Strategies For Managing Change
Articles & Resources Of Interest
Master The Art Of Drawing The Bow
Focus On Process Not Outcome
In so many areas of our lives, we focus on the outcome, not the process that we follow to achieve it.
In the western world, we are conditioned to pay less attention to how we hold and draw the bow and instead we focus on hitting the bullseye.
You can’t control where the arrow lands but you can master the art of drawing the bow.
Are you focusing on what truly matters?
Curiosity Skilled The Cat - Optimize For Interesting
Curiosity Fuels Excellence
The old adage, “Curiosity killed the cat,” warns of the dangers of venturing too far into the unknown.
But what if we reimagine it not as a risk but as a gateway to developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills?
By embracing the phrase “Curiosity skilled the cat,” we shift the narrative, recognizing it as the foundation for how to think effectively.
Here's how to optimize your thinking skills by exercising your curiosity into things that interest you.
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Let Stillness Speak - Living Within A Complex System
To let stlllness speak is to learn it's first major lesson: you are not your thoughts.
To let stillness speak is about stepping back from the constant chatter of your mind and allowing a deeper, quieter presence to communicate.
We spend our entire life imprisoned within the confines of our own thoughts. We are quite literally lost in thought.
To let stillness speak is not about some woolly, fuzzy, feel-good vibe. This is about accessing a consciousness that lies deep within you - far deeper than thought.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.
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Why You Should Embrace Anomalies - The Incredible Value Of Disconfirming Evidence
Is Your Desire To Be Right Greater Than Your Desire To Have Been Right?
An anomaly is a deviation from what is expected or commonly regarded as the norm. It often appears as an unexpected observation that defies conventional wisdom or established theories.
It is frequently regarded as an abberation, a nuisance or an inconvenient interruption to a long cherished assumption.
There are two fundamental reasons why you should embrace anomalies, and they are both related to your long term health wealth and happiness:
[1] The identification of new and unrecognised opportunities.
[2] The avoidance of ignored risk and disaster.
Please read on to find how to do this...
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Inversion - The Power Of Opposite Thinking
How To Avoid The Unwanted Outcome.
The power of opposite thinking, also known as inversion, lies in its ability to stimulate creativity, enhance problem-solving, and provide a fresh perspective on challenges.
It is especially useful when launching a new initiative or attempting to resolve a difficult problem.
Instead of focusing on how to achieve a desired outcome, you consider the opposite – how to avoid the undesired outcome. Here's how to do it:
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How To Make Better Decisions - By Avoiding The Narrative Trap
To Understand The Truth We Have To See The Whole Picture.
One of the best ways to make better decisions is to have a deeper understanding of the many things that might stop that happening.
To understand the truth we have to look at all the known facts, and see the whole picture which is often not as binary as presented.
In this article we are going to focus on another often overlooked factor, and that is the stories that we tell ourselves, the narratives that we weave, and to look closely at how we can avoid what is referred to as the narrative fallacy.
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Who Is In Charge Of Your Brain?
How Not To Be Stupid.
Who is in charge of your brain? This is not a silly questions. It matters because the outcomes that you experience in your life are determined by how you respond to the events that impact you.
The quality of your responses are shaped by how effectively you think, and this is a learned skill.
Your ability to think effectively, your responses, and the long term impact of the choices that you make can have a major effect on your health, wealth and happiness.
So let's take a look inside your skull and see if we can figure out who is in charge of your brain and what that means.
Change Questions - Unlock The Secrets Of Sustainable Organizational Change
No two organizational change efforts are the same, so why should your approach be?
Change Questions unlocks the secrets of sustainable organizational change by showing you how to ask then implement a set of vital business questions in five critical areas. This method produces a customized approach for change that lasts.
Lynn Kelley and John Shook offer practical examples from their experiences as transformative leaders. They candidly describe what to do in tough, real world business situations in each chapter based on their experiences. They share lessons learned that will benefit any organization that is ready to embrace change.
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The Metagame Approach To Life
How To Achieve Your Biggest Objectives.
The metagame approach to life is all about winning and achieving your biggest objectives by:
- Understanding the bigger picture
- Being better by doing things differently
- Making moves that others find hard to imitate or counter
- Redefining the game on your terms and creating your own path to success
The metagame approach to life can be used in various different contexts which may include your career, your business, your education and personal development and even your personal relationships.
This is not about abstract ideas and concepts, this is about actions. Here are 3 strategies for applying the metagame approach to life.
Reframing History - Deconstruction And Discussion Not Destruction
History is always about context, not imposing our own moral values on the past.
For those of us fortunate enough to live within western democracies, we are living in an age where a vociferous and intolerant minority have an uneasy relationship with their own country's history over the past 300 years.
This has led to what has been framed as the ‘culture wars’ that are being actively pursued in our media, public spaces, museums, universities, schools, civil services, local government, business corporations and all other public institutions.
This vociferous and intolerant minority claim that ‘facing up’ to a past which they present as overwhelmingly and permanently shameful is the route to "a more inclusive future".
But is it?
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