David Alfaro: Scrum Costa Rica

I am really passionate when it comes to organizational culture, specially the attitudes and values it comprises. People who choose to be in a company for a while, coalesce around attitudes and values, that’s the lock-in factor.

How to take a sip of a company culture? Go to those corporate/company meetings when every is invited.

I willenumerate the common behaviors in a traditional company meeting, a company that thinks itself living in a Cold War world of secrecy and castes. Conversely, I’ll enumerate the common behaviors of a company meeting that promotes credibility and commitment. Effective leaders realize that Information Workers of today baulk more at any imposed directive. Information Workers grudgingly do something that they consider whimsical or not fully explained.

Old-Fashioned Corporate meetings

• Boring.
• Upper management is seen as Ivory Towers.
• Flaunting Managers.
• Patronizing, overemphasis on hierarchy.
• One way channel:  Management just want to talk, not conversation-friendly.
• TOO formal.
• Technology oriented rather than people oriented.
• Management is noncommittal when asked about goals committed in past meetings.

Engaging Corporate meetings

• Topics provoke interest.
• Upper Management is seen as connection hub for employees and customers, willing to hear.
• Presentations are succinct, result-oriented, but in a “telling story” fashion.
• Managers are humble: no problem in admitting mistakes.
• Informal enough: It’s not a bacchanalia, but is not a mass either. The environment tend to be conversational.
• People oriented (customer, employees) rather than Technology oriented. REMEMBER: Technology is a tool to satisfy PEOPLE. PEOPLE FIRST, then technology. When you think in that order of priorities, you end up with the most advanced technologies, or advanced enough at worst.
• Management commit to specific and reachable goals, and present results in following meetings.

The latter kind of company understands how important is getting people connected, how important is to listen and joining the conversation that employees are already happening in the hallways, and customers are already happening in the streets.