Organizations are faced with important decisions. What needs to be changed? What do we need to change into? How do we decide about the change?
There are many processes involved with change. I have developed some tools that can help organizations explore the answers to these questions. They are available for purchase on eBay. The first is the Business Snapshot and the second is the Business Improvement Survey. (Find them both--including links for eBay searches--on the Services page for DrM-Resources.)
How do we decide about the change? Shared vision is important. If people and organizations do not move through the trust-building steps required to come to a shared vision (slide 11), planned change will be hard (if not impossible) to implement. When more than one person is involved, people need to move through the Organizational Change Curve (slide 9).
While these tools and concepts can help organizations facilitate change, the basic ideas raised initially need to be dealt with and a shared vision formed about the change for planned change to make progress. We can sometimes see change happening around us and react to it--positively, negatively, or neutrally. It is usually more effective to be proactive about change and to develop a plan to make the continuous process improvements needed to make organizations more effective.
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Showing posts with label change. Show all posts
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Monday, March 15, 2010
Ides of March--Risks of Being a Prophet of Change
March 15th--the Ides of March--the day Julius Caesar was murdered. A prophetess predicted his death at the "Ides of March." "Beware the ides of March" has become a commonly recognized phrase associated with this event which took place in 44 BC.
Prophecy is a risky profession. Stemming from the murder of a prophetess to the Greeks who advised one city state that another was going to attack them, the phrase "Don't kill the messenger" is another phrase that has come into common use.
Telling people bad news in advance is risky. It can be even more so when someone makes changes and the bad news doesn't happen.
More than merely avoiding "bringing bad news," some of my family members point out that, "if you can't fix it or do anything about it, what is your purpose in telling someone about a problem?"
What that kind of question makes me do is to reflect about what I was going to say and to rethink a bit--often leading to improving whatever remarks I was going to give and sometimes improving my input by keeping silent and observing.
When I lived in California I became an earthquake preparedness consultant, learning about earthquakes and how to prepare (physically) to survive them (assuming that you are not killed in the moment they happen). While this was important for people to know in Los Angeles, in some businesses I was not even allowed to bring the subject up because it would bother people. I helped develop one of the first Earthquake Preparedness courses and manuals offered by the American Red Cross in Los Angeles. It has since been revised and is available in 11 languages to help residents know what to do to prepare for and to survive earthquakes.
In some of my work as an organizational change consultant, I advise clients about how to prepare for major change in their business. Some of my clients don't want to think about the changes because it will disturb the comfort zones of many of their investors or employees. At the same time, organizations can be more successful in dealing with change if they are prepared for the change and can take positive actions to allow the change to help them rather than to overwhelm them.
Prophecy is a risky profession. Stemming from the murder of a prophetess to the Greeks who advised one city state that another was going to attack them, the phrase "Don't kill the messenger" is another phrase that has come into common use.
Telling people bad news in advance is risky. It can be even more so when someone makes changes and the bad news doesn't happen.
More than merely avoiding "bringing bad news," some of my family members point out that, "if you can't fix it or do anything about it, what is your purpose in telling someone about a problem?"
What that kind of question makes me do is to reflect about what I was going to say and to rethink a bit--often leading to improving whatever remarks I was going to give and sometimes improving my input by keeping silent and observing.
When I lived in California I became an earthquake preparedness consultant, learning about earthquakes and how to prepare (physically) to survive them (assuming that you are not killed in the moment they happen). While this was important for people to know in Los Angeles, in some businesses I was not even allowed to bring the subject up because it would bother people. I helped develop one of the first Earthquake Preparedness courses and manuals offered by the American Red Cross in Los Angeles. It has since been revised and is available in 11 languages to help residents know what to do to prepare for and to survive earthquakes.
In some of my work as an organizational change consultant, I advise clients about how to prepare for major change in their business. Some of my clients don't want to think about the changes because it will disturb the comfort zones of many of their investors or employees. At the same time, organizations can be more successful in dealing with change if they are prepared for the change and can take positive actions to allow the change to help them rather than to overwhelm them.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Learning and Change--Individual Considerations
This post is a continuation of the post from February 20, 2010 and from an earlier post on February 21, 2010.
Learning and change need to take place on an individual level--even when teams, groups, and organizations want change as well. Two additional meta-models have been created to explain how individuals respond to the need for change (see slide 2) and what happens to individuals as they build the skills they need to change successfully (see slide 10).
(Click on the picture to see it separately and completely.)
(Click on the picture to see it separately and completely.)
As stated in an earlier post, learning and change are not easy and are often resisted. The Shame Affect Decision Model (slide 2) shows how most of us discover the need for change--when something we relied on ceases to produce the positive results we expected. If we retreat into our pre-existing comfort zone, we have four possible responses: attack others, attack self, avoid, and withdraw. If we choose to move to positive change, this is our opportunity to learn.
As we begin to learn, we move through the Personal Performance Change Curve (slide 8). Comfort Zones Mapped to the Performance Change Curve (slide 10) show how our performance level and comfort drop before we begin to integrate the new knowledge and skill we are learning.
The Learning Outcome Grid (slide 7) shows some of the results of learning activity.
(Click on the picture to see it separately and completely.)
Learning and change need to take place on an individual level--even when teams, groups, and organizations want change as well. Two additional meta-models have been created to explain how individuals respond to the need for change (see slide 2) and what happens to individuals as they build the skills they need to change successfully (see slide 10).
(Click on the picture to see it separately and completely.)
As we begin to learn, we move through the Personal Performance Change Curve (slide 8). Comfort Zones Mapped to the Performance Change Curve (slide 10) show how our performance level and comfort drop before we begin to integrate the new knowledge and skill we are learning.
The Learning Outcome Grid (slide 7) shows some of the results of learning activity.
(Click on the picture to see it separately and completely.)
Learning and Change--Action Steps for Teams and Organizations
Teams and organizations are created for different purposes. In general, they have goals and intend to work together somehow to achieve these goals. This post is a continuation of yesterday's post on Learning and Change. There is a follow-up post focusing on individual learning and change.
Sometimes teams are more successful than at other times in achieving their goals. Over time meta-models have been created that help explain what is going on in the groups and teams that make some more successful that others.
The Team Tracking Tool (see slide 12) is reproduced below. Notice the "Do Not Enter" sign at the top. Many teams and organizations think they can go immediately from inputs to outputs without moving through the process steps required. Almost 100% of the time this spells disaster and the team or organization has to undo or redo everything--as well as recover the lost trust that failure promotes. Note the trust building elements of the tool. Blake and Mouton developed a Managerial Grid explaining the different focuses of people and production in teams. (A variation of that grid is reproduced below the Team Tracking Tool and a link to Blake and Mouton's model is also provided here.)
(Click on the picture to see it separately and completely.)
Blake and Mouton created a management grid to explain the relationship of people (maintenance) focus and production (task) focus. The grid is reproduced on Wikipedia.
(Click on the picture to view it separately and completely.)
Both task and maintenance functions are critical to the successful progress of teams and organizations. Over emphasis on one or the other delays the development of trust and the effectiveness of teams. In my early career in Change Management, I learned to make people my task--thus ensuring that both task and maintenance functions were completed. Trust is the bonding that allows teams to function well and is a critical maintenance function.
(Click on the picture to see it separately and completely.) (See slide 11.)
If trust is not allowed to develop, synergy--the energy that allows the output to be greater than what could be produced by the sum of its parts (people) will be missing. As new people are added to a team, group, or organization and as the vision changes, building blocks of trust need to be revisited to allow for the group energy to move freely to the next area.
Sometimes teams are more successful than at other times in achieving their goals. Over time meta-models have been created that help explain what is going on in the groups and teams that make some more successful that others.
The Team Tracking Tool (see slide 12) is reproduced below. Notice the "Do Not Enter" sign at the top. Many teams and organizations think they can go immediately from inputs to outputs without moving through the process steps required. Almost 100% of the time this spells disaster and the team or organization has to undo or redo everything--as well as recover the lost trust that failure promotes. Note the trust building elements of the tool. Blake and Mouton developed a Managerial Grid explaining the different focuses of people and production in teams. (A variation of that grid is reproduced below the Team Tracking Tool and a link to Blake and Mouton's model is also provided here.)
(Click on the picture to see it separately and completely.)
Blake and Mouton created a management grid to explain the relationship of people (maintenance) focus and production (task) focus. The grid is reproduced on Wikipedia.
(Click on the picture to view it separately and completely.)
(Click on the picture to see it separately and completely.) (See slide 11.)
If trust is not allowed to develop, synergy--the energy that allows the output to be greater than what could be produced by the sum of its parts (people) will be missing. As new people are added to a team, group, or organization and as the vision changes, building blocks of trust need to be revisited to allow for the group energy to move freely to the next area.
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Challenge of Learning and Change--Shifting Comfort Zones
Learning and change are challenging. Comfort zones need to shift and most of us are highly resistant to changing our comfort zones, especially with regard to things we think of as security. See the post from February 16, 2010, on Change--Learning--Training--Innovation and the New Economy.
Several years ago I developed two meta-models to explain learning and change on the individual and organizational levels. The Personal Performance Change Curve and the Organizational Performance Change Curve--See slides 8 and 9. (I have reproduced them below to be part of this post.)
For years I have worked with people at levels in their organizations where they do not feel they can influence change. We can change ourselves and our response to our surroundings. Once we do that and adjust our own comfort zones accordingly, we may have more influence on those around us--even to the organizational level.
Awareness--Acceptance--Action are key requirements for change and are part of these two meta-models. We need to go through those steps--frequently with someone who can assist us in the process--in order for learning and change to take place and anchor for something new to happen.
(Click on the pictures to see them separately and completely.)
(Click on the pictures to see them separately and completely.)
While these two meta-models go a long way to explain and guide change for individuals and organizations, they can usually be understood better if someone can walk people through the models with experiences from their own lives.
To help businesses focus on areas for improvement and change, I have made available a series of business survey tools on eBay.
On the DrM-Resources Services web page, check out these surveys: Business Snapshot-DrM, the Business Improvement Survey-DrM, and the Workforce Training Needs Survey-DrM.
This post is continued in the post on Learning and Change for February 21, 2010.
Several years ago I developed two meta-models to explain learning and change on the individual and organizational levels. The Personal Performance Change Curve and the Organizational Performance Change Curve--See slides 8 and 9. (I have reproduced them below to be part of this post.)
For years I have worked with people at levels in their organizations where they do not feel they can influence change. We can change ourselves and our response to our surroundings. Once we do that and adjust our own comfort zones accordingly, we may have more influence on those around us--even to the organizational level.
Awareness--Acceptance--Action are key requirements for change and are part of these two meta-models. We need to go through those steps--frequently with someone who can assist us in the process--in order for learning and change to take place and anchor for something new to happen.
(Click on the pictures to see them separately and completely.)
(Click on the pictures to see them separately and completely.)
While these two meta-models go a long way to explain and guide change for individuals and organizations, they can usually be understood better if someone can walk people through the models with experiences from their own lives.
To help businesses focus on areas for improvement and change, I have made available a series of business survey tools on eBay.
On the DrM-Resources Services web page, check out these surveys: Business Snapshot-DrM, the Business Improvement Survey-DrM, and the Workforce Training Needs Survey-DrM.
This post is continued in the post on Learning and Change for February 21, 2010.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
Internal and External Reference Points for Learning and Change
Each of us works with our own experience and thought in unique ways, though like noses, while each is different, there are many similarities. Inductive and deductive reasoning serve to illustrate the point. Deductive reasoning starts with something that exists and uses logic to break it down to its components. Many mystery stories rely on deductive reasoning to solve the crimes. Inductive reasoning starts with intuition and builds rather than breaking things down. The connections need to be validated and inferences need to be checked out.
Some of us rely on external reference points to guide us. We make the opinions of others a key factor in our own decisions and responses. Others rely on internal reference points, "marching to the tune of our own drummer."
In the end, each of us is responsible for ourselves. While we can make use of mirrors and feedback, we still need to make our own choices and deal with the consequences of these choices.
Some of us rely on external reference points to guide us. We make the opinions of others a key factor in our own decisions and responses. Others rely on internal reference points, "marching to the tune of our own drummer."
In the end, each of us is responsible for ourselves. While we can make use of mirrors and feedback, we still need to make our own choices and deal with the consequences of these choices.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Change--Learning--Training--Innovation and the "New Economy"
Change requires learning and learning requires change. It's one of the cycles that are intimately intertwined. In "the new economy" many organizations (large and small) are not funding professional support for the changes and the learning they need to make to survive.
One of the approaches I have taken to support organizations with this problem is to create a series of business tools supporting change and making them available on eBay. These tools can be self-help tools or can be the focus for a DrM-Resources Service.
Contract recruiters have been approaching me for support in utilizing social networking services as a support for both collaboration and knowledge management. There are many ways to use these services to support sharing and knowledge management for organizations with all levels of numbers of employees and large and small budgets.
What characteristics of the "new economy" signal that most organizations need to learn and to change? For starters, we have close to 10% unemployment across the USA. Millions of jobs have been lost and President Obama, in speaking about job creation, has not focused on high end jobs which have been sacrificed when organizations have had to cut back on their employees.
As in previous times, companies need to do more with less. What is not like previous times is that the customers and providers that companies have relied on are no longer there--or are no longer there with the same resources they once were. How many companies do you know who are living on their reserves and waiting for the economy to "recover." We have heard that we are experiencing a "jobless recovery" in our economy. To be honest, I'm not really sure what that is supposed to mean.
Organizations and individuals and families need income to cover their expenses--now and for the future and the past (debt). Jobs were the way most families generated the income. Unemployment insurance and lower-paying jobs don't generate the income needed for expenses. While social security payments did not go up this year, expenses have continued to climb.
Organizations, families, and individuals now need to "reinvent" themselves to succeed in the "new economy." Reinvention requires learning and change. We are back to the beginning of this post. It is a cycle and organizations, families, and individuals can benefit from support while going through this cycle of learning and change.
(See the follow-up posts about Learning and Change from February 20, 2010, and February 21, 2010.)
One of the approaches I have taken to support organizations with this problem is to create a series of business tools supporting change and making them available on eBay. These tools can be self-help tools or can be the focus for a DrM-Resources Service.
Contract recruiters have been approaching me for support in utilizing social networking services as a support for both collaboration and knowledge management. There are many ways to use these services to support sharing and knowledge management for organizations with all levels of numbers of employees and large and small budgets.
What characteristics of the "new economy" signal that most organizations need to learn and to change? For starters, we have close to 10% unemployment across the USA. Millions of jobs have been lost and President Obama, in speaking about job creation, has not focused on high end jobs which have been sacrificed when organizations have had to cut back on their employees.
As in previous times, companies need to do more with less. What is not like previous times is that the customers and providers that companies have relied on are no longer there--or are no longer there with the same resources they once were. How many companies do you know who are living on their reserves and waiting for the economy to "recover." We have heard that we are experiencing a "jobless recovery" in our economy. To be honest, I'm not really sure what that is supposed to mean.
Organizations and individuals and families need income to cover their expenses--now and for the future and the past (debt). Jobs were the way most families generated the income. Unemployment insurance and lower-paying jobs don't generate the income needed for expenses. While social security payments did not go up this year, expenses have continued to climb.
Organizations, families, and individuals now need to "reinvent" themselves to succeed in the "new economy." Reinvention requires learning and change. We are back to the beginning of this post. It is a cycle and organizations, families, and individuals can benefit from support while going through this cycle of learning and change.
(See the follow-up posts about Learning and Change from February 20, 2010, and February 21, 2010.)
Friday, February 5, 2010
Business Improvement Survey--a New Product
I just created a Business Improvement Survey using Adobe Acrobat. It was a challenge to create, though it seems to have good functionality. Working from a variety of client experiences dealing with organizational development and change, I developed a six-part survey to focus on core questions that need to be resolved for change to be successful and supported.
I decided to market this survey via an eBay auction to get people to try the survey. The cost will be small and it can be used as a self-help survey by most organizations needing to deal with change.
Of course DrM-Resources will provide support for those people trying out the survey if they should wish extra support. The survey will get clients preferred pricing on any of the other services offered by DrM-Resources.
This blog entry is more than a promotion for the survey (though that would be a good use of the entry, anyway). This marks one of the first times DrM-Resources has partnered with eBay to help consumers get access to affordable tools they can use to help their businesses improve. Not only can they get the tools on eBay, they will soon get preferred pricing on the other DrM-Resources services soon to be made available on eBay.
DrM-Resources and Joelmonty.net already use PayPal for invoicing and payments, and Skype for webinars and other interactive events. It is only natural to add eBay to the mix.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Changing Weather Patterns in Florida--Absolute Zero Movie
A strawberry grower in Florida was interviewed on ABC Good Morning America Weekend on Saturday, 1/9/2010, concerning the impact of freezing temperatures on his plants. He reported that he has seen colder weather in Florida for the past three years. I grew up in South Florida and am very familiar with weather conditions there. A friend of mine is thinking about purchasing a town house in Key Largo, Florida, and I was reminded of the Absolute Zero movie which talks about a polar shift where the ice caps melt at both the North and South Poles and Miami becomes buried in ice--overnight.
We are all aware of the global climate changes we are experiencing. Whether or not these changes are being brought about by global warming or some other mechanism, the results are the same. Ice is melting at the poles and many parts of the world are experiencing significantly different weather patterns.
How do we prepare for such changes? For a polar shift, I really don't know. (I don't think anyone does.) That would be catastrophic for the entire planet. Has it happened before? Probably. It could also be linked to the Bible story of Noah and the flood. Could that be what wiped out the dinosaurs? Perhaps? Could a polar shift be caused by an interplanetary impact (a large meteor, for example)? Possibly.
In any event, movies can give us food for thought along with entertainment.
We are all aware of the global climate changes we are experiencing. Whether or not these changes are being brought about by global warming or some other mechanism, the results are the same. Ice is melting at the poles and many parts of the world are experiencing significantly different weather patterns.
How do we prepare for such changes? For a polar shift, I really don't know. (I don't think anyone does.) That would be catastrophic for the entire planet. Has it happened before? Probably. It could also be linked to the Bible story of Noah and the flood. Could that be what wiped out the dinosaurs? Perhaps? Could a polar shift be caused by an interplanetary impact (a large meteor, for example)? Possibly.
In any event, movies can give us food for thought along with entertainment.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Creating the Future We Want--Taking Charge of our Thought System
We can create the future we want by taking charge of our thought system. Some of the more recent research on chaos theory explores the impact positive thought can have on matter. One of the conclusions from this research is that, at least at a sub-atomic level, thought can influence matter.
Other areas of consideration are the connectedness of what might have been thought of as random events. The beating of butterfly wings off the coast of Africa can influence hurricane formation in the Atlantic ocean.
I had a book written in 1996 or 1997 with the picture of butterfly wings on the cover. The book talked about the practical aspects of chaos theory. (I haven't been able to find it yet.)
While the new research shows that the thoughts of one person can impact matter, the thoughts of many people can also influence outcomes. Prayer circles can have a powerful impact on healing and "the laying on of hands" is an age-old method of healing--and of focusing positive thoughts.
In terms of bringing about the future we want for ourselves, one aspect of taking charge of our thought systems is to take charge of our "self talk." One of the more practical approaches to do this is to develop skill in using positive affirmations--positive statements phrased as being completed already.
Getting support by bring people of like minds together with a common purpose produces amazing results. Benjamin Franklin created "junto" groups of like-minded business men engaged in self-help and charitable projects. Quilting bees and barn raising parties were early American ways of bringing like-minded people together to achieve common goals.
President Barack Obama engaged the American public's imagination during his campaign for "change" and generated election results intended to create the changes he proposed.
With the economy in a state of change, now is a time to take charge of our thought systems once more and to paint for ourselves the future we want to experience--then to take action to bring it about.
TEAR is a way to remember how the thought system operates. Thoughts come first, then, when linked with Emotions, followed by Action, Results are produced. If we are experiencing results we do not like, the way to change those results is to be aware of the TEAR process and to make appropriate changes to produce the different results.
Other areas of consideration are the connectedness of what might have been thought of as random events. The beating of butterfly wings off the coast of Africa can influence hurricane formation in the Atlantic ocean.
I had a book written in 1996 or 1997 with the picture of butterfly wings on the cover. The book talked about the practical aspects of chaos theory. (I haven't been able to find it yet.)
While the new research shows that the thoughts of one person can impact matter, the thoughts of many people can also influence outcomes. Prayer circles can have a powerful impact on healing and "the laying on of hands" is an age-old method of healing--and of focusing positive thoughts.
In terms of bringing about the future we want for ourselves, one aspect of taking charge of our thought systems is to take charge of our "self talk." One of the more practical approaches to do this is to develop skill in using positive affirmations--positive statements phrased as being completed already.
Getting support by bring people of like minds together with a common purpose produces amazing results. Benjamin Franklin created "junto" groups of like-minded business men engaged in self-help and charitable projects. Quilting bees and barn raising parties were early American ways of bringing like-minded people together to achieve common goals.
President Barack Obama engaged the American public's imagination during his campaign for "change" and generated election results intended to create the changes he proposed.
With the economy in a state of change, now is a time to take charge of our thought systems once more and to paint for ourselves the future we want to experience--then to take action to bring it about.
TEAR is a way to remember how the thought system operates. Thoughts come first, then, when linked with Emotions, followed by Action, Results are produced. If we are experiencing results we do not like, the way to change those results is to be aware of the TEAR process and to make appropriate changes to produce the different results.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Organizational Culture, Comfort Zones, Support, Trust, Norms, and Change
Organizational culture contains norms of accepted behavior, comfort zones, and processes to find support and to develop trust. There is an Organizational Performance Change Curve (slide 9) that shows how organizations move through a process of change.
Some organizations have created habits of looking internally for support--a kind of "inside the box" thinking. As organizations grow and mature, some learn to look outside the box and outside the organization for appropriate support. It is difficult for people enmeshed in the culture of an organization to seek outside support unless it is endorsed and encouraged by the culture.
In many small to mid-sized entrepreneurial businesses, all employees turn to the business owner for support. This can create problems for the entrepreneur. He or she can get bogged down by the number of daily challenges and problems brought to him or her for decisions and advice. Instead of putting his or her energy toward the improvement of business processes and in growing the business, he or she is invested in putting out innumerable small-fire-problems brought by the employees.
Often the entrepreneur can seek outside support for the business owner, the business, and the employees. By finding a trusted advisor outside the business, he or she can suggest that employees take many of their small-fire-problems to the consultant who is not going to have his or her support for the business interrupted by dealing with the problems and the employees. When entrepreneurs can use these consultants more effectively, they can choose a few employees to be the "go-to" people within the organization and the outside consultant can coach those people to be effective in helping employees with small-fire-problems and in improving their own ability to make daily decisions and to put-out the "small-fires" themselves.
Some organizations have created habits of looking internally for support--a kind of "inside the box" thinking. As organizations grow and mature, some learn to look outside the box and outside the organization for appropriate support. It is difficult for people enmeshed in the culture of an organization to seek outside support unless it is endorsed and encouraged by the culture.
In many small to mid-sized entrepreneurial businesses, all employees turn to the business owner for support. This can create problems for the entrepreneur. He or she can get bogged down by the number of daily challenges and problems brought to him or her for decisions and advice. Instead of putting his or her energy toward the improvement of business processes and in growing the business, he or she is invested in putting out innumerable small-fire-problems brought by the employees.
Often the entrepreneur can seek outside support for the business owner, the business, and the employees. By finding a trusted advisor outside the business, he or she can suggest that employees take many of their small-fire-problems to the consultant who is not going to have his or her support for the business interrupted by dealing with the problems and the employees. When entrepreneurs can use these consultants more effectively, they can choose a few employees to be the "go-to" people within the organization and the outside consultant can coach those people to be effective in helping employees with small-fire-problems and in improving their own ability to make daily decisions and to put-out the "small-fires" themselves.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
"Business as Usual"--Sustainability, Emerging Economy, Death Spirals, and Change
Chief Executives (CEOs, COOs, CFOs, etc.--all members of the "C-suite") and Business Owners in today's emerging economy are all facing significant challenges to "business as usual." Business does not operate "as usual." Many businesses have a core series of processes that generate most of their income. Between the drying-up of sources of income (bank loans) and demand (no disposable income to make "normal purchases"), the volume of business has decreased significantly. For those who still enjoy a positive cash flow, the flow may have moved from US$16 million to US$6 million in a year. If the organization is geared for the volumes of US$16 million, significant workforce reductions and other restructuring will be required for the organization to remain viable when generating US$6 million.
Depending on how the businesses are organized, structured, and run, some may continue to operate on their own inertia for some time in the emerging economy until their forward progress comes to a stop (inertia). In earlier posts the book, Who Moved My Cheese, by Spencer Johnson, was introduced in terms of explaining how we are often reluctant to stay aware of changes and to make the change to do something different. When the economy has changed to the point that the way a business is organized and run is no longer sustainable, it may enter a death spiral and become extinct (like the dinosaurs).
Sustainability, in terms of the new economy, may also need to focus on the details of the organization. Is the organization's mission and are its processes sustainable in terms of planetary needs? Buckminster Fuller, in 1971, wrote Spaceship Earth (mentioned in a previous post). In this book, the author notes that the Earth is like a spaceship moving through space. We need to pay attention to our renewable resources and, as a planet, to take care of our planet. We cannot continue to pollute the air, water, and land. In the Constitution of the United States of America, we say, in part, that we want to ". . . secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity." We need to leave a planet that our posterity can prosper in.
While the "green movement" may be an extreme example of this idea, each of us can focus on making minor changes in our daily lives to make our lives and our planet healthier rather than destroying it.
What is the reality an organization faces? Rather than trying to take how a business is organized and structured at the moment, what if there were a "4th of July Revolution (as in 1776)? What does the economy present in terms of business today and how would a business best be organized to meet the requirements of the emerging economy, ignoring present organizational structures, people, and processes? This may give an idea of "what we need to change to." Once that activity is completed, we need to look at how we are currently organized and structured to find out "what we need to change from." After that, we need a plan to make the transition. Many occupants of the C-Suite are not ready to face the need for change. The consequences of not facing these needs are enormous--and we are just beginning to feel the impact. While we have high unemployment in this country, a more challenging problem is that the jobs that are being created will not be the same as those being given up.
Each of us needs to begin to think about the emerging economic reality and what we need to prepare for to be sustainable in the new economy. Not only do people in the C-Suite need to face the need for change. Each of us needs to face this need and to find some assistance to help us prepare for the changes we need to take.
Depending on how the businesses are organized, structured, and run, some may continue to operate on their own inertia for some time in the emerging economy until their forward progress comes to a stop (inertia). In earlier posts the book, Who Moved My Cheese, by Spencer Johnson, was introduced in terms of explaining how we are often reluctant to stay aware of changes and to make the change to do something different. When the economy has changed to the point that the way a business is organized and run is no longer sustainable, it may enter a death spiral and become extinct (like the dinosaurs).
Sustainability, in terms of the new economy, may also need to focus on the details of the organization. Is the organization's mission and are its processes sustainable in terms of planetary needs? Buckminster Fuller, in 1971, wrote Spaceship Earth (mentioned in a previous post). In this book, the author notes that the Earth is like a spaceship moving through space. We need to pay attention to our renewable resources and, as a planet, to take care of our planet. We cannot continue to pollute the air, water, and land. In the Constitution of the United States of America, we say, in part, that we want to ". . . secure the blessings of liberty for ourselves and our posterity." We need to leave a planet that our posterity can prosper in.
While the "green movement" may be an extreme example of this idea, each of us can focus on making minor changes in our daily lives to make our lives and our planet healthier rather than destroying it.
What is the reality an organization faces? Rather than trying to take how a business is organized and structured at the moment, what if there were a "4th of July Revolution (as in 1776)? What does the economy present in terms of business today and how would a business best be organized to meet the requirements of the emerging economy, ignoring present organizational structures, people, and processes? This may give an idea of "what we need to change to." Once that activity is completed, we need to look at how we are currently organized and structured to find out "what we need to change from." After that, we need a plan to make the transition. Many occupants of the C-Suite are not ready to face the need for change. The consequences of not facing these needs are enormous--and we are just beginning to feel the impact. While we have high unemployment in this country, a more challenging problem is that the jobs that are being created will not be the same as those being given up.
Each of us needs to begin to think about the emerging economic reality and what we need to prepare for to be sustainable in the new economy. Not only do people in the C-Suite need to face the need for change. Each of us needs to face this need and to find some assistance to help us prepare for the changes we need to take.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Choosing to Making a Positive Difference
How and when can we choose to make a positive difference? Part of this depends on understanding what needs to change and knowing what to change to. The circle of concern has a role in this decision. We can choose to make a positive difference in our circle of influence and our circle of control. We need to move through the three phases of change--awareness, acceptance, and action (Slides 8 and 9)--before we can begin to take the action to bring about the change that will make a positive difference.
We have lots of freedom in our choices. I have chosen to make a positive difference for clients and organizations I worked with as an organizational development and change management consultant. More recently (on 9-11-2001), I decided to make a difference by being a classroom teacher for English language learners (ELLs).
This year I am looking to make a positive difference in new ways--working with new clients and organizations and school systems. In my earlier choices, I made lots of one-on-one differences. Now it is more effective to make a difference by teaching others to duplicate these efforts.
In my volunteer work with the American Red Cross, I started as a water safety instructor, then became a first aid and CPR instructor. After teaching classes for years, I became an instructor-trainer in each of those health and safety areas and eventually cross-trained in disaster services and became a leadership volunteer. Many years later I made a positive difference with the American Red Cross by helping organize a "CPR-Sunday" event where volunteer instructors came together in facilities provided by the community and trained 800 people in CPR for free in one day.
Making a positive difference is habit forming and is a habit I thoroughly enjoy.
We have lots of freedom in our choices. I have chosen to make a positive difference for clients and organizations I worked with as an organizational development and change management consultant. More recently (on 9-11-2001), I decided to make a difference by being a classroom teacher for English language learners (ELLs).
This year I am looking to make a positive difference in new ways--working with new clients and organizations and school systems. In my earlier choices, I made lots of one-on-one differences. Now it is more effective to make a difference by teaching others to duplicate these efforts.
In my volunteer work with the American Red Cross, I started as a water safety instructor, then became a first aid and CPR instructor. After teaching classes for years, I became an instructor-trainer in each of those health and safety areas and eventually cross-trained in disaster services and became a leadership volunteer. Many years later I made a positive difference with the American Red Cross by helping organize a "CPR-Sunday" event where volunteer instructors came together in facilities provided by the community and trained 800 people in CPR for free in one day.
Making a positive difference is habit forming and is a habit I thoroughly enjoy.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Finding Who Cares--An Idea Crucial for Change
“Finding who cares” is critical to making change happen. Caring motivates individuals and organizations to move through the awareness—acceptance—action phases of preparing for change (slides 8 and 9). More than that, caring can motivate individuals to move beyond “paradigm paralysis”—a locking in to a comfort zone of the old paradigm when a paradigm shift is beginning to happen. (Similar to the idea that “the sun revolves around the earth” rather than that “the earth revolves around the sun.” –The paradigm shift attributed to Copernicus.)
The USA economy of 2009 shows elements of both paradigm paralysis and an emerging paradigm shift. One way to see this in action is to look at the efforts of Team Earth. Team Earth created a new website today to encourage others to join with them (in the process of awareness—acceptance—and action) to preserve Planet Earth. Two other interconnected concepts relate to what is happening around us today.
Stephen Covey, in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, introduced the idea of “circle of concern.” The outermost circle is a broad circle of concern—the edge of awareness of the individual owning the circles. Inside the broad circle is a person’s circle of influence—an area where actions on the part of the individual can have an effect, direct or indirect. Inside the circle of influence is the circle of control—a much smaller circle where decisions and actions by the individual are largely under the control of the individual. When a person moves through awareness—acceptance—and action, most effective action takes place in the circle of control with less effective action in the circle of influence. The circle of concern is at a limit of awareness without consequence on the other two circles.
“What’s In It for Me (WIIFM)?” is second interconnected concept that is in play in today’s challenges for caring and change. True caring, accompanied by progress through the awareness—acceptance—action phases, (Slides 8 and 9) helps an individual make the personal decision and take the personal action that moves him or her beyond the limits of his or her comfort zone.
In schools, students who consistently read below-grade level frequently respond by engaging in off-task behavior, actively intervening to avoid difficult or unpleasant work. They are often successful, with the result that they do not learn what they need to learn in the classroom. In business, upper-level decision makers may not fully support a vision for change held by a few executives. In their resistance, they can actively sabotage the efforts toward change initiated by the senior executives. While successfully maintaining the “status quo” and their comfort zones, it may lead to the dissolution of the business. Some of these actions were part of the “melt-down” of the economy in the USA. Some executives whose comfort zones (and life styles) dictated that they needed high salaries regardless of the financial performance of their organizations worked to continue their executive pay-outs even when the organizations were bailed out by taxpayer dollars. Some organizations said that the money paid to executives came from the organization and that the federal dollars were used for other needs of the organization.
A few years ago Al Gore introduced a movie, An Inconvenient Truth, documenting the negative effects on Planet Earth caused by “global warming.” Evidence from observation—frequently in multimedia format accessed over the Internet—shows major changes on the planet. There is still debate regarding the cause. Whether or not global warming is the cause of what is happening to the planet, major changes are taking place on a daily basis. The feature story of National Geographic’s August, 2009, issue was on the super volcano located below Yellowstone National Park.
Team Earth and National Geographic are both looking for concerned individuals and organizations to care enough about Planet Earth to lobby for change—and to take other action. We all know how hard it is to make a personal change—such as moving to an ideal weight, becoming smoke-free, reading successfully, speaking another language fluently, engaging regularly in healthy exercise.
Actions to improve healthy lifestyle bring the focus to the health care system in the USA. Regardless of the changes proposed by President Barack Obama, many people and organizations are lobbying strongly for their personal WIIFM. The public at large needs affordable, comprehensive healthcare--that's a WIIFM for the public. How to meld an entire nation into a shared vision for positive change is a challenge for the Obama administration and for all U.S. citizens.
The American Red Cross is an organization that is part of a world-wide movement of people who care. Caring can take many forms--from donations to volunteer service to the community and to the world community.
“Finding who cares” is an important pursuit. Our “wisdom models” need to be people who care. If we want to make a positive change in our lives, we need to care enough to make it happen. If we want to make a positive change in our families, our family needs to care enough to make it happen. If we want to make a positive change in our organizations, sufficient levels and numbers of people in the organization need to care enough to share the vision and to bring the change about. How do we know when we’ve found people who care?
That will be the subject of another post. It is important to keep asking ourselves that question. Perhaps one of the characteristics will be that what they care about will be reflected in their answer to WIIFM and not be limited to themselves.
The USA economy of 2009 shows elements of both paradigm paralysis and an emerging paradigm shift. One way to see this in action is to look at the efforts of Team Earth. Team Earth created a new website today to encourage others to join with them (in the process of awareness—acceptance—and action) to preserve Planet Earth. Two other interconnected concepts relate to what is happening around us today.
Stephen Covey, in his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, introduced the idea of “circle of concern.” The outermost circle is a broad circle of concern—the edge of awareness of the individual owning the circles. Inside the broad circle is a person’s circle of influence—an area where actions on the part of the individual can have an effect, direct or indirect. Inside the circle of influence is the circle of control—a much smaller circle where decisions and actions by the individual are largely under the control of the individual. When a person moves through awareness—acceptance—and action, most effective action takes place in the circle of control with less effective action in the circle of influence. The circle of concern is at a limit of awareness without consequence on the other two circles.
“What’s In It for Me (WIIFM)?” is second interconnected concept that is in play in today’s challenges for caring and change. True caring, accompanied by progress through the awareness—acceptance—action phases, (Slides 8 and 9) helps an individual make the personal decision and take the personal action that moves him or her beyond the limits of his or her comfort zone.
In schools, students who consistently read below-grade level frequently respond by engaging in off-task behavior, actively intervening to avoid difficult or unpleasant work. They are often successful, with the result that they do not learn what they need to learn in the classroom. In business, upper-level decision makers may not fully support a vision for change held by a few executives. In their resistance, they can actively sabotage the efforts toward change initiated by the senior executives. While successfully maintaining the “status quo” and their comfort zones, it may lead to the dissolution of the business. Some of these actions were part of the “melt-down” of the economy in the USA. Some executives whose comfort zones (and life styles) dictated that they needed high salaries regardless of the financial performance of their organizations worked to continue their executive pay-outs even when the organizations were bailed out by taxpayer dollars. Some organizations said that the money paid to executives came from the organization and that the federal dollars were used for other needs of the organization.
A few years ago Al Gore introduced a movie, An Inconvenient Truth, documenting the negative effects on Planet Earth caused by “global warming.” Evidence from observation—frequently in multimedia format accessed over the Internet—shows major changes on the planet. There is still debate regarding the cause. Whether or not global warming is the cause of what is happening to the planet, major changes are taking place on a daily basis. The feature story of National Geographic’s August, 2009, issue was on the super volcano located below Yellowstone National Park.
Team Earth and National Geographic are both looking for concerned individuals and organizations to care enough about Planet Earth to lobby for change—and to take other action. We all know how hard it is to make a personal change—such as moving to an ideal weight, becoming smoke-free, reading successfully, speaking another language fluently, engaging regularly in healthy exercise.
Actions to improve healthy lifestyle bring the focus to the health care system in the USA. Regardless of the changes proposed by President Barack Obama, many people and organizations are lobbying strongly for their personal WIIFM. The public at large needs affordable, comprehensive healthcare--that's a WIIFM for the public. How to meld an entire nation into a shared vision for positive change is a challenge for the Obama administration and for all U.S. citizens.
The American Red Cross is an organization that is part of a world-wide movement of people who care. Caring can take many forms--from donations to volunteer service to the community and to the world community.
“Finding who cares” is an important pursuit. Our “wisdom models” need to be people who care. If we want to make a positive change in our lives, we need to care enough to make it happen. If we want to make a positive change in our families, our family needs to care enough to make it happen. If we want to make a positive change in our organizations, sufficient levels and numbers of people in the organization need to care enough to share the vision and to bring the change about. How do we know when we’ve found people who care?
That will be the subject of another post. It is important to keep asking ourselves that question. Perhaps one of the characteristics will be that what they care about will be reflected in their answer to WIIFM and not be limited to themselves.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Surfing Waves of Change
Moving from "paradigm paralysis" to "paradigm shift" is not easy. Rather than resisting change (paradigm paralysis), it is more fun to embrace change (the paradigm shift). Surfing conveys the image of embracing powerful currents and learning to move with them.
The economy in the USA is undergoing a variety of transformations. People looking for work need to stay abreast of the technology being used to manage employment. When someone completes an online application for work, it is good to recheck it a few weeks later to see if the software has changed. Updates may mean the difference between being hired and being passed over for that employment.
Beyond the relatively simple challenge of using software to complete applications, the jobs themselves are changing. More changes are on the way. Research on education has indicated that many students in K-12 schools are reading below grade-level and that the trend is both continuing and growing. Since 1995, millions of dollars have been invested and thousands of interventions have been implemented to change these outcomes and the outcomes are still with us. (For more information visit http://joelmonty.wikispaces.com/research.)
Jobs themselves are changing and many of the people who are unemployed are becoming underemployed because funds are not available--and jobs are not available at the moment--comparable to the jobs they have left.
Surfing is a skill that needs to be learned. Surfing waves of change requires a variety of skills to understand the changes taking place and to take charge of what we can control in order to surf these powerful waves.
The economy in the USA is undergoing a variety of transformations. People looking for work need to stay abreast of the technology being used to manage employment. When someone completes an online application for work, it is good to recheck it a few weeks later to see if the software has changed. Updates may mean the difference between being hired and being passed over for that employment.
Beyond the relatively simple challenge of using software to complete applications, the jobs themselves are changing. More changes are on the way. Research on education has indicated that many students in K-12 schools are reading below grade-level and that the trend is both continuing and growing. Since 1995, millions of dollars have been invested and thousands of interventions have been implemented to change these outcomes and the outcomes are still with us. (For more information visit http://joelmonty.wikispaces.com/research.)
Jobs themselves are changing and many of the people who are unemployed are becoming underemployed because funds are not available--and jobs are not available at the moment--comparable to the jobs they have left.
Surfing is a skill that needs to be learned. Surfing waves of change requires a variety of skills to understand the changes taking place and to take charge of what we can control in order to surf these powerful waves.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Keeping Current with Technology Changes--Challenges to Communication
Creating web sites to share information becomes a challenge when the software used to post the information changes without notice. For example, I used Adobe Presenter to share a presentation on my website in May and the software has changed (improved). The old presentation no longer worked and I needed to recreate it and to post a revised copy on the website--done today (http://www.joelmonty.net/information_links/information_links.htm).
We need to keep revisiting what we have created to make sure that it is still accessible, especially as people are using a variety of web browsers. As I begin to build more and more presentations, webinars, podcasts, and teleconferences, I will be using all sorts of new technology to make these accessible to as many people as possible.
It is always a challenge to keep things current and active, both in terms of content and in terms of the technology used to access the content. Books were recorded and became audiobooks. Audiobooks have been digitized and become eAudiobooks available for download. Along the way the players and the software keep changing--much more rapidly that the transition of home-based audio from vinyl record to cassette tape and CD to digital fines available on MP3 players, iPods, computers, etc.
Another dimension is to keep the content interesting with interesting graphics. "Black and white" are boring. Oops, I'll have to change the format of this blog pretty soon.
We need to keep revisiting what we have created to make sure that it is still accessible, especially as people are using a variety of web browsers. As I begin to build more and more presentations, webinars, podcasts, and teleconferences, I will be using all sorts of new technology to make these accessible to as many people as possible.
It is always a challenge to keep things current and active, both in terms of content and in terms of the technology used to access the content. Books were recorded and became audiobooks. Audiobooks have been digitized and become eAudiobooks available for download. Along the way the players and the software keep changing--much more rapidly that the transition of home-based audio from vinyl record to cassette tape and CD to digital fines available on MP3 players, iPods, computers, etc.
Another dimension is to keep the content interesting with interesting graphics. "Black and white" are boring. Oops, I'll have to change the format of this blog pretty soon.
Monday, September 7, 2009
"Getting Help in Opening Doors to Change"--How do we do that today with the resources we know?
Most mornings I go to the grounds of my local hospital and do water aerobics at a "wellness" center. Many of these mornings I engage in informal conversations with one or two colleagues concerning business--past, present, and future. We have even more time for these conversations on Sunday mornings when we get together.
This has been a great way for me to get lots of new ideas--even today--and keeps me getting some valuable exercise the first thing every morning.
Yesterday's conversation was about informal advisory groups for CEOs. Some of these are more formal--boards of directors. Others can be as informal as membership in a discussion group (or a virtual think-tank).
The challenge is the same--some people have lots of expertise and experience to share. Some CEOs could really benefit from that expertise and experience. How can the two groups get together?
Beyond that, the people with expertise and experience still need income--though probably not as much as they used to get while they were acquiring their expertise and experience. CEOs who could use the help may have limited funds (especially in today's economy) to pay for outside consultants or for a high-price-tag membership in an advisory group service.
Some Inner Dialogue
"If we do today what we did yesterday, we'll get more of the same results." (In today's economy, we may even get fewer results or lower quality results.) What do we need to change? What do we need to change to? How can anyone else know my business? How can I trust anyone to share that I don't know how to handle a challenge my business faces?
"What do I do best?"--I make a positive difference in the world by helping people and organizations learn to change to improve their quality of (business) life now and for the future. How can I open doors to be able to do this for more people and organizations?
In the course of my 40+ years of work, I have come across professional consulting groups where CEOs of moderate-sized companies pay a monthly fee and meet with other CEOs and a consultant on a monthly basis and other consulting firms who send in a business analysis to probe the needs of the company, then follow-up consultants to address the specific needs the company decides to work on. These firms usually work with small to mid-sized companies. The global consulting firms I have worked with normally have global clients and multimillion dollar consulting contracts. Many of these have to do with implementing new information technology throughout the company, though some are smaller and focus on business processes and strategy improvement. While executive teams make the "buying decision" for consultants and set overall direction, most work is supervised by upper management. The large firms have a few seasoned professionals guiding teams of gifted and less experienced professionals who actually do the work for the client.
All of these models work, though, in today's society. We need something more or different. Many companies--due to reduced income from multiple sources--are pushing out senior people and replacing them with more people with less experience that command lower salaries and have more room to grow with the company. Requirements for specialized skills in the latest software are also influencing requirements for both consultants and employees.
Ultimately, the CEOs of the small to mid-sized companies still face the same challenges and have even fewer resources to find new and innovative solutions. Most are faced with the problem that "It's hard to remember when you're up to your waist in alligators that your goal was to drain the swamp."
Back to my original question today, how can I get help to do what I do best by working with the resources I know today? If anyone has any thoughts, please post a comment or contact me through my Wiki Projects page.
This has been a great way for me to get lots of new ideas--even today--and keeps me getting some valuable exercise the first thing every morning.
Yesterday's conversation was about informal advisory groups for CEOs. Some of these are more formal--boards of directors. Others can be as informal as membership in a discussion group (or a virtual think-tank).
The challenge is the same--some people have lots of expertise and experience to share. Some CEOs could really benefit from that expertise and experience. How can the two groups get together?
Beyond that, the people with expertise and experience still need income--though probably not as much as they used to get while they were acquiring their expertise and experience. CEOs who could use the help may have limited funds (especially in today's economy) to pay for outside consultants or for a high-price-tag membership in an advisory group service.
Some Inner Dialogue
"If we do today what we did yesterday, we'll get more of the same results." (In today's economy, we may even get fewer results or lower quality results.) What do we need to change? What do we need to change to? How can anyone else know my business? How can I trust anyone to share that I don't know how to handle a challenge my business faces?
"What do I do best?"--I make a positive difference in the world by helping people and organizations learn to change to improve their quality of (business) life now and for the future. How can I open doors to be able to do this for more people and organizations?
In the course of my 40+ years of work, I have come across professional consulting groups where CEOs of moderate-sized companies pay a monthly fee and meet with other CEOs and a consultant on a monthly basis and other consulting firms who send in a business analysis to probe the needs of the company, then follow-up consultants to address the specific needs the company decides to work on. These firms usually work with small to mid-sized companies. The global consulting firms I have worked with normally have global clients and multimillion dollar consulting contracts. Many of these have to do with implementing new information technology throughout the company, though some are smaller and focus on business processes and strategy improvement. While executive teams make the "buying decision" for consultants and set overall direction, most work is supervised by upper management. The large firms have a few seasoned professionals guiding teams of gifted and less experienced professionals who actually do the work for the client.
All of these models work, though, in today's society. We need something more or different. Many companies--due to reduced income from multiple sources--are pushing out senior people and replacing them with more people with less experience that command lower salaries and have more room to grow with the company. Requirements for specialized skills in the latest software are also influencing requirements for both consultants and employees.
Ultimately, the CEOs of the small to mid-sized companies still face the same challenges and have even fewer resources to find new and innovative solutions. Most are faced with the problem that "It's hard to remember when you're up to your waist in alligators that your goal was to drain the swamp."
Back to my original question today, how can I get help to do what I do best by working with the resources I know today? If anyone has any thoughts, please post a comment or contact me through my Wiki Projects page.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Performance and Change Management Consulting for "Big 8-6-5-4" Firms
When I left the U.S. Army after a 10-year career, I was not aware of the "Big 8" Accounting and Consulting firms until I joined one as a Management Consultant in Los Angeles. Coopers and Lybrand (now part of PriceWaterhouseCoopers) was one of the big firms and I was a management consultant in their Litigation Management practice.
I have been a professional performance and change management consultant for 40+ years. I began learning how to do what I do so well as a volunteer instructor for the American Red Cross then built skills while on duty as an officer in the U.S. Army. I continued this practice as a management consultant for my own and for other consulting firms until I went back to earn a doctorate degree to work with even more people and organizations. After earning my doctorate, I worked again for a "Big 6" Consulting Firm--Andersen World Wide and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). Times had changed and I was able to utilize what I had learned in my doctorate degree while working with Andersen Consulting.
I left Andersen Consulting in 1998 to join another consulting firm as a senior business consultant in change management.
Today there are only four or five major consulting firms like the ones I used to belong to. Times are changing and one of the real challenges is that client needs are changing, too.
Large consulting firms have large staffs and command high fees. Large corporations can afford those fees. Small to mid-sized organizations cannot. Who takes care of their needs?
There are a few consulting firms that target small to mid-sized businesses. Beyond that there are lots of individual consultants offering a variety of services. Unfortunately, the need for service greatly exceeds the availability of consultants.
One person can make a big difference by working at top-levels in a small organization. That is a tremendous "value added benefit" to small to mid-sized companies seeking out the right consultants at the right time.
I have been a professional performance and change management consultant for 40+ years. I began learning how to do what I do so well as a volunteer instructor for the American Red Cross then built skills while on duty as an officer in the U.S. Army. I continued this practice as a management consultant for my own and for other consulting firms until I went back to earn a doctorate degree to work with even more people and organizations. After earning my doctorate, I worked again for a "Big 6" Consulting Firm--Andersen World Wide and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). Times had changed and I was able to utilize what I had learned in my doctorate degree while working with Andersen Consulting.
I left Andersen Consulting in 1998 to join another consulting firm as a senior business consultant in change management.
Today there are only four or five major consulting firms like the ones I used to belong to. Times are changing and one of the real challenges is that client needs are changing, too.
Large consulting firms have large staffs and command high fees. Large corporations can afford those fees. Small to mid-sized organizations cannot. Who takes care of their needs?
There are a few consulting firms that target small to mid-sized businesses. Beyond that there are lots of individual consultants offering a variety of services. Unfortunately, the need for service greatly exceeds the availability of consultants.
One person can make a big difference by working at top-levels in a small organization. That is a tremendous "value added benefit" to small to mid-sized companies seeking out the right consultants at the right time.
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Weighing Choices--Making Decisions--Assessing Results
We take these actions from earliest memory. Even babies are weighing choices--"do I do this or do that?"--making decisions--"I'll cry now because ..."--and assessing results--"I cried when I was uncomfortable (wet or hungry) and now I'm dry and full."
As we get older the weighing process becomes more complex as do the decisions and our assessment of results. Sometimes there are delays between our actions and the results we see. Have you ever decided to order something, then been disappointed in it when it arrived?
When we get much older, many of our choices and decisions and results have to do with health. My 94-year-old mother went to the eye doctor today who told her that a shot in her left eye would control the accumulation of blood caused by age-related wet macular degeneration. Mom loves to read and to use her eyes. While she knew the shot is painful (this was the sixth shot she's had over several years) she has already decided that, if something will help her preserve her sight, she'll go through the pain. She had the shot. Age-related macular degeneration doesn't get better. Treatments can at least slow down the vision loss and that was the choice she made today.
How do we weigh our daily choices. There are 168 hours in a week (24 x 7) and we get to choose how we'll use them. Most of us want to sleep some of them away. Some of us know the value of exercise in our lives and devote some of the hours to exercise. All of us want to eat some of the time, so we take time for that as well. Many of us work several hours a day. We want time for recreation--perhaps with our families. Whatever the choices, those are the hours we have to work with in any given week.
We make decisions, then assess the results--are we getting what we want? In some of my eating choices, I have chosen to eat (what or when or how much I eat) that caused me to gain three pounds this week. If I want to get that off, I have to change my eating and exercise choices this week and can check on the results a week from now.
Yesterday I read a newsletter article that talked about looking for work AGR ("after the great recession in 2007"). The author (at http://www.higheredjobs.com) said that we have to have a different approach to looking for work AGR. What we used to do no longer produces the same results that it did before AGR. (See the post about Spenser Johnson's Who Moved My Cheese.)
If you go to http://joelmonty.wikispaces.com/file/view/Meta-Learning-Affect+Models.PDF and go to slide 2, Shame-Affect-Decisions Model. It will give you a picture of some of what I am talking about here.
Social networking sites abound with the hope that people will connect with the right jobs (or dates or spouses or . . .) through their social networks. Some do and some don't.
All of us need to rethink our choices and decisions, the results I am assessing tell me that times have, indeed, changed and I (along with millions of others) need to change to keep up with the change.
As we get older the weighing process becomes more complex as do the decisions and our assessment of results. Sometimes there are delays between our actions and the results we see. Have you ever decided to order something, then been disappointed in it when it arrived?
When we get much older, many of our choices and decisions and results have to do with health. My 94-year-old mother went to the eye doctor today who told her that a shot in her left eye would control the accumulation of blood caused by age-related wet macular degeneration. Mom loves to read and to use her eyes. While she knew the shot is painful (this was the sixth shot she's had over several years) she has already decided that, if something will help her preserve her sight, she'll go through the pain. She had the shot. Age-related macular degeneration doesn't get better. Treatments can at least slow down the vision loss and that was the choice she made today.
How do we weigh our daily choices. There are 168 hours in a week (24 x 7) and we get to choose how we'll use them. Most of us want to sleep some of them away. Some of us know the value of exercise in our lives and devote some of the hours to exercise. All of us want to eat some of the time, so we take time for that as well. Many of us work several hours a day. We want time for recreation--perhaps with our families. Whatever the choices, those are the hours we have to work with in any given week.
We make decisions, then assess the results--are we getting what we want? In some of my eating choices, I have chosen to eat (what or when or how much I eat) that caused me to gain three pounds this week. If I want to get that off, I have to change my eating and exercise choices this week and can check on the results a week from now.
Yesterday I read a newsletter article that talked about looking for work AGR ("after the great recession in 2007"). The author (at http://www.higheredjobs.com) said that we have to have a different approach to looking for work AGR. What we used to do no longer produces the same results that it did before AGR. (See the post about Spenser Johnson's Who Moved My Cheese.)
If you go to http://joelmonty.wikispaces.com/file/view/Meta-Learning-Affect+Models.PDF and go to slide 2, Shame-Affect-Decisions Model. It will give you a picture of some of what I am talking about here.
Social networking sites abound with the hope that people will connect with the right jobs (or dates or spouses or . . .) through their social networks. Some do and some don't.
All of us need to rethink our choices and decisions, the results I am assessing tell me that times have, indeed, changed and I (along with millions of others) need to change to keep up with the change.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Awareness-Acceptance-Action and Evidence for Action
In an earlier post I described the aspects of learning and change. There are three components that must be in place for change to take place at an individual or organizational level. These are: Awareness, Acceptance, and Action (view slides 8 and 9). In the last 24 hours I have had conversations in multiple contexts that show how these steps have to be personalized before action can be even considered.
Yesterday I wrote about the need for flu vaccinations early this year--the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have already approved the release and distribution of "regular, seasonal" flu vaccines that we usually see in October. Because we need three shots this year, the CDC is encouraging everyone to take the seasonal shot early. Several people I spoke with had not personalized that information. They had "lumped" the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 (Swine flu) shot--not projected to be available until October or November--together and were avoiding thinking about any flu shots until later in the year.
Today I was having a conversation about the challenge that some association managers have in trusting in and personalizing information they may receive from research reports, news letters, and well known speakers regarding the needs of the members of their associations. At the same time few of these association managers actually ask questions of their members to take authentic input regarding unmet needs.
This reminds me, again, of some classic action learning concepts. Reg Revans, one of the founders of action learning, was a researcher in the United Kingdom and was involved in the follow-up to the sinking of the Titanic.
As I recall the history, he went to leaders of the different engineering groups who built the Titanic and received the same kind of message from several of the most distinguished engineers working on the project. (This is a paraphrase, of course.) "I thought that the "xyz" (pick an engineering problem) was a problem and then I realized that "Dr. ABC" (another leading expert in the field) was in charge of that department and I knew that what I was wondering about must have been handled by the experts. Enough of the "xyz" problems existed when the Titanic went to sea that it sank after colliding with an iceberg.
Association managers and everyone else make decisions every day--some of which are based on evidence and others on emotions or other factors. A major question remains, what evidence is required to be accepted and trusted on a personal level to allow a decision-maker to move through the phases of awareness (there is a need to change); acceptance (I must take--or approve--action to make a change); and action (actually moving through the learning and change and investment required to accomplish the change)?
The earlier post mentioned the concept of denial. What evidence of decay (lack of positive growth) or dis-ease is needed before a decision-maker recognizes that there is a new need to change. What used to work is no longer working. What do I (we) need to do now?
Sometimes membership groups need to ask questions of their members. At other times the information resources of newsletters, magazines, reviews, media, and informed speakers can provide the necessary information to allow the decision-maker to take action--even if the initial action is to ask questions of the membership. In fact, sometimes the act of asking questions actually informs the people being asked.
What evidence for change are you looking for? How will you recognize it when you see it? What will it take for you to move through the three phases--awareness-acceptance-action--and do something about it?
Yesterday I wrote about the need for flu vaccinations early this year--the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) have already approved the release and distribution of "regular, seasonal" flu vaccines that we usually see in October. Because we need three shots this year, the CDC is encouraging everyone to take the seasonal shot early. Several people I spoke with had not personalized that information. They had "lumped" the seasonal flu shot and the H1N1 (Swine flu) shot--not projected to be available until October or November--together and were avoiding thinking about any flu shots until later in the year.
Today I was having a conversation about the challenge that some association managers have in trusting in and personalizing information they may receive from research reports, news letters, and well known speakers regarding the needs of the members of their associations. At the same time few of these association managers actually ask questions of their members to take authentic input regarding unmet needs.
This reminds me, again, of some classic action learning concepts. Reg Revans, one of the founders of action learning, was a researcher in the United Kingdom and was involved in the follow-up to the sinking of the Titanic.
As I recall the history, he went to leaders of the different engineering groups who built the Titanic and received the same kind of message from several of the most distinguished engineers working on the project. (This is a paraphrase, of course.) "I thought that the "xyz" (pick an engineering problem) was a problem and then I realized that "Dr. ABC" (another leading expert in the field) was in charge of that department and I knew that what I was wondering about must have been handled by the experts. Enough of the "xyz" problems existed when the Titanic went to sea that it sank after colliding with an iceberg.
Association managers and everyone else make decisions every day--some of which are based on evidence and others on emotions or other factors. A major question remains, what evidence is required to be accepted and trusted on a personal level to allow a decision-maker to move through the phases of awareness (there is a need to change); acceptance (I must take--or approve--action to make a change); and action (actually moving through the learning and change and investment required to accomplish the change)?
The earlier post mentioned the concept of denial. What evidence of decay (lack of positive growth) or dis-ease is needed before a decision-maker recognizes that there is a new need to change. What used to work is no longer working. What do I (we) need to do now?
Sometimes membership groups need to ask questions of their members. At other times the information resources of newsletters, magazines, reviews, media, and informed speakers can provide the necessary information to allow the decision-maker to take action--even if the initial action is to ask questions of the membership. In fact, sometimes the act of asking questions actually informs the people being asked.
What evidence for change are you looking for? How will you recognize it when you see it? What will it take for you to move through the three phases--awareness-acceptance-action--and do something about it?
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