Tools

Here’s a list of tools that clients and I have found useful.   Newest additions:

  • Deb’s new coaching service page is here
  • Deb’s Slideshare on Social Media for Independents, Small Biz is here.
  • The MCG model- Membership, Control, Goal full article (2 pages)  is  here
  • The teamwork Control & Leadership model (relevant to the MCG model below) is here
  • Belbin® Team Roles framework is here to clarify team contributions, needs
  • The BusinessBalls library of  business & org. dev. articles, exercises, templates  is here and is relisted in the libraries section below.

Enjoy a last Fall ride in the country (1 min.) with the Reveln Spyder – “Free Ride” here.

Several tool libraries are also listed below along with university-based tools.  Feel free to contact me or comment below with your suggested tools and links that are your personal favorites.  I’ll continue to add to the list.

  • D x V x F > Resistance to change -  a simplified look at why the change you wanted DIDN’T happen and what might have been missing  here (Also see the two change links below.)
  • The Worthington Brighton Change grid – an expanded version of DVF above, to further assess what might be missing in your change/communication planning.
  • The 7-S Diagnostic Model for Organizational Effectiveness (Peters and Waterman) 7-S-Org-Effectiveness-Model (Also see M. Weisbord’s model)
  • The MCG model- Membership, Control, Goal – why some groups are able to produce a good-to-great results and why others don’t available here  (Powerpoint doc.) The full article (2 pages) explaining how MCG works is here.
  • Ready, Willing, Able, and Fit (RWAF) Mike Jay coachability assessment – Coaching Readiness.
  • Preferred Futuring-A robust, flexible process for planning.  Integrates well with many aspect of strategic planning and visioning.  1 page overview is  here (Word doc.)
  • SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats) described quite well here.  Though Preferred Futuring incorporates SWOT elements (featuring a different approach using Environmental Scanning), SWOT is effective for general planning for many groups.
  • A sample Retreat Planning process - with a focus on creating a strategic plan is here Retreat sample flowchart (pdf).
  • Meeting Agendas – PAL & PACT  using the structure for meetings:  PAL – Purpose, Agenda, Limit  and PACT – Purpose, Agenda, Critique, Time
  • People and Task – Too many meetings and projects are long on task, and short on people elements.  Adding a simple “Welcome!”  and “Hi, How are you?” with a sincerely managed, brief check-in on how people are doing and if there are pressing issues can help greatly with the task/people balance for both meetings and with entire projects.
  • Ladder of Inference – A good theoretical model that helps capture the invisible in  communication, available here.  Practically, when communicating,  inferences and beliefs are referenced in a nanosecond, with implications that impact communication for days, weeks, years.

Libraries and Other Tools

Other useful change tools and business libraries are below:

  • The four room change model and possible solutions here
  • UM’s Business and Finance Change Management Toolkit booklets  here
  • Free Non-Profit Management Library  here
  • Marshall Goldsmith’s Coaching Library here
  • Change Wiki by Nexus for Change here
  • BusinessBalls – business & org. dev. articles, exercises, templates here