Sandy Schwan at Evolving Strategies, LLC. Organizational Change Consultant

Laughing Your Way to the Bank During Organizational Change

"...what humor is all about: playing with ideas, challenging assumptions, and poking fun at tradition."

 from a great post by Rosabeth Moss Kanter on the virtue of humor.

Three Questions to Assess Your Change Readiness

"The real act of discovery consists not in finding new lands but in seeing with new eyes." Marcel Proust, French Novelist (1871-1922)

Leaders need to be sure they are exercising their situational awareness for what today's quickly changing business landscape means to them, their teams and their organizations.

Action

Here are three questions to help you face the challenge of change:

1. Do you see opportunities others don't? Change breeds opportunity. Don't out-compete your rivals; reinvent the rules of the game by finding new opportunities first. Therein lies the fun.

2. Can your clients live without you? Options constantly evolve. If your products and services aren't indispensable, clients are likely to move on.

3. Are you learning as fast as the world is changing? As a leader, you absolutely cannot afford to stop learning. Seek out ways to evolve and be humble enough to know you do not always have the answer.

Adapted from William C. Taylor, co-founder of Fast Company magazine and coauthor of Mavericks at Work: Why The Most Original Minds In Business Win

Boost Performance By Doing Good

"Devising and maintaining an atmosphere in which others can put a dent in the universe is the leader's creative act." --Warren Bennis

Can doing good keep employees engaged and grow your business? You bet it can.

Ramping up altruism may well be the killer app in 2009 and early 2010 — a time when companies need their top talent to be firing on all cylinders to spur growth and renewal, but where conventional rewards such as pay raises and bonuses are hard to come by, according to Sylvia Ann Hewitt in her forthcoming book Top Talent: Keeping Performance Up When Business Is Down.

Hewitt is an economist, member of the World Economic Forum Council on the Gender Gap, and founding president of the Center for Work-Life Policy where she directs the "Hidden Brain Drain"—a task force of 50 global companies committed to fully realizing female and multicultural talent.

Her research shows that high-potential employees are motivated by a desire to give back to their communities. These employees are increasingly seeking out employers that allow them to do so on the job. Real life examples and the associated returns? By integrating "doing good" into their business strategies, GE's healthyimagination and Pfizer's Global Access programs are expanding company revenue and attracting and retaining these key employees.

Weaving the 'feel good' factor into a go-to-market playbook gives high potential employees priceless psychic rewards, and a reason to stay, play and win, says Hewitt. This approach is certainly working for Ponni Subbiah — one of Pfizer's most talented female leaders. "We all want to feel that we can have an impact on the world. That's why I like Global Access. The fact that we're going to increase access to our medicines in a part of the world where people are very needy .... that's very gratifying for me." And it's good business.

Action

While donations and volunteering are wonderful avenues for allowing your employees to give back, do not limit your company's socially responsible efforts. Explore ways that your company can combine social responsibility and commercial viability by offering lower cost products to emerging markets or developing a new profitable solution to a social problem.

Adapted from Harvard Business Publishing

New! Improved! But, Do You Know Who Cares?

"Erroneous assumptions can be disastrous."

Peter Drucker, (1909 - 2005) one of my all time favorite authors  

Many companies are keen to introduce "new and improved" products or services. Yet, all too often these new innovations are useful to the company but not the customers or clients they aim to serve. Example: a self check-out lane may help a company reduce the number of cashiers it needs but may be a hassle for customers who are baffled by the new machines.

Action: Evaluate new innovations through the lens of the market — not just the lens of your company. Before you roll out a new service, feature, or product under the "new and improved" umbrella, be sure to understand whether it is something your prospects and client want or need. 

In organizational change management, this evaluation step is called a Stakeholder Impact Analysis. (There are many names that are used as well, but I will stick with this title for now.) This activity is an important for step to allow you to consider all of the groups and people who could be affected by a change or innovation, and in what ways they will be impacted.

 

Bumble Bees, Airplanes Helping NOLA Minority Youth Soar

 "Aerodynamically the bumble bee shouldn't be able to fly, but the bumble bee doesn't know it so it goes on flying anyway."

Mary Kay Ash, (1918-2001), pioneer for women in business

 

About one year ago, Captain Barrington Irving took off from Opa Locka airport inside the cockpit of Inspiration II, a plane built entirely by Miami high school students in the Experience Aviation Build & Soar Summer Program.

 

How cool would it be to be the program manager helping the minority youth of Baton Rouge and New Orleans build and soar?

 

That opportunity for the right person crossed my desk today. Contact name and email is George Moore [email protected]******** for more information and follow-up. Good luck!

___________________________

To:Accenture Alumni
Subject: Opening in Baton Rouge/New Orleans

  

Looking for a project manager for a new Aviation Academy and After-School program for minority youth in the Baton Rouge/New Orleans area. A 10-12 month project that involves the planning, launch, and management of an innovative new educational program. The program would expand educational curriculum and services throughout communities within Louisiana and create career pathways in aviation, aerospace, renewable energy, and technology. http://www.experienceaviation.org/   The Mid-Level Business Analyst or Manager must have strong project management experience, including the ability to: Create and execute project work plans and revise as appropriate to meet changing project needs and requirements Identify resources needed and assign individual responsibilities Manage day-to-day operational aspect of project Review deliverables prepared by team and vendors Effectively apply methodology and enforce project standards Track and reports hours and expenses on a weekly basis Manage project budget Excellent Written and Verbal Communication Skills Experience with Microsoft Project and Visio Software Requirements Documentation experience and aviation industry experience a plus This is a potential long-term opportunity once the program is developed and launched. Please send resumes to George Moore [email protected]. Project would begin sometime in late September.

********Please note: I do not know George. He and I are simply on the same alumni group list. That is our only connection. I do not know anything else about this opportunity, so any questions or information you direct my way cannot be answered. Please don't be offended when I don't respond since I can't.

 

Facing a Naysayer, a Sally Stubborn? Then Isolate and / or Neutralize.

"Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship." 
  Benjamin Franklin, (January 17, 1706 – April 17, 1790), one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, noted polymath, leading author and printer, satirist, political theorist, politician, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman and diplomat

In addition to the lengthy description of Mr. Franklin noted above, it seems as if he also was an expert in organizational change. Those ‘little expenses’ can add up quickly. The little expenses I am referring to have more to do with time and energy than with money. And I can tell you from experience that organizational change – actually, any change – requires many people’s time and energy to work.

So what do you do if you have a naysayer who will not accept an organizational change that needs to occur and is already underway? Let us call this person Sally Stubborn. With Sally, you have two options: isolate or neutralize her.

ACTION

Decide if Sally is needed during and / or after the organizational change.

If so:

Neutralize

Schedule time with Sally to listen actively to her point of view about the change. (I will bet you may be able to find a nugget of truth in her concerns.) Ask her for recommended solutions to her concerns. Ask her if she wants to lead one of these efforts to address her concerns.

Find an ally - how about Coleen Cooperative? Coleen is at the same level as Sally and she is an engaging leader in the organizational change strategy and execution. Ask Coleen for assistance and / or guidance in dealing with Sally.

Encircle Sally with people who are excited about and engaged in the change. Attitudes can be infectious. 

Determine a plan with dates and expectations to help Sally succeed. Decide at what point you want to include Sally in building this plan.

Isolate

Work around Sally. This can be an effective strategy if you have other change champions or willing participants on the bandwagon. Especially others who are at the same organizational level.

Develop an exit strategy for her. If you have tried all of the above to no avail, inform Sally that she needs to get with the program or she runs the risk of having to explore other options outside of the company. Sometimes you will have to cut bait with energy-draining employees who simply will not cooperate.

There are other options to consider, but this is a solid starting point. Whichever path you choose, consult a select few about your concerns with Sally before making your decision. Sally may simply need a little push, assistance, validation that she is being heard, or some one-on-one time with someone she trusts who will listen then explain why changes are occurring. And guess what? These options do not have to cost you a penny.

You and your team’s time and energy during an organizational change are precious. Use wisely.

When Is the Last Time You Hung A Question Mark?

"It's a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted."

Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), British philosopher, logician, mathematician, historian, advocate for social reform, and pacifist

Boy, this sure seems easy to say but can be hard to do. It is a quote I likely will keep in my back pocket to use in organizational change presentations and discussions as a way to set the stage for helping people understand it is okay to consider new ways of thinking and doing. This does not mean that the way your organization, your team, you have been doing things is wrong. Sometimes it just never hurts to try a new point of view, especially if you feel stuck.

ACTION:

To use the simple Nike phrase: Just do it!

Based on the culture of your organization and/or team, decide up front if you want to let people know that you will be explicitly hanging question marks during the next few team meetings.

Or, consider expanding the experiment to engage your team: ask your team members to rotate being the 'hanger' every day for a week or two. Ask them to write a brief reflection at the end of their day to share with the team once the experiement ends. Reconvene after the set time period, and discuss what you learned collectively. See if there are any learnings that you can weave into how your team operates.

What I know for sure is that organizational changes are pull of question marks; so, we all might as well learn to embrace them vs. fight them. Happy hanging.

Lemons Can Bring Lemonade, and Struggle Can Bring Learning

"Learning is discovering that something is possible." 

Fritz Perls, (1893 - 1970), co founder of Gestalt therapy 

A key role leaders need to play now during such significant market turbulence is to help employees understand that in the midst of struggle, a plethora of opportunities exist for learning. Sometimes it is hard for people to naturally push themselves to 'think outside of the box' without a platform burning impetus. Well, that impetus clearly exists today, and I must say that I've been able to witness firsthand some amazing learning, creativity and innovation arise within my client base.  

ACTION: As Gestalt therapy suggests, try focusing on the 'here and now' as much as you can. Keep your team from ruminating on the future...and lead by example, of course. Yes, consider the future and what you have control over, but determine what is within your sphere of influence to lead, manage and control. Develop a plan that includes capturing key learnings along the way. Before you know it, the market will correct itself; then, you and your team will be able to reflect upon how you successfully handled the associated organizational changes...and be proud.

 - Coming soon: Scenario Planning. What is it and how can you apply it now -

Struggle Can Bring Ingenuity and Inventiveness

"Anywhere the struggle is great, the level of ingenuity and inventiveness is high."  Eleni Gabre-Madhin, former World Bank economist

Times are tough now. But, I am also seeing some pretty amazing solutions and ideas coming from my clients looking to handle effectively the current market turbulence. Whether changing at the personal, team, organizational, country, sector, or world level, remember that there is a silver lining...you just have to seek it out. On the business front, organizational change is imminent - you'd better embrace it. I am not sure what other option we really have.

ACTION: For one day (how about today?), make an explicit effort to welcome struggle and to explore some out of the box thinking. You just never know what you might create.  

What's Behind Your Successful Organizational Change Efforts: Your Customers' Needs or Your Smarty Pants Insights?

"We believe that our activities should be governed by the needs and desires of our customers rather than by our internal requirements and insights." Eugene F. McCabe

A system enhancement, regulatory requirement, merger and/or acquisition are often the obvious faces of organizational change. And while it may not always seem so, if you search for the root cause of most successful organizational change, it is in fact customer needs. If your search leads you to another root cause, assess the success of that change closely.

Internal requirements and smarty pants insights can be prudent/sexy/unique/mind blowing/the next great thing, etc. If you want to increase the likelihood of organizational change success, challenge yourself to ensure that the root of your great ideas are driven by your customers' wants and needs.

Action:

Ask your customer(s):

• What is the one thing we could change in the services we provide you that would help you most?
• How can we change _______ to serve you better?
• We are thinking of changing the way we ________. How could this change affect you, both positively and negatively?

Again, ask better questions to get better answers. Be wise, not smart.