Change - Part 8

I still remember the time one of my customers said ‘you have to see the movie Office Space’ – what a great movie, pointing out and laughing at each of us and our little tribes and idiosyncrasies. I would add The Secret Life of Walter Mitty to that list as well. This picture of our lives in our workplaces, this mashup of people, egos, personalities, insecurities, backgrounds, cultures all in one place with everyone working together to a common end. I mean – what could possibly go wrong?

When I am brought in to evaluate an organization, culture, tech stack, marketing, and sales org, whatever it is – they are all wildly different and at the core, the same.

What makes it different is the people because everyone is vastly different. I have been in a conference room of ten people where nine could get onboard with the plan for change and just one that would not and that would be enough to derail an entire initiative. I also had the pleasure one time (seriously only saw this once in 30+ years) where an executive who sat on the East side of a large open office cubicle floor plan, basically shouted out how everyone reported to him as he walked me through the org chart. Simply unbelievable, and yet, as I would learn through many engagements, really not that unbelievable, he was just bold enough to say it aloud.

You see, everyone has ‘their stapler’ or ‘process for handling film negatives’ – the thing that we often forget in change management is that this is a real thing, and it needs to be respected and not discounted as weird or ridiculous. Organizations are living breathing organisms, and each person plays an integral role in its existence. Before any change happens around putting the right butts in the right seats, first you need to assess who is where and why – respectfully.

It is important to carefully observe and assess.

Change is a necessary part of growth, pushing the same button for 5 years, the same way without ever asking why, is just a slow death. At some point we will not need to push that button. The great companies, the great people on your teams, your great vendor relationships – the ones that ask ‘why’ or ‘is there a way we can make this better’ – those are the ones you want on your team. They are not afraid of change; they can clearly point out the downsides and upsides of change that ultimately will lead to growth.

Signed,

Change (Let’s get it done)