icoreprinciples: January 2017

Thursday, January 19, 2017

Ladders, Stairs, or Chairs: Routes To The Top Are Constantly Changing

Spirals are beautiful even if they can make you dizzy. Dizzying is the the pace of change - of moving up and down, side to side, inside out, outside in, over and above. From low-speed chases to high-speed races, everyone is trying to get somewhere up or over "there". Ladders, stairs, or chairs can take you where you want to go.

Routes to the top are constantly changing...

But we're not (or are we?)...

Moving through life with the same views day after day or year after year, even when faced with overwhelming evidence that those views my no longer be valid is a sign of a normal mind. That's right - normal.

Only 5% of our Thoughts-Per-Day are New!

Research from the Laboratory of Neuro Imaging (LONI) at USC found that the average person has about 70,000 thoughts per day or about 48.6 thoughts per minute. That's about 70,000 opportunities to change our minds, right? Wrong. It doesn't work that way. We're creatures of habit.

Not only do we persist with about 95% of the same thoughts from day to day, reportedly an astounding 80% of those thoughts are negative. Why? Because it's normal. We were designed to maintain an internal log of negative experiences to keep us safe by helping us to avoid repeating the same negative experiences in the future.

Only 20% of our Thoughts-Per-Day are Positive!

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>>>>> Try This <<<<<

First, recall burning your fingers on something hot for the first time. How did it feel?

Next, recall the warm sun on your face for the first time. How did it feel?

>>> Which memory was more intense? <<<

It's likely that you don't remember feeling the sun on your face for the first time. Of the two memories, the negative experience is likely the most powerful one.

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Here's a positive way to look at this... Even though a 5% daily shift in our thoughts may seem insignificant, it only takes one thought to create a spark towards massive action - and we have 3500 new opportunities per day!

Everyday we have 3,500 new opportunities to change!

In addition to our thoughts, our human systems are also constantly changing. Nature takes care of us by replacing our systems at various rates of change throughout our lifetime. From replacing our skin daily to maintaining half of our heart cells for a lifetime, everything changes.

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Just so we're clear - change is constant and there are as many routes to the top as there are thoughts-per-day! Here are three such routes.

Use Ladders, Change Perspective

We often use corporate ladders to lean against organizational structures for a better view from higher up. Climbing ladders is the 20th century traditional method of getting an education, of working hard, and of moving up. Leveraging mentors for support along the way helps to keep the ladder from shaking at the base. The higher you go up the ladder the more broad your view, the greater your impact, the higher your pay, and the heavier your burden. It's a mixed bag, but your perspective changes.

Use Stairs, Change Altitude

Taking the stairs is comparable to leveraging coaches to accelerate your ascent to the top. Stairs are generally more stable than ladders since they may be supported on both sides by railings. Where ladders can be rickety depending on the lean angle or support base, stairs will get you to your next level no matter what provided that you're on the right staircase. Your expertise combined with the support of a career coach is a solid way to expand your career and change your altitude.

Use Chairs, Change Position

Changing positions is another way to supercharge your climb. Whether moving horizontally, vertically, or backwards, select strategic positions to fill in career gaps, to increase your influence, and to accelerate your growth. Education, expertise, mentors, and coaches can only take you so far. In the 21st century, career mastery requires carefully crafted teams of networks and sponsors combined with a working knowledge of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR).

In the end it's "who" you know that gets you there so build your personal "Board of Directors" with you as the Chair. Choose carefully as these are individuals who can block and tackle for you on your way up - or they can simply block you.

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If ladders don't work,
then take the stairs or switch chairs!

...just keep climbing!

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Read more articles by Lillian Gregory here.

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Lillian Gregory is a passionate advocate for 21st Century Leadership with special focus on Women in Leadership, Women in Technology, and US Veterans and Spouses. She provides research, strategies, tools, workshops, and events to help close leadership and career strategy gaps. Download your FREE eBook from The Institute for Human and Leadership Excellence and get ready to climb!

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Saturday, January 7, 2017

Shifting Gears? Here Are 3 Simple Ways To Keep From Grinding To A Halt

Sounds of metal rubbing against metal make my spine twitch such as when gears are stripping if manual shifting isn't timed correctly. These are the sounds of a transition (or transmission) in trouble. The grinding noise that appears is a signal that something needs to change quickly. It's the grind that makes you take notice.

It's the grind that makes the difference

Though not immediately audible, similar "sounds" can be heard when stripping the gears of change during transitions of any kind. In business, 10 years of research from Professor John P. Kotter (1996) at Harvard Business School showed that over 70% of change initiatives fail. In life, annual statistics show that 92% of "change initiatives" in the form of New Year's Resolutions fail.

Makes me wonder if we know what we're doing when it comes to change - even though change is the most consistent thing that we'll ever encounter.

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Every year (or periodically) we revisit our personal lists and our business strategies to see if we hit the mark, made it into the ballpark, or missed the mark altogether. Statistically speaking we don't make it. There must be something wrong with our approach - so we tweak and begin again only to reap failure again the next time around.

So what's up with all of these transition failures? It just might have something to do with our understanding of change management - or the lack thereof.

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"Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose"

"The more things change, the more they stay the same"

- Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr (1849)

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Alphonse Karr is right, but we can change if we want

There's no disputing that our ability to change is linked to our motivation and our memory of why we want or need to change. In business, institutional memory can be a monumental constraint to overcome. In our personal lives, short-term memory can cause us to forget quickly why we started to change in the first place - especially if the change involves something uncomfortable (which it normally does).

Alan Baddeley's memory model suggests that people can retain three (maybe four) items for about 20 seconds before short-term memory wipes clean - unless there is constant repetition.

Change management is people management

We tend to go about managing businesses as if they are "entities" separate and apart from people (SCOTUS got this wrong!). Until robots or artificial intelligence takes over businesses completely, this will never be the case. People are the key. Thus a fundamental understanding of how to get people to change is required. With failure rates so high, something tells me that we've been going about it all wrong.

For businesses, observation of 20th century change management models show complex processes that may take years to learn and perfect. Case studies reveal that it can take businesses up to 3 years to anchor change. In today's disruptive, "time-warped" markets taking too long can ruin a company. On the other hand, 21st century agile businesses can shift within a few hours to a few weeks.

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For people, the turnaround time for change may be quick if the formula is right. Researchers have found that it takes on average 66 days (~8 weeks) for people to create new habits - ranging from 18 to 254 days until new habits become 95% automatic. With the understanding that people are the key in business entities, it makes sense to focus on people management rather than on complex change management processes. That is if the goal is rapid progress.

With the convergence of the average rate of change for people and agile businesses, are we now at a point where this synchronization can create even greater progress or more dramatic disruptions in our norms? Something to think about.

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"The Power of Three"

If we accept Baddeley's memory model, then it's best to limit change management practices to three items so that the info can be remembered and internalized rapidly. Less is more. Add a sense of urgency to a few well-thought-out, energetic objectives and magic happens. Dare to delay and procrastination sets in negating the desired change.

Here are three simple ways to anchor consistent, rapid, successful change - for people and for businesses:

[1] ENERGIZE - put your best self or best people in the driver's seat - trust them to create a compelling, innovative vision - include the "crazy ones"

[2] ENGAGE - begin at once and without hesitation - don't wait until all plans are complete - know your outcomes and success metrics

[3] EXECUTE - reward short-term gains to build momentum - measure results and adjust - prepare next wave - begin again

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Here's to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They're not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo...

About the only thing you can't do is ignore them. Because they change things...

- Rob Siltanen (1997)

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