Digital Jersey and Jersey Business support for #Solopreneursjsy

In the #solopreneursjsy  workshop at Chamber of Commerce there was discussion about what support and services could be provided by Digital Jersey and Jersey Business to help start-ups, independents, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs.

Digital Jersey and Jersey Business have worked together to produce this handy graphic and are very happy to run a lunchtime discussion about what Digital Jersey and Jersey Business can do to help start-ups, independents, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs.

We feel that this is best timed for September to avoid the holiday period and will shortly publicise an Eventbrite invitation to anyone who is interested in this follow-up


Tim HJ Rogers
Founder / Curator ciChange
Mob 07797762051 | Skype timhjrogers
Web: cichange.org | Twitter: @cichange

SoJ LEAN Programme Conference

BACKROUND

The States of Jersey (SoJ) has embraced LEAN as one of the components to help it become more efficient and effective. Their LEAN programme, combined with government reform and a host of other initiatives to down-size and get into shape, will help toward both improving customer services, reducing costs and meeting the challenge of the £120m+ funding “black hole”

Their programme has been on-going for about 2 years, and I (and about 200 others) went along to their conference to understand more about their programme and the ideas, opportunities and lessons from others who have been using LEAN (or similar) initiatives in their businesses.

It was particularly useful to see a mix from Jersey and the UK, and hear different experiences of public and private sector about the benefits and challenges of LEAN (or similar) initiatives.

SUMMARY THOUGHTS

Blogs are seldom read if they are long so at the risk of missing some key points, and over simplification of brilliant presentations and insightful experiences I will bullet-list my thoughts against each agenda item.


240830 REGISTRATION AND COFFEE IN THE CONFERENCE FOYER

• It was interesting that circa 200 people attended of the 7000+ workforce
• I noted that 700 “yellow belts” have been trained in LEAN and 80 “green belts”

0900 - 1015 OPENING PLENARY SESSION, INTRODUCTIONS, WELCOME ADDRESS AND KEY NOTE SPEECH

The opening session was good and the speaker about LEAN in HM Courts was a valuable case study. Starting circa 1999/2000 they had successes and set-backs and many lessons along the way. What is important is that SoJ learn and tailor their approach so as not to take as long as the pioneers, but instead be more agile and targeted with greatest emphasis on those areas which were important in hindsight:
1) LEAN is about people, thinking and culture not tools and processes
2) Without leadership commitment progress will be slow
3) Shallow and wide approaches do not work
4) Engage with the customer to ensure you are delivering value for THEM

1045 - 1145 LEARNING SESSION 1,

There were four sessions to choose from and I selected to see my old colleagues at Royal Bank of Scotland International RBSI. I used Work-Out (based on GE & Jack Welch approach to LEAN / Six Sigma) and it was interesting to see how RBSI have developed since 2000. Their programme is more focussed on people and culture development than strict efficiencies (cutting head-count). It was noted that the more aggressive, numbers-based approach in the UK has faltered somewhat, whereas the skills approach in the Channel Islands has enjoyed greater success. The skills approach is not however a soft approach. Those who has struggled with ownership and responsibility for processes and performance have exited the business. Success seems significantly linked to daily dialogue with staff about everyday issues. The “little and often” approach of listening, gathering and sharing ideas creates more engagement, understanding and commitment than consultant driven change which losses momentum quickly if not co-created with the staff. The RBSI approach does appear to be centred around improvement in customer processes: opening accounts, sending emails, transferring information and less about saving chunks of money. However the reduction in waste, time and money is a great by-product to improved customer service. Their recipe requires the following ingredients…
• Customer
• Organisation and Skills
• Efficient Processes
• Mind-set and Behaviours
• Performance

Note that these are built into people’s performance and appraisal criteria. This is not something to do on a Friday if you have time. There is real focus (and peer pressure) to do this right, and significant support and tools to help managers manage better.

I was particularly impressed by the answer about Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs). I queried whether simplified one-size fits all SOPs might be a blinkered approach to complex issues. In the public sector in particular social needs of housing, health, safety, may have implications for many departments and often fall through the cracks, ultimately failing the customer. RBSI came back with a response that would have pleased LEAN critic John Seddon: In those situations of high complexity you need to use people not processes to solve the problem, and you need to “manage the variation” with empathy and understanding.

1150 - 1245 LEARNING SESSION 2,

In the second session I chose to attend David Brunt’s session, speaking for the Lean Enterprise Academy (www.leanuk.org). This again emphasised that LEAN (or similar) initiatives are about thinking and culture and used a case study to illustrate how 10 random audience members could each understand the problem differently. David went on to suggest that if each scenario can trigger 10 different initiatives it would be easy to be over-run with projects. He counselled that LEAN should not be about “yellow belts” and “green belts” and echoed another speaker that it isn’t about tools like 5S and 8W, but instead about culture and capability rather than 1000 projects.

1345 - 1445 LEARNING SESSION 3,

In the third session we were shown a time-lapse film of a car service, with the camera following the mechanics as they did their tasks. Note was made of tasks that added value (servicing the car) and tasks that did not add value (filling in forms, collecting parts, moving vehicles). Emphasis was on the real every-day practical tasks and the case study showed that after 4 or 5 iterations of the process they managed to complete a service that used to take 60 minutes in just 17. The key issue however was not the time (and money) saved, but how the learning and improvement was achieved. It was done with a cheap video camera, some guys with clip boards and lots of suggestions happening “live” on real customer cars in a real every-day situation (not at a desk, not in a lab).

1450 - 1545 LEARNING SESSION 4,

For my last session I learned about RR Donnelly (the people who print Harry Potter books, as well as many, many other things). Hear the lessons and ideas were many, but the take-away message was….
• Go-see
• Ask
• Show respect

1615 - 1700 CLOSING PLENARY SESSION, Q&A SESSSION WITH SPEAKERS AND CLOSING SPEECH

SoJ took solace that all those that had presented had taken years to get where they are today and LEAN is not going to be a quick-fix. My view however is that with the benefit of hindsight and the expertise of those presenting at the conference SoJ has an opportunity to do twice the performance in half the time.

I have no doubt that LEAN presents some great opportunities, but the lessons are clear: it depends on leadership, communication and culture.

REFLECTION AND POST-SCRIPT

It may be interesting to consider LEAN in the contact of an OST view of organisation (single, defined Objective, Strategy based on how you will achieve the O and Tactics that are the day-to-day manifestation of that Strategy or Strategies)

It may be interesting to consider where LEAN fits in? Is it O, S or T? Will lean be a T-tactic to meeting the challenge of the £120m+ funding “black hole” or an S-strategy as “the way we do things around here” and therefore embedded into every product, service and component of strategy.

Instinctively what it should not be is an O-objective: because surely the objective is about “public services” and not about the means of delivery. Doubtless this will become clearer as the LEAN programme emerges from its cradle and finds its feet.

What is undoubted is the potential.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

This posting has been updated and I am grateful for the insight and contribution from a couple of people who reviewed the initial version. Just like LEAN, things can be improved by getting different perspectives and asking opinion and I am grateful for the suggested enhancements.

MORE INFORMATION

If you would like more information about this conference, or any of the significant amount of material that I have both in praise and cautionary about LEAN please contact timhjrogers@cichange.org

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 Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport, and previously Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest, and Project Manager for the Incorporation of Jersey Post. 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. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

Email: TimHJRogers@cihange.org
Mob: 07797762051 | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype timhjrogers

ARE THINGS HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?

 SYNOPSIS

 With the Island Games having been a great success it is good to bask in the sunshine of our summer and the glory of our athletes. However one doesn’t have to dig too deep to recognise the widening standards between Elite, Competitors and Tourists and the ever increasing demands for performance just to keep pace with the competition.

 And it is no different in business. Clive Woodward’s book Winning!  was written after England’s winning the Rugby World Cup, and is a good analysis of what sport can teach business and what business can teach sport. I wonder if Jersey has truly capitalised on the opportunities of the Island Games and Commonwealth Games, or indeed businesses have really embraced the idea of performance development over a 4 year period.

 AMATEUR AND RANDOM

 Competitions like the Island Games and Commonwealth Games were once the domain of the talented club athlete, an enthusiastic amateur with a high work ethic or natural talent. Seldom both. However athletes now increasingly find themselves alongside Olympians and Professionals and the game has changed, and so must the standards and criteria for performance.

 Moreover often selection has often been based on meeting a performance criteria of a specific day, time, or race. Effectively a spot-check with all the pros and cons that go with this. Doing your qualifying race the day after an accident, or a few days after flu is rather like doing Performance Review and Appraisal the day after either good-news of bad-news which may colour your performance or the boss’s perceptions.

 ARE THINGS HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION?

 I remember Triathlete Tim Don once saying that he does not worry about results, because they depend on lots of things including weather and other people. Instead his focus is on performance because that is something he can control. Coming second, third or 10th may be a poor result but you can be optimistic and full of confidence if you know that you have been hitting the numbers consistently for the last 12 months and today wasn’t so bad considering you’re recovering from injury. This is not about a stock-pile of excuses, but a more objective overall assessment with the benefit of context and performance trajectory: are things heading in the right direction?



 PERFORMANCE DEVELOPMENT

 We need to move away from Performance Review and Appraisal which is based on a snap-shot which may be brilliantly or poorly timed to capture excellent or disappointing performance and instead focus on the commitment to 10,000 hours.

 Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers noted that excellence comes from 10,000 hours of practice. Whether that is playing the violin, being Bill Gates, or indeed being an athlete or a compliance officer. The single biggest determinant of success is 10,000 hours. You may ask if talent or passion have a greater value, but Gladwell suggests that these are the things that drive you to 10,000 hours of practice, but at 20 hours the virtuoso, programmer, runner or employee are not statistically better than anyone else with the same level of experience.

 If this is the case the challenge is about how we nature, support, enthuse 10,000 hours of practice, rather than simply tick spot-check performances.

 As an athlete I know 10,000 hours of practice is not just about running, it is about health, strength, nutrition, flexibility. It is an overall programme which is orchestrated toward a performance trajectory. As a project manager I know that success is not about the application of PRINCE2, but about communication, collaboration, consensus, knowledge, understanding, context. These are the underpinning (and often overlooked) components of success which are sometimes overshadowed by methodology.  But to assume methodology is more important than soft-skills is as daft as assuming that doing more running is more important than health, strength, nutrition, flexibility.

 CHANGING THE RECOGNITION AND REWARD MECHANISMS

 I would argue that the success of athletes in future Competitions like the Island Games and Commonwealth Games is going to be increasingly based on a four-year programme of performance development, and a combination of many factors (both training and lifestyle) which set the trajectory for success.

 Similarly I suggest that businesses need to re-think their recognition and reward mechanisms away from spectacular wins, heroic victories toward long term, sustainable and balanced improvement of performance.

 MORE INFORMATION

 In 2013 Tim Rogers was athlete representative for the Jersey Commonwealth Games Team and argued strongly for a revised approach to how we prepare our athletes for world-class performance. This involved moving away from qualifying standards and criteria just 12-18 months ahead of the big event, to a more measured and supported programme starting 4 years out and demanding greater commitment in return for better support. If you would like to know more about this approach and how it may help your performance development please contact timhjrogers@cichange.org

 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 Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport, and previously Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest, and Project Manager for the Incorporation of Jersey Post. 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. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

 Email: TimHJRogers@cihange.org
 Mob: 07797762051 | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype timhjrogers

LEAN - The case for, and against

 SYNOPSIS

 LEAN method, which is ostensibly being efficient and effective with resource, was designed for manufacturing and created to allow Toyota to produce on-demand. Not produce more and stock-pile or less and miss opportunities. The key thing is that it operates at a simple process level and lends itself to streamlining.

 Service based industries often require complex and parallel thinking; how does one thing affect another, and if we change this, it might adversely affect that. In this scenario knowledge, experience and the human brain is far better than over-simplification and mindless automation. Dealing with complex medical, social, political or economic issues cannot be simplified in the same was a self-assembly furniture!

 THE CASE FOR

 There is no doubt that the elimination of waste, error, waiting time and unnecessary inventory can save time, money, and talent which might be better employed elsewhere. From a suppliers’ perspective a reduction in costs may provide an increase in profit or reduction in losses.

 THE CASE AGAINST

 The current local passion for LEAN, which is quickly falling out of fashion in the UK and Europe appears to be as a quick fix to public-sector down-sizing and cost-cutting. However false economies and silo initiatives are not the way to improve overall public service.

 PRACTICE

 I have seen LEAN initiatives succeed, and I have seen them fail. Inevitably those that succeed have leadership from the top, a joined-up vision of what needs to be achieved and a customer (rather than cost) focus. Success is when there are no errors, omissions or complaints.

 Where I have seen failure it has been because isolated improvements have not yielded an overall benefit to a customer. Imagine a car where the engine, bodywork, and wheels are done without collaboration. Each component may be good, but the overall product or service is likely to be rubbish. A faster or cheaper service which creates errors, omissions or complaints and clogs up call centres and helpdesks is not very LEAN if it now takes up significant time resolving the complex issues that automated and unthinking process cannot resolve.

 KEY STEPS

 Before embarking on LEAN….

 Be clear on your purpose: is it to reduce costs (benefit supplier) or improve service (benefit customer)
 Be clear on your organisational commitment, which will demand consultation, communication, collaboration, co-operation and most important, focus on the customer.

 Be clear on leadership; is this another fad, and we will go back to the old ways of working soon. Or is this a fundamental change which may force new thinking, re-organisation, and different priorities.

 Research. There is an amazing amount of literature and case studies about LEAN. Do you homework and make it industry specific because there are very different constraints in product manufacturing to those in service provision. Both MacDonalds and The Dorchester may provide burger and chips but their people, processes, technology and products will be very different.

 MORE INFORMATION

 I have previously shared many publications on LEAN and if you’d like more information please don’t hesitate to get in contact TimHJRogers@AdaptConsultingGroup.com

 I would however recommend reading one book: The Whitehall Effect, by John Seddon.

 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 Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport, and previously Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest, and Project Manager for the Incorporation of Jersey Post. 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. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

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

Research project - The role of mindfulness in the development of resilience in Entrepreneurs

MINDFULNESS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESILIENCE

I have recently run TEDxStHelier in Jersey which featured TEDx Speakers Garry Stern and Dr. Andrea Pennington talking about lifelong learning and techniques for a better life through self control.  Dr. Andrea Pennington was a website dedicated to this: http://www.andreapennington.com/

So I was delighted, interested and strongly support Glenda  Rivoallan’s initiative for a Research project - The role of mindfulness in the development of resilience in Entrepreneurs 

And the opportunity is prefect following ciChange work with Solopreneurs and Independents, and also ciChange participation in the “Structural Changes in the States”. With the States of Jersey “down-sizing” there is plenty of need for the development of resilience, and the release of talent from States of Jersey should hopefully create Entrepreuners, Solopreneurs and Independents.

AN OPPORTUNITY

Glenda  Rivoallan, has written to me as follows..

I am looking to gain volunteers who would be prepared to embark on a 8x2 hours mindfulness intervention. I am looking for organisations such as yours in Jersey to invite entrepreneurs (nascent, first time and serial) to take part. The course delivered by Dr Alessio Agostino is normally £480 and will be provided free of charge.

Participants will attend an 8 week MBCT programme consisting of 26 hours of session time including two 1/2 hours and an all-day class, daily mediation and completion of pre and post intervention measures.  The main hypothesis being that mindfulness may be beneficial in improving resilience which is seen as important to the success of entrepreneurs (see abstract below).

Participants will be asked to complete a number of questionnaires before, during and after the intervention. Participants will also be asked to complete a practice diary during the duration of the intervention to record mindfulness practice techniques undertaken.

I would be delighted to talk this through with you and can provide marketing material to highlight the benefits of participation in the study. You may even want to do it yourself?

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards

Glenda Rivoallan 

Vice Principal – Lifelong Learning

Highlands College | PO Box 1000 | St Saviour | Jersey | JE4 9QA

SOME ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Business leaders in general and entrepreneurs in particular, experience high levels of stress/distress due to the increasingly competitive and uncertain environments they operate within (Ayala and Manzano, 2014). Challenging circumstances and the adoption of the behaviour patterns of the surrounding culture minimize the likelihood of self-care (Freeman as cited in Bruder, 2014). In complicating matters, as well as neglecting their health, many entrepreneurs, harbor secret demons (Bruder, 2014).  In particular, new entrepreneurs struggle through moments of near-debilitating anxiety and despair, times when it seems that everything might crumble. Rather than showing vulnerability, business leaders have practiced what social psychiatrists call impression management (Piwinger and Ebert, 2001; Goffman, 1959) also known as "fake it till you make it” (Nagy et al, 2012). However, this can come at a psychological price with entrepreneurs reporting higher levels of mood vulnerability, anxiety and depression than employees (Bruder, 2014). The development of resilience in individuals (Mowbray, 2011; Jackson, Firtko & Edenborough, 2007; Neenan, 2009) and entrepreneurs (Bullough, 2014) is viewed by many as a potential answer to the stress associated with contemporary lifestyles and workplaces.

Increasing interest in the development of resilient workers has meant an enormous growth in interest in the role of holistic practices such as mindfulness mediation (Foureur et al, 2013). Kabat-Zinn’s mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) and Barnard and Teadale’s mindfulness-based cognitive behavioural therapy (MBCT) are the most commonly used by those seeking to practice, theorise or research mindfulness across mindfulness contexts. The purpose of the proposed research is to explore the potential benefits of mindfulness training in developing resilience in the context of entrepreneurs.

ACTION

If you are interested in this please contact Glenda Rivoallan 

Glenda.Rivoallan@highlands.ac.uk

What can happen when you leave the tap on?

I find myself in a common place, I know it is common because of the amount of clichés to describe it. For example:  “You can lead a horse to water, but you cannot make it drink”.

So often I hear people dissatisfied with their lot, the way things are around here, the way things should be different. If only were we more like them over there, those ideas were tried, we did something different.

The problem with this quest for leadership: For someone else to effect the changes on our behalf, and to our specification is that we seem unable to articulate what we want or recognise it when it is there.

For example: Russell Brand ranting that he doesn’t like the political system and that nobody should vote. Too late it seems to dawn on him that the way to change a political system is to vote for a different one. Far from helping his followers the self-nominated guru of change disenfranchised them and left them in the wilderness whilst the others take the spoils.

Sharing knowledge is hard, because you should neither preach nor teach but simply make available the possibilities. This is because you can only teach according to the others’ willingness, capacity, capability or desire to learn.  The same is true of any rehab, it cannot start until the candidate really , really wants it to start. That is usually at rock bottom.

Are enough people at rock bottom to start a revolution or even evolution?  I don’t think Russell Brand is at rock bottom. He seems to be doing OK.

Knowledge is a bit like water, it is all around us but it is pretty difficult to consume it without a glass which gives it meaning: it becomes a drink, rather than something to float upon, bathe in or surf along.

Running events like ciChange and TEDxStHelier I’ve realised that I’ve left the tap on. There is so much knowledge and opportunity there for everyone, but I haven’t provided any cups or glasses to explain how this might quench their thirst.

The last ciChange event attracted over 200 people, the  next TEDxStHelier will have an audience limited to 100 (TED Talks and the TEDx franchise is strictly controlled) I can fly in speakers from all over the world, setting stages and film crews, provide a show, a fair, food and drink. I am be the impresario but it is rather like pushing string, it only really goes anywhere if someone at the other end is pulling.

So rather than do a Russell Brand and tell you to rebel against the system by staying at home and doing nothing I’m going to tell you that we have a broad and eclectic range of speakers from arts, science, technology and business who may be able to transform your world with their insights.

We have a Tech Fair, where you can look at that world from a Drone’s view or Virtual Reality and you can talk with the thought leaders, entrepreneurs and theorists, as well as the practical people making it happen.

Please bring your own cup, bowl, glass, bath, surf board or boat. I’m not going to tell you what this should mean for you. I’m providing the water it’s up to you what you do with it. I’m not a leader, I am not Russell Brand, I’m simply the guy that turned that tap on.

USEFUK LINKS

Come to TEDxStHelier 6 June 2015 http://www.tedxsthelier.com/

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 Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport, and previously Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest, and Project Manager for the Incorporation of Jersey Post. 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. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

Tim HJ Rogers   

PRINCE2 - MBA (Consultancy) - APMG Change Practitioner

Http://www.timhjrogers.com | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype @timhjrogers | Mobile: 07797762051

Curator TEDxStHelier (http://www. TEDxStHelier.com)

Founder ciChange (http://www. ciChange.org)

Is it worth dying for?

HAVING A SENSE OF PURPOSE AND A TEST OF RESOLVE

I am going to suggest some really negative thinking, but it’s because it is only when under pressure do we see our true selves and reveal to ourselves our hidden values, limits, bias and assumptions that we simply never bump up  against when we are in our comfort zone.

We have all experienced depression; whether that it has been you, or you comforting someone else it pretty much certain that you will have heard something along the lines of “….not worth living for…” or something similar.

Simply saying “yeah sure it is” really doesn’t help much.  You say it because it helps you and stops you falling into their pit of despair, but it doesn’t really help them (even though you want it to) because they are not listening to you. They are listening to the internal dialogue in their head.

So how do you change the self talk?

Well there are some Chinese torture and prisoner techniques which involved getting prisoners to write pro-Chinese propaganda. The interesting thing is that when you write something the voices in your head provide the narration. When the voices in year head say something you start to believe it. So ironically getting US  to write pro-Chinese propaganda, actually started to brainwash then into believing it, not because the Chinese persuaded them it was true, but because the words flowed through their eyes, their brain, their hands and their pen. The words belonged to them!

OK, so brainwashing is interesting but possibly not the best intervention for someone feeling depression. However I liked the challenge “if life isn’t worth living for, have a go at writing a list of what is worth dying for” This but of reverse psychology breaks the emotional spiral by injecting some analytical thinking and it is interesting because it appears that like the “stall warning” on a plane, people sensing where this might lead pull back out of the dive.

It’s the opposite of “count your blessings” but potentially effective because most of us are critical thinkers, and it’s easier to engage black thinking when you are feeling down than to bounce around wearing a yellow hat of sunshine.

The point is that when you have an idea of what is worth dying for, you have a purpose. When you have clarity on that purpose, and you dedicate yourself to it, you have a pretty good reason to live. If it is something all-consuming and valuable to you and you are dedicated to it, your life will be rich in meaning and value.

This leads me to my second hypothesis. All too often I hear crap like “I’d to anything to be …..” [faster, fitter, thinner, successful, rich, happy] Add what ever you like here. This is a future promise, about a future condition over which you have no experience and nothing at stake (it’s in the future!)

This is bullshit.

A much more realistic test of someone’s resolve is “What are you prepared to give up….” [friends, family, alcohol, chocolate, reputation, money, health] Add what ever you like here. This is a real test of choice, hard choices. Real choices. This is concrete because these are things you know and value, you have experience and something is at stake.

I know someone’s resolve when they answer this.

It doesn’t guarantee success, but resolve is a critical starting point for change. Without it change will falter at the first temptation or distraction.

If you are a psychotherapist , psychologist or psychiatrist (ie qualified to give an opinion on this ) I would be very interested in your views. If you are a witch doctor, or homeopath your views will be interesting too, but they are less likely to change my mind.

 USEFUK LINKS

http://atroche.org/post/61633164818/how-china-brainwashed-american-pows-using-a

http://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/106/6/912/

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 Jersey Harbours and Jersey Airport, and previously Operations Change and Sales Support for RBSI/NatWest, and Project Manager for the Incorporation of Jersey Post. 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. He is a Chartered Member of the British Computer Society, has an MBA (Management Consultancy) and is both a PRINCE2 and Change Management Practitioner.

Tim HJ Rogers    
PRINCE2 - MBA (Consultancy) - APMG Change Practitioner
Http://www.timhjrogers.com | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype @timhjrogers | Mobile: 07797762051
Curator TEDxStHelier (http://www. TEDxStHelier.com)
Founder ciChange (http://www. ciChange.org)