Creating change doesn't mean the bookkeeper will balance the ledger more effectively and that cash will start rolling in the door and the CPA will give a thumbs up at the next audit. The idea that change doesn't produce desired results caught my attention today. I was reading a speech from Paul Light who gave a speech to the Citibank Board Leadership Forum in 2004. Here are the remarks that caught my attention:
"We are drowning in change right now. Hardly a moment goes by without some new idea for making your organization’s faster, leaner, smarter, meaner.
"Private companies are constantly implementing new ideas and then reporting on failed implementation. The failure rates of change are extraordinary. Seventy percent of mergers and acquisitions – no worries here at Citibank – 70% fail to measure up to the original profit and loss projections. And you’ve got TQM [Total Quality Management], which is often under-implemented, and so forth."
His remarks are published on the Web site, Center for Nonprofit Management.
Before undertaking changes, focus on the ones that will do the most to generate cash flow. This is another reason an activity like market research could be a wise strategic investment.
Click here to read: Industry Market Research and Market Intelligence
When creating change in an organization, make sure it's strategic change and there is objective data to back up the decision-making process.
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