Monday 30 April 2018

The Excellence Dividend - Tom Peters

This book was a joy to study.

I admit I am biased. Tom Peters has been a shining light for me ever since I began speaking and mentoring professionally in 1991. He's greatly influenced my writings too.

This book will stay on my desk for sometime to come. Perhaps for all time. It makes my top 21 books list that I recommend you read.

Tom has always had a bias for action. In this book there are many actions for you to consider.

I've already adapted a few of Tom's recommendations in my own professional practice as well as my personal life.

A further joy was discovering Tom's The Works web page. He says use them, share them. I highly recommend that you do.

Be remarkable.
Ian


Friday 27 April 2018

What's the best question you've been asked this month?

I've been studying Michael Bungay Stanier's book.

I've placed it on my recommended reading list.

The two questions I valued the most from Michael's seven are:

What's the real challenge here for you? and

What was most useful for you?

Asking great questions is a key leadership skill.

What great questions have you asked other people this month?

What's the best question you've been asked this month?

I'd really value you letting me know your answers to the above as I'm putting together a paper on great questions. My email is ian@ianberry.biz

Be remarkable.
Ian


Wednesday 25 April 2018

Is post-growth one of the solutions to the best future for humanity?

"The old generation of innovators believed that tech would allow us to subdue nature and bend it to our will.  Our generation is waking up to a more hopeful truth: that our survival depends not on domination, but on harmony." say the folk at The Rules where you'll see this video.



In the email from The Rules that alerted me to this video was this viewpoint of David Attenborough

“Anyone who thinks we can have infinite growth on a finite planet is either a madman or an economist.”

What's your view?

In my life-time we have shifted from the economy being part of society to society being part of the economy. I for one am on a mission to change this. You?

I like 3 of the suggestions for changing from The Rules

"We could start by ditching GDP as an indicator of success in favor of a more balanced measure like the Genuine Progress Indicator, which accounts for negative “externalities” like pollution and material depletion.   We could roll out a new money system that doesn’t pump our system full of interest-bearing debt. And we could start thinking about putting caps on material use, so that we never extract more than the Earth can regenerate."

Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Monday 23 April 2018

Your change is short-lived when your processes remain the same

I like this McKinsey model. You can learn more about it here.


The most common challenge I see in workplaces is change is positive and then falls over because of a management failure to keep up i.e. processes, policies, procedures, practices or systems haven't been updated to reflect the change.

"A bad system will beat a good person every time." said W. Edwards Deming.

Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Friday 20 April 2018

Meaning matters more than measuring

My greatest learning over my 45 year + working life is that better business results at less personal cost are a consequence of people being remarkable and doing work that is meaningful for them and highly valuable for others, in harmony with technology being utilised to enhance the human experience.



I observe that the very best leaders value meaning and are actively helping others to find it. They have let go the 20th century management idea of obsession with measurements.

Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.
William Bruce Cameron in 'Informal Sociology' published 1963.

Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Wednesday 18 April 2018

The shift from STEM to STEAM

Another stand out for me in the Deloitte 2018 Global Human Capital Trends referenced in my last post was the following on pages 41 and 42:

"Many of today’s fastest-growing jobs are in fields such as health care, sales, and professional services that are essentially human, but can be aided and augmented by machines. Indeed, the most in demand technical roles have shifted from STEM to STEAM, where the “A” stands for arts.

A recent Burning Glass study found that even data and analytics jobs now require skills such as writing, research, problem-solving, and teamwork. Scott Hartley writes in his book, The Fuzzy and the Techie, that the best technology and products come from innovations that blend the arts and sciences together:"

Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

Be remarkable.
Ian

Monday 16 April 2018

Trust is power

The above is from the Deloitte 2018 Global Human Capital Trends which you can download here. 

While I believe that the term 'human capital' is an insult to us human beings there's a lot of value in the report.

Trend 6 in particular caught my eye:

"TREND 6. CITIZENSHIP AND SOCIAL IMPACT: SOCIETY HOLDS THE MIRROR

An organization’s track record of corporate citizenship and social impact now has a direct bearing on its core identity and strategy. Engagement with other stakeholders on topics such as diversity, gender pay equity, income inequality, immigration, and climate change can lift financial performance and brand value, while failure to engage can destroy reputation and alienate key audiences. Many 
organizations are still catching up: 77 percent of our respondents say that citizenship is important, but only 18 percent say this issue is a top priority reflected in corporate strategy."

Who will you become?

What will yo do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Friday 13 April 2018

Being born at all is remarkable. Staying remarkable is our quest

I rejoice every day in the fact that all human beings are unique and that being born at all is such a miracle. More of my thoughts on this. Therefore I love this Sir Ken Robinson TEDx talk.



Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

Wednesday 11 April 2018

3 standards for ethical communication

I've now completed my study of this great book. You can get this book yourself here.

You my view my Amazon review here.

On page 23 there is a really great question in regards to communication:

"If your audience knew everything you know about your subject, would they think you had portrayed it fairly?"

3 standards for ethical communication from this book:

1) It is factually correct.

2) It is intended to achieve a constructive outcome which the audience would support.

3) It will not cause members of your audience to act in a way that harms them.

I highly recommend this book. It makes my general recommended reading list and my top 21 list.

Be remarkable.
Ian

Monday 9 April 2018

3 kind ways to not be distracted/disrupted/disturbed by all the BS

The fast way to the insights of this post is to watch the 2 minute video below. The long version (about a 15 minute read all up) including a link to my BS Free Workplaces manifesto is the PDF here.




I love the rule of 3.

I'm sure you're familiar with it.

“Friends, Romans, Countrymen”
“Blood, sweat and tears”
“The good, the bad and the ugly”

And of course we know that we humans can last 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water, 3 weeks without food.

Chris Brogan's idea of having 3 words to help us to achieve what's important to us each year, is a further great example of the rule of three. I have adopted this practice for several years now. Chris says:

"Every year, at the beginning of the year, choose 3 words that have personal meaning to you that you will use as guideposts for your chosen path forward in the coming year. Make the words such that they influence your choice of actions, encourage you to decide in favor of your goals, and guide you towards lasting results that you want to experience throughout the year.

Write these words down. Post them everywhere. Schedule them to pop up in your calendar. And use these words as part of your decision-making process every day."

More from Chris and his 2018 3 words.

My 3 words for 2018 are Candid, Convivial and Compassionate

Image courtesy of Shutterstock
Candid

I think the first words that came out of my mouth where candid. They caused a bit of a stir apparently!

I've never been backward coming forward. I think life's too short for BS. Being candid is one way to stand out because most people aren't candid.

Not everyone appreciates candour either and therefore being candid can be tricky.

This year I'm working very hard to make sure that my candour means I'm also kind.

"Every day we get to choose what lens we see the world with." says Dewitt Jones in the wonderful talk that was the topic of my last blog post. He goes on to say "there's more than one right answer."

Knowing and acknowledging that there's more than one right answer keeps being candid in context, inspires careful choosing of words, and helps to make kindness the focus.

Being candid in kind ways helps you to stand out, show empathy, and shine a light for others on their path.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock
Convivial

Being convivial adds something to all our communication.

We all take ourselves too seriously. In presentations, conversations and communication in general I use a lot of self-depreciating humour. It deepens, adds value to and strengthens relationships

Some synonyms for convivial: friendly, genial, affable, amiable, congenial, agreeable, good-humoured, cordial, warm, sociable, outgoing, gregarious. We're all capable of these character traits when we're being the best version of ourselves.

Being convivial in kind ways enables you to take yourself less seriously, delight others, and laugh a lot!

Compassionate

There's a lot of truth for me in the following attributed to Fred Kofman, a leader in the conscious business movement:

"Wisdom without compassion is ruthlessness,
and compassion without wisdom is folly."

One of the Apostles of the Christian Church is reported to have said, “Faith without works is dead.”

A lot of faiths are dead, dying, or in trouble today because the actions of a few of the faithful betray their stated beliefs.  I meet a lot of people more interested in being right, than being compassionate for example. Compassion for me is at the truthful heart of all the world’s religions. Compassion is not a belief, it's a behaviour.

If we are not living and breathing a compassionate life we render whatever we believe as null and void, regardless of what we say.

A new world is being born.  Compassion is a key component. There is a place for faith in this new world. For me belief is personal and therefore deserving of respect. What really matters in this new world though is behaviour.

Some people have asked me what has compassion go to do with the future success of my business? My answer is - Everything! particularly in a world where being purpose driven and people focused, and seeing technology as an enabler and enhancer of the human experience, is the leading edge.

This year I'm on a mission to be more compassionate.

Being compassionate brings out the best in you, other people, and makes the world a better place.

Being candid, convivial and compassionate are how I'm going to ensure I don't get distracted/disrupted/disturbed by all the BS. You?

How could you apply the above in your own best way?

What are your three words?

Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian

PS Interesting case study here of work done with Microsoft by David Rock cofounder of the Neuroleadership Institute. The Harvard Business Review article is titled "Tell Employees What You Want Them to Strive for (in as Few Words as Possible)"

Friday 6 April 2018

Wednesday 4 April 2018

Psychographics are far more valuable than demographics

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

I'm a big fan of Seth Godin as you can tell from my previous two and other posts!

Seth suggests psychographics are far more valuable than demographics. I agree.

Psychographics are about who people are, what they believe in, and what they do and want.

I find that knowing these are key to building relationships with the right people for your business. Such knowing mean less dealing with the crowd and more dealing with just the individuals who are just right for you.

Who will you become?

What will you do next?

Be remarkable.
Ian


Monday 2 April 2018

What the future of customer service looks like (Seth Godin)

Just over a half hour presentation by Seth Godin that is well worth your time.



Below are screen shots from Seth's presentation that I loved.


Be remarkable.
Ian