Tag Archives: culture

under-communicating

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Due to the extreme pace and environment of my little startup-life these days, I have had a chance to recognize how much poor communication bothers me. Especially under-communication. A.K.A. the expectation that I should somehow get your drift and immediately comprehend what you are trying to communicate.

Obviously, as soon as I convinced myself this is about everyone else, I realize that, no, this is about me and what I need to work on to improve my communication.

So, I made a couple guidelines for myself:

Provide the context

Everyone else hasn’t been reading the same emails, or articles, or overhead the same conversations. So, let people in on the context of where I am coming from.

Be clear about my opinions vs. the facts

I know whether I am stating my opinion, or citing facts. (Um, usually.) But, that doesn’t mean anyone else does. Unless, I explicitly tell them.

Be clear about any questions or expectations for response

Don’t you hate rhetorical questions?

Make sure communication is directed at the appropriate channels

Reduce unnecessary duplication of information, or needing to have the same conversation multiple times.

What would you add to the list?

lean isn’t just for startups

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You probably already know that I am a huge proponent of lean startup and customer development theory and tactics. One of the main reasons I hung up my consultant hat and took this job at Zappos, was to explore practicing customer development in a big company. We still act like a startup sometimes, but after 11 years, 2000+ employees, and a good “exit” (aka next chapter), I think it is safe to say we are more like a big company than a startup.

I can’t wait to share more about what I am learning about applying customer development in a big company, but lets just say I’m happy to be too busy doing it to talk about it. Fortunately, the godfather has some thoughts to share about Solving the Innovator’s Dilemma – Customer Development in a Big Company. (No, really, go read that now.)

“The single biggest reason companies fail, is that they overinvest in what is, as opposed to what might be.”

[ via Gary Hamel ]

The best part for me is, rather than fighting the organization, I’m surfing the culture of my organization. My CEO just sent this article out to the management list:

[Big companies fail] not necessarily because they didn’t see the coming innovations, but because they failed to adequately invest in those innovations. To avoid this problem, the people who control large pools of capital need to act more like venture capitalists, and less like corporate finance departments. They need to make lots of bets, not just a few big ones, and they need to be willing to cut their losses.

[ via The End of Management - WSJ.com ]

be part of folk’s lives in a meaniful way

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“Ok, but, enough about me…. lets talk about what you think about me.”

Every time I hear a company, agency, or “social media guru” talk about getting something to go viral, I puke in my mouth. Just a little bit. (I won’t even get into the downside of being a virus right now.) I just wish more of these folks would use their energy and creativity to focus on being meaningful in the lives of the people they want to reach, by providing value to them.

“If there’s a formula, then you’re doing it wrong,” Glover says. “It really is a social dynamic, being part of folks’ lives in a meaningful way.”

[ via Funny or Die Relies on Social Networks and Wit in Winging Its Success | Fast Company ]

Bonus thought: The easiest way to get someone to like you, is to be interested in them.

Values vs Projected Values

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thinking about core values on 12seconds.tv

Reading through an interesting conversation where people are talking about discovering their core values. The answers they are coming up with are all very grand and noble.

Which has me thinking two things:

  1. We all want to be part of something much bigger than ourselves.
  2. We have a much better understanding of who we want to be than who we are.

So, why do so many businesses and organizations aim at the least common denominator, rather than aiming for ideals? If people want to be part of something so much bigger, and want to do it for much more compelling reasons, why not give them the opportunity?

why would a company hire people they don’t trust?

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I am fortunate enough to work for a company that has a great culture. But, plenty of my friends and colleagues battle the long slow death of a painful relationship with their workplace. The longer I’ve been at Zappos, the more unbelievable their stories have become.

Barrel Chested

Meanwhile, more and more research is released every day that points to the benefits of providing great benefits to your employees, and taking time to cultivate a great company culture.

Imagine that, happy employees are good for business.

Netflix provides one of my most recent favorites stories in this space:

So if you think people in your organization are predisposed to rip you off, maybe the solution isn’t to build a tighter, more punitive set of rules. Maybe the answer is to hire new people.

To paraphrase one Netflix executive, the company doesn’t have a clothing policy either. But – so far at least – nobody has shown up to work naked.

[ via Netflix lets its staff take as much holiday as they want, whenever they want – and it works - Telegraph ]

But for me, the question at the core of all of this that I am most interested in is, WHY WOULD YOU HIRE SOMEONE YOU DON’T TRUST?!?

update: You should probably also read Startup Culture Lessons from Mad Men by Brian Halligan of HubSpot.