We're making waves

As a consultant, I’ve been asked to share tips from working with our various clients. What has worked well or what are the challenges? I often find that the challenges are the same and so I thought – what if we all got together and started to share, discuss and grow together? What if there was a place for corporate communicators to connect with each other, to share their strategies for creating magic or mitigating crises?

These conversations have inspired us to start The Huddle – a unique venue for corporate communicators to gather and discuss the questions and challenges that are keeping us up at night. We will bring together curated topics and speakers that will help us all feel re-ignited with new ideas to put into practice. 

Generation Z and Generation Alpha (the children of Millennials) are poised to make the biggest impact on your organization’s future. Are you prepared to meet the communications needs of these next generations? 

Clear, consistent messaging and effective organizational change management are integral to the success of any large-scale transformation. 

With the majority of the world’s largest public companies, the Forbes Global 2000, using SAP in some capacity, organizational change leaders have likely fostered groups throughout an implementation. Companies may be centralizing their finance department, improving supply chain productivity, or SAP may be the system of choice as part of a merger or acquisition. There are many SAP applications, and the solution can be highly complex.

With any enterprise-wide change effort, it can be challenging to share a consistent message with all global stakeholders. As change managers know well, engaging leaders, facilitating site-level communications and engaging employees throughout the project are critical to its success. 

We Donated 22.5% of our Profits to in 2019. Read more about the organizations our donations went to.

The upcoming new year is a great time to reflect on 2019, and plan for the year ahead. It’s amazing how each year brings new lessons and discoveries. Taking the time to reflect is important – we cannot really learn without pausing to recognize these lessons and let them sink in. With a new year (and a new decade) on the horizon, I thought I would share three learnings I had this year. 

In a recent episode of the New York Times Daily podcast, I’m reminded of the importance of clear and concise communications and the courage to ask the introductory questions that everyone wants to know but may be too afraid to ask.

Communications and change happen everywhere. Here at Pivot, we work with clients that take us all over the world. We have had the opportunity to work on a global SAP deployment where our efforts in change management, communications, and training are being leveraged in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Japan. I have had the chance to be part of the team facilitating the Japan deployment.

Fall is my favorite season. More than any other time of year, we are encouraged to take a breath and think about all the things we’re most grateful for ­– friends, family and everything else that make life worth living. 

The idea of visual storytelling is not a new concept. Long ago, royal scribes used imagery to tell the story of their monarchy, documenting their histories on cave walls and scrolls. Today, everyone has the power to be a storyteller with the tools at your fingertips.

Clear and effective communications are critical to helping people through a change. As we manage change, we should not expect people to do things differently if they did not know about the new expectation.

Simone Biles is unstoppable! Here at Pivot, we’ve been following her success stories in the world of international gymnastics for years. We’re continually inspired by her discipline, performance under pressure, and determination. This is a woman bringing her A-game. What a rock star! 

When our team’s not drafting strategic communications plans, we’re curling up with good books — and not just business-related titles. From seasonally-appropriate mysteries to wine and war history, our interests prove as diverse as our clients. Here are some of the page-turners keeping us engaged this fall.

If you asked most people where Tunisia is, they probably couldn’t find it on a map. A few months ago, I raised my hand when presented with the opportunity to venture there to help with an economic development project. At Pivot, we believe in helping others. It’s a part of who we are.

Tunisia is a predominantly Muslim country located in the very northern part of Africa, tucked between Libya and Algeria. Relatively new to democracy, transitioning from a dictatorship nine years ago, the country has been focused on growing its economy. I traveled to Tunisia to support that effort by helping 18 business centers improve communications and with a goal of supporting entrepreneurs, helping them find funding, and sustaining growth over time.

It’s that time of year – whether it’s because we’re watching the weather forecasts and bracing for the worst or digging into budgets and annual planning – many of our clients are dusting off their crisis management plans and are looking to upgrade or start fresh. 

There’s been no shortage of high-profile corporate incidents and executive mishaps this year (I won’t name names). Crises happen to even the most prepared and well-meaning organizations. However, it’s still surprising to see the number of Fortune 500 companies that experience a crisis and respond in a less than favorable way. When a highly public crisis hits, it becomes easy to spot which companies were caught completely unprepared. Whether it’s an inability to identify what happened, talk about the crisis or take quick actions to make things right, or simply a misguided or flubbed media response (cringe!).

As school begins, it’s a good reminder for all of us grown-up kids to get back to the basics. Clear and effective communications are critical to helping people through a change. As we manage change, we should not expect people to do things differently if they were not aware of new expectations in the first place. I know I’m stating the obvious here, but sometimes we need a reminder of the immense importance of communications in managing change. We do everything we can to deliver the best communications possible to our stakeholders, though at times, we miss the mark.

What does it mean to work in Organizational Change Management (OCM)? It is a question that comes up weekly if not daily for those in our field. The easy answer: we help with the people side of change. Navigating through changes successfully happens when we are able to help individuals make a personal transition from a current to a future state.

Like many change professionals, I practiced organizational change management before I knew that it was a profession in itself. After leading change initiatives in the education industry, I began looking for tools that would help me more effectively plan these messy, large-scale organizational change efforts. Through connections, I learned of the Minnesota Change Management Network and subsequently, the well-regarded Prosci certification.

Hi, my name is Stacia Nelson, Founder and CEO of Pivot Strategies. In 2015, my husband Dan had just quit his communications job to pursue a career in nursing. With an 11-month old daughter, our plan was for me to hold down the fort with my corporate communications job until Dan finished school. Much to our surprise, a month later I was included in the major layoffs at Target. I shared the news on social media, and was fortunate to receive interest from past coworkers to consult on a couple of projects with them. At first I was apprehensive…but opted to try it. I lucked out with three amazing first clients: Nike, American Express and Cargill. I found that I LOVE consulting. And, it was mutual, because the clients were happy with the work.