PART FIVE

Managing Positive Change

Abraham Lincoln used to tell a story about a frog that fell into a deep, muddy wagon track. A couple of days later, he was still there. Frog's friends found him and urged him to get out of his predicament. He made a few feeble efforts, but remained mired in his rut.

For the next few days, his friends kept encouraging him to try harder, but they finally gave up and went back to their pond.

The next day the frog was seen sunning himself contentedly beside the edge of the pond.

‘How did you get out of the rut?’ his friends asked.

‘Well, as you know,’ said the frog, ‘I couldn't, but a wagon came along and I had to.'

The problem with Lincoln's frog is that inordinate delay in changing left him with only one option. As a general principle, the sooner an organization is willing to change – ahead, that is, of the time it has to change – the more options it has open to it. Instead of being forced, change becomes proactive in nature and aimed at securing the heights of advantage.

By changing ahead of time you gain some solid advantages. Most organizations in any field have a herd instinct: they stick close together and only change when they are following suit or catching up. Organizations that are leaders in their field (is that not in your vision?) are pioneers: they change first before necessity or competitive interest compels them to do so in varying degrees of reluctance.

It is always better to take change by the hand and lead it where you want it to go before it takes you by the throat and drags you in any direction.

Planned change – desirable change – calls for creativity and innovation in any organization, but especially in those that live by their products and services.

Yes, you need creative people. Yes, you need to be creative – a manager without ideas is no manager, just a walking computer. But you also need to manage innovation, and that calls for all your skills as a business leader.