QUOTATION 60

DANIEL WEBSTER ON WHY IT’S NOT THE CHANGE THAT KILLS YOU, IT’S THE TRANSITION

Use this to prepare yourself for the inevitable dip in enthusiasm and belief that occurs during any change project.

Daniel Webster (1782–1852) was a leading American senator and statesman during the 1830s and 40s. This was a period of uncertainty and upheaval and this may have prompted him to observe that:

It isn’t the changes that do you in, it’s the transition.

Daniel Webster

Webster was talking about the dangers of rolling out the change once a decision has been made. The implementation of any change is only complete when people stop looking back at what they used to do and accept the changed world they work in as the new norm.

WHAT TO DO

  • Accept that in every change the transition phase between implementation and full acceptance of the new order is fraught with problems and plan for it.
  • It’s easy to become despondent when you run into transitional problems. After all, you’ve been working like a galley slave to implement the change and now that it’s here people are still resisting it. Don’t let it get you down. It’s all part of the process. The problem is not unique to you. Expect it and plan for it.
  • Ensure that all the required training is delivered to staff prior to implementation of the change.
  • Use your change agents/champions to identify problems and deal with those they can and report the remainder to you immediately.
  • Walk the job and be seen by the staff affected by the change. Give them an opportunity to ask questions and let off steam. Make a note of any issue that you can’t deal with immediately and promise to look into it and get back to the staff concerned. Then do just that.
  • Analyse the feedback you have received from the change agents/champions, managers, supervisors and your own findings from walking the job and identify problems and trends.
  • You will be able to analyse most of the problems under three categories:
    • Poor communication between management and staff. Find the breakdown or bottleneck and deal with it. You and your managers, supervisors and change agents/champions must give communication with staff the highest priority during the transition stage.
    • Poor training, gaps in the training provided to people forgetting what they were taught or issues arising in practice that were not foreseen are all problems you will have to deal with. Arrange to provide follow-up training to deal with all the issues identified.
    • Unforeseen problems with the change. These can range in scope from disastrous to minor irritants. One of the most disastrous changes made by a company in recent times was Coca-Cola’s decision to change the taste of America’s favourite drink. However, they rescued the decision by quickly recognising their error and reverting to the old formula. That’s what you have to do: act quickly to correct minor and major issues associated with the change. For that reason, never disband any project team you have created until the change has been fully implemented.

QUESTIONS TO ASK

  • Do I plan for the difficulties that inevitably arise during every transition stage?
  • How am I going to monitor the staff’s morale during the dangerous transition stage?
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