Outlook have just updated their web site which features a segment from me on Outlook in the workplace. Normally I hate videos of me and I don’t really like this one but I’m really happy to be able to do my bit to promote Outlook. Most organisations are quite dysfunctional internally and if the majority of people have attended Outlook things get a lot lot simpler. It was quite fun being interviewed on camera too, I’ve done big presentations but was very nervous about the whole camera thing but really enjoyed it in the end.

This is probably the moment to embarrass my friend and colleague Jodie who is the blonde lady who starts this video off and appears in other videos on the site. She’s just completed Summit and I’ve never seen her happier.

Outlook is one of those experiences which can only enrich you – a great experience, stupidly cheap, and full of great people. Highly recommended to everyone.

Anyway, Clay Shirky posted this rant on how women rarely put themselves forward. He ends with:

What I do know is this: it would be good if more women see interesting opportunities that they might not be qualified for, opportunities which they might in fact fuck up if they try to take them on, and then try to take them on. It would be good if more women got in the habit of raising their hands and saying “I can do that. Sign me up. My work is awesome,” no matter how many people that behavior upsets.

Very much so!

I find it interesting how men can often over-exagerate their abilities and contributions (and need a dose of unwelcome reality), where as most women actually need to be told explicitly that they really are quite capable and even good at what they do.

There are few things that I view as being crucial to Amphora’s competitive advantage, which are blindingly obvious to us but seem to be totally uncopyable by so many other companies:

• Hire the right people, and treat them like adults. Don’t employ people you have to treat like children.
• Most “Working Mums” would jump at a fulfilling responsible job, as long as you take the relatively easy steps to make sure they can work around their childcare responsibilities.
• Apple Macs are really so much better and cheaper to own than Windows machines – and people enjoy using them more too.

The only problem we consistently get is that a lot of working Mums won’t apply for jobs because they don’t think any employer would be able to accommodate them. So they search Monster for tedious part-time admin jobs and never even see our jobs even though they’ve got “Mum friendly” pasted all over them. Which is similar to Clay’s underlying point.

The downturn has exposed flaws in business models, such as newspapers. Identifying basket cases after they have collapsed is easy, but by then it is too late to save them. The trick is to spot the weak spots in a damaged business model before it collapses, while management has the resources and time to fix it.

He has some interesting examples, and doing it for our own industry is very interesting!

For myself, and my social “network” the sharing is mainly amongst our peers. My children are still learning to read, although as they do they notice what Mummy and Daddy are doing on computers, and get interested in what we’re writing. At the moment that’s a something we can easily control, just by switching windows or shooing them away. Josh (8 years old) thinks that Twitter is silly because you can only use 140 characters, but he does have his own blog although he doesn’t know he can subscribe to Daddy’s.

What happens when they get their own Twitter and Facebook accounts? And we can see them, and they can see us?

Currently, I write without concern for what my children might think. But in a few months I will probably have to explain every Tweet I make, every blog post, to my eldest Son. That will probably change what I write, but it will also mean he gets exposed to a version of “Daddy” which I’m not sure we’ve ever had to deal with before.

I introduced a friend of mine, who has teenage and adult daughters, to Facebook. Their Facebook world was very peer-centered, and I am sure it was a little shocking for Mom to have free access to that. Their one message to me (I’m “Mom’s friend” – a very “I don’t know what to do with this” bucket) was “Thanks, now you’ve somewhat ruined Facebook”. Which is fair.

What happens when our children see everything we write to our peers? If we do the Social Transparency thing right, I’m sure there’s some interesting ground there.

What happens when my kids get their own accounts, talking to their peers? And we see it all?

What happens when my colleagues kids start following me on Twitter, or subscribing to my blogs? Do I need to take account of that? Do I lose something when I do so?

Historically the relationship between Parent and Child has been pretty compartmentalised. That’s going to take a hit if the kids on the same social networks as the parents. Similarly, the Work Vs Home compartments disappear if your partner, children etc. are on each other’s Twitter or Facebook list – and those of your colleagues. (and even worse, if they choose not to be!).

I’ve always thought that the Work Vs Home distinction is somewhat artificial, something that’s only arisen in the industrial revolution. Perhaps the social networking revolution is taking us back to where we belong, but it will be a shock for us all. I’d like to think the end result is richer, more understanding relationships – but there will be uncomfortable moments. Perhaps we’ll emerge with a greater understanding of each other and our various roles in life, which can’t be bad.

We play a lot at work, sometimes what you might view as rather “Immature” games, sometimes more seriously with technology or tools. I believe play an important part of keeping the mind flexible and joyful, which makes it a fun place to be, but also has significant benefits for us as a company.

Play definitely has a place in any well run company, every day, every place.