Business Change Management

In a recent FierceHealthcare news story examining the relationship between hospitals and social media, Andrea J. Simon, anthropologist and founder of Simon Associates Management Consultants, is quoted as saying, “From a business perspective, (hospitals) are missing a great opportunity to find people who would like to use them when they need them.”

As I was recently discussing trends with colleagues, it became clear to me as a Vistage International speaker (having led over 140 presentations for Vistage and TEC since 2007) that CEOs from around the country can provide a very interesting research base for seeing and hearing changes in the American and even global economy.

By George It Certainly Can!

Last week while Hurricane Sandy was raging, I was sitting around the house with the fireplace glowing (a little like Lincoln) thinking about what I was going to blog about.

A week ago today, Hurricane Sandy slammed into the East Coast, leaving in its wake an unprecedented path of destruction from Florida to Maine. What is noteworthy about this disaster, along with the thousands of people left homeless, the billions of dollars of damage, and the pain and loss of countless innocent victims, is the crucial role played by social media.

I have been following a thread on my LinkedIn group on strategy and change. At the same time, I am avidly reading the post-Sandy discussions about what to do for NYC and NJ after the horrific storm—an extreme weather event that is probably going to come again. Recently we’ve had Hurricane Irene in August 2011, a freak snowstorm two months later, and now Sandy in 2012…plus significant, ongoing increases in ocean levels over the past decade. At SAMC we often say, “If you want to change, have a crisis or create one.” The crisis is here but the human response may not be. Why is it so hard for people to change? Or to see what is happening and believe that global warming is here and is changing our environment?