Tom Nixon

Rate your happiness at work on a scale of one to ten

This is a question I've started asking employees at their regular one-to-one catch-ups.

I would never be so crass as to write the number down or plot it in a graph, but it is a great conversation starter.

Three things I've learnt from this, and from reflecting on my own level of happiness at work:

1. Happiness seems to fluctuate a great deal and having one bad thing happen in a day can undo a lot of good.
2. Some people are just naturally happier than others. A bit like luck, happiness is something you make yourself.
3. It's difficult to single out happiness at work from someone's overall level of happiness (for me, if I have a great workout a the gym in the morning then it sets me up to be happy all day, almost regardless of what happens at work)

I was amazed to hear the answer 'Ten' for the first time yesterday - I hadn't actually thought that it was really possible. This is where the hard work starts though - it's a big responsibility to support someone in maintaining that. Still, it's nice to see we're doing something right.

Aaaaaanyway, off to the gym then...

Pleeeease can we have a summer?

So fed up with seeing this on my iGoogle homepage. Oh well, at least it's ever so slightly better down here in Brighton than it is in London.

Waiting for Facebook to mature

Q: Can you spot the common theme running through this list of fast-growing Facebook applications?

A: Each and every one of them is a novelty, entertainment application which doesn't really do anything useful.

Now, 'fast growing' is only  one measure of the success/importance of an application, but I do think this indicates that we're still in an immature phase of Facebook's development.  As I commented on Antony's blog yesterday:

The Facebook platform is still only a couple of months old and so the applications that run on it are fairly simple. The Zombie and Foodfight applications are the Facebook equivalent of Solitaire and Minesweeper on Windows. It will take time for complex applications to be be developed...

I think there are a huge number of great ideas for social networking applications out there which would be useful to users, but would never take off in their own space because of the overhead of users having to create a profile, invite their friends and create their network. The Facebook platform gives application developers a social network that's ready to go, thereby removing this overhead and allowing all sorts of innovative applications to become a reality.

The Facebook platform is unlike most traditional platforms (like computer operating systems or a games consoles) in that it launched to the world without any 'killer apps'. They took the agile approach of getting the platform out there and seeing what people could do with it. I think this was the right approach, I just hope that some high quality, genuinely useful applications get developed before the novelty wears off and people dismiss the Facebook platform as a novelty.

Silence or violence: How do you manage difficult conversations?

I've just started reading Crucial Conversations - a wonderful book for anyone hoping to improve their people skills.

Early in the book, the authors discuss how different people react to difficult conversations, and in particular how we often revert to 'flight or fight' instincts, which in this context they describe as silence and violence.

There's a handy self test in the book to identify your own 'style under stress' which is also available online. I wasn't surprised at my low score for 'violence', but I discovered that I'm inclined towards silence much more than I had realised, meaning that I sometimes avoid or withdraw from difficult conversations. It was surprising because I'm certainly not known for being the shy, retiring type. Perhaps that's not the same thing. If you take the test, add a comment and let me know how you scored.

I'll post up a book review once I'm finished with it. From what I've read so far I'm sure it's going to be a good one.

A world trip and some developments at Nixon McInnes

My big news is that in September 2008 I’m going to head off on a 12-month trip around the world – something that has been my dream for the last 10 years but on hold whilst I’ve been growing a business. The plan is to live and work - still in the Internet industry - for three months each in three different locations around the world. During the three months in-between I’ll be taking a break from the world of work and travelling around some other countries. I’ll write more about this trip on my blog at a later date.

Although it’s 15 months away, we’re beginning to prepare now so the company will be ready. The most important change is that instead of having two joint Managing Directors at Nixon McInnes, Will is going to take this role and have overall responsibility for running the company. I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have in the top spot – he’s going to absolutely ROCK. This change has the added advantage of giving the company clearer lines of responsibility, which is an inherent problem with having joint managing directors.

During the months leading up to the trip I’m going to be focussing my efforts in two areas:

1. The ‘production and people’ side of the business: Building and developing the team; getting us more efficient; and ensuring that our work is of the highest quality.
2. Continuing to develop new and existing client and partner relationships.

Also key to our preparations are the recruitment of (or development of existing team members into) a Production Director and a Business Development/Commercial Director so that my roles at the company are more than covered when I take my break. With these key hires in place, the company will have a stronger board than ever before.

At the end of my year away I will be returning to Brighton and Nixon McInnes full-time. It’s going to be exciting coming back to the company without it being reliant on me for anything operational. I’m also hoping to bring back some new perspectives and ideas from my time working in other Internet companies around the world.

The shareholding of the company isn’t going to change. Will and I still own 50% each and we have no plans to change that.

So there you go. It’s probably more exciting for me and Will than anyone else, but it’s important to clearly communicate what’s going on in case anyone gets the wrong end of the stick.

Can an employer make its people happy?

It was saddening to read this from a former employee today.

It would be unprofessional and unproductive for me to divulge any details about Alex's departure from our company, or get into a tit-for-tat debate so I'm not going to do that. The comment I Ieft on Alex's blog is a fair response I think:

Ultimately it's only you who can make yourself happy. We work hard to create an environment that supports this, and although we're far from cracking the perfect formula (has any company?) I think it's fair to say we do better than most. But no company can actually MAKE people happy - it has to come from the individual. I'm sorry it didn't work out for you, and I wish you the best of luck.

Alex is right that different things make different people happy. This is why I meet all of my team individually every six weeks to talk about how happy they are at work, and to see what we can do to improve things. It's a real shame that we couldn't find a happy formula for Alex.

We've shared the link with the team here and I'm hoping it'll prompt some lively debate. We're all committed to making Nixon McInnes an amazing place to work so it's good to question basic assumptions about how we're delivering on the principles that underpin our culture. I know we still have lots to learn and improve as our company develops. I for one am enjoying the journey.

I'm passionate and fascinated by this subject so I'd be pleased to hear from you if you have any thoughts or ideas.

A guide to RSS for marketers

We have just published a new chapter in our FREE e-book series A marketer's guide to social media, this one written by yours truly.

This concise PDF contains everything a marketer needs to know about RSS in plain simple English.

You can download the PDF and subscribe to be notified about future chapters here, and we've released it under a Creative Commons license so please feel free to pass it on to friends and colleagues.

This is the third chapter in the series, and you can download the first two chapters that Will has written about web widgets and blogging from the same page.

Enjoy! And do let us know what you think.

The top 5 workplace secrets

1. How much the guys around you earn.
Rationale: "If they know how much everyone else earns, they'll all want a payrise."
Reality: When salaries are public knowledge it keeps the company and employees honest. Neither wants to be seen to be unfair in what they offer or ask for. And let's face it - people find out in the end.
Fix it! Be brave and open your books to your people. It might force you to iron out some idiosyncracies, but it'll be for the best. Once your people get used to working in such a transparent environment they won't want to leave... and this includes director's salaries and benefts too!

2. How much profit the company makes.
Rationale: "If the employees know we're profitable then they'll either want to be paid more, or stop working so hard."
Reality: People like to be a part of something successful, and in most cases companies actually make less net profit than employees realise.
Fix it! See No. 1. And be generous and share the wealth when you're doing well - you'll be rewarded with loyalty.

3. What the owner REALLY wants.
Rationale: "If my people know I'm just building this company to sell it then how will I get them to buy in to my vision?"
Reality: Employees are clever enough to figure out if they're 'working for the man'.
Fix it! If you want to attract and retain the best people then the long-term vision must benefit everyone. Be honest about what you plan to do.

4. Just how bad things are.
Rationale: "We're working on the problems and we don't want to cause panic"
Reality: People can sense fear, failure and trouble. They know when things aren't going well.
Fix it! People at all levels in a company can come up with great ideas to fix problems, and they'll be prepared to be flexible, providing they know the business genuinely cares about their interests too. Get those great minds working on the problems.

5. What goes on when the big cheeses get together for the board meeting.
Rationale: "At the board meeting we discuss commercially sensitive issues candidly - it needs to be top secret."
Reality: Your people are affected by the decisons that you make in the board meeting in one way or another, and the more secretive you are, the more people will draw their own - often negative - conclusions about what you are planning.
Fix it! Have one or two 'open seats' at your board meeting for employees on a first-come-first-served basis. These employees get an equal vote on any decisions made at the meeting. You'll be amazed at how useful the additional perspective is.