Thought for Friday: Customers as the Product

Here’s an article by Zach Baron called “The Conscience of Silicon Valley” https://www.gq.com/story/jaron-lanier-tech-oracle-profile (5,264 words) [GQ, 24-Aug-2020]

In it Baron interviews Jaron Lanier, a Silicon Valley creator, thinker and author. They discuss the future and how we may live in it. To illustrate this they touch on Together mode, a concept he worked on with Microsoft to bring us side by side in Teams meetings instead of being separated in our own boxes. The interview explores human interaction with technology and comes back to a common theme, that Lanier says is “to not create perverse incentives that ruin quests for meaning or for happiness or for decency or betterment”. For us, this is part of knowing our customer, objectives crafting and human centred design.

Some things to consider:

  • Respecting the line between the product and the customer as the product.  Who owns and analyses what we contribute.

  • Connecting with our customer. “When a person is empowered to make a difference, they become more of a full person”, Lanier.

  • Running away from our problems. Facing up to discounting our present reality.

What is your squad focused on? What are the problems? Where are you meeting the customer? What product are you trading?

How does this thinking apply to you in your Tribe? What objectives are you crafting? What human qualities are you considering? Where are the problems you are not facing? Who is being empowered?

Why is this important? Good question. When our customer becomes the product we remove a part of what it means to be human. Our connection becomes less about empowerment, more about engagement. At its extreme it becomes a commodity to be traded. The problem we face when we lose our customer connection is the long road back from trading the customer to trading with our customer. Empathy with the qualities of our customer when they trade with us is human and valuable.

For further viewing / reading:

Inviting you to have a view / read and to have a chat with me about your thoughts.

[Originally posted internally in my role in IS Governance at The Warehouse Group.]

Thought for Friday: Exploring the Edges

Here’s an article by Jeanne Ross and Cynthia Beath called “Why You – Yes, You – Need Enterprise Architecture”, https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/why-you-yes-you-need-enterprise-architecture (7 minute read) [MIT Sloan Management Review, 24-Aug-2020]

The article defines enterprise architecture as “the holistic design of people, processes, and technology to execute digitally inspired strategic goals”. Ross and Beath note that flat, evidence based, automated and digitally aligned organisations are well placed torespond faster to operational problems and business opportunities. For us, this is part of organisation design, tribe accountability and organisational change management.

Some things to consider:

  • Finding the edges of process and products. Key outcomes becoming components.

  • Empowering cross functional teams. Diverse talent owns the delivery of key outcomes.

  • Influencing strategy. Continuous learning informed by evidence that shapes top down and bottom up strategy.

What is your squad empowered to do? Where are the edges of your processes and products? What evidence will you look at? Where is the opportunity to influence strategy?

How does this thinking apply to you in your Tribe / Support Function? What outcomes are you comfortable with? What outcomes make you uncomfortable? Whose talent are you looking forward to surfacing? What are you learning?

Why is this important? Good question. When we start out on any journey, business or otherwise, we have a clear goal and look for the simplest, most effective way to do things. This often involves bringing different products, people and ways of doing things together to work in ways that they may not have been intended. Over time these different things become replaced with people and things that work exactly as intended. Our journey loses its newness and becomes complex. Challenging ourselves to reduce complexity may invite clearer goals and more effectiveness.

For further viewing / reading:

Inviting you to have a view / read and to have a chat with me about your thoughts.

[Originally posted internally in my role in IS Governance at The Warehouse Group.]

Thought for Friday: In-Betweenness

Here’s an article by Shameen Prashantham called “How to Not Waste a Crisis: Mindfully Manage ‘In-Betweenness’”, https://sloanreview.mit.edu/article/how-to-not-waste-a-crisis-mindfully-manage-in-betweenness  (6 minute read) [MIT Sloan Management Review, 20-Aug-2020]

The article focuses on transitional periods and the state of limbo that may accompany them. Social anthropology calls this liminality. A time of ambiguity and if we are open to new possibilities a time of great creativity and capability building. There are up sides and down sides to this state. By leveraging what we have we may be able to identify new possibilities, build new relationships and enlistavailable help to embrace change. For us, this is part of self management, risk management and organisational change management.

Some things to consider:

  • Staying consistent with our DNA. Honour the things / experience / position we already have.

  • Reimagining what we have. Calmly looking for resources (people, goods, services, IP) at hand to explore new things.

  • Connecting with offers. Make timely use of offers for assistance.

What ambiguity are you sitting in? Where are the offers for assistance? What can you bring to the table from your toolkit? Where is the opportunity to create?

How does this thinking apply to you as a Project Manager? What are you keeping / handing over? Where is the retained wisdom to leverage from? Who is available to assist? Is this a time to reimagine initiatives, timeframes and customers?

Why is this important? Good question. This year seems full of transitional periods and limbo. They may have always been under the surface though the uncertainty brought by this period of time has us being in in-between more than we might like. Accepting being in-between while being open to new possibilities, relationships and assistance may help us survive and perhaps even thrive. Especially if we stay true to our own DNA along the way.

For further viewing / reading:

Inviting you to have a view / read and to have a chat with me about your thoughts.

[Originally posted internally in my role as Project Management Practice Lead at The Warehouse Group.]

Thought for Friday: Wash, Rinse and Repeat

Here’s a live performance by Billie Eilish of a song called “my future”,https://youtube.com/watch?v=1FvEDuWeB4A (3:24) [Billie Eilish, 20-Aug-2020] 

In the song she notes that “I’m in love with my future”. This is a break point for her as she breaks up with her current love to be with her self and her future. This break point is a departure from an infinite loop of wash, rinse and repeat or the shampoo algorithm. As Eilish notes in her song, it would be easy to fall back into the comfort of old routines though making a conscious choice to focus on her future this break point reinforces her resolve and brings joy. For us, this is part of self management, management controls, stakeholder management and organisational change management.

Some things to consider:

  • Checking in on continuous loops. Comfort in the familiar limiting potential.

  • Opening up to break points. Awareness of recurring signals for change.

  • Seeking difference. A view of the outside as well as the inside.

What break points are you ignoring? Where are the loops that support / limit you? What opportunity / challenge is difference showing you?

How does this thinking apply to you as a Project Manager? What routines / cadences are adding value? What change in routine could reduce your risk profile? Where are the team / stakeholders going through the motions? When are you scheduling time to look at existing / new break points?

Why is this important? Good question. Accepting routine for what it is can be healthy. Hair washing is a great example of this. When the routine becomes more complex it involves people, systems and places. A complex routine may seem healthy though it may also just be comfort with what we know. Looking to the future may be enough of a break point to validate or shift this routine. A break may require more energy than comfort though it could also pay bigger dividends over time.

For further viewing / reading:

Inviting you to have a view / read and to have a chat with me about your thoughts.

[Originally posted internally in my role as Project Management Practice Lead at The Warehouse Group.]

Thought for Friday: Fatigue

Here’s a bulletin on “The dangers of fatigue in the workplace”, www.worksafebc.com/en/resources/health-safety/hazard-alerts/the-dangers-of-fatigue-in-the-workplace?lang=en (Two Pages) [WorkSafe BC, Dec-2014]

The bulletin notes that reduced sleep is the biggest contributor to fatigue. Common signs of fatigue are tiredness, difficulty concentrating and slower reaction times. Some tips for reducing fatigue include getting at least 7.5 hours of sleep a night, regular sleep routines, reducing screen time in bed and exercising regularly. The unpredictability of Covid-19 in New Zealand  / globally has added to uncertainty for many of us and this may have affected sleep patterns. The article by Tony Schwartz and Emily Pine below may provide some practical tips if this is the case for you. As leaders and delivery specialists we need to be mindful of our own fatigue and signs of fatigue in our teams. For us, this is part of management controls, stakeholder management and organisational change management.

Some things to consider:

  • Meeting your needs first. Nourishing ourselves so that we can nourish others.

  • Replacing stimulants for sleep. Sleep is the best healer and booster.

  • Delegating isn’t doing. Resourcing appropriately and setting others up for success.

What is your sleep pattern? Where are your teams stretched? Are mistakes becoming more common?

How does this thinking apply to you as a Project Manager? What risk factors does fatigue bring? What is being done to manage / call out fatigue? Where can people go for rest? When is it OK to work?

Why is this important? Good question. A long, slow crisis like Covid-19 changes our behaviours. Sometimes quickly, like going into lockdown and other times more subtly. These subtle changes in the form of changed sleep patterns, lack of movement and active, speculative minds bring on fatigue. Checking in on what we think our routines are and observing what they actually are may help shift our behaviours. Bringing them back to pre Covid-19 levels and, in turn, reducing fatigue. Starting on this journey may be as simple as getting a few nights of 7.5 hours sleep.

For further viewing / reading:

Inviting you to have a view / read and to have a chat with me about your thoughts.

[Originally posted internally in my role as Project Management Practice Lead at The Warehouse Group.]

Thought for Friday: Perspective

Here’s a talk by Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman, Ogilvy called “Perspective is Everything”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iueVZJVEmEs (18:24) [TEDx Athens, 5-May-2012] 

He talks about the power of reframing things and argues that psychological ideas are not given the same weight as rational “spreadsheet” ideas when it comes to budgetary decision making. Sutherland notes that happiness may be less related to our circumstances and more related to the sense of control we feel we have over our lives. He makes the point that “Impressions have an insane effect on what we think and what we do” and are often overlooked in a rational approach. The sweet spot is the intersection of technology, psychology and economics. For us, this is part of management controls, organisational change management and organisational governance.

Some things to consider:

  • Exploring technology deficit. Whether more / new technology adds the value we expect.

  • Choosing our feelings. Name things to suit the intended feeling.

  • Valuing the cost / benefit of change. Is money just money, or something more?

What can you name that makes you happy? Where is your sense of control strongest? What value do you place on money?

How does this thinking apply to you as a Project Manager? What technology deficit are your teams solving for? What are the feelings that you and the team are looking to turn around? What activities / solutions are providing the most value? How is value measured?

Why is this important? Good question. We get to choose our perspective every minute of every day. It may be coloured by our experiences, our finances, our access to technology. Though, we always have a choice to change it. By taking this choice we can increase our sense of control over our lives and open up our decision making horizons.

For further viewing / reading:

Inviting you to have a view / read and to have a chat with me about your thoughts.

[Originally posted internally in my role as Project Management Practice Lead at The Warehouse Group.]

Thought for Friday: Comfort in Character

Here’s an article by Marjorie Garber, Professor of English and of Visual and Environmental Studies at Harvard University called “The Flatterer and the Chatterer”, https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2020/07/22/the-flatterer-and-the-chatterer  (1,800 words) [The Paris Review, 22-Jul-2020] 

Garber re-visits models of behaviour that are described by Theophrastus (370 – 285 B.C.). These models are described in 30 characters and are all extremes, either deficient or excessive. These characters return over the centuries in new models ranging from novels to psychology and have come to describe a “dominant attribute, or fault or vice”. They are the characters of comedy, novels and our life. The character types are present in our every day lives identified by their typical responses and behaviours.  For us, this is part of stakeholder engagement, organisational change management and organisational governance.

Some things to consider:

  • Engaging people. To excite and involve individual character types by tailoring the story.

  • Deconstructing stereotypes. A starting point to engage the person behind the character.

  • Avoiding character defining language. Focus on describing what is / what could be over what people expect to see.

What views do you have of people that you need to let go of? When does wearing a character type suit you? What language can you change to speak with a wider audience?

How does this thinking apply to you as a Project Manager? What can you role-play to reduce the impact of character types in meetings? What character types do your teams put into their personas? Who are you designing for?

Why is this important? Good question. We are all more than the stereotypes people interpret. This interpretation can be familiar and comfortable. Though, can also lead us down a path to the extremes of a character. Driven by a fear of stepping outside of our comfort zone. Taking a step past stereotypes into new character types broadens how we interpret our experiences and improves our understanding of the other.

For further viewing / reading:

Inviting you to have a view / read and to have a chat with me about your thoughts.

[Originally posted internally in my role as Project Management Practice Lead at The Warehouse Group.]

Thought for Friday: Our Best Work

Here’s an interview with Alanis Morrisette on “Ironic” and the 25 Year Anniversary of “Jagged Little Pill”, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/alanis-morissette-ironic-isnt-really-ironic-lyrics-1027132 (300 Words and a 39:08 interview) [RollingStone Music Now, Brian Hiatt, 10-Jul-2020]

Morrisette discusses owning her space in the world and being open to new beginnings. She touches on the irony of not wanting the song on the record, eventually agreeing, then realising later that it really wasn’t what she wanted as people attacked the lack of irony in the lyrics. She talks about embracing stupidity and brilliance which, as she notes in the song Hand in my Pocket, she hasn’t “got it all figured out just yet”. She also touches on the quest to find an answer and being open to the answer not coming. For us, this is part of management controls, risk management and organisational governance.

Some things to consider:

  • Creating space. A construct for exploration.

  • Building resilience. The opportunity / challenge stays on the table.

  • Embracing comedy. A place to play out opposing viewpoints.

What are you holding together? When do you let it all go? What is the outcome?                         

How does this thinking apply to you as a Project Manager? What constructs are in place for your teams? Where are scenarios played out? What can you look back on and take a learning from?

Why is this important? Good question. We may think that our best work is behind us. It may have been seminal, challenging and / or popular. This doesn’t mean that our work is done. Being open to explore what is currently before us and flexible enough to engage in it from many sides may bring our next best work.

For further viewing / reading:

Inviting you to have a view / read and to have a chat with me about your thoughts.

[Originally posted internally in my role as Project Management Practice Lead at The Warehouse Group.]

Thought for Friday: Crisis is Always Personal

Here’s a TEDx talk from Joseph Logan on “The Upside of Crisis”, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVtMYpOSNmA  (12:30) [TEDx Boulder (YouTube), 16-Oct-2014].

In the talk, Logan notes that crisis creates change, change creates choice. Crisis brings shock and grief and is a shared human experience. A time when an important and difficult decision must be made. Crisis breaks the status quo, it forces us to change. He proposes that change and crisis are the same thing, happening at different speeds. They offer the opportunity to nurture and grow the seed of change inside us. Importantly, the most creative periods of our lives are the ones immediately following crisis. For us, this is part of organisational change management, stakeholder management, management controls, risk management and organisational governance.

Some things to consider:

  • Trusting our decision making ability. The choices we make immediately following a crisis are tremendously important, though crisis makes it difficult to make choices.

  • Being uncomfortably comfortable. Choosing what happens next.

  • Timing change. Out of chaos comes the opportunity.

What values and ideals are you sharing with others? What are you moving forward with? What does your new day look like?

How does this thinking apply to you as a Project Manager? What messes are your teams cleaning up? Who is looking to gain your attention? What structures and communities are you leaning into to share your choices?

Why is this important? Good question. Crisis is messy. It can expose the parts of us that we want to keep to ourselves. It is personal. Leaning into personal and being open to the seed of change provides the opportunity for choice. With choice we can make decisions. Deciding whether now is the right time to grow this seed is the opportunity.   

For further reading:

Inviting you to have a view / read and to have a chat with me about your thoughts.

[Originally posted internally in my role as Project Management Practice Lead at The Warehouse Group.]

Thought for Friday: Two Opposite Positives

Here’s an interview with Anna McGrath of design and strategy firm Godfrey Dadich Partners on “leadership in the ‘new abnormal’“ http://semipermanent.com/articles/anna-mcgrath-gdp (1,675 words) [Christopher Barker, 21-Apr-2020].

In the interview she talks about staying on the upside of two opposites. She discusses the challenges we face needing to work from home which brings with it the opposite views of safety and survival. Focusing on ‘what can I control now?’ helps us remember that we get to control our actions and our choices. Surfacing and addressing fears unlocks the genius of people and is fed by our well-being and the well-being of our business. Both are necessary to thrive. For us, this is part of stakeholder management, organisational governance and risk management.

Some things to consider:

  • Being open to more than one possibility. Embracing both / and instead of either / or.

  • Leaning into the need for life. Balancing essential life-saving with essential life-rejuvenating.

  • Loving solving problems. Knowing what we are naturally great at.

  • Getting it all out in one breath. Saying things exactly in a ’10-second communication’.

What possibilities are you wrestling with? How is your life energy level? What problems to solve are getting you out of bed in the morning?

How does this thinking apply to you as a Project Manager? What actions and choices can your teams control? Where is fear showing up? When was the last time you had a well-being conversation?

Why is this important? Good question. If we head down the path of a reality driven by fear then our lives close in around us. Opening up to possibility, nurturing our selves and getting things out without the story that goes with them can only open us back up to solving the problems we are passionate about. This way we get to engage with the world and the world gets to engage with us.

For further reading:

Inviting you to have a read and to have a chat with me about your thoughts.

[Originally posted internally in my role as Project Management Practice Lead at The Warehouse Group.]