I’m not sure who’s the most frustrated: CEO’s who can’t get their communication people to help improve business results, or communication people who want to add value but don’t have what it takes to do so. Most internal communication people play the role of town crier rather than business problem solver. They’re focused on distributing… Read more
Change Management
Pilot Projects Create Big Successes
Want to produce results fast, minimize risk of failure, perfect a concept and create demand for more? Pick a pilot, improve results and replicate. Increasingly, organizations are adopting surgical approaches to improving performance, focusing on targeted segments (a branch office, manufacturing plant, laboratory, sales territory, or distribution center), making significant shifts quickly, creating stories around… Read more
Leading in Tumultuous Times
Managing through tumultuous times is often the equivalent of a high-wire balancing act. The disruption is a source of anxiety and uncertainty for people inside the organization. If linking people to strategy represents a major challenge in normal times, creating linkage during a downsizing, merger or reorganization raises the challenge exponentially. In tumultuous times, communication… Read more
Shake it up, Baby!
“Well, shake it up, baby” – the opening line of an early Beatles song (Twist and Shout) – is often what leaders need to do to initiate large scale change. Disruptive innovation isn’t a new phenomenon in the business world. Clayton Christensen, Harvard professor and author of The Innovator’s Dilemma, popularized disruptive innovation as a… Read more
Mixed Messages Can Undermine Performance
Ron called me after he walked out of a meeting with top supply chain leaders at a large consumer goods manufacturer, where Ron was a senior director of communication. The company had initiated a plan to reduce product damage across its network, especially in its distribution centers (DCs), and the supply chain leaders had heard… Read more
For Change that Sticks, Replicate the System
My previous issue of The Leadership Report discussed how small wins can improve already good performance and help you transform your business. The day after it was published, a reader said he was “interested in knowing how small wins can lead to a more systemic, holistic shift in embedding employee engagement as a routine day-to-day… Read more
Starting Small Proves Winning is Doable
One of the best ways to launch a system-wide overhaul is with small wins, accompanied by a healthy dose of bureaucracy busting. Attacking a small part of your organization first can get results fast and prove that taking the business to the next level is doable. Starting small enables you to go after the easy… Read more
Bring on the Band: Let’s Change the Culture!
Most CEOs who think they need to improve dramatically probably do. They usually get into the mess they’re in because they didn’t execute a customer-focused business strategy well. Execution starts with enabling people to change how they do their work. Results don’t change unless work changes, all things equal. But not all leaders understand this…. Read more
Gaming For Excellence
How Businesses Use Games to Gain “Gamification” is a pretentious new buzzword for a practice that’s been around a long time–using games to generate solutions to business problems. People who use the term often do so breathlessly, as though they’ve discovered something truly unique. The Atlantic magazine actually called the term gamification “bullshit.” I wouldn’t… Read more
Lousy Change Leadership Causes Change Fatigue
If you’re like people in many companies today, you’re damned tired of the pursuit of constant change. I don’t blame you. I see first-hand what you’re going through–and where it comes from. Leaders who don’t have a clue as to how to manage or lead a change effort do more harm than good. Take “The… Read more