How do you cope with the sloths?

I work for myself because I like to think for myself. I'm one of those awkward souls that organisations in the West are going to have to learn to live with, if we're going to find a way to compete in a globalised world.

I tend to have my own opinions, and I'm not very good at towing the party line. But I'd argue that the awkward squad are just the kind of people who will help to make change happen.

But it's not easy being a freelancer in the world of regeneration. Without wanting to do a Ratner, I'd like to politely suggest that there are plenty of organisations in the field of regeneration that are not particularly dynamic. And if I'm going to make money, I need to work with them.

My favourite business book is Marketing Judo. In Marketing Judo terms, the organisations I'm referring to are sloths. Big, bureaucratic and slow. Fond of endless meetings. Staffed by people whose remuneration packages are not related in any way to the social change that they help to create (or too often stifle).

Marketing Judo talks about how to spot and take on a sloth. By being fit, fast and focussed, you, as a small business, can run rings around them. All very well, but in the regeneration world you often have to find ways to partner with the sloths. That, for a freelancer, can be tough.

What does it mean in practice? Loads of time spent trying to get contracts, filling in random tender documents. Constantly chasing people, and re-arranging re-arranged meetings. Endless re-juggling of diaries and cashflows as this month's planned work gets delayed til Christmas. The chance to change the world - strangled by bureaucracy.

I'm not giving up. I think what we need if we're going to create change is increasing amounts of entrepreneurial energy. I find mine partly through working for myself. But I'm working hard to work out how to take on the sloths.

Have you worked out ways to live with the sloths?

This post was originally written for the Just Means All Things Reconsidered blog.

Comments

[Nick Temple]

Brilliant: enjoyed this, Rob. I can see the memoir now: "Partnering with sloths: my life in social enterprise" by Rob Greenland. Do you think it's related to the proximity to government. My most meeting-heavy / bureaucratic partnerships with SSE are all in relation to government programmes. The most dynamic tend to be with practitioners, forward-thinking foundations, or the commercial sector.

Or is partnership just slower anyway? The word consortia can send a chill into anyone's heart these days.

[Rob Greenland]

Cheers Nick - yes I've been looking for an angle for a book, so maybe this is it! I'd better earn some more money first as no-one will work with me ever again once I've written it.

Yes, the hand of Government is often present, but not always. And you're certainly right, sometimes a slightly slower pace is worth it, if the results of partnership are greater. But all too often, as you suggest, partnership and consortia don't add the value that they could, and are just marriages of convenience to suggest progress and to lay hands on cash.

[John Friedman]

While it's very frustrating to be a lone wolf, don't get overwhelmed by the fact that even an 'ace' is beaten by a pair of twos - because jokers have no value at all.

Sometimes, when I cannot find allies in the expected places within an organization, I have had success building value for other departments:

Tax/Finance - tax incentives and opportunities can help you find ways to propose actions that are either cost neutral or actually save or earn money for the company. In this way, you're not asking skeptics to invest in something that they don't believe adds value - you're offering them a way to reduce costs (or gain revenue). Most sloths will respond favorably to that.

HR - values-based companies have an easier time attracting and retaining talent. Using your CSR efforts as part of your promotional efforts can help facilitate this.

Community relations - when the community rises up in opposition against a company, it adds costs and delays income opportunity. Working with your Public Relations/Community Relations departments to document anything you do that reduces delays or increases speed to market.

Customer relations - building strong relationships with key customers is a great way to increase sales. Partnering with them on sustainability efforts also builds the relationship based on shared commitment to the community.

Marketing/promotion - promote the benefit of your products and services to the community and greater world at large through strategic giving.

Legal/risk - reducing environmental footprints can build a relationship with regulators that results in quicker and more favorable interaction, avoids the costs of mediation and remediation and helps contain risk. Many sloths are fearful. If your legal or risk management team tells them that your efforts reduce liability, they should listen.

[David Floyd]

"Or is partnership just slower anyway? The word consortia can send a chill into anyone's heart these days."

Well, partnership is bound to be a bit slower than one person just taking a decision. And there are sensible reasons why people often take longer to give you/me 1000s of pounds than it takes you/me to have a good idea.

That said, some partnerships work a lot better than others and the best ones, in my experience, tend to come when all partners care about the intended outcome of what they're doing and have a similar
understanding of what the intended outcome is.

"Have you worked out ways to live with the sloths?"

Nothing very profound other than things like 'make clear how doing what you want and need them to do is also in their own interest' and 'find ways to be a persistent as you can be while also being as polite as you can be'.

[Rob Greenland]

Here are some thoughts from Richard Richardson - one of the Marketing Judo authors - who emailed me in response to this:

Try and 'pick the right partner' in the sloth organisation:

For example:

Try to find someone in the sloth organisation who 'wants to make a difference' and can help you through the 'treacle'.

Sloth companies are 'top down' driven.They respond to orders! Try and get to someone at the top to adopt what you want to do/change. It's amazing how sloth organization people will remove the road blocks and get things done when the boss tells them.

Strike when there's a new senior appointment! Get to them before the organisation has sucked all the life/energy out of them and they become sloths themselves!

[Todd]

Rob,
Couple of ideas from our approach. (although judging from my ability to book a meeting with you lately, you might argue we have become one of those sloths!)

1. Approach using principles from the book "Wikinomics: How mass collaboration changes everything".
2. Find a competent sponsor in the sloth; as David says--make sure he/she is highest level possible. This is a common approach for complex selling. They can direct traffic for you.
3. work with several. this way one is always making a decision.
4. ensure you are working in the right department; much time is wasted working in the wrong silo of a sloth b/c they give you time, appear to fit the remit, but hold none of the actual budget powers.
5. question: do i really need to work with this group?

Todd