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Category: Business & Communities

Go students! But in solidarity

Published December 6, 2010 by Jo Jordan

UK Uncut Demonstration 041210 by ucloccupation via FlickrThe ethics of Gen Y

I am puzzling over the ethics of our youth.  That’s not unusual, of course.  By an accident of history, I am a typical Gen Xer.  I drink water and carry a laptop. I’m highly independent and anyone not quite ‘up to it’ receives a glance of disapproval that is the hallmark of my generation.

Gen Y’ers elsewhere

I’ve also lived in a country where the Gen Y’ers clashed  magnificently with the old guard who reminded them constantly of history. “We fought for your privileges”, said the old guard.  “Toughs”, said the youngsters, “give us more. And NOW!”

Little emperors, indeed.

Student action in UK November 2010

The student action along Oxford Street of the moment are interesting.  So many students are not there.  We look around our universities and wonder.  Not even self-interest can get them out.

But self-interest has got some out.  Are they really ethical though?  Are they pouting because they have been excluding from the loot and pillage of the economy?  Or do they really care about a well run society and are they prepared to run society well in exchange for a fair and decent wage?

Solidarity is the ethical test of politicians

The test is in solidarity.  Let’s see what alliances are formed and let’s see how easily they are bought off.  How many of the leaders would join Top Shop tomorrow if given a graduate management position?

The test is in solidarity and I am hoping (against hope) that they will take the lead in mapping the issues that face the UK today.

But beware: Politics is about results not motives

But then an old politicial science professor said to me once: In politics motivation doesn’t matter.  Only results matter.

Unless students have a clear ethical position and  a map of the alliances they want to forge, they will find their energy quickly coopted to other causes.

It happened to other generations who were smug and complacent. It can happen to them too because that is politics.

We are waiting to see.  Hoping but waiting.  I hope their political science professors have taught them well.

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Fantastic new reads and listens found this week

Published December 5, 2010 by Jo Jordan

Riverside Park stroll - June 2008 - 066 by Ed Yourdon via Flickr1  Play ethic

Not an easy read but this article sums up

Store it away as a baseline of what we know about business models in the networked age; give it to your students to study; use it make heuristics for your strategy sessions

2  Mute magazine: culture and politics after the net

Mute magazine: Deeply thought out well informed discussion of a wide range is issues from architecture to the ongoing student protests in London.

A lot of it is over my head.  To comment on any piece, I’d have to read a shelf of books too.  But that’s why it is in my “Worth Reading” feed.

3   French Radio London

I definitely don’t understand most of what is said on French Radio London but I like the music and I like the way they put the title of the track on the screen.  BBC never does that.

Station of choice for the moment

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Write because I am curious about my audience?

Published November 29, 2010 by Jo Jordan

Une belle journée à vous ! Have a nice day ! by GattouLucieso far behind.. Sorry via Flickr

So am I going to write that paper or shall I bin it?

In a former life, I might have decided whether to write a paper or not on the basis of the objective merits of the paper.  I might even had aspirations that someone might read it.  Ha!  The average formal paper is read by 7 people.  Blogs at least get read if ever so cursorily.

Solidarity and invitation

Galeano makes an important point.  The only interaction worth having is horizontal – solidarity.

If I write that paper

Who do I hope to benefit?

Who do I hope to invite in?

And most of all, whose reply do I hope to receive?And why do I want their reply?  For personal gain or because I am genuinely interested in what they have to say?

Deeply curious about our audience

Writing is not so much knowing our audience.  It is being deeply curious about our audience.

My challenge is clear.  Who do I want to hear from?

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We are who we mix with – negotiating outcomes in supply networks

Published November 28, 2010 by Jo Jordan

Tunnel Vision by emerille via FlickrWe are who we mix with

I am just coming to the end of a project and I find myself in a curious position. A week ago, it seemed important to write and publish a paper.  A week later, as I entertain the prospect of moving onto other work, I find myself puzzled by why I thought that important.

Simply, my audience is changing and so is my sense of priorities.

Supply networks mean a constantly changing audience

This is not rocket science but it is critically relevant to the working in a world of supply networks.  In the ‘olden days’ of supply chains, we maintained a position between some kind of supplier and some kind of customer and our audiences rarely changed.  In today’s world, our range of suppliers and customers shifts so fast that we cannot afford to ‘buy in’ to other people’s priorities. Alliances are temporary – very very temporary – and commitments need to be phrased in these terms.  Simply, customers have to learn that they don’t have massive influence unless they have massive loyalty.

We only really attend to who and what is in our bubble

Even before the days of supply networks, I had noticed how easy it is to buy into the value systems of people around us.  When we are in situation, even for a few weeks, where the views of any class of stakeholder are not represented, we start to forget about them. It is only when we step out of the bubble, that we realise what has happened.

Bubble members need to be respectful to all our stakeholders

My take from this observation is this:  we simply have to be very selective about who we work with. Any sign of disrespect early in the negotiations has to be met firmly by withdrawal.  If keeping ideas back is a condition of engaging with us,  it may be better to find other work partners.

And we need frequent points to check that our attention to other important stakeholders hasn’t drifted

Early negotiation accommodation is so common that we might feel we cannot afford to be this strict.  Perhaps not.  But then we have to build in checkpoints where we are able to withdraw if we are not being heard or some if-then – I’ll go along with this now but we want a review and if these conditions aren’t being fulfilled, then we want a rethink.

Work negotiation of the future – contingent, temporary where the links are more powerful than the customers and suppliers?

I guess we will see a lot of discussion along these lines in the next few years.  In three years, I wonder what I will think of my thought processes.

What do you think?

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Event managers: 3 things we don’t want

Published October 27, 2010 by Jo Jordan

Puzzled by event managers

I am not an event manager.  In truth, frivolity and religion both seem to be beyond my neural circuitry.   I accepted that a long time ago.

But I am puzzled by an event that I have been invited to.  No, invite is the wrong word.  An event I feel pressured to attend.

3 things we don’t want from our event manager

1. A complicated decision

It’s years since I have worked with my hosts but the event managers seem to have got my address from an old list and I have become a valued associate.  The first message told me so and promised a light supper at a London venue with a surprise speaker!

Now if I lived in London, I would trash that message. I would want to go home after work.  And I am adult.  I want to get my information up front, make a decision, answer yes or no, and put it in my diary.  The golden rule of management:  keep tasks down to 30 seconds

But I don’t live in London and sometimes I will go down to the capital for 3 or 4 meetings on one day where I wouldn’t go for one of them only.  So I noted the event and thought I would decide later.

2.  Promises of the Easter Bunny

Then I got another reminder and then another.

Finally, the surprise was revealed and it was a surprise, but entirely of the wrong kind.  So my choice came down to “I wonder how good the supper will be?”

3.  Not knowing the company we will keep

Of course, if the organizers had arranged this event through Meetup or Amiando, I would know who else was going and the other attendees might be a reason for going.

I am a simpler soul (but not a marketer, I know)

Gee, if the event manager had written to me and said, “We want to launch ourselves on the London scene.  Would you come to an event?” – I’d be motivated to help.  I’m just that way.

I don’t want to be beaten or bribed.  Just tell me the score.  I’ll help when I can. I’ll join in when it suits me.  And I’ll retweet and pass on your request even when I can’t take part.

Let your event speak for itself

I know packaging matters.  We can be put off a good product that has bad packaging.  But we also sick of excessive packaging.

We don’t have to be cajoled, bribed, and threatened to take part in an event.  A simple, courteous invitation will do.  Honestly.

Just ask if we would like to join you

If you want my help just ask.  If you can give me supper, that would be cool as I will be driving home afterward.  If you let me know who is coming, I’ll adjust my expectations so they have just as good time as I intend to have.

Seriously, some of us are easy to get along with.  Just ask!

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4 practical career tips from a new politician

Published October 17, 2010 by Jo Jordan

Peter Parker (Spiderman) by Thomas Dhuchnicki via FlickrJobs, jobs, jobs and naive politicians

Headline news today:  1 in 8 households have one adult out of work.  Is that all?  Of course, some households have 2 or more adults out of work.

I am tired of naïve politicians who think people will find work if only they would look hard enough.  I  am depressed by naïve politicians who think the economy is going to “bounce back” just because they say so.   The banking crisis was not a misstep.  It was the collapse of a misshapen economy.  It was the UK and others “getting found out”.

The good times are not coming back until we rejig our economy and focus on today’s opportunities.

Jobs, jobs, jobs and not so naive politicians

I am not a party political animal and hold no brief for any particular set of politicians but I was pleased today to read the blog of one of the new MP’s –  James Morris.  Halesowen and Rowley Regis, just west of Birmingham seemed to have chosen well.  Small business owner, Cranfield MBA and social activist – that does seem like a good combination for keeping your feet on the ground and your eye on the horizon.

“Our national interest needs to be defined by the realities of Britain’s economic interests in this world where economic power is shifting from west to east. We need to ensure that we develop deep and reciprocal relationships with countries which are emerging as the key players in the future. Both economic and political ties must be strengthened with countries like Brazil, Nigeria, China and India and others.

Our view of the world needs to be characterised less by a conception of it as a hierarchy of nations with the U.S. at the apex; but more as network of peer relationships where Britain negotiates and influences at many different levels simultaneously. This will allow us to use our strengths, capabilities and influence to maximise our relationships in a world which will look very different from that which was the case even a decade ago.”

Jobs, jobs, jobs and savvy individuals

What works for an economy works for each of us too.

Define our economic interest

Identify emerging key players of the future

Aim to develop “deep and reciprocal” relationships with those you judge to be emerging key players

Don’t think who is best or worst – this is a network not a pyramid.   Think of  peer network which we are each shaping with our strengths, capabilities and influence to create a set of relationships that go with us into the future.

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What is the job of management scholars and consultants in the participation economy ushered in by social media?

Published September 27, 2010 by Jo Jordan

Alaska 2010 by keithusc via FlickrBen Cameron said at TED:

“everyone . .  . resonates to the words of  Adrienne Rich in Dream of  A Common Language wrote: We are out in a country that has no language, no laws.  Whatever we do together is pure intervention.  The maps they gave us is out of date by years.

Ben Cameron is a Canadian Arts Administrator.   At TED, he described the market for the arts in clear concrete detail.  Old markets are in ‘trouble’, or not, depending on how much you welcome the replacement of the  consumption model of business with the participative model ushered in by social media.

The  collaborative economy has arrived

I subscribe to Ben Cameron’s view.  We are long past the point that old models can be made to work in the old order.

Management scholars and practitioners in the participation economy

I am not in the Arts. I am just a management consultant and scholar.  My role on this earth is simply to describe how we organize ourselves in collective ventures and to provide advice.

That means it is my job to tell you that old methods of selection and training, employee contracts and management styles, salaries and promotions can not work, do not work.

The time has come to create new ways to bring people together, meld working teams  and keep ourselves fresh and relevant.

The vision of the participation economy

I endorse Ben Cameron’s view  that our common aim is to develop a “healthy vibrant society, to ameliorate suffering, to promote a more thoughtful substantive empathic society”.

The challenge for work and organizational psychologists in 2010 is to start writing down and sharing

  1. How people come together to discuss business and how their discussions lead to better ideas of what we can and will do together
  2. How our relationships change from wish to intent to habit and how we can promote relationships that promote the success of the enterprises we envisioned when we set off together
  3. How we remain fresh, thinking up news ways to meet challenges and if necessary disbanding to go onto  new ventures, all the better for having worked together.

That is our mission of management scholars and consultants in a

a country that has no language, no laws.  Whatever we do together is pure intervention.  The maps they gave us is out of date by years.

It is time to get started writing down who knows what and making it available for everyone who want to know.

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5 business uses for social media and 3 hacks to get them right

Published September 27, 2010 by Jo Jordan

IMG_7838 by BekiPe via FlickrFacebook, Twitter, blogs and forums .  .  .

I live in a world when half my acquaintances live and breathe social media and other half  “stay out of that”.

ROI of social media

Three years, London was abuzz with talk of the ROI of social media.  As far as I could tell, this was just backwash from marketing departments who are challenged internally to account for the money they spend.  When other functions see a funnel that goes from 1000 to 100 to 10 to 1 or maybe none, they rightly want an explanation for all the parties and lunches. When the rest of us say we are going to do something, we do it.

Rewarding what is excellent in social media

So today, I was delighted to see some awards for social media in the airlines sector.  I want to be clear here.  I am a psychologist and we aren’t the touchy-feely types the public thinks we are. We spend most of time crunching numbers and we know more about metrics and ROI than you might dream even if exists.  Believe me, you don’t want to know how to do the things we know how to do and can prove with numbers.

What matters in ROI

But because we do know a lot about ROI, we also know what matters and what doesn’t.

  • We must specify a decent goal.
  • We musn’t get bogged down on the how.
  • We must
  1. Make sure we have a goal that captures our sense of “why” this work helps us
  2. Find measures that help us see if we are getting closer
  3. And when we are really clever, find measures that help us learn what matters and what doesn’t.

    But first the what and why in one sentence.   Without that, everything else is busy work.

    New awards in social media

    Simpliflying has four awards for social media.

    • Best social media marketing campaign
    • Best use of social media to drive revenue
    • Best use of social media in a crisis situation
    • SimpliFlying Hero of the Year

    I could imagine one more – Best use of social media to develop a community that would sustain a new revenue stream.

    But there you have it.  Four clear uses of social media: let the market know we are here, increase sales, deal with crises (even unexpected ones like Haiti); and simplify.

    Work psychologists using social media to connect up people

    Because I am a psychologist, not a marketer, I more interested in

    • How to bring people together who might find opportunities working together
    • How to create a space where people can develop working relationships that support sustained happy and profitable working relationships
    • How to keep the relationship brimming with ideas including a strong sense that when it is over it is over and we should all move on better for having worked with each other.

    That’s all we have to do to build great communities

    Set the direction and ask people:

    • Are we doing it?
    • What’s next?
    • What have we learned that we didn’t know yesterday?
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    A working culture where people find flow frequently?

    Published August 27, 2010 by Jo Jordan

    Reflecting on swans by pmarkham via FlickrWhen your eyes light up

    Have you any idea what you look like when you are in flow?  I guess not, because almost a definition of flow is that you are not looking in the mirror .  You are so absorbed in what you are doing that time and the world stands still.

    But I know what you look like.  And so does everyone else.  We can’t miss the glow in your eyes.

    Flow is the core of an an organizational psychologist’s business

    People often ask what an work and organizational does.  They are puzzled   Do we lay people down on a couch and mutter ‘there, there’.  Do we explore your sexual fantasies about .  .  . I’ll let you fill in the gap.

    Our business is flow.  What is flow?  What conditions of work are conducive to flow?  How can we organize so that more people experience flow more of the time?

    Embedded in the last question is a sub-speciality of organizational psychology.  A special topic within organizational psychologists is understanding the web of connections that go on behind the scenes so that in work situation after work situation people are able to pursue goals and find the exhilaration of flow.

    Is it possible to support a working culture where people find flow frequently?  And if so, what are these institutions and what do they look like?

    Unseen jobs in sky rise buildings

    It is an interesting question because the people who think about these institutions are in what I call the hidden jobs.  We see people at the checkout counter. We see the doctor.  We see the lawyer.  But there is a whole world of people in sky rise buildings that we never see at work.  And even if we did, we would see little of what they do.  Their desk, their paper, their computers look like any other. They are just like any other.  It’s just what they think about is different.

    That’s what is different.  Some of us think about whether it’s possible to support a working culture where people find flow frequently.  And if it is possible, what are these institutions and what do they look like?

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    I find schmoozing worrying. Do you?

    Published July 29, 2010 by Jo Jordan

    How to schmooze

    Schmooze by healthserviceglasses via Flickr

    BBC Radio 4 is running a serialized reading of a book about a crime journalist in Tokyo.  Today, we heard career advice given to a journalist on how to schmooze the police.

    Is schmoozing a smart way to get business?

    The advice made me think of people who believe schmoozing  is a substitute for performance.

    In strategic terms, schmoozing is a silly way to compete.  It is a race to the bottom as the only thing the differentiates one schmoozer from another is money and time. Money buys schmoozing;  time accumulates schmoozing.  In short, schmoozing lacks the ‘inimitable’ quality of skill and performance that is only be amassed by a long standing team getting good at something.

    Of  course, schoozing is also what statisticians call a mediator.  We can have all the skill in the world but if our customers don’t know we have our skill, they cannot buy from us.  So we need schmooze to deliver.  And if we have never schmoozed,  it is likely that we have developed skills that are  not of great interest to our customers.

    I think this where the confusion comes from .  If one person has 5% skill and no schmoozing, they make 0%.  If another person has 1% skill and schmoozing, they make 1%.  I know plenty of people who refuse even to develop skill because they figure they can schmooze and 1% will do their customers fine.  After all, the customers have no choice.  It is 1% or nothing!

    Is schmoozing a competitive way t

    o get business?

    This recipe works fine; until someone else enters the market who can resource a schmoozing campaign.  Schmoozing is easy.  It only takes money and time.  People will always drop in for a free meal , a free drink or a sympathetic ear.

    But schmoozing gets more and more expensive as people who have what you want ask for more and more.  And why shouldn’t they?  Your job is to schmooze and schmooze and schmooze and schmooze .   .  . You are going to schmooze until the cupboard is bare.  And of course, that is fine when you are a professional schmoozer and it’s someone elses cupboard.  What if it is your cupboard?

    Hospitality vs schmoozing

    Schmoozing is not hospitality, I might add.  Genuinely welcoming someone as a guest and giving them appropriate amenities and refreshments for the time of day and the nature of the transaction is not schmoozing.  It is simply normal.

    Schmoozing shouldn’t be a substitute for a mission

    A business should compete though on it’s chosen competitive strategy.  What is the problem that this business is trying to solve?

    When the business strays from that goal, when it hires people to schmooze who don’t understand the mission, when the mission is not mentioned and if is mentioned clearly isn’t understood by HR who drew up the job specs, then the business is in trouble.  Their schmoozing is going to be very expensive.

    Yup, the 1% guys can be very persuasive.  Yes, we may feel under so much short term pressure that we are tempted.  Yes, our competitors may seem to offer nothing but schmooze.  Yes, our customers may seem so thick that they want nothing but schmooze and seem to sign anything if the dinner is good enough . . . do you really believe that?

    Mission, schmoozing and profits

    Come one. Let’s roll up our sleeves and do a proper job.  What is the problem we are trying to solve?  Let’s solve it.  I know we have to make money too.  But do you know that even in the most aggressive profit making business, the economics is simply a constraint that allows us to do better.

    When we ask how can we do what we do for the money our customers can pay, we find imaginative solutions that please even us.

    If we are journos schmoozing cops, of course, they don’t pay (and hopefully neither do we).  But we can ask ourselves about the rhythm  of their day and why and how talking to a reporter helps them do their job.  Schmoozing suddenly becomes a whole lot cheaper and a whole lot more wholesome.

    Doing a good job is sweetly pleasurable.

    Don’t have a mission?

    P.S.  Can’t put your finger on the mission?  Articulating the mission is called leadership.  It’s not a one off; it’s a process.  The mission flexes and morphs as the world unfolds and the people involved change.

    The leader is the touch point who represents our collective understanding and will.  They reflect back to us what we are asking for and when we see ourselves in them, we learn and change what we say and do.

    And the process begins again.

    We are all leaders, too, because the minute we say and do something, we are reflecting a conversation back to someone else.  They see themselves and they learn and change.

    But sometimes we can’t get the sound-bite.  That’s what psychologists and life coaches do. They let you practice on them till you get the pithy phrases right.

    And get used to editing them and developing them on the fly as you interact with others.

    We all have a mission

    I’ve never met anyone yet who doesn’t know their mission.  As they talk, I watch their eyes.  Within 10 to 15 minutes of patient conversation, their eyes will light up.  All I do is point that out.

    Move towards whatever make your eyes light up, millimeter by millimeter The world will thank you.  Everybody is waiting for you.

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