We find ourselves in an increasingly fragmented working environment with global, mobile and virtual teams becoming the norm. Organisational culture is fluid and can be hard to define. Yet we are incredibly connected at the same time with email, SMS, social media, smartphones and iPads.

So what can we do as business leaders to provide guidance and leadership to our people? How do we set the ground rules or ‘rules of engagement’ for a globally distributed team without relying solely on weighty HR policies and procedures?

One approach I have used with some success is to document and circulate a discussion paper on ‘ how we agree to work together’.

I have listed some of the key points from my ‘Rules of Engagement’ document below and welcome your feedback.

1. Honesty
Speak the truth- even if it is an unpopular view, or one that identifies a mistake that has been made, or is about to be made. This is important for a team to be able to resolve issues quickly and make better decisions. Imagine trying to be effective with only half the information.

2. Reliability
Do what you said you were going to do. If you run into any obstacles that may prevent you from keeping your agreements, notify the people involved as soon as possible, and offer an alternative solution.

3. Respect
At all times, treat each person with respect: respect for their role, level of responsibility, position in the company, experience and expertise; and respect for the fact that each person is genuinely trying to do their job to the best of their ability.

4. Innovation
Think of new ideas, and new ways to do things. Remember 1000:100:10:1 (Let 1,000 flowers bloom, be willing to consider 100 possibilities, be prepared to invest and road-test 10 of the most promising and then expect to be pleasantly surprised by 1 revolutionary idea.)

5. Fun
Have fun and enjoy the challenge of what you do. This means enjoying the tough stuff as well! The greatest rewards and satisfaction comes from overcoming big obstacles.

6. No Surprises
Particularly in the presence of other colleagues. If there is some news or development in the business, ensure that your team knows about it. Everybody hates finding out about something last- particularly when it is something that affects them or their team.

7. Maturity
This means doing the right thing, and acting responsibly, even if you have not been asked to (and no one is watching!) It also means accepting that not everything will go your way. Some decisions will go against you or your preferred outcome, and that is just a part of life.

8. Accountability
If you have a problem with a particular person- talk to them about it, not others. Tell the person what the problem is, how it affects you, and what you would like to happen differently. Give them the opportunity to explain their point of view and find a suitable outcome together.

9. Confidentiality
Respect confidentiality at all times.

10. Focus on the process- not the people
This means fixing the problem- not the blame.

11. Questions are the answer
Ask questions whenever you do not understand anything. Even if you do understand, ask anyway to gain a deeper understanding.

I hope you found this list helpful. It is not comprehensive, but rather a guide or conversation-starter that I have found incredibly useful when welcoming new members of the team.

What are your ‘Rules Of Engagement’? How do you welcome new team members and induct them into your organisational culture?

To our valued clients, suppliers, friends and associates,

Thank you for your support and friendship in 2011.

]]> http://michaelfieldcom.wordpress.com/2011/12/22/198/feed/ 0 michaelfielddotcom for blog http://michaelfieldcom.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/do-you-have-time/ http://michaelfieldcom.wordpress.com/2011/12/07/do-you-have-time/#comments Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:49:13 +0000 michaelfieldcom http://michaelfieldcom.wordpress.com/?p=194 ]]> Recently a friend posted a desperate request on Facebook  for ‘more hours in the day’.

“If anyone has worked out how to fit another 4 to 5 hours in every day can you let me know,” she pleaded.

This really struck a chord with me as I often find myself muttering the same thing:

“Where am I going to find the extra hours I need to complete all of these jobs?“

I stopped myself from indulging the thought for too long and reminded myself we all have exactly the same amount of time… It’s how we value it, allocate it, save it, protect it and share it that determines the effectiveness and quality of our lives.

Masters and minions alike all have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, and a life as long as God and health allows.

How do you value, allocate, save, protect and share your time?

Do you have time?

• Lots of people standing in a room and nobody knows each other. Awkward!

… or

• A room full of squawking self-promoters frisbee-ing out their business cards like samurai stars.

Of course it isn’t always that bad, and many of us have had very positive networking experiences, but in reality, most people find networking challenging – yet they love meeting *interesting people!

* Definition of an interesting person: they do something you find personally interesting or you believe they can provide value for you, your business, family, friends etc.

So let’s firstly examine why people don’t network. In truth, most people don’t want bigger networks. What they do want however is more meaningful relationships that can improve their lives – personal, professional, financial, social etc.

Most professionals already have established friendship groups and professional associates. Depending on their career and life stage, they may not be recruiting new people. Many (including myself) already have enough trouble maintaining their existing friendships – even professionally!

So, to break through, you need to differentiate yourself by demonstrating how you can add value to another person’s life – either personally or professionally.

At this stage, it is worth mentioning that you simply can’t afford the luxury of feeling self-conscious if you want to be a successful networker. Assume that nearly everyone else feels self-conscious – and thinks they are the only one who feels that way.

The best way to be a gun networker is simply by showing interest in other people first, and resisting the need to talk about yourself – unless you are asked, or you have determined it is appropriate.

Your ‘elevator pitch’ is an ‘acid test’ to see if there is mutual potential in furthering the discussion. It should be designed to encourage the listener to respond with a relevant ‘matching’ elevator pitch, for example:

‘My name is Michael Field, I run a strategic marketing consultancy. We work with medium sized business-to-business, not-for-profit and member services organisations to help them grow their business. What do you do?’

You may also want to resist the urge to whip out your card too soon. It can be better (and more polite perhaps) to ask for their card. Good manners suggest they will ask for yours in return.

Some people struggle to end a conversation at networking functions. But if you want to get the most out of the opportunity, sometimes you just have to move on. It doesn’t need to be awkward. You can just say, “It has been lovely meeting you. I need to catch up with Mary now and hopefully we will see you soon. It has been a pleasure meeting you. Have a great night.

Above all, follow up! Many networking efforts are wasted through failure to follow-up. It does not have to be a chore.

For the best results:

- Connect on LinkedIn

- Add them to your CRM

- Email a short thank you note acknowledging your meeting

- Send a relevant news article or link

Try this out at your next networking event and let me know how you go.

Coke has recently launched a new marketing campaign in Australia encouraging you to ‘Get Together and Share a Coke.’

The campaign kicked-off with personalized name labels on Coke bottles. See http://www.shareacoke.com.au.

Coke has utilised an age-old marketing strategy of personalisation. It positions the campaign as being about sharing with your friends. In reality, the human behavior is quite different. Just like in group photos, everyone looks for themselves first. The appeal of seeing your own name in print on a global brand such as Coke is pretty enticing.

I have no doubt consumers will buy personalised Coke bottles for their friends also, but only after they have searched for their own name first.

The social media effect has also been extraordinary. People are proudly publishing photographs of themselves with their ‘prized’ personalised coke ‘buddy’.

I imagine the Coke sales and marketing teams have also become best ‘buddies’ as a result of this campaign as it has achieved a rare success in social media/viral campaigns. It has gone beyond merely creating brand awareness – or even preference – it has crossed the chasm and driven direct sales.

By doing this, Coke is reaching a new market. Consumers who wouldn’t normally buy a Coke are intrigued enough to search the supermarket and grocery store shelves for a Coke bottle with their name on it.

In their mind, they are doing it just ‘for fun’ and the novelty factor. Most are probably aware they are responding predictably to a well-orchestrated marketing strategy. They just don’t seem to care.

They have become ‘brand advocates’, providing free marketing to a global corporation.

Whatever you think of Coke, their company, marketing or product, this campaign is clever and on all accounts is producing extraordinary results.

CEO of LinkedIn, Jeff Weiner, said “In this challenging jobs environment, LinkedIn’s ability to connect talent with opportunity at massive scale is more essential than ever.”

Prospective employees and companies are both able to access some of the most highly sought-after jobs, and candidates, internationally, thanks to the Apply with LinkedIn button.

“Companies gain access to one of the most qualified and coveted talent pools of more than 100 million LinkedIn professionals around the world,” said Deep Nishar, Senior Vice President of products and user experience at LinkedIn.

The Apply with LinkedIn button has the potential to make the job-seeking process a lot simpler, and less time consuming for companies and applicants alike, a view shared by Cliff Rosenberg, LinkedIn Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand.

“Apply with LinkedIn makes the entire process of seeking and qualifying new employment opportunities simpler for professionals, and for employers. It dramatically expands the number of professionals in the consideration set for employment.”

When job applicants use the Apply with LinkedIn button, they immediately receive confirmation of their application being received, along with existing connections that they can contact to improve their prospects in the hiring process.

Companies that use the Apply with LinkedIn plug-in will have the ability to customise their application process; for example, they will be able to add up to three questions for the applicant to complete, or request a cover letter to be included.

So what are the implications for professional recruiters? Is LinkedIn a valuable support tool and database – or an active competitor?

In my opinion, in some ways it is both. If recruiters fail to engage with LinkedIn and embrace the abundant recruitment related features, they are likely to have a difficult future.

Good recruiters, however, add significant value over and above the simple process of publishing job vacancies and collecting and sorting applications. For example, PKL Recruitment has assisted my company in defining roles and position descriptions, reviewing organisational structure and recommending different skills and competencies. As a small consultancy, the additional layer of support from the recruiter across the HR function has been invaluable.

Similarly large organisations will still benefit from the professional support, advice and guidance available from a quality recruitment firm. The combination of the right recruitment partner and the power of the LinkedIn recruiter toolkit can streamline the recruitment process and increase the quality of the candidate pool.

I anticipate LinkedIn will continue their rollout of features and services that improve the recruitment experience for both the employer and candidate. For example, last week LinkedIn introduced the Volunteer Experience and Causes field- where members can add volunteer positions, causes they care about and organisations they support. This follows a LinkedIn survey revealing that 77% of Australian professionals have been an active volunteer at some point, but only 46% include it on their resume.

What are your thoughts on LinkedIn as a recruitment tool?

Image: Angry Anderson & Michael Field at the Black Dog Ride farewell breakfast, hosted by Hills Motorcycles.

Recently, I blogged about social media for social change. This post reports on the results of a social cause I became aware of through social media and successfully promoted and fundraised through Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

___

Last night I returned from what can only be described as the trip of a lifetime. I rode 3,000km on my motorbike from Sydney to Alice Springs as part of the Black Dog Ride, in support of the Black Dog Institute. The Black Dog Institute is an educational, research and clinical facility offering specialist expertise in mood disorders such as depression and bipolar.

I first became aware of the Black Dog Ride when a Twitter connection, Tony Hollingsworth (@hollingsworth) tweeted about it. A few tweets later and I agreed to join the ride – without really knowing what it would involve.

The ride commenced on 21 August from Sydney and concluded on 27 August in Alice Springs. We stopped at regional centres and country towns along the way. Stopovers included Young, Balranald, Burra, Port Augusta, Coober Pedy, Alice Springs and finally Glen Helen, 130kms outside of Alice Springs.

At the farewell breakfast, I had the opportunity to meet Angry Anderson, the rock legend and lead singer of Rose Tattoo and ambassador of the Black Dog Ride. Angry spoke openly about his battle with depression. I would later discover that many similar stories would unfold from fellow riders as the ride progressed.

Highlights of the trip include:

• Meeting Angry Anderson at the breakfast farewell
• While fueling up at Shell in Euston, NSW, the proprietor pulled $100 from the cash register to ‘give to the cause’
• A few fellow riders had some mishaps with flat tyres and batteries
• One unfortunate incident involved a motorcyclist and an emu. The rider was thankfully okay, but the same cannot be said for the emu…
• I learned that ‘Hyosung’ should be Korean for faulty fuel gauge (yes, I ran out of petrol!)
• Meeting and listening to the stories of my fellow Black Dog Riders

I learned many things on the ride. There is no stereotype for depression. It can affect anyone, and judging by the mix of riders – it can and does impact many people from all walks of life.

The greatest success of the trip is shared in equal measure between the fantastic fundraising result and the tremendous awareness building within the community and the media about depression, bipolar, anxiety and mood disorders.

It is appropriate to thank my amazing major sponsor, PKL Recruitment, for helping me far exceed my original fundraising target. Through the generosity of sponsors such as PKL Recruitment and corporate donors such as Ford Health, my current fundraising total is $7,000, making it the second highest fundraising effort, only eclipsed by the founder of the ride Steve Andrews who has raised <$13,500.

The total fundraising efforts so far have raised a massive ~$130,000 which is ~$50,000 more than last year. This achievement was only made possible by the incredibly generous donations from individual and corporate sponsors and the power of social media as a communication and distribution channel.  To every individual that donated to the cause, I thank you for your incredible support and kindness.

If it wasn’t for Twitter, it is unlikely I would have joined the Black Dog Ride. However, that’s not the whole story. The real power of social media was realised when I mobilised LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook as the primary driver of fundraising and awareness. Apart from the $100 donated by a generous petrol station owner, all of the funds were raised online.

The lesson for me is social media is a highly effective tool for influencing social change. It is also a powerful way to keep sponsors and donors connected with a cause and the progress of an event such as the Black Dog Ride. On the ride I tweeted and posted Facebook updates from nearly every location – ensuring my sponsors were mentioned at every opportunity.

I am already planning next year’s ride and hope we have the opportunity to work together again in raising awareness and funds for the Black Dog Institute

For more on the Black Dog Institute, or to make a donation, visit http://www.everydayhero.com.au/michaelfieldcom.

Why? Well, as the famous saying goes “Half the money I spend on advertising is wasted; the trouble is, I don’t know which half.”

The same is true for social media. There are so many experts convincing business owners to establish a social media presence, yet so few are building the business case for social media in a strategic context, with measurable business objectives in mind.

Some ‘social media experts’ proudly proclaim their number of followers as if they were collecting souvenir spoons from their travelling expeditions.

My view is that social media is a waste of money, unless you are starting at the strategic level and working down to the tactical implementation, including the selection of the tools and platforms.

If someone approaches you and offers to ‘set you up a Facebook page’, without investing the necessary time to understand or develop the strategy – run!

It is a waste of time and money unless you have a clearly defined strategy in place, and the organisational will and capability to follow through on the plan.

Social Media is like grabbing a tiger by the tail. It’s fun at first but you can’t let go without consequences.

The consequences of a poorly defined social media strategy aren’t limited to financial losses, but it’s a fine measure to keep the mind focused when making marketing investment decisions.

Many businesses are grappling with questions such as:

• How can we capitalise on the growth and connect with key business decision makers?

• How do we navigate the digital landscape, map a business growth strategy and effectively manage risk?

• How do we build an effective digital strategy, manage implementation and measure results?

With the myriad of platforms and devices we use to stay connected, it can be difficult to know which ones we should invest our time in, particularly when it comes to business.

How do you decide which will yield the best business results? What strategies will you put in place to build your business and professional brand?

It’s no longer a question of whether to involve yourself and your business in social media or not. The question is ‘how are you going to differentiate yourself and your business?’

Another important question to consider is ‘where do you go to get quality advice?’

To be fair, there are many excellent practitioners currently advising on social media. Equally though, there are many people whose only qualification is they have a Facebook page or Twitter account – making them an expert.

It reminds me of the lead-up to the year 2000 with Y2K experts offering advice and expertise. Similarly today we have the ‘social media expert’- willing to advise businesses on how to get the most out of social media.

If you are considering appointing a social media expert, ask to see proof of where they have built a business, and how the growth in the business is directly attributable to the social media efforts and activities.

It’s a tough call, but it’s a question worth asking.

But that’s not what this blog post is about- I don’t want to seem like I’m tooting my own motorbike horn or anything. What fascinates me is how my involvement in such a fantastic cause came about- it’s all thanks to social media.

The use of social media as a medium to promote social change is growing rapidly, and I have found, in my own experience, that it is a remarkably effective way to promote a social cause to a wide and diverse audience.

My personal experience began with a Twitter connection of mine, Tony Hollingsworth ( @hollingsworth ), tweeting about the upcoming ride. That’s all it took to grab my attention. I contacted him (via Twitter) enquiring about the ride and the rest, as they say, is history.

The same can be said for not-for-profit organisations making use of social media- like the RSPCA. Following the now infamous Four Corners animal cruelty episode, the RSPCA tweeted links to sign petitions and constantly refreshed their feed with news articles related to the issue.

Social media is everywhere now- it cannot be avoided. The ways it can be used to influence social change are limitless. With social media comes the ability to constantly update people with new content- be it a new petition to sign, a new cause to get involved in or a new donation to be made.

That is not to say that traditional forms of media are not doing a good job in terms of social change and awareness. Social media, however, can advance that awareness in a domain that is more ‘public’ in the sense that anyone can have a say and participate- it is an ongoing conversation. Twitter is ideal for people who want to share their views on a particular cause and find other like-minded people supporting similar charities to them.

If you would like to support the Black Dog Ride, you can do so here http://www.everydayhero.com.au/michaelfieldcom