We publish Tools for a Change, a free e-mail newsletter, every couple of weeks. Here are some selections from over the past ten years.

Telling It Like It Is -- 7/26/2010

Everyone knows that it is hard for leaders (or almost anyone else for that matter) to hear what people really think of their ideas. The reason that The Emperor's New Clothes is merely a fable is because, in real life, you don't find people willing to tell the leader he isn't dressed properly for the parade. That candor takes guts in environments that don't appreciate "the truth."

Interesting piece in The Wall Street Journal on July 19, "Boeing Brings in Old Hands, Gets an Earful" shows a way to hear what people are thinking. In an attempt to get the "beleaguered 787 Dreamliner program back on track", the company invited retired Boeing engineers to brainstorm with the current crop of engineers. Reports are that the retired engineers are blunt and tell it like they see it. Although nothing can guarantee that the current engineers will actually listen, at least they have the opportunity to hear other strong points-of-view from fellow professionals.

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The Value of Clamshells in Change -- 6/19/2010

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to work with about 400 senior leaders and managers in the City of Ottawa's government who are engaged in a process to improve service to their community. Bev Patwell, a consultant to the project, facilitated a variation on a Henry Mintzberg technique called A Clamshell.

I thought you might find it useful.

People sat in random groups of 8 to 10 at a table. Each table discussed critical questions regarding the change process. There was an empty chair labeled "eavesdropper seat" at each table. These chairs were filled by the senior leaders of the city government. Eavesdroppers had to remain silent.

After the 20-minute conversation, the senior leaders sat in a semi-circle with representatives from each table filling the other side of this "clamshell." Each senior leader was given one minute to tell what he or she heard. Then the other side of the clamshell could ask questions or make comments to any of the senior leaders. Other managers could join the conversation by replacing one of the table representatives.

It was a great way to turn a large meeting into a series of meaningful conversations. The clarity of the structure combined with tight time boundaries (expertly managed by Bev) provided the safety and structure that made this activity such a success.

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Lessons from NUMMI --5/19/2010

NUMMI closed its doors on April 1, and sadly, that is no April Fools' joke. NUMMI was a model of what's possible when production processes encourage the initiative and engagement of all employees. For example, two wildly different corporate cultures (Toyota and GM) worked together to build high-quality cars. They took a closed GM plant that had perhaps the worst management-labor relations in America and turned it into a model of real cooperation between management and labor using 85 percent of the original workforce. I find it sad to see NUMMI and what it represents go.

Thanks to Svend Ask Larsen, I learned about a terrific podcast that aired on March 26, just days before the NUMMI closed its doors. You can access the podcast here: This American Life.

If you don't know the NUMMI story, you owe it to yourself to listen. If you do know the story, listen anyway. I found the reminder of their successes inspiring and sobering. Inspiring for obvious reasons, and sobering in that GM (and many others) never learned the lessons NUMMI could teach us.

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Looking at Failure -- 4/29/2010

Tom Boswell wrote a compelling piece about leadership and responsibility
The Washington Post - 4/26/2010

The Washington Nationals, a baseball team that has struggled in its first five seasons in DC, lost in a 13 inning game last weekend. (For those who don't follow baseball, that's four more innings than a regular game. It makes for a long, tense, and tiring game.) It's easy and natural to try to put that bad experience behind you.

Boswell wrote, "Most days, ballplayers need the emotional stability to endure a long season. But not always. Not after the worst defeats. Beware of players who wash those brutal losses off along with the shower water. Get rid of those who, too many times, fall back on the most pernicious words a pro athlete can utter - "We'll get 'em tomorrow" - as they head to their luxury cars in the parking lot."

One of the team's executives said, "On Saturday they wore that game so hard in here. It was not a nice place to be. . ." Boswell believes that's the type of character it takes for a team to survive and continue to play up to their potential for a full season.

I think this willingness to look into the face of failure directly is missing from many corporate teams. I have rarely been in a meeting with a client when they wanted to delve deeply into what had gone wrong with a project. The key word here is deeply. Looking for scapegoats or quick cheap solutions doesn't equal deep. The "five whys?" series of questions that are the hallmark of many quality improvement processes, is an example of having the courage to keep looking deeper and deeper.

Theory X and Theory Y

As I drastically revised my 1996 book, Beyond the Wall of Resistance, I was drawn back to Douglas McGregor's classis Theory X and Theory Y as a way to describe the challenges of leading change in organizations today. This month I recorded a 12-minute Podcast titled "Informal talk about the value of Theory X and Theory Y for those who lead change." I posted it in the Rick's Change Resources section of the Change Management Open Source Project - just click on Podcasts and scroll toward the bottom of the page (the podcast is dated April, 2010). You can join for free.

By the way, Beyond the Wall of Resistance: Why 70% of Changes Still Fail - and What To Do About It will be released this summer.

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Sandra Bullock on Leading Change -- 3/8/2010

From my perspective, an even bigger award for Sandra Bullock (who just won an Oscar for Best Actress,) was her win at the Razzies last Saturday night. She won for being the Worst Actress in a movie this past year (it was not for the same movie as the Oscar, by the way.)

How she treated the acceptance for the Golden Raspberry could be a model for grace under pressure for all of us. First, she showed up to receive the award. (She is only the second actress in the past thirty years to actually show up.) Second, she had fun with it. She joked that half the 700-some members would have had to watch the movie, so she was glad that at least 350 people had seen it. And she went on from there. The audience loved her.

Demonstrating you can take criticism with good humor builds credibility and likability. Oh, and there wasn't a PowerPoint slide in sight. No graphs showing why the movie (and her performance ) was great. Just her having fun.

If you'd like to see her Razzie acceptance speech, click here

Introduction to the Gestalt Approach to Organizational Consulting

My good friend and colleague at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, Rick Day and I are going to conduct a very active one-day session "Introduction to the Gestalt Approach to Organizational Consulting" in Phoenix, AZ on March 23. if you live in that part of the country (or have some frequent flyer miles that you're trying to use) please join us.

Creating a Culture of Excellence

I was quoted in Jason Daly's article, Creating a Culture of Excellence, Entrepreneur - you can read it here

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What Happens When Toyota Forgets the Toyota Way? --2/11/2010

For decades, Toyota has been synonymous with quality. The Toyota Way is required reading is some corporations. And there is much to learn from their approach to building cars and trucks. They do know how to build things.

When word started to come in about problems with their cars, they seemed to have forgotten their own way. If a problem had been spotted on an assembly line, a worker could have stopped that line until they could figure out what went wrong - and fix it. But, once the car was out on the highway, there didn't seem to be a similar switch that would allow an employee to signal a problem.

I wrote a blog post that explores this further and then makes some modest suggestions on what Toyota should do if it wants to rebuild trust.

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What We Can Learn About Leading Change from the Crisis in Haiti -- 1/22/2010

It seems that millions want to help the people in Haiti. And there was a similar generous outpouring in the wake of the Indonesian tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and countless other disasters. But in a rush to ease the suffering, our help may be frivolous or get in the way of real aide.

According to a 2004 BBC News report, "The federation (International Red Cross and Red Crescent) says aid agencies must do more to help people help themselves." There is a tendency for people to travel to the country and offer to help, or create their own private charities to send shoes and food. Sounds noble. But without an infrastructure, there are not clearinghouses so that these "helpers" can get assigned or (in some cases) licensed to practice medicine, etc. in the country. And who is going to distribute all this unasked for bounty of supplies? These gifts often just clog the ports making it harder for real relief workers to do what they need to do.

Yesterday, I read a blog post written by Nathanial Whittemore on the Social Entrepreneur blog of change.org titled What Goes Wrong with Rebuilding Efforts (and How to do Better This Time.) It is an object lesson in what to avoid. And I think his column provides sound warnings those of us who want to create changes that we believe are urgently needed.

Here is Whittemore's blog post.

"What Goes Wrong with Rebuilding Efforts (and How to do Better This Time)"

1. Lack of local knowledge: Every place has its own traditions, perspectives, customs and that dictate behaviors and responses to crisis. This local knowledge and local context is essential for being able to effectively engage local populations and effectively adapting relief best practices to successfully deliver aid. What this means: Look for and support the leadership of organizations like Partners in Health that have been in Haiti for years.

2. One-dimensional, victim-centric view of impacted populations: Everyone impacted by this earthquake is a victim, but to successfully implement immediate and long-term relief programs, aid organizations have to be able to get beyond the "victimhood" of the people they're serving to actively engage their ideas and talents to work with, not only for, local people. What this means: Look for organizations that have a commitment to the equal capacity of everyone to contribute to change.

3. Lack of respect for local economic systems: One of the most challenging parts of development and relief is delivering necessities like shelter and food that must be right in a way that doesn't harm local economic capacity. While right now, the name of the game is get people what they need, it will take smart planning (plus constant adjustment) to rebuild in a way that gets Haiti back on the right economic foot. What this means: Look for organizations like Architecture for Humanity that view every rebuilding program as a program for job training and creation.

4. Lack of appreciation for the importance of political power: At the end of the day, poverty is as much about power as it is about economics. For most of the history of the country, average Haitians have lived without discernible political power through which they could claim their rights. The long view of rebuilding Haiti has to include a commitment to enabling (even just not interfering would be a good start) with local political processes. What this means: Look for organizations that understand that all humanitarian actions have political consequences and strive to appreciate and understand how that should impact their programs.

5. Lack of commitment: There is something of a mission problem that happens midway through the rebuilding process. Humanitarian relief organizations are inherently focused on disaster relief. After some period of time, the Haiti earthquake will not be a "recent" event by the industry's standards. Something else will happen and donor dollars will flow elsewhere. Almost certainly, Haiti's infrastructure will still be bulwarked by relief institutions at that point, and even with careful planning in the transition from relief to rebuilding, these resource outflows can be devastating. What this means: Look for organizations that are, from the very beginning, building widespread alliances across sectors.

End of Whittemore's post.

Here is a list of organizations that seem to avoid the traps he describes, and actually do good work in the country where they have a presence.

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Leading Change and the Knowing-Doing Gap -- 12/14/09

Last month I asked you a provocative question: Since the failure rate of change efforts still seems to hover around 70 percent after all these years, what's missing?

A couple of people mentioned the knowing-doing gap (first introduced by Pfeffer and Sutton in their book, The Knowing-Doing Gap). That prompted me to go back to this book. If you haven't read it, I highly recommend it.

Knowing-doing gap fits perfectly. I have had many clients who read all the right books and knew what to do, but somehow just couldn't turn that knowledge into action. A client once told me, "You know, Rick, if we just did what was in your books, we wouldn't need you." Good point. Of course my reply was, "So, why aren't you doing those things?" And that brings us back to the gap.

I think we spend way too much time attempting to pour knowledge into people's heads (including our own) and would do better to mind the gap and get curious why knowledge isn't turning into action as often as we might like.

The phrase "the knowing-doing gap" is a helpful reminder to me. Maybe I would do well to spend more time finding ways to bridge the gap than in reading yet another book. The concept of a knowing-doing gap helps me give better advice to clients when they are about to inflict another PowerPoint presentation on their staffs, or send people off to training on a subject that they probably already know a fair amount about. I'm not trying to be cute, but the gap is where it's at.

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What Makes "Quality" Leaders Great? -- 11/12/09

Did you know that CEOs of companies that won the Malcolm Baldrige Award for Quality are different from other good leaders? It's true.

They are far more ready and willing to involve others. . .they have less need for personal credit and recognition. . . they share a belief that most change is evolutionary and not revolutionary. . .but they balance evolutionary continuous improvement projects while supporting "breakthrough" thinking. . . they are keen on learning from the past as a way to build a foundation for the future (unlike many other leaders who focus on the future and lack patience to learn from the past). . . and they are intolerant of people who aren't willing to get on the quality improvement bus.

If you are interested in what you (or other leaders) need to do to encourage quality improvement, I urge you to listen to my interview with Chuck Appleby, a co-author of the study that identified the attitudes and motivations of the Baldrige Award CEOs.

If you'd like to read the full report, Baldrige CEO Attitudes and Motivations: Developing a Model of Excellence - Research Report go to: http://www.mcb.unco.edu/monfortinstitute/iWAM_2009.html

(I posted this Podcast on the Change Management Open Source Project site last week, but I thought readers of Tools for a Change would be interested as well.)

The Big Question

Last week I asked people to comment on what's missing from all the books, articles etc. on leading change. We've been reading about change in organizations since the early 1990s, and yet the failure rate remains as high as ever.

What gives?

Many people wrote public comments in the discussion forum on the Change Management Open Source Project site. These comments are thoughtful and got me thinking about what's missing. If this question interests you, I encourage you to visit the Change Management Open Source Project. (You can read the comments without having to join or log-on.)

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The Value of a Human Barometer -- 10/2/09

The journalist, Brian Nutting, was fired from his job at The Congressional Quarterly. He asked why people were being laid off, so he was fired for being insubordinate. (The Washington Post. 9/30/09)

He wrote a memo to his bosses "demanding an explanation" and he sent the memo to the press department as well. That copy was leaked to the media.

Granted, he probably shouldn't have demanded answers or sent the memo to the press room. Nevertheless, senior management made a big mistake. They should have swallowed hard and been thankful for his questions. Yes, they should have been thankful.

Few people in organizations have the courage to ask hard questions or state their unvarnished points-of-view. When leaders do come across someone like that, they should assume that this person is a human barometer and is speaking for many.

So the tip: When you get a weather report from one of those human barometers, pay attention. This can give you vital information about morale, employee engagement, and, at the very least, questions that should be addressed.

Update on the Change Management Open Source Project

Great new Podcast with Jeff Hajek, author of Whaddya Mean I Gotta Be Lean?. I highly recommend this for anyone involved in Lean, or for anyone interested in employee satisfaction.

And we just introduced a new feature that I am very excited about. You can create private groups on the site. For example, you could invite your planning team to join so you've got everyone "meeting" on the same site where there are free resources for planning and implementing change. . . Or, you could invite people to a virtual training program. . . You are the moderator, so you decide who gets invited. (One caveat though. Some organizations have policies about participation on social networking sites, so check with the powers that be before you start an in-house group.)

Change Management Open Source Project

Organization Development Network

If you are going to the ODN Conference in Seattle in two weeks, please let me know I'd love to see you. I will be doing a couple of presentations. One is on how Gestalt field theory can support our work in organizations. The other presentation, I will co-lead with my buddy Herb Stevenson on resistance in coaching.

When I'm not presenting I will be hanging out at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland's booth.

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Grit -- 9/17/09

Grit matters. Angela Lee Duckworth, a psychologist at University of Pennsylvania found that grit (fortitude, determination) could pretty reliably predict who had the stuff to survive at West Point.

You can look at the 17 question assessment at: grit assessment

In fact, you can take part in her research as well.

So, I got wondering about grit and change in organizations. Could grit be a major contributor to successful change? It seems likely. And, given the commonsense nature of Duckworth's assessment questions, it seems like we should be able to predict (or at least hazard an educated guess) as to which leaders are most likely to lead change successfully from planning through to results.

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New Change Management Website and Resources -- 8/18/09

Change Management Open Source Website

Finally, at last, the Change Management Open Source Project website is up and running. 73 have signed up in the past few days and they represent nine countries from North America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Although I don't know most of the people who signed up, after reading their short bios, I am eager to engage them in conversations about change. This could turn out to be an exciting place to learn and share ideas. I'm learning things already.

Discussions forums are getting started, and the site includes:

e-book Introduction to Change without Migraines
short videos that explain the theory behind my approach to change
Podcasts, half-day training design
PowerPoint slides to use with the presentation

And all of this is free. Really. Truly, it is free. I know that may seem weird, but there you have it. www.changeOSP.com

P.S. I just started a discussion on the site that invites us to explore whether wiki technology can help us develop change management procedures collaboratively. You are welcome to join the discussion.

Change without Migraines™ Workshop

Over the years people have asked me if I conducted public workshops on my Change without Migraines™ approach. The answer has been no, but maybe its time to reconsider.
So I am taking a poll.

Would you be interested in attending a workshop in the Washington, DC area in which I covered my approach to leading and managing change?

Two options.

Option 1. I am thinking of a one-day version that would cover my approach: why people support and why they resist change; how to make a compelling case for change; how to get started on the right foot, how to keep change alive, and how to get a change back on track. The day would be jammed with ideas and tools you could take home and use.

Option 2. The two-day version would cover the same content, but give you lots of time to practice and to work on your ideas and plans and get feedback from others in the workshop.

All I am looking for is your interest. Saying yes doesn't mean anything other than you might be interested.

Please send me an e-mail and simply say Yes or No to Option 1 and Option 2. (No salesman will call:) Thanks.

Becoming an Effective Organizational Intervener

If you are looking for a place to increase your effectiveness getting things done in organizations, I highly recommend the Becoming an Effective Organizational Intervener (BEI) program. (I teach in the program.)

I hope you'll consider looking into the BEI program. And feel free to call me anytime to discuss it.I love talking about the program.

Here is a link to a short Podcast I recorded where I explain why my study in Cleveland has meant so much to me. Rick's Podcast And here is a link to a description of the BEI program.BEI Brochure

The next program starts in December, and the three-day intro (prerequisite is offered this month, Sept. and October.) Now is a good time to register.

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Performance Reviews and Other Stuff -- 7/29/09

Low Grades for Performance Reviews

". . .performance appraisals focus on precisely the wrong thing: individuals."

- Jeffrey Pfeffer

Jeff Pfeffer has a way of saying what needs to be said. And, as a leading expert in human resources, I hope that people listen to what he has to say in the current issue of Business Week. He explains why performance appraisal systems are a waste of time. (Others, like Deming, Covey, and Crosby have made the case before.) Maybe this time someone will listen and get rid of these historical tokens from a bygone era.

Theater Improv

Many of you know that I often use theater improv as a way to teach people how to work with resistance to change. I got my training in 2000 with Keith Johnstone, one of the masters in improv. Wade Jackson, who runs improv groups in New Zealand, was a fellow student in my class. He sent me the link to a new YouTube video where he and a colleague perform with Wayne Brady.

There is absolutely no reason why I should include this in my newsletter, except that I really like Wade's work and I thought you might enjoy seeing this brief scene. Improv Bandits

Lean

If you are involved in Lean in your organization, I encourage you to take a look at Whaddya Mean I Gotta Be Lean by Jeff Hajek. Some books focus too heavily on just the mechanics of Lean. Jeff writes about people and for the people on the floor.I particularly like his list of "Problems." Each includes "How it Affects You," "Action to Take," and "Why This Works." As you might gather, this is a very practical book.

Becoming an Effective Organizational Intervener

The prerequisite for BEI will be held on August 23-25. I am scheduled to conduct that session.

I love the BEI program, because I've seen how its influenced the way people work in organizations. I have seen people's ability to connect and get things done rise considerably. And, although we don't actually teach self-confidence, I often see people's confidence increase as they work with others. (BTW, if you miss the August intro, I beleive it will be run again in the fall.)

Here is a link to a short Podcast I recorded where I explain why my study in Cleveland has meant so much to me. Rick's Podcast

Here is a link to a description of the BEI program. BEI Brochure

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Really Getting People's Attention -- 7/7/09

When's the last time you paid attention to the safety announcement on a flight? I can't remember either.

Air New Zealand posted a safety video on YouTube and 3,305,548 people have viewed it so far.

Click here to view video

This is the same safety announcement that all of us hear every week on flights. So why would so many people view this video? Simple: The airline employees giving the safety announcement are all naked. Their uniforms are painted onto their bodies. So, that information should be enough to get some of you to click on the video in anticipation, and others to click on with utter disgust. Either way, it gets you to watch.

Their video got me thinking about corporate presentations. People file into a room as cramped as economy seats on a flight. And almost the instant that the lights dim and the first slide appears on the screen, the audience tunes out. Don't believe me? Look around you at the next meeting you go to. (Or, perhaps you're reading this during one of those deadly presentations right now.)

What Air New Zealand (and Southwest Air found by given flight attendants freedom to be creative when they present safety information) was that people pay attention to things that are novel, entertaining, and worth telling others about.

I am not suggesting naked executives. Believe me, I am definitely not suggesting that. But as we prepare our next presentations, imagine how Air New Zealand's might handle it.

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The Importance of Deliberate Practice -- 6/24

I just finished reading Talent is Overrated by Geoff Colvin. I highly recommend it to anyone who is involved in training and development - and to anyone who wants to get better at what he or she does. (I suspect that covers just about all of us.) He argues convincingly that talent really is overrated. The people who make it to the top of their fields like Chris Rock, Tiger Woods, Yo-Yo Ma, etc. got there because of lots of hours of what he calls deliberate practice. Not the hit a bucket of balls on Saturday and call it good version of practice, but paying attention to each swing and analyzing what worked or didn't. He said this type of practice is not fun. It's hard work.

Talent is Overrated made me think of Steve Martin's memoir, Born Standing Up. He states that most of the years he performed stand-up comedy, he was an unknown trying to perfect his craft. He tells stories of watching masters at work entertaining crowds at amusement parks where he worked as a teenager. Then he would try out some of their bits. He's pay attention to what worked and what didn't and try again - and again.

Colvin suggests that this type of disciplined practice is rarely seen in organizations. I agree. Often nothing happens after the training ends to support the learner in developing his or her skills. As one who works in change management, I shudder when I hear leaders tell me that the extent of education in that area is to send people to a one-day workshop and give them a book. It may be great training and an equally fine book, but where's the opportunity to develop the skills?

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Becoming an Effective Organizational Intervener -- 6/24

Many of you know that in addition to my consulting business, I have been deeply involved in the work of the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland, first as a student and later as faculty. The "deliberate practice" and feedback I got (and continue to get) at the Institute has had a huge impact on my ability to do what I do.

If you are looking for a place to increase your effectiveness getting things done in organizations, I highly recommend the Becoming an Effective Organizational Intervener (BEI) program. (That's where I teach.)

Working there is a labor of love for me. I hope you'll consider looking into the BEI program. And feel free to call me anytime to discuss it. I love talking about the program.

Here is a link to a short Podcast I recorded where I explain why my study in Cleveland has meant so much to me. Rick's Podcast

And here is a link to a description of the BEI program.BEI Brochure

The next program starts in the fall, so now is a good time to register, etc. etc.

Leading When You Don't Know Where to Go -- 3/6
Watch the News

Since you are probably paying attention to the news these days, I encourage you to use the lens of change management as you read or watch. And look at the choices the new administration is making as a study in change management. Lots of things to ponder and, I think, a lot of lessons beginning to emerge.

One small example, the lead-in to Rachel Maddow's television show asked a question, Is Obama cutting the media out by going directly to the people? This past ten days he has held a press conference and two town hall meetings (and one of those was virtual.) And, at the press conference, he didn't call on the so-called mainstream media, but small and some fringe players. Since his popularity remains high even when people don't always agree with his decision to communicate often and communicate speak directly with the people seems to speak for itself.

When You Don't Know Where You're Going

The Change Management Open Source Project just held its first conference call to discuss the topic of How to Lead Change When You Don't Know Where You are Going. Seemed like an apt topic for this environment. I posted a Podcast of the hour long call. There were 28 of us on the call. it was lively and I learned a lot. To listen to the Podcast, you need to register for the open source project. Everything associated with the project is free, by the way. You can register at Change Management Open Source Project. Everything associated with the open source project is free.

Large Systems Conference Call

Jake Jacobs is one of the leaders on a free conference call on large scale change on April 29. I am going to try my best to be on that call. It is sponsored by the Nexus for Change Initiative and Bowling Green State University's graduate OD program. And Jake is one of the important thought leaders in this area.

Change During Tough Times -- 3/6/2009

Change During Tough Times Conversation

The Change Management Open Source Project is off to an amazing start. Nearly 300 people have signed up to be part of this free resource and, as of this minute, 158 television, radio, and print news outlets such as Forbes.com have posted information about the new project on their web sites.

I will be scheduling a call within the next two weeks to discuss the challenges of change in this economy. To get the call started, I will give people a rough draft of a paper I will write especially for the call so that we can dig in and build on it or tear it to shreds. This should get the "open source" part of this going. (And then very soon I hope to have something on that web site so that we can share ideas, build on each others work, etc.)

I will be sending out information about the call to the people who signed up for the Change Management Open Source Project. So, if you are thinking about signing up, this would be a great time. And, remember, it is free. (You can always take your name off that list with a single click.)

Help for Non-Profit Leaders

My good friend David Coleman is offering a free service for a few leaders of non-profits in the Washington DC/Baltimore area. In my opinion, if David is running it, it's going to be worth attending. Here's his description of it.

The Leader's Circle is a free experiment for a select group of 5-7 executive directors (or their immediate deputy directors) of non-competing, non-profit agencies in the Washington, DC/Baltimore corridor designed to foster collaboration among nonprofit chief executives while helping them to increase organizational results, individual learning, and networking. The program revolves around the action learning process in which five to seven members meet four times face-to-face and every other week by phone from April to June, and, then, again from September to December.

Action Learning is an approach developed in the UK during the 1940's in which one seeks to foster new learning and insights among colleagues by grappling with real problems they are struggling with. By asking questions that seek to deepen the analysis of the issues and provide new perspectives on the problem, group members work on resolving the problem. Additional goals for all group members are to network with and learn from each other.

Members help each other by providing highly focused feedback, questioning, support, and even documents and materials-whatever they deem will help. Members are encouraged to take actions, however small, between sessions that will address the problem or issue brought up at the previous meeting.

For more information, contact David directly: David@tmscoaching.com 202-966-3660

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The Stimulus Package, Leading Change and President Obama -- 2/19/2009

Within days of taking office, President Obama began to reach out to both parties in Congress. He invited elected officials to the White House, and he personally went to Capitol Hill. As soon the $800 billion stimulus bill passed with only a handful of Republican votes, some mocked these outreach efforts as failures. But the skeptics got it wrong. And I believe the President knows they got it wrong.

I think leaders in organizations could learn from his approach to building bridges. If you are interested in reading the full article, click here to go to my blog Change Management News

Just Who are the Associates?

I am often asked if I really have associates. The answer is yes, but they are virtual. In fact, I've never actually met some of them. They all work in various cities and only spend a portion of their time working with me. In other words, they are available.

Today let me introduce you to my virtual business administrator, Robin Kramer. She helps me run the business, giving me time to focus on client work and writing. I can't think of a time when I've made a request that either she couldn't handle or didn't know someone who could. My last three projects (Change without Migraines Formula, Leading from the Middle ebook, and the new Change Management Open Source Project ) got finished on time because of her project management skills. If you are in business and need someone for a few hours a week, then take a look at her web site Premiere SBA.

The New Open Source Project

I've gotten great comments from you since I introduced this new free service two weeks ago. If you are involved in change in organizations (and who isn't?) please read the following.

What is the Open Source Project? It's an online collection of newly developed change management guidelines and professional presentation materials for anyone who wants them - and everything is free. The intial Open Source Project focuses on my approach to change called Change without Migraines™. These free resources provide you with the tools for change so you can develop your knowledge base and allow you to professionally (and easily) teach important change concepts to your colleagues and clients. And I plan to keep adding to this free site.

Why free?

So you can spread the word about Change without Migraines throughout your organization and with your clients. And, because of what might happen. When you use these materials, it might spark new ideas and we can learn from each other. My hope is that as you study the Change without Migraines approach more deeply, you'll make it even stronger -- and find new places to apply this approach. A big part of my excitement in providing this "open source code" is to learn what you do with the material.

As people dig in and let me know what they're developing, I can add things to this site so that we all can learn from each other.

So use the materials, and please share your ideas with me.

What's free?

CWM Book

Building a Foundation of Knowledge
Ebook Introduction to Change without Migraines
Videos Understanding and Using the Tools for Change
More resources to come!

Present, Teach and Apply w/Colleagues and Clients
Training Materials
Outline for half-day Change without Migraines training design
Power Point Presentation
The Cycle of Change, 3 Levels of Resistance and
Support

The Open Source Project is about my realization that you should become the leading change agent. Who knows your company or clients better than you?

Become part of a big idea...

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The Open Source Project Free "Tools for a Change" -- 2/5/2009

The Open Source Project

Last year I heard from people I'd never met from Russia, Denmark, and Jordan telling me about their interest in my approach to change. Our discussions sparked an exciting thought - why don't I make my ideas on change, and an understanding of the underlying thinking and assumptions behind my approach to change, even more accessible through a new Open Source Project.

What is the Open Source Project? It's an online collection of newly developed change management guidelines and professional presentation materials for anyone who wants them - and everything is free. The initial Open Source Project focuses on my approach to change called Change without Migraines™. These free resources provide you with the tools for change so you can develop your knowledge base and allow you to professionally (and easily) teach important change concepts to your colleagues and clients. And I plan to keep adding to this free site.

Why free?

As people dig in and let me know what they're developing, I can add things to this site so that we all can learn from each other.

So use the materials, and please share your ideas with me.

CWM Book

Building a Foundation of Knowledge
Ebook Introduction to Change without Migraines
Videos Understanding and Using the Tools for Change
More resources to come!

The Open Source Project is about my realization that you should become the leading change agent. Who knows your company or clients better than you?

Become part of a big idea...

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Making a Compelling Case for Change -- 1/14/2009

I urge you to read the excerpt from Ram Charan's new book, Leadership in the Era of Economic Uncertainly. You'll find it in the current issue of BusinessWeek.

I firmly believe that our ability to make a compelling case for change is the most important point in the life of a major new initiative. Charan tells how Dupont's CEO first recognized that something the financial crisis could hit them. How he responded. And what he did to shift course when he realized that people didn't "grasp the urgency" to change.

It is a fine case study of how to make a case for change, and it's only three pages long.

Leading from the Middle

People are responding well to my new e-book, Leading from the Middle. If you are at all interested in the challenges middle managers face as they attempt to lead, I hope you'll take a look.

Coming Attractions

Last year I heard from people I'd never met from Russia, Denmark, and Jordan telling me about their interest in my approach to change. So I decided to make stuff even more accessible. I plan to provide a lot of new resources (print, video, slides, etc.) to anyone who wants it at no charge. I hope to have it all finished within the next two weeks. So, I'll explain more in the next newsletter.

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Negative Flake Rates and Leading Change -- 11/20/08

Campaign planners expect a "flake rate" among those who promise to volunteer. In other words, they expect a certain percentage of people to "flake out" and not show up. The weekend leading up to the presidential election in the US, the Obama campaign experienced the opposite: they got a negative flake rate. They got more volunteers showing up than they had planned for. If you'd like to read more on this, just click on this link to my blog

Collaboration in Government

My buddy, Jake Jacobs is taking part in what looks to be a fascinating Webinar on collaboration in government (and the timing couldn't be more perfect). Jake is author of Real Time Strategic Change and just knows a lot about how to build collaboration in complex systems. It will be held on Monday, November 24 from 6 to 9 PM Pacific Time.

Leading from the Middle

Today, I am introducing a new e-book titled Leading from the Middle: How Its Different, Why it Matters. Based on the popularity of a Teleseminar I did a couple of years ago called The Middle Manager's Dilemma (you may have taken part in it or purchased the CD version), I wrote this new electronic book. Early readers tell me that it is instantly practical.

Here's what one reader had to say about my new ebook:

"In his customary perceptive manner, Rick Maurer has recognized an area of life that is underrepresented in the current literature, and has provided us with both an insightful and useful guide to the tough world of leading from the middle." Graham Bullen, Consultant, Vancouver, CA

If you need to improve as a middle manager (or want to help your middle managers succeed) please take a look at my new ebook, I think it will help. If your a senior manager, you might find this ebook a critical read for all of your middle managers.

If this ebook seems interesting, please take a look at the description here.

Oh, I am trying a different way to present my new books, it's a type of online "letter" . Let me know what you think of this letter style of communication at rick@beyondresistance.com

Leading Lean/Six Sigma -- 11/3/08

I had the pleasure of interviewing my old friend, J.R. McGee on this topic. He knows a lot about what it takes to get Lean/Six Sigma up and running. During our conversation, we created a fictitious senior leader and then gave this person advice on what to do, and what to avoid, when leading Lean/Six-Sigma. Our advice to this leader could apply to many other types of changes as well. The interview is about 45 minutes long. I hope you enjoy it.

Leading in Turbulent Times

It turns out that Leading in Turbulent Times is quite a popular title. At the same time I was writing my white paper on the subject, a colleague was writing an article with the same title, and a major training organization used the phrase to promote its programs.

If you missed it when I mentioned in the last newsletter, here is the link. Right after it was posted, I got a call from a large insurance company and was told that the ideas in the paper were just what they needed. He was doing a Google search and came across my article. (Bless you Google.) I don't think I've ever gotten such immediate feedback from something I had posted on my site. I guess this Internet thing works.

Leading in Turbulent Times -- 10/16/08

I imagine that many of you are pretty preoccupied by the financial mess. I know that I am. I find that I have this morbid fascination with the ever-fluctuating Dow Jones average throughout the day. And I amazed at what it is doing to my mood and my productivity. (Answer: down, up, down, and really motivated)

It seems that during this crisis it is tempting for leaders to put on blinders and just focus on the financials. On one hand, that makes sense. On the other hand, there is more to running a business than just attention to the numbers. Although we know that people matter, it is easy to lose sight of the very people we need in order for our organizations to stay afloat. This oversight could be a huge mistake.

So I wrote a short paper about that. It's titled Leading in Turbulent Times. Just click on the title to access it. (www.beyondresistance.com/LeadingToday.pdf)

And please feel free to send the link or the article itself to others.

One of my favorite columns is the Department of Human Behavior in The Washington Post. Yesterday's column was no exception. I urge you to read it.

It suggests that our brains hang onto to titillating details about people - do they lie or cheat, are they altruistic or heroic, loyalty or disloyal? But that same brain doesn't get as interested in big complex things like significant cost overruns, failed projects, or bad quality control reports.

I think this is important for people who lead change. It's one thing to try to make a convincing case using sophisticated graphs and numbers, and assume that's what our stakeholders care about. But what they seem to really care about is - are we trustworthy? And, sadly, PowerPoint can't accomplish that for us. In this rational age, it is easy to miss this distinction. As Hank Davis, one of the researchers cited in the article said, "We are continuing to navigate through the modern world with a Stone Age mind."

Many of you know that my work on resistance and change management is built on the education I received at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland. I began studying there in 1991 and have taught there since 1996. Getting to teach there is a labor of love for me and I truly believe I learn as much as the students.

I teach in the Becoming an Effective Organizational Intervener (BEI) program. This program is designed for people who need to influence others in order to get their work accomplished. We typically get consultants, leaders of organizations, and managers who are looking for a place to improve their skills in working with others. The five weeks (spread out over nine months) is intensive. Some lecture, but lots of practice and feedback in various sizes and types of groups. In fact, during one session participants consult to an organization in the Cleveland area.

If BEI sounds like something you might be interested in, please read the program description at BEI And, you might want to listen to a short audio clip of why I decided to study in Cleveland. Rick's Audio

And, if you like what you see, please feel free to give me a call. I love talking about this program. By the way, the 2007/2008 BEI program just ended last Saturday and we had people from all over the US as well as India and Norway. It's quite an exciting and motivated mix of people.

Have you grown cynical of all the time you've wasted developing meaningless mission statements? Me too. You might want to take a look at Dilbert's Mission Statement Generator. It's got all the words, all you have to do is plug it in. (Thanks to my buddy LeRoy Pingho for telling me about this site.)

The Dilbert Site reminds me of the George Orwell quote about how there is ". . .a huge dump of worn-out metaphors which have lost all evocative power and are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves." I think the key to good mission or vision or goal statements is finding ways the compel people (us included) to embody what we spout off so easily. OK, so you're going to maximize customer potential, swell. But, what's that look like? Feel like? And can we say it words that people will understand?

Jay Goldstein studies "those" parents at kids' sporting events that fit the acronym Tempestuous, Harried, Overwrought, Self-absorbed and Emotional. A parent who had been part of his study told him that he had once been one of "those" parents. But one day the referee didn't show and he was asked to take over. Suddenly, he was the victim of abuse from "those" parents. He said, "From that day on., I sit up by my car and read the paper, and glance up every now and then and watch the game. I am there for my child. Nothing more. Nothing less." (The Washington Post. A2, 7/14/08)

That item reminded me the power of getting people involved in making the tough decisions of running an organization. When that happens, people often see things differently. Getting people engaged in planning meetings is great, of course, but it doesn't compare to putting people in roles where they are now "the stupid referee." Just a thought.

If you have comments. I invite you to respond the post on my blog. Change Management News

Making a case for change is tough. But, you knew that. One effective way of getting people's attention is with compelling stories. Stories grab us in ways that bullet points and graphs don't.

I recorded an interview with Lori Silverman, author of Wake Me When the Data is Over (a title that I love). I ask her how to use stories to making a case for change - and to keep the message alive throughout the life of a big project.

It's about 40 minutes long and you can listen to it in the Change Management Library section of my website. Just scroll down the page and you'll see it.

If you do listen and have questions, leave a note on my blog. Lori has promised to visit the blog and respond to your questions. The Blog

I post to my blog about three times a week, so if you enjoy reading this newsletter, you might enjoy the blog as well. And if you click RSS, you will be notified whenever I make a new post. Talk about excitement!

The article in The Washington Post (5/20/08) titled Fat School got me thinking. The story profiles a residential program for overweight children. The cost: $6250 a month with a four-month minimum stay.

Although the school presents high short-term success rates, and a few anecdotal reports of kids who kept the weight off for longer periods, there is no research to indicate that this approach does a better job than anything else in helping young people keep weight off. And at $6250 a month, it seems like that might be a good thing to do.

That got me thinking about change in organizations. It does strike me how easy it is to invest in something without any real indication that it works simply because the need is so great. Are parents willingness to invest so much in the lives and health of their children any different from leaders who spend millions on Business Process Reengineering when the success rate is so low? But, I'll save that rant for another day.

I am most interested in the lack of support for these kids after the program ends. As Anjali Jain, a pediatrician at Children's National Medical Center said in the article, "If their families don't change, [students] are going to be back to their old ways of doing things" once they return home.

What many changes fail to take into account is what it will take to support these changes once the program goes live.

For a couple more paragraphs on this, please visit my blog. And the blog will allow you to comment. Change Management News

This was a major study of CEOs conducted by IBM. CNN reports: There has been a dramatic increase in the number of global business leaders who see important change ahead and "highlights how the ability to absorb and manage change is widening the gap between winners and losers in the global economy."

"Overall, 83 percent of surveyed CEOs expect substantial change in the future, an increase of 28 percent in just two years. However, CEOs report their ability to effectively manage change is increasing at a far slower pace." (Italics are mine.)

"Collectively, CEOs set their organization's ability to manage change 22 percentage points lower than their expectations for the level of change they will have to manage -- a 'change gap' that is widening." The phrase "a change gap that is widening" got my attention.

"The enterprise of the future accepts change as a permanent state in an organization. Those CEOs who demonstrate the capacity to manage major change know they can beat the competition by reaching new classes of customers, and making bold moves to shift business design around principles of global integration," said Ginni Rometty, senior vice president, IBM Global Business Services. "And it's clear that out-performers are distancing their enterprises from the competition based on their organizational capacity to take advantage of change."

(This is my response to a Human Resources blog that was promoting training as major support in change management. I decided to post it on my own blog as well.)

I agree that organizations need to be savvy about change management. But, change management training is a bad investment of money and time.

1. Training is a poor substitute for leadership. When training is used as the primary way of engaging people in change, you put the new initiative at risk. Training supports leadership, not the reverse. Without leadership people learn skills but lack a focus to apply them.

2. Training that is offered before it is needed is soon forgotten. And, even worse, people grow cynical. They begin to believe that they know all they need to know about managing change without ever having had to apply these ideas.

When training is linked directly to a new project as a way to give everyone a common language and set of tools, it can be a fine intervention. This is especially true if the training itself is embedded into the change management plan. A little education, a little application. For example, teach a model and then apply immediately to the project. Teach the next tool and then apply it right away. And that approach is a lot different from the typical change management class.

What Do You Have to Say (for Yourself)? My friend, Tom Stratton, suggested that I make it easy for people to post replies to my newsletter. Great idea, but since I don't know how to do that, I posted Change Management Training is a Waste of Money on my blog. . . . So, if you've got a reaction to what I wrote, please leave a response. Change Management News Thanks.

Joel Pett had a great cartoon in USA Today. People are at a counter in a diner talking about the presidential primaries in the US. One guy says, "I'm still undecided.. . .I'm waiting for the right irrelevant sound bite, out-of-context quote, or overblown distraction."

Every leader (and consultant) ought to post that cartoon where we can see it every day. (I've got it on my desk.) It's a good reminder that in the midst of change people are looking for that "out-of-context quote" that can let them know that this change is really bad. It doesn't take much to turn people against a major change.

In the last newsletter I asked for your recommendations for a book I could use in an MBA course I am designing on organizational change. . . .I expected to get a few titles. You know, the usual suspects. But, I was surprised to get such a long list of recommended books - and many of those were new to me. . . . And very few of the titles got more than one mention. . . . A couple of titles were sent in by the author's themselves. I put those books in the list because I like those books. . . One of my books was mentioned as well, but since I asked to not be included in the list, I won't include it here.

Some of you asked to see what people are recommending. Here's that list. And thank you so much.

Strategic Organizational Change, Auster, Wylie and Valente, Gung Ho!, Blanchard, Transitions, Bridges Managing Transitions, Bridges The Way of Transition, Bridges The Change Cycle, Brock and Salerno First Break All the Rules, Buckingham and Coffman Making Sense of Change Management, Cameron and Green The Courageous Follower, Chaleff Heart of Change Field Guide, Cohen (based on Kotter and Cohen's earlier book) Managing at the Speed of Change, Conner (new edition) (2 mentions) Organization Development and Change, Cummings and Worley The Handbook on Organization Development, Cummings Shifting Sands, Donahue The Change Monster, Duck Ten Tasks of Change, Evans The Six Secrets of Change, Fullan The Breakthrough Imperative, Gottfredson and Schaubert Social Intelligence, Goleman The Influencer, Patterson, Grenny, Maxfield, and McMillan Thin Book of AI (appreciate Inquiry), Hammond The Change Handbook, Holman, Devane, and Cady Real Time Strategic Change, Jacobs Getting Your Organization to Change, Jaffee and Scott (2 mentions) Who Moved My Cheese, Johnson Leading Change, Kotter (6 mentioned this book) The Heart of Change, Kotter and Cohen (2 mentions) The Leadership Challenge, Kouzes and Posner Sacred Cows Make the Best Burgers, Kriegel and Brandt Communicating Change, Larkin Fish!, Lundin, Paul, and Christensen Intentional Revolutions, Nevis Surfing the Edge of Chaos, Pascale, Milleman, and Gioja Deep Change, Quinn What Great Leaders Do!, Secretan The Fifth Discipline, Senge Wake Me Up When the Data Is Over, Silverman Aftershock, Woodward and Bucholz

Under the demanding leadership of Patrick O'Connell, The Inn at Little Washington (that's Washington, Virginia) continues to be one of the finest restaurants in the United States.

"When guests stop in to thank him and rave that their meal was "as good as ever." O'Connell says he often thinks to himself: Actually, it's 25 percent better than it was the last time. 'Constantly improving is the only way to make sure they think it's just as good as before.' " (The Washington Post 4/9/08)

I could use your advice. I am preparing to design an MBA course on change management and I am looking for a book to use as the basic text. Is there a book that you would recommend? . . . (By the way, I will be inflicting one of my own books on the unsuspecting class, so no need for you to recommend me to me :) Thanks for your help.

Here some recent posts: What Leaders of Change Can Learn From Goalies A response to the post on The Right Frame of Mind And my nod to someone else's blog post on Lean production.

According to The Economist, Ara Norenzayan "conducted experiments using what is known as the dictator game. . . .Participants receive a sum of money - Dr. Norenzayan set it at $10 - and are asked if they would like to share it with another player." In the basic version of this old game, people tend to keep most of the money for themselves. He "tweaked the game by introducing the idea of God." Half the subjects unscrambled sentences containing religious words such as God, spirit, divine and so forth prior to playing the dictator game. The players who were primed with so-called religious terms gave $4.22 on average whereas other players left $1.84. (The Economist March 22, 2008.)

The Economist asked an interesting question. What if people were primed with more secular words that might have prompted them to behave in an altruistic manner? So, that got me wondering. Are there things we could do at the beginning of major changes to get people in the "right" frame-of-mind for what was to come. For instance, thinking about things like cooperation, hope, teamwork, volunteerism, and so forth.

The experiment described above only asked people to unscramble sentences. No fanfares, extolling, or preaching. So please note that I am not suggesting motivational speakers or tired old do-it-for-the-Gipper bromides that executives tend to trot out from time to time.

The designers of FutureSearch (a change process that involves a fairly large number of people) purposely begin events the night before any "real work" takes place. They believe, as I do, that just starting the event, gets people thinking about the work at hand. So by the time the real work begins, people have already chewed on the ideas. . . . What if we added something akin to unscrambling sentences to an introductory meeting? (I am not suggesting that we actually unscramble sentences, but something that might serve the same end.) Could something this simple help get people focused on the spirit needed to support the intense work of change?

Dean Karlan, an economist at Yale, found that people are more likely to act in their own self-interest if they sign a contract. And - they are significantly more likely to meet their goals if they could lose something of value if they failed. Karlan and some colleagues ran an experiment where people who wanted to quit smoking signed an agreement that they would lose money if they failed a urine test the end of the experiment. . . . Those who signed the commitment paper were about 30 percent more likely to pass the test than the control group or a group that just received educational materials. The lesson: Many of us work harder to avoid losing than to gain something.

Based on this, Karlan and friends started a free websiteStickk.com where you can make a commitment, pledge money to a charity if you fail, choose a referee to judge if you met your goals, and join a virtual support group.

I think this may have something to teach us about leading change. I'm not talking about inflicting punishment on others. So put away your club, Atilla. But I do think that the notion of 1. voluntarily making public commitments, 2. adding consequences to failure, 3. and having like-minded people to talk to just might make a difference.

This has my attention today. I'm thinking about it. And, as always, I welcome your thoughts.

Dan Swanson, a marketing expert, said he has put together pitches for hundred of venture capitalists and investment bankers. And he always tells them, “This is our best shot at it -- but we know it’s wrong, we just don’t know where it’s wrong, and we are going to change it as we go along.” (from Nitro Marketing Blueprint training.)

Imagine if a leader presented a plan for a big organizational change in that manner -- and then invited people to offer improvements all along the way. What a difference that could make.

Simply acknowledging what everyone knows to be true (but isn’t allowed to say out loud) could be a wonderful invitation for people to engage in the process of change.

After the news that Daimler sold Chrysler at fire sale prices, I went back to Jeffrey Pfeffer’s column in Business 2.0 (1/07) titled The Agony of Victory. He describes how Chrysler virtually invented the mini-van in the 1980s. (And they made a ton of money from it.) But then along came SUVs, new minivan competitors, and hikes in gas prices, and here sat Chrysler with plants set up to build mini-vans.

He calls this “the competency trap”. Here’s what he says, “Organizations try things. If what they do succeeds, they “learn” that what they’ve done breeds success. So they persist, becoming ever more focused in what they do, and ever more specialized in the skills they acquire.”

The struggle between what’s familiar and innovation seem to make many of us opt for what we already know how to do – even when conditions are changing.

Pfeffer doesn’t have an answer and neither do I. Except that his column got me to step back and look at my own business. Could I depend on the things that have allowed me to be in business for almost thirty years to help me to keep the lights on in the coming years? It makes a fella think.

Toyota just surpassed GM in cars sold in the US over the past quarter. That news made me think of NUMMI.

After US automakers took a beating from Japanese imports in the 1970s, GM teamed with Toyota to create a wildly successful joint venture called NUMMI. It combined Toyota’s legendary attention to quality with deep employee involvement. Not only was it a model of good manufacturing, it was a model of how management and labor could work together.

I recall talking with a couple of GM managers who told me that a team had gone out to California to study the NUMMI plant to see what they could learn. All they could see were a few relatively minor technological innovations. They missed one of the most important reasons why NUMMI worked so well – the people.

NUMMI is still making cars and trucks, but it seems that GM never learned the lessons from this joint-venture. And today, former president of GM, Charles Wilson, could never get away with saying “What’s good for General Motors is good for America.”

I got to wondering: Am I like those GM engineers? What am I missing when I attempt to learn about what makes businesses work well? To paraphrase William James, am I thinking or just rearranging my prejudices? Do I have the capacity to really see what’s going on? Perhaps you’ll consider asking the same question of yourselves. It could make a difference.

Here’s a small tidbit I heard on the news. When Ted Strickland took over as Governor of Ohio he moved the office from a high rise into the state house. Because he was now hanging out near where members of the Ohio Assembly met, he got to know people. One member of the assembly said that he had spent more time with Strickland in the past few months than he had with the former governor over a four year period. And Strickland was able to get unanimous support for his budget. Coincidence, I don’t think so.

How often to we separate ourselves from the people we want to influence? Different building, different floors, different cities, different countries, and gatekeepers who keep others at bay.

In my work on resistance, I have been interested in brain research that focuses on fear, stress, pain, etc. I believe that area of study (neuroscience) holds important keys to unlocking Level 2 and Level 3 resistance. I just read an article that I think may have application to our work in organizations. By the way, I do realize that this research is a bit of a stretch, but interesting, nonetheless.

In “A Comforting Spouse Could Turn Out to Be a Real Pain,” Robert Lee Hotz, writes, “By eavesdropping on electrical activity in the most private precincts of the mind, researchers investigating the effects of chronic pain discovered that a husband or wife can make the ache feel three times worse simply by being in the room. (Los Angeles Times 11/4/02.)

Researchers found that the pain subsided when the spouse left the room!

“Surprisingly, perhaps, it was the most solicitous husbands and wives -- those who clucked most lovingly over the spouses' discomfort -- who triggered the pain. The more the husbands or wives dwelt on their partner's pain, the worse it felt, the neural monitors showed.”

Herta Flor, University of Heidelberg's Central Institute of Mental Health, who led the study team said, “We found basically that when their spouses were in the room, they had an almost three-fold increase in their response to pain. These patients also showed more overt signs of feeling pain, such as moaning.”
Spouses who stayed in the room but offered distractions or not focusing too heavily on the pain helped alleviate pain.

So what’s this got to do with our work in organizations? On one hand, I’m not sure if it does. On the other hand, it might open a door to understanding dynamics at play in organizations. For example:

Perhaps when people are in pain due to major changes in the organization, spending time just listening and expressing sympathy, may make matters worse. Have you ever been in one of those team building activities where people just spilled their guts and others sat around acting as if they cared? My experience has been that they are pretty dreadful and often make matters worse.

However, I think that listening for the purpose of getting at what’s wrong so you can try to do something to help the situation (like get medical attention), is far different than just being solicitous with comments like, “I feel your pain.”

I believe that listening just to demonstrate empathy has a short shelf life. However listening with a willingness to be influenced by what we hear and do something based on that information is a very different type of listening. I explored listening with a willingness to be changed in an interview with Alan Alda in Why Don’t You Want What I Want?

The "Baldrige Index," a fictitious stock fund comprised of U.S. companies that have received the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award, has once again outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500 for a fifth year by more than 200 percent.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) "invested" a hypothetical $1,000 in each of the six whole company winners - ADAC Laboratories, Eastman Chemical Co., Federal Express Corp., Motorola Inc. and Solectron Corp. (1991 and 1997 winner.) The investments were tracked from the month following the announcement through December 1998.

Thanks to the Association for Quality and Participation’s e-zine for this piece. By the way, AQP’s Spring conference will be in Las Vegas the end of this month. If you’re interested in seeing how the power of employee involvement can build strong quality processes in organizations, I urge you to attend. I go just about every year. I’ll be glad to make sure you get details if you’re interested.

I just read an impressive study on change management titled “Taking Stock: a Survey on the Practice and Future of Change Management.” I think the study will be of particular interest to people who (in Yogi Berra’s terms) go for “deep depth.” I know some managers and executives who like to explore the theory and practice of change management, but the primary audience will be consultants who spend a significant amount of time working on change management projects.

One section explores survey results. People responded from around the world. A few items:
+ Even though change leaders often trumpet the transformational possibilities of thee major projects, only 15 percent of respondents saw any lasting transformational change.
+ Ownership and support of top-level management is the single most important factor in the success of change. (In my experience, change projects get delegated down a level or two very quickly, and they die. When the top person is a real champion, the success rate goes up.)
+ Senior level leaders believe that people understand the practice of sound change management. People below them don’t have a clue.
+ 51 percent said they “had seen many change management initiatives” fail.
+ 94 percent of respondents said they personally benefited from learning change management methods.
+ Change management has moved from being just the work of organization development practitioners, and out into line operations. (That suggests to me that technical and financial professionals are beginning to see the benefits of managing change well. It’s not just the consultants who are promoting change management these days.)
+ Sound change management theory and practice seems to cross cultural boundaries. Although the practice of change management initially developed in the US and Western Europe, it seems to have broad applicability around the globe.

Another section gives pithy one-page descriptions of a range of change management methods used by people who responded to the survey. These short descriptions range from personality theories to complex large system interventions to theoretical models that help explain the dynamics of change. These short descriptions give a fine overview of the range of thinking and practice in the area.

The final section explores a number of possible scenarios that could influence how we approach change management.

Prior to receiving a copy of the report, I had no knowledge of the firm that put it together and I have no financial stake in their success. However, I do feel I have a stake in helping people learn about managing change in organizations, and this report significantly adds to our knowledge of the field. Bravo to the authors.

Entertainers know a lot about how to grab an audience’s attention and hold it – and get invited back. The great comedian, Chris Rock, has some good advice for those of us who want to get our ideas across – and get invited back.

“When. . . you don’t do well, you’re basically hearing ‘No’ How are you going to approach this ‘no’? Are you going to respect it and put the blame on yourself and improve who you are, or are you going to blame the audience like an idiot?” He goes on to say, “It’s never their fault. No matter how late it is, no matter how much they did or didn’t drink, no matter what the sound system is like, no matter how hot the building is or how cold the building is, it ain’t the crowd’s fault.” (New York Times 12/28/07)

As we enter this New Year filled with grand plans, we are certain to meet resistance to our brilliant ideas somewhere along the way. As Chris Rock suggests, we’ve got a choice: we can blame them or we can take responsibility for things going wrong. Since we are the ones who want something, taking responsibility for how things are going is great starting point. It gives us a better chance of doing it better next time. It could be timing, how we presented the idea, the wrong audience for our appeal, it could even be a bad idea! Whatever. Blaming others will only give us that self-righteous glow for just so long, and then we’re left with a idea lying dead on the floor.

“The biggest challenge I face is supporting our business to change its culture around customer service. The risk is that if we don’t, our competition will continue to eat our market share.”

It’s the question of why before how. You’ve already decided on the how – you said that need to improve customer service in order to regain market share. And you may be right. But it sounds like your organization is stuck on why. People don’t see why you are talking about changing. And people are not interested in following your how (your ideas and plans) until they fully grasp why something new is needed.

Without a deep understanding of why, you’ll probably get reluctance and resistance. And good customer service is not built on a foundation of people who are angry at their employers.

Rather than trying to sell people on customer service, take a step back. Ask yourself, what makes you so certain that poor customer service is what’s eating away at your market share? What evidence do you have that this situation could be critical? I’ll guess that you’ve got some pretty compelling answers to that question. Now ask yourself, do people throughout the organization see things this way? I’ll bet they don’t.

If I’m right, then your task is to make a compelling case for change. Don’t just give people the tired old PowerPoint presentation, but consider how you can get the message across in ways that grab people emotionally. For example, videos of real customers talking about why they have left your company. Research that shows a correlation between your drop in customer service scores and market share. These are off the top of my head. You need to think of things that make sense for your organization.

My interest in resistance to change runs deep, and I am especially interested in strategies that avoid (or at least reduce) resistance before it occurs. You probably know that I am a fan of Appreciative Inquiry. It gets people involved in planning change in a unique way. It focuses on what’s going right as a way to build a foundation for moving toward something new. While the approach doesn’t dismiss problems, it spends far more time learning from what’s already working well. When people move toward something compelling in a way that respects past accomplishments, the chance for commitment and sustainability is far greater than approaches that demand people give up the old ways and build from scratch.

Locating the Energy for Change: An Introduction to Appreciative Inquiry, by Charles Elliott, (IISD. Winnipeg. 1999.) is a very good book on the subject. Part I explores the theoretical underpinning, part II shows how to run the process, and Part III offers case studies. The cases run from its use in African villages to one written by John Carter and Pam Johnson involving one of the world’s largest accounting firms. Highly recommended.

The GE Way Fieldbook by Robert Slater is a practical guide to the way Jack Welch (and GE’s leaders) run the company. It shows how they integrate ideas like six sigma into their corporate culture.

Many organizations give lip service to values statements. GE works to align values with action. Take “Have a passion for excellence and hate bureaucracy.” Slater describes how that value is reinforced in many ways. GE’s famed Work-out process is just one example of how the company cuts through bureaucracy to get at the best ideas. (This book gives the clearest description I’ve seen of how to use the Work-out process.)

I believe Jack Welch has been a powerful force for the health of GE. However, Slater is a bit too reverential toward him. I wish he had explored some of the other sides to the story. What are his blind spots? Are there places where values and action don’t match? When do these approaches fail? And then what do they do?

The book is filled with practical advice -- including self-assessment tools – which help the reader see how the GE approach might work in his/her organization.

Good governance pays! In a timely study conducted by McKinsey, companies emerging markets that adhere to good governance practices do better in the marketplace. And the reward for good governance is high. “By moving from worst to best in corporate governance, companies in our sample could expect, on average, to experience roughly a 10 to 12 percent increase in their market valuation – a result underscoring the importance investors attach to these attributes.”

I just came across a fairly new website that I thought might interest you. www.hr.com includes articles and resources in many areas related to Human Resources: Compensation and Benefits, HR Information Systems, HR Management, Labor Relations, Legal, Organizational Development, Staffing, Training & Development.

This month, the site features an interview with Jay Galbraith talking about HR’s role in creating a global organization. In the archives is an interview with Jeffrey Pfeffer whose work linking sound HR practices to bottom-line results is the strongest argument I have ever seen on why organizations should pay attention to the human equation.