CHAPTER 11

Set Innovation Working Agreements

Nobody rises to low expectations.

—CALVIN LLOYD

My three granddaughters are reaching the age when driving is a really big deal. My oldest just got her driver’s license; the middle one is not far behind. And all three want to log happy time behind the steering wheel of their parents’ golf cart at the beach. It means they are now old enough to start noticing the “customs of driving.” Not the rules, mind you, the implied agreements and expectations drivers have with and of each other.

We were at a stoplight, and I was planning to turn left after the light changed. I waited for the oncoming car on the other side of the light to pass before turning left. My youngest granddaughter, Cassie, asked, “How did you know to wait? You got to the traffic light before he did.” I explained there was an agreement that you never turn left into oncoming traffic. Shortly after that, we came to a four-way stop with no light involved. I waited my turn based on who had arrived first at the stop sign. “More agreements, right?” she asked.

Establishing and updating work agreements is the business end of a co-creation partnership. In some ways, work agreements provide the foundation for justice in the relationship. Skipping over this part can put the partnership at peril since you risk leaving it open to misunderstanding, confusion, and even error. Agreements are the spoken-out-loud reflection of expectations, and they help ensure the partnership operates with maximum productivity. When a merchant agrees to deliver a product by a set hour, it creates an expectation in the recipient that might be the basis of all types of their plans. Failing to keep that agreement not only creates disappointment and erodes reliability, it destroys the productivity of the recipient. It is a betrayal, a breach of faith, and a violation of partnership justice.

In Secret 2: Grounding, we focused on the importance of value-based guardrails. So it might seem we are covering the same ground here. But there is a difference. Guardrails guide the soul of the relationship; expectations (manifested as work agreements) guide the work of the relationship. Guardrails make the relationship effective; work agreements make it efficient. Guardrails say “let’s be totally honest”; work agreements say “let’s get this done by Thursday.” Both are needed to lend trust to the alliance.

Work agreements can sound like strict rules: all emails must be answered within twenty-four hours. The best ones sound far more interesting and serve as memorable guidelines. San Antonio–based Touchstone Communities uses agreements like “Honor time: if you are not early, you are late” and “Err on the side of inclusion—if you are in doubt, ask too many rather than not enough.” The language is as memorable as it is instructional, yet the line between compliance and infraction is clear. When I was in army basic training, the agreement was, “If it moves, salute it; if it doesn’t, pick it up; if you can’t pick it up, paint it.” The sentiment contained in the agreement was unmistakable. This chapter will focus on perspectives to guide the crafting and managing of partnership work agreements.

Write Work Agreements with “Visible Ink”

The ad was on the back page of a Superman comic book—a pen that would write in invisible ink. For a while I thought I was Superman, and I had the shirt with a giant “S” to prove it. I saved up chores money and ordered the amazing, magical pen. I had my sister write on a piece of paper a secret word in the invisible ink with my magic pen. Since I was Superman, I would be able to tell her what she had written. After she wrote the word, I privately took the paper into the living room, turned on the lamp, and voila! I could read her secret note. She was impressed! That is, until she figured out she could do the same thing with lemon juice and a Q-tip. And her “magic pen” was free! The invisible-ink pen quickly lost its charm.

Agreements must never be in “invisible ink.” They must be public, prominent, and perpetual. They must be known by all who will be influenced by them. They must be positioned where they can be easily seen and remembered. You know the agreements are working as guidelines when someone simply points at them to rein in violations that endanger interpersonal efficiency or inhibit progress. Finally, they must be perpetual. Never let the shiny wear off of work agreements.

My wife and I had someone tape our wedding ceremony. At that time, the only media for recording was a Sears, Roe-buck reel-to-reel tape recorder. It was later converted to a 331⁄3 rpm record, then a cassette tape, and then a DVD, and finally put on a flash drive. Every anniversary we play it as a reminder of the agreements made at the church altar in front of friends and family. “Renewing your partnership vows” can keep the relationship fresh, maintain top-of-mind guidance, and ensure discipline and trustworthiness.

Make Partnership Agreements Inclusive

Co-creation partnerships have agreements that are collectively crafted, not borrowed from another occasion or group, nor copied from a textbook. The process of harmonizing on agreements is what makes them work. They are made by hand, so to speak, not store bought or borrowed from a neighbor. And in the process of their creation, there is opportunity for a meeting of the minds and a joining of the spirits.

Gloria Steinem was a rock star of feminism in 1985. The editor of Ms. magazine, she reigned as the supreme spokes-person for all things related to the movement. And I saw her standing in the middle of the giant print room of Quad/ Graphics, a high-end printing company headquartered in Sussex, Wisconsin. Quad printed her magazine. I was there to teach at the Quad/University, a three-day event where the entire company was turned over to the frontline employees so every supervisor could go through training classes. I got a tour the day before the training.

“She visits here a lot,” an employee told me on my tour, as I watched from the second floor. Gloria was holding court with several press operators in front of a giant printing press. “And they really listen to her ideas. In fact, apparently there was an agreement she and Harry Quadracci (the founder and CEO at the time) made that he could comment on her magazine content if she could comment on his printing plant operation.” It worked. Gloria was invited to start the presses at their Lomira plant’s grand opening.

Two points were important in this example. Harry Quadracci wanted more than a typical provider-customer relationship; to paraphrase a song from The Music Man, he wanted a partnership with a capital P that rhymes with C that stands for creativity. Second, they established work agreements that leveraged mutuality and clarified boundaries. Gloria was “on the floor” in the full sense of the phrase. Such clarity of expectations laced with trust created a freedom much like giving a neighbor a spare key to your house.

Plan Clear Feedback Cues

Cues are interpersonal signals that help keep partners on track and in sync with their agreements. Smart partnerships treasure early warnings, of course, but they do expect surprises. To deal with these surprises, they agree in advance on cues—signals or agreements that ensure their interpersonal connections continue harmoniously. Think of them like your significant other kicking you under the table at a dinner party when you are talking too loudly, or publicly telling something you should keep private.

My wife has a unique way of delivering a cue. When I am on the road for several days and come home late on Friday in a bit of a dark mood, she softly says, “I can see you’ve been to the hateful school!” (Translation: keep that attitude up, big boy, and you’ll likely miss out on some social activities you were counting on this weekend!) She’d be kicking me under the table about now!

Cues are a shorthand way to give feedback so that your partner can adjust the performance. However, sometimes cues need to be elevated to more than a nonverbal gesture or a code word. Your partner requires more direct feedback. A partnership must be based on living agreements and always evolving to accommodate changing conditions and unforeseen circumstances. There are three steps that can make feedback powerful and fruitful, from my book Managers as Mentors: Building Partnerships for Learning.

STEP 1: CREATE A CLIMATE OF IDENTIFICATION.

Your first objective as a provider is to enhance receptivity by showing that you identify with your partner. Start with comments that have an “I am like you”—that is, “not perfect”—kind of message. Telegraph your empathy, respect, and admiration. Partners can hear even the strongest feedback if it is delivered with concern and compassion. This need not be a major production—just a sentence or two to establish rapport.

STEP 2: STATE THE RATIONALE FOR THE FEEDBACK.

Effective feedback is given in context, not out of the blue. When you hear feedback and end up thinking, “Where did that come from?” or “Why are you telling me this?” you have probably been given feedback without context. The issue is not subtlety or diplomacy, it is understanding. Help your partner gain a clear sense of why the feedback is being given.

STEP 3: ASSUME YOU’RE GIVING YOURSELF THE FEEDBACK.

Besides being clear and empathetic, feedback must be straightforward and honest. This does not mean it must be blunt or cruel; it means that your partner should not be left wondering, “What did she not tell me that I needed to hear?” Trust is born of clean communication. Think of your goal this way: How would you deliver the feedback if you were giving it to yourself? Think about your own preferences; give feedback as you would wish to receive it. Always check for understanding to make certain your partner heard what you intended.¹

Put a Banjo in Your Partnership Orchestra

Béla Fleck is arguably the greatest banjo player in the world. He is the winner of sixteen Grammy Awards, and his amazing repertoire ranges from bluegrass to classical. He made news in the music world when he wrote a banjo concerto called The Imposter and performed it with symphony orchestras around the country to sold-out crowds.

Agreements are statements of promise, the blueprints of cooperation.

They promote a meeting of the minds, the deterrent to disappointment.

A banjo in a symphony? Banjos don’t go with Bach and Beethoven. They belong with square dances, pizza parlors, and having-a-great-time gatherings. Symphonies are supposed to be serious highbrow sounds appreciated by intellectuals who wear tuxedos and gowns and drink Manhattans. Banjos go with blue jeans and people who prefer a cold beer. But think of a banjo as a metaphor for adding playfulness to your work pacts.

You started life as a banjo! Early in your life you giggled, took few things seriously, and assertively leaped into silly games with the single goal of having fun, not winning. You were as innately fair and kind to kids around you as you were to the stuffed toy you cherished. As you entered socialization school and the success institute, you realized the banjo was not a serious instrument for work life. At first your transformation was uncomfortable and awkward. Later you forgot ever being a banjo and worked as an “imposter.” Oh, you got a glimpse of the banjo when you played with your kids. But such folly was left in the workplace parking lot.

Well, guess what? Innovation dances to the sweet sound of a banjo. Banjo behavior makes people want to jump up and join in. It changes melancholy to magical and reserved to sociable. Banjo joy helps foster in customers the rhythmical tapping of happy feet, not the intolerant drumming of impatient fingers. Use banjo thinking to guide your agreement setting. Too much somberness is the antithesis of imagination. Wake up your funny bone, wear a zany hat to every meeting, and add a fun touch to your work agreements. Spice up your collective expectations with a bit of whimsy and weirdness; it goes with the territory. “You can’t leave the meeting if someone else’s beeper goes off,” “If one person gets to go to the bathroom, we all do,” “Nobody gets hurt today,” or my favorite, “Start every meeting with a joke.”

Innovate means to “make new.” And that means boldly abandoning what is “not new.” It means rewriting the status quo and breaking with the norm. It means challenging the rules. Breaking the rules is not an invitation for mutinous behavior or defiant militancy. It is an invitation to bravely be unique and daringly pioneer an ingenious approach with your customer. Pablo Picasso wrote, “Learn the rules like a pro so you can break them like an artist.” Value discipline by making your work agreements the foundation for accountability, not a boon to mindless participation that can rob the relationship of soul, spirit, and sensitivity. “Just following the rules” can be the father of mediocrity and the mother of ordinary.

Set Innovation Working Agreements: The Partnering Crib Notes

Take time in every initial innovation meeting to craft clear expectations. Make them fun, make them tough, and make them tailored to fit the goals of your alliance, the values you want to spotlight, and the personalities of the players. Keep them public so they are constant reminders. Craft them in such a fashion that partners will feel compelled to respect, bound to apply, and committed to defend them. Keep them adaptable to fit the inevitable changes likely to impact and potentially disrupt your relationship. Ensure they are (and feel) inclusive and collaborative so each person impacted by them can comfortably shape their origin and influence their evolution. Remember, clear agreements without crisp execution are only good intentions. In the end, all the planning and goal setting is just “getting ready to.” Execution is the true test of commitment. “I believe, I support, I approve” are weasel words unless they are coupled with visible demonstration.

Expectations are more than road signs along the journey to a goal, they are lessons in partnership decorum. Like the “politeness” norms you heard repeated by your parents as you grew up, they teach co-creation partners how to act “civilized” in an arena of chaotic creation. They serve as a mentor that helps sponsor wild imagination by controlling its excesses without caging its gifts. As such, they enable warnings to play nicely with wacky.

It takes real planning to organize this kind of chaos.

—MEL ODOM