I was privileged to take part this weekend in one the most uplifting and inspiring events I have ever been to. Founded by Clare and David Hieatt, The Do Lectures bring together an amazing group of people from all walks of life to live for four days at Fforest, a glamping site in West Wales, with great talks, great conversations, and great food. [The photo above is our speaking venue!]

There were so many inspiring people, but for me meeting Maggie Doyne, who runs a school for orphans in Nepal was the highlight. I gave Maggie a lift down to Wales from her train and did the usual thing of being sociable and asking what she did. I kind of took it in but had only scraped the surface. When she did her presentation to the audience of 170 people there was hardly a dry eye in the house as we all took in what she does day in day out and the energy and commitment she shows to reduce other people’s suffering.

Other special moments included sorting the world out with Sir Tim Berners-Lee sitting around the campfire – which is a bit like passing the time of day with Gutenberg –  and getting to spend time with David Allen whose book Getting Things Done has made such a difference to my life. And then there was Ed Stafford who had just become the first person to walk the entire length of the Amazon …. and Steve Edge … and Jay Rogers … and …

Thanks to everyone at Do – I’ll not forget this weekend in a long time.

View Rainmakers Bio »
Go to Source »

In order for the promised benefits of Enterprise 2.0 to become reality people have to be prepared to say what they think. Sadly in conversation about this many people say something along the lines of “most people don’t want to think”. I am beginning to suspect they may be right. The biggest challenge to getting people to share isn’t to do with technology it is to do with very personal challenges and issues that relate to their sense of self and their relationship with their employers. I find it really sad that through school and into the workplace it can become not worthwhile, or even dangerous, to think while at work. What was it about the corporate world that made this seem a sensible outcome? What was it about the individuals and the culture that made this a reality for many? What can we do to help make it different in the future?

I am going to tackle this topic in my session “Being Human” at Social Business Edge in New York in a couple of weeks time. My blurb for that session is as follows:

This whole Enterprise 2.0 thing can make it seem as if we are talking about something radically new but aren’t we just getting back to the future? Aren’t we just in a small way rediscovering being human at work? The whole Protestant work ethic thing about work being hard and dour and even scary has become so pervasive in so many workplaces that it has made sense to leave a large part of ourselves at the door when we arrive at work. But aren’t we leaving the best parts behind? The creative part, the social part, the very attributes that make us human and enable us to be the best we can be? How do we help this inclination to be more human at work to grow? How do we allow ourselves to tap the most effective parts of our characters in a place where to do so has, in many cases, been downright dangerous?

View Rainmakers Bio »
Go to Source »

I attended a funeral today. A very moving and nice tribute to a man who had a real zest for life and was very much loved by everyone who knew him. One of the readings was from 1 Corinthians 13 which I quote below.

As I listened I heard it in terms of some of the things that can seem to really matter in this brave new 2.0 world but which in fact maybe don’t.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.

View Rainmakers Bio »
Go to Source »

At some point in the distant past, a client was describing the problems he was having implementing a particularly tricky change policy on his company. While listening to him I realised that I’d been through this situation several times myself so we discussed what his options were to overcome objectors. Out of that discussion came a process I call “Slaying Dragons” which has the express aim of enhancing buy-in to change and strategy. One of it’s advantages is that it is as powerful working on the board of directors as it is in, say, the fleet management team. Another of it’s advantages is that it is simple to understand and to implement.

What follows is a one page overview of Slaying Dragons so that you can get a feel of how it works. It has been a fun process to facilitate and the outcome has always been positive.

Enjoy!

Slaying Dragons

Enhancing Buy-in

The Problem

One of the biggest problems faced by any leader is getting the team to understand, and more importantly, buy into a new strategy and/or plan of action.

Countless, and often precious, hours can be wasted persuading team members that a) the strategy makes sense and is the correct course of action and b) helping them to understand their role within the strategy. As we all know, team members are often afraid of change and what effect it might have on them and their jobs and so take entrenched positions which can ultimately harm both themselves, in terms of their career and standing amongst colleagues, or, more importantly, the success of the strategy.

Best Case Outcome

Clearly the best case outcome is that every member of the team instantly understands the strategy and the role they are required to perform. Sadly this almost never happens. Consequently we need to ensure that everyone understands and buys into the strategy collectively even if they are unsure or unhappy with the effect it might have on them personally. The power of this collective responsibility should never be underestimated, as not only is every member of the team committed to the agreed course of action, but they have also implicitly committed themselves to their colleagues to make it succeed; as we know, people are generally more worried about “losing face” with colleagues than just about anything else in the workplace. Slaying Dragons is a technique that delivers this. In anything complex in an organisation, many attitudes and anxieties (the “dragons”) remain hidden in “caves” and only come out later at inconvenient times, often with very disruptive effects on the change.

The Technique – Slaying Dragons

This workshop runs for about 4-5 hours (it can last longer than this depending upon numbers and the level of engagement from the participants) and uses a number of well understood concepts. It breaks down into 5 parts.

Part 1 – Strapping on Armour
Break up into pairs, choosing someone you do not know well or work closely with. Take turns to listen to each other and discovery 3 things that each of you is good at. Maximum 30 minutes total. (Appreciative Inquiry). This gets everyone into listening mode as opposed to talking mode.

Part 2 – Look into the Dragon’s Eye
Everyone comes up with a verb and a noun to describe the organisation. This is how the organisation is viewed today and is the starting point for change.

Part 3 – Taking Aim
Using the Value Discipline Model, everyone discusses where they believe the organisation is today. It is highly unlikely that there will be consensus.

Part 4 – Wielding the Sword
The same exercise as Part 2, but this time the words describe how the group sees the organisation at some agreed point in the future (i.e. in 2 years time).

Part 5 – Extinguishing the Flame
The group decides and agrees how to get from Today (Part 2) to Tomorrow (Part 4). This is where the proposed strategy can be analysed by the group and buy-in confirmed.

Conclusion

This technique is proven to be successful at achieving buy-in. It also has the (dis)advantage of modifying the strategy in real time based upon the group’s feedback. When this occurs, the buy-in is even stronger as the group recognises that it has shaped the outcome and is therefore even more committed to it.

---

Copyright © 2009 Philip de Lisle. This Feed is for personal non-commercial use only. If you are not reading this material in your news aggregator, the site you are looking at is guilty of copyright infringement. Please contact legal@www.philipdelisle.com so we can take legal action immediately.
Plugin by Taragana

View Rainmakers Bio
Go to Source