THE IMPORTANCE OF GLUE

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Another genius CARTOON FROM HUGH McLEOD at GAPING VOID

So, our enterprise called Wave Your Arms Ltd is almost 2 years old.  We enter the ‘terrible twos’ and in due course, you might expect tantrums, rolling around on the floor in supermarkets, teething and much defiant and unruly behaviour.  For the new venture though it is a significant milestone and it seemed appropriate to share a few reflections and lessons learned with those who have followed us along the way, or simply spectated from afar.  

1. Recommendations rock

We have been blessed with some great client and partner introductions, recommendations and referrals.  These intros are the very life-blood of any new venture and are materially more valuable than any form of marketing, social networking, or well-worn shoe-leather.  For someone who spent ten years in Marketing, it should have come as no surprise to discover that the most valuable network you have…is the one you already have.  Our first client in 2014 came through an unsolicited recommendation and it turned into a wonderful project for a professional services firm who wanted to more closely engage with their most valuable clients.  It was, as they say, right up our boulevard, and created a superb opportunity to work with an imaginative client who have since gone on to invest further in the concept we created.  Other introductions and ‘out of the blue’ referrals have been gratefully received.  Not every intro turns into work, but all introductions are beneficial in themselves and, hopefully, should always reflect well on the introducer, as much as the introduced.   Reciprocating will be a joy.  

2. Partnerships are powerful

In the beginning there was a noisy coffee shop.  Then people I knew began to provide free desk space and wifi.  And coffee.  And invites to networking drinks.  And banter, about football and films and the weather.  Just like working in a real office, but without all the ‘burdens’.  These offers of support and the serendipity of co-location have been terrific.  Those who have proffered it know who they are - and I understand that they have done the same for others in recent months.  I have worked now in partnership - however formally or more loosely - with four other smart firms: all with a similar interest in doing great work for ambitious clients.  With one partner firm we described it this way:  it’s about “harnessing the skills and energy of great people who are a delight to work with and love what they do”.  When you find this happens in the ‘real world’ then the graft and the long hours and the many frustrations are more much more navigable.  It has also allowed us in the first two years to ‘scale’ the offer in a way that no business bank manager or investor business-case would allow.  

3. The importance of Glue

Those who have worked with me before will know of my addiction to Glue.  Not for sniffing, or sticking, but as the crucial ingredient found amongst talented people within ambitious firms.  It’s sometimes referred to as ‘engagement’, or ‘team-work’ or ‘strong relationships’, but I prefer to call it Glue.  Once harnessed, Glue can create bonds within organisations more powerful than the artifice of corporate governance, management structures and functional specialisation.  It has greater resonance than the most carefully crafted mission statement or well articulated business strategy. 

The firms we have worked with who have invested in connecting their talented people, or in trying to better engage the hopes, dreams and desires of their most valuable customers, are the ones who best generate and harness glue.  With Wave Your Arms (and also through the work I do with LBS) I get to see deep ‘inside’ a number of different organisations.  All firms struggle with managing change, volatile markets, new technology and competitive and regulatory pressures.  But despite these pressures, the best firms continue to invest in their best people, in developing capability and stretching their managers to become future leaders.  It’s been brilliant seeing this pay off during my corporate career, but also with Wave Your Arms in helping organisations focus on the importance to the customer of that internal investment in people.  That's enough pontification for now, but the more I work on projects around talent, engagement and customer strategy, the more the importance of this need for Glue is reaffirmed.   

4. Variety stimulates

In the past two years I have had the opportunity to work in Singapore, Shanghai, Barcelona, Switzerland, Finland and the UK.  The work has encompassed consulting, projects, events and leadership interventions for law firms, private wealth managers, accountants, manufacturers, confectioners and insurers. At the heart of this is the facilitation of leadership groups and the engagement of high-value clients and audiences.  More and more in the digitally inter-connected work place we see a paucity of personal and collaborative interaction amongst key colleagues.  When leadership forums, or event opportunities are created to engender that collaboration, it seems that the need for good design and expert facilitation remains profound.  If it's needed, it's what we do.  

Not drowning, but waving

I have learnt much and have had to delve deeper into my past experiences over the past two years than I might ever have expected.  As mentioned, I am grateful to those who have connected, collaborated, partnered or simply wished us well.  As such, the glass still feels half-full, not half-empty and our mantra, that organisations are at their best when waving, not drowning, still holds true.

Thank your to all who have supported Wave Your Arms and if you would like to find out more about what we do for clients and in partnership with others, then simply get in touch.   JD