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OD

Strategic Human Resources and Organizational Development works to align people, processes, practices, and profits. In its most effective form, OD is a preventative and protective process for an organization that works to address issues and provide solutions before they become a costly drag on employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and the overall bottom line.

www.evansod.com

The Right People on the Bus

Jim Collins has a new book coming out later this month - How the Mighty Fall: And Why Some Companies Never Give In.

When Tammy Erickson sat down with Collins to discuss the book, she asked him who are the right people to invite onto "The Bus"?

". . . the right people are the ones who are predisposed to like what you realistically and consistently offer." Collins answered.

The article discusses some key elements that an organization's talent management system must take into account when choosing the right people, for the right seats, on the bus.

You can read the entire article here:

Who Are the "Right" People to Invite Onto Your Bus

Education Kills Creativity

I am becoming increasingly interested in how our education system is preparing young people for the world in which they will soon inherit. In this TED Talk, Sir Ken Robinson discusses how most education systems kill natural creativity.

Create and Share Presentations Online

280 Slides allows you to create, download, and share presentations online. It includes a number of useful features including online search for pictures, videos, shapes, etc. from within the program. It is very easy to use and it allows for quick sharing and downloading options. 280 Slides is modeled after the Apple Keynote program.

280slides.com

Why We Must Fail Every Now and Then

In the following article, Bruce Grierson describes the benefits, and even the necessity of failure:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200905/weathering-the-storm

The entire article is well worth your time, however (in true blog fashion) here are his 9 ways to Fail Better:

1. Lighten up
2. Join the club
3. Feel guilt, not shame
4. Cultivate optimism
5. Ask not what the world can do for you . . .
6. Scale down self expectations
7. Harness the Bridget Jones Effect (keep a journal)
8. Don't blame yourself
9. Act! - - Failure is an opportunity.
   

Resilient or Rigid?

Is your organization resilient, or rigid?

Resiliency is the ability to not only bounce back after adversity, but also to surge in times of opportunity. Resiliency combines qualities and skill sets that strengthen both agility and innovation.

Rigidity, on the other hand, is a stagnant response to change and adversity. Rigid organizations rarely benefit from problems and see solutions as a one time occurrence. Rigid organizations do not regularly consult stakeholders and often make decisions in a bubble.

Resilient organizations:

• Find opportunity in problems and solutions
  
• Embrace change, and know how to facilitate it!
• Will not say - "That is the way we have always done things around here"
• Understand the success and failure is part of the same process of growth
• Continuously learn and develop
• Conduct regular strategic planning sessions
• Strengthen social and organizational networks
• Communicate, listen, and communicate again (then repeat)
• Consult with stakeholders regularly and adapt as is required.

Resilient organizations find ways to overcome and adapt as their competitors flounder!

Bad Manager

In their book Stop Managing, Start Coaching: How Performance can Enhance Commitment and Improve Productivity Gilley and Boughton highlight a few management misbehaviors:

• Failing to conduct performance appraisals
• Failing to provide performance standards
• Failing to delegate work assignments
• Failing to develop their employees
• Lacking patience with employees
• Criticizing employees rather than their performance
• Changing priorities and work requirements
• Creating paranoid working environments
  

Building Resilient Organizations

Resilient organizations are able to bounce back after times of adversity, surge forward in times of opportunity, and reduce risk as a result of their abilit to learn and adapt.

Resilient Organizations

View more presentations from Shawn Evans.

The Company Historian

The other day, while speaking at a conference, I met a person who told me that their "job" among other things was to be the company historian. I understand when organizations hire or have historians chronicle the trials and tribulations of their history, however, the company we were speaking about was ten years old and currently has about 75 employees. When I asked him to explain further, I understood just what he meant by the "Company Historian".

Joe is one of the longest tenured employees with his organization, as a result, he has worn many hat and witnessed a significant amount of change and growth. "At some point people just started asking me things like, where can I find . . ., have we ever . . . do we have a document that . . . how did that contract go with . . ." Slowly Joe became a gatekeeper to a quite a bit of organizational knowledge. At first his willingness to be the go to person for information was harmless, however, as the company has grown his role is now a roadblock to growth and development. Joe knows it, but he likes his role because as he explains it "at least I have some job security because not very many people know where all of the stuff is like I do!"

Job security aside, Joe is effectively routing a vital communication role through him, in the process unnecessarily slowing or even halting the process. Unfortunately gatekeeping is all too common in today's organizations. Instead of using his abilities to help promote company success, Joe wastes his time, and the time of his peers by hording information and processes.

Companies do not need a modified Dewey Decimal System, what they need is a method in which vital organizational intelligence can be created and stored so that everyone who needs access to the information can get it at anytime, without having to navigate through a gatekeeper. A newer technology is allowing organizations to start to catagorize, post, edit, and share information securly and confidentialy. The most famous Wiki is Wikipedia, however Wikis can be easily and effectively implimented in almost any organization that has a need to create, collaborate, and share information.

If you are interested in learning about the potential of Wikis in your organization please contact us and we can help you determine if this is a good option for you.