Ready For Change? Test Yourself

Posted by Greg Bustin (April 1, 2005)

Excerpted from the book, Take Charge! How Leaders Profit From Change, by Greg Bustin.

How do you ground your organization in a set of core values while your strategies and practices adapt to a changing world? How do you define what your organization stands for? How do you create a framework for ethical decision-making and communicate and instill this framework throughout your business so that it becomes second nature? And how do you prepare for and manage through the crises that so often accompany change?

At the bottom of this bulletin are two questions that offer insight into your appetite for leading in times of change. In my book, I pose 10 other questions — each designed to indicate to leaders whether they are up to the challenge that comes with embracing change.

That’s because one of the first steps any leader must take in answering the tough questions that always arise as a result of change, uncertainty or adversity is to understand their own beliefs.

Education vs. Knowledge vs. Beliefs

First, a few words about education, knowledge and beliefs.

The story is told of Henry Ford - a man of little formal education - who brought suit against a Chicago newspaper during World War I for calling him “an ignorant pacifist.” At the trial, the newspaper’s attorneys called Ford to the witness stand in an effort to demonstrate that his lack of education justified the use of the word “ignorant.”

These attorneys began peppering Ford with questions about, among other things, the American Revolution. To the question, “How many soldiers did the British send over to America to put down the Rebellion of 1776,” Ford replied, “I do not know the exact number of soldiers the British sent over, but I have heard that it was a considerably larger number than ever went back.”

Not to be outdone, the attorneys for the newspaper pressed on with another question to Ford.

Tiring of this exchange, Ford said, “If I should really want to answer the foolish question you have just asked, or any of the other questions you have been asking me, let me remind you that I…can summon to my aid men who can answer any question I desire to ask concerning the business to which I am devoting most of my efforts. Now, will you kindly tell me, why I should clutter up my mind with general knowledge, for the purpose of being able to answer questions, when I have men around me who can supply any knowledge I require?”

With that single question, Ford demonstrated to the jury that, despite a lack of formal education, he was no ignorant man.

You undoubtedly possess in your role as a leader the technical skills and specific knowledge of how your organization operates. Skills and knowledge, however, are but two of three related components essential for those who lead their organizations in times of change.

That third component is your beliefs.

To be human is to be a believer. We don’t all believe the same thing, and some of us hold beliefs more intensely than others, but we insist in believing in something. Beliefs form the foundation of personal and organizational character as depicted below:

Thoughts > Beliefs > Values > Actions > Habits > Character

Beliefs are not created - they are developed and shaped over time. They are then discovered. Only then can they be codified. The American Declaration of Independence is a stunning example of articulating - not creating - a nation’s beliefs. Thomas Jefferson said the document was “neither aiming at originality of principle or sentiment, nor yet copied from any previous writing, it was intended to be an expression of the American mind, and to give that expression the proper tone and spirit called for by the occasion.”

Okay, so you’re not Jefferson. Who is? But go back in time way past Jefferson to the Greek philosopher Socrates who believed that deep within everything concrete is the idea of the thing itself, or its essence. “Know thyself,” Socrates said.

Excellent advice. Because you must first come to grips with your own tolerance for change. How do you feel about it? Are you up for implementing change? Do you believe your organization really needs to change? How much change is enough? What things should we not change?

Knowing yourself means understanding how you’ll respond in the pressure-cooker environment that’s often created by change. You’ll find that your mettle as a leader is not truly tested until your principles are put to the test. This means principles aren’t principles until they have the potential to cost you something. Money. Power. Position. Lives. Reputation.

Take a quick test

Gauge your organization’s situation with these two questions. Answer True or False then check the answers below.

We’ve enjoyed success on a consistent basis, so it doesn’t make sense to look at changing what we’re doing.
Outside factors in our industry are already creating changes that are challenging our organization. I don’t want to create more disruption.

A leader prepared to leverage change would answer as follows:

False. Too much reliance on even a successful strategy, service or product can impede innovation and improvement. For years, the leaders at Campbell Soup Co. did not fully appreciate the growing demand for healthier and more convenient foods. Merrill Lynch & Co. noted that this frame of mind cost the company 21% in sales in 1998.
False. Disruption is a given in most industries these days. You can either work to control your own destiny or have your destiny controlled by others. Dell, Wal-Mart and Southwest Airlines - all operating in chaotic industries with razor-thin margins - rose above the fray by creating their own models for success.

Are you ready for change?

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