Thoughts and ideas for 2010-07-13

Posted on July 13, 2010 by Bruce Lewin

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Black and White Networks v. Networks in Colour

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Bruce Lewin

I've been chatting to the more than thought provoking Jon Husband
about HR, changing practice, the need for deep change and the role of
wirearchies.

One of the thoughts that crossed my mind is the potential
contrast between black & white and coloured networks.

What do I mean by black & white and coloured networks? The rise in
networking, network analysis and the recognition that improved
relationships (and lower transaction costs) are drivers of better
performance has been gaining greater recognition in recent times.

This recognition and the use of the appropriate tools then leads to
the creation of diagrams such as the ones below1.

While these types of diagrams are presented without context, they are
often used to represent paths of communication, trust, people who
connect groups and influence the flow of information. They also can be
used to show how a process is really carried out and by whom in a way
that can contrast or complement the traditional (or assumed)
organisational structure.

Another key feature of these diagrams is that the lines connecting
people tend to be black and white. There may be arrows to show flows of information and sometimes the line width varies too. Also, the
length of the line usually has no material bearing on the
interpretation of the diagram. My point in all of this being that the
black and white network diagram is exactly that, black and white.

By way of contrast, the use of 4G makes it possible to create network
maps that are coloured and show how each connection has different
qualities to it.

In other words, each connection or relationship can
be assigned a weight/colour to show the nature of a particular
relationship. In this case, green represents the most productive and
engaging relationships while blue, yellow and red require greater and
greater levels of time and energy to be as productive as the green
ones. This then adds a whole new spectrum of information to complement our understanding of the network and people's relationships within it.

As a final note, it's also worth making a couple of other
observations. Firstly, while there are just four colours in the
diagrams above, there are actually 14 different types of relationship,
suggesting far greater complexity and granularity than can be shown with just 4 colours. Equally, there is a whole series of tips,
suggestions and ways to improve and develop these relatonships from a
coaching and development point of view.

Finally, given that the information from 4G in its current state is
100 percent psychological and the information in other network
analysis diagrams is 100 percent contextual, the two make very
complementary bed-fellows, each one providing the other with
information that compensates for the other's blindspot.

Notes

1. Image credit Wikimedia Commons

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Thoughts and ideas for 2010-07-12

Posted on July 12, 2010 by Bruce Lewin

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Thoughts and ideas for 2010-07-11

Posted on July 11, 2010 by Bruce Lewin

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Thoughts and ideas for 2010-07-09

Posted on July 9, 2010 by Bruce Lewin

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Thoughts and ideas for 2010-07-08

Posted on July 8, 2010 by Bruce Lewin

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Leadership, Intangibles and Talent Review Q1 2010

Posted on April 27, 2010 by Michael Folkman

Welcome to the first update for 2010. In the spirit of new beginnings, in this issue we will look at how the debate around organisational performance is widening. We'll also look at how after 18 months of economic chaos, the fundamentals of organisational behaviour and what everyone has taken for granted about motivation and engagement could have played a key role in recent events. We'll also touch on the following themes;

Articles are included from the likes of Deliotte, Gary Hamel, Henry Minzberg, HR Magazine, Karen Stephenson, McKinsey and Strategy + Business.

Leadership, Intangibles & Talent Q1 2010 - Four Groups.pdf

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Leadership, Intangibles & Talent Q1 2010 - Four Groups.pdf

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Posted in Leadership, Strategy, Technology, Articles & Research, 4G, Culture, Intangibles | 2 Comments

Has the CIPD just Thrown its Toys out of the Pram?

Posted on February 19, 2010 by Bruce Lewin

I can't help but think that the statement below, from the CIPD's  Next Gen HR - Time for change, shows a profession that has just thrown its toys out of the pram. Or if you prefer your metaphors of the footballing variety, the CIPD has just done a Zidane.

Every business gets the HR it deserves

This strikes me as both shirking responsibility for people management on the one hand and on the other, a tacit acknowledgement that HR lacks anything like a consensus around its raison d'etre. Perhaps the idea that 20 - 40% of performance is determined by the quality of people's relationships might be a start?

As for the 'insight driven' approach, haven't we been here already?

Posted in Culture, Leadership, Strategy | 2 Comments

Possible problems with the HR Management Framework for Enterprise 2.0

Posted on February 18, 2010 by Bruce Lewin

I've just read the great piece from Jon Husband at the FASTForward blog and its made me think a great deal about Enterprise 2.0 (E2) stuff and how this compares to other new technologies and methods that we've seen play out in the last 20/30 years.

My thinking is as follows;

  • E2 can be framed both as a technology and as a cultural shift
  • Its takeup is clearly very different from hard technologies e.g. email, personal computers, blackberries, databases etc.
  • Adoption is also very different from technological/methodological hybrids e.g. CRM, BRP(?), ERP and JIT amongst others
  • Likewise, the debate about top down and bottom up drivers of adoption is new(ish)
  • E2 seeks a different culture from command and control in which to thrive

Thus;

  • Given the potentially disruptive nature of E2
  • Its perceived low cost of technology
  • The apparent need to be integrated into processes (see Howlett for example!)
  • Its material 'distributed' impact on culture and values (what can't be E2'ed?)

It will either;

Take hold on a case by case basis, varying from organisation to organisation and function to function, eventually fulfilling its potential and bringing about a subtle change in culture, the credit for which will vary dramatically and some will claim it was their idea from day!

or

Fail to take hold as the organisation seeks to control and police (in the nicest possible way of course!) the various elements of E2

Therefore;

  • E2 is a bit of a slippery eel, who knows where it will go next
  • E2 doesn't lend itself to linear outcomes and cost/benefit analysis (hard but not impossible!)
  • Claiming credit and gaining influence for E2 is anyone's guess

As Jon writes himself;

I am not aware of significant work in the general area of changes to mainstream HR practices as a result of embarking on the path towards Enterprise 2.0.  I will be delighted to learn from any of you of examples and / or issues I may have missed or glossed over.

My guess is that we'll be waiting quite a while...

Rather than bandwagoning around E2, I think that setting out to claim a element of an organisation that can be improved and has thus far been overlooked will reap richer rewards.

Many thanks to Anne Marie for the brainstorm 🙂

 

Posted in Intangibles, Leadership, Strategy, Technology, Culture | 1 Comment

Up to 40% of Performance is determined by the Quality of People’s Relationships

Posted on February 14, 2010 by Bruce Lewin

The presentation below builds on research from Harvard, MIT, Warwick (via Proudfoot Consulting) and a meta analysis from the University of Amersterdam and Carnegie Mellon.

The Hidden 20 - 40% Of Peformance

View more presentations from fourgroups.

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