To change direction or change gear?

Currently there are a number of groups, blogs and initiatives looking at fostering a change in direction, approach, politics, operations, thinking. In recent weeks I’ve been involved in ciChange, TEDxStHelier, the Danelion Project and Island Innovators. I have also seen the set-up of Change.je (nothing to do with ciChange) and Collaborate.Je The latter is a spin-off of Island Innovators and includes some of the brilliant minds behind TechTribes, Codex, DQMagazine and many other great groups. Jersey Business is driving the innovation fund and promoting enterprise. @DigitalJersey have moved and set-up its new hub and their #FF promotes 21 organisations.

With 100’s of initiatives all taking-off I have one question: Is all this a sign of success or of impending chaos?

SOME THOUGHTS

There is a logic that says that this armada of ideas and enterprise setting off from Jersey’s shores has to be a good thing for promoting the Island. But there is also a concern that without a clear course to a destination and a leadership compass to guide our efforts dissipate and many may founder and fail.

I am interested in Marc Winn’s unstoppable passion “..to make Guernsey the best place on earth to live..” based on by-passing government and engaging the community in revolt, challenge and change. It is interesting to compare to Richard Noble OBE’s management of a programme comprising 4000 people in teams of 12 with tight management and lean resources which is the opposite of the free-for-all power-to-the-people revolution. Richard’s approach is no less empowering, but he is more certain of roles, goals, controls and resources.

I’ve read tonight about Jersey’s latest move to form a political party, called Reform. There is certainly a mood for change. But what change? For whom? To what ends?

THE FUTURE FOR CICHANGE

ciChange is a Think-Tank for issues about corporate and individual change, and potentially an co-ordinator for Do-Teams to meet the challenges posed by businesses, the government and community. There is no value in re-inventing the wheel or duplicating effort so we are keen to work with all these initiatives in our capacity to help encourage dialogue and action in support of successful change. But which group? All of them? How?

The last few events of ciChange have tackled the business and economic aspects of corporate and individual change. My instinct is that IoD, Chamber of Commerce, Breakfast Club and organisations like Jersey Business and Digital Jersey provide excellent service in this area. Whilst initiatives like ciChange Do-Teams are exciting, if they parallel Digital Jersey’s Technical Action Groups (TAGs) or Jersey Business’ equivalent then this is unnecessary duplication or competition which can only distract or dissipate.

I am minded to support and contribute to any group which I am invited to participate in, but not to push ciChange into that arena.

The Do-Teams initiative (ostensibly to gather passionate people to address complex problems) is something I care about a lot, but I think these may be better fostered by Digital Jersey’s Technical Action Groups (TAGs) or Jersey Business’ equivalent and Collaborate.Je

Instead I propose to focus on ciChange original quest. To bring the best minds and experience in corporate and individual change and bring them together in a room for lively debate, collaborative working and development of new ideas and shared learning. ciChange will still run 4 breakfast meetings per year since these are hugely popular and great fun. However my key focus will now be toward invitation events comprising less than 10 experts to work together to create “white papers” and “best practice guides” on key aspects of managing change.

ALL CHANGE FOR CICHANGE

There is no doubt that ciChange is great at event management, but great presentations will now be a secondary aim. We aspire to pull together the foremost thinkers and best practical guidance in managing change, and over the next few months we will seek out the best psychologists, project managers, thought leaders, innovators, community leaders, politicians and entrepreneurs to investigate every component of managing change.

Using Richard Noble OBE’s approach to boundaries, outputs and outcomes and the Island Innovators un-structured approach to process, debate and discovery we will aim to make the discussions lively, challenging informative and deeply rewarding for everyone taking part.


THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com. He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of a major public sector organisation. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower, as well as Athletes’ Representative for Jersey’s Commonwealth Games Team. He has a passion for teaching and learning and is a former tutor/mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses, and a coach / trainer.

Email timhjrogers@gmail.com
Twitter @timhjrogers
Skype timhjrogers 

Best advice on understanding, motivating and delivering change

People enter politics to make positive change. The role of a Leader is to inspire and direct change and of a manager to motivate and deliver change. What can we learn from these people about change and innovation?
 
THE PROBLEM

People say they want change. They are ready for it. They’ll vote for it. They’ll argue for it. But despite the apparent appetite and commitment managing Change is one of the most difficult things for Politicians, Leaders and Managers and often disappoints their community and followers.

It’s a bit like buying someone running shoes and a marathon training programme. We can supply the obvious ingredients to achieve a fitness or athletic goal. However this is no substitute for actually going out there and running!

No amount of consultation, information, planning and communication can substitute for personal motivation and action. This is true of changing anything: smoking; drinking; sport; business; and life, and why so many people are unfit, unhealthy, dis-engaged, bored or frustrated.

MY THOUGHTS

The old styles of management based on task and outcome are outdated because a new generation are better educated, more demanding with more options to do something else. However we all have a sense of identity either a brother, father, mother or daughter. We have a sense of community which maybe sport, hobby or belief orientated. We have a sense of importance, of our place or value. Understanding this, and though relationships rather than goals, we can understand, motivate and deliver change. The Politicians, Leaders and Managers must become mentors.

YOUR FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS
You might want to think about this a bit, maybe write out your thoughts before cut and paste into the form below.

THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com. He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of a major public sector organisation. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower, as well as Athletes’ Representative for Jersey’s Commonwealth Games Team. He has a passion for teaching and learning and is a former tutor/mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses, and a coach / trainer.

Twitter @timhjrogers
Skype timhjrogers 

When is it right to have a Silo approach to Corporate Issues?

Small teams and big change. Is centralised co-ordination killing creativity and change and are there benefits to de-centralised change management?
 
THE THEORY

There are two schools of thought. The first is that to centralise is to better co-ordinate and manage resources efficiently and effectively avoiding error, omission and sub-optimal allocation of time, people and budget. The second is that the inefficient approach of decentralising is more than recompensed by engaging people and providing an agile environment for getting things done and maintaining momentum, passion and engagement.

There is no doubting the success of FW Taylor’s scientific approach to management or, for example, Henry Ford’s success in its application. Those industrialised times were based on top-down education and management and the needs of large scale mechanised production and seamless orchestration of the workforce. However the “central Moscow” approach has failed in the East because it became monolithic, dis-engaged with the community and the populous felt that they can do better. The western economy is increasingly service-based rather than manufacturing centred, and we are now connected and on-line. We need to be co-ordinated, but do we need to be centralised?

http://www.12manage.com/images/picture_centralization_decentralization.gif

REAL LIFE

Scenario: ABC Ltd (a real business, but fake name) have offices all over the country. They realised that being a service-based business success is dependent upon highly motivated and engaged staff and undertook an employee survey and plans to encourage talent and remove barriers.

Situation: Some staff were comfortable in their silo and uncertain of their role and remit to make changes at a local level. They’d happily complain that Head Office (HO) won’t listen but seamed paralysed to effect many of the changes that they could do locally. HO were cast as villains who seldom visited, rarely communicated and simply didn’t understand. Interestingly the local offices saw themselves as victims rather than heroes, they were followers rather than leaders. The problems were in their mind. It was always open to them to visit HO, or read the emails or reports that were circulated, attend the open-days that were arranged, but it’s easier to whinge that “them” over there. Some managers confused being militant as a type of leadership and would rally their staff against “them” rather than motivate, coach and inspire change.

http://www.thehindu.com/multimedia/dynamic/01036/29TH_EDPAGE_1036365e.jpg

Steps: In a meeting I closed the door and suggested that the problems and solutions were in the room. Nobody was going to rescue them. It was up to them as a team to decide their fate. They then suggested ideas to restore profitability, morale and communication. But it’s easy to offer a list of ideas or advice, but they faltered when agreed, and asked “whose name should I put against this, and when will it be done”. Ideas without an implementation plan are simply dreams. Dreams inspire, but we must not confuse talking with doing and ideas with implementation.

REFLECTION AND LESSONS

Big change is scary, but arguably only big change is meaningful. Playing on the fringes and trimming the margins can consume disproportionate effort for the benefits yielded. The most important aspect of project management is knowing what is most important!

In the service-based and connected on-line environment I suspect the most important thing is entrepreneurial, agile and engaged staff. It might be better for central functions (Sales, Finance HR and Marketing) to be physically de-centralised and electronically centralised so that data can flow down the wires, but knowledge and ideas can be shared over a coffee.

A few “hot desks” occupied by Sales, Finance HR and Marketing a few days per week in each local office may be inefficient in terms of their time travelling, but I suspect may be more effective in terms of engaging a work-force and there is no point in being super-efficient at failing if the alternative is marginally less efficient with success.

This appears to be consistent with one of the #IslandInnovator fail tales, when one delegate explained that he had a great product, but things started to go wrong when he realised that a new location isolated him from his network of contacts and at each stage we was ready to move forward he found himself waiting on someone outside his team who didn’t understand his priorities.

The idea of small teams doesn’t mean small organisations. At TEDxStHelier Richard Noble OBE outlined a project of 4000 participants, broadly grouped into teams of 12 people. Richard suggested: It’s great empowering lots of people, but it mustn’t get out of control, and the solution is smaller teams rather than bigger bureaucracy.

The challenge is not of project management, nor of communication. There are plenty of books, courses and templates for getting things done and we are bombarded with emails, reports, radio TV, facebook, YouTube. It isn’t really about understanding: All the people that I spoke with are highly articulate about the problems.

It’s a bit like being given a set of trainers and a week-by-week programme to run a marathon. Whilst the trainers and programme are welcome they are no substitute for going running! What is needed is drive, passion, confidence and organisation: to be able to wear the trainers and follow the programme (use the templates and do the tasks). This is neither a Management nor Leadership role, but one of coach/mentor/ trainer.

YOUR FEEDBACK AND SUGGESTIONS

ciChange is a not-for-profit forum for ideas and discussion, about all aspects of Change Management, including people, processes, teams and leadership. It is a place to share and exchange models, papers, ideas and information about change. We welcome participation from a broad audience, including business and change leaders as well as project & change providers.

If you have feedback or suggestions, case studies, references or experience which you are prepared to contribute please email me timhjrogers@cichange.org or use the form below to offer anonymous comment.

RELATED READING

The above blog is part of an emerging theme about small teams and big change and the reader may also be interested in the following blogs

Lessons from # IslandInnovators
http://islandinnovators.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/lessons-no1-from-islandinnovators.html
http://islandinnovators.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/millennials-lesson-no2-from.html

Dysfunctional Teams
http://projectspeoplechange.blogspot.com/2014/03/its-not-my-problem-problem-is-them.html
http://projectspeoplechange.blogspot.com/2013/06/this-is-story-about-four-people.html


Lessons from # TEDxStHelier
http://projectspeoplechange.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/5-weeks-5-events-may-be-seen-as-arab.html

Whilst researching this blog I also found this. It’s an interesting view and worth a read.
https://coto2.wordpress.com/2010/08/10/on-the-racism-and-pathology-of-left-progressive-first-world-activism/#more-9758

THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com. He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of a major public sector organisation. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower, as well as Athletes’ Representative for Jersey’s Commonwealth Games Team. He has a passion for teaching and learning and is a former tutor/mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses, and a coach / trainer.

Email: TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingGroup.com
Mob: 07797762051 | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype timhjrogers 

5 weeks & 5 events may be seen as the “Arab Spring” of the Channel Islands

What happens next after @ciChange @IslandInnovators @TEDxStPeterPort  @DandelionGsy @TEDxStHelier ? These events and their popularity suggests a real appetite for change and a willingness to collaborate, cooperate and communicate to make change possible. But is it best to have 5 separate projects, 50 projects or somehow join the dots, pool the resources and create critical mass.

#DandelionGsy is a Guernsey Project #BeleiveInGuernsey but the organisers now understanding the possibility of growing the concept so that it becomes a broader and more inclusive project. This will mean redesign of the brand, logo, website and community to accommodate every Island, every community and explore the boundaries beyond Guernsey’s high-water mark.

#TEDxStHelier and #TEDxStPeterPort   have been hugely successful, partly due to the strength of the TED and TEDx brand, and the concept of “Ideas worth spreading”. This is much that can be taken from this model. The concept of franchise as a mechanism to protect quality, integrity and values  is essential to keeping the ethos.

#ciChange has started to make the move from Think-Tank to Do-Teams. This seems to hold all the values of TED and TEDx brand as regards “Riveting Talks by Remarkable People” as well has having the drive and ambition of #DandelionGsy toward getting things done, setting up teams, making things happen.

Government support (sponsorship) for #IslandInnovators and #TEDxStHelier has been a critical catalyst for getting things moving. We must not bite the outstretched hand. However we must be the critical friend, to challenge, to collaborate, cooperate and communicate to make change possible.

#DandelionGsy is confident of delivering change without government, without co-ordination or control. It is a social revolution with everyone doing their own thing under the banner of Dandelion. The concept of Dandelion is like the flower whose seeds scatter with the wind, to take root elsewhere. We must make efforts to may sure these opportunities are not blown off-course and never take root.

#ciChange is supportive of  a social revolution, but #IslandInnovators and #TEDxStHelier suggest that some light-touch co-ordination or control is needed to join the dots, pool the resources and create critical mass.

TEDXSTHELIER FEEDBACK

Thank you, everyone for your support, passion and contribution to a great event. Please blog, tweet and facebook  @TEDxStHelier and #TEDxStHelier to maintain momentum and interest until we have the videos ready in a few weeks. Please feel free to add comments and photos to TEDxStHelier on  Linked-In and Facebook

Facebook https://www.facebook.com/tedxsthelier
Twitter @TEDxStHelier https://twitter.com/TEDxStHelier
Linked-In http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=5135958&trk=anet_ug_hm

ciCHANGE FEEDBACK

Please share your thoughts: what do you want to happen next and what can I do to make that possible? Please feel free to add comments and photos to ciChange on  Linked-In and Facebook


Facebook http://www.facebook.com/ciChange
Twitter @ciChange https://twitter.com/#!/CIChange
Linked-In http://www.linkedin.com/groups/CI-Change-4301853
ciChange is sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

THE AUTHOR

Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He is founder of www.ciChange.org and curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com (next event 11 April 2014). He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower with a passion for teaching and learning and is a Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered Management Institute courses.

Email: TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingGroup.com
Mob: 07797762051 | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype timhjrogers

THINK TANK AND DO TEAM - UPDATE

THINK TANK AND DO TEAM

THE IDEA

At the ciChange Event Preparing for a Digital Future it was suggested that some of our biggest challenges may be better resolved by replacing Think Tanks with Do Tanks, and actually get the job done rather than offer advice or comment from the side-lines.

More information here
http://projectspeoplechange.blogspot.com/2014/03/forget-having-think-tank-be-part-of-do.html

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT

I am pleased to say I have had a good response with some applications coming in. However I am just waiting the outcome of @IslandInnovators Event 2-6 April and TEDxStHelier Friday 11 April before progressing with this initiative because there are some great initiatives coming from Digital Jersey, and as a result of the IslandInnovators and TEDxStHelier and it makes sense to co-ordinate these,

CICHANGE

ciChange is a not-for-profit forum for ideas and discussion, about all aspects of Change Management, including people, processes, teams and leadership. It is a place to share and exchange models, papers, ideas and information about change. We welcome participation from a broad audience, including business and change leaders as well as project & change providers.

ciChange is sponsored by Total Solutions Group http://www.tsgi.co/

Email: TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingGroup.com
Mob: 07797762051
Twitter @timhjrogers
Skype timhjrogers