December 25th: Won't You Guide My Sleigh Tonight? ??

Dr. Abacus McKinley sat alone in his guest room all night, following Santa Claus on his way around the globe. As always, Santa’s trip could be followed on ‘NORAD Tracks Santa’, but this year there was one more way to follow the progress. Santa tweeted extensively about his whereabouts, and many people actually re-tweeted these tweets, which helped spread the happy message.

As he sat there, Dr. McKinley started to think about his experiences at the North Pole over the past couple of weeks. He had to admit that he had actually learned a lot, which was not common for an experienced consultant like himself. This had made him see change efforts in a new light. It was not as if his MBA education had failed him—it was more that it needed a layer of common sense that he had experienced here, not least from Mrs. Claus. True to his nature, he started to make a list of how to make change actually happen. He called it Triple Three and this is what it looked like:

TRIPLE THREE

1) Leading

1. Denial and complacency are the worst enemies of change: Long-term success dramatically increases the risk of complacency and so does denial. In the short run, being in denial is quite comfortable, but sooner rather than later you need to face reality instead of hoping for better times, even though most people are able to find a comforting explanation to any problem.

2. Leadership is about … leading:

Leadership is about taking on the problems, not outsourcing them to others. 

 A true leader also makes sure that all employees know and adhere to the company mission and core values, since these must be the boundaries for identifying creative solutions to the problems faced.

3. A strong organization is more ready for change:

There will always be resistance to change, no matter what. A major reason for this is the employees’ fear of not being able to cope, so be sure to let the employees work based on what they’re good at and have fun doing. Having fun at work is not a goal in itself, but could very well be a means to an end.

2) Innovating

1. There is no substitute for deep customer insight:

Most change efforts are in vain without deep insight into the customers’ thoughts and feelings; these are often more revealing than facts and figures. Spending time with customers provides great input when identifying the cause of your problems, but remember to look beyond the obvious reasons.

2. Listening is much more important than talking:

Listening is often much better than discussing, if you want to find the cause for and solution to a problem. Asking questions is a perfect way to bring different points of views and ideas to the surface, but don’t forget to listen carefully to the answers before interpreting and/or concluding.

3. Creativity is thinking up new things, innovation is doing new things:

Creativity is a skill that can be learned, under the right circumstances, but very few people can be creative on command. Most need guidance and tools to think outside the box. However, getting new ideas is only the starting point; turning them into new products or processes is the ultimate goal.

3) Implementing

1. A burning desire is better than a burning platform for creating a sense of urgency:

A burning platform is negative by nature and related to fear, and fear often prevents people from being creative and exploiting opportunities. Instead, the extremely important sense of urgency is better created if people envision a positive future they can strive for without being fearful.

2. You need to target the heart, not the brain:

Employees need to feel, rather than understand, the need for change, so presentations and Excel sheets are of no value if they don’t speak to the heart, as opposed to the brain. This creates the necessary buy-in that ensures that the employees are involved in both deciding the goal and the route to get there.

3. Failure takes you one step closer to success:

The best solution from a rational point of view may not be the best solution in reality, if there is no buy-in. Identifying the best solution is difficult, so accept that mistakes happen and that they bring you closer to the goal. Finally, don’t forget to celebrate victories on the change journey to keep the momentum.

“My list could be much longer,” thought Dr. McKinley, “but even I know what’s meant by ‘Death by Powerpoint’.” He switched to his browser to check the latest update on Santa’s position; those reindeer were truly impressive. He also took a look at his Smartphone to see the latest tweet from Santa. “On my way home to my loved ones. Been a great night. Definitely worth all the new efforts.” Dr. McKinley couldn’t help smiling. He wasn’t going home. He had found a much better place than his Ivy League university to learn about change, so why not stay for a while? And in a few hours, the staff would assemble in the banquet hall. He wanted so much to be there to wish them all a well deserved...

Merry Christmas!