Graeme Codrington suggests books on Classic FM

Graeme Codrington was recently interviewed on Classic FM’s “JSE Direct” show. It is a book review show, and Graeme highlighted two books he feels everyone should be reading, if they are interested in tracking key trends that will be shaping the world of work over the next 10-20 years.

They are: Ken Dytchwald, “Age Power” (Buy it at Amazon) and James Martin, “The Meaning of the 21st Century” (Buy it at Amazon or Kalahari).

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One Race CEO’s won’t Win…but need to!

Technique lags technology. Fact. The need for leaders to keep pace with technology is relentless and never-ending. It is a race that can’t be won. However leaders today cannot afford to hide behind walls excusing techno-illiteracy on their part. As decision-makers within their organisation they need to understand the possibilities and limits offered by technology. Only once they do this can they frame the ‘right’ questions to be asking in order to leverage the advantage technology offers. The lack of understanding impedes the CEO’s ability to make the right calls and leverage the advantage.

Usually IT systems are too expensive, complex and not flexible enough…this then impacts on the ability to understand, use and adapt them when necessary. Problem is, where do CEO’s go to get such insights, ask the ’stupid’ questions and explore how to apply and leverage the available technology? The answer is ‘nowhere’…well not that I am aware of at least!

That is why TomorrowToday.biz is seriously looking into providing a meeting boma for the CEO, the IT person, the HR person and well OK, the FD: after all they are the people who usually know the most about what is really going on within a business! Image such a meeting to expose this select group to some of the available technology followed by specific discussion as to how best to stategically put this technology to work? First some mindshifts will need to happen but that out the way, could make for a fun day with massive implications! Any takers?

How to cut costs and keep your employees

The million dollar question I hear you sigh as you see the subject of this blog. Let’s face it, there are no easy answers, no silver bullets and certainly no one-size-fits-all approach to cutting costs and keeping a high people-morale during an economic un-boom, such as the one we’re wading through at the moment.

But there are some stories worth hearing, if not for anything but simply to celebrate that someone may be getting it right in their context. They know their people and their culture, and they’ve successfully created a solution that snugly fits both.

Click here to read a short article of some of these stories. The one that most impacted me was the ‘Ricardo Semler‘ type approach of the opening story in the article:

Go to the people and ask them! Sounds so simple. But so very difficult to execute.

Millenials reversing the trend

It’s always difficult convincing an adult audience, that from a Generational perspective, the so-called ‘Millennials’ (Gen Y, Echo Boomers) are going to be more civic minded, more conservative (whilst being more aware), and focus on rebuilding the planet (amongst other things). Mostly because their example of a Millennial is often one of their own kids. And let’s be honest, what parent thinks their own kids are going to be some of those things? Their kids are teenagers, and generally speaking teens are going through a life stage in which pushing the boundaries and experimenting are part and parcel of what they have to do in order to develop into healthy contributing adults.

So it’s with a smile of satisfaction that I point you to some research coming out of Canada (Project Teen Canada headed up by Reginald Bibby, a University of Lethbridge sociologist) that shows that today’s Millennial Generation are reversing some trends that you probably wouldn’t expect them to. Sex, Drugs, Family Values, having children, smoking.

This reversing trend has been captured beautifully in a short video clip entitled ‘Lost Generation‘. If you’ve not seen it, it’s worth a trip to YouTube see get a first hand view.

There are some thoughts about the role parents are playing in the reversing of these trends, but the article is summed up like this:

In the end, the kids will likely follow their own instincts. While they might be taking silent cues from their parents—and might even seek help in times of crisis—they’ve little time for adult authorities who worry about their futures. Jesse Lupini, the 17-year-old from Victoria, summed up the sentiment in a recent guest column for his local paper. “Adults have generated a number of teen stereotypes,” he writes. “Teens are irresponsible, untrustworthy, rude, sexually obsessed, loud, inclined to drink to excess, take drugs, eat badly . . . ” But how about the adults who lie, drive drunk and do drugs, Lupini asks? What about the corporations run by adults that market junk food and sexualized clothing to youth? What about the parents who buy that stuff for their kids? “Frankly,” he concludes, having worked up a rather adult-sounding rant, “it’s a wonder we’re coping as well as we are.”

TomorrowToday has been researching, exploring and communicating Generational Theory through our edutaining presentation ‘Mind the Gap‘ for 7 years now. We’re still as convinced as ever that it’s a framework every organisation needs to include in the multiple frameworks it uses to understand people dynamics and interactions.

New communication channels – New rules

Throughout history, as each new medium of communication was adopted, a new set of rules grew and developed around it. Some were designed by the users as a new etiquette was introduced, and policed by the users. If you played by the rules people would listen and respond, if you didn’t, you were ignored or worse. Of course governments have also intervened where necessary to protect the greater good of society (that is the goal anyway) as well as those who could not defend themselves (eg, children).

With the advent of the Internet we’ve seen many new communication platforms emerge along with it. These have been exciting times as we witness the birth of a new way of connecting to each other, and a new set of rules being built around us.

Breaking some of the rules have few consequences. But there are a couple for which the price of breaking them have been high. Some of the rules broken were not even broken intentionally. How can you break a rule you’re not really aware of or sure of. I’m certain much surprise has been experienced in these situations. For many of these people their role will be remembered as being the mavericks, ground breakers, fire starters, etc.

Case in point is an article carried on IOLtechnology.co.za on 27 May 2009. It has to do with a South African worker who was fired for calling his boss a ’serial masturbator’ on FaceBook. For those of you following these trends, click here to read the entire article.

PodCast – Attitudes and Actions of Authentic Leaders

We’ve just uploaded a new PodCast Episode.

This recording was made in 2008, based on the article Keith Coats wrote around investigating what it means to be an Authentic Leader. Much has been written about the need for Leaders to adopt characteristics that will ensure they remain relevant in today’s changing business environment. This interview with Keith is an exploration of what these characteristics look like in action.

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Life Training: Training that develops effective people VS effective employees will hold the fabric of your organisation together

Traditional skills programmes can’t be applied to everyone within a workforce as they more often than not are very job specific. In years gone by, one gained the skills necessary to complete ones work through on-the-job training. People Skills (Soft Skills) were not seen as essential to getting the job done. Although this has advanced and more and more Soft Skills programmes have entered the corporate market, too many of these rely heavily on theoretical content and therefore cannot be successfully applied to one’s immediate situation.

What we need in today’s workplace is Soft Skills programmes that are underpinned by the concept of Emotional Intelligence – something everyone needs in order to survive and thrive in today’s workplace regardless of position. Programmes that not only equip you for your job but also for your life at home, your interaction with your friends and family, as well as your colleagues. It is essential that the content of these programmes be applicable to ‘outside’ life in order to gain interest and participation in them. Gone are the days of entering a company at a young age and climbing the corporate ladder within it until retirement. The attitude out there is that one cannot rely on the company to look after you; you have to look after yourself. In other words, the chances of leaving a job due to being retrenched, getting bored or just looking for something new and different are much higher in today’s business environment.

… Continue Reading

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall – the essential role of feedback for the Leader

“Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?”  So goes the question embedded in the fanciful world of a children’s tale and a question that hauntingly stalks most of us for the remainder of our adult journey. Not that we would admit to such for over the years, not only have we learnt how to conceal and disguise the question, we have learnt to train the mirror into giving us the answer we wish to hear.  Hearing the truth? Now that is real fantasy!

For those in leadership it is a question that provides the yardstick of measurement, recognition and reputation. With so much at stake, it is the question that demands the answer, “why of course, you are”- be that true or not.

The real problem is not the question but rather the expectation surrounding the answer.  Perhaps it is the blatant denial or angry response to the answer – the one at least that fails to deliver the expected – that is in need of attention. And so, the mirror, weary of abuse and fearful of being shattered, has learnt to simply reply, “why of course, you are” every time the question is asked. … Continue Reading

Shouldn’t we all just pick another word?

I’m referring to the word ‘talent’ when I ask this question. Mostly because I’m still troubled by the complexity and lack of form the current exploration around ‘talent’ has. We still don’t know how to define it? We still don’t know how to measure it? We still don’t know what it looks like when it sits down in front of us? We don’t know how much we want of it, and we certainly aren’t sure if we really want to manage it, or have the time to do so?

So why don’t we all get together a pick another word? Malcolm Gladwell has a suggestion that I quite like, ‘Outliers’. Certainly we know what we’re talking about when we talk about those who lie outside of the norm, the average, the mean, on the edges of the bell curve we use to describe the distribution of human capability.

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Healthy happy families

I’m a big fan of Lance Armstrong’s Livestrong foundation. I received an email from them today with “10 steps to a successful family life” and thought I’d share it with you. Although this blog primarily deals with business issues, we often remark that achieving work-life integration is critical for any business success. People with happy family lives bring this energy and positiveness with them to the workplace. Here are ten steps that may help create a happy work environment too… (read between the lines there are some strong messages applicable to business relationships too). We also do some presentations on these issues, including a presentation based on Graeme Codrington’s latest book, “Future-Proof Your Child“.

You can read the ten steps below or visit the Livestrong website

… Continue Reading

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle & Leaders Everywhere

The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle throws a large spanner in our quest to know, understand and decipher the future. It states, “If we know the present, we can calculate the future – it is not the conclusion that is wrong but the premise”. Seeing beyond the filters we have, filters that help us interpret and make sense of the world / information around us, is problematic at best and impossible at worse. If we are aware of these filters – let me give you just 4 that I have about which, without some creative interventions I can do nothing about – white, male, South African, Baby Boomer – we can understand how they skew or warp our prevailing worldview.

On the other hand, not being aware of our filters means we may make some serious errors of judgment or interpretation. So it would seem that assuming we have a grip on the present might just get in the way of how we are seeing the future. This certainly is something for those in leadership to think about. Very often their interpretation of the present is far removed from those roundabout them and how often have you come across a severe dislocation between how the ‘Exco’ see things as opposed to those ‘on the ground’?

Just a thought for leaders everywhere!

Harvey Nichols- fab ad campaign

I’ve just come across this print advert campaign by Harvey Nichols, the high end clothing retailer. It’s a cracker and one of the best print campaigns I’ve seen in a long time. The first time I looked at it I don’t get it, but the vivid colours and imagery drew me in, further capturing my attention and making me think. The symbolisms that can be interpreted from the association between the dress and the “rockets” is subtle but brilliant… the advert rockets with innuendos… On further investigation I discovered that there is a complete range of 8 different adverts using the same creative concept. This is an awesome advert for the Generation X and Y generations… Look at the rest of the campaign and consider the symbolism behind each advert… Great ad campaign

Top tips for mentoring the next generation of talent

In tough times, people matter. Ensuring your staff are passionate and focused is a critical leadership task right now. One of the most effective techniques for motivating your younger staff in particular is to provide ongoing development for them, especially providing access to senior leaders and mentoring. Here are some tips to help you make the most of such mentoring relationships.

• • Mentoring takes time. Today’s “I want it now” young people need to understand that it takes the time it takes to do properly. Make sure you do some expectation management right upfront about how often you can meet, what you think is achievable, and what you’d like to offer.
• • Be clear about the purpose and boundaries of your mentor relationship.
• • Today’s young people don’t open up immediately. They need to get to know you, and they need to know they can trust you. Persevere with them and don’t give up too easily if they make it tough for you – they’re actually just checking you’re willing to go the distance with them.
• • Consider digital mentoring as a component of the relationship. Be prepared to answer emails and text messages, and initiate some of this contact yourself. But don’t let them go totally digital – face to face time is vital for good mentoring.
• • Mentor the whole person, not just for the job description. Do some of the mentoring away from the office environment. Spend some of your time focusing on non-work related issues. Show an interest in their hobbies and non-work activities.
• • Try and include some on the job, practical content, ensuring your mentoring is not all theoretical.
• • Don’t forget to “reverse mentor” too. Young people have grown up helping their parents work out how to use the remote controls, and sorting out the household technology. Let them mentor their bosses on technology use in the office.
• • Get them to mentor each other – make sure they have a “buddy”, and not just at their own company. They have to be taught how to network effectively – it doesn’t come naturally to them.
• • Keep mentoring them, even when they leave your company. This sounds a powerful message to the remaining staff that you really care about them as people, not just as workers.
• • Never assume that the mind you’re talking to is closed. Just because young people dress or act differently from you doesn’t mean they’re not taking in what you’ve said.
• • Explain WHY. Don’t just tell them what to do, and how to do it. Tell them why it works. Knowing why makes all the difference for today’s young people.
• • Have fun.
• • Keep at it! Not every attempt to connect with young people will have immediate results.

Empty Hands & Dirty Plates

The dirty plate gets pushed to the edge of the table, begging to be cleared. Staff person after staff person walk past, the plate remains. The ‘invisible’ plate becomes a case study in restaurant efficiency…the tension mounts. Eventually, unable to take it any longer the next staff member who scurries past is intercepted and asked to clear the plate. “OK, I will get someone to come and get it” is the immediate response before she too hurries off empty handed on some important mission.

All this is a near empty Wimpy. Clearly the old wisdom of “it’s not my job” is still king in this domain and they wonder how to improve customer service / experience.

Want a contrast? Visit Oscars in Old Main Road, Hillcrest, KZN. Case closed.

Perspective: A Helpful Framework for Leaders

Erik Erikson, the renown Danish Developmental Psychologist believed that balance in life was dependent upon paying attention to three critical areas of one’s life: Work, Play & Love.

Erikson argued that maintaining a balance in these three areas was essential for the healthy negotiation of the latter stages of one’s life. It is a nice and simple framework through which to examine one’s life. Each of these areas poses its own relevant questions that once articulated need to be answered and I suspect should be subject to constant revision. It is the lack of balance in these essential areas of life that leads to burnout, stress, fragmented relationships and a general dislocation of purpose and fulfillment. The long-term consequences of this can be devastating. I suspect that there are no simple answers or formula to follow, although many may peddle such. Such peddlers promote easy access to the secret of balancing these life domains and I think that suspicion here is not merely warranted but advisable. Doubtless there are reliable guides who can help point the way and finding such guides is the reward of an intentional seeking and openness to learning.

Leaders would do well to shape the questions that they need to be asking in these three life domains: Work, play and love. Perspective is such an important aspect of effective leadership and finding a workable framework which will help achieve and maintain the desire perspective is well worth exploring.

Mind the Gap when it comes to Social Networking Technologies

It has recently incurred to me that the fundamental difference between Boomers and Gen Xers when it comes to social networking technologies is a fundamental difference in interpretation. Boomers see such technologies as bringing them a flood of information that needs to be managed. “Why would you want to know that?”; “What will you do with that information?”; “Who cares?” are the standard responses that reveal such a stance.

However, Gen X sees this ‘information’ as the means to ‘relationship’. The filtering and processing that occurs as a result of this fundamental difference is pronounced. YouTube, FaceBook, Twittering and the like do not provide information, they are the portals to relationship.

Therein lies the difference…and it is significant as it is applied to the why, what and how of these social networking technologies.

Three things to do during the recession

I had a meeting yesterday with Sharon Kersten, career banker, twitcher extraordinaire (see her blog on birding) and business guru. I always enjoy catching up with Sharon as I know that I will leave with new ideas and yesterday I got a gem. She has identified 3 things that companies need to be doing now:

1. plan and implement actions that prepare you for the upturn
2. focus on building corporate muscle – focus on your strengths and “train/workout” to become stronger and fitter
3. make your competitors hurt – the pie may have shrunk but now is a great time to implement strategies that grow your market share, especially as competitors hanker down.

Three straight-forward strategies to implement, start small but aim big…be corporate courageous, make a difference

cheers Dean

iTunes lists our PodCast Service

Last week TomorrowToday re-launched our PodCast service. Historically it was something we did out of our South African office, and we took a few months off to re-look at our strategy along with our UK office.

From now on the PodCast will have a distinctly ‘global’ feel to it as we get TomorrowToday thoughts from the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Of course it’s still a thin slice of the world, but nothing that time wont change as we find ways to include a larger network.

We’ve also got a listing on the iTunes store and you can click here to subscribe to our PodCast with iTunes.

If you want to go directly to the RSS feed, click here.

Drive to break down age barriers

From the BBC News website, 20 April 2009.

Drive to break down age barriers
Young and old people will be brought together in new schemes to be funded by the government in England.

Ministers say the generation gap is widening, with young and old spending less time together. They have pledged £5.5m to support schemes designed to break down barriers and strengthen communities.

Minister for Children Beverley Hughes says the schemes help older people to see that young people are decent and law-abiding, “not yobs and hoodies”.

Councils, working with local groups or charities, will bid for some of the money – which will be divided between 12 schemes. Some organisations already run such schemes, funded by the National Lottery, the government or charities.

… Continue Reading

Follow us on Twitter

For those that Tweat, here are some TomorrowToday Twits : )

TomorrowToday South Africa
TomorrowToday SA (@tomorrowtodayza)
Barrie Bramley (@barriebramley)
Keith Coats (@keithcoats)
Jude Muirehead (@judemuirhead)

TomorrowToday UK
Graeme Codrington (@codrington)
Dean van Leeuwen (@deanvanleeuwen)
Julie Surycz (@juliesurycz)

Click on the links to go to their page and follow them from there.

Forbes says recession will be over next month

The research team at Forbes.com reckon that the signs are good that we will have a sharp V shaped downturn, and that we’re now at the bottom. Read their justification for this bold view at their website, or below.

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ZAPPOS – delivering the WOW factor through service

Tony Hsieh, the 35 year old boss of Zappos.com, an online shoe retailer, has an ambitious goal. He aims to offer world beating customer service, no matter what industry Zappos expands into, be it shoes, hotels or airlines. So far Tony Hsieh is doing incredibly well. As other retailer suffer during the recession, Zappos just rang up a $1 billion sales.

Started in 1999, Zappos places great emphasis on company culture and core values. The company publishes a “Culture Book” annually that is made up of contributions from employees describing what the company culture means to them. The core value is to “deliver ‘wow’ through service.” These are the ten core values that Zappos employees live by:

… Continue Reading

Green shoots of hope

Times are tough, and it’s easy to feel down when thinking about business at the moment. I know that in hard times there are opportunities. I know that it’s not what happens to you, it’s what you do about it (this lesson from my friend, W Mitchell). But there is a recession on, and it makes business tough. Especially for small businesses.

So, it was an expected and delightful tonic last week to attend a networking event near my home in SW London. The group is the Business Network International, which apparently has thousands of members around the world. The members are grouped in small “chapters” of anything up to 40 members. They commit to meet once a week, and to generating leads for each other and to supporting each other in their businesses.

I was skeptical, but I was blown away. The group I attended was vibrant, generating hundreds of thousands of pounds of business for the members annually, and was a total shot in the arm for me last week. There may not yet be green shoots of recovery, but if there are groups like BNI around, there certainly are green shoots of hope! It won’t work for everyone, but I’d highly recommend small and medium sized businesses – or anyone who has small or medium sized business clients – check out the BNI in your local area.

The website for my region in London is http://www.bni-lnw.com – I think you can from there to all other regions around the world.

(And, no, just in case you needed to ask, I am not being paid in anyway to say this . I genuinely was blown away).