Change - and stuff that adds value

Hi,

I hope you are safe and well.

This week has been crazy busy with work and life. I haven't had any time for new posts to Cultivated but I have done a lot of work behind the scenes on a revamp of the Communication Superpower Course. I've also added some graphics to the Workshop Mastery book.

I've also been fettling with my writing tools a little. I've taken the plunge on a new tool called Lattics, which was cheap at £21 for the year. It has no IOS app though and who knows how long it will last, but it's proven very good so far.

This week's newsletter has a creative vibe.

For those new to the Meeting Notes newsletter, welcome, I’m Rob, Chief Utility Officer at Cultivated Management. This newsletter is about mastering the art of communication and creativity - and cultivating a bright future of work.

Meeting Notes

** Stuff that costs a lot of money

I was watching the very brilliant Rory Sutherland from Ogilvy do a talk about creativity. It resonated deeply with me, in that creativity is lacking in business.

This is mostly because:

There are risks when we're creative, so people do less of it.
There is no upfront guarantee nor detailed return on investment (so projects or experiments rarely get signed off)
The accountants tend to run the business. With risk and no upfront guarantee of a pay off, most ideas and projects don't get a green light).

He presented a slide that I found quite funny and enlightening which I have recreated here.

It shows stuff that has big effect and stuff that costs a lot of money.

I found it funny because consultancy is in the low effect / high cost region....and that's what I do. Strategy is essential but it's costly. Trivia is worth nothing and it's cheap.

But down there on the bottom right is the ministry of detail. A collection of people, or a person, who looks at the problems and details - and solves them with creativity. They have a tiny budget and a lot of power.

This is how I like to run teams (and my consultancy approach too).

Apply some constraints (i.e. no money) and define a problem clearly, then bring together people to come up with creative answers. Then provide air-cover to run these experiments. It's certainly my experience that these kinds of experiments have huge effect.

** Time spent at work (quote)

This is a depressing attitude, because in the end we spend a substantial part of our waking life at work. If we experience this time as something to get through on the way to real pleasure, then our hours at work represent a tragic waste of the short time we have to live.

Mastery by Robert Greene

** Shorten feedback loops

I've been pondering the utility of theories. A theory is only good if it helps us in some way.

One of the most interesting aspects of consulting is that I am selling theories. I am selling theories with utility.

However, the burden of proof regarding a theory should sit with those who propose it, i.e. "me".

Hence, I always look for ways to put a theory to the ultimate test - creating value quickly. Remember, value is only ever created outside of the organisation - so I am always looking for ways to put my theory to the ultimate test - generating value for customers and increasing the value of the business.

How could you do that with any theory you propose? How could you carry the burden for the proof of your theory? And how could you quickly, and methodically, put your theory to the ultimate test; to create value outside of the organisation?

** Recruiting change agents

I'm not sure I like the word change agent, but I'm sure you know what I mean when I use that term.

A change agent is someone who affects change in a business.

You may recall a video and post I did on moving people into action by encouraging people to get out of the car, and help me pull it towards a bright future. In the video this car was my little Mazda MX5 - it doesn't hold many people but you get the idea.

You're at the front pulling towards your painted picture.

People are at the back, pulling in the opposite direction, and making it hard. Most people are in the car, making it hard for people pulling in either direction.

Through inspiration, positivity, enhanced responsibilities, clear accountabilities and the like, you're trying to get people out of the car to join you.

Eventually, you have so many people pulling towards the painted picture that change is rapid and momentum is free flowing.

It's a wonderful thing to see, if not a little tricky to make happen. (The key is effective communication skills, but you knew I'd say that).

I'd like to add one more element to this idea though - one that is probably more powerful than I appreciated at the time of writing that post. That is, I forgot to mention the "recruit" method.

In a nutshell, for every person you get out of the car to join you at the front, you ask them to also recruit two more people. And so on.

Each person you get out of the car, brings with them two extra people. They too bring two extra people each. As more people join you, you get a massive increase of people.

We're all influencers, and that's the underlying principle of this approach. You get growth as more people join, who recruit more people, who recruit even more people.

The major challenge you face with this approach though, is organising and orchestrating this groundswell of people. This requires delegation and of course, repeating the painted picture story to provide clarity and alignment.

You must be laser focused, keep inspiring people with your goals and keep repeating how freaking awesome the future will be, and how amazing the journey will become.

** Shifting behaviours (quote)

We wrongly but persistently expect to make different decisions tomorrow than we do today.

Maximum Willpower by Kelly McGonigal

Support Cultivated Management

This newsletter is a labour of love and will always be free, but it's not free to create it - if you’d like to support my work please consider:

Sharing this content with others you feel would get value from it.
Downloading the free ebook 10 Behaviours of effective employees.
Buying a copy of Zero to Keynote
Sitting the online Communication Super Power Workshop to develop your super power in work

It means a lot. Thank you.

Until next time. Have a great week.

Rob.