Change

Change
When to use change management?

Change is an organizational reality for every modern manager.
The needs and desires of customers, employees and shareholders are changing. Whenever there is a change in need there grows a new demand. And therefore we have to break with traditions and the good old way of how things are done. Products which were the “Hit” yesterday are outperformed or not “In” tomorrow. What was “tried and true” yesterday may hold you back in future. Competitors may pick up and pass you if you do not adapt and reorganize, create and develop.

In today’s world we use change management
External forces:
• when you need to break with tradition,
• in order to stay on Top,
• when you fight the battle for customers,
• when technology is changing,
• when the labor market is forcing you to change, (fluctuation, crises…)
• when the economic changes, of course;
• when recessionary pressure forces an organization to be more cost efficient.
• When Interest rates are changing
• …
you have to adopt and change

Internal forces
• when you want to break with tradition,
• When you redefine or modify your strategy
• If you have to introduce a turnaround strategy to survive
• Change in productions
• Change Locations
• Product Quality Control
• Modernizing your factory, machinery
• Processes
• When the composition of your workforce changes in terms of age, gender, education …
• You may have to restructure work descriptions and jobs
• When you introduce new equipment,
• Trainings and
• redesign of the job has to be considered
• Labor strikes
• Employees attitudes
• Resignation, illness or death of employees and managers
• …

A Change Agent is a manager who acts as a catalyst, cheerleader, alchemist and transformer whose expertise is in change implementation. Owners and Internal Managers often hire outside consultants or Change Agents to advice and assist or even implement major system-wide changes. The advantages of outsiders are,
They provide clearly an objective perspective that insiders usually lack,
are not involved in politics and career expectations.

The outsider, provided with quality information like
organizational history
and culture,
operating procedures and
people
can help
developing new strategies and
implementing them.

The relatively new term Interim Manager is generally used for a Change Agent who is not only suggesting strategic changes like a consultant, but also offers his services to implement these strategies and changes and stays with the company as a member of the advisory board and therefore lives with the consequences of the implementation and decisions made.

Organizations in today’s world are facing a situation much like a river raft with uninterrupted white-water rapids. Aboard six people who’ve never worked together before, unfamiliar with the river, unsure about the destination, in pitch dark night. Many managers will face constant change and are forced to play the game they have never played before and the game is often played on rules that are created as the game continues.

For dealing with unpredictable situations; proven change management strategies and change agents are needed who understand their jobs very well. Change Agents, who are specialized on implementing change, are walking together with people in an organization while change happens.

Few organizations can treat change as an occasional situation. In today’s world, change has become absolute. Too much is changing in any organization to stays the same. Those that do, run a great risk. Competitive advantages are lasting statistically 18 month – that’s it.

The old saying “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” no longer applies. It is replaced with “if it ain’t broke, you just haven’t looked hard enough. Fix it anyway!”

Don’t wait that the world will move you – move the world.
Create change and be an initiator of change in order to get the edge and the competitive advantage.
Be the hammer not the ambos.

Regards,
A.Vetr