On Thu, 20 Jun Carol Sager wrote -
> Malcolm Jones wrote:
>
> > As a lurker making my first posting, we also use the 2:6:2 rule - 20% will
> > support new initiatives, 60% will watch to see what happens, and 20% will
> > oppose. The trick is to put your energy into supporting the positive 20%,
> > drawing in the uncommited 60% and ignoring the negative 20% (unless of
> > course they have particular power/influence which could hurt you).
>
> Mal brings up an important point, about which I would like more
> information/discussion. The 2:6:2 rule has been suppported by
> research on persuasion and on change ( the proportions may vary but only
> slightly). Until very recently we used to advise business to plan on 3
> years for major change to occur because each year, if you support the
> takers and work on the undecided, the number of negatives reduces
> dramatically. Today business is forced to make change in a very narrow
> timeframe, working only with the top 20% and dragging many of the rest
> "kicking and screaming". While this might be a bit of hyperbole, the
> question is, what are the best options for systemic change when you
> don't have adequate time to promote buy-in?
The easiest course is to build a value based culture wherein trust,
commitment and creativity abound, where people love to come to work
and are receptive to change. There are specific actions any boss can
take to create this culture as well as specific actions by which to
create the opposite result. It is in the latter state that the 2:6:2
rule accurately describes what is going on, by far the most prevalent
state. We provide bosses with the tools and they choose which outcome
to achieve.
2:6:2 could be 7:2:1. Regards, Joan
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Joan Pomo The Finest Tools for Managing People
Simonton Associates Based on the book
jpomo@gate.net "How to Unleash the Power of People"
--"jpomo@gate.net" <jpomo@gate.net>
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>