What You Should Never Compromise On While Building Your Career
In short:
- Your Standards of Integrity
- Your Self-Respect
- Your Soul for Money
- Your Health and Well-being
- Your Legacy (what you would be able to say you have done)
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Compromises to avoid when building your career
What You Should Never Compromise On While Building Your Career
In short:
Thursday, December 6, 2012
Quickfire creative thinking techniques
I have uploaded a set of quickfire creative thinking techniques. These are quick stand alone techniques that you can use if you need to come up with creative ideas in a hurry.
These techniques have been uploaded to slideshare.net.
These techniques have been uploaded to slideshare.net.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
The benefits of being self aware
The benefit of being self-aware (of your strengths and weaknesses) is that you can watch yourself grow and develop as a person and a manager.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Caught on stage and dropping a feather
The first performance of my daughters ballet school. The main show is based on the story "The Phoenix and the Carpet". My job OS one of the parents helping to move the props. First day and I get caught with the curtain opening while I am trying to secure the roof of a hut. Everyone was nice about it much as I am horrified.
Later on I have the job of dropping a feather from above the curtain at the end of the show. It was a perfect drop and it cycle and landed amongst the dancers. I had a real sense of pride in a job well done from this little event. It really made my night.
Talking to people afterwards, the noticed the feather but didn't remember the caught on stage bit. Seems that the power of suspension of disbelief really helps out in these cases. Overall it is hugely rewarding and hugely educational.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
The magic of ballet props - part two
This is simple, it's called the 15 foot rule (I have no idea if its a general rule or one they made up). Basically you look at a prop from 15 feet away - you don't fix the flaws you can't see that distance. Anything else is wasting time and energy.
Translated into the business context, you need to look at what your customers sees and focus on that first. What is actually visible to the customer?
Translated into the business context, you need to look at what your customers sees and focus on that first. What is actually visible to the customer?
Saturday, November 10, 2012
The magic of ballet props - part one
I am helping with ballet props for my daughter's ballet school end of year show. The process is simple. About 4 to 5 weeks before the show, the choreographer and organiser of the props have a cup of coffee and outlines some concepts. Then the choreographers spend the the time up until the show coming up with the dance steps and transitions. Meanwhile the people making the props work away in a warehouse in another part of town. Two days before the show, the finished props are brought to the theater and final rehearsals start. In the 4-5 weeks between the initial meeting, the choreographers never see the props and the people making the props never see the dance. On the face of it the process sounds like a recipe for disaster, but, this is the way it has been for the last ten years and it works without fail. This year will be no different I am sure.
It seems to work because the choreographers are able to give the props makers a vision and the outcome they want. On their side the props makers have a very good idea of the space available to them and don't abuse this. It's amazing how well a process that run in parallel for so long can come together so cleanly.
I'll upload some photos but only once the concert is finished.
It seems to work because the choreographers are able to give the props makers a vision and the outcome they want. On their side the props makers have a very good idea of the space available to them and don't abuse this. It's amazing how well a process that run in parallel for so long can come together so cleanly.
I'll upload some photos but only once the concert is finished.
Monday, November 5, 2012
How to be a great leader in under 300 words
The six psychological factors that make a really great leader
Want to lead others? Well, much has been said and written about what makes a great leader, so here are the crib notes.
These are the factors that psychologists consistently find make a good leader:
- Decisiveness: good leaders make frequent decisions and stick with them. When there is uncertainty (and when isn't there?) good leaders choose and take responsibility.
- Competence: leaders should provide resources for their group. The headman in prehistoric times was often the best hunter in the group. Nowadays being competent often means having the knack of influencing others.
- Integrity: leaders you can trust increase followers' performance, satisfaction and commitment. Integrity breeds respect.
- Vision: projecting a vision of the road ahead is vital, this gives people a common purpose and motivation to persevere. Without a vision, the followers are lost.
These four factors were confirmed in a study of Fortune 1000 companies that had been turned around by their CEOs. That research also found two further factors that lifted leaders from 'good to great':
- Modesty: the most effective leaders weren't grand-standing show-offs; they were incredibly modest and humble.
- Persistent: the leaders who transformed their organisations the most never gave up. That doesn't mean they were inflexible, but that they never stopped pushing towards their goals.
Source
Sunday, November 4, 2012
It's always been done this way...
A nice story about the "it's always been done this way" problem.
"A quality management consultant was hired by a small English manufacturing company to advise them on improving general operating efficiency. The company produced a report which dealt with various aspects of productivity. At the top-right corner of one form, there was a small box. The consultant noted that the figure '0' had been written in every such report for the past year. On questioning the members of the staff who completed the report, they told him that they always put a zero in that box, and when he asked them why they told him they were told do so by their supervisor. The supervisor told him he guessed it had to do with accidents but wasn't sure. It had always been "0" for the twenty-five years he had been there, so he continued the practice. It, too, was something he was told to do by his former supervisor.
The consultant could find no one in the company who could tell him what the box represented. Intrigued, he went to the warehouse where the company kept its archives to see what he could discover about the form. The company was founded in 1937 and the records were preserved all the way back to 1940. He found the old reports, he saw that the zero return had continued uninterrupted for as far back as the records extended. Eventually, he found the box that catalogued all the originals of the forms the company had used during its history dating back to 1940. In it, he found the original report which was created in 1941, in pristine condition. In the top right corner was the mysterious box, with the heading clearly shown ...... 'Number of Air Raids Today.' Over time, the heading disappeared but the box remained."
Source
"A quality management consultant was hired by a small English manufacturing company to advise them on improving general operating efficiency. The company produced a report which dealt with various aspects of productivity. At the top-right corner of one form, there was a small box. The consultant noted that the figure '0' had been written in every such report for the past year. On questioning the members of the staff who completed the report, they told him that they always put a zero in that box, and when he asked them why they told him they were told do so by their supervisor. The supervisor told him he guessed it had to do with accidents but wasn't sure. It had always been "0" for the twenty-five years he had been there, so he continued the practice. It, too, was something he was told to do by his former supervisor.
The consultant could find no one in the company who could tell him what the box represented. Intrigued, he went to the warehouse where the company kept its archives to see what he could discover about the form. The company was founded in 1937 and the records were preserved all the way back to 1940. He found the old reports, he saw that the zero return had continued uninterrupted for as far back as the records extended. Eventually, he found the box that catalogued all the originals of the forms the company had used during its history dating back to 1940. In it, he found the original report which was created in 1941, in pristine condition. In the top right corner was the mysterious box, with the heading clearly shown ...... 'Number of Air Raids Today.' Over time, the heading disappeared but the box remained."
Source
Friday, November 2, 2012
Services Management slides updated
I have uploaded a series of slide packs on services management. One of these is a minor update on the slide pack explaining the Services Management Overview. Another is a more extensive change to the Services Quality pack I uploaded a few months ago. Finally there is a new and shorter pack to help with Understanding Service Failure.
These are intended to be available for people to use for educational purposes and are a way of saying thanks to my lecturer. I hope they come in useful.
These are intended to be available for people to use for educational purposes and are a way of saying thanks to my lecturer. I hope they come in useful.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
The Power of Checklists
Harvard surgeon Atul Gawande analyzed their effectiveness in his book The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right. What happens when you consistently use checklists use across in an intensive care unit?
The proportion of patients who didn’t receive the recommended care dropped from seventy per cent to four per cent; the occurrence of pneumonias fell by a quarter; and twenty-one fewer patients died than in the previous year. The researchers found that simply having the doctors and nurses in the I.C.U. make their own checklists for what they thought should be done each day improved the consistency of care to the point that, within a few weeks, the average length of patient stay in intensive care dropped by half.
The source for this except is here.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Email hurts
This is something that I have been finding bits and pieces on and off for a while. Email is one of the things that I think does more damage than we realize. There are so many cases I can remember where what was an intractable problem when dealt with via email was solved quickly face to face. If you wonder why "email hurts", here are some of the reasons.
There is also the view that dealing email effectively reduces your IQ. This is by as much as 10 IQ points, the same as missing a night's sleep or three times as much as smoking marijuana. Be aware though that there is the alternative view that this hasn't been proved and that email is simply a cognitive task that takes effort while you are dealing with it (i.e. it doesn't lower your IQ).
Actually it is the social aspects of email that is the bigger problem - the effect on your EQ. There are no visual or verbal clues that help people pick up the tone so there is a high likelihood that they will take the negative view on the email. Also, people are less likely to be cooperative and more likely to feel justified in being uncooperative. If you work in an organization with a heavy reliance on email and feel that it is difficult to get things done, this may be why.
The sheer volume of email is also an issue. It seems that some workers spend 28% of the average work week on reading and responding to email (or 23% according to others). It doesn't need to lower your IQ if it takes up a quarter of the day. What is more worrying is that much of the 28% of the day is self generated work. Much of the email that you get is self generated, responses to email that you have sent. This article asks you to think back to the last time you were on leave for an extended period. Most likely the volume of email reduced.
Email is also addictive much in the same way that gambling machines are - because it provides a variable-interval reinforcement schedule. We get a mental reward each time an email comes in. One of the problems I believe is that people have a natural inclination to communicate. We sit them at desks and expect them to stay there working so email is a result. We get used to lengthy email conversations were people talk past each other, when a simple phone call or face to face discussion would clear the issue up.
If you have to use email, here are some tips.
Perhaps it's something that we can do without from time to time. Here's one solution that was taken by one CEO. Certainly the face-to-face and phone communication that I rely on helps me to get things done.
Here are the links all in one place
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/does-email-turn-you-into-an-asshole/
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/10/how-can-you-stop-e-mail-from-taking-over-your/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-51472855/email-mistakes-at-work-how-to-survive-them/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/10/25/i-banned-all-internal-e-mails-at-my-company-for-a-week/
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/mgi/research/technology_and_innovation/the_social_economy/
http://mindhacks.com/2012/10/12/bbc-column-psychological-self-defence-for-the-age-of-email/
http://mindhacks.com/2005/04/24/does-email-really-reduce-iq/
http://mindhacks.com/2006/09/19/why-email-is-addictive-and-what-to-do-about-it/
http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/09/emails-dark-side-10-psychology-studies.php
http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/10/avoid-email-miscommunication.php
There is also the view that dealing email effectively reduces your IQ. This is by as much as 10 IQ points, the same as missing a night's sleep or three times as much as smoking marijuana. Be aware though that there is the alternative view that this hasn't been proved and that email is simply a cognitive task that takes effort while you are dealing with it (i.e. it doesn't lower your IQ).
Actually it is the social aspects of email that is the bigger problem - the effect on your EQ. There are no visual or verbal clues that help people pick up the tone so there is a high likelihood that they will take the negative view on the email. Also, people are less likely to be cooperative and more likely to feel justified in being uncooperative. If you work in an organization with a heavy reliance on email and feel that it is difficult to get things done, this may be why.
The sheer volume of email is also an issue. It seems that some workers spend 28% of the average work week on reading and responding to email (or 23% according to others). It doesn't need to lower your IQ if it takes up a quarter of the day. What is more worrying is that much of the 28% of the day is self generated work. Much of the email that you get is self generated, responses to email that you have sent. This article asks you to think back to the last time you were on leave for an extended period. Most likely the volume of email reduced.
Email is also addictive much in the same way that gambling machines are - because it provides a variable-interval reinforcement schedule. We get a mental reward each time an email comes in. One of the problems I believe is that people have a natural inclination to communicate. We sit them at desks and expect them to stay there working so email is a result. We get used to lengthy email conversations were people talk past each other, when a simple phone call or face to face discussion would clear the issue up.
If you have to use email, here are some tips.
- Build a relationship face to face or over the phone before using email as the primary source of communication. Make sure you rebuild those face to face or phone connections. Better yet, limit email to low value interactions and use face to face or phone for key communications. Never give surprises or bad news via email.
- Avoid humour. The only person that it is safe to poke fun of in an email is yourself. Also, it helps to assume that any email you send will be read by the person you least want to read the email. Once sent it is out of your control - completely out of your control.
- Limit email to certain times of the day. Most email clients can be set to only send and receive manually. It works. Often I find someone else has resolved the problem by the time I have read the email.
- Don't reinforce bad practices. Respond to emails at certain times and make sure that people know when that is. If they want an instant response they will know to use the phone.
- Consider having a cc folder where all the copied emails are collected and then check this once a week.This works very well as I did this for a number of months with no issues. You may want to identify certain individuals where you want to see the copied email and exclude them from the rule. If ever someone complains about this the answer is that no one should be assigning mission critical actions via a copied email.
Perhaps it's something that we can do without from time to time. Here's one solution that was taken by one CEO. Certainly the face-to-face and phone communication that I rely on helps me to get things done.
Here are the links all in one place
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/04/does-email-turn-you-into-an-asshole/
http://www.bakadesuyo.com/2012/10/how-can-you-stop-e-mail-from-taking-over-your/
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505125_162-51472855/email-mistakes-at-work-how-to-survive-them/
http://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesleadershipforum/2012/10/25/i-banned-all-internal-e-mails-at-my-company-for-a-week/
http://www.mckinsey.com/insights/mgi/research/technology_and_innovation/the_social_economy/
http://mindhacks.com/2012/10/12/bbc-column-psychological-self-defence-for-the-age-of-email/
http://mindhacks.com/2005/04/24/does-email-really-reduce-iq/
http://mindhacks.com/2006/09/19/why-email-is-addictive-and-what-to-do-about-it/
http://www.spring.org.uk/2010/09/emails-dark-side-10-psychology-studies.php
http://www.spring.org.uk/2007/10/avoid-email-miscommunication.php
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Online dis-inhibition
This is a nice article about the causes of online dis-inhibition (a.k.a acting like an idiot when online). There's few pieces I have been collecting about the problems of email but this is a nice place to start to understand why online communication can be a problem.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Optical illusions
Something a little different - especially if you need to pass some time. A couple of online optical illusions sites.
One from Akiyoshi Kitaoka, (Professor, Department of Psychology, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan). Check out Brain activity on this page.
Some more by Michael Bach. Professor in the ophthalmology department at the University of Freiburg in Germany
These were found here.
One from Akiyoshi Kitaoka, (Professor, Department of Psychology, Ritsumeikan University, Kyoto, Japan). Check out Brain activity on this page.
Some more by Michael Bach. Professor in the ophthalmology department at the University of Freiburg in Germany
These were found here.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Video - What is a manager's most important job?
This didn't make it into my research report but here is a video of Teresa Amabile explaining how to improve creativity.
More important that what it provides around creativity is what it explains about creating motivation at work. If you are a manager this explains why your most important task is find ways to help the people who report to you perform their work better.
It's not a small video though...
More important that what it provides around creativity is what it explains about creating motivation at work. If you are a manager this explains why your most important task is find ways to help the people who report to you perform their work better.
It's not a small video though...
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The Inspiration for my Creativity Research
One thing I forgot to post a few months back was the inspiration for my research report. It was this YouTube video from Sir Ken Robinson. It was a revelation to understand that some academics spend all their time studying creativity (I should have known really). What it provided was a topic that could hold my interest for three months that I knew enough about to get started on. This is an opportunity to acknowledge the inspiration that started it all.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Updated: What does English sound like to non-English speakers?
Why the post? I always wondered and I wondered again as a result of the last three months. I have been the only native English speaker in a group of eight students each working on significant sized research reports. For example, I cannot imagine going to other country and writing an academic research report in that language in only three months. That's what these people have done and they never complained or pulled out the old argument that 'it wasn't fair'. They just got stuck in and kept at it, took the feedback from the supervisor and kept going. That sort of perseverance in the face of these sorts of challenges is amazing to see. We had to give presentations and there was a lot of thought and effort put into those presentations.
As for what English may sound like, here are some examples.
Here's one version from 1974
Here's another (slightly less entertaining attempt) from 2011
As for what English may sound like, here are some examples.
Here's one version from 1974
Here's another (slightly less entertaining attempt) from 2011
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Friday, October 19, 2012
Freedom
I have handed in my research report today. Over the past three months I have been getting up at 4:00 or 5:00 am to add an average of 170 words a morning into the report. It's now over and I have my life back - mostly. It's proving awfully difficult not to get up at 5:00am.
I will restart this blog but at a slower pace, perhaps one or two posts per week. It will be nice to have a break from writing to deadlines. I also have some presentations around Service Management and Product Development Management I want to write up so I can reinforce and better remember what I learned from those papers.
No today though.
I will restart this blog but at a slower pace, perhaps one or two posts per week. It will be nice to have a break from writing to deadlines. I also have some presentations around Service Management and Product Development Management I want to write up so I can reinforce and better remember what I learned from those papers.
No today though.
Monday, September 17, 2012
What defines a service failure?
Not getting the client to the summit or the client dying. The example near the bottom shows how blurred the line can get.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
Hiatus - till late October
I am needing to put more and more time into the research assignment. For a period I had a small stable of posts but these have now run out. Better to be honest and say that I will be taking a break until late October (after the 25th at least).
I'll leave you with some nice posts by my kids. One from Larissa about (her) my family, and one from Phoebe about why Japan was more fun than Malaysia.
I'll leave you with some nice posts by my kids. One from Larissa about (her) my family, and one from Phoebe about why Japan was more fun than Malaysia.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Pressure and Creativity
Short version: Apply the right kind of pressure on innovators
Long version: What doesn't motivate creativity will kill it
Long version: What doesn't motivate creativity will kill it
Monday, August 27, 2012
Another thing for the to-do list after finishing my study
Having completed a bit a bout the influence of social networks on creativity I think that I may be able to turn this into a speech or presentation built around the concept of 'El Dorado'. I hope I remember what this means when November rolls around...
Thursday, August 23, 2012
What influences your creativity?
Here is what creativity research over the past six years has found could influence your creativity at work. These have all be used as variables in survey based studies.
Age
Attitudes towards creativity
Authoritarian Leadership
Behavioural integrity
Benevolent Leadership
Chinese culture
Climate for Creativity
Collaborative culture
Collective efficacy
Compensation systems
Conscientiousness
Creative performance
Creative Process Engagement
Creative role identity
Creative self-efficacy
Creative skills in organization
Creative time pressure
Creative work involvement
Cultural factors
Demographic factors
Education
Educational Specialization Heterogeneity
Emotional intelligence
Employee participation
Empowerment
Encouragement for creativity
Environmental uncertainty
Expectations for creativity
External environment
Extraversion
Extrinsic motivation
Feedback
Feelings of energy
Follower innovative behaviour
Freedom
Gender
Group
Group size
Group Type
Happiness
Harmonious passion for work
Hope
Includes relationship between employee and supervisor
Individual conformity (or autonomy)
Information exchange
Innovative culture
Intention to think creatively
Intrinsic interest
Intrinsic motivation
Intuitive cognitive style
Job Autonomy/ Job control
Job challenge
Job characteristics
Job Characteristics
Job complexity
Job type/ characteristics
Knowledge sharing
Knowledge stock (TKM)
Knowledge utilization (TKM)
Leader-member exchange (LMX)
Learning orientation
Martial status
Meaningfulness at work
Motivational support
Need for achievement
Need for affiliation
Need for power
Network diversity
Network size
Network strength
Neuroticism
Non-controlling leadership style
Openness to experience
Organizational cultural archetype
Organization size
Organization type
Organizational creativity
Organizational identification
Other factors
Perceived external prestige
Perceived organizational identity
Performance reward
Perseverance
Physiological availability
Polychronic tendencies
Positive Group Affective Tone
Positive psychological experiences
Prevention based behaviour
Proactive personality
Procedural justice
Professional Activity
Promotion based behaviour
Psychological empowerment
Psychological safety
Regulatory focus
Relational support
Relationship between peers
Relationship with customers
Relationship with employees (includes guanxi networks)
Risk
Risk propensity
Role conflict
Self-expectations for creativity
Social desirability
Stewardship behaviour
Stress
Strong tie networks
Strong tie networks outside team (includes outside team guanxi
networks)
Strong tie networks within team (includes within team guanxi
networks)
Structural empowerment
Structured processes (HRM)
Supervisory status/Rank
Support (or perception of) for creativity
Support for autonomy
Support for autonomy/centralization
Support for Creativity
Supportive culture
Supportive leadership
Systematic cognitive style
Task autonomy
Task conflict
Task feedback
Task identity
Task significance
Task variety
Tasks requiring creativity
Team age
Team centralization
Team Creative performance
Team creativity
Team diversity
Team emotional intelligence
Team formalization
Team life-cycle phase
Team trust
Team-member exchange (TMX)
Tenure in job
Tenure in team
Time pressure
Training strategies for creativity
Transactional leadership
Transformational leadership
Trust in employee loyalty
Trust in employee reliability
Uncertainty/ Role ambiguity
Value placed in formalization
Vitality
Weak tie networks
A big thank you goes out from me to Excel for helping me manage this stuff!
Productivity
A cheap shot as it's just a link to someone else's blog. I'm giving 'rise early' a really good thrashing at the moment.
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Services quality and recovery on slideshare
The one presenation I did found that services quality and services recovery are better being run as separate sessions. The services quality and recovery presentations have been split and uploaded to SlideShare. You can find them at the links below:
This represents some cyber-slacking as I should be wading through hypotheses.
This represents some cyber-slacking as I should be wading through hypotheses.
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Broken processes
Extreme positions are usually wrong but often have a component of truth in them. There's a good element of truth in this.
"We get brilliant results from average people managing brilliant
processes, while our competitors get average or worse results from
brilliant people managing broken processes." Fukjio Cho (張 富士夫) - Toyota
Monday, August 20, 2012
Service Management Overview on slideshare
The presentation has been put on slideshare.net. I hope this is a better solution than using google pages as a file store.
Work the system
A man was going up to bed, when his wife told him he'd left the light on in the garden shed - she could see it from the bedroom window. But he said that he hadn't been in the shed that day. He looked for himself, and there were people in the shed, stealing things. He rang the police, but they told him that no officers were in his area, so no one was available to catch the thieves. He said ok, hung up, waited a few minutes, and rang the police again. "Hello. I just called you a short time ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don't have to worry about them now. I've just shot them all." Within five minutes there were half a dozen police cars at the house. Of course, they caught the burglars red-handed. One of the policemen said to the man: "I thought you said you'd shot them!" He replied: "I thought you said there was no one available.” An attention grabbing introduction from: “work the system”: employee creativity in the shadows by Feirong Yuan, Celile Itir Gogus, Richard W. Woodman
Sunday, August 19, 2012
Study music
After many years of good services I am going to retire my current study music. Study music is what I put on when I study, it plays over and over again and the purpose of it is to fill in the background with something pleasant, not distracting, that reduces the distraction caused by random noise. I don't know how many times I have listened to Verdi's Nabucco but I have proved beyond any doubt that CDs just don't wear out no matter how many times you play them.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
Proof proactivity works
What do these guys say about being proactive?
Gong, Y., Cheung, S., Wang, M., & Huang, J. (2012). Unfolding the proactive process for creativity: Integration of the employee proactivity, information exchange, and psychological safety perspectives. Journal of Management, 38(5), 1611-1633.
Hypothesis 1: There is a positive relationship between proactive personality and employee creativity. Supported
Hypothesis 2: There is a positive relationship between employee creativity and newcomers’ career satisfaction. Supported
Hypothesis 3: There is a positive relationship between employee creativity and newcomers’ perceived insider status. Supported
Hypothesis 4a: Employee creativity mediates between proactive personality and career satisfaction. Supported
Hypothesis 4b: Employee creativity mediates between proactive personality and perceived insider status. Supported
What this says in simple terms is that if you are proactive you are likely to be more creative. If you are more creative then you are likely to experience more career satisfaction. If you are creative, you are likely to feel that you belong in any new role more quickly.
Being proactive and creative helps with career satisfaction.
Gong, Y., Cheung, S., Wang, M., & Huang, J. (2012). Unfolding the proactive process for creativity: Integration of the employee proactivity, information exchange, and psychological safety perspectives. Journal of Management, 38(5), 1611-1633.
Hypothesis 1: There is a positive relationship between proactive personality and employee creativity. Supported
Hypothesis 2: There is a positive relationship between employee creativity and newcomers’ career satisfaction. Supported
Hypothesis 3: There is a positive relationship between employee creativity and newcomers’ perceived insider status. Supported
Hypothesis 4a: Employee creativity mediates between proactive personality and career satisfaction. Supported
Hypothesis 4b: Employee creativity mediates between proactive personality and perceived insider status. Supported
What this says in simple terms is that if you are proactive you are likely to be more creative. If you are more creative then you are likely to experience more career satisfaction. If you are creative, you are likely to feel that you belong in any new role more quickly.
Being proactive and creative helps with career satisfaction.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Family is back
It's nice to hear how much the kids enjoyed their holiday, and there are a lot of photos.
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Survival
Following on from the last post about ancient languages, the Emperor Claudius was supposed to have written a large history of Etruria using in the Etruscan language. It doesn't survive so the language is lost.
Many far more ancient languages have been rediscovered. Akkadian survived because it was written on clay tablets. Clay was used for practical reasons as the writing could be smeared off and reused. When ancient cities were destroyed, they were burned when both fire-hardened and buried the tablets ironically protecting them for future generations to uncover and decipher.
Deciphering a language is a case of having enough material, looking for patterns, and taking clues from known and surviving languages. For example finding known names in Greek or Hebrew and using the sounds to provide a clue as to how the language sounded.
Some languages I know have been deciphered are: Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian; Sumerian; Hittite; Old Persian. There's even a Mycenean Linear B Dictionary online (for those interested).
Many more recent languages (Etruscan, Palmyrene, Gothic) have been lost forever because of better and newer materials being used that just don't have the resilience of clay tablets.
Much of the information about our society (e.g. this text) would be lost if we lost the ability to produce electricity.
Clay tablets hold a tiny amount of information, whereas a hard drive (how long do they last and it needs special equipment and power to use) holds incredible volumes of information and they are both about the same size. The survivability of an information system seems to be inversely proportional the the density of information that it can hold.
Go and get those digital photos printed...
Many far more ancient languages have been rediscovered. Akkadian survived because it was written on clay tablets. Clay was used for practical reasons as the writing could be smeared off and reused. When ancient cities were destroyed, they were burned when both fire-hardened and buried the tablets ironically protecting them for future generations to uncover and decipher.
Deciphering a language is a case of having enough material, looking for patterns, and taking clues from known and surviving languages. For example finding known names in Greek or Hebrew and using the sounds to provide a clue as to how the language sounded.
Some languages I know have been deciphered are: Akkadian, Assyrian, and Babylonian; Sumerian; Hittite; Old Persian. There's even a Mycenean Linear B Dictionary online (for those interested).
Many more recent languages (Etruscan, Palmyrene, Gothic) have been lost forever because of better and newer materials being used that just don't have the resilience of clay tablets.
Much of the information about our society (e.g. this text) would be lost if we lost the ability to produce electricity.
Clay tablets hold a tiny amount of information, whereas a hard drive (how long do they last and it needs special equipment and power to use) holds incredible volumes of information and they are both about the same size. The survivability of an information system seems to be inversely proportional the the density of information that it can hold.
Go and get those digital photos printed...
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
10 things you should do on linked in
Posted so I can remember where to find it: 10 things you should do on linked in.
The url trick works: http://nz.linkedin.com/in/graemekiyotoward
No change
I will have to admit that this is one of my favorite internet sites. My daughter loves this stuff, especially this one. I think I may have had it and this one loaded up as fonts on my computer at one point.
I wish this sort of information had been around when I was a kid. But as the internet has made and incredibly broad range of information available it has also made incredible amounts of meaningless entertainment available as well so there is more information but other things to fill in the time for kids these days.
The positive and the negative net out to no change I suppose.
I wish this sort of information had been around when I was a kid. But as the internet has made and incredibly broad range of information available it has also made incredible amounts of meaningless entertainment available as well so there is more information but other things to fill in the time for kids these days.
The positive and the negative net out to no change I suppose.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Changing Education Paradigms
There was a very nice link to a YouTube video about Changing Education Paradigms that was sent to me by a colleague that formed the inspiration for my current research report. I have finally managed to include in the references - it forms part of the introduction and helps to provide context. Not sure whether a link to a YouTube video is going to be considered an appropriate reference in a a research report for a Masters paper. I guess I'll find out.
My all time favorite reference has to be this (full reference below) that I managed to fit into an assignment about Service Management. Not because it was a way to buck the system but rather because human systems generally have more in common than not and that looking at other systems (or industries) can be very informative and inspirational.
Here's the reference: Weick, K. E., & Roberts, K. H. (1993). Collective mind in organizations: Heedful interrelating on flight decks. Administrative science quarterly, 357-381.
My all time favorite reference has to be this (full reference below) that I managed to fit into an assignment about Service Management. Not because it was a way to buck the system but rather because human systems generally have more in common than not and that looking at other systems (or industries) can be very informative and inspirational.
Here's the reference: Weick, K. E., & Roberts, K. H. (1993). Collective mind in organizations: Heedful interrelating on flight decks. Administrative science quarterly, 357-381.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Innovation
Innovation = invention + implementation?
Probably more accurately:
Probably more accurately:
- Innovation = Invention (Creativity) + Effort + Persistence
- Change = Innovation + More Effort + More Persistence
- Results = Change + Yet More Effort + Yet More Persistence
- Invention (Creativity) = Effort & Persistence (go read something about Thomas Edison if you don't believe this)
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Weird but convenient
It's very weird but I needed to refer to my own blog post to remind myself on the key attributes of transformational leadership. It was convenient though!
Friday, August 10, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Monday, August 6, 2012
Roman History
A Story Of Ancient Power In 'The Rise of Rome'. Interesting that books written for students aren't interesting - however a quick review of Roman history is recommended fro everyone - even if you only have time to skim it from Wikipedia.
The Republic was built on a social system with checks and balances that eventually broke down. The system of government was built around the concept of 'no'. Tributes had the veto and there were two Consuls. The Consul Bibulus 'watching the heavens' during the Consulship of Julius Ceasar is possibly one of the things that encouraged the Civil War that ended the Republic. What the Roman Republic tells us is that in organizations built around the concept of 'no',basically a appeal to power becomes the way of getting things done.
The best thing about Ancient History is that it is familiar and useful (it is about people, economies and social systems) and you can see how things turned out.
The Republic was built on a social system with checks and balances that eventually broke down. The system of government was built around the concept of 'no'. Tributes had the veto and there were two Consuls. The Consul Bibulus 'watching the heavens' during the Consulship of Julius Ceasar is possibly one of the things that encouraged the Civil War that ended the Republic. What the Roman Republic tells us is that in organizations built around the concept of 'no',basically a appeal to power becomes the way of getting things done.
The best thing about Ancient History is that it is familiar and useful (it is about people, economies and social systems) and you can see how things turned out.
School
I hope I don't learn any of these bad habits you learn in school. There has a been a lot of great things I have learned though.
Sunday, August 5, 2012
Busyness
Is busyness bad for business
Business is a social activity to achieve results. Is busyness good for for athletics, is it good for combat? I prefer to get things done and I (like most others), like progress.
p.s. Teresa Amabile did a longitudinal study in which she found that people were most motivated by the discernible progress (even small steps). The article above is based on this study.
Business is a social activity to achieve results. Is busyness good for for athletics, is it good for combat? I prefer to get things done and I (like most others), like progress.
p.s. Teresa Amabile did a longitudinal study in which she found that people were most motivated by the discernible progress (even small steps). The article above is based on this study.
Saturday, August 4, 2012
I'm glad I watched
Watching the end of the womens' triathlon, with NZ out of the race, I didn't care who won, as long as they deserved it. People like to see achievement (from a sample of one).
Triathalon
I'm listening to the commentary for the triathlon and athe things they need to think about. It's quite complex and there are a lot of decisions to make in the face of uncertainty. Iit's genuinely interesting to hear what others need to weigh up to get the job done.
Something we may have in common...
I'm watching the Olympics, along with I suspect a few billion other people. The womens' triathlon, a sport I know almost nothing about (I remember seeing it when the Olympics were held in Athens as well). Why does someone like me who basically knows nothing about the sport. Is it that we like to watch people compete, partly, I suspect that this is the case but if that were really the case I would much prefer to watch boxing or wrestling (which I don't). I think it is much more basic, I think people like to watch other people to succeed in difficult circumstances. Perhaps this s why we like to support the underdog, greater achievement.
Of course we just may be curious about how things turn out.
Of course we just may be curious about how things turn out.
Friday, August 3, 2012
Live in the future
Something that helps me a lot - mentally thinking ahead when dealing with an issue.
In my case this comes from a TV series about fighter pilots. The faster the plane, the more you have to think ahead. With a jet fighter you have to think a long way ahead, if you don't fly the plane it will fly you.
If you believe that your skills and capabilities are high performance (like a jet fighter) then think like a fighter pilot and think ahead.
This line of thinking was well supported by the study I did in the Products Development Management course around forecasting - and in particular scenario planning. Scenario planning (thinking of possible outcomes and using these as reference points to identify what other outcomes could exist between these) is something that gets easier with practice. It's the system I use to understand what could be coming next.
Thinking ahead isn't hard - just ask yourself what could this lead to? What is hard is learning the discipline to understand potentially conflicting futures and knowing when one or other becomes the most likely to occur - i.e. when to act.
Bottom line is we are all different, this may not work for you but I find it works for me.
In my case this comes from a TV series about fighter pilots. The faster the plane, the more you have to think ahead. With a jet fighter you have to think a long way ahead, if you don't fly the plane it will fly you.
If you believe that your skills and capabilities are high performance (like a jet fighter) then think like a fighter pilot and think ahead.
This line of thinking was well supported by the study I did in the Products Development Management course around forecasting - and in particular scenario planning. Scenario planning (thinking of possible outcomes and using these as reference points to identify what other outcomes could exist between these) is something that gets easier with practice. It's the system I use to understand what could be coming next.
Thinking ahead isn't hard - just ask yourself what could this lead to? What is hard is learning the discipline to understand potentially conflicting futures and knowing when one or other becomes the most likely to occur - i.e. when to act.
Bottom line is we are all different, this may not work for you but I find it works for me.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Be contrarian
Some articles that stood out for me.
These highlight some unfortunate practices, but sometimes structure and process is good, and sometimes more data is needed. We learn from past successes (and this applies to organizations as well) this can create a situation in which an organization pushes too far down one path or approach. You can add a lot of value by asking the questions, what would happen if I headed in the opposite direction.
These highlight some unfortunate practices, but sometimes structure and process is good, and sometimes more data is needed. We learn from past successes (and this applies to organizations as well) this can create a situation in which an organization pushes too far down one path or approach. You can add a lot of value by asking the questions, what would happen if I headed in the opposite direction.
Monday, July 30, 2012
Another The Best Blog Ever!
I'm equally as biased about this one: Phoebe's blog: Phoebe's first message.Great content too!
When kids do things you can never do...
My daughter has finished her grade 5 exam. Next is Intermediate Foundation and Pointe shoes.
Suddenly is is very nearly as tall as her mum.
Suddenly is is very nearly as tall as her mum.
Transformational leadership
Some tips for transformational leadership (obligingly paraphrased from Yukl by Wikipedia):
- Develop a challenging and attractive vision, together with the employees.
- Tie the vision to a strategy for its achievement.
- Develop the vision, specify and translate it to actions.
- Express confidence, decisiveness and optimism about the vision and its implementation.
- Realize the vision through small planned steps and small successes in the path for its full implementation.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Benevolent Leadership, Harmonious Passion and Guanxi Networks
Reading about creativity, I have been surprised by the amount of creativity literature (in English) that covers Chinese, Taiwanese, and Korean (but not Japanese) settings and organizations. Matches the Scandinavian (and German but a lot of that is in German language) interest in services.
I wonder which disciplines we New Zealanders are well represented in? Is what we study a reflection of where our society/economy is heading?
I wonder which disciplines we New Zealanders are well represented in? Is what we study a reflection of where our society/economy is heading?
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Problems with 'shared resources'
An interesting article for those people who have ever faced the behavioral problems where there are apparently 'shared resources' involved (not that other peoples' lunch counts though).
Friday, July 27, 2012
Highlight of the week - children on National TV
Both my daughters appear on National TV (or at least appear in a picture broadcast on National TV). You need to know them to find them but we can find them and that's enough for me. Here is the video: Sam Wallace goes to the junior Olympics (7:51).
The eldest is at 4:49
The youngest at 6:11
The eldest is at 4:49
The youngest at 6:11
Thursday, July 26, 2012
Quick Overview of Service Recovery
There is a quick overview of service recovery available on the pages site. This was part of an assignment and has been uploaded for those who may be interested. This has been written like a brief encyclopedia entry. It provides a basic overview but be aware, service recovery is a big topic so it is not the only approach that could be used to describe Service Recovery.
The wikipedia view of the Service Recovery Paradox one of the more complex to understand terms related to Service Recovery. I would never quote wikipedia in academic writing but as this an opinion for a blog, I believe that their description is quite good.
The wikipedia view of the Service Recovery Paradox one of the more complex to understand terms related to Service Recovery. I would never quote wikipedia in academic writing but as this an opinion for a blog, I believe that their description is quite good.
Wednesday, July 25, 2012
Being introverted
There's been a bit recently on Forbes.com about introverts, which I found interesting (some of the articles are linked to below) but not for the reason that Forbes.com did.
Firstly, a bit of disclosure, I fit into the category of introvert. The definition I use to categorize this is that an introvert gets their energy from within while extroverts get their energy from those around them. I ht a lot of the other markers too including not being a great conversationalist (in most situations).
The thing that I found most interesting about the series of Forbes articles is that they seemed to subscribe to a standard stereotypical view of introverts as somehow not fitting in, being less capable, or having certain weaknesses than need to be compensated for - then from that base arguing the benefits. I disagree.
We all have strengths in certain areas, and weaknesses that are only weaknesses in some situations (but can be strengths in others). If we let one of two areas define us it's letting the stereotype model take us over. We are so much the product of a variety of experience, education, situation, and so many other complicated factors that I view something like introversion as a means to judging a person's effectiveness is immaterial. To me it's as ridiculous and unforgivable as saying someone has a certain weakness because of their ethnicity, country of birth, gender or religious belief.
Personally I find being an introvert as a source of strength, I could think of no greater disability than having my energy levels tied to those around me.We can't change who we are but we can decide how we view the things that shape us.
Here's some light reading.
Introverts in the Office: How to Work Well in an Extrovert's World
The secret power of introverts
Introverts can make the best leaders
Firstly, a bit of disclosure, I fit into the category of introvert. The definition I use to categorize this is that an introvert gets their energy from within while extroverts get their energy from those around them. I ht a lot of the other markers too including not being a great conversationalist (in most situations).
The thing that I found most interesting about the series of Forbes articles is that they seemed to subscribe to a standard stereotypical view of introverts as somehow not fitting in, being less capable, or having certain weaknesses than need to be compensated for - then from that base arguing the benefits. I disagree.
We all have strengths in certain areas, and weaknesses that are only weaknesses in some situations (but can be strengths in others). If we let one of two areas define us it's letting the stereotype model take us over. We are so much the product of a variety of experience, education, situation, and so many other complicated factors that I view something like introversion as a means to judging a person's effectiveness is immaterial. To me it's as ridiculous and unforgivable as saying someone has a certain weakness because of their ethnicity, country of birth, gender or religious belief.
Personally I find being an introvert as a source of strength, I could think of no greater disability than having my energy levels tied to those around me.We can't change who we are but we can decide how we view the things that shape us.
Here's some light reading.
Introverts in the Office: How to Work Well in an Extrovert's World
The secret power of introverts
Introverts can make the best leaders
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
Exam technique in relation to presenting ideas at work
Yesterday I covered how dance competition can inform exam technique, today I cover how exam technique can inform selling an idea.
To recap, the best exam technique is to focus on getting the most marks as quickly as possible, and with the dance competition get in and get out. They both have a relationship with selling an idea. Get in make the pitch and get the key stuff out of the way then stop talking - let the audience engage with the idea. What I seem to face more often than not is carrying on, and just like in the dance competition, I create the risk of making mistakes - I've got my points - carrying on just risks tripping over.
Also one of the key points in an idea is for the other party to work with it and start to take it on board. Giving them a chance to comment and talk about their view is key.
I suppose that this is a long winded way of saying I should talk less and listen more.
To recap, the best exam technique is to focus on getting the most marks as quickly as possible, and with the dance competition get in and get out. They both have a relationship with selling an idea. Get in make the pitch and get the key stuff out of the way then stop talking - let the audience engage with the idea. What I seem to face more often than not is carrying on, and just like in the dance competition, I create the risk of making mistakes - I've got my points - carrying on just risks tripping over.
Also one of the key points in an idea is for the other party to work with it and start to take it on board. Giving them a chance to comment and talk about their view is key.
I suppose that this is a long winded way of saying I should talk less and listen more.
Monday, July 23, 2012
Ballet competitions in relation to exam technique
Having a look at the stats for the posts, the clear winner (most popular) is when I upload a presentation to the pages site and provide a link. This isn't going to happen anytime soon. The second place goes to the girl in the ballet competition whose music cut out. Given that this seems to have been the next most popular I thought I would share something else from the same competition.
Usually the dads sit in the audience and watch, for me I have the job of videoing my daughter but - seeing as my daughter is only one of many, many dancers - we get to watch the other young girls. What we found is that some of the dances are quite long, much longer than the recommended two and a half to three minutes. We thought about this and realized that a long dance (although satisfying for the parent) isn't best for the child from a competition perspective. You can get all the points you need from the two and a half to three minutes. If the dance goes on for longer the situation changes in that each additional second out there is a chance to make an error and loose the points you have gained. The key to this we worked out was to, get on, get the points, and then get off. Our daughters' ballet teacher obviously knows this as I have had to shorten songs in the past to bring them within time.
This reminded me of exam techniques. Let's explain, I like exams, a lot more than I like other assignments. They are usually a lot easier to study for and they are over quickly. Also, over the years I have had many exams and have learned very good (I think at least) exam technique - and I usually do very well. There are a few techniques that I will share for those interested, the first of these is similar to the dancing competition. Get in, get your points and get out - in an exam this means rule number one is: DON'T ANSWER THE QUESTIONS IN THE ORDER THAT THEY APPEAR. Read all the questions then answer the easiest first. If the question is something you remember and find easy, you gain more points per unit of time. Once done with the easiest question move onto the next easiest (second most efficient in terms of points per unit of time) and so forth. Even if there is a question you don't know how to answer at all (I'll cover how to deal with this in a later post) and you don't answer it, you could well have passed.
I wish my kids would just listen to this advice...
Usually the dads sit in the audience and watch, for me I have the job of videoing my daughter but - seeing as my daughter is only one of many, many dancers - we get to watch the other young girls. What we found is that some of the dances are quite long, much longer than the recommended two and a half to three minutes. We thought about this and realized that a long dance (although satisfying for the parent) isn't best for the child from a competition perspective. You can get all the points you need from the two and a half to three minutes. If the dance goes on for longer the situation changes in that each additional second out there is a chance to make an error and loose the points you have gained. The key to this we worked out was to, get on, get the points, and then get off. Our daughters' ballet teacher obviously knows this as I have had to shorten songs in the past to bring them within time.
This reminded me of exam techniques. Let's explain, I like exams, a lot more than I like other assignments. They are usually a lot easier to study for and they are over quickly. Also, over the years I have had many exams and have learned very good (I think at least) exam technique - and I usually do very well. There are a few techniques that I will share for those interested, the first of these is similar to the dancing competition. Get in, get your points and get out - in an exam this means rule number one is: DON'T ANSWER THE QUESTIONS IN THE ORDER THAT THEY APPEAR. Read all the questions then answer the easiest first. If the question is something you remember and find easy, you gain more points per unit of time. Once done with the easiest question move onto the next easiest (second most efficient in terms of points per unit of time) and so forth. Even if there is a question you don't know how to answer at all (I'll cover how to deal with this in a later post) and you don't answer it, you could well have passed.
I wish my kids would just listen to this advice...
Sunday, July 22, 2012
It's hunting season...
How to kill creativity seems to be a corporate sport if the number of topics that come up is to be believed. The first article is a very good read - and provides one view on what generates creativity.
- How to Kill Creativity (academic view - and a good read)
- How to Kill Creativity (summary of the academic view)
- How to Kill Creativity (cartoonist's view)
- Ways to Kill Creativity (another view)
- Ways companies kill creativity (another view - seems to be an original article)
- Ways to kill creativity (one way to kill your own creativity would be to copy someone else's work - this seems to be an exact copy of the article above)
- Ways to kill creativity (only six ways this time)
- The terrible management technique that cost Microsoft its creativity (live example)
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Creativity Tip - Be part of a team
One of Thomas Edison's assistants once remarked that "In reality, Edison was a collective noun and meant the work of many men". There is a mythology of creativity being the loner who goes out and creates breakthroughs. More often than not a breakthrough is the work of many people but just one can put their name to it.
We humans are social creatures and to break free from a well known paradigm of doing things, we really need people in our corner who believe in us. If you have an idea, you will need to share it to make it happen.
We humans are social creatures and to break free from a well known paradigm of doing things, we really need people in our corner who believe in us. If you have an idea, you will need to share it to make it happen.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Perspectives of Queues (3.3mb pdf)
This is one that I have uploaded for my lecturer. It's a perspective on queues looking as queues that most of us know (and hate) on the daily commute before then looking at a fast food outfit (for a business perspective). Colourful and light reading. Images from the daily commute were obtained by blu-tacking a video camera to the dashboard of my car and driving to and from work.
It can be downloaded here.
It can be downloaded here.
Where to go for the best ideas
Leading on from yesterday I though I'd cover off where to go for the best ideas. If thinking creatively is thinking in other boxes, then the best place to look for ideas is in other boxes that have more severe consequences than your own box (or industry).
As an example if you are dealing with:
If you have an ethics problem, then I think you may be on your own. I can't think of any industry which has solved ethics to the same extent as the airline industry has solve quality. Any comments to the contrary are welcome...
Note: select Comment as: then anonymous from the drop down if you don't want to go through some sort of Google log-in.
As an example if you are dealing with:
- a quality problem, then look to the airline industry
- a rapid response problem, then look to the police
- a contingency for disaster problem, then look to the nuclear industry
- a turnaround problem, then look to the formula one racing industry
- a moving delicate heavy machinery around problem, then look to how they do it on aircraft carriers
If you have an ethics problem, then I think you may be on your own. I can't think of any industry which has solved ethics to the same extent as the airline industry has solve quality. Any comments to the contrary are welcome...
Note: select Comment as: then anonymous from the drop down if you don't want to go through some sort of Google log-in.
Wednesday, July 18, 2012
Blog comments setting changed
The secret of thinking outside the box
The research assignment starts. Three months of the study of creativity. As I learn things I will try to find gems to put up here. Here's a quick one first off on 'how to think outside the box' something that we as managers get asked to do on occasion.
The answer is simple, don't. You can't think outside the box, that would be like creating knowledge from nowhere. Everything we learn we learn though others or through experience, there is no out of the box.
The secret to creative thinking is to 'think in other boxes'. What is the essential problem? Has someone else dealt with this type of thing before? What did they do in that situation? What else do I have in my body of knowledge that relates to this type of issue?
Idea sourced from Hargadon, A. 2006. Creativity that Works. In The Handbook of Organizational Creativity.
The answer is simple, don't. You can't think outside the box, that would be like creating knowledge from nowhere. Everything we learn we learn though others or through experience, there is no out of the box.
The secret to creative thinking is to 'think in other boxes'. What is the essential problem? Has someone else dealt with this type of thing before? What did they do in that situation? What else do I have in my body of knowledge that relates to this type of issue?
Idea sourced from Hargadon, A. 2006. Creativity that Works. In The Handbook of Organizational Creativity.
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Services Quality and Recovery Presentation has been Updated
This has been updated to include outcome and process aspects of quality. This is the final update (I promise) until I get through my research assignment. Slide pack is available either here: Service Quality and Recovery.
Monday, July 16, 2012
The show must go on - part 2
This is a quick note to follow up from yesterday's post in which a girl performing at a ballet competition had the music fail on her yet she carried on and came first. I have been thinking about why the girls manage to get through the various prop and music malfunctions.
It came to me that these girls understand what the essential elements of their competitive dance is. Essential elements are those parts of the dance that they must get right in order to be successful - the things they get judged on. The music and the operation of the props is part of the routine but aren't essential. Technique is essential, facial expression is essential, stage presence is essential. These girls carry on with the parts that are essential.
I suppose the reflection for me is that when things go wrong, it usually isn't the end of the world, in fact I suspect that very few times is it an essential element that breaks. Understanding what is essential, what is important, and what is extra may be an important part of perseverance and resilience - more important than I had realised.
It came to me that these girls understand what the essential elements of their competitive dance is. Essential elements are those parts of the dance that they must get right in order to be successful - the things they get judged on. The music and the operation of the props is part of the routine but aren't essential. Technique is essential, facial expression is essential, stage presence is essential. These girls carry on with the parts that are essential.
I suppose the reflection for me is that when things go wrong, it usually isn't the end of the world, in fact I suspect that very few times is it an essential element that breaks. Understanding what is essential, what is important, and what is extra may be an important part of perseverance and resilience - more important than I had realised.
Sunday, July 15, 2012
The show must go on
Today and yesterday were ballet competition days for my oldest daughter. I normally sit in the audience to video her performances so that my wife (who normally looks on from side-stage) can see what her dances look like from the front.
I get to watch a lot of other kid's dance as well. Today there was one exceptional dance amongst the fourteen year olds where the girl's music kept cutting out. She kept going regardless and I was impressed that she seemed to be able to keep timing for when the music cut back in. Perhaps a third of the performance was danced in silence.
What was more impressive was finding out afterwards that she put additional steps in to bridge the silences, despite this it looked like a rehearsed set. In the end she won, an impressive result in difficult circumstances. In a competition situation, with unpredictable music, in front of an adjudicator, and in front of an audience.
One of the things that children learn in these competitions is to keep going regardless, I have seen one dance where the music never started and the entire dance was done in silence. It's a nice lesson about persistence in the face of adversity and making the best of a bad lot. They know that they need to carry on regardless and frequently rise to the challenge.There's a lesson in here for us all, how gracefully do we deal with things when they don't go as we expected them to?
I get to watch a lot of other kid's dance as well. Today there was one exceptional dance amongst the fourteen year olds where the girl's music kept cutting out. She kept going regardless and I was impressed that she seemed to be able to keep timing for when the music cut back in. Perhaps a third of the performance was danced in silence.
What was more impressive was finding out afterwards that she put additional steps in to bridge the silences, despite this it looked like a rehearsed set. In the end she won, an impressive result in difficult circumstances. In a competition situation, with unpredictable music, in front of an adjudicator, and in front of an audience.
One of the things that children learn in these competitions is to keep going regardless, I have seen one dance where the music never started and the entire dance was done in silence. It's a nice lesson about persistence in the face of adversity and making the best of a bad lot. They know that they need to carry on regardless and frequently rise to the challenge.There's a lesson in here for us all, how gracefully do we deal with things when they don't go as we expected them to?
Saturday, July 14, 2012
History of Leadership
Another busy day which means yet again, I will link to someone else's work - this seems to be habit forming. This time someone who is trying create an online history of leadership back to 2000 BC but which seems be more of a site about famous people over the ages. Some of these are very interesting to read.
It was interesting reading the biography for Alexander the Great as it reflects a significant change in what would be considered the work of a good leader. Sure Alexander the Great conquered a lot of territory and did have a significant impact on the course of history. His track record on one little detail of leadership that is now considered very important in today's business society was very poor.
That little detail is sustainability. His empire did not survive his death as his generals immediately started to scheme and fight against each other. Peter Green, author of Alexander to Actium refers to the period of fighting between Alexander the Great's generals following his death as his "funeral games". If some of the sources are to be believed, Alexander the Great's succession planning was to leave his empire "to the strongest". Alexander may have attempted to build an empire but what he seems to have achieved is to have engineered a shake up.
On the other hand, the fact that Alexander the Great was capable of keeping what turned out to be such a volatile group of generals together does speak a lot for his leadership. There are certainly some very desirable traits in there.
I suppose the point of this topic is that we need to be careful when assessing desirable leadership traits across different contexts and time periods. Most ancient generals would seem to have been focused on conquest for the purposes of personal empire building (or for plunder). I expect a little more out of my leaders.
It was interesting reading the biography for Alexander the Great as it reflects a significant change in what would be considered the work of a good leader. Sure Alexander the Great conquered a lot of territory and did have a significant impact on the course of history. His track record on one little detail of leadership that is now considered very important in today's business society was very poor.
That little detail is sustainability. His empire did not survive his death as his generals immediately started to scheme and fight against each other. Peter Green, author of Alexander to Actium refers to the period of fighting between Alexander the Great's generals following his death as his "funeral games". If some of the sources are to be believed, Alexander the Great's succession planning was to leave his empire "to the strongest". Alexander may have attempted to build an empire but what he seems to have achieved is to have engineered a shake up.
On the other hand, the fact that Alexander the Great was capable of keeping what turned out to be such a volatile group of generals together does speak a lot for his leadership. There are certainly some very desirable traits in there.
I suppose the point of this topic is that we need to be careful when assessing desirable leadership traits across different contexts and time periods. Most ancient generals would seem to have been focused on conquest for the purposes of personal empire building (or for plunder). I expect a little more out of my leaders.
Friday, July 13, 2012
Inspirational & extraordinary leaders
Not having much in the way of original content myself, I thought I'd link to someone else's. I thought that this article by Geoffrey James about The eight core beliefs of extraordinary bosses was quite inspirational (I must admit to printing it out and pining it to my partition at one point). It's nice to see a list of ways to see the world rather than the usual list of things people recommend that you do. This item about The traits of inspiring leaders also was a good read. As an added benefit, by posting them up here I will be able to find them again.
He also has one about being an employee (every manager is also an employee) covering ways keep the boss happy. I suspect I know which are my weak areas...
Actually the articles go together, managers and employees are part of a team that works best when they are trying to help each other succeed (as long as the manager is clear how to align the joint effort to company goals and communicate this).
He also has one about being an employee (every manager is also an employee) covering ways keep the boss happy. I suspect I know which are my weak areas...
Actually the articles go together, managers and employees are part of a team that works best when they are trying to help each other succeed (as long as the manager is clear how to align the joint effort to company goals and communicate this).
Creating strange new markets
For what it is worth, the combination of a data network that spans the globe, highly efficient search engines, and people with unusual combinations of interests can create a market for just about anything. It seems it is possible to buy a CD containing Elvis sung in Sumerian (and Latin).
See this bit half way down the page: "For the New Millenium, Doctor Ammondt with professor Simo Parmola, has prepared a major surprise for the world. On 5th July 2001, the first-ever album sung in Sumerian was released at the 47th Recontre International Assyrologique, a conference held at the University of Helsinki. One of the best-known classic rock songs of all time, Carl Pekins' "Blue Suede Shoes" will stir listeners' hearts when sung in the world's oldest known language."
25 euros - not sure it's got great market growth potential but it must cover the costs of maintaining his website.
See this bit half way down the page: "For the New Millenium, Doctor Ammondt with professor Simo Parmola, has prepared a major surprise for the world. On 5th July 2001, the first-ever album sung in Sumerian was released at the 47th Recontre International Assyrologique, a conference held at the University of Helsinki. One of the best-known classic rock songs of all time, Carl Pekins' "Blue Suede Shoes" will stir listeners' hearts when sung in the world's oldest known language."
25 euros - not sure it's got great market growth potential but it must cover the costs of maintaining his website.
Thursday, July 12, 2012
Services Quality and Recovery Presentation
The second of the Services Management presentations is available, at least in draft form, this covers Service Quality and Recovery.
The slides are done, but I need to tidy up the notes which will likely happen in late October due to study commitments. When I have finished my study I will look to continue the series. I will add what I learn from completing my research assignment as well.
One idea I have is to see whether I can use the text to speech function on my phone to read a script and turn these into a movie to put on YouTube. A project for later in the year - I will be focusing on creativity in organizations for the next three and a half months.
The slides are done, but I need to tidy up the notes which will likely happen in late October due to study commitments. When I have finished my study I will look to continue the series. I will add what I learn from completing my research assignment as well.
One idea I have is to see whether I can use the text to speech function on my phone to read a script and turn these into a movie to put on YouTube. A project for later in the year - I will be focusing on creativity in organizations for the next three and a half months.
Sunday, July 8, 2012
Measuring Creatvity
Apparently we can measure just about anything. The following article provides a overview on the measurement of creativity (or at least the measurements used for creativity tests).
In short, measures are:
Presumably the same measures can be used when assessing the value of a brainstorming session.
In short, measures are:
- Fluency: the number of ideas generated in a test
- Originality: how novel the ideas are (how common they are in the group)
- Flexibility: the range of ideas, are they in the same category
- Elaboration: how descriptive the ideas are
Presumably the same measures can be used when assessing the value of a brainstorming session.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Evolution at work
Social networking seems to have evolved from a place where college students upload drunken photos of themselves to a tool that recruiters can use to screen applicants. Perhaps the next big thing will be the social media application that works out how to let college students upload their drunken exploits without affecting their career prospects.
Who is the strategic (most essential decision making) customer for social media? The users and presumably they will select those applications that most meet their needs. Whatever happens it will be interesting to watch evolution at work.
Who is the strategic (most essential decision making) customer for social media? The users and presumably they will select those applications that most meet their needs. Whatever happens it will be interesting to watch evolution at work.
Friday, July 6, 2012
Services Management Overview Presentation
I have uploaded a presentation intended to provide an overview of services management and the key concepts of this. The presentation is available here Services Management Overview. This just covers off the basics, the languages and key concepts that underlie services management. The presentation is free to use.
I hope that you find this useful.
I hope that you find this useful.
Monday, July 2, 2012
A crazy but somewhat efficient place
The Internet seems to be a crazy but efficient place. I create a post and check the statistics five minutes later (sort of vain I suppose but I have rationalized it as 'learning the interface') and I get this map.
Turns out in the five minutes m,y blog has been up I have the Artists Archive Social Link Share Buttons page as a source of traffic. Wow.
Trial and error
This is turning out to be less of an experiment and more a case of trial and error, this is my third post, my second being created because I lost my first, then my second being deleted because I got confused when I found my first. I am not sure why I am so indignant about losing two minutes of typing, perhaps it is the feeling that I am somehow not in control of something so simple as a blogging application?
An experiment
This, like many blogs, is likely to an experiment that will last as long as there is interest, either from myself or from others (I would prefer both). There are two purposes for this blog, one is to write about some of the information I have learned from previous university papers - by writing about things that I have learned, I am more likely to remember it. The second purpose is to use this as an opportunity to see how well I understood what I have learned, in particular what are the important concepts that I picked up.
I am a strong believer in concepts, in that a good concept from one area can be very portable and applied in other areas. I hope that someone finds something valuable in what I write.
I am a strong believer in concepts, in that a good concept from one area can be very portable and applied in other areas. I hope that someone finds something valuable in what I write.
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