{White Paper} Nodding the head does not row the boat. Irish Proverb

You’ve seen it.  You’re standing in front of a group of people explaining a new initiative or your company’s strategy.  People are smiling and nodding.  They shake your hand after the meeting and thank you.  But 3 months later, it’s clear to you that between the smiling and nodding and today, things haven’t changed that much.

As the Irish proverb reminds us, there is a gap between an affirmative response to an idea or a strategy and action that leads to meaningful results.  And that gap can be filled with many things –

1. Understanding-what was she really saying?
2. Relevance-how do I apply this to what I do?
3. Agreement-I think this is a good idea.
4. Curiosity-I’m willing to try this out.
5. Commitment-I’m willing to continue to do this.
6. Internalization-I’ve made this part of my everyday mindset or routine; it’s a habit.
7. Advocacy-I want to promote the value of this to others.

There is a lot of work to move an organization of diverse individuals from 1 to 7.  We have some ideas on how to do that in our white paper that you can download here.