I thought it was a good idea to to start a business blog to supplement the journal articles I write on change management.
(PDF Articles) I trust that some of the issues raised here may be of interest to you to pursue away from this blog of ideas and thoughts. The blogs run in date order with the most recent at the top of this page.
I was listening to the achievers edge 'and picked up some useful insights. I have been lecturing for over 25 years and giving presentations is a daily occurrence for me - but Peter Thomson gave me something to consider.
"People are interested in ideas that relate to how they are judged."
How can we use this to give more impact to our presentations?
If you are giving a presentation to your direct reports or team - in your planning time before you deliver your presentation consider - how are they judged?
Is it through volume of sales, customers retained or the number of new business cases processed? Is it project reports or audits completed? Is it penetration of new markets, costs saved or profits retained?
When giving a presentation to the board of management of a company of a potential prospect - in my planning I'll be thinking - how are they judged?
The IT Director is judged the quality of process and system design
The Sales Director is judged on market share and penetration levels
The Manufacturing Director may be judged on profit or costs against budget
The Managing Director may be judged on growth and acquisitions of businesses
The HR Director may be judged on performance improvement and talent management
So remember...
When you to script your ideas for your presentations - then concentrate on sharing ideas that will help those who receive your message, your audience, and convince them that you appeal to how they are ultimately judged in their respective roles.
"IF" Kipling: Resilience, Inner Strength, Robustness & Character
I am enjoying a good time in my life right now but I do know of others close to me who are having a difficult time. I know that things come in cycles and when the cycle of life is against you that you have to leverage you inner strength and resolve to deal with the problem, frustration or hindrance. The tough times prepare you to deal with the future. Sometimes when you are challenged to your very core, your very best self emerges.
I know that when I have had problems in the past I take solice from reading through Rudyard Kipling's "If". The content and the spirit of this uplifting poem is applicable to both men and woman, applicable for business or personal and emotional problems and reminds us that you are here to learn to counter and overcome that which challenges you most.
Tests to your character never arise when you are at your strongest. But taking the challenge no matter how much it hurts gives you strength to go on and ever upwards to learn, grow and prosper. Looking back in time to today from the safety of five years in the future may help you understand that the problems were not as tough as you thought.
Like me, please Read the poem and think of the personal meaning you can take from his work and how it translates to strengthyen you in your journey.
IF
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating ,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:
If you can dream--and not make dreams your master,
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
But make allowance for their doubting too,
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools:
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it all on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings--nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
I recently was saddened by the behaviour of someone who I thought could respond well to bad news. This person, who will remain nameless applied for a job in their organisation - got an interview but the job offer went to a colleague. Instead of learning from this experience and asking 'how can I do better' he displayed all the characteristics of a petulant 15 year old that could not get their own way.
For a start he ignored and then was openly rude to the successful applicant in front of colleagues and then tried to make difficult working together from that day on.
His behaviour had proven beyond doubt that he was not worthy of the job by his behaviour and that the interview panel had been 100% right in appointing the other member of staff.
As part of the 'ups and downs' of life we have to learn to deal with disappointments - even daily and that's were positive psychology has to play a part in shaping the future.
Positive Psychology Tips
Positive psychology would tell us that to recover from this disappointment you need to:
Review honestly what did not work for you in that endeavour
Seek feedback from others and listen to what they say at three levels. Listen to what they say, what they don't say and what they have difficulty stating.
By listening to feedback one creates a more realistic view of self and ensure that the goals you set are within your capabilities.
Consider the implications of the disappointing event and ask yourself these questions. What is good about not achieving your objective on this occasion? What would be the downside to getting things the way you want them?
Only by assessing the pro's and cons of your performance can you rise maturely to deal with the almost equal measures of success and disappointment you will EXPERIENCE in the future.
Analogy for Life - Landing on an Aircraft Carrier?
At last it seems that the Government is investing in our shipbuilding industry in Scotland. It is strongly rumoured that Gordon Brown has intervened to ensure that the construction of the Navy vessels will be spread throughout the UK rather than the world. It's great news for Rosyth and the Clyde in Scotland and hopefully for the Tyne and other Regions in the UK.
You know I remember being fascinated by the large Aircraft carriers and how they housed the planes. I often wondered how the planes could take off at such great speed and land with such accuracy.
Just imagine being the pilot of one of the planes sited at the end of the flat top deck of the aircraft carrier. The carrier is moving at 30 mph into the wind.
Trajectory & Speed……....
For the plane to reach take-off speed - a powered catapult accelerates the plane from 0 - 165 mph in 2 seconds!
Landing on a Pin Head...
When landing the incoming plane is travelling at 165 mph and hooks underneath connect with strong cables stopping the plane in just 300 feet!
An Analogy for Life……....
So how is it that some people having set their goals just potter along career and life's runways bemused to why they are not getting the desired results?
To get their planes or their lives to fly requires action, decision and swift motion.
Pottering down the runway of life with no real focus they will never achieve the heights they seek.
So here are some issues to consider:
Do you have goals and are they focused in the right direction?
Are their destinations being achieved?
Do they have the right flight plan?
Are they aware that a plane is only 100% on target when its landing and when it is taking off. Note there are many routes to the same destination.
Are they travelling and accelerating fast enough to reach their goals?
You ignore the politics of change at your peril. Talking with my pal David Lyneham-Brown, from BPT Group, who is re-branding and expanding his business in process management. We discussed the reality of change in business and the political context in which that change is engineered. We agreed of studying and understanding the nature scope and relevance of "power-politics" in business.
We are not suggesting a crash course in Machiavelli but here is a list of issues that I compiled a few years ago when we designed it into a consultancy skills programme for a large Utility.
Organisation - what are the core values that drive the business? How do the actual and the expressed values differ - if at all?
Are there power coalitions in the organisation? Where does power to influence decision-making and resource allocation reside?
How would you describe the culture of the organisation to a new person joining the business? What do you have to do to 'get on', 'get noticed', 'be promoted'?
Who has influence and why?
What is the source of control or power in the organisation?
Position or Legitimate Power - by job title and status - who has influence without holding the position?
Knowledge and Information - who controls it! What knowledge is critical to the current and the future running of the business and who maintains it? How well is this knowledge or information dispersed? "Knowledge is power" - how does this relate to your organisation?
Assertiveness - who controls whom? What buttons are pressed - and who does the pressing?
Sociability and Charisma - who influences using their social skills?
Referent - Collaboration - is there evidence to suggest that consensus and discussion is strong?
Sanctions - Coercion, what are the key punishments and rewards that are actually used within the business?
I have spent a large proportion of my time phoning people this week and find it impossible to make contact. Is everybody on holiday?
Living in Scotland where the school summer holiday's began at the end of June, ending mid August, I have become accustomed to expect that families will be away on holiday and business is less intense thanusual. This year it is slightly different. Is it something to do with the floods, climate change or people just being away?
Time was that a few weeks in August were put aside as annual holidays determined by school holidays and set weeks when manufacturing and the trades took their annual break for maintenance. Now there appears to be enormous slippage in all seasons of the year.
Business in Scotland Closed for two weeks
At Christmas in Scotland industry and commerce basically shuts down for two weeks. More English companies are adopting the same practise of being closed or not servicing customers between Christmas Day and New Year's Day. Is it only the USA that takes a few days off?
Do we have the time to allow for Change?
Some serious issues arise here. I was talking about introducing a 'process review' with a company in Central Scotland. They wanted to commit to remove their current functional silo mentality, and gradually to re-engineer their business to focus on process flow with a high degree of customer focus.
It was almost impossible to agree a time for the 'Discovery Review' phase and continuous collection of data, because of the Christmas and the New Year holidays, early Spring Break, Easter, Summer Holidays etc.
My belief is that we are finding more and more times when 'Not' to introduce change, when we should be creating opportunities for improvement. How does your business score on the issue of immediacy?
Lewis goes from strength to strength although upsetting his team mate Fernando Alonso and winning the Hungarian Grand Prix. There are plenty of behind the scenes shenanigans that I hope will remain subdued to enable McLaren to get on with winning the championship.
The important factor is that McLaren are leveraging their strengths and proving to Ferrari and the other big players that they have developed a strategy for winning this year's championship. It's a shame that the politics of intra team competition entered into the arena.
Buying Talent - Headhunting for Ferrari
Lewis's own focus could make him unbeatable in the years ahead. Rumour has it that Ferrari offered him £35m to start the season with them next year, and I wonder if this fee will double before the end of season? I'd prefer him to stay with McLaren to see some real competition hit the circuit in 2008!
But isn't this also true in business - companies are always looking for talent and adopting all sorts of tactics to headhunt the best. A good friend earns her living in this area and finds it incredibly difficult winning over people to move to another business. Is it the Generation Y (why) mentality that so many young managers portray in their personal values and beliefs, with authenticity being central in being employed by an authentic and caring employer.
What is interesting is watching, witnessing hearing the rumours about the politics of positioning and leadership within Team McLaren. And just as politics rears its head in Motor Racing any manager in business would be foolish to ignore the culture of politics.
Politics & the Management of Change
I was talking with a colleague, David Lyneham-Brown, from BPT Group,about the insanity of failing to realise that every business culture has a 'political power system' that you can ignore at your peril. I felt it was so important in change management that I built a module into my internal consulting workshop focusing on spotting, assessing and using the political power system to aid the process of managing speedy change. More on that later in the month.
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