Experiment #1 - Live Meeting

Update on Live Meeting Experiment

All the folk that wanted to try Live Meeting and experiment with this collaboration software should now have it loaded on their PC's.

You can all feel free to follow Bob's instructions on logging on and give things a try. Here is also a link where you can learn more about the program from Microsoft.
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/livemeeting/HA102429721033.aspx


Here's what I learned when Bob showed me some of the features.

It looks fairly easy to use and once we link up we can experiment with the features as we try it out. Some things I learned is that once you link with another person or persons through Live Meeting you can do a lot of things.

• Upload a PowerPoint, Word, excel file and walk people through the document together (you all look at the same document at the same time.
• Also you can all work to edit and change the document together online at the same time. (you can limit who in the meeting can do the edits or open the editing to anyone)
• You can give anyone on the other side of the meeting access to your entire desktop and files within it if you wanted to or just give them access to a software program you have on your PC that they don't have.
• Other features that I saw but didn't try were ways to "poll" a group during a meeting as well as I am sure many other features.

The collaboration seems to need some sort of audio link which could be accomplished through phoning the other party and talking via phone while collaborating through Live Meeting.

For some of us it looks like we can try out some headsets and web cameras to use while we try out the software. If anyone can get some prices on cameras and headsets (think cheap) it will help see what Jim can afford to get us. Plugging in the cameras and headsets and using them for the program is easy.

So feel free to call me if you want some help with getting set up on this and start connecting with others who have the program to try things out. Hopefully next week we can get some details on the camera/headset options and discuss more.

People that should now have Live Meeting loaded;
Aaron Beanan
Courtney Enriquez
Fiona Everett
Amy Bennett
Barbara Kennedy
Greg MacLellan
John Mckelvey
Linda Kermott
Rob

Resistance is not Futile?

As mentioned at our latest meeting I wanted to enclose the recent Blog post that Jim Elliott wrote in his Leadership Blog. It speaks of "Resistance" and how it can be subtle in how shows up in an organization. I especially like the list halfway through.

As many of you do not have access to his Blog here it is. Jim said;

I have wanted to post a blog entry on the subject of resistance for some time, but for some reason have not gotten around to it. So the question is: “What have I been resisting?”

Resistance is a subtle and interesting thing within each individual and group. Unless you are aware and observant you may not readily identify resistance in one of its many forms. And, you may find that you unwittingly participate in the process of resisting while thinking that you are helping move a project or change effort along. Edgar Schein, one of the leading experts on culture says that individuals and organizations resist change when there is a lack of psychological safety. Schein defines psychological safety as the ability to see the possibility of solving a problem without loss of identity or integrity. Without psychological safety individuals or groups will deny data that creates discomfort; in other words, people will resist. This denial of discomforting data is called strategic myopia. (Organizational Culture and Leadership p. 298-300) According to Peter Block, this denial of data or pushing back against the proposed change or project is a reaction to an emotional process taking place within the individual (or group). It is a natural reaction when faced with change, or the prospect of having to address difficult organizational problems.

Block provides an interesting list of what he calls The Faces of Resistance that may help you in identifying when you are working with someone or a group that is using resistance as a tool to avoid change.
Keep in mind that some of these forms of resistance are very subtle and elusive:

Give me more detail – The person (organization) keeps asking for finer and finer bits of information.

Flood you with detail – The person (organization) gives you too much detail.
Time – The person (organization) says that he/she/they would really like to change but the timing is off.

Impracticality – The person (organization) says that he/she/they live in the “Real World” and are facing “Real Problems”, and can find practical problems with any change or solution.

Attack – The person (organization) adopts the most direct form of resistance – attack the change agent directly.

Confusion – The person (organization), after hearing the explanation or description of the suggested change several times, continues to be confused, and resists concepts necessary to understand a situation or idea.

Silence – The person (organization) remains stoically silent and passive in the face of the need for change.

Intellectualizing – The person (organization) “…starts exploring theory after theory about why things are the way they are…” “Spending a lot of energy spinning theories is a way of taking the pain out of a situation.”

Moralizing – The person (organization) "...makes great use of certain words and phrases: ‘those people’ and ‘should’ and ‘they need to understand.’ It is all about those other people, not me."

Compliance – Even when the person (organization) complies with a recommended change with no negative reaction at all, you may find that you have a low-energy agreement that will result in initial compliance, with gradual return to the old systems.(Flawless Consulting – Peter Block, Chapter 8 Understanding Resistance, P. 140-148)

Not every question or push-back is a form of resistance. But, with these thoughts in mind, maybe you will be a little better prepared to identify when you or people you are working with are resisting rather than working together to change things for the better. I suggest reading the chapter on resistance in Peter Block’s book Flawless Consulting for a better description of how to identify and deal with resistance in its many forms.One final note; Schein points out that in dealing with resistance that grows from a lack of psychological safety the visionary leader becomes essential because “…the vision sometimes serves the function of providing the psychological safety that permits the organization to move forward.” (Organizational Culture and Leadership, p. 301)

If you are leading a change effort and feel significant amounts of resistance (which you can now identify), you might ask yourself whether you have provided the individuals or groups that are resisting with sufficient ability to see the possibility of solving a problem without loss of identity or integrity. So, why are you putting off that important project or change effort? What are you resisting?

Thanks Jim!!

Virtual Meetings

Now here is a product with some interesting potential. (Click on the title of this post to be taken to the link).

Innovation in a Lagging Economy

Ok folks, now's your chance. In the face of a tanking economy, and at a time when we are being asked to cut our budgets 5%, how do you innovate with less dollars? Or, how does innovation save the City some money? What are your ideas?

Basic Blog rules of order for your review

OK, sorry to be the Blog spammer lately...

But I thought we should cover a bit of administration up front - Here's a list of 9 things that could be thought of as "rules" for the Blog. We use them on the SCT Blog but don't want people to feel that they should in any way be scared to be forceful and candid with their thoughts and ideas.

1. All Posts should be topic specific, and focused on topics of interest to the group.
2. Posts should be non-personal, related to the topic of interest not other individuals who are participating in the blog.
3. You are personally responsible for your posts.
4. Discussion is encourage. Differences of opinion are valued, and should be respected by all participants in the blog.
5. Your participation should add value to the discussion, and group learning.
6. Follow the law. All of the City policies including those regarding Respectful Workplace, employment, and discrimination apply to this blog.
7. Where appropriate, cite sources, and provide links to material included in your posts
8. To help us keep our ideas organized - Please keep responses in Posts within the topic of the Post - start a new Post if your discussion point is a new idea.
9. Remember that all posts are public record. Although the users of this blog are currently limited to the Innovative Culture members and invited guests, all information contained in this blog are subject to the public records act.

Please feel free to discuss or question any of the thoughts above.

Wake up Innovators!!!

OK Innovator Cultural folk, time to wake up!

Blog post here for you all to check out.

The IT department is planning on rolling out a meeting software product called Live Meeting.

We have an opportunity to pilot test this software if you want to do this and see what it can do. If we give IT the people wanting to pilot it they will let us have it to try out and we can then give our findings and thoughts back to IT for their info as well as find out how this new system might help the City be more efficient.
The software can support video feeds and voice over Internet options but they would only supply the software without headsets or web cams at this time. If we want to be bold we could investigate to see if some innovator holder of money (read Jim Elliott) would want to sponsor some web cams for a pilot.

All right, this is an example of where we can put our Innovative money where our mouth is.

Let me know your thoughts on this by email, phone call or blog post if you want to be a part of this experiment.

How to support a Citywide discussion of Innovative Ideas?

Here is a post that we can add comments to with a purpose to;
Brainstorm ways we can get folks Citywide to be engaged in a conversation on Innovative Ideas. Please comment on this Post (by clicking on the comment spot below this posting) and we can have a discussion on ideas to foster this goal.

(Note if you got this Blog post as an email in your city account then the forwarding process I set up worked - if you want to respond click on the highlighted Blog link in the email and you will be directed to the Blog log in screen. If you don't want to be copied on each posting this way let me know and I will take you off the list)

R.

Challenges and Opportunities

I got involved with the Innovation Group after the Trek 2007 Futuring conference because I saw an opportunity to get creative and address what I saw were pressing needs for the City to innovate or stagnate. Although my enthusiasm has dampened somewhat, I still see some great opportunities and a few challenges before us in the realm of innovation.

The challenges are twofold. First, there is a culture of what I would call historical malaise, or “that’s how we’ve always done it here, and I don’t see the need to change”. This problem seems to pervade every government agency or bureaucracy, and the only way to address it is to either bring in new blood, or force change from the top down. Both options have pitfalls—bringing in new blood generally means you’ve lost some “old” blood, and with it, the institutional knowledge that often helps get things done in an organization. Forcing change from the top down will often meet with resistance from those who don’t want to change, and may result in a loss of efficiency in the organization.

The second challenge is fear of change. Good or bad, change is often fraught with uncertainty, even in organizations that do a good job at communicating with their employees. When people have a fear of the something, they will often revert to their comfort zone, unwilling to stretch themselves and try new things. This type of behavior does not bode well for an organization, and may destroy any chance at changing the organization.

That brings us to the opportunities, which are myriad. I don’t think you would get much argument from anyone who’s worked somewhere else then came to the City, that we meet a LOT. One opportunity is to make those meetings more efficient, and less frequent, through the use of technology. I love the concept of this Blog. We can exchange ideas from the comfort of our workspace without physically attending a meeting. Why not use this same technology to achieve the same end with our day-to-day work? Have you ever sat through a one-hour (or longer) meeting, only to ask yourself, “couldn’t we have achieved the same result with an e-mail exchange?” I guess there is something to be said for the face-to-face interaction of meetings, but when you add in the preparation time and travel time for off-site meetings, it really adds up.

What types of opportunities do you see in a more innovative Carlsbad? Here are some ideas:
Automated Timesheets
Automated Agenda Bill Processing
Extended Service Hours for Citizen
Reverse Auctions for Goods and Services
More efficient and happier employees
More responsive government—happy taxpayers
And, importantly, how do we make progress toward being more innovative, keeping the challenges I noted above in mind? What is our prescription for success?

I would agree that at least two paths were described at our last meeting.

As I noted I am most interested in the path which will help all staff do their job more efficiently and with higher quality. By implementing continuous improvement processes and eliminating hurdles to the process of continuously refining and improving how we do what we do we can start/keep the ball of innovation rolling. These activities will lead to a multicultural organization that can take advantage of new/emerging markets in the local government industry.

This path would be analogous to the “Toyota Paint Booth” article in which their staff was engaged in a continuous improvement process that enabled them to improve their efficiency and their product. As a result of Toyota's systemic approach they have been able to take advantage of their gains throughout the company which has facilitated the growth and success of their company.

I would like to help initiate this incremental approach to improvement and innovation which I believe will lead to gains that benefit the entire organization.

Innovative Culture Folk

Welcome to the Blog!

We have some interesting times ahead and hopefully we can be innovative and use this Blog to have some of those discussions.

I got from our last meeting that we have perhaps a dual headed purpose to pursue,

We have an interest and desire to promote, create, and foster innovation at the City - such as generate new ideas and try them out, or help other departments to find ways to try their ideas out, or research other organizations for new ways for us to do things.

And we also want to take on the discussion of what our City Culture is, why it is like it is, how it helps or hinders our future path to City greatness, and what barriers/changes could be made to encourage a culture shift to facilitate more flexibility and innovation.

Did anyone else attend the same meeting as I did? :)

Please comment / post on your take of what our purpose is.

R.

WELCOME

Our blog is finally set up. I'm not sure if everyone is able to post links to other sites. Thus, if you are unable to and have some you would like listed, please send them to me and I'll add them to the dashboard.