2010 March | Horizontal Change Management

Beware the Change Management Scientists

Is change management art or science?

Do artists have techniques, repeatable processes, templates (if only in their minds eye)?

Do technicians think through their plan before beginning the work/experiment?

The answer is, it is both, because art itself often has scientific components while science must look for new horizons.

Beware science that always follows proscribed instructions and art that has no process.

As an executive change owner beware the “change management scientists”.

They are there to spread their wings to increase revenue, market their tools and get to their own end state rather than yours. Odds are they will

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View from the outside in- Musings from an external Change Management Consultant

The longer a consultant is external and the more client environments they experience the less each seems different. Or let’s be fair and say the more they are the same. From the change management viewfinder that is a function of “Human Nature” (in quotes so you can decide if it exists).

Here are a few examples-

Expecting multiple years in a “lower” position before a promotion. Things like this put smiles on the faces of the successful 25 year old entrepreneurs.

Assuming time is needed to, “get used to our culture”. (in order to find the roadblocks?). As an

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Perspective- The People Side of Change

Have you every done the kid safety drill?

You know, the one where you get down on the ground and crawl around looking for potential danger? Of course, kid that I am at heart, I rolled, slid and somersaulted too…

The world is entirely different down there.

That, for awhile anyway, is the world of a toddler.

The people side of change has danger (real or imagined), hidden obstacles, an intense right in front focus, movement similar to a crawl (for its snail like pace) and an overall obliviousness to the presence of anything on this list. A

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Change in a quantum way

There is a theory in quantum mechanics that it is possible the future influences the present (and possibly the past). I dug into it in a recent Discover Magazine article.

And did my best to understand the true meaning for quantum mechanics, but big picture mentality that I have…

I got to wondering how that might look for the change process.

It could mean there are multiple versions of result and effect. Basically versions of success and failure. Successful establishment of process and an adaptation of culture to speed change if the future has anything to do with it

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Reinvention- Chosen Change

I re-formatted my computer yesterday and instead of using my imaged backup I chose to start from scratch. Which seeded a train of thought about Chosen Change. As individuals there are countless opportunities to choose change- jobs, hobbies, friends, networks, environment, etc all have the potential to be tweaked, molded and turned upside down. The more that is upended at once the greater the possibility of different perspective, approach and, possibly, results.

While virtually impossible in most cases there are large systems that would benefit from upending chosen change- (caveat US and California viewpoint) the educational system, the health

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The elephant in the room- Sometimes an invited guest

Calling out the elephants during the development of the end state description turns out to be a powerful tool. The exercise becomes a little like writing in third person when you are really talking about yourself. The “I have a friend who…” approach. Discussing the elephant in the room and being honest about comfort and hindrance can help to pave the way for a horizontal approach to change management.

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Employee Engagement- You can almost hear the buzzing

As with any buzz term (employee engagement being high on the list of buzzes), group think and assumptions cloud a clear understanding of a motivated individual…

Bringing your dog to work might be cool and something to brag about with your friends and running with an impassioned leader may feel good, but having your work matter and understanding why is the ultimate motivator.

Lots of great things have happened with intense participation in dirty garages and corporate basements. Consultants are intensely motivated and their work environment is often the last pick spot (and it changes constantly with little

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