Literate In The 20th Century – Illiterate In The 21st Century

Bill BancroftCulture, Execution, Strategy, White Papers

Stop a minute to consider what it’ll be like to be literate in the 21st Century… A profound shift is taking place in the way people communicate, express themselves. What’s happening? The 21st Century literate combine images, sounds, words with alacrity to communicate ideas, tell stories, design products, advertise services, hold meetings, explain issues, teach concepts, discuss direction. Computers themselves …

Is Top Down Falling Down? YES!

Bill BancroftCulture, People Development, Potato Sack Chronicles

By Logan Monaco, MS Conbrio Associate Is top-down falling down? It is, the evidence shows. Slowly, but pervasively. Hierarchy is still the norm in many organizations. Diagram the structure and you have a pyramid. Levels of people are arranged into fixed teams. The responsibility for teams is the manager’s, the person who sits above them. Each of the levels supports …

Getting Past Loggerheads

Bill BancroftCulture, White Papers

Ever found yourself in a standoff? You’re at loggerheads. Neither you nor your colleague will budge. There seems to be no way forward. Think of the issue as a straight line and the standoff puts you at one end and your colleague at the other. It seems like the only way forward is compromise, that is, to meet somewhere in …

Who Really Matters in Your Company, Organization

Bill BancroftCulture, Potato Sack Chronicles

Who REALLY matters, what REALLY matters in your company or organization? Do customers come first? Or employees? Are values the centerpiece? Or open communication, or support for entrepreneurialism, or collaborative leadership. Now, be honest. The answer may be none of the above. Unless your company or organization is an exception, it’s the CEO who comes first, followed by his lieutenants. …

Why Change Projects in Organizations Fail

Bill BancroftCulture, Potato Sack Chronicles

Urgency about the need to get things done… some faces of microlending in Honduras… The Grove Consultant International’s strategic visioning workshop in Dallas on Sept. 9-11, 2009 at Southern Methodist University. All are items in this letter. Stop a minute to ponder why change projects in organizations fail. And the long-term consequences of those failed efforts. Lots of stats and …

Bettering The Odds For Successful Change

Bill BancroftCulture, Potato Sack Chronicles

Results for change projects are dismal. Only 20-plus percent of change projects succeed. The rest fail. Why? It’s important for clients to know. It’s important for change practitioners to know. Especially since so many more people are showing up inside and out of companies and other organizations seeking to help with change. There is truth to the notion that change …