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The SmartChange™ Blog

5 Ways to Make Your Goals Last Beyond January

Focus, Goals, ProductivityComments Off

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Last year I wrote about the need to go back to the basics before setting goals. This time I just want to suggest five very simple strategies for making your goals last beyond January (hopefully all year long):

  1. Only set one or two – Better to succeed at one or two than to fail at five. Focus!
  2. Make it important. Tie your goal to something that really matters to you and you’ll be more likely to stick with it.
  3. Be specific. How will you know you’ve met the goal unless you are very specific.
  4. Make it public – share them with someone who can effectively help you be accountable.
  5. Keep score – Find an easy way to keep track of what you’re trying to do. You get what you measure.

Please share other simple strategies that have worked for you and Happy 2014!!

A Major Milestone

Goals, Training2 Comments

birthday-candlesFive years ago after what would normally be considered a significant setback in any professional’s life, I decided to start SmartChange. That setback has proven to be the best thing that has happened to me professionally. The journey has been fun and hard, exciting and stressful, and highly satisfying despite the disappointments. Above all, it’s been mind expanding, liberating, and personally enriching. I have come in contact with many new people who have made the journey special! I am deeply grateful for the support, encouragement, and help of too many to list.

The New Year is usually a time to reflect on the past and set new goals. The five-year milestone is particularly significant in any new enterprise. We have been able to bring methods, tools, and know-how to many large corporations to help leaders make their organizations more humane and implement change more successfully. We have trained and coached hundreds of change agents in the art and science of influencing people. And 2013 proved to be our best year yet.

As we start 2014 I am excited for a year full of opportunity to continue make a difference, to serve, and to give back. At the same time I want to wish our readers, clients, and colleagues everywhere a successful year. Here is to a new year!!

Sincerely,

Marcelino

Confessions of a Professional Facilitator

Effective Meetings, Facilitation, Focus, Group Effectiveness, Productivity1 Comment

IMG_9796I do a lot of group facilitation, day long or multi-day sessions with people with big titles in the room trying to do the seemingly impossible (really!). After a string of such engagements I’ve been reflecting on a few confessions I’ve never shared. I hope to hear from other professional facilitators about your experience and why not, your own confessions. I also hope to help those just getting started in the field and practice of facilitation which is so enriching, professionally satisfying, and sorely needed in most organizations. So, just between us, here are a few of my confessions…

What Washington Can Teach Us About Organizational Change

Organizational Change, Stakeholder, TeamsComments Off

United_States_Capitol_dome_daylightBy Nan Macleod

While our politicians argue and fight about what needs to be done about healthcare and the national budget, I am reminded of how easy it is to pick and choose information and facts to build a case and make a point, to attempt to influence people’s thinking, to create enemies to be conquered rather than colleagues to be valued and listened to.

Restructuring Again? Reasons, Challenges & How to Succeed

Acceptance, Communication, Employee Engagement, Leadership, Organizational Change, ResistanceComments Off
Jennifer Tice

Jennifer Tice

It’s not everyday I get to discuss corporate restructuring with an expert but recently I had the rare opportunity to interview a friend and colleague with lots of experience in this area. Jennifer Tice is a Learning and Development executive with experience in major corporations including one of our clients, Fidelity Investments. She has participated in numerous restructuring efforts and I got to ask a few questions I’ve always wanted to ask of a top executive!

  1. Why do companies embark in restructuring and reorganization efforts?
  2. What are some common factors that determine the success or failure of a restructuring process?
  3. What are some common challenges mid-level managers face during reorganizations?
  4. How do you help them balance their personal agenda and the company agenda?
  5. What would you advise a top-level executive who is considering restructuring the organization? What should they definitely do? What should they definitely not do?
  6. How should change management be used during a reorganization effort?

Change Management: Whose Job Is It Anyway?

Culture Change, Organizational ChangeComments Off

thats_not_my_jobIn a recent HRB article, author Ron Ashkenas rightly points out that most of change management efforts fail because it is a task often relegated to HR or an outside consultant. He and most of those who replied to his article make the common sense assertion that change management efforts should be the purview of the leader/manager. If we surveyed a hundred managers, the majority would probably agree that it is their job to manage change.

Then why do managers often look to HR or consultants to take on the role  of change managers? Based on observations in client organizations, I offer some ideas:

Hit That Reset Button! Five Ways to Get Back on Track…

Focus, Goals, Personal EffectivenessComments Off

GoalsWe are well into February and by now you are just over a month into your new goals and new year’s resolutions. How are they going? If you are like most people, it’s probably going like it did last year. The excitement and motivation to really do something different or better, has waned and you’ve started to miss a few times, maybe more than a few. Maybe you have stopped all together. You are not alone. In fact, you are in the majority! Research shows that only about 3% of people who set goals actually accomplish them. But that doesn’t mean you can’t succeed.

So, if you are serious about goals and doing something you’ve never done before, here are five things anyone can do to increase the likelihood of succeeding in accomplishing your goals.

Forget New Year Resolutions!

UncategorizedComments Off

1216_resolutions-intro_416x416-300x300Forget those new year’s resolutions before you make another list of broken promises!

Most of us have been there. We get excited about a new beginning. We make our list. We are serious this time, and more committed than last time!

But life happens. And for a number of perfectly understandable reasons, we give up or come up short on our resolutions.

Why do we do that to ourselves?

Why do we undermine our own self-confidence to succeed?

Reasons vary but they may include: not writing them down, not being specific enough, not having a plan, or not being accountable to anyone.

But there is a more fundamental reason. One that does not have a quick fix. That is…not having a clear sense of purpose. Without it, new years’ resolutions are just another list of things ‘to-do.’ Without a clear sense of purpose, accomplishing resolutions would still leave us unsatisfied.

So before you finalize that list…take some time and consider the following questions:

  1. Who am I and what am I really about?
  2. What do I really want out of life? What is it that I really care about?
  3. Who do I really want to become? What would I like my eulogy to say?

Then, focus on the one thing (or two) that really matters!

Rejection: Reframing ‘Resistance’ to Change

Acceptance, Leadership, Organizational Change, ResistanceComments Off

Resistance or rejection? What’s the difference? And why does it matter?

As a sequel to our previous post about resistance as a counterproductive label, here we explore a new framework for ‘resistance’ to change. RESISTANCE assumes negative intent on the part of the ‘resistor’ which leads change leaders to ‘conquering‘ or ‘overcoming‘ others as the strategy for success. Alternatively, the REJECTION view assumes that people are missing evidence to accept a proposed solution. Consequently, the strategy for success is ‘influencing‘ others though evidence. 

RESISTANCE: A Label to Blame

Acceptance, Change Strategies, Leadership, Mindsets & Behavior, ResistanceComments Off

Nobody likes to be thought of as ‘resistor’ or a ‘roadblock’ or a ‘barrier.’ None of those labels are positive or flattering! Besides, ‘resistance’ connotes a battle between right and wrong, good vs. bad. Not a good picture!

And more often than not, ‘resistance’ is only a symptom of fear, confusion, mistrust, lack of information, misunderstandings, unanswered questions, no visible need for change, an unclear end goal, etc. most of which are fully under the control of the person leading the change. From this perspective, labeling others as ‘resistors’ is to blame them for our inability to lead and to influence effectively.

Effective leaders provide evidence for people to accept the change. What is that evidence? Below is a short list of some critical pieces of evidence that will go a long way to develop ‘acceptance’ rather than rejection.

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