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Ouch my head is hurting today.  I have been doing too much thinking but I haven’t had time to think.  Know what I mean?  Lucky that I stumbled upon this BBC article that gives me five ways to beat the grind and think more clearly: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7530594.stm

Our rational thinking brain needs space for digestion of all the information that we take in.  More importantly by giving our brain more space we give our somatic, feeling mind more space too.  From this space grow great ideas and grounded, authentic communication.

1. Choose your moment – no more skipping lunch.
2. Choose your location – the loo, driving, shower or the train?
3. Have your props to hand – mine’s and Earl grey.
4. Give yourself less to think about – defrag your brain and clear out the hard drive.
5. Have the desire to think – get desperate!

Yes, you have got to take the time to read the full article to get the benefits of this piece: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7530594.stm

I am a fan of Tom Hodgkinson and the Idler.  Read an interview with Tom ‘How to be Idle’.  Check out his Crap Holidays - just to see which you have done!

 Contact me for thoughts and ideas: sue@changeworksblog.com.

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It is when we are in authentic communication with ourselves that we can operate with integrity and presence in the world. Sometimes we get exquisite moments where we feel truly connected.  Connected to our self, to others and to the world.  Our tasks seem effortless and the fruits of our labour seem to come with a natural ease.  We can get lost in the moment, so that we lose our sense of time, and experience a sense of flow where we are working at the height of our abilities.

I have spent the last eight days on a yoga retreat in the depths of beautiful Kent countryside. As part of this we meditated every morning for 20 minutes, and this has helped me to re-establish a short daily practice again.  Meditation is a highly effective way to achieve this sense of connection. 

By focusing and supporting the mind, the power of the brain is focused instead of being dissipated by its tendency to get distracted and go ‘off piste’.  At the physical level this increases our ability to concentrate, to make decisions and communicate with ease because we are more focused and present.  At a physiological level, meditation positively alters the electrical activity in the brain. During meditation the brainwaves are predominantly alpha waves, which are the frequency associated with feelings of wellbeing.  Essentially by creating alpha waves in our brain, meditation gives us a feeling of wellbeing that is then mirrored by the body. For example, the heart starts to be entrained into coherence and this is associated with reductions in blood pressure.  (Recent research has shown that meditation achieves a significant reduction of up to 4.7 mm systolic blood pressure and 3.2 mm diastolic blood pressure).

However, many people find that the biggest benefits are on the psychological/emotional level.  Meditation helps us to build resilience and improve our psychological stamina so that we are more effective and authentic more of the time.  It helps us to perform to consistently high standards, even under great pressure.  And, over time, it connects us to our inner teacher which guides us with wisdom in our busy lives. And the results are amazingly quick. You will notice benefits after only a week or two of practising once a day for 10 to 15 mins.

Listen to my 7 minute meditation podcast on counting the breath.  This is so easy to do anywhere, anytime.

For more resources and information on meditation contact me: sue@changeworksblog.com.

“We must become the change we want to see in the world.”
Mohandas Gandhi

 Sir Alan Steer, headteacher of a school in Ilford in the UK, dared to raise his head above the parapet on Friday to say that adults are bad role models for young people. In his government-commissioned report on behaviour, Sir Alan states that adults set a bad example with behaviour that is greedy and aggressive.  He highlights the responsibility of adults in creating the culture of good and bad behaviour. 

Whether or not we agree with Alan Steer, it is true that as adults and as leaders we need to model the behaviour that we want others to follow. I believe that this is the quickest and surest way to organisational and cultural change.  Yes of course clarify your vision and write your mission statements.  Have your organisational values.  But, a word of warning, this will mean nothing if you fail to give your people a clear indication of the behaviours that you expect. 

Start with a small set of clearly defined behaviours.  This is easier said than done and often a good facilitation session with the MD and/or senior management group will be required to help you get there! Tools to help this include:

• Imagine If Frame
• Write the story/script of success/failure
• Translate into behaviours

Then all you need is people to model the behaviour.  This is where the ‘activists’ or change champions come in.  A number of people (from all levels, backgrounds etc) who already exhibit the behaviours that you are looking for.  Champion them and then let them loose.  Human beings are natural modellers.  It is how we develop from infancy.  I think it is a gift of evolution because we leave the womb way to vulnerable.  So we model adults and others behaviour as soon as we start breathing. 

If you have enough of these change champions (you need around 10% of your workforce) this will ‘seed’ behaviour and start to create catching behaviour.  They will need briefing and supporting and the programme will need managing, but the results are amazing: rapid, contagious change that brings you quick rewards.

As a quick exercise to discover behaviours, it might be useful for you to consider these points:
1. Describe in a few words the characteristics of your current culture.
2. Describe the changes that you would like to see being established.
3. Try to identify 3 behaviours that, if present in your company, represent exactly the culture that you want. And define what these behaviours look like.   

You can read about what Sir Alan said at the BBC Website.  

And here is a great book: Viral Change – The Alternative to Slow, Painful and Unsuccessful Management of Change in Organizations, by Herrero Leandro

Finally, Herrero will be talking about Viral Change at the CIPR Inside annual internal communication conference:

            WHAT Inside Story (CIPR/CIPR Inside)

            WHEN Monday, September 29, 2008
            WHERE  London, TBC

Please contact me for more info about this event:  sue@changeworksblog.com

Using metaphor in communication, whether this be face to face or broadcast, is a powerful way to ensure rapid and effective delivery of your messages.  It is rather like navigating a journey in a ship using the latest radar and satellite navigation and high horsepower engines compared to setting sail in an old schooner. 

Metaphor is essentially where one thing is expressed in terms of another, whereby this bringing together throws new light on the character of what is being described. Metaphor implies comparison. Rather like the comparison that I have just used in the previous paragraph.

The meaning of the story or metaphor is often not in the specific events that make up its content but rather in the underlying patterns or principles it conveys.  Thus the content of metaphors are frequently symbolic rather than literal.  Because of this stories and storytelling is often a more effective tool for stimulating and supporting change.

Telling a story through metaphor is a way of distracting the conscious mind whilst activating the unconscious mind to search for meaning, relationships, patterns, similarities (with self and ongoing experiences) and resources.  Therefore communicating with metaphor is an excellent way of offering new concepts, ideas and behaviours, freeing hidden resources and facilitating change.

Metaphors are an indirect form of communication implying comparison, it allows a ‘carrying over’ of meaning from the story that the teller is presenting to into the reality of the listener.  So the tale takes on a personal meaning.  Metaphors can often bypass conscious resistance and set up a deeper level of communication.

To create useful metaphors in a business context (perhaps to help facilitate change or resolve conflict) to achieve a specific outcome and move toward resolving a problem, the relationships between the elements in the story need to reflect the relationship between the elements found in the problem. A good metaphor, like a good story or film plot, must create expectation and satisfy it in some way consistent with the style of the composition.

The present state and the desired state or outcome are understood and set clearly. And then a context is chosen for the metaphor that will interest the audience but replace all the elements of the problem with different elements, whilst holding the relationships the same.  Then you will plot a story that has the same overall ‘form’ of the present state in the beginning but leads through to a connecting strategy to the desired outcome.

Of course metaphors can be rich in all the representational systems to satisfy different thinking patterns.  They are auditory, as they are told and propagated throughout the organisation. Use of the right emotive language can make them connect to feelings and of course they can be made highly visual through the use of art, drawing with coloured pens and even photography or video.

Have a go at this short exercise designed to help you explore the metaphors you live by:

1. Recall a story, fairy tale or even a dream from your early childhood that was meaningful for you at the time.  Write a short summary (6-8 sentences).
2. Recall a story, fairy tale or even a dream from your recent adolescence that was meaningful for you at the time.  Write a short summary (6-8 sentences).
3. Ask yourself:
4. Who did you identify with in the story? Has it changed?
5. What does it reflect about your beliefs, values or model of the world?
6. What does it indicate about how you’ve changed? and about how you are the same?

If you liked this article why not let me know: sue@changeworkscom.co.uk

Here’s a couple of good books:

The Magic of Metaphor: 77 Stories for Teachers, Trainers and Thinkers, by Nick Owen

Metaphors we Live By, by G Lakoff

The Power of Metaphor: Storytelling and Guided Journeys for Teachers, Trainers and Therapists, Michael Berman and David Brown

Or visit our website to find out more about how we help organisations to communicate better: www.changeworkscom.co.uk