OUR OPEN BUSINESS {a culture book}

Last updated: January 2015

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PREFACE: our Open Business System

›  The Open Business System is a management method we have made in house. It brings together a few different strands of thinking, and blends them with a culture where we believe everyone can contribute

›  Our approach has been heavily inspired by: The idea of creating a ‘Franchise Model’ of your business – a System – from the book The e-Myth Intrinsic Motivation (Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose) from Dan Pink’s book & TED talk Flow – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept that you are more productive when doing something that you are good at and enjoy – you reach a state of ‘flow’ John Hagel’s concepts of Knowledge Flows and a shift from Transactions to Relationships

›  This comes from a genuine belief that the founders and directors cannot be the font of all knowledge

›  The objective is to pool all our team’s experiences into documented best practice. We cumulatively agree ‘the best way’ to do things – and write them down in a series of checklists

›  We are reliant on each other for success, and you cannot know everything in advance, so agility and open-ness to ideas from any source is critical

›  We should aim to learn as we operate – to create a learning organisation

›  This means that we can simultaneously lock down – and open up our operations. This creates robustness when under pressure, but flexibility to adapt. It helps guide junior’s progress, as they benefit from our pooled insight and willingness to listen

›  Ultimately The Open Business System is designed to deliver our Promises (keeping our clients coming back) which itself is a sales and marketing machine

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WE SAY TO ALL OUR TEAM:

”The system is the boss.”

“You can change the system.”

“Therefore you are the boss.”

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NOTE: on industrial democracy, manager-less companies & Holocracy

›  The ultimate in open-ness is in companies where the workers run the business. Perhaps the most well known of the proponents of industrial democracy isRicardo Semler  – owner of Brazilian industrial conglomerate Semco. This helped us in our thinking, but we’re not there yet…

›  We were more influenced by an article from Harvard Business Review: First, Let’s Fire All The Managers, which describe the practices of Californian tomato processing plant Morning Star (revenues of $700m

›  The article is a great insight into methods of creating transparency and distributing authority: ”Morning Star, which has seen double-digit growth for the past 20 years, has no managers. That’s right—no bosses, no titles, no promotions. Its employees essentially manage themselves.”

›  What we liked about Morning Star’s approach was the idea of creating a peer review system which essentially managed the business, acting like an interconnected support structure. As one worker said: “around here no-one is your boss, and everyone is your boss”

›  The more recent Holocracy movement, has codified an approach to a ‘manager-less’ business http://holacracy.org/

›  The problem we found with Holocracy is that it is a lot of overhead. We’re not sure anyone who isn’t full time employed to implement Holocracy could make it work. But there are definitely things to learn from their thorough approach

›  We also admire Buffer’s Open Business Blog, and the ways they are pushing the boundaries of transparency

›  We hope that The Open Business System takes the best aspects of these approaches and makes them simple to implement, while staying true to the principles of a more open organisation

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THE ROLE OF CULTURE

›  To foster an open business, you need an open culture – as neatly illustrated here by Tom Fishburne…

›  This doesn’t happen overnight, or with a new ‘social’ intranet – it’s a genuine commitment from the top down to open up and listen – and systematically act on the feedback

›  Also, no “system” is perfect. So we rely on our active and clearly defined culture, goodwill, professionalism and initiative to help identify & plug gaps in how we do things

›  At the centre of our culture is the aim to Be Collaborative

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THE OPEN BUSINESS SYSTEM: 5 COMPONENTS

5.  Personal structure –  Clear job description,

and responsibilities, lines of authority

–  Organisational chart –  ‘Personal Mission

Statement’ –  Documented direction

and candid feedback to staff

–  Quantifiable Objectives and Key Results

1.  “Building Blocks”: Mission, Vision, Brand Essence, Promise

2.  Clearly defined Values & ‘ways of behaving’: Culture

3.  An agreed operational System –  Clearly defined business

systems (checklists) for all areas of the business - which everyone follows, no matter their status

4.  Ways to feedback on and iterate the System

–  Post Project Reviews –  Structured

departmental meeting agendas

–  Tinypulse – which allows anonymous feedback

–  System Team meeting: where we review and prioritise Innovations

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OUR BUILDING BLOCKS

›  Our Brand Essence

The expert digital colleague.

›  Our vision:

We will be known all over the world as a

centre of excellence for creative and marketing technology innovation.

In 5 years we will turnover £10m, with NP of 20%

›  Our Mission (to June 2015)

To create a

rock solid business to meet our future

ambitions.

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OUR PROMISE:

•  We’ll imagine great new technology ideas, but only use those appropriate for the job.

•  We’ll speak in plain English: explaining benefits, risks and costs upfront.

•  We’ll test our work before handing over, and be proactive to ensure we launch on time.

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OUR BRAND

the expert digital colleague

OUR VISION

“what we will be”

OUR MISSION

“what we will do”

OUR VALUES

create a great working culture which glues us

together, retaining good staff and clients

OUR PROMISE

to each other and our clients., focusing

and committing us to the most important

aspects of our complex work, which will then

support our vision & our brand

OUR OPEN

BUSINESS SYSTEM

captures lessons and insights to continually find the ‘best way’ to do

things. These will be turned into a series of checklists which will

deliver our work better every time.

Our Building Blocks:

We will be known all over the world as a

centre of excellence for creative and marketing technology innovation.

We will turnover £10m,

with NP of 20%

Collaborative, Positive, Imaginative, Clear,

Precise

To create a rock solid business to meet our

future ambitions.

>Cascades into people’s OKR’s<

COMPANY OKR’s

OUR BUILDING BLOCKS: OVERVIEW

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OUR CULTURE:

Culture is the glue that keeps us together when systems, processes and technology are incomplete or incorrect.

It is as important as any technical skill.

We should guard our values carefully, as they form a key part of our sustainable competitive advantage. Other

companies can copy our name, products, services – but they will struggle to copy our culture.

This is the thing that keeps customers coming back for more: our secret sauce ;0)

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OUR CULTURE: “THE 5 BE’S”

5. Be Precise -  Check, check, check: Only the

paranoid survive! Do you know it works?

-  Get it right first time, every time: follow the checklists

-  Write things down

1.  Be Collaborative -  Work with your client, colleague,

partner

-  ‘Maybe They’re Right’ > discuss, listen, reflect

-  Build strong relationships, through honesty + delivery

2. Be Positive -  Proactively manage all

relationships – don’t sit back, drive the process. Be upfront if problems occur.

-  Bring energy & passion to the job...it rubs off!

-  What could or should be there? Suggest and improve

- Think around a problem, don’t drill through rocks

3. Be Imaginative -  Steal from the world:

be aware of what’s going on & use it

-  Think different – don’t do what you’ve always done

-  Stay fresh! Keep updating your knowledge

4. Be Clear - ‘No wobble gobble’ > use plain

english

-  ‘Which means that...’ > focus on the benefits

-  ‘Short is sweet’ > brevity is clarity

-  ‘A picture says...’ > communicate visually

BE COLLABORATIVE

Consult.

Discuss. Listen.

Suggest.

This is

our most

important

value

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“THE EXPERT DIGITAL COLLEAGUE”

Our brand is built on the idea that we are “an expert colleague”.

This is the role that we play to each other and our clients.

How can you be an expert colleague?

It is a mixture of our culture, and your specific skills & insights.

Are you approachable, thoughtful and a great communicator? Do you really listen and empathise with people?

Are you knowledgeable, yet hungry to learn?

Are you willing to stretch yourself, thinking laterally?

Are you adding value at every interaction – whether with your team or client?

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Overview of our ‘Business Systems’

Sales & Client Servicing

System

Workflow System

Production System

Management System

Operations & IT Systems

Culture

Accounts System

Data > Actionable Metrics

R&D

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Management System

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MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: Our Guiding Principles

•  Strengths Based Management If people do what they enjoy we create the state of “Flow” – where people will enjoy their work more, and be more productive

•  Intrinsic motivation: “is better for 21st Century tasks where the rules are ‘mystifying’ and the solution may not exist”:

–  Autonomy: The urge to direct our own lives 

–  Mastery: The desire to get better and better at something that matters 

–  Purpose: The yearning to do what we do in the service of something bigger than ourselves

•  Be Collaborative Consult, listen, suggest, discuss. Be open and honest. Listen, empathise and communicate. Ask for help, share problems. Be clear eyed. A good ‘expert colleague’.

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MANAGEMENT SYSTEM: overview of management planning

›  3 year vision: This sets the context for the strategic decisions we make. Our longer term objectives.

›  Annual We create an Annual Business Plan, financial plan & sales targets. The plan creates focus for activity through the year, and will be the benchmark against which we measure success.

›  6 months We review everyone’s personal development plans / personal missions. We review financial forecasts and the business plan.

›  Quarterly We have Strategy Team meetings to review activity vs the Annual Business Plan.

›  6 Weekly We hold staff 1 to 1’s every 6 weeks to discuss their OKR’s, and any other opportunities, issues or concerns

›  Monthly We have a monthly meeting schedule, which reviews output and identifies issues and areas to innovate / improve.

›  “Actionable Metrics” Reports are generated from our tech platforms to focus future actions

›  Meetings include: −  Team meeting −  Sales −  Accounts −  Studio −  Creative −  System Team

−  The System Team is the people in leadership positions review and prioritise innovations and review operational performance

›  Weekly activity Production meeting,, sales meeting, check back up  

›  Daily Studio ‘huddles’, Project meetings, Management by Walking About, Task Management, CRM

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MEASUREMENT & “ACTIONABLE METRICS”

›  A Business Performance Report will be prepared and presented to the System Team every month

›  “what gets measured gets managed” Peter Drucker

›  We should measure the impact that

any innovations to our systems have to our business

›  Key is to measure only a handful of things – focusing only on the most important

›  We want data from which we make decisions & take action: Actionable Metrics

›  Armed with specific information we will be able to make better decisions, with greater urgency

›  Our Actionable Metrics are:

q  Actual GP vs Target GP

q  Sales GP vs Rate Card Hours Spent {on a Job}

–  Problem Jobs: why? –  Good Jobs: why?

q  Budgeted Hours vs Actual Hours –  Problem Jobs: why? –  Good Jobs: why?

q  Time to be paid –  Good / bad payers

q  Number of pitches vs win rate

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Personal Development Plans, OKR’s & 1 to 1’s

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PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANS: process overview

Company mission & goals

Personal mission & goals

OKR’s: 6 month review

Line manager 1 to 1’s

every 6 weeks

Annual

Personal Development

Plan (PDP)

&

Business Planning Process

OKR’s: 1/4ly review

Objectives, Key Results

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MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: Personal Development Plans

Our aim is to make sure everyone knows what is expected of them, and that feedback is regular and structured, aiming for us all to focus on our strengths.

The Personal Development Plan (PDP) process is designed to create a forum to do just that.

The full PDP process (with pay review) takes place in June each year,

the first month of our new financial year.

At the annual PDP we invite all the team to anonymously give feedback on every other team member (no matter the status) based on our values, and key areas of personal focus (eg proactivity, communication). We are all one team working towards a

common vision so feedback from our peers is really important.

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MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: the Personal Mission Statement

Everyone is tasked to create their own Personal Mission Statement through the Personal Development Plan process

This is a statement of why they come to work

– their higher purpose – not the tasks they perform day to day

So this could be:

“To create customer delight”

“To create wonderful designs”

“To get things right first time every time”

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MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: OKRs and 1 to 1’s

During the PDP process, we will establish our Objectives & Key Results, the method we use to progress our personal development

First you define an Objective (eg “I will learn XYZ new skill”)

And then the Quantifiable results that show you have achieved it (eg “read book on that skill, employed it on x3 projects, taught someone else”)

People should have no more than 3 OKR’s per ¼ (equivalent to one a month).

They are saved for everyone to see in OneDrive.

This to be reviewed every 6 weeks in a session with their line manager – called “1 to 1s”.

This is a forum for the employee to discuss how things are going (in general) and review OKR’s. We were very influenced by this article on Buffer’s Blog:

https://blog.bufferapp.com/a-simple-guide-to-better-coaching-and-feedback-in-your-company

If OKR’s are not being achieved, we should reduce them, so the staff member can focus on the most important one(s)

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MORE ABOUT OKR’s

›  OKR’s should originate from the employee

›  They must have the ability to track results on a quantitative basis – ie can be measured

›  Be openly discussed: looked at every quarter, every week, every day

›  Have objectives that push you to your limits – they should be a stretch

›  Be public – so everyone knows everyone else’s focus

›  Be tied to developing skills, particularly for commercially focused people {this could be as simple as reading a book}

›  Not be tied to PDP’s / pay reviews {they should be ambitious, and should motivate and align people} −  Pay reviews should come from 360 feedback + available

budget + annual assessment of performance, as documented in the 1 to 1s

›  For a good in depth argument for OKRs, which we used as a basis for our system, read:http://firstround.com/article/How-to-Make-OKRs-Actually-Work-at-Your-Startup

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MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: annual PDP process

›  Pre meeting i)  Staff are presented the yearly Business Plan

(only in June PDP)

ii)  Team fills in & submits PDP Documentation: a) PDP Meeting 1 Document b) 360 Peer Review sheet: 1-5 scoring on: The x5 Be’s Communication (written / verbal) Proactivity Personal QA Good At, Could work on (open field feedback – not shared to team, any feedback is summarised)

iii)  System Team discuss & review 360 feedback + any ‘Quantifiable Data’ eg logging time / sales

iv)  Line manager writes up feedback (general or specific)

›  Meeting 1 Agenda -  Review & discuss i)  Previous Personal Mission ii)  This year’s PDP documentation & peer review

-  Review key themes and changes in Business Plan

-  OKR review

›  Post Meeting 1 -  Line Manager writes up any notes & feedback from the

meeting

-  Discusses with System Team to get group feedback if any issues

-  Staff member writes their Personal Mission Statement

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MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS: annual PDP process

›  Meeting 2 Agenda Ø  Discussion around the last PDP notes, specifically any

issues or concerns

Ø  Staff present their Personal Mission Statement to discuss

Ø  Write down further feedback from discussions

Ø  Pay review

Ø  Reiterate key themes of Business Plan

›  Post meeting -  Line manager writes up any further notes, to create

definitive PDP Feedback Document for employee

-  This document is added to their file

•  Mission Meeting -  We all meet as a group and each staff member discusses

their Mission & OKR’s for the next ¼

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PDP PROCESS: MISSION MEETING

After the PDP process is complete we hold a “Mission Meeting” where everyone in the company shares their:

o  Personal Mission Statement o  1/4ly OKR’s

This is important so we all have an understanding of everyone else’s

focus and priorities.

This will help us to work better as a team – an interconnected structure.

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Operational & Workflow Systems

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OUR OPERATIONS:

•  There are 3 core components which make up our day to day operations:

1)  Our People ›  Clear roles and organisational structure,

communicated across the team ›  To understand not just what we do, but how we

should do it. This is our Culture.

2)  The Way We Do Things We aim to create checklists to define the best way to manage each area of our business. We call these checklists ‘systems’. These systems include working processes, templated documentation, key stages of development or testing procedures. They are designed to evolve as we learn, so we always refine “the best way” to do something.

3)  Technology These are the tools we use to support our work, record and measure activity, and deliver our projects.

›  If any aspect of these 3 core components is not working properly, it is up to all of us to suggest improvements: You Can Change The System

›  We are one team working together, so we need everyone’s perspective to ensure a harmonious business: Therefore You Are The Boss

›  Feedback and innovations should be suggested via our Monthly Meetings schedule, Post Project Reviews, or via Tinypulse

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Workflow System

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THE WORKFLOW SYSTEM

Our Workflow System is the engine by which we consistently deliver excellent work.

Out of all our operating systems, this is the one that impacts most people, most of the time

The Workflow System is a marketing machine.

Why? Because it keeps our promises. This keeps our customers coming back

and recommending us to their friends and colleagues.

It helps us to get our work right first time, every time.

It reduces miscommunication, misunderstandings and mistakes, and all the stress and hassle that creates, which no-one wants!

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THE WORKFLOW SYSTEM: designed to change

The Workflow System is designed to support us as we go about our work,

acting as a working blueprint of the ‘best way’ to do what we do.

This will support us when we are all busy with many things going on at a time.

Critically, this working blueprint is designed to change. And it is YOU who have the power, and responsibility, to change it

Our mantra is:

The System Is The Boss

You Can Change The System

Therefore You Are The Boss

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THE WORKFLOW IS A RELAY RACE Successfully passing the baton requires both parties

to make a focused effort to get it right first time.

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HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY RELAY:

1. Comms First, Task Second

Talk to your colleagues and clients, make sure everyone truly understands the task

before diving into work.

3. Personal QA:

“Check Check Check” Do you KNOW it works?

Have you checked every spelling? Your work should be bulletproof when it leaves your desk – don’t leave others to

do your tidying up.

2. If In Doubt,

Shout! If you’re not sure what to do, don’t carry

on blindly. Ask around, often people have solved an issue on a previous

project, or have a fresh perspective.

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1. Define

2. Design

3. Build

4. Test

5. Launch

6. Learn

THE WORKFLOW SYSTEM: OVERVIEW

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Sales & Client Servicing System:

Sales &

Account Manager

Teams

1) Define

Sales

& Account Manager

& Studio Teams

TK

2) Design

Design Team

3) Build

Dev Team

Account Manager Team

Red flags if any production issues

DS RG

WORKFLOW SYSTEM > PROCESS (1 of 2)

TK TK

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5) Test & Launch

Personal QA

Testing &

BETA processes

Sign off

processes

Marketing campaigns

6) Learn

Ø Post project reviews:

Lessons learnt

Ø Job profitability

reports

System Team Meeting

RG DK JR JK TK DS CF

AM Team

Team Meeting

Issues / Ideas /

Innovations

MONTHLY MEETING SCHEDULE

Business Performance Report

Innovations

WORKFLOW SYSTEM > PROCESS (2 of 2)

Red flags if any production issues

Dan Kirby, co-founder & CEO

www.twitter.com/thedankirby

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We understand form as well as function.

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