Mahatma Gandhi epitomizes the effective change agent. In my opinion, he was not only the Twentieth Century's greatest change agent but also its greatest leader. Are you looking for change agents in your organization? Let's explore desirable qualities for change agents exemplified by Gandhi. He believed in the Hindu religion, which, from what … [Read more...]
The Art of the Discovery Interview
"What?" raced through Janet's head as she read the email. "Now that's a surprise." The message was from Jack Johnson, vice president of development. It said she would receive a meeting request from Rajan Alak, an outside consultant, to interview her about the problems with the new system. The message went on to say the company had made a … [Read more...]
We Know Best
"We know better than they do about what's needed." Whenever you hear an influential member of your team utter those words, fasten your safety belt. The team is nearing the Twilight Zone. The person saying, "We know better than they do about what's needed," is referring to the customer. When decision-makers say "We don't have time for their … [Read more...]
An Impact of Corporate Culture
Project Managers from ABC and XYZ, which are located on the opposite side of the same street, differ in how they report project status: The PMs from ABC are forthright with their sponsors, and the PMs from XYZ are evasive. Why do the PMs at ABC and XYZ have opposite approaches to reporting status? Their very survival depends on providing … [Read more...]
Types of Meetings
There are different types of meetings. Each type requires a different structures and supports a different number of participants. For instance, a status (feedforward) meeting has no limit to the number of participants while a decision-making meeting produces results faster with a small number of participants. If you want to help your teams have … [Read more...]