How to Affect Change(part IV)

As mentioned previously, the leader has already set the tone for such changes in his or her expectations, illustrating their vision that is easily recognizable in his or her behavior, touch points, and establishing a revised mission that is set forth according to the times.  Remember that a strategic planning process that begins at the top levels is the catalyst for this activity.  In an ideal situation this process is occurring on the heals of a previous strategic plan.  In other scenarios, there may be an urgent need for change.

As a final note, every organization and individual within it should plan and consider time for the unexpected.  Shooting from the hop is a recipe for failing.  Acknowledge the 7P's but don't dwell on them.  I have never in my many years of consulting experienced work with an organization that did not have issues with short staffing and/ or,  the frustration of constant disruption to their routine because of someone else's needs.  By creating a work flow for yourself, you can begin to really understand how your time management is working for or against you.  Look at where most of your disruptions occur and get a grip on what you need to do to manage them.  Disruptions may be major or minor but a strategy for assessing them is important.  You will make noticeable gains in productivity, that you never imagined possible.  This section could easily be an entire book but this will have to do for now.

The former merely present some fictitious scenarios that should come into consideration when moving towards deeply embedded change.  Consultants offer a fresh eye to help pace and order the steps of change; they should have the tools to do scenario planning and allow the CEO to have a 30,000 foot view for a small fee, without investing too much up front.   Integration of change features results in a more holistic change that can be believed and adapted throughout the entire organization.

How to Affect Change(Part II)

The above technical change differs significantly from a cultural change which represents an entirely different set of dynamics.  There is an old saying if you want to compete today, invest in technology, if you want to compete tomorrow invest in people.  The reason is simple, capital and technology investments have a unique absence of personalities.  Some would say that life would be easier without such personalities but they do add value despite the required investment in time and human energy towards shifting the culture of an organization.  That's right, we are talking about a cultural shift.  For all the emotionalism that comes with cultural change, so too do improvements in the relationships attached internally and externally.  Unlike capital and other technology investments, human nature is non-linear.  Unexpected shifts in human behavior in response to change can put an organization on lock-down, forcing leadership to make unpleasant decisions.  Such decisions can result in loss of intellectual capital, meaningful relationships with clients and disrupt the infrastructure.  Yet, in such scenarios, staffing changes can be an organizational imperative.  Leadership must lead, or assess their ability to do so and possibly make even more personal decisions regarding the choice to continue heading up an organization.

Leaderships role is to set the tone for change.  Creating a clear direction under their vision is critical.  Expectations must be established in order to fully and effectively implement change.  Communication needs to be unified and adhered to, in order to ensure continuity.  Checking in with departments following an organization-wide message(delivered initially by the CEO) is essential.  The departmental leaders will be responsible for oversight of the execution of the message.  Reporting upward, managers and directors will have used tools to assess progress as they set milestones; where in most cases have initial benchmarks (this is especially true when technology is part of the change) will be a prerequisite.  Tools come in the form of research, procurement training, consultants etc.

How to Affect Change(Part I)

Change can be a menacing endeavor.  Within an organization, whatever troubles that were created from the evolution of your company (mismanagement, lack of insight, inability to adapt to the changing landscape), will increase with the suggestion of change.  Though there are many approaches it is important to keep a couple of things in mind.

There are two primary categories that are the heartbeat of an organizations 1) technical areas and 2) cultural areas.

Briefly, the technical aspect deals with a more direct or assertive approach to the systems that can affect change.  These systems include software and hardware updates, capital investments etc. that will improve the systems performance without regard to people(generally speaking).  If production is down it could be time to research and invest in new equipment.  A genuine and in depth relationship must exist between the departments responsible for areas, i.e. the technology department(technology) or plant/ equipment managers.  This decision allows members of the team to research performance needs, production enhancements, alignment between what the organizational goals are and any acquisitions being made.  More on that later.

The purpose of the investment in technology demonstrates a clear and intentional move towards change with an immediate impact.  Large capital and technology investments are simple in many ways because they produce very specific output and help to achieve targeted outcomes-- similar to how a scientist might think.  Their course is set only by the limitation of people's abilities, the design of the product based on need, and the amount of money you can afford to invest.  Perhaps the most important aspect of such an investment is the leaderships clarity of what the future goals of the organization are and how such an investment gets them closer to achieving that goal.

(parts 2,3 and 4 will be published over the next two weeks)

Regards,
Scotland

(Scotland is a management consultant specializing in strategic planning and organization development)

How to Affect Change(Part III)

Human nature should not allow an organization to be shut down, but it does mean that time will be required to implement change.  You can not create an environment where individuals feel threatened to the change, rather they should feel encouraged to support the effort.  What does this mean and how is it accomplished?  Consider a scenario with Mary Elizabeth who worked in the technology for 25 years; Mary was well respected and established in her ways.  Mary Elizabeth might be in need of a little prodding due to her resistance to the new direction of the company having long established controls, processes and tradition in her work flow.  Even the shift in roles and responsibilities might present a challenge.  In this case you might want to begin by explaining how the current condition would continue to present further setbacks, that support for change is expected from new comers as well as veterans.  And following up with the something like the valuable knowledge that she offers in terms of parts of the old system that are successful and yet areas that require a new infusion in order to meet the organizational changes.  Detailing how these changes should be felt and thus should be implemented throughout, that each department and individual will be held accountable is a key part of the communication.

Another important event that needs to occur is integration.  Once an assessment of the players on the team, the affected stakeholders, and the technology or capital investments required is done, a solid plan should be sketched for how these new ideologies will fit together.  A special implementation team at the highest level is a good idea.  Here is where you discover the depth of your work. By this time the adjustments in staffing are in motion, determining what technical support structures are needed all come together.  Remember testing is still occurring during this phase (on the capital or technology side,) as the programs or equipment needed still requires benchmarks to determine the level of effective integrity for your organizations needs.  Suppliers should play a key role here as well, so you don't have to make a full investment until your gains can be fully realized.  The other side of the confidence comes in having the right players on your team who can accurately test for the necessary design integrity, maximizing productivity.  While this is occurring you are simultaneously preparing your team around the required cultural changes.

How to Stay Happy

Happiness is a quintessential emotion in our lives.  We thrive when we are happy, we perform at our best when we are happy, we naturally engage people around us when we are happy, and our life seems to be able to open new doors to where we would like to go next, when we are happy.   A January 3 2013 article in Scientific American says "Mindfulness meditation-- which has been around for well over 2000 years..." has a Mindful Based Stress Reduction"

Here approaches to help keep you in a happier frame of mind and a way to apply them into your own life, if these things present a challenge.  One of the first steps in being happy is to take time out to learn about yourself; from recognizing when emotional shifts are occurring to when chemical reactions occur inside that allow you to achieve what you thought to be impossible, truly understanding your emotions and recognizing barriers that impede your happiness-- no matter who or what they are.

Happiness vs Emptiness: Have you ever noticed when you are really happy, how nothing else seems to matter in that moment.  Maybe it was because of something your children accomplished; a vacation you deserved and you are caught up in the moment of that once-in-a-lifetime euphoria; or perhaps participating in  an activity like sky diving you though you didn't have the courage to do-- but you did it!  It is a wonder that as much as we love to be happy, how little of our time is dedicated to being happy.  Here are a few tips: 1) identify 10 things that make you happy, promise yourself each day you will do at least one of them and spend the rest of your life being happy 2) know that takes you to that emotion level 3) spend time around other people who are happy and you will find that you will become that way more often 4) don't spend your life doing something that doesn't make you happy just because it feels like security or an obligation.  One of the reasons people are trying other career choices is because there are so many resources to help us do and explore that using technology or auditing a graduate course etc.

Relaxation vs Stress: Relaxation is an important function to be able to achieve.  An April 2012 article in Scientific American stated "Stress, in fact, can cripple our most advanced mental faculties".  In our lives we can either reduce stress or make ourselves stress free.  Meditation is a great retreat into yourself that requires no outside forces.  Start with simple 30 second cycles and only one is necessary to begin with.  Remember you are working your way into to this process.  If you can be still in your mind and physically, then I encourage you to do so.  Find a quiet place, all devices that make sound should be turn off, and you may want meditation music or a gentle bubbling fountain in the background.  The easiest way to describe how to achieve the stillness you need, is to not process any thought; if a thought enters your mind, allow yourself to not process the next level of that thought.  So if you are thinking of blue, don't go the the next phase and connect it with the sky or your car etc. just let it be and see if you can stop yourself progressively from thinking any further.

Clarity vs Clutter:  Clarity exists in many forms, mental clarity, our physical space, our homes, or our lives. Organizing our lives is a great was to begin.  We have so much stuff (emotional, physical etc.) that we can't often decide what to do with it all.  Start by asking yourself what I can do without.  When you begin to unload the burdens of friend's expectations of you you also free up some of that space to be a better you, and find other ways to support friends.  Cluttered home space?  Start to post some things online and either give them away or sell them for a few bucks and get a little fuel for your car or buy a public transportation pass

Social vs Isolation: We are social creatures by nature.  Case in point; I sat down with my laptop in the courtyard just the other day; a neighbor was standing on his patio looked over and asked, "can you get online?"   He continued, "...because I can give you my password if you would like to get online" I affirmed that I was already connected, and thanked him- along with an explanation.  Random acts of kindness often can remind us of what a meaningful experience socializing can be.  Though it is easy to get caught up in Web,  take time to get out and connect with others.  A simple greeting, kind gesture, an unselfish act, are ways that reinforce our connection to other people, without obligation but with a great degree of satisfaction.  There are also great social groups that get together such as meetup.com, where you can connect with like minded people for just about any activity you have an interest in.  Individuals in these groups exist in every major city and many minor ones.  If you haven't been to the theater in years, find where they might be doing free public performances, most cities have them

Peace vs Chaos:  We need little explanation for this one; we all recognize whee things are crazy in our life, but peace of mind differs from happiness in subtle ways.  Feeling good about decisions you make really depend on how you want to feel.  Another way to look at peace of mind is balance in your life.  Here you are fulfilling your obligations while also meeting your personal needs-- which by the way should include being happy.  Yoga, meditation, or just quiet time are excellent for this.  There is not a religion in the world that doesn't talk about the importance of inner peace.  Start with 5 minutes a day if you are way to busy!  Stop everything that is around you from disturbing you and just stop.  This does not have to be meditation time it can just be you time.  You might take a moment to walk outside and appreciate the warmth of the sun on your face, the brisk air if that is your fancy; sit and enjoy being with just yourself.  You will be amazed at how rewarding this activity can be, we don't often stop everything just for nothing.  Remember Chaos can't exist if things aren't moving

Health vs. Neglect:  In a January article in Time magazine researchers state that "...a specific signal that at its peak-- say, when your muscles are screaming that you can't do another rep or your brain refuses to focus on that page-- prompts you to quit.  Managing your personal health is crucial.  A daily health routine can help you get back to center.  Walking, cycling, aerobics, running, weight lifting, are among the most popular activities to partake in.  The great thing about these activities is once you begin the investment is very little.  By a comfortable pair of running shoes and start a conversation with a friend about walking or running regularly.  If you're looking for a little more tempo, purchase a bike on Craigslist to see your level of commitment then step up your game.  You will begin to feel as though your lifestyle cannot do without.  Start your routine of simply and set weekly goals to increase your activity.  Stepping up in 15 minute increments a a really good idea.  Reward yourself when you reach a goal and then step up your level after doing so until you get to where you want to be.

Follow your passion in life:  This section gets a certain level of dedication because of its importance to each one of my readers; not so much because I know you but because almost everyone has a passion for something, they just have not realized that passion-- yet .  Remember what it felt like when you were a kid and had your first thought or big dream about what you realized you wanted to be when you grew up, however real or unreal it feels now.  Two things 1) Are you following your passion and 2) It is not too late.  Passion is a very powerful force; it seems to be able to summons something inside of us we do not realize is there, enabling us to rise above any occasion.  Don't spend the remainder of your life or even another moment postponing your passion.  Even if you only find a way to fit a piece of your passion into your current lifestyle, you will be better off than never following it at all.  Nothing is more rewarding than to do something you have always wanted to do.  Chances are that if you find a way to allow even a pinch of that passion into your life, you will find a way to make it grow.

Happiness depends a lot on self awareness and change.  Be aware of the ebb and flow internally and externally, these are the two systems that are affected by the events that occur in your life.  After you have that awareness be prepared to make incremental changes to bring you closer (without disappointments) to your goals.

Emerge And Lead

This is not a political article, but rather a chance to looks at politics as an intro to the this article. President Obama of the United States, has successfully emerged as the winner in the presidential elections.   And while there are multiple stories about what is next for President Obama, we cannot  overlook the opportunity to understand what leadership means at such a juncture from a business challenge sense.

This is also an opportunity for us as individuals to assess where we stand as leaders.  Regardless of your position politically, there are multiple lessons we can take away as well as reflect on what is next.  Why?  The response is less complex than the answer.  The President has overcome multiple obstacles, succeeded despite less funding, and set yet another record among a list of his accomplishments, namely only the second two term democratic president since Franklin D. Roosevelt.

From The Economist to WSJ, academic and business entities alike, are pointing fingers, asking questions, questioning answers and drawing conclusions about the entire process.  What better time to ask ourselves about decisions we might make in the wake of our own aftermath-- it is the perfect storm.

Let's start with behaviors.  Within any organization, behaviors impact performance, relationships, and innovation.  While there are multiple other angles to consider, these few offer more than a handful of discussion points.

Performance figures help provide matrices to better understand where we are as individuals, as a team and as an organization.  President Obama had variable performance outputs that left many questioning his ability to secure his re-election.  In business we think a bit differently.  Ones performance can be outstanding from a technical perspective, meaning they have a solid grasp of the building requirements, integration, and deliverables.  Possession of these components makes for a useful individual when considering strategic plans that create a road map for advancement of organizational initiatives.  While there can be a distinct divide between leadership and one with technical expertise, a great leader will likely have technical expertise in many of the areas someone with masterful technical skills has as a specialist.  Most hopefully, their leadership has been an accumulation of their experience that in part, carried them up the ladder.  A leader understands how to use abilities in key members, understanding the strengths and weaknesses of team leaders, thereby helping him or her assemble an effective team-- resulting in a strong department.  What does that leader look for  look in the technical leader?  In the early stages of building a team, they want someone who can create a strong foundation.  A department could be in the process of being rebuilt, in which case they are also looking to create a solid foundation.  In many instances you are working without the infrastructure needed to innovate, but in the beginning, you need to ensure the correct pieces are in place to make the right things happen, otherwise integration will be enormously difficult whether with other departments or businesses/ institutions.  The inability to integrate most often results in isolation which can manifest moderately and grow more extreme depending on the composition of the team.  With strong technical attributes meeting performance expectations becomes a much smaller worry when building this way.

Relationships are a very different creature.  Drucker and Senge both write extensively about behavior and relationships; the reason is simple, behavior is a shape-shifter.  By shape-shifter we mean the way in which (when taken in the root form) we relate, to others.  We should look at relationships in multiple ways; spatial relationship and social relationship.  Where does your organization stand with relation to competitors and stakeholders (anyone who is significantly affected by your operations, determined by your understanding of your network map).  You also need to be able to understand what significance means for your organization; it may vary widely- measured in dollars or equity/  intrinsic value.  From a social perspective, your relationships should be increasing opportunities through new networks, better working relations, healthy departments (where team leaders interact with, communicate, and encourage their team members).   An example is General Electric's practices in information sharing and service-support, to increase loyalty of its corporate partners.  While this is an external relationship example, it speaks to the extent which we should consider key relationships.  When looking for new opportunities, an organic process occurs when one is consistently nurturing this aspect of their work.  Withing your organization members in different departments not only feel comfortable going to different departments for assistance or collaboration, they also understand when might be the best opportunity to turn to a potential collaborator.  This is assuming members understand technical boundaries; not so much because they are limited in their expertise but rather they understand the nature of their own work and enough of the nature of their colleagues work to know that an opportunity exists.

Innovation nearly speaks for itself, which is likely why we deal with it last.  Innovation should be occurring all the time.  Understanding from a performance perspective, when performance in this area is not developing is easy.  That being said, let's look at a couple of angles.  When your organization is stuck in decision-making, it could be lacking innovation.  Decision-making is crucial and often not spoken of, so I decided to mention it here.  Think about this, when we are not clear about what direction to go, who to turn to, what to offer, how to proceed, how do we respond; we lack product innovation, social innovation (how to build new networks) that are most relevant to your mission and objectives-- not just jumping on the next big trend in communication or technology.  And in terms of knowing what direction to go, innovation often comes from exposure that goes beyond company boarders.

Fresh creative ideas backed by technical expertise help us understand when windows of opportunity are open; boroughing deeply because team members are able to sniff out new opportunities.  Innovation if using one relative word might be thought of as clairvoyance.  The cavities in one's mind are open widely sensitive to when the course is lacking certain commodities or when the course is simply not the right one.  More importantly innovation staves off trouble in many instances because of a certain readiness that exists for change.



 

Understanding More About Body Chemistry

by Scotland Willis

  

Balance is something we strive for in our life.  We see it in how we try to manage work and our 

personal life; balance between consumption and preserving the environment; balancing disruptions and getting tasks done; and in our personal health versus stress.  The list is extensive.  By and large balance is a very difficult goal to achieve; this assertion could be made anywhere in the world.

So here is something to consider about balance you may not have thought of; 1) the most important balance in our body is pH balance; while that may sound simple, achieving it is like trying to balance yourself on a tightrope (ok perhaps not that difficult but it might seem that way) but certainly as challenging to achieve balance in other areas of our life; 2) alkaline and acids make up these two very important chemical that represent this balance, which also influence many other activities that occur in our body.

A bit more understanding migh make you more conscious about your eating decisions and thereby resulting in a happier healthier you.

So why is this make up so important?  Let's not   focus on things like kidney, liver and blood disease, to avoid talking about this from a medical perspective- though they are legitimately related to the matter at hand.  Rather I would like to share important factors to understand which will make the importance of acids and alkaline a little easier to digest.

 Most foods (especially processed foods) have high levels of sugar or high fructose.  The result is that most of our diet is made up of sugary acids that means that we have a alkaline deficit much more often than not in our body, across the majority of our U.S. population.  Alkaline foods mean more green foods and raw veggies (which don't appeal to most peoples taste buds the way sugary sweets do).  It's time to change that.

Keep this in mind increasing your alkaline intake will result in more energy, healthier bone structure and a wide range of health benefits including lower blood sugar levels, less chances of heart disease and the other major threats to human health.  For children it can mean improved neurological performance.

Understanding the Scale

The pH scale reflect whether the pH in your body is acidic or alkaline.  The scale ranges from 1 to 14.  A pH of 7 is considered neutral; above 7 is considered alkaline below 7 is considered acidic.  Seven then is the ideal balance for humans.  Because we have a diet that is so heavily influenced by sugars, achieving the balance (i.e., consuming more raw or alkaline foods) is a real challenge.

Less important to understand but good to know is this:  a pH of 4 is ten times more acidic than a pH of 5 and 100 times (10 times 10) more acidic than a pH of 6. The same holds true for pH values above 7, each of which is ten times more alkaline—another way to say basic—than the next lower whole value. For example, a pH of 10 is ten times more alkaline than a pH of 9 (epa).  Sounds impressive but the simlicity if each level of increase refelcts an acidic increase of ten times that.  The same would be true for alkaline, except most people don't have alkaline saturated diets. 

People and Plant Benefits

And here is something else you probably did not know; your plants require a similar pH balance to that of humans. Depending on what region of the world your food is from will also influence whether that food requires more alkaline or acid in its uptake.  Beets for example do best in a alkaline environment(pH) around 7-8; while grass  are slightly acidic or close to neutral between 6.5 to 7.  Basically plant life also thrives in close to this balance of 7.  

All of this makes sense if you consider a couple of different points: 1) we consume a lot of plant life (or we should)  so we should attempt to maintain a similar balance 2) we are evolved from single cellular organism that thrived on plant life (if you subscribe to the scientific theory) as such, our biological system  should have similar requirements.

 Maintaining a better pH balance means a better quality of life.  Eating more alkaline and raw vegetables, fewer sugary and processed foods (which includes milk) will reduce the negative affects of an acidic body.  

If you are a gardner, seek to balance your soil as well (there are devices to monitor this).  I use to have a 100 gallon ( 378 liters)  salt water aquarium at one point; maintaining the pH balance was critical to the fish survival, so it is no surprise the level of importance pH has on the body for me.

From healthy bones to healthy blood, pH affects everything about you and your bodily function.

Please work harder to stay healthy by balancing what you eat and likely adding more alkaline type food to your diet, while consuming less sugary and processed foods.

Alkaline foods: flax seed or oil, brown rice, millet, soaked almonds, tomato slices, fresh avocado, natural vegetable soups or pressed vegetable juices (not canned likely to have sugar) and beets. For a comprehensive list email me

Alkaline foods: flax seed or oil, brown rice, millet, soaked almonds, tomato slices, fresh avocado, natural vegetable soups or pressed vegetable juices (not canned likely to have sugar) and beets.  For a comprehensive list email me

Life without Microsoft-- Linux

Choices.  Academic, personal, social, there are so many choices.  Combine choices with fear; and you can go into a type of psychological paralysis in making simple decisions about any of the above categories.  In fact, choices are not necessarily the difficult task, but the fear of making choices is.  More unfortunate is that fear (when managed methodically) can control how we behave, react and live.  From the fear of terrorist attacks to choosing not to use certain operating systems; we sink in our courage to stand up to what is unjust or perhaps we fail to stand up because we want to be as comfortable as possible.  Tonight is different; though it can be said, for me every day is different.  Not one to follow the normal crest on the wave, I dumped Microsoft this evening with the help of a new and very good friend.

I took up the Linux system; and if you are not familiar with Linux, make it a point to learn about it.  While I will say that the process is rather time consuming (largely due to my slow internet connection), learning and observing the process of upgrading my operating system (OS) from MS to Linux was the best decision I every made from a technology perspective.  But other decisions led up to that which cannot be ignored.

I took time off from graduate school to work on writing my book.  Other things came up and leading to this summer being one of the best I have had in my entire life.  People I met, places I have and am going, decisions I've made, have all played a role in the shedding of MS to Linux.  I am a firm believer in the power of subatomic particles developing an organic attraction to other subatomic particles in a way that brings people and systems together that would otherwise not occur; it influences our decision-making in many ways to respond to the nature of those subatomic particles that behave in similar ways.  It is the very conversation that lead to a conversation with my physicist friend who also installed my new operating system.  Were it not for these deep conversation there is a strong possibility I would never have had the opportunity to install Linux on my computer.

Not that it is critical to know, but Linux is much less susceptible to viruses, less resource consuming, more efficient and as simple to navigate as the system I was previously using.  In fact, I have more space on my hard drive, more efficient use of my hard drive and more choices for how I use my computer than every before.

Granted that I have a physicist willing to take the time to walk me through the installation and set up of Linux, but I would be willing to share the experience and the process for installing Linux over the more traditional OS any time.

I no longer have a fear of whether or not the system will work; fear of losing my programs or documents because the majority of people are using another OS; I have taking the confidence of my decision-making up a notch, because quite simply, I am not one to follow the pack. 

We have all choices to make; don't be blinded by the system set up to keep you in fear or create patterns that prevent you from exploring; whether that means exploring life, cultures, science, or different technology.



One translation of Ubuntu, I am what I am because of who we are (from Wikipedia).  This is the source of the Linux OS which I installed.  Open source is an important framework from which the Internet was modeled as well as the networks it sustains, some elements have reemerged as a result of the Internet.  As new systems emerge, it is important to exercise the liberation of the social network of the Internet which more resembles society at large.  Moreover it resembles what somewhat reflects the nature of the Earth, that everyone take ownership of and is able to participate in the development and maintenance of it.

It is my belief that the human experience is suppose to be general, but develop an expertise; better yet, be a great generalist with expertise in multiple areas- you will increase you intellectual capital.  I am as grateful for my beginning education in epidemiology and environmental engineering as I am to have Linux as an alternative to the other OS; for without either, I would not have be able to be where I am today.  Knowledge is power, and my epi experience has granted me insights into life I never would have known. 

I continue to be as happy about life and my experience in it as I can possibly be.  I am free for fear regardless of what tomorrow brings; I am embracing the moment...right...now.

If you have the opportunity to installing a new OS such as Linux, do it.  I can't promise you will be as happy as I am, but then you will have to make your own choices-- won't you.

Good fortune to all!