reading

The 7 Keys to Change:
A New Approach to Managing Change to Live Better and Work Smarter

The author welcomes your feedback. Email
wmatthies@coyoteinsight.com or call 714/726-2901.

I must begin by thanking my clients whose planning assignments have been the foundation of Coyote Insight success for the last twelve years. Without you, there would have been no plan performance to reflect on, which, in turn, led to this four-year study and conclusions about change. You have my gratitude and—of greater importance—my commitment to do all I can to ensure that we both do better from this day forward.

I also wish to thank the over five hundred individuals who took the time to complete the Coyote Insight survey addressing change. You made an invaluable contribution. Your answers to my questions served as a benchmark regarding change for all who read this book. Those who struggle with change—as we all occasionally do—will now know, some for the first time, that they are not alone.

And from that group I wish to single out the contributions of those who agreed to talk with me, elaborating on their answers to the survey questions. Although it is important to know “what” and “how much,” you provided the critically important “why.” It was this “color” that brought to life what would have otherwise just been black-and-white numbers. Thank you.

And, of course, there are all the authors and consultants whose articles and books I read, some of which I have quoted in this book. Although you no doubt had many things in mind with your own studies, you couldn’t have envisioned the affect your work would have on me. But that is the wonderful by-product of sharing ideas, each adding to the next, creating something new and positive in the process. Thank you. I have learned so much from all of you and now hope to help others as you have helped me.

I also wish to thank Caryl Wenzel who provided invaluable editing services on this project. Caryl’s expertise, thoroughness, and patience with both my manuscript and me were all that I could have hoped for and more.

And, finally, thank you Paula L. Johnson—my website designer, editor, marketing consultant, conscience, and overall whip cracker—whose encouragement and suggestions, all balanced by carefully timed and deserved nagging, has brought this project to completion. Paula, you were right much more than you were wrong, probably much more than you realize. Thank you for your support, ideas, and hours of hard work!

Thousands of books target business executives and promise to reveal the methodologies and science of change management. This isn’t one of them.

This book was written for individuals such as you who want to see more positive results from personal and professional changes in life. That said, The 7 Keys to Change is a book managers should read to discover how to help themselves and their employees better manage change. Doing so is just good business.

Granted, some may not see the difference between existing change management literature and this book’s purpose. Initially when I began this project, I didn’t see the distinction myself. However, I do now and am indebted to many authors of change management and planning books, with some being cited in this book. Without their perspective and ideas, I could not have reached the conclusions and recommendations I’m sharing now.

But as with all topics, the goal of learning is to extend our knowledge and to build on the thoughts and ideas of others. So it is my intent that The 7 Keys will do that for you.

However, before going further, I confess that I didn’t plan to focus on the process of change from the perspective of the individual; indeed, I didn’t plan to write a book at all. Nonetheless, that is what happened (which I now believe for good reason), and I am convinced that those who read the results of my four years of investigation and then begin to apply the lessons I’ve learned will be much more successful in bringing positive changes to their personal and professional lives.

So if I didn’t plan to write a book, how did The 7 Keys come to be? I’m a business-planning consultant. My job is to help management create plans that will hopefully produce profitable new growth. But what if what I do doesn’t work?

In spring 2008, I began to think about that a lot. I always follow up with clients a few months after the planning assignment is complete to check in and see how things are going. This includes talking about the specific goals and objectives the plan was meant to achieve and asking management how much of the plan actually happened. Generally, although seemingly content with the results, the reality is that very few clients have accomplished anything close to 100 percent of the plan objectives or goals, with some clients achieving 50 percent or less.

To my surprise, no one seemed too upset by this. The clients cited many reasons that the results were not as expected, but “bad plan” or “bad consultant” was not among them. Everyone seemed pleased with what we had done months earlier. The lack of progress, they said, had to do with “changing market conditions,” “general economic challenges,” or “simply a lack of time to do what we need to do.” But was it really as simple as that?

Some of my “consultant denial” (a protective shield that consultants naturally have, which helps us deflect responsibility to things and people other than ourselves) led me to conclude that most of this nonperformance was management’s fault, not the conditions management suggested. I knew the plan was good, the client said the plan was good, and the client had paid me. However, if it wasn’t me, the plan, or management’s ability to execute the plan’s provisions, what then? There had to be something more.

Consultant jokes abound, and many are based on telling our clients what to do while not taking our own advice. As with any good joke, there is some basis in truth. There are (far too) many practicing consultants who have never held a line job. They have never had to make the decisions they now advise their clients to make, and whether they know it or not, many simply cannot relate to the hard realities confronting their clients each and every day.

However, there is another group, of which I am a member, who in our past careers were on the “line” side of the desk. We know that with every important decision comes a potentially positive or negative result, and we don’t take this lightly. So, because I have been in my clients’ shoes, what should I be doing so that they might produce better results?

I had been successful as a line manager—both in my own company and in those owned by others. I am a successful consultant, with most of my business coming from companies I have worked for previously. However all that would matter little if my clients were not achieving the results we had planned for them.

Initially, I thought improving my consultation would amount to little more than reading a few books, gleaning the best information available, and simply adjusting my consulting methods accordingly. However, the investigation quickly expanded to include reading countless books and articles and talking with a long list of managers at private and public companies, from start-ups to large multinational companies, doing business around the world.

I reviewed my own history, looking for what had and had not worked, hunting for clues regarding the process that leads to success or failure. Although the initial focus was on business planning and change management, this quickly expanded to include nonbusiness self-improvement discussions, psychology, and sociology—literally any subject I could think of that might in some way hold the key to improving the chances for success. Finally, I went so far as to commission original primary research with a representative sample of over 500 individuals, no doubt including many people such as you, to understand their thoughts regarding change.

It soon became apparent that the concept was far more complicated than I had originally assumed. There would be no quick “one-size-fits-all” solution. I almost immediately saw that many of us in business had succumbed to false myths regarding planning and change and, as a result, had unknowingly erected barriers in our thinking that prevented us from achieving our goals. In my case, as a planning consultant, this not only limited my success but also spilled over to passively, negatively affect my clients.

I say passively because technically and in practice, my responsibility ends with the creation of the plan. The execution of the plan provisions is the responsibility of management; if management was not getting the results we all hoped for, that was on them, not me. However, this all began because I wanted to become a better consultant. As a result, there would be no technicality about it. If the client was not achieving the results it wanted, the results I wanted for the client, I wanted to know why.

Now, some four years later, my thinking has changed dramatically, and my consultation is the better for it. I clearly see the tight interaction between planning results and change management, for not only business but also all of us as individuals. And therein is the key.

Many look at the process for bringing about positive change in business as being completely separate from what individuals should do to manage personal change. Prior to beginning this project, I did as well. However, with due respect to those who feel this way, that just is not so, and the continuing belief to the contrary largely explains why so little business or personal change occurs as is hoped.

Whether you are a manager or an employee, my goal for this book is to help you see what is preventing you and your organization from achieving its objectives. However, of even greater importance, you will also learn what you must do to better address the personal challenges that affect all our lives. Make no mistake about it; the two are irrevocably linked. If you lack direction in your personal life, if you can’t identify what you want to happen or what you want to become, there is little chance you will be able to help your business or company identify and achieve its goals.

Although this book frequently refers to business change, the critical lessons required to make positive change happen in business can and should, with little alteration, be successfully applied in our personal lives as well. Moreover, as you will soon see, successful change in business is simply not possible without the purposeful participation of employees who are at the same time individuals. Helping them proactively manage change in their professional lives is a requirement for business success in addition to helping them become more successful in their personal lives.

Although change is inevitable, positive change resulting from proactive effort is not. Like most people, you have often been subjected to change you did not consciously initiate with results you did not want, need, or expect. You may have attempted proactive change and not achieved the results you wanted. In that regard, you are like all of us. Whether we are reacting to change thrust on us, or initiating change ourselves, getting the results we want is never assured or easy. However, there is good news: There is a better way.

If you or your company have never failed in attempts to bring about positive change, congratulations, both for having succeeded where so many others have failed and because you have no need to read further. However, the fact that you have read this far suggests otherwise.

For reasons you will soon understand, those companies that are largely successful managing change are few and far between. Indeed, large numbers of companies fail to even partially achieve their change goals much more often than they succeed, and, unfortunately, the results are no better and often worse in our personal lives.

Part I of this book sets the stage for all that follows. It begins with a statistical look at how we all view change, followed by a discussion of the nature of change, the results of efforts to create positive business and personal change, and, finally, the reason learning how to better manage change is the single most important thing any of us can do.

Part II describes the course of action (the seven keys) you can follow to create more positive change results in your professional and personal life.

PART I
Introduction:
The Change in You

Question 1

Which of the following describes how you feel?

(Percent saying statement describes them.)

62% ..... Change is inevitable; you couldn’t stop it if you wanted to.

54% ..... I am generally very optimistic.

47%...... When it comes to making change in my personal life, it’s up to me.

46% ..... There is a lot I would like to change.

37% ..... I can change anything I set my mind on.

36% ..... Most of the change I’ve experienced in my life has been good.

31% ...... I get bored when things stay the same for too long.

31% ...... Change is neither good nor bad.

28% ..... Too many things changing all at once scare me.

27% .....I get anxious when things change.

23% ..... I am content in my business/work AND personal lives.

19%...... Changes in my job are very different than changes in my personal life.

18%...... I love change.

15%.......I am NOT very good at making change happen.

14%....... I am content with my personal life but NOT my business/work life.

14% ....... I am generally very pessimistic.

9% .........Most of the change I’ve experienced in my life has been bad.

7% .........When it comes to making changes in my company, it’s up to me.

5%.........If I had my way, nothing would change.

5% ......... I am content with my business/work life but NOT my personal life.

Before getting to the specifics of what change is and how to make the results of changes in our lives more positive, let’s consider what a statistically valid sample of people (such as you and me) have to say on the subject.

The following summarizes the attitudes and opinions of 512 individuals between eighteen and seventy years old living in the United States.¹ When you look at their answers to questions about change, you’ll see that your views are the views of many.

It is fairly rare in surveys to find things that “everyone” or “no one” “always” or “never” believes, but you wouldn’t guess that based on how we talk—for example, “Everyone’s going.” “No one shops there.” or “I am totally okay with that.”

However, rather than absolutes, we find a wide divergence of opinion. And when it comes to how people feel about change, things are no different.

The first question sets the stage for all that follow, and there are only two instances where a majority agrees that the statement describes them. All others are below a majority (less than 51 percent); in several cases, they are low to the point of being—at best—a significant minority (approximately 25 percent) if not an outright small group (10 percent or less).

There is much to learn from these data and little way to define people based on just one answer. For example, the 62 percent who feel that change is inevitable include some of the 54 percent who say they are optimistic, along with the 14 percent who self-describe themselves as pessimistic.

The approximately 20 percent who say they love change is also a diverse group, including men and women of all ages, some of whom are content with the changes in their lives and some not. What about the 46 percent who say there’s a lot they’d like to change relative to the 37 percent who feel they can change whatever they wish? Are they mostly mutually exclusive, with a few in one group also being in the other? Possibly but not likely. Identifying how you would like something to be is not the same as knowing how to make it so.

Perhaps the most important conclusion is the fact that there is so much divergence in these answers. This suggests that when it comes to change, there is conflict in the minds of many, and if that is how you feel, at least you know you are not alone.

Each of us has, at many different times, in countless different circumstances, attempted to make change happen to our benefit. How has that worked for you? Are you happy with the outcome? Look at this group’s responses to see how you compare.

Question 2 asked, “Have you attempted to make what you would consider ‘big changes’ in either your job/business or personal life?”

• Seventy-three percent indicated they had, whereas 27 percent indicated they hadn’t.

Question 3 asked, “Was the change you attempted to make in your job/business, your personal life, or both?”

Three of four people have attempted what they consider to be big changes in their lives, with half the changes being in both their professional and personal lives. And interesting for reasons you will come to understand later, only approximately 40 percent report complete satisfaction, with an additional one third finding things okay, and the remaining 25 percent indicating poor outcomes.

As an aside, imagine being a manager in a company charged with facilitating major changes in the way the company does business. If that were you, which of these individuals would you want to have working on your change initiatives? Who would you not want? Not sure? Keep reading.

Question 5 asked, “Are you currently thinking about making what you consider to be major changes in your job or business and/or your personal life?”

What do you think of the 49 percent who say they are not thinking about major changes? If you aren’t comfortable with change, you might feel a bit envious and assume they have nothing to change.

This may be so, but possible alternative reasons for their answers include the following:

• They had just completed all the major changes they needed to make at the time they answered this question.

Whatever the case, those not considering major changes will experience just as much change as those who are thinking about making changes. Change is inevitable, a fact acknowledged by two thirds of the sample. So what’s on the minds of the 51 percent who are considering changes? Question 6 (“What changes are you considering?”) provides the answer.

The above categories in question 6 summarize detailed responses from those who plan change. These people are not only considering “career changes.” They’re going to quit jobs, find new jobs, seek or refuse promotions, ask for raises, transfer to new locales, work harder, slow down, and start or close their own companies.

This level of detail is also present for the other categories. They are investing time and energy considering what to do, whether or not the contemplated change is something they desire. Like it or not, ready or not, they understand change is on the horizon. But are they prepared for what that means?

At any given time, 50 percent of us are contemplating significant changes. You’d think we’d also have plans to increase the odds of success, but as question 7 indicates (“Do you have a specific way or process you use for changing things?”), far more don’t than do.

• I don’t have a way or process for changing things. I would just do whatever comes to mind: 61 percent.

• I do have a way or process for changing things and would use that: 39 percent.

Does a specific methodology help with the outcomes? Remember the 23 percent in question 4 who said they failed to make their desired changes? That number decreases to just 9 percent among those who say they have a specific methodology. Yes, a plan helps.

I’d even venture a guess that a significant number of the 9 percent who had a plan but failed to make their desired changes did so because they had the wrong plan.

Perhaps the most uncertainty comes when contemplating change in our personal versus professional lives. Is the approach the same for both? According to the sample, the answer is a resounding…we’re not sure.

When asked if the process people should use to change something at work is the same or similar to the process they should use to change something in their personal lives, 36 percent said it was the same, whereas 32 percent thought the opposite. The remaining 32 percent were not sure.

You are correct if you assume there are many different ways to attempt personal and professional change, but remember the goal is not attempting change but achieving positive results. As you will see in later chapters, our collective track record in doing that is not all that good.

Results aside, question 8 (“Which, if any, of the following sources of information have you used to better understand how you can make change happen?”) tells us where people turn for help when contemplating change.

• Talked with a professional, such as a medical doctor, a psychiatrist, or a psychologist: 25 percent.

• Attended a seminar led by someone who knows how to make change happen: 10 percent.

The preceding suggests hope for authors writing about change, but still only one in three individuals rely on books. Slightly more than 50 percent are looking to others for guidance, many of which are equally at a loss. (“The blind leading the blind” comes to mind.) Lastly, the psychic community is at the bottom of the list, but “experts” don’t fare much better. There is no clear agreement as to where one should go to learn how to make positive changes happen. Sadly, most people really don’t know what to do.

We’ve looked at how people view change, some of which will be altered by what their companies say and do. But how do employees feel about willingness of their employers to help them manage change—in the workplace and at home?

Although the musical refrain “we are family” may be as common in employee handbooks as it is at wedding receptions, when it comes to following through on such claims, the vote is split.

Question 9 asked, “As far as you know, when your company says it is ‘family,’ does that include the employee’s family members or just the employees themselves?”

• It does not include employee family members; only employees are included: 36 percent.

Question 10 asked, “Based on what employers do compared with what they say, which of the following best describes how believable a company’s claim is regarding being a ‘family’?”

• They include both employees and employee family members in the company “family,” and the claim is believable: 50 percent.

• They do treat employees like members of the company “family” but do not include employee family members, so the claim is only half believable: 28 percent.

• They do not treat employees or their family members as “family,” and the claim is not believable: 22 percent.

To a glass half-full person, the fact that 50 percent of the respondents said employers were family inclusive would be positive. The glass half-empty types would point out that 50 percent of the respondents think their employers fall into the dysfunctional family definition. Does it matter? It doesn’t if employees have no personal problems, and, if they do, these problems do not affect their job performance.

Let’s see what the employees have to say about this. Question 11 asked, “How often would you say your personal problems negatively affect your job performance?”

It is possible that some people who believe their work performance is negatively affected by personal problems may be wrong. However, it is also likely that an even larger number of those who do not think their personal lives intrude on their performance may also be wrong.

Which do you feel is most likely? If you are a manager charged with making change happen through the efforts of either or both groups, are you willing to assume that the personal problems of employees will not be an issue?

In the end, you cannot help where help is not welcomed, so it made sense to ask whether employees would be open to offers of help (with their personal issues) coming from their employers.

Question 12 asked, “Whether or not your company offers to help employees solve personal problems, do you think it would be a good idea if it did?”

As stated previously, there are few absolutes in life and this is but one more example. The one third who say they are not looking to their companies for help will probably view attempts by their employers to help as an invasion of their privacy. But that still leaves two thirds who feel otherwise. The more a company can help its employees help themselves, the greater the probability that the company will also achieve its goals. This is good to know, but a more pressing question remains: “What now?”

With this snapshot of how individuals like us view change, we can move into discovering what change is all about, as well as the tools we need to bring about favorable changes in our personal and professional lives.

“They must often change who would be constant in happiness or wisdom.” —Confucius²

What do you think Confucius had in mind when he linked personal happiness with change?

PART IIntroduction:The Change in You

PART I
Introduction:
The Change in You