RentalMetrics

Human Inertia

Why is change so hard?

A great post at the Be Excellent® blog hits the nail on the head. It’s the “people factor.”

Like it or not, change doesn’t happen just by the “supreme will” of the CEO or director.

Change happens by winning hearts and minds, building a groundswell of enthusiastic support through clear and consistent communication.

Remember, people naturally resist change. Think of your organization like a river – millions of tiny drops all headed in the same direction. To redirect the course of all those drops there needs to be a path of less resistance than the current, well-worn riverbed.

It’s a matter of pressure. If a new direction seems easier and clearer, or the old path becomes more difficult (think of a dam or floodwall in the river analogy) then the old direction is abandoned and a new course is set.

Just like redirecting a mighty river, changing human behavior is not a small or easy task. As a change leader, respect your organization’s “human inertia” and don’t underestimate the soft side of change management.

Related articles

• The Eight Strategies of Influence: A Manager's Guide to Succeeding at Change [via Zemanta]
• Of Two Minds When Making a Decision [Mind Matters] [via Zemanta]

RentalMetrics RedMeat Podcast - When Six Sigma Works...and when it doesn't

In this edition of the RentalMetrics RedMeat Podcast, Doug and Paul have an open and informative discussion on their experience with 6 Sigma in organizations.  If you are a 6 Sigma company or are contemplating moving to that set of tools to improve your company...this one is worth a listen.
Download RentalMetrics_Podcast2_WhenSixSigmaWorks.mp3

You can also listen via our Podbean hosted site.

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Confessions e-book: Chapter 1

We continue to bring you snippets and quotes from Doug's e-book Confessions Of An Ex-Enterprise Salesperson:  What I Really Meant When I Said: ____________. 

This week we take a peek inside Chapter 1 titled, "My solution is the one that best meets your needs.

Quotes & Questions from Chapter 1:

 Enterprise software is SOLD not bought.  The key is having enough of what matters to you in my product to build a case for saying yes. 

Few organizations actually have consultative sales people that conduct a real sales qualification process.  Thus, most are happy to talk to any company that expresses even slight interest in their product (because that could mean a payday). 

Key Question To Ask the Enterprise Salesperson
The last time you lost a deal to your competition, what were the main reasons given? If the response is snotty or the rep attempts to discredit the prospect that ultimately said no, be wary.   She will probably speak of you in these terms if you don’t choose her solution.  If you’re presented with truthful accounts, kind words, and reverence for the “one that got away”, put a check box in the credibility column.   An ES cannot be perfect and certainly can’t be perfect for everyone.

Previously released chapters:  Introduction

Please feel free to fill in your name and email below to receive your own FULL COPY of the e-book, Confessions Of An Ex-Enterprise Salesperson:  What I Really Meant When I Said: ______________.

If you're reading this post via an RSS News reader...please visit RentalMetrics and submit your information.  Look for the Confessions book image in the right sidebar.

We Don't Know Everything

There we said it.  I hope your other consultants or experts have said it to.  We can't possibly know everything about you and your business.

But here's the rub...we know what we don't know...and we're not afraid to ask questions. 

We're real...and we're just as comfortable on the job site as we are in the board room. 

If we ultimately earn your business, you'll find our online Independent Learning Environment (ILE) an invaluable resource.  That's where we prove our metal.  That's where you will connect with others in your industry that don't have time to waste endlessly Googling for answers to complex business problems.  That's where you'll get the tools, analysis, research, and management assistance to make measurable positive impact in your business...quickly.

Want to know more?  Please visit the What We Do tab above or simply go to the Contact  page and fill in the details. 

The problem child. AKA..."The Control Phase"

It wasn't until I completed my black belt training and participated in numerous projects that I realized how often even the niftiest of implemented solutions can fall well short of expectations.  Why? 

                                            The Control Phase

Now my solutions were pretty nifty...but more often than I'd like to remember, processes were allowed to revert, process ownership was not clearly delineated (or allowed to slide because the of corporate culture that never truly embraced the change), and I'd get a call. 

Most likely, in your business you won't conduct a big fancy 6 Sigma project with dedicated resources.  You'll give the Fleet Manager or Operations Manager the responsibility of picking a solution for your business.   Let's say its an equipment tracking GPS solution.

Just remember that no matter which of the hundred out there you select, they will ALL:

1. Give you the hours and location
2. A gazillion reports
3. Cool looking maps with dots

Now what?

Takin' it to the Bank

It's more important that you have a clear road map of what the CONTROL PHASE (or just call it POST DEPLOYMENT PHASE) looks like and that you've clearly and publicly given responsibility of the project to a leader.  Ask the vendor to tell you what you should be looking for or counting on 3,6,12, and 24 months down the road to extract yet more value from their solution.  Don't be concerned with feature enhancements.  Most deployments result in about 10% feature usage in my experience.  Constructing the plan and executing properly will result in happier employees, process owners, and CFO's.   

As an equipment rental house...do you practice what you preach and "rent solutions" when it makes sense?

If you're a construction company or equipment rental company with at least 20 pieces of machinery, you've probably considered buying a GPS solution to manage the fleet more proactively.  You've also hesitated to pull the trigger because you can't see a clear path to payback on the $15k-$20k...first year expense...not to mention the recurring bit.  You're also not too thrilled about Googling "equipment tracking GPS" and sorting through the roughly 240,000 results.

You may want to consider getting some assistance with the heavy lifting.  Consider the tables turned.  Your operation may want to consider "renting" some combination of advice, analysis, tools (not the metal kind), and project guidance.

Takin' It to the Bank 

If you do go it alone, remember that driving efficiency and ROI from every solution you deploy doesn't stop after the project manager moves on to the next gig.  Put the proper metrics in place and systematize their delivery and dissemination.  If current systems can't do that, there may be some fixes that will get you the 80% you need to squeak out additional profit on the bottom line this year without buying new software. 

What has 6 Sigma done for you and/or your firm?

If you're in the equipment rental/manufacturing ecosystem and have the liberty to share your thoughts?  I'd be curious to see what you believe 6 Sigma has done for your enterprise?  I'm not looking for confidential savings numbers here...rather I'd like to know the culture changes that have taken place, the mindset changes, and the general mood of the company vs. before deploying the methodology.

I've encountered "We're just doing it because someone got a burr up their rear" to "It has transformed our company into a powerhouse". 

Please share with me and our readers.

The oft overlooked aspect of Leadership in a culture of Lean/6Sigma

During my 6 Sigma black belt training, there were precious few moments dedicated to team leadership and driving the culture of change.  In a great article called, "Lean Leadership Lessons" Jamie Flinchbaugh and Andy Carlino discuss how important it is to have the right people driving the buses.  It's well worth the read.  Here's a quote.

Why is leadership such an important topic in Lean transformation? Because Lean is not something you engineer. When done right, Lean changes the way you think, talk, see, act, and react. It's a battle for employee minds and hearts, and such battles require leadership. Famed Green Bay Packers football coach Vince Lombardi summarized leadership with these words: "Perfection is not attainable. But if we chase perfection, we can catch excellence."

If your company is considering the move to an improvement methodology such as Lean or 6 Sigma, ensure that you're not "filling positions".  Give up your best leaders and high potentials and watch them drive change across the enterprise.

Replication: Missing From the Enterprise?

I've been involved with close to 20 technology project roll-outs in the GPS and Scheduling Software arena over the last 4 years.  While each project paid for itself (verified ROI) in full, how many times was that project simply replicated across other Business Units (BU's) in the enterprise?  Few. 

A key tenant of 6 Sigma is replication.  Maybe you've heard it as, "Don't reinvent the wheel". 

When we put projects into their "6 Sigma Box" to reduce complexity and scope, we often lose sight of the greater needs of the enterprise, more efficiencies, and synergies that can be extracted from solutions.

While product X may have key functionality that is desired, does someone have the analytical mojo in the organization to see that choosing X will sacrifice substantial gains in other BU's? 

It's often key to bring outside participation into projects specific to a BU.  Whether as Green Belts from unrelated departments...or an unbiased consultant...do it.  That decision will pay dividends and set the stage for company wide improvement.

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