Reshift

W𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠-𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞?

One question I'm specifically pondering is 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝑨𝑰 𝒂𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒄𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒑𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒏 '𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒈𝒆𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕' (i.e. the company, shareholders, c-suite) and the rest of the workforce?

✊ Will AI put more 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞, so that they have autonomy and use AI to wrest back a better quality of life?

🔨 Or, will AI be used as yet another way of tracking and measuring people's work to 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐳𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 without consideration of the human cost?

𝐀𝐈 𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 and is being used to collect and analyze vast amounts of management data, track productivity, monitor remote work, measure sentiment and even automate performance evaluations.

Most of what we are seeing at work now is various forms of (𝘈𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘢 𝘪𝘵'𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘥). Just wait for to really catch on (𝘈𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘹 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴).

Agentic AI is going to truly open up the possibility of machines doing more and more work for us, or for the company. I𝐭'𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 whether we want that value to accrue to the people doing work and their communities, or to owners, executives and shareholders.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 (the workforce vs. the company) today?

D𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐟 (work)life, 𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐬 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐞𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐲?

𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧 and it can be both energizing and overwhelming.
For most organizations this means thinking forward to 2025 and beyond.

If you are looking for a 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐚 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭. This is a collaborative and accelerated approach to developing your team's strategy or strategic inputs. It can be done at the team, department or whole-of-organization level and it takes 3 weeks.

𝑺𝒐 𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒂 𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒄 𝑷𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌?

𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 1: 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Assemble team, review current plans state, conduct market analysis, research challenges and opportunities.

𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 2: 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤
Interview stakeholders, identify themes and priorities, vision workshop, strategy development workshop.

𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 3: 𝐕𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
Gather feedback, refine, develop OKRs and timelines, develop comms, present to key stakeholders and finalize plan.

The 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐛𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬. It's adaptable for organizations of all sizes and provides a framework for efficient, inclusive strategy development that addresses current challenges and future opportunities.

Can you do this? Absolutely. Any team can do a 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭, 𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐦, as input to the org strategy. You'll need to rally multiple stakeholders within the organzation, and most likely you'll need external help coordinating and facilitating the work.

The benefits are a 𝐟𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 that can set a refreshed path for the future of your team, founded in reality and created through broad collaboration.

Your trust, like your time, is something you have agency over. These are perhaps two of the most important things that you control as you go about life. So, how do YOU trust?

Do you you naturally trust others unless you have reason not to? Do you open a trust account for someone new with a positive balance by default? Or, do you open that account with a negative balance, not trusting them until they 'earn' your trust?

How you 'show up', how you present yourself to others through your behaviors, what you say, how you treat others - these are the things that define you as a person. How you trust is one of those behaviors, and, I believe how you trust is one of the most important decisions you can make every day, with every interaction.

How you trust affects...
Who you love, play and work with.
How you build relationships.
They way you make decisions.
Your outlook on life and your ability to motivate others.

I also think trust is something that fundamentally influences both your personal healt and the health of the society you live in.

So, how do you trust? If you haven't thought about this, take a moment to consider whether you are a trusting person or not, whether you naturally give people the 'benefit of the doubt' or assume other people's intentions are suspect. In what circumstances do you trust people, and when is it important to be cautious.

There is no right answer for everyone and for every circumstance, but if you want to create a culture where we can trust one another, we have to start with ourselves.

Think about it.

If you want to know what it's like to co-create, watch Peter Jackson's incredible documentary Get Back about the making of the Beatles' last album, Let It Be.

https://www.youtube.com/clip/Ugkxx8oIi41Keva42bi__iyYmwQ3ln9Ou6EZ

Even with one of the greatest bands ever, co-creating can be incredibly difficult. In this three-part documentary you can watch the slow, messy and painful process of a team of incredibly talented humans come together to make brilliant music.

They missed their original deadline.
They fought and were barely able to stay together.
They had to get lots of outside help.
People not on their core team kept interrupting.
One team member quit. The team rallied and got him back on board.
There was enormous pressure to perform.

Ultimately, the group went through the messy, squiggly process of creation and drew on the unique creative talents of each band member, all their recording crew, the staff, their families and even the fans to create an amazing body of music.

What you see in this documentary is the creative process laid out raw in front of you. It's worth watching for inspiration. It's worth watching because it shows that, even though you might struggle when you are trying to co-create with others, the struggle is worth it and it can be a long and winding road, but you'll get there!

Clip from 'The Beatles: Get Back', directed by Peter Jackson, courtesy of Disney+ and Apple Corps Ltd.



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Whether you're meeting in-person or virtual, 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 '𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞' 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠. The space you choose should 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠.

Last week we ran a multi-day co-creation workshop for a client. It was held in a church sanctuary, full of 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭, 𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐲𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐧.

The workshop was about the climate crisis. It was appropriate to have light, ample space and a 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 outside. We invited groups to take their work outdoors, own the space, make it their own. And they did.

As facilitators, we also drew the large group outside to circle up for a post-lunch 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐛𝐲 𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐫𝐬 before starting back at our work.

Contrast this to how we create the space for an online convening. While limited, we create a space in Miro or Mural in what we call the 𝐰𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐥. Everyone is asked to go to the space a day or so before we convene and add their 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐯𝐞𝐬, 𝐚 𝐩𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐭 like their favorite song growing up.

While the virtual space is much more challenging, we just kicked off a project using this technique and it really helped the team 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 for how we will engage together in the virtual space.

Regardless of where you meet, if you're convening people don't neglect the importance of the space you're using for the gathering. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐭 and even if you're physical space is bland, 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 '𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞' 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤.

Even small gestures like the welcome wall or activities where you pause, circle participants up so everyone sees one another - 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.

Would you VOLUNTEER to participate in an experience design workshop to improve the TSA experience?

A 𝐜𝐨-𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, AND, make the whole 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐅𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐏𝐄𝐑.

WHAT I SAW TODAY GOING THROUGH TAMPA AIRPORT WAS DUMBFOUNDING:

🐍 Typical line to get to ID screening was ok, but even that could be improved (when there are 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐚 𝐟𝐞𝐰 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 waiting, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐰𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐞?)

✅ The 𝐈𝐃 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝. They used facial recognition and a driver's license scanner, and it was quick and efficient.

🍼 I was in line behind a young family with an infant and a toddler putting all their stuff in a dozen scanner trays was painful. It also took a lot of time and created a bottleneck. 𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐓𝐒𝐀 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬?

👜 Putting your stuff in scanner trays is different at every airport. This 𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐟 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞. TSA staff have to literally yell these instructions to people in line.

♿ There was a line of people in wheelchairs waiting to go through the body screening 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 for...I guess TSA to free up someone to help them through screening.

🔎 There was 𝐧𝐨 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 for where people merge into the body scanners. Just follow the person in front of you? Not as clear as that, actually.

⛔ On the 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫, 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐩𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐮𝐩 behind the family stopping the entire line of people behind us.

👎 Finally, a humiliated woman was being intimately body frisked right at the end of the line, in front of everyone. I was embarrassed for her.

The 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞 & 𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐬. There is no real design here, it's just a process with no consideration for the people involved.

Where is work going? What are the big changes we can expect in the coming years in how work gets done?

I have been in several conversations in the past few weeks that have come at these questions from different angels. One thing is clear to me, 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞.

As we move into a world of work where people are working less in-person, collaborating more with and through technology, and adjusting to demographic shifts in the makeup of the workforce, I think 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐟𝐭 that will happen in how work gets done 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫.

As AI works its way into every work application we use from email to your project management software, the messy and inefficient way work gets done today that we currently live with is going to become much more efficient and effective. 𝐖𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐈 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞.

If you're interested in learning how this future with AI might look like, you should lean into learning as much as you can. A great opportunity for that is the 𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐈 𝐔𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝. Check it out here https://www.teamingwith.ai/event1705

It's completely normal to be anxious about what your work is going to look like in five years time. There are a lot of factors that are amping up the rate of change at work. 𝐈𝐭'𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐛𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮!

Taking a break this week on the slopes and came across this poignant reminder. I had to snap the double black diamond as I looked over the edge of the challenging slope ahead.

Venturing off the safe, well-trodden path takes courage, yes. But, doing so without guidance from someone with experience subjects you to unneeded risk.

The double diamond is a well-known visual representation of the method of complex problem solving. It provides a map of sorts for the process of innovation.

Taking calculated risk is fine, it's part of how you grow from where you are to where you want to be. If your path ahead is risky, it's best to have a map and a guide that knows where you are heading.

If you see risk ahead on your path to innovation, give us a shout at reshift!

"You could 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 as being 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠 𝐨𝐟 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬, and all of those have 𝐛𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐚 3.8 𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐝." - Michael Pawlyn.

This quote sums up the promise of 𝐛𝐢𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐜𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲-𝐭𝐨-𝐝𝐚𝐲. Nature has perfected gazillions of designs over billions of years, and humans have continually borrowed ideas and design elements from nature.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝑻𝑬𝑫 𝒗𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌. It provides excellent examples of how natural solutions work within constrained systems, using circular processes that are sustainable, created beautiful designs that are resilient and work hand-in-hand with the designs around it. https://lnkd.in/e52TeJnQ

As you go through your week, take a look around you and get inspired by all the beautiful things that are possible. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐚 𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐢𝐧 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 and breathe in the possibilities. 𝐘𝐞𝐬, we have many problems that need to be solved, lots of complexity within which solutions must work, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 we have almost limitless approaches perfected by nature that can inspire us to solutions.

If you're curious, dive into the world of biomimicry at the Biomimicry Institute's excellent Biomimicry Toolbox site here https://lnkd.in/euk3YiQ3. It's full of tools and methods that might just spark your next breakthrough.

One of the fundamental principles for designers of all stripes is to immerse yourself in the world of the people you are designing for. An experience map is one essential tool for seeing the world through the eyes of the person at the center of your design effort.

You can download the Experience Mapping Toolkit free here https://drive.google.com/open?id=10vr4-2q8rJmFau1ZNr8SE2-o_yMiC5Ao&usp=drive_fs

This toolkit includes a persona template and an experience map template, plus step-by-step instructions on how you can map a current-state experience. The toolkit builds upon our Developing the Vision Toolkit and Research and Insights Toolkit, both are provided through links in the downloadable PDF.

We hope this toolkit gives you an understanding of the initial steps of an experience design project, and helps you take the critical step of developing a rich picture of the people you are designing for by mapping our their current experience.

As always, we are here to help, so if you have any questions just reach out.

How many people really love their work? US employee engagement has hovered around 30-35% for the past decade. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜!

I came across an HBR article penned by Marcus Buckingham of ADP's Research Institute titled 𝐃𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞 (https://hbr.org/2022/05/designing-work-that-people-love).

You don’t have to enjoy ALL of your work, in fact data from Mayo Clinic shows that if doctors and nurses 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐦𝐮𝐦 𝐨𝐟 20% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭'𝐬 𝐞𝐧𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 to help reduce stress and burnout.

The research suggests that organizations that want to better engage employees should do the following:

👩🏽‍⚕️ Recruit human beings, not employees: recruit and onboard people based on their unique passions, both work and non work related.

🎓 Commit to lifelong learning: provide programs that invest in personal growth.

🙌🏽 Support alumni: stay with ex-employees after they leave, celebrate their successes after they leave to demonstrate how the organization supports growth.

⛔ Avoid tools that standardize: design careers according to the person's own interests and skills and avoid standardized skills and competencies.

⚽ Focus on teams: most work is done as a team, so focus on how individuals contribute to strengthening a diverse team's overall strength performance.

🛡 Discard rituals that erode trust: things like top-down goals and 360 performance reviews signal that the organization doesn't trust people because they remove agency.

🔁 Pay attention: institute once-per-week check-ins between employees and team leaders to improve communication, trust and overall engagement.

𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐨𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 ways to move the needle on helping people find more meaning from their work. For sure some are more difficult to make happen; standardized competencies and top-down goals for example.

What is clear is that 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐝 "𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤" 𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞, much less something people love. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 and everyone loved what they do for work?

Designing Work That People Love Resignations are at an all-time high, and companies desperate to fill vacancies are trying everything from pay raises to trendy perks. But those interventions are falling short, because the real problem, as the author explains, is that so many jobs are stressful, meaningless, and unlovable. Buckingh...

Our latest blog post is live and includes a 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐌𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐥𝐤𝐢𝐭. Check it out here https://lnkd.in/dkZPr6kx

This is a short read and hopefully convinces those leaders to give experience design a try to improve the journeys of key stakeholders. Experience mapping is a core activity in experience design and it doesn't require a design degree to do. It only requires a commitment to test and learn. Go for it!

When you feel stuck, when you're learning something new or facing a challenge, the best attitude to take is to just get active.

Way back in 2010 when I first came to know of it was a bit of a mystery to me. Then, in 2013 when we started building Group I remember and excellent piece of advice that van oosterom gave me that works whenever I am faced with a big mountain to climb or a big challenge.

It was early days of design thinking and we were starting a company with that name. No one really knew what it was about and, to be honest, neither did I fully understand what it was. We had to form our own point of view and I hoped Arne could just tell me.

Arne's advice was "just get active", do things, learn by doing, you'll figure it out. We did, we ran monthly lunch and learn events, we started writing blog posts, we got out of the office and ran co-creation events in the community, we took every opportunity possible to practice design thinking.

This "just get active" approach still works for the big challenges we face. It helps you stay focused and productive, and most importantly, it helps you grow and learn.

If you're stuck, the last thing you want to do is stay stuck. If you face a daunting challenge, get out there and just get active. It will help you overcome static friction (the physical resistance that keeps things from moving ) and, by just being active, you'll make progress even if you're just exploring and learning.

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Different kinds of change require different approaches. Are you looking at your change initiative the right way?

Not all changes are transformations. Not all changes are innovation.

Incremental changes are the every-day organizational changes that are mostly predictable and limited in scale and scope. Rolling out new versions of an IT system, or changing a health insurance provider all fall into this category of incremental change.

Innovation change involves the organization doing something novel, creating new value and offering it in a new way. The most visible innovation is about new products or services, but it can equally be new production methods or a new process that makes getting work done faster.

Transformational change redefines the core of how or what an organization does what it does. Moving a car company from internal combustion to electric, or merging two competitors into one new organization are transformative changes.

Transformation goes deeper than either incremental or innovation change:
Scope: Impacts the entire organization, not just a department.
Impact: Fundamentally changes strategy, culture, or operations.
Vision: Creates a whole new future state, not just tweaks the present.

The way you approach that change needs to be different depending on how the change will impact different people and parts of the organization. The first step is clearly recognizing what type of change you are going through and making this clear through communications.

Make sure you know the difference and plan accordingly!

𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫. So, why do so many people dislike the process of selling?

At reshift, everyone in our team is involved in the process of selling our services to our customers. But, few of us really wake up with enthusiasm for the task. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐠𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬.

Well, here's the thing. Your whole relationship starts with that first date. Trust is established with how you show up, how well you are prepared for the conversation, how much interest you show in the customer's business and in the person you're interacting with. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 - 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐨𝐧 - 𝐝𝐞𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓!

With this in mind, we focus on building a relationship with our prospective clients. Our goal in a conversation with the person across the table is to establish a warm conversation, to listen and to focus on them, not on us.

Then, 𝐢𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦 - and, honestly, in my experience if this isn't the case your are wasting your time! - 𝐰𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐨-𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫. 𝐅𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐟 𝐮𝐬.

To be honest, to create true lasting value, that relationship needs to go from 'like' to 'love'. 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐟𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫.

That's what sales is all about. That's what work is all about. That's how you get to innovation and .

I would love to hear from other service providers who sell and our customers who we sell to. What is your perspective on this critical process?

What common things do you need to have in place if you want to make Big Change inside your organization or across an entire system?

I think these five factors are good starting points for scaling change:

1. 𝐒𝐞𝐭 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. Make sure you have a way to track progress to success, identify any conflicting goals amongst parts of the organization and get broad buy-in for the need to change.

2. 𝐈𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐱𝐭𝐬. Simply put, if people's needs will not be met or their voices are not heard, there will be resistance.

3. 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐬. Big changes take time and money to scale something across an enterprise or a system. Realistic budget and change planning , while perhaps not providing the speed of change you want, are critical to scaling change efforts.

4. 𝐂𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐧. Don't just involve people at the start of the process, keep them involved and updated throughout the process of change.

5. 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐦𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬, 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐝𝐚𝐩𝐭 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬. Stay focused on the goals, have robust metrics so you can see where you're going and adjust tactics as needed to get to your change destination.

Perhaps the 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 to communicate the reasons for the change and inspire people when the going gets tough.

𝐖𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐚𝐧-𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬, and today is a perfect example. If you were born on Feb 29, you only get to celebrate every four years!

Well, of course that's not true. Leap baby parents certainly celebrate and pamper their children once a year. 𝐁𝐮𝐭, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐩𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐬.

- 𝐋𝐚𝐰𝐬: laws stem from natural principles of fairness or justice, but their specific implementations and interpretations are entirely man-made.

- 𝐋𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞: languages themselves, with their intricate rules of grammar, vocabulary, and syntax, are human inventions.

- 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭: the entire framework, communication protocols, and services it supports are human constructs.

- 𝐌𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐬: complex mathematical systems are entirely human inventions.

- 𝐂𝐮𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐞𝐬: the specific systems of value, monetary units, and methods of exchange are entirely human inventions.

- 𝐁𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬: the specific political and cultural entities they represent are determined through human agreements, treaties, and historical events.

We live in a world where we can invent things that have incredible societal value and become foundations for the way that we live. 𝐖𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐭: 𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 and the 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐬.

How we deal with these two challenges will inevitably result in new constructs that reform the way we live and coexist with our fellow humans, other species and the rest of this blue ball we call Planet Earth.

𝐇𝐞𝐫𝐞'𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐩 𝐮𝐬 𝐟𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐬!

Bruce Lee was one of those people who lived an amazing life and whose story few of us know, but his accomplishments and his persona and personal drive were truly incredible. I just wanted to drop this video that simply makes me think and, strangely, motivates me to move forward in life when I see it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJMwBwFj5nQ

"Be water my friend"

If you're curious about Bruce Lee, check out his Wikipedia page. Be prepared for a LONG entry, testament to his amazing and short life https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Lee

I watched the documentary I Am Bruce Lee and was captured by his life story.

Have a nice weekend!

Riddle me this: Why do companies not prioritize their employees over their customers?

All this talk about employees as 'resources' and 'assets' or (gag!) 'capital' - somehow employees are dehumanized and seen as a risk, while customers are seen as someone you want to pamper and treat like royalty.

A recent study from Colombia University analyzing earnings calls from Fortune 500 executives showed “that executives talk about customers 10 times more often than employees. And when they do, executives perceive customers to be analogous to opportunities and employees to risks.”

Yes, this is a culture issue and it's driven by the mindset of the people at the top of the organization. That mindset is, in turn, driven by our society and Wall St. that only sees the balance sheet and only recognizes growth as a monetary thing, not as a people thing.

What if executives obsessed as much over how many clicks it takes for an associate to file their expense report? What if the measure of employee retention was more important than customer retention?

What if we flipped the script and treat the people who make our products and services like royalty? Would we all of a sudden go bankrupt, or would we see a positive shift in culture, employee experience and innovation?

Change management can be an organizational superpower, but change fatigue can undermine your efforts. How do you get it right?

When I worked at GE back in the days of Jack Welch, it seemed like there was a constant stream of change initiatives that came down from 'corporate.' First we saw Outsourcing/Offshoring, then Work Out, "Boundaryless" Organization (yes, that was a thing), Globalization of business units and then Six Sigma.

By the time one initiative had infused throughout the organization, the next one came down and people were scrambling to adopt it. These changes were rigorously communicated, carefully tracked and people were trained in a consistent manner.

Over time I just got used to there being some new change initiative. It became second nature. As I traveled to Japan, the UK, France, Spain, Italy...everywhere in GE World, the impressive thing was that everyone spoke the same GE language. Everyone knew that change was happening in the world, for our customers and we needed to be in front of that change.

Of course not all of these changes were without consequences, but anyone who was around in those days at GE knows how powerful the culture of continuous change was. And, as an alumnus, I left with an itching need to see things move fast, a desire for that continuous change.

If a global titan with over 275,000 employees in over 100 countries operating in sectors from aircraft engines to finance can do it, so you can you. It's a culture thing, it's a communications thing, it's a change management thing, it's about people and building a capability.

I'd love to hear from my GE alum colleagues or others who have worked in organizations that have continuous change in their culture. What are your stories of change?