In Session

In three days time I will exchange my virtual podcast experiences of the IABC Vancouver conference for the full five senses and launch myself into a truly global Change Management process. Ann Hood has wetted my appetite to learn about how companies like Scottish Power not just cope but also thrive during dramatic regulatory, economic and cultural changes. I’ll be packing my paperback Fons Troppenaars Riding the waves of culture: understanding diversity in global business as this has been quoted in recent IABC UK seminars on how different nationalities respond differently to identical scenarios. The one in the book which intrigued me most was ‘If invited, would you paint your boss’s house over the weekend?’…so if you are attending and come across a 5ft 8inch 44 year old bloke reading out loud to you, it could be me trying that one out from you.

Many things are marked on my card in the Change Management section such as Marianne Allison of Waggener Edstrom Worldwide telling us about how innovation and communicators mix (sounds like a cocktail for spontaneous combustion) and Annita Stokes Thomas discussing new strategies for delivering your company’s global message (I wonder if she’ll agree with Fons Troppenaars?).

Now that I’m getting the passport out and checking my Zoom e-ticket, I feel the countdown starting and am looking forward to finding myself a changed man by a week today when I’ll be zooming back to Greenwich, UK (even if I remain 5ft 8inches and 44 years old).