Today, I answered a Linked In question about internal communications.
Here's what I said:
To provoke some response to your statement and hear from others, I will suggest a different point of view. And, it's one I believe in.
We should forget "internal" vs. "external" communications in organizations. The world does not work that way anymore. The boundaries are gone.
Content that bores people is the real danger. Content that excludes people because of traditional internal competition depletes ROI and destroys innovation.
People working in the food industry to develop new products forget their "secrets" once at home, where they face contemporary issues like child diabetes. They are customers as well as workers in a world where information sharing and learning are routine ventures on the Internet and within their social networks. Formal and Informal Networks.
Living and working in a networked society and economy has made the internal vs. external separatism archaic.
Wherever organizations still live to provide paternalistic communication structures, you will find an underachieving culture. Sometimes, that shows up in dollars and more often in not supporting human potential.
This is not to say that internal work and information sharing should not be organized. However, understanding what kind of organizational structure is dependent upon the kind of WEB 2.0 world we live in. And, the way these formal and informal networks can provide value.
People are far less tolerant of their E bay world not functioning than they are of the corporate communications methodologies that limit creativity and inclusion.
Understanding that phenomenon is a transformation worth investing in for companies.
Best of luck with your exploration.
Sal Rasa
im21 (innovation/measurement 21st. century)
Friday, October 3, 2008
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Helping New Technologies Grow Into Businesses
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/18/business/smallbusiness/18edge.html?ref=smallbusiness
Connect was created 23 years ago to bring together people knowledgeable about business and investment capital with researchers at the universities and research institutes in San Diego.
“Bill Otterson created the culture here, telling scientists and research people to share ideas and then compete in the marketplace”
Great story about putting together people who might not easily share ideas.
"A community effort to ally scientists and financiers".
Building community is not a new idea. It's the communities that provide the ongoing innovation.
Sal
Saturday, August 30, 2008
I've Seen a Real Picture of Change and Almost Missed Something Important
I have not created a post for a while. A project has really taken my attention.
Yesterday, I completed the first edit of a video portrait of health care workers documenting their experience of learning to use Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Asking them questions about the last 18 months at their family practice centers and what's different. The entire project has been an intense team collaboration.
The conversations, responses and stories represent a transformation from thousands of paper charts to a shared information approach that creates a higher level patient experience. It is astounding.
To some organizations who have already adopted these practices, it may seem odd how long it is taking for others to do so.
However, even the most advanced users of EMR understand the need for further connectivity and knowledge sharing across boundaries and practice. It's a continuous improvement commitment. It is also a struggle for funding, board approvals and confronting many of the usual inhibitors to innovation.
I thought I understood why I was so captivated by this project. It's health care, the participants are highly dedicated and I keep learning about their realities and our expectations as patients.
But there was something I missed until I just relaxed and watched the tape this morning.
This is a compelling story of how doctors, nurses, admins and other providers deepened their everyday exchange. The video is a critical visualization of working differently and achieving different results.
The use of EMR (electronic medical records) demands that people work differently to get different results. It gives the patient a way of accessing consistent information across platforms, boundaries and institutions. And, it accelerates the practitioner's professional development.
EMR gives back the ability to highly skilled physicians and practitioners, the time they need to effectively use their skills instead of wasted time in routine or repetitive questioning.
In our current health care environment, we seldom realize how the system inhibits the best abilities of motivated and highly skilled professionals.
Technology to organize and move people from paper to the screen simply accelerates wide cultural change in a way that traditional consulting can never approach.
How many years have we heard about the paperless environment? These workers take it to a new level of commitment. One patient, one chart. Anywhere, anytime. That is their goal.
Health care workers are always driven by complexity, urgency and humanity.
Understanding the value of EMR is a revelation when you see and hear it from the communities of practice and need. The example should inform all of our business perspectives.
All the issues of privacy (which are most manageable) or concerns about less personal do not come close to seeing patients understanding their own situation more clearly than ever before.
And, the truth about medicine moving to a collaboration becomes exciting within the context of information when you and your health care providers need it. We all have more than one doctor and we seldom connect them to solve our issues quickly and safely.
I cannot do justice here of what I learned from creating this video. Please understand, I use video as data collection. Not typical corporate support material.
But I can say, much of the theory and experience that frameworks large scale business transformation and organization design goes out the window when a doctor describes how a patient who cannot read, now understands their current health state for the first time. The graphic display on the screen with the patient's test results etc. is viewed and discussed with the doctor.
Such an encounter maps a network of change from the doctor's activity to everyone who contributes to this technology that unites them.
I realized this morning, that this example is a poignant metaphor for much of what I have encountered with large organizations. Years of discussing change without the ability to clearly read and act.
For the health care professionals who have given me this incredible experience, I can only say thank you. And, I can continue to learn what their transformation means for all our work place transformations.
Sal
Yesterday, I completed the first edit of a video portrait of health care workers documenting their experience of learning to use Electronic Medical Records (EMR). Asking them questions about the last 18 months at their family practice centers and what's different. The entire project has been an intense team collaboration.
The conversations, responses and stories represent a transformation from thousands of paper charts to a shared information approach that creates a higher level patient experience. It is astounding.
To some organizations who have already adopted these practices, it may seem odd how long it is taking for others to do so.
However, even the most advanced users of EMR understand the need for further connectivity and knowledge sharing across boundaries and practice. It's a continuous improvement commitment. It is also a struggle for funding, board approvals and confronting many of the usual inhibitors to innovation.
I thought I understood why I was so captivated by this project. It's health care, the participants are highly dedicated and I keep learning about their realities and our expectations as patients.
But there was something I missed until I just relaxed and watched the tape this morning.
This is a compelling story of how doctors, nurses, admins and other providers deepened their everyday exchange. The video is a critical visualization of working differently and achieving different results.
The use of EMR (electronic medical records) demands that people work differently to get different results. It gives the patient a way of accessing consistent information across platforms, boundaries and institutions. And, it accelerates the practitioner's professional development.
EMR gives back the ability to highly skilled physicians and practitioners, the time they need to effectively use their skills instead of wasted time in routine or repetitive questioning.
In our current health care environment, we seldom realize how the system inhibits the best abilities of motivated and highly skilled professionals.
Technology to organize and move people from paper to the screen simply accelerates wide cultural change in a way that traditional consulting can never approach.
How many years have we heard about the paperless environment? These workers take it to a new level of commitment. One patient, one chart. Anywhere, anytime. That is their goal.
Health care workers are always driven by complexity, urgency and humanity.
Understanding the value of EMR is a revelation when you see and hear it from the communities of practice and need. The example should inform all of our business perspectives.
All the issues of privacy (which are most manageable) or concerns about less personal do not come close to seeing patients understanding their own situation more clearly than ever before.
And, the truth about medicine moving to a collaboration becomes exciting within the context of information when you and your health care providers need it. We all have more than one doctor and we seldom connect them to solve our issues quickly and safely.
I cannot do justice here of what I learned from creating this video. Please understand, I use video as data collection. Not typical corporate support material.
But I can say, much of the theory and experience that frameworks large scale business transformation and organization design goes out the window when a doctor describes how a patient who cannot read, now understands their current health state for the first time. The graphic display on the screen with the patient's test results etc. is viewed and discussed with the doctor.
Such an encounter maps a network of change from the doctor's activity to everyone who contributes to this technology that unites them.
I realized this morning, that this example is a poignant metaphor for much of what I have encountered with large organizations. Years of discussing change without the ability to clearly read and act.
For the health care professionals who have given me this incredible experience, I can only say thank you. And, I can continue to learn what their transformation means for all our work place transformations.
Sal
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Measuring Culture?
It is commonly believed in organizations that measuring culture is difficult or actually impossible.
Yet, experts press on. I just heard a pod cast discussing this concept.
There are new measurements like Density of Communication and others, that have developed from learning about social networks. They are useful and relevant.
I have thought about these cultural issues for years. But truthfully, I heard a VP of Creative tell me today, that "my clients are not interested in anything meaningful", as he sighed to let me know that he meant it.
Wow. This statement came from one of the smartest and most committed professionals I have ever met.
I thought about the culture he works in and what could be measured? His interactions or his sigh?
So here's a thought:
Should culture be thought of as something to measure?
In fact, culture is a living entity that actually exists as an ongoing reflection/measurement of our collective experience. What are organizations looking for?
What is it about organizational behavior that makes us think we need to abstract our life experience to align with non-real business concepts?
You know, the current business "buzz" that inevitably moves into the Bermuda Triangle. It's amazing how we rush to rally and conform to "acceptable" concepts while working for companies that are allegedly committed to Innovation. Is that a cultural trait? Is it measurable?
Here's another notion:
When we think of atoms, why do we almost believe that atoms exist as red and white plastic spheres that connect to one another? It's as if "the real" and "the reality" we have created are the same thing.
One great philosopher said: "Reality, not the real, is dependent upon care"
In some ways, I find business explanations sometimes confuse the real from the abstraction and few organizations take care to distinguish between the two.
In cultures that truly "take care" to be inclusive and recognize the human dignity of effort and contribution, there is little need to measure the culture. Rather, the effort is to support its life.
The ancient Greeks defined "Economy" as the ability to sustain the life of something for as long as possible.
It's no wonder why we believe that Power Point presentations are a reflection of what we conceive to be factual. Mental models are often mistaken for true cultural elements.
Actually, it's funny when I think about our image of what atoms are and how hard we labor for slides 1 through 23 to be reduced to 1 through 5. As if rearranging the plastic atoms will significantly change conditions.
Abstractions of our experience -- measuring culture and finding a way to create a work place that for all of us, is built on what is real. It's been an interesting day.
Sal
Yet, experts press on. I just heard a pod cast discussing this concept.
There are new measurements like Density of Communication and others, that have developed from learning about social networks. They are useful and relevant.
I have thought about these cultural issues for years. But truthfully, I heard a VP of Creative tell me today, that "my clients are not interested in anything meaningful", as he sighed to let me know that he meant it.
Wow. This statement came from one of the smartest and most committed professionals I have ever met.
I thought about the culture he works in and what could be measured? His interactions or his sigh?
So here's a thought:
Should culture be thought of as something to measure?
In fact, culture is a living entity that actually exists as an ongoing reflection/measurement of our collective experience. What are organizations looking for?
What is it about organizational behavior that makes us think we need to abstract our life experience to align with non-real business concepts?
You know, the current business "buzz" that inevitably moves into the Bermuda Triangle. It's amazing how we rush to rally and conform to "acceptable" concepts while working for companies that are allegedly committed to Innovation. Is that a cultural trait? Is it measurable?
Here's another notion:
When we think of atoms, why do we almost believe that atoms exist as red and white plastic spheres that connect to one another? It's as if "the real" and "the reality" we have created are the same thing.
One great philosopher said: "Reality, not the real, is dependent upon care"
In some ways, I find business explanations sometimes confuse the real from the abstraction and few organizations take care to distinguish between the two.
In cultures that truly "take care" to be inclusive and recognize the human dignity of effort and contribution, there is little need to measure the culture. Rather, the effort is to support its life.
The ancient Greeks defined "Economy" as the ability to sustain the life of something for as long as possible.
It's no wonder why we believe that Power Point presentations are a reflection of what we conceive to be factual. Mental models are often mistaken for true cultural elements.
Actually, it's funny when I think about our image of what atoms are and how hard we labor for slides 1 through 23 to be reduced to 1 through 5. As if rearranging the plastic atoms will significantly change conditions.
Abstractions of our experience -- measuring culture and finding a way to create a work place that for all of us, is built on what is real. It's been an interesting day.
Sal
Wednesday, July 9, 2008
It's Upside Down -- Health Care That Is
This is a serious subject and a perspective worth developing. I believe this to be true.
I intend to further investigate but from initial conversations with people smarter than me, the response is supportive.
I believe that the business of health care is directly related to a misunderstanding of Integrated Supply Chain logic. Consequently, the Value Chain is disturbed.
Simply put, the business models of hospitals, payers and support services are currently based on traditional supply management designs.
It's upside down. Traditional models rely on Demand Creation and Demand Fulfillment. Indeed, many of the hospital Performance Improvement Plans that I have seen, seem to me to actually be re-treads morphed from old world Automotive Sales Incentive structures.
That's anecdotal of course, but a strong impression nonetheless.
The key point is this:
In the world of health care and health care professionals, we do not want to increase Demand Creation. We want the opposite. That is, to literally reduce the need for services so that Demand Fulfillment becomes more focused on well being rather than treatment.
Our entire structure is wrong and demands a fundamental re-focus. Our Integrated Supply logic is out of sync with the realities of the health work place and the patient experience. This misalignment affects every contract that doctors, payers and institutions create to "do business" to provide positive Demand Fulfillment.
Issues like EMR (electronic medical records) become clouded in a supply chain environment that is confused. Rapid adaptation to technology is inhibited by silo behaviors and proprietary attitudes to protect time and money in a highly challenged professional environment.
It's this overarching supply model that institutionalizes certain behaviors. These behaviors actually inhibit businesses like emergency rooms, where connectivity to information and communication are vital to implement quickly and accurately.
This is not a knock at the health care professional. It is in support of their commitment and expertise. However, sharing information is not easy in these places. Ask the workers. Ask the patients (customers), and ask the hospital business developers if they really have a picture of their customers from the conventional surveys that are handed out. It's a value chain nightmare in many cases.
It's that serious and perhaps, that simple an insight to understand, that in health care today, we have an inverted Supply Chain bias that is literally killing us.
I am claiming this discussion and inviting thoughts. However, this is one concept I will not give up on easily.
Best,
Sal Rasa
I intend to further investigate but from initial conversations with people smarter than me, the response is supportive.
I believe that the business of health care is directly related to a misunderstanding of Integrated Supply Chain logic. Consequently, the Value Chain is disturbed.
Simply put, the business models of hospitals, payers and support services are currently based on traditional supply management designs.
It's upside down. Traditional models rely on Demand Creation and Demand Fulfillment. Indeed, many of the hospital Performance Improvement Plans that I have seen, seem to me to actually be re-treads morphed from old world Automotive Sales Incentive structures.
That's anecdotal of course, but a strong impression nonetheless.
The key point is this:
In the world of health care and health care professionals, we do not want to increase Demand Creation. We want the opposite. That is, to literally reduce the need for services so that Demand Fulfillment becomes more focused on well being rather than treatment.
Our entire structure is wrong and demands a fundamental re-focus. Our Integrated Supply logic is out of sync with the realities of the health work place and the patient experience. This misalignment affects every contract that doctors, payers and institutions create to "do business" to provide positive Demand Fulfillment.
Issues like EMR (electronic medical records) become clouded in a supply chain environment that is confused. Rapid adaptation to technology is inhibited by silo behaviors and proprietary attitudes to protect time and money in a highly challenged professional environment.
It's this overarching supply model that institutionalizes certain behaviors. These behaviors actually inhibit businesses like emergency rooms, where connectivity to information and communication are vital to implement quickly and accurately.
This is not a knock at the health care professional. It is in support of their commitment and expertise. However, sharing information is not easy in these places. Ask the workers. Ask the patients (customers), and ask the hospital business developers if they really have a picture of their customers from the conventional surveys that are handed out. It's a value chain nightmare in many cases.
It's that serious and perhaps, that simple an insight to understand, that in health care today, we have an inverted Supply Chain bias that is literally killing us.
I am claiming this discussion and inviting thoughts. However, this is one concept I will not give up on easily.
Best,
Sal Rasa
Monday, July 7, 2008
Interesting View from the Nonprofit World
There are a number of critical changes in the nonprofit world that are worth understanding for every work place. This 2007 survey has good information and measurements.
"Nonprofits are stronger than business and government on three
types of peer and top management actions — communicating about
the importance of ethics, setting a good example of ethical behavior, and peer
support for doing the right thing."
National Nonprofit Ethics Survey
Ethics Resource Center’s 2 0 0 7
An Inside View of Nonprofit Sector Ethics
http://www.ethics.org/ will take you to additional information and the survey.
Sal
"Nonprofits are stronger than business and government on three
types of peer and top management actions — communicating about
the importance of ethics, setting a good example of ethical behavior, and peer
support for doing the right thing."
National Nonprofit Ethics Survey
Ethics Resource Center’s 2 0 0 7
An Inside View of Nonprofit Sector Ethics
http://www.ethics.org/ will take you to additional information and the survey.
Sal
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
A Conversation Today: Culture & Transformation
Met with a good friend and colleague today. He asked for a list of thought starters on culture and transformation at the enterprise level.
Here's my response.
Here's my response.
Culture & Transformation -Thought Starters
“I came to see, in my time at IBM, that culture isn't just one aspect of the game – it is the game.” L. Gerstner, former CEO, IBM
What experts and consultants don’t talk about when meeting a CEO.
- · Today, there is no organization that has the time necessary to achieve the cultural changes they seek
- · If it is true that “all politics is local”, then it is also true, that all significant business transformation is local and then networked
- · Transformation on an enterprise level is dependent on identifying inhibitors to knowledge sharing, revealing the communication blocks and making work visible
- Visibility = Accountability in effective silo busting activities
- · It is possible to measure trust. Trust in people and trust in systems.
- · Collaborative behaviors speed transformation across traditional boundaries
- · The Change Management element is to put the executive into the mix. Not outside the mix, reviewing and providing approval
- · Culture is a living entity. It is both powerful and fragile. Think of the Petri dish. Culture can be inhibited and even destroyed. Or, it can grow as it is supposed to.
- · Changing the lens to view culture as continuous development professionally, and personally, is the power to transform the enterprise
- · Web 2.0 provides us with the ability to organize critical conversations. It also changes fundamental roles and responsibilities. Stories help identify workplace realities.
- · Alignment of key roles and responsibilities from the communities’ perspective is an imperative in today’s networked environment
- · Time is on your side when a continuous improvement approach is enabled
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