The world can be a turbulent place, changing faster than we would like. While 94% of executives say that leading innovation and change is vital to the long-term success of their business, fewer than 1/3rd say they have a formal way of leading innovation and change in their organization.This blog is about the topics of leading and managing change, about problem solving, systems thinking, unleashing the human spirit, and building organizational cultures that promote it.We hope you will find our posts to be both interesting and useful.We invite your comments (even if you see things differently).
Today’s post comes from Wayne Fisher. I recently completed a series of 2-day innovation workshops at the Xavier Leadership Center. Len Brzozowski, the Executive Director of XLC, helped design and facilitate the workshops. In each case, it was the first time the teams had been exposed to the Creative Problem Solving process. And, they were [...]
Who says MBAs are all stuffy, lack creativity and feeling, and care only about dominating the world of business? Here is a famous Christmas song by these MB’s. Yes, an MBA Christmas song. (Yeah, OK, technically, these singers are from Nashville’s Montgomery Bell Academy, not Xavier’s Williams College of Business). But if MBAs could [...]
One of the most common misconceptions about change is that people are often unwilling. I have worked with hundreds of middle managers and executives who express this sentiment. There has also been a lot written about it – about how our employees fear change, are mistrusting of their bosses, unenthusiastic about having to learn new [...]
Most businesses I know have some very talented people who know about the technology, products, operations and services of their businesses. They are pretty good executing the daily tasks, and know a lot about their industry. Attracting and keeping top talent is pretty important (and I have shared many posts on this topic in the [...]
Most of us remember the publicity surrounding the London Paralympic Games (which immediately followed the closing ceremonies for the more familiar version). You might also remember the achievement of Oscar Pistorius the so-called “blade runner” from South Africa who became the first double amputee to run in a track and field event in the 2012 Olympics. Enabling the [...]
We just completed four days of Creative Problem Solving (CPS) workshops for about 80 people from across all of Xavier University. They represent 8 different cross-functional teams being asked to develop solutions to some vital problems we face at Xavier that can ONLY be effectively solved with a cross-silo effort. This is a kind of revolutionary idea for [...]
I just finished a two-day Creative Problem Solving workshop with a group of highly technically proficient people. The group was engaged and worked very hard not only collecting information and interviewing customers prior to and the again throughout the intense final 2 days. The team did a great job sharing their field immersion learning points, [...]
Have you ever gone away from home on a business trip and left something important behind? Imagine leaving your smart phone, or wallet, or last pair of eyeglasses. To me, these would be more than a minor inconvenience – they would be a BIG deal. Losing these would turn my world upside down (at least [...]
“Innovation: A difference that makes a difference: imagining, realizing and spreading a new way of understanding, seeing or making things.” – Dr. Carol Strohecker What is the biggest impediment to achieving breakthrough thinking and innovation? I believe it is our own mental roadblocks erected around the things we already “know.” Most of us know a lot [...]
I know. This is a topic that makes many of us uncomfortable. Yet it is really important to challenge ourselves to think about what matters in our lives, NOT when the end is in view, but when we are young, vibrant, and still have ample time to impact our behaviors. We teach a class at [...]
