The leader approached the podium. "I want to tell you a story..." It was 3 pm in Toronto at head office and the help desk was handling its usual round of password changes, software installations, and access requests. "Don, this one's for you! Emergency on line 2. It's Denis from...
No Safety – No Performance: How to Communicate During Chaos
Restructuring, rightsizing, employee rebalancing...regardless of what you call it, layoffs are tough on every employee. Either you are a target now, or you could be a target later. When a company is willing to let people go, no one feels safe. That's a key word: 'Safe'. When employees don't feel safe...
Want Buy-In? Give Them Hope as well as Help
"In my heart and soul, I knew I wasn’t answering the fundamental question of why the world needs this company to be successful." ~ R.J. Scaringe, CEO, Rivian Ominous statement. Why would a CEO care about the 'why of the world'? Isn't a strategy enough? If we are producing a good...
Leverage Help and Heart to Build Buy-in for Change
Novice drivers want to place one foot on the accelerator while keeping one on the brake. The car doesn't move very well. It takes trust to lift the left foot and get things moving. When we roll out change we want everyone pushing in the same direction: forward! People can only...
Should you Convince or Coerce People to Embrace Change? A Surprising Answer
Influence comes in a wide variety of flavours. Great salespeople use subtle methods of moving you towards a decision. Taskmasters use blunt force: coercion. When you need people to get on board with an important change in an age where people want to decide for themselves, what do you do?...
Want Engagement? Leave a big gaping hole in your rollout plan
You're waiting in a doctor's office. In the waiting room is a table with a puzzle on it. Incomplete. It's within easy reach. Do you drop a few pieces into place to pass the time? You can reference neuroscience or theories of gestalt or the popularity of the New York...
Need to Unify? Remarkable Ways to Create Community
On the second floor of the Renwick Gallery in Washington DC is a holy place. David Best's Temple invites quiet contemplation in a huge ballroom completely dressed with intricately carved wood. Thoughts spill onto the surfaces as visitors are invited to take a small piece of wood and write what's...
The Surprisingly Best Day for Change
I've been travelling in Italy this past week for business constantly moving from plane to hotel to train and back again. It's hard at times to push myself to keep up work routines let alone work on a new idea. Wouldn't it be easier to do all that once I'm...
Are You Approachable? Take This 3-Point Assessment!
I checked in at my hotel in Washington, DC and headed to the elevator like I've done a million times before. Reaching out to press the call button, I stopped suddenly. What's the problem here? A single button with flames rising from it. RED flames. Graphics with actions crossed out. The...
Great Leaders Tell Great Stories: 4 Ways Storytelling Makes You Stronger
Recently I received a lovely surprise from my parents - a copy of The Gingerbread Man. Well worn, this was one of several stories I demanded be read to me again and again (thanks Mom!). Listening to a good story is not just a delight for kids, adults love them, too....
