(no subject)
Yeah, I've been neglecting the LJ. Just haven't felt much like writing long form after splitting my time between photography and learning to draw. Trying to get back into the habit by finding things that annoy the piss out of me and actually writing something of substance.
In other words, kicking it old school as the kids used to say. Maybe they still say it. I have no idea, children annoy the piss out of me.
...
Anyway, this came out of a discussion on facebook regarding an article in The Atlantic about women balancing work and family. Various lies that employers tell their employees were brought up and one of them was "we want to create a culture of innovation" (along with "work/life balance", "respecting our employees' needs" and "when I look at you I don't think of you as a bunch of rag clad galley slaves dripping with chains and resentment, what gave you that idea?"). This is neck and neck with "work/life balance" for the lie I've been fed most often. So I think its worth addressing why its a pants on fire magnitude lie.
I've worked in advertising in one for or another for most of my career either in the music industry or more recently in an actual ad agency. For an industry that likes to think its creative it does very little to foster actual creativity when it comes to technology. I don't think that the art/creative departments feel they're really being that creative either.
Management is told that creativity is vital to their enterprise, tell their employees that they want to create a culture of creativity and then fail to take any actual concerete steps to implement it. This is partially a fault of management thinking that telling their employees to do something means it will get done and partially a fault of the business model of ad agencies. Agencies are paid based on billable hours. This means that employees are (literally... trust me on this one) screamed at if they can't justify all of their time in the office against activities which can be billed to the client. All of the employees time must be focused on tasks for a client.
This isn't bad by itself, its how the business works. What its not going to do is foster any innovation because clients don't want innovation, they want their needs met. Until management is willing to make changes to that business model what they actually encourage is a enterprise full of very efficient problem solvers. Efficient problem solving means you apply solutions which you know are going to work. There's not any room for risk.
Anyway, here's an article I plucked off google as I searched for "creating a culture of innovation".
http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2010/08/six-secrets-to-creating-a-cult.html
And my response is below. Its not nice, but neither is being made to stand in a room for two hours every quarter while upper management makes grand pronouncements that they have no will to implement.
Usually I don't comment on management articles like this because most of them leave me curled up under my desk alternatively weeping and vomiting blood. This one however is actually something I agree with and I've seen a lot of these ideas recycled and rehashed and rephrased and just outright stolen and reposted.
I expect a large number of managers at all levels have read these and have recited their precepts to their employees like a mantra with the hope that one more recital will spur their department into the pages of legend. If just repeating something often enough with great sincerity made it so there would be more than a few of those managers being devoured from the inside by vile infestations of worms so let's actually be thankful this isn't the case.
Instead for your reading pleasure I'll rephrase the six secrets in a way that I feel better exposes why they're not actually implemented. Refer to the article for the more positive, can do attitude.
1) Meet People's Needs.
This means you actually have to implement policies to back up your commitment to "work/life balance". You're also going to have to actually give employees time and resources to meet any professional development goals they set at their annual review. The one you kind of half-assed because you were uncomfortable because no one without a three letter acronym for a job title was getting any sort of raise.
2) Teach Creativity Systematically
Yes, you will have to train your employees. Most likely you'll have to schedule that training time during business hours to get anyone to actually attend. At the very least if you think a book is very important for them to read, buy it for them.
3) Nurture Passion
If an employee has expressed an interest in something you might actually want to give them an opportunity to learn it.
4) Make the Work Matter
Look, let's be entirely honest here, you're going to need to accept that an exciting mission statement isn't going to motivate an employee. Your business might be exciting to you because you have equity. I, the employee, does not. Its just a paycheck, nothing personal. If wanted it to be personal, I would be trying to start my own business.
5) Provide the Time
This is where 99% of employers will draw a line in the sand and go no further.
You're going to have to be willing to give up billable hours and the income associated with that for pure risk.
Google allows employees to spend 20% of their time pursuing personal projects. That means that google is willing to take a 20% cut in income on the chance that some of those projects will turn into a valuable new line of business for the company. This means accepting that there's a chance you will loose 20% of your income with no return. This means explaining to the board of directors that the big downward spike in productivity was your idea.
Yeah, didn't think you'd have the spine to do it.
What this also doesn't mean is have your employees clock 100% billable hours and expect that they're going to innovate on their personal time for them. Do you really expect that an employee is going to go home, work on a project using their personal time and resources and then hand it over to you?
6) Value Renewal
8 hours to work
8 hours to sleep
8 hours to play
Like all those coal miners died for.
Yeah, didn't think you'd go for that one either.
In other words, kicking it old school as the kids used to say. Maybe they still say it. I have no idea, children annoy the piss out of me.
...
Anyway, this came out of a discussion on facebook regarding an article in The Atlantic about women balancing work and family. Various lies that employers tell their employees were brought up and one of them was "we want to create a culture of innovation" (along with "work/life balance", "respecting our employees' needs" and "when I look at you I don't think of you as a bunch of rag clad galley slaves dripping with chains and resentment, what gave you that idea?"). This is neck and neck with "work/life balance" for the lie I've been fed most often. So I think its worth addressing why its a pants on fire magnitude lie.
I've worked in advertising in one for or another for most of my career either in the music industry or more recently in an actual ad agency. For an industry that likes to think its creative it does very little to foster actual creativity when it comes to technology. I don't think that the art/creative departments feel they're really being that creative either.
Management is told that creativity is vital to their enterprise, tell their employees that they want to create a culture of creativity and then fail to take any actual concerete steps to implement it. This is partially a fault of management thinking that telling their employees to do something means it will get done and partially a fault of the business model of ad agencies. Agencies are paid based on billable hours. This means that employees are (literally... trust me on this one) screamed at if they can't justify all of their time in the office against activities which can be billed to the client. All of the employees time must be focused on tasks for a client.
This isn't bad by itself, its how the business works. What its not going to do is foster any innovation because clients don't want innovation, they want their needs met. Until management is willing to make changes to that business model what they actually encourage is a enterprise full of very efficient problem solvers. Efficient problem solving means you apply solutions which you know are going to work. There's not any room for risk.
Anyway, here's an article I plucked off google as I searched for "creating a culture of innovation".
http://blogs.hbr.org/schwartz/2010/08/six-secrets-to-creating-a-cult.html
And my response is below. Its not nice, but neither is being made to stand in a room for two hours every quarter while upper management makes grand pronouncements that they have no will to implement.
Usually I don't comment on management articles like this because most of them leave me curled up under my desk alternatively weeping and vomiting blood. This one however is actually something I agree with and I've seen a lot of these ideas recycled and rehashed and rephrased and just outright stolen and reposted.
I expect a large number of managers at all levels have read these and have recited their precepts to their employees like a mantra with the hope that one more recital will spur their department into the pages of legend. If just repeating something often enough with great sincerity made it so there would be more than a few of those managers being devoured from the inside by vile infestations of worms so let's actually be thankful this isn't the case.
Instead for your reading pleasure I'll rephrase the six secrets in a way that I feel better exposes why they're not actually implemented. Refer to the article for the more positive, can do attitude.
1) Meet People's Needs.
This means you actually have to implement policies to back up your commitment to "work/life balance". You're also going to have to actually give employees time and resources to meet any professional development goals they set at their annual review. The one you kind of half-assed because you were uncomfortable because no one without a three letter acronym for a job title was getting any sort of raise.
2) Teach Creativity Systematically
Yes, you will have to train your employees. Most likely you'll have to schedule that training time during business hours to get anyone to actually attend. At the very least if you think a book is very important for them to read, buy it for them.
3) Nurture Passion
If an employee has expressed an interest in something you might actually want to give them an opportunity to learn it.
4) Make the Work Matter
Look, let's be entirely honest here, you're going to need to accept that an exciting mission statement isn't going to motivate an employee. Your business might be exciting to you because you have equity. I, the employee, does not. Its just a paycheck, nothing personal. If wanted it to be personal, I would be trying to start my own business.
5) Provide the Time
This is where 99% of employers will draw a line in the sand and go no further.
You're going to have to be willing to give up billable hours and the income associated with that for pure risk.
Google allows employees to spend 20% of their time pursuing personal projects. That means that google is willing to take a 20% cut in income on the chance that some of those projects will turn into a valuable new line of business for the company. This means accepting that there's a chance you will loose 20% of your income with no return. This means explaining to the board of directors that the big downward spike in productivity was your idea.
Yeah, didn't think you'd have the spine to do it.
What this also doesn't mean is have your employees clock 100% billable hours and expect that they're going to innovate on their personal time for them. Do you really expect that an employee is going to go home, work on a project using their personal time and resources and then hand it over to you?
6) Value Renewal
8 hours to work
8 hours to sleep
8 hours to play
Like all those coal miners died for.
Yeah, didn't think you'd go for that one either.