Change Management

Lean is about Change Management. I am going to write some articles on that topic for a couple of weeks. I will cover the following aspects :

1.  Everyone responds to change in different ways (today’s article)
2. Change is a step by step process: a model by John P. Kotter
3. YOU have to be the role model

So let’s start by a basic question: What is change management? Some people will tell you « it’s the art of making sustainable change ».  But what do they mean by « sustainable ? ». Currently, most of experts agreed that a sustainable change is 2 years after the launch of the change program. Based on my own experience, I think that 2 years is the right moment to assess if your change program (let’s say a Lean transformation program) succeeded or failed.

To begin with, as a Lean practitioner, we should not consider that change is natural and that everyone will support the change program.

1)   Everyone responds to change in different ways

Once you’ve had a great idea, will people jump for joy? Or rebel ? The truth is you’ll get a mix (even though everyone will be told the same vision).

Have your read “Who moved my cheese?” by Spencer Johnson ? It’s a business fable about how we react when we are facing a major change. This book becomes one of the best-selling business books.

As people can remember easily stories, let me tell you this story. In this book, two mice and two littlepeople live in a maze and look for cheese.

Things went well in the maze as everyone could get and enjoy the cheese available in Station C. But one day, the cheese disappeared. The humans were annoyed “Who moved my cheese?”. They get angry and complain about the unfairness of the situation. The next day, they came back and they didn’t find any cheese. One of the human (Haw) wants to search for new cheese. But the other one (Hem) refuses and continues to feel depressed. They even blame each other for not finding cheese and getting starved. I know that you are thinking about some colleagues when reading thisJ

The reaction of the two mice was totally different. They were not even surprised as they have already noticed that the cheese supply was decreasing. So when they arrived at the Station C and found no cheese, they begin their hunt for new cheese together.  They found a new “Cheese station N” with plenty of new and delicious cheese.

Haw, one of the littlepeople decided to search for new cheese alone in the maze. As he felt guilty, he wrote “If You Do Not Change, You Can Become Extinct" on the wall of Cheese Station C for his friend.

For a long time, Haw found several empty cheese stations but he starts to enjoy the hunt for cheese. He realized that "When you move beyond your fear, you feel free." After another empty cheese station, Haw decides to go back for Hem with the few bits of new cheese he has managed to find. Hem refuses the new cheese, to his friend's disappointment. So Haw goes back into the maze. One day he discovers “Cheese Station N!” Finding the largest wall in Cheese Station N, he writes:

·        Change Happens: They Keep Moving The Cheese

·        Anticipate Change: Get Ready For The Cheese To Move

·        Monitor Change: Smell The Cheese Often So You Know When It Is Getting Old

·        Adapt To Change Quickly: The Quicker You Let Go Of Old Cheese, The Sooner You Can Enjoy New Cheese

·        Change: Move With The Cheese

·        Enjoy Change! Savor The Adventure And Enjoy The Taste Of New Cheese!

·        Be Ready To Change Quickly And Enjoy It Again. They Keep Moving The Cheese

I really like this story because it shows the different reactions that we have to face in any change project. The reactions represent different characters but it could be also considered as the different reactions of a single man at different stage of a project.

Indeed, our reaction to any change can be analysed throught the SARAH Curve adapted from  Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ five stages of grief:

·        Shock

·        Anger/Rejection

·        Acceptance

·        Healing

Coming soon: John P. Kotter model and some useful tools.