Impact Today™

Since mid-June Sunday has been reserved for book reviews. It is my way of answering a question that is raised to me often, “What is a great book on leadership?” The truth is there are many. My favorite is Life’s Leadership Lessons, not just because I wrote it, but because it offers quick anecdotes and lists to help readers deal with the many challenges faced by today’s leaders.

Using anecdotal stories is a way authors can capture someone’s thoughts to make a point that will long be remembered through the pictures the characters leave behind. When dealing with change, Who Moved My Cheese is a classic example. Had not Spencer Johnson, the author, created the little mice, given them names and personalities, we would not have driven ourselves mad trying to compare each person we knew with a particular mouse. This is the power of anecdotes and shows yet again why leaders need to develop a skill of creating anecdotal examples when exposing the talents of their people. If you have not already read this wonderful book, click here to learn more or to subscribe.

Labels: Books, Change

Once again our search or relevant videos has come up with a winner. Here is an anecdotal demonstration of change management at work.

Labels: Change, Video

If you thought the book “Who Moved My Cheese” was a great illustration of how we handle change you will absolutely love “Our Iceberg is Melting”. It is the story of how a group of penguins must deal with the fact that their iceberg is slowly melting. Everything will change if they are to survive, but who will be the leading change agent and who will try to stick with the status quo.

It uses an anecdotal approach to learning, much like my own "Life’s Leadership Lessons", so I know you will find it to be provocative and thought-provoking.

To learn more or to order this book, click here.

Labels: Books, Change

New policies are often necessary to eliminate waste, increase productivity, reduce spending, or any number of other noble business needs. There is a downside to anything new that tells employees of customers they cannot do something. Case in point: Maplewood, Minnesota.

Legislatures throughout the country and world are looking for ways to curb first-hand smoking and reduce second-hand smoking. Minnesota is no different. Lawmakers decided to ban smoking in bars and restaurants, but made an exception for actors in theaters. The actors can smoke as long as it is part of the play or story.

Several bars in Maplewood have now become “stages”. Patrons wear costumes and are able to act in improvisational plays. Even though the “actors” are playing themselves, it seems to be enough to get around the law.

Moral of the story: whenever a leader makes a new policy, someone will immediately figure out a loophole.

Labels: Change

Researchers at Ohio State University have concluded a study of 286 businesses that were spun off from the parent company between 1980 and 2005. Looking at 10 policy areas, they found a remarkable connection to the policies of the company from which they were spun off.

This further exemplifies the difficulty with which culture can be changed. Corporate cultures are well ingrained at all levels of an organization. New people to an organization they complain about certain elements of a culture, but once they start to follow the accepted culture of the organization they begin to find success. The more they follow the culture, success continues.

When they reach the upper levels of the organization, any proposed change to the culture is a threat – why would they want to change a culture that made them successful?

So how do you change the corporate culture?

Actually there are two ways that cultures can be successfully changed.

1. From entry-level up. Most experts will tell you that this is impossible. They are incorrect. Cultures have been change from the ground up when the culture has been so oppressive a mutiny occurs. Workers at the lowest level of the organization can create a culture that slowly passes up. It is a very difficult and very rare process, one that is not recommended.


2. From the top down. To be successful in changing a corporate culture, it has to be sponsored by the highest levels of an organization. Sponsorship does not mean approval – it means participation. Unless the top levels of the organization truly want change, it will not happen.

Labels: Change, Corporate_culture

Thirty people lost their jobs on Turkmenistan's state run television channel after a cockroach crossed the news desk during a live broadcast. Soon after taking office President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov ordered the central Asian broadcaster to transform its culture from the soviet era image. The cockroach was apparently a vivid reminder of the older style so the president ordered the firings.

If your company is trying to break with a past culture, how far will you go?

If you want to change your image how serious about it are you?

No one can doubt the seriousness of President Kurbanguly Berdymukhamedov.

Labels: Change, Commitment

One of the most popular books in the business world today is “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Dr. Spencer Johnson. Using trained mice, the book takes ahard look at how we face the inevitable changes in our lives. We read as Sniff, Scurry, Hem, and Haw had their very happy lifestyle changed whenthey went to Station C, where the cheese had always been located, only tofind out it had been moved.

Labels: Change

Start with a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb towards the banana. As soon as he touches the stairs, all of the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water.

After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result - all the other monkeys are sprayed with cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, put away the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and wants to climb the stairs. To his surprise and horror, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs, he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original five monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm! Likewise, replace a third original monkey with a new one, then a fourth, then the fifth.

Every time the newest monkey takes to the stairs, he is attacked. Most of the monkeys that are beating him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing all the original monkeys, none of the remaining monkeys have ever been sprayed with cold water. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs to try for the banana.

Why not? Because as far as they know that's the way it's always been done around here.

That is how many company policies begin! How often do you hear "it's the way we've always done it" phrase? Imagine how much time and money is wasted in business simply because we do it the way we've always done it.

The monkeys provide a lesson for all of us.

© 2007 Max Impact, Rochester Hills, Michigan. All rights reserved.

Labels: Anecdote, Change, Story, Strategy