A marketing exec friend of mine gave me a call the other day to catch up. After swapping stories about families and our current work, he finally asked after years of knowing me, “What exactly is change management anyway?” I had to think for a moment before answering him for a couple of reasons. First, because he’s … More What Is Change Management Anyway? (Repost)
Most change leaders are highly aware of the need to manage their messages. Unfortunately, even when helped by outside consultants with green shoes (I couldn’t resist!), most leaders rarely put into practice everything we know about engagement, communication and managing emotions during times of change. Why? Because dealing with the human side of projects is … More Words Mean Everything
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
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.
Sometimes I feel like Sisyphus, compelled for eternity to push a huge rock uphill only to watch it roll back down again. “A couple of Power Point overviews, some manager talking points, and a few audience-focused launch messages and we should have what we need to complete this project,” the project director informed me. “We … More Checking the Change Management Box
Every time I hear Tom Chaplin’s delicate and vulnerable delivery of Tim Rice-Oxley’s lyrics, I imagine an executive choosing this song as the script for their change announcement. The balance between an urgent necessity and a confusing transition strikes a note of truth that if only spoken more frequently would show an incredible regard … More Everybody’s Changing
Change is a lot like going from Oz to Kansas. On one hand, it’s as uncomplicated as closing your eyes, clicking the heels of your ruby slippers and willing yourself from one place to another. Individuals and organizations have the ability to make change that simple—an uncomplicated choice, a straightforward decision, a path taken with … More The Importance of Yellow Brick Roads
asdf Randy Nelson knows something about how to build collaborative, innovative cultures. Although currently the Head of Artistic Development and Training at DreamWorks Animation, two years ago when he did this piece, he was the Dean of Pixar University. For twelve years, Randy was responsible designing curriculum and delivering classes and programs to continuously increase … More Pixar’s Foundations for Collaboration
Ethan Zuckerman is the senior researcher at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University and he studies how the world uses new media to share information and moods across cultures, languages and platforms. In this talk he identifies a troubling challenge: While the internet connects the globe, most of us only listen … More Listening to Global Voices
Erik Van Slyke 