Don’t
use structure to solve culture: Part 2
One of the speakers at TEDxBrighton was Jacques Peretti is
an investigative journalist and broadcaster. His BBC series included The Men
Who Made Us Fat and follow-up, The Men Who Made Us Spend.
Following just one day after my meeting with Stephen Carver
[Project Guru at Cranfield], I found that Jacques Peretti’s talk about
consumerism found common ground with my thoughts about change management: That change management is entirely about
identity and social belonging.
According to this hypothesis, project management is about
re-arranging the things around us (or creating new products and services) in
order to reinforce (or realign) identity and social belonging.
I’ll explain the theory a bit more in a moment, but let me
give you an example before you stop reading this mumbo-jumbo. People buy an
iphone, BMW, yacht, home or holiday because of the way it makes them feel. If
they just wanted something functional there are many cheaper alternatives. How
you feel about something is about identity and social belonging, possibly even
religion. That is powerful stuff!
JACQUES PERETTI’S MEN
THAT MADE US.
Alfred Sloan is credited with establishing annual styling
changes, from which came the concept of planned obsolescence. This promulgated
the idea of “Keeping up with the Joneses” which at its heart is about belonging
(or not being left behind)
Stanley B.Resor’s company J. Walter Thompson (JWT)
introduced its US clients to commercial radio advertising. With the arrival of
commercial television in Britain in 1955 JWT was the first UK agency to have
its own casting department. JWT’s approach was to use top film and TV directors
persuade people about the social value
of a product rather than its function. Their advertising was about being
popular, successful, respected. They were marketing that iphone feeling just as
Steve Jobs was born (February 24, 1955)
George Lucas made himself a billionaire by what Jacques
Peretti describes as the infantilism of consumerism. Appealing to the inner
child, Lucas success was to get adults to behave like children: I want it, and
I want it NOW! So began consumer credit, you can have it now (on credit)
Finally Peretti mentioned Robert Waterman who at Mc Kinsey
created an “internal market” for change. By writing to the wives of employees
about work, bonuses and lay-offs, Waterman manipulated the behaviour of
executives.
It is interesting to note that Waterman’s long term
colleague went on to write The Brand You50 in which Tom Peters sees a new kind
of corporate citizen who believes that surviving means not blending in but
standing out. He believes that "90+ percent of White Collar Jobs will be
totally reinvented/reconceived in the next decade" and that job security
means developing marketable skills, making yourself distinct and memorable, and
developing your network ability. His list-filled prescriptions cover
everything; for example, "You are Your Rolodex”
These people, Alfred Sloan, Stanley B.Resor, George Lucas,
Robert Waterman and Tom Peters have all influenced our relationship with the
world, and had an effect on our own ideas of identity, social connection and
self-worth.
I will return to this shortly.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project Management is about the delivery of this stuff
(products) which are the output of tasks. This requires aims, objectives,
roles, goals and controls, budget, people and dates which is all about
collaboration and co-ordinated by communication.
We readily recognise that what-ever methodology you use for
project management you’ll use something like the following…
·
Aims, Objectives, Goals (Vision/Mission)
·
Tasks, Deadlines, Milestones (Actions)
·
Roles, Responsibilities, Tolerances (Controls)
·
Reporting, Updates, Meetings (Communications)
CHANGE MANAGEMENT
Change Management is generally about influencing behaviour
(attitudes) and outcomes (emotions) ostensibly to help corporate or individual
change. Success comes from mentoring, coaching, aspiration and peer pressure
and the tool is language, and the symbols are uniform, flags, anthems, badges.
This is true of primary school, football teams, cults and military forces.
So Project Management requires communication to mobilise and
direct people (Push) and Change Management requires communication to inspire
and attract people (Pull).
So what tools do we use for Change Management?
KOTTERS’ 8 STEPS
Kotters’ 8 Steps is a good start
1 - Create urgency
2 - Form a guiding coalition
3 - Develop a vision and strategy
4 - Communicating the vision
5 - Enabling action and removing obstacles
6 - Generating short-term wins
7 - Hold the gains; build on the change
8 - Anchor changes in the culture
See
However this recipe is over-simplistic and though it might
work for an office move, with a beginning, middle and end, in a world of
constant change and social-political baggage and it is more easily articulated
than done.
The key truths to take from Kotters’ 8 Steps is 1,2,4,6, and
7 are all about communication and identity: being part of the team, being the
change, living the process, community and belonging.
ROBERT DILTS - “I CAN
DO THAT HERE”
I have long been inspired by Robert Dilts and a key phase “I
can do that here” or indeed “I can’t do that here” because it breaks down some
of the key components of values and culture into things we can easily
understand and manage.
I – Is about me, myself, my core belief, my talent.
(Individual)
Can – Is about capability, competence, and capacity.
(Belief)
Do – Is about action, permission, freedom, responsibility.
(Capability)
That – Is about values, culture and behaviour. (Behaviour)
Here – Is about place, environment and timing. (Environment)
Now what is interesting about this model is that whilst
ostensibly it starts with the individual who thought a step-by-step process
might change the world, it also suggests (going in the opposite direction) that
the world might step-by-step change the individual.
We can manage that! The set-up of the environment, agreeing
the “rules/values”, giving permission, freedom, responsibility etc., these are
all project management things that can have a change management outcome.
See
In the same vein I would also recommend Clive Woodward’s
book Winning! Again the themes are about belonging, being part of a “special
team” and creating a language and the symbols to identify with, and aspire to
be a part of.
ABRASHOFF – 6
QUESTIONS
My personal test of leadership is if the people around me
can answer YES to the following questions.
1. I
know what is expected of me at work
2. I
have the materials and equipment I need to do my job right
3. I
have the opportunity to do what I do best every-day
4. In
the last 7 days I have received recognition or praise for doing good work
5. Someone
at work encourages my development
6. At
work, my opinions count
Source: D. Michael Abrashoff
CONCLUSION
So what’s the conclusion?
In his review of consumerism Jacques Peretti has exposed ideas
that shape our identity, social connection and self-worth.
Kotters, Robert Dilts, D. Michael Abrashoff have all relied
upon peer pressure and social cohesion to galvanise and direct effort. Rather
than direct effort (as would a project manager) they have facilitated
opportunity (as a change agent) effectively providing the bottle, petrol,
lighter and wick.
In a previous blog I wrote giving people shoes and a plan
doesn't make them a marathon runner. Similarly structure (Tools, Templates,
Training, Techniques) doesn't guarantee success.
If your people are holding a bottle, petrol, lighter and
wick and huge amounts of passion, do you need a manual to start a revolution?
LINKS
Alfred Sloan - Sloan is credited with establishing annual
styling changes, from which came the concept of planned obsolescence
Stanley B.Resor – Resor was a pioneer in creating desire for
a product based on “fear” eg fear of bad breath, fear of falling behind the
Jones’ fear of obsolescence
George Lucas – Made himself a billionaire by two seemingly
insignificant requests: 1) That he retain all merchandising rights, and 2) that
he would retain the rights to any sequels.
Tom Peters and Robert Waterman, - suggested that seven
internal aspects of an organization need to be aligned if it is to be
successful and thereby modelled the “internal market” for change. By writing to
the wives of employees they manipulated the behaviour of executives.
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THE AUTHOR
Tim Rogers is an experienced Project and Change Leader. He
is founder of www.ciChange.org and
curator for www.TEDxStHelier.Com .
He is Programme Manager for the commercialization of Jersey Harbours and Jersey
Airport. He is also Commonwealth Triathlete and World Championships Rower with
a passion for teaching and learning and is a Tutor/Mentor on the Chartered
Management Institute courses.
Mob: 07797762051 | Twitter @timhjrogers | Skype
timhjrogers
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