The Flavor-of-the-Month Club

"Oh, come on. I've been here 30 years and I've heard it all. All these management programs. . . . Years ago, we had Zero Defects. Then it was Total Quality Management, and after that, Six Sigma. We've had all the pet theories from every consultant in the Western Hemisphere. No, wait, we had consultants from Asia, too.

"Do you know what flavor we're having now? We're redesigning ourselves to be ‘customercentric.' We are going to integrate our functional systems into a CRM system to transform the entire company to be ‘customer-centric.' "You know how these programs go?

First, we have a pronouncement at a ‘kick-off meeting' where the CEO tells us what the new flavor is going to be and why it's so important. Then a swarm of consultants and ‘change management' experts tell us how they're going to ‘empower' us. Then HR adds some new item to our annual review, such as, ‘Measures taken to achieve customer-centric company.' "So, we all figure out some lame thing to do so that we have something to put in that category of our annual review. Then we forget about it because we know the next new flavor of the month will be along soon.

Or worse, if they actually force us to use the new system, we comply, but viciously. You know, go out of our way to show that the new system can't work, that it really screws things up. "You think I sound bitter, but I've seen this so many times before. The consultants and rising stars in our company get together and dream up one of these programs. Then they present it to the senior managers. That's when they make their first mistake: They think that if they can sell it to management, then it must be a good idea.

They treat senior management like the customer. They should have to sell the idea to those of us who actually sell, support, or make things. Senior management is just the banker; the managers should let us decide if it's a good idea. "If someone really wanted to empower me, she would listen rather than talk. Those of us who do the work have hundreds of ideas of how to do it better. Now it's customer-centric?

As if we haven't been trying to do that for years! "Anyway, after the CEO issues the pronouncements about the new system, he gets busy with other things and forgets about it for a while. Six months might go by, and then we're either told we're not doing enough to become customer-centric (or whatever the flavor is) or the company announces another new flavor. "In manufacturing they talk about push versus pull. You know, with push style, you make things and push them onto the sales force and the customers. With pull style, you let the customers' demand pull the product out of manufacturing. You build when you have holes in inventory. Well, they should adapt those ideas to what they call ‘change management.' I mean, does anybody need to manage real change? Did somebody have a ‘Use the iPhone program'?

Did some CEO announce, ‘This year, we're all going to use the iPhone'? Did the HR department put a line into our annual evaluation form that asked how many times we'd used an iPhone? No, no, no, and no. Customers pulled the iPhone through. We wanted it, so we bought and used iPhones. Same with Kindles, iPads, Twitter, and Facebook. "That's pull. You get a group of workers to form a network, and you get things going among the people who do the work. Then you build on that to obtain true organizational change.

Why don't they figure it out? "Anyway, I've got to run. We've got the kickoff meeting of our new initiative-something called business process management. Now they're going to empower me to manage my own activities, I suppose. Like, after 30 years, I don't know how to do that. Oh, well, I plan to retire soon. "Oh, wait. Here, take my T-shirt from the knowledge management program 2 years ago. I never wore it. It says, ‘Empowering You Through Knowledge Management.' That one didn't last long.

Discussion Questions

1. Clearly, this person is cynical about new programs and new ideas. What do you think might be the cause of her antagonism? What seems to be her principal concern?

2. What does she mean by "vicious" compliance? Give an example of an experience you've had that exemplifies such compliance.

3. Consider her point that the proponents of new programs treat senior managers as the customer. What does she mean? To a consultant, is senior management the customer? What do you think she's trying to say?

4. What does she mean when she says, "If someone wants to empower me, she would listen rather than talk"? How does listening to someone empower that person?

5. Her examples of "pull change" all involve the use of new products To what extent do you think pull works for new management programs?

6. How do you think management could introduce new programs in a way that would cause them to be pulled through the organization? Consider the suggestion she makes, as well as your own ideas.

7. If you managed an employee who had an attitude like this, what could you do to make her more positive about organizational change and new programs and initiatives?