We may report to live by the adages of Heraclitus–“Change is the only constant”–or Darwin– “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change,” but, really, who isn’t afraid of change, especially when change disrupts our workplace?

We’ve been thinking a lot about how organizations manage change and what role the Communications function plays in change management efforts. At a high level, one hypothesis we are testing is to what degree do massive change campaigns—complete with CEO town halls, posters, and online resource centers–actually add to employee “change fatigue” and hamper their ability to act differently. Instead of trying to make sure employees are bought-into company changes, could Communications spend its time building employees’ comfort with change more generally or bridging the gap between customer needs and employee’s daily work?

As part of the research process, I’ve been taking a look at existing wisdom out there on humans’ response to change. One mentally-fried Friday afternoon, I found myself reverting to the research tactic known as “Googling”. I typed in “change psychology” and clicked on the first result, a handy site called www.ChangingMinds.Org, “the largest site in the world on all aspects of how we change what others think, believe, feel and do.” Read More »

In my life, I’ve known a few people who’ve struggled to overcome various personal demons (smokeables, drinkables, snortables).

In fact, I had a college roommate who was so heavily into the sauce that he regularly overslept his 4:00pm classes.  (A gifted baseball/softball player, I watched him play center field during one game in which I personally KNOW he was at least 3+ sheets to the wind—and wouldn’t ya know it, with the game on the line, the final play was a high fly to dead center.  As he was weaving to position himself under it, my other roommate shouted to him, “Earl! Just catch the middle ball!” Amazingly, he did.)

(BTW: How do you suppose he celebrated afterward?)

While I have concern and empathy for anyone struggling with a chemical addiction, I don’t feel like I have any kind of expertise to help people who are in that kind of mess.  Dr. Drew, I defer to you.

But just recently I’ve had two separate conversations with long-time friends, who’ve each told me, “I can no longer escape the fact that am ADDICTED to email/my Blackberry/iPhone/Facebook/Twitter.”  And since they know I’m a life-long communications professional, there’s some expectation that I should be able to help, somehow. Read More »

True to my CEC Insider bio, I enjoy Saturday Soul Searching Strolls. Last weekend, I went on a particularly long walk to clear my mind of all things related to Influencing Stakeholders in a Networked Environment (the major CEC study that’s frying my brain). Oh-ho-ho, what a naïve analyst I am!  Two experiences along the way ignited thoughts about my piece of the study puzzle: animating stakeholder networks to speak on the company’s behalf. In marketing terms, word of mouth.

First, I stopped at Good Stuff Eatery, a burger place owned by former Top Chef contestant Chef Spike Mendelsohn. Despite his fame, Chef Spike was sweating at the register coordinating never-ending orders of Spike’s 5 Napkin burgers and Sunny’s hand cut fries. As he personally handed me my order, I smiled, said “Thanks, Spike.” He grinned back from underneath his geeky fedora, “You’re welcome.” That momentary interaction, that personal connection, sparked a desire within me to spread the Good News of Good Stuff.

Later that night I attended a new neighborhood bar, Star and Shamrock. Inside I asked my bartender, “So, Irish bar, Jewish deli. How’d that happen?” He promptly pulled over the owner who shared, “I’m a Brooklyn Jew who married an Irish girl. Just had to bring the best of both worlds together!”  The bar packed, the owner took the time to engage in a dialogue with me. The next day I thanked Jason for his hospitality…with a shout out on Twitter. Again, I felt connected to him, to his restaurant. I will tell others about it, unprompted.

So, this is the type of word of mouth that you want for your company, right? Of course! Read More »