Got Skype

Would you like to learn about how to facilitate an electronic meeting? If you have Skype, and a computer you can see a live demo on Fridays at 1PM. Erik Pedersen or I will be doing a live demo on Fridays to show you how we facilitate large meetings using our group ware service, FAST Break.

Use the contact button on our website, or post a comment here which includes how we can contact you. Give us some ideas of what you are trying to accomplish at your meetings and we will try to demo our approach to you live! Should be fun.

Strategic Partnership Means Adding Value.

I’ve been doing a fair amount of study on creating value over the last few weeks. So, now I can test some of my finding with you, and see what you think. In my searches I came across a lot of support services who speak about creating “strategic partnerships” with the business. I found lots of vague references to “best practices” but actually little as to how these functions would add real value as a business partner. I tend to be concrete, and it really helps me to see practical examples of value added actions. Here’s what I have learned so far.

Value is perceived, and as such you can”t manage it. That’s a very powerful statement. And, I find it irrefutable. What you can manage is Assets. Assets, managed well can add value. So, what are Assets. There are Six categories. They all begin with the letter P. They all exist in the function’s Value Stream, and by working these Assets in a disciplined way, functions can add real value and increase their value as a business partner

Assets:

• Peoople
• Products / Serices
• Procedures
• Policies
• Property (Intellectual and Real)
• Price

I also learned about the concept of Wedge Management – the disciplined way of increasing value (and if you are a business and increase in Value means an increase in Revenue! It is a movement away from commoditization!

Below is a picture of the Wedge. To use it, think of one of your Assets, say a particular procedure. Walking through the wedge, it would have Start Value, a certain Wow factor (or not!) It would also have an Identity Value attached to your “internal brand.” Next, your procedure would have Impact vValue – its the reason why you created it in the first place. Finally, your procedure would be a way of connecting to your business partners – Relationship Value. Your job in using the wedge is to identify the how your procedure is valued now, and then ask, what actions / initiatives could we take that would increase its value to our “partners.” Pure and simple this is Action Research! It is a very disciplined way of discovering significant areas for improvement, adding value, increasing revenue.

Tomorrow we will talk more about the wedge. For today. Just try to wrap your head around it.

New site for this blog!

I am moving this blog today from wordpress.com to wordpress.org, so that it integrates with the the Robert McNeil website. I like the name groupmind though and will attempt to keep the graphic. Here is the new link:

http://robertmcneil.com/blog

Hope to see you all there!

When Teams Enter Full Fubar Mode

Team Fubar is a sight to see. Actually it’s so ugly it’s hard to look at it, but it is fascinating. We have an elected school board in our town – the Owen J. Roberts School District, Board of Directors. They have been in full fubar mode for the last year. A lame duck board, most voted out by the tax payers decided to get even for their embarrassment, by firing a Superintendent without cause, and then refused to discuss their reasoning with each other and the public. You can read about it all here.

Owen J. Robert Controversy

The destructiveness, vindictiveness,infighting, backbiting, name calling, and absolute rancor is so amazing to watch, and yet so painful to see. And, there is no help, and no hope. Watching their antics caused me to remember my father pointing to a drunk homeless man, and saying,

Rob, “Even he can make a positive contribution. He can serve as an example of what not to become.”

As a team consultant for over 20 plus years now. I have rarely seen teams in full fubar mode. Maybe I have seen 2 in over 20 years. I usually get called before the team gets to that point (thankfully). F
fubar mode is like Katrina for Teams – nothing can be done in the middle of the hurricane, and the clean up will take years, and some scars will never heal. This mess has divided the community, cost an incredible amount of tax payer money, and eroded people’s faith in governmental processes even more.

Now, the 64 million dollar question: Could this have been prevented? A big maybe, but probably not. Board Members would have had to recognize their conflict early and sought help, and a lot of it. Each member would have had to be a willing participant in reflective learning, a huge move from their respective positions.

Conflict in groups is normal and natural and can be a source of great energy, insight, and action. It can also limit options, erode trust, and ultimately destroy the group, as it did with the Owen J. Roberts School Board.

Working conflict effectively is a sorely needed skill-set for people in power. Unfortunately so many times those in power, play to their power to resolve conflicts, taking harder stances, refusing to listen, painting the opposition, and refusing to reflect and learn. Unbridled, this leads to full fubar mode. Unfortunately that’s when the poop hits the fan, and we all get to participate. The worst part is that this phenomena is all too predictable. Excuse me, I got that wrong, the worst part is that it is preventable!

Getting Things Done – Action Method

I was doing some research on Action Learning methodology over the weekend and I “stumbled” upon this cool application called The ACTION Method. I have used Base Camp, and Back Pack previously, and have also used Council with my clients to help them and me track projects. This one seems to have real promise. Here’s the graphic that first caught my eye.

Mark Breckenridge, my associate would say that this graphic has a high “Start Value,” but more of his thinking in follow up posts. Very simply, it caught my attention, and then caused me to explore further and find out. Haven’t we all said at one time, “Enough with all the great ideas, let’s have some action.” It hit home for me, and I decided to give it a try.

I must admit, I am impressed. I am in the process of trying it and liking what I am seeing. Project Management made easier is cool. I can see how I can use this to help my clients to get stuff done as well. It looks like it could be a good way to design meetings, coach executives, and facilitate some of our lean processing work and value consulting work. For the geekiest of you, it also integrates seamlessly with Adobe Air, making it a very fast desktop application. Oh yeah, I forgot, it’s also a free iPhone app.

The pricing structure seems very reasonable because of the real value it adds to getting stuff done! Enjoy. Here is the link: Action Method

Never “dis” Your Supply Chain

This thought came to me after trying to make a point to my teenage daughter. Given all the things we have to do, and all the things we have to juggle to be able to do the things we have to do, it’s easy to forget how much we need to rely on others to get stuff done. It’s also easy to believe that we survive and thrive though the genius of our own making. Teams are about interdependence. I get, you give. I give, you get. Handing off, dividing work, getting back, sharing ideas, exploring differences and celebrating success are all two way with a back and forth flow.

Supply chains are a good way to think about how we all add value, and how we rely on our team mates to supply us with the straw we spin into gold. I need my personal supply chain to get through the day. It’s one of those things that I often take for granted, since I am in it. Like the fish, I don’t think about the water. And yet, I notice any crimp in the line that affects my deliverables.

One of the things we immediately talk about on a team retreat is the amount of interdependence the members have and need from each other. Often we find that we can discover major interdependencies that facilitate increases in trust, just by brining up the topic of how much the team members need to work together. Discovery of interdependence is always a good thing on teams. Actualizing interdependence is even better. It begins with awareness and it is strengthened by appreciation. Look across your team, and note where the interdependencies are actualized. It’s a recipe for moving to lean processing and high performance.

And remember, as I said to my daughter about getting her common application for college competed on time, “Never, dis your supply chain.”

Health Care Insights from “The Impact Wheel”

I was working with a team of high level managers a short time ago, and I was teaching them one of our “innovation techniques, “The Impact Wheel.” The exercise involves charting possible impacts that might occur if a certain event took place. It’s a great tool for scenario planning. The team plots first level impacts, and then studies the impacts that might arise, positively or negatively from those impacts. Stories are created to describe the insights that are gained. Vigorous debate usually ensues, particularly if the issues picked are directly related to that company’s Business Strategy.

The Managers wanted to use the Public Option in Health Care to see what impacts might happen to their business. Usually, I don’t make use of current political issues in my training, but in this case, it was a smaller company and they wanted to explore possible impacts to the “Public Option” in the Health Care Debate. I share this with you because of the surprising insights that occurred in the group. I can’t show you their wheel, because there is some proprietary information on it, but I can illustrate some powerful insights that arose in the discussion. Here goes.

If enacted, the Public Option offers a big and powerful choice. This choice has the potential of helping people feel safer in their organizations. One of the biggest fears people have is losing their health care if they should lose their job. So, if they have more protection in the form of the public option, where universal health care is available, they just might feel safer. Feeling safer might lead to a slight uptick in speaking up, more risk taking behavior, more experimentation, and more innovation.

Demmings famous 8th point is: DRIVE OUT FEAR. With less fear, people become more able to play with ideas, construct new possibilities, try out alternatives, challenge the old ways of doing things, and move from the status quo.

There’s more. With more safety people might also be more free to look for other jobs, if their current job were less than challenging etc. It just might help managers to tune into their people more, making for better leaders. One fact we know is that the employees job performance and satisfaction is directly related to the experience they have with their immediate supervisor.

If a Public Option were enacted, we just might see, more independent consultants, more innovation in our companies, more interesting and creative benefit packages, more competition for talent, improved leadership, and better organizations. Too optimistic? Too idealistic? Perhaps. Unintended consequences are very hard to see, and to admit. If you don’t believe me, ask Arthur Andersen. Remember them?

I understand that all of the above are just speculations. But they do lead to a most interesting dialogue. And, you can begin to see where more of the resistance to a Public Option on Heath Care can come from.

If you’d like a description of how to run, The Impact Wheel Design, enter a comment and ask for it. I will get right back to you.

Teams – Nurture your Inner Geek!

Good article this month in Wired about schools needing to protect their geeky kids. Having one, I know what that means. I also know that many of the teams and facilitators I get to work with could sure use a geek or two. To be honest, most still collaborate, if that’s what you want to call it, by using Outlook, email and a shared drive.

Electronic brainstorming, pre-loading meetings, Acrobat 9, interactive websites, blogs, net based project management are not part of their world yet. And yet, collaboration is really coming of age. We can work with each other apart (time and distance) so much more easily that we could even two years ago. And it’s even getting cheaper. Netbooks are starting to proliferate, tablets are getting smaller, and even Apple may join the fray with an extra large tablet / pod?

From my point of view, cloud teaming is great teaming. Nothing to remember, store all the work, access it from anywhere and have the ability to see my progress, your progress and the team’s progress instantly. It’s a recipe for incredible performance gains.

My thought would be to use a kaizen approach, start small, get comfortable, but go at it relentlessly. Team geeks are fun folk. We need them, and we probably need to become one!

Attribute Maps for Improving the Offer

When facilitating Strategy Sessions, I often make use of the following Attribution Map. The map is especially helpful when the Senior Team meets quarterly and can map progress against their current state. Click The Link below and you will go to an interactive version of the map.

Interactive Attribute Map
You will need a user name and password to proceed. Use these:
Username: attribute / Password: map2
Click on the boxes and you can see how I might have a Senior Team enter data about their offer before or during a session. The team enters the data and then we compare the results and create a large map that we display for the entire team.

Each quarter we bring out the current map, review it and make changes. We may use several maps to handle a complex offer / value proposition. Using both technology and a good design, we can cut down on meeting time, make the discussion deeper, and make the necessary changes to the offer. These become part of the living business strategy.

Record Your Meetings and Learn.

Let me begin this post with a warning. Always, always ask permission, and then be impeccable! I am talking about recording your meetings and your interventions for the purpose of learning from them. As facilitator, I find a need a way to prevent me from breathing my own air. Let me explain.

Audio recording are a great way to learn. You can listen to the group dynamics away from the stress of the moment of a meeting, and most importantly, listen to your own interventions. To paraphrase Yogi Berra, “You can hear a lot by just listening.”

I also highly recommend listening to the session you facilitate, listen to your instructions, your questions, and your interventions. The recording provides feedback in a pure form, and as such, I find it to be an invaluable learning tool. I have learned about my assumptions, the unfounded attributions I make, my prejudices. I have also learned that I can be spot on at times!

At first it’s awkward, but I find this learning and this feedback to be an acquired taste. Approach it like a scientist, listen attentively and critically, note your observations. Look for alternative interventions. Watch your feelings.

Contract with whom you are working to record the session for the purpose of increasing your own learning, and then NEVER share that tape with anyone. Be impeccable about this.

I find the new flash recording devices to be absolutely terrific for this purpose. I use a Zoom H2, an amazing piece of technology. There are a lot of devices out there. This one fits in my pocket and allows me great convenience. It is also reasonably priced and easy to learn.