Director of Information Technology at TalkingRain Beverage Company
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginatharris?trk=miniprofile-photo
IT is just taking orders, fixing passwords, coding and explaining complex technical issues to those who don’t speak tech, right? Not if you are Gina Harris, from Talking Rain. IT is about viewing and treating people as change agents that require a whole business point of view.
Gina speaks to the necessity of fostering business knowledge as an IT professional in sales, negotiation, optimization of supply chain, assessing people’s brilliance and automating work-flow, vendor relations, and risk management.
Her advice, “Understand the business. Look at it from a 50,000 ft view. Look at how we make money. How we produce the goods we sell. Find out what that is all about. And then work down from the 40,000 ft, to the 30,000 ft, the 20,000 ft and understand who the players are. Who the influencers are…What the potential is to differentiate us from our competition. Really, it is ‘know the business,’ once you know the business, the IT part is a lot easier.”
She shares that having a Learning Organization is essential to her company’s overall success.
How do you ensure you have a Learning Organization?
Thank you, Gina, for your transparent and informed advice on how to generate mighty good work as an IT pro and company wide.
Visit Mighty Good Work and The Yes Works at: www.TheYesWorks.com
Found out more great info from Gina in this article: http://food.cioreview.com/cxoinsight/the-business-value-of-it--nid-14037-cid-29.html
Theme music by: Miguel Juarez
Midshow break music by : Allan Loucks www.TinEar.com
GUEST: Vice President of Human Resources at Moz, Rebecca Clements https://moz.com/about/team/rebeccadclements
Rebecca Clements on Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-clements
Human Resources’ reputation as being pain-in-the-butt rule-makers and rule-enforcers was a leading reason Rebecca Clements chose to cultivate a different kind of HR experience.
In this episode, Rebecca talks about the imperative of good culture in tech in order to attract and maintain talent from diverse backgrounds of experience. And she tells us how she and her team do it…
“Culture is something that happens around you unless you are really intentional about it.
If you are intentional and use it as an advantage within the business, then all of your time spent on it will be worth while and set you apart from your competitors, attract people, and help your business be successful.”
What makes a company “culturally fit?”
She generously shares Moz’s value system called TAGFEE that every Mozzer aspires to daily.
Transparent: Be willing to talk about it all: the good, bad, and ugly. They have a commitment to share what didn’t work, without making excuses.
Authentic: Bring your BEST authentic self to work. People bring and share their stories. They share at Lunch & Learns to offer personal insight. They are encouraged to speak up and bring their set of experiences to the table. Active disagreement is vital and encouraged in order to have all opinions authentically on the table.
Generous: The company provides paid-paid vacations for employees and sabbaticals for employees after 5 years. Considering the “Whole Human”. They match charity donations. They demonstrate a generous mindset by being available with time, information and coaching/guidance.
Fun: Positivity- assume good intent, “You have my best interest at heart and I have yours.” They actively invest in team-building and building community.
Empathetic: Empathy is key to decision making and solving conflict. They seek to employ empathetic people to increase the quality of the work environment. They talk about it, model it and celebrate empathy in their workplace.
Exceptional: Being willing to choose unique, value-based marketing strategies or “give-aways”. Offering professional coaching to all of their employees to help them through challenges and opportunities. Anyone can pursue coaching for any reason at all. They know that if you are dealing with something at home or in the office, it will affect your work. Offering ongoing manager courses for all levels of management or aspiring management to gain skills.
Yes, they even have a Team Happy: Rebecca leads a team of 5 people at Moz whose mission it is to ensure happiness, productivity and to embody TAGFEE.
And, YES, they are hiring. https://moz.com/about/jobs#listings
And, YES, they have an annual marketing conference called MOZCON coming up this fall September 12-14. Get your tickets here https://moz.com/mozcon
Visit Mighty Good Work and The Yes Works at: TheYesWorks.com
Theme music by: Miguel Juarez
Midshow break music by : Allan Loucks www.TinEar.com
GUEST: Jody Maberry -- http://jodymaberry.com/
Jody Maberry on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodymaberry
Jody Maberry Show (podcast): https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/jody-maberry-show-helping/id1084178356?mt=2
Our stories are what set us apart. Your story is not the same as anyone else’s, and that gives you the power to connect, intrigue, and inspire others.
Some of us think we don’t have good stories, and wouldn’t know how to tell them if we did. “Good stories come to people who can tell them. When you look at life as a storyteller, you will find stories in nearly everything.” And with practice, and by tuning in to your audience, you can become good at it.
Why tell stories? Stories stick with people. They’re memorable. And, stories tie things together. Innovation results from tying unexpected things together. So, stories lead to innovation.
Whether you’re expert in a given field or not, your experience has something to offer to those who are. Innovation in a field often comes from the connections made by novices and outsiders.
People aren’t motivated at work just by the paycheck and benefits package. That’s just the fuel that allows them to spend their time in your organization instead of hunting and gathering. People are motivated to do extraordinary work by a fulfilling story. Story creates identity and satisfaction at work. Every business (as Disney says) is putting on a show. Story creates the roles for people. As employers, we can create an environment where the storytelling is about the value of the work you do, and how fulfilling the work you do can be.
Every story you tell informs every action we take. Change the story, change the experience. Each of us needs to be the hero of the story we’re in. Leaders can inspire and motivate those they lead by weaving a story in which everyone plays a critical role in achieving a goal that matters.
Our clients and customers are the heros of their stories as well. To serve them well, we must help them through the obstacles they face in their journey.
Be alert to the stories your company is telling, even when you are not speaking. Every aspect of your brand and behavior tells a story.
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Visit Mighty Good Work and The Yes Works at: www.TheYesWorks.com
Theme music by: Miguel Juarez
Midshow break music by : Allan Loucks www.TinEar.com
GUEST: Limeade’s Chief People Officer, Dr. Laura Hamill -- https://limeade.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-hamill-5972a44
According to our guest this week,the most important asset a company has is its people. And to be the best it can be, a company has got to consider, care for, and nurture this single crucial resource. When we waste resources, whether money, or time, or people, we pay the price.
There are real business reasons for companies to care about their employees. The big brands are noticing that.
Organizational culture must be aligned with what you’re trying to do as a business. You can’t have goals and aspirations that conflict with other goals and stated values, or that friction will chaffe.
Culture is contagious. Behavior that happens leads to more behavior like it. You have to articulate what is the culture you want to have. You do have or will have a company culture, like it or not. Culture’s affects on the people and the business are so profound that you must be intentional about the culture you create if you want to thrive. Then, you’ve got to operationalize the culture you want to have. It’s got to be a part of what you measure, what you practice, and what you hold people accountable for.
Culture, because people don’t understand it, is often viewed as soft and unimportant. But culture is learned skills and habits, not a set of knowledge or instructions. If the culture is not universal within a company, and reinforced, then it holds no water, and garners no respect. Culture creation is never done. And keeping it on track requires feedback in every direction.
“At Limeade,” says Dr. Hamill, “We’ve created a culture of improvement. Each person is focused on improvement.”
She sees culture as a job benefit to manage, as a selling point in recruiting equal to health insurance and vacation time. It’s not something to leave to chance, or to create deliberately and then forget about it.
GUEST: Dana Manciagli -- Global Career Expert: Speaker and Private Coach
https://www.linkedin.com/in/danamanciagli
Over decades, Dana Manciagli amassed skills and insights into good work and career wisdom while working at such companies as Avery, SeaLand, Kodak and Microsoft. Now, she gives others the benefit of that wisdom as an author, blogger, keynote speaker, career coach, and global career expert.
Earlier episodes of this podcast have focused on leadership’s role in great work in our companies. Dana Manciagli is here to talk with your host Aaron Schmookler about what each of us can do to insure that we’ve got Mighty Good Work.Reboot yourself by changing jobs, by jumping division to division, location to location, or company to company.
Here are a few highlights from our conversation with Dana:
Make choices! Don’t let your work happen to you. Be deliberate.
Figure out what you like, and pursue only what you like.
You can’t be all things to all people. Make choices. Sometimes they’re tough. You don’t have to get it absolutely right. Make a call and take action on it.
“What are you waiting for? You have a vision. You know what you want to do next. Why aren’t you doing it?”
Don’t rely on your boss to make you happy.
Ask yourself, “What was this week like? Did I do my best? Treat my people well? Make good choices?” Take regular accounting of your own performance against your own standards of excellence. Expect greatness.
There’s a lot of boss bashing out there. Stop bashing the boss. It only hurts your career.
Business revolves around relationships.
Rule #1: Build the relationship with your boss. There’s a “we factor” and you’re role in the relationship is equally important. It takes two.
YOU have tremendous power in yourself -- through your choices -- to have good work wherever you are.
Put in the work that it takes to enjoy work! Don’t be stuck.Take action to get to joy at work!
If you need a private job search coach, contact Dana through her website or through LInkedIn.
GUEST: Rapport Benefits Group Principal, Chris Free -- http://rapportbenefits.com/
Chris Free on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chris-free-b337714
A theme that runs through my conversation with Chris can be summed up with a Richard Branson quote: “Employees come first. If you take care of your employees, they’ll take care of the clients.”
Rapport Benefits Group keeps winning “Top Place to Work” awards because Chris and his business partners take this wisdom to heart, and they run their buiness in support of their employees. I’ve talked to their employees. They love woking there. And the company keeps growing. Business is good.
Here are a few highlight points from our conversation.
Make sure employees are well respected and treated.
Your employees are the face of your company.
Take care of your employees and they will take care of your clients.
Longevity of employees leads to great client relationships
Loyal employees are engaged with their work. If your employee is worried about personal, at-home things, they’re not productive. Let them address their life in the timing of life, and they’ll produce.
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is often cited when looking at student productivity in school. It’s just as relevant on the job. Basically, if you’re hungry, or worried about your well being or that of your family, you’re not going to be able to focus on matters higher up the hierarchy -- like writing a report or serving a client.
Chris told us, “We ask them about their goals. We help develop them to achieve their goals -- career and non-career goals.” We want you to fulfill your life. As we do, you’ll perform for our firm.
Create a place where people think, “Maybe I don’t want to get out of bed and go to work today, but what if I miss something cool?”
You can foster great relationships with people whom you turn down for jobs -- by referring them to jobs that’d be a better fit.
If you help people promote themselves out of your employ, you’ll have a brand ambassador for life.
Don’t create the environment for work that you’ve been disappointed by in past workplaces.
Set clear and accurate expectations.
Look for outcomes, not features.
How do you stand apart? Get out of the office. Get involved with people. Be in the community.
Cultivate a qualitative over a quantitative focus.
Theme music by: Miguel Juarez
Midshow break music by : Allan Loucks www.TinEar.com
GUEST: HopeSparks CEO, Joe LeRoy -- www.hopesparks.org
Here’s a distillation of some of the practices Joe told us that he and his team are using to ensure MIGHTY GOOD WORK at HopeSparks.
If there’s one thing that really stands out as a theme woven through everything that Joe shared with us, it’s this:
HopeSparks takes an intentional approach to everything they do, and to every decision they make. They take great pains to ensure that every action the organization and its people take doesn’t just make sense in the moment, but is connected to the culture they aim to build and to the mission they exist to serve.
The theme of intentionality affects the flow of information:
It affects hiring, firing and transitioning.
Leadership is like being a drummer. You don’t get the accolades. Most people hardly know how valuable your contribution is, but if you stop playing, it becomes clear how the music hangs on and is governed by the rhythm you set.
“It ignites me to see people succeed here in this organization as staff members or team members... That’s what happened to me as a staff member.”
-- Joe LeRoy
Theme music by Miguel Juarez. Midshow break music by Allan Loucks at TinEar.com.