Deep Dive: LS3P on Managing Project Metrics

Katie Robinson, Principal | Marketing & Communications Officer

Interview Description
In the realm of data collection, the value of recording project metrics is hard to overstate. The amount of data associated with an architectural project is immense; for LS3P, that amount of information grows exponentially when spread across multiple projects, more than 330 team members, eight offices, three states, and over five decades. To manage this vital information, the firm has created a “Data Manager” project role on every project in the firm. In this Deep Dive session, Katie will share tips and tricks for establishing a firmwide “Data Manager Program” including lessons learned, capturing institutional knowledge from senior leadership, managing change, significant benefits of the program, and strategies for implementation.

Speaker Bio
As LS3P Principal | Marketing & Communications Officer, Katie Robinson plays a vital role in the firm’s Practice and Business processes, working closely with the Executive Committee to ensure the firm’s goals are fully supported. From a practice standpoint, Katie manages the firm’s internal and external communications including all media platforms and digital presence. She creates and implements marketing collateral, brand management strategies, and marketing budgets by fostering collaboration among the firm’s marketing staff throughout its eight offices. As part of the firm’s Business Team, Katie leads LS3P’s knowledge management efforts.

Interview Summary

01:05 Data in Service to Design: Strategies for Managing Project Metrics
01:10 Introduction to LS3P
02:10 Data + Analytics + Marketing + Communications
03:20 Data Collection Background
05:05 Outlining a Solution Through Deltek
06:58 Assigning Data Collection to Project Managers
07:53 Engage Emerging Professionals
08:09 Database Access + Field-Based Security
09:18 Tracking Data Collection Time
10:28 Closed Project Data Collection
12:28 Defining the Data Manager Role
13:38 Communication and Training
14:25 Automated Reports & Check-Ins
14:35 Initial Results
16:17 Targeted Quarterly Data Collection
17:27 2020 Shifted KM to Admin Professionals
19:56 Impact and ROI
22:10 Creating Nex-perts
22:57 Where to Start?
23:09 Find Your Data Champion
23:53 Get Full Support from Leadership
24:10 Start Small
25:53 Get New Team Members on Board
26:08 Communicate
26:42 Celebrate & Reward

29:58 Do you have any recommendations for what you did with data prior to Deltek?
30:04 Utilize the Admin Team
31:18 Focus on Past 20 Years

31:45 What skills and qualifications make good candidates for Data Manager?
32:00 Emerging Professionals (Tech Savvy & Curious)

33:03 How do you deal with projects that have multiple project numbers?
35:00 Projects with Tasks, Check Your Reporting

37:40 What does Project Closeout look like at your firm?
37:52 Year End Data Review
38:35 Data Complete Field

39:55 How do you think about metrics that are relevant for all project types versus those that are market specific?
40:10 Use Existing Fields

42:33 How to you capture project stories?
42:40 Marketing Tab

44:18 Do you currently track project sustainability metrics for AIA 2030?
44:34 Sustainability Leader & Knowledge Team

47:35 How much of this data is captured automatically vs manually? Do you use Business Intelligence (BI) to gain additional insights?
48:56 Opportunity Info Center Data Capture
49:25 Project Number Request Process
51:16 Power BI Integration with Vision

52:33 Do you plan to go to VantagePoint in the next year or two?
52:45 Vantagepoint Sandbox (Planned for 2020)
53:40 Custom Dashboards

54:20 What are some of the most valuable data points you are collecting?
54:56 Estimated vs Actual (cost, completion, etc)
55:38 Consultant Fee Percentages

Read the Collaborative Notes

Members of our team and the KA Connect community took collaborative notes during this Deep Dive using Google Docs. Collaborative note-taking helped us summarize key takeaways, collect related links, and will provide us with a quick reference when we return to this topic in the future. We've found the notes quite useful so far and hope you will as well.

More KA Connect 2020 Deep Dives

Deep Dive: Perkins and Will on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion

Gabrielle Bullock, Principal, Director of Global Diversity
Meg Brown, Principal, Chief Talent Officer

Interview Description
Perkins and Will established their formal Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) program in 2013 with a vision to make the firm more diverse and inclusive, more creative and successful, and to better represent the communities the firm serves. In this Deep Dive, Gabrielle and Meg will share lessons learned from Perkins and Will’s EDI journey, insights into the structure and elements of their program, and thoughts on where their work is headed in the future.

Speaker Bios
As the second black female to graduate from the architecture department of the Rhode Island School of Design, Gabrielle Bullock has been a key player in Perkins and Will’s success for over three decades, working in both the New York and Los Angeles studios where she became the first African American and first woman to rise to the position of Managing Director. Her unique role as the firm’s Director of Global Diversity and an award-winning principal, enables her to combine her passion for architecture and social justice to effect positive change.

As Chief Talent Officer, Meg Brown plays an integral role in enhancing Perkins and Will’s workplace culture, building teams, and ensuring a rewarding experience for staff at all levels. She’s responsible for recruitment, learning and development, benefits, compensation, performance management, talent brand communication, acquisition-related human resources, and coaching. Meg’s commitment to nurturing the human side of Perkins and Will’s design practice has led to a thriving firmwide culture of engagement, innovation, and collaboration.

Interview Summary

01:33 Tell us about how and why you established the Director of Global Diversity position?
02:04 75th Anniversary: Elevating Diversity and Inclusion
04:02 Personal, Demographic, Societal, and Business Motivations

06:10 What did your year of developing the program look like?
06:15 Deep Dive: Listening Tour

07:02 How did you know how to do this?
07:08 Informal Conversations

08:08 How did Perkins and Will build a broad coalition of support at the leadership level?
08:25 Start Conversations with CEO/Leadership
10:10 Make it a Safe Space

10:50 How did you move from the vision and strategic plan to implementation?
11:12 Three Impacts: Firm Culture, Profession, and Pipeline
11:30 Strategic Plan: Six Areas of Focus
13:50 Firm Demographic Assessment and Expanding Recruitment
16:45 Strategic Plan Advancement Evaluation
18:00 Staff Evaluation Values and Metrics
18:45 Foster Learning and Development on D&I
19:13 Measuring Inclusion and Engagement and Culture

20:30  How do you respond when people say “you can do this because you’re Perkins and Will?"
21:00 It's All Scaleable
21:20 Approach it like a Design Problem
22:30 Resource: AIA Guides for Equitable Practice
23:36 Consultant to Help Develop a Plan

23:55  Do you think it is important to keep one foot in practice (of Architecture) and the business responsibilities (EDI)?
24:10 Awareness of Impact on Work, Clients, and Communities

24:58 How are the EDI efforts structured between the Sponsor, HR, etc?
25:18 Diversity Champions
25:46 Diversity Council
26:26 Grassroots Efforts
27:56 Formation of JEDI Teams

29:45 What is JEDI and how has the program evolved since 2013, 2014, and even since the racial justice awareness of 2020?
30:10 Focus on Race
31:27 JEDI: Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion

32:28 Do you need to start with D&I before J&E?
32:45 Start Internally
33:36 Statement vs Cultural Commitment

34:35 What does advancing the profession & building firm culture look like?
34:52 Getting Other Firms on Board
36:44 Outcome Examples: Honoring Juneteenth, Paid Parental Leave

39:17  What is your advice to an AE firm that is just getting started on their EDI journey?
39:35 Self Education and Awareness
40:28 This is a Journey
41:03 Conversation with Leadership to Clarify Goals

42:28 How do you prioritize your efforts & energy?
42:40 Take the Lead from Society and Staff
43:00 Race and Design
43:40 Identify Progress in Annual Report
44:50 Be Transparent

45:10 What are your priorities and thoughts going into 2021?
45:18 Focus on Opportunities for Black Architects
46:18 Business Imperative of Advancing Diversity
47:00 Acknowledge Milestones & Healthy Competition
47:45 Phil Freelon Design Competition

48:26 Is there anything you’d do differently if you did it again?
48:35 International Cultural Nuances

49:35 Can you share your system for tracking and measurement?
49:45 Narrative Response from Category Prompts
51:18 Smiley Face Graphic Metric

52:07 What has been the most rewarding part of the Perkins and Will EDI journey?
52:25 Progress in the Profession at Large
53:35 Impact of JEDI on the Work We Do
54:12 Project Example: Destination Crenshaw

54:56 What sort of budget (as a percent of revenue) does Perkins and Will dedicate annually to EDI initiatives?
57:40 Approximately 200k (Salary, Training, Events)

58:42  Can you tell us more about the Business Case/Imperative and how you measure it?
58:44 Research & Risks

1:00:00 What were a few of the baseline questions you used with each office during your assessment. Also, who was your audience at each office?
1:00:35 Wide Representation (without Principals)
1:01:17 Share Experience around EDI

1:02:43 How do you promote inclusiveness on your teams so that all employees can succeed? What programs are in place to promote inclusion? 
1:03:08 Written Reminder to Consider D&I in Promotions
1:04:14 Evaluate Team Makeup
1:05:08 Diversity in People Entourage

1:06:25 What were your initial goals/metrics and how do you stand today against those goals today?
1:06:52 Advancing Our Culture
1:07:15 Measuring Demographics
1:08:35 Adding Cultural Competency as a Metric

1:08:45 What is Cultural Competency and how do you teach it?
1:08:53 Community as Design Partner

1:10:15 Do you think it is helpful to establish a diversity goal for black architects in our organizations (similar to 2030 goals)?
1:10:15 Yes

1:11:44  Can you share the 6 themes that emerged that were the basis for your action plan?
1:12:06 List of Themes

1:12:40 Should it be a goal to change the way arch & design schools are teaching to include the community more as a voice in the design process?
1:13:08 Movement to Increase BIPOC Representation

1:14:30 Where did you find internal resistance and how did you get through it?
1:15:10 Tracking is Optional
1:15:40 Differences of Opinion vs Resistance
1:16:50 Concerns About Cost & Time

1:17:20 How does ongoing training work, especially for onboarding new employees?
1:17:35 Unconscious Bias Training
1:18:20 JEDI in New Employee Orientation
1:18:58 Training the Trainer
1:19:30 Performance Review Process

1:20:04  How do you empower each studio's Diversity Champion to effect change? How do you encourage and reward this work so that it doesn't just become additional emotional/mental labor on top of regular job duties?
1:21:10 Clearly Defined Role and Team
1:22:18 Rewarding Best Practices

Read the Collaborative Notes

Members of our team and the KA Connect community took collaborative notes during this Deep Dive using Google Docs. Collaborative note-taking helped us summarize key takeaways, collect related links, and will provide us with a quick reference when we return to this topic in the future. We've found the notes quite useful so far and hope you will as well.

More KA Connect 2020 Deep Dives

Deep Dive: Building Equitable, Diverse, and Inclusive Organizations

Renée Cheng, Dean of the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington

Speaker Bio

Renée Cheng, FAIA, DPACSA, is a nationally renowned Professor in the Department of Architecture and Dean of the College of Built Environments at the University of Washington. Educated at Harvard College and Harvard Graduate School of Design, Cheng has been recognized for educational excellence with numerous awards from AIA and others.

Cheng has pioneered research surrounding the intersection of design and emerging technologies including work on industry adoption of Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), Building Information Modeling (BIM), and Lean. She led the research team responsible for developing the AIA Guides for Equitable Practice.

Cheng was elevated to the AIA College of Fellows in 2016, served as AIA Minnesota President in 2009, and on numerous AIA committees on topics related to knowledge, innovation, culture, and equity.

Interview Summary

01:43 What are your areas of research and what is your role at the University of Washington?
01:53 Renee's Professional and Teaching Background
04:02 Equity

04:43 What drew you into equity work?
04:53 Lack of Diversity/Equity in Architecture School Faculty
06:18 Mentoring
07:02 Research for AIA Guide for Equitable Practice

08:28 What is the difference between Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion?
08:46 Defining the Terms: Shoe Analogy

13:18 How does and AEC firm know if it's equitable, diverse, and inclusive?
13:31 Increased Urgency due to the Social Justice Movement
14:25 Markers: High Employee Satisfaction, Engagement, and Innovation
16:57 Including Social Values in the Definition of Success
19:06 Dangers of Focus on Diversity
20:40 Equity Can Draw Diversity

22:42 Would you recommend making those cultural changes before pursuing more diversity?
22:57 Clarify Your Goals: How will you support diversity?

24:20 What barriers do firms face in successful EDI work?
24:40 Fear of Making Mistakes
27:20 Lack of Momentum
29:24 Defensiveness: Rationalizing Intent

30:44 It sounds like there is a lot of personal work that is involved here.
30:50 Personal and Collective Work at All Levels
32:00 Individuals Follow Best Practices of Firm

32:31 How do you create a diverse firm if your leadership, region, and/or industry, is not diverse?
32:54 Architecture Schools are 50% Women, 4% BlPOC
33:28 Leaky Pipeline from Graduation to Leadership
35:27 BIPOC Numbers Extremely Low
36:00 Extra Work to Build the Pipeline: Value Proposition

37:56 What are firms doing to build the pipeline?
38:28 ACE Mentoring
38:56 Student Groups (eg AIAS)
39:12 NOMA Student Groups (NOMAS)
40:12 Recruiting Process: Be Prepared to Address EDI Questions

42:14 What do you do if decision makers aren’t committed to EDI?
42:44 Acknowledge Power Differentials
43:25 Reasons for EDI Work: Moral, Ethical, Business, Professional, Societal
45:00 Understand Goals and Expected Value: Don't Judge
47:58 Clarify Goals

50:23 How do you navigate political political or difficult questions that arise when you work on these kinds of changes?
51:07 Emotions/Stakes are High
52:12 Use Past Experience on Reaching Agreement
54:05 Equity and Social Justice as Standard Practice
55:18 Stress Increases Bias
56:16 Set the Stage for Meaningful Discussion
57:12 Healthy Patterns for Communication Around Conflict
58:40 Conflict Styles Inventory
1:01:26 Agile: Considering Diverse Opinions

1:03:39 Should an AEC firm work on their EDI journey publicly, or internally (just with their staff)?
1:04:05 It Depends
1:04:15 Transparency with Robust Communication
1:05:12 Less Transparency with Communication Challenges
1:06:40 Risk of Opacity is High
1:07:15 Surfacing Chronic Challenges with Conflict
1:08:10 Being Transparent about Being Opaque

1:09:02 How do you balance moving quickly with doing it right?
1:09:17 Change Process Strategies
1:10:22 Learn from Mistakes

1:13:22 Do you have any AEC-specific EDI analogies?
1:14:20 Architect vs Trade Partner Overtime Calculations

1:18:16 Thoughts on engaging marginalized people who do not want to be activists, who do not want to be in the spotlight?
1:18:48 Allyship & Self Education First
1:20:00 Recognize the Difficulty

1:23:36 Is there a better term for “cultural fit” as it relates to EDI?
1:24:30 Resource: New Edition of the AIA Guide
1:24:45 "Fit" vs "Culture Add" or "Value to the Culture"

Read the Collaborative Notes

Members of our team and the KA Connect community took collaborative notes during this Deep Dive using Google Docs. Collaborative note-taking helped us summarize key takeaways, collect related links, and will provide us with a quick reference when we return to this topic in the future. We've found the notes quite useful so far and hope you will as well.

More KA Connect 2020 Deep Dives

Deep Dive: Learning as a Strategy for Organizational Change

Chris Myers, Assistant Professor and Academic Director of Executive Education
at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School

Speaker Bio

Christopher G. Myers, PhD is an Assistant Professor and Academic Director of Executive Education at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, with joint faculty appointments in the School of Medicine and Armstrong Institute for Patient Safety & Quality. His research explores questions of learning, development, and innovation in organizations, and he focuses in particular on learning in health care organizations and other knowledge-intensive industries. 

Chris's work has been published in a variety of leading academic journals in the fields of management and medicine, and has received multiple national and international awards. He also writes regularly for practice-oriented publications including the Harvard Business Review. Prior to joining the faculty of Johns Hopkins University, Chris was an Assistant Professor at the Harvard Business School, and earned his PhD in management and organizations at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

Interview Summary

01:30 Q: What are you responsibilities and roles at Johns Hopkins?
01:42 Business School & Executive Education

03:10 Q: What were your interests as a kid?
03:26 Underlying Cosmic Logic

05:10 Q: Why did you decide to study business at Chapel Hill?
05:30 Accounting & Outdoor Education
06:55 Leadership & Organizational Development
07:42 Organizational Behavior Course with Chris Grant

09:17 Q: How did you become interested in Learning from Failure?
09:35 Undergraduate Management Training trial and error

11:15 Q: What led you into a PhD and an academic life?
11:28 To Become a Lifelong Dabbler & Observer

12:54 Q: You’ve spent time with flight nurses - who are they, what do they do, why are you interested in them?
13:17 Flight Crews that Transfer Patients
14:20 Work is Extremely Variable
15:08 Workers are Adaptable, Agile, Nimble
16:12 How it Applies to Business Setting

16:30 Q: What can architects/engineers/business folks learn from flight nurses?
16:44 Developing Expertise in a Complex Environment

18:16 Q: What were some the of the knowledge sharing practices the flight nurses used that we could learn from?
18:28 Storytelling
19:15 Value of Storytelling vs Factual Reporting

21:17 Q: How/when did these stories get shared?
21:24 Formal Debriefs and Informal Story Sharing
22:30 The Value of Downtime

23:42 Q: Have you seen anyone successfully recreate serendipitous / chance encounters online?
24:02 Hard to Replicate Chance Encounters Virtually
25:06 Pandemic is Inspiring Experimentation

25:42 Q: What is Vicarious Learning and how it is evolving in the time of Coronavirus? (Paper)
25:57 How We Learn from Others
26:47 Interest started with Outdoor Education
28:08 Value of Vicarious Learning in Organizations
28:40 Impediments to Vicarious Learning during Coronavirus
29:25 Knowledge is Received Indirectly
29:52 Reduced Opportunities for Connection

30:52 Q: Are there some things that are better learned vicariously?
31:03 Incidental Learning spreads effectively through learning
31:52 Flight nurses spreading mission-critical knowledge
32:16 "See One, Do One, Teach One"
32:42 The More You Know, the More you Can Absorb

33:22 Q: In architecture we have a lot of people sitting working on their own projects. How do we create opportunities for vicarious learning in that environment?
33:50 Opportunities to Connect Using Technology (Slack, etc)
35:18 Identify when People are Working on Similar Problems
36:07 Working Out Loud Method

36:56 Q: What other methods that you’ve seen to help support adaptive learning / vicarious learning?
37:26 Rewarding Knowledge Sharing
38:22 Learning to Ask and Share

40:05 Q: Can you share what the Center for Positive Organizations does?
40:26 Management Practices that Help Organizations Thrive
41:44 Learning as Growth

42:20 Q: What is the idea of learning from extreme success?
42:38 Shifting from a Deficit Mentality
43:00 Learning Value of Exceptional Successes
43:45 Motivation to Learn from Extreme Experiences

45:30 Q: Why isn't this more common?
45:35 Extreme Failure is more Obvious than Extreme Success
46:14 Attribution Error
47:50 Learn Better from Own Success than Own Failure

48:23 Q: What brought you to Johns Hopkins
48:34 Meaningful Outcomes of Healthcare Management

49:35 Q: What are healthcare organizations doing about burnout?
50:00 Examining Fundamental Organizational Elements
50:40 Burnout Among Internal Medicine Residents
51:30 Importance of Learning in Reducing Burnout
53:24 HBR Article: To Cope with Stress, Try Learning Something New

54:40 Q: From your observations, what are your best tips or "facilitating" learning and knowledge transfer in a virtual environment?
55:06 Multiple Virtual Channels Enables Diverse Input
57:37 Benefits of Brainwriting

58:30 Q: Looking back over your career, what knowledge would have helped as you were starting out that you've learned over time?
58:44 Recognize the Duality of Knowledge Management
59:20 Provides both Backbone and Constraints on Learning
1:01:01 Knowledge Based on Assumptions: Mars 2020 Lander
1:03:55 Documenting for Current vs Future Teams

1:06:24 Q: What is next for your research?
1:06:32 Mapping the Space Between Formal & Informal Learning
1:07:12 Semi-Formal Strategies
1:08:36 Example: PPE & COVID

1:09:03 Q: There is a shrinking half-life to knowledge—is this connected to a move towards semi-formal?
1:09:30 Semi-Formal Learning Adaptability
1:10:50 Informal Workarounds

1:12:00 Q: It seems like the culture of learning you're describing depends on a culture of downtime (from your stories example), or at least a culture of reflection. Are there other cultural norms or prerequisites that you were able to build on?
1:12:35 Importance of Freeform In-Between Time
1:15:22 Book: “The Reflective Practitioner” by Donald Schon
1:15:50 Technology and Constant Productivity

1:16:47 Q: Are there learning strategies and approaches that people are phasing out because they seem irrelevant, harmful, or ineffective?
1:17:10 Shift Away from Formal Training
1:18:00 Shift Toward Building a Response Repertoire
1:19:20 Rewarding Breadth and Non-Traditional Learning

1:20:52 Q: How do we scale breadth and group breadth?
1:21:35 Problem Solving in Unusual Scenarios

Read the Collaborative Notes

Members of our team and the KA Connect community took collaborative notes during this Deep Dive using Google Docs. Collaborative note-taking helped us summarize key takeaways, collect related links, and will provide us with a quick reference when we return to this topic in the future. We've found the notes quite useful so far and hope you will as well.

More KA Connect 2020 Deep Dives

Deep Dive: Rose Hollister on Leading Change

Rose Hollister, Managing Director at Hollister Associates

Speaker Bio

Rose Hollister specializes in partnering with leaders and executives to accelerate results, increase strategic effectiveness, and meet emerging business challenges. Recognized as an expert in change management, Rose works with organizations to help leaders understand key elements of change and to foster an inclusive environment for making transformational shifts.    

Prior to founding Hollister Associates, Rose directed the Leadership Institute for McDonald’s Corporation, a Fortune Top Company for Leaders. The Institute provided innovative development for the top 1600 global leaders in over 100 countries. In this role, Rose had oversight for culture, onboarding, leadership, team development, and executive coaching. At Equity Office, Rose served as the Vice President of Organizational Learning and Development, where she led leadership and change. 

Rose teaches Global Change and Global Leadership at Northwestern University. 

Interview Summary

01:00 Q: How did you get into teaching about change & consulting with organizations about change?
01:12 Leading Organizational Change at Equity
01:50 Teaching at Northwestern

02:20 Q: What is the single most important factor of change management?
02:33 Clarity About Change

03:20 Q: Why is that hard?
03:30 Change Initiative Overload
04:38 Leadership Delegating Change

04:58 Q: Why is a business case important to change?
05:25 Show how it benefits the organization

06:56 Q: What is the #1 cause of resistance to a change effort?
07:20 Unclear Outcomes, Lack of Involvement
08:22 "People want change done with them, not to them."
09:25 Resistance is Natural
10:20 Not All Change is Equal
11:15 Understand the Resistance

12:50 Q: Where do people make mistakes with leading change?
13:05 Lack of Sponsorship from Leader}
14:48 Underestimating Required Time & Resources

16:58 Q: Your HBR article “Too Many Projects” - why did you write it?
17:16 Impact of Change on Employees
19:22 Hidden Costs of Changing Poorly
19:55 Prioritizing Changes

20:50 Q: How do teams get beyond the swamp of consensus into nimble collaboration?
21:15 Input vs Consensus
22:20 Clear Decision Rights

23:07 Q: How do we manage change well in a time of crisis?
23:27 Standard Change vs Adaptive Change
24:05 Understand Impact & Intent
24:50 Vulnerability & Flexibility
25:25 Make Intentional Time to Connect

27:15 The Change Curve and Pulse of Change
27:47 Slide: The Change Curve (William Bridges)
28:26 Example: COVID
31:00 Slide: Pulse of Change
31:55 Example: Back to Office Plan

34:42 Q: How do you scale change management processes to fit smaller change initiatives?
35:24 Evaluate Impact and Rightsize Support

36:54 Q: Do you have a framework for change that you recommend?
37:09 Business Case, Impact Analysis, Message, Input

38:46 Q: How can I, as a leader, help teams to separate tools from real change?
39:05 What is the business impact of the tool?
40:17 Time Allocation

41:24 Q: In the conversation about sponsorship... How do we help the desired sponsor to fill the role when they are resistant to "making a decree"?}
42:30 Alternate Level of Leadership
43:40 Leadership Must Send the Message

45:18 Q: How does one Sponsor help lead the change when all other leadership is "too busy" or expects others to do it for them instead. 
46:10 Be Specific in the Request
46:50 Get the Commitment 1:1
47:25 Is Their Support Optional?

49:05 Q: How does one who is not a top-tier leader influence leadership to understand the impact of the change initiative overload and encourage fewer changes?
49:46 Do an Assessment
50:00 Allocate Time
51:54 Example: List of Projects at BWBR

53:45 Q: How do you know when you've done enough? Given enough time, asked for enough input, planned enough resources, etc.?
54:28 Envision the End Result
55:22 Break It Down to Specifics

Read the Collaborative Notes

Members of our team and the KA Connect community took collaborative notes during this Deep Dive using Google Docs. Collaborative note-taking helped us summarize key takeaways, collect related links, and will provide us with a quick reference when we return to this topic in the future. We've found the notes quite useful so far and hope you will as well.

More KA Connect 2020 Deep Dives

Deep Dive: Designing GMB for Continuous Change and Growth

David Bolt, CEO, GMB
Rob Den Besten, COO, GMB

Interview Description
David Bolt (CEO) and Rob Den Besten (COO) of GMB joined us for a Deep Dive into their Team of Teams management system, which helps drive flexible and scalable change through all areas of the organization. Over the last three years, Team of Teams has changed the way GMB builds teams, connects disciplines, develops regional offices, grows empathy and trust within a multi-generational workforce, and structures the business itself. We also discussed the positive impact the Team of Teams system has had in helping GMB to navigate the coronavirus pandemic, manage knowledge, and prepare for an uncertain future.

Speaker Bios
David Bolt and Rob Den Besten have spent their entire careers working at GMB, both starting as architectural interns. Now as CEO, David is passionate about building GMB into a 'Team of Teams'. He believes that all people deserve to be the best they can be, to work in a place that cares about them as individuals with unique gifts and abilities, and to find the right place to grow their knowledge. His job is to inspire, lead, dream, and provide an environment for teams to learn, grow, and give.  

As COO, Rob's passion lies in connecting GMB's offices in a way that elevates a 'Team of Teams' approach, fosters an empowered culture, and leads to everyone's growth. His role is to keep teams focused on reaching their goals, delivering amazing service, integrating the major functions of the business, and growing in knowledge. He believes in getting the right people in the right seats and removing obstacles so that they can be successful.

Interview Summary

00:40 Introduction to GMB

03:26 Q: Take us through GMB’s journey to a “team of teams” structure.
03:46 Growth and Identifying Priorities

05:35 Q: How did you change how you treat your people?
05:44 Discovering “Team of Teams”
07:22 People First Takes Work

08:30 Q: What is Teams of Teams and why did GMB adopt the model?
08:57 4 Principles: Building Trust, Exchange of Ideas, Common Goals and Purpose, Empowering Individuals

10:24 Q: What direction are you headed in?
10:40 Creating Lifelong Learners

11:00 Q: How do these principles break into an organizational design? What does the structure look like?
11:12 Creating Rhythms and Repetition
11:44 Non-Hierarchical Team Structure

13:10 Q: What’s an example of a team and what’s one of their scopes and decisions?
13:20 Pod Structure
14:20 Firmwide Assignment: What’s Our Flexible Future?
14:53 Building Trust & Empathy - 15 minutes daily
15:55 Summary of Pods Approach
16:30 90-Day Sprint Goals
17:00 Shuffling Pod Groups
17:22 Lifeline Exercise

18:25 Q: Can you talk about how change and trust go together?
18:40 The Future is All About Change 
18:57 Change Requires Trust

20:00 Q: How did you knit together multiple offices with the pod system?
20:18 Building Connection with Cross-Office Pods

21:51 Q: Do you have to be in a pod? 

22:15 Q: What were some of the objections early on?
22:22 Time Commitment & Purpose
23:04 Relationships Inspire Support

23:30 Q: Tell us about the 90-Day sprints.
23:44 Structure and Innovation

24:30 Q: What are some examples of a problem you have employees tackle as a group?
24:36 Multi-Office Communication, Flexible Future, Clients
25:00 Firmwide Finances
25:29 Experiment: Replacing Printouts with Collaborative PDFs

26:40 Q: What happens next when the pods are all meeting on these topics in parallel?
26:54 Topics Introduced at GMB University
27:20 30-Day Check-ins
27:45 60-Day Assessment
28:00 Inspiration from Lean A3 Formula

29:14 Q: What is GMB University and how does it interact with the pods structure?
29:36 Formalizing Knowledge Transfer
30:06 Two Day Off-Site for Entire Company

31:20 Q: How does GMB University relate to Coronavirus?
31:30 Team of Teams Structure Enabled Change
32:04 Virtual GMB University
33:21 Employee Survey

34:08 Q: How do you address introverts who want to keep personal & work life separate?
34:36 Fundamental Belief in Human Connection

36:22 Q: What is diversity like at your firm and is sharing different for women or people of color?
36:38 Gives Individual Employees Greater Voice & Empathy

38:26 Q: What is the onboarding process for new employees in existing pods?
38:42 Abbreviated Trust Onboarding

40:26 Q: Are the people within a pod also working on projects together?
40:50 “Super Teams” for Project Teams

42:40 Q: What does the process of moving people between pods look like?
43:08 Culture & Connection Team Evaluates Pod Makeup
44:05 Informal Leadership Training for Pod Captains

45:11 Q: How do pods share what they are learning with the rest of the firm?
45:25 Cross Pod Connections, Intranet

46:33 Q: How do you measure the success of the strategy?
46:36 Turnover Rate
47:05 Inter-Office Culture Transfer 
48:03 Offices Feel Equal

48:50 Q: If you were going to start again, what would you do differently for someone starting on this journey?
49:08 Lead and Let Go

50:55 Q: Could you share more about the thought process about building pods?
51:14 Pods Inspired by Random Seating

53:08 Q: Is there influence from Lean / Agile / Scrum design?
53:30 Inspiration from Scrum
54:24 Using Scrum Tools to Connect People

55:06 We Don’t Track Hours!

Read the Collaborative Notes

Members of our team and the KA Connect community took collaborative notes during this Deep Dive using Google Docs. Collaborative note-taking helped us summarize key takeaways, collect related links, and will provide us with a quick reference when we return to this topic in the future. We've found the notes quite useful so far and hope you will as well.

More KA Connect 2020 Deep Dives

Deep Dive: Knowledge Management in a Time of Rapid Change and Uncertainty

Cindy Hubert, Executive Director of Client Solutions, APQC
Dr. Carla O'Dell, Chairman, APQC

Interview Description
Dr. Carla O’Dell and Cindy Hubert of APQC joined us for a Deep Dive into the role of knowledge management during a time of change and uncertainty. We discussed approaches to aligning KM strategies to quickly changing business priorities, engaging and connecting employees through the Coronavirus pandemic, and peeked over the horizon into what knowledge management might look like in a post-pandemic world.

Speaker Bios
Considered one of the world’s leading experts in using knowledge to drive productivity and competitiveness, Chairman Dr. Carla O'Dell leads the Board of Directors in its governance and oversight responsibilities for APQC. Often dubbed "a practical visionary," she plays a strong role in APQC's game-changing research daily. She works to inspire the next generation of ideas, research, and people so that APQC remains true to its mission: to research and embrace advances that make us more productive and enrich our work life.

As an executive director of client solutions, Cindy Hubert brings both a strategic and pragmatic approach to designing solutions for APQC clients by bringing together all aspects of APQC’s capabilities to solve real problems.  Cindy supports both sales and delivery teams with her industry knowledge, valuable experience, and analytical skills to address APQC clients’ most important challenges. 

Interview Summary

02:30 Q: What is KM and how does it help organizations achieve their goals?
04:20 Value is Created When Knowledge Flows
06:40 KM Program Barriers: Time, Resources, Process
07:20 Lessons Learned Transfer Barriers: Lack of Coach or Mentor
08:18 Digital Tools Change the Way Knowledge Flows

09:28 Q: What does the process of getting knowledge to flow look like?
09:34 KM is a Discipline: Systematic and Specific Processes

10:55 Q: For organizations that are new to knowledge management, what do they need to know?
11:12 Strategy and Value Proposition: Focus on Critical Knowledge
12:40 Embed Lessons Learned in the Workflow
14:14 Budget for Processes + Tools

14:50 Q: What makes a good knowledge manager?
15:05 Adaptability is a Human Superpower
16:15 X-Ray Silo Vision
16:50 Awareness of Proven Robust KM Approaches
17:23 Change Management Skills
18:44 Technical Savvy
19:12 Intersection of KM & Process Management

19:36 Q: What’s the relationship between KM and Process Management?
19:50 Executive Partner: Empathy & Vulnerability 
20:35 Understanding of Business Processes and Workflow
21:00 Knowledge Map across a Process Map
23:50 Symbiotic/Partnership Relationship between Process & KM

24:08 Q: Is now a good time for organizations to start with KM?
24:40 60% of surveyed firms in “high to medium change” category in January (pre COVID-19)
25:39 Those with Existing KM programs responded to COVID-19 more effectively
27:28 What Matters to the Business and What Knowledge does it require?

28:48 Q: What is critical knowledge?
29:00 Knowledge that is both important to the business and at high risk
31:20 Rarity, Replication, Risk
31:40 Knowledge Risk Assessment

32:50 Q: What other opportunities are there for knowledge management in this time?
33:10 Knowledge Gaps & Islands

34:35 Q: As you look at the horizon (where KM goes from here), what does APQC see?
35:00 Crisis Accelerating Existing Trends
36:20 Knowledge Management can get lost to the Digital Team
37:27 Have a Re-Entry Plan for KM
38:40 Tell Your KM Story
39:00 Capture your Lessons
39:36 Focus on the Knowledge

41:08 Q: How do you create space for coaching and mentoring without forcing it?
41:45 Create Natural Connection Between Experts & Nextperts
42:55 Formal Mentor/Mentee Program
43:50 Communities Build Mentorship Relationships
44:15 Watch Experts Working Together

45:15 Q: How do you make Knowledge Mapping an ongoing exercise?
46:17 Process Must Be Owned
47:10 Focus on Knowledge that Drives the Business
48:08 AEC Business Drivers
49:15 Assessing and Managing Risk

49:55 Q: How do you motivate experts who are overloaded with tasks to put time and energy to KM?
51:06 Common Motivators 
52:00 Help People Do what they Already Want to Do (Tiny Habits)

53:22 Q: What's the difference between KM and Business Intelligence?
53:55 Complementary Disciplines: Data and Tacit Knowledge
54:50 Business Intelligence Skills help Knowledge Managers Create Value

Read the Collaborative Notes

Members of our team and the KA Connect community took collaborative notes during this Deep Dive using Google Docs. Collaborative note-taking helped us summarize key takeaways, collect related links, and will provide us with a quick reference when we return to this topic in the future. We've found the notes quite useful so far and hope you will as well.

More KA Connect 2020 Deep Dives

Deep Dive: Jennifer A. Chatman on Leading Change

Jennifer A. Chatman, Professor
Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley
 

Interview Description
Professor Jennifer A. Chatman, Professor at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, joined us for a Deep Dive into making positive change and emerging stronger in the context of a pandemic. We discussed approaches to inspiring people and helping them clarify priorities, creating a cohesive culture, and maintaining an agile and adaptable organization. Jenny is a dynamic and thoughtful researcher, teacher, and consultant on culture, change, and strategy, and had great insights to share on leading change in this particular moment.

Speaker Bio
Jennifer A. Chatman is the Paul J. Cortese Distinguished Professor of Management at the Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, she’s the Berkeley Haas Associate Dean for Learning Strategies, the Co-Founder and Director of the Berkeley Haas Culture Initiative, and the Editor of the premier research series, Research in Organizational Behavior. She also designed and produces the Berkeley Culture Initiative's annual Berkeley Culture Conference.

Interview Summary

01:18 What makes organizations or individuals good at leading change?
01:40 Psychological Resistance: Don’t take it personally
04:21 Changing in response to COVID-19

05:09 What makes an organization adaptable?
05:44 Change Leadership Steps & Best Practices
06:56 Case Study: Change Practices Applied
09:00 Incorporate Change into the Work

09:42 Why do organizations resist this approach?
10:33 Underestimating Psychological Resistance
12:06 Challenge of Combining Technical and Interpersonal Solutions

14:51 What idea opens the biggest door you open for your students?
15:06 Accounting for Human Behavior

17:02 How do you craft a vision in uncertain times?
18:08 Balance Realism and Reassurance 
19:02 Communicate Regularly
21:26 Create a (Calm) Context for Productivity
22:00 Focus on Short-Term Horizons

22:44 What can organizations do to better support their leaders?
23:14 Boards and Advisors to Support Leaders
24:21 Leadership Peer Groups

25:56 What makes a cohesive culture?
26:16 High Impact of Leadership Priorities
27:09 Strong Culture is a Strategy Execution Tool
27:51 2x2 of Cultural Cohesion = Agreement x Intensity

29:56 Which of the 4 options is most prevalent among organizations?
30:16 Summary of the 4 Cultures
31:10 Causes of Vacuous Culture

31:18 Why do organizations or individuals struggle at leading change?
32:53 Too Many Priorities
34:13 Prioritizing Values during the Pandemic
34:56 Summary

35:06 How is cultural intensity demonstrated?
35:44 Intensity is Built into Everything
36:31 Case Study: Haas School's 4 Defining Principles

38:32 What does building the case for change look like?
38:56 Strategically Informed Vision of the Future
39:51 Convey Your Vision through Story Form
41:49 Example: I Have a Dream Speech
43:42 Spread Your Vision Speech

44:51 Where should leadership focus their change capital?
46:20 The Lasting Implications of Change Decisions
47:08 Example: University of California hiring values
49:23 Lesson Learned: Vet decisions and consider long-term impacts

51:18 What changes to culture do you anticipate in the next 12 months?
52:06 Reduction in real estate holdings
53:04 Understanding of when human interaction is required

Read the Collaborative Notes

Members of our team and the KA Connect community took collaborative notes during this Deep Dive using Google Docs. Collaborative note-taking helped us summarize key takeaways, collect related links, and will provide us with a quick reference when we return to this topic in the future. We've found the notes quite useful so far and hope you will as well.

More KA Connect 2020 Deep Dives