Uncovering Compelling Insights

Steve Portigal. author of Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights, is the founder of  Portigal Consulting. He has interviewed hundreds of people, including families eating breakfast, hotel maintenance staff, architects, rock musicians, home-automation enthusiasts, credit-default swap traders, and radiologists. His work has informed the development of mobile devices, medical information systems, music gear, wine packaging, financial services, corporate intranets, videoconferencing systems, and iPod accessories.

Steve speaks regularly at corporate events and conferences such as CHI, IxDA, Lift, SXSW, UIE, UPA, UX Australia, UX Hong Kong, UX Lisbon, and WebVisions. His articles about culture, design, innovation, and interviewing users have been published in interactions, Core77, Ambidextrous, and Johnny Holland. He blogs at www.portigal.com/blog and tweets at @steveportigal.

Steve was gracious enough to secure a discount code for the book, IUBUSINESS901 for 20% off,  if purchased through Rosenfeld Media, Interviewing Users: How to Uncover Compelling Insights

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CHAT in Activity Theory Thinking

In my mailbox several weeks ago from the website Academia.edu, I came across an article, How Instructional Designers Solve Workplace Problems, co-authored by Dr. Lisa Yamagata-Lynch.  An abstract on the article:

The findings revealed differences between experts and novices with regards to tolerance of ambiguity, expectations about their own roles in finding solutions for their clients, adaptability, attention to appropriate details, and management of workplace stress. The contrast between instructional design processes taught in universities and actual workplace practice was noted by both expert and novice participants. Experienced participants demonstrated adaptability in processes and communications to efficiently arrive at viable solutions for their clients. Expectation setting and relationship building emerged as techniques for creating environments supportive of instructional designers' problem-solving activities.

Dr. Yamagata-Lynch authored the book Activity Systems Analysis Methods: Understanding Complex Learning Environments where she outlines Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). CHAT is one of several theoretical frameworks that are popular among educational researchers because it conceptualizes individuals and their environment as a holistic unit of analysis.  Activity systems analysis is one of the popular methods among CHAT researchers for mapping complex human interactions from qualitative data.

I found the area fascinating and applicability to sales and marketing. I had a great time in the podcast as we explored the world of Design and discussed her present work in Design Thinking and Theory.

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What Dr. Lisa Yamagata-Lynch says about herself:

Teaching Interests
In the classroom I encourage students to experience their own construction of understanding regarding the teaching-learning and design processes. I want my students to be aware of their beliefs regarding this process, and to be aware of what influences those beliefs have on their teaching and design practices. I encourage students to become involved in a dialogue with colleagues and mentors regarding their beliefs, and to become reflective practitioners. Through the activities I facilitate, I want students to pose questions that engage them in project-based problem solving activities. I do not want to promote the impression that there is one correct answer for issues related to teaching and design, but I want students to be able to find their own pedagogical solutions.

Research Interests
I identify myself as a Cultural Historical Activity Theorist (CHAT), and I believe that knowledge is not an isolated set of rules accessed only when necessary, but is a shared entity that is distributed among individuals, context, activity, artifacts, and in the interactions that take place among the above. I also believe that individuals belong in a community that enables them to share and negotiate their knowledge with other members. For the last several years I have focused my research in using activity theory, or more specifically activity systems analysis, for understanding the complex nature of human interactions within a community.

Opening Appreciative Space Process 1

The energy and creative generated in the Appreciative Inquiry process is shapes the interaction in a dynamic Open Space session where participants generate the agenda for a series of working sessions where concrete actions are identified. This process has been used with small groups to organizations with thousands of members. This is part 1 of the 2-part podcast.

 

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John Steinbach has combined the approaches of Appreciative Inquiry and Open Space into his dynamic and positive Opening Appreciative Space process .This process starts with Appreciative Inquiry; a positive approach to change that can be used by individuals, teams, organizations, and communities.  Through an interview process that focuses on strengths and high-point experiences, Appreciative Inquiry helps participants discover and create a desired future.  This dynamic and uplifting process has been used by Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, not-for-profit organizations, youth groups, world leaders, and communities.

John Steinbach has worked to Open Appreciative Space in a wide variety of organizations including GTE, Verizon, Hughes Electronics, Nationwide Insurance, Boeing, Raytheon, GE, Cardinal Health Systems, United Way, American Red Cross, Purdue Extensions services and dozens of non-profits, churches and youth-serving organizations.

3 Tips on achieving Fast, Effective, Sustainable change

Next weeks Business901 podcast guest is Sara Lewis, the Managing Director of Appreciating Change, a psychological change consultancy focused on helping leaders and managers achieve positive change in their organizations. She is the author of Positive Psychology at Work: How Positive Leadership and Appreciative Inquiry Create Inspiring Organizations and one of my favorites, Appreciative Inquiry for Change Management: Using AI to Facilitate Organizational Development .

This is an excerpt from the podcast:

Joe:  If you had three pieces of advice for leaders for achieving fast, effective, sustainable change what would they be?

Sarah:  “I think one would be you don't have to do it all alone. Draw on the collective intelligence of your organization. They want to survive as much as you do, they want to help. There may be some issues in the way they've been treated in the past but it's as important to them as it is to you that this organization continues to do well. One would be don't feel you have to do it all alone. The second would be, humans have evolved in such a way that they need more carrot than stick to be at their best. Because we over‑weigh negative things and under‑weigh positive things, we actually need three times as many good experiences as negative experiences to start to enter the enchanted place of creativity, connectivity, generativity, synchronicity and all the good things that help organizations to move much faster and much more efficiently.

Yes, you need to obviously keep a minimum line on things. But what most organizations need a lot more of is the good stuff pumped into them, so that positivity thing.

I think the third piece of advice, which is a much more generic one, is it's becoming increasingly clear that the leaders who are able to have the most positive impact in their organizations, whatever their style may be, the key thing is this thing about authentic leadership. Part of authentic leadership is being open and transparent in ‑‑ that's the other thing ‑‑ a managed way.

I remember some of the London Business School people said that after all their analysis, the art of leadership boiled downed to five words, which was, "Be yourself more with skill." All of those words are important.

So things like doing difficult things and asking for forgiveness, being humble about the fact that this is not doing it on your own. Everybody here has contributed to what we've achieved this year. Those old‑fashioned in a way is being grateful.

Everybody who comes to your organization helps to create it, does something that moves it forward. There's something about allowing that side of yourself to come through to people, because people do respond and emotions are very contagious, virtuous circles.

If we see people being heroic, we're more inclined to be a little bit more heroic ourselves the next time the opportunity arises. If someone is helpful, we see someone being helpful or someone is helpful to us, we're more likely to do it to somebody else.

You can set off these virtuous circles of very positive interactions, which just have not escalating, but the virtuous circle gets bigger and bigger benefits in terms of performance and productivity in the end.”

Related Information:
Getting Resistance to Appreciative Inquiry?
Lean Engagement Team Book Released
Appreciative Inquiry instead of Problem Solving
The Difference In Lean Problem Solving for Sales and Marketing

Cohesiveness of People and Process drives Profit

Next weeks Business901 podcast is Vivian Hairston Blade. Vivian is the Founder, President & CEO of Experts in Growth Leadership Consulting, LLC (EiGL Consulting, LLC) based in Louisville, KY.  EiGL Consulting focus their energies on helping develop an effective strategy to create customer value. Through a combination of coaching and training, they help you put that strategy into place through change management strategies that create committed leadership and organizational discipline.

I gave the Vivian the perfect opportunity to promote herself in the podcast and instead she continued coaching and adding value:

Joe:  What are your plans going forward?

Vivian:  Well, our plan is to continue to build on this idea of people and process and that cohesiveness between the two that help companies drive growth. As you look at the environment, the marketplace, the economy, and how it changes and how it will change in the future and how we'll need to still continue to be conservative in so many ways especially when it comes to money and finances and investments, to realize that people investment is important, that operational process investment is important as it relates to customer focus and serving customer needs.

Helping companies realize that without that connection and that understanding of why you exist and how to operationally serve the why you exist, what your value is in this customer relationship, without this you won't have a business for very long.

You know, it's unfortunate that we see so many of these companies in today's economy who have been icons in the American industry, your Kodak and your Hostess, Hewlett Packard, so many, even Netflix recently who decided to change both their service and their pricing policy and lost millions of customers. They made a 360 degree turn. And, just in the Wall Street Journal in the past few days there was an article about how they are beginning to now recover their customers.

But, without that skill of listening that we just talked about a minute ago, you haven't a clue what the impact is going to be when you make some of those changes, or do you even really care it's almost too late? So, we're helping companies to have a good ear to the ground on that customer connection and building an environment where employees can thrive toward reaching their career goals and helping the company to achieve it's goals.

Related Information:
Lean Canvas for Lean EDCA-PDCA-SDCA
Lean Engagement Team Book Released
Side Effects of our Desires and Abilities to Empathize
Connecting Continuous Improvement and Appreciative Inquiry

How do you handle inputs into your life? Do you process them effectively and efficiently?

The book A Factory of One: Applying Lean Principles to Banish Waste and Improve Your Personal Performance demonstrates how to apply lean principles to the individual.  It delivers key concepts such as visual management, flow, pull, and 5S. Dan provides these concepts to the individual results in the same kind of benefits: greater efficiency, less waste, and improved focus on customer value. The author, Dan Markovitz is the founder and owner of TimeBack Management, a consultancy specializing in improving individual and organizational performance through the application of lean concepts.

These concepts will be very familiar to people knowledgeable with continuous improvement and more specifically Lean and Six Sigma. However, you do not have to be a practitioner to understand or read the book. When trade terms are used the authors explains them in simple everyday language without losing a beat. Few people other than Dan could have provided a book of this sort. His experience with Lean coupled with many years of providing guidance on individual performance has given him profound insight. There may be others with his depth of knowledge but few that can transfer it into simple, practical and useable information. I found myself reading a “how to” book like a novel. I had to remind myself more than once to bend a corner or mark a page for future reference.

Dan is also not shy about crediting or highlighting others when it fits the application. He spends time discussing Personal Kanban and how he looks at applying it. My favorite part of the book was the part on living in your calendar versus your inbox. That comment in itself added a few more minutes of productivity to my day. His A3, Value Map and Information 5S were absolutely flawless.

Are you going to get 2 hours a day of time saving tips from the book? I doubt it. What you will get is more productivity and feeling better about what and how you accomplished it. It was my New Year’s Day read and I have picked it up every day since then. Not saying you won’t be able to put it down but at this point it looks that way for me.

Related Information:
The SDCA Cycle Description for a Lean Engagement Team
The Resilience of PDCA
Lean Canvas for Lean EDCA-PDCA-SDCA
Successful Lean teams are iTeams

What is a great Team?

In a recent Business901 Podcast, Transforming Ordinary Teams to Extraordinary, Geoff Bellman co-author of Extraordinary Groups: How Ordinary Teams Achieve Amazing Results discussed what makes a great team.  Geoff discussed the 8 points that they found common in those teams and how you can use them to improve your chances of creating a extraordinary team.

What is a Great Team? -

Geoff can be found at http://extraordinarygroups.com/.

Related Information:
Reducing Muda for Others with Kaizen
Balancing Internal and External Lean Six Sigma Consulting Roles
Will Product Managers embrace Open Innovation?
Accomplished Innovator creates an Open Innovation Incubator
A Beginning Step to Co-Creation

Empower yourself before the Team

Razi Imam is an accomplished award winning innovator, entrepreneur, and author. He has experience and knowledge of successfully innovating products and services, launching them in competitive markets, and building world-class high-performance teams.

Razi;s new book Driven: A How-to Strategy for Unlocking Your Greatest Potential is discussed in the podcast and you are introduced to a powerful motivational philosophy. I think you will find the podcast a little different than most of mine as we discuss self and team development. Razi is an excellent and captivating speaker. 

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Razi is the founder of a fast growing software company called Landslide Technologies that is receiving rave reviews from customers, analysts and press. His company has been named 'visionary' three years in row by the leading analyst firm - The Gartner Group. He has also recently founded 113 Industries, an industry-driven business incubator focusing on advanced materials. The goal of this incubator is to help breakthrough discoveries in advanced materials coming from our universities, and government labs become viable commercial products.

Related Information:
What will your workplace be like in 2020?
Change Education, Change the Sales Cycle
The Different Levels of Kaizen
Transforming Ordinary Teams to Extraordinary

Discussion on NLP Techniques and Principles

Tom MacKay of MacKay NLP Solutions believes we can Follow the right steps and Achieve the Life of our Dreams and that’s what we discussed during this Business901 podcast. This is a transcription of that podcast.

Discussion on NLP Techniques and Principles

Tom MacKay is the founder of MacKay Solutions. Tom first trained as a psychologist and in NLP in 1990 and since then  has become one of the most respected NLP  trainers in the UK. Tom is a Master Trainer of NLP, the highest level that can  be attained, and is the only INLPTA Master Coach Trainer in the UK. He has appeared on television on the BBC show “Pay Off Your  Mortgage” and recently filmed a pilot show on family dynamics.

Related Posts:
How does your State of Mind alter your Decisions?
Creating a Great Workplace
Helping Customers to Excellence eBook
Value Stream Mapping your Sales Team
Quallaboration Podcast with Personal Kanban Founder

How long should your meeting be?

Have you always wondered why your problem solving meetings failed before they even started? Did you ever think the actual time that you needed or do you just do it for experience or do you just pick the time slot available?

Most Continuous Improvement, Lean experts know the answer but I am not sure that they translate it into action. If you are holding a Kaizen Event, Value Stream Mapping Session or just working on an A3, we know that 50% of the time should be spent on the Planning side or the big “P” as in PDCA. The problem you have is do you really understand how to schedule that from a time perspective? Well a recent podcast guest of mine, Edward Muzio of Group Harmonics has a great tip on how to use the hourglass principle to help.

How to solve a problem in a group setting during a solution-oriented meeting. Referenced in Chapter 8 of Make Work Great. Amazon Link: Make Work Great: Super Charge Your Team, Reinvent the Culture, and Gain Influence One Person at a Time

If you use Ed’s philosophy in scheduling, you see how that would improve your time management.  Even during the meeting you can make adjustments, know when to take breaks and so on.

Related Blog Posts:
How to have a 22–minute Meeting
Create a Great Workplace eBook
Creating a Great Workplace
what I learned about Kaizen and Agile from Pixlar
Kanban Communication

Insight on Performance

This lively RSA Animate, adapted from Dan Pink's talk at the RSA, illustrates the hidden truths behind what really motivates us at home and in the workplace.
www.theRSA.org.

Great insight on motivation and well worth the 10 minutes.

Dan Pink’s book: Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us

Related Posts:
Can you be talented enough on your own?
How effective does your Sales and Marketing team work together?
Does your customer know why you do it?

Kanban, A Great Organizational Idea

I have been using Scrum and Kanban for a while now and have been finding them very useful. In fact, I like it so much that I am even practicing it on a personal level. Where I picked up the idea of Personal Kanban is from Jim Benson, an Expert in Personal Kanban. He states this:

Unlike other personal productivity tools, Personal Kanban is a pattern – it is not an edict. You can mold it into whatever shape or form works best for you at the time. Personal Kanban is also scalable – it can work with just you, or with your family, or even with work groups.

There are only two real rules with Personal Kanban:

1. Visualize your work

2. Limit your work-in-progress

It’s just that simple.  After you’ve used this “introductory’ kanban for a little while, your understanding of the nature of  you work will evolve. As it does, your kanban will likewise evolve.

InfoPak3 Personal Kanban Design Patterns

View more presentations from Jim Benson.

You can really formulate some great ideas from such simple beginnings. My hat goes off to Jim!

Personal Kanban 101 is a great page to visit.

Technorati Tags: Kanban,Scrum,Scrumban,Agile,Personal Kanban

Employee Referral System

Ok, every once in a while I use my blog for outright promotional efforts. This is one of those times. I have prepared another type of program for you besides that of our typical marketing system. I have just released a new product called Employee Referral System which can be found on Amazon. However, before you jump at the opportunity, please download the Employee Referral Guide from our website at www.youremployeereferral.com .

Deploy Employee Referral system and engage your employees by providing effective and inexpensive incentives to increase their interest and participation. This Employee Referral Solution can lower your recruiting costs by 20 to 50 percent. We have a special offer on Amazon this week where we are going to significantly drop the cost for one day. If you sign up for our newsletter or download the Employee referral guide we will tune you into the offer. Believe me, it is substantial.
Even at full price, this package will pay for itself on your first successful hire.