Boomers and the old reality

Thinking about this New York Times article Generation B - Keeping the Plates Spinning by Michael Winerip, about the career of Nina Lentini, an editor of a number of weekly e-newsletters.

The story tells us that, in a shaky economy with high unemployment, workers are asked to contribute more, sacrifice personal time, and expect no additional compensation. 

As a member of the Boomer generation, I understand and accept that the modern workplace is different, we are 'always on' and the work/life demarcation line is blurred. In fact, I'm one of the early adopters, happily trying out every new tool or application that promises to save time or improve my life in some small way. And when it's crunch time, I'm there, thrilled to be part of a meaningful project, working with a great team, meeting the deadline and delivering exceptional work. Reschedule that root canal? Sure, it's not like it will get worse... Work late? No problem, my Mom will be in town again in a few months...

But I am reminded of a time in the '80s, when many women were entering the workplace as professionals and managers for the first time. We were told we could have it all: a career, a child, a marriage. But soon we discovered that we needed a support system to make it all possible; people to help care for the child, clean the house, prepare the meals, manage the budget: all the tasks that were traditionally handled by the housewife (or maids and butlers, if you had them). Lesson learned? You can have it all, but only if you have help.

Organizations need the same wakeup call now. Downtime is necessary: to creativity, effectiveness and long-term success. And we need help. As workers and as organizations, we all need the chance to take a breath, consider what worked well and how to improve for the next time. And organizations, especially must pay attention. What is the cost of sustaining a frenzied pace? How burned out are your people? Has the quality of your products and services declined? What technologies are available to help?

I'm not asking to bring back the old reality, I'm just asking organizations to embrace today's technologies to help. To give workers the ability to do it all, have it all. To work remotely, asynchronously and be creative, then sync up via videoconferencing to coordinate goals and deadlines. 

The new reality is different, but needn't be bleak. Smart organizations will figure this out, and workers in not-so-smart organizations will move on.

Originally posted: February 21, 2010 at 12:26 PM

Training Hunters and Farmers

Seth Godin recently posted about the kinds of people who might want your product/service/technology/{enter your passion here}.

He offers a great insight to successful communications, which is to recognize the mindset of your audience, and tailor your messaging accordingly. 

When designing a training programs for said {passion}, the first step is to understand the audience:

• what is the user level of expertise?
• is this a new tool that requires transitional materials?
• what are the takeaways (goal of the sessions...desired outcome)?

And finally, as Seth describes, we must determine if the learners are Hunters or Farmers, then build the training around those expectations. This is what we know about how Hunters and Farmers learn:

Hunters prefer wikis, blog feeds and knowledgebases for learning about new applications, while Farmers want a bound copy of the user manual on their desk. When it comes to online training, Farmers prefer to join "how-to" webinars, or watch detailed instructional videos, while Hunters join forums and interact with bloggers about what they say. Hunters are more likely to record and post their own "how-to" videos on the web. Farmers, on the other hand, expect the Help links to have the answers.

As trainers, we know that everyone learns differently, that some folks are visual learners, others relate better to vocal cues, and even others want a hands-on approach. Adding the "Hunter and Farmer" philosophy to your training programs will only make your content better and more effective.

Originally posted: February 03, 2010 at 12:34 PM

 

 

 

 

You're in charge, but how do you get the best from your team?

Whether you are a manager or supervisor, if you have the ability to affect the work life of anyone in your organization, it is important to remember to give your staffers control (or the illusion of control) over things that affect how they work.
Do they need...better status updates...fewer meetings...blue pens?
Ask them what they need to be effective - listen to your team - gather their requirements. When you give your team an opportunity to be honest about how they feel, they'll tell you things you never expect to hear.
They'll ask for things that cost you little, and reap big benefits.
Think this means you're giving up control? It's called delegation - something all great leaders do.

Originally posted: December 28, 2009 at 12:34 AM

Functional Specs, Written by The Engineer

Thank goodness for engineers at startups! Without them, there would be no specifications at all; then again, interpreting the meaning of the functional specification can be a challenge:

"For the fields which are created automatically when an object is created, the field property will be the property configured in the Field Visibility if the Field Visibility is other than Visible"

Welcome to the world of Technical Communications!
FWIW, this paragraph describes "How to Set Field Visibility Based on Role."

Originally posted: December 28, 2009 at 12:04 AM

Change is Good

When we buy something new, we generally know what we're getting: something newer, cooler, faster. Whether it's a breakfast cereal or a car, it's better in some way, and we're excited, because it's all upside. The cereal has bigger, crunchier bits. The car has great lines, goes fast and gets you from place to place, in style. What's not to like? It's the same, but better.

Folks everywhere become accustomed to doing things a certain way, and so have the expectation that things will improve, but stay the same. New, improved cereal with nuts and berries? I'll take a box! New, improved tofu cereal in a tube? Not so much.

In the business world, and with software in particular, it can take weeks to learn a new system and get back to doing work efficiently. Think about the growing pains organizations endure when they convert from a (home-grown) legacy software system to a new system (like a financial application for purchasing /payroll /reimbursements, or a human resources system to manage personnel records, benefits and training certifications). To a user, it's like buying a new car and finding the accelerator and brake pedals are swapped - yikes!

With new systems, users must get up to speed quickly in order to meet goals and quotas. While users are generally willing to accept the new new thing, they don't expect to have to re-learn everything - it slows them down and they may actually break something during the learning process. No one likes to fail. No one likes to lose control.

The typical solution is something called "Change Management". When done right, CM introduces someone to the project who is familiar with user needs and the project goals, and has responsibility for building a bridge between the "app that was" and the "system that will be". These folks are communicators, and do the heavy lifting to build the means to transition users to the new system. Depending on the nature and complexity of the system, CM can be as easy as a cheat-sheet taped to the monitor, or as complex as a month-long training program for users, managers and administrators. The method varies, but the goal is the same...define how to transition from "X" to "Y", and provide users with the tools they need to become effective in a new applications environment.

It's all about setting goals, planning and communicating:

 

• check in often to keep everyone in the loop 
• a whiteboard mock-up is more reassuring than a multiple-page email 
• be comfortable saying, "...I/we don't know yet..." 
• listen and accept all forms of feedback (good, bad or otherwise)

 

Originally posted: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2009

Notice - Change of Venue

Find all future posts here:

http://applicationswhisperer.posterous.com/
(moving back here to blogger, since Posterous is closing)

And a cool new landing page:

http://appswhisperer.com/

Best New Application for Building your Personal Brand - Magntize

If you're interested in marketing yourself (and who isn't nowadays), but don't have the time/inclination/skills to build a website, check out http://magntize.com/  

In minutes, I set up a site that's attractive, easily navigated and personal. The result? It's all about me (my skills, contact information, photo, blog feed, twitter feed, links to sites), here: http://appswhisperer.com.  

It's a needed solution to a problem most of us have, and it's free. What's not to like?