Corporate Retreats Are Important!

Proponents of traditional training programs and corporate penny pinchers might share a certain skeptical sentiment: what’s so special about company retreats?

Are they really worth the cost? Are they really that different from on-site training? Is it worth the time commitment?
 
The short answer to all of those questions: YES.
 
Here’s why:

When you need to make a big change in a company, restructure a department, get a new team up to speed, or redefine the responsibilities of a certain job title, you’re looking at a pretty serious investment of time and effort.
 
This investment is even more costly when it interferes with daily operations – you end up with trainers trying to wear two hats at once, disengagement from the group because of outside distractions, and general confusion as people try to navigate new responsibilities when they haven’t fully shed the old ones.
 
All of those problems underscore the value of a retreat. Think about it: if you can effectively remove the employees/trainees (and those doing the training) from the workplace, no one has to juggle the company’s daily operations. Instead, everyone can focus on the task at hand.

Focus is also a huge factor by itself, even beyond the potential to be distracted by the daily goings on of business. Simply changing the scenery can have a massive impact on engagement. This is especially true for existing employees, but even for new hires, getting away from day-to-day reality has a way of priming people for new experiences – and more importantly, for retaining what happens when they venture away from “home.”
 
And that’s really the most important point: retreats are immersive experiences. It’s not something you punch into for a little while, walk away from, and come back to after the break or the next day. When you’re there, you’re there!
This isn’t to say that a retreat can’t be full of fun, or that there aren’t breaks or periods of time focused elsewhere. The value is in the physical presence, the understanding that everyone there has a common goal, and that you’re all there together to make it happen!
 
There’s a camaraderie that occurs when people are together for business, and that time spent carries over into other aspects of their lives. Retreats foster this kind of collaboration and “getting to know each other.” These, in turn, help people build the trust and teamwork that boost effectiveness, help training stick, and ultimately create company culture.
 
When people are free from distractions, unburdened by their daily workload, and whisked away to a new and interesting place to spend time with peers working toward a common goal, a lot of magic can happen!

Employee retreats take away a lot of the variables, as well as many of the elements that can turn in-house training and efforts to change into failures.

Want to learn more about how to turn your next retreat into an opportunity to transform? Read more here

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology. 

Cubicles And Collaboration

There has been quite a bit written lately about office space design.  Mostly, the points of view are about what encourages collaboration and “effective use of space”. However there seems to be little thought about the impact of it on current employees.  Collaboration is monumentally important.  There is almost nothing done in an organization today that isn’t done as a team.  But, collaboration can’t be forced or mandated.  Collaboration is a function of the people and dynamic on a team.  It has to be encouraged, fostered, etc.  
 
Effective use of office space really is about the type of work that your organization does and how changing it might impact your current employees.
 
THE DREADED CUBICLE

Cubicles are accepted practice.  It is really unclear why though.  For the most part, cubicles are associated with the worst part of work.  Based on a very unscientific study, the three biggest issues with cubicles:
 
1. THEY GIVE A FALSE SENSE OF PRIVACY –
For some reason employers give half walls between employees to allow for a sense of privacy.  But, they don’t really give privacy at all.  People can’t really have conversations or phone calls that aren’t heard by others.  Although there are “walls” there is no real privacy.
 
2. PROMOTE CLASSISM
Unless each and every person in the organization has a cubicle, they indicate the differences in hierarchy of an organization.  There are some organizations where employees and managers are in cubes, but the managers have BIGGER cubes.  It is a physical reminder that not everyone is equal in the organization.
 
3. DEMOTE INNOVATION
Cubicles not only don’t allow for much privacy, but they don’t allow for much innovation either.  The separation between employees is not enough to have private conversations and therefore lessens the opportunity for spontaneous collaboration.  Noise is frowned upon in many “cubicle farms”.  Trying to solve problems together is difficult when there is little room for collaboration.
 
HOW ABOUT “OPEN SPACE”
 
The newest trend in creating more “collaborative” offices is open space. Essentially, it removes all the barriers between employees  so they have to sit right next to each other, sometimes around a common table, to get work done.  The theory is that this will increase employee contact and enable great collaboration.  But there are some inherent problems with open space workplaces:

1. IT IS NEARLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR EMPLOYEES TO THINK THROUGH PROBLEMS AND CONTEMPLATE –

Cramming everyone into the same space actually decreases the ability to think.
 

 
When you’re in an open office, your brain becomes perceptually loaded,” said Steven Orfield, president of Orfield Laboratories, a Minneapolis-based architectural and product-research firm.
 
Increased stress levels decrease our abilities to think clearly.  Our ideas become muddled and we actually get less done.
 
2. THEY ARE A NOT CONDUCIVE TO “NON-EXTROVERTS”
 
This is all great if you’re an extrovert, as Gensler’s Erik Lucken wisely observes in his essay, “The Unsung Office Hero.” But, as he cautions, “For the estimated 25 percent of the population who are introverts, the future workplace as described above is a daunting prospect…. Putting an introvert in a dense, open-office plan is like forcing the proverbial square peg into the round hole.” – Allison Arieff
 
SO WHAT IS THE RIGHT ANSWER TO CREATE A GREAT WORKPLACE THAT ENGENDERS COLLABORATION?

 1.     DON’T RELY ON THE MAGIC OF SPACE TO DRIVE, ENCOURAGE OR ENFORCE COLLABORATION.
Although this seems like a no-brainer, the fact that so many organizations seem to jump on any bandwagon to encourage collaboration makes it necessary to say.  It is similar to believing that buying a treadmill or stair master will make you lose weight.  Just like buying a piece of equipment can’t magically make the pounds drop off, altering space alone will do little to encourage people to work together more effectively.
 
2.     IF OFFICE SPACE IS GOING TO BE REDESIGNED TO ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION GET EVERYONE INVOLVED IN DESIGNING IT AND MAKE SURE EVERYONE PARTAKES IN THE CHANGES
Yes, that’s right. Get everyone to provide input on how to make the office more collaborative.  It’s not about implementing every idea, but people want to have a say in where they spend the majority of their day.  Just like any change, if the people impacted are  involved, they are more likely to be on board.  And, make sure that every single person, from CEO to new hire, participate in the new office layout.  If employees are going to be working in an “open space” then the executives should too.
 
3.     BE MORE COLLABORATIVE.
Duh! If collaboration is important show it.  Don’t just change office layout and say “now be collaborative”.  Remember that treadmill? That’s similar to saying, see that treadmill?  Now get in shape!  Pretty stupid right?  If collaboration is important:

• Train managers to promote and encourage collaboration
• Develop collaboration as a skill
• Reward collaboration
• Knock down silos
 
Office space is important.  It can encourage collaboration and camaraderie.  But, not every company is Google or Facebook.  

Their cultures are designed around a specific style of work.  That is why the “open space” works for them.  Think about what is best for your organization and do that.  Don’t just copy the latest trend. That won’t make more collaboration it will just create more disengagement.
 
What do you think?

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Not All Of Us Can Be Presentation Picassos

Many of us know someone that can put together outstanding presentations in almost no time.  They whip them together like Gordon Ramsey making a delicious meal or Picasso painting a masterpiece. For most of us (at least for me), creating compelling presentations takes some serious thought and lots of preparation.  One of the best tools I’ve found to jumpstart the process and develop convincing content is an app called Haiku Deck.
 
HA-WHO?
 
Haiku Deck can be on the Apple Apps store (sorry Android users, I’m sure they are working on one).  It is an awesome tool that builds presentations though pictures.  The concept is really simple.  Once a theme is picked, simply type in a word or phrase and Haiku Deck will provide a series of pictures that represent it.
 
• Want to show change – show the metamorphosis of a caterpillar into butterfly
• Want to show adaptability – show a chameleon changing colors
 
There a many pictures available in the free version and even more in the inexpensive paid version.  It is a powerful tool to develop storyboard for a presentation that filled in with charts or other details as needed.
 
WHY PICTURES?
 
According to John Medina’s best selling (and overall awesome book) Brain Rules, building a presentation using pictures follows two key rules of the brain:
 
• People don’t remember boring things
• Vision trumps all other senses

Pictures are quickly “lodged” (not a scientific term) into memory and easily recalled.  Pictures help to link your ideas in the presentation to solutions or concepts that the potential client will remember as yours.  Telling a story with pictures is what the brain wants! Your audience is doing while you are talking anyway. Presenting like this just helps things along.
 
WHAT ABOUT ALL MY DATA, FACTS, FIGURES AND BULLET POINTS?!!??!??!?
 
The quick answer is, don’t worry about them.  More often than not, the potential client isn’t really going to read what you have on the slide.  They are looking to see
 
• Do you know what you are talking about?
• Are you a good fit culturally?
• Will you make them look good?

If you have to deliver data and figures, make sure you have them.  But in most cases, all those extraneous words on the page will distract from YOU.  That is  the magic and genius of Haiku Deck.  The app doesn’t allow for a lot of text, so you HAVE to know your stuff.  You want the audience to listen to you and not read ahead anyway, right?
 
Therefore, you will need to voice over details and create a leave behind rich with data.  Make sure that the leave behind has the some of the picture used in the presentation to cement the link.
 
If you are like me and aren’t a virtuoso of presentations, leverage Haiku Deck to build a compelling story that uses the most powerful sense to lock your ideas into the audience’s memory!
 
What programs do you use to improve your presentations?  Please let me know!!!

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Are You A Sourpuss At Work?

One of the most interesting phenomenons at organizations is the lack of smiles, laughter and overall good humor.  Why is that? What is it about our work lives that makes us stodgy and humorless?
 
At my very first client  meeting as a consultant, the tenor was decidedly somber.  Even though the topic of the meeting was good news, everyone was very serious.  Although I thought it a bit strange I chalked it up to that group. After almost 20 years, I have noticed that the somber and serious nature is more the rule than the exception.

Over the years I’ve conducted a very unscientific study and concluded at work we suffer from the “Sourpuss Syndrome”.  Below are the primary reasons and remedies for it.

SOURPUSS MYTH 1 – WHEN YOU ARE A LEADER YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE SERIOUS

Reason – We have been told that being serious equates to being an adult.  Teachers were serious, parents were serious and therefore authority figures should be too.  If you are not, then how can someone take you seriously as a leader?
 

Perhaps I’m particularly serious, because I’m not unaware of the potential absurdity of what I’m doing. – Daniel Day-Lewis
 
But, being a leader (and a member of a team) actually requires having a sense of humor.
 
The vast majority of the successful CEO certainly do [have a sense of humor]. I’m not sure why that is, but I suspect it has something to do with a combination of enjoying life, loving what you do for a living, and not taking yourself too seriously. – Steven Tobak (please read his blog, it’s awesome)
 
Remedy – Use humor appropriately and laugh at things that are funny.  Yes, laugh.  Humor is a powerful thing.
 
 
In the end, it helps people understand each other’s commonalities.  In effect it brings people together.  Don’t be offensive or tell jokes at other’s expense.  But, please stop taking yourself and what you do so seriously.  People don’t trust leaders that can’t laugh, especially at themselves.
 
SOURPUSS MYTH 2 – LAUGHING MEANS THERE IS NOT WORKING GOING ON

Reason – Remember when we were kids?  Teachers and parents used to scold us about laughter. They would say, “If you are laughing than you can’t be working”.  The problem is that we believed them.  We stopped laughing and started concentrating really hard.  But what if all that concentrating actually hindered out abilities to be as innovative.  Stifling laughter made meetings  dreadful and work boring.
 
Remedy – Laugh more freely, more often and with gusto!
Okay, don’t laugh at everything.  Use common sense.  Cruelty is never funny.  But laughter actually makes more oxygen available to the brain.  It can increase the level of productivity

Laughter can create a productive and healthy work environment– Chris Robert, Professor at University of Missouri-Columbia
 
And, if that weren’t enough, it can dramatically reduce the amount of stress at work.

 
So, if you laugh you will be more productive and less stressed.  Do you need more reasons to laugh a little?
 
SOURPUSS MYTH 3 – WE AREN’T SUPPOSED TO HAVE FUN AT WORK

Reason –  Work is work.   Growing up many children see their parent go off to jobs that they absolutely detest.  Some with good reason.  But, most seem to believe that the definition of work is –
 ”The thing you have to do in order to pay for the things you want to do”.
Merriam Webster defines work as “Activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.” There isn’t anything in there about it being miserable or drudgery.  That is what we add to it.
 
Remedy – Put your all into your work and enjoy it.  Research how to be more effective.  Create new ways of doing your job. If you are a leader, encourage this.  
 

 
The truth is, no one likes a sourpuss.  No one wants to work with someone that stifles humor.  In the end, it makes you and the team you lead/work with less productive.  Stop being so serious, laugh a little and have fun at work.

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

3 No Brainers To Boost Employee Engagement

Based on the countless surveys, consultants, strategies, and team activities that have permeated the lives of corporate employees.
 
Every company wants more engaged employees.
 
• Why, then, does engagement continue to dwindle?
• What about these strategies isn’t working?
• Why does it seem like the companies with the highest levels of employee engagement are trying the least?
 
The answer is fairly simple – the companies struggling with engagement are all about changing policy and practice, but not about impacting company culture.

Here are three ways to foster the kind of change that will boost engagement in any company:
 
1.    Transparency

People want to know what’s going on, plain and simple. When bureaucracy and “need to know” information stand in the way of an employee getting a clear view of what the company is up to, they feel like an invisible cog, moving the machine toward an unknown destination. If an employee isn’t even aware of the end result of their work, or what goals they are helping the company achieve, how can we expect them to care about it?

Instead of keeping employees in the dark, why not share information across the board? A big contract or new project on the horizon might drum up some excitement. If employees know why a program excelled or failed, down to the gritty details, they will be more likely to take personal responsibility.

This isn’t rocket science: the more people know, the more they care.
 
2.    Recognition and Gratitude
 
People also want to be recognized for a job well done, or really, just for a job done. This doesn’t mean incentivizing every employee or throwing a party every time a project is completed. It means real, genuine thanks for each individual’s contribution to the company.

This is something that doesn’t really function as an official policy – no one wants to be thanked because it’s required. There doesn’t even need to be a big show made of it – simply thank and employee for contributing to the company’s success in a personal and individualized way.
 

People don’t forget kindness. – Tom Peters

Managers and supervisors must also understand the cultural shift involved here: express gratitude genuinely because the employees are the lifeblood of the company, because you actually appreciate their contributions, not because it’s required or because it will boost engagement. A genuine thanks goes a long, long way.
 
3.    Autonomy

Independence can be scary for some employees, and particularly for managers, but studies (and successful companies) show that the more freedom we give our employees, the more productive they become. Allowing employees, no matter what kind of environment they work in, to have some control over their own professional lives is hugely empowering. Even small steps, like choosing your own lunch break or slightly flexible scheduling, puts the responsibility on the worker – they will take lunch when it fits with their wants, needs, and workload, not when the whistle blows.

Some companies take this concept further, allowing employees to determine their own schedules, or focus on task/project completion, not hours on the clock. This kind of autonomy puts the ball in the employee’s court – they are responsible for maintaining their own standards of productivity. Allowing employees to self-manage indicates two very important things: that they are trusted by the company to make decisions and maintain their own projects, and that their workload is no one’s responsibility but their own.
 
When people are micromanaged or feel like someone is always looking over their shoulder, they shut down. Constant supervision restricts creativity. Allowing employees to find their own methods, to apply their own unique perspective to the needs of the company, promotes independence, stimulates “outside the box” thinking, and of course, boosts engagement. People tend to rise to the challenges presented to them.
 
Employee engagement is not rooted in policy or surveys, nor can it be gained overnight. Real employee engagement comes from working in a place that is enjoyable, where individual ideas and strengths are embraced, and where the employee feels like a valuable component of the company. This is a culture of engagement, and the businesses that get it right will continue to enjoy success, both internally and externally.
 
HOW DOES YOUR COMPANY CULTURE FOSTER ENGAGEMENT?

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.
 

Yes, You Do Matter

One of the highest impact motivators for any person is to see that what they do has meaning.  Meaningfulness is a key driver to ensure that employees see the impact of what they do on the company’s:
 
• Ability to gain and retain customers;
• Reputation with the public and shareholders; and
• Potential partners
 
Essentially what you are showing employees is their Line of Sight
 
Line of sight is the straight line that each and every employee has to gaining and retaining customers.  Regardless of their role, employees need to see their impact on customer satisfaction.  Understanding the impact their role has on the customer adds context to their actions and decisions. Line of Sight has also been used to refer to the connection employees have with their place of employment, or in many cases, the business values or strategy. It is about connecting employees to the business in some way, and ultimately this means connecting employees with the customers.
 
Without a clear understanding their role’s impact, employees can not see how they are making a difference.  This directly impacts:
 
• The care they take on their jobs
• The quality of their work
• How they interact with other employees
• How they talk about their jobs.
 
Want to drive performance?  Want to increase productivity?

Help employees understand the meaningfulness of their role and learn the Line of Sight to the customer!

How do you help employees find their impact on customers?

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

The Real Secret To Business Success

COMPANIES ARE ALWAYS TRYING TO FIND THE SILVER BULLET TO MAKE THEIR BUSINESSES SUCCEED. THEY TURN TO ADVISORS/CONSULTANTS FOR HELP.
 
THE GOAL OF ALL THE

• advice ,
• articles,
• books,
• videos,
• seminars,
• webinars, and
• training programs

related to business is the same.
 
EVERY METHOD FOR

• attracting social media followers,
• getting more responses from advertising,
• improving customer service, or
• developing high-quality products
 
have one single goal, and it’s the only thing that leads to a company’s success:gaining and retaining customers.
 
Newsflash – If you aren’t attracting new customers – and hanging on to the ones you’ve got – your business is doomed.
 
SO, IF THAT’S THE END-ALL, BE-ALL OF SUCCEEDING IN BUSINESS, HOW DO YOU MAKE THAT HAPPEN?

Beyond the tips and tricks you can learn from the endless stream of internet advice, it is of the utmost importance to instill this value in your employees. From the part time custodian all the way to the CFO – it is the responsibility of each and every member of the organization. They need to understand the Line of Sight to the Customer, the impact their role has on gaining and retaining customers.
 
When all employees understand the impact they have on this “make or break” component of your business, every action they take on the company’s behalf should reflect this knowledge.
 
Every action and reaction should be through the lens of “How does this impact the customer”.  Processes, procedures, products, etc. must be built around that fundamental concept.  Therefore:

• Having employees work until close on Monday and then open Tuesday hinders the customer experience and is not effective for the employee.
• Creating complex processes to submit and be reimbursed for expenses because ONE person does not support gaining/retaining customers.  It also makes those in positions to gain/retain customers feel like the company is not supporting them.
• Creating goals for internal departments that work to pit them against each other undermines the customer experience
• This list really could be endless, right?
 
When employees understand that, as individuals, they each play a vital role in building repeat business, they will see additional value in the role they play for your company.
 
A single bad experience can turn a customer off to a company for good, and send them right down the street to the nearest competitor. This means that whether they are:

• Packing shipments to go out,
• Ringing up customers at a cash register,
• Planning distribution routes, or
• Making company-wide policy decisions;

it’s the responsibility of every employee to offer each customer an experience that will make them come back of their own volition. That is why each and every employee knowing the Line of Sight to the customer is so vital!
 
You must gain, and more importantly, retain customers to achieve success: this is the ONLY way to create a truly successful business.

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

The Mechanics Of Productivity – We Are Not Machines!

SPENDING MORE TIME CHOPPING MAKES MORE FIREWOOD?

For years and years, the common conception has been that more hours worked equals increased productivity – the more time spent on the job, the more work gets done.  But, is that really the truth?
 
Recently, when I was at a client function and overheard two colleagues discussing the number of hours that they put in on a daily basis. The first gentleman said that he works until eight or 9 PM every night and never got to see his kids. The other, bragged that he worked until seven went home had dinner turned on his computer worked some more and worked the weekend. But does that make them more productive, effective and able to produce more results?

HUMAN ≠ MACHINE

When factories need more parts made, they extend the shift hours. When a firm sees a spike in business, they expect employees to stay later to meet the increased volume. Even when long hours are not based on a company-wide need, it has been a long held belief that “going the extra mile,” and spending more time on the job than others is commendable, productive behavior to be admired.
 
This is a perfectly logical conclusion for dealing with automatons, but hardly makes sense for real, live people. As management mentality continues to shift toward employee engagement, shared expectations, and other “worker-centric” practices, it is becoming very clear that more time spent working does not necessarily translate to more work getting done. Human beings, after all, are not machines.

MORE DOES NOT ALWAYS EQUAL BETTER

There are numerous studies and articles (Stop Working More than 40 Hours Per Week & They Work Long Hours, but What About Results? just to name two) written to dispel this misconception. It has become quite clear that employees are more productive when they are:

• Well-rested,
• Happy, and
• Able to “refuel” themselves from time to time.
 
People get stressed, they get tired, and they lose momentum in the face of monotony. Each of us can recognize the benefits of a short break to “clear your head,” or remember a time that temporarily walking away from a problem was key to finding the solution.
 
In an article in the Harvard Business Review, Tony Schwartz discusses this Law of Diminishing Returns as it pertains to the workplace, saying:
 

“It’s not just the number of hours we sit at a desk in that determines the value we generate. It’s the energy we bring to the hours we work. Human beings are designed to pulse rhythmically between spending and renewing energy. That’s how we operate at our best. Maintaining a steady reservoir of energy — physically, mentally, emotionally and even spiritually — requires refueling it intermittently.”
 
Workers in all sectors can actually get more done (in less time) by taking steps to stay fresh and alert on the job. Not only will employees get more done, they will be happier about doing it, and this is the path to true engagement and personal investment in a company.
 
To keep a business running like a well-oiled machine, managers have to understand that employees are NOT mechanical – one can’t simply turn a dial and expect increased results.
 
What do you think?

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Becoming The Bad Guy / Woman

Is it possible to stay true to yourself even when you are in a new role or recently promoted?

Thousands of people in American are glued to their televisions on Sunday night to watch a show called Breaking Bad. It is the story of a science teacher who evolves into a ruthless drug dealer.

Although his story is not necessarily close to the lives that any of us lead, his transformation is parallel to how we operate in organizations every day.

The main character, Walt, begins as a mild-mannered science teacher who is diagnosed with cancer.  He only wants to earn enough money to ensure that his family is well taken care of when he dies. Eventually, he becomes a ruthless drug dealer that alienates all the people around him.

CH-CH-CH-CHANGING

There are thousands of examples of individuals who are hired into an organization or promoted into a new role because of their personality, core values, abilities, etc. At some point, those individuals transform from the person they were when hired into the role that they have. They assume that because they have a title there is a requirement that they act in a particular way. One of the folks that I used to work for called  that “going native”.

Going Native:

Used humorously, to go native means to take on some (or all) of the culture traits of the people around you, often said of people who go to foreign countries or far away cities. These traits may include dress, language, accent, etiquette, religion, etc. 

There is nothing wrong with acclimating to the culture or role that you are in. As a matter of fact it is a smart move.  An ancient philosopher once said

 
(there are literally thousands of great men who have used this phrase).  He did not say “when in Rome, become Roman”.  There is difference. Becoming something that you are not not only makes you a less effective person and a poor leader.  But maybe most importantly its harder to to be around you.
 
Here are three telltale signs that you are going native:

1. You act like you think others  will want you to
2. You “check” your own personality when you go to work
3. You make decisions not based on what you think is best, but what will make the best impressions
 
Here are three methods to regaining “who you are”:

1. Respect the culture you are in, but act like you
2. Honor your own personality, especially if its unique
3. Make decisions based on what you think is best
 
Make sure that always remember:

• Who you are got the job
• How you acted was the reason you were promoted.
 
How do you stay true to yourself?  

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

Keep Training Short!

The attention span of modern adults is anywhere between five and seven minutes. What sense does it make to create multi-day training if within the first 90 to 120 minutes, you’ve lost your audience?

LIFELONG LEARNING HAPPENS IN AN INSTANT. 

Generally, lifelong learning does not happen inside the classroom or by watching a computer-based training course. Recent research tells us that the attention span of adults, and people in general, is dramatically reducing. A 2008 study commissioned by Lloyds TSB Insurance found that the average adult attention span is now just five minutes seven seconds – down from twelve minutes a decade ago. Training or discussing something for too long actually lowers the amount of recall
 
“The human brain can only hold 7 pieces of information for less than 30 seconds” John Medina, author of Brain Rules.
And yet, training course after training course targeting adults spans days and sometimes even multiple weeks. What is the true benefit of all of this training?

Regardless of the type of training or the topic that is being discussed, the human brain works much more effectively when it is given the opportunity to learn small bites of information and then go away to synthesize it, reflect on it, potentially practice using it, and then go back and learn the next piece of information. The adult brain searches for the relevance and practicality of information that is delivered (a topic to be discussed at a later date). Once a piece of information is delivered, the immediate reaction is to try and place that piece of information into context; that context is different for each individual. Keeping it short enables adults to put the information in context, think on it, and be prepared to learn more at the next opportunity.

SO WHAT DOES THIS ALL MEAN?

Training in the web era must be sustained, brief, and very pointed. Based on research on the attention span of adults currently, it is vital that training be redesigned and repurposed to be extremely focused. It is no longer appropriate to have training that extends over multiple days or multiple weeks, unless there are frequent breaks and opportunities to step away from the training. Organizations are no longer capable of allowing employees to be away from their workspace or their duties for long stretches of time. Research will show that it is also not necessary to be away for long periods of time. For the most part, employees are not natural learners, therefore training must be high-impact but very brief, to allow them to go back and utilize what they have learned.

WHAT NOW?

This is actually great news. What it means is that training that has been previously developed only needs to be modified. New training can now be developed with the idea of “keep it short” as one of the development frames. There are some key concepts to remember when altering current or developing new training that will leverage the power of keeping it short on the learner’s ability to recall and utilize the information delivered:

◦     Bursts of knowledge
◦     Broken up into 7 – 10 minute increments
◦     Limit topics to 50 minutes
◦     DO NOT have lengthy training
◦     Keep things fresh
◦     Limits the need for multitasking

This is by no means an indictment or call to throw out all of the training that’s ever been developed that is longer than five to seven minutes. That is similar to saying that all buildings that don’t have elevators should be destroyed. For the most part, people who develop training are not neurobiologists or experts on the brain, so it wouldn’t be logical for them to have this information.  It does mean that training should be modified to leverage this new knowledge. It is similar thinking to why the blog has become so popular. Our attention spans and ability to take in large amounts of information about single topics have been reduced, both because we are busier and because there’s just so much more out there. Blogs allow us to learn new information in a very short amount of time, and utilize or share it to increase our ability to recall it when it’s necessary. Training is the same way.  Keeping it short makes it more effective, keeps it more accessible over the long haul, and increases the likelihood that training will have a positive impact on the performance of the individual and organization over time.
 
How long should training be?  Can we afford multi-day training anymore?  Let us know what you think!

Anil Saxena is the President of Cube 2.14, an organizational development consulting firm that works with clients to increase both customer and employee engagement while decreasing turnover, improving customer retention, and increasing profitability within organizations.

Saxena is a certified High Impact coach and trainer and a Joint Application Design facilitator. He is also certified by both Rush Systems and IBM as a focus group facilitator. He is an inaugural member of Northwestern University’s Learning and Organizational Change program, and he earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Illinois Institute of Technology.

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