Writing

You need change. Don’t settle for less.

Posted on by simongterry in Uncategorized

Changing structure is just rearranging deck chairs. You don’t need a new system. You don’t need a new process. More rules won’t fix what your current rules can’t fix. You don’t need more expertise because most of the potential you have goes wasted now. More data will mean more confusion not less. You won’t become more effective by being more efficient.

There are no transactional fixes. If you could flick a switch to create transformational change, everyone would.

There is no proxy for the hard work of change.

To create transformational change in the system that is your organisation you are going to need new conversations and new capabilities. At the start these conversations and capabilities will be uncommon and uncomfortable. You will need change agents to start the conversations, sustain debate and action and help others build the capabilities.

Your unique path to change will emerge guided at first by the few and eventually by the many. Find your change agents. Invest in their development and back their action.

When you need change, back the people who bring it about. Anything else is just a distraction.

PS: if you still think you need new structures, processes, systems, rules, expertise and data to change you will need change agents to be able to make use of them in your organisation

Create a space – #RebelJam15 reflection

Posted on by simongterry in Uncategorized

Moderating the Asia Pacific part of RebelJam15 yesterday was a joy. The event, a 24 hour series of talks was a global celebration of those rebels making work better, changing their organisations and grappling with how to create a more human future of work.

Part of the magic of Rebel Jam was that the event was a space for a conversation. Speakers volunteered themselves. They chose to step into the space and share something of themselves to advise or educate others. The contributions were diverse and remarkable.

The future of work needs more conversations not less. A key role for any rebel or leader is to create the space for new conversations. The more wicked the problem the more important the conversation. Equally important is that it be a real human conversation with passion, emotion, conflict and a sense of shared goals and trust.

We cannot always predict what will come from these conversations. Many won’t work. However every space we create that allows others to show us their potential is a step forward. Every interaction that creates learning and new ideas is a step forward. Every bond that grows from understanding and dialogue is a step forward.

There will be steps back too. As one of the great slides yesterday noted: ‘An optimist is someone who recognises that a step forward followed by a step back is a Cha Cha’. We can carry our hope and our energy into more conversations in the space we create together.

Create the space for new conversations.

#wolweek Day 7 – the power of naming

Posted on by simongterry in Working out loud

We don’t see things as they are. We see them through our intentions. The power of #wolweek is naming our intent and sharing it with others.

Many people work out loud naturally or have done so since social tools became available. They rightly query why we need #wolweek.

The simple answer is it is not for them, except as a celebration of their exemplary efforts. Wolweek is about change in the way people work. If you already work out loud then you also know the majority don’t share your approach.

In Meg Wheatley’s Two Loops model of change and most similar theories of change a key part of the process is naming the change. Why is a name required? We don’t see the world. We see the world through our own intentions. A new name helps engage our curiosity and to open our filters to look at behaviour again in new ways.

If it has never occurred to you or your organisation that almost all work is a collaboration and that all people learn from sharing, then working out loud is a shock to your system and a reason to look again with new intent. The vehemence of the response that all working out loud does is create noise tells me that this shock is working.

If you want people to act differently, you need to help people to look at things differently. Working out loud week is a collective shout to help that to happen.

Building Personal Agency – #Wolweek Day 5

Posted on by simongterry in Working out loud

Change agent just do change. They convey a their personal agency. They intuitively understand they can make a difference with their work. We can spread this sense through working out loud.

Yesterday I spoke about the enthusiasm fostered by working out loud. A key part of that enthusiasm is earning a return on our personal agency. When we share our work we help discover its significance. We also help discover our power. Sharing our work enables others to suggest ways we can do more and ways we can do the things we dream of achieving.

The difference between a change agent and a regular employee is someone once showed them how to make a difference. Working out loud enables that moment. I’ve seen it in #wolcircles. I’ve seen it in working out loud in social and face to face. When people realise they have the power to act and a network to support them the potential of personal agency is enormous.

A reflective mindset helps people create opportunities to exercise their personal agency. Working out loud helps people see not only their work but the process of their work. The community can support them in this reflection with questions, new insights and suggestions.

I’m a firm believer that every employee can improve their work. I’ve seen people transform their personal impact when they take up the challenge to act and are supported to do so. Working out loud week will have given many a taste of this and the energy that comes with it. One thousand #wolcircles will spread that energy and action widely.

Help us carry the energy, enthusiasm and agency of Wolweek forward. Start a wolcircle today. Continue to work out loud. Share working out loud with others.

#Wolweek Day 4 – The Human Spirit of Sharing

Posted on by simongterry in Working out loud

Working out loud can be a practice of social media. More importantly sharing work in progress for learning and help is an every day human practice. The value of working out loud is to take that every day practice and make it deliberate, more accessible and more often repeated.

The medium is less important than the creation of human connection when two people share a work challenge.  Share their collective insights, knowledge and expertise is what creates the value from working out loud. This human connection will involve concepts like generosity, understanding, learning and trust. These human concepts can happen in many ways that do not involve technology.

As a number of advocates participated in The Enterprise Digital Summit’s Hangout on Air about Working Out Loud today, what struck me was the energy and enthusiasm of the group.  All those advocating for working out loud shared their surprise and the energy that they had gained from encouraging others to work out loud. We didn’t need anyone to talk about their enthusiasm. It was conveyed with smiles, the energy in their stories and a strong desire to share and contribute.

That generosity of spirit and enthusiasm extends to the working out loud on the development of the practices of working out loud. A cursory examination of the available material on working out loud highlights that this is a practice that is being defined and refined out loud. Generous people are devoting their thoughts, energies and collaborations to improving working out loud and to make it more accessible for individuals and organisations. Many people are doing this simply because the purpose matters to them and they can make a difference to others.

That’s a uniquely human spirit 

#Wolweek day 3 – Embedding habits

Posted on by simongterry in Working out loud

Only 8% of people keep new year’s resolutions. 25% don’t even survive a week. New habits are hard to create. Why? Life gets in the way.

Nearing the midpoint of International Working Out Loud week we can reflect on this challenge. Many people have had great success & new energy. Some people are disappointed that more of their colleagues & networks are not working out loud. Others are disappointed that they haven’t worked out loud more, better or differently.

Life is getting in the way. It always does.

The value of International Working Out Loud Week is not perfect practice. The value of #wolweek is real practice in a community of other practitioners. We learn together. We support each other together. There have already been many amazing interactions triggered by this new working out loud. Everyone is a real moment of generosity.

The goal of 1000 #wolcircles recognises the potential of a 12 week peer support process to help us to learn and to support us in our practice. Life gets in the way but having other people around helps keep you practising. If you or your organisation want to accelerate the habit consider #wolcircles.

#Wolweek is never perfect. Perfection is for things that are complete and can’t be improved. Working out loud helps us to get better. We can all keep doing that a little more and a little more together.

Building Real Relationships – Working out loud and Sales #wolweek

Posted on by simongterry in Working out loud

Working out loud has a great potential to help with sales. However the help is not in the way most people expect. Sales people don’t need more marketing to low probability prospects. The value of working out loud for sales is the ability to participate generously in client’s work and to know when best to engage them. Working out loud is a way to build real relationships with clients that help them do their work better.

Forget the Spruiking

Many people initially see working out loud as a way to market their work. This marketing mindset leads them to share work as a way of bragging, highlighting their offers and generally pushing messages at clients and prospects.

The key problem with all marketing is that we don’t know when clients are ready to buy. This is why so much marketing has low single digit conversion rates. The vast majority of it is wasted because it arrives at the wrong time for the potential purchasers. Adding sales people to this push message strategy does not improve performance and can be a huge waste.

One of the key ways to improve sales effectiveness is better targeting of sales time to higher value prospects. Too much sales time is already wasted where there is no chance of a deal. A sales person can’t devote their time to low single digit prospects of success.

Work out loud to help Clients, not your Business

The majority of my business opportunities come from referrals or clients discovering my work when they need it. As a result my sales time is better spent where it can be most effective.

Genuine working out loud builds relationships of trust in networks. Deep and wide relationships of trust help sales people to be more effective. Sales is not a solo activity. The best sales people collaborate with their organisation, partners and client prospects continuously. Every sales person wants to expand and deepen their network and giving to others to help their work through working out loud is a key way to build the reach of that trust.

Working out loud with referral partners & client influencers is a key first step. These partners will understand clients and may have related goals. Helping these partners to do their work better through working out loud can enhance your understanding of client opportunities and your ability to convert them. Sharing your work in this exchange will help referral partners to better understand your abilities. Before you ask for a favour it always helps to do one.

Any sales person loves to know what their clients are doing. Helping your clients by finding ways to work out loud directly with them on their goals is a great opportunity. You will not be marketing your product and service. You will be a trusted partner sharing ways that they can achieve their personal and work goals. Creating a working out loud circle with clients or prospects is an opportunity to deepen relationships, understand the other and put some value into that relationship.

Highly effective sales people identify a customer’s problem and solving it in ways that create new value and support an ongoing relationship. They start by understanding others and making contributions, not marketing. That sounds like working out loud to me.

How do we influence more widely and more effectively? #wolweek Day 2

Posted on by simongterry in Working out loud

Day 2 of International Working Out Loud week is drawing to a close for me, though there is great energy in the western hemisphere to go. Today for me was a day of reflecting on new reach of #wolweek and on the spread of influence.  

Today leaves me pondering: How can we influence more widely and more effectively?

Little Things Grow

Wolweek is growing before our eyes like Bamboo. New faces and new voices join in the public conversation. We cannot see the private working out loud inside organisations and closed networks.  From all accounts there is activity aplenty there too. You only need to see the growing list of people signing up to lead circles.

Sharing with vulnerability and generosity builds trust.  There is no greater force multiplier than growing trust. At the moment #wolweek is on the trust upswing. Will it continue? Will it last?

Reaching More Widely

The big surprises for me today were conversations offline that took a discussion about working out loud into new audiences, new domains and new organisations. The reception was as enthusiastic as that in public social media. I have seen examples of others at work in the same advocacy. We should compare notes. We need more offline advocacy to continue to grow the community, to diversify ideas and learn together of the potential of working out loud.

We must remember that working out loud just has to be sharing. It doesn’t have to involve the whole wide world loud. There are many who can benefit without feeling comfortable enough to go that far. Circles are a great way to start small and start now.

Challenging Work Itself

Ayelet Baron raised a great question tonight that our lack of clarity on what ‘work’ is might just be getting in the way. WOL can become broadcast easily if we are still in our email-driven input/output manufacturing model of work.

How do we help people to consider what really constitutes the work that creates value? How do we better surface and strengthen purpose? How do we focus on helping people to work the obstacles in the system and work in between?

I know that WOL will be part of the answer.

Ongoing Questions

How can we take the conversation to the places where people are at work and would benefit from the practices of more open and more generous approach to their work?

How can we better reinforce the messages that influence others to trial working out loud?

I will keep reflecting on this and I would value your thoughts.

How do we make #wolweek more valuable? – Day 1

Posted on by simongterry in Working out loud

Our third International Working Out Loud week from 15-21 June 2015 is raising some familiar questions. This post is to share the current work to address these questions and invite some help in making sure that we are helping everyone get the most value out of #wolweek and the practice of working out loud. I would love your input because I think there is more we can do.

Here are the five commonest questions and the current attempts at answers:

  • How do I work out loud or get involved with #wolweek?  
    • To understand working out loud read John Stepper’s Five Elements of Working Out Loud.  Then buy his new book.  
    • If you want to understand the history, there is a family tree of #wol which is built from Dennis Pearce’s PHD dissertation that supplies all the details. Because the working out loud movement is focused on sharing and aren’t big on doctrinal disputes, nobody is claiming ownership and we embrace all related movements, especially #showyourwork. 
    • You may already be sharing your work which is great. Just make sure it is work in progress and your intent is a generous community oriented one – helping others to learn and to help you. Self-promotion might be valuable but it is not working out loud (& is much more likely to be treated as unhelpful noise)
    • To get involved, share some work in progress any way you want with others for them to learn or to help.
    • You don’t need to use technology, a hashtag or even be that public. Share with at least one other person and you are involved.
  • Why is there a week? Shouldn’t people do this every day?
    • The week is to promote the sense of community that comes from working out loud.  
    • People can experience that community in a week and can learn more about working out loud.  Hopefully people try it ongoing. 
    • The week is only a beginning and not a limit to the practice. We would love people to practice every day (we have suggestions on how to start daily practice too!)
  • Who is behind #wolweek? And who is making money from this?  
    • International Working Out Loud Week is not officially aligned with any organisation and is the barest network collaboration itself. 
    • International Working Out Loud Week is a collaboration of Austen Hunter, Jonathan Anthony and I. We loosely coordinate our activities by working out loud. We started with a conversation in a public forum and we still haven’t had a meeting or used email. We are each authorised to act to advance the organisation. We chat occasionally. That’s all the organisation we need.  
    • So far the only money involved over 3 International Working Out Loud weeks is the sub $80 budget spent on supporting the wolweek site. Nobody gets a salary as we are all volunteers just like our passionate community. There is no income because no money changes hands. No profits were harmed in the making of #wolweek.
    • If other people can benefit from wolweek because they have a product or services to sell, that’s fantastic because it all reinforces working out loud.
  • What is a #wolcircle? Why do we need 1000?

To make #wolweek valuable in its goals in promoting working out loud, we need to address these and other issues well.  We also need to ensure that we are giving people confidence to act on their new practice and advocate for the movement. The best International Working Out Loud week is one where the movement develops ways to engage others and create ever greater value from learning & collaboration.

What else can we do or say? How can we create greater value from this and any future #wolweek? Work out loud with us in the comments or on a social media network.

The Gig Economy

Posted on by simongterry in Uncategorized

Being on the board of Melbourne Chamber Orchestra gives me a few insights into the life & careers of classical musicians.  There are some interesting parallels and hints for the potential future of work.

Responding to Disruption

By no stretch of the imagination is classical music a growth industry. Largely a creation of the late 19th century, public orchestras face a challenging & disruptive environment. The economics of this art form and cultural practice are dependant on ticket sales, the work of philanthropists and shifting government support. The predictable upfront income of subscriptions are harder to sell in an immediate world. Ticket sales can be a challenge when there are many competing sources of cultural and popular entertainment. Sources of revenue from music recordings have declined with digital media, if not vanished.  Classical music that was once sold at a premium is now a budget category.

Melbourne Chamber Orchestra is itself a response to these conditions. The orchestra is not a full-time orchestra like many of the state and international orchestras. The organisation depends on its agility, its creativity, its exceptional talent, the support of its community and its ability to attract support to artistic projects. Every season is a delicate balance of private philanthropy, ticket sales, subscriptions and some government support for projects. Essential to the ability of the organisation to fulfil its purpose are innovations, like the Australian Octet, and collaborations, whether with local arts organisations in MCO’s extensive Regional touring program or in performances with other arts organisations.

A Work Life of Gigs

For the musicians in MCO this means that their working life has a range of facets that may be more common for everyone in the future of work:

  • Work for Purpose: You don’t choose an artist career for its financial returns. You become an artist to fulfil a personal purpose and to share your art with others. There is little reason to stay around for the money if you are disengaged and certainly no reason for that to be your only artistic endeavour.
  • Gigs: When jobs are few and far between and highly competitive, then work becomes a series of gigs. The diversity of gigs is something that appeals to even those who have a steady job because it offers the chance to play new or different works or develop new skills with new teams of people.
  • Specialists and Generalists: Musicians need a specialisation in an instrument and often a style of music because there is usually a focus to their practice and their purpose. However many will have a general range of other instruments and styles to support themselves and adapt.  A few will compose or conduct to add to their opportunities. Musicians may well back up their music with even more general talents from media to administration to an unrelated day job that helps support a life.
  • Constantly learning:  Musicians are constantly learning. They practice to improve. They work to improve. They want to challenge themselves to better their art. The demanding and competitive nature of the industry means that you must keep learning.
  • Global: Australia is a small market. Creative talent operates in a global economy. To learn, many artists travel overseas to work or to study. With global connection, they can collaborate and learn from people all around the world. Artist can build international reputations through collaborations, teaching, performing or winning competitions.
  • Entrepreneurs: Many musicians need to be entrepreneurs to survive. They have to run their own small chamber groups, orchestras, programs, festivals or events to get the diversity of performance opportunities that they want and to expand their opportunities.
  • Agile organisations: Because of the dynamic opportunities available to talent in a global economy, the organisations need to be agile shifting and reshaping as things change.  If your best artists leave or are unavailable due to other gigs, you may need to hire new talent but you might even need a new repertoire or organisations. These agile organisations can be project based or short lived.
  • Teaching: When everyone is always learning, many people earn a living from sharing their expertise and teaching.

Community Matters

One of the key reasons that Melbourne Chamber Orchestra exists is to enable chamber musicians to practice their art in Melbourne and to help create a rich and deep community dedicated to fine music in this city. Melbourne has great music schools, halls and many performance opportunities. Young and experienced musicians need a diversity of opportunities to practice their art. I am very proud MCO can support artists at the beginning of their career but also allow experienced artists to return home from overseas or interstate and make a career in Melbourne.  

With the support of the Melbourne community, MCO can provide artistic and commercial support to talented musicians to learn, connect and work in the city and help take great music to new and existing audiences in Victoria and beyond.  At the end of the day, the quality of the music and the growing talents of the artists are the surest measure of success for any chamber orchestra.

MCO is currently conducting its 2015 Annual Campaign. Help support the work of the organisation.