Transform Culture

If I could have dinner with any actor alive, dead or fictitious I’d pick Kermit. Yes, Kermit the frog, the Kermit that Jim Henson brought to life. One of the things that is so appealing about Kermit is he is an underdog. A humble but optimistic guy who left his hometown swamp in search of […]

It’s pretty clear most people don’t like their performance review systems (lots of companies are actually getting rid of them entirely). Of course, we do like the basic idea behind the systems: Measuring and improving performance. So instead of getting rid of them, let’s improve them, right? Okay, so where do we start? When I […]

In today’s business world, there are few corporate clubs more elusive than being known as a “top place to work.” Organizations with the reputation of having a great work culture continue to attract top talent and thrive, while others with toxic or mundane cultures struggle mightily to transform themselves, often to no avail. Silicon Valley […]

Some really big companies (like GE, Adobe, and Deloitte) have recently eliminated their performance reviews, with a bit of fanfare and media coverage. We all kind of hate the performance review process, so I think it felt a little liberating to know that these huge companies could just let them go. And for companies that […]

Okay, I know some of you reading this probably won a “best place to work” award, and are quite proud of it. I get it. Your people filled out the survey and it scored really “well” and that’s something to be proud of. I obviously don’t know anything about your workplace, but clearly there is […]

Twenty-two months ago, I was hired as the staff president of the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP). My newly-created position’s responsibilities were scoped within a revised governance structure that shifted the board from operational focus to strategic design and execution. Operationally, the organization was dealing with a traditional challenge that many associations work […]

There’s a lot of talk in the business world about employee engagement, much of which centers around Gallup survey data. They’ve been measuring employee engagement, both in the U.S. and abroad, for about 10 years. The definition can get a bit squishy, but it’s ultimately about giving discretionary effort. An “engaged” employee is one who […]

I first came across Maggie McGary after reading an impassioned message she wrote in the about frustrations she experienced in the industry. She wasn’t afraid to speak her mind, and what she was saying made a lot of sense. I thought, “who is this bad-ass woman and how can I hear more of what she […]

Have you read the first part of this blog post yet? Here, we talk about how to put being a change leader into practice. So how can you be a change leader? How can you learn to strategically nag and lead change? Ask ‘Why’: Channel your inner toddler and ask “why” a lot. Asking why […]

If you see the need to do things differently to get better results, you might be a change agent. Whether you’re brought in specifically to shake things up or you’ve accidentally stumbled into the role, you can’t just wave a magic wand and make things change. You have to get others to transform the way […]