Comments

Advice please. I've put Strategic Enterprise-wide Negotiating Culture straight on the list, but just behind Targeting Boomers/Geezers and just ahead of Screw Around Vigorously. It's after Appealing to Women but ahead of Community Involvement. Obviously well ahead of Build A Cathedral. But I just can't decide: does this seem damn near the top enough? Should it be above or below the Dreamers Quota? And what about The Sheer Hell Of It (after all, my professional life depends on that)? Help...

Posted by RobCH at May 18, 2009 7:41 AM

It sounds like RobCH needs some one on one time. He's obviously most confused without a real sense of what his specific company needs most. The whole comment removes his very important role from the company and depends instead on the management consultant to call the shots from miles away without pay.

What RobCH needs to do is decide upon a basic structure based on the needs of his team and move forth from there. Also, it is very possible to have all of the above near the top as they are mostly ways of thinking that both immediately and ultimately create economic value and build effective teams.

If I, for example, adjust my thought processes on women and learn of purchasing habits and how to respond effectively to this group, I am more likely to gain sales. Also, if within my company men who make decisions are making such without the understanding of the role that women currently have in purchasing power for families, for example, I might also miss the opportunity of increased sales.

Now, how the above is done is another question. But we first have to get to base one by realizing the importance of the role of women in purchasing matters and also the necessity of having them a part of the decision-making team. This will add economic value and create a necessary diverse workforce from which various ideas germinate from design to science.

We create based on not only an external understanding of what's needed, but an internal one. By this I mean if I intimately understand a problem the way in which I create a solution will be shaped by the problem itself. If I observe a problem, I can also shape a solution to the problem. But is is good to have both understandings from which to create and market.

This is the significance of having ALL of the above "near the top." But the company will decide this based on its need.

Posted by Judith Ellis at May 18, 2009 8:40 AM

Good points, but keep in mind that it is often our "intimate understanding" that got is in a mess to begin with. That means the understanding of the individuals and the team as a whole.

We have to seek a new level of understanding. The same understanding that got is into a mess ain't likely to get us out. To me, true diversity in such situations includes bringing in some fresh perspective. That can come from some really out-of-the-way places at times.

"Hire a poet in accounting" as Tom once said? Why not. The accountants we have now sure didn't foresee the problems, much less prevent them.

That's why it's good to have people on the board from entirely different fields. Just like asking an eight-year-old "which jacket looks best with this outfit?" We might see them as "naive", but they look at it from a very different perspective. And they're usually a hell of a lot more honest in their answers.

Kooky thinking? Nope.

Posted by Dan Gunter at May 21, 2009 10:19 AM