Firms are successful when all the elements of strategy development and execution are ‘aligned”, when functional management works in a synergistic manner, and when personal best interests are best served by serving the best interests of the firm.

When this happens, the whole “system” is working in an optimized manner.

The real challenge is to design a new system, one that redraws the rules of the business model, one that creates a new system.

The opportunities that will emerge out of meeting the challenges of climate change are going to be new systems, not a modified version of existing ones. It has always been this way with disruptive innovation.

Shai Agassi has evolved a new system to replace the car. He is testing with the assistance if the Israeli government a system of electric cars with points that replace the batteries, rather than just recharging, but you pay for the miles driven, not to buy and maintain the car.

Familiar?

If you have a mobile phone on some sort of a plan, that is the system that as been adapted by Agassi’s “Better Place” to provide transport, just the way a phone provides communication.

We all know there are many components to a comprehensive Business Continuity Management (BCM) program; BIAs, BCPs, Crisis Mgmt, Media Relations and many, many more but there is one that doesn’t usually fall under the BCM umbrella. A program can help BCM with many aspects of risk mitigation and other areas.  It’s the Health & Safety (H&S) program.  I don’t know where you – the reader – may reside but up here in Canada many organizations are required to have one and depending upon the province, there are various aspects that a H&S program is involved with.  For the purposes of this article, I’m going to focus on how it can be related to BCM and how it might be a missing link.

The H&S might not be utilized for BCM because in the majority of cases, the H&S committee is made of volunteers, not permanent members or a formal department.  Of course, if you’re in a manufacturing environment there is probably a well established committee with full time members, as these environments need to ensure safety of their workers is priority #1 at all times.  If many are volunteers, they are going to focus on their daily operational activities – those they are paid for – and not put a lot of focus on the H&S committee. 

From experience (as a co-chair of a H&S committee for a location with 500+ employees), management and employees didn’t take H&S seriously because it was a voluntary position and no one had actual claim or ownership of the process.  This is a shame because the H&S can help BCM.  How? 

Depending upon the provincial regulations, facility inspections performed by H&S members (must be a management and a non-management representative) occur on a monthly basis.  “Inspections?  What kind of inspections?” I hear you ask.  Well, these inspections help identify risk and hazards that can harm employees and cause potential damage to equipment and operations.  After the inspections are performed those committee members who had done the inspection write out their report and submit and ‘safety infractions’ to management for consideration; either to comply with recommended changes or – as is often the case – to be ignored. 

Not getting the connection yet?  Don’t worry, you will.  These inspections, as I alluded to ways to identify potential dangers and risk to employees and operations.  Though they may seem like small instances, sometimes the smallest risk identified can cause the largest impact; ‘From little acorns do might oaks grow,’ as the old saying goes.  Here’s an example.

Our facility is a large data centre, housing a large operations area but also has development personnel, finance employees and sales staff – all residing in the same facility.  One part of the facility also houses large printer to spit out reams and reams of cheques, invoices and statements – along with many other materials, such as marketing pamphlets.  During an inspection by the H&S committee members they identify a potential hazard where one of the large rolls of cheque stock/statement paper is not properly secured to the wall or loaded or stored on its wooden pallet properly.  The concern could be that it comes loose for the wall and injure an employee.  Now some may say that’s not a major business interruption – though without a doubt it would be a serious concern for employee safety – as one roll of paper injuring an employee will not hamper business operations.  Sales staff can still work and almost all other functions can continue. Well, in that respect its correct.

However, what if that roll of heavy paper – some being a few hundred pounds – came away from the wall and rolled into one of the high impact printers?  Now, you have a different situation on your hands.  The roll could potentially damage the printer, which means that finance teams can’t get their invoices printed, sales and marketing staff can’t get their marketing materials printed, and for those that are awaiting cheques – will now have a delay in getting their money.  Much more of an incident now, isn’t it?

What if BCM was involved with H&S?  How could BCM help to ensure that this type of situation doesn’t occur?  Here are a few recommendations:

1. If your BCM program doesn’t have representation on the H&S committee, consider joining or at the very least, attending a few meetings. 
2. If you can gain access to inspection reports, find out if there are any hazards that may need to be addressed by contingency plans. 
3. From the same list of hazards, see if any mitigation processes can be put in place to ensure that the hazard doesn’t come to fruition – such as a better method to ensure rolls of cheque stock don’t come away from the walls.   
4. Figure out how – when one of these hazards occurs – how the processes for emergency/incident management tie into the situation.  For instance, there could be a hazardous materials spill, which could cause the facility to be evacuated.  Isn’t this part of our emergency response processes.  The two should tie together so that they work in conjunction, rather than people instantly believing there is an H&S incident.  To clarify, there is an H&S incident but it triggers BCM responses – in many cases.  

So, is it possible that H&S is a lost or forgotten component of BCM?  Maybe, maybe not.  Still, in many ways the H&S process and committee can bring attention to hazards that can cause the activation of BCM components.  Wouldn’t it be a better idea to understand some of these triggers – these risks and hazards – before they occur, rather than give the classic Homer Simpson response after the fact: D’OH!

Many will identify risks that can harm operations but often those are external with less emphasis on internal hazards.   Oh yes, there may be instances where internal risks and hazards are identified during risk analysis but the H&S committee can help identify additional risk and review risks on a monthly basis – the results of which can be used to help bolster response plans and contingency strategies.  In this respect, is H&S a lost component of BCM….or could it be the new component? 

Be healthy. Be safe.

A friend of mine bought his girlfriend a birthday present over two months ago. The present was to be a completed paint by numbers picture. Unfortunately, she has yet to receive the completed painting. Last I checked, the painting was about 25% done and the man swears his girlfriend will get the completed gift by Christmas. We’ll three months late is better than never. In all seriousness, aren’t there times in our lives when even the most straight forward projects get placed by the wayside in favor of the day-to-day tasks vying for our attention?

Along the lines of waiting for “things” – I myself have recently experienced a few delayed starts. For example, I recently bought a new computer bag which had to be immediately returned due to a malfunctioning handle. Cutting to the end of the story, I ended up saving an addition sum of money on an already discounted bag because the bag was reduced an additional 10% between the first and second purchase dates. Similarly, I finally decided to buy an external hard drive to back-up computer files, etc. but when a friend braved the “black Friday” crowds to purchase one for me, he was told they were out. Upon his return home (around 5:30am black Friday) he went on line and found one for less money and with a better warranty.

As we near the end of 2009 it’s true, some of us have not obtained all that we would have liked this year. For some (like my friend’s girlfriend) it’s a gift. For others it’s a need such as a new job to replace the one lost due to the economic downturn. Yet for others, it’s something in between a gift and a need; such as a new computer bag. So what’s to be made of all this? What can we deduce when we did all we could to paint inside the lines but despite our efforts, did not get the result we wanted? Conversely, what if we took a chance to paint outside the lines, taking a risk and trying something new, but still failed to obtain the goal?

Well, as best as I can see, good things do truly come to those that wait. Economies have life cycles to them, change has its seasons, and the race is not always won by the swift. So what’s this mean for us all? I’m going to go out on a limb and say that our good things are coming, we’ll pay less for them, and they will be what we should have when we should have them. To that end, I’m happy to announce that I’m going to extend my discounted life coaching offer through the end of 2009. While I can not predict when the economy will be in full swing again or when your new computer bag will arrive, I can safely say that by taking the time now to ensure you maximize your skills and talents, you’ll be well positioned to fill it with life’s blessings.

To learn more about this topic contact Dr Marilyn at www.DrMarilyn-EAW.com

When the Apollo missions were taking place from 1963 to 1972, NASA were making sure they had all their ducks in a row in every conceivable fashion to ensure they achieved their goal of putting man on the moon. This was no mean feat, after all the moon is over 238,000 miles from the earth and they were up against a little competition from their communist counterparts.

Navigation was of course one of their key priorities. After all, just a few degrees pointing in the wrong direction at lift off isn’t such a big deal. But left uncorrected, 238,000 miles later that could mean missing the moon by a huge distance – thousand of miles if not more! Not surprisingly, NASA weren’t going to make such an elementary mistake.

When we think about ourselves and our current results, and these could be your income, your job, your home, relationship to name but a few, its important to remember that you can change the outcome of all or any by taking action – NOW.

Small changes now (lift off)  have a massive impact in the future in order to ensure you achieve your goals and dreams. In fact, just by deciding to start something, stop something or do something differently you WILL have adjusted your life’s directional compass by a few degrees.

You have already altered your path to your future.

The more you focus on what you want, the more you take small actions as often as you can to move towards those goals, the closer you get to them. Because even if you make a mistake and don’t get the result you expected, you have to be closer to your objective than you were to start with.

You now have more knowledge now than you did.

After all, what do you think scientists spend their time doing?

Getting it wrong and moving closer to getting it right until they do!

These seemingly small course corrections keep you on target if you know clearly where you want to go.  That’s why it’s so important to have a clear goal, a destination if you like.

Small actions and changes are incredibly powerful over time.

So what can you start, stop or change for the better now?

1. Identify your users’ stories

As I studied users’ thoughts, I found patterns in what my project was really designed to do, above and beyond what the project brief said. I listened to what my mind was drawn to listen to. These were the users’ stories — what was most important in their working lives.

There are no right or wrong answers in listening. Be honest with your users that you’re there to add value to the way they work and their stories – needs, expectations, attitudes and capabilities – will become clear.

2. Embrace your users’ needs

Once I am aware of users’ needs, it is far easier to design according to them. When faced with a decision, I can compare it to their values by documentation as personas, and see it will bring me closer to a solution that is fit for them, rather than what is easiest for the project team to produce.

3. Accept expanding feature sets

A ZenAgile mind does not struggle. It accepts users’ needs as they truly are. A rock is a rock. It will remain that way no matter how much you worry, wish, or pressure it into changing. Worrying about requirements and ever expanding user wants are the same way. I accept requirements for what they are, do not waste time or energy fretting over it, and group them into feature sets for delivery in such a way that, as a whole, they add value to users’ work.

4. Energise for change

A ZenAgile mind can give you extra energy for change as you are not wasting energy fighting against the inevitable. As above, there is a large rock in your way. You have three options:

• run into the rock repeatedly
• agonize about the rock being in the way, or
• find a way around the rock.

Before ZenAgile, I chose the first two options. With ZenAgile, I now accept the rock for what it is: an obstacle. I accept that you cannot go through it. I do not panic, and waste time and energy worrying about the obstacle. Instead I make my own path around the obstacle, either over the rock, around the rock, or under the rock.

This is Seijaku (静寂) — the energised calm.

5. Enhance knowledge of yourself

As I practice ZenAgile, I spend a fair amount of time in conversation with others and thereby understanding myself and how I come to terms with change: change in the project context, changes in requirements, and changes that need to occur to the solution.

In time, I’ve learned to quiet my mind. I’ve listened to the same fears for projects repeating themselves which inspired me to change what was causing those fears. I’ve realised, for example, that lack of a user-centred approach was a large source of anxiety, and so it was time for a change. Without time to think and meditate on the conversations in a project, we tend to ignore what our mind is telling us, and remain locked into our old patterns of doing things.

6. Gain confidence in the agile way

As you reflect on your inner self, you become conscious of who you really are, your role, and the skills you bring to aspects of the agile project. You learn what makes you happy, what is beneficial to your project, and where you fit into the multidisciplinary team. You bypass the fears and anxieties of your mind, what role you play — Business Analyst, Project Manager, Information Architecture, User Experience Designer, Change Manager — and focus on doing what needs to be done. Boldly and passionately complete the iteration. The opinions of traditional organisations like PMI, IIBA, ABAA, etc, do not matter, because you know you are doing what is right.

7. Appreciate the iterative project lifecycle

I accept the project as it truly is – evolutionary in nature, rather than revolutionary. You will always uncover new aspects of users’ needs. You will always uncover the unknown as you proceed boldly through the project. Some will be surprises like a starry evening, a stroll by the river, or a night of solitude. Each will have their own unique characteristics to be appreciated. Mundane user needs also hold their own charm. Observing the quiet details of the project lends value to the less appealing aspects, and brings peace and joy in commonplace tasks.

8. Increase consideration for others

Each person on the project is interconnected. We are all searching for the solution, requirements, and a meaningful project to work on. It is much harder to be angry at the user who argues with you about scope when you realise they are on the same path, just at a different point in their journey.

9. Simplify your project and your documentation

Conversation not documentation helps you differentiate between needs and wants. To document things completely today is to suggest that it will fix users and their workplace in time until the project has been completed. By focussing, instead, on a minimalist, simple project solution delivered in a short period of time, with just enough documentation to describe the decisions made, you are able to deliver value to people now and then build upon that solution to meet their future needs.

This is Kanso (簡素) — simplicity and elimination of clutter from the project

10. Cultivate a giving spirit by mentoring others in the team

When you are doing your role in the best way you can, your heart fills with joy. You are doing what you were put on this earth to do, and doing it to the best of your ability. Your life is simple, you are living your values, and you have a clear mind. You can then give to others, mentoring and teaching with a loving spirit, to help them along their path.

This is the True Way of ZenAgile

M

Abundance

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I enjoy the gathering of family and friends and look forward to the feast, especially the leftovers.  More importantly, I love the reason for the day itself.  It is a time to express gratitude for the abundance we have in our lives.

Thanksgiving also is a change manager’s holiday because in my experience, I have found that leaders who maintain feelings of gratitude and abundance are significantly better equipped to manage the challenges of change.

There is a large body of research that has demonstrated that grateful people have higher levels of control of their environment, are better able to cope with difficulties, and more likely to engage others in solving problems.  They also are less likely to try to avoid or deny there is a problem, blame themselves or use other negative coping strategies.  In addition, grateful people are happier, less depressed, less stressed and more satisfied with their lives and social relationships.

An attitude of abundance has a similar impact.  Those who think abundantly understand that there are plenty of resources for everybody.  They have a strong sense of self that is not challenged by the needs, desires, success or acquired resources of others.  They also understand that resistance to change comes from a fear of loss or of a decreased ability to get personal needs met.  They are patient and know if they stay focused on collaborative problem solving, all challenges can be resolved and the needs of all parties can be satisfied.

Gratitude helps leaders adapt to the challenges of change because they see obstacles as opportunities for learning, growth and improved results.  An attitude of abundance helps leaders stay open to the world of possibilities for satisfying the needs of all.  Both take leaders beyond simple respect and courtesy in their interactions and toward the mutual acceptance, appreciation, and understanding required for to engage others in the process of change.

Happy Thanksgiving!

  Small businesses often do not spend the time to develop strategy, agreeing priorities, developing a point of difference, and a plan to execute in the marketplace, and as a result find themselves running harder and harder just to keep up.

Developing a Value Proposition to a defined group of customers is as important to a small business as it is to a large one, perhaps more so as an SME does not normally have the resources to waste on efforts that do offer a return, and they generally have less “fat” in the system to absorb mistakes.

Time spent planning up front always pays dividends in time and resource expenditure down the track.

Zum Workshop 1 der zbw-Fachtagung in Nürnberg zu Change Prozessen traf man sich unter dem Titel „Fast Forward! Eine Hochleistungskultur aktiv gestalten“. Referent war Thomas Kreisel, Personalentwicklung und Akademie der Rodenstock GmbH.

Eine bereits erfolgreiche Marke noch erfolgreicher zu machen – ist das als Change zu bezeichnen? Oder nicht eher als eine Zukunftsvorsorge in Zeiten der weltweiten Finanzkrise zu verstehen?

Wandel

Der Wandel, den der Referent beschreibt, zielt deshalb auch „lediglich“ auf eine klarere unternehmerische Ausrichtung hin, so jedenfalls war das mein Eindruck. Das manifestiert sich zum Beispiel im Slogan „Besser sehen, besser aussehen“. Er wird künftig auf den ersten Teil verkürzt.

Die Change-Ansage „Fast Forward“, also im Sinne von „Leinen los“, wird als weltweites Unternehmensprogramm, gekoppelt mit einem Leistungsversprechen, strategisch eingeführt. Bei Vertriebsniederlassungen in über 80 Ländern ist das sicherlich kein leichtes Unterfangen. Das Change-Programm beinhaltet im Kern dazu Workshops zur Frage „Wie werden wir die Veränderung umsetzen?“

Klären

Dazu bedarf es der grundsätzlichen Klärung: „Wo stehen wir und wo wollen wir hin?“ In Folge: „Wie werden wir den Wandel schaffen?“ Beispielsweise durch eine weltweite Informationskampagne und durch Kultur-Workshops. Sie helfen, den Wandel zu initiieren und zu verankern. Besonders angetan hat es Kreisel hier die “Kulturblume”, die in konzentrischen Ovalen angeordnet ist und Aussagen bildhaft macht zu “Unternehmerischen Denken – Teamorientierung – Kommunikation – Kundenorientierung”. Sodann ist die Frage zu klären: „Wie schaffen wir Nachhaltigkeit?“

Herangehen

Dafür sorgt eine dreistufige Herangehensweise. Sie besteht aus eben genannter Klärungsphase, einem Zeitfahrplan für den Wandel und einem Change-Management-Programm mit konkretem Auftrag. Der Auftrag erfolgt „von oben nach unten“. Er beginnt beim „Executive Board“, geht über den „Executive Management circle“ und von dort über Multiplikatoren zu 100, zu 400 und letztendlich zu 1.000 Mitarbeiter(inn)en.

Bedeutung

Der Referent erklärte anhand eines Filmschnitts die Bedeutung des ausgewählten Segelthemas. Denn mit diesem sollen die Mitarbeitenden emotional in den Kulturwandel eingebunden werden. Die Bedeutung ist in den Stichworten zu finden: Ausgezeichnet – Einzigartig – Zeichen setzen – Klarer Kurs – Fahrt aufnehmen – An Bord – Position beziehen. Dahinter verbergen sich Aussagen zu Werten, zum Leistungsversprechen, zum neuen Slogan, zu den Unternehmenszielen und -strategien, zu Grundsätzen und zum gemeinsamen Vorankommen.

Einbeziehen

Über Mitarbeiterinformation, -aktivierung und -motivierung sollen die Veränderungen im neuen Kursfahrplan umgesetzt werden. Der Wandel ist nur zu schaffen, so Thomas Kreisel, wenn alle einbezogen werden. Das bedeutet eine Top-down-Kommunikation sowie Workshop-Kaskaden zur Aktivierung jedes Einzelnen und mit Hilfe unterstützender Maßnahmen bzw. Werkzeuge. Begleitende Maßnahmen sind zum Beispiel der „Board Dialogue“ und die „CEO message“, die über monatliche E-Mails als Newsletter erfolgt. Evaluationen finden an Eckpunkten des Verlaufs sowie zu Ende hin statt.

Mitmachen

Kreisel ging näher auf die Workshops ein, die über eine Agenda vorgeschrieben sind. Darin werden die einzelnen Aktivitäten und ihre Dauer genau festgelegt. In allen Workshops wird der neue Fahrplan in Form einer „kulturellen“ Präsentation mit Fragen und Kurz-Diskussionen vorgestellt. Damit soll ein gemeinsamer Kenntnisstand erreicht werden, der trotz vorbereitender Informationen leider nicht immer vorausgesetzt werden kann.

Im weiteren Ablauf werden die Leitfragen vorgestellt und die Aufgabe des Workshops geklärt. Leitfragen sind zum Beispiel: „Wie würden Sie die Kultur bei uns in den Abteilungen beschreiben?“ oder „Wo sehen Sie bei uns konkreten Handlungsbedarf?“ mit dem Fokus auf „Quick wins“ und „Nachhaltigkeit“.

Die Workshopgruppe wird in kleinere Gruppen von ca. fünf Mitarbeiter/innen zur Klärung der Leitfragen und zur Erarbeitung der (zentralen) Handlungsfelder und -maßnahmen aufgeteilt. Die Gruppenergebnisse münden nach Präsentation und Diskussion in verbindliche Vereinbarungen der nächsten (zentralen und dezentralen) Schritte und einer Zusammenfassung (Dokumentation). Insgesamt ist hierfür ein halber Tag vorgesehen.

Um Aussagen zum aktuellen Stand zu erhalten, wird der gegenwärtige Status bestimmt. Beispielsweise, ob die Informationskampagne erfolgt oder bereits erste Maßnahmen abgeleitet wurden. Feedbacks erfolgen zu den Inhalten, zur Gestaltungsbereitschaft oder zum nachhaltigen Vorleben durch die „Führung“, etc. Die Erfolgsfaktoren könnten in der Unterstützung durch das Top-Management, der zentralen Projektsteuerung  und dezentralen Ergebnisverantwortlichkeit sowie der Mischung aus „Vorgaben“ und „Gestaltungsspielraum“ liegen. Die nächsten Schritte wie der „Pulse check“ sind ebenfalls aufgeführt.

Fazit

Trotz mancher „Geheimniskrämerei“ durch den Referenten, der verständlicherweise nicht alle Zutaten zum Erfolgsrezept im Change Prozess ausposaunen darf, erschloss sich den Zuhörenden grundsätzlich, wie das derzeitige Veränderungsmanagement bei Rodenstock strategisch durchgeführt wird. Ich hoffe, es ist mir gelungen, Ihnen ebenfalls einen nachvollziehbaren Einblick zu verschaffen.

Wer sich praktisch-konkret im Non-Profit-Bereich dem Change Management annähern will, erhält von uns im WEGA-PraxisSeminar Innovationsmanagement lebendige Ideen und Impulse. Außerdem das Knowhow zur Implementierung bzw. Umsetzung der Innovationen in den Alltag. Selbstverständlich auch für Bibliotheken und Institutionen, die ohne CEO & Co. auf deutschem Sprachteppich geblieben sind! [nächste Termine in Bamberg]

(Zum Nachklapp 1) Hinweis: Dritter und letzter Nachklapp zum Workshop 4: “Aufbau, Erhalt und Förderung von Organisationaler Energie” mit Dr. Stefan Krummaker erfolgt in Kürze.

PIXELIO.DE | © Dieter Schütz

Often we mistake technology with innovation! Technology is a vehicle and many people just admire the new vehicle but don’t do the adjustments and changes that come with it. Why? People are afraid of changes - aren’t you?

My 7 years old daughter loves the story of “Who Moved My Cheese!” (for kids) by Spencer Johanson. A graphical tale of 4 characters in search of the magical cheese; their different characteristics, dreams, challenges and fears. I love the book and it analogy and I often use it when discussing change management at business.

Yes we are afraid of changes! We get used to do things, arrange our schedule around the routine and if it works, we keep the status-quo. We need huge motivation to go out of this state and very often we give up on incentives just to keep ourself in the current balance state.

In the many sessions and workshops I had I always faced this, if not from all participants then from the majority. So before changing anything at your business acknowledge the individuals who will need to bear it first – your employees.

Business Changes are great if they are managed properly.

When designing a change you should consider the following steps – not necessarily in this order – some may be recursive or repetitive:

1. Motivation
   • What is the justification for this change?
   • Most reasons for changes are visible to individuals in the upper management team. You will need to make sure that the reason for the change – Motivation – is well-known throughout your organization (top to bottom, left to right).
   • Using current business analysis workshop – focusing on the desired topic can help promote motivation.
2. Umbrella
   • Why do you think your partners and co-managers will support you?
   • Many changes in one department may result in changes in other departments; resource changes, routines and processes and often budget allocation.
   • Make sure that you have a ‘lobby’ of managers to support the change – you’ll need it.
   • I call it the Umbrella you will use when the rain will start purring!
3. Agents
   • How do you think to successfully implement the change if you don’t have your ‘man-on-the-street’ to be your eyes and mouth?
   • Every change needs change agents – trustees. These are often lower level managers or employees who will need to bear the changes on their day-to-day activities.
   • They can be selected – elected - volunteered - or compensated – as long as yo are convinced they are YOUR agents and not double agents (:-()
   • You will learn that these guys will contribute to the goals and often be willing to go the extra mile for this effort – when they believe in it.
   • Facilitating workshops with a neutral party (3rd party or vendors) often helps to identify good candidates
4. Plan
   • Make a detail plan of the implementation
   • Include in your plan – training, technology, communication, check points and exit criteria.
   • Don’t forget you opposition! they will need your attention in the planning.
   • Don’t forget every plan has risks – see risk management
5. Quick hits
   • Physical changes needs ENERGY! build up this energy with quick hits.
   • Quick hits are those small wins that can be accomplished easy – even if they do not mark milestones in the major change they will reward the participants and keep them buy-in to the grand process.
   • Plan your quick hits throughout you grand implementation plan.
6. PR
   • It can’t be a secret! you need to make a commotion.
   • Posters, Slogans, Competitions, Rewards, and Nominations – are common PR tools.
   • Often send out communications on the change progress, next steps and challenges you had overcome.
   • Keep remind the business the WHY and the GOAL.

I remember one of the largest implementations my company was involved (over $150M). Instead of utilizing the vast business knowledge and progress using the new software technologies – we surrendered to the customers requests and developed the new software based on the old clerical processes they had in place. The business assumed that leaving the old processes in place will reduce the cost of change. Needless to say they ad paid almost 1:1 for the implementation as they did on the software engineering.

S.W. Foss wrote an ageless poem on this subject. It always inspired me and it is good stuff to share with the team. enjoy

Peleg Forman

Attached is an excellent article that gets at the essence of why some companies continuously innovate  with great success, and why others fail and go out of business.  Regarding the latter, I’ve had the enlightening experience of being hired by two companies as part of turn-around initiatives.  Both were well-known corporations with strong brand equities, yet were doomed to failure under the prior regimes.

As discussed in the article, upon arriving at these companies it was apparent that key players still believed that only they knew what was right for the company.  All this despite they’re lack of ability to “right the ship” and their obvious contributions to the companies’ demise.  In the end, I think that the following were the culprits:

1.  Keeping key management in the same position too long.  This can be a real killer, especially if the key players aren’t naturally inquisitive people willing or capable of understanding broader market trends and considering 360-degree input.  Eventually, the same strategies are deployed, unhealthy loyalties develop and the business continues to operate in the same predictable way.  The market changes, the competition changes, and consumer interests change, all while the company stays the same.

2.  Always looking internally for the right answers.  This is the essence of the attached article.  People think they’re too smart, or are too proud, to consider alternative approaches to a problem.  IBM encountered this before the Gershner turnaround as have many former market leaders.  This tends to be especially true with technology driven firms.

3.  A culture of “yes-men”.  Command and control is important for C-level team members, and strong personalities are the rule for people who rise to senior management.  However, this can become a disaster if senior managers surround themselves with people unwilling to provide a well-rounded, objective perspective about the realities facing the business.  In this scenario, objective market research is rebuked as flawed and biased, with the methodologies questioned rather than accepting an opposing perspective.

Getting the best and most complete information, then distilling a situation down to key business drivers is a hallmark of successful leaders.  Carly Fiorina focuses on this success-trait in one of my earlier posts.   Blogging Innovation: Innovation at TEDx NASA .

I met last week with a number of 1st Year MBA students who have a consulting club to help them figure out if they are suited for this noblest of all professions–supposedly the second oldest profession. “How can you tell if you’ll be any good at it?” They asked.

As far as I can tell, there are two basic requirements. One, you have to be a bit out of kilter, a tad of ADHD doesn’t hurt either. You have to hate repetition.   Second, it helps if you have a belief that there is almost nothing you couldn’t figure out how to improve. While thinking it doesn’t make it true, the attitude is a critical success factor.

For example, I just returned from the post office.  Noon on the Wednesday before the holiday–lunch time rush hour.  I’m standing in a long line underneath a banner with a message emphasizing quality.

There are two clerks, postmen, postpersons, postladies–I’m not sure which one is most appropriate, but as we both know, I’m not going to lose any sleep over it either. The line is out the door. Clerk ‘A’ tells clerk ‘B’, “I’m going on break.” At which point I turned to the person next to me and uttered, “And I’m going to UPS.”   It’s not that difficult to improve.  Not letting half of your customer-facing employees go on break during your busiest time would be a good way to start to improve things.

It’s not rocket surgery. Patient Experience Management, Patient Equity Management. Whatever you call it, big inroads can be made.  Quit thinking like an executive and start thinking like a patient and you’ll have plenty of ideas.

People will do what they like, or what is easy if they do not understand priority or value.  The hard stuff is messy.  There is too much risk in the hard stuff…

De eerste inzending van de Change Management Online essay-wedstrijd is van Irene Coolen (Positioneringsgroep). In een wervelend betoog toont ze de waarde van het merk in veranderingstrajecten.

“Iedere organisatie heeft het, maar slechts weinigen benutten het volle potentieel ervan; het merk. Ook binnen het vakgebied Verandermanagement is de bijzondere betekenis van het merk nog onbekend. En dat terwijl in een merk of organisatiereputatie een grote veranderkracht schuilt waarmee een gehele organisatie in beweging kan worden gebracht. Merken zijn in staat om mensen te verleiden en hun gedrag te beïnvloeden. Of het nu gaat om de aankoop van een wasmiddel of een auto, de keuze voor een computer, een verzekering, een universtiteit of een ziekenhuis. Door deze unieke kracht van een merk intern te mobiliseren, kan richting worden gegeven aan het handelen van mensen in een organisatie. En daarmee krijgt strategie voor éénieder betekenis in de dagelijkse praktijk”.

Zie voor het totale verhaal ook:
De waarde van het merk in veranderingstrajecten

Was ist eine SWOT-Analyse?

Eine SWOT-Analyse (Stärken-/Schwächen-Analyse) wird meist zu Beginn von Beratungsprozessen durchgeführt, um den aktuellen Bestand der Stärken und Schwächen einer Organisation, einer Arbeitsgruppe oder auch einer konkreten Person zu eruieren und festzuhalten. Ziel solcher Massnahmen ist allerdings, aus den Analysen nutzbringende, sinnvolle und effektive Schritte auszuarbeiten, wie Veränderung gelingt oder eine optimale Nutzung der Ressourcen und Chancen in die Praxis umgesetzt wird. D.h. eine SWOT-Analyse ist erst der Anfang.

Wofür steht SWOT?

SWOT bedeutet Strengts (S), Weaknesses (W), Opportunities (O) und Threads (T). Bekannt ist dieses Verfahren im Consulting, der Organisationsentwicklung und im individuellen Coaching. Im einzelnen bedeuten die Buchstaben folgendes:

Strengths

Strengths bedeutet in einem moderierten Gruppenverfahren die Stärken zu eruieren und festzuhalten. Eruiert werden kann ein ganzes Unternehmen, einzelne Organisationseinheiten und Abteilungen, verschiedene Teams und Arbeitsgruppen oder auch Einzelpersonen und Führungskräfte. Beliebte Fragen, um Stärken ausfindig machen zu können: Worauf sind wir stolz? Was gefällt uns sehr gut bei uns? Was sind unsere einzigartigen Talente? Was können wir besser als die anderen? usw. usf.

Weaknesses

Weaknesses sind die Schwächen, in denen wir besser werden wollen oder die wir bei uns akzeptieren und durch Stärken kompensieren können. Schwächen beziehen sich wie bei den Stärken auf ganze Organisationen, Einheiten, Teams und Einzelpersonen. Typische Fragen, die Berater in einem Gruppenprozess stellen, sind: Was bedauern wir bei uns? Worin sind wir schlechter als die anderen? Was fällt uns schwer? Worunter leiden wir sogar? Sind erst einmal die Schwächen eruiert, folgen im weiteren Auswirkungen der Grundkonstellation. Das jeweilige Stärken-/Schwächen-Profil hat bisher den Blick nach “innen” gewendet: Welche Ressourcen und Defizite sind in (!) der Organisation, in (!) der Abteilung, in (!) der Person vorhanden? Im weiteren geht der Schritt jetzt hinaus auf den Markt, auf dem nun die Stärken zur Geltung kommen und die Schwächen Marktrisiken darstellen.

Opportunities

Opportunities sind Chancen und Möglichkeiten, die sich nun aus den jeweiligen Stärken ergeben. Das, worin wir ausserordentlich gut sind, muss sich auch auf den Märkten in Kapital umsetzen lassen. Sind unsere Produkte und Dienstleistungen hervorragend, werden Kunden und Märkte diese auch kaufen. Im Feld “Opportunities” suchen wir also nach derzeitigen Umsatzbringern, gleichzeitig aber auch nach zukünftigen Chancen, die sich aus unseren Stärken ergeben. Dieser Blickwinkel hilft, sich der eigenen Ressourcen und Talente bewusst zu werden und vermeidet dadurch die psychologische Abwärtsspirale und womöglich sogar Katastrophendenken oder Überdramatisieren.

Threads

Threads sind die Risiken, die sich nun auf den Märkten als potenzielle Umsatzschwächen darstellen oder möglicherweise zu Wachstumsbarrieren in der Zukunft führen oder sogar Abschwung signalisieren. Diese Risiken, die aus Schwächen resultieren müssen nun überprüft werden, ob sie ernstzunehmen sind oder vernachlässigbar sind. Nicht jede Organisation muss hervorragend durchorganisiert sein, um Erfolg zu haben. Selbst die größten Chaoten können Markterfolge erzielen, die fern von jeglicher Konkurrenz sind. Können Schwächen durch Stärken kompensiert werden, bleibt dennoch die risikovermindernde Frage, ob die Defizite in Zukunft zu einem ersten Überlebensproblem werden und ob Marktanteile und Umsatzrückgang wahrscheinlich werden. Aus all diesen Informationen, die die Berater durch Fragetechniken eruieren, ergibt sich nun ein Gesamtbild der Organisation, die sowohl die Stärken als auch die Schwächen, mitsamt der Chancen und Risiken sichtbar machen. Was nun?

Konsequenzen und Massnahmen

Es wäre vertane Liebesmüh und vollkommen sinnlos, einfach nur eine solche Analyse zu machen, ohne im Nachgang nun Schritte zu erarbeiten und festzuhalten, welche Chancen genutzt werden sollen und welche Risiken bearbeitet werden müssen. Es lohnt sich eine priroisierende Einteilung der Massnahmen, was lukrativ ist, was überlebensnotwendig ist und was im zweiten Nachgang umgesetzt werden soll. Vielleicht gibt es sogar Punkte, die man links liegen lässt, weil sich gar nichts dadurch verändert – weder zum Guten noch zum Schlechten. D.h. eine SWOT-Analyse ist immer nur der Anfang eines Beratungsprozess, der durch die Analyse in gang gesetzt wird und nun konkrete Schritte und Massnahmen definiert, die im weiteren Verlauf angegangen werden. Meist bilden sich dann Projektgruppen, Inititativen oder Fokus-Gruppen, die ein Thema weiterbearbeiten und termingerecht vorantreiben.

Das Ziel: Fortschritt

Das einzige Kriterium, das hier interessiert, ist der Fortschritt. Viele Projekte versanden, weil sie doch nicht so wichtig waren. Menschen sind Gewohnheitstiere, die ihren gewohnten Rahmen sehr ungern verlassen, weil sie sich dann doch mit der unliebsamen Situation irgendwie arrangieren. Die Kosten für ein Verharren in der schlechten Situation sind dann doch nicht so hoch, wie die Kosten, die ein Marsch in ein besseres Land bedeuten. Der Gewinn, der beim Stehenbleiben erlebt wird, ist dann doch höher, als die vage, unsichere Vorstellung, ob der Weg nach vorne tatsächlich Gewinn bedeutet. Der Spatz in der Hand ist sicherer als alles andere. Die Kunst in der Veränderung liegt nun darin, die Veränderung zu führen, evtl. professionelle Begleitung in Anspruch zu nehmen und die Organisation auf die nächsthöhere Stufe ihrer Entwicklung gemeinsam zu heben. Das geht in der Regel nicht ohne Widerstand und Veränderungsängste. Aber genau diese sozialpsychologischen Momente müssen sorgfältig genutzt und bearbeitet werden, um die entstehende Energie zielführend zu kanalisieren.  Die Menschen müssen einen Sinn erkennen, um sich überhaupt zu bewegen. Dieser Sinn will gemeinsam konstruiert werden. Deshalb lassen sich auch Veränderungen nicht “anordnen”, was nur weiteren Widerstand, Gegenkultur und Rebellion verursacht, sondern nur durch einen mitbeteiligenden Dialog auf breiter Basis. Diese Taktik ist ein höchst demokratisches Vorgehen, das dennoch an bestimmten Stellen Führung von oben braucht.

-Introduction-

I have found that properly involving people are often an incredibly critical factor, if not the most important factor, to ensuring some sort of organizational change goes along as planned. Understanding the direction of the change should come with the organizational strategy that has been set forth. Knowing the proper timing and ways to involve stakeholders in the change process comes with time and experience. Once those details and the strategy to go forward have been agreed upon, Appreciative Inquiry (AI) has been a favorite method of mine to involve any number of individuals from very small to incredibly large groups toward the implementation of an initiative.

There is an enormous that could be said about AI. In this post, I’ll just stick to the basics to help readers get a flavor of what it is. Further articles will mention more specific aspects of AI.

-Description of Appreciative Inquiry-

Appreciative Inquiry is fun to facilitate, energizes all of the participants, constructs and cultivates at the same time and is many other helpful attributes. It centers on finding the good, the strength, and the positive in an organization or individual, which forms the appreciation. The process to find that information is the inquiry. Hence, that combination becomes appreciative inquiry.

I came to know of AI from the Organizational Behavior (OB) department in Weatherhead. Those who taught me the most are Professors David Cooperrider and Ron Fry, who are both very well known for their consulting work and writing. They can both be recognized by their calm tone, easy going attitudes, and well pronounced mustaches. As a side note, it did seem that many of the distinguished characters in the OB department all had mustaches. Ladies, don’t worry, I have known many fantastic AI practitioners that are women.

In the MPOD (Master of Science in Positive Organizational Development and Change) program, AI changed the program so radically that it evolved into MPOD instead of simply MOD. With the addition of the “P” for Positive, often people ask “was organizational development negative previously?” The answer would be “no” because organizational development is meant to help build or implement changes. The approach in doing so would likely not have been as upbeat or optimistic because of the way that AI purposefully centers on the positive in an organization.

The positive focus is often referred to as a strengths based approach. In using AI, it pulls upon the good aspects that are already present or have been enacted in an organization. The inquiry is the information gathering that helps elicit the stories, descriptions, and other imaginings of what can be possible from the people involved. Due to the nature of pulling out the good aspects present in an organization, it makes it easier, more engaging, uplifting, energizing and more to be a part of the process. Unlike a problem-centric change initiative, one where the objective is to “fix” something, AI tries to create, build, cultivate and otherwise inspire growth in the system of influenced people. Often the energy and enthusiasm brought up in the AI process will produce new dialogue, conversations and fast paced team formation to further enact change.

-How AI Works-

I won’t get into the details of the 4D cycle of AI here yet or other specifics. Those juicy bits of information can wait for follow up posts.

As said above, AI involves a lot of interviewing and storytelling. That is the most crucial aspect of AI since that information and energy from the conversation fuels the rest of the effort. How the interviews are implemented can be done in many different fashions to meet the needs of the change intervention and other potential constraints (time, money, etc). The two methods that I know to be the most influential are cascading interviews and summits.

Cascading interviews

Cascading interviews are where a core group starts as interviewers to gather data, create energy, and discover ideas. Each interviewer would undergo a handful of interviews. The interviewees would then become interviewers and would interview another handful of people who have not been interviewed yet. Through the breadth and depth of the interviewing from gradually spreading out the AI interviews, the cascading effect is obtained. This method allows for the change process to occur at a more natural pace and does not necessitate people to be pulled away from their normal jobs in such a way that an offsite or series of multi-hour long meetings would.

Summits

AI Summits are multi-day workshops that include AI interviews, activities for planning and coordination, and project team formation. The intent with summits is to bring in as many of the key people as possible to try and enact a holistic change process.. AI, being a very energizing method, helps tremendously to provide the steam to the engine of change.

-AI in Action-

Here are some avenues that I have found AI to be helpful:

• Job interviews
• OD interventions on the topics of empowerment and performance management
• Sustainability collaboration
• Workshop facilitation
• Best practice sharing
• Personal development and coaching
• Case study interviews
• MBA curriculum design applications and ideas
• Data gathering for a study on Gen Y values, motivation, and retention
• AI strengths-based performance management reviews

Some Examples Where I know AI has been used very successfully:

• Higher Education
• Utilities (Coal and Water energy)
• Aerospace & Defense
• Fortune 100 companies
• US Armed Forces
• Manufacturing companies
• United Nations Conferences
• Engineering companies

-Closing-

AI rapidly became one of my favorite ways of implementing a phase or an entire change project. The AI interventions can rapidly grow with their own vitality in such a way that it’s both shocking and inspiring. Needless to say, I highly recommend finding your own vehicle for trying it out.

You may have seen that the Japanese government is considering moving away from a press club system. The press club is a small cadre of journalists, who get access to government officials, often working in the same office building, a result of Japan’s post-war system, which had a single party in power until recently. The proposal is to move to a more open system of public disclosure, granting more access to a broader range of journalists. The New York Times article on the topic is here.

What I liked was the press club’s defence, from former chairman of the press club Shinji Furuta:

“What if someone tried to commit suicide or burn themselves to death at a press conference? Who would take responsibility for that?”

Irrational resistance to change is common, but seldom this absurd. It’s interesting that the arguments to preserve a system seem to have a lower threshold that arguments to create it. An argument by Mr Furata to create a press club to prevent suicides at press conferences, presumably wouldn’t get New York Times coverage. 

As an aside, I did look into the risks associated with press conferences, and the man who threw his shoes at President Bush last December was a pretty senior journalist – a correspondent for an Egyptian TV station, so a press club system wouldn’t have kept him and his size ten shoes out. On a more sombre note, there was a suicide at a press conference in Philadelphia in 1987, but that was by the very politician who called the press conference, Budd Dwyer a State Treasurer being investigated for taking kick-backs. He was not a journalist.

Dear Reader

• What is our attitude towards CHANGE?
• What do we do at the time when we think  that we should change a particular job but we can’t because of the fear of unknown? We keep on thinking: Why should I change my job? Things will improve here gradually…….

The story, Who Moved My Cheese continues (for earlier two video clips, please scroll down and read previous days posts)

There are two little men, HEM and HAW with no Cheese at the station C. Both of them are waiting and waiting and waiting for a MIRACLE to happen. One of them, HAW decides to go into UNKNOWN. He moves out in the Maze and starts his journey. Surprisingly, he feels happy.

It is often said: Success if a journey, not destination. WHEN YOU MOVE BEYOND YOUR FEAR, YOU FEEL FREE!!

HAW gets back to HEM to tell him that there are pieces of Cheese on the way and HEM should also come with HAW to explore the unknown.

HEM Says: NO, I will stay here. SOON, THINGS WILL GET BETTER. I don’t think I will like new Cheese……Thus, HAM buys comfort, fears and denial of his present state. While HAW keeps on trying and thinks:

WHEN YOU CHANGE WHAT YOU BELIEVE, YOU CHANGE WHAT YOU DO…..

HAW adapts to present and he finally reaches Station N. He keeps on writing lessons on Walls for others to learn.

What happens next? What is he writing on Walls? Was HEM able to make it to the new station for new CHEESE or was he still waiting?

See the video clip (its around 5 minutes)- Is this the End of the story or beginning of a new lesson for all of us?

Tomorrow, you will be in a position to read whole story and related lessons in power point slides. Further, poll results will be announced.

Happy Reading

Kindly share your thoughts and take part in the poll.

Am I happy due to external environment or happiness comes from within?

(polls)

It’s almost the end of November and I just can’t wait to hit the holiday season. But, before that, there are issues to work on, chapters to close and of course, Read Up!

So, here are a few things that I found to be very interesting:

• Want to increase your effectiveness at work? Check out the 3 mindsets that are going to support you in getting there.
• I stumbled on the “Who Needs Employees Anyway?” blog, which has some great data on engagement. Always a good read.
• If you are not doing it already, I recommend following Gurprriet Siingh’s blog. He always comes up with thought-provoking, insightful posts. Some of his recent ones are on Choices, Do Nothing and Engaging Today’s Employees.
• Are there any bright sides of the underutilized (but over-capable) employee you have in your team? Find out here.

Finally, I once again had a conversation on employee satisfaction vs. employee engagement. I could go on and on about it. But, out of impulse, I ran a Google Trends on these two terms. the graph below shows the search volume index for these two terms. At the bottom, you also see a mini chart on the “news reference” for these two terms.

What’s happening here?

Our name is something we are all given at birth and it accompanies us our whole lives. Some people are better at remembering names than others, but no matter who you are or what you do, there is nothing better at making a good second impression than remembering somebody’s name. I’m very fortunate, because I have always been very good at remembering the name of somebody new. It is also something I have worked at improving, and I’d like to share some tips I use to help you do the same.

I would say the most critical factor in remembering somebody’s name is making it important. Think about how YOU feel when somebody you’ve only met once or twice comes up to you and says YOUR name. Well, the same is true when you have made an effort and get somebody else’s name right. If it’s of importance to you to really remember their name, the likelihood of you doing so is much higher.

Don’t be in a hurry. When you first meet somebody new, don’t rush the introduction. As you shake their hand, observe their face and repeat their name back to them in your greeting, “Hi John, it’s nice to meet you.” As you look at their face, is there anything striking or particular about their appearance that can help you remember their name? Do they look like another John you know? If other friends are around you, introduce your new friend – repitition is a great tool to memory – “John, I’d like you to meet my friends. John, this is Mandy… Mandy, this is John…” and so forth.

Building upon repitition, if you are at an event with others, test your memory. Ask your friends questions, “Isn’t that John over there by the buffet?” The more you make a practice to remember, the better you will get.

If it’s a business event where you exchange cards, write some notes on the back: Tall, dark hair, big nose, has a Great Dane. In this case, I’d actually categorise this person as “Great Dane John” and picture him with his dog. The more images you can create in your mind associated with the person, the stronger the memory.

Try this simple exercise the next time you wish to remember names and faces. You’ll be surprised with just a little practice how much you’ll improve, AND how much it improves your memory as a whole.

This is a great added bonus to self-improvement, it is almost impossible to improve one area of your life without it improving other areas too! See how quickly all these little 1% improvements can add up to a whole new you very quickly indeed.

Have fun with this exercise and notice the change…

Dan maar eens een klassiek Change Management onderwerp: weerstand. Iedereen krijgt er vroeg of laat mee te maken. Elk Change Management initiatief wekt weerstand. De wijze waarop de weerstand wordt geadresseerd, bepaalt voor een belangrijk deel de slagingskans. Weerstand kan een blokkerende werking hebben, maar kan ook leiden tot een beter verandertraject omdat weerstand ook de aandacht kan vestigen op de zwakke plekken . Daarom is weerstand eigenlijk een ‘Januskop’.  Het heeft zowel negatieve als positieve aspecten in zich.

Nu kwam ik laatst een bijzonder aardig filmpje tegen over weerstand van de veranderkundige Rick Mauer. Hij ziet drie oorzaken voor weerstand gedurende verandertrajecten:

1. Onbegrip voor het waarom van een verandering

2. Onwil vanwege vermeende negatieve consequenties van de verandering

3. Problemen omdat de manager of leider niet wordt geaccepteerd

Hieronder vind u het fimpje dat ca. 10 minuten duurt en dat zeer informatief is:

Hierbij de link naar het bijbehorende artikel: Resistance to Change

Part 1 – Getting Started

From a user organization perspective, constructing an effective ECM Project Team needs to be on of the initial mandatory objectives and activities undertaken when implementing an ECM Project.  Achieving this objective in its totality directly links to the success of the implementation of any major ECM project within an organization – whether it be for a phased enterprise or a departmental initiative. 

Achieving this objective is a management challenge that must be supported at the top.  It requires Executive leadership that should initially lead to developing:

• an organizational vision
• clear and consistent motivation
• full mid-management support
• staff commitment at the user level that supports the executive sponsored vision developed by a qualified Project Team. 

With the above being understood, in an instance where the initiating champion of an ECM Project has a mid-level management role, that person needs to acquire an appropriate and committed executive level sponsor. 

In a typical scenario there initially needs to be a management level person(s) involved as project sponsor(s) who would likely be a department/division manager or line of business (LOB) manager.  As indicated, this person needs to acquire the active support and sponsorship of executive level management.  This could be a VP of Operations or the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the organization. 

The first sponsor tasks are to:

[1]   Develop and document the initial premise of the ECM initiative.

[2]   Select and organize an effective team of Project Team members who will work together with the sponsors to fully define and refine the project vision, and develop a strategies to plan the details and bring the project to fruition. 

The people selected for the Project Team, their planning and collaboration skills, their ability to understand the underlying concepts of both the change management and technologies necessary to implement ECM, and their ability to communicate effectively are going to be as important to the success of the ECM Project project’s success as the software, supporting expert resources, and project implementation team solution that is ultimately selected.

The successful ECM project will likely have new business processes implemented, improved workflows, integrations with existing systems, and will require changes in the way supervisors and users do their work.  The successful Project Team will be realistically creative, and individuals as Team members need to be open in their communication of ideas and the challenges to be faced.
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This blog will likely continue on this subject – with future installments discussing the recommended makeup of the Project Team members, the considerations that need to be covered, utilization of supporting partnership resources, and some recommended methods that should be considered to achieve implementation objectives.
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When new leaders are being promoted, management should build new categories. If new leadership can’t differentiate as much as to surpass the previous one or if they can’t be unlike the previous one, it will be ruining (NOT winning at all).

No wonder, in many cases, leaders fail despite having better competencies only because they couldn’t show something different. In work organization/ department, the power of change lies in the ability to be positively different or differently positive.