Change Management News

Sudhakar Prabu wrote a very good piece for his blog titled How to find the edge that leads to personal excellence?

I guess I like it so much becuase I agree with him:) Here is a brief excerpt:

“Number of executives I meet these days ask me, “is there is any one or few things I can do to find the edge so as to move from being good to great. Well, they did not address the question exactly in the way I have framed it, but all of them was some what related to this question. If you are also a concerned business executive may have a similar question. So, what can we do in times likes these to get ahead and get to the top of the game?

When people ask such question to me, in a way it bother me, for they assume the way to greatness is so simple that can be summarized easily and based on some quick fix solutions. It is proven time and again that the quick fix solutions may show temporary results, but they do not last long. Quick fix solutions only introduce changes at the peripherals, not a deep rooted change that last long.”

For decades, Toyota has been synonymous with quality. The Toyota Way is required reading is some corporations. And there is much to learn from their approach to building cars and trucks. They do know how to build things.

When word started to come in about problems with their cars, they seemed to have forgotten their own way. If a problem had been spotted on an assembly line, a worker could have stopped that line until they could figure out what went wrong – and fix it. But, once the car was out on the highway, there didn’t seem to be a similar switch that would allow an employee to signal a problem.

When the public’s trust goes, it can go fast. (more…)

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. (more…)

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.

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.

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”m someone who loves the new and novel. My preferences in the arts tend toward adventurous and experimental.  I try to perform jazz, an improvisational art form, and I sometimes use theater improv in my work.

But here I am walking the streets of Moscow (something I love to do when I first visit a city) and feeling a bit uneasy.  I walk aimlessly, so far so good, and then I check my map. (more…)

I was quoted in Lin Grensing-Pophal’s online article Getting Even in Human Resource Executive Online. The foucs of the article  Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that employees are increasingly reacting to their layoffs and terminations with varying degrees of revenge. HR leaders need to create processes and procedures that minimize that risk. I hope you’ll take a look.

I just posted an interview with Patricia Husband, a librarian who was in a class I gave a few years ago. She sent me an e-mail telling me how she was using the ideas I presented. My curiosity (or perhaps my ego) compelled me to call her and set up an interview. Members of the free Change Management Open Source Project can hear this Podcast and access a lot of other free resources, including the e-book Introduction to Change without Migraines.

Changing a company is tough: only about 40% of transformation programs succeed, according to McKinsey research. But some change programs have a better chance than others: defensive transformations (those undertaken to stem trouble) have lower success rates than progressive ones (launched, for instance, to boost growth or to move from good to great performance). Trigger events matter, too. Some change programs are initiated proactively, while others are undertaken in reaction to external shocks, market pressure, or poor financial performance. Our research finds that most successful transformations are those that are both offensive and proactive — we call them “progressive” — which have a 47% success rate. Defensive transformations have a 34% rate of success.

Source: Creating Organizational Transformations: McKinsey Global Survey Results

by way of the Daily Stat, Harvard Business Publishing

I am not a big fan of Twitter. To date, I hadn’t seen what all the fuss was about. And then news came out from Iran. The government blocked the Internet so that word could not get out about reactions to the elections. But they forgot about Twitter. People tweeted, telling the world about their reactions.

So, what does this have to do with change management, you might ask.  You can try to keep things quiet, under wraps, etc. but people will find a way to let others know what’s up even in the most oppresive environments.