is there a Freakout Train at

your company?

Are people so distraught about their economic

future that they’ll “go anywhere” to escape or

hide? If so, your organization is part of

the network of tracks that the

Freakout Train traverses with

ever-increasing frequency.

The Freakout Train

represents the feelings of

people everywhere as they

try to deal with the fear that

is churned up from today’s

economy. Everyone seems to

be in red-alert terror mode, and

they’re desperately seeking an escape. For some, this

means fi guratively “wearing camoufl age” and hiding in

their cubicles, trying to make themselves invisible so that

they won’t stand out, as if being invisible might protect

them from the next round of layoffs. For others, the

priority of self-preservation compels them to stack

protective sandbags to keep them safe.

Still others bury themselves in “busy

work,” where repetitive motion

helps them avoid thinking about

the real challenges we face.

Our clients tell us that there is

a lot of fi nger-pointing, a lot of

blame-placing. We’re also hearing

about the Misery Loves Company

groups, where talking bad about the

organization and its leaders just helps

those in pain to defl ect current realities.

IT’S NOT JUST THE “FREE TICKETS”Whatever the reason, people are crowding onto the

Freakout Train in droves, despite its crazy conductor,

Please turn to page 4.

volume 3 issue 4 spring 2009

From Oxymorons to Results | Tightening Your Training Budget | Plus a visual tool you can use now!

RIDING THEfreakout train

TO NOWHERE

Leading Through Change www.watercoolernewsletter.com

Leaders to Leaders

Jim HaudanChief Executive Offi cerRoot Learning

John SweeneyOwner

The Brave New Workshop

Leading Through Change2

Outside Expert

From Oxymorons to Results: Creating a Place for Transformation

Gary GrayFounder and CEO Gray Institute

these days, we hear

everyone

from coaches to CEOs talking about “transformation” –

changing the people they lead and, in turn, the status quo.

But in reality, no one can “transform” anybody else. There

is a way, however, to bring about transformation. It has to

do with the endgame, truths, and a created environment.

It’s easy enough to state the endgame, or the results you

want. But truth – that’s not so simple. Most truths are

embodied in seemingly contradictory statements that

inspire insights needed to make change happen. At the

Gray Institute for Functional Transformation, we call these

“Transformational Paradoxical Oxymorons.” They’re

transformational because our goal is change, paradoxical

because the phrase seems contradictory, and oxymorons

because the words don’t seem to make sense when they’re

put side by side.

PARADOXES AS TRUTHSLet’s look at an example. To effectively hit a golf ball, I need

mobility and stability. It is mobility in the backswing and in

the follow through that allows for strength and stability for

a powerful swing. Therefore, I need the proper integration

of these opposites to produce an effective and effi cient

swing. Once I accept this paradox as truth, I know how

to train and condition to improve my golf game. Here’s

another example: Servant Leadership. The message of this

paradox is that we need to serve our fellow man before

we can lead. When I accept this as a truth, I can transform

into a leader.

When we accept paradoxes as truths, change becomes

easy. Once we agree on a truth, however, unless we come

up with a transformational strategy, nothing happens.

But when we give people “paradoxical power,” allowing

transformation to occur based on truth, then strategy

becomes obvious and the technique becomes the easy

part. This is the secret to transforming the notion – what

we know to be true – into the motion – acting on it.

ENABLING TRANSFORMATIONThe most powerful thing about transformation is that we’re

truly not changing the value of something, but morphing it

into another form – like water into ice or steam. We’re not

trying to get people to be what they’re not, but to create

environments where we can bring out their giftedness,

allowing transformation to take place on its own.

We have found that, in business, if we create an environ-

ment where people understand that their number-one

goal in life is to serve others – from customers to co-

workers – we can create a transformational change. No

matter how different employees may be, if we can create

an environment where they realize the effect of that

service, a transformation takes place.

When we create an environment like this – a culture,

value system, and common goals that will help everyone

understand the endgame and become engaged in the

basic philosophies – there isn’t anything we can’t do. We

aren’t making the transformation, but we are providing the

environment for change and the tools to make it work.

A transformation environment requires encouragement

and experience. People have to know they matter. Then,

if we give people a chance to give to others, we’ve hooked

them. As soon as employees know they have their own

transformational power and understand the principle of

Transformational Paradoxical Oxymorons, they can and will

serve their leaders, their co-workers, and their customers.

Gary Gray is founder and CEO of the Gray Institute. The Gray

Institute is the culmination of over three decades of research,

development, and innovation in Applied Functional Science,

providing the most comprehensive array of functionally oriented

programs and products in the industry.

www.watercoolernewsletter.com 3

change can be a good thing for organizations, but it

unquestionably challenges established ways of thinking, feeling, and behaving for employees. Change requires a transition – a reorientation that people need to go through before change can work. Here’s how we approached this human side of change at CUNA Mutual Group, the leading provider of fi nancial services to credit unions and their members.

A QUICK TRANSFORMATIONWe had recently appointed a new CEO and senior team

and were in the process of transforming the company at lightning speed. In communicating

the business case for change, and due to the transformation in the Sales organization, the executives in that area recognized the need to understand how people react to change. They wanted to help the team

assess where they were on a continuum of the stages in change. Most important, they

wanted to provide tools and techniques to the Sales team to help them move through change as quickly as possible.

Although the Sales team initially raised the need, we considered everyone’s role in the transition. We were all “change ambassadors” for the organization. This was more than just a sales initiative – the whole company was experiencing change, so our solution had to be all-inclusive.

DIFFERENT STAGES, DIFFERENT SPEEDSWe partnered with Root Learning to develop a Learning Map® module called “The Transition Highway.” Through a visual depiction and group exercises, we led people on a journey to see what change meant at a personal level. The visual element represented the three aspects of the “change curve” that all people move through: letting go, navigating, and building commitment. Through discussion and discovery, people could internalize the concepts and identify what they could do to help each other move through the change process more effectively.

Ambassadorsof Change

Case Study

Jennifer KloeppingLearning ConsultantCUNA Mutual Group

It was imperative to understand that everyone moves through the change process at different speeds and with different levels of understanding. With this in mind, the module became one of the tools that helped us lead our teams through change. A critical aspect of the experience was the opportunity to apply knowledge through scenarios on communicating change, identifying where people were on the change curve, and considering appropriate leadership actions. An action-planning template gave managers a simple tool to use in preparation for their change initiatives.

MAKING CHANGE EASIERAll offi cers and HR Generalists experienced the module as participants and then attended a train-the-trainer session. We asked offi cers to facilitate the sessions with managers, and then managers were trained to cascade the learning to their direct reports. The module was built to be fl exible, so managers could customize the content.

The experience brought outstanding feedback. Most participants told us that we should have done it sooner! The program allowed people to have candid conversations about change and gave them all an opportunity to share their perspectives. Participants realized that even though they weren’t in the same place in transition, they could still have meaningful

discussions about the impact of the changes and how they could help each other move toward acceptance and drive the business forward. One participant said, “Change is still hard and scary, but the acknowledgment and tools made the conversations easier and smoother.” We found

that it was defi nitely worth the time and effort to help our people make their way in a tough time.

Jennifer Kloepping is a Senior Learning Consultant for CUNA Mutual Group. She manages employee development programs, including new employee orientation, effective meeting management, and the corporate-wide educational series “LIVE 45.” She works at CUNA Mutual’s home offi ce in Madison, Wisconsin.

Leading Through Change4

the emotional pollution pumping from its smokestacks, and the fact that no one knows where the train is headed.

They are simply, mindlessly, riding the train to nowhere.

There are defi nite reasons why people are doing this. First, there’s a “sheep” mentality. We think, “Other people

are getting on, so I’d better get on too!” There’s also an odd sense of relief when you’re on the train because you’re

giving up responsibility and accountability for where you’re going, and all the commotion gives you a false sense of

security. After all, you’re not driving the train – you’re just riding along robotically. Another reason is that people

just feel the need to get somewhere else – anywhere else. They think, “I have no idea why I’m leaving or where I’m

going, but wherever it is will take me away from the confl ict that I feel here! That’s got to make me feel better!”

WHO BUILT THIS TRAIN?The Freakout Train may actually have started in good times. Somewhere along

the line, the American Dream of “hard work and good living brings rewards”

morphed into a sense of entitlement. Today, many people think, “This

is America! We deserve unbridled growth! We deserve to lead the

world in commerce! We deserve the best of everything!” This led to a

skewed picture of a healthy work environment. Let’s face it – progress,

by defi nition, should be hard and gradual. Adversity is the catalyst for

productivity and growth. But somehow we lost this reality, so when we

needed to call on these capabilities in turbulent times, our change muscles

failed us, suffering from a lack of exercise.

Today’s businesses have some things in common with improvisational comedy.

The actors always start with chaos – they have no leadership, no information, no

strategy, and no mission statement. They have no budget, and things are changing every three seconds. But

that’s where the similarity ends. Improv actors focus on maximizing the current moment without fretting about

the future. Each scene is about taking whatever they’ve got right now and turning it into something better, more

valuable, more creative – and funny.

HOW DO WE GET OFF THE TRAIN?In this situation, good improvisers would say, “We think our world looks like this picture.” The fi rst thing leaders

need to do to stop their people from boarding the Freakout Train is to create an accurate portrayal of the facts

in the scene or the economic landscape. Once the real picture is clear, leaders must restate reality and re-

communicate all the things their people do well. Focus on even the smallest wins. Use your core talent. We all

need to take off the glasses of the pessimist and put on the glasses of a sleuth, and then peer inside the tornado of

radical change that’s in every company’s backyard. We may fi nd that it’s not fi lled with debris, but with pure gold! In

her book, Change the Way You See Everything, psychologist Kathy Cramer says that it’s not whether your glass is half

full or half empty. The question is, “What’s in your glass?” What opportunities are in there that our competitors

aren’t seeing? What assets can we use? What are we good at? What are we the best at?

WINNING IN THE WORST OF TIMESConsider the biggest lessons that you’ve learned – as a company and as a person. Did you learn those things when

times were perfect, or when times were bad? When we are really good at something, it’s usually because of the

Rid

ing

the

Fre

ako

ut T

rain

to N

ow

he

rec

on

tinu

ed

(fro

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ag

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)

www.watercoolernewsletter.com 5

things we learned when times were really bad. Therefore, if you

believe that the best learning occurs in the least perfect times,

then we’re experiencing the most wonderful, opportunistic times

of our lives because we’re going to learn so much!

This may sound trite, but in 10 years, when we’re safer, we’ll

look back at today and say, “Wow! We learned a lot back then!”

The improv expert knows that he can take every moment of

a chaotic scene and use it to learn to innovate more, to grow

and improve the scene, to serve customers better, and to build

a better organization for tomorrow. Rarely do we see this

much chaotic raw material in the marketplace. The potential for

creative growth is at an all-time high!

HELP YOUR PEOPLE GET BACK ON SOLID GROUNDAs leaders, we need to help people see adversity as a gift. The

most fabulous idea could be the next one that we have. We

need to show our people how to get off that train of fear and

help them see frustration and bad news as raw material for

improvisation and new opportunities. We need to help people

realize that, regardless of what the news is reporting, we have

everything we need to do things now. We have our innate

talents. We may have an unclear future and a slashed budget,

but in a culture of innovation and creativity, we still have a lot

to work with.

We need to encourage our people to refuse to take any negative

parts of the past with us into the future, because that won’t help

us grow or keep positive. When a culture turns dark, some

people get angry – but others gain insights that help us move the

scene forward.

In the end, there is no more useless and ineffective behavior than

worrying about the future when we don’t have facts to form

even a hypothesis about what could happen. Be a leader who

maximizes every single minute. It’s your job to model “making

the most of a bad situation.” The key to getting people off the

Freakout Train is helping them see the true picture, guiding them

to see the possibilities for innovation, and demonstrating how to

use “bad news” as the main ingredient for the next breakthrough

scene of your business.

Jim Haudan’s book The Art of

Engagement: Bridging the Gap

Between People and Possibilities, is

on USA Today’s Money Bookshelf

bestseller list. It’s now available

at www.rootsofengagement.com.

John Sweeney is owner of the Brave New

Workshop, the nation’s longest-running

satirical comedy theater and school of

improvisation. To learn more about

how he works with organizations, go

to www.speedofl aughter.com.

Leading Through Change6

Try this with your team!

Are the people on your team freaking out? Are they willing to go anywhere to escape the present situation? People everywhere are doing the same thing, and leaders need to understand their motivation and bring them back to the Sanity Station!

Gather your team around this visual and discuss these questions:

1. What’s the fi rst emotion you feel when you see this picture?

2. How would you describe the track and where it’s headed?

3. Read and describe the images coming from the smokestack. How do these things emerge from a situation like the one on this train?

4. Look at the three cars on the train. What’s happening in each one?

5. Do you see things like this happening in our workplace? Give some examples – no names, please!

6. What would you say to the people rushing to the train that might change their minds about boarding it?

7. What can leaders do to make the train move away from our workplace?

8. What can each person do to keep from jumping onto the Freakout Train?

9. How can we support each other during this “freaky” time?

10. How would you change the picture to be more positive?

theFreakout Trainto Nowhere

www.watercoolernewsletter.com 7

Leading Through Change8

Industry Point of View

Tightening YourTraining Budget

Don MacLeanManaging Director, ServicesRoot Learning

these are challenging times

for organizations as they try to navigate the turbulent seas of the current economy. With pressure from every side and with every penny under scrutiny, it’s not surprising that learning and training budgets are coming under fi re. As companies struggle to manage costs, it’s tempting to toss learning and training overboard – at least until the storm subsides.

The easy solution is to batten down the hatches and wait out the storm. But if businesses are going to survive, they need their best thinkers in top form, armed with the tools and knowledge necessary to win. Thus, learning and training programs are more important now than before. And while nearly 50% of training leaders have had their budgets cut, experts know that learning experiences are especially essential to the operation and growth of businesses when times are toughest. The trick is to fi gure out how to deliver it more effectively and with less cost. This requires out-of-the box thinking from the people charged with delivering learning and training. At Root Learning, we have been innovating with clients for nearly 20 years in building solutions that work in any type of environment – even unsettling ones such as today’s.

CUTTING COSTS WITHOUT CUTTING QUALITYTraditional training budgets fall into the categories of content development, delivery, administration, and technology. There are opportunities to manage your costs in most of these areas while continuing to deliver quality learning. Our clients tell us that some interesting shifts are occurring – notably a reduction in travel for learners and instructors and movement away from classroom-type delivery and off-sites to internal and online training. Current trends show a clear shift toward more informal ways of training and the use of electronic learning – with big savings in classroom rental space, materials production, and travel.

One of these opportunities is using managers as coaches and mentors – after all, who knows more about your front-line employees’ needs than managers? Tapping into this resource is cost-effective and also strategic in terms of engaging leaders of the business as more than just “bosses.”

Electronic delivery or e-learning is gaining steam in many business settings. Learning electronically now accounts for nearly 20% of all corporate learning

hours. Consider the benefi ts: You can minimize travel and still bring together geographically dispersed employees.

Some companies use a cascaded approach for training delivery. They run a session for a

small group and then, using technology, replicate the session in an electronic format. The broader audience can then access the electronic module from the workplace in a timeframe that fi ts their work schedule.

Another choice is self-directed learning materials that can stand on their own. A guide, journal, or job

aid that is creatively designed can convey a simple but vital concept to a large audience without the expense of delivery through formal training.

There are other cost-saving techniques that you can use as well. You might be able to pool training budgets across your organization if you have multiple business units with a similar need. Perhaps your learning can be delivered right in the workplace in “bite-sized” pieces that employees can access at convenient times. So, although it may be challenging, there are ways to overcome the rough seas and choppy waters of our fragile economy when it comes to learning and training. The key is to think differently about training – not as an event, but as a journey, an ongoing experience where we are learning continuously.

Don MacLean has worked with senior leaders across the globe to create organization-wide business literacy and strategy deployment.

EngagedEngaged

29%29%

Indifferent

Indifferent

54%54%Employee Engagement

Employee Engagement

Disengaged

Disengaged

17%17%

They don’tget it.

I’ll do whatmy incentivepackage tells

me to do.

I don’t knowhow to get my

people to contributeto this!

Do as I say,not as I do.

I have noidea what I can

do to help.

The strategyis done. Now it’s

time for you toexecute it!

I guess I’lljust keep doingit the way I’mcomfortable

with.

Is anybodyhome?

Can youhelp me?

They’re notaligned on what

they want.

They don’tlisten.

Finance

Agenda

MarketingAgenda

IT

HR

Strategy

OperationalAgenda

NewNewManagerManager

NewManager

5-Minute

Manager

NEWS FLASH

70% of change

initiatives fail due

to people issues

Source: Ernst & Young

Source: The Gallup Management Journal; 2

004

Engaged

29%

Indifferent

54%Employee Engagement

Disengaged

17%

THECANYON

THECANYON

FFUTURE MARKETPLACE

FUTURE MARKETPLACE

CustomersCustomersCustomers

Top Measures That Matter

Execution of Strategy

0% 20% 40% 60% 80%100%

Quality of Strategy

Market Position

Management Credibility

Innovativeness

Source: Robert Kaplan and David Norton,

The Strategy-Focused Organization:

How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the

New Business Environment, 2000.

Fewer than

10% of well-formulated

strategies are

successfully executed.

The majority of workersattribute only 10% of their

own job proficiency to formaltraining – courses and books.

PRICE

OF FUEL

LOW

WAGES

INDUSTRIES

INDUSTRIES

FOR SALE

CREDITCREDIT

MORTGAGEMORTGAGE

RATES

SPIKE

BADDEBTS

BADDEBTS

SAVINGSSAVINGS

FROZENASSETS

FROZENASSETS

OUT OF BUSINESS

SALE

OUT OF BUSINESS

SALE

NEW LAWS

REGULATION

NEW LAWS

REGULATION

CREDITCREDIT

CREDIT

FORECLOSURE

FORECLOSURE

rootL E A R N I N G

This Root Learning Map® visual is a product of Root Learning Inc., Sylvania, OH 43560 www.rootlearning.comThis Root Learning Map® visual is a product of Root Learning Inc., Sylvania, OH 43560 www.rootlearning.com GrandCanyon_021609GrandCanyon_021609 ©2009©2009

Times are tough.Leading Through Change is easy.

Change is happening faster than ever. While circumstances are

challenging, they are manageable. And full of opportunities.

At least under the right leadership. And if approached correctly,

yes, your organization can succeed. That’s where Leading Through

Change by Root Learning comes in.– –

– t

ea

r h

ere

– –

–

We look at your situation from all different angles. And you see results.• Let’s face it, people don’t always like or accept change. We fi nd that’s true in even the most

successful organizations. That’s why Leading Through Change explores the emotional side of asking

people to do things differently. More specifi cally, we address the phases of letting go, exploration,

and acceptance.

• True to our name, we also get to the root of the two major aspects of change. First, “What is change?”

And second, “What is my role in change?”

• So, what will your managers learn from all of this? Things like:

• What internal and external factors make engaging teams more diffi cult.

• How to assess where they, and their employees, are personally on the “transition highway.”

• How to use their newfound tools to guide themselves and their employees through change in

a quick, effi cient manner.

• How to reinforce their accountability for change.

• What specifi c tools and information will really help drive results.

• Leading Through Change can be tailored to fi t any level of management (everyone from the front

lines to executives) and is modular. Workshops can range from 1-1/2 to 4 hours. And the Leading

Through Change kit can include interactive group dialogue, scenarios, and action-planning exercises

all designed to connect your team to results.

Why is Leading Through Change just the change you need?It’s simple. Root has over 20 years of experience in the training fi eld. In those 20 years, we’ve seen

the economy hit turbulence more than once. And we’ve helped lots of clients come out better and stronger.

It all comes back to our unique, engaging, and interactive methodology. After all, when people are truly

engaged, they learn faster. They learn better. They retain more. And in these uncertain times of mergers and

acquisitions, downsizing, restructuring, and budget cuts, Root’s Leading Through Change is a powerful tool to

help you get the results you need.

TRANSITION HIGHWAYHIGHWAY

LETTING GOLETTING GO

EXPLORATION

Every transition begins with an ending, a loss.

A potentially confusing and frustrating time between the

old way of being and the new. ACCEPTANCEACCEPTANCEAcceptance can happen only after people have let go of the past and spent some time exploring the future.

SUSTAININGTHE CHANGE

SUSTAININGTHE CHANGE

ACTIONPLANNING

ACTIONPLANNING

Change Leader RolesChange Leader Roles

VALUES

VALUESVALUES VALUES

VALUES

Leadership ActionsTransition Phases

Leadership ActionsTransition Phases

Leadership ActionsTransition Phases

This Root Learning Map® visual is a product of Root Learning® Inc., Sylvania, OH 43560 www.rootlearning.com Transition Highway ©2009

Want to learn how Root’s Leading Through Change can start helping your company? Visit www.rootlearning.com now or call 1.888.574.0077.

International +44 207 611 3890

In times like these, there’s no time to wait.

www.watercoolernewsletter.com 11

ss

Events and NewsThe next issue of The Watercooler will be published in July 2009.

Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take

your mind off your goals.

Henry Ford

May 20, Conference Board Webcast, “Confronting ‘Survivor Syndrome’ in the Workplace,” www.conference-board.org/webcasts

May 30 ASTD Pre-Conference Workshop, Jim Haudan presents “The Art of Engagement.” To register and fi nd out more, go to: http://www.astd2009.org/preconference.html

Visit Root! Booths #2240 & #1142, May 31 – June 3, ASTD 2009 Conference & Exposition, Washington DC, Walter E. Washington Convention Center, www.astd.org

t fw s s m t w t f s s m t w t f s s m t w t f s s m t w t f

f s s m t w t f s s m t w t f s s m t w t f s s m t w t f s s

s m tw t f s s m t w t f s s m t w t f s s m t w t f

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31

may

june

july

June 16, 17, & 18, Leaders and Laggards Free Webinar Series – “Leading Through Change – People First.” Go to www.rootsofengagement.com to register.

Visit Root! June 27 – July 1, Society for Insurance Trainers and Educators Annual Conference, Albuquerque, Hyatt Regency, www.insurancetrainers.org

June 28 – July 1, SHRM Annual Conference & Exposition, New Orleans, Morial Convention Center, www.shrm.org

w s s

1

1

2 3 4 5

8

m

m

tt w s

5470 Main StreetSylvania, OH 43560

“Leaders and Laggards – the People Difference” is a new webinar series designed to help organizations get the very best from their people – even in the bleakest of economic times.

The second in the series “Leading Through Change – People First” will be hosted by Jim Haudan, CEO and author of the best-selling book The Art of Engagement. Understanding how to engage people is Haudan’s specialty, and in this 60-minute session, he will provide his insights from 20+ years of working with Fortune 500 companies.

You will discover how to help your people assimilate change at an individual and organizational level so they can be the very best version of themselves in the workplace. Tapping into this talent is the surest way to lead the pack.

The session will explore:• The individual’s change curve• The role of “truth-telling” as a

leadership competency• Creating a “safe” environment so

individuals and teams can discuss their fears and attitudes to change

• Why “stop” is more important than “start”

Who needs to attend? Anyone who wants to thrive and not just survive in today’s business environment.

When? June 16, 17 and 18. Please go to Watercoolernewsletter.com and click on the link for more details and to register.Participants will receive a complimentary action planning guide.

NEW WEBINAR SERIES YOU NEED TO ATTEND!How Are You Engaging Your People in the New Business Realities?

“Change is still

hard and scary,

but acknowledging

that reality made

the conversations

we needed to

have easier and

smoother.”

– CUNA Mutual

The sessionwill feature real-time sketching!