Last week I attended the 2010 Business Innovation Factory Collaborative Innovation Summit in Providence, Rhode Island (referred to as BIF-6). There were so many thoughtful presentations that I hesitate to merely highlight a few. After taking a couple days to mull it over I’ve decided to select a few presentations that will be most relevant to the themes I typically write and speak about i.e. leadership, connection, employee engagement, productivity and innovation. Below are brief descriptions of several presentations from the conference. For those who want to hear these or other presentations, you can access them at this link.
People, Planet, Profit – Triple Bottom Line Radio
On September 29 at 7:00 PM Eastern I’ll be joining hosts Angelo Fernando and Derrick Mains on their Triple Bottom Line radio program that addresses issues related to people, planet and profit. Check out their website at this link. You can listen to the program in the Phoenix area on KFNX 1100 AM, listen to it streaming live, and even participate by calling in at (866)536-1100 or tweeting @your3bl.
BIF-6: Stunning Sights, Interesting People, Innovative Ideas
Life is good! Today began with a drive East from my home in Connecticut to Saul Kaplan’s wonderful Business Innovation Factory Conference (called “BIF-6”) in Providence, Rhode Island. Driving into the sunrise on this sunny, clear day with a hint of Fall in the air was simply stunning. It’s hard to sustain the momentum from an inspiring start like that but the day just kept getting better as I arrived in this historic city, dropped my bags off at a marvelous old hotel, entered the beautiful Trinity Rep Theater where the conference is being held, saw old friends, made new friends, interviewed Zappo’s CEO Tony Hsieh (for an article I’m writing), and heard interesting speakers with innovative ideas. To sum it up, it was a day of connecting with stunning sights, interesting people and innovative ideas.
I’m a big fan of attending conferences like BIF-6 because it refreshes by helping me step back from the day-to-day rhythm to consider the big picture, think strategically, and connect with people and ideas. (Just to mention it, you can enjoy the presentations tomorrow that will be streaming live at this link. I understand that some of the BIF-6 sessions will be available online so if and when they are posted I’ll blog the links to some of my favorites.)
On another topic, stay tuned for details on new public engagements Jason Pankau and I recently committed to including for the Singapore HR Summit, TCU’s Tandy Executive Leadership Series, The New Talent Management Network and the Corporate Executive Board’s Toolbox for HR. Also, later this month we’ll be posting a link to the article I wrote for India’s Outlook Business magazine.
(Pictures: Top – In front of the Trinity Rep theater this AM was the Delivering Happiness Bus that promotes Tony Hsieh’s book of the same name. Below – Sayantani DasGupta, a physician and expert on narrative medicine, telling a story at BIF-6 inside the Trinity Rep Theater.)
Two is the Magic Number: A New Science of Creativity
A thought leader whose work I follow closely is my friend Joshua Wolf Shenk. Josh wrote a remarkable book entitled Lincoln’s Melancholy and he has written many thoughtful articles. Check our Josh’s new series on creative pairs for Slate. The first article in this series is entitled “Two is the Magic Number: A New Science of Creativity.” I would also encourage you to check out a brilliant essay Josh wrote for Belifenet entitled “Comes Wisdom to Us.”
For those
Best Posts on Leadership from Top Bloggers
Dan McCarthy at Great Leadership hosted this month’s leadership carnival that features best blog posts of top bloggers on leadership. Here’s what Dan wrote about it:
Welcome to the September 5th, 2010 Leadership Development Carnival Back to Football edition! Yes, Fall is in the air, and the NFL kicks off it’s season this Thursday with a rematch of last year’s NFC championship game – the Saints and the Vikings.
To get in the spirit of the season, this month’s Carnival is set up as if you’re watching the big game, from tailgating to post game highlights. So grab your favorite snack and beverage and get ready for some championship caliber leadership development advice and opinions from some of the best bloggers in the league.
Best Government Places to Work: Congrats to Our Clients!
Congratulations to our U.S. federal government clients the GAO, GSA and NASA for placing in the top 10 best government places to work according to research conducted annually by Partnership for Public Service.
To Impart Your Values
How do you impart values to the people you are responsible for leading, including your children? Recently I had the opportunity to watch a leader who does this well. I’d like to share three critical actions that I believe are necessary to impart your values and I think you will be inspired by and learn from his example.
1. Communicate Your Values, Upfront and Often
Leaders need to lead courageously by telling people what they believe. Ted (not his real name) has developed a small, pocket-sized, laminated card that describes his values and has given the card to all of the employees of his company. The contents on the card define what behavior Ted expects of himself and of the people he is responsible for leading. Each morning a one-page sheet entitled “Connect” is circulated throughout Ted’s company that includes a story about employees living out one of the values. Work groups meet briefly each morning to review the Connect sheet.
One morning I attended a session that Ted holds each week with his leadership team and a select number of potential leaders. There were about 30 people in attendance. Ted stood upfront where he spoke and facilitated the session. During the time the group discussed one chapter in a leadership book they were reading together. About one-third of the 60-90 minutes session is set aside for small group deliberations. The material they covered the day of my visit was on the value that is most important to Ted: caring about people. Studying great books is an ideal way to learn and grow, and to bring the team together. This shared practice also helps maintain awareness of and reinforce the importance of Ted’s values.
2. Live Your Values Daily
It is said that values are caught not taught. I don’t agree. Values are taught and caught. Both are critical.
Human Capital Institute’s Employee Engagement Conference
On October 6, I’ll be speaking about leadership, employee motivation, productivity and innovation at the Human Capital Institute’s Employee Engagement and Retention Conference in Boston. The conference has scheduled a book signing for Fired Up or Burned Out. You can learn more about the employee engagement conference at this link.
We recently committed to other public speaking engagements. In January I will be speaking at Texas Christian University as part of its Tandy Executive Leadership Series. In May, Jason Pankau will be speaking at the HR Summit in Singapore. The summit is Asia’s largest leadership and HR conference with more than three thousand attendees.
Real Dysfunction Today, Hidden in Plain Sight
Many individuals and organizations today are in a funk.
Employee engagement is at a low point and the slide down began long before the Great Recession. Research generally shows that 90 percent of employees don’t feel connected to their supervisor or colleagues at work and are either not engaged and giving their best efforts or not aligning their behavior with organizational goals. Is it any wonder that our economy is struggling?
Research shows that many individuals today are lonely, anxious and depressed. Depression medication is now a 10 billion dollar business. Even more children report feeling anxious and depressed. They sense that something is wrong although though they don’t understand why.
The problem today is hidden in plain sight. We are sorely deficient of what I refer to as connection (also known as community, social capital, belonging or meaningful relationships). How did we get to this state? Over the last century we grew myopic and obsessed with increasing efficiency and productivity and forgot that human beings need time for relationships too.
If you’re skeptical, I invite you to take a look at The Connection Culture Manifesto, the Hardwired to Connect report by the Committee for Children at Risk, and The Lonely Society report by the Mental Health Foundation in the UK. Several excellent books also address the issue of declining connection in society including Bowling Alone, The American Paradox and The Loss of Happiness in Market Democracies.
What can you do? Although it’s simple, it isn’t easy. Take time to connect. Reach out to the people in your life, set up times to meet for coffee a walk or a meal and then slow down and focus on being present with those you spend time with. Find out what’s going on in their lives at work and outside of work. Do this daily, if at all possible.
It used to be said that an apple a day keeps the doctor away but research from a variety of fields makes it clear that connection with others and with meaning in life is the real daily requirement that helps human beings survive and thrive.
So what are you waiting for? Just connect.
The Collective Wisdom of Relationship-Centered Networks
When individuals feel like valued members of a group, it boosts a host of positive outcomes including superior decision-making, employee engagement, employee motivation, strategic alignment, organizational learning, cooperation, productivity, innovation and overall performance. This applies to groups of all sizes including classrooms and schools, families, business and government organizations, hospitals, sports teams and the social sector. Strong relationships are key for any group to achieve the benefits enumerated above.
In an earlier post, I wrote about the University of Chicago research on relational trust that I learned about from my friend Parker Palmer. For those of you who are interested in relational trust and the wisdom of crowds, I encourage you to check out this fascinating interview my friend Robert Morris, the freelance writer, did with Alan Briskin, co-author of The Power of Collective Wisdom. In the interview, Briskin and Morris discuss relationship centered networks that tap into collective wisdom.
For those of you who read Robert Morris’ book review and interview, you will see why I believe he is among the very best at what he does. In addition to being a well-organized, clear writer, Morris is a Renaissance man who always sprinkles his writings and interviews with thoughtful insights drawn from remarkably diverse fields of knowledge. Check out his book reviews and interviews at this link and you’ll see what what I mean.