In military history the creation of line infantry in Napoleonic times was a major innovation, but one that required those being fired at to stand closely with colleagues, to help then hold their nerve.

This might be a metaphor for proximity in teams (virtual and face to face) – time together is crucial.

And sometimes, in an event, we encourage voting and exploration of option with a ‘Human Histogram’- it can be easier for some with deviant views to speak up when they see others standing shoulder to shoulder with them.

How we handle the trickle, tide or torrent of emails is a key part of our personal productivity.

But is all that about to change? From social networking technologies like National Field to the head of French consulting firm ATOS stating they will not use internal emails at all in 3 years, people are seeing the way to speed the absorption and management of information from outside of the inbox.

One thing…do you see your email life as work or a distraction? Fun or a threat?

Maybe it depends on the work you do (a nurse vrs a communications manager; an electrician or a CEO)?

Maybe the solution depends on

1) The scale of the problem for you – one person was complaining to me last week they had 10 emails a day…and most of those didn’t need much time to sort

2) Your personality – some love their online persona’s (possibly too much!)

3) Your web connectivity at work –social networking required decent connectivity

4) And the devices you prefer – iPhones are relatively poor for handling email, but better for networked solutions

In your work, do you think

1) How your staff are treated

2) How your suppliers treat their staff

3) Where your products are made – and how staff are treated

4) Where the raw materials in your products come from, and how workers fare there?

This talk  gives lots to think about.  As a rule of thumb (and not just for newsworthy Apple mobile devices), the further away in the supply chain, the more there is to be concerned about, but the less likely it is to get seen or discussed.

If one of the downsides of mobile devices like iPhones and Blackberries is to make quick responses to emails a bit slower, one thing we notice is what we call Skype Syndrome – the phenomenon where the incredible achievement of global video calls from phone to phone, pc to phone or pc to pc are potentially side tracked by an old issue. Possibility vanity or narcissism …or merely checking on our body language.

The issue?  Watching ourselves and not the person we are virtually (and magically) linked with.

Probably an unexpected consequence, and one that requires discipline to ignore, the ‘mirror’ when you are there on the screen too!

A few weeks back

A commentator

In the Guardian

Or was it the FT

Or the Sun

Anyhow…

The message?

No opposition politician has even been elected whilst being more pessimistic and less hopeful for the future that the incumbent.

A lesson for Ed Milliband?

Definitely a lesson for leaders everywhere – stories of hope are needed as much, and probably more, than tales of ‘burning platforms’

In technology circles, people talk of the ‘decade of disappointment’ – the lag between the awareness of the benefits and opportunities of a new approach or gadget, and the time of its widespread adoption. For example, digital interactive TV was much discussed in the early/mid 90s, but it took a further decade for the availability to be rolled out. I recall asking ‘Cambridge Cable’ in 1993 to be part of their ‘on demand’ service, that I had seen discussed in the national media. It was a decade (and 2 companies later), before something approaching the vision was available through Virgin.

Another example is the awareness of a likely convergence in computing and telephony – this happened a decade or so before the ubiquity of iPhones and the like. In health care, the potential of genetics and its application has a lapse of two decades or so – maybe due to the complexity and regulation of the science as well as other factors (such as staff attitudes and funding).

The lessons:

1) Where do you need to hold your nerve? On that change or engagement project? It is true leaders (and by that we mean anyone seeking to influence the attitudes and actions of others) need to repeat their key message and vision – and not give up ahead of the tipping point. It is the case that some loose heart just before the moment where action is just about to start.

2) What are you spotting now where some ‘what if’ planning would increase the robustness of what you are rolling out and also speed the adoption of the new and noteworthy?

Do you like brands?

No, not just D&G or Gucci or Louis Vuitton…but John Lewis, Oxfam, Amnesty International, IPCC…

Is the gap they fill a sign of a weak ego and co-dependency?  Or is it a deeper connection in terms of fashion or philosophy?

It seems most of us love some brands – commercial or charitable.  We endow them with properties in response to the promise of improvement and fulfilment they offer us.

In a world where status is increasingly less due to our born class position (as that can change) or cultural appreciation (high and low art are blended and enjoyed in surprising places and ways), the brands we consume and the identities we construct matter like never before.

In our festive Business Briefing, we asked what words and phrases colleagues were struck by this year. Some of the answers were posted in our first briefing of 2012 on happiness.

Some others from 2011 we have received include: kind and kindness; wise and wisdom; decision loom and decision weaving ; epistemic awareness – and kitsch.

I am listening now in a new way…

Further to last week’s Business Briefing, the Action for Happiness movement might be helpful to you and others.

We regularly survey groups for their satisfaction on current issues and confidence in the future…

A client asked this week how we see they relate?  If satisfaction is a function of expectation, to what degree is confidence a function of aspiration?

Our view? In our experience satisfaction is inversely related to expectation – but confidence can GROW in a climate of more audacious goals…trying to do great things can feed great work and good feelings…