Changing people’s behaviors can be done in one of two ways, generally speaking. You can force behavior change through management decree or you can change the mindsets of people so that their thinking results in new desired behaviors. We have seen both approaches used by leaders at different organizations. Not surprisingly, altering mindsets is more […]
In previous blog posts we addressed the importance of creating a sense of urgency for your organizational change initiative (e.g., Use Heart and Mind Appeal to Create a Sense of Urgency). Establishing a proper sense of urgency for change is often a skipped step or it is assumed that the sense of urgency is already […]
Leadership development initiatives are often dismissed as being too disruptive, too expensive, or too time consuming – simply not a priority. I’ll share a vignette and new research that may convince you otherwise. Recently, I was working with a multi-billion dollar manufacturing company. Our shared objective was to build internal change capability in response to […]
In our last article, we talked about the importance of the informal elements of the organization. Many valuable social networks exist within the informal part of the organization. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a diagnostic methodology for uncovering and analyzing these networks and relationship patterns. When applied to business, SNA can be a powerful tool […]
The term office politics is often cast in a negative light. However, it can be a powerful force for positive change within the workplace when wielded by a skilled leader. The term refers to the strategies people use to garner favor within the workplace. While it may not be spoken aloud, every organization has an invisible and pervasive […]
Never underestimate the importance of buy-in to the success of your strategic initiative or business transformation. Buy-in is so critical for creating a sense of urgency and gaining stakeholder alignment that John Kotter wrote a book about it: Buy-In: Saving Your Good Ideas From Getting Shot Down(2010, Harvard Business Press). All business initiatives begin as […]
“Can we make that information available on an iPad?” It is one of the most common requests we hear from executives in the systems transformation space – no doubt a confluence of technology and regulations. Call it the “cool factor” or simply a clever way for executives to avoid getting their fingers dirty in corporate […]
Merging two established organizations is not merely the combination of two operations under one management authority. Successful integration combines, replaces, and transforms diverse processes, systems and organizational structures. Done well, the resulting entity will be distinctly different and ideally much better than the original operations – this is the “synergy” that is goal of most […]
Jesse Jacoby
