solutions – widgets, tools, and applications – value proposition – ingenuity and creative expression – products and services – features and functionalities – what’s my pressing problem – a symptom or a root-cause – clear, well defined and pressing need – organization – return on investment – prescribe – generic problem – specific solution – symptom and the root-cause – means and ends – organizing principle – critical examination – confusing means and ends – reason for being – make money – paradigm
push it to the extreme – bernie madoff – hero and shining example – principal amount – 401k investments – discressionary income – guidelines or critical success factors – flawed paradigm – purpose – fair profit margin – universal measurement – applause for a job well done – organizations – standing ovation – describe – organizational dynamics – identify some root-causes of conflicts – reaching your purpose – authentic solution™ – strategy – generate synergy – tail wag the dog – optimizing efficiency – effectiveness – satisfying real client needs – standardization – competitive offers – means to an end
Author Archives: Hans Norden
A tail wags dog story
Are you serious?
keynote speaker – San Diego, CA – American Society for Training and Development – Breaking boundaries in Training and Development – organizing committee – the secret to doing business in bad economic times – doing business in good economic times – universal measurement for success and failure – room for maneuver – asking penetrating and possibly embarrassing questions – narrower margins for error – your aptitude for the job – ability for critical thinking – personal judgment – changing our thinking and judgment – the organization’s purpose – extra-ordinary organizations – prosperous times – the economy – victims of some outside force that we cannot influence – adverse economic climate – trusted advisors to executive decision makers – CEO – Conduct a root-cause analysis – thrive/survive – Authentic Solution™ – guts or a real sense of duty – erosion of our economy – bigger picture effects – future survival – overcome an executive decision-maker’s resistance to change – pursuit of sustainable business practices – humanity – define – organizational behavior
You can’t fix what you don’t understand
W. Edwards Deming – Japanese motor industry – If you cannot describe what you’re doing in terms of process, you don’t know what you’re doing – roadmap – daily routine – Knowing-Doing Gap – executives – accommodate growth – or adapting it to economic and market challenges – bearer of bad news – Sales-Process – Sales-Department – education – electricity – Newtonian mechanics – universe is a machine – complexity – take it apart and study the pieces – specialists – Best-Practices – putting the pedal to the metal
functions the organization performs – systems and tools – insight into the relationships between means & ends and cause & effect – Authentic Solutions™ – differentiate your organization from the rest – survive – Organizational Dynamics – osmosis – sustainable competitive advantage – Learning is not compulsory, neither is survival
Fool me once …
top-three business challenges – Bottom-Line results – Top-Line results – Employee retention – Human Resources – employee retention rate – Psychology magazine – change supervisors – Cranfield University, UK – government study – W. Edwards Deming – Japan – WWII – technical failure – James Reason – Human Error – pattern – cause and effect relationship – employee-friendly business system – increase in profitability – employee satisfaction – happy employees are productive and efficient workers – conditions under which humans work – doing the same thing all-over again – work smarter not harder – outside the box – compelling argument – purpose or reason for being
The Myth about Change
process improvement – change – doing more of the same but better – performing ordinary activities extraordinarily well – change requires changing ones behavior or habits – Mary Morrissey – If I didn’t believe something was impossible, what would I do? – The freedom to doing what you want to do is on the other side of the fences we build all by ourselves – opening one corner of your mind to the possibility – thought-experiment – any real change was ridiculous until it became mainstream – inventors – dream or a vision – Joseph Campbell – Hero-Adventure – mental transformation – instigate great changes – great unshakeable belief – When you desire, it wont be a fairytale – Theodore Herzl – Real change is a transformation of your mind – Napoleon Hill – Think and grow rich – burning desire – incentive to changing your mind – myth – outside their comfort zone – life is about growth – executives accepting the invitation to embark on a transformative journey – Fork in the road – embracing expanded thinking – persisting in conventional thinking – executive sponsorship
The Elephant in the Economy
favorite change management projects – big problem and yet no-one has made any mistakes – paint the bigger picture perspective – making sense – the Economy – big problem but no-one really made any mistakes – rotten apples that spoiled the barrel – Bad Economic Times – organization – collection of actors that display a certain behavior – people – systems – departments – relationships and interdependencies – there are no accidents, just cause and effect relationships – the Economy is bad because of bad business – common interest – healthy Economy – Progress and prosperity – mindset – a zero-sum game – mental programming – organizational behavior – logically correct – morally sound – reaping big, certain, and immediate profits – measures benefitting a small minority at the expense of a large majority – Best-Practices – big-business – distinct pattern in failing organizations – dominating thought – the Ends justify the Means – winning streak – Good Economy originates from good business – creating real value for buyers – the scapegoats for the bad Economy – the law of cause and effect – employee retention rate – Top-Line results – Profit margin – top three challenges that most organizations complain about
Connecting the dots
interpretation – mental conditioning – socio-economic background – education – personal experiences – independent consultant – organizations – decision-makers – specific patterns – Actors and their Behavior – Frederick Winslow Taylor – Scientific Management – efficiency – specialization – structure – Charley Chaplin – Modern Times – challenge – tie everything back together again – Strategic planning – social media – customer service – operational efficiency – internet – fixed script – system – credibility – The moral of the story – vote with their feet – satisfy clients – employee turn-over – cost of continuous recruiting and training – measuring net efficiency gains – high-level decision-maker – sign-off on specifications for designing, building, implementing and accepting investments in new strategic initiatives – the real value of efficiency gains – Brand – perception by individual clients – marketing campaigns – connect the dots and paint the bigger picture
Judging vs. Thinking
You should have seen this scene and I wish I’d remembered the title of the movie. Picture this; the scene is set in an Asian country where two young and beautiful American women are visiting a local market. They pass the many stalls with fish, vegetables and crafts when they stop and look at a […]
Goal!
The other day I had lunch with a university professor and former consultant. We talked about the Executive Mastery Fellowship program that I am developing for CEOs and Board of Director members. One of the critical questions we discussed was the nature of the pain that CEOs experience; is that an insufficiency in goal-setting or […]
The Wright brothers were right!
“For some years I have been afflicted with the belief that flight is possible to man.” In pursuit of any available data and information on the topic, Wilbur Wright wrote this line to Octave Chanute, a contemporary and eminent pioneer in the field of aeronautics, on May 13th, 1900. Because Wilbur wanted to fly, which […]