adapt, innovate, expand: how to stay relevant (or why i have a whiteboard in my shower) by greg...

Gregory Parikh Vice PresidentOracle Information Development

October 23, 2014

Adapt, Innovate, Expand:How to Stay Relevant(or Why I Have a Whiteboard in my Shower)

Introduction

• 14 years at Oracle PeopleSoft

• 15 years experience with Information Development

• 22 years in Management

• Worked in Health, Manufacturing, Service, and IT Industries

• Spent the last several years speaking and working with other organizations on Relevancy

• Live in California, have two beautiful daughters, play and coach lacrosse

Disclaimer

• These are only my opinions, mantras, mission statements, life lessons, etc.

• There is no need or requirement to agree with everything I am saying or teaching.

• I apologize in advance for not being politically correct, touchy feely, or artistic.

• I tend to be blunt and to the point.

• I believe in what I am saying and am passionate about it.

“…one of the most productive, innovative, and engaged organizations within Oracle.”A recent quote from a Senior Executive at our company, in regards to our group…

The ChallengeWhere is the traditional documentation team on the organizational food chain?

Carnivores

Omnivores

Herbivores

Primary Producers

Relevant

1. Having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at hand

2. Having social relevance

3. Being pertinent or germane

Why is this important?

When we realize what our end game is… Positive Customer Experience… we start to look beyond our self imposed barriers, and become an asset (relevant) to our organization.

End Game Mantra…

Don’t be a bottom dweller!

Keeping us at the bottom of the food chain…

• Our group mission statement was to “not make waves”, “not take on more deliverables”, and “fly under the radar”.

• We had a website that listed all the deliverables we were NOT responsible for creating.

• Our group focus was on maintaining our scope of work, while consistently reducing our staff. “Doing the same, with less.”

• We were fixated on iron clad processes, procedures, roles, and standards.

• We allowed ourselves to be “typecast” into a “doc team” role.

Some of the issues my organization had to deal with in the past….

Flying Under the RadarWhen is flying under the radar good? Never!!!!!!This is the goal of those who have a “Non Value Add” mindset.No such thing as the “invisible expense”.

• Never be Typecast!!

• Don’t be pigeon holed into the role of a “doc writer” or “technical writer”.

• Something as simple as adjusting your job description, can create many opportunities to expand.

• Take on the role of an Information Developer (or whatever cool title you have created).

The Actor’s Golden Rule

“Why do we need to become Relevant?”

Relevancy

Job ProtectionGroup PrideOpportunitiesFunJob SatisfactionRetention

“How do we become more Relevant?”

Adapt

• Change your internal mindset first

– Thinking of your organization as an "information" organization, not a technical publications organization.

– Re-write your group charter or mission statement.

–Octopus theory (tentacles)

– Change will happen, no need to embrace it, but must accept it.

• Change the external perception of your group

– Change your dept name (titles), if possible.

–Octopus theory (tentacles)

Innovate• Go beyond the development of traditional tech pub

deliverables and design, and deliver new non-traditional products.

• Innovation must be “sprouted” from a need. Let innovation grow from your charter.

• Use customer input to create innovative technical information solutions.

• Stay current. Leverage modern

technologies to create innovative

information solution.

Killing the Sacred Cow and other helpful tips…

• Kill sacred cows (not literally)

• Don’t be comfortable, comfort leads to non-innovation.

• Don’t suffer from “deliverable myopia”.

• No need to necessarily create more. You just need to create more value.

• Don’t force team members to embrace change, just make sure they accept it (this takes effort).

• Perception is reality.

Expand – grow tentacles

• Expand the boundaries of your groups reach, outside of your comfort zone.

• Grow “tentacles” by creating deliverables for crucial areas of your company’s product development and delivery process.

How to create TentaclesEngage with all internal and external groups• Strategy• Marketing• User Groups• Partners• Consultants• Training Orgs (internal and external)

Find ways to maximize your teams strengths• Manage your company’s or departments Social Media campaign.• Create and deliver videos and other online media• Find niche areas within product development that your group can own.– Icon Development– Customer and Internal Facing HTML Web Pages

• Create Marketing content• Help with Conference material• Create internal training sessions• Help train partners and consultants• Create newsletters, emailers, surveys

Product Documentation & Install/Upgrade Guides

Training Materials

Before Tentacles

Customer Information Portal

Product Documentation & Install/Upgrade Guides

Video Production and Webseries

Cumulative Feature Overview Tool WebCFO

Interactive Business Process Maps

Embedded helpPeopleSoft Portal (Internal)

Training Materials

PSFT User Productivity Kit Content

Integration Point Maps

Mobile Documentation

Hosted On DemandDocumentation

Interactive Training Paths

Fit Gap Tool (Implementation Tool for Customer/Partner)

Install and Upgrade Hosted Site

Social Media

Live new hire training in India and China

Icon Design

Conference Materials

After Tentacles