IN THE ABSENCE OF LEADERSHIP, BE THE LEADER
Let me tell you more about this book…
The reason for this body of work was to leave for others a field guide for their travels. In the early days of being a mudpuppy (Infantry Officer) you were given a small white flip paperback book to assist in learning your craft. As you may have figured out, it was called an Aide-mémoire. You relied on this little white flip book heavily in the beginning, then, over time, you used it less and less for the knowledge was becoming muscle memory.
By repeatedly referring to the baseline and drawing on it consistently, you were able to focus more on the why of the mission and less on the mechanics or the how of the mission.That is the goal of this book, to provide a valuable condensed body of information for you, the Change Leader, to help you implement the vision of your engagement by setting goals and tasks to meet those goals.
The purpose of this Aide-mémoire is to mentor you to be a better leader in general, a better leader in your professional life and finally, for those of you interested in organizational change to be a better Change Leader.
The reason for this body of work was to leave for others a field guide for their travels. In the early days of being a mudpuppy (Infantry Officer) you were given a small white flip paperback book to assist in learning your craft. As you may have figured out, it was called an Aide-mémoire. You relied on this little white flip book heavily in the beginning, then, over time, you used it less and less for the knowledge was becoming muscle memory.
By repeatedly referring to the baseline and drawing on it consistently, you were able to focus more on the why of the mission and less on the mechanics or the how of the mission.That is the goal of this book, to provide a valuable condensed body of information for you, the Change Leader, to help you implement the vision of your engagement by setting goals and tasks to meet those goals.
The purpose of this Aide-mémoire is to mentor you to be a better leader in general, a better leader in your professional life and finally, for those of you interested in organizational change to be a better Change Leader.
The reason for this body of work was to leave for others a field guide for their travels. In the early days of being a mudpuppy (Infantry Officer), you were given a small white flip paperback book to assist in learning your craft. As you may have figured out, it was called an Aide-mémoire. You relied on this little white flip book heavily in the beginning, then, over time, you used it less and less for the knowledge was becoming muscle memory.
By repeatedly referring to the baseline and drawing on it consistently, you were able to focus more on the why of the mission and less on the mechanics or the how of the mission. That is the goal of this book, to provide a valuable condensed body of information for you, the Change Leader, to help you implement the vision of your engagement by setting goals and tasks to meet those goals. The “how” is the tasks, the “what” is the goals and the “why” is the vision.
This will be a repeated theme throughout the Aide-mémoire for Change Leaders.
This Aide-mémoire aims to provide you with the knowledge you need to be successful as a Change Leader. Reading it should make you more aware of your surroundings and provide you with the tools for improving them.
If the why is for you to be a better Change Leader, then the what is comprised of the key goals to that end.
You will be guided through answering these questions to help you set those goals:
1. What do you want to be as the Change Leader?
2. What will be your approach?
3. What will be the culture you foster to achieve those goals?
4. What will be your values that others will rely on for their success?
The purpose of this Aide-mémoire is to mentor you to be a better leader in general, a better leader in your professional life and finally, for those of you interested in organizational change to be a better Change Leader.
The how is quite simple, the Aide-mémoire will take you through three passes for you to digest. The first is the strategic pass, then the tactical pass and finally the operational pass.
This Aide-mémoire is for you whether you are a tradesperson, a craftsperson or a journeyperson.
As you the reader go through this book, you will notice that I, the writer, come from a working class, military officer, tip of the spear perspective. I am sharing the lessons I have learned and experiences I have lived, in the hope they will assist others.
You may ask who will benefit from investing time reading this book. On my personal adventures, I have worked with individuals in each of the roles below, to our mutual benefit. I like to think that this book, or sections of it, can be of benefit to almost anyone.
Examples of people who would benefit:
How the book is structured…
Orange Conversation
Approach
Culture
Values
Three Pass Process
Strategic Planning
Leadership approach
Be the Leader
Making !T Work
IT Stack
OODA Loop
Capability Maturity Model
Architecture
Project Management
Project Management Office
Data stack
People
Methodologies
Business Knowledge
Just Start
What readers are saying…
“Tim Lalonde has authored the most pragmatic guide to leadership and change that I have ever read. I can attest to the fact that he put these ideas and approaches into practice every single day; I know this because I had the privilege of working on his team for over 5 years as he led a monumental change initiative at Mid-Range Computer Group.
The no-nonsense advice in this book has been tested, refined, and validated in real life. If you want to be a change agent and a leader in your organization, I recommend that you “Just Start” by reading, internalizing, and applying this knowledge. “
Patricia Dahmer
MMsc, PMP
Director, Project Management Office
“Let me start by saying that is a very pragmatic approach to change leadership learnt through the school of hard knocks. Tim is a hands-on practitioner but thinks and plans how he approaches his craft. Some key highlights:
1. The book is about how to transform a company and what is required on the journey.
2. The concept of combining transformation, leadership and most importantly Tim’s military background makes it very unique, and it is very much a personal experience that makes it so engaging.
3. I highly enjoyed the personalized style and anecdotes because they really help in painting the journey forward and make it very real and compelling.
4. What struck me is the importance of Tim’s military background and how it has probably influenced and shaped his approach. Fortunately, Tim expands on his military experience in the first chapter and then refers back to it throughout the other chapters. There is a great section on his Grandfather and his military experiences, as well as those of the sergeants that reported to Tim.
5. I have always thought of Tim as very “organized” person and this comes out very strongly in the book, for example, in the Strategy Tactics and Objectives approach. Being so well organized is something that is a bit unusual in today’s time crunched business world, but another compelling reason as to why this book is so useful.
The book very much reflects Tim, his personality and his style of working. I have really enjoyed it and I keep a copy by my desk as a reference book, and use it throughout my working day.”
Mark Kozak-Holland
PhD, BSc, IPMA-D, PMP, Cert.APM,CMP
Principal Procept Associates Ltd.
“The author of this aide-mémoire does not have an MBA or a degree in English literature. What he brings to this work is real-life experience, in the trenches, with successful change initiatives and a talent for telling a story that will keep you riveted.”
Ann Savage
PMP
