sean f burns
Change & Transformation
Agile Knowledge Work: a Book Introduction
How much of yourself are you at work? Did you know that most people try to be someone else M-F 8:30-5PM for the majority of their adult lives? On the weekend they try to relax back into who they really are only to find that this happens on Sunday afternoon when they’re gearing back up … Continue reading
Why is Influencing Such Hard Work?
Two people are on opposite sides of a ravine. Person 1 asks person 2: “Say, how do I get to the other side?” Person 2 replies: “You’re already there!” We’re all so busy processing so much information and interruptions these days. It is easy to forget not only that organizations are all about people, but … Continue reading
Why become a customer centric organization?
Organizations are increasingly realizing that getting closer to the customer is essential for growth. Consumers have more choice than ever before and won’t hesitate to walk away if their needs are not met despite the efforts of some companies to make this hard for their customers. This is emerging as a new reality for almost … Continue reading
Structured decision making for developing strategy
In the evolving and fast-moving technology sector, an increasing complaint coming from executives is their inability to develop an effective strategy due to a lack of certainty in the market. To understand what’s going on here, let’s start by looking at what an effective strategy is and what role decision making plays in that process. … Continue reading
Reinventing Your Business Model for Growth
For a large public sector client, I am currently redeveloping their business model and found an inspiring article by Johnson, Christensen and Kagermann. Senior managers at incumbent companies thus confront a frustrating question: Why is it so difficult to pull off the new growth that business model innovation can bring? Their research suggests two problems. … Continue reading
Where’s the right place to start change?
In the various roles I hold I’m responsible for a lot of change. A recent McKinsey article suggests focusing efforts on the most connected employees to help generate momentum and accelerate impact. All the planning in the world won’t make change happen if the people don’t want to change. A problem many organisations run into … Continue reading
The Performance Pyramid
John Wedman recently posed on the AEA a framework and process for identifying, analyzing, and addressing the barriers to optimal performance in the workplace. This is particularly useful when focusing on results and I’ve migrated some of my approach as a consultant to incorporate the framework. The Performance Pyramid is based on the premise that, … Continue reading
Harvard Secrets to Strategy Execution
There is a great short post on HBS by Ilona Steffen, Niko Canner and Gary Neilson on avoiding the costly mistake many organizations make when reacting to poor performance; pulling out the org chart for another restructure. Rather than messing around with restructuring and incentives, the authors propose, executives should look at more effective levers … Continue reading
Harvard Business Review’s 10 Must Reads:
According to HBR, if you read nothing else read these 10 articles. They didn’t include the links, so I have done for you below. Happy reading! 1) “Meeting the Challenge of Disruptive Change,” by Clayton M. Christensen and Michael Overdorf, explains why so few established companies innovate successfully. http://hbr.org/2000/03/meeting-the-challenge-of-disruptive-change/ar/1 2) “Competing on Analytics,” by Thomas … Continue reading
Public sector merger
I just finished a four-month engagement leading the consolidation of services (IT, IM, HR and Finance) for three agencies of the New Zealand government. A newspaper article on the transformation programme came out today decrying it as simply more public servant headcount reductions. The article completely missed the significance and strategic importance of this programme … Continue reading
