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Managing the Change that Nobody Wants

October 6, 2016

I’m an organizational development consultant and I specialize in partnering with business leaders to achieve transformational change. I’ve lead dozens of large scale change projects, most of them moving individuals, teams and organizations to a stronger and better place. I think of change as a positive thing and managing transformational change is my life’s calling.

But not all change is wanted and not all change has a happy ending. My dear husband has Parkinson’s disease and Lewy-body dementia. Its taken over our lives. We fight a battle every day that we will not win. Richard’s ending won’t be fast and Continue reading →

Dementia, Lewi body dementia, managing change, Parkinson's disease, transformational change

Implementing Change, Lewy body dementia, Parkinson's disease

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4 road tested ways to maximize the impact of your strategic plan

June 6, 2016

Ava S. Butler

Most organizations put a lot of effort into creating their strategic plan. And most organizations do a lot of things right. They gather their leaders together to agree their future direction. They share their strategy with employees, and cascade goals to relevant departments and teams. They even check back a few times a year to see how they are doing.

However few organizations truly maximize their efforts. If your strategy doesn’t call for significant changes to the way you do business, don’t worry about it. But when your strategic plan calls for major Continue reading →

Business growth, Executive steering groups, managing change, Progress reviews, Project charters, Project teams, Strategic planning

Growing your business, Strategic planning

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What Richard Sees: Insight into the hallucinations affiliated with Lewy body dementia

February 2, 2016

Ava S. Butler

Lewy body dementia (LBD) is not as well known as Alzheimer’s, but it is the second most common form of dementia, impacting over 1.3 million Americans.

The disease did get a boost in publicity recently when Robin Williams was diagnosed with LBD after his suicide, but far more public information is needed.

Lewy body dementia a progressive neurodegenerative dementia closely associated with Parkinson’s disease. My dear husband, Richard has both.

Persistent and recurring visual hallucinations are often an early symptom of LBD. This was true for Richard. Not all LBD hallucinations are fear based, but Richard’s were. His ability Continue reading →

Dementia, Lewi body dementia, managing change, Parkinson's disease

Lewy body dementia, Parkinson's disease

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An award winning case study for implementing transformational change

May 29, 2015

Ava S. Butler

MCA (Management Consultancies Association) based in the UK annually recognizes consultancies for outstanding work. I am proud that the project Nigel Waterson and I led with Imtech and Curzon & Company was honored with the Highly Commended award for Change Management in the Private Sector. Below is the case study.

Shaping Imtech for UK Growth

Executive Summary

This project started with a loose affiliation of regional legacy companies and ended with a single £600M category-leading UK Engineering Services group with 3800 staff. Described here is Imtech UK’s journey to this position, and the role Curzon played in helping Continue reading →

Implementation, managing change, Sustainable change, transformational change

Growing your business, Implementing Change

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The Positive Approach to Transformation

May 7, 2015

Ava S. Butler

Those of us who consult with organizations going through large scale transformation can sometimes forget how unsettling change can be to the individuals involved. Below is an article written by Tamara Lechner providing practical advise on managing personal transformation. When coaching your clients (or yourself) through change, you may want to reference her advise for insights and perspective.

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The Positive Approach to Transformation

Whether you want to eat a healthier diet, exercise regularly, or embark on a new way of parenting, the biggest barrier to change is you. You can make the task as easy as pie, Continue reading →

managing change, Sustainable change, transformational change

Growing your business, Implementing Change, Transformation Tools

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U.S. Soldiers, Back in Iraq, Find Security Forces in Disrepair: a Lesson in Sustainability

April 15, 2015

Ava S. Butler

“When I left in 2009,” Major Modlin said, “they had it, they really did. I don’t know what happened after that.”

The New York Times reported today that US soldiers are finding that the Security Forces that they trained are not doing as well as expected.

Back for the first time since the United States left in 2011, none of the soldiers thought they would be here again, let alone return to find the Iraqi Army they had once trained in such disrepair.

Colonel Schwemmer said he was stunned at the state in which he found the Iraqi soldiers Continue reading →

Implementation, managing change, project management, Sustainable change, transformational change

Growing your business, Implementing Change, Transformation Tools

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Managing stakeholders when the stakes are high

April 8, 2015

Ava S. Butler

In this blog I share insights from Clive Mallard of The Independents’ Consultant, who articulates sound advice for consultants or project leaders managing a project involving significant change.

__________

Let me start with a definition. When I refer to business stakeholders I mean, individuals or teams within the business who will either be impacted by a change being proposed or who will have an influence on the decisions that will be required.

Using a client example, here’s what we did.

1.) Developed a comprehensive stakeholder map.

Firstly I worked with the project leads to identify who Continue reading →

facilitation, Implementation, managing change, project management, stakeholder management, Sustainable change, transformational change

Implementing Change, Transformation Tools

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Four Techniques to Evaluate Meeting Effectiveness: #2 Once Around the Table

March 16, 2015

Ava S. Butler

“I wish I knew what participants are thinking as we close the meeting. I’d like to hear not just about the meeting itself and the decisions we’ve taken but also their general thoughts. What can you suggest?”

#2 Once Around the Table

What is Once Around the Table?

Once Around the Table is a simple and powerful technique. It provides participants the opportunity to first reflect and then communicate their thoughts as the meeting comes to a close. This technique usually creates a good sense of closure and completeness to the session. But don’t use it if you Continue reading →

agendas, facilitation, managing change, meeting management, meetings, off-sites

Techniques to Evaluate Meeting Effectiveness

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Four Techniques to Evaluate Meeting Effectiveness: #1 What Went Well/Opportunities for Improvement

March 1, 2015

Ava S. Butler

As with any product or service, meetings need feedback from their customers (in this case participants) in order to continually increase their effectiveness. I plan to share four techniques that give meeting facilitators specific processes to obtain accurate information about the effectiveness of their meetings. These technique alternatives ask for different types of information in different ways, but all provide the meeting facilitator with the data necessary to accurately measure and consistently improve the quality of his or her meetings.

These four techniques include:

What Went Well/Opportunities for Improvement
Once Around the Table
Team Effectiveness Chart
Written Questions

Today, Continue reading →

agendas, facilitation, managing change, meeting management, meetings, off-sites, Sustainable change, transformational change

Meeting facilitation, Techniques to Evaluate Meeting Effectiveness, Transformation Tools

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Fifteen Techniques for Implementing Decisions: #15 Sustainability Analysis

February 22, 2015

Ava S. Butler

“It seems that every time we implement a change, within a few months, people are back to their old ways of working. What can we do to make change stick?”

#15: Sustainability Analysis

What is Sustainability Analysis?

Many changes do not ‘stick’ because no one has taken the time to identify and address the issues that will support or sabotage the change over the long term. Sustainability Analysis is designed to identify and address issues critical to making the change stick.

Examples of issues that can impact sustainability include:

Ensuring the right people are in the right jobs, including: Continue reading →

Implementation, managing change, project management, Sustainable change, transformational change

Implementing Change, Meeting facilitation, Techniques to Implement Decisions, Transformation Tools

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Ava S. Butler

Managing the Change that Nobody Wants

4 road tested ways to maximize the impact of your strategic plan

What Richard Sees: Insight into the hallucinations affiliated with Lewy body dementia

An award winning case study for implementing transformational change

The Positive Approach to Transformation

The Positive Approach to Transformation

U.S. Soldiers, Back in Iraq, Find Security Forces in Disrepair: a Lesson in Sustainability

Managing stakeholders when the stakes are high

Four Techniques to Evaluate Meeting Effectiveness: #2 Once Around the Table

Four Techniques to Evaluate Meeting Effectiveness: #1 What Went Well/Opportunities for Improvement

Fifteen Techniques for Implementing Decisions: #15 Sustainability Analysis

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