Articles
Thursday, 07 May 2009 09:15
Articles by Debbie
A Case Study on the Success Factors for Change – A Tale of Two Companies
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Two companies, one thriving and one fighting for its life. It was a time where change fails time and time again and the other experiences success after success. This is the story foretelling the secrets of Long Lasting Change.
How is it possible that two companies can deal with change so differently? One company can execute change effectively but others attempt change only to see the old ways creep back in? The following are two case studies outlining the differences we have seen. They outline the key factors that contribute to the differences between success and failure.
Case One: It was the worst of times but the best of times to change.
This is the story of an insurance company that was bought by a very well known conglomerate. The buyer soon realized it was a poorly researched acquisition. The company, in the Financial Services Sector soon, discovered that their book of business was under reserved by $100million. The business was in dire straits and was identified by the Conglomerate CEO as “The Disaster in Denver.”
It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. Two companies, one thriving and one fighting for its life. It was a time where change fails time and time again and the other experiences success after success. This is the story foretelling the secrets of Long Lasting Change.
How is it possible that two companies can deal with change so differently? One company can execute change effectively but others attempt change only to see the old ways creep back in? The following are two case studies outlining the differences we have seen. They outline the key factors that contribute to the differences between success and failure.
Case One: It was the worst of times but the best of times to change.
This is the story of an insurance company that was bought by a very well known conglomerate. The buyer soon realized it was a poorly researched acquisition. The company, in the Financial Services Sector soon, discovered that their book of business was under reserved by $100million. The business was in dire straits and was identified by the Conglomerate CEO as “The Disaster in Denver.”
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Read more: Disruptive Change-Disrupt the Status Quo to Create the Future.
Friday, 06 March 2009 01:03
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Mao Tse-tung is quoted as saying, “Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun. In business, the political power wielded in change is manifested most clearly in revolutionary change.
In revolutionary change, one person orchestrates change, from the top. The change is often about cutting costs or regaining control over an organisation that has lost its way by taking inappropriate risks or perhaps by developing a myopic inability to look externally and becoming inwardly driven.
Revolutionary change tends to continue to be driven by one individual surrounded by a small group of trusted “lieutenants”. The change process itself becomes reliant on the individual.
In evolutionary change, a leader still orchestrates the change. However, the leader tends to empower people all through the organisation to take on the change. The leader provides the resources, training and authority for people to engage in the change and become leaders of the change in their own right.
Which method of change is right? Whilst most people have an intuitive preference for evolutionary change, it is not always appropriate.
If an organisation has a “burning platform”, then a revolutionary approach is often the only method applicable. Much of the oil industry in the mid to late nineties was forced to slash costs to survive as margins declined sharply due to increases in supply from previously unavailable sources behind the “iron curtain”.
In revolutionary change, one person orchestrates change, from the top. The change is often about cutting costs or regaining control over an organisation that has lost its way by taking inappropriate risks or perhaps by developing a myopic inability to look externally and becoming inwardly driven.
Revolutionary change tends to continue to be driven by one individual surrounded by a small group of trusted “lieutenants”. The change process itself becomes reliant on the individual.
In evolutionary change, a leader still orchestrates the change. However, the leader tends to empower people all through the organisation to take on the change. The leader provides the resources, training and authority for people to engage in the change and become leaders of the change in their own right.
Which method of change is right? Whilst most people have an intuitive preference for evolutionary change, it is not always appropriate.
If an organisation has a “burning platform”, then a revolutionary approach is often the only method applicable. Much of the oil industry in the mid to late nineties was forced to slash costs to survive as margins declined sharply due to increases in supply from previously unavailable sources behind the “iron curtain”.
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