The executive attended the company gathering.  She found herself sitting next to a smart, young employee so naturally wanted to know what the employee thought of the change to customer focus.  The bright young employee happily shared his views.  The executive’s starter question?

What has the change to customer focus meant to you?

The executive heard many nice things.  There were several positive customer stories.  There was a comment about how morale in the employee’s unit had improved over the past months.  After the executive left, the employee turned to the person next to him and asked, “Who was that?”  The answer came quickly.  “Oh, that was the VP of Marketing.”

The bright young star breathed a sigh of relief.  He was glad he had shared positive news.

Great change leaders engage people at all levels and from all parts of the organization in conversation about the change.  A variety of views from a variety of people must be heard and must count.  So, if you’re a change leader, ask questions.  Ask lots of questions.  And ask the questions with the earnest spirit of curiousity, as one who is willing to hear the good, the bad, and the ugly.

What questions do you or should you ask employees about the change?

What answers do you get or anticipate getting?

 

 

My good friend Amy called recently. Apparently, she was recovering from a two-week bout of illness that had befuddled several doctors. And Amy. And Amy’s husband. Turns out that Amy had chicken pox. Yes, chicken pox.

Now, doesn’t everyone know what chicken pox looks like? Acts like? Feels like? How could Amy not know what ailed her? And her husband? But–MOST STRIKINGLY–how could the doctors have gotten it so wrong for those two weeks that Amy suffered?

The doctors–and there were several–told Amy that she had:

• Flea bites.
• Bed bug bites.
• Eczema.

And, I think there were several other theories.

So, Amy did these things.

• Pest control–twice.
• Lotions.
• Potions.
• Medicated baths.

And several other things.

Not surprisingly, nothing seemed to work.

So, Amy suffered. Her husband scoured the web for answers. Finally Amy went to one more doctor.

And, that’s when Amy finally came upon the answer. It seems that the “doctor who got it right” did one thing the other doctors did not. She asked more questions. And, by doing so she:

• Challenged her own assumptions about the situation.
• Kept herself from leaping to a conclusion too soon
• Continued to search for information relevant to the problem at hand.

What was the question that shed light on the real diagnosis? Apparently, the doctor knew from Amy’s medical history that Amy’s brother had chicken pox. Many years ago. What was not clear was whether Amy had chicken pox at that time. Amy’s mother remembered that Amy may have had some suspicious looking lesions, but never really knew whether it was the pox. Or not. All the doctors had concluded that Amy had the pox at that time, so long ago. But, this doctor was different. She thought. And then she asked.

“Amy, how old was your brother when he had chicken pox?”

To which Amy answered, “Five or six.”

To which the doctor asked, “And how old were you at that time Amy?”

And Amy answered, “I would have been one or even younger.”

And so, the doctor concluded that Amy had likely not had the chicken pox at all. Or, if she had chicken pox at the ripe, old age of one–or even younger–it was unlikely that the resulting immunity was enough to sustain Amy at her present age.

Amy had chicken pox after all. What a relief to know! But what a lot of time spent getting there.

For those of us interested in change management, the lesson is simple. But profound.

Ask lots of questions–smart questions–before looking for answers.

Asking the right questions saves time. And money. And pain.

The Toyota Production System–so famous, so remarkable, so successful–echos this lesson. It is said that at Toyota, 80% of problem-solving is spent examining the problem. It’s symptoms. It’s causes. It’s look. It’s feel. All the relevant facts and information. 20% of time is spent on answers. Solutions. The right answer. The plan of action.

Maybe we can use the lesson in change management just as effectively. Maybe we need to spend 80% of our time understanding the current change climate. Understanding the change audience. Weighing the obstacles to change. Planning the change plan of action. And the change communication plan.

After that, perhaps we will be able to spend less time with implementing things. Because we’re fully prepared in the first place.

What are the questions you need to ask about the change you face?

Chris Battell is a member of the Wow! Change Team and is delighted to share her insights, which are acquired from Change Management experts and clients alike.

Want change to succeed? Experts tell us to do the following. Create a sense of urgency! So, how to do that? Well, this post is not long enough to go into every way and means of creating a sense of urgency, but we can illustrate one.

Paint a picture of the Current Reality.

Yes, the Current Reality. Capital letters for an important concept and practice. People need to understand:

• What is the Current Reality?
• What are our strengths and weaknesses?
• What are the common, recurring problems that we may have become too accustomed to?
• What do the customers say about us? Especially, what’s the bad news?
• What are our Top Five Failures of the past year?
• How do we measure up today? What is possible tomorrow?

Can you answer these questions? In detail? How would your people answer the same questions? Would most say, “Oh, we do VERY well!”? And that’s all? What about bad news? Do you face that reality well? Do your people?

More on Create a Sense of Urgency: Facing Reality to Spur Change Ahead

Ralph Green skiis. So what, you say? Well, BIG WHAT, we say. Why? Ralph Green skiis with one leg. Add to that, he’s good. Good enough to be vying for a place on the Olympic Team (the Para-Olympics). Ralph’s story is the story of creating a future out of adversity. Not just because of it. Ralph said on CBS Sunday morning,

“I can’t sit back and worry about the past. I have to make myself a better man for the future.”

We say WOW! Thank you Ralph. You see, Ralph lost his leg while walking the streets of his neighborhood a few years back. Ralph was shot. He was in a coma for several months. To ensure Ralph’s survival, the leg had to go. Ralph did say that the loss was tough. He worried a bit about not being able to keep pace with two-legged people. He feared being different.

More on Skiing Toward Change

I was watching Bill Cosby today. On Oprah. Bill Cosby’s messages offer good food for thought. Today’s message? Well, there were several, but one stood out. In Bill Cosby’s words:

“It’s not what he’s doing to you. It’s what you’re NOT doing that counts.”

Well said. And a good message for any change.

Cosby was referring to the inevitable unfair treatment that many suffer and how–despite the reality of that treatment–the real hope for all of us is to keep our eyes focused on what we CAN DO. It’s all too easy to complain about what’s being done “to us”. And even easier to ignore the part of change we can actually do something about. Our part.

More on Take Charge of Change!

They were flying across the vast terrain of West Texas when the wind storm hit. The passenger in the small plane grew more and more nervous as the windshield view went darker and darker. As hard as it was to keep his nerves steady as the wind whipped and the sands blurred vision, what set the passenger’s nerves even more on edge was the sensation that the plane was progressively leaning more and more to the right. Finally, unable to contain himself any longer, the passenger spoke.

“Jerry, I sense that we are leaning right. Is everything okay?”

More on Feeling Off Course During the Flight Called Change

I have a brother, 15 years younger than I. He is sweet, smart and concientious. He is also an engineer–working at a fairly high level–with a refinery. One day, several years back, my brother–Geoffrey–and I were talking over the phone. Geoffrey was bubbling over with excitement. Why? Culture shift. Geoffrey was in the midst of leading culture shift in his part of the refinery. And he was thrilled with the results. I asked him to send me his documentation and tell me the story, but that is for another blog.

Today’s blog is not about HOW to shift culture. It’s about how to get people MOVING in the first place. Getting change started. What does it take? What works? The experts offer lots of answers. Those answers fall into two categories: pain and pleasure. Pain propels change. Pleasure compels change.

More on Culture Shift and the Power of Pain

A story from the front…30 years back. A true story. Enjoy it. Savor it. Then, ask yourself, “Where is the QMIS Report in my life and work?”

Donna worked with a very large and reputable credit card organization. Midwest based. Not that the location matters much to the story, but lots of folks like those details.

Donna was a newbie. She was a newbie to the workforce and the company. As a tried and true newbie, Donna wanted to do…GREAT THINGS! Who doesn’t? We all want to make our mark on this world, albeit–for many of us–in humble ways.

One of Donna’s first and most pivotal assisgnments was the QMIS Report. This report–so Donna thought–was intended to inform TOP MANAGEMENT about new doings in Quality. Big deal. Or so one might think.

More on QMIS Report Anyone?