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  We often begin engagements with an intergroup competition calling for teams of people to assemble a "product" or achieve a goal by working together toward a "best of breed" solution.
 
  Kipp & Associates

Managing Major Organizational Change -
Tempting as it is to view organizational change as a function of leadership imperatives to “raise the bar” or managerial attention to good ideas “from the coal-face”, whole systems change inevitably involves engaging everyone in the process of building the road forward. Failure to do so always generates problems of “buy-in”, delays execution and creates unnecessary casualties.

Most organizations going through such a process are involved in concurrently managing both a “work plan” and a “change plan”. While market imperatives and stakeholder expectations drive the former, the latter reflects the needs of those who must carry things out as modified by leadership’s view of how sustainable change actually happens. Intentionally or otherwise, there are typically seven dimensions of activity in most change plans:

Change Plan Elements

Leadership… Preparing everybody to lead the change from the CEO through senior management to the “worker bees” and account reps where real repositioning occurs. Most people lack an explicit theory of how things change and have a limited repertoire of change management tools and techniques. Leadership often gets “ragged” where personal sacrifice and tough choices are concerned. And formal leadership invariably makes at least one of a handful of mistakes common to leading strategic change.

Strategy… Elaborating the vision, the path and the operational requirements for the future. What do key ideas really mean in behavioral rather than ideological terms; what is the case for change…the “wake up call”; what won’t we do? How well is it understood; how open is it to modification?

Initiatives… This refers to starting specific things that have the capacity to positively impact performance or significantly improve a critical business process. Sometimes it means creating “visual aides” that let people know this is serious…lip service not allowed. Many change efforts fall apart at this “chop wood; carry water” level.

Continuity… Regardless of how comprehensive the change effort, it is seldom the case that everything changes. What can incumbents and stakeholders count on to remain the same? What’s worth keeping; what’s to be protected and defended? Is there a “cash cow” during the spend period on new initiatives?

Infrastructure… What are the metrics, incentives, decision protocols and information flows needed for new behavior? What changes are needed in the dozens of internal systems such as order entry or routing? How does the organization design need to be adjusted? Can it be done in such a way as to sustain positive momentum?

Development… Ttraining, yes, but genuine growth well beyond instrumental skills for individuals, natural work groups, cross-functional teams and the whole organization…including the larger system of suppliers, distributors, customers and collateral components of parent companies.

Small Victories… Regular reasons to celebrate as a group and acknowledge progress during a difficult transformation. What are the landmarks that have been set out ahead? Do they stir everyone’s blood or only that of investors and senior management?

Change Plan Coordination

These seven elements run in parallel throughout the operating year, much as the items in a Gannt Chart. Each is typically punctuated by various interventions: strategy sessions; large group meetings; consultations; fact-finding missions; team building; task force work; executive coaching, etc. Different parties at different levels and locations often conduct such interventions with minimal linkage among component parts. Rather than forming a pattern, they frequently give the appearance of being random or even conflicting. Given the unpredictability and complexity of organizational change, some of this is to be expected. A dedicated manager of the change plan, partnered with an external advisor as necessary, can coordinate elements, guide the adaptation of interventions and make a substantial contribution to the overall success of the effort.

Kipp & Associates, February 25, 1999