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Enacting change in your business is necessary—but not easy. Whether it’s creating new products, changing your organizational structure or simply moving in a different direction, it takes ingenuity and teamwork.
I recently came across a New York Times interview with Fred Hassan, chairman of Bausch & Lomb, about ways he has brought change to the companies he has managed. He spoke of building “credibility, and [being] very authentic with everybody so people start to believe you and trust you…You have to gain a mandate for change. You can’t just say, ‘I’m the new change agent.’
“You have to behave in a very consistent manner,” Hassan continued. He stressed that your choices need to be credible to others in the company, and it’s the front-line managers who matter most, “because if they start to see themselves as ambassadors as opposed to shop stewards, it totally changes the productivity of the whole organization.”
Julian Turner (pictured here), CEO of Electric Word PLC in London, and I spoke on this same subject at the recent SIPA Annual Conference. Electric Word started in 2000 with just one newsletter but quickly found another small business to acquire with four newsletters aimed at UK school leaders. It has now evolved into a fully online subscription service with six hubs—including a successful sports business group—40 (yes, 40!) conferences and supply training products. With about 150 employees now, Turner asked the question, “How do I set up a structure where all my middle managers are delivering in a consistent way? It gets harder as you get bigger. I’m very interested in the communications of this.”
In a follow-up discussion by phone, Turner said that, “We need to keep encouraging [our] people to use the numbers, work out what’s going on and make evidence-based decisions. Sometimes I feel like banging my fists on the floor more, and it can be frustrating not to make the progress you want to make, but it’s a privilege to have the opportunity and very motivating.” He wants to build a place where people can make mistakes, take risks and “make decisions in a rational way.”
I think Hassan would agree about staff empowerment helping to lead to positive change. In a meeting with the employees of a new company he was leading, he spoke to them as a group. “…I asked everyone to identify their main issues, their main problems, and we went around the room. Then I went around the room again and I said, ‘Now tell me how you’re going to solve it, and how everybody else can help you.’ By asking them in that manner, I wanted them to take ownership and accountability.
“Initially, there’s a tendency to just focus on the problems and almost act a little helpless. But by asking them to talk about the solutions, and encouraging them to speak in front of their peers, that creates a certain positive tension. It forces people to say, ‘What am I going to do to make a contribution to the effort here?’”
Turner also spoke about “trying to build on the strengths of the people around you. That’s all quite important to me.” He knows that it’s easier with a smaller staff, but he sees a “great opportunity” with a larger company. “…you can have a much greater impact with 140 people than 6 people, but it’s a lot harder.”
SIIA’s Digital Content and Media Summit in London, Sept. 23-25, will take on questions like these and much, much more. If you have any possible chance of attending, you should. A quick look at the speakers will tell you that this is a premier-league conference.
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Ronn Levine began his career as a reporter for The Washington Post and has won numerous writing and publications awards since. Most recently, he spent 12 years at the Newspaper Association of America covering a variety of topics before joining SIPA in 2009 as managing editor. Follow Ronn on Twitter at @SIPAOnline