WilliamPearl: Welcome!

Happy Holidays From WilliamPearl!!

Shirley Williams — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 23:01:36 +0000

~Season’s Greetings~

A quick Holiday note to wish you all the best of the Season.

I wish you all good things as it relates to both

your spiritual and non-spiritual beliefs.

Thank you for your support and following my somewhat passionate ramblings and stories on my blog.

Cheers

Shirley

HO~HO~HO !!

Organizations Need To Be One With The Catapult! Pullback. Aim. Build Momentum. Release.

Shirley Williams — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 18:18:41 +0000

Recently, I decided to curate a handful of topics using Thoora and Scoop.it. Very rewarding indeed. As I read and collated my posts, it transported me to the teams I once managed. How many times have you heard Leaders of organizations say “We need to catapult ourselves” into some direction? I know, I have! So many times. However, when strategic planning, problem solving and/or implementing improvements, for the most part organizations tend to jump to solutions. There is a tendency to fire, aim then plan. Yep in that order! So I use to share what I call a “Shirleyiism” with my team. These are my own glossary of terms whereby I give them my own definitions. Over the years these glossary of terms I now call Shirleyissms. The term “catapult” I would explain, should not be associated by jumping into action without a plan or direction. If you really analyze the Catapult, you 1) pull it back, 2) aim, 3) build momentum then 4) release to hit your target or prize.

So, if you are innovating thinking about jumping ahead:

Take stock (pull back) of where you have been
Identify where you want to go (aim). If you need to close one eye for that precision (operative word is precision), go for it!
Plan and create a buzz to build momentum. Yep, create a frenzy!
Then roll it out (release). Empower your people to do their thing! Empowerment instills confidence and an open environment to win. Unlike below, success will not be postponed!

So, go forward. Be successful. Be one with the Catapult

If you enjoyed this post, do share it with your network and let me know by giving it a thumbs up!

Thank you for dropping by.

Cartoon used with permission of Cartoonist

First impressions of the new FB…. what

Shirley Williams — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:30:20 +0000

First impressions of the new FB…. what are yours?

Social Sites That Exercise Your Social Media Muscle. What say you?

Shirley Williams — Sun, 14 Aug 2011 18:12:16 +0000

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Social sites are growing by the minute. You can find almost anything to tickle your fancy. I recently joined two that would stretch my social media muscle and fancy. Klout and Empire Avenue. It is still early days and for sure I will be writing a blog on both in the near future. Having a method for effectively measuring your level of influence and spread is without a doubt a gold nugget. The operative word is effective.

What has been your experience with such sites?

Business and Organization Change Revisited

Shirley Williams — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 04:46:14 +0000

Change, The One Constant.

It is puzzling how many times the importance of change management is discussed in the business environment and yet so few actually incorporate change management plans in their business initiatives. How is it that our business leaders will often address their management team with the importance of becoming more adept at managing change but do so little to nurture this organization capability? In fact, I venture to say that change management and transformation have become THE BUZZ words of 2010 and given the state of affairs, it will continue to be so for years to come. A morning read of a newspaper article highlighted the high pace of change and the need to manage it – or suffer the consequences of being stuck in the past. Is there anything unusual about this article? The answer is most likely “No”. The only quandary is that this was written in 1929 when you could get a newspaper for three cents and the speed on the highway was not related to information (I am a collector). In 1929, the change was related to “mechanical automation”. The only difference today is the nature of the change. Change is a constant. So why is it that after so many decades we continue to recognize the high speed of change, however our change management approach continues to be a mystery? Too many leaders, change management is an amorphous concept and as a result they have a tendency to shy away from it.

Organization Change Management Defined
Change management means different things to different people and so in order to manage it, we need to define it. I would like to start with “What it is not”. It is not an event; it is not Human Resources; it is not a consultant; it is not project change control; it is not one person’s job; and it is not an organization structure. I would now like to offer this definition: Organization change management is a cross-functional, integrated process with tools and techniques to enable people to move from their current state, and transition to the preferred future state of an organization’s vision. When successfully exercised repetitively, an organization will have also built a strategic capability to manage and expedite business change, so that they can readily take advantage of competitive opportunities. Such an organization has invested in an integrated change competency, or resiliency, that embraces change as a business norm. Change management is related to the people-side of an initiative and it means managing the “soft-side” of the change. Change management is hard work and often poorly addressed. When not addressed, it is also unfortunately a lost opportunity that would otherwise build change elasticity in an organization which could be a business advantage for the very reasons described above.

Shirley Williams

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Liquidating Our Once Valued Assets, The Human Capital

Shirley Williams — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 01:50:41 +0000

How will they leave and represent your organization?

I recently responded to a question about laying off employees. As I completed it, I thought about the line most corporations use about their employees when they are all fully employed and business is booming. You know it: Employees are our greatest assets!

So what on earth happens when you let them go? What happens when you liquidate your once valued assets, The Human Capital?

Why Beginnings and Endings are important.

When an employee starts an organization, the on-boarding and orientation speaks a lot about an organization’s values and culture- that good will, excitement and new energy of a new employee can be multiplied by a good on-boarding approach. A wise-man and HR global leader once shared with me that we should treat our employees like our manufacturing lines. Don’t be alarmed by this comment- he is right. Think about it . You measure, commission, and qualify ( a few times!) before expecting anything from this investment. Furthermore, once installed there are scheduled maintenance down times- many times a year! It is never expected not to run at 100% capacity! So, why is it different for people? There is something to be said about that most important asset. So now let’s touch on endings, the focus of this Blog. The ending is equally important. Liquidating this valuable asset should be conducted with care and a view to continue maximizing the full potential of this professional. They can become ambassadors of your organization. When an employee leaves your organization they can either be a potential customer or advocate for your organization once they have left. This is so often overlooked. Now this may not be feasible for all situations but it should be considered- even in a very challenging, difficult situation. If an employee can look back and feel and see that the situation was handled fairly, respectfully and decisively it will all work in the organization’s favor. It may not be immediate but can pay dividends in the long term.

How do you select when laying off?

The best selection I have experienced was based on performance and potential of the employee. There may be opportunities to provide an early retirement if one is looking to reduce headcount with the least “turbulence” to your human assets. In some organizations seniority is also a key factor. Although this may be a key consideration, I don’t think it should be the only one but one of the critical few criteria to be considered such as capability, motivation, performance and potential. You also have to consider present and future people capability needs. This should be linked to the vision of the organization and hence “potential” of the employee. Once you have selected, it is important that an employee is always treated with respect and compassion. These situations are always difficult and even though an employee may be expecting the news, they will still experience a level of shock. Consequently the situation should be managed according – give them the time to adjust to the message, provide transportation to their home. If you are laying off for business reasons and not for performance- do acknowledge their contributions especially if it is a long term employee.

Put the humanity into managing this important resource. Think about , how they will leave and represent your organization when they walk through those doors for the final time.