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Featured Article
This edition's featured article is from The Harvard Business Review and is called "How Pixar Fosters Collective Creativity"
By Ed Catmull
You know the company that created such awe-inspiring films as Wall-E, Toy Story, and The Incredibles, well this article gives a peek into what makes their teams tick.
Link to Article
Featured Book
Author Daniel H. Pink offers a fresh look at what it takes for individuals and organizations to move from the Information Age to the Conceptual Age
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THE MOJO CHRONICLES
Staying Up In Down Times
 Is it my imagination or is business a real bummer these days? How much bad news can we generate at one time? Those of you that have the challenge of leading others in small or large organizations have got it rough these days! Along with the standard difficulties inherent in corporate activity, you have the added pressure of giving us all a reason to believe that there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
Here I am ready to go to work and I fear checking the daily news as I already know my 401k is disappearing, those stocks I wanted to "play" with are in the toilet, my gas tank is empty and ready to swallow $100 of Earth poisoning fossil fuel and my boss is worried about his own job! What's left - a virus in my email? Oh yeah - my other house still hasn't sold!
This reality is playing out for your staff and is distracting us from the real opportunities that exist in our present economy. Is this blind optimism or good old denial? Neither - it is the "Silver Lining" of difficult periods - the fact that Need generates Opportunity! One of my favorite quotes is by the great industrialist Henry Kaiser who said, "Problems are only opportunities in work clothes!" The challenge is in looking past the problems to see and focus on the opportunity.
Here are a few suggestions:
· Schedule more one on one time with each of your direct reports. What better time than when things seem slow or the phones aren't ringing to connect and listen, coach and mentor? Get involved in the day to day challenges of your people, vendors, and support people. This time will also give them a chance to know you better as well.
· Upgrade your skills and the skill sets of your staff. Either individually or as a team, training and development plans can be a tremendous boost to self esteem and optimism for the future. Some great ideas may surface while engaging in learning together. Set a time for everyone to share or make a presentation on a class or growth project they are involved in.
· Choose several of your core systems and procedures for a process review. Make sure everyone is on the same page, clarify important guidelines and look for streamlining opportunities, new technology and outdated activities. Reward new ideas and improvements and encourage "out of the box" thinking.
· Review short term goals and set expectations so that "little wins" stand out and others can see things moving forward, no matter how small. This is also a great time to celebrate in fun ways and create fun competitions and games that reinforce key company strategies. You might actually find yourself having fun as well - it can be contagious!
Check out our featured article from HBR, our book o' the month and our guest contributor piece by Mark Hensen, CEO of a really cool place here in Columbus called Sparkspace. Let's use these "down times" to get ready to soar in the coming recovery. Email your own suggestions to us here - dave@worklifeonline.com to share with our readers. After all, we're all in this together!
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GUEST CONTRIBUTOR Loyalty Through The Storm
by Mark Henson, chief imagination officer, sparkspace
Columbus was rocked by a wicked-bad windstorm a few weeks ago (remnants of Hurricane Ike). The whole city looked like a war zone, where the enemy focused mainly on trees and power lines. 2 million people in Central Ohio were without power for at least a few days.
Where do people go when the power is out and they need some comfort, socialization, and a good Internet connection? PANERA!
As I sat in my favorite Panera during the power "crisis," the line literally snaked out the door. And almost every table was full. AND every outlet was taken with someone charging a cell phone or computer.
Many other businesses in the area had power, including Starbucks and Caribou Coffee. I passed both of those shops on the way to Panera. Neither of them had a line out the door.
Here's why Panera rocked to the rafters and the others did not: they've simply done a better job providing a great product, great service, and a great environment (including free Wi-Fi...the largest free Wi-Fi provider in the country from what I've heard) all day, every day. It's consistency, consistency, consistency. And that has created an amazing sense of loyalty that's really cool to see.
I overheard the manager say they were probably going to run out of food in the store because of the crowds. Can you imagine that? What a great problem to have!
The lesson I'm taking from this is to make sure that my product is high quality, my service is world-class, the environment I create is inviting and welcoming, and most importantly, that I consistently deliver all of those things. I'd like to be the one people turn to in a storm, wouldn't you?
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