Key Takeaways
1. Most Change Initiatives Fail Due to Vague Goals and Neglected Environments.
Study after study, de cade after de cade, report similar findings, namely, that between 50% and 75% of change initiatives fail.
Persistent failure rates. Organizational change efforts consistently fail at alarming rates, with some research indicating up to 85% failure for culture transformations. This widespread failure isn't due to a lack of advice or commitment, but rather fundamental missteps in how change is approached. Leaders often invest heavily in strategic planning and communication, yet overlook critical aspects of execution.
Two core reasons. The authors contend that change efforts fall short primarily for two reasons: leaders present vague and abstract change objectives, and they underestimate the power of the work environment. Phrases like "improve communication" or "increase collaboration" lack the specificity needed to guide action, leaving individuals unsure of what to do differently. This vagueness prevents a coordinated approach to altering the daily work environment.
Ignoring reality. Many change initiatives fail because they ignore the reality that people are "big-brained mammals adapting to our environment." If the environment signals that old behaviors still work, people will stick to them, regardless of inspirational speeches or strategic mandates. The challenge isn't motivating individuals, but rather designing a world around them that necessitates and supports new behaviors.
2. Successful Change Hinges on Specific Desired Behaviors, Not Abstract Ideals.
To create successful change, remember these two tenets: 1. Focus on the be hav iors you want from people. 2. Design the work environment to foster those be hav iors.
Behavior is currency. The most important currency of exchange within human systems is behavior. Whether a change initiative lives or dies depends on the specific actions and patterns of behavior of organizational members. Leaders must move beyond abstract ideals and platitudes to identify precisely what new behaviors are required for the change to take hold reliably and regularly.
Clarity drives success. Vague objectives like "enhanced communication" or "a culture of safety" are comforting but ultimately blur the picture, leading to confusion and ineffective implementation. A detailed, even granular, vision of the future, expressed in terms of observable behaviors, dramatically increases the odds of success. This clarity aids communication, motivates action, guides planning, and facilitates progress tracking.
Halloran's lesson. The case of Halloran, a specialty chemical manufacturer, illustrates this point. Their global supply chain initiative failed not because the idea was bad, but because leaders didn't articulate the specific behaviors required at the plant level. Local purchasing agents resisted because the new system didn't make sense in their daily reality, leading to a costly and ultimately canceled program.
3. "Make a Scene": Envision the Future with Behavioral Specificity.
Describe what you wish to create with as much behavioral specificity as pos si ble.
Storytelling for clarity. To overcome vagueness, leaders should draw on the timeless power of stories to envision the future. This involves creating "scenes" that depict the desired end-state behaviors as if they are already happening. This approach, inspired by Russell Ackoff's idealized design and operating narratives, provides textured insight into the world leaders wish to inhabit.
Screenwriting the future. Leaders should become screenwriters of their future, imagining detailed scenes involving critical roles. This means:
- Person: Focus on a specific individual in a role (e.g., a purchasing agent, a nurse manager).
- Flowchart: Create a step-by-step storyboard of actions and interactions.
- Story: Narrate the scene from the focal person's perspective, detailing conversations and actions.
- Props: Mock up sample reports, dashboards, or meeting agendas to illustrate supporting tools.
Unearthing contradictions. This scene-making process forces a deep, concrete consideration of the change, uncoupling leaders from present constraints and revealing potential contradictions in their vision. By interviewing stakeholders and building a portfolio of scenes, leaders can gain vivid, credible insights into how the future will look and function, ensuring that the desired change is well-defined before implementation begins.
4. The Work Systems Model: Eight Levers to Design Your Environment for Change.
Our de cades of experience have taught us that the work system as a whole is composed of eight environmental aspects ranging from the physical setting to available skills to rewards.
Beyond inspiration. Changing what people do at work requires altering the constant stream of cues they receive from their environment. The Work Systems Model identifies eight interconnected aspects of the work environment that act as powerful "levers" for change. These levers, when pulled strategically, can reshape daily work life and drive desired behaviors.
The 8 Levers of Change:
- Organization: Formal structure, reporting lines, meeting systems, task forces.
- Workplace Design: Physical and virtual space, tools, technology, proximity.
- Task: Work processes, protocols, pathways, standardization.
- People: Selection, skills, learning, training, orientation.
- Rewards: Compensation, intrinsic/extrinsic rewards, recognition, punishments.
- Measurement: Metrics, scorecards, performance feedback.
- Information Distribution: Who knows what, when, and how (data flow, access).
- Decision Allocation: Who participates in which decisions, when, and how.
Systemic approach. These levers are not independent; they form a sociotechnical system where each part influences the others and the whole. Effective change requires a coordinated approach, ensuring that all relevant levers are aligned to send consistent messages and support the desired behavioral shifts, rather than conflicting and canceling each other out.
5. Leverage the 8 Levers: Alter at Least Four to Drive Significant Change.
Change enough levers enough for the owners of the focal be hav ior to perceive that the time has come to adapt to a new environment.
The "enough" principle. While changing any single lever can alter the work environment, significant and sustainable organizational change requires a more comprehensive approach. The authors suggest that leaders must significantly alter at least four of the 8 Levers of Change for individuals to perceive that a new environment has truly emerged, compelling them to adapt.
Twitter's transformation. Twitter's comeback under Jack Dorsey exemplifies this multi-lever approach. To unify its identity and focus, Twitter's Customers Organization pulled multiple levers:
- Organization: Created cross-functional teams and a learning council.
- Workplace Design: Developed better sales-enablement tools tailored to markets.
- People: Aligned training across the organization.
- Rewards: Developed a sales competency framework linked to promotion.
- Information Distribution: Strengthened communication with a holistic newsletter and "drivers" features.
- Measurement: Aligned key operating results with the new vision.
AI in healthcare. The introduction of autonomous AI like IDx-DR for diabetic retinopathy detection also highlights the need for multi-lever change. Beyond just the "Workplace Design" of the device, it necessitates changes in "People" (who performs the screening), "Decision Allocation" (AI making diagnoses), "Task" (reconsidering workflow), "Rewards" (new billing codes), and "Organization" (regulatory pathways).
6. Demonstrate Commitment by Redesigning the Work Environment.
By making meaningful shifts in the workplace environment, the second leader has more powerfully demonstrated commitment to the change today and then each day thereafter.
Actions speak louder. Leaders' commitment to change is not primarily communicated through speeches or mandates, but through tangible alterations to the work environment. Employees are understandably skeptical of change initiatives, having experienced many failures. They look for concrete evidence that leaders are "going first" by embedding their commitment into the daily messages received from their surroundings.
The power of alignment. Consider two leaders: one who gives speeches about standardization, and another who implements a new organizational chart, alters workspace design, delineates standard processes, schedules lean manufacturing training, links rewards to new metrics, enhances data access, and reallocates decision-making authority. The second leader, by systematically pulling multiple levers, demonstrates a far more powerful and credible commitment.
Early successes. This environmental redesign sets the stage for early successes among organizational members who adapt to the new system. These early adopters experience positive reinforcement, which in turn strengthens their commitment to the change. This approach creates a self-reinforcing cycle of commitment, where the environment itself becomes a constant, undeniable signal of the change's permanence.
7. Sustainable Change Requires an Aligned and Supportive Work Environment.
Building a work environment that supports desired change helps both launch the change and secure it.
Beyond temporary pushes. Many organizational changes are temporary, fading once the initial "push" of attention subsides. For change to be truly sustainable and self-perpetuating, it must be embedded within the work environment itself. The desired behaviors must become the most effective and logical way for people to adapt to their daily work world.
Disney's magic. Disney's consistently exceptional customer service is a prime example of sustainable change driven by a comprehensive systems approach. They "storyboard" desired guest experiences (scenes) and then meticulously design their work systems:
- People: Rigorous selection, extensive training (e.g., two-finger pointing).
- Task: Defining every aspect of work, down to small details.
- Workplace Design: Studying guest behavior to optimize park layout (e.g., trash can placement).
- Information Distribution & Decision Allocation: Electronic signboards for wait times, empowering "cast members" to individualize service.
Portugal's drug policy. Portugal's transformation of its drug addiction crisis into a public health success is another powerful illustration. By decriminalizing drug possession and redirecting resources to prevention and rehabilitation, they pulled multiple levers: "Rewards" (tolerance over punishment), "Organization" (Dissuasion Commissions, mobile outreach teams), "Workplace Design" (meeting addicts on the streets), "People" (psychosocial technicians), "Task" (redesigned work processes for care), and "Decision Allocation" (shifting authority from criminal justice to public health). This systemic change led to a dramatic and sustained reduction in drug-related deaths and HIV diagnoses.
8. Culture Change is a Consequence of Altered Behaviors, Not a Separate Goal.
The prob lem is that so many cultural change initiatives have it backward. Too often, organ izations approach culture as if it existed separately from the work environment within the organ ization.
Behavior drives culture. Cultural change is frequently cited as a goal, yet initiatives often fail because they treat culture as an abstract entity separate from daily work. Edgar Schein, a founder of organizational culture studies, emphasizes that change goals must be defined concretely in behavioral terms, not as "culture change." Culture is, by definition, "the way we do what we do," which is a reflection of ingrained patterns of behavior.
CSBS's cultural shift. The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) successfully transformed its culture by focusing on specific behavioral issues identified in a survey: decision-making and prioritization. They didn't just talk about culture; they used the Work Systems Model to address the root causes:
- Organization: Created a Culture Action Team (CAT) and redesigned staff meetings to promote cross-functional collaboration.
- Decision Allocation: Introduced the RACI tool and trained staff to clarify decision-making authority.
- Task: Senior leadership identified five organizational priorities, expressed in a strategic framework, to reduce competing demands.
- People: Trained "super users" for RACI and rewarded CAT members for their work.
Systemic transformation. By systematically altering these levers, CSBS changed the patterns of behavior around decision-making and prioritization. This led to a measurable improvement in employee engagement and their certification as a "Great Place to Work," demonstrating that successful application of the Work Systems Model inherently leads to cultural change.
9. The Work Systems Model Connects Strategic Intent to Practical Implementation.
In summary, the Work Systems Model connects the strategic intent with the challenge of strategic implementation and the orga nizational realities of change, a key connection and one too often weakly made.
Bridging the gap. Many books focus on strategy formulation, but few effectively bridge the gap to implementation. The Work Systems Model provides the connective tissue between high-level strategic intent and the ground-level realities of organizational change. It forces leaders to consider the behavioral implications of strategic choices, moving beyond abstract plans to concrete actions.
Viacom's turnaround. Bob Bakish's turnaround of Viacom illustrates this connection. Facing severe challenges and a lack of strategic direction, he used the Work Systems Model to implement a cross-brand strategy:
- Organization: Assembled task forces and created network groups (e.g., Viacom Digital Studios) that cut across brands.
- Rewards: Aligned bonus compensation with cross-silo collaboration.
- Task & Decision Allocation: Clarified new ways of working and decision-making processes for co-branded projects.
- People & Information Distribution: Appointed a new EVP for communications and culture, launched "Bob Live" Q&A sessions, and created internal communication channels like "That's What's Up" and "Going Up" videos.
- Workplace Design: Created a "Viacom Brand Book" and used screens throughout buildings to reinforce messages.
Disciplined execution. By applying the Work Systems Model, Bakish transformed Viacom's culture and performance, leading to renewed growth and a major merger. The model provides a disciplined framework for planning and execution, ensuring that strategic goals are translated into tangible changes in the work environment that drive desired behaviors and ultimately, successful outcomes.
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