Hive17 Consulting
  • Hive17 Consulting
  • Core Services
  • Workshops
  • Thoughts
    • Antifragility Report 2021
  • Keynote Speeches
  • Hive17 - Tim

A New Year with New Priorities - Who Owns Them?

5/1/2021

0 Comments

 
Picture
What are your new resolutions for 2021? The start of the new year is usually the opportunity to rethink our priorities, to trigger new behaviour, and to create a new, positive momentum for personal growth.

In the last few days, while asking people about their 2021 priorities, I heard a few times the same thing: "I need to see what my boss tells me". And to be honest, I was a bit shocked. Who is owning your priorities?

Here is what I think: work is part of our life; a considerable part of our life and our well-being and our achievements in our job is defining the success we feel in our entire life. Therefore, I think it is important to first understand what we want to achieve in our life overall. In 10, 20 years, what is the life we want to look back at? What are the fundamental values that define me as a person.

Based on this we can then see how our current work fit into our life ambition. How does our career contribute to the betterment of ourselves? In this sense, now at the start of the year, I suggest to start to think in two steps:
  1. Define your own northstar
  2. Align the goals of others to your northstar
Important, the latter doesn't mean you are changing your own goals. Rather, you trying to fit these external priorities into your own. And typically, there are three scenarios. A) these priorities match mine; great! B) Oh, I was not thinking about these goals; and great, they allow me to reach my long-term ambition. C) Wow, this is not really what I want to do; let me see who is better at following up with these objectives. This courage to stand for your own priorities and to delegate is important because it will allow you to focus your energy on the things you are excited about and gives other people the opportunity to follow their passion. Which will lead to improved overall outcome.

Start 2021 with a new resolution: take ownership and be proactive!
0 Comments

Pandemic Fatigue? - A Year Full of Accomplishments

18/12/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
In the last few weeks we all observed a sentiment of fatigue. Many of us feel exhausted of what the year 2020 brought to us and are craving for the festive break. Why did this happen?

From my perspective, I can see two things that have contributed to this feeling of wanting to pause. One is external; the continuous uncertainty of what is coming next. The widespread consequence of the reaction to the pandemic has created big shifts on the economy, how we work and how we interact with our family and friends. The second element is more internal; due to the environment, many of us reacted with activism directed at keeping the lights on, stemming the impressions and impact from the ecosystem, and simply putting the head down and keep running. In this situation many of us stopped pausing and reflecting on the bigger picture. Budgeting and forecasting were not done properly because the felt meaningless. Any long term plan was avoided because we were in survival mode.

Today, when I look back at the last 12 months, I can see many accomplishments and great opportunities for the future. We have learned about many new possibilities which we can leverage. For example, focusing on the essence when forecasting, improving the way we discover the needs of our customers, crating flexibility how we are working, strengthening the work environment with a focus on the value of our people, and connecting to friends in a more meaningful way.

Last month, McKinsey published an article - Overcoming pandemic fatigue: How to reenergize organizations for the long run - that outlines five key points how we can go "beyond grit and perseverance". Which was for me a reminder of the relevance of the Wheel of Antifragility we at Hive17 Consulting have developed.
  1. Purpose - this is the northstar, the collective dream we imagine that gives us the direction for our efforts. This is related to the bonded optimism and positivism; let's celebrate what we have achieved and look into the future with realism and passion.
  2. Customer Value - here we get inspired by the value we can create to our internal and external customers. This means we have our ears on the ground; we listen to the signs of exhaustion and opportunities.
  3. Experimentation - this is about validating our assumptions and taking small steps towards the bigger picture. This is a way to thrive under pressure; we keep moving forward and growing personally and as a group.
  4. Relationships - the foundation of sustainable success is the strong connections we have with all our peers, which is based on trust, respect and a great experience. We want to build these relationships and also rethink the organisation; this will unleash energy by pausing and uncovering better ways of working together.

We believe that these four pillars establish an environment and a culture that enables short-term benefits that evolve into lasting success.

How are you looking forward into the New Year?
0 Comments

Thriving under Pressure - Antifragility in Practice

8/12/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Last month I asked the question if we are busy or productive. Today, I want to share how this works in practice based on 'Thriving under Pressure' workshops we conducted. At the start, it is important to note that we are not trying to reduce the pressure - here is why.

The first question we asked ourselves, where does pressure come from? The answers clearly indicated that the pressure is created mostly by externalities: competing priorities, work-life balance, various stakeholders, etc. This means, we can't simply take away that pressure. Though, there are means to reduce the stress that this is causing.

One interesting source of pressure shows a different light on the challenge: 'high expectation from myself'. And yes, that is the one part of the pressure we can influence. But how?

In the previous post we talked about: know your priorities, big rocks first, experiment and reflect & energise. How did we apply these in the context of our daily work? Here some thoughts and suggestions:
  • In your team, conduct a conscious discussion what the team's priorities are: for this quarter, for this month, for this week
  • During this discussion, create transparency on how external priorities are impacting and influencing your team's priorities; translate these external expectations instead of simply following them; this creates ownership
  • Create an understanding that these priorities can evolve and sometimes drastically change; for example when we have a production issue, then we pause all previous priorities and the new priority is that issue. For sure, this is a natural thing, at the same time it is important to make this decision conscious; and then come back to the previous priorities.
  • Facilitate the 'digestion' of the team's priorities to individual priorities; how does every team member contribute to the overall objectives
  • Each individual can then create a list of priorities and block time in the calendar to work on those; a good reminder is that we can only tackle a maximum three priorities per day
  • On a team level, plan your next month and quarter, when are you working on which priorities? It is very useful to minimise the topics you are tackling in parallel; consciously plan what comes first and what you will work on when number #1 is finished.
  • Continuously interact with your customers and stakeholders to understand if you are on the right path; verify your assumptions and test your solution ideas frequently. This ensures that we reduce wasted efforts and we can deliver quickly.
  • As a foundation, it is important to maintain your energy; on a personal level, define small breaks in your daily schedule
  • As a team, regularly reflect on the way of working; celebrate achievements even when small; ensure this way of working is joyful and positive.
  • Consciously work on the relationships in the network in the organisation and beyond; establish regular meetings and go beyond the hard delivery focus; we are all people.

How are they linked to antifragility? Hive17 Consulting works with four pillars that are spinning the wheel of antifragility: purpose, customer value and experimentation are defining how we are setting our priorities and executing based on them. The fourth pillar is the foundation: the relationship bonds are crucial to maintain positivity and a healthy way to collaborate in environment of crisis.

How do you apply these elements to stay productive?
0 Comments

Are you busy? Or are you productive?

27/11/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
This year has brought many changes and we all had to innovate with great speed. One of these areas is the way we are working. After month in this frency, I hear more and more people mentioning that they are simply too busy; too many meetings, changing priorities, new organisational structures, people leaving companies... This is stressful and I see people around me burning out. What are we doing wrong?

Inspired by this Entrepreneur article - 4 Ways to be More Productive, not just Busy - I put together a set of simple principles on how to create more value and not simply working more hours. And if you only want one line it goes like this:
  • Create your priority list and then start to focus on item #1!

1) Know Your Priorities - with external input and based on a good conversation in the team create your own priority list and keep evolving it. Reduce distractions and stop following other people's priorities.

2) Big Rocks First - based on your(!) priorities first plan your second quadrant activities - these are the important and non-urgent items - in your daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly calendar. Only then add the urgent stuff.

3) Experiment - avoid perfectionism when you deliver and frequently interact with the people you are are creating value for. Switch to try-to-learn experimentation. This means try things out, build prototypes to test your assumptions and then validate them - it is a learning journey.

4) Reflect & Energise - take regular breaks by simply looking out of the window and pause - wind down for 5-10 minutes every hour or so. This will make your creativity flow and new ideas will pop up.

How are you switching from sprinting to creating lasting success? I am sure that Iolanda Meehan, Veldhoen Company, can provide more excellent advise on this.
0 Comments

Leading for Rebound - Survey Part II

10/11/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
May 2020! I clearly remember how we were looking at the later part of the year: a 'new normal' might have st in, the worst of the pandemic might be over and maybe we can travel. We were pretty wrong at the time. What seemed strange in May 2020 has often become part of our everyday life today.

At that time, we started our first survey and now, it is time for a follow-up. We want to send you the second round of our previous survey - the same questions - and we are curious to see what has changed. Please answer as spontaneously as possible. It should take you less than three minutes to complete.
  • https://forms.gle/c4gq89xv8BwXe7ra9

What happens with your answers? They are valuable to understand the urgent - and not so urgent - needs of leaders. We intend to use this data to continuously track the leadership sentiment in organizations like yours - and help you to strengthen your leadership muscle.


About Hive 17 and morethentic:
Hive 17 and morethentic are dedicated to enable individuals, teams and organizations to drive change and growth while respecting everyone’s contribution to success. With offices in Europe and in Asia we help clients to connect cultures and to be successful in new environments.
This survey is created in collaboration with Actavia, your Singapore-based sparring partner to successfully run your business in the region.

0 Comments

What is killing your effectiveness? Maybe the 50% your are spending distracted

29/9/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Already 15 years back, we heard that the number 1 reason for being stressed are distractions. That's when we sticked red post-it notes on the screen to indicate: "Don't distract me". We are also often heard that when we are distracted from a piece of work, it might take 23 minutes to be back in our 'flow'. Why is this important to keep our distractions at bay? They create stress, kill our productivity, limit our creativity, influence the way we concentrate on conversations, losing focus on what is important... The list might go on and on.

In a recent interview, Andy Puddicombe mentions we are spending 50% of our time distracted. This is a lot of time! And instead of trying to blame externalities for these distractions, he suggests to look inward. Recognising and labelling these distractions is a great start to reduce them. And as we are training our muscles and our stamina with sports, we can train our mind with regular exercises. After almost 100 hours of meditation, I see results. This routine is part of keeping my body, mind, heart and soul fit and strong.

As a result of being mindful, you will look at distractions in a different way; allowing yourself on focusing on small steps. Not getting lost in too many parallel activities and thoughts about things that are not relevant today. This might happen in the context of a conversation with a peer or in the context of a large scale project. Creating a space to reflect and focus on what is creating value.​

Source: Headspace Co-Founder Andy Puddicombe Says We Spend Half Our Lives Distracted. Here's His Simple Solution.
0 Comments

Thriving in Chaos - Not Surviving

15/9/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
This June was the first time I came across this word - Antifragility. Grant Rawlinson mentioned it as a strategy he applied during his adventures. Recently, more people started to mention it and I got curious. The story is simple. When we are fragile, we break under pressure. We start to be resilient; that means we don't break under pressure - we are surviving. The idea of antifragility is that we are growing and becoming stronger under pressure. Nassim Taleb defines it as:

"Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk, and uncertainty."

How can we become thriving under pressure? Buster Benson summarised ten principles based on Taleb's book. Here are my thoughts around it:
  1. Stick to simple rules; we can create a set of simple principles that guide us on our journey; they allow us to navigate complexity and to stick to what we value.
  2. Resist the urge to suppress randomness; I think this also related to creativity which is based on diversity; let's go out and observe and see what we learn.
  3. Make sure that you have your soul in the game; when we define our collective dream, we are creating a purpose and we trigger our passion to follow a certain path.
  4. Experiment and tinker - take a lot of small steps; let's try things out and validate our assumptions; one assumption at a time.
  5. Avoid risks that, if lost, would wipe you out completely; take small steps, right?
  6. Focus more on avoiding things that don't work than trying to find out what does work; for me, this goes along with experimenting, iterating and learning - we will never achieve perfection.
  7. Build in redundancy and layers (no single point of failure); isn't this a combination of 3. & 5.? Different paths contribute to the same journey...
  8. Don’t get consumed by data; data might simply be a form of guidance and not the decision-maker itself
  9. Respect the old — look for habits and rules that have been around for a long time; only because something is old, doesn't mean it is out-of-date

In order to create lasting success, we might want to build a collaborative foundation and have a clear direction where we want to go. Then, we can combine this with curiosity to experiment and with a common understanding who are we creating value for. This might be a formula that avoids the trap of short-term thinking and shortcuts that ruptures our strength over time.

Source: ​10 Principles to Live an Antifragile Life
0 Comments

The Energy Boost Routine

3/9/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
While coaching teams to become more agile, I am observing teams that are rushing after their action log. Things don't go according to plan and friction starts. That is normal. And, what is the impact on the morale and the quality of the collaboration? This churn can't go on forever, that is for sure.

This is why teams regularly meet, sit back and reflect on their daily work. Some call it after action review, some call it retrospective. Different teams use different structures to conduct this meeting. The tools are not the most important. As an observer, you can identify how well the is collaborating; how the dynamics work; uncover friction. These are the important parts during the reflection sessions; looking at the bigger picture.

Typically, the team members share things that went well and then the group has lengthy discussions about what went wrong and what we should do differently. In this article, I don't want to write a guide on these reflection sessions. Though, I want to highlight one single thing.

The end goal of your reflection session is that the team feels confident and energised to go back to their daily work.

Often that is forgotten or neglected.

What is your routine to boost energy?
0 Comments

In Times Of Uncertainty, These Are The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Leaders

28/8/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Uncertainty has been discussed for some time and in 2020, we experienced it in a new dimension. I used to ask leaders to show me their 18-months plan from 18 months ago. Now, I think it is clear that past plans don't hold a lot of guidance anymore. How can we still lead our teams and create confidence and success?

​Anita Sands shared in this article the seven habits for highly effective leaders in times of uncertainty. A great real life experience sharing what works for some of the best leaders. These seven points allowed me to reflect on four pillars of my Wheel for Agility - I haven't been so far off.

1. Balance Realism And Optimism - People in general prefer bad news over uncertainty. Not knowing what comes is very stressful. At the same time, even the worst situation holds opportunities. As a leader it is important to strike a balance between the two. Get the people out of a downward spiral.

2. Communicate Often And Authentically - Proactive communication goes hand in hand with the first habit. Vulnerability shows that we are human and that creates better connections. If we don't have an answer for the future, we still have the values we are proud of. Let's continue to live by them.

3. Focus On Purpose And Culture - Many successful leaders have evoked passion in their employees and their customer base. Why am I giving a lot of my life's energy for this company? A leaders provides a meaningful answer to this question. I like to call this creating a collective dream.

4. Nourish Yourself - As a leader we are giving a lot of energy to the people around us. Do you have enough energy yourselves that you can give away? This means we need to continuously fuel our body, mind, heart and soul. Be generous to yourself!

5. Evaluate Competitive Positioning - Many organisations fell in a fight/flight/faint/freeze mode due to the huge negativity created in the past months. As a leader it is important to create a positive environment that allows creativity and the discovery of new solutions that bounce us forward. This also requires a deep understanding of the needs & challenges of our customers.

6. Get And Stay Curious - New solutions only come from experimentation - let's try things out and evolve from what we learn. As a leader we need to be curious ourselves, and we need to empower our teams to be curious and experiment. Further, curiosity is correlated to resilience; it enables a range of cognitive, emotional and social capabilities that allow us to cope with duress. Let's walk around with a beginner's mind.

7. Pause And Celebrate Successes - Simply rushing forward might make us blind to understand if we are on the right path. Regularly pausing and reflecting on what we have achieved and learnt; this gives us the space to focus on the right opportunities. Celebrating even the smallest success, will bring some of the positivity back. This gives us a glimpse of the blue sky above the clouds.

How do you inspire your teams?

Sources
  • ​In Times Of Uncertainty, These Are The 7 Habits Of Highly Effective Leaders
  • A Leadership Story towards Agility
  • Pushing for Speed and Cost is Counterproductive - Neuroscience Tells Us
0 Comments

Leadership Guide - Thrive in Challenging Times

23/7/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Challenging times are dragging us down. We see that among our friends at work, and we observe that about ourselves. We feel frustrated, overwhelmed, angry and this feeling lingers and gets stronger. Why is that? This downward spiral is often related to negative self-talk. But, how can we prevent this?

Andy Puddicombe says that you have a choice. Either you choose to succumb to your challenging emotions and make them worse with your own thoughts. Or, you can choose to observe them, to live with the challenges around you and let them go.

What does that mean in your daily life? The idea is to start to feel in balance and get at ease with the many challenges and opportunities in life. Focus on what is real and the things you can influence now. And, accept the things you can't. Then, you can slowly view the positive impact of the challenges and try to turn them into opportunities. Judgement of others and of yourself will peel away and you have the brainspace to focus on the actions to succeed.

As a leader, you can be patience with your team members, recognise when they (and yourself) have a bad day - that's part of life. In addition, define (collectively) meaningful goals that provide the big picture; this allows to turn current challenges into a stepping stones for a successful future. Don't fret when your team members do mistakes; they are part of the learning journey. The same way as they were on yours.

And what is in it for the company? Happy employees are 12% more productive than unhappy ones. And this also stimulates creativity as well - so important for innovation.

Illustration: Headspace
0 Comments

Perfectionism Will Slow You Down

7/7/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Until not so long time ago, success was defined by following a plan through, or you designing a product that is flawless, or you following the process to the dot. Management schools and project management standards have contributed to this push of perfectionism. The base for this are assumptions that markets are stable, customer needs won't change and operations are easy to map into processes. With the current crisis, and even before that, we experienced that we can't rely on these assumptions? The world is changing faster, the future looks uncertain and ecosystems are complex.

Why do we as leaders feel it is hard to move away from perfectionism?

"In the midst of great uncertainty, leaders across all industries are adjusting strategies and supply chains, rewriting the rules of operating, and sometimes making things up as they go. This kind of leadership demands mental agility. However, there is a challenge: our minds are not naturally built for agility." This Harvard Business Review article shares insights on how we can address our mental barriers to agility.

The first challenge are the distractions. Every day hundreds of messages are asking for our attention. And, we tend to get involved in too many activities; too many priorities are demanding our input. It takes courage and new habits to remove these distractions and focus on the things that matter; the old 'signal versus noise' situation. We can achieve more agility when we focus on small steps, intermediate achievements, instead of keeping a constant focus only at the top of the mountain.

The second challenge is about our ego. I had success with this in the past; my opinion is correct; I already have invested a lot. All this is fixing our mind and prohibits fast adjustments. Instead, as leaders we need to look at the collective wisdom, listen to all the people that are close to the market. Authentic leadership allows to be closer to reality and removes the self from the equation. And as a result, we and our team members can be more self-confident.

The third challenge is empathy. In a crisis we are expected to recognise and resonate with the emotions of the people involved. This is a very important step to overcome the difficulties and come out stronger than before. At the same time, we might reach a paralysis and are not able to make decisions that might hurt some people; then empathy might slow down our agility. As a leader we can find a balance with constructive compassion. This means we are respecting the emotions of people, we treat them as humans. Keep looking for the value these people are bringing, in the larger context of things.

Is your mind ready to conquer the opportunities of the next crisis?


​Illustration by Keith Negley
0 Comments

Teams Come First - New Business Models Later

3/7/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
The first half of 2020 is over - and wow, this was a rollercoaster, right? As a leader, what did you learn? Which new routines did you start? And what is on your list that requires immediate attention?

We have asked manager in Asia and Europe about their top priorities right now. Our findings have been positive and alarming at the same time.

Positive is that leaders care about their people and employees are confident that they are supported. There is a human touch in the leadership in Asia which might be based in the more collectivistic cultures in the region.

On the alarming side, we conclude that companies make limited efforts and plans for a new future and set up their business for success. Are companies putting themselves into hibernation and expecting to wake up and continue in the same way? This might not happen and operations, business models and ways of working require a creative remodeling.

Read here the detailed study: Teams Come First - New Business Models Later

Thank you, Björn Kälin and Emmanuel Montet, for your collaboration and support.


Photo credit: University of Maine
0 Comments

Build Customer Relationships with Prototypes

22/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Agility is for many the path for success, and I see many teams trying to run faster, sprinting and simply spinning the wheels faster. In my experience, this is not a sustainable approach; you are burning energy, burning people.

Velocity means that all your efforts are adding value and none is wasted. In this way, we are achieving results faster and with higher quality. To make sure, we know where to add value we need to be close to our customers, get their guidance on where to focus our efforts. This means we need to build relationships and connect frequently with the customers and stakeholders of our products and services.

One excellent way to do this is with prototypes. Why are prototypes so important? They make our ideas, achievements and challenges more tangible. The customers can imagine how the future solution will add value and where we need further tweaking. In addition, it is a fun way to celebrate what we have achieved within the team.

During my observations, I realised one thing that many teams forget. Demonstrating your prototype is a great opportunity to obtain direction and priority from your customers and key stakeholders. Prepare questions that provide this guidance in key areas.

Which achievements have you been proud of? How did you demonstrate them to your customers?

0 Comments

Refuel Energy with Purpose - Slowdown to Speedup

5/5/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
The current times create a lot of disruption and uncertainty. Many try to stick to old recipes and the old normal. Still, we know we are heading into a new normal, we are in the need to find new ways to be effective, profitable and valuable. This part of the journey can be daunting and paralysing. What can we do?

In situation of conflict, confusion, disorientation ​I always try to review the original objectives. What did we set out to achieve at the beginning? Often this purpose brings us back to the right direction and. Today can be an excellent time to review and reflect on the Collective Dream of our organisation. What was our vision at the start of your endeavour? What are our values? What do we as a team, as individuals stand for?

Why is this important in situations of uncertainty? Isn't it better pushing hard and running forward? Here are my thoughts around this:
  1. Giving people a purpose is stimulating their motivation and engagement with your company.
  2. The conversation about the vision, objectives, values, dreams will get people out of inertia and procrastination.
  3. Going back to your roots will also show the continuity and shine light into a bright future.
  4. Reflection on your values, capabilities, relationships will uncover new opportunities.

This Harvard Business Review article confirmed my thoughts around this topic. We might want to rush and run forward, though we might only run in the wrong direction and waste a lot of energy. Allowing yourself a pause, reflect on your purpose and then accelerate in the right direction will give you confidence to create value for the people around you.

When will you invest in reflecting your collective dream?
Learn more about Hive17's Vision-to-Action Program.
0 Comments

Why Agility? Speed & Customer Value

30/4/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
At Hive17 Consulting, we are supporting organisations to accelerate operational excellence. This means we aim to cultivate creativity and agility within teams. You might ask yourself, what does agility mean and why is it so important?

Do you feel that your business is facing raising uncertainty and complexity? Are you facing with increased competition and customer requirements? In such situations, successful companies act with speed and they focus on delivering maximum customer value with their current assets. As an organisation, you want to quickly address changing customer needs, regulatory frameworks and pick-up new opportunities. And it is not sustainable to rush, increase pressure and centralise control.

How does leadership look like in an agile organisation?

Basically, we have identified four foundational drivers to cultivate agility as a leader:
  1. create habits that bring everyone in your organisation close to the customer needs
  2. define, review and reflect on the company's Northstar and the underlying organisational and individual values
  3. establish diverse relationships across functional, regional and hierarchical silos in order to facilitate creativity
  4. empowering decision-making in the teams that have the information lies in order to remove bottlenecks

Where do you find the biggest barriers to drive agility in your organisation?

​
Image credit: copyright by Lloyd images, Extreme Sailing Series, Carbon 6ix, Best, Land Rover
0 Comments

Effortless Speed - Indefinitely

16/4/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
In my experience when facilitating teams to accelerate their operational excellence, I like to talk about two things. And, they seem to be a contradiction.

"Sustainable change is effortless!" This is similar when you are fixing a screw and at the start it is hard; a simple correct alignment will do the trick and the job is much easier. Many transformation are getting launched with too large climbs and with methods that simply doesn't fit to the style of the people. Too much efforts during a change journey might often be a waste.

"If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough. (Mario Andretti)" This means that a great challenge creates a lot of excitement and motivation. When we are too comfy, then we are not trying hard enough. Pushing our own limits is actually fun.

How does these two thoughts match? They are helping us to create a balance. Too much push - especially from outside - will drain our energy and is frustrating. Too little effort will make us slow down and kill the momentum. The balance in between will allow us to run at the edge effortlessly and for an infinite amount of time. This is essential to successful transformations.

​Where do you find this balance?
0 Comments

Effective Virtual Meetings? One Topic at a Time

8/4/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
We are all getting used to our remote working situations and the virtual meetings. We know that we need to connect frequently, use video for a richer conversation, use collaborative tools for discussions and brainstorming. Why does it feel that it is not effective?

From friends I hear different issues. Some get overloaded with topics and discussions, loose track what is the objective of the call. Some are trying to initiate a good conversation and are confronted with silence. Some feel they need to rush through many things because we are inefficient. All these situations cause stress, confusion and additional uncertainty.

From my knowledge management experience, I think we can try to achieve less in one call at the time; focus on one topic. As we have frequent calls we will still be able to cover many things. Here some tips for effective virtual meetings:
  • focus on one topic per meeting; spread multiple topics across different meetings - focusing on one things will allow you to close that topic quickly and move to the next
  • use video; the conversation and interaction will be richer with video - this means people will be more engaged and more feedback will be shared
  • send out pre-reading materials; ask to read them and prepare a few questions that will be discussed; for clarification, additional comments and different opinions - this will bring everyone into the conversation
  • use a collaborative document where everyone can contribute at the same time, even during the meeting - this will allow people that feel less comfortable to talk, to engage during the call

What did work on your side? Share your experiences...
0 Comments

Turn Your Ship Around - Success with Empowerment

3/4/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
For a while now, I am an advocate for empowering teams to reach their northpole autonomously - a human-centric and sustainable formula for success and growth. Recently, I got introduced to the story of the USS Santa Fe, a submarine that was commanded by David Marquet from a desolate state to the best operated submarine. A story of positive leadership.

Captain Marquet took a totally different approach to his role on the vehicle. Instead of being the centre of operation where all the information is gathered and he is making the decision, he delegated decision-making authority to the different units and ensured the relevant information is flowing between all units.

In an interview he mentioned that a first key change was the way he formulated orders. A typical command is direct like "sail the ship to this location at this speed and that depth". He started to express an intend: "I intend to be at this location in order to achieve that". Then the relevant units are required to suggest the right method to achieve this intention. This changed how people got involved and shared their expertise.

Other learnings shared by David Marquet:
  • Fight the urge to take immediate action; pause and reflect first - this will develop the 'leadership muscle' of the team
  • Signal to your team which mindset should be adopted in different situation; distinguish a 'prove' and 'improve' mindset
  • Activate system thinkers and leaders at every level; this will create resilience and prevents stupid decisions
  • Flatten the power gradient; make yourself available, create an environment where others contribute and join the team on their level

How can you apply this in your leadership role?

Learn more about the story:
  • Turn Your Ship Around by Mark Bidwell (unfortunately, the link to the podcast is broken)
  • #003: Turn the Ship Around with Capt. David Marquet, podcast by Dr. Jerry Zandstra
0 Comments

Overcome the Current Crisis - Fast, Sustainable and People-Centric

31/3/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
In the current period, most companies are struggling - either their income is plummeting (e.g. airlines), their efficiency and productivity drops (due to unusual work conditions), and some are totally overwhelmed with a new level of demand (e.g. online grocery shops). When I hear the people in my network, we agree that old recipes won't work to overcome these challenges.

Many people are afraid in these times of uncertainty - nobody is able to say where we will be in 3 months time. This fear provokes negative feelings and rush reactions. Some leaders resort to old habits, like pushing people to reach financial targets at all costs, like adding more control over their employees, like neglecting what the company and team stand for. These reactions might work for today, though they will create frustration and might very well jeopardise a quick recovery in the near future. And we are all guilty reacting with a quick fix, right?

We at Hive17 Consulting suggest a different approach - an approach that requires a little bit of reflection at the start. This will allows the leaders to guide their teams, their companies to a fast and sustainable success - Slowdown to Speedup. In our approach we suggest three ingredients: positivity, creativity and agility.

​Positivity - Neurosciences tells us that in moments of change we are preferably in a positive emotional state; then our neurotransmitters can establish new connections and better adapt to change. As a leader, this means we should feel healthy and content ourselves and maintain a positive outlook for the future. With this foundation, we can guide our teams through this uncertain times and give them a meaningful direction, a collective dream. In my experience, empathy and a good understanding of the people around us help us to convey these messages successfully and engage all of us with authenticity. Let's put some enjoyment back in our work.

Creativity - Old recipes won't work. This means we need new solutions to new challenges. How can we use the uncertainty to our advantage and strive? At first, we suggest to to formulate the "problems" as opportunities; for example, instead of cutting costs, let's say that we want to maximise the value creation with the asset we have. Many people say that creativity is innate - we all have it in us. As leaders we can facilitate creativity by removing restrictions and encourage bold, crazy ideas.

Agility - Once we have these crazy, positive solutions, we need speed to execute them. Though, agility is not only velocity; it also means flexibility and importantly a learning attitude. The collective dream gives us the long-term direction. And, this will be the input to make decisions while we execute smaller parts of the big solution. During the implementation we might have many assumptions what will work best; let's get started and test them out - step-by-step. As a leader it is important to maintain a safe environment to experiment, fail and encourage learning. Speed is the natural result.

Some of you might say, this takes too much time - I need to react now. Based on my past experience, the actions above might take a couple of days and the first positive results can be seen in 2-4 weeks. On top of that, the teams will achieve magic; rewarding efforts, empowerment and a clear long-term vision will bring the best out of your teams - now and in future.
Find out more about Vision-to-Action programs and Agile Innovation campaigns!
0 Comments

How Will Things Be Different When It’s All Over?

17/3/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
Our current COVID-19 situation is accelerating at an enormous speed and we can only wish that the peak will be getting closer and all our families and friends stay healthy. At the same time, it is not all gloom - it is an excellent opportunity to take responsibility for our own excellence.

The article here - How Will things Be Different When It's All Over? - is rightly asking the question: what can we as business leaders do now to prepare for the next three phases: Rebound, Recession and Reimagination.

​Rebound: are your teams aligned with a collective dream? Do we all run in the same direction? And did we establish effective collaboration routines that create transparency while avoiding micro-management? When I talk to teams struggling with working from home, I often hear that people lack motivation, trust, efficient tools, etc.

Recession: one way to react is to shut down everything - total cost management. For me another question is more forward-looking: how can we maximise value creation with the existing assets. That might mean, we can find new customer groups that have an interest in utilising our assets. And we can take the economic slow-down and review our operations and make the fit for the rebound.

Reimagination: here we can be creative and see new opportunities unfolding. And a human-centric approach will allow us to go deep in understanding our existing customers how their needs have changed. Where are the new value generation opportunities? How did preferences have changed? How can I react fast to deliver on this value? Everyone in the organisation is part of the customer journey; in my experience we all need to work closely together to create an experience for our stakeholders.

Back to the article, it suggest a few inspiring success factors:
  1. An “opportunity in adversity” mindset - based on strong bonds within your teams
  2. Looking ahead - strengthen your meaningful purpose
  3. Picking up weak signals - deep understanding based on empathy
  4. De-averaging the portfolio - creativity based on better design
  5. Moving fast - operational agility through empowerment
  6. Transform - new routines that cultivate new mindsets

Thank you, ​Daniel Benes, for sharing!
0 Comments

The Organisational Structure that Creates Sustainable Speed

6/3/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
My fellow transformation practitioner, Kamales Lardi, published an article sharing her views on the challenges that occur when executing a digital transformation strategy - Digital Transformation: How to develop strategy under uncertainty. A great list for leaders to understand how we can contribute to successful initiatives. And it made me thought, can we even give it another spin, make leaders bolder?

#1 Create a Confident Leadership Team
  • yes, an icy wind blows in the top ranks of many organisations; let's get aligned on a collective dream; involve our teams in the creation of this collective dream
  • trying to control what others are doing will slow down and demotivate; as a leader I need to feel confident to let go

#2 Thrive in Uncertainty
  • create an environment that allows experimentation and creativity; "great idea; let's test it!"
  • and as leaders we can create fast success when we pull our people to fail fast and learn fast

#3 Create a Frame for Fast Results
  • The collective dream is creating that passion that drives people forward; engage people to brainstorm crazy ideas that lead us in the right direction
  • Then think of modules - smaller parts of these ideas - that can create tangible business outcomes in three months

#4 Create a Human-centric Organisation
  • We focus too much on process and rules; sustainable success though is based on a stronger focus on value creation
  • Each organisational unit is contributing value to the customer journey; allow them to discover who their customers are; they might be internal, paying customers and communities at your doorsteps

#5 Implement a Structure that Strengthens Creativity and Agility
  • create routines where teams frequently plan, review and reflect on their collective dream
  • implement regularly activities that engage people to strengthen their creativity and agility muscles

Am I the bottleneck to our business success?
How do you translate your vision into action?
Do I appreciate the creativity and insights of all people in our organisation?
​
0 Comments

The Collective Dream is the Trigger of Accelerated Growth

26/2/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
You heard it enough: a clear vision, a meaningful purpose, a comprehensive strategy is the foundation for a successful business. And why is this so important? I share here an alternative and simple idea.

​Today we often observe that teams and entire organisations are pushed to achieve some financial targets - and they all rush, putting a lot of effort to reach these objectives. Is everyone running in the same direction? Are they joining their efforts to create a larger momentum?

In this context, "collective dreams" might be superior to typical lagging indicators:
  • they are more tangible and exciting; a dream has a meaning and is typical human-centric and planet-centric
  • they are gathering all team members into a "frame" which gives them a direction to run to and also boundaries based on values and principles
  • because of that all the efforts are placed into a common purpose and hence creating a momentum
  • collective also means that every team member is involved in shaping this dream; it is not a simple top-down communication
  • we involve people from all levels because they gain insights from diverse views and create more transparency
  • based on the collective nature this direction is easily understood and adopted by the entire team and we have instant alignment

Where do you success with your collective dreams?
​
0 Comments

Accelerate the Way You Work - A Reminder on the Foundations of Agile

21/2/2020

0 Comments

 
This week I stumbled across this simple explanation of the foundations of agile. A reminder for myself - and for all of us - where does agile come from and what to focus on.

"A set of values and principles that guide the team’s decision making."

For example, the interaction with people is more important the processes and rules; or the collaboration with the customer is more valuable than the contract we negotiated. These will guide a team to priortise the right things.

And as a leader? Give your teams a clear direction, remove barriers, motivate intrinsically, stay close with them and join the party as an equal.

What did I miss?
0 Comments

Sustainable Innovation requires a Solid Foundation

19/2/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
End of last year, we initiated a benchmark survey on how different companies experience their journey to accelerate innovation mindsets. How can we fully exploit our potential to deliver novel products, processes and experiences to our customers. We presented a number of activities and traits and asked two simple questions: are these important for innovation? and are they established in your organisation?

Here are the results of this APAC-focussed survey; they show clear indications on where to put energy and where to start:
  1. Human-centricity is a strong driver for innovation, building on diversity, empathy, respect and curiosity
  2. Combine this with an environment that creates focus and agility in delivering value
  3. The underlying operational structure facilitates working across silos and drives creativity and execution

Find here the complete survey results: ​The Current State of Innovation - Report.

Big Thank You to all that have participated in the survey!
0 Comments

Ingredients to Sustainable Success - Direction, Empowerment, Drive

12/2/2020

0 Comments

 
Picture
In order to be successful in an environment where change and disruption are accelerating, we need to significantly speed up the way we work. Though, success is not achieved with rushing; greater velocity can be achieved with reflection on doing the right thing - slowdown to speedup. Sustainable success is based on creating a frame, empowering people and facilitating intrinsic motivation.

Where do you see these elements in your organisation?
0 Comments
<<Previous

    Tim

    Tim is a change practitioner in the area of innovation and excellence. He is working with teams to accelerate innovation, collaboration and agility.

    Archives

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    November 2017

    Categories

    All
    Cross Silo Collaboration
    Data Driven Decisions
    Design Thinking
    Digital Transformation
    Entrepreneurship
    Headspace
    Hybrid Innovation
    Intrinsic Motivation
    Lean Startup
    Mindfulness
    Neuroscience
    Operational Excellence
    People Excellence
    Positive Leadership
    Productivity
    Slowdown To Speedup

    RSS Feed

© 2020 Hive17 Consulting Pte Ltd, Singapore (201318853R)
  • Hive17 Consulting
  • Core Services
  • Workshops
  • Thoughts
    • Antifragility Report 2021
  • Keynote Speeches
  • Hive17 - Tim