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Insight and reflections from our work in the field
Everything I needed to know about Change Management, I learned in rehab.
For 12 years, from my teens through late 20's, I was a drug addict. Not the "keeping up appearances but I have a terrible secret" kind, but a full-blown, walking trainwreck. In time, I traversed the entire spectrum of that world - from expensive hotels and briefcases full of cash to sleeping behind dumpsters in the streets of Las Vegas. I bounced in and out of treatment centers, 12 step meetings, jails and all sorts of attempts to "pull myself together." Nothing worked, no matter how grim my circumstances or how strong my desire to escape the confines of my addiction. Eventually though, I came to a bleak point of no return. I was 29. I had stabilized for just long enough to get married and make a decent little start at a "normal" life, and then after a short time found myself plunging back into the abyss. Now everything I had built up was crumbling around me yet again in what seemed like just another example of the hopelessness of my condition, which I assumed came down to a lack moral fortitude and
Why your service culture sucks.
I'd like to talk a minute about customer service. Ok, maybe somewhere between talk and rant if I'm being totally honest. In so doing, I invite the shedding of conventional dialog around all aspects of service - teaching it, providing it, expecting it, selling it as a tenet of the organization. This won't be a list of "four things every service culture needs," or, "how to motivate your service staff." It's a deeper conversation about the core identity of service and the role of leadership in facilitating impact. It will also be an incomplete view, because this is a blog and not a book. The goal is to challenge and inspire your thinking, and let you run with it. If you're ready to go there, come on along for the ride. The value proposition of great service isn't really a secret. 5 minutes worth of light research will produce more data about the bottom line impact of customer service than you can handle. Top companies have built their reputations on their service experience. The C-suite has expanded to include Chief Customer Officers, Customer Success
Your mission, should you choose to accept it.
A few months ago I was studying some material related to guiding an organization through the process of defining their identity. As I was digging through my research, it dawned on me that while I am clear on what and why I do the work that I do, I had never stepped back and formally undertaken a similar process myself. As a one-man operation, I had done some exploration when I first started my business to come up with a purpose statement that related to my ideals, but I hadn't taken it as far as to hammer out a consistent, cohesive identity that articulated my values and vision beyond that. "I believe that there is a vast sea of untapped human potential in every organization just waiting to be released, and that 90% of all companies are missing the mark by not making that a central aspect of their culture and practices. I believe passionately in the power of the individual spirit to bring about widespread transformation, and the role of teams in moving vision forward into reality." That was my manifesto up to this
The cure for creativity and innovation.
What is leadership? I mean, really, what does it mean to you? I was recently speaking with an executive at a creative agency who was frustrated with his team. No one was bringing any ideas to the table, at least none that he felt were worth seriously entertaining, no matter how many times he invited, enticed, or even demanded that they do so. He felt that no one understood his vision and they weren’t contributing to creative growth of the firm. He would make suggestions or reference certain sources to provide creative inspiration, with little to nothing to show for it. In the end, he usually ended up providing the final idea himself after shooting down anything submitted by his team. Having worked together in the past, I had an idea about the potential cause of his dilemma but I wanted to unpack it a bit further to see if he would come to his own realization. Q. How much autonomy does the team have to produce their own work? A. They have total autonomy. I want everyone to contribute. Q. And are they
Culture isn’t an idea. It’s a practice.
Culture, culture, culture. It's everywhere, and it's all everyone wants to talk about. But what is it, and why is it so important? Once upon a time, management theory was all about one-way communication and that was that. Leaders would "insert their meaning into words," pass those words along, and the recipients would simply extract the intended message at the other end and act accordingly. No muss, no fuss. The idea was that, as a worker, you simply showed up and did what you were told in order to support the goals of the company. This kind of thinking came about largely related to manufacturing jobs, and in fact some theories view the organization itself as a metaphorical machine. Roles were seen as specialized, standardized and replaceable. You do your part, do it to an established standard, and if you burn out or fail to meet the standard we just pull you out and plug someone else in to replace you. If you try to superimpose this kind of thinking onto the complex environment of today's business realities, things come apart quickly. Yes, directive-based
Don’t be busy. Get things done. There’s a difference.
"Never mistake motion for action." - Ernest Hemingway - How many times in my life have I found myself hurrying and scurrying to "DO ALL THE THINGS!" when in fact all I've really managed to do is whip myself into a frenzy of stress and confusion? Or how about the times where all my primary responsibilities have been dealt with, but here comes the boss so it's time to "look busy." The trap is an easy one to slip into. More activity must = more output, right? Well, maybe... The truth of the matter is that without a plan, we can spin in circles all day long without ever producing the progress we're so desperately chasing. It's an easy thing to fall into; I struggle with it myself. Doing a little bit of everything leaves us with a whole lot of nothing, including time and satisfaction. My typical work week at the moment consists of planning and implementing social media, writing (hopefully) compelling marketing material, blogging, going to networking events, following up with contacts, staying up to date with the latest market trends, reading
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