Category: Culture
05
Nov
Reflections on developing a SenseMaker framework to understand company culture
We spent last week working on a new narrative research framework using SenseMaker® with a new client – a quick snapshot of the organisation ahead of a big leadership and organisational design event in a month’s time. The week started with a workshop to explore the issue and the potential angles for the SenseMaker® triads, dyads, […]
22
May
Social cohesion or social coherence? Thoughts on identities in a fractured society
I woke to the radio at 7am. My first thought as they read the news headlines was “I must have misheard that,” then as the slightly-longer version kicked in I realised that I hadn’t. It was 24th June 2016. The day after the UK referendum on staying in Europe. The close vote was “51.89% of […]
26
Jan
The Merger – Some positive feedback, some course adjustments and some signposts on the road ahead
Part of my time this year is being spent as an adviser to two organisations that are merging. It makes an interesting example of a merger process. All relevant posts on the process are collected under the Merger tag. The merger is progressing. Since I last blogged, the organisation has been through a number of […]
23
Nov
It’s not the Bad Apple, it’s the Rotten Barrel
You know, when your behaviour does not mesh with your values and attitudes, typically what happens is your attitudes and values change to fit the behaviour rather than the other way around. … If a company (Enron springs to mind, but it’s too black-and-white a choice) or department is focused on bringing in revenue and profit but are not the product development group, when they are exhorted by company values to be “Innovative” they have few options to exercise that value.
26
Oct
Get the story straight – Storytelling in Communications 1
The opening gambit of more than one past client project has been “help us get our story straight”. Sometimes it’s just that – the general story – sometimes it’s something specific: “help us get our customer story straight”, “our story on leadership”. It’s an interesting starting point, but demands a long conversation – and often […]
11
Oct
Attribution is complicated, targets are unable to see contribution
I’m spending time this afternoon at the launch of the UK office of the International Initiative for Impact Evaluation (3ie). While it’s a subject I’m keenly interested in, it’s not one in which I’ve got depth of understanding. I struggle sometimes to understand some of the conversations, but many of the issues around things like […]
06
Oct
The Merger – Baby steps
Part of my time this year is being spent as an adviser to two organisations that are merging. It makes an interesting example of a merger process. All relevant posts on the process are collected under the Merger tag. I set the scene for the Merger last month in this post. Early days under […]
22
Jan
Random stories or last.fm?
There's an increasing trend I've noticed recently among people looking at stories – to take a brief look at stories to find the ones that "typify" the organisation. And, because of the perception of storywork being highly resource-intensive, it's generally a very small number of stories that are used. Somewhat akin to the periodic iPod […]
04
Jul
Where do you allow dissent?
I’ve recently been in a number of environments where everybody has been so keen to encourage positive discussions that I’ve ended up coming away with a flat, slightly unreal feeling – interesting conversations that never really reached any depth. It’s reminded me of the big “hoorah” sessions that organisations regularly run for people around any […]
11
Jul
Coaches as well as campaigns
We’re introducing something new to the Narrate portfolio, as a result of feedback from you. While many organisations want us to run full campaigns inhouse to implement change and improve culture, there are many who have the capability to do so themselves, but instead need ongoing coaching and guidance. With that in mind, we’re already […]