I've been doing some work recently for a client to implement an Integrated Management System. "What's that?" I hear you say...
Contrary to what you might expect, it's not a computer system - it's a system in the style of a Quality Management System like ISO9001, or an Environmental Management System like ISO14001. The IMS takes the common parts of systems like these and creates a uniform approach across the organisation. (The standard we were using is PAS99:2006.)
The team created some quite pithy insights to explain it to the really busy client personnel (and I mean REALLY BUSY!):
"A way to communicate 'how we do things around here'" "A way for the Senior Management to communicate their expectations." "A way to ensure the equitable satisfaction of all stakeholders as the business grows and evolves."The components are simple:
1 - Communicate expectations from a very senior level executive. 2 - Create a formal process and organisation by which the IMS will be governed. 3 - Create a framework for its content that allows people to find what they need. 4 - Figure out what content should be included. 5 - Divide-up ownership of the content, to ensure it is created by the right people. 6 - Create an over-arching review process to ensure that the IMS content is integrated across functions 7 - Implement a document management system that allows broad read-only access to documentation, and limited publication rights (OK, there is a computer system component). 8 - Launch. Re-launch. Re-launch. etc.Yes, you guessed it, the hard part is getting the organisation to accept it, adopt it and provide the content. I'll blog a little more on this in future, as there's some neat content insights I want to share...what goes in it, and how to organise it. -- Philip Greenwood
I recently started a question on LinkedIn: 
You can be happy at work.
Jason Bates wrote about 
This question has been playing on my mind: If stories are the most effective tool of influence, but are an inefficient way to communicate facts, what kind of communication style is most effective in today’s “attention deficit” business world? So for an experiment, let me try out a communication style: The “reduced” story line.
The good people at MindJet have allowed me early access to their MindManager Project Management JetPack. As I read that sentence I realize that many readers won’t have a clue what I’m talking about, so let me explain:
A few years ago I worked on a project with a client (global, ~140,000 people) that had an in-house change management methodology. I expected that this would make the job easier – after all, they must recognise the value of change management and know how to use it, surely. 
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