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	<title>4D Blog</title>
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	<description>Be part of the global conversation and dialogue by sharing thoughts, ideas, or comments with 4D International leadership, subject matter experts, clients, and industry colleagues as we address and discuss many of the relevant topics and issues individuals and organizations face as they Go Dimensional - Driving Singularity.</description>
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		<title>Chris Anderson's TED Talk - How Web Video Powers Global Innovation.</title>
		<pubDate>Mon, 03 Jan 2011 12:01:46 EST</pubDate>
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	<guid isPermaLink="false">www.go-4d.com/website/blog.phpb=?4D+Book+Review+Volume+4+-+Discovering+the+Soul+of+Service</guid>
		<title>4D Book Review Volume 4 - Discovering the Soul of Service</title>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 16:36:01 EDT</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[ Discovering the Soul of Service  The Nine Drivers of Sustainable Business Success  By Leonard L. Berry  To read the full book review please visit the 4D Knowledge Library.  It is an accepted reality that many service companies never surpass mediocrity and, thus, never come close to realizing their full potential. It is also true that many others become extremely successful only to regress to become just average, or worse, as time passes. Yet, some service companies keep getting better &mdash; &quot;despite the perils posed by time, growth, and success.&quot; How do they do it? How do great service companies manage to remain great?  To find the answer to these questions, Berry undertook an in-depth study of 14 service companies that have achieved and maintained service excellence. His diverse sample includes Bergstrom Hotels, The Charles Schwab Corporation (securities brokerage and financial services), Chick-fil-A (a fast-food chain), The Container Store (a storage and organization products retailer), Custom Research, Inc. (marketing research), Dana Commercial Credit (a leasing company), Dial A-Mattress, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Midwest Express Airlines, Miller SQA (office furniture manufacturing), the St. Paul Saints (professional baseball), Ukrop&rsquo;s Super Markets, and USAA (automobile insurance and financial services). He found that though these companies differ as to the nature, size, and structure of their businesses, they are the same to a remarkable degree on the inside, for they share identical drivers of sustainable success.  In his research, Berry discovered that enterprises that create value for customers primarily through services face three specific challenges: operating effectively while growing rapidly, operating effectively when competing on price, and retaining the initial entrepreneurial spirit of the younger, smaller company. Strategy, no matter how brilliant, must be executed. Otherwise, it is simply being advertised for competitors to imitate. Service companies create value through performance. Performance suffers when growth weakens those organizational practices that promote employee ability and motivation.  A strategic plan is insufficient to drive success, no matter how brilliant it may appear to be. Customers can only experience the total product, which is a company&rsquo;s strategy executed. A poorly executed strategy is a license for the competition to take away business. Thus, excellent service companies not only have focused strategies, but they focus on execution as well. They continually raise their standards of service delivery and constantly strive for perceived superiority over the competition in multiple ways.  In Discovering the Soul of Service, Berry clearly identifies, describes, and illustrates, with compelling case studies, nine drivers of excellence shared by all 14 companies. Each chapter is devoted to a single driver, and lessons from the sample firms are interwoven into each chapter. Thus, on completion of this work, managers in any industry will have a comprehensive model for meeting their toughest challenge: sustaining long-term success. Moreover, readers will have become intimately acquainted with some very unique companies and the visionary lessons they have to offer about the principle and practice of excellent service.&nbsp;  What makes this work so refreshing, however, is that Berry goes beyond bottom-line thinking and language and even outdistances his own pioneering work in services marketing and quality to focus on the importance of humane values in building a lasting service business. Thus, his fundamental premise is that service businesses must make life better for people both on and off the job &mdash; &quot;that values-driven leadership, human inspiration, and social profit make a service company great &mdash; and sustain the human engine of service.&quot; It is the kind of abstract touchy-feely thinking that makes so many uncomfortable and skeptical. Nonetheless, as Berry so convincingly documents, companies can win an impressive share of wallet when they continue to win an impressive share of the hearts and minds of all their stakeholders. ]]></description>
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	<guid isPermaLink="false">www.go-4d.com/website/blog.phpb=?4D+Book+Review+Volume+3+-+Rules+for+Revolutionaries</guid>
		<title>4D Book Review Volume 3 - Rules for Revolutionaries</title>
		<pubDate>Thu, 26 Aug 2010 11:00:11 EDT</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[ Rules for Revolutionaries  The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services  By Guy Kawasaki with Michele Moreno  To read the full book review please visit the 4D Knowledge Library.  Charismatic Guy Kawasaki is a well-known revolutionary whose radical, innovative sales and marketing approach at Apple&nbsp;Computer created a cult so devoted to the Macintosh computer that it challenged the supremacy of Big Blue. In Rules for&nbsp;Revolutionaries, he shares his in-your-face evangelistic approach with entrepreneurs, engineers, inventors, managers, and&nbsp;small-business owners, explaining what it takes to purge enterprises of old prejudices and presuppositions and exploit unusual&nbsp;techniques to get people not just to buy a product or service but to believe in it. This is a &quot;butt-kicking&quot; proclamation in every sense.&nbsp;Kawasaki doesn&rsquo;t stand on the ceremony of developing well-reasoned theories or premises, but just jumps right in with aggressive&nbsp;directives for acting like a revolutionary and making things happen quickly and dramatically.  Revolutionaries, by definition, are those who change the rules by thinking differently. It is a thought process that involves&nbsp;three key stages: purging, prodding, and precipitating. Purging disposes of old prejudices, procedures, and presuppositions that cloud&nbsp;and constrict thinking. Success is habit forming and creates &quot;idols&quot; (rules) and fosters crowds that follow these rules; however,&nbsp;revolution requires defiance of the status quo. Prodding means attacking challenges in ways that force the consideration of new&nbsp;solutions and new courses of action. Revolutionaries open up new possibilities when they seek to change those things that frustrate&nbsp;and inconvenience customers, separate form from function, start at the goal and work backwards, divide the problem into small parts,&nbsp;work the edges, and copy mother nature (the ultimate R&amp;D lab). Precipitating is that &quot;aha!&quot; moment when all of a sudden, seemingly&nbsp;out of nowhere, comes an unexpected solution.  At the beginning of a revolution, you need evangelists, not sales. The first 90 percent of a revolution involves creating the&nbsp;product or service; the second 90 percent is about evangelizing it. Evangelists get people not just to buy but to believe in your&nbsp;product/service so much that they are compelled to make converts for you.&nbsp;  If people are at all receptive to your revolution (your new product/service) they will tell you how to evangelize it. Thus, you&nbsp;must develop a multi-appeal evangelism pitch, explain it briefly, and then observe what resonates. In addition, let people use and&nbsp;abuse your product in ways that you never envisioned.  The next step is to flow with what goes. You must seize the niche by developing a complete solution for it and letting your&nbsp;product achieve its full potential. Once opportunities become evident, develop a complete product to serve the unforeseen market.  Finally, when things start flowing, provide an easy first step for adoption. Because revolutionary change threatens the status quo, it&nbsp;creates resistance; thus, you must provide a smooth, easy, and flat adoption curve for early converts.  Life for a revolutionary is all about kicking butt: &ldquo;You have an interesting product, but &hellip;&rdquo; In order to defeat but-headed&nbsp;thinking, you must focus on customers, not &ldquo;schmexperts,&rdquo; ignore titles and trappings, question authority, listen and churn, never&nbsp;consider the battle lost, increase the level of truth, and judge your results and other people&rsquo;s intentions.  Kawasaki&rsquo;s anarchy is practical anarchy, for the guidelines he provides come from the real-world experiences of successful&nbsp;change-makers. And, to his credit, some of the most insightful lessons he shares come from his experience of what Apple Computer&nbsp;did wrong in the fight for market share. Despite the fact that Kawasaki&rsquo;s way of thinking and communicating may seem to be&nbsp;&quot;outside the box,&quot; the concepts he espouses essentially stand as conventional wisdom. Hiring able and passionate employees, making&nbsp;knowledge a core competency, sharing information, partnering with customers to create breakthrough products/services, developing a&nbsp;niche by addressing an overlooked market, etc., are the current golden rules of business success. ]]></description>
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	<guid isPermaLink="false">www.go-4d.com/website/blog.phpb=?Chip+Conley+Video%3A+Measuring+What+Makes+Life+Worth+While</guid>
		<title>Chip Conley Video: Measuring What Makes Life Worth While</title>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Aug 2010 12:34:12 EDT</pubDate>
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	<guid isPermaLink="false">www.go-4d.com/website/blog.phpb=?4D+Book+Review+Volume+2+-+Building+the+Brand+-+Driven+Business</guid>
		<title>4D Book Review Volume 2 - Building the Brand - Driven Business</title>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:48:04 EDT</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[ Building the Brand - Driven Business  Operating Your Brand to Drive Profitable Growth  By Scott M Davis and Michael Dunn  To read the full book review please visit the 4D Knowledge Library.  According to Davis and Dunn, if an organization wants to achieve and sustain their long-term strategic and financial objectives, it must develop a strategy that will help the entire enterprise manage and live its brand. Nonetheless, their research and experience point to several challenges that make this an extremely difficult task: Shareholders do not understand that the brand is an asset that requires nurturing and investment over the long term, forcing to withdraw their support of brand-building investment. Because the business environment is characterized by overcapacity and severe price and margin pressure, companies are also being required to emphasize price at the expense of innovation and a consistent brand experience. Despite the fact that more and more CEOs are beginning to understand that the brand is one of the greatest untapped assets they have at their disposal for driving long-term profitability and growth, many are still struggling with the meaning and details of operationalizing the brand. They are having difficulty translating their conceptual understanding of the brand as an asset into long term strategies. They are unable to see how their conceptual understanding can help them with the day-to-day issues they face in running their businesses. They don&rsquo;t believe they have any control over their brands because &quot;distributors have the ultimate responsibility for selling our brand.&quot; They think that because they&rsquo;ve significantly increased the advertising budget, or that they&rsquo;ve hired a new vice president of marketing, they need do nothing else. They are nonplussed at the idea of having to train, perhaps, thousands of employees to be brand-driven. Or, even if they&rsquo;re not challenged by any of these issues, they often don&rsquo;t know where to start.&nbsp;  According to Davis and Dunn, this hostile environment, short-term mind-set, and confusion call for two imperatives: Executives must focus on brand touch points as a means of effectively building brands, without incurring extraordinary expense. And, they must create a brand-driven culture so that pressures to reduce brand building are effectively resisted. Building the Brand-Driven Business provides a detailed road map that guides the reader, step by step through understanding the brand&rsquo;s powerful new role, integrating the company&rsquo;s brand and business strategies, creating a framework for identifying and assessing all brand touch points, making the brand-prospect connection, delivering on the brand&rsquo;s promise, solidifying the brand-customer relationship, driving brand building by measuring the right things, focusing on the brand-employee relationship, and focusing on the structure and roles to support brand-driven change.&nbsp;  The significance of the concept of operationalization, which forms the basis for all these initiatives and links them to form an integrated whole, cannot be overemphasized. It is not a fancy term for &quot;marketing,&quot; or a new advertising gimmick but, instead, represents a set of strategies, weapons, and tactics a company must undertake to take control of a situation&mdash;in this instance, the brand&rsquo;s destiny. Moreover, a key aspect of this &quot;special operation&quot; is identifying the different ways in which the brand interacts with the marketplace&mdash;its touch points. Touch points for a single brand can number in the high double digits, ranging anywhere and everywhere from advertising, to the monthly bill to retail partners, to service technicians, to the person who sets up the financing, etc. Creating a full list is a monumental challenge, and determining how to coordinate all of these touch points may seem an almost impossible feat.&nbsp;  As Davis and Dunn illustrate, this very important task is no small task &mdash; operationalizing the brand effectively and efficiently is not as market-driven or as intuitive as you might think (or hope), and the minute details of the step-by-step guidelines they offer confirm that reality. Nonetheless, the authors insist that this new way of viewing the brand-customer relationship is absolutely critical to ensuring a company&rsquo;s future success. Thus, they offer proven practical frameworks, case studies, insights from interviews with leading marketing and brand executives, specific tactics, and findings from Prophet&rsquo;s 2002 Best Practices study that show clearly what a company needs to do to develop brand-building programs that are the most cost effective, efficient, and credible for driving long-term profitability &nbsp;and growth. ]]></description>
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	<guid isPermaLink="false">www.go-4d.com/website/blog.phpb=?4D+Book+Review+Volume+1+-+Leading+at+the+Edge+of+Chaos</guid>
		<title>4D Book Review Volume 1 - Leading at the Edge of Chaos</title>
		<pubDate>Tue, 17 Aug 2010 16:23:38 EDT</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[ Leading on the Edge of Chaos  The 10 Critical Elements for Success in Volatile Times  By Emmett C. Murphy and Mark A. Murphy  To read the full book review please visit the 4D Knowledge Library.  According to Murphy and Murphy, the words volatile and chaotic perfectly describe the current economy, and every industry is affected. One day, events presage heart-stopping economic decline and, on the next, the prospects for economic achievement seem limitless. With each downturn, the fortune of companies and their leaders plummet and, with each upswing, many are left totally unprepared to take full advantage of the fleeting opportunities that present themselves. Either way, success is elusive.  The authors believe that to escape this fate, leaders must stay ahead of the inherent dangers of chaos and volatility. They must learn how to anticipate and prepare for turmoil and discern patterns and order amidst the confusion. And, they must manage upswings as well as downturns. Thus, the whole point of Leading on the Edge of Chaos is to showcase the exceptional leaders who have managed (and are managing) to do just that and to highlight the strategies and tactics they use to ensure economic success &quot;regardless of whether the economy is rocketing upwards, diving downwards, or fibrillating between the two.&quot; These strategies include, making haste slowly; developing customer partnerships; building Committed Cultures; putting the right people in the right place, right now; maximizing knowledge assets; cutting costs, not value; strengthening competitive position; stirring, not shaking; cutting through the noise; and focusing.  These strategies are simple and conventional, and the guidelines familiar. The fact that leaders must seek&nbsp;the next level of service through client partnerships, understand that the fundamental things apply, beware of underinvestment, find balance in disequilibrium, etc., is not an epiphany, but standard business fare. What might be new to some is that these lessons apply no matter what the economy is up to. Thus, an important theme is that leading on the edge of chaos is not about knowing when to &quot;hold &lsquo;em,&quot; to fold &lsquo;em,&quot; to &quot;walk away,&quot; or to &quot;run.&quot; Rather, it involves always holding to the critical elements explored here. For as Murphy and Murphy note, these elements provide a &quot;process of stabilization that helps to both reduce the risks of volatility and the likelihood of crisis.&quot; And, equally important, these elements allow leaders to take full advantage of the fleeting opportunities that sudden economic upswings provide.  This book bases its strategies and guidelines on concrete data, rather than assumptions and subjective beliefs. Murphy and Murphy identified high-performing benchmark leaders during a research project. Their identification and study or more than 1,000 high-performers out of a field of 18,000 leaders, led to the publication of Leadership IQ: A Personal Development Process in a Scientific Study of a New Generation of Leaders &mdash; a work that offers readers an inside view of what makes great leaders tick, as well as practical guidelines to help readers develop the same skills. Watching the economic turbulence and the uncertainty of recent events, the authors revisited the leaders and identified new ones to focus on those who have achieved exceptional success in volatile times. Leading on the Edge of Chaos is a result of that exploration.&nbsp;  It is also important to note that the authors begin the book by saying, &quot;Being a leader today is reminiscent of the polite Chinese curse: May you live in interesting times.&quot; This perspective views the current upheavals as interesting rather than disastrous, and is critical in altering how leaders approach the challenges that confront them. The overarching theme of the work is that chaos and volatility are not inherently good or bad, they just are. Thus, if one approaches their reality as the opportunity for breakthrough and discovery, rather than as a synonym for hardship, one has a far better chance of success. It is a difference that makes all the difference and reinforces the need and benefit of the protocol for leadership action that Murphy, Murphy, and their high-performing leaders offer. ]]></description>
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	<guid isPermaLink="false">www.go-4d.com/website/blog.phpb=?Just+Be+Human%27s+Spotlight+Video+on+Social+Responsibility+-+Eve+Branson%27s+efforts+in+Morocco</guid>
		<title>Just Be Human's Spotlight Video on Social Responsibility - Eve Branson's efforts in Morocco</title>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:36:30 EDT</pubDate>
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	<guid isPermaLink="false">www.go-4d.com/website/blog.phpb=?A+Lesson+for+Leadership+-+Take+Action+and+Ship</guid>
		<title>A Lesson for Leadership - Take Action and Ship</title>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:19:51 EDT</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[ Seth Godin, marketer, business strategist, and all around innovative thinker, hit another home run with his blog entitled &quot;Unrealized Projects.&quot;  He writes about the academy award winning director, writer, producer, and artist, Tim Burton, who created &quot;some of the most breathtaking movies of his generation.&quot;  No surprise there when you review even a partial list of his hits: &quot;Sweeney Todd,&quot; &quot;Bat Man,&quot; &quot;Beetlejuice,&quot; and &quot;Edward Scissorhands.&quot;  What did surprise Godin was learning that &quot;almost every year over the last thirty, he worked on one or more exciting projects that were never green lighted and produced. Every year, he spent an enormous amount of time on failed projects.&quot;  So what are the secrets of successful artists like Burton?  Godin sums it up as follows:  &quot;One key element of a successful artist: ship. Get it out the door. Make things happen.  The other: fail. Fail often. Dream big and do not make it. Not every time, anyway.  Tim got his ideas out the door, to the people who decided what to do with them. And more often than not, they shot down his ideas. That is okay. He shipped. Next!&quot;  This advice can just as easily be applied to executives, entrepreneurs, and business owners.  I would only add that Tim Burton most likely was driven by inspiration.  All of his emotional, mental, and spiritual channels were open. No blocks. It follows that if you are in an inspired state, you are more likely to do your best work, to create unique products, to solve problems, or make a winning sales pitch.  It is much harder to think creatively if your energy is laden with fear, doubt, or worry that the other guy might get ahead of you. If that is where you are energetically, do everything in your power to work through these emotions: meditate, exercise, listen to your favorite piece of music, talk to your friend, therapist, coach, partner, or spouse.  Most importantly, focus on the end-result. How will your life be different when you achieve your dream? What impact will it have on your family? Feel yourself completing your unique journey, relishing in the accomplishment, and cherishing the moment.  Now as you move into a place of inspiration and you are energetically aligned with your goal, take action and ship!  Posted By: Dr Craig G. Lubinsky ]]></description>
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	<guid isPermaLink="false">www.go-4d.com/website/blog.phpb=?8+Secrets+to+being+Unhappy%2C+Miserable%2C+and+Depressed</guid>
		<title>8 Secrets to being Unhappy, Miserable, and Depressed</title>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:50:34 EDT</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[ 8 Secrets to being Unhappy, Miserable, and Depressed  In an effort to interject some humor into what can sometimes be rather a redundant and mundane topic, here is a different spin. People ask me all the time what they can do to be unhappy, more miserable, or depressed. Since so many people in this world need the answers to these important questions, I decided that I would dedicate my time and vast knowledge of this topic so that you too can create, extremely fast, deep unhappiness in your life. It is important that you read over these principals as they can, will, and do have a huge affect on the outcome of your life. In fact, these 8 principals probably have a bigger outcome on your life than ANYTHING ELSE EVER WILL. This is life changing! Are you ready to find out how to always be upset? Well read on below and let us get unhappy together!  These are the top 8 steps to make you unhappy. As you read this, identify with the ones that you want to do more of so that you can really accelerate your decline into sorrow and grief.  1. Be extra judgmental  Judging other people is such a fast track to unhappiness. When you really want to be upset then just go find someone to judge. Even better is to judge them, and then tell everyone about how awful they are. When we judge other people it pulls us down to where they are in their lives. It also gives you an awesome negative feeling in your gut. Your first step toward the ultimate sadness is to start judging, and judge as harshly as possible so you can decline like a rocket crashing right into the ground.  2. Complain about every thing! (Literally everything, even little things that really do not matter)  I love to complain. If I ever feel happy, I know I have not been complaining enough. When we complain it gets our blood boiling. We focus strongly on the negative things around us. It helps if you complain about the people that you are being judgmental about. Then you can kill 2 happiness birds with one stone. Complaining is awesome! Gripe and complain all day long for an extra unhappy week. Do this especially when you meet one of those annoying people that is always happy. If you do this you can bring them down with you, then you both can complain about everything together, it is awesome!  3. Look for what is wrong, and tell everyone why it is wrong.  This is such a perfect goal to have when working on your negative attitude. What could be a better way then finding fault in everything? Think about those bad drivers, the rough roads, the economy, your family, the food for lunch, politics, rude people, and everything else that you ever see, touch, or even hear about. YOU CAN FIND SOMETHING WRONG WITH EVERYTHING! So do it. Why be happy when you can be finding fault in everything you see. It is especially helpful to try and you will have a worse day than all of your friends. Then at the end of the day you can say &ldquo;that&rsquo;s nothing, look what happened to me today&hellip;..,&rdquo; or &ldquo;If it makes you feel better my day was so much worse than yours because of &hellip;&hellip;.&rdquo;This game can be continued on for hours until someone finally wins at the worst day possible, and by then we are all totally depressed. Great game!  4) Hang out with other unhappy people, even if they are good friends or family  Yeah, other unhappy people are a great way to bring yourself down into depression. It is so good for you to spend time around people that have any of these 8 qualities. If they are always negative then you should copy every word they say. I recommend that you get 5 hours of personal time with someone that is unhappy. This can really drain that sick happiness right out of your body. The faster you can get rid of happiness the better off you will be, so make sure you really latch onto people that hate life!  5) Tell yourself how stupid you are when you mess up  This is a really good one. Talk to yourself and call yourself names. Let yourself know how stupid you are. Do not forget to talk bad about yourself verbally as well as non verbally. Really, voice the negative judgments that you make of yourself. If you need some suggestions, you could say things like &ldquo;I&rsquo;m such a stupid idiot.&rdquo; &ldquo;I hate myself.&rdquo; or even something like &ldquo;I&rsquo;m a lazy useless slob.&rdquo; I usually tell women to make sure they tell themselves how fat and ugly they are so that they can really get unhappy quickly.  6) Be critical!  Oh boy, I sure do love this one. Some people say &ldquo;Location, Location, Location,&rdquo; but I say &ldquo;Criticize, Criticize, Criticize.&rdquo; You should criticize everything you see. Everything! In addition, if anyone else is around at all, then you should really let him or her hear what you think. Not only about the world, but about that person as well. Why should they be spared if they are not perfect? Criticize them as well. They will hate you for it, and that will make you even more unhappy.  7) Always assume the worst will happen  Always believe that nothing will work out. You will get in a car wreck today. You will fail your test. You will get fired. Everyone will hate you. Everyone is watching you hoping you screw up. Everyone wants you to fail. Never forget to assume the worst possible outcome. You will probably die when you leave the house today, and if you don&rsquo;t die you will probably go bankrupt or lose a family member! Assuming the worst and telling everyone about it will assist you in your unhappiness quest.  8 ) Eliminate forgive and forgiveness from your vocabulary  Hold grudges. Hate. Despise. Never forgive. Forgiveness is your enemy. If there is anything that will bring more happiness into your life it&#39;s forgiveness. When you forgive someone you instantly feel free and happy. This is the last thing an unhappiness seeker is looking for. We want to hate them forever. So never forgive. Bottle that up, oh and tell everyone about what they did to screw you over. The more people you tell about what someone did to you, the more unhappy you can be. They will also tell you about the people that screw them over. Then you both can be miserable! This will really accelerate your decline into the pit of unhappy despair.  Please share your stories about how this blog helped you to be really rottenly unhappy. In addition, if you have other ways to help people hate their life then post them as well.  Today is just like every other day, its time to create your pain. I hope you are super depressed right now and did not enjoy this blog at all.&nbsp;  In Sadness and misery &ndash; Jamie C. Moore  Here Is A Hint!  For the few of you out there that are interested in being happy, the first step that you &nbsp;need to take is to UnThink&trade; all of these and do the opposite! Once you UnThink&trade; something it is a lot easier to succeed or improve.&nbsp;  Posted By: Jamie C. Moore ]]></description>
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		<title>When Managing Change People Make The Difference</title>
		<pubDate>Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:36:17 EDT</pubDate>
		<description><![CDATA[ In today&rsquo;s increasingly competitive business environment, organizational change is becoming inevitable. Today&rsquo;s successful organizations are experiencing transitions in all areas of the business; including technology, process reengineering, mergers, and organizational restructuring in order to remain competitive. However, although these areas affect employees at all levels of the company, senior management often overlook this fact. Therefore, it is imperative that company management understands the impact of organizational change on employees and works to manage these effects accordingly. By doing so, organizational leaders minimize the negative impact change has on productivity and performance.  This blog will focus on the activity of successfully leading employees through significant changes brought about by new technologies and process changes and will focus on three areas of transition leadership. First, the discussion conveys the impact that change has on an organization&rsquo;s employees. Second, an overview and discussion of transition leadership and its role in managing organizational change is given. Finally, ways to manage employees through these reactions to change is presented. By understanding the elements of organizational change and its impact on employees as well as the appropriate ways of managing people through these revolutions, organizational leaders will be better prepared to address the challenges that are inherent in major business transitions.  The Impact of Change on People  Frequently, managers overlook the impacts of technology changes on people. Almost any change to technology will have an impact on business processes, which will directly affect the day-to-day jobs of individual employees. As a result, changes to technology require attention to the impacts that they have on both process and people. The practice of Organizational Change Management (OCM) focuses on ensuring that the people side of change is addressed appropriately.  OCM is the process of aligning the organization&rsquo;s people and culture with changes in business strategy, organizational structure, technology, and business processes. OCM is important because, at the most rudimentary level, all change involves some degree of loss whether it is loss of stability, loss of expertise, loss of relationships, or loss of understanding. People often try to avoid the experience of loss by resisting change. Resistance can come in different forms and be expressed with different emotions such as anger, frustration, fear, etc. Due to the tendency for change to elicit an emotional response, any large-scale change initiative will likely remove the employees&rsquo; focus from the business to transition-related issues. This shift in focus will likely disrupt the productivity of the business.  Many change efforts fail because they overlook the impacts that change will have on the people in the organization. An organization that ignores the importance of OCM could experience the following risks: increased resistance to new technology, decreased quality and customer service, high turnover and absenteeism, difficulty recruiting and retaining high performers, and damaged internal and external brand equity.  On the other hand, an organization that implements a change initiative by integrated OCM will experience the following benefits: realization of the business transformation objectives, higher return on technology investments, retention of high performers, maintained and improved productivity, improved employee satisfaction and morale, and increased discretionary effort.  Transition Leadership  Given the impact that change has on employees, it is clear that managers must learn to proactively manage employees through the many changes that are inherent in most organizations. In most business environments, managers and other key stakeholders often focus on technological and process changes that will make their businesses competitive in the 21st century. These issues are important, but the changes ultimately will not be implemented successfully without the cooperation of employees. Only through effective transition leadership are employees able to effectively cope with and accept the changes they are presented with.  Ten Characteristics of Effective Transition Leaders  The role of transition leader is an often overlooked but an important aspect of management. Several characteristics make up a good transition leader. Here we identify the main characteristics that are needed in a successful transition leader.&nbsp;  In general, there are 10 characteristics of effective transition leaders:  &bull; Gains support from and confidence of others &ndash; Change is not accepted and work cannot be done without the buy-in of key stakeholders. For this reason, it is imperative that transition leaders gain the support and confidence of other key employees in the organization.  &bull; Listens and collaborates effectively &ndash; No matter how good a manager is people will not follow without a sense of ownership in the organization. One of the key ways to secure this ownership and trust in employees is through listening and collaboration.  &bull; Takes accountability &ndash; As with any effective manager, successful transition leaders take accountability for their own work as well as that of the entire organization that he or she manages.  &bull; Provides constructive feedback to others &ndash; Transition leaders also provide constructive feedback to employees and colleagues. This type of feedback enables employees to be more effective in adapting to and accepting change.  &bull; Builds relationships with customers, peers, and project team members &ndash; &nbsp;Effective transition leaders are also successful in building relationships with customers, peers, and project members. This alliance building enables leaders to effectively delegate and gain the buy-in from key resources, which further enables change within the organization.  &bull; Inspires and motivates &ndash; In order to manage change effectively in the organization, transition leaders need to inspire employees and stakeholders.  &bull; Communicates openly, early, and often &ndash; Since change is such a complex and fearsome idea for most people, it is important for transition leaders to open the flow of communication. This holds true on a day-to-day basis as well (and especially) during times of change.  &bull; Provides clear direction &ndash; In order for the organization to get to where it needs to be, employees and stakeholders have to understand where they are and where the organization is going. With this in mind, transition leaders need to clearly communicate the organization&rsquo;s vision and goals to stakeholders and clarify individual roles and responsibilities within that context.  &bull; Models the way for the team &ndash; Successful transition leaders do more than just delegate work and build relationships. They also lead by example in order to build credibility and trust.  &bull; Creates opportunities for small or quick wins &ndash; The change involved in large scale and complex implementations often appears insurmountable to employees. Therefore, it is important to frequently reward and recognize team members to help boost morale and to keep change initiatives from failing due to a burned-out staff.  These 10 characteristics of a good transition leader ensure that change is implemented successfully and that major obstacles and resistances to change are minimized.&nbsp;  The Roles of Transition Leaders  In addition to these characteristics, transition leaders must play a number of roles in order for organizational changes to be successful. Since transition leaders are responsible for directly influencing the outcome of organizational change implementations, successful change requires that transition leaders assume different roles. In general, transition leaders have four primary roles: catalyst, system and process helper, solution giver/gatherer, and resource linker.&nbsp;  The first and arguably the most difficult role that a transition leader faces is that of Catalyst. While many organizations are content with the status quo, it is the transition leader&rsquo;s responsibility to create and communicate the need for change within the business. This involves instilling a sense of urgency and purpose for the change and overcoming organizational inertia. In addition, this role entails acknowledging areas of resistance and addressing them appropriately. Change will not happen successfully if key stakeholders do not realize and understand the need for change, and it is the responsibility of transition leaders to make this need evident.  The second role of a transition leader is that of a System and Process Helper. Once the need for change has been recognized by the organization and change initiatives are created, it is the transition leader&rsquo;s responsibility to ensure that the organization is assimilated into the process and aligned as the changes begin to roll out. This involves understanding the process and fundamental changes, the impact these changes have on jobs and policies, and effectively communicating these changes to the individuals impacted. The tasks performed by the System and Process Helper helps permeate the required change throughout the organization.  The third role that a transition leader plays is that of Solution Giver and Gatherer. This role is needed to identify and resolve issues that may hinder the success of the implemented change. In particular, the Solution Giver and Gatherer will promote the use of an issues resolution mechanism, provide solutions that benefit the entire organization, and assist in the development and implementation of solutions. In addition, an important element is the need for leaders to listen to suggestions and provide feedback and recognition when appropriate. As discussed above, effective transition leaders communicate, provide feedback, and celebrate small or quick wins, which is important to inspiring and motivating project teams.  The final role of a successful transition leader is that of Resource Linker. This role involves the more traditional management like delegating tasks, and most experienced managers are capable in this arena. In short, the Resource Linker brings people and resources together, recognizes resource constraints, leverages skills and resources across site locations, and acts as a communications link between resources. This role is important, but it is the three roles described above that most managers&rsquo; overlook when implementing change initiatives.&nbsp;  How To Manage People Through Change  When incorporating change in an organization, it is useful for transition leaders to understand how change affects people and how to minimize the negative reactions to change. All successful change initiatives follow a similar pattern or sequence. The first step consists of &ldquo;unfreezing&rdquo; the current way of doing things. This is the phase in the project where the burning platform for change is realized and the vision for a new way of operating is created. The second phase of change begins when it is time to begin energizing the workforce by involving more and more people in the change process to begin building ownership over the final outcome. This is also the point where it is critical to identify and secure early project wins. Ensuring that the right resources are provided for achieving early milestones will ensure that the project is perceived as a success.  The third phase of the change process consists of building the infrastructure (i.e., job and organization designs) required to make the change successful. For example, if the changes are intended to automate processes that were previously done manually, changes to job designs will be required. The final phase consists of a series of activities aimed at measuring results and identifying lingering gaps and issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve the project&rsquo;s intended benefits.  While the above phases outline the sequence that change initiatives normally follow, there are three corresponding phases that describe the psychological experiences that people have when affected by change. The first phase is called &ldquo;Letting Go.&rdquo; This is the time when employees will begin to understand that things are changing, and that in the near future they will be challenged with letting go of the old way of doing things. This may include letting go of old ways of working, relationships, feelings of competence, etc. The second psychological phase, the &ldquo;Neutral Zone&rdquo; is the difficult period when the work is done to implement change and the transition from the old way to the new way begins. Trying to handle implementation and balance the transitions may make this period the most difficult period of change to manage. The last psychological phase is what we refers to as the &ldquo;New Beginning.&rdquo; This occurs when changes have been fully implemented and expectations for people to change the way they work are realized.  Each of the phases described above consist of many people-related challenges, and there are many specific strategies for helping to manage people through these phases. Some of the important critical success factors for managing change are the following:  &bull; Identify potential barriers or risk factors that will inhibit success, and create action plans to address them appropriately.  &bull; Use written and face-to-face communication to help people understand the what, why, and how of change.  &bull; Identify opportunities to involve large numbers of employees in the change process; research shows that there is a correlation between involvement and commitment.  &bull; Seek to understand and manage individual and team level resistance.  &bull; Listen to your employees, acknowledge their losses, show empathy, and strive to reduce their stress levels.  &bull; Recognize and reward behaviors that support achievement of intended goals.  &bull; Systematically analyze the impacts change will have on corporate policies, individual jobs, and organizational structure.  &bull; Ensure that employees receive sufficient training and the other on-the-job resources necessary to raise people&rsquo;s level of confidence.  By addressing and incorporating these success factors into their management toolkits, effective transition leaders greatly increase the likelihood that their change initiatives will be successful.&nbsp;  Conclusion  Transition leadership, while often viewed as a &ldquo;soft&rdquo; or &ldquo;touchy feely&rdquo; issue not appropriate to corporate managers, is clearly a relevant and critical issue to managing the changes that are inherent in organizations today. Even the most robust change initiative with the highest benefits potential is meaningless if employees and key stakeholders do not effectively accept and adapt the changes to their everyday lives. By embracing the understanding of the impact that change has on employees, the role of transition leaders, and how to manage employees through change, managers will ensure that the changes stick and the anticipated benefits are realized.&nbsp;  Posted By: Jamie C. Moore ]]></description>
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