Friday 30 June 2017

The Future of Conferences by Gihan Perera

This is excellent from my friend and colleague Gihan Perera. I highly recommend you download the report too via the link in the YouTube summary.



Be remarkable.
Ian

Wednesday 28 June 2017

Is it time to reset your structure and systems?

I was fascinated to hear Carlton Football Club Senior Coach Brendon Bolton talk about structure and system reset in a recent post game press conference. (Disclaimer I am a Carlton supporter!)


He was referring to time out in the game due to an injury to an opposition player. Brendon commented "we got a few messages out, our leadership group did a great job in spreading the messages, and we got our systems and structures reset."

Grasping this opportunity Brendon felt was a key to winning the game.

There are many opportunities to reset your structure and systems in your business. Are you making the most of them?

Who will you become? What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Monday 26 June 2017

Digital technology is a means not a strategy


The above graphic is from this excellent research document by the Alimeter Group which you can download yourself here.

I meet many people who think technological change and transformation is the be all and end all for their business success. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Who will you become? What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Friday 23 June 2017

Thriving On The Challenges Of Change Manifesto



Be remarkable.
Ian

PS Scroll down here and you'll find all of my manifesto's, the above plus Changing What's Normal, Remarkablisation, The Appreciative Leader, and BS Free Workplaces.

Wednesday 21 June 2017

Are you scaling your business into irrelevance?

I came across the above statement here.

It got me thinking about my own professional practice and my client's businesses.

Who will you become? What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Monday 19 June 2017

Turning a 'hunch' into your next big thing

For several months now I've had the following statement on my office wall as a visual reminder:

"Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do." 
Steve Jobs

I stopped travelling all over the place all the time for my work about 5 years ago. My goal was to work 90% of the time with people whose primary place of business is no more than a couple of hours from my home, as well as working more online.

Contemplating Steve's statement every day has helped me to get it mostly right for me yet I still believed I had a missing piece.

I had plenty of ideas running around in my head.

Then I read Bernadette Jiwa's latest work pictured.

The subsequent personal work I did working through the exercises in the book got me over the line on my new flagship work which you can read about here.

I've consumed all of Bernadette's books and read her regular blog posts and contemplate them all very carefully.

Along with Seth Godin and a couple of other people Bernadette has changed marketing forever in my view.

What I particularly value about 'hunch' is the Over To You sections in the book where you take action based on Bernadette's great structure and prompts, as well as stories she has previously shared.

I highly recommend 'hunch' which you can purchase here.

Be remarkable.
Ian

PS 'hunch' was the first physical book I've bought for awhile. It was really great to hold a real book again and to leave it on my desk, in the library, on the lounge room coffee table etc, while I was working with it. I have a hunch things that we can touch and feel might be making a comeback!

Friday 16 June 2017

How to make the shift from knowledge work to meaningful work

There's a lot to love about this working class manifesto.

Meaning no disrespect to the author I would replace the word knowledge with human or meaningful.

I believe we've moved on from knowledge work.

Knowledge might have meant power once. Today trust is power.

Today the most remarkable work is human work. And the key to human work is that it's meaningful.

The author of the manifesto Esko Kilpi nails this himself when he says the following:

Post-industrial business is about doing meaningful things 
with meaningful people 
in a meaningful way.

Machines will soon do most of the algorithmic work, the simple, routine, and repetitive. In the process at least half of the jobs available today will be gone in a decade or less.


The exciting news is that this means human work is increasing in value. The artisan is back. Human work is creative, collaborative, and meaningful.

Human work can also be rare as well as valuable and meaningful as Cal Newport beautifully describes in his wonderful book 'Deep Work'.

One of the key reasons I believe we have past the era of knowledge work and knowledge workers is because knowledge is now accessible via the internet.

Of course knowing doesn't mean wisdom and as Stephen Covey once observed "To know and not to do is really not to know."

How to make the shift from knowledge work to meaningful work

We can all do work that is meaningful to us. A key question to ask is: How can work that is meaningful to us be meaningful and valuable (and rare) for others?

Action

Make a list of all the people you have working relationships with and over time converse with each person to discover how the value you deliver to them can be more valuable, meaningful, and rare to them. Then deliver such value.

Be remarkable.
Ian

Wednesday 14 June 2017

How to find your ikigai

I first came across the Japanese concept of Ikigai in this Linkedin Pulse article by Bruce Kasanoff. Then I read about it again on page 445 of Roger Hamilton's great ebook 'Entrepreneur Inspiration 2017'.

Here's to you finding your Ikigai!

Be remarkable.
Ian


Monday 12 June 2017

How To Guarantee You Have The Best Time In The World

The most common answer I get when I ask people How are you going? is busy, or a number of variations on the theme.

When I really know the person and they know where I'm coming from I often ask; Busy doing what?

It's easy to be busy isn't it?

It's a different thing altogether often to being valuable.

I'd much rather be valuable than busy.

And if I'm being valued as well as being valuable then life doesn't get much better.

Some folk wear being time poor as a badge of honour. There's not enough hours in the day they say. There is actually.

It's easy to get caught up isn't in a seemingly always on 24/7 world and to have lost sight of what actually matters? I too heard myself say to myself the other day, Where did the day go?

It's been said that time is the ultimate non-renewable resource. I find this a sobering thought. Particularly the older I get and when the realisation sinks in that there is much less time left than there's been in my life!

1) See yourself as remarkable and become who you see

In case you need a reminder that we are all remarkable please read here and here or pages 7 and 13 and 14 in the ebook 'Meaningful Work and The Meaning of Life' which you can download here.

Imagine yourself in flow every moment of every day. And when it doesn’t work, stop and be still. Reflect and learn, and start again. The meaning of life is to live a meaningful life.

Imagine yourself not being stressed, just being the best version of yourself in each moment. And when you mess up, take corrective action in the next moment. Move on, no regrets about what you did or didn’t do, and no attachment to what others did or didn’t do.

Imagine no time constraints, just promises you made, agreed to keep, and actually do.

We all have 168 hours this week. Because you and I are one-of-a-kind human beings how we invest in this time is our choice.

My best advice is take W Mitchell’s wisdom to your heart, "It's not what happens to you. It's what you do about it."

2) See other people as remarkable and make it a priority to help them to become who they see

When we feel like we don’t have enough time there are generally three key reasons:
1) We made an unwise choice that seemed fine at the time and it’s been all down hill from there; 2) we and/or the person or people we’re dealing with right now aren’t being the best versions of ourselves, 3) the processes we’re following don’t make it simple for us to be the best version of ourselves and therefore we should modify or change the process before moving on.

In the 8th Habit Stephen Covey defines leadership as “communicating people’s worth and potential so clearly that they come to see it themselves.”

His 8th habit BTW is "finding your voice and helping other people find theirs. " I call it remarkablisation.

However you name it or see it make it your priority, regardless of circumstance or situation, to see other people as remarkable and help them to become who they see.

3) Systematically eliminate everything that’s inhibiting people feeling valued, living values, and delivering value in your team/organisation

The following are the top 21 most common inhibitors I witness. Would you add any to the list? What’s on your list? 

What's the one action you will take next?

1) There’s an absence of visual measuring of progress in meaningful work.

2) There’s no agreed behaviours in place for values.

3) The delivery of value and who to is absent or unclear in role clarity statements.

4) Problem solving & decision making processes not being followed.

5) Mostly problems are solved and challenges met and performance returns to normal rather than opportunities being taken to innovate.

6) Not all processes, policies, procedures, practices, and systems means it’s simple for people to bring the best version of themselves to their work every day.

7) Conversations are avoided where there’s difficulty, conflict, or disagreements.

8) People are trying to manage change rather than lead it.

9) There’s no change process being followed.

10) Decisions are being continually revisited.

11) Documentation is produced in lieu of action.

12) Meetings occur with key players absent.

13) Meetings have no agendas and/or the purpose of them is unclear.

14) Meetings are poorly conducted.

15) Questions about whether the purpose of the meeting was fulfilled aren’t being asked.

16) Whiteboards are full and scoreboards aren’t easily seen.

17) Diaries full.

18) Inbox full.

19) Not enough deep work is being undertaken and shallow work dominates. There’s a majoring in minors.

20) Confusion between what information should be shared and what doesn't need to be.

21) Overall there is a lack of people being appreciated when they do well and a lack of people being held accountable immediately they need to be.

A key is not be feel overwhelmed by any of these inhibitors or those you may have added to the list. The keys are What's the one inhibitor you see right now? and What's the one action you will take next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

PS Below is my foundation model for ensuring everyone is having the best time in the world. It comes from The Appreciative Leader handbook.


Friday 9 June 2017

How to guarantee you'll succeed in the changes you lead

On the first Monday of every month (except December and January) I conduct complimentary symposiums online from 4.30 through 5.30 pm AEST. We explore the 5 foundations for remarkablising your workplace pictured below.


On the 3rd July I start the cycle of five symposiums again.

Before participating in a symposium you download a red paper and in the case of 'Remarkable is the new normal', a workbook. You then take action in your own best way before the symposium.

At the end of the symposium we arrange a time for a 1 hour online after action review and sustaining momentum workshop.

All the detail is at the registration link here.

Approximately 3 hours investment of your attention over 3 months for better business results at less personal cost. It doesn't get much better than this!

Be remarkable.
Ian

Wednesday 7 June 2017

The 19 essentials for remarkable value creation and delivery

The degree of success (or not) of every organisation is determined by value delivery.

Value delivery depends on people feeling valued and living values which are greatly influenced by leadership, management, and culture.

Below is the base model I often use when I begin to work with my clients.


As a general rule before I work with a team, business, or individual, I undertake a remarkability review checking on the 19 areas that I have come to understand are critical for consistent high performance in value creation and delivery.

I rate each area as good signifying basic standards of performance are being achieved; great, performance is better than basic, or remarkable, conspicuously extraordinary performance is happening.

I then document with those accountable agreed actions to be taken in the next 90 days and either schedule a time to come back for an after actions review, or agree with the client on what work I will undertake to help people to take the agreed actions.

The 19 areas critical for consistent high performance in value creation and delivery

People feel valued

1) People are recruited for value delivery role/s and for willingness to live values.

2) Role Clarity Statements (RCS) articulate purpose, value deliverables and to whom.

3) Induction/onboarding begins unleashing and enhancing people's gifts.

4) Personal and Team Performance Improvement Plans are conversation focusing tools along with RCS.

5) L & D framework in place and successfully unleashing and enhancing gifts.

6) Leadership is the art of ensuring people feel valued.

7) There’s a culture of catching people doing the right thing and being appreciated for doing so.

8) Individual and team scorecards show progress in meaningful work.

People live values

9) The organisation’s reason for being (purpose) is clearly articulated and understood as being very different to their results.

10) There’s an intimate awareness of who the organisation serves and the challenges they want to overcome, problems they want solved, and desires they want to fulfill.

11) Values are in alignment with above and are articulated as 5 or less behaviours.

12) People are held to account.

13) Persistent failure to live values means dismissal. No-one is any doubt about this or immune from it.

14) Candid and convivial communication and conversations underpin the culture.

People deliver value

15) Must Have’s, Should Have’s and Nice-to-haves (value) documented for all stakeholder groups and under continual review.

16) There are agreed processes in place for:
Major decision-making
Change
Business development
Workflow
Turning information into insight into inspiration into ideas into innovation.

17) Operating policies, procedures, practices, and system mean it’s simple for people to deliver value.

18) At transaction and interaction levels everyone is empowered to make decisions.

19) When a problem occurs opportunities are taken to innovate rather than simply solving the problem and returning to the status quo.

You can do your own remarkability review using the above process and this document.

If you'd like some help please give me a shout. My number is +61 418 807 898.

Be remarkable.
Ian

Monday 5 June 2017

I'd be very grateful for your help in improving this blog

Having just entered my eleventh year of writing this blog I'm passionate about making the future better than past.

Therefore I'd be very grateful if you'd be candid and tell me what you'd like more and less of, and how you feel that I can better meet your needs, expectations and desires. 

Just email ian@ianberry.biz with your thoughts.

In gratitude and with thanks in advance.

Be remarkable.
Ian

PS If you missed the ebook (pictured below) that celebrates my 10 years of blogging with my best learnings over the decade for purpose driven leaders who want to achieve better business results at less personal cost, you can download the ebook by scrolling down here.

Friday 2 June 2017

Remarkablise Your Leadership Self-directed Achievement Course

I'm delighted to formally announce that this unique online course is now available.

All 5 modules are here.

This is the only leadership development program in the world that I know of where you can choose to make your investment up front or at a time of your choosing as you take action on the proven principles presented in your own best way.

It's also the only leadership development program where you can invest what I'm asking or more or less.

That's right, You decide your investment!

Get started here.

Be remarkable.
Ian

PS Should you get to the course page and decide you're not yet ready to do the course then participate in an online or in person event first. Details of upcoming events are here.