What's in a name? Approaching organizational change

Abstract:

One of the best first steps organizations can take when planning change is to resist the urge to name and sloganize the change effort. This can be difficult. In one organization using a nameless change approach, the executive sub-group tasked with implementing the change effort has continuously struggled to keep the name, and the marketing it initiates, away. As they implemented various aspects of the change plan, people in the organization

became charged up about the change. The motivation this generates causes people to want to market the change via buttons, banners, and kick-off events. Change does not have to be achieved by clever pitches, catchy slogans and eye-catching logos; indeed, lasting, meaningful change cannot be accomplished this way. Well-informed people will change when they recognize, in the change, the very tools they need to do their jobs more effectively on a

minute-by-minute basis.

Which would you rather hear in your organization as you sponsor major change?:

Here we go again! This time, the "program of the month" is about "intrapreneuring" and "partnering."

Market Street

Organisation

Model of culture change

Just as with quality, we'll have a big kick-off event, where all the vice presidents show up and tell us how "mission critical" this change is. Then we won't see or hear from them again, and we'll be left with two weeks' worth of training to attend. I tried to tell my HR representative that we did our own training on this last year, but we're all still required to attend. Since I know that my boss is accountable for our attendance, we're just going to have to take deep breaths and deal with this. It's going to be a scheduling nightmare trying to get all this training in at the same time as we're all trying to meet our bottom-line

accountabilities.

or ...

What amazes...