8 lessons on building a company people enjoy working for | The Way We Work, a TED series

Summary

In this insightful script, the speaker challenges traditional HR practices, advocating for a human-centric approach to business management. They emphasize treating employees as adults, building great teams, and valuing meaningful work. The speaker also stresses the importance of understanding business operations, delivering honest feedback, living out company values, and embracing change. They humorously note that all start-up ideas seem foolish initially, urging companies to be excited about innovation and change.

Takeaways

• 😀 **Speak Human**: Businesses can thrive with straightforward communication, avoiding jargon and acronyms.
• 🧠 **Rethink Best Practices**: Question the validity of 'best practices' and adapt to the evolving business landscape.
• 🧑‍💼 **Treat Employees as Adults**: Assume employees are mature and capable, which can lead to more effective work environments.
• 👥 **Management Builds Teams**: Focus on creating great teams rather than controlling individuals for better outcomes.
• 🌟 **Meaningful Work**: Encourage employees to pursue work that is significant and allows for career progression.
• 🏢 **Company as a Launchpad**: Foster a company culture where leaving employees become ambassadors, spreading positive influence.
• 📈 **Understand the Business**: Ensure all employees comprehend the business to foster a collaborative and effective workforce.
• 🗣️ **Embrace Honest Feedback**: Practice giving and receiving truthful feedback regularly to improve performance.
• 🏛️ **Live the Company Values**: Leadership should embody the company's values for employees to follow suit.
• 🚀 **Embrace Startup Mindset**: Recognize that all innovative ideas may seem foolish initially, but they drive progress.
• 🔄 **Welcome Change**: Be excited about change and avoid nostalgia for the past; look forward to the future with anticipation.

Q & A

What does the speaker believe about the use of HR jargon and acronyms?

The speaker believes that HR jargon and acronyms like OKRs and PIPs are unnecessary and that businesses can run more effectively by communicating like regular human beings.

Why does the speaker think the concept of 'best practices' is questionable?

The speaker questions 'best practices' because they are often just copying what everyone else does without proper measurement to determine if they are truly the best.

What is the first lesson the speaker shares about treating employees?

The first lesson is that employees are adults and should be treated as such, not as children, by removing unnecessary layers, processes, and guidelines.

How does the speaker define the role of management in building teams?

The role of management is to build great teams, which is evident when the team achieves amazing results and customers are happy, rather than focusing on controlling people.

What does the speaker suggest about the nature of careers and job tenure?

The speaker suggests that careers are journeys and that it's unrealistic to expect people to do the same job for 60 years. Instead, companies should aim to be great places to be from, with former employees becoming ambassadors.

Why is it important for everyone in a company to understand the business, according to the speaker?

Understanding the business is important because it enables smart adults to collaborate effectively, teaching each other about their roles, what matters, what is measured, and what success looks like.

How does the speaker propose changing the approach to giving feedback?

The speaker suggests rethinking feedback as telling people the honest truth about their performance in the moment it occurs, rather than during an annual performance review.

What example does the speaker give to illustrate the importance of living out company values?

The speaker uses the example of a CEO who is late to meetings yet expects punctuality from his team, highlighting the importance of leadership living the values they preach.

What is the speaker's view on start-up ideas?

The speaker believes that all start-up ideas are inherently 'stupid' because if they were reasonable, someone else would have already implemented them.

Why should companies be excited about change, according to the speaker?

Companies should be excited about change because it's an opportunity for growth and innovation. The speaker warns against nostalgia and encourages looking forward to the future.

Outlines

00:00

😀 The Futility of HR Jargon and the Need for Human Connection

The speaker expresses frustration with HR jargon and acronyms like OKRs and PIPs, suggesting that businesses could be more effective with straightforward communication. They share a personal journey from aspiring to speak the 'language of management' to realizing that such terminologies might not matter. The speaker critiques the concept of 'best practices,' arguing that they are often unmeasured and simply copying others. They emphasize the importance of adapting to a changing world and present seven lessons to help with this adaptation.

Keywords

💡HR jargon

HR jargon refers to the specialized language or terminology used in human resources. In the context of the video, the speaker expresses frustration with the use of complicated acronyms like OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and PIPs (Performance Improvement Plans), suggesting that simpler, more human communication could be more effective. The speaker's critique highlights the theme of simplifying workplace communication.

💡Best practices

Best practices are methods or techniques that are believed to be the most effective way of accomplishing a task. The video challenges the notion of 'best practices' by suggesting that they are often unmeasured and simply a result of copying others. This critique is part of the speaker's argument for innovation and adapting to change rather than blindly following conventional wisdom.

💡Adults

The term 'adults' in the video is used to emphasize the maturity and autonomy of employees. The speaker argues against treating employees like children with excessive layers of processes and guidelines, suggesting that assuming employees are capable and motivated can lead to better outcomes. This concept aligns with the video's theme of empowering employees and fostering a more trusting work environment.

💡Management

In the video, 'management' is discussed in terms of its role in building great teams rather than controlling individuals. The speaker suggests that the success of management is evident when teams achieve significant results and customers are satisfied. This perspective shifts the focus from micromanagement to fostering an environment where teams can thrive.

💡Meaningful work

Meaningful work refers to jobs or tasks that have a sense of purpose and significance. The video emphasizes that people want to do work that matters and that they should be free to move on after completing it. This idea is part of a broader message about creating a dynamic and fulfilling work culture where employees are engaged and motivated.

💡Ambassadors

The term 'ambassadors' in the video is used to describe former employees who, by leaving on good terms, can represent the company positively. The speaker suggests that companies should aim to be 'great places to be from,' implying that a positive work experience can extend the company's influence and reputation even after an employee has moved on.

💡Understanding the business

Understanding the business is about ensuring that all employees, regardless of their role, have a clear grasp of how the company operates. The video argues that this understanding is crucial for collaboration and agility. It ties into the theme of empowering employees by providing them with the knowledge to contribute effectively to the company's goals.

💡Handling the truth

Handling the truth refers to the ability to receive and process honest feedback, both positive and negative. The video suggests that frequent and honest feedback is more effective than annual performance reviews. It emphasizes the importance of truth-telling in the moment, which can lead to immediate improvements and a culture of continuous learning.

💡Living out values

Living out values means that the actions of individuals, especially leaders, align with the company's stated values. The video uses the example of a CEO who is late to meetings to illustrate the disconnect between stated values and actual behavior. It underscores the importance of leaders embodying the values they expect from others, as this sets the tone for the entire organization.

💡Start-up ideas

Start-up ideas are often seen as 'stupid' because they are innovative and unproven. The video challenges this notion by arguing that all innovative ideas start as seemingly unreasonable propositions. It ties into the video's broader message of embracing new ideas and change, rather than dismissing them out of hand.

💡Excitement for change

Excitement for change is the positive attitude towards embracing new developments and opportunities. The video warns against nostalgia and the tendency to romanticize the past. It encourages a forward-looking mindset that sees change as an exciting prospect for growth and innovation, which is essential for staying relevant and competitive.

Highlights

HR jargon and acronyms like OKRs and PIPs can be confusing and unnecessary.

Businesses can be more effective by communicating like regular human beings.

The desire to speak the language of management is challenged by the realization that 'best practices' are often unproven.

The assumption that employees are adults leads to a more effective work environment.

Management's role is to build great teams, not to control individuals.

Customer happiness is a key metric for successful team management.

Employees seek meaningful work and the freedom to move on after completing it.

Companies should aim to be great places to be from, with former employees as ambassadors.

It's crucial for all employees to understand the business they work for.

Collaboration and continuous learning are key to a company's agility and innovation.

Feedback should be honest and given in the moment, not saved for annual reviews.

Leadership should live out the company's values for employees to follow.

Start-up ideas are inherently 'stupid' because they are innovative and not yet proven.

Every company should be excited about change and not nostalgic for the past.

Embracing change and innovation leads to a more exciting and successful business environment.

Transcripts

Transcriber: Ivana Korom Reviewer: Krystian Aparta

HR jargon makes me crazy.

We have to have all these stupid acronyms

that describe things that nobody understands: OKRs and PIPs.

I think we can run our businesses

by just talking to each other like regular human beings.

We might actually get more done.

[The Way We Work]

I really always wanted to be an HR professional,

I wanted to be able to speak the language of management.

And you know what I've learned after all this time?

I don't think any of it matters.

There's all kinds of things that we call "best practices"

that aren't best practices at all.

How do we know it's best? We don't measure this stuff.

In fact, I've learned that "best practices" usually means

copying what everybody else does.

Our world is changing and evolving all the time.

Here are some lessons to help you adapt.

Lesson one: Your employees are adults.

You know, we've created so many layers

and so many processes and so many guidelines

to keep those employees in place

that we've ended up with systems that treat people like they're children.

And they're not.

Fully formed adults walk in the door every single day.

They have rent payments, they have obligations,

they're members of society,

they want to create a difference in the world.

So if we start with the assumption

that everybody comes to work to do an amazing job,

you'd be surprised what you get.

Lesson two: The job of management isn't to control people,

it's to build great teams.

When managers build great teams, here's how you know it.

They've done amazing stuff.

Customers are really happy.

Those are the metrics that really matter.

Not the metrics of: "Do you come to work on time?"

"Did you take your vacation?" "Did you follow the rules?"

"Did you ask for permission?"

Lesson three: People want to do work that means something.

After they do it, they should be free to move on.

Careers are journeys.

Nobody's going to want to do the same thing for 60 years.

So the idea of keeping people for the sake of keeping them

really hurts both of us.

Instead, what if we created companies that were great places to be from?

And everyone who leaves you

becomes an ambassador for not only your product,

but who you are and how you operate.

And when you spread that kind of excitement throughout the world,

then we make all of our companies better.

Lesson four: Everyone in your company should understand the business.

Now, based on the assumption that we've got smart adults here,

the most important thing we can teach them is how our business works.

When I look at companies that are moving fast,

that are really innovative

and that are doing amazing things with agility and speed,

it's because they're collaborative.

The best thing that we can do is constantly teach each other what we do,

what matters to us, what we measure, what goodness looks like,

so that we can all drive towards achieving the same thing.

Lesson five: Everyone in your company should be able to handle the truth.

You know why people say giving feedback is so hard?

They don't practice.

Let's take the annual performance review.

What else do you do in your whole life that you're really good at

that you only do once a year?

Here's what I found:

humans can hear anything if it's true.

So let's rethink the word "feedback,"

and think about it as telling people the truth, the honest truth,

about what they're doing right and what they're doing wrong,

in the moment when they're doing it.

That good thing you just did, whoo!

That's exactly what I'm talking about.

Go do that again.

And people will do that again, today, three more times.

Lesson six: Your company needs to live out its values.

I was talking to a company not long ago, to the CEO.

He was having trouble because the company was rocky

and things weren't getting done on time,

and he felt like things were sloppy.

This also was a man who, I observed,

never showed up to any meeting on time.

Ever.

If you're part of a leadership team,

the most important thing that you can do to "uphold your values" is to live them.

People can't be what they can't see.

We say, "Yes, we're here for equality,"

and then we proudly pound our chest

because we'd achieved 30 percent representation of women

on an executive team.

Well that's not equal, that's 30 percent.

Lesson seven: All start-up ideas are stupid.

I spend a lot of time with start-ups,

and I have a lot of friends that work in larger, more established companies.

They are always pooh-poohing the companies that I work with.

"That is such a stupid idea."

Well, guess what: all start-up ideas are stupid.

If they were reasonable, somebody else would have already been doing them.

Lesson eight: Every company needs to be excited for change.

Beware of the smoke of nostalgia.

If you find yourself saying, "Remember the way it used to be?"

I want you to shift your thinking to say,

"Think about the way it's going to be."

If I had a dream company,

I would walk in the door and I would say,

"Everything's changed, all bets are off.

We were running as fast as we can to the right,

and now we'll take a hard left."

And everybody would go "Yes!"

It's a pretty exciting world out there, and it's changing all the time.

The more we embrace it and get excited about it,

the more fun we're going to have.