Bringing play into the business world

Despite the occasional stuffed-shirt boss looking over my shoulder and saying “This isn’t playtime!” some of the best jobs I’ve ever had incorporate a level of playfulness, and the results have always proven to be effective.

A favorite exhortation among fast-food bosses is, “If you’ve got time to lean, you’ve got time to clean!” But a little leaning now and then, and even a little guided playfulness, can go a lot further towards getting employees actively engaged in a corporate goal than will any angry mandate.

Where employers and employees alike go wrong is falling into the trap of believing that work isn’t supposed to be fun. Sean Murphy, CEO and founder of Lootok, a crisis management and business continuity consulting and technology company, went into this business – which is normally as dry as a Prohibition-era liquor cabinet – with the idea of actually transforming it into something people actually want to do.

Read the full article with commentary from Sean Murphy on HUFFPOST.

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When a nudge works better than a hammer

Changing a culture – whether it’s a country, a company, or a small group of friends – can’t be done by mandate alone, it has to be done with subtle nudging. King Mongkut, leader of Siam in the mid-19th century, also knew a thing or two about how to nudge people towards change, avoiding British colonialization not with battle, but by embracing modernization and the adoption of some Western customs. That’s why Thai people now eat with forks and spoons. Mongkut’s son, King Chulalongkorn, followed in his father’s footsteps, and adopted a spiffy style of dress that included stylish English suits and an Homburg.

Effecting change in peoples’ behavior, and changing long-held customs and practices isn’t an easy thing to do, whether you’re a world leader, the head of a Fortune 500 company, an entrepreneur with a small business, a schoolteacher, or anyone who is tasked with the difficult task of changing the way people think. Strong-arm tactics, mandates, and threats may work in the short-term, but seldom end well. According to Sean Murphy, CEO of Lootok, the “push” model is far less effective – a better approach is to change the conversation so that the people you seek to influence begin to demand the desired behavior. It becomes a “pull” model.

Read the full article with commentary from Sean Murphy on The Good Men Project.

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ClearView wins Global Best BCM Software Award for a record fifth time!

At the Business Continuity Awards ceremony held at the prestigious London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square on 8th June, ClearView wins the Award for Best Business Continuity Management Software for a record fifth year in succession, against competition from around the world.

The judges praised the software for its role in helping organizations of all sizes in all parts of the world to achieve their BCM objectives; delivered and supported by a team with significant industry knowledge and with excellent customer service.

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Contextual learning could soon replace traditional learning

Corporate training is big business. Last year alone, American organizations spent a whopping $70.65 billion on corporate training and associated administrative costs, based on data from Training magazine’s 2016 Training Industry Report. Most companies are willing to invest in the learning and development of employees because they must compete in ever-changing markets, which requires enhanced skills.

According to a McKinsey Quarterly survey, nearly 90% of organizations indicated that building on the capabilities of employees is a top priority. However, only around a quarter said that they can accurately measure the success of their learning programs in terms of improved performance. There seems to be a disconnect between investing in learning programs and having a direct understanding of the impact on the bottom line.

Read the full article with commentary from Jeremy Stynes on HR Dive.

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Participatory learning dramatically improves employee career development

It’s a well-known fact that a strong corporate learning program is an effective retention tool.

By encouraging employees to actively participate, employees can better understand new concepts practically, rather than just absorbing a slew of information. Participatory learning can increase employee career satisfaction when it’s carried out correctly.

According to the National Institutes for Health, the very process of participating in any change activity can support workforce learning. A 2009 study conducted by E. Rosskam involved teaching employees new health procedures in order to improve safety. By using a shared platform where learners can interact and support one another, employees can perceive learning as something they own.

HR Dive talked with Sean Murphy, CEO of Lootok, a business continuity and crisis management firm with headquarters in New York City, about the concept of participatory learning. When employees buy in to active career development, this participation creates another layer in the experience.

Read the full article with commentary from Sean Murphy on HR Dive.

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Lootok is looking for an exceptional Senior Consultant

Essential duties and responsibilities

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform the following satisfactorily; other duties may be assigned. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Establish engagement budgets, coordinate deliverables, and maintain appropriate project management to ensure engagements are delivered “on time, on budget, and as promised”.
• Consistently develop and deliver accurate and thorough project status reports to client stakeholders and Lootok management.
• Proactively identify project risks and issues and resolve them in a timely manner.
• Cultivate and maintain strong, trust-based strategic relationships with key client decision makers.
• Identify revenue growth opportunities and coordinate business development efforts including drafting and issuance of statements of work.
• Facilitate workshops and presentations to client personnel.
• Provide clients with strategic business continuity guidance (written and verbal) in the disciplines of business continuity, crisis management, and enterprise risk management.
• Recommend enhancements to client operations and infrastructure to strengthen business resiliency and recovery capabilities.
• Provide strong leadership, technical guidance, coaching, and support to junior consultants ensuring they are trained on all relevant tools and techniques.
• Evaluate the performance of junior consultants and assist in the development of goals and objectives to enhance professional development.
• Contribute to the development of Lootok methodologies and intellectual capital.
• Exhibit mastery of Lootok consulting methodology, materials, tools, and continuity software.
• Participate in client pitches and mange new relationships through the Lootok CRM.
• Master the ability to sell all aspects of Lootok from consulting to creative to technology services.

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Press release: New leadership team paves the way for the future of Lootok

For more than 10 years Lootok has pushed the boundaries of traditional crisis management and business continuity (BC). “I launched Lootok with the singular vision of doing BC differently,” said Lootok CEO, Sean Murphy. “Global volatility and increased competition have escalated the need for companies to prepare for disruptions. While everybody knows that they should have a BC program, nobody wants to do the work. BC is only important when it’s too late, and when an incident does occur, any data and plans that have been collected typically remain untouched.”

Lootok continually confronts these challenges by offering fresh points of view on industry standards and new ways to transform programs to meet today’s highly networked environment. Sean Murphy explains: “I knew that BC was an essential part of business. The negative returns I so often saw were not the result of BC itself, but rather how it was implemented. At that point, I saw a major opportunity in going beyond the cookie-cutter approach and offering something of lasting value.”

With this goal, Lootok based its services on a deep understanding of industry expertise and interdisciplinary sciences.  Why integrate interdisciplinary sciences? It is a simple answer, according to Sean: “We get better results. Through integrating cognitive sciences, gamification, and branding concepts we capture higher-quality data, buy-in at all levels of the organization, and sizable costs savings through self-service and automation.”

2017 marked a reflective period in Lootok’s history, where the company restructured areas of the organization to yield even greater innovation and sharpened its services to Lootok clients. Lootok is excited to announce that there are four changes in its talent pool that set the stage for this evolution. 

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