> Seek First to Understand, then to be Understood
(Source is 7 Habits)
This section is about the importance of trying to understand the behavior of your fellow man, adhering mostly to several key principles taken from the 7 habits, the righteous mind and surrounded by idiots. (add ‘Learning from Bosjesmannen’ from FD).
Trust is the highest form of motivation.
What do people want.
Next to physical survival, the greatest need of a human being is psychological survival - to be understood, to be affirmed, to be validated, to be appreciated.
I want to feel loved/waardering/vrouwtjes
I want to win/power/control
I want to be independent
I want revenge
I want to help
Useful ways of modelling character and behavior:
16 Personalities
DISC Model
Moral Psychology 6 pillars
Care/Harm
Fairness/Cheating
Loyalty/Betrayal
Authority/Subversion
Sancitity/Degredation
Liberty/Oppression
> Win-Win or Compromise
(7 Habits)
In every (conflicting) situation, there is a way for all parties involved to gain more if you work together. There is always a way. In the very least, compromise. When you believe there is always a winning outcome for both parties, you will think differently about conflict. When either parties loses, this will create an unbalance in the long run where someone tries to “get back at you”. This non-negotiable is taken directly from The seven habits of highly effective people by Stephen R. Covey. It describes a way of working that is based on providing added value to all parties involved, instead of constantly only adding value to oneself. It is the core believe of the book The Go-Giver Sells More, a book that teaches you the art of closing the deal by creating added value for both parties. This non-negotiable will aid in focusing on the (internal) client and its wishes, instead of focusing inward to personal interest.
> Focus on People and Results, Not Time And Efficiency
(7 Habits)
People are important. Results are important. I have seen many instances where managers focus on efficiency, not effectiveness. This will result in companies efficiently performing the wrong work. The reason for this, is that with any large organization it becomes hard to effectively measure difficult parameters. Managers start focusing on time, hours, deliverables, documents: all tangible stuff that is easy to manage. That is not the important stuff however. Focus on what matters: people and results. This means telling people what to do, not how to do it. It means empowering people, giving them space, time and resources to execute projects and set clear goals for all parties.
As a consequence of this rule, Mr. Sustainability only works on a lump-sum basis, not on an hourly basis.
> Do it Twice? Automate
Focusing on automating everything will ensure flexibility of the organization. You should strive towards never having to perform a task more than once. This coincides nicely with focusing on results, and not selling a product. Automation is scalable. the People tend to underestimate the compounding benefits from automating tasks from the get-go. One should strive to automate all activities and strive to make himself obsolete. A clear focus on automating everyday practices will ensure you will free up a lot of time later on to innovate your company. The only thing you do not have to automate, is socializing with people.
The end-goal is to make the activity and yourself obsolete. You can then always decide if you want to do it, not out of necessity but because of fun.
> Perfect is the enemy of the Good
Aim to satisfy, not perfect. Striving towards perfection means you will never finish you project. There is always something to improve. Instead you should focus on satisfying pre-determined needs as quickly as possible. Define clear goals for your project that can objectively be measured together with your client, and you will know exactly when you are finished. Satisfying needs works better than endlessly optimizing unobtainable wishes and it saves you an enormous amount of time.
> KISS
(Keep it simple stupid)
Less is more.
> Meetings are good. It’s the peoples that make it bad
Meetings are good if and only if everyone abides to these meeting principles.
A meeting needs: a set of decisions and the person (or hive-mind system) that has authority of making the decision. A meeting requires decisions to make and the decision makers. Following a meeting, you are left with (only) actions (with a due date and consequence) and decisions.
If either is absent, you do not have a meeting but a chit-chat. It can also be an informative meeting, which you could also call a lecture.
Use only a single format for meetings. Example Amazon: only written memos were allowed in Amazon, no powerpoint or anything else. (Source: Blitzscaling). Of course, this would lead to a somehwat single-sided way of presenting. Another proposal would be to only allow presentation of a single website (URL) which has the option to allow for videos, text and images, even interaction, pending on how much the presenter would like to do. Added benefit is that the website is easily accesible and already in the knwoledge system, which makes it easier to look for after the meeting has ended. Additionally, an audio or video recording of the meeting can be added, removing the need for minutes. Only actions and decisions leading up to the meeting need to be stated.
> Ask in person, then by phone. No internal emailing
Emailing within an organization only leads to miscommunication, misunderstanding and misery. It is generally estimated that people misinterpret 50% to 80% of emails they receive. That means that typically, at least half of all communication in a company is simply miscommunication. How to solve this? Easy. Make the agreement that you will not use email for internal use. There are plenty of old-school and new-school technologies that can be used for internal communication, such as Slack, whatsapp, Lync or simply the phone. Combined with the principle of All Information has an URL, this is a very effective way of streamlining internal communication.
How about a no-email week from time to time? Or a no-meeting week? You have to force yourself into uncomfortable situations in order for innovation to happen.
add chapter 4 ending of blitz scaling, location and office is important, only memos no presentations in Amazon (Do same by presenting only from website).
> What to do during off-hours
Nothing! Research shows seemingly pointless and playful activities can improve creativity, problem-solving, and happiness.
Hit the court: Studies show playing sports can turn down your neural static and, essentially, quiet your brain.
Travel: People who explore new places, learn new languages, and experience new things as they age are less likely to develop cognitive decay.
> Everybody gets a backpack for innovation and self-development
Everybody gets a fixed amount annualy, designated for innovation purposes and also for self-development. People can decide for themselves what to do with it, or decide to donate it to someone (or a good cause). Innovation: Kickbox: https://www.kickbox.org/
Uitwerking: In Netherlands, a company can spend a fixed amount on in-kind things for personel (WRK or something). This is approximately x% of total salary. This can be divided among everyone so that everyone can decide what to do with it.
How to create a flexible, adaptive organization