Change – are we the only ones who find it difficult?

Machiavelli was dead on correct wasn’t he? – “There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things, because the innovator has for enemies, all of those who have done well under the old conditions, and luke-warm defenders in those who will do well under the new.”

He clearly understood the difficulties associated with change when he made this statement in “The Prince” almost 500 years ago. I’d say there is general agreement that change is probably the most difficult thing for us to accomplish as part of our jobs.  

Steven J Thomas outlines that there are Three Characteristics of a Successful Change Initiative saying if any one of these elements are missing from the equation, problems will occur. These are:

 1. Dissatisfaction with the current state of things
 2.  A vision of the future
•   3.  A set of next steps showing how to get where you want to go

Dissatisfaction with the Current State

Easy to get people to recognize their dissatisfaction and want to make the necessary change for the better when the wolf is at the door!  

Not so easy for companies that are  marginally profitable or even successful .  Example:

We worked with a plant that was not operating at full capacity.  When there was a breakdown, they just changed over to another line. Also the maintenance people were focussed on making rapid repairs to restore the equipment to service.  We all knew that a process needed to be put into place that addressed equipment failure before it happens – a preventive and predictive maintenance effort as part of an overall maintenance strategy. However this is a major change and will make those who are the great “rapid repairers” very uncomfortable. The praise that they got from Production for quick repair and return to service will no longer exist because in the new order of things, you can’t let that equipment fail!

 Thomas says that the problem is how to create dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs so that people will want to move to the new state of equipment reliability.  He says there are eight key elements to successfully making this transition. They are:

• Leadership – management at all levels leading the change.
• Work Process – a work process in place that supports the new way of working.
• Structure – an organizational structure that supports the new process.
• Group Learning – processes in place that allow the organization to make changes, evaluate the results, learn from what they accomplished.
• Technology – computer support tools to make the process easier.
• Communication – continuously explaining why the change is needed and where the organization stands in the effort.
• Interrelationships – high quality collaborative efforts between people and work groups.
• Rewards – positive reinforcement for making the change.

These elements are key, but there is one overriding component that needs to be addressed in more detail. This is the vision of what the change will look like.

This is the clear picture of the future that will inspire those who have done well under the old conditions and energize those who are luke-warm to the new.

Anybody want to come back with how they drew this “clear picture” in their change management?

Portions of this blog were extracted from “Successfully Managing Change in Organizations: A Users Guide” by Stephen J Thomas.