Category: culture

A new tool

FabrizioLeave a comment

Things that might turn around a difficult situation in business.

Asking for help.

Sitting down with the people involved and listen.

Asking somebody who has been there before.

Interviewing your best customers.

Communicating.

Sharing your vision and make sure any decision made falls within its scope.

Allocating extra time for those who will be dissatisfied.

Learning to say no to every opportunities.

Communicating some more.

Offering concrete help to those who will be left behind.

Rather than just using “we” in presentations, live as “we”.

Overcommunicating.

Things that will NEVER turn around a difficult situation in business.

A new tool.

Elsewhere

FabrizioLeave a comment

Things that will make people stop listening and move their attention elsewhere.

Raising your voice.

Interrupting.

Antagonizing.

Being self-important.

Imposing your own topic.

Using more than three items in a list.

Not making pauses.

Technical jargon.

Not letting the other speak.

Getting distracted.

No form of personalization.

It does not matter if your idea is the best in the world, if you do any of the above you stand no chance to make an impact. Thinking about how many organisations out there have at least five of these dealbreakers in their communication on a regular basis.

Disservice

FabrizioLeave a comment

That idea you oppose, most likely it has some valid arguments backing it up.

By diminishing the idea, refusing to listen to it, sushing those supporting it you are doing everybody a disservice.

You are doing your counterpart a disservice, as you do not leave them the space to express their view and see if it resonates.

You are doing yourself a disservice, as you remain stuck, forgo a learning opportunity, fail to progress.

And equally importantly, you are doing your own idea a disservice, because even if it will eventually prevail, it will fail to represent a portion of the environment that might be sizable.

We are a culture in transition, and it may be that we are heading toward a more equal society — I don’t know — but what essential values will we forfeit in the process?

Nick Cave, the Red Hand Files, issue #109

Not permanent

FabrizioLeave a comment

Who is speaking up in support of the change you seek to make?

If it is always, only you, you most likely have one of two problems.

Problem number 1: you are seeking the wrong change. There is nothing to change, everything works just fine. Or there is something to change, just not what you want to. This happens more often then we care to admit, as we tend to follow our guts when it comes to change. It makes us restless, constantly searching for evidence, submitting ourselves to confirmation bias. In the long run it takes away from our purpose.

Problem number 2: you are seeking change in the wrong place. It might seem awfully similar to problem number 1, but in this case it is actually more about trying to bring on board the wrong people, pushing for change in the wrong organisation, expecting the wrong community to react to something they are not ready for.

One way or the other, there is one caveat about “wrong”: it is not permanent. If you are cautious and aware, you can prepare the ground for “right”. You can advocate, commit, wait, listen,understand. You can act both on the change and on the place, and eventually make them match.

Let’s go!

Advantage

FabrizioLeave a comment

A twist on the 99% idea is that the vast majority of people (say 99%) – or even better, the totality of people in the 99% of cases – will not act on the information they are given or on the knowledge they are accumulating. They will just keep falling back to hold habits and practices, because that is more convenient. Because that is how our brain is wired.

This gives you an incredible advantage if you manage to build a practice of doing, shipping, delivering.