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The Joy of Failure
By Erik Van Slyke, Managing Director, www.erikvanslyke.com After struggling to develop a viable electric light-bulb for months and months, Thomas Edison was interviewed by a young reporter who boldly asked Mr. Edison if he felt like a failure and if he thought he should just give up by now. Perplexed, Edison replied, “Young man, why […]
Beyond Checking the Box
By Erik Van Slyke, Managing Director, www.erikvanslyke.com Sometimes I feel like Sisyphus, compelled for eternity to push a huge rock uphill only to watch it roll back down again. “A couple of Power Point overviews, some manager talking points, and a few audience-focused launch messages and we should have what we need to complete this […]
5 Simple Ways to Reduce Resistance to Change
By Erik Van Slyke, Managing Director, www.erikvanslyke.com Sometimes the best solutions are the most obvious, and unfortunately, the ones least considered. Organization change is hard because leaders and project teams forget to do the simple, but important things, while spending extraordinary amounts of effort in the glitzy and complex. Technology projects focus on the technology. […]
The Importance of Yellow Brick Roads
By Erik Van Slyke, Managing Director, www.erikvanslyke.com Change is a lot like going from Oz to Kansas. On one hand, it’s as uncomplicated as closing your eyes, clicking the heels of your ruby slippers and willing yourself from one place to another. Individuals and organizations have the ability to make change that simple—an uncomplicated […]
The Upside Down-Side to Dictatorship
By Erik Van Slyke, Managing Director, www.erikvanslyke.com When I arrived in Italy a number of years ago to visit my in-laws, I noticed Renzo di Felice’s massive fourteen volume Mussolini e il Fascismo sitting prominently on the shelf in my father-in-law’s office. I was not surprised by his interest in Mussolini because he grew up […]
Getting Beyond Change Inertia
By Erik Van Slyke, Managing Director, www.erikvanslyke.com While driving during a horrible snowstorm, a young project manager became disoriented and lost. Thankfully, he remembered what his father had once told him: ”If you ever get stuck in a snowstorm, wait for a snow plow and follow it.” Within a few minutes, a snow plow came […]
The Importance of Trust . . . It’s Not What You Think
By Erik Van Slyke, Managing Director, www.erikvanslyke.com A few weeks ago I was talking with a project manager who wanted an assessment of his team’s capability. The project was moving along without significant problems, but was approaching an intense period with several critical milestones. The project manager felt unsettled because his team was not providing the analysis […]
What Is Change Management Anyway?
By Erik Van Slyke, Managing Director, www.erikvanslyke.com A marketing exec friend of mine gave me a call the other day to catch up. After swapping stories about families and our current work, he finally asked after years of knowing me, “What exactly is change management anyway?” I had to think for a moment before answering him […]
Waiting on the World to Change
By Erik Van Slyke, Managing Director, www.erikvanslyke.com Even though John Mayer suggests that “it’s not that we don’t care, we just know that the fight ain’t fair,” I believe that change has to be about more than us waiting on the world to change. Much of the time, all change requires is someone willing to […]
Leadership . . . Development?
By Erik Van Slyke, Managing Director, www.erikvanslyke.com One of the more popular topics among organization types is leadership development. Countless books, articles, conferences and training programs are focused on the subject, the abundance of which suggests that most people feel there is a perpetual gap between the behavior they want and what they get from […]