The Change Agents’ Prayer

Lord, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference. The Serenity Prayer, Reinhold Niebuhr (1892–1971) is the real title… Being frustrated with bureaucracy is part of the deal we make in working for a large, complex organizations. Even with the best … Read moreThe Change Agents’ Prayer

Strategies to Sustain Yourself as a Change Agent

You had a work project you were passionate about once. Do you remember? You should do. You spent all your waking hours thinking about it. Developing the idea. Asking advice and help from others. Improving it, advocating for it. And then your idea was shot down. Not a hard no from a final decision maker. … Read moreStrategies to Sustain Yourself as a Change Agent

Leadership in Turbulent Times

Picture a fast flowing, deep river winding through a steep bank in a forest. There are many twists and turns. The water is raging and churning, yet it stays within the confines of the river banks. How do you get the water to flow where you want it to go? Think about the behavioral dynamics … Read moreLeadership in Turbulent Times

Please Reject My Idea

When was the last time you made a proposal at work that was rejected? Was it quickly out of hand? Or was it “death by a thousand cuts”? This experience has happened to almost everyone at work. Depending on how it is handled, rejection of ideas can feel like incivility or even discrimination. It can … Read morePlease Reject My Idea

Everyday Courage in Organizations

When you think about courage at work, what comes to mind? Maybe it is fire fighters going into a crumbling, burning building to rescue people. Or our armed services deployed overseas, facing the threat of injury or death every day. Or even a pilot safely landing a plane on the Hudson River in critical conditions. … Read moreEveryday Courage in Organizations

Can You Create Change From the Bottom Up?

An interview with the awesome Michelle McQuaid. Originally at www.michellemcquaid.com   Do you lack the authority to create the kind of positive changes you’d love to see in your workplace? Have you tried to get leaders on board and had no luck? What if there was a formula that helped you fly under-the-radar and create the … Read moreCan You Create Change From the Bottom Up?

How to Make Your Company a Force For Good

Chris White On How You Can Make Your Company A Force For Good Christopher J. White is Managing Director of the Center for Positive Organizations and adjunct faculty in Management & Organizations at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business. I sat down with Chris when I visited the Positive Business Conference at the … Read moreHow to Make Your Company a Force For Good

Interview with David Burkus

[soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/200601352″ params=”color=ff5500″ width=”100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /] In this interview, we talk about how to make even large, established companies a force for good through social intrapreneurship. Originally at http://davidburkus.com/2015/04/0608-chris-white/  

Four Vital Levers to Sell Your Ideas Internally

There is a huge opportunity cost embedded in our highly bureaucratic organizations. Consider a story that Milan Samani, founder of the Intrapreneur Lab, shared with me recently: A group of senior employees at a big pharmaceutical company saw an alternative use for a drug normally used for cosmetic surgery (it also worked as type of … Read moreFour Vital Levers to Sell Your Ideas Internally

Lead Positive Change Without Authority

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40JYM9-BM-Y&w=854&h=480] What factors should you consider in order to make your next change initiative successful? Jerry Davis and I did the Positive Links session this month. Click the image above to view it!