valeriegd's posterous http://valeriegd.posterous.com Most recent posts at valeriegd's posterous posterous.com Sun, 29 Aug 2010 07:46:41 -0700 The Richness of Diversity http://valeriegd.posterous.com/the-richness-of-diversity http://valeriegd.posterous.com/the-richness-of-diversity

Last weekend I had the pleasure of attending a performance of Aida in Bregenz.  This is such a special atmosphere as it is open air, the stage is on the lake, the lighting is amazing as are all the props.  Positioned in the lake and on the main stage are pieces of metal painted blue with gold stars.  These are pieces of the Statue of Liberty – the symbol of freedom - but a bit strange in a storyline set over 100 years ago in Egypt. The costumes are a mix of old Egypt and modern day clothes (the figures in the photo are actors).  

Image002

So the plot unfolds as per Verdi’s script.  Suddenly there is a commotion behind us.  Turning around I saw a line of riot police – not Egyptian but pretty Germanic looking, with shields, viziers .. They moved towards the audience sitting in the front row and proceeded to engage them with batons and shields, the audience fights back – at this point the main stage is not getting too much attention – and many end up in the cold lake.  So you have guessed, this was part of the performance. 

This production rather than staying with ‘we have done it this way for years and it was successful’ choose to combine the classic vision with a translation of the story into the modern world.  The result was an extremely rich production that in fact takes the audience beyond the beautiful music, costumes and stage to reflecting upon freedom of speech, action in our current world..

Taking this to our professional environment – the value of diversity, be it gender, generational, style can only add to the richness of a discussion or plan and impact the outcome.  When did you last really look at your team to see how diverse it is.  You know that if the team is not diverse, it will be easier to manage (the yes team) but you also know that a diverse team can be more chaotic, more creative, more impulsive but most importantly generally deliver a better outcome.  Note to self for tomorrow – check team composition!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/535183/Valerie_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAZPIUR8fm1 Valerie Guertler-Doyle valeriegd Valerie Guertler-Doyle
Wed, 04 Aug 2010 15:32:12 -0700 Rural Inclusiveness in Switzerland http://valeriegd.posterous.com/rural-inclusiveness-in-switzerland http://valeriegd.posterous.com/rural-inclusiveness-in-switzerland

Last week when on vacation in Ticino I was taking a morning hike while it was still cool.  It was an amazing morning, blue skies, almost nobody around – pretty normal for 1400m and the pleasant sound of Swiss cow bells.  As I turned a corner I realised that I was not the only person out there - the cows were also out for their morning constitutional – and were just as surprised to see me.  Now I had always assumed that cows are nice docile animals – a bit big but docile – wrong!  I was confronted by a very large fierce looking cow who glared at me.  I was about to bypass her when she actively blocked my path and looked even more furious.  A few seconds later the reason was obvious as a Disney like calf meandered into the picture, looked even more surprised, made cow like noises to Mama which roughly translated from Italian cowish to – Mom what the hell is she doing here!  This is our territory…

So strategic thinkers start working out their options – reverse, stand ground and pray or advance.  Being an animal lover I choose to reverse a bit and admire the flowers.  This allowed calf plus mama to put a distance between us and for them to continue their journey

Image003


So what does this have to do with diversity and inclusion?  Think for a moment about your professional environments.  Well established professionals, who know the area, understand the rules of engagement; consider themselves owners of the area.  Add in a few new recruits or even other professionals - who look different – gender, race, age, you pick.  Could you imagine a scene like I just described?  Ask yourself how inclusive is your company and professional environment.  Do you glare at newcomers or welcome them…..   What can organisations and people do to be more inclusive?

Image001

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/535183/Valerie_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAZPIUR8fm1 Valerie Guertler-Doyle valeriegd Valerie Guertler-Doyle
Wed, 16 Jun 2010 12:41:17 -0700 What blocks the team spirit in business? http://valeriegd.posterous.com/what-blocks-the-team-spirit-in-business http://valeriegd.posterous.com/what-blocks-the-team-spirit-in-business

The world cup is the key topic everywhere.  Although not really a football fan, I do like to watch top class sport - so sometimes end up watching a match.  As Ireland did not make it that far, I now back Switzerland and today they rattled quite some cages! An amazing victory over Spain – well done guys!

My company pulled out the stops – public viewing on campus!  With free beer and sausages (accompanies every good Swiss event) and plastic raincoats for those brave enough to not dive for cover from the rain.  But what was really interesting was the combination of senior leaders standing beside administrative staff, middle management, etc; Swiss, French, German and a big bunch of ex pats living and working in Switzerland; baby boomers, gen X, gen Y; male and female – the perfect diverse team all united in cheering on Switzerland (Hopp Schwyz!!!) with their bratwurst and bier – an amazing atmosphere!

The team are all Swiss nationals but if you look at the picture, a nice mix considering it is a male sport and for relatively young males.  In addition the trainer is German. 

Image002

And the country has gone a bit mad as well; the two major supermarket chains were announcing since Tuesday that if Switzerland wins against Spain, Thursday is 10% discount of everything in the store.  A major hamburger chain is selling hamburgers for 1 CHF (normally 2.50) on each day the Swiss team are playing etc….

Now stop for a second and reflect on this – we can generate a real wining spirit regardless of hierarchy, gender, age or nationality for a football team – what stops us doing this in our daily business?  The hierarchy or culture? The lack of a common mission? Maybe lack of mission communication?  It is important to start addressing some of these not so obvious hurdles and leverage this energy to deliver amazing results.  

Lets start by being inclusive, then aligning the team behind a common goal (sorryJ) and pushing for diverse teams that reflect better the customer base.  We have a lot to learn from sports teams!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/535183/Valerie_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAZPIUR8fm1 Valerie Guertler-Doyle valeriegd Valerie Guertler-Doyle
Mon, 26 Apr 2010 13:15:00 -0700 Being Inclusive - Linking Diversity and Inclusion with Community Partnership Day (CPD) http://valeriegd.posterous.com/being-inclusive-linking-diversity-and-inclusi http://valeriegd.posterous.com/being-inclusive-linking-diversity-and-inclusi

For the 14th year, my company Novartis held its annual Community Partnership Day (CPD) on April 21 and, for the second year, a team of 11 colleagues joined me in linking two key initiatives – Diversity and Inclusion and CPD - by working at Frauenhaus, the local Basel women’s shelter.  

The Frauenhaus provides a safe shelter for women and children who are victims of violence – physical, psychological, sexual and economic.  They are taken in with their children and given room and board. The Frauenhaus team supports them through the legal processes, provides basic necessities and gets them back on their feet.  One third of the women return to their marital homes, two thirds don’t.  The team works closely with the police and local social services, and relies in large part on sponsorship and donations to support its work. The inhabitants there are mostly non-Swiss who frequently do not speak German or English, requiring translators to hold the most basic discussions.  

At the Frauenhaus, part of our team did spring cleaning, helped build shelves and designed and completed photomontages in the main room and the offices without hammering our thumbs!. The remaining three members took the group of Frauenhaus women and their children to the Zürich zoo and luckily had a warm day with really blue skies.  With a small personal contribution we left behind several vases of flowers and some chocolates for the women and children in the shelter to enjoy.  The team are impressive in that they are so upbeat despite the tough work

It was a rewarding day and a real wakeup call for a lot of us. Many of the women at the shelter moved to Basel with their husbands for work and have no direct family members nearby. The Frauenhaus team makes a great contribution to our society - sad that it is needed - but good that they are there.  We have already agreed we will come back again next year to continue supporting them

Disclaimer: I work for Novartis. This post represent my own view and opinion and not necessarily that of my company.

Comments [0]

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/535183/Valerie_3.jpg http://posterous.com/users/5AAZPIUR8fm1 Valerie Guertler-Doyle valeriegd Valerie Guertler-Doyle