Building Alliances PNSQC 2009 Karen N. Johnson
Building Alliances Alliances or Adversaries Collaboration or Collusion Beautiful Results or Ugly Realities Reduce Tension Build Reciprocal Relationships Foster a Collaborative Energy
ALLIANCES
Instinctive Collaboration The most important single central fact about a free market is that no exchange takes place unless both parties benefit. Milton Friedman
Shared Interest In this new wave of technology, you can't do it all yourself, you have to form alliances. Carlos Slim Helu
COLLABORATION
Conducive atmosphere Collaboration equals innovation. Michael Dell
Teamwork Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. Helen Keller
BEAUTIFUL RESULTS
Joy We choose our joys and sorrows long before we experience them. Kahlil Gibran
Balance Live a balanced life - learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some. Robert Fulghum
ADVERSARIES
Secret Battles Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. Winston Churchill
Open Battles You have enemies? Good. That means you've stood up for something, sometime in your life. Winston Churchill
COLLUSION
The Dirty Dozen by Robert Sutton Personal insults Invading one s personal territory Uninvited physical contact Threats and intimidation, both verbal and nonverbal Sarcastic jokes and teasing used as insult delivery systems Withering email flames Status slaps intended to humiliate their victims Public shaming or status degradation rituals Rude interruptions Two-faced attacks Dirty looks Treating people as if they were invisible
Gossip, Secrets, and Lies In an age of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act. George Orwell
Email and Politics By sending a brief memo to a colleague or a superior, you have a paper trail that Backstabber's can't erase. Les Parrott
EXERCISE
Exercise: The Unspoken Alignment Map Irrational behavior can be understood. It only requires that you understand the map being used and the "survival" issues that surface on that particular map. Annette Simmons, Territorial Games
no man s land Legend ~ Circles = cubes Squares = mahogany row Box seats = executives Crown = boss Caped figure = project manager Squiggles = icy road Grid = brick wall No cover, no roads = me
each to their own Legend ~ 3 people = parent company Person @ rainbow = client Jagged path = nonspecific path Straight line = old fashioned hierarchy Little circles = field of users Big Crown = project manager, level 1 Small Crown = project manager, level 2 bumblebees = programmers Island = me
Exercise: The Unspoken Alignment Map Irrational behavior can be understood. It only requires that you understand the map being used and the "survival" issues that surface on that particular map. Annette Simmons, Territorial Games
Map Debrief What observations can you make from your map? Do you know who your alliances are? Do you know who your adversaries are? Does seeing your environment visually in the way you sense it, help you?
BUILDING ALLIANCES: PART II
UGLY REALITIES
Ten Territorial Games by Annette Simmons Occupation Information manipulation Intimidation Powerful Alliances Invisible Wall Strategic Noncompliance Discredit Shunning Camouflage Filibuster
Backstabbing Backstabbers ooze anger. Les Parrott
Shunning Shunning is a childish, primitive way of branding someone as an outsider. Annette Simmons
REDUCE TENSION
Cool Down Let your soul stand cool and composed before a million universes. Walt Whitman
Slow Down The master of strategy does not appear fast. The Book of Five Rings
Seek Clarity Clarity affords focus. Thomas Leonard
BUILD RECIPROCAL RELATIONSHIPS
Teams in Alignment Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. Henry Ford
Sphere of Influence The secret of my influence has always been that it remained secret. Salvador Dalí
Detect Change If you're in a bad situation, don't worry it'll change. If you're in a good situation, don't worry it'll change. John A. Simone, Sr.
EXERCISE
Exercise: Shared Experience Stories are the creative conversion of life itself into a more powerful, clearer, more meaningful experience. They are the currency of human contact. Robert McKee
Exercise: Tell a Story Introduce yourself to someone in the room. Choose someone you don't know. Choose a personal story that involves either an alliance or adversary. Take turns telling your stories to each other. Don't include names; don't identify the company or any specifics.
FOSTER A COLLABORATIVE ENERGY
Virtual Team It shows 'us vs. them,' and I'm on the 'us' side. Dan Quayle
Focus Success is focusing the full power of all you are on what you have a burning desire to achieve. Wilfred Peterson
Shared Success No person will make a great business who wants to do it all himself or get all the credit. Andrew Carnegie
Resources Following are books and references I have found helpful: Territorial Games, Annette Simmons A Safe Place for Dangerous Truths, Annette Simmons A Book of Five Rings, Miyamoto Musashi Inspiring Others: What Really Motivates People, Duke Corporate Education Care Packages for the Workplace, Barbara Glanz Toxic Emotions at Work, Peter Frost In the Line of Fire: How to Handle Tough Questions When It Counts, Jerry Weissman Tao Te Ching, Lao Tzu Working Through Language, Time, and Cultural Differences, Karen N. Johnson, http://www.ftpress.com/articles/article.aspx?p=681403 Difficult People: Working Effectively with Prickly Bosses, Coworkers and Clients, John Hoover The No Asshole Rule, Robert Sutton
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME. CAN I ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS? Karen N. Johnson email: karen@karennjohnson.com