During my secondary schooling period, though I was never a great reader of books, I have to recognise the benefits I derived from reading ‘Illustrated classics’ has contributed very largely to my general knowledge and to my openings to literature. Otherwise, just as many of my friends, we were reading comics of the like of PIPO, Tin Tin, Blek Roc or Pim Pam Poum. Later, I read regularly the ‘Readers Digest’ which was the recommended monthly reading of my English teachers.

I feel that it is a fun way to acquire knowledge and to be initiated to reading for adolescents.

I would love to reread these classics or at least to hold copies of them.

Are we not  in transition? Are we not in perpetual change? Are we not in a continuous motion?

I am very fond of this article by Vicki Heath that compares my early learning of Physics: Newton’s Law of Motion with her laws for successful Transition.

Managing Change: The Three Laws for Successful Transition

By Vicki Heath

Change programs that succeed adhere to certain enduring principles of effective change management. Organizations that act in accordance with these change management principles are more likely to see their efforts result in real organizational benefits. Here are three principles that have well stood the test of time.

Isaac Newton was a giant in the field of physics. We can all remember him from our school days as the genius that discovered the law of gravity. The picture of an apple falling from an apple tree on to Newton’s head is etched indelibly on our minds.

Newton is also famous for his three Laws of Motion. The formulation of these three laws was the largest single scientific advancement since the days of Aristotle, some two thousand years previous. Newton’s laws of motion apply to physical entities operating in space and describe how they interact at the most fundamental level. However, they can just as easily be applied to human entities interacting in an environment of change. When we apply them to people and organizations, we call the principles the Three Laws of Change Management©.

Newton’s First Law of Motion states that an object will remain at rest or in perpetual motion until an unbalanced force acts upon it. Think of your change program for a moment as the object in Newton’s First Law. Once your change initiative gets going, think about what will keep the program moving towards your goal.

As with the object in Newton’s Law, your change program will need a force to get it going and will need a force to move it to each new level. Also, given the natural inertia in organizations, if the driving forces dissipate, like a rolling stone the program will eventually come to a halt.

Just as with Newton’s First Law, the force must be immediate for your program to progress. A potential force that will provide an impetus in the future is of no use in the present. What is the immediate force that will get your people moving and what are the forces that will keep them moving? For some, discussing with them the forces for change may compel them to follow and support you. You could point to:

• legislative changes such as corporate governance, occupational health and safety, and risk management
• competitor activity such as new entrants and decreasing market share
• financial results such as profit and loss and share price
• quality indicators such as defects and delivery to commit
• customer feedback from surveys, mystery shopper, focus groups and field reports
• employee satisfaction survey results
• benchmarking comparison results

You could also highlight the impact of not changing. Impacts that you could discuss with people may include:

• loss of market share
• fines or jail sentences for non-compliance or personal injury
• tarnished business reputation
• increased rate of customer complaints
• loss of key staff

Whatever the forces for change, make sure that the forces are applied to the people needed to bring about the change by communicating often and using a variety of methods.

As you think about what strategies you will use to keep the momentum going in the new operational environment, I encourage you to draw a lesson from Newton’s Second Law of Motion. Newton’s Second Law states that the rate of change in motion of an object is proportional to the force acting upon it and inversely proportional to its mass. Consider the object as being the people working in the new organization and the force to keep them moving in the right direction as the various practical techniques that you can employ.

Your practical techniques could include:

• aligning systems of reward and recognition
• feeding back performance results to employees
• achieving some quick wins
• celebrating achievements
• creating meaning through introducing symbols of the new culture
• operationalizing the change
• aligning recruitment and selection criteria

Newton’s principle is telling us that the greater the mass (that is, the more pronounced the resistance to change), the more diligently you will need to apply the techniques (that is, increase the strength of the force). Think about and record what concrete steps you will take to institutionalize the change and who will be responsible for each action.

The final lesson on managing change comes from Newton’s Third Law. Newton’s Third Law states that every action is met with an equal and opposite reaction. What the principle teaches us is that if you confront resisters with shouting, lies, mistrust, sarcasm or apathy, you will be confronted with shouting, lies, mistrust, sarcasm and apathy in return. On the other hand, if you treat resisters with respect, acknowledge their feelings and listen genuinely to their concerns, you will be met in kind. How can you apply this principle? Things to consider include:

• Communicate openly and often with employees and other stakeholders, and without using commercial confidence as an excuse to not communicate.
• Meet resisters face to face whenever possible.
• Point out unacceptable behavior without resorting to character assassination, sarcasm and other methods that serve to attack people’s sense of self-esteem.
• Keep your commitments in order to build trust and respect. Trust can be lost in an instant and take years to regain.
• Don’t shy away from bad news. Tell people candidly but sensitively.
• Choose people for key positions that have well developed interpersonal skills.

That’s three important keys to guiding successful organizational change. We can summarize these Three Laws of Change Management© as:

First Law: Overcoming the natural inertia in organizations requires the constant application of the forces for change.

Second Law: The greater the inertia or resistance to change, the greater the required forces for change.

Third Law: The way that change agents treat resisters is the way that resisters will treat change agents.

Next time you want to bring about positive change with maximal impact, think about Isaac Newton and the Three Laws of Change Management©. Most importantly, think about how you can apply these three principles to your change program to get it moving in the right direction.

Journaliste sportif très célèbre, Nelson Montfort se livre intimement et pour la première fois à la télévision. Protestant par ses parents, d’un père Américain, il confesse mettre de plus en plus sa confiance en la personne protectrice de Dieu. Il place sa relation avec Dieu dans son intimité. Sa passion pour la musique religieuse de Bach, le persuade que Dieu est une petite musique. Il confie que sa conscience en la sainte présence de Dieu, l’aide dans sa vie de journaliste sportif. Il livre à la télévision qu’il se recueille dans une petite chapelle avant le grand événement du Tournois de Roland Garros- un rendez vous avec Dieu avant d’entreprendre son labeur. Et il y retourne pour dire merci dans les années particulièrement réussies.

Il croit à la vie éternelle. Orphelin de Père et de mère à 23 et 27 ans, il est fils unique. Il est convaincu que ses parents sont ses âmes protectrices.

Je me réjouis d’entendre le beau témoignage d’un personnage « people » qui livre au grand jour sa foi en Dieu.

I was so excited yesterday to read the Special Report of Soundview on The Brain Behind Business: How the New Neuroscience Is Changing Leadership.

Two of my favourite themes, leadership and Neuroscience, were combined, for my pleasure. My mind was so to say, reformatted instantly as I read through the document, especially at this time, when I was diligently preparing the NLP practitioner Group’s material for discussions.

The new discoveries in Neuroscience cast a new light on the functioning of the Brain, which in some cases affirming to the long time practices of human in leadership skills and in other cases dispelling others. But perhaps more importantly they are bringing in hereto new practices.

The social aspect of the Brain is now a new term and its discovery is being developed. Interestingly enough I am wondering on the break throughs that are possible with the development of Social networks and collective intelligence brought by the Face book, YouTube, flickr, and the like.

The Neuroscience of Leadership

In 2006,Strategy+Business magazine published a groundbreaking article titled “The Neuroscience of Leadership” by David Rock,CEO of Results Coaching Systems, and Dr. Jeffrey Schwartz. Rock is a management coach and the author of Quiet Leadership: Six Steps to

Transforming Performance at Work, Personal Best and Your Brain at Work, which will be published in October 2009. Schwartz isa research psychiatrist at the School of Medicine at the

University of California, LosAngeles, whose books include The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force and Brain Lock :Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Behavior.

In the story for Strategy+Business, Rock and Schwartz explain how many companies, such as Toyota and Springfield Remanufacturing Corp, have been able to create successful

business models by tapping into corporate practices that “resonate deeply with the innate predispositions of the human brain.”

Rock and Schwartz point out that 20 years of neuroscience research have given scientists and psychologists a better perspective on the ways people consciously and subconsciously

act and respond to their environments.

They write: “Imaging technologies such as functional magnetic resonance imaging

(fMRI) and positron emission tomography (PET), along with brain wave analysis technologies such as quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) have revealed hitherto unseen neural connections in the living human brain.”

With the help of the latest breakthroughs in computer analysis, researchers have been able to link their theoretical work with the brain and the ways it thinks, feels, responds and perceives.

According to Rock and Schwartz, here are six things the latest research by neuroscientists can teach managers and executives about the art and craft of leadership:

1. Change can be painful because it can trigger physiological discomfort.

2. Behaviorism, “based on typical incentives and threats (the carrot and the stick),” doesn’t work for very long.

3. Constructive performance feedback, which means, “Politely tell people what they are doing

wrong,” doesn’t engage people.

4. Paying attention creates chemical and physical reactions in the brain.

5. Our expectations and preconceptions shape our reality.

6. Repeated, purposeful and focused attention can lead to long-lasting personal evolution.

The Social Nature of the Brain

Since the publication of “The Neuroscience of Leadership,” Rock continues to explore and write about what leaders can learn from new brain research. He has been fascinated by the latest discoveries in the social nature of the brain.

In an exclusive interview, Rock says that a major shift has taken place in the way neuroscientists understand how attention changes the brain. He explains,

“What we are seeing now is that attention is so much a function of the social environment. The brain is attuned to avoid social threats, like a drop in status; and to achieve social rewards, like a sense of connectedness with people.

The big surprise has been that the brain networks for social pain and pleasure use very similar networks for physical threats and rewards. This means that Maslow was kind of wrong—to the

brain, the social is as important as the physical.”

Lilian Berthelot signe un magnifique livre sur Sir Jean Etienne Moi Lin Ah Chuen. Ce document a été présenté lors une réception la semaine dernière le 12 aout 2009, a l’occasion de la transformation de sa demeure au 5 Rue Révérend Lebrun, Rose-Hill en une maison de souvenir pour sa famille et le public.

Par des interviews des différentes personnes qui ont été proches de Sir Jean E. M. L. Ah Chuen, et par le recueil des photographies et autres documents, Lilian Berthelot retrace la riche carrière de ce grand tribun Mauricien qui a marqué l’histoire de Maurice.

Dès ma jeunesse, je connaissais Sir Jean, car il était un ami de la famille. Par ailleurs les commerces de chaque famille étaient contigües sur la Rue La Reine à Port Louis. Nos familles étaient très proches.

Adolescent je fréquentais la rue Révérend Lebrun et m’y trouvait souvent avec le fils Marc et Vincent pour des escapades du Collège St Mary’s. Leur maison de Rose Hill été un havre pour quelques copains de classe pour notre détente quand nous étions accordés du temps libre. Nous passions des bons moments en écoutant et en fredonnant les chansons de Ricky Nelson jouées sur leur gramophone.

J’etais meme present pour le mariage de son fils aine Raymond au Plaza. Ce mariage dans un sens, etait signe d’une evolution de la mentalite. Mariage d’un Hakka a une Cantonnaise.

Ce document vient encore une fois de plus, enrichir la mémoire et histoire de notre nation.

This was part of my  yesterday’s reading, which I found interesting enough to share!

The psychological counseling process follows a defined path of steps in a sequence. It is important to follow this process because of the power of human emotions and because of the real need to arrive at a desired outcome of the counseling.

Listening and Observation

The first step is one of active listening and observing the client. Is he or she relaxed or disturbed and agitated? Can eye contact be held or is the person’s attention darting and being deflected everywhere? Is the body language telling you something? Is the body posture generally open or closed and defensive? (Self protective.)

Facing Negative Emotions

Are there any clearly dominant negative emotions such as anxiety, fear, anger or guilt? These will need to be acknowledged and ‘fed back’ to the client as being observable, real events that need to be dealt with. Unless these negative feelings are actively confronted, no progress can be made with behavior modification and with goal setting. This task of providing feedback on negativity and bringing strong emotions into the light of day may take a considerable amount of time over several one hour sessions. Statements like, ‘I see you are really angry about something’ can be helpful. Also, ‘so you’ve been worrying a lot lately.’

Positive Suggestion and Options

Some suggestions like, ‘you can do something about this,’ may be timely and empowering. Build up the perception of skills and self esteem. ‘You have real ability and you can learn more skills to beat this thing. Deep inside, you can imagine now and think up some solutions.’

‘What are the options facing you?’ leads to a creative brainstorming with the client about how to start moving towards a lasting solution.

Goal Setting

‘So what do you really want?’ becomes the start of finding goals that really follow the interests and desires of the client. The question, ‘what would you need to do first?’ leads to sub goals and tasks that must be fulfilled in order to achieve the primary goal. The counselor’s goal is to draw this information out of the person instead of imposing one’s values and beliefs.

Reinforcement

Systematically rewarding all progress including any ‘baby steps’ taken in the right direction; i.e., towards the agreed upon goals. Reward in this context of counseling means giving the person your focused attention, acceptance, approval and praise. These social rein forcers are very potent in supporting changes in behaviour.

Conclusion

As you are beginning to realize, counselling techniques are not particularly complicated, but they do need to follow a set order or sequence. In fact, psychological counselling may be summarized in two rather direct questions:

1. ‘How are you feeling?’

2. ‘What do you want?’

The psychology here looks at first glance to be oversimplified, but is it really? Results will follow when this sequence is used with the appropriate sensitivity and empathy. Take care with other people and always remember to consult a trained and registered health practitioner when confronting mental health problems of severity, when human life may be at risk. This article is provided for educational purposes only. It is not intended for therapeutic application.

Je suis pris depuis ce matin dans l’univers de Robert Tatin.

Qui est-il ?

Robert Tatin tente de jeter un pont entre l’homme et l’homme, de marier le ciel et la terre. Sculpteur, peintre, céramiste, il peuple la vieille ferme de la Frênouse, à Cossé-le-Vivien, de statues polychromes qui figurent son aventure intérieure : c’est le domptage-de-la-bête ; qui illustrent les grands principes vitaux : porte-du-soleil, porte-de-la-lune ; qui dressent un ensemble monumental en l’honneur de tout le monde : c’est Notre-dame-tout-le-monde. Depuis peu, la Frênouse est devenue musée. La place manque ? il prolonge son Å“uvre par un chemin de statues qui rejoint la route et peut-être ira jusqu’à la mer. Ce livre de dessins et poésie tend un nouveau bras. Alain Barré.

Le Jardin des Méditations

Comme la maison de Robert Tatin, l’Å“uvre est orientée est-ouest, la Porte du Soleil au levant et la Porte de la Lune au couchant. Ces dernières encadrent un bassin central en forme de croix d’où émerge Notre-Dame-Tout-le-Monde (6,50 m de haut), qui se dresse vers le ciel étoilé comme la promesse d’un cosmos à notre portée. Les petits personnages sculptés autour du bassin représentent les activités humaines et les grands événements de la nature, propres à chaque mois de l’année. Le visiteur est invité à découvrir ce patio en respectant le sens de rotation de la Terre.

De cet espace intérieur habité d’innombrables personnages à la polychromie éclatante, s’élèvent deux escaliers attirant une nouvelle fois le regard vers le ciel. Autour de l’ensemble, un déambulatoire nous conduit à découvrir les salles d’expositions…

A travers des images pourvus par internet et les sites web j’ai pris plaisir non seulement de connaitre l’homme mais également de puiser à travers des ses œuvres sa pensée. Pas une tarte je dirai !

Je retrouve ici, une parole de ma grand-mère, qui par tradition disait qu’il fallait toujours orienter son lit sur l’axe est-ouest pour bien se reposer. Bien plus tard, j’ai compris que notre corps situant dans cette position été moins exposé aux champs magnétiques de la terre !

C’est bien un voyage en Mayenne que j’ai entrepris aujourd’hui.

Ce que vous apporte la PNL

Une formation de Praticien puis de Maître-Praticien PNL permet l’appropriation de modèles de plus en plus performants

et puissants pour communiquer, apprendre et changer, au service de vos objectifs personnels et professionnels.

La communication. Les excellents communicants savent se fixer des objectifs pertinents, établir des relations de confiance,

définir des indicateurs de progression et de réussite, et faire preuve d’une flexibilité mentale, émotionnelle

et comportementale. En développant votre impact sur vous-même, vous développez votre impact sur les autres et

construisez des relations plus riches.

L’apprentissage. Réaliser nos buts dans un environnement instable nécessite un apprentissage permanent. Nous

avons besoin d’apprendre à apprendre. Apprendre en modélisant et en transférant la structure de notre propre excellence

d’une situation à une autre, ou apprendre en modélisant l’excellence des personnes qui nous entourent.

Le changement. Il permet aux individus ou organisations de trouver en permanence un nouvel équilibre entre les

exigences externes (les contraintes de l’environnement) ou internes (les valeurs, mission et vision). Un équilibre plus

aligné, plus stable et confortable, générateur d’une plus grande énergie et d’une plus grande performance.

À qui s’adresse la PNL ?

À tous ceux qui considèrent la communication et les ressources humaines comme des facteurs clé de leur performance

et de leur réussite personnelle et professionnelle, et à titre d’exemple dans les domaines suivants :

• L’entreprise : managers, commerciaux, contrôle qualité, DRH, formation, recruteurs

• Les métiers du conseil et de l’accompagnement : coachs, consultants, orientation et réinsertion professionnelle

• La pédagogie : enseignants, formateurs, éducateurs

• La santé : médecins, dentistes, infirmières et professions paramédicales

• La relation d’aide : psychologues, psychothérapeutes, assistantes sociales

Le contenu des formations PNL est facilement transposable à tous les domaines d’activité.

I spent some time today reading the ‘heart of coaching’ introduced to me by my very good friend Rita from Kuala Lumpur Malaysia to whom I spoke today on Skype. Her company based in Malaysia covering the Fareast regularly runs training seminars and certifies trainers. Thomas G Crane the author of the bestseller ‘Heart of Coaching’ is one of her regular speakers and trainers.

Three chapters of the book are offered by the Author, free of charge as a teaser, which are just enough to get you excited to read on.

Book Description

This is the 10th year and the 4th version of this book being a vital resource for those who are willing to develop coaching as a contemporary leadership skill. It presents the powerful process called Transformational Coaching as a comprehensive and systematic way to plan, organize, and conduct coaching conversations. It de-mystifies into easy to understand and follow steps, thus making it a communication tool for leaders and their teams to coach in all directions – Up toward one’s Boss, Down toward one’s Direct Reports, and Laterally to one’s Peers. Huge benefits accrue to the organizations where this becomes a cultural norm…and a true “coaching culture.”

In the spirit of keeping “The Heart of Coaching” a vibrant and contemporary resource for our readers, we offer this Third Edition where we do several important things. We have deepened the connections between Emotional Intelligence and the art and practice of coaching. We added “setting organizational context” to the expectation-setting portion of the conversation so that coach and coachee both clearly address the “big picture” framework of Vision, Mission , Strategy, Key Objectives, and Core Values.

We added more effective ways for both coach and coachee to explore their individual roles as “co-creators” of the situation they are discussing. We added the powerful step of clarifying the “vision for success” as framing for the contemplated action planning. We also remind the coach to acknowledge overall progress of the coachee as they support them in enhancing their effectiveness over the long haul.

Lastly, we have (in chapter 9) clarified the distinctions between the two primary coaching genres – Executive Coaching and Collegial Coaching. It is important to clearly understand how external coaching relationships and processes are different than the internal coaching relationships and processes between people working side-by-side as colleagues.

As coaching is yet another of my favorite subject, looks like I shall purchase the book soon; if I have the permission from my wife as she has been complaining about the storage of the numerous books I have. May be I shall have to purchase a ‘kindle‘ the e-book soon.