Discipline makes Daring possible.

Musings from The Disappearing Boss on People, Process and Responsible Autonomy for small-business employers.

Autonomy Rules
October 31, 2018

Autonomy Rules

Take away permanent contracts, well-signposted career paths, and guaranteed salaries – what do you get?

Independence. Autonomy. Autonomy with the sole responsibility to survive, and if possible, thrive, by my measures, on my terms.

Everyone’s a freelancer now.

If you’re an organisation with opportunities to grow, you’re going to have to find new ways to recruit them to your cause.

Command and control won’t cut it any more (not even in the army)

Purpose, agency, mastery and self-fulfilment will.

This is a great opportunity to re-think the structure of your business.

The good news is you can make it better for everyone.

The Millennial Mis-match
October 30, 2018

The Millennial Mis-match

I hear a lot from fellow small business owners about millennials and their younger successors, mostly not good.

“arrogant and entitled.”

“the attention span of a goldfish”

“think they can choose when and where they work.”,

“think they should have a say in everything.”

“won’t be told.”

“can’t stick at anything.”,

“don’t distinguish between life at work and life outside work.”

“aren’t responsible.”

“always letting me down”

I think it’s unlikely that young people today are that different from me at their age.

It’s more likely that there is a simple mismatch of what ‘work’ means.

Like me, millennials crave agency, meaning, mastery and self-fulfilment. They also crave connection. They want to collaborate and co-create, not work for.

They want responsibility.

So why not call their bluff?

Give them responsibility, and the autonomy to deliver on it.

Support them, create feedback mechanisms that tell you and them how they’re doing.

Reward them for the results they deliver, not for being ‘at work’.

It worked for me, and you never know, you might just please everyone.

Traps for the unwary
October 29, 2018

Traps for the unwary

Today I had to pay £14.95 to get out of a car park (on top my parking).

Because the user interface had been (deliberately?) designed to let me forget to take my token back.

The payment console had very visibly prompted me to insert my parking token with an eye-catching animated graphic, but there was no eye-catching graphic to prompt me to take it back again. I didn’t realise my mistake until I reached the exit barrier.

Up to that point I’d had a good morning, spending my money in a local museum coffee shop, a couple of clothes stores and a bookshop.

“There is a sign on the machine.”, aaid the man on the other end of the intercom.

“But I was looking at the screen.”, I replied. “And I’ve never parked here before.”

“That’s just how it is I’m afraid. I’ll send a transaction to the machine for you to pay the fine. It will issue you with a replacement token”

Yes, it was that easy for them to let me have another token to exit the car park.

Oh well. I won’t do it again.

Because I’m never shopping in Maidstone again.

What traps are you laying for unwary customers?

Intentional or not, they’ll lose you business.

image: Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Make my day…
July 5, 2018

Make my day…

This morning, I did a bit of shopping on my way home from my early morning networking. 

At the till, I waited behind another lady, while the woman serving us chatted to an old lady at the end of the checkout.   I didn’t mind, I wasn’t in a hurry, and the chat wasn’t stopping the assistant serving us.

After the old lady left, the assistant explained that this was a regular occurrence.    Every day, the 94 year-old looks in to see if her friend is on the checkout, and if she is, comes in to have a few minutes chat. 

“I like dealing with people.  I don’t have grandparents or parents any more, so I don’t mind, and I think it helps her feel a bit less lonely. “

Both I and the lady before me joined in.   That means that at least 4 people have been ‘seen’ – acknowledged as human beings – in this exchange, that didn’t take any longer than the usual checkout.

“Actually, I think it makes her day.”

It did mine.

Thank you.

 

Frans Hals [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Work, beauty, self-expression
June 19, 2018

Work, beauty, self-expression

Spinning thread by hand in ancient Greece must have been one of the worst jobs ever.

Slow, never-ending, ache-inducing.  

A chore.   All the more so, because as ‘women’s work’ it was almost invisible and under-valued too.

That didn’t stop women wanting to make it personal and beautiful.   So, potters made them these clay spindle-whorls.   Every one different.   Beautifully shaped to make spinning easier, beautifully decorated to make spinning a little more enjoyable.

Our work is what we make it.   There can be humanity and beauty in the meanest of tasks, if we allow room for it.

What if we decided to reward it?

Promise of Value Part 1
June 13, 2018

Promise of Value Part 1

In this episode of The Kent Business Podcast with Ben Abbott, we talk about our promise of value and how small business owners can begin to prepare for the future! Follow Ben on Twitter: Twitter.com/Maximum_MediaUK Use the #KBP to join the conversation!