Techniques - The Bumble Bee

March 2, 2006

Virtual Enterprise Design: the doughnut principle

Charles Handy is one of the true pioneers of virtual working: promoting the concept of the virtual organisation long before todays enabling technologies appeared.

Handy describes his doughnut theory of management:

"The doughnut is a bagel, the sort with a hole in the middle. But this doughnut is an inverted doughnut, the hole in the centre is filled in while the doughy bit is empty. If you draw it you will see something like a fried egg, a small solid centre surrounded by a white space bounded by a roughly circular line.

In the doughnut management theory the solid core in the middle represents the essential requirements of the job, the things that have to be done no matter what. But the responsibilities don't end there. The white space is the opportunity for initiative and creativity, for going beyond the manual, for adding extra value, for getting more out of less. There is, however, a boundary, an official limit to discretion, the line beyond which one should not go.

In old-fashioned organisations there was little room for discretion in most jobs. The core filled most of the doughnut. That, however, was how most organisations used to work in the past. Everything, as far as possible, was tightly prescribed and controlled. Organisations were designed like railway timetables, with all activities neatly dovetailed together.

Then, in an ideal world, you pressed a button and it all worked like clockwork. In such an organisation you did not want the train driver to use his imagination or to try out a quicker route. Creativity was the enemy of efficiency in these organisations, or, to put it the other way round, their emphasis on efficiency became the enemy of creativity. It still is. Tidy and tight organisations stifle initiative. Imagination can seem disruptive, even to hint at insubordination."

A full essay by Handy on this topic which includes some of his other visionary thinking on organisational design is available at Turning Dooughnuts Inside Out

Posted by Ken Thompson on March 2, 2006 at 10:12 AM in Techniques, Techniques | Permalink | Comments (0)

Virtual Enterprise Design: the doughnut principle

Charles Handy is one of the true pioneers of virtual working: promoting the concept of the virtual organisation long before todays enabling technologies appeared.

Handy describes his doughnut theory of management:

A full essay by Handy on this topic which includes some of his other visionary thinking on organisational design is available at Turning Dooughnuts Inside Out

Posted by Ken Thompson on March 2, 2006 at 10:12 AM in Techniques, Techniques | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 11, 2006

Improve your meetings: play bullshit bingo

According to The blathering boss (November 2005) one of the easiest and most enjoyable ways to improve your meetings is using techniques like 'Bullshit Bingo' to reduce the use of meaningless phrases like Paradigm shift, Mission critical, Let's take it offline, Drill down, Drop the ball, Empowerment, Think outside the box, On the same page, Don't reinvent the wheel, Proactive, Create synergies, Ramp up, Raising the bar, Touch base and Win-win. On the other hand perhaps no one would be able to speak at all!

Posted by Ken Thompson on February 11, 2006 at 12:00 AM in Techniques | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 6, 2006

Customer design collaboration powers Lego Mindstorms upgrade

Wired report (Feb 06) in ‘Geeks in Toyland’ that Lego fully understands the power of customer co-invention by inviting leading Mindstorms enthusiasts to join the Lego R&D Team. See also “Customer collaboration: exploiting the Hawthorne Effect”.

Posted by Ken Thompson on February 6, 2006 at 07:00 PM in Techniques | Permalink | Comments (0)

February 2, 2006

Team culture: the 3-colour technique

The cultures of organisations and teams can be colour coded according to Jerry Connor and Lee Sears authors of “Why Work is Weird”. Red is achievement oriented, Yellow is people focused and Blue values Professional Expertise.

Most teams have a dominant colour but with shades of the other two.

This approach can be very helpful as the first stage in harnessing culture in a positive way is always to recognise it.

Red teams value "getting on with it" and achieving the task

Attributes that are successful in red cultures include drive, focus, directness and practicality. In this kind of culture, activity and achievement are highly valued.

Yellow (humanist) teams tend to be people focused

They value consensus and involvement. Decisions tend to be taken through discussion and it is seen as important that each individual can air their views. In this kind of culture, upsetting or alienating people will be strongly discouraged.

Blue (professional) cultures value professional expertise

They promote and reward the best trained and most skilled expert, and tend to devalue attributes not directly linked to the profession itself (for example in a hospital medical excellence may be valued but not management skills).

Posted by Ken Thompson on February 2, 2006 at 10:00 PM in Techniques | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 28, 2006

Trust variations in global teams

Hernando de Soto, Peruvian author of The Mystery of Capıtal, speaking at the 14th National Quality Congress ın Istanbul, (November 16, 2005), Turkey shared some very interesting research findıngs from the University of Michigan on the 'culture of trust' in different countries.

Researchers asked people in 80 different countries the same question:

'Do you trust other people ın your country?'

'Top' of the trust league table was Norway wıth 65% answerıng yes, followed by Sweden wıth 60% wıth the US at 40%.

'Bottom' of the trust league table was Brazıl at a measly 4% sayıng yes, followed by Peru wıth 5% and Turkey at 6%.

These fıgures have bıg ımplıcatıons for mutlı-country vırtual teams.

The startıng posıtıon wıth the hıgh-trust partıcıpants wıll be 'I trust you untıl you prove me wrong'.

Wıth the low-trust partıcıpants ıt wıll be' I won't trust you tıll you posıtıvely prove trustworthy'.

But be careful about natıonal stereotypes

From my experıence I have also found that wıthın a sıngle natıonalıty (such as my fellow UK and Irısh countrymen) you wıll fınd both hıgh-trust and low-trust ındıvıduals.

So a hıgh-trust Brasılıan mıght be more trustıng than a low-trust Norwegıan!

You can collaborate wıth both types as long as you know whıch they are...

Workıng wıth hıgh-trust ındıvıduals the surprısıngly news ıs you need to be ready for the fact that theır trust levels ın you may actually go down slıghtly as they get to know you better.

Thıs ıs not a problem ıf you are beıng trustworthy to them - ıts just the way they operate.

Workıng wıth low-trust ındıvıduals the good news ıs that theır trust ın you wıll go up as they start to get to know you.

That ıs provıded, of course, your behavıor to them ıs trustworthy and you buıld ın suffıcıent tıme ın the team schedule for trust to develop.

Posted by Ken Thompson on January 28, 2006 at 11:50 AM in Techniques | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 26, 2006

The perfect project team meeting: 7 secrets

The 7 secrets for conducting the perfect collaborative operational team meeting.

Perfect Operational Meeting_525.gif

NOTES:

Sterile Cockpit is an aviation term which means that during critical phases of flight, such as takeoff and landings, nothing else should be discussed by the flight crew. Even if it is important keep it for later.

Jackanory is Cockney rhyming slang for 'Telling A Story'. When we tell a story about why something has happened we usually, without realising it, begin to defend and justify. This wastes time and energy. We only need to give the absolute minimum facts to allow the meeting to determine the correct action. The time for stories is really after the meeting.

Sherlock Holmes was a famous but fictitious detective who had a fantastic ability to uncover the truth in difficult circumstances. A team should not expect their team leader to have the same level of investigative and deductive skills as Sherlock.

Posted by Ken Thompson on January 26, 2006 at 11:00 PM in Techniques | Permalink | Comments (1)

January 19, 2006

Brainstorm Better: 6 killers

Avoiding the most common pitfalls which kill brainstorm sessions.

The Perfect Brainstorm - 6 killers_525.gif

From the The Art of Innovation, by Tom Kelly of IDEO

Posted by Ken Thompson on January 19, 2006 at 12:00 AM in Techniques | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 15, 2006

Brainstorm better: 7 secrets

Seven tips for running 'perfect brainstorm' meetings whether you are all in the same room or not.

The Perfect Brainstorm -7 secrets_500.gif

From the The Art of Innovation, by Tom Kelly of IDEO

Posted by Ken Thompson on January 15, 2006 at 12:00 AM in Techniques | Permalink | Comments (0)

January 10, 2006

Mobile phone etiquette: Shhh!

A few weeks back I published my Polite Intrusive Technology Etiquette (POLITE). Well it seems like lots of other people think something needs to be done here too including 'The Society for Handheld Hushing' who have published a manifesto, Shhh! in ChangeThis. TSfHH provide a neat library of pre-printed notes you can give rude cell/mobile phone users to get them to turn the volume down like “We know that your ongoing conversation with ... is very important to you but it does not interest us in the least..”