Tag Archives: leadership

The Oaks and The Maples

May 25, 2023 By in Change Management, Strategy, Teaching Tags: Leave a comment

There’s a lot of labour unrest brewing in the western world these days and lots of general world unrest to go round. Wages and working conditions seem to be popular negotiating items in the free world. The post-covid employee love affair with remote work and the associated freedoms it brings remains strong. Many organizations are leaning in to the new reality with flexible policies and retention strategies to beat the band. Many people are negotiating their way through the changing world and coping, while many are struggling.

Differences are growing and in some ways gaps are widening on many measures where they are intended to narrow. Gaps in affordable housing, gaps in availability of healthcare, wage gaps, debt-to-income ratio gaps, social safety net gaps. Recent estimates of household income distribution reveal that wealth decreased for a broad range of households, but especially for the most vulnerable, including the least wealthy and households younger than 45 years (StatsCan, 2022). Since 1995 the global share of billionaire wealth tripled – the largest increase ever (UNESCO, 2022). Arguably there are gaps in the gaps.

I’ve been increasingly inspired by the great drummer and music legend Neil Pert lately and the iconic Canadian band Rush. Their song The Oaks and the Maples is amazing. While its generally reported that Pert did not write the song as a social statement, it does have a certain appropriateness for our present time and the unrest attributable to many social gaps. Even if Pert didn’t intend the double entendre its worth noting the song’s finale highlited below. Differences and gaps are often resolved with blunt tools. Mind the gap! I remember the days of wage and price controls.

There is unrest in the Forest
There is trouble with the trees
For the Maples want more sunlight
And the Oaks ignore their pleas.

The trouble with the Maples
(And they’re quite convinced they’re right)
They say the Oaks are just too lofty
And they grab up all the light
But the Oaks can’t help their feelings
If they like the way they’re made
And they wonder why the Maples
Can’t be happy in their shade?

There is trouble in the Forest
And the creatures all have fled
As the Maples scream ‘Oppression!’
And the Oaks, just shake their heads

So the Maples formed a Union
And demanded equal rights
‘The Oaks are just too greedy
We will make them give us light’
Now there’s no more Oak oppression
For they passed a noble law
And the trees are all kept equal
By hatchet,
Axe,
And saw…

Oaks and Maples in Harmony?

Image courtesy of https://www.flickr.com/photos/bg/ (Creative Commons Share Attribution-Non Commercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Jane and Jack the Ripplers

February 2, 2020 By in Change Management, Entrepreneurship, Learning, Strategy, Uncategorized Tags: , , , Leave a comment

When presented with new challenges or opportunities people often say something like, “I’ll get to that when things settle down.”  No, they won’t.  That response generally means they’re more focused on the now and not embracing the future.  They’re like still water.  Successful organizations, teams, and individuals are in a constant state of change.  They’re like rippling water.

There are lots of good reasons why organizations, teams, and individuals don’t change.   Fear of the unknown is a common reason cited.  People are often in a comfort zone where their desire to change is outweighed be whatever is holding them back.  They’re stuck.  They need a rippler.  

Say, for example, there’s a new system being implemented at a workplace.  The old system has been in place for many years, and a common lament from team members is, “it works just fine.”  For them to leave their comfort zone and embrace the new unknown system something special needs to happen.  Most importantly they need to see movement towards the new system by their leaders and their teammates.  They need to see the ripples of change.  That’s not an easy thing to create but it can be done.  Its called change management.

There are many change management theories and methodologies.  They are generally grounded in social science and are often both academically pure and commercially successful.  Many PhD’s have been earned answering questions about change management and many consulting fees have been paid for helping to manage the people side of change. One common theme seems to be that someone needs to start the change wave which is sometimes referred to as change sponsorship.  The higher up the organizational hierarchy, the better the impact of change sponsorship, but it needs to start somewhere.  Someone needs to drop a pebble in the still water and make the water move for others to notice. That’s when their desire to participate in the change increases, and generally that’s when they begin to “get it and get with it.”  There needs to be a rippler. 

So, ask yourself, when it comes to change are you a rippler?  If you think you might be, then consider learning more about change and change management.  There are many great resources available to help you become a change manager.  Dr. John Kotter developed a highly regarded change process as did Jeffrey Hiatt and Tim Creasy who founded a research and training organization dedicated to change management.  Check out their stuff.  Maybe you’ll become a (better) rippler!

The gender wage gap ticking time bomb

January 16, 2020 By in Career Management, Diversity, Entrepreneurship, Strategy Tags: , , , Leave a comment

It isn’t a dirty little secret anymore. Most people realize that there is a gender wage gap. Women earn less than men for doing the same work. Yet another report, based out of the University of Ottawa this week, shed light on this reality. For college graduates, at time of entering the workforce, the gap is 25%. Like climate change many organizations don’t seem to pay much attention to the nagging problem. If they did, it wouldn’t still be a problem.

Apart from being illegal, immoral, and irresponsible, ignoring the wage gap problem is just plain stupid. But then again so are a lot of things we do subconsciously or without thinking about the consequences. Consider this. You’re an executive in a mid-size organization and things are chugging along nicely. Sales are at their highest levels, you have a good pipeline, costs seem reasonably in line, profits are strong again, and you’re drawing a healthy bonus. Tickity boo. Then – boom – 30% of your workforce begins to unravel. They’re pissed! They begin to realize that you’ve been paying Harry a lot more than Sally. Then they realize that you’ve been paying most of the Harry’s a lot more than most of the Sallys. Their data about your payroll is anecdotal, just water cooler chatter, but to them its very real. Their ‘give a s**t factor’ declines rapidly, they slow down their work efforts, they leave for greener pastures, and you’re left with a big mess. Your mess.

Wake up Scrooge! If the data from the University of Ottawa based study and the hundreds of other studies showing that we pay women less than men for the same work is real for social scientists, then surely its real for at least some of you. At least some executives are guilty of something here. Yes, you too probably don’t even realize that you have a problem. Here’s an idea. Do the math, look under the numbers, resist rationalizing the individual cases. Stop coming to the conclusion that, “we’re OK but thanks for the data.” It may not bee too late to avoid one of the hashtags potentially coming your way. Moreover, it may not be too late to just do the right thing, and the smart thing. According to good research, women (in our example here 30% of your workforce) are the ones making things tickity boo for your business today. Don’t take your success, or their contribution for granted. Don’t be on the wrong side of history. Act now, time may be up sooner than you think.

A shout out to social entrepreneurs

November 29, 2019 By in Diversity, Entrepreneurship, Teaching, Uncategorized Tags: , , , Leave a comment

Social entrepreneurship is hot right now, especially among young people. Its evident in the class room when students talk about business and its evident from the growing numbers of social ventures in our communities. Social entrepreneurship is where monetary profit becomes a tool to accomplish people-centred objectives. More than economic activity, social entrepreneurs give society inspiring world-changing solutions. And we need them now more than ever. Social entrepreneurship matters because it maximizes social benefit for many rather than maximizing profit for a few.

A brilliant example of social entrepreneurship can be found in Hope Blooms who burst onto the national stage in 2008 winning the hearts of Canadians including most of the CBC Dragons. Only Kevin O’Leary was a hold out to their ask, sticking to his oft used excuse that he doesn’t invest in charity. He didn’t get it. Scrooge didn’t either until it was almost too late. The other Dragons were taken by the story, which is now regarded as one of the top ten Dragon’s Den pitches of all time. The Hope Blooms youth who made that first step were not unlike the ones who recently opened up the Toronto market so that Hope Blooms products can now be found at the Loblaws store in Maple Leaf Gardens. They are Halifax inner city kids. They are bold entrepreneurs.

Hope Blooms builds community and change. While they grow, transform, package, and sell food in the form of dressings and teas, what they really produce is people. Hope Blooms alumni are now attending post secondary institutions including Stanford University, University of Toronto, St. Francis Xavier University and others. When shoppers chose Hope Blooms dressings at their local Loblaws store they are investing in future leaders who will soon make our world a better, more inclusive, and loving place. They are investing in social entrepreneurs. Jessie Jollymore, Hope Blooms founder, is a classic social entrepreneur. Her dogged commitment to planting seeds and harvesting dreams is an inspiration to us all. Thank you Jessie and all the social entrepreneurs who are leading change in our economy and our world. Keep up the great work.

Hope Blooms new product display developed with Nova Scotia Community College