Decent Management?

Some of the public sector management stories remind me of a something I came across about the battle of Balaclava in 1854. Famous for the charge of the light brigade and “the thin red line” it became a logistical nightmare. While the British soldiers were up to their waists in water and cholera in summer clothes during the Russian winter, eating their own horses and dying by the thousands, the supplies they needed to survive languished in their ships for months - just down the hill from the front line - because the paperwork had not been properly done. 

Front line staff  in public sector organisations are in my experience mostly doing their best often with back end management unable to meet their needs - not because there are too few but because there are too many. And I am beginning to believe that most of these poor managers are not aware of their capabilities and how bad they are.  And their managers are not helping by filling in review forms (where reviews are done at all) in a manner which rewards mediocre performance.

Listening to people who work in some areas of the public sector there are stories of mind boggling bureaucracy and failures. Improvements are resisted by a culture where positional power is taken so seriously it becomes the target of management rather than customer service. This leads to interdepartmental barriers, territoriality and lack of joined up thinking. I often wonder how old the process are in these organisations - did they every go through the BPR’s of the 90’s and are we dealing with systems put in place over 50 years ago.

 I was at a hospital clinic some time back and as often happens I and about 20 others were kept waiting in the outer area for the consultants to arrive. There was a young woman on the front desk who was constantly getting enquiries about how long people could expect to be waiting. Of course she could not help - willing as she was - because she had not been informed. So she sat there working on her computer while 20 pairs of eyes stared at her and as people got more and more annoyed due to the delay and lack of information. I could feel the stress in the room and I felt quite sorry for her. I happened to sit down beside her and I asked how often it was like this …

“Oh” she said “every clinic”.

I kindly suggested that she should get a privacy screen so she could do her work without all those eyes burning a hole in her head. She confirmed that she had in fact asked for one and it was coming.

“Really?” I asked “when did you order it”.

She replied “3 years ago….”

This is a complex problem overall and will have to be resolved because the inefficiences generated by this culture drain our countries tax revenues at a far greater rate than is recognised I believe.  A little compassion for those who work for you might be a good start.

Aidan Higgins

Evolution time.

Darwin is famously quoted as saying “It is not the biggest or strongest that survive but those most adaptable to change”.  In biological terms its the idea that the organism that best adapts to the environment will survive best and therefore pass on their genes to the next generation. This ideology has been used in most competitive organisations for many years and is an adage used to improve flexibility and innovation within the organisation. For this the general axioms are reduce bureaucracy and encourage change mechanisms within the organisation so that adaptation can occur. In a competitive market place this means change or go out of business.

Evolution is at its most powerful when a defined enviroment gets squeezed, forcing competition. When there is loads of food, space and resources then Evolution slows down but when the pressure comes on its evolve or die.

In the current recession most competitive environments are adapting by cutting overheads, changing processes, getting closer to the customers and such. Some businesses are being clever and taking advantage by defining their niche while the competition is weak and instead of focusing on quarterly results at any cost are getting closer to customers and understanding them and their needs better and improving their processes so that when the gloom lifts, as it always does, they will find themselves positioned at the top of the food chain and the number one in their space.

Others are in survival mode - taking any bit of business that comes along in order to survive. So they try to break out of their niche to areas where they may not have a competitive advantage. Or take the long road to product diversification requiring them while at their weakest to learn a new skillset and a new market. For some this is necessary and there is a natural tension in this and decisions need to be made.

What however is to be done with organisations who are slow to react with rigid bureaucracy, an inflexible workforce and a culture that resists change.  Those without a very strong position in the market will die.  I am watching this in some organisations in this country with awe. Organisations who need to move fast and adapt have either management who cannot change or a workforce, possibly unionised, who are all about “us and them” and never “we” who argue  while their more flexible competitors (abroad) are eating their dinner.

Most interesting is the Public Sector who seem like rabbits caught in headlights and seem to be able to do nothing but CUT things. People. Services. Budgets. What about performance inefficiencies? What about getting more done with less by reducing the amount that needs to be done? What about mapping processes across departments? What about putting real managers into the Health Service for example? From outside the crazy culture that exists? If you get more done with the same people everybody keeps their job and the customers get their services and “everybody goes home with a balloon”.

The question arises - does Evolutionary pressure come to bear on the Public Sector Organisations - if they don’t shape up will they go out of existence. Well - no - in reality it does not apply. On an organisational level.  This is why it is sometimes it is prudent to privatize these organisations to allow their new environment to apply pressures that their current environment does not allow.

But what about Ireland Inc? What about the economic status of Ireland as a whole. The Public Sector Organisations are just parts of a larger whole. And so long as they are as they are and they remain as they are Ireland will suffer. Ireland is in an Evolutionary squeeze. Other more competitive entities are putting their hands up to eat our dinner while we are distracted with political expedience. Ireland Inc is in danger of dying out perhaps? I wonder if those who are focused on their own little territories and those who block improvements at the local level think of what they are doing in these terms?

Perhaps they should.

Aidan Higgins

Attitude is a Decision

I was driving through the pouring rain the other day and I was listening to the latest ESRI figures describing the contracting Irish economy and the increasing number of unemployed. As I arrived on this dark dank day at my destination -  a conference -  I walked into the room and the speaker was talking gloomily about Swine Flu and the imminent danger it represented. I was greeted by one of the conference organisers - “You the motivation speaker?” …”Yes” I replied and wondered to myself if I wasn’t up against it on this one….

But no - I thought again about what I was to talk about and I brightened considerably. For I went on to talk about attitude.

And attitude is everything. Some will look out on a rainy day and think “oh what a horrible day” - well no - its not horrible its just wet. We tend to add the adjectives that make stories which drag us into a state of mind that can be hard to get out of. We need to remember that things are as they are. Our reaction to the situation can be either empowering or destructive - but we get to choose which.

Viktor Frankl - a Psychiatrist who was interned in various concentration camps during the second world war wrote that choice was the last of the human freedoms - he tells us that “Even under the most terrible conditions of psychic and physical stress, we, who lived in concentration camps, can remember men who walked through the huts to comfort others and give away their last piece of bread …They may have been few in numbers, but they offered sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a person but one thing, the last and the greatest of human freedoms, to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way of life!” Frankl founded a school of Psychiatry to rival Freud and made an impact all over the world with the theories he engendered from his observations.

Given this truth can we not choose our attitude? I believe so. 

Its well known that one can alter state by conscious choice. There are methods which do this such as visualising happy events, or positive outcomes or repeating a mantra which evokes powerful and positive feelings. Once you achieve the new state of mind your (always) subjective perspective can alter too allowing you the freedom and energy to get into positive action.

And we need plenty of positive action right now.

Aidan Higgins

Success in hard times.

Is it always true that if we work harder we will do better? In times like we are passing through now, if we put our heads down and push are we doing the right thing? What happens if we are already working very hard and if we are already expending more of ourselves than we like and leaving nothing for our personal lives  - the wringings from a dishcloth. Is this sustainable?

The term work smarter is very old. However the term applies still to the concepts of using your efforts more wisely.  What about working more intelligently? A friend of mine once said to me - smart is short term - intelligence is long term. I see a lot of well meaning managers and leader, leading by example, burning the candle at both ends and bringing their people with them. For a time the work culture in  Japan for instance precluded you leaving the office before the boss left even if it meant staying until midnight. Corporate in Japan had to turn off the lights in their buildings to make people go home. Bosses mean well and often lead this way - “work harder and we’ll get through this!” 

But what about working more Intelligently. What about waking up your people to Awareness and making them more Emotionally Intelligent? What about using training to improve the success of your people, who properly motivated use these new skills to be better in all facets of their jobs. We have been hearing for years that we need to engourage people to be leaders and to strive independently for their team in their own interests as well as the teams. Well what about giving them the tools to develop their Self Awareness, Self Regulation , Empathy and Social Skills, all of which are directly related to success.

In 2004 Stanford’s Graduate School of Business stated that “Emotional intelligence skills such as vision, building relationships and developing people are more important to leadership success than typical leadership traits, such as external/market orientation, financial acumen and planning“. This study involved 265 corporate executives, directors, managers, business owners, and consultants.  Sir John Egan, former head of the Confederation of British Industry, BAA and Jaguar is quoted as saying that “It is the really inspirational leaders who stand out in a crisis…Emotional intelligence is a big plus in hard times“.

I met someone the other evening - a small business owner  - who said that becoming aware of his personality type made an immediate difference to the running of his business. He said he was able to re-organise his and others work to match his strengths. I have watched how the processes that improve awareness and Emotional Intelligence build better teams, comradeship and networks in business.

Better still its something we can do something about. Its not “out there” with the financial difficulties, its internal. We can get our people awake and working better together by applying simple techniques and opening up their awareness of themselves and others quite readily.

And success breeds success.

Aidan Higgins

Rediscovering Life

If you are looking for “something else” while you ponder the impact of the global downturn on you and others around you and you are perhaps reaching for another set of values - you might do well to get a cup of coffee or two and watch this series of lectures. Here is the first of a series of videos on Youtube of Anthony De Mello which he gave in front of an audience and which was simultaeously broadcast in interactive format all over North America. 

De Mellos teachings (from 1989) provide a foundation for, or use the same foundation as, a number of modern teachings on self development as he pulls from a number of the same original texts.  A thoroughly engaging character, Anthony he was a good friend to Dr Dick McHugh who I have mentioned before in terms of the work he does in NLP all over the world.

Any student of self awareness or personal mastery will get a lot from these, however any person with a sense of wonder in this area will also get much from this. From the engaging anecdotes to the wonderful ideas to the warmth of his personality it is a joy. It may even be life changing. As he says himself “I discovered something  a few years ago that changed my life, turned it upside down…let me tell you about it”

No less than the secret of happiness? - Has he got it? 
Stick with it through the intro and give him some time then you can decide for yourself.

Happy New Year
Aidan Higgins

The All Black Principle

The All Black (New Zealand) Rugby team just did a Tour of the Four Home Unions and once again demonstrated their superiority and why they are known as the best team in the world. I think they have a lesson for organisations.

They completely dominated the international Matches against strong opposition and as they often do they pulled away in the second half of the match. They have high levels of fitness, individual skill and motivation but so do the home union teams. So what is it that makes them so superior when all thing seem equal? How does a country of 4 million inhabitants consistently produce the best team in the world when countries like France, England, and Wales have much higher numbers?

I was at a meeting once where Ollie Campbell the Irish outhalf at the time was asked why the Lions had gone down to such a  crushing defeat in New Zealand back in the early 80’s - he talked about pace, fitness, strength, professionalism. I played against the All Blacks myself in 1989 when they were capatained by Buck Shelford and that year they completely dominated the International Matches and again it was pace, fitness, strength and professionalism.

Rugby went professional in the 90’s and anyone watching the game now will see players that look less like bar room brawlers and more like comic book heros in shape and fitness. Pace and professionalism have also been added and yet the All Blacks continue to dominate (albeit not winning the world cup - but thats for another post) with a remarkable consistency without those marked advantages of the past. How?

Well my view is their understanding of the game, their ability to change their game plan quickly and their telepathic communication. I often see the other international teams being beaten in the first half and having a good coach who alters the game plan at half time after which they can often come out a different team and win the game. But they have to wait for the coach and if the game changes again they have no access to the coach until the end.

The All Blacks however have a complete understanding of the game and when they sense weakness in the opposition they exploit it there and then. they learn quicly what the opposition are doing, they adapt their game plan quickly and go for the jugular. They are empowered (not hampered) by their coaches, they communicate effectively from 1 to 15 to ensure they work together and they are free to adapt again if or when the opposition adjusts.

Organisations compete for everything, competition is key to success, market entry, exit etc. In the workplace are our people encouraged to learn and do the people in our teams understand the whole game plan? Do they communicate effectively and are they empowered by their managers and leaders to make the moves quickly that are required to succeed? In winning organisations they are.

Aidan Higgins

Entrepenurial Advice

I was at the ISME conference last week and I went along specifically to see Jerry Kennelly, founder of Stockbyte which he sold a few years ago for 135 Million dollars having grown it from his original ideas on Digital Imagery to take a world leading position before selling it to Getty Images. Jerry had a short slot but he managed to squeeze through his vibrant and fun personality and some very good advice. I smiled at the overlap between what he pronounces and the content of my own lectures on Entrepeneurship. This was nice as some of my Students from UL were in attendance.  However I laughed even louder at the one main difference - and I took it on as good advice - I’d heard it before quietly whispered - but coming from Jerry it had to be a diamond :).

Jerrys suggested that you are either a Disruptor or a Disruptee in business as change is eternal. He also avowed the importance of his people as all successful Entrepeneurs do. His main advice was as follows:

Know eveything about your space, competitors, profitability and make it a global view.
Passion and the energy it creates helps you execute more accurately.
Timing is crucial - pick your window.
Make sure the Idea is sustainable.
Urgency is key - Milestones must be delivered “in Months rather than years”.
Get there first even with an imperfect product - get out ther eand start making money.
Start with the End in mind - plan your exit from the beginning.
Network as Much as you can - and collect business connections and skills.
Communicate what you are doing and why to all your stakeholders all the time.
Link reward to performance - Bonus!

And last…

Sack the gobshites!

On this last point which I might add was in huge letters on a big red screen, I found myself in agreement. It was put a little roughly perhaps but the point was well made. Jerry suggested that those who will not perform often corrupt those around them so not only do they waste resource but they drag other resource down the plug-hole with them. They damage everyone else - so protect them and the group as a whole action is critical. I have some experience of employees like this who do not respond to motivation or work well within a team ethic. It is important to move fast, adhere to process and depersonalise the issues but Jerry makes a good point in my view.

Suggest you see Jerry at a theatre near you soon …

Aidan Higgins

Neanderthal Management

I have decided to coin a new phrase “Neanderthal Management” - I may not be the first to use it but I am going to use it from now on - a lot. Its a phrase which to me describes perfectly some of the things I see going on around me which is called “Management”. 

This was sent my way. It illustrates it nicely. 

Once upon a time it was resolved to have a boat race between an Software Company team and a Health Department team. Both teams practiced long and hard. On the big day they were as ready as they could be. The Software Company team won by a mile.

Morale sagged in the Health Department and senior management determined to find out why they lost. A working party was set up to investigate.

They concluded that their rivals had eight people rowing and one person steering, whereas the Health Department competitors had eight people steering and one person rowing.

Senior management immediately hired a consultancy firm to study the team’s structure. Thousands of pounds and several months later they concluded: Too many people were steering and not enough rowing.

With a view to establishing a vision for victory going forward, the team structure was changed: three ‘Assistant Steering Managers’, three ‘Steering Managers’, one ‘Executive Steering Manager’ and a ‘Director of Steering Services’. Then a performance and appraisal system was put in place to give the person rowing the boat more incentive to work harder.

The next year, the Software Company won by two miles. Addressing the issue head on, going forward, the Health Department laid off the rower for poor performance, sold off the paddles, cancelled all capital investment in new equipment and halted development of a new canoe.

The money saved was used to fund higher than average pay awards to senior management.

Neanderthal Management? - going on all the time.

Read the news.

Aidan Higgins

A trip through Gestalt

I just spent nearly a week with Dick McHugh doing Gestalt. Wonderfull stuff. Gestalt is a therapy that focuses on ones experience in the present moment and on taking personal responsibility for our thoughts and actions. The course focused on the work done by Fritz Perls and Laura Perls with whom he worked in the US.

Again around one of my favourite themes, personal mastery we covered a lot of ground and many ideas new to me. Dick summarised it nicely when he said it was about “living life in the present because thats where the power is”.  Gestalt theory offers that Freudian Psychotherapy models of looking at historic events were not as effective as looking at the ”now”. This emphasised to me the continuing importance of Awareness and Presence of course, themes we touched on with Emotional Intelligence, NLP and the Enneagram in earlier posts.

A most important part of Gestalt is seeing one’s behaviours are Holistic in that there are many parts but they work together in a Whole. Further this behaviour is understood only in context (the events surrounding the behaviour) and this is termed Figure and Ground - behaviour and background or context. What was interesting is that this relates to the basic Taoist theory of Ying and Yang- foreground and background - one element only existing because of the other  (the mist does not exist without the mountain) and given that the originators were of German origan, far removed from Taoism in the early 1900’s its interesting that there was an overlap in concepts. Behaviour and Context can be likened also to Leadership in Context, however thats for another article I think.

So moving into opposites existing together we explored Polarities within us, which was very interesting.  Polarity theory is based on exploring two sides of one element of ones behaviour. An example might be when troubled or stuck on something to examine the emotional and logical resoponse to it as opposites. Dick had a great exercise. One sits in a chair looking at another chair and imagines the opposite sitting there, so taking the example you play the emotional role and make your point to the Logical. Then you swap roles and speak to the emotional as the logical. The argument is brilliant, bringing out both sides until there is a powerful consensus or resolution in the centre. As Dick said “thats where the power is”.

Gestalt is used to help people become real - from “paper people to real people”. For a personal journey for managers, leaders or employees this can lead to greater things, not least important, happiness. 

Great working with Dick again too.

Aidan Higgins

Computer Gamings Paradigm Shift

I remember a great cartoon of two parents looking in their sons room, watching him fanatically thumbing away at his Xbox/Playstation. The mother turns to the father and says - “I hope by the time he grows up game players will be in great demand then he will be able to earn a living ……”

When I first met up with computer games I was in school and they were asterix’s and 0’s and based on a Mini Computer  - A Digital Vax PDP11. I was facinated that you could play against a machine and imagination was all you needed. I have always been a computer gamer, where work, family and sport allowed and followed the trends from Alleycat to Leisure Suit Larry to Elite (PC) to Wolfenstein to Doom to WoW (which is the Worlds most popular on-line Game/ MMORPG).  I have never been a complete gaming loon but I did like them and preferred them to television often for entertainment. However they were always a one user operation. It was you and the PC. And thats all.  The real gaming specialists (experts who completed games in weeks/days) were shut in’s often locked in their room for 24 hours not speaking or communicating with others - not healthy.

I was on WoW the other day and a strange thing happened. I had to go to meet someone and on WoW I was linked up with some guildies trying to get something done to the benefit of us all. The torture I had to endure to get the project done before I had to leave was unbelievable. Was this addiction? No, it was not wanting to let the others down.

Not wanting to let the others down? Suggest friendship, loyalty, teamwork, belonging and community?

A long way from the anti-social shut-in paradigm?

I still meet people outside gaming that do not realise that PC Gaming has changed utterly - just watch as large entertainment corporates try to emulate the success of WoW. What was considered a loners operation has now become what my friend Declan Elliott calls “the new golf”, a method of socializing with others using on screen interaction and communication as well as Teamspeak (Voice over IP communication like phone conferencing).

Interactivity is where its at folks. Pull what you want rather than be force fed what you don’t.

Aidan Higgins