Curiosity Sparks Innovation

There is a wonderful new book out by Brian Grazer and Charles Fishman titled A Curious Mind…The Secret to a Bigger Life.  You may recognize Brian Grazer who is the Academy Award winning producer of such films as A Beautiful Mind, Apollo 13, Splash and more. He also produces award winning television shows which have been nominated for 43 Oscars and 149 Emmys—in other words, he is a successful entertainment producer!

I first heard about the book from an interview with Brian in the United Airlines magazine and I loved reading about how for years Mr. Grazer has been holding “curiosity conversations” with just about anyone you can think of!  He’s sought out interesting and accomplished strangers—from spies and Nobel laureates to artists and CEO’s. These talks have inspired many of his films and TV shows.

The book makes a strong case that “curiosity is the tool that sparks curiosity and curiosity is the technique that gets to innovation.”  He suggests that questions create the mind-set of innovation and creativity. Curiosity presumes that “there might be something new out there.”  I love the way Brian explains it—he says” he keeps asking questions until something interesting happens.”

He says that “being curious and asking questions creates engagement” so there is a link to one of the most frequently discussed management topics today—employee engagement!  Another link to the world of work is his belief—and I totally agree—that curiosity sparks innovation.

So, what should you do if you want to have a curious conversation—especially one that might lead you to innovation?  The authors suggest you start close to home with people you already know—family, friends, work-related colleagues. Think of someone who might have an interesting job or who has had a very different life experience from yours.  Begin the conversation by telling the person that you’ve always been curious about their work (or their achievements or education or whatever makes them unique) and that you’d like to spend 20 minutes or so talking to you about what they do (or what their challenges are or…)

Here are some tips for having a successful curious conversation:

·       Be sure to clearly state that you want to hear their story—not that you are looking to sell them something or looking for advice—you are curious about them and their story!

·       Be careful to stay within the timeframe you agreed to before you started so that you honor them.

·       Prepare your questions ahead of time and be sure to ask open ended questions like, “Tell me about why you decided to study … “or “What was your first professional success?” or “What’s surprised you the most about where your passion has taken you?”

·       Even though you have thought your questions through ahead of time, be flexible if the conversation goes in a new direction!  That’s where you will learn the most!

·       Listen carefully and respectfully.  Follow up questions with probes like, “Tell me more…,”  “How so?”  Your goal is to learn as much as possible from the conversation. 

·       Be grateful for the time the person spent talking to you.  Of course, you would thank the person at the end of the conversation but the authors suggest you send a handwritten thank you note in which you mention something that was particularly interesting or in which you share a story of how something they said caused you to think or behave differently.  You can also send a thank you email but handwritten notes get a lot of attention because no one sends them anymore!  And, remember, a thank you note should not ask for anything—it is to say how much you appreciated their time and information!

We challenge you to use curious conversations to drive innovation in your organization and let us know how it works for you!

Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For

Each year when the Fortune 100 Best Companies to work for list issue is released, I pour over it to see if something new is revealed.  While I always learn something, what comes through loud and clear is that it isn’t the things these firms do for their employees—it is the organization’s culture that really makes the difference.

You may not know that the primary tool Fortune uses to select and rank organizations is the Great Place to Work’s Trust Index (TI).  The TI is sent to a sample of employees at each nominated company so, as Fortune puts it, “in effect, the workers vote their companies onto the list using criteria related to their workplace cultures.”  It really makes the ranking meaningful to know that the organizations aren’t selected just by what their leadership says—the employees themselves participate and share how they feel about their company.

One of the lessons from this year’s list is that the best employers are focusing more attention on workplace culture as a competitive tool.  And, the great news is that most of the companies on this list are also doing really well in their business segments. 

One thing that amazed me is that 12 companies have made the list every year since it started in 1998.  That is a real achievement.  Since 1998, the 100 best companies are “shining examples of a different way of doing business that puts to rest the old notion that treating employees well might hurt the bottom line. “  These 12 companies prove it is just the opposite!

I worked for Marriott for many years and that organization (on the list again this year as a Great place to Work) follows the advice we all learned from the founder of the company, JW Marriott who said, “take care of our associates and they will take care of the customers.”  It was true when he said it and it certainly is true today.

Each of the companies on the Fortune list this year has leaders who sincerely listen to their employees.  They hear what is important to their work force and then do their best to provide benefits and policies that meet their employee’s needs at this point in time.  Some of these companies have amazing perks for employees but none of them merely add things to their benefits package just to be nice—they do it because it makes good business sense to take good care of the people who take care of your customers!  Fortune quotes the founder and CEO of Ultimate Software, Scott Scherr who says, “The true meaning of a company is how they treat their lowest-paid employees.”  How true!

Of course, many organizations on the list do amazing things for their employees but nothing stands out to me more this year than Google (six years as number one on the list!).  This year they increased their parental-leave benefits—new parents, regardless of gender, can now get up to 12 years of fully paid leave along with $500 of “bonding bucks” to all new parents to use during the first three months of a child’s life.  That is the kind of commitment to employees that really tells the employees how valued they are! 

Consider what you do each and every day for your employees.  Is there something you might do differently to let them know how valued they are? 

Connecting Generations

Can you stand one more lesson about generations and their differences? If you doubt there are differences among generations in the workplace, you may not recognize that each generation has their own unique cultural nuances.

I recently had an interesting experience on a personal level while visiting my son. It's an experience about rock music and artistic expression. It taught me we can always learn from each other – and it’s never too late to do so. My son, Erik, spent his teenage years in Washington DC, during what he would describe as the height of the punk rock scene. During that time, I tried my best to be interested even if I didn't understand or appreciate the music. I was not going to be like my parent's generation who constantly berated rock and roll. Full disclosure, I'm a rock and roll junkie, especially rock from the 50s and 60s. That was the music that influenced MY generation, just as punk influenced Erik's.

One of the things Erik always talked about was the indie music scene, specifically independent music producers (independent labels) like Dischord and Teen Beat, who worked out of houses, garages, and basements. I didn't dispute that they could produce records, but how could they have a reach outside their local community. Remember, the Internet was just catching on during that time and social media did not exist.

Fast forward from the 1990s to 2015. There's a documentary called Salad Days about the roots of the DC punk rock scene. Within a month of reading about it in The Washington Post, I'm visiting Erik in Albuquerque, NM and the documentary is playing at a local theater that shows indie movies. Full disclosure, I now understand the indie economy that Erik exposed me to decades ago as I explore the world of self-publishing or indie publishing.

I thoroughly enjoyed Salad Days, and listening to these punk rockers, who now look like totally respectable adults in their 50s (whatever a respectable 50-something is supposed to look like). I learned a great deal about the evolution of their music, their stories. I connected on some level with those stories since I'd lived them second hand through Erik. I recognized the venues since I still live in the DC Metro area. In fact, other than Erik who had met most of the people in the film, I probably had a greater connection than many of the other viewers in the theatre because of my proximity to Washington DC.  I didn’t have to understand or even like the music to appreciate what others were experiencing.

My lesson from this experience is that there are many differences in the workforce, generational differences being one. Generations are shaped by the events that took place in their lives, what and when they were exposed to those events.  It's part of their culture. Take some time to listen and learn the stories of other people. It's a great way to connect.

Choices We Make

Having recently had two nephews graduate—one from culinary school and the other from university—it got me thinking about choices.  In life, we are constantly making choices and some are meaningful and some are just ordinary events but even the ordinary choices can have consequences.

I used to do a lot of college recruiting when I worked at Marriott and one of the questions I always asked was why the student had chosen that particular college. I wanted to hear that they’d researched their field of study and this school had a good reputation in that field or that the school had a Nobel Prize winning professor whom they might be able to learn from.  Of course, that isn’t a question with a “right” answer. What I wanted to hear was how this student went about making decisions.

I heard a lot of answers—many were well thought out decisions while others told me they chose this school because it had a good football team or that their high school love interest went there or it was close to home and they could commute.  None of these were “wrong” answers—but I learned something from the answers anyway.

Then, graduates are faced with the decision of whether to go on to graduate school or enter the workforce. If they opt for grad school, where should they go?  If they opt for work, should they go back to their home town and live with Mom and Dad while putting money away to get an apartment or try to go it alone or with friends?  What job to choose (if offered) is the next big choice to make and that’s one people agonize over when I don’t think they should—because rarely do first jobs meet expectations—it is still a choice that has to be made.

Choosing where to go to school, what to study, and where to live can have a huge impact on what happens later in life.  This brings up what is usually the next big choice we make and that is to choose a life partner. Many people meet in college or at a job.  I was reminded of this recently when Sheryl Sandberg’s husband, Dave Goldberg died so suddenly of a freak accident on a treadmill.  If you’ve read her wonderful book, Lean In, you know she says that choosing a life partner is the most important choice we make and she talked with great passion about Dave and how he was the right choice for her so she could have the career and life she’s had with him as a full partner.  I am sad for her now as she faces going forward without him to raise her young children and continue to be COO at Facebook or wherever her career takes her.

We make choices throughout our lives—where to live, where to worship, where to work, where to travel, who to be friends with, where to volunteer, where to retire…the list is endless.  I hope you embrace the choices you’ve made and will make and don’t have a lot of regrets!  Life is precious and to be lived to the fullest—each and every day!

The Middle Seat

When I fly, I always try to get an aisle seat.  When I fly with my husband, I try to get aisle seats across from each other.  Sometimes it doesn't work, but I always opt for two aisle seats, even if we're separated. 

On a recent flight, he was across the aisle, but a row behind me.  During the boarding process – we were fortunate to have boarded and got settled in early – I turned to ask him something. Before I could turn back around in my seat, I heard the man in the middle seat next to him ask, "Is that your wife? Does she want to sit here?" He was practically levitating out of his seat! You good see the glee in his face. It was saying, "Yes, I can get out of the dreaded middle seat!"  My husband very kindly responded, "Thanks, but she fine where she's sitting."

This got me thinking about organizations and the people who work for them.  More specifically, I got to thinking about the different roles people occupy in organizations.  Just like on planes, there are those very desirable, very visible, first-class roles.  These are the ones which typically get exposure and recognition – the sales person or team who brings in the big account or closes the big deal.  Then there are those still desirable roles in the second tier (translate – economy class) such as the aisle seats which may be occupied by team leaders, or window seats which attract individuals who may want a wide-angle view, perhaps those individual contributors.  Finally, there are the dreaded middle seats – nothing glamorous about them, but they serve the purpose of getting the individual to their destination. 

Middle-seat roles in organizations serve the purposes of the individual and the organization.  The individual has the opportunity to make a living, hopefully a decent one.  If he or she is fortunate, it may be a way to develop some skills that will help with advancement.  These roles are often support positions, positions that are vital to keep the organization working – facilities, production support, administrative services are just a few departments that come to mind.  Are the people who work in these departments visible?

The CEO of a mid-sized organization in a metropolitan city became aware that as the firm grew, he no longer knew everyone by name.  He made it a point to not only be more visible but make sure that the employees in those middle seats were visible.  Twice a month he'd make time to walk though those departments where he didn't have much daily interaction – those support departments – and stop to chat with as many employees as time permitted.  At his quarterly, all-staff meetings, he began to recognize not only the individuals in first class roles who brought in the revenue, but those in support roles.  "Great job by the account managers, but they couldn't have done their job without the infrastructure we have in place. So I'd like to recognize our facilities department, led by Joe.  Joe, would you and your team please stand? Let me take a moment to acknowledge each of you." He'd introduce each member by name and say something about them.  It was so simple and it didn't cost anything.  The return on his investment of a little time and effort was great.  The organization’s turnover was lower than industry average.

For leaders, it's important to move out of the first-class positions and find out more about what's going on in the middle seats.  Recognition is a priceless reward.  Like Norm on the TV show Cheers, people want a place where everybody knows your name.  Make your organization that place for your employees!

Work-Life Integration

Are you thinking that this is another new buzz-word? Not really, it’s just the way that one leader describes the balance between personal time and work time, a value that his company lives.  Enlighten leadership for the new century – more than one company is breaking with past practices and recognizing that the 21^st century workforce wants more from life than just work.

Chad Dickerson is the CEO of Etsy, one of the largest and fastest-growing commerce sites on the Web – a technology platform where artisans can sell their crafts, such as handmade jewelry, clothing and art. In 2013, the Etsy marketplace saw more than $1.35 billion in sales and the company went public in April 2015.

Etsy is very much a values-based culture committed to delivering social good. Many of its artisans are parents taking care of kids at home while making and selling things on Etsy.  Flexibility is important to them – having time to spend with their families while doing something they love that provides an income stream. Thus, work-life integration – being able to integrate those two sides of your life into a coherent whole.

In 2012, Dickerson demonstrated his values and the company’s values through actions and not just words. He took paternity leave when he and his wife were adopting a child – a decision that the Etsy board supported and which meant a lot to the roughly 600 Etsy employees. 

In Portland, OR the offices of Treehouse, a fast-growing tech company offering online courses in computer coding, are closed every Friday. It’s been this way since 2005 when Ryan Carson founded the company. The 80+ employees work a 32-hour work week Monday through Thursday and on Fridays are expected to be home, with their families, having fun, doing something, anything, other than work. Carson spends Fridays with his wife after getting their two young sons off to school.

Carson is one of a handful of tech entrepreneurs seeking to disrupt the grueling tech start-up culture that has been wedded to the idea that toiling faster and longer is the only way to hit it big. They want to work smarter, not harder.  As one of Treehouse’s investors, Chamath Palihapitiya, puts it “The most forward thinking and successful companies are realizing that giving employees more time to be creative and connected to other things besides their job creates a better and more productive employee. Ryan just had the courage to go and do that.”

Is it working? So far, Treehouse is thriving with 103,000 students enrolled in Treehouse courses. It has raised $13 million, saw 100 percent revenue growth last year and has close to 100 percent employee retention. 

Carson understands the pull of work, especially when you’re passionate about what you do. “I love my work and I could work crazy hours. But the kids are growing up fast,” he said. “And when I sit down and imagine my gravestone — what do I want it to be about? Metrics and money? Or relationships. It’s really that simple.”

Symbolic Communication – Understanding What’s Really Being Said

The title of Cornelia Gamlem’s short story, Code Talkers, caught my attention. As a military veteran, I was happy to read Cornelia’s honoring of the last Navajo Code Talker from WWII who died earlier in the year. However, I have to admit that I thought she was going to be talking about the “code talk” that goes on in organizations and groups.

Code talk in organizations and groups? You are probably thinking….we usually speak the same language in organizations or actually two if you count that most occupational groups commonly use their own colloquialisms. For example, most of us use say word bathroom. However, the colloquial word used among Navy sailors for bathroom is head and Army soldiers call the bathroom a latrine. Healthcare is notorious for its use of acronyms in both the written and spoken language. After spending a little time in organizations, most of us can become fluent in the “occupational language” and may even speak it with a sense of pride since this signals that we are now full fledge members of the “in” group.

However, it has been my experience that decoding symbolic expressions or messages in groups may be much more challenging for an outside person but can provide an understanding of the hidden dynamics in a workplace. Symbolic Communication provides us information of how members of an organization interpret their environment. For example, I have had employees in a business unit use the simile, “it’s like being in a war zone up here” to describe their workplace.

Why is it important to be able to include the decoding of symbolic communication in your diagnostic tool kit of group dynamics? The symbolic metaphors group members use may provide an understanding of the behavior of the group members. Going back to our war zone metaphor, if an employee truly believes the workplace is a “war zone”,  he or she may demonstrate some of the behaviors associated with being a real war zone….heightened anxiety and fear, defensive posturing, incivility, and a “win-lose” mindset. And remember, in a war zone, there is always an enemy so who might be the targeted individual or group? The war zone metaphor may be code talk for a hostile work environment.

Since symbolic messages can convey legitimate information, careful inquiry is needed to surface issues negatively impacting performance. Besides inquiry skills, there are also three basic rules to remember as you begin to explore symbolic communication in a group or organization. The rules are: (1) clarify the desired outcome of what you want to achieve; 2) avoid exposing just for the sake of exposing; and (3) measure success by the progress you make toward the outcome, not the exposure. Remember, the code talkers in groups or organizations may have much to lose if their code is broken and exposed for no good use.