The official word, that there’s economic uncertainty, is so 2012. We’re all cheerful and happy the economy produced 155,000 jobs last month (not completely, but we’re trying for some enthusiasm here).
So have we turned the corner? Can we all relax and think about careers instead of jobs? Well, perhaps the answer is a guarded yes. And besides, it’s always time to move beyond hanging on to your job — time to begin with active career management.
More than anything else, active career management is what helps you to stay employed, wherever your career takes you. While job creation numbers might be less than auspicious, it’s time, yes, for employees, leaders and HR pros to get back in the game. Take control. Manage your life, your career and your future prospects. No one else will — but they’ll certainly manage to find someone else, who does.
This week’s #TChat World of Work and #TChat Radio are all about career management — what, how, when, where, how and why. We’re going where we haven’t in a year or two — to take a look at what it takes to actively manage a career, with stops along the way to look at barriers and challenges, and at how the topic has changed.
Here are this week’s questions:
Q1: What are the biggest career management challenges for professionals today and why?
Q2: What are the top three activities job seekers should focus on this year and why?
Q3: What are the hot professions today, and what are employers looking for in every employee?
Q4: Will the online profile eventually be the demise of the resume? Why or why not?
Q5: What are the best technologies job seekers should be using in their search and why?
Click to visit #TChat Radio on BlogTalkRadio
Join us Wednesday night, Jan. 9, from 7-8 pm ET (6-7pm CT, 5-6pm MT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are) for a #TChat where we’ll talk about getting back to being in control of our careers. Mark Babbitt (@YouTernMark), CEO and founder of YouTern, will be our moderator, backed by yours truly (@MeghanMBiro) and Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman).
The long-term unemployed get airtime and programs to help them retrain and find new career paths. Millennials looking for the first big job, and a way to pay school loans, draw lots of attention. But we could probably spend much more time, as a society, talking about military veterans and the challenges they face reentering the civilian workforce.
Vets have tremendously strong skill sets. Depending upon their service, they may have skills such as people management, logistics, mechanical engineering, IT, aircraft repair, med tech, civil engineering/construction, language arts and more. Most importantly, they understand teamwork and the practical, rather than theoretical, value of collaboration. So why is it so hard for them to come home to civilian jobs?
The country faces huge cuts in its defense budget. The government is trying hard to wind down one war, and equally hard to avoid formal engagement on other fronts. Caught in the middle are tens of thousands of servicemen and women — and their families — who may need a slot in a shaky civilian economy. What can we do to help them? How can we best manage them? What skills do we, as leaders and HR people, need to refresh or acquire to accommodate our veterans in today’s world of work?
These are tough questions, practical and pressing concerns. And we’re going to take them on this week on #TChat. Here are a few questions to guide our discussion:
Q1: US legislation is creating skill certifications for military experience. What else could be done? Q2: What management styles work best when leading an employee with military experience? Q3: What’s the biggest challenge for veterans in the civilian world of work? Q4: Does long-term loyalty help or hinder the career of a veteran in today’s workplace? Q5: How can HR/recruiting tech help internally assess and translate veteran assets to employers?
You may not know anyone who served in a war, and you may not know much about the Korean conflict or the Vietnam War. That’s OK. Just do some research — i.e., talk to your parents, uncles, aunts and friends. Then, join us for a very special #TChat this Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 5-6pm MT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are).
We’re not afraid to take on difficult topics, and we know you aren’t either. Our guest moderator this week is Brenden “Bo” Wright (@BrendenMWright), director of information technology recruiting at Laureate Education and, as a veteran marine, a former nuclear, biological and chemical defense specialist. Yours truly (@MeghanMBiro) and the rest of the #TChat gang will be there, too. We look forward to Brenden’s thoughts and yours. Tweet with us!
Here’s a pop quiz: When was the last time you reported to a manager older than yourself? Younger than yourself? The workforce is multi-generational, but unlike 10 or even 20 years ago, age is not the primary determinant of management status. Many organizations are less hierarchical by design; matrix management may have fallen out of favor as a leadership style, but in many workplaces it’s the de facto organizational structure.
From an HR or leadership point of view it’s clear talent shouldn’t be chosen by age, but for raw ability, skills and vision. Leaders must combine strategic understanding of the business’s goals with tactical ability to execute to plan. They need soft skills too — lots of capable individuals don’t have what it takes to lead.
So we’re puzzling here at TalentCulture World of Work about multi-generational workforces, why (or if) it’s problematic for older workers to be led by the younger ones (because they say “like” every other word, perhaps?), and how to achieve cultural fit when managers are younger than their staffs.
The term “reverse mentoring” has come up, but we’re curious what the crowd thinks, so we’re throwing it open to our #TChat tribe to help us find clarity. We’re also wondering if there’s technology out there that may help smooth out the younger manager–older worker dynamic. Here are a few of the questions we’ll be discussing this week:
Q1: Used to be, age was synchronous with seniority & mgmt. How has the multi-generational workforce changed that?
Q2: Does leadership come when experience meets the right context of strategy, tactics & soft skills? Why or not?
Q3: Why is it so hard for older workers to be led by younger ones beyond the usual cliches?
Q4: What can orgs do better to assess & execute cultural fit as well as employee & leadership development?
Q5: What technologies can help facilitate the older employee/younger manager dynamic and how?
Please join us Wednesday night, Sept. 26, from 7-8pm ET (6-7pm CT, 4-5pm PT, or wherever you are). Look for yours truly (@MeghanMBiro) and Kevin W. Grossman (@KevinWGrossman) on the #TChat stream. We’re open to your thoughts on reverse mentoring, culture and multi-generational workforces, so bring your thoughts (in 120-character blocks) to this week’s TalentCulture #TChat.
We’re fortunate to have guest moderator Mark Babbitt (@YouTernMark) and the team at YouTern (@YouTern), where Mark is CEO and founder, lending their wisdom this week as we all explore reverse mentoring, culture and the many roles workers will fill as they progress through life.
00Meghan M. Birohttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngMeghan M. Biro2012-09-24 12:06:132020-05-22 14:47:42Leaders Young & Old: #TChat Preview
“I don’t want to be out here doing nothing. It’s dangerous.”
This from a 14-year-old boy in Chicago who should be in school, but is not, because of the Chicago Teachers’ strike. This isn’t a rebuke of why he’s not in school, it’s just a brief commentary about the phrase itself as metaphor for the power of social and informal learning.
Many of you have heard the quote, “An idle brain is the devil’s workshop,” which comes from H.G. Bohn‘s Handbook of Proverbs, published in 1855. Its Biblical origins comes from the belief that hard work keeps us focused and out of trouble, and without it, we can only conceive evil deeds from laziness. But with the latest in neuroscience research, we now know that our frontal cortex has much smaller windows of focal strength during the course of the day, that we need idle breaks in thought, to allow the mind to rest and revitalize, letting what we’ve absorbed during the focal spikes to reengineer our synaptic pathways.
Of course I don’t literally mean that teenagers should be roaming the streets unchecked with no formal or informal learning in place. I’m segueing more to the adult world of work and how the progressive enterprise understands how we truly learn and adopt and adapt — and it is doing what it can to integrate this into the workplace, from applicant to alumni.
But we’ve got a lot of “process debt” to deal with. Similar to “technical debt” that refers to layers of outdated programming code that we just overwrite instead of starting fresh, process debt is the same thing when it comes to change management in the workplace. Our decades old learning and development processes haven’t changed much even in the light of research referenced above. We still throw the new employee handbook at new hires, make everyone sit for day-long training seminars where we check out halfway in, and then we silo ourselves in self-branded promotional kiosks with limited if any exposure outside the firewall to valuable content from informal learning channels.
I’m talking about social channels, of course — which of course we’re getting access to anyway inside and outside the firewall, via mobile and tablet devices.
The democratization of social learning is here to stay, and we should embrace the shorter bursts of quality peer-to-peer interaction and actionable insights. By letting us do what we’ve already been doing for thousands of years, the sharing and learning around relevant topics across brand agnostic open networks, organizations can channel the crowd-sourced mindshare and elevate the great global enterprise of empowerment and improvement.
“I don’t want to be out here doing nothing. It’s dangerous.”
The good news is, we’re not doing nothing. The danger is in resistance, not idleness.
Did you miss this week’s preview? Click here, and check out all the crowd-sourced mind-sharing below, channeled through a slideshow of your #TChat tweets. Thank you, Joe Sanchez (@sanchezjb), for your guest moderation of yesterday’s chat. We look forward to seeing everyone next week.
A2: Isn’t #learning the point of working? To teach, connect, grow? You can make money all kinds ‘o ways. Don’t need a job for that. #tchatLara Zuehlke
#tchat a2 asked them what area they would like to receive more trainingSage Bramhall
A2: by using tools like #SoMe – being progressive examples #tchatKathy Herndon, GPHR
A2 Leaders need to challenge employees to answer their own questions, not provide answers, make people uncomfortable at times #tchatPam Ross
A2 Allow people room to “fail forward” #tchatWandaHopkinsMcClure
A2 Worked 4 comp that encouraged ppl 2 join Toastmasters & allowed time during work hrs. & considered it part of annual learning goal #TchatCyndy Trivella
A2 Looking back and admitting what didn’t work – then moving on. #tchatMarla Gottschalk PhD
A2: Leaders have to be intentional effort to offer and gain a new perspective so that everyone can see situations in fresh new ways. #tchatJen Olney
A2: by Fostering dialogue, setting an example & connecting employees to the org objectives #TChatNissrine Ghannoum
#tchat A2 you can help others learn. Adults are hard but make them love learning as much as u thru example. I provided proff dev. For 8 yrs!Sage Bramhall
A2: Share learning experiences and demonstrate the importance. Allow opportunities for self and team to apply learning on the job #tchatLaTonya Wilkins
A2 Leaders have to be open to feedback and change. Modeling learning from experience so that employees learn. #TChatPam Ross
A2. Leaders can take interest in what their team wants to learn and pursue. Ask. Listen. Integrate ideas. #tchatTerri Klass
A2: Everyone already knows how to learn, they just need to be reminded to keep doing it at work (managers and peers can help) #TChat #TChatFaronics HR
A2: Encourage EEs to trust themselves & ask questions. If they didn’t already know how to learn, they wouldn’t have gotten very far. #tchatBright.com
A2 The leaders should encourage participation without the fear of failing or making mistakes #tchatRitu Raj
A2: #Leaders need to be OK in their own skin. Insecurity is what erodes #learning & growth. Leads to micromanaging. #TchatLara Zuehlke
A2 – be willing to walk the walk as well as talk the talk when it comes to learning. Many ldrs don’t do this #tchatBrad Galin
A2 There’s value in teaching people how to ask questions – the right questions. #tchatJoe Sanchez
A2) lead by example. Show them you are open to their ideas by accepting their honest appraisal of current status quo. #tchatKeith Punches
A2) Lead by example, a leader who is still passionate about learning themselves will naturally encourage those around them. #tchatBlair Hite
A2 Companies can include “fun” time learning into the mix so it’s not always a classroom or CBT learning experience. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A2) give them some breathing room. Let them figure things out; consult when needed #tchatRich Grant
A2: Leadership has 2 drive it, need 2 encourage, can’t b afraid of failure use it 2 develop the culture and character of organization #tchatRobert Rojo
A2: I believe you should teach by modeling. #tchatTyrrel Walker
A2: Leaders must be committed to a day-in and day-out shift in attention and practice to learning and make it consistent #tchatJen Olney
A2. Stay present; stay on message; and keep listening. #tchatSheree Van Vreede
A2 Mentoring might be good start… #tchat #csuite #leadership #workplaceGood Business
A2 At Teamalaya, all employees are willing to do the dirty work. It will show future employees that we’re willing to do w/e it takes. #tchatTeamalaya
A2. They can create the conditions that give people permission to learn without boundaries or borders #tchatSalima Nathoo
A2: By starting everyone in preschool. Really. Soft skills and learning cultures start there. #TChatKevin W. Grossman
A2 Mgrs can set reasonable expectations for a set # of learning hrs per month/yr. and tie learning into the performance expectations. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A2 model learning, be open to it, provide learning at every opportunity, ask questions, challenge assumptions, don’t give answers #TChatPam Ross
A2: Identifying + recognizing the strengths + learning styles of your team is key. #TChatAndrew Henck
A2: Set an example and then provide the same opportunity #TChatBarb Buckner
a2) ask them the questions; don’t spoon feed them the answers #tchatRich Grant
A2 Model the behaviors. #tchatMarla Gottschalk PhD
Late summer on the deck in Ann Arbor. @SocialMediaSean #tchat http://pic.twitter.com/OtjDfSOQMark Salke
Q3 How can an organization leverage informal social learning opportunities? #tchatJoe Sanchez
A3: Provide UNSTRUCTURE time to think, dream, mastermind,tinker, explore reflect- genius is not a lightening bolt #TChatAngela Maiers
A3. Recognizing informal learning value and understanding its benefits, could be a good start #TChatLilian Mahoukou
A3: Orgs can leverage informal #SocialLearning by mixing it up – provide content that provokes personal and professional interest #tchatTeala Wilson
A3: Build intentional reflection and inquiry into meetings and exchanges. Questions like, “What did you notice when…”#tchat #hsdinstituteRoyce Holladay
A3 – Create intersections – social is fast moving & ideas spring up – then do something w/those ideas as a jump board for learning #TchatLeAnna J. Carey
A3) @hjarche @C4LPT and others promote narrating work. Within the org, this goes a long way to show others how it’s done. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A3 employees are a great way to bounce ideas around about new ideas and new opportunities. #TChatKZO Innovations
Less social media. More face to face. More work. More production. Less chat. #TChat A3Lois Martin
A3: Afford ppl the freedom to learn using a method that makes sense for them, often is met with less resistance. #tchatRandy Thio
A3: Peer to peer teaching opportunities allow everyone a chance to gain knowledge. Create the space and time to make it happen #tchatJen Olney
A3 Learning is caught; not taught. Communicate, collaborate, celebrate together. #tchatWandaHopkinsMcClure
A3: Effective learning cultures already expect folks to bring outside (formal/informal) learning in + share it. #TChatAndrew Henck
A3: YouTube and TED are excellent sources of inspirationand information which can start ur creative juices flowing! @AngelaMaiers #TChatZenYinger
A3: We need to invite someone we don’t know well or from another area to lunch…. break bread, break barriers. #TChatJon M
A3. Embrace social learning as critical to innovation and cutting-edge knowledge. #tchatTerri Klass
A3: Make it public. So many opportunities in social learning to highlight your learning culture #TChatSean Charles
A3: Buy letting us do what we’re already doing. Sharing and learning around relevant topics across brand agnostic open networks. #TchatKevin W. Grossman
A3: Approach everything as a learning opp. Encourage learning by doing, observing, teaching. #tchatBright.com
A3 Onboarding is one opportunity. Social learning def. required. #tchatMarla Gottschalk PhD
A3: give people some downtime to process and collaborate. Need to let go of control! #tchatBrad Galin
A3. Build a social sandbox in the workplace and champion creative sandcastle architects. #tchatSalima Nathoo
A3) Identify existing pockets where social learning success exists & seek ways to cross-pollinate/expand/amplify on those examples #TchatExpertus
A3: Create an org culture that first values “out of the box” thinking + innovative learning opps. #TChatAndrew Henck
A3 Leverage by creating an environment which supports informal learning opps, ie, outta cubicles! It’s culture & physical #TchatClaire Crossley
A3: Provide UNSTRUCTURE time to think, dream, mastermind,tinker, explore reflect- genius is not a lightening bolt #TChatAngela Maiers
A3 – an open work environment – no cubicles – and encourage collaboration thru social media… #tchatRichard S Pearson
A3: accept unorthodox learning styles. org leadership retreats, to bond teams, and give back to community. displays comm, & collabora #tchatPlatinum Resource
A3 Informal learning allows ppl to learn in a place, time and thru a venue (i.e., mobile device )to fit employee’s learning style. #TchatCyndy Trivella
“@SocialMediaSean: Tweet a photo of where you are tweeting from tonight. Love to add pictures to the Storify. #TChat” http://pic.twitter.com/tSX0nbrhFar North Media
Q4 Why do learning cultures create competitive advantage? #tchatJoe Sanchez
A4 – The struggle after a company has been ramped up is ‘the founders dilemma – can you scale? #TchatLeAnna J. Carey
A4) Seeing love for failure. OK. But it’s how we attend respond & adjust & move forward that is the source of value in failure #TchatExpertus
A4 – barriers can be overcome by continually evolving the teaching models through an innovation lens #TChatLeAnna J. Carey
A4: Learning cultures tend to be more civil. #tchat #leadership #learningLindaFisherThornton
A4: there’s a jack welch quote about comp advantage is orgs that that learn fast ad convert that learning into action.. #tchatBill Cushard
A4: Adaptable to responding to external changes,competitive to innovations. The culture of learning is always shifting into high gear #tchatJen Olney
A4: A #LearningCulture creates a competitive advantage by allowing ideas and innovation to flow and be heard #tchatTeala Wilson
A4 Competition fosters efficiency–> production. Experts learn & produce. Leaders teach WHILE they learn & produce. #TChatJoseph Ned
A4: The more you “Learn” the more you “Earn” in life & business #TChatSean Charles
#TChat A4:More opportunity 2 empower employees to learn new things as well as challenge them, instead of “just showing up at work”! #rewardsMichael!
A4) Knowledge hoarding is a tactic for failure. Knowledge sharing is like passing down the recipe for success. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A4: To emphasize to employees to go the extra mile, be accountable & define expectations. #tchatRobert Rojo
A4: a learning culture is able to embrace diversity and this allows good mixing of ideas to bring new ones to life. #tchatBrad Galin
A4 Companies can have customer satisfaction recognition programs that R tied into learning new procedures/processes. #TchatCyndy Trivella
A4) because learning cultures = innovation = competitive advantage #TChatRich Grant
A4. Because they are inclusive, not exclusive. #tchatSheree Van Vreede
A4 I think a good place to look in organizations where and what learning is required, that also goes for tacit and general learning #tChatRitu Raj
A4. Encouraging emps to take part in their own education is empowering…and contagious #TChatKara Singh
A4: Learning cultures are inherently adapting to the changing needs of the day. #TChatAndrew Henck
A4. There are always opportunities to learn. It’s not only up to the mentor but the individual to take the lesson. #TChatKara Singh
Tweeting from Michigan State – #TChat http://pic.twitter.com/SfuOOLWoMarla Gottschalk PhD
Q5 How do you know whether or not an organization’s culture is conducive to learning? #tchatJoe Sanchez
A5 How they react to mistakes – do they learn from it or sweep it under the rug? #tchatAmy Do
A5. By profiling managers… are they multipliers or diminishers? The latter ones don’t leave room for failure and practical learning #TChatLilian Mahoukou
A5: Active Listening , Questioning & raising awareness #TChatNissrine Ghannoum
A5 transparent processes – opening up for feedback & taking it seriously – represent a learning culture #TChatMiriam Brosseau
A5 – It’s important to assess the appetite for change – can close up some barriers! #TchatLeAnna J. Carey
A5 The best learning, especially in business, comes from discovery. How does the org take what’s been discovered and create insights? #tchatJoe Sanchez
A5 you FEEL it! There is a good vibration in the air. #TChat #tchatLori~TranslationLady
A5) I facilitate a social session with newer employees to get to heart of our culture, which is knowledge sharing. Walk the talk. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A5 Leadership must set a purposeful direction for continual learning. Can’t be haphazard. #tchatTerri Klass
A5: I find there is a strong sense of humility in learning focused organizations. #TChatSean Charles
A5 An organization that fosters innovation, trying out new ideas – is more likely to be a learning organization #tchatKimbra Fox
A5. I’d agree on the fact that employees may be the ones to give some key evidences #TChatLilian Mahoukou
A5 Really, all you have to do is look around. If things aren’t changing, people aren’t learning. #TchatRedge
A5) In our org, a VP welcomes every new employee, even if some weeks it’s just one or two. #tchatTom Spiglanin
A5: Find out about an org’s rate of internal mobility and process for determining strategy & best practices #tchatTeala Wilson
A5- Examine how the highest level employee interacts with the lowest…if you see/feel the hierarchy probably not a learning org #TChatAngela Maiers
A5 How they react to mistakes – do they learn from it or sweep it under the rug? #tchatAmy Do
A5 open your network and find people who work there to talk to. They won’t hesitate to share if they are in a great (or horrible) co. #tchatRichard S Pearson
A5: Ask one of their regular employees what the company mission statement is! #tchatRandy Thio
A5: Are the leaders challenging their employees to push their own status quo beyond its limits and seek new perspectives? #tchatJen Olney
A5: if they are in survival mode or not. those they want to survive, tend to skip out on training & learning #tchatPlatinum Resource
A5) do SVPs and above ask more questions than make pronouncements? #TChatRich Grant
A5 How boring are the meetings? :) #tchat #csuite #leadership #workplaceGood Business
A5: If the org culture values failure + innovation, it is conducive to #learning #TChatAndrew Henck
As a manager you can either command excellence or help build excellence. Leaders always choose the latter. #tchatVala Afshar
@TerriKlass Dont use White Boards. Use butcher paper and markers. More creative thought. #tChatGenny Harrison
People can be human. Learning, growing, flawed, passionate, humans. Groups like that learn w/ and from each other. #tchatMatt Monge
@TerriKlass I got your jealously ripening in my yard right now http://www.twitpic.com/aqgpwe #TChat pina coladas for everyone!Sylvia Dahlby
00Kevin W. Grossmanhttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngKevin W. Grossman2012-09-13 12:14:282020-05-22 14:46:51Channeling Crowd-Sourced Mindshare: #TChat Recap
If so, you’re probably not alone. According to reports, there are some 25 billion registered blogs out there on the world-wide web. However, only 450 million are considered “active.” While that’s less than 1% of what’s registered actually putting out content, it’s still enough to create a lot of “noise” in the blogsphere. And whether you’re a new blogger or the medium is ‘old-hat’ to you, trying to distinguish yourself can still be overwhelming.
It leaves many asking the question, “Why bother blogging to begin with?”
Despite the old saying that there are only 12 original themes, there’s still room on the net for your ideas, too. The difference for many is found in the spin rather than the subject. The subject matter may not be new, but the way that you present the idea can be. You can maintain creativity by mixing things up: use photos, collaborate efforts with other writers or professional colleagues, try a vlog (video blog), etc…
To build sustainability, you need more than regular, fresh and compelling content around a centralized theme – you need patience as well. Your readership won’t likely show up in droves when you put up your “I’m Here!” inaugural post. To gain a respectable following, you’ll have to consistently market your content on other platforms to those that are interested in the subjects on which you have something to say.
You definitely want an idea of what you’re trying to get out of it going in – and the answer ought not be money! At least not directly, anyway. Despite the enticing banners and messages many blogging platforms put out to doe-eyed bloggers; seducing them with the promise and potential of converting their hobby into a money maker, the reality is that there’s very little money to be made directly from a blog (none for most).
That being said, just because you want to have a blog doesn’t necessarily mean you should. There’s a lot that goes into putting together a successful blog that stands the test of time. And many (most, if you look at the massive gap between registered and active blogs) aren’t up to the challenge. Blogging is best suited for “long-form” content sharing. It’s the most effective medium if the message you want to share can’t be adequately expressed in a 5 minute ‘vlog,’ the meaning derived from pictures, or requires more than 140-characters to get across.
Speaking of 140-characters, join us tonight as we explore content, best practices, and the writing equivalents of “What not to Wear” in tonight’s #TChat discussion topic: “Blogging & Beyond.” Here’s a look at tonight’s questions, along with recommended reading:
1) What makes content effective and compelling? Are there universal benchmarks or is it subjective?
https://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.png00Meghan M. Birohttps://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.pngMeghan M. Biro2011-10-26 10:19:042020-05-20 17:56:49Got those Blogging Blues? #TChat Preview
I recently had the pleasure of chatting with TalentCulture’s good friend,Phil Simonabout his new book “The New Small”. Phil has written two other books: Why New Systems Fail and The Next Wave of Technologies. A recognized technology expert, he consults with companies on how to optimize technology use. His contributions have been featured in The Globe and Mail, ComputerWorld, ZDNet, New York Times, ReadWriteWeb, and many other sites. Phil is also a popular speaker about emerging trends and technologies.
Why did you write this book?
As I mention in the Preface of the book, I saw a need. Many small business owners are awash in a sea of technological choices. They are too busy to research all of these technologies themselves. While my book is certainly no reference manual, it lays out options and provides advice that would take a long time—and a great deal of money—to learn on their own. There are many opportunities out there; many small business owners simply aren’t aware of them.
What’s the difference between how small businesses approach technology (especially collaboration tools) and the traditional enterprise approach?
In a nutshell, small businesses (SBs) tend to experiment more. They’ll try out a tool like Yammer, for example, on an individual basis. If it catches on, it will be adopted throughout the company. It’s less “top-down” than the traditional enterprise approach. What’s more, if something else comes along that offers superior functionality, SBs will experiment with that tool as well, utilizing what’s best from each. There’s no corporate edict that “all people must use X” even though X doesn’t have key functionality.
How can managers start with their own teams on the cheap/free to handle their communication needs?
I interviewed a lot of business owners and managers for The New Small. It’s given me great insight into what managers do—and how they do it. These managers aren’t sure about what’s best, so they don’t pretend to have all of the answers. They encourage employees to find the right tools. Once something reaches critical mass, they’ll give it a shot. Today, so many products are based on the “freemium” model; it’s rare now that you have to sign a traditional contract with a vendor before you can kick the tires on collaborative tools. These companies embrace IM tools such as Meebo, calling tools like Skypeand GoogleVoice, and simple hardware like webcams, Smartphones, and digital cameras.
It reads on your website that you’re an independent technology consultant. There are lots of people out there that would love to get into consulting, but aren’t sure about the first steps. What are some essentials for anyone who wants to get into consulting?
As I write in The New Small, many people begin contracting almost involuntarily. They’d like a full-time job but can’t find one in this economy. As for requirements, I can tell you about the essentials: a website, errors and omissions insurance, financial and accounting software, a healthy network of recruiters and friends keeping an eye out for you, potential incorporation, and the like. More than that, however, one needs to know appropriate rates. It’s hard to know what your worth and, admittedly, it’s more art than science. Sometimes you take less than you can get. Most important, you need to have a personality that accepts high highs and low lows. You won’t get a steady paycheck. Be prepared for the feast or famine world of independent life.
Historically, big technology had the advantage because it was safe and reliable. “Nobody ever got fired for hiring IBM” is the old saying. But now, it seems like small tech has the edge. How can that be? What changed?
Many things changed:
Broadband exploded.
Storage costs plummeted.
Freemium took off as a business model.
A massive wave of innovation occurred.
Other tech events and trends made the New Small possible.
Factor in a drop in job security and a desire for people to do their own thing and suddenly it’s hip to start your own company.
How realistic is it to want to start your own business in today’s world? What are some things to consider before starting your own business?
It’s very realistic. It happens every day. As I point out in the book, technology has drastically changed in the last five years. There are viable ways to minimize up-front costs, always a good idea when you’re hanging your own shingle. What’s more, social media allows companies to reduce often ineffective marketing expenditures.
Are there certain things in today’s world that make starting you own business a good idea?
Sure. The founders of the companies profiled in the book all were searching for something different—an alternative to traditional corporate life. There’s more flexibility being your own boss. You get a fundamental sense of satisfaction from working for yourself, and you can pursue ventures that you find worthwhile. There’s always been a sense in this country that you can succeed on your own terms. Technology today has made that easier, although the challenges of the current economy cannot be understated.
What advice would you give to entrepreneurs who have just started or planning to start their own business?
Don’t be afraid to experiment or fail. Einsten said something along the lines of, “If you want to increase your success rate, fail more often.” This couldn’t be more true today–particularly with respect to small businesses. Also, get away from technologies that no longer meet your needs. Whether it’s ERP, CRM, a content management system (CMS), or whatever, see if there’s something better out there. Then try it out!
Do you have any tips for managing projects in the New Small?
Yes. Go agile. These companies do not use Waterfall-based methods. They can’t wait a year to see if something is conceptually sound. Throw something against the wall and see what you like and what you don’t. Also, don’t reinvent the wheel. See what open source and off-the-shelf tools exist. Use existing APIs and modules to extend functionalty.
Could you please tell us, what businesses have inspired you? Also, what’s exactly this “new breed”?
In short, the owners of these companies inspired me a great deal. They weren’t afraid to break away from old tools and techniques that have worked for them and taken them to a certain point. This new breed is open, experimental, and curious. They are constantly pushing the envelope and refuse to manage by routine. You’ll never hear “that’s not the way we do things here.” They’re a dynamic bunch of companies that, as you see in the book, is doing some amazing things.
In the first chapter of the book, which is available for free preview at your Web site, you call the present situation “the era of constant technological change.” In your opinion is there a difference between the way large enterprises and smaller companies respond to it? If so, what are the main challenges that small businesses face?
For political, legal, and financial reasons, big companies often cannot get away from technologies that no longer work for them. Small companies don’t have that problem. The world is their oyster. Yet, that very freedom can easily become chaos. Fortunately, the New Small is able to strike a balance, getting the benefits of amazing new technologies in the process.
Why do you think the emerging technologies, such as social media or cloud computing, are a perfect match for the needs of small businesses?
Many reasons. For one, they scale quite easily. No longer does a business need to predict “just how much” technology it will need. Second, success begets success. You can dip your toe in the pool before you jump in. Finally, with the Freemium model, you can test-drive technologies before making the jump.
What do you hope to impart on the world with The New Small?
In short, that it’s better to be small. Progressive small businesses are doing some amazing things. The book tells their stories; it’s not a theoretical or abstract text by any stretch. Once you see what these companies are doing, you’ll want to experiment with some of the same methods and technologies.
https://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.png00https://talentculture.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/TCLogo_web-272x60-1.png2011-03-03 12:27:442020-05-20 16:54:21Delve Into Phil Simon's "The New Small"
My husband, the love of my life, had brain surgery a few weeks ago.
The anticipation, wondering if it was benign or cancerous (it was benign), praying that the neurosurgeon would not suddenly get the shakes, being in a hospital away from home and having no family nearby all added up to make this one of the most stressful experiences I’ve gone through in a long time.
And while we were in the hospital, waiting for Marco to be admitted, something occurred to me. This was a great opportunity to observe corporate culture.
First, I would experience it from the perspective of a customer (instead of as an corporate leader or HR pro or business coach).
Second, we would be exposed to all levels of employees: janitors, nurse’s assistants, charge nurses (responsible for all the activities in their unit during their shift), staff supervisors and doctors.
Third, we were going to be there for three nights and four days, 24/7.
It was the perfect incubator for observation. Would the corporate culture the hospital spent thousands of dollars and many man hours to create, translate into a consistent experience?
Megan
In the ICU unit, we had a nurse named Megan who explained everything to us. I’m not overstating this. From how each medication was going to help Marco heal, to showing me how to unfold the sleeper chair and set the locks on it so it wouldn’t roll away and everything in between. She made sure we were as knowledgeable about Marco’s situation as she was.
When she met us, she wrote her name and hospital cell phone number on the wipe-board so we would know who she was and how to get in touch with her.
She apologized for having to wake Marco up every hour.
When I asked her where the soda machine was, she asked me what I wanted, left the room and brought a Diet Coke back to me so I wouldn’t have to pay.
She lovingly patted my husband’s head when he was in pain and couldn’t have more pain killers.
She made sure we both understood that he was not to blow his nose for a month.
She brought extra blankets and pillows without us asking for them.
Watching Megan attend to my husband left me feeling comforted, safe and reassured. That was because of two things: She knew what she was doing and she genuinely cared about my soul mate.
Toni & Company
Toni was our nurse when we transferred from ICU to a regular floor.
In her first introduction to us, she wrote her name on the wipe board while explaining this was not her regular floor and that she was on loan from another floor. She didn’t write down her phone number.
We were transferred right around lunch time and my husband was ravenous. I asked Toni when we could expect lunch and her answer was “soon.” 45 minutes later, lunch had not arrived. I went to find her at the nurse’s station and inquired again. Her answer was, “It’s probably up on the ICU floor.” Another 30 minutes later, I left my husband to find her again and asked when his lunch was going to arrive. She sighed at me, asked all the other nurses where my husband’s lunch was and finally said, “I suppose I’ll have to go to ICU to get his lunch.” More time passed before we finally got his cold lunch.
Megan from ICU told us that if Marco got thirsty, extremely thirsty, we needed to call the neurosurgeon right away; it meant danger. The thirst happened during Toni’s shift. We told her five times over three hours what was happening, we told her the neurosurgeon wanted to be paged immediately if it happened. Each time I went to look for her (she didn’t come to us) she said, “Oh. Okay. I’ll call the doctor.” Finally, after 3.5 hours I went to the ICU floor, looked for Megan and told her what was happening. She immediately broke all protocol by leaving her floor to see Marco. She asked him a bunch of questions, her face got red and she said she was going to page the doctor right then. Five minutes later a sheepish Toni walked into the room ready to take care of him. She also told us that the neurosurgeon yelled at her on the phone.
It wasn’t just Toni either. None of the nurses on that floor wrote down their hospital cell phone numbers. When Marco got extremely thirsty he asked for Gatorade and another nurse said, “I’m sorry we don’t have any on this floor.” We weren’t asking for champagne for Pete’s sake! I asked several people if I could have a sleeper chair and the consistent answer was an apathetic, “I’ll try.”
Being on the ICU floor was like being at a Ritz Carlton. The last three days of his stay was like being at a charge-by-the-hour motel.
Organizational Consistency
What happened? It was the same hospital system. Each floor had the same motivational employee bulletin boards which reinforced the “competency of the month.” The processes for responding to patients was the same on each floor. And I’m sure they were operating from the same employee handbook.
Shouldn’t every employee take patient care seriously?
Obviously, the answer is yes. Yet I think one of the hardest things for organizations to nail down is consistency across their enterprise. What happened last week reinforced three things every leader needs to understand and do something about:
An organization can have all the technical tools in place to create an incredible customer experience, but that is no guarantee that employees will use them.
Leaders, Recruiters and HR pros need to continue to focus their recruiting efforts on the technical and behavioral skills candidates present. One without the other is disastrous.
Great tools and employees with phenomenal technical/behavioral skills are lost without front line supervisors who know how and have the courage to hold their employees accountable.
It’s a three legged stool. Or is it? What other factors should be considered in creating a consistent experience? Why do you think there was such a stark contrast between ICU and the regular floor?
My personal strategy is doing lots of evaluation on important things throughout the year to gauge what’s working and not working. These regular progress and results checks suggest a range of adjustments to make (along with their potential impacts). Afterward, I decide what to change.
Given this ongoing process, I’ve never been big on New Year’s resolutions; they seem too point-in-time to be effective. Handed the assignment of doing a December 31st TalentCulture post though, it’s a topic begging to be addressed.
Based on a recent panel discussion I attended of successful entrepreneurs, I think the perfect area for a 2011 New Year’s resolution is my penchant for systematic consideration, thought, and planning in business.
During the breakfast session, four entrepreneurs on the panel shared their strategies for innovation and planning. It was clear from hearing them that careful, systematic consideration about business decisions is WAY overrated.
How OVERRATED you may ask?
Here are some of their comments from my live tweets of the event:
The act of planning is more important than the plan itself. Speed is your friend. You could fill the day with mistakes made in trying to predict things. – Danny O’Neill of The Roasterie
THAT’S how overrated planning is according to these four. Based on their track records, it’s hard to dispute what works for them.
Listening between the lines, four factors trigger their collective willingness to trade a lot less pondering for much more rapid implementation:
1. An intuitive understanding of their businesses, customers, and markets
2. Unwavering confidence in their abilities to sense, execute, succeed, recover (when they don’t succeed) amid opportunities that present themselves
3. A risk-embracing orientation
4. The flexibility start-ups can enjoy over bigger competitors
Looking at the list, I’m good at dissecting business situations, but my planning orientation comes from the need to anticipate multiple potential downsides (counter to #2) and risks (counter to #3) to minimize them. Having spent most of my career in a corporate setting, flexing ample resources is central to most business strategies (counter to #4).
So to challenge myself and develop my weaker skill sets, I’m entering 2011 with a new acronym emblazoned on my brain: BITP.
It stands for “Better Implementing Than Planning.”
Or “Pondering.”
Or both. You decide…RIGHT NOW!
I’m making 2011 the year of “Smart Immediacy” for me. If you’ve also been labeled an “over-thinker” in your career, I’d encourage you to join in.
The focus will be getting much better at quickly perceiving, evaluating, and deciding on opportunities to begin implementing on them much more rapidly and decisively. What will we do to improve?
Fully trust ourselves where we’ve already demonstrated success.
Limit the time allowed for planning for contingencies almost certain to never happen.
Look for opportunities to slice several steps from existing processes.
Embrace that decisions once made can be reversed if they don’t pan out as anticipated.
What do you think? Are you up for joining me on this new approach in 2011? Or if this is already your orientation, are you willing to share your guidance and suggestions?
Join in the year of “Smart Immediacy” starting RIGHT NOW!
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