One of the surest signs that change leaders don’t know what they are doing is the excessive use of jargon. It’s easy to spot. Just listen for words like strategic, alignment, partnering, values, sustained, vision, execution, branding, methodology, governance, scalable, global, integrated, empowerment, enablement, or any other intelligent-sounding, yet empty clichés that assume speakers have … More Stop Hiding Behind Jargon
At 7:51 am on January 12, 2007, a man wearing a baseball cap, T-shirt and faded jeans entered L’Enfant Plaza in Washington D.C. amid the morning rush of commuters and quietly removed his violin from its case. The violin was the rare Gibson ex-Huberman handcrafted in 1713 by Antonio Stradivari during the Italian master’s “golden … More Context is Everything
Earlier this week I was sitting in a town hall meeting held by the head of human resources for an organization going through a major overhaul of its HR function. The audience was a collection of HR professionals from throughout the world gathered in person and via the web to hear about state of affairs … More The Leadership Power of Vulnerability
“When all else fails, read the instructions.” That simple, seven-word warning ought to appear on the instruction manual for everything that comes unassembled. It should appear in bold face, large font letters on every purchase from Ikea, every home theater system, every backyard play set, and every brightly-colored, multi-part plastic child’s toy packaged in an … More Read the Instructions
My view of organization effectiveness starts with two important assumptions: We are interdependent, and as a result We need to collaborate. Interdependence implies that people need to cooperate in order to accomplish what they want. In the workplace, managers need employees to accomplish results that lead to department or organization success. Likewise, employees need managers … More The Assumption of Interdependence
For the last few months I set aside writing to do some listening, research and thinking. I wanted to better understand a trend that over the past few years, influenced in part by 9/11 and most recently by the pressures of a struggling economy, seemed to be reaching a crescendo that was overpowering more important … More The Dangers of Corporate Fundamentalism
I’m sentimental So I walk in the rain I’ve got some habits Even I can’t explain I go to the corner I end up in Spain Why try to change me now Whether voiced with the fragile anguish of Fiona Apple or the charming cockiness of Frank Sinatra, these Cy Coleman lyrics express the unapologetic … More Gaining Support for Change
Play is the highest form of research. Albert Einstein When was the last time you played at work? When was the last time you spent your workday having fun? More importantly, if you are a leader, when was the last time you encouraged your employees to play? If you are having trouble remembering, then you … More The Powerful Link Between Play and Creativity
Change, transformation, re-engineering, BPR, Kaizen, Six Sigma, reinvention, lean, optimization, globalization, standardization, integration, turnaround, downsizing, rightsizing, reductions-in-force, outsourcing, in-sourcing, self-managed teams, learning organizations, and the list goes on. Maybe these employees have the right idea about change.
Nobody likes to fail. We think failure is the opposite of success. In organization life, failure is unacceptable. It demands action. It requires a response. It gets you fired. It is better to maintain the status quo and achieve mediocre results than to take a risk and fail. Unless you are an effective change leader. … More Failure: The Secret to Success
Erik Van Slyke 