Change or Die
The biggest challenge in change processes is changing the behaviour opf people, according to John Kotter. "The central issue is never strategy, structure, culture, or systems. The core of the matter is always about changing the behavior of people."
I found this quote in quite an interesting article with the provocative title Change or Die. The author, Alan Deutschman says that it is important to accept people's feelings. If people are confronted with the alternative of either changing or dying, many still wouldn't change. This is obvious when you look at people who do not change their behaviour while facing a terminal illness. But it is the same in companies.
Deutschmann refers to cognitive science and linguistics and the importance of reframing. He recommends that instead of confronting people with the negative consequences of not changing, it is often more condusive to show them the benefits of change, a mechanism that has been utilized by David Cooperrider when he developed the social technology of Appreciative Inquiry.
Reframing is not enough. In radical change programmes, people need multifaceted support, at different levels of the organization. "Even if change starts at the top, it can easily die somewhere in the middle."
change management
