Stealing ideas and stories... and sharing them! The new economy is social ;-)

Gina Bianchini Steals Ideas & Stories, & Shares Them

Gina Bianchini is the Co-founder and CEO of Ning. She’s led Ning from its inception in 2004 to its current position as an exponentially growing top 100 global website and one of the world’s most valuable start-ups.

This year, Gina has been featured on Fortune Magazine’s “40 under 40,” Huffington Post’s 10 technology “Ultimate Game Changers,” and 7x7 magazine’s “Hot 20” list.

Gina and Ning have been featured in the New York Times, Fortune, Forbes and Fast Company. She has also appeared on CNBC and CNN.

She gave this TEDx talk at TEDxNYED in March 2010:

Dim lights

How to be a social purpose leader in 2013

Paul Klein, contributor at Forbes Magazine published an interesting blog on how all business in 2013 will need to have a social purpose. Looking for common goals with your stakeholders is key and will differentiate companies from their competitors.

He explains 3 ways to earn your license to operate in 2013.

1. Be a social purpose leader

“Making a meaningful difference starts with a bold goal shared by many and a way forward that is smart, market-based and laser-focused on both better social and business outcomes,” says USAID’s Chief Innovation Officer Maura O’Neill. “Today it is a false dichotomy to think growing businesses can be either or anymore. The ones that will thrive and win the hearts and pocketbooks of consumers will deliver on both.”

2. Give more control to local communities and stakeholders.

You could have local stakeholders develop their own interpretation of how your corporate strategy ought to play out in their communities. Telus, a global telecommunications leader, is “putting decision-making in the hands of local leaders who know their communities best” through TELUS Community Boards located across Canada and in the Philippines, Guatemala, and El Salvador.

3. Build partnerships with the right and the wrong NGOs

“The big opportunity for the truly smart CEO is to focus on the chief strategic challenge and opportunity of this historic moment and engage with whoever can help most: This will include citizen organizations that see the same historic and strategic opportunity,” says Bill Drayton, founder and CEO of Ashoka. “Such partnerships, which are beginning, bring deep, long-term value and the attention of both sides.”

The full article is available here.

Author: Elke Jeurissen (B&O Team Member)

How to turn a ministry into a happy and performant organisation?

Late 2009, I joined the FPS Social Security. This Belgian ministry initiated one of the most impressive change management turnarounds into a civil agency. No dedicated desk, no mandatory time registry, focus on achievement and not on process, people and and common sense come first. Target was put or to maintain all kpi’s in green – how deep the change process was. And to be a sexy employer. More than 3 years later, the organization is multi-awards-winning organisation that giving freedom and responsibility to people leads to performance and happiness. 

No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it. ((H.E. Luccock)

What’s our miracle recipe?

Of course, it takes time. And energy. And investment. And sponsorship. But most of all, it’s a daily business to take care of a deep culture change. It’s not about a turnaround plan. It’s all about building trust. It’s a process that takes time and that requires a strong and unfailing leadership by example. Because no error will be tolerated. Because every exception can ruin your project.

In the case of my organisation, apart from the huge and terrific effort of communication and people involvement, the decentralization of people management support through formal and informal channels, I can summarize this change into 5 pillars, 5 “dondoo’s”.

None of these dondoo’s are a rule as such. None of these dondoo’s are a miracle receipe that can be cut and pasted into any organization. It’s just about gathering plenty of behaviors, small actions which all together lead to another way of leading a company. And leading it to the success.

Inspiring leadership - Don't manage. Love

The 5 dondoo’s

-Don’t manage. Love.

Treat people equally, with respect, as they are friends of yours. Build commitments in the organisation’s interest, not in department or individual’s interest. Share resources. Share information with intellectual integrity. Build KPI if they make sense. Don’t use figures to serve your own purpose. Look for positive KPIs. Lead by example. Teams success prevails. As a leader, take ALWAYS on your responsibility …

-Don’t work. Have fun.

Organise at least 3 team events/year with fun, even without budget (let your team be creative!!!). Make boring tasks fun and attractive. Share and celebrate success. Avoid hierarchical attitude. Promote team work. Promote cross departmental projects. Smile. Joke. Be aware you a human being and thus you can feel and express emotions. Introduce 2.0 into your organization…

-Don’t (just) think. Think sustainability.

Launch CSR projects and undertake concrete actions, because you believe into CSR, not because you want to use it as a marketing tool. Move from Human Resources to Human Heritage. Build a “HR” activity to serve the organisation, not to keep oneself busy. Find local partnership for food, for supplies (0 km approach). be paperless. Develop hybrid car policy. Buy fair trade drinks. Save energy (and all means worth it).

-Don’t motivate. Trust.

Trust people as people can trust you. Build an environment where people feel at home, as a part of a family. Communicate with transparence. Trust… in advance. Grive regular formal & informal feedback, but always in a constructive way. Listen to people. Ban and penalize political games. No tolerance for blackmailing, harassment. Tell always the truth.

-Don’t complain. Innovate.

Avoid any kind of bureaucracy. Think positive : every crisis creates opportunities! Make decisions and processes easy. Build bridges beteween teams, organizations, private & public. Reduce meeting and meeting time. Reduce paper. Don’t put topics more than 3 times on meeting agenda. Delegate. Delegate solving issues.

You see. It’s not that complicated. I’m pretty sure you have plenty of example to add to this list. And I’d love to know them. Just share them with us!

Spread happiness around you because you're worth it!
Spread optimism around you because optimism opens opportunities!

Laurence Vanhee
Chief Happiness Officer 
be.linkedin.com/in/laurencevanhee/
@Happy_Laurence
www.missphilomene.com

HR Manager of the Year, Belgium 2012
Author of Happy RH (La Charte, 2013), Happy HR (Die Keure, NL, Feb 2013)

Inspiring exchanges

HR & Optimism Workshop

«Impact of positive culture on customers & power of management by trust»

The 27^th of February from 9.30 to 13.30

Speakers:

Bart Lambrechts:  RH Director of Carglass Belux

Fabrice de Zanet: Ph. D at ULG HEC who studies impact of trust by management “give up control without losing it”

   

Animation:

Laurence Vanhee: Chief Happiness Officer, SPF social security

                                

Who?

Our workshops are open to all business managers, boards members and committed shareholders

What?

Our workshops gather +/- 10 participants-peers around 2 remarkable testimonies of people having already experiment important “optimistic” changes in their company. They highlight and share the positive impact of those changes in their companies to open the workshop.

A Business & Optimism expert animates the discussions.

                                                  

Why?
We are convinced that optimistic companies will have more value on the long run.  An optimistic company is defined as a company focused on having:

-  Goals defined in terms of progress,  response to needs,  teamwork, ... and aligned from shareholders to employees

-  A constant focus on the development and diffusion of a positive corporate culture.

-  A constant openness towards new opportunities, partnerships, innovation etc.

-  An ability to engage and mobilize all stakeholders around their project.

-  A dynamic of sharing best practices and networks, with a belief that cooperation opens up opportunities.

We are convinced that sharing experience between peers on those topics is one of the best ways to positively and efficiently inspire leaders, giving them pragmatic ideas and/or tools which they can then implement within their own companies

Business & Optimism supports Business Leaders in developing their projects.

Practical information

·         Location: Avenue Van Bever, 19 – 1180 Brussels

·         Fee: 330€ HTVA for members – 390€ HTVA for non-members

·         For inscription, all information contact us:  luc.teerlinck@business-optimism.com

We remind you that the number of places is limited to 12 in order to increase experience sharing and interactivity.

Looking forward to meeting you!

One quest

Placing optimism at the heart of business

Why putting optimism at the heart of Business? Is it just “beautiful words”, dreams...not only! 

We believe that a massive change of mentality and firm’s culture towards more optimism in business mentality is a way to build higher with more value and perennity.

Why? First of all because Optimism leads to opportunities and involvment.  

By the strength and energy it gives to the leader; by the motivation it brings to internal and external employees to collaborate around a project, by adding this small touch of more daring, openness and a willingness to accept mistakes, which encourages innovation.

Optimism is a way of doing business that delivers enhanced value and continuity.

We believe that optimistic companies are characterised by different criteria and that firms that are not aware of those issues and will not invest in it are likely to go straight into the wall.

Those main criteria’s are firms having:

 - Goals defined in terms of progress,  response to needs,  teamwork, ... and aligned from shareholders to employees;

- A constant focus on the development and diffusion of a positive corporate culture;

- A constant openness towards new opportunities, partnerships, innovation etc.;

-  An ability to engage and mobilize all stakeholders around their project;

-  A dynamic of sharing best practices and networks, with a belief that cooperation opens up opportunities.

Ready to build our future? Joint us :  www.business-optimism.com   @BizzObe   

Muriel Schréder (Member of B&O) 

Health and Optimism

Hi all,

Just wanted to share this beautiful quote with you. It was written by the scientific committee of the League of Nations during the thirties of the twentieth century:

"The surest way to peace is collaboration between nations for healthy, happy people, and one must begin with health, for no happiness is possible without health, and perfect health is happiness."

(quoted from Lyngø, 1998, p. 62)

Mark Verheyden (Member of B&O)