Learn, learn then learn some more...

(Image by Kavan & Co, you can buy it here)

I recently had the great opportunity to attend Intranets2012.  It was awesome!

Someone asked me afterwards what were my key takeaways.  There were so many, but here are a few of them:

The presentations were smart and practical, and it was a great opportunity to see the likes of Martin White, Michael Sampson and William Amurgis discussing the things we grapple with on a daily basis.

Some things I can't stop thinking about still:

• Introduction to the practice of Service Design by Maisch Nichani.  Creating great experiences for your “customers” throughout a whole process, not just the part that “I’m” involved with.  (Maisch Nichani: Service Design for Intranets)
• The technique of Dialogue Mapping for getting everyone on the same page, and keeping track of how you got there.  Also of reframing the platitudes we usually use for our project goals.  (Paul Culmsee: The Practice of Dialogue Mapping)
• Remembering that Collaboration is not a silver bullet and is effected by the culture of your company and the personality of the people within it. (Michael Sampson: Collaboration – something old, bold, and cold)
• Reminder that people are always at the core of everything we do, and that we must always have empathy with them to be able to successfully support them. (Steve Baty: Personas a tool for empathy)

And I could go on and on…we saw some great intranets (SharePoint and otherwise), took away useful tools, and generally had the opportunity to meet a wide range of intranetters from around Australia, and the world, which is always one of the highlights of any event like this.

It was a really worthwhile experience, and I'd recommend it to anyone.  It was kind of like an ILF Workshop on steroids!

Michael Sampson was live blogging the presentations he attended if you’re interested in seeing more (Michael Sampson on Collaboration – Intranets).

There is always something new to learn about intranets.  It's a constantly evolving art!  Perhaps that's part of their addiction!!

Did I see you there?  What did you think?  What haven't you been able to stop thinking about?

Nadine :)

What's in a name?

Despite what it says on my staff directory profile, I am not a Business Analyst.

I am an Intranet-ter...an enthusiast, an evangelist.  Sometimes a manager, sometimes an encourager, sometimes an inspirer.  A communicator, an organiser, an interpreter.

Loving intranets (mine ours, yours), the idea and possibility of them, is what keeps me going in my day job, and sometimes into the night.

However, to my employer although I was previously the Intranet Manager I am now a Business Analyst.

Which is not all bad. BA skills are definitely crucial to an intranet.  Delving into what the business needs to work, translating those into new functionality and features. Always working to develop and evolve what we currently have ("an intranet is never finished").

The downside is a case of confused identity.

(Bathing Caps with Faces
photographed by Ralph Crane, from Life Magazine Archive)

It's confusing to my colleagues.  For example, I now often get emails that start, "So and so said that you work with the intranet, but if you're the wrong person do you know who I should contact?"  Or the straight out "Do you still work with the intranet?"

It's also confusing to me.  Where does my area of responsibility lie?  Am I now the person to lead the intranet governance group? Do I still have the authority to revise the intranet strategy.  Can I tell people "No, that garish, walking man, animated gif cannot go on here, anywhere!"?

Are we defined by our job titles, or by how we see ourselves, or who our colleagues think we are, or how our managers see us...?

I guess this is why you see discussions like this one on LinkedIn asking what other people in intranet related roles are called.  Why surveys like Jane McConnell's Digital Workplace Survey ask what you're called.  Why its always interesting when meeting up with others in similar roles to see what title is listed on their business cards.

What are you called?  And what do you call yourself?!

How to change things

(Image from IKEA Hackers | Quote from Switch)

I've just started reading Switch, and am so excited by the things I've read so far, and the impact they may have on the plans we're making for change in our company right now.

Switch is a book about "How to change things when change is hard", by brothers Chip Heath and Dan Heath.  And let's face it, when isn't change hard?

In the first chapter they suggest there are three surprising things about change (and I'm not giving anything away here, as you can read the first chapter for free over on heathbrothers.com):

1. What looks like a people problem is often a situation problem.
2. What looks like laziness is often exhaustion.
3. What looks like resistance is often lack of clarity.

These are not earth shattering revelations, but when you think about them in the context of why change is hard, they can provide real ah-ha moments.

As I mentioned previously we are working at changing the way our information is managed internally, and thinking about how small steps may help to get us to our end point.

Point 3 fits right in with that.  It's not always that people don't want to do what you're asking them to, often they just don't know what the first step to take should be, so they don't take any steps at all.

You can't just tell people "You need to manage your information better".  You need to say, you should do a, b and c.  Then once they've done a, b and c give them d, e and f to do.

See, not earth shattering, but what a difference this will make to the planning, training and communication around any change.

Have you read Switch? What have you taken away from it?

PS: Thanks Elle for the recommendation :)

From little things big things grow

Call me optimistic, but I'm hoping that this old adage will ring true for work we are doing to manage our corporate information better!


(Image from intimateweddings.com)

We all know that information management is not about the technology (especially when the technology is not yet in place).

We all know that people are increasingly busy, and when you're busy you do things in the quickest way possible, old habits are your best friends at these times.

I understand this.  I too am guilty of saving corporate information to my desktop; of not taking the time to save email attachments out of Outlook; of not thinking is there a better way to do this?

But it only takes repetition to form new habits.  And it just takes a few pointers in the right direction to get people thinking about new ones.

So we are embarking on some small step education as we progress the planning and strategising that will lead us along the path to implementation.  No time like the present!

Small steps of did you know information.  Such as:

• Did you know you can save an attachment from an email to the network drive, and then remove it from the email without deleting said email?
• Did you know that you can easily send a link to a document on the network drive, rather than sending the actual document internally?
• Did you know that if you leave the company [win the lotto, etc] we [those of us who are now kicking ourselves for not getting in on your lotto syndicate] won't be able to access the corporate information you've saved into your personal folder on the network drive?
• Did you know that with a little bit of thought your team could come up with a useful folder structure for saving corporate information, so you could all access it, rather than each person saving a copy of the same information into their own separate folders, labelled with their own names [as great as your name may be]?!!
• Did you know that if a document falls from a tree in the forest nobody hears it? [just checking if you're still with me, but while we're at it, what do you think, true or not?!]
• Did you know...

From these little things we are hoping to start opening people's eyes to some of the "wonder" of the benefits of managing information better!

This might be a long journey, but [to close this cliche sandwich nicely] remember:


(Image by dxstewart)



3 words of focus for 2012

A growing number of smart people (like Chris, Rob & Natalie) suggest that instead of setting new year's resolutions (that you're bound to fail at before the end of January) you should instead choose a few words to be your focus for the year.  These will then help to drive your goals and plans.

This idea really resonates with me, and through the things I've been reading and thinking about lately a few words have burrowed themselves into my psyche.  And I'm going to use these words to encourage, inspire and drive me on through the year.

Doing

This is a year to be proactive, to not sit around wishing, but to get up, put one foot in front of the other and get moving.

This will be a year of doing things.  Of not over analysing. Of not procrastinating.  Of not procrastinating by over analysing!!

Flinch forward

Ok, so that's a phrase not a word, but flinching is the opposite of what I intend to do this year.  I will rather use the momentum of the flinch, that would normally make me shy away from challenges or activities that scare me, to propel myself forward.  To use the movement and do before I think (or over analyse and procrastinate)!

(You can check out for free Julien Smith's life-changing book "The Flinch", which is where this concept came from.)

Relationships

This is an important one, because I believe that relationships are the foundation of success.  From building a business, to networking with peers, or nurturing friendships.  There have never been better opportunities for building relationships with a greater range of people.  Be they social media experts on the other side of the world, stay at home entrepreneurs, or people with a keen interest in a particular niche.

Everything comes back to how I nurture and support the relationships I have with my peers, community, family and friends.

365 Intentions for 2012

Another cool thing to do is to start each day with good intentions.

Here's a template of 365 cards full of good intentions, to cut out, put in a bowl, ready for the picking each before you start work!

I'm looking forward to what the new year has to bring.  How bout you?

Yours intentionally!

Nadine :)