33 Ways to develop an Innovative Culture in your org.

Ways to develop a Culture of Innovation

Many organisations strive for a competitive edge, an advantage over their competitors to help ensure their sustainability. Innovation is one such way, but for too long many organisations have concentrated on developing product and ignored the possibilities of innovation as a culture. Having an innovative friendly culture can harness the innovative and creative capacities of the entire workforce (and your customers and suppliers) to your advantage. But it is a difficult and for some a scary step.

Below are some of the activities that you may need to undertake on your journey to increasing the innovative capacity of your organisation

 

1. Great sources of new ideas are new starters to the company. Use them wisely and creatively
2. Always question longstanding beliefs
3. Ask questions about everything. After asking questions, ask different questions. After asking different questions, ask them in a different way
4. Avoid analysis paralysis
5. Change – change teams, project members and responsibilities
6. Communicate – open communication about anything and everything – make it easy to do
7. Communicate, communicate, communicate and communicate again. Ensure that every important message is repeated more than five times
8. Concentrate on the process of being effective at taking an idea from initial thought to application or market.
9. Embrace and celebrate failure. Success comes from volume not just quality
10. Encourage interaction between parts of the organisation that traditionally don’t communicate or usually collaborate together
11. Encourage people to meet informally, one-on-one, and in small groups, not just in functional teams
12. Ensure that everyone knows that reducing costs as a core strategy solves nothing. High costs are usually a sign of deeper or systematic problems
13. Have fun. If you’re not having fun (or at least enjoying the process) something is off
14. Imagine what you can make happen rather than dwelling on what might
15. Involve your customers as partners in the innovation process, while understanding that they are usually limited to wanting incremental innovations
16. Learn to see things differently
17. Learn to tolerate and enjoy ambiguity in data, and methods
18. Make decisions quickly at the lowest level possible
19. Make innovation the responsibility of all employees with appropriate objectives for each and every functional area
20. Make many new mistakes
21. Making innovation process rigid and core will stop spontaneous innovation efforts
22. No fixed rules or formula’s, only guiding principles
23. Notice change and innovation attempts and reward them
24. Provide time for your people to explore ideas and concepts through trust
25. Remove all organisational barriers which are stopping people communicating BHAG – Bold, Hairy Audacious Goals to senior management/ decision makers
26. Remove fear from the culture and management style
27. Reward collective, as well as individual successes, maintaining individual accountabilities, keeping innovation “heroes” visible
28. Seek a wide range of viewpoints. A diversity of views sparks more than conflict, it sparks innovation
29. Seek ways to learn from experience and find new and effective methods of sharing learning with your people
30. Use stories to support the transfer of learning
31. Spark interest – add images, photos and colour to your environment
32. Take a “go-slow now to go-fast later” approach, get many people involved at the beginning
33. Think of “self-organising” innovation, rather than “command and control” innovation
34. Think in the long term. Short term-ism has been proven not to work!

Using powerful organisational tools like the Creatrix can help to identify where the strengths of innovation lie in your organisation and provide a benchmarking took for measuring progress as you move towards being increasingly innovative – for innovation is a journey not a destination.

Byrd & Brown in their book provide a useful tool “the innovation Equation” where:

Innovation=creativity * risk-taking

In providing this equation the authors provide us – the change agents with a powerful methodology

**Article based upon an origional piece  by Mitch Ditkoff and Val Vadeboncoeurby

10 tips for engaging people

Managers engage, so do we as ‘community’ champions

Having a community or network (intranet or social network) is one thing, growing it and building trust is quite another.  Engagement of users, be they employees or customers is vital for the strategy to be sustainable and successful. Remember the 90:9:1 rule, our goal must be to beat this.

As organizations become more geographically diverse, having the ability to share knowledge, communicate and network is a competitive advantage. Using networks, forums and channels effectively as communication strategies can support both internal and external people. Interestingly the same principles apply, however we seem to focus better on customers than we do employees in this matter.

Below are some ideas and tips that I like to follow, to ensure that I have a healthy and growing community. These can be used for networks for customers and employees.

1. Listen – you have to listen to your users and potential users. Don’t ignore the important things your members have to say to you
2. Respond – Ignore users of your service at you peril, especially when they care enough to take the time and energy to tell you what they think
3. Follow up – When an employee asks you a question or leaves a fantastic comment, don’t just leave them hanging. Tell them that you’ll get back to them shortly – and then do. If your members get no response from you or the rest of the community, then why would they come back?
4. Update content – There is nothing worse that your content looking months old and out of date, it makes the community feel abandoned
5. Nurture your champions, advocates and top contributors – An important factor in creating an engaged community is to ensure that you nurture and reward the top contributors on your site or space.
6. Demonstrate action – You should be regularly reporting back to the community with updates on what’s happening, which of their suggestions have been acted on, which ideas are the most popular etc.
7. Be personable – The managers and communicators of any community should be a person first, not a corporate front.
8. Re-engage – It’s very common for members to become busy, forget to visit your community, and become disengaged. Send out a regular newsletter or other appropriate communication (Twitter/ yammer?), you can let people know what’s happening and is a great way to gently remind people that you’re still there
9. Engage other social networking sites & channels – Depending on your member base, it’s likely that they regularly visit sites such as these, and shouldn’t be ignored or expected that people will always remember to come to you
10. Be open and authentic – people understand when they’ve made an unreasonable request, and by openly explaining why you are unable to act on some ideas builds respect and loyalty among your user base.
11. Remember – you are all one community, help people to ‘own’ the platform. If they feel the platform is ‘theirs’ they will commit more time and energy

Ok so I started out by saying there would be 10.. you have an 11th – justa little added value…

Eight ways to learn from your mistakes

In the book “Ending the Blame Culture” Michael Pearn, Chris Mulrooney and Tom Payne, the authors say there are eight ways to learn
from mistakes.

These are:

1. Explore what happened don’t judge it
2. Remain calm instead of getting emotional
3. Find out what actually happened instead of reacting to what you think happened
4. Focus on faulty processes not faulty people
5. Provide support instead of finding fault
6. Concentrate on causes instead of effects
7. Assume an attitude of learning instead of guilt
8. See the mistake as part of a wider learning process, not something to be avoided.

Freelancing in training, coaching & consultancy: How to stand out from the crowd

Freelancing in training, coaching & consultancy

Over the summer time (and early in the new year) we often reflect on our position and of our career options. Some of us start looking for new roles, others for different challenges like going freelance. In the current economic climate of course some of us may not have a choice.

In this article I collate my experiences and those of other freelance providers. The list is presented in a (near) logical order, however the order presented is indicative and not a prescription. Not all elements will be necessary for your business or business model so use this as an ideas base and not a prescription.

There are several business models available to you, you should choose the model which best suits your skills. For example if sales is not your thing then direct contact with a client, persuading them that you are the right provider, writing proposals etc may not be your thing, so consider the temporary or associate market, where others do the selling and you do the delivery. However be aware that the money is made in the selling and account management phases, so do not expect high day rates (although you may be lucky).

Do:

1. Decide on a trading name: This is important and needs to reflect your proposition and values – doing something too ‘samey’ or quirky will go against you unless you are in a particular niche (make sure the web site is available)

2. Decide on a specialism – subject or sector: The more you specialise the easier the sell. People buy solutions not opportunities.

3. Hire a (good) accountant: getting the books right from the off is vital, they can also save you more than they cost.

4. Get a logo or brand developed: this is essential if you are going to have a web presence. – Don’t do this yourself

5. Decide a day rate and stick to it: develop your business model and ensure that your business is sustainable. At £100 per day you will be earning less than national minimum wage by the time tax etc is taken away.

6. Develop terms and conditions and stick to them: always charge for cancelled dates. It is critical to have a business policy, something that is clear and understood by your customers and potential customers.

7. Get a website: increasingly people are buying trainers from the web, make sure yours gets seen.

8. Set up a blog for content: this should be part of your web strategy as it helps purchasers know you exist and, more importantly, what your believe and your approach.

9. Decide your business model: the percentage of associate work, direct etc

10. Get business cards & other key stationary – quality counts – don’t do cheap!.

11. Network with people you know: let them know what you are doing and that you are available.

12. Ask your network who they know who would benefit from your offer: referrals will mean the difference between long-term success and failure.

13. Use forums and other community sites to raise your profile: TrainingZone.co.uk, TrainerBase etc, but don’t spam them. Identify and comment only on topics in your specialist area to build your reputation.

14. Develop standard documents: proposal, invoice etc, this saves time.

15. Start a contact database and write quarterly/ monthly newsletters that add value, not just to advertise (again a form of spam if you are not careful).

16. Develop yourself: go on courses, visit exhibitions, attend conferences, read books, and then write each one up in your blog.

17. Get all travel and accommodation booked and paid for in advanced: It’s cheaper for the client and saves you hassle.

18. If you are a member of a professional institution, attend local events irrespective of the topic or relevance. It’s about networking and relationship building.

19. Involve other people: your spouse / partner, accountant etc. You have many strengths – and weaknesses – it’s a team effort not a solo act. Identify what it takes to provide a rounded offer.

20. Understand what it is that you offer and others cannot or do not: how can you articulate this?

21. Learn to say no to clients: if you are not the best person or you are uncomfortable ethically, don’t do it.

22. If you are not already qualified get some recognition of what you can do: TrainerBase’s CLP, TAP, the IITT’s TPMA – the best ones require you to be re-assessed every couple of years – purchasers like badges and so external recognition is important.

23. Always explore the ‘value added’ what can you bring to the party: Web 2.0 solutions, workbooks, experience, certificates, etc.

24. Build a Twitter profile for developing and growing relationships (as well as marketing)

25. Have a cancellation clause in your contract – a day in the diary cannot be charged for again if cancelled at short notice

26. Consider asking for a percentage of the fee up front.

27. Free work today does not equal a contract tomorrow….

28. Don’t accept all work – only accept work that you can do – be a specialist, avoid being a generalist – there are 1000′s of them.

29. Outsource – be prepared to pay or barter – avoid doing it all yourself.

Don’t

1. Get involved in a joint venture unless all parties put in the same time and exposure.

2. Put all your eggs in one basket: set a limit of a maximum of 25% of turnover from one client.

3. Discount unless it is conditional on volume (delivered not promised).

4. Wait for an associate to be paid: you should accept and expect payment 30 days from invoice or less.

5. Spend hours a day on social networking sites and forums. Be strategic in your use.

6. Try to deliver every course under the sun: you must specialise.

Finally: Remember – this is not personal – it’s business, but people buy people. The market is challenging and those best prepared and connected will be the ones that will survive. Good luck if this is the journey for you.

Based upon an article first published in TrainingZone.

Mike Morrison is director of RapidBI Ltd, a consulting and training company specialising in organisational development and the development of high performing teams and individuals. Mike was a business adviser for six years and has run his own consultancy company. For more information go to www.RapidBI.com

50 Tips for Using Twitter in Business

50 Tips for Using Twitter as a Marketing Tool

Twitter is the communication tool of the moment. In 2008 if you had asked anyone about Twitter they would have thought that you were a bit of a geek – now many people are using it for social, learning and business purposes.

Twitter is a powerful way to hear about the ‘hear and now’ thoughts on a key topic – not just from people you know or follow you – but from anyone interested in the topic – all in 140 character bite sizes pieces.

Twitter can be a powerful part of your marketing strategy, and while it may take some time investment initially, the rewards can be significant.

Twitter for business

When using Twitter for business purposes always have two accounts – one for personal use and one for business use. It is important to keep the business one ‘human’ rather than just ‘push’ sales messages and links.

For Twitter to ‘work’ for you, below are some ‘rules’ or netiquette to follow, the key is to develop a style of your own. Please don’t expect quick results, building trust and relationships takes tenacity and time. Using Twitter must be seen as a medium to long term strategy.

50 top tips for using twitter as a marketing vehicle:

1) Add value – share interesting or useful info, blogs (others as well as your own) etc
2) Always respond to peoples @messages
3) Avoid political, religious and other subjects which people will find offencive
4) Big followers – does not mean many listeners – the RTs (Re-Tweets) tell that story
5) Change your BIO regularly
6) Don’t expect Twitter to deliver revenue alone, it is only ONE element of the strategy
7) Even an attentive follower won’t read all your messages, so send key messages again a few days apart
8) Follow people who are in your field or area of interest
9) Follow the advice of people that have demonstrated competence – not think they know how to…
10) Follow-Friday (#ff) send a message saying why people should follow them
11) Getting followers is not a right its a privilege
12) Give – don’t take
13) Have an avatar (picture) of your face or company logo
14) Help promote the dreams of other people, and they may return the favour
15) If someone RT re-Tweets a message – send them a thank you
16) If you are going to auto Direct Message (DM) only send a welcome message
17) If you post info of any kind, leave plenty of room for re-tweeting (i.e. your message should be less that 120 characters)
18) In marketing messages use appropriate keywords
19) Its not the number of followers but the number of Re-Tweets you get
20) Limit what you automate
21) Make sure your BIO is up to date and human
22) NEVER DM a request to follow you on another social networking site ie FaceBook
23) NEVER DM or tweet a MLM (Multi Level Marketing or affiliate) program
24) NEVER DM or tweet a traffic follower program
25) NEVER sign up to any of the Twitter ad services-it undermines your position
26) NEVER tweet when drunk, under the influence OR angry
27) Occasionally ask people to RT a post, if you ask every time they wont
28) Only directly promote your services less than once every 10-20 tweets
29) ONLY use a DM for personal messages or if you must to welcome a follower
30) Open up a bit.ly account for short URLs
31) Please report (@spam) unfollow & Block Twitter Spammers
32) Rerunning tweets occasionally is a good idea
33) Set your wallpaper (background) to promote your message – you can have this branded like your web site
34) Share thoughts and links from others (RT)
35) Thank people who re-tweet you. Either DM, @ reply, or re-tweet something of theirs
36) Treat followers with respect & courtesy & every now & then thank them
37) Tweet real stuff – highs and lows
38) Tweet regularly – at least 4 times a day
39) Tweet to show you are human
40) Tweet to show you are more than a marketing machine
41) Twitter is not an IM service-keep private discussions short
42) Use a # in front of #keywords – it helps people track useful information
43) Use favourites to save and show brand/product testimonials
44) Use travel time to tweet and read tweets on smart-phones
45) Use twitpic or other photo services occasionally
46) Use Twitter to meet up with your new contacts (Tweet-ups)
47) Want more followers? Re-tweet the good stuff you find
48) When you have over 100 friends use Tweetdeck or Seesmic to help you to manage
49) Work on building a relationship-not pushing message to people
50) You don’t have to follow everyone, only those of interest

Above all have fun and share the learning

Remember Twitter is about engaging with people – if they ask – answer…

 51) Ask questions too – you will be amazed at the response you can get – great market research – just don’t do it too often

52) NEVER promote a blog or product in a DM – keep this for a welcome (if you have to) or personal communications only

Twitter tips, great tips, power tips, business tips, ideas, thoughts, learning tool, change tool,
communications tool, communications strategy, 100, 25, 10

Behaviours of the best coaches

They can:

Listen fully and with real interest and concern for the learner
Communicate a genuine empathy and understanding
Adjust to another environment, terminology and work habits
Set challenging yet realistically high expectations
Diagnose accurately ?what is going on’ and see ways forward
Develop a shared interest in the learner and their issues
Experiment and explore, suspending judgements
Find patterns in information and processes

From: Paul Pohlman

Seven ways to manage a consultant

Check the consultant’s credentials
Clearly specify your needs
Ensure a positive organisational fit
Clarify evaluation arrangements and outcomes
Monitor closely – especially new consultants
Give clear feedback to the consultant throughout
Be prepared to ask awkward questions

Source: Phil Lewis

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The STRETCH model of coaching

S et the context
T ransfer issues to the learner – ensure ownership
R evisit what outstanding performance looks like
E stablish what’s in it for the learner
T ake time to agree what specifically must change
C atch them doing something right – praise and reward
H ave time set aside to celebrate success

Source: John Burdett

Seven levels of interest in your own development

I have development needs, but I’m not interested in working on them.
I have development needs, but I don’t know what they are.
I have development needs, I know what they are, but refuse to do anything about them.
I have development needs, I know what they are, but I need a push to do anything
about them.
I know about my development needs, I’m motivated to do something, but I don’t know
how to go about it.
I know about my development needs, I’m motivated to do something, and I’m doing so.
I have no development needs.

Source: Leslie Rae

Seven principles when helping people to learn

People know more then they think they know
Everyone has resources for improving performance
Useful questions are worth more than commands
Each person is responsible for their own contribution to the organisation
Every set back provides a learning opportunity
Experiments precede learning
Challenging but achievable goals bring out the best in people

Source: King and Eaton

Seven important coaching skills

Attending
Giving and receiving feedback
Drawing out
Silence
Suspending judgement
Recognising and expressing feelings
Paraphrasing

Source: David Megginson

Seven coaching competencies

Framing questions that make learners think deeply
Being a resource – removing barriers to learning
Holding back, not providing all the answers
Creating and promoting a learning environment
Using analogies, scenarios and examples
Engaging others to support the learning application
Providing feedback constructively

Source: Ellinger and Bostrum
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Six musts for a coach

Trust
Mutual respect
A sense of common purpose
Integrity
Openness
Honesty

Source: John Burdett

Six questions on self directed learning

1. Do people really want to be self directing?
2. Is everyone capable of being a self directed learner?
3. Is self directed learning the best option always?
4. Does top management, with its emphasis on personal accountability for results,really buy into it?
5. Are trainers capable of learning to be facilitators of self directed learners?
6. Are learning contracts an essential ingredient of self directed learning?

Source: Brian Knowles

Six barriers to learning

Perceptual
Cultural
Emotional-motivational
Intellectual
Expressive
Environmental

Source: Temporal and Boydell

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