When seven year-old Sierra Boggess first saw The Little Mermaid, she fell in love with Ariel. After Sierra learned that the woman who provided the voice of Ariel studied performing arts at Millikin University in Central Illinois, she announced to her parents that’s where she would be attending college. Sierra graduated from Millikin in 2004. Recently, she made her Broadway debut as the first actress to play Ariel in the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid.
Category Archives: Connection Culture
Are you electronically over-connected?
An interesting article appeared in yesterday’s New York Times about the explosion of tech-enabled communication in our lives. My friend Dr. Edward Hallowell, the well-respected psychiatrist and former instructor at Harvard Medical School, says that people need human, face-to-face connection on average about every four hours. Tim Ferriss in his 4-Hour Work Week book has some good advice on this topic too.There’s no question in my mind that Hallowell’s guideline in spot on.
I advise leaders to encourage the people they are responsible for leading to connect with their colleagues over coffee breaks and lunch. It’s a must to maximize employee engagement.
I’m very interested in learning how individuals manage the torrent of electronic communications and face-to-face connection in their lives. Any thoughts?
Post Merger Trap#4: The Exclusivity Trap
Here is another post merger trap organizations would be wise to avoid following a merger or acquisition.
The Exclusivity Trap. Too many leaders fail to keep all the employees they are responsible for leading in the loop. Instead, they tend to keep a smaller, more exclusive group involved in the conversations about important business issues. The problem is that most individuals want to be informed about issues that are important to them, have a voice to share their opinions and ideas, and be certain that their input is considered before decisions are made. When people are in the loop, it helps meet their needs for respect, recognition and belonging. When they are not in the loop, they are naturally anxious and tend to fear the worst.
Leaders are wise to regularly meet with all the employees they are responsible for leading to share information about issues that are important to them, ask for their ideas and opinions, and then consider them before making decisions. Obviously leaders will not be able to do this with every issue. The leader who keeps all employees in the conversation about issues important to them, however, will be rewarded when employees put more effort in their work because they feel a sense of ownership in achieving the results.
Post Merger Trap#3: The Superiority Trap
In this series of posts I’m identifying the traps that I warn leaders to avoid when they are involved in mergers or acquisitions. Each of the traps I identify affect employee engagement. By avoiding the traps leaders will also help develop the Connection Culture that all organizations need to achieve sustainable superior performance.
The Superiority Trap. In all mergers, one party usually feels superior in status and reputation to the other. The subordinate party’s employees are likely to be hypersensitive to this status gap. Managers from the dominant organization who act the slightest bit condescending will offend employees from the subordinate organization. These employees will be less likely to cooperate with members of the dominant organization. On the other hand, managers from the dominant organization who look for ways to affirm their new colleagues and show that they have confidence and high expectations for their future performance will be rewarded when their new colleagues live up to their aspirations.
Post Merger Trap#2: The Unfairness Trap
Over the course of my career I’ve had the good fortune to have been involved in several mergers. At first, I was fascinated by the process of identifying a compelling rationale for combining companies, negotiating the deal, planning the integration of people and systems and then executing the plan. The dizzying array of tasks that must be accomplished to complete a merger is challenging to say the least. In time, however, I learned that even greater challenges arose after the investment bankers and lawyers had packed up their briefcases and moved on to the next deal.
Post Merger Trap#1: The Urgency Trap
Thus far it appears that the Disney acquisition of Pixar has worked well. Brooks Barnes wrote an excellent article about it in today’s The New York Times entitled, “Disney and Pixar – The Power of the Prenup. “There is an insightful quote in the article made by Disney’s CEO Bob Iger. He says “There is an assumption in the corporate world that you need to integrate swiftly…my philosophy is exactly the opposite. You need to be respectful and patient.” Iger’s view reflects his recognition of one of the Post-Merger Traps that companies frequently fall into. We call it the “Urgency Trap.”
Great books to read as a team
My Interview in Japan’s Shukan Diayamondo
Michael Fitzgerald who writes for The Economist, The New York Times and other thought-leading publications just published in Japan’s Shukan Diayamondo an interview he did with me about Connection Cultures. Michael posted the pre-translation English version on his Archimedes’ Hot Tub blog.
When I worked for Morgan Stanley in the late 1990s, I spent some time in Japan analyzing the market to determine if it made sense to build or buy a Japanese investment trust business. I concluded that Japanese stock brokers’ culture was so different from Morgan Stanley’s that any acquisition would unwise. From my brief exposure to Japan it seemed to me that employee engagement was low, at least in the securities business. It may have been different in the automotive and other industries. Does anyone have any experience working in Japan and would share their thoughts with us about employee engagement in the country?
Is Employee Engagement a Competitive Advantage?
Check out a wonderful column in today’s The New York Times written by one of my favorite journalists, Joe Nocera. The column is entitled, “The Sinatra of Southwest Feels the Love.” In it Nocera contrasts the sober atmosphere at American Airlines annual meeting in Dallas this last Wednesday morning to the lovefest at Southwest Airlines annual meeting that commenced a couple hours later across town. The article focuses on Southwest’s co-founder Herb Kelleher and his belief that treating your employees well provides a competitive edge. Nocera shares his observations about Kelleher and explores other possible reasons for Southwest’s success. Like everything Nocera writes, it’s an enjoyable read with thought-provoking observations and insight.
The Power of Connection to Heal
Over at Steve Roesler’s “All Things Workplace” blog, he posted a wonderful video about the power of connection to heal. Check it out.