Bad Boys Go to Heaven, SAP Mentors Go to SDN*

Computer owner: @lukemarson

Author: Andreea Hirica

The People Side of Highly Entropic Organizations

 

Credit: SAP Mentors 2012, Found thanks to @tpowlas

As one of the fastest growing higlyh entropic businesses, the SaaS industry comes with its own challenges. "We think in terms of business and it's high time we started to think in terms of people" (@tomvandoorslaer ) is only one of them.

The People Side of SAP. A World Café

 “We decided to facilitate a World Café as it is one of the participative methods truly encouraging diversity, contribution, connecting, expanding and remixing different perspectives. Last but not least, it creates a good structure to explore in-depth specific questions and finally, to extract and harvest key insights and next steps.” Christian de NEEF, Founder, Fast Track Consulting.

 

Credit: @cdn

In the first stage, people have been "well shaked" through an introductory brainstorming, with Leavitt’s Diamond organizational model as roadmap, until a good mix of both “T-shirt” people and “Suits”, together with an important area of key concepts has been obtained. People were then split in three work groups, each working on one of the three key issues previously identified. Phase two consisted in participants switching groups, continuing the works on one of the other two key issues. This ensured everyone was exposed and left insights into each of the three concepts. Work session would encompass three mandatory rounds: 1. The Why Round 2. The What Round 3. The How Round.

The People Side of SAP. World Café  Harvest

 Visual Harvest by: @fredericw

In the SaaS industry, the Gap between the software engineer and the end user is similar with the retail gap between producer and the final consumer.  To bridge such gaps we need hybrid organizational models (both centralized and localized) with an inclusive culture, open to diversity and learning. A culture easily facilitating and  encouraging exchange between developers, commercial people and front-end users. A culture that goes beyond preconceptions and is able to make the most out of differences; able to learn fast out of own failures. An empathic culture open to listening, understanding and embracing divergent points of view for the win-win highest possible output.

Such a culture is hardly ever able to emerge and sustain itself without management’s empowerment and support. It is the reason for which Senior Management Role Models are vital in these environments: “If you want to be an inclusive organization you have to have authentic Inclusive Role Models at Senior Management level." Christian de NEEF

 

Key takeaway: “Come out of the ivory tower, broaden your understanding, learn from people you hardly like, involve senior management, practice empathy.”

 

*Note: SDN – SAP Community Network Wiki