Would we ever expect our manager to be sacked because we weren’t performing?

Being a member of the England football squad is like being part of a project team. It’s not your day job and you have two bosses. You are bringing together a group of talented individuals that are going to work together towards a common goal… like winning the World Cup (we wish). The components that have to come together to succeed are complicated. It is not as straight forward as an employee having the fear of losing their job, or even that different people are motivated by different things… money, recognition and sense of achievement. The key to successfully managing a team of this nature is more about building a community than traditional managerial motivators.

Community Management what does that mean?

It has more to do with understanding the bigger picture, seeing the vision and getting people to buy into their part in that vision. This is not in the traditional corporate mission, vision, values context but in a more pragmatic, holistic way that exposes the fact that you do not have control over all the decisions you would like to make and because of that you put more accountability and ownership on those indiviuals who have the skills you require to deliver the end goal.

When Fabio’s management style was being scrutinised by the media, my contribution was “I wonder what would happen if Fabio asked the players “who is up for it today?” “where would you like to play?” and the ownership was on the players themselves to say for the good of our end goal this is what should happen! This may sound like nonsense but when you strip all the crap away these are guys that love nothing better than to kick a ball around a field and win – sometimes we add so much more to these situations than there should be and the simplicity is lost.

Why have a Manager then?

Someone has to pick the members of the community and getting that right is essential. Here there needs to be the courage and strength to pick the stars but also pick the players with potential who are hungry to show what they can do. Then there is the huge task of managing and motivating the individuals. Teams who do not work together on a daily basis have different needs to those that do and the motivation to succeed is different. This is not about money, it is more about how the world see you and may be even an opportunity for you to give something back, develop in a different way. There has to be much more focus on what an individual will get out of this so that the team bond can be formed and developed.

Football like work is a big part of our lives, real change here could inspire us all

For me this was a tough question as I am a well known tough talker and many times I have had to consider if I crossed the line. So have I?

Undoubtedly throughout my career yes several times. Does that make me a bully? No.

Why?

At Cheeky Monkey we are driven by our client’s company objectives. What they want to achieve is very personal to us because we know we can have a direct impact on that with the work that we do on their behalf.

We are passionate and uncompromising in delivering a Human Approach to Innovation and Change:

• We say what no-one wants to say and everyone wants to hear
• We think, say and do the unthinkable for the management team

And as a result of this we deliver business benefits that go way beyond the project headlines.

It is the management of change by being focused and passionate about the PRIZE, delivering objectives, improving profitability and winning!

It is never personal and never about personality. It is also never about the protection of authority or status.

I have never been interested in whether the situation looked good for me. If it delivered and the team were seen to be successful as a result of our actions it’s a job well done.

What can you do to make sure you are not crossing the line but are in fact tough enough?

• 1. Your team need to know why they are doing what you have asked them to do and where it fits into the bigger picture
• 2. They want to be treated as adults, so when they challenge what is being done and why, listen and be honest with your response
• 3. Make performance appraisals relevant and more frequent. Personal objectives need to be stretching but achievable and show progression and success
• 4. Reward people in a way that makes a difference to them; be able to answer the question “what’s in it for me?”

Unhappy workers can’t work, that is a fact. But what is making them unhappy your style of the fact they can’t deliver. Some people are just not up to the job and then it is a HR issue.

The ability to manage your emotions is of course critical. Frustration is the precursor to anger add stress to the equation and BOOM!! The forces of hell will be unleashed and Alistair Darling can tell you how that feels.

WHY? When they know it will make a difference?

As I read the Times, one after the other these stories added to the argument well underway in my head.

First the crimes of neglect. The parents of two brothers whose toxic upbringing, led to them torturing two innocent children. “31 missed opportunities to take action that would have prevented the crime”.

We live in an imperfect society where we know that people can ignore their responsibility and are not always accountable for their actions. To protect the innocent people who get caught in that imperfection there is a process and rules, a safety net.

How could this safety net have missed so many opportunities to make a difference?

Part of the training we deliver is “don’t be sheep”. If after following the process and rules you can see that something is wrong take accountability for ensuring that the right decision is made, don’t just tick boxes and then sit back and ignore responsibility by thinking your job is done.

Courageous Frances Inglis, jailed for 9 years for the mercy killing of her son. The process and rules allow for the starvation of her son, “If a vet let a dog die like this, he would be reported to the RSPCA”, but not by lethal injection which is of course what we do to put an animal out of its misery.

The process and rules followed but to what end? I have no doubt the Frances was willing to end her own life to stop the suffering of her son, being imprisoned does nothing to protect anyone, not her or society. So by following the rules and process here what difference have we made?

The mother of “Britain’s sickest child” jailed for 3 years after faking his illness. This boy had been seen by doctors more than 325 times and had undergone 9 operations. She managed to do this by bullying hospital staff and playing them off against each other.

The story focuses on the cruelty of the mother and I am not for one minute disputing that but come on, 325 times in front of a doctor and 9 actual operations, she is not the only person under the microscope here surely?

Don’t be sheep

My final story “courage and comradeship keys to survival in an inhospitable land” working in Sangin, Helmand. The armed forces the pinnacle of a world that relies on people following process and rules, taking responsibility and being accountable. People who understand the value of these things and the difference they make but who have the intelligence and courage to do what is necessary when it is necessary.

These are people who make a difference everyday

So as I close the paper and look at my parachute I thank my luck stars that a life will not depend on me finding out why this team are not following the PLM process and rules and are shirking both responsibility and accountability, but I will act like it does because I know it will make a difference.

• Snowday.co.uk (all about school closures)
• Snowday.com (coming soon? going to miss the boat there guys)
• A Times article from 3rd Feb 2009 when the industry valued last year’s snow disruption at £3bn
• Snow day live blog from the Guardian
• Some interesting news from Twitter, with a great screen shot from Trendsmap which sadly only shows the popular terms used in the south but the article confirms that in the north we featured more terms like “sledging” and “snowman”!

Today The Business Desk reported that business across the NW could have lost as much as £50m as a result of absenteeism yesterday!!

Cheeky Monkey HQ is in Lymm. We are well and truly snowed in but did this raise panic through our ranks and stop our world, no.

Why?

We are set up to work remotely, like I thought so many other businesses are? Are the stories of more flexible working and the increasing use of technology really what they seem?
We have swapped the motorways for conference calls. Sharing data files via our cloud. The snow is not stopping emails, SMS messages or Messenger.

What’s all the Fuss About?

We have sent our snowy pictures to our colleagues in Nigeria, those in Toronto cannot believe what a fuss we are making about this and our friendly Swede Patrik quite rightly said if anyone wants to attack the UK they just have to wait for a bit of snow.

White is the New Black

Enjoy the snow! As far as we are concerned the snow has bought a bit of calm to our lives. We have to walk instead of drive. People are acting like a community again, swapping tales, helping each other and more than anything just talking (and having snowball fights, building snowmen and sledging!).

Find a Different Way

If your business is suffering the snow may be your wake up call to look at different ways of working. It is going to be a beautiful day perhaps more of us need to see this as a sign to move into the new decade a different way.
And before anyone starts I know we can’t do everything in the virtual world, I am desperate to get my hair cut and so far that cannot be done online…

On this occasion Richard is quite literally ‘reaching for the stars’, but it is fair to say that this has always been his business and life philosophy. So what makes him so different?

It’s Not Rocket Science

The difference between Richard and most other people is that he reaches beyond the stars. If pushing the boundaries leads to success or failure, he takes a ‘nothing ventured, nothing gained’ approach.

I know we don’t all have the resources and freedom to aspire to the extreme projects of the Virgin empire, but it is important to remember that all of us have the power to challenge ourselves to achieve higher and higher levels of success.

Set Some Goals

Setting goals is important! We all need goals in life, both business and personal, they help us to focus on what we want to achieve and motivate us to do what it takes to succeed. It sounds simple but it is surprising how many of us are drifting.

It’s a great feeling to reach a goal and it is truly something to be celebrated, once you have felt that feeling of elation it’s addictive. what’s left to do? Make new goals!

Don’t Get Stuck in Your Comfort Zone

Nobody wants to fail but setting goals that you know you can consistently achieve will not buy you a ride on ‘WhiteKnightTwo’ get out of your comfort zone and lead the way to something new.

The results of our mini survey show a pretty close 1,2,3 of work life balance, love of the job and money.

We explored the challenge of work life balance in our last blog, so next…

What makes one person love their job and another hate it?

When we are in a position to follow our own values and beliefs we seem more comfortable and confident with our actions and decisions. Believing that what you are working towards will make a difference somewhere somehow is a motivator and gets those happy hormones pumping.

We are not all the same so our values are also going to differ

It is up to us to ensure that there is a good match between our core values and our work environment. This doesn’t have to be a life changing statement (giving up the office job to be an NGO in the Niger Delta) it is just about being aware of why we love or hate what we do. This will change because we change and our environment changes.

Do you love or hate your job?

• Write an honest statement of what your job is
• Compare this to your actual job profile (is there a match?)
• If there is not a match, write down why. Are you being sucked into things because of bad management, process or the incompetence of others?
• Put a smiley face next to everything you love
• Put a sad face next to everything you hate

Do the math…

or

“Work life balance is about people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work. It is achieved when an individuals right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society.” – flexible-working.org

It is perceived by my nearest and dearest that I don’t have the right work life balance and they believe it has got worse. As I am sat on the plane ready to start my holidays I have some time to wonder why (and nicely prove their point at the same time!)?

Has the recession pushed me to work harder?

Throughout this credit crunch period I have been anti recession, believing that we could talk ourselves into and just as easily out of this mess. I don’t dispute there was a mess and that the decisions that were being taken in certain sectors that could not continue. There had to be fall out.

It is true, I didn’t want to be part of the fall out, so did this environment push me to work harder?

Like many (or all) business owners, I work everyday. I did before the recession kicked in and I have no doubt I will continue to do it when it’s gone.

I want Cheeky Monkey to be the best Change Management Consultancy it can be. I want the people who work at Cheeky Monkey to contribute in the best way possible and be the best they can be at what they deliver. I want Cheeky Monkey to be successful and that is what pushes me.

Success = being the best you can possibly be

Always Connected!

The recession may be playing a part but other things are having a bigger influence. We have embraced social media as a way of engaging with a broader spectrum of people and keeping us sharp. We are operating on a Cheeky Monkey cloud, access to everything by everyone without having to be at a desk.

To make sure we could do this efficiently we invested in the latest Blackberry’s and iPhones. Fantastic, I am linked to our client’s networks, integrated calendars, business and private emails, messenger and our whole social network from something that fits in my pocket. My god it’s efficient, and allows me to work 24/7 wherever I am. I am probably at 18/7 if I am being honest and my friends and family are constantly telling me its going too far.

My Blackberry has had the biggest effect on my work life balance.

Although I am one of those people who is in the pub checking my BB at regular points, at least I am in the pub. It was not long ago I made choices on going out or not going out based on how much work I had to do and most of the time it was the latter. Although my working day has increased, so has my social activity…

The lines between my work and life are blurred, what is wrong with that?

So, as we make our approach into Nairobi I am happy that I will be able to keep in touch with my fellow monkeys and our clients with ease and enjoy a fantastic family holiday. I have control over my work life balance, technology has given me this and it is for the better.

“We are not paid to think, just do – copy, paste, print”

I read this on Nina’s twitter, wayofthemonkey and it got me thinking about the mentality behind the statement, why people would feel this way and wondered, are they missing out?

Why?

• Most of us ‘need’ to work; does this ‘need’ limit our enthusiasm?
• When an activity is non-negotiable do we switch to auto pilot?
• If we imagine what is ahead does it look too hard?
• Does thinking everything through slow us down?
• Will thinking force new and uncomfortable experiences that could lead to change?
• Will our wider network support new ideas?

When you consider the reasons why a person would feel more inclined to just ‘put their head down and get on with it’ you begin to wonder ‘is thinking a trap’?

“Just Do It”

In 1988 one of the most famous advertising slogans was coined for Nike – “Just Do It”. The campaign has been a remarkable success given that 80% of trainers sold in the USA are not used for the purpose for which they were designed. The ads rarely focus on the product, but on people, they give an insight into the intense, inwardly focused competitor. Nike has attracted those who want the image without incurring the pain.

The truth is success is rarely nurtured in isolation. The sporting icons that Nike focuses on are undoubtedly great, but are they made greater by reaching out and utilising the talent of a combination of resources?

Reach out

When we focus on ourselves we are in danger of becoming detached from what is happening around us. I am not just talking about our immediate team of people, company or community, but also the wider social network that we now have the ability to reach out to in so many ways.

Reaching out is an opportunity to increase knowledge. Extending our network of resources helps us to unlock untapped potential and access what is inside people, be it stories of success or failure.

Are You Missing Out?

One person can not be great at everything. Thinking and engaging opens up everything we do in the world, its like ‘magic’.

If we can set aside our fears of the changes our thoughts may bring, we will discover that every day holds the potential for something new.

Think about it – Don’t miss out

“Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction” – Picasso

Why was Picasso so successful, sought after and inventive? He was not afraid to challenge what had gone before.

How many times do you hear the statement ‘there is nothing new or original anymore’?

Is it true?

Surely everyday little pieces of original creation go missed by the world at large. In fact, have we all become desensitized because we are bombarded with so many things at such speed? Do we take enough time to realise how things knit together?

21st Century Originality

It is the knitting together that creates the 21st century originality. As an example, over lunch with Ralph Ardill from the Brand Experience Consultancy he was talking about the science project he had launched in Dublin, The Science Gallery. Building an experiential science centre is not original, but the key to the success of that project is that disenchanted teenagers who don’t know what they are into (art, media, science, music, porn, etc.)? will walk through the door not to be a spectator, but to be the creators of the projects that go on inside that building.

It is their hope that one of those participants will ultimately become a Nobel Prize winner.

It is the creative and inspiring knitting together of old and new that will enable that to happen.

Move Forward

We have to look back to move forward. The art is to deconstruct something that has been successful and be bold enough to push that vision so that it creates a new legacy.

This art of deconstruction creates disruption. This process un-nerves people, pushing them outside their comfort zone, but only by doing this can we hope to create something of substance and originality.

What are you going to knit today?

Last night I was watching people discuss Rufus Wainwright and his decision to deliver an opera to the world for the first time. It is always fascinating to watch people analyse those who are brave enough to put themselves out there, right on a ledge, being bigger and bolder than those analysing would ever dare.

Commentary from the sidelines – we can all do that… being bold enough to follow through on the big idea, we need to see more of that!

Being in Manchester right now is full of people being braver, bigger, bolder as part of the Manchester International Festival. A festival dedicated to original work – the first time for everything, how brave of all those taking part.

Out on a Ledge

If you think about the things you did for the first time, how many of them were amazing on the debut? Driving, drinking, sex? All got better with practice for me! Despite the risk of failure and opening themselves up to the analysis of the world at large, all the brave people taking part in the festival are out there on the ledge and its fab!

PZ Cussons 125 years

At the end of last year as the dark nights were drawing in and the dark clouds of the recession were forming, a group of visionary executives at PZ Cussons were discussing how they should celebrate the companies forthcoming 125 year anniversary.

PZ Cussons are seen as a quiet, understated company famous for its heritage brand Imperial Leather. For us at Cheeky Monkey they are a visionary group who have understood the need for change and have been willing to embrace it in a brave and bold way that should provide inspiration for many others to follow.

For almost 5 years now we have been leading dramatic change projects for the PZC Group and it was an honour when they asked us for ideas on how they should celebrate this milestone event.

They wanted something that introduced the new face of PZC Group to the wider population. That engaged diverse audiences, created a bit of drama and fun, had a sense of the family that is still so key to the PZC business.

The Soapbox

It was Steve and Jon at Ear to the Ground who delivered the big and the bold. They presented the idea of having a huge bubbly soapbox in Cathedral Gardens that let people discover the world of PZC. If you have not visited the Soapbox yet, take a trip – it is like getting a hug from a friend you know but have not seen for some time – comforting and familiar but new and exciting at the same time.

Follow your Heart

As we have said, being braver, bigger and bolder does not always signal immediate success. Elbow perform with the Halle tonight, in the words of Guy

“his love letter to Manchester”

For 17 years they have followed their hearts becoming the fastest selling ticket at the festival because of the enormous success they have had over the last 12 months – many people at that concert will not even realise they have a back catalogue.

It doesn’t matter if the idea is a success or failure, brings immediate recognition or takes years for people to realise what an amazing idea it was, FORTUNE FAVOURS THE BRAVE.

TAKE SOME INSPIRATION FROM MANCHESTER RIGHT NOW; BE BRAVER, BIGGER & BOLDER.