Assignment 1 Walden

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Introduction

The Heart of Change

he single most important message in this book is very

simple. People change what they do less because they are

given analysis that shifts their thinking than because they

are shown a truth that influences their feelings. This is especially

so in large-scale organizational change, where you are dealing with

new technologies, mergers and acquisitions, restructurings, new

strategies, cultural transformation, globalization, and e-business-

whether in an entire organization, an office, a department, or a

work group. In an age of turbulence, when you handle this reality

well, you win. Handle it poorly, and it can drive you crazy, cost a

great deal of money, and cause a lot of pain. . .

The lessons here come from two sets ofinterviews, the first com-

pleted seven years ago, the second within the last two years. About

400 people from 130 organ izations answered our questions. We

found, in brief, that

• Highly successful organizations know how to overcome

antibodies that reject anything new. They know how to grab

opportunities and avoid hazards. They see that bigger leaps

d

2 • THE HEART Ut l,MJ-\1'4U'-

. . gl associated with winning big. They see that are 1ncreas1n Y

. dual improvement, by itself, is no longer continuous gra

enough.

ful l rge -scale change is a complex affair that

• Success a happens in eight stages. The flow is this: push urgency up,

put together a guiding team, create the vision and strate-

gies, effectively communicate the vision and strategies,

remove barriers to action, accomplish short-term wins,

keep pushing for wave after wave of change until the work

is done, and, finally, create a new culture to make new be-

havior stick.

• The central challenge in all eight stages is changing people's

behavior. The central challenge is not strategy, not systems,

not culture. These elements and many others can be very im-

portant, but the core problem without question is behavior-

what people do, and the need for significant shifts in what

people do.

• Changing behavior is less a matter of giving people analysis

to influence their thoughts than helping them to see a truth

to influence their feelings. Both thinking and feeling are es-

sential, and both are found in successful organizations, but

the heart of change is in the emotions. The flow of see-feel- ch ·

ange is more powerful than that of analysis-think-change. These distinctions betw •

. een seeing and analyzing between feehng and thinking · · '

'are critical because, for the most part, we use the latter much m f comfortabl th ore requently, competently, an9

Y an the former.

When we are frustrated we som . there is a decreasi ' etimes try to convince ourselves

ng need for large- al h and unceasing forces ar d . . sc e c ange. But powerful

e riving the turbulence. When frustrated,

The Heart of Change • 3

we sometimes think that problems are inevitable and out of our

control. Yet some people handle large-scale change remarkably

well. We can all learn from these people. CEOs can learn. First-line

supervisors can learn. Nearly anyone caught up in a big change can

learn. That's the point of this book.

The Eight Stages of Successful Large-Scale Change

To understand why some organizations are leaping into the future

more successfully than others, you need first to see the flow of ef-

fective large-scale change efforts. In almost all cases, there is a flow,

a set of eight steps that few people handle well.

STEP 1

Whether at the top of a large private enterprise or in small groups at

the bottom of a nonprofit, those who are most successful at signifi-

cant change begin their work by creating a sense of urgency among

relevant people. In smaller organizations, the "relevant" are more

likely to number 100 than 5, in larger organizations 1,000 rather

than 50. The less successful change leaders aim at 5 or 50 or 0, allow-

ing what is common nearly everywhere-too much complacency,

fear, or anger, all three of which can undermine change. A sense of

urgency, sometimes developed by very creative means, gets people

off the couch, out of a bunker, and ready to move.

STEP 2

With urgency turned up, the more successful change agents pull

together a guiding team with the credibility, skills, connections,

reputations, and formal authority required to provide change lead-

ership. This group learns to operate as do all good teams, with truSt

and emotional commitment. The less successful rely on a single

[ART Of CHANGE 4 • THE H

ak task forces and committees, or co one we lltplex ~TSon or no ' all without the stature and skills and ..-- strUcurres, . . k . Po\\rer governance ds ape is littered with tas forces ill eq\li do the job. The lan c PJled

to rod ce needed change. toP u

sTEP3 . the d'niding team creates sensible, clear sun l In the best cases, o-- ' p e, . . . • s and sets of strategies. In the less successful ,..~~"A uplifting vzszon ~, nly detailed plans and budgets that, although neces~...,, thereareo --J, are insufficient, or a vision that is not very sensible in light of what

is happening in the world and in the enterprise, or a vision that is created by others and largely ignored by the guiding team. In un- successful cases, strategies are often too slow and cautious for a faster-moving world.

STEP4

Co . . h mmumcation of the vision and strategies comes next-simple, eartfelt messages sent through many unclogged channels. The

goal is to induce und tandin . ers g, develop a gut-level commitmen~ andliberatemoreene gyfr .. are ft . r om a critical mass of people. Here, deeds o en more unportant th etition is ~ In an words. Symbols speak loudly. Rep-ey. the less su ful # tive conunum . ccess cases, there is too little euec-cation or peo 1 h Rernarkab1 ' P e ear words but don't accept them. . Y, Slllart peopl mcate all the time . e undercommunicate or poorly conunu· Without reco . . STEP

5 grtizmg their error.

In the h est situar

obstacles th ions, You find h J{eY Chan at stop Peo 1

a eavy dose of empowerment. ge lead P e frolll . "ed, infonnati ers focus on b acting on the vision are reill0 b on and . asses wh d. . dequate atliers in lllforinati O 1sempower, on ma not ''giVin People's lllind on systems, and on self-confideJlce

g Power." Yi s. The issu h . . bstacles, ou can't h e ere 1s removing o c- and out power in a bag. In less sU

~

The Heart of Change • 5

. t'ons people are often left to fend for themselves de- ful s1tua 1 ,

cess . d'ments all around. So frustration grows, and change is ·te unpe 1 spl

undermined.

STEP 6

With empowered people working on the vision, in cases of great

success those people are helped to produce short-term wins. The

wins are critical. They provide credibility, resources, and momen-

tum to the overall effort. In other cases, the wins come more slowly,

less visibly, speak less to what people value, and have more ambigu-

ity as to whether they really are successes. Without a well-managed

process, careful selection of initial projects, and fast enough suc-

cesses, the cynics and skeptics can sink any effort.

STEP 7

In the best cases, change leaders don't let up. Momentum builds af-

ter the first wins. Early changes are consolidated. People shrewdly

choose what to tackle next, then create wave after wave of change

until the vision is a reality. In less successful cases, people try to

do too much at once. They unwittingly quit too soon. They let mo-

mentum slip to the point where they find themselves hopelessly

bogged down.

STEP 8

Finally, in the best cases, change leaders throughout organizations

make change stick by nurturing a new culture. A new culture-

group norms of behavior and shared values-develops through

co · ffi · t period of time. nsistency of successful action over a su cien . H loyee orientation,

ere, appropriate promotions, skillful new emp a d ak big difference. In n events that engage the emotions can m e a k th f Agreatdealofwor 0 er cases, changes fl.oat fragile on the sur ace. h rt . . . a remarkably s o

can be blown away by the winds of traditwn in

Period of time.

G • THE HEART OF CHANGE

~ , . ., .,..

The Eight steps for' Successful Large-Scale C~arr~e

STEP ACTION NEW BEHAVIOR

1 Increase urgency People start telling each other, "Let's

go, we need to change things!"

2 Build the guiding team A group powerful enough to guide a

big change is formed and they start to

work together well.

3 Get the vision right The guiding team develops the right

vision and strategy for the change

effort.

4 Communicate for buy-in People begi n to buy into the change,

and this shows in their behavior.

5 Empower action More people fee l able to act, and do

act, on the vision.

6 Create short-term wins Momentum builds as people try to

fulfill the vision, while fewer and fewer

resist change.

7 Don't let up People make wave after wave of

changes until the vision is fulfilled.

8 Make change stick New and winning behavior continues

despite the pull of tradition, turnover

of change leaders, etc.

The Flow of Change

T~e process of change involves subtle points regar ding overlap-

ping stages guidi g t . . .

' n earns at multiple levels in the organ1zat1 0n,

handling multipl 1 . e eye es of change, and more. Beca

use the world

1s complex som d ' e cases o not rigidly follow the eight-step flow. But

I

r - 1 I The Heart of Change • 7 I

the eight steps are the basic pattern associated with significant use- ful change-all possible despite an inherent organizational inclina- tion not to leap successfully into a better future.

Evidence overwhelmingly suggests that the most fundamental problem in all of the stages is changing the behavior of people. The core issue in step 1 is not urgency in some abstract sense. The core issue is the behavior of people who are ignoring how the world is changing, who are frozen in terror by the problems they see, or who do little but bitterly complain. In step 2, the issue is the behavior of those in a position to guide change-especially regarding trust and commitment. In step 3, the core challenge is for people to start acting in a way that will create sensible visions and strategies. For people who know how to plan but have never devised a winning change vision, this behavior change is very big. In step 4, the issue is getting sufficient people to buy into the vision via communica- tion. In step 5, it's acting on that communication-which for some employees will mean doing their jobs in radically new ways. And so on throughout the process.

See, Feel, Change

Significantly changing the behavior of a single person can be excep- tionally difficult work. Changing 101 or 10,001 people can be a Her-

l · · t the future sue-cu ean task. Yet organizations that are leapmg m 0

ceed at doing just that. Look carefully at how they act and you'll fi nd

fth t ge in the overall another pattern. They succeed, regardless o e s a • · d not center on for-process, because their most central activity oes .

-a1 ·t· and presentat10ns- ·11 data gathering, analysis, report wr1 mg, . th . th' k'ng m order to e sorts of actions typically aimed at changmg m 1 h . 1 h eople what the c ange behavior. Instead, they compellmg Y s ow P

1 They provoke re-Problems are and how to resolve the prob ems. d d f fl eeded change, an sponses that reduce feelings that slow an s 1 en

8 • THE HEART OF CHANGE

.c 1 . g that motivate useful actio

n. The emotional

they enhance 1ee m s . h vi'des the energy tha

t propels people to push along

reaction t en pro . .

no ma tter how great the difficulties.

the change process, The stories presented throug

hout the book clarify this pa t-

h · g what can be done to enab

le the process. In chap-

tern, s owm ter 1 (w

hich deals with urgency), a pro curement manager starts a

needed change by creating a dr amatic presentation. On the b

oard-

room table he piles 424 differen t kinds of glovesthat the firm is

cur-

rently buying for its workers a t dozens of different prices fo

r the

same glove and from dozens of different suppliers. First peop

le are

shocked, then the gut-level sen se of complacency shrinks an

d ur-

gency grows. It's not just a mat ter of the data saying that cha

nges

are necessary in the purchasing process so people alter their b

ehav-

ior. Instead, it's subtler and deep er. It's a loud sound that catche

s at-

tention in a day filled with thous ands of words and dozens of ev

ents.

It's an image, hard to shake, th at evokes a feeling that we mu

st do

something.

In chapter 2 (guiding team), the army officer doesn't pull toget

her

his new change team with a rat ional argument. Instead, he s

hocks

them by taking a risk for the g reater good with his commen

ts in a

meeting. He then helps them b egin to tell emotion-packed s

tories

around a campfire. More posit ive feelings and trust grow, m

aking

them act as an effective team.

The aircraft plant manager in chapter 3 (vision and strateg

ies)

ceases to just talk to his people about developing ambitious s

trate- 1

gies to fit an ambitious quality vision. Instead he takes dra

matic

. ,

actwn. He st0Ps the normal p roduction process-just stops

it-so

everyone must stare all day l ong at a gigantic plane that

can no

longer move along the produc tion line. At the same time,

he ex-

pres~es a_ rock-solid belief th at they can find a way to im

prove

q~ality Wi th0ut delaying delivery. After the

initial shock, and with

his continuously upb t b h .

ea e avior, employees begi n developing all

The Heart of Change • 9

sorts of new strategies for leaping ahead in procurement, logistics,

and quality control.

In chapter 4 (communication), people logically explain why

maintaining a lush executive floor is cost-effective in an age of cut-

backs-the· logic being that it would cost more to change the archi-

tecture and decor to make-it look less excessive. But that commu-

nication convinces few employees and allows cynicism to grow. So

they "nuke" the floor, making it less regal, and shock employees in

a way that increases their faith in top management and their belief

in the vision.

In chapter 5 (empowerment), managers refuse to demote, fire,

or "retrain" someone who is staunchly against change and who

disempowers others from helping with change. Instead they loan

him to a customer, where he is dramatically confronted each day

with the problems the customer is having with his products. What

he sees generates shock, then feelings that help the man rise to the

occasion. He returns to his employer a manager reborn. Approach-

ing his job in a whole new way, he helps the firm make changes that

benefit customers, employees, and owners.

In chapter 6 (short-term wins), a manager does not ignore an in-

fluential state Senator or sell him on a change effort's progress with

graphs and charts. Instead, the manager finds out what the Senator

really cares about. Then he dramaticallY, reduces the number of ri-

diculous, bureaucratic forms needed to be filled out in that area. He

shows the Senator the result, surprising the man in the most posi-

tive sense. As a result, the Senator begins actively supporting the

change effort. In chapter 7 (not letting up), a task force knows top management

behavior is slowing down the change process. But instead of duck-

ing the issue, or trying to describe it in antiseptic terms, the task

force creates a hilarious video with actors spoofing the problem.

Th . . 1 •d g·ves those

executives try- e amusing, nonconfrontat10na VI eo

1

I

10 • THE HEART OF CHANGE

e a much-needed tool for legitimizing new to . g to create chang I>

1n . ment behavior.

manage ( aking change stick), staff write a good spe h 1 hapter 8 m ec n c th firm has created and needs to strengthen a d bout the values e n a . formation is to be firmly entrenched. But th retain if their trans

e hen they present a real customer to employee real power comes w . s. . pi·rational story showing the consequences of living He tells an ins those values.

Stories like these reveal a core pattern associated with successful change.

1. SEE. People find a problem in some stage of the change process-too many of their colleagues are behaving com- placently, no one is developing a sensible strategy, too many are letting up before the strategy has been achieved. They then create dramatic, eye-catching, compelling situations that help others visualize the problem or a solution to the problem.

2. FEEL. The visualizations awaken feelings that facilitate useful change or ease feelings that are getting in the way. Urgency, optimism, or faith may go up. Anger, complacency, cynicism, or fear may go down.

3 · ~HANGE. The new feelings change or reinforce new behav-

ior, sometimes very different behavior. People act much less comp~acently. They try much harder to make a good vision a reahty They d 't

· f the d · on st0P before the work is done, even 1 roa seems long.

Successful see-feel c and never cyu· - hange tactics tend to be clever, not clumsY, ically mani 1 · l w where the sto pu ative. They often have an afterg O ' · ry of the eve t · h e is a rernaining • . n is told again and again or where t er P Vls1ble sign f h . al eople over tirn , 1 n._ 0 t e event that influences addition e. vvnen d

one Well over all eight stages of a change

Almost Always

the Core Method Is:

SEE-FEEL-CHANGE

1. HELP PEOPLE SEE.

Compelling, eye-catching,

dramatic situations are cre-

ated to help others visualize

problems, solutions, or prog-

ress in solving complacency,

strategy, empowerment, or

other key problems within the

eight steps.

As a result

2. SEEING SOMETHING NEW

HITS THE EMOTIONS.

The visualizations provide

useful ideas that hit people

at a deeper level than surface

thinking. They evoke a vis-

ceral response that reduces

emotions that block change

and enhances those that sup-

port it.

3 · EMOTIONALLY CHARGED

IDEAS CHANGE BEHAVIOR

OR REINFORCE CHANGED

BEHAVIOR.

. The Heart of Change • 11

Rarely

the Core Method Is:

ANALYSIS-TH INK-CHANGE

1. GIVE PEOPLE ANALYSIS.

Information is gathered and

· analyzed, reports are written,

and presentations are made

about problems, solutions, or

progr~ss in solvi~g urgency,

teamwork, communication,

momentum slippage, or other

key problems within the eight

steps.

As a result

2. DATA AND ANALYSIS

INFLUENCE HOW WE THINK.

The information and analysis ·

change people's thinking.

Ideas inconsistent with the

needed change are dropped or

modified.

3. NEW THOUGHTS CHANGE

BEHAVIOR OR REINFORCE

CHANGED BEHAVIOR.

12 • THE HEART OF CHANGE

It an be breathtaking. Mature (old-fash.

rocess, the resu s c . . Ioned,

P ., ganizations take a leap into the future. Lag

dun~ or heavy1 or gards

' 1 ders Leaders jump farther ahead.

start to become ea . .

. . t that careful data gather1ng, analysis, and pre

The point 1s no . . sen-

. . portant. They are impo rtant. Sometimes it is b

tatwn are un1m . . e-

. h g d by analysis that sends peo ple into a see-feel-chan

havior c an e ge

S met imes change launched through fee

lings creates process. o

a

radically better approach to analysis. O ften small changes are a nec-

essary part of a larger change effort, and the small changes are driven

by analysis. Occasionally, careful anal ysis is required to get show-

me-the-numbers finance people or engi neers in the mood to see.

But analysis has at least three major limitations. First, in a re-

markable number of cases, you don't n eed it to find the big truths.

You may not need to do much work to fi nd that the old strategy isn't

working and that a new one isn't being embraced. You don't need a

fifty-page report to see there is insuffi cient new product develop-

ment and that a number of factors ma ke it impossible for the en-

gineers to do what is necessary. You do n't need reams of financial

data to learn that you cannot stay out of e-business and that the first

step is simply to take the first step. It is n't necessary for a team of

psychologists to study Fred and his team to find out they are failing

and must be replaced. Yes, there are ma ny exceptions-deciding on

w~ic~ $IOO million IT system to buy, fo r example-but the general

pomt 1s valid.

Seco nd, analytical tools have their limitatio

ns in a turbulent

~orld. These tools work best when para meters are known, assump-

tions are minimal d h . ' an t e future is not fuzzy

. Third, good anal s •

It

h Y Is rarely motivate s people in a big way.

c anges thought but h t

the do t . ' ow often does i t send people running ou

or o act m signifi l . t a

thinki . cant Y new way s? And motivation 1s no

ng word; It's a feeling word

We fail at change . controlled and efforts not beca

use we are stupid, over-

' unemotional b · h t waY

at times. We fa .1 b eings, although it can seem t a

1 ecause we h , h ·gh1Y

aven t sufficiently experienced 1

The Heart of Change O 13

successful change. Without that experience, we are too often left pessimistic, fearful, or without enough faith to act. So we not only behave in less effective ways, we don't even try.

Consider the implications of this pattern in an age of accelerat- ing change, at a time when we are making a mind-boggling transi- tion from an industrial to an information/knowledge economy. Consider the implications in light of how managers, management educators, and others today deal with large-scale change.

Of course there are many difficulties here, but being uninformed and pessimistic does not help. We need more leaps into the future. And although we are becoming better at this, there is no reason that we cannot learn to become much better still.

In light of the stakes, we must become better still.

Using the Book

Because they help show, the stories in the book are very im- portant. As a reader, glancing at the figures, reading a bit of the text, and moving on does not work especially well. If you are in a rush and want to learn from the book quickly, read three or four stories and look at the end-of-chapter figures. You might choose the stories in whichever chapter seems of most relevance. Or you might go to "Gloves on the Boardroom Table" in the step 1 chapter, "The Plane Will Not Move!" in the step 3 chapter, and "Retooling the Boss" in the step 5 chapter.

No matter how you read the book, feel free to copy a story and send it to your colleagues. The more a relevant story circulates among your colleagues, and the more it creates useful dialogue, the better.

In a recent edition of Fortune magazine, Jack Welch is quoted as saying, "You've got to talk about change every second of the day." That's a bit of an extreme position, but maybe extreme is what wins.