I’ve always liked our “Muscles” series, since they represent people who have improved their personal strengths through training and development (as opposed to through coaching and development, but what the heck, it IS… Continue reading
Some simple thoughts on what makes people commit to doing things differently. What is intrinsic motivation all about? Why do people implement change when they often have no support from management? Sometimes, simply… Continue reading
We use the metaphor of Teaching the Caterpillar to Fly for a lot of our work on individual and organizational change. The concept is simple: Getting people to understand that change is inevitable… Continue reading
Mentoring is seeing potential in others and then acting to paint and share a picture of what they could become. So much is about simple perspective. Sometimes it is about choice. Often change… Continue reading
I had an interview for a blog this morning. It was on managing change and dealing with resistance, which is a good subject for me since I have played in this arena for… Continue reading
You would think that the solutions to problems would be obvious. But one also needs perspective. And teamwork. Involving and engaging people requires their participation in the act of being involved and… Continue reading
Some thoughts on allowing people to play with ideas, and those ideas will transform themselves into a different reality. But it is really hard to innovate when all you do is pull and… Continue reading
This little ditty popped into my head while I was thinking of some conversations with my pal Lucy Freedman of Syntax. We share a background of NLP and similar behavioral approaches to improving… Continue reading
A lot of people work hard every day. But sometimes we can also find a way to do things differently. There are often alternative choices. And there are two miles of ditch… Continue reading
People sharing a common goal can get a lot more accomplished than people who are each working individually. The key is to keep them motivated and feeling like they are accomplishing the goals… Continue reading
The Search for The Lost Dutchman’s Gold Mine has the theme of mining as much Gold as WE can, something that tabletops often ignore in their attempt to win the game for their… Continue reading
Engagement, innovative design, and teamwork go hand in hand for designing better products and services. Daniel Kahneman’s work on “Thinking Fast and Slow” clearly shows that different patterns of thinking will generate better… Continue reading
A simple illustrated concept is show here. Basically, the reality is that people who feel they are being attacked by their management will defend themselves in some way. Often, this involves a personal… Continue reading
I use the words, “Continuous Continuous Improvement” because of the reality that many people will say that they have DONE continuous improvement, which is really a paradox and not possible. How can you… Continue reading
Thoughts on teamwork and making progress. Two business slogans used in marketing that are combined with the reality of how organizations really work. Do you think that this represents the worker reality?
This is a simple theme that we use in our thoughts about Teaching The Caterpillar to Fly. You can find a 5-part series of posts and illustrations by clicking on the image. You… Continue reading
Godzilla Meets Bambi is my animated cartoon that address leadership and motivation in organizations as they relate to innovation. You can get a drift for what the short animation covers as collapsed into… Continue reading
It is surprising how many people think that maintaining the status quo is actually maintaining anything. A cartoon on that looks like this: And, when we consider the situation, it looks and sounds… Continue reading
It takes a lot of crap for people to finally get mad, but when they do, you can often hear a loud, “POP” as the pin hits the balloon. You can expect no… Continue reading
On issues of progress and improvement, as viewed from being up to your axles in mud and dealing with alligators. One from our Lost Dutchman framework of how to improve teamwork and the… Continue reading
Here is The Customer involved in how things are working. From their perspective, all they feel are the impacts of poor systems and policies. But sometimes they can also feel improvements. The solutions… Continue reading
Here are some thoughts about performing to capability and motivation:
I thought this a solid and simple way of representing the business improvement opportunity that exists for most managers in most organizations:
We’ve played with the metaphor of alligators and sharks as “motivating forces” in many of our workshops. Sometimes, you have to just get moving! You just cannot afford to freeze and not make… Continue reading
Looking busy and keeping active simply prevents you from looking around to see obvious performance improvement possibilities. The Round Wheels are already IN the wagon. Consider this as you step back from the… Continue reading
This is a poem, but it is also the punchline to my Favorite Closing Story, “The Moose Joke!” You can click on the image to go to a download page for the joke.
The Round Wheels are already in the Square Wheel wagon. But implementation requires people to play with ideas before they can truly implement change. Playing with ideas helps involvement and innovation and generates… Continue reading
People often feel tied down, dis-engaged and un-involved. That leads to being demotivated and hamstrung. Involving them is straightforward. Click on the image to read about some ideas.
In many organizations, the thrill of competition tends to make it more fun to compete than collaborate. Innocent sabotage is a common happening.
The pin will eventually hit the balloon and things will go pop. People will take only so much before they get mad. Sabotage is one result of an angry workforce. And what angers… Continue reading
Ideas can come from everywhere. Don’t be surprised, just look for good ones when they appear. Good ideas come from hands-on people, who understand the realities of how things work and who have… Continue reading
Interdepartmental Collaboration is a recognized oxymoron – two words that do not go together. Often, it is simply our policies and procedures and attitudes towards others that generate the result. Consider possibilities… … Continue reading
A lot of what we do is simply about perspective and viewpoint. Good leaders tend to see things differently and look for potential. The butterfly is already in the caterpillar. And caterpillars can… Continue reading
There are always other solutions. Not all of them are great ones! Be careful what you wish for. Not ALL things are really improvements and there are impacts from everything you press onto… Continue reading
A Haiku on dealing with the mud of the journey forward. Note that you are NOT on the road… Do things better and differently. Please Like this if you LIKE this! Have FUN… Continue reading
