Change is good.... If you're a baby....
There seems to be a misguided belief in much of the business world that "change is good" and lots of neat studies showing that people hate change.
Both of these are completely false. Change is neither inherently good or bad, change is change.
In order to support higher stock prices, many companies feel the need to constantly change things up, reorganizing, laying off, bringing in new theories, hiring consultants, embracing new management styles, and hiring new leadership. The theory seems to be that it is more important to do something to cause a bump in the price than to make long term plans that will maintain the companies success.
If you read and believe in crap like Who Moved My Cheese, you probably feel the need to criticize those in your organization who don't embrace change. After all, we're living in a fast changing world where if you don't get on board, you're going to be left in the dust. Just ask those masters of change in the new economy like the founders of Pets.com and the thousands of other agents of change that litter the internet graveyard.
The fact is that quite often the status quo exists for a reason. Just because things have been done a certain way for awhile doesn't mean that the way is out of date or wrong. Quite often it's the way things are done because trial and error proved it to be the best way.
People are not resistant to change, they are resistant to change that can impact them negatively. If you told your employees tomorrow you were giving them a 20% raise across the board, they'd embrace that change with all of their heart. If you came in and told them you're going to shift their departments around and reassign leadership, chances are they're going to panic because they know more about the potential end result than you do.
So if you're making a change in your organization, first think it through. Get input from the people it will affect BEFORE you do it. Analyze, gather information, and above all, EXPLAIN your reasoning and offer an open door for feedback when the change is made. Change may be necessary, but lack of communication is never acceptible.
Both of these are completely false. Change is neither inherently good or bad, change is change.
In order to support higher stock prices, many companies feel the need to constantly change things up, reorganizing, laying off, bringing in new theories, hiring consultants, embracing new management styles, and hiring new leadership. The theory seems to be that it is more important to do something to cause a bump in the price than to make long term plans that will maintain the companies success.
If you read and believe in crap like Who Moved My Cheese, you probably feel the need to criticize those in your organization who don't embrace change. After all, we're living in a fast changing world where if you don't get on board, you're going to be left in the dust. Just ask those masters of change in the new economy like the founders of Pets.com and the thousands of other agents of change that litter the internet graveyard.
The fact is that quite often the status quo exists for a reason. Just because things have been done a certain way for awhile doesn't mean that the way is out of date or wrong. Quite often it's the way things are done because trial and error proved it to be the best way.
People are not resistant to change, they are resistant to change that can impact them negatively. If you told your employees tomorrow you were giving them a 20% raise across the board, they'd embrace that change with all of their heart. If you came in and told them you're going to shift their departments around and reassign leadership, chances are they're going to panic because they know more about the potential end result than you do.
So if you're making a change in your organization, first think it through. Get input from the people it will affect BEFORE you do it. Analyze, gather information, and above all, EXPLAIN your reasoning and offer an open door for feedback when the change is made. Change may be necessary, but lack of communication is never acceptible.
posted by Rob at 10:16 PM
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