8 Steps to Creat Successful Change

8/14/2019 8 Steps to Creat Successful Change

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(Source: The Heart of Change, Harvard Business School Press, 2002)



The 8 Steps of

Successful

Change



1. INCREASE URGENCY• Core Challenge : Get the people out

of the bunker and ready to move.• What Works : Create dynamic

presentations with compellingobjects that people can actually see,

touch and feel; provide evidencefrom outside the organization thatchange is required; find cheap andeasy ways to avoid complacency.

• Desired New Behaviour : Peoplestart telling each other, “Let’s go, weneed to change things!”



2. BUILDING THE GUIDINGTEAM

• Core Challenge : Get the right people inplace with trust, emotional commitment,and teamwork to guide a very difficultchange process.

• What Works : Attract key change leadersby showing enthusiasm andcommitment; model the trust andteamwork needed in the group; structuremeeting formats that minimize frustrationand increase trust.

• Desired New Behaviour : A grouppowerful enough to guide a big change isformed and they start to work together well.



3. GETTING THE VISION RIGHT• Core Challenge: Get the guiding team to

create the right vision and strategies to guideaction in all of the remaining stages of change. This requires moving beyondnumber-crunching to address the creativeand emotional components of vision.

• What Works: Literally seeing/visualizing possible futures, visions that are moving,visions that are so clear they can bearticulated in one minute or written up on onepage; bold strategies that can be executedquickly enough to make the vision a reality.

• Desired New Behaviour: The guiding teamdevelops the right vision and strategy for thechange effort.



4. COMMUNICATINGTHE BUY-IN• Core Challenge: Get as many people

as possible acting to make the vision areality.

• What Works: Keep communicationsimple and heartfelt; find out whatpeople are really feeling and speak toanxieties, confusion, anger, and distrust;rid communication channels of junk soimportant messages can get through;use new technologies to help peoplesee the vision.

• Desired New Behaviour: People beginto buy-into the change; and this showsin their behaviour.



5. EMPOWER ACTION• Core Challenge: Remove key obstacles

that stop people from acting on thevision.

• What Works: Bring in experiencedchange leaders to bolster confidencethat the job can be done; createrecognition and reward systems thatinspire, promote optimism, and build self-confidence; give constructive feedback;help disempowering managers topowerfully experience the need for change.

• Desired New Behaviour: More peoplefeel able to act, and do act, on the vision.



6. CREATE SHORT-TERM WINS• Core Challenge : Produce enough short-

term wins fast enough to energize thechange helpers, enlighten thepessimists, defuse the cynics, and buildmomentum for the effort.

• What Works: “Cheap and easy” winsthat are visible, timely, unambiguous,and meaningful to others.

• Desired New Behaviour: Momentum

builds as people try to fulfill the vision,while fewer and fewer resist change.



7. DON’T LET UP• Core Challenge: Continue with wave

after wave of change, not stoppinguntil the vision is a reality – no matter how big the obstacles.

• What Works: “Cheap and easy” wins

that are visible, timely, unambiguous,and meaningful to others.• Desired New Behaviour:

Momentum builds as people try tofulfill the vision, while fewer and fewer resist change.



8. MAKE CHANGE STICK • Core Challenge: Create a supporting

structure that provides roots for the newways of operating.

• What Works: Refuse to declare victorytoo soon; use new employee orientation,

the promotion process, and vivid stories tovisibly and compelling reinforce the vision.

• Desired New Behaviour: New andwinning behaviour continues despite thepull of tradition, turnover of changeleaders, etc,





The See-Feel-Change Dynamic

• Help People to See: Compelling, eye-catching, dramatic situationsare created to help others visualize problems, solutions, or progresin solving key problems.

• Seeing Something New Hits the Emotions: The visualizationprovide useful ideas that hit people at a deeper level than surfacethinking. They evoke a visceral response that reduces emotionsthat block change and enhances those that support it.

• Emotionally-Charged Ideas Change Behaviour or Reinforce

Changed Behaviour: People act much less complacently. They tryharder to make a good vision a reality. They don’t stop before thework is done, even if the road seems long.



Step 1: Push the Urgency Up• Gloves on the boardroom

table: A procurement manager identifies a major problem withthe company’s purchasingprocess. He chose a single

item – gloves – that all thecompany’s plants use, andfound that there were 424types of gloves being

purchased at widely varyingcosts and from differentsuppliers.



• See: The manager invites all the company’s

division presidents into the boardroom andinstead of giving them a report on gloves,stacked the 424 pairs of gloves on the table,each tagged with the price and the factory it isbeing used in.

• Feel: First people were shocked. Mouthsdropped, the people were speechless. Then their gut-level sense of complacencvy begins toshrink, and urgency begins to grow. They mustdo something now!

• Change: The gloves becomes a travelling roadshow. The purchasing process was radicallychanged.



STEP 2: Build the Guiding Team• General Mollo and I were

floating on water: An armyofficer is charged with buildinga team to develop a vision,strategy and implementation

plan for merging the sevenarmies – formerly enemies –into one National DefenseForce in South Africa after the

collapse of the Apartheidregime.



• See: At their first meeting, the officer shocks the soldiersby taking risks for the common good. He openly admitsthat many of those in charge do not want to merge thearmies but to homogenize them. He vows that he has nointention of doing so.

• Feel: The officer’s fiery promise (“This is wrong and I’llnot do it!”) hits the soldiers directly and emotionally. Hishonesty invites others to share their feelings in turn, andan environment of trust is born. Later, the officer arranges regular camping trips in which he encourages

the soldiers to share emotion-packed war stories aroundan open fire. Members slowly get to know each other ata personal level, and trust begins to grow.

• Change: The members began to pull together, peoplebegan to believe and feel that change is possible, and agroup of former enemies begins to act as an effectiveteam.



STEP 3: Create the Vision andStrategies

• The plane will notmove!: An aircraftplant manager mustget his people to

develop ambitiousstrategies to carry outan ambitious quality

vision.



• See: Foregoing the standard “quality speech” the

manager instead takes dramatic action. He brings thenormal production process to a complete halt – forcingeveryone to stare all day long at a gigantic plane stuck inthe production line. At the same time he expresses arock solid confidence in his people’s ability to do the job.

• Feel: People are shocked – but also strongly motivatedby their boss’ complete conviction that the “impossible”can be done. Pride in the work increases as employeesbecome determined that they will not be the reason that

a plane is delayed in position. As they see otherssucceeding – and succeed themselves – their faithincreases.

• Change: Employees begin all sorts of new strategies foeleaping ahead in procurement, logistics, and qualitycontrol. Enthusiasm, excitement and pride spur positiveaction. The company is transformed; quality goes up andaircraft are on time – even early!



STEP 4: Communicate for Buy-in

• Nuking the ExecutiveFloor: An executive teampresents new vision of becoming a low-cost

producer – yet behind thescenes the employeesgrouse about the irony of

the company’s poshexecutive offices in anage of cutbacks.



• See: Even though it would cost more to change thearchitecture and decor of the executive floor to make itlook less excessive, the new CEO wants to showemployees that executives are serious about “walkingthe talk”. He “nukes” the entire floor – the personal

bathrooms, the mahogany furniture, the expensive art.In its place is built a more functional, far less showyworkspace.

• Feel: The initial announcement shocks employees in apositive way. Cynicism goes down, faith in topmanagement goes up.

• Change: People begin to embrace the vision. When thenew offices are complete, employees are given aconstant reminder that the executive team believes inthe vision – and employees too.



STEP 5: Empower Action• Retooling the Boss: An

“old school” manager isconverted from anobstacle to change to an

invaluable changeleader.



• See: Rather than firing, demoting, or “retraining” the manager, he is “loaned” to acustomer for 6 months, where he is dramaticallyconfronted each day with the quality problems

the customer is having with his products.• Feel: Pushed into the job, the man is at first

angry and even afraid. But after a few days inhis new position, he is surprised by what hefinds and is convinced that things must change.

• Change: He returns to his employer a manager reborn. Approaching his job in a whole newway, he helps the firm make changes thatbenefits customers, employees and owners.



STEP 6: Short-term Wins• The senator owned the

company: A manager addresses an issue astate Senator cares

deeply about in order towin the politician’s supportfor a larger change effort.







• See: Instead of ducking the political barriers or sugar-coating theissue, they find a light-hearted way of getting a serious messageacross. They created a hilarious video with actors spoofing howpeople behave when they put the budget together – complete withcharacters like The Merchant of Fear, who increase his budget by

working-off people’s fears; the Glory Hunter who chases only thoseinitiatives that might make him look good; and the People Protector,who cares only about getting projects for his staff.

• Feel: Because the spoof hits the issues – and the people’semotions – directly, the amusing, non-confrontational video givesthe change leaders a much-needed tool for legitimizing new topmanagement behaviour. People try to guess who the charactersare portraying – and start wondering if it may in fact be them.

• Change: By exposing the types of behaviour that go against thecompany’s new, more shareholder-oriented vision, and the oldinvestment game is stopped in its tracks. The video is burned – but

the message lives on.



STEP 8: Make Change Stick • The Home Mortgage: After 6

years of explosive growth, acompany decides it mustrevisit its values so that all

40,000 employees believedeeply in – and continue to acton – the vision.



• See: The staff hosts a 4 hour event on a Saturdaymorning in which employees from around the world arehooked together via satellite. Beyond executivespeeches and handouts touting company values,employees are also shown videos of customers telling

stories of how the company has treated them fairly andcompassionately through difficult situations. One mantells a moving story about his personal situation.

• Feel: Employees sit up, listen more closely, and

become visibly moved by the stories customers tell.Some were in tears.• Change: The inspirational first-person tales vividly show

the consequence of living the company’s values – andemployees become energized to continue a powerfuland meaningful tradition of making a difference in thelives of others.

Documents

8 Steps to Creat Successful Change