After the pandemic, simple practices can make the difference between an agile and innovative company and one which becomes distracted and irrelevant, says Ann Hiatt. This is what separates the disruptive from the disrupted in competitive industries.
Nothing is as damaging to our mental health and productivity than feeling a lack of control. 2020 has proved a difficult environment in which to make informed decisions for economic survival. With no one knowing where this crisis’ finish line lies, it’s hard to budget our time, resources and energy and this can lead to exhaustion and overwhelm.
Sprints are pervasive practice at tech companies for moments when survival is on the line; such as a product launch to beat a competitor to market. A repeated series of timeboxed, focused work for developing, delivering and sustaining complex goals within a short amount of time, there has never been a greater global need for coordinated sprints.
I have been through many formal sprint exercises at both Amazon and Google over the last two decades. They are a key part of what keeps these companies agile, innovative and cutting edge in addition to their long-term strategy planning. This Silicon Valley secret deserves its spotlight.
My five steps for sprint success:
Define success
There is a good chance that your organisation has had a major strategy pivot since the beginning of the pandemic. If that’s true, you are in a sprint whether you knew it or not.
Has that pivot been effectively communicated and applied at every level? It is essential that you and everyone who reports to you has the same definition of what success looks like, to help people prioritise how they spend their increasingly limited time and resources. This definition may differ from your long-term plans.
An analogy popularised by Steven Covey, the author of The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People illustrates this well. Covey talks about filling a jar with as many rocks, pebbles and sand as possible. It turns out that the order of execution is an essential part of its formula for success. Put the rocks in the jar first, followed by pebbles and finally with sand, which fills in any remaining gaps. The rocks represent your major milestone goals. These are the non-negotiable tasks and deliverables which will keep your company competitive and winning. The pebbles are the tasks surrounding the shorter-term goals and the sand are the minor tasks which don’t individually drive success. If you put the sand in the jar first there is no room for the rocks.
Many employees feel like they are already stretched too thin with family commitments, inefficient setup for working from home and overall stress about the state of the world. In this environment it is very tempting for workers to check off a long list of ‘sand’ tasks in order to feel like they have been productive. They also might think they are working on ‘rock’ tasks based on what was asked of them in the former business model. You need to be clear which tasks are now considered core and which have now been re-categorised as non-essential.
Set the time frame
Help your team see that the current sprint effort will come to an end even when you aren’t yet sure when that will be. You need to give them a controlled finish line for today before you build them up for their next big effort.
Back in pre-Covid life, I attended a spin class. Our usual instructor, Rebecca, consistently gave the class a clear overview of the challenges she had planned. At the beginning of a new track she might tell us that we were going to do three thirty second standing springs with thirty seconds of rest between. That helped me pace myself and push myself harder during the sprints, allowing for recovery time.
Erik took over when she was on holiday. He ran similar workouts but he didn’t have the same habit of telling us in advance what we could expect. I noticed that my calorie burn after Erik’s class was significantly lower even than my average with Rebecca, even with the same activities. Turns out that with Erik’s approach, I was subconsciously conserving energy and not pushing as hard as I was otherwise capable of doing.
The pandemic challenge was strangely similar to Erik’s workouts. Because no one knows when or if things will return to normal, many usually high performing people have found themselves in a state of passivity or productivity paralysis with a subconscious need to ensure self-preservation.
Leaders need to create expectations of short sprints which are essential to basic company survival within the context of the long marathon effort for pivoting to new business models for strength and market security post-crisis. These can be a single week of outreach to your core customers to save existing contracts, or a month-long challenge to create a new product delivery pipeline.
Make sure your message is absolutely clear and that your teams understand what is expected of them and when.
Plan for pivots
Every single one of my global consulting clients found themselves in a huge pivot moment during Covid where they needed to adjust their business strategies, company policies, expenses and work environments just to survive. This remains essential as we attempt to create a new normal. Leaders need to set up systems to not only stay connected and present with their employees while working remotely, but also on how to be seen as a confident leader despite the lingering feeling of making things up on the fly.
Employees need to hear an acknowledgement that things are hard and messy and frustrating. When leaders try to be too perfect or confident amid global uncertainty, it has the opposite effect to that intended. What brings teams together is acknowledging the shared hardship and human side of the situation.
Measure the impact
What you measure and reward is what your team will focus on producing. Once you have directed your team to what they need to focus on, you need to connect that to how they will be rewarded accordingly.
This is where it is vital to commit what is being referred to as random acts of leadership. Reach out to your managers at lower levels and/or set up a free form Office Hours session where anyone in the company can bring their questions, concerns and observations to your attention and quick action. The teams will be grateful for the additional leadership contact and you will benefit from instant response to your strategy vision.
Examine your company goal setting and tracking system. If you don’t already have one, I highly recommend the Objectives and Key Results (or OKRs) which are used by both Amazon and Google for aggressive goal setting and clear, measurable, actionable tasks to accomplish them. Measure your progress consistently and clearly across your organisation and immediately reward those who have contributed effectively. This is not a time to wait for a year-end review.
Repeat
This will not be a one-and-done process. Even after the pandemic these practices can make the difference between an agile and innovative company and one which becomes distracted and irrelevant. This is what separates the disruptive from the disrupted in competitive industries.
Remember, the best ideas often come from the lower levels of the organisation rather than the senior executives.
Despite all this ambiguity, there are specific things that can help you as a leader regain a sense of control. Establishing clear sprints for your teams will be the key factor to creating a framework for focus, productivity and measurable success for your company now and in the future.
Article by Ann Hiatt, NED at Armadillo, originally published in AMBITION
When you’ve been looking at the same four walls for the past however many weeks, writer’s block becomes frustratingly real. If you’ve been typing frantically and getting nowhere, we hear you.
But now that we’re all settling into our new desk setups, we’re finding our own tricks for staying motivated during the lockdown. We can’t all create a writer’s studio at the bottom of our gardens where the tweeting robins and growing roses will inspire us. But we can all do these mind-revving tricks from our kitchen tables.
Have a KitKat
Okay, I’m only a few lines into this blog and I’m already thinking about taking a break. But give it a couple of hours and it will be needed.
When you’re working from home, it’s more tempting than ever to make a quick sarnie and type while you eat rather than taking a lunch break. However, your writing will suffer. Your brain needs a rest. So, go for a walk, read your book, do a wordy puzzle or get your dinner prepped. Or if 15-mins of shuteye gives you a buzz of energy when you wake up, go for it – you might not be able to when you’re back in the office.
Set a no-phone timer
Sorry to sound like your teacher, but there’s a reason why phones are banned in the classroom. It’s just way too tempting to have a quick check of this and that, which only distracts you from your writing. Set yourself a timer, during which you can’t look at your phone (unless it rings). Yes, it’s boring, but it does work, especially if you want to get something written quickly.
Pick up the phone
That sounds a bit contrary, but let me be clear, what we’re saying here is call your colleagues. If you’re feeling a bit demotivated or something’s on your mind, talking to someone else facing the same challenges can help.
We also try to do as many briefings as possible over the phone. It helps to clarify our thinking and keep the social aspect of our days alive. Turns out, tittle-tattle in the office gave us a lift when we needed it (but luckily we’re still sharing funny memes).
Keep a notepad handy
Anyone else finding the shopping list is all that enters your mind when you’re trying to write a chunky piece of content? If you’re the same, keep a notepad and pen next to you. Jotting down these thoughts helps clear your mind so you can concentrate on the task at hand.
Moping in your PJs?
Jeans on lockdown might have you wincing, but if you’re feeling a bit down in the doldrums then putting on something nice can help you feel back in the game. Something as simple as putting a brush through your hair can make you feel more ‘ready for the day’ as it were.
Just call it a day
If it’s passed 6pm and you’re still trying to write something, it’s probably time to close the laptop. Perhaps it’s better to park it for the night and get up a bit earlier to finish it off when you have fresh eyes.
If you’ve got some motivation tips of your own, please share them – the more the merrier. Just leave a comment below.
Steve is no stranger to complex, data-led customer journeys. He’s built them for the last 15 years – working both client and agency-side to deliver multi-channel media campaigns for the likes of Unilever, Samsung and Bosch.
He was instrumental in building the clothing brand Finisterre into a well-established High Street name with a presence throughout Europe. He’s also headed up the Chemical Records marketing department; driven international marketing strategy and customer acquisition campaigns for Vodafone; and picked up a host of industry awards along the way.
Now back at Flourish for a second stint (he previously headed up the media department), Steve re-joins as the Head of Strategy & Insights, at a time when stocks in data and insight couldn’t be higher. Stands to reason. As more businesses ramp up their digital activity, they generate more data. The ability to read, understand and utilise that information is where the real value lies.
Managing Partner Ian Reeves hopes Steve’s impressive analytical ability will help to provide clients with the kind of insight that will optimise current campaigns – and create successful new ones.
“It’s great to welcome Steve back to the team,” said Ian. “He has a unique skillset combining media planning, digital strategy and practical commercial experience, giving clients the insight and intelligence to define who, where and how to target.”
Steve will be the bridge between the client brief and a data-led solution. Responsible for uncovering the insights behind every client challenge, then working with the wider team to find the perfect solution.
Every business has data, but not many can translate it into intelligence. Get in touch with Steve for a free audit, insider tips, and the fundamental dos and don’ts of data strategy.
Stephen Davis, Head of Strategy & Insights
0117 317 7635
In this session, you will get an overview of some of the ‘golden rules’ of marketing, the evidence behind them, and why they’re not restrictive but launchpads for great creativity. It turns out that marketing isn’t always complicated, just hard.
The talk will be followed by a 30-minute Q&A so come prepared with your questions. Book here
The session takes place from 3 – 4.30pm on Tuesday 21st January at Zone, The Brewhouse, Bristol. Tickets are £20+VAT for Bristol Media members and £30+VAT for non-members.
Nick has spent the last 12 years helping brands navigate the choppy waters of creating effective marketing with a rigorous evidence-based approach. He’s won numerous awards including the coveted DMA Grand Prix, judges on several awards panels and has been published in leading journals such as Admap.
Margaret was among the 30 speakers who spoke at Bristol Media’s 2016 Vision conference, and we’re thrilled to welcome her back for another insightful event. Whether you’re an aspiring leader, an ambitious manager, or have directed teams for decades, join us and Margaret Heffernan for the Vision Keynote: Why is Leadership so Difficult?
Leadership in today’s age is becoming increasingly difficult due a range of causes from the rate of change, generational differences and a shift in social mores to name but a few. The reality is more subtle. The environment in which we operate is now full of ineradicable uncertainties, which in turn, has caused the traditional 3-legged stool of management – forecast, plan, execute – to lose its first leg. Forecasters are now wary of anything more than 400 days out, so kiss goodbye to your 5-year plan and embrace modern leadership.
So, in an age replete with ambiguity and uncertainty, is leadership even possible? If so, what does it look like?
These questions will be explored during Heffernan’s keynote, where she will share her invaluable knowledge on modern leadership in a session not to be missed.
Join Bristol Media and Margaret Heffernan on Tuesday 22nd October (12.30 – 14.15) at Foot Anstey, 2 Glass Wharf, Bristol BS2 0FR.
Tickets are £40 for Bristol Media members, £60 for non-members and include a networking lunch. A limited number of £10 tickets are available for Bristol Media freelance members.
Dr. Margaret Heffernan produced programmes for the BBC for 13 years. She moved to the US where she spearheaded multimedia productions for Intuit, The Learning Company and Standard&Poors. She was Chief Executive of InfoMation Corporation, ZineZone Corporation and then iCast Corporation, was named one of the “Top 25” by Streaming Media magazine and one of the “Top 100 Media Executives” by The Hollywood Reporter.
The author of five books, Margaret’s third book, Wilful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at our Peril was named one of the most important business books of the decade by the Financial Times. Her TED talks have been seen by over nine million people and in 2015 TED published Beyond Measure: The Big Impact of Small Changes. She is Lead Faculty for the Forward Institute’s Responsible Leadership Programme and, through Merryck & Co., mentors CEOs and senior executives of major global organisations. She holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Bath and continues to write for the Financial Times and the Huffington Post.
Synergy is tasked with helping DFS to communicate their wide-scale business transformation to colleagues across the organisation.
DFS, Britain’s biggest sofa retailer, has appointed employee engagement specialists Synergy Creative as its strategic partner to help communicate the organisation’s transformation programme.
Synergy Creative will use its experience in large-scale transformation comms to help DFS communicate key changes to the business as it looks to lead sofa retailing in the digital age. The programme will engage with over 5,000 employees across the DFS group, including DFS, Dwell, Sofa Workshop and Sofology.
Lee McNamara, Group Head of Internal Communications and Engagement at DFS, said: “How our customers are shopping with us is changing, so we’re evolving with them. A huge part of that success will be in continuing to deliver an exceptional customer experience, driven by our people.
“We were looking for a partner who could support us fully through this transformation and Synergy Creative showed an excellent level of understanding and expertise in change communications. We’re excited to be working with them on this and sharing our big ambitions with our people.”
Gary Walder, Account Director at Synergy Creative, said: “We’re thrilled to be working with DFS. It’s a brilliant brand and household name and we can’t wait to get stuck in.”
The news comes as part of a brilliant year for Synergy Creative, following a host of award wins, a growing client list and several key hires into the team.
About Synergy Creative:
At Synergy, we believe in the power of people; to imagine, excite and inspire. Ambitious brands trust us to help their people take action, delight customers, transform cultures and create change.
We engage people with impact through insight-driven creative comms and experiences that connect with employees and change behaviours.
As specialists in internal comms and employee engagement, we think, write and gather some brilliant resources to help guide and inform your employee communications. For more information, visit: https://www.synergycreative.co.uk/
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