A few years ago, I had the chance to ask Daniel Pink — author of the books Drive and To Sell is Human — if there were any secrets to his exquisite writing skill. After all, he’s sold more than five million books, so he’s obviously made some fantastic writing connections. "Earplugs," he said without hesitation. "When it’s crunch time, and I need to concentrate on my writing, I use earplugs." I’ve tried earplugs a few times — after all, it’s Dan Pink — but for some strange reason, I ended up distracted because (ironically) I couldn’t hear myself think. I’m in the midst of my first ever MOOC, which is the reason for this post. Offered by edX and in partnership with The University of Queensland, the course authors of Write101x English Grammar and Style asked learners to write a 300-word blog post regarding the writing-thinking-learning connection. That’s when I recalled with vivid fondness my encounter with Dan Pink and his earplug writing-thinking-learning connection strategy. I make my connection in two ways with my writing. First, whenever I’ve met with an individual or a group of people, that conversation often triggers something in my brain. An actual connection is made, so I quickly write it down. Typically I use Evernote, the cloud-based app that encourages users to "remember everything". The new connection is often re-purposed for other forms of writing. I suppose it’s akin to a writer’s double-entry journal where I’m thinking and learning about what I’ve unearthed. The second connection often comes in moments of quietude. When I’m on my bike or an airplane, an idea will formulate. Wherever I might be, I will stop to write it down. It then gestates, as I think and learn how it can be used as a golden nugget for some form of prose later on. Earplugs unnecessary. Sorry Dan. <end of course requirement blog post> If you’re wondering why I’ve enrolled into the Write101x English Grammar and Style course … the answer is three-fold: MOOC I committed to myself at the beginning of 2014 to register, participate and complete a MOOC this year. I want to learn about the MOOC culture, and particularly how edX is running their version of MOOCs. I’m honouring my commitment to learn about MOOCs by selecting a course where (I hope) thousands of users will participate so I can properly gauge for myself a) how it works and b) what pro’s and con’s there are for such a ‘massive’ course. Grammar I love to learn, and I love to write. The learning part is easy, the writing part is easy too … although I often make up my own language and grammar rules. (people around me call it "Danism’s" - I believe it’s a term of endearment, but I could be wrong) I thought it would be great to have a refresher on the rules I ignore. I also thought it might be good to learn a grammar lesson or two, given I have equal propensity to think I actually know what I’m doing as a writer. Procrastination I’m in the midst of completing Book #2 but I need a distraction. I could continue to look at real estate properties online — do we knock down a house and build from scratch, gut the interior of another, or just wait for the perfect house to show up on the market, which is likely never — or I might use my time more wisely, by knocking off bullet points number one and two from above. (besides, the book may end up being infinitely better if I up my grammar game and refrain from misuses of semi-colons and colons ad nauseam)         Dan's Related Posts:Our Three Young Children Blog … Here’s WhyLessons Learned From a First Time AuthorIn Honour of Ada LovelaceInstead of Inbox Zero, How About Outbox ZeroI Wrote a 90,000 Word Book Entirely in Evernote

"Thank goodness more and more business and team meetings are being held virtually." "Goody! We’re meeting by conference call!" "If only all of our meetings could be virtual!"

I recently had the chance to reflect on the ‘future of the organization’. I suppose it’s one of my hobbies. Thanks to the kind folks at SAP, my thoughts on topics such as "What is Shared Leadership?", "What If There Were No 9-5 Jobs?", and "What If We Never Meet Co-Workers Face-to-Face?" have been captured and are shared below in video format. Dan's Related Posts:5 Use Cases for a Corporate YouTube in OrganizationsLet’s Stop Penalizing the DreamersPuppetry of the MeanestFlat Army CSTD Keynote as ArtFive Uses for Virtual Worlds in the Workplace

I read with disdain about IBM’s dubious plan to reduce the pay of some of its workers by 10 percent in order for them to improve their skills. Patrick Thibodeau of Computerworld reported the finding on September 15, 2014. He asked IBM spokeswoman Trink Guarino about the initiative: "IBM is implementing a skills development program for a small number of U.S. employees. Under this program, these employees will spend one day a week developing skills in key growth areas such as cloud, analytics, mobile and social." That’s just about the point at which I went into a silent fit of apoplectic rage. Here’s my view on the matter. An employer has the fiduciary responsibility to employees to provide the learning, development and training required for them to successfully perform in their current role. Put another way, an employee has the contractual right to the necessary learning, development and training for them to perform per the responsibilities and actions as outlined in their contract of employment or role description. (whichever makes the most sense) For an employee seeking new responsibilities — and thus a new role or promotion — in the organization, the fiduciary responsibility between the organization and the employee no longer exists. In fact, an employee must earn the right to receive such investment. Simply put: current role requirements is a company responsibility and next role possibilities is earned. (although when earned, the company is making the investment as well) It seemed to me in this example that IBM is applying the sharpest of their nails on the chalkboard of stupidity, eliciting shrieking sounds that have sent animals of all makes into fits of confusing bewilderment. If the company requires these 100 or so employees to ramp up their ‘current role’ skills on such aspects as "cloud, analytics, mobile and social," perhaps they’ve forgotten it’s actually their responsibility in which to do so. If it’s a requirement for their existing role, it’s IBM’s fiduciary responsibility to the employee to provide such development. So, it seems they are in fact doing this … however, how does the organization look itself in the mirror of employee engagement and think that docking the pay of these poor 100 employees by 10 percent is also on the menu of a fiduciary responsibility? It’s appalling. I’m left speechless, flabbergasted and irate. My heart goes out to these 100 people, but so too it goes out to the entire organization. I hope it is reversed for the sake of company-wide employee engagement, not to mention their brand and potential customer backlash. Docking employee pay to improve their skills is dubious if not dumb. Dan's Related Posts:My Definition of Work and an Update on Book TwoAlarming Trends in CIPD Employee Outlook SurveyRedefining the Social Employee5 Use Cases for Badges in the EnterpriseCoaching Should Be An Expectation Of All Connected Leaders

It’s been an exhilarating couple of weeks at Interaction Associates, with several important validations of our work and the issues that we track in the world.

We are in the midst of one of the greatest eras of technological, social and cultural change. Today, mobile and other technologies keep us constantly connected, and this shift has affected how we interact with our families, how we spend our leisure time, and naturally, how we work. This change is creating an opportunity for companies to shift how they think about and conduct the daily practice of work. And businesses are starting to make the shift. According to IDC, the mobile worker population is set to increase to 73% of the workforce by 2016. Interestingly, there is a correlation to workers who are offered a flexible work arrangement and both loyalty and productivity. For example, a Harris/Decima study found that 67% of workers were more loyal to companies that offer a flexible work environment, and 73% stated that that it positively affected their productivity. I work at TELUS, and have done so since late 2008. It has been a remarkable journey, one that I’m proud to be associated with. One particular component to our relative success is we’ve developed something called Work Styles™. It’s a program more than a technology. At its root, Work Styles is a cultural shift towards empowering team members with the tools, resources and support they need to work when and where they’re most effective and productive. To put things into perspective, we’re an $11.7 billion global company with over 45,000 employees. We’ve realized some fantastic and positive outcomes of the Work Styles program, including how it: Increases employee engagement and promotes healthy work-life balance; Differentiates employers in attracting and retaining top talent; Reduces real estate footprint and environmental impact; Produces significant cost savings for the company. How we know it works To confirm the success of our Work Styles program, we commissioned Western University’s Richard Ivey School of Business to conduct a study between February 2013 and February 2014. The study included focus groups and quantitative research to compare office resident, home, and mobile knowledge workers. More than 2,000 knowledge workers and managers at TELUS participated in the research. The study found that Work Styles is associated with many positive outcomes and confirmed TELUS’ belief that the most engaged and productive team members are empowered to work when and where they are most productive. The study also revealed areas where team members faced challenges in a Work Styles environment, uncovering invaluable insight for leaders. Empowering employees to work when and where they are most productive offers four big business benefits: Increased employee engagement: Mobile and at-home employees reported that their work interfered less with their home lives than their in-office counterparts. We credit improved work-life balance as playing a key role in the company’s world-leading employee engagement score which has risen from 53% to 83% over the same time period. Engagement scores for mobile and at-home team members are even higher at 84% and 85% respectively. Attracting and retaining top talent: As an increasing number of millennials enter the workplace, flexible working programs can be a huge differentiator for employers trying to recruit and retain a new generation of workers. We’ve witnessed the number of resumes received into TELUS double since 2010. The study also found that mobile and at-home workers were less likely to leave their jobs. Reduced operating costs: With employees working from home, organizations can reduce their real-estate footprint, leading to significant savings in lease and energy costs. Large companies with offices across the country can also save millions in travel costs each year by investing in tools and technology to collaborate remotely. In 2013 we realized $14 million in travel savings alone, and reduced our overall real estate leasing costs by $40 million with a 40% reduction in real estate our overall footprint. Lower carbon footprint: When companies downsize their office spaces and cut down on business trips, not only are they saving money, they’re reducing carbon emissions by several thousand tonnes. By eliminating commutes, companies can also help take cars off the road. At TELUS, Work Styles helped eliminate more than 19 million kilometers and 1.1 million hours of commuting in 2013. "With Work Styles, TELUS team members maintained their performance, exhibited increased loyalty, and experienced lower stress and less family/job conflict." Alison Konrad, Professor of Organizational Behaviour, The Richard Ivey School of Business (co-author of the study) Other interesting tidbits from the study included: Mobile and at-home workers reported better work-life balance. 98% of mobile workers and 99% of at-home workers reported low to moderate impact of work duties on their home and family life, compared to 71% of resident workers. Mobile and at-home workers demonstrated increased loyalty. 100% of mobile and at-home workers were considered low-risk of leaving TELUS. Mobile and at-home workers were considered equally productive as their resident colleagues. Leaders showed no differences in their ratings of productivity or performance of mobile, at-home and resident workers. We aren’t the only ones to realize significant correlation between a flexible work program and bottom line benefits. In a study where call center agents were given the opportunity to work from home for nine months, Stanford University Professor of Economics, Nicholas Bloom, found that those working from home were more than 13% productive, quit 50% less and indicated they were much happier on the job. Because of the success of the program, we’ve set a goal to have 70% of the TELUS workforce "Work Styled" by 2015. We currently sit at just over 60%. We’ve also set a goal to achieve 90% employee engagement by 2018. Do you think the two are related? I’m confident we’ll achieve both of those goals. If you’re interested in such change at your organization, we can help out too. Or, watch this short Work Styles video to view it in action.   Dan's Related Posts:Five Essential Tips to Effectively Work from HomeFlexible Working WorksGoing Forward to the Past: Management Yahooliganism & No Longer Working From HomeDocking Employee Pay to Improve Their Skills is Dubious if not DumbEmployee Access to Social Media in the Workplace Decreases

In a recent webinar that Patty McManus and I led — "Three Strategies to Succeed at Change (and What to Do if it Goes Sideways)" — many change leaders in the audience expressed concern about sponsorship. The short headline: "Lack of sponsorship can wreck a change effort."

Life can be like an oak tree, with its bountiful or at times sparse acorn crops. Some animals will survive on an oak’s annual output … or, due to a dearth of acorns, they may not survive at all. But each year, the oak tree is there, full of memories from previous harvests, standing tall, trying its best to produce. Some years I feel as though I’ve received an overabundance of acorns from my oak tree, and other years I’m left wondering why I’ve been short-changed. It’s love juxtaposed with pain. It’s warmth surrounded by storm. It’s a rainbow of irony set behind the oak itself. In the end, however, that solid, unwavering, stoic oak tree is my beacon of memories. It’s my tree-ring of the past. I look to it for inspiration and for reflection. Call me the ‘tree hugger’. For Tim McDonald Dan's Related Posts:We Are All BostonFor every fall there is a spring in our stepConnected Leader Attributes Graphic from Flat ArmyThe Fifteen Habits of a Connected LeaderThe Strength Of A Leader Comes From The Tree Trunk

I had the pleasure to speak at the recent 2013 Spring Conscious Capitalism conference in San Francisco, whose theme was Elevating Humanity Through Conscious Business.

I’d be delighted to hear your opinion on the following definitions of "Workplace Mindsets" I’m toying with in relation to my next book. Job Mindset: Employed to perform transactional duties in return for being monetarily compensated. Career Mindset: Working in an occupation to increase the personal girth of salary, title and/or span of control. Purpose Mindset: Passionate and committed to a meaningful & engaging workplace among all stakeholders. I’ve already written the sections that pertain to job, career and purpose mindsets … but the definitions themselves can change. If you have any feedback or suggestions, I’d love to read them below. Many thanks in advance. (and as is customary, I’ll be sure to attribute in the acknowledgements section of the book - after all, what good is a book if you’re not asking for opinion from time to time - even via a personal website) Also, for the five best suggestions, I’ll happily mail a signed copy of FLAT ARMY: Creating a Connected and Engaged Organization. Update: Oct 6 - some edits made based on feedback thus far. Dan's Related Posts:My Definition of Work and an Update on Book TwoWhat Should The Title Of My Next Book Be?My Next Book Has A Title And A Publish DateMy Next Role Is …Learning by Osmosis