#1191 acquisition

Recently I was talking with a former colleague who is working at a company that just acquired their main competitor and is in the process of merging the operations.  Unlike a company that sells the same a tangible product, these are two service firms who have (had) a very different approach to their business.

One firm relied on utilizing past data to develop trends. The other company specialized in modeling future scenarios and preparing predictions.  Now they must meld the two philosophies together into a coherent service for their current and past clients.

My friend said that some of the other company's ideas really were best practices and they are creating a new approach rather than continuing wholesale with the path of either organization.  Still, it is a significant shift in practice for all involved.

I imagine some of those initial consulting appointments could involve a few tricky conversations: "Yes, you went with us and we have approached things one way, but now we're a new company with a new line of thinking.  It's better; trust me."

Whether you are the same organization or the merged by product of another, it is important to be open to new ideas and to evolve your thinking.  Just because the one with a different way of doing things is your competitor doesn't automatically make it wrong. Be willing to embrace the best idea whenever you find it, even if the name on the letterhead doesn't change.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1190 monkey

I just finished reading Gillian Flynn's suspense novel, Gone Girl (and can totally understand why it was a mega best seller!)

The story is about a husband and wife, and the phrase that stuck with me is what they called "dancing monkeys."  The term refers to husbands when wives make them do things  to prove their love: "pointless tasks, the myriad sacrifices, the endless small surrenders."  Flynn writes it as "emotional coercion to play some happy-hubby role", and the husband becomes a dancing monkey when he stays home instead of going out with the guys or the wife sulks when he arrives late.

I wonder if the dancing monkey concept translates in some form to the workplace.  Are there bosses who require their employees to continually prove their dedication to them in subtle but expected ways?  Do bosses impose unrealistic timelines or working hours to test loyalty or exert authority?  Are supervisors impertinent or standoffish if someone acts too independently for their taste?

In the book, the last thing Amy wanted to do was to make Nick feel like a dancing monkey. Evaluate your posturing and expectations to ensure that you aren't making your employees see you as an organ grinder instead of a supervisor.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn, Broadway Books, 2014

#1189 brevity

Our local newspaper runs an occasional series where community leaders tell their story by listing out 10 words and providing an accompanying one minute video.  I suspect that for some of them, the task is more difficult than producing a multi-page annual brochure.  

I am reminded of the quote by Mark Twain: "If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter."

It is much more difficult to be concise than it is to be verbose.  

At work, we struggle with postcards and headlines far more than with publications and letters.  I find it easier to write blogs than to Tweet.  Others can write speeches better than sound bites.

Practice the art of crafting a message that is short and meaningful.  Brevity provides power.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1188 give us a minute

One of the practices in my personal life is to Never Tell a Waitress "Give us a Minute."  

What happens when you aren't ready to order so send her away?  Inevitably she gets out of her routine and forgets to come back to you until an extended period has passed.  She has a method for handling her new customers and servicing those already seated, and "give us a minute" throws off that rhythm.  Not that it should be that way; it's just my experience that it is.  So instead of being aggravated by the delay, I align my expectations with reality and either order quickly or plan to wait.

Do you have some personal habits that you have developed as a way to mitigate the aggravation and stress in your life?  Are there things that "always drive you crazy" but you continue to put yourself in that situation without making adjustments?  If getting behind school buses is a trigger for you, perhaps you should leave earlier/later.  If you never can figure out what to wear, maybe you could plan out outfits for the week or have a fashion-forward friend provide you a month's worth of choices. If the barrage of emails from political candidates or certain stores irritates you, take the minute to unsubscribe.

You can fret or you can develop your own workarounds that become part of your routine.  Life has enough unexpected bumps without going over the same ones repeatedly.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

#1187 toast

Sometimes the hardest thing to do is to make a complex topic seem simple.  If we try to explain it in detailed or technical terms, often the person listening becomes more lost instead of more clear.

Tom Wujec has tackled the task of explaining systems thinking -- how complex processes are interrelated -- through the use of very simple exercises involving drawing toast.  Yes, it is a creative leap to think about using rudimentary, amateur sketches about a breakfast food to explain complicated systems, but that is exactly what he has done.  See for yourself at: www.drawtoast.com where he has a 9 minute TED talk and many resources for you to tackle your own "wicked problems."

There are three key elements of Wujec's methodology that can be applied to other vexing issues you are tackling:  1) his technique involves breaking down a process into individual steps -- making it more manageable to think about; 2) he relies on the power of writing something down, or, more specifically drawing, to create clarity; and 3) the visuals are shared -- instantaneously pointing out differences and similarities that may otherwise have been illusive or withheld in a conventional format.

Even thinking about drawing toast stimulates my creative brain.  It is something that I take for granted, and it is an instant trigger that others may not share my perception or knowledge.  There have been several situations as the new semester begins where we assume others know things that they do not.  They know 'bread' but not how to turn it into 'toast'.

Take a look at this unconventional method of creating discussion around a system and see if it can't pop up some new perspectives on your work.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

Also see TomWujec.com for his Marshmallow Challenge 

#1186 mitten

A colleague of mine recently brought in a collection of beloved children's books to share with another co-worker.  It was wisely suggested that I intercept The Mitten before the exchange was completed.

The Mitten, as retold by Jim Aylesworth, is a delightful tale of a young boy who loses a red mitten while out sledding.  A squirrel comes upon it, and, because his "toes are as cold as ice," decides to make the mitten his bed.  Soon a rabbit appears on the scene, also with frozen toes, and the squirrel squeezes together to make room for two.  Next a cold fox arrives, and soon they have stretched and wiggled enough to make room for all three to be warm inside the mitten. Just as they are getting comfortable, a bear begs to be allowed inside the mitten, and they squish together to accommodate all four.  Finally a little mouse asks for space to warm his frozen toes, and they acquiesce. Only as the mouse climbs in, the mitten explodes and all are left without a cozy place to warm their toes.

I think The Mitten is an apt metaphor for the stress we can absorb in life.  It is not really a problem to make accommodations for small stressors (a squirrel, rabbit and fox).  We can also make enough adjustments in our life to persist after a major stress (the bear). But often it is the smaller stressors -- the one more thing -- that causes the eruption.  Our tolerance, like the mitten, can only go so far before it bursts.

Think about the mitten the next time you take on another obligation or withhold another aggravation.  After you make the squirrel, rabbit, fox and bear cozy, will there be any more room to handle the inevitable mouse when he comes along?

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com

The Mitten, retold by Jim Aylesworth, Scholastic Press, 2009
Thanks to Amy for sharing

#1185 pesky

The first thing I do when I get a magazine in the mail is throw out those annoying inserts that beckon me to subscribe.  Why do subscribers get hounded to subscribe?

Maybe they are meant to inspire gift subscriptions; if so, then target the message that way.  Maybe they are put in all the magazines; if so, then find a way to do two press runs and leave them out of subscribers' issues.

As someone who sends a fair amount of direct mail through work, I know that all of these reply mechanisms are tracked, and I can't believe that they are worth the price of the paper they are printed on. In this era of analytics, publishers should evaluate this practice on effectiveness, environmental consciousness and cost savings.  I'd bet the inserts would lose the trifecta.

Maybe the idea peeves me because it is another example of treating everyone the same, even when you have ready accessible data to distinguish frequent customers from non.  What does your organization do that is the equivalent of pesky little advertising flyers?  Instead of appreciating your best users are you annoying them with one of your practices? Have you evaluated what works or do you just keep doing things because that is how you have always done them?

Take a moment to identify what is your insert and throw it away just as fast as I toss what falls out of my magazine.

-- beth triplett
leadershipdots.blogspot.com

@leadershipdots
leadershipdots@gmail.com