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Adventures in Businessing

Adventures in Businessing (AIB) is the culmination of over 60 years in organizational leadership experience between three best friends and business partners. Discover the how working together should work.
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Now displaying: June, 2021
Establishing a Work Cadence 0
Jun 24, 2021

Show Notes

 

  • [0:00:55] Episode Summary | Intro

 

  • Why Every Podcast NEEDS Intro Music
  • Last Episode Communication Recap

 

  • [0:03:13] Kicking off a New Topic

 

  • Making Progress
    • Helping our teams make progress.
    • Establishing a work cadence. 
    • Promoting progress and not business. 
  • The Necessity of Work Cadence
    • We’ve lost seasonality.
      • The modern world lacks cadence and sets your team up for failure and unfair expectations.
      • Black Friday in recent years is a perfect example of this. 
    • We don’t recognize how people’s creativity and work output is seasonal.
      • You can’t be “at an 11” all the time. 
    • Don’t let anyone feel guilty for taking time off. 
      • Not just vacation, but allow your people to switch up what they are working on. 

 

  • [0:08:36] Creating Seasons to Break-up the Work

 

  • This even applies to a given day’s worth of work.

 

  • [0:10:00] Learning From Past Mistakes

 

  • The work shouldn’t inherently dictate the season. 
  • Your “fires” shouldn’t determine and set the standard and expectations for the season. 
  • Consider checking email ONCE a day. 
  • Your team can’t work at the same speed 365 days a year. 
    • We’re literally evolved, as a species, around seasons.

 

  •  [0:12:10] What We’ve Done to Establish Cadence Within Our Company

 

  • Ask yourself, “What is the pulse of the team?”
    • Where are the hills and valleys?
  • Breaking up work into cycles.
    • Then establishing a down time in-between cycles. 
    • Try to ensure your cycles match or work around the cadence of common holiday and vacation times.
      • It’ll never be perfect or match the needs of each and every team member, but it will make a difference as a whole. 
      • Allow PTO/vacation during a cycle, and take that into account when considering expected cycle output. 
        • Don’t punish the team for PTO being utilized.
    • Cycles allow you to pause and celebrate wins with intention. 
      • We STILL do a poor job of celebrating wins...and you probably will too, but don’t settle for it. 
    • Regular stopping points allow you to more easily course correct. 
  • We create a very loose plan for the year as a whole. 
    • We also reevaluate that plan after every cycle concludes (but before the next begins). 
  • Our calendar can be scary to the average business owner…
    • ...but here’s why it shouldn’t be. 
      • On putting people over profits. 
        • Happy people do better work. 
        • How do we create sustainability AND keep people with the company?

 

 

  • Problems are solved in the silence. 
    • In the quiet between the work is generally when problems are solved in more creative ways. 
    • Margins (pauses) make doing the work more productive. 
  • Looking back at the dreadful state of our work lives without cycles and natural stopping points. 

 

  • [0:27:13] What’s Next?

 

  • Planning definitely for the whole year is overwhelming and loses clarity over time. 
    • Asking “what’s next?” after each cycle is liberating and creates so much more shared understanding in the end. 
      • Additionally, it works wonders in the ability to pivot, which is vital in your organizational toolkit.

 

  • [0:29:45] Saying You’re Not Working During Downtime is Very MIsleading

 

    • Downtime is a time for reflection, pivoting, preparation, and learning.
  • [0:30:49] Cycles Are Iterative
    • You’ll have to dial it in with what works best for your organization. 
      • What works best for your company can/will change year to year.
        • Maybe you need more downtime, or longer cycles. 
          • But keep your focus as one that is people first. 

 

  • [0:31:34] Parting Words

 

  • Stop and think. 
    • Analyze if you could have accomplished more, had the team been given more thoughtfulness, freedom, and room to pivot. 
  • Next Episode
    • The Difference Between Progress and Productivity, or Activity
Communication Tips for Teams 0
Jun 17, 2021

Show Notes

 

  • [0:00:55] Episode Summary | Intro

 

  • Last Episode’s Recap 
    • Communication Pros & Cons
    • Being Thoughtful with Your Chosen Communication Style

 

  • [0:03:22] The Right Time for Synchronous Communication

 

  • Don’t let “synchronous communication is bad” be a takeaway here. 

 

  • [0:04:37] Ways to Build Connection Asynchronously

 

  • A remote team spread across different time zones is your biggest obstacle toward connection.
    • Tips on Established Async Connection:
      • Have asynchronous communication around things that are not work related. 
      • Consider an internal company podcast to heighten clarity and connection. 
        • When shared, provide a way for team members to discuss the podcast publicly with the team at large; message board format recommended. 
    • The more synchronous your company communication, the more you take away one of the major benefits of working from home: working at the optimal time, enhancing work/life balance. 

 

  • [0:10:30] Effective Communication: My Four Filters

 

  • https://chrislema.com/effective-communication-my-four-filters/
  • Timing, Setting, Audience, Unintended Consequences
    • Financial Updates & Transparency
      • Real time or async?
  • Think About Who You’re Communicating With
    • You don’t need to distract or call attention to everyone if a topic is specific to one team or team member. 
  • Go Into Your Meetings with a Clear Agenda & Time Box
    • Most meetings lack clarity and produce very little. 
    • Capture outcomes!
    • Lacking clarity of what to do next is one of the biggest reasons people hate meetings. 
    • Have a mediator who facilitates the meeting and the clock. 
      • Let it be known who the facilitator is. 
      • Make the facilitator responsible for capturing takeaways, ideas, questions, and next actions. 
    • Mine for conflict. 
      • That’s where the gems come out of. 
      • Don’t let someone sit on the sidelines when you know they have a difference of opinion.

 

  • [0:19:03] Best Practices and Standards

 

  • Establish when to expect a response.
  • Automatic check-ins.
    • Creating a space for ‘What Work’.
      • A documented history of what you did in a given year. 
    • Favorite check-ins.
  • Make sure you take time to reset for the day. 
    • The ability to ‘not’ helps you gain perspective and clarity. 
      • Don’t let all your reactions be emotional reactions. 
      • Stepping away from the computer, even for a short time, works wonders. 
  • Learn how to read individual personalities in text based communication.
    • Not everyone communicates equally. 
    • If you don’t know how to read someone’s text based communication attempts, there’s a lot of room left for interpretation.
      • If you’re not sure...ASK! 
      • Assume the best. 

 

  • [0:27:32] Parting Words

 

  • Make time for one-off real time conversations.
    • Even, and maybe especially, not regarding work.
  • In a non-pandemic world, face-to-face communication is still very important. 

 

  • We want to hear your communications tips too!

 

Real-time vs Asynchronous Communication 0
Jun 10, 2021

Show Notes

 

  • [0:01:01] Episode Summary & Intro 

 

  • Machoman, Koolaid Man, or Wolfman Jack?

 

  • [0:02:04] Communication Round 2

 

  • Brief Recap of the Last Episode
  • Real Time Communication vs Asynchronous 
    • We started collocated, in-office and transitioned to remote work.
  • Benefits of Synchronous Communication
    • While is it so alluring to maintain?
    • Let’s be honest, real time communication is easier. 
      • But is it better?
  • There’s an Idea That Moving Fast is Superior to Being Methodical & Intentional
    • That idea is wrong, and here’s why.
    • Fast often equals “move quickly...and break things”.
  • Communicating Asynchronously is Something You Have to Learn
    • A skill like any other. 
  • We Often Confuse Activity with Progress
    • The truth is, you can be active but not get anything done. 
  • Asynchronous Communication Tends to be More Thoughtful, More Crafted
    • Be reading something, you get to sit down and really process communication.

 

  • [0:10:58] Asynchronous Communication as a Tool to Level the Playing Field  

 

  • How asynchronous communication benefits those who process communication atypically: neuro divergence, or otherwise on the spectrum. 
  • Not a speed typist? Asynchronous communication is a massive boon. 
    • Here’s why. 

 

  • [0:13:33] How Can We Set Guardrails & Best Practices for Asynchronous Expectations?

 

  • It takes practice. 
    • Not just writing but reading asynchronously. 
  • It requires mutual respect.
  • There should be shared understanding on a general timeframe of when you should hear a response. 
    • But sometimes just commenting that you’re still processing the last response and formulating your answer is key.
  • Silence is seen as approval, for better and worse. 

 

  • [0:17:20] There is a Cost to Real TIme

 

  • A one hour real time conversation isn’t “just a hour”, it’s four hours of business time taken.
    • When you move it asynchronous, it doesn’t take a hour of everyone’s time; it’s more thoughtful, and can allow those involved to come to solutions even quicker with little practice and training. 
    • Real time is expensive. 
  • We’re not saying you should never have real time conversations.
    • We are saying you should make sure they’re worth it. 
      • You want to combat the “this meeting could have been an email” notion.

 

  • [0:19:01] Should we be All Asynchronous All the Time?

 

  • The cost of asynchronous is a breakdown in real human connection. 
    • Left unchecked, this leads to work becoming soulless and transactional.
    • Connection is a fundamental piece.
  • It’s not one or the other. 
    • It’s about identifying the proper communication method for a given topic, task, idea, etc. 
    • It’s not ‘either or’, it’s ‘yes and’.
  • There is something to be said for asynchronous communication making it too easy not to intentionally document things. 
    • This is less than great. Be mindful of what needs to be documented. 

 

  • [0:22:55] Additional Challenges

 

  • Real time communication has the potential to steal the party’s best time to get ‘deep work’ done. 
    • Ask your team members when their preferred times to do deep work is, and schedule meetings around this time, not during it. 
    • Don’t steal productive time from team members...unless the meeting is innately conducive to (and dependent on) their role specific productivity.

 

  • [0:26:59] Be Thoughtful About Your Communication

 

  • Consider the following for your meetings and communication in general:
    • What is the best way to go about this particular communication?
      • (Synchronous or asynchronous?)
    • What's the best time?
    • What is the subject matter?
    • What do we need to get out of it?
    • Who needs to be here and why?
  • Communication is the hardest thing to do correctly and effectively in your business. 
    • But it’s also the most important thing to figure out today. 
  • Next Time on AIB
    • How to Do it All Better!
Modern Challenges with Communication 0
Jun 3, 2021

Show Notes:

 

  • [0:00:50] Episode Summary | Intro

 

  • THE Jeremy Moore?
  • 2nd Vaccine Preparation & Anxieties
  • Last Episode Recap
    • Building and Developing Your Team

 

  • [0:04:35] Getting Philosophical About Communication

 

  • Why Communication Isn’t ‘One-Size-Fits-All’
  • Dangers of Treating Distributed Communication Like You’re Collocated
    • How this is applicable to all areas of your life. 
    • “It started with pagers.”
  • Always On, “As Soon as Possible” Culture is a Problem
    • Activity is not to be confused with progress. 
    • If you’re always available, when can you ever hope to do ‘deep work’?
    • Anxiety induced by not being available, or forgetting your phone. 

 

  • [0:14:08] Story Time: Communication Awareness

 

  • Developing Our Own Communication Tool
    • The justification, the goal, the whys and what-ifs.
  • Permissions to Interrupt
    • Is it healthy, or reasonable?
  • Not Having Little ‘Red Dot’ Notifications Waiting for You is Liberating
    • It takes time to reset your expectations and definition of work vs busy work. 
  • You’re More Than a Response Machine
    • Responding to notifications can feel productive, but it can kill creativity and progress by way of context switching. 

 

  • [0:20:09] Maybe There’s a Better Way Than Always On

 

  • Training and Retraining Around Communication Expectations
    • We have been conditioned to get notifications and respond immediately.
    • The list of items that require immediate attention in your organization is MUCH smaller than you’re willing to admit. 
    • Retraining “I need to know right now” is the major hurdle. 
    • The vast majority of “need to know” items can be saved for when you explicitly choose to engage with your email, phone, etc. 
  • Be Willing to Shift Your Understanding of Urgent & Important
    • You’re probably thinking: “But what if we have an emergency?”
      • Here’s why it’s probably NOT an emergency. 

 

  • [0:24:50] We Tend to “Solve” Management Problems with Software

 

  • The Bigger Problem: 
    • How and when you do, or do not, communicate with team members.
  • Don’t Be Selfish
  • Putting Out Little Fires Prevents You From Accomplishing the Meaningful

 

  • [0:29:03] There Are Emergencies

 

  • But they’re so much fewer than you think they are. 
  • Document and define emergencies, which details on how and when to respond. 
    • Clarity on what is actually an emergency is very important, but use emergencies sparingly. 
  • Don’t let tools dictate how you run your business. 
    • Slack is a perfect example of this. 
      • Why James won’t log into Slack anymore. 

 

  • [0:32:49] Closing Thoughts

 

  • “We all need more margin.” 
  • “Slower and more intentional is usually better.”
  • Next Time on AIB  
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