Why training does not work

There is more to training than training…

The other evening while on the way home from some client work, I read the paper on the train. In this was an interesting article that suggested that public transport staff should be given “civility” training by one of the UKs top retailers for customer service – John Lewis.

The article cited that London has high levels of “incivility” and blamed it on the time people travel to and from work. The recommendation was that transport staff should improve their politeness to counter the “daily abrasiveness” that commuters face.

Now having commuted regularly for the first time in several years I know what the author means about the attitude of travellers, however in the same paper (Evening Standard 10 Oct 2011) there was another article educating commuters on how to get a train seat and using the strategy of military tactics to secure the seat ahead of fellow commuters!

 

 

The reality

There are several factors here:

1)      you cannot change the behaviour of millions of people by training just a few 100

2)      training in “politeness” is not the answer, it’s a cultural thing and its up to managers not staff to initiate this.

Looking at each point in turn.

Why are people “impolite”?

• Commuters are packed like sardines,
• They pay a lot of money for the “privilege”,
• The journeys are often long and involve one or more changes.
• Their goal is simple – get to work in as shorter time as is practicable,
• Travel in a “stress free” way. This to them means as few interactions as they can. Stressed people interacting with stressed people increases stress.

Will training work?

The John Lewis Partnership is well known in the UK for its customer orientated approach to business. Sure their training for their staff is wonderful… but the training has been designed to fit in the culture of a management style and service philosophy aligned to serving the customer.

The transport network on the other hand is not about customer service, it is about “service provision” – trains or busses… not individual customers. Staff are managed in a union environment that is focused on the avoidance of problems from managers for the greatest salary in a safe way – nothing about the day to day customer experience. Deep down most staff want to give “good service” however in a fast paced crowd based environment they do not have time or the space to offer a personalised service other than on an “exception” based approach. Training will do little to change each individual and the way they work on a day to day basis. The only people that can do this are the managers and supervisors. They need both awareness that developing a culture of politeness and calmness is important and for the organisations to develop key performance indicators to support the development and encouragement of this “new” culture.

Individual training just does not work for this type of behaviour change in this culture.

Training is not the universal solution, however development of competent managers that have the skills to align behaviour to stated organisational goals and objectives is key. Only poor managers and ineffective leaders hide behind training as the solution for cultural based organizational challenges.

Innovation and Invention… get confused again

Lack of Clarity Misleads Others

Top 100 inventions 2010

Earlier this week Tesco Mobile (a division of the UKs largest retailer published a “Top 100 Inventions In History”. The survey asked 4,000 people to compile a list of the 100 most important inventions in history.  The results are a not too surprising collection of both inventions, innovations and adaptations. A shame as this will only lead to further “educate” the public into believing that innovation and invention are the same.

In the research,,The Telephone is (6), the iPhone is (8) and the mobile phone is (21).  In the true sense of the word the telephone is an invention, but the mobile phone is an innovation, and the iphone an innovation or adaptation from that. So what has the same “invention” been put in the list 3 times.  Sure the “invention of cellular transmission for mobile phone use was an invention, but the mobile phone itself is in fact an innovation from 2-way radio.

Seeing as the research was conducted by a mobile phone company there should be no surprise that the results are a little biased.

Innovation & Invention

The Open University say:

The concept of innovation implies that benefit is derived from applications of new market or technological knowledge. Sometimes it can take a long time for an invention to lead to innovation

Jan Fagerberg wrote:

An important distinction is normally made between invention and innovation. Invention is the first occurrence of an idea for a new product or process while innovation is the first attempt to carry it out into practice.

Risk Taking runs hand in hand with innovation and organisations which introduce a revolutionary product or technology have to take the greatest risk as they have to create the market.

A less risky strategy is that of the imitator. The imitator starts with a new product having a large and growing demand. The imitator then attempts to satisfy the demand in a more effective way. The iPhone was such a product, there was a growing market for smart phones, based on the market created by Nokia, HTC and Blackberry each in their own different way.

So using these definitions, the iPhone is not an innovation in itself, sure some of the merger of technology is, but smart phones that offer all the functionality have been around for some time.

Why is this important?

Its is becoming more and more important for organisations to innovate, and while popular research like this encourages a confused understanding of innovation & invention, innovation will forever be associated with product. Innovation in business is as much about process and culture (if not more so).

There is a difference between product and process innovation.

Product innovation is the development of a new product, i.e. one that does not exist in the market place. When an organisation adopts an innovation to enable greater operational efficiency, this is categorized as a process innovation.  This is where the new process/ adaptation has a beneficial impact on the organisation’s activities. We need to remember that what may be seen as innovative for one organisation may be “been there, done that” for another.

Process innovation is not just about the use of new plant or equipment but, can also mean a new way of getting things done.

In business we need to make sure that we understand what someone means when they say, lets get more innovative here – and that innovation is not just about product – its about attitude, culture and process too!

100 Most Important Inventions In History

The results from the Tesco Mobile 2010 research in the UK

1. Wheel
2. Aeroplane
3. Light bulb
4. Internet
5. PCs
6. Telephone
7. Penicillin
8. iPhone
9. Flushing toilet
10. Combustion engine
11. Contraceptive pill
12. Washing machine
13. Central heating
14. Fridge
15. Pain killers
16. Steam engine
17. Freezer
18. Camera
19. Cars
20. Spectacles
21. Mobile phones
22. Toilet paper
23. Hoover
24. Trains
25. Google
26. Microwave
27. Email
28. The pen
29. Hot water
30. Shoe
31. Compass
32. Ibuprofen
33. Toothbrush
34. Hair straighteners
35. Laptops
36. Knife and fork
37. Scissors
38. Paper
39. Space travel
40. Kettle
41. Calculator
42. Bed
43. Remote control
44. Roof
45. Air conditioning
46. Sat Nav
47. Wi-Fi
48. Cats eyes
49. Matches
50. Power steering
51. Tumble dryer
52. Bicycle
53. Sky+ (or TiVo)
54. Tea bags
55. Umbrella
56. iPod
57. Taps
58. Crash helmet
59. Wristwatch
60. eBay
61. DVD player
62. Nappies
63. Ladder
64. Sun tan lotion
65. Lawnmower
66. Make-up
67. Chairs
68. Sunglasses
69. The game of football
70. Sliced bread
71. Sofa
72. Razor blades
73. Screwdriver
74. Motorways
75. Head/ear phones
76. Towels
77. Push-up bra
78. Binoculars
79. WD40
80. Mascara
81. Hair dryer
82. Facebook
83. Escalator
84. Hair dye
85. Wellington boots
86. Spell check
87. Calendars
88. Cheese grater
89. Buses
90. Post-it notes
91. Gloves
92. Satellite dishes
93. Pedestrian crossing
94. Baby’s dummy
95. Curtains
96. Bottle opener
97. Food blender
98. Dustpan and brush
99. Desks
100. Clothes peg

*Some of this content is based on the OU module Invention & Innovation

List of invention top 100 from

What is Business Transformation?

Increasingly in the worlds of project management, change and organizational development the term Business Transformation is being used. But what does it mean? What is exactly is Business Transformation?

Is it change re-branded? Is it outsourcing? Is it a way for IT companies to sell additional services?

In this unique piece Mike explores Business Transformation and looks at how this approach can be used in your company. He gets behind the hype and looks at what can be done at a practical level to manage transformational change.

 

Introduction To Business Transformation

Business Transformation is a change management strategy which has the aim to align People, Process and Technology initiatives of a company more closely with its business strategy and vision. In turn this helps to support and innovate new business strategies. For any transformation of a business or business processes innovation is one of the key drivers. Having a strong innovative capacity within the culture of the business can be a the make or brake of a transformation process.

 

Change in business

Transformation and change is a critical issue for most organizations. Research shows that the failure rate of change programmes at 70-80%, many organizations are struggling.

The flip-side is that organizations which use effective transformational approaches obtain almost 80% more success than those that don’t*
(*research on the use of the BIR in a range of organizations by Business Link and Scottish Enterprise)

 

Definition

Transformation – A marked change, as in appearance or character, usually for the better.
Transformation (n) – The process or result of changing from one appearance, state, or phase to another

So in business transformation it could be said that transformational change is the process of changing from one ‘look’ to another, or one culture to another.

If visible change has not taken place (both inside and out) then the change is not transformational in nature or form.

 

In psychology
Wilfred R. Bion conceived of transformations as the changes that the analysand’s sense impressions of emotional experience undergo to become a progressive series of mental realisations. Note this talks about a series of changes which are realised, not one change in itself.

 

Origins of transformation
The first report of transformation was an example of natural transformation. This was by Dr. Frederick Griffith a public health microbiologist studying bacterial pneumonia during the 1920s.

 

What is Business Transformation?

Business Transformation appears to have began as a label used by IT companies to re-brand their consultancy processes in order to sell integrated information systems more effectively.

Now business transformation means much more. It implies a holistic process transforming across the business It also implies that this is the only valid strategic process towards achieving your corporate vision or way forward.

Many organizations and consultancies appear to get lost in the chase for growth and change.

Imagine that you have just watched your corporate video/MP4/Podcast or newspaper in three years time. Have all the key elements of transformation been achieved compared to how they were? Or is there a lot more to do?

Communicating and advertising your business transformation expectations and outputs to your Board, stakeholders and staff now is a must-do if your vision is to become a thing of reality. The old adage – what gets measured gets done, is as true today as it has always been.

 

What is Business Transformation all about?

Transformation a process that enables your business across all the Key Performance Indicator so that you can maintain your customers and outperform your competitors on an ongoing basis.

Transformation relies on implementation of effective market and stay-in-business strategies that attract more profitable customers in selected markets and lower operating costs.

How do you know you need to transform your business? Ask yourself:

• Are we reinvesting in opportunities the market evolves?
• Is our performance superior to our major competitors?
• Is our competitive advantage strong enough to leverage more customers and more business from existing customers?

If the answers to any or all of these issues are doubtful, you need to change your approach. If you don’t change, your competitors will change.

 

Enabling Transformational Change

The move from ‘running the business’ or project delivery to business transformation requires action at many levels.

At a project level, five key activities are:

Focus on benefits
Start thinking of projects in terms of business-led transformation activities, spanning many functions. Stop thinking of projects merely as functional and top down.
The main objective of each project must be to gain specific benefits for all stakeholders. Project planning must clearly show how these benefits will be realised by enabling people to do things differently. The business changes required to realise the benefits must be clearly identified, ownership for them must be established, and the overall plan must address these changes as well as the delivery of any new technology.

Resourcing
To realise the benefits will depend on leadership of the project, the people involved, the effectiveness of the project team and the quality of communication and engagement with all the various stakeholders of the project. The implications for the role of the sponsor and the project leader are significant. Do they and the wider team have the expertise, and the time, to address the wider issues of transformation. Is there enough focus on resourcing? Getting the right people, at the right time in the right roles to enable success?

Expanding, developing and learning
Do projects, build in opportunities to explore the possibilities and learn about the potential benefits?
Is there an opportunity to evolve and refocus as the project progresses? By itself this is a huge shift for many organisations. fixed and traditional mindsets can be very damaging and often stifle any innovation or risk-taking. risk-taking and innovation

Sustainability
The project to be successful, will provide an opportunity for a continuous stream of benefits. In many situations the focus and effort should come after the initial project has been delivered. All too often the project team moves on as soon as the process change is live and so the opportunity for continued benefits realisation is lost.

Skills development
Underpinning all these factors is the need for skills and knowledge development. This is about training and education and some significant shifts in thinking are required to learn to approach transformation in a new way and not as just another change project.

Outsourcing – is it transformational?
It is interesting that many organizations categorise outsourcing as the key strategy for business transformation.
Certainly outsourcing CAN BE a valid strategy – but it is not the only one. equally not all outsourcing is transformational change. Outsourcing can only be classified as transformational if it is SEEN by all parties. many organisations attempt to mask this fact to customers and staff. If hidden then unless the new service demonstrates measurable change and is perceived as so by service users then it cannot be transformational. Many outsourcing services offer the same as in-house teams formerly did – is is not transformational – it is transactional change.

 

Useful research

In a survey of enterprise level companies* released by Cap-gemini Consulting in partnership with the Economist Intelligence Unit, Western European businesses have launched on average seven major transformation programmes in the past three years.

Of these, 44% are motivated by the growth of international competition, 34% are motivated by industry consolidation and 34% are motivated by increased competition in domestic markets. Whilst 86% of those questioned feel that managing these business transformations is now an integral part of management, only 30% believe it is something at which they excel.

These transformation projects tend to focus on reducing cost due to new economies of scale at an international level and, increasingly, on achieving growth by seizing each and every opportunity offered by emerging markets. Whether the intention is to boost turnover or to improve profitability, the study underlines the extent to which economic globalisation impacts on the number and content of these transformation programmes.

The analysis reveals two major forms of transformation:

• Fundamental change that generates a strong impact on results in less than two years, such as mergers and acquisitions (57%), outsourcing and off-shoring (53%), restructuring (46%) or strategic changes (46%). These programmes involve external players and generate major transformation within the organisation
• Programmes that generate comparative improvement, such as value-chain optimisation (33%), cross-functional performance improvement (44%), information systems redesigning (54%).

Of the executives questioned:

• 70% express dissatisfaction with the communication of objectives to employees, and 75% express dissatisfaction with training, commitment and people management
• 73% consider themselves to be unsuccessful in avoiding slippage in execution time
• 70% say they are not in a position to properly assess the success of their programme
  * “Trends in business Transformation” is a white paper produced by Capgemini Consulting and written in co-operation with the Economist Intelligence Unit.

 

What is not business transformation?

Business transformation is not (or does not have to be):

• Outsourcing
• Downsizing
• Change re-labelled
• Expensive
• Only managed by consultancy firms
• Limited to IT projects

 

Tools for use in Transformational Change

RapidBI’s family of Business Improvement Review tools have been used successfully as a key part in the business transformation of many organizations – large and small. for more information see:  Business Improvement Review

Managing Change in Organizations

Welcome to our page on change management. For organizational development to be effective, change needs to be managed. Many organizational focus on the project management aspects of change. While this is an important factor – it is not the critical factor. People are.

Often when undertaking change processes in organizations we focus on the process, the project management. Often when change fails it fails because we have not taken into account the impact change has on the individuals concerned from a psychological perspective.

Not all people react in a negative way and change agents must take this into account when using any of the psychlogical based change models.

Some Change Models

To see more of these models visit www.rapidbi.com/created/managementmodels.html

Habits and the impact on Change
As people we learn habits. Habits are formed when we do repetitive tasks, they are formed to help us cope with the wide variety of data (information) presented to us on a daily basis. It is too much to cope with at a conscious level. To cope with the variety over time we form habits. These habits may be simple routines like the order we get dressed in the mornings, the first few minutes in the work place – coffee, tea etc. It may even be the order in which we talk to people. When this structure or order is changed – it impacts us in many ways. It is often the simple changes to routines like this that cause individuals them most problems. It is not the fact that a desk may be now facing a different direction or on another floor in the building that is the issue – it is the break in the pattern that has been enforced on an individual. It is the little things that take time to resolve. As humans we can often deal with the big changes easily – it is the little things that cause us more difficulty! When change is ‘imposed’ on people, that is they feel they have little ownership in the decision, they often feel out of control. As organizational development or change agents we need to help this process.

Please note that as humans we all have a choice – we can engage with the change or we can leave. As Organisational Development professionals we need to recognize this as a legitimate strategy.

We cannot and should not force change on people, our role should be to enable change and to encourage people to mage a choice or decision.

The models shown on this page can help individuals recognize that what they are experiencing is ‘normal’ and that this is often a process that they need to go through. Some people will go through the process quickly – others more slowly.

Many Change Models There are many change models, the most common one is the Kubler Ross transition (grief) cycle. Originally titled ‘The 5 Stages of Receiving Catastrophic News’ these stages are:

• Denial
• Anger
• Bargaining
• Depression

AcceptanceAs an example, apply the 5 stages to a traumatic event most all of us have experienced:

The Dead Battery!

You’re going to be late to work so you rush out to your car, place the key in the ignition and turn it on. You hear nothing; the battery is dead.
Denial – What’s the first thing you do? You try to start it again! And again. You may check to make sure the radio, heater, lights, etc. are off and then…, try again.
Anger – !$%&*@~$! car!, I should have junked you years ago. Did you slam your hand on the steering wheel?
Bargaining – (realizing that you’re going to be late for work)…, Oh please car, if you will just start one more time I promise I’ll buy you a brand new battery, get a tune up, new tires, clean you, and keep you in perfect working condition.
Depression – Oh God, what am I going to do. I’m going to be late for work. I give up. My job is at risk and I don’t really care any more. What’s the use.
Acceptance – Ok. It’s dead. Guess I had better call the breakdown service or find another way to work. Time to get on with things; I’ll deal with this later.This is not a trivial example. In fact, we all go through this process numerous times a day. A dead battery, the loss of a parking space, a wrong number, the loss of a pet, a job, a move to another city, an overdrawn bank account, etc.Most write ups of this model in recent years has focused on grief, while this is great for doctors and councilors, it is not helpful in business.In business I have found that while this is a valuable model, staff and managers find it ‘difficult’ to understand, so I use a simplified version:

• Denial
• Resistance
• Exploration
• Acceptance/ Commitment

The graphical version is listed below. I occasionally change the last one from acceptance to commitment de

pending on the ‘depth’ of change. I let the ‘users’ of the model create their own words. When they own the model they are more likely to use it.

Personal Change Model
Encouraging people to create their own labels for each of the four stages helps them to own the model. If they own the model they are more likely to use it.Remind them that these types of reactions to change are common. In fact we all react like this to a greater or lesser extent. It is normal. Understanding the fact that they are/ might be having an emotional reaction to a logical proposal is a big step for many people. Some times we will go through the stages quickly, other times more slowly. Sometimes we may be going through several change processes at one time, so will be in different places on the curve depending on the change. Often at the same time!

Other change management models include:
The ADKAR model for individual change management was developed by Prosci. This model describes five required building blocks for change to be realized successfully on an individual level. The building blocks of the ADKAR Model include:

• Awareness – of why the change is needed
• Desire – to support and participate in the change
• Knowledge – of how to change
• Ability – to implement new skills and behaviors
• Reinforcement – to sustain the change

John Kotter has set out an eight-step strategy:

1. Establish a sense of urgency.
2. Create the guiding coalition.
3. Develop a vision and strategy.
4. Communicate the change vision.
5. Empower employees for broad-based action.
6. Generate short-term wins.
7. Consolidate gains and produce more change.
8. Anchor new approaches in the culture.

If you would like any more information on the use of the model or how we have integrated it into our organizational and culture change products please contact us or visit our diagnostics page.

Other change models and adaptations
There are many ways of graphically representing a ‘change curve’. below are a few variations.
When working with individuals and teams undergoing change, it is not the actual model used that is important, but that the individuals see it is relevant to them. The best change facilitators use the one which best matches the culture of the organization they are working with.

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If you would like any more information on the use of the model or how we have integrated it into our organizational and culture change products please contact us or visit our diagnostics page.

Please note the models here are provided for educational purposes only. No copyright is assumed. © Mike Morrison, RapidBI 2007 http://www.rapidbi.com

© RapidBI.com 2008

http://www.rapidbi.com

This material may be put on your Blog or website – however please keep this copyright statement

Creating an organisational wide innovation culture

Ever heard people say…

“What we need in this organisation is innovation”, “Creativity will give us the edge”.

Leaders often utter these words with little realisation of the difficulties of bringing about a fundamental shift in the behaviour necessary to create an innovation culture across the enterprise. “We can empower people to bring new ideas, we’ll run some workshops on creativity” if only it were that simple. But alas this Procrustean approach is unlikely to reap rich rewards.

You remember Procrustes of course, the famous innkeeper of greek mythology? According to legend he was single-minded in his approach to hospitality, he kept an inn on the road to Athens and what distinguished this inn from any other was that it had only one room containing only one bed. Procrustes believed that all travellers who stayed in his hostel should fit in the bed, and this is where he was single-minded, those who were too tall swiftly had their feet cut off whilst those too short were stretched to fit. An unfortunate side effect of this unwarranted attention to detail meant that by the time he had executed the necessary adjustments many of his guests were, well, dead!

A one size fits all approach denies the reality that people are different and in developing an approach towards encouraging innovation these differences need to be surfaced and reconciled.

One organisation has devised a more enlightened strategy. Recognising early on that building a culture of innovation requires some foresight and hard graft in building a critical mass of people who understand their own, and others innovation style they targeted successive intakes of graduates to build new ways of thinking and acting to realise their innovation potential.

Around 40 graduates a year participate in the graduate development programme, after successfully completing an assessment centre. Critical reasoning tests are part of the selection process but interestingly, so too is a creative thinking test that explores, fluency – the number of ideas generated, originality – how original are the ideas and lateral flexibility – how diverse these ideas are. Candidates are chosen according to their strengths either in critical reasoning or creativity – some even have strengths in both domains! Importantly, whatever their strengths each have a vital role in the innovation process.

At the very first module of their development programme they are introduced to two important topics – learning and innovation. Each individual learns about their own preferences for learning which involves a combination of thinking and action (after Kolb) and understand the strengths and limitations of each preference. Prior to the module they are asked to complete a Creatrix™ inventory and when attending are introduced to the underlying concepts that describe innovation capacity – creativity and risk taking. The blend of these constructs gives unique profiles that describe typical approaches and attitudes towards the behaviours associated with innovation. Through an understanding of their own approach and strengths towards innovation the groups develop awareness of the need to balance innovation teams, too many innovators and a surfeit of ideas but no action, too many sustainers and no ideas will see the light of day. Appreciating their own and others styles helps in several ways; they recognise their own unique contribution to the innovation process; they identify potential barriers and possible levers that can help navigate from ideas to action; they develop a language for describing and understanding innovation; they identify ways of making things happen by circumventing the organisational “permafrost” that kill possibilities prematurely; they develop individual action plans for switching on their own capacity for innovation; and build a network across the organisation to act on those thorny cross functional problems.

This fresh approach of seeding the organisation with new entrants untainted by the inevitable cynicism seasoned campaigners in the organisation is beginning to bear fruit. Hungry to make a mark many of the graduates are pushing new ideas and making a succession of small wins from streamlining processes to developing new products – and what’s more getting the support of the person at the top. As this population grows with each successive stream a critical mass of young innovators is being formed who want to push the boundaries even further.

For this group in the organisation, change and innovation is not a threat, they feel empowered to drive it and, for them, it is the opportunity for more learning.

With innovation, as in other aspects of life, diversity brings real advantages, a concept that was lost on poor Procrustes.

By Mike Morrison & Vince Whittle

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For more information on creating an innovative culture see: www.rapidbi.com/creatrix & www.rapidbi.com/bir

For more management articles see www.rapidbi.com/articles

© This article is copyright RapidBI 2006, 2008 – it may be copied providing the authors are credited, and links maintained

© RapidBI.com 2008

http://www.rapidbi.com

This material may be put on your Blog or website – however please keep this copyright statement

Change Curve Debunked?

Today I read an interesting post by Rob Robson on the change curve at his blog (http://preview.tinyurl.com/2rywg5) .

This sparked some thoughts which I share below.

Change Curve debunked… really?

Rob asks is the Kubler Ross change curve an over simplification – yes of course… all models are over simplifications of reality – isn’t that what they were created for, to take a complex theory and enable the PRINCIPLES to be more easily understood?

He raises some interesting points that many authors do ignore that fact that many people welcome change. This is so very true, in OD and HRM we seem to assume the worst in people – when this is just not true. Sure people will reach different under change, and that is to be expected – our role is to ease that process – not offer therapy for change interaction!

We all need to remember that these are just models and not reality.

As a framework and common language they do have a value – indeed as he says

“By all means, keep the five-stage model in our armoury, but let’s not get carried away with it. Let’s not present it as an unequivocal truth. And let’s not let it get in the way of attempting to truly understand how people really experience change.”

As is said in the change management article there are 3 rules to leadership (or change):

• Rule# 1 – people are different
• Rule# 2 – people are different
• Rule# 3 – people are different
  

And we need to treat each individual in the way that is appropriate for them.
Rob’s headline is to Debunk the Change Curve … which one there are many? Rob focus’s is on the Kubler Ross curve – which as he points out was actually developed for use in a clinical environment, and users need to be aware of that.

Many practitioners will use a simplified model for use in a general business environment business environment.

What we do need to be careful of is people search the web (or a library), finding a model and using it without understanding what it is, where it come from or indeed its limitations.

All models have a place – the question we all need to ask is – is it here and now?

Mike

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Mike Morrison is director of RapidBI, an organisational effectiveness consultancy. He has been involved in HR, OD and strategic development for over 20 years. He can be contacted via www.rapidbi.com
© This article is copyright RapidBI 2006, 2008 – it may be copied providing the authors are credited, and direct links maintained

© RapidBI.com 2008

http://www.rapidbi.com

This material may be put on your Blog or website – however please keep this copyright statement

Kurt Lewin three step change theory model – unfreeze, change, freeze

Kurt Lewin three step model change theory

Introduction

The Kurt Lewin change theory model is based around a 3-step process (Unfreeze-Change-Freeze) that provides a high-level approach to change. It gives a manager or other change agent a framework to implement a change effort, which is always very sensitive and must be made as seamless as possible.

The Kurt Lewin model can help a leader do the following three steps:

• Make a radical change
• Minimize the disruption of the structure’s operations
• Make sure that the change is adopted permanently

Summary of Kurt Lewin’s Change theory

This three step model gives a manager or change agent an idea of what implementing change means when dealing with people.  The 3 phases of the Kurt Lewin model provide guidance on how to go about getting people to change: a manager will implement new processes and re-assign tasks, but change will only be effective if the people involved embrace it and help putting it into practice it.

Lewin change model – Unfreeze – “ready to change”

When a structure has been in place for a while, habits and routine have naturally settled in. The organization as a whole is going in the right direction, but – as shown on the illustration – people or processes may have strayed off course. For example, tasks that are not relevant or useful anymore are still being performed by force of habit, without anyone questioning their legitimacy. Similarly, people might have learned to do things one way, without considering other, more efficient methods. Unfreezing means getting people to gain perspective on their day-to-day activities, unlearn their bad habits, and open up to new ways of reaching their objectives. Basically, the current practices and processes have to be reassessed in order for the wheels of change to be set in motion.

Lewin change model – Change – “implementation”

Once team members have opened up their minds, change can start. The change process can be a very dynamic one and, if it is to be effective, it will probably take some time and involve a transition period. In order to gain efficiency, people will have to take on new tasks and responsibilities, which entails a learning curve that will at first slow the organization down. A change process has to be viewed as an investment, both in terms of time and the allocation of resources: after the new organization and processes have been rolled out, a certain chaos might ensue, but that is the price to pay in order to attain enhanced effectiveness within the structure.

Lewin change model – Freeze (sometimes called refreeze)- “making it stick”

Change will only reach its full effect if it’s made permanent. Once the organizational changes have been made and the structure has regained its effectiveness, every effort must be made to cement them and make sure the new organization becomes the standard. Further changes will be made down the line, but once the structure has found a way to improve the way it conducts its operations, “re-freezing” will give the people the opportunity to thrive in the new organization and take full advantage of the change. Many quote the model as saying the third step of this approach is to re-freeze, when in Lewins origional work it was “freeze”.

In 1947 Lewin wrote:

A change towards a higher level of group performance is frequently short-lived, after a “shot in the arm”, group life soon returns to the previous level. This indicates that it does not suffice to define the objective of planned change in group performance as the reaching of a different level. Permanency of the new level, or permanency for a desired period, should be included in the objective.

Source – “Frontiers in Group Dynamics” Lewin (1947)

This lewin change model is one of 400+ models available for download in PPT format in our store.

PRIMO-F model for business development

PRIMO-F the Business Growth Model

Often in organizations we use a SWOT analysis as a way of identifying priorities and areas for improvement. While the SWOT is a wonderfully flexible tool, it is too easy to miss out key elements. We tend to use a SWOT based on our experiences, rather than the actual situational needs.

As SWOT analysis is made up of two internal elements (SW) and two external elements (OT) it is helpful to use a structure to give us a guide for what should be included.

• PRIMO-F model provides the structure for SWot
• PESTLE analysis model provides the structure for swOT

 

The PRIMO-F model was developed by the RapidBI team as part of a SWOT analysis of an organization. It helps to provide a consistent framework for comparison and benchmarking either from within the organization or to benchmark against a previous analysis or benchmark against other organizations.

The PRIMO-F model was derived out of some work from Durham University Business School (DUBS), and research into what makes an organization and its management effective. This research demonstrated that an effective organization needed to fulfil the following equation:

 

Organizational Growth Effectiveness = Performance to date * Potential for the future.

 

Where Performance to date (FiMO) included:

• Finance
• Marketing
• Operations

and Potential for the future (RECoIL) included:

• Resources,
• Controls and Systems
• Innovation and
• Leadership

This was sometimes called FiMO/ RECoIL.

One of the problems with this method was the lack of consistent application, as a tool or framework it is fine, however many managers, consultants and business advisor’s have their own priorities. For example a person who has a financial background will major on finance, a person with marketing will focus on marketing etc. After all we are all human. One of the problems with the model in the ‘field’ is that often key issues were missed. The BIR was developed to take these factors and review them consistently.

In many situations it is difficult for managers to differentiate between performance to date and potential for the future, as several areas overlapped, for example resources, operational leadership and management. In addition FiMO RECoIL was seen as too complex for many managers to use on a day to day basis. To solve this problem we developed the PRIMO-F. A simplified way of showing strengths and weaknesses in the relevant areas.

The PRIMO-F Model:

PRIMO-F

• People
• Resources
• Innovation & Ideas
• Marketing
• Operations
• Finance

Mapping PRIMO-F to FiMO RECoIL

Performance of the business:

How good is it in terms of its Finance, Marketing & its Operations?

Potential for Growth

People in terms of their experience, their leadership and the controls in place in the organization.

Experience: Age of the business, Management experience of:

• borrowing
• product development
• different types of market
• use of external agents
• moving sites
• managing growth

Leadership:

• Involving a senior management
• age of owner manager
• occupational base of owner manager
• personal objectives and ambition in line vision of the future
• education and training

Operations – Control: Adequacy of information and control systems

• Ability to use information
• Degree of professionalism and Responsibilities of management
• Adequacy of planning and monitoring
• Level of delegation
• How performance is assessed

Resources: Availability, utilization and appropriateness (fit for purpose)

• Liquidity and availability of finance
• Technology level and capability
• Physical assets: age and state
• Product range and life
• Use of and access to appropriate external agents

Innovation & Ideas:

• Number and source of ideas innovation is being considered
• How they are assessed
• Level of development or market testing of these ideas
• Level of market planning of these ideas
• How creative they are.

The PRIMO-F model is not in itself a solution – but a tool to enable that powerful too the SWOT to work more effectively.

PRIMO-F is © Mike Morrison & RapidBI 1998 - you may quote the model - but please include a link back to this site.

CIPD factsheets – an A-to-Z of HR topics & resources

CIPD factsheets – essential information for any manager & practitioner

An A-to-Z of HR and management related factors is an easy to read and easy to apply style.

The CIPD produce a wonderful set of regularly updated and reviewed factsheets on a wide range of HR and management based topics., While some are available to members only, the majority are available to all.

This pages lists those available as at January 2010. Please note all links open in new windows.

UPDATE MARCH 2011

The CIPD have now put these pages behind a gateway requiring registration. This registration is free.

To go to the CIPD Fact-sheet home page

CIPD Fact-sheet on: 360 feedback
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Absence measurement and management
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Action learning
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Age and employment
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Age discrimination: reward policies and procedures MEMBER ONLY
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Aligning learning to the needs of the organisation
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Assessment centres for recruitment and selection
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Basic pay settlements: data sources
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Bonuses and cash incentives
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Business gifts
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Career and outplacement consultants
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Change management
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Coaching
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Company car policies
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Competency and competency frameworks
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Contracts of employment
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Corporate social responsibility
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Costing and benchmarking learning and development
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Creative learning methods
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Data protection
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Development planning for individual employees
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Disability and employment
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Discipline and grievance procedures: key changes from 6 April 2009 MEMBER ONLY
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Discipline and grievances at work
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Dismissal
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Diversity: an overview
CIPD Fact-sheet on: E-learning: progress and prospects
CIPD Fact-sheet on: E-recruitment (previously called Online recruitment, and Recruitment on the Internet)
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Emotional intelligence
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employee benefits
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employee communication
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employee engagement
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employee relations
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employee share ownership
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employee turnover and retention
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employee voice
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employer brand
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employer support for learning qualifications
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employing overseas workers
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employing people with criminal records
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employing people with criminal records: risk assessment
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employment law developments in 2009 and 2010 (previously Legal developments in…)
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employment law: key differences between Northern Ireland and Great Britain MEMBER ONLY
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Employment tribunals
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Evaluating learning and development
CIPD Fact-sheet on: The environment and people management
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Equal pay
CIPD Fact-sheet on: EU employment policy – formerly called EU social policy
CIPD Fact-sheet on: European Works Councils
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Flexible benefits
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Flexible working
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Harassment and bullying at work
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Health and safety at work
CIPD Fact-sheet on: High performance working
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Hiring consultants
CIPD Fact-sheet on: History of the CIPD
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Homeworking and teleworking
CIPD Fact-sheet on: HR business partnering
CIPD Fact-sheet on: HR outsourcing
CIPD Fact-sheet on: HR policies: which to consider
CIPD Fact-sheet on: HR policies: why and how to introduce them
CIPD Fact-sheet on: HR shared service centres
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Human capital
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Human rights
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Identifying learning and development needs
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Immigration law changes: what employers should know MEMBER ONLY
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Induction
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Interim managers
CIPD Fact-sheet on: International management development: an overview
CIPD Fact-sheet on: International recruitment, selection and assessment: an introduction
CIPD Fact-sheet on: International reward
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Internet and e-mail policies
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Investors in People
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Job evaluation
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Leadership: an overview
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Learner-centred courses
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Learning and talent development: an overview
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Learning and talent development strategy
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Learning styles
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Local pay: approaches and levels
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Management development
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Managing international assignments
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Market pricing: approaches and considerations
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Maternity, paternity and adoption rights
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Mediation at work
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Mental health at work
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Mentoring
CIPD Fact-sheet on: National Minimum Wage
CIPD Fact-sheet on: NLP at work
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Non cash incentives
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Occupational health
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Occupational pensions
CIPD Fact-sheet on: On-the-job training
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Organisation development
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Outdoor development
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Pay and reward: an overview
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Pay progression
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Pay structures
CIPD Fact-sheet on: The people and performance link
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Performance appraisal
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Performance management: an overview
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Performance-related pay
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Personnel management: a short history
CIPD Fact-sheet on: PESTLE analysis
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Promoting learning and development in small businesses
CIPD Fact-sheet on: The psychological contract
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Psychological testing
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Quality standards and approaches
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Race, religion and employment
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Recruitment: an overview
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Recruitment of people working with children and vulnerable adults
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Recruitment outsourcing
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Redundancy
CIPD Fact-sheet on: References
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Relocation
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Retention of personnel records
CIPD Fact-sheet on: The role of front line managers in HR
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Salary review process
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Secondment
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Selecting candidates
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Selection interviewing
CIPD Fact-sheet on: The self-employed HR consultant
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Sex discrimination, sexual orientation and gender reassignment and employment
CIPD Fact-sheet on: The skills agenda in the UK
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Smoking at work
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Strategic human resource management
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Stress at work
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Succession planning
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Swine flu and bird flu (formerly Bird flu)
CIPD Fact-sheet on: SWOT analysis
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Talent management: an overview
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Team reward
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Team-working
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Total reward
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Trade unions: a short history
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Training: a short history
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Transfer of undertakings (TUPE)
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Understanding the economy and labour market
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Voluntary benefits
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Whistle-blowing: an overview
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Work-life balance
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Working hours in the UK
CIPD Fact-sheet on: Working time and leave: an overview

Please note the CIPD may remove or update these at any time. In the event of a failure; go to the home page for CIPD Fact-sheets

Feel free to add this page to favorites

What’s your cause? – Goal setting for 2010

Prompted by this:

Instead of writing goals this year, can you define your cause? Goals create actions which might have an effect. Causes create effects, making the goals that arise more fluid, adaptable and meaningful. Marcia Reynolds

It got me thinking about new Year goals and resolutions. Every year it is the same, every self and personal development guru says that now is the time to clear out the old and set up the new, and less than a month into the new year most of us have stopped doing what we promised. Ok so lets start by doing something different….

1. Don’t wait till the 1st of Jan – if you are going to change… change TODAY… NOW!
2. Make it small and make it for YOUR reasons, something YOU really want for you
3. Start by finding your CAUSE and work in this order….

What is your cause in 2009 and beyond…?

• Cause – who, what and why are you working for?
• Aims – what is it that you want to achieve
• U – It cannot happen without you
• S-MARTer – make sure that everything you set out to achieve is SMARTer
• Ethical – balanced ecologically and with your financial and family needs

Start with your cause – have two – one internal and one external

33 Ways to develop an Innovative Culture in your org.

Ways to develop a Culture of Innovation

Many organisations strive for a competitive edge, an advantage over their competitors to help ensure their sustainability. Innovation is one such way, but for too long many organisations have concentrated on developing product and ignored the possibilities of innovation as a culture. Having an innovative friendly culture can harness the innovative and creative capacities of the entire workforce (and your customers and suppliers) to your advantage. But it is a difficult and for some a scary step.

Below are some of the activities that you may need to undertake on your journey to increasing the innovative capacity of your organisation

 

1. Great sources of new ideas are new starters to the company. Use them wisely and creatively
2. Always question longstanding beliefs
3. Ask questions about everything. After asking questions, ask different questions. After asking different questions, ask them in a different way
4. Avoid analysis paralysis
5. Change – change teams, project members and responsibilities
6. Communicate – open communication about anything and everything – make it easy to do
7. Communicate, communicate, communicate and communicate again. Ensure that every important message is repeated more than five times
8. Concentrate on the process of being effective at taking an idea from initial thought to application or market.
9. Embrace and celebrate failure. Success comes from volume not just quality
10. Encourage interaction between parts of the organisation that traditionally don’t communicate or usually collaborate together
11. Encourage people to meet informally, one-on-one, and in small groups, not just in functional teams
12. Ensure that everyone knows that reducing costs as a core strategy solves nothing. High costs are usually a sign of deeper or systematic problems
13. Have fun. If you’re not having fun (or at least enjoying the process) something is off
14. Imagine what you can make happen rather than dwelling on what might
15. Involve your customers as partners in the innovation process, while understanding that they are usually limited to wanting incremental innovations
16. Learn to see things differently
17. Learn to tolerate and enjoy ambiguity in data, and methods
18. Make decisions quickly at the lowest level possible
19. Make innovation the responsibility of all employees with appropriate objectives for each and every functional area
20. Make many new mistakes
21. Making innovation process rigid and core will stop spontaneous innovation efforts
22. No fixed rules or formula’s, only guiding principles
23. Notice change and innovation attempts and reward them
24. Provide time for your people to explore ideas and concepts through trust
25. Remove all organisational barriers which are stopping people communicating BHAG – Bold, Hairy Audacious Goals to senior management/ decision makers
26. Remove fear from the culture and management style
27. Reward collective, as well as individual successes, maintaining individual accountabilities, keeping innovation “heroes” visible
28. Seek a wide range of viewpoints. A diversity of views sparks more than conflict, it sparks innovation
29. Seek ways to learn from experience and find new and effective methods of sharing learning with your people
30. Use stories to support the transfer of learning
31. Spark interest – add images, photos and colour to your environment
32. Take a “go-slow now to go-fast later” approach, get many people involved at the beginning
33. Think of “self-organising” innovation, rather than “command and control” innovation
34. Think in the long term. Short term-ism has been proven not to work!

Using powerful organisational tools like the Creatrix can help to identify where the strengths of innovation lie in your organisation and provide a benchmarking took for measuring progress as you move towards being increasingly innovative – for innovation is a journey not a destination.

Byrd & Brown in their book provide a useful tool “the innovation Equation” where:

Innovation=creativity * risk-taking

In providing this equation the authors provide us – the change agents with a powerful methodology

**Article based upon an origional piece  by Mitch Ditkoff and Val Vadeboncoeurby

Fad surfing – the worst form of change management

Chasing the shiny new things

Last week in a tweet I mentioned fad-surfing and some of my followers were not aware of this and requested an article – so here it is! Fad surfers are the management or  leadership equivalent of the magpie, they love collecting shiny new things from other people. A management or leadership style where there is a lot of sizzle but little substance

What is “fad surfing”?

In simple terms

Adopting one fashionable management style or strategy after another.

The term was first brought into print in 1993 in an article by T. George Harris called “Fad-Surfers, Risk-Dodgers, and Beloved Companies,”  in the Harvard Business Review. Harris quoted Eileen C. Shapiro as saying “Too many consultants and clients end up fad-surfing together rather than working on the real problems…”. Subsequently Shapiro went on to publish the book “Fad surfing in the board room” in 1995.

To me fad-surfing is one of the worst traits of a leader, manager or consultant. It is one where management jumps on to the latest bandwagon of ideas, thoughts and concepts to initiate change. It has become commonplace, although the term “fad-surfing” has been conveniently forgotten. Fad-surfing is going from idea to idea because the previous concept has not delivered what was expected, as fast as was expected. Much like this change model:

Where there is pressure for change >>> Implement initiative >>> Results fall below expectations >>> A new “fad” is sort to resolve the under-performance >>> leads to more work…. and the cycle continues.

Some of the historical management fads have included:

• Visioning
• Flat organizational cultures
• Matrix management
• Empowerment
• Open environments
• Open door policies
• Customer focus
• Upside-down pyramid
• Just-in-time
• Lean
• Six sigma
• One minute manager
• Situational leadership
• Re-engineering
• FISH
• Benchmarking
• Helicopter view
• Blue-sky thinking
• Competencies
• Excellence
• Learning organizations
• Paradigm
• Participative management
• Reality check
• Retreats
• 360 feedback
• Value proposition

Well you get the idea! And its not just business that we have fad surfers – Bottled water, food/ cooking, TV producers, fashion, automotive, building design, software, social networking… etc.

Shapiro defines fad-surfing (n) as: the practice of riding the crest of the latest management panacea and then paddling out again just in time to ride the next one; always absorbing for managers and lucrative for consultants and frequently disastrous for organizations.

Leaders which have their own goals and vision may well seek out a model, theory of approach to support the implementation of their idea, however they do not attempt to implement a strategy because they read about it in their preferred journal or heard an idea at a conference. Riding an idea is not in itself a bad thing – it is what we do next that counts. Implementing a culture change or management style can take many months or years to embed properly. As the saying goes practice makes permanent – so practice right!

We know from cognitive studies that habits take time to learn and unlearn. the same is true when implementing a new idea or concept. It is not just a simple logical change. We want people to change and adapt their behaviours, often physical and mental habits. For that we need to give people the tools and the time.

To change a habit

To change habits at an individual level according to Professor Ian Newby-Clark there are five things that we each need to individually do:

1. Work on One Habit at a Time. If you work on changing more than one habit at a time you run a serious risk of overwhelming yourself and changing no habits at all.
2. Create a Plan and Write it Down.
3. Refine Your Plan. Now you need to refine your plan.
4. Make SMART Mini-Plans.
5. Repeat! Repeat! Repeat!

This of course is on the assumption that we want to change – this is not always the case when the organization insists on a change!

Change your habit in 21 days…

Well maybe not… There is an often repeated statistic that you can change your habits in 21 days, Oliver Burkeman wrote recently about: How long does it really take to change a habit? In addition according to a recent study, a daily action like eating healthily or running for regularly took an average of 66 days to become as much of a habit as it would ever become.

Just how long it takes to change a habit has so many variables that it is difficult to say with any precision, we are after all human and there are 3 important things to remember about employees and managers:

1. People are different
2. People are different
3. People are different

What we do know is that for people to change, they need to understand and buy-in at an emotional level to the changes being imposed.

Back to fad-surfing – as a habit is is not productive, but does buy a few years for a leader before they are eventually “found out”.

Much better to have a vision, communicate it, stick with it (providing the evidence keeps saying its the right thing to do), repeat, repeat, repeat, and practice, practice, practice. It is consistency that always rules the day.

The only panacea for effective leadership is consistant hard work and a clear vision…

Strategic development: Are we missing the point?

As developers, consultants and change agents, we often talk about strategic programmes and actions, but are we taking the appropriate first steps?

This article looks at the steps we take and explores if we can be more strategic and add more value.

 

Introduction

Often we know where we want to get to, or at least have a good idea, but often as the old saying goes: “If I was going there, I would not start from here.”

That is a very logical reply, even if it is not advice that is of much immediate practical value to the questioner. If you don’t know where you are going, you are not likely to get there.

It is sound advice to know where you are and where you want to end up before starting the journey. Is this why many of the tourist maps have a “you are here” marker?

Where are we now? Where do we want to be?

This is a simple yet basic step in any intervention, at any level within our respective organisations. Yet what is the extent to which we really do it? Where is the ‘you are here’ marker in our organisations? Sure, some of us have tools like customer satisfaction and staff engagement data (as well as the basic business financial measures), but holistic, strategic data?

In the 2007 survey, Develop the Developers (by Morrison & Ritchie), responders to the survey provided the following answers in response to development activities:

Use of diagnostic approaches:

Always (8%); usually (33%); sometimes (46%); rarely (10%); never (4%)

Use of evaluation approaches:

Always (37%); usually (43%); sometimes (15%); rarely (2%); never (2%).

This highlights why much of what we do in organisational development (OD) and human resource development (HRD) fails, on a regular basis, to make the desired (and recognised) strategic impact.

“How can we ever hope to evaluate any intervention effectively if we do not know where we started from?”

We have read many threads on community forums such as HRZone.co.uk and TrainingZone.co.uk about the difficulties of evaluating activity. How to calculate a return on investment (ROI) or show value for money is a commonly recurring theme.

How can we ever hope to evaluate any intervention effectively if we do not know where we started from? We will only know this by having the same measures at the beginning of an intervention as we want to use for measuring success after the event.

In business we do it – we look at the financial position (profit, turnover etc), we set a plan to achieve it and then we measure after an agreed period of time. In medicine, before a person starts treatment we have some measures – pulse, respiration, blood pressure and so on – we measure before and after (often on going) treatment. Why, in HR and HRD, do we not do the same? Often we do for things like retention, sickness and attendance – but not for the more strategic elements.

What is a diagnostic process?

It is often simpler than it sounds. It is a tool that identifies ‘where you are now’, the dot or arrow on the map if you like. Tools like SWOT and PESTLE are OK to start with, but often these tools are not used as effectively (or broadly) as they were originally intended.

Diagnostic tools that only look at the area of the business you are interested in, for example culture surveys, have their place, but how do you know that culture is the issue – where is the diagnosis to show that a specific tool like a culture survey is the right one? There may be a need with a higher priority.

“A regular, yet effective organisational diagnostic process not only evaluates previous actions but the same data can be used to identify future needs”

It’s like going to your doctor – they will not send you for a special test or scan, until they have undertaken a more general diagnosis. In HR and OD we need to do the same. We need to use holistic diagnostic tools to help us orientate to real needs – often we react to the symptoms. It is easy to treat the cut to the hand from a fall, but if we miss the reason for the person falling – for instance, a minor stroke – sure the hand will get better, but in the mean time the stroke can do more damage.

Making evaluation easier

The more robust the diagnostic process, the easier the evaluation. Some would argue than an evaluation is just a repeat of the diagnostic but with different analysis on the results. The diagnostic is looking for an action plan; an evaluation is looking for change since the last measure. So a regular, yet effective organisational diagnostic process not only evaluates previous actions but the same data can be used (in association with a business plan) to identify future needs. Here is a simple strategic cycle:

• Holistic diagnosis
• Analysis
• Plan
• Action
• Diagnosis

Insanity in our world?

As the saying goes, the first sign of madness is doing the same thing as before and expecting different results. It can be a bit like watching a replay of a race and expecting someone else to win. Obvious when we think about it, but why do we do this with our business activity?

Looking back at the results from the Develop the Developer survey, I wonder why many interventions are evaluated, but with little or no formal diagnostic processes undertaken at all; then we wonder why evaluation is so difficult.

Do we, as professionals, not learn? Do we keep doing the same things (evaluation but no initial diagnosis) and wonder why we do not add as much value as we expect? Are we ‘mad’? Maybe we are just reluctant learners?

Mike Morrison is director of RapidBI Ltd, a consultancy specialising in helping individuals and organisations improve their business performance through people and organisation effectiveness.

This version first published: – HR Zone, 1st April 2008
Categories: HR Strategy

Innovation, the first step – dare, change, take a risk

Innovation is about the first step

Innovation is the buzzword of the late naughties, but what does it mean?

“Innovation is the act of introducing something new“

 

Often we focus on the act of creating, indeed many training and development programmes look to developing creativity in order to create innovative cultures. Is this right?

Innovation can mean two very different things, I suspect that often we confuse the two. many organizations take innovation to be something to do with product and R&D or technology. This is indeed a very specialist area, however it is not for the technology people to hijack a valuable culture and change methodology and approach. In the service sector, in public sector and the NHS we need to look at the culture (how we do things) and the behaviours to deliver added value. This piece looks at innovation as a strategy everyone in an organisation can use to increase productivity, morale and the business as a whole.

You only need to look around. Look at  - peoples houses, their gardens, their cars, their sense of fashion – creativity is everywhere. Unfortunately the culture of many work places encourages people to leave their creative brains at the door when they come to work every day. We need to focus not of the act of creation, but the ability to allow people to be creative. To do something with the ideas.  This is about culture.

In western society we seem to treat risk as bad. Indeed even the dictionary defines it as:

The possibility of suffering harm or loss; danger

A factor, thing, element, or course involving uncertain danger; a hazard

source: answers.com

Without a ‘risk of loss’ there is no opportunity of gain. Lets look at how we may feel if we change the definition:

The possibility of winning or being successful

A factor, thing, element, or course involving uncertain success or achievement

source: rapidbi.com

The ability to “take a risk” is essential if we want to change the status quo. We need to embrace change. Indeed I would go as far as to say:

Innovation is achieved through creativity AND change preparedness

 

What are the barriers for you taking a chance, daring do take the first step. I love this video – what does it mean for you in the context of innovation and change?

In the Innovation Equation by Byrd & Brown Innovation is defined as:

Innovation = Risk Taking * Innovation

If Risk taking (act of doing something) is the same as change preparedness – then this is indeed a valuable approach to changing the culture in our organizations.

What will you dare to do today?

The rising cost of learning… The E-Book – con or hero?

The rising cost of learning…

First there was decimalisation, then the Euro, the litre and now the e-book. Isn’t it interesting that to many of us the actual increasing costs of things are not so obvious when there has been a change of culture or context?

With the introduction of decimalisation in the early 70s and latterly the Euro across central Europe many products were rounded up in price. Even more recently the move from selling petrol from gallons to litres allowed the price to jump without many people causing a fuss. I recall when I first passed my test often driving to another garage for ½p price difference on a gallon – but now the price varies by often up to 10p per litre in the same area. People have just accepted it.

What prompted this thought and is it relevant to learning and Development?

Today I was told that I was ‘lucky’ and had won a prize in a competition. Great I thought, I was provided with a web link and £75 worth of vouchers to spend on downloads of training activities, exercises or icebreakers… hey £75 worth of resources free – not to be sneezed at. Until I realise what they cost – 2*£5 credits per item – itself not outrageous until you look at the printed pack this one activity is derived – 100 items for £249 – or £2.49 each – printed and an electronic copy on disc… now what is the better value… 20 separate purchases or 100 activities? All for the same price.  Now I know that we are in a world where we all want it today…now – but is it really that sensible?  In the social period that is the credit crunch will people be changing their on-line and resource purchasing habits?

Having looked at this one example I looked at a couple of competitor sites – basically they all do the same thing , but, reading between the lines and looking at the statistics that some of these site show the number of downloads of a single item is not that great. Often in single or low double figures. If you only want one item then £10 is good value – but if you think over time you will need more is it worth paying the price of instant gratification?

The wonderful e-book

This leads neatly on to a conversation I had with a fellow trainer this morning, we were talking about website and selling product and the discussion got round to e-books. Now a good book, with nice pages and well bound costs £6-29 – most around the ‘tenner’ mark. So why o why do people pay £29, £39 or £49+ for an e-book? Often these publications have poor layout, spelling mistakes and generally not very good in terms of content. What is more we pay to print them on our own printer. Our discussion concluded that people buy e-books because they have learnt to trust the author; after all the web site was written by the author and this builds trust. The language on the ‘sales’ page is strong to suggest what you are hetting is great value.

Personally I wonder if it is more simple that that; we believe an e-book is more like software than a book and we know how much software costs (indeed many used to come with huge free books – manuals!).

Books (publications) like the One Minute Manager cost £6.99 or £3.49 on Amazon…. These books have 107 pages of content – few e-books have this many and often cost almost 10 times more.

Is this us as purchasers really buying a quality product – or have we been conned into the currency of the ‘download’ on the web?

Now I am not saying that people should give all their work away for free – far from it – but as purchasers we need to understand that when comparing one technology with another it is OK to do that and to help the market find the ‘right’ price for the product on offer.