May 5, 2008
09:13 am | 0 recommendations | 4 comments
HumanSigma Ideation™
When an organization doesn't meet the stakeholders' needs and expectations, the cause is rarely a misguided posture, purpose, and alignment of strategy or vision.Instead, underperformance is more often the result of a misalignment of the organization's strategy and its many complexes and interacting parts.
To address such situations, The Bison Group’s “HumanSigma Ideation” platform integrates learning models to helps organizations with their HR functions and designs, based on market economics and customized to deliver against stakeholder expectations, customer needs, and the relationships among the constituencies in the organization's extended enterprise.
Tailored to meet an organization’s particular situation (people and systems), a Refreshed Operating Model typically includes any or all of the following elements:
- Enterprise People Solutions – Relationship Management Platform for allocating scarce resources to align people processes to organizational goals
- Organizational Execution (OrgEx) modeling used within change management processes in developing the learning organization and great teams
- A team maneuvers framework that clearly identifies and motivates individuals to work, individually and together, toward strategic objectives
- Profit-accountable business units formed around distinct value propositions
- Supply Chain Management that delivers a combination of innovative strategies with practical know-how to help organizations design, build, and operate new system models to dramatically improve competitive advantage
- Support services based on market models to serve internal clients responsively and competitively
- Innovative and strategically focused leadership teams
- Strategic-Execution that provides continuous exploration in new sources of shareholder value by delivering products and services more effectively and efficiently
- Alliances and partnerships – Enterprise Resource Planning with best-in-class providers to leverage scale, access expertise, and increase flexibility within people and organizational platforms
- Linkages among organizational elements that measure, inform, and motivate them to effectively work together to execute the firm's strategy – positive organizational behavior and transformational leadership
The Organizational Breakthrough TTI Simulation Experience
Learn about the OrgEx DNA Instrument™, a powerful web-based instrument and simulation for executives to experiment with decisions and view the resulting impact to their organizations. The power behind the simulation lies in empirical relationships identified in 100,000 observations from over 1,000 organizations, which reliably predict outcomes that apply to their own organizational environment.
To learn more about The Bison Group’s experience in helping organizations create Refreshed Operating Models to improve organizational effectiveness, request a copy of our “HumanSigma Ideation Series” today by email at: Sales@BisonGroupUS.com.
Start the evolution that begins the tactical-philosophy that wins your people and systems today!
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As we continue to look at ways of being effective within our productivity, it is important to understand that the workforce has to do much more than just “work harder” and increase throughput. The workforce must rapidly be introduced to innovation and strategy mapping to remain on a continuum for growth to its systems and people platforms.
In some cases, this requires a series of tasks to ramp up new business processes and technologies; learn to think outside of the box – transformational thinking – adapt new skills that transition the minds and transform the hearts of the people responsible for turning the ignition on outputs and efficiency, and to continuously reduce operating costs along the way. At the same time, an organization must be able to manage and support that type of productivity across the enterprise. Asking for too much? This very question leads to inexcusable results within the organizations vision, mission, and tactical philosophy to execute flawlessly. However, removing this way of thinking from the start places people and organizations on a good to great path of success.
Change Management and Talent & Organizational Performance elicits the perspective that understands how-to maximize productivity as the result of complex, interrelated factors, ranging from people, technology and process, organizational behavior, culture, and incentives and reward systems. Change Management and Talent & Organizational Performance is used to help organizations with understanding the “why” of their actions, in addition to the “what” of their behaviors, developing the required capacity to continually change and compete within their respective industry. All the while, they need to do so without buckling under the pressure of new ways to work or distribute their ongoing business operations.
Change Management and Talent & Organizational Performance works to address these factors in an integrated fashion and within an added-valued effort to drive productivity. It demands that everyone involved in the process to have a significant voice in building the architecture of the enterprise (or work within the developed systems completed under the wings of colleagues).
Once people have identified their place in the development and/or redevelopment of the planned future picture, the enterprise at that point, is able to ensure that the factors influencing the need for change must come together at all three levels of the organization – the enterprise, the workforce, and the individual! When this happens as a seamless application, the environment is then able to experience a complete productivity-enhancing experience with lessons learned for future transitions.
There are a few ways of executing a successful Change Management and Talent & Organizational Performance initiative:
Enterprise People Solutions – Relationship Management Platform: Reengage customer management for the globalized, customer-centric, digital age that aligns people processes to organizational goals. “EPS” instructs how to LeaderShape people to cause transformational change! The “EPS” approach helps internal/external clients create a superior experience and enhances the value of the relationships by combining knowledge and expertise with the latest tools and technologies. It also helps organizations to understand the outputs of transformational leadership and organizational behavior as a companywide responsibility – aligned with the highest integrated principles to substantially increase productivity, person-to-person interactions, and overall performance – by maximizing the potential of the workforce. Reflection: EPS – People.
Organizational Execution (OrgEx): Achieve professional mastery and lead change into becoming a positive force! Change is inevitable, progress is not. When a transition is needed within an organizational system, in most cases, there seems to be a prevailing disconnect of the broader knowledge “why” new systems and constructs are needed. The “OrgEx” approach provides 25 focus-specific and integrated strategies to be used for change in developing the learning organization and great teams. The management techniques outline a comprehensive knowledge paradigm for leading and navigating through tough waters from a three-Phased approach: strategy execution, teams, and sales. The information and lessons are used as a strategic guide for refreshing, developing, and/or reengineering the focus of management principles for winning by making satisfying decisions that contribute to valuable “agents of change” in today’s rapidly changing marketplace. Reflection: OrgEx – The Organization.
Strategic–Execution: A continuous exploration in new sources of shareholder value for client relations by investigating new markets or examine opportunities to grow in existing markets. Overcoming roadblocks require the learning of proven project management techniques to discover a wealth of valuable and flexible tools to be integrated immediately to ensure the success of all types of projects – internally and externally. The name of the game is “execution” and managing a combined strategy provides for a sound foundation, set of skills and techniques, and tactical proactive approach to win over the “Fallacy of Motivation on Execution” as it relates to the overall mission. Strategic-Execution also helps with identifying ways to deliver products and services more effectively and efficiently. Reflection: SE – Execution and Project Management.
Supply Chain Management: A combination of innovative strategies with practical know-how to help organizations design, build, and operate new system models that deliver superior supply chain performance and dramatically improve competitive advantage. SCM works hand-in-hand with Strategic-Execution on any number of different projects from channel integration, public and private B2B exchanges, and electronic fulfillment to supply chain synchronization. Reflection: SCM – Process Improvement, Workflow.
Enabling Businesses to Perform Better: Enterprise Resource Planning “ERP”Organizations must understand the criticality for achieving a position that occupies a unique position at the intersection of business and technology. Becoming an industry leader can be cumbersome if the appropriate calibrations are not made to effectively design and implement flexible enterprise solutions. “ERP” offers a winning solution to allow the world’s leading companies with automating, integrating and synchronizing real time information across their business platforms. Reflection: ERP – Flexible Enterprise Solutions (People & OrgEx).
Using these approaches to build dynamic leaders in business and industry is the foundation that helps connect organizations to their employees, customers, and partners. An effective Change Management and Talent & Organizational Performance initiative prepares leaders responsible for facilitating or managing change and identifies essential key business drivers that typically underlie the need for organizational change. You’ll become proficient at managing change, learning how to effectively work with key stakeholders in ways that build trust and support, and ensure positive outcomes for your bottom line.
And we cannot forget the one additional benefit to adopting this initiative format, overcoming “competitive arousal.” What is competitive arousal? This is the term that defines an individual’s approach to beat his/her rivals at any cost. For these personality types, it they are not careful, this adrenaline-fueled state can and will lead to all kinds of expensive mistakes – mostly in the form of losing personal relationships and character desecration. Yet again, an effective Change Management and Talent & Organizational Performance initiative will keep your competitive spirit in check. To explain “competitive arousal” in detail (a must read), please take a look at the Harvard Business Review article by Deepak Malhotra, Gillian Ku, J. Keith Murnighan entitled, “When Winning Is Everything.”
This text is specific to change agents and organizations who are seeking to integrate creative and innovative strategies within their systems. To read the full white paper version on Change Management and Talent & Organizational Performance, simply send an email to our team at: Sales@BisonGroupUS.com.
Please reference the "CMTOP" in your subject line in order for us to process your request and send your "white paper" as quickly as possible.
April 4, 2008
02:23 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment
The Building Great Teams Project. Here we are standing at the doorstep within the 2008 economy knocking hard to come inside. Only, the door remains shut with no answer. We continue to knock, and knock hoping that someone would open it for us to be let in. The problem with this scenario is one that has so many of us being brought to our wits end, presented with few options of achieving our goals. Not unless a door is opened for the entry to be achieved, or so you may think. What am I referring you may be asking? The answer to this question lies in a word and it is one that offers a change to your life – “opportunity.”
The scenario also lays the foundation for what most people in America may already be thinking, “we have gone from a first class country to a third rate community.” I know that it may sound harsh and might even upset some of you with the profound statement, but I am only telling the truth. The United States of America is a great nation; however, we are one that is on a slippery slope heading in the wrong direction FAST!
We are currently facing economic and political crisis at proportions that for most people alive, this is the absolute worst it has been. Just as common folk didn’t see the shock of September 11th coming that held most of us frozen in time, unless we understand how to identify with the word opportunity, we will again be frozen in shock when terror strikes – and for most working Americans, it is already upon us with sky rocketing fuel prices (planes, trains, and automobiles…oops, let’s add one more here and say, our homes).
With our failing banking institutions, busted brokerages, toppled corporate giants, bankrupt cities and school systems, states in default, the news of killer asteroids heading towards earth, and foreign creditors cashing out U.S. securities, it seems to me that the stage may already be set and the biggest scare yet is on its way.
I believe that we can, as the most resilient nation in the world, overcome the doom and gloom we are facing. We can head it off with persistence and opportunity and to do so, we must ban together as great teams do, look adversity in its face and smile, and win at all cost. That’s right; the opportunity that I am referring lies in our abilities to ban as one to build small pockets of great teams at every level of our society. If we look back to our earlier days, WWI and WWII, Americans banned together as a team and we became a nation that could not be beat during some of the toughest times we had to face in those times. We simply need to do it again, only this time, we must move our teams from being good to becoming great.
In building great teams, there are a few things to consider just to get started:
- Team Basics & A Team Defined!
- People and Champions of Change
- Perspective (Lessons from the Wizard of Oz)
- The Future Picture
- The Ninefold Earth
A lack of opportunity may be knocking and for some people, it goes by its original name, “tough times.” But, for those who have the know-how for making the absolute best of a tough situation, slamming the door in the face of tough times is not a problem. It requires us to ban together as one – in our homes, on the job, and across organizations at every level to become a GREAT team.
I know that you have heard the saying, “tough times don’t last, but tough people do.” The problem with this statement is that although you might be that tough person, even you will fall to the perils of life’s burdens. This is the reason for this text, to provide a means of not falling, but if you do, having a failsafe for getting up. This brings me to the first consideration: Team basics and what is a team? Building great teams hits at one of the most discussed topics within business media and the workplace: Organizational Behavior, leadership & process, and inter-office politics.
The day of the individual worker is over, as our life style in today's households and corporate arena demands that workers possess the ability to effectively work as team-led associates within an organization. Everyone needs someone. It is a scenario all top leaders and managers knows well: The organization, their people, and their systems all require efficient and effective processes to remain constant in its approach to move quickly toward new and innovative ways of reaching mission-critical objectives. This is a task that is directed by the senior leadership, and they must be committed to draft and manage the right team of commandos to lead the effort.
Yet, in most cases, team leaders never hit their goals – not because they lack talent within the associate ranks, but because they are naive to the complexities of team dynamics. Smart leaders and managers understand what type of team model best suits the task, what key skills to look for (and which to avoid), and how to coax top performances from everyone starting from day one.
This text is another part in my Building GREAT Teams project. If you would like to receive a full copy of the text, please send me an email at: Damian@BuildtheTeams.net. Also, please reference “The Guidebook” in your subject line in order for our team to process your request in a timely manner. You can also visit www.BuildtheTeams.net to learn more about the project.
The Building GREAT Teams project includes the publication bundle: “Building Great Teams: Charting the Path of Organizational Politics” (ISBN# 978-1-4196-7603), “The Monograph: How to Build and Manage the Process of Teams” (ISBN# 978-1-4196-9172-0), “The Guidebook: Essential Traits of a GRAET Team Player,” a series of performance management assessment instrument, 40-hours of instruction using strategies from the United States Marine Corps, and dynamic hands-on exercises.
The project offers a systematic philosophy for excellence that achieves a philosophical paradigm for greatness; one offers liberation through process that ultimately leads to a reconciliation of practice. The publications area available at www.amazon.com, www.booksurge.com, or by emailing me at: Damian@BuildtheTeams.net.
Those who adopt the project are poised to learn how “not” to resist, but work with, the forces and paradigms of change, how to chart the path of organizational politics, how to build and manage the process of teams, and learn the essential traits of a GREAT team player! The project offers an essential guidebook for building your team’s transformational resilience, providing the needed coaching to your team members, and driving performance management for optimal results.
In closing, I hope that you explore the many offerings from this project. Here’s a sampling from the project that is titled, “The Five Fundamentals.”
There are Five Fundamentals – for this deliberation, for the making of comparisons and the assessing of conditions: the way, heaven, earth, command, discipline. I wish to explain only one; “the way,” causes men to be of one mind with their rulers, to live or die with them, and never to waver! (Definition) A team must stand firm on one vision with the ruler being the mission – to live by a creed and never falter and/or waiver on an issue that can stop the execution of the necessary steps within the established mission you are reaching. Don’t ever fail within “the way!”
This Guidebook helps you to define the other four for your life, team, and organization. Get your copy today.
03:10 pm | 0 recommendations | Be the first to comment
A Long Walk On A Short Path
Keeping in the tradition of providing clever and entertaining instruction for people to grow their lives, I have teamed up with a new author, Leslie Ann Smith, to help develop an outstanding leadership project based on one of our film classics, "The Wizard of Oz."
The film's plot is easily condensed and allows for an immediate organizational behavioral approach that anyone can identify with: lonely and sad Kansas farm girl Dorothy Gale (her complete name) dreams of a better place, without torment against her dog Toto from a hateful neighbor spinster, so she plans to run away. During a fierce tornado, Dorothy is struck on the head and transported to a land (Munchkin Land) "beyond the rainbow" where she meets magical characters from her Kansas life transformed within her unconscious dream state. After travels down a Yellow Brick Road to the Land of Oz (Emerald City), and the defeat of the Wicked Witch of the West, Dorothy and her friends (the Tin Woodman, the Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion) are rewarded by the great Wizard of Oz with their heart's desires - and Dorothy is enabled to return home to Kansas by locating the depths of her inner self. This brings me to our project and it’s valuable and entertaining perspective for us all to learn from the cast of characters.
When we think about the reasons that one must take better care of their life, it would be smart to begin thinking outside of the norm for your way of accepting the perceived. This is your first step to a new you - personal prosperity - and freedom from the chains of bondage.
There are seven principles that each of us must follow to begin the “long walk on a short path!” This text offers a transformation through my hunger for knowledge and my thirst for instruction. Yes, there is a difference between “hunger” and “thirst” and the seven inherent steps will not only define them for you, they will prepare you to accept your right to choose the future that is awaiting your new transformation into greatness.
The seven principles, if they were an apple, would allow me to take a bite to quench my hunger for change.
They are outlined as:
1. Think (the Future Picture)
2. Tongue (Words of Wisdom: Voice)
3. Transition the Mind (the Scarecrow)
4. Transform the Heart (the Tin Woodman)
5. Totality of Courage (the Cowardly Lion)
6. Tortuous (Full of Twists and Turns)
7. Toxic (Leadership, Behaviors, Values)
As we seek to experience change for our lives, we must first try to construct our future picture. This means that we must already know what we want our future to look like when we get there. This form of thinking allows each of us to examine a word that for some is the opposite of what they may be using (your actions) in life now; proactive, the opposite of procrastination. Being proactive places you on a path that limits negative things from happening.
Using the characters from the Wizard of Oz and over the next few weeks, Smith and I will use this Blog as a vehicle to outline the seven principles for change that anyone can use to make significant deposits in their life. You’ll see glaring similarities between your life experiences and those of Dorothy Gale from Kansas, the Cowardly Lion, the Scarecrow, the Tin Woodman, Glenda -the Witch of the North, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Emerald City, and Munchkin Land. Your will be required to think “outside-the-box” for learning a new series of guiding principles. Beginning with the first trait, it’s actually quiet simple. In order to plan a better future for yourself, like Dorothy Gale, all you have to do is think.
This text also offers a transformation that prepares you to accept your right to choose the necessary tools for finding your voice. It will inspire you to help others with finding theirs. The future awaits those who are proactive in their search for knowledge. Smith and I will attempt to entertain and prepare you for a significant walk into greatness.
Practicing her own principles, Smith released a "Monograph" version of her upcoming book, “A Long Walk On A Short Path,” for anyone who is seeking to make an immediate change.
To get your copy, simply email me TODAY or contact Smith at lwsp@leslieasmith.com!
Publication Release Date: August 2008
Published by: Book Surge Publishing Company
Smith does an outstanding job and remains clever throughout her text keeping with the theme of Oz. Be prepared to learn, have fun, revisit your childhood, and GROW. This is one "NOT TO BE MISSED" and you will not be disappointed.
04:19 am | 0 recommendations | 1 comment
Saturday, March 29, 2008
COOLEST BOOK TRAILER EVER!!
http://youtube.com/user/bisongroup
I’m not kidding. I’ve watched this book trailer at least a dozen times, and I still can’t get enough of it. The music is excellent. They video is simple and feels very organic. I love this thing! I have had the pleasure of speaking with the author, and I know a little bit about his passion and commitment to helping businesses building great teams, but who knew he could take that passion and make such a cool book trailer. If the video is this innovative and creative, it leads me to believe his book and concepts are equally as compelling. Nicely done and Semper Fi, Skipper. Kudos to your entire team. - R.W. Ridley, Blog, http://www.selfmarketingforbooks.com/
February 2, 2008
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As in leadership, elevators are constantly moving. They remain constant, moving up and down, to transport individuals and items floor to floor. The ride never ends. It goes on and on, up and down, side to side until another person on a different floor pushes the button to call for the elevator. We define "Flexibility and the Elevator" as:
Moving up is said to be a promotion, a rise in status or success; moving down a loss and sideways a lateral move, status quo. The elevator seems to indicate that you are on the go. You exceed your own expectations when you make wise decisions out of pure determination. Using the elevator as a metaphor offers a significant stimulus for greatness – both personal and professional.
The framework and paradigm overview herein introduces the concept of "9TH Floor Leadership." This change initiative offers a “sooner than later” parsimonious approach to move into a higher state of leadership for yourself and for those you influence in your current and future environment of practice.
As the team and I continue to educate the marketplace to become future leaders within their industry, we are constantly seeking new approaches to bring our instruction into the mainstream that influences individuals and organizations to find their voice. As time remains a changing paradigm, the instruments used by leadership types must also remain on a continuum for change and growth.
This presents a significant potential for increased solutions and practices delivered through this discipline of leadership. Globalization, technological advancement, and several other factors are impacting the way individuals approach transition within their career and personal lives. As facilitators in the study of transformational leadership, organizational behavior, and change, these factors present a solutions-centric model that overcomes the challenges for people to become "LeaderShaped" with flexible mindset’s to keep pace with real-world trends.
In this text, we examine the variable factors outlined within the discipline and constructs of 9TH Floor Leadership. Known for being a multifaceted and empowering method to use for growing people through change, the elevator effect helps to make difficult decisions less complex. It strengthens a leader’s respective leadership and behavioral acumen through foresight, innovation, and influence. As 9TH Floor Leadership evolves into everyday practice and implementation of future strategy, four stages of development, complimented by a series of core applications, shapes the aforementioned challenges:
- Delivery of Peak Performance: The Shifting Context – A Mindset of Five
- Development of Significant Influence: Management & Leadership Practices
- Achievement of Lasting Endurance and Linkage of Legacy: Emerging Contradictions
- Your Leadership Signature: The Future Picture
The underlying factors outline how flexibility on the elevator identifies with ways that people can experience change in their lives. Again, the elevator seems to indicate that you are on the go. People are confronted by a multitude of demands that are very different from the experiences of yesterday: The changing workplace, an exaggerated boom in technology, globalization and socialization, diversity, demand persuasion on contribution, and other challenges.
This knowledge will be a resource for people as they develop influential practices to address change and future challenges in personal and professional environments. It will serve as criteria for emulation across multi-disciplined sectors including, business, academia, government, social and community (and, let’s not forget the faith-based communities).
The perceptive observations on the concept of 9TH Floor Leadership and the broader exploration of its four major themes may have far-reaching implications for people around the world. Our findings, we hope, are to be used as a catalyst to transition people into greater paradigms of leadership using trends and ideation to become more competitive and anticipate the possible factors that bear on their ability to acknowledge and sustain growth.
To read the full white paper version on the elevator and 9TH Floor Leadership, simply send an email to our team at: Sales@BisonGroupUS.com. Please reference the "elevator" in your subject line in order for us to process your request and send your "white paper" as quickly as possible.
You will not be disappointed.