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Archives for October 2008

Are You Playing Enterprise Pinball or Contract Bridge?

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I get to observe and work with a lot of programmes designed to promote an enterprise culture.  Broadly speaking they fall into two types – the pinball machine and contract bridge table.

In Enterprise Pinball there is a glittering array of products and services, buzzers and bells, many of which come with a bouncy castle, a free lunch and the possibility of cheap finance.  Clients are recruited and fired into the pinball machine and aimed at the most appropriate target – pre-pre start, pre-start, start-up etc.  Each buzzer and bell, every service provider is implored to play their part in a seamless system of support for clients – to refer them on to other service providers who can help – until eventually they hit the jackpot – the star prize.  Occasionally the ball might get held in a pocket for a while, racking up points, but all too soon it is pinged back out into the vagaries of the game. 

Sometimes there is no-one playing enterprise pinball.  The flippers are un-manned and stand impassively by as the shiny balls that have missed targets, or have been referred in the wrong direction lose their momentum and sink down the table into the gutter.  Over time some of the bright lights go out, the rubber bands lose their ping and the whole setup becomes a little under par.  Sometimes there aren’t even many balls in play.  Or if there is a player they don’t see the potential of the flippers.  They think in terms of just needing to commission another buzzer or bell.  Another workshop, marketing campaign or a change of provider might just make the difference.  Perhaps it will – one day.  Or maybe we just need a clever piece of CRM software that will help us to recognise which buzzers and bells are not helping to keep balls in play.

The enterpise pinball machine needs skillful players.  Players who can watch every ball, understand their dynamics and goals, and when they lose momentum and drop down the table are able to intercept them and with an almost magical sense of timing, urgency and power flip them cleverly back into play.  Players who really understand the clients and are able to help them to manage their own game of enterprise pinball.

Other projects look a bit more like a game of contract bridge.  Coach and client form a contract for what they want to achieve, and both parties agree to play by the rules.  They build trust and understanding, establishing a relationship that provdes the basis for real achievement and change.  The players are committed to work together until the game is over.  And usually the enterprise game is run over months and years. 

Perhaps the very best enterprise services have both the impressive pinball table of products and services and the contract bridge team working with every client to help them navigate the available support infrastructure.

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Really Social Enterprise…

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Two stories have really hit me in the last 12 months about the nature of real social enterprise in the UK.

The first was told to me by the people of Kintyre about the herring fishermen of Carradale.  Apparently when the herring boats went out, finding the schoals of fish was a pretty hit and miss affair.  Some boats would come back loaded – others would have nothing.  This would mean that some families would eat and others would not.  So instead the fisherman would wait for all of the boats to return at the end of the day and some of the days catch would be given to those boats that had not caught.   Each boat was independently owned and run on a ‘for profit’ basis. But this was not altruism.  It was recognised that although ‘I caught today; I may not catch tomorrow’ – so sharing the bounty was in everyones best interest.  Not only did this serve a genuine economic purpose – the waiting on the harbour side ensured the development of bonding social capital over a wee dram a song and a story.  I believe that there is no longer a commercial herring fishing operation in Carradale.

The second was told me by an old headmaster of mine who was reminiscing that back in the 1940s schools would organise ‘Harvest Camps’ where pupils would go to work with local (for profit) farmers in August and September to help them to bring in the harvest. A kind of early work experience that was essential if the whole community was to be fed through the winter.

Both of these examples show me how our communities used to recognise the value that entrepreneurs brought to the community – but also recognised that at time they needed help and support – and it was in everyones best interest to ensure that they got it.

Now in this day and age it is less ‘fishermen and farmers’ and more likely to be ‘graphic designers and financial advisers’ – but the enlightened community will recognise how it can best nurture and support the entrepreneurs that create real value.

It is my beleif that this deep understanding of how the wider community can support and foster good enterprise is still alive (if not that well) in many of our communities – however it needs re-inventing and re-invigorating for the 21st century.

What do you think?

Motivation Wisdom from Wally

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Reporting on a line in a blog post on the best small workplaces Wally Bock puts his finger on a small but critical nuance when thinking about motivation and engagement.

“”Motivating and engaging workers – and giving them opportunities for professional growth – helps a business retain the best people and ultimately boost the bottom line.”

That sounds pretty conventional. But read it again. It treats “motivation” and “engaging” as something you do to “workers” who, presumably, are different from you and need your help.

“Workers” are people. They can motivate themselves just fine, thank you. They’re quite capable of deciding whether or not to be engaged. “

Spot on Wally.  If we have got workers who are not motivated and engaged the problem lies not with them, but with us and our practices of management and leadership.

You can read Wally’s full post here.