KaizenBiz A New Home for KaizenBlog

Featured

Posted on February 21, 2012 by Elli

KaizenBiz…developing people and business ideas

#Kaizenbiz is our new name but many of you will know us from the Twitter chat #KaizenBlog. Our new home is kaizenbiz.com for both the chat and our community. This seems to fit us better and represents the focus of our discussions. We are still creating our site and more content will be coming soon.

Kaizen is the Japanese concept that means continuous and incremental improvement. We use this concept on a weekly Twitter Chat #KaizenBiz to frame our discussions on various aspects of business. We have been growing a strong community and it needed a larger home – so here we are, new and improved.

Your host, Elli St. George-Godfrey, @3KeysCoach on Twitter, you can learn more about Elli at www.AbilitySuccessGrowth.com.

How Marketing Frames Perception

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Elli St. George-Godfrey

TED talks are fascinating moments of ideas. The speakers often pull ideas from different disciplines to present their findings or a theory about the world. In a recent TEDxAthens talk, Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Olgivy Group, presented his thoughts about how “Perspective is Everything“. His basic thesis is that our perspective, how we see things, is much more important the reality of our lives. He goes on to say that when we feel a sense of control, this perception really determines how we see reality. The facts don’t change, our experience of the facts predominates.

“The power of reframing things cannot be overstated.”

Reframing is the practice of taking the experience of a situation and changing the description so it feels different. For example, you might experience buying a new laptop as expensive but change the experience so it feels like an investment.

Marketing is often about telling a story in a particular way to reframe the specific product so it seems more appealing than its competitors. A great example is Febreze, a household odor eliminator. In their most recent US marketing campaign, they create a situation where people tell the story of what they’re experiencing until the blindfold comes off.

We are led to believe that the people think they are experiencing someplace lovely. The intent is that we become impressed with the product’s ability to mask and/or eliminate foul odors. While there are other products that do also mask or eliminate odors, marketers want us to have a psychological shift here.

“Hidden shallows”

In Sutherland’s talk, he reminds us that our perceptions frame our interpretation of reality. He says, “Impressions have an insane effect on what we say and what we do.” This seems in synch with Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Blink in which he proposes that we make judgements in a very rapid fashion. So, are we really operating off of our cognitive biases? (Cognitive biases are distorted thinking patterns that cause perceptual distortions, inaccurate judgements or other irrationality.)

Marketing and the message

If perception is how we make decisions to a new product or continue our consumer relationship with a particular company, marketers have to understand where psychology and economics intersect. Cause marketing is one way that a for-profit company can introduce the perception that its products and/or services are better, It goes beyond “I just bought a widget.” The reframe the customer has now is the feeling that they are getting something more. They not only bought a great widget but they did some good in the world. They perceive that they have created some change in the world by using their money to buy that particular widget. Some will even pay a premium because of their perception that their money is doing humanitarian work.

“Perception is leaky”

Sutherland’s point about leaky perceptions is that we cannot tell the difference between the quality of the item and our environment. The perception of Apple products is that having an iPhone or iPad or any of their other products makes us hip, innovative and tech-savvy. It makes us part of a club, so to speak. There are things about their products that do not work well but somehow that is less important. The way they have marketed their products reinforces this perception. If you have SIRI, you can talk to your phone about the weather, food, music or your to-do list and your phone talks back to you. With the iPad, you can present on-the-go to your clients with all kinds of amazing applications that provide a “wow” factor.

It could be chicken and egg

We recognize the facts of a situation but we add our psychological twist to them. That iswhere the reframe comes in. Reframes are not always inaccurate. They can help us understand our circumstances or mislead us. Marketing has used this behavior to guide our reframes for years.

How is marketing really changing reality?

Do companies who do cause marketing understand the intersection between psychology and economics?

When reality and perception are completely asynchronous, how can a company connect with its customer?

Is Mark Zuckerberg Changing How Companies Are Controlled?

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Elli St. George-Godfrey

You might like or hate Facebook and it seems unlikely that Facebook could be any more ubiquitous but there you have it. The IPO is imminent and huge. A particularly interesting detail is how Zuckerberg has positioned himself to maintain the majority control over Facebook.

Could Zuckerberg be on to something here?

Public companies usually have the CEO, the executive team and the board of directors looking out for the shareholders. While customers are providing the revenue, it is the shareholders who tend to get preferred treatment. Generally, the CEO is appointed by the board so he or she may have to obtain approval for some decisions. Overall, CEO’s are the major decision makers and consequently hold a lot of power.

But what is different here is how Mark Zuckerberg holds the lion’s share and thus, a lot more power than is usual in public companies. According to an article by Matthew Yglesias on Slate, Zuckerberg has a work-around so that he will end up with 57% of the voting rights due to ownership of Class A and of Class B stock that becomes Class A when sold. Yglesias explains that when Zuckerberg’s partners cash out, he adds this to the stock he already owns. This is how he ends up with 57% and majority control.

Maybe Zuckerberg isn’t that unusual?

Other companies like Ford Motor Company and Google do something similar. Split shares are used so that founders and/or family members can maintain ownership and the power to steer the company in their preferred direction with minimal interference. In fact, Google just announced its stock split in April of 2012 (at the time of this post,

The other key factor is that Facebook will be considered a “controlled company” with exemptions. This structure enables Zuckerberg to have the leeway to do things like have Facebook acquire Instagram without a lot of checks and balances.

A need to be nimble

There are lots of things that can be said about founders of startups. Zuckerberg fits in with his high level of confidence and a vision of how Facebook can change the world. But Google’s recent announcement of creating split shares adds an interesting angle to the way Facebook will be owned. In a letter published by the Business Insider, Larry Page and Sergey Brin wrote,

.”..after careful consideration with our board of directors, we have decided that maintaining this founder-led approach is in the best interests of Google, our shareholders and our users. Having the flexibility to use stock without diluting our structure will help ensure we are set up for success for decades to come.”

It seems that Zuckerberg might be thinking along the same lines. If he has control over how decisions are made, this keeps Facebook able to respond to trends and changes.

Is Zuckerberg on the vanguard of how founders transition into CEO’s of a publicly traded company? Why or why not?

How could the marketplace be so volatile that so much agility is required to stay competitive?

Is this practice is not so unusual, why is there so much attention being paid to Zuckerberg’s majority ownership?

*Photo credit: Steve Miller

Passion and Adversity

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Elli St. George-Godfrey

Frederique Murphy

Overcoming adversity lies in using keys derived from beliefs to passion.

Once we accept and take the responsibility that we are capable, we reach a place of empowerment. We can leverage these adverse events positively and move forward with our life, and our work.

The Turning Points project

About a year ago, Kate Cobb, approached Frederique Murphy about her Turning Points book project, and Frederique became one of the authors. As Kate says:

Kate Cobb

“When things go wrong and we reach rock bottom, we have a choice: to stay in the depths of despair, or to stop, take stock and turn our lives around. These dark moments are our Turning Points.”

Turning Points, #1 Amazon Best Seller Book, was not about writing about these dark moments at all. The authors focused on sharing what they have learned and inspiring, and helping other people overcome their adversity.

Your mindset is critical

While there are no standard reactions, there are strategies, attitudes, and behaviours that can be modelled to help us overcome the adversity we face in our life, and our work.

The first key is your language

One of the mindset keys is to transform these adverse events into turning points. Take a look at these 2 sentences:

That was such an adversity in my life.

That was such a turning point in my life.

What do you see?

As you notice how the juxtaposition of the two statements feel, you are referring to the same event. The circumstances have not changed but everything has changed.

This is where your power and control lies; as Frederique says:

“Yes, some events are out of your control, but, you can, at 100%, control your reactions to that event, and letting “it” impacts you, is your choice. The adverse event (or events) does not have power over you, unless, you let it have power over you.”

The second key comes from your beliefs

Frederique explains that “Your beliefs are like a pair of glasses you use to view the world.” Each and every one of us have a series of beliefs. Some are empowering. Some are not. Our beliefs can help, or limit us , in our work and our lives. The actual words we use reveal our beliefs and help in overcoming adversity. When a crisis happens, we might ask “Why me?” — a very disempowering question. Changing it to “Yes me!” is, based on the fact that the adverse event is shaping you into the person you will be tomorrow. Both of these distinctions are new perspectives.

The third key is learning

Another key is to take stock and draw a list of lessons learned. This process — very often used in large organisations, is tremendously helpful in our own life too, as it enables you to take strength from these events.

Fourth Key: Passion!

Passion is a real driver. When things go wrong, and we need to dig deep, connecting with our passion gives us that oomph to carry us forward.

What does it mean to leverage adversity so it becomes beneficial?

Adversity can come from anywhere and then affect our work. How do we use work as a panacea?

What do we learn about ourselves through our work that illuminates our personal power?

How could our personal power teach us about our work?

How could an organisation learn from adversity?

About our guests:

Meet our international guests, from Ireland and the UK with a French touch!!!

Kate Cobb and Frederique Murphy, bestseller authors of Turning Points

Frederique Murphy (Ireland) is a business mindset strategist, who believes in guiding her clients through unforgettable journeys towards their own true wealth, with amazing breakthroughs, empowering transformation, fantastic implementation, and outstanding results. Thanks to her Mountain Moving Mindset (M³) platform, Frederique empowers business owners, entrepreneurs, and corporate executives to master their mindset, so that they can move mountains and bring their life, business, and organisation, to a whole new level!

Turning Points is available on Amazon, or if you’d like your copy to be personalised by Frederique, then visit her site directly!

Kate Cobb (UK, living in France) is a coach and business writer who supports entrepreneurs enhance their business message by providing the written word they can’t or don’t want to for themselves. Through her Freedom from Writing consultancy she can live her passion for writing which began with her first book 20 years ago and was brought up to date with the publication of Turning Points last year.

Please join us on Friday, May 4, 2012 at 5pm BST/12pm ET/9am PT for the Twitter chat, #KaizenBiz. You can access the chat by using TweetChat or TweetGrid (unless you already use TweetDeck).

How Are Businesses Responding to the Global Economy?

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Elli St. George-Godfrey

An idea has been running through my mind over the last few months. What if businesses decide to step outside of the global economy? With the UK slipping into recession, the onging Eurozone crisis and Asia slowing down, it would seem that things are not looking well at all. And it doesn’t look like it is going to change much over the next 10 years if the forecast in the Global Outlook 2012 is accurate.

But is that the whole story?

If you look at specific economies, you start seeing that there is some positive growth. Within the Eurozone, Ireland is starting to show consistent growth and Germany remains strong. Despite the slowdown, Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia are growing. Chile’s economy is growing and the US economy is showing some modest growth of its own. And there is some very interesting stuff happening in Nigeria.

Are these examples of businesses “stepping out” of the global economy?

It may be more of a mindset or an unwillingness to wait and see if the economy is going to go back to “normal.” Perhaps there is some kind of recognition that things are not going to revert to how things were 4 years ago. Beyond regions of the world and specific economies there are some interesting trends:

Collaborative consumption- In a previous #KaizenBiz (it was #kaizenblog at the tiem) we had Nick Allen of Spring Ventures as our guest on this topic. ZipCar, AirBNB, Craigslist and bartering networks are finding success as they are connecting with customers who want use of goods or services when they need or want it without the responsibility or cost of ownership. This can be seen by businesses who rent equipment or have a virtual office for cost-cutting, personnel or other reasons.

Digitization of manufacturing-There is an interesting post on The Economist explaining how manufacturing is experiencing a revolution. Additive manufacturing includes using 3D printers to create moulds, lighter and resilient new materials, more robotics and online collaborative manufacturing services. Not only will larger manufacturing companies take advantage of this but also smaller companies will be able to compete effectively.

Collaborative relationships a la “Co-opetition”- Even though Brandenburger and Nalebuff’s book has been out for years, their point about changing the game has not gotten old. With cloud computing, social media and other technology tools, there are large and small companies engaging in short and long term relationships to achieve profitable success. There are a number of corporations partnering with universities to create incubators resulting in thriving companies. There are all kinds of collaborative relationships of a smaller nature between peers in networking groups.

What is so different about this economic turbulence compared to past recessions?

How do emerging economies fit into the overall global economy?

How would you describe how businesses are responding to the global economy?

Which sectors do you think are positioned to succeed in today’s business environment?

This Week’s Chat Plays With Nick Kellet and Gamification

Posted on April 19, 2012 by Elli St. George-Godfrey

Since I’m always looking for interesting business topics and even more interesting guests, I was intrigued when Caroline Di Diego and Brandie McCallum recommended Nick Kellet. Nick brings such energy and enthusiasm to what he does!

Gamification is popping up everywhere

After noticing so many references to gamification in marketing and encouraging productivity, it seemed only natural to bring the topic to the Twitter chat, #KaizenBiz. Basically, gamification is the application of game design and game techniques to non-game situations. But gamification is so much more.

Our guest, Nick Kellet

Some people are familiar with Nick’s new venture, List.ly which he co-founded with Shyam Subramanyan. It is a site that lists questions and answers to a variety of topics and groups. (You can see an example here which Kaizen Biz sponsors) Did you know that Nick created a game also?

He describes himself as “inventor of GiftTRAP, Co-Founder at Listly. Former VP, New Markets at Business Objects, Founder of Next Action Technology, creator of AnswerSets, British-born, Canadian-adopted family-guy”. You can learn more about him on his website.

Gamification really made a difference in his work and his life

While creating GiftTRAP, he got to explore game design and discovered there is so much more. Read his framing post and get ready for a lively conversation!

Discussion questions:

How do you describe gamification?
What kinds of engagement between people does gamification encourage?
How is game design similar to designing a startup/business venture?
If the best game designs rely on story to help engagement, what role does storytelling play in creating a business?
How would you know a team/staff has an appreciation for game?
Where would gamification make a difference to the momentum/growth of a startup/business?

Please join us on Friday, April 20, 2012 at 5pm BST/12pm ET/9am PT for the Twitter chat, #KaizenBiz. You can access the chat by using TweetChat or TweetGrid (unless you already use TweetDeck).

Design Thinking-What It Can Be Is Not Necessarily What It Should Be

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Elli St. George-Godfrey

* This post is by guest blogger, Jose Baldaia, psychologist and consultant in Organizational Behavior and Innovation. He works with small to medium sized enterprises focusing on Open Innovation and Design Thinking. Please join us to explore Design Thinking with Jose Baldaia this Friday at 12pm ET/5pm GMT/9am PT on the Twitter chat, #KaizenBiz

What it can be is not necessarily what it should be! We do not have to choose always between …We can create new!

We live in a transitional phase between an old “business world”, traditional and corporate, and a “new world” with a people-centric approach to create new things and with value through interdisciplinary teams and collaborative processes.

There is, on the part of some people, a purpose of convergence of these two worlds, which basically can mean a new model created with the relevant points of each one and where empathy takes on a key role.

This new model requires a different mindset

Design Thinking is a mindset that allows forms of collaboration in interdisciplinary teams producing amazing results. Teams with this mindset exhibit empathy, movement, suppleness and evolution.

Design thinking is a way to do something in a dimension that represents a new learning experience for everyone, especially for business people. It is a fact that cannot be ignored or minimized is that they have a lot to give back with their experience.

However, many of these business people fear failure, have aversion to unpredictability or uncertainty and have a major concern with their status.

Design thinking requires a different attitude

That is, go beyond the case studies or exchanges of good practices. Business cannot be happy with the simple transfer of a solution from one company to another. We can’t think only in case studies or implementation of best practices. Every business needs unique solutions and not adaptations of other companies’ solutions.

Roger Martin on “The Design of Business,” says that, in order to become design thinkers, we must develop:

posture-our perspective of the world and our role in it
tools-the models we use to organize our world and our thoughts
experiences-what has built and developed our skills and sensibilities

Then, the fundamental question that a design thinker asks is:

“Does this helps me to get where I need to go”?

To answer this question, it is important to not forget that design thinking places three fundamental issues that are raised for the development of our projects:

Is it this desirable?

Is it technically feasible?

Is it economically viable?

Challenging the status quo

Design Thinking goes further challenging the status quo because design thinkers can resolve finer problems through integrative thinking in collaboration using the logic of abduction. The logic of abduction is the logic of what can be and not what should be or what it is.

We can see that after inspiration and ideation comes a third space of design thinking process that is implementation. At the heart of the implementation process is prototyping which transforms ideas into products and services that will then be tested, placed in interaction and refined. Think of interaction as a way of framing the relationship between people and the objects designed for them.

Prototypes lead to discovery

Through prototypes, the design thinking process seeks to discover unforeseen implementation challenges and unintended consequences in order to obtain more reliable results of long-term success. Prototyping can validate a component of an electronic device or a detail in the interaction between a transmitter (the business and/or product) and a receptor (customer/user).

After the completion of the process of prototyping or the final product or service is created, a team using design thinking helps to create a communication strategy.

Storytelling is a part of this communication strategy

Storytelling helps communicate the solution to a diverse set of entities related to the process, both inside and outside the Organization, especially when there are language or cultural barriers.

Design thinking can be applied to all aspects of a business system (i.e. the cost of structure, the selection of partners or the competitive strategy, etc.). But perhaps there are gaps, for its greater visibility, to establish a common language and mutual understanding between business and Design Thinking.

Design thinking requires empathy with users. Does it prejudice or undermine the competitiveness of businesses?

How is it wrong to try to strike a balance between analysis and intuition?

Design thinking seeks the meaning of things! What affect does this have on business?

How do you include thinking of customer needs rather than focus exclusively on the interests of shareholders?

Why do companies usually reject learning from failure?

About the author: Jose Baldaia is a psychologist and consultant of Organizational Behavior and Innovation based in Portugal. In describing his work, he explains, “I try to develop activities based on what I believe and I like as it is the case of Design Thinking.”

Can Anyone Innovate?

Posted on April 3, 2012 by Elli St. George-Godfrey

* This post is by guest blogger, Art Markman, PhD, professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas at Austin, and director of the program in the Human Dimensions of Organizations as well as author of Smart Thinking: Three Essential Keys is our guest on this week’s Twitter chat, #KaizenBiz. Art explores thinking and has a passion for bringing cognitive science to everyone. Please join us to explore “Can Anyone Innovate” this Friday at 12pm ET/5pm GMT/9am PT on the Twitter chat, #KaizenBiz

The world economy is slowly trying to pull itself out of the doldrums, and as a result companies are trying to do more with less. In these difficult times, innovation continues to be the path that many companies are trying to take to get them back on the road to success.

Of course, not every company innovates successfully. And, we hold the great innovators in high regard. Indeed, the death of Steve Jobs last year was deeply felt in large part because of his successful role driving innovation at Apple computer.

So, can anyone be an innovator, or is innovation the gift of a rarified few who are destined to change their industries?

The answer to this question is both happy and sad.

The happy news is that anyone can be an innovator. The sad news is that most people are not prepared to take on that role.

One of the great advertising tag lines that Apple computer used was “Think Different.” They populated those ads with pictures of influential people. The implication was that these people somehow thought about the world in a fundamentally different way than the rest of us.

In fact, the great innovators of the world have the same brains as the rest of us.

They have two qualities that separate them from the rest of us. They know a lot and they are able to find the essences of problems.

Innovators are people who have learned a lot about the way the world works. They have what psychologists call causal knowledge, which is the knowledge you use to answer the question “why?” This knowledge is crucial, because when you get stuck trying to solve a new problem, the solutions you know already will not help you. Instead, you need to be able to understand the factors that caused the problem in order to be able to unravel it.

The difficulty with innovation, though, is that the solution to your problem often comes from a different domain of knowledge from the one you are focused on. Apple focused on the user rather than the technology. Speedo developed the Fastskin swimsuit by thinking about sharks rather than human swimmers. James Dyson created his famous vacuum by thinking about sawmills rather than home cleaning.

In order to be able to draw knowledge from one domain to another, you have to be able to find a good analogy to the problem you are solving. If you feel like you have gotten stuck while solving a problem, then that means that the problem is not currently reminding you of anything you know about that can help you to solve the problem. The way your memory works is that it provides you with information that is related to the way you are currently thinking about the problem, so when you get stuck, you need to change the way you are describing the problem. Each new description will help to bring new information to mind.

The ideal way to describe a problem is to find its essence. That is, to try to move past the surface properties of the problem and to figure out what is really at stake. The best way to see what I mean by an essence is to think about proverbs. A proverb like “You can’t judge a book by its cover” looks like it is about books and covers. The essence of the proverb is its deeper meaning that the surface properties of any object are not a good reflection of its inner value. If you practice finding the essences of proverbs, it will help you to develop the habit to find the essence of problems you are solving as well.

That is the happy part. Anyone can be an innovator.

The sad news is that most people will not be innovators. The key barrier to being a great innovator is knowledge. To innovate successfully, you have to learn a lot about the way the world works in general—not just in your main area of expertise. Steve Jobs did not know that knowledge about calligraphy would come in handy when thinking about computer design. James Dyson did not know that an understanding of sawmills would be crucial to the development of a new vacuum. Yet, they learned about these topics anyhow. And then this knowledge was available when they needed it.

The people who are most likely to innovate are going to be the ones who have learned a lot about the way the world works. Anyone can get on the road to innovation by being open to learning new things. But, those people who have spent their lives acquiring knowledge will be ahead of the game. If you are looking to innovate in a hurry, you need to find those people.

Questions:

What keeps people from learning the causal knowledge they need to innovate?

How can a company agree on the essence of the problems it wants to solve?

What are the qualities that make someone learn about the way the world works?

Are there other barriers to innovation?

About the author: Art Markman, PhD is a professor of psychology and marketing at the University of Texas at Austin, and director of the program in the Human Dimensions of Organizations. His latest book is called Smart Thinking: Three essential keys to solve problems, innovate, and get things done.

Work/Life Balance – Myth or Something Else

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Elli St. George-Godfrey

During last week’s chat, we discussed emerging workplace trends. But what is really underneath the desire to telecommute, inclusive workplaces or even how the space is designed? From the employee’s perspective and probably even the individual executive’s perspective, these trends are happening because people are want their work and life to be more fulfilling..

What is work/life balance supposed to be anyway?

Most people believe that it is a fairly even split in how you devote your time to work and to the rest of your life. There is a sense of achievement and satisfaction in how you structure your days leading to excellent health and well-being.

The reality is that we are at work for the majority of our days and have to fit in the rest of our lives around our work schedule. There is generally very little balance unless you are very lucky or independently wealthy.

A teeter-totter or woven fabric

With the Eurozone crisis continuing and other economies not recovering as we had hoped, there is apprehension and pressure to do more work with less resources. If people are doing this work, does work/life balance exist? Scott Eblin doesn’t believe in it. He writes:

By seeking a rhythm, you acknowledge there are times when the pace is much more oriented to work and there are the times when the counterpoints of the other aspects of your life come to the fore….Instead, you recognize all of the factors that come together to create the rhythm of your life – your life at work, your life at home, your life in your community. You identify and act on the simple routines that support the outcomes you’re looking for in those three arenas of life. They’re the routines that keep you physically strong, mentally acute, relationally healthy and spiritually grounded.”

It is unlikely that people in the workplace are able to balance their days so each segment of their lives gets attention. The teeter-totter model may be creating a ideal that simply cannot be real life. The model of developing a rhythm between work and life might be more realistic. However, there is still the question of whether we’re developing a culture that denies workers at all levels an existence beyond work.

Are we really expecting everyone to just work 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

Now it has been going on for years that people carry their laptops, smartphones and tablets so they can instantly be connected to their office. There is this belief that if you unplug from your workplace, it will be interpreted as slacking. If you are in a lower-level position and want to take time off from work for a family event or an appointment, you risk being passed over for promotions or fired. Does anyone else think this might be insanity?

Maybe it’s hard to feel sorry for C-level executives when they complain about the amount of pressure that they endure. On the other hand, how did companies exist and thrive before we had all this technology that allows us to be “in the office” no matter what? In a recent Reuters article, it featured Oscar Gomez Barbero, chief technology office at Prisa, a Spanish and Portuguese-language business group in the fields of education, information and entertainment and he seems to exemplify the notion that once you’re in the c-suite, your time is no longer your own. You must respond to your organization any time.

Is work/life balance becoming a myth?

Maybe the emerging workplace trends do point to a rhythm or an integration of work and non-work activities. Yet, with all of the technology that connects us, there is a creeping sensation that everyone (not just upper-level executives and business owners) has to be connected more to their workplace and less to other parts of their lives. There seems to be a mythology that if we could add something or let go of something, we could feel the balance. It could very well be that we understand more clearly that work/life balance cannot exist and we’re seeking an alternative way to work and live.

How do you understand work/life balance?

How do the emerging workplace trends support work and life being more integrated?

What kind of culture is being developed globally that allows work to creep into non-working time?

What are the potential ramifications of this workplace culture?

Do we need a new concept that describes how our working lives and our non-working lives can bring satisfaction, fulfillment and achievement?

*Join us this Friday on the Twitter chat, #KaizenBiz as we discuss this topic. The conversation begins at 5pm BST/12pm ET/9am PT

How Is the Workplace Really Changing?

Posted on March 22, 2012 by Elli St. George-Godfrey

Earlier this week, I was going through the various online news outlets that I subscribe to when one item caught my eye. Business & Leadership reported that in a survey commissioned by Microsoft and conducted by Vanson Bourne three-quarters of the Irish businesses surveyed are open to a flexible workplace. This seems to be reflected in employees’ desires to telecommute.

But it’s more than just telecommuting

In the workplace, there are mutiple generations, the effects of the greater global recovering economy and rapid changes in technology both creating obstacles and opportunities. In Sodexo’s 2012 Workplace Trends Report, they listed the top 10 workplace trends discovered in their research.

1. Integration of workplace solutions: creating higher value

2. Workplaces that promote sustainability

3. Inclusive workplaces

4. Rewards and recognitions

5. Virtual workforces

6. The built environment as driver of employee engagement

7. Evidenced-based Space Design

8. Quantifiable employee health and wellness initiatives

9. Psychological health in the workplace

10. Flexible workplaces

Is there a quiet revolution happening or are the companies surveyed outliers?

Since the most basic element of a business is to meet the business goals, it is interesting to see how various companies get the work done. There is an interesting example on TweakYourBiz.com by Helen Cousins (@excelbusiness) of how one UK accountancy firm found a way to keep a valued employee by creating the means for her to work virtually from Ireland. Other companies are trying to find ways to integrate the push for more work/life balance. Sodexo notes in their report

We forsee a new business formula for success which includes integrating workplace + work style + life-style needs of the organization and its human capital, resulting in full engagement and maximized productivity.

Sounds good but…

With the ability to work from anywhere, many employees, particularly executives, are feeling like they can never unplug from the office. Mobile technology might be a great tool that enables flexibility to get work done from anywhere but it also can act like a ball and chain. And then there is the technology learning curve. As was noted in the Business and Leadership article, many Irish firms lack the technology to allow for their employees to work from alternative sites. How typical is this overall?

There is also a mindset that has to change to allow these trends to be norms. There is still a push for face-time on a daily basis at many large and small companies. Is it simply that managers believe they must babysit their employees to get the work done?With a tight job market, it is possible that employees feel apprehensive requesting or even demanding a work environment that actually treats them as thinking, feeling and responsible adults. A friend of mine recently told me about his new job. He was totally astounded when his new manager told him to get whatever resources he needed, including hiring an assistant. His previous employer often denied even basic requests that would help complete tasks.

So what’s really happening?

It’s an exciting time of change, no doubt. With people becoming more aware that they don’t have to do the 9-5 (or 6 or 7 or…) thing in a office or cubicle and cram the rest of their lives into the remaining hours, employers will have to respond. Perhaps the Results-Only-Work Environment (ROWE) will gain momentum. Perhaps we’ll see the workplace as somewhere we enjoy spending our time because we feel valued and competent. Sure, we’ll have to figure out how to create face-time because live person-to-person contact is necessary for rapport building. On the other hand, we may make other connections in cafes, parks, online or at home that promote our creativity and productivity. The ways the workplace is morphing may be a slow revolution but there is movement.

Join us on the Twitter chat, #KaizenBiz this Friday at 4pm GMT/12pm ET/9am PT to take a look at these workplace trends, possible causes and implications for the future.

Which trends do you see becoming every normal workplace behavior?

Is there a quiet revolution happening or are the companies surveyed outliers?

How are mainstream organizations coping with these trends?

The Perspective Of Business Operations In Strategy

Posted on March 15, 2012 by Elli St. George-Godfrey

On the face of it, you might think that business operations would be only focusing on the actions that will be taken to implement the strategic plan. And that is true…well, partly true. Sure, the business operations team is certainly responsible for how goals get accomplished. For this discussion, think of business operations as the nitty-gritty of the business. This means the systems, processes, product/service performance, customer satisfaction, managing logistics, inventory, manufacturing, increases efficiency in organization and other recurring activities that increase value.

Could they also bring a different perspective to the strategic discussion?

Suchitra Mishra, a member of the Kaizen Biz community, wrote a pos t that elucidates the value of including business operations in where and why the business pursues a particular direction. It is easy to forget there is treasure to behold in the details.

Visions evolve…due to reality

The CEO has the job of envisioning where the company will go over time. It seems counterintuitive but business visions evolve. Conversations with their team members, participating in mastermind groups or reading material are all common ways that new ideas or techniques are discovered. Even experiences in one’s personal life can affect one’s business vision. Getting the vision realized in real life needs effective strategies.

Data is reality

As more experience adds nuances to the business vision, it evolves. Adding more nuances are numbers. This is where business operations shines. They provide the necessary grounding for strategies to flourish in real life. As Slack, Chambers and Johnston write in Operations Management, 4th Edition,

The role of the operations function means something beyond its obvious responsibilities and tasks – it means the underlying rationale of the function, the very reason that the function exists.”

The details in the data illuminate how the vision can be realized

In business, the data is reality. Having records of the customers’ experience, the performance of revenue streams, line workers’ input, leading indicators, the effects ofchange on the organization and other types of information are a start but being able to articulate them in a strategic planning session makes them more useful in the evolution of the business strategy.

Mishra sums it up best,

No one knows the inter-dependencies between people, process and opportunities better than the business operations team in an organization. So why not leverage this team for fool-proof strategies?”

What role should operations play in strategic planning?

Who is responsible for coordinating or connecting the disparate departments/groups for strategic planning?

How could business operations be the “voice” for the stakeholders?

What could prevent the integration of the business operations’ perspective?

What are the internal and external benefits of using the business operations’ perspective to drive innovation and growth?

*Join us on the Twitter chat, #KaizenBiz for this discussion on Friday, March 16th at 5pm GMT/12pm ET/9am PT