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Sense of Urgency
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A Sense of Urgency“A strong sense of urgency is moving from an essential element gin big change to an essential asset in general”
Ayub Jake SalikBE, MBA
03/16/11
Road Map About the author and why did he wrote this book?
What is urgency and why is it important?
What is “Complacency” and is “false sense of urgency”? What is “Complacency” and is “false sense of urgency”?
Increasing sense of urgency Increasing sense of urgency
Tactics for increasing sense of urgencyg g y
How to sustain urgency?
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Kotter & Why Did he Wrote This .Book?
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Changing Business Environment?g g
Change is shifting from episodic to continuous. Globalization Technology International political turbulence Mergers and acquisitions
“With episodic change, the challenge of creating a ff fsufficient sense of urgency comes in occasional spurts.
With continuous change, creating and sustaining a sufficient sense of urgency are always a necessity.”g y y y
“70 percent of change efforts fail”
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What is Urgency?g Urgency means “of pressing importance”.
People have a true sense or urgency when they think that action on critical issues is needed now and not eventually, when it fits easily into schedule.
Now means making real progress every single day. Critically important means challenges that are central to
success or survival, winning or losing.
“A reason true sense of urgency is rare is that it is not a natural state of affairs It has to be created and recreated”
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natural state of affairs. It has to be created and recreated”
Some Facts About True Urgency?g
Driven with a deep determination to win, not Driven with a deep determination to win, not anxiety about losing.
Not just frenetic activity.
Not the product of historical successes or current failures, but the result of people who cu e t a u es, but t e esu t o peop e ocreate and recreate a sense of urgency
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Some Facts About True Urgency?
50 % of change effort fails in the first step of 50 % of change effort fails in the first step of change – creating sense of urgency
Highly positive and highly focused force.
“It is believed people cannot maintain a high sense of urgency over a prolonged period of time without burnout ”urgency over a prolonged period of time, without burnout.”
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Complacencyp Complacency is “ a feeling of
contentment or self satisfactioncontentment or self satisfaction, especially when coupled with an unawareness of danger or trouble”. “Complacency
is almost
Feeling : Complacency is less a matter of conscious rational analysis than unconscious
always the product of success and perceivedconscious, rational analysis than unconscious
emotion.
S lf It i ibl t bl d b
perceived success.”
Self: It is possible to see problems and be complacent because you do not feel that the problems require changes in your actions.
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How To Indentify Complacency?p They never think they are complacent.
C t t ith th t t i ti ll f id f th Content with the status quo; irrationally afraid of the personal consequences of change.
Do not alertly look for new opportunities or hazards facing their organization.
They do what has worked for them in the past.
Who can be complacent? p
You, me, any one!9
Sources Of Complacency?p The absence of a major and visible crisis.
Too many visible resources without clarity of the validity and continuation of such resources.
Low overall performance standards.
Organizational structures that focus employees on narrow functional goals, with little involvement and clarity on the larger, more strategic picture.on the larger, more strategic picture.
Internal measurement systems that focus on the wrong f i d l fperformance indexes- no external focus.
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Sources Of Complacency?p
A lack of sufficient performance feedback from external sources .
A kill the messenger of bad news low candor low A kill-the-messenger-of-bad-news, low candor, low confrontation culture.
Human nature, with its capacity for denial, especially if people are already busy or stressed.
Too much “happy talk” from senior management.
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False Sense Of Urgencyg
Result of failures or some form of intense pressure that is put on a groupgroup.
Do not think that all is well; they think the situation they are in is a mess.ess
Tend to be very anxious, angry, frustrated and tired.
Behave in ways that can easily be mistaken for people with a real sense of urgency because they are very active. But the action is much more activity than productivity.
Who can have a false sense of urgency?
You me anyone! You, me, anyone!12
Sources Of False Urgency?g
Frenetic activity.
Meetings after meeting.
Projects tend to geometrically grow without clarity.
Overwhelm and/or apathy is a common response to new Overwhelm and/or apathy is a common response to new organizational goals.
High stress levels - bursts of frustration or anger High stress levels - bursts of frustration or anger.
Internal focus on work to be done.
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Does This Sound Familiar ?
Consultants dealing with all the critical issues No time for important initiatives No one want to confront the bureaucracyy Non decisive and excessive meetings No one taking responsibility – blame gameg p y g Failures discussed not to learn but to stall new
initiatives.
These are Signs of “No Urgency”
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g g y
Increasing True Urgencyg g
“Great leaders win over the hearts and minds of others”
Aim for the heart & mindAim for the heart & mind
“The winning strategy combines an analytically sound ambitious but logical goals with methodssound, ambitious, but logical goals with methods that help people experience those goals as exciting, meaningful and uplifting.”g g p g
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Increasing True Urgencyg gTactics that aim for the heart, and successfully increase
urgency, have 5 characteristics:g y,
1. Thoughtfully created human experiences.
2. Not only told, but shown.
3. Designed to make change-weary, cynical people believe that a crisis might be a blessing in disguisecrisis might be a blessing in disguise.
4. Don’t need to be explicit.
Almost inevitably raise our sights to emotionally embrace goals5. Almost inevitably raise our sights to emotionally embrace goals beyond status quo and coping with a difficult situation.
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Tactic One: Bring Outside Ing
Recognize the pervasive problem of internal focus. Past successes.
Listen to customer-interfacing employees. Faith in them. Treat them with respect.
Asking q estions and listening closel to ans ers and Asking questions and listening closely to answers and never giving up.
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Tactic One: Bring Outside Ing
Use video as an urgency-increasing mechanism. Angry customer video
Don’t always shield people from troubling data
Redecorate
Send people out.
Bring people in
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Tactic One: Bring Outside Ing
Bring “data” in, but in the right way. “Clipping service” sending relevant information in
decent volumes in the most interesting manner to as many people as possiblemany people as possible.
Watch out that you don’t create a false sense of Watch out that you don t create a false sense of urgency.
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Tactic Two: Behave With Urgency gEvery Day Purge and delegate Purge and delegate
Stop overcrowded appointments, which make impossible to behave with urgencyPurge low priority items Purge low priority items
Cancel distraction projects Delegate, delegate’ delegate
Move with speed Use freed time to respond to high priority issues Use freed time to respond to high priority issues Never end meetings without proper clarity
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Tactic Two: Behave With Urgency gEvery Day Speak with passion
“Urgency begets Speak with passion
Relentlessly talk about need to behave urgently Talk with feeling and passion
gurgency.”
Make the feelings infective.
Match words and deeds Don’t just talk about external world, look it constantly Don’t just talk about exploiting opportunities , do it always
Be visibly urgent Do everything as visibly as possible. Let them see the sense of
urgencyg y
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Tactic Three: Find The Opportunity ppIn Crises. Avoid the following mistakes: Avoid the following mistakes:
Assume that the crises will inevitably create a sense of urgency to perform better.
Going over the line with a strategy that creates an angry backlash because people feel manipulated.
Passively sitting and waiting for a crisis which may never come; act with urgency every day.
Underestimating what the people who would avoid crises at all costs correctly appreciate: that crises can bring disaster.
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Tactic Four: Deal With Nonos“ NoNos are highly skilled urgency killers. If they can’t do
that, they create anxiety or anger and the flurry of , y y g yuseless activity associated with a false sense of urgency”
What can be done with NoNos:
Distract the NoNos. Immobilize them with social pressures.p Get rid of them.
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How To Sustain Urgency? g Keep urgency up after short term success
“Make s re s ccess does not ndermine rgenc and allo the “Make sure success does not undermine urgency and allow the powerful wind of tradition to pull new behavior back to historical norms.”
Be aware of tools available to stop urgency drop and use the right tool for the right situation.
Drive urgency into the culture “With a culture of urgency, people deeply value the capacity to
b t iti id h d A d ti llgrab new opportunities, avoid new hazards. And continually find ways to win.”
“If urgency drops sufficiently and momentum is lost , pushing complacency away the second time can be much
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more difficult than first time.”
System View - Success & SOU
Wrap-up – Lets listen to Kotter
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5802FBaMSI
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Rating
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How Will You Create A Sense Of Urgency?
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