SNAPPLE:
Made from the best stuff on earth in 1980s. 30 years later – We found better stuff!
We inherit teams NOT made of the best stuff, but some OLD, some GOOD, some BAD, and some VERY bad that no one wants to talk about
Only 1 time in 15 years have I had the chance to BUILD A TEAM
ONE TIME I was able to INFUSE the best stuff into a team I built myself
I work for a Global IT consultancy – think Latam Airlines or Shop Direct - that has always had a strong heartbeat for social justice.
In 2014, our chairman and founder idea:
social sector arm of our business to be a future foundation
Specialize in Global Health: building HC technology solutions for and in developing countries where the poor and underserved lacked access to quality care
When you are already poor and malnourished, having poor health OR minimal access to quality care exacerbates your situation
Don’t think the poor in NYC; think South Sudan, Syria, Sierra Leone, Haiti, Bangladesh
FUN FACT about Germany – many German citizens in this room. If you woke up proud today, here is a second reason to be proud:
huge supporter of Health care in this country.
I took this picture myself, the physician sitting on the floor is a client and now friend
On behalf of these women and children who will never be able to thank you, I thank you.
Brand new space for me – I know CEOs
15 years in Global corporations, making rich people richer!
Degrees in psychology
NEW SPACE!
2 CLIENTS: No understanding of Global NGO funding structures AND MIin of Health for a failed-state government
USERS: would be very rural clinics without running water, solar power, minimal to no use of computers, extreme locations - “user experience” takes on a whole new meaning!
The tech was not sophisticated, the extraneous factors were!
In building a team of the BEST STUFF ON EARTH Skill was not enough!
Intentionally global (US, London, Africa, China, India - 9 people across 5 countries) - 24-hour access AND care
And if this wasn’t hard enough, let’s make the LT 50% women!
HOW DO I BUILD A TEAM MADE UP OF THE BEST STUFF ON EARTH
Scalable and Sustainable are just the basics!
My team is NOT going to solve these universal global issues
We CAN create good solutions DESIGNED AROUND these big puzzles – THE WIN-WIN-WIN
I immediately went to Patrick L
Trust would be the foundation on which excellent and accelerated output could be layered
HOW do you create trust around Language, Culture, Gender and Timezones barriers??
Other than being a student of psychology
15 years as a consultant
I am a person of faith
Picture of the Love Wall done by a local graffiti artist in NYC
It's written about in the Bible, the Torah, and is found in Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Jainism, Taoism, even Humanism
Love your neighbor
Putting another ahead of yourself makes the other person feel SAFE because they TRUST you
I developed 3 Rules of Engagement to build TRUST
Courage of Healthy Confrontation
Have the courage/care/concern to set aside my own discomfort and embarrassment and speak the truth for the good of the other person
EXAMPLE:
One man, a white male, who had a pattern of interrupting women of color (Indian, Chinese, black). Rather than let hurt and rumor swirl, I went to him
He was unaware, embarrassed, and GRATEFUL
He apologized individually to his female teammates
Now our team was SAFE for them to mention this to him in the future when it happened again
Results:
Show weakness AND get needed feedback to improve. That is huge. Safety. Vulnerable to make mistakes.
This means:
CHANGING THE DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
Success for the group = success for the individual
Failure for the group = failure for the individual
Results:
Our team meetings were truly collaborative around strategy and solutions
No alternative agendas
I always assume the best of you, I give you the benefit of the doubt.
The hardest of all! Especially across timezones, cultures and languages
Greek Stoicism calls this “I can’t control you; I can control my response to you”
Sr Doctor took our SW Product to Sierra Leone for 3 months to serve during the Ebola Crisis. He could email 3x per week. He was ALWAYS making mistakes – leaving off emails, not giving correct instructions. As a team, we could CHOOSE to be frustrated by this OR choose to see his intent and make him successful. SERVE HIM WHILE HE SERVES OTHERS
Your situation = DON’T share common 1st language!
Result:
Trust. A team that actually believed the best in one another BEST STUFF ON EARTH
BUSINESS RESULTS – we were successful, certainly financially
2 foundations; OS Consortium; hundreds of implementations around the globe in the most needy places; done by our firm AND our partners
Because of the foundation
THIS is the best stuff on earth
NOW I’m leading a different part of our business
INHERITING a team this time that is NOT made of the best stuff on earth :-) NOT YET!
Already started Building Trust first AS A FOUNDATION OF EXCELLENCE
Watch teams BLOSSOM when they treat one another with respect.
THIS IS INDUSTRY AGNOSTIC.
IF YOU WANT A BUSINESS ACCELERATOR, BUILD A TEAM ON THE BEST STUFF ON EARTH