0:00:24.117,0:00:27.881
So to get us underway,[br]would you please give a warm welcome

0:00:27.928,0:00:31.757
to corporate anthropologist,[br]Michael Henderson.

0:00:31.757,0:00:33.038
(Applause) (Cheers)

0:00:34.996,0:00:35.996
Thank you.[br]

0:00:35.996,0:00:38.443
(Applause)

0:00:38.443,0:00:39.655
Thank you.

0:00:41.195,0:00:43.790
So I just thought, to start off,[br]to make it very clear,

0:00:43.790,0:00:45.018
when I was sitting,

0:00:45.018,0:00:47.445
the smoke that appeared[br]behind me wasn't due to me.

0:00:47.445,0:00:48.413
(Laughter)

0:00:48.413,0:00:51.322
I'd hate to go down on my CV,[br]as the guy that did that on TED.

0:00:51.322,0:00:53.757
I thought for a moment[br]they were running out of time

0:00:53.757,0:00:55.749
and decided to cut speaker number one,

0:00:55.749,0:00:57.037
"Gas him now!"

0:00:57.597,0:00:59.222
Still glad to be here.

0:00:59.222,0:01:02.107
I thought I'd start off with a story[br]my grandfather told me.

0:01:02.247,0:01:05.473
This was many years ago,[br]about a worker in a Russian factory

0:01:05.473,0:01:08.236
not long after the revolution,[br]in the new Soviet Union.

0:01:08.636,0:01:10.041
At the end of every work day,

0:01:10.041,0:01:11.821
the workers would leave the factory,

0:01:11.821,0:01:13.691
go down to the gates of the factory,

0:01:13.691,0:01:15.636
and be stopped by security guards

0:01:15.636,0:01:16.789
they would be searched

0:01:16.789,0:01:19.470
to ensure they weren't taking[br]any tools or any equipment,

0:01:19.470,0:01:21.548
or even any of the motherland resources

0:01:21.548,0:01:22.713
out of the factory.

0:01:22.713,0:01:25.875
This one particular worker,[br]used to wheel a wheelbarrow with him,

0:01:25.875,0:01:27.691
he'd carry his winter coat in there

0:01:27.691,0:01:30.251
and perhaps a basket[br]to carry his lunch in.

0:01:30.251,0:01:32.297
The security guards[br]everyday would stop him,

0:01:32.297,0:01:35.449
search under the coat,[br]make sure it didn't have any tools in it,

0:01:35.449,0:01:38.965
and this went on, day after day,[br]week after week, for years and years.

0:01:39.145,0:01:40.523
And after four or five years,

0:01:40.523,0:01:43.825
it was found that this particular worker[br]had skipped the Soviet Union.

0:01:44.095,0:01:46.622
Apparently with a very large sum of money.

0:01:47.162,0:01:49.353
Turned out, he'd been[br]stealing wheelbarrows.

0:01:49.353,0:01:50.348
(Laughter)

0:01:50.748,0:01:54.098
I suspect this happens a lot[br]with company culture.

0:01:54.158,0:01:57.745
Company culture wheels in and out[br]of the building on a daily basis,

0:01:57.745,0:01:59.766
but no one actually pays attention to it.

0:01:59.916,0:02:03.983
And traditionally, that didn't really need[br]to be an issue in the last century.

0:02:03.983,0:02:05.744
But I think, this century,

0:02:05.744,0:02:09.307
it's something, we need to be[br]paying attention to in organisations,

0:02:09.307,0:02:10.419
because people,

0:02:10.419,0:02:12.743
even what we're doing today,[br]playing with ideas,

0:02:12.743,0:02:16.690
have actually started to contribute[br]far more to organisations in that way,

0:02:16.690,0:02:18.585
than perhaps they have ever before.

0:02:18.585,0:02:21.048
And as an anthropologist,[br]I find that fascinating.

0:02:21.048,0:02:23.160
So, the field of corporate anthropology,

0:02:23.160,0:02:27.218
is literally the discovery[br]and the search for

0:02:27.218,0:02:30.807
what is the nature of people[br]in organisations.

0:02:30.807,0:02:33.278
I got into corporate anthropology[br]almost by mistake.

0:02:33.278,0:02:35.777
I graduated from Auckland University[br]in anthropology,

0:02:35.777,0:02:38.185
I highly recommend[br]their anthropological programs.

0:02:38.185,0:02:41.441
And on graduation, the professor[br]gave me some very good advice,

0:02:41.441,0:02:43.933
he said, "Two things I need[br]to let you know, Michael.

0:02:43.933,0:02:47.646
Number one, congratulations, you will[br]never be bored for the rest of your life.

0:02:47.646,0:02:50.148
You're an anthropologist,[br]we don't suffer boredom."

0:02:50.688,0:02:52.892
"Second thing", he says,[br]"you're unemployable.

0:02:52.892,0:02:54.102
Good luck with that."

0:02:54.102,0:02:54.899
(Laughter)

0:02:55.619,0:02:57.534
Turned out, he was right on both counts.

0:02:57.534,0:02:59.280
Difficult to get a job when you say,

0:02:59.280,0:03:01.438
"Hi, I'm an anthropologist,[br]where do I start?"

0:03:01.438,0:03:04.516
So I took off to London,[br]as we Kiwis do and went on an OE,

0:03:04.516,0:03:06.982
and decided that I'd better go[br]and get a "real job,"

0:03:06.982,0:03:08.895
I think that's what my mother called it,

0:03:08.895,0:03:10.924
joined an advertising group in London,

0:03:10.924,0:03:12.957
and was selling advertising,

0:03:12.957,0:03:16.358
in that particular market in the 80s.

0:03:16.358,0:03:18.651
I'd been with the company[br]for about a month,

0:03:18.651,0:03:21.536
and suddenly there was called[br]a "crisis meeting."

0:03:21.646,0:03:24.687
I didn't know what it meant,[br]maybe the building was burning down.

0:03:24.687,0:03:28.638
Turned out it was about financial figures[br]we weren't doing as well as we could be.

0:03:28.638,0:03:31.399
This gentlemen came on stage,[br]a distinguished looking chap,

0:03:31.399,0:03:34.444
and there was hundreds of us[br]brought together to sit at his feet.

0:03:34.444,0:03:37.076
And he was introduced as the CEO.

0:03:37.076,0:03:39.737
I didn't know much about business,[br]"CEO, what's that?"

0:03:39.737,0:03:43.040
So I leant across to the person next to me[br]and said, "What's a CEO?"

0:03:43.040,0:03:46.331
They said, "Well duh,[br]it's the Chief Executive Officer."

0:03:46.331,0:03:49.239
And I just went, "Woah!"[br]because that first word,

0:03:49.239,0:03:51.336
as an anthropologist,[br]captured me of course.

0:03:51.336,0:03:52.689
(Laughter)

0:03:52.689,0:03:53.794
So, I went, "Coo.l"

0:03:53.794,0:03:56.598
I pulled out my little black notebook[br]and got my pen ready.

0:03:56.598,0:03:59.534
Two things you should know,[br]anybody carrying a black notebook,

0:03:59.534,0:04:02.473
is one of two things,[br]an anthropologist or a policeman.

0:04:02.473,0:04:03.674
(Laughter)

0:04:04.174,0:04:06.017
They both ask the same question,

0:04:06.017,0:04:07.682
"So, what is it you're doing here?"

0:04:07.682,0:04:09.874
Anthropologists do it[br]with a matter of inquiry.

0:04:09.874,0:04:12.078
The police are[br]a little more threatening.

0:04:12.078,0:04:13.286
I listen to this guy talk

0:04:13.286,0:04:15.811
about how badly[br]the organisation was performing,

0:04:15.811,0:04:18.175
how results hadn't been[br]how they should have been,

0:04:18.175,0:04:20.966
that we needed to lift[br]our endeavors and our efforts,

0:04:20.966,0:04:22.401
that times were tough.

0:04:22.401,0:04:25.820
That we needed to pull together more[br]and make this thing happen.

0:04:25.829,0:04:27.986
Now, the interesting thing[br]about his talk was,

0:04:27.986,0:04:30.802
he didn't actually use the words,[br]but he made it very clear,

0:04:30.802,0:04:31.884
it was our fault.

0:04:32.594,0:04:33.542
(Laughter)

0:04:33.542,0:04:35.180
I thought, "This is interesting."

0:04:35.180,0:04:37.712
I'd been there for a month,[br]and it suddenly clicked,

0:04:37.712,0:04:41.220
this guy didn't realise,[br]that he was head of a cult.

0:04:41.680,0:04:42.791
Not a culture.

0:04:43.311,0:04:46.187
Most businesses don't know[br]the distinction between those two,

0:04:46.187,0:04:48.784
how that happens and what it delivers.

0:04:49.104,0:04:52.055
I wrote that down and thought[br]"Wow, this is really interesting.

0:04:52.055,0:04:53.059
He's got no idea."

0:04:53.169,0:04:55.087
The difference being that in a cult,

0:04:55.787,0:04:57.354
a leader sees greatness

0:04:58.334,0:04:59.679
in themselves.

0:05:00.259,0:05:01.443
In a culture,

0:05:01.863,0:05:03.611
the leader sees greatness in ...

0:05:04.831,0:05:06.415
the people, of course.

0:05:06.745,0:05:08.658
It was interesting[br]even from his comments

0:05:08.658,0:05:11.277
I realised he doesn't[br]realise he's set up a cult.

0:05:11.277,0:05:14.568
So, a lot of the performance issues[br]he was blaming everyone else for,

0:05:14.568,0:05:19.389
in fact, I believe, possibly,[br]was a reflection of his leadership style.

0:05:19.749,0:05:23.551
So as a result of that, I took his money,[br]I did some selling, didn't do too well,

0:05:23.551,0:05:26.553
I was too busy with my black notebook[br]and kept getting warnings,

0:05:26.553,0:05:27.898
"The sales not right."

0:05:27.898,0:05:30.650
I headed to South America[br]and Africa for a couple of years

0:05:30.650,0:05:32.655
and went to study the cultures and tribes,

0:05:32.655,0:05:34.866
that I was interested in[br]and had a passion for,

0:05:34.866,0:05:37.691
to learn what they were doing[br]around culture and leadership.

0:05:37.691,0:05:43.005
And one of the central revelations[br]of anthropology is, it's a little bizarre.

0:05:43.005,0:05:47.015
You become an anthropologist because you[br]want to study other tribes and cultures,

0:05:47.015,0:05:49.111
and a big number of you[br]putting your hands up

0:05:49.111,0:05:50.784
saying you'd been there, done that.

0:05:50.784,0:05:54.347
So, nice to be talking to an audience[br]full of fellow anthropologists.

0:05:54.897,0:05:56.516
You go there to study other people

0:05:56.516,0:05:58.554
and perhaps even reveal[br]who they truly are.

0:05:58.554,0:06:00.932
In reality what happens is,[br]as you're studying them

0:06:00.932,0:06:03.719
and spending time with them,[br]you reveal not who they are,

0:06:03.719,0:06:06.198
but of course, who you are.

0:06:06.540,0:06:08.840
You come face to face[br]with your own prejudices.

0:06:09.170,0:06:12.178
It can be sexist, it can be political, [br]it can be racist.

0:06:12.764,0:06:15.294
That's not necessarily[br]a pleasant thing to experience.

0:06:15.294,0:06:16.541
The more I looked at this,

0:06:16.541,0:06:18.187
I suddenly realised that in fact,

0:06:19.387,0:06:23.288
the lessons that are to be learnt[br]from traditional tribes and cultures,

0:06:23.288,0:06:26.776
did not need to be shared with these,[br]they were already okay.

0:06:27.719,0:06:30.444
It occured to me that the people[br]that needed these lessons

0:06:30.444,0:06:33.127
on how to build cultures[br]and effective leadership,

0:06:33.127,0:06:35.531
were in fact the tribe[br]I'd just left in London.

0:06:35.781,0:06:37.940
That toxic cult environment.

0:06:37.940,0:06:40.595
It occurred to me[br]in fact that organisations,

0:06:41.615,0:06:42.986
are the modern tribes.

0:06:43.556,0:06:46.943
I experienced that many of us spend[br]far more hours in our work place,

0:06:46.943,0:06:49.531
or our education places,[br]here we are at the school,

0:06:49.531,0:06:53.207
than potentially we do even in our[br]national culture or in our ethnic culture.

0:06:53.407,0:06:56.609
And that perhaps, that's something[br]we should be paying attention to.

0:06:56.609,0:07:00.090
Perhaps that's giving us some indication[br]as to what's going on in society

0:07:00.090,0:07:01.775
and the way it has been going on.

0:07:01.775,0:07:03.743
I looked at the history of organisations.

0:07:03.743,0:07:06.870
Organisations have been[br]running the world for 400 years now.

0:07:06.870,0:07:09.202
My question is, "How's it going?"

0:07:09.532,0:07:10.805
Rhetorical question.

0:07:12.279,0:07:13.979
So, I gathered all this, came back,

0:07:13.979,0:07:16.396
got back to London,[br]thought, "Hmm," got another job

0:07:16.396,0:07:19.550
and started to sit within organisations[br]and view them as a tribe.

0:07:19.550,0:07:24.035
So as I said, started to see the CEO,[br]as the chief, executive officer.

0:07:24.355,0:07:25.934
Let me explain what that means

0:07:25.934,0:07:27.273
C, E, and O.

0:07:27.273,0:07:30.316
The chief is head of culture,[br]the executive is head of structure,

0:07:30.316,0:07:32.406
who's at what position,[br]with how much power,

0:07:32.406,0:07:33.489
how much authority.

0:07:33.489,0:07:37.329
And the officer, clearly military,[br]the delivery of strategy, if you like.

0:07:37.329,0:07:40.261
I saw that the chief [br]actually had three mandates of power,

0:07:40.261,0:07:42.857
this is not a title or a position[br]within the business,

0:07:42.857,0:07:46.301
it's the three things that the individuals[br]should be paying attention to.

0:07:46.301,0:07:50.037
But my experience showed me that[br]they tended to favour two of those

0:07:50.037,0:07:52.273
and delegate the other one[br]to a group called HR.

0:07:53.583,0:07:55.169
Have you heard of this group, HR?

0:07:55.169,0:07:56.215
(Audience) Yes.

0:07:56.215,0:07:57.232
Human Resources.

0:07:57.232,0:07:59.271
When you use the phrase "human resources"

0:07:59.271,0:08:02.459
with a traditional tribe,[br]you can see them pull back a little bit.

0:08:03.419,0:08:04.765
They don't like that phrase.

0:08:05.165,0:08:06.854
It brings up bad memories for them,

0:08:06.854,0:08:08.934
they have another word[br]associated with that;

0:08:08.934,0:08:10.250
it's called slavery.

0:08:11.250,0:08:13.126
What's intriguing is one of the lessons

0:08:13.126,0:08:16.057
I believe organisations[br]can learn from traditional cultures is

0:08:16.057,0:08:18.388
tribes don't do HR they do RH.

0:08:18.858,0:08:21.445
In other words they resource humans[br]for an occupation,

0:08:21.445,0:08:23.084
they don't have human resources.

0:08:23.084,0:08:24.004
Think about that,

0:08:24.004,0:08:26.378
it sounds like a clever[br]play on words, doesn't it?

0:08:26.388,0:08:27.508
Just nod.

0:08:28.788,0:08:30.176
It's actually more than that.

0:08:30.176,0:08:31.666
It's a whole mentality.

0:08:32.226,0:08:34.844
Yes. So resourcing humans,[br]where would you rather work?

0:08:34.844,0:08:36.372
Somewhere that resources humans

0:08:36.372,0:08:38.950
or somewhere that treats people[br]as human resources?

0:08:39.150,0:08:42.287
I just wonder if there's some[br]opportunities for us to learn here.

0:08:42.287,0:08:44.983
I'm often questioned,[br]people go "Yes, yes clever stuff,

0:08:45.503,0:08:47.343
but is this the latest business trend?

0:08:47.343,0:08:50.538
Is this what companies are doing[br]at the moment, looking at culture?"

0:08:50.538,0:08:52.631
My response to that is clearly no.

0:08:52.911,0:08:55.827
In fact I'd say, business is just[br]the latest cultural trend.

0:08:56.467,0:09:00.279
Culture's been around, as long as humans[br]have been processing cognitive thought,

0:09:00.279,0:09:02.240
and communing together on this planet.

0:09:02.360,0:09:05.472
Business, in the forum that we,[br]currently, most of us, operate in,

0:09:05.472,0:09:07.246
is barely 400 years old.

0:09:07.246,0:09:08.432
So do you think,

0:09:08.432,0:09:11.354
maybe there's some lessons[br]in traditional cultural experience,

0:09:11.354,0:09:13.577
that we could draw on and engage from,

0:09:13.577,0:09:15.020
within our organisations?

0:09:16.210,0:09:18.966
I started to play with that,[br]share that with organisations,

0:09:18.966,0:09:21.901
there's a couple of things,[br]some of those lessons we can take

0:09:21.901,0:09:24.739
from traditional tribes[br]and apply within organisations,

0:09:24.739,0:09:27.215
very simple, they're obvious[br]when you look at them.

0:09:27.215,0:09:30.181
I guess that's one of the benefits[br]of being an anthropologist.

0:09:30.181,0:09:32.479
Most people suffer from[br]a thing called "déjà vu,"

0:09:32.479,0:09:33.969
have you heard that expression?

0:09:33.969,0:09:36.846
You feel like you've been here before,[br]had this conversation,

0:09:36.846,0:09:39.376
often accompanied with goosebumps,[br]hairs standing up,

0:09:39.376,0:09:42.720
going, "Oh it's a bit freaky,"[br]been here before, had this conversation.

0:09:42.729,0:09:46.924
Anthropologists don't suffer from that,[br]we suffer from "vuja' de'"

0:09:47.070,0:09:49.731
that's actually the reverse,[br]we've been there 100 times,

0:09:49.731,0:09:51.908
but this is like seeing it[br]for the first time.

0:09:52.318,0:09:55.135
Every time I go into an organisation[br]I've been there before,

0:09:55.135,0:09:57.506
but I always treat it[br]like a new experience,

0:09:57.516,0:09:58.980
a new beginning, a fresh mind.

0:09:58.980,0:10:01.893
Just as we've been asked[br]to clear our minds for this session.

0:10:01.893,0:10:04.895
What are the lessons that[br]organisations could learn from tribes

0:10:04.895,0:10:08.020
if they clear their minds[br]and see themselves for the first time?

0:10:08.020,0:10:10.395
The big one, is a thing called engagement.

0:10:11.035,0:10:15.282
Tribes are famous for doing two things[br]fundamentally: enabling their people,

0:10:15.282,0:10:17.618
preparing the next generation[br]to be able to hunt,

0:10:17.618,0:10:20.223
fish, make babies, build huts etc.

0:10:20.503,0:10:23.818
And also engagement, which is making them[br]proud to be who they are.

0:10:24.238,0:10:27.375
Finding their place to stand,[br]the Tūrangawaewae of the people,

0:10:27.375,0:10:29.861
actually defining who you are[br]through historical text

0:10:30.471,0:10:32.968
and stories and symbolism.

0:10:32.968,0:10:34.376
Here's the intriguing thing:

0:10:34.376,0:10:37.813
Global surveys around the world,[br]show that in engagement surveys

0:10:37.813,0:10:42.220
on average, in most modern organisations,[br]20% of the people are engaged,

0:10:42.830,0:10:46.319
80% are either sitting on the fence[br]or are clearly disengaged.

0:10:46.319,0:10:48.328
What we mean by engaged,[br]is three things:

0:10:48.698,0:10:50.946
they're willing to stay[br]with your organisation;

0:10:51.226,0:10:55.245
to speak positively about the organisation[br]which given the social network forums

0:10:55.245,0:10:58.140
that we have available to us nowadays,[br]crucial comment,

0:10:58.140,0:11:01.393
you bad mouth your company[br]to millions of people on the Internet,

0:11:01.393,0:11:04.103
it effects things like your reputation[br]and your brand etc;

0:11:04.103,0:11:06.530
the other thing was to strive[br]for your organisation.

0:11:06.530,0:11:09.607
Imagine if an organisation[br]has low levels of engagement,

0:11:09.607,0:11:12.416
people aren't willing to stay,[br]to speak positively about it,

0:11:12.416,0:11:13.961
or strive on behalf of it,

0:11:13.961,0:11:16.010
what do you think that[br]does to productivity,

0:11:16.010,0:11:18.411
customer service and job fulfilment?

0:11:19.331,0:11:22.515
And yet all round the world,[br]we have 80% of the workers,

0:11:22.515,0:11:27.393
and I'm talking about millions of people,[br]are not fully engaged in the work they do.

0:11:28.143,0:11:30.713
Those numbers may sound familiar[br]if you're in business,

0:11:30.713,0:11:32.753
have you heard of 20-80,[br]the Pareto theory?

0:11:33.533,0:11:37.331
The theory being that 20% of your people[br]deliver 80% of your results on average.

0:11:37.331,0:11:40.048
I'm not saying there's[br]a correlation between those figures

0:11:40.048,0:11:41.346
but isn't that interesting?

0:11:41.346,0:11:44.622
20% are engaged and they happen to[br]be generating 80% of the results.

0:11:44.622,0:11:46.151
Here's the interesting thing:

0:11:46.151,0:11:49.684
I've travelled extensively, I think[br]I won that prize for countries visited,

0:11:49.684,0:11:51.590
over 70 looking at cultures and tribes,

0:11:51.590,0:11:54.633
so if a chocolate fish is up for grabs[br]put my name down for it.

0:11:54.633,0:11:56.932
I found that no tribe[br]that I've ever come across

0:11:56.932,0:11:58.688
that runs engagement surveys.

0:11:59.948,0:12:01.283
Why would they?

0:12:02.153,0:12:03.843
They're in contact with the people,

0:12:03.843,0:12:06.939
know what's going on,[br]they don't need a survey for feedback.

0:12:06.939,0:12:08.932
It's in dialogue, in everyday expression,

0:12:09.142,0:12:10.959
brought to the table at every meeting.

0:12:11.629,0:12:14.479
They're paying attention to,[br]truly listening to each other,

0:12:14.479,0:12:15.302
as tribe members.

0:12:15.302,0:12:16.943
We don't do that in organisations.

0:12:17.503,0:12:20.251
I often suggest that leadership[br]in modern organisations

0:12:20.251,0:12:21.781
has become an email sort.

0:12:22.011,0:12:24.078
In tribes, it's a contact sport.

0:12:24.888,0:12:26.902
Again it sounds like[br]a clever play on words

0:12:26.902,0:12:29.329
but some real differences[br]show up when you do that,

0:12:29.329,0:12:31.783
and lessons potentially[br]to be learnt from that.

0:12:32.173,0:12:34.916
The other thing about engagement[br]in traditional tribes is

0:12:34.916,0:12:37.706
it's not 20% of the people[br]delivering 80% of the results,

0:12:37.706,0:12:40.870
it's 80% of the people[br]delivering 100% of the results.

0:12:41.650,0:12:44.554
The 20% that aren't involved[br]in delivering those results

0:12:44.554,0:12:46.564
are either too young and still learning,

0:12:46.564,0:12:50.086
being brought up as tribe members,[br]learning the traditions, the skill sets

0:12:50.086,0:12:53.161
required to make them[br]contributing tribe members,

0:12:53.161,0:12:54.547
or they're too old,

0:12:54.887,0:12:57.299
so their responsibility[br]then is more a mentor role,

0:12:57.299,0:13:00.532
passing on the traditions[br]and the stories of the old times

0:13:00.532,0:13:02.088
to the next generation.

0:13:02.278,0:13:05.567
Which in our western societies[br]seems to have drifted away, doesn't it?

0:13:05.567,0:13:09.252
We tend to, when we they get too old,[br]we stick them in a retirment home

0:13:09.252,0:13:12.208
and go and visit them every second month[br]if we've got the time,

0:13:12.208,0:13:14.249
or is that just what happens in my family?

0:13:14.249,0:13:14.975
(Laughter)

0:13:14.975,0:13:16.945
It's interesting, yes? They embrace them.

0:13:16.945,0:13:19.232
So even this whole[br]Gen Y thing in the workplace,

0:13:19.232,0:13:23.950
Gen Ys have to have their managers[br]taught how to manage a Gen Y generation.

0:13:23.950,0:13:25.055
What is intriguing is,

0:13:25.055,0:13:29.161
how come no one's teaching the Gen Ys[br]how to respect the older generations?

0:13:29.581,0:13:31.559
Respect the wisdom that has come before.

0:13:32.069,0:13:33.390
As you would do in a tribe.

0:13:33.600,0:13:34.841
Bizarre, don't you think?

0:13:35.471,0:13:36.596
What else can we learn?

0:13:36.596,0:13:42.972
I guess one of the things I'm big on, is[br]something around dignity in the workplace.

0:13:43.352,0:13:45.606
You see, the thing I find[br]in traditional tribes,

0:13:45.606,0:13:47.096
it doesn't matter who you are,

0:13:47.096,0:13:49.416
what your role is,[br]or how old you are,

0:13:49.416,0:13:53.174
it doesn't even, often, not always,[br]matter what gender you are,

0:13:53.174,0:13:57.460
you are provided with instant dignity,[br]instant respect is afforded to you.

0:13:59.860,0:14:02.793
And in southern Africa,[br]they have a word called "Ubuntu."

0:14:02.793,0:14:07.224
"Ubuntu" meaning a person[br]is a person because of the people.

0:14:08.294,0:14:11.799
So a manager is only a manager[br]because they have people to manage.

0:14:12.439,0:14:15.816
Sales teams are only sales teams[br]because they have people to sell to,

0:14:15.816,0:14:18.198
they have accountants[br]that process the numbers,

0:14:18.198,0:14:20.822
a manufacturing department[br]that manufactures products,

0:14:20.822,0:14:24.710
researches and develops those products,[br]imports those products in the first place.

0:14:24.770,0:14:26.274
It makes sense, doesn't it?

0:14:26.274,0:14:29.869
That who we are and what we do[br]is absolutely because the world we live in

0:14:29.869,0:14:34.432
dependant on our ability to function well[br]with others, to serve with others.

0:14:34.892,0:14:38.509
So this ubuntu is acceptable in tribes.

0:14:38.509,0:14:40.474
And yet in businesses it's often missing.

0:14:40.474,0:14:43.114
I know it would never apply[br]to the schools or businesses

0:14:43.114,0:14:44.382
that you people belong to,

0:14:44.382,0:14:46.204
but have you heard of organisations,

0:14:46.204,0:14:49.691
where they have silo mentality,[br]one department at war with the other?

0:14:49.691,0:14:51.193
Have you heard about that?

0:14:51.373,0:14:54.611
It's just bizarre, because that[br]never occurs in a tribe.

0:14:55.591,0:14:58.539
And it's interesting,[br]the way leadership responds to this,

0:14:58.539,0:15:02.299
one of the key areas, that there's an[br]opportunity as well as the leadership role

0:15:02.299,0:15:05.471
in organisations and tribes are two[br]fundamentaly different things.

0:15:05.471,0:15:08.138
Do this ... A little exercise for you,[br]for just a moment.

0:15:08.138,0:15:12.197
Take a moment, in your mind, picture[br]the structure of a typical organisation.

0:15:13.277,0:15:15.091
It could be the school we're at today,

0:15:15.091,0:15:17.291
a modern business,[br]a government department,

0:15:17.292,0:15:20.145
if you were going to draw[br]a symbol to represent the structure

0:15:20.145,0:15:22.293
of that organisation,[br]what would it look like?

0:15:22.363,0:15:23.403
You got that?

0:15:24.613,0:15:28.372
Now, picture within that where[br]would you typically position leadership?

0:15:29.732,0:15:32.733
Hold that for a moment,[br]you've got a structure and a position.

0:15:32.733,0:15:35.351
Now, even if you've never been[br]to a traditional tribe,

0:15:35.351,0:15:37.893
think about the structure[br]of a traditional tribe,

0:15:37.893,0:15:39.776
what shape would you choose for that?

0:15:39.776,0:15:41.256
Picture that in your mind.

0:15:41.256,0:15:43.693
Then think about where[br]would you position leadership

0:15:43.693,0:15:45.654
within a traditional culture.

0:15:46.284,0:15:47.533
Here's a question for you:

0:15:47.533,0:15:50.482
How many, for the first one[br]went for something like a triangle,

0:15:50.482,0:15:52.454
hierarchical, with leadership at the top?

0:15:52.454,0:15:53.480
Show of hands.

0:15:53.480,0:15:56.085
Yes, so we've all been[br]indoctrinated through that, yes?

0:15:56.245,0:16:00.497
And traditional tribes, how many of you[br]did a more flat maybe even circular shape

0:16:00.497,0:16:02.994
as the symbol that came up,[br]and where was leadership?

0:16:02.994,0:16:04.553
In the middle, yes, centered.

0:16:05.063,0:16:09.709
And so this is a huge insight into why[br]tribes are able to sustain culture,

0:16:09.709,0:16:12.784
our neighbours in Australia,[br]we know from the artefacts alone,

0:16:13.004,0:16:16.159
traditional culture there[br]is a minimum of 30,000 years old.

0:16:17.889,0:16:21.135
So, here we are, modern society,[br]talking about sustainability,

0:16:21.135,0:16:24.149
we have experts across the channel[br]we could be learning from.

0:16:24.149,0:16:25.410
Likewise in this country.

0:16:25.700,0:16:28.308
Some of the wisdom[br]contained on the Marae here,

0:16:28.558,0:16:30.836
is what we should be paying attention to.

0:16:30.836,0:16:33.559
The ability to be in amongst[br]the people as an equal,

0:16:33.599,0:16:36.893
listen and pay attention to one another,[br]is incredibly powerful

0:16:36.893,0:16:39.924
and offers an opportunity to do,[br]not only learning and sharing,

0:16:39.924,0:16:43.035
which of course is crucial,[br]it's why we're all here today at TED.

0:16:43.515,0:16:47.152
More importantly, it offers us[br]the opportunity to share that dignity,

0:16:47.152,0:16:50.544
to pass that respect[br]back to different people.

0:16:51.294,0:16:54.421
Even the language, I often refer[br]to language within organisations,

0:16:54.421,0:16:57.753
and with any culture,[br]language is the bloodline of culture.

0:16:58.373,0:16:59.373
If you want to gauge

0:16:59.373,0:17:01.862
how well a company[br]or a traditional culture is going,

0:17:01.862,0:17:03.202
you listen to the language.

0:17:03.202,0:17:05.418
It gives you clues as to what's going on.

0:17:05.418,0:17:06.556
I was doing some work

0:17:06.556,0:17:08.896
where an organisation[br]asked me to do exactly that.

0:17:08.896,0:17:10.797
I spent a few weeks floating around jobs

0:17:10.797,0:17:13.101
doing whatever it took[br]to listen to the language.

0:17:13.101,0:17:13.949
Interestingly,

0:17:13.949,0:17:18.042
the most commonly spoken word in that[br]organisation began with the letter "F."

0:17:19.132,0:17:20.690
It wasn't football.

0:17:20.690,0:17:21.942
(Laughter)

0:17:21.942,0:17:23.141
Yet interestingly enough,

0:17:23.141,0:17:27.240
when you went into the reception area[br]they had the values on the wall there,

0:17:27.240,0:17:29.360
of integrity, teamwork, sharing and trust.

0:17:30.440,0:17:32.422
Which do you think[br]is believable and real?

0:17:32.422,0:17:34.181
The language people are speaking,

0:17:34.181,0:17:35.740
or the proclaimed values?

0:17:36.680,0:17:39.099
The difference between[br]tribe and organisation

0:17:39.099,0:17:41.497
is a tribe lives the values[br]lived on a daily basis,

0:17:41.497,0:17:45.329
organisations typically have executives[br]that go off on a thing called a retreat.

0:17:45.679,0:17:47.443
As an anthropologist it's fascinating

0:17:47.443,0:17:49.836
that businesses go on a retreat[br]and not an advance,

0:17:49.836,0:17:52.381
but that's what they choose[br]to do and call it.

0:17:52.381,0:17:54.258
They create a set of values, come back

0:17:54.258,0:17:57.171
and they have the audacity[br]to stand up in front of their tribe

0:17:57.171,0:17:59.979
and announce the tribe's values[br]to their own people.

0:18:01.469,0:18:04.402
"We, your esteemed leaders,[br]have come up with a set of values.

0:18:04.592,0:18:08.057
They are integrity[br]and team work and respect.

0:18:08.317,0:18:11.084
And we will honour these values[br]and we will fight for them.

0:18:11.334,0:18:14.091
In the workplaces and in the cafeteria[br]and in the carpark.

0:18:14.091,0:18:18.143
We will never surrender [br]our commitment to these values."

0:18:18.283,0:18:20.277
It used to work well in the last century,

0:18:20.277,0:18:22.521
but nowadays that's [br]a bit like a Tui (beer) ad.

0:18:22.521,0:18:23.648
(Laughter)

0:18:24.298,0:18:26.597
The audience sits there,[br]they don't hear values,

0:18:26.597,0:18:28.156
what they hear is violations.

0:18:29.386,0:18:30.909
They hear you go, "Integrity":

0:18:30.909,0:18:33.659
"Really? Weren't you having[br]an affair with the secretary?"

0:18:33.659,0:18:34.575
(Laughter)

0:18:35.315,0:18:39.315
So, culture's started to position itself[br]in such a way within businesses,

0:18:39.315,0:18:41.548
that I even inform[br]a lot of my clients now,

0:18:41.548,0:18:44.610
that it's possibly their strongest[br]form of competition.

0:18:44.940,0:18:47.452
They're threatened by[br]their own competition more than

0:18:47.452,0:18:49.544
the physical competition[br]in the market place.

0:18:49.544,0:18:53.471
I started to pay attention to this[br]once Enron Arthur Andersen and Co

0:18:53.471,0:18:55.141
started to fall apart at the seams.

0:18:55.141,0:18:56.533
Here's the interesting thing:

0:18:56.533,0:18:59.004
Enron's competition didn't[br]put them out of business.

0:18:59.314,0:19:00.440
Enron's culture did.

0:19:01.900,0:19:04.942
And Enron's leadership[br]of that culture more specifically.

0:19:05.152,0:19:07.091
I've seen this time and time again.

0:19:07.321,0:19:09.513
We are failing at culture[br]in organisations.

0:19:10.533,0:19:14.236
And yet we have the innate ability[br]for that just not to happen.

0:19:14.436,0:19:16.369
It's a natural way of being human.

0:19:16.609,0:19:19.307
Birds flock, fish school, humans tribe.

0:19:20.117,0:19:22.105
We know how to do this, it's very simple.

0:19:23.265,0:19:24.673
I guess to wrap this up,

0:19:24.673,0:19:27.450
one of the key things I'm interested[br]in paying attention to

0:19:27.450,0:19:30.210
is two dynamic forces[br]I see play out in many organisations.

0:19:30.210,0:19:35.144
This can be government departments,[br]churches, schools, or organisations.

0:19:35.144,0:19:40.120
And that is the dynamic forces[br]of relationship versus result.

0:19:42.440,0:19:45.299
If you don't pay attention[br]to those two in your organisation,

0:19:45.299,0:19:47.597
there's some bizarre stuff[br]that starts to happen.

0:19:47.997,0:19:51.139
We talk a lot with our organisations[br]to pay attention to those two.

0:19:51.139,0:19:53.530
To get a result, what happens[br]to the relationships?

0:19:53.530,0:19:56.203
Is there a relationship between[br]relationship and results?

0:19:56.203,0:19:58.451
Do people need to get on[br]to deliver the results?

0:19:58.451,0:20:00.706
If there is, you better pay attention,

0:20:00.706,0:20:02.528
you better take culture seriously.

0:20:02.528,0:20:04.123
You better start to get tribal.

0:20:04.513,0:20:07.008
I guess the best story[br]I can share with you on this

0:20:07.008,0:20:10.649
that really massaged the point home for me[br]was actually our own children,

0:20:10.649,0:20:14.154
my wife and I, this was[br]about a year or so ago,

0:20:14.664,0:20:18.616
we heard our daughter and son fighting[br]over the TV remote in the room next door

0:20:18.616,0:20:20.042
which normally means trouble,

0:20:20.042,0:20:22.856
we were debating who was[br]going to go and play United Nations

0:20:22.856,0:20:23.932
and rescue them.

0:20:23.932,0:20:25.387
It was getting pretty intense.

0:20:25.387,0:20:27.104
And then suddenly, it went silent.

0:20:28.034,0:20:29.490
And that terrified us,

0:20:29.490,0:20:32.273
because when it goes silent,[br]we realised someone was dead.

0:20:32.273,0:20:33.003
(Laughter)

0:20:33.103,0:20:35.545
So we both stood up in panic,[br]and ran into the room

0:20:35.545,0:20:37.834
and came accross a bizarre situation.

0:20:38.444,0:20:41.613
Daughter and son, standing there[br]just looking at each other.

0:20:42.023,0:20:43.525
My daughter looked a bit upset.

0:20:43.525,0:20:45.295
Oh, here we go, what's happened now?

0:20:45.395,0:20:47.029
And I say "Guys, what happened?"

0:20:47.379,0:20:50.424
My son turned round and says,[br]"Dad, I waved the white flag".

0:20:50.875,0:20:51.745
I said "You what?"

0:20:52.245,0:20:53.560
"I waved the white flag."

0:20:53.560,0:20:56.190
He'd overheard us talking about[br]some work that we'd done

0:20:56.190,0:20:57.854
about results versus relationships.

0:20:57.854,0:21:00.024
Waving the white flag,[br]what that means is -

0:21:00.454,0:21:03.035
and this is how he put it -[br]"I was just thinking Dad,

0:21:03.035,0:21:04.476
I'm bigger and older than her,

0:21:04.476,0:21:07.081
I could easily get that remote[br]and demand it off her.

0:21:07.281,0:21:08.849
But I realised this is my sister,

0:21:09.389,0:21:12.078
I have to grow up with this girl[br]for the rest of my life,

0:21:12.798,0:21:16.046
the relationship is more important[br]than the result right now."

0:21:16.476,0:21:17.835
Wave the white flag.

0:21:18.035,0:21:19.339
Interestingly he also said,

0:21:19.339,0:21:22.199
"Besides, I need to borrow[br]pocket money off her on Saturday."

0:21:22.244,0:21:23.394
(Laughter)

0:21:23.584,0:21:26.013
So in reality, there's a result[br]in there as well.

0:21:26.513,0:21:28.097
So, parting words for you,

0:21:28.097,0:21:29.686
what I'd like to leave you with,

0:21:29.686,0:21:32.621
is the opportunity to explore[br]in your own lives and tribe

0:21:32.621,0:21:35.903
be that your own family, the organisations[br]you work for and belong to.

0:21:35.903,0:21:37.767
Have a look and measure yourself

0:21:37.767,0:21:40.958
in terms of how you relate to others[br]and the results you strive for.

0:21:40.958,0:21:42.938
Are you jeopardizing relationships

0:21:42.938,0:21:45.022
that maybe deserve more dignity than that?

0:21:45.022,0:21:48.308
And can you find the courage to consider[br]maybe waving your white flag,

0:21:48.308,0:21:51.145
surrendering your position,[br]your opportunity to win,

0:21:51.754,0:21:53.019
for that relationship?

0:21:53.749,0:21:56.043
I believe that's a great idea,[br]worth doing.

0:21:56.043,0:21:57.021
Thank you very much.

0:21:57.021,0:21:58.229
(Applause)

0:22:06.191,0:22:07.951
Fantastic.