We did not want to be wallpaper

How many times a day do you say “I love… something” and mean it? You know, the heart beating faster, adrenalin pumping, couldn’t be happier that you have that thing or are in that place or with that person you love.

How many times a day do you say “I hate… something” and mean it? The feeling of disgust swirling inside, a sickly view that you just don’t want to be part of or a place that you don’t want to be in, something that you would be willing to take a stand against.

How many days go by when you don’t say either you love or hate something?

How many days are you just wallpaper?

When you work on delivering change, everyday something amazing happens, good and bad, it’s a roller-coaster of highs and lows. We struggle to recruit staff because not everyone is comfortable with that, people think they are until they have to surrender themselves to these emotions day in day out, then we realise, many people are more comfortable being wallpaper.

Why?

There are many reasons why people are less emotional than they used to be.

My personal favourites are:

• Political correctness
• The “everyone’s a winner” mentality
• Fear of having the spotlight on you by rocking the boat

You will have your own theories which we hope you will share.

Life is not better for this; we are not better people because of this.

One of our partners said:

“If there are people out there that love Cheeky Monkey, you need to keep the name because there are not many things people openly love any more.”

That has got to be one of the saddest statements I have heard in a long time.

Surrender to love

Today, open yourself up to your emotions, find something you love or a place that you love to be in, or even better a person you love to be with. Face it, feel it, and then tell someone about it because there is no better feeling, it will make a difference to your day.

Yesterday, I had to conduct one of my favourite behavioural change exercises over the phone – not something I have done before. I was in grey and rainy Stockport and the rest of the team were in hot and sunny Ghana (where did I go wrong there…)

A key part of our current Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) implementation is to understand the behaviour that exists today and recognise the behaviour of the team we are striving to be. Joining the dots between today and tomorrow and usually more entertaining the senior team and the workers!

To do this we create totem poles – a fantastic way of using symbolism to communicate. Somehow, it is easier to tell your bosses that they are jaguars than to directly tell them they are chaotic and shape shifting.

We have done this exercise in the UK, Australia, Indonesia, Thailand and Nigeria so far and despite the cultural differences when the teams think about each other today, the same animals pop up:

Senior Teams

Elephant, lion, moose, mouse, goose, salmon, tiger, whale & jaguar.

Key words = strong, powerful, wise, headstrong, enduring, observant, detail orientated, reliable, self demanding, productive, prudent, proud, intense, inspiring, energetic, chaotic & shape shifting.

Workers

Ant, armadillo, bee, dog, rabbit & mouse.

Key words = group minded, patient, active, industrious, celebratory, enthusiastic about life, safety orientated, cautious, faithful, loyal, trainable, fearful, timid, nervous, observant, orderly & detail orientated)

The interesting differences come through in consistency; in Africa there are more dogs (noble, faithful, loyal, trainable, protective & guiding). In SEA lots of ants (group minded, patient, active and industrious) and most interestingly of all in the UK, despite a period of doom and gloom lots of BEES (organised, industrious, productive, wise, social, celebratory and enthusiastic about life).

Beekeepers Association (BBKA) says bees are in danger of disappearing from our environment. Attitudes to bees must change and a new generation needs to be educated into the value of bees and the threats to their existence.

As the green shoots appear that signal the end of the recession, we need to remember bees need something to feed on, whether it be a PLM implementation, training or new product development. Don’t be a rabbit (fearful, timid, and nervous) today be a falcon – ADVENTUROUS, PASSIONATE AND LEADING!