GOING PLACES

Our work for clients leads us to some very interesting places; in both the physical and the cerebral sense. This issue of UpDate is a celebration of some recent journeys.

China seems to be the hot-place-to-be. We are just starting a major contract with a client designing and running a management development programme across their organisation. This will take us to Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzen during the next 12 months. 2 other clients are exploring running leadership programmes in the developing markets and Chris will be back on the Great Wall in May with Anthony Willoughby (see right) exploring Leadership and Innovation and just a little champagne! 
(click for more information)

SCHOOL REPORT

Our Christmas card strategy worked out well. A donation was taken out to Tanzania, during our DiscoveryLearning trip in February, and presented in person to the headmaster at the school in Piyaya. The money will be used to buy beds for the girl’s dormitory which has stood empty for nearly 3 years. This will save 50 girls walking 15km to school each day. Thanks for supporting us in this and Merry Christmas!
(click for more information)

CHANGEMAKER CLUB

The journey in December was only to Stratford on Avon but the meeting developed some ground rules for the Club:

• It should be about learning from each other. Keep it FUN.
• Don’t over structure. Keep interesting locations.
• Do something or have an input for 30 minutes to create inspiration/stimulate thinking. Then allow small groups to form to discuss stuff that occurs. So the emphasis is on creating the environment for open discussions.
• Future meetings should be longer (whole day)
• Suggested topic: The business case for Coaching
• “Bring a friend”

We will be sending out invitations for the next meeting soon

2006 | Issue 6 | March

MEET THE TEAM



This month we feature
ANTHONY WILLOUGHBY
Anthony has given us the inspiration for our DiscoveryLearning  projects
In Africa and China and who has developed a fascinating new Visual Business Planning process called
Territory Mapping
which has been used by companies around the globe.

SEE BELOW LEFT
AND
CLICK FOR MORE INFO

CHANGE & TRANSITION

Our focus on change in organisations very often centres on the practical, the outwardly visible signs of change.  For example implementing a new Mission/Vision/Values statement and the alignment of processes with the desired change. We have developed a tool for assisting clients to do this. (You can understand this in more detail and receive a free ChangePoster by clicking on the link below)

This is important but there are many blockers and enablers in the change process, not least of which is the people involved in the desired changes. Perhaps we also need to think about a process of transition as well as one of change in order to get round the blocks and to harness the enablers?

“change is a shift in the externals of any situation: By contrast, transition is the mental and emotional transformation that people must undergo to relinquish old arrangements and embrace new ones”

No change will be sustainable unless the people involved can transition themselves to the desired state.
(to read more about this please click through to ThoughtPiece 3)

“EXECUTIVES ARE CONFUSED CAVE-PEOPLE

"who have forgotten many of the hunting and gathering skills and communication abilities that were critical for their ancestors survival, but are still used by many indigenous tribes around the world.”

Improbable as it sounds the key part of Anthony Willoughby’s Territory Mapping Process requires the senior management of organizations to imagine they are members of a cave dwelling tribe living 35,000 years ago (The time our brain reached the size it is today).  They are then asked to draw a 'territory map' showing where they perceive their company to be hunting and gathering, where the enemy tribes are and the weapons and resources they have at their disposal. Amazingly enough regardless of where this is done their ‘maps’ instantly cut through politics and complexity and enable the group to bring simplicity and clarity to the key issues, opportunities and barriers that they face.

Through the process they are able to‘re-remember’ and ‘rediscover for themselves’ those survival skills and instincts.  It is a fun, emotionally engaging process which enables participants to work out for themselves clearly and succinctly what is really going on in their businesses and where they need to hunt and gather more productively in the future. Anthony’s vision is that one day progressive companies will have a Territory Map of their business plan hanging on their board room wall,  so everyone in the firm knows where they are, where they are going and how they are going to help their firm reach its desired destination.

Organisations such as Nokia, Moet Hennessy, Shanghai Volkswagen, Royal Bank of Scotland, and EDS have all used this process to bring clarity, focus and alignment to their business planning process.

(To find out more about the “Inspirational Willoughby” and his ideas click here)