Challenges of Change

Winning recommendations for Success

For the NOW Management System℠ to achieve the dream of every opportunity, every employee, every time, is demanding work at all levels, but the rewards far outweigh the costs.

Management must get organized

Vision, mission, values, key goals, outcome measures and strategies must be translated into the two central types of work in order to connect every employee:

Managing Fundamentals (the routine work)

• This demands the organization understand its core processes, sub-processes and that it establishes process owners and measures for each; then, it must connect every employee to the core processes of the organization through these measures.

Achieving Breakthroughs (the initiatives that create new capabilities or achieve breakthroughs in performance)

• This demands that the organization diligently translates its strategic plan into Breakthrough Plans and detailed project plans, connected to every individual involved.

Recommendation: Get some outside help, take the time and do the work. There are no shortcuts to great execution.

Everyone must know how to solve problems

Essential to effective individual and team action is the use of a proven problem solving method such as 7-Step Problem Solving, Kaizen or Lean methods. Every individual, from top to bottom, must understand a common fact-based methodology to facilitate smart decision making, effective action, and collaboration.

Recommendation: View problem solving as a language that everyone needs to speak. Train people after measures are in place using real problems in the learner’s own processes. Applied learning is far more effective. 

Recommendation: Everyone in management must be skilled in whatever method the organization has chosen.

Management’s role must change from bossing to teaching

Employees can’t change their roles without learning. In a NOW world management isn’t wasting its time trying to help people understand what’s important or solving problems that are better solved where the knowledge is. To improve the capability of the workforce demands managers and leaders do a great deal of teaching and coaching.

Recommendation: The transition requires new thinking and new skills for managers. The “frozen layer” must become the fear defroster. That means middle management needs a new tool set, and that demands training.

Fear must be eliminated

In the end the NOW Management System℠ can only fulfill its promise in an environment where fear is minimal. Taking action requires skills, knowledge, authority, and safety.

Recommendation: Talk openly about this challenge, but know that actions will define the reality. People will make mistakes, and education does not come without cost. Do not punish people for making mistakes, but use the stumbles for learning.

Recommendation: Use recognition and low-dollar reward liberally to encourage the new, supportive behaviors!

Help everyone understand the nature of transformative learning 

The experience of transformative learning is common to all human beings. Learning is a highly personal experience and no two people face the same challenges. But the reality is the path is common and the nature of the experience is as human as human gets.

Recommendation: Share the Hero’s Journey model. Help people understand that on the journey they can expect to get lost and confused and frustrated — that is the very nature of change. Understanding what to expect provides great comfort to all involved.  The key is to push through the abyss and persist in the journey to the new NOW. The results are well worth the struggle. 

Leaders must get over their fear of social media

The conversations that happen in social media were already happening behind our backs. Social media simply makes the hidden visible as it is all about transparency and truth. Leaders must get past the fear of criticism. It is essential to understand why the Millennial Generation is so drawn to these tools because that generation is the new workforce and the new customer.

Recommendation: Get managers exposed and experimenting with social media tools. Start with Yammer and a WordPress blog.

Recommendation: Take the time to train people in the effective use of the social media tools. At first the tools seem intimidating, but they are quite simple. It is just a matter of time before these tools are as common as email.