Leaders - Change Guides LLC - Guiding Organizations Through Change

How to secure your network

March 7, 2012/0 Comments/in Change Management, Change Readiness, Communication, Culture, Leaders, The Change Management 101 Model/by admin

There are many ways to secure a network but the starting point is only allowing network access to authorized people. If you have a proxy server with access, you can’t be hacked. It’s not a wise idea to publish it or disclose the IP address of the proxy server. Also, don’t include a secret password or other security of the site. The HIPAA compliance on GCP is what is needed for proper security. Protect your personal data and privacy, look at this helpful resource for further details.

Cybersecurity - secure your systems with Expleo

Be careful with your cookies.

A common mistake is to save all your cookies with the server. That is not a wise practice. Even the most common and obvious use case for a website that saves your data for you is potentially a privacy threat. We can’t use the same account for multiple websites that store private data. It’s not hard to construct an infrastructure for a site that keeps all data in a cookie that can be read by the server.

If you run a video production business, having dedicated storage servers will provide more storage and better transfer speeds and tackle post-production tasks without any lags.

The next step is to move to encrypting all data, or create a public-key encryption of all data and use the key for all data. This is easier said than done. Hashing is a little harder because we don’t know the salt of the hash. It’s difficult to put the data into an asymmetric encryption scheme (such as AES). These problems make it pretty hard to turn a service into a practical provider of decrypted data.

Use good encryption.

According to companies like Fortinet, it is recommended to create an encrypted store like a pen-drive or a special hard drive for highly sensitive data, like financial transactions, . That would have to be kept with different keys from all other keys. Keeping both cloud and physical storage for sensitive data is a good idea. You can go to site to find more details.

Don’t provide incorrect passwords.

Password management is an area of security that can be a nightmare. Remember to use different passwords for different purposes. For example, for a job where you may have to login often, use a different password for each of the dozen different websites you use. So if someone tries to brute force your password, you’re still protected.

There’s an industry of password reset services (for example see Password land) that provide a customer service to assist you in resetting your password. Many applications also provide integrated password management. It’s never easy to remember all the different combinations of letters, numbers and special characters. Don’t use the same password on your bank and email accounts. Never share your computer’s password. Don’t be lazy and use a password manager, it’s not enough that you use the same password for every site. Hiring a Cyber Security Company can also offer you several benefits and help provide you peace of mind, knowing you’re protected.

A caveat here is that there’s nothing in the manual that shows you how to create or use a password manager. Most vendors will not even recommend you to use one. When you combine that with the difficulty of remembering those passwords you should make a decision about how valuable you think it is.

Ensure you are also safe with access to your email accounts, accounts on other sites. One of the biggest problems is hackers pretending to be you. They usually pretend that you work for the service, have your credentials and so on. So if you are using any services, please be aware of the fake email/password. To prevent this, you can hire managed IT services to protect your data. Visit sites like https://tvit.net/managed-it-services-in-homedale-id/ to know more about how this can help your business. Or, you can set up a managed wifi for you business. You can click here to learn about managed wifi.

Change an Organization’s Culture? Yes You Can!

March 2, 2012/0 Comments/in Change Management, Culture, Leaders/by admin

We often think that culture is a messy, squishy thing that we can’t really get our arms around. And culture often makes leaders uncomfortable because they don’t feel that they can “put their finger on it”.

But there are lots of ways to measure culture these days (just spend a little time on Google or Yahoo! and you will be overwhelmed with the standardized tools, customizable assessments and consultants you’ll find). And there are lots of companies out there that can attest to their success in building the right culture for their organization.

Just measuring and assessing an organization’s culture at a given point in time is illuminating. But actually defining what the strategically appropriate culture is for an organization is even more helpful. Once an organization has a desired culture in mind, and a picture of the current culture, then assessing the gaps and developing plans to close the gaps is all that it takes.

But, don’t be fooled. Defining the desired culture for an organization sounds easier than it really is. Getting a group of leaders together to discuss whether it is more important to follow rules or act quickly can be a touchy conversation. Since culture is an outgrowth to a large extent of leadership, much of the culture is shaped by individual leaders’ styles and work preferences. If you have a leader who is generally hesitant to make decisions and stick to them, then you may very well end up with an organization that talks about the same issue week after week in meetings but never lands on “what are going to do about it?”

Some think that it’s too hard to change culture… that we can’t change it even if we know what gaps we have between our current state and our desired culture. Not true. There are real, tactical activities and leadership actions that can shape a new culture.

For example, if the organization lacks the needed focus on customers, then insist that every manager and above spend at least one day a quarter out in the field with customers. Or if your organization makes decisions on the fly in the absence of adequate data (not a good thing for, say, a pharmaceutical company), then insist that all projects use Six Sigma or similar tools. Or if your organization is too cautious and can’t move quickly enough to respond to new demands (not a good thing for, say, a software company), verbally encourage teams to make decisions faster and try new things… and then throw a big party the first time one fails as visible demonstration that we appreciate and value risk-taking and new ideas.

One thing that can’t be overlooked, however, is that “closing the gap” between the current organization and the desired future organization often requires things of leaders… new communication styles, new approaches to work, new ways to lead. This is often the hardest part. Certainly there is some impact on culture from the structures and processes and kinds of people who work in an organization; but largely, people look up to see what kind of behavior is acceptable. If you are up, then you are being watched whether you like it or not.

If we really want to make that strategy happen, we can’t ignore our organization’s culture. And if that culture is not the right one to make the strategy happen, then that culture needs to change. If we as leaders decide that we don’t want to do our part to change the culture, then we will live with the consequences of a failed strategy.

Count Your Successes

December 20, 2011/0 Comments/in Change Management, Culture, Leaders/by admin

Mom used to always say “count your blessings”. As the year comes to an end, organizations should to the same – with a twist.

If you work in an organization that is making plans for the new year, you should “count your successes”.

The path to growth and improvement can be long and bumpy. There can be detours, side-tracks, unexpected challenges. And that long, bumpy ride can make progress feel like a failure.

But if you stop, take a breath, and look back, you will see how far you’ve come. It may not be as far as you wanted, but it’s almost always further than you thought it was before you took the time to look back and count your successes.

For the people who work in an organization, taking the time to reinforce the progress that has been made and the good work that has been done is invaluable. Nothing motivates a team like a bit of success. A winning team is pumped and ready to go out and win again.

This doesn’t mean you should completely ignore things that have not gone well. But for just a moment, don’t focus on the misses. Focus only on the hits. Tell people that too… “I know it hasn’t been perfect. We can talk about all of the ways we could have done better another time. For now, let’s just be proud of all that we have accomplished.”

So take time to count the successes your organization has had over the last year. And celebrate!

Five Signs You Need Change Management (Signs 4 & 5)

November 30, 2011/0 Comments/in Change Management, Change Readiness, Leaders, Training/by admin

This blog rounds up my top five signs that indicate you need change management on your project. Here’s a quick review of what I covered in the previous 2 blog posts:

Sign #1 Leaders aren’t visibly supporting your project
Sign #2 Employees don’t have a clue about what’s going to change
Sign #3 When people talk about the project, you think, “Why are they saying THAT?”

Sign #4 is No one’s talking about stakeholder strategies. True learning, commitment and understanding come from involvement and hands-on participation. The more people are involved in change, the less negative their inevitable reaction will be. People naturally support what they help create. Truly involving others takes time, the ability to select the right people and the ability to delegate and manage diverse groups. Identifying various audiences and involving others the right way takes prioritization, inclusiveness and empowerment. The payoff for this approach is employee buy-in and commitment to the new strategy or goal.

Change managers document impacts by stakeholder and create specific transition strategies so workers are well prepared. These strategies include activities that help promote understanding and commitment to working differently.

Last but not least, sign #5 is HR is not included in the planning. Support and reinforcement are critical for making changes stick. Sometimes, some of the old ways of hiring, developing and compensating people will work just fine in the new world. But often, the reinforcing systems in the organization are misaligned with the new behaviors. Without reinforcing new behaviors, people naturally revert back to old ways of working. To sustain change, the organization needs to have the right infrastructure in place to reinforce the change.

This is where HR comes in. They bring additional perspective on how these systems should and can be changed. They usually play an important role in the training that takes place before go live as well. The sooner HR can understand the impact to the employees, the sooner they can start working on ensuring these supporting eliminates are aligned with the new business goals.

The Change Manager’s role includes connecting communication, leadership, HR and project activities so they are consistent and coordinated in terms of transitioning the workers.

Change Managers work on the People Strategy. This is a critical element when driving organizational change. After all, it’s the people who will do the new process, use the new system or have to work with a new team every day.

Five Signs You Need Change Management (Sign #1)

November 15, 2011/0 Comments/in Change Management, Leaders, Uncategorized/by admin

Many companies staff skilled Project Managers on projects yet miss the boat on staffing projects with skilled Change Managers. Organizational Change Management skills are complimentary but different than Project Management skills. Change managers focus on communication, engagement, transition, support and reinforcement strategies. You need someone on your team with change management skills if…

1) Leaders aren’t visibly supporting your project. People watch
what leaders do and say and then filter that information to figure out if they should support a change or not. Talking the talk is useless if walking the walk doesn’t follow. During times of major change, leaders are watched with even more scrutiny than usual. I don’t want to make leaders paranoid but they usually underestimate how much importance is placed on even one action. Importance can even be placed on inaction. For example, not showing up to participate in a meeting sends a signal to those attending.

When leaders are aligned and supportive of a change, there is success.
When leaders are not aligned and supportive, there is failure (“Best
Practices in Change Management,” Prosci 2002, 2005). Change Managers coach
leaders on their role. They provide direction, recommend actions and even write
leadership talking points. The Change manager connects the project to the
leaders in a way that influences others to support the change.

If your leadership is not visibly supporting your project, you need to add someone with change management skills to your team.

To be continued…

Priority #1 During Change: Leadership Alignment and Sponsorship

September 19, 2011/0 Comments/in Change Management, Culture, Leaders, Uncategorized/by admin

Studies over the years have continued to confirm what you may have already suspected… the greatest contributor to successful organizational change is leadership. In a studies of hundreds of companies and their change efforts, “Strong Executive Sponsorship” was cited three times more frequently
than any other contributing factor to successful change by Prosci (Best Practices in Change Management) in both 2005 and 2009.

If your organization is currently undergoing or contemplating a change, the focus should be on leadership. There are two elements of leadership that should be fully understood and addressed:

Alignment – the extent to which leaders are “on the same page” about what the change is, why it is important, what it will mean to the organization
Sponsorship – the things that leaders are actually doing to demonstrate their support for a change such as contributing resources, attending key meetings, and encouraging others to work with the project team

Understanding the degree of leadership alignment and sponsorship around the change and identifying and addressing leadership issues will position the change for success.

Collecting information about leadership alignment and sponsorship that you need doesn’t have to be a big deal. A few candid discussions and well conducted interviews can do the trick.

Managing Change during ERP Implementations

September 12, 2011/0 Comments/in Change Management, Culture, Leaders, The Change Management 101 Model/by admin

A friend of mine if the President of a mid-size company. We were having dinner recently and he mentioned that they were evaluating ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) vendors. Put simply, ERP systems are complex computer software programs that integrate all functions and departments across a company onto a single system.

ERP systems bring together most if not all ofthe data used by an organization into one place. They link up business processes across an organization as they share information. Not every department of an organization needs to be part of an ERP system (although the more the merrier in the ERP view), but at least a few functions such as finance, business credit cards, the shop floor, the warehouse, or HR are often included.

One integrated software system for people planning manufacturing runs with the help from fine services like SMT electronics manufacturing solutions, taking orders, and generating purchase orders for new raw materials is a powerful tool. It can have a tremendous payback if used well. No more taking orders for items that are actually out of stock; no more taking orders from customers who are past due on payments; and no more telling customers they have to call someone else to figure out where their order is.

Although ERP systems can be fantastic for organizations when implemented well, they are not always all peaches and cream. Customization to reflect a specific business can be hard and expensive. ERP systems are generally not cheap. And they aren’t simple to use.

Most importantly, ERP systems require people to change how they do their jobs. If people don’t change the way they work, the value of a the system be minimal, and the organization can even suffer a hit to productivity and effectiveness as people work around the new system to keep doing things the way they have always done them.

The effective use of an ERP system requires a level of discipline and willingness to share information across departments. Accountability and communication are key cultural attributes in ERP environments. If an organization is not a cultural fit for ERP at the outset, the amount of change in store is even greater for people.

To overcome some of these limitations of ERP, it helps to focus on how people work. Make sure you know very clearly what will be different for each person or role in the organization. What will Mary have to do differently? What new information will she need? How specifically will she need to use the new system? What decisions will she have to make? Who will she have to interact with?

To make sure that people are ready willing and able to effectively use an ERP system give them specifics about the changes coming as soon as you know them. Demo the system so that people can see what the ERP looks like. Let people do some role-play exercises or games in the system to see what happens when they get things right versus make mistakes. Train people according to their specific roles. And create training that is based on business processes, not just the system.

When considering an ERP system, think about the total impact on the business – not just the new software. Consider the process changes that need to go along with the software, the culture of the organization, and the people who work there.

Are You Getting the Return on Your Investment?

July 25, 2011/0 Comments/in Change Management, Communication, Leaders, The Change Management 101 Model/by admin

How much has your company spent on initiatives: cost reduction? quality? product launch? What were the business cases for these initiatives? What was invested in these efforts externally and internally – in terms of budget and people? What was the projected ROI of these efforts? Have you reached that promised ROI yet?

Odds are that you haven’t. Many times, the promised benefits are not reached in the projected time. Sometimes, they are never reached. So, maybe you’ve made it some of the way there. Maybe there are valid, unforeseen causes for not reaching your ROI.
You’re not alone. Google “project failure rates” and you find pages of articles and research. One example is the 2009 Standish Chaos Reports (research on client success and failure implementing IT systems). This report states that only 32% of survey participants characterized their projects as “successful”. 24% characterized their project as “failed” and the other 44% characterized their project as “challenged”.

Projects fail to meet objectives for many reasons but among the most cited reasons are related to people issues: leaders not aligned in support of the effort, lack of communication, lack of understanding, resistance, lack of support or skills, lack of reinforcement of the effort.

A people strategy is a required component to reach a project’s ROI. After all, it’s people who use the technology, adopt the new processes or sell the new product. Without a majority of people willing and prepared to make the change happen, it is doomed to fail. Influencing people to change takes a strategy. It takes a plan. It will not happen effectively just because you say so.

Change Management is the people strategy and planning approach that prepares employee to transition from how they work today to how they need to work in the future. Just like project management or Six Sigma, there are proven processes, tools and tactics that help company’s create a thoughtful proactive people strategy. A Change Management approach easily fits hand in hand with a project plan to implement a new technology, process or the like.

Albert Einstein is quoted as saying that “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.” If you haven’t achieved the ROI on your past projects, don’t go about the next project the same way. Include a thoughtful, proactive people strategy and get a different result.

The Importance of Followers by Stacy Aaron

June 9, 2011/0 Comments/in Leaders/by admin

You can tell a lot about a leader by the actions of his or her followers. This follower was only mentioned once at the very end of an article in the New York Times. I read this quote by Mr. McCall, who is 76 years old, which made me want to write about followers:

I’ll follow Father Marek wherever he goes. I told him, ‘don’t stop fast because I’ll run into you’

I don’t personally know Mr. McCall or Father Marek but I can tell a lot from this quote. Mr. McCall is a follower and with followers like that, I think Father Marek has a good chance of accomplishing whatever vision he’s created. From that quote, I know Father Marek is about change. He has inspired people like Mr. McCall to change and change fast. Anyone who can inspire that type of commitment to change is a leader.

All leaders need good followers. Followers understand the leader’s vision and can translate it to their work, their level. Followers ask questions. Followers express their support to others. Followers do what is asked and volunteer for more. Followers share their ideas on how to make the vision work. Followers get stuff done.

Followers don’t want to let the leader down. They believe in the direction that leader is forging. They run close behind that leader, focused and determined, committed, like Mr McCall. They count on that leader not to stop. As Mr. McCall so eloquently puts it, if the leader does stop, someone might get hurt! Followers count on the leader to forge ahead, to keep going.

I can’t decide who is more impressive Father Marek or Mr. McCall and maybe I don’t have to choose. I can’t decide who needs whom more. They both play an important role in driving change. More attention needs to be paid to the awesome followers out there. Not everyone can, should be or even wants to be a leader, thank goodness. Obviously, Mr. McCall is inspired by Father Marek but most likely the opposite is happening too. Father Marek is inspired by Mr. McCall’s faith in him, by Mr. McCall’s commitment to him. I’m sure Father Marek doesn’t want to let Mr. McCall down. So starting today, let’s look at an expanded scope of what is really happening around us. Let’s not just focus on leaders and potential leaders. Let’s also focus on the followers. They are just as important to driving change.

“Off-Shoring”, “Right-Sizing”, “Out-Sourcing”… Whatever You Call it, it Means Big Change

May 24, 2011/0 Comments/in Change Management, Communication, Leaders/by admin

For organizations seeking to reduce costs by sending work to other countries, the
path is long and difficult. Off-shoring may be absolutely necessary for your organization to remain competitive or possibly just stay in business, but don’t underestimate what it will take to do it and do it right. With the pace of change around the globe these days, even the basic questions like “Where should we send the work – India? Ireland? China?” may be hard to answer.

What is also hard, but often overlooked, is how to deal with the people within an organization during the process. There are two primary groups you need to think about when you are off-shoring: the people who will lose their jobs, and the people who will be left behind and will watch the process unfold before them. If off-shoring doesn’t take into account the needs of the people who are impacted by it, the gains that you hope to make can be lost by large scale disengagement, decreased productivity, and massive turnover.

During organizational transition, everyone is affected. People who will lose their jobs are obviously impacted; but also, employees who don’t lose jobs may experience guilt that they “survived” and fear that they could be next. The things we do to help both groups transition are completely inter-related. For the “survivors,” the #1 factor that contributes to their experience of the off-shoring is their observation of how those who lose jobs are treated. It’s easy to write a good resume headline once you know the steps. Visit Sweet CV’s website to learn more.

During out-sourcing (well, any time actually), there should be an underlying desire to treat people with respect and dignity. It sounds easy enough, but it can be difficult in situations like this. It’s not as if we intend to treat people poorly, but sometimes we just forget what people need or we just get too busy and forget about the people impacted. Every day, you need to ask yourself, “Are we doing for people who will lose their jobs what I would want to be done if it were me that was going to lose my job?”

As you make every decision, keep the golden rule in mind. How would you want to find out your job was being eliminated? Most likely, you’d like to hear it directly from your manager in a one-on-one conversation rather than in a meeting of 50 people. And you probably would want to hear it before anyone else in your group heard it. While it is logistically difficult, the effort will pay off.

Remember that the people who will lose jobs are also likely friends of people who will remain a part of the organization after they are gone. If the people leaving the organization are treated poorly, not only do you engender ill will from organizational alumni who are out there bad-mouthing your organization, but you also plant the seed with employees who will stick around that you might not treat them so well either in the future.

While the work of off-shoring is difficult, it doesn’t mean you should steer away from off-shoring. Just go in with your eyes open about the work it will take. Treating people well is not about just coddling people. It is about getting the business results you are seeking by keeping your organization engaged and productive.