1: Getting better at getting better is what RiseWithDrew is all about.

Monday through Thursday, we explore ideas from authors, thought leaders, and exemplary organizations.  On Friday, I share something about myself or what we are working on at PCI.

The Old Testament tells us: “Where there is no vision, the people perish.”

“Change requires a vibrant organizing image,” Robert E. Quinn writes in the The Deep Change Field Guide.… continue reading

It isn’t possible, Robert E. Quinn writes in The Deep Change Field Guide.  

We cannot “teach” someone how to be a leader.  Except by being what we wish to inspire in others.

We can only develop leaders by being a leader.  Which requires authenticity and risk.  Great leadership is great teaching which gives rise to great relationships.

This week we’ve been exploring Robert’s concept of the “fundamental state of … continue reading

Is organizational conflict a good thing?

It depends, Robert E. Quinn tells us in his brilliant book on leadership, The Deep Change Field Guide.

It starts with our assumptions.  Many organizations are places of conflict.  For example, at GM’s Freemont Plant executives introduced new techniques only to see the union immediately discredit them.  The union’s response confirmed the executive’s beliefs that they lived in a world of conflict.   … continue reading

Luis’ career had been a series of triumphs.  After completing a five-year engineering program in four years, he experienced immediate success in his new company.  Technically strong, innovative, and action-oriented, he was promoted several times, Robert E. Quinn writes in his terrific book, The Deep Change Field Guide.

But now as a supervisor, for the first time, he was receiving negative feedback from his leaders.  His hard-edged strategies and … continue reading

Yesterday we looked at the role failure plays in bringing about deep change.  Failure drops us into a world of personal chaos.  Yet it also serves as a catalyst for dramatic learning and growth, writes Robert E. Quinn in The Deep Change Field Guide.

“I had never experienced this kind of sorrow before,” reflects Doug Anderson, the Dean of the Business School at Utah State, about his experience … continue reading

“I could no longer say that I was my job, because I had none.  I couldn’t rely on my wealth to create a sense of worth and identity, for I had no money and loads of debt,” commented an entrepreneur whose company had gone bankrupt.

He continues:  “I could not look to social standing, for a failed entrepreneur has no social standing.  And the failure of my love relationship a … continue reading

Business schools have a problem, say two business school professors.

“Detached, third person leadership, no matter how well it follows the sage advice of those who teach how to lead, does not produce the results we want and need,” says TCU Business School Professor Larry Peter.  “It’s not the mechanics.  It’s the person! Change me first!  The message is so simple, so powerful.”

“Most professional schools claim to teach … continue reading

Yesterday, we looked at how deep change starts with self-change.  To be a leader is to accept we must continually adapt and evolve.  

The spirit of which is captured by this quote from R. Buckminster Fuller which I love: “I am not a thing, a noun.  I seem to be a verb, an evolutionary process – an integral function of the universe.

Meaningful change happens when we awake to the … continue reading

Erin, an eight-year-old girl, has no interest in her homework.

Her mother insists she do her homework and spends hours working with her, writes Robert E. Quinn in his wonderful book The Deep Change Field Guide.  

The child complains.  The mother attempts to be cheerful but becomes increasingly irritated, stating: “The trouble with Erin is especially frustrating because for years I have given her my best efforts.”

Erin’s mother … continue reading

Jeff Liker is considered one of the leading experts on how work gets done at Toyota.  

Over the years, thousands of companies have attempted to implement Toyota’s ideas around lean manufacturing which is at the heart of the fabled “Toyota Way,” writes Robert E. Quinn in his book The Deep Change Field Guide.  Implementing lean involves eliminating waste through a process of continuous improvement.

Yet, according to … continue reading