GROUND RULES
Change keeps picking up speed. Before the organization can finish getting adjusted to one change, it gets hit with several others. We’re living in a constant period of transition, and the shelf life of our solutions keeps getting shorter. “What works” becomes history in a hurry.
Where is all this change coming from? Well, to begin with, people create change. So let’s look at what’s...
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Don’t accept problems at face value.
When adversity hits, our innate response is to focus sharply on the dangers, difficulties, and downside. Nothing wrong with that per se. The question is, how long should we let it continue?
As soon as the initial shock wears off, we need to give equal time to the upside. Shift your focus away from what’s troubling about the situation, and...
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Look at what you’re dealing with these days: kaleidoscopic change…a frenzied, internet-driven upheaval of traditional organization models…freefloating confusion due to vague and constantly shifting priorities. No surprise that people are mentally scattered. Stressed. Uncentered. And no big mystery that your major challenge for now is attention management.
In today’s fuzzy,...
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What gives great results? Always, a very few things. So the secret is in finding the few things that are really powerful — truly pivotal — which make the difference between success and failure. Care about those things. Care about nothing else. Do those things. Do nothing else. To the extent that you possibly can, focus your work and your life on those areas where the “payback factor” is huge...
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Organizations are struggling to speed up. Scrambling to adapt. Trying to innovate, embrace new technologies and respond to a rapidly changing marketplace. But something’s not working. Word has it that over half of all major change initiatives prove to be disappointments or outright failures.
So what’s the problem? Precious resources are being squandered on organizational civil wars....
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People always look at the leader when they want to take the pulse of an organization. Example says a lot. Do they see a boss they can believe in? Can they have faith in whom they follow? Does the fire inside the leader burn hot enough for them to warm from the heat of that flame? Commitment climbs when people see passion in the person in charge. They catch the feeling. Commitment, after all,...
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We have four options we can choose from in handling change. First, we can resist change and struggle to cope with the situation. Second, we could decide that we’ll merely comply with what’s happening, passively accepting change but failing to offer meaningful support. A third option is to capitalize on change when it comes our way, trying to capture potential benefits it brings. Finally, we...
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Rapid change calls for a rapid response, but people often bog down in planning how to react. They confuse getting ready with actual progress. They diddle away precious time preparing to do something. You can analyze the situation to death: Weigh the facts. . . consider your options. . . get organized. . . calculate the best plan of attack. . . then take forever to debug that plan. Meanwhile,...
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This is no time to lose touch with your people. But it’s easy to do when things are in a state of flux. The normal communication channels in the firm probably won’t be working as well as usual. The rumor mill will be in high gear. Meanwhile, your employees will be hungrier than ever for answers and information. Good communication is a two-way street. First, provide a variety of opportunities...
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Changing corporate culture is heavy-duty stuff. This isn’t the sort of challenge you take on simply because it sounds good. Or because it’s the “in thing” to do these days. You do it because you have to in a desperate attempt to survive. Or if you’re lucky—and smart enough—you do it before you have to, knowing you must if the organization is going to maintain a competitive edge in today’s...
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