Do you know the story about the elephant and the chain? Young elephants have a chain placed around their ankle and are tied to a tree or a stake in the ground. This holds them back from moving to where they want to be.
When young the elephant has the ambition to keep trying to pull away. Hundreds of attempts are made to free himself or herself from the chain. Eventually, the elephant gives up believing it to be possible to break the chain.
As the elephant grows to be an adult, his strength would require a gentle kick to break free – but the elephant is bound to the belief that it is impossible to break free, and remains tied to the chain.
Are there chains that hold you back? Can your team break beliefs and move to the next level?
In Arkaro we believe story-telling is an important part of the change management process in business transformation. Listen to Magaye Niang reflect on his personal Commercial Excellence transformation – and how the elephant and chain story helped him.
His global management capability, strategic thinking and drive for results made him a valued contributor of the management team of the Health & Protection Division"
His sparring helped us to significantly increase the level of KPI transparency and coherent use of information gained throughout the organization towards improvement of underperformance."
1. Practical
2. Project based
3. People
Mark helps people adopt the right mindset and change behaviour to make the process work successfully"
Mark has developed great set of skills around commercial, product management, supply chain and project management that make him a key contributor to any strategic initiative in the business. It has been a pleasure for me working with him and I hereby make my recommendation"
The organisation was motivated for change and many project concepts soon emerged. However, it soon became clear that there was a need to structure program management, with common rules for shop floor and top management teams regarding project selection and prioritisation. In addition there was a need to design a forecast system connecting leading KPIs with planned savings and ensure that resources were deployed effectively.
This is where Mark's contribution proved to be highly valuable. His analysis skills, his ability to interact empathetically with all levels of the organization and lay down an unbiased diagnosis combined with his vast continuous improvement toolbox and business transformation experience applied to our specific case were key to the success of the Malteurop program deployment.
Open to new ideas and comments, he brings a refreshing view and analyzes challenging issues from many different angles to find the optimal solution, always striving to make decisions based on data and not feelings.
Mark has excellent communication skills with colleagues and customers alike, which is key in nourishing motivation and commitment. Mark is proficient in optimally balancing the needs and goals of the organization with those of the customers.”
