Why do ‘transformational change’ programs fail so often? (Apparently 7 out of 10 do).
You will probably have seen this happen, if not in your own organisation, then somewhere else.
There are lots of reasons, and I’m sure communications is one; bad communications and the lack of communications. Have a look at this short video made by one of our clients - Twist and Shout - and see if you recognise anyone.
The question is; what do you do about it? How do you deal with people who behave in this way?
Firstly you need to recognise that you recruited and trained these people. You have created them. So you might need to ask how that happened.
Secondly it’s worth thinking about how you have communicated your messages. So often people at the top are really enthusiastic about change and haven’t carefully thought through the implications for others.
So when they do tell everyone about the changes, they seem to forget that some people are not going to like them and, as a result, handle the message insensitively.
This creates cynicism and negativity. Then the people at the top complain about all the negativity and cynicism, which, had they been more skilled in their communications, could have been avoided.
I heard several people tell me of one senior manager who told his whole site how great the changes were going to be and how much he was looking forward to his new role. The changes clearly meant that at least 30% of the audience would lose their jobs.
They watched his crass insensitivity open-mouthed and he still didn’t notice.
And, not doubt, senior managers later complained of negativity and cynicism and were surprised when employees did not want to uproot their entire families to stay with the company. They all knew people who had done that before only to be made redundant months later.
I’m not suggesting all senior managers are so inept. But I do think that it can be very easy for extremely senior people to lose touch with the vast majority and, as a result, completely ignore their needs.
Change doesn't 'have to be so difficult.
Monday, 28 November 2011
Thursday, 10 November 2011
Why plans fail
I was quite surprised to read Seth Godin, who I normally admire, saying that plans almost always fail.
I don’t agree with this. Bad plans fail. Plans that are not updated fail and plans that have no clear objective fail.
However, well thought out plans do work, very often. The trouble is that most people don’t bother to plan carefully and think that they will just be able to muddle through.
Then they get used to what it’s like to muddle through and so muddling through becomes the norm.
When you allow that to happen you have lowered your standards. So now, you don’t even think about planning effectively, you just accept the status quo.
"You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine."
-- John C. Maxwell
Planning effectively means taking time to think a task through, to identify what needs to be done when, and what could go wrong. It means you need to review your plan regularly and keep your eyes open for indications that you need to modify your plan.
It means, as John Maxwell says, changing something in your life daily. All you need to do is think about things before you start them. Just give yourself a few minutes. Ask:
That will get you started. Then build the habit. As you start to see a return on your investment, you can build your skill, which in turn will give you more time.
Planning really pays off. It is the corner stone of time management.
A client of mine who is a project manager recently had a performance review. His manager said: “I don’t know how you get so much done.”
This is a sad reflection on the manager. The individual is good at planning. He does not rush into any project or new situation; he gathers the information, organises it and works out his plan very carefully. Then he keeps monitoring it all.
When there are problems he usually has a contingency plan. He has many contingency plans. Most of them never need to be used.
The result is he is able to achieve twice what most of his colleagues do. He is not superhuman. He just puts his effort in where it gives the most benefit. It may not be as glamorous as charging in and saving the day, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, but it is much cheaper and less stressful.
In fact most people are working far harder than they need to do just because they don’t plan. Make sure you’re not one of them.
Get more help here.
http://www.vinehouse.co.uk/TimeManagementTips.htm
I don’t agree with this. Bad plans fail. Plans that are not updated fail and plans that have no clear objective fail.
Plans that work
However, well thought out plans do work, very often. The trouble is that most people don’t bother to plan carefully and think that they will just be able to muddle through.
Then they get used to what it’s like to muddle through and so muddling through becomes the norm.
When you allow that to happen you have lowered your standards. So now, you don’t even think about planning effectively, you just accept the status quo.
"You will never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine."
-- John C. Maxwell
What planning means
Planning effectively means taking time to think a task through, to identify what needs to be done when, and what could go wrong. It means you need to review your plan regularly and keep your eyes open for indications that you need to modify your plan.
It means, as John Maxwell says, changing something in your life daily. All you need to do is think about things before you start them. Just give yourself a few minutes. Ask:
- Why am I doing this?
- What do I need to achieve?
- What would be the most effective way to do it?
That will get you started. Then build the habit. As you start to see a return on your investment, you can build your skill, which in turn will give you more time.
The pay off`
Planning really pays off. It is the corner stone of time management.
A client of mine who is a project manager recently had a performance review. His manager said: “I don’t know how you get so much done.”
This is a sad reflection on the manager. The individual is good at planning. He does not rush into any project or new situation; he gathers the information, organises it and works out his plan very carefully. Then he keeps monitoring it all.
When there are problems he usually has a contingency plan. He has many contingency plans. Most of them never need to be used.
The result you get from planning
The result is he is able to achieve twice what most of his colleagues do. He is not superhuman. He just puts his effort in where it gives the most benefit. It may not be as glamorous as charging in and saving the day, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, but it is much cheaper and less stressful.
In fact most people are working far harder than they need to do just because they don’t plan. Make sure you’re not one of them.
Get more help here.
http://www.vinehouse.co.uk/TimeManagementTips.htm
Monday, 7 November 2011
Distractions, attention and the M5
On Friday here in the UK there was one of the worst motorway crashes we have experienced.
It was on the M5 in Somerset. As it happened a friend of ours passed the very spot of the accident just one hour before.
She told us of a large bonfire and fireworks very close to the motorway. She told us that she saw lorries swerving and that she and the others in the car were all distracted by it.
There are several facets of the skill of attention. They include the ability to:
You can have problems in any one of these areas.
You need to be able to choose what we pay attention to. When you are easily distracted this means you have a problem in this area.
However, your visual system is tuned to spot things that might pose a danger to you. In particular, to spot movement and difference.
So, for example, if there is one white stone amongst 300 grey stones, you will spot that white stone.
If you are watching TV and, on the other side of the room, there is a sudden movement, your eyes will be drawn to it. Or if there
This is an instinctive reaction and it’s very hard to stop yourself responding in this way.
Once you have moved your attention, you then need to decide what to do next. If the movement is nothing to worry about (for example, curtains fluttering in the breeze) the chances are you will resume your enjoyment of your TV programme.
If an animal is springing at you from the gloom or a fire has started, you will probably decide that the new threat is more worthy of your attention than the TV.
The important thing is to be able to make those decisions.
Either being unable to move your attention when you need to, or being unable to keep it on the matter in hand is a problem.
Boredom is an emotion that tells your body that there is nothing to be gained from paying attention to a specific topic. Unfortunately, when you are trying to work on an important task, this can be very counter-productive.
On the other hand, when you are driving and your attention is caught by fireworks, this can make driving safely momentarily much more difficult. If you are startled by something, you tend to raise your hands in the air.
However, you raise your dominant hand less (because you have better control of it). This is an entirely voluntary response; you can’t stop yourself.
What it means is that if you are a right-handed driver, and you are startled, you are likely to swerve to the right. If you are left-handed, you will swerve to the left.
On a normal duel carriageway this is bad enough, but on a motorway, it’s very dangerous to have three lanes of traffic swerving.
I don’t know if this was the cause of, or contributed to the dreadful accident on Friday, but it’s easy to imagine that having fireworks apparently so close to the motorway would not help. Driving does need concentration and focus of attention.
We know this because even talking on a hands-free phone while you are driving increases the risk of accident.
Your brain only has so much room for conscious processing. To test this out just try remembering a new phone number at the same time as doing your next task. Unless you have an effective memory technique (which takes it out of your working memory) you’ll find it hard to perform to your usual standard.
Being able to concentrate on your tasks is a key aspect of time management.
There’s a whole section on how to concentrate more effectively in my booklet “Time Management Made Easy” on page 11. You will find seven tips there on now to maintain attention.
For more help go here.
It was on the M5 in Somerset. As it happened a friend of ours passed the very spot of the accident just one hour before.
She told us of a large bonfire and fireworks very close to the motorway. She told us that she saw lorries swerving and that she and the others in the car were all distracted by it.
Attention
There are several facets of the skill of attention. They include the ability to:
- Give your attention to one part of the environment
- Sustain your attention
- Release your attention so you can move it to something else
You can have problems in any one of these areas.
Key skills
You need to be able to choose what we pay attention to. When you are easily distracted this means you have a problem in this area.
However, your visual system is tuned to spot things that might pose a danger to you. In particular, to spot movement and difference.
So, for example, if there is one white stone amongst 300 grey stones, you will spot that white stone.
If you are watching TV and, on the other side of the room, there is a sudden movement, your eyes will be drawn to it. Or if there
This is an instinctive reaction and it’s very hard to stop yourself responding in this way.
Once you have moved your attention, you then need to decide what to do next. If the movement is nothing to worry about (for example, curtains fluttering in the breeze) the chances are you will resume your enjoyment of your TV programme.
If an animal is springing at you from the gloom or a fire has started, you will probably decide that the new threat is more worthy of your attention than the TV.
The important thing is to be able to make those decisions.
Problems with attention
Either being unable to move your attention when you need to, or being unable to keep it on the matter in hand is a problem.
Bored?
Boredom is an emotion that tells your body that there is nothing to be gained from paying attention to a specific topic. Unfortunately, when you are trying to work on an important task, this can be very counter-productive.
On the other hand, when you are driving and your attention is caught by fireworks, this can make driving safely momentarily much more difficult. If you are startled by something, you tend to raise your hands in the air.
However, you raise your dominant hand less (because you have better control of it). This is an entirely voluntary response; you can’t stop yourself.
What it means is that if you are a right-handed driver, and you are startled, you are likely to swerve to the right. If you are left-handed, you will swerve to the left.
On a normal duel carriageway this is bad enough, but on a motorway, it’s very dangerous to have three lanes of traffic swerving.
I don’t know if this was the cause of, or contributed to the dreadful accident on Friday, but it’s easy to imagine that having fireworks apparently so close to the motorway would not help. Driving does need concentration and focus of attention.
We know this because even talking on a hands-free phone while you are driving increases the risk of accident.
Your brain
Your brain only has so much room for conscious processing. To test this out just try remembering a new phone number at the same time as doing your next task. Unless you have an effective memory technique (which takes it out of your working memory) you’ll find it hard to perform to your usual standard.
Being able to concentrate on your tasks is a key aspect of time management.
There’s a whole section on how to concentrate more effectively in my booklet “Time Management Made Easy” on page 11. You will find seven tips there on now to maintain attention.
For more help go here.
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