Stay Plugged In to Information Sharing

I got this in an email the other day:

In a hospital's Intensive Care Unit, patients always died in the same bed, on Sunday morning, at about 11:00 a.m., regardless of their medical condition. This puzzled the doctors and some even thought it had something to do with the supernatural.

No one could solve the mystery as to why the deaths occurred around 11:00 a.m. Sunday, so a worldwide team of experts was assembled to investigate the cause of the incidents.

The next Sunday morning, a few minutes before 11:00 a.m. all of the doctors and nurses nervously waited outside the ward to see for themselves what the terrible phenomenon was all about. Some were holding wooden crosses, prayer books, and other holy objects to ward off the evil spirits. Just when the clock struck 11:00, Alice Stewart, the part-time Sunday sweeper, entered the ward and unplugged the life support system so he could use the vacuum cleaner.

I don’t know if that’s a true story, and while it’s tragic if it is true, it’s funny too. It’s also unfortunate, because with a better communications infrastructure the hospital could have uncovered the source of this phenomenon much sooner. This is the value of an open communication organization – people know what’s going on, make suggestions for improvement, and share information. And Alice finds out what that plug powers.

In an open-communication organization, messages aren’t pushed down, they’re shared in conversation at every level – back and forth, up and down. So not only are the bigwigs (and the worldwide team of experts) in the know, so are the part-time Sunday sweepers.

Have you ever heard something for the first time and thought, “How come I’m just now hearing about that?” Sometimes it’s a new procedure, or a new policy or perk that’s been in place for a while but nobody took the time, or thought it was important enough, to make sure the message got delivered throughout the company. Companies with a robust internal communications infrastructure are fortunate that they have tools in place to share information with coworkers. Good internal communication doesn’t go through a funnel – it flows freely.

Don’t hoard information. Next thing you know, you’ll have a TV show on A&E, and everyone will think it’s creepy. But really, it makes no more sense to keep information to yourself than it does for the Hoarders to keep all that weird stuff they keep.

Know something? Tell everyone you come in contact with!

Sustainability of Another Kind

It's been my opinion for a long time that the only sustainable competitive advantage any company can have is its culture and its people. Everything else can be copied or reproduced. But a company that values its human resources and positions them to be the best they can be is almost unstoppable. This is a company's culture. No people, no culture - they are inseparable.

I was reading a piece by Jason Averbrook last week titled The Most Effective Talent Retention Tool: Culture. Here's part of what Averbrook has to say:

A company's culture if often misunderstood and thought of as a touch-feely thing that belongs to HR. The truth is, culture is not an intangible or a vibe you get, or the cool office furniture, or the hip lobby decor.

Culture is, in fact, one of the most important drivers of long-term success and must be set, tweaked, monitored, and nurtured, just like other pieces of the business strategy. Quite simply, your culture is the environment in which your strategy and your people thrive or die a slow death.

Averbrook cites this definition from Shawn Parr, a blogger with Fast Company:

“Culture is a balanced blend of human psychology, attitudes, actions, and beliefs that combined create either pleasure or pain, serious momentum or miserable stagnation.”

So let me be clear: When I talk about culture in the generic sense, I’m referring to the good kind; the kind that makes you look forward to your work. The kind that makes you engaged, productive and satisfied.

By now companies have rolled out their 2012 plans and employees have given them the once-over. And if you haven’t, you really need to because this is where your company is headed and you need to know what part you play in achieving the goals set out in the plan. You might need a twice- or thrice-over.

Some companies have pretty lofty goals – and culture and innovation are hot topics these days. And while there is widespread agreement that it starts at the top with the CEO, it’s undeniable that it’s also a team effort and everyone has to contribute. If your company encourages employees to speak up, provide feedback, take calculated risks and innovate, and you don’t do any of those things, you’re not doing your part.

It’s a given that different people interact or contribute in different ways. Not everyone is an extrovert, but even the most introverted people have ways of expressing themselves – it’s not all yelled from the mountaintop or posted on social media. Pick the avenue that best suits you and have your say.

Herb Kelleher, the legendary CEO/Founder of Southwest Airlines said, “Culture is one of the most precious things a company has, so you must work harder on it than anything else.” That means everybody in the organization has work to do; it’s an ongoing process. You’ve seen the workers at Southwest – they actively work on the culture whether they check bags or get you lined up right at boarding; from the flight attendants to the pilots, they all work to keep the culture strong.

As for the strategic plan, break it down and figure out how it applies to you – find that straight line from the company’s strategy to your contribution. It’s there.

And the culture? Don’t just wait for it to happen, you have to be an active participant. Figure out what you’re comfortable with, and do it.