Developing Dynamic Team Cultures

Developing a Responsive and Dynamic Team Culture
John Boyd, OODA, SEMCO

Why a Team Culture?
Imagine a sports team (Basketball, Volleyball, Soccer)
Which teams are winners?
Why do they work cohesively?
CULTURE: the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group.

There is Practiced Communication and Coordination
Works with a common set of plays
Dynamic, can adjust to new situations that arrive
Different Roles but with a Common Goal in Mind.

A Responsive, Dynamic Game Play
Get in the Decision Cycle and understand the OODA Loop (more on this later)
Work independently while having a common goal in mind
Practice Leverage and Efficiency

PART 1: The Decision Cycle
OODA Loops and John Boyd

What’s an OODA Loop?
OODA Means:
Observe
Orient
Decide
Act
Usually applied to the combat operations process
Developed by military strategist and USAF Colonel John Boyd.
Get in the Decision Cycle and understand the OODA Loop

Who’s John Boyd?
United States Air Force fighter pilot and military strategist of the late 20th century
He was dubbed "Forty Second Boyd" for his standing bet as an instructor pilot
Beginning from a position of disadvantage, he could defeat any opposing pilot in air combat maneuvering in less than forty seconds.

On the OODA theory, "Time is the dominant parameter. The pilot who goes through the OODA cycle in the shortest time prevails because his opponent is caught responding to situations that have already changed.”
- Harry Hillaker (chief designer of the F-16)

OODA: Practical Example
Observation: Read Emails, Understand the context of issues, Be in-the-know.
Orientation: Think- Knowing this, What do I need to do?
Decision: Given previous experiences, what are my alternatives?
Action: Choose an alternative and act on it.
Observation: the collection of data by means of the senses
Orientation: the analysis and synthesis of data to form one's current mental perspective
Decision: the determination of a course of action based on one's current mental perspective
Action: the physical playing-out of decisions

OODA: Practical Example 2
Observation: Email comes with feedback from the boss on a project or design
Orientation: Look at previous experiences with similar feedback. What did we do?
Decision: Choose among alternative courses of action. Think of alternative designs.
Action: Work on the project and/or send new designs choices.
Observation: the collection of data by means of the senses
Orientation: the analysis and synthesis of data to form one's current mental perspective
Decision: the determination of a course of action based on one's current mental perspective
Action: the physical playing-out of decisions

Remember: Observe and Orient = Situational Analysis
Always Get FEEDBACK
Be Aware of the Context
Compare with previous experiences

The Faster the Decision Cycle, The Better we Adapt to changing dynamic situations.

Is OODA Effective?
Millennium Challenge was a$500 million war game the Pentagon conducted in 2001
It was considered elaborate dress rehearsal for the Iraq War, with one side "playing" the U.S. and another team playing Iraq -- and Iraq won.
A retired Marine Corps General named Paul Van Riper, played Saddam Hussein
Van Riper won by speeding up the game and getting into the decision cycle of his opponents.
(From Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell)

PART 2: Acting Independently
Workplace Democracy, SEMCO and Ricardo Semler

Why Act Independently?
Think of a Basketball team:
A coach prepares the plays
The team executes
The point-guard starts it
If something doesn’t go right with the play
The team can adjust accordingly…
While still aiming for a score
2. Work independently while having a common goal in mind

“ Workplace Democracy”
It it’s most radical form:
is an arrangement which involves workers making decisions, sharing responsibility and authority in the workplace.
One of the popular proponents:
Ricardo Semler
SEMCO

Who’s Ricardo Semler?
Ricardo Semler (born 1959 in São Paulo) is the CEO and majority owner of Semco SA,
SEMCO is a Brazilian company best known for its radical form of workplace democracy and corporate re-engineering
As of 2003, SEMCO had annual revenue of $212 million, from $4 million in 1982 and $35 million in 1994, with an annual growth rate of up to 40 per cent a year. It employs 3,000 workers in 2003, as opposed to 90 in 1982.

Acting Independently
Your company is different from SEMCO
BUT we can apply some basic principles:
Common Goals in mind
Act quickly on issues that arise (OODA)
Empowerment
This requires a high level of TRUST between parties

You have authority to ACT. Just be sensible about it.


Example Of Acting Independently
The team receives e-mail needing immediate action on an important issue.
If you’ve seen this before, and takes very little effort to work at – JUST DO IT.
That’s the risk the Manager is taking – TRUSTING your JUDGMENT and TRAINING.

Automatic Feedback: The Ideal Scenario
In sports, performance is clearly measured by the SCORE.
There is an AUTOMATIC FEEDBACK system in place.
In our work, feedback comes from e-mails, reports and other sources of data.

Web Company Automated Feedback and Overall Performance Guide
Web Analytics Website Performance
Sales/Revenue
Company Stock Price
As projects handled show positive numbers, the team is getting the job done.

Part 3: Leverage and Efficiency
A game of GO, anyone?

The Game Of GO
The object of the game is to control a larger portion of the board than the opponent.
It is a practice of how to win given very limited resources.
Scenario: Your team is small, how do you get things done?
3. Practice Leverage and Efficiency

Basic GO Tenets
Go is noted for being rich in strategic complexity despite its simple rules.
A stone placed STRATEGICALLY can always capture A LARGER TERRITORY.
You don’t win by the sheer number of stones you place. You win by placing stones at the right points to CAPTURE and eventually WIN.

Correct Strategic Actions Bring Effective Results
In short, work SMARTER.

Who won the Vietnam War?
The North Vietnamese won the war despite little ammunition and limited resources.
They focused on Guerilla Tactics
TET Offensive – Surprised and Focused calculated attack on key cities.
US pulled out due to public pressure when the bloody TET offensive was shown on TV.

How We Do It? 1. Focused Pressure.
Which pressure points do we push to get things done?
Who are the key people that we need to tap?
How do you get help?

How We Do It? 2. Push The Lever!
Get support from the key people in your team
Key question: How get your project the needed attention?

What Key Skills Do We Need?
People-management
Time and Tasks Coordination
Persuasion

Find your Fulcrum and Multiply Your Force
Small Effort, Big Impact

You need to Learn the Art of Selling Ideas through Persuasion


Persuasion Weapons
Reciprocity – Let’s scratch each other’s backs
Commitment and Consistency – You promised…
Social Proof – Everybody else is doing it
Liking – You’re cute, ok, I’ll do it.
Authority – The boss says do it. Do it!
Scarcity – Offer valid in the next 10 seconds only

Is this culture effective?
TRY IT AND SEE FOR YOURSELF.

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Developing Dynamic Team Cultures

by Ely Apao on Oct 29, 2009

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Developing Dynamic Team Cultures — Presentation Transcript