Feature

April 7, 2014 by David 4 Comments

A Wholehearted Solution for Exhaustion

How do you respond to the questions, How are you doing? How are you? or How is work going?

There are many perspectives we could choose as a basis for response, but which ones serve us best? We could talk about how energized we feel, how others are responding to us, whether or not our goals are being met, and more. However, given that we know so little about what will come our way in the next minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years, I wonder if the most accurate perspective is one of alignment; whether or not we are in alignment within the present moment.

I’m not trying to play with semantics here – hang in there. Alignment is an issue of posture. It is the stance that enables capacity and capability. Think of what happens when you Please Continue Reading …

Filed Under: Culture, Feature Tagged With: alignment, Anxiety, confidence, courage, encouragement, exhaustion, peace, resilience

March 24, 2014 by David Leave a Comment

The Wholehearted Journey: Standing as Partners for each other’s success

Who would have thought to be afraid that the commercial airline ticket you bought for your next holiday could hold the potential for you to disappear into thin air?

Now we can add mysterious commercial airline disappearances to the list of things to fear, along with tsunamis, tornados, food-borne illnesses, invasions & wars, random acts of violence and school shootings, unemployment and bankruptcy…the list goes on and on…and it grows.

Researcher Brene Brown, in her latest book Daring Greatly, gives us some insight Please Continue Reading …

Filed Under: Culture, Feature Tagged With: daring greatly, journey, Malaysian Airlines, Partnership, Purpose, resilience, scarcity, vulnerability, Wholeheartedness

March 7, 2014 by David 2 Comments

Duracell #Powerwarmth – Human Connection

This is simply brilliant. Be inspired and encouraged. (Click on pic)

Filed Under: Culture, Feature

May 14, 2012 by David 2 Comments

Ford: Cultural change takes time

Leaders and employees both must be accountable

“There is a better way to do business. A way that encourages every employee to become all they can become. A way that allows people to bring their deepest values to work and have them celebrated. A way that puts re-engineering into a transformational framework (emphasis added), refocusing it as a tool for health maintenance rather than radical surgery. A way that welcomes diversity as a pathway to innovation…”
– Richard Barrett, “Liberating the Corporate Soul; Building a Visionary Organization”)

ONE Ford Card Ford Motor Company’s plan may appear to be “radical surgery.” However, while One Ford contains the articulation of Ford’s vision and plan in relation to current reality, the accompanying list of expected behaviours sets One Ford up for ongoing “health maintenance,” and the accommodation of future realities.

Please Continue Reading …

Filed Under: Culture, Feature, Leadership, ONE Ford

May 14, 2012 by David 2 Comments

Ford: Walking the talk

Engaging employees takes a dedicated effort

It is widely known that the North American automotive sector needed to go through massive change to avoid extinction in 2008. In case you have forgotten the intensity of this point in time, here are a couple of perspectives:

“In late 2008, our nation’s economy – and the auto industry in particular – entered its deepest crisis since the Great Depression. Almost overnight, demand for new automobiles fell from an annual rate of over 17 million units to an annual rate under 10 million units.” (UAW Solidarity, May-June 2010)

“Should all of the Detroit Three’s U.S. operations cease in 2009, the first year total employment impact would be a loss of nearly three million jobs in the U.S. economy…Lost tax revenue between 2009 and 2011 would be an estimated $156.4 billion (U.S. dollars).” (The Center for Auto Research , USA – PDF)

Ford was one of the Detroit Three, and as such, a big ship to turn around. The magnitude of this change would necessitate complete employee engagement. Ford’s CEO, Alan Mulally, knew this.

Many of us will not be confronted with the magnitude of change required to turn Ford around, but employee engagement is a critical issue in all businesses.