Part 3 with Eliott Frick, CEO Big Wide Sky and Jeremy Nulik, Evangelist Prime, Big Wide Sky and the founders of The Be Human Project.
Employee engagement and the Be Human Project
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Notes taken during the editing of the show
Generally, more of us are feeling diminishing returns from what we’ve been doing as business people.
People at the top of the hierarchy feel the burden of omniscience. However, they’re often removed from the front line realities and aren’t always best equipped to make decisions.
Those at the front line of the hierarchy often are heard or given the opportunity to be heard. (Todd note: Often, they’re not given the tools to understand what they’re seeing and how to communicate what they’re trying to say. )
Unfortunately the tools at the disposal of executives don’t help.
The current systems are reductive and deterministic. (Another interviewer learning moment – follow up question to understand what they mean.)
The current system is adversarial.
Engagement sounds transactional or contractual.
If someone is fulfilled, then some of the current issues may go away.
In informal situations people are usually engaged. For example, planning a float trip or Super Bowl party.
Over about 150 people the things that make small groups work, breaks down.
How do we work with the lessons learned from scaling and getting productive into making the system more human?
Create rituals, attach symbols, create language of what they mean.
Big Wide Sky – implementing at their own company.
Listen to hard truths about their company. They ask and learn from these insights.
Adopting an organizational model based around groups of 7 people or less. Like a cell.
All predicated on social capital. Somewhat of a self-governing group.
They give an example of a video production. You may go to the titles of the people that would be obvious. However, you may also/instead go to the people with whom you have social capital who can provide insight.
Challenges – resistance because being entrenched in the “old way”.
Even if you are a jerk, are you human enough to admit it?
Experiment. Experiment. Experiment.
Hopefully the organization can meet the employees where they’re at and help them move to a new level of business interaction.