Hacking HR at NSO Group in Israel
Look at these incredible women who put together an amazing Hacking HR event in their company! (They received a lot of help from my Hacking HR TLV partner Dikla Yuval). This is the amazing sense of fulfillment you get when you put your heart and soul into creating a special gathering for others. Here are my thoughts about this meetup we had in the heart of Israel on February 20, 2020 (20.2.2020).
Women on the Rise
From the beginning to the end of this gathering, there was a very powerful feeling of extremely confident women who know exactly who they are and what their purpose is in life. You could see that they were really in the zone. Sivan shared a great story of what women in this place can accomplish. She was once brave enough to throw a completely new idea into a room full of her superiors. And they were then brave enough to throw what they were doing out the window (standard performance reviews), and let her lead them into this whole new path of GROWTH MINDSET. A stunning example of how being authentic can pay off in a really big way. (By the way, Growth Mindset is a concept invented by a woman! It all started over 30 years ago, when Carol Dweck and her colleagues became interested in students’ attitudes about failure).
It is not the most natural thing in the world for women to connect, but when there is a higher purpose in sight — they will do anything to achieve what they set out to accomplish. Women are really unstoppable creatures, and especially when they do things together. It was amazing to see how much love there is between all the women on the NSO teams — this was a collaboration of the HR and experience teams from what I gathered. There was a lot of love mixed into everything from the nice welcoming committee downstairs managed by Yael (sorry, forgot to photograph that stunning smile of hers ….), and the whole young catering team were also very nice and friendly. I discovered later on that the experience team had organized the room for us and everything was super professional and stunning. The healthy food was delicious!!
Then there were the incredible women who presented — Marissa Sarfatti really captivated the audience by talking about the kinds of processes she puts her clients through. And she brought one of her clients Osnat Vilenchik to speak about what the process was like from her side. It was clear to see the amazing bond between these beautiful ladies, and all the good they are generating together.
Workshop Innovation
Over the last few years my life has pretty much become one big workshop since I’m constantly in both physical and virtual workshops. I didn’t think there was anything for me to learn from others in this regard, but I was wrong. I loved the way NSO put the workshop questions on display in such a stunning way, and I actually shared it with my team during the event. Here is an example ….
I also loved the workshop notes that were put out on the tables for people to answer together. I think it was Dikla’s idea ….
Connection is the Key
By the time we got to the workshop part of the evening (after all the presentations) people were a bit tired. Here are the brave heroes who looked extremely happy doing the workshop!
Numbers Don’t Tell The Real Story
There was only one man on the panel and he had some great war stories about meetings not going the way he imagined right after a breaking story in the news about their company, or a government client suddenly losing power. Nir Ovadia may just be a Sales Director with the most exciting job in the world — it really sounds like his daily life is straight out of a movie. This isn’t fiction though — it’s their daily reality at NSO. And it even happened right in the middle of the run-through of the panel before the actual event. They are used to things changing very rapidly and are good at letting go as you can see from the big smiles. Nir talked a lot about his customers being “out of their comfort zone” when they are suddenly “thrown into the spotlight” due to their association with NSO. And how it was his job to get people back into their comfort zone.
Another genuinely insightful thing Nir talked about was how a team can do everything completely right the whole year long, put in tons of effort and not make any mistakes. But due to forces beyond their control, they may not hit their quota on December 31st of 2019. But on January 2, 2020 — everything could look completely different. So just looking at the cold numbers doesn’t always tell the story.
Constant Growth & Learning Led by Women
Look what an incredible example we have here of very strong women pulling together and accomplishing amazing things together — creating this amazing environment of constant learning for people to thrive in. Where everyone is super-pumped to come to work every day. Sivan — the mastermind behind this whole Growth Mindset path that NSO is on — is a petite woman in size, but its her huge heart that caused this whole company to change direction.
Clearly having concerned and dedicated women like this in higher positions is very positive for business. We have all these debates about equal pay and conditions, but the world is right on the verge of discovering the true powers women have. All their love and concern for our better future is about to be unleashed on the world.
We heard from the panel how Generation Y and Z have to be treated in order to stay put. The next generation is demanding to be in a constant state of growth and learning, and it is women who are making that possible.
