Change Management

Change Management: Finding the Order in Chaos

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? 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.

James Hunt has spent 15 years as a professional writer and researcher covering stories that cover a whole spectrum of interest.
Read more at http://www.change-management-guide.info

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Ten Parameters of Good Corporate Culture

Sometime in the 1980s, I read a book written by Manfred Kets de Vries who claimed to have found six types of corporate cultures. The most intriguing thesis of the book was that actually most organizations are not sick, but not entirely healthy: the so-called lingering organizations. The other five types of organizations are: the dramatic organization, the depressive organization, the paranoid organization, the coercive organization, and the schizophrenic organization.
The dramatic organization is hyperactive, impulsive, very adventurous and dangerously unrestrained. The decision-makers base their ideas on intuition and impressions instead of facts. The leaders use their charisma to concentrate all the power in the top. They can therefore undertake very risky operations. They do these things to create a completely different environment without really considering the existing business environment. Their goal is unlimited growth. The man in the top wants to be the center of everything. He wants to show what a good leader he is. Without really considering the reality, this kind of behavior can easily result in great disasters.
The depressive organization is characterized by apathy, lack of self-confidence and conservatism. The communication climate is passive and aimless. The activities are implemented according to predetermined programs and routines. The employees are never asked to show initiative. In stable markets, long established companies can withstand many crises despite their depressive state. They can survive as long as the technology and the competitive pattern remain the same. The environment of these organizations is usually protected with trade agreements and fixed tariffs.
The paranoid organization is characterized by extreme suspicion at the top. This is mirrored by the extreme emphasis on procedures which are aimed to collect information and exert control. A complex information system is created to analyze all the dangers of the outside world. Procedures are written down in detailed manner and everybody is obliged to continuously write reports. This need to regulate everything and be alert all the time results in ‘the institutionalization of suspicion’. There are a lot of meetings to collect the same information from different people. The advantage is that the leaders will get the right information, but the side effect is that mutual trust is diminishing. A lot of precious time and energy is lost while the morale is decreasing all the time.
The coercive organization is addicted to rituals. Every move is literally planned. The implementation of the plans is carefully monitored; all activities are usually routine activities. The emphasis is laid on correctness and completeness when the predetermined methods are used. Rituals have become norms. Just like in the paranoid organization, the coercive organization depends on formal control and information systems. There is, however, one important difference; coercive organizations are really meant for monitoring budgets and productivity. The paranoid organization on the other hand, is mainly interested in things which lie outside its span of control.
Like the depressed organization, the schizophrenic organization is suffering from lack of effective leadership. The leaders of a schizophrenic organization are not doing a good job. They are afraid to establish new contacts because they had bad experiences in the past. These leaders have reached a stage in their career in which they are not interested in leading anymore. If they are lucky, this problem is solved by the middle managers, but these middle managers are usually only interested in their own interests. The average middle manager will usually become servants who just want to win the favors of their directors. The directors are constantly in doubt, because they don’t know which proposals to accept from their subordinates. A consequence is that plans are implemented half-heartedly and actions depend on the mood of the day. Lack of consistent and consequent leadership is the most important characteristic of the schizophrenic organization.
The lingering organizations, finally, usually have problems with the central values, norms, and beliefs. If the leaders are not trying to disseminate these aspects or are even against it, subcultures will be created which are not independent. Other characteristics of lingering organizations are: internal company politics is more important than efficiency, promises and deals are oftentimes neglected and the leaders are not really interested of their employees.
So, what are then the characteristics of truly healthy organizations? Here are ten parameters of good corporate culture:
1. Pride of the organization:
Employees defend their company against unjustified critique and they say that they like working for their company;
2. Orientation towards (top) achievements:
‘In our company, everybody tries to do a better job’ and ‘our company is number one and that should stay so’;
3. Teamwork and communication:
Employees listen well and try to understand the ideas/opinions of others and employees and managers really try to help each other;
4. Supervision and leadership:
Managers are really interested in the problems of others and it is customary to ask help when needed;
5. Profit orientation and cost awareness:
All expenditures are evaluated if they are effective or not and all members are strongly thinking about profit;
6. Employee relationships:
Employees are not trying to better themselves from the mistakes of other employees and new employees are accepted quickly;
7. Client and consumer relations:
Everything is oriented towards a better service for the customer;
8. Honesty and safety:
Safety rules are strictly implemented and everybody sees company properties as being sacred;
9. Education and development:
Everybody supports education and training programs and the company really tries to develop its employees
10. Innovation:
Systems and procedures are constantly being pursued and new ideas are always welcome.

My name is Martin Hahn Ph.D. and I am an industrial sociologist with more than 20 years experience in teaching, management consulting, and corporate training. If you would like to get custom-made advice about your communication problems, please feel free to email me at martinmim21@hotmail.com. All requests will be handled professionally and your communication problem will be handled in strict confidence.

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For Change Management Success It Pays To Be Seen

Leadership at organizations undergoing significant change spends a lot of time
talking about the process and explaining it to employees. Communications to
employees can take many forms — from town hall meetings to company
newsletters.
These activities — what I call “active communication” — are very important.
Employees are often confused and concerned by change. Leadership should take
every opportunity to explain how the change will impact the company and
employees’ day-to-day jobs. However, “passive communication” is just as
important — and, in certain cases, can be more valuable.
By passive communication, I mean ensuring that the organization’s leadership
(everyone from the CEO to front-line supervisors) demonstrates to employees that
they are committed to the change process. One way to achieve this is to ensure that
employees see them engaged in change-related activities. This can include:
* Being Seen Learning About the Change: Visible, active participation in
change-related seminars, sessions and other activities is vitally important.
Employees need to understand that leadership throughout the organization is
embracing the process.
* Be Seen Implementing the Change: Employees need to understand that leadership
is going to be accountable and rewarded for the success of change-related projects.
* Be Seen “Talking Up” the Change: Widespread communication about
change-related processes and procedures is important. However, employees may
discount these announcements or view them as company propaganda. The
conversations employees have with their front-line supervisors about the change
often have the most influence on whether employees view it as credible. After
communicating with their supervisors, employees should understand how the
change will improve their work processes, eliminate bureaucracy and improve their
efficiency.
Change management can be a lengthy and difficult process. However, if employees
see leadership taking an active role in the change process, the task can be easier.
(c) 2005 Fard Johnmar

Fard Johnmar is founder of Envision Solutions, L.L.C., a full-service healthcare
marketing communications consulting firm. Envision Solutions provides innovative
products and services to not-for-profit and for-profit organizations. Envision
Solutions’ goal is to make our clients more efficient and successful. For more
information about Envision Solutions please visit our
Web site

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Creating Your Environment for a Different Kind of ?Green?

In the last 35 years, both awareness and concern for our natural
environment have become incorporated into our consciousness.
Natural fibers, recycling, biodegradable goods, concern for natural
habitats, the disappearing ozone layer, and second-hand smoke are all
concepts that have filtered into our personal and business behaviors.
The result of this awareness is a pretty good understanding of the
interdependence we have with our natural environments and reasons to
respect them. I wonder – do we have a similar appreciation for the
contribution of our working environments to our business success? Do
we understand the relationship between the environment in which we
work and our ability to be creative and productive while working? Do
we understand the many ways in which we can create an environment
that fosters important business qualities – loyalty, enthusiasm, desire to
contribute, creativity and productivity – both for ourselves and, if we have
them, our employees?
I’m sure we all remember the popular debate about nature vs. nurture –
the impact of genetic heritage vs. the environment in shaping who we
are, our values, behaviors and attitudes. Regardless of which feature
wins in the end, environment has a huge impact on personal attributes.
We rarely think about this, I’m sure, yet we all inhabit a variety of
“environments” affecting our business life. Some are obvious – we
know that if we’re cold, in the dark and hungry, work is not likely to be at
the top of our priorities until those ‘environments’ are corrected. Some
are not so obvious yet have considerable impact, just the same. And, if
not consciously designed and nurtured, our working environments can
have a major impact on business success, affecting a business’ ability to
attract and keep desirable employees, attendance, creativity,
productivity, general work habits, team effectiveness, use of time,
valuable communications; essentially all those qualities a business
depends on to get the job done.
We can think about this another way. When developing products, don’t
we bend over backwards to give them all the support we can to ensure
they’ll succeed and thrive? We find funds to develop and promote them,
we find champions who’ll support their development, we find partners,
test markets, affiliates and more. Just as you would provide a new
product or service, every working person deserves all the support
available to ensure success – for themselves and for the contribution
they make to your business. Part of this support comes from the
environments in which we all work.
Consider these and how they affect your business:
1. Relationships – Our colleagues, managers, employees, and
associates. The people with whom we have regular contact create an
environment of attitude, either supporting or defeating our efforts to
complete tasks. Are you likely to try something new, submit a proposal,
follow through on a pet project, volunteer your ideas if those around you
are negative, denigrating, rude and unappreciative? Do you think
similar attitudes affect the degree of interest your employees have in
doing excellent work? In wanting to do more than the minimum
required? You bet they do.
On the other hand, an environment of support, regular feedback,
appreciation, ongoing communication, and encouragement for
contribution can be created with little cost and huge payback for your
business.
2. Networks – Our customers, partners, web relations, the ‘6-degree’
circle of associates we all possess. What we know, who we know and
how well we share our knowledge, contacts and tips create an
environment of value. Possessing a mentality of abundance (a
willingness to share, knowing that by giving you get in return, believing
that others’ success can be your success) creates a reputation for you of
great value. A mentality of scarcity (believing that there’s not enough to
go around, that shortage creates value, that fear is a great motivator) is
far less likely to reap you the true rewards of networking: being let into
the enormous webs of valuable connections represented by all those
business cards exchanged at monthly business meetings, luncheons
and seminars.
3. Physical – The things with which we surround ourselves. Yes, as I
pointed out above we don’t work well in the cold or dark and who can
concentrate over a grumbling tummy? Many of us use art, plants or
favorite toys to liven up a work space. Just ask yourself this question:
where are you when you’re doing your best work? If it’s your working
space you’re lucky. Wherever it is, what’s in that space that’s so
supportive of your business activity? Colors you enjoy? Music that
pleases you? Photos that evoke your personal life, hobbies or
passions? Comfortable furniture? Access to others? Solitude?
If you know the things you have in your working space support your
business activity, have you offered the same opportunity to your
employees? If you do your best work when out of the office, how can
you bring to your office those touches that embrace your work habits?
4. Your self – Health, personal gifts, values, energy, the attitude with
which we face the world. We know that when we don’t feel well,
physically, we simply are less likely to produce our best work. We’re
easily defeated by a cold, summer or otherwise. The same can happen
if we’re doing work that doesn’t take advantage of our personal skill set.
I love to write and interact with people in business conversation; if I had
a job that didn’t allow me to do either I’d express far less passion for the
work than if I could express myself through those activities I most enjoy.
Or think how difficult it can be to produce quality work if we’re in an
environment that contradicts our values. If you (or your employees)
have to check your sense of integrity at the door each morning, you’re
coming to work with an important component missing.
Take a look at your employees; is it possible they’re simply not engaged
in the best tasks they could be doing for you? Do you know what their
true strengths are and are those gifts engaged in service to your
business? Do you know specifically why they your employees work for
you and whether you can enhance that reward for them with the right
environment?
Bottom line: Does your place of business provide an environment in
which employees are supported to do their best work for you? Are they
encouraged to learn, read, maintain professional affiliations that will
increase their effectiveness for your business?
Creating an environment that supports your business may be trickier
than just providing the necessary physical tools and working space but it
doesn’t have to be costly. It calls for taking a look at the messages your
employees get from all the environments in which they operate on your
behalf and ensuring those messages say ‘your work is valued and vital
to the health of this business; how can we support you toward that
goal?’
When is the ideal time to create environments that will support all the
work you do to create a business that thrives? NOW. Because
businesses that thrive create their own kind of ‘green’ – and you can
take that to the bank.

Andrea Feinberg, M.B.A., G.C.U., Certified S.B.L. Coach, is president of
Coaching Insight.
Clients identify & maximize the potential in their underused assets such
as processes, reputation, goals, skills, relationships, priorities and
values. The results include enhanced marketing outcomes, productive
and engaged employees, effective time management, goal setting and,
occasionally, time off.
Andrea is a Founding Member of International Association of Coaches
and
Coachville, the world’s largest association of professional coaches and
the small business expert, LongIsland.com. She edited and co-
authored the 2004 award-winning “The Essential Coaching Book:
Secrets to a Successful Life” and has been profiled in The New York
Times, Newsday, Long Island Business News, The Westbury Times.
She has been published in Business to Business, Huntington Chamber
Networks, Creations Magazine, Celebrating You e-newsletter, The
Hauppauge Reporter and is a frequent speaker in the small business
community.
Find her at 516.642.7434 or http://www.coachinginsight.com

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The Fine Art of the Mega Turnaround: Getting It Done When The Cards Are Stacked Against You

Organizations frequently launch great ideas with the anticipation of great success. Unfortunately, unforeseen circumstances often occur that keep the “big idea” from happening. Failure to effectively execute on a great plan puts the organization in a “world of hurt” that results in lost revenue, lost profits, and sometimes lost careers.
Executives and managers find themselves in the “underdog” position with the deck seemingly stacked against them and often feel there is no way out. This is when a mega- turnaround is needed.
Several years ago, I was a Regional Director of Operations for one of the nation’s largest technology enablers in the communications industry. One of the VP’s of the company to whom I reported had an operation in another state that was at great risk. The client was not happy with our results in that operation and we were on the verge of losing not only that contract but two others that were linked to it. My boss and I flew in to meet with the client and try to salvage the operation. After some reasonable “crow-eating” we were given a final chance to turn it around. On the way back to the hotel, my boss looked at me and said, “I’m making this your project. The reputation of the company and the livelihood of a lot of people is in your hands. I want you to fix it ‘the Rory way’ and get the results you get in your other operations.” Needless to say, overwhelmed was an understatement.
As I lay in the hotel room staring at the ceiling, I wondered what the VP meant by “fix it the Rory way”. What is the “Rory way”? I pondered this for several hours and began looking back over my career, my college years, high school, and my childhood. The common thread that I found running through my life was that I had always been in the underdog position. The deck had always been stacked against me. Yet, somehow I had developed instincts and strategies that overcame the obstacles and propelled me to success. The fine art of the mega turnaround is what my boss had called “the Rory way” and my inability to recognize it was due to the fact that it had become so instinctive that I had never bothered to think about the strategies.
Within a very short time, my newly acquired team and I had performed a mega turnaround. The client was getting the desired results, my boss was happy, our employees kept their jobs, and in fact, everyone was making more money!
There are several strategies that anyone can utilize to execute a mega turnaround. One key strategy is the concept of simplicity. Everything in life is simple. “Wait a minute!” you may say. “How can something like nuclear physics, for example, be simple?” That is a fair question, let me add perspective. Everything in life is simple because even the most complex thing is formed of many simple things. By breaking down the complex into its simple components, one is able to better understand the complex. In order to understand nuclear physics one must understand algebra. In order to understand algebra one must understand arithmetic. Everything mathematical begins with basic arithmetic. The concept of everything being simple is the first step to creating a mega turnaround.
Another key strategy is to get back in the box. Thinking outside the box has its benefits, most certainly. However, many problems get overlooked by the “outside the box” thought process. The problems are still “in the box” and if you’re not careful, someone may come along and nail the lid on the box while you are on the outside! In my experience, the solution to the problem is, more often than not, still in the box.
While there are several other strategies, the ones mentioned here are the beginning strategies of accomplishing your mega turnaround!
Copyright 2005 Rory Elmore

Rory Elmore is an author, consultant, and speaker with over 25 years in the communications industry. Learn more about his strategies and sign up for the Mega Turnaround newsletter at http://www.MegaTurnaround.com

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How Mean is your Lean? Results of UK Study in Manufacturing

It is starting to become accepted amongst management that Continuous Improvement (CI) requires an appropriate organisational culture change to create a sustainable improvement and benefits stream.
Whilst this emanates from research which goes back to the early 1990s, it has been slow to gain acceptance amongst business leaders, possibly due to scepticism, as after all, organisational culture is seen by many as being intangible, ‘soft and fluffy’.
Practical experiences and setbacks in the successful adoption of Continuous Improvement by practitioners, coupled with continued research (for example, see Jager et al, 2004 ; Gallear & Ghobadian,2004 ; Tennant & Warwood & Chiang, 2002 ; Warwood & Roberts 2004 ) has led to this final acceptance that organisational culture is a contributory factor in the successful adoption of Continuous Improvement.
The study.
As part of a PhD research programme, a pilot study amongst UK manufacturing companies was conducted. All of the companies in the sample had implemented Lean manufacturing techniques, although at different points in time, so each could be regarded as being at different points on the ‘journey’, but they all shared dissatisfaction with the results they had each attained with their Lean programmes.
Organisational culture assessments, consisting of both quantitative and qualitative approaches were conducted with each of the companies, involving several days with each. The approach was consistently applied across all of the companies in the sample.
Some of the findings.
The results were analysed and the findings which were drawn from these which showed that overall, the top three categories of organisational culture which were ‘resisting’ Lean implementation were Communications, Training & Development of employees, and Planning.
Employees saw the type and level of communications as being inadequate in engaging them with Lean, often inconsistent and contradictory.
Insufficient training and development of staff before and after the initial implementation of Lean made left employees not knowing what it was all about, and how to operate in the new ways of working. This extended to managers also.
The planning category included both planning for Lean, as well as strategic and operational planning. Overall, employees felt that there was a lack of coherent planning and direction, which led them to doubt the ability of the management to manage, as well as to ‘lead’ the implementation of Lean.
Finding out more.
If you would like to find out more about the findings of this research and practical ways of improving your Continuous Improvement (CI) programme, you can come and hear Tim Franklin talk at the Southern Manufacturing event and exhibition at Thorpe Park on Wednesday 8th February 2006 (“How Mean is your Lean?”), as well as on Thursday 9th February 2006 (“Accelerating your business improvement”). Alternatively you can contact Tim timfranklin@ambianceconsulting.co.uk
Sources:
Jager, B. d: Minnie, C; Jager, J. d; Welgemoed, M; Bessant, J; and Francis, D. (2004).
Enabling continuous improvements: a case study of implementations. Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, Vol 15, number 4.
Gallear, D; & Ghobadian, A. (2004). An empirical investigation of the channels that facilitate a total quality culture. Total quality management, Vol 15, number 8.
Tennant, C; Warwood, S.J.; & & Chiang, M. M. P. (2002). A Continuous Improvement process at Severn Trent Water. The TQM Magazine, Volume 14, number 5.
Warwood, S.J.; & Roberts, P.A.B. (2004). A survey of TQM success factors in the UK. Total Quality Management, Volume 15, number 8.
Tim Franklin MBA

Tim Franklin MBA is Managing Director of Ambiance Consulting Ltd. Following a long career in Manufacturing at senior level where he lead continuous improvement and change programmes, Tim has coupled his practical, gritty experience with academic study and is currently undertaking Doctoral level study towards a PhD in the area of Organisational Culture and Continuous Improvement performance. Tim works on transformational change programmes with organisations across a variety of sectors, both large and small.

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Change Management and Expectations

When managing change, expectations are like communicating vessels between current insight and future risks. Negotiate well, knowing that every future has more risks than you can imagine. It is a matter of convincing the sponsor.
Management of expectations is an issue that is always around when dealing with change. Expectations are not present in operational business management, because there is no future or long term aspect “present”. So there is no expectation.
If you are involved in activities and plans that are prone to insecurities you are dealing with expectations.
It is the change “manager” or everybody dealing with change who needs to negotiate in such an environment.
This could be done by means of a plan. First of all, a plan could serve as a means of communication and represents more than a document. With a plan you can discuss about activities and their priorities. A planning is a means to negotiate. A project manager will have to inflate this planning with a risk premium. This is looks like pricing the activities higher because you do not know the real outcome (or maybe the future value).
In this context you hear many times the saying: “Under-promise and Over-deliver”.
The more you are in the position of negotiating to the worse-case-scenario, the more you will be able to manage the expectations. You need to negotiate well, be serious, coming with sound reasons, but still negotiate and incorporate the risk premium. Experienced change managers or project managers, will apply this rule. When you are to takeover a project of someone else, make sure you have an intake where you add risks of extra insecurities you cannot oversee.
The downside of this is that if you are too extreme in negotiating the available space (money, time, quality) to manoeuvre, you might loose the project at all. In practice the external pressure will make it hard for you to negotiate. Yet where possible you should try it.
© 2005 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days.
You can apply for a free demo account

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Change Management And Getting Invited For a Date

Resistance is a nuisance. You want to carry on, get up to speed and all kind of people are pulling your sleeves with a lot of questions, criticism and other hindrances that slow you down.
Good for them! And … good for you!
What would you plan be if nobody resisted?
Is this not what dating is all about? You say; “no really, I can’t make it tomorrow, I’m sorry!” and in the meantime you hope that your date is not off all together. Let him (or her) wait for a bit.
In business it’s quite more complicated, but also there you have a plan and people, departments, that are not willing. At first.
Not in the last place this is because there is not really a plan. Sometimes the plan looks more like a dark tunnel, where I wouldn’t step in either. The resistance will help you (and hoefully an increasing number of people with you who are better informed and starting to take some steps) to get thing sorted out.
A good question you will hear in such environments is; “Tell me, What’s in it for me?” This is a buyers question. You buy something, so you want to make sure that you get something in return.
The person at the door, with the nice set of folders should give you an satisfying answer. If he or she can’t, there is no chance, I mean: change.
If people in what ever situation, personal or business, really want something, the effort should be worthwhile.
Like that date: fight for him, otherwise he will be gone.
© 2005 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days.
You can apply for a free demo account.

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Management, Change and? Stakeholders

Stakeholders are those groups of people or institutions that have a stake in your company (where you are not always aware of). There are many general theories about stakeholder management and methods to implement. When dealing with change, a simple stakeholder “view” could help you in controlling the change.
Such a view will look like a spider. It shows the contexts of your organization (the core) and the legs of the spider are pointing to the stakeholders. In the view below, the spider lost one leg:

Clients (Business Clients or Consumers)
Competitors
Employees (Management)
Third parties (Suppliers and Business partners)
Capital suppliers, Investors, Shareholders
Government (local, national, International)
Communities (environmental, professionals)

The Employee-category is different in the sense that this relation is internal, where the others communicate with the world outside.
For planning a change, it is important to know what you must do regarding these relations. You could see this as a complicated version of Client Relationship Management, where different clients groups have different roles. Each relation must be managed in a different way.
Managing this stakeholder context is managing the important network your company ‘got’ entangled in during its business cycle. This context provides valuable information that supports the change management process.
The stakeholder view can be used for both small businesses as for large caps. To manage each relation you must be well prepared, but you do not have to know everything in advance. In a way you need to manage expectations. You also need to listen very well to the stake that is in the game. You cannot negotiate with relations if you do not know how you value the relation.
To give one example:
A bank is changing its strategy. Many of the local branches will be closed due to the fact that internet is a growing channel. Yet there are a group (community) of elderly people than – although not belonging to the main focus group (80%) will resist in this new approach.
If you have not included them in the stakeholders view, you will have to do a lot of rework once you think you go live. They, representing maybe only less than 20%, will give you a lot of exceptions to handle.
© 2005 Hans Bool

Hans Bool is the founder of Astor White a traditional management consulting company that offers online management advice. Astor Online solves issues in hours what normally would take days.
You can apply for a free demo account

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Managing Change

How often have you heard the statement, the only thing constant is change. No kidding, right? Anyone living on the planet earth can attest to that statement.
For most of us, the pace of change seems to have picked up dramatically over the past few years, thanks in part to the increased availability and use of technology, as well as the global economy in which we now live and work. Layer on all of the merger and acquisition activity and the ongoing waves of layoffs, and you have a recipe for constant change.
Do you remember the story of the frog and the pan of hot water? If you put a frog in a pan of boiling water, it will leap out instantly. However, if you put a frog in a pan of cold water and gradually turn up the heat, the frog will typically remain in the pan of water because it has an opportunity to adjust to the increase in water temperature.
Unfortunately for most people, when we experience change it often feels like being thrown into a pan of boiling water. So what can you do to avoid becoming frog soup? I find the best way to manage change is to practice a little change every day, particularly when you have the ability to control the change.
What does this mean? Take a new route to work. Visit a musuem during your lunch hour. Buy something new for your office. Pick up a pair of new sunglasses. Volunteer for a new project at work. If you usually drink coffee, try tea. Get a new hairdo. Take an art class. Join toastmasters. Listen to a new radio station. Take Spanish lessons. Visit the zoo.
The list could go on and on and is only limited by your creativity and imagination. The point? Managing change on a small scale when you are in the driver’s seat, helps you to develop the resilience to manage change on a larger scale.
So the next time you find yourself in the midst of change, relax and focus on the possibilities. After all, you’ve been practicing, right? And you never know, it could be fun and you might even like what change comes your way. Otherwise, you might just find yourself eating frog soup.

Regina Barr is a business consultant with a passion for helping companies develop their full potential by focusing on their most valuable asset: their people. For more information on her programs and services, check out her website, http://www.RedLadder.com and sign up for her free email newsletter, Developing People…Inspiring Success.

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