Yes, we have changed the way we do things around here: we have become more tolerant and less understanding. No, we have not changed in terms of attitude to business and work!

Bill Cosby, the famous educationist, describes how he gives his wife money, and on her return he asks her for the change. Her response is simple: "Change? There is no change!" From a financial and relationship perspective, we can clearly see the humour and can identify fully!

The greatest asset that an organisation has is its people, and as such they should be treated like royalty. According to an IBM survey of 2,400 clients who stopped using their services, it was not price (9%) that swayed them, nor was it the product or service (14%) that caused them to leave. An astonishing 68% of the respondents said that they left IBM because of "an attitude of indifference displayed by some employee"!

Passion for what you do should make your work fulfilling and worthwhile, yet ask the average employee if they are happy in their jobs and more than 90% will say no. Assets are precious, well treated assets are gems, and gems should be an investment whose value should increase steadily over time. Knowledge and business smarts cannot be quantified, yet the brain power and mentoring potential of adept business people is being lost through hurriedly non-strategic implementation of empowerment initiatives.

BBBEE and Gender Equality processes are in full flight and the radical "changing faces" implementation in companies (I would hope) has more to do with process than people in positions. The effective management of people, task and process integration leaves a great deal to be desired. That is, if you are a man!

I doubt whether the majority of women have begun to understand the impact on men (irrespective of race) of gender equality. Yes, men have had it good, and yes, women have been the object of a male-biased system - this is clearly understood and accepted. The major problem lies not so much in the process, but in the attitude of people negatively affected by it. Women who have been developed often have to deal with aggressive, angry, hurt and de-motivated men to get tasks completed on time and at the expected standard. Sometimes I think they have more chance of falling pregnant by wind pollination! Sabotage and passive-aggressive responses, however, are not initiated solely by men; other women who feel aggrieved or overlooked often do the same. This does not bode well for the bottom line does it?

Organisations and the executives who manage them often bury their heads in the proverbial sand and ignore the change happening around them. They can only expect, in due course, to have their butts kicked (you can't see a thing when your eyes are ten centimetres in dirt!).

We have come a long way in the years since Independence - or have we? The cultural and racial mix in organizations has changed, but have we changed the way we do business, the way we work and the way we live? After working in many Blue Chip organizations at a change management level, I can honestly say yes and no.

Yes, we have changed the way we do things around here: we have become more tolerant and less understanding. No, we have not changed in terms of attitude to business and work! There is little passion going around (except at office Christmas parties and people get fired for that - or promoted, it just depends!). Business ethics are at an all time low, as is customer service and client satisfaction.
Complacency has become acceptable on the part of both client and customer. "Hey, the service is bad, what else can we expect in this country?" is an all too common conversation at social functions and on golf courses around this magnificent land of ours. How do we change this mindset; how do we address this malaise that has become interwoven into the attitudes of so many South Africans?

It is not for any other reason that companies are retrenching staff and losing business. Bad attitude and poor customer relationships simply result in people talking with their feet - they go elsewhere in the hope of being recognized and having their needs met better somewhere else. What if we did better for that client? What if we tried harder, just 10% harder? Do we realize that 10% more effort may result in 100% increase in turnover? Why try 10% better, when 50% better would be even more profitable - hey, what about 100% better - the sky is the limit.

Speaking of limits, change is everywhere; you are older now than when you started reading this article. Change is limitless, it has no boundaries. Time is all we have (it is not a guarantee mind you), and time is money. Why don't we spend our time making the money we deserve to make by being the best we can be?

Change management is about moving forward, taking calculated risks and passionately welcoming the results of hard effort. Any change is painful, granted, but change is often necessary and many times avoided. Ask any couple at a marriage counsellor or any cancer victim fighting for their lives on chemotherapy why they are doing what they are doing and the answer will be simple: "To be happy and to live - live every moment to the fullest".

If you honestly say that life and breath are not important, then change is not for you. The opposite of movement forward could be said to be stagnation, a bog of degenerating slime and mud that becomes singularly unappealing - unless you are Shrek, but that's another story altogether.
Change management is about motivating people, and managing people and business processes better, more efficiently, more passionately. It is about getting the best from staff, attracting more customers, making more money, and in short it is about living life with joy. Yes, I said with joy, with laughter, with passion - and no, I have not lost my mind, I mean it. So can you honestly say "There is no change", and laugh out loud?

A last thought, and it's not mine: "Change is inevitable, except from a vending machine!"

• Add New

Comments (0)

Write comment

Name:

Email: do not notifynotify

Website:

Title:

Message:

Please input the anti-spam code that you can read in the image.