We face a major modern crisis! Change and technology are speeding up, but organizational results are slowing down. It seems we assume that technology should speed up while at the same time also assuming that organizational change is inherently slow. ⛰️ From 1804-1806 Lewis and Clark explored the Pacific Northwest from St. Louis to the […]
Out of the Modern Crisis Read More »
In Management by Motivation (1968), Saul Gellerman highlighted a gap in the effective use of personnel that echoes our Quote of the Week by Jay Forester. Where Forester put the effective use of personnel at only 10%, Gellerman qualitatively describes the opportunity to get much more and better results from personnel, calling it a “reservoir
The Energy You’ve Failed to Reach Read More »
If a company’s competitive situation worsens or technological changes require new products and new processes, the organization may need the help of its own employees. Unfortunately, if it has trained them to be indifferent and apathetic, it is unlikely to be able to elicit their cooperation. Even if the employees have information that would be
Why Common Sense Is Not Common Practice Read More »
Everywhere, the Power Paradox ensnares. We assume that others are powerful, and we are weak. The truth is that others are less powerful than we think they are, and we are more powerful than we have imagined. We take these assumptions of who does and doesn’t have power for granted and never test them. We
You’re More Powerful Than You Think Read More »
10%! That’s how effective Jay Forester, the founder of system dynamics, thought organizations were at using the best of their employees. He wrote that in 1961. More than 60 years later, if you’re struggling to meet your commitments with the people, time, and resources you have now, this quote should give you hope. You don’t
10%! Jay Forester on Employee Effectiveness Read More »
The rate of change is increasing; it’s hard to keep up. Grounded in the well-known tactics for change managers and change leaders, many organizations are working tirelessly to meet the demanding pace of change. Where are people turning for insights to help them keep up with, and accelerate ahead of, the rate of change? Change
Equipping the World’s Top Change Agents Read More »
Over the years, I’ve been asked by several people to give them tips on book writing. As I thought about their requests, I realized that I don’t have the right generalized knowledge to write on that topic, but I do have very specific knowledge about how I write books. So, for all those curious, here
How April Writes a Book Read More »
These days crowds gather near ocean shores to watch Space X launch rockets. On January 17, 1955, the crowds were on the banks of the Thames River in Connecticut watching Commander Eugene P. Wilkinson and the crew of USS Nautilus (SSN 571) depart for her first test voyage, powered by a technology unknown less than
Celebrating USS Nautilus (SSN 571) and 70 years of competitive advantage Read More »
Welcome to the new Engine-for-Change. After almost 12 years, it seemed time for an upgrade. This site started in December 2009 with a simple post “Welcome to Engine for Change.” I said: Welcome to Engine-For-Change.com, my new weblog and site for all things related to helping you drive the personal, community or workplace change you
Relaunch of Engine-for-Change Read More »
In a Harvard Business Review blog post, Jon Katzenbach and Zia Khan introduce us to the concept of a fast zebra: someone who, “can quickly absorb information, adapt to new challenges, and get people aligned in the right direction… They are the people who can skirt around or blast through the kind of gridlock found
Fast Zebras Drive Change Read More »
