Warren MacDonald is an incredible change agent, with an inspiring story....one of patience, persistence, hope and overcoming fear and obstacles to climb mountains (literally).

Warren MacDonald- professional speaker, author and transformational leader!

Warren Macdonald's life's boundaries were redefined in April 1997 in an accident on North Queensland's (Australia) Hinchinbrook Island. Climbing to the Island's tallest peak, he became trapped beneath a one-ton slab boulder in a freak rock fall. Two days later he was rescued, only to undergo the amputation of both legs at mid thigh.  Just ten months later, he climbed Tasmania's Cradle Mountain. 

Warren discovered that he had choice, not necessarily in what happened to him, but to how he coped and accepted his new reality.. he decided that being beaten by life’s circumstances and being a victim paralyzed by fear was not a choice for him, so he chose to change his perspective and live life as a survivor.

In the coming days, he realized how many huge life changes would need to be made however, he reclaimed his life and moved on. He learned to ask for help. He learned patience, perseverance, and not to be afraid of change. All great lessons for organizations and the teams that work so hard to fulfill a company mission. If you don’t view change as an opportunity, you lose your power, said Warren. The process of dealing with change really involves three steps, according to MacDonald: Acceptance, Responsibility and Crisis. When you create challenges for yourself, your team, you push through the discomfort to success.

Warren’s tips for leaders , business owners and team members around dealing with change included:

- Asking for help

- Having a common goal that s clearly defined

- Leaders inviting perspective shifts to embrace change instead of fear it



Asking questions is a great way to find out where a team is at. Warren suggested that leaders question their mission and actions. Here are a few questions to get you started.

- Why do we do what we do?

- Why does our business/service/product, etc. matter?

- What are we doing and why?

- Where are we going?

Then check in on actions and results. Are they congruent to the answers for the above questions. We are in an important time. What really matters in teams? Here is what Warren and I have both seen as important:

- Transparency

- Engagement

- A mission outside of work

Warren gave an example of one team who volunteered a shift at the local soup kitchen. Another assembled a bunch of bikes without knowing why, until a crowd of young children from a local organization burst through the doors. What a great way for a team to be connected together and to be connected to a purpose or mission outside of the work functions.  You can listen to Warren share this and other stories on our interview  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/charmainehammond/2012/06/20/guests-jill-lublin-and-warren-macdonald


Feel free to share the link with your colleagues and in your team. A great message worth sharing.

Also, check out Warren’s book at


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Leading Change When It Goes off the Tracks

Small businesses, entrepreneurs and authors can learn a lot about why some changes just don’t work for them. Author John P. Kotter is a change management expert, and his book Leading Change offers some great insights that can help any business move through change with more ease. First we need to understand what gets in the way of an effective change process:


Kotter says that businesses fail with their change processes because:

- They allow too much complacency

- They fail to create a powerful and effective change guiding coalition

- They underestimate the power of vision

- They under communicate the vision- communication is actions and words

- Permitting obstacles to block the new vision

- Failing to create short term wins


For businesses, authors and entrepreneurs, it is important we don’t become complacent in our work, always endeavor to be innovative, and passionate. It is the passion and innovation that helps you solve business challenges, and that people remember you for.  When you are excited about your business, others want to be a part of it. No one wants to do business with an owner that doesn't care anymore.
The results will serve you well.

Ensure that you have a vision, know how powerful a vision is and communicate it, and communicate it some more. We are learning that it takes about 14 “touches” which means someone seeing your message, before they buy, sign up or commit. This is a lot of communication in different formats but it works!

Don’t let obstacles or shiny objects get in the way or your plans and vision. Always find the short term "win wins", they fuel the next step in the journey. Also, bring people along with you!  These indivduals become champions for you, your business and your vision. 

To find out more about John P. Kotter, or his incredible books, visit: