Tuesday, 31 March 2020

SURVIVING THE CORONAVIRUS LOCKDOWN #LetsResetNormal


This is a fantastic compendium from 60 people of stories about routine and of survival and triumph taking everyday and extraordinary experiences and applying them to the strange set of circumstances we now find ourselves in. It is full of fun, insight and some valuable lessons about life.

This book went from concept to creation in a matter of days thanks to an absolutely epic effort by a hastily assembled team of editors, the book shaped up to launch today.

Look out for the hashtag #LetsResetNormal

Over the coming days every article received will be published and promoted, even if they didn't make it into the book. Every contribution is valued.

The book will go live at 5pm 31 March 2020 (UK), and then there will be an article every two hours for five days! Yes, that's how much content there is. Like a heartbeat, this will give 60 opportunities over the coming week to engage and send people to the page to download the book, or view it online.

It has been great to be a part of something that could trend and become newsworthy and I am pleased to promote my involvement in an effort to lap up some positive news and the international scope of this project which is a multi-national movement to share ideas and shape a new tomorrow.

Take care.

TimHJRogers
#LetsResetNormal

Sunday, 29 March 2020

KBO, PLUS SOME USEFUL RESOURCES FOR CORONAVIRUS

Sir Winston Churchill apparently had a habit of ending phone calls with KBO an acronym for Keep Buggering On. It seems a particularly apt instruction today albiet sensitive to language Keep On Keeping On is possibly more appropriate.

I read an excellent article by Ian Brodie (link below). He makes the point.

1) Leaders still need to lead. And many need help with that.
2) Salespeople still need to sell. And they still need help and support.
3) Supply chains absolutely still need to be efficient. Projects still need to be managed.
4) Clients will still need consultants, coaches and trainers.

But they may need us to deliver our work in different ways. Or focus on different issues.

Jordan Peterson said Don't spend your time trying to sell something that is not peoples top priority. People will never buy your idea if it is priority number eight on their list of ten prioritiestheyll never even reach priority number eight. Youll only gather real interest if your idea answers a crying need. Typically when faced with a crisis, most people go through 3 stages.

1) Shock. Faced with terrible or frightening news we often go into shock. Thoughts like this can't be happeningthere must be some mistake dominate. It takes a little while before we can get our head together and begin to think about what to do.

2) Emergency Actions. When we do start to think about what to do we focus on the immediate emergency actions. Right, we're in lockdownI need to tell my staff not to come in. I need to transfer the accounts stuff over to my home computer. I need to get in touch with our top 5 customers to confirm orders are still in place. Actions designed to shore things up in the short term and get themselves and their business on a steady footing again.

3) Planning Ahead. Finally, once all the emergency actions are in place, we can turn our minds to the future. We can think longer term about next week, the week after, next month and beyond. And we can begin to think about new opportunities.

So, if everyone is Stage 1 or 2 with Coronavirus dont try and promote anything that isnt related the problem they have right now. Instead maybe offer free stuff that is helpful and stay in touch.

Below are some resources from me. These are standalone webpages which allows me at add, amend or delete any content based on feedback which I welcome. This allows me to keep improving the content.

Coronavirus Plan
http://www.timhjrogers.com/resources/coronavirus.html

Communications Plan
http://www.timhjrogers.com/resources/communicationsguide.html

Homeworking Guide
http://www.timhjrogers.com/resources/homeworking.html


There is some great Stage 3 advice on how to plan and transition your traditional client work to the new remote working environment in Ians article which I highly recommend and have included a link below.


REFERENCED

Ian Brodie
https://www.ianbrodie.com/remote-working-recovery-plan/


THE IMPACT OF CORONAVIRUS ON MEANING AND PURPOSE

We are very often defined by what we do. We do not say he or she does accountancy we say they are an accountant. We even define ourselves by what we do. We would not say I do triathlon, but we might say I am a triathlete.

So what happens when what we do or our ability to do it fundamentally changes? How does this affect us and our identity?  How does Coronavirus, lock-down and home-working impact upon our meaning and values?

SOME THEORY

William Bridges wrote about his life and value changing experiences, developing a transition model, when he retired from work. In short, the model identifies three stages people go through as they gradually enter and accept the new organisational landscape. The model mainly focuses on psychological change during the transitions between each stage.

Elisabeth Kbler-Ross in her 1969 book talked about the stages of grief. This has been recognised by many as equally applying to our reaction to change.

Denial  The first reaction is denial.
Anger : When the individual recognizes that denial cannot continue
Bargaining : The third stage involves the hope that the individual can avoid the situation
Depression : "I'm so sad, why bother with anything?"
Acceptance : "It's going to be okay." "I can't fight it I may as well prepare for it."

Viktor Frankl argued that we cannot avoid suffering but we can choose how to cope with it, find meaning in it, and move forward with renewed purpose. Frankl's theory-known as logotherapy, from the Greek word logos ("meaning")-holds that our primary drive in life is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but the discovery and pursuit of what we personally find meaningful.

Julian B. Rotter in 1954, came up with the concept of a Locus of control: The degree to which people believe that they, as opposed to external forces (beyond their influence), have control over the outcome of events in their lives

Stephen Karpman suggested in the Drama Triangle that we get to choose a role.

The Victim: The Victim's stance is "Poor me!"
The Rescuer: The rescuer's line is "Let me help you."
The Persecutor: (in this case Coronavirus, or Government or Conspiracy)

OK THATS THE THEORY  WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

Many people are valued for what they do rather than who they are. This is partly western culture and as much about how we valued ourselves as how society or employers value us. Under these circumstances being sent home with not enough to do may impact our sense of self-worth. The uncertainty, plus lack of control may create anxiety.

A lack of tasks or content in our day may create boredom or distress which we can resolve by filling with activity which may be constructive (hobbies or chores around the home) or destructive (excessive drinking, eating or social media). Being jobless (or simply without enough work to do) may make us feel useless and thus meaningless leading to depression, aggression or addiction.

A remedy may be to change your mindset from being without work to being on holiday. With a new angle of perception, we may find better pastimes to pass the time. Or to change our role within the existing context from Victim to Rescuer and take part in any of the voluntary on-line or off-line efforts to help people.

Frankl argued that we cannot simply be happy, any more than we can snap out of being depressed. The challenge instead is to find meaning, a reason to be happy: A cause (or a person) to serve.

My view is that it is better to be the captain of your ship rather than the crew of someone else and therefore better to pursue meaningful tasks to your own ends of none are forthcoming from your boss, spouse, family or community.

Irrespective of your view of fate or control, there may be moral obligation upon employers to find meaningful things for their colleagues to do. Not just for their occupation and mental health but also to maintain the link, loyalty and sense of belonging that is essential to a functioning community or a successful business.

GET IN CONTACT

If you to discuss these ideas or anything related to people, process or change please get in touch.

Tim HJ Rogers
Senior Consultant
Mob 447797762051
Skype timhjrogers
Twitter @timhjrogers

REFERENCES AND LINKS

William Bridges transition model
https://www.toolshero.com/change-management/bridges-transition-model/

Elisabeth Kbler-Ross stages of grief
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%C3%BCbler-Ross_model

Viktor Frankl
https://www.amazon.com/Mans-Search-Meaning-Viktor-Frankl/dp/080701429X

Drama Triangle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karpman_drama_triangle

Locus of Control
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Locus_of_control



Thursday, 26 March 2020

SOME RECENT READING


RECENTLY READ PAPER BOOKS

 Legend
#ppp = people, personality and philosophy
#csh = change, society and history
#bl = business and leadership
Some, of course, are a combination of these!


  1. 1984  (George Orwell)   #csh
  2. Animal Farm (George Orwell)   #csh
  3. Bad science (Ben Goldacre)
  4. History of world war 2   #csh
  5. How the mind works (Daniel Pink)
  6. How to fix the future (Andrew Keen)   #csh
  7. Humble enquiry   #bl #ppp
  8. Insecurity (Jane Franks)   #bl
  9. Karl Marx and unreason   #csh
  10. Liars poker (Michael Lewis)   #bl
  11. Life 3.0   #csh
  12. Sapiens (Yuval Noah Harari)   #csh
  13. Homo Deus  (Yuval Noah Harari)   #csh
  14. 21 Lessons for 21st Century (Yuval Noah Harari)   #csh
  15. The great economists   #csh #bl
  16. The Idiot Brain   #ppp
  17. The undoing project (Michael Lewis)   #csh #ppp
  18. Thinking fast and slow (Danny Kahnerman)   #csh #bl #ppp
  19. This is going to hurt (Adam Kay)
  20. Utopia for realists   #csh #bl
  21. Stories from a big country (Bill Bryson)
  22. How to think politically (Graeme Garrard)   #csh #bl
  23. A little history of philosophy (Nigel Warburton)   #csh #ppp
  24. A little history of the world   #csh

RECENT AUDIO BOOKS


  1. * Supercoach: 10th Anniversary Edition: 10 Secrets to Transform Anyone's Life - Michael Neill
  2. * The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories from a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook - What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing - Bruce D. Perry,
  3. * The Science of Effective Communication: Improve Your Social Skills and Small Talk, Develop Charisma and Learn How to Talk to Anyone: Positive Psychology Coaching Series, Volume 15 - Ian Tuhovsky
  4. * Rules for Revolutionaries: How Big Organizing Can Change Everything - Becky Bond, Zack Exley
  5. * The Body Keeps the Score: Mind, Brain and Body in the Transformation of Trauma - Bessel van der Kolk
  6. * Coaching for Performance, 5th Edition: The Principles and Practice of Coaching and Leadership: Fully Revised 25th Anniversary Edition - Sir John Whitmore
  7. * Manipulation Techniques: Learn How to Manipulate and Influence People with Mind Control and NLP - Gemma McCallis
  8. Flow: Living at the Peak of Your Abilities - Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi Ph.D.
  9. Man's Search for Meaning - Viktor E. Frankl
PREVIOUS AUDIO BOOKS

 Legend
#ppp = people, personality and philosophy
#csh = change, society and history
#bl = business and leadership
Some, of course, are a combination of these!


  1. Never Split the Difference: Negotiating as if Your Life Depended on It - Chris Voss, Tahl Raz #bl #ppp
  2. Raja Yoga Explained: Yoga for Beginners Guide - Sanjay Tewani #ppp
  3. Cognitive Psychology for Dummies - Michael Pake, #ppp
  4. I Love You But I'm Not In Love With You: Seven Steps to Saving Your Relationship - Andrew G. Marshall #ppp
  5. Love Factually: The Science of Who, How and Why We Love - Laura Mucha #ppp
  6. My Early Life - Winston Churchill #csh
  7. Messy - Tim Harford #csh #bl #ppp
  8. Peak Performance: Elevate Your Game, Avoid Burnout, and Thrive with the New Science of Success - Brad Stulberg, Steve Magness #bl #ppp
  9. The Unicorn Project: A Novel About Developers, Digital Disruption, and Thriving in the Age of Data - Gene Kim #bl
  10. Humble Consulting: How to Provide Real Help Faster - Edgar H. Schein #bl #ppp
  11. The Examined Life - Stephen Grosz #ppp
  12. The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity - Douglas Murray #csh #ppp
  13. No More Mr. Nice Guy: A Proven Plan for Getting What You Want in Love, Sex and Life (Updated) - Dr Robert Glover #ppp
  14. How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy - Julian Baggini #csh #ppp
  15. The Wisdom of Psychopaths - Kevin Dutton #csh #bl #ppp
  16. The Truth: An Uncomfortable Book About Relationships - Neil Strauss #ppp
  17. Narconomics: How to Run a Drug Cartel - Tom Wainwright #csh #bl
  18. Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky - Noam Chomsky, #csh #ppp
  19. Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis - George Monbiot #csh #bl #ppp
  20. War and Peace and IT: Business Leadership, Technology, and Success in the Digital Age - Mark Schwartz #bl
  21. A Seat at the Table: IT Leadership in the Age of Agility - Mark Schwartz #bl
  22. WTF?: What have we done? Why did it happen? How do we take back control? - Robert Peston #csh
  23. The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups - Daniel Coyle #csh #bl #ppp
  24. SAS Italian Job - Damien Lewis
  25. Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator - Oleg V. Khlevniuk, #csh
  26. Product Mastery: From Good to Great Product Ownership - Geoff Watts #bl
  27. Scrum Mastery: From Good to Great Servant-Leadership - Geoff Watts #bl
  28. Lean Mastery Collection: 8 Manuscripts: Lean Six Sigma, Lean Startup, Lean Enterprise, Lean  #bl
  29. Analytics, Agile Project Management, Kanban, Scrum, Kaizen -
  30. Scrum: The art of doing twice the work in half the time - Jeff Sutherland #bl
  31. Eureka: Finding the Line Between Desire and Contentment, Then Riding It - Graham Field
  32. The Climb - Anatoli Boukreev, G. Weston DeWalt
  33. The Push - Tommy Caldwell
  34. The Impossible Climb: Alex Honnold, El Capitan, and the Climbing Life - Mark Synnott
  35. Lone Rider: The First British Woman to Motorcycle Around the World - Elspeth Beard
  36. Business Adventures: Twelve Classic Tales from the World of Wall Street - John Brooks #bl
  37. In Search of Greener Grass: Riding from Reality towards Dreams and Finding Fulfillment - Graham Field
  38. The Good Psychopath's Guide to Success - Andy McNab, Kevin Dutton #bl #ppp
  39. Winners: And How They Succeed - Alastair Campbell #csh #bl #ppp
  40. A Child Called 'It': One Child's Courage to Survive - David Pelzer #ppp
  41.  Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion - Dr. Noah Goldstein, Steve Martin, #bl #ppp
  42. Flipnosis - Kevin Dutton #bl #ppp
  43. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: Techniques for Retraining Your Brain - #csh #bl #ppp
  44. The 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure - Grant Cardone #bl
  45. Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life - Nassim Nicholas Taleb #csh #bl #ppp
  46. Principles: Life and Work - Ray Dalio #csh #bl #ppp
  47. Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die - Chip Heath, Dan Heath #bl #ppp
  48. Key Person of Influence: The Five-Step Method to Become One of the Most Highly Valued and Highly Paid People in Your Industry - Daniel Priestley #bl
  49. The DevOps Handbook: How to Create World-Class Agility, Reliability, and Security in Technology Organizations - Gene Kim, #bl
  50. Inside Story: Politics, Intrigue and Treachery from Thatcher to Brexit - Philip Webster #csh
  51. The Toyota Way to Lean Leadership: Achieving and Sustaining Excellence Through Leadership Development - Jeffrey Liker, #bl
  52. Blue Ocean Strategy: How to Create Uncontested Market Space and Make Competition Irrelevant - W. Chan Kim, Renee Mauborgne #bl
  53. Thinking in Systems: A Primer - Donella H. Meadows #csh #bl #ppp
  54. The Secret Barrister - The Secret Barrister #csh
  55. The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life - Mark Manson #csh #ppp
  56. Critical Chain: Project Management and the Theory of Constraints - Eliyahu M. Goldratt #bl
  57. The 12 Week Year: Get More Done in 12 Weeks Than Others Do in 12 Months - Brian P. Moran, Michael Lennington #bl
  58. Misbehaving: The Making of Behavioral Economics - Richard Thaler #csh #bl #ppp
  59. Conspiracy: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue - Ryan Holiday #bl #ppp
  60. The Goal: A Process of Ongoing Improvement - 30th Anniversary Edition - Eliyahu M. Goldratt, #bl
  61. The Cold War: A World History - Odd Arne Westad #csh
  62. The Phoenix Project: A Novel about IT, DevOps, and Helping Your Business Win 5th Anniversary Edition - Gene Kim, #bl
  63. Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril - Margaret Heffernan #csh #bl
  64. The Great Economists: How Their Ideas Can Help Us Today - Linda Yueh #csh #bl
  65. Bad Blood - John Carreyrou
  66. Hitch-22: A Memoir - Christopher Hitchens #csh
  67. A History of Russia: From Peter the Great to Gorbachev - #csh
  68. Summary of 12 Rules for Life by Jordan B. Peterson: An Antidote to Chaos - FlashBooks Book Summaries #csh #bl
  69. Summary of Algorithms to Live By by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths - Instaread #csh
  70. Red Notice - Bill Browder #csh
  71. How the Mind Works - Steven Pinker #ppp
  72.  Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients - Ben Goldacre

PLANNED READING
Further Recommendations Welcome

  1. Co-Active Coaching: Changing Business, Transforming Lives - Henry Kimsey-House, Karen Kimsey-House, Phillip Sandahl, Laura Whitworth = 5 out of 5 stars 24 ratings
  2. More Time to Think: The Power of Independent Thinking - Nancy Kline = 4.5 out of 5 stars 65 ratings
  3. Executive Coaching with Backbone and Heart: A Systems Approach to Engaging Leaders with Their Challenges, 2nd Edition - Mary Beth A. O' Neill = 3.5 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
  4. Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking - Matthew Syed = 4.5 out of 5 stars 692 ratings
  5. Disrupted: Ludicrous Misadventures into the Tech Start-Up Bubble - Dan Lyons = 4.5 out of 5 stars 780 ratings
  6. Project to Product: How to Survive and Thrive in the Age of Digital Disruption with the Flow Framework - Mik Kersten = 4.5 out of 5 stars 31 ratings
  7. Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow - Matthew Skelton, Manuel Pais = 4.5 out of 5 stars 22 ratings
  8. The Memory Illusion: Why You May Not Be Who You Think You Are - Julia Shaw = 4.5 out of 5 stars 226 ratings
  9. Leadership Results: How to Create Adaptive Leaders and High-Performing Organisations for an Uncertain World - Sebastian Salicru = 0 out of 5 stars Not rated yet
  10. The Silent Guides - Prof Steve Peters = 4.5 out of 5 stars 705 ratings
  11. Chop Wood Carry Water: How to Fall in Love with the Process of Becoming Great - Joshua Medcalf = 4.5 out of 5 stars 38 ratings
  12. How to Be Right: ...in a world gone wrong - James O'Brien = 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,918 ratings
  13. Measure What Matters: OKRs: The Simple Idea That Drives 10x Growth - John Doerr = 4.5 out of 5 stars 304 ratings
  14. The Secret Race: Inside the Hidden World of the Tour de France: Doping, Cover-ups, and Winning at All Costs - Tyler Hamilton, Daniel Coyle = 5 out of 5 stars 731 ratings
  15. To Sell Is Human: The Surprising Truth about Persuading, Convincing and Influencing Others - Daniel H. Pink = 4 out of 5 stars 596 ratings
  16. Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us - Daniel H. Pink = 4.5 out of 5 stars 1,304 ratings
  17. Data Analyses: Detailed, Scientific, and Business-Oriented Data Reading Skills - Benjamin Farrar = 5 out of 5 stars 122 ratings
  18. Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning for Business: How Modern Companies Approach AI and ML in Their Business and How AI and ML Are Changing Their Business Strategy - Scott Chesterton = 5 out of 5 stars 51 ratings
  19. Company of One: Why Staying Small Is the Next Big Thing for Business - Paul Jarvis = 4.5 out of 5 stars 161 ratings
  20. The Improvement Guide: A Practical Approach to Enhancing Organizational Performance 2nd Edition - Gerald J. Langley, Ronald D. Moen, Kevin M. Nolan, Thomas W. Nolan, Clifford L. Norman, Lloyd P. Provost = 0 out of 5 stars Not rated yet
  21. The Invention of Germany - Misha Glenny = 4 out of 5 stars 14 ratings
  22. DarkMarket: CyberThieves, CyberCops and You - Misha Glenny = 4.5 out of 5 stars 105 ratings
  23. Agile: An Essential Guide to Agile Project Management, the Kanban Process and Lean Thinking + a Comprehensive Guide to Scrum - James Edge = 4.5 out of 5 stars 41 ratings
  24. Series: Lean Guides for Scrum, Kanban, Sprint, DSDM XP & Crystal, Book 1 - Jeffrey Ries = 5 out of 5 stars 110 ratings
  25. Walking the Himalayas - Levison Wood = 4.5 out of 5 stars 327 ratings
  26. Just for the Love of It - Cathy O'Dowd = 4.5 out of 5 stars 31 ratings
  27. Alive: The Story of the Andes Survivors - Piers Paul Read = 4.5 out of 5 stars 66 ratings
  28. 50 Psychology Classics - Tom Butler-Bowdon = 4 out of 5 stars 153 ratings
  29. No Shortcuts to the Top: Climbing the World's 14 Highest Peaks - Ed Viesturs, David Roberts = 4.5 out of 5 stars 234 ratings
  30. Quest into the Unknown: My Life as a Climbing Nomad - Tony Howard = 4 out of 5 stars 4 ratings
  31. Motorcycle Therapy: A Canadian Adventure in Central America - Jeremy Kroeker = 4 out of 5 stars 12 ratings
  32. A Beginner's Guide to Rock Climbing: Mastering Basic Climbing Knowledge - Jake Allen = 0 out of 5 stars Not rated yet
  33. Business Biographies and Memoirs: 6 Manuscripts: Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Jack Ma, Richard Branson - JR MacGregor = 4.5 out of 5 stars 98 ratings
  34. When You Are Engulfed in Flames - David Sedaris = 4.5 out of 5 stars 792 ratings
  35. Basic Economics, Fifth Edition: A Common Sense Guide to the Economy - Thomas Sowell = 4.5 out of 5 stars 456 ratings
  36. How Emotions Are Made: The Secret Life of the Brain - Lisa Feldman Barrett = 4.5 out of 5 stars 265 ratings
  37. Do You Talk Funny?: 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker - David Nihill = 4 out of 5 stars 42 ratings
  38. Making Work Visible: Exposing Time Theft to Optimize Work & flow - Dominica Degrandis = 4.5 out of 5 stars 50 ratings
  39. Rolling Rocks Downhill: The Fastest, Easiest, and Most Entertaining Way to Learn Agile and Lean - Clarke Ching = 4.5 out of 5 stars 107 ratings
  40. Analysis of Peter C. Brown’s Make It Stick by Milkyway Media - Milkyway Media = 0 out of 5 stars Not rated yet
  41. Oversubscribed: How to Get People Lining Up to Do Business with You - Daniel Priestley = 4.5 out of 5 stars 2,058 ratings
  42. A Short History of Ireland - Dr Jonathan Bardon = 4 out of 5 stars 277 ratings
  43. This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century 1901-1919 - Christopher Lee = 4.5 out of 5 stars 39 ratings
  44. This Sceptred Isle: The Twentieth Century 1919-1939 (Unabridged) - Christopher Lee = 4.5 out of 5 stars 26 ratings
  45. The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life - Alice Schroeder = 4.5 out of 5 stars 519 ratings
  46. Leading - Alex Ferguson, Michael Moritz = 4.5 out of 5 stars 953 ratings
  47. The Warren Buffett Way: 3rd Edition - Robert Hagstrom = 4.5 out of 5 stars 510 ratings
  48. Build a Brand in 30 Days - Simon Middleton = 4.5 out of 5 stars 403 ratings


IF YOU ARE NOT IN SURVIVAL MODE YOU SHOULD BE IN PLANNING MODE

Yesterday I wrote I had a series of very interesting meetings today about how the challenges of Coronavirus will impact the short-term (current health and social crisis), medium-term (business and economic crisis) and long-term (changes in vision, values, habits, behaviours and expectations)

Today I read this…

I’m clearly not the only one thinking that coronavirus will have implications for the long-term and for those who are not flat-out coping with the immediate crisis it may be worth investing your time to planning what the future may look like and getting ready for that.

The book Black Swan suggests that whilst it is difficult to predict, it is common sense to prepare.

The above referenced article make clear that food, medical and office work may significantly change. I agree. I have also observed that despite “working from home” people are struggling to utilise the tools for communication and collaboration but that will quickly change and become the new normal. Thereafter it will be difficult to go back.

Recent books that have influenced me include

How to Fix the Future – Andrew Keen
Utopia for Realists
Life 3.0
The Road to Somewhere
Everything by Yuval Noah Harari
Out of the Wreckage: A New Politics for an Age of Crisis - George Monbiot
WTF?: What have we done? Why did it happen? How do we take back control? - Robert Peston
The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups - Daniel Coyle
Principles: Life and Work -Ray Dalio

I value comments feedback or any suggested reading

TimHJRogers
AdaptConsultingCompany.com

Wednesday, 25 March 2020

IT IS RIGHT TO CLOSE PROJECTS, IT IS NOT RIGHT TO ABANDON THEM



Understandably lots of projects are being put on hold whilst the immediate focus is on coronavirus.

However, it is important that you follow the right process when mothballing a project. Note mothballing means stop using (a piece of equipment or a building) but keep it in good condition so that it can readily be used again.

Simply abandoning projects and disbursing the team(s) is likely to create long-term problems. This is especially the case if the team(s) are not your own people but consultants, contractors, suppliers who may have different priorities in 3,6,9 months time or (in the worst case) may not be around at all.

Make sure you have a clear understanding with the people about their role and responsibilities in each of the [1] Stop, [2]Freeze, [3]Unfreeze phases. Make sure that there is adequate documentation and provision for support for each stage and necessary commercial agreements to underpin the agreed plan.

Should you return to the project in 3,6,9 months time it should be easy to unwrap, understand and resume operation and not resemble something wretched and confused that you may abandon in favour of a fresh start (and the loss of the time, money, effort knowledge and asset value)

TimHJRogers
AdaptConsultingCompany.com



HOW WILL CORONAVIRUS CHANGE THE WAY WE THINK, WORK AND PLAY




I had a series of very interesting meetings today about how the challenges of Coronavirus will impact the short-term (current health and social crisis), medium-term (business and economic crisis) and long-term (changes in vision, values, habits, behaviours and expectations)

I may post an article or blog which I hope will be interesting based on those conversations and people’s interest about what we can do now for the future. In the meantime, I welcome comments and observations and happy to take a collaborative approach to predicting and preparing for different futures.

TimHJRogers
AdaptConsultingCompany.com