Turn Left!

Change is hard and often scary. Change in the enterprise is even scarier because it involves changing the way people work, how they’re compensated and incentivized, how they manage (and are managed) and what determines success. Whenever I work with organizations undertaking a significant change — like becoming more agile or building in lean startup principles — I often liken it to a sharp left turn.

The thinking (at least in my head) goes something like this:

– The organization is going along, full speed, in the direction it has always gone, doing things the way they’ve always been done.

– At the helm, someone has made the decision to change the way things get done.

– This person announces this change to their subordinates and the rest of the company and in doing so, metaphorically, turns the steering wheel sharply to the left.

– Many of the employees are hearing about this change for the first time during this announcement and are caught off guard.

– Some brace themselves. Others adapt to the turn. Some go with the flow. And still others are not prepared, don’t want to accept the change and are slammed up against the car window (see the sketch above).

It’s these folks, the ones with their faces smooshed up against the window, that are going to resist change the most. Many of them will not go quietly or willingly and some will not go at all. As an organization, you should be prepared for this churn and the inevitable parting of ways that will come with some of your current staff. These may be people you like, who are deemed valuable or even indispensable* and that’s when, as an organization, you must double down on the transformation you’ve undertaken. In fact, if you’re not losing a few people, the change you’re seeking is likely not significant enough.

[Jeff]

*Regardless of how “indispensable” someone may seem in your organization (and I’ve certainly felt that way about former colleagues), remember this quote from Charles de Gaulle: 

“The graveyards are full of indispensable men.” 

P.S. – The killer sketch in this post was done by my Neo Columbus colleague Chandu Tennety.