X-Factor Change Management™

25 Change Management Best Practices

2011-09-13T18:38:00.000-07:00

These best practices have been created as a result of my extensive experience in change management, lessons learned after several change management projects, learning from other practitioners/clients, and ongoing research in the practice of change management: http://bit.ly/9tzDl9

A Blueprint for Successful Change Management

2011-06-09T10:34:00.000-07:00

A CEO recently asked me to come up with "no more than 10 things... and only on one page" that will help his change initiative be successful. He liked what I came up with and called his Change Steering Committee together to review the document. We made a couple of slight changes as a team and decided to call the document "A Blueprint for Successful Change Management".

Here's the "blueprint": http://bit.ly/dkGN4a

Cheers and warm regards,

Jim

5-Steps for Creating a Vision And Strategic Agenda

2011-03-16T05:04:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to a SlideShare document that outlines a Visioning and Strategic Agenda process that I have used with several clients over the years: http://bit.ly/baGZR4

This process has produced outstanding results - feel free to download it and use it!

Warm regards,
Jim

20 Shortcuts on Organizational Change Management

2010-08-20T11:41:00.000-07:00

Read this innovative eBook by Luc Gallopin, moderator of the Organizational Change Practitioner's Group on LinkedIn. Luc is a fellow "in the trenches" change agent. Highly recommended! http://bit.ly/aHE0vk

Enjoy!

Jim

What's Missing in Organizational Change Theory and/or Practice?

2010-04-13T05:36:00.000-07:00

This question was recently posted on the Organizational Change Practitioners discussion board on LinkedIn. Here is my reply:

"To me, the missing piece is 'completing the change' by effectively 'completing the transition' from the old state to the new state. In my opinion, most of the focus is on 'making the change happen', and once that's done little attention is placed on the transition (pain, feelings of loss, emotional support, fear, etc,) to ensure long term success of the change. This is frequently the case with IT-enabled change!

Not completing the transition usually results in significant/long-term dips in post change productivity, poor morale and can undermine the entire change effort. In many cases the cultural changes never happen as a result of this short-sightedness.

So, more attention needs to be placed on change transition vs. change management... William Bridges authored Managing Transitions: Making the Most of Change almost 20 years ago. It's a great book, but often ignored. This finishing touch to the change process needs to become a key, recognized component of the practice of change management."

Cheers and warm regards,

Jim

Here are Two Excellent Change Management YouTube Videos

2010-04-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

I highly recommend the following YouTube change management videos - great messages!

Cisco - Change Management Training Video - this is an excellent video for showing change impacts and how individuals successfully adjust. Perfect for Change Champions and Sponsors to view early in the planning process. Great for targets of a change to view to see a successful outcome. http://bit.ly/PpUeA
Luc Galoppin - What is Organizational Change Management? This is an excellent overview of the major components of a change management project. The perfect elevator speech! http://bit.ly/bUMtSq

Enjoy!

Why Use the Term "Change Management"?

2010-02-22T09:21:00.000-08:00

I have balked at using the expression "change management" for many years. It just didn't seem right. How can you really manage change? You lead it. You facilitate it. You embrace it. You pray for it. You avoid it. You dutifully accept it. You really can't manage it… right? So, after considerable thought, I decided to post the following provocative question on my favorite LinkedIn change management discussion boards:

"What is the best term is to replace "change management"? Many practitioners agree that this is a poor choice of words to describe the process. What is your vote? Why?"

Brave post, eh?

There were over 300 responses to this question. Here is a sampling of some of the proposed replacement terms:

Change Preparedness
Leading Change
Change Enablement
Building Capability and Capacity
People and Organizational Transitions
Business Transition Management
Business Change Management
Business Operations Enablement
It's really just Leadership, isn't it?
Organizational Change Management
Managing Transitions
Organizational Development
Visioneering
Organizational Transformation
Organizational Effectiveness
Organizational Behavioral Change
Business Readiness
Transformation Management
Managing Change
Nexting
Facilitating "organizational lifestyle" change
Business Transformation Enablement Program
Resistance Management
How about "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down", or maybe Transition Management?
Metamorphosis Management
Making Things Happen
Change Facilitation
Human Transition Acceptance Management
Change Acceptance
Sustainable Change Implementation
Next Level
Transformation Process Management
And the list goes on… many more…

There were also many postings by those who supported keeping "change management" as the cornerstone phrase:

"It's the most commonly and universally accepted term."
"Why change it - what purpose will it serve?"
"Changing it will only cause more confusion!"
"If it isn't broken, don't fix it!"

After evaluating the diverse (and often confusing) alternatives, I have decided to change my long-standing dislike for the term "change management". That's right… I'm changing! I am now using change management to describe my change consulting offerings.

As one of the respondents stated: "Change Management, like Rock 'n' Roll, is here to stay!"

Why fight it? Just do it well!

Cheers and warm regards,
Jim Markowsky

To learn more about X-Factor Solutions, visit our web site at http://www.x-factor-solutions.com/.

What process is at the leading edge of learning organizations?

2010-01-04T04:45:00.000-08:00

Open Space Technology, developed by Harrison Owen, provides a framework of time and space for people to self-organize their own process and work on issues they feel passionate about, and for which they will take responsibility. People really enjoy participating in an event where their opinions matter, and where everyone's responsible for raising issues they find important. Open Space enables groups of any size to come together to:

Solve complex problems and burning issues
Launch organizational change initiatives
Respond to challenging and changing customer needs
Adjust to dynamic market and economic conditions
Become better at what they do
Explore possibilities
Design or redesign business processes

Open Space Events:

There are generally three time structures for Open Space events:
1-day – results in a dynamic idea exchange and summary
2-days – results in a dynamic idea exchange, summary of ideas and specific recommendations
3-days – results in a dynamic idea exchange, summary of ideas, specific recommendations and the prioritization of action plans

How Open Space Events Work:

Most Open Space events are predefined by a Single Question that will be discussed during a 1 to 3-day meeting. The question has to be selected and crafted carefully by the management team, and supported by the Open Space facilitator. It should address a burning or conflicting issue that will ensure diversity of opinions and passionate engagement of the participants. Participants then create Focus Topics to discuss the Single Question and they are placed on a Topic Wall and scheduled for discussion. Participants can then attend any of the discussions they would like to participate in, and they can come and go as they wish.

One Law and Four Basic Principles:

Open Space utilizes a very simplistic self-organizing process that allows an organization to move quickly and involve a diverse group of players from any level or function of the organization. It does this by using One Law and Four Basic Principles:

One Law:
The "Law of Two Feet" is about one foot of passion and one foot of responsibility. If a participant is not contributing or enjoying a Focus Topic discussion where they’re at, they move on to another group where they will have the passion to participate.

Four Basic Principles:
1. Whoever comes are the right people. Only those who are present can contribute. Although the invitation list might limit the number of participants, an Open Space conference is open for anyone invited that is interested in the subject.

2. Whatever happens is the only thing that could have happened. All we have to deal with is what is.

3. Whenever it starts is the right time. Follow the energy flow… when it starts it starts… just go with it. Things get started when the creative energy starts to flow.

4. When it’s over, it’s over. Although time and place are predefined in an Open Space event, clocks play a very minor role in setting the pace. The participants decide how much time is needed to work on a subject – ten minutes, thirty minutes, two hours, one day – or not at all.

In Summary:

Although Open Space Technology was developed over 20 years ago, it is still a leading edge technology for engaging employees and bringing about self-organized and innovative results in a very compressed timeframe. For more information or development and facilitation of an Open Space workshop, contact Jim Markowsky at 740.804.1354 or jcm@x-factor-solutions.com.

Breaking News - X-Factor Solutions Discovered on Mars. Now on YouTube!

2009-08-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

Click below for details:

YouTube, Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm20OJjl5lE
YouTube, Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep1nx8YdTGw
YouTube, Part 3: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAqI8CcAR64
I used Xtranormal ( http://www.xtranormal.com/ ) to create the videos. It's free and you can upload your videos to YouTube with the click of a button.

These videos only took 1/2 hr. each to create. What a fun way to get a message across!

To learn more about X-Factor Solutions, visit our web site at http://www.x-factor-solutions.com.

Enjoy!
Jim

Survey Results: What is the single most important trait of a successful Organizational Change Consultant in todays economy? Please only list one!

2009-07-25T11:00:00.000-07:00

Survey conducted by Jim Markowsky, X-Factor Solutions (www.x-factor-solutions.com/). Participants were members of the Organizational Change Practioners group on LinkedIn - a group of over 5,000 global OCM professionals (there were 70+ responses). Frequency shown in brackets:

(4) Agility – intellectual fleetness of foot; adapt on the fly; fluidity; adapt to internal and external environment; be as good at Plans B, C, D, E as Plan A.
(4) Listening – generative listening; discovery by listening and collaborative thinking; without it you cannot start the change journey; the client will tell you.
(3) Confidence – positive body language, building it with client; attitude and behavior.
(3) Facilitating – generative thinking with client to see possibilities; of collaborative learning process.
(2) Questioning – requiring client to see themselves as they are and as they want to be; asking the right payoff questions.
(2) Results – we are paid to produce; what the client is paying for.
(2) Systems Approach – wear systems glasses.
(2) Truthfulness – integrity; bring up the difficult issues
(1) All of the following:
Awareness
Billable
Chaos – comfort
Clarity – of focus
Communication – two way and ongoing
Conceptual and global thinking Dialogue – around tough and delicate issues
Directionally correct
Expectations - clarifying
Experience
Extraction – of salient points from client… reading between the lines
Faith
Flexibility
Gap analysis – utilization to implement needed changes
Influencing
Innovative solution – getting out of the safe zone
Integrity
Intentional – 100%, while radiating agility
Journey – preparation and setting expectations with client
Live and Practice Change – day in and day outObservation – includes active listening
Opportunistic – there are opportunities durin this downturn
Outcome – develop clear and concise with client
Patience
Perception
Persistence
Realism
Reflexivity - reflect and help client make sense of change
Saavy – navigation of the organization to get things implemented
Seeing – really seeing and not force-fitting
Sense-making – in complex situations
Synthesis – process and activity
Teamwork – collaboration
Tenacity – in the real value of the end state
Vision – ability to hold
Wisdom – to see the truth

A Guide to Leading a Self-Organizing Change Process

2009-06-16T20:26:00.000-07:00

I have facilitated 6-7 self-organizing change initiatives - mainly in medium-sized organizations, or groups within very large organizations ($25 - 250M). These projects have been highly successful. Here are the steps that I used:
1. Get strong support (license) from a key leader (COO, CEO, VP... ).
2. Pull together a cross-functional team of volunteers that want to make a difference.
3. Perform a current state assessment with this team.
4. Create a vision with this team.
5. Perform a gap analysis with this team.
6. Agree on key action steps to achieve the desired state with this team.
7. Launch time-bound projects for each key action step, with a person responsible to achieve the desired result.
8. Celebrate milestone (action step) successes.
9. Stay the course - have a senior executive sponsoring the overall program (supporting, not managing).
10. Ensure a senior executive is giving recognition, providing encouragement and communicating successes.

This 10-step process works!

Copyright (C), Jim Markowsky
Copy and/or distribute with permission with credit to Jim Markowsky, X-Factor Solutions
Visit our web site at: http://www.x-factor-solutions.com

Survey Results: Major Reasons for Underperforming or Unsuccessful Large-Scale Organizational Change Initiatives

2008-12-02T19:46:00.000-08:00

1) What are the major reasons for Underperforming or Unsuccessful Large-Scale Organizational Change Initiatives? Please rank the following factors from 10 - 1, 10 having the most impact and 1 having the least impact.
♦ Lack of executive team support, engagement and mindshare - 7.21 / 10
♦ Not articulating a "burning need" and vision for the change - 6.91 / 10
♦ Poor, untimely, unclear and/or inconsistent communications - 6.60 / 10
♦ Poor management of the transition between the present state and the future state - 5.55 / 10
♦ Inadequate resources allocated to the change initiative - 5.53 / 10
♦ Lack of trust in those leading the change - 5.28 / 10
♦ Change agents were not adequately trained/qualified to be successful - 4.62 / 10
♦ No formal plan for sustaining the change - 4.57 / 10
♦ Lack of a detailed change master plan that was managed as a project - 4.45 / 10
♦ Poor/inadequate employee education and training - 4.15 / 10

2) What else should be considered?
- Adequate Budget, in case it was not covered under resource- Focusing on change instead of change impact. Most change initiatives are doomed from the outset by this fundamental identification problem
- Failure to understand and address the core problem.
- In my brief encounter with managing change at large scale in small organisation like ours, I believe if we can answer basic questions of those, who will be severely impacted by change, like 1) the reason for change 2) the +ive and -ive of change 3) how to go about it . If these questions are well answered or it would be better if the stakeholders themselves spell the need of change and chalk out plans to go about it, there will be more chances of success.
- All too often these changes are the happen as a knee jerk REACTION to some impetus as opposed to the change being a PROACTIVE well thought out plan.
- 1) Underestimating resistance to change, even when the change is considered to be a positive one 2) 'Installing' a new structure (org chart) and expecting things to change without proper focus on new behaviours 3) Change overload
- too many initiatives
- Lack of engagement and involvement of employees in creating the change vision and implementing it.
- All down to good mgmt and leadership for me.
- Abdicating responsibility for change to the change agents.
- Getting trapped in a reactive cycle
- Not having the will to face into cultural issues
- Emotions. Instead of what is holding back the change, perhaps we need to think of what people are holding on to and why? These could lead back to issues of trust, but more often I think it is linked with timing...
- Informal leader/advocates for the new way and a compelling vision for it- Short term results and compromise!
- Too many other initiative receiving higher priority
- Too many powerful vested interests oppose the change
- Not perceived as treating people fairly
- Wrong change proposed
- Tangible short term wins on all levels in the organization
- Pace. Large programmes can be too slow and take on a life of their own where what is important is the functioning of the programme, not the intended outcomes.
- Organizational culture that embraces change.
- Strength of current processes and procedures to tolerate change.
-Currrent health of the organization. Unhealthy organizations cannot tolerate change even though they need it.
- No clear vision, different agendas and a clear leader who guides the transition. - Understand the organizational culture and the drivers that influence culture change such as: organizational structure, job design, policies, etc. also change the process
- Poor root-cause-analysis on what to change. Most often organizations try to solve symptoms of a problem and not its cause. The cause is often connected to management and please doesn’t change us...
- The need to allow people to go on the journey.
- Poor coordination at different levels and departments, shifting or putting responsibility to other teams.lack of involvement.Inability to understand the need for change.
- What is the business imperative driving the change?
- Lack of process design and based on comparison between as-is and to-be change impact analysis
- The change had an unreasonable timeline for implementation. Also too much for those impacted to absorb and apply.
- Conflicting corporate initiatives that were not considered.

About the Survey:
- Survey Participants: There were 47 global participants in the survey
- Survey Elements: A group of 12 Global change agents developed the survey elments.
- The survey was posted on the following eight Discussion Boards: Organizational Change Network, Network of Organizational Change Managers, Innovative Leadership & Change Management Expert Innovators Network, Change Agents, SAP/ERP Training & Change Practitioners, Organizational Change Practitioners, Organization Development Network, Change Consulting
- Survey close date: November 22, 2008
- Conducted by: Jim Markowsky, President, X-Factor Solutions
Visit our web site at: http://www.x-factor-solutions.com/

Survey Results: What are the Major Elements of a Successful Global ERP Business Process Transformation?

2008-11-10T08:37:00.000-08:00

It is 1 year after the implementation of a successful global ERP business process transformation. Why was it so successful? Please rank the following elements that led to the success from 10-1, 10 being most important and 1 being least important.

Strong executive support 6.94 / 10
Successfully managed the transition and change 6.32 / 10
Effective communications and training 6.12 / 10
Allocated adequate resources to successfully manage the change 5.68 / 10
Significantly streamlined policies and procedures 5.38 / 10
Global representation in the entire process 5.29 / 10
Conducted a detailed global change impact assessment 5.00 / 10
Let go of old ways and processes 4.88 / 10
Became more strategic through creative use of the ERP system 4.79 / 10
Identified industry best practices and set top-tier goals 4.59 / 10

2. What else did we do that played an important role in our success?

High level of involvement of partners (software, consulting, stakeholders)
If the successful global business process transformation follows the outline below, all other ranking of priorities will fall into place. The organizational change management, data, aligned best practice processes, and measurement criteria eliminated the constraints of an unsuccessfully delivered solution.
1) Organizational Change Management
2) Data
3) Best practices
4) Key performance indicators to measure success
We made sure that our measurement & reward systems were in alignment with the newly desired results.
Mentoring and use of SME within the organization
Attainable goals, established process for identifying and resolving risks/issues, and strong project management
Local change impact assesment
Super Users as ambassadors
Live or die strategic approach to the global process implementation
Ensuring transformation solutions are implementable and sustainable
Strong cascading managerial support, having change agents strategically placed and prepared, having two way communication vehicles, a reinforcement strategy to ensure desired behaviors are multiplied, and getting employees at all levels help to design the change details.
Produced value for impacted employees: "easier to do my job," "can do things that I could not do before."
Won support at ALL key levels:- Executive- Middle management/functional leaders- Front-line workers/supervisors
The overall Strategic alignment and clarity of objectives why a ERP based transformation is required in the first place.
We also assigned sponsors to ensure that each of the industry best practices and top-tier goals was given an appropriate level of focus before, during and after the implementation.
Prepared very good plan of whole transition. All major risks were identified, analyzed and mitigated.
Leadership, communications, training, and transition are the key elements. The other items you have listed are from a business perspective. The question is...are you looking at it from a people transition to the system or the business (ROI) perspective. I look at it from the people transitioning. Ideally...you should achieve both, but two very differert focuses.
Involve mid-managers
Addressed employee organizational readiness thru development of action plans
Got the business heavily involved early on.
Strong dislike of the current system.
Phase the implementation, don't try to do too much at once, don't under estimate people's need to understand the new way.
Get benefit from all of the data and analytics.
Simple clear messages, mantained constancy of purpose, rewarded the right behaviours
Celebrated the successes.
Created early wins and communicated success.

Survey Participants: There were 34 global participants in the survey
Survey Elements: A group of 12 Global Change Agents developed the survey elments.
The survey was posted on the following eight Discussion Boards: Organizational Change Network, Network of Organizational Change Managers, Innovative Leadership & Change Management Expert Innovators Network, Change Agents, SAP/ERP Training & Change Practitioners, Organizational Change Practitioners, Organization Development Network, Change Consulting
Survey close date: November 9, 2008
Conducted by: Jim Markowsky, President, X-Factor Solutions, http://www.x-factor-solutions.com

Survey Results: What are the Top 10 Characteristics of an Organizational Change Agent?

2008-11-05T07:32:00.000-08:00

Survey Results: Based on a 1 - 10 rating scale, 10 being highest. Average score:

1. Skilled Communicator 7.13 / 10
2. Emotionally Intelligent 6.45 / 10
3. Strong Leader 5.92 / 10
4. Excellent Problem Solver 5.81 / 10
5. Persuasive 5.41 / 10
6. Courageous 5.22 / 10
7. Strong Analytical Skills 5.04 / 10
8. Effective Educator 5.03 / 10
9. Flexible 4.79 / 10
10. Accomplished Project Manager 4.23 / 10

♦ Survey Participants: There were 159 global participants in the survey
♦ The survey was posted on the following Discussion Boards: Organizational Change Network, Network of Organizational Change Managers, Innovative Leadership & Change Management Expert Innovators Network, Change Agents, SAP/ERP Training & Change Practitioners, Organizational Change Practitioners, Organization Development Network, Change Consulting
♦ Survey close date: October 30, 2008
♦ Survey conducted by: Jim Markowsky, X-Factor Solutions
♦ Visit our web site at: http://www.x-factor-solutions.com

Organizational Change Network - Favorite OCM Books

2008-09-05T04:26:00.000-07:00

Here are the favorite OCM books submitted by several members of the Organizational Change Network (OCN) Discussion Board (listed in no particular order):

1. The Heart of Change – John Kotter & Dan Cohen
2. Organizational Transitions: Managing Complex Change - Beckhard & Harris
3. The Dance of Change: The Challenges of Sustaining Momentum in Learning Organizations – Peter Senge et al
4. Leadership on the Line - Ron Heifetz & Marvin Minsky
5. Discontinuous Change - David Nadler, Robert Shaw, & Elise Walton
6. Action Inquiry: The Secret of Timely and Transforming Leadership - Bill Torbert & Associates
7. Five Frogs on a Log - Feldman & Spratt
8. Making Sense of Change Management - Cameron & Green
9. Change Management - Hiatt & Creasey
10. Changing Gears - The Strategic Implementation of Technology - James Carlopio
11. The Fifth Discipline – Peter Senge
12. The Empty Raincoat: Making Sense of the Future – Charles Handy
13. Sex, Leadership and Rock'n'Roll - Peter Cook
14. Managing at the Speed of Change - Daryl Conner
15. Beyond the Wall of Resistance - Rick Maurer
16. Re-engineering – Hammer & Champy
17. Who Moved My Cheese – Spencer Johnson
18. Our Iceberg is Melting - John Kotter
19. Smartest Guys in the Room: The Amazing Rise and Scandalous Fall of Enron – Bethany McLean & Peter Elkind
20. Changing the Way We Change - Jeanenne LaMarsh
21. Leading Change - John Kotter
22. The Path of Least Resistance for Managers - Robert Fritz
23. Organization Development & Change (8th edition) - Cummings & Worly
24. Learning to Change. A Guide for Organization Change Agents - Caluwé L. de & H. Vermaak
25. Images of Organization - Gareth Morgan

Posted by: Jim Markowsky, X-Factor Solutions
Visit our web site at: http://www.x-factor-solutions.com

Selling Organizational Change as a "Project"

2008-08-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

Here are a few value propositions, arguments and approaches to assist with "the sale" that I've assembled from a variety of sources:

1.) Explain the “J Curve” effect (whenever you introduce change into an established system, things will get worse before they get better). Show how the drop in productivity can be diminished and how the timeframe of the drop can be shortened by an effective change management process (strong leadership vision and engagement, stakeholder management, effective communications, proper training, reinforcement strategies and appropriate business readiness action... all managed as a project, with a strategy and project plan). Executives like this approach as it makes good business sense for an investment in key resources to "get it right".

2.) In a 2003 survey of 327 companies in 53 countries, ProSci discovered that resistance to change within the organization was cited six times more often than any other as the number one obstacle to successful implementation of a project. Furthermore, when surveyed, and given the benefit of hindsight, the project teams picked more effective change management as the top activity that they would do differently on the next project.

3.) In 2001, the Hay Group, Inc. noted that: 70% of all change initiatives fall short of expectation, and "people issues" are cited as the primary hurdle. Executives rank people-related issues as the most important driver of successfully implementing and sustaining change.

4.) The National Bureau of Labor estimates that people are productive an average of 4.2 hours per day at work. However, during times of unmanaged change, productive hours decrease to 1.2 per day, or a 75% productivity loss.

5.) The following summarizes a survey taken by Organizational Dynamics on ODNet: Why Do ERP Implementations Fail?

42% Leadership
27% Organizational & Cultural Issues
23% People Issues
4% Technology Issues
4% Other

6.) Erik Spurgin, Learning Consultant proposes the following tactic: "Use an 'upward selling' approach. How did the executive get to where they are today? Why do they handle change so well? Ask them with as much sincere candor as you can muster. Allow them to talk about 'hard work', 'perserverence', et. al. for as long you can get them to talk. Listen, they will provide you with the information that you need in order to close the sale... in this case, the strategy and the funding for the strategy" .

Posted by: Jim Markowsky, X-Factor Solutions, http://www.x-factor-solutions.com