Yesterday, I complimented a colleague on her pumpkin coloured skirt; she was surprised at the compliment as she had been debating whether to keep it or get rid of it. These small evaluations confront us daily. The workplace is no exception; we are continually re-evaluating, streamlining and revamping. Here at Strategic Connections Inc. we are busy evaluating our own performance to ensure our actions are aligned with our goals.

We’re also dedicated to using the strategies we recommend to our clients internally. Currently we are having fun with StoryWeb, part of the storyteller process. StoryWeb, hosted online, is an interactive forum for our staff to share stories that embody the goals and objectives of Strategic Connections Inc. It is a resource that encourages us to share with each other as well as to live best practices. This is just one of the many features of The Storytellers, an innovative but practical program that brings an organization’s vision to life through the stories of its employees. For more information about The Storytellers click here.

Our motto at Strategic Connections Inc. is Engaging People... Boosting Performance. Over the years, Strategic Connections Inc. has developed strategic and practical approaches to internal communication. The tools that we recommend to our clients are tools that we use daily in our own organization. We some of these resources available for purchase online: Dynamic Workplace Cultures: elements and actions to engage people and boost performance, A Guide for Managers and Leaders and The Communication Plan Workbook.

Delving deeper into the world of change management, Communication guru and President of Strategic Connections Inc., Ken Milloy, has created a piece on change in the workplace: Building a culture ready for change. Ken offers insight into the cyclical nature of change and the approaches necessary to manage it.

Change, despite being positive, can be met with many challenges. Consultant Jennifer Davis investigates "The Resistors" and offers valuable solutions for winning them over in her article: Handling resistance to change.

With August nearing and the heat of summer setting in; Nicky Fried, Vice President and Senior Consultant at Strategic Connections Inc. has offered us some advice for our summer reading lists in her article: Summer reading: Using stories to make your ideas stick. She warns us that you can’t judge a book by its cover as she examines the anatomy of an idea. For more literary suggestions we have compiled a collection of articles and books on an array of topics from corporate culture to strategy, all of which can be accessed on the website.

Till next time...

Cheers,

Dana
Editor, The Orange Chair