At Conard Associates, we have observed many of the reasons why change initiatives fail. Correcting these failure factors requires progress in three essential dimensions:
First, companies must commit to a comprehensive and logically consistent performance architecture. Too often, they leap into one improvement program, then another, rather than systematically applying an integrated set of methods with a clear, consistent long-term purpose. This approach has caused many organizations to become highly cynical about change programs altogether. Unless a company understands which improvement methods are valid and how to apply them properly -- in the right sequence -- they have little chance of achieving success.
Second, companies must understand and embrace the implications of world-class process design, performance, control and management. Maximizing speed and minimizing waste in process flows and optimizing quality and customer satisfaction require very new thinking about organizational structure, collaboration and empowerment.
Third, companies must understand the implications of working with today’s knowledge-based work force, and they must learn and apply the fundamental principles of human behavior. Traditional management approaches tend to be stylistic and based on popular psychology, rather than systematically applying proven principles to shape and motivate human behavior. Today's performers have unprecedented capability -- and expectations -- to participate in the success of their employers. Traditional authoritarian, functional management can de-motivate these people, and certainly will not encourage the value-adding discretionary effort they can contribute.
Conard Associates’ promotes a comprehensive Performance Excellence "architecture" for organizational performance. This architecture serves as our guiding framework to assess current capabilities, identify improvement opportunities, facilitate the analysis and design of improvements, and provide hands-on support through the development and implementation of change.
Revised:
April 06, 2009.
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