i

HOW WILL YOU

RESPOND?

Change IsConstant

PERFORMANCEMATTERSSolutions That Perform

CHANGE

MANAGEMENT

Finding the Order in Chaos

PRODUCT UPDATE

Certification in Applied CRM Strategy

CUSTOMER DRIVEN CHANGE

Performance Really Matters

V O L 1 | I S S U E T W O | FA L L 2 0 0 7

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3Customer-Driven ChangeTo drive the customer experience, performance really matters.

Culture Change: Transforming Culture to Improve PerformanceChanging an organization’s culture is a key approach to overcoming the barriers to improving performance.

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PERFORMANCEMATTERSIn

sid

e

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Managing Change: A Terrifi c Opportunity for RWD

There’s no question that the introduction of new

technologies has initiated major changes in all kinds of business and government processes. We should know. It’s been RWD’s objective to help clients deal with these pressures and turn them into opportunities for improvement—ever since RWD was founded two decades ago.

It’s become apparent to everyone at RWD that applying our toolkit across a variety of industries is just the beginning

of the transformation process. We see a much bigger challenge coming our way, and that’s what this Performance Matters newsletter is largely about: Change Management.

At any given moment, millions of employees and managers have to cope with change, which is analogous to having the ground shifting beneath their feet. In today’s fast-moving business environment, change comes from many directions and in many forms, such as reorganizations, downsizings, acquisitions, divestitures, new management, new processes and new technologies.

Going forward, RWD sees a signifi cant opportunity to help our clients manage the

negative impacts of change on their people and turn them into positives. Beyond just dealing in the nuts and bolts of processes, we immerse ourselves in organizational cultures—from behavioral standards and group norms to work environments and institutional iconography. After we map out the cultures of clients’ organizations, we help their personnel learn how to adjust quickly and effectively to the shifting environment.

I believe the ability to adapt to change is just as important to ongoing success—if not more so—as any of the other major tools organizations use to adapt and grow. RWD is eagerly looking forward to bringing our

wide range of expertise to help you change and adapt for the future.

DR. ROBERT W. DEUTSCH | CHAIRMAN

This second issue of Performance Matters is all about change and how companies and individuals respond to it. We’re no strangers to dealing with change ourselves —as we have spent the better part of the past year creating and rolling out a new brand identity—anchored by a circle icon.In fact, the message behind the new circle icon—both in it’s animated form, and it’s fi nal glowing form—is that it represents, visually, the benefi ts a company can experience from working with us through the process of change.Any number of clichés could be inserted here, but, yes, change can be a good thing—it all depends on how you look at it. So, take a look at these articles and let me know what you think.

SUE VARNER | EDITOR

Corporate Marketing & CommunicationsFor questions and additional information on the content of this newsletter contact Sue Varner at 1.800.677.3688 or svarner@rwd.com.

A MESSAGE FROM Dr. Robert W. Deutsch

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Change Management: Finding the Order in ChaosMuch like a handful of coins,

change management begins with the simple ability to sort things out.

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The Case for ChangeWhy change? Why not? What’s in it for me? Examine and answer key questions. 6

The Human Factor of Change: Walking in Other People’s ShoesThe most complex, challenging, fascinating and critical aspect of change—people.

The Change LifecycleGoing through the stages achieves successful and lasting change.

Certifi cation in Applied CRM Strategy How you can tap into the minds of leading thinkers on CRM strategy. 10

Understanding, Planning for, and Managing the Impact of Technology ChangeUse the power of changing technology to your advantage. 2

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Message from Dr. Robert W. Deutsch Change is an opportunity to grow.

The term “change management” tends to leave people in the dark, often seeming vague and somewhat mystical. “Does it have something to do with counting pennies,” you might ask?

CHANGE MANAGEMENT Finding the Order in Chaos BY JAMES HUNT

Finding effective ways of dealing

with uncertainty can go a long way

toward keeping you on track with

your work and career.

Quoted in Corporate

Incentive Travel

magazine, recognized

problem-solvers give this

advice:

1Ignore those who say it won’t work, and stay positive. Whether the change is in a

process or in a business plan, people in every kind of business have had to make the “back to the drawing board” decision, have coped with it, moved on, and were

better off for doing so.

2Keep your sense of humor, no matter what. One of the

most diffi cult aspects of change is coping with the details. Don’t let the small stuff get you down.

3Get prepared. Take time to decide what kind of background

information you will need, and fi nd it. Remember that every kind of business is making basic changes now, so you aren’t alone.

4Look for the silver lining. You will learn more with any change, and some problems

you had before will be solved by doing things the new way.

5Take time to relax before a meeting and at the end of the

day. It’s important. Take twenty minutes before

going to bed to read or to relax with television. It will help you to realize that there’s more going on in the world.

COPING WITH CHANGE

The Grass Isn’t Always Greener On the Other Side!

Be the change you want to see. GHANDI

2

ChangePERSPECTIVES ON

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. JOHN F. KENNEDY

In truth, it has little to do with a pocket-full of change

and, yet, many similarities.

Change management is more a leadership skill, than an actual job position or title. It is the ability to take any change that affects a company, and to establish a sense of calm and order, out of what many may perceive as a chaotic situation. The changes can vary, some examples being the introduction of a new software program, a change in management, or even something as drastic as relocation. All of these things can create a sense of confusion and frustration in the workforce. Change management is needed, in order to keep the train on its tracks, and to help employees adjust as quickly as possible.

Change managers possess the ability to analyze the situation, set up public relations with those it affects, and to motivate the

workforce towards acceptance of this change. Their purpose is to jump right into the mess, grab everyone’s attention and point out a goal, in such a fashion that it is understandable and will encourage others to reach for it. Developing a team, establishing individual jobs, and determining a team leader quickly tips the scales, changing chaos into order. While people typically resist change; most embrace it, when shown a route to overcome it.

A valuable asset to any company, change management is essential to making things run smoothly. Much like a handful of coins, it begins with the simple

ability to sort things out

and, when used correctly, adds up to money in the bank. While it’s not always easy to turn a chaotic workforce into a smooth-running operation, change management develops a sense of order and motivates the team towards adopting the change. Once that is accomplished, you’ve won the hardest battle.

ARTICLE SOURCE: www.articlesnatch.com

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest.

CUSTOMER DRIVEN CHANGE To Drive the Customer Experience, Performance Really MattersGlobal business has changed and will continue to move into a customer experience driven direction for as long as we can foresee. Your customers are making decisions based on the experience they have with your company, not just on the quality of your product or service.

Customer ExperienceC

usto

mer

Stra

te

gy

Customer Facing Employee Performance

CRMResults

FIGURE 1.

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create the customers’ desired experience in concert with the brand promise, it makes little sense to “automate” them. Most companies are now at the stage where they need to re-assess not only the value proposition customers’ demand, but also, what business transformational change will be required to realign their organizational performance with those new market demands.

The diagram, Customer Experience Adaptive Culture (see Figure 2, right), shows the high level systemic changes required to make such a change successful.

Creating a sustained and adaptive customer-centric culture requires all of these elements to be coordinated.

• Senior cross-functional leadership that demonstrates commitment to excellence in total company performance to create valued customer experience takes an aligned vision based on customer insights.

• Creating a communication architecture involving customer dialogue, as well as all targeted roles, levels, functions and geographic constituencies, helps keep understanding involvement and commitment growing throughout the transition.

• Having an infrastructure in place that allows for knowledge exchange and learning from one another not only multiplies the capabilities of people in the organization to respond to customer demands, but also creates and sustains the metabolism for change.

It may take serious re-examination of the integrity of the performance and talent management systems to ensure that what customer-facing employees are being asked to do and rewarded for is in line with what customers value.

Products and services alone no longer determine

buying patterns. Old concepts of customer satisfaction and loyalty are giving way to “advocacy,” trust, the basis of who they “enjoy doing business with” and who they believe has their best interests at heart. The evolution of customers taking control of their buying decisions has turned into a revolution over the last two years.

The amount of choice and information about customer experience available from multiple channels, blogs, search engines, wikis, and other “Customer Relationship Management (CRM)” media allow customers to make their own decisions about with whom they can best do business,

and of those choices, who is most likely to work with them around their style of interaction and purchase experience. The early days of CRM made it in some cases easier for companies to do business with their customers. Now those businesses have to re-think, re-design, re-tool and re-energize their CRM to make it easier and more value driven for their customers to do business with them. Evolution from CRM to Customer Experience Management (CEM) represents a major change for customers in control of businesses’ bottom line.

As businesses begin to experience the market reacting differently, what are some of the serious questions that must be asked?

• What experiences do our cus-tomers expect and value from

us?

• How do we need to respond to the mar-

ket differently?

• Does our busi-ness and cus-tomer strategy need to change?

• Are our full cycle customer fulfi llment pro-cesses effective?

• Are our cus-tomer-facing em-

ployees supported in creating the customer

experience they expect?

• Is our CRM technology appropriate and effective in supporting them?

• What new measures of business success do we need to explore?

These strategic questions point to serious business transformations and organizational cultural changes to stay competitive with companies that are already ahead in their customer-centric business transitions.

The three critical dimensions (see Figure 1, below left) and their alignment must be analyzed.

Ensuring that customer-facing employees, who create all the “Moments of Truth” for customers, are performing in alignment with the customers’ expectation is essential. Are the employees guided by a customer strategy, across all functional areas of the company, which also needs to be in line with those customer expectations? Measurement of return on customer lifetime value is based on how well the company is able to focus on and articulate these dimensions.

The fi rst two waves of CRM application implementations relied primarily on automation to streamline existing sales, marketing and customer service processes—with less than stellar results to show for the efforts. Without re-examining processes that

Continued on next page

to explore the barriers to better customer response, it will be helpful to implement organizational restructuring requirements that reduce layers and “silos” that interfere with better customer understanding and faster response.

As more information about cus-tomers’ expectations becomes available, team work within the company often involving customer participation for prod-uct and service innovations, requires the acquired skills and

UNDERSTANDING, PLANNING, & MANAGING

Providing employees with the learning

and performance support tools to help them more quickly adapt to changing customers’ expectations shortens their time to competency in responding to their changing

demands.

When beginning

Customer Experience Adaptive Culture

CustomerCentric Strategy

Alignment withBusiness Process

and TechnicalInfrastructure

LeadershipAlignment

CustomerExperience

CommunicationArchitecture

KnowledgeManagement / Organizational

Learning

Customer FacingEmployee

PerformanceManagement

Customer FacingEmployee

CompetencyDevelopment

CustomerOriented

OrganizationStructure

CustomerFocused

TeamDevelopment

Think what the impact of technology change has been—both expected, and unexpected.

You can now read your email on the couch, from home.

processes to be honed to their highest performance.

When embarking on a serious organizational cultural transfor-mation these elements need to be orchestrated to revitalize the organization’s focus on the new market dynamics. Selecting and implementing the latest, best CRM applications isn’t suffi cient. Customers will compel change or they’ll change with whom they do business. When it comes to customer experience—performance matters.

Continued on page 10

This article focuses on the increasingly important

topic of technological change covering a wide range of areas. These changes span computerization and mobile technology to the signifi cant changes in health treatment such as advances in bio-technology, keyhole (minimally invasive) surgery and new medicines. Each has a very different impact on processes, organizations, jobs and people. It has been said that technological change can lead to revolutions. Therefore, care is required to ensure the revolution is constructive, positive and in the intended direction. Much of the change arises from the opportunities presented by the enabling power of new technologies.

usually creates a huge amount of

disruption and an even greater

set of problems. There are a high number of business failure stories arising simply from an attempt to adopt new technology that happened to be managed badly. So the stakes and risks can be high, both for people, and their organizations.

The Impact of Technology Change

FIGURE 2.

Some people argue that the cycle of technological change is now over its peak and is in decline. However, others believe that the true impact of technological change is only now being both recognized and felt, and it is therefore even more important than ever to think ahead, anticipate, plan and prepare for this certainty.

A number of perspectives can be taken on

technological change. Changes

range from an individual level

to those at an organizational

level for the large, complex

organizational systems. Technological change, like technology itself, can be incredibly powerful for organizations and their employees, if it works! However, just like the technology, if the change doesn’t work, then it

4

The human aspect of technological change is profound. The classic story of children educating their parents on the use of mobile phones and computers is one example. One of the

Every person throughout the organization, from

senior management to the shop-fl oor, is empowered and expected to identify and deploy incremental changes to improve the performance of the organization and become more effi cient and effective—every day. The words “value-add,” “continuous improvement” and “the customer is the focus of everything we do” only have meaning when an organization is created that encompasses all of these values in one system.

It is never an organization that changes, rather the people working in it, and the behaviors they exhibit on a daily basis. Changing

and methods of interaction with colleagues and customers

EVOLVED SPECIALIST SKILLS

Competencies that are handed down from organizational generation to generation that defi ne the workgroup

GROUP SCHEMAS & LINGUISTICS

Habits of thinking and mental models that are taught to new members through early socialization

EMBEDDED SYMBOLS AND ICONS

Group characterizations that manifest themselves in work area layout, buildings, decoration, clothing, slogans and aesthetics

OPERANT CONDITIONING THROUGH RITUAL AND REWARD

The reinforcement, penalization and punishment that apply to desired and undesired behaviors

Few, if any, organizational changes can be made without employee support.

Employee Support

To make a change success-ful, “personal risk” must be reduced. This is perhaps assur-ance that an individual’s role may be up-skilled rather than disappear. By making people aware of the need to change, and dissatisfi ed with the cur-rent situation, there comes a tipping point of acceptance and readiness for change. Success is

Transforming Culture to Improve PerformanceToyota—the benchmark for Lean practice—is one of the most profi table companies in the world and is noted for its culture of continuous improvement.

“What gets measured, gets done.” Measurement motivates.

The Cultural Iceberg

If measurement motivates, the things that should be changed must be measured. But fi rst, the organization must identify and map the current cultural state—both the visible and invisible. The Cultural Iceberg (see Figure 2, above) shows not only what is “above the surface,” it shows the beliefs, attitudes and behaviors that lie beneath the surface of an organization, often unseen and unsaid—all things that may act as barriers to change.

Every organization has its own unique blend of people, customs and behaviors. By recognizing current behaviors, values, skills and group dynamics and tying these to future desired behaviors, a transitional roadmap can be created.

Identifying Factors

BEHAVIORAL STANDARDS

Language, customs and traditions that are employed in a variety of situations

GROUP NORMS

Implicit evolved values – e.g. “a fair days pay for a fair days work,” Long hours culture

VALUES

Articulated group goals such as “highest quality, lowest cost”

BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY

Ideological principles that guide actions within an organization

PROCEDURAL RULES

Implicit regulation, “learning the ropes.” Often picked up by working alongside an existing group member.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

Physical layout of work areas

organizational culture is a key part of overcoming the barriers to improving performance. One method is to change the organization to one that “thinks lean.”

Success Factors Leading to Change

A successful transformation to a lean, continuously improving organization depends on employees changing their way of working and thinking (see Figure 1, below). It is not just about applying tools and techniques to process but also ensuring correct lean behaviors are recognized and rewarded.

A key element is selective performance measurement—

CULTURE

CHANGE

ObservableIcons and Symbols

Declared Vision,Mission andCore Values

Unconscious Beliefs

Operant Conditioning

What’s beneath the surface?

FIGURE 2. The Cultural Iceberg

FIGURE 1. Transformation Success FactorsSUCCESS FACTOR DESCRIPTION

Monitor and Drive Results

• Regular monitoring and reporting of lean initiatives and business impact

• Recognize and celebrate success

• Lean transformation program vs. lean tools/techniques initiatives

• Senior Management sponsorship of the lean transformation

• Executive-driven communication strategy

• Training at every level throughout the organization

• Accountability for results

• Understand customer requirements

• Lean initiatives focused on key performance measures

• Impact quantifi ed and measured

• Right tools applied to the right issues

• Aligned performance measures

• Reward desired behaviors

Focus on Key Performance Measures

Top-Down Commitment

Stakeholder Involvement

Deploy the Right Enablers

5 Continued on next page

“Why are we doing this; how is this going to

help?” is often a cry heard from people in organizations, usually those on the receiving end of change. They only see the negative aspects of the change, and this can be a signifi cant problem for all parties.

These people either do not fully appreciate the reasons for the change, or often see more of the downsides than the upsides. There are a number of reasons for this all too familiar state. People at all levels in the orga-nization often forget that any rationale or reasons for change have to address the wide range of perspectives from all stake-holders involved, each with differing needs, perceptions and interests.

The executive level focuses on the overall strategic direction and the associated business case and fi nancials of the initiative. Businesses are in business to make money. The case will have to demonstrate that the anticipated fi nancial benefi ts far outweigh the costs of the initiative – either revenues up, costs down or effi ciencies up, leading to profi t and earnings improvements,

over a certain period of typically three to fi ve years. The risk is that this is rather an academic exercise as high-level estimates and assumptions are made, usually with a bias on the ‘up-side’ in order to get the project approved. Realistic concerns tend to be pushed aside.

An alternative perspective is that the development of a business case and the creation of a rationale for change is primarily a communication, education, and engagement or consensus building exercise, in addition to a decision-making one.

Once the “go” decision for the project is made, executives will typically move their attention onto the next major challenge. The baton is handed over to middle and junior management to execute. They then have to deal with the challenges associated with delivering the project, and turning the concept into reality, where the “rubber hits the road.”

There are often a number of common mistakes made, which results in the scenario outlined at the top of the article. Too often the business case is produced from a single perspective, and not translated into a message and language

that the more junior members of the organization will be able to relate to, understand or more importantly buy-in to.

Another classic mistake is to omit the very information that will convince staff and workers of the merits and benefi ts of the project. How often in the introduction of a change project or initiative have senior staff either not been present, or stood up and talked solely about the fi nancial (company) benefi ts of the initiative? That information or message does not provide a convincing or compelling reason for all people to change. Now, if the content and emphasis of the presentation was altered so that it talked about the main reasons for the project as being that the competition was changing

and the company was losing customers, thus not initiating the change could cause a loss of jobs, the presentation would be more convincing. Adding that implementing the project would benefi t employees by automating a lot of the routine work, and thus free time up to focus more on the creative aspects of the job, might get an even better response and more positive reception from the staff.

Another critical factor is the extent to which the detailed planning or thinking for the business case has considered the real impact and challenges of the change. At times, the drive to make a compelling fi nancial business case leads to over-optimistic assumptions on the challenges of change, and

adds to the costs of the project.

Everyone is primarily con-cerned with how any change impacts them, and whether it will be for the better or worse—the so-called, “What’s In It For Me (WIIFM)?” The challenge is that all of the benefi ts must be articulated and sold. With the barriers and resistance that is often found against such proj-ects, the trick is to overcome these with a wide range of ben-efi ts and value offered by the project. This needs to be simple. There is a vast difference be-tween people communicating “Why we are doing this?” and individuals asking the question, “Why should I do this?” A mes-sage to executives and sponsors: Tailor the benefi ts message to the specifi c audience. This should be a key lesson for everyone involved in change

projects—tailor the activities to the people concerned.

In summary, although a business case is standard, organizations should change how they approach project busi-ness cases. They should be more detailed, taking into account the true impact, consequences and challenges of the change, with more emphasis placed on communication, engagement and conveying the benefi ts to the range of stakeholder groups involved.

more certain if employees are empowered with the behaviors, knowledge and ability to implement and make changes day-to-day. Reinforcement is necessary to sustain and keep change in place.

Company-Wide Culture Changes Create Strong Benefi ts

Culture change can act as a differentiator, giving an

Executives will typically

move their attention onto

the next major challenge.

The baton is handed

over to middle and junior

management to execute.

THE CASE FOR CHANGE

Combining the Big Picture AND the Details

A message to executives and sponsors: Tailor the benefi ts message to the specifi c audience.

6

organization a competitive advantage in the marketplace. It can help retain good employees and maximize their potential, make improvements sustainable, develop behaviors to support continuous improvement and, most importantly, improve bottom-line results.

The Change LifecycleAt its simplest level change either comes from top-down, or bottom-up. Great organizations use both in equal measure.

undertaken, documents produced. If the idea is proven to have some merit or value, then it is through to the next stage.

From a top-down perspective, it is critical to engage as wide-across section of the relevant company population as possible (see Figure 1, far right).

It is likely that an idea will develop and evolve, possibly

becoming very different than the original idea.

There is in fact a high probability that the original idea will not be deemed a good one. An old maxim says, “there are always more reasons why not to change, than for changing.”

At this stage, a detailed business case will probably be developed. This is the acid test for any new idea – what are the expected or potential benefi ts, what are the costs, and what are the risks and challenges?

Stage 3 – Tools and Barriers for Change

One of the major differences between a project life-cycle and a change life-cycle is what is considered. A critical step in the change life-cycle, which many projects fail to undertake, is consideration of the tools for and barriers of change. Without this consideration, it is diffi cult to know how well the initiative will go, but with this analysis you can almost predict, and therefore prevent the major

7

1 Conception

Stages of the Perfect Change

Life-Cycle

2Refi nement, Clarifi cation & Evolution

3Tools &

Barriers for Change

4Causal Model

for the Change5

Pilot & Readiness for

Change

6Full-scale Planning & Implemen-

tation

7 Sustaining the

Change

8Final Review,

Lessons Learned & Further

Evolution

When contemplating a change initiative, have

you ever found yourself asking the following questions?

• Where does all this change start?

• Who initiates it?

• How do people decide what ideas to execute or not to execute?

• How can I initiate some change in my organization?

This article provides high-level answers to some of those questions and describes a generic life-cycle for a change initiative in an organization, from its initial conception, to its completion and fi nal review. It is important to recognize that this is very different than a project life-cycle. This article will also outline some of the challenges faced at each stage of the cycle, and some of the tricks to achieve successful and lasting change.

At its simplest level in an organization, change either comes from top-down, or bottom-up. Successful organizations use both in equal measure. The challenge for

managers and executives is to encourage innovation and idea generation, but at the same time be aware of the risks of de-motivating staff whose initial ideas are rejected. A description of the stages is outlined here:

Stage 1 – Conception

Without this fi rst step, the generation of ideas, nothing else happens—so it is probably THE most critical step. Everybody comes up with ideas that they believe to be truly brilliant and original. However, these are usually based on one’s own “world view,” and hence other people may not see or recognize the value or benefi ts. Herein lies the fi rst challenge.

Let’s fi rst consider bottom-up change in organizations. It is a proven fact that those who know best are those that do the work. Many people generate ideas such as a fi x to a problem or a better way of doing things, but only a few actually stick their neck out and propose their idea to others.

I cannot say whether things will get better if we change; what I can say is they must change if they are to get better. GEORG C. LICHTENBERG

Too often, poor managers avoid, resist or actively discourage the ideas of workers. The best organizations facilitate ideas from workers, and then support all parties to help implement these ideas.

Conversely, many executive and management teams fi nd and seek to implement

strategies and initiatives ‘top-down’ for those which make sense strategically. They face a similar challenge. Management also believes that these are great ideas, and at times, in their enthusiasm, potentially impose them on staff, with little involvement or participation from them. This typically leads to resistance to the change.

Stage 2 – Refi nement, Clarifi cation and Evolution

This second stage is equally as critical. This is where the idea has to be fully developed

and validated with others involving the bottom-up process.

Meetings are held, investigations

8

FIGURE 1. From a top-down perspective, it is critical to engage as wide-across section of the relevant company population as possible.

risks to the project. Typical barriers to change include resistance, lack of resources, ineffective project scope and boundaries, etc. The good news is that there is a wide range of very effective tools for change, which many organizations ignore or don’t even consider. These include people skills, communication, governance, representation, resources, visible support from executive sponsors, questionnaires, etc.

Stage 4 – Causal Model for the Change

Another unique element of the change life-cycle is to develop a high level causal model for the change. Typically a project team focuses on its deliverables, and does not really consider the work that the rest of the organization needs to undertake in order to realize

the full change with all its benefi ts.

Stage 5 – Pilot and Readiness for Change

At this stage the project has been given a formal “go.” Rarely will a full-blown large project start on this basis. More likely it is a tentative pilot in the fi rst instance. More and different challenges come to light and have to be faced at this stage. A higher amount of questions are asked, from different people this time, possibly from co-workers and either more senior or local management. Decisions need to be made on the scope of the pilot. One strategy is that of business readiness. This approach seeks to instill ownership into the target group

and to get them to consider what needs to be done for the project to be successful. It has proven to be a very important element in most change projects. A vital component of this is stakeholder management, which becomes crucial as the scale of the change initiative broadens and moves from concept to reality.

The results of the pilot are then evaluated. The evaluation determines what happens with the initiative. It is likely that many people will evaluate the pilot, including many of the senior executives.

It is also likely that the business case will have to be revised to account for the learning of the pilot. Equally, it is imperative that project scope and resources are further investigated.

Stage 6 – Full-scale Planning and Implementation

This is where the fun really begins. The number of people that will be involved increases signifi cantly, along with the associated diversity and range of agendas, perspectives, and issues. At this stage, all senior people across the organization need to step up and demonstrate, visibly, their full support and commitment to the project.

The scale and complexity increases signifi cantly at this stage, with the whole organization potentially

involved. Extremely good, solid business project governance is a must for success. This requires key sponsors and executives to be fully involved, participating and managing the issues as they arise. The failure rate of projects highlights the challenges and risks of such undertakings.

Stage 7 – Sustaining the Change

After the fi rst step, this is potentially the second most critical—being able to sustain the change. People often use the analogy of the rubber band to describe a change. Once the implementation is completed, project teams are disbanded and the “pressure to maintain” dissipates. Unless the change has been fully embedded, without the pressure, the risk is that slowly things switch back

to the old ways, the old norms. Hence it is abso-lutely critical to ensure that the focus and change is main-tained, like putting in

place blocks that will prevent a slippage back to the past. If the project is a systems or docu-mentation change, then this is relatively easy—deleting the legacy systems or documents. Another strategy to ensure that change sticks is to put in place metrics that con-tinue to monitor the change and its status. What gets measured gets done.

Stage 8 – Final Review, Lessons Learned & Evolution

Learning is a fundamental part of change.

It is vital for all organizations to be learning organizations, particularly in the area of planning and managing change. After the completion celebrations (which of course are very important to make time for), time should also be committed to ensuring that learnings and post-project reviews are fed back into the day-to-day reality of organizational planning and action.

In summary, this article has introduced the change life-cycle at a high level, and presented the various stages within it together with the challenges and strategies to overcome the change challenges for each step. Recognizing change as a cyclical process is an important aspect of successful change—one that requires much repetition. Being able to overcome the challenge of change is the biggest success factor of all.

THE HUMAN FACTOR OF CHANGE Walking in Other People’s Shoes

Whether it is a manager, a consultant, or even

newlyweds settling down to their life together, the ability of all humans to cope with, respond positively to, and even thrive on change is a remarkable, dynamic characteristic.

This article provides one small but critical perspective on the subject of people’s reaction to change—that of being able to step outside of oneself and peer into the world and minds of others, to see things from the other’s perspective. This is a simple, yet at times diffi cult, task to accomplish effectively in interactions where change is involved. Change is often a very stressful event for people.

There is a story about a man who was on a train and saw

three young, unruly children with their mother, who did nothing to control them. The man became very cross and said something to the mother. The mother then explained that her husband had died recently and she was struggling to cope with life, let alone the three children. Can you imagine the paradigm shift that the man had when he heard her story? Hearing her circumstances must’ve drastically changed his perspective of the situation.

On an individual level, people’s reaction to change can vary greatly, but humans examined as a whole share many of the same feelings. Typically we all have different perspectives, which are often hidden from the view of others. People’s reactions to a proposed change

can at times be interesting and unexpected. People rationalize things in their own way, and the corresponding behavior can sometimes be tricky to understand or explain. The common iceberg principle is useful here, meaning that behavior is only the tip of the iceberg. The challenge is to interpret what is below the water line. What is it that lies beneath that motivates people and has molded them to act and think the way they do? Hence the saying ‘walk in the shoes of others’ is an important one.

Out of this comes the point that communication is probably the most signifi cant factor in determining how an individual interprets change, and therefore responds or reacts to change.

The communica-tion cartoon (left) offers a fantastic illustration of the challenge of people and their perceptions, in a project context.

Communication is evidently a critical part of understanding and behavior.

One of the conclusions from this illustration is that communication, understanding, and interpretation are key elements in the journey and goal of perfect change. We need to see the other’s perspective in order to be able to help them with a change and more importantly position it in the best way to them.

There is a nice model that articulates the essence of this human process through change. It is abbreviated to DREC (Denial – Resistance – Exploration and Commitment, see Figure 1, below). This explains the basic journey that people make when faced with something new, different or potentially frightening. Although generic, this model has proven to be accurate and useful.

One aspect of this is that the typical fi rst reaction to any change is an emotional one rather than a logical or

People. The most complex, challenging, fascinating and critical aspect of change. People are at the very heart of the change challenge.

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FIGURE 1.

Continued on next page

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Continued from page 4

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complex, and the whole purpose of using technology is not for the sake of technology itself, but a greater goal and purpose. The more accurate, descriptive phrase is “IT-enabled business transformation.” In essence, this means that implementing a new IT system allows huge opportunities for business performance improvement. This can be achieved in a variety of ways, starting in the area of access to information, leading to greater productivity and effectiveness. Process re-engineering arises from the introduction of new technology.

The third secret is that the impact of technological change is probably the most under-rated and important facet of change. Take for example, the wide introduction of wireless computer networks – both in the offi ce, at home or even at the airport. Think what the

impact of this has been both expected, and unexpected. You can now read your email on the couch, from home.

The fi nal trick is to invest time and money in preparing the organization and its people for the changes ahead. Tell people why changes will happen, and the impact it will have on them, their role, and their function. Ideally, this will calm any fears or concerns they might have about the technology and its impact. Remember, fear can be an incredibly powerful driver of human behavior.

In summary, technological change is important and complex. Its effects are far reaching—from an individual to organizational level. Thorough preparation and planning throughout the life of the change is critical to its success, and that of the people and organization.

analytical one, which may explain some of the behavior. This is a critical consideration in the planning, management and communication of any change.

In summary, remember that effective and successful change begins with attempting to walk in the shoes of others, to attempt to see things from their perspective. Then, to defi ne an effective positioning and communication plan that will ease the change receiver’s emotional response, and facilitate an effective transition over time to one of full commitment and support for the change.

Understanding,

Planning for, and

Managing the Impact

of Technology Change

typical impacts of technology is that it often leads to fear and apprehension in many people. This has to be managed through training and preparation so that people are comfortable with the change at an individual level.

At the organizational level, where the impact across the whole organization is vast, large complex and organization-wide computer systems are the most challenging. Often the real implications of this technology are not known or defi ned until

people use it and realize the implications and power.

What is the secret to successfully manage technological change?

The fi rst trick is to understand the extent of the change, and more importantly the impact

of the change, and then to manage it. But is it really

that simple? Well, to be honest, no, not really. The following

tricks and secrets break it down.

The second secret is to stop thinking of the phrase “technological change” as one stand-alone concept, but more as one aspect of organizational change. People think of the change being just technology products such as computers, etc. However, the reality reaches much further. The impact is typically diverse and

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Singapore offi ce.

November 11–14, 2007

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