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John Kotter’s 8 Step Change ProcessJOHN KOTTER’S 8 STEP CHANGE PROCESS'S & THEIR “EARLY BIRD PLAN” THAT CHANGED THEIR ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE FOREVER…

BY MOHAMMAD FAWAD AMJAD – MBA HRM (2010 – 2012) – INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT SCIENCES, LAHORE, PAKISTAN

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2To Whom it May Concern

The practical implication of model is applied in context of a “Pakistani Organization” & while going through this presentation, certain aspects during practical implication of model may raise question(s) to your mind (how come that can be a problem).

So my answer is, organizational cultures & practices & problems differ from country to country as well as location to location even in same country. My point here is to show how model can be used for change management rather getting into minor details.

Cheers!!!Mohammad Fawad Amjad

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

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What This is All AboutHOW YOU CAN USE THE FAMOUS CHANGE MANAGEMENT EXPERT JOHN KOTTER’S 8 STEP PROCESS MODEL IN A REAL LIFE SITUATION TO YOUR ADVANTAGE AS A CHANGE AGENT / AS A TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADER

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The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

4Step-1 Create a Sense of Urgency

For change to happen, it helps if the whole company really wants it. Develop a sense of urgency around the need for change. This may help you spark the initial motivation to get things moving.

What you can do:

Identify potential threats, and develop scenarios showing what could happen in the future

Examine opportunities that should be, or could be, exploited

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

5Create a Sense of Urgency Practical Implication

Consider an example of an HR Manager who just joined an organization. The manager observed that there could be lot of things in the organization’s culture which should be changed or fixed e.g. to name a few…

1. Proper dress code application

2. Habitual late arrival of employees in the morning

3. Frequent late sitting trend after office hours

4. No work life balance of employees

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

6Create a Sense of Urgency Practical Implication (Cont.)

The manager decided to start with the basic one i.e. in time arrival of employees in the morning. He shares the idea with the top management about his plan to bring this change & gets the approval for the change plan.

The manager proposed 3 benefits of new change:

1. In time arrival of employees will improve customer services & over all organizational productivity

2. Company will save on excessive resource consumption due to late sittings

3. When they will come early, they’ll leave workplace in time & work life balance will be created benefiting employees mental & physical health. Hence more benefit to company productivity in long run.

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

7Step-2 Form a Powerful Coalition

Convince people that change is necessary. This often takes strong leadership and visible support from key people within your organization. Managing change isn't enough – you have to lead it.

What you can do:

Identify the true leaders in your organization

Ask for an emotional commitment from these key people

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

8Form a Powerful CoalitionPractical Implication

The manger decided to form a coalition of all department heads to make the change plan effective.

So he called in a meeting of all HODz & communicated his vision of change & its potential benefits & cleared their any objections & confusions & finally all agreed that on time arrival of all department employees would benefit everyone. So, they all decided to make this change successful with the HR manager.

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

9Step-3 Create a Vision for Change

When you first start thinking about change, there will probably be many great ideas and solutions floating around. Link these concepts to an overall vision that people can grasp easily and remember.

What you can do:

Determine the values that are central to the change

Develop a short summary (one or two sentences) that captures what you "see" as the future of your organization

Create a strategy to execute that vision

Ensure that your change coalition can describe the vision in five minutes or less

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

10Create a Vision for ChangePractical Implication

The next step for the HR Manager & his HOD coalition was how to communicate the new change to employees in such a way that it sounds positive, believable, actionable & admirable to them.

So they all worked out a strategy as how they will communicate the new change idea to employees in order to minimize possible resistance & denial.

They named their plan “The Early Bird”.

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

11Step-4 Communicate the Vision

What you do with your vision after you create it will determine your success. Your message will probably have strong competition from other day-to-day communications within the company, so you need to communicate it frequently and powerfully, and embed it within everything that you do.

What you can do:

Lead by example

Openly and honestly address peoples' concerns and anxieties

Apply your vision to all aspects of operations – from training to performance reviews. Tie everything back to the vision

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

12Communicate the VisionPractical Implication

The new change plan was rolled out as a high priority email by all HODz to their department staff making 8AM presence mandatory for everyone .

As part of the “The Early Bird” strategy, the HR manager & other HODz had decided to start coming to office little earlier then 8AM to ensure their staff’s in time presence.

As expected, as soon as the email spread on the office floor, people were more or less shocked at this sudden order. Corner gossips started immediately & rumor mill became effective as well. Everybody was uncertain why this order was passed since coming late & leaving late had become the part of the culture & everyone was now so used to it (Resistance to Change)

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

13Communicate the VisionPractical Implication (Cont.)

At the end of that workday, the HR manager & all the HODs gathered at the office cafeteria & collectively asked everyone to gather their.

As soon as everyone gathered at the cafeteria, the manager asked for any questions about the early bird order email & then there were questions from all corners & more & more of them kept coming until the manager & HODz answered all & this informal office meeting was adjourned.

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

14Step-5 Remove Obstacles

Put in place the structure for change, and continually check for barriers to it. Removing obstacles can empower the people you need to execute your vision, and it can help the change move forward.

What you can do:

Look at your organizational structure, job descriptions, and performance and compensation systems to ensure they're in line with your change vision

Recognize and reward people for making change happen

Identify people who are resisting the change, and help them see what's needed

Take action to quickly remove barriers (human or otherwise)

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

15Remove ObstaclesPractical Implication

The next day, the HR Manager & HODz observed some of the office staff was present in time while some got late but still managed to come near after the expected time.

So from the ones who came late, they inquired reason for late coming. Out of many reasons they realized some were valid & could be considered by management for solution. e.g.

1. Most female employees were late due to absence or unavailability of transportation means due to rush hours in the morning.

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

16Remove ObstaclesPractical Implication (Cont.)

So the management took these steps to motivate people coming office in time

1. A passenger van was hired by the company offering pick & drop service to all female employees who didn't own private transport means.

2. As part of the “Early Bird Strategy” a weekend half day working incentive was offered to all those employees who came office in time throughout the week.

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

17Step-6 Create Short-term Wins

Give your company a taste of victory early in the change process. Within a short time frame (this could be a month or a year, depending on the type of change), you'll want to have results that your staff can see.

Without this, critics and negative thinkers might hurt your progress.

What you can do:

Reward the people who help you meet the targets

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

18Create Short-term WinsPractical Implication (Cont.)

Half day weekend incentive plan turned out to be huge success after 2 weeks. More & more employees were now coming in time to get the weekend half day incentive.

Seeing this, the HR Manager & HODs decided to celebrate this win. So, on the weekend before everyone would have left they again gathered everyone to cafeteria & asked everyone to voluntarily share their new weekend incentive experience. Most of them excitedly shared their weekend outing experiences & work life balance enjoyment with friends & family.

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

19Step-7 Build on Change

Launching one new product using a new system is great. But if you can launch 10 products, that means the new system is working. To reach that 10th success, you need to keep looking for improvements.

Each success provides an opportunity to build on what went right and identify what you can improve.

What you can do:

After every win, analyze what went right and what needs improving

Set goals to continue building on the momentum you've achieved

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

20Build on ChangePractical Implication (Cont.)

Seeing the success of “Early Bird Strategy”. The HR manager now decided to bring in the dress code change. He & the HOD coalition analyzed the success factors of “Early Bird Strategy” & decided to implement the dress code change through new change agents this time.

So, they called in those employees who were the first ones who earned the early bird half day weekend incentive when it was introduced. They offered them an incentive in their half yearly performance review if they could manage to follow company’s desired dress code strictly. Which they agreed to earn the incentive in performance review.

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

21Build on ChangePractical Implication (Cont.)

When these employees started following the dress code strictly throughout the week, it developed suspicion in other employees that something was going on. Since they were known to be the ones who earned the early bird incentive when everyone else was not buying it.

So people started to dig in if something was up & soon they found out that there was an incentive in half year performance review for following the dress code. Since everyone was benefiting from the early bird weekend half day incentive, it was just a matter of time when more or less everyone was walking around in official dress code hoping to get the performance appraisal incentive too.

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

22Step-8 Anchor the Changes in Corporate Culture

Finally, to make any change stick, it should become part of the core of your organization. Your corporate culture often determines what gets done, so the values behind your vision must show in day-to-day work.

What you can do:

Talk about progress every chance you get. Tell success stories about the change process, and repeat other stories that you hear

Publicly recognize key members of your original change coalition, and make sure the rest of the staff – new and old – remembers their contributions

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

23Anchor the Changes in Corporate CulturePractical Implication (Cont.)

To assure that people stay motivated to follow new policies & the change that HR Manager & his HODs coalition team brought, Top Management dedicated a wall at office’s reception which was referred as “The Wall of Fame”

On the “Wall of Fame” were:

The pictures of all these top achievers & change agents with their brief success stories how they brought change & how they were later rewarded & recognized by the top management.

Even after they left the organization. They were referred as

“The Marks of Fame Or simply The Marks”

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

24Moral Of the Story

Changing dress code & office coming habit was just a mere example of John Kotter’s 8 Step Change Process Model application.

More complicated changes can be brought & managed by an organizational leader if he or she

Has the will to do so & has strong determination

Has knowledge of business landscape

Has competency to implement his/her ideas

Can figure out what people value most, & use it to his/her change management advantage as motivation driving force.

Dec 26, 2012

The Early Bird Plan & John Kotter's 8 Step Change Process - By Mohammad Fawad Amjad Institute of Management Sciences – Lahore, Pakistan

25References & Acknowledgments

John Kotter’s 8 Step Change Process – www.Mindtools.com

Mr. Sajid Asghar Rana – Course facilitator & my mentor whose love for Human Resource Management tempted me to change my majors from Marketing to Human Resource Management

Syed Jawad Raza – for being a cooperative friend & tolerating team mate whom I am thankful for ignoring my choosy attitude continuously .

Dec 26, 2012