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
Sometimes it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a change leader to take on the full responsibility of change . . . A couple weeks ago I completed an Accelerated Change Readiness workshop with a project team for a Fortune 500 company. They were preparing for a technology … More Through the Eye of a Needle
Throw out all your change management books and methodologies and theories. Burn every PowerPoint presentation filled with diagrams and flow charts and tools and templates. Delete your change project plans. Forget agonizing over deliverables that your change work team must produce. Fire every project manager or internal auditor or procurement specialist who minimizes your change … More Reality Check for Change “Managers”
Sometimes the best solutions are the most obvious, and unfortunately, the ones least considered. Organization change is hard because leaders and project teams forget to do the simple, but important things, while spending extraordinary amounts of effort in the glitzy and complex. Technology projects focus on the technology. Outsourcing focuses on cost analysis. Mergers focus … More Mastering the Obvious
In my personal life, I am an optimist. I believe fully in the power of positive thinking and the value of spreading good cheer wherever I go, if only because it makes life more fun and enjoyable. But when it comes to managing change, I believe in realism. A key component of the Architecture of … More Despots, Group Think and the Ugly Side of Institutional Optimism
Nicholas Kristof’s column in yesterday’s New York Times shared that the origins of political judgments may in part be the result of our fundamental personality type and even in the hard-wiring in our brains. While even the researchers agree there is more work to do to validate these findings, it is consistent with the growing body … More It’s All In Our Head
A marketing exec friend of mine gave me a call yesterday 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 miles away … More What Is Change Management Anyway?
A number of years ago I had a boss who was so focused on staying on schedule during meetings that he forgot we were actually gathered to accomplish something. He thought nothing of interrupting a productive dialog to remind everyone that we needed to move to the next agenda item. The poor fellow thought “accomplishment” was … More Review Meetings: When Talking Is Effective
Erik Van Slyke 