“If we continue to do what we’ve always done, we’ll continue to get what we’ve always got.”
~Henry Ford
In 2015, McKinsey wrote No Ordinary Disruption: The Four Global Forces Breaking All the Trends.[1] These were, and still are Urbanization, Technology, Demographics, and Globalization. While there are many books and articles out there, that one provides a very good analysis of what we might expect in coming years – and there will be significant disruptive change.
Editor’s Note: See Part 1
Although we are optimistic about the willingness of people to change, especially in the US, a fairly recent survey by Raconteur.net, a company in the UK that specializes in trends and reports for industry, showed that 57 percent of senior executives admitted that the pace of change was taking them by surprise, and 42 percent were concerned about their company’s future relevance in the light of change. So clearly, there is a belief that people are not sufficiently open to change.
So how do we go about coping with change? We must first find the right stories to tell current and future employees. We must enlist the support of those who welcome change; we need to show those who might consider changing why it is in their best interests to do so, and we need to bring along the rest by whatever persuasion we can muster, or else suggest that they leave. That may seem harsh, but having people in an organization that are unable to change, or worse, are fighting the change is not good for them or the organization. However, before we go so far as dismissing them, we need to listen to their arguments for resisting change, because they are often the people who alert us to the advantages in the current situation that we do not want to lose—in other words, not “throwing the baby out with the bathwater.”
Using Our 11-Step Vision-Based Planning (VBP) Process for Changing Cultures
Why change? In essence, you, the leader, believe and assert that the future will look significantly different from the past and even the present. While your organization may continue to do some similar things, it will do them in different ways. (This is the most obvious application of technology.) But new technologies and approaches may allow us to do many more new things than the old organization even dreamed of. So the emphasis on vision is important in changing culture. In developing this new vision, you must think futuristically and creatively before considering constraints, such as budgets, policies, and procedures. You must also think systemically, seeing the new organization and its environment as a total system and examining its roles and missions from that broad perspective.
Our VBP process lends itself beautifully to the process of changing cultures. While you could determine the new vision on your own, a vision developed by an entire leadership team (usually immediate subordinates who command sub-organizations or component divisions, and perhaps their immediate subordinates), plus other key stakeholders, commands far more buy-in and commitment. As we’ve said earlier, we suggest including a few young mavericks, as they are more likely to think more unconventionally than the older leadership. Only by creating this broad, shared perspective can the leadership of the various sub-organizations or component divisions see the benefits that the new vision and plan would bring to themselves and to their own organizations, even if they must reorganize to realize them. This takes courageous leaders who can not only lay out their ideas but also commit themselves to considering the ideas that emerge from the group.
In some situations, you may already have a vision and believe strongly in it, and must develop a plan to achieve it. Under those circumstances, you should make that vision as open and “unfinished” as possible so all stakeholders can interpret it in ways that make sense for their own parts of the organization. The emphasis, in this case, belongs on the ways in which various parts of the organization can contribute to the overall vision and plan.
It is worth noting that the Vision and Strategic Plan come first. Then the culture and organization is changed to facilitate the implementation of the plan. We have been amazed at how often we have seen the leadership of an organization try to “put the cart before the horse.” The ideal way to accomplish this is during the VBP process. We need to start with the story of why the organization needs to change. What is happening in the external environment that necessitates change? What do future scenarios look like? What will happen if the organization doesn’t change? We use all this as part of the Expansionary and Exploratory Phase in the VBP process. Having then developed the Vision, Mission, and Values, we then ask each participant how their part of the organization can contribute to making the Vision a reality. What can it contribute? What can it do? What can it develop? From the answers to those questions the Top-Level Goals and any eventual restructuring of the organization emerge. The restructuring and cultural changes are finalized after the participants have gone through the rest of the process. That is how it happened in the example given earlier in Part 1 of this article of the high-tech organization with six divisions that were kluged together.
Blocks to Change and How to Overcome Them
Some of the main blocks to change are the middle managers. These are frequently people who have been in the organization for some time, they (think) they know how it works, they don’t like change, and they are sure that whatever changes are made will mean more work for them. This may seem rather cynical, but we have seen it and heard about it many times.
The first thing to do is to ensure that everyone in the organization knows what is in it for them. It may be the anticipation of increased pay or job opportunities. It may mean just getting them to understand that the changes will produce real benefit for the organization, which will eventually be passed on to them in some form. One of the techniques we often recommend is that you and your leadership team speak directly to the people on the shop floor, or at the pointy end of the spear. You explain that you want everyone to contribute to the new Vision, and if they have ideas about how they can do that, and you adopt them, you will give them an incentive bonus or prize. This not only results in some good ideas, but it puts pressure on the hesitant middle managers.
In summary, the three key ideas for changing cultures are:
Develop a new story that makes sense to most of the people involved. In organizational terms, this is usually the vision of what the organization should be, plus a description of what it wants to do, why it wants to do it, and how it wants to do it. Then communicate that story in ways that resonate with people—using elements of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic communication.
Identify and communicate “what’s in it for them” to the people who are reluctant to change. Usually this is done best by involving the entire leadership of the organization to get buy-in and commitment.
Ensure that the values of the organization are aligned as closely as possible with those of its workforce.
One final comment about the VBP process: All members of the leadership who have participated in the workshops have the materials, worksheets, tools, and visual aids from them. We recommend that all the leaders go back to their organizations and take their subordinates through a similar, although shorter, process. The focus at this level should be “How can we, as a team, contribute to the overall Vision, Mission and Strategic Plan?” This approach to cascading the results down through the organization can be very powerful.
In some cases, where it is difficult for individuals in leadership or management to handle the change, yet it is critical, there are executive coaches who can be brought in to help.
Key Points from this Chapter
Increasingly fast-paced change in the external world is creating the need for organizational change.
Even when the leadership of an organization realizes that, they often experience significant resistance from the rest of their organization, especially middle management or mid-ranking officers.
You, the leadership, need to be very clear about the reasons for change—both logical (head) and emotional (heart)—and to communicate both effectively.
VBP produces:
- A strategy that is developed from both a logical/rational perspective (head) and a creative/emotional one (heart).
- Much greater buy-in and genuine commitment to the vision and strategic plan, resulting in a much smoother, faster, and more effective implementation.
Editor’s Note: This Article is excerpted from Strategy with Passion: A Leader’s Guide to Exploiting the Future by MacNulty & Woodall
[1] Dobbs, Manyika & Woetzal, McKinsey & Company
