Ah yes, January. Bit of an opinion divider as months go. Some of us are raring to go, all ‘out with the old and in with the new’ – purging ourselves of brandy butter and port, and filling the void with earnest resolutions. Some of us are closer in sentiment to an old Flanders and Swann song:
Dark November brings the fog/Should not do it to a dog.
Freezing wet December, then/Bloody January again!
My own take on resolutions is probably closer in spirit to an Oscar Wilde quote – “The basis of optimism is sheer terror”. The spur to think about changing things springs predominantly from the horror of the idea of more of the same old same old. Which in turn requires a modicum of awareness that things could at the very least be different, and possibly better. Faced with thinking or feeling “Uh oh, here we go again”, one answer is to go somewhere different.
The future is a tricky thing. An opening sentiment I’m sure many economists, policy makers and politicians would agree with right now, but also a logical truism. Books about the future and what it will bring always set themselves to invite ridicule a few years down the line, and have an inevitable lack of concrete foundations: what the future holders, even for professional futurologists such as Bob Johansen, can only ultimately be subjective guesswork. Whether we are looking at the future of work (as Richard Donkin did in another book reviewed here), of leadership, of organisations, or of society, it’s worth remembering a lesson from talent management: past performance is not a reliable guide. Yet, as Marshall McLuhan once observed, “We drive into the future using only our rearview mirror.”
As a former President and Board member of the Institute For The Future, Bob Johansen should be as qualified a guide to what lies ahead as we are likely to find, drawing on four decades of experience of future casting for some of the world’s largest organisations. By its very nature, the future has always been uncertain; recently, the level of uncertainty seems to be increasing and leaders can no more be immune for anxiously wonder what it will mean for them than anyone else. Books such as Leaders Make The Future are, perhaps, only to be expected: that Johansen is one of a small number of authors essaying serious attempts to address this audience is to be welcomed.
Across the web, blogs are adding a stockpile of the traditional end of year postings, many of them reflecting on the year that is drawing (at least on the office calendar) to a close. Many will also doubtless remember to mention – some authentically, some out of a sense of duty – that we are in the ‘season of goodwill’.
As the end of year reviews descend upon us, the BBC is not alone in wondering if the tumults of 2011 will mark its place in history alongside such iconic years as 1956, 1968 or 1989. The future is no more ours to see than anyone else’s, but there’s a practical and sensible rejoinder to the Beeb’s musings.
Whether these now legendary years really were significant turning points or not, life did go on afterwards – even if no-one is currently proposing documentaries about 1957, 1969 or 1990. 1957, for example, gave us the birth of the European Common Market, the launch of Sputnik I, the introduction of the S&P 500 stock market, the resignation of Anthony Eden, and the re-opening of the Suez Canal. And two Scousers called Lennon and McCartney apparently met on a bus.
1969 was even flatter: men walked on the moon, 2 computers exchanged messages over ARPAnet (later to evolve into the Internet), France withdrew from NATO, the UK abolished the death penalty, the first American troops withdrew from Saigon, the US Supreme Court ordered immediate desegregation, and Harvard University scientists announced the isolation of a single gene. Nothing to see here, move along now …
2012 will undoubtedly bring each of us new challenges to face, new situations to understand, adapt to and operate within, but if we are looking for the remarkable we should focus not on the year but on the people about to enter it.
There are two enduring elements of Christmas Day in the UK: the Queen’s Speech and a special edition of Doctor Who. Age, long service and wisdom aside – none of which we should flippantly discount, even in light entertainment – these two seemingly wholly different beings share in a common message: their belief in the ability of people to achieve remarkable things and inspire others to do likewise. As The Doctor said in one recent episode:
There’s no such thing as an ordinary human.”
Watching it, I was transported from my sofa to a business meeting some years ago where a team of external consultants from different suppliers and disciplines had been gathered to help the company in question wrestle order and direction from the jaws of apparent chaos. The company’s MD was admirably candid in his assessment of the current situation, while remaining delighted – if surprised – at the quality of the work that the team produced. To which an occupational psychologist replied (with the compassionate perception of Her Majesty or The Doctor):
But they’re people. And people do the most remarkable things, given half a chance!”
Indeed they do; the human race has been doing remarkable things for centuries, whether or not the year in question has been a historic landmark. As the working year draws to an end, you may not have an audience of over 10 million for any closing words you may feel moved to offer, but we’d suggest building on the seasonal tradition of goodwill.
Take a few moments to acknowledge the efforts of those around you, congratulate them on the remarkable things – good or small – that they have achieved and that they have helped others to achieve. And may we all welcome 2012 as an opportunity to be remarkable and encourage others to be remarkable too.
Through the years
We all will be together,
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough
And have yourself
A merry little Christmas now.
Following on from the undoubted success of our Breakfast Briefing at BAFTA in October, ASK were hugely proud to invite delegates from a broad selection of global organisations to join us for breakfast in an equally inspiring location: the Sonnenberg Convention Center within the FIFA Headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland.
One of the topics that emerged at the October 2011 ConnectingHR Unconference was the tendency for employees to be seen as consisting only of their recent history. As one un-participant put it: “You’re not even your CV; you’re your last job description”. At the time, I was reminded of the opening lines of an old Prefab Sprout song:
You surely are a truly gifted kid
But you’re only as good as
The last great thing you did …”
Typically for its writer (Paddy McAloon), the song is open to interpretation: it could be addressing religion, family relationships or simply – if that’s the word – the human condition. Were they aware of an obscure album track from 1985, however, I suspect many people would currently be tempted to supply a more literal reading.
Given their current peak (which may yet be surmounted), unemployment among 18-24 year olds is a pressing topic, with press coverage talking of a lost generation. Current figures are certainly cause for concern, and not just for those affected, although the tone of the reportage – which occupies an emotion range between fearful and alarmist – is less nuanced that the detailed figures. There’s an element of ‘truthiness’ at play – a word and concept I’ve recently come across having been passed a copy of Justin Webb’s Notes on Us and Them by my ASK colleague, Chris Rogers (who’s blogged recently on another thought inspired by the book). For those not up to speed with contemporary American satire, here’s Webb’s description:
Truthiness was a mock-word introduced by [American comedian Stephen] Colbert when the Bush administration was in its pomp to describe a truth that was not based on facts but was felt in the gut.”
It’s a great and easy read that I would recommend, with lots of wise insights that I recognise from holidays and working in the US. But there was a completely unexpected by-product of reading it – triggered by a particular point he made that illuminated my work in helping organisations shift their cultures and more particularly in confronting the unwritten paradigms at the heart of such cultures.
And then I had a really scary thought – how does this affect the models and approaches that we use in our consultancy work?
I’m normally more an Independent man (all puns intended), but – as professors reminded me during my own days in academia – reading around the list rather than down it can sometimes pay dividends. And if you’re going to be informed, why not be informed about more than the one thing? Glancing unaccustomedly through the pages of The Pink ‘Un, I was refreshed to find an article – Question of relevance must be addressed – in their Soapbox column that posed a long overdue question or three:
What are business schools for? What do they do? How can they best serve the needs of business and society?”
All good questions, I thought, although it seemed perhaps a little unfair to single out business schools. (We can’t all be managers, and it wouldn’t help if we could.) When it comes to purpose, relationship to both society and the economy, and to upholding their end of some very nebulous psychological contracts, most of higher education could do with clearing its throat and piping up in words of one syllable. The Guardian’s Q&A best bits: Marketing higher education during times of change (first published this April) was an interesting Googlefind, but not an inspiring one in this context.
As it’s always been part of our intention with this blog to publish a range of voices – and we we’re the kind of organisation that likes to make an effort to live by our values – we recently invited the staff here to submit blogs of their own. The rules were simple – be interesting, no politics or religion, and at least try not to swear – but then so was the judge (pauses to blush). And a panel of independent advisors was also on hand to provide opinions on anonymised entries in the interests of fairness.
We have declared a winner – Sally Cristini for her piece, A Well Embroidered Life – but today we’ve published all the entries so you can judge for yourself the diversity of personality and outlook that typifies us. Enjoy your reading – the links to the pieces are all given below:
And please remember - whether you’re staff, an Associate, a client, or just someone who’s stumbled upon this blog and thought “Actually, I’ve got something to say about …” – that contributions and comments are always entirely welcome.
Many colleagues here have also pleaded conscientious personalities and full in-trays, so there are more contributions from here to join these over the coming weeks. Why not join us and have your own say?
Ed
ainsley mcleod
anton franckeiss
robert terry
naysan firoozmand
michael mckiernan
sally terry
elainewilson
chrisjohnrogers
matt evans
The Graduate
