Seven Ways To Improve Minion Engagement

One great thing about having lots of children is the guilt free pleasure of watching all the kids movies - which are usually much better than 'grown up' films.

As stated in several previous articles, it's hard for me to watch a movie without analysing management style - which in the case of the lead character in Despicable Me is just exemplary.......

In case you missed this excellent movie, Gru is an evil super villian with a horde of minions set on committing (and sometimes solving) various criminal acts.

In order to achieve success, he has hundreds of marginally uncontrollable minions who don't necessarily do the right things (sound familiar?)

Nonetheless they always work hard, innovate, complete seemingly impossible tasks, and enjoy themselves in the process. 

Without them Gru would never succeed in achieving his goals.

I would argue this is due to the high level of employee engagement demonstrated in the organisation, and would offer the following seven examples as proof:

1. Set Clear Direction And Explain Your Goals

There's never any doubt about the focus of the team. The goals are set clearly, and although the deadlines are tight there is absolute transparency with regards to the end goal - even if that end goal is stealing the moon by first stealing a shrink ray.

2. Celebrate Success Together & Give Credit

The word 'we' is used often - never 'me'. We stole the Times Square Jumbotron. We have had a great year. We will have a party. Great success calls for celebration, goals and rewards are shared at all levels.

3. Never Stop Employees Having Fun

The minions cannot help but enjoy their work - naturally mischievous, they find things to enjoy even during the most mundane of tasks. Simple pleasures cause laughter and everyones day passes faster because of it. The goals are achieved, but their enjoyment of life is not seen as an inhibitor to success - but rather a sign of a highly integrated, functional team.

4. Be Appreciative Of Failed Innovation

It is unlikely that one of your staff is going to present you with a fart gun today, but if they did would you be impressed with their innovation, or furious at them for not focusing on the task at hand? 

In the movie, a simple misunderstanding about a dart gun requirement produces an unexpected result  - but lessons are learned, and it eventually becomes useful. 

Most importantly, failure is appreciated as a learning experience.

5. Ensure Adequate Staffing

There are no shortage of hands to help complete the work. In fact having a few extra bodies helps a great deal when things start to go wrong - and that excess of resource allows for new creations. 

Extra resource ensures a high quality of work and confidence that the job can get done. When too many minions go missing in the second movie, all kinds of disasters occur and everything starts to go wrong.

6. Really Delegate Responsibility

Gru cannot do it all. He is clearly the leader, but together with a highly skilled middle manager (Dr. Nefario) - he hands out clear tasks and steps back. 

He is never guilty of micro-managing and only comes to help when it becomes apparent that he can provide resource, advice or clarification to ensure success. His door is always open, and if no-one comes to visit, he takes the time to go and see what's happening.

7. Listen To Concerns And Take Action

When minions notice things going wrong - the departure of a respected manager, a reduction in staff, missing children and so on - Gru takes notice. He doesn't spend time questioning motive or accusing them of wasting his time. 

As a consequence, lines of communication remain open and problems are not hidden from senior management.

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If you follow these steps, not only will your own employees become more engaged, they will be more productive, your business will be more profitable, and everyone will be happy....

(now turn up your speakers and play this clip)

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Do We Really Value Others?

A week after the CIPD Question Time event on the future of work, one of the things discussed is still playing on my mind.

There was complete agreement from the panel that the focus on University education was screwing up the country, and that past and present decisions by various governments had brought about some unintended consequences (more on that later).

In particular the perceived value of trades has been greatly diminished - as Lembit Opik remarked "We need to rehabilitate the idea of trades as valid professions". 

An almost maniacal focus on increasing the percentage of teenagers that go to university has left little focus for manual skills in other areas. 

Almost 50% of school leavers are presently attempting to gain degree level education, despite the fact that (according to this mornings quarterly labour force survey) the UK has 424,000 graduates under the age of 25 in non-graduate work.

The original target was a nice, clear goal for government to set - but now plumbing, carpentry, building, mechanical and other trade skills are seen as somehow 'lesser' options in the UK - and then we complain about economic migrants 'stealing our jobs' in these areas.

Madness. 

This morning the government announced a £2000 tax break if both partners are in employment. 

Those that choose to give up work to look after their children have been overlooked by successive governments, and this announcement reinforces it - otherwise their tax free allowance would move to their partner. 

This is the latest in a long line of policies designed to reduce 'unemployment' by increasing the number of mums returning to full  time work.

The most undervalued part of British society right now are the stay at home mums. Which leads to the general perception that those that stay at home to raise children are less valuable to society. 

My Wife gave up a senior management role at a London graphic design agency fifteen years ago to look after our four children and support me at work. I can categorically say she works harder than me, for longer hours, for less thanks and provides a heck of a lot more value. 

But that's increasingly seen as a 'lifestyle' choice that's no longer as appreciated as it once was - and 'Mum' is no longer seen as valid role.

Madness.

Now - those unintended consequences .....

After the event (held at Kings University College) I was talking to one of the lecturers present - and expressed my view that University places should be free for all. I would not have driven myself into debt to go when I was 18 - and believe that money should never be a barrier to education. 

(I'm also happy to be taxed more to provide better education for those who will be part of my welfare in old age)

The lecturer agreed, but for different reasons. She sees an 'entitlement' culture emerging from students - who now feel that they are paying for their degree and deserve it, no matter how little effort they put in, or what their level of aptitude and intellect. 

Coupled with increasingly measured and socially open methods of lecturer 'judgement' where students evaluate staff internally and post external online reviews of their abilities - the educational system is in danger of suffering irreparable damage.

Simply put, students are increasingly empowered to bully their way to a degree, given that they believe that have bought it already.

Sadly though, the idea of 'degrees for all' has meant that the old system was financially unsupportable and funding was needed - the only way of fixing the problem would be to reduce the number of places at University to the point where the taxpayer could fund all. 

Which would promote competition for those places left and let only the brightest, most apt and hardest working gain success at Univeristy (just like the workplace).

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Society doesn't function if all parts are not valued. Neither do companies. It's important to remember that we all have our role to play, and appreciate efforts of everyone around us.

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Never Make Acronyms From Core Values

Acronyms, don't you just love them? 

No.

Whilst some have slipped into common use (TV, PC, DNA) - and even more have become part of a new mobile language (LOL, LMAO, IMHO), they should never, ever be used for your core values.

Here are some reasons why it's a terrible idea....

• If you need an acronym to remember your values, then your values suck.
• If someone created an acronym, they probably had to change the words or add some new ones to make them fit, which messed them up.
• It speaks more of care for 'image and marketing' than for honest, straightforward common sense.
• It won't translate to other languages well, and therefore screw up your international efforts.

A few months ago I wrote a blog on defining core values the cowboy way - the values created at the end of that article were:

1. Speak the truth

2. Do the right thing

3. Respect others

Let's imagine for a moment that instead of capturing things properly, somebody decided that an acronym was needed. Looking at the above, perhaps the word 'Steer' could be used - and we could make a good logo out of it too...

 Speak the truth

Taking other peoples stuff is wrong

Elders come first

Everyone eat steak

Respect others

We've kept to the content of our employee voice capture, but in essence we've created something that looks a little better, but is clearly full of crap - which is something we know Cowboy Inc. likes to avoid.

If you want to make it worse, then define your value acronym against the current company tag line - then employees will be absolutely sure to see it as a marketing exercise.

If you have acronym-based values (and many do), then I hope this doesn't offend. In the unlikely event that they work well, and the behaviours that underwrite them drive better business then you should be proud to be in the minority.

If not, it's time to make some changes.

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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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Lego Movie Culture Lessons

I love Lego, so the fact that we enjoyed the movie so much was hardly a shock. Although one of the occupational hazards of working with organisational culture is looking at how things could be improved or replicated (even in fictional worlds)......

In the opening scene of the film we are introduced to the bad guy, Lord Business, who divides the all the Lego worlds and locks them away for eight and a half years.

President (Lord) Business wants to glue everything down, stop it moving, make it perfect and prevent changes and chaos. He even creates micro-managers and robots to help him restore order and process. 

He makes himself bigger before meetings, shouts a lot, doesn't listen, sends his chair kicking minion to terrorise the protagonists, and misunderstands things (especially new stuff he hasn't encountered before).

Then near the end of the movie, we see the the 'real world view' as Dad marches down into the basement to prevent his son playing with the perfect Lego models. He stops him creating new models, acting out new stories and building more fun. He wants his perfect models in their perfect dioramas to remain untouched and unchanged forever.

(I would add that I've come close to gluing some models together in the past, just to stop the kids breaking them. I received several jabs in the ribs from my Wife during the film).

What happens when Dad finally looks at the work he hasn't micromanaged? He sees some pretty impressive stuff - much more exciting than the original designs. 

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Hmmmmm

I've seen managers (and entire companies) with the same problems.

The bad guy eventually fails because of the overwhelming passion of the heroes to make things different. No amount of chair kicking, glue spraying, control freak megalomania stops the inevitable march of progress.

Sometimes we all need to face up to the fact that the people you manage (or parent in this case) know more than you do, and getting them engaged will create the innovation you need to succeed and grow.

In the real world Lego already know this - they set the gold standard for engagement with their Japanese partner CUUSOO (which charmingly translates to 'wish something into existence'). 

When enough people vote for a community model, then Lego make it. Add this to their incredible design and marketing team and you find huge levels of constructive competition keeping a largely unchanged concept from 1958 at the leading edge of the toy market.

So please, take some advice.

If you only do one thing today, then listen to someones idea. Listen properly. Don't interrupt, thank them when they're done, then engage in some dialogue with them about it.

Everyone at your company has good ideas. Some of them may improve process, some may lead to new products. One of them is likely to be the thing that sets you apart from your competition and lets you retire early.

It's a good idea to build an engaged, healthy culture in your company if you want to survive. Doing that starts with you, and it starts today.

PS Don't kick chairs around. This happens a lot in the movie, and a lot in real life too (trust me on this, I've seen it happen, and I've seen it many, many times in employee surveys). It makes you look like an ass and undermines your authority. If you have to throw your toys out of the pram to get your message across you need to work on your dialogue skills.

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Changing A Culture Of Avoidance

I've been noticing an increasing trend of issue avoidance at some of the companies I work with. Not just an inability to discuss the elephant in the room - but a genuine fear of confrontation that we are having to spend way too much time fixing.

Although more prevalent at lower levels of management, on the executive floor it often manifests as passive non-compliance (where people say "yes" and then don't actually do what they have committed too, instead choosing to pursue their own agendas). This then spreads through the ranks.

I was fortunate enough to attend a dinner with Professor Adrian Furnham last week, a hugely insightful (and entertaining) speaker, author, columnist for the Sunday Times - and he had some observations about the root causes.

Adrian made the general observation that modern western culture no longer sees feedback as a positive thing. In fact, the opposite is true - feedback (unless wholly positive) is seen as criticism. When suggestions are made, they are often not seen as routes to improvement, but rather a criticism of the work already done.

So I've been experimenting on my Wife and children (which is safer than experimenting on clients, and has the advantage of being free, fun and hugely entertaining)

On valentines day, my Wife and I went out for a nice breakfast to a newly opened cafe. She'd been there a few weeks ago with some friends for coffee, and wanted to introduce me to the place. 

After we'd placed our order I pointed out that some minor changes would greatly improve the place - some gentle music to create atmosphere, a wi-fi hotspot to encourage more passing business, a couple of additions to the menu and a few more comfortable chairs.

This was definitely received as criticism rather than feedback.

I know that starting the sentence with "This coffee is great, and I love that oak breakfast bar, although you know what would make this place even better........" would have changed that perception - but it shouldn't really be necessary.

Same thing with my children. Homework on the space program for my 12 year old son, I suggest some additions (to what is already  fabulous piece of work), and it can easily cause friction. Suggest another way of looking at fractions for my 9 year old daughter - easy to 'mis-phrase' the comment.

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There are two methods of dealing with this issue in the workplace. Firstly you can teach everyone to interact with each other (at a conversational level) in a more constructive fashion. Your best people will already be doing that, those social skills and the ability to have difficult conversations effectively are one of the key defining traits for highly successful people. 

Or you can build a better culture in your organisation. One where those in your organisation hear things differently. Where people assume positive intent, where suggestions made are perceived as opportunities to improve, where people start to listen to others and react positively to criticism.

After all, people don't come into work to spread dissent and make others miserable. It's all too easy to blame the dialogue skills of others for their failure to communicate effectively - but it is equally your responsibility to hear positivity and suggestions, rather than negativity and criticism.

So I would encourage you to try it for a week, no matter what you hear, see it as an opportunity to improve - how hard can it be?

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Keep Your Children Away From Twitter

This blog is a little off topic for me - but back in May last year I wrote an article on parental controls that is still getting plenty of attention, and I wanted to share a recent experience.

I consider myself to be well versed in tech and social media, I've been working with computers since I was nine years old, and worked in the technology industry most of my life. With four children it pays to keep up with what's going on in the world. But a few weeks ago, I learned something very new.

Twitter is the new home of easily accessible hard core porn for all.

It really is - if you need a hooker, stripper or dominatrix this evening - just take a look. Feel in the need for some hardcore sexual imagery? - It's only a click away, living side by side with all the business and celebrity chatter.

I couldn't have been more surprised if I'd seen One Direction smoking pot at the top of my LinkedIn headlines.

So please, please, please be aware of this before allowing your kids to use Twitter. They may not want to (my children think that Facebook is something old people do) - but be aware that access to Twitter is access to interactive pornography.

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Brief back story......

I came upon this enlightening discovery while trying to help a friend who was being bullied online. This is a fellow parent I might add, not some naive teenager.

The abuse started out when somebody opened a fake Facebook account, then started hurling insults her way. They then tried to friend people she knew and draw their attention too the abuse. 

This became more and more personal and abusive, before turning into a game of virtual stalking and the posting of pornographic imagery with further lewd commentary. Then pictures started to show of her up taken at various locations nearby. 

Creepy, weird and sick.

Facebook (to their credit) allow you to report this kind of thing easily, just right click on any image - and after three complaints have now shut down the account. It took them only a few hours to respond each time.

But before he left Facebook, the abuser started a Twitter account, and shared his Twitter name. 

He then set about adding the same kind of imagery, abuse and offensive behaviour - and started to follow a number of accounts whose prostitution or pornography business is clearly very much at home in Twitters ecosystem. 

Then he starting to use the names of my friends employer and professional contacts in his abusive tweets, drawing attention to his newly posted (faked) nude pictures of her.

Twitter say that this is all perfectly OK, and allowed - freedom is their mantra. 

Multiple complaints received no reply - and it was only when my friend approached her employer about it (who have a large advertising contract with Twitter) that the offending account was removed.

I love Twitter - I really do, and enjoy using it to learn from others, keep in touch with friends and follow the antics of a few celebrities I admire. But I do wonder how many businesses know about the dark underbelly......and how that might affect advertising revenue in the future.

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