In Bob's intro he asked . . "My second question is does anyone have a
"silver bullet" program for
changing a deeply embedded culture?"
I shared Bob's note with a colleague (Dick Harral) at work. Dick is not
on the mail list (yet), but offers the response below to Bob's question
below.
Geof Fountain
From: Dick Harral
With regard to Bob Plautz's question concerning culture change at AMOCO.
First, there is no silver bullet. As I worked on improving the
competitive posture of one one chemical plant, at a multi plant site in
duPont over my eight years as the appointed leader of that plant, it was
very troublesome to me, to come to grips with the very problem Plautz is
experiencing. I had a clear vision of the technology changes that were
needed, had defined the then current environment in terms of the
technology and cultural elements (Status, Rituals, Totems, and Taboos) and
the external marketplace, had a fair idea of the technology and culture
required to survive, and a lot more; but, people were not buying any of it
except the technology part.
I overlooked several key, very significant factors in bringing about a
shift in culture:
1) First, we did not share common organizational values mostly because it
never occurred to us that as a legitimate part of work we had to
examine our organizational values and deliberately choose the ones
that would make us viable over time. I now believe that an individual's
(or organization's) vision only exist in the context of the individual's
(or organization's) values and beliefs. To move from the several
individual visions of the group members to shared vision requires that
the group members, as individuals, reach some degree of congruence
with respect to their values.
2) Some people did not see any reason to change because what they had
always done what they had always done and had been very successful.
They did not look outward to the external environment (they were
inwardly focused) to see how the environment was changing and the
delayed impact that the environment would have on them as individuals.
3) I failed to address early on the "what's in it for me" and the"fear of
the unknown" aspects of managing change, especially at the mid and upper
management layers (my peers and bosses). For the managers it eventually
became more a question of "what do I loose if I don't change."
4) I forgot to "honor the past." By this I mean that people had
accomplished a lot over the previous 15 years and were damn proud of
it. I came along telling them that what they had done wasn't good
enough. As a result the very people who had been so successfulin the
past were becoming today's problem. They needed formal recognition of
an honorable past to reach closure on yesterday's successes before
they could undertake tomorrow's challenges.
5) And, finally the idea of working hard for "god, country, and company,"
didn't have much appeal for most people, especially if it increased
their own insecurity. We had to show people that doing "something"
would lead to a much more secure future than would doing "nothing"and
that together we would define the "something" we would do. I submit
that Plautz's church is having less trouble building a shared vision
precisely because they are a conservative group who started the visioning
process with strong beliefs and strongly held shared values.
>From my experience, I suggest Plautz look to the underlying values that
are driving the existing culture to find the key to unlocking the shared
vision puzzle. At AMOCO, the fact that a legitimately chartered group is
working in this arena leads me to conclude that even at the V.P. level
people have an underlying desire to create something better that what
exist today. Chances are the lack of progress stems from not knowing how
to go about the creation process rather than from being satisfied with the
status quo.
Over the three to five years that it took to drive a measurable culture
shift, I faced all the same barriers. While there is no silver bullet,
the culture did shift. One thing that helped was a higher level sponsor
to help emphasize the need for change.
A wise boss told me during this period that the difference between
emphasis and lack of emphasis is only five minutes a day. He went on to
explain that if I talked about my vision and its underlying values for no
more than 15-30 seconds with each person I came in contact with, pretty
soon people would begin to see how they fit into the picture and how
committed I was to driving the improvement. People would begin to
consider the possibility that maybe I knew something that would be
worthwhile to them. Guess what, he was right. Over time, non believers
were converted one or two at a time, until we reached a critical mass and
the effort took hold. Some people never joined in, but that was OK
because enough did so that the few did not stop the many's progress. I do
not know what has happened in the eight years since I changed jobs, except
that they had a very good year in 1994 in a very competitive commodity
business. I can assure you that from my perspective the view was worth
the climb.
Paul McDonald, et. al. in "Getting Value From Shared Values,"
Organizational Dynamics, Winter 1994 (an AMA publication) address the
linkage between Values and Culture and Vision. While the McDonald et. al.
believe vision drive values and I believe a vision only exist in the
context of values held, however to argue the point is akin to the chicken
and egg argument.