It’s not that if there isn’t an ice-skating track you don’t meet. But this is just such a great opportunity. And a natural one. You don’t have to plan. You just go there. Show up. That’s it. The track is a catalyst for conversations.

Communities have more places like that. Libraries for example:

“For some, the building remains essential: engagement with the library is a ticket to – and a membership card for – a local community. Some say the building needs to be there, but not as “a warehouse of dead books”, but as a place to invent yourself, individually and socially.”

In some weird and twisted way, back in the days when I still smoked cigarettes, the smoking area in my company had a similar function for me: I was the most informed Project Manager around. I knew a lot of people that weren’t in the direct surroundings of my project. It’s not that the individuals weren’t approachable. It’s just that I am not the kind of guy that is randomly stopping people in the hallway to ask what they do.

Organizations have these natural places where people bump into each other.

Coffee corner. Lunch room. Places where you experience that you are part of a certain group, just by having the same rhythm. “Hey, we drink coffee in the same pace!”

Architects can actually design these places.

The best we can do is recognize the opportunities. Or make use of social objects:

“For a while I  had  a bowling bag to carry my papers and other work related stuff. I bought it, because everybody else was carrying the same black Samsonite briefcase. The bag was blue with white letters and oddly shaped. Colleagues and clients would say something about it. Complementing me on my fine exquisite taste. Making fun of my stupid bag.

The bowling bag created engagement. A conversation starter. Something to trigger a spontaneous moment of interaction. And never in a negative mood. The plastic bag from the supermarket I carried around for months after that triggered some different comments though.”

Image by Frau Shrink.

Bas de Baar helps people find ways to enjoy the diversity of human interaction in their organizations so that they can get out of their own way and achieve their goals. - An Ice Skating Track And Opportunities To Start Conversations. is a post from: Project Shrink.

If have been in plenty of buses before. And there wasn’t anything special this time.

Except.

The tour guide drew maps on the windows. She would tell stories about the culture and history of the region and draw images to illustrate it on the windows of the bus. These drawings would provide an overview of the landscape you were driving through.

Look out the window for amazing landscape. Look at the drawing on the window for the bigger picture and context.

This simple thing gave the whole bus a different feel. It actually contained your travel, at the same time connecting you with the current place, and the entire journey.

To me this is a fabulous illustration of how you can turn any environment into a tent. A container that can hold the culture of the group and connect to the environment.

Simple things that trigger engagement between people.

Like painting your car pink.

“We drive a 1994 pink Toyota Starlet. It’s Frau Shrinks car. But once in a while I drive in this INTENSELY pink Japanese car.

When you drive that car  everybody is turning their head, pulling windows down in the traffic jam to say something about it, point at it, taking pictures of it. Because it’s pink. I mean. Really. 

It used to be red. Boring red. Nobody bothered to say something about it.

The car truly creates engagement with others.

Although I do feel weird stepping out of the car wearing a suit and tie.”

Adding simple flags creates boundaries that contain the culture.

Join the webinar!

If this topic interests you, I’ll be hosting a free webinar “Bootstrapping Culture Without Freaking People Out“. I thought it would be nice to discuss the ideas of ProjectShrink.com with you guys in a webinar setting. It’s September 07, 2011.

Click here for registration.

If you have examples like these, I would love to hear them!

Bas de Baar helps people find ways to enjoy the diversity of human interaction in their organizations so that they can get out of their own way and achieve their goals. - Bootstrapping Culture Without Freaking People Out. is a post from: Project Shrink.

One set of rules for everyone. Everyone should know the same set of rules…

Humans … have “rules” about how we do things “around here”. It is not hardwired however. For us it’s software, an operating system called “Culture” that can be upgraded or switched entirely. It is the culture of a group that determines what we think is important and how we interact with others.

A clear choice between an agile or a plan-driven project approach is a choice in culture. It sets the ground rules for “how we do things around here”.

Image by jlwelsh.

If the entire team uses the same rules on how to conduct meetings, which artifacts to create, which rituals to perform, coordination without central control will become possible.

The means, the rules of engagement, must be these 3 things…

Simple.

And short. And sweet. If everyone should hold the same view of the rules, the threshold for learning should be low. Scrum is short and easy to explain. The entire PMBoK itself is too large, a subset is needed, always.

Accessible.

Team members must be able to reference the rule set quickly in case they need to look something up. If it’s available on the web or intranet, people will use it. “Accessible” means an easy search function, not an glossary with a gazillion entries and links.

Label Must Fit.

If you use a “standard” rule set by it’s name, like Scrum, XP, Prince2, you really have to use the entire set that is covered by the label. PINO, as in Prince In Name Only, or SINO, Scrum In Name Only, is worst case. People will assume they are working according to a certain set of rules, when in reality they are not. Total misalignment.

Johanna Rothman recently wrote a great post that is related to this topic:

“One of the questions people have is: Can we do this partway? No, not Scrum or any other agile lifecycle. You either do it all or you’re not doing agile.”

Bas de Baar helps people find ways to enjoy the diversity of human interaction in their organizations so that they can get out of their own way and achieve their goals. - The Rules For The Rules Of Engagement is a post from: Project Shrink.

This week I cover the same topic in a 2 minute video.

Which one has more impact in delivering the message? Which one captures my emotions about this topic? Text or video?

Be The Change You Wish To See – Project Shrink Episode 23

How do you get your team to do the right thing?

Show them. Do the right thing yourself. If you want to see some fabulous behavior in your team, be fabulous first.

Bas de Baar helps people find ways to enjoy the diversity of human interaction in their organizations so that they can get out of their own way and achieve their goals. - The Problem Might Be You – Comparing Text With Video is a post from: Project Shrink.

You can be on the lookout for the latest techniques. You can put your hopes in the most hyped up tools.

You can always search for great excuses: I don’t have authority. Not the right people.

But you’re running a project. You just get people assigned. You never have enough, clearly defined authority.

Deal with it.

So, how do you get your team to do the right thing?

Show them. Do the right thing yourself.

Be on time. Be friendly. Be interested. Be happy. Produce great stuff. Go the extra ten miles. Show up. Always.

If you want to see some fabulous behavior in your team, behave fabulous first.

Be the change you wish to see.

Bas de Baar helps people find ways to enjoy the diversity of human interaction in their organizations so that they can get out of their own way and achieve their goals. - Be The Change You Wish To See is a post from: Project Shrink.

Image by jlwelsh.

Humans also have “rules” about how we do things “around here”. It is not hardwired however. For us it’s software, an operating system called “Culture” that can be upgraded or switched entirely. It is the culture of a group that determines what we think is important and how we interact with others.

A clear choice between an agile or a plan-driven project approach is a choice in culture. It sets the ground rules for “how we do things around here”.

PINO, as in Prince In Name Only, or SINO, Scrum In Name Only, is worst case. It signals a split culture. The mouth says something different than the mind thinks. The rules of engagement don’t have to be lengthy or detailed to the lowest level. But they have to be shared!

That is why Jessica suggests successful virtual teams first agree on how they will interact and when.

That is why Jurgen implemented Scrum also for its name. It describes “how we do things around here”. And everyone can read the description on the web.

The first steps to solving the project communication problem is recognizing you can decide your rules of engagement (it’s not hardwired, there may be many choices) and everybody should be using the same set of rules.

Bas de Baar helps people find ways to enjoy the diversity of human interaction in their organizations so that they can get out of their own way and achieve their goals. - You Decide How You Communicate: Rules Of Engagement is a post from: Project Shrink.