LEADING STRATEGIC CHANGE

(Black and Gregersen Model)

byDr. Chee Kim Loy

Assoc. Professor, UBD

“70% of organizations that seek strategic change fail”

Black and Gregersen, 2003

Some Salient Facts about Strategic Change

• Change has never been easy since time immemorial

• Humans are biologically hard-wired to resist change – wired to survive, so hang on to what has worked!!

• The pace, size and complexity of change are greater than before

• Past successes at managing change is no guarantee for dealing with future changes

Two Major Approaches to Leading Strategic Change

• “Organization in” approach– To strategically change your organization, you

must identify all the organizational levels ( i.e. structure, processes, functions, etc.) you must pull in order to change the organization so that individual change will follow

• “Individual out” approach– To strategically change your organization, you

must first change individuals

“Individual Out” Approach

• Unlocking individual change starts with and ends with the mental maps people carry in their heads - on how they see the organization and their jobs

• Successful strategic change requires a focus on individuals and redrawing their mental maps – i.e. overcoming or break through their ‘brain barrier”

Crux of the Challenges: The Three Brain Barriers

• Why, when opportunities or threats stare people in the face, do people fail to see the need to change?

• Even when people see the need, why do they often still fail to move?

• Even when people move, why do they fail to finish – not going far or fast enough?

Distinctive Features of B-G Model

• A simplifying and focused approach based on the rationale– that something is practical only if we can

remember and recall it; and,– Achieving 80% of the desired results quickly

is much better that never attaining 100%;– 80% of the targets could be achieved by 20%

of the key factors!!– The key factors come from mastering the

fundamentals of strategic change

The Fundamentals of Strategic Change

• Stage 1: Do the right thing and do it well.

• Stage 2: Discover that the right thing is now the wrong thing!

• Stage 3: Do the new right thing, but do it poorly at first.

\• Stage 4: Eventually, do the new right thing

well ( i.e. back to Stage 1 again)

DoneWell

DonePoorly

Right Thing Wrong Thing

STRATEGIC CHANGE MATRIX

Stage 1 Stage 2

Stage 3

CONCLUSION

“The fundamental process of change captures 80% of the strategic change but to achieve the results we need to confront the three brain barriers!!”

THE THREE BRAIN BARRIERS

FAILURE TO SEE!!

THE FIRST BRAIN BARRIER

DoneWell

DonePoorly

Right Thing Wrong Thing

STRATEGIC CHANGE MATRIX: FAILURE TO SEE

Reaction#1Deny the new reality

Reaction#2: Do even more of the old right thing!

WHY FAILURE TO SEE?

• Blinded by the light of what we already see!– History of success (or customary practices)

that work well creates mental maps in us which filter out anything that does not fit our mental maps

• These mental maps keeps people from seeing impending threats & opportunities; hence make no efforts to change!!

THE KEYS TO ‘SEEING’

• CONTRAST, and

• CONFRONTATION

– Leaders have to confront their people with the key contrasts between the past, present, and the future

CIRCLES OF CONTRAST

SHARP CONTRAST!! VERY NOTICEABLE

CIRCLES OF CONTRAST

CONTRAST LESSENS…LESS NOTICEABLE

Why People Can’t See the Contrast?

• In real life, organizational settings are very complex. There are many things to look at and people selectively focus on elements form the past and present that are similar, rather than focus on elements that are different.

• They ignore the key contrasts!!

CONFRONTATION

• To force people to change, leaders must confront their people with the key contrasts between the past, present and future

• Contrast and confrontation are necessary to overcome the first resistance to change – the failure to see !!

HIGH

LOW

LOW HIGH

BREAKING THROUGH THE SIGHT BARRIER

BREAKTHROUGH!!

CONTRAST

CONFRONTATION

p

PARADE

GARBAGE CAN OLD SHOW

!!!

TWO COMMON MISTAKES

• Comprehensive mistake– Trying to focus on too many factors when it is

sufficient to just concentrate on the core 20% of the factors that contribute to 80% results

• “I get it” mistake– Forgetting that you are able to see it because

you have put in a lot of resources and gone through many processes before you see it. Now you expect your staff to see it by justing pointing to them!!

HOW TO CREATE HIGH CONTRAST?

• Focus on the core 20% of what is different

• Enhance ( or even slightly exaggerate! ) the simple description between the old and the new

• Create visual images or pictures of the old and the new, so that the contrast is understood as more than mere words

HOW TO CREATE HIGH IMPACT CONFRONTATION?

• Repeat the messages of the old and new mental maps over and over and over again!

• Create high impact and inescapable confrontations– Focus on core contrasts, the key differences– Make sure it involves as many of the senses as

possible– Ensure ( physically!) the people cannot avoid the

experience

FAILURE TO MOVE!!

THE SECOND BRAIN BARRIER

WHY FAILURE TO MOVE?

• First, even when we see the old right thing no longer works, we still don’t move if the new mental map with its destination and path is not clear (“ Articulate the vision”)

• Second, when the new vision is clear, it is easier for people to see all the specific ways in which they will be incompetent and look stupid – ways that they will do the right thing and do it badly!

THE KEYS TO MOVING

• Not just see the new destination clearly but you must help them believe in the path that will take them to the destination– Make sure others see the destination or

targets clearly– Give them the necessary skills, resources and

tools to reach the destination– Deliver valuable rewards along the journey

Are people who see but still fail to move just plain dumb??

DoneWell

DonePoorly

Right Thing Wrong Thing

STRATEGIC CHANGE MATRIX: BREAKING THROUGH THE MOVEMENT BARRIER

Stage 3

Old right thing becomes wrong

Can’t instantly be good atthe new right thingX

They are not stupid!

• They do not want to look or feel stupid by making the change

• Especially, with a work culture in which mistakes were punished and learning was rarely rewarded.

• They preferred to be competent in the wrong thing than incompetent at the right thing!!

THE SOLUTION …..

• They must be led to believe in a path that will take them from doing the right thing poorly to doing it well.– They must see the destination or target

clearly ( not you the leader only!)– Give them the skills, resources and tools so

that they believe they can do it! Walk the path!!

– Deliver valuable rewards along the journey. They value the outocmes.

A Note on Rewards

• Money? Yes and No

• ARCTIC Values– Achievement (accomplishment, competition)– Relations (approval, belonging)– Conceptual/ Thinking (problem solving,

coordination)– Improvement ( growth, exploration)– Control (competence, influence)

FAILURE TO FINISH

THE THIRD BRAIN BARRIER

Organizational Change or Transformation

• Organizational change is fundamentally meaningful when the majority of the people in the organization have changed – think differently and act differently

WHY FAIL TO FINISH?

• TWO PRINICPAL FORCES– People Getting Tired

• Change requires energy and effort• The returns to investment for these extra inputs

may not be satisfactory• Vapour of faith vs Concreteness of past practices

– People Getting Lost• Major transformations of people and organizations

are long journeys• Lost sense of direction over time and uncertainties

set in; hence hard to press ahead

KEYS TO FINISHING

TWO FACTORS• PROVIDING CHAMPIONS

– 110% Champion!– Be close to the action– Look for the desired efforts not results– Counteract negative consequences with positive ones

• CHARTING PROGRESS– Monitoring and communicating of progress– ‘Micro-level’ monitoring and feedback

SUMMARY

DoneWell

DonePoorly

Right Thing Wrong Thing

STRATEGIC CHANGE MATRIX: THE THREE BARRIERS

Stage 1 Stage 2

Stage 3

See?

Move?

Finish?

THREE KEY PRINCIPLES TO IMPLEMENT SUCCESSFULLY

• CONCEIVING

• BELIEVEING

• ACHIEVING

DoneWell

DonePoorly

Right Thing Wrong Thing

THE CBA’s OF STRATEGIC CHANGE: THREE PRINCIPLES

Believe

Achieve Conceive

TYPES OF CHANGE