Book Notes: “Change Management that Sticks” (Takeaway #2)

Here’s one of the main reasons why your organization should lead with purpose in change and radiate change values that attract top talent to work for you and keep working for you. High-performing dynamic professionals want to progress!

Change Management is about realizing people benefits. Get to the heart of what people value and align it, wherever possible, with the values of an organizational change project team and you’ve got a winning formula again and again!

Here is my takeaway #2 from one of the most useful practical books in making organizational project work meaningful, “Change Management that Sticks: A Practical People-centered approach, for high buy-in and meaningful results”:

2) “It’s about adopted change that sticks, matters, and deeply informs the day-to-day experiences of users. It’s change that contributes to outcomes and realizes benefits.”

Follow these 3 steps…

1. “…get to the heart of the change and work out what would make it stick.”
2. Identify “what people (impacted or interested) want from the change.”
3. Care about “delivering business change in a way that is authentic and respects people.”
4. Repeatedly improve your organizational change maturity level by level. “…leaders may have a poor or immature view of what change management does and the value it brings. Then change is turned from a crucial collaborative partner to an order taker.“

Note: This comes from the Introduction (page xvi-xvii).

In Change Management, many people are afraid to take on the “status quo” in an organization that is unwilling to try new ways of doing things. What if your company doesn’t respect change work and doesn’t know how to best employ their value in that area?

In Project Management, many people are afraid to work for an organization that hasn’t established formal project management. What if your company hangs out that carrot, claiming that they will be promoted when project work proves itself more of a benefit than a cost to the organization, but it never supports true project management?

In Knowledge Management, many people are afraid to share their knowledge for fear of it working against them. What if your company gets rid of them, in favor of cheap labor, once it strips away understanding they took years and years to gain.

Hopefully your organization has enough foresight to make pro-active changes to thrive in today’s environment, before it has to make reactive changes just to survive. We live in an era of dynamic professionals who adapt and seek out opportunities to make a real difference in the world. If your company is not on board with those high ambitions, work towards changing your culture, start looking for work elsewhere, or start your own business to change how the world works, like I’m doing.

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STORY TIME:

My dad retired early. He was a Quality Assurance Manager for several big manufacturing companies, such as Coca Cola. His last company paid him well to move on with life when they wanted to go in a different direction out of nowhere. It replaced him in favor of two up-and-coming college graduates. They basically split the wage between them. My dad moved out of state to enjoy retirement.

Then, when those graduates couldn’t possibly understand 30+ years of managerial experience, they paid my dad nearly twice as much to fly in on the weekends, to consult and train, and help out with a rough transition for as long as it takes. The company wasn’t looking to change the way the work was done. They didn’t want to reinvent the wheel. They just wanted to do the same work with a 2-for-1 investment that could pan out in their distant future.

The company didn’t think ahead. It didn’t strategically invest in its workforce to learn, grow, and adapt all along. It didn’t provide a way for my dad to train his replacement over the course of time. Essentially, it thought it was saving money when it ended up spending more money.

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Baby Boomers will be retiring in mass numbers in the next 5 to 20 years. This will create a talent gap as they take their knowledge and experience with them. It is the company’s responsibility to continue on without them, for better or worse.

There’s a better way to do it. And it centers around people at all levels working for one another, not just with one another. When we get back to respecting one another, trusting one another, helping one another, collaborating, coordinating, and communicating with one another as a team, we will exceed our potentials over our lone efforts. When we become one in purpose and action we will advance more naturally toward a mutual cause. Company leadership needs to take the lead and plan as though the future is now.

Change Management is an inspiring field of work, “because the more things change the more things stay the same” – people are your greatest asset. You invest in them as people and as teammates, and they will invest in you and your company! Get out ahead of change and invest in your professional’s development.

If they move on before it pays off for you, so be it, but if you bring your change, project, and knowledge management up-to-speed it won’t be difficult to fit new workers into your thriving system. Chances are people won’t move on, rather they will move up. When your company is performing at its potential, because it uses its resources most effectively, your projects are a resounding success, your business is flourishing, and your people will want to continue to be a part of that progression.

You’re going to be able to bring in a lot more business. You’re going to need to either hire more people or automate menial tasks to free up your experts to do more meaningful work. And your teams will support it because they have come to trust in each other’s abilities having worked on project teams that advance each other as individuals, teams, and organizations.