As a student of organizations, I have noticed the penchant for sexy terminology. Consultants are in particular experts at generating terms that connote better methods or unique know-how. Transformational change rather than incremental change is an example. Who in the world wants to be a change plumber? Fixing leaks here or there in the organization's plumbing. Transformation is more sexy since it denotes morphing into something better, more powerful, more vibrant.
Transformation is not a uni-directional term. You have three ways out of a transformational change: better, worse, or the same. Transformation that does not improve an organization positively is an illusion. Transformation that does not result in improvement at best is a wash, and at its worst is a rip-off.
Questions to ponder are: has the change effort resulted in increased margins, higher revenues, better employee engagement, more loyal customer base, more robust market share, etc.? If not, it is time to find out why.
Have you been sold snake-oil? In the wild west of yesteryear, it was the medicine salesmen sold from town to town to cure any and all human ills. Today we are awash with slick folks who pretend to have the magic bullet, the better idea, the smarter tools to overcome all organizational challenges. Buyers must beware!
When we confront the snake-oil salesman, we will hear interesting excuses. Not enough time has passed yet, let's be patient. We did not execute the change properly, the way we should have. Right now we are playing defense e.g., we are cutting the fat. The market has gone south. Etc.
How can you spot snake-oil peddlers?
They have the same medicine for everybody regardless of the unique organizational situation. They will tell you that it worked fantastically elsewhere (usually a name company with a great reputation like GE, IBM, Sony, etc.) The problem is that your company is not like any other in either size, scope, history, geography, culture or capability. It is one of a kind. Sure, something might have worked elsewhere but you are not elsewhere, you are somewhere? For example, the medicine you give a baby (start-up) is usually different than what you give an older person (declining or mature organization). Different in dose. Forbidden to one or the other.
Plumbing is not a sexy job but it is still a noble one. It does not make it more glamorous by calling it transformation. Sure, in some situations incremental change is not good enough. If we choose to make radical changes, then we must be sure that the methods fit the situation on the ground.
During my career, I have witnessed very few arch-type transformations: GE, Apple, IBM, to name a few. The landscape, however, is full of organizational carcasses that did not survive the transformational change. I will not give you a long list. I know you have your own.
Enjoy the trip along the learning curve!
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