These are the opening lines of what will be one of
the main publishing events of this year. A previously unknown Beatrix Potter
book, “Kitty-in-Boots”, has been discovered by publisher Jo Hanks. It was found
in the Victoria & Albert Museum’s archive, after Ms. Hanks spotted a
reference to the book in some of Beatrix Potter’s correspondence. When she
found it, it was a typeset manuscript with only a few simple pictures,
not the
fully illustrated book, although editing by the author had happened, so all
that was needed was a few more images to bring the words to life and make the
book true to its well-known siblings.
Beatrix Potter was distracted from finishing the
book by the outbreak of the First World War and, thereafter, by getting married
and becoming a sheep farmer. (How many of us have half finished projects we
should re-visit?) Like the popular writer Roald Dahl, Beatrix Potter didn’t
believe in “writing down” for children, her approach, words and pictures are
not patronising and this latest book, by reputation, is no exception. There are
references to animal cruelty, with Kitty’s devoted owner fearful that her
beloved puss might be turned into “black cat-skin muffs”, and there are
ruffians and villains. Kitty leads a double life with few appreciating the full
range of activities and exploits that occur away from home. Due to the paucity
of original Potter drawings, the majority of the book has had to be illustrated
by Quentin Blake (a wonderful choice);
his comments on receiving the manuscript
were:
“I liked the story immediately – it’s full of incident and mischief and character."
The tale offers further treats through cameo
appearances by favourite characters from other books, including an older,
slightly rotund Peter Rabbit, a discussion with Mrs Tiggywinkle and brief
sightings Miss Ribby, Tabitha Twitchit and Mr Tod. (that looks like
collaboration and inclusion to me). The cover will be revealed in March and the
book will be published in September 2016. Two million Beatrix Potter books are sold
globally every year, but I suspect that we will see a spike in sales this
autumn. What a great year for the author Beatrix Potter to be celebrated on the new UK 50 pence piece.
Whilst on the subject of authors and books, I am delighted that a children’s novel
is the winner
of the 2016 Costa Book of the Year prize. If we cannot inspire a love of
reading in the young they will be at a disadvantage in later life. Thanks to
the Internet and our technology driven world, much of our day-to-day
experiences now seem to revolve around written words.
Things that inspire the young were clearly on the
minds of the team who released their latest findings relating to UK children’s
media usage earlier this week. This Childwise report
(which primarily focuses on how the young spend their leisure time) has been
hailed as demonstrating a “landmark change in behaviours”: it is the first time
(in the 25 years since the survey was started) that young people no longer
choose to spend most of their free time watching TV. Those of you who, like me
are parents, won’t be surprised to know that the young prefer to be online; 5-15
year olds are spending on average 3 hours per day surfing the web – with YouTube
being the favourite channel (50% of the over 2000 individuals interviewed
admitted to visiting the site daily). This compares to 2.1 hours now for TV.
Reading
books has fallen to just over half an hour a day (this figure has declined from
over an hour in 2012 and I suspect for some respondents the reading reported was
actually a homework activity). Thank goodness for books like The
Lie Tree that can inspire young (and older) minds. The world is changing
fast, no wonder TV isn’t popular, when on-demand video gives control over what
and when you can view almost anything – this is how our children are growing up
and will be what they expect when they enter the workplace.
People drive the change but also have to cope with
change that they feel thrust upon them. We, as responsible employers and
leaders, need to understand the pressures that this brings and try our best to
support those who work with us. It is no use clinging to out-dated patriarchal
approaches, custom and practice. You have only to look at the announcement and
market reaction to the news of the decline
in sales of Apple iPhones earlier this week to appreciate that market
dominance is not a given. People are fickle and competition is fierce – this
applies to the decisions around employment just as much as it does to the
acquisition of a mobile phone.
Choice, variety, autonomy – these are the norms of
the modern world. In many ways our home environment (with the use of our own
tech and broadband) has superseded our workplace as the location where we get
things done. A high proportion of offices still have fierce security firewalls
and systems that prevent access to sites that many see as usual places to seek
information (e.g. blogs and social media). As a result, people resort to their
smartphones to search for solutions – I know of members of an IT department, in
a respected global business, who turned to Google and YouTube to teach
themselves how to install and run a new cross-border software package, because
their employer was not prepared to pay for proper training and the provider did
not offer any with the product. All credit to them for finding a solution for
their lack of knowledge, although, by their own confession, the configuration produced
was not as elegant as it would have been with better support and broader awareness. How dispiriting for those people to feel that their employer cared
so little about them that they were prepared to leave them to “figure it out or
fail”. It’s no wonder that there is high turnover in that department. As an
aside though – it occurs to me that if the task had been set as a challenge to
an action learning set (and therefore seen as a growth opportunity offered to a
valued group of individuals, rather than a duty) the attitude towards the need
to find a solution might have been different. It could have been fun although
required timelines might not have been met.
It is important that leaders and managers
understand the problems that people have to solve. As change has become a
recognised norm, we must be forward-thinking. We, the employers of today, need
to plan for the world of work our soon-to-be employees and contractors will
expect in the future. If we fail to:
- make our workplaces supportive and engaging;
- provide opportunities and an environment in which people wish to contribute;
- build a setting where people believe that they are recognised and rewarded for the skills that they bring;
- have a shared confidence that we can provide a suitable place where all who have the desire can and will thrive and grow;
then vital employees and partners simply won’t come
or stay with us.
In addition to engagement, empowerment and
collaboration – individuals will need great people management. To be successful
the leaders and managers within organisations will need to ensure that everyone
is and wants to be involved, can make suggestions and have the autonomy to do
the right thing. None of us are significantly better informed than others, as
Mervyn Dinnen comments in the latest report, Creating a culture of innovation through smarter talent management, produced for HR
Zone
“The leaders that we need to develop for tomorrow will probably be facing uncertainties and complexities that have yet to be identified, whilst using technologies and digital tools that have yet to be invented.”
We need to take a page from Beatrix Potter’s book
and not patronise the people we wish to appeal to, but appreciate them, be
engaging, inclusive and at times surprise and delight.
