For all those folks out there that work on bridging teams and systems, you'll be familiar with the importance of building both consensus and storyboards. System functionality can be described and presented in a variety of ways - and if you don't storyboard with your constituents of what they will see & do, you will inevitably end with a solution that you will have to re-engage at some point in the future (unless you are born under a lucky star).
But the other half of matching business needs with system design is gaining consensus. If you are relatively new to this, THIS will take the most time out of your project plan.
If you do it right, you will have to:
Explain the current situation
Explain why something isn't working, not giving them what they expect, educating them on why something won't do something, pointing out 3rd party data that validates what you just explained to them, remind them of their objectives, remind them of the system limits, play judge and jury when two parties can't agree, start all over again, explain again why something isn't working, point out that the current solution is not giving them what they expect, educating them on why something won't do something, pointing out 3rd party data that validates what you just explained to them, remind them of their objectives......
Take a coffee break
Show them the storyboards of recommendations
Explain the storyboards
Explain the storyboards again
Explain the storyboards to the group that weren't paying attention the first two times
Realize that you're out of time during this meeting
Set up another meeting
Start back in gaining consensus by explaining the situation......
And so the cycle continues.....
For all the #nerds and #nerdgirls out there, THIS is why you not only have to storyboard the solution but GAIN consensus!
I don't know about you - but I was taught that things come through perseverance (i.e. no shortcuts).
So as a system designer, I ask the hard questions: what is your expectation? How will this translate as this process gets rolled out to other regions? Can this be easily replicated? Is this realistic (i.e. 80/20 rule)?
On a totally different note, I watch "The Biggest Loser" each season - and there is much controversy going on right now about the crowned winner being too thin. Keep in mind, the winner gets $250k.
Many folks argued that it was against the mandate of "The Biggest Loser" to have a player deliberately go that low in BMI to win the show. Essentially, they are teaching and evangelizing a healthy lifestyle while incentivising folks to get the highest numbers on the leader board.
But even if that did not happen - is not the metric of % of weight loss a flash in the pan metric that - in the grand scheme of things - the wrong metric? How about BMI? How about inches lost? Issues resolved (since so many have health issues)? Should the metric be as simple as percentage of body weight lost?
BTW Couple of things folks: it is proven season over season that the somewhat unhealthy weight that the winner gets reverses itself once the camera and $250k are not on the line.
It is sort of like my conversations with sales management: what do you measure your people on? And when do you call their BS?
A great example of this is when you have a team helping support the quota carrying folks - do you care how many meetings they set up or demos they did? Maybe. Do you care about how many opportunities they created? Maybe. But how about a tangible, repeatable, trend-making fact that would measure how many opportunities/meetings/calls/emails etc yielded in revenue? And taking it a step further, the algorithm if that revenue was from a new source or a repeat customer.
I can show examples of "outstanding" biz dev folks - that when you hold them to a tangible metric versus an arbitrary one - don't look so "outstanding".
The issue is to cut through the BS.
So like "The Biggest Loser", are you looking at the right metric? Is that metric going to serve you short-term or long-term?
(btw - I think that "The Biggest Loser" should do a combination of % lost coupled with BMI in case you were wondering)
Graphic credit: By MR LIGHTMAN, published on 05 April 2012
Understanding what is important to reach your goals - but making sure that the way those goals are measured in imperative in the long-term health of your analysis.
Recently, the hair care company Pantene released a video promotion that captured the phenomenon of "Labels Against Women" - specifically in the workplace. Why are strong, smart, capable legions of #nerdgirls - who are valuable to a company's productivity, culture, and performance - treated this way?
The answer is not a simple one.
Corporate culture, individual ignorance/intolerance, and poor HR policies/interventions can be held up as part of the problem. Personally, I think a big contributor is the idea that, for women to succeed in business, we have to be a) Wonder Woman and b) the same as our male counterparts.
Note to audience: bouncy hair does not make you Wonder Woman.
As the Harvard Business Review stated: Organizations inadvertently undermine this process when they advise women to proactively seek leadership roles without also addressing policies and practices that communicate a mismatch between how women are seen and the qualities and experiences people tend to associate with leaders....The context must support a woman’s motivation to lead and also increase the likelihood that others will recognize and encourage her efforts—even when she doesn't look or behave like the current generation of senior executives.
Even publications that are geared toward men (for example - AskMen.com) have tackled this topic - and despite some of the empirical data, women are routinely put down in subtle fashions every day. Talking over us in meetings, grouping us together by addressing us as "ladies" (condescending tone included), and in the case of #nerdgirls, dismissing our ideas as wrong without even considering them.
So why do women allow this to happen - why are we not hearing about radical change and/or discrimination lawsuits out the wazoo for this behavior to exist?
As the creator of FBomb.org hypothesizes in a Forbes.com op-ed piece, "We addressed laws and policy, but failed to acknowledge or alter the psychological factors that prohibit or encourage women to want to lead and which allow society to embrace female leaders and take them seriously."
I'm proud to be part of an (almost) all #nerdgirl group of people who runs two massive corporate systems. Our mandate is to streamline the system while optimizing it for the business - while going a million miles a minute. I'd like to think that between our democracy in leadership, system knowledge, and our consensus building, we run a pretty tight ship. But like the Pantene video, I could be viewed differently than a male counterpart if I disagree with, or assert myself, to internal constituents.
“These qualities combine to create a leadership style that is inclusive, open, consensus building, collaborative and collegial,” according to Herb Greenberg, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Caliper.
For #nerdgirls who are responsible for systems (i.e "Run the World"), it is important to be strong in our leadership. Just because you disagree with someone does not make you a b*tch. In meetings, you have every right to voice your thoughts/concerns. You do not have to "wait" your turn or feel bad that you are disagreeing. As Joseph Nye (former U.S. assistant secretary of defense) hypothesized: Women’s non-hierarchical style and relational skills fit a leadership need in the new world of knowledge-based organizations and groups that men, on average, are less well prepared to meet..... In the past, when women fought their way to the top of organizations, they often had to adopt a “masculine style,” violating the broader social norm of female “niceness.” Now, however, with the information revolution and democratization demanding more participatory leadership, the “feminine style” is becoming a path to more effective leadership. In order to lead successfully, men will not only have to value this style in their women colleagues, but will also have to master the same skills. #nerdgirls should embrace their leadership and UNITE!
As an FYI, our anthem should be Queen B's "Run the World (Girls)".
