The world of politics gives offers lots of good and bad examples of how change should be led.

An Optimistic Note: It is possible to overcome gridlock

A Rare Example of Bipartisanship is an important article by David Ignatius in The Washington Post on how cooperation is possible even in the most gridlocked situations.  According to Ignatius, the House Intelligence Committee “used to be one of the …

Don’t Shoot – Lessons on Leading Change

Don’t Shoot: One Man, A Street Fellowship, and the End of Violence in Inner-City America (David Kennedy. Bloomsbury USA. 2011) is a powerful and important book. Harvard researcher, David Kennedy wondered why our approaches to dealing with gang violence were …

Leadership, Resistance, and the Penn State Scandal

I believe it was Ernest Jones who wrote, “All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they are getting.” I think about that quote as I read the unfolding details about the conditions that allowed the Penn State scandal …

What Corporate Leaders Can Learn from Navy Sex Tape Incident

US Navy Capt. Owen Honors was relieved of his command. Adm. John C. Harvey Jr. said that the sexually charged videos “calls into question his character and completely undermines his credibility to continue to serve effectively in command.” (NYT 1/5/11) …

Must We Focus on Why Changes Fail? Yes, We Must.

Question: Must we focus on why changes fail? (drum roll) Answer: Yes, we must. Over the past couple of days, I was engaged in conversations about the emphasis on the failure of change in organizations. They believed that focusing on …

Carolyn Lukensmeyer and the Power of Conversation

My friend (and former teacher) Carolyn Lukensmeyer believes in democracy. She has dedicated her life to it. Fifteen years ago she founded AmericaSpeaks, a group dedicated to getting people from across the political and cultural spectrums together to talk about …

Tiger Wood’s Brilliant Mea Culpa

Tiger Woods statement to the press was the right thing to do and he did it well. Compare his comments to other political and busines leaders who give their obligatory mea culpas. The contrast is stunning. And there are lessons …

The Challenge of Leading Change in DC Public Schools

Two years ago, Washington, DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s popularity was 59 percent among District residents while 29 percent disapproved of her performance. Today, her approval rating is 43 percent (44 percent disapprove.) Parents of children in DC schools gave …

President Obama Meeting with Those Who Resist Him

If you want to learn how to work with resistance, watch a video clip of President Obama speaking to and with Republican House leaders today. It’s hard to imagine anyone in recent US history of either party who 1. would …

Advice to the President on Giving the State of the Union Message

If President Obama were to ask me for advice on his State of the Union message tonight, I’d tell him to keep it simple. Limit yourself to one critical issue that you want the US Congress and the American public …

The Wrong Way to Help in Haiti

Two reasons for this post. 1. It might help those who wish to help during the crisis in Haiti, and 2. it is a good reminder about what it may take to manage a major change effectively.  Nathanial Whittemore’s post …

Twitter to the Rescue (Really)

I am not a big fan of Twitter. To date, I hadn’t seen what all the fuss was about. And then news came out from Iran. The government blocked the Internet so that word could not get out about reactions …

US Ownership of GM is a Huge Mistake

The US government should not be running GM. While the government can be capable of managing large programs effectively, running an auto company is not among them. This is a good intention gone bad. While keeping General Motors afloat is …

Context is Key to Successful Change

I am still amazed at how infrequently organizational changes take context into account when they plan a major change. It’s like the idea itself – we’ll cut costs, we’ll move into new markets, we’ll introduce a new product, etc. – …

How to Lead Change When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going

The Change Management Open Source Project just held its first conference call to discuss the topic of How to Lead Change When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going. Seemed like an apt topic for this environment. I posted a Podcast …

Did Dr. Frankenstein Really Work for AIG?

Bonuses for A.I.G. executives could be the downfall of the US, or so you might think to watch how politicians, pundits, and the public reacted. Never mind that the bonuses amounted to chump change in the grand scheme of things. …

The Stimulus Package, Leading Change, and President Obama

Within days of taking office, President Obama began to reach out to both parties in Congress. He invited elected officials to the White House, and he personally went to Capitol Hill. As soon the $800 billion stimulus bill passed with …

Obama: “I Screwed Up.”

It was amazing to hear a President or any leader for that matter — say, “I screwed up”. Hearing leaders admit mistakes is rare. At best, we might hear mistakes were made, but that leaves us to wonder just made …

Leaders Advising Leaders

Last week President-elect Obama met wit hall the living former Presidents and the current President, George W. Bush. This was an unprecedented meeting and Obama called this meeting. According to Norah O’Donnell, MSNBC, he realized that he needed to be …

Leading and Negative Flake Rates – Part 2

I urge you to read the comments section of Negative Flake Rates. Jake Jacobs offers link that describes how Obama is keep his huge network of supporters engaged. I hate to keep stating the obvious, but there are so many …

Negative Flake Rates and Leading Change

Campaign planners expect a flake rate among those who promise to volunteer. In other words, they expect a certain percentage of people to flake out and not show up. This past weekend, the Obama campaign experienced the opposite: they got …

What’s AIG Got to do with Leading Change?

Or another title: Resistance Fueled by Outrage. On Monday, the former CEO and Chairman of AIG appeared before a House committee. During their testimonial a congressman revealed that AIG had spent some $440K on a fancy retreat a few days …

Leading Change and the Candidates

Kevin Eikenberry, author of Remarkable Leadership just posted a survey that asks you to compare the leadership skills of the two presidential candidates. He has invited readers of my blog to take it (and then he’ll be glad to send …

Presidential Debate: a Lesson in How Not to Lead

Did you see the US presidential debate last night? They both lost. In a town hall forum there is an opportunity to speak directly to individuals and answer their questions. Except for one or two examples of human contact, both …