The Operating Model That Is Eating The World

23. October 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized

This is a great article and a cool company …. I’ll just share this paragraph and leave it at that!

Today’s fastest growing, most profoundly impactful companies are using a completely different operating model. These companies are lean, mean, learning machines. They have an intense bias to action and a tolerance for risk, expressed through frequent experimentation and relentless product iteration. They hack together products and services, test them, and improve them, while their legacy competition edits PowerPoint. They are obsessed with company culture and top tier talent, with an emphasis on employees that can imagine, build, and test their own ideas. They are maniacally focused on customers. They are hypersensitive to friction – in their daily operations and their user experience. They are open, connected, and build with and for their community of users and co-conspirators. They are comfortable with the unknown – business models and customer value are revealed over time. They are driven by a purpose greater than profit; each has its own aspirational “dent in the universe.” We may simply refer to them as the first generation of truly responsive organizations.

Interpersonal Trust in the U.S. Hits a Historic Low

14. October 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Uncategorized

Speaking of trust: I wonder … Does it translate to the workplace as well?

A prediction by some social scientists that the trauma of September 11, 2001, would usher in an era of greater cooperativeness among Americans appears to have been incorrect, according to a team led by Jean M. Twenge of San Diego State University. The team’s study of 37,000 people shows that trust in others, as well as in institutions such as health organizations, government, and the media, fell to a historic low in 2012, the last year for which data was available. The decline in trust may be attributable to the widening gap between rich and poor in the U.S., the researchers say.

SOURCE: Declines in Trust in Others and Confidence in Institutions Among American Adults and Late Adolescents, 1972–2012

Roderick Kramer: How Do Trustworthy Leaders Behave?

13. October 2014 · Write a comment · Categories: Leadership, Uncategorized

In leading a team, and inspiring creativity, in motivating people and co-workers, trust is critical. Trust is an important value in SCRUM. I was once being interviewed for a new position in a company. The interviewer was complaining about the work of one of their graphic designers. He hadn’t hit a critical deadline. They have daily stand ups, where obstacles are meant to be shared, but he hadn’t indicated any troubles. She didn’t understand why. So, I asked, “How is the trust?” She answered, “Well, there’s none now — he basically just screwed it up!” — She didn’t get it. I was asking, “How is the trust from you, in your communication and a staff member’s ability to speak of obstacles, or failures, without blame?” Not likely very high.

Roderick Kramer has a good article in Stanford Business on how trustworthy leaders behave. I suggest it as a good, and brief, read — But here are some bullet points:

  • They project confidence, competence, and benevolence.
  • They say — and show — that trust is an important company value.
  • They establish clear roles and systems to speed trust.
  • They share the credit, and they take the blame.
  • They don’t mask a crisis.

Great points, great insight!