The following contains excerpts from the book, Who Killed Change (Ken Blanchard, John Britt).
At our music school in Midland, Texas we believe that music is more than sound, it is relationships. The subject of this book is about leading change in any organization. The most profoundly difficult challenge to any leader is to lead through an organizational shift, and at these times relationships matter. We believe that studying music at our music school in Midland, Texas does more for the student than simply teach them about music. It gives them life-skills, particularly in how to intuitively connect with people. And this is highly beneficial when in Leadership.
This book was written allegorically, and somewhat humorously, in the form of a pseudo-sleuth novel. Inspector McNally goes through the office interviewing each staff member: Carolina Culture, Chase Commitment, Spence Sponsorship, Clair Communication, Ernest Urgency, Victoria Vision, Perry Plan, Baily Budget, Terry Trainer, and Peter Performance Management. Along with his interviews, he also encounters Super Cops who hinder progress wearing signs that say, ‘We’ve Never Done It That Way Before.’
After his interviews have concluded, McNally holds a meeting with everyone to disclose his findings and declare who murdered Change.
“McNally walked in a few minutes before seven o’clock and began arranging his notes at the podium as people started to arrive. At one point he looked up and found that no one would make eye contact with him.
“Vision was standing at the window with her hands clasped behind her back, appearing oblivious to the crowd behind her.
“Budget and Culture were side by side on one of the couches. They took turns whispering to each other.
“Performance Management and Incentive had settled at one of the tables. Performance Management was sucking on a piece of candy. Incentive stared blankly.
“Communication was sitting in one of the stray chairs, fiddling with her hearing aid…Accountability, Delegation, Follow-up and Consequences sat at another table. McNally could not hear what they were saying but their body language led McNally to believe they were not happy with one another. He noticed that they kept pointing at each other.
“Commitment could not seem to get comfortable. He constantly moved from seat to seat.
“Trainer was still chomping his gum. He rested comfortably in an easy chair and methodically tossed a baseball up in the air.
“Plan was making paper airplanes and floating them around the room.”
“McNally motioned for Anna- who was seated at a table near the front- to come to the podium.
“‘Who is that small guy in the back of the room?’ He asked in a whisper.
“She looked to the back of the room and raised her eyebrows. ‘That’s Fear,’ she said.
“‘Fear?’ he asked.
“‘Yeah,’ she replied, ‘he just shows up sometimes. Doesn’t really work here…He just shows up and no one seems to question his presence. Never says a word to anyone, but when he’s around, people just seem to act different.’”
At our music school in Midland, Texas we endeavor to establish a culture of trust. Trust is the bedrock of any relationship. By implication, students at our music school in Midland, Texas will be constantly changing and growing, so starting from a foundation of trust is of utmost importance. Even though we have methodologies that stem from hundreds of years of history, proven to work in developing core competencies in musicians through the ages, we also understand that each culture and generation has its unique applications of those foundational skills.
McNally’s conclusion is that all of them killed Change, using a poison that acts slowly over time. Change finally had a heart attack caused by that slow-acting poison.
Summarizing the factors that bring about a successful change, the author enumerates the roles.
- Culture- defines the predominant attitudes, beliefs and behavior patterns that characterize the organization.
- Commitment- builds a person’s motivation and confidence to engage in the new behaviors required by the Change.
We believe, at our music school in Midland, Texas, that when a student begins to see progress in their own unique giftings, this will inspire them to greater commitment to developing themselves.
- Sponsorship- a senior leader who has the formal authority to deploy resources (e.g., time, money and people) toward the initiation, implementation and sustainability of the Change; ultimately responsible for the success of the Change.
- Change Leadership Team- actively leads the Change into the organization by speaking with one voice and resolving the concerns of those being asked to change.
- Communication- creates opportunities for dialogue with change leaders and those being asked to change.
- Urgency- explains why the Change is needed and how quickly people must change the way they work.
- Vision- paints a clear and compelling picture of the future after Change has been integrated successfully.
- Plan- clarifies the priority of the Change relative to other initiatives and responsibilities; works with those being asked to change to develop a detailed and realistic implementation plan, then to define and build the infrastructure needed to support the Change.
At our music school in Midland, Texas we provide a clear plan for each student, as to how they can achieve their goals. Each student’s plan, of course, will be based on their own unique strengths and stated goals.
- Budget- analyzes proposed Changes from a financial perspective to determine how best to allocate limited resources and ensure a healthy return on investment (ROI).
- Trainer- provides learning experiences to ensure those being asked to change have the skills needed to follow through with the Change and succeed in the future organization.
- Incentive- recognizes and/or rewards people to reinforce desired behaviors and results that enable Change.
- Performance Management- sets goals and expectations regarding behaviors and results that enable Change, tracks progress toward the goals and expectations, provides feedback and training and formally documents actual results versus desired results.
- Accountability- follows through with people to ensure their behaviors and results are in line with agreed upon goals and expectations and that leaders are walking the talk, and institutes consequences when behaviors or results are inconsistent with those that enable Change.