Steve Jobs, Apple, and Organization Change Simplicity
Posted by Todd VanNest on Mon, Jan 23, 2012
Last week, I walked past Steve Jobs’ book on display at the airport for the “umpteenth” time, but realized this time I was standing in front of it wearing my own version of Jobs’ iconic glasses and black mock-t (all similarity ends right there!). It moved me to think about my own creativity and what it shares with Mr. Jobs. My favorite thing about Jobs’ innovation is its simple and intuitive design. From the operating system that first introduced a “windows” interface to the iconic Mac pc to the flywheel touchpad on the iPod to the touchscreen and utility of the iPad, I believe that the secret to Jobs’ success was intuitive design (not aesthetics or integration/connectivity).
So…where is the INTUITIVE DESIGN in organizational change management (OCM) or change leadership these days? It is NOT in guidance around some 8-step process or graphic model (simple “on paper”). When I encounter struggling Change Leaders, it is invariably due to the fact that the act of applying these steps (and the contingencies that must be considered to account for their unique organizations) results in a number of permutations of prescriptions that quickly outstrips human capacity to execute—actually fostering greater reliance on consultants. OCM is helpful, but (often at the prompting of consultants and project managers) many organizations have translated these MEANS (as guidelines) into ENDS (e.g., “The process we agreed says we HAVE to do it this way.”). Ironically then, actions in the name of effective change management begin to look a lot like the control-oriented systems and habits many strategic change initiatives are trying to replace—making change directive, inflexible, and even adversarial.
A focus on Leading Change (Simply!), has helped many Change Leaders overcome the complexity of change—and the multiplying effect that occurs when complex methods are used to execute it. The LWOC Blog was launched in 2010 as a platform for building a community of Change Leaders with a new perspective on Leading Change. Over the last two years, the ideas exchanged in this forum, my professional speaking, and my coaching to Change Leaders have helped crystalize a focus on those select few things that distinguish successful Change Leaders and sustainable change in their organizations. The resulting focus on Leading Change (Simply!) is illustrated in the new http://www.lastwordonchange.com website launched last Friday. This blog space is intended to provide a forum for dialogue on the same.
I invite you to join us in this forum and explore the complex world of organizational change in a more simple way. Interested?...Ask yourself the following as you consider subscribing to this blog or opening the weekly link you find by following LWOC and I on Facebook, Twitter, or Linked-in:
- What have I done TODAY to make change LESS complex for those around me?
- If I work with Change Leaders who wallow in complexity and nuance, unable to simplify things and engage others successfully, how do I coach h/her past that?
- What things keep our Change Leaders in this company from pausing more (and listening harder), to learn from others about our stakeholders’ change experiences and make them more simple?
- How do I want to be known—As a Super-Administrator or as a Leader?
- When I examine the 4 Simple Questions (http://www.lastwordonchange.com/simple-solution/4-simple-questions, do I better understand the role of a select few choices on defining my own Change Leadership and our change success?
The beauty is that simple, intuitive guidance like that shared in this community of change leaders at the LWOC Blog looks simple...and stays simple. Unlike all of the model-driven guidance out there, it is not camouflaged--or in any way a hidden, over-blown matrix of complexity or “what-ifs” and nuance. The leaders joining the dialogue here tell me that they find the questions and answers raised in this forum resonating with them as intuitive—natural ones for a true LEADER.
