Principles in action - Cut the crap!

I am rather impressed as I'm working away in an open office environment, when I hear colleagues cite our company principles. And I should add they are cited sincerely, are being used to think about behaviour -- not being used  ironically.

I was reminded though of perhaps the most candid and abrupt corporate principle ever -- Cut the Crap.

In 2002 the BBC CEO made a speech and a soccer style card:

I would also ask that people in every team in the BBC – be it at Watchdog, Radio Leicester or outside broadcasts – discuss how we make this place better, how we make it exciting, how do we ensure that the cynics and moaners in the organisation – and they're there in all big organisations – are marginalized. In short how do we cut the crap and make it happen?

To help me I've had a yellow card printed which says on it "cut the crap and make it happen" which I plan to bring out at every meeting when someone is trying to stop a good idea rather than make it happen. We'll send one to anyone who wants one.

The BBC is a pretty extraordinary and innovative media organisation. I guess it worked. 

Read more: 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/speeches/stories/dyke_makingithappen.shtml

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/feb/08/broadcasting.bbc

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2002/feb/07/broadcasting.bbc

image from https://newsmutt.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/cut-the-crap/


Go read the 5 Myths of Great Workplaces

Is there a downside to everyone being happy at work? Is conflict good or bad? Does hiring for cultural fit produce group think? A great summary over at HBR of what to consider if your goal is to foster a critically engaged team.

"... task conflicts produce better decisions and stronger financial outcomes. ... Healthy debate encourages group members to think more deeply, scrutinize alternatives, and avoid premature consensus. While many of us view conflict as unpleasant, the experience of open deliberation can actually energizes employees by providing them with better strategies for doing their job."

Read the rest and the top 5 tips at https://hbr.org/2015/03/5-myths-of-great-workplaces

Why Faking Enthusiasm Is The Latest Job Requirement | Fast Company

Award-winning UC Berkeley sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild, in her book The Managed Heart, coined the term "emotional labor" to describe the curious situation where "seeming to love the job becomes part of the job."

Its not only hospitality that requires you to smile for the punters. Read on for the technology company and startup scenario which talks to the relative value placed on different job roles and that we should rethink the value places on people skills.

Why Perks Aren't Company Culture

"When you start developing a product or a company you never know if it’s going to work or what’s going to work. But you do know what you want to do and how you want to do it. So do that. And when (not if) that doesn’t work, do something different and try again. Repeat until something good happens. Then, and only then, should you look back and consider what you did that worked and find ways to reinforce that behavior."

Read on over at Inc for the full opinion piece: http://www.inc.com/steve-tobak/why-perks-arent-company-culture.html or go to TechCrunch for the article that inspired it: http://techcrunch.com/2012/12/17/programming-your-culture/

Best Companies to Work For 2012 - Fortune Magazine

Earlier this year Fortune magazine published it's annual list of the 100 best companies to work for in the U.S. Results are based on surveying employees. Sure, not all companies have jets or yachts to share with employees but there is still plenty to learn from reading the company snapshots.

The reasons these companies have been nominated as great places to work by those that work there are:

  1. Good rewards
    • incentives, profit sharing, bonuses, above average pay for industry
  2. Strong and clear company mission
  3. Benefits
    • health insurance, health programs, childcare facilities, generous leave, workplace flexibility, other perks
  4. Physical work environment
    • food, access to services like dry cleaning, even walking tracks
  5. People
    • considered recruitment efforts, long tenure of employees
  6. Culture
    • recognition of excellence, adherance to, and evaluation based on values, fun incentives, games and events, happiness commitees, herograms, "no jerk" culture
  7. Feedback
    • Staff suggestions implemented, feedback mechanisms and forums in place
  8. Visible leadership
    • Leaders touching base with employees regularly or based on high performance of teams
  9. No layoffs
    • The US has faced tough economic times recently. Many companies on this list avoided lay-offs 
  10. Career paths
    • Progression plans, internal promotion, investment in training and education
  11.  Acknowledging role of families
    • Inclusion of families in company events, acknowlegement of their contribution supporting employees

To see all the company snapshots go to: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2012/snapshots/1.html

 

 

Culture eats strategy for lunch

Culture, like brand, is misunderstood and often discounted as a touchy-feely component of business that belongs to HR. It's not intangible or fluffy, it's not a vibe or the office décor. It's one of the most important drivers that has to be set or adjusted to push long-term, sustainable success. It's not good enough just to have an amazing product and a healthy bank balance. Long-term success is dependent on a culture that is nurtured and alive. Culture is the environment in which your strategy and your brand thrives or dies a slow death. Think about it like a nurturing habitat for success. Culture cannot be manufactured. It has to be genuinely nurtured by everyone from the CEO down. Ignoring the health of your culture is like letting aquarium water get dirty.

Read the whole article over at http://www.fastcompany.com/1810674/culture-eats-strategy-for-lunch

Found via  http://nicdipalmacreative.posterous.com

Growing too fast? Install a portal.

There's no news yet as to how this portal is being utilised but its a nice idea spawned by the desire to make an expanding team feel more connected.

Atlassian is growing…fast.  We expanded into a new floor and I was given the challenge of making it feel more Atlassian.  I wanted to make something decorative, but also functional.  Keeping the company connected becomes more challenging the bigger we grow, we span multiple buildings so some teams can go days without seeing each other.  Staff do chat through Instant Messaging (IM) frequently, but people communicate more effectively when they are face-to-face.