Jan 4 In 2012 I Resolve to read more . . .

Okay, lets assume that one of your resolutions for 2012 is to read more (By the way, does anybody resolve to read less?).  And, for the purposes of this post, let's also assume that you have resolved to read more worthwhile books and not just a lot of pulp fiction or the latest from Danielle Steel.

Well, what are you going to read?

Well, there are several places to check out, including the staff picks at Talking Leaves (A wonderful well staffed  independent bookstore here in Buffalo) or the best of 2011 list at Amazon, and, of course, there is venerable New York Times Best Sellers List.

But here is another idea from Bob Sutton.  Mr. Sutton is Professor of Management Science and Engineering in the Stanford Engineering School, where he focuses on studies regarding evidence-based management.  He is also the author of many books, including Good Boss, Bad Boss and The No Assholes Rule — two book that deserve a place on your reading list for 2012 if you haven't already read them.  And his blog, Work Matters,  also deserves your regular attention.

Mr. Sutton has put together a list of  "11 Books Every Leader Should Read" (he also has an 12th suggestion at the end, but we'll let him decide the title for his blog entry, no matter how inaccurate).  It is a great list and I have already added a few of these to my own 2012 reading list.

Check it out here — and let me know which book or books you thought were most meaningful to you and  how you work.

11 Books Every Leader Should Read 

via bobsutton.typepad.com

Jan 2 In 2012 I Resolve to . . .

It's that time of year again.  That time when we take inventory of our faults & shortcomings and resolve to — and I really mean it this year — change.  There are the popular ones like losing weight, exercising more, reading more, eating less, and calling our mothers/sisters/parents more.  And usually we have some that correlate to our work life: finishing a long neglected project, deciding to get better organized, or set limits regarding the work/life balance.

 Good luck with that.

 Face it, there are strong forces that lead us to where we are as persons, employees, and members of our community.  And it is going to take more that a list and a date on the calendar to move us from previous, usually comfortable behaviors, to the new you.  

 Perhaps instead of what you should do in 2012 you should think about what you should not do.  That is the advice from Kelly McGonigal.  Ms. McGonigal is a Stanford lecturer and author of “The Willpower Instinct” that explores the psychology, economics, and neuroscience of self-control and that offers some compelling (and counter-intuitive) advice.  Namely, that instead of making a New Year’s resolution, we should instead pledge not to change something in our lives.  (You can get the book here)

Interested?  Check out this interview with Daniel Pink

Oh, and Happy New Year.  We wish you health and happiness in 2012 and hope you achieve everything you strive for.  One of my resolutions is to write more Blog entries this year.  In December we will see how well I did.

 

Nov 18 The Shifting Definition of Worker Loyalty

Is loyalty in the workplace dead? Lynda Gratton, a workplace expert, proclaimed that it was. In The Financial Times, she said that it had been “killed off through shortening contracts, outsourcing, automation and multiple careers.” via www.nytimes.com

This article isn't new — it was published in the NY Times last April when summer was still on our horizon. But I thought about it when I came across information contained in a study from Manpower called “The Role of Contingent Workers in Workforce Strategy”

Contingent Workforce — This is a fairly new term, but Human Resource professionals are very familiar with it. It means someone who performs services for an employer, but who is not technically an employee. This includes temporary workers, freelancers, consultants and other contract workers.

Over a decade ago author Daniel Pink predicted in his book Free Agent Nation that many workers will chose to go it alone outside of the corporate structure. He described a worker utopia (for some) in which you worked for yourself and sold your services to a variety of employers. You could work at home in your pajamas if you liked and then move on to another buyer when it suited you. And while many workers choose this course, for many it is no longer a choice because a growing number of jobs are now contingent positions: temporary, freelance, contract, etc.

Coming out of the recession, half of all new jobs created in the US will be contingent ones and constitute a full 25% of the total workforce. This is a US statistic, but global reports indicate that the rest of the world is moving this way too.  At Best Buy corporate headquarters, for example, provisional workers make up nearly a third of the staff.

Nov 11 Change

No, not that kind of change.  Not the loose change in your pocket or purse, we're talking about the change that is swirling around us.

Almost everybody agrees to three points regarding change:  Every wants change, nobody wants to change — and it is inevitable.

Look around you.  How much has stayed the same in the past five or ten years?  Not much.  Sure, we look as young as ever, but we're using different technology (How often do you use the yellow pages anymore?), we work with different people (Up to five generations are now in the workplace), and corporate structures — and the names we give those structures! — seem to change constantly (What is Netflix called this week — anybody know?).

Like most people, you probably have much better internet access than ten or even five years ago.  Internet access that once seemed frivolous is more and more a critical part of our daily life at home and at work. I'll bet it's much more casual at your office too.  I'm not talking about the disappearing suits & ties either.  Corporate structures are more relaxed and informal.  And our hours have changed too.  Flex time, job sharing, and mobile work is not just a passing fad.  Finally, how you receive news has changed whether it is about the debt crises in  Greece, the latest polling information about the upcoming election, or the latest news on Justin Bieber.

So, let me ask you, how much as your workplace changed as a result.  Your people are more casual, working more collaboratively and mobile than ever.  Are you supporting these needs with more "we" spaces?  And what about your workforce's expectations?  We rarely see a sea of new offices made up of 66" high panels — but what about existing spaces.  If your people cannot see each other how much can you expect collaboration?

Take a few moments tonight on your daily commute to think about how much has changed in your workplace.  Then ask yourself two simple questions: Is all the change done (I doubt it) and how well does your workplace support where you want your company to be in five or ten years?

 

May 11 And now for something completely different . . .

And now for something completely different. This phrase is familiar to those of a certain age -- and, perhaps, a certain sense of humor.  Monty Python used this phrase to transition from one sketch to another.  

But this post isn't about The Ministry of Silly Walks, lumberjacks, dead parrots or any of the other classic bits.  It is about exploring something completely different in the workplace.

Jim McDonald from our office recently told me of a website he came across called Office Snapshots that is a great source of different and innovative workspaces from around the world.

Frequently we get requests from customers expressing a desire for a "different" or more progressive workplace.  Google’s innovative workplaces are frequently cited as a reference.  But a workplace full of canoes hanging from stairwells, foosball tables at the handy, ubiquitous coffee bars, and floor-to-floor slides all too often fall prey to the relatively more mundane pressures of real-estate, limitations of budgets, and the comfort and safety provided by more traditional layouts -- and that’s really too bad.  Not because everyone should have a workstation-in-a-cable-car to make private phone calls, but because the tyranny of sameness is rarely a good idea.

Consider your own office and how creative you and your fellow employees are.  Okay, now ask yourself how appropriate that is, and, let’s keep in mind, creativity is not always the most important thing in the workplace.  For instance, if you’re in finance, creativity is probably not such a good idea.  An advertising, marketing or internet search company, on the other hand, might put a greater value on creativity.  

Now, how well does your workplace support creativity?  Are you asking for innovation, teamwork, and collaboration from a sea of grey 65” high cubicles?

Sometime you just need ideas, and remember, this doesn’t have to be expensive.  Look at Office Snapshots on the web.  This site is chock full of interesting workplaces and ideas.

 Now get back to work — after you check out those Monty Python videos.  They’re hysterical.

Apr 18 Offices vs. Workplaces

We used to design offices, now we design workplaces.

Here is the difference.  Previously, the emphasis was usually focused on the individual.  That is, what an individual needed (storage, workstation size, guest seating, etc.), and how to isolate the individual from other individuals.  Then a number of "standards," or an inventory of separate workstation types, usually developed along hierarchical lines, would be designed.  Finally, these individual workstations would be stitched together to form a workplace.  

 Now we are seeing a more holistic approach to workplace design.  This starts with a higher level look at an organization, where it is, where it is headed, and then asks the question: "how does the workplace design support that journey?" This consideration of the workplace as a whole is usually more appropriate because, increasingly, we are spending more time out of those individual offices and among others in the workplace.  Because of advances in technology we have access to information and data that previously was available only when tethered to our offices.  And we collaborate more, that is, our work is less a product of individual work and more the result of collective efforts.

 So here is your homework.  Ask yourself how much has the technology you use in the workplace changed in the last, let's say, ten years. In that time period, how much has your processes, people, and how you are organized changed?  If you are like most people in most organizations your answer is "a lot!"  

Okay, now the uncomfortable part: in the face of all that change, how much has your workplace changed?  Is it a group of individual workstations or a collaborative, supportive workplace?  Does it reflect how you work now, or how work was done 10 or more years ago?

 And now the tough question: how appropriate is that?

 I'm just asking. 

Mar 27 Every day you get better or worse. . . But you don’t stay the same

Jim Hackett, Steelcase’s CEO, is fond of quoting this from his old coach at Michigan, Bo Schembechler.  The legendary coach was a firm believer that every day you either improve or get worse, but you never stay the same.

It’s an interesting proposition and it begs the question “How are we doing?”  If we can’t stay the same, hopefully we are getting better or, (gulp!) worse.

This is also an interesting question when you consider that change is constantly swirling around us.  Competitors, economic conditions, and other market forces are also getting better or worse. So, today, how do we stack up compared to yesterday?

In our business we see significant change every day.  More often than not, when we deliver new furniture it involves change of some sort for that organization.  And everybody wants change, right?  Well, not really.  Usually we want others to change, but are less than enthusiastic about changing ourselves. 

But, if you agree with Coach Schembechler, we are already changing every day.  How well we respond and adapt to change determines if we are better or worse today than yesterday.

One thing is certain, you cannot stay the same.  With everything else changing, that is not an option.

So how about you?

Chances are, your process, how your people are organized, and the technology has changed dramatically over the past 5-10 years.  What about your workplace?  Has that evolved to support those other changes, or is it still stuck in the past?  

Remember, you only have two choices - is it better or worse — being the same is not an option.

 

Mar 27 Have You Ever Bought a Cheap Pair of Shoes?

Like a toddler that incessantly repeats a new sound, I have been asking this question for years now. My children laugh out loud now when they hear me.  After all these years they know that it is shorthand for “don’t waste your money on something cheap.” 

More than just about shoes, it is a lesson we have all learned the hard way when we have wasted money by letting price dominate our purchase decision.  And it is a lesson that applies to  many things we buy including shoes, house paint, washing machines, and office furniture.

Don’t get me wrong, I like a deal as much as the next guy and we all have budgets to deal with.  And, of course, there certainly is a rule of diminishing returns — A Bugatti Veryon may be a very nice car, but most of us cannot afford - or need - a $1.7 million car to get back and forth to work (Plus, I’ll bet it’s not very good in snow).  

But, if you ever have bought a cheap pair of shoes, an inexpensive bookcase, or big-box retailer’s task chair, you know what I mean.  You probably didn’t like them too much the day you brought them home, cursed their performance, and couldn't wait to replace them.  Only now, that is going to cost you more — the cost of the replacement on top of the cost of the one you just threw away.  Some deal.

And the difference is not as much as you think — a top of the line, high performance Steelcase Leap chair would cost you less than 30 cents a day, and that’s assuming you threw it away in only seven years (not likely).  That is not too much for something supportive and comfortable, is it?

Something to think about next time you are tempted by something just because it is cheap.