Remembrance of Things Past: Good or Bad?

While grocery shopping this week, I saw something that reminded me of my past: fiddleheads, the coiled tips of new ferns that are only sold in the spring.

As a kid, I used to go "fiddleheading" with my family, led by Uncle Carl who traded a bottle of whiskey for access to a farmer's riverside land. New ferns thrived there and we would harvest them by the bucketful. 

I remember my mom and Aunt Betty cleaning large green garbage bags full of these vegetables. They would freeze meal-sized portions that would feed us for the year. 

Helping to clean them was a time consuming, dreaded chore. Funny how I didn't think of this part of fiddleheading when I placed some in my cart. Don't you find that most memories aren't specific; they are just good or bad.

I bought the fiddleheads although I knew that my family doesn't like them. I tried to indoctrinate them years ago with no success - "They are gross". Perhaps having them was more important than eating them. 

Many people facing change act in the same way. They reach for symbols of the past that remind them of the 'good ole days', when things were simpler, predictable and 'good' (at least how they remember them).

Some leaders are wary of these sentiments assuming that people want to return to the past. I see things differently; I believe they want to pay homage to their past and hope for a future that will give them the same feelings. 

The best way to support people through change is to honour their treasured past and build a bridge from it to the future. For example, the values or capabilities that were alive in the past can be enlisted to build a better future. 

Not honouring the past can either leave people stuck in their remembrances or fearful of the organization's future - both lead to poor adoption of new ways of thinking and working.

I only bought 11 fiddleheads this week ‒ not enough for a meal. Was I really intending to eat them or was buying them the point? 

I won't be buying more fiddleheads until maybe next year. A nod to a memory that is important to me is enough.

Phil

When Every Second Counts, Each Minute Has 60 Possible Victories

My doctor, a fellow runner, said that you run your first marathon to see if you finish, you run your second to see if you can beat your first time and who knows why you run your third. 

Last Sunday, I ran my third marathon. I signed up because my wife, Barb, was keen to run her second. It didn't take long for me to think about how I could beat my best time. There is something addictive about making progress, especially when measurement is in seconds.

I knew I had to run differently if I wanted to beat my last time of 4 hours, 8 minutes and 12 seconds - my goal was under 4 hours. My first two marathons were plagued with leg cramps and lost time seized up in thesecond half. Training harder would have made things worse.

My plan was to run smarter with a lighter stride to save my legs, to run continuously for the first half and save my breaks for when I needed them, and to better fuel and rest before the race.

The race started well and I exceeded my half-time goal of 1 hour and 50 minutes by 40 seconds (every second counts).  Another good sign was that I had no cramping. Things were going as planned.

At the 15 mile mark, I got my first tingle in my left leg. It happened 6 miles after it did in past marathons, which was a good omen, but I knew it was only a matter of time before it would get worse. I started taking 60 second breaks to stretch and walk. It felt counterproductive knowing the clock was ticking but I knew from past experience what would happen if I didn't. 

By 20 miles, both legs were intermittently tightening but I could still run. By 22 miles I felt like I had to walk. Slowing down, however, made them cramp (and hurt) more. I realized that to avoid more intense pain and seizing I had to run on medium pained legs. It was a strange feeling knowing that staying in pain would save me being in greater pain.

At 24 miles, my right leg locked. I knew that if I stopped moving it would spasm so I kept running with one normal leg bending and the other tapping on the ground like a broomstick. I heard one onlooker say, "Get it going, get it going!" Within 30 seconds I was back to running with medium pain - a relief. 

With 500 metres to go and the finish line in sight, I though to myself, savour this moment, it might be your last marathon. I did my best to look around at the wonderfully supportive crowd. I even managed to sprint for the last 50 metres, something I couldn't do in my first two races.

I crossed the line at the 4 hour, 6 minute and 44 second mark; I had knocked 90 seconds off of my personal best time. I didn't reach my goal but I made significant progress. 

After recovering for a few hours, I assessed the changes I had made to get a better result. Here is what I wrote down:

• Changing my stride - it helped preserve my legs but it didn't eliminate my cramping problem 
• Running continuously versus intervals - It was more fun, not sure if it helped me
• Limiting weekly training miles - I didn't get injured prior to the marathon, but I probably cut too many miles
• Running more preparation races - this helped with first half speed
• Seeing a physiotherapist - hard to tell
• Managing what I eat - who knows?
• Getting more rest - didn't happen

Barb achieved a personal best too (16 minutes!). It took us about 20 minutes before we committed to running this race again next year. There are more changes to come and many seconds to be won. 

Phil

When Free is the Price of Success: Thriving in the Connection Economy

My introduction to how business works was in my first year university economics course. The assigned textbook was called Economics by Lipsey, Sparks and Steiner. It is hard to forget since it was the first business tome we were exposed to, cost a fortune and weighed a ton. Over the years I have asked people who took the same program if they remember Lipsey, Sparks and Steiner. They all do.

New economic models have been created since then. For example, the internet has changed the rules of the game on marketing. Social media has provided opportunities for small business to earn the exposure and influence once reserved for large and better resourced companies. 

Customer relationships are changing too. Seth Godin coined the term "connection economy" to describe the connectivity provided by the internet and how spreading ideas across communities of like-minded people is the pathway to success. Valuable Ideas make strong connections that lead to trust and loyalty. Other business leaders, including Chris Brogan and Michael Hyatt, have expanded on this concept and proven its success. 

Seth Godin's 'Free Stuff!' Web Page Invitation

A core belief of the connection economy is that the most effective way to spread your ideas is to give your content away for free; the more you share, the more value you create and the greater trust and loyalty you earn. When you do offer something for sale, people in your community will buy it because they are confident in its value and want to support the relationship.

I have had the opportunity to practice this belief, both with Change with Confidence and my speaking engagements. Blank templates of the tools I included in my book are available for free downloading on my web site.  Also, the slides I use in presentations are available for free to all participants and are posted on Slideshare. 

My latest give-away will be an ebook of "how-to" articles and blog posts on change management. Topics will include "The First Thing Leaders Need to Do When Leading a Big Change" and "Why Confidence is so Important When Leading Change and How to Build It". 

The creative process has already begun. My next steps are to: 

1. Reread the 170 articles I have written and select the ones for the e-book
2. Create an outline to organize the articles into a logical order
3. Work with Krishan Jayatunge and Laurie Barnett to create the design and layout. I am looking forward to working with them, especially after seeing their work on An Honest Living, an excellent book by Melodie Barnett and Luisa Girotto.

My e-book will be given to everyone who signs up for the Change with Confidence newsletter. It will also be a gift to everyone who is receiving it now or who reads my blog. It could be available for participants who attend my speaking engagements too. The possibilities seem endless.

I am excited by my new project. It's a chance to build something new, which is always thrilling. It's also a chance to grow a community of like-minded people who value what I have to say. 

That sounds like success to me. Lipsey, Sparks and Steiner might also agree.

Phil

How do you know if people understand a change initiative?

I was talking with someone who was going through a large change at her organization. She described the communication materials that had been developed to build awareness about the change. It was important to explain why the change was necessary and what was going to be new for employees.

I asked, "Did people understand the communication?" She said, "Yes." I then asked, "How do you know?"

Often, project teams focus their efforts on building and executing change plans without thinking about how they will test if their activities achieved what they were intended to do. 

For this project, checking online access to presentations would confirm if people actually viewed the communication. Also, asking a few people about what they learned would provide a proxy for levels of awareness. A couple of simple questions such as "Why are we making the change?" and "What is the change about?" is all that is needed.

Not investing in validating understanding can have disastrous consequences such as people not adopting new ways of working because they don't make sense or not knowing the benefits that the change will provide and therefore not ensuring they are realized. 

One of the biggest mistakes I made in my career was not confirming that a supplier had trained its people on how a large systems change would alter processes.

We had developed a rock solid validation plan for all colleagues but neglected to include employees from third-party providers who were acting on the behalf of the company. 

I had asked the transition lead for this group if the training had been successfully delivered. The person said yes and I left it at that. Most of the training had not been shared with the company. Like most mistakes made during big changes, mine cost time, money and credibility. This was a lesson I have not had to learn twice.

Here are some tips on how to assess what people know about a change and their role in making it successful:

• Establish validation checkpoints at each important milestones or at the beginning of each phase of the initiative
•  Identify what people must know and be able to do at each checkpoint
• Ask leaders to sign off on the validation plan, giving them 'skin in the game'
• Poll a random sample of individuals from all impacted parts of the organization 
• Involve leaders in the validation process. Ask them to assess a few of their team members
• Include your assessment in leadership updates
• Acknowledge and profile groups that are up to speed
• Develop a plan to close any gaps 

It is easy to assume that people understand what you have communicated to them, especially when you are working on the project and know the details by heart. Testing your assumptions about what people know is one of the best ways to manage risk and avoid surprises. 

How do you know if people understand a change initiative? Ask them.

Phil

How to Lead Change in a Unionized Environment

I met Jamie Gruman, Associate Professor of Organizational Behaviour, University of Guelph last week for coffee. We talked about current trends in change management and where our field is headed.

Jamie mentioned that his Leadership of Organizational Change Masters program class was discussing how to lead change within a unionized environment. We thought this would make a good blog post.

 I worked within a unionized environment at Cadbury in Canada. Management and the union had good relations and I don’t recall any union-specific challenges to the merger and cultural initiatives we implemented.

I remember a warehouse manager saying he preferred to work with unions because the rules of engagement are clear and in writing. He also said that you get the union you deserve, meaning that good relationships breed good partnerships (and vice versa).

Union leadership is a stakeholder group just like all others that are impacted by change and have influence over the direction, evaluation and ultimately the success of it. You need to engage and motivate these key players as you would anyone else. This will ensure they visibly support the change and drive the behaviours that enable it, demonstrating them to their membership. 

The first thing to do is assess how the change will impact union leadership and what role you need them to play:

•         How will they (and their membership) benefit?
•         How will they lose?
•         What support do you need from them?
•         How motivated will they be to support the change?
•         What actions do you need to take to get them on side?

Here are some tips on how to align union leadership with your change initiative:

• Meet with them prior to communicating the change to explain:
• Why the change is necessary for the long-term health of the organization. This is the common purpose you will work toward.
• What other options were considered
• Why it is achievable
• What it will do
• What needs to change and what will stay the same for the change to be successful
• How people will be involved in the planning and transition phases
• What support (training, coaching, etc.) will be provided
• What will happen and when
• 
  
• Ask for feedback
• Discuss the role(s) that union leadership will play in the change. It needs to be an important, visible and active one
• Commit to update meetings at key points of the transition plan

An excellent example of management and union partnership through change was in 1984 when Toyota and General Motors created a joint venture called New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) that transformed an ailing GM factory in Fremont, California, into a highly efficient producer of cars.

Within one year, the ailing plant went from GM’s worst-quality producer to its highest. Labour relations followed a similar transformation. Employees and their union embraced the Toyota production system built on mutual trust and empowerment. Absenteeism dropped from 20% to 2%. 

So how do you lead change in a unionized environment? The same way you do in a non-unionized one except for the acknowledgement, engagement and motivation of another key stakeholder that can influence the success of the change. This is an important step that is sometimes missed.

Phil

What Got You Here Won't Get You There (and Maybe Not Get You Here Again)

On May 4th, I will be running my third marathon. My first was in October 2011 and second in May 2012. I had satisfied my marathon thirst and said that I would only run another one if Barb wanted to run her second. Last September, she became thirsty. 

#1: 4 h. 29 m. 46 s.

Running is a great sport. For those who have a competitive spirit, the goal is continuous improvement and the measure is to beat your personal best time. When you do, the feeling is tremendous. 

I ran my first marathon when I was writing the first draft of Change with Confidence. Running 26.2 miles. Twice the distance of my longest run seemed like an appropriate stretch goal. 

I created a detailed training plan and stuck to it. My big mistake was exceeding it, which gave me shin splints four weeks before the race. I could barely run for two and a half weeks.

The run was tough. My legs started cramping around 9 miles in and they seized at the 15 mile mark. I had experienced slight cramping in my longest training runs, but nothing like this. I got to the finish line but far later than I had planned.

#2: 4 h. 8 m. 26 s.

Two days after the race, I started planning my second marathon that was six months away. This time I was joined by my wife Barb and friend Tim. I learned from my mistake and kept to my training plan. At the starting line I was injury free and confident about my performance.  

I followed my race plan, running '10 and 1' intervals and not starting too quickly. To my surprise and horror, my legs started to spasm at the same distances. I relived the progressive decline of my legs, just like watching a movie for the second time - a scary one. 

The good news is that I finished the marathon and beat my first marathon time by over 21 minutes.


This time around, I have completely overhauled how I run and train. I have been:

• Changing my stride by shortening my steps and lessening the impact on my feet and legs
•  Running continuously versus '10 and 1' intervals - I lost too much time walking when my legs were strong
• Limiting weekly training miles to 30 versus 45 - was I overtaxing them before? 
• Running more preparation races prior to the marathon (7 versus 4)
• Seeing a physiotherapist two weeks before the race to discuss prevention and management strategies and tactics
• Managing what I eat, especially three days prior to the race - high carbohydrates, low fibre and protein

With 23 days to go, my practise races are a little slower than two years ago, but my form is better. This will be a good test of Marshal Goldsmith's adage, "What got you here won't get you there." The "there" for me is a faster time and stronger legs throughout the race. Either of them will be an improvement and both will be tremendous.

Phil

How Change Management is Changing

This week I went to the global Association of Change Management Professionals (ACMP) Conference in Orlando. I had attended last year's conference just after the launch of Change with Confidence.

The two conferences are like bookends to a great year. I have never done more public speaking, writing, and consulting. I also have learned a lot about publishing, business ownership and what makes me tick. It's been a good year.

When I returned home, I reread my blog post about last year's conference to see if my interests had changed.


My objectives were similar with one exception: This year, I was keen to get clarity on how the profession is changing. I wanted to see if others were noticing a growing demand for strategic leader support beyond developing independent change projects. 


My new objective affected my choice of sessions, the questions I asked, and the conversations I had. There were many views on where our profession needs to go.

Still a thrill to see my book on display

There is a growing need to help leaders navigate their constantly changing environments and constantly reinvent their organizations to compete. 

Two themes emerged over the week: How to effectively manage the ever-growing portfolio of changes that are needed to succeed and how to build resilience and agility capabilities into the mindsets, processes, and culture that shape how work gets done. 

I left the conference with more questions than answers about the future of change management. Bill Taylor, one of the keynote speakers, had the best question of all: Are you learning as fast as the world is changing?

Phil

Change Begins When Someone Does Something Differently

Have you noticed that change doesn't start until someone changes his or her behaviour? There can be many pronouncements about the need for change and how things will be better when they do, but if no one does anything differently, nothing will change. 

This is why leaders' behaviour is so important. They need to demonstrate the new ways of working. People are watching to assess their personal commitment to the change. They must prove their words by their actions. If the organization must be more fiscally responsible, so must they. If a culture of collaboration is needed then they must be collaborative. Leaders set direction.

Although leaders' behaviour is a 'must-have' success factor, they don't have to be the first people to do things differently to start a change.  It is best if they do, but change can begin by the behaviours of others.

This recently happened in our family. Our son Sam announced that he was no longer eating junk food. I know, what? He also started working out daily. Barb and I were supportive of his good habits. We complimented his good eating choices and his ever growing muscular physique. We are proud parents.


Almost immediately, Sam's behaviour affected ours. We cut down on buying sweets and sugary drinks - Charlie was still enjoying them ("Thanks Sam, more for me.") but was eating less. We were also upping our protein intake (a muscle builder's friend) and eating more fresh food. Sam's behaviour was changing what we ate. 

Daily Arm Dips

Sam's fitness regimen was also affecting mine. My daily exercises became easier to start after I heard his weights hit the floor over my office. It has become a trigger for my work out.

Fitness has become a family activity too. Sam and I have started a daily arm dip exercise in our kitchen. We can't go to sleep without doing our set, which is fun to do and talk about. In fact, every change our family has made has been fun to talk about. Change doesn't have to be miserable.

This experience has reinforced that although leader support and behaviour modeling is essential to successful change, it doesn't have to come first. Others' examples may even help them to learn what they need to do. Just like Sam did for us.

Phil

How to Honour the Past to Make Room for the Future

The World's Biggest Bookstore opened in downtown Toronto in 1980. It was a sight to be seen: three stories, 64,000 square feet, 20 kilometres of shelves and lots and lots of books. 

It was the go-to place for books and magazines. Before the days of internet shopping, this was the place to go for selection. They seemed to stock everything.


It was also the place for finding gift ideas. I remember the store being packed on December Saturdays as people feverishly hunted for holiday presents. There were even lineups to get on the escalator.


Last November, it was announced that Chapters Indigo Books was not renewing the lease and the store would be closing. The property would be redeveloped and leased to four new restaurants. 

The news was received as another example of change in the publishing industry and the Toronto landscape. I don't recall anyone saying that it was wrong and should be stopped. It was a sign of the times.

On Tuesday, I visited the World's Biggest Book Store with a friend before it closes next week. It was exactly how I remembered it. The same signs, the same shelves and the same escalator. What had changed was that most of the books had either been sold or transferred to another store. Many of the shelves were empty.

My experience is similar to what happens in most successful change projects. The past is honoured before people transition to the future. They need to pay tribute to what they know and love before they can let go of it to make room for something new. 

That night, I visited my Dad. When I showed my pictures of the store, his friend remarked with a smile, "It served its purpose." I thought, what a dignified way of honouring the past.

Phil

When a Step Back is the Way Forward

Organizations going through big changes often fall prey to their original change plan because following it suggests that leaders and their project teams have everything worked out. The longer the team stays on track, the greater the confidence that it is the right plan. Conversely, adjusting the plan can make it look flawed and raises doubts about the path forward.

In an environment where changes are seen as mistakes, people focus their efforts on delivering the plan versus testing it to make sure it will still deliver results. This behaviour is reinforced when rewards are tied to plan completion instead of what it delivers.

This is not how change initiatives work; the plan often needs to be modified as new information becomes known. Making real-time adjustments can mitigate risks and focus resources where they will have the greatest impact. 


You need to take a step back when new information becomes known to see if it has any bearing on the change plan. I do this by asking these questions:

1) Why is it important?
This helps me differentiate between important and urgent information. Sometimes things can seem important based on how it is delivered. If it is important, what are the implications of this data? How does it impact the plan, if at all?

2) What do I need to know?
New information requires investigation, which usually creates additional information needs. Asking this question helps me determine what I already know and what I need to source. It also demonstrates to stakeholders that action is being taken. 

3) What experiences can I learn from?
Similar circumstances have most likely occurred in this organization. This question often leads to hypotheses or options to consider. Similar experiences also help identify risks associated with different courses of action.

4) What works and doesn't work?

In any organization, culture and current business realities influence what leaders and their teams will support or reject. For example, a very hierarchical organization will most likely reject a course of action that requires employee empowerment and decision making. Looking at options through these filters help identify changes that will be effective.

It is easy for your plan to become the goal versus the result it is intended to deliver. Taking a step back to ask a few questions will help define the best path forward, even if it is different from the original one.

Phil

Three Steps to Marketing Your Business When You Don't Have the Time

Early in My Career

Early in my career I ran a training and development department in a Toronto branch of the Business Development Bank (BDC). Our mandate was help small and and medium-sized businesses by building their knowledge, skills and capabilities. One of my most popular courses was on small business marketing that I taught at a local college in the evenings. 

Every group raised the challenge of needing to marketing but having little time or money to do so. Time was the biggest issue; when business was brisk you had no time to market, which resulted in an eventual drop in business. It seemed impossible to do both activities at the same time. 

Now, as a small business owner, I am experiencing the same challenge. When I am at full capacity with consulting assignments, I have little time to market. I know that if I don't market I will eventually gain capacity, which isn't a good thing.

I have taken three simple steps to ensure I market regardless of my workload: 

1. Define the portfolio of marketing activities worth investing in

There are twenty-three activities I use to market. It may sound like a lot, but many of them require minimal time or have low frequency.

2. Detail the work required for each activity including when it needs to be done

This step has helped me plan my marketing time, often late at night or on weekends. I manage by lists and adding these activities has helped me ensure they don't get forgotten.

3. Set goals by month and track progress weekly

Weekly marketing goals didn't work for me because of the variability of client needs. It was was an unproductive and frustrating exercise. Tracking progress weekly, however, let me know what I had achieved and how much I had left to do.

Now I am focused on working my plan and track progress. I am also measuring efficacy of each activity so that I can focus on the most effective ones. 

I still feel I don't have enough time to market, but I am achieving a lot anyway. Should any business owner feel like they have done 'enough' marketing?

Phil

Have You Helped A Reporter Out Lately? You Might Like It

In January, I was looking for new ways to promote my book and consulting business. One of my goals for 2014 is to broaden my global reach and I knew I needed to adopt new marketing efforts to do so.

I discovered a great opportunity for free PR. Help a Reporter Out (HARO) is a matching service for reporters and information sources. Reporters from media agencies such as The New York Times, Huffingtonpost.com and ABC News post information requests for articles. People with that information respond to an HARO email address. The reporter gets the information she or he needs and the information source gets mentioned in the article. A fair trade.

Signing up was easy. Within five minutes I had completed a short registration form and selected my areas of interest. Shortly after, I was scanning the first of three daily emails listing queries.

I have responded to two requests: one on workplace productivity and another on learning how to relax. Like most things in life, it takes a couple of attempts before getting it right.

My initial approach was to provide all of my content in the email. For example, for the learning to relax article, I talked about how I needed to recalibrate my life after a whirlwind year and my three-point plan to get back on track:

• Scheduling recreational activities on my work calendar 
• Devoting more time to running, a fitness activity that I find relaxing, especially when listening to music
• Stopping work-related activities thirty minutes before going to bed

I realized that I was writing the story versus pitching my value as a source for it. What if the reporter wasn't interested in a three-point plan?

My next response will be different. I will mention why I would make a good information source and provide an insight to spark interest. It might be more help to the reporter and create more PR for me. I know I will like helping a reporter out.

Phil

Helping People Set Their Own Expectations Around Change

The importance of setting expectations about change came to mind when I got our son Charlie's phone repaired. I had scheduled the time to do so based on little information (hours of operation) and a lot of optimism. This won't take long, I thought.

I saw 22 people waiting to be served when I entered Samsung's walk-in service centre. My expectations and my mood immediately fell. 

In front of me was a touch screen that dispensed tickets indicating your place in line. It also displayed how many people were waiting and what type of service they needed.

As I waited, I noticed that each transaction took five to ten minutes to complete, except for pick ups that took less than five. A large tally board helped me update my wait time expectation based on how quickly the four service representatives moved through the line. My 40 minute wait didn't seem too long.

When I returned an hour later to pick up the phone, the number of waiting customers had grown to 28. Not great, but I quickly estimated my wait time, adjusted my expectations and settled in for a longer wait. 

My mood brightened when eight numbers were called with no owners – they didn't wait. Again, I recalibrated my waiting time. Next, a service representative called for all pick up orders. The three of us jumped out of our seats and within five minutes we were on our way. That didn't take long, I thought.

The parallels between my phone repair experience and large organizational changes are compelling. We need to provide people with the tools and knowledge to set realistic expectations about how they will need to change – without doing so, they will form first impressions and judge progress based on their own expectations and little information. 

Leaders need to share their expectations and the assumptions they are based on. Then they must provide updates (like the tally board) on what has changed so that people can recalibrate their expectations. Often, people interpret delays as failures when they are only prudent adjustments based on new information. Giving them the knowledge and tools to manage their expectations makes them active participants in the change process, which leads to greater commitment and engagement. It also builds their capabilities for the next time when something needs to be fixed.

Phil

Did Culture Destroy This Company?

I was surprised to read that a top ten Canadian law firm had closed down. The partners of Heenan Blaikie LLP had voted to dissolve their 40 year old firm of more than 550 lawyers. They chose to do so after recording a profit of $75 million on $222 million revenue in 2013. What would make them do that?

In the last week, Heenan Blaikie's demise has been attributed to:

• The 2012 retirement of Roy Heenan, one of its founders and chairman for 39 years
• The inability of the executive committee to appoint a replacement
• Replacing the two long-standing co-managing partners of the firm and heads of the Montreal and Toronto offices
• In-fighting between the new co-managing partners and their teams
• No aligned vision of the future or long-term strategy
• Product mix issues caused by a decline of M&A and resources industry work due to the recession
• Greater competition and client demands for big discounts
• Over-expansion during the recession 
• Reputation damage through association with a client charged 
• Restructuring, downsizing and cost cutting tensions
• Loss of star partners, along with their clients and capital
• The closing of a few large files that were ongoing sources of revenue
• Exodus of partners (40 in the last few weeks of the firm), many being poached by other firms after partners learned that profitability (and their compensation) decreased by 15 percent versus last year
• A change in culture

I found the last reason the most revealing and significant. How did a culture change contribute to closing a venerable law firm that had attracted former Prime Ministers (Trudeau and Chrétien) and other dignitaries to join as partners? To answer this question I had to understand the culture before and after it changed.

Heenan Blaikie LLP was formed in 1973 by three school friends. Their partnership was sealed by handshakes. As the firm grew, a people-first culture was built and maintained by the partners, led by Roy Heenan. "We had a happy firm where people liked each other. We didn't try to be the highest-paid firm but the happiest firm in the country." John Craig, who joining in 2001, described the firm as "a really great place to work. It wasn't the stuffy Bay Street environment that people hear about." Many partners described the culture as collegial and family-like.

In the last couple of years, there was more focus placed on M&A and financial business. Hiring practices also changed. One person observed that they were hiring for revenue versus cultural fit. "They were just taking on people to bring in a lot of money." 

Managers began scrutinizing and comparing practices, questioning billable hours versus lawyers employed. Matters became worse when some partners left for more money. Mark Power, a lawyer in the Ottawa office, said "The issue isn't that Heenan Blaikie was not profitable; the issue seems to be that it was not profitable enough for some." 

Without a leader or a common vision of the future, squabbling, rivalries and power struggles heightened between the Toronto and Montreal offices. Accusations were made that offices weren't contributing their fair share. As Roy Heenan summed it up, "There was no trust" and people weren't working as a team. Once you start feeling that this isn't a happy place, you go somewhere else."

Marcel Aubut, partner and Canadian Olympic Committee President, joined another firm on Monday. "My team and I are joining an entrepreneurial and forward-thinking company, two important criteria that (match) my values." He may not have had to if the values and culture at Heenan Blaikie had survived.

Phil

What is Wrong with Change Management Consulting?

Many leaders hire external consultants to help them and their teams adopt new ways of thinking and behaving to achieve desired results. These experts apply their capabilities and experience to assess the organization, build a change plan and manage the transition process. If all goes well, the change is made and the consultants move on. Nothing wrong with that, unless the consultants:

• Create a dependency on their expertise so that leaders defer decision making to them. I have seen leaders look at consultants for approval before answering questions about the business. This isn't healthy or sustainable. Consultants provide perspectives for leaders to make better decisions, not make decisions for leaders.

• Don't build change capabilities. Change is constant, complex and uncertain. Building people's ability to navigate change is a must. Change agility, the ability to manage multiple and continuous changes, is rapidly becoming a source of competitive advantage. Part of a change consultant's mandate should be to transfer their knowledge and skill to clients so that they need less or no support in the future. Instead of holding a client's hand, he or she needs to strengthen their muscles.

• Rigidly employ their proprietary methodology. Frameworks are helpful in structuring the activities required to change how people think and behave. Although change is rarely linear, a sequential approach or methodology is helpful in ensuring that your address all aspects of a change. The problem arises when the framework is implemented without customization to the client's circumstances. This happens when consultants are in love with their design or they don't want to invest the time into rethinking it based on client needs. This can lead to a checklist mentality where completion of the steps is the goal versus implementing the right steps for the change. Also, adherence to one methodology excludes other approaches and tools that might be better suited for the organization. The best change management consultants use a blend of approaches and tools that are appropriate to the need. They only use what is needed for that change regardless of who created it.

• Leave before the change is embedded. People need time to internalize new ways of thinking and behaving. Launching a change doesn't mean it will stick. People need guidance and encouragement as they try out new ways of working to see if they work for them. If not, many will revert back to old ways, reducing the benefits of the change. Change consultants need to monitor progress and provide assistance to those who need it until they work. Only then can they move on knowing the change has taken hold.

So what is right with change management consulting? External consultants partner with leaders to transition their organization to new ways of thinking and behaving. They consciously build change agility skills and resist the temptation to "do the change" for leaders ‒ they help leaders lead change. The best consultants also invest time in assessing the organization and its needs, employing the approaches and tools that are best for the change. Their work is done only when new ways of working become everyday practices, knowing that the benefits of the change will be realized. 

Phil