There is more to training than training… Do we know why training does not work?The other evening while on the way home from some client work, I read the paper on the train. In this was an interesting article that suggested that public transport staff should be given “civility” training by one of the UKs top retailers for customer service – John Lewis.The article cited that London has high levels of “incivility” and blamed it on the time people travel to and from work. The recommendation … [Read more...] about Why training does not work – there is more to training than training
Organizational Diagnostics and Strategy Maps
The world of organizational development is s strange one. ask 10 practitioners in the field what it is and you will get 11 different answers!For those of us involved in the cloak and dagger world of Organizational Development we use a wide range of organizational diagnostic tools however when it comes to planning and monitoring progress we often do things a little freestyle. While this may feel creative and valuable it may well be one of the contributing factors to change programmes not … [Read more...] about Organizational Diagnostics and Strategy Maps
When is change not change?
We have recently heard of public and private sector improvements in our network. But they are set to fail. This is worrying, but we know that failure is not inevitable.Why am I so confident in saying change is prone to fail? It is simple. Many leaders in organisations seem to think that need is just procedural, but it is cross-functional transformational change. Change that needs managing as change and not a service improvement.Service improvement can be initiated at the top with a … [Read more...] about When is change not change?
Innovation and Invention… get confused again
Lack of Clarity Misleads Others Earlier this week Tesco Mobile (a division of the UK's largest retailer published a "Top 100 Inventions In History". The survey asked 4,000 people to compile a list of the 100 most important inventions in history. The results are a not too surprising collection of both inventions, innovations and adaptations. A shame as this will only lead to further "educate" the public into believing that innovation and invention are the same.In the research, The Telephone … [Read more...] about Innovation and Invention… get confused again
How politicians can drive innovation and change that is unexpected
What does the future hold for technology and can it break free of the silicon valley giants?- Hi everyone, Mike Morrison here.Well, it's all about competition, or is it?This week I heard some fascinating stuff on the news and I'd like to share some thoughts with you. So if it's all about competition maybe it's time for change.And what do we mean by change?Well, for those of you that might not have heard it, on the news this week we've had Donald Trump. And he's been talking … [Read more...] about How politicians can drive innovation and change that is unexpected
PRIMO-F Model for Business Development
PRIMO-F the Business Growth Model Often in organizations we use a SWOT analysis as a way of identifying priorities and areas for improvement. While theSWOT is a wonderfully flexible tool, it is too easy to miss out key elements. We tend to use a SWOT based on our experiences, rather than the actual situational needs.As SWOT analysis is made up of two internal elements (SW) and two external elements (OT) it is helpful to use a structure to give us a guide for what should be … [Read more...] about PRIMO-F Model for Business Development
CIPD factsheets – an A-to-Z of HR topics & resources
CIPD factsheets - essential information for any manager & practitioner.An A-to-Z of HR and management related factors is an easy to read and easy to apply style.The CIPD produce a wonderful set of regularly updated and reviewed factsheets on a wide range of HR and management based topics., While some are available to members only, the majority are available to all.This pages lists those available as at January 2010. Please note all links open in new windows. UPDATE MARCH … [Read more...] about CIPD factsheets – an A-to-Z of HR topics & resources
What can Learning & Development learn from childrens education part 1 #hrblog #edtech #learningtechnologies
So what can Learning & Development learn from children's education? Recently I attended one of Europe largest exhibitions for technology in education. The show is called BETT and took place in London's ExCel Centre.BETT describes itself as being for: If you’re a Learning and Training Professional, come to Bett to discover how technology can improve and enhance learning, from school to Higher Education and workplace learning. Although I saw little directed at workplaces directly. That … [Read more...] about What can Learning & Development learn from childrens education part 1 #hrblog #edtech #learningtechnologies
33 Ways to develop an Innovative Culture in your org.
Ways to develop a Culture of Innovation Many organisations strive for a competitive edge, an advantage over their competitors to help ensure their sustainability. Innovation is one such way, but for too long many organisations have concentrated on developing product and ignored the possibilities of innovation as a culture. Having an innovative friendly culture can harness the innovative and creative capacities of the entire workforce (and your customers and suppliers) to your advantage. But it … [Read more...] about 33 Ways to develop an Innovative Culture in your org.
Fad surfing – the worst form of change management
Chasing the shiny new things Last week in a tweet I mentioned fad-surfing and some of my followers were not aware of this and requested an article - so here it is! Fad surfers are the management or leadership equivalent of the magpie, they love collecting shiny new things from other people. A management or leadership style where there is a lot of sizzle but little substanceWhat is "fad surfing"?In simple terms Adopting one fashionable management style or strategy after another. The … [Read more...] about Fad surfing – the worst form of change management
Strategic development: Are we missing the point?
Strategic development: Are we missing the point?As developers, consultants and change agents, we often talk about strategic programmes and actions, but are we taking the appropriate first steps?This article looks at the steps we take and explores if we can be more strategic and add more value. IntroductionOften we know where we want to get to, or at least have a good idea, but often as the old saying goes: “If I was going there, I would not start from here.”That is a very logical … [Read more...] about Strategic development: Are we missing the point?
Innovation, the first step – dare, change, take a risk
Innovation is about the first step Innovation is the buzzword of the late naughties, but what does it mean?"Innovation is the act of introducing something new"Often we focus on the act of creating, indeed many training and development programmes look to developing creativity in order to create innovative cultures. Is this right?Innovation can mean two very different things, I suspect that often we confuse the two. many organizations take innovation to be something to do with product … [Read more...] about Innovation, the first step – dare, change, take a risk
Force Field Analysis
The Force Field analysis is a graphical tool for supporting decision making. It can be used equally by individuals or teams.Kurt Lewin in 1943 developed the concept based in the physical sciences. He originally proposed it as a tool to understand problem based situations in social science and to effect planned change.He described a problem situation as one where the difference between the way things are and the way they are desired to be. The principle of force field analysis is that in … [Read more...] about Force Field Analysis
Humanification by Christian Kromme – book review
Humanification – Go Digital, Stay Human. It has been a while since I Last reviewed a book, but this one first grabbed my attention, if for no reason than it’s title. This was followed quickly by the description: Imagine being able to spot the next big trend, all being able to predict the next big wave of change. Imagine having encouraged that gives you the power to invent, predict all harness the next big technology. Humanification is going to help you unlock the DNA of innovation itself, your … [Read more...] about Humanification by Christian Kromme – book review
The rising cost of learning… The E-Book – con or hero?
The rising cost of learning… First there was decimalisation, then the Euro, the litre and now the e-book. Isn’t it interesting that to many of us the actual increasing costs of things are not so obvious when there has been a change of culture or context? With the introduction of decimalisation in the early 70s and latterly the Euro across central Europe many products were rounded up in price. Even more recently the move from selling petrol from gallons to litres allowed the price to jump … [Read more...] about The rising cost of learning… The E-Book – con or hero?
Blogs do they work for you
Web 2.0 and all that it means… blogs, twitter, interaction etc but what does it mean?Humans are social animals, we need to be part of a social group, a hierarchy. With the demise of the extended family, the nuclear family and more and more isolation perhaps it was inevitable that we will need to find a ‘new social group’.It is curious that over the past 15 years membership of voluntary organisations has changed. We no longer go to the ‘clubs’ that we once did to feel part of some … [Read more...] about Blogs do they work for you
Innovation creating an organizational wide culture of executive innovation
Executive innovation – creating the culture Ever heard your people say…“What we need in this organization is innovation” or “Creativity will give us the edge”.Executives and leaders often utter these words with little realisation of the difficulties of bringing about a fundamental shift in the behaviour necessary to create an innovation culture across the organization. “We can empower people to bring new ideas, we’ll run some workshops on creativity” if only it were that simple. But … [Read more...] about Innovation creating an organizational wide culture of executive innovation
Innovation – Individual or team effort – “Collective Leadership”
Today I read an interesting blog article on Innovation which starts with:"To generate creative business ideas, breakthrough innovators must be fiercely tested and wisely deployed (…) Truly innovative people are rare. Perhaps, 5% or 10% of the high potential managers within a company at any given time have the skills and attributes to become innovators.”Read Jeffrey Cohn, Jon Katzenbach, and Gus Vlack’s paper, “Finding and Grooming Breakthrough Innovators,” on HBR." The author … [Read more...] about Innovation – Individual or team effort – “Collective Leadership”
Executive Innovation the key to success
Is Executive Innovation the key to success?The world economy is changing… are we reacting fast enough? For many executives innovation is just not happening fast enough according to recent articles and research from Boston Consulting Group’s annual study on innovation. Many organisations know that first in order to survive and then to grow they need to innovate. In recent years the focus of innovation has been on creativity and the innovative process, but the lack of results show that this … [Read more...] about Executive Innovation the key to success
Not What Why
When situations are difficult it is easy to remain task focused (what), but does this help us maintain a future resistant approach?Schein in “Organizational Culture and Leadership” says “what happens in organizations is fairly easy to observe, but in the effort to understand why such things happen, culture as a concept comes into its own”If leadership is the key to the future success of our organisation then culture is the lock. In a world where we are very short term-ist (just look … [Read more...] about Not What Why
