Pitfalls of Managing Change

"There is nothing more difficult to carry out, nor more doubtful of success, nor more dangerous to handle than to initiate a new order of things. For the reformer has enemies in all who profit by the old order, and only lukewarm defenders in all who would profit by the new order.

The lukewarmness arises partly from fear of their adversaries which have the law and tradition in their favour and partly from the incredibility of mankind who do not truly believe in anything new until they have had actual experience of it."

Machiavelli (1513)

Reshuffle Your Cabinet

With a reshuffle in the air, what shoud Gordon Brown remember about change management?


1. Establish a sense of urgency - there's nothing worst than change that drags on, leaving everyone frutated in its wake.
2. Develop a vision and strategy - make sure you are clear on where you want to get to and when
3. Communicate the change vision - don't forget to tell everyone where the organisation is now headed for and why
4. Introduce new customs and practices - make change visible so that it doesn't just become bsuiness as usual
5. Empower a broad base of people to take action - action makes change happen, without it you are lost
6. Generate short term wins - and celebrate them appropriately
7. Consolidate, consolidate, consolidate

Good luck Gordon!

The Keys to Success

Found this great little video for all those entreprenuers out there

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/70

Making Heros

Ways to Make Heroes


We all need a hero from time to time - but we can also make people into heros - here's how!


1. Whether they are officially rewarded or not, say thank you to employees who have achieved their targets.
2. Thank people for their suggestions whether you use them or not. Thank them for their concern.
3. Take your boss to lunch in appreciation for their help on a project or piece of work.
4. Keep an innovation book for good ideas and recognise those that get adopted.
5. Create symbol’s of a teams work or efforts (T-shirts or coffee mugs with motto or logo)
6. Reward those who are not normally in the limelight for doing their job well.
7. Support staff in their continuing professional development. Encourage them to learn.
8. When discussing an idea with your boss that has come from an employee, make sure they get the recognition.
9. Create group level awards to recognise teamwork.
10. Provide a donation in the name of an employee to a charity of their choice
11. Create an ongoing recognition award named after a particularly outstanding employee.
12. Create a company Oscar ceremony to recognise outstanding performance.

Make heros in your team to inspire and motivate.

Beat this for Teams

Listen up! When this team wanted to round off their day with some music this got them working together, listening, laughing, having fun and most of all making music together as a team!

Team Building with Profiteroles!

Now when it comes to a great end to the day, eating profiteroles made by your team has to take the biscuit - or should I say cake!

Whichever, the profiteroles were great and the team worked beautifully together which obviously came out in their cooking!

Now if we could just add a bit more cream.....

Wish for more Skills!

Don’t wish for fewer problems. Wish for more skills!

How often do you wish that you had fewer problems? We all do at some point. But supposing we wished for more skills to deal with those problems instead?

A problem is an issue if we don’t have the resources to deal with it. Whilst many issues are not of our own making, nevertheless knowing that you have the resources to deal with whatever is thrown at you can turn a nightmare situation into a manageable challenge.

Personal and management development can ensure that individuals have the skills they need to deal with difficult situations when they arise. Whether it is dealing with people, budgets, projects, or planning, knowing what to do, who to ask or where to find out the answer can make all the difference.

And for businesses, knowing that their staff are flexible, knowledgeable and competent can make the difference between loss and survival or indeed survival and growth!

Don’t wish for change, change what you wish for.

Don’t wish for less challenge, accept the challenge and wish for more wisdom to both understand and overcome the challenge.