Information or Insight—Which serves a CEO’s Needs?

Infographic from PeapodLife: Information & Insight, which Serves a CEO’s Needs?

“A moment’s insight is sometimes worth more than a lifetime of experience.”

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

Source: http://www.apisanet.com/insight-quotes/daily-insight-quotes/

Gosh we dislike the term infographic. We much prefer SEE VISUAL AID (Strategize, Engage, Execute with Virtual Interactive Simulation, Universal Adaptive Language & Actionable Intelligence Discourse). Here’s a VISUAL AID that sums it up…

Infographic: SEE VISUAL AID 

Source: The Attlas Project, Vol. One – SEE The World in a New Light.

Unfortunately, SEE VISUAL AID is a term which never caught on, and so we’re stuck using the term infographic as popularly used.


Why do we dislike it so much? If it’s not already clear, it will become so in the context of today’s topic…

Information versus Insight

We recently came across an article on LinkedIn Pulse entitled How CEOs And CMOs Can Tell The Difference Between Information And Insights by Tony Zambito, Founder and Leading Authority on Buyer Personas.

In it, the author does a good job of differentiating between information and insight, offering the following definition of insights in the context of customer acquisition:

“Insights are illuminating revelations of underlying goals, motivations, mental filters, and emotions, which drive goal-directed behaviors and activities.”
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-ceos-cmos-can-tell-difference-between-information-tony-zambito

Zambito goes onto explain some of the pitfalls of predetermination, that is, deciding ahead of time what insight you’re looking for and thus falling into the trap of accumulating information and not the seeds for authentic insight—which often arises from the unseen, unheard, unspoken needs of customers.

Image: Quote on the value of Insight by Oliver Wendell Holmes   
Source: http://www.apisanet.com/insight-quotes/quotes-about-insight/

The implication is, of course, that what a CEO (or CMO) needs is not information, but insight, which we would describe loosely as follows:

Intuition, inspiration, imagination and integration of information which results in actionable intelligence; in a word, revelation.

Revelations lead to Revolutions

It follows that revelations are what lead to revolutions. Before any leader can revolutionize how their company operates, that revolution must first reveal itself to them. Likewise, before a company can revolutionize an industry, the object of the revolution (say, the iPad), must “come to them” (Steve Jobs).

So now we’re getting somewhere. There have been countless book and articles written about the creative process, but the fact of the matter is the mind cannot understand the mechanics of insight, mostly because there are no mechanics to understand. It is possible to comprehend insight in a deep metaphysical way (through meditation, for example), but how does this help the busy CEO dealing with the practical realities of their busy work life? So the question remains...

How can CEO's Grab Hold of More / Deeper Insights?

Image: CEO Grabs hold of insight Source: http://blog.pipelinersales.com/sales-automation/opportunity-management/sales-strategies-5-basics-of-insight-selling/ 

Let’s return to the question of information; and let’s say that the plants in your office (or that so-called ‘living wall’ consisting of plants stuck into a vertical framework of some kind) represent information.

There they are: individual plants arranged in a space. No connection to each other. No ability to collaborate. No chance of symbiosis. They may as well be prisoners in their cells.

But what if those plants were arranged a different way? What if instead of being treated as isolated individual plants, they were treated as a part of something much greater than themselves? What if they were part of an ecosystem?

Now those plants would be able to develop mutually advantageous relationships with each other, along with the animals in the ecosystem.  Individual isolationism gives way to interconnectedness, harmony and mutual symbiosis—a kind of integration which relies on an infinite matrix of interrelationships.

The result is a super organism.  An ecosystem is orders of magnitude more powerful and influential in an office space than individual office plants—a super organism reflecting nature in its highest expression, and able to directly contribute to underlying conditions which favour insight in human beings.

Nature Inspires

From Newton’s theory of gravity to Beethoven’s fifth symphony to Einstein’s theory of Relativity, the power of nature to provide inspiration and insight to some of humanity’s greatest accomplishments is unquestionable and undeniable.

Insights form in the subconscious mind and reveal themselves to us in time as the infinitely complex interrelationships between individual elements of said insight (information) is compiled and presented as unified, comprehensive whole.

The conscious mind is incapable of this compilation. It can only receive insights which are revealed to it from the subconscious.

In other words, exactly as the office plants rearranged in an ecosystem produces the super organism which is so much more potent—infinitely more valuable to the office—so the subconscious mind rearranges information into the revelation which is infinitely more valuable to the CEO.

So, if office plants are like information and only serve the conscious mind, wouldn’t CEO’s be better off with ecosystems which are able to form and resolve infinitely complex interrelationships in real-time and serve the formation and revelation of insights?  

Even on a superficial level, biomimicry has become a hallmark in everything from engineering to architecture to design. Why not your business?

Other strategies to increase insight…

There are other ways for the CEO to gain deeper insight. These include relaxation, mindfulness practice, meditation, sensory deprivation and other forms of nature therapy, all of which serve to expand the scope of free consciousness and awareness of the subconscious mind.

These practices are all good, but let’s be honest: they take a lot of energy and effort, and often take a back seat to the ‘practical business realities’ of the given moment—in other words, the stressed conscious mind which must deal with the problems it’s facing.

The beauty of an indoor ecosystem from PeapodLife is the fact that it’s always there, always working, even if you’re unaware of it or not. It takes no additional effort on the part of a CEO or their employees to gain the insight-yielding benefits of an ecosystem. It makes your environment more conducive to revelation; and we are products of our environment.

YouTube Video: PeapodLife Living Wall EcoSystem Fitch Street

In other words, an ecosystem serves the needs of a CEO.

So where’s yours?

Women in Tech: Is your I.T. Workplace just a Man-Cave for Frat Boys?

“An issue dear to my heart.”
~ Larry Page, CEO of Google
Source:  https://plus.google.com/+LarryPage/posts/E87jUNKHFLr

Image: Google’s Offices 

Source: linkedin.com: Pulse: The #1 Way to Get More Women in Tech and STEM

We know we’re sticking our neck out on this, especially leading with an image of Google’s offices, which—let’s face it—are a bit of a Shangri-la of high-tech office work environments, but it’s an issue which needs to be raised.

“Women make up more than half the US population, account for more than half of college graduates, and earn 40 percent of the MBAs awarded each year. Yet women comprise a much smaller percentage of the tech industry workforce, based on diversity reports released by more than 10 companies, from Apple to Google to Twitter.”
Source: CNET: It's not women who are the problem in tech land 

According to Larry Page’s Google+ feed, the topic of women in tech is an issue “dear to [his] heart.” Source: https://plus.google.com/+LarryPage/posts . As so it should be, according to Negotiation Consultant Victoria Pynchon, who points out the addition of three women to the board of directors “immediately and significantly increases bottom line performance.” Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141012181202-11435719-the-1-way-to-get-more-women-in-tech-and-stem. And that 80% of purchase decisions are made by women, making for a striking marketing case.

“That's a fact. Numerous studies show that teams with gender and race diversity get better results. A Lehman Brothers survey of 100 teams found that "gender balanced" teams were most likely to experiment, be creative, share knowledge and fulfill tasks, while a 2009 paper by Institut National de la Statistique et des Etudes Economiques found that technical work teams with women were better at staying on schedule and had lower project costs.

“McKinsey and Co., meanwhile, says diversity translates into dollars: companies that are more gender- and ethnically diverse perform better financially.” 
Source: http://www.cnet.com/news/women-arent-the-problem-in-tech-land/

Yet according to the same CNET article, a survey by executive recruitment firm Korn Ferry reported women held only 14.3 percent of board seats at the 100 top tech companies in June of 2013. Ten percent of those boards had no women on their boards whatsoever at year’s end 2014.

Hopes Dashed

Carol Bartz, the former CEO of Autodesk and Yahoo, who’s been on the boards of Intel, Cisco Systems, BEA Systems and Network Appliance (now NetApp),  has “seen just about everything the industry can throw at a woman. That's why she ‘couldn't be more disappointed’ by what's going on in Silicon Valley and the technology industry today.” Source: http://www.cnet.com/news/women-arent-the-problem-in-tech-land/

According to University of Wisconsin-Madison research, only 14 percent of engineers were women in 2012, and almost 40 percent of women with engineering degrees never enter the field or quit after a short time in it.

Why?

Victoria Pynchon believes the main issue is lack of available child care. In an industry legendary for providing “perks” to attract and retain millennial talent—everything from in house basketball and beach volleyball courts, grocery and car shopping services, even a ticket-buying service and, of all things, doggy daycare—childcare is still a rarity.

“Bay Area companies often plan expansive offices with gyms, kitchens, game rooms, and other lavish perks to attract and retain the brightest workers. But onsite child care centers rarely make the list of amenities. Only 7% of companies nationwide offer on-site daycare to employees, a percentage that has held since 2005.”
~ Fortune Magazine
Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/20141012181202-11435719-the-1-way-to-get-more-women-in-tech-and-stem

But there is another pressing reason, related to the frat-boy culture of a male-dominated industry…

"I had this fantasy that the young men growing up [after me] had more realistic views of their college friends and they would treat them better," Bartz says, shaking her head. "But they're just frat boys...I couldn't be more disappointed."
Source: http://www.cnet.com/news/women-arent-the-problem-in-tech-land/

A Mature Industry that Still Behaves Immaturely

Look, we get it: the hi-tech industry has to attract and retain young talent. But in the retention of said talent, companies need to recognize that young people grow up and have a maturing list of priorities—especially women who get married and have children.

The tech industry itself is no longer run by hippies—though they may have been the pioneers at Atari and Apple. They no longer cater only to “nerds”—The Big Bang Theory notwithstanding—they also no longer cater only to males. The video game industry is beginning to come to terms with this, toning down overtly sexist content.

So when tech companies design their work spaces, and the much-lauded “perks” they use to entice and retain 20-something talent, do they make assumptions about who they are attracting? Are the executives and managers making these decisions men? Are they themselves living out some kind of fantasy of “the ultimate man-cave” at work?

We think probably yes.  Sure, there are many women who will find much of what’s on offer “cool” but there’s a difference between cool and practical, meaningful, useful, helpful.

There’s also a big difference between cool and pleasant, refreshing, relaxing, inspiring, beautiful.

Image by PeapodLife: Cool or Beautiful? 

Office Image Source: http://teamgantt.com/blog/2013/12/18/how-to-maximize-productivity-through-fun-in-the-workplace/

You can say many things about many hi-tech companies’ work environments; and gawk jaw-dropped over many of their perks, but rarely will you come away thinking “wow, what a beautiful, inspiring place to work.”


Not everyone equates an adult-kindergarten environment or frat-boy fantasy man-cave to inspiring. Just because someone is an engineer and interested in working with technology doesn’t make them automatically interested in an environment best suited to cyborgs and adolescents.

Plenty of ‘Cool’ and “Wow!”

And to be clear: there isn’t anything wrong with ‘cool.’ It’s just that ‘cool’ has very little staying power. What’s cool today is very rarely still cool after some time. What we’re advocating for is a little substance injected into the midst of all that cool…and let’s face it, an indoor rainforest ecosystem has plenty of its own cool and “wow!” to go around. It’s just that it also has something that no amount of digital technology alone can match…it has life.

Leadership from the Top

The leaders of many hi-tech companies aren’t even engineers; or men; or in their twenties. The opportunity to redefine the tech workplace as a space of innovation and inspiration which speaks to everyone in an equal way—including management—begins at the top. It doesn’t need to be a case of pandering to frat-boy mentality; it can be something far more beautiful and meaningful; practical and inspirational.

Rainforests @ Work

Male or female, young or old, engineer or artist, we are all human beings. Our biological and energetic nature means our reliance on the basics of life, health and wellness is absolute. Especially for those who spend the majority of their time indoors in front a computer screen, the opportunity to bring the refreshing and rejuvenating effects of nature back into their life in a beautiful and meaningful way should not be overlooked.

Of all the perks and clever design decisions that go into the typical tech workspace, there is one which represents a more mature appreciation for what all individuals—young and old—need and crave. PeapodLife Ecosystems deliver.

Video by PeapodLife: PeapodLife Living Wall EcoSystem Fitch Street

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zh1dk19VLwY

The Retention Problem Facing CEOs Today: Is there a Solution to the Millennial Challenge?

"There is this constant dynamism in the workforce that is very very hard to build the right [parts] of platform and environment for people to [accomplish] what they want."

~ Aaron Levie, CEO Box

Source: LinkedIn: Pulse: These Problems Keep Both The CEO Of Deloitte And Box Awake At Night by Caroline Fairchild

Image Collage by PeapodLife: Millennials in the Workplace 

Sources: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/millennials-need-to-learn-these-14-rules-2013-9; 

http://millennialleader.com/are-millennials-reshaping-the-workplace-thanks-to-gen-x/

In a recent panel discussion at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles, Jim Moffatt of Deloitte and Aaron Levie of Box agreed that attracting and retaining Millennial talent is a major issue for their respective organizations.

As reported by Carolyn Fairchild, New Economy Editor @ LinkedIn, in her recent article: These Problems Keep Both The CEO Of Deloitte And Box Awake At Night

“Moffatt is working to empower young employees to stay at the firm longer by giving them more diverse work, Levie is grappling with the challenges of running a 1,300-person workforce with the average age of 25 or 26.” Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/problems-keeps-both-ceo-deloitte-box-awake-night-caroline-fairchild

“It is very apparent that managing and attracting this demographic of workforce is certainly interesting especially in Silicon Valley,” Levie said. He cited the ever increasing number of companies competing for top talent, and Millennials’ acclimatization to rapid development and succession.

"This generation is very very accustomed to moving quickly ahead in every part of their life and when they get to work and things move slowly and they can't get ahead quickly it impacts their ability to stay," he said. Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/problems-keeps-both-ceo-deloitte-box-awake-night-caroline-fairchild

Image Collage: CEOs discuss challenges at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Los Angeles; 

inset: Carolyn Fairchild, New Economy Editor @ LinkedIn 

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/problems-keeps-both-ceo-deloitte-box-awake-night-caroline-fairchild

So Millennial turnover rates may be high in Silcon Valley, but could the same be true in Canada? To find out, we turned to Mike Snyders, Senior Partner at Future Focus, Inc.—specializing in human resources  and human capital strategies in the Waterloo Region.

“Generation over generation learns how to manage each new generation that follows,” Snyders said. “How do we understand what their motivators are? How do we lead to motivate and develop new talent while maintaining business fundamentals?”

Snyders acknowledged the challenges faced by high-tech companies in the Waterloo Region are similar to those faced by companies in Silicon Valley—and just about everywhere. Many of the unique workplace environments we see in high-tech companies are trying to cater to what millennials are looking for. The key for employers, Snyders said, is to find the right balance between what Millennials want and what the business needs.

“Millennials are motivated differently. Their issue is work-life balance. Yes, you can retain people better by creating a work-life balance in the workplace, but can you stay productive? You need the structure in place. If it’s not managed right, it becomes a fun place, but not a workplace,” he said.

Just how do hi-tech companies’ office environments differ from the typical workplace?

Consider Auvik’s renewal of the Waterloo building formerely known as Blackberry 5. As part of their painful restructuring, Blackberry sold the building to flamboyant Dragon’s Den judge and investor Michael Wekerle. Wekerle was one of the investors involved in Blackberry’s 1997 IPO.

The mostly colourless, cubicle-infested space has been undergoing a transformation into a more lively and optimistic space. The 30-member start-up now enjoys a more open environment, featuring:

• accent walls painted in intense Auvik purple
• a bear mural and other flourishes by Ontario artist Chris Austin
• hand-painted signs displaying the company’s seven core values
• cardboard cut-outs of ‘key customers’
• a well-stocked cache of Nerf weaponry

Source: news.communitech.ca: Communitech News: Auvik poised to grow in bright, rejuvenated space
 

Image Collage by PeapodLife: Auvik’s Unique Office Elements

Photos Credit: Anthony Reinhart 

Source: http://news.communitech.ca/columns/auvik-poised-to-grow-in-bright-rejuvenated-space/

All hi-tech firms seem to have their own take on the ‘unique’ workspace. It’s a reflection of the culture of the firm, and this in many ways reflects Millennials’ attitudes toward personal style.

Style versus Substance

Echoing the sentiments of Mike Snyders, there is a danger for these well-meaning companies that the pendulum may swing a little too far in the other direction, resulting in a very ‘fun’ place, where very little ‘work’ actually gets done.

While many of the creature comforts Millennials may find enticing and attractive on the surface, one cannot deny that success is also a primary motivator for them. As well, high-performance and personal accomplishment cannot be overlooked as a motivating factor.

So what is there which simultaneously comforts and stimulates? What phenomenon has a proven track record of MILLENIA (speaking of Millennials) of simultaneously relaxing and inspiring new ideas, approaches, innovations, and invigorating individuals to pursue their revolutionary new ideas?

One word: nature.

It is undeniable that nature has played a critical part in inspiring everything from Newton’s Law of gravity to Beethoven’s 5th symphony to Einstein’s theory of relativity. But one look need no further than one’s own experience.

You know that feeling you experience in nature? You know that refreshed and recharged feeling. You know how it clears your mind and settle your nerves. There’s nothing else like it.

PeapodLife helps you have that refreshing feeling in your office environment.

In terms of creating a ‘feel good work environment’ which is both comforting and stimulating; one which boost BOTH work-life balance and productivity, an high-order rainforest ecosystem from PeapodLife is beyond compare.

It’s the feeling only nature can give you. Now imagine having that refreshing nature-feeling in your boardroom or in the staff cafeteria 24/7, 365 days a year. Imagine an ecosystem actively working all day, every day, boosting your Team’s happiness and efficiency to a whole new level. 

That’s certainly what Canada Life Insurance experienced. A few short weeks after installing an ecosystem in their boardroom, they began to notice profound improvements to meetings. Six months later, that boardroom was booked solid with a long waiting list.

Image: Canada Life boardroom living wall and aquarium, Toronto

As for Panasonic, revenue increased after outside salespeople started holding their sales meetings inside their staff cafeteria ecosystem.

Image: Panasonic Canada - cafeteria ecosystem

Just imagine the feeling of working in a climate-controlled rainforest environment. Static pictures can only do so much, so here’s an ecosystem in motion…

Video by PeapodLife: Fitch Street Living Wall EcoSystem 6-Month Update 

Source: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6opN_OXIu8

But not even a video can do our rainforest environments justice. No technology can replace the feeling only nature can provide.

Put the power of nature in motion for your business today, and watch the transformative capabilities of the rainforest create an environment that Millennials will want to live, work, grow, develop, innovate and succeed in. 

Connect with PeapodLife today for more information.