Posts Tagged ‘Leadership’

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Change is Inevitable

Yesterday we witnessed a huge vote of ‘no confidence’ in the Royal Mail’s ability to manage change, 67% of postal workers turned out to deliver a 76% ‘yes’ vote to support further strike action. A clear sign that Royal Mail management are failing, and a clearer sign that Royal Mail are failing.

I can’t help but think that the constant threat of strike action, especially as they approach the busy Christmas period can only be compared to a ritual of self-harm.

Change is Necessary

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has agreed that ‘change is necessary’ – So what’s the problem?

In short they would like…

royal-mail-bike

  • Job security
  • No redundancies
  • Higher pay
  • Shorter working week
  • More quality time
  • More say in job roles

I wonder, during this time of economic recovery, how many other businesses are maintaining the status quo?

Unfortunately the reality is there will be a price to pay for modernisation whether that is job cuts due to automation, higher prices to customers or privatisation.

Royal Mail has a lot to live up to, they are a ‘British institution’, and both employee and customer will have a perception of what this means. Has our relationship with Royal Mail forced them to hold back on radical modernisation? Or did it make them complacent?

Is it too Late?

The price of a stamp is a bargain, for 39p you can send a standard letter 1st class to anywhere in the UK, it’s incredible that they have been able to offer this service for so long. Personally I would like it to continue and would be happy to take a price rise on the chin if I knew that my letter would arrive when I needed it to. Solutions are rarely this simple, the postman is still delivering my mail but the envelopes are marked ‘UK Mail’, they offer the same service for just 32p.

It seems all are agreed on the fact that change is inevitable, for Royal Mail and their competitors this is ‘consumer led’ and as a result ultimately needs to lead to increasing customer satisfaction. For Royal Mail it’s a game of catch-up, will they do or die?

“He who rejects change is the architect of decay. The only human institution which rejects progress is the cemetery.” – Harold Wilson

Posted by Yasmin in Transformational Change on October 9th, 2009 | 1 Comment

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Surrender to Love

When we christened our change management company ‘Cheeky Monkey’ we were warned it would be a marmite thing – people would either love it or hate it. We were good with that. We are emotional, we want people to be emotional, and we wanted our name to be a catalyst for that process.

We did not want to be wallpaper

How many times a day do you say “I love… something” and mean it? You know, the heart beating faster, adrenalin pumping, couldn’t be happier that you have that thing or are in that place or with that person you love.

How many times a day do you say “I hate… something” and mean it? The feeling of disgust swirling inside, a sickly view that you just don’t want to be part of or a place that you don’t want to be in, something that you would be willing to take a stand against.

How many days go by when you don’t say either you love or hate something?

How many days are you just wallpaper?

When you work on delivering change, everyday something amazing happens, good and bad, it’s a roller-coaster of highs and lows. We struggle to recruit staff because not everyone is comfortable with that, people think they are until they have to surrender themselves to these emotions day in day out, then we realise, many people are more comfortable being wallpaper.

Why?

There are many reasons why people are less emotional than they used to be.

My personal favourites are:

  • Political correctness
  • The “everyone’s a winner” mentality
  • Fear of having the spotlight on you by rocking the boat

You will have your own theories which we hope you will share.

Life is not better for this; we are not better people because of this.

One of our partners said:

“If there are people out there that love Cheeky Monkey, you need to keep the name because there are not many things people openly love any more.”

That has got to be one of the saddest statements I have heard in a long time.

Surrender to love

Today, open yourself up to your emotions, find something you love or a place that you love to be in, or even better a person you love to be with. Face it, feel it, and then tell someone about it because there is no better feeling, it will make a difference to your day.

Posted by Nina in Leadership on September 15th, 2009 | No Comments

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Work Life Balance

“Work life balance is about people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work. It is achieved when an individuals right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and society.” – flexible-working.org

It is perceived by my nearest and dearest that I don’t have the right work life balance and they believe it has got worse. As I am sat on the plane ready to start my holidays I have some time to wonder why (and nicely prove their point at the same time!)?

Has the recession pushed me to work harder?

Throughout this credit crunch period I have been anti recession, believing that we could talk ourselves into and just as easily out of this mess. I don’t dispute there was a mess and that the decisions that were being taken in certain sectors that could not continue. There had to be fall out.

It is true, I didn’t want to be part of the fall out, so did this environment push me to work harder?

Like many (or all) business owners, I work everyday. I did before the recession kicked in and I have no doubt I will continue to do it when it’s gone.

I want Cheeky Monkey to be the best Change Management Consultancy it can be. I want the people who work at Cheeky Monkey to contribute in the best way possible and be the best they can be at what they deliver. I want Cheeky Monkey to be successful and that is what pushes me.

Success = being the best you can possibly be


Always Connected!

The recession may be playing a part but other things are having a bigger influence. We have embraced social media as a way of engaging with a broader spectrum of people and keeping us sharp. We are operating on a Cheeky Monkey cloud, access to everything by everyone without having to be at a desk.

To make sure we could do this efficiently we invested in the latest Blackberry’s and iPhones. Fantastic, I am linked to our client’s networks, integrated calendars, business and private emails, messenger and our whole social network from something that fits in my pocket. My god it’s efficient, and allows me to work 24/7 wherever I am. I am probably at 18/7 if I am being honest and my friends and family are constantly telling me its going too far.

My Blackberry has had the biggest effect on my work life balance.


Although I am one of those people who is in the pub checking my BB at regular points, at least I am in the pub. It was not long ago I made choices on going out or not going out based on how much work I had to do and most of the time it was the latter. Although my working day has increased, so has my social activity…

The lines between my work and life are blurred, what is wrong with that?


So, as we make our approach into Nairobi I am happy that I will be able to keep in touch with my fellow monkeys and our clients with ease and enjoy a fantastic family holiday. I have control over my work life balance, technology has given me this and it is for the better.

Just Do It!

While delivering an NPD workshop in Kenya this week Nina was disheartened by one of her pupils who said:

“We are not paid to think, just do – copy, paste, print”

I read this on Nina’s twitter, wayofthemonkey and it got me thinking about the mentality behind the statement, why people would feel this way and wondered, are they missing out?

Why?

  • Most of us ‘need’ to work; does this ‘need’ limit our enthusiasm?
  • When an activity is non-negotiable do we switch to auto pilot?
  • If we imagine what is ahead does it look too hard?
  • Does thinking everything through slow us down?
  • Will thinking force new and uncomfortable experiences that could lead to change?
  • Will our wider network support new ideas?

When you consider the reasons why a person would feel more inclined to just ‘put their head down and get on with it’ you begin to wonder ‘is thinking a trap’?

“Just Do It”

In 1988 one of the most famous advertising slogans was coined for Nike – “Just Do It”. The campaign has been a remarkable success given that 80% of trainers sold in the USA are not used for the purpose for which they were designed. The ads rarely focus on the product, but on people, they give an insight into the intense, inwardly focused competitor. Nike has attracted those who want the image without incurring the pain.

The truth is success is rarely nurtured in isolation. The sporting icons that Nike focuses on are undoubtedly great, but are they made greater by reaching out and utilising the talent of a combination of resources?

Reach out

When we focus on ourselves we are in danger of becoming detached from what is happening around us. I am not just talking about our immediate team of people, company or community, but also the wider social network that we now have the ability to reach out to in so many ways.

Reaching out is an opportunity to increase knowledge. Extending our network of resources helps us to unlock untapped potential and access what is inside people, be it stories of success or failure.

Are You Missing Out?

One person can not be great at everything. Thinking and engaging opens up everything we do in the world, its like ‘magic’.

If we can set aside our fears of the changes our thoughts may bring, we will discover that every day holds the potential for something new.

Think about it – Don’t miss out

Posted by Yasmin in Leadership, Motivation on July 24th, 2009 | 1 Comment

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Think Different

“Every act of creation is first of all an act of destruction” – Picasso

Why was Picasso so successful, sought after and inventive? He was not afraid to challenge what had gone before.

How many times do you hear the statement ‘there is nothing new or original anymore’?

Is it true?

Surely everyday little pieces of original creation go missed by the world at large. In fact, have we all become desensitized because we are bombarded with so many things at such speed? Do we take enough time to realise how things knit together?

21st Century Originality

It is the knitting together that creates the 21st century originality. As an example, over lunch with Ralph Ardill from the Brand Experience Consultancy he was talking about the science project he had launched in Dublin, The Science Gallery. Building an experiential science centre is not original, but the key to the success of that project is that disenchanted teenagers who don’t know what they are into (art, media, science, music, porn, etc.)? will walk through the door not to be a spectator, but to be the creators of the projects that go on inside that building.

It is their hope that one of those participants will ultimately become a Nobel Prize winner.

It is the creative and inspiring knitting together of old and new that will enable that to happen.

Move Forward


We have to look back to move forward. The art is to deconstruct something that has been successful and be bold enough to push that vision so that it creates a new legacy.

This art of deconstruction creates disruption. This process un-nerves people, pushing them outside their comfort zone, but only by doing this can we hope to create something of substance and originality.

What are you going to knit today?

knitted-monkey

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