Join Dr. Dick Ruhe, Senior Consulting Partner and co-author of Know-Can-Do right here on LeaderChat beginning at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Time for a 30-minute Q&A session.
Dick will be stopping by immediately after he finishes his WebEx sponsored webinar on We’re Still Here … Now What? In this special event, Dick will be sharing six strategies to help leaders re-focus and re-energize their organizations by adopting a growth—instead of survival—mindset. Over 400 people will be participating in the webinar and most will be gathering here to ask follow-up questions.
If you have a question that you would like to ask Dr. Ruhe, just click on the COMMENTS hyperlink above. (Once you’ve typed in your comment hit SUBMIT COMMENT.) Dick will answer as many questions as possible during the 30-minute online Q&A.
If you can’t stay for the entire 30-minute chat, but would like to see all of the questions and responses, you can always stop by later or click on the RSS FEED button on the right-hand column and you’ll receive updates automatically.
It’s been 12 months since the American investment banking system collapsed, starting a domino-like financial crisis that eventually spread around the world. The good news is that the worst appears to be over. The bad news is that the hard work of rebuilding your business still lies ahead. This shift from immediate survival to planning for next steps is creating a new set of challenges for leaders according to Dr. Dick Ruhe, Senior Consulting Partner with The Ken Blanchard Companies and co-author of the business book Know Can Do!
“People have spent the last twelve months thinking about, “what if?” What if they lop off my part of our organization? Or what if they cut out my product line? Or worse case, what if the entire organization goes under?”
Leaders have to deal with that by making the shift from survival to growth. Now instead of stopping the red ink by reducing expenses, organizations have to shift to getting back in the black by setting new directions.
That’s the focus of an August 11 webinar where Dr. Ruhe is the featured speaker. It’s complimentary and it’s just been posted on The Ken Blanchard Companies web site. To learn more, check out We’re Still Here… Now What?
The unfortunate and sad news of recent extra-marital affairs in politics once again highlights the damage that can be done when a person in a significant position of leadership suffers a moral or ethical failure. The extent of the collateral damage of these actions remain to be seen, but this much is obvious – people can severely, if not irreparably, damage the trust and respect of those closest to them: spouse, children, staff, colleagues, and constituents. Can this trust and respect be restored? Yes it can, given the right amount of time and the willingness of people to humbly submit to the requirements they will face in rebuilding the bonds that have been broken. If anything, this incident should remind everyone in a leadership position how easy it is to suffer a fall from grace.
How do we protect ourselves from such failures? It’s a complex issue that is influenced by a person’s spiritual, mental, and emotional makeup, but we can ask ourselves a few simple questions that will help us to evaluate the impact of our decisions. Is it legal? Will this decision break any civil laws or company policies? Is it balanced and fair? Will this decision or action promote win-win relationships for those involved and is it fair to everyone in both the short-term and long-term? How will it make me feel about myself? If this decision or action was published on the home page of CNN, would I be proud? What would those closest to me think about it? Of course these simple questions won’t completely resolve all the moral and ethical dilemmas we face, but it certainly can put us on the right track.
70% of change efforts fail according to Pat Zigarmi, coauthor with Ken Blanchard, John Britt, and Judd Hoekstra of the new book Who Killed Change? out in bookstores now.
In Zigarmi’s experience of working with clients on organizational change initiatives over the past 20 years, a couple of common mistakes keep popping up when organizations go about launching large scale change in their organizations.
What causes change to fail in most organizations? Here are three that Zigarmi recommends keeping an eye on:
People leading the change think that announcing the change is the same as implementing it. So much energy in organizations is spent preparing to communicate the change and the reasons behind it, but not nearly the same energy is spent planning for the successful execution and rollout of the change after the announcement.
People’s concerns with change are not surfaced or addressed. If leaders do not take the time to specifically address individuals’ needs and fears near the beginning of the change process, they will find themselves fighting an uphill battle later on in the process.
Those being asked to change are not involved in planning the change. Leaders need to gain the buy-in and cooperation of the people who are being asked to change. Without that, resistance smolders. This is because people feel that change is being done to them rather than with them.
The new book Who Killed Change?, co-authored by Ken Blanchard, John Britt, Pat Zigarmi, and Judd Hoekstra, hits bookstore shelves on May 26. Written in a fun, who-done-it murder mystery style, the book follows the investigation of the death of Change in the large ACME organization. Readers follow along as a hard-boiled detective (known only as Agent) questions each of the suspects including Budget, Sponsorship, and Aligned Leadership.
Has a change initiative ever “died” in your organization? Who would you point to as the likely suspects? Take our poll below, and also leave a comment and let us know about the biggest killers of change you’ve experienced.
What’s the best way for leaders to impact their organizations after a layoff, merger, or acquisition?If you had to choose between focusing on your people, financials, or customers, where would you begin?We asked that question to 700 frontline, mid-level, and senior executives who attended our webinar on Revitalizing the Downsized Organization this past Tuesday.
Their response?Focus on your people first.
52% said addressing employee motivation needs should be the first order of business, followed by customer needs (14%), and then financials (12%).
How does this stack up with your priorities during these trying economic times? It’s important to have a strong strategic focus on financials when money is tight, but make sure that you are also paying attention to employee needs.After all, you need their best ideas and their best work now, more than ever.
Great organizations know that focusing on people—both customers and employees—is just as important as measuring the success of the bottom line.
Are you taking care of the people who take care of your customers?
What are the deciding factors in determining which path to follow? It all depends on how you see the future unfolding.
If you “don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, it just makes sense to lay off less productive workers,” says Satish Deshpande, a management professor at Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business.
Other workplace experts believe that pay cuts and mandatory furloughs are the better choice if you believe a sales decline will be temporary.
Which route would you choose?It probably depends on your outlook for the future.
If you’ve already had to make some changes in compensation or structure because of the economy, be sure to check out our free webinar tomorrow on Revitalizing the Downsized Organization.Senior Consulting Partner Chris Edmonds will be sharing some hands-on management strategies for keeping everyone focused, productive, and optimistic as we ride out this downturn.
