What Makes Change

8/4/2019 What Makes Change

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You have been charged with implementing a signifcant

new initiative. Perhaps your company has defned a new

competitive strategysuch as entering new markets or

going globaland you need to align your group behind

it. Or maybe youve identifed stubborn problems in your

unitorder-processing mistakes, duplication o eort,

budget overrunsthat need solving.

Your goal may be clear, but how clear is your strategy

or reaching it? I youre like most executives, the answer

is, not clear enough. Indeed, most major change initiatives

ail, many o them soon aer implementation begins, says

Larry Bossidy, coauthor with Ram Charan oConfronting

Reality: Doing What Matters to Get Tings Right (Crown

Business, 2004). Te reason? Executives commit one or

more o several common errors, all o which stem rom

insu cient planning and ollow-through.

Some leaders assume that their units culture has the

exibility and openness required to accommodate major

change. Tey ram the initiative through their grouponly

to encounter sti resistance that ultimately sabotages the

eort. Or they ail to articulate the initiatives benefts.

I people dont understand the purpose o an initiative,

Bossidy says, theyll be skeptical about devoting theirtime and energy to it.

Some leaders also dont realize they must stay involved

during implementation and continually communicate

the initiatives importance. Tey just announce it and

walk away, Bossidy says. Te result is initiatives that do

little other than wander and dri.

Executives who want to avoid these and other prevalent

mistakes when implementing new initiatives should look

to these fve steps:

1. ASSESS THE PREVAILING CULTURE

Beore launching any change eort, careully assessyour units or companys culture. Get outside opinions,

Bossidy advises. Ask people you trusta consultant,

customer, supplier, ormer executive o the company

whether they think the culture can ulfll the objectives

o the initiative. External opinions are valuable because

people on the inside see the culture as they want to see

itnot as it actually is.

Also get a read on your culture rom internal sources.

Ask employees and managers questions such as, What

do you like about the unit (or company)? What dont you

like? Solicit opinions about whats causing your groups

or enterprises most pressing problems; or example, Why

does it take so long or us to get products to market? Why

do we make so many order-entry mistakes? Listen or

answers relating to your groups exibility and openness to

change. Do people eel encouraged to take risks and learn

rom their mistakes? Are they comortable talking about

problems?

Building momentum through smallerchanges is particularly potent. It shows

people they can rise to the challenge

and enables you to begin more complex

changes later.

While assessing culture, resist any temptation to bury

your head in the sand because you dont want to hear

uncomortable truths. A lot o managers dont ask these

questions because theyre in denial, says Bossidy. Deep

down, they eel that their culture cant be changed, sothey decide that diagnosing it is a waste o time. Based

on your cultural assessment, decide whether your team is

capable o embracing the initiative youre considering.

2. CONDITION THE CULTURE

I youve decided that the current culture is a poor match

or the eort at hand, you must condition the culture.

Make the business case or changein compelling

terms, Bossidy says. Ten start with something simple,

to build confdence and demonstrate that people can

work eectively together.

Building momentum through smaller changes isparticularly potent. Succeeding on a small initiative,

no matter how simple, provides a oundation or the

next, Bossidy says. It shows people that they can rise to

the challenge and enables you to begin more complex

changes later.

Tis phenomenon works on every level within an

organization. For example, while serving as CEO o

Morristown, N.J.based AlliedSignal (which later acquired

and took on the name Honeywell), Bossidy conditioned

Copyright 2007 by Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. All rights reserved.

DEBRIEFING LARRY BOSSIDYFORMER CHAIRMAN AND CEO OF HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL

What Makes Change Happen?

by Lauren Keller Johnson


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Making Change Happen continued

the culture or the companys eventual adoption o Six

Sigma by introducing an increasingly challenging series

o starter initiatives frst. Tese included QL, or total

quality leadership, which encouraged people to work as

teams, gain experience with problem-solving tools, and

analyze work problems in a classroom setting.

3. COMMIT TIME AND ENERGY

Some initiatives, once implemented, reach a plateau. As

the novelty wears o, peoples energy and enthusiasm

wane. o combat this tendency, the best change leaders

stay involved throughout implementation o the entire

initiative. Kicko speeches and delegation are not

enough, contends Bossidy. Leading an initiative requires

intense ocus, hard work, tremendous time, and endless

physical and emotional energy.

A change leader needs to constantly

breathe new life into the initiative.

A change leader needs to constantly breathe new lie

into the initiative. For example, aer Bossidy helped Six

Sigma take root at AlliedSignal, he ensured that new

generations o black belts (individuals who can explain

Six Sigma philosophies and principles) were trained.

He also recommends celebrating achievement o

key implementation milestones. Have an end-o-the-

year or end-o-the-quarter party, where you recognize

and reward peoples contributions to carrying out the

initiative. Constantly remind people o your appreciation,

and show them the quantifable benefts o the changes

theyve made so ar.

Leading initiatives will never be easy. But

by applying a few potent principles, you

can sweeten the odds that your initiative

will survive the most common hazards.

I youre entering a situation where your predecessor

had begun a major initiative, evaluate its merit. I its

good, Bossidy says, keep sponsoring it. But put your own

stamp on it. Look or new angles to introduceanythingto keep the eort resh in peoples minds.

4. CONSTRUCT AN ABLE IMPLEMENTATION TEAM

Assembling the right team to carry out an initiative is the

most di cult yet most important imperative or change

leaders, Bossidy maintains. As he writes in Confronting

Reality, Naturally, you want people who are enthusiastic

about leading initiatives, but you also need to make sure

theyre unctionally suited to the job and motivated to

make things happen. I, or instance, youre introducing

a new customer relationship management system to your

group, ensure that the people who will be carrying out the

initiative have a strong customer orientationas well as a

comort level with and knowledge o the technology.

And i your implementation team needs the participation

o a ew individuals rom other departments, be prepared

or resistance rom their leadersmany o whom dont

want to lose their best people to an outside project.

Appeal to these leaders camaraderie, commitment to

teamwork, and pride in the company, says Bossidy. Let

them know youre depending on them. Reassure them

that they wont be losing a talented employee orever.

And help them fnd ways to reassign responsibilities.Whatever you do, dont let pushback rom these olks stall

the initiative.

5. CALL ON YOUR COURAGE

Initiatives require people to think and act in new ways. Tey

can require a leader to change some individuals or units

responsibilities or remove them entirely rom the team

4 HARVARD MANAGEMENT UPDATE | OCTOBER 2007

THE PERILS OF POORLY MANAGED

INITIATIVES

A badly led change initiative can wreak havoc on a unit or

entire company. It can breed cynicism and damage a man-

agers credibility, making introduction of the next change

far more difficult. As Larry Bossidy claims in Confronting

Reality, There are no free throws with initiatives: if one is

important enough to launch, it cannot be allowed to fail.

Failure costs time and money.

Now, consider the outcome of a well-led initiative. A

successful change effort shows people how to unite inaction, Bossidy says. It also helps people face down fear

of failure, giving them the confidence needed to tackle

bigger challenges. And it gives you a picture of how

people respond to the demands of change in a defined

contextthus providing a sort of working model of your

groups or companys functioning.


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Making Change Happen continued

or company. Such changes in structure will create real or

perceived winners and losers, Bossidy writes in Confronting

Reality. o ensure the initiative stays on track, deal directly

with any aggrieved constituencies and [make] sure that

good people arent discouraged or driven out when their

part o the business is cut down, he says.

Your challenge here is to remain both inspiring and

unrelenting. Let people know that there will be consequences

or not supporting the initiative. Your message? Weve thought

about the pros and cons, and concluded that this is something

we must do I people arent on board with us, there will

have to be changes made. Changes in rewards can also add

muscle to the message, Bossidy explains. At AlliedSignal, or

instance, 30% o a business-unit leaders bonus was tied to

progress on Six Sigma.

Leading initiatives will never be easy. But by applying a

ew potent principles, you can sweeten the odds that yourinitiative will survive the most common hazards. u

Lauren Keller Johnsonis a Massachusetts-based business

writer. She can be reached at [email protected].

Reprint # U0710C: To order a reprint of this article, call 800-668-6705

or 617-783-7474.

HARVARD MANAGEMENT UPDATE | OCTOBER 2007 5


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What Makes Change