As we have learned in mega-ways during the past eighteen months, today’s environment requires organizations to be prepared to change quickly to be as effective as possible. How can organizations prepare themselves to be ready to make sudden changes necessitated by outside factors? That is the topic of a recent article in Harvard Business Review by consultants from Bain … [Read more...] about Key Abilities to Foster Change
Innovation
Give Me Some Slack!
Recently, I was teaching a group of nonprofit executives about Almost Impossible Goals and Innovation. One of them said “How am I supposed to get staff to spend time on this when they are already booked 100% on other things they are doing?” The answer, of course, is that you need to give people time away from their current projects to do this. And it is not a popular … [Read more...] about Give Me Some Slack!
“Not Too Bad” vs “Extraordinary”
Once upon a time I knew a guy who, everytime I would ask: “Hey, how are you doing?” He would answer: “Not too bad.” Just think about that. I’m sure he didn’t really mean that things were bad, but they weren’t SO BAD that he was going to be terribly upset about it. But then again . . . How many things in your organization are “okay, fine, not too … [Read more...] about “Not Too Bad” vs “Extraordinary”
Advice for Your Return to the Office
Many of you are preparing to start working back in your offices. Be forewarned – that re-entry may be bumpy. When reentering the atmosphere, astronauts experience a period of turbulence where there is great suspense, extreme heat, interrupted communication, and everything happens at remarkable speed. We should expect to undergo a threshold of discomfort as we … [Read more...] about Advice for Your Return to the Office
Leading Innovation
As leaders, we all want to support and lead innovation in our organizations. Unfortunately, we can sometimes get in our own way. According to research reported in Harvard Business Review*, leaders can sometimes fall into five different kinds of traps that “derail” them from effectively leading innovation. Here are the traps and how to avoid them: *Unconscious Neglect … [Read more...] about Leading Innovation