TROUBLESHOOTER NEWSLETTER: SPRING 06
Welcome to Wildcat One's Troubleshooter newsletter. In this edition:
TRADE SECRETS - TROUBLE AHEAD
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Build a compelling picture of where you're going
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If it's difficult to see short-term positives, be honest
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Be clear and straightforward
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Explain why it's so important - if you're not convinced, your staff won't be either.
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Avoid using numbers, jargon, legalese or meaningless "froth"
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Explain how the change enforces your organisational aims and/or values
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Be accessible and visible - walk the floor and talk to people
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Let staff know they can ask tough questions any time
STOP PRESS
Wildcat One is to sponsor a pioneering polar expedition
Designed to help disabled people overcome life-changing challenges in the outdoors. The journey into the wilderness – ‘Hands and Feet Across Greenland’ – is led by intrepid Highland sportswoman Karen Darke. Karen was paralysed in a rock-climbing accident near Aberdeen in 1993 and now uses a wheelchair.
The first inclusive attempt to cross Greenland by a British woman will involve gruelling conditions and temperatures below 30ºC. “I love challenges, especially physical challenges, and I also love the wilderness of the outdoors,” Karen says. Wildcat One is sponsoring Camp One. The team is seeking charitable donations of £40,000 in total to make the venture possible.
Contact Interventure for more information.
NEWS DIGEST
Half of staff never speak to their MD
Almost 50% of UK employees have never had a conversation with their managing director and a quarter don't even know his or her name, according to new research by HR consultancy RightCoutts. The gulf is particularly wide in Scotland, where 30% of workers are clueless about the name of their managing director or chief executive, compared with only 19% of employees in London.
Wildcat's view: Hopefully another nail in the coffin of the ‘ivory tower’ executive. Clearly large, geographically dispersed organisations will face more challenges in this area (especially where there might be important market benefits to boosting local management profile). However, with all today’s sophisticated media and communications tools, there’s really no excuse for people not knowing who you are.
CEOs rank new markets above cost-cutting in global push
As companies expand across the globe, especially into the “BRICs” economies -- Brazil, Russia, India, and China -- finding new customers and markets - not just cost cutting - is now their primary goal, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers' 9th Annual Global CEO Survey. Nearly two-thirds of the 1,410 CEOs surveyed are confident that globalisation will have a positive impact on their business over the next three years. But they warn that increased overseas commercial activity and geopolitical forces are also making their operations more complex. »
Wildcat's view: There’s no question that ‘doing business’ globally is increasingly challenging and complicated. Although the BRICs markets offer phenomenal opportunities, these are set against a backdrop of complex socio/political demands and expectations, which have to be managed effectively. Establishing strong networks and building stakeholder relationships is pretty critical to all this – whoever said all this ‘soft skills’ stuff was easy?
Corporates ignore staff at their peril in IT overhauls
Mission-critical IT projects are regularly failing because companies don’t consider how they will change the way people work. Research by IT specialist Changefirst based on a study of 56 organisations found that even the best-intentioned IT projects can go pear-shaped because executives become so engrossed in the new technology they forget about the “human” factor. »
Wildcat's view: It would be disappointing to think this is still a true reflection of some major IT projects, after the millions that were spent (and one would hope, lessons learned) on supposedly all-singing, all-dancing IT solutions in the 1990s. Working with the ‘customer’ at both strategic and operational level is key and early input from end users critical. New systems can have implications on work processes and jobs - and implementation can be a difficult and confusing time. It’s important to understand and plan for these, as well as provide ongoing, effective training and support…in a language that users will understand.
AND FINALLY…
Toys for the Boys
Forget ActionMan and Barbie. A Toronto toy company has launched a range of “everyday superheroes” for “Big Kids”, featuring GeekMan, BossMan & MoneyMan. Each comes with their own biog, factfile and secret passcode. BossMan is described as “Leading a crusade to reach objectives, he empowers, implements change and captures mindshare”, while MoneyMan is “focused on ROI and the bottom line, he fights for free enterprise and keeps working capital at work”. Sound like anyone you know…? »
