Given the post-Enterprise 2.0 conference prognostications regarding the "death" of E2.0 - an article worth reading below. Perhaps another potential keynote speaker for a future E2.0 event (earlier, I thought Mark Pesce might also be a good candidate).
BP's Fiona MacLeod: A Change Agent Sees Change 'Addiction' - Knowledge@Wharton
After 20 years of experience leading change management programs in the U.S., Europe and New Zealand, BP executive Fiona MacLeod has concluded that the corporate world is "addicted" to serial change management programs that consume massive resources but ultimately fail to solve the problems they aim to address. "What really struck me is why so many of these change management programs fail," only to be followed by similar initiatives within one or two years, often before the original program is completed, said MacLeod, president of BP Convenience Retail USA & Latin America.
At the recent Wharton Leadership Conference, co-sponsored by the Center for Human Resources and the Center for Leadership & Change Management, MacLeod urged her fellow leaders to ask themselves: "How can we ... free ourselves from our addiction to episodic change and move to a much more healthy habit of continuous business improvement?" She compared the phenomenon to a yo-yo dieter who loses weight only to put it back on because he has not come to understand what's causing his weight gain, or has failed to adopt the healthy lifestyle that would keep the weight off.
... MacLeod urged managers to attend to "the soft side of change" by putting in place programs to fully engage leaders and employees in the process of creating change and sustaining it over time. "As business leaders, we're very good at the rational part" of change: Identifying what's wrong and how to fix it. But the soft side of change management -- in terms of really engaging people -- is just as important. If people get it intellectually but don't get it emotionally, I don't believe the change will be sustained."
... Business leaders must own the change agenda and take responsibility for following through on implementing every step in the plan and tracking results to make sure that change continues over time. "Never assume that leaders get it.... We need to take probably 10 times as long in engaging, empowering and educating our leaders than we actually think we do," MacLeod said.
... It's important also to shift the emphasis of change management from "big splashes" to "everyday performance improvement." You can prevent the typical reversion to old habits by providing tools and training required to continually measure progress toward specific change objectives. "Put written charters and contracts in place. These contracts need to be in people's performance reviews, not something separate," MacLeod said. "You need to constantly look at them and discuss them with people."
... Changing the culture to reward the desired behavior is critical to success. Make "heroes of our day-to-day deliverers, not those who make the biggest splash. You reward people on how they treat the customer, how they make decisions, how they simplify the business..... And crucially, all of this has to be done in the spirit of open communication and respect.... If [people are] uncertain and they don't feel respected, the change will never stick," MacLeod said.
... Organizational design helped to lay the foundation for change. "I put my winning, end-state organization in place from day one" rather than waiting to decide which employees would stay to support the franchises and which would leave," MacLeod stated. "We had people who knew they would be leaving in 18 months and they stayed motivated for the entire period because we had been very straight with them. People want and expect clarity from their leaders." Planning was critical to reduce risk as the team rolled out new concepts. "We did lots of road mapping and tested our plans before we went to market," MacLeod said.
... She noted that "it's very easy to get addicted to the change pattern by not getting the change right in the first place, not making the tough calls or bold decisions up-front, maybe going for something half-way, and then allowing things to slip back."
BP's Fiona MacLeod: A Change Agent Sees Change 'Addiction' - Knowledge@Wharton
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