Change Management

The only constant is CHANGE. And Management is the art of realizing opportunites, from marshalling resources towards a targeted and JustInTime risk taking.

"It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change." by CharlesDarwin

See more at http://www.quotationspage.com/quote/33160.html.
OTOH, in some situations the "strong resistance to change" enabled some small businesses to survive, despite a fast changing world around them.

ChangeManagement has been a well-known business term for ages. See WikiPedia description at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Change_management for a business centric view.

Success to ChangeYourOrganization require LeaderShip and consideration for OrganizationCulture

TheHeartOfChange is a book to read for those involved with big changes in an organization.

A different cut, taken frrom "Lost in transition" at http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,8171-1466654,00.html

Desire for change
Shared Vision
- changes need to be implemented at all levels and embedded in the culture
Longterm plan
- needed but need to be supported by details of immediate plans
Involve all levels of management
- frontline supervisors best suited to deal with relevant concerns
Explain
- as early as possible and as frequent as possible
Reduce fear
- demonstrate new way is secure through frequent and honest communication
Participation and Involvement
- joint ownership of the problems to be developed
Identify resources
- working level can better locate savings and improvements
Keep staff motivated
- treat others as you wish to be treated
Face to face communication
- sincerity of leaders need to be visible

Change, but not IllConsideredChange

You need to preserve your core and stimulate progress by Jim Collins

Dont forget middle management, if you want change to succeed. See article at http://www.mgeneral.com/3-now/00-now/010001dh.htm.

And to keep focused on FormulaForSuccess.

LessonsFromFailure

British Airways Rhetoric / Action gap at http://www.lboro.ac.uk/departments/bs/research/2001-4.pdf

another analysis of the firms initiatives in 2003 at http://www.ikc.icfai.org/casestudies/bestselling/britishairways.pdf

Great organizations put Failures to work - addressing the ItsaPeopleProblem issue

From a reference article (35 pages) listed in LessonsFromFailure

An "obvious" insight - cannot learn if people do not discuss and analyze them... (because)... social systems tend to discourage this kind of analysis.
...require a spirit of inquiry and openness, patience, and a tolerance for ambiguity... (this is different) (from established reward system).
people tend to be more comfortable attending to evidence that enables them to believe what they want to believe

InformationAndCommunicationTechnology perspective

Significant changes in EnterpriseApplication (e.g. implementation of a new EnterpriseResourcePlanning ERP package) are often preceded by a BusinessProcessReengineering (BPR) exercise. And if nothing else the BPR undertaking serves to promote CulturalReadiness for process changes.

see also SoftwareChangeManagement

PsychologyOfEverydayThings in ChangeManagement, a core BusinessProcessManagement activity

According to a Summer06 article at http://www.strategy-business.com/media/file/sb43_06207.pdf titled "The Neuroscience of LeaderShip", it was said brain research provided a biological reason why people can be against change even if it is in their best interests. It was said behaviorism tactics (the carrot and stick approach) do not work in the long term. Other not so effective methods include the humanistic approach of appealing to SelfEsteem and HigherPrinciples, and the Socrates method of questioning.

The Brain needs to be aligned with the mind

The paper suggests the way ChangeManagement can be effected is through a cognitive approach, of effecting change in mental maps of people in a large way. To do that the people involved need to "own" the change initiative. Quoting the article, it was said:

Leaders wanting to change the way people think or behave should learn to recognize, encourage, and deepen their team's insights.

The article also quoted the success of ToyotaProductionSystem hinges on the ability to employ tactics that promote fine-grained awareness of processes and how to improve them. Earlier on there were also suggestions that TheToyotaWay worked because of workplace practices that are supportive of the way the brain works.

Looking at TheToyotaWay, a lot of the fourteen principles interact to form a cohesive, immersive, experiential approach of the interlocking Toyota techniques such as visual controls, "go and see", etc
When a process defect is detected, the highly valued Continuous Flow process is stopped. This creates an emergency and results in lasting improvement quickly.

Not sure to what extent this school of thought agrees or complements the work of Kurt Lewin, who originated Force Field Analysis and founded the Research Center for Group Dynamics at MIT before he died in 1947. Kurt pioneered work relating change and psychology (organization development is the modern term). I am interested to know about recent and relevant work done by key thinkers in related areas (e.g Cognitive Dissonance - any applications to ChangeYourOrganization?).

CommunicatingChange

There is never been enough communications in any significant ChangeManagement exercise. I found this to be true as an apprenctice in an inhouse project where my IT background had little relevance.

CommunicatingChange is the title of a well-known book, published during the heydays of BusinessProcessReengineering (ISBN : 0070364524) by the Larkin team.

WhatStrongEmotionsShow

In mid 2005, TJ Larkin was invited to address International Association of Business Communications (IABC), where he got standing ovation (second time in its history alongside Salman Rushdie), but that also sparked a fierce debate with his contemporary on how to do communications.

This was taken from an observation by another person at http://blogs.iabc.com/chair/archives/2005/08/26/holtz-vs-larkinround-3/ in regards to the debate between those two skilled communicators:

I’ve also sensed that they have occasionally missed the meaning of a point made by the other. It’s like I learned in marital counseling once (don’t ask for details), sometimes two people can become polarized to the point where they don’t really hear what the other person is saying

ChangeYourOrganizationTactics to consider in ChangeManagement

ChangeYourOrganization assessment

Maybe TimeToChange has not yet arrived, as there is insufficient CulturalReadiness? If you are caught in such a situation and have confirmed that there is indeed no hope, make sure you communicate this early and adequately to your sponsors.

Some of the views below have been taken came from Maurer & Associates "Beyondresistance" site.

SelfManagement may help with ChangeManagement

Also, it may be beneficial in some situations for the ChangeAgent to do a bit of reflection. It is possible that if his attitude changes, there will be less disconnect with the targeted group and therefore more chance for success. See a story at http://www.beyondresistance.com/personal_shift.php

MiddleOut strategy

The advice at http://www.beyondresistance.com/htm/popups/middle_manage.php is again SelfManagement. In this case the Implementor need to be careful to manage his own feelings about an initiative assigned by senior management. An emotional leak from the leader damages confidence in the troops and cause the entire program to lose focus. Another point in that article is the need to "manage upwards". Other useful tips are available as well, for the person caught in the middle of ChangeManagement.

AmatterOfTrust

Success for a significant ChangeManagement exercise can be hinged on WhomDoYouTrust. When there are low trust warning signs (see http://www.beyondresistance.com/htm/popups/trust_low.php), then the ChangeManagement program may have to be preceded by a program to address the ManagementOfReputationalRisk.

Resources

Changing your leader (perspectives)? http://execed.wharton.upenn.edu/globals/brochures/leadingup.pdf

Change as managed at http://www.changecentral.com

ISO 9001 Gap Analysis http://www.the9000store.com/Gap_How_to.aspx

(LouGerstner) Leading the turn around at http://leadership.wharton.upenn.edu/digest/02-03.shtml

All genuine RefactoringWithoutBias attempts are welcomed, including fixing mangled English. So big thanks to the contributor who noted my errors. It showed interest by going through the sources.

CategoryManagement CategorySuccess