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A few weeks ago I co-hosted a webinar with Sara Ismail-Beigi and Jonathan Thomas Meenach, two students from Bowling Green University’s Masters of Organization Development Program. The first thing we talked about in our planning were our own experiences as both leaders and participants in other webinars. Here’s the short list we developed:

Several years ago I was working with an organization that was taking on a major transformation effort. They were restructuring the business, changing how people worked, and shifting the culture to one of “open communications.” Information had been power in this business so at face value, these goals made good sense.

“That’s what I do. It’s what I love to do. It’s what I do best.”

My wife looked at me, happy that I had started my Thursday morning on such a positive note.

She’s used to my exuberance and confirmed my self-assessment: “I make complex things simple that helps others get clear and take smart action.” (By the way, there’s plenty I’m awful at…anyone who’s driven with me can attest to my having zero sense of direction).

My 115 pound black lab Theo spent most of yesterday re-asserting his dominance among our small pack of dogs in the house (3 dogs, 2500 square feet…don’t ask). He spent the day knocking our new scrappy puppy Bonnie to the floor, growling to keep her in her place, and generally got back to being the “man in the house” (dog-wise at least).

Read on to learn about adding another Critical Success Factor to put in place for your change work to work to the list of seven I have described in another article.

I got an email last week from my wife. It was one of those notes that’s been forwarded across cyberspace until it finds its way into your inbox. The story was about some guy who played his violin for 45 minutes in a DC train station at rush hour. 1,097 people passed by while he was playing. Only a half dozen stopped and listened. He collected $32.17 in tips. Scenes like this play out every day in train stations around the world.

But this day was different. So was the guy playing the music.