Scott Eblin, author of The Next Level, recently wrote about the lessons we can learn from Subway franchise owner Stuart Frankel – the creator of the Five Dollar Foot Long.  While the concept has been a huge success for Subway, getting the company to accept and implement the idea wasn’t easy for Frankel.

According to Eblin, lessons we can learn from Frankel include:

1. Run some small experiments off the radar screen.
2. Collect compelling data.
3. Recruit some early champions.
4. Show them, don’t just tell them.
5. Stick with it.

Read Scott Eblin’s post: Five Change Leadership Lessons from the Five Dollar Foot Long.

For more on the topic, also check out Robert Rosen’s new book, The Catalyst.

Click here to view the embedded video.

In addition to the fun factor, I think this video illustrates another powerful point.  People are curious.  In Made to Stick, Chip and Dan Heath demonstrate how powerful it can be to start a talk or a class by using a question or a mystery:

Today’s takeaway:  Are you leveraging fun and curiosity to interest people in your change effort?

A few weeks ago I attended a panel discussion about the impact of executive actions on employee engagement.  One of the executive panelists, Steve Bigari spoke about the importance of really caring about employees as individual people.  By dressing as waiter and serving coffee before the meeting, he illustrated the point that leaders often don’t see the “invisible” people in their own organizations.

I’ve been thinking a lot about Bigari’s demonstration lately because I am preparing to teach a class on motivating and retaining employees.  While there are many aspects of motivation to be explored, I think the most fundamental point is that every employee needs to be seen and know that he/she is respected and valued as a person.

Patrick Lencioni, author of The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, asserts that anonymity is a driving force in what makes people miserable at work.  He writes:  “People cannot be fulfilled in their work if they are not known.”

I agree with Lencioni.  In my experience, every employee  wonders, “Does anyone care about me as a person? Do I belong here?”  The answers go a long way toward determining motivation, engagement, retention, and productivity.

In fact, the 2007 Tower’s Perrin Global Workforce Study study of 90,000 employees found that the #1 element any employee wants (across all generations) is senior management interest in his or her well-being.

So, if you are a leader at any level – go ahead and make someone’s day.  Take some time to check in with people one-on-one.  You might try a technique we call the “Take Ten Check-In.”  Take jut 10 minutes a day to ask one person how he/she is doing.  Make it about the person – not just the work.  You will make his/her day.

Leading change: Start by acknowledging the comfort zone

Has your company held layoffs this year?  If so, chances are high that the layoffs are taking a toll on the morale of your employees.

A survey released last month by Watson Wyatt found that:

• Employee engagement for workers at all levels dropped 9 percent last year and close to 25 percent for top performers.
• Compared to last year, top performers are 20 percent less likely to recommend their organization to job seekers and 14 percent less likely to remain with their company.

For more results from the Watson Wyatt 2009/2010 U.S. Strategic Rewards Survey, click here.

To learn how to re-engage and re-energize your workforce post-layoffs, check out our e-book:  Leading after Layoffs.

To me, this study is a powerful metaphor for change inside organizations.  If we want people to change a behavior, we need to consider who they tend to follow, what habits have become ingrained, and what paths (processes and systems) are in place.  If we don’t change all of the above to align with the desired change, most people will continue to walk the same path.

As Myron Radio and I discuss in our book, Change at the Core, most organizational change ultimately comes down to changes in people’s behavior. Yet this aspect often proves to be the most mystifying part of any change. We know that command and control results in short-term compliance, if it works at all. Memos certainly don’t work. Neither does begging, pleading, or other forms of incentives.

Fortunately, there is great research available from Joseph Grenny and his Influencer co-authors. They found that successful influencers utilize at least four sources of influence when getting people to change their behavior. Two powerful sources are peer pressure (aka social motivation) and practice. Others include personal motivation, social ability (mutual accountability) and structural motivation (rewards).

For a fun introduction to the concepts from Influencer, check out the video below.

John Kotter, Harvard professor and change expert, uses the term “A Sense of Urgency” to describe how critical energy is for any change to succeed.  In a recent, Inc. article, he gave an example of how one leader communicated with his staff to address the recession and to build energy for moving forward.

Check out the Inc. article by clicking here.

For more on the topic, check out Kotter’s book, A Sense of Urgency.

In his talk at TED this year, Pink discussed approaches to motivation and argues that the “carrot” approach can actually destroy creativity.  Watch the clip below to see what he has to say.

This 11-page article is really a case study of Kraft’s transformation – told through the eyes and words of eleven key leaders.

Sample Grab:

There is often a tendency to believe that when you make a structural change first, everything else will follow. However, structural, cultural, and operational changes are typically made together, and they influence one another.

Great stuff!  To read the article, click here.