Making Effective Choices for Our Companies
"The modern world requires us to make all kinds of choices. In the past, society made most of the choices for people. You did pretty much what your parents told you to do. If you got to go to school, you learned what to do there. And on the job your boss told you what to do. You had kings and queens who ordered people around. There is much less control now than there ever was before, which means that we are making radical choices every day in our lives. This is also related to the Hero's journey, because if we don't have a sense of cause or calling, or a sense of who we are, how do we know how to choose?" - Dr. Carol Pearson
Frequently Asked Questions
 Why "Birds of Change?"- What is Performance Studies?
- How can understanding archetypes help me improve my business?
- Why is Problem-Based Learning better than simply training employees in basic skills?
- What is storyweaving?
- Why change my "corporate culture?" How will that build better client relationships?
- How about the bottom line?
Why "Birds of Change?"
In the natural world, birds are sensitive and responsive to change. How can we forget the canary in the mine? And if there's going to be an earthquake or other natural disaster, they leave an area long before we sense anything wrong. They are flexible and persistent, migrating towards spring, and gathering where there is abundance. They build their nests securely in high places. And they play with the wind. Have you ever seen a raven, hawk, or gull pause in soaring flight, catching the wind underneath them, holding in the air like a living kite? That strong wind current lifts them up instead of blowing them off course. For me, birds model a sensible, visionary flexibility. So when change inevitably blows in with the seasons and the weather, we can become birds of change: leaders who know how to balance practicality and innovation. top
What is Performance Studies?
Performance Studies is an interdisciplinary, practical way of exploring our performances in everyday life. This new system draws on psychology, sociology, organizational behavior, anthropology, and history to understand the roles we play in our society, from play to work. In the past 20 years, Performance Studies has established itself in universities as one of the most effective cross-disciplinary ways to train people to understand our cultures and our lives. I received my Ph.D. in 1998 from Northwestern University, a center for applied Performance Studies, an innovative model of knowledge management and interpersonal ethnography. In the business world, this new model helps us identify the strengths and weaknesses of corporate culture, branding, and team interaction. Then we can support the roles and performances that must work well for daily efficiency, big picture innovation and long-term success. Performance Studies offers a broad palate of established and new tools that respond to 21st Century puzzles with flexibility and practicality. top
How can understanding archetypes help me improve my business?
No matter how sophisticated our job description, human beings are storytelling creatures. Stories are the common currency of human interaction. At the heart of our community and personal narratives are fundamental archetypes, core stories that shape our lives. Are you an effective Ruler? Do your core values more closely match the idea of an Explorer or a Lover? Do you feel your business services fill the niche of Caregiver, Hero, Revolutionary? Carol Pearson calls archetypes our "personal software," the tools we use or misuse as we move through the world. When we understand the archetypes we are most drawn to or irritated by, we take the first step towards building effective branding, finding a niche in the market, clearing up conflicts in the workplace, and creating a healthy corporate culture that supports stability and innovation in a balanced way. There are concrete tools available to identify your archetype "network," personal and organizational. With a trained facilitator, business leaders and teams can use these tools to grow their companies, client-base, and long-term vision. top
Why is Problem-Based Learning better than simply training employees in basic skills?
PBL is a teaching technique that is at the heart of the most effective training programs in Europe and the US. It is a movement of educators interested in teaching creative problem solving, not just memorized facts and rigid rules. Primarily used for training medical, business and engineering professionals, PBL creates teams that solve problems directly related to the skill sets that need developing. Of course, students learn the skills, the facts, and the rules, but they also learn to share their strengths, to identify their weaknesses, to build effective work plans, and to value their peers. In a business setting, PBL can be used for many purposes: to train users in a new computer program, to develop team effectiveness, or to bring new staff skills and independent thinking together to improve overall performance. The benefits are clear. IT professionals will be freed up to improve broad systems when users are comfortable with the programs they work with. Administrative support staff will be able to take initiative appropriately, leaving the boss free to develop the big picture. And effective teamwork will support that big picture, troubleshooting unexpected challenges and creating new opportunities for the business and for clients. Much is made today about "empowerment," but it's sometimes hard to see what that word really means. Problem-Based Learning makes empowerment practical, training workers in the skills they need, and giving them the confidence, experience and knowledge to work together towards a common goal. top
What is storyweaving?
In the past decade, researchers at universities and corporate knowledge centers have discovered the power of storytelling as community building. This power goes far beyond water cooler gossip and the company's word-of-mouth advertising. The stories workers, clients and competitors tell about themselves and your company can make or break a business. Storyweaving is a practical, playful, and very effective way to diagnose problems and build a consistent internal and external brand. Storyweaving clarifies goals and work roles, isolates problems gently but cleanly, and builds a common vision connected to the core values of the business. Too many of the change management and corporate development strategies of the 90s have proven themselves programmatic, and out of touch with the human element of business. Storyweaving is a diagnostic and developmental tool that builds skills, community and clarity by engaging people in the thing they most naturally do: telling stories. Everyone gets involved, and the whole team commits to a meeting, project, or vision. The payoff is long term, and the process is actually fun. top
Why change my "corporate culture?" How will that build better client relationships?
What is a successful corporate culture? It's the heart of a successful business. This equation may seem obvious, but it's worth a deeper look. Corporate culture is everything from the architecture of the office to the meeting strategies and schedules that bring workers together. It reflects the strengths and weaknesses of everyone involved in building a business. An effective corporate culture matches a company's branding and long term vision. Too often, companies are split between the conscious intention and the unexamined reality of life at work. Sometimes the split comes from a hierarchy that works against the leader's true intention; sometimes it comes from a group of disengaged, dissatisfied employees. The hard fact is that corporate culture needs to be monitored, guided, and mentored, because as businesses change and grow, their internal culture must keep pace.
The best businesses survive by moving effectively through transitions. Experienced business leaders know that the solutions are often surprisingly simple: shifting meeting protocols, staff positions, or reward structures. But until the problems are fully diagnosed, any solution is trial and error, a dangerous game when there is so much at risk. A corporate culture consultant supports creative solutions to build successful internal structures by being an outside eye and ear, thoroughly identifying and easing the inevitable spoken and unspoken tensions that hold a business back. People want to work with healthy companies, and the most common measure of health is a feeling of well-being, trust and reliability that comes from a strong corporate culture. top
How about the bottom line?
Everyone thinks of the bottom line as something we measure mainly by the numbers: profit, loss, investment. Birds of Change knows that the 21st century world complicates that definition with new partnerships, new business definitions, and new ways to build success. Of course, the bottom line still reflects our drive for profit; but now it's more than a numbers game. What is your intention as a business owner? Where do integrity and innovation meet in your business plan? If your goal were only paying the bills and filling your bank account, you probably wouldn't have your own business. You have a larger intention: to provide a service, to be a bridge across industries, to fill a need. That's the core of your long and short term goals, and the heart of your bottom line. When that vision becomes clear, in your branding, your staff, and your attitude, the profits follow because people who need your service can find and recognize you as a visionary. That's the bottom line. top
|
