Month: October 2009

J.T. Knudsen
Red Tree Leadership & Development
“Gaining Change Skills: Who Moved My Cheese?”  Part Two

“75% of corporate change initiatives fail.”
–         Harvard Business Review

Typical Manager’s Reaction when things aren’t working
–         They hit the more button:

• More time
• More money
• More resources
• Until finally you hit the panic button

The button that should be pressed is the how (or question) button.

–         What can we do about this?
–         What do you think?
–         What is stopping us right now?
–         Do we have a clear vision of what we are aiming for?

Simple is better
–         The more easily you can explain change to someone the better

When is change a good idea?
–         When it is your idea

How do you get your idea to be their idea?
–         Ask questions
–         What does on-board really mean?

• What they want lines up with what the company needs
• They are engaged and spending their time on things that matter
• They communicate positively with each other about their work and the desired outcome.

Every company has a strategy but nearly every strategy requires change

How important is making this change to the organization?
–         What would those in positions “above you” say about the priority of the change?

How actively are people in the organization working to make the change happen?

What is the size of this change for the organization?

Big idea #1 – Most results require change

Most companies think they are good at change:
–         We hire people who are skilled at change
–         We deal with change all the time.  It is not a problem
–         Change is what we do

Employees in a company who understand why the company is changing
Yes 46%
No 54%

Percent of employees who think the change requires them to do something differently
Yes 32%
No 68%

Percentage of employees who think the change will make things better or worse for the company
Better 28%
Worse 72%

Think the change will make things better or worse for themselves
Better 12%
Worse 88%

Companies don’t change, people do.

One approach
–         Elaborate planning
–         Detailed timelines
–         Memos, emails, meetings
–         Wait to see improvement
–         More meetings to figure out what’s wrong

A different approach
–         Do people understand what’s changing and why?
–         Do people know how they fit in?
–         Do people imagine gaining or losing?
–         Is progress of the change being measured and how?

Understanding what’s changing and why
–         First, make a case for the change (moving from > moving to)
–         Cascade message down in the correct manner (otherwise the telephone affect happens)

Moving from > moving to
–         Our organization is moving from this to this.

Talking back
–         Give people the opportunity to discuss it, evaluate it, and weigh in
–         Although most change is dictated, buy-in is 100% conditional on the individual
–         Ownership is everything

Sara Roberts
Roberts Golden Consulting

Author of Light Their Fire: Using Internal Marketing to Ignite Employee Performance and Wow Your Customers (Kaplan 2005) and has been quoted in numerous publications including Business Week, Inc. Magazine, and Forbes.

What if you were given the chance to change or die from a doctor?  What if the doctor said, if you don’t make changes in the way you think and act, you wouldn’t make those changes?  Of course, you are going to make those changes.  Don’t bet on it though because medical research shows, 90% of people don’t make the necessary changes to save their own life.

Dean Ornish knows how to make people change.  Ornish in 1993 took 333 patients with heart disease got them to quit smoking, diet, twice-weekly meeting, mediation, relaxation, yoga.  They had a coach that sat down with them and have measurable and achievable results for them.  Most doctors frame up the fact that people will die if they don’t change, he taught the joy of living.  After three years, 77% stuck with those lifestyle changes.

• He reframed it
• He engaged them
• Gave them constant guidance
• Worked right alongside them while they’re making the change
• Ensured accountability for new behaviors

5 out of the top 10 reasons things fail is because we lack change management planning

Within the next ten years, the ability to effectively manage change will be the number one necessary skill required of business professionals.

A company needs periods of stability to regroup and regain energy.  If you don’t know what “normal is” you don’t know how to optimize things.

Designate a “Change Guardian”

• An executive that has his or her finger on the pulse of the company or a cross-functional change counsel you for that purpose.
• Similar to how PMOs manage portfolios or how executive councils prioritize projects from a financial perspective
• Has a birds-eye view
• Ensures initiatives are prioritized and aren’t competing

Engage

• Influence attitudes, build credibility, and make connections across the company

Enable

• Provide the skills, tools, and environment for employees to do their jobs effectively

Empower

• Provide employees with the latitude to make decisions that benefit the customer and organization

Ensure

• Ensure accountability at all levels

Engage Your People

• Know your audiences – get a handle through “stakeholder analysis” and understand where they are
  • How is it going to impact me?
  • What’s in it for me?
  • Is there a role for me?

Raise the Urgency Level

• Show others the need to change – help them see, touch, feel
• Make the message tangible – emotions not just numbers
• Stop Senior Management “happy talk” – put more honest out there
• Highlight performance gaps
• Use customers and shareholder testimonies

The goal of this initiative is to debureaucratize processes in order to prioritize markets to maximize our sales and capitalize on margin optimization resulting in better utilization.

The most important thing to remember about communicating a new direction is that it’s most powerful when it’s communicated through behavior.

Hilton empowers every employee in the hotel to comp a customer if they are not 100% satisfied.  They have done the research and found that employees take it very seriously and do not abuse that privilege.  For every dollar Hilton gives away, they get seven in repeat business.