„All of this, it is imperative to add, takes on special urgency in the face of the change we will confront in the near future. One Oxford study suggests that fully 50 percent of American white-collar jobs are at risk to artificial intelligence in the next twenty years. And that includes the high end of the labor force. As Nicholas Carr said in „The Glass Cage: Automation and Us“, „The intellectual…“ 1/
(Foreword to Rich Sheridan‘s „Chief Joy Officer“)
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„… talents of highly trained professionals are no more protected from automation than is the driver's left turn.“ While there is dramatic disagreement among very smart people about the timing of "all this," to my mind change of this nature introduces a new, moral imperative into enterprise management— right now.“ /2
„Remember from above: "Act in a way that expresses care, hope, love, and joy." Business is about people. Damn it! Business is about caring about people, respecting people, helping people grow - helping people grow beyond their wildest dreams and grow as good people.“
„Helping people grow and develop and lead more rewarding lives is the topic of this wonderful - and, to my mind, unique - book. And, by the by, it is a terrific and doable way to run a growing and profitable business of 2 - or 1,002 - people. Bravo and thank you, Rich. And bravo and thank you, Menlonians, for leading the way and showing all of us what's possible. (Tom Peters, 01.03.2018)“
„If I wanted to create an environment where others and I could work with pride, I needed to find a new operating model. The one we had - and the one I saw so many in companies around Ann Arbor and around the country - wasn't working. We needed to replace the traditional model, which was marked by fear and bureaucracy, with one that allowed teams to bring their whole selves to work every day. This better model would support a collegial and productive environment, where innovation and…“ 1/
„… imagination helped foster practical inventions that would serve and inspire customers. That creativity and innovation, in not just product but process, would also power the team's energy, creating a kind of human perpetual-motion machine.“ /2
„Building a joyful company was my big dream. And to up the ante even more, I wanted to implement this joyful dream in an industry not exactly known for delighting customers or employees-software design. My industry coined the phrase "death march" in a business context. We were well known for all-night coding sessions and poorly managed and buggy products. What was I thinking, trying to make such radical change in a field like that? Perhaps the canoe camp was a good idea after all.“
„My partners, colleagues, and I got to this place with a deliberate focus on two intertwined keys: culture and leadership. In other words, we entirely rethought how the team interacted with one another, with customers, with other stakeholders, with their work environment - this is culture. We also rethought how leaders define the company's purpose and get everyone aligned around common systems and expectations to get real work done, constantly iterating and always…“ 1/
„… improving themselves, their peers and employees, and the whole team. […] I went deep into Menlo's joyful culture in my first book, Joy, Inc.“ /2
… which indeed positively blew my mind 🤯, see:
https://mstdn.social/@alexthurow/110204603652788556
"Missed Rich Sheridans @menloprez
inspiring Talk at the #SGBER ? Here is a shorter similar version online http://youtu.be/Oe8VTi3m8U8 #agile #joy“
(Sebastian Sanitz - https://twitter.com/Sanitz/status/515402934398361600)
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„Joy at work seems like such a simple idea - just make everyone happy, right? No! Embracing joy at work means fighting joy's greatest enemy: fear. And unfortunately, leadership based on fear is the status quo for nearly every organization and bureaucracy.“
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„ […] fear of our shareholders drove us to ship inferior product. Fear that our programmers would screw up drove us to invent arcane systems of trying to test quality into their work. Fear that we would ship two weeks after our competitors drove us to cut every possible corner just to get something out there that simply disappointed everyone. Fear that we weren't working hard enough or smart enough led to incessant demands for overtime.“
„Even little moments in the workplace reek of fear. When a senior leader cuts off someone speaking at a meeting? That's the leader's fear - of being an imposter, of needing to prove his or her authority, of being "Found out," or of being outshone and losing rank. Every written formal memo about working hours, workplace attire,* etc. Yep, fear. […] I have good news and bad news. The good news is that it's possible to create an organization free from fear, where people bring their whole…“ 1/
„… selves to work and the full range of their potential, energy, and talent is put to the company's benefit. (That's what you're paying for, isn't it?) The bad news is, the path there is anything but comfortable. It involves letting go of most of what you've learned or experienced. It means changing what you believe about the people who work for you and with you.“ /2
„I will use tangible and practical examples from our experience at Menlo (and those of a few other companies) to show you that a more joyful, more human, more fulfilling path to leadership is not only attainable but imperative for survival.“
„Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
Whether or not we want to believe Gandhi's words, we all have to admit we've seen them play out over and over again.“
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„Several years ago, my cofounder James Goebel conducted an exercise to understand our beliefs and values as a team. He met individually with nearly every Menlonian and asked them a simple question: "If you left Menlo to start your own company, what three team members would you take along with you?" He listened as Menlonians spoke about the others on the team they most valued and why they would choose those specific few to go with on the precarious journey of entrepreneurship. He wrote…“ 1/
„… down the words they used on note cards. Afterward, he looked for patterns and began simplifying the notes into a single artifact organized by guiding principles and critical behaviors - and visible actions that give us evidence that the critical behaviors are at work - which together make up what we value. From the team's answers, James identified three guiding principles, which clarify how we want to see ourselves and how we want the…“ 2/
„… world to perceive us:
Create meaningful, sustainable, positive, human impact.
Always demonstrate integrity and authenticity.
Act in a way that expresses care, hope, love, and joy!
These guiding principles act as Menlo's decision-making guardrails. We can improve the speed of decision making if we consider that each decision we make is consistent with these guiding…“ 3/
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„… principles. If we behave consistently with these guiding principles, there isn't much need for checking in with each other to see if we are doing the right thing.“ /4
„James also codified critical behaviors and visible actions that exemplified those behaviors. Behaviors are the general norms of how we intend to act; visible actions are the leading examples of those behaviors. Now remember, this is what Menlonians were seeing in each other. Thus, while these behaviors and actions were aspirational, they were also real. This is the list James came up with based on these…“ 1/
„…conversations:
1.) Be Responsible by working with focus, being transparent, acting with discipline, and practicing servant leadership.
2.) Be Effective by using systems thinking, simplifying, making decisions, finding compromise, and acting proactively.
3.) Grow by fostering inquisitiveness, determining intrinsic motivation, reading, teaching, and mentoring compassionately.
4.) Nurture Healthy Relationships by assuming good intent, putting…“ 2/
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Alexander Thurow