Robin Riley

Information Age Government

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CIPR Webinar – Change Communication

February 25, 2018 / / 0 Comments

What it was:

A CIPR Webinar on Change Communication presented by Alison Arnot.

Source: http://bit.ly/1El4UJS

What I learned:

Overall points from the webinar:

  • Change is a normal part of business process so a successful business must be able to do it sustainably and repeatedly.
  • People naturally wary of change. It is experienced differently by different people
  • The change curve is superficially similar to the grief curve!
  • Communicators job is to help people move through the change process
  • Those closely involved in the change process typically have a different view as they have more insight and empowerment in respect of the change.
  • Ultimate goal is to get people engaged and motivated to help deliver the future
  • Measurement / evaluation is key. You can’t influence what you don’t understand
  • Measure effectiveness, understanding, feelings, engagement and behaviour
  • Can use e.g. Bench-marking and demonstration of objective evidence of actual changes in behaviour

Detailed points:

Change communication strategy needs to include…

  • Why communicate? Who communicates with whom and about what?
  • What channels? When?
  • AND Consequences and measurement?

Analysing stakeholders needs to ask…

  • What is it like working with us? Who influences them? Who do they influence
  • What is our place in their aspirations? What is their view of our future? How can we help each other?
  • What is their motivation/agenda?

Stakeholder mapping – “Power vs. Interest”

  • High power low interest: Keep satisfied – A threat if they don’t understand
  • High power high interest: Engage – Can make or break your programme
  • Low power low interest: Monitor – Inform but don’t overload
  • Low power high interest: Inform – An advocate and ear to the ground

Communication content needs to address….

  1. STRATEGIC Information
  • Vision, values and direction
  • Rationale and benefits of the change
  • Comms outcome: Sense of purpose
  1. CORPORATE Information
  • How we are progressing?
  • Is the change helping?
  • What success is being had?
  • Comms outcome:  Sense of progress
  1. OPERATIONAL Information
  • What we need to start, stop and continue doing to make the change a success
  • Comms outcome: Sense of control

Messaging needs to address the three following needs…

  • Personal needs – a realistic (not evangelical) appraisal of the situation and what it means for me
  • Operational needs – where we are, where we need to be, what we need to do
  • Strategic needs – the big picture

What I will aim to do differently as a result:

I will conduct a stakeholder mapping exercise (identifying them all, then mapping power vs interest) for my digital transformation programme.

I’ll tailor our programme comms to ensure it covers the Strategic / Corporate / Operational content-types outlined in this briefing.

I’ll ensure that our messaging is better at addressing the three “needs” i.e. Personal / Operational / Strategic.

I will design a system of bench-marking for the programme – potentially a maturity model. For example %age of people that agree with each of the 10 statements in the digital vision.

Civil Service Alumni: Introduction to Artificial Intelligence

December 18, 2017 / / 0 Comments

What it was:

Talks by subject matter experts on AI hosted by the Civil Service Alumni, at the Royal College of Defence Studies, London on 18 December 2017

What I learned:

AI is permeating business:

  • No single agreed definition of “AI”
  • ‘Narrow’ AI does specific tasks, as opposed to ‘General’ AI which can solve new problems
  • AI is already in use in hundreds of Google products
  • AI is increasingly in the plans of the forward-looking global industrials
  • Huge landscape of firms involved in different sectors

Deep Neural Networks:

  • The workhorse of modern AI is the deep neural network, where each layer of neurons is connected to the prior layer
  • Supervised versus unsupervised learning
  • AI performance is better than humans in many narrow case, using supervised data and deep neural networks

Conditions for success:

  • Many AI applications can be characterised and understood as input X leading to output Y to solve problem Z.  For example, medical scan data leading to disease symptom recognition to solve diagnosis.
  • A precondition for the successful deployment of AI is a clear definition of the system or process, and an understanding of what AI can do
  • A social technical approach, including human impact, is typically desirable
  • AI typically requires widespread digitisation of the system
  • Data requirements: Common definitions, high quality, accessible, sufficient size
  • Domain expertise is key

Impact on Government?

  • A viable, shared business model for both public and private sector is needed
  • Key challenges for government in terms of  capability, ethics, regulation, getting on front foot in terms of impact, and in nurturing the wider AI economy
  • There is a significant discussion happening now around ethics, bias, regulation

What I will aim to do differently as a result:

  • Think about ethics and regulation of AI
  • Think about impact of AI on Government, including potential oportunities
  • Continue my learning theme on AI!

Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI)

November 7, 2017 / / 0 Comments

What it was:

An exercise to measure ourselves against the Strength Deployment Inventory (SDI) model (aka ‘red green blue triangle’) as part of the Future Leaders Scheme at Ashridge in November 2017.

What I learned:

I came out of the SDI exercise as red (“asserting / directing”) but close to red-green (judicious / competing) and the hub (flexible / cohering). Under stress or pressure I move to the hub.

I recognised all three in me, but perhaps the hub most of all

Your self-perception is based on your motivation, which form as intentions, which in turn express as behaviours.

Other people’s perceptions of you are the other way round – they are based on your behaviour, which expresses your intentions, driven by your inner motivation (which other people can’t see!)

What I will aim to do differently as a result:

  • Learn more about what I can do with SDI
  • Recognise when people are moving along their long vectors, it should be obvious they are stressed.
  • Note that for people with short vectors, it may not be obvious they are stressed, I may need to come to them to see if they need support
  • Always maintain healthy scepticism of SDI and similar personality models!

Future Leaders Scheme: Module one – introduction

November 6, 2017 / / 0 Comments

What it was:

An introductory session to the residential Future Leaders Scheme (FLS) residential module at Ashridge.

The objectives of the module:

  • Build network and relationships
  • Develop personal leadership development Goals
  • Gain insight into your leadership strengths and styles
  • Insight into how your behaviours impact others
  • Aware of neurological and physiological responses to pressure
  • Develop your own leadership brand

What I learned:

Watch out for crises – they can be addictive!

It’s lonely at the top and you can trust the feedback you get less and less. Have a small number of confidantes.

Leading change and transformation is the leadership required in the high uncertainty, high disagreement quadrant.

Management is doing things right – Leadership is doing the right thing.

An organisation can be thought of in different ways, as a Newtonian machine, as a natural system, or as a psychic prison of what you can and can’t do.

Peter Robertson:  all business efforts undergo an s-curve of success followed by decline. Successful organisations jump as their s-curve dies.

What I will aim to do differently as a result:

  • Build relationships with a small number of senior confidantes.
  • Try to write down my personal brand.
  • Ask the team whether they are being stretched, being challenged, being developed.
  • Think about whether I occupy the same role in leadership at work as I did or do in my family.

Future Leaders Scheme: Leadership under pressure

November 6, 2017 / / 0 Comments

What it was:

A talk and interactive session on leadership, held as part of the Future Leaders Scheme at Ashridge in November 2017.

We also completed a ‘leadership dilemmas’ exercise that looks at choices under pressure.

What I learned:

A simple model for how the brain works:

  • “Brain 1”, the autonomic nervous system; Sympathetic nervous system, works fast. Controls fear, fight, flight.
  • “Brain 2”, Parasympathetic nervous system; Controls rest and recuperation.
  • It’s essential to balance sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. Without balance, we lose cognitive function, become tired and stupid!
  • “Brain 3”, the conscious thinking mind. Brain 3 has not evolved fast enough for us to cope with modern world.
  • Under stress, brain 2 perceives threat, activates brain 1, brain 3 shuts down.

Sweet spot between challenge and threat is “correct thinking under pressure”- this is what you should always aim for.

My leadership values, according to my guesses (!?):

  • Future leaning
  • Integrity
  • Honest and open
  • Engagement
  • Innovation
  • “Excitement, adventure and really wild things”

My leadership values, as evidenced by the ‘leadership dilemmas’ exercise?

  • Integrity
  • Honesty
  • Openness

What will I aim to do differently as a result:

  • Consider an exercise to reconcile what team say about me and what I said about myself
  • Develop and write a “why should anyone be led by you statement”
  • Keep momentum on learning and development
  • Write this all up!

Who are you? Exploring the intersections of identity

October 11, 2017 / / 0 Comments

What it was:

Day of talks and discussions with Richard Heaton, MoJ permanent secretary and civil service race champion, plus other speakers from across Whitehall, held at the MOD on 11 October 2017.

What I learned:

Intersectionality is typically when people are a member of more than one minority group e.g. someone who is LGBT+ and a member of an ethnic minority.

Some of the hardest challenges are faced by people at these intersections – but  these intersections are also opportunities to embrace and enhance diversity.

“Diversity is being invited to the party… Inclusion is being asked to dance”

Different aspects of intersectionality may manifest in different contexts e.g. in a room full of men you are a woman, but in a room full of white people you are black.

What if you bring everything that you are to the party?

Authenticity is key.

What I will aim to do differently as a result:

Think about my ‘micro behaviours’ with my own team – do I use exclusive language / make exclusive judgements without conscious awareness?

Be more inclusive – for example, make sure team events are inclusive.

Ask new team members about their background.

Think about my privileges, what they are, and how I can use my privileges to help others.

Leadership Brand

August 30, 2017 / / 0 Comments

What it was:

Session on Leadership and personal brand at Ashridge as part of Future Leaders Scheme residential module one. August 2017.

What I learned:

Your real leadership brand is what other people say about you when you leave the room.

Leadership brand has various Attributes:

  • Contacts (judged on who you associate with)
  • Story
  • Appearance (image you project)
  • Presence
  • Behaviour (collaboration)
  • Purpose
  • Values
  • Talents (what are you famous for)

To consider:

  • What is the source of your authority? Why should anyone be led by you?
  • What do you expect of others?
  • What stories do you want other people to be telling about you?
  • What type of leader do you want to be remembered as (legacy)?

If you’re not constantly evaluating these sorts of things, you are potentially dangerous!

In the book “Why should anyone be led by you” they examined “what do followers want?”

  • Community (feel part of something)
  • Authenticity (not a robot leader)
  • Significance  (something that matters)
  • Excitement (new and interesting)

What I will aim to do differently as a result:

  • I will try to develop (write down) my leadership brand
  • I will read: “why should anyone be led by you”

DMSD Agile Foundation and Pracitioner

February 28, 2017 / / 0 Comments

What it was

A week-long course with tests and certification in London, on Agile project management techniques. February 2017.

What I learned

This is a comprehensive introduction to the practices of project management as set out in the industry-standard DSDM (“dynamical systems development model”) framework – more commonly known as “agile”.

Born from bitter experience in the world of enterprise software development, “Agile” project management can be applied widely, but is most suited to scenarios where the final product is malleable and can be iterated, where requirements and estimates are fluid or unknown at the start, and where the project must respond quickly to business change.

These are scenarios where traditional PRINCE2 / “waterfall” project management approaches often fail.

Agile is broadly applicable to PR practice – in particular event planning, producing publications, web development, and evolving campaigns which respond dynamically to feedback and external change (e.g. social media campaigns)

The DSDM framework is complex and comprehensive and covers key roles, products etc but can be summarised into eight key principles:

1. Focus on the business need
2. Deliver on time
3. Collaborate
4. Never compromise quality
5. Build incrementally from firm foundations
6. Develop iteratively
7. Communicate continuously and clearly
8. Demonstrate control

Two key techniques in Agile are:
1. MoSCoW – this is a way of prioritising requirements into Must/Should/Could/Won’t so that the project focuses on delivering the “must” requirements, using the resource for delivering the others as contingency to guarantee that the “musts” – at minimum – are delivered. Thus agile projects, unlike other approaches, act to fix time, cost and quality but vary *feature set*
2. Timeboxing – this is a rigid discipline in which the project is divided into fixed time intervals of iterative delivery, with built in co-ordination, review, acceptance and retrospective sessions. Fixing the time frames of an agile project ensures that whatever is delivered is delivered on time, with no prospect of delay. Combined with MoSCoW this is a powerful tool for ensure projects deliver what the business needs, when it needs it.

What I will aim to do differently as a result:

I will seek to apply Agile methodology and techniques to my team’s working.

CIPR webinar: What’s new in social media?

February 27, 2016 / / 0 Comments

What it was:

An online seminar from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations, accessed on 27 February 2016

What I learned:

Various insights from the annual OfCom report:

  • 72% of adults have a social profile, including 28% of 65 and over
  • Facebook has highest reach and engagement
  • 16-24s have breadth of social media e.g. instagram, snapchat
  • Twitter often used to air complaints or frustrations
  • Almost a fifth of adults say they are hooked on social media

Other insights

  • Twitter published a “Government and Elections Handbook”
  • Twitter analytics console has updated and is now powerful e.g follower analysis
  • Highest engagement with a tweet does not happen neatly on the hour or on the half hour
  • Facebook video overtaking Youtube video?
  • IFTTT has growing useful recipes e.g. when someone edits a wikipedia page
  • PR stack project looks at e.g. workflows to manage PR processes
  • CIPRSM hack days seem interesting; generate content on the fly

What I will aim to do differently as a result:

  • Ensure anything targeting younger demographic considers e.g. snapchat
  • Remember that older demographic are strong social users, too.
  • Re-examine Twitter analytics and use of Facebook video
  • Consider innovative uses of hacks e.g. to generate learning content on the say of an event
  • Look at what engagement, insight or analytics processes can be automated e.g. through IFTTT

Campaigns that shook the world: The evolution of public relations – Danny Rogers

February 1, 2016 / / 0 Comments

What it was:

I read the book ‘Campaigns that shook the world: The evolution of public relations’ by Danny Rogers as part of my Continuous Professional Development during February 2016.

What I learned:

Key points of learning for me from the campaigns covered in this book:

Thatcher election campaign

  • First modern political campaign in UK; visual, impactful
  • identifed potential swing groups of voters e.g. women labour voters
  • Event advertising – creating news spike from small number of ad sites
  • close alignment with newspaper editors
  • avoided battles they can’t win

New Labour, New Britain

  • Rolling news; rebuttal; The Grid
  • Blair and his advisers were a client/agency relationship, much like Thatcher
  • Aspiration was key to campaign

Royal renaissance

  • long term campaign
  • use of exclusive photographs
  • relationship with media changed; robust and uneven campaign

Rolling stones

  • wide and comprehensive campaign, lots of tie-ups, sponsorship
  • top team were engaged and flexible, did media that was tailored and adapted
  • pioneering of big stadium gigs

David Beckham

  • managing the narrative
  • lots of tie-ins and comms
  • spanning into new sectors; novelty

London 2012

  • clarity and consistency of the vision; did not deviate
  • team discovered that there is a growing chasm between media coverage and actual perception
  • used consistent opinion tracking throughout

RED

  • use of co-branding and partnering
  • some valid criticism of campaign which is a middle-man for fundraising, lack of transparency?

Obama for America

  • Clear phases to the campaign
  • aspirational
  • ground campaign: use of data to maximise and maintain subscriber lists etc.

Dove

  • Authenticity of message carried through the campaign
  • Issue marketing and thought-provoking content

Summary – some common attributes of successful campaigns:

  • Integrated campaigns
  • Clear vision, unified team, authenticity
  • PR-led strategy, consistent narrative
  • Collaborative approach to media
  • Forging partnerships
  • Embracing evolving concept of celebrity
  • Integrity, purpose
  • Optimising digital tools
  • Building genuine movements

It’s worth being aware that this book necessarily looks retrospectively at successful campaigns and is therefore potentially post-hoc rationalisation of why they were successful – potentially, many unsuccessful campaigns would exhibit the same attributes.

What I will aim to do differently as a result:

  • Have a clear vision and position, don’t deviate from it, keep all activity consistent and within that framework
  • Movements can be created and harnessed but think about authenticity
  • Think about celebrity, what this could mean in my work context, and how to embrace it
  • Think big, wide and long term when it comes to major campaigns
  • Don’t be afraid to think about affecting or re-baselining the fundamental relationships between players (e.g. between your organisation and the media, or by partnering) – truly successful campaigns are sometimes those that completely re-engineer the comms landscape. Don’t accept that landscape ‘as is’.

 

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