Magazine Editor Iain Hopkins writes…” Di.. has a knack for bringing broad concepts of social change and applying those concepts to the business world. Her excellent book A Climate for Change , uses global warming as the springboard into analysis of what does and does not work in many corporate change initiatives… ”

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I confess that I am a dabbler when faced with the practical application of new technologies. It’s not that I don’t appreciate what these new technologies can do. I do – it comes with the territory of being an ideas person. In fact, It’s a big part of my new book which is all about Change and what works in the 21st century. It’s just that the practical application of these things is not really my strong suit. Frankly, I find it a time-consuming, boring hassle to learn. But heh, I have my own blog now which only took a year or so from the idea to finally get my act together - so that’s saying something.

When it comes to these new tools of social collaboration – I can honestly see their potential in business. I have researched story after story of how the opportunities for collaboration around the world have produced amazing results in record time. Because the ideas and thoughts aren’t centralised or controlled, they can be disseminated extremely quickly, and I can choose to add my personal flavour to other people’s thoughts if I wish. You couldn’t possibly replicate these results with the traditional tools we have spent the last 20 years or so cultivating – like email.

Social networking is the electronic version of the rumour mill in your office. The rumour mill works well because it’s a type of social process that occurs naturally. We don’t have to learn it, so our natural energy gravitates towards using it. Web 2.0 social networking functions in much the same way. You can uncover quickly the groups of people who have the same interests as you, and have a chat outside the confines of bureacracy. It’s like a giant rumour mill that doesn’t have the same geographic limitations as your office space or office email network. 

So if this electronic super-rumour mill is potentially so good, why don’t we all use it. Comes back to familiarity – If it’s outside my comfort zone, then I need to exert energy to bring it inside my comfort zone. The bitter pill. I need to take it and I know the benefits it will give me, but it’s likely to taste pretty bad going down.  

The solution? Cover the pill in sugar. For me that sugar is turning out to be a couple of things:

• A really compelling reason to use social networking web 2.0 technology
  • for me it is proving to be the best way to grow my information business fast, access new ideas and extend my reach way beyond my previous geographic boundaries.
• One-on-one internet and e-commerce coaching
  • I grasp the general concepts, but I really needed to find someone to walk me through the practical steps when things didn’t work or didn’t make sense.  
• Outsourcing
  • Where things get overly technical, I am learning to swallow my pride and get help.

So, really give the social networking technology of Web 2.0 some serious thought about how it can give your business the edge and dig deep to find out the brand of ”sugar” that will make it work for you.

Di Worrall is an author, social commentator and change management consultant. For a FREE subscription to the newsletter – Creating a Climate for Change click on the following website  http://www.worrallassociates.com.au/

Get a FREE chapter of Di’s new book – A Climate for Change on

http://www.aclimateforchangebook.com/

Being mindful of the pitfalls of large scale downsizing and employee redundancy was the clear message that Heather Ridout, Chairman of the Australian Industry Group gave to business in a recent 7.30 Report Interview. Heather is not a lone voice in the wilderness on this topic. In the wake of weekly announcements that big business is shedding staff in mammoth proportions, other business and political leaders are joining a growing voice around the world warning of the consequences of these knee-jerk reactions to sustain short-term business viability.

One message is particularly clear. Forget for the time being who may be responsible for the current economic instability. While governments install bail out packages for the worst affected and revise monetary policies to encourage spending, the extent to which our economies travel headlong towards recession, is largely in the hands of business leaders.

Saul Eslake, Chief Economist of Australia’s ANZ bank is highly vocal on this issue when he reminds business that one of the definitive indicators of declining economic strength, is the unemployment rate. An indicator which is in the main controlled by the business sector.

While organisational restructuring and employee redundancies are a legitimate source of cost savings, there are a range of potential alternative measures to achieve cost control and efficiencies that business can explore before travelling down the path of downsizing and cutbacks.  

This leaves us with 2 messages for riding out the short term economic storm, and leaving our longer term legacy in tact: cost control before cost cutting; and employee redundancy as a last resort strategy and not the first.   

Di Worrall is an author, social commentator and change management consultant. For a FREE subscription to the newsletter – Creating a Climate for Change click on the following website  http://www.worrallassociates.com.au/

Get a FREE chapter of Di’s new book – A Climate for Change on

http://www.aclimateforchangebook.com/

I’ve often read that clearing the physical clutter lying around your house or your office is a really important part of clearing your head in preparation for new plans and goals – like the ones you set for the new year.  You can’t really put new goals on top of old distractions, else the old distractions will keep sabotaging your efforts to focus on the new direction. It’s important to make a space first.

The concept of clearing a space in your head reminds me of the story about the martial arts instructor who was approached by a novice for advanced training. The instructor wasn’t about to take just anybody into his classes. He observed the novice and his techniques for some time and then posed the following dilemma. He advised the novice that the only way that he could learn from the master was to give something up. He used the analogy of a glass of water. A glass which is full has no further capacity. If the novice was unwilling to give up some of his notions of the martial arts, it would be like tipping out some of that water. Only then would the novice be open to learning new things from the master.

Once a space is created, it operates like a vacuum. A vacuum is a space which is compelled to be filled with something. Here’s what I mean.  Let’s say I have a goal of acquiring a new lounge suite at the beginning of the year, yet I don’t seem to get around to it after a few months. If I take action to remove the existing lounge suite in garage sale, I then create a vacuum-like space in my lounge room.  Now the compulsion to replace the lounge with a different one becomes overwhelming because the household still wants to use the lounge-room every day. With this day to day reminder,   it won’t be long before the vacant space in  my lounge room is filled with a different lounge suite. 

Garage sale …here we come.

Click the following link for your FREE subscription to Di Worrall’s newsletter  - Creating a Climate for Change  http://www.worrallassociates.com.au/

The world responded fearfully to 9/11 and similarly to the world economic crisis which can be traced back to the US subprime mortgage fiasco and housing crisis.  While these are the exports of fear and despair, Obama’s win seems to have ignited the exact opposite – “yes we can” inspiring a wave of nationalism, hope, confidence and a change in leadership that is an inspiration to the rest of the world. It’s a message of hope that is coming just at the right time when confidence levels around the globe are taking a hammering.  The look on the faces of US citizens – both black and white – made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end with just how profound this election win is.    His african-american heritage is a message about the elimination of discrimination from politics in the US. Just as profound as Jimmy Carter’s 1976 election (as the first catholic president) was a message about eliminating religion from politics in the US., Barack’s popular win is a backlash against nostalgia and tradition and a statement about the US people’s  growing intolerance to global conflict and war.  The win is a message that the American dream is not just reserved for the privileged few – it can truly be achieved by anyone.  What other evidence do we need that the American dream can become reality if someone who carries the names “Hussein” and “Obama” can become the next president-elect of the United States.   Who can forget the words of Dr Martin Luther King in 1963  when he said “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character”.   I hope Barack Obama’s shoulders are broad enough to carry the weight of expectation that the US (and I expect many other nations) have placed upon him to ensure that “change starts today” .For your FREE subscription to Di Worrall’s Creating a Climate for Change Newsletter click on the following link http://www.worrallassociates.com.au/