Change can be a tough thing. At times, to many of the associates in a company, a change may seem like another round in a Chinese fire drill. I would submit that some probably don’t look for answers, but I can’t solely rest blame elsewhere, when in point of fact, I am just as a guilty in maybe not communicating well enough.

While I may internally debate whether I have improved upon my communication skills to a point where changes make more sense, I ultimately still believe most individuals don’t care for any kind of change, and maybe not even positive change at times. Those that do embrace change are most likely reading this blog.

While this perspective may seem a bit, well glass-half-empty, it does offer opportunity to take a moment and reflect upon what I, as a manager, can offer to hopefully ease some of the stress in the change.

First, everything roots back to having the right people in the right seats on the bus - AND - getting the wrong people off the bus (as Jim Collins would say). If you have not done this, and know this to be true in your “gut”, do not pass “GO” and do not collect $200 - go directly to jail until you figure this part out.

Second, assuming you are redirecting a team of great individuals - my job is to not screw the good stuff up. This means I can’t just go in swingin’ and hope to hit something. I have to be able to take some measure of where the team is at in relation to objectives and customer perception.

You get this from listening: Listening to your team, listening to other teams, and listening to your customers. Part of listening comes in knowing when to put on the filter and when to hear the unabashed truth.

Once I know where I am at, I paint a vision. Once the team mostly understands this vision, I execute a phased approach. Remember, the team doesn’t get paid to fully embrace your vision. You get paid to teach them how to help you paint it - and sometimes it requires blind faith. This, incidentally, requires having the right people in the right seats on the bus - AND - getting the wrong people off the bus (did I say that already?).

Finally, I build for flexibility and consistent efficiency.

My team must understand change is the name of the game. Processes do help in offering some sanity, but will only succeed if we stay focused on why the process is used. We don’t want mindless robots following rules. We want thinking individuals making smart, customer-minded moves to secure the best outcome possible - in the most efficient manner possible.

In summary, here are the keys to managing change:

1. Have the right team.

2. Learn from the good stuff.

3. Listen

4. Paint a vision and refer to it often.

5. Build for flexibility and consistent efficiency.

In following these few steps, which aren’t easy at all to follow sometimes, you will succeed in building a high-quality, high-capacity team.

Ken Stewart’s blog, ChangeForge.com, focuses on the collision between the constantly changing worlds of business and technology. Ken is also the Director of Technology at Kearns Business Solutions.

When you think of IT, MIS, or any other acronymn used to describe the technology department of a company, what is the image that comes to mind? Does it resemble a Saturday Night Live skit Nick Burns, Your Company’s Computer Guy?

Many IT-types have bemoaned the fact that technologists have gotten a bad wrap. I wonder why that is?

Simply put, the stereotypical computer tech was always long on computer wisdom but terribly short on the softer skills in life, such as tact and social grace. I am not totally sure whether most computer guys had watched too much Gordon Gekko and fancied themselves all powerful, or if they just didn’t notice they were alienating their customers. Either way, the end result was the creation of our famous stereotype, Nick Burns…

As a manager, culture is one of the most delicate things to balance. Do you choose the talented player that can put points on the board and overlook some ‘minor’ team-fit issues? Do you sacrifice and choose a mediocre player that can get along with everyone and take direction?

That’s a trick question, to a certain extent. You choose neither. It is possible to choose talented players, but you can’t forsake the overall team concept. Combined, individuals can accomplish wonderful and extraordinary things. So don’t sell yourself short and let your ‘IT rooster” rule the roost. It won’t be as easy as pounding your fist, and you have to decide for yourself if your IT guy is your go-to-guy.

If you are an IT guy or gal, make sure you put yourself in a position to be the go-to-guy (or gal). By keeping customer service in the forefront of your mind and engaging in your culture you may not win employee of the year, but you could get a reputation for solving problems rather than being one.

Today we discuss the blurring of technology lines. In a recent article in ImageSource titled Top 10 Industry Trends, authored by John Mancini, the President of AIIM, outlines what he believes to be the top 10 drivers within the DMS space… Let’s continue our discussion with the number 8 influencer in the DMS space this year:

8. The blurring of technology lines.  What does your business need? Copiers? Scanners? Records management? Content management?  Document management? Business process management?  E-mail management?  Most likely, all of the above in some configuration. And the solution providers who can help end users figure out the appropriate configuration – they won’t all be the same – will find end users racing to their door.

John strikes a cord with this article. It resonates a simple truth, “Add value to your customers’ business and make them clients for life.” More than ever, companies are looking for answers. They hire analysts and accounts to give them a clue about what’s going on in this rat race. They hire consultants to spin a web and show them a future where they are rich and wise. They hire marketing and public relations firms to package all of this up and put a nice bow on top…

What happened to common sense?

To some extent, people are a little scared about all of this technology being thrown at them. In reality, it’s a lot of F.U.D. Combine this with the intent of some opportunistic individuals who are looking to capitalize on a little ‘man behind the curtain’ (so to speak). So what’s this common sense nonsense all about, anyway?

 For those of you who haven’t read Jim Collins’ Good to Great, get it, read it, and sleep with it! I can’t tell you one book that a business should live by… It’s not a bible by any means, but it has some good ole fashion common sense advise. Collins goes on to say that you have to have the right people in the right seats on the bus and get the wrong people off.

With all of this waving of fists and frothing of mouths going on about the ‘document industry’ people keep missing the one truth that a business is not four walls and a roof, it is a group of like minded and passionate individuals working as a team. File that!

I have been in the technology industry for around 11 years now, beginning in the United States Marine Corps. This was one of the most trying times of my young life, both personally, with a newly wed wife living 3000 miles away from home for the first time, and professionally - and a challenge was what I signed up for. One of the sayings of the Corps was, “Shared adversity builds team.” Boy, did the Marine Corps take advantage of this, and I will tell you that I worked with some of the best and brightest people I have ever had the privilege to serve with.

One of my regrets is that I was not mature enough at the time to appreciate what the value of a team offered as opposed to standing on your own against the odds. Sure, I got the idea of a fire team or squad, but I never truly understood what the Staff Non-Commissioned Officers (NCO’s) would always say, “The Marine Corps doesn’t take care of Marines, Marines take care of other Marines.” It is something that I am only starting to truly understand how profound a statement that was. I truly worked with one of the best teams known on this planet.

To say that, is to say that when I joined my current company almost 5 years ago, I have come to understand there are so many layers to building a true team. Through finishing a degree and attending various management seminars to building my own team, perhaps the most fundamental thing I have come to know is that people help other people; it takes the right people supporting each other in pursuit of a common vision that truly takes a team from good into the realm of greatness.

I am a big fan of Jim Collins book Good to Great. One of my favor parts is where he talks about getting the right people on the bus, in the right seats on the bus, and getting the wrong people off. We started along a path of building a great company many years ago, and it started with the founder, lived on with the new owners, and has not only been seeded in each of us at this company but has really taken root. It is not a fanciful wish or a begging question, but a resolute and humble knowledge that the passion of doing the very best job for those individuals that stand beside you makes you great!

While this post may sound a little cultish, almost as if I had ‘drank the Kool-Aid’, the team that I have had the privilege of working with and even building has turned out to be a greater honor than accolade. I have been humbled by the many trials I have been through and think of this current position as infinitely more complex and challenging than ever was the Marine Corps, but exceedingly more rewarding. It is the people that I hold up that in turn support me so that we may work towards a shared vision… and I have learned a valuable lesson that we stand stronger together than alone - a lesson both business and society-at-large can learn from.

Regards,
Ken