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change management

Training New Employees

Trying to fit in to their new workplace environment, new employees engage in "behavior modeling"--social learning where people learn to do what they see or experience in a hands-on way.READ»

Know When To Take a Break: Maintaining Composure Through Postponement

Last Friday, while on a weekly conference call, an issue generated enough heat to make one of the participants angry enough to leave the meeting. The meeting then proceeded without him (BTW: unless you are the boss, remember things ...READ»

How to Make 100 Organizations in the Same Industry More Flexible... Key Lessons Learned

I'd never seen anyone coordinate an effort to get 100 organizations in the same community to embrace flexibility at the same time. That is until I met the indefatigable Shifra Bronznick and her team at Advancing Women Professionals and the Jewish Community (AWP).READ»

LEADERSHIP   |  Comment

Switch: Shrink the Change With One-Minute Praisings

What do you dread at work? Maybe it’s filling out expense reports. Making a cold call to a new lead. Giving a performance review to your employee Chester, who’s prone to tearing up at the first hint of ...READ»

New Community Metrics for Corporate “Value”

The current protests against Wall Street executives have made me think about how we look at corporations, and perhaps how that might soon expand. From the protests on television, you would think some people want corporations to disappear from the face of the earth. And at the same time, people are protesting the lack of jobs. To me, this paradox presents a big opportunity to shift our perspective.READ»

Choosing Wisely

Humans are distinguished from animals by their ability to make choices. When a horse gets hungry, he puts his head down in the grass and starts chewing; he doesn’t try to decide between eating now or later, or between grass and an apple. He eats what is in front of his nose.READ»

When does change management start?

“Change management is not about what decisions to make around strategic planning or long-range planning; change management kicks in after a decision has been made, and it’s a very systemic, disciplined methodology.” It’s a ...READ»

Association of Change Management Professionals. Bureaucracy or needed structure?

I admit it. I’m completely on the fence about the Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP). The second annual ACMP conference is coming up in April and I’m not quite sure what I think about it—yet. Let’s look at ...READ»

The Insanity of Change Management

I’ve been thinking recently about definition of insanity attributed to Albert Einstein: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. The way we have been approaching change perhaps doesn’t qualify as insane, but it begs the question whether conventional change management methodologies need some serious innovation.READ»

Announcing Innovative Change Management Toolkit

I am thrilled to announce the launch of a new product that has been a long time in the making: How to Lead the *** Out of Change: A Toolkit to Make Ideas Happen. READ»

CHANGE   |  Comment

Got Change? 5 Ways to be Intentional

Whether you’re headed to the boardroom for a big meeting, attending a family event with your loopy relatives (every family has a few), preparing for a job interview, or meeting with your boss to discuss a difficult topic, you might just find these tools of intention useful.READ»

9 Questions to Ask When Leading Change to Get More Engagement

Have you ever been ‘talked at’ instead of had someone ‘talk with’ you in a real life conversation? It doesn’t feel good to have someone talk AT you. It’s quite patronizing really. It leaves you feeling like you might as ...READ»

5 Zen Habits to Facilitate Healing in Business+Life

While lying on the table with little needles protruding from various parts of my body, my acupuncturist says, “If you feel good, you can do anything.” The statement struck me. For the first time, I understood firsthand, the ...READ»

EBOOK   |  Comment

Free eBook! A Brief Guide to Change by Design - Techniques for Work+Life

I'm excited about this eBook! From "The Pomodoro Technique" to brainstorming, I designed this book to provide you tools to design change and tackle challenges in your business and personal life. I’ve found these techniques to be ...READ»

CAREER   |  Comment

How to be brazen with your ideas – smart with your approach

The more I think about this post I wrote for Handshake 2.0, I realize that it’s not just about influencing your boss or management team. It’s really about effective communication, mindful influence, respectful engagement of the ...READ»

Leading Change – Seth Godin Style

I wish I could quit Seth Godin. Almost every day, in fact, I start my morning with a good cup of coffee and Seth’s blog. And, every morning he leaves me with more questions than answers. Damn him! What I’ve figured out, however, ...READ»

How to deal with Walmart and Stormtroopers at Christmas

The fisherman and I went to Walmart this weekend to pick up some pictures. Star Wars imperial stormtroopers flank the entrance dinging Salvation Army bells. As we walk by, the fisherman waves his hand and says, “These are not the ...READ»

Comparing Conventional Change Management and Change by Design

John Kotter’s revelations in Leading Change—of establish a sense of urgency, create a guiding coalition, empower people to act, and so on—are useful, and they have proven not enough. Organizational change continues to remain ...READ»

Acupuncture, change, and the use of design thinking

I visited an acupuncturist today. She asked me a slew of questions and after each answer she followed with a why. She wasn’t looking for surface level answers to prescribe a generic treatment. She was digging deeper. Forty-five ...READ»

Well designed change will draw people in

There’s a reason Tim Brown, CEO of the design firm IDEO, titled his book, Change by Design. There’s a reason Roger Martin, dean of the Rotman School of Management, titled his book, The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is ...READ»