Richard Batchelor

The Blog

Reporting the Organizational Culture?
November 11 2012

What is the best method of describing the organizational culture? You've got all the information, positive and negative comments, qualitative and quantitative data and various narratives and observations from walking the floor. Now what?  read more

Assessing the Organizational Culture
September 14 2012

Last time I talked about organizational culture and what it means. Now, so many times senior managers in an organization will ask for a description of their organization's culture. Great ask, but how can we get that picture of the culture? read more

What is Organizational Culture?
July 31 2012

I have had a few conversations recently where the culture question has come up. Now I am not talking diversity, ethnic representation or the arts. I am talking about the culture of an organization. But what is that? read more

Three pigs, goats, a wolf, a troll and the musketeers!
June 25 2012

I was recently thinking about fairy tales, legends and other fantasy type stories. It crossed my mind that not only is the rule of three very evident within their content time and again, but there are parallels from their content with change management experience – no surprises there then! read more

Change in China - 10 Tips for Success
May 16 2012

I recently worked on an engagement in China. The core activity was an analysis of the companies HR and organization to recommend changes. It was an enlightening opportunity for me. I experienced a totally different work ethic and learned so much about the way national identity informs cultural identity. read more

What is PRINCE2?
May 10 2012

Guest Post on "Change Whisperer" - Gail Severini's Blog.
STRATEGY EXECUTION METHODOLOGIES SERIES. POST 3
Click here to read more

Spring Forward or Fall Back - Changing Time
March 7 2012

It is that time of year when most of us will soon be going through the ritual of the Bi-annual Clock Change!

Thinking about the clock changes at this time of year makes me realise that this is really a global change event! Is there a bigger change event that happens? read more

Picturing the Change (Part2)
February 23 2012

Pictures can be created in the mind. Sometimes I like to relate change experiences to something the audience can relate to and paint a picture in words. A frequently used reference point for me revolves around home decorating. read more

Picturing the Change (Part1)
February 6 2012

I was recently reminded of the number of graphics and particularly things like change curves, charts and other line or bar charts.  Any discussion about change would not be complete without referencing the Kubler-Ross grief curve and Johari windows and when I was considering how I explain change management to people who ask, I always like to reflect in stories and pictures – it just seems to hold better with people. read more

What is a "Change Enabler" ?
January 19 2012

I was involved in a brief twitter exchange today and it got me thinking how we define a change enabler. Do we really know what enables change or what change enables? There are elements here of the chicken and egg scenario that began to show through the more I thought about it. read more

Sometimes it’s Good Not to Talk about Change - December 24 2011

So the festivities of the holiday season are now upon us and for many people this will be an opportunity to take a break from work and to spend quality time with friends, family or other loved ones in their life. Some people will have the luxury of the whole week off and others just part of it, but however you approach this time of year and whatever work free time you have, it is good to switch off and wind down and not think about work for some time. I think of it as the annual battery recharge. read more

Change Management Disney Style (Part 2) - December 7 2011

Following on from my previous blog post, I am now going to share more insight from the magical wonderland that is Disney. Well actually the pause for thoughts I had with some other experiences whilst on vacation there. read more

Change Management Disney Style (Part 1) - November 30 2011

I have been away on vacation. Yes even I take a break from work. Part of the trip away involved a week in Disneyland Paris. The experience of getting there and back, as well as the time in the park certainly gave me many thoughts on change management practice. read more

Change Management and its precarious relationship with human resources - November 10 2011

Although there are many definitions floating around for change management, I have found myself frequently referring to change management as a bridge between projects and human resources (HR). The fact that we often need to define it as people change management gives away the link to human resources. read more

How Change Management Affects Project Management - October 27 2011

Anyone who chats with me about change management and is aware of my career background should be well aware that I moved into Change Management from project management. In fact IT project management first and then more general business projects before my moment of enlightenment happened. read more

Change & The Small Guy - October 21 2011

What an energising and enlightening experience I had this week. I had a booth the Enterprise Toronto small business forum at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. read more

Trust & Change - October 13 2011

I have been coming across the word trust more and more frequently lately. Yes a large amount of that has to do with a particular work project I’m involved in but within the change management and human resources sphere it is appearing time and again. read more

Arts, Culture & Change - October 7 2011

A week ago I did the all night cultural extravaganza that is Nuit Blanche. For those who don’t know, it’s a sunset to sunrise event, covering most of central Toronto with an array of temporary cultural and artistic installations. They are only there for the night and range from small independents to large scale commissions. It got me thinking how little we use the artistic and cultural side of our brain when delivering change. read more

How FaceBook Poorly Managed their Latest Change - September 22 2011

I, like many other people have been challenged this past week with the way FaceBook has changed its layout and styling – yet again. It made me think about the way this change was managed and I started to think about the way this reflected upon my experience of change and managing it! read more

Managing Change Saboteurs (or Destructors)
September 12 2011

I always consider the words saboteur and sabotage from which it is derived, as extremely emotive words and evocative of violence and physical threat. Now I’m not suggesting that change saboteurs are about to go through several rounds in a boxing ring with you, but you may well feel that you have expended an equivalent amount of energy after engagement. read more

Managing Change Resistors
September 9 2011

If only it was as easy as saying “resistance is futile” [Star Trek fans will be familiar with this phrase]. This is the group of change recipients I personally find the most challenging to work with, and that phrase is just about the epitome of describing how these people frustrate me - they don’t want to work with you on anything about the change event! read more

Managing Change Acceptors
September 6 2011

These people are the change reactors are like the best. I know you shouldn’t have favourites, but these are the people I like to deal with the most when introducing any change to a business.

I’ll talk you through their typical reactions to change read more

Managing Change Enthusiasts
August 29 2011

Whenever a change comes along there are those people who are very happy to see the change and are very encouraging of the change event. I call these people the change enthusiasts. read more

Four Reactions to Change
August 22 2011

Whenever a change activity is announced there are four ways that people can react to the news.

1. Enthusiastic
2. Accepting
3. Resistant
4. Destructive

So what does each mean, and how can you recognise them? read more

The When of Change Management (Part2)
August 17 2011

Change Management properly focuses on the people of the business experiencing change. That is ensuring they are ready for the change and in the right mindset for change. The mindset is an interesting area to examine. read more

The When of Change Management (Part1)
August 15 2011

Thinking of all your standard questions, how, what and why is probably best followed by when. I’ve done recent posts about how to change (Kotter) what is involved (change symphony) and why to use change management. So this is all about when to change.
read more

Why you should use Change Management - August 9 2011

I have been asked a number of times to describe what a business gets from using a change management professional. Often they see the role of a project manager as the person to deliver everything ... But what they deliver will be the product or end result determined within the project scope. How that affects everyone and how the business can take this on board in the best way is a challenge. A challenge for the change manager to accept! read more

Reflecting on Symphonic Change Management - August 3 2011

Last year I did a short piece comparing change management to conducting an orchestra. I was fortunate to get some really positive and constructive feedback on this and really appreciated all the interest it generated. It was called Orchestral Symphonies in Change Management read more

Catching up with Kotter - July 26 2011

It’s been a while since I’d refreshed my mind with the wonders of John Kotter and his 8 steps for managing change. Our Iceberg is Melting is still one of my favourite change books and I recommend it as a great introduction to anyone about to undergo some change activity. read more

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