Many organizations have realized that green business practices provide a competitive business advantage. It’s an opportunity to make a real difference in a way that benefits not only bottom line results, but also fosters stronger employee engagement, improves community relations, and creates a sense of corporate responsibility.

Some companies have integrated their green initiatives into every aspect of their business, and have even resulted in the addition of innovative products and services to boost bottom line results. In most cases, though, it’s not easy to come up with potentially significant contributions that result in a measurable impact to cost or profitability.

Plus Delta Consulting recommends collaborating with all of your stakeholders — employees, customers, vendors, and business partners — to gather input, ideas, and perspectives. Educate your stakeholders about sustainability and the company’s vision, and then involve them so everyone feels like they are contributing to the goal. They will be much more engaged in the process and will be much more likely to participate in any new initiatives.

Whether your organization is looking to implement green initiatives as part of a large-scale transformation, or just at a grassroots level, Plus Delta suggests the following idea starters to…… get you “going green.”

1. What can I do individually? How can I change my  behavior or ways of working to contribute to the organization’s sustainable business practices?
2. What can our department do? What opportunities do we have within our department’s operations or processes to support the company’s vision of going green?
3. What opportunities exist between departments? Can we create efficiencies or new processes in how we work with other departments?
4. What divisional or company-wide opportunities exist for efficiency? Where can we create efficiencies that benefit both the company and the environment?
5. How can we reduce our energy consumption? Are there low-risk opportunities to use less electricity, fuel, renewable energy sources, etc.?
6. How can we reduce materials or waste? What are the low-risk, high-value opportunities in how we produce our products or services?
7. How can we create a more efficient infrastructure? Are there opportunities to reduce, reuse, or recycle within our systems?
8. How can we improve the design of our products or services? How can we make our products or services even better and more environmentally friendly at the same time?
9. What new products or services could we offer? How can our company provide “green” products or services to new markets and customers?
10. What new products or services could we create that might also be patented or licensed to other companies? What are the opportunities for government funding for these in our market or industry?
11. How could we reduce our carbon footprint? What key functions or areas of the company could we analyze and target first?
12. How could we partner with our vendors and business partners on collaborative green initiatives? What green initiatives are they implementing? How can we collaborate and support each other?

Can Plus Delta Consulting help your organization “go green”? Our consultants are passionate about helping our clients implement sustainable business practices, so please do let us know. If you have implemented green practices, please share your “green” organizational experiences with us!

Every major consulting or research firm has the data to prove it.  Engaged employees are not only happy employees, but they are much, much more productive employees. They make companies more profitable, and shareholders richer.  (Click here to download a Gallup white paper on the power of employee engagement as a core business strategy.)

I think that most leaders are coming around to believe that this is a truth:  engaged employees are a good thing for the business. The problem is that many leaders have trouble figuring out what it takes to get those employees  “engaged”.

Let’s make it clear.  “Engaged” employees are emotionally involved with their job, their company, and their co-workers. Some of their co-workers become friends outside the workplace, and they care about and support one another.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying that HR departments in companies should start planning weekly company picnics or make a return to “fermentation Fridays”.  I’m not suggesting that we run a “social Meet Up” application on the company intranet.

We don’t need to run “team building” meetings and ropes courses in every department to get employees engaged.  And no, we don’t need executives to do a weekly “lunch with the President” meeting (UNLESS the “Pres” is willing to stick with the program and actually follow through on his/her commitment to meet with employees, get to know them, and do something about their suggestions).

What I am saying is that the major reasons employees:

-         Enjoy being at work

-         Are willing to give more effort to work

-         Feel good when they tell their friends and family about their work

…are that they:-         Enjoy working with the people they work with

-         Feel pride in the workspace that they occupy

-         Feel that the work they’re doing is important and meaningful

-         Relate to the work they do and identify with it on a deep level

Just read some of the top survey responses related to employee engagement in the Gallup survey for evidence to support this:

-         At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.

-         My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.

-         The mission or purpose of my organization makes me feel my job is important.

-         I have a best friend at work.

-         This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

Is this so hard to understand?  Probably not for most readers.  And while it looks good on paper, it’s often difficult to make happen.

And that is what we as OD practitioners do for a living. When given the opportunity to partner with visionary leaders, we can and do make it happen.

Our job is to size up a company, understand the business, get a sense of what employees are thinking and feeling, assess what it is that needs improvement, align leadership on their vision and purpose, and then to put into play a uniquely tailored strategy to completely change the relationship that employees have with one another, with their work, and with the company.

Sound a bit like marriage counseling? I suppose it is. Some marriages get better after counseling, particularly if the couple involved wants things to get better. Some marriages get worse, and people leave the relationship.  The same thing happens when employees leave for another job.

(I’m reminded of the old joke, “How many therapists does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, but the light bulb has to really want to change).

The key to achieving engagement is to change the conversations that employees and leaders have about the business. It’s about making time to talk, listen, and take action on what workers will tell you about how to improve the business, the work environment, and the culture of the company. It’s simple, but oh so complex in execution. These conversations can lead to changes in business processes, job design, organization design, systems, policies, management practices, hiring practices, and a number of other things. But the key ingredient is getting employees involved (and, dare I use the word “engaged”) in changing the conditions in which they work…for the better. More than just a “suggestion box” program, the idea is to change that conversation that employees and leaders have about the business.  This is “business as unusual”.

Don’t be over-confident though. While some leaders have the intuition and the experience to lead these kinds of change initiatives, it is often advised to have an experienced OD professional assist in conducting these conversations to move from talk to action. Leaders will find value in having an experienced set of eyes and ears looking at the same situation they are looking at, and seeing it with a professional perspective.   And a good OD professional will bring a variety of new approaches to consider – not just a “one-size fits all” solution.

So what are some simple things leaders can do without an OD professional to offer support?  No surprises really.  Here’s a short list:

1. Encourage people on your team to form the natural friendships that foster a positive working environment.  (Or at least don’t discourage it).
2. Encourage discussions about how current work processes might be improved, particularly with cross-functional work processes
3. Set up a peer recognition program.
4. Hold regular discussions with your employees about ways they can continually improve their skills on the job.  Consider job rotation or cross training.
5. Listen to your employees’ ideas and, when possible, implement them

Frankly, I get discouraged working with leaders who don’t “get it”. Many leaders simply equate employee engagement initiatives with an increase in the training budget or consulting expenses. And while these may, in fact, be outcomes of an employee engagement initiative, there is a reason for that. It’s because to get a return, you need to make an investment – an investment of time, money, and effort. All leaders ask for the ROI. And so they should. Well, the ROI is there. The research proves it. If a company can get a 10% or 20% improvement in productivity, sales, revenue, profitability, market share or any other key performance indicator, would it be worth the investment?

What does your leadership team have to say about the importance of employee engagement? And if it they see engagement as something of value, what strategies are they using to more fully engage the potential of the workforce?

All of us at Plus Delta Consulting have been reflecting on what we will do as we enter the New Year to improve performance in our organization – and with our client organizations. 2009 was a rocky year for many, and I for one am very glad to put it behind me. With that said, I’d be remiss if I simply said, “Thank God it’s over!” without doing any planning for 2010.

As we enter the New Year then, we’d like to recommend 5 simple steps for you to drastically improve performance in your organization. What steps have you taken or do you plan to take as you begin the New Year to produce better results? Please take a moment to comment below and share your own actions and ideas with us and all of our readers.  Until then, here’s our list!

1. Plan your future from the future:

If anything was possible for you and your organization in one year from now (or even 10), how would you have the future be? Suspend reality for just a moment, and don’t worry about being practical or even reasonable. Focus on defining your ideal future based on your most important values and longer-term business objectives. And don’t frame this as “fixing” something that already exists or working within your current constraints.

This is purely a process of creation. By the way, you need to enlist the support of your team and explicitly ask those around you what contribution they would like to make to the organization and the world around them – again given no constraints – to develop a shared vision for this ideal future. You’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish if you work together as a team to achieve this future from the future!

2. Conduct a “Quick Pulse” assessment of your organization:

Good health and wellness is critical to the success of any organization. If you want to produce better results, you need to determine what’s working well across your organization today as well as what opportunities exist to improve performance moving forward. This doesn’t have to take a long time. Just talk to some of your key managers and staff and ask them what they think. You can also administer an online survey to gather information quickly from a wider audience. Together, this process of listening to your people will help you understand their individual perspectives about organizational performance and quickly gauge what your organization needs to do differently in 2010. If you tie this information back to your company’s strategic objectives, you will have all the ingredients you need to create a recipe for success this year.

3. Talk to your people and become a mentor to them:

Do you have a forum in place today to tell your employees what they do well and what they aren’t doing so well just yet? Are you giving your direct reports the feedback they need to succeed? Feedback is a gift. At Plus Delta, we say “Feedback, Feed-forward”. If you don’t take the time to talk to your people, they won’t know what to continue doing nor will they know what to stop doing.

One simple activity is to conduct a quick goal-setting meeting with your employees in which you clarify what to Start, Stop and Continue doing in 2010 to be more effective. Match this against your more formal (or informal) performance review process, and you’ll be able to see where things are in alignment versus where they are not.

But remember, the process doesn’t stop here… Your employees need you to provide ongoing feedback and coaching throughout the year to stay on track. Being a mentor is not a one-time event, and creating sustainable results doesn’t happen after one sit-down together. Continue providing feedback to and mentoring your people on a regular and ongoing basis to produce long-lasting positive results.

4. Take a step back to examine how you’re managing performance from a company point of view

When we work with clients to help them improve performance management in their company, often their focus is on the question of “how do we raise the bar?” or “how do we have those ‘difficult’ conversations with poor performers?” or “how do we do a better job of defining and measuring goals, objectives, and key performance indicators?”.  But when we actually get into a conversation with them about what’s working and what’s not working, it turns out that their real issues are more related to managing organizational performance.  What we begin to hear are things like, “we have too many competing priorities” or “our project priorities continually shift, so we can’t help our employees prioritize what’s important from one week to the next” or “what are priorities for our group are not priorities for the other groups we work with.”

These are symptoms that the management processes for managing organizational performance are either not in place or not working effectively.  By management processes, I mean the mechanisms (i.e., meetings, forums, etc.) for the management team to meet to:  a) establish a “project portfolio management plan” of critical projects over the next 90, 180 days and beyond; b) regularly revisit that plan in light of constantly shifting priorities, marketplace dynamics, competitor plans, customer demands, etc. c) to re-prioritize projects, redistribute resources, and refine objectives and milestones; and d) re-communicate the outcomes of those meetings to employees so that their work activities are consistently prioritized, coordinated, and integrated.  While it may take some effort (and time) to establish and carry out these management processes, the overall savings of time and money on the organization through improved coordination of effort will bring a significant return on investment.

5. Evaluate your organizational strategy for using social and collaborative media:

It is essential for you – and your organization – to leverage new media for increased collaboration, networking, knowledge sharing, and improved productivity.  Whether it’s updating your LinkedIn profile, starting a new blog on a question or idea you have, or leveraging Facebook to promote your company brand, these tools can keep you connected with everyone around you.

Prior to launching a social media campaign, joining the relevant social networks, and becoming more interactive in the realm of new media, you have to determine your longer-term strategy, establish goals, and create a plan. Why are you doing this? Is it to keep your friends and family informed about what you are doing? Would you like to draw customers to your company? Are you looking to improve collaboration among members of a virtual team?  There is tremendous pressure to jump right into this game with both feet, but this arena has its own set of norms and rules and there are long-term implications for deciding to use these new media channels.

Interactivity with one’s key customers and/or encouraging internal collaborative efforts in your organization can be both rewarding and highly effective in all types of companies and communities. Understanding and establishing a set of common practices and policies on how you and your employees should use these tools is critical to the success of any such efforts though, so think first. If necessary, consult an expert to guide you before getting started.

Click here for larger video, a full transcript, discussions, and extra information. This link will be provided again at the end of this entry.

Have you ever considered the possibility that the language we use in organizations can have a direct impact on the experience of an individual worker or larger group? How many times have you seen individuals or work groups that seem to exude a culture that undermines either their own stated goals or those of the organization as a whole? In what ways do they speak of themselves, their co-workers, and the work itself, and how has this correlated with their success?

Alternatively, have you seen individuals or groups within organizations that seem to “get it?” How do they speak about themselves and others, and what culture tends to form around them and spread to other parts of a larger organization?

Tribal Leadership, written by Dave Logan, John King, and Halee Fischer-Wright, provides a framework from which to understand the various “tribes” in an organization and the cultural stages in which they reside. One of their goals is to educate leaders on how to take a tribe (or set of tribes, if in a larger organization) from one cultural stage to the next, until they align around core values and a noble cause. This is achieved both through providing specific coaching tips and through addressing how a leader and an employee can speak about themselves and others.

In the video above, Dave Logan discusses the various cultural stages. Does the following expression sound familiar? “I’m great… and you’re not” Well, in Dave’s “cultural stage” model that’s a classic “stage 3” cultural expression that often leads to people attempting to outperform one another. And while healthy, good-natured competition in organizations is generally a good thing, unhealthy competition can breed negative consequences.

The authors provide concrete steps to lead groups from stage 3 to stage 4 behaviors that focus on more positive, healthy work relationships, and emphasize a project focus that is bigger than one person can do alone. Substituting “we” language instead of “I” language can have enormous impact. It allows a stage 3 individual to focus on the success of the team. The authors write that “The essence of tribal leadership is building the “we,” and as a person does this, his [or her] influence, respect, and power increase[s].” They also emphasize that a tribal leader’s goal is to find those core values and noble causes that unite the tribe. How many of you have attempted to do this in your own workplace or as a consultant, or witnessed it being done?

If you’re an outside consultant using Appreciative Inquiry or other models that utilize the consultant-as-partner perspective rather than the consultant-as-expert, then you’re already working within a stage 4 culture framework.

Stage 4 can produce extraordinary results. Take a look at the success of Zappos.com! Is it coincidence that they’ve chosen to give away the audio version of Tribal Leadership for free?  Zappos is an organization that has the potential to reach stage 5, and perhaps they have done just that. Stage 5 is exceedingly rare. The authors of Tribal Leadership believe stage 5 is “the future of business,” however it happens in limited bursts in the corporate setting. Its expression is “life is great,” and the people tend to form boundless networks of those who share their dream.

Stage 5 culture provides a level of performance that can make history. Have you seen this up close? It’s characterized by the unlocking of boundless potential and committing to something larger than the group would imagine is possible. We’ve seen it with Olympic teams and the authors’ research has uncovered it at times within business organizations. But they are committed to stabilizing business organizations at level 5!

For a moment let’s think beyond the level of any one organization. Given that we, as human beings, must take decisive collective action toward such complex matters as reducing global climate change and the stabilization of our global economic recovery, can we afford to wait for fleeting moments of stage 5 culture or shall we work toward it now? Recently CNN highlighted individuals who were called “Heroes” for their unwavering commitment to making a difference on this level. They think from Stage 5.

Many of you work with or work inside of large organizations. What are your experiences, both positive and negative, of the culture of your “tribe” or your organization, and what can you see as possible?

Link to video of Dave Logan explaining Tribal Leadership

]]> http://www.plusdelta.net/2009/12/dave-logan-gives-ted-talk-on-tribal-leadership/feed/ 7 http://www.plusdelta.net/2009/11/steps-to-executive-coach-life-coach/ http://www.plusdelta.net/2009/11/steps-to-executive-coach-life-coach/#comments Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:40:53 +0000 Samantha Lurey http://www.plusdelta.net/?p=1255

Credit: malouette via Flickr

As we mentioned in a previous blog post, there are several signs that the recession is starting to lift .  Although this is fantastic news, it may leave you wondering your role in this new economy.  Are you going to stay at your current job?  Do you have the skills that employers will find valuable?  Do you want to use the better economy to start something new?  Or if you are in an executive position – do you have the skills to lead your organization in the new marketplace?  Maybe now is the time to think about hiring an executive or life coach.  This individual can help give your skills a tune-up and ensure you are ready for what’s next.  So how do you go about selecting such a person?  How do you know they will be a good fit?  Here are some steps to get you started!

1. Be clear about the purpose of the coaching relationship – what skill(s) do you want to enhance?
2. Select someone you feel comfortable with and trust.
3. Clearly identify your expectations for your coach.
4. Be sure your coach is someone who is willing and able to push you past your ‘comfort zone’.
5. Put everything in writing – the cost, expected outcomes, etc.
6. Make sure your coach will develop a program based on data (results from surveys or 360-degree feedback sessions) instead of ‘gut’.
7. Get a clear estimate about how much your development program is going to cost (number of sessions, flat fee, etc.).
8. Establish a regular meeting schedule between you and your coach.
9. Ensure there is a way to track your progress
10. Make sure your coach will return voicemails or emails from you within 24 hours – if not sooner.
11. Insist on a strict code of conduct regarding the confidentiality of your conversations and development goals.

Good luck in selecting the right person and getting started on your path to success.  And remember – be grateful for all of the feedback you receive – even the negative stuff.  It is only through true self examination that you can learn and grow.  Now is YOUR time to be your best!

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I recently had the honor and privilege of sitting down with Geoff Bellman and Kathleen Ryan, co-authors of the new book Extraordinary Groups: How Ordinary Teams Achieve Amazing Results. What a treat!  Geoff has been a personal idol of mine ever since I started my doctoral program more than 15 years ago, and Kathleen may now be my newest favorite OD consultant. Whether I’ve known them long or short, both are tremendously caring and generous souls who are ever-so-graciously giving back to the field of OD these days just as they have given to their local Seattle community for many, many years.

So why do you, our blog readers, care about Geoff and Kathleen? Because they are two leading team performance experts who just published an eye-opening book……that clearly demonstrates why some groups just come and go while others produce that “wow” experience that inspires us to achieve exceptional results. According to their Group Needs Model, anyone (yes, I said ANYONE!) can create extraordinary group experiences and produce greater results. Listed below are the 6 common needs people have when they join groups, and as Geoff and Kathleen discussed in our interview, groups can achieve remarkable outcomes even if only 2 of these 6 needs are met.

• Acceptance of Self while moving toward One’s Potential
• A Bond with Others that grows while pursuing a Common Purpose
• Understanding the Reality of the World while collectively Making an Impact

Please read their book! It’s written for everyone – project managers, senior executives, group facilitators, and trainers, and really anyone who leads or participates in professional or social community groups. This short video clip about the Group Needs Model was just a snip-it of our extensive interview together. We’ll be sharing a complete transcript of the entire interview very soon so you too can find out how to create extraordinary group experiences that produce outstanding team results.

Edie Seashore (left) and Laura Horwitz (right)

As organizational psychologists, we look at human interactions as comprised of content and process. The OD Network conference was certainly chock full of great content, sessions that re-explored foundational theories, highlighted innovations, and introduced new applications at the boundaries of the field. And, with 800 participants, including many of organizational development’s leading theorists and practitioners, the conference offered a rare chance to connect with others who share my interests and values. Yet, as I reflect on my time in Seattle, what stands out about my first OD Network conference is not so much what I learned or who I met, but how I engaged with the content and process… through Twitter.

Now, as a recent adopter of this technology, I can imagine the skepticism of some non-tweeters as to how Twitter might apply to the work of OD professionals and what if any place tweeting has at a conference, one of the few face-to-face forums left in our increasingly virtual workplaces. For me tweeting at the OD Network Conference underscored the theories and values that drew me to OD in the first place. We are in the business of enabling individuals, groups, and organizations to better connect with one another so as to more effectively meet their goals. Relationships – whether forming new ones, enhancing existing ones, or untangling dysfunctional ones – lie at the heart of our work and the belief that relationships are foundational to change is, to me, one of the central values of our field.

Twitter, a tool that allows users to share brief thoughts with others in real-time, can be used for nothing more than navel-gazing and minutiae, but can also be harnessed to build dynamic and meaningful relationships with likeminded and geographically dispersed individuals. Twitter and other web 2.0 tools expand information access by minimizing the role of “expert” gatekeepers and empowering users to collaborate in the creation and spread of information in a self-organized way. These technologies embody many values central to organizational development, such as collaboration, transparency, and bottom-up engagement, and seem aligned with several theories and practices highlighted at the 2009 OD Network Conference, including Marshak and Bushe’s dialogic approach to organizational development, and those practices, like Liberating Structures and Positive Deviance, that draw on complexity theory.

I started a Twitter account (@ODforNonprofits) a couple months ago at the urging of my brother, a 2nd grade teacher, who uses his account (@globalrams) to connect with other educators and classrooms worldwide and incorporates tweeting into his teaching. Soon thereafter, I attended the National Conference on Citizenship at which participants were asked to “turn their cell phones on” and encouraged to tweet throughout the day. The conference organizers went so far as to take questions from Twitter, an approach that powerfully displayed the potential of web 2.0 tools to expand participation.

So when I learned about Flocking to Seattle, an action research project that aimed to explore the value of and influence the conversation over Twitter at the OD Network Conference, I was excited to continue my experiment with Twitter. I had two questions I hoped to answer by actively tweeting throughout the conference. First, I wondered if Twitter would prove a distraction or an enhancement to my conference experience. Second, I was curious as to whether tweeting would isolate me from or help me connect with other conference goers.
Linda Stone’s work on continuous partial attention points out the opportunities and pitfalls of a hyper-connected, information rich world. Stone explains that “in our effort not to miss anything” we fail to be fully present in our here and now lives, and also suggests that we can make strategic choices as to when partial attention is useful and/or desirable.

In my use of Twitter at the conference, I wanted to benefit from the connective potential of Twitter while maintain a “here and now” presence. I tried to accomplish this by approaching Twitter as a tool for taking notes in the sessions I attended. Doing so allowed me to stay focused on the content of the keynote speeches and sessions and benefit from the memory enhancing effects of note-taking, but also meant that my Twitter persona was one of providing information rather than connecting to outside content or with or among other users. As I learned from Rachel Lyn Rumson (@CosmoGenisis), there are developmental stages of tweeting behavior: initially, users generate content by telling what they are doing or hearing; next, users begin to point to resources elsewhere that connect to what they are experiencing; then, users connect other users to one another and connect across streams of thoughts by re-tweeting content and asking questions.

As far as the use of Twitter as isolating or connective, I found that my experience was “both/and.” Conference goers who tweeted were a small subset of mostly young professionals. Tweeting was a great way to get to know this peer group and allowed me to attend the conference as an individual but gain the benefits group association, such as splitting up for sessions and reporting back, and reflecting with others on the conference as a whole. At the same time, the twittering-conference-goers illustrated existing generational divides in the OD Network, and provided a bridge between tweeters and non-tweeters and among generations. Twitter served as a conversation piece that gave me, as a young professional and first-time attendee, a unique role and entry to conversations with experience practitioners that may not have otherwise been possible. Moreover, tweeting allowed me to feel that I was provided an important service to people who couldn’t attend the conference but hoped to follow what was happening.

In all, my online participation enhanced my offline experience and visa versa. My Twitter experiment at the OD Network Conference reaffirms my sense that the power of Twitter and other web 2.0 technologies lie in identifying and leveraging the nexus between online and offline connections. As Edie Seashore reminded us, Twitter is just a new tool for developing the support systems we consider foundational to personal and organizational transformation.

Laura Horwitz is a nonprofit professional with an MA in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University.  She tweets @ODforNonprofits.

I recently conducted a two-part interview with Juliette Powell (author of 33 Million People in the Room) at the OD Network Conference in Seattle, just after she delivered the final keynote speech, titled “The Technology of Relationships: Social Networking and the Future of Human Communities.” This first interview gives you a behind-the-scenes look into Juliette’s take on the field of OD after delivering the keynote and meeting with OD practitioners for several days. You’ll especially want to watch if you were at the keynote or you plan to watch it on YouTube when it gets posted by the OD Network. I highly recommend you watch that keynote address when posted; her points are crucial for OD practitioners to remain relevant in the shifting organizational and media landscape.

You won’t want to miss our upcoming blog post featuring the second interview. There she clears up the misconception from the keynote address around her provocative comment regarding the demise of traditional conferences. She also further elaborates on her upcoming Leadership Engine project – an exciting new development for OD.

Here is a quick glimpse of that comment regarding the future of conferences during the keynote address

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For those interested in the future of organizations with respect to the social-technological systems that enable people to be effective in the organization, and for those interested in the future of how conferences may be organized, be sure to visit this blog for our second interview with Juliette.

I was fortunate enough to spend some time with Juliette during the conference. She is a fascinating individual who is passionate about her work and is clearly making a significant contribution to the world. Our private discussions about our own personal transparency on the web may ironically become increasingly public, in that we may continue these discussions on various social networks and in public online spaces, as they may be of interest to others (she has already challenged me to change my personal Twitter handle from @rhetor to my full name). Perhaps it is not ironic after all, but rather a small example of the greater discussion around authenticity and community that Juliette challenges us to wrestle with as we strive to be effective and happy in our organizational and personal lives. I see the lines blurring between those we used to call “public figures” and “everyone else,” and maybe that can produce extraordinary results. If you have a strong opinion on this please be sure to comment on this post. Can it be taken too far? For an extreme example of such behavior, see We Live In Public.

During her keynote Juliette tells us that those companies who are at the center of their industries are ones that gather the most information, hence achieve the best results. One of the keys to arriving at the center of one’s industry is having the most connected employees, both online and offline. I would tell those companies who currently block social networking sites at their offices to promptly purchase Juliette’s book and reconsider their policies!

This week at the OD Network Conference, organization development consultants – -seasoned and newly inspired – gathered to hear one of our favorite thought leaders, Peter Block. Block spoke of the “collective possibility” to “create a future distinct from the past.” This conference, like so many others, lives off of this premise – that people come together to share experience, debate new ideas, learn from each other in order to move their cause, profession or passions forward.

Individuals gathered in “community” can be a powerful force to bring about change at the macro level. And, at the micro level, it simply rejuvenates the individual to be with those who share their interests. Conferences mimic real-life in this way, offering a myriad of concurrent sessions on different topics. When the doors close, the community filling the chairs reflects those who chose to put their time and energy into this particular collective conversation. For the next 90 minutes, the exchange will feed their need to learn, contribute, and form new opinion.

The need to connect with others in community is part of our DNA. In historical times, tribes and clans held us together. Other examples of our need to “belong” to a community include our choice of religion, our expression of our cultural heritage, our loyalty to our company, and more benign examples: college fraternities, rock band groupies, football fans, and those who won’t miss an episode of Heroes! Not only do we get new ideas, we also find information, support and a sense of identity within these groups. But community is not just about what we receive, it’s also about the fulfillment of giving. Consider those in public office or those who organize the local food drive. And each of us gives in small and fleeting community moments as well. Think of how you felt when you helped lift a suitcase into the overhead, or gave directions to a “stranger” on the street.

We see how the power of community plays out in organizations of all kinds. In our book, Social Media At Work, we share how social media tools such as wikis, blogs, and social networking sites accelerate the formation of community and improve performance. These tools enable people who would have never known of each other to connect, communicate and collaborate on difficult problems or new innovations. They facilitate learning and provide new ways for us to engage with each other, to receive and to give our ideas, our opinions and our insights. (Although we haven’t met, you’re reading this now!) This kind or community within organizations – large, small, public, corporate, social – will certainly super charge our ability to effectively “create a future distinct from the past.”

The other night we were honored to be invited to a mixer hosted by Plus Delta Consulting. There we met new friends and found old friends from the previous year’s conference. This new community exchanged ideas, shared wisdom from our experience, and sparked possibilities for new collaborations. Yes, like many others we met at the conference, we will keep in touch via the Internet. We will tweet and blog and join the online social network, and this will keep our community energized. But, we all know that there’s nothing like a good old-fashioned handshake. For that reason, we look forward to seeing everyone again next year to revel in the collective possibility and to continue shaping a future distinct from our past.