Birthday reflections: Give it away

My birthday and the anniversary of Sideways Thoughts are around the same time, which provides an opportunity to use my thoughts here to reflect on what was, assess what is, and propose what will be.

As I have previously quoted Frisch: “Every man invents a story for himself – which he often, and with great cost to himself – takes to be his life.” I invite you to join me in my story, in that it may provide some value in the story you are creating for yourself.

Business

The previous five years have been defined by the rapid growth in my digital studio from ten to sixty staff. In 2012, the Australian mining boom became less boom-like, impacting most industries across Australia. Conversations about growth turned to discussions about cost efficiencies and reduction. The State government targeted over 10,000 redundancies and unemployment rates increased from 5.1% to 5.6% over a few short months.

Heading into the last half of 2012 as General Manager, my thoughts were on efficiencies from effective supply chains and more effective engagement for measuring activities. My thoughts turned to strategy as I observed and responded to a very reactionary and changing market. I wrote about the role of strategy in what can feel like an organisational whirlwind, compared how other major retailers defined strategy, assessed where strategy sits in relation to vision, and used those reflections to propose a 10-step step planning framework.

A commercial downturn can result in a survival mentality. Short-term pursuit of profit and efficiencies take precedence over a long-term view perspective that considers people or the environment. This was evident in 2007 during the global financial crisis when environmental sustainability was no longer as prominent in the media or board room discussions. I considered this as I challenged the notion of referring to people as resources and an increase in autocratic leadership approaches as the human “resource” becomes less scarce and employers have more options in an increasingly challenging environment.

My studio responded to challenges by continuing to diversify across industries and technologies while at the same time investing in controls and process. As part of these changes, my role changed to Senior Digital Strategist to support expansion into new markets and establish key collaborative relationships.

I approached the change as a process, making a few mistakes and achieving some success.  I continue to learn from both. I reassessed where emotional intelligence fits in personal change and the role of language driven by our underlying thoughts.

From a practical perspective, I looked at structures to manage the sales process. I also used Susan Scott’s Fierce Conversations as a foil through the transition. I posted about embracing the notion that every conversation we have is often a projection of ourselves, the need to identify and address core issues head on, embracing what is mine to own as “CEO of myself”, and the importance of each conversation.  I will perhaps reserve a play-by-play of the process for some future memoir.

Digital

The change in role shifted my focus towards how technology is changing the way we do business and the way we live our lives. Examples of areas I looked at include Gartner’s eleven technology predictions for 2013, Digital Business Insights research into how businesses use technology, and the IBRS framework for mobile strategies.

Social Media also plays a big part in how technology is impacting consumer behaviour and corporate profits. I continue my annual social media “state of the union” assessment where I take a macro look at the space using my 66+ social media memberships. I looked at Facebook network analysis and what the Massive Open Online Course movement was doing to education, I considered how the new MySpace redesign is positioned for celebrity of self, and gained insights from Jux closing down.

My observations are also based on my personal experience. I explored personal expression through Tumblr and a professional channel through Blogger before bringing everything back into a redesigned Sideways Thoughts.

Technology changes are causing significant, consistent and pervasive disruptions across multiple contexts for both companies and individuals. The disruption in the technology space requires companies to be very clear as to where their companies are positioned as a service or product offering. From an individual perspective, the technology changes are causing wholesale changes to career paths and opportunities to enter and disrupt the field.

People

This brings me to the third and most important focus area of the past twelve months: people.  I see people as the lynch-pin in the cross-section of business and digital.

I am passionate about understanding how we tick and what it means.  I try to look at the ordinary and see how it applies to the everyday in extraordinary ways.  I began a series on James Bond life lessons, started getting involved in social justice group TEAR, and explored how fear impacts on leader’s decision-making processes.  I became aware of and passionate about the challenges of gender inequality and how it relates to the IT industry.

Last year also saw two significant personal transitions. First, my daughter graduated high school  and started the next phase of her life into university. There is a subtle shift in the feeling of being the father of a high school student compared to being the father of a university student.

The second event was I completed my Masters of Applied Social Science (Management). I am now exploring what I do with the degree and the next steps. The degree exposed me to just a small sample of what there is to know about how we all work together. It has been a catalyst on a life-long journey of discovery in the social sciences.

What’s next

In previous years I looked for meaning in the growth as I worked to build a company and client brands. This can be an empty endeavor, as I wrote about in my article on defining meaning in times of uncertainty.

My focus has now shifted to defining for myself meaning in what I do. Within my three areas of competency, I search for ways to help people realise their full potential within the organisational context in which they serve.  I do this by helping others as much as possible with whatever skills and experience I have that may bring value to their efforts. In addition to my efforts with work, this sees me support on the board of a not for profit that teaches values to young people and develop business plans for teams building community development programs.

My intent is to “give it all away”. I observe that those who are afraid of losing what they have end up gaining very little, whereas those who give freely appear to have much of what really matters. I believe I would choose to be the latter.  I am looking forward to seeing how all this shapes up over the next several months and sharing posts here that reflect my discoveries.

A final note: all this is only possible thanks to the support of an incredible life partner, Theresa. Theresa is launching into her own transition with her doctorate on a positive perspective on what spirituality could look like.

Thank you for joining me on the journey. Hopefully I add value to what it is you do. If so, please feel free to drop me a line below. I look forward to hearing your stories and sharing mine over the next twelve months.