Bringing Our Work to Life

It has often been stated work is for work and if you want to interject something that is happening in your life, do that after work or during lunch, but work is for working.

While we see four generations trying to mix cultures in the workplace plus more telecommuting, virtual teaming, technology, and flex time, we are seeing a shift and the process may not be going smoothly in many cases. I’m not a fan of stereotypes but generally older employees are more resistant to change while the younger employees adapt quicker. The pandemic has forever shifted what work means to a large percentage of us. Some (many/most) companies may never return to the traditional Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm at your desk like a worker bee environment ever again.

Smile for the Camera

If you're like me, and millions of others, you spend your day working from home or on Zoom calls. This poses a unique challenge. I don't know about you, but I hate being on camera, so having meetings on TV makes me nervous and self-conscious.

But what is good culture? What does it mean to create a space people from all walks of life and demographics will enjoy and flourish? We know foosball tables and fancy coffee in the lunchroom isn't the answer. But blending generations, mixing perspectives, and allowing life to permeate your company will make it personal. 

How are you?

Through the last two years, we've all heard people say they can't wait until things get back to normal. This is now normal. Virtual teams, employees working from home, remote collaboration, and culture requires much more flexibility. 

The "new normal" featuring work environments with employees working remotely makes culture harder to define. But if we allow each other to bring some of our life to work on those calls and Zooms, we might see more of our work come to life.

It's worth a shot

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Unlimited Access

One hundred years ago, there weren't all these ways to stay in touch yet business was built, careers thrived, and relationships flourished. Media penetration has created the ability for us to connect with someone on the other side of the planet we may not have previously known. The explosion of social tools and electronic collaborative spaces have shrunk the earth to allow us to find like-minded people with the push of a thumb.

We are all publishes, media makers, opinion sharers, and data miners.

As we create the appearance of a more connected world, we may be slowly losing the connection to ourselves and soon to each other. Snippets of half conversations, misspelled texts between meetings, skimmed over details of an upcoming project, all in the quest to do more and more and more.

More for less, more meetings, more email, more information, more activity. More everything. The week is the same length it was 200 years ago yet we are inundated with data constantly. This doesn’t mean it’s useful or valuable but it’s more to sift through. And while we try and do more, we may be losing our human connections.

Less might be a good strategy.
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The Human Company

It’s been said for generations that bringing your life to work is frowned upon. It has often been stated work is for work and if you want to interject something that is happening in your life, do that after work or during lunch, but work is for working.

While we see four generations trying to mix cultures in the workplace plus more telecommuting, virtual teaming, technology, and flex time, we are seeing a shift and the process may not be going smoothly in many cases. I’m not a fan of stereotypes but generally older employees are more resistant to change while the younger employees adapt quicker.

This isn't to suggest comfy lounge chairs and basketball nets in the boardroom will create a collaborative culture but blending generations, mixing perspectives, and allowing life to permeate your company will make it personal and that’s a good thing.

Your team will reciprocate.
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The Key Ingredient

There are plenty of data to show we admire people who take chances as well as create and share new ideas. The things we can accomplish are astounding but are we admiring more than doing? It takes effort to have an idea, it takes guts to act on it. But what if you let everyone take more chances, act on ideas, and embrace a more creative culture within your organization?

We often hear of companies that tout their forward thinking attitude and openness. But perhaps cynicism creeps in when those promises are broken or don’t come to fruition in the purest of ways. Life gets busy and we pacify our need for engaging interactions by telling ourselves it only happens elsewhere.

The creation of meaningful experiences is often replaced by fear and inaction. Cutting the budget seems easier than taking more chances. The intersection of people and business requires relationships and one important element...

Desire.
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More Than Base Salary

We work because there are things we need and want to buy. We work because we want to be a part of something bigger than ourselves. We work for many reason past the paycheck, but the paycheck is a key element.

I have seen countless employee surveys and compensation is always on the list along with the ability to advance and have purpose. But if money is the top concern, you have a serious problem.

There are data that shows close to a trillion dollars is lost each year in North America due to disengaged employees and it all comes from the relationships we have and build within our organizations. So the next time you are hiring someone, ensure the discussion goes well past what you're going to pay them.

Yes, pay them properly, but the cost of great people isn't measured simply by competitive compensation and a good benefits package.

Engage with each other daily and watch what happens.
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Human Business

It’s been said for generations that bringing your life to work is frowned upon. It has often been stated work is for work and if you want to interject something that is happening in your life, do that after work or during lunch, but work is for working.

While we see four generations trying to mix cultures in the workplace plus more telecommuting, virtual teaming, technology, and flex time, we are seeing a shift and the process may not be going smoothly in many cases. I’m not a fan of stereotypes but generally older employees are more resistant to change while the younger employees adapt quicker.

This isn't to suggest comfy lounge chairs and basketball nets in the boardroom will create a collaborative culture but blending generations, mixing perspectives, and allowing life to permeate your company will make it personal and that’s a good thing.

Make your organization human and your team will reciprocate.
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Are You Fearless?

There are plenty of data to show we admire people who take chances as well as create and share new ideas. Work and business can often get in the way of great ideas, collaborative culture, and true leadership. The creation of meaningful experiences is often replaced by fear and inaction.

The intersection of people and business require relationships and the key ingredient is desire. Sir John Hegarty succinctly sums up the importance of culture and creativity.

Watch this with your team.


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Take it Personally

It’s been said for generations that bringing your life to work is frowned upon. It was clearly stated that work is for work and if you want to interject something that is happening in your life, do that after work or during lunch or the small talk portion of meetings, but work is for working. And if you had a problem with your kids, finances, parents, spouse, or another ‘life’ issue, those were to be left at the door as well.

But can anyone expect employees to spend a third of their life in robot mode? Well some do, which is short sighted. Igniting passions and embracing differences can garner remarkable results.

Doing Human Work

While we see four generations trying to mix cultures in the workplace plus more telecommuting, virtual teaming, technology, and flex time, we are seeing a shift and the process may not be going smoothly in many cases.

I’m not a fan of stereotypes but generally the older employees are more resistant to change while the younger employees adapt quicker. Yes, there are exceptions, but working all the time isn't healthy at any age.

Collaborate Openly

Fast Company published a short piece back in 2005 entitled Making Business Personal where they made the case of balancing time between life and work priorities which states; “Take more of these opportunities to make business more personal, and please don't think your professional contacts will think less of you. In fact, usually the opposite happens. In most cases, this blurring of personal and professional lives seems to be good for business and good for our families, our friends, and ourselves.”

Foosball tables and catered lunches don't create a collaborative culture but blending generations, mixing perspectives, and allowing life to permeate your company will make it personal and that’s a good thing.

Make your business personal and your team will reciprocate.
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A Connected World Less Connected

Anytime you walk into a business, it can be an interesting look into human behavior. There are people in meetings, typing on laptops, discussing a new project in the hall, drinking coffee, and maybe even having a laugh or two. It’s a peek into a subsection of society we call work. They say we spent a third of our lives in this space. It appears it's rapidly becoming more. We may not be "at work" but we seem to be spending a larger amount of time working, thinking about work, worrying about work, discussing work.

Our workspace is expanding physically as technology spreads it into homes and airports and has created an almost 24/7 culture where we are checking messages on smartphones at all hours to ensure we don’t miss anything. Instant responses are commonplace and our ability to always stay connected has become the topic of debate.

Need it Now

One hundred years ago, there weren't all these ways to stay in touch yet business was built, careers thrived, and relationships flourished. Media penetration has created the ability for us to connect with someone on the other side of the planet we may not have previously known. The explosion of social tools and electronic collaborative spaces have shrunk the earth to allow us to find like-minded people with the push of a thumb.

168 hours

As we create the appearance of a more connected world, we may be slowly losing the connection to ourselves and soon to each other. Snippets of half conversations, misspelled texts between meetings, skimmed over details of an upcoming project, all in the quest to do more and more and more.

More for less, more meetings, more email, more information, more activity. More everything. The week is the same length it was 200 years ago yet we are inundated with data constantly. This doesn’t mean it’s useful or valuable but it’s more to sift through. And while we try and do more, we may be losing our human connections.

In our quest to collaborate, we may be losing the plot.
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Kneale Mann | People + Priority = Profit

keystothepage

Fearless Culture

There are plenty of data to show we admire people who take chances as well as create and share new ideas.  The things we can accomplish are astounding but are we admiring more than doing? It takes effort to have an idea, it takes guts to act on it. But what if you let everyone take more chances, act on ideas, and embrace a more creative culture within your organization?

We often hear of companies that tout their forward thinking attitude and openness. But I suppose the cynicism creeps in when those promises are broken or don’t come to fruition in the purest of ways. Life gets busy and we pacify our need for engaging interactions by telling ourselves that only happens elsewhere.

Connecting the Human Dots

Work and business can often get in the way of great ideas, collaborative culture, and true leadership. The creation of meaningful experiences is often replaced by fear and inaction. Cutting the budget seems easier than taking more chances. The intersection of people and business require relationships and the key ingredient is desire.

Sir John Hegarty is one of the principles at the UK based agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty and in this short piece succinctly sums up the importance of culture and creativity.

Watch this, then watch it with your team.


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Kneale Mann | Leadership and Culture strategist, writer, speaker, executive coach engaging leaders, collaborative teams, and strong business results.

johnhegarty | omgtoptens

Business is Personal

It’s been said for generations that bringing your life to work is frowned upon. It was clearly stated that work is for work and if you want to interject something that is happening in your life, do that after work or during lunch or the small talk portion of meetings, but work is for working. And if you had a problem with your kids, finances, parents, spouse, or another ‘life’ issue, those were to be left at the door as well.

But can anyone expect employees to spend a third of their life in robot mode? Well some do, which is short sighted. Igniting passions and embracing differences can garner remarkable results.

Human Work

While we see four generations trying to mix cultures in the workplace plus more telecommuting, virtual teaming, technology, and flex time, we are seeing a shift and the process may not be going smoothly in many cases.

I’m not a fan of stereotypes but generally the older employees are more resistant to change while the younger employees adapt quicker. Yes, there are exceptions, but working all the time isn't healthy at any age.

Collaborate Openly

My friend and colleague Mitch Joel has said for years that he doesn't believe in the old saying - this is business, don't take it personally. He and his partners deliver to clients while providing a creative atmosphere for their staff and they take that personally.

Fast Company published a short piece back in 2005 entitled Making Business Personal where they made the case of balancing time between life and work priorities which states; “Take more of these opportunities to make business more personal, and please don't think your professional contacts will think less of you. In fact, usually the opposite happens. In most cases, this blurring of personal and professional lives seems to be good for business and good for our families, our friends, and ourselves.”

This isn't to suggest comfy lounge chairs and basketball nets in the boardroom will create a collaborative culture but blending generations, mixing perspectives, and allowing life to permeate your company will make it personal and that’s a good thing.

Make your business personal and your team will reciprocate.
__________________________________________________________________
Kneale Mann | Leadership and Culture Strategist, Writer, Speaker, Executive Coach engaging leaders to build successful talent and profitable business.

itsmylife

Are You Doing the Human Work?

There is a chasm between your products or services and your customers. Without strong internal customer service, your interaction with the outside world will be flawed. If you don't do the human work, the tasks and tactics will suffer.

I was buying gas a couple of weeks ago and the guy behind the counter was annoyed I had gotten in the way of his work. I apologized for interrupting him.

Entities and Enterprise

The world is shrinking. Our behavior can be viewed through non-verbal cues that lead to misunderstanding. And we often hide behind the very technology we claim is helping us communicate better. It's telling to watch some unravel on the social networks where human connections can appear to be as strong as face to face.

In the enterprise, virtual teaming is on the rise so it has become critical to be aware of all the human work we’re doing to build our companies. Leadership is more than improving a bottom line. Without compassion and collaboration, the ideas and hard work alone won’t get you there.

Their Opinion Counts

Years ago, I was working with a large corporation that conducted an employee wide survey. The top concern was management’s inability to deal with non-performance. People notice when you aren't treating them well. If the human work subsides, productivity will be compromised. If you stop caring about your people, they will stop caring about the work.

If you sense the team is off course, it may not be for reasons you think. Products, services, and strategy could all be sound but the most critical piece might be missing.

The human work is the most important element of the job.

Kneale Mann

cnsx

Digital Silence

Two Eyes One Keyboard

It is fascinating to read the blogosphere and the Twitter stream. Both are crammed with endless opinions and insight, useless links and life changing information. As the cliché goes, we all have an opinion and that doesn’t mean we’re right, we just have one. Many have been vocal about our collective impatience with taking chances. We push companies to get deeper into the social web, embrace digital business intelligence and try stuff but we are often quick to scream #fail the moment there is a misstep.

It is imperative to have a plan, a policy and some guidelines when you are navigating the online world but these don’t have to be encyclopedias filled with legalize no one understands. It is critical to remind stakeholders that if they reference the company on any of their profiles, they represent the company. But it doesn't have to be a restrictive environment that stifles creative thought.

Not a Digital Issue

No matter what spaces you interact, business decorum shouldn't be loosened but you can still be personable. Find your voice, find your company's voice but don't be irresponsible. There are countless examples where people have shot from the hip in a moment of emotion and that causes damage.

Any one of us two billion people online has a choice to share our voice. But what if we chose to find our silence for a while?

Listening is Frowned Upon

Some will claim that’s lurking and we should let others know we’re in the channel. With more than 600 million Twitter search inquiries and half a billion signing onto Facebook daily along the multitude of monitoring and analytics options, we can’t be tweeting all the time. We need to find time to invest in the immense power of data mining now at our keyboards.

And if we are researching, reading, listening, watching, consuming, does that mean we aren’t interacting with each other? If we want others to pay more attention to what we want to share, we need to find equal time to take in what others are sharing.

Some say the two sides to a conversation are talking and waiting to talk. Do you spend time in digital silence?

Kneale Mann

image credit: photobucket

Starbucks and the Economic Meltdown

As recently as 4-5 years ago, many of us who do business presentations used Starbucks as an aspirational brand. It was the trading up transaction. You would do without something to get that $5 latte and millions of people go into their 17,000 stores every day and do just that. Then the economy took a kicking and suddenly Starbucks was viewed – by some – as too expensive or a frivolous luxury we couldn’t afford.

So instead of assuming what people were doing or thinking, the company thought it would be wise to actually find out. Matthew Guiste is the Director of Global Social Media at Starbucks. In this video presentation, he talks about how they engage millions of fans through Twitter, FourSquare, YouTube, Facebook and various other channels.

Your business may not be as big as Starbucks but this could give you ideas for engaging with your customers.



Kneale Mann

video credit: leaderlab

It's All Social Media

The medium in which we socialize.

It has very little to do with a web portal, zero to do with anything electronic, nada to do with any gadget or interface without one important ingredient - us!

Anyone with an Internet connect can publish thoughts online and build an audience.

I am not a social media expert and neither are you.
I am a social media expert and so are you.

This is not to suggest that everyone must have a blog or a podcast but we all have the ability to have them. Technorati tracks upwards of 140 million blogs and that number is probably still a fraction of the number of online spaces that offer someone’s opinion.

Monumental shift in how we communicate.

I often hear from colleagues and friends that all this social media stuff is a big time waster with no results. Before you make that summation, look at how much quality time you really are giving these activities. My treadmill continues to collect dust and will never lose me weight by osmosis.

We are all customers, providers, consumers, producers, buyers and facilitators. Life has always been about residing on either side of the proverbial counter but now the control is in all of our hands. If you run a business, you must be aware of that.

We give up too quickly.

It takes years to master the sales process, decades to learn the fine art of professional chess, thousands of hours to perfect the 3-point shot yet some feel we can hop onto online channels, chat with strangers and with very little get the sale.

Once we realize there is no particular right way, we quickly discover that a blog, podcast, email, phone call or lunch meeting all have one imperative common element - people.

Take a closer look at all of your communication avenues. Don’t just focus on the multitude social networking websites, look at all media. Look at the people you deem to be navigating those channels well and ask questions. With some clarity, you will quickly realize it's all media shared socially.

None of us has this mastered, you in?

knealemann

image credit: scienceblogs

The Real Power of Community

They're People Too.

I've been over thinking a few projects lately and decided to strip it all down to the core.

Years of building relationships and I had forgotten help was right there.

Once in a while, you need to ask your community for a hand on something or feedback on an idea.


Every now and then you need to reach out and ask for some time for a call or discussion to flush out the stuff that seems to keep coming up within the confines of your own brain.

Don’t discard that idea or thought. Stop listening to the naysayers and dream killers. Look around and find those who you can reach out to for some perspective.

This is not about others doing the work for you or patting you on the head. All too often we just need to get it out and that is not going to happen with someone you just met or through a few tweets.

Numbers are irrelevant if you can't call on your community for help when you need it. The same holds true if someone asks us for a hand.

Thanks to everyone who was gracious to give me some of their time this week. That was fun.

knealemann
create experiences not campaigns

image credit: quangkhoi