Why a Reset is cecessary
In many organizations, the essence has faded. Wisdom within corporate culture seems nearly absent, as everyone is constantly busy in a world that feels increasingly fast-paced. Sometimes, it’s essential to hit the reset button and ask what truly matters. Why do we act the way we do? What would we change? The essence of a reset lies in gaining speed by first slowing down and asking these critical questions. This process leads to better collaboration and communication. Unfortunately, many companies prioritize technology over people. Yet, research shows that organizations that innovate socially—by improving how they work and collaborate—significantly enhance their output. In contrast, technical innovations result in relatively lower productivity gains. The crux is how people work together and communicate. Many organizations and institutions need a reset in this regard. The COW canvas in my book provides a structured approach to achieving this.
How does the COW canvas work?
The steps outlined in the COW canvas help initiate different types of conversations, opening eyes, exploring boundaries, and thinking outside the box. The canvas presents nine steps clustered into three sections: Collaboration, Organization, and Wellbeing. At each step, you can note what is going well, which tips you plan to implement, and any ideas that have emerged. In a nutshell, these steps involve hostmanship—making the customer feel welcome and valued—and facilitating collaboration through safe and user-friendly automation. It’s also essential to connect people, create a safe foundation for agile and resilient work, and balance body, mind, and heart.
When do people truly collaborate?
In many organizations, unresolved issues from the past occupy employees’ minds. Therefore, it’s crucial to clear the slate on all fronts to foster genuine collaboration. This requires a new way of listening and setting aside biases, fears, and cynicism while adopting a posture of vulnerability. Teams can undergo a transformation in five phases. The first phase is co-initiating, where employees and partners like customers, suppliers, and distributors establish contact and build a common goal. In the second phase, co-sensing, you listen to each other with an open mind, focusing on new information by putting aside fixed patterns, judgments, and personal thoughts. The third phase, presencing, involves letting go of unimportant matters and opening up to opportunities. In the next phase, co-creating, you experiment together to build a prototype and test potential solutions. Finally, in the co-evolving phase, you evaluate with the team whether the shared goals have been achieved.
Why is ICT given special attention?
ICT can be effectively utilized to support collaboration rather than as an end in itself. In larger organizations, ICT often becomes an end goal, leading to heavy investments in systems like CRM, which focus on data and are often user-unfriendly, causing dissatisfaction among customers and employees. Smaller organizations typically use user-friendly and cost-effective applications and plugins. Startups, in particular, focus on sharing new experiences with innovative collaboration tools. Accessible collaboration tools are crucial in ICT.
However, one critical aspect that cannot be overlooked in today’s digital landscape is cybersecurity. As organizations increasingly rely on digital tools and platforms, the importance of securing these systems becomes paramount. Cybersecurity.Vision emphasizes the urgent need for organizations and individuals to recognize the pervasive and serious threat that hackers pose. The reality is stark: cybercrime costs are predicted to reach $10.5 trillion annually by 2025, making it one of the most significant economic challenges of our time.
Rise of cyber attacks at small businesses
The dangers are not limited to large corporations. Small businesses, and even individuals at home, are increasingly targeted by cybercriminals. Statistics show that 43% of cyber attacks are aimed at small businesses, while individuals face growing threats from ransomware, phishing, and identity theft. This highlights the importance of cybersecurity not just in the workplace but also in personal life.
Cybersecurity.Vision advocates for a holistic approach to cybersecurity, one that integrates robust security measures into every aspect of ICT infrastructure. This means adopting a proactive stance on security—embedding it into the very fabric of an organization’s operations and culture. For instance, companies should regularly train their employees on recognizing phishing attempts, securing personal devices used for work, and understanding the latest threats.
In my book, I delve deeply into these issues, illustrating how a failure to prioritize cybersecurity can have catastrophic consequences. To underscore this point, I’ve included an exclusive interview with world-renowned hacker Kevin Mitnick, who shared his expert insights on the vulnerabilities that organizations face and the critical steps needed to protect against them. By following the principles of the Cybersecurity.Vision masterclasses, companies and individuals can protect themselves from the ever-evolving landscape of cyber threats and ensure their digital assets remain secure.
How does the Customer House work?
The Customer House centers the customer in our operations, eliminating departmental barriers. All customer-facing teams unite within this new organizational unit. The rise of the internet and social media has transformed the customer journey, requiring us to exceed the expectations of today’s informed and discerning customers. Every employee in the Customer House is dedicated to achieving this goal.
Is Self-Management the ideal organizational model?
Organizations experimenting with agile and self-managing structures share several similarities. Employees and teams are more autonomous, the organization is flatter, and instead of traditional job roles, there are flexible roles that different people can fill. Processes are open, transparent, and clearly structured, making the organizational framework more flexible. I believe it’s crucial to eliminate complexity from organizations, making them simpler, safer and more transparent. This way, managers and employees can better handle changes. Even autonomous teams need managers, but these are leaders who act as conductors, guiding and inspiring their teams to perform beyond expectations.
5 Key Takeaways of the RESET! book:
- Social innovation over technology: Organizations that focus on smarter collaboration and communication see greater productivity gains than those relying solely on technical innovations.
- COW Canvas Framework: The COW canvas provides a structured approach to enhance collaboration, organization, and wellbeing within an organization.
- Proactive cybersecurity measures: Embracing the principles of the Cybersecurity.Vision masterclass is essential for protecting both corporate and personal digital environments from the escalating threats posed by cybercriminals.
- AI as a tool, not the goal: Similar to social media, AI serves to enhance collaboration and decision-making. Organizations must establish strict guidelines to protect privacy, particularly in sensitive sectors like healthcare and government. Misuse of AI in these areas could lead to significant data breaches.
- Customer-Centric approach: The Customer House model emphasizes placing the customer at the center of all organizational efforts, aiming to exceed customer expectations.
What Cybersecurity.vision offers
For more information on how we can help your organization, visit our services offerings at Cybersecurity.vision.