We've been encouraging readers to share feedback and observations about Working Knowledge articles by email, resulting in a slew of thoughtful responses. Here are a few comments from June, published with permission:
Re: "Extroverts, Your Colleagues Wish You Would Just Shut Up and Listen"
“As an introvert, I get the idea of the piece, but I wish we could get away from the idea that:
People ‘extrovert’ or ‘introvert’ all the time. We do have preferences, but we’re all more flexible than the labels suggest. I’m a strong introvert, but I can often exhibit the ‘extrovert’ behaviours of talking too much and not listening to others because I’m excited and/or lost in my own thoughts. People have said I’m one of the loudest introverts they know.
It’s all about behaviours. Behavioural cues are interesting, and researchable because they are tangible, but as someone who has studied the practice of this stuff for a long time, directing people toward cues and behaviours misses the point. If someone is indeed a strong extrovert, and tries to remember a list of behavioural cues like this cognitively, they’ll be trying so hard to ‘look good,’ they will miss the point, and it will come across as fake. They still won’t be listening or, just as important, caring.
"If they really care, they will relax, shift their focus, make eye contact etc., etc., but they will do it naturally."
To really listen, and exhibit the kind of behaviours described, what they have to do is one thing: care about what the other person is saying, and try to find a connection. If they really care, they will relax, shift their focus, make eye contact etc., etc., but they will do it naturally, not as part of a script they have learned. They do have to get over their impulse, but so do we all. Behaviours come from what we care about. Care about the sound of our own voice (E or I) and we don’t listen. Care about the other person too, and things shift radically.”
Alan Arnett
London, UK
Re: "Free Isn’t Always Better: How Slack Holds Its Own Against Microsoft Teams"
“Interesting article, but the success of MS Teams is not just because it’s ‘free.’ You’ve left completely unaddressed the key point that many, many companies use other MS products, particularly Outlook/Exchange email, and that using Teams simplifies the IT and business management of companies’ tool set. Some specifics:
- In 2020, as WFH exploded and business leaders demanded collaboration tools, we saw Zoom and other video conferencing products explode. But MS quickly responded with improvements to Teams’ videoconferencing capabilities and ease of use. As everyone in the company has an MS 365 account and an Exchange email address, extending that “address book” for collaborating on video is pretty seamless. And messages in Teams can be emailed easily if necessary. (Of course, some companies are “Google shops” and use Gmail, but Outlook is dominant in many industries.)
"The competition between Slack and Teams is not just about 'free.'"
- Teams integrates very well with the Office 365 product suite that many enterprises use (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.). Sending files and links (now preferred to sending files themselves) is easy. Integrating with SharePoint is also easy, allowing files in use in a Team channel to be accessed easily. I can easily switch from my Teams identify to a Teams/SharePoint account provided by a client, which enables secure collaboration and exchange of information without the use of email.
- Cyber and information security concerns are already being addressed in companies’ MS 365 security and compliance efforts, so adding Teams management to that regime is also one-stop shopping.
In my information governance consulting practice, I adopted Zoom as the pandemic hit (moving away from older products like WebEx and GoToMeeting), but quickly realized that my team and my customers would benefit from the integration, ease of use, and security that Teams provides.
I have NO commercial relationship with MS, so the thoughts above are completely independent. But the competition between Slack and Teams is not just about ‘free.’”
Matthew Bernstein
New York, New York
Re: "From Truck Driver to Manager: US Foods’ Novel Approach to Staff Shortages"
“The article was interesting and the initial ideas presented by US Foods could help. However, one major way to attract and retain delivery drivers is to change the actual delivery to the customer when the truck arrives at the location. Most drivers have to find each item on the order, scan it and then physically wheel it into the operation. Then, additionally in many cases, they have to put it away into freezers and coolers.
"Every driver in the industry would loudly applaud this change."
That needs to stop. The order should be left ‘at the back door’ and the operator should be responsible for putting his own order away in the proper place. Every driver in the industry would loudly applaud this change.”
Chris Kilmer
Apalachin, New York
Feedback or ideas to share? Email the Working Knowledge team at hbswk@hbs.edu.
Image: Unsplash/Robert Katzki