Turning over a new leaf - an interesting team building activity to deal with change

When I worked with the Ministry of Government Services, I had the opportunity to attend a team building event. This event was designed to answer Ontario government employees’ perception that little or no change was taking place in the Ministry. The team building game is called “Turning over a new leaf”!  The concept was to demonstrate to team members that change is happening although you may not recognize it as such.

Here is how it plays: 8-10 people stood on a plastic cloth. The cloth can be of any material as long as it is large enough to provide each person with just enough space to stand up but it shouldn't be too big to make this game too easy to complete.  One person starts to turn the cloth upside down from one angle and ask another person next to him/her to step on the opposite side of the cloth. Gradually, each person moves to stand on the opposite side of the cloth until the cloth is completely turned over and everyone is standing on the opposite site of the cloth.

While turning over the cloth, some team members won’t be able to see what’s happening but they have to hold tightly on to other team members and trust that their peers are actually working on turning over the cloth and make sure everybody is standing on the opposite side one by one. If any team member steps off the cloth, the team is eliminated from the competition.

Here is a demonstration video.

Almost every organization is experiencing some sort of changes generated either by internally initiated actions or external influences. It is crucial to build team confidence through explicit innovative change management and also in less directive cycles that slowly we are making changes but we need patience. Leadership, buy-in, trust and fully support are required to make the change happen and ensure competitive superiority!

Why organizations need to react effectively and expeditiously in response to the challenge of new technology- A brief history of weaponry and its impact on military system

Why organizations need to react effectively and expeditiously in response to the challenge of new technology

-          A brief history of weaponry and its impact on military system

It is not uncommon for individuals in an organization to resist change. The resistance is primarily based on the facts that either people are not yet up to speed on the new system and work expectation or they feel threatened in that they will lose the status or role that they feel comfortable with.  It takes time for any company to adapt to new technology; however, If it does not change the mindset and adjust its systems, it will soon find itself far behind competition in short order.

Let’s take a look at the history of weaponry and its impact on a military system. The cold weapon divided into two general types.  The cold weapon such as knifes and spears were designed to fight within a short distance, whereas the javelin and bow were designed for long distance combat.  The choice of weapon often was based on the warrior’s physical strength as not all men could lift a heavy javelin and/or hit a target. The military system during cold weapon period really depended on the number of soldiers, the strong will of the troop and commander’s ability to lead the army. The movie BraveheartFreedom by Mel Gibson demonstrates this premise.

Firearms ultimately replaced the cold weapon. The arquebus was the first gun fired from the shoulder thanks to lockmaker. It was invented in Spain in the mid-15th century. Its effective range was less than 650 feet (200 m), however much greater than that of a bow and arrow. The arquebus was superseded by the larger musket in the mid-16^th century.  If you watched the movie “The Patriot”, you will recall that the army looked very different with colourful uniforms and marching in organized rows.  This military system at this point was based on musket structure as the bullets are added from the front down to the barrel. It was difficult to aim at the target with any accuracy, but the impact of an organized army marching together in rows and the opponent organized in the same fashion permitted improved accuracy and impact.  The army with stricter discipline often was the victor. This also allows more people with less physical strength to be able to be effective soldiers.

In 1866, the mauser came to market.  The bullet could be loaded from the back end of the gun. This allows gun barrel to be seamless and without smoke when fired.  This structure allowed the army to scatter and hide behind barriers and thus becoming more flexible and a more difficult target. During the British/American, Britain maintained the old military system but America used the new method. The British army became easy targets and lost the battle.

When the machine gun was developed, the military system changed dramatically. In the Battle of Somme, German troop set up machine guns every 100 metres for 40 kilometres.  This battle created record of killing 60,000 English soldiers within a day.  

Slow reaction to new technology can lead an organization or an individual to watching the competition from behind as they pass you by!

Love advice applies to Marketing in the business world

As I was surfing the internet the other day I accidentally came across a singles dating video presentation. Curiosity got the best of me and I decided to look in. The rather humorous theme was “How to make a guy (male) fall in love with you (female). But in spite of the trivial nature of the show, one point caught my attention. The thesis was “Rather than (females) chase a guy directly, the talk show offered some advice on how to get his attention and in a subtle fashion devise a strategy makes him chase you instead. On further thought, it struck me that this suggestion, albeit somewhat playful in the love arena, it very well has application in marketing in the business world.

The support for the approach and guidance to the ladies was:

What is your strength- there are many ladies out there who may have a better physical appearance, education and career .etc. However, every man has his own taste in women. And your job is to find out your unique attributes. Likewise, what is your company's competitive advantage that differentiates you from the competition?

Success lies in the details – some people may think polishing one’s nails is futile especially in the winter time. But success lies in the details. People opened Apple products and found out that the inside was a powerful presentation and art like! No matter which era we are in, product/service quality still matter.

Build a connection- one tip from the talk show is that try to build a connection with the guy. For example, you can ask the guy to share some interesting articles he has recently read or pursuits that he is actively engaged with you. If done with integrity and sincere fashion the connection may well be successful. How can you build a connection with your customers?

Make it interesting – they postulate in order to keep the guy’s attention you need to always to do something different and try not to let him know what you will do next. This can also apply to sustaining and advancing your customer base. Always think out of the box and offer superior unexpected features/services .etc.