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Author: Heidi Grant Halvorson February 14, 2014 Shared by, Diane Knopke, MSLOC Student The good news (and its very good news) is that you can get better about not putting things off, if you use the right strategy. Figuring out which strategy to use depends on why you are procrastinating in the first place:

Kolko, Jon (2007), "Information Architecture and Design Strategy: The Importance of Synthesis during the Process of Design". In the 2007 Industrial Designers Society of America Conference proceedings.

Author: Karen Bonsignore Date: NA Shared by: Sandy Schwan, MSLOC Alum on Evolving Strategies blog Organizational leaders must fully understand the consequences of disengagement, and devote attention and resources to initiatives that will increase and sustain employee engagement. Employees are free to leave their jobs to find more fulfilling work, or a better work environment, or even a more supportive boss. However, building an engaged workforce is the responsibility of a leader: from the top-down. The reason is that while there are known factors that can drive or derail engagement, regular employees are generally not in control of company policies and practices. Consequently, the buck begins at the top.

By Art Kleiner in strategy+business | booz&co. March 11, 2014 Shared by Eric Fridman, MSLOC Student "The idea of using mindfulness as a guide to better business practices has taken on such currency as a management fad lately that it already has a detractor: The New Republic's Silicon Valley curmudgeon, Evgeny Morozov. Known for his skepticism about Internet-fueled democracy, Morozov has penned a new article called "The Mindfulness Racket," in which he claims that workplace meditation-the leading edge of the fad-is a weak substitute for the substantial change that businesses really need. "

Author: Irene Hayes (MSLOC Student) Date: Jan 14, 2014 Shared by: Sandy Schwan (MSLOC alumnae) on her blog, Evolving Strategies

Author: Peggy Troyer (MSLOC Alum) Date: NA Shared by: Sandy Schwan (MSLOC Alum), on Evolvong Strategies blog Is there more to a job than just money? Lately the people who have been awarded 5-8% pay increases have been the ones to leave our organization. In one recent exit interview, a high-performing employee said, "For some reason, I get paid exceedingly well for what I do, and though it was nice, I just didn't understand why the company won't use the money to hire more help." Interestingly, why do people still make the decision to stay with an organization after receiving no increase, while others leave after receiving an 11% increase in compensation and rave reviews?

April 2014 Blog post by Swati Sarupria, MSLOC Alumna on Sandy Schwan's Evolving Strategies blog. "Values are enduring patterns of belief that we, as individuals, consider to be fundamentally important in our personal lives. They consciously or unconsciously guide our thoughts and actions. The alignment of values also forms the basis on which a group of people might flock together - like runners running for a common cause, or activists rallying against an unfavorable policy. Values influence who we get close to and forge stronger friendships with. In some ways, values help define our individuality. However, are values really only relevant to our personal lives? How many of us pay attention to values in the context of our jobs and organizations?"

Author: Matt Palmquist March 20, 2014 Shared by: Andee Weinfurter Bottom Line: Although the forward-thinking and innovative efforts of employees drive many elements of corporate strategy and success, managers lag behind in their ability to support such creative endeavors. They must give employees the resources to take on their own pet projects, and turn them into corporate assets.

This book by Lawrence G. Hrebiniak is recommended by BK Simerson, MSLOC 431 Leading with Strategic Thinking Instructor. It is not focused on learning and organizational change but is a very useful book.

Author: Karl Moore Written March 28, 2011 (shared February 16, 2014) Shared by Sean Radford There are two people, and only two, whose ideas must be taught to every MBA in the world: Michael Porter and Henry Mintzberg. This was true more than 25 years ago, when I did my MBA at USC. These are two academics who have had real impact for a long time. Part of their success, beyond having big relevant ideas, is due to their clear and concise writing skills (There is certainly a lesson in there for many of us business school academics).

By Jeff Haden Shared by Catherine Suer, MSLOC Student "I love setting goals. Unfortunately, my goals don't always love me back. I've tried using silence to accomplish a goal, and I've tried to sneak up on big goals, and although those strategies work, they're hardly foolproof. Fortunately James Clear, an entrepreneur and guy who thinks a lot about goals, habits, and success, has a much better approach to achieving almost any goal--and it's an approach anyone can use."

Herminia Ibarra (2004) Required reading for 2013, Hudson Institute

Author: Lex Sisney Date: April 17, 2014 Shared by: Andee Weinfurter, MSLOC student In a previous post I shared that every business has mass, which is a measure of its resistance to change. The challenge in getting an organization to change direction is the fact that its mass isn't neatly self-contained. Rather, it's scattered throughout its people, systems, structures, and processes - and the collective inertia causes resistance to change. In order to get the organization to execute on its strategy, you've got to get the mass contained and headed in one direction.

By Bea La O', MSLOC 2014 Capstone Research "This study seeks to understand how managers make strategic decisions through the lens of three approaches proffered by Mintzberg and Westley (2001): "think-first," procedural rationality, "see-first," insight and intuition, and "do-first," sensemaking. Through interviews with six leaders on strategic decision issues that range from changing the growth strategy of a large healthcare firm to redefining the talent management framework of a large quick service restaurant company, the study finds managers switch between the three approaches over the course of considering a decision issue. It also finds managers manage the inherent tension between "thinking-first," "seeing-first," and "doing-first," and socialize decision issues with stakeholders using "think-first," procedural rationality, and "do-first," sensemaking. "

Description of the types of organizational change

Article by Robert Kabacoff February 7, 2014 Shared by Amber Barger, MSLOC Student In study after study, strategic thinkers are found to be among the most highly effective leaders. And while there is an abundance of courses, books, articles and opinions on the process of strategic planning, the focus is typically on an isolated process that might happen once or twice per year. In contrast, a true strategic leader thinks and acts strategically every day.

March 2, 2014 Shared by Keeley Sorokti, MSLOC alumna "Over the last few years, there has been an enormous amount of industry discussion about how the digital world is changing the way we work. To any reasonable observer, the ways that we communicate, interact, and collaborate with each other are all in the midst of profound change. At least the why seems fairly clear. At at high level, there appear to be three major root causes for why collaboration - the very core of how people come together and function as a business - is in the midst of reinvention: Hierarchical management styles break down in the face of the inherent complexity and scale of the modern business environment. New digital tools have put us in constant and direct contact with nearly every person in the developed world at virtually no cost or effort. Thus businesses are now primarily subject to the power laws of networks, rather than the legacy rules of business. There has been a sustained shift in the power of creation, as the edges of our organizations and marketplaces now have readily in hand as much - and often more - productive power and reach than our institutions. The obvious cause is today's pervasive global platforms for self-expression (yes, by this I largely mean social media, but also all forms of digital connectedness.)"

11/13/2013 by Andrew Campbell and Mark Lancelott Shared by Teresa Torres, MSLOC Student, on Twitter - @ttorres

Written by Peggy Troyer, MSLOC Alumna March 18, 2014 "One of my responsibilities, as my company's Human Resource Partner, is to help managers make the right decisions on how they should reward their employees during our annual compensation review cycle. Over the years, a common assumption my managers may come to me for advice is, "How could anyone stay motivated to work if I don't give them a raise? Everyone must get something or they will surely leave." Is there more to a job than just money? Lately the people who have been awarded 5-8% pay increases have been the ones to leave our organization. In one recent exit interview, a high-performing employee said, "For some reason, I get paid exceedingly well for what I do, and though it was nice, I just didn't understand why the company won't use the money to hire more help." Interestingly, why do people still make the decision to stay with an organization after receiving no increase, while others leave after receiving an 11% increase in compensation and rave reviews?"

Author: Amy Gallo August 10, 2010 Shared by: Sean Radford, MSLOC Student