Richard Merrick

Thinking outside the tick box.

There is an excellent article by John Kay in today's Financial Times that got me thinking.
At present we are faced with a host of issues where box ticking as he describes is paramount - it's a great way for people and businesses to side step responsibility, and feel they are safe. They are of course, wrong on many counts.
It also highlights the opportunities for those who can think, rather than tick. The market opportunities post recession, post swine flu, post fear are real and vibrant - but they do not fit the boxes people are ticking.
If we trust our judgement, experience and instict, and above all look at our customers and markets with fresh eyes and a mindset that is focused on their needs, and with an intent to help them, the opportunities become clear. Of course there are risks - when haven't there been? - but in a climate when your competitors are hiding in the long grass, and ticking boxes, if you show interest and intent your customers may well follow you - even if it's only out of curiosity. But it becomes a conversation, and a deeper relationship. You win.

New Organisational Paradigms

I've been witnessing today, at first hand, how fundamentally and fast things are going to change. I'm a big fan of Seth Godin, and have been a member of his Triiibes experiment since the outset.

Today, I picked up an interesting thread on the changing nature of organisations. In the past, I would have read, filed, reflected and moved on. Today, I made an observation, and found myself in a virtual, but very rewarding conversation with people whom I've never met, but who gave selflessly of their time and brain and helped me develop my thinking.

Thank you, Elizabeth Teklinski and Ed Brenegar for taking such an interest. This blog feels very underdeveloped by comparison to yours, but I find it challenging and positive.

The overiding thought is, we did this today for interest. The motive was curiosity and generosity. If the same sentiments applied at a fraction of the level inside a conventional organisation, it would make a world of difference.

Which is why I think conventional organisations have a real problem. Opting in to virtual working, with minimal control is unlikely to be an option, but a necessity.

Generation Y - between a rock and a hard place?

Generation Y - those born since 1980 are now entering management ranks and leadership roles in real numbers. They have grown through the era of prosperity, and their profile is different to anything that has gone before. They are seeking fulfilment in ways beyond money, expect to have life enriching experiences, and make high demands on employers. For an overview, see this excellent article published in the Spring edition of Leadership Trust's magazine, LT Focus.

But.

We are now entering a phase totally foreign to them. Austerity, frugality, job shortages. for a generation brought up on "yes I can", "no you can't" - in relation to jobs, careers, finance is a harsh message.

They are however where our future leadership is coming from, and they will need support, encouragement and understanding if they are not to be alienated and take their ball home. Even their managers, "Generation X" (those born after 1965 and before 1980) have not seen a recession the likes of the one we are in. in reality, neither have I. So we cannot pretend we know the answers, nor can we predict with anything other than vain hope. We have to discuss, dissect and manage uncertainty. I do not think directive leadership will do it - rather we have to find ways of extracting the best, the most original, from our own experiences and those we work with.

In coaching terms, it is very "non directive" - we cannot instruct, we must encourage, enable and respect thinkers who are prepared to articulate different thoughts, and be prepared to entertain ideas with go against the grain of everything we have been brought up to believe.

I think the good news is that that might take to places and ideas that open up whole new opportunities.

Surprise, delight and disappointment

I missed my train yesterday morning, so got a later train that required a change en route - which i normally avoid. The change took me onto Virgin, and the rest of the journey was a delight - little things - quality and friendliness of service, speed, free, good breakfast, wi-fi. It made my morning.
Coming back, I opted for my normal route using East Midlands trains. By comparison, dowdy, dull, poor service and slow, It's only upside is is goes straight to St Pancras.
with both journeys the same price, it's not enough. My travel plans have just changed, for the medium term at least. It's that quick in the current climate. Forgiveness is a rarely afforded luxury....................

Thinking straight

According to one body of research, our brains can process around 126 bits of data per second. An average conversation uses 40. In order to assimilate additional information, we "chunk" it into convenient packages, determined by our cultures, upbringing and experience. It's where biases, prejudices and the like come from. Pre packaged thinking.
In many organisations, we add to this through standardised processes and systems (even worse, the organisations that educate our children do it). It ensures we get consistency and are not surprised.
The issue is that this makes all organisations more or less equal. Processes and systems can be plagiarised - we call it benchmarking. it becomes a race to the middle.
The thing that really differentiates organisations is their ability to think new thoughts - original thinking that uses some of the 86 available bits left over after the conversation (more if we shut up more and don't interrupt)
Original thinking can be uncomfortable to those who rely on standardised responses, or a joy to those of more anarchistic persuasion - but it is the one thing that will differentiate more than any other.
Look after your anarchists.

Risky Business

One of the features of the current business environment is how people have been sensitised to Risk. Ask anybody, and the normal perception is that there's a lot of it, so many decisions are avoided, delayed, or otherwise neutralised. It's a bit like our action after being booked for speeding - for days, we slow down, even though the risk of being caught is likely to remain constant.
The problem is, taking no action is often a bigger risk than taking some - so when we are forced to make a decision, the stakes may well be greater. Doing nothing may well allow us to slip deeper into the quicksand. There's an article in this weeks Economist that covers the argument well regarding traders.
Right now, there's a lot of people in the long grass. Be aware of what might happen when we all decide to start emerging. It will be a dangerous time.........................

Ken Robinson - the element

Right after I posted last, I fell on this, which complements my last post.  I'm a huge fan of the RSA (and a fellow) and love what they are trying to do.

The Intelligent choice?

There is an interesting article in today's Financial Times on the benefits - and drawbacks of high IQ. It is a very singular measure of ability, asnd like many standardised tests, is limited in scope. Ken Robinson, in his excellent book "The Element" covers this in an easy way ( and a short video, that covers some of the points, is on TED). The film is a short inspiration, the book a longer one.

The poinit is, in my view that we have a habit of limited scope when we measure things - from quality to people. And we miss opportunities. We focus so heavily on a limited range of measures that we reduce - significantly - the chances of giving our products, services. and businesses a unique character, and the appeal that goes with it.

Every great product has a flaw that gives it character, from a Morgan car to an Mac. The Flaw is rarely serious, but is in a unique point.  A huge IQ is great - but not if it is carried round by someone who cannot communicate, relate ot have fun.

Renny Gleeson on antisocial phone tricks | Video on TED.com

Renny Gleeson on antisocial phone tricks | Video on TED.com.

This is a great 3 minute film, and a good addition to the debate on us vs. social media - who is in control. I'll come back to this later...................

Selective deafness

Picking on bankers and politicians is easy meat at the moment. Their arrogance and apparent inability to restore some of their shattered credibility by listening, and acknowledging that there might be some substance for the scorn being shown them amazing.
But this mornng i realised why. Their systens are programmed to make getting effective feedback impossible. I received an automated call from my bank, querying a transaction my wife had made while travelling overseas. This is a beneficial and welcome service, and should reinforce the relationship we have with them. However, their total reliance on automated call systems shredded that possibility. It took ten minutes, a web search, and some creative answers to voice recognition systems to get to talk to a human. The human was friendly, but totally restricted in authority, and unable to do anything of any practical use. My wife will now have to talk to their international robot in the middle of the night in a time zone far far away. We have been with the bank for over 30 years, but I suspect it will not make 31.
But the point of this is not a diatribe at the banks - as I say, they are just too easy a target. The thought that struck me was that many of us are in glass houses, and have to be wary of throwing stones. In my own businesses we do not use any form of automated systems. The phone is always answered by humans, and our mobiles are given to all our customers, to be answered at any time.
But what about our web sites and other direct contact substitutes? Do they behave like the banks, and make it clear that we want to do anything other than talk to our customers? As one fascinated by the potential of technology, it came as a real and immediate reminder that people do business with people, not systems, and that the banks ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is not isolated.
I'm reviewing all my points of contact. Now. On a bank holiday Saturday. It is that important.