Why Change Initiatives Need Changed Approaches

http://blogs.hbr.org/ashkenas/2013/04/change-management-needs-to-cha.html

The Harvard Business Review published an article by Ron Ashkenas called Change Management Needs Change. See link above. He said while change management has been around for over half a century, 60%-70% of change initiatives fail.  

In the article, he sites one of the key obstacles to successful change initiatives is

Nikola Tesla's Quote On Great Achievement

“All that was great in the past was ridiculed, condemned, combated, suppressed — only to emerge all the more powerfully, all the more triumphantly from the struggle.”

― Nikola Tesla

This is a philosophy of the game changer. And Nikola Tesla was a game changer. In the late 1800s, he advocated and experimented with wireless technology.  However, the scientific community said he was

Are You a Game Changer?

It could be said that Michael Jordan changed the game of basketball. Steve Jobs changed the game of cell phones. There are many more examples of game changers, like the Wright Brothers or Thomas Edison.

In the case of the Wright Brothers, they pursued a goal in the face of being ridiculed by the masses. After many, many attempts they continued until successful. Once they achieved their goal, the

Small Businesses Are No Longer the Super Heroes of the US Economy

From Presidents of the US to guru consultants, we hear the chants. It has been repeated ad nauseam that small businesses are the most important enterprises for the US economy. However, when you look at research from the National Centre for the Middle Market at Ohio State University, you see a very different picture of reality.

Ohio State University did an analysis of mid sized companies in the US. They measured them by gross annual revenue between $10 million-$1 billion. They estimate there are 197,000 enterprises that meet this criterion. You may say so what.

Of those 197,000 businesses, they make up

NYSE CEO Duncan Niederaurer Delivers Keynote at The Board of Veteran CEOs Breakfast Forum

Do You Know Your Transferable Skills?

The skills and competencies to produce extraordinary results are rarely acquired. Why? Most of the explanations given for outstanding performers revolve around luck or genetics. Therefore, very few people have a way to impart a method for reproducing extraordinary. However, sometimes when people are faced with devastating odds against them, somehow they accomplish results that are considered miraculous.  You hear stories of people lifting a car off of their child.  Those abilities are inexplicable.  No one has been able to teach how to transfer those incredible talents that happen in a spur of the moment into professional or personal abilities. 

Throughout history, there have been instances where groups of people have taken on those abilities to avail themselves of great achievement.   Yet, when the emergency is over, it becomes

Steve Jobs' Quote on Dogma

“Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking.” – Steve Jobs

Despite controversy, Steve Jobs was a legend. And without question, he was a living example of what happens when you don’t get trapped by dogma. Contrary to corporate America requirements, he was CEO of a Fortune 100 company even though he only completed one semester of college. Instead, he went to India to find his guru.

His freedom of thinking was constantly illustrated throughout his career. Our lives will forever be influenced by his innovative ideas.

At the same time, do not confuse Mr. Jobs’ quote with

What Really Stands in the Way of Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling?

In a nation where it is stated ‘all men are created equal’, it would seem impossible to have glass ceilings. Yet, every year there are articles and workshops designed to help women and minorities breakthrough this insurmountable threshold. 

Since I would be considered a minority, I have a license to speak openly about this topic. Perhaps I have a

George Lucas’ philosophy on high achievement

“You can’t do it if you can’t imagine it.” – George Lucas

Before you have a conversation with yourself about why that quote is Pollyanna, ask yourself a question: what do you spend time imagining? If you imagine this quote is a lie, you will be right. From where you stand, it will be virtually impossible to convince you otherwise.

However, if you see this quote as a possibility, think about how much time you spend imagining what you are committed to achieving in your life. When I say committed, I am distinguishing between

Do You Think What You are Thinking Is Thinking?

In a society that craves instant results and fantastic quarterly earnings, taking action is more important than thinking. As long as you are doing something, the belief is there will be great results. This philosophy has become so pervasive that even the CEO is expected to function similarly. Except, without sufficient time to think clearly about outcomes, how will you know if you are moving in an optimal direction?

At some point, we have to stop, look and listen. While brainstorming with others is important, we need individual time to ponder. Otherwise, we may be on a rollercoaster that is headed for a brick wall. Yet, we keep saying ‘go faster’.

As the pace increases, we lose sight of

How Do You Handle Tough Conversations?

For those of us who aspire to be managers, we long for the glory days when projects are successfully completed. It is our way to demonstrate that we can produce results through others. At the same time, at some point, every manager will face the situation that may be uncomfortable. It can happen when our best employees don’t play well together. Or one of our direct reports is highly capable, however, unreliable.

On the surface, it seems the answer is to just fire people. Even that can become a tough conversation when you know your decision will significantly impact someone’s life.

When we explore why some people become managers, the complexity increases. Most people become managers because

How Did You Get Where You Are?

If we look at our lives, we each live in a world of our own. Our world consists of friends, family, work, recreation, etc. And that is where we are. The roadmap we used to arrive at our current destination can never be found in the places we frequent or with the people we know. It is figuratively found inside each of us.

We are the architects of the world in which we live. Our outer world is a reflection of

Andrew Carnegie quotes on the value of people

“Take away my people but leave my factories, and soon grass will grow on factory floors. Take away my factories but leave my people, and soon we will have a new and better factory.” Andrew Carnegie

With the proliferation of social media, many experts pontificate on the value of social networks. Yet, more than 100 years ago Andrew Carnegie became one of the wealthiest men in the nation by building the largest steel company in the world. From Carnegie’s perspective, his power and wealth was not

Three Pillars of Career Success

For many people, their career choices are the most important decisions in their life. Combine that with the fact that approximately 80% of our waking lives are dedicated to work. It is no wonder that career is taken so seriously. The remaining 20% of our lives is committed to family, friends, hobbies and play. Yet, we try to extract 80% of the enjoyment in our lives from the 20%.

In fact, we go to work with the belief that if

Three Ways Companies Lose Top Talent

In many cases, companies with the best talent wins. However, if you are unable to retain top talent, it may be difficult for your business to lead its industry. That makes retention of high performers a critical part of your organization’s strategy.

For those who believe top talent is not a factor, here are some clever ways they run their enterprises to lose high performers.

1. Restrict their creativity – In many cases, highly talented individuals are very creative. Their approach can be

Disruptive Thinking for the U.S. Educational System

Currently, the US educational system is run like a government entity. In reality, it resembles the services industry. In a business that provides services, there is a deliverable for the customer. In public schools, the customer is the student and teachers are the front line workers who provide the service.  If schools adopted business practices, they would ask the customer: what would you like? In business, when clients do not believe they received what they paid for, they take their dollars elsewhere. As taxpayers, we pay for a service from the school districts. Therefore, we should ask: what is the deliverable for our children?

The deliverable is

How Do You Take Advantage of Chaos?

With so much uncertainty and high unemployment, many of us are in a state of chaos. Because the media continues to report bad news, even those with stable jobs are affected by the uncertainty. Therefore, no one is immune. However, no one is stuck either.

On the one hand, it is easy to blame corporate America for this debacle. At the same time, it is important to do

Has the US Lost Its Innovation Edge?

Some say the 2009 recession diminished the US’ ability to innovate. When the economy slows, many companies reduce budgets for R&D. Without R&D, major breakthroughs are put on the shelf. While this strategy may save money, it opens the door for other countries to catch up to the US in terms of innovation.

During a special program on the Nightly Business Report, they focused on some of factors that impede the US’ ability to retain its reputation as the leading global innovator. While there seems to be no imminent threat to lose our title, the recession provided

What’s Wrong With Being Right?

For many people, being right is a favorite pastime. Socially, it is an excellent practice to make ourselves look good or avoid looking bad. Except, it comes with a price. And no one really questions the cost of being right.

One of the reasons we never consider the cost is because many of us believe that everyone should

The Power of Acknowledgement

Most people underestimate the power of acknowledgement. It is seen as the black art from the touchy feely world. However, without it, you can be assured resentment is brewing somewhere under the surface for the unacknowledged person.

Whether it is in our professional or personal life, most of us go unacknowledged for our contribution. Too often, people have the belief of: ‘I don’t need acknowledgement why do others need it?’ This philosophy can leave the other party with the feeling of

What Will Be Different About 2013?

“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” – Vincent Van Gogh 

With the New Year in sight, Van Gogh’s quote opens the door to possibility. What would be a breakthrough for you in 2013? In other words, what would you like to accomplish, such that, once it’s done, your future will be changed forever.

Sounds impossible?  I say no. When the Wright Brothers had their first successful flight, the future of transportation was altered forever. The event that changes in your life does

A Letter To the President

As a result of the continued violence in the US, I am taking a stand for the safety of every man, woman and child. In a nation where we may have taken certain liberties for granted, there is one right that has not been considered. That is the right to feel emotionally protected. The person who could make this liberty a reality is the President of the United States. Below is a letter I have written to encourage him to join me in my stand.

Dear Mr. President,

In the US, we have a constitution that protects our freedom of speech, religion, press, etc. Furthermore, we have a military that is unmatched and protects us from outside threats. Yet, the greatest threat reoccurs from inside this great nation. And a critical step to end this disaster is to

Do We Need a New Understanding of Human Rights?

In a nation where some people put greater value on the lives of pets than that of humans, it is time to rethink what it means to be humane to another human being. While I agree, it is inhumane to abuse animals. Our society, however, has become a travesty because of the insensitive attitude towards one another. Some of us seem to be less concerned about abuse to humans. And this is a violation of our human right to be emotionally safe.

We the people believe we are protected because we have a military, police force and a prison system. Yet, there is no code of ethics when it comes to the

The Dilemma of Managing Top Talent

In Jim Collins’ book, Good to Great, he underlines the importance of having the right people on the bus. With the wrong people in your organization, the best strategy can fail. At the same time, when the right people are high performers, they can present a dilemma.

As a rule, top performers are full of ideas, energy and the willingness to implement their ideas. While this sounds great, sometimes they can

Do You Recognize and Maximize Talent?

When we think of Albert Einstein, we think of genius. If he were alive today, would he be perceived as a genius? Or would he be seen as a nuisance?

During the space race of the 1950s & 60s, tremendous talent was developed in math, science and computers in the US. Perhaps much of that talent was influenced by Einstein’s achievements of the ‘30s & ‘40s. Furthermore, after we won the space race, that same talent was effectively utilized in companies like AT&T, IBM and Ford. Those same brilliantly talented people were allowed to experiment with a wide range of technology like laser, wireless and automobile design.

However, in today’s environment, the mantra is