Month: January 2020

Now let me sing to my Well-beloved
A song of my Beloved regarding His vineyard:

My Well-beloved has a vineyard
On a very fruitful hill.
He dug it up and cleared out its stones,
And planted it with the choicest vine.
He built a tower in its midst,
And also made a winepress in it;
So He expected it to bring forth good grapes,
But it brought forth wild grapes.

 “And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
Judge, please, between Me and My vineyard.
What more could have been done to My vineyard
That I have not done in it?
Why then, when I expected it to bring forth good grapes,
Did it bring forth wild grapes?
And now, please let Me tell you what I will do to My vineyard:
I will take away its hedge, and it shall be burned;
And break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.

Isaiah 5:1-5

God is speaking to His Son Jesus regarding the church.  The church of God is referenced as a vineyard because of its symbolic significance.

Just as a vineyard is a chosen plot of ground, separated from common field and pasture to be improved with such cultivation as the vines and grapes it produces may supply the owner with generous wines; so, does God’s church consist of a people chosen by Him separated from the world, so that they may worship Him.  Throughout history God has distinguished His people from all other people by His peculiar laws, statutes, and observances.  Not only in religion, but even in their physical diet and conversation.  Thus, making it impossible for His chosen to remain in His grace and accompany or partake off the sins of the world.

Therefore His “Chosen” must also “choose” to obey and follow His guidance and His laws.

By giving us His Son, Jesus Christ as a living sacrifice He provided us with that “choice vine”.

For by repenting of our sins and receiving Jesus as our Savior, He abides in and with us.  All sin and shame has been dug up and rooted out leaving only that choice vine to grow and bring forth fruit.  Building within us by the Holy Spirit the power a strength to see and protect each other from our enemies.  Thus, the gifts of the Spirit operating within the church.

What more could God do to produce within us good fruit?  Yet the vineyard produces “wild grapes”.

Somehow a bitter seed is sown within the vineyard, resulting in the spoil of the fruit.

That seed, I believe is judging between God and His vineyard(church).  All of us judge one another knowingly and unknowingly.  We often opinionate the events of time and interpret the Bible failing to recognize we (speaking personally) are so busy “preaching” what so and so should say, think, or do we fail to walk and live in the true grace and Spirit of God.

This is not pleasing to God.  For God created us all in His image, and though we may not agree upon everything we are that image of God.  Therefore, we should walk cautiously in our judgements.

¹⁰ But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. ¹¹ For it is written:

“As I live, says the Lord,
Every knee shall bow to Me,
And every tongue shall confess to God.”

¹² So then each of us shall give account of himself to God. ¹³ Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way.  Romans 14:10-13

If we would walk according to His teaching in the love and example of our Lord Jesus, the church could not help but unify and prosper; bearing that good fruit of the Spirit of God.

But because of the divisions and strife among us we produce bad fruit (wild grapes), which displeases God.  So, to set His vineyard in order He must plow up and root out the good with the bad and replant anew.

Scarcely shall they be planted,
Scarcely shall they be sown,
Scarcely shall their stock take root in the earth,
When He will also blow on them,
And they will wither,
And the whirlwind will take them away like stubble.   Isaiah 40:24

The heat of his displeasure will sear our hearts with conviction as the Holy Spirit woos us back to right-standing with God.  But, if in our arrogance and self-willed pride, we harden our hearts and continue to mock His grace by showing contempt to our brother and placing ourselves on a pedestal believing we are more holy or righteous than most, God will surely judge us according to our own cold and ruthless judgements.

God has not set us above our fellow mankind, He has set us apart.  God has not us up as judge of the earth, Jesus is that Judge; but He has set us up as examples of His love to be living testimonies of His mercy and grace.

If we cannot love our fellow brother in Christ, how can we proclaim that we love those who are lost?  If we cannot edify and exhort one another, the body of Christ, how can we testify love and mercy to the stranger?

But, sadly to say we have set ourselves up in our own kingdoms of self-righteousness, not seeking the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  We have built walls of division among our brethren.  Casting out first this denomination, and that.  We have set up walls of bitterness and envy around each other, defying one another in open dispute.

What great shame and destruction the Church will have if we do not repent and set ourselves in order.

It is not our place to judge one another by our own opinions and interpretation of God’s word.  But it is our place to be that beloved vineyard, separated from all sin and carnal desires; to bring forth from that choice vine in the abundant and good fruit of the Spirit of God.

In this way the church grows from childhood into the Betrothed; His Bride.  Clothed in garments white as snow, without spot or wrinkle.  For love covers a multitude of sin and the blood of Jesus covers the Bride.

^“that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.”  Ephesians 5:27

“For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones.”   Ephesians 5:30

So beloved brethren let us not face the terrible wrath of our God, but let us turn from the hardness of our hearts.  Let love abound one to another.  Let us be as the children of Israel were as they moved forward in faith to destroy the city of Jericho. Silent in their judgements, for God had already judged that city.  Still in their plans of destruction, and obeying only the direction of God’s purpose.  For they only obeyed as, in silence they marched around those walls.  And because of their obedience the walls came tumbling to the ground, their victory complete because they trusted God, and allowed Him to do the work.

“Now Joshua had commanded the people, saying, “You shall not shout or make any noise with your voice, nor shall a word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I say to you, ‘Shout!’ Then you shall shout. So, he had the ark of the Lord circle the city, going around it once. Then they came into the camp and lodged in the camp.

¹² And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests took up the ark of the Lord. ¹³ Then seven priests bearing seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on continually and blew with the trumpets. And the armed men went before them. But the rear guard came after the ark of the Lord, while the priests continued blowing the trumpets. ¹⁴ And the second day they marched around the city once and returned to the camp. So, they did six days.

¹⁵ But it came to pass on the seventh day that they rose early, about the dawning of the day, and marched around the city seven times in the same manner. On that day only, they marched around the city seven times. ¹⁶ And the seventh time it happened, when the priests blew the trumpets, that Joshua said to the people: “Shout, for the Lord has given you the city! ¹⁷ Now the city shall be doomed by the Lord to destruction, it and all who are in it. Only Rahab the harlot shall live, she and all who are with her in the house, because she hid the messengers that we sent. ¹⁸ And you, abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it. ¹⁹ But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are consecrated to the Lord; they shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”

²⁰ So the people shouted when the priests blew the trumpets. And it happened when the people heard the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell flat. Then the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city. ²¹ And they destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, ox and sheep and donkey, with the edge of the sword. – Joshua 6:10-20

When we see and hear of sin in the vineyard, or one of our brethren in a fault, and he repents after a time, it is our responsibility to welcome him, to comfort him.  Careful to treat him as God’s chosen, with our judgements silent, and the love of Jesus abounding.

If he does not repent we also must not judge him according to our judgements but in silence walk around that wall, and with shouts of victory in our mouth.  For Jesus will judge the righteous and the unrighteous.  The righteous shall live rejoicing in the inheritance of God’s kingdom.  But the unrighteous shall be that wall of Jericho, tumbling flat to the ground in utter destruction.

So, let us love and edify each other, careful to examine ourselves.  Keeping silent the harshness of judging, and shouting victory to the world.  For the world we have overcome, the world has not overcome us.

For if God does not spare even his choicest vineyard, which He loves and cares for, how much more dreadful will be the judgement upon the lost?

For the time has come and now is that the Lord will not allow wild grapes to grow deep in His vineyard, but will root out, and replant.  But in our obedience and faithfulness He will restore to us the blessings of His promise.

The remnant of Israel shall do no unrighteousness
And speak no lies,
Nor shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth;
For they shall feed their flocks and lie down,
And no one shall make them afraid.”

¹⁴ Sing, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O Israel!
Be glad and rejoice with all your heart,
O daughter of Jerusalem!
¹⁵ The Lord has taken away your judgments,
He has cast out your enemy.
The King of Israel, the Lord, is in your midst;
You shall see disaster no more.

¹⁶ In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem:
“Do not fear;
Zion, let not your hands be weak.
¹⁷ The Lord your God in your midst,
The Mighty One, will save;
He will rejoice over you with gladness,
He will quiet you with His love,
He will rejoice over you with singing.”

¹⁸ “I will gather those who sorrow over the appointed assembly,
Who are among you,
To whom its reproach is a burden.
¹⁹ Behold, at that time
I will deal with all who afflict you;
I will save the lame,
And gather those who were driven out;
I will appoint them for praise and fame
In every land where they were put to shame.
²⁰ At that time I will bring you back,
Even at the time I gather you;
For I will give you fame and praise
Among all the peoples of the earth,
When I return your captives before your eyes,”
Says the Lord.   Zephaniah 3:13-20

Why we still can’t get Change Management Programs to run correctly

How many of us have ever gone out to purchase a used car and drove it off the lot right away?  It’s most likely we drove the car initially but then raised the hood to check if there was anything out of order.   At that point, we had to decide if work was required, how it would be done.  But we knew that ignoring it was not an option.  Even if the car drove well initially, anything missing under the hood, our cruising would run into challenges.  

Somehow, this philosophy doesn’t get carried over to how we handle business transformation or Change Management Programs. Change Management, Journey Management, Workforce Transformation, a few of the new terms we are starting to use these days to describe the same activity.  Despite the terminology we decide to use, we seem to still have challenges figuring out how to execute them with success consistently.

The concept of managing change or helping the workforce transition from the current to a future state is not new.  Indeed, we change its character, dress it up, put on new fancy terms, but nothing really changes under the hood on how the programs are executed. Consequently, so many Change Management initiatives still fall short of expectations.  

Perhaps it’s because we are trying to make something complex that is simple.  How often have we seen Change Management approached as merely a process by which we follow a standard Project Plan and produce the same deliverables.  During the last ten years, most of the business world has changed its approach or operations, yet we still have the same Change Management deliverables.  Communications Plan, Stakeholder Strategy, Training Plan, Training materials – you get my point.

I believe this view is the problem of why Change Management programs keep coming up short and missing the mark for our clients.  Most Change Management programs are very narrow in approach and thinking.  I have heard it said, “It’s a soft skill, and it’s just about the people and delivering training and communications.” Right? No, wrong!

For example, I joined a Change Management program for a global ERP implementation after it had been launched for several months.  By the time I entered the scene, the client was on the brink of frustration and angry at how things were going.  Evidently, a majority of their staff had been scheduled for training, but no one bothered discussing with the managers about the team’s availability to attend this mandatory training session. The employees worked multiple shifts covering a 24-hour period, no overtime could be incurred, and each group was required to have proper coverage for safety reasons.  Which meant, the appropriate scheduling of these mandatory training sessions was essential. However, no one on the Change Management team had bothered taking these variables into full consideration when planning out the training schedules for participants. Nor did anyone bother considering all the other business priorities that were impacting this particular site during the same time period.  The team just entered with their standard Change Management Project Plan and focused on meeting the go-live for the ERP global implementation.  We all understand the challenges that arise when a team enters a project wearing blinders.  

One point often overlooked and helpful to understand; organizations do not make money by implementing an ERP system, outsourcing their transactions, or changing their business processes.  These events are simply something that must be done to support or enhance the core business.  Which means it’s an interruption to everyone trying to run the core business and keep the lights on.  So, when a Project/Program team hits the ground with a single focus and doesn’t consider everything impacting the client’s priorities nor the ecosystem of their business, challenges are sure to arise. 

I took a step back to take a closer look at what was happening within the organization. I began connecting with leaders at the various levels of the organization to understand their needs and partner to plan out the strategies for their teams.  When users attended the training sessions, I listened to side conversations to understand how the organization was operating.  This insight provided a better understanding of the challenges hitting all levels of the organization (a skill I learned as a Pharma Rep hanging out in Physician offices and hospitals waiting to speak with the doctors).  This led to a partnership with these leaders to understand their business and problems, then design and execute strategies that resolved their issues while meeting my project objectives.    As a result of these actions, I made adjustments where they could be made, brought the Change Management program back on track.  Plus, I was now viewed as a valued resource to the client, and managers were able to achieve their respective business goals. 

Nothing in business is ever one-sided.  It’s all connected; the entire ecosystem of business is interconnected and getting more connected every day.  A decision made in one area/department almost immediately affects one or more departments across the organization.  The business processes and the people involved are all connected and dependent on one another.  Therefore, it’s imperative to have at least a high-level understanding of an organization’s business process and priorities, no matter your role or responsibilities, including leading the Change Management program.   

It seems simple enough on paper, and most of us would probably agree this makes good sense.  But something falls through the cracks or off the table when we begin to execute the Program as it relates to Change Management.  We get narrow-focused and forget there is more going on beyond the margins of our Change Management Project Plans that are essential to the overall success for the users – the people.  We have to learn to understand how organizations are interconnected and how it impacts the execution of the Change Management Program.  

Ironically, my most successful projects did not include any deliverables, which probably throws off a few of you.  Then how did the client and leadership rate the success of the Change Management Program? Glad you asked.  By the impact on the people and how they felt once they got to the other side of the business change (future state).  When is the last time you had several people tell you they could not have gotten through a particular business transformation if it were not for you being there and all the things you did to help them through the change? When have you seen the business operations improve because you were able to identify the threatening challenges and put actions in place to address them?  In the situation I mentioned above, I simply raised the hood of the organization, noticed what was out of order, or required adjustments and fixed it.

  When you implement your Change Management program, check under the hood and ensure all the right components are adequately identified, properly engaged, and operating in sync.  It may alter the way you define success when it comes to the execution of your Change Management Program.