Tonight I’m heading to London Online to enjoy a great city and catch up with friends and colleagues.
Unlike Liz, I am taking my computer. I can’t imagine more than a day without it.
I’ll consider therapy when I get back.
If you’re in London this week, email me.
I’ll try to write and tell you of my adventures!
I NEVER do things like
this but
Liz “tagged” me to write five things on my blog that people might not know
about me - and I have a hard time saying no to Liz!
I figure it’s not such a
bad idea for us to get to know each other a little better. So how about this: I’ll write 5 things about me and you leave at
least one interesting thing about yourself in a comment?! Deal?
Tomorrow we’ll be back to
business as usual!
OK…
I have a horrible laugh
(although it has become my “trademark” and some people call it infectious). Since I laugh A LOT you can’t have a 5 minute
conversation with me without hearing it!
When I was 1 my parents
bought a Great Dane (and then acquired 3 more). For my first few years I was raised around a constant stream of
puppies. It was heaven!
To get my first job, I
lied! I said I was 18 when I was only
15. I was a waitress. After 6 months I was promoted to a
supervisor. I was 15 and managing people
twice my age. It was a humbling
experience.
My mother says I’m always
in a rush. I graduated high school at 16
because I was bored. I got my Bachelors
and Masters on the same day (at 21) and couldn’t wait to get out into the work
world. I’m addicted to progress (to
change!). I have developed a little
more patience with age, but I still find it very difficult to stop moving.
Once when I was on a cross
country flight with my husband I shared something I thought was interesting
from the book I was reading. Noticing
that I had highlighted this point on the title
page he rolled his eyes and said “this is going to be a very long flight”. (The book was ReImagine! by Tom Peters.)
I
will consider my own biases and be open to changing myself before lamenting that
others stand in the way of change.
I
forfeit my right to complain (and get what I deserve) if I am not willing to
act.
Everyone
and everything I value is fair game.
I
will actively participate in change whether or not I’ve been asked. I will
not view change as being inflicted on me.
I
will attempt to find the value in new ideas, remembering that an idea is rarely
100% right or 100% wrong.
I
will take chances, experiment, and break the rules when I need to. However, I remain accountable for my actions.
I
will find the “freaks”. I will learn
from people that are nothing like me by listening to them and watching what
they do.
I
will think. I will adapt ideas before I adopt them.
I
must constantly
evolve, never being satisfied with how things are, but always considering how
they could be.
I am either causing change, adapting to it, or subject to it. Everything changes.
In an effort to maintain
my sanity, and to offer as much relevant material as possible, I will be
posting entries on Manage To Change
Sundays-Thursdays (most likely in the evening – Eastern time).
That will mean that there
will be new material Monday-Friday first thing in the morning!
My secondary goal is, when
I’m running a series, that at least two or three of the weekly entries will be
series related. The remaining entries will
cover current events, books or other resources I'd like to share, or concepts that lean more toward the philosophical.
Thanks for reading! I really do appreciate it!!!
Ann
PS - July 6th was my 6 month blogging "anniversary"!
What’s the point?
When people hear the phrase “Manage to Change” they often think of something they begrudgingly do because they have to! It’s reactive. It’s often delayed. There isn’t anything fun about it.
Me? I think of it more like surfing. Grab your board (no, I am not a surfer) and catch a wave!
Manage to Change is a positive imperative. On this page it means that we must continually adjust our strategy and objectives to the changing world around us (or we may very well wipe out!). It’s exciting. It’s full of possibilities. It’s something that we do proactively. We try to anticipate change. Maybe we can even create it ourselves!
In order to “Manage to Change” we need to:
I’m certainly not advocating frivolity (although there’s nothing wrong with that!). I simply believe that it’s too easy to box yourself in to what’s known or what’s comfortable and in doing so you miss out on a lot. Anticipate and capitalize on change.
Experiment (you can still be fiscally responsible!).
What good is it to define a strategy if you can’t manage to change?
Technorati tags: Business, Change Management
Why am I starting a blog? Well ......
Over the past 20+ years I’ve worked in eight different industries and watched several companies struggle through change. I was with AT&T right after it divested the baby bells. I was with Prodigy (anyone remember that?) when it was trying to create a commercially viable mechanism for delivering a consumer oriented online news and shopping experience (before AOL even existed). Then, about 6 years ago, I landed in a medical publishing company.
If there has ever been an industry smack in the middle of radical change (change over which they have little or no control) - it's publishing. If you're in the information business the world is a scary place right now.
Or is it? Is it scary or is it exciting? I suppose that depends on your perspective. To me - there isn't a more exciting industry on the face of the earth (OK – I’m a strategy geek – I admit it!).
If you're tightly connected to the way things have been done for decades (or as is the case in many print publishers - centuries) it's hard to come to terms with how the world of information creation and distribution is being continually turned on its head by technologies that empower the consumer.
Companies have sprung up that don’t have your heritage and commitment to quality and they’re providing consumers with content. Private individuals are providing consumers with content! You worry that the content isn’t good enough (especially in the medical information or legal arenas) – but the consumers are voting for that content with their attention (and sometimes even their dollars).
There’s something that isn’t quite right here. Who are you? What business are you in? What are your assets? How can you provide them to the consumer in a way that allows you to stay in business? Are you obsolete? What can you do?
You can close your eyes and hope it all goes away or you can figure out how to participate – and maintain a thriving business. I certainly don’t have all the answers, but I’d like to find out what others think, what they’re doing, and how it’s working for them.
I believe in collaboration.
I believe that when we work together we increase the opportunities for everyone.
OK – so maybe I’m an idealist. I can live with that.
The reality is that people need information. They need sources they can trust, and they need to interact with information in a way that answers their questions when they arise. Quality is no longer in the eyes of the editor or the information provider – it’s in the eyes of the consumer. How do you take control? There’s the rub - you can’t! That’s what changed. You’re no longer in charge, but you can participate.
If you want to make it – you’re going to have to adapt.
