Strategic Delivery of Change Management

Editor's Notes

• #14: Islamic change model
• #20: CAUTION: WHITE WATER AHEAD!In his groundbreaking book Future Shock, Alvin Toffler suggested that thepace of change was accelerating. Reality has confirmed his assertion. Intoday’s truly global economy, to use Peter Vaill’sanalogy, the organizational world is one of “permanentwhite water.” The way to stay afloat nowis to go into a “heads-up, sensing, searching, sorting,anticipating, adjusting, survival mode.” Payattention! Scan the environment. Gather informationquickly and process it even faster. Yourlife depends on it. As external changes accelerate and competitive advantagesshift, successfully leading change becomes an organizational imperative.3g. Toy industry of china,
• #30: Figure I.1(above) depicts a small group of people, the team of change agents, beginninga trek from the lower left corner. They are in a storm. Visions of a sunnyparadise (upper right corner) feel like fantasy but still capture their imaginationas something they want to achieve, something much better than their current reality.Not quite revealed to them yet is the complex journey they face. Each stepalong the twisted path is a chapter in this book.Since the mission is to implement a project office as a vehicle for organizationalchange, the first step on the journey is to discover the processes necessaryto lead an organization to change. Following the process outlined in Chapter One,the team identifies many clear dangers. Some of these dangers may lead to sidetracksor discontinuing the journey. To go onward the change agents need to createor identify a sense of urgency for the change among other members of theorganization as well as determine how their efforts will add value to the organization.Once they figure this out, the team realizes it has little chance of successwithout developing some clout to deal with powerful political forces. The change agents understand that few people will listen to them just because they have a goodidea. So the next step on the journey is to develop political acumen, a powerfulsponsor, and a coalition of organization members that help guide them on theirjourney. With backing from that group, they proceed to focus on what functionsthe project office will perform, how those functions will add value to the organization,and how they expect those functions to expand and grow. This vision andstrategy is put into a succinct plan and a language that others in the organizationunderstand so that the team of change agents can tell their tale—harness internalsupport—to enlist the help of the entire organization.This period spent creating the conditions that will enable change is critical tothe success of the entire endeavor. Project managers recognize this time as akinto the preparation of a project plan, which indeed it is. It is also the honeymoonperiod for the project team, for during this time—while the project office is beingdiscussed—it will not yet affect people’s lives. That being the case, the project teamcan expect that serious opposition will not yet be formed. This is analogous to the“hundred days” that new U.S. presidents typically have before serious oppositionmounts to their policies and programs. The change agent team can expect seriousopposition to arise after this part of the journey is completed. Not known yetis what awaits them in the middle section of Figure I.1. Implementation usuallyrequires invading new territories or jungles—other functional areas or businesses.Sensing invaders, the lions, tigers, and bears emerge from hiding places in the forest,ready to attack. For the change agent team to be ready for this opposition,they need to develop political acumen while time is available.Since the first part of the journey is a planning period, the team can expectthe usual problems associated with project planning. Some will say the planningis a waste of time. Some may press for quick results and eschew the entire idea ofplanning. Others may agitate to quicken the process and get into action sooner.But project and program managers know better. They know that planning is essentialfor success and can easily take 40 percent of the entire time allotted to aproject. For those who insist on skipping this first phase and taking a shortcut, weoffer two cautionary tales.Cautionary TalesLands beyond the bounds of the known world tantalized the imaginations of ancientscholars, inspiring visions of a lush empire far to the south. Maps, drawnfrom supposition and mysticism, identified this area as Terra Incognita, the unknownland, newly discovered but not yet fully known. Only centuries later when bravesailors traveled south did they discover the world was much different. As we now know, the maps were incorrect, and their assumptions were false. However, whatlies beyond boundaries is always mysterious and awaits discovery. The emptinesstantalizes us to explore and conquer this space.Organizational change agents exploring the future of project managementface similar challenges as the earlier explorers. Misconceptions abound about whatis possible. Newly discovered fads drive managers to launch ill-conceived projectsor initiatives. Modern explorers also face unknowns, resistance, and chaos.More recently, in the spring of 1846, a group of immigrants set out from Illinoisto make the two-thousand-mile journey to California. They planned to usethe well-known Oregon Trail. One part of this group, the Donner party, was determinedto reach California quickly and so decided to take a shortcut. They traveledwith a larger group until reaching the Little Sandy River. At this point thelarger party turned north, taking the longer route up through Oregon and thento California. The Donner party headed south, taking an untried route known asHasting’s Cutoff. Since no one, including Hastings himself, had ever tried this cutoff,they had little idea of what to expect. Their first barrier was the Great SaltLake Desert, where they encountered conditions that they never imagined—searingheat by day and frigid winds at night. A more formidable barrier was encounteredin the Sierras. After a severe snowstorm on October 31 blocked thetrail, the party was forced to camp in makeshift cabins or tents just to the east ofthe pass that today bears their name. The majority of these unfortunates spent astarving, frozen winter—the worst ever recorded in the Sierras—trapped in themountains. The few survivors of that camp, who wound up resorting to cannibalismto make it through the winter, reached California long after the other membersof the original Illinois group—and in far worse spirits.The first conclusion that can be drawn for the project office team is that manyhave gone before you with a journey of organizational change. Their collectiveexperience forms the equivalent of the Oregon Trail, a process showing a knownway to reach the desired goal. Although this path may seem long, ignore it at yourown peril. Second, although the Oregon Trail was well known and well traveled,it was not necessarily easy. There were many difficulties along that trail and nodoubt some people died even though they were on the known route. So taking theOregon Trail is no guarantee of success—but it seems to greatly increase thechances. Finally, taking a shortcut leads into unknown territory like the Great SaltLake Desert or Terra Incognita—the unknown land—as illustrated in Figure I.1.The route may look good on the map, but the map is not the territory. The bestadvice we give those considering a shortcut is from Virginia Reed, a Donnerparty survivor, who said, “Remember, never take no cutoffs and hurry along asfast as you can.”