Approaching Organizational Change

In order to remain relevant and competitive, business owners must seek to constantly be in pursuit of change and evolution—and they need to encourage their teams to do the same. A recent article for Industry Week by author Paul Ericksen addresses different types of organizational changes and methods for pursuing them.

Ericksen discusses how change occurs at three incremental levels within organizations—short-term, medium-term, and long-term.

• Short-term changes, also known as “continuous improvements,” are small tweaks to current processes. They generally provide short-term benefits, as competitors can quickly see what change was made and imitate it.
• Medium-term changes are natural evolutions to current practices—once again, improvements on what is already being done. They align very closely with current practices.
• Long-term changes involve adjusting both strategy and process. Because these are bigger changes, they tend to meet the most internal resistance. Successful long-term changes, however, offer a big positive impact. Additionally, they are harder for competitors to discern and imitate.

Because making this type of long-term change brings higher risk, many organizations seek outside help in facilitating them. Ericksen offers his perspective of this strategy, drawing on what he observed throughout his career. He warns against depending too heavily upon outside sources to inform an organization as it seeks to change. Why? Academics are smart but often have little direct experience in the industry where they are advising. Consultants are good at selling their product or package, but weak when it comes to innovating or tailoring it to an organization’s unique situation. Lastly, outside experts of either sort do not have the same level of organizational commitment that those on the inside have developed.

To read the article in full, click here.