Blogging About

I’m having a great time right now, putting together the final chapter on my book, and the workshop that goes with it, which looks at communication strategies and tools for innovation amplification in an organisation. What I call Speed Duck Herding.

It has a little bit of everything. Basically, I walk readers through a four-step system for improving their internal communications generally but specifically for ideation and new knowledge. The same ideas work for any communication goal if I’m honest, but as it is supposedly about creating and promoting innovation I thought we best focus on that.

1. Research. This is the essential but sometimes tedious part of finding out what people probably already know or suspect and would normally pay a huge consultant's fee just to have a sanity check. What you get back is ' nobody in the warehouse has a clue what the sale departments are doing'. ( Sales don't know what they are doing anyway so no surprises there) That sort of stuff: we do introduce the concept of simplifying it using a Map of Engagement™ and lines in the sand.

2. Planning. The even more tedious part which lays out what we are going to do although it is basically is the same for each programme, just the copy and paste and change the name of the project. It is that generic. I can actually write it in a paragraph but most people seem to think that they need 50 pages of analysis and justification for any document to be worth anything. They don't feel as if they are getting their money's worth unless there are at least five appendixes. Common sense is as common as a politician’s apology.

3. Implementation. Now this is the fun part, where we talk about the development of the stories and beautiful questions, the ways to get them out there into the social software and all the social media, intranets and all the fun stuff that really floats my boat.

4. How are we doing then? The necessary stuff about measurement- to look at gaps, impact and essentially gives the bullets for the gun that gets the budget from the board for the next phase.

I’ve passed this new the chapter on to a few colleagues for their input. I had thought that the implementation and soclal media part would be of most interest, but I'm surprised at how hungry people are for information on the 1, 2 and 4 processes.

And, as usual with my writings, I'm learning as much as I am teaching. For example, one of my network was telling me about what is happening in their company were they have a policy where any employee can blog . . linked to their intranet, (clever people) .and about 30 % of them are bloggophiles which is a pretty remarkable take up. They use them to share information, swap ideas, get the word out about something, anything. From baby news, holiday and car sharing to asking and looking for specific solutions. All sorts of reasons.

But their bosses are using it in a different way I hadn’t heard of before. They are a multi site operation; have 200+ retail outlets and are using a variation of the 'management by walking about principle'- a really effective tool started in the 80’s and used with great effect by managers with imagination. Definitely so in this case, as rather than burning petrol, they are popping on with the odd comment, to employee's blog sites. They read the comments, and see what people are saying and add to the discussion. Just a brilliant use of social networking to get a real dialogue going throughout an organisation that bypasses the upward and sideways filters that so often get in the way of the real story.

The process has been gaining momentum on the back of just one story of it working in practice. One casual employee, a student who just worked a few hours a week, posted on their shop blog site a low level complaint that the stock was not being labeled clearly enough and the codes were all over the place. Wouldn’t it be easier to put a photograph of the content on the outside?

Operations director talked to their suppliers about labeling, and just asked the question, was it actually doable? And it was so. Now it is being phased in across their suppliers as part of prequalification. This saves them hours of frustration, clipboards, climbing up and down ladders to read code at 10 pt size from ten feet. It makes the retail managers jobs a whole lot easier more fun and requires less training. Its is so easy to misread a 12 figure code number so they are adding images to their ERP system and stock control and ordering system. You do it for your client on your web site, why not for your own colleagues? Of course the IT department had a kitten fit about bandwidth- No Surprises there then) Derrrr. . God knows how much money time and effort it saves them but importantly it shows how sometimes the obvious can be overlooked. The scary part is that this idea that would have been missed. The Saturday girl comes up with the beautiful answer.

Now I remember one CEO who used to complain to me that 'his door was always open' but no-one ever came through it and I was trying to explain, tactfully, that the door works the other way too. He has legs. His staff, no matter how affable he thinks he is are just plain scared. That is how it works. The beauty of blogging about is that with just a few minutes every day any manager get a feel for the mood, problems and general well being of her of his ecosystem. Identify problems and eliminate some of those worst practices that have a disproportionate effect on company morale. You can’t be everywhere but the benefit of employee blogging gives the opportunity to at least have the opportunity to absorb and understand in a way that zillions of reports and PowerPoint files and spreadsheets just cannot do. And most importantly to provide a continuous feedback and constant noise rather than an annual engagement survey which is basically a historic document as soon as you receive it. But you have to start somewhere.

Of course, it will only work if employees are allowed to blog in the first place . . . so it probably won’t catch on anytime soon.

But I’m going to have to add another bloody chapter now, just in case it does.

King Coal

Even though China is bringing on line two coal powered power stations a week it currently has only a couple of weeks coal left stock piled after a terrible winter according to New Scientist. And air con requirements in the southern provinces are actually outstripping industrial demand so the summer isn't going to help much..

Now this is a really interesting and relevant story for me being based in the centre of the old Yorkshire coal mining area that was ripped out in the late 80’s, - I can see the old NUM HQ and Arthur's Seat from my window. It shows, amongst a great deal of other things, that one man's gold is another man's poison. And now - and I'm not sure if it is ironic or paradoxical or probably both, we, in my little town, are sat on a bleedin' fortune. Like steel, the price of coal is set to go through the roof and what used to be a marginal business looks like it may rise again. Chinese economic growth is actually limited by how much coal they have and how fast they can get out of the ground.

Another interesting fact the article points out is that despite its reliance on fossil fuels for generation it still has a lower emissions per head figure than the US.

Maybe the Olympic torch will be the only light shining at some times in Bejjiing this summer. If you are going, take your own candles. In the mean time anyone got a shovel?

He who asks the best questions gets the customer

Questions are the basis of all sales

Questions are the basis of all knowledge

Questions are the basis of all creativity

Questions are the basis of all discovery

Questions are the basis of all learning

Questions are the basis of all listening

Questions are the basis of all understanding

and just to repeat

Questions are the basis of all sales

For my top 20 sales questions of all time e-mail me at barry@thesavvypartnership.co.uk and I will send you them for free.

Questions about questions

Types of Questions and Why They Work


Asking The Beautiful Question is essential to creativity. Ask the right question and people will move into different places in their head and help them to see the same landscape but with new eyes.

In innovation and creativity there are a whole slew of questions based around the principles of TRIZ that I use to enable people with the opportunity to shift their preconceived ideas. But even at its most basic level a brainstorming session will only be productive if the questions the participants are asked to throw their energies into are refined enough paradoxically to open up the horizons. Creativity loves constraint.

Questions and what to ask when are essential in any communication, building engagement, rapport and trust. We don't ask enough or use their power to anything like their full potential

So here is a whistle stop tour of some questions I use, how and why they work.

1. Are you saying…?
Identifies someone’s language patterns.

2. Are you willing to…?
Tests someone’s limits.

3. Can you give me…?
Encourages examples and specifics.

4. Can you remember…?
Taps into someone’s memory.

5. Did you ask…?
Questions someone’s questions.

6. Have you considered…?
Non-threatening proposal of options.

7. Have you given any thought to…?
Suggestive, yet doesn’t sound like advice.

8. Have you thought about…?
Forces someone to think!

9. How are you constantly…?
Promotes consistency of action.

10. How are you creating…?
Proves that someone has a choice.

11. How can you become…?
Future oriented, motivational.

12. How can you make…?
Enlists someone’s creativity.

13. How could you have…?
Focused on past performance improvement.

14. How do you feel…?
Feelings are good.

15. How do you measure…?
Clarifies and specifies someone’s statement.

16. How do you plan to…?
Future oriented, process oriented, action oriented.

17. How do you want…?
Visualises ideal conditions.

18. How does this relate to…?
Keeps someone on point, uncovers connections between things.

19. How else could this be…?
Encourages open, option-oriented and leverage-based thinking.

20. How long will it take to…?
Clarifies time specifics.

21. How many different ways…?
Enlists someone’s creativity, explores various options.

22. How many people…?
Clarifies and specifies.

23. How might you…?
All about potential and possibility.

24. How much energy…?
Identifies patterns of energy investment.

25. How much money…?
Identifies patterns of financial investment.

26. How much time each day…?
Identifies patterns of (daily) time investment.

27. How much time…?
Identifies patterns of energy investment.

28. How often do you…?
Gets an idea of someone’s frequency.

29. How well do you…?
Uncovers abilities.

30. How will you know when/if…?
Predicts outcomes of ideal situations.

31. If you could change…?
Visualizes improvement.

32. If you had to…?
Possibility thinking.

33. If you showed your…?
Imagining what others would say.

34. If you stopped…?
Cause-effect question.

35. If you were…?
Ideal situation.

36. In what areas…?
Searching for multiple answers.

37. Is anybody going to…?
Deciding if something even matters.

38. Is there any other…?
Challenges someone to find ONE more answer.

39. Is there anything else…?
Yep, there probably is. Answers are rarely absolute.

40. Is your idea…?
Forces someone to think objectively.

41. On a scale from 1 to 10…?
Putting a number to an emotion clarifies it.

42. What are some of the…?
Encourages list making.

43. What are the biggest mistakes…?
Negative based for preventative measures.

44. What are the keys to…?
Searching for best practices.

45. What are the patterns of…?
Uncovering commonalities.

46. What are the things that…?
Because there’s probably more than one answer.

47. What are the ways…?
Freedom (not) to resign to one solution.

48. What are you currently...?
Assesses present situations.

49. What are you doing that…?
Assesses present actions.

50. What are you willing to…?
Explores limits.

51. What can I do to…?
Demonstrates a desire to serve.

52. What can WE do to…?
Partnership-oriented.

53. What can you do right now…?
Focuses on immediate action being taken.

54. What can you do today…?
Focuses on daily action being taken.

55. What causes your…?
Uncovering true motives without the dreaded, "Why?"

56. What challenges are…?
Identifies barriers.

57. What did you learn…?
Because people don’t care what you know; only what you learned.

58. What do you need to…?
Needs assessment.

59. What does that tell you about…?
Encourages someone to figure out the answer individually.

60. What else can you…?
Because there’s always options.

61. What evidence…?
Because specificity is persuasion.

Lets kill marketing

The word 'Marketing' often gets a bad rap. It is seriously contaminated by intrusive telesales, junk mail, spam, and advertising that seems to fill every waking and sleeping second.

Internal marketing, which if IC professionals are really honest is what we really do, is even more tarnished and viewed with skepticism. Focus groups, quality circles or yet another management gimic - it is often difficult to separate out the genuine from the lip service however polished it may be. Marketing means Manipulation for most of the population. So why not reposition marketing in your head and everyone who comes into your space? Here are a few suggestions

It’s not marketing.
It’s STRATEGIC SHARING.

It’s not marketing.
It’s TRANSFERRING EMOTION.

It’s not marketing.
It’s TELLING A STORY.

It's not marketing.
It's BEING YOUR AUTHENTIC SELF

It’s not marketing.
It’s STICKING YOURSELF OUT THERE.

idea kick start

My friend Scott came up with the following which I’d like to share about how to capture and kick start new ideas and get some momentum.

He is such a smart guy

1. As soon as you get the idea WRITE IT DOWN
Because if you don’t write it down, it never happened.

2. ASKING yourself, “What’s the next action?”
Because ultimately, that’s the only question that really matters.

3. LISTING all the steps you need to take to leverage an opportunity.
Because listing is the quickest, most efficient way to organise all of your thoughts.

4. GOOGLING various elements of your idea as soon you get it.
Because you need to find out if someone else is already doing it.

5. ASKING for feedback from smart people right away.
Because they can ask questions and see things you can’t.

6. REGISTERING domains as soon as you get the name of the idea.
Because he owns the domain owns the idea.

7. EMAILING someone right away with a action-oriented question.
Because initiative is attractive.

8. SCANNING your opportunity radar constantly.
Because now that your mind is fixated, related ideas will be attracted to you.

Storyteller or agent provocateur?

Story telling has the power to inspire, influence and persuade. Any arguments out there? Hopefully not. If so please step away right now and mind the gap.

It also has the power to challenge, and changing the normal thought processes and modus operandi is the key lubricant in freeing up any organisation innovation inertia.

Thinking sideways is a powerful skill. The best stories are the ones with the slight twist, the ones that have the ah-hah moment as opposed to the ha-ha moment. There is only an 'h' difference but that 'h' is a mighty big letter.

Internal communications for me is primarily about looking at ways of delivering stories not just to engage and inspire change but to make anyone think what if I….??

I was in a meeting last Friday that turned from a brainstorming session about a part of a new promotion into a therapy session for one of the participants. He suddenly woke up to the fact that the reason he was so unhappy at work, and everything was getting complicated and he couldn’t keep on top of the basics was that he kept passing the responsibility for the decision onto other people. Justifying this by, but then cloaking it in, a laudable desire for inclusiveness; instead of just simply doing it.

I remember one day talking to another group about a time I had had to make some not insignificant changes to the intranet web site copy. The group in question, working in that organisation, asked how I had got through the mass of approvals they would normally have to go through? I told them I just did it. I didn't ask. By the time the permissions had worked their way down through the mass of emails and cc’s (continuity cock-up) the opportunity to address the topical issue would have disappeared. And the chance to make a salient point had evaporated. I hate wasted ideas.

So i just did it and hoped that the reason for my indiscipline in the ranks would allow me to escape the headmaster’s wrath. The result was interesting. Firstly, the powers to be didn’t even notice and then,when I did mention it in passing and through guilt to the person who should have been at the head of the approval food chain, they were not only supportive but began a process to shortcut the process in future. He is, not unusually, continually stacked up with e-mails and appreciated that no decision is worse than the wrong decision, in virtually every situation.

Waiting for approval for stuff that they pay you for your judgement to produce is just nuts. Frustrations with poor communications and irrelevant controls are sited as the major reason that employees leave companies. Here is the rub. Bosses feel the same frustrations believe me. They do empathise. So if you do find a renegade in the ranks, don’t fire them; nurture them. culture them, and get them to spread the word. To tell their story. See what happens.

People don’t want more information

People don’t want more information
They want faith, which only comes from trust.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am passionate about storytelling and how you can weave these into the communication tools and techniques we use every day; not just in face to face communications but in on-line and print too. Storytelling, in my opinion, is the one skill which is singularly lacking at every level in virtually every organisation yet is the one that can move mountains In some cases literally. No-one ever made the decision to follow somebody else’s dreams because they saw a Powerpoint presentation nor were carried away on the wings of an Excel spreadsheet. They have their place ( no-where near as many as most people think) but what moves, what engages, what motivates you and me and has for thousands of years is the craft of the story.

Today we have to deal with so much information, too much that is just contradictory or useless and we are simply overloaded. We live in a time of record levels of depression and stress, not just in the workplace, largely because we feel out of control, uninvolved and irrelevant.

Every religion across the world uses stories to maintain, guide and control its followers Churchill’s ‘fight them on the beaches; motivated a nation’. Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ changed the face of a nation that was in itself born from the stories told in coffee shops and street corners across Europe. Story is the single most powerful tool we have, used wisely it can provide the lubricant for change or shift the perception of a generation. Used mistakenly it can lead us into a trillion dollar war. Not convinced ? Those with even short memories can remember 45 minutes to missile launch and WMD.

Our children will be the ones that win the real battle to save our environment, not because of a bunch of statistics ( which no two scientists seem to agree about anyway) but because they have engaged with the story. They can see their role,they see that they can have a influence, no matter how small. But it is not one big story but the small stories which move people step by step. Funny that - isn’t that exactly what Change management. Is all about. Why is it that storytelling seems to have no consistent or formal place in the IC toolbox?

Engagement surveys, Pulse studies, are there for one reason; to show us just how good or bad we are at story telling. It’s a view. Discuss.

I am reminded daily of that old joke- She is so intelligent, she agrees with everything I say.