This is a critical aspect of change management, and often it is only given minimal attention. These posts give good and bad examples.

How to Build Support for Change During the 11th Hour

This post is an unproofed work in progress. I welcome your input. How to Build Support for Change During the 11th Hour You may find yourself months into a project and realize that this major change is slowing to a …

Recent Research on Change Management Success Rates

Recent Research on Change Management Success Rates Very good blog post from Management Issues blog on research in the UK branch of Towers Watson. Here was my comment to them: Thanks for a very good post. When I started writing …

The Challenge of Merger Integration

The Challenge of Merger Integration The Point (a blog) posted an interesting piece that lists the number of mergers in big pharma over the past few years. It’a a big number. The post discusses the risks of merger integration. it …

An Optimistic Note: It is possible to overcome gridlock

A Rare Example of Bipartisanship is an important article by David Ignatius in The Washington Post on how cooperation is possible even in the most gridlocked situations.  According to Ignatius, the House Intelligence Committee “used to be one of the …

Leading Change: How to prepare your team for change

How to prepare your team for change – what are the common challenges/issues that your team will encounter and how can they get beyond them I am preparing to work with a couple of teams that are facing a year …

Change Management: Death by Conference Call

 

Change Management Resources : How to Make a Compelling Case for Change

Change Management Resources : How to Make a Compelling Case for Change Making a compelling case for change is the most important point in the life of a change — and the most neglected. Making a case is not just …

Positive Feedback and Change

I just responded to a post in which the author mentioned how much his son’s sticky note about him being a great dad meant to him. Here is my reply: You sticky note story reminded of when I attempted to …

Change Management: It’s Still Why Before How

 Change Management: It’s Still Why Before How I was taking part in a conversation on LEAN. Someone posed the question about what incentives people needed in order to support LEAN (a waste reduction process). As I read through the thoughtful …

How to Get Rid of Wasted Effort, Scope Creep, and Lukewarm Productivity in 2012

How to Get Rid of Wasted Effort, Scope Creep, and Lukewarm Productivity in 2012 My prediction for the new year: Your organization will initiate many major changes with considerable hope and fanfare. But, by the end of the year, most …

Change Management – The Ninth Waste in Lean Six Sigma

The Ninth Waste in Lean Six Sigma Majdi Alhman posed a fascinating question in the Lean Six Sigma Forum on LinkedIn: what is the ninth waste (in lean Six Sigma)? You might have thought that he would have received a …

Applying Keller and Price’s 5 Questions on Leading Change

Scott Keller and Colin Price wrote a very good blog post Five Questions That Should Shape Any Change Program for Harvard Business Review blog. It’s well worth reading. I won’t repeat what they say in their post, but here’s what …

The Danger of Missing the Subltety of Kotter’s Leading Change

Recently, I have been reading lots of blogs on change. Some are great and get me thinking. I love those. Many others just list John Kotter’s eight steps. These blog authors add no value. How have they applied these steps? …

Don’t Shoot – Lessons on Leading Change

Don’t Shoot: One Man, A Street Fellowship, and the End of Violence in Inner-City America (David Kennedy. Bloomsbury USA. 2011) is a powerful and important book. Harvard researcher, David Kennedy wondered why our approaches to dealing with gang violence were …

Response to “Why Companies are Often Terrible at Changing”

Interesting article by Sharlene Evans and Greta Roberts in 10/21/11 issue of Fortune, Why Companies Are Often Terrible at Changing.  I like the article, and I was intrigued by the comments. They seemed to blame leaders for the failure. While …

Why Emporer’s Leading Change Need Fashion Advisors

If you’ve read almost anything I’ve written, you know that I am a big fan of listening to people in the organization when it comes to leading change (and most anything else for that matter.) I just came across a …

Leadership, Resistance, and the Penn State Scandal

I believe it was Ernest Jones who wrote, “All organizations are perfectly designed to get the results they are getting.” I think about that quote as I read the unfolding details about the conditions that allowed the Penn State scandal …

It’s the Wisdom of Individuals First (not Groups)

I just read a helpful reminder about the limitations of groups on decision making.  (Why Brainstorming Doesn’t Always Work. Jena McGregor. The Washington Post 11/6/11) It’s pretty common for a group to meet and someone asks, “Any ideas on how …

How can smaller companies utilize change management to help the business grow?

How can smaller companies utilize change management to help the business grow?  The discipline of sound change management can be an important tool for small companies that want to grow. But, sadly, many smaller businesses act like the big kids …

What’s Your Communication Plan About the Change Initiative?

What’s Your Communication Plan About the Change Initiative? Late breaking news: communication requires giving – and receiving – information. The “and receiving” part of communications plans is often missing. Corporate communications departments salivate at the thought that they can create …

How to Prepare the Message You Want to Communicate Around Change

  Note: This is a companion post to What’s Your Communication Plan About the Change Initiative?), I discuss the range of things that need to be covered as well as the need to make certain that communication is a conversation …

Planning Change Checklist – The Things You Must Include if You Want People to be Engaged

Planning Change Checklist – The Things You Must Include if You Want People to be Engaged Here are some guidelines for holding a planning meeting. Follow these Guidelines for Planning Meetings Many of the tools for getting people involved have …

The Secret of Employee Engagement is No Secret

The Secret of Employee Engagement is No Secret Last week I was working with all the senior leaders and middle managers for a large city government.  They were launching a number of challenging new programs for their city. They knew …

Why Don’t You Want What I Want?

I just posted two free Podcasts about influence on the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland site.  It is my way of introducing you to a new program we are offering called Influence. Action. Change!. But don’t worry, no salesman will call. …

Rick Maurer | How You Can Avoid the Pitfalls of ERP Implementation

Rick Maurer Discusses How You Can Avoid the Pitfalls of ERP Implementation Depending on the study you read, the failure rate of ERP projects can be somewhere between 60 and 90 percent. Although recent studies put the failure rate nearer …

Digging Deep: Why People Support Your Brilliant Ideas and Why They Resist

Free Podcast on May 2. 10 Am and 8 PM Eastern (-4 GMT) Digging Deep: Why People Support Your Brilliant Ideas and Why They Resist My buddy Jacquie McLemore and I are conducting a free 60-minute Podcast through the Gestalt …

Influence. Action. Change! Video

Here is a link to a 5-minute video in which I try to put into words my excitement about Influence. Action. Change! ™, a new program at the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.  I helped design the program and will be …

Goal Setting Works: Who Knew?

In spite of my snarky title, I think this is a critically important issue. It just saddens me that the lesson that setting clear goals never quite sinks in. Sue Shellenbarger wrote a fine article, Making Kids Work on Goals …

Supply Chains, Resistance, and All that Jazz

Niels van Hove writes a good blog called Supply Chain Trends.  I particularly like his recent post. Perhaps its because he quotes me, or perhaps its that he is a good writer and has important things to say. (I’d like …

Influence. Action. Change! ™

Influence. Action. Change! ™ is an exciting new program that I helped design for the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.  (And I will co-lead the program with my buddy and co-creator of this program, Jacquie McLemore.) It is designed for people who …

Branson on Managing Change

Richard Branson wrote a fine piece on his experience leading change in Entrepreneur. It is worth reading. …

Assumptions About the Culture of Lean Manufacturing

I started a conversation on the culture of Lean in the Change Management Open Source Forum (www.changeOSP.com) One at a time, I am testing a number of assumptions about what it takes in order for Lean to succeed. I am …

Spiderman Meets Shakespeare (and the Bard Wins)

Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark has been in previews longer than some Broadway shows ever even get to run. Production costs are running at about $65 Million. But even under the direction of Julia Taymor (The Lion King), the show …

What Organizations Can Learn from No Labels

On Monday, No Labels was kicked off in New York. The intent is provide a forum where people of all political stripes can discuss (not hector) issues and look for common ground. I wish them well. But already, those with …

The Chilean Minors and Open Book Management

The Chilean Minors and Open Book Management The minors were trapped for six weeks before rescuers were able to punch the first hole through. This allowed people on the surface to lower food as well as messages from family and …

Must We Focus on Why Changes Fail? Yes, We Must.

Question: Must we focus on why changes fail? (drum roll) Answer: Yes, we must. Over the past couple of days, I was engaged in conversations about the emphasis on the failure of change in organizations. They believed that focusing on …

Reasons why so many changes fail #15 Fail to understand why people support – and why they resist change.

Reasons why so many changes fail #15 Fail to understand why people support – and why they resist change. When a former chairman of the ill-fated Eastern Airlines was once asked what he thought of employee involvement, he replied, “There …

Reasons why so many changes fail#14 Relying on the Three Most Common Ways of Communicating Change

Reasons why so many changes fail#14 Relying on the Three Most Common Ways of Communicating Change Most leaders rely way too heavily on the big three ways of communicating change: PowerPoint e-mails memos

Reasons Changes Fail #12 Taking Time Will Waste Time

Reasons why so many changes fail #12 Taking Time Will Waste Time Our research found that when people made a strong case for change, the rest of the project often went much more smoothly. In other words, they didn’t face …

Reasons why so many changes fail #11 A Belief That You Can Force Them to Do It

Reasons why so many changes fail #11 A Belief That You Can Force Them to Do It No, you can’t. People can find all types of creative ways to stop you in your tracks. For instance, the president of a …