“You know Charlie, in this world everything changes
and nothing stands still. In fact change is the logos1 of the
universe”- said Hery.
“ I could not agree more Hery”, “and I would add that
organisms either adapt to those changes or evolve or die”- “Cheers”- said
Charlie
If we could witness Heraclitus[1] and
Charles Darwin[2] talking
over a beer in a pub today we would consider their statements as
self-explanatory, almost obvious, although in their respective time they meant
a disruptive “Weltanschauung” or way of seeing the world.
Are Darwinism and the Logos of the Cosmos theories
recognized and accepted all over the world? With the exception of a few rural
areas of the U.S. where creationists rule and some other remote areas on other
continents, you would think so. Sure? Think again!
Companies are organisms in a changing world. When
conditions change, they need to adapt or evolve, else they will perish. That being
said, you may be surprised to observe how in the corporate world such theories
are well known and positively ignored at the same time. As for any issue in the
business world everything boils down to people.
From what I could see there are 7 types of characters
awaking to life when a change management project starts. These people influence
(drive, support, endanger and sometime hijack) the process; therefore it is
critical for the success of your project that you know whom are you dealing
with. You may have the best plan and abundant resources: yet the success of
your venture (as the general success of any company) depends exclusively on the
quality of people you have on board and on their behavior. In an online
Change Management booklet I found a very amusing and
interesting description of following main players[3]:
1.
The
Visionaries and Missionaries
2.
The Active
Believers
3.
The
Opportunists
4.
The Waiting
Apatheticals
5.
The
Underground Fighters
6.
The Open
Opponents
7.
The
Emigrants
The visionaries and missionaries as well as the active
believers are fundamental to the success of the project. Sometime they need
alignment and coordination, but in general they are low maintenance. If you are
looking for “whynotter” this group of people is where you may find them.
The opportunists will measure the project against
their personal interest. In terms of communication they will praise the project
with their bosses and criticize it with their colleagues (what else would you
expect from opportunists?). Some “yesbutters” are to be seen here.
You will immediately recognize the waiting apatheticals
by one sentence sooner or later pronounced: “we have tried several times and
everything stays the same”. The more you change the more is the same thing or
more charmingly: “plus ça change plus c'est la même chose”. The rest of the
“yesbutters” are here.
The most dangerous species though is the underground
fighter. The underground fighter will do anything possible and impossible to
disturb, damage and possibly stop the project. Without being noticed, of course.
If you apply risk management techniques to limit or control the damage, you may
consider starting here. -hiding but easy to spot-. Beware particularly of those
saying “you have to motivate and convince people”. “Sie müssen die Leute
mitnehmen” in German, which translate into whatever you do, someone will be
upset.
The open opponents may seem difficult to deal with.
However their open critics are often constructive and they may help you
identifying weakness and potential in the change management project.
The emigrants are actually a natural thing to have in
a change management project. People who understand that they will lose their
advantages or position will be looking for a new job elsewhere. As a rule the
best go first. A skilled person leaving the company is always a sad story - you
lose human capital.
Finally, be cautious about the measures of your
success in a Change management: If everybody is happy and pleased, very likely
you have done something wrong.
No pain no gain.
In case you need support on Change Management issues
in Germany please do contact me.
[1]Wikipedia: Heraclitus of Ephesus (Ἡράκλειτος, Herakleitos; c. 535 BC – 475 BC) was a Greek philosopher, known for his doctrine of change being central to the universe, and for establishing the term Logos (λόγος) in Western philosophy as meaning both the source and fundamental order of the Cosmos.
[2] Wikipedia: Charles Robert Darwin, FRS FRGS FLS FZS[2] (/ˈdɑrwɪn/;[3] 12 February
1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist and geologist,[4] best
known for his contributions to evolutionary theory.[I] He
established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestors,[5]and in a joint publication with Alfred
Russel Wallace introduced his scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection, in which the struggle
for existence has a similar effect to the artificial
selection involved in selective
breeding.[6]
[3] http://www.economics.phil.uni-erlangen.de/lehre/bwl-archiv/lehrbuch/kap3/change.htm by Tom Behr, and Tobias Tyll
No comments:
Post a Comment