Change Management News

You remember Jenny Sanford. She’s the wife of Gov. Mark “I found my soul mate in Argentina” Sanford. She’s just written a tell-all book. No, I didn’t read it, but The Washington Post just ran an article about it. And it reminded me of an important aspect of organizational change.

There were signs that this was going to be a bad marriage from the time they were dating. Many things ranging from refusing to promise fidelity to just shake-your-head items that make you wonder why she didn’t see him for what he was.

Organizations have those same blind spots.

Harley Davidson had huge quality problems. Read the rest of this entry »

Two years ago, Washington, DC Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s popularity was 59 percent among District residents while 29 percent disapproved of her performance. Today, her approval rating is 43 percent (44 percent disapprove.) Parents of children in DC schools gave her 54 percent approval rating in 2008 and today 54 percent disapprove of her performance.  (The Washington Post. 2/1/10. Most facts included in this post come from that article.)

She was hired to bring about change in a troubled school system.  Leading change can be tough in most organizations, but in DC Schools it can be an especially tough assignment. Read the rest of this entry »

If you want to learn how to work with resistance, watch a video clip of President Obama speaking to and with Republican House leaders today. It’s hard to imagine anyone in recent US history of either party who 1. would engage in a give and take with a room filled with only his or her opponents, and 2. could engage in a give and take with clarity, strength and sometimes humor. I can think of no better practical lesson on working with those who are on the other side of issues. You may not want to watch the entire hour, but here is a link to part of  the presentation itself. And here is a link that covers part of the question and answer session. There is something about a face-to-face meeting between people who disagree with one another conducted with mutual civility that is a joy to witness.

If President Obama were to ask me for advice on his State of the Union message tonight, I’d tell him to keep it simple. Limit yourself to one critical issue that you want the US Congress and the American public to support over the next year. Give two points if you really must. And if you get to three or more points, you’ll lose your audience.

The problem is that Presidents, for as long as I can remember, have delivered veritable shopping lists of things of things they want to accomplish over the coming year. There is usually something in the list for everyone. “And for little Billy, a new bicycle.”  State of the Union night is the one night of the year that insomniacs can get a good night’s sleep. Just turn on the TV and let the President (any president) lull you into dreamland.

As a leader of change, listen to the speech tonight and see if it grabs you and makes you want to do something (other than reaching for the remote.) Corporate leaders, like Presidents, cover too many things when they are trying to influence their audiences. The ancient Roman orator, Cato the Censor, said, “Stick to the point and the words will take care of themselves.” And, you’ll note that Cato said point – not points.

Two reasons for this post. 1. It might help those who wish to help during the crisis in Haiti, and 2. it is a good reminder about what it may take to manage a major change effectively.  Nathanial Whittemore’s post “What Go Wrongs with Rebuilding Efforts (and How to Do Better This Time)” offers have problems when outsiders try to do good in situations like the Earthquake in Haiti.

1. Lack of local knowledge. The need to understand the complexities and uniqueness of the culture you want to help.

2. One-dimensional victim-centric view of impacted populations.

3. Lack of respect for local economic systems.

4. Lack of appreciation for the importance of politcal power. he suggests looking for organizations that understand the political forces in the country.

4. Lack of commitment.  Focusing on just the immediate disaster and leaving during the rebuilding process.

Other posts warn people to avoid just going to the country thinking they can help, or from sending their own “care” packages. They claim that these just clog the ports and don’t take into account the transportation and other logistical challenges of getting these donations to people.

Rod Collins wrote a good post in his wiki-management blog on this topic. I urge you to read it.

I’ve got a question for you about leading or managing change: What are you looking for right now that you can’t find in the existing books, articles or services?

It’s been over fifteen years since the first books on change management were published and yet the statistics for success remain the same (about 2/3 of all organizational changes fail). I want to know why. Your response to the question may help all of us learn where we need to focus our attention.

I have two reasons for asking. My publisher is going to release a paperback edition of my book, Beyond the Wall of Resistance, and this will give me a chance to update and improve it. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity. . . And the second reason, I hope that your response to my question will stimulate rich conversations in our online community.

You can respond be sending me an e-mail rick@beyondresistance.com or go to my online community Change Management Open Source Project. You’ll my question listed in the discussion forum.
Thanks. I look forward to hearing from you.

Rick

Eric Klein wrote a good blog post titled The 8 Types of Silence: How to Improve Communication when People aren’t Talking. It’s worth reading.

Wendy Mack and Deanna Banks have posted their new e-book on Wendy’s website. Leading After Layoffs: Best Practices for Re-Energizing Your Workforce is a fine and accessible short book. Did you know that a 1 percent reduction in force can have a huge negative ripple effect throughout the organization? If you are interested in this topic (and who isn’t?) I encourage you to read their book.

You can also access their free e-book at the Change Management Open Source Project as well.

If you’re going to the ODN (Organization Development Network) conference in Seattle (October 18-21), Id love to see you. I’ll be doing a couple of presentations and will be hanging out in the Exhibitor’s area at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland booth. The Institute is my home away from home. And getting to work there is a true labor of love. – Rick Maurer

Too bad. Town hall meetings are part of the history and myth of what America is.  The town hall meetings we saw this past summer were a disgrace to what that forum could be. As Carolyn Lukensmeyer, founder of AmericaSpeaks said to The Washington Post, ” “faux town hall meetings that aren’t anything about deliberation. . . . People are coming in advocating the answer, they’re not coming in to learn anything about the options”  (WP 8/15/09)

Oddly enough, corporate town hall meetings tend to be the bizarro mirror images of those finger-pointing town halls of August. These meetings are often polite — way too polite — where little of substance is talked about. Or, when a real issue does get mentioned, some executive gives a 15 minute response filled with platitudes , run-on sentences and paragraphs until most listens cry uncle and tune out.

We can do much better. Carolyn’s group holds meetings for hundreds, sometimes thousands of people, where they can engage in dialogue (that means the structure allows and encourages listening, and building on the ideas of others).

Creators of large systems change processes have developed ingenious ways to encourage dialogue and collaboration. (Take FutureSearch or Real Time Strategic Change as just two examples.)

So proven models for civil discourse are already out there, and all we have to do is use them.

I just posted a free 16-minute Podcast that provides an overview of my approach to leading change.  I hope you’ll listen and pass along the link if you like what you hear.  Change Podcast

Interesting article in the NY Times on Friday, 8/13/09 about US Army using Wiki to allow troops to rewrite seven field manuals.

This is a major shift for the Army. Col. Charles J. Burnett, the director of the Army’s Battle Command Knowledge System said, “The only ones who could write doctrine were the select few. Now, imagine the challenge in accepting that anybody can go on the wiki and make a change — that is a big challenge, culturally.” (NYT)

I got thinking. What if organizations created field manuals for leading change that were open source (ala wiki technology)? Any one could contribute and anyone could build on or change the work of others. They would create manuals that would become the standard for how change was planned and implemented.

I haven’t thought more about the idea than what you are reading.

I just started a discussion on Change Management Open Source Project.  If you have thoughts please add to the discussion on that site. Thanks.

At last, the web site for the Change Management Open Source Project is up and running. I am excited about the possibilities that this site could provide.  Everything is free and it includes resources such as:

• Introduction to Change without Migraines e-book
• Podcasts about leading and managing change
• Videos that give the theory behind my approach to change
• Virtual discussion forums. You can comment on existing forums or start a discussion of your own
• Outline for a 1/2 day training design on change management
• PowerPoint slides to use during training sessions or planning meetings

Over 760 joined the Change Management Open Source Project when I first announced it. Now i expect most of those people to sign-in to the new web site and join the conversation.

I hope you’ll take a look.  www.changeOSP.com

I am just ending a week’s work in Moscow with Business Training Russia. Good people who develop management development simulations who have just introduced one on change management for middle managers. I worked with BTR and their clients, and was a bit surprised to learn how very similar the challenges are for middle managers and senior leaders in the US and Russia. I wasn’t expecting that underlying human nature would be different, of course, but I did except to see some differences in how we can successfully apply change management strategies. But in conversation and in reviewing some recent research they just conducted, I couldn’t find any significant differences. (I hope to be able to discuss the results once they are analyzed more fully and translated in English for language impaired individuals like me.)