John P. Kotter, arguably one of the most prolific and well-known experts on the subject of change, uses his experience with hundreds of large corporations as research on the change process and what makes it successful, or not. He has published dozens of books on change and academic articles through Harvard School of Business, as […]
Four Important Points in Change – An Adaptive Process to Success
When describing the general stages of change, I like to categorize the steps into these four points as a overview of what to do. These points are easy to understand but complex to implement. There are always many moving parts and people involved, which requires a lot of preparation and planning and the willingness to […]
Getting Back To Normal
On March 13, 2020, I was standing at the front of a large class of college students, trying to find ways to calm their anxiety over the possibility of being off school for a few weeks and maybe losing their semester. The path the Corona virus was going to take was not yet known or […]
Distributed Leadership
When leadership is distributed throughout a company, adaptive change can be more easily managed. Innovation and creativity comes from all places, not just from the top. People are inspired to control their own future by actively participating in the direction of the company’s future.
Like Turning A Ship?
Most of us have heard or used the expression, “like turning a ship” with reference to change in an organization or bureaucracy. This analogy works with respect to the time it takes to have a ship, that is heading in one direction, turn to another direction and then carry on in that direction. The challenge […]
What Strategy Looks Like: It’s not simple
Creating a strategy for your business has many forms depending on what part of your business or goal you are looking to grow. I love strategy for this very reason; it touches all aspects of the business, helps define the purpose, and creates a path for change. A strategy is not a plan that is […]
No Change is Change
The only way to “something new” is through change. Whether it is a good change or a bad one, an expected change or a surprise, something we chose or something forced upon us, there is no way to our next experience without first going through change. A changed present is not the loss of our […]
Working From Home? Have a Routine!
Our brains are required to manage thousands of pieces of information. Having a routine allows your brain to go on autopilot for some of the thought processes around what has to get done next. In a business of our own, or when working at home for our jobs, our routine is changed and we now […]
Infatuation
Jack Timbrell was a special man to me. He was fun and funny, intelligent and intellectual with business smarts to spare. Jack had a first-year university education (almost unheard of in his day) and he was an entrepreneur. He was my grandfather. Jack owned the family business, a butcher shop, with his brother Tom. The […]
The Tenacity Required to Endure Business Hardships
The penguin, moose, and polar bear are icons of winter representing the tenacity required to endure the wilderness during times when food is scarce and the environment is uncomfortable. This is true of the entrepreneurship as well. Business is like winter in the sense that money can be scarce and the environment uncomfortable, especially for […]