I have not been about much recently with the demands of sorting out my father’s estate, which is still being a long running story of its own, and with the demands of work, which has included, for those who follow my twitter feed, studying for my professional exams, along with working and doing the above. I have had little enjoy or though to doing little else.
As you can or cannot imagine, the thought of sitting down to write a blog post in a constructive and efficient manner has not been high on my list of agenda items. To be honest, most evenings, I have come home, and collapsed.
However, despite this I have been lucky enough to have been asked to attend a couple of technology events over the post few weeks. One involved TechBritain16 and the other was a closed event for Women in Business event held by Sharniya Ferdinand
Both were awesome events but one message was consistent. To get ahead and to drive change you have to do the exact opposite of what the title of this blog is called. You have to rock the boat.
Rocking the boat does not mean turning into a full anarchist, deliberately being obstructive, and negative. It means being inquisitive, challenging, questioning, engaging, visualizing a different way of seeing things. Getting people to see challenges in a different way.
A classic example of this was for my interview for my current role. I was asked if I would treat internal suppliers differently to external suppliers because they were also potential colleagues. My answer was simple. It was no and the reason being they were still supplying a service into us, they still had a contract, and obligation to fulfill. My role remained the same – that was making sure both parties still fulfilled their obligations under the contract.
I came out of that interview thinking – well I blew that. Not going to get the job. Not really the type of impression you want to make on the CIO/ CTO of your company. But no I get a call saying he really liked me and when could I start.
However, what is more intriguing is that out of that conversation a new team and department was set up some 6 months later – for which I am now a part which focuses on services being delivered both internally and externally and how we can improve and deliver consistency across both brands.
From a simple answer with clear reasoning I got my now CIO to think different, but also realise that things had to change if things were to improve.
Will this always work – No. Will people always like or appreciate it – No. Will it make a difference – I like to think eventually yes. The key is to keep trying, to keep asking the questions, to challenge and be innovative. As my CEO said recently standing still will lead to stagnation and death. Innovation and change lead to growth, development and longevity.
Personally I know which side of the argument I want to be on. So will you come with me and help me rock the boat, or will you stand on the shore line, or be the man in the boat saying ‘Please sit down you’re rocking the boat’.
So please sit down, and enjoy rocking the boat:
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