Biz Bytes

The modern workplace has evolved over the last few decades. Supported by technology we have seen the decline of fixed office space, the rise of flexi-desking, and then the rush towards remote working. 

Those that are successful at this have learned that:

• Every business is unique, you can't emulate your way to success
• Technology plays a part, but it is not the be all and end all
• Managers must balance visibility with flexibility - presenteeism isn't productivity
• We need to create the right space for people, and then enable them to use it
• If you aren't sure what's going to work, pilot it.

Because the way we work is a combination of Workplace, Technology, and People.

Success comes when we combine that with Trust, Accountability and Choice,

Which is why in todays climate companies need to build an everyplace working strategy, not just a workplace strategy. 

Today I talk with Jo Monaghan about workplace strategy.

About Jo:
 
Jo Monaghan, workplace strategist and designer, is the founder of ‘The Flow Company’ whose mission is to ”build wellbeing into workplace strategy and design”.

Committed to creating sustainable workplace environments that connect and inspire, The Flow Company puts people at the heart of everything they do.  Their purpose is to create environments that elevate people’s wellbeing by focusing on People first, then Place.  

She is currently working with a number of clients on their everyplace working strategies, as our recent experiences show it’s not all about the office anymore but more about Choice, Flexibility and Trust.

These are exciting times as Jo explore's new models for how and where people work that align with  business strategies and goals she is excited to be leading that exploration.

In the last episode I sat down with Norie Ape to discuss ideas on how to increase diversity in the technology industry. In this episode I catch-up with Hylton Stunnenberg-Southon to continue the conversation.

An experienced digital leader Hylton takes the view that anyone can code, as long as we ensure they have the opportunity to do it.

She challenges society to level the playing fields, especially at school and asks the question "Do we need have specific teachers for technology, or do we need to better equip the ones we have?

Because different cultures place value on different things, we discuss:

• The need to get more mentors around the industry.
• How to make sure we take into account cultural commitments and values such as Faith and Family.
• Why we should be hiring for soft skills, not just academic skills

We also raise the challenge to be talking about the different jobs available in the tech space, not just development opportunities.


About Hylton

Born in the USA to a Samoan mother and Dutch father, Hylton has lived in Samoa, Fiji, Australia, NZ and spent her summers in The Netherlands in the first 9 years of her life, you could say that travel is normal to her! It is no surprise therefore that with Hylton’s diverse background she would be passionate about issues such as gaps that exist in the technology industry now; especially culturally. Hylton has played the role of a mentor both within her workplace and over the years through groups focusing on mentoring school kids of Maori or Pacific decent who are interested in exploring careers within the Technology/Digital industry.  

An abstract dream engineer passionate about increasing the number of Pasifika Women in Tech

That's the LinkedIn tagline of today's guest, Norie Ape. Together we discuss some of the reasons behind why only 2% of New Zealand's technology industry is classed as Pasifika or Maori - despite those cultures making up 25% of the population.

And the numbers get smaller when you add other diversity layers.

So how do we solve this?

Norie provides a simple view:

Provide people with a pathway, and connect them with the opportunities. And remove the perception that you need to be a certain person with a certain skill

In a wide ranging conversation, we cover:

• The value of Cultural Intelligence (CQ) in your organisation
• Why having the same crew solving problems will always result in the same outcomes.
• How, by virtue of having different thought processes, the conversation goes in a different path

We also look at some big ideas:

• What role models do we have?
• Why does the industry prescribe a particular degree?
• How do we change the perception of tech to be more than just development?

Because if we want the products and services across the country to be reflective of society, then we need better representation

About Norie:

Norie, a Samoan digital product owner from the Mighty Auckland, is a passionate Blues supporter with experience within the government and private sector. What she loves about her role is the continuous engagement between tech teams & business teams to iteratively design, test, develop, implement and measure the success of customer centered products and services. When she's not refining her list of places to brunch in Wellington City or trying to promote and increase the number of Pasifika People and Pasifika Women in the technology sector, you can usually find her testing out in workshops or office corners ways to open up technical and process designs to be more innovative by encouraging diverse thought patterns and processes OR sharing stories of how she went from Case Manager @ Work & Income with an Honors Degree in Foreign Policy to a Digital Product Owner. In short she likes hearing, sharing and experiencing awesome stories and life experiences to help unravel narly problems.

The last few decades have seen the emergence of the social enterprise.

Businesses that create profit to deliver on pupose and leave a sustained impact

For New Zealand this means companies like Eat My Lunch, Kilmarnock, and Ecostore. These are companies who don't see profit as a dirty word, but as a way to do good things

Constantly looking for tools to help them out but, unlike charities, these companies are not as constrained by budgets.

And that's where technology companies need to show how to connect what they offer with impact and purpose.

They need to provide solutions that are scalable and grow with the business.

Showing how they can solve problems

And above all, answer "what's in it for me"

It's as much about values as it is value.

Because people are motivated when it's clear that you are driven by more than just profit

In this episode I talk with Sheridan Jamieson about Social Enterprise and how technology firms could look to support them.

About my guest:

Sheridan lives a dual life as an independent consultant for his company, Seedling Consulting, and as Head of Operations at One Percent Collective. This experience combined with his time spent in the financial services sector mean he’s got a wide-ranging view of what ‘being in business’ means. Sheridan is passionate about social enterprise and grass-roots charity and wants to help purposeful and impact-led businesses to thrive.

DevOps.

Its more than just the sum of it's parts - Development and Operations

It's a software development approach that ensures that the people writing code are now responsible for the outcome of the design, not just throwing it over the fence to be someone else's problem.

In a world where IT and the business they serve are increasingly aligned in their strategic goals, DevOps is becoming a way to ensure that software development is now a product and not just an activity.

It's removes bottle necks from your delivery cycle in order to deliver faster outcomes for your customer, better.

But where do traditional technology roles and practices fit? What do you do with the technology you already have?

And how to you combine activities which are fluid with practices that are seen as bureaucratic?

In this episode I talk with Jakob Diness, my first international guest, about DevOps and why you should treat technology like cattle, not a pet.

About Jakob
Based in Denmark, Jakob is a Digital Business Consultant.

He is an IT Infrastructure Library (ITIL) Expert certified trainer having been teaching ITIL courses for several years.

As a consultant with BusinessNow his focus is advising large and medium-sized companies on their digital journey and transformation with ServiceNow as the central platform.


Linkages to previous episodes:
Ep 14. If you can't give certainty through change, give clarity - Christy Law

Books we reference: 

1. The Agile Manager: Dr Cherry Vu and Robert England
2. A Seat at The Table: Mark Schwartz
3. From Project to Product: Mik Kersten
4. The DevOps Handbook: Gene Kim, John Willis, Patrick Debois, Jez Humble

And if you want to know more about the Phoenix Project, talk with Jacob Diness or James Gander at https://www.gander.co.nz/

Are you in the business of selling?

How do most of your sales conversations go? Mostly good. Or mostly Bad?

Why is that?

Sure, you've got all the tools you need - A CRM, a lead management funnel, beautiful PowerPoint presentations,

But tools are only one thing. Sales is built on one simple factor.

Trust.

What actions do you take to build trust with your audience?

Are you talking to all the people you need to to make the sale?

Are you solving customer problems, helping them see "what's in it for me"

Or are you spending most of the conversation selling the message as to why your product is the best?

In today's episode I chat with Alex McNaughten about techniques that make an effective salesman.

About Alex

Alex is the the founder of Sales Leaders where he looks to address the Sales Capability Gap, helping  ambitious companies and sales professionals (primarily in the technology space) solve more problems globally, through effective selling!

Alex is passionate about the science of selling and accelerating the impact companies in the Southern Hemisphere make both locally and on the global stage! His motto is Be Positive - Confidence is Contagious! 

That system your business has been using for 20 years... how good is it?

Sure, it might be working, but is it working well? And does it allow you to run your business in the most effective, efficient, and economic manner?

Technology has evolved to the point we can do what we want from anywhere in the world, but many still don’t invest to enable that

Just like how we change our cars to suit our lifestyle, or our cell phones to get the better model, businesses should be upgrading their tech to ensure it is fit for purpose - it is no longer possible just to make do,. 

The technology is there, how businesses choose to use it will differentiate them from their competitors.

We've seen the evidence of this through recent events- those companies which had moved to modern systems were able to recover faster.

Those that are still on legacy systems didn't. 

My guest today is Sam Mitchell, and together we talk about upgrading and maintenance of technology and the impact it has on your business.

What does KFC running out of chicken have in common with how companies respond to a pandemic?

Both rely on a business continuity plan to recover

Whether it's a pandemic, a natural disaster, or something that could impact your reputation, a business continuity plan (BCP) will show you what steps you need to take, who you need to engage, the messages you need send, and how you will recover your business.

Because in the digital age, the world is watching, and how you respond will impact your reputation

Today I talk with Laura Toplis about BCP.

We explore:

• What elements should be considered
• Why a Business Impact Analysis is crucial
• The need to keep your BCP up to date

And we discuss recent examples of where companies have handled a crisis well, and where they haven't

About Laura:
Laura Toplis was the Business Continuity Coordinator for the New Zealand Ambulance Service and has developed a product from her experiences called BCP Builder – an Online Business Continuity Plan Template. 

BCP Builder helps small and medium sized businesses quickly design and build their own unique ISO22301-compliant business continuity plan, to be better prepared when disruption strikes to respond rapidly and recover confidently. 

Electric ferries.

What's the first thing that popped into your head? 

Perhaps it was limited range
Boats running around with a long extension cable
Or significant downtime while the boat recharged
Or more expensive boats?

How about this though:

Quieter journeys
Less operational pollution
Fewer boats needed to meet the same demand
No downtime while boats recharge
A fleet that is dynamically managed to suit passenger demand

A different viewpoint right?

That last one is particularly relevant - despite a significant population increase, Auckland has only recently got back to the levels of public transport utilisation that we saw in the 1950s

But some of our infrastructure is in need of an upgrade, and the answer is electric ferries 

Because Public transport is no longer for people who don't have a car

And it doesn't just benefit Auckland 

My guest today is Michael Eaglen. Together we talk about the techonological advances that make electric ferries not only possible, but the right choice.

Michael Eaglen is co-founder of EV Maritime, a New Zealand maritime technology business focused on a zero emission and low emission future for the inshore commercial maritime industry.  

Electrification and hybridisation is the fastest-growing sector in the global maritime industry and EV Maritime has found the niche in which to deploy New Zealand’s best specialised expertise.  EV Maritime takes the best of world-leading New Zealand talent, spanning America’s Cup designers, internationally-respected structural and electrical engineers, multi-award-winning boat builders and pioneering propulsion innovators and focuses their collective efforts on decarbonising the harbour cities of the world.  

Their first project is electric fast ferries: they have developed ferries which can fully electrify the whole of the Auckland Transport fleet and, they believe, cement a vast global export opportunity perfectly-suited to the best strengths of the New Zealand marine industry.

If there is one thing that we can bank on, it's that Change is constnat 

And we also know that people will react in different ways to change. Uncertainty, confusion, and the age old question of "What's in it for me?" will play a role in how each person reacts to change. 

Which is why the messages you send around change are importnat

You need to respect boundaries, and be aware that the things we say (and sometimes the things we don't) will matter. 

And it's never the big things that catch you out, it's often the small things and if you get it wrong it is very hard to walk it back. 

So how to you get this right - especially when trying to deal with competing outcomes?

Focusing on the outcomes you are trying to achieve, even when they might be in competition with each other,  is a critical step

Elimating Jargon is also important, keep the message clear, concise, and void of any confusion.

But what does a SCARF have to do with change? 

My guest today is a good friend and former colleague, Christy Law. 

Once upon a time Christy wanted to be an Astronaut. And like Apollo 13, she knows that in change, it’s not the big things that you need to watch out for, but the little things - or the things that seem little - that turn into the big surprises. An experienced change leader, Christy is a go-to for her pragmatic approach and her passion for building the next generation of changelings.

In today's episode we discuss the approachs to good change .