Today the American Management Association posted a podcast I did with the AMA’s Dave Summers. The topic of the podcast is how to create Connection Cultures that increase employee engagement. You can hear the podcast and even download it on an iPod or iPhone by clicking on employee engagement.
Category Archives: Knowledge Flow
Presidential Leadership: Civility Amidst Stress and the Forces of Incivility
On Thursday John McCain demonstrated the character strength of valor which is defined as speaking up for what is right. As stated in an article that appeared in this morning’sThe New York Times:
When a man told [McCain] he was “scared” of an Obama presidency, Mr. McCain replied, “I want to be president of the United States and obviously I do not want Senator Obama to be, but I have to tell you — I have to tell you — he is a decent person and a person that you do not have to be scared” of “as president of the United States.” The crowd booed loudly at Mr. McCain’s response.
Book Review: Why is Everyone Smiling?
Paul Spiegelman, CEO of the Beryl Companies, has written a wonderful book about Beryl Companies and its extraordinary culture. Rather than write a review of Paul’s book, I’m posting the review written by the business maven and book reviewer extraordinaire Robert Morris (see below). On Monday at 11:00 AM Eastern, I will be hosting a webcast with Paul Spiegelman and you can sign up for it by clicking on employee engagement.
Robert Morris review of Why Is Everyone Smiling?
Webcast Tomorrow: H&R Block Connects to Improve Employee Engagement
Tomorrow morning at 11:00 AM EST I will host a webcast with my guest Kristina Patrick, Senior Project Manager for Outreach and Business Development at H&R Block. When H&R Block’s new leaders wanted to engage employees by involving them in a conversation about the firm’s activities, they turned to Kristina. With a meager budget Kristina and her colleagues produced a remarkable internal news and social media platform that had H&R Blockers buzzing. Tune into this webcast to hear how you and your company can increase employee engagement and get the biggest bang out of your internal communications and social media budgets. You can sign up to attend by clicking on employee engagement.
Will You Surf The Perfect Storm Ahead…or Be Drowned By It?
Following is a sneak peak of an article I wrote for the American Management Association’s Journal. It’s about the necessity for organizations to increase employee engagement (including leadership development, team building and talent management) as the forces of globalization and demographics collide.
A perfect storm is brewing that will threaten many a firm’s survival in the decades ahead. Market forces, like storm fronts, are colliding to produce volatile conditions. Companies that anticipate and prepare for these threats can convert them into major opportunities to leap ahead of their competitors. There’s plenty of evidence that savvy companies are already moving to gain a competitive edge. Rather than being crushed by the massive waves, these companies are effectively surfing them and will leave competitors in their wake.
Amazing Things Are Happening Here!
Last year Leader to Leader published a article Jason Pankau and I wrote entitled “Strengthening Human Value in Organizational Cultures.” Previously, the article was only available to Leader to Leader’s subscribers or those who paid for a download from the internet. Leader to Leader has given us permission to post the paper on our blog so here it is. The article begins with a remarkable story about New York-Presbyterian Hospital System and its CEO Dr. Herbert Pardes. New York-Presbyterian presently uses the tag line “amazing things are happening here” in its advertising and other written communications. Read the article and I think you’ll agree.
The Incredibles: Everyone has a “Voice” at Pixar
Connection Cultures have three elements: Vision, Value and Voice. When people feel connected to the organization’s identity, to their colleagues and to their day-to-day tasks, they thrive (and so does their organization). Here’s a link to an article in Harvard Business Review by Pixar CEO Ed Catmull about how Pixar fosters creativity. It should come as no surprise that Voice is an integral part of Pixar’s culture. With a string of hits that are the envy of the entertainment industry, I think it’s fair to say Pixar is thriving. You might even conclude, they’re “Incredible!”
To learn more about Connection Cultures and how they increase employee engagement, productivity and innovation, download “The Connection Culture Manifesto“at changethis.com.
Webcast with David Zinger, Employee Engagement Expert and Founder of the Employee Engagement Network
Join me tomorrow at 11:00 AM Eastern when I will host a webcast with David Zinger, employee engagement expert and founder of The Employee Engagement Network. David has a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, as well as strength of character. He’s an inspiration to me and to many other professionals who work helping organizations engage their employees. In the webcast David will share his thoughts about the diverse connections that help engage people. To sign up for the webcast, click on employee engagement. If you are unable to join the live webcast, you can still click on the link to see the webcast recording.
IBM: Big, Blue and Damn Proud of It
Wow! The more I look at IBM, the more I like what I see. They* have smart people. They have scale. They have a global presence. They’re doing cool things that help organizations perform better and cranking out patents at an unbelievable pace. If that’s not enough, the IBM culture seems to get better all the time and they’re leveraging the strength of culture with cutting edge social networking capabilities that connect IBMers so that they are “better together.”
In recent interactions with IBMers, I’ve noticed a sense of pride about being at IBM that I haven’t seen in 20 years. There are clear signs to me that IBM is developing the Connection Culture I write about. Take a look at CEO Sam Palmisano’s inspiring email about the importance of IBM values and how they were developed through collaboration via IBM’s “Values Jam.” Check out IBM’s “Beehive” social networking capability.
I suspect these examples are just the tip of the iceberg. Stay tuned for more. In the coming months I’ll be learning and sharing much more about IBM and other organizations that are helping their employees feel connected to their corporate identity (mission, values and reputation), to the people they work with and to their daily tasks at work.
* I intentionally use the term “they” rather than “it.” Although organizations are a legal person they are, in reality, a community of people. It’s healthier, in my view, to refer to and think of organizations in this way.
Increasing Employee Engagement at Lockheed Martin
Recently I presented to a group of 60 leaders at Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense company. The leaders I met were part of the aerospace group. It was an inspiration for me to hear their stories including one about a dramatic savings of time and money when a front line worker’s idea led to a software breakthrough. I was pleased to see some business units were using the Start-Stop-Continue exercise. Both of these reflect the Connection Culture element of Voice. I was also inspired hearing how one leader felt extremely proud of his company and its important work when his young son saw up close the remarkable military aircraft his dad worked on (which reflects the element of Vision). I get goosebumps just thinking about these stories and how the bright, dedicated and motivated employees at Lockheed Martin are creating a Connection Culture!