Spelling Change: Six Factors for Success
November 22, 2010
The paragraphs following below are quoted from a speech, Prof. Dr. Klewes recently gave to Russian managers, Moscow.
Spelling C H A N G E
Change is more than a buzzword. In fact, successfully delivering change is about precise, well-thought-out execution. In order to be an effective change manager there are some principles to be followed, I want to present you. To make them easy to remember, we abbreviated these six recommendations into an acronym, which – by accident – forms the word C H A N G E.
C: Communicate the need for change – and a clear vision.
To avoid resistance, anxiety and confusion, it is essential to explain the reasons for change to our employees. Have a clear vision of what shall be achieved in the future and communicate how to get there in an understandable way. My experience is, the simpler you do this, the better.
H: Honest Feedback.
Never ever stop sharing information within your company at any time, even if you are falling behind your plan. Cristal clear honesty is the most important resource needed to build up trust and credibility during the change process.
A: Alliance building.
No one can achieve successful change alone – you have to find a group of people supporting you, who go out and talk about the need to change, who travel and explain the vision, strategy and specific steps on the way towards your goal.
N: Nurturing small initiatives.
Change is kind of a trial-and-error process. Therefore, small de-central initiatives are most suitable in order to make the entire process successfully. Different regions and different departments require different and adequate solutions.
G: Give and take support.
Be it central resources, staff or money or be it simply management attention and advice – giving each initiative adequate support is essential for change management. Change cannot be executed without passion and enthusiasm, so give support and seek support actively.
E: Efficiency and 80:20 rule.
Change is never perfect and in change communication not everything has to be perfect. So, keep it simple. Efficient change means to employ your resources very consciously and to avoid any exaggeration.
This is how I would spell C H A N G E.
Source URL: http://change-centre.org/spelling_change/
Change Communications Yearbook 2010
November 17, 2010
Summarizing the Change Communications Congress 2009, this book presents an exquisite selection of best-practice-projects in change communication
Markets are changing and so do companies. Still, what is often forgotten, but most important: Change requires communication – change communication. Organized by the Internal Branding Academy (IBA) and Symbiosis Communication and Strategy Consultancy, each year experts in change communication meet in Salzburg for the Change Communications Congress to discuss recent strategies and developments in this field. Focusing on the German-speaking area, in this book experienced experts reveal their secrets for successful change communication processes.
Global player like Siemens, Deutsche Post DHL or Deutsche Telekom AG share their experience and give some useful tips how to involve employees in the change processes. These practical examples clearly show why communication is the key factor for successful change management and long-lasting success in business.
In short: This book is a plea for trust-based, personal and interactive communication: it is about inspiring people and entering into a dialog.
Harringer, C. & Maier, H. (Eds.) (2010). Change Communications Jahrbuch 2010. Berlin: Springer.
Source URL: http://change-centre.org/change-communications-yearbook-2010/
How Design can change Organizations
Juli 29, 2010
Tim Brown´s book deals with the power of design and how it can help bring about organizational transformations. Design thinking: that is how Brown calls his approach. Instead of being just one part of the organizational process, design becomes the centre piece of a corporate culture. Or as Brown says: “Design is now too important to be left to designer.”
One part of his book deals with the set of principles that can help – if applied properly – to install design thinking in almost any typ of organization. Central to his thinking is the unpredictability of a project or process.
Centered around the human beings of an organization Brown aims to help them to be more innovative and solve gridlocked situations. No business strategy book works without examples that illustrate the message of the author. So the other part of Brown´s work shows how design thinking has helped to create some of the most innovative organizations, Bank of America, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Google, Intel, Mattel, Mayo Clinic, Pixar, Procter & Gamble, or Shimano.
All in all a very worthwhile read for those who are interested in a more unique and exploratory book on business strategies and change.
Brown, Tim (2009):Change by Design: How Design Thinking Transforms Organizations and Inspires Innovation: How Design Thinking Can Transform Organizations and Inspire Innovation. New York. HarperBusiness.
Source URL: http://change-centre.org/how-design-can-change-organizations/
The (slow) Dance of organisational Change
Juni 14, 2010
Peter Senge is the founder and director of the Society for Organisational Learning at MIT. In his three books on the paradigm of the learning organisation – The Fifth Discipline, The Fifth Discipline Fieldbook, The Dance of Change – he develops the structure of an organisation, where individuals work closely together, where cutting-edge patterns of thinking are nutured and where people continually are learning together for the good of the whole. Senge´s approach goes beyond the usual business books in that he draws on natural sciences, spiritual values, psychology as well as business science to develop his unique ideas.
The “Dance of Change – The Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations” is the last but not the least of this trilogy. By some reviewers it is regarded as the most essential of Senge´s cycle. The interested reader needs to clear some time on his schedule, because it is not a book that you can work through in one weekend. At 600 pages thick it offers detailed analysis on the issues of organisational change. It puts the readers in charge on how to read the book and browse in it in any order they like.
The premise of “The Dance of Change” is that the most viable solution for change management is not the usual approach. Managers should strive to get a clearer picture of what factors limit change in their organisations and activate leadership on all levels instead of pushing change from the top. On the practical side Senge offers the readers exercises, tools and techniques for implenting his approach in their organisations.
Senge, Peter (1999). The Dance of Change: The Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations. London. Nicholas Brealey Publishing.
Source URL: http://change-centre.org/the-slow-dance-of-organisational-change/
Conference: Change and Small Business
März 22, 2010
After a first successful run in 2008 the German forum on small business research is being held again this year at the university of Siegen. Under the impression of the ongoing economic crisis this conference brings together researchers, economists, entrepreneurs and politicians to discuss the implications and strategies for small businesses.
The conference will cover these themes:
• corporate social responsibility and social entrepreneurship
• human resources
• crisis- and turn-around-management
• business formation
• internationalisation
• innovations- and change management
• co-operations and networks
• controlling and productions strategies
What: “Zweites Forum Mittelstandsforschung: Erfolgsmodell Mittelstand? – Rahmenbedingungen, Strategien, Werteorientierung”
When: 23 – 24 September 2010
Where: Siegen University
How much: 220 € (early bird rate) 250 € (regular) 120 – 150 € (student discount)
Interested researchers can hand in papers till the 15th of May 2010. http://www.forum-mittelstandsforschung.de/Seite_Call_for_Papers.html
Source URL: http://change-centre.org/conference-change-and-small-business-2/
Conference: Knowledge, Culture and Change in Montréal
Februar 24, 2010
The primary interest of the conference is knowledge-based social and economic change. It is part of an annually held series of international conferences on change.
The past 15 years have been defined by unprecedented fast advances in information and communications technologies, which have led to the emergence of a knowledge-based global economy. Know-how of the internet and related technologies has become an essential cultural tool, needed in all kinds of work and social environments.
The perspective of the conference will range from the big picture of change, to detailed case studies, both addressed by internationally recognised experts in the field. It will combine both a theory driven approach and practical strategies for action. The general themes of the conference are:
• Knowledge and Knowledge Management
• Organisational Culture, Organisational Change, Business Ethics
• Clients, Customisation, Markets
• Communications, Collaborative Cultures, Teams
• Leadership, Decision Making
• Learning Organisations, Education, Training
• Human Resources
• Diversity, Globalisation, Development
• Technologies
• Networks
The call for papers is still open till March 11th.
What: “10th International Conference on Knowledge, Culture and Change in Organisations”
When: 26 – 29 July 2010
Where: École des Hautes Études Commerciales (HEC), Montréal, Canada
How much: $ US 200 (virtual registration), $ US 300 (students), $ US 350 (one-day), $ US 450 (full registration), $ US 550 (full registration+presentation fee)
Further information: http://theorganisation.com/conference-2010/
Source URL: http://change-centre.org/conference-knowledge-culture-and-change-in-montreal/