Bush and Pelosi Meet
 The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, and President George W. Bush will meet for lunch today. While they do have some personal ties, there has been a fair amount of mud slung about. This could be a tough meeting.
So what’s this got to do with change management, you might ask? A lot. Think of a plant manager and a union leader, or two heads of recently merged companies, or rivals inside a company who need to work together. It’s all the same thing. I have seen meetings like these break down in a two ways.
- The meetings are so sweetly polite that the players need insulin just to get through these encounters. Â
- Or, they break down into competitive finger pointing and blaming.
There is an alternative – and I hope Speaker Pelosi and President Bush have the capacity to adhere to guidelines that could make this (and subsequent) meetings successful. 1. Focus on the future. It’s hard to point fingers at each other when you focus on challenges and possibilities in the future. Think of it, when couples argue, they often pull out sins that were committed decades ago. They do much better when they shift to talking about what they want their lives to be like. 2. Allow potential knee-jerk reactions to pass. It’s likely that either party could say things inadvertently that will set the other one off. That’s almost inevitable. The best thing to do is notice that you are about to get sucked into a non-thinking knee-jerk reaction, take a breath, and let it slide. 3. Find issues of common concern where it will be relatively easy to work together. Working together on easier (but not necessarily less important) issues can build trust – and trust will be critical in the months ahead. 4. Make a commitment to keep coming back to the table. There is nothing magic in these suggestions. Nor are they easy to do. But they are key to effective conversation that could lead somewhere productive.  Rick
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November 9th, 2006 at 7:57 am
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November 9th, 2006 at 1:14 pm
As I write this I am at a plant location that has experieced mergers, downsizing, cost reduction programs, Leadership changes, etc., etc.. The breakthrough I am encouraging the Site to embrace is around how we rally ourselves to take on the fight with courage (a bit like what happened with the WWII “…there will always be an England…” pronouncement). Looking forward, building trust, recognizing the peril, holding one another as comrades and not “the enemy”, having patience, becoming united and agreeing to engage the fight together are the things required to move the Site forward.
While I have some friends who are Democrats who are celebrating my sense is that, in the main, we knew the outcome before election day and that there is a somber realization that while the politicians have changed the problems we face remain. The clearer we hold that “figure” the more likely we can find common ground.
Tom
November 9th, 2006 at 4:05 pm
Rick: I attended a session led by you several years ago at a conference held by the Association of Quality and Participation. You were so good that I purchased your book “Beyond the Wall of Resistance”. I found that you said and did so useful that I asked you to autograph the book – which you did. I do not often ask persons to autograph a book they have authored. My autographed copy fits in well with my autographed copies of books by Joseph Juran and W. Edwards Deming. I have found your cycle of change very helpful, to me and to others.
Your article about Bush and Pelosi is very timely and useful. In reading the article, I noticed your words about the four suggestions that they might find useful. Your words near the end of the article may be the most important words.
“There is nothing magic in these suggestions. Nor are they easy to do. But they are key to effective communication that could lead somewhere productive.” Many persons offer suggestions as “the silver bullet”. You make it clear the suggests are not magic (nor silver bullets?), are not easy to do, but are keys to effective communication. I think there is an important message in what you wrote. What needs to be done may not be easy, but doing it will lead to success. The more that we practice your suggestions, the easier they become.
Thanks for sharing.
Larry Beckon
Michigan Department of Transportation
November 10th, 2006 at 4:24 am
Seeing this reminded me of the political – emotional – rational model and how easy it will be for them to stay in the first two areas and not be rational at all.
John