Does That Even Work, the growth show for mid-market companies

This episode was interesting to work on. Turns out offices are wonderful to poke fun at. Here is some of the research I did for the episode. Some of it has to do with the open plan office, which is not the same as cubicles. Open plan offices don't have the cubicle walls (obviously) and are even worse for productivity than the cubicle farms.  Jason Fried started a company called Basecamp, which is a hugely and (at least in the web design industry)  project management tool helping them to manage projects and collaborate with clients. He has a TedX talk with nearly a million views on why people don't like going to offices. Click here Oliver Baxter quoted Gallup's research. I've used the same research in my consulting practice. They have a lot of tools and interventions that you can get from them. Here is a report on their 2016 findings. Oliver Baxter works with the Herman Miller Insight Group, which is responsible for the commissioning, overseeing and presenting of Insights into the latest thinking in workplace design and associated issues. The subjects covered include Happiness in the workplace, Generations at Work, Creativity in the Workplace, Agile Working and the Psychology of Collaboration. He tweets at @HMInsightMEA. Here are the links he promised. Click on the links for Herman Miller's "Living Office", or case studies here (Mass Design Group), here (Slack and Company) and here (Tavistock). Case studies:    Here's their paper on how to catalyze your workplace for growth (and remember his tip: 20% spike in engagement by letting people work from home one day a week).  Geoffrey James wrote an article in Fast Company about the open plan office. https://www.fastcompany.com/90285582/everyone-hates-open-plan-offices-heres-why-they-still-exist In the article he links to another piece he wrote back in 2016 on how implementing the wrong office design is like stepping over dollars to pick up pennies. https://business.linkedin.com/talent-solutions/blog/hr/2016/open-office-plans-are-a-lot-less-cost-effective-than-you-may-think And I commissioned office comedy from Josh Murphy. He's on twitter at @JoshPMurphy For productivity coaching, design thinking workshops and strategy sessions, contact erichv@stratervation.com If you want an idea covered by the podcast, please mail ideas@doesthatevenwork.com Oh: And if you wanted to hear more from Claire Rousell, she's no longer in academia and didn't want to post her social media links. Additional reading. The Ladders is an excellent on-line magazine, really brilliant, for all things work-related. https://www.theladders.com/career-advice/report-working-anywhere-but-your-desk-makes-you-more-effective

In this episode we examine Natasha Jen's claim that design thinking is bulls**t. We spoke to Austrial-based Ingrid Gerstbach, Design thinking consultant, author and speaker (site in German but she speaks good English and does work in the UK as well). Gerstbach's Design Thinking podcast: https://ingridgerstbach.com/podcast Her books are also available for sale on her site. Natasha Jen on Trust Your Designer (and what's so rubbish about design thinking) https://designobserver.com/article.php?id=39710 Lee Vinsel's article on Medium about Design Thinking being Syphilis (it's entertaining, vitriolic and looooong):  Design Thinking is Kind of Like Syphilis — It's Contagious and Rots ...https://medium.com/.../design-thinking-is-kind-of-like-syphilis-its-contagious-and-rots... Rodrigo Hernández-Ramírez' paper on design thinking and bulldust: https://www.academia.edu/38006980/On_Design_Thinking_Bullshit_and_Innovation Does That Even Work (http://DoesThatEvenWork.com) challenges the latest business fads and the conventional wisdom we all use in our companies. It is sponsored by Stratervation, a mid-market growth consulting firm based in Johannesburg South Africa. http://stratervation.com  

Coaching has a very high ROI; Use evidence-based coaching; try to find a professional / certificed coach; beware the "halo effect." Be very clear when working with teams. So says the Professor and Uncommon Friends Endowed Chair in Ethics at the Lutgert College of Business which is the business school at the Florida Gulf Coast University. He has executive experience, a PhD in Management and has also done executive coaching.  We've had 25 years' experience in business improvement, working with businesses just like yours. Contact Erich Viedge at Erichv@stratervation.com or visit http://www.stratervation.com  

John A Parnell wrote a paper that has been downloaded 10 times a day for the last five years. It concerns the clarity of strategy. He offers three ways you could be doing it wrong -- and one success story.

I'm an innovation consultant. I sell Innovation Days. But I'm not convinced that every business needs innovation. People like me say: "Innovate or die." But my car mechanic hasn't innovated in 20 years and he's still around. In this episode, Phil McKinney agrees with me -- and then tells me what I'm missing.

If you’re a manager or board level executive, this show is for you. Is your strategy clear? You might think so.  John A. Parnell has some surprising research about what is a clear strategy, and what isn’t. We feature Professor Eric B Dent in an episode to talk about how leadership benefits from executive coaching. Phil McKinney was the chief technical officer for computer maker HP. McKinney led the team that turned a nearly four billion profit within two years. What was his secret?   Listen to that episode to find out. http://www.stratervation.com