Social Media: Learning From Slime Mold

Much of the buzz about social media has been about how to utilize it for marketing.  As you might expect, there a lot of spaghetti getting thrown on the walls as people try to determine what works. For some good guidance on the subject, check out http://customersrock.net or www.thesocialgathering.net.   The numbers are astounding.  If you haven’t seen it, check out this YouTube video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8

Convinced?

But these numbers aren’t getting generated because everyone thinks this is such a great marketing vehicle.  This is happening because of social media’s innate power to connect us to each other in ways not even imagined two decades ago.

We are interested in social media not because it offers a way to accomplish marketing goals, but because it offers organizations a way to evolve to their true nature.  One of the main points in our book is that organizations should not be thought of as machines, but as living, evolving complex adaptive systems.   Just like slime mold!  Like beehives and ant hills, slime mold offers some great lessons about adaptive systems.

One of the characteristics of healthy complex adaptive systems is that there is a seamless flow of information and immediate feedback between the individual cells, or modules.  While traditional organization structures served to stifle the flow of information, social media offers organizations a way to let the information flow uninhibited between parties.

While there are horror stories of viral communications spiraling out of control, the connections are happening whether you like it or not – you can’t control it.  However, you can embrace the potential.  Enabling your people to connect without filters and restrictions frees the organization.  If you have good people, they will do the right thing.

Learn from slime mold – let them connect.

Scott

Not Your Parent's Retirement

OK – the recession is officially over. Glad that’s past us.   So why such high unemployment?   One reason is that the earnings that have partially restored the stock values have been based on cost cutting, furloughed employees, and aggressive financial restructuring.  Maybe the bleeding has stopped, but we don’t have lift-off yet.  Based on the stubborn reluctance of the financial industry to reinvest in their customers and businesses to shed the fiscal conservatism that saved their skins, this recovery may be a long slow ride. 

The impact on those Boomers facing retirement will be profound.  We know that the financial crisis took a bite out of retirement savings.  While some losses have been recouped, this was still a generation with the lowest savings rate in history.  In short, a great many people were really unprepared for retirement and will have to work longer than planned.

The good news is that the economy will need them.  Because the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts a shortage of prime aged workers (25 to 54 years), companies will have to find ways to retain these workers.  For some companies, the impact will be profound.  It is estimated that 65% of Boeing’s workers are eligible for retirement in five years!

The options to keep aging Boomers productively engaged will be many.  The migration to free-agency, the reduced need to be physically present, the outsourcing of rote labor, and the adoption of technology will create a much more flexible and capable senior workforce.

One of the main strategies for reducing cost has been to offer packages to the higher cost, senior workers.  It worked!  Unfortunately, many businesses may soon have to turn around and figure out ways to keep the ones they will need to grow the business when the market finally turns.

Scott

The Deep Roots of “Control”

In my last blog post I talked about how much opportunity there is in shifting from a desire to control our surroundings, to instead view chaos as a reality to embrace. While the dynamics of chaos can feel confusing and sometimes frustrating, it brings with it great energy. It's also a real hothouse for innovation.

I was recently reminded of both how pervasive our view of creating a logical, orderly world is, as well as the opportunities that can emerge if we can just let go and love the chaos. The New York Times science section had an article that described some forms of cancer that broke with the normal pattern (and expectation) of "linear growth." Apparently, researchers had tracked a variety of tumors which shrank or disappeared on their own, defying the medical belief that cancer has a natural, continuous progression of negative mutations. As they puzzled to understand this finding, they ultimately concluded that their underlying thinking was flawed. Cancer isn't linear, it's a dynamic process. Its growth isn't simply a function of the immediate cells that surround it, but rather is a result of interactions with the entire human body, setting the stage for unexpected and sometimes positive changes.

The critical implication is that rather than treat cancer as an isolated entity that can be controlled through surgery or chemotherapy, it needs to be healed in context of the entire system. Scientists need to study more deeply how cancers interact with the immune and endocrine systems, among others, and then devise holistic treatments. And other variables, such as nutrition, stress and exercise may also play far greater roles than medicine typically considers, as just one resulting example.

So the medical profession, like business, is starting to understand that thinking in terms of linear processes may not be the only way to view the world. And by actively considering the reality—and the value—of the chaos around us, we may uncover exciting new ways to solve difficult problems and make powerful changes in our lives.

Jennifer

It’s Time to Love the Chaos

Left-brained, linear thinking is pervasive in our culture. Many of today's professions, including business, law and all the sciences, are based on a foundation of knowledge creation through data collection and analysis. With the right amount of information and careful thought, every problem can be solved and every task can be organized into an orderly process. We can smooth out the chaos and create control.

But as our world becomes increasingly complex, we're finding our ability to tame the chaos has its limits. Our processes start to fail so we add more steps, but then they become too cumbersome to manage. Our data seems insufficient so we collect more, but its volume overwhelms us. We build in quality checks and balances, but before long we have a bloated bureaucracy. How, then, do we get our arms around the craziness and create the order that we desire?

The answer is: you don't. The new game in town, especially in business, is to let go of control, let go of the chain of command, let go of step-by-step thinking and instead embrace all the energy and insight that chaos has to offer. We live in a complex world, and by designing systems that leverage, rather than fight the chaos, we create flourishing enterprises that bring out the best in our business. And even better, it brings out the best in our people.

Does this mean we abandon our systems and let things go wild? Not at all. But instead of making processes the center of our business and expect people to adapt, we need to make our people the heart of our business, and offer resources and tools that uniquely suit them. We need to trust in the intelligence and ability of our people. Only then can we expect to work our way through the tough problems that we're all facing in today's environment.

So instead of thinking about how to get rid of the chaos that occurs in a dynamic business environment, we need to see it as a positive reality, something to embrace and draw energy from.

It's time to love the chaos!

Jennifer

You've Done Gallup.....Now What?

When we ask if a company is investing in engagement, we often hear,  “Oh, yeah, we have Gallup.”  Even I have relied on Gallup as a measure of my team’s level of engagement.   Unfortunately, many executives believe that using Gallup will solve all of their engagement problems when in fact, doing a Gallup survey is just the first step.

Gallup determines the level of engagement of your people by asking 12 basic questions they’ve honed by surveying millions of employees.  Make no mistake, Gallup knows how to do research.   It is no coincidence that the world relies on Gallup to learn about everything from Swine Flu to Sarah Palin.   Engagement is just one of many research products Gallup offers.

Unfortunately, the Gallup questions are really designed to assess the level of engagement but are only partially useful in helping you focus on what you need to do to make improvements.  While “having a best friend at work” may be a great indicator of your level of engagement, what’s a manager supposed to do with that?

Another limitation is that the issues are usually reported at the manager level, so that’s where improvement initiatives are typically generated.  That is fine as long as that is where the problems exist.  The risk is that the process to address more systemic issues can devolve into multiple, fragmented and disassociated initiatives.  If the problems are more structural, there may be no mechanism for escalating the problem, or if there is, top executives may not have a true understanding of the root cause issues.

What this means is that while Gallup can represent a good start to addressing engagement, believing that it provides a “comprehensive solution” to systemic issues will leave both management and employees disappointed.

Scott

Everyone Gets A Trophy

It is human to complain about the younger generation.   The current sound bite about the Millennials (Gen Y) is that we have so coddled them and programmed their pre-adult existence, that they have developed very unrealistic expectations about how hard life can be, how long it takes to develop deep expertise, and how we all need to deal with unpleasant people and situations at work.  The fear is we have raised a generation of dilettantes, incapable of toughing it out or working through difficult issues.

While there may be some truth to the claims about Millennials, expecting them to grow-up, tow-the-line, shape up, and get with the program is silly.  Like it or not, these kids are products of the world we created.  They expect challenge and growth opportunities in their work.  They want to save the world.  And they have a very clear perspective about how well traditional companies treat their workforce when faced with the prospect of not making this quarter’s earnings projection.  Many truly believe they are on their own – responsible for their own development, financial security, and career path. 

While dangerous to make broad generalizations, my experience is that they are just as smart, hard working, creative, and dedicated as their elders.  When given the chance, they will work their tails off for something they believe in.  They just happen to be much more skeptical about traditional business.  Do you blame them?

So rather than ignore the critical issues which truly define this generation or hope that they will become more like Boomers as they age, we should all embrace the energy and passion that this generation offers.  A company that demonstrates that it truly has their interests at heart, will be rewarded with a highly committed and engaged workforce.


Scott

“Top Workplaces” in a Tough Economy – Part 3

I'm back again with one more post on the Detroit Free Press "Top Workplaces" report. (Scott was nice enough to let me "hog the blog," but he'll be offering up some new insight next time.)

As previously shared, this particular study used an employee survey to identify the region's top workplaces. Participants not only rated their organizations on a variety of factors, but they also rated these factors in terms of importance. This prompted me to wonder…which questions were important to the employees, and which they also indicated that their organizations performed positively? As I scanned the lists, I found one clear winner.

Third on the list of importance was: "This organization operates by strong values and ethics." And this same question was number two on the list that demonstrated how well their organizations performed. Values and ethics therefore appear to be a sweet spot; employees consider this a critical expectation in the companies they're a part of, and the best businesses act in ways that convey true integrity.

An organization's values are less about talk and more about visible action, and this past year was "Exhibit A" in demonstrable values. Every business had to make very difficult decisions, decisions that had a profound impact on their people. Some used blunt force, using a ragged bottom line to defend layoffs, salary reductions and increased workloads. Others took a different approach, and were both business-like but empathetic, still making some of the same decisions but finding ways to do so with care and concern.

One interesting example was a law firm that offered one-year sabbaticals to many of their attorneys. They gave them a modest salary, continued to pay benefits, and in return asked that they use the time to develop their capabilities in some way. As a consequence, the firm was able to reduce their payroll, retain talented employees and offer them a chance to recharge and grow. Everyone was happy with the solution, and when the economy warms back up, they'll be in a position to take full advantage.

If you're interested in checking out this study, go to http://www.freep.com/ and click on "Best Workplaces in Detroit" on the front page.