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Dick Davies' Articles

Dick Davies a highly experienced senior manager who's at the stage where's he's reflecting deeply on management practices in organizations. He says for example that:

"... the human fabric of the workplace precedes in importance that of technology".

In 2010, Dick started a series of articles on independent contractors and the future. Links to those article appear below.

Dick's Latest Thoughts:

Independents can take the initiative now to fix Australia's productivity

Posted 28 August 2011

Productivity is very much in the news, with a recent speech by Glen Stevens, Governor of the RBA, echoing a sentiment widely expressed about 'the two speed economy' and what happens after the mining boom.

Independents can play a far more strategic role in Australia's future than is hitherto recognized, specifically by offering a solution to the challenge of radically improving productivity. But their strategic role will never be approached, let alone fulfilled, until independents are able to see it as in their interests to solve the fundamental problem that has to be overcome---how to credibly undertake commitments that demand large scale cooperation without a conventional organizational structure.

I'm not going to propose the answer, but I want to propose a way to find an answer. The first step is to open up discussion aimed at identifying suitable targets---areas in the public or private sector that matter enough to command the attention of decision makers---that are being done badly now and that seem worth investigating to see whether a group of independents could deliver a (much) better outcome.

The aim would be to search for 'outrageous concrete goals': eye-catching, achievable, measurable and---very importantly---commercially attractive. Few doubt that committed teams can do amazing things. There are countless examples around Australia of initiatives by enthusiastic volunteers and local communities that achieve outstanding social outcomes which are hardly recognized by the economically regulated 'system'. Big business and government understand the language of economics whether or not they choose to be swayed by it in particular cases. A credible plan to deliver a better outcome for half the cost at least provides the basis of a conversation opener and some searching questions even if no decision to take action results. These are the opportunities independents have to cooperate to exploit.

Over time, a huge commercial payoff could emerge from large sections of today's work being removed from their current organizational settings and outsourced to networks of independents. The work would be done far more effectively and efficiently resulting in substantial income for independents and savings for the organizations. Independents would then have their place as strategic partners at the high table and Ken Phillips's recent remarks about independents having always been at loggerheads with big organization would start to become history. Who knows, even the unions might start to think that several million independents are a market worth cultivating?

The conversation needs to start from outrage at ineffectiveness being allowed to persist. What are the things that most cry out to be fixed?


The Independents' University?

Posted 13 June 2011

I'd like to add my voice to the compliments paid to you for keeping the issues facing independents so clear and upfront. It was great to see Paul Sheehan wade in last Thursday.

A lot of commentators are talking about Australia positioning itself to continue to thrive when the mining boom has passed. From this point of view, the attack on independents seems to me about as retrogressive as you can get. I'm not sure how widely this is recognized, however. There's a lot of cultural stuff that's hard to talk about buried in this that needs to be exposed and brought within the remit of public debate, something I suspect will meet fierce resistance.

To this end, I am wondering whether this may be a good time to raise a hobbyhorse of mine, the Independents' University. The Independents' University is a university in the sense that knowledge is developed there and people learn there and can achieve significant, transportable credentials. It is also fundamentally a commercial proposition and a social intervention which can change our understanding of work. Beyond that, it is an intervention which will develop our understanding of knowledge, moving it on from an ability to answer questions to an ability to deliver outcomes.

I have no idea what physical form it might take, or what area of the economy might be best to start in, or how to even get started, but these are questions whose answers will emerge as understanding develops, a process which will require a network of supporters connected into key institutions.

I've written a lot of stuff about this and I don't want to take up your time rehashing it, but I wonder if it might be a good time to try to pull this network together. It could be a way of generating very powerful messages to counter or discourage what's going on at the moment.

Do you know people who might be interested in this? I'd much appreciate your view.


The Ideal Work Environment

Posted 15 January 2011

The Melbourne consultancy Quantum Edge did a major research exercise some years ago to uncover the psyche of the Australian workplace. They discovered a pattern through which a brilliant start frequently led to decline and fall. The new worker, they found, was well educated, hard working and enthusiastic, so keen that they would practically do the job for nothing: they called them 'volunteers'. This continued for a while until something happened that really annoyed them, but when they tried to get the matter addressed, they found they weren't able to. This rankled them so much that they couldn't let it go, and buttonholed everyone they talked to. The shine had come off their unalloyed keenness and the 'volunteer' had morphed into a 'whinger'.

As exposure over time revealed that this was the norm rather than the exception, the worker came to see less and less point to trying to do their best and instead settled for doing the minimum necessary to avoid unwanted attention and just get by. Physically they were there, often with a nice smile, but emotionally they had withdrawn. The 'whinger' had become a 'presenter', there in body but not in spirit. If this situation was allowed to persist, over time it got worse, with more and more resentment building up as the worker felt trapped with no way out. The 'presenter' had become a 'prisoner', actively looking to damage the employer if they could get away with it.

It may be that things have moved on from when the research was done but everyone I have spoken to can recognize the pattern. My purpose here is to ask a question: how do Australians build a work environment in which everyone stays as 'volunteers'? The mining boom will not go on for ever, and Australia will need new advantages to maintain its economic growth as the boom falls away. This could be it's greatest opportunity.

I want to qualify the question a bit, because of course there is no single answer, and any particular workplace will be very complex. What is important is to bring the right set of considerations within the remit of those responsible so that work environments are less vulnerable to the various forms of toxicity that now afflict them. Such considerations will depend a lot, of course, on the business being conducted. But it is important to recognize that in every work environment, technical processes are being carried out within a human context and will not be sustainable if the human context is broken.

I would like to offer some ideas that occur to me as qualities of a work environment that overcomes the decline and fall---an Ideal Work Environment.

Firstly, everybody involved should understand the purpose of the workplace, have an opportunity to question it and feel some ownership of it. I am talking about a shared, felt purpose, an emotional feeling running through the place rather than words on a piece of paper. It will have many purposes, with different time horizons. It may be there to offer excellence in some capability, but that goal can only be achieved through a series of demonstrated outcomes. Everyone needs to feel part of it.

Secondly, involvement is by choice. Nobody has to do anything, or be part of it at all if they do not choose to be. On the other hand, once a person has chosen to take on a commitment, that commitment is cast iron. Managing oneself to deliver the outcomes one commits to is the most basic building block on which the workplace functions.

Thirdly, because responsibility goes with commitment, nobody tells anybody what to do. Anyone can ask for what they need, including help or guidance, but it is assumed that someone accepting responsibility for a commitment understood what they were taking on and to second guess them would be disrespectful and potentially offensive.

Fourthly, great store is placed on the importance of how people talk to each other. An openness to learn is vital. Being able to express oneself appropriately is important; being able to listen well, even more so. The tone for this is set from the outset, and it is part of everyone's job to do what they can to maintain a high standard.

Fifthly, new skills are brought in as they are needed, but never at the price of diluting responsibility. Thus if project management software were to be used on a particular project, it was the responsibility of the person who committed to the project to make that decision, and it is that person's responsibility to make the decision work. If it seems to be going wrong, it is that person's responsibility to ask for help.

Sixthly, excellence has to be of the essence. The workplace will never get off the ground, let alone survive, without a trusted reputation for delivering excellence.

I have outlined a set of values that the environment manifests, but the environment also needs administrative reality. Its fulfillment of its purpose must take place in a way that complies with financial and legal requirements of the wider society. It must take place in a way that has contracts in place to meet the needs of those involved. What is described here places a high premium on what is now termed emotional intelligence and what has long been called maturity. Experienced people could be very valuable as guides and mentors in getting the human dimensions right. Some equitable basis has to be found to compensate them for their involvement. And lastly, there has to be an actual outcome to be delivered. This could be somebody's vision or business plan, or it could be a chunk of work outsourced from a big organization to a trusted employee or ex-employee judged able to do the job better than it is being done. Whatever it is, it is only the start. The real product here is the capability of individuals to work together in a highly productive way to achieve extraordinary outcomes.

To accomplish this vision is a challenge. It is fundamentally a commercial proposition: do this, and the economy will work in these areas better/faster/cheaper. Independents are probably closer than any other groups to working this way already.

Time to put an end to prisoners and presenters in the workplace, even if we still have to tolerate the odd whinger.


Emporium: Transforming work in Australia

Posted 11 January 2011

Summary

Economic pressures are forcing a separation between traditional 'jobs', with connotations of long term continuity and high overhead costs, and 'work', activity to achieve outcomes which can in principle be done by anybody anywhere who has the capability required. As a result, work is becoming institutionalized in new ways, which can potentially benefit both those doing it and those paying for its outcome.

For the benefit to be fully realized, a new culture will need to emerge, one which encourages a workforce no longer expecting to be told what to do, but far more proactive, engaging creatively to find new ways to add value.

The paper envisages a network of local centres emerging throughout Australia (the 'Emporium' of the title) in which a variety of independent individuals, committed to a wide range of outcomes from small tasks to large programmes, configure into teams that deliver a good outcome to their clients while enabling their members a lifestyle of their choosing.

It further envisages a computer based infrastructure facilitating this activity which, as`it is successfully implemented, will deliver a major boost to the computer services industry in Australia.

This is a massive change with far reaching implications for the type of society that emerges, and it is going ahead in one form or another in Australia and the rest of the world, as a result of countless decisions being made by businesses and individuals everywhere. But it is going forward with little visibility or shared understanding of what might be achievable.

This proposes the initiation of an adult education process to allow those interested in this subject---businesses, entrepreneurs, work seekers, academics, IT and Communication suppliers and others---to have access to the best information and support that can be provided to the decisions they make.

For the full text of Dick's discussion paper, click here.

Your Thoughts

What do you think about Dick's thoughts? If you would like to contribute your own thoughts, please e-mail your contribution to us at: dickdavies@contractworld.com.au.

Previous articles

'Let's take them on'
[final article in the 'future' series]		21 March 2010
'Building the context for the independents' revolution'
[5th article in the 'future' series]		11 March 2010
'Effective meetings are the key'
[4th article in the 'future' series]		1 March 2010
'A scenario in which independents trigger the start of a new workplace'
[3nd article in the 'future' series]		19 February 2010
A Glimpse of What Could Be?
[2nd article in the 'future' series]		10 February 2010
Independents and the Future of Work
[1st article in the 'future' series]		2 February 2010
ITC Contracts Could be a Great Opportunity
[Submitted discussion here]		26 September 2009