Innovation Network: Wake Up Brain Weekly Message: July 10, 2000

This topic stimulated a lot of long, thoughtful responses so we are going to break up the discussion into two parts. Part 2 will come next week.

It was interesting to see that some of the responses were about how to manage outside consultants and some were about how to manage internal teams in an environment of ourside consultants. It's an interesting and complex world we're working in and I think you'll find a lot of interesting ideas in this set of responses. Joyce Wycoff

From: Peter Flatow, FlatowP@coknowledge.com
Actually, I believe the answer is rather simple. Picking the right people and having a clear set of goals. We are a consulting company who is always "an outsider" putting together teams of "inside" and "outside" members. If the (inside) team leader wants it to work (and some don't) then it works great. Like all assignments, get the goals right, keep them simple and specific, have metrics and a clear timetable. The same imperatives for every assignment.

From: Ken Westray, Westmine@aol.com
It is a great topic.

>From my observations on both sides of the issue, a company can have an artificial sense that there is a common goal for all employees, contractors and outsourced functions. This maybe be an impossible objective to achieve, sort of like having Monty Python searching for the Holy Grail, a lot of laughs of a serious issue. However there are some simple rules that could keep the differences down and create some sort that "all men (workers) are created equal."

1. For company functions have everyone attend.
2. Establish some sort of procedure for terminating a contract/temp employee, than the late night phone call.
3. Have equal working environments, cattle pens, special rules create the wrong impression
4. In overtime situations pay your employees equally.
5. Respect and common sense can help

Some recent studies show that companies that develop in house are growing faster with higher margins than those who out sourced

From: David Raij, draij@truck.com.uy
We are a small software company based in Uruguay, with customers in most southamerican countries (gross revenue 3 million dollars). The company has 8 persons on its payroll and 20 freelance software specialists. Therefore, all Consulting and Customization Services (as well as other tasks) are "outsourced".

Work is organized in "Project Mode", with Project Leaders, and therefore teambuilding is at a small group level as well as at company level. Teams are Goal oriented and profit oriented.

Loyalty to the company and the team is based on the following principles:
1. Each one of the "members" working alone is unable to get access to corporations.
2. The company has natural leaders that base their leadership on Equity AND Justice.
3. Solidarity and unconditional support between teams is valued and encouraged by the organization.

Team building is based on informal communications:
1. Lunch time is "quality time" around a HUGE table. Soccer and strange stories are central.
2. Open space office encourages information interchange and joint problem solving.
3. Work travel in small groups improves small team cohesion.

From: Donna Jernigan, donna@jerniganphoto.com
(This response came from an outside vendor--her client sent her the original message.)

FIRST, it's about relationships.

Whether it's a one-time need or an on going relationship, take the time to build a relationship with me. Give me everything I need to do my job for you. The overview. Specific information. What has worked. Where you see the pitfalls. Your wish list for the outcome.

Give me time to get to know my team mates. What are their roles? Their strengths? We have to get up to speed quickly, so a little time spent. upfront learning how we might play in this sandbox together can help us jump hurdles together down the road. How YOU treat me sets the tone for how everyone else treats me.

Get to know my strengths. How can I contribute the best? What are my parameters? What is off limits?

If I need tools, access, information....supply me with what I need to do my job for you. Give me time to do my job.

While I am on your team, treat me as an equal, valuable member.

SECOND. Appreciate the tremendous value I can bring to your party.

A. Being an outside vendor is not easy. I have to succeed on my own merits. I have to be outstanding in my field in order to succeed. There is no safety in freelancing. RISK is my middle name.

Remember, I am totally motivated to make this the best possible experience for you. I hope you hire me again and again. Or give me those valuable referrals. I am here because I WANT to be here. I like the risk. I like the challenge of new assignments. I've become part of past teams at other places, and I know how to get inside your head. When I ask questions, know that I am instinctively seeking knowledge that I need. If I "overstep your boundries", recognize that I may not have a clue I've just asked a question that is in forbidden territory.

My question is ok. The way you handle your response is key.

B. My lack of knowledge of your history is also a strength. I am going to look at your situation with fresh eyes. I am bringing in a wealth of experience from my past clients. Their situations have taught me a LOT about many different things.

Be open to my "wild ideas". Isn't that the beauty of brainstorming? Sure.....many just won't work. Don't roll your eyeballs and say "this person doesn't get it". Keep an open mind as I reach. It may be that wild idea #28 is EXACTLY what you need and you would have NEVER in a million years come up with it on your own.

By creating a safe space for us to explore the possibilities....we all win big time. Right?

Two plus Two can equal Ten with your outsourced teammates if you choose. The simple five word answer: PUT YOURSELF IN MY SHOES.

From: Greg Rennier, grennier@att.net
In many ways, I think you can actually build a better team using outsourcing. You can match skills and competencies to the task at hand. And often, I have found those who depend on quality, on-time service for repeat business to be more committed than those with long-term contracts.

Furthermore, you treat people right, and they'll treat you right. Invite your outsource team to picnics, integrate them with each other, buy them gifts that have meaning, send them on trips, participate in workgroup seminars. In many ways, you can treat outsource personnel more like family than you can employees (no petty jealousy...).

So, I think you can build loyalty and commitment and still have the cream of the crop. All while lowering your overhead. It's a great world!

From: Allen Liff, Roninmktg@aol.com
The first thing I would do is ask everyone on the team to watch a movie -- either the Seven Samurai or the Magnificent Seven. In a way, both movies are about "outsourced" teams You can then have a series of discussions -- about aspects of team building, what can be learned from Samurais and cowboys, what were their motivations, how did they deal with divided loyalties, etc.

This strategy may sound wacky but it has two underlying premises. The first is that by watching the movie you stimulate a dialogue about teamwork and collaboration. Rarely are those who are the outsourced given a chance to discuss and explore these important issues and their emotions/loyalties in terms of the client "versus" employer. (I.e., it humanizes the process and allows outsourced personnel to be treated like real people...what a concept!).

Second, the act of watching the same movie gives everyone a shared experience and the opportunity to create a common story and set of metaphors about their experience. Besides, it's more fun to begin this way as opposed to asking, "Gee, let's brainstorm how we can become a team!"

Finally, if the "team" is totally unmanageable you will need to watch the movie "The Dirty Dozen." Take copious notes and imitate Lee Marvin's leadership style!

From: s kumar, skumar1@yahoo.com
- compensate your outsourced company based on performance
- have your employees do the evaluations for the outsourced employees (so that covers the carrot and the stick)
- team building activities need more emphasis
Needless to say, this is a challenge not only in outsourced situations but also within company divisions. You may also look at building a team based on the types of personalities. Ask your 'supplier' what type of person is joining the team - people are action, idea, process or people oriented. Or if you are familar with Myers-Briggs look for the optimal team structure based on the M-B personality types. Lastly, reserve the right to send back a person who is just not working out - you will know within a day or two.

From: Sandra Boeschen, currie@cwia.com
I've seen two principal "adhesives": the leader gathers everyone to understand and focus on the goals to be accomplished, regardless of whether the participants are internal, temps, or consultants. Also, there is an explicit discussion of role expectations from the various players. Leadership is a big factor in this: the coach of an All Star team would be able to give some great pointers.

From: dgfoster, dgfoster@vom.com
There is a strong bias in my thoughts on teams because synergy is in my company name and what I do, but here's my take on it.

Outsourcing need not be a team problem, but an opportunity to multiply your organization in a way that capitalizes on the diversity available through synergy.

First, I recommend you do not make these people a team because teams tend to have too many problems in the traditional sense. Teaming, like dieting, doesn't work because the basic fundamentals of group dynamics are missing in most teams. Rather align outsourced people as a strategic alliance and integrate key elements of a Master Mind Alliance into your relationships with them. In this way the whole (Your company and theirs combined) will become greater than the sum of its parts. How?

Second, apply the 8 qualities used in Master Mind Alliance selection to selecting your outsourced vendors. They are:

Third, if you view that "team feeling" as I do, that special chemistry which sometimes happens when a group of people is "in the flow" - synergy - as something you can orchestrate rather than something that happens by accident, your vendors will be able to use their "temporary" alliance with you as a springboard to their greater success. In this way you contribute to their long term future just as they contribute to yours.

This is a great topic with many facets and I look forward to the diversity of the views expressed by the list.

From: Linda M McInnis, LindaMc@world.std.com
I've been a consultant for almost 20 years in high tech and biotech and quite frankly most of the good folks (i.e. highly skilled) are temp and they like it that way because they don't care about the politics (that's the bosses job), they are well paid (better than most perms) and most of them who have been in the game more than 2 or 3 years are extremely happy and productive team players.

Some rules of thumb that I use to manage teams with varying life tenancy are:

1.People are people, this is what the job is - here are the time frames and the goals - just do it
2. There is no difference between contractors and perms and you have to enforce that. When people make comments you need to expect and enforce mutual respect.
3. Expect nothing less than commitment - if you get less than full commitment from a consultant - ask why? If after you have tried to find out and it still doesn't work - let them go. The company has to support temps as they would regular employees (i.e. machines, tools, etc.).
4. Giving out toys? Give'em to contractors, too. Invite them to non-proprietary events. And explain why they can't go to proprietary events.

Virtual Teams

This is an even greater challenge. I'm working now with a team that I never see face to face and quite often not even on the phone. I'm working with several different groups of consultants who have formed together to do a particular project - we use web-based planning tools and email extensively.

Actually, I like it a great deal as I can actually work completely at one of my own two offices (Vermont and Massachusetts) and I get way more done without a lot of distractions. It's a lot calmer. I miss those brainstorming but we're looking into virtual meeting capacity but haven't seen it work yet. I also miss those relationship building hallway conversations but I've known most of these folks for a while (4-10 years) so we clearly socialize but it's different.

What we're finding is that we have to do a little more definition work and have smaller, shorter deadlines (as a colleague Johanna Rothman calls them inch-pebbles). It's easy for someone to feel someone isn't doing their share and then we have to drop back and look at definitions.

I think the nature of work is necessarily going to have to change. I just left a perm. job and went back to consulting after being given an ultimatum from my doctor about my healt degrading due to 80 hour weeks filled with political intrigue.

Now I just want to do a good job as I used to do as a consultant.

A great book on this is The Overworked American by Juliet Schor. Another book that looks interesting as well though I haven't read it is The End of Work by Jeremy Rifkin.

In the Information age, the world will be somewhat different - more job sharing, etc. but corporate america has a set of beliefs about work that will hamper dramatic changes.

I would also be curious if any of you has experienced a phenomenon in management today that I call "hurry" sickness where employees actually take on the symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder? Look forward to people's comments.

From: "Coleman,Philip D", philip.coleman@dhs.state.tx.us
I've only had one memorable experience with working with a team member who was on contract and not a regular employee. It was very positive. I think the reasons were she
* was as eager to contribute to a quality product as were we
* had skills we didn't, but learned from her
* relied on us to learn about the structure and culture of the organization

From: Tom LaForce, TMFORCE@aol.com
You create a team feeling by focusing on the project rather than on the organization. Teams don't have to be and should not be permanent. They come and go and that's okay.

From: Aneta Newton, 4phoenix@ionet.net
I managed a virtual-factory for a Fortune100 company a few years back. Everything from hazardous waste disposal to the newsletter to electrical contractors to food service. I found holding monthly 'department' meetings worked well. We were, after all, the Contract Services Department. It was a good place to air complaints or problems between contractors. It was also a good place to pitch general problems on the table for input. There was a constant problem keeping ladies sanitary products and other toiletries available. The traditional vending devices for these products never seemed to work. Employees complained often about the soap in the locker rooms. We had attacked these complaints through the janitorial and housekeeping contractors in the past with little success. The problem was successfully solved by the food service vendor. Retired cigarette vending machines were filled with appropriate toiletries, combs, disposable shavers, etc. in both the men's and women's locker rooms. This solution would never have happened had it not been for these unprecedented meetings of "outsiders".

From: Frpasta@aol.com
Thought I could help with an answer to the first question. Basically, the answer is for each part of the "team" to build his own "network," based on their individual needs. Essentially you build a personal list of companies/individuals with whom you refer business back & forth, and with whom you trust and are willing to stake part of your own reputation based on their work for your referrals. (Obviously, you need to check them out before adding them to your network.) Each company/individual does this based on created. Kind of like our nationwide telephone, electric, and flight routes grids. Also, if you need to find someone new, it's like the "6 degrees of interconnectedness" actors game that has been real popular where you have to figure out the shortest possible route to the connection between to actors. All you do is ask people on your list, and someone will know someone that can help you with what you need.

Attached is an example of my personal network that I call my "Success Links." As my business is the Success Development Center and a lot of what I do is based on the concept of the personal and business life wheels, I've created my network in relationship with combining the two together. For each life/business area, I created an idea/goal box that lists ideas that would develop that particular area. The lines next to the boxes are where I list the businesses/individuals/organizations I would contact to help me (or someone else) develop or achieve that idea/goal. (Editor: if you want a copy of this attachment, please contact author directly)

Example 1: While working on helping someone to develop their financial goals and action steps, they tell me that they are interested in buying a home/office building but don't know a good local company to go to for a mortgage. In the financial area on my Success Links sheet, I have two companies with individuals I know and trust to refer them too. As I maintain an expandable file with business cards, flyers, etc. from each of the people in my network; I pass them along to my client so they can call my contact(s).

Example 2: While working to help someone develop their social goals and action steps of wanting to be more involved in their community, they tell me that they would like to work with disabled infants. I refer to my Success Links network and refer them to my contact at the local Easter Seals, and give them the appropriate information.

The end result is that my client is happy, I'm happy that I was able to help them, and very importantly my network is so happy with my help that they send referrals to me as well. Win-win-win for everyone involved. Works better than most networking organizations as it's much more personal.

Anyone can create something like this. As I just created this within the past 5 or 6 weeks, it's still growing and developing, so all improvements are welcome. I've removed the names of my personal companies/individuals so that the file could be sent to anyone as is and they can simply type in the names of their "team."