35 - Change Management - Strategic Insights

[Change Management - Strategic Insights]
Change is constant in business, especially in these times of globalization and

rapid technological progress. As every CEO would have experienced,
executing large scale transformation programs across the organization can be
quite challenging and a lot of such initiatives either fail or underachieve their
objectives. This white paper would present few strategic insights into how
organizations should approach enterprise-wide transformation programs.
Focus on the People Part of the Change
Most change initiatives fail because they do not address the people dynamic
and culture shift issues. The inherent uncertainty present in the change is
probably an important reason. Any transformation program that seeks to
change the very fundamentals of how an organization functions must first
address the challenge of making people change their long established
behaviors, structures and working practices.
The CEO Must Display a Strong Commitment
Unless the CEO makes a strong case for the change initiative by clearly and
persuasively communicating the need to change and the factors driving that
change, organization is unlikely to take transformation program seriously. The
CEO must articulate the current state of business climate and the reason why
the organization must change.
By communicating the impetuous for the change in honest, clear and

unambiguous language, CEO must maintain a sense of urgency across the
organization and continue the same enthusiasm and commitment till the end of
the program.
Set Aggressive Enterprise-Wide Targets
The senior leadership must put big and audacious goals that force people to
think beyond their business-as-usual thinking patterns. However, it must also
present the rationale for this change that convinces and forces people to think
big.
The leadership must also present a plan that is market-backed. Jumping without
hammering out all the details and then adjusting the targets and objectives will
send wrong signals to the organization. Such indecisiveness and wavering
attitude will throw the organization down the slippery slope of mediocrity.
The Top Level Management Must be Firmly Aligned
The CEO must be able to get the ‘buy in’ from all the top level managers. He
or she needs to get their positive emotional commitment toward the change
even if they do not like it. Every person in the senior level management must
be ready to own the problem and shoulder the responsibility. Unless people
sense coherence in the attitude senior managers bring to the transformation
initiative, employees are unlikely to commit themselves fully to the change.
Make your managers personally express their commitment in their words. Let
them publicly articulate their rationale for the change and willingness to own
the problem. As managers are likely to be entrenched in their silo mentality,
CEO should consider a range of incentives to align them toward the change
initiative. Engage those who are reluctant to participate and understand their
concerns through genuine exchange of opinions and ideas.
Initiate an Enterprise-Wide Change Program
In the current climate of complex business processes and systems, various

functional units of an organization get strongly entrenched in their day-to-day
activities and may sometimes miss the connection to enterprise-wide concerns
and problems. By creating a change initiative that encompasses all the
functional units of the organization you increase the chances of success of the
program.
Establish and encourage cross-functional teams that approach the

organizational concerns with a more holistic manner. Let your managers and
executives understand that by being part of this change initiative they make
themselves more relevant to the organization’s future. An enterprise-wide
transformation usually changes the business model in a fundamental way and
there is a strong need to make use of integrated teams in this effort.
Focus on Developing and Reinforcing the Required Capabilities
By over-communicating the need to learn new behaviors and develop new

skills, you make the people to view the change in terms of growth, learning and
as an opportunity to improve. Focus on what they need to do to augment the
new capabilities than on what they need to lose or stop doing.
Such a forward-looking positive vision highlights what’s best in the change and
diverts the attention away from the pain of changing the old and established
patterns of thinking and behavior.
Prepare a Comprehensive Change Plan with Detailed Blueprints and Action
Plans
The change initiative must be supported by a comprehensive plan that clearly

identifies the targets and objectives of all the stakeholders involved. It should
outline the steps and actions to be taken by the employees to achieve their new
goals. Communicate the roles and responsibilities of the people in the new
environment and address the change management issues they are likely to
encounter at various stages during the transformational process.
To design such an effective plan, the management must engage all the key
figures from various business units and functional teams. The key is to involve
managers to chart their own map of change and make them own it.
Proactively Engage Your People
Large scale transformations require changing people’s perceptions, attitudes,

behaviors and thinking patterns. To successfully execute any change program,
you must constantly work on people activities. Developing and aligning the
leadership, communications and stakeholder management, deeply involving
people affected by the change in the program itself, focusing on learning and
developing activities, aligning the business systems and structures to support
behavior change and training people to adapt to the change are some of the
most important people activities that have powerful impact on the objectives of
any enterprise-wide transformation program.
Sustain the Change
Keep accountability measures, incentive structures and performance

management measures in place even after achieving the financial objectives of
the program to make the change permanent and to prevent people from slipping
back to old habits. Strengthen and reinforce your organizational structures,
incentives and budgets to consolidate the newly acquired capabilities. Avoid
declaring your victory too soon. Understand that the program is successful only
when the new capabilities do not require any resource addition for their
sustainment.
Conclusion
One thread that connects all these insights is the necessity of a sustained and
focused leadership. The top level management must be exceptionally
disciplined in leading themselves and others to create any meaningful and
lasting change in the organization.

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[Change Management - Strategic Insights]

Change is constant in business, especially in these times of globalization and

Focus on the People Part of the Change

The CEO Must Display a Strong Commitment

By communicating the impetuous for the change in honest, clear and

Set Aggressive Enterprise-Wide Targets

Initiate an Enterprise-Wide Change Program

In the current climate of complex business processes and systems, various

Establish and encourage cross-functional teams that approach the

Focus on Developing and Reinforcing the Required Capabilities

By over-communicating the need to learn new behaviors and develop new

The change initiative must be supported by a comprehensive plan that clearly

Proactively Engage Your People

Large scale transformations require changing people’s perceptions, attitudes,

Sustain the Change

Keep accountability measures, incentive structures and performance

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