Directing the change initiative at work sucks!

 What’s your strategy for a leading change initiative?

Your Rant: I’ve been asked to lead a change effort in my department. How do I even begin?

911 Repair:

In high school, I was captivated by e.e. cummings, the poet who wrote all of his works in lowercase. I liked that he was breaking the rules, so I followed his lead. At least until my English teacher reminded me that I should know what the rules are before I intentionally break them.

She had a point. It’s no different when it comes to change at work. Before you can create a new way to get the job done, you’ve got to know what currently works and why. I’ve listed some of the other keys to leading a successful change process below. For more check out, “10 Natural Forces for Business Success” by Peter Garber (Davies-Black, 2002).

Do you understand how things are currently being done and why? The status quo is there for a darn good reason — it often works. It just might not be the best way, the most efficient way or the smartest way to operate. But before you throw the baby out with the bathwater, find out everything you can about the current approach and why it’s being used.

Do you seek advice from unconventional sources? The corporate tradition is to round up the usual suspects when you want to improve how things are being done. I’m a big believer in getting peripheral staff involved — vendors, input from other departments, customers and even company troublemakers.

Do you always seek to reinvent the wheel? Again, chances are good that some parts of the existing operation are actually working. So don’t just toss away things for the sake of change. Keeping some constants in the organization will also provide necessary stability for people who are struggling to adjust.

Do you change the metrics? There are many rules in business that no longer apply. For example, the best way to make more money is to raise prices. The airlines learned that by lowering fares they actually made more money by increasing market share. What notions do you have about your business that are outdated?

Do you have a plan for dealing with the corporate immune system? Innovation expert Gifford Pinchot coined the term “corporate immune system” to describe the tendency in organizations to destroy anything that is perceived as a threat. Develop contingency plans for dealing with the immune system and for getting from point A to point B when the shortest route is blocked.

Do you know when to give up? There are times when the cost of a change far outweighs any benefits. During these times, it makes sense to swallow your pride, declare defeat and start looking for new opportunities.

911 pulse:
How do you feel about new approaches at work?

The less change the better, 9.6 percent

The more change the better, 15.7 percent

Change in moderation, 74.5 percent

User strategy:

Our winning strategy for dealing with change at work comes from B.T. in Rialto, CA.
“My two favorite approaches to are: MBWA — ‘Management by Wandering Around.’ Get out among the work force and listen to what is happening and pay attention when you walk through the office. It is amazing what you can discover about problems. And second, to have the janitor review it. In essence, find someone who knows nothing about the problem/system and explain it to them. Since they don’t know the system, you will explain things in greater detail and my cover ground you would otherwise pass over because ‘every knows about that stuff.’ They may also ask new questions that those ‘in the know’ would ignore.”

Bob Rosner and Sherrie Campbell author the nationally syndicated workplace911 column weekly. Bob’s a best-selling author and award-winning journalist who has responded to over 50,000 emails from employees, bosses and entrepreneurs. Sherrie’s a relationship expert and award-winning comedian who has offered quick, intuitive and humorous responses to over 30,000 people. He’s been called “Dilbert, with a solution.” She’s the counselor with a kick. Together they’ve turned rants into raves via TV, radio, print and live on their website at workplace911.com.