Making a change in an organization

"Change can be hard for thoes who don't see the need"










I have found there are typically at least 7 stages to making a change in an organization. I always try to do all of them since over the years I’ve found skipping any of the stages reduces the chances of eventual success. This isn’t just for the big glory moves either. It works at all levels. All my managers understand and use the list.

1. Time. The change has to happen soon. Make sure you get across why it’s a good thing. If you have communicated the benefits properly you shouldn’t need your boot tips.
2. Team. I get a team together, preferably where everybody knows and has worked with each other, to see the thing through, soup to nuts; from the idea all the way through to the eventual consumer, whether internal or external. Pick the team wisely. Make sure there are some dissenters-you don’t want everybody thinking alike. You need the idea to be rigorously challenged internally.
   

   "If everyone is thinking alike, somebody isn't thinking."
   -General George Patton, Jr.

3. Vision of the future. Convey your vision to your teams. If you don’t have a vision, work with your trusted resources to develop one. If you still don’t have one, do your shareholders a favor and help find your replacement.
4. Communication. Make sure everybody in the enterprise/group knows what the vision is.
5. Empower. Make sure everybody can move their area toward the vision. This way you can converge on it on multiple tracks. There should be a lot of work in parallel. Think digital. Analog is yesterday.
6. Interim goals. If the vision is too far off people may not be sufficiently motivated. Dial in sub-goals so they can occasionally taste their own momentum toward the ultimate prize. People prefer to reach for what they can actually touch. It’s ok to keep it beyond their grasp, just not too far or too often.
7. Reinforce. When the change has been achieved keep it high profile until it is assimilated into the organization or group. Get it organic as soon as possible. It has to be part of the walls. Part of the mindset. The culture.

Have a great day you are the only person who can make it so

Slainte
Gordon

First impressions are lasting impressions

"Never underestimate the power of a wave"










We took a trip over the weekend, it was a last minute thing we were packed and ready to go in about 10mins, and on the road, spontaneity is an interesting concept, which we never see in business, but businesses are made up from spontaneous people. I believe synergy plays a strong role in being able to make spontaneous choices, maybe a subject for later deliberation.

Back to the trip, we left for Oban, an old fishing town on the west coast of Scotland commonly known as the "Gateway to the Islands", there is a large ferry/cargo terminal situated there , with a main line railway feed which brings in the tourists by the coach load. The harbor has a deep enough draw for some of the local cruise liners, so the town is always busy. I like / liked this town a lot ,the atmosphere is always charged with a signs of life that are missing from the bigger towns and cities of Scotland , there a good selection of restaurants no which make eating out a pleasure, you don't need to feed only from the fish and chip shop's.

So a couple of things that came to mind when I was looking for accommodation...Hence the "first impressions" I went to a couple of B&B's and on entry to them I knew right I away that I did not want to stay, the first impression was bad, and it showed once I spoke to the landlady. I did end up staying not in the best of the B&B's but in one that had the most friendly landlady and it was a comfortable stay.

All this got me to thinking how does my company look / feel to someone who meets it for the first time, was it a good experience or not ?

There are many points of first contact, some are other employees , other media you use , your voice mail system, the list is endless and scary we need to control each of these points of first contact and make sure there is a good first experience for all first contacts.

There was another experience that I will mention quickly, I went for a meal on the Saturday to a pizza house, and it was so warm and muggy that I did not enjoy my meal, the food was good but because of the place of business being far to warm it left a bad first impression. We need to make sure that the experience of working with our company is a good one and wants to make the customer return, because you could have the worlds greatest widget and still not sell any because your customer hates doing business, i.e JDSU and China telecom companies

have a great week

Slainte

Gordon