Strategies For Managing Change
Articles & Resources Of Interest
Strategies For Managing Change - Processes That Work For People
The Art & Science Of Avoiding Unintended Consequences
Strategies For Managing Change is all about a structured approach to change management that ensures that organizational changes are smoothly implemented, and that the lasting benefits of change are achieved with no unintended consequences.
This is why we refer to the art and the science of change management.
Change management is about process - but it's also about people.
Our philosophy is about "processes that work for people"!
This involves the discipline of seeing wholes - a framework for seeing interrelationships rather than things, for seeing ‘patterns of change’ rather than ‘static snapshots.
Continue reading "Strategies For Managing Change - Processes That Work For People"
Understanding Complex Systems Thinking - It's Not Complicated
Understanding, and being able to work with, complexity is an important thinking skill.
We are all working with complex systems, and we do so every day. The biggest one is life itself.
We automatically lean towards a fairly mechanistic view of life that sees life as a complicated system, and this in turns leads us to having expectations based on our perception of how things will work out.
Inevitably our expectations are frequently unfulfilled and we get frustrated and anxious.
We treat life as though it is a complicated system, whereas in reality life is a complex system, and so we set ourselves up for failure.
Continue reading "Understanding Complex Systems Thinking - It's Not Complicated"
Stay On The Bus - When To Keep On Going
The Helsinki Bus Station Theory
Have you ever started a new project, initiative or role with a big vision and a determination to make a difference?
Initially you were full of enthusiasm and highly motivated to break new ground. Yet after a while you get discouraged as you realise that what you thought was your own special individual approach is very similar to the efforts of many other people.
Then it gets really tough as you find that what you thought was your own unique journey is identical to the work of thousands of others.
The key to succeeding in any long term creative activity lies in understanding the operations of Helsinki’s main bus station!
How to Get What You Value by Changing What You Measure
Give Up Control & Gain Influence To Get What You Want
The metrics we choose to focus on can significantly shape our outcomes, sometimes in ways we don't intend.
The challenge is to make sure that you are measuring the right things and with the right metrics.
The bigger challenge is that those things that create the value are often hidden or invisible.
If you do not understand, or can not see, the things that are creating the value you will struggle to measure them.
The purpose of this article is to draw attention to this distinction and to offer some practical suggestions as to how you can identify and monitor these critical intangibles.
Continue reading "How to Get What You Value by Changing What You Measure"
How to Become A Master At Overcoming Hard Moments
"The best in the world are not the best because they win every point. It's because they lose again and again and have learned how to deal with it."
This quote from Roger Federer has got a lot of coverage in social media and deservedly so. I am not very interested in tennis, but I have always taken great pleasure in watching him play in major tournaments.
In common with each of the top players he had a remarkable capacity to focus on the shot in play and to put everything into that shot.
Then, regardless of the outcome of that shot, he put it behind him and played the next shot as if his life depended on it.
To become a master at overcoming hard moments when dealing with specific tasks in your working life and in your personal life you need to learn these basic skills:
Continue reading "How to Become A Master At Overcoming Hard Moments"
Drop The Story - Deal With Your Demons and Transform Your Experience
Are you living your life from the stories you tell yourself?
Learning how to drop the story and deal with that voice in your head can be a game changer.
When you can do this you will have a powerful tool for breaking free from self-imposed limitations, improving performance in all areas of your life, and increasing your overall well-being.
In this article I show you how and why you have these thoughts and to give you the tools to drop the story that is holding you back and making your life a misery.
Continue reading "Drop The Story - Deal With Your Demons and Transform Your Experience"
Standing In The Gap Between No Longer And Not Yet
Standing In The Gap In Conditions Of Imposed Change.
This is about imposed change and surviving a dire and desperate situation where you are stuck in a difficult or seemingly impossible set of circumstances and it just goes on and on and there is no end in sight...
No-one would chose to live like this but millions of us do and are living in conditions of change that are imposed upon us.
We have hope, even if only a little, the flame still flickers for a brighter better future.
We stand in the gap between no longer and not yet. But how?
Continue reading "Standing In The Gap Between No Longer And Not Yet"
Preparing The Ground - For Things You Can Not See
We plough the fields and scatter the good seed on the ground.
The phrase "preparing the ground" is a metaphor for making the necessary preparations to create the favourable conditions for something to happen or succeed.
The business as usual approach tends to focus on tangible things, things you can see, but these basic principles for preparing the ground can also be applied to things you can not see. Things such as how to:
- Thrive in unforeseen chaos, disorder and disaster.
- Position yourself to identify and exploit unseen opportunities.
- Stand in the gap between the reality you experience now and a future reality you may aspire to.
- Play the long game.
Continue reading "Preparing The Ground - For Things You Can Not See"
Easing The Weight Of Expectation
Don’t you often feel like you are carrying the weight of the world on your back?
Our start point is understanding that the ego has a very clear idea of how things ought to be, and its intention and expectation is inextricably linked to circumstance. It has no sense of interconnection and the bigger picture.
As a result of this we favour the visible, the embedded, the personal, the narrated, and the tangible; we scorn the abstract.
When reality doesn’t match that expectation the result is frustration and pain.
Here are some practical guidelines for easing the weight of your own expectations.
The Power Of Patience - Why You Need The World's Toughest Quality
Nothing in the world can take the place of patience. Patience and persistence are omnipotent.
In everyday life, patience is often overshadowed by the desire for immediate results.
We live in an era of instant gratification, we want microwave results where waiting even a few seconds for a webpage to load can feel like an eternity.
From a bigger picture perspective and beyond the annoyance of everyday frustrations, the power of patience in difficult circumstances is that it fosters resilience in the face of adversity which allows us to weather setbacks and failures without losing sight of our objectives.
Patient people are resilient people who persist in their efforts. Here's how to develop the power of patience.
Continue reading "The Power Of Patience - Why You Need The World's Toughest Quality"
