“It is only when you let go of the desire that it can fructify”

The force of desire becomes the obstruction if it is not let go. Letting go transforms this force into a ‘pull’ force. The pole vaulter uses the pole as a support to gain height. Yet, to clear the horizontal bar, he has to drop the pole.

A Swach मन knows when to nurture a desire and when to drop it.

The behaviour of a leader is always under scrutiny and hence it is of utmost importance that all his/her actions should always convey the core values of a righteous, empathetic human being. That is the true mark of a credible leader.

Hanumant Singh was the royal prince of Banswara and he sat out of the posh offices of the State Bank of India, where he was a Chief Manager. One day a villager came to see Hanumant Singh in his office. This person stuck out like a sore thumb. He was older, had a stubble, wore a pink turban, had soiled and slightly torn clothes and carried a stick and a cloth-covered bundle in his hand. He walked slowly and asked for directions to Singh’s office. Everyone turned around to see this person, who was clearly out of place. The office was located in the posh Cuffe Parade, a very rich area in South Mumbai.

As soon as Singh heard that someone from his home town had come to see him, he stepped out of his cabin and went to receive the person. The old man squatted on the floor. Calmly, Singh helped the man to sit on a chair. Common man and royal prince then engaged in a dialog in Rajasthani. The employees at the bank could understand very little of the exchange. Someone in the village had sarcastically told the person that if he met the prince, all his problems would be solved. So this person actually made the trip to Mumbai to meet his prince.

At Singh’s behest, and with his ration-card in hand, one of the employees at the bank took a cab to the Azad Maidan ration store and bought rice, wheat and sugar for the villager. Grain used to be rationed in India during the time and a ration-card was required for its purchase. Singh didn’t need government ration – after all he was royalty.

But for the villager, the gift was as valuable as gold. Not only did he get his ration, but he also got royal treatment from none other than the prince of Banswara. There was a look of great satisfaction in eyes.

While sharing came very naturally to Hanumant Singh, it was his behavior with a person of much lower stature that opened the eyes of the employees that day. They witnessed the whole episode firsthand and saw Hanumant Singh display the same calmness and gentleness that puts everyone at ease. To them that was a fine example of consistent behavior by a leader which builds credibility.

As they say your behaviour towards someone who is inconsequential in your life depicts your true character and credibility in the eyes of the world at large. The story below highlights the same, how an erstwhile prince, who is also the manager of the existing Indian cricket team is invited to the team selection of a local bank branch. Not only does the prince come he also genuinely gives his recommendations to the players. A mark of a truly great and credible human being…

A local bank branch was trying to form a cricket team. They were a bunch of bank employees who were very keen on competing in the local league. They were looking to select a squad of 15 from about 25-30 other bank employees. Some of the folks had not even held a cricket bat properly and most of them did not even have the proper clothing. The venue was a dustbowl in the Oval maidan in Mumbai .

Now imagine a passionate 21 year old trying to pitch this to the Manager of the Indian cricket team! Yes, he had the nerve (or the foolhardiness) to talk about this and invite the great Hanumant Singh to the Oval. The ex-Indian cricketer, national selector and Manager of the Indian cricket team could politely have declined. He could have dismissed the idea and hardly offended the young man at all.

But the royal prince of Banswara showed up at the ground wearing his navy blue Indian cricket hat, to watch them play with a tennis ball and shoddy attire, for a full hour.

By his actions that day, Singh shared his cricket experience and selectorial abilities. He did not let the tennis-ball cricket, or a dustbowl maidan setting get in the way of sharing his knowledge. His total down-to-earth demeanor enhanced his credibility amongst the branch team.

What makes a great manager stand out and build his credibility in the eyes of his team? As they say actions speak louder than words. Give credit where it is due and do not forget the smallest input or effort by a team member because it is the team together that creates the largest impact.

One time, a Manager was examining the list of invitees for a lunch to celebrate the success of a project. As he looked over the list, he noticed that they had left out one person who had worked hard in the scoping phase of the project almost 18 months ago. This person was instrumental in scoping out the project, carrying out the vendor evaluation and preparing the capital approval request at the start of the project.

The Manager mentioned this to the Project Sponsor and she readily extended the invitation to the person. Needless to say, the person was surprised at getting the invitation. Later on he found out that the Manager had recognized his contribution to the project and he came and thanked him for going out of his way to include him in the celebration. His demeanor towards the Manager completely changed from that day on!

Anyone who has been in sales would have at some point during their career made sales call for prospecting clients. And sometimes even that one phone call can make or break a connection to a potential prospect. How is it that credibility can be established even via a phone call? Read on…

Maureen (a receptionist at AG Salesworks) encountered one of the rudest and pushiest sales people she had ever come across. No, it wasn’t a used car salesman, and no, it wasn’t one of those ladies at the perfume counter who sprays before asking.Surprisingly, it was someone from a very reputable technology company looking to sell Maureen’s company additional services.

Here’s how the conversation went: Maureen: “Hello, this is Maureen with AG Salesworks, how can I help you?”

Salesperson: Hi Maureen, I’m Salesperson from Reputable Technology Company. Could you transfer me to your Marketing department? Maureen: OK, may I ask what is the nature of your call? Salesperson: I’m from Reputable Technology Company. Maureen: Yes, I am aware of this, but why are you looking to speak to the Marketing department?Salesperson: You use our services. (This was not the case; a partner used their services.) Maureen: OK, are you looking to sell us additional services, to network with us, or perhaps to look into our services?

And then the Salesperson went into her pitch. She had no idea that she had called into AG Salesworks’ main line and that the Marketing Director’s name was available over their website. In fact, she didn’t even have the faintest idea about what AG Salesworks does as a company. On top of that, she sounded miserable to have to call anyone.

Hesitantly, Maureen still transferred her — but not without informing her Marketing Director first about her tone throughout the entire interaction. As someone who has prospected for a number of years and just recently moved into an inside sales role at AG Salesworks, Maureen was taken aback by this salesperson’s complete lack of respect for their prospects’ needs or time.

This is what was going into Maureen’s head throughout the conversation: “I don’t care what you do, or what “reputable” company you may hail from, until you’ve established credibility and stated the real reason you’re calling. Neither do the rest of your prospects, nor, in this case, the decision maker. Furthermore, if you did your pre-call research, you would know why your product or service matters to your specific prospects, and would stay away from that elevator pitch.”

Without your research, you have no credibility, no matter what. If this salesperson had done her pre-call research, she would have never called into AG Salesworks’ main line to begin with. She would have known who she wanted to talk to by looking at their Management page and would have been patched through seamlessly.

The moral of the story? Do your homework. Know your prospect’s needs. It could mean the difference between a helpful call that wins you a sale and an unhelpful call that wins you a poor credibility.

Many times managers rely on team members to deliver at short notice. And when the team members do exceed expectation, if the manager makes a special effort to highlight the same, it definitely makes his credibility go up a notch or two in their eyes and creates greater loyalty.

A manager was once talking very highly of one of his direct reportee’s with his peers. This person had delivered a project very successfully overcoming some challenging obstacles. The standout factor was a creative way in which the contract was worked out with a software company. The company was put on the hook to take complete responsibility for delivery of the end product. As it turned out, two unforeseen issues caused high complexity. As a result, the contract-bound software company had to put their most expensive and skilled expert on the job and deliver the solution.

This manager wanted to showcase this project as a stellar example on the kind of leeway project managers have (and should exercise) while managing projects. He wanted to do this at one of their monthly Town Hall meetings. His boss would have none of it, since Town Halls were not meant for project training. The manager spent at least an hour arguing with his boss as to why this project should be presented. Needless to say, his direct reportee – the project manager and for whom the manager was fighting – was present during the whole discussion.

This was a good example of a leader building credibility in his team-member’s mind and winning loyalty as well.

What happens when people make promises which they know they will be unable to live up to? Disappointment and loss of credibility are the natural outcomes. Hence it is important to commit only when you are reasonably confident on delivering on the promise.

In 2000, a new contractor had joined a company on a six-month contract. After the first two months or so, the Head of the Division (HOD) noticed a certain lack of interest in the new person’s behavior and work ethic. In his discussions with the new hire, HOD could make out that he was quite intelligent, hard-working and eager to make a mark. However, the HOD could not match those personal attributes with his work ethics. This person did not contribute to discussions, kept watching the clock and displayed a general apathy towards work.

As the HOD probed further, he got to know that during his interview he requested “read only” access to the company’s BW (Business Warehouse) system so that he could further enhance his BW skills. The hiring manager agreed and promised he would get the requested access. At the time BW was a promising skill-set to have, and he wanted to further his knowledge as he worked in another technology.

However, he realized a month after he joined, that he would not get access to BW, since that system was controlled by a manager in another department. The manager who interviewed this person and who he reported to had no control over the BW system. That manager promised a prospective employee something that she could not have delivered since she did not have any control or ownership over the BW system.

This is a classic case of a person (the hiring manager) losing credibility in the eyes of another (the contractor).

The root of the word “credibility” is “credo,” which means “I believe” in Latin. Put simply, credibility is the feeling of trust and respect that you inspire in others. If you’re going to invest your time, energy, and enthusiasm with someone, you want that person to be credible and worthy of your trust. Hence credibility plays an important role in building inter-personal and even inter-organizational relationships.

There was once a miser. He thought he was very clever. Once he happened to lose his purse containing a hundred pieces of gold. He was in great distress. He went to the town crier and asked him to announce a reward of ten gold coins to one who would restore the purse to him.

After a few days a farmer came to him with the purse. He had found it lying in his farm. The miser counted the money. He found that the purse contained a hundred pieces of gold. He thanked the farmer for the pains he had taken.

The farmer now wanted the reward as announced. The miser said that he had all ready taken the reward because there were a hundred and ten coins in it. The farmer now understood how clever the miser was. He, therefore went to the judge.

The judge sent for the miser and heard him. He at once understood that the miser was a trickster. He decided the case in favour of the farmer. He said that the purse contained only one hundred pieces of coins and therefore the purse could not belong to the miser. The miser had over reached himself and therefore had to suffer.

Moral: Do not play upon the credibility of others.

The story below is about a woman’s experience in the workplace and undoubtedly mirrors the dilemmas faced by women in general. It’s a first-hand telling of the kind of sexist incidents that can affect our work environments, and a description of what kind of support and accountability that women need to overcome these circumstances.

It’s Tuesday and one of my supervisors hosts a training class that I’m set to deliver lunch for. Entering with sandwiches, chips and cookies aplenty, I notice how hot it is in the conference room. As I take off my sweater, one of many layers, my supervisor announces to the room: “And here’s your entertainment!” The moment moves in slow motion yet happens so quickly. I hear crickets and see blank stares. I’m floored. One moment I’m delivering a delicious lunch and the next moment I’m being marked as a stripper. Objectified. I’m unsure what to do, say, or how to react. I look over at the other participants, my fellow colleagues. A couple of them chuckle uncomfortably, one walks out (not sure if it’s in response to what’s happened), others just sit quietly. I sit there in disbelief and eat my sandwich, cringing inside. But his comment lingers for the remainder of the day. It keeps me up that night.

It’s Wednesday and I’ve had time to process my supervisor’s comment. I don’t realize how much of an impact it has on me until today. I’m taken aback. I’m embarrassed and humiliated. But most importantly, I know I have to confront him and the situation. When I arrive to work and see my supervisor, I’m immediately uncomfortable. In other words, I want to punch him. I decide instead that it’s time to share what’s happened with my shop steward, our union’s onsite go-to person for any workplace issues. I’m ashamed and afraid to speak out about what’s happened for fear of not being taken seriously. But in the first bright spot in my week, my shop steward is completely supportive and sympathetic! As we talk she creates a space that allows me to express my discomfort and frustration without judgment. She offers advice and suggests next steps but ultimately leaves me with the autonomy to create my own resolution. She lets me decide what’s best for me and reassures me that I have her support no matter what. I realize for the first time that my union and shop steward are truly here to protect me and help ensure that my workplace is safe and productive.

After crying it out with my shop steward, I pull myself together and prepare to confront my supervisor. I’m very nervous. Trembling actually. I ask to speak with him in his office, handy notepad in hand, shop steward by my side. She explains that I’m requesting an informal meeting to address a concern. Like me, my supervisor has the right to a witness but chooses not to have one. I appreciate the gesture. I shut the door behind me, sit down, and dive right in. I begin by describing what happened so that there is no confusion about why we’re here. I tell him how disrespectful and inappropriate his comment was, especially coming from my direct supervisor. I make sure to emphasize that people, especially women (like his wife and daughter) get harassed every day and that one place we should have control over it is in the workplace.

And much to my surprise, he’s very receptive to my concerns. The look on his face tells me that my words resonate with him. He recognizes that he not only disrespected me, but also hurt me. Rather than go on the defense, he expresses his gratitude for my work ethic and our work relationship. He apologizes almost immediately, acknowledging his mistake and taking full accountability. He commits to being more conscious and aware in the workplace. Contrary to my initial fears, he makes me feel heard and validated. We both recognize this as a learning opportunity to improve our work environment. He thanks me for being courageous enough to speak up about it. Shortly after our discussion, we make our way to the training class, now in it’s second day, that heard his initial comment. He apologizes to the entire group, holding himself publicly accountable for his mistake and the effect it had on me. It was a powerful moment.

At work or even in our personal lives we sometimes feel unhappy that we are asked to be responsible for work beyond our purview. The story below shows how when we do extend ourselves and bring a sense of ownership to all that we do, it can actually become a game changer.

One of my clients wrote me about how a small change she made led to big results at her job. Here’s the background: In our coaching sessions, we often discussed the ways she was expected to go above and beyond at her job. She didn’t like being asked to do these extra things because she wasn’t paid for them. We covered a number of issues related to this but one idea we discussed was changing her perspective on the situation. Instead of ‘feeling forced’ to do something, what did it look like if she viewed it from a different perspective. She decided to look at it through the perspective of opportunity and impact on her future.

She decided she wanted to try a different approach and had great results. I asked her if she would write her story so that I could share it. Here’s the story she shared with me. “Amy, I decided to take a different approach with my job responsibilities and can’t believe how well it went. Hope you don’t mind reading my story – We had a big marketing launch 2 weeks away and my boss really hadn’t brought me into it. He was working with a lot of people from different groups and one of them invited me to a meeting about sending out a big invitation email. On the call, everyone was asking me what our group wanted and what they should do. So, I started telling them what I thought we should do. I also promised to follow-up on a number of items and track down some answers. Regular calls started and I was one of the main contributors. All the while I kept updating my boss by email and a couple weekly 1:1 meetings.

The project went really well and the launch was a big hit. I worked a lot of extra hours but didn’t seem to mind this time. I really enjoyed leading my parts. Plus, I got some good face-time with my boss’ boss! She was so pleased with my work that she sent me a really great email and a small spot bonus! It felt really good. I suppose the opportunity kind of fell into my lap but I fought my urge to push back and decided to instead show my ability to take initiative and solve problems. Thanks again. See you Thursday!”

I love these kinds of stories because sometimes it is a small change that can really lead to break-through moments that move someone’s career forward. Her email came to me a couple weeks ago and since then she has been acting like an owner. Now her boss is starting to bring her in to more important meetings and collaborating with her rather than giving her action items. She is feeling less forced to take on responsibilities outside of her role as she is seeing them in a new light and how they can impact her future. She is well on her way to better relationships at work and a satisfying, promising career.

Sometimes even when the problem lies with another individual or team how does taking ownership help you deliver great service…read on.

Martha is frustrated. She’s trying to solve a problem with a stationery order, but the customer service agent she’s talking to isn’t helping.

“It was the dispatch team’s fault. I can’t do anything about that,” he says. Martha asks to be put through to another agent. He handles the situation very differently.

“I’m sorry to hear about this problem,” he says. “I’ll find out what’s happened and send the order by express delivery. It will be with you tomorrow.”

Martha feels less stressed straight away. The first agent shirked his responsibilities, but the second made himself personally accountable for fixing the problem. He took ownership of the situation, apologized, and found a solution.

People like to blame their problems on bad fortune or on actions of other people. However, is it not much easier and more productive to accept that if is there is a problem there will be a solution. An attitude of ownership can help find many answers to difficult situations.

The rain gods had been smiling the whole night. The roads were muddy and the potholes were filled to the brim. It was the day for the market and Raju the farmer was riding his cart along the country road. He had to reach the market early so that he can sell his hay. It was very difficult for the horses to drag the load through the deep mud. On his journey, suddenly the wheels of the horse cart sank into the mire.

The more the horses pulled, the deeper the wheel sank. Raju climbed down from his seat and stood beside his cart. He searched all around but could not find anyone around to help him. Cursing his bad luck, he looked dejected and defeated. He didn’t make the slightest effort to get down on the wheel and lift it up by himself. Instead, he started cursing his luck for what happened. Looking up at the sky, he started shouting at God, “I am so unlucky! Why has this happened to me? Oh God, come down to help me.”

After a long wait, God finally appeared before Raju. He asked Raju, “Do you think you can move the chariot by simply looking at it and whining about it? Nobody will help you unless you make some effort to help yourself. Did you try to get the wheel out of the pothole by yourself? Get up and put your shoulder to wheel and you will soon find the way out.”

Raju was ashamed of himself. He bent down and put his shoulder to the wheel and urged on the horses. In no time the wheel was out of the mire. Raju realized that had he taken ownership of his situation earlier, he wouldn’t have wasted so much time. He was happy to learn his lesson and carried on his journey happily.

In life we take many decisions, some might turn out correct and others not so. However, it takes a strong individual to recognize not only internally but also publicly that a decision taken by him/her was off mark. Taking ownership and being accountable is about doing the right thing regardless of how difficult the same may be.

On June second of this year, Armando Galarraga, a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, was one out from pitching a perfect game; something that is rare in major league baseball. However on the last out the first base umpire Jim Joyce ruled the runner safe, putting an end to Galarraga’s quest for a perfect game. Joyce believed he made the right call until he saw the replay for himself after the game; the replays showed the runner was clearly out and that Galarraga should have got credit for a perfect game. Joyce, the umpire, immediately went to the 28-year-old pitcher from Venezuela after the game and apologized for getting the call wrong.

Holy cow, backup, rewind… let me say that again. The umpire, Joyce, went and apologized for getting the call wrong. That is accountability in all of its purest glory folks!

And then Galarraga turned around and forgave him for blowing a call that cost him something he may never ever do in his career again; throw a perfect game. “He probably feels worse than me,” Galarraga said. “Nobody’s perfect. Everybody’s human. I understand. I give the guy a lot of credit for saying, ‘I need to talk to you.’ You don’t see an umpire tell you that after a game. I gave him a hug.”

Wow! I love it when people take accountability. And I love it when people forgive. Whether it is my kids, friends, umpires or leaders, I love watching people do the right thing because it is the right thing. Taking accountability for one’s actions builds huge trust dividends. Do you think feelings of trust and respect for Joyce have improved across Major League Baseball? Absolutely! It’s interesting how when we try not to cover up our pride we become people of character that others genuinely love and respect.

The Race, is a simple story about a race. A mirror on business and how change in itself is meaningless if not focused in the right direction.

Some time ago, a boat race was organized between two competing organizations. One was a Swiss company – let’s name it Cow Co. Ltd, and the other one was Sempuma from Malaysia. Both teams worked very hard to get to top level. When the day finally came where they could measure their strength, both were very optimistic.

But the race was short and came to a surprising end, where the team from Malaysia won by more than one kilometre!

The morale was low at the Headquarters of Cow & Co in Switzerland. Nobody understood such a huge difference. Top Management decided that the causes MUST be identified. A project team was set up, to identify the cause and to suggest corrective measures if needed

After weeks of discussions, the project team came to the following findings:

• The Malaysian team included seven rowing officers and one steering executive

• In the Swiss team there was one single rowing officer and seven steering executives

The top Management reacted immediately and hired external Consultants to conduct an in-depth analysis on the Swiss team‘s structure

Some months and many Swiss Francs later, the Consultants came to following conclusion:

• Too many team-members had been steering

• Too few of them had been involved in moving the boat

The Top Management reacted in a radical way and restructured the whole team as follows:

• Four steering executives

• Two senior steering managers

• One steering directors

• One rowing officer

Additionally, they implemented a sophisticated Performance evaluation system to motivate the one rower. The top Management said: We must enrich his responsibilities to make his job more interesting and therefore get the best out of him.

The next year came and a second race was organized. The result was cruel. The Asian team won again- this time by TWO Kilometers.

The consequence of such a heavy blow that the top management sacked the one rower because of bad performance! The equipment was all sold and all new related investments were frozen. The Consultants were praised for doing a great job. The money that was not invested was distributed among the top management and the steering committee.

When one of the richest economy’s decided it wanted change it choose a unique brand identity as the precursor of that change.

The state of Qatar is the world’s richest economy, per capita. In 2005, its state-owned telecom company Qtel, led by chairman Sheikh Abdullah Bin Mohammed Bin Saud Al Thani, and CEO Dr Nasser Mohammed Marafih, embarked on an ambitious acquisition spree; by 2012, Qtel owned 17 telecoms operators in the Muslim world and had become the world’s fastest growing telecoms operator by revenue.

And each of the acquired telcos had been left to operate largely as they had done pre-acquisition. In 2012, however, Qtel began to shift its strategy away from growth through acquisition towards growth through integration. Sheik Abdullah and Dr Nasser decided to pull all their diverse telecoms brands into one mega-brand, Ooredoo. This would give them the opportunity to focus on what they actually wanted their international telecom company to deliver – transformational change in the telecom sector.

The change management teams set out to identify what they wanted their brand to stand for. They defined a series of unique branding propositions that would, ultimately, give them standout recognition. They wanted to offer the Muslim world greater freedom of communication and choice and, in particular, they wanted to be seen as helping rural communities and women gain a voice.

They wanted to change their world for the better. In February 2013 the new global brand Ooredoo was launched from a standing start in a matter of weeks in Qatar, with the iconic footballer Lionel Messi introduced by Sheik Abdullah as the global brand ambassador. It was a stunning success, gaining market share within weeks. With a customer base of more than 95 million people in 17 countries, Ooredoo rapidly became a leading international brand. Alignment, clarity of purpose and a ruthless focus on implementation showed the world what Qatar and Qataris can do.

In the late-1990s, industries around the world were becoming increasingly alarmed that all software would reset itself on 1 January 2000. Fear spread, and a generation of businesses was set up to address this impending crisis, known as Y2K (Year 2000).

No CEO worth his or her salt could say they wouldn’t address this change. It was a classic Doomsday scenario, driven by the book Computers in Crisis by Jerome and Marilyn Murray. Following publication in 1984, it was picked up in USENET discussion groups and in the early days of the Internet, and built momentum from there.

In the history of business, no change management programme has galvanized businesses like Y2K. The consequences of inertia were all too clear. In this instance the success of organizational change – supporting the delivery of crucial business strategies – was driven by a common and effective organizational change requirement.

Setting aside the frequent misappropriation and misunderstanding of the term, effective change management enables leadership teams and their organizations to ensure successful growth and swiftly take advantage of opportunities that present themselves. In this instance, the change programme was about avoiding a global disaster.

The emphasis had to be on rapid implementation, and leaders had to avoid the temptation to try to deliver value from change. This was all about ensuring that solutions were found and implemented in time. Organizations had to be agile enough to act at short notice.

While planes never did fall from the sky at 01/01/00, we’ll never know what might have happened had the clocks stopped. Although an estimated $300bn was spent ensuring that nothing occurred, Y2K was the global mobilization that showed the promise and value of change management.

Among leadership teams, there tends to be two views about change. One: change is risky and means disrupting repetitive processes that leaders have been rewarded for improving over time. And two: change is something that can be delegated, like other implementation-based activities such as project management and risk. Actually, change programs are most successful when, as a result of external factors, there’s a shared sense of urgency to deliver tangible change.

Following the 2008 financial crisis, RBS Group was ordered to sell its insurance business by European Union regulators, as a condition of RBS receiving £45bn in state aid. RBS’s insurance business, led by Paul Geddes, was tasked with separating its operations from RBS Group into a standalone company, in order to be ready for either a trade sale to a competitor, or listing on the stock market.

It’s a testament to Geddes, and the insurance business’s leadership at the time, that they turned the opportunity into a positive exercise and used the separation process to create a viable, standalone, rebranded insurance organisation, now known as Direct Line Group. It took 18 months to separate out every single strand of the business, from customer data, to independent functions and governance. This was very much a case of operating from a burning platform.

The entire approach had to be one of controlled urgency, there was no plan B and the leadership teams embraced the need to shift their people on to the next step as rapidly and as efficiently as possible. Once the separation had been effected, the focus was on creating a new brand and rapidly building the business into a viable standalone operation.

In 2012 the board went for an IPO that turned out to be the biggest and most successful London stock market listing that year. Its success heralded the start of a new, post-crisis IPO era. The Direct Line Group’s share price has continued to climb since it floated. Paul Geddes remains the CEO of the quoted business.

While planning for Change initiatives, organizations usually go large informing the entire organization, trying to build consensus etc. However, there is another way that was demonstrated by a manufacturing company which implemented Change via Lean and Six Sigma practices small doses at a time and still found great success.

The Challenge: With operations in 15 countries, Ruukki is heading into the 21st century with a vision of becoming Europe’s leading supplier of metal-based solutions to the construction and engineering industry. Already a strong market leader with a diverse portfolio of products and services, the company must constantly innovate to stay ahead of the competition. It must also continually adapt to meet the changing needs of its customers.

A key part of Ruukki’s improvement strategy is to increase operational efficiency across its four product lines and varied locations. To achieve its vision, Ruukki needed a business improvement solution that would not only streamline operations but also become a way of doing business that could unite the company along one goal.

The Solution: Ruukki wanted to develop strong change leaders with the ability to facilitate improvement projects that deliver substantial financial gains. To execute its improvement strategy, Ruukki partnered with BMGI to develop an internal team of Lean and Six Sigma practitioners. These two improvement methodologies offered Ruukki a way to quickly reduce waste and improve quality. BMGI’s team of master consultants helped Ruukki develop new problem-solving competencies through education and on-site project identification. In addition, BMGI provided consulting support by coaching practitioners so their projects could deliver better processes and strong cost savings.

Ruukki’s implementation started small, with development limited to one plant in Finland. This initial program was designed to demonstrate results to drive company wide support. Leveraging the early successes, BMGI worked with the deployment team to introduce the Lean and Six Sigma methodologies to the executive team and to plants across Eastern Europe and the Nordic countries.

Building Internal Interest: Utilizing the company intranet, Ruukki promoted its program results through project success stories and press releases. The deployment team also leveraged internal training sessions as opportunities to communicate the impact of Lean and Six Sigma on the company’s operations. Soon after Ruukki’s initial wave of black belt problem solvers completed their projects, other divisions across Europe indicated an interest in launching local initiatives.

As employees are educated on the practice and benefits of Lean and Six Sigma, their enthusiasm for change is making its way across the company. This enthusiasm has filtered up through managers and directors to the executive team, creating a compelling voice for change. Starting small gave Ruukki the opportunity to inspire dedication at the worker level, where changes had real impact. With demonstrated results, the deployment team now plans to expand the program throughout the company.

Business Results: To date, the company has saved over €16 million in operating costs. The company has also identified another €100 million in savings through reduced inventories and improved processes.

Deployment Leader Virta Esa calls the investment in Lean and Six Sigma “…very small when compared to the results we’ve seen and the potential for continued savings.”

Ruukki has developed more than 250 Lean and Six Sigma practitioners, who act as change agents across the company. Their success is now encouraging other business units to embrace the Lean and Six Sigma methodologies.

What is the recipe for success for any change management initiative? It can be a combination of many varied factors such as clear communication, transparency, flexibility…

Tom Dalby, Director of Human Resources at Rogers Communications, recently faced a challenge. With his 19 years in HR as an HR Business Partner, Tom knows his function and relationships with his business partners inside and out. However, the climate outside of his function and business proved much less familiar.

Rising customer demands warranted expanding the capacity of the call center business Tom supported. But, once that business decision surfaced, how would Rogers make the change without unforeseen costs and disengaging staff? They needed to avoid these costs, while still delivering increased capacity and customer service.

The Business Challenge: Maintain a high level of call center customer service at all times, especially during those occasions of high call volume. The Ideal Outcome: Introduce an extended work week strategy to provide the call center business with the capability to increase hours of work as needed.

“We knew we needed to manage this change each step of the way,” Tom recalls. “The last thing we needed was for 5,000 staff to be at odds with the change – which was a very real possibility given often the change would involve more hours for staff to work!”

The Action Plan: Tom and the leaders of the call center business went to great lengths to focus on two priorities: employee receptivity to and understanding of the changes.

Looking back, Tom calls out three key components of their change management program that made the difference on delivering on the outcome – and more:

Communication – Tom made sure the team over-communicated the change: “We announced the program and its components months in advance for current employees; embedded this information within recruiting conversations to set expectations with prospective employees; and prepared managers for having conversations about and advocating for the change.” By focusing on proactive education about the change, the team ensured each individual staff member was comfortable and understood the plan.

Flexibility – Tom and his business partners recognized that big changes don’t come without a few growing pains. To make the change as easy as possible, they provided employees choice on when they could work the additional time and accommodated the vast majority of employee requests. The advanced notice and employee requests that followed allowed Tom and his team to identify the schedule’s areas of strength and greater need ahead of time.

Transparency – “We knew this would be a big change for many, so we focused on being as transparent as possible about the reality of the change.” Tom and his business partners led a pilot week for the new hours so that employees could experience the extended scheduled in real time. The benefit was twofold in increasing employee understanding of and subsequently commitment to the program and enabling the team to fine tune particular program components before the official launch.

The Result: Success! Immediately after the launch of their extended work week, call center staff delivered on – and even exceeded expectation. Despite an 8.5% increase in call volume, the call center business maintained service levels above target. Leadership appreciated this terrific outcome, too – Tom and his business partners were nominated for Rogers Communications’ Customer First Award for their outstanding impact on the business.

Change is any disruption in routine, and is usually accompanied by resistance. However, more important is the implementation of any change programme that needs the unflinching support, enthusiasm and guidance of the top management from start to finish to ensure its success.

In 2004 Shell was facing an oil reserves crisis that hammered its share price. The situation was compounded by the abrupt departure of the oil group’s chairman, Sir Philip Watts. The new group chairman, Jeroen Van Der Veer, believed that in order to survive, the corporation had to transform its structure and processes.

A series of global, standardised processes were identified. These, if introduced, would impact more than 80 Shell operating units. While the changes were vital to survival, they proved unpopular in the short term as some countries stood to lose market share. The message was a tough one, and many operating units balked.

However, for a change programme of this scale to be successful, everyone had to adhere to the new systems and processes. The leadership of Shell Downstream-One, as the transformation was known, needed unflinching determination and to focus on gaining adoption from everyone involved. Those leading the change had to ensure that the major players in all their markets knew what was required and why. They needed to be aligned with the change requirement.

From the start, it was recognised that mandating the changes was the only way for them to drive the transformational growth they aimed for. This wasn’t an opt-in situation. The main message of the change team, led by Van Der Veer, was that – simpler, standard processes across all countries and regions that benefited Shell globally trumped local, individual needs. That meant everything from common invoicing and finance systems to bigger more centralised distribution networks. By identifying and rapidly addressing the many areas of resistance that emerged – such as that some influential stakeholders stood to lose control or market share – adoption was accelerated.

The team of experts – made up of senior leaders, in-house subject matter experts, implementation consultants and external change experts – who delivered the change programme were crucial in this phase. They’d been picked because they had both technical understanding and could provide change leadership. They both modelled and drove the new behaviours needed for the change to succeed. They briefed the people who would be impacted by the change; risks and potential problem areas were discussed and mitigated – before any real change was even delivered.

In all major change programmes, there’s always the danger that change management gets delegated; leaders distance themselves from the challenge of implementing the priorities they once championed. That can cause the initiatives to fail. In Shell’s case, however, the change leadership started and finished with Jeroen van der Veer, who never drew back from emphasising how important full implementation of Downstream-One would be.

Shell is in a significantly healthier position than when the transformation started, and by that measure the programme has been deemed a success. And the ramifications of Downstream-One continue to result in ongoing change.