Tom Curren - Why CEOs Fail

There are very few consultants that are able to work with us on strategy and behavior change. Tom Curren brings a wealth of experience on both sides and integrates them seamlessly.

CEO, Major Energy Company

While each organization presents unique challenges, there is an overall sequence that has guided many successful change efforts. It starts with aligning the top team (steps 1 -3) and then takes a comprehensive approach to down-the-line implementation (steps 4 - 8).

Sample materials from Hawthorne Group work with clients over the last 10 years is include in the referenced documents -- Click to view the Microsoft Word document.

Establish a clear performance gap. Creating a shared and compelling gap (between the way it is now and how we want it to be) creates the necessary tension needed in any change process.

The building mode is more powerful than the improvement mode or the reactive mode. Here is why.
Agree on a winning strategy. Strategy development is often easier said than done. A good orienting framework begins with the questions: Where do we play? How do we win?

An illustration from Marriott Corporation illustrates the interlocking levels of strategy and tactics and the difference between "How will we do this?" (e.g. strategy) versus "How will we measure this?" (e.g. key performance indicators).
Confront the changes required as leaders. One sure recipe for failure is a CEO who operates from the stance, "None of this is about me. Your job is to make sure that they get it." Facing reality, accepting feedback and cleaning up the past often plays a crucial role aligning a top team and having them begin to model the new behaviors required for continued success.

The Complete Communication process is a powerful tool for getting the outcomes your want. Without it, you can end up blaming others and making excuses for yourself.
Create separate approaches for decision-driven and behavior-dependant change. Where management can get higher performance by making decisions (versus change behaviors), they do those things first -- they are faster, more certain and provide a sounder platform for behavior changes. Behavior-dependant change begins with understanding where people are and then, frequently, "selling them problems" they didn't realize they had.

Stages of Transition. Effective change leaders understand the natural stages of transition people go through and link strategies accordingly.
Create a compelling case for change and engage the pivotal groups. A compelling "case for change" is more than "defining the opportunity." It includes "selling the problem", acknowledging what is being lost, insuring the continuity of what really matters.

Communication Planning Worksheet.

Segmented Messages. Most management communication contains some mix of "tell", "sell", "test", "consult", and "co-create". We call these Message Segments. The more explicit the segments, the clearer the communication and the easier for people to become engaged in the process.
Make proper use of structure and systems to unfreeze the organization or lock-in behavior change. While structural change is often misused and becomes a distraction from real work, it can act as a powerful "catalytic mechanism".

Turning Goals into Results; The Power of Catalytic Mechanisms. Jim Collins, Harvard Business Review, July-August 1999.
Apply the right skills and resources to the process. Because successful change often requires the very skills that are missing, some type of breakthrough process is often needed. Often, this entails some type of multi-day experiential training.

The Leadership Grid Seminar. This is a four-day learning laboratory in which participants deepen their awareness around sound and unsound behaviors, create a strategy for personal change and become effective in using conflict as a positive source of productive energy.
Sequence, focus and integrate all actions into 3-6 month episodes. Behavior-related organizational change can be full of breakthroughs, setbacks and surprises. The most successful change efforts do comprehensive planning, yet take stock frequently to learn from the setbacks and build on positive momentum and pockets of success.

Comprehensive Implementation Management provides a framework for organizing and sequencing the diverse elements of a successful change effort.