Today, like yesterday and doubtless tomorrow; change is coming down the pipe and most if not all who read this piece have been, are and will be impacted by change. Depending on your rank and role; you may conceive, approve, plan, execute or be the recipient of efforts to strengthen, grow, streamline, consolidate or simply improve what the business does and how it does it.

Here\’s the bad news… The odds are stacked against you! Never in the history of corporate transformation have so many projects delivered so little, so late, so poorly, at so much cost and with so much aggravation.

My research into why transformation projects fail to meet expectations so often focuses on certain aspects of corporate transformation / business improvement that are usually overlooked, ignored or taken for granted. Here\’s one aspect; far too often, it sneaks up and bites transformation where it hurts!

Back in the 1960 -70\’s; business and government began to move into the information age. Management needed a way to deploy new systems, new processes and new ways of doing business. Project management techniques used in construction/engineering projects were well suited for these early efforts to automate the business along vertical, functional lines and business grabbed the opportunity to use what had worked before - in other environments.

The very means by which these new ways of doing business were delivered became second nature, permeating corporate and individual thinking to such an extent that it is ingrained in the corporate psyche. What worked quite well in the past is now the de facto standard.

The thinking that governs construction/engineering projects has been around for a long, long time. If one wanted to build a pyramid, dam, railway, etc. one used linear project management techniques. One started with an empty space or obliterated whatever occupied that space then built to spec, to budget, to schedule.

If one had to build a pyramid, one used linear project thinking. One did not need to contend with or even consider that lots of other pyramid building outfits would be building pyramids for lots of different pharaohs, each with different ideas and designs in exactly the same empty space where you are building your pyramid. In today\’s business world, there are no empty spaces where linear project thinking can truly work as well as it does when things are being built in real empty spaces.

Today; multiple, concurrent change projects are each building their very own pyramid (each of varying import, size, scale, purpose, etc.) across the business AND, each change project is governed by linear project thinking based on building just one thing in just one empty space - hence, problems!

Today, multiple projects are targeting the same people, processes or functions in the same part of the business for many different reasons; each project is marching to very different orders, timelines and priorities; each is governed by linear thinking - hence, problems!

Essentially, each and any project intent upon changing the business does so in a manner meant to meet that project\’s specific objectives (this is a good thing) yet is utterly ignorant of how this project might impact other projects or vice versa (this is a very bad thing).

Essentially, linear project thinking overlooks or ignores the fact that other projects will be contemplating, competing or contending to make changes to the same part of the business while the project in question is underway.

Given that the business will not be keen to throw away very significant investments in linear (archaic) project management techniques and the very people who come up with good ideas to improve the business think of the improvements in linear terms; how does one start to address the issues associated with linear project thinking, quickly and simply?

For starters, ask questions whenever a project comes forward for approval. Ask questions like…

What other projects have, are or will be working in the same relative space in the business?

Has this project spoken to that project?

Does that project know what this project intends?

Does that project have anything that this project could borrow or reuse?

What did that project teach us about this project?

Will what that project is doing get in the way of what this project wants to do?

Has anyone asked the end user which project is more important?

Has anyone asked whether what this project wants to do might be changed, made redundant or even eliminated by the next project coming down the pipe?

Etc.

By simply instilling and insisting upon awareness of what the rest of the business is up to in the minds of those who approve, manage and execute projects; significant benefits to project(s) and business will accrue and very significant problems of conflict, contention and general chaos will be reduced if not eliminated.

And that would be a very good thing, wouldn\’t you agree?

If you would like to learn more about my seminar themes, types of consulting engagements I undertake and the research that underpins my thinking, feel free to browse my web presence at http://www.TLIRGroup.com

John Bolden
\r RMA, Mil C, C/MBB-ISSSP. F-IICM, F-IPMS

Transformation Leadership, Innovation & Research
\r http://www.TLIRGroup.com

John Bolden is renowned for value laden advice that stakeholders depend on when assessing the wisdom of investing billions. John\’s views and observations enable corporate leaders to ask the right questions, probe problematic answers and avoid surprises.

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Somewhere in your organization someone will give a presentation today. It may be you, the person in the next office, or someone who works in another department. Even if you work solo, there are times when you will be the presenter.

Few would argue that being able to present effectively - whether you\’re presenting to two or two thousand - is an important skill. And since it is such a commonly needed skill, there is plenty of advice available to you - books, courses, websites, tools, techniques, as well as the advice of so many others who \”just want to help.\”

Yet with all this advice, a large percentage of presentations still aren\’t very effective. In fact, many are downright awful; not providing the desired responses from the audience - or any response at all. (Wouldn\’t you agree?)

The advice in this article will be a little different.

Rather than sharing the common wisdom with you - which must not be working very well if so many presentations are still so poor - I will share some uncommon advice. Think about it this way - if you try some uncommon advice, you might get uncommon results. Given the overall record of the common presentation, that will likely be very good!

More visuals, less words. Your PowerPoint presentation has too many words, on every slide (and there are probably way too many slides too - but that\’s another article). Visual aids should be visual. Start replacing the words on your slides with images. And not just pie charts and line graphs, but pictures and images that help tell your story.

More emotion, less logic. It takes more than logic to move people. Give your audience the facts they need, but don\’t overload them. Make sure you speak to the emotional part of people as well. Talk about why, and not just how.

More stories, less \”facts\”. We read books, watch TV and buy movie tickets because we love stories. When you create stories around your presentation or include relevant and passionate stories as a part of your presentation, you will be more successful.

More focus, less scatter. If you can\’t put the key concepts and ideas of your talk on the back of an envelope or on one side of a 3×5 card, your message is too scattered. Hone in on your key message; know exactly what it is. If you don\’t know it, how can you expect your audience to know (or remember) it?

More preparation, less \”I\’ll wing it\”. Giving an effective presentation takes preparation and planning time. Too many people give poor presentations because they simply rely on their slides and muddle through. If you want to be a more powerful presenter, you must be prepared.

More belief, less bluster. Let your passion for your topic, your message and your recommendations show! If you believe in your message, let people know that through your words, actions, body language, energy and more.

More audience, less you. Hopefully you aren\’t giving your presentation for your benefit, but for your audience\’s. So, focus more on them. Worry less about how you look or sound and more about helping them understand your message. If your focus is all about you, stop reading - none of these points will help you. A presentation should always be about the audience.

More you, less faade. No, this isn\’t in conflict with the last point; you will be a more effective presenter when you are real, genuine and sincere. Drop the posturing and be real. Your audience will appreciate it, and they will listen and trust you more.

You\’ve just read eight pieces of uncommon advice. But reading them isn\’t enough. You need to apply at least one of them to your next presentation. When you do, you will be more confident and will achieve more of the results you desire. You will have an audience that has heard and understood your words and takes action because of the presentation.

Potential Pointer: If we want to better at anything - including presentations - sometimes we need to do things differently than everyone else. Following the crowd will, at the very best, allow you to only be incrementally better. Taking a different approach can lead to breakthrough success.

Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive your free special report on Unleashing Your Potential go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

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All things in life experience change and everywhere we look everywhere we go we observe change. We see the seasons change, the weather change, our bodies change and we experience events bringing about change. We know that changes must be made in the heat of battle on the sports field during the game where new players are brought in and a transition is made for an upcoming defensive or offensive play. Change is often necessary, change is often forced and change is often the most favorable strategy to win.

Everyone knows and it is indeed no secret that anytime you change the human leadership on a sports team, government agency, non-profit group or business entity that there will be a short term transitional time that can cause short-term disruption. The goal is for the smoothest possible transition of course while maintaining fluidity of motion on the field, in the battle space, in the market place or in the public’s eye.

The smaller the disruption and the smoother the transition the better for all concerned and this must be the goal. Efficiency is paramount and the order of the day because when it comes to change there is no easy way. Capitalizing on change and discovering opportunity during the transition, minor chaos and disruption is often the key to successfully averting negative results and creating a winning situation. All is possible if you focus on the game, mission and or marketplace. Embrace change and study the game to find opportunity in chaos, while minimizing the affects and advancing the team.

In this article I want you to consider these thoughts and discuss strategies of change in human leadership, the psychology of change, the primate politics of organizations and case studies of how companies have dropped the ball during changes in upper echelon executives and how other companies had found opportunity in the chaos of change. I very much appreciate you reading this article, as it is my first works on this topic for 2007 and yet something tells me that it will not be my last and therefore. Perhaps this article is of interest to propel thought in 2007?

\”Lance Winslow\” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

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What are some of the main differences between products and services? And when are these relevant?

Tangibility versus Intangibility

Products are tangible. You can buy pork as a tangible product. You buy it, you ship it and sell it. In the same way as you buy stamps, cigarettes and cars.

Financial service companies however, make it possible to exchange pork bellies Futures, on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). A future is (not the most simple example of) a service with which you can hedge your risk. In this last case, most of the people trading on the CME will never see or smell the pork bellies.

The ownership between products and services is different. A stock could be called a financial product that you own. You can place a stock order which might result in a transaction later on. You bank services a depot fee for saving you a lot of work. You cannot own a service.

Where the product is much more standardized, the service is tailor-made. Companies differentiate in offering products and services, but the variations between similar products of different producers are less prominent than the variations between services.

You can count products in the same way as you can count your money (or have your service you this information). A service is not countable, but is leveled; better than the best service is not possible. There is a limit in what a service can offer.

A product is produced by a manufacturing process. A service is offered by the utility element of companies; you subscribe to a service in the same way that you subscribe to your gas and electricity supplier.

And this brings us to the essential of these differences; changing from one (product approach) to the other (service offering) is very complex, because of the last mentioned differences. Not only the process is different but the style change you need to support this change Good Luck.

2006 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days.

You can apply for a free demo account

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Have you ever noticed that just when you think you may have found a solution to a problem another problem emerges? Then when you fix that problem, you find yourself back to your original issue?\r Well perhaps you never had a problem that could be solved in the first place. You may have been dealing with a dilemma or a \”polarity\” that simply needed to be managed!

Dr. Barry Johnson has been working on the Polarity Management\” Model and its set of principles since 1975 and this paper has been written to introduce you to some of these concepts. By definition a \”problem\” is an issue which requires a solution. The goal of a problem is to find a fix to the current situation and move forward to a new reality without being required to ever look back. However, a \”polarity\” is an issue that needs to be addressed, but the \”solution\” is not one that can survive independently and will actually still require support from the original issue.

Let\’s look at an extremely basic polarity that we are all managing very well at this precise moment. This is the polarity of respiration that contains within itself 2 basic \”problems\”. The first problem is the human body\’s need for oxygen. How do we fix this problem? We breathe in. But is that the \”solution\” to our problem? If it was we would just continue to breathe in and in and in. Once we breathe in though, our bodies transform that oxygen into carbon dioxide which our bodies dont like. So what can we do? We breathe out. Thus losing the oxygen that was the solution to our first problem. In fact, there was never a problem at all (remember a problem should possess a single and final solution), rather we had a polarity that needed to be managed and this was accomplished through breathing in AND out.

Let\’s look at another example that is becoming more and more prominent in the corporate environment, the switch to a team-based workplace and dynamic. Many companies now believe the solution to a majority of their work-based problems is a shift to a more team oriented workplace. Teams are being credited for their ability to: create a synergistic effect, provide a common direction, provide mutual support, appreciate every individual\’s job, and create a cohesive unit. If this is true for teams, than certainly a shift to a team oriented workplace must be the answer. The \”problem\” is solved. However, with teams aren\’t the following characteristics also created: too much conformity, bland sameness, too many meetings that last too long, the neglect of personal needs, and the organization only rising to the level of the lowest common denominator? Perhaps teams aren\’t the answer after all, because when you focus on the individual you get: individual creativity and initiative, an entrepreneurial spirit, fewer meetings and individual freedom. But if focusing on the individual is so good, then why was there a perceived problem in the first place? Perhaps because with an individual focus you get: people who feel isolated and left out, no common direction, rewards to only those who hit home runs, and no synergist effect or team support!

So what then is the answer? There is in fact no answer to be implemented, rather only a polarity to be managed. In this case the two polarities are the individual and the team. By recognizing these two polarities, organizations can understand and predict the downsides of either pole and strive to maintain a balance between the two positive sides of both poles. Leaders in organizations who understand the strength of managing polarities are more effective because:

- they save time and energy not trying to solve problems which are unsolvable- they have a better understanding of the resistance they may face to organizational changes they wish to make- they will be more effective in negotiating with those in opposition to their changes- they may serve as more effective mediators- they will be able to anticipate and minimize problems that occur within a workplace when polarities are not managed well- decision making will improve when leaders learn the power of the \”and\” and don\’t rely constantly on either/or decisions

Polarities are usually found at the heart of any form of major (or minor) organizational change and there are commonly two competing sides. Dr. Johnson has provided labels for each of these sides. The one side has identified problems with the status quo and has a vision for improvement and change. This side has been labeled as the \”Crusaders\”. The Crusaders are the ones who want to move from the downside of the present pole to the upside of the opposite pole. But standing as their opposition are the \”Tradition Bearers\”. These are the people who still stand by the strengths of the organization which got that organization to the position it finds itself in today. They see the downside of the plans lobbied by the Crusaders and fear the potential negative outcomes of the proposed changes.

In a conflict such as this, who is right and who is wrong? Surprisingly, both sides are actually \”right\”, the problem is that although they are right, they are also incomplete.

(Please note: an image is missing here. Please visit http://www.team-building-leadership.com/polarity_management.html to view the entire article and image)

Consider the image above (many of you have probably already seen this and know what they\’re looking at). There are those who see a goblet and those who see two faces. Who is right and who is wrong? Of course both perspectives are correct, they are only incomplete. In Gestalt\’s theory, he named that which the subject focuses on as the \”figure\” and that which surrounds the figure and is out of focus as the \”ground\”. In our example above, the figure and the ground can switch properties depending on where the subject focuses his/her vision. But what is interesting is that it is not possible for the subject to see the entire picture (the faces AND the goblet) simultaneously. Rather, the focus must switch from one to the other for the subject to understand the complete picture. \r This is the crux and the strength of polarity management. For a polarity to be managed successfully, focus must be removed from one side of the argument and attention given to the other while remembering the allowance for the focus to shift back to the original side. To often when people or organizations believe they are solving a problem, they are resistant to ever focus again on from where they came. However, if you only allow yourself to see the faces above, you\’ll never again be able to appreciate the entire picture! Interestingly, we must also accept that without the goblet the faces would also not exist.

Polarity Management can be a very powerful tool when used at the right place and time. The task is knowing when and where to use it. Polarity Management does not imply there are no problems to be solved because there are. PM can only be used when the following conditions are met:

1) The difficulty must be ongoing.

2) The two poles must be interdependent.

Let\’s imagine you have an employee who is stealing from the company. Is this a polarity or a problem? If you were to fire or have this employee arrested, the problem would be solved and would no longer be ongoing. This is definitely not a polarity to manage. Now let\’s return to the individual versus team example. If your company is failing to maximize the synergy of your workgroups but individuals aren\’t receiving the recognition they feel they deserve, do you have a difficulty that is ongoing and two poles that are interdependent? Yes you do, and this is a polarity to be managed.

The goal of polarity management is not to solve or remove problems. Rather it is to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the two poles that exist within the dilemma. With this knowledge organization leaders can predict, prepare for and manage potential pitfalls within the organization. The object is not necessarily to eliminate all the negative aspects of either pole, but rather to maximize and sustain the potential of existing within the positive sides of either pole.

Mike Caldwell holds a Master of Science in Management Degree from Regis University. Although he makes his home near Ottawa, Canada, Mike facilitates team building and leadership workshops across North America. You can contact Mike via his website at http://www.team-building-leadership.com or by email at mike@synergyat.ca.

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Merger &Acquisition Overview

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) are a significant activity for many organizations. Yet most mergers are not successful, primarily because the merger of two organizations is actually a merger of individuals and groups. Buono and Bowditch, authors of The Human Side of Mergers and Acquisitions: Managing Collisions Between People, Cultures, and Organizations.

A merger means that two previously separate organizations are combined into a third new entity. An acquisition involves the purchase of one organization by the new parent firm. M&A activity is characterized in the academic literature as an organizational marriage, complete with courtship. Cultural integration is often linked to a metaphor of a family where a parent who has departed is replaced by a step-parent. These relationship and familial metaphors illustrate the significant impact M&A activity can have on organizational life and its members.

Unfortunately, few M&As make any effort to integrate different cultures and workforces, even though M&A activities bring about significant change involving employees, organizational entities, systems, shareholders, customers, and many other stakeholders.

Companies initiate M&As for numerous business objectives, ranging from achieving market entry to gaining proprietary technology. Companies that want to expand strive to acquire businesses that enhance their product portfolio and secure additional employees with specialized skills. But too many enter into M&A activity without recognizing the impact on the organization and the overall impact on the human element within the two merging companies. M&A activities that are improperly managed can result in lost revenue, customer dissatisfaction, and employee attrition.

Honor is their Due

The traditional M&A approach has included financial and legal evaluations of the acquisition target with little attention paid to the people and culture. Successful M&A strategies acknowledge and honor the importance of organizational culture as a critical element in the long-term integration success.

Cultural compatibility can have significant impact on the ultimate success of M&A activity. A number of credible cultural assessment tools, such as culture surveys and facilitated focus groups, are available and should be utilized. As Dr. Edgar Schein points out, the challenge of assessing an organizations culture is more a matter of surfacing assumptions, which will be recognizable once they have been uncovered. Identifying cultural compatibility on such core values as corporate ethics and quality are important considerations in the assessment of the M&A. The impact of not assessing the degree of cultural similarity might have significant consequences for the combined firm, as cultural tensions and clashes between merging organizations are a common cause of combination related difficulties (Buono and Bowditch).

Cultural Integration is one aspect of the integration process that is often overlooked. Its necessary to initiate cultural assessment during due diligence This cultural due diligence assessment should be made before the deal is finalized, to avoid culture clashes that diminish the potential of the deal.

Placing Cultural Due Diligence on the M&A Agenda

Conducting culture due diligence allows the acquiring company to assess cultural compatibility with the target firm. Cultural compatibility and all of its ramifications need to be understood completely to ensure a successful M&A. The literature on M&A activity used familial metaphors to describe mergers and acquisitions. This is powerful language that further emphasized the significance of organizational members experience as a result of an M&A. One internal M&A expert encouraged companies to be capable of articulating the key facets of cultural compatibility to the acquiring company. Identifying the must haves of cultural compatibility is like assessing marital compatibility; some compatibility issues are negotiable, while others could be considered knockouts.

Executives who worked on a high-profile computer-technology merger participated in cultural due diligence activities. They made the results from their culture surveys available as the selection process for executives of the combined firm began, and the survey results became a component of the selection process. They also introduced fast-start workshops to welcome the thousands of new employees to the acquiring company, and articulated the approach to working together.

Unfortunately, because M&A practitioners often fail to link integration with pre-combination activities such as due diligence, they neglect questions of organizational fit in the early stages of acquisition analysis.

When the management of a company decides to merge with or acquire another company, it checks the financial strength, market position, management strength, and other health indicators of the other company. Rarely checked, however, are the cultural aspects: the companys philosophy or style, its technological origins which might provide clues to its basic assumptions, and its beliefs about its mission and future. (Schein, 1997, pp. 268-269)

The greatest barrier to successful integration is cultural incompatibility. According to Edgar Schein, The poor performance of many mergers, acquisitions, and joint ventures can often be explained by the failure to understand the depth of cultural misunderstanding that may be present. Research on cultural factors is the least likely to be undertaken as part of due diligence.

Integration planning, which takes cultural factors into account, should coincide with the initiation of due diligence. When these two are strongly linked, new corporate knowledge can facilitate consolidation.

Four-Step Approach to Cultural Due Diligence

Researchers have identified the following steps for conducting cultural due diligence:

1.Integrate cultural criteria early in the merger discussions.

2.Prepare due diligence teams with cultural criteria.

3.Have the due diligence teams collect data on culture.

4.Use tools to assess potential culture fit and issues.

How companies choose to deploy this model depends on their own structure and culture. Acquirers are encouraged to operate under the assumption that cultural differences exist, and they must actively work to manage these differences throughout the integration process. Companies are also encouraged to create joint projects that allow the teams to build success together. One large telecom company that actively engaged in M&A activity, tasked one of its HR professionals with strengthening the companys acquisition process by educating executives and due diligence teams on culture.

Exploring Cultural Integration

According to academic and business thought-leader John Kotter, The biggest chore associated with an acquisition of any size is to merge the two (or perhaps more) different cultures. If this part of the transformation is ignored or handled poorly, problems will surface for years, maybe decades.

The importance of an organizations culture, particularly as a risk factor in M&A integration, cannot be underestimated. Researchers at Harvard Business School found that firms that managed their culture realized a nearly seven-fold increase in revenue, compared with a 166% increase for firms that did not manage culture.

Yet specific, focused efforts to integrate different cultures and workforces remain the exception rather than the norm in M&A activity. Poor cultural compatibility continues to be cited as a factor in M&A failure. Cultural signs of the so-called merger syndrome include a we versus they relationship, with a natural tendency for people to exaggerate the differences rather than the similarities between the two companies. (Marks & Mirvis, 1998)

The key to a successful Done Deal, is selecting a culturally appropriate model of integration.

An organizations culture consists of the underlying values, beliefs, and principles that define an organizations management system, as well as the firms management practices and behaviors that reinforce those principles. (Denison, 1990)

A more detailed definition of organizational culture comes from Dr. Edgar Schein, who defines it as the pattern of basic assumptions a given group has invented, discovered, or developed while learning to cope with external adaptation and internal integration challenges. The assumptions, says Schein, should be taught to new members as the correct way to perceive, think, and feel in relation to those problems.

Keys for Successful Cultural Integration

Successful cultural integration begins with an early understanding of the cultural differences and processes that exist between the acquiring and target companies. Stages of culture clash include employees reevaluating the way they do things, followed by viewing their way of doing things as superior to the other company. This is followed by attacking the others way of doing things while defending their own. For a successful cultural integration to occur, each company should be coached to look at how the practices of the other company might be beneficial in the new entity.

Conducting cultural due diligence early in the M&A process helps prepare the integration team as well as the companies leadership for the efforts that are required to join together two distinct organizations.

M&As emerge from a managerial approach that values process, structure, formal roles, and indirect communication over people, ideas, and feelings. (Buono & Nurick, 1992). Despite the importance of successfully integrating an organizations people and culture into a new entity, the published literature is filled with reports pointing to limited involvement from HR professionals in the early stages. This restricted involvement, in turn, limits HR professionals ability to effectively influence the process. Unfortunately, legal and financial issues are given precedence over the possible traumas that might be experienced by organizational members impacted by M&A activity.

Another strategy for facilitating cultural integration is through the use of transition teams. Transition teams (internal practitioners prefer the term integration teams) that involve employees from both the target and the acquiring company ensure a successful deal completion. Consider the transition team a lever to share cultural intelligence between the two companies.

To improve M&A cultural integration efforts, the following action steps must be taken.

Conduct extensive due diligence surveys; look at the cultural values of potential leaders being retained from the target company; evaluate the underlying cultural factors and values that determine long-term success for the M&A; and determine the key facets of cultural compatibility important to your company.

Conclusion

Business leaders and M&A practitioners have rich opportunities to humanize what is often treated by companies as merely a business and financial transaction. Organization development practitioners have the tools and resources necessary for the successful navigation of all kinds of change management projects, including M&A activity. Any M&A should be viewed as an activity good for both the organization and for the employees rather than as a time of employee uncertainty and insecurity. The focus on the human dimension of M&A will significantly impact the bottom-line success. It will also result in less organizational turmoil, and ultimately determine the overall success of the M&A transaction. All practitioners working on the M&A have the opportunity to serve as role models by working collaboratively from the outset to realize the possibilities of a successful M&A.

M. Beth Page, is an organization development consultant and coach dedicated to awakening the greatness within. She is also the author of Done Deal: Your Guide to Merger and Acquisition Integration (2006), available at http://www.authenticitypress.com The author may be contacted by email at: beth@dreamcatcher-consulting.com or by visiting the company website at http://www.dreamcatcher-consulting.com.

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GOD, grant me the Serenity

to accept the things I cannot change,

Courage to change the things I can,

and Wisdom to know the difference.

-The Serenity Prayer

In software and technology implementation projects, there needs to be something called \”Change Control\”. And why is this needed? No matter how thorough the business analysis job or how complete the project plan, there\’s always something that needs to be changed or added after the fact. Users and potential users of the system or technology change their minds. Or think of something that they absolutely cannot live without. Then from the technical side, the developers, programmers and implementers discover things that are incorrect or just won\’t work. Programmers or testers find things called \”bugs\” - which is techie talk for errors or system glitches. After all, that\’s what quality, quality control and testing is supposed to do - Find things that will cause less than desired results.

Testing and quality is key. And it needs to start at the beginning. Once the technology requirements are finalized, you have the basis for test scripts that can be used throughout the implementation process. There will be change. So, there needs to be an orderly process for incorporating changes and corrections / fixes.

One reason is that iy helps everyone on the project is in sync. It avoids duplication of effort. And, it\’s less disruptive when there are multiple environments (development / test versus live / production) or multiple releases versions. It\’s an essential piece of the communications plan. Change control is a recipe for success. And, back to the Serenity Prayer: the introduction of new systems, features or functionality is something that can be controlled. And the smart project manager has the courage to mandate a change control process.

What we cannot change is people and how they react to change. Change, even positive change, creates stress - another thing we can\’t change. What we can control is the implementation and use of programs and techniques that ease the pain and stress of change. And that\’s called Change Management.

I worked for the telecommunications superstar, Lucent Technologies, right before its big fall from financial grace. I was fortunate to be in the CIO organization which was lead by a very visionary executive Earnestine Barnes-Linder. She encouraged us to prepare for the changes that she so wisely foresaw. Earnestine even distributed copies of the book \”Who Moved My Cheese?\” by Dr. Spencer Johnson. I attended a workshop by the author and was less than impressed. But, when I finally took the time to read the book, it was indeed outstanding. Mr. Johnson is an expert on individual and organizational change. The book gave insight into how to recognize that your cheese or goal had moved and provided suggestions on how to work through the feelings and adjust to change. However, there are other books that provide more substance and detail on stress and change management techniques.

Noble & Associates Consulting and its consultants have years of experience with software and technology implementations. The whole point of any new system is to change or improve some process, capability or results. Since there is always change and people are stressed by change, then change management should always be a consideration in project funding, planning and management.

So what\’s the cheese?

* For an individual, it might have been owning a home. The current mortgage crisis may be moving that cheese.

* For others, it might be life long employment with a company paid pension. The economy and corporate mergers, acquisitions and downsizing may be moving that cheese.

* For production managers the cheese may be efficient operations and on-time deliveries. Disruptions in the supply chain, broken processes and quality problems may be crumbling that cheese.

* The corporate executive may have thought that the least and greatest system or technology was the cheese. However, cost overruns, unrealized functionality and out of sync processes could be slicing away at that cheese.

* For the average employee, the cheese may be to feel like they are competent and even expert at doing the job. The introduction of a new system or technology, and the need to learn new ways of doing things, could be the last straw.

In the final analysis, it doesn\’t matter what caused your cheese to change. Change happens. Stress happens. Deal with it. Consider implementing stress management and change management programs.

About Us:
\r
Sandra Noble - MBA, CPIM, Six Sigma, DCFS, CDP, is president / CEO of Noble & Associates Consulting Inc, which offers cost effective, strategic, enterprise e-Business solutions delivered by experienced professionals with industry, business and application knowledge and expertise. We specialize in IT strategy, needs assessments, software evaluation & selection and implementation of SAP, Oracle, ERP and other enterprise-wide software solutions. And we\’re the cure for Post Implementation Distress.\r
\”Reducing The STRESS of Software Implementations Worldwide\”.

\r
or a *FREE* report,
\”12 Sins of ERP Implementations\”, click
http://www.CurePostImplementationDistress.com

\r
Noble Finances, a division of Noble & Associates Consulting, provides accounts receivable financing, equipment & software leasing, cash advances on credit card sales and pre-settlement lawsuit funding and law firm portfolio loans.
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If your bank says NO, then YES, you need to explore other alternatives.
For more information, visit http://www.GetCashFromReceivables.com

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Changing businesses is a lot like a career change for a business owner. While an entrepreneur can continue to be an entrepreneur, changing businesses or industries is often difficult. With the ushering in of the information age many new entrepreneurs found an exiting field using the power of the internet.

But what about the business owners who started and built a traditional business sometimes over a decade or even multiple decades. Changing businesses can be a challenging task and even overwhelming to any entrepreneur. Some businesses become obsolete, these are the ones that easier to accept change as the only alternative.

But what about when a business is still bringing in strong revenues and seems healthy? Many entrepreneurs find themselves hiding or even stuck behind a robust revenue stream that is barely eking out a six figure profit. Success or perceived success can create an attractive spot in the local community and many business owner find it unfathomable to relinquish the prestige rapport they have developed through years of hard work and strategic planning.

The information age has introduced and supercharged business models that can deliver a whole new breed of results. With much lower fixed expenses and variable expenses automated to a large degree, information age business models with revenues of even two or three hundred thousand can out preform their counter parts with revenues of two to three million.

Business owners looking to change businesses in 2008 and beyond will likely be doing so to take advantage of better cash flow and much higher profitability. The traditional brick and mortar business world has deemed acceptable sacrificing profitability for improved cash flow and the Information age business sector is seemingly out to reclaim both back. If cash is king then profitability is queen and the information age is the kingdom most sought after for the business owner looking to change careers in the business arena today.

Using real estate as an example we can see how the power of the Internet, the information age and popularity of the home based business industry in the last couple years completely changes the face of business and investing. Say you bought five houses for 100 thousand dollars each and rented them out and they each cash flowed about 600 dollars per month. You would earn thirty six thousand dollars per year right? ( For illustrative purposes) So to recap, you have invested a half a million dollars and are earning around three thousand dollars a month in passive income right? Well, if you have ever rented real estate, you know it\’s not passive and never has been, but still you get the picture.

Now say you have information that is worth three or four hundred dollars. This information will either need to save someone a significant amount of time or more than four hundred dollars. Think of information that you have right now that would add value. Now say you sold that four hundred dollar information for fifty bucks. You create an e-book or have one created, then get a ten dollar domain and free hosting and start telling people about your information. If you sell two of those books a day, any where in the world you have out performed your real estate for under two hundred dollars per month.

This is only to prove a point and it is hypothetical money can be made in real estate in a passive way, but the information age offers a more wealth centered approach and smart business owners are seeing this and it gives them that entrepreneurial itch for change.

Joe Crawford has been an entrepreneur since his early twenties. After building a 2.5 million dollar 30+ employee traditional business he sought out a business industry, career, or business model that would provide him the results HE wanted. If being \”successful\” is old news & you want the specific results of a Solid Six Figure Income in the next 6-12 months WHILE building a residual walkaway income stream over time……

… then come evaluate an information age business opportunity that you can use to do just that. Everything is in place and it is absolutely free to evaluate the business details. Make it a Great Year! You Deserve It!

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Admit it, you like things to be constant. When things are constant you are in control. Being in control feels good. But sometimes there are external forces that put a jolt in our lives and shifts our normal practices, for better or for worse. Sometimes this could be traumatic, especially if it happens in our workplace.

There\’s an entire industry that helps people deal with coping with change in the workplace and includes best selling books on the topic like \”Who Moved My Cheese.\” Most self-help materials are reactionary, meaning that they help you deal with change issues after the change has already taken place.

But I think that the best way to deal with change in the workplace is to be proactive, not reactive. This could be done by brainstorming all of the possible change that could take place in your workplace and having a strategy plan to deal with the issues - ahead of time. Having a plan of attack will make any and all transition in your job or place of business easier to handle. You will know the solution to all of your issues as they arise. Great business leaders and managers do this all the time.

Take Andy Grove of Intel, for instance. He wrote a book called \”Only The Paranoid Survive\” in which he explains that one of his greatest strengths as a leader is that he is paranoid. For example, he always wants to know what his competition is doing so that he will be ready to react to any issues that face his business. Great business leaders are ready to react to change because they know exactly what to do when each and every change or problem occurs.

So, think about what could happen to you in your job and your place of business. The scope of this article is not to give you the solutions but rather to make you think about all the possible change that could occur in your workplace. From there you should develop your plan of attack, what you would do if that shift in your job were ever to take place.

Here are just a few examples of shifts in your workplace that could disrupt your control:\r

\r
• Your boss that you love resigns and is replaced with one that makes your life difficult

\r

• The year-end bonus that you count on will not come because your company is not profitable this year

\r

• You are falsely accused of stealing a colleague\’s ideas

\r

• Your company is re-locating to another State

\r

• You are a smoker and your company bans cigarette breaks

\r

• The radio that you have at your cubicle that helps you relax is bothersome to your new neighbor in the next cubicle

\r

• There are rumors of a pay-cut and you are stressing about how you will make your monthly mortgage payments if it comes to fruition

\r

• You are looked-over for that promotion that you were expecting in favor of someone else whom you believe is less qualified

\r

• You get fired

\r

Remember, be proactive and not reactive. Think of all the disruptions that can happen and you\’ll be better prepared to deal with change in the workplace.

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There will come a time on every change project that you will wish you had read this article. The size and scope of the work does matter. Everyone today, especially in the larger organizations, wants to forecast heroism. By that I mean they want to think that because they are who they are, or the organization is who it is you will then be able to do anything. Dont make that mistake.

When setting up any change project, and remember all project work is change work, there are three parts you must balance to succeed. They are

1. Scope
\r 2. Resources
\r 3. Time

These three elements form a triangle and must have equal sides. That means the length of each side must remain relatively the same throughout the project. Lets address each individually then well tie them together as a whole.

Scope:

The scope of the work defines the boundaries of what you will work to change. The scope is your vision of the project. Are you going to change the processes of just accounts payable or are you going to reach out into other areas as you progress. You must carefully define the scope of the work in order to move to the next side of the change triangle and that is defining the resources.

Resources:

The resources of your change effort are the people, outside support, in some cases materials and most of all the finances, the money required to bring about the changes desired. Here is where we find the forecasting of heroism most common. Many leaders confuse sound planning with being macho. If you are the change leader dont accept the assignment without a realistic resource plan or you are doomed to failure. The gun that will eventually shoot you for failing is already aimed at you at this point. You must take the scope and support it with a realistic resource plan.

Time:

The third side of the change triangle is the by-product of the first two. Based on your vision, the scope, and the resources you have been given, the work will take a certain amount of time. You should get together your best and brightest as they say and given the scope of the work and your resources determine how long you think the work will take and then double it that is how long it will really take. Remember, time is the by-product of the first two.

Once you embark on your change journey inevitable changes will surface. You will find things out you didnt know and you may be tempted to add to the scope or speed up the delivery of the changes dont do it. Let me correct myself, dont do it without balancing the change triangle. It is pretty simple to understand and do but its difficult to gain support to make it happen.

You see when the boss comes along and says we have to finish the work in one year and not eighteen months and doesnt allow you to match that change with a reduction in scope or an increase in resources then they just cocked the trigger of that gun pointed at you. It is that simple. Thats why 80% of all change efforts fail. They fail because of a lack of real leadership.

Real leadership doesnt put the change project leaders in a position like this to fail in the first place. If they are placed in this position real project leaders will defend the change triangle at all costs and make sure that their heroic leaders know what they are getting themselves in to in the first place.

Change leadership is simple to understand, difficult to deliver. First define the scope, based on the scope determine the necessary resources and the combination of the two will give you the timeline. Once you are approved and embark on the journey keep the three sides of the change triangle in balance. When the big dog comes and says speed up make sure youve laid the groundwork that they know to speed up requires a scope shrink or an increase in resources. Its that simple or you fail.

Ed Kugler has been living change since the jungles of Vietnam where he was a Marine Sniper for two-years in the Vietnam War. He came home to a country he hadn\’t left and began work as a mechanic and truck driver. Since then he has worked his way into the executive suite of Frito Lay, Pepsi Cola and Compaq Computer where he was Vice President of Worldwide Logistics, a position he achieved with no college degree. Ed left in 1997 to consult and write. He is the author of Dead Center - A Marine Sniper\’s Two Year Odyssey in the Vietnam War and five other books and counting. He regularly consults with some o the nations leading companies on organizational change and coaches individuals to make the most of their lives. Ed is the father of three, grandfather to three and has been married to the same woman for 38 years and counting.

http://www.nomorebs.com
\r http://www.edkugler.com

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