THE MILLER COMPANY Ideas that Inspire ™

Author Ray Oldenburg wrote the above titled book a decade ago as a “call to arms” for more holistic living.  I’m a fan of his thinking and I see benefits for organizations that facilitate employees bringing their “whole self” to work.  Years ago, the marketplace became enamored with creating systematic efficiencies and viewed human capital as simply another cog in the system.  Allowing for unique skills, talents, thinking and interests was “designed out” in favor of a one-size-fits-all approach to work culture.  “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” won the day. 

 

Thankfully, the gray flannel suit is going out of style in most corporations.  My observation is that companies are trying to figure out how to be “human friendly” places.  While I think we’re headed in the right direction, I often see old thinking and fear that’s founded in the belief that, if people are enjoying themselves, then work must not be occurring.  If your organization is working toward changing its culture, consider these questions from Oldenburg’s work – perhaps your answers will serve as a guide to new thinking:

 

o       How can we make money and enjoy life at the same time?

o       How can our company facilitate healthy living?

o       If people are missing a “great good place” in their personal lives, what role can our company play by filling that space?  What is the benefit in doing this?

o       We are created to be social.  Do we encourage the “social animal” at work?

o       Does our company have “human scale”?  If not, what can we change to help people feel like they fit here?

o       Can our people be “human” at work?

 

In our work with clients and their Recognition and Reward Systems, we frequently have the chance to “humanize” a company by creating channels for communication up and down the organization where employees are lifted up for doing things that are significant – significant to the company and significant to the individual.  Seeing individuals celebrated for their unique contributions is one of the coolest things The Miller Company gets to do.  It makes me feel human!

 

Regards,

 

Tom

   

When I’m not spending time with family or working, I enjoy training for endurance sports – running, biking and triathlons (swimming is a part of triathlon, but I won’t lie – I don’t like training to swim.  Working on my attitude here…).  Every once in awhile, I race.  I’m writing this entry from a hotel in Austin the evening before running in the Austin Marathon (I’m running the half).  I train and race with a group of about 10 guys;  it’s an eclectic group – different ages, professions and ability levels – but we all share a common passion and it’s a lot of fun to get to know each other through a sport that we all love.  Though we often train as a group on weekends, because of work/life issues my weekday training is usually done solo; which leads to many hours on the trails or roads with just my thoughts to keep me company.  It’s during these times that I’m able to work through things that are bugging me or concept out new ideas or be creative about something fun with the family.  I also think a lot about the training I do – it’s important to me and I want to do well, so I spend the time to figure out how to maximize the ability I have (which really isn’t much – I’m a “middle-of-the-pack” guy).  Over time, it’s struck me that many of the habits I’ve formed while training “wash over” into other parts of my life; most notably my work life.    

Here’s what I’ve learned while training for endurance events:

 

Anyone can do it – I’ve seen all ages and shapes at events.  I’ve heard amazing stories of people overcoming difficult circumstances and I’ve seen, first hand, major improvements to health and personal satisfaction.  It’s true that some people are more talented than others and no amount of work will make you an Olympic athlete unless you are extremely gifted; but with the right effort, anyone can compete.

 

Improvement is gradual and is only accomplished by consistent effort – Our bodies adapt to training stress very slowly.  It’s critical that appropriate intensity, duration and frequency are applied.  If we push too hard, injury is inevitable.  To become a runner, you start by walking…then walking a bit farther and more quickly…then walking with a few running spurts intermixed…then running a short distance at an easy pace…and so on until you reach your goal whether it’s running a 5k or a marathon.  During this training time, multiple systems in the body are adapting to the increasing stress.  The body becomes stronger, more efficient at processing fuel and oxygen and more economical in the way it moves.  Frequency is the most important component – it’s critical that the right work is done day after day after day after day….

 

To know how much you’ve improved, occasionally, you have to push yourself to the edge – Training is all well and good, but occasionally, you need to race to learn how much you’ve improved.  The excitement of a race is palpable – the nervous energy in the air, the noise and the people all create a sense of anticipation that’s really fun.  When the gun goes off, the adrenaline rush can make the training all worth while.  Even if you don’t race at the front, the experience is really fun and is a valuable tool to measure what’s been accomplished.   

 

Are you “training” for something in your work life?  If not, I’d suggest you create a goal and begin making steady progress toward it.  Invest in yourself and discipline yourself to maintain focus on where you want to go.  Find people that can help you, develop resources that will provide information that can shape you, seek out experiences that will grow your skills.  On occasion, “enter a race” - give a talk to a group, write a paper and try to get it published in a professional journal, lead a high profile project, serve on a committee for your professional association…Regardless of the outcome, you’ll be better than when you started the journey.

 

Anybody can do it.

 

Regards,

 

Tom

My most recent school module occurred at the HEC School of Management.  The campus is in France, just outside of Paris in a little village near Versailles – Jouy en Josas.  My class stays in an old chateau that’s been remodeled and has had classroom space added to accommodate modern learning needs.  This module’s focus was the psycho-dynamics of change and how people’s background, personality and personal issues impact their role within a group and their ability to function within a group.

 

The first evening, we watched, “Twelve Angry Men”, a classic movie from the late 50’s.  A slew of recognizable actors are in the movie – Henry Fonda, Jack Klugman and a handful of others for which I can’t recall names (you’d recognize them).  The movie very clearly depicts individuals in a group setting and how perspectives change over a fairly short time.  I won’t ruin the ending for you, but I would recommend you see the show – it’s a fascinating study in human nature and it’s entertaining as well. 

 

From there, we moved to four days of instruction from professors that teach at HEC, Wharton, The London Business School and Oxford.  All of the subject matter revolved around the issue of psycho-dynamics and its relationship to leading groups of people through change.  I felt a bit like I was sitting in my college Sociology class…except this time around… I stayed awake and it made sense to me!  We discussed various scenarios where personality differences seemingly stood in the way of accomplishing objectives.  We examined methods to communicate in ways that created understanding instead of confusion.  We debated the role of a change agent and what level of responsibility was reasonable to assume in addressing “difficult people”.  We took a look in the mirror and asked, “when am I “difficult” and how does that impact my ability to intervene in a change situation?”   

 

I’d summarize my learning from this module by saying this – at the end of the day, people do what they do for their personal reasons.  All of us have some level of dysfunction in our lives and we have mechanisms in place to deal with those dysfunctional areas – we hide them, rationalize them, excuse them and even, sometimes, admit them and deal with them in the light of day. 

 

Since we bring our “whole selves” to work, what does this mean for an organization?  I believe companies must acknowledge that their employees are imperfect.  Workplace cultures need to be places where fear is reduced and people are empowered to own their work.  By no means does this imply that accountability is not important.  Bad work needs to be addressed and the performance of the company must be the underlying goal of all work done for the company.  Yet, in this environment of high performance, grace must be exercised.  Part of Webster's definition of grace is, "to confer dignity or honor on".  That's the definition of grace to which I'm referring.

 

How can a Reward and Recognition System (RRS) help create a "graceful" company?  A RRS exists to encourage and promote the "right behaviors" that lead to corporate success.  A well designed system will create recognition opportunities for every job description within the organization.  Good training will ensure that front line management understands how to use the system and understands that their job is to promote "right behaviors" with a RRS as a tool.  Effective communication will reach out to all employees and will create uniform understanding around corporate culture, defined right behaviors and what happens when individuals perform well.  This creates fertile ground for an environment where everyone is looking for, and expecting to see, good things happening.  We all want to be treated gracefully - a well designed Recognition and Reward System can help accomplish that for your company and your employees. 

 

Regards,

 

Tom

For some time now, I’ve felt the need to deepen my understanding of the issues I commonly encounter in my work – employee engagement, culture, levers of change, growing international influence. I read the books and articles that are out there, but I have a desire to know more and do more. A month ago, I went back to school.

I’m enrolled in a program jointly operated by Oxford and HEC that (assuming successful completion!) will result in a MS degree in Coaching and Consulting for Change. The curriculum has a direct relation to much of the work The Miller Company does for our clients and my classmates are as international a group as I’ve ever spent time with – 28 students representing 17 different countries from 6 of the 7 continents (Antarctica is absent…). Week long sessions throughout the year alternate between the Oxford campus outside London and the HEC campus outside Paris. While this sounds sort of “sexy”, for the week class is in session, we may as well be in Detroit (with apologies to the motor city). Basically, each day is 12 hours of class time, study group work and communal meals. I’m loving it. My observations after the first session:

· Employee engagement is a huge issue in the global business community. My interest is in how recognition and incentive systems can impact the issue. Other students are interested in exploring the engagement impact of compensation/benefits, communication, business process, organizational design and leadership. This will be a fascinating “test tube” to learn how all the potential levers of change inter-relate.

· The world is shrinking. While this is not breaking news, I have been reminded first hand that the business world does not revolve around the US – we are simply its most wealthy customer and, historically, have been in a leadership position, in part, because of our wealth. Since business follows money, our influence may shrink in relation to other countries as their economies grow.

· Change is a given. There was a time not long ago that being a “change advocate” was sort of new and daring – as if “change” was only possible with a guide who possessed the coded map for change that no one else could read. In my opinion, it is now a requirement that everyone involved in business be a change agent.

As my understanding of these issues expands, I’ll be discussing them in greater detail. Each is relevant to any business person. To those responsible for a recognition and reward system, the relevance is high.

Regards,

Tom

Wow…what a unique time of the year for those of us that celebrate Christmas and operate on “calendar year thinking”. In our personal lives we’re working in more time for family and friends, shopping for gifts, attending holiday parties and possibly planning vacation time away from work. All of this is occurring while we’re dealing with the daily issues of our work as well as wrapping up year end assignments. Most of us have been involved in heavy business planning and are working toward wrapping that up in preparation for execution in ’08 - and all of these things to get done during a time of year when we’re prone to get run down and pick up a “bug” (as I sit here next to my box of Kleenex…).

I’ll admit that just writing the preceding paragraph caused my stress level to jump a bit – my list of “to do’s” seems never ending and most of the items on the list are actually quite important. So…it must be time for a vacation! I’m spending Christmas in Crested Butte, Colorado with my family and some close friends. We’ll ski, sled, walk around town and then relax in the evenings. It’s a vacation I’ve been taking for over two decades now and it’s become a part the DNA of my family. It’s also become a time to reflect and refresh. Most of the “mechanics” of ’08 business planning are in place and I enjoy the chance to think about the creative end of business as I ski or simply enjoy a long morning over coffee.

The “creative” end of business, for me, usually involves thinking about individual people – the people I work with on a daily basis as well as key suppliers and business associates. At the end of the day, business success happens because individual people do something. Certainly, the forces of group dynamics, organizational design and planning all serve as motivators and frame what an organization is trying to accomplish. Yet, it’s people that ultimately must perform. So, I think about people and what they are trying to get out of life. I think about how to help them achieve, how to support them with the best tools, how to be a great resource for them…

Christmas in Crested Butte isn’t the only time I think about people, but it’s the marker for me to begin the new year with fresh, optimistic thinking and renewed energy around being the kind of person that other people want to interact with.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Tom

When I am in “work mode”, my focus is on making everything better – our client support, our work environment, our professional skills, and the list goes on…Too often, I find myself looking so often and so closely at things to improve (a never ending process for any workplace leader) that I inadvertently turn these “improvement opportunities” into “problems”.  And then I work myself into a funk because I’ve surrounded myself with perceived problems and I become convinced my world is crumbling … 

 

The Thanksgiving holiday is a great opportunity for me to stop and reflect on all the things in my life for which I am grateful.  The cool thing about taking this time is I end up feeling so good about what I previously was frustrated about.  I’m certain it’s not a false sense of optimism, but rather a rediscovery of reality.  In this reality, I still have work to do and improvements to make, but I see them for what they are – improvements to an already good situation – not “problems to fix”.  I’m working on maintaining this perspective ALL the time, not just around holidays!

 

The list of things I’m thankful for is too long to write (and may bore you anyway…).  Suffice to say I’m very blessed to have a great family, great people to work with and great friends to enjoy life with.

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Tom

Stop and look around at the cultural, political and business situations in your immediate vicinity.  Here’s the list of things I see around me:

 

• The world is shrinking.  Easy and inexpensive travel, improved communications and growing global wealth have opened up opportunities previously available only to reasonably wealthy, primarily western peoples.
• Diversity is happening at a very rapid rate.  “Differences” used to be considered a problem to be dealt with.  Today, those same differences are embraced as opportunities to expand thinking.
• Global wealth allows people to think to a greater degree about quality of life and “self actualization” issues – work/life balance, environmental health and philanthropy are a few examples.
• Multiple generations make up today’s workforce.  “Retiring” is not the goal it used to be and many people have no desire to stop being productive in the marketplace.
•  The marketplace accepts the reality that business outcomes are not necessarily dependant on large infrastructure.     
• Political and corporate hegemony is old school.  Power now comes from influencing rather than forcing, leading rather then demanding.

As I look at my list, I’m forced to consider how I run my business.  I will be seeing a more diverse workforce – how will I accommodate that and make that a strength?  I will encounter more international business opportunities – do I have the knowledge to take advantage of those?  Is the corporate culture and work experience at my company designed to support the needs of employees while generating a return for the company?

 

Recognition and reward systems as well as communication methods need to reflect the reality of the world you live in now.  Take some time to “audit” the tools you control to impact your corporate culture and drive the behaviors that mean success for your company.  In my experience, too many companies allow these tools to lag the reality of the situation they’re supposed to address. 

 

Regards,

 

Tom

I recently encountered a formula for the stages of life a team goes through.  The team can be small, or the team can be an entire organization – the dynamic is the same regardless of the numbers.  The stages are as follows: 

Forming – start-up phase characterized by high energy, creation of vision and goals 

Storming – the “honeymoon” is over, and goals and cohesiveness must be reestablished   

Norming – fine tuning stage as tasks are being completed 

Performing – tasks are completed, and competence is established 

Transforming – accomplishments are celebrated, and future direction is established 

As I thought about it and worked through the implications, it became plain to me that these stages also apply to projects that occur in a work setting, including a work product many of you are familiar with – a recognition and rewards system.   In your role as the leader – either of a team or a recognition system – which of the stages are most critical and need the greatest amount of attention?  The stage that we all work toward is certainly “Performing” – it’s where the payoff for all the hard work comes.  In this stage all is well, everyone knows what’s going on and problems are minimal.  The Performing stage is important to a leader as the validation of the vision established earlier and the resources applied to achieve that vision; but it’s dangerous for a leader to “camp” in this stage or in the preceding “Norming” stage (which is really just a warm-up for the Performing stage). 

In your leadership role, you should be spending most of your time creating vision and energy (Forming); maintaining a steady hand through difficulties when others want to take an easy, but incorrect path (Storming); and evaluating your current situation to look for opportunities for improvement and to ensure you are preparing for future conditions that may be different than present circumstances (Transforming). 

In my work, I frequently encounter companies where recognition and rewards systems are old, stale, and ineffective.  Significant money is being spent and wasted because leadership hit “Performing” at some point in the past and just stayed there, either ignoring or not realizing that, at some point, circumstances and environment changed such that the system was no longer working.  All of us “own” our work product and must provide some measure of leadership to create an environment where continuous improvement is practiced and appreciated.  It can be hard, because you’re purposefully leaving a comfort zone, but it’s critical if you want to enjoy long-term success. 

Regards, 

Tom      

 

I’ve just returned from Chicago where I attended the Recognition Professionals International (www.recognition.org) one day conference in conjunction with The Motivation Show held by the Incentive Marketing Association (www.incentivemarketing.org).  It was an absolute “wall-to-wall” week with meetings, seminars, training and the trade show floor.  Time well spent and I’d recommend it for anyone in the rewards and recognition space.

 

My learning in no certain order:

 

• “Recognition System” language is here to stay and is becoming the norm in most organizations.  The move toward systems and away from “program” thinking has been building over the last few years and, I believe, has hit the tipping point where it is now predominate.
• “Intellectual Capital” is the new playing field and the biggest target continues to be the search for solid information around employee engagement and the measurement of return on investment for recognition and reward systems. 
• “Products” are passé – everybody has access to the same stuff.  Still room for creativity in the application of the “stuff”, but not much new under the sun here…
• It’s a great time to be a professional in our space – there is growing awareness of the power inherent in employee engagement and of the strong and direct link between recognition and reward strategy and engagement.
• Opportunities...get on board with the research and best practices information.  Get your Certified Recognition Professional designation – it’s offered through RPI and takes four days to get through the course work.  Attend conferences and network or start a “recognition roundtable” in your area.

 

Have you started planning for ’08 yet?  It’s here before you know it!

 

Regards,

 

Tom

 

The United Nations just released a report stating that the U.S. “leads the world in productivity”.  It went on to say that the U.S. is second to Norway in the amount of wealth produced per working hour.  In simple terms, the productivity results are a function of longer hours while the wealth production per hour is a result of those hours being used well.  The report credits U.S. success to leadership in information technology, corporate organization, competition and our international trade practices.

 

Certainly, these are positive results for the U.S.  For discussions sake, let’s reduce these findings to the point where they are relevant to your company…

 

• Your employees are working, on average, more hours than most companies in the world.
• Your company will utilize leading edge technology to equip employees with the best possible tools to do their jobs.
• Your company will seek organizational design that will maximize employee productivity.
• Your company is facing fierce competition and will do what it takes to stay on top or get to the top.
• Your company is aggressively pursuing the global market for customers, business partners and employees.

 

Now, let’s put ourselves in the place of an “average worker” – the person in the middle – they like their job but don’t love it, are good at their job but not great.  Remember that this person represents the majority of our workforce and that our company could not function without them.

 

• I work too much.
• I like that my company invests in the best, but I wish they helped me understand how to better use the tools…
• I heard we’re considering a merger.  Will I have a job?
• I heard we won that account.  Did my contribution matter?
• I don’t understand the people I’m supposed to work with.

 

I believe the above sentiments represent the thinking of much of the workplace in most of our companies.  So, what to do?

 

If you’re reading this, at least part of your job involves workplace recognition and reward practices.  While it would be silly to presume that a strong recognition and reward system would address and resolve all these issues, we can have a positive impact.

 

Make sure your system recognizes behaviors – at least some of which can be performed and recognized by every job description in the company.  Recognize people for improving themselves – training, community service, wellness…Use your system as a means for senior leadership to communicate the things that are important to them.  Recognize great performances and use them as a model for future great performance.  Design in the ability to recognize teams.  Operate a strong peer-to-peer recognition program.  Enable system wide reporting that gives all levels of management exposure to who’s recognizing, who’s being recognized and what they’re being recognized for.

 

Don’t make the mistake of operating your recognition and reward system exclusively for the people that are already operating at a high level – consider the “Average Worker” and the needs they have.  Research and best practice examples support the efficacy of a broad approach to recognition and rewards.  Odds are, your company will benefit with this approach.

 

Regards,

 

Tom