“Good learning nearly always involves a feeling of discovery rather than acquisition. The best teaching creates an efficient context for this.”
—Kathy Sierra, via her Twitterfeed.
Thoughts on creating disruptive organisational transformations with design thinking.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Monday, January 26, 2009
My Thought for the Day 26/01/09
“Its all going very fractal this evening. I just referenced one of my own articles in my Module-Two assignment footnotes. How meta is that?”
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Quote of the Day 25/01/09
“Life does not consist mainly, or even largely, of facts and happenings. It consists mainly of the storm of thoughts that is forever blowing through one’s head.”
—Mark Twain. This seems very apt after eight hours of writing my Marketing assignment.
—Mark Twain. This seems very apt after eight hours of writing my Marketing assignment.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Quote of the Day 22/01/09
“Real leaders exist only in the heads and hearts of those who believe in them.”
—Kjell Nordstrom, from his book ‘Funky Business’.
—Kjell Nordstrom, from his book ‘Funky Business’.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Quote of the Day 20/01/09
“Hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism – these things are old. These things are true. They have been the quiet force of progress throughout our history. What is demanded then is a return to these truths.”
— US President Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech today.
— US President Barack Obama’s Inauguration Speech today.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Give a Man a Hammer: Everything Looks Like a Nail
While this post does not fall neatly into the Leadership Module chronology of my Masters programme, it is still worth including it here. I am filing this anecdote under ‘analysis’, as it is also about awareness and how we each perceive the world through our own unique set of filters.
Today I received a well-written, considered and thoughtful corporate identity design brief from an accountancy firm. It was about twelve pages long. On one of the pages they had outlined their corporate brand values: Professionalism, Trust, Integrity, and so on (you can probably guess the rest of that list). There is nothing unusual in that, or indeed that they had also measured how they thought their current corporate identity rated against each of those values that they aspired to. What was really worth remarking on (to my eyes) was that they presented all of this as an Excel spreadsheet: with each brand value rated to two significant places of decimals (for example: Professionalism = 4.32). This was annotated with side-commentary giving statistical variance on each value – presumably for those readers with the accountancy firm itself who may be interested in querying some of the numbers.
At first I was gobsmacked on reading this. Then I was incredulous. My designer-brain knew that this laboriously-crafted slab of information was functionally useless in relation to the actual design project itself. However, pausing and giving it a second thought, what I then saw was a group of accountants working together, scratching their heads, most likely baffled by all of the unquantifiable ‘brand stuff’ and trying to articulate just what they needed as best as they could. Knowing something about the basic marketing principles involved, but struggling to grapple with them using their collective mental toolkit. In order to get something down on paper that they all could discuss and agree on they had to convert it into the lingua franca of their own profession: a mathematical table.
So while seeing oneself as working in an organisation with a Trust Score of 3.72 is probably one mental somersault too many for a designer’s mind, it must makes sense within these people’s world-view. Trying to see both sides, I have to guess that the incongruity of fuzzy-logic concepts like integrity and trust being pinned down in this way is as jarring to me as the ultimate business utility of those marketing concepts might be to these accountants.
Some useful questions arise here. What are my own mental filters? Which ones help me to perceive the world in an advantageous way? Which ones hinder my perception and create my own blind spots?
Today I received a well-written, considered and thoughtful corporate identity design brief from an accountancy firm. It was about twelve pages long. On one of the pages they had outlined their corporate brand values: Professionalism, Trust, Integrity, and so on (you can probably guess the rest of that list). There is nothing unusual in that, or indeed that they had also measured how they thought their current corporate identity rated against each of those values that they aspired to. What was really worth remarking on (to my eyes) was that they presented all of this as an Excel spreadsheet: with each brand value rated to two significant places of decimals (for example: Professionalism = 4.32). This was annotated with side-commentary giving statistical variance on each value – presumably for those readers with the accountancy firm itself who may be interested in querying some of the numbers.
At first I was gobsmacked on reading this. Then I was incredulous. My designer-brain knew that this laboriously-crafted slab of information was functionally useless in relation to the actual design project itself. However, pausing and giving it a second thought, what I then saw was a group of accountants working together, scratching their heads, most likely baffled by all of the unquantifiable ‘brand stuff’ and trying to articulate just what they needed as best as they could. Knowing something about the basic marketing principles involved, but struggling to grapple with them using their collective mental toolkit. In order to get something down on paper that they all could discuss and agree on they had to convert it into the lingua franca of their own profession: a mathematical table.
So while seeing oneself as working in an organisation with a Trust Score of 3.72 is probably one mental somersault too many for a designer’s mind, it must makes sense within these people’s world-view. Trying to see both sides, I have to guess that the incongruity of fuzzy-logic concepts like integrity and trust being pinned down in this way is as jarring to me as the ultimate business utility of those marketing concepts might be to these accountants.
Some useful questions arise here. What are my own mental filters? Which ones help me to perceive the world in an advantageous way? Which ones hinder my perception and create my own blind spots?
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Sunday’s Team Workshop
We completed an all-day team workshop to break our Ben & Jerry’s presentation over the weekend. This was probably the most productive session we have had in the MA programme to date. Obviously our team-working skills are advancing with each presentation that we do. I also think that everyone is much more focused after our last effort.
We are approaching our actual presentation on the day in a completely different format. We have ditched the PowerPoint and embraced the ‘School Play’ format. Fundamentally retooling the mechanics in this way frees up our minds — we cannot but break our old habits.
Another key reason why we are being more efficient this time is my decision to bring my laptop to all of our meetings so that we are always working on our actual presentation and making real decisions as we go. In the past we would have long meetings talking around the topics with very reworked notes resulting. Then one person would be left to convert all of that analogue material into the presentation file, often with a looming deadline. This way we are always building.
(The only disappointment today was that none of us managed to score any Ben & Jerry’s ice cream for our workshop.)
Friday, January 16, 2009
Exclusive: Notes from Ben & Jerry’s Original Business Plan
My investigative journalism skills have managed to unearth some actual documents from Ben & Jerry’s original business plan. When they were working on their five-dollar ice cream correspondence course, they left one of their pages inside a book in the college library which has only just come to light. I have managed (through means that may best be left undocumented) to acquire a PDF scan which I can display here.I think it gives us some insight as to what they were thinking, and I believe that my MA team should make use of this as an exhibit in our forthcoming presentation on next Saturday 25 January. I am very excited about this discovery. It is always great to have some primary research! (And it is good to see that four-panel matrix thinking was just as useful back then.)
Thursday, January 15, 2009
The Six Lessons of Johnny Bunko
Daniel Pink, author of ‘A Whole New Mind’ has written a new best-selling book called ‘The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The last career guide you’ll ever need.’ It is a funky little book, presented in Manga comic format and obviously aimed at Generation Y (or whatever letter we are at these days). It looks like a short read, but the lessons proposed in it are summarised on the related website, which make for an even shorter read. This is a good list, even if you are not starting out on in your career.
The six (+1) lessons of satisfying, productive careers:
1 There is no plan [The economy changes too fast for your career to have a plan.]
2 Think strengths, not weaknesses [Find your advantages]
3 It’s not about you [Serving others serves you best]
4 Persistence trumps talent [Keep showing up]
5 Make excellent mistakes [Take risks, but fail forward]
6 Leave an imprint [Do something that matters]
7 Stay hungry
The seventh lesson is in italics because it is currently being voted on in an online poll. I have chosen that one from the three options available, as it strikes me as the best. I also like the way they he is working the user-generated content angle. I found some elegant additional commentary on Pink’s list from Kevin Kelly which I have appended above in parenthesis. Those seven points seem particularly useful while I am thinking through what I am learning on the Masters programme.
If you are interested in these seven lessons you may also find something useful in my post about the learnings gained in achieving my Masters degree.
#learning #leadership #business #career #insights
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Quote of the Day 14/01/09
“Imagine you have almost what you need. Then, just start something.”
—Merlin Mann, from an outstanding post on 43Folders.com
—Merlin Mann, from an outstanding post on 43Folders.com
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
On Reading Porter's 'What Is Strategy'
Michael Porter is on of those names that I forever seem to be running across. (He seems to be quoted or referenced in The Economist every single week). But up until now I had never read any of his writings.
I work in a Strategic Brand Consultancy and have been delivering Brand Strategy to my clients for more years than I dare to say. So I am familiar with the broad outlines of the ideas he presents in this article. He is mapping the topography of the business landscape that I inhabit. That said, reading this was like coming home to the source material for me. I have probably encountered ninety per cent of his thinking in other places, filtered through lesser authors. A lot of these are ideas that I have already internalised over the years.
I found myself reading this article with a mix of familiarity (for the core ideas) and novelty (for seeing all of them assembled in this fashion). In noting the salient points then, I am just going to limit myself to those aspects which are new to me.
On first reading, Porter’s ideas in this article seem almost common-sense. But on further reading you see that it is only because of the way he states his points and assembles his arguments and examples. What seems obvious after the fact is often not all that apparent beforehand. Equally it does not mean the implications are any easier to implement or to realise.
Porter presents two interlinked concepts: ‘Operational Effectiveness’, how we perform activities better than our competitors; and ‘Strategy’ which leads us to perform different activities than our rivals or else perform similar activities but in a more effective way. Thus strategy relates to differentiation and being different is the key to success. (Just as brand differentiation is key to successful positioning.)
I really think that he made such an insightful point when he says that if there were only one ideal positioning then there would be no need for strategy. That speaks to me about how you and your business always need to be able to adapt and respond. As he says: “new positions arise because of change”.
He says that strategy is about being very clear about what you do not do as well as what you do. Which relates to my own experience of finding that clients who are absolutely focused on the core proposition of their offering succeed better than those whom are all over the shop and tend to go chasing off after shiny new business ideas or business models that they read about in a one-page magazine article on their last business flight...
I think I have long ago grasped his point about knowing what you do not want to do. However, I do think that I need to work harder at addressing his point about always checking that I and my colleagues are not doing anything contra-indicative to our differentiated strategy and actively not doing such things. Particularly in light of the idea that everything is important: that failure or under-performance in any area drags down our whole organisation, confuses or disappoints our clients and dilutes our positioning and our reputation.
All of this segues into leadership, as the leader needs to make the trade-offs implicit in the reasoning above. Thinking strategically and acting strategically requires hard choices more than it ever requires consensus.
So a number of apparent question arise from this article. The first has has to be how do all of our activities and internal processes fit with our strategic positioning? What is misaligned? Which complement and reinforce each other? What wasted effort can we eliminate and what is redundant?
Then, looking outside of ourselves, what has changed in our industry in, say, the last five years that has opened up opportunities for competitors to define a positional advantage against us? Also then arising from that, what positional opportunities are there for us to capitalise on?
I work in a Strategic Brand Consultancy and have been delivering Brand Strategy to my clients for more years than I dare to say. So I am familiar with the broad outlines of the ideas he presents in this article. He is mapping the topography of the business landscape that I inhabit. That said, reading this was like coming home to the source material for me. I have probably encountered ninety per cent of his thinking in other places, filtered through lesser authors. A lot of these are ideas that I have already internalised over the years.
I found myself reading this article with a mix of familiarity (for the core ideas) and novelty (for seeing all of them assembled in this fashion). In noting the salient points then, I am just going to limit myself to those aspects which are new to me.
On first reading, Porter’s ideas in this article seem almost common-sense. But on further reading you see that it is only because of the way he states his points and assembles his arguments and examples. What seems obvious after the fact is often not all that apparent beforehand. Equally it does not mean the implications are any easier to implement or to realise.
Porter presents two interlinked concepts: ‘Operational Effectiveness’, how we perform activities better than our competitors; and ‘Strategy’ which leads us to perform different activities than our rivals or else perform similar activities but in a more effective way. Thus strategy relates to differentiation and being different is the key to success. (Just as brand differentiation is key to successful positioning.)
I really think that he made such an insightful point when he says that if there were only one ideal positioning then there would be no need for strategy. That speaks to me about how you and your business always need to be able to adapt and respond. As he says: “new positions arise because of change”.
He says that strategy is about being very clear about what you do not do as well as what you do. Which relates to my own experience of finding that clients who are absolutely focused on the core proposition of their offering succeed better than those whom are all over the shop and tend to go chasing off after shiny new business ideas or business models that they read about in a one-page magazine article on their last business flight...
I think I have long ago grasped his point about knowing what you do not want to do. However, I do think that I need to work harder at addressing his point about always checking that I and my colleagues are not doing anything contra-indicative to our differentiated strategy and actively not doing such things. Particularly in light of the idea that everything is important: that failure or under-performance in any area drags down our whole organisation, confuses or disappoints our clients and dilutes our positioning and our reputation.
All of this segues into leadership, as the leader needs to make the trade-offs implicit in the reasoning above. Thinking strategically and acting strategically requires hard choices more than it ever requires consensus.
So a number of apparent question arise from this article. The first has has to be how do all of our activities and internal processes fit with our strategic positioning? What is misaligned? Which complement and reinforce each other? What wasted effort can we eliminate and what is redundant?
Then, looking outside of ourselves, what has changed in our industry in, say, the last five years that has opened up opportunities for competitors to define a positional advantage against us? Also then arising from that, what positional opportunities are there for us to capitalise on?
Monday, January 12, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Big Hairy Audacious Goals
I just totally love this new phrase ‘Big Hairy Audacious Goal’ (or BHAG) which was proposed by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras in in their book ‘Built to Last’. A BHAG is a form of vision statement “...an audacious ten to thirty-year goal to progress towards an envisioned future.”
It strikes me as a very Tom Peters kind of idea and one that definitely appeals to me. They write about it in the context of teamwork, but to me I can see how this can be such a useful leadership asset as well.
It is an interesting exercise to think about my work and my organisation and ask how we could stretch ourselves be setting the challenge of our own particular Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
It strikes me as a very Tom Peters kind of idea and one that definitely appeals to me. They write about it in the context of teamwork, but to me I can see how this can be such a useful leadership asset as well.
“A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit. It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal; people like to shoot for finish lines.”
It is an interesting exercise to think about my work and my organisation and ask how we could stretch ourselves be setting the challenge of our own particular Big Hairy Audacious Goal.
Quote of the Day 11/01/09
“He that will not apply new remedies must expect new evils, for time is the greatest innovator.”
—Francis Bacon
—Francis Bacon
Friday, January 09, 2009
Quote Of The Day 09/01
“Twitter: Writing or sharing cool stuff. Builds respect. Grants acceptance from others to self-promote = Profit!”
—Hugh MacLeod. From his Twitter feed.
—Hugh MacLeod. From his Twitter feed.
Thursday, January 08, 2009
My Thought For The Day 08/01
“Have not written enough this evening but the paint fumes are really starting to get to me, which is salad, banjo, monochrome thought-bubble...”
23:02 January 08, from my Twitter feed.
23:02 January 08, from my Twitter feed.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Quote of the Day 05/01/09
“What creates trust, in the end, is the leader’s manifest respect for the followers.”
—Jim O’Toole, Leading Change
—Jim O’Toole, Leading Change
Saturday, January 03, 2009
My Thought for the Day 03/01/09
“Jump-starting my fore-brain after Christmas break. These assignments are just not going to write themselves.”
Friday, January 02, 2009
Colin Powell’s Thirteen Rules of Leadership
I discovered this list online taken from the memoir of the ex-US Secretary of State Colin Powell. It is a useful practical listing of leadership advice.
Rule 1
It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
Rule 2
Get mad, then get over it.
Rule 3
Avoid your ego being so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
Rule 4
It can be done.
Rule 5
Be careful whom you choose.
Rule 6
Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
Rule 7
You can’t make someone else’s decisions.
You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.
Rule 8
Check small things.
Rule 9
Share credit.
Rule 10
Remain calm. Be kind.
Rule 11
Have a vision. Be demanding.
Rule 12
Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
Rule 13
Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
Rule 1
It ain’t as bad as you think. It will look better in the morning.
Rule 2
Get mad, then get over it.
Rule 3
Avoid your ego being so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
Rule 4
It can be done.
Rule 5
Be careful whom you choose.
Rule 6
Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
Rule 7
You can’t make someone else’s decisions.
You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.
Rule 8
Check small things.
Rule 9
Share credit.
Rule 10
Remain calm. Be kind.
Rule 11
Have a vision. Be demanding.
Rule 12
Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
Rule 13
Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.
Thursday, January 01, 2009
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