Your Inside Job™
Our unconventional approach to creating Culture by Intention™
Some call it “working on your business.” We call it Your Inside Job. It’s not the same as "working in your business,” which is all the busy work you and your team do to deliver what you sell or provide. Your Inside Job is the work involved in creating and maintaining the way you want to deliver what you sell or provide. When you do Your Inside Job well, it gives you the ability to attract and keep people on your team who understand how you want your business to operate. But the end result is even better! Your Inside Job results in a distinction to the products and services you provide, and will appeal to customers who have discriminating taste - which will align with your taste. Your business won’t blend in, won’t look like a take off, and won’t be easy for others to replicate.
7 Keys to your Inside Job™.
Transform your organization from the inside out
Your culture drives everything. Transforming an organization from the inside out begins by defining, cultivating, and reinforcing a culture of ownership. In this kind of culture, leaders bring real challenges and decisions into the open and invite employees to think, contribute, and solve. As ownership replaces entitlement, engagement becomes meaningful and performance improves. People feel free to raise issues because leadership is already engaging them in the work that matters. The end result is a culture of ownership rather than the conventional and transactional employer / employee relationship.
01. Cultivate culture.
We help organizations discover who they are and who they want to become, then communicate that identity clearly. Mission, vision, and values matter, but culture must go deeper than statements on a wall. We use an unconventional 10-step process to radically define, cultivate, and reinforce your culture that starts way before and goes far beyond simple statements.
02. Define "it".
“Do it Right the First Time,” sounds good. In order for people to do it right the first time, they have to know what the “it” is. Leaders must define that “it.” At Open Door, we help organizations set clear expectations for responsibilities, behaviors, standards, and outcomes in ways people can understand and embrace.
03. Enlist.
We don't like conventional recruiting, with the inherent oversell / underdeliver feel. Professional sports teams, the military, and even the entertainment industry understand this. The message is It won’t be easy, some won’t make it, performance matters, we want the best. That’s why each has try outs. Each approaches recruitment as an ongoing effort, not a one-time event. We help organizations think the same way, so they can enlist people in a mission rather than just filling a job. We help define and build an Enviable Employment Brand so you can find people who are wired for it. We also create tailored selection strategies, train leaders to use them, and provide tools to support the hiring process when needed.
04. Speak the truth.
Most people hate performance appraisals, and with good reason. Managers want a process that is less subjective and less emotional. People want honest feedback, recognition for what they do well, and clear direction for growth. We encourage more frequent dialogue in unconventional ways and tailor the process, tools, and training to fit the organization. We also coach managers through difficult conversations and serve as a neutral facilitator when needed.
05. Appreciate and recognize.
The most meaningful recognition is not always monetary. The best forms create lasting value and memorable experiences. We help organizations design appreciation that fits their culture, honors success, supports their own network, and creates positive visibility whenever and wherever possible.
06. Create ownership.
Employees are not your most important asset. Everybody says that. Employees are your greatest investment, not an asset or commodity. Transactional pay creates entitlement, and we call that “butt in chair” compensation. We help organizations build an ownership mentality using pay and rewards to reinforce culture and recognize real contribution.
07. Correct for success.
Most people avoid confrontation, but leaders cannot. When handled well, correction does more than address a problem. It can improve behavior and increase alignment. We teach the Open Door Correction Model™ that helps leaders deal with people issues directly rather than hoping they disappear. We coach leaders through tough situations and facilitate difficult conversations when needed. When parting ways is the right outcome, we help both sides reach closure.
Create a culture of ownership by engaging your team in real business issues
"When you engage your team this way, you send the message that they are valued for their perspective, expertise, and intelligence."
~Mark Weaver, The Inside Job
The Two-Way Open Door
Many companies claim to have an “open door.” The thought is that employees are free to come through the open door into their boss’s office with suggestions or concerns. That approach works best for those who are assertive, or those who just like to vent. Many of the best team members see real solutions, but they may never walk through that open door because they aren’t engaged in solutions. We believe in a “Two-Way Open Door,” where the door swings both ways. The best engagement occurs when the boss walks through the open door to solicit solutions from those best team members, showing that their experience, position, and intelligence is valued.
4 ways to create a Two-Way Open Door
01.
Talk to team members individually
which is useful as a sample but time-intensive if you’re trying to get a lot of input on broader business issues from a lot of people.
02.
Create Self-Directed Teams
which basically function as management without management. This will not be attractive to many business owners who will not want to turn over virtually all decision-making.
03.
Utilize Facilitated Focus Groups
which allow you to engage a sample of the population with an external, unbiased third party who can ask the tough questions and create an open environment where team members share thoughts, concerns, problems, and solutions more freely. At Open Door we offer unbiased expert facilitation of focus groups to help reinforce your culture. Schedule a consultation to learn more.
04.
Create what we call "Solutions Teams"
which when done right, can involve a group of team members in specific business matters. Because of the way our labor law and court cases have defined this, you have to avoid the appearance of a “Management Dominated Union,” and operate within some pretty strict parameters. There’s a lot to it, but there is court precedence that defines a safe harbor. Open Door knows and operates within this safe harbor well. We believe it is the most effective way to engage people in solutions. We have published success in using this method in ways that create positive outcomes and improve overall morale.
