Center for Effective Organizations (CEO), University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business Jennifer Sparks-Taylor (213) 740-9814 sparksj@marshall.usc.edu Release Date: January 3, 2025 Strategic Employee Resource Group (ERG) Leaders Drive Success and...
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Stop Naming Your Change (and Transformation) Programs!
Organizations often give catchy names to transformation initiatives to create focus and signal their importance, but this practice can unintentionally reinforce the idea that change is temporary, leading to disillusionment and cynicism when further changes arise. Instead, aligning efforts with ongoing strategies and framing them as part of a continuous process, like “LRP Activation,” fosters clarity, engagement, and a culture where change becomes a normal and accepted part of organizational life.
Benjamin Schneider Lauded for Excellence in Organizational Psychology
Benjamin Schneider has been included in Marquis Who’s Who. As in all Marquis Who’s Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Diagnosing and adjusting transformations to ensure success
This article is the third in a three-part series on applying systems diagnostics to understand the sources of organizational underperformance (Using systems diagnostics to drive process improvement and change), why transformations often fail to deliver (Designing transformations to avoid failure), and how to keep transformations from going off course (this one). It is based in part on my Strategic Analytics book. The issues addressed in the series will be covered in depth in the upcoming workshop Driving Organizational Change with Data.
Designing transformations to avoid failure
This article is the second in a three-part series on applying systems diagnostics to understand the sources of organizational underperformance (Using systems diagnostics to drive process improvement and change), why transformations often fail to deliver (this one), and how to keep transformations from going off course (Diagnosing and adjusting transformations to ensure success)). It is based in part on my Strategic Analytics book. The issues addressed in the series will be covered in depth in the upcoming virtual workshop Driving Organizational Change with Data.
Using systems diagnostics to drive process improvement and change
This article is the first in a two-part series on applying systems diagnostics to understand the sources of organizational underperformance (this article) and why transformations often fail to deliver (next article). It is based in part on Alec Levenson’s Strategic Analytics book. The issues addressed in the series will be covered in depth in the upcoming virtual workshop Driving Organizational Change with Data.
Millennials change jobs more than any other generation, study says
Alec Levenson, Senior Research Scientist at the Center for Effective Organizations, was featured on Spectrum News 1 suggesting that short-term millennial high performers can significantly contribute to an organization, even if their eventual replacements are less...
Building capabilities and changing the organization
Executing a (new) strategy means two things. You have to build new capability required for the strategy. And the organization has to change from the old capability to the new. Capability building and change. Simple enough, and easy to say. So why do most strategy executions fail?
Leveraging learning through the power of Employee Intelligence (EI)
Theresa Welbourne explains why employees have a lot more intelligence stored within them than leaders might think, and how AI can extract new insight from what staff say.
Is the Future of Work Lost in Translation?
The increasing pace of work transformation is evident in the surge of gig work, demands for increased work flexibility, the institutionalization of remote/hybrid work accelerated by the pandemic, and the increasing integration of robots and Generative AI with human workers. It should come as no surprise that the number of resumes mentioning the “Future of Work” has surged over the last decade, with a slight decline recently, possibly due to layoffs and changing priorities.
A killer app with huge upsides and dangerous downsides: Applying AI to People Analytics
Since its launch in November 2022, ChatGPT has sparked a significant surge of interest and investment in the realm of generative artificial intelligence (AI). The future trajectory of AI remains uncertain, but one application stands out with confidence: People Analytics (PA). AI’s integration into PA holds tangible potential, offering substantial benefits and immediate realizations. However, this comes with inherent risks that are challenging to mitigate. This article delves into the promising advantages of applying AI in People Analytics while also addressing strategies to navigate and prevent potential pitfalls.
Edward E. Lawler to Receive the USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award
This April, Edward E. Lawler will be honored with the USC Faculty Lifetime Achievement Award. Since its inception in 1982, the award has been bestowed upon internationally renowned retired faculty from the arts and humanities; social sciences; science, technology, engineering and mathematics; medicine; and other professional disciplines.