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Guest Bloggers

Guest Bloggers

Mary Beth Nelsen: How Employees Who Refuse To Change Can Damage Your Entire Business

On Feb 8, 2019 6:00:00 AM

/ Andrea Simon

Categories: business change management, business change, change, behavior change

From Guest Blogger Mary Beth Nelsen 

I had just finished a 3-day training program. My husband asked what in the world could require three whole days. Thinking he was actually interested, I began to explain the process, including skills development, change management, practice, gaining buy-in, coaching, feedback, etc.

His eyes had already glazed over, but one thing caught his ear. “Gaining buy-in? That’s simple.” He held out one hand. “Here’s your paycheck.” He held out the other hand. “Here’s your job. You want the paycheck? Do your job.” His training programs are very brief. The message is clear. But when change is involved, it’s not that simple. 

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Elisa Spain: How Ego Diversification Can Be The Key To Satisfaction And Joy

On Nov 20, 2018 6:00:00 AM

/ Andrea Simon

Categories: women entrepreneurs, business leadership

From Guest Blogger Elisa Spain

Ego Diversification

What does it mean to diversify your ego? Does that even make sense?

In the investment world, diversification is de rigueur. Anyone who works with an investment advisor has heard them talk about the benefits of holding a diversified portfolio. The reasons are pretty straightforward, asset classes typically move differently and when one class is underperforming, another is likely to outperform. The goal, therefore, of holding a diversified portfolio, is to achieve an overall positive return. And, even when a positive return isn’t feasible, e.g. in a significant downturn like we experienced in 2008, a diversified portfolio will still outperform a single asset class that experienced a significant loss, the S&P 500, in this example.

The concept of ego diversification is similar. If we are getting all of our identify, our ego satisfaction, from a single pursuit, what happens when something is not going well with that pursuit?

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David Grebow and Stephen Gill: When History Happens And No One Notices

On Jun 14, 2018 6:00:00 AM

/ David Grebow and Stephen Gill

Categories: business change, technological innovation

 
From Guest Bloggers David Grebow and Stephen Gill

“When we look back across five centuries, the implications of the Renaissance appear to be obvious. It seems astonishing that no one saw where it was leading, anticipating what lay around the next bend in the road and over the horizon. Even the wisest were at a hopeless disadvantage, for their only guide in sorting it all out the only guide anyone ever has was the past, and precedents are worse than useless when facing something entirely new.”

—William Manchester, A World Lit Only By Fire

In the 1980’s, technology, automation, artificial intelligence and globalization combined for the first time to form a new powerful force. The impact of this force began the historic and too often unnoticed ­­ transition from a labor-intensive workforce that had existed for thousands of years to what is still a relatively new and emerging mind-intensive workforce. In our book, Minds at Work, we refer to this period as The Great Inflection Point when we moved from managing hands to managing minds.

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Bob Roitblat: 9 Ways Traditional Market Research Fails Innovation And What To Do About It

On May 15, 2018 7:00:00 AM

/ Bob Roitblat

Categories: Business Anthropology, Corporate Anthropology, finding new customers, innovation

 
From Guest Blogger Bob Roitblat:

"We should discard the old, unquestioned assumption that demographics is always the best way to segment markets."  —Daniel Yankelovich, New Criteria for Market Segmentation, Harvard Business Review, March-April 1964, page 89.

Traditional market research techniques focus on data, metrics, purchase intent and attribute preferences—i.e., on logical analysis. These provide only a fraction of the available knowledge and insight necessary for effective innovation for several reasons: 

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