Repeated studies have now shown that after years of investment in business transformation and focus on methods like Organizational Change Management (OCM) and Project Management, the failure rate for change initiatives remains around 70%. Now, you may feel that 7 out of 10 of your own efforts to lead change haven't "failed," but think about how easily we sweep aside delays and rationalize results.
Transformational change is about fundamentally reshaping the company's performance curve--not simply covering implementation costs or realizing, "Well, though we didn't deliver all the objectives in our business plan, we are better off than when we started this initiative."
The core proposition of this book is not that we should abandon all we have learned about systematic change, project management, and other disciplines—only that somehow, somewhere along the path to leading change, many of us lose focus. We tend to rely too heavily on models, methods, and systems to make change happen and lose the leading part of making change happen. There is a great risk when we become known by our stakeholders more as project administrators than change leaders. So…while there’s nothing wrong with sound change management methodology, our research demonstrates that a stronger focus on leadership (vs. methods and process) throughout the change cycle is what's missing from stalled or failing initiatives. As change leaders, then, improvement begins by recognizing that WE are part of the problem.
That’s right, being smarter, more aware of, and committed to the “human side” of change has to start with a critical self-examination by change leaders—that’s us. The bookshelves are full of advice about what I call the “others” dynamic. Those authors want to assist you in seeking out sources of change resistance and quashing them in a methodological, static way. Instead, I’m tilting at a larger windmill—i.e., how we must change in order to more effectively lead change.
The answers to capturing the “last mile” of value in transformation lie in examining change leadership—not followership (or "resistance").
In The LAST Word on Change, I combine the research findings on the factors that distinguish successful from unsuccessful change initiatives with practical illustrations aimed at creating real change leadership. The book is full of examples and self-audits the reader can explore to identify opportunities for improvement. Along the way, I share the secrets to finding that place where change meets execution, e.g.,
*Exactly how the comprehensive change models are, in fact, incomplete and cause costly distraction;
*That the most critical "human element" in successful change is a strong focus on Change Leadership (not quashing "resistance");
*How to break cycles of disappointment with transformation and change by making sure that the change administration process does not drown out genuine listening and stakeholder engagement;
*That while organizations have become very focused on measurement and accountability, we often fail to measure the ONE thing that ensures transformation and change success; and
*Stalled, wavering, and even "failed" change initiatives can be re-ignited and recovered by putting in place a New Discipline built on these secrets (without throwing out the models and consulting advice in which your organization has already invested many dollars!).
Of course, this guidance includes lessons for ANY change effort--even ones just being planned today.
