Homelessness is more than just a housing issue; family problems , mental health issues, losing your job and so confidence, not feeling like you can be part of society for a variety of reasons – every person has their own story, you need to get beyond the drink and drugs issues, of course sometimes that is why they are there but it’s also a way of surviving where they are.

When I lived in Bristol I could walk to work everyday (the only time I have been able to do that), when you walk through a city early in the morning and late at night you can’t ignore how many people are living in subways, under bridges, doorways and park benches – I just couldn’t walk past them day in day out as if they weren’t part of my life, I saw some of them more than my family at that time! So I didn’t, I made them part of my life and it was an experience so rewarding I remember them dearly…BUT generally people thought I had finally lost it and I found the preconceived ideas of why people are homeless and the way they were judged very sad.

So this year we have donated the money we would have spent on Christmas cards to The Wellspring in Stockport, they have done a fantastic job for years and this year you will add to their Christmas cheer.

From everyone here at Cheeky Monkey we would like to thanks you for your support this year and hope you have a brilliant Christmas and New Year. Spare a thought for those not as lucky as we are and as you walk past the homeless as you rush getting your last minute bits, stop for a chat make them feel part of your life – it’s the warmest feeling you’ll get all season.

When was the last time someone asked you or even considered “what it was like to be you?”

This thought has been in my head since I watched The Help the film based on the book written by Kathryn Stockett.

Set in Mississippi during the 1960s, a southern society girl returns from college determined to become a writer, but turns her friends’ lives – and a small Mississippi town – upside down when she decides to interview the black women who have spent their lives taking care of prominent southern families as part of a secret writing project that breaks society’s rules and puts them all at risk.

Every day I am astounded by the lives that people lead, the number of different people they are caring for and or the difficulties with health issues they are trying to overcome the concerns, hopes and dreams they have for the future it is always inspirational and humbling.

It’s all about courage and taking the opportunity to change: starting with the simple premise just one person deciding to understand what it’s like to walk in someone else’s shoes.

When I get the opportunity to bring people together to work on global initiatives, it is always amazing that wherever in the world you live at a basic level what people are juggling is the same although the environments may be staggeringly different.

I have very fond memories of a night out in Jakarta with a group of women from Indonesia, Bali, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Thailand, Poland, Greece and the UK. We as a group represented every religious faith and cultural background you could mention and to begin with the conversation was polite.

As the night went on and we got to know each other barriers came tumbling down as it was clear we all shared the same thoughts, the things that occupied our minds were the same, the way we had to deal with them was different but in a way that we could all understand and take something from. That night changed the relationship I had with those women and dramatically changed the way we worked together resulting in the delivery of change within the project I never thought we would see.

If you are struggling to get an initiative to realise it’s true potential and you think that people are your blocker take some time to walk in their shoes, ask them what it’s like to be them right now, you could change the course of history.

“The longest night in the world is about to finish. Amazingly intense and VERY surreal hours: packing, sending data, stowing experiments, preparing to enter the most alien of worlds.”

In reality, their ‘voyage’ was just a simulation of some of the conditions that the crew of a spaceship would face travelling to the Red Planet, and they had not travelled beyond the Russian suburb that played host to the experiment.

While the experiment could not replicate all of the conditions, such as weightlessness or the effects of radiation; it did give the participants in insight into some of the mental effects that they would be likely to encounter.

They experienced the isolation of being trapped and the frustrations of delays or breakdown of communication with ‘ground control’.  They even tried to imagine what it would be like to land on Mars, albeit in a pit of red sand.

Making a change often has dramatic impacts on people, process and technology, yet when IT is involved the focus often stays firmly placed on two points on this triangle.  And unfortunately, it is only at the zero hour that the impact on people enters the spotlight.

Meanwhile, for some, the journey up to the point that they reach the new world can seem like “the longest night in the world”.   This might be the people driving the change who are not fully sure what the immediate impact will be.  Or, it is the recipients of the change who have heard stories about the alien world and are nervous about how it will affect their lives.  Furthermore, the change may not be immediate and delays can take place as people get used to their new surroundings.

So, as you invest in the development of new technology to reach the new world, how do you make sure that your crew are ready to make the journey with you?

What creative people want is to know their music has been heard. They would prefer a response that was constructive than a positive or negative review. They would prefer expertise to opinion. They would like to know the public if they had a chance to hear the music, also had a chance to make up their own minds.

That is where we must be going. Musicians need to be heard, to be judged, if possible to be paid, but also allowed to believe they had more than a single chance to get a hit.

As you would imagine from a man who has spent over 40 years smashing things up, Townsend’s inner artist is quite a controversial figure who doesn’t care too much for money or for other people’s feelings but he also needs a bit of support.

After listening to his speech I began to wonder whether everybody has a touch of the inner artist; a desire to know that their contribution has been acknowledged and recognised.  And whether indulging more of that inner artist’s ideas would encourage something great.

John Peel’s radio show acted as a platform for new ideas and he was an early adopter of many great bands.   It’s possible that groups like Nirvana, The Smiths or The White Stripes could have gone unnoticed or lost faith without the early support that his show provided.

Of course, he also played thousands of artists who didn’t reach the dizzy heights, but that’s not the point.  For many of them, simply having the opportunity to get their record played was motivation enough to try.

If schools are taking their student’s opinions so seriously, how are you getting your employees involved in your organisation?

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.