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• When CEOs Fail To Implement Change and What To Do About It

When CEOs Fail To Implement Change and What To Do About It

written on May 04, 2009 by Eric Kurjan

Change starts at the top.  However, as the CEO or leader of your organization, introducing change - any type of change - is never easy.  A myriad of things can go wrong: the idea is flawed, the timing's not right, people won't buy into it, they're afraid of change, there's no inherent sense of urgency, etc.

Based on our research and field testing, we find that many CEOs are simply spending too much time "running the business" vs. "changing the business".  They're focused on the operational and internal factors of keeping the business running, rather than understanding how to go about changing the business for the better.

Here's your wake-up call.  Consider the alternative by reminding yourself of these three well-know quotes:

• "If nothing changes, nothing changes."
• "When you're through changing, you're through."
• Albert Einstein's definition of insanity: "Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."

Since change starts at the top, how best is it to introduce change?  In his best-selling book, Leading Change, John Kotter revealed why change is so hard, and provided an actionable, eight-step process for implementing successful transformations in organizations.  

CREATE A SENSE OF URGENCY

• Use Team Member Surveys to Clarify the Need.  Help others see the need for change and the importance of acting immediately.  Surveys tell the truth - wanted or not.
• Pull Together the Guiding Team.  Make sure there is a powerful group guiding the change-one with leadership skills, bias for action, credibility, communications ability, authority, analytical skills.

DECIDE WHAT TO DO

• Develop the Change Vision and Strategy.  Clarify how the future will be different from the past and how you can make that future a reality.

MAKE IT HAPPEN

• Communicate for Understanding and Buy-in.  Make sure as many others as possible understand and accept the vision and the strategy.
• Empower Others to Act. Remove as many barriers as possible so that those who want to make the vision a reality can do so.
• Produce Short-Term Wins.  Create some visible, unambiguous successes as soon as possible.
• Don't Let Up. Press harder and faster after the first successes.  Be relentless with instituting change after change until the vision becomes a reality.

MAKE IT STICK

• Create a New Culture. Hold on to the new ways of behaving, and make sure they succeed until they become a part of the very culture of the group.

In his most recent book, Urgency, Kotter shines the spotlight on the crucial first step in his framework: creating a sense of urgency by getting people to actually see and feel the need for change.  Why focus on urgency?  Increasing a sense of urgency is the toughest of the steps leading to effective change.  Without it, Kotter argues, any change effort is doomed.  

As the CEO of your organization, here are the key takeaways for you:

• Get the right help, and use it wisely.  Every CEO faced with the need to address change requires help from an outside trusted advisor.  The challenges are too complex and the problems too tough to overcome alone.  While some consultants and management gurus offer methods for changing attitudes and behaviors, they're often the best choices to, or have the capacity, to help you realize and execute new strategies for change.  A seasoned business coach, one who understands the nuances of organizational change, and how to use proven best practices to implement change, is likely your best bet.
• The enemy of urgency is a full appointment calendar.  Reallocate how much time you spend on "running the business" vs. "changing the business" - spend more time on the important rather than the urgent.
• Behave with urgency every day.  Demonstrate your own sense of urgency always in meetings, interactions, memos and e-mail and do so as visibly as possible to as many people as possible.
• Find opportunity in crisis.  Always be alert to see if crises can be a friend, not just an enemy, in order to destroy complacency.
• Start today.  As best-selling author Gary Harpst says in his book Six Disciplines Execution Revolution, the price of delay can be enormous. "The failure to act on a truth that we know is expensive.  Not acting when you don't know the direction is not delay.  The kind of delay we're speaking of is knowing what to do, but not doing it. Nothing happens - until you start!"

Eric Kurjan is the President of Six Disciplines Ohio Group. Six Disciplines brings "big company" process improvement to organization looking break beyond the status quo. For more information visit www.SixDisciplines.com/Cleveland , or call 419-348-1897.