One common thread I’ve seen in many organizational change disasters is the utter lack of a PLAN to guide the work. In an earlier article, I laid out common reasons that Organizational Change Management (OCM) initiatives fail and this risk is right at the top of that list. There’s an old project management adage that [...]
As I watched Director Oliver Stone talk about his new “Wall Street” movie this morning I could not help but be struck by how polarizing some public figures can be… (perhaps intentionally?) Within the last few days I’ve noticed these solid candidates for the Prince & Princess of Public Polarization for the week: Iranian President [...]
Could your team use a good Gorilla? How about a Fox or two? Take Inventory: One of the first things I like to do when working with a team engaged in making a big change happen is to take stock of the group’s natural teaming skills and prevailing personalities. I don’t typically have everyone take [...]
I hear the term “resistance” a lot when helping clients implement change. Not surprisingly, I hear it more from those at the top who are trying to make the change happen – than from those in the field who are allegedly practicing resistance… Reminds me of the famous (and obvious) plot line of Star Trek: [...]
Good News for fans of theBigRocks.com! Our humble site will be joining the blogging family of one of Europe’s top providers of SAP talent and SAP implementation solutions. Red Commerce has agreed to syndicate theBigRocks.com on their dedicated SAP blogging page. Meet Owain Wood. He’s Red’s Website, Online and Social Media Marketing Executive. He manages [...]
Following up on the post earlier this week about Sponsorship, I wanted to get your opinions on the following question which I first posed a few weeks ago. You may click multiple items and your comments would be especially helpful. After you vote, let’s consider the impact of your answers. How did you answer? Of [...]
It’s Lonely at the Top. There are plenty of ways for Sponsors to approach their pivotal role in change. It can be said that every leader has their style and every style has its limits. Push too hard and people quit. Give them too much leeway and they wander or worse yet- they mutiny… The [...]
If you’re attending the upcoming SAP gathering called ASUG Fall Focus at the Swan & Dolphin Resort in Orlando, Florida - I will be speaking on October 6th @ 1030. Fall Focus is being held in parallel with the SAP Business Objects User’s Conference. I will be co-presenting with a client who is implementing SAP’s [...]
Get on Track Early! Before tackling any significant change, it’s important that Change Leaders and Change Agents get on the same page about exactly what your change involves. I call that alignment. I use a simple set of questions to help my clients draw out the key elements of alignment. As you will see, the [...]
Fans of theBigRocks, Subscribe Me: We’ve added a “subscribe” page on the top menu bar that allows you to subscribe to a list of visitors who get an email whenever a fresh post is uploaded. Of course I promise not to send spam or marketing junk using the list… If you are an RSS fan: [...]
In contrast to my earlier article titled “10 Reasons Change Initiatives SUCCEED“… let’s approach the same challenge from the opposite side. This is Craig Mainprize. He’s a Senior Project Manager who’s currently leading an Organizational Change project for a group called NATS that provides air traffic control services to aircraft flying in UK airspace & [...]
Hey Everyone! As part of the launch this weekend, we’ve created an official Facebook fan page for the blog. Check it out by searching for “theBigRocks.com” next time you hit up Facebook and click the <like> button to begin following us there! We’ll use the fan page to promote discussions, contests and blog postings, so [...]
Those in the trenches know that quite often a Project Manager doesn’t get to choose the make-up of their team. Sometimes the best a PM can do is influence who the Sponsors or Business Owners decide to put on the project team. Why’s that so important? Team makeup can have a critical impact on everything [...]
What you’re talking about…