387 Posts Found

“When I am asked for material to read on managing paradigmatic change, I respond with a very unlikely source: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, by the late Thomas Kuhn. This book is a staple at the doctoral level in business schools, but it rarely appears on airport bookshelves, and it is not about business at all.

This book grew out of Kuhn’s research on the history … [ Read more ]

Content: Book | Author: Thomas S. Kuhn | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior

There’s basically a three-stage process for any transformation. One, diagnosis – understanding customers’ aspirations and the gap between that and where they are today. Two, staged experiences – designing the exact set of experiences that will close the gap. And three, follow-through – ensuring that the transformation takes hold, and that the aspiration continues to be met over time. That’s where most consulting companies fail … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: TechnologyEvaluation.com | Subject: Change Management

Companies are constantly bombarded by change, whether it’s in the form of competitive shifts, new customer preferences, layoffs, acquisitions, or regulatory requirements. On the IT side, look no further than the frequency of new software releases and the short life cycles of hardware. The pace of technology advancement and adoption never seems to slow.

How well companies cope with business and technology changes can have a … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Bob Violino | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subjects: Change Management, IT / Technology / E-Business

About half of the 223 executives who responded to a recent Bain & Company survey on organizational issues said their companies fell short on the essential capabilities necessary for a turnaround. But some companies do beat the average and bring about sustained improvement. When we studied 21 of the most impressive transformations of recent years, we found four principles underlying success.

Content: Article | Authors: Chris Harrop, Paul Rogers, Stan Pace | Sources: Bain & Company, INSEAD Quarterly | Subject: Change Management

History teaches that to get lasting results from a change program, it is vital to begin with a vision of the future and create incentives that motivate people to achieve those ends.

Editor’s Note: focuses on the “Conflict of Visions” view of economist Thomas Sowell (Unconstrained vs. Constrained View)

Content: Article | Author: Jeffrey W. Bennett | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior

There is an old African proverb: When the sun comes up, the gazelle wakes up knowing that it must outrun the fastest lion or it will be eaten. The lion knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death. So it doesn’t matter if you are a gazelle or a lion, when the sun comes up, you had better be running. … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Source: Kearney | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior

What can top management teams do to ensure successful large-scale transformations efforts? Early analysis of data from a major research study – the Developing Global Organizational Capability project – along with interviews with CEOs who have led successful transformation efforts suggest that top teams should implement two linked approaches simultaneously:

1. Take the 10 steps that will bring about successful transformation.
2. Align the 5-M’s™: meaning, mindset, mobilization,

… [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Douglas A. Ready | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior

The prudent reformer, according to [Adam] Smith, will respect ‘the confirmed habits and prejudices of the people,’ and when he cannot establish what is right, ‘he will not disdain to ameliorate the wrong.’ His goal is not to create the ideal, but to ‘establish the best that the people can bear.’

Content: Quotation | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Change Management, Personality / Behavior

This humorous Socratic style book helps individuals and organizations change their core business behaviors through a fictitious story. With its solid story line and smooth read the book is an excellent catalyst for change. By being light and engaging readers associate easily with the characters.

Content: Book | Author: Dick Olenych | Subjects: Change Management, Personal Development

A study of the vast structural and cultural change at the Belgian telcoms operator Belgacom illustrates the importance of seeing the ‘big picture’ and learning to adapt while on the move.

Editor’s Note: offers an excellent review of five different models of organisational change

Content: Article | Authors: Alain Vas, Marc Ingham | Source: European Business Forum (EBF) | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior

What actually drives the organization to change – irrespective of what a so-called leader or change leader does, in my view – is its pride in performance. You see change in many, many companies. It can come through fear. It can come through stimulation. It can come through the need to turn failure into success. But to my mind the most continuously effective way of … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Prism (Arthur D. Little) | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior

Change, change, change. Management is constantly seeking change, yet most companies fail to convert these efforts into real value-creating results. Professor Phil Dover reviews the change agent program at Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme (SNI) to identify useful learning points.

Content: Case Study | Author: Phil Dover | Source: Babson Insight | Subject: Change Management | Company: Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme (SNI)

Even a corporate revamping inspired by state-of-the-art design principles won’t succeed if not driven by a powerful, well-timed business idea adapted to social realities.

Content: Article | Authors: Emily Lawson, Jonathan D. Day, Keith Leslie | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior

The most important things a leader can bring to a changing organization are passion, conviction, and confidence in others. Too often executives announce a plan, launch a task force, and then simply hope that people find the answers — instead of offering a dream, stretching their horizons, and encouraging people to do the same. That is why we say, “leaders go first.”

However, given that passion, … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Rosabeth Moss Kanter | Source: Leader to Leader | Subjects: Change Management, Leadership

Don’t try to fix problems before you understand the complex relationships among them-and their causes.

Content: Article | Authors: David Turnbull, Matthew Robb, Paul Todd | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Change Management, Management

Five years ago, when the technology sector was booming, Adobe Systems was in trouble. The company was respected for its technical prowess and popular products, but Wall Street was skeptical; Japan, a major market, was tanking; and Quark, Adobe’s rival, launched a hostile takeover attempt. Forced to swim or sink, Adobe Systems launched a massive turnaround effort spearheaded by executive vice president Bruce Chizen, who … [ Read more ]

Content: Case Study | Source: Knowledge@Wharton | Subject: Change Management | Industry: Software | Company: Adobe Systems

John P. Kotter offers up eight critical stages involved in the change process as well as four mistakes that are the source of most failures and three key tasks for change leaders.

Content: Article | Author: John P. Kotter | Source: Leader to Leader | Subjects: Change Management, Leadership

Faced with a rapidly evolving competitive marketplace, the chief executives of many of today’s leading companies have embarked on major change initiatives. The goal is twofold: to challenge the existing ways of conducting business and to drive step-level improvements in operating performance. The method is two-pronged as well: cut costs significantly and build capabilities to better serve the marketplace. These initiatives, then, often involve the … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: David J. Ortiz, Edith Howle, Gary L. Neilson | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior

In years of tracking and analysing the evolution of public and private companies, we’ve observed that a minority of managers are more adept than others at bringing about change. The skills and tools they draw on have surprisingly less to do with style, charisma or instinct. The bottom line is that effective change management is more a science than an art.

Content: Article | Author: Luc Luyten | Source: Bain & Company | Subjects: Change Management, Management

Appealing to employees’ emotions, as well as their minds, is the key to managing change.

Content: Article | Authors: Dan Cohen, John P. Kotter | Source: Optimize Magazine | Subjects: Change Management, Leadership