Time To Change? How To Know?
Companies with little interest in pushing the boundaries won’t benefit a lot from a serious change program. Nor will companies that lack a sense of urgency. But, for determined organizations facing critical opportunities to accelerate, this is a great time to embark on the valuable path of change. I’ve put together a shortlist of questions to help you know if your organization would benefit from a change agenda: Is your company in a position to accelerate? If not, what’s in the way? Are you positioned for value – or are you selling based on features, functions or price? Are...
read moreTransformation at Work – Part III, Leadership
This is the third of three posts citing real-life examples of transformation at work. This one features leadership as a key ingredient in driving transformation. The first one was about courage. The second was about conviction. Leadership. We defined leadership as “being the poster child of change by visibly and emotionally motivating, enticing and enrolling others in the quest.” Leadership is getting out there with people, being physically present and active in support of the new agenda. The transition at PTC to a value-based selling model was a complete departure for a company with a...
read moreTransformation at Work – Part I, Courage
In my post Three Essential Ingredients of Transformation we talked about how sustainable transformation requires three essential ingredients operating at full capacity all the time. They are courage, conviction and leadership. What do they look like in real life? This is the first of three posts citing such examples. First up: Courage. We defined courage as choosing what needs to be done versus what can be done. Courage is plotting the right course even if it’s the unpopular one. Courage is realizing old ways aren’t working well enough to grow the business. Such was the situation in 1999...
read more21 Books For Summer
My last blog Learning From Literature seems to have tapped a nerve about the power of the written word. I decided to ask those who commented to share their recommendations for summer reading. What follows is our first annual 21 Books for Summer from 21 Weeks. Thank you contributors. Enjoy. From Ed, a writer: “OK, I’m going late 20th-early 21st century.” The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon. It’s about early American comic book creators. It describes the creative process and quite a lot about American society...
read moreLearning From Literature
You might have noticed the seemingly bizarre connection I have occasionally made between literature and business transformation. You’re probably wondering, “What’s up with that?” My last literary reference was to William Faulkner, that great American writer. It was in a comment I made to my post, Speeding Lessons. The reference was a phrase within – really the essence of – Faulkner’s wonderful acceptance speech upon receiving the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1950. Faulkner, normally a shy public figure, chose to mark the tenuous, post-war time of 1950 with his take on the...
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