Are You Voting For Change? Be Careful What You Ask For

Barack Obama is campaigning on the theme of being the candidate for change. That's a message which is resonating with many. And then there is Mike Huckabee who is promoting the fair Tax (not the flat tax). That's one concrete measure, which if implemented, would cause a dramatic change in the United States. It would eliminate the IRS and more importantly put an end to tax code manipulation by Congress. One drawback to the fair tax is that the transition would be painful.

Although people may say they want change, its human nature to resist it. We're creatures of habit. We like ease and comfort. Many people stay in jobs they hate because of fear of the unknown and fear of change. How many do not stop smoking or shed excess pounds because the process of getting to the goal is uncomfortable, painful, or downright scary.

My good friend, Rev. Angela Harrington Rice, just announced "Life Designs 2008" which facilitates change and self actualization on a personal level. Angela's announcement included the statement "Change is good and inevitable". I think all would agree with the inevitable part, but there may be some debate about how good it is. And, most would agree that there are many things that other people, our country, and the world should change. I love the saying by Mahatma Gandhi "Be the change you want to see". It puts the onus back on us.

Companies putting in new technology, software or systems would do well to incorporate change management programs. People like to feel like they're an expert in their jobs. A change in new systems and technology will inevitably require employees to learn new skills or to do things in a different way. So, another consideration when implementing software is business process re- engineering / improvement / management. New systems may have great potential benefits. But if it is not used, circumvented or resisted, companies have wasted time and money to implement.

The cure for most of what I call "post implementation distress" is an assessment, diagnosis, and remediation service. Key parts of the cure and healing process are change management, process improvement, documentation and training.

You may be a high achieving senior manager or executive, leading your company through uncharted waters. And you probably are very good at what you do. But on a personal level, how well do you adjust to significant change? Change is not easy even for a superstar. If you're voting for change, you want it to be as effective, successful and stress-free as possible. Ideally you had good project management and governance (Independent Verification and Validation -IV&V) on the front end. And ideally you have budgeted for resolving people issues at the beginning of the project. If you've already implemented, wouldn't it be prudent for your organization to get the cure for Post Implementation Distress? Or, at least incorporate a change management program?