QUICK TAKES


MANAGING ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Whether it’s transforming your go-


to-business model or instituting a new technology platform to manage custom- ers, change isn’t easy. If it were, people wouldn’t be so resistant to it. McKinsey research shows that barely a quarter of all


transformation initiatives


Writing recently in Harvard Business Review, author and expert Greg Satell offered four tips for managing organiza- tional transformation.


But first, if you take only one thing


away from this piece, make sure it’s this: “In my research of transformative


political revolutions, social movements, and organizational change, successful efforts not only identify resistance from the start but also make plans to overcome those who oppose the transformation,” Satell writes. “And it’s done not with bribes, coercion, shaming, or cajoling, but by enabling others within their orga- nizations to drive change themselves.”


1. Start with a small group. Forget


your flashy transformation “kick-off.” While creating momentum by commu- nicating your goals from the outset can be effective, it only works if you already have a consensus around the initiative. Here’s the thing, Satell writes: “If your initiative is truly transformational, you are guaranteed to encounter fierce oppo- sition. And if you start with a big rollout campaign that presents the change initia- tive as a fait accompli, the battle lines will be drawn and your opposition will be loaded for bear.”


“Most successful transformations


begin with small groups that are loosely connected but united by a shared purpose,” Satell continues. “They’re made of people who are already enthu- siastic about the initiative but are willing to test assumptions


6 VE L O C I T Y ® VOL. 21 ISSUE 3 2019


and, later, to recruit their peers.” While leaders can amplify the voice of


these succeed.


small groups, the real convincing can be done most effectively by the foot soldiers. This case study from Wyeth Pharmaceuticals is a nice illustration of the bottom-up philosophy in action.¹


2. Identify a keystone change. While


every change effort begins with some kind of what Satell calls a “grievance” – an effort to fix or improve something in the organization – most problems worth solv- ing have interconnected root causes. So while good leaders will try to transform the problem into a “vision for tomorrow” that moves the organization forward, this kind of wholesale change is near-impossi- ble to achieve in one fell swoop.


This is why Satell recommends iden-


tifying a single keystone change that is a tangible, involves multiple stakeholders and greases the skids for the even bigger, truly transformational changes ahead. To illustrate, Satell shares the story of how Experian not only successfully moved its infrastructure to the cloud but also launched a new platform that became the fastest-growing part of its business.2


3. Network the movement. Despite


the public’s tendency to associate iconic, large-scale change with a single, char- acteristic advocate – think Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mohandas Gandhi, Lou Gerstner (IBM) or Paul O’Neill (Alcoa) – the truth is always much more complicated. Gen. Stanley McChrystal


1 “Wyeth Pharmaceuticals: Changing the Mindsets and Behaviors of 17,000 People...One Person at a Time,” Stanford Graduate School of Business, 2009. https://www.gsb.stanford. edu/faculty-research/case-studies/wyeth- pharmaceuticals-changing-mindsets-behaviors- 17000-people-one


2 “How Experian’s Digital Transformation Brought Its Business To An Entirely New Level,” Digital Tonto, Nov. 14, 2018. https://www. digitaltonto.com/2018/how-experians-digital- transformation-brought-its-business-to-an- entirely-new-level/


defines effective leadership as “a complex system of relationships between leaders and followers, in a particular context, that provides meaning to its members.”


Writes Satell: “Every large-scale change requires both leadership at


the widening and deepening of connec- tions through wooing – not coercing – an ecosystem of stakeholders.”


4. Surviving victory. If a company lets


up after meeting its initial goals, it will be liable to find itself in trouble once again. Writes Satell: “Often the most dangerous part of any transformation effort is when the initial goals have been met. That’s why successful transformation leaders focus not only on immediate goals but also on the process of change itself.” n


the top and


Adapted from “4 Tips for Managing Organizational Change,” HBR.com, Greg Satell, Aug. 27, 2019. https://hbr.org/2019/08/4-tips-for-managing- organizational-change


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