You’re All Fired! (Just Kidding)

Your organization may be treading water or even floundering. You may be losing customers due to being unable to deliver work on time, or customer acquisition and satisfaction are dropping. Whatever the case may be, you recognize that changes must be made.

In my recent blog post, “Revolutionary Change: What is it? Why is it Risky?” I explain that there are two opposite approaches to bringing about change in a company, revolutionary and evolutionary.  

I can see why companies are tempted to use revolutionary change when a lot of things seem to be not working, but it is much riskier and less effective because it involves suddenly implementing massive and sweeping changes.

Such hastily implemented revolutionary changes also often encounter stiff resistance from employees.

The three most powerful reasons that employees resist organizational change are:

  • Inadequate or poorly aligned reward systems
  • Fear of the unknown
  • Fear of losing job security or status

In the latter case, employees may feel that they are being targeted for dismissal. They may ask questions like “Where do I fit in?” or “Will I still have a job when this transition is done?” either to themselves, or out loud. Too often the result is that your best employees imagine that the writing is on the wall, and leave because they’re afraid.

How is Kanban different? 

Without Kanban, people have to change everything without knowing how everything is going to work.

With the visualization of a Kanban board, workers can understand problems in a visual data-driven way, and each team member sees how they contribute. The Kanban method intrinsically operates with respect for the organization and people. We never go in and say this team is dysfunctional or that everything is wrong. After all, the company has been successful up to this point, so they must be doing something right. Instead, we build on the company’s strengths and help them overcome their challenges.

Schedule a free consultation with me to learn more about how my approach is different. 

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