As an organisation matures it develops a way of working that is
typically borne out of progressive trial and error. In a young
organisation, change occurs often and changes are often big. But as
time progresses changes become smaller and smaller and less
frequent until eventually the organisation settles into a steady
state. Of course, change for change's sake is a bad thing. But
without continued effort to undertake change that specifically
brings about improvement, and enables the organisation to be
responsive, innovative and competitive in a rapidly changing
business world, the steady state becomes a lacklustre default. Sure
it works. People are working and managers are managing. There's not
really a 'buzz' anymore and it's unlikely to produce 'eureka
moments' resulting in product breakthroughs that will take the
market by storm. But it's plodding along nicely, shareholders seem
reasonably happy, people are in their comfort zone and they don't
see anything wrong.
In a more critical light, I might say that the default state is
stale and fails to push the boundaries. Managers are often leading
the inevitable. They spend their time managing plans and events
that, in all likelihood, are going to happen anyway. There's little
invention and practically no investment in
continuous improvement . If
problems are identified - "what we have here is a communication
problem" - they're simply talked about. Action is seldom taken to
identify and deal with the
root cause . It's simply enough
to label the problem, perhaps make some superficial changes to
address some of the symptoms, and then basically ignore it, hoping
it will go away. It doesn't go away and so people learn to live
with it, accepting it as 'just the way it is'.
What happens when someone realises the market is leaving the
organisation behind, and fast? Executives become nervous and
request more effort, managers become pushy and people become
stretched. Processes that worked in the default state now either
hold things up or cause failure. And all the while the pressure is
building. The default state doesn't cater for innovation and
responsiveness. It isn't geared to take the organisation to a new
level of success.
Real change is required. A tweak to the organisation chart won't
cut it. Extraordinary results require extraordinary ideas from
extraordinary people using extraordinary processes. Everyone sees
that the company is broken and that people are miserable, but
nobody has the courage on their own to start changing things.
Change is seen as too painful and too disruptive. It's going to get
painful anyway whether change is attempted or not.
Pain is inevitable. Misery is a choice. And change
doesn't have to be disruptive.
Don't be too busy chopping wood to sharpen the axe.
Set things up for success. Create a sense of urgency. Focus on
achieving behavioural change and be sensitive. Communicate intent
clearly, openly and up-front to neutralise uncertainty and anxiety.
Maintain transparency. In parallel, start working with people to
define a shared vision and strategy while empowering more people to
take action to bring about the changes they feel are required to
improve how they work. Look for quick wins. Success is addictive
and motivating. Build momentum. Share experiences and knowledge.
Initiate a culture of continuous inspection and adaptation and
improvement.
The greatest obstacle to transforming the world is that we lack the clarity and imagination to conceive that it could be different.
