Learning for business through drama

This was me as Sam Pickles pleading with my 'daughter'
Rosie to visit her estranged mother, Dolly.

Annie, as a drunken Dolly, tells her daughter Rosie
that she shouldn't hate her.

Annie and I got back from our week on a residential summer drama school and I didn't really give much feedback on my Blog. We were 2 of a group 24 completely unconnected people thrown together with two directors and two assistant directors. The task was, starting from scratch, to rehearse and perform in a public setting - within a week - the Australian play (set in the 1940's) called ‘Cloudstreet’ by Tim Winton

An amazing week for many reasons. I've been thinking about what I learned in that week from a business/organisation perspective;

1 – Getting out of the comfort zone …. A long way out!! ... is good!

2 – Seeing two talented directors illustrate real leadership

3 – The joy of being part of a team committed to delivering a product in a very tight schedule

4 – Realising how much we rely on others when the chips are down and when we feel vulnerable and out of our depth

5 – Seeing how much business can learn from the arts

6 – Keeping going when half way through the week our heads were telling us ‘we’ve made a big mistake coming here’

7 - Feeling the exhilaration of a successfully completed ‘project’ that customers enjoyed

8 - Realising life needs to be as much about doing different stuff as that stuff we are used to doing every day

More pictures can be seen here on Annie’s Blog

• 
  

Learning about how 'stuff' gets done .....

Well … amazingly enough (to me) I did it. I actually went a whole week without checking my inbox.

That’s not quite true. On my mobile phone I can access gmail and so I was able to read the odd email that was sent to my gmail address but I was disciplined and didn’t reply to any. I never checked my hotmail inbox … and even more surprisingly (to me) I never even glanced at Simplicity Blog.

I’m grateful to my friends David Wike, Dave Wheeler, Richard Lipscombe, John O’Leary, Joel Canfield, and Mark Foscoe. Looks like you guys had an interesting exchange whilst I was away and I hope David Wike fulfilled his promise of buying all the drinks!

Annie and I got home earlier this (Saturday) evening from sunny (not) Harrogate in Yorkshire and so far I’ve only had time to glance at your excellent comments. I want to read them fully, reflect a bit and then reply properly.

By the way we worked intensively for seven days on performing the Australian play 'Cloudstreet' by Tim Winton. I know that Richard is well aware of the work of Tim Winton.

Our week started from scratch as a group of 24 totally unconnected people under the leadership of two directors and two assistant directors building up to a public performance.

It was certainly a terrific learning experience for me. I was well outside my comfort zone. I learned a lot about leadership, front liners and team work.

Our public performance took place on Saturday morning; seven days after 28 people unknown to each other met for the first time. The performance was well received by the audience of approximately 125 people.

It was terrific 'learning by doing.' It reminded me yet again how focus, teamwork and good leadership can produce a 'product' that people seem to enjoy.

Couldn't Resist!

Complexity
Annual Conference 2008

Directions to the venue for pedestrians:

Walk straight ahead for 139.53 metres and then turn left. Walk for another 73.86 metres and turn right. On your left you will notice a three story building with an overall cubic measurement of 2137 square metres, not to be mistaken for the building next door which as you will appreciate is only 2135 square meters. Walk past these two buildings for 63.87 metres and you will see facing you the Main Entrance to the Conference Centre. All regular Complexity Conference attenders will immediately notice the right hand door of the double door entrance is hung at 89.832 degrees upright rather than 90 degrees – forgive us for that. You may rest assured the carpenter will not be awarded further contracts with us.

You have now reached the venue.

For registration purposes please bring with you three forms of identity, one of which must be your 1000 Page Corporate Complexity Manual entitled ‘How to Boil an Egg' which as you know is one of the 79 Corporate Complexity Manuals you received as part of your induction pack when you joined us.

Do enjoy this year’s conference and please take four hours at the end of the conference to complete the 75 page evaluation form. This will ensure we plan future conferences with equal complexity.

===========================================

Simplicity
Annual Conference 2008

Directions to the venue for pedestrains:

Follow arrows please

• 
  

Friend of Simplicity - John O'Leary

My Simplicity interview today is another US based friend John O'Leary. I first came across John when commenting on Tom Peters Blog and we have struck up a friendship through email and Blogging that continues to develop. John and I share some similar music tastes and we share many similar ideas about how organisations should value people working at the front line. John is based in the US.

TREVOR: Hi John – I know you have had a fascinating and interesting career. I would love to hear a quick summary of some of the stuff you have done.

JOHN: Thanks for the opportunity, Trevor! Well, I always feel my career is just beginning, but I guess that’s because of all the twists and turns and course corrections I’ve made. In 1968, after several years of college—and 6 years of studying Ancient Greek—I abruptly left academia (and a promising future teaching dead languages) to play rock & roll full-time. My campus rock band in New Haven had been picking up some prestige bookings in Greenwich Village, New York—opening for acts like the Grateful Dead, Frank Zappa, Sly & the Family Stone, and Joni Mitchell—and we were invited to play the Berkeley Folk Festival that summer. So the band and I didn’t need much convincing to take the leap. We never got the recording contract we wanted but we had a great ride for the next year as did my subsequent “almost famous” bands. It was a real kick to be a part of the NY and LA rock scene in the late 60s and 70s, hanging or jamming with the greats—Blood Sweat & Tears, the Byrds, Tina Turner, Jackson Browne. 15 years later I changed course again and landed in the training & development world. I lucked out again and got to study or work with luminaries such as Werner Erhard, Peter Senge, and Fernando Flores. 15 years later I started consulting under the Tom Peters umbrella. Oh, and in the early 1980s I took some time off to run for US President as an independent—though that was mostly for the fun of it and to write a book about, which is mercifully out of print. A lot of folks who saw me on TV in 1980 still haven’t made the connection to me now, which allows me to keep working.

TREVOR: I was born in 1952 and so I was brought up in England as a teenager in the 1960’s on The Beatles and the music revolution. We rightly remember with great nostalgia the 1960’s. Was it really such an influential decade or do we just have rose tinted spectacles when looking back?

JOHN: Every decade is influential in different ways of course. What interests me is the contribution the 60s made to popular culture, especially in the area of pop music. If rock & roll was born in the 50s, it got a license to drive in the mid-60s. Rock wasn’t taken seriously at first—despite the genius of songwriters like Chuck Berry. But after the Beatles & Dylan showed up, the universe changed. Someday I may write about the summer of 1965, the tipping point. Everybody was trying to outdo everybody else then—the Stones, the Byrds, the Beach Boys, the Kinks. All at once you were hearing songs like “Satisfaction,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Help,” “Mr Tambourine Man,” “Help Me Rhonda.” Not to mention some great Motown hits.

TREVOR: You do work for Tom Peters who is one of my management icons. Tell us something about working as part of the Tom Peters Company.

JOHN: Actually in the States we’re all independent contractors—in the spirit of “Free Agent Nation” (Daniel Pink’s book and Tom’s credo)—who come together to work on specific projects for clients who want to implement Tom’s ideas. We all share Tom’s iconoclasm and have a lot of fun contributing to the tompeters.com blog, which is a terrific worldwide forum.

TREVOR: What do you see as the greatest challenges for leaders in the future John?.

JOHN: In business, government, education, healthcare, even religion I see leaders trying to make sense of a world turned upside down. Leaders trying to get their organizations to work with user manuals that are obsolete. What’s desperately needed is some independent thinking, and some courage to improvise. This is not a good time to rely on traditional management wisdom, economics orthodoxy, or political dogma. Clinging to ideology can destroy everything. The wise men in robes don’t have the answer. That, in part, is what my book is about.

TREVOR: Tell us about the book.

JOHN: Well, it’s turning into my life work, given how long I’ve been hacking away at it. My focus is on business lessons we can learn from rock & roll bands. The book identifies 6 ways in which the great rock & roll bands are exceptional business teams: (1) they’re radical innovators and risk-takers; (2) they’re passionate and inspired about their work—and they have fun; (3) they manage differences and capitalize on conflict; (4) they create a distinct identity and brand; (5) they’re ambitious, focused, and result-driven, despite stereotypes to the contrary; and (6) they’re highly autonomous and independent-minded. Then I show how to instill—or liberate—these abilities in our organizational teams. And I argue that without an infusion of these qualities many of our beleaguered organizations and institutions, ill equipped to compete in this crazy economy, are headed for obsolescence or irrelevance. To keep it interesting I illustrate my points with lots of stories and anecdotes from boardrooms, bars, and recording studios. It will be a business book you can dance to. Hopefully I’ll finish it this year. I’m a slow writer, but maybe it will appeal to all the slow readers out there.

TREVOR: Have you any plans to come back to England?

JOHN: I’d like to go tonight, but I’m knee-deep in other projects. And to stay healthy I’m trying to trim back on air travel for awhile. I don’t think living on planes is particularly good for any of us. But London is one of my favorite cities. The last time I was there in 2002 I played guitar at an entrance to the Tube just for the fun of it, and I happened to leave my guitar case open. A homeless woman came along and threw in a few pence. Something told me I should just accept it with gratitude, so I did. For one hour I was part of that street community and they took care of me. I'll always remember that snapshot of London. After that I made my pilgrimage to Liverpool to pay tribute to the Beatle gods.

TREVOR: And finally John you know I can’t possibly interview you without asking what you honestly think about The Eagles – Just how iconic are they and how will they be remembered when they finally hang up the instruments?

JOHN: I believe the Eagles, who came out of the same LA folk-rock crowd I used to get in trouble with in the early 1970s, will be forever honored for their alchemy of rock & country. The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers got that started but the Eagles took it to a new level, with a little Don Henley soul mixed in. And from the beginning they were a triple-threat band, which is a hallmark of the top bands. They could sing, play, and write. Don Henley and Glenn Frey were among the best songwriters that came of age in the 70s. When I first heard “Best of My Love” on the radio in 1974 I had to pull over to the side of the road, it hit me so hard. And of course “Hotel California” belongs on a short list of perfect rock songs. It should be launched in a time capsule documenting the whole era. The Eagles are also a wonderful illustration of a business team that learned how to harness their conflict—interpersonal and creative—to put out strong product for a fanatic customer base. And they’re back at it!

Fun at the Zoo

Annie and I had a trip to Devon last week to see my three children and two Grandsons Sebastian and Reece. We went to the Zoo and I was able to generally act in a very immature way. This included playing in the ball pit with Sebastian and getting told off that adults are not supposed to climb on the apparatus! .... I hope I never grow up. Annie took lots of great pictures .... A few are shown here.

A Perfect Day

The Eagles in action at the O2 Arena

Easter Sunday was a terrific day.

First of all in the morning Annie and I performed a short piece of drama at Church which seemed to be well received.

Early afternoon was time to sit in front of the TV and watch my beloved Manchester United beat the old enemy Liverpool 3-0 to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Then it was a drive down to London for the evening to watch The Eagles concert at the O2 Arena along with another 20,000 Eagles fans.

And we found ourselves in a block of seats occupied by some Manchester United fans!

Due to public demand The Eagles have added two additional dates to the UK launch of their world tour which means 120,000 fans will see them in the O2 Arena in six concerts. Not bad for four old rockers. The 3 hour concert was absolutely brilliant and getting home for bed at 1.30 am ended a perfect day.

Thank you again God!

Meet Bertie and Rusty

Two new family members arrived in our life on Friday.

Keep up the good work!

I’m sure, like me, you’ve been in departments, organisations or even a club where it seems a few people do the work and an awful lot of people appear to be happy by not putting much in. Someone used this wonderful metaphor to describe the concept.

‘It’s like a football (soccer) match. 30,000 people desperately in need of exercise watching 22 people desperately in need of a rest’

I heard recently of a light hearted letter about this scenario in respect of a Church and as a bit of light relief I thought I would publish this today. Enjoy!

Dear Minister

There are 566 members in our church, but 100 are frail and elderly. That leaves 466 to do all the work.

However, 80 are young people away at college. That leaves 386 to do all the work.

However, 150 of them are tired businessmen, so that leaves 236 to do all the work.

150 are housewives with children. That leaves 86 to do all the work.

There are 46 members who have other important interests. Which leaves 40 to do all the work, but 15 live too far away to come regularly. So that leaves 25 to do all the work.

And 23 of them say they've done their part.

So, Minister, that leaves YOU and ME and, frankly, I'm exhausted.

Good luck to you.

A. Parishioner

Shopping types

Annie and I today took part in our annual bravery challenge and survived.

We went to our local supermarket to do a Christmas shop for all those things we need for the two day period while the shops are closed.

I often wonder if it would be like this if a third world war was declared. I imagine folks would dash out to the supermarket and stock up for months in fear of England being invaded!

As is my want, I was ‘people watching’ for quite a bit of the time we were in there.

I decided to pen my thoughts about some of the 'types' I saw.

The 'sightseer' shopper

This person seems intent on strolling, in a leisurely fashion, with their trolley, merely enjoying the sights. They do not appear to be particularly interested in taking things from shelves. They kind of, ‘gaze’ for a minute or two and then wander off down the aisle, seemingly content in their own little world.

The 'social' shopper

This person decides to have a discussion with her friend about her recent disastrous hair appointment. The growing crowd of shoppers grow increasingly impatient trying to reach the parsnips that are situated behind these two social shoppers having their deep and meaningful discussion.

The 'angry' shopper

This is the one who has had a row with his/her spouse about whether or not the shopping has to be done as a joint exercise. If looks could kill this person would have been a mass murderer in the supermarket today. No more explanation needed methinks

The 'aimless wanderer' shopper

This person is different from the sightseer shopper. This person seems to have no plan whatsoever. He/she will be seen following the flow of trolley traffic in one aisle. The next time you see this person they are going against the traffic. They do not appear to have any idea of where things are so they constantly find themselves going against the flow.

The 'laid back philosopher' shopper

This person has it all under control. He/she watches others rushing and looking stressed, rises above the mayhem and exudes an air of calm and authority. There is no look of frustration or anger – just sheer tranquillity.

I’m sure there are many more ‘types’ – please let me know. And by the way ..... which one do you fit into?

How to deal with telesales calls

If you, like me, get fed up with telesales calls why not try this?

It's ok to laugh at work!

When I worked in the NHS the good news is we occasionally had a laugh in the office.

I remember one day I conspired with a colleague and friend of mine to produce a spoof evaluation form that we sent out to a few people who had attended an in-house training event.

We had a real laugh about it and everyone in the office seemed to think it was good fun.

I got involved recently in a discussion on Tom Peters Blog about whether there is a place for humour at work.

I believe there is far too little humour at work. I also think humour does not mean being any less professional. In fact I believe people are far more productive if they are happy – What do you think?

Here is what we said in our spoof letter:

Dear Colleague

As part of the continuing professional development we have introduced a new feedback system following away days/seminars and teaching sessions to ensure that learning has taken place.

As a result a few people are randomly selected at the end of each session to answer a few simple questions to assure the organisers that learning has occurred.

I hope you don’t mind filling in this short questionnaire and your honesty will be appreciated.

Bill Bloggs (name changed to protect the innocent)
Chief Executive

===================

1 Did you find your way to the venue ok?
2 Was the coffee good? (tea if you drink tea)
3 Was the room comfortable or would you have preferred somewhere with Sky Sports TV?
4 Did you think the standard of dress of delegates was good enough to maintain the professional image of the organisation?
5 Did you fall asleep in any of the presentations? – We need you to name names
6 Do you think it would have helped if jokes had been part of the meeting?
7 Were you able to make the dolls house out of balsa wood without copying your friend?
8 How would you sum up the experience?
9 Could you have benefited from a lady of the night?
10 Was it worth missing out on bacon rolls back at the office?
11 Whilst you were looking through the window (we know you did), did you think the groundsman could have made a better job of the hedges with a Black and Decker 3200?

Jukebox jury!!

A comment from my friend David Wike about the Jukebox on a recent Simplicity posting prompted me to think about what is my favourite single track of all time and why. That is easy for me - Amazed by Lonestar because that is a song that means a lot to Annie and me.

There are numerous other songs that I would list as favourites …. But they will never be as special as Amazed.

Here are three of my all time favourites – it’s difficult to narrow my list of hundreds!

• The Last Resort – The Eagles
• Imagine – John Lennon
• Vincent – Don McLean
  

I would love to hear from Simplicity readers two things:

1 Your favourite track and why
2 Three additional favourites

Cheers!

My darling wife Annie took this picture in the lounge on Friday evening as we ‘christened’ our newly delivered bar/display unit.

It brought back memories of my many hours spent as a barman earlier in my life!

This was a very nice Red Wine called Malbec 2006 from Argentina!

Irate mother punishes 61-year-old son

One of the funniest stories from Nicky Gumbel last Sunday was about how we all need to 'grow up' spiritually. He related this wonderful story from Italy. You can see the original story by clicking here

An irate mother took the house keys and allowance away from her 61-year-old son because he did not come home when he was supposed to and did not tell her where he was going when he went out.

According to the La Sicilia daily, the 81-year-old mother even went to the police in her home town of Caltagirone to ask them to convince her “hard-headed” son to “behave correctly with his mamma”.

The son replied that it was his mother who behaved badly and added that “my weekly allowance isn’t enough… and she doesn’t even cook well”.

After locking her son out of their home, the mother told police that “my son doesn’t respect me, he never tells me where he goes at night and comes home at all hours”.

“I was forced to punish him by taking away his keys and locking him out after he yet again came home late at night. He always complains about my cooking and this just couldn’t go on,” she added.

According to the son, “it’s not my fault. She always treats me badly. I’m unemployed and the allowance she gives me isn’t enough. And her cooking is really awful!”.

A policeman was able to convince the mother and son to reconcile and they returned home together, where the son was given back his keys and allowance.

Wonderful - thank you Nicky!

Simplicity is the Key ...again ...

Once or twice on Simplicity Blog in the last year or so I have complained in quite an animated way how stupid some people are when they fit toilet roll holders in public toilets. In my experience many holders are fitted in places that means one of two things:

1 The person fitting them has a sense of humour

Or

2 The person fitting them believes we are all contortionists.

So …....................

When we recently moved house I was put to the test …

• Is he all talk?


• Can this bloke Trevor Gay who is always complaining about the position of toilet roll holders deliver in his own back yard?
  

Well …. Here is the evidence … that is me pictured in our new loo with my recently fitted (by my good self) toilet roll holder. This can be reached very comfortably and requires no great physical effort or contortionist activity.

Now there we are ….. I am not an architect; a designer; a builder; a carpenter; a room planner; or a scientist … I am just an ordinary bloke with two eyes, a drill a screw driver and some common sense.

It really is not that difficult is it?

I hope you are impressed David.

By the way .... Annie was laughing last night when I told her I thought our downstairs toilet was so lovely I was thinking of getting a TV installed in there together with an easy chair ... I guess Annie must have thought I was joking.

Nope ... I promise I have not been secretly at the Red Wine before typing this.

A great weekend to all visitors to Simplicity Blog - the sun is finally shining in England - summer has arrived ....

It is really OK to laugh at work!

One of the biggest disappointments in my NHS career was the lack of humour and how we always had to have that 'stiff upper lip' that typifies Britain in many ways. It certainly typifies the business world of the public services that I knew.

I've never believed using humour lessens professionalism. I say it is not compulsory to be miserable at work.

Anyway .... in sorting through old papers in the move I came across something that we did back in my NHS days that still makes me laugh … why can’t we do more of this in management?

A friend and I in a mad moment decided we would write out to people who had been on a seminar/workshop for the morning asking for their feedback. We sent it in the name of the Chief Executive.

A few people responded and played the game but most people just ignored it without comment.

What a shame …. We really need to lighten up in management.

This is it... I'd love your comments

Dear Colleague

As part of the continuing professional development we have introduced a new feedback system following away days/seminars and teaching sessions to ensure that learning has taken place.

As a result a few people are randomly selected at the end of each session to answer a few simple questions to assure the organisers that learning has occurred.

I hope you don’t mind filling in this short questionnaire and your honesty will be appreciated.

Bill Bloggs (name changed to protect the innocent)
Chief Executive

===================

1 Did you find your way to the venue ok?
2 Was the coffee good? (tea if you drink tea)
3 Was the room comfortable or would you have preferred somewhere with Sky Sports TV?
4 Did you think the standard of dress of delegates was good enough to maintain the professional image of the organisation?
5 Did you fall asleep in any of the presentations? – We need you to name names
6 Do you think it would have helped if jokes had been part of the meeting?
7 Were you able to make the dolls house out of balsa wood without copying your friend?
8 How would you sum up the experience?
9 Could you have benefited from a lady of the night?
10 Was it worth missing out on bacon rolls back at the office?
11 Whilst you were looking through the window (we know you did), did you think the groundsman could have made a better job of the hedges with a Black and Decker 3200?

'Trust Me I'm a Patient' - 14th Episode

Early start on the train at 7.15 am for Annie and me as we head up to ‘Geordie’ land in South Shields near Newcastle tomorrow for our 14th Trust Me I’m a Patient workshop … Good fun and serious learning in the same workshop.

As I always say at the outset of every workshop …. ‘It really is not compulsory to be miserable at work.’

Another 80 delegates tomorrow … that means almost 800 delegates have now been through our workshop. We are both very proud of that.

More details can be seen by clicking here

In a nutshell it is about trying to get NHS staff and managers to see change through the eyes of patients….

We love it!! And feedback to date has been good

Ricardo Semler proves Simplicity works

If you have 10 minutes to spare I beg you to watch this interview with Ricardo Semler – Chairman of Semco and perhaps the most radically successful business man in the world. Mr Semler turns upside down all traditional management theory and uses common sense and simplicity.

Highlights:

*He believes passionately in front line staff.
*Managers in his company are appointed by the staff and they might have to go through 5 interviews before the staff make up their minds.
*The staff set their own salaries.

And for the cynics about his approach ... just look at the record of his company.

Why can't we have more Semler’s in business?

Does it really have to be this difficult?

Regular Simplicity Blog readers will remember a while ago I wrote a couple of postings about stupid things I simply could not understand. One of the things I mentioned was the ridiculous places that toilet rolls are fixed in public toilets.

I conclude after another week of visiting a few public conveniences on my travels that I was right all along.

In a nutshell designers either have a wicked sense of humour, they are contortionists and assume the rest of us are too, or they are just plain stupid. Who in their right mind would fix a toilet roll holder in the position shown on this photograph? This is at Snow Hill Railway Station, Birmingham. Annie took the photo this evening while we were at Snow Hill simply because readers just would not believe me without the evidence - No planner could be that stupid you would be saying without seeing the evidence!

Earlier in the week I had the dubious pleasure of experiencing another crazy set up in the public toilets in Keele Services on the M6 Motorway.

The large toilet roll holder contained two of those really large rolls and every time I pulled the end of the roll just one piece of tissue came off the roll because of the weight of the roll and the relative weakness of the paper!

Therefore I had to use my imagination and hold my hand up inside the holder itself to manipulate the roll round to allow more than one sheet of tissue to appear out of the base of the holder and then remove my hands from inside the holder to tear off the tissue!!! – Am I exaggerating??? – No - just try it yourself next time you are passing Keele Services!!

It seems impossible to imagine that something so simple as fixing a toilet roll holder in an accessible place and designing a toilet roll holder that allows the customer to tear off tissue easily could be so difficult.

This posting is mildly amusing of course but behind it is a serious message about design and common sense and customer care (yes customer care – I AM DEADLY SERIOUS!)

It has been a long week and I have travelled many miles ….. Interesting that the thing that got me most motivated to write on my Blog was about public toilets!!

Maybe the travelling has finally got to my brain

This says it all don't you think?