They say actions speak louder than words. That’s so true when you’re driving change and trying to set yourself apart from the pack of people still driving others to change. When you’re driving change you must practice and practice and practice the driving change behaviors until it seems foolish to do anything else (e.g., driving […]
Tonight I read to my children from a collection of Aesop’s fables. We ended the night by reading, The North Wind and the Sun. If you’re not familiar with this fable, here’s how it goes (borrowing from wikipedia): The North Wind and the Sun were disputing which was the stronger, when a traveler came along
When you’re driving change, you don’t get to order people out onto a path you’ve never been on. You must go first. Going first can be scary, but it can also can be the best opportunity you’ve ever had to set the example. You’re out in front, all alone and everyone is watching. Most people
You are the engine for change. Don’t look to your co-workers, your fellow volunteers, your boss or anyone else. You must choose the change for yourself first. Are willing to do that? If you are willing to choose the change for yourself and become the engine for change, then the first thing you must learn
I’m very frustrated right now…” – Theodore R. Mills, age 3 This past week, my three-year-old son has been using this phrase over and over again. You see, he’s at that age where what he want to accomplish outstrips his ability to accomplish it. He can’t get what or where he wants at his pace,
I’ve never given out homework before, so this post will be a first. Here’s your assignment. Sit down with a piece of paper and a pen. Now close your eyes and visualize some change you want to make. Open your eyes, pick up the pen and take one minute to write down all the endings
Seeing What’s Possible Read More »
You’ll save yourself hours of effort and years of frustration if you publish minutes for all your team meetings. Minutes include: Who attended What topics you discussed What decisions you made Who will take action (and by when) When you’ll meet again [I like to use a standard format, with a fixed font and set
…and I’m sticking to it. This one is simple: Publish an agenda for every meeting and follow your agenda every time. Even if you include a portion in the agenda for open discussion/final thoughts/last nuggets, have an agenda! You’ll think you don’t need an agenda because everyone knows the order of your meetings. You’ll think
Nothing so sharpens the thought process as writing down one’s arguments.” – Admiral H.G. Rickover At work we use a lot of Plans of Action and Milestones or POA&Ms to track our work. If you’ve never seen one before, a POA&M is a typically an Excel spreadsheet listing actions, who will do the action, when
“They” won’t let us. “They” tried that before. “They” don’t care. Whenever you hear someone use “they” you must ask, Who’s “they”? Usually “they” is an untested assumption that some group or some person may be against your change. Once you know the group or person, by code or by name, you can call them
