Is your glass half empty or half full? We’ve all heard that phrase used to identify optimism and pessimism. Of course, any good consultant knows that dichotomies can be dangerous. There are always shades of grey for good reason. I was just reading how those with a positive mindset have...
How to Help People through the Limboland of Change
One of my clients is working on a huge project. Lots of systems, lots of data, lots of change. The reality of such complexity is that they can’t make all of the change happen at once. Some things must happen in sequence, so staging is necessary. Staging has one big...
Your remote meeting is missing something critical
Recently I was in Hawaii to gather with peers from around the world to focus on entrepreneurship. Our group meets regularly via Zoom, and we get together once a year with an expert to focus on bigger issues. Covid made that impossible for two years. One could ask, why meet...
Clean up after your project or kill your credibility
In most offices there yet remains a very old technology: the bulletin board. And I’m sure you, like me, have paused at the board noting which items are past their expiration date. Systems 2018! is a dead give away. I once found a poster asking people to prepare for a...
If we believe in change, we believe in redemption
Our society is rife with discontent these days. We are easily outraged at gun massacres, and equally outraged when governments attempt to restrict our freedom of choice. We won’t stand for terrorism, but secret surveillance is a non-starter. Every new ideology has to be thrust into the faces of citizens...
Your Job Is Not To Get The Best Performance From Your People
OK, I’ll admit, that is a misleading title. Because that is your job. It’s just not your only job.I coach many leaders who tell me how they agonize over a single individual on the team who continues to create problems and under deliver. They make like difficult where it could...
You’re Using the Wrong Ruler. How to Truly Measure Change
Change leaders are always looking for a new ruler. “How do we best measure change?” It remains one of the most popular questions in the domain of change management.The answer is simple: Measure the impact on the business and work backwards.“Change work” never stands on its own. It’s always focused on...
Need productivity? Skip meetings
I’ve been managing a team under significant time pressures to create and rollout training while executing a multi-layered communication plan. We are a small team with big ambitions, working for executives with big expectations.Getting it all done with quality was going to be a challenge. That’s when I began banning...
Leading change at the micro level
“It’s not zero.”After illness and injuries that kept me away from the gym for a few months, I’m finally back. My first workout consisted of just 12 minutes of cardio (target is 20) followed by a few sets with weights.It was much shorter than what I’m used to, and that...
Your “Lessons Learned” Sessions are a Waste of Time
A few years ago I sat down with a senior project manager to swap stories and the subject of lessons learned sessions came up. She said, “Useless. I can predict most of what will come out on those sessions.” The conversation moved on but her statement stuck with me.Think about...
