I was fortunate enough to vacation in Palm Springs over the holidays. I have never traveled over the holidays and it ended up being a nice reprieve. Who could complain about the nonstop sun and 20 degree warmer weather?! I also visited Joshua Tree National Park which is stunningly beautiful and surreal in its own rite. Attached are a few pictures.
Happy New Year everyone. Tonight I will spend the evening with good friends and good food…a great way to send off 2012!
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2012 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner can carry about 250 passengers. This blog was viewed about 1,200 times in 2012. If it were a Dreamliner, it would take about 5 trips to carry that many people.
My husband has been to Tokyo several times and every time he goes, he sends back the coolest pictures. These came from his most recent trip. It is an oragami store. He said it was so amazing and there was even an oragami that you needed to use microscope to see it. Definitely, Tokyo is on my list as a “must see”.
In the December 2012 issue of Talent Management magazine, there was a great article titled, “Social Media as Change Catalyst”. Its premise is that organizational change can be enhanced by using social media tools. What is interesting is that in a current project I am working on, I suggested this very thing, but received a lukewarm response. Why not allow the super users the opportunity to post tips, tricks and key information to begin the conversation about these software enhancements? Users can post questions, concerns and even their own tips to help everyone learn the new system and processes and quickly and efficiently as possible.
Choo, et al, suggest that social media can enhance change initiatives by:
It is no secret that employees are faced with a tremendous amount of change in their daily organizational life…new policies, software enhancements, job reductions and management changes all play a significant role in the amount of change and information an employee must take in. Change is the “new normal” and with that comes creating a shared vision, gaining buy-in and learning the new product or process. So it makes sense that connecting employees to be able to share experiences and learning will benefit everyone. Furthermore, it will be easier for management to gauge how the change is being accepted and implemented in the employees’ daily lives. Even more importantly, are the pitfalls or mishaps that need to be addressed immediately in order to continue to ensure the change takes hold. Social media tools allow for “real-time exchange of ideas”.
The article suggests that management play a role in the dialogue, too. Not only should management be active participants, they should be available to dispel incorrect information during the online exchange of ideas and experiences. Management can also keep the messages focused. It is no secret that learning needs to be more focused, targeted and learner-driven. Social media allows those three things to happen by allowing employees to teach and/or get the specific information they are looking for quickly and easily. Ultimately, social media tools help information to “flow in multiple directions” which alleviates the common issue of little or poor communication during a change initiative.
Read the full article.
seniyegroff 