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.The team should include people representing 101-112 HBE-MCT C7 3rd 10/15/02 12:42 PM Page 108108 Managing Change and Transitiondifferent levels and skills,and should be rotated regularly.Finding andfixing problems and weaknesses before they loom large is the bestway to avoid costly and difficult change initiatives.Provide Meaningful AnchorsNo matter how prepared people are for regular change, they stillneed anchors things that provide a sense of routine, familiarity, andcontinuity.As noted previously, too much change is unsettling andunhealthy.But what kinds of anchors are necessary? Years ago whenhe wrote Future Shock, author/futurist Alvin Toffler encouraged hisreaders to keep parts of their surroundings constant even some-thing as mundane as the style of clothing they liked to wear.Sincethe gods of fashion would change those styles, he suggested buyingseveral pair of favorite shoes and other everyday items, and puttingthem on the shelf.When the current pair of shoes wore out, you dhave another pair handy, even though they had long disappearedfrom stores.Something similar may apply in the workplace.First and foremost, remember that people are social animals andthat work has a powerful social dimension.So think of ways tokeep social linkages intact even as change is ongoing.Here are twosuggestions:" Do what you can to keep healthy, functional work teamstogether. In a broad-based study of U.S.workers, the GallupOrganization discovered that having friends at work is akey predictor of employee retention and satisfaction.Changeprograms that shuffle the personnel deck and isolate peoplefrom their workplace friends and acquaintances pay a bigprice in terms of low morale and defection.So avoid breakingup these relationships if you cannot make a solid business casefor doing so." Provide opportunities for social linkages at work. Even if youmust occasionally break up closely linked work groups, youcan buffer the consequences by offering other opportunities 101-112 HBE-MCT C7 3rd 10/15/02 12:42 PM Page 109Toward Continuous Change 109for social interaction: a common lunchroom, a golfing league,and so forth.These bonds may replace the ones that yourchange program has broken elsewhere.A second, higher-order anchoring opportunity is found in thepurpose of the enterprise itself.James Collins and Jerry Porras,coau-thors of the highly successful Built to Last, make the point that com-panies that enjoy enduring success Hewlett-Packard, 3M, Johnson& Johnson, Sony, and others have core values, core purposes, andideologies that remain immutable over time, although their strate-gies, product lines, and operating practices are constantly adapting toa changing world.These core elements, they write, provide the gluethat holds an organization together as it grows, decentralizes, diversi-fies, expands globally, and develops workplace diversity.3What are your company s core values,core purposes,and ideolo-gies? If they are strong, they can provide the anchors that peopleneed to stay healthy and steady in fast-changing environments.(See Core Values and Core Purpose for more on this topic.)Core Values and Core PurposeCore values are a company s essential tenets.And they can be thesecure anchor your people need to stay balanced and healthy inan environment of continuous change.Consider these examples:Walt Disney" No cynicism" Creativity, dreams, and imagination" Fanatical attention to consistency and detail" Preservation and control of the Disney magicContinued 101-112 HBE-MCT C7 3rd 10/15/02 12:42 PM Page 110110 Managing Change and TransitionNordstrom" Service to the customer above all else" Hard work and individual productivity" Never being satisfied" Excellence in reputation; being part of something specialCore purpose is a company s reason for being.Here are someexamples:" 3M:To solve unsolved problems innovatively" Cargill:To improve the standard of living around theworld" Hewlett-Packard:To make technical contributions for theadvancement and welfare of humanity" McKinsey & Company:To help leading corporations andgovernments be more successfulsource: James C.Collins and Jerry I.Porras, Building Your Company s Vision, Harvard Business Review74, no.5 (September October 1996): 68 69.Summing UpThis chapter discussed two different types of change:" Discontinuous change was described as a single, abruptshift from the past followed by a long period of stability,at which point another major change often needs to bemade." Continuous incremental change is characterized by a seriesof small, discrete changes over a long period of time. 101-112 HBE-MCT C7 3rd 10/15/02 12:42 PM Page 111Toward Continuous Change 111Continuous incremental change has certain advantages:" Small changes are easier to manage, less disruptive, have agreater likelihood of success than larger ones, and can keep anorganization on the cutting edge of competition." Repeated exposure may inure people to change and makethem psychologically better prepared to deal with it.Managers can move their organizations toward continuous incremen-tal change by:" making their organizations change-ready;" conducting continuous internal and external monitoring; and" providing people with meaningful anchors. 101-112 HBE-MCT C7 3rd 10/15/02 12:42 PM Page 112This Page Intentionally Left Blank 113-118 HBE-MCT AppA 3rd 10/15/02 9:58 AM Page 113appendi x aUseful Implementation ToolsThis appendix contains four forms that you may find useful atvarious times during a change initiative.All are adapted from Har-vard ManageMentor®, an online help source for subscribers.Forinteractive versions of these forms, please visit www.elearning.hbsp.org/businesstools.Here s a list of the diagnostic tests, checklists, andworksheets found in this appendix:1.Self-Evaluation: Characteristics of Effective Leadership. Use thisform to evaluate your own leadership capabilities.Change pro-grams require leadership at all levels.2.Managing Stress Levels. This checklist is a helpful tool for iden-tifying and managing stress among the people you deal with.3.Focus and Synergy. This checklist will help you identify obsta-cles encountered in the change process.Use this form or some-thing like it to keep your team focused on the most importantproblems.For each obstacle to your team s progress, list andevaluate options for overcoming it.Also list any allies, additionalresources, or special training your team members will need inorder to collaborate most effectively on the chosen option.4.Gathering and Sharing Information. This checklist can helpyou in the all-important business of communicating, whichmust be done regularly and through different channels during achange initiative.Use this form to collect and summarize theinformation your team needs to be effective and to change.113 113-118 HBE-MCT AppA 3rd 10/15/02 9:58 AM Page 114114 Useful Implementation ToolsTABLE A - 1Self-Evaluation: Characteristics of Effective LeadershipThe questions below relate to characteristics of effective leaders.Use the questions toevaluate whether you possess these characteristics.Use the results to see where youmight focus to strengthen your leadership skills.Characteristics of Effective Leaders Yes NoCaring1.Do you empathize with other people s needs, concerns, and goals?2.Would staff members confirm that you show such empathy?Comfort with ambiguity3
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