30
Jan 12

The role of systems in creating success

posted by: Albert van Niekerk category: leadership, learning, planning No Comments

Why do so few entrepreneurs put a proper set of systems in place? Most of my clients started their companies as entrepreneurs who progressed far in an intuitive and practical manner. In the course of building their companies, most installed two or more excellent systems. However, this was often done piecemeal and not as part of a greater scheme of things. Most are PC-based systems. Very often crucial soft systems are not in place e.g. planning and execution systems.

The result is that many MDs experience serious strain each day. As MD you might consider expanding your already successful company, products and services but baulk at doing as you are afraid that the load which you personally carry will increase. The problem is that you are the system. All operations run through you. You experience unhealthy strain and overwhelm. Any change or expansion will only increase your personal load. read more »

19
Dec 11

Replace managers with self-management

posted by: Albert van Niekerk category: leadership, management, organisation No Comments

An article titled “First, let’s fire all managers” captured my attention. If you are an MD or a manager it should halt you in your tracks.

We are all so used to the idea of having managers around that we might find the notion of doing away with managers downright impossible or absurd. Well, we all know that the role of managers has changed in the last three decades. The advent of the internet has drastically altered communications and the flow of information internally. In addition, employees, especially young employees, are drastically different from their managers. There’s simply less of a need for traditional managers. read more »

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29
Nov 11

Operational innovation and leave your competition behind

posted by: Albert van Niekerk category: leadership, learning, organisation, planning No Comments

A client enthusiastically drew my attention to an article about operational innovation as a way to change a company.  This article is so full of down-to-earth common sense that I would like to share some of its ideas with all my clients.

Michael Hammer, author of Deep Change – How Operational Innovation Can Transform a Company (Harvard Business Review, April 2004), provided an example in the USA auto insurance business which might also intrigue you. All South Africans will have noted what our insurance companies have been doing over the past five years. We have all seen a series of insurance ads on TV. You may even have experienced a better service. It would appear that some SA insurance companies had taken note of what Progressive Insurance did.  Although you may not in the insurance industry, what could you consider doing with reference to this example? read more »

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29
Oct 11

The process of gaining insight

posted by: Albert van Niekerk category: communication, leadership, learning, management 4 Comments

Have you lately experienced the invigorating jolt of a new insight? Five great articles came to my attention during the past few months and their content for me suddenly gelled into one cohesive interlinked whole.

Some of my clients whom I coached experienced – each at their own pace – a similar realisation. Something clicked. The light went on. Eyes showed sparkling recognition. An insight had occurred. read more »

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22
Sep 11

The neuroscience of change

posted by: Albert van Niekerk category: communication, culture, leadership, learning 2 Comments

Business leaders everywhere know that success isn’t possible without changing the day-to-day behaviour of people throughout the company. But changing behaviour is hard. (Even when new habits can mean the difference between life and death e.g. adopting healthier day-to-day habits after having undergone coronary bypass surgery, nine out of 10 patients do not manage to follow though.)

However, behavioural change – and business success – has a much likelier chance of occurring if we heed new evidence about change. Breakthroughs in cognitive science about how our brains function contain pointers worth taking serious note of. read more »

17
Aug 11

How to get more results from coaching?

posted by: Albert van Niekerk category: culture, learning, management 2 Comments

Most MD and managers have no idea how little their staff learn during an important coaching session.  What to do to ensure more learning and new behaviour?

Most of us know that our listening retention ability is between 7% and 9%. read more »

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30
Jun 11

Small wins mean progress

posted by: Albert van Niekerk category: communication, organisation 2 Comments

“Of all things that can boost emotions, motivation, and perceptions during a workday, the single most important is making progress in meaningful work.” “Everyday progress – even a small win – can make all the difference”… in how you and your employees feel and perform.

read more »

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30
May 11

Crucial Conversations – and the free flow of meaning

posted by: Albert van Niekerk category: communication, culture No Comments

Three clients indicated that I had struck a raw nerve with last month’s post on crucial conversations and confrontations. Two asked me to conduct coaching discussions. We used examples emanating from their workplaces.

While holding a crucial conversation can be sophisticated, mastering even a few principles can lead to immediate results.  Understanding these principles opens new opportunities and removes the inclination to rather be silent than risking a conversation which could turn out to become very uncomfortable and which might even derail. read more »

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27
Apr 11

Crucial conversations and confrontations

posted by: Albert van Niekerk category: communication 5 Comments

Every now and then a normal conversation turns into crucial conversation. We have all experienced this. We are rational human beings usually in charge of ourselves, but sometimes we loose it.  We get angry, we raise our voices, we glare. We say things we later regret. Or we withdraw and say nothing. We fester and sulk.

Sometimes we handle crucial conversations well, but mostly we don’t. When we need to handle a conversation that matters most we are often at our absolute worst. read more »

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29
Mar 11

In flow days

posted by: Albert van Niekerk category: leadership 5 Comments

A friend and two of my clients are deeply immersed in getting a few marketing items into place. I too, since mid-February, spent time on marketing, revamped pages on my website, created new pages and gave attention to related items.

It struck all of us: If you are serious about getting something done, spend some uninterrupted time on whatever you do. The key to achieving something remarkable is the uninterrupted stretch of time that you devote to whatever topic. read more »

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