pivot Archives - Page 5 of 10 - Dennis E. Gilbert

12
Feb 20
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Finding a Better Boss Depends On Your Navigation

Could you benefit from a better boss? Better than what?

Many career minded individuals feel frustrated with their boss. It may be because the boss supplies what feels like meaningless work. Perhaps he or she is too commanding, or is too close-minded. There may be more than a dozen other reasons.

The reality is that you always have some opportunity to shape your own future. That includes your interactions with your boss.

Opportunities Not Dead Ends

People sometimes suggest to me, “It must be nice to be your own boss.”

I’m typically quick to reply that at any given time I may have ten, twenty, or even fifty bosses. My clients are my boss.

Certainly, I have some ability to say whether I want that relationship or not.

It isn’t much different from traditional workplace roles. In a general sense, you work where you work by choice.

You’ll have things you have to do that perhaps you don’t enjoy. There are rules to follow that may not be your rules. There are organizational politics to navigate. And, work that may not always feel rewarding, efficient, or effective.

As for my job, it still has similarities to most jobs. You can make appropriate effort, or feel like a victim.

You can help by playing the role that needs played. That may be doing something creative, something necessary, or something monotonous.

Perhaps, you will also find opportunities to help by making suggestions. Have you ever considered doing it this way?

Not everything will be thought of as useful. Not everything will be welcomed with open arms.

Better Boss Navigation

There are at least three paths for your navigation.

The boss (or client) welcomes your advice and that makes things different or better.
You remain appropriately persistent. Eventually your contributions achieve a breakthrough and seem to matter. See number one.
You pack up your toys and move to a different sandbox.

A fourth, alternative path, is to accept everything as is. Remember though, that is your choice.

Sometimes the best way to help yourself is to help your boss. Whether it is one boss or many, you have the choice for navigation.

There are trade-offs everywhere.

Choose the navigation that fits you best. Blaming the boss isn’t a solution.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

05
Feb 20
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Old Habits Can Be Like Potholes

Tags : accelerate change habits pivot

Not all old habits are bad, some may be good. Yet, if you’re looking for change consider what you’re repeating again and again.

On the roadway a pothole can be dangerous.

People swerve to avoid them. The vehicles suspension collapses with a harsh thump. Worse, a tire gets blown and a wheel gets bent.

All of this avoidance, or perhaps a direct hit can be costly. It could even threaten lives.

Here is the thing. The pothole wasn’t created on its own.

Across time a tiny crack, a small chunk of concrete or asphalt breaks away.

Then more tires cross the small orifice. Each successive crossing erodes the hole a little more. A slight tire spin, intense braking, or weather conditions broaden the hole.

Pothole Life

In life, we sometimes find ourselves creating potholes. A place that we continue to navigate over time that slowly but surely creates a hole. A rut, a place to slam on the brakes, blow a tire, or bend a rim.

Too many potholes and you may decide you need a new route. Yet, the habit of staying on the same road is hard to break.

It’s often hard to break because you’ve known it as the best route. The way to get to where you want to be. The fast way, the way that is fewer miles and perhaps, the safe route.

Old Habits

You still have a choice. You can endure the rough road. Perhaps slow down a little, drive with a little more caution, and be able to better navigate the rough spots.

Just because you’re still on the same road doesn’t mean you should keep the same pace. Pace may be the change you need.

Sometimes you have to go a little slower to go faster. A blown tire, bent rim, or worse, won’t help your plight.

Not all old habits are bad. Some of them just need to be navigated a little bit differently until the conditions change.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

31
Jan 20
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Easy Change May Be Only a Workplace Dream

Tags : buy-in change mindset pivot workplace

Are you expecting an easy change? Are your expectations realistic? What is the biggest challenge?

People are always trying to create buy-in for their point of view or path. They often view their way as the best, the only, and of course, obviously, the correct path.

Being Correct

We see it in politics. One side has a set of values and beliefs, the other side differs.

Businesses spend precious hours debating change.

There are even two sides to probable outcomes from a debate.

One side suggests that a lack of debate leads to complacency, so we must debate. The other side suggests that debates only create winners and losers so be cautious of your approach to entertaining debates among teams.

Who is correct?

Easy Change

The CEO often urges middle management, “Go get buy-in for this change!” How do you create buy-in? Do you tell people what to think?

Leadership may mean telling a story. Bringing the situation to life. Allowing for reflection which promotes experiential learning. This act of telling can be very compelling.

Did someone say it was easy?

Certainly, it depends somewhat on the circumstances. We have a lot of small scale change each day. So small it probably goes unnoticed. It’s the big changes that throw up flags.

Getting buy-in for change often starts with belief. It may be the belief that it is necessary. The belief that it will make things better. In nearly all cases, the best belief is that it will work.

Change gets easier when the path is clearer. The path to any great accomplishment starts with belief.

The hardest part of change may be changing minds.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

24
Jan 20
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Workplace Heroes Can Leap Tall Objects

Tags : change heroes motivation pivot workplace

People spend enormous amounts of time waiting. Waiting for a change in the weather, waiting for their accumulated vacation, and often, waiting for workplace heroes to take charge.

Instead of waiting you always have an option. The option is for action.

Nearly every axis, of every chart, has a relevant coordinate or scale for time. Time is the universal metric.

How many donuts can be made per hour?

How many customers served this month?

What does sales revenue look like this quarter?

And so, some choose to wait. They wait to see. They wait to see if the superhero will appear.

Waiting for Superheroes

It is often because people are conditioned to wait.

They wait for an answer from the boss, wait until the next meeting to bring up the problem, or wait for the customer to appear.

The truth is that it may be your responsibility for taking action, not waiting.

What happens next in your workplace is driven by culture.

Your organizational culture is created by many gestures, acts, and behaviors. Add them all up, across time, and you’ll have the vibe and pulse of the organization.

Who are the superheroes?

Workplace Heroes

Perhaps it is your next action that will create something magical. It will make the difference to leap over the obstacle or start a movement that inspires someone else to do so.

Superman may have changed his clothes in a phone booth before activating his super powers.

You don’t have to.

You just have to stop waiting.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

21
Jan 20
-

Exciting Workplace Change Means Energy

Tags : change engagement pivot workplace

Things are going to change. Are you experiencing exciting workplace change?

A few months to a couple of years into your job and you may face boredom. The monotony of the day in, day out, repeated over and over again across time. Enthusiasm and energy often decline.

Many people have a favorite movie or a favorite song. They watch or listen to it many times. Eventually, nothing changes and the great hit is still a great hit but they need something new.

Everything you do on the job probably has a reason. It has a specific outcome that is necessary to create the product or provide a service that is of great value.

Is the team motivated? Are they engaged? Why is the energy of the new employee so high?

We know there is often apprehension about change. The fear of the unknown or the fear of future outcomes.

Will my job be eliminated?

What if I don’t like things this way?

I’m not sure this way will work.

Exciting Workplace Change

Changing just for the sake of change may not be the best idea. At the same time though, staying exactly the same until boredom sets in may be problematic.

Do you think things in society, technology, and perhaps even in values and beliefs are changing? Have you found yourself believing, “Everything in the World around us is changing.”

Could it be true?

One thing is probably always true. The longer we stay exactly the same the riskier our work becomes.

-DEG

Change, focus, and persistence, just a few of the reasons why I wrote this book. Grab your copy on Amazon.

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

07
Jan 20
-

What Will Be The Counter Shift?

Tags : change pivot shift status quo

People everywhere often dream of, and some create, a shift. Is there a counter shift for every shift?

In January 2014, I released my book, Pivot and Accelerate. It continues to sell because many of my clients are searching for additional thoughts as they pursue personal or professional change.

One aspect of change that we often fail to see, understand, or give credence to is that every shift has a counter shift.

Upsetting the Status Quo

It is as simple as the feeling of comfort and the status quo. We feel safe in the status quo. Not too much risk and we feel more relaxed.

Shifts can be scary. Even when they are desired, there is still an element of fear connected to the unknown.

If you are contemplating or have recently made a change, what is the push back to that change? Have you prepared for it?

Counter Shift

Social media has been a shift to the marketing and advertising world.

A front runner like eBay changed the supply and demand aspect for many products quickly.

Retail has shifted, not only because of eCommerce at large, but also because of the front runner, Amazon.

What is the counter shift to these scenarios?

Many people suggest that trust and relationships have shifted as a result of the social media experience. Some good and some not so good.

Items that were once scarce are suddenly more available because of eBay. This changes the supply and demand, affects price and costs, and also may change lives.

Retail is different. Convenience is both King and Queen for many. Some have felt pain, others amass their piece of a small (or large) fortune in the process.

Consider the change in front of you, what will be on the other side of that shift?

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

30
Dec 19
-

Processing Through The Change Narrative

Tags : change narrative outcomes pivot workplace

Are things always changing or never changing? We often have a perception of change. Your perception of what is happening is based on your change narrative.

In New York City the turnover of the small business establishment or street vendor in SoHo feels like it is constantly changing. And yet, to the unknowing or uncaring, SoHo is exactly the same as it was twenty years ago.

In rural America, farming and agriculture are arguably rapidly changing because of technology, and yet, the urban visitor sees the fields of corn or wheat as a step back in time.

Change is always about the narrative. The perception that is created by the conversation will stimulate the feeling associated with change.

Never changing or always changing is relevant to those existing within that community or system. It is about the narrative.

Your Change Narrative

What is currently happening in your workplace may feel completely different from last quarter, or it may feel exactly the same as five or ten years ago.

It may be better to consider, what image is the communication creating? How are things different today from one year ago, or three?

The speed of change is relative to the feeling about its necessity.

When a business is sold and new ownership takes over everyone is looking for what will change. The anxiety is a form of nervous energy. Quieter, yet hurried.

Quiet because people want to stay low and not attract a lot of attention until it is viewed that attention is important. Hurried because appearing that your contributions aren’t constructive and required is viewed as the first step for losing your spot in the system.

The change narrative surrounds everyone, in every community, workplace, and system. Others may not see it, but is always present.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

13
Dec 19
-

How Will Your Story Change? Should It?

Tags : change growth mindset pivot professional

Sometimes, but not always, change is about choice. Decisions you make or actions you take have a way of changing things or keeping you stuck. Will your story change?

Whether it is the end of a year, a decade, or just the end of a current path that you are on, your story is your creation.

Future Connected to Choice

The recognition of choice is often hard to comprehend. As people we often tend to blame people, circumstances, or even the economy. While there may be some truth in all of those, we still have direct involvement through our choice.

When we dig a little deeper, we even make choices about our happiness, sadness, and the energy spent (or wasted) on either.

The stories that we repetitively tell ourselves will condition the choices we make next.

I could never do that job.

The client screwed me on the deal.

Jane got the promotion because she kisses up to the boss.

The story that you allow to play out for your future is connected to the decisions you will make because of your mindset.

Story Change

Do you want your story to change?

Thinking about a potential change and making a change are completely different things. Many people think about shoving a donut in their mouth because of the high caloric content, yet, it doesn’t stop them.

If your story is going to change it is going to be because of your choices, actions, and behaviors.

Knowing isn’t doing. Doing is doing.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

14
Oct 19
-

Workplace Mind Changers Are Often Necessary

Tags : change marketing mind changers pivot workplace

Do you need to try something new? Are you seeking to pivot into a new or slightly tweaked vision? Workplace mind changers may be required.

What people do every day can be connected to the concept of habits.

Workplace habits can be hard to break. People come to work and do the same routine.

Leaders often take for granted the ease of which people flow with the norm. Whatever the culture suggests as the norm, seemingly happens with little motivation being required. It’s the norm.

Changing Minds is Marketing

When you want to change something, you sometimes have to change minds.

We see it in marketing. A new iPhone is being released, is the new phone needed or is it the marketing that prompts a quest for something more?

Seasons change, and as such, it may be time for new clothing or household items and decorations. What drives what is purchased? Often it is based on advertising and marketing campaigns.

Employees sometimes want a new chair, a new computer, a company supplied laptop or something fixed or replaced. They can simply ask, or develop a small marketing message to spark change.

Your marketing finesse is incredibly valuable.

Workplace Mind Changers

Often, you are not just giving ideas, your selling them. Your sales efforts are passively designed to change minds.

You create the compelling message. You establish reasons why, and connect them to business efficiency, productivity, or long-run gains.

Establishing buy-in for a budget proposal, additional workforce, or technology change starts with selling. If the need isn’t apparent nothing will change.

Becoming apparent starts with some data, and better yet, a story.

Workplace mind changers are also great marketers.

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

04
Oct 19
-

Workplace Experiences Shape Your Future

Tags : experiences experiential learning future pivot workplace

People will sometimes ask, “What did you learn?” Our workplace experiences guide nearly everything that happens next. They tear down, create new, or expand organization culture.

Likely, no one experiences the experience in exactly the same way. On a trip to Disney, individual experiences are different. A trip to the beach, the mountain resort, or last evenings sporting event, no two people have exactly the same experience.

It is the same for what we read, watch on TV, or learn in the seminar. It is always shaped by our individual thoughts and past experiences.

Experiential Learning

This is exactly why the concept of experiential learning matters in workshops and seminars. You can tell people many things, when you prompt them to reflect on ideas as an experience it is much more powerful.

In many regards, it is why the keynote at the convention is impactful, or perhaps why it is not. Ask a few people what they thought, you’ll likely get some different answers. No two people will experience it exactly the same way.

The stories that are told and the stories that are heard may be two different things.

Workplace Experiences

The hope then, of the story teller, the workshop leader, or the CEO is that his or her involvement will create the kind of impact desired.

The desire to shape futures, pivot directions, or do more of the same will be based on the behaviors that are led by our experiences.

We all rely on stories to shape what happens next. Biblical stories, historical accounts, and, “the way things are done around here.”

-DEG

Dennis E. Gilbert is a business consultant, speaker (CSP^TM), and culture expert. He is a five-time author and the founder of Appreciative Strategies, LLC. His business focuses on positive human performance improvement solutions through Appreciative Strategies®. Reach him through his website at Dennis-Gilbert.com or by calling +1 646.546.5553.

Tag Archives: pivot

Feb 20

-

Opportunities Not Dead Ends

Better Boss Navigation

Feb 20

-

Pothole Life

Old Habits

Jan 20

-

Being Correct

Easy Change

Jan 20

-

Waiting for Superheroes

Workplace Heroes

Jan 20

-

Exciting Workplace Change

Jan 20

-

Upsetting the Status Quo

Counter Shift

Dec 19

-

Your Change Narrative

Dec 19

-

Future Connected to Choice

Story Change

Oct 19

-

Changing Minds is Marketing

Workplace Mind Changers

Oct 19

-

Experiential Learning

Workplace Experiences

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