Author, Consultant, Executive Coach - Helping people and organizations grow into desired results

Monday 1 November 2010

Facilitation workshop comes to Sydney this week

Due to the success of the first-ever Fantastic Facilitation workshop held recently in Melbourne, this week in Sydney there's another workshop on offer.

Where: Sydney, UNSW CBD Campus
When: Wednesday 03 November 2010
Download the flyer

Major workshop topics include:
•    What is facilitation?
•    Your role as facilitator
•    Encouraging feedback and dialogue
•    Motivational factors and keeping the end in mind
•    Relating to the people while sticking to the process
•    Shifting focus: big picture and next actions steps
•    Putting it all together: Fantastic Facilitation!

Gain some great takeaway tips such as: dealing with problem participants, improv techniques, how to get things moving and successful facilitation language.

Feedback from last month's Melbourne session

"Thought-provoking day packed with useful insights and practical know-how"
Linda Johnson, Communications Manager - Nestle

"Great. Loved it and will let my team know how much it will benefit them"
Jay Shaw, Project Officer (Change) - Department of Human Services

"Great to hear that others are facing the same issues. Some of the experiences and ideas shared will be really useful in providing options and solutions for issues I am currently facing at work"
David Kavanagh, Senior Officer Internal Communications - Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

"Very much enjoyed Todd’s ‘style’ – the type of ‘natural’ facilitation style I aspire to"
Julie Tassone, Communications & Alliance Health Manager - JHG


Interested? Here's how to register
1. Register online
2. E-mail
3. Ring Melcrum directly: +61 2 9222 2810

Friday 15 October 2010

Change Management - Executive Workshop for Hong Kong McGill University Alumni

This week I had a great time with an intimate group of my fellow McGill University Alumni at an after-work networking drinks session in Hong Kong.

I gave a short talk on the subject of Change Management at the invitation of Alvin Chung, Director of the McGill University Hong Kong & China office and the venue was the boardroom of Ascent Partners generously made available for our use by Ascent CEO Simon Mak.

The talk was well-received, with a lively discussion about the What, Why and especially the How of making change happen in organizations. I was particularly impressed by the willingness of the people in the room to share their stories, experiences and insights with each other. Many of the attendees took away practical actions and next steps from the conversation to try out in the coming days, which is always a gratifying outcome.

Equally gratifying was the chance to enjoy a fabulous tapas dinner with Alvin, Simon and Andrew Work, Executive Director of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong - which I learned is the largest Canadian business association outside Canada. I'm already looking forward to my next visit!

Wednesday 29 September 2010

Facilitation workshops in Melbourne & Sydney

In association with Melcrum Australia, I'll be presenting two workshops on facilitation skills for professionals in all fields. The first will take place in Melbourne (Tue 19 Oct) and the second in Sydney (Wed 03 Nov).


Fantastic Facilitation is a one-day workshop that gives you practical "how-to" techniques to facilitate meetings, conferences, workshops and other group sessions.

Facilitation comes from the Latin facile or facere meaning "to make easy." 

Good facilitation involves making interventions and applying processes that help the group move towards its goal more directly, enjoyably and quickly. A great facilitator is one who can bring the best out in people and promote positive group engagement with the task and each other - and who does so in a way that is largely invisible and seemingly effortless.

As a result of the training you will:
  • Discover how to set yourself up for facilitation success in every situation
  • Know what questions you should ask before you even enter the room
  • Identify when and how to make skillful interventions
  • Understand how to engage effectively with different groups
  • Have a better understanding of group dynamics and how to affect them
  • Gain confidence to handle "problem participants"
  • Learn how to channel powerful emotions into productive outcomes
  • Create your own toolbox of practical facilitation tools and techniques
  • Produce a personal list of next three steps to further your facilitation
Register here for the Melbourne and Sydney events.

Tuesday 7 September 2010

Tips from the Undercover Boss: What does "they" tell you?

If you're up for a bit of Reality TV (the kind that won't rot your brain or leave you feeling unclean and in need of a bathe), I'd suggest the series Undercover Boss. In the next few posts, I'll explain why. For today, let's look at the sinister use of "they" in organizations. 

I've lately become a fan of the American TV series, Undercover Boss*. Yes, it's "reality" TV but its redeeming quality is that it highlights the major and continuing disconnect in organizations between the folks who make strategy and the people who actually make it all happen every day.

Can you see your CEO mopping toilets?
In each episode, a TV crew follows the CEO of a major company while he poses as an entry-level worker to see what life's really like on the front lines of his own organization.

Leaving behind not only the C-suite but also their (usually large) homes, families and pampered lifestyles, the human side of each CEO is revealed. Each struggles to deal in his own way with his new transient reality of temporary, insecure jobs and moving around from one motel to another.

The situations are predictably hilarious, as these high-powered execs push mops, clean out horse (and human!) shit, try to keep up with the inhuman pace of modern assembly lines and, in more than a few cases are actually told: you're fired!

A whole new take on "bottom line"
What makes it good TV are of course the human interest stories that emerge as the Undercover Bosses learn first-hand what effect their decisions (often driven by cost-cutting and "efficiency") have on the daily lives of their staff.

The bosses also hear staff using phrases like "Head Office" and "Corporate" and "it's policy" as they do things that clearly don't work and often actually make their job a lot harder.

These employees (even if unwittingly) have the chance to "speak truth to power" and let the Big Boss know, in no uncertain terms, that there is a very real "Us versus Them" divide in the organization.

And in case you think that doesn't matter, read on...    


What "they" tells you, and why you should listen

In "They" have a lot to answer for Richard Branson writes:
A company's employees are its greatest asset, particularly in service-based operations where your people are your product. When a company fails to grasp this simple business tenet, the result is invariably an oppositional "us and them" divide between management and front-line staff.

Managers and business leaders should watch for this tendency. A company where the staff consistently overuses the word "they" is a company with problems.
If employees aren't associating themselves with their company by using "we," it is a sign that people up and down the chain of command aren't communicating – and if that turns out to be the case, you'll usually find secondary problems throughout the company, affecting everything from development to customer service.

Repairing an "us and them" environment is a cultural challenge that usually calls for greater employee involvement and improved internal communications from the executive suite to the shop floor. In my experience, middle management is a good place to look for the source of the problem. Feedback from up and down the chain often hits a wall in the person of a midlevel manager who has fallen victim to the "knowledge is power" syndrome.

Identifying such blockages and unclogging corporate arteries will bring huge payoffs.

Watch for my next post, which will include tips and practical ideas for handling these stubborn and unhelpful middle-management communication blockages!

Where you can find Undercover Boss

In Australia, full episodes are available to replay on Ten's website: scroll down in the right-hand window until you find Undercover Boss, then select from recent episodes.

Outside Australia, you can try YouTube or your local network's website. (In fact, if you're a reader and you find a link to episodes of the show, please be sure to share the URL in the comments below - thanks!)

* - big hat-tip to Andrew & Sascha Rixon in Melbourne for letting me know about the series

Friday 3 September 2010

Chair of Change Comms & Dialogue Conference in Sydney

What does it take to create employee engagement, promote dialogue, enhance communication, and achieve sustainable change? Find out at next week's Change Communication and Dialogue Development conference in Sydney.


Next Wednesday and Thursday (08-09 September) speakers from organizations as diverse as Sanofi-Aventis, Energy Australia, Bankwest, Australia Post, ANZ, Microsoft Australia, Kraft Foods ANZ, NAB, Sydney Water, and Suncorp will share their stories and practical tips at the Change Communication and Dialogue Development conference, being held this year at the Citigate Central Hotel.

I'll attend both days and will be Chair for Day Two of the event. Be sure to ask about the special promotion that tmc is offering to conference participants!

Thursday 2 September 2010

September is "Save the Koala" month

September is Save the Koala month - please pitch in and help out these endangered little battlers. Buy a sticker (like the one below) and for only a buck, you'll help make a difference. Or make a donation at the Australian Koala Foundation website. Thanks in advance for helping out.




Regular readers are aware of my ongoing support (and that of my company, tmc) for environmental causes, particularly those devoted to animal welfare and habitat preservation. One of the best things about living in Australia is having the chance to enjoy her natural beauty and native wild animals...which makes it all the more alarming that an inconic Aussie animal is under grave threat - and nobody's talking about it.


September is Save the Koala month

On the cute-and-cuddly-scale, koalas do pretty well: easily a 12 out of 10 in most people's estimation, as this video reminds us.



They are not, however, known for their ninja-like speed and ability to fend off threats to their native environment. That's why the Australian Koala Foundation (AKF) started the No Tree, No Me campaign to protect koala habitat by promoting public awareness and sustainable development.

According to AKF estimates, in 1788 there were around 10 million koalas ambling around Oz; today less than 1% of that population remains (that's fewer than 100,000 koalas left in Australia). The main reason for the decline is lost of habitat.


Australia has one of the highest land-clearing rates in the world. Since European settlement in Australia, 80% of koala habitat has disappeared. Of the remaining habitat, 80% is on privately owned land. The AKF estimates that as a result of habitat loss around 4,000 koalas are killed each year by dogs and cars alone.

What you can do - buy a sticker/make a donation

tmc supports the ongoing work of the AKF to promote habitat preservation, sustainable development, and the long slow process of getting legislation in place (see below) to protect these beautiful animals.

You can help too - this month if you see a display for the No Tree No Me stickers, buy one - for just a buck you'll help make a difference. Find out more about how to help koalas at the AKF website.



UPDATE: Hung Parliament means koalas left hanging in the balance

While the political squabbles in Canberra continue, the AKF reports:
Last week the Government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee met and presumably discussed koalas. Because the process is so secretive, we really don’t know this, but the former Government’s Minister Garrett has said that the decision will be made by September 30th. The incoming Government, irrespective of which side wins, should also meet that deadline. There are two options – “vulnerable” which is what the AKF wants, and “conservation dependant”, which appeared out of the blue in Government documents earlier this year. If the latter is chosen then nothing will change and koalas will continue to decline because of State Governments and their inability to protect the koala, which is well documented.


Tuesday 31 August 2010

What's working well? How to finish strong in 2010!

September is upon us - a good time of year to pause and reflect. Below are some ideas on how you can build on the best of what you've done so far this year and finish strong in 2010.
Let me start by extending a special warm welcome to recent email subscribers to the blog feed (if you're not yet a subscriber, you can get posts from the tmc blog sent to you automatically, just go to the top-right side of this page and enter your email address under Get blog updates sent to your email or, if you prefer, click on the Get blog updates by RSS feed button).
Wow, how time passes! It's been weeks since my last post. I found myself getting agitated, about to give myself a bit of a kicking for not writing as often as I wanted to. Then I thought, "Well, that's pretty pointless now, isn't it? What would work better?" ...and so I gained the inspiration for today's post.

How's your 2010 shaping up? 

Here we are entering the final third of the year...

Yes, September: in the northern half of the world it's back-to-school time, meanwhile for those of us in the south it's spring and our thoughts are turning to how much work needs to get done before we can spend a few well-deserved summer days down at the beach!

Either way, it's a good time to take a moment and think about what you want from the rest of this year, and how you will make it happen... 


Here's a three-step activity that in just 15 minutes will help you recharge your batteries and be ready to tear into 2011...


Try the September Summary - A 15-min thought-game...

Take a piece of paper and pen and have a go with this thought-game:
  1. Looking back over 2010 so far, list three things that went really well - accomplishments or actions that you're particularly happy about, proud of, or that bring a smile to your face. (If you find yourself focusing exclusively on work-related things, remember to include non-work stuff too!)
  2. Now for each of these, list the skills, talents, resources and abilities that helped you to make these things happen. Write down as many of these as you can think of, as you reflect on what you did that worked really well to make your three things happen. (You can also write down the names of other people who played a part in these achievements, just make sure that you clearly identify the things that you did in particular to make it happen.)
  3. Finally, think of as many ways as you can of how you will apply these skills, talents, resources and abilities to accomplish the things you want to do over the next 4 months (and on into 2011). This must include a few small, concrete actions that you want to take - but don't stop there! Other ideas might be: conversations with some of the people you identified in the previous step (for example, to say thanks for their help and point out what you appreciated about the part they played), new challenges that you'd like to undertake with "year end 2010" as a deadline, or anything else that comes into your head. 
List, sketch, doodle, mindmap, write poems, whatever you like. For the final step, set yourself the goal of a minimum 10 ideas/actions and see how many more you can do than that (20+ is not unusual...remember that when each one is a manageable size they're MUCH more likely to actually happen).

Finally, be sure to share your comments below about what you enjoyed, discovered, were surprised by, or found useful in this little thought-game.

Happy September and enjoy the rest of the ride in 2010!

Sunday 25 July 2010

Story conference in Melbourne, 7-8 October

Celebrating Story: Bringing People and Work to Life

My friends at Babelfish Group have once again organized a two-day conference this 7th-8th October in Melbourne to explore the use of story and narrative approaches to change across the areas of business, government and community. 

Happening in Melbourne, 07-08 October 2010
At last year's inaugural conference I ran an interactive session called"Shifting the narrative in organizations - why change is NOT like riding a bike" that covered some the brain-based aspects of story, narrative and meaning-making - particularly the neuroscientific reasons why it's so challenging to shift people's narrative in organizations and why change programs often fall apart or fail to take hold as a result (see the full workshop write-up here). 

I really enjoyed people's active participation and discussion, the other workshops I attended were interesting and engaging and of course it was great to meet - and talk! - with other participants.

The program for 2010 looks to be equally diverse and rich with potential insights, so I encourage you to check it out! In addition, this year's conference will once again feature the work of Melbourne Playback Theatre and you can get to know your fellow participants in advance join the Ning community.

For full details and to register, check out the Celebrating Story conference brochure and contact conference organizer Andrew Rixon directly at +61 400 352 809.

And tell him Todd sent ya to enjoy a special discount of about 15% off the going rate!

Wednesday 14 July 2010

"Soft" skills & behaviour change: important lessons for leaders

A conversation this week reminded me that developing effective people managers takes more than soft skills, it requires consistent behaviours in the workplace. To that theme, below is an excerpt from my recent paper on employee engagement, "It's not Business. It's Personal: People Engagement that works."

Over dinner last night I had a conversation with a couple of senior leaders from a European multinational. Among various topics, what got us most animated was the question of how to develop great people managers while also keep the technical experts that are the backbone of the business. There was agreement on the need to strike a good balance between coaching and mentoring. The overall theme: soft skills are important, but not enough - organizations need to create lasting and positive behaviour change if strategy is going to get executed on a daily basis.

Skills-building & Behaviour development

Many respondents to the [McLeod employee engagement] review stressed the need for better training for managers in so-called soft or people skills […] Many felt that current skills training concentrated too heavily on qualifications and too little on how people skills were implemented within the workforce.
It’s worth making a distinction at this point: skills differ from behaviour. Skill is the ability to do something well and describes the knowledge gained when you learn a tool, process or concept on a course. Behaviour is the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially toward others; it’s about applying your skills in real business contexts, on an ongoing basis.
Developing people managers to better engage with people requires more than one-off skills-building workshops. It’s about helping them develop consistent, positive, productive behaviours. The addition of more and more technical “soft skills” doesn’t get you there. Rather it’s a matter of helping managers to develop the behaviours that are adaptive to the situation, so they know when and how to deploy their skills to best effect.
The challenge is that many managers who got promoted because of their technical expertise still relish and covet the role of technical expert. You can send them to one training course after another. But do those skills get applied in their work, or is it just another course binder that joins the others on the shelf, unused and swiftly forgotten?
It takes time to help people managers turn the corner and learn step back from doing the work in order to manage others to get the work done takes time. Developing adaptive people management behaviour also requires mentoring and coaching. So how’s your organization’s bench strength of mentors and coaches?

Dead fish in the room
[M]iddle managers who become convinced of the need for change can themselves run up against barriers […] the most formidable blocks to success were the behaviours and attitudes of the most senior managers. The […] top managers believed that their status in the organization was evidence enough that they ‘had what it took’ to be regarded as a leader, and regarded their development as therefore unnecessary. Nonetheless, they believed that the managers below them needed it. However, when the managers returned to the workplace with a clearer idea of what leadership should look like, they became much more aware of the poor quality of leadership role-modelled by their senior managers, and their frustrations increased. This was deepened by another major problem, which was that when the managers attempted to implement their learning, their suggestions for improvement were rejected or ignored by their somewhat defensive and/or reactionary bosses. The result was disenchantment, greater cynicism and lower morale among the manager group, who eventually stopped making any suggestions or trying new ways of leading.
Getting senior management sponsorship of people engagement and development programs is always listed as a must-have success factor. When you look at the dismal example provided by the “top managers” described above it’s clear why. (The old saying “a fish rots from the head down” comes to mind…) These chaps are certainly NOT mentors or role-models and you can imagine the frustration of the people managers test-driving their new leadership skills in those organizations!
While this situation is extreme in its dysfunction, it’s still true that mentoring of people managers by more senior managers can be complicated by reporting relationships. After all, it’s hard to admit to your boss that you sometimes feel like you don’t know what you’re doing!
Mentoring should be complemented by coaching, whether by internal people, an external coaching professional, or both in combination. An external coach offers an objective sounding board and helps people think through their challenges without being hampered by reporting lines and competing organizational priorities. 
Most of all, coaching enables “double-loop learning” (learn a skill, then go try it out, then talk to the coach about how it went, adjust course, go try it again) which helps your people turn otherwise mechanical skills into enduring, lived behaviours. And that, in turn, means you’re getting the full ROI out of those skills-building courses, along with practical business results.

Keep reading in the weeks to come for further excerpts on people managers, skills building and behaviour change from It's not Business. It's Personal: People Engagement that works.

And for more ideas on how to develop great people managers with the behaviour needed for success in your organization, remember you can get posts from the tmc blog sent to you automatically. Just go to the top-right side of this page and either click on the Get blog updates by RSS feed button or enter your email address under Get blog updates sent to your email.

Monday 12 July 2010

Positive People Engagement - Australian workshop series

I'm happy to announce a series of practical 2-day workshops that will cover the "how-to" of Employee Engagement. If Positive People Engagement is a focus for you and your organization, this is the workshop to attend in 2010. Read on to find out how to claim your 10% discount off the registration cost!

The workshops are happening across Australia in the second half of August on the following dates and locations: Sydney on 16-17, Melbourne on 19-20, Perth on 23-24 and Brisbane on 26-27.

With the help of these informative and hands-on sessions you'll:

1.     Understand how to transform strategy into action and results
2.     Learn how to engage people before, during, after major change initiative
3.     Bring onboard and integrate new hires for faster and high productivity
4.     Gain the elusive "discretionary input" secret
5.     Outline what is "most critical" to engage and retain employees
6.     Link your brand with specific engagement objectives
7.     Use storytelling to engage your staff
8.     Energise and involve senior management in your engagement efforts

Check out the full course program.

Call 02 9085 7456 to register or click on the links for the city nearest you provided above.


And remember: to claim your 10% discount mention this blog post when you register.

Friday 9 July 2010

Fun Friday: make a Wordle word-cloud!

Here's a bit of fun for your Friday (with a hat-tip to Lee and Louise for reminding me of this great tool). With wordle you can generate “word clouds” from text that you provide. The clouds give greater prominence to words that appear more frequently in the source text. You can tweak your clouds with different fonts, layouts, and color schemes. Here's one I made from the RSS feed of the tmc blog.




It's interesting to see which words are more prominent. Try it out on text of your own!

As a way to keep things in perspective, I like this wordle. Called "Childs play" it's simple, to the point, and should remind us all that life used to be a lot less complicated...

Wordle: Childs Play

Wednesday 7 July 2010

Leadership lessons of World Cup football finalists

Getting top talent to play (and work) well together is a real challenge. Read on for ideas on how to build team dynamics and positive behaviours that lead to world-champion success

My support of Oranje (as the KNVB Koninklijke Nederlandse Voetbalbond or "Royal Netherlands Football Association" is more commonly called, a.k.a. the Flying Dutchmen or Clockwork Orange) has been both longstanding and long-suffering.

At each major tournament I would watch alongside other orange-clad fans as the Dutch national side - a team absolutely loaded with an absurd amount of football talent - would exhibit disjointed team play that, while marked with flashes of brilliance, too often stumbled toward the same grim ending: defeat and elimination.

The Dutch Dilemma - Overcome!

The 2010 FIFA World Cup has changed that. Yesterday was the high point of the Netherlands' successful campaign to return to the World Cup final for the first time in 32 years.

Coach Bert van Marwijk has overcome what I would call the "Dutch dilemma" (best described by former Ajax coach Henk ten Cate as: taking 23 top players with top egos and wishes and ideas and getting them play together as an effective team during several years of intermittent matches). It's a tough and unenviable task, one that's claimed many a coach's job and reputation in the past. Where Bert seems to have got it right is in building a team with depth.

Observes Leo Beenhakker (ex Real Madrid coach, ex Ajax coach, ex Oranje team manager and currently technical director of Feyenoord) "the way Bert works [is]: if back 1 is suspended, you use back 2. It’s logical. Van der Wiel is suspended, you use Boulah. I’d use De Zeeuw instead of De Jong. Don’t make a fuss. Get out there and play the best football you have."

I think this has sent the clear message to a team full of stars who could be forgiven for aspiring to primadonna status: "you are not irreplaceable; right behind you is another player who knows your job and can do it as least as well as you." Pretty swiftly it becomes clear that results are what counts, and in a team sport that means playing together as a effectively as a team.

Building your world-champion team

Here are some lessons from the Flying Dutchmen to put into effect with your team:

1) Everyone knows the game plan and what part they play in it. Any team is made up of interlinked roles and for the team to function, those interactions need to happen smoothly and according to an agreed plan.

2) While the coach ultimately makes the call on who starts, players are invited to give their views and input from their particular perspective and place on the field. It's a foolish coach who presumes that he's got perfect line-of-sight into everything that's happening in the game; smart coaches draw on the knowledge and experience of players to inform their decision-making.

3) Again, results are key and all eyes are firmly on the prize: "We have a mission," says assistant coach Frank de Boer. "That mission is to be champions of the world."

4) How the coach connects with the team must help foster a sense of belonging for each team member. Superstar players aren't playing WC games for the money - in the best teams, they're playing for their country and for each other. Empathy, inclusion and relationships, create a personal connection so that internal competition does not tear the team apart. Build authentic relationships between team members and they'll go the extra mile for you, contribute to each other's achievement and performance, and rightfully share in the jubilation of success.

5) And...there's a game to be won! So now that everyone's internally connected, how do you put on your best game-face and beat the other guys? You need to drill the basics, get clear on the step-by-step actions, make resources available, allocate them efficiently and leverage them to move forward. Watch game tapes before upcoming matches, ensure good information flow, analyze data for patterns to apply and exploit.

6) Finally, having something bigger than oneself helps motivate extraordinary contribution. Putting on that orange jersey, each player becomes part of something bigger: an extension of the Orange Army in the stands, carrying the national colours onto the field of battle, carrying the hopes of so many fans and earning their cheers of delight when the prize is won.


On to World Cup victory!!! 


Oh, and remember: to get posts from the tmc blog sent to you automatically, go to the top-right side of this page and either click on the Get blog updates by RSS feed button or enter your email address under Get blog updates sent to your email.

Thursday 1 July 2010

Social media is good for you (when done well!)

Today as I set out to share some highlights from my past two days at the Melcrum Social Media conference in Sydney, I notice that I've still got a nice buzz...not from the networking cocktail session but from the interaction, both face-to-face and on twitter during the day. Read on to find out why social media is good for you, some ideas on how to do it well - and don't miss your TOP TIP at the end!


Social Media conference highlights

During the conference there was a particularly active tweetstream and there have already been a few great blog posts about the conference; I particularly like the insights of Emma McCleary:
Social media is about long-term engagement; creating things that people want to use and growing spaces online that encourage people to work communally.
We’re all a copy and paste away from inside to outside so there’s no reason to categorise social media as a risk to your organisation or check every post, status update or tweet happening if   you’re not also checking emails or USB sticks that carry files in and out of your workplace.

and Alison Pignon:
...if you don’t trust your workforce, then you have a management issue, not a communication issue. Meanwhile, encouraging free and open discussion (based on a good social media policy and user guidelines) can only help to demonstrate the trust you do have in them. 
Rather than feeling that it’s absolutely necessary to first build a social media strategy and get buy-in from the whole senior team before launching a new tool, sometimes it’s just best to go out there and try it.
Here are a few of the thought-provoking gems provided by Euan Semple's report of the state of social media (for now...):
  • Social Media is about "Globally distributed, near instant, person to person conversations" from Cluetrain Manifesto
  • Online the Customer really is King/Queen: “If you don't want me to criticize your product, don't have a shit product."~Dave Weinberger
  • "In a knowledge economy there are no conscripts, only volunteers (but we train managers to manage conscripts!)"~Peter Drucker
CORPORATE CULTURES
  • Paradox of corporate cultures: going to useless, time-wasting, pointless meetings = good, but having useful conversations with people via social media = bad(?!?)
  • What's it say about corp culture that staff are unwilling to enter things about themselves on company databases/intranets that they will freely put on web via FB, etc? Dramatically low levels of trust...
HOW-TO
  • "It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it." ~Sinclair Lewis
  • How to run social media at your organization: Just do it! "Keep moving, stay in touch, head for the high ground" (from US Marines)
  • When confronted by resistance (see "fear of losing control" below) and asked to "prove" the "ROI of social media?" Simply reply "what's ROI of not doing it?" Or, better still, "what's the COI?" (cost of inaction) of continuing to do nothing to engage with our own people?
  • Beware of trying to "manage" online communities - they will grow organically, or not at all
  • If you build it, they might or might not come... "It's easier to build a tool for the community than a community for the tool."
  • And always remember: "No matter what you are trying to achieve social media adoption happens one person at a time and for their reasons not yours."
FEAR OF LOSING CONTROL (Hint: you never had it)
  • People worry about "losing control". You don't have control anyway! What you DO have w. social media tools is the chance to influence
  • "How do I control the msg?" - Try instead "management by being interested": seed existing conversations w. good questions (influence-not-control)
  • These technologies surface what's going on in your organization (culture, behaviour, etc.) -->Agreed!:
  • "Social media in organizations is great for surfacing morons"(!) - yes people will initially have a whinge, but they didn't start whingeing just because social media appeared; it's already happening around the watercoolers. Providing a forum surfaces problems that want fixing and (for those people who never stop whingeing) identify mis-matches in the organization that need addressing for everyone's benefit
BEING REAL
  • Good tweets (that build trust & relationships), including those by staff on a corporate twitter account, need to be human and not corporate drone-speak; even inane tweets have a place if they are authentic and create connections
  • Sadly, "Watching big corporations trying to get into 'this social media stuff' is a bit like watching your dad dancing at a disco" (LOL!)  
  • The most tragic example lately: "BP's biggest failure wasn't only mechanical or engineering, it was in not actively building trusted social networks and not giving straight answers when given the chance
ONLINE EXPRESSION & LIVE INTERACTION
  • "Even if no one read my blog, I'd still write it...makes me more thoughtful, more aware, notice more things" 
  • Online media won't replace face-to-face interaction; a great use of online collaboration is to improve the quality of the face-to-face you DO have (e.g. by brainstorming ideas in an online forum before meeting face-to-face to arrive at a final decision, or getting a sense of someone's interests and areas of potential collaboration from their LinkedIn profile before meeting for a cafe-chat)
WHAT'S THE POINT OF SOCIAL MEDIA...?
  • A few answers: it helps unlock the knowledge the exists in many people's heads throughout the organization/network, so people can find answers and information faster and easier - and get stuff done; it helps break down silos by encouraging interaction; it gives a place to have the conversations (they're already having) in a way that can be entered and influenced by managers and leaders - as equals and colleagues...
Finally, the thing I liked most about the conference was the sense that no one really has all the answers now. Like speaker Helene Bradley-Ritt put it, "implementing [social media] is a change journey" and on that journey we're all fellow travellers, so it was great to be a part of an event designed to help each other along the way to do great things!

Warm, twuzzy feelings...

What explains the need of our BlackBerry-bearing, Twitter-tweeting Facebook friends for constant connectivity? Are we biologically hardwired to do it? Do our brains react to tweeting just as they do to our physical engagement with people we trust and enjoy?

So how come I'm still buzzing today...? The answer to that question and the ones just above is found in this Fast Company article about research by Neuroeconomist Paul Zak (aka "Dr Love"), showing that social media can help spike oxytocin levels in the brain and reduce stress hormones cortisol and ACTH.

"Social networking might reduce cardiovascular risks, like heart attack and stroke, associated with lack of social support" because our brains interpret activities like tweeting as if we were directly interacting with people we have empathy for and care about: "E-connection is processed in the brain like an in-person connection."

Perhaps this is why so many Gen-Y's, whose lives are increasingly shaped by social media, expect to be able to maintain those important connections in the workplace - so much so that one source indicates "for 20 percent of Millennials, or Generation Y-ers (those born from 1980 onwards) a ban on social media in the workplace is often a deal breaker" when deciding whether or not to take a job. 

So here's your TOP TIP: don't just sit there - apply all these great ideas and get connected like your life depended on it...it just might! And please, allow me do my small part to promote your health: in just 10 seconds you can connect yourself with upcoming blog posts - enter your email address in the "Get blog updates sent to your email" box in the top-right side of this page or click on the "Get blog updates by RSS feed" button. (Wondering how RSS works? Watch this video.)

Wednesday 30 June 2010

How to celebrate International Social Media day

Here are three things you can to celebrate International Social Media Day wherever you are. 

Since social media is, after all, "social" I've offered a few ideas to make you feel welcome and help you to get your bearings in the brave new world of social media.

Get on twitter - sign up for an account, follow @tmconsultancy and send me a tweet - I'll follow you back and put you in touch with some great free resources I've found that'll help you get the most out of twitter.

Create your LinkedIn profile (which is like Facebook for professionals) - then check out my profile and if it looks like we've got interests in common, send me an invitation to connect. (Another popular option is XING, same deal applies: here's my profile).

Start a blog - A more ambitious venture but if you're bursting with things to say you'd be surprised how many people want to hear about it, just tweet me (you are on twitter now, aren't you?) and I'll come check it out!

Until then, Happy International Social Media Day! Now go have some cake.

Monday 28 June 2010

How to promote Positive CHANGE

In which your Author makes an impassioned Plea to help people to promote Positive CHANGE and end the trauma-inducing, ineffective practices of traditional "change management".

Change is a funny thing

It's happening all the time, all around us.

The desire to change things for the better awakens creativity and innovation. It inspires and dazzles and delights and stimulates progress, evolution, learning and development.

So how did change become such a traumatic experience for so many people?

In many organizations, "change management" practices often do far more harm than good as they:
  • cause chaos and reduce productivity without getting the desired results
  • provoke powerful emotions ("resistance") that are not channeled into useful outcomes
  • get only short-term compliance and lip-service but not enduring meaningful change
  • use jargon-filled, confusing messages that aren't matched by real action
  • concentrate on what's wrong, broken, deficient and the obstacles, barriers, problems
  • rely on grand change plans that look great on paper but don't account for real people
So what if, instead of these unrealistic and trauma-inducing change practices, there was another way?

Positive CHANGE

In order to make constructive progress towards an outcome that you have identified and want to achieve, it makes good sense to follow the path of least resistance and greatest efficacy. That involves thinking about change in a different way.
Choose positive over negative
Highlight what's better, use what's working
Appreciate differences
Nothing happens 'til the ball is in play
Generate possibilities
Everyday language
Choose positive over negative 
Quite simply: given a certain amount of time available, you are much likely to move closer to your desired outcome if you spend more time discussing what you want than what you don’t want. You have a choice where you put your focus, so focus on what's working (instead of what isn’t) progress (not blame), influence (not control), collaboration (not expert input), resources (not deficits), simplicity (not complication) and practical actions (not problem-definitions).

Highlight what's better, use what's working
Often solutions are right there in front of you, if you only have eyes to see them. Notice the times when things had happened a little better - after all, it makes no sense to focus on what’s absent! Having a “use what's working” attitude means finding what's working well and doing more of it. By default, that gives less energy to the things that aren't working well and moves you more quickly toward positive outcomes.

Appreciate differences 
Every new situation is different - beware of ill-fitting theory, don’t come to the party with preconceived notions, instead ask about things that helped in this case and encourage people to do more of that. Also, when tracking progress use the questions “What’s better? What do you notice that's different from last time?" and help make needed course-corrections by asking "What will you do differently next time to get closer to your goal?”

Nothing happens 'til the ball is in play
Whenever people come together to effect change, the real action is in the interaction. It's like a game of tennis - each player has a game-plan in mind, but nothing interesting happens ‘til the ball’s in play - and no one could have predicted what direction things take from there. By addressing the interaction, we avoid focus on which side is the cause, or who is to blame, and instead make good use of the change that's already taking place. People are co-constructing their experience, all day, every day. They are creating all kinds of great things between them - how can you help by collaborating and drawing attention to the ways they do it?

Generate possibilities (past, present and future) 
We often think of possibilities only in terms of the future, what about possibilities based on the best of what’s happened in the past and right now, today?

Everyday language
Notice what words are used and how, prefer simple words to avoid misunderstanding

The difference that makes a difference

When you adopt a Positive CHANGE mentality, lots of great things happen.

You find yourself interacting better with other people and can often influence situations more effectively. Conversations lead to progress instead of awkward dead-ends. You're able to have difficult conversations with confidence and resolve differences more successfully. Things that used to trigger your knee-jerk emotional reactions can be put into perspective when you simply ask yourself, "if my objective is positive change, what's the smart move here...?"


So, what's your next smart move? To be sure you hear about the next post in this series on change, click on the "Get blog updates by RSS feed" button or enter your email address in the "Get blog updates sent to your email" box in the top-right side of this page. (Wondering how RSS works? Watch this video.)

Friday 25 June 2010

Technology as a loudspeaker - what are you broadcasting?

Technology is a terrific enabler and accelerator of organizational processes, but it's not a cure-all. Read on to explore the nexus where technology overlaps human behaviour and interaction; learn why it's important to know what message your technology is broadcasting - both to your employees and to your clients!


In April I was invited to a seminar in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on the uses of technology in higher education and corporate training.

Among other tech companies and educational institutions, Microsoft was on hand to showcase Surface, its "social way of computing," as envisioned for university campuses and business meetings of the future.

In this idealized future, businesspeople easily find and exchange information with world-wide colleagues and their road-warrior lives are made easier with access to timely information on hand-held devices that speeds them along to fruitful and interactive meetings.

It was pretty slick stuff: technology enabling a whole new way of doing business and, as you'd expect given the theme of the conference, there was a lot of enthusiasm and buzz in the room.

As human behaviour specialist, I was left wondering how these admittedly snazzy tech-tools would help you to deal more effectively with colleague who's just off a red-eye flight filled with screaming kids and has spilled coffee on herself in the taxi ride from the airport.

Or how those gizmos would help to effectively manage interpersonal conflict that might arise in one of these tech-enabled meetings...quite possibly with the frazzled and overtired colleague just described!

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...

The more (and faster) technology changes, the more human behaviour remains stubbournly the same - complex, unpredictable and non-linear.

Now don't get me wrong: I love my gadgets as much as the next guy and technology is a great aid to our working lives. It's in the nexus where technology overlaps human behaviour and interaction, however, where we can clearly see that technology's role as an enabler and accelerator of what's already happening in the organization (you can even say it's also an amplifier) is not as straightforward as some tech-enthusiasts may believe.

For example, if you've been in meetings that look a bit like this unfortunate group - where people aren't engaged, there's an atmosphere of negative interaction and conflict, and a people manager who fundamentally can't manage people - then it's probably clear to you that no amount of technology is going to improve the situation.

Putting touch-screen computers into this meeting will not magically transform it into a smoothly-functioning team. Quite the opposite, in fact: in dysfunctional organizational cultures, technology is more likely to give people more tools to extend unhelpful behaviours and disengagement to a much wider audience, even faster (email flame wars, anyone...? or text messages that read: "PLEASE get me outta here! :-( MeetingFAIL!!!").

Technology as enable/accelerator/amplifier (or, behavioural loudspeaker) 

If you remember the classic technology equation (Garbage In = Garbage Out) and then factor in technology's role as enabler/accelerator/amplifier, it's clear that technology most often functions as a loudspeaker to surface dodgy behaviours in an organization. Technology therefore cannot be the quick-fix panacea to address unhelpful behaviours, because they aren't technology problems - they're management problems, and they need management solutions.

This fact about technology helps explain why some leaders are so resistant to introducing social media tools - because amplifying the kind of talk that happens in a toxic corporate culture will most likely serve to  increase dissastisfaction (and staff turnover), to undermine the command-and-control structure typical of such organizations...or quite possibly a combination of both.

So I would argue that our awareness of the kinds of behaviour being enabled/accelerated/amplified with technology (social media or otherwise) needs to at least keep up with the pace of technological change. And in many organizations that's going to be a pretty steep learning curve.

When it comes to awareness of human behaviour dynamics and taking practical action to create Positive Change, we can't release a new patch or upgrade each year, it's an ongoing effort. Thankfully it's the same complexity and unpredictability of people that also makes us hugely creative and adaptable - and that's very good news indeed for those looking to create Positive Change.

Some questions remain - what do you think?

My next post will tell you more about what Positive CHANGE looks like and how it can help shape behaviour and interactions in your organization. The end result is certainly worth the effort: effective teams that can take adversity in stride and maintain a positive focus on contribution and results.

Other interesting questions remain: in what ways could technology actually expand and deepen our perspectives on human behaviour so we interact and engage with each other more effectively? Beyond being simply an enabler and accelerator, can technology serve to positively shape human behaviour and interactions...?

I look forward to discussing these questions and more at next week's instance of another technology-in-business conference: Melcrum's Social Media conference in North Sydney. See you there!

Thursday 24 June 2010

Social Media in Sydney - see you next week!

Still need convincing about the reach and relevance of social media? 

Check out this short video and then come along to Melcrum Australia's Social Media conference next week in North Sydney. The format is one day of workshops on the 29th followed by a day of speakers  on the 30th (for which I'll be acting as Chair). 

You'll hear lots of ways to integrate social media within your internal communication strategy from speakers representing Deloitte, Unilever, NAB, Suncorp, Ericsson, as well as Melcrum's own Robin Crumby. In addition, UK-based Social Media Consultant Euan Semple will offer a 1/2 day workshop on day one followed by a keynote on Day Two entitled Social Media: The communication revolution.

There's just a couple of spots left - so grab the conference brochure today and I'll see you there!


Monday 21 June 2010

How Coaching Works - neat little video

Kudos to @Wellcoaches and "Coach Meg" for this little gem I found today. (It's more fun if your speakers are turned on!)


I like the way it briefly and cleverly highlights a couple key concepts about good coaching:
  • the need to start by defining a solvable problem (one for which you can define a solution in crisp, everyday terms and is subject to your influence)
  • for you to experience a "growth-promoting relationship" with a coach, you need to be in the driver's seat with the autonomy to feel like you are master of your own fate
  • along the way, the coach provides different tools to help you explore your options and make choices as you begin to map your personal change journey 
  • a good coach will also offer needed external perspective, reframing your experience and serving as a sounding board for you "think out loud" and test your ideas
  • if at first you don't succeed...your coach is there to help you rebound and then try something different that's more likely to get you closer to your goals
Hope you enjoy it!
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Thursday 17 June 2010

Copycats - "Use What Works" principle in action

"Imitation is the sincerest of flattery." ~ Charles Caleb Colton

Harvard Business Review's got a podcast series that talks about (you guessed it) business and management ideas as well as some of the books recently published in the field.

In his HBR podcast, Oded Shenkar talks about his latest book Copycats: How Smart Companies Use Imitation to Gain a Strategic Edge.

I think he does a great job of redeeming the concept of being a "copycat" - something that often has negative connotations of unfairly taking advantage of someone else's sweat and labour.

So when is imitation OK...and when it is just a blatant rip-off?

Take Shenkar's example: he stirs it up a little by stating that Apple, usually thought of as an avant-garde innovator, is actually an imitator in many ways. Apple's value-add comes from improved user-friendliness and intuitive interfaces...plus of course the aesthetics and geek-tech-wow-factor.

Therein lies the difference. Imitation is ripping-off when it fails to add value and improve upon the concept being imitated.

After all, it's natural: children learn through imitation. And of course it's true, "there's nothing new under the sun." Progress results not when we waste time reinventing the wheel but when we creatvely apply a principle that lies at the heart of a solution-focused approach - "Use What Works" - with the intelligent addition of "...and make it work better!"
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Wednesday 2 June 2010

Laughing your way to better behaviour

People often say that they enjoy my use of humour (mind you, some folks also ask if I've done work on radio because they like my voice and I kinda wonder if what they really mean is that I have a "face for radio"). Catching up my talented and funny Australian friend Kay Ross (@kayross) here in Hong Kong yesterday, I was reminded again how important humour and improvisation are in all areas of work and life.

I like Tim Gard's view of how humour relates to human behaviour. He suggests you use humour to "refresh and renew yourself" - that you should use humour first for yourself and that will put you in a better state of mind to share it with other people. Now you need to be a bit gentle with yourself (no biting sarcasm thanks!) and to "laugh not with ridicule, but with objectivity and acceptance of self".

In other words, learn to be responsive, not reactive when faced with difficult situations. Find a way to laugh at the stuff that pushes your buttons and life gets a whole lot easier...and funner...and funnier!

As Tim notes, it's the difference between seeing funny thing and seeing things funny. Look for the humour in situations with a lighthearted attitude and stop taking yourself (and the world) so seriously.

So...what can you do to try it out today? You can change your mood, your perception and your state of mind while having some fun at the same time!

Hear more of Tim's insights in this short interview by my friend and colleague Tara Diversi (@taradiversi).

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Tuesday 25 May 2010

Social Media conference in Sydney 29-30 June

Still getting your brain around social media?

Join me as Melcrum Australia holds its 2-day Social Media Conference at the Vibe Hotel in North Sydney on 29-30 June.

If you're looking for ways to integrate social media within your internal communication strategy and align it with your key objectives, check it out.

The format is one day of workshops on the 29th followed by a day of speakers (for which I'll be acting as Chair).

On the 30th you'll hear a keynote entitled Social Media: The communication revolution by UK-based Social Media Consultant Euan Semple. Now I know, I know, everybody and his dog is claiming to be a "social media guru" these days - but I've heard Euan speak and he's been at it a lot longer than most. Personally I'm looking forward to hearing his latest thoughts on the following:
There has been a fundamental shift in the way we do business. How we communicate with stakeholders and how we organise ourselves to produce those messages has changed forever. Euan Semple examines:
  • What these changes mean for communicators
  • How they represent a new wave of exciting opportunities for 21st century businesses and their employees
  • What lies in store for communicators and what role they will play in the future of business
You'll also hear speakers from Deloitte, Unilever, NAB, Suncorp, Ericsson and also Melcrum's own Robin Crumby.

Download the conference brochure here and I'll see you in Sydney!
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Tuesday 18 May 2010

Highlights of EE conf in Sydney

"Culture eats strategy for lunch. You can have a good strategy but if you don't have the culture and enabling systems to implement that strategy you will fail." 
~Dick Clark, CEO Merck USA

The second in the series of Australian "National HR Solutions & Strategies Summits" on Employee Engagement takes us to Sydney and a surprise change of venue to the Grace Hotel with its neo-Gothic exterior and Art Deco interior. 

Like the previous week in Melbourne, this conference delivered the goods with a series of insightful case studies and useful lessons on the people side of business. My favourite quote of the day is listed above; in what follows are some further highlights.

The engagement journey continues…
 
Reporter: "What do you think of Western civilization?"
Gandhi: "I think it would be a good idea."
 
Sophie Crawford-Jones of PwC gave us an informative overview of how the concept of engagement has developed over the past four decades as well as her thoughts on where it’s going over the next few years. While I like with the theoretical construct Sophie offered, I also think it’s fair to say that, whatever the next big thing in engagement is likely to be in 2010 and beyond, organizations still have a great deal of work to do in the here-and-now. 

Or to paraphrase Gandhi: while many more people nowadays are familiar with the concept of people engagement, effective engagement practice is often still in its early days.
 
Who’s telling your story?
 
The good news is that, as organizations seek to create a culture that invites greater engagement with their people, there are some practices that have proven helpful. Several examples were given of how leaders and managers used compelling stories to link people’s proven resilience in the past in ways that help to get them through hard times today with a clear vision of the future. 

This narrative approach acknowledges the reality that every moment is an engagement opportunity. It's not just an "HR responsibility" but needs to involve senior leadership and happen at all levels of the organization. And it’s not one-off events or even CEO roadshows that do it - effective engagement lives and breathes in your culture and must be related to every single thing that people do in the business.
 
It’s great to have a CEO who "gets it" and even better to have one who can tell engaging stories. It’s also true that stories can only gain currency and influence people’s daily behaviour when they are told and retold. That requires leaders and managers throughout your organization who also "get it", who can spread the influence of those stories with equally motivating effect. In other words, it falls to your people managers to engage your people.
 
In this quest to develop people managers into effective engagement allies, I was heartened to hear how one organization is getting some good results. Josie Gosling gave NineMSN’s answer to making this happen, with what they call communication champions. The idea is as genius as it is simple: there are already a handful of people in your organization that everybody else asks to explain and clarify what’s going on. These people are "naturals" - they have a talent for communication and/or the status and influence within the organization’s social networks that make their voices stand out. 

Let me quickly note two useful principles at work here: 1) a use what works (or solution-focused) approach helps you get fast results by working with people’s strengths, in this case communication "naturals", and 2) the realization that these communication/influencing talents can be found anywhere in your organization and don’t necessarily have anything to do with role or positional power.
 
Once you’ve identified these people…make them your new best friends! Do everything you can to develop their natural abilities (through mentoring, coaching and skills-building) and have the courage to "give it to ‘em straight" by making them part of the inner circle of communication practice. Giving them the big-picture perspective behind the messages will help them communicate better and, in turn, model the kind of engaging communication behaviour you want happening in your organization.
 
Setting the Stage for Success
 
Once the story of your organization is captured and consciously promoted, it will start to become clear which actors may not have a part to play in future performance. In both Sydney and Melbourne, conference speakers repeatedly made the point that low turnover can actually be a bad thing. As much as you need to actively retain your best people, you also need a standard practice to move out poor contributors.
 
Doing so in a grown-up and dignified way not only shows your commitment to do right by the people who ultimately leave - it can have a powerfully positive effect on those who stay. What's more, when a difficult situation is finally addressed the relief is palpable ("Well thank god…we've been talking about this for ages, now it’s finally behind us!"). 

As Chris Disley of Mars Food Australia pointed out, managers who can effectively manage low performers and disengaged people out of the organization actually get higher engagement scores as a result.
 
Chris also shared a crucial conversations exercise in which team members are asked, "If you left the company today to start your own business, who would you take with you…?" Naturally you need to contextualize the conversation and make clear this is a though-exercise, not an invitation to jump ship! While potentially confronting, such a process of rank-ordering people’s contribution from greatest to least can be a vital step toward having the kind of open and honest conversations that need to happen in effective teams.
 
Skills + behaviours = great performance
 
Finally, besides offering the quote that heads this post, Jason Flanagan of BT Financial Group gave some ideas on how to engage with your talented up-and-comers. He described how "high-potential" staff are matched with internal projects that tackle real business problems (e.g. bureaucracy-busting, new product development, etc.). Here I’d like to introduce a distinction that helps make sense of why this is a great example of people development that’s engaging too.
 
A skill is defined as "the ability to do something well" and is essentially the knowledge gained when for example you learn a tool, process or concept on a course. A behaviour, however, is "the way in which one acts or conducts oneself, especially toward others" and manifests in the actual application of skills and knowledge - in real business contexts, on an ongoing basis.
 
So giving your top talent projects in the business is a great idea because it ticks many boxes:
  • they get the recognition they deserve (often worth as much or more than money) and a chance to strut their stuff
  • as they work on the project there’s a chance to identify skills gaps that may emerge and target them for further development (so you can send them on courses, e.g. effective communication skills, project management and the like)
  • perhaps most importantly, projects offer a practical way to apply their skills in real-world business contexts; combined with an effective mentoring/coaching program this means they learn a skill, give it a go through "live" application, talk through the results, then make needed adjustments (a double-loop learning process crucial to embedding a skill as an ongoing behaviour)
  • and all this development is not extra-curricular and in addition to their day-job, but sits within the organization and produces useful outcomes for the organization.

In sum, these were a couple of informative and useful conferences, filled with "war-stories" and good ideas from HR and Comms professionals. Their stories clearly made the point that your engagement strategy will stand or fall based on the ability of your people managers to make it real as they engage with people. The stories that are alive in your organization will grow and thrive to the degree that you’ve got talented managers breathing life into them - so it makes sense to set them up for success. 

And for those who don’t have a part to play in your story’s future, you need to actively do what’s right for them and your organization by applying the other basic use what works principle: if something’s not working, stop doing it!
 
Hope you found these ideas useful and they take you a few steps closer to good people engagement, increased contribution and better business results.
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