» Change Articles

Some of you may have heard the news story the other day of the competition to discover who made the best wine, America or France. This was a repeat of one held in Paris in 1976, called ‘The Judgement of Paris’, when France was shocked when French experts, after a blind tasting, said they preferred […][...] read more » Wine not

The secret to change & powerful communication I’m sure that most of you have heard at one time or another someone quote, with great sagacity, that words only account for 7% of the meaning of communication. The fuller version is that 55% comes from body language, 38% from the tone of voice and the remaining […][...] read more » Congruence

As I watched the 11th September attack on the World Trade Centre, seeing the planes fly over and over again into the buildings, I was struck by a need for us to do something, something different, and this got me asking myself some questions on the nature of the change process. Change is a feature […][...] read more » Nature of Change

“This guy pushed his motorcycle from the patio into his living room, where he began to clean the engine with some rags and a bowl of gasoline, all in the comfort of his own home. When he finished, he sat on the motorcycle and decided to give his bike a quick start and make sure […][...] read more » The Best Laid Plans of Mice and Men, or how not to plan your changes

How we love to label people, it makes them so much easier to understand! We all do it because our brains are designed to use this kind of short-cut to prevent information overload. However, there are dangers in this strategy as peoples’ personality is different from their behaviour. It is the difference between who we […][...] read more » Blockers and How to Handle them

Change is a little like a plant. It grows when the conditions are right. Change happens when two conditions occur, when:- It is safe Energy & resources are injected into the system Conversely, decay (or back-sliding) begins when:- The energy is dissipated or lost There is no clear vision It ceases to be safe It […][...] read more » Physics of Change

I guess that it is true to say that we are now in the latter days of BPR and that there are not many major corporations that do not to one degree of another bear the scars of their attempts to re-engineer their businesses. There has been a lot of debate as to why 30% […][...] read more » Breakthrough Personal Refocus

I would argue that Change, as a process never fails, because things always change. It is more accurate to say that we fail to get the results we wanted, or needed or anticipated. Change is a subtle, natural force and it can’t be turned on and off, it has to be harnessed. If we think […][...] read more » What HR Can Do To Give Change a Chance

Or a Quick Guide To Understanding Resistance and Moving Forward It is very easy for managers and bosses to characterise the failure of their plans for change as being down to the resistance of truculent and short-sighted workers, after all resistance is a well known phenomenon and credible excuse for nothing changing… “It’s all their […][...] read more » Deflating Resistance to Change

David Maister, author, ex Harvard Business Professor and professional firm guru, clearly laid down the challenge to professional service firms such as accountants and lawyers in his book “True Professionalism” (which is now over 10 years old!) He is frequently invited to address gatherings of professionals to speak about how he sees the market place […][...] read more » The Change Challenge for Professional Firms