Little man, Big Dog

This past December Alison and I adopted a golden retriever by the name of Kelly.  Kelly has fit in really well and over the past few months I've become really attached to her.  Our morning and evening walks are a reprieve from our hectic life, and I really enjoy playing with Kelly in the park, so that both of us can let off some steam.

Over these past few months, Kelly has been getting better and better on our walks and recently I've been letting her off the lead so she can stop, sniff, and generally take her time.  We've never really had a problem, but we do put back on the lead if we see another dog.  Better safe than sorry.

A couple of nights ago we left the house around 7 or 8 and I didn't even bother to put the lead on her at all.  As we turned the corner and walked toward the park I saw a figure walking a dog at the end of the path.  Kelly, being the good natured beast she is, started trotting up to the dog and owner to say hello.

When she was about half way there, I realized that the dog was a doberman pincher.  I tried to call Kelly back, but when the other dog started to move toward her she was too interested to listen to me.

Once I got closer I saw the little man at the end of the leash.  A little guy in an original 1970s Adidas track suit and Bill Gates glasses of the same era.  This little man with legs spread wide apart to try and stabilize himself while his dog strained against the lead, looked so absolutely ridiculous that I almost started laughing.

Kelly went right up to the dog and the doberman started nipping at her neck and ears.  I ran up and pulled Kelly away and got her back on the lead and started to walk away.  Whew, no problem I thought.  I apologized and started walking away to avoid anymore trouble.

Then the little 70's man started up.  "It's totally your fault.  It's your dog.", implying that his dog would kill Kelly if given the chance. As he walked up the hill and away from us, he continued this "it's your fault, my dog would kill yours" line of crap.

I put on my best Buddhist face, bowed slightly, apologized once again and kept walking with Kelly healing obediently.  But as we walked away I wondered about this guy.  He obviously liked that his dog was intimidating, and liked the fact that he was strong and scary.  I wonder if they cuddle.  I wonder if they have as good a friendship as I have developed with Kelly.  Was this a working dog, a security measure that needs to be walked?

Coca-Cola Blogging Initiative

The Ontario Government just released a paper entitled "Framework for Action" that outlines the organizations vission, mission, and objectives.  Around the province ministries have been holding consultations with the staff to see what they think of the document and how people think it is going to effect them.

In the consultation that I attended, there was a lot of talk about communication within the organization, and I had to really try my hardest not to take over the meeting by lecturing on the benefits of social media both inside and outside the organization. 

In his blog, Neville Hobson talked about a blogging initiative that Coca-Cola are undergoing as part of a similar "philosophical" roll out.  I think it's a fantastic thing when a company goes to the effort of putting out these documents, but it is even better when you can get your employees engaged in discussion around it. The Coke initiative is only a week long though, and I wonder what kind of response they will get from employees.

A lot of the discussion at the meeting I attended revolved around having "grassroots evangelists" to help change perceptions of the Public Service.  In our government good news goes out in press releases that are rarely picked up.  But when something bad happens, i.e. a big pile up on the 417, then we are painted as negligent, lazy public servants.

People who work in the  Ontario Public Service know that everyday we find ways to save money, we develop new and more efficient services for our citizens, and provide services that are really hard to appreciate unless they are broken.  The image of the fat, lazy public servant is still predominate in people who work out side of the OPS.

So what do we do to change this?  Talk about the good stuff.  Not in contrived press releases and carefully positioned news articles.  We need our employees to tell their stories to their friends, families and people you meet at the bar.  I do this all the time.  I talk about all huge fleet of hybrid vehicles that we have established.  I talk about the tools we have to make sure that contracters are delivering services in strict accordance with their contract.  I bet that any employee could come up with three stories about how their department is making a difference in Ontario.  If we had our 60,000 employees telling these stories, I bet we could make a difference in the perceptions of government.

We need to give the employees the tools to do this.  Blogs are an obvious tool that would have huge benefits both inside and outside the organization.  It would be so fantastic if, like IBM, we empowered our work force to speak on behalf of the organization. 

There are problems with this though.  The "command and control" structure is so ingrained in our organization that even the thought of having an almost outsourced employee with access to communicate with the whole world is enough to squash the whole idea before it starts.

I can hear management now: 

"How can we trust people not to bash our decisions?"

"How do we police this?"

"How can we ensure that we stay on message across the board?"

 I'm still working on the counter arguments to these. 

Brevity is the Soul of Wit

I was listening to the relatively new Edelman podcast called Earshot.  In episode three, Phil Gomes discusses Aristotles Rhetoric as the definetive book on marketing.  Now I have never ever professed to be an expert in marketing, but I think he has a point.

The discussion spurred me to find a copy of Rhetoric and I must say the I’m really enjoying it.  I thought it would be too thick to read in usual 2 min slots, but I’m finding just the opporsite.  Reading a little chunk, and then putting it down gives me the opportunity to mull over what I’ve read.

I like Earshot.  It is a little more academic then other PR and marketing podcasts, which is kind of a nice change.  PR folks tend to be so type A, and Phil is no exception. 

I was impressed that he dropped a Hamlet quote in a podcast though!

Cool Interview

On Tuesday this week I interviewed for a postion at Queen's University, and was really taken with the difference in interview style.

My last several interviews were for Ontario Government gigs and the application process is just so different. In OPS applications, you are constantly trying to score points. Points in your cover letter and resume, points in the interview, points in the written components.

At the Queen's interview, I was amazed at the conversational style of the interview. People looked at me when they asked a question. They wanted to know not only what I have done, but how I did it.

It was so refreshing to have an interview panel actually care about how a person would interact with the people in the department and the people that are involved in the business area. This just isn't a factor in an OPS interview. If you score all the points and are a complete arsehole, you'll still get the job.

I really enjoyed this new perspective, and I suspect that it reflects the working environment as well.

Gosh, wouldn't it be nice to work in an environment where people respect your ideas and aptitudes instead of making sure that you toe the line and deliver exactly what is in your job description?