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Change is inevitable in today’s economic landscape.  Change is constant.

How are you adapting to change within your organization?

Change can be painful and uncomfortable.  Mark Twain once said, “The only person who likes change is a baby with a wet diaper.”  Let’s be honest.  Change can be downright hard.

As a leader within an organization, how are you a part of the process?  Are you asking your direct leaders the right questions?  Are you lock-step with the new direction, product launch, new strategies, approach, etc…?  Or…or…are you the complainer?  Are you the one who talks about how it can’t be done (although, it is good to question a process, but do it respectfully)?

(Remember leaders, those who you are leading are watching your response/reaction to change.)

I think it is imperative, especially those in leadership roles, to help facilitate change among your direct reports.  The human side of change can be challenging, but crucial to effectively forge ahead.

The U.S. Department of Education project roled out a systematic approach to help deal with change.  They suggested that individuals who are faced with change express six predictable and sequential concerns:

1. Information concerns
2. Personal concerns
3. Implementation concerns
4. Impact concerns
5. Collaboration concerns
6. Refinement concerns

At the various levels of organizations, whether for-profit or nonprofit, how are you addressing the above mentioned concerns?  The question isn’t “will” change occur, but “when” change occurs are you ready?  Furthermore, how are you addressing the questions and concerns echoed through the organization?

Your effectiveness as a change agent is to ensure you are educated on the “why’s, what’s and how’s.”

Change is your friend.

Psalms 19: 1-3
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge.  There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.

Notice what the psalmist really does here.  He speaks of Creation as a language.  Notice what the text is asking us to do…it is enforcing God’s handiwork…it speaks to us in a language of its own!

I found the below description of God found “in” Creation.  I believe a teenager wrote the paragraphs below.

Very Powerful!

“I have been asked by some how I can be so certain in the existence of a good God, and I have asked them in return if they have eyes to see.  God has woven himself irretrievably into Nature; left his fingerprints behind to show us where he’s been.  His signature is smeared into the curls of the Milky Way, forever circling above the rim of the world.  God has scattered fragments of himself about the earth like a father hides eggs in the yard before his son’s very first Easter; hiding behind a tree with laughing eyes and waiting to see which of the treasures his child will uncover first.

God is crying out all around us.  He is present in the breathless silence of the snow-smothered mountains; he is dancing with the sunlight that shatters on the ocean’s waves; he is hiding in the decaying moss and crumbling shale in the old forgotten places in the world.  No jagged mountain throws its sharp weight against the sky that is not a testament to his goodness.  The entire sum of Creation, each private and individual act of nature, is God waving hello.”

Thought provoking questions by Bill Hybels, that we need ask ourselves.

1. Is my calling sure?
2. Is my vision clear?
3. Is my passion burning hot?
4. Is my character fully submitted to Christ?
5. Is my pride subdued or is my ego messing with it?
6. Are my fears at bay? Or do I have anxiety?
7. Is my psychological baggage affecting the way I make decisions?
8. Are my ears open to the voice of God?
9. Is my pace sustainable?
10. Is my heart for God increasing or decreasing?

How are you leading self these days?

What does a “Winning Formula” look like in today’s economic landscape?

Tom Peters (aka: Management Guru) has an insightful formula for those who are in the workplace, who are choosing to be winners!

Tom Peters says:

People who are 100%, everybody, no exceptions, Receptionist to EVP R&D:

Committed.
Engaged.
Growing.
Learning.
Fearless (unfailingly encouraged to try new things).
Respected.
Trusted.
Appreciated.
Independent-minded.
Team focused.
Focused themselves, even when fresh caught, on the growth of others
Passionate about their work, their mates, and their customers.
Informed.
Open (fanatic about sharing).
Caring.
Committed to EXCELLENCE in everything they do.

And, in turn, that demands 100% “servant leaders,” to shamelessly steal from Robert Greenleaf, who are 100% devoted—as Priority & Job #1—to developing people, in good times or bad—100% of people—who are:

Committed.
Engaged.
Growing.
Learning.
Fearless (unfailingly encouraged to try new things).
Respected.
Trusted.
Appreciated.
Independent-minded.
Team focused.
Focused themselves, even when fresh caught, on the growth of others
Passionate about their work, their mates, and their customers.
Informed.
Open (fanatic about sharing).
Caring.
Committed to EXCELLENCE in everything they do.

Well said, Tom!

A few months ago I did a talk, where I talked about how precious life is…how fragile it can be.  How important it is to savor every moment, especially the time you have with your kids.

A woman named Mary Jean Arian wrote a little piece called “Gift From a Hair Dryer–Reflections of a Mom as She Combs Her Seven-Year-Old Daughter’s Hair After a Bath.” And somehow, it kind of captures what a precious thing life it.

“Comb and dry. Comb and dry. ‘Soon, I won’t be able to do this anymore,’ you say to yourself knowing that the little straight bob must inevitably yield to grown up coiffures and ugly curlers. What will she be like at 14? Where will her hair be blowing then–at 16 and 18? Do you suppose boys will love to watch her hair blow as you do now? And some of them will feel it on their faces. And one of them will marry her and her hair will be spread under the veil, and then, spread out on his pillow.

“And oh, you hate him a little and wonder where he is at this moment, whether he’ll be good to her. They will grow old together. And the gold-brown hair will be gray. And you will be gone. And then, she will be gone–this very hair, that now, your fingers smooth. And all the tears of the world swim for a second in your eyes as you snatch the plug out of the socket suddenly, and gather her into your arms, burying your face in the warm hair, as if you could seal this moment against all time.”

Recently I finished another leg of my journey toward my MBA.  This past weekend I finished a beta class called, Servant Leadership.  The class consisted of people from both George William University and Aurora University.  The group comprised of 6 MBA, 6 Masters of Social Work, and 6 Doctoral of Education students.  What an eclectic group of individuals who contributed a great amount throughout the course.

Below are some pictures of our last class from Lake Geneva, where George William University is located.

Former CEO of Service Masters, Bill Pollard…and me

Bill Pollard and a few MBA students from both Universities

Last class photo…taken on the porch overlooking Lake Geneva

Currently I am re-reading Ken Blanchard’s book, Leading at a Higher Level.  Below are 8 insightful reasons that Ken gives as to why some change efforts might fail in an organization.

1. People leading the change think that announcing the change is the same as implementing the change.

2. People’s concerns with change are not surfaced or addressed.

3. There is no compelling reason to change.  The business case is not communicated.

4. A compelling vision that excites people about the future has not been developed and communicated.

5.  Those leading the change aren’t credible - they undercommunicate, give mixed messages, and do not model the behaviors the change requires.

6. Progress (this is HUGE) is not measured, and no one recognizes the changes that people have worked hard to make.

7. People are not held accountable for implementing change.

8. People leading the change fail to respect the power of the culture to kill the change.

Can you think of other reasons why change might fail?

March Madness 2009!

Okay, I know this isn’t basketball, but I have a maddening amount of pictures of my family.

The fam taking it easy in Naperville.

Three generation of studs.

GQ George

Looks like George is scratching his stomach while we are trying to take a nice family photo.

Chics dig the car!

Why are you laughing?  That is my normal smile.

Waassssuuuppppp!

Thank you Heather for taking such great shots!

Profound words spoken by John D. Rockefeller Jr. regarding his own philosophy, during a radio program in 1941.

“I believe in the supreme worth of the individual and in his right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I believe that every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty. I believe that the law was made for man and not man for the law; that government is the servant of the people and not their master. I believe in the dignity of labor, whether with head or hand; that the world owes no man a living but that it owes every man an opportunity to make a living. I believe that thrift is essential to well ordered living and that economy is a prime requisite of a sound financial structure, whether in government, business or personal affairs. I believe that truth and justice are fundamental to an enduring social order. I believe in the sacredness of a promise, that a man’s word should be as good as his bond; that character — not wealth or power or position — is of supreme worth.”