Book: “The Wisdom of Crowds” by James Surowiecki

 Book  Comments Off
Jan 292011
 

There is something in me that always makes me want to ignore current trends or even sometimes go against them. I am no great ‘rebel’ but I am always suspicious about the reasons of why certain things become popular. I rarely read the latest bestseller until someone I trust recommends it to me. At least with age, I have learnt to hold my tongue until I have tasted a product.

So, my friend David said I should read The Wisdom of Crowds. Seeing as he was the one who introduced me to Malcolm Gladwell, I gave it a go. And lately I have seen the book mentioned by other authors a few times, so I thought I’d dip back into it and extract some thoughts…

I am all for making decisions in groups and wholeheartedly agree with Surowiecki’s statement that:

group deliberations are more successful when they have a clear agenda and when leaders take an active role in making sure that everyone gets a chance to speak”.

So I thank Mr S for his reminder about the dangers of ‘group polarization’.

I am very familiar with ‘group think’ – a phenomenon that happens when individuals in groups prioritize showing agreement with the rest of the group over reaching a suitable decision – and I suppose group polarization is a phenomenon along the same lines.

Group polarization is the tendency of individuals to become more radical in their views when aligned to the rest of the group. So, in groups of risk-averse people, individuals will become more cautious while the opposite will happen in groups made up of those prone to taking risks.

As with all concepts presented by Surowiecki in his book, this one is backed up by research and illustrated by specific cases. So, if you are in charge of facilitating group discussions or are interested in the process by which groups make decisions, then I invite you to have a think about the risks and benefits of group decision-making as you read ‘The Wisdom of Crowds’.

On Shifting our Focus

 Leadership  No Responses »
Jan 282011
 

I’ve started reading Rupert Brown’s Group Processes, first published in 1988. The first sentence reminded me of how quickly we can change our minds about what’s important in the workplace.

“For some years now, at least in the industrialized West, groups have received rather a bad press”.

I know he’s talking about groups in general, but how different a view from that we currently hold about teams.

For some reason, it got me thinking about those development areas we currently focus on and on some we have forgotten about (or forgotten to advocate for) – just some thoughts.

Are there any areas that you feel have become the focus of business or personal development that have pushed aside other vital ones?

Hopefully this will provide some warm brain food for a cold Friday.

With our focus on diversity, have we forgotten about commonality?
With our focus on leadership, have we forgotten about support?
With our focus on change, have we forgotten about consolidation?

On the Nature of Business

 Leadership  No Responses »
Jan 262011
 

To say that the nature of business is changing is an understatement. Yet for those of us interested in making things happen, it is worth stopping to ask: in what ways is it changing? And why?

What consumers expect from businesses has changed: we expect more transparency, accountability and sometimes we even look to see whether they share our own values.(To see how this has affected Marketing, read Social Media Marketing: An Hour a Day, by Dave Evans.)

Even though the nature of business might be changing, the way in which people working in business see themselves remains the same: some look for opportunities for personal growth outside their office walls; some strive to make the world a better place through volunteering or by contributing much needed funds to social projects.

I have always been baffled (and a little, just a little bit disturbed) by the fact that not more people obtain and seek the opportunities to develop at work. Our formal education ends relatively early – surely we don’t reach our full potential then? And wouldn’t it make sense to become a better professional, a better person, at work, where we spend at least a quarter of our lives? (Calculation based on 40 hrs per week). Granted, this is less than we spend sleeping, for those of us lucky enough to get 8 hours sleep a day, that’s 33% of our time spent re-charging our batteries.

My wider, genuine question is: do businesses have the responsibility to develop their people? Not just to help their businesses excel but also, as a contribution to society?

Business can make an important contribution to society: it provides us with services (things we can’t or won’t do ourselves), meets our needs (even if it creates some of them) and is responsible for many improvements in people’s lives.

And yet, on Peter Day’s Global Business “A New Capitalism” (20 Jan 2011), Michael Porter from Harvard Business School, commented how some of the school’s own students now seem to feel a bit ashamed to be studying Business: ” They are, I won’t say embarrassed about being in business, but they are uneasy and really not proud to be associated with this institution.”

I was happy to hear him add that Corporate Social Responsibility is not the answer (I might add: pretty much like “Citizenship” in the curriculum was not the answer to the decay of behaviour at school).

“There is a hunger for purpose in the business community.”

Michael Porter advocates for integrating social values into the business, so that they cease to be an add-on, a separate department, but are integrated into the company’s strategy and culture.

Not all of us lead a large organisation; not all of us have the status to be able to change the world: but let’s take those values we cherish so much in our personal lives and let them phase into our professional life and let’s see what happens – a small risk to take.

(Further Reading: Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer’s article “The Big Idea: Creating Shared Value” Harvard Business Review Jan/Feb 2011)

Have You Been CC’d Today?

 Leadership, Teams  2 Responses »
Jan 252011
 

I don’t get many e-mails. “Lucky you!” I hear you say. I don’t work for a large organisation and so, most e-mails are for my eyes only and include relevant content. But every now and then, I do get cc’d into a conversation. And then, what do I do?

What’s acceptable?

Do I reply – “got it!”
Do I file it?
Do I ignore it?
Do I contribute to it or remain a silent witness?

The Bottom Line‘s 17 November 2010 podcast (I download podcasts onto my mp3 player and wait for the right time to listen to them) inspired me to share my dilemmas with you – oh, the perils of 21st century Western life! One of the discussion themes was modes of communication and one of the guests mentioned that, on occasions, by carbon copying their bosses on an e-mail, some people were ‘upward delegating’ (there’s a wonderful phrase for all of you wanting to ‘manage your boss’).

By cc’ing, do you spread out responsibility? Are you basically saying: look at what I’ve said, now you know about it. But what if I didn’t ask to be cc’d?

On the other hand, cc’ing (I wonder if the Oxford dictionary will pick this one up!) can be a way of including others and inviting collaboration – is your cc saying “Look, I wanted to share this with you”, or “Just wanted to keep you in the loop”?

E-mail carbon copying is another technological communication tool and as such, like multiple others, needs to be used appropriately and showing consideration for the receiver. Does everyone in your team need to receive your e-mail? Is there a different way of sharing information with them – if it really needs sharing?

(And don’t get me started on personal e-mails where your address appears visible on the cc line along with 100s of others – have you not heard of BCC?? Blank CC for those of you who’ve never used it.)

I’m all up for using e-mail – you can send messages at any time in the day, it’s free (kind of) and you can take your time in replying to them. Besides, I’m more comfortable being off-line than turning my mobile off.

So I’ll leave you with some phrases CC might well stand for and a lovely picture of a good ol’ typewriter – remember that lovely shiny carbon paper??. Please feel free to share your own, but don’t be rude, remember this is a public space.

Cyber Collaboration

Creative Communication

Colleague Consternation

Book: The Extra One Per Cent by Rob Yeung

 Book  No Responses »
Jan 242011
 

I do like Rob Yeung. Of course, I have never met him, but I have read three of his books and I do like the tone of them. Simple, straight forward and personal, in that his own values come through.

So I was looking forward to ‘The Extra One Per Cent – how small changes make exceptional people’. Of course, the suggested changes might be small but not easy to make – as for some  it might require re-programming how they see the world around them and indeed, their own role in carving their own path to success, whatever that “success” is.

(In fact, the book might inspire more than one person to stop and define what personal success means to them.)

“We can all benefit from disentangling what is genuinely important to us from the values of those around us.”

The Extra One Per Cent will surely prove inspiring to entrepreneurs and those people who have big goals in mind, as it is full of success stories and ways of dissecting big plans to make them viable, as well as building self-confidence.

I particularly liked the reminder of the importance of relationships in attaining your goals. In his chapter on “Daring” (one of the capabilities of exceptional people), he describes a stepwise approach to working towards your goals. Then, in considering each step, he suggests thinking about “Who can/should help you?”. As someone who has never had a problem in asking for or giving help, I think this is fantastic (and essential) advice.

And while on the subject of goals, I also welcome his suggestion of being guided by positive goals rather than negative goals (e.g. “I want to run more workshops” rather than “I want to avoid having only one client”) and much prefer his PAST mnemonic (what a great word, mnemonic…) for effective goals: Positive, Ambitious, Specific, Timed – a more energy-charged term than the widely used SMART.

As someone who advocates for making room for creativity at work, I really welcome a few of his other points:

- “Creativity” does not mean “artistry”,
-  One can experience “flow” and develop one’s creativity in any kind of job, it just has to be right for you.

Creativity comes about as the result of activity. Individuals who make time to question, speculate and learn about the world tend to be more creative.

The scientist in me continues to ask all the time: “How do you know?”, “Where is the proof”? And indeed, this is something that Rob Yeung does well, by supporting most of his suggestions and advice with research from studies and experiments (all neatly referenced at the back of the book for further reading). Of course plenty of the material comes from anecdotes, his own experience and gut feeling – else the book would lose its soul!

So, if you are looking for a light read, full of research, practical advice and inspirational stories, do go The Extra One Percent. And, as always, if you can think of any other literature along the same lines, please post your recommendation here!

Personal Auditory Space

 Random thoughts, Wellbeing  No Responses »
Jan 212011
 

The office heater’s broken so I just stepped out for a cup of coffee and a yummy cupcake.

3 people on their own – doing some kind of work – like me! Next to me, a couple (I think they’re a couple) talking about work, possible collaborations (I think they’re artists). Upstairs, a lot of background noise, the kind of sound you would expect on an SFX track labelled “restaurant noise”.

One of the guy starts talking into his phone – sounds “important”, something about a table – he looks like an adrenalin-junkie, spotted him when he came in, thrives on his work.

And then suddenly PING – more like PIIIIIING – from the corner, a woman rings a bell, a chime – a tibetan flat bell. Interesting. I look up after a while (I am not going to admit I am intrigued by such a simple sound) to see if I can understand this contrast of two worlds: the lady and her companion are sitting perfectly still – why? What are they doing? Practising some performance skills? Meditating? And then his pen moves – phew, that’s more “normal”.

Intrigued (but not wantING to get caught staring) I continue with my work – and my cupcake.

And then, another high pitched sound, this time more in sync with its surroundings: cling, cling, cling. I have to look up and there she is, banging her spoon against her cup. She catches my eye, clings her spoon against the cup one last time and in a theatrical gesture she puts cup and spoon down, all the while holding my stare. I smile. What I really want to do is say: Please can you stop that annoying sound, can’t you see there are other people here? But I don’t. I smile. Because I’m scared. She thinks that I am amused by her, that I share her joy of making ping and cling noises. Phew – I’m off the hook, can continue with my work, knowing that now she knows that I am here and not afraid to make myself “heard”.

I really wish I could shut my ears – my eyesight is pretty bad and so, to compensate, I have really good hearing. I’m also very sensitive to music and rhythm; and I was also brought up to keep my noise down for others in the household and the neighbours.

So yes, I feel threatened by sounds that invade my “hearing space” – probably more than bodies that invade my ‘personal space. Why? I’m not sure – answers on a postcard… or an mp3 file if you must.

Can Twitter help to develop your leadership skills?

 Leadership, Teams  Comments Off
Jan 172011
 

I haven’t had my Twitter account for long (less than a week) but I have already been struck by how much discipline it takes to be a good “Twitterette”, almost as much as it takes to be a good leader. And of course, the word ‘Follower’ got me thinking. If you are following, then surely someone must be leading? And what will you do with your Followers? Where will you lead them to?

I’m always thinking about how to connect different people, my different interests and so, it intrigues me how this new found tool (I know, I’m a bit of a late e-developer) can be connected to leadership. Here are some of my thoughts:

Anyone can lead. They just have to want to.
Twitter is useful if you want to lead the way but it is also used to see what others can offer. So if you want to gather 10,000 Followers, I’m sure you can, but you really have to want to. ‘Leadership’ seems such a grand word, but many of the leader’s responsibilities can be taken on by anyone to make their life (and those of others’) better. Enabling, supporting, advocating, negotiating – what might differentiate a natural leader is a passion for getting things done; a need to work with others and, I will go as far as to day, a desire to work for the greater good. In the end, to become a leader (by nature if not always by title), one has to want to lead.

You don’t need to be present constantly.
You might tweet every day. Every hour, every second. But does that make you a more attractive Tweeterer (I’m searching for a word that means “person who uses twitter to talk to others”). Surely the quality of the message, its tune, its relevance, the information it conveys (or points us towards) are more important?

I’ve come across many people in charge who feel they constantly have to be present – physically, with their opinions, with their approval. You don’t need to. Let others get on with it and only intervene when it’s necessary or you really have something valuable to contribute.

Twitter connects you to the outside world.
Far from keeping people stuck in their heads and their computers, Twitter, like most social media, has the ability to keep you up to date on what’s going on way beyond the four walls of your house, office or industry. The most interesting Twitters (I keep trying) have a range of interests and are fast to respond to the latest news.

Those in a position of driving business forward need to know what’s going on around them, not only because they might directly affect their business but because you never know where inspiration might come from next.

Find the joy in following.
There is no point in using Twitter if you don’t follow anyone else – that is why through your homepage you can view both your followers and those you follow.

Leaders can become so overwhelmed by (or engrossed in) the idea of ‘leading’ that they forget there are many reasons to follow – for to follow, you must listen. Listen to your own ‘followers’, they will always have something interesting to say; listen to those you can learn from; listen to your peers. Be ready to follow and it will never get lonely at the top.

You have to deal with the dark side.
I thought Twitter was a big happy family of Twitterers and Twitterettes but, being spammed two seconds after opening my account, I was reminded that things are not always so easy. What did I do?

First I panicked and thought – I knew this was a bad idea, I’m closing down my account! But then, I remembered to breathe (always a good idea) and thought: well, surely I’m not the first one to be spammed. Someone else will have the answers. I reached out, dealt with it and moved on.

Life is not always easy and so it’s important to know when you have and haven’t got control to make things better (for you, your team, your organisation).

So, there you go, not bad for someone who deep down has a problem with the words ‘leader’ and ‘follower’. Whatever you think of Twitter, it’s certainly a tool when anyone can champion their own cause.

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