Category: Story + Narrative

Social Business, Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The WorldLeave a comment

You Fiendish Child! Letting The Kids Cut Through Workplace Bullshit

ThisMuchWeKnow

I often used to annoy my mum with my ‘cleverness’ – y’know, glib responses to important questions, portraying her 40-odd years of experience had nothing on a random school playground conversation with a friend.  Very annoying, especially when I was right! “Aaaah, you fiendish child!” she would often retort. It is a term that often now comes to mind when my eldest, Lola, tries on her all-knowingness routine. What goes around, comes around. — When I think about issues and opportunities arising from the discussion around social business and technology and the changing nature of work, I keep searching for something supremely, … Continue reading You Fiendish Child! Letting The Kids Cut Through Workplace Bullshit

Story + Narrative, The Future of WorkLeave a comment

I Like Working With My Team. We Scale.

ThisMuchWeKnow

Not all projects work according to plan. Every year, my team has several wins and a few losses. The losses, generally, are small and valuable in their learning potential; the wins tend to help the organization pivot just a tiny bit, towards the future. I am very grateful for the people I work with, and gapingvoid has a good ingredients list for teamwork that covers off a lot of what they bring to the table. We have a small team that embraces scaling as a core service and attribute. And, give or take, this is close to how we operate. … Continue reading I Like Working With My Team. We Scale.

Social Business, Story + NarrativeLeave a comment

3 Things I Learned From Being An Anonymous Enterprise Troll

ThisMuchWeKnow

Four years ago, before “social” was a thing inside my company, I tried a few things out. One of them was an anonymous blog on the crappy old intranet in which I gently, but directly, skewered various big personalities and important people in the organization, through the voice of The Pundit.

The Pundit always referred to The Pundit in the third person. The Pundit was self-important and zealous, convinced of The Pundit‘s rectitude. The Pundit antagonized and poked colleagues throughout the world, trying to galvanize social discourse and watercooler chat that was visible to all. The Pundit was very edgy, a satirical representation of the back channel protagonists and gossip mongers that patrol the office corridors.

The Pundit, unsurprisingly, was a highly divisive character – hierarchy killing hero to some, rude and ridiculous troll to others.

Continue reading “3 Things I Learned From Being An Anonymous Enterprise Troll”

Personal Branding, Story + NarrativeLeave a comment

“This Is Who I Am” Lets Others Say “This Is Who You Are.”

ThisMuchWeKnow

Recently I wrote a few posts about how to start out on the personal branding journey, after a late night conversation with a (successful) friend who wanted others to ‘get him’ more. It goes roughly like this: Reflect on who you are (Subtley) Insert outcomes of above into your daily conversations Get lucky No rocket science, just a little applied thinking. Well, turns out it works. The same friend let me know that he had been letting others know how he shows up and where he adds most value and what he is really good at. He had a few phrases he … Continue reading “This Is Who I Am” Lets Others Say “This Is Who You Are.”

Story + Narrative, The Future of Work1 Comment

Generosity Is Not Just “Good”, It Has (Increasing) Value

ThisMuchWeKnow

John Stepper writes a lot about the act of generosity in working out loud. When you seek to assist your network to get stronger, more resilient, enable breakthroughs – for its own sake! – you will be paid back handsomely. Now, this goes against a lot of late-capitalist thinking about the dog-eat-dog world of globalization. We live in fear – and/or are entrepreneurially energized – that globalization in fact eats the dog, that eats the dog, for breakfast. Stepper says otherwise. Leading with generosity: By framing your posts as contributions you’re more likely to engage other people. You’re not just looking … Continue reading Generosity Is Not Just “Good”, It Has (Increasing) Value

Social Business, Story + NarrativeLeave a comment

FAILSAFE 10-Step Process To Build Organizational Culture Using Your ESN.

ThisMuchWeKnow

Yesterday, I shared a story about ice cream, and about culture. You should read that first then apply this FAILSAFE process to be a winner in your organization. Buy some <insert something GOOD here> Go to your enterprise social network (ESN) group of choice Write: It’s hot! Let’s ice cream!* – LOCATION – TIME. Go! Ask a couple of colleagues to Like or comment “I HEART <insert GOOD thing here>” to the post as a massive, personal favour to you after all these years and after all you’ve done… Ask the person with the loudest mouth in the office, or … Continue reading FAILSAFE 10-Step Process To Build Organizational Culture Using Your ESN.

Personal Branding, Social Business, Story + NarrativeLeave a comment

#PKyvr33 Close Out: It Was All Worth It, From Beginning To End

ThisMuchWeKnow

SO, we are done and done. The pecha has been kuched, so to speak. It took a couple of weeks of thinking, iterating, practicing, culling, worrying, and letting go to get it done. It ended like this, in front of around 1000 people The whole process from start to finish was highly enjoyable. There is nothing quite like seeing the work come together before your very eyes, alongside the learning. Double whammy. This is the storify of the process of working out loud on a pecha kucha about working out loud. It got a bit meta, but I just about … Continue reading #PKyvr33 Close Out: It Was All Worth It, From Beginning To End

Story + Narrative, The Curious Will Inherit The WorldLeave a comment

#PKyvr33 Day 17: Let’s Do This Thing

ThisMuchWeKnow

A Pecha Kucha checklist: 20 appropriate images chosen Single talking point for each image Script of sorts created A clear sense of outcome(s) from being there Slides played at real speed to understand justhowquicktheychange or – how – slowly – they – change so that 15% of the speech is NOT saying “Oh, wow, this goes so fast / hmm, where is the next slide!?” Like a flyweight boxer, all senses moving in rhythm, feeling light and honed Vague plan to deal with inevitable last minute fear that supercedes all the preparation that went before it Level of comfort that … Continue reading #PKyvr33 Day 17: Let’s Do This Thing