CULTURE IS A BUSINESS ISSUE

Check out Liz Ryan’s blog on the Boulder Daily Camera’s website, and what she has to say about broken cultures. Her conversation with a CEO was of particular interest, because he started out saying to her, “I must be crazy calling you now, when conditions are so tough in the marketplace. But I think we could be working together more effectively in my company.”

Crazy? From where we sit, the only sane thing to do is devote attention and energy to culture, especially during tough economic times.

Although there isn’t much to disagree with in Ms. Ryan’s blog, we do take issue with her characterization of culture as a “soft and squishy people issue.” Culture is the glue that holds an organization together. Culture is what tells people how to act, what is allowable, how they contribute, whether compliance is the expectation, or whether commitment to the good of the whole is way people should operate.

Our experience tells us that if the CEO really can’t afford to have his best people quitting on him, and he needs “every person’s best efforts,” attending to culture is a hardcore business issue – in good times and bad.

"My instinct says that I'd better dig into this topic now,” he tells her, “before it badly disrupts my business."

His instincts are right on.

MAREN

THE YEAR OF BEING AUTHENTIC

Want to add authentic conversations to your list of New Year’s resolutions?

One of the first steps is beginning to recognize how often we try to manipulate each other with our conversational techniques. Manipulative language is so pervasive in our culture that it often becomes invisible. Creating awareness is the first step toward change. Check out our new poll and choose the manipulative technique you see at work most frequently.

We’d also hear what you think is the most important aspect of an authentic conversation. You can make a selection right here.

May 2009 be filled with meaning, happiness, prosperity and endlessly authentic conversations!

MAREN & JAMIE

OBAMA'S BOLD CHOICE

I support the right of gay people to marry.  I am pro-choice. And I am no fan of most of the perspectives espoused by Rick Warren, pastor of the conservative Christian Saddleback Church in California. 

And so perhaps it will surprise you to know that despite my initial dismay, I emphatically support President-elect Barack Obama's selection of Warren to give the invocation at the inauguration ceremony. The Baltimore Sun today published a commentary by Katha Pollit, a columnist for The Nation, speculated that Sen. John McCain, had he won, would never have chosen a prayer giver so on the fringes and so unappetizing to his fellow Republicans.

But one of the reasons I voted for Obama was precisely that he was not likely to make the same choices as McCain, who might have been tempted to cater to the Republican right-wing conservatives often labeled as the party’s base. I greatly admire Obama’s willingness to engage in authentic conversations with people whose viewpoints differ so radically from his. 

And it’s heartening to see people like singer, gay-rights and peace activist Melissa Etheridge and theRev. Al Sharpton, share my views, because they have true cause to be furious about Obama’s choice.

My personal belief is that putting preconditions on "building bridges" -- wherever they need to be built –- is no way to go. (Jamie and I addressed this issue in the Chicago Tribune op-ed  piece that we authored last week.)

I wish more Americans, myself included, had the courage to engage in honest dialogue with those with whom they seemingly have little in common.

MAREN

TOUGH TIMES, TOUGH CONVERSATIONS

A funny thing happened on the way to being interviewed for an article about how to have conversations with layoff survivors.  A few days before our scheduled interview, the reporter got laid off.

We did the interview anyway, but the venue for the article changed from a national print magazine to a major online news network for which she freelances. As we began our conversation, she told us how bothered she was when her (now former) boss, whom she had known nearly 25 years, told her she shouldn't feel bad because she would land on her feet.

 “Yeah, I believe that is true,” she said to us. “But what I wanted to talk about was how hurt and disappointed I felt, not listen to him telling me how I should feel. But I guess managers don’t want to deal with people’s real emotions.”

 The manager was likely a well-meaning guy who thought he was saying the right things. But he was perpetrating one of the common manipulative conversations that crop up in organizations. 

Here are a few suggestions for having more authentic conversations in these tough situations:

• Acting like everything is okay is not okay. Treat people like adults they are, capable of handing the tough issues, and give them straight information.


• Telling people to “buck up” or assuring them they’ll be OK is an attempt to manage others’ emotions or avoid dealing with our own.


• Before layoffs and after, people are anxious, uncertain, and afraid. Give them a chance to talk about these emotion.

Work is personal -- it’s a huge part of our identity. It may be a business decision, but it still feels personal, and that should be acknowledged and talked about.