Change is awesome! . . .or not .

What one thing must occur to ensure success for any BIG change in any company?

 The adrenaline rush brought about by the prospect of a looming change is addicting.

In fact, the bigger the change the more thrilling the feeling. If I’ve lost you at this point, you are in good company or at least you are in the majority. Most don’t like the prospect of change. It is uncomfortable! On the other hand, we are now at a time in history enabled by technology that demands change at a rate that often exceeds the speed of business. Of those who do enjoy change, there are two types. There are those, who like only the kind that impacts you and your world and there are those, like me, who really do enjoy change and the process of change. We are as rare as we are odd.

As my dad used to tell me when I said I didn’t like something that had to be done, like milking the cows, EVERY SINGLE DAY, or any other of a myriad of repetitive tasks, “you better learn to like it, Mister.” I don’t know where the mister came from or why he ended his sentences like this when he talked to me. Perhaps it was so he didn’t invoke a moniker that was, perhaps, less confidence building. It’s a mystery to be sure! In any regard, what he said was prophetic. If something must be done, it is best to learn to enjoy it! The same is true of change in the world of business; it’s best approached as an enjoyable endeavor! This begs a question. : How does one get a diverse set of people to choose to enjoy something they naturally do not enjoy, or at least embrace what is coming?

Pragmatically, the world of business and the technology that is enabling it is changing at an alarming rate and in order to stay gainfully employed one must work hard just to keep up. The exercise of “keeping up” is, by itself, a process of change. As you research, read, listen and study you are improving, becoming more capable and valuable, and as a result you are changing. In so doing you are now fit to help your company make necessary changes to become more competitive in their marketplace. From this microcosm view of change it should be clearer as to how change, on a broader scale, is brought about. Further, the scenario described above that is driving the need for personal growth (change) also drives a company’s need for growth (change). Companies must grow and change, or they will cease to exist.

 There are many large service integration companies and service providers who promise and sell digital transformation services. The largest and most successful companies in the world sell the service of change (transformation) and all of them struggle to deliver the value that is promised, or so it may appear. The technology is capable, the processes of implementation are thorough and well defined and the integration with a company’s current portfolio is well understood, so why is the value not realized?

 It could be in the preparation for the change where the reason for failure is hidden. The work before the work begins as it were. Ahead of every major transformation a necessary cultural shift must occur. It doesn’t matter if the transformation involves adding a line of business, overhauling business processes, capturing and using data to drive decisions, or leveraging technology to accelerate the realization of value, people must get on board and further, embrace what is coming. Talk with virtually any leader and they will talk about People, Process and Technology. The people component is invariably mentioned first but it’s as though it is mentioned first so we can get past it and move on to the parts that matters – Process and Technology. Perhaps it is because our natural tendency as members of the human species is to be drawn to the bright and shiny objects. Process and Technology are the bright and shiny objects in the group after all. It sounds as though I am talking about a murder of ravens playing with a string of shiny, Bourbon Street beads. Ravens are intelligent, so we are in good company or at the very least, fun to watch.

 The people element in consideration of change should be mentioned first because it is the most important part of the change itself. It seems as though we rush past the people component, inherently understanding that people are the toughest nut to crack in the people, process, technology triumvirate. People tend to like what they like and go about their day doing things they prefer to do in a way that makes them comfortable. Even the tasks they loathe to do, they have worked out a way to accomplish them in a manner that is at a minimum, familiar. It is a daily demonstration of the saying “better the devil you know than the devil you don't. — which is to say that it is better to deal with a difficult situation one knows than with a new situation that is unknown and might be worse. This, then begs the question, “How do we bring about the necessary cultural shift?”

“. . .Perhaps you have heard the story of Christopher Wren, a seventeenth-century English architect who was walking (unrecognized) among the men working on the building of St. Paul’s cathedral in London, which he had designed.

"What are you doing?” he inquired of one of the workmen. The man replied, “I am cutting a piece of stone.” As Wren went on he put the same question to another man, and the man replied, “I am earning five shillings, two pence a day.”

 To a third man he addressed the same question, and the man answered, “I am helping Sir Christopher Wren build a beautiful cathedral.”

That man had vision. He could see beyond the cutting of the stone, beyond the earning of his daily wage, to the creation of a work of art. He understood why he was there and how he fit. He knew his role and how it uniquely applied to the building of a great cathedral. “1

 The story of President John F. Kennedy visiting NASA headquarter for the first time in 1961 may be a more familiar story. While touring the facility, he introduced himself to a janitor who was mopping the floor and asked him what he did at NASA.

The Janitor replied, “I’m helping put a man on the moon!”

The janitor got it. He understood the vision, his part in it, and he had purpose.

 Bringing about a shift in culture boils down to explaining the necessity of change from a corporate perspective and the benefit from a personal perspective to everyone who is impacted directly and indirectly. Once this is accomplished satisfactorily, and the why for each person becomes self-evident, adoption takes place. A shift in culture always takes place one person at a time.

As leaders it is imperative that we develop and continuously improve our ability to paint each person, uniquely into the vision so they understand why they are doing what they do and why they must embrace what is about to come. Every single person in your organization must know how they fit and what their purpose is relative to the company’s objectives. Beyond this each person from top to bottom must understand what is in it for them individually and why it matters collectively.

There are modern frameworks and several common tools and capabilities that provide the visibility necessary to show each person involved the state of the way things are today; whether it’s the cost to deliver a service, the complexity of the environment or the limitations inherent in the current state. This can then be juxtaposed to a view of what the change will enable. The transparency will answer the why for the masses and speed each person’s adoption of the forthcoming change and in turn, their commitment to bring it about.

 So, you have a big change coming and are wondering how to bring it about successfully? Get busy, there are a lot of cows to milk so you might as well learn to like it – Mister!

 Leading a big change can be overwhelming. Send me a message if you are facing big changes, I’d love to help!

SOUND OFF!

Before you go! I’d love to hear from you. I’m writing a book and I’d very much appreciate your thoughts, stories, and insight regarding driving change in a company. Respond below or send me a message.

1 https://www.beqom.com/blog/jfk-and-the-janitor

Tanya Jansen Total Compensation Management November 26 2014