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#3GoodThings:

⁃ Today I saw a man buy ice cream for the little girl and mom behind him in line, because the girl was so excited that she was dancing up and down and it sparked joy. I love it when people do nice things for strangers.

⁃ Good functional upper management. I feel very supported in my role at NewJob.

⁃ Redoing my nails from Halloween bats to autumn neutrals.
#3goodthings
JimmyB (he/him)
I'd be very interested to understand what this looks like:

"Good functional upper management. I feel very supported in my role at NewJob. "

If it's not too intrusive to share?

(Asking as an employer...)
Anna
I realize that’s quite a lot of brain dump, but it’s the things that I have seen make the most difference here. 🙂
JimmyB (he/him)
And I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Our company isn't big - there are about 60 of us spread over the Channel Islands (80%), England, Edinburgh, NI and Switzerland. But we badly want to do better on this than the average.

We are planning an offsite to realign where we are going - I hate the word strategy: so much associated BS - and I want to get my colleagues heads firmly into this space: how do we make things excellent for all colleagues? Listening is a start. And then? 1/n
JimmyB (he/him)
The 'real open door' resonates a lot for me. I want to try to get rid of the us and them thing - but you can't manufacture that. You have to have no actual us and them thing. Decision making and remuneration are at the heart of that.

One piece I'm going to do is to get rid of bonuses (we have a flat % of base right now) and make it into a true profit share. Wondering about opening up board meetings to all to attend - other than items where confidentiality matters.

2/n
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Anna
Yes. There’s always going to be an “us” and a “them” hierarchically, but it’s important that everyone is on the same team, and that they are all able to push in the same direction and present a united front. That doesn’t mean every decision is made democratically, but it does mean that everyone feels heard and valued.
JimmyB (he/him)
There's some interesting stuff about those paid the most wanting to have flat hierarchies. It's largely about left wing / socially liberal guilt. And I suffer from it. On the other hand, there is absolutely no need for the level of hierarchy which many companies put in place - and which just crush creativity.

And yes: eventually, if you try to run a company as a democracy, a) it's really a coop and b) decision making gets very difficult.

More decisions can be shared than are tho.
Anna
Regarding open board meetings: while I don’t know your organization, I would be in favor on principle. Being informed helps to build a sense of ownership among staff, and empowers them to do their best because they are equipped with the organizational knowledge to support their course of action.

To that point, creating a profit share is an excellent idea. That way no one is cut out just because they’re not a “big dog” - every person’s work matters.
JimmyB (he/him)
Yes - I'm going to push for the open board meetings and see what happens.

We've never done performance bonuses. I saw in my career how they just reward shouty men. I'd like to have done equal bonus £amount for all - but couldn't get it accepted. So we've done equal bonus % for all. That works.

Now, we will come up with a formula with equity for all staff - and a dividend instead of bonus. More transparent...
JimmyB (he/him)
The key though is that it has to be authentic. Actually meaningful. And I think open to us making mistakes. A level of vulnerability across the piece - led by example.

But that also exposes us to any bad actors of course, and they do exist. How we balance this is difficult, but definitely moving to more openess, more accountability is important.

Anyway. Thanks for your input. Really appreciated. I'm going to think that through today...

3/3
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Anna
I hope it helps. A wise man once told me that in vulnerability there is strength, and he was right. When we can be secure enough in ourselves to show our weak points, we make it safe for others to share their vulnerabilities and for us to help them in turn.

Bad actors are real. They exist. We do our best to expect the best and prepare for the worst - to trust, but verify.

And yes. Authenticity is vital. Always. That, above all, will attract the folks you want to keep.
JimmyB (he/him)
I'm a leftie so authenticity on wanting to get this right, thankfully is one of the easier parts of my job. And yes - I think it has helped over the years, to attract and keep some really good colleagues. The flip side is that expectations are not always realistic: ie folks have a tendancy to think that because my politics are left, I am not commercial. That's a bit insane but the 'bad actors' definitely act in that space.

I think I have to accept that they will always exist.
Anna
Ultimately, if you can be transparent and honest, if you can treat your clients and staff with respect and dignity no matter what, if you can spend more time listening than planning, and if you can take critical feedback on board and learn from it, I think you’re ahead of many of the organizations I have worked for.

Lean into your values, even when they are challenging. 💚
JimmyB (he/him)
"Lean into your values, even when they are challenging"

That's a funny point. I've just written a slide on that with the line "our stated values don't exist if they crumble under challenge"

We had an opportunity to do some work with a 'gaming' (ie online gambling) company. I said no way. Another director, surprisingly, said 'no way: they just bleed addicts'. Two others said: 'I think we should take the commercial view'.

I was pretty shocked!
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