Inclusivity Essentials_ Creating Accessible Websites for Nonprofits .pdf
Freak Out, Geek Out, or Seek Out: Emerging Trends, Transformations and Change in Libraries
1. Freak Out, Geek
Out, or Seek Out:
Trends, Transformations,
& Change in Libraries
David Lee King
Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library
davidleeking.com
31. Tagging
RSS Readers Commenting
RSS
Glue of Web 2.0
User-
Generated Friending
Content Mashups
Web as Platform
32. 1. RSS
• Does 2 things:
• subscribe to other websites that
have RSS feeds (aka syndication)
• create content in one place, but display
it in another place
• any content - text, photos, audio, video
56. 5. User-Supplied Content
• web 2.0 doesn’t exist without user generated
content
• most web 2.0 sites feature “my stuff”
• text
• photos
• videos
57.
58.
59.
60.
61. 6. Web as Platform
• web-based software
• a platform that allows people to interact
• not the usual “here’s the info about my
organization”
• email is a good example
62.
63.
64.
65.
66. 7. Mashups
• From Wikipedia: “A mashup is a website or
web application that seamlessly combines
content from more than one source
into an integrated experience.”
• Usually via an API, RSS feed, or JavaScript
67.
68.
69.
70.
71.
72.
73. 8. Friending
• Buddies, friends, contacts,
followers
• Linking to friends or contacts
• sharing content
• trusted buddy list
75. What’s a
Digital Branch?
• All services will be both physical and digital
• We’ll use the web to build unique stuff
• to some, the digital branch will be the only
branch
We’re running two libraries!
76. Community Manager
Scans Horizon Executive Editor
Digital Branch Manager
Long Range Planner
Evangelist
Manager
Answers Tough Questions
121. story means
• more than the facts
• being a reporter... or an editorialist
• blogging!
• sharing - our favorite recipes
• our trip to spain
• and surrounding it with our stuff (books)
123. 1.
The rest of the world
is already there
http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2222523486/
124.
125.
126.
127.
128.
129.
130.
131.
132.
133.
134.
135.
136.
137.
138.
139. 2.
You can be the example
http://www.flickr.com/photos/13933408@N06/2197666469/
140.
141.
142.
143.
144.
145. Lester Public Library is a Public library. This library is the central facility for the library system that serves Two Rivers, WI. The collection of the library contains 70000 volumes. The library circulates
130000 items per Library is Public library. This library is is the central facility. for the library system that serves Two Rivers, WI. The collection of the library contains 70000 volumes. The library circulates
Lester Public Library is a library serves a population of 13000 residentsfor the library system that serves Two Rivers, WI. The collection of the library contains 70000 volumes. The library circulates
the central facility
Lester Public year. Thea library serves a population
130000 items per year. ThePublic library. This library of 13000 residents .
130000 items per year. The library serves a population of 13000 residents .
146. Lester Public Library is a Public library. This library is the central facility for the library system that serves Two Rivers, WI. The collection of the library contains 70000 volumes. The library circulates
130000 items per Library is Public library. This library is is the central facility. for the library system that serves Two Rivers, WI. The collection of the library contains 70000 volumes. The library circulates
Lester Public Library is a library serves a population of 13000 residentsfor the library system that serves Two Rivers, WI. The collection of the library contains 70000 volumes. The library circulates
the central facility
Lester Public year. Thea library serves a population
130000 items per year. ThePublic library. This library of 13000 residents .
130000 items per year. The library serves a population of 13000 residents .
147. Lester Public Library is a Public library. This library is the central facility for the library system that serves Two Rivers, WI. The collection of the library contains 70000 volumes. The library circulates
130000 items per Library is Public library. This library is is the central facility. for the library system that serves Two Rivers, WI. The collection of the library contains 70000 volumes. The library circulates
Lester Public Library is a library serves a population of 13000 residentsfor the library system that serves Two Rivers, WI. The collection of the library contains 70000 volumes. The library circulates
the central facility
Lester Public year. Thea library serves a population
130000 items per year. ThePublic library. This library of 13000 residents .
130000 items per year. The library serves a population of 13000 residents .
148. 3.
Connect
with your community
http://flickr.com/photos/fcpl/2275150197/
167. communic
communication
communicatio
ommunicationcommunicat
mmunication
communication
mmunication
communication
ommunication
communication
ommunication
169. find staff interests
• match with goals you already have
• give it to the best fit - might be IT,
might be circ staff
• Help translate from 1.0 to 2.0
177. Granting time
• give time - for reading, playing,
learning, creating
• send staff to formal training
• practical training for staff - teach
what's relevant to your staff and
library
• buy books for training
landline phones (ok, my family still has this – check back with me in another year or so)
floppy disks (my kids once asked me “what’s a floppy disk, dad”? I stared at them a sec, then realized they had never seen one. Time flies!)
wristwatches (don’t wear one – that’s what my iPhone’s for! and the computers I stare at all day)
VHS Tape and VCRs (yep – still have these, too)
Beepers (iphone again – the beeper is no longer needed)
Film Cameras (haven’t had one for years)
typewriters (interestingly, my 9-year old has one … ONLY because Molly [the American Girl Kit who lived in the 1940's] had one, and my mother-in-law still had an old one in a closet. Yes, a typewriter was an odd present for a 9-year old, but she loves it!)
walkmans & discmans (haven’t had one in years)
dialup (My library serves a whole county – Topeka has broadband, the county is pretty spotty)
DVDs (I still use these, and we still watch DVDs. But that’s now. They’ll be gone in 10 years time, I’ll bet).
Faxes? TV? Where do you get your news?
What’s changing in your world?
How about in libraries?
Where is she?
Barnes & Noble...
bring in drinks
Read for free
Buy cool stuff
Kids programs!
Google - that’s where people go first. Friends, family members, Google... we are WAY down on the list - almost a last resort.
That’s not a good thing.
read library posts (mark them for comment later, or comment if I want to work a bit)
do IM & txt
connect with people in twitter, myspace, facebook, etc
visit websites (even reserve a PC at my library’s website)
search library content
email
oh yeah - I can use it as a phone, too...
let’s take a poll: who has a cell phone? smart phone? one step down - phone with extra bells & whistles like email or calendar, who can txt with your phone?
your patrons are all like you, possibly even moreso - they want to talk to you when they have a question ... phone, im, txt, etc
if they’re not on their phone, they’re online - at work or at home. with email, IM, txt, etc all ready to go
are you ready to meet them and provide services in those spaces?
Now let’s think about technology changes in libraries...
These next slides represent technology change in libraries.
1. historically, technology in libraries hasn’t moved terribly fast
There have been some changes - parking lots, fiction, telephone reference! Electricity! Copy machines!
Model-T – 1970’s – starting to get OPACs
Mustang – 80’s – databases
Since the PC was born, techie change began to move faster
Web 2.0 – spaceship!
today's emerging digital & web technology changes have made library techie change move extraordinarily fast!
Myspace – founded 2003, Youtube – 2005
New Library jobs:
Senior Librarian for Innovation and Design
Digital Branch Manager
Digital Strategies Librarian
Immersive Learning Librarian (aka Gaming Librarian)
Emergent Technologies Librarian
- We need to learn how to deal with change - because change will happen whether we like it or not
- this pres will help - show problem, discuss transitions and resistance to change, give some best practice things to do to deal with change
Industry
real time: twitter, friendfeed, google wave - discussions happen in real time
multimedia: youtube... pics, video, audio - not just text
social: to participate, you have to friend/be friended. share. blog/twitter/facebook/friendfeed/flickr
public: global reach, anyone can listen/respond. CEO apologies? United Breaks Guitars?
mobile: the web is in my pocket. twitter/facebook works because of this. Direct upload to youtube.
decentralized: website isn’t the only place to go. Facebook!
2-way: not an article/brochure. It’s the start of a conversation.
real time: twitter, friendfeed, google wave - discussions happen in real time
multimedia: youtube... pics, video, audio - not just text
social: to participate, you have to friend/be friended. share. blog/twitter/facebook/friendfeed/flickr
It’s global, everyone can see it. That’s great = easy access.
public: global reach, anyone can listen/respond. CEO apologies? United Breaks Guitars?
That’s hard = you need to think before you leap.
mobile: the web is in my pocket. twitter/facebook works because of this. Direct upload to youtube.
decentralized: website isn’t the only place to go. Facebook!
2-way: not an article/brochure. It’s the start of a conversation.
8 similarities between many web 2.0 tools
Let’s take a look at some of these emerging trends
Subscribing via RSS – need an RSS reader…
gives our patrons a way to subscribe to the library
or to just the content they want
all original content that our staff is creating for our community
RSS feeds. We have about 30 of them!
It’s allowing us to combine content from different areas - like a librarian’s restaurant review and a book from the catalog - into a single article.
copy paste into reader, click subscribe button, etc...
like an email reader - but for RSS feeds
Many ways to subscribe to feeds - depends on tool used
one of the most transformational changes on the web. Now, you can leave your opinion - in many places! This is huge - just a short 5 years ago, you couldn’t do that!
now to my slide - how would you have left a comment about a kid’s program 5-7 years ago in your library?
Never lose track of friends again!
First, for what tscpl is doing (and what some other libraries are doing, too)
Just my perspective as DBM - but this is a very different model from a traditional website. So an example of a library making these types of changes.
when we started talking about creating a digital branch, we came up with 3 big goals for it:
... and we realized that if we pull this off, we’ll be running two libraries!
#1 - someone in charge - here’s what I do:
community manager - interesting new job in corporate world - answers tough questions - bad comments, spam, complaints, works with staff and public
scans horizon - watches for new stuff, works to incorporate it in the branch
executive editor - watches content, makes suggestions, edits, teaches writing, etc...
long range planner - not day-to-day stuff, but strategic planning
evangelist - evangelizes digital branch in local community, in library - what we’re doing, what you can do, why you’d want to visit, etc
manager - it’s also a dept in the library... all the usual manager stuff
Who remembers these phrases - way back in the 20th century?
info sup - all about finding info online and surfing to other websites
virtual reality - mimicking real life...
Those are outdated phrases - today’s web is more like this: look at some of these!
Doesn’t this sound like real life? Real interactions, real business, will be happening in our digital branch.
Those are outdated phrases - today’s web is more like this: look at some of these!
Doesn’t this sound like real life? Real interactions, real business, will be happening in our digital branch.
so let’s look at content again - what’s that look like in our digital branch?
used to be books on a shelf
electronic resources
someone else’s content that we simply arranged nicely
Now:
RSS feeds - subscribed to, read when you’re ready to read
original content from librarians to their own community
and user-generated content... read that PATRON...
RSS, original content, easy access to important stuff, easy access to librarian
there’s our library catalog. the way you find books. this is from our old website - you have to visit the site to get to the catalog, and there’s only one place to find it.
But.........
Here’s what you find in our digital branch - multiple access points!
normal “go to the catalog” search
catalog search from our website
myspace catalog search
facebook catalog search.
More places to search = meeting our customers in their favorite hangouts on the web
It expands our reach
databases - we have about 100 - find articles, research info. Very cool!
Old way - one place to go, just a list with links
New way in the digital branch - allows finding them in different ways.
Popularity - good place to start.
Subject Guides (content arranged topically) - good place to start
More ways to access databases = more choices for patrons
Anyone heard of RSS? Easy stuff - it does one simple thing:
1. let’s you subscribe to parts of our website
We’ll be creating useful, fun content - from book reviews to how to get a job to fun things to do in Topeka
You can revisit the page - but a better way is to let the new stuff come to you!
And - you can do this using our digital branch
Anyone watch a YouTube video? Seen a photo on the web? You can do that at the library, too - see, hear, and watch what we’re doing - not just read about it.
All on our digital branch.
so that’s content. Lots of new stuff there! How about community? How do you “DO” community in a digital branch? Let me show you what I mean...
Remember our busy front door? We have a busy door on the digital branch, too.
This is our Grand Entryway. Our new digital branch. We’re still tweaking it... go live March 31!
But this isn’t our only door in our digital space!
Google is another door. Some google searches lead directly to us!
Facebook is another door - type in topeka, and you get us... and the roadrunners.
Youtube - yet another digital entryway. People can find good content on Topeka because we’re already there.
Same with other search engines... we have MANY digital doors for our customers
there are lots of ways to communicate with customers via a website... here are a couple of examples
Instant messaging!
We use this via normal IM, a widget embedded on our website, and through a widget embedded in our catalog.
We also have blog comments - 898 so far... allows for great interaction:
between our staff and our customers
also customer to customer!
And our ask us page - IM, txt (soon), email, and phone... lots of ways to interact with us.
But that’s just on our website... we also exist ON the web, but outside of our website!
Outpost pages - sites that feature our content but are outside of our normal website.
Dump relevant content, make relevant tags, point back to your site!
Most of these have comments, too!
Examples are:
Facebook. This is our facebook page - some interaction is allowed, different content and event feeds, sending updates to fans, discussion board, and the wall
Facebook “normal” account. One of our teen librarians created this facebook account as a “corporate account” to interact with teen patrons. We have over 500 friends, and each of them receives constant updates from us. Coolness.
Flickr - dump lots of different types of photos - here’s one of an art exhibit in our art gallery...
Youtube page - another outpost. Here, we dump videos
which leads me to...
We’re doing some.
A goal is to create a weekly videocast of what’s going on at the library - other libraries have done a similar thing.
Book reviews are a great thing to do
promos of events, promos of new stuff or hidden services or unique collections
we embed the videos from youtube on our website, in relevant posts
Some have been watched quite a bit! Some of our 60 second book review have been watched over 1000 times - that’s a big number!
twitter:
one to many AND one to one communication, on a very public platform.
Be focused - follow people in your community
answer questions, send out cool stuff (not everything), and LISTEN!
1 week old - we’re on twitter!
Our twitter goals:
1. push important stuff about the library - events, new services, cool materials
2. connect with other Topeka twitter users - comment, answer questions, etc
Library director has one, too.
need goals for connecting...
we’re connecting with topeka people, KS people, government (state capitol), local media.
interact with patrons
How about reference? Asking questions? Big community, relational activity at the library. We have multiple ways to do that. We have an Instant Messaging access point on our main page - and even in our library catalog.
If you get stuck, you can quickly ask a librarian for help!
What if you have a question or comment while browsing through our website? You’ll be able to leave comments pretty much anywhere on our site - and we’ll answer you!
This is a way to start and continue conversations in our digital branch.
So - we hit on content and community and our digital branch.
What are our goals?
We want to share. We want to share our wonderful content.
We want to share the community happening inside our library and outside our walls.
We want to tell our stories to our county, and help the community tell their stories.
That’s what our digital branch is all about!
A big goal for us is telling our story. We hope to add value to Topeka and Shawnee County through our resources and our communities
Creating a more social, more community-driven digital presence helps us tell our story, and helps topeka tell us their stories!
Lots of changes going on right now. Name some:
Toyota Prius - is it a car? Is it a game? Smart Car, Mini Cooper, etc
mp3s and ipods... white earbuds in cities
YouTube - who watched a YouTube video this week? - 2005...
So - web 2.0 is also a powerful trend happening in many industries right now - including ours! Why should we...
5 reasons:
Not just the techie uber-geeks! Real, live people are doing this stuff now.
I’m talking sites your grandmother uses!
Anyone using the web has experienced some 2.0 tools and services, whether they know it or not.
Here are some examples...
Community pages at ebay! Like guitars? Join the Guitar forums. Make friends (and sell stuff to them)
ebay blogs - similar
personalized lists. All this = personalized, community-driven, participatory services and tools... and participatory experiences.
customer reviews!!!!!!!!!! Blogs. personalized lists.
Authors can have blogs now.
Again - participatory, community-driven, personalized services and tools. In their case, make you feel closer to the author and other readers... you’ll want to read (hence, BUY).
Many newspapers have started adding comments and blogs. The newspaper in Topeka has a blog! No more letters to the editor - every article has an editorial component now.
Oh, well you might think - sure, David, that’s your world. You don’t know our patrons in Hawaii.
Let me introduce you to one. Roxanne Darling.
that was reason 1
Reason 2? You can be the example, the leader in your community. Teach others to do new things.
Here’s an example - from a small town in Wisconsin
Lester Public Library is the central facility for the library system that serves Two Rivers, WI. The collection of the library contains 70,000 volumes. The library circulates 130,000 items per year. The library serves a population of 13,000 residents.
So - pretty small library in a pretty small town.
They have a blog.
a couple of blogs. this is their teen blog.
gaming... Wii’s, no less!
flickr account.
OOh - Wikipedia entry.
YouTube videos
and a myspace page.
We are now running 2 blogs out of LPL, Blogging LPL is sustaining an average of roughly 3,000 hits a month and rising ... Flickr is the BEST marketing tool, I post photos daily and use them in our blogs, the local paper has used some of them, I’ve been interviewed on the radio because of flickr and now run a biweekly column in the Sunday edition of the Manitowoc Herald Times entitled Library News. The TR City Manager has noted the flickr account in his weekly newspaper column and during televised City Council Meetings. Taking those traditional networking tools - radio, television, and newspaper and aiming them at our Internet Networking devices - MySpace, flickr, etc. just sort of happened and is totally cool!
http://tametheweb.com/?s=jeff+dawson
libraries are turning into community hubs, even more so than they used to be. There are lots of articles talking about library as a social place.
What’s that mean? People come to the library to socialize - hang out. Attend things. Start conversations - with each other, and with library staff.
Anyone experienced that at your library?
No difference at your digital branch! Here’s one example...
Look what’s happening here:
1. Tanya wrote a great review of a band’s CD
2. patron comments, saying what a great review - I’ll go buy it based on the review alone
3. Another staff member comments, saying you can actually check it out!
4. Yet another patron writes, saying Tanya’s writing makes her want to check it out
Do you see what’s happening here? Tanya started a conversation - it was continued by both patrons and staff members. Tanya connected with our community!
topeka tweetup!
not just the rotary club, the community board, not just the patrons who walk in
- my library mails holds
- those are our digital branch patrons
- they use the library more than anyone else... yet we hardly do anything for them, market to them, etc.
businesses, the “normal” people, etc
- attend meetings and share.
- Take your game night “on the road”
- introduce them to the library! Ask!!!
managers set the tone and the pace for projects, for the library
even in the trend watching and techie areas
you already do this in other areas of the library - why not 2.0?
it’s not techie!
Who thinks blogging is techie?
Do my type in a box thing
Bonus Reason (cause I liked this photo):
library isn’t seen as relevant in normal everyday community (oclc studies show that)
How can we be relevant in our communities? it’s up to you to make us relevant. Physically AND digitally.
Here are some slides on being relevant...
I think it’s a choice. You have a choice to change or not...
If you don’t ... if your library stays the same. Will it still be here in 20 years?
not relevant if you do this
this is how we operate online. Why? sometimes we share too much info - it’s that detail thing.
And sometimes we don’t look at online services as the same as physical library services. I’m a branch manager. I have staff, a collection, and patrons. At my library, we really work in 2 libraries - the physical one and the digital one.
that whole “I don’t do telephone ref” thing...
patrons won’t let you be relevant if you insult them!
Do you do this online? In Twitter? Facebook? An anonymous blog?
Are you sure it’s anonymous? Twitter tracks zipcodes, friends of friends who get the stream, etc... Not a good thing.
In the corporate world, people have been fired for things they said on facebook, twitter, blogs, etc ... because it’s public.
relevant collections...
Newspapers - 129 have stopped printing their print versions. Some are closing up shop, others are just existing online. Reports are that most will be digital only within 10 years.
Are you ready for that? What will you do with your periodicals room? Your serials staff?
Scary thought. Think digital books, digital newspapers, digital everything for a sec.
What if your shelves were empty? Would you still be a library? I think so.
We wondered that at tscpl with YA for a bit (we almost had to clear out the collection for some reason). What would they be doing? Lots. helping with searches/helping with web stuff/storytimes/programming/visiting schools/parenting stuff/etc
Still dealing with stories, content, searching, communities... still sounds like a library to me!
relevant equipment
still supporting typewriters? floppy disks? VHS? CDs? Are you ready to make the leap? How about something else at your library that resembles putting out food for the dinosaur, just in case?
Dusting books. Two people sitting at a desk in an empty room. What else?
You've probably seen it. The fish monger sees a decline in business, so they have less money to spend on upkeep and inventory, so they keep the fish a bit longer and don't clean up as often, so of course, business declines and then they have even less money... Eventually, you have an empty, smelly fish store that's out of business.
The doctor has fewer patients so he doesn't invest as much in training or staff and so some other patients choose to leave which means that there are even fewer patients...
The newspaper has fewer advertisers, so they can't invest as much in running stories, so people stop reading it, which means advertisers have less reason to advertise which leaves less money for stories...
As Tom Peters says, "You can't shrink your way to greatness," and yet that's what so many dying businesses try to do. They hunker down and wait for things to get better, but they don't. This isn't a dip, it's a cul de sac. It's over.
Right this minute, you still have some cash, some customers, some momentum... Instead of squandering it in a long, slow, death spiral, do something else. Buy a new platform. Move. Find new products for the customers that still trust you.
Change is a bear, but it's better than death.
Can’t do it sorta kinda, can’t do it part way
web is part of your actual library
Can’t Not do web - ref staff - “I won’t do telephone ref - I only work the desk”??? NOT
assign staff - no volunteers.
Job descriptions, annual reviews.
most important thing to do
Here’s what I have done:
- met with staff before we built digital branch
- met multiple times with two committees
- kept management group constantly up-to-date
- informal meetings with director, deputy director
Now setting up meetings with content developers, answering questions as needed... writing guidelines... moral support... etc.
Ex... dude - freaked out about writing to audience, writing for response.
are they innovative or interested? or cautious, cup-half-empty?
start slow and expand as needed - do pilot project if needed
... and be willing to speed up when needed, too (Meebo IM example)
read through slide
examples - do they like writing? Taking photos?
Translation:
programs = podcast, video, screencast
pathfinders = blogs, wikis
Instruction classes = screencasting, tutorials, etc.
Working the desk = IM, twitter, answering comments
hire or create
who gets stuff done? ask them what they want to do then facilitate
good for starting - won’t sustain it, one champ gets burned out fast
customize to fit your library - not everyone is AADL! library goals, strategic planning, etc - ex: we have a travel and a health neighborhood for books - we also have subject guides on the web
Train staff - learning 2.0, conferences, books, play time
Trust - they’ll be the extended voice of the library
the unedited voice... won’t go through PR first!
Two sides - You’re giving freedom... you’re giving responsibility
Spidey’s uncle - “with great power comes great responsibility” - trite but true.
(ideas from Beth’s Blog (Beth Kanter), originally from people on twitter).
Or realize that priorities have changed
don’t think of it as carving out time, make blogging an integral part of the organization’s outreach and marketing
Quote from a library director: “It’s a dilemma. We want to “unleash” our staff, but we also want to “control” the process. Do you have any practical suggestions for achieving both goals simultaneously? Or should we just relax, and acknowledge that the web 2.0 way of doing things is inherently disorganized and messy?”
... did not get it.
need to know what’s going on to be relevant!
rss - huge time saver
river of news - you can jump in and out at any time
others are watching for relevant goodies for you - when you subscribe to other trend watcher blogs
Have a long commute? watch some videos, listen to some podcasts.
Rob - putting blogging on his calendar... managing off-desk time better. There are books on this...
A way to schedule priorities
Also write more than one post at a sitting. Write for an hour instead of write 1 blog post (from beth’s blog)
learning 2.0
- 15 minutes a day (you DO have this).
start with your interests
- find some blogs, start leaving comments
work through a learning 2.0 plan
play with new tools!
Now for the supervisors...
managers - don’t do this.
Quoting Michael Casey and Michael Stephens from CIL2008:
“Don't ask staff for input if you are not going to use it”
Tips for change agents (from fastcompany.com/magazine/05/changetips.html):
- by Nicholas Morgan
Even if you think you know what you're doing, chances are you don't know what you could be doing. Open up your mind to as much new thinking as you can absorb. You may find different and better ideas than the ones your organization started with.
There is a network of people who are thinking about learning organizations. I've found you can get in touch with them easily. People say to me, `I can't believe you talked with so-and-so! How'd you do it?' The answer is, I called him.
Translation for libraries - ask other libraries for help with new ideas, invite people to come speak ... find other change agents in your vicinity/workplace and collaborate.
People in the organization need to see documentation for their own comfort. The smartest thing I did was to create a matrix of ideas from leading thinkers. I documented two categories of thinking -- the elements of a learning organization, and the pitfalls to avoid."
Turner's own education included benchmarking trips to Saturn, Texas Instruments, Motorola, General Electric, and other companies known for their innovative approaches to learning. "Some of the people in the senior group were very skeptical," Turner says. "It helped to take them on these benchmarking trips to show them other companies that were actually doing some of the same learning practices."
Lib translation - take extra care to explain, teach, explain again what’s going on, how it affects libraries, etc for upper management. They are the decision-makers.
You've got to be fearless and not worry about keeping your job.
Certain you’re right? Do it. Ask for it. Show it. No second guessing if you already have your ducks in a row.
Be a learning person yourself. "Change agents have to be in love with learning and constantly learning new things themselves. Then they find new ways to communicate those things to the organization as a whole."
Someone told me once they asked who was a lifelong learner. Everyone raised their hands. Then she asked “well, what did you learn last week?” The room got quiet.
Nice to say, harder to do.
Laugh when it hurts. "This can be very discouraging work. You need a good sense of humor. It also helps if you've got a mantra you can say to yourself when things aren't going too well."
Know the business before you try to change anything. "I don't think you can do this work if you're just a theorist. I've been a sales rep, I've been in a marketing job where I worked with the operations side. So when I go about the work of creating a change strategy, I already have an understanding of the people in our organization and what they do."
Want to change the ref desk? Work there first. Goes both ways. Want to do twitter? Gotta play in it first.
Finish what you start. "I made a list of change projects we'd started and never finished in the past. We called it 'the black hole.' I determined early on I didn't want to be part of a second-rate movie."
- it’s up to you, as the change agent, to make things happen. ... conversation-starter, to make room for conversations and interaction - on your website.
thanks!