The Dynamics of Change and Fear

Carly Fiorina, Former CEO at HP, talks about the dynamics of change and fear. She notes that entrepreneurship is about risk-taking, and this is always associated with trying something new. Fiorina concludes by asserting that change involves gathering enough energy and force to overcome the power of status quo.

So what do I know about change? First thing I know is that everybody is afraid of something. Everybody is afraid of something. All of you are afraid of something. All of us are afraid of something. What distinguishes people who are successful in their life from those who are not is what do you do with your fear.

The essence of business is risk taking. Taking a risk is all about trying something new. And yet as people go on in their lives, they become afraid of trying something new. And so change is always resisted, always. Because people are afraid, even if what they have is not satisfying to them, a lot of people are afraid to venture into the unknown.

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9 Steps for Establishing Your Employee Engagement Plan

You've got the best employees on the planet, right? They work hard and are experts in their fields. But, somewhere there is a disconnect. The culture of your organization is not everything it could be, not everything you would like. Is there a way to ensure that your employees hold to the same values you do throughout your department, or the organization? How can you empower your employees, and foster trust, growth, and loyalty? Here are nine ways to fully engage your employees.

Inspiration From the Top

The most important thing that a leader can do to improve employee engagement is to lead by example. Employees must see the owners and executives demonstrating behaviors set forth in the company’s values. They are far more likely to emulate the respected leaders of the organization than live by a disregarded handbook. Managers and business owners should take advantage of collaboration tools such as HR Software when communicating with employees. Opening up communication channels helps employees to feel more valued and inspires better communication from the bottom up.

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Innovation Through Clean Sheet Redesign

Clean sheet redesign is the method of rethinking existing businesses from the ground up. For established companies, this is a way to innovate processes by asking the right questions about current practices. For start-ups working on a clean sheet, they can apply similar techniques to disrupt existing models, while taking inspiration from existing success stories from other industries.

The advantages of a clean sheet

Things change, both gradually and inexorably. When you want to change the world, you will have to take advantage of entrenched infrastructures and institutions.

The new breed of low-cost airlines work with a different business model: using one type of airplane and second-tier airports, flying only to profitable segments, and offering slashed prices and no-frills service.

How does clean sheet redesign work in practice?

The team found that they could replace large movers with smaller, niftier ones. Large movers were believed to move more at a time in a batch system.

Examine assumptions: keep asking “why?”

What does clean sheet redesign mean for innovation and innovative start-ups, and how can it play a role in their plans?

“Innovation is often best done with pen and paper, by making a tree diagram of the reasons why things are as they are.”

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Innovation Challenge Design and Management for the Crowd

In this Roundtable Discussion we explore the leading benefits, challenges and techniques for engaging public crowds. Using key success stories we examine the extent to which we can overcome key pain points and harness the general public to support innovation.

Truly reaching out to the public can prove an intimidating moment for any organization. Brand protection, possibility of negative press and time commitment of managing the crowd all provide significant points of fear for organization when contemplating undertaking a broad, public crowdsourcing project. These projects differ significantly from employee or partner-focused initiatives in the extent to which these fears can outweigh the perceived benefits.

Case studies

The presenters draw on direct experience with the following programs:

US Department of Energy – In 2014 The Department of Energy began running its Sunshot Catalyst Initiative to contribute to its goal of making solar energy cost-competitive with other forms of electricity.

Ushahidi – The Making All Voices Count initiative aims to engage the public in the creation of technology that is conceived and designed for the developing world.

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