Dots 2015 - Christina Scott, Financial Times

“Don’t be late to pick up the kids”

Changing human behaviour is difficult

Christina Scott

4th September 2015

20151888

3

New Digital Natives

And……Deep Pocketed Traditionals

5

Networked Communal

Fragmented Mercenary

NegativePositive

Sociability

SolidarityHigh

Low

Low High

✓ ✗

Informality Flexibility Rapid exchange of information Willingness to help High trust Ease of communication - no hidden agendas Fun, laughter Loyalty Empathy Caring for others Compatible people Less defensiveness, relaxed

Gossip, rumour ‘Negative’ politics Endless debate about measures Long meetings with no action Manipulation of communication e.g. copying e-mails CYA management style Risk aversion - ‘keep your head down’ Change jobs in the organisation frequently Concentrate more on managing upwards than managing outcomes

The networked organisation

Culturally what type of organisation is the FT?

6

…..With a long legacy

Newsroom Evolution: From Print to Digital to Audience First

Empowerment

Removed Board members from programme governance

Clear strategy

Agreed outcomes

Understood constraints

Leadership training for below board level

Right skills

Right attitude

COMMUNICATION

Defined language

Defined processes

Source: Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Building Leaders by Breaking the Rules, L. David Marquet

Customer Focused

Outcome Led

• 1 hour or less commute to Southwark Bridge

• Two bedrooms • A garden • Budget £1500/month • Available from 1st October

Agile – in and out

Articulate your product idea and customer outcome intentions

Confirm the problem or customer need and test it. Minimum viable experiment (MVE)

Build minimum solution to meet customer need, to validate the market demand. Minimum viable product (MVP)

Optimise for scale, increasing revenue, reach and lcustomer outcomes. Post MVP launches

Consistently seeking to maintain revenue, profitability, customer satisfaction and outcomes.

Move product out of portfolio quickly or support existing base with zero new investment

Focus on the customer

Focus on speed

Focus on outcomes

Focus on Empowering team

Team collaboration

Remove silo thinking

But……

Power imbalances

Outcomes too high level

Project NEXT – Transformation in Action

12

A success story - Data

13

Beginning: No data strategy, IP outside FT, slow to change and expensive

Decision: We wanted to own our data

Risk: Multi-year big data warehousing project

Actions: • No upfront RFP – start fast, learn and fail fast • Whole team involvement including stakeholders • Team ownership – vision, cost goal and constraints, devops • Communications – quality not quantity • Team empowered to make choices and change direction • Roles brought in when required e.g. BA

Tech Decisions: • Amazon Redshift (then in Beta) • Build own ETL • Relaxed about technical debt in short term

A success story – Data – Lessons Learned

14

Bypassing RFP worked because: • Strong vision • Team understood existing outputs • Right mix of expertise • Technology in this area was moving quickly

Risk: • Investing lots to decrease risk can be expensive and slow. • Risk analysis replaced by failing fast without fear of failure

Delivery: • Right people • Transparent • Empower them • Trust them • Light touch project governance

Outcome: 80% cost saving, 95% performance gain, data at heart of FT strategy

And just when you think you have made progress…..

15

“ Flabbergasted that your department should have sought to educate staff with such puerile mind games ”

“ Honestly, do you not think we've got better things to do with our time?”

“ A crass effort by Pearson's IT security people to train people not to click on phishing links”

“That sounds like entrapment to me”

“Always Learning to be complete pillocks and how to waste staff time????”

“Geez, that's not really on!!”

“Personally, I never respond to any email that uses words like "credentialed””