Change Or Else
Walmart recently announced a new test program in six cities. Between the hours of 8:00 am and 8:00 pm, someone can place an order and, if the product is under 10 pounds, have it delivered by drone for only $3.99 in a few hours or less. Who knows how quickly this program will grow and evolve, but it almost certainly will be part of our future. The world is a changing, again!
The covid pandemic forced business to adjust dramatically and immediately on many fronts. It impacted consumer demand, supply chains, sales calls, in person meetings, and communications. Now with the pandemic on the wane, businesses are struggling to meet the increasing demand and whether employees who are used to, and enjoy, working from home should continue in that mode.
Some companies are ok with virtual offices. Others not so much. Elon Musk recently sent an email saying he expects employees to spend 40 hours per week in the office and if an employee does not, they will be deemed to have resigned their position. One can only hope there was more explanation for the policy than just an edict.
We are still in the midst of the “Great Resignation.” There is a drastic employee shortage in our current endemic environment. Everything from restaurants to airlines, doctors and health care specialists to teachers are in great demand and in many cases, businesses are unable to provide the goods and services they would like to maximize their success.
The over-riding point is straightforward: we live in an ever-changing world. Everything changes all the time. There is absolutely nothing we can do to stop the change. People, processes, culture, strategies, tactics, technologies, products, services and so much more must evolve in a never-ending battle to compete and meet customer demand. Those companies that evolve are certainly more likely to survive. Those that have both the vision to see where the world can go and drive to make change happen in their organization and business will be ahead of the curve and are more likely to thrive. As they say in hockey, skate to where the puck will be, not where it is. Those which stubbornly stick to the past are almost certainly doomed. The catch is that many significant change efforts fail. According to McKenzie, roughly two-thirds of all change efforts do not achieve their goals. So, change is essential, but it usually doesn’t work. A catch twenty-two if ever there was one.
So, change is essential, but it usually doesn’t work. A catch twenty-two if ever there was one.
I successfully drove massive change as the CEO at Bridgestone Americas, the successor company to the iconic Firestone Tire and Rubber Company. When I became CEO, Bridgestone Americas was a 55,000-person, $11 billion company with operations on five continents. With the great help of my team, we changed just about everything: the culture, processes, strategy and focus, marketing programs, manufacturing focus, and in some cases the people. As a result, profits increased five-fold in six years, cash flow improved dramatically, and unwanted debt melted away.
We learned there are six essential keys to successfully driving change: Leadership, Vision, Culture, People, Alignment and Focused Execution. What these mean in practice and how to deploy them is detailed in my book entitled, Driving Results: Six Lessons Learned from Transforming an Iconic Company.
When changing the culture, for example, it is not enough that the new cultural norms be fully articulated and understood. They must be reinforced through an effective performance review system that ensures people are actually living the new culture. Each element of change is essential for the change to take hold. The failure to do any one element of change – Alignment, for example - will doom the change effort.
“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”
Conversely, by deploying each element of change, the desired results will be achieved. It really is that straightforward. As Edward Deming said, “It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”