on quota achievement, on employee opinion, on social media, on the multitude of things that contribute towards your success (financial or otherwise).

And remember. You are unique, your company is unique. It may be that you need to be more aggressive, more dictatorial, more individualist. It may be that you need to work harder together, it may be that more respect is needed. It WILL mean tough decisions.

Lose the fluffy bunny from your mind.

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