Get a clu - stories of business - by Caroline

Hosted by Caroline-Lucie Ulbrich

Business Management Education

Website RSS feed

Episodes

Latest episode

Jan 2025

Language

About the show

Welcome to "get a clu- stories of business". My name is Caroline, and I am a change management expert. In this podcast, I reflect on change tools, transformation journeys and frameworks. Drawing on my experience having served public and private sector clients, I illuminate how to achieve change success and which roadblocks to circumvent.

Listen to episodes

33 recent

January 3, 2024Episode 120 min

Unsconscious organizational culture, startups and scaling

As management thinker Peter Drucker famously said: "Culture eats strategy for breakfast". When startups scale, they have to organizational address culture. But how do startup founders - often unaware of the informal culture that rules and how their professional identity impacts it - become cognizant of culture? They have a myriad of priorities address, from product innovation to making customers happy and keeping the venture capital community happy. I reflect on the interplay of increased pressure due to scaling, leadership personalities, team happiness and getting culture right.

January 3, 2024Episode 210 min

Being the modern Jeanne d'Arc of change

Jeanne d'Arc is known as the 15th century warrior who supported Charles VII during the war of 100 years against the English. She rallied the troops and lifted the siege of Orléans. As much as her military wins and her whole demeanor are admirable, I warn against exhausting oneself like Jeanne did. Change managers should strive to become a 2.0 version of her: strategic thinkers who remove themselves from the arena and ensure they stay centered.

January 3, 2024Episode 311 min

Herding cats - what to do when employees resist the change

Don't you just love the expression "herding cats"? I do. Cats do as they please. They are their own person. So are members of an organization who resist a transformation. I can relate. As an employee, I have certainly been a rebel. What can you as a change manager do to get this group on your side? How can you leverage their creative potential?

January 4, 2024Episode 59 min

Let's treat employees like clients in a transformation universe

I completed two accelerator programs for startups. Accelerators are like mini-MBAs for founders. I was continuously reminded that customer is king. Customer development is taken seriously in startups. You ask your client questions to hone in on their pain points, and request feedback whether your solution would address them. What is more, you imagine your customer as a customer persona and define how and when to communicate with them. How about we treet employees like customers during a change project?

January 4, 2024Episode 413 min

Girlboss community lessons for bottom-up transformations

Sophia Amoruso did it again - after the demise of clothing empire NastyGal, she created the online/ offline community Girlboss for entrepreneurial women. I was lucky enough to attend the Girlboss rally in June 2019 in Los Angeles. I found myself in the middle of a "vie en rose" dream come true at UCLA campus. Pink banners, pink branding... and many impressive female speakers made this event memorable in my eyes. In the podcast, I explain why bottom-up transformations should get inspired by the community concept.

January 4, 2024Episode 67 min

Capacity-building during a change project - essential skills transfer

Upskilling is a word I first came across when I worked in London in 2009 for a company that has since been acquired by Garner. It's a fancy way of conveying that you as a change manager teach other professionals a skill while implementing the transformation. Based on my experience, running aPMO (project management office) and navigating a business case are essential skills for anyone who works in change. At times, you have to empower others - even very seasoned professionals - to internalize them.

January 8, 2024Episode 710 min

The valley of tears - Elisabeth Kübler-Ross' change curve

Swiss-American psychiatrist Kübler-Ross created the grief curve in 1969. It captures the five stages of loss and which types of emotions mourners experience. This framework was so potent that it's widely used as the change curve as well. Discussing the change curve and admitting one's emotions during a transformation helps everyone come to terms with the impact of a change. It's a potent tool.

January 9, 2024Episode 812 min

Plan your company-wide transformation like a K-drama plot

K-dramas are a worldwide phenomenon. K-drama stands for Korean drama and refers to TV shows originating in South Korea. You might be familiar with hits such as Squid game (2021, 2023). K-dramas are so successful that Netflix earmarked USD 2.5 billion in 2023 for the genre. High production quality as well as compelling storytelling make them successful. And those are elements lacking in some company-wide transformations. There is no compelling narrative arc. Why not borrow from K-dramas when you create your next transformation storytelling concept?

January 10, 2024Episode 913 min

Competing commitments - unearthing why professionals don't change

The "competing commitments" concept was first made popular by Harvard Business school professors Robert Keagan and Lisa Lahey. It illustrates why members of an organization pledge a goal, and then engage in behaviors that are detrimental to their behavior. It explains which competing worldviews and beliefs stand in their way. The beauty: with the help of the corresponding worksheet, the concept becomes a potent tool to addressing resistance to change. I tried it myself!

January 11, 2024Episode 1010 min

Napoléon B.: the case for legacy thinking at org and personal levels

I was in Paris and noticed a poster featuring the former French emperor Napoléon Bonaparte. His legacy is both negative and positive (including over 6 million Europeans casualties). The "enlightened despot" is known for having introduced French civil law and access to school education for children. Legacy thinking in business and politics is often not viewed as a priority. Short-term pressure (elections or increasing shareholder value) prevails. Alas, it is a fantastic tool to help individuals prioritze and focus on meaningful projects. In this episode, I encourage you to think more broadly about what you want to be remembered for.