The real Moscow rides the Metro. Young, old, poor and middle-class, cheek to jowl. I did not spot any of the oligarchs. For that matter, one difference between the Moscow Metro and the London Tube or NY subway, Boston’s MTA, the Metro in Paris or San Francisco’s BART is that people tend to either read or sleep, as used to be true on those conveyances. Very few people wear earphones—one young man was holding a portable CD player, one was using an iPhone—but most people were just busy not making eye contact. Of course, cell phones are ubiquitous here as everywhere and are useful for that purpose.
Novadevichy Convent (photo by Kim Barnes)
Several times I saw a young man gave up his seat to a person with white hair—including me. Good manners are not dead here. The Metro seems to be crowded at all hours of the day. It is a beautifully designed system and it is full all the time. It is very efficient and the stations are often architecturally and artistically magnificent. There is no obvious security, but oddly—unlike other European countries—I have seen NO women in Islamic dress – not on the Metro, not on the streets. Any woman wearing black clothing and a head covering is a Russian Orthodox nun. I am not sure if that is due to special security or whether Islamic women fear to come out after the recent incident. I feel very sorry for anyone who might be mistaken for one of the “Black Widows”—the young Chechen women who take up their dead husbands’ cause and blow things up.
As I was puzzling over how to get from one line to another in a rather confusing and busy station, a man about my age came along and asked if he could help me find something. His English was not too bad; he looked like he had once been an accountant or a teacher. I was not surprised by his offer, as people are generally very helpful to strangers here. He escorted me to my train, all the while talking bitterly about life as a pensioner. When we got to the right place, he asked me for some money in exchange for the guide services. I was rather expecting this after the conversation—but could imagine how painful this act must have been to a man who once had total security and the dignity of guaranteed work. The contrast with the wealthy, successful, and beautiful young people could not have been more clear. The other day I spotted, behind the statue of Karl Marx across from the Bolshoi Theater, a small Communist rally complete with red flags—perhaps 15 people; the average age must have been 65.
Please watch your email for the Barnes & Conti spring newsletter. Just to give you a sneak preview, here’s an excerpt from an article by Kim Barnes, written when she was stranded in Moscow.
The Situation is “Normal” by B. Kim Barnes (excerpt)
I have been working in Moscow for the past week. The Cisco groups I have worked with have been outstanding, engaged and involved, eager to learn and willing to question and take risks to gain new skills. That was Thursday. I was heading home on Friday. But that was not to be. Instead, I am enjoying a leisurely work day here in Moscow because, along with tens of thousands of others, I am stranded until the volcano spirit decides it has done enough damage and that we have learned our lessons about overdependence on technology and acknowledged our global connectedness…
…There was an interesting article in the English language paper, the Moscow Times, (by Michele Berdy) about how Russians use the word “normal.” It has several meanings, among them:
regular, as usual (The internet is working normally.)
not great but not horrible (It’s a normal workday. Same old, same old.)
appropriate or adequate, usual (It’s normal for engineers to be more introverted than salespeople.)
nothing special (It‘s a normal apartment. Leaky faucets, poor ventilation.)
as it should be (Moscow is a normal city.)
adequate, acceptable, better than mine (People are making a normal salary in that company.)
it will have to do (This is a normal set of instructions. I don’t have time to do any better.)
ironic meaning: all screwed up—like the American Army’s SNAFU (Working until midnight because someone didn’t do his or her job—that’s normal)
In my last post, I mentioned that two of the client companies that Barnes & Conti is proud to serve—Cisco and Western & Southern Life—were listed on this past year’s top 125. We wanted to give Western & Southern Life some well-deserved space to brag about their achievement:
“This recognition is another affirmation of the value we place on preparing our sales force to deliver outstanding service to our customers,” explained Bryan C. Dunn, president of Western & Southern Life’s Agency Group. “The combination of Western & Southern Financial Group’s world-class financial strength and our quality field training helped us achieve a 31 percent increase in the number of life policies sold in 2009 as compared to 2008.”
For the award, training departments are judged on the following:
Training tied to business objectives
Employee turnover and retention;
Leadership development;
Evaluation procedures;
Training budget as percentage of payroll; and
Here’s what Western & Southern Life says about their training program:
Western & Southern Life’s field training and development program is responsible for the professional development of the company’s 2,220-member field sales force across the United States. New Agent Introduction (NAI) is one of the features from the company’s program that contributed to the top 125 ranking. This multi-faceted training program is based on adult learning principles and includes:
Online modules with do-it-yourself activities;
Instructor-led workshops featuring managers serving as coaches for sales representatives; and
Call sessions at the Cincinnati home office’s Client Relationship Center with their coaches.
Again our congratulations to Western & Southern Life. And for any other companies reading this blog, we’d love to help you with your training & development program, too!
Earlier this month, it was announced that the venerable Training Magazine would cease publication after this month’s issue. In addition, last month’s Training 2010 Conference and Expo would be the last ever.
According to at least one blogger:
…the magazine had been in a downward spiral since its sale by Lakewood Publications to VNU Business Media and then again to Nielsen Business Media. Every sale saw new staff, less and less knowledgeable about (or, as far as I could tell, interested in) workplace training and learning. The struggle was evident: Those who subscribed to the print edition over the past few years can attest to its shrinkage from magazine to something more akin to newsletter. I don’t know how it held on for as long as it did. (Jane Bozarth, bozarthzone.blogspot.com 2/20/2010)
But this article is to bid the magazine and conference a fond farewell. Barnes & Conti has been a regular exhibitor at the Expo since 2005. Several of us have been at the expo and worked the Barnes & Conti booth over the years.
Back in 2006, Kim Barnes, along with Jack Harris, MD, Vice President of Global Medical Operations, Lilly Research Laboratories, gave a joint presentation at the Conference entitled “Inspirational Leadership: Involving Senior Leaders in Developing the Next Generation.”
I think, however, what we’ll miss most is Training Magazine’s annual ranking of the top 125 Organizations that Excel at Employee Development. It is always gratifying to see our own client companies in that list! In the current list, we were delighted to see Cisco near the top of the list, and Western & Southern Life in the mix. A number of past Barnes & Conti clients were represented.
We’ll miss Training Magazine and our annual trek to wherever the expo is happening. However, we certainly hope that some other organization takes up where Training left off; the annual top 125 list is too important to just go away!
Rodrigo Joglar and his wife Maria de la Luz at Machu Pichu in Peru
My name is Rodrigo Joglar. I am an organizational psychologist and a consultant with CDO Consulting Group, a pioneer company with more than 30 years of experience in organizational development and training in Chile. CDO is Barnes & Conti’s global partner in Chile.
At this point in my life, I am spending a month in Oakland, California… Why? Well, in 2009, Kim Barnes came to visit us in Chile. She brought with her the Exercising Influence program, and worked with our consultants to apply the program in Chile. That same visit presented a tremendous opportunity to share experiences and visions about OD, training, and how could continually improve ourselves in the disciplines that we teach and offer to our costumers.
That time of reflection spawned an internship between CDO and Barnes & Conti; a professional development opportunity where one consultant from Chile could spend one month in the San Francisco Bay Area, serving as part of the local team of Barnes & Conti. In this internship, we could examine their best practices, learn about their specialties, join their day-to-day operations and their regular routines.
The goals and dynamics of this internship would be to find new paths for developing innovation. Our company in Chile could learn skills to create value from diverse, new, and original ideas, which is one of CDO’s principal organizational goals.
This whole process has become a reality just last week. I have been here since this past Saturday, and the experience has already been very powerful and rich. So far, I can confirm the importance of developing innovation in organizations in a simple but deep way. The innovation management process always meets resistance, but it also needs and generates creativity, respect, commitment, efficient execution and leadership. The innovation process of Barnes & Conti clarifies—step by step—every part of the path we need to travel in order to succeed in our innovation process, from its beginning—in the ideas creation —until the successful execution of a new project.
I have three weeks to keep on learning as well as giving of my own consulting experience to Barnes & Conti in whichever ways I can. I hope that this can be only the first of other exchange experiences. Projects, such as this internship, are great opportunities to build bridges and relationships in a world that demands new connections and a global vision of business.
Kim Barnes recenty co-authored and article with noted biologist Heather G. Davis entitled, “Evolutionary ecology and organizations:a conversation between a biologist and an organization development practitioner.“ The article has been published in the February issue of Industrial and Commercial Training. In the article, Kim and Heather dialog about how the principles of natural science give us insight into the ways that human organizations operate.
Heather Davis has a Ph.D. in biology from the University of California, Davis, and has published several articles, mainly on invasive species. Heather is also Director of Research at Barnes & Conti.
Here is a quote from the article, from Heather’s side of the conversation:
We’re getting a chance to see what happens to a “business ecosystem” when one element fails—the American auto industry, for example. This example raises a number of important strategic questions: To what degree is it useful to suppress internal competition when the entire community is threatened? Should parts suppliers find ways to collaborate? Do we do better as individual organizations when we join in a conscious community; does that enable us to fend off external threats more successfully? Can small organizations survive better as part of larger networks? is it in the interest of larger organizations to support specific partners and suppliers versus lowest bidder? How do we respond to external changes as part of a community versus lowest bidder? How do we respond to external changes as part of a community versus as individual entities? I like the idea of “mutualism”–finding ways to share scarce resources without stepping all over each other—two non-competing companies sponsoring a marketing event, for example.
As many of you know, Seth’s Blog, by Seth Godin, is one of our favorite blogs. Seth Godin has put together a thought-provoking and inspiring collection of brief essays as an ebook entitled What Matters Now. Some seventy “big thinkers” contributed their thoughts, which are more than relevant for the New year.
This ebook is a free download (Adobe Acrobat required). We’re more than pleased to be one of many websites to make it available.
Here’s a brief excerpt that I—as a professional tech person—especially appreciated:
There are tens of thousands of businesses making many millions a year in profits that still haven’t ever heard of twitter, blogs or facebook. Are they all wrong?Have they missed out or is the joke really on us? They do business through personal relationships, by delivering great customer service and it’s working for them.They’re more successful than most of those businesses who spend hours pontificating about how others lose out by missing social media and the latest wave. And yet they’re doing business. Great business. Not writing about it. Doing it…
We walk the streets with our heads down staring into 3-inch screens while the world whisks by doing the same. And yet we’re convinced we are more connected to each other than ever before. Multi-tasking has become a badge of honor. I want to know why. (1)
For more thought-provoking and insightful essays, download the entire book. And have a happy and insightful New Year too!
—Joel Kleinbaum
Blogger-in-Chief
(1) “Connected” by Howard Mann from What Matters Now
The Barnes & Conti Holiday Newsletter is available online. If you’ve never received the holiday newsletter, please check it out, at least for the recipes. The holiday newsletter features our ninth Annual “Virtual Feast” of recipes. The current feast features a recipe for eggnog just full of holiday cheer.
The newsletter also has tips for a harmonious season by our conflict prevention and resolution expert (as well as Barnes & Conti Vice President, CFO, and master trainer) Eric Beckman. Also included are “Lessons in Giving from Scrooge” by Barnes & Conti CEO and President Kim Barnes, plus reports and first hand accounts of some of the unique volunteer and community activities that Barnes & Conti staffers get involved in.
One of our trainers at Barnes & Conti—and this is someone who has trained in all kinds of companies and industries—has told me repeatedly that just about every department, organization, and/or company is beset with problems. Yet in so many cases, as my trainer friend has observed, the element that holds these organizations together, the thing that keeps them going is the people. That is to say that at each and every level, there are competent, conscientious folk who hold the organization together. My Thanksgiving challenge to you is to find some of these people in your organization, and show them some gratitude.
“Gratitude? In times of economic recession? What am I going to talk about next, happiness in the workplace? You bet! Gratitude is one of the “Five Steps to Happiness at Work” identified by Timothy Sharp, Ph.D. Dr. Sharp writes (1):
Employees want to be valued as members of a team and organization. But they also want to be told, frequently and appropriately, that they are valued, as people. They want to be thanked and appreciated for their accomplishments. When managers and colleagues openly congratulate employees for their wins or efforts, it makes everyone happier.
This is entirely consistent with a great deal of research into the social and emotional benefits of gratitude. As psychologist Robert Emmons argues in his book THANKS!, gratitude enhances our sense of self-worth, while at the same time strengthening social ties. Expressing gratitude, he found in his studies, increases the happiness of both giver and receiver.
Lest you think I’ve gone all touchy-feely on you, I have long been convinced that satisfied—if not happy—employees benefit the organization and affect the bottom line. Here’s what Charles Kerns says in Graziadio Business Report of Pepperdine University (2): Read the rest of this entry »
I was directed to a web page listing the “15 Stupidest Products of All Time”(1), with the option to rank them from “really stupid” (low) to “No hope for the species” (high). Disclaimer: some of these products are not necessarily for polite company. However, most of them are good for a laugh.
Bald spots? No problem, there’s “spray on hair”; if you don’t like it, just shampoo it off. Carbonated soft drink not sweet enough? Soda Pop Top is a hard candy screw on top for your favorite sweet bubbly beverage. It adds even more sweetener and another layer of “flavor…” Two of the whackiest—for polite company, at least—are the Hawaii Hula Chair and the mobile treadmill.
The “Hawaii Hula Chair” looks something like an office chair. It has a unique (?) hula motor that rotates the seat cushion in a hula-like motion. It claims to tone your abs and middle section “while you sit.”
The mobile treadmill must be seen. It is a treadmill with wheels; you walk or jog on the treadmill and it moves down the road. Really. Truly. I’m not making this up…
Okay, now that you’re finished laughing… What happened? How did innovation—if I can even call it such—go awry? Let’s look first at the Hawaii Hula Chair. This chair is made by a company called Perfect USA. They specialize in what I call “passive fitness gadgets.” They make gizmos that wiggle your ankles, jiggle your wrists, and wriggle your midsection (a fitness belt). I’m just guessing here, but I dare say that innovation went awry primarily because of too few ideas or two narrow a focus. I visited their website to find that eight of their fifteen products on the website are wiggler-jigglers! They are all variations on a theme, and not a good theme at that.
The mobile treadmill or “SpeedFit SpeedMobile” is a different story altogether. The SpeedMobile is the brain-child of one Alex Astilean, a fitness trainer and inventor living in New York State. I researched the SpeedMobile enough to find out that Astilean is dead serious about developing it for alternative transportation. The SpeedMobile makes us laugh because, well, if we want to run or walk to our destination, let’s just run or walk. And if we want more speed, how about a bicycle? The more thoughtful among us might also shudder; what about the brakes? Are there brakes? What about uphill? Downhill? Steering? It looks like Astilean had input from one person: himself. Otherwise, he would have/should have/could have addressed some of these questions.
