Change Management News

On Monday, No Labels was kicked off in New York. The intent is provide a forum where people of all political stripes can discuss (not hector) issues and look for common ground. I wish them well. But already, those with something to gain from being deeply partisan are decrying this move. Moderation doesn’t get people to the polls. And as William Randoph Hearst learned over a century ago, it doesn’t sell newspapers, but sensationalism does.

Rich Harwood, always insightful and sometimes provocative, posted an interesting piece in his blog about No Labels. It is well worth reading.

Rick

The Chilean Minors and Open Book Management

The minors were trapped for six weeks before rescuers were able to punch the first hole through. This allowed people on the surface to lower food as well as messages from family and friends. Well-meaning psychologists thought that they should spare the minors any bad news – sick children, marital problems, and so forth. The minors balked – they wanted their news unfiltered. (more…)

Question: Must we focus on why changes fail? (drum roll) Answer: Yes, we must.

Over the past couple of days, I was engaged in conversations about the emphasis on the failure of change in organizations. They believed that focusing on failure saps energy and spirit and gets people focusing on the wrong things.  And, that we keep trotting out the  very old tired statistic that 70 percent of changes fail.

I do agree with them in part. Too much emphasis on hand-wringing is harmful. It can sap our energy to do anything productive. We’ve all probably been in meetings where you could feel motivation ooze out of the room. Obviously, I am not a fan of that.

But I think focusing on failure (as well as success) is critically important. (more…)

Reasons why so many changes fail #15 Fail to understand why people support – and why they resist change.

When a former chairman of the ill-fated Eastern Airlines was once asked what he thought of employee involvement, he replied, “There is no way I’m going to have the monkeys running the zoo.”(1) This kind of arrogance makes cooperation extraordinarily difficult, if not impossible. Is it any wonder that Eastern went out of business?

Although the word is used freely when we speak of change, it is often used imprecisely.

• We use resistance to talk about some vague opposition.
• The mere mention of the word may evoke anger at those who have the audacity to resist us.
• We call these people resistors, as if resistance were the sole province of a class of people—whom we probably don’t like.
• Therefore, it is natural to find a way to get rid of it – to overcome resistance. (more…)

Reasons why so many changes fail#14 Relying on the Three Most Common Ways of Communicating Change

Most leaders rely way too heavily on the big three ways of communicating change:

• PowerPoint
• e-mails
• memos

(more…)

Reasons why so many changes fail #13 Making Them Learn Your Language

Old MIS (Management Information Systems) departments often had the reputation of speaking some foreign language when they worked with senior management and other departments. They made the critical mistake of speaking their language and not translating so that their audience could understand them. It is your job to be “multilingual” so that various stakeholders can understand what you are saying. I have seen IT, HR, financial, and sales and marketing departments kill their own effort to make a case simply because they expected their audiences to learn their jargon. Big mistake.

(This is adapted from my fook, Beyond the Wall of Resistance: Why 70% of Changes Still Fail – and What To Do About It. You can the book by clicking on the link you see on this page.) www.rickmaurer.com

Reasons why so many changes fail #12 Taking Time Will Waste Time

Our research found that when people made a strong case for change, the rest of the project often went much more smoothly. In other words, they didn’t face as much resistance, and things didn’t get off track as often. Even though you believe that you are facing a crisis, you need to ask: Do others believe it is a crisis as well? If not, you’ve got a long slog in front of you. And the odds are not in your favor.  (This is adapted from my completely revised  and updated book, Beyond the Wall of Resistance: Why 70% of Changes Still Fail – and What To Do About It. You can order the book by clicking on this link.)

Reasons why so many changes fail #11 A Belief That You Can Force Them to Do It

No, you can’t. People can find all types of creative ways to stop you in your tracks. For instance, the president of a small company once told me that his idea was dying due to “malicious compliance.” People did just enough to stay out of trouble and keep him off their backs, but not enough to make the change a success.

There are a few exceptions to this. (more…)

Reasons why so many changes fail #10 Moving to How Before Why

Moving to how before people know why a change is needed.

People need to know why something is important before they can get interested or even be willing to hear why you want them to do it. Too often we fail to address “why” something is important before we launch into explaining “how” it should get done. I am not interested in the explanation of how until you’ve convinced me why this is important.

I have been subject to many lengthy PowerPoint presentations (more…)

Reasons why so many changes fail #9 Lack of Trust Can Kill Change

Leaders fail to acknowledge how even a slight lack of trust and confidence in leaders can kill an otherwise fine idea

Trust can make or break a change. But sadly, many who lead change seem to ignore this critically important ingredient. (more…)

Reasons why so many changes fail #8 Leaders fail to appreciate the power of fear Fear of change is deeply personal. The thought of a big change can evoke pictures of relocations or downsizing. People worry that they may be fired. They worry about their families and their careers. Personal fear trumps the organization’s need to change. (more…)

Reasons why so many changes fail #6 Assume Understanding Equals Support

Leaders assume that understanding equals support and commitment

It is common to introduce change by making a PowerPoint presentation to a large group. Leaders may schedule time for Q&A, but the questions they get from their audiences tend to be very polite. After all, who wants to tell the boss they don’t think this is a good idea? People learn to limit their comments to questions about time lines and budgets. They know those are safe questions. Any reservations or fears go underground and only get spoken about in hallways and carpools. (more…)

Reasons why so many changes fail #13 Making Them Learn Your Language — instead of learning theirs.

Old MIS (Management Information Systems) departments often had the reputation of speaking some foreign language when they worked with senior management and other departments. They made the critical mistake of speaking their language and not translating so that their audience could understand them. It is your job to be “multilingual” so that various stakeholders can understand what you are saying. I have seen IT, HR, financial, and sales and marketing departments kill their own effort to make a case simply because they expected their audiences to learn their jargon. Big mistake.

(This is adapted from my forthcoming book, Beyond the Wall of Resistance: Why 70% of Changes Still Fail – and What To Do About It. You can preorder the book by clicking on the link you see on this page.)

Reason why so many changes fail #1

I think Abba Eban (statesman 1915-2002) got it right when he said: “Nations and men may behave wisely once they’ve exhausted all other alternatives.”

Somehow we believe we are immune from the rules of what works. We often assume that because we not only believe we are right – in fact, we know we are right – so that the rules that other mortals must follow don’t really pertain to us. We’ve got God, country, our own brilliance, mojo, or whatever working for us. As you’ll see in subsequent posts this is a big mistake.

When I wrote the first version of Beyond the Wall of Resistance in 1996, 70% of changes in organizations failed. Today, the failure rate is still 70%. That’s what I’ll explore in these daily blurts.  Stay tuned.