1.5 - About University

5.4 L EADING C HANGE: SMALL W INSORB REAKTHROUGHS?Inspired by Michael Hammer, James Champy, Robert Schaffer, and Karl Weick.Change in organizations is a complex phenomenon; no single approach will work consistentlyover a wide range of change situations. Leaders need to consider the magnitude of any givenorganizational change and whether it can be introduced in chunks or must be completed inone quantum leap. Note that in some change situations you may be able to strategize an allor-nothingchange yet implement it in manageable pieces, thereby reconciling the twoapproaches contrasted here and gaining the benefits of both while avoiding the problems ofboth.The small wins approachOther phrases used:➠ Incremental change➠ Continuous improvement➠ Adaptation➠ Chunking➠ Simplification✔ Start with subprojects that are likely to succeed. Buildsuccess on success.✔ Small changes allow the system to absorb the overall,larger change.✔ Small changes allow people to adapt and adjustemotionally, enabling them to become better preparedfor additional changes.✔ It is easier to involve people in small, specific changes.✔ Have an overall goal and strategy, then implementsmall projects and move incrementally to attain thatoverall goal.ORThe breakthrough approachOther phrases used:➠ (Radical) Transformation➠ Discontinuous change➠ Reinvention➠ Frame-breaking➠ Reengineering✔ Improvement is more than the sum of its parts. Youcan’t tinker your way to breakthrough change.✔ With a quantum leap change, no one can cling to thepast.✔ Change is better introduced as one large change, ratherthan “death by a thousand cuts.”✔ You must look at the whole system. Most large-scalechanges fail because the recommended change wasn’tsupported by the other systems it needed to interactwith.GoalGoalTimeIn the small wins cornerFrom High-Impact Consulting by Robert Schaffer:To avoid one of what Schaffer calls the “Five Fatal Flaws” ofconsulting:“Instead of aiming for ‘one big solution’ that will require a longcycle time and huge up-front investment, high-impact consultingdivides projects into increments, with rapid cycle times, forquicker results.”Quantum LeapTimeIn the all-or-nothing cornerFrom Reengineering the Corporation by Hammer andChampy:“Reengineering, we are convinced, can’t be carried out in smalland cautious steps. It is an all-or-nothing proposition that producesdramatically impressive results. Most companies have nochoice but to muster the courage to do it. For many, reengineeringis the only hope for breaking away from the ineffective, antiquatedways of conducting business.”SECTION 5 TOOLS FOR LEADING CHANGE 147