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Welcome to the April 2007 edition of the changedrivers Newsletter!

In this issue, Malcolm Anderson revisits the article 'The Nine Essentials for the Change Journey (the 9Es©)'. This article draws attention to new thinking on the nine key organisational dimensions for sustainable change (the 9Es model), to reflect the many years of implementing sustainable change within organisations.

The second article in this issue 'So Who is Your Guru - the Sequel' also by Malcolm Anderson, looks at several organisational change gurus and their thoughts on organisations from a strategic perspective.

We hope you enjoy the articles and our regular features; the book and website of the month. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to your friends and colleagues.

As always, we welcome all the feedback you have time to give us. Please email us at (newsletter@changedrivers.com.au) to let us know what you think.

Kind Regards, The changedrivers Team

Article by Malcolm Anderson

This year we are celebrating ten years since changedrivers was founded and I mention this because it was in one of our early newsletters that we first drew attention to one of the central pieces of our thinking, the 9Es©. Much thinking over many years of reading the theory and implementing change had gone into the creation of a simple model to draw attention to nine key organisational dimensions that required attention if change was to be sustained.

We pointed out that you don't have to make changes in all these areas, but you do need to take all into consideration if you mean to limit the risks of failure and maximise the opportunity to sustain the change you are planning. The 9Es© were not designed to describe the process of change but they are the key areas of risk to sustainability downstream, that must be considered up-front to be effective. So we have now spent nearly another ten years working in a myriad of projects and applying the 9Es© and learning about the strengths and weaknesses of its applicability.

Read the Full Article

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Article by Malcolm Anderson

Those of you who found the recent articles on organisational change gurus interesting will likely find this one useful too. Here we examine those brilliant strategic minds who have considered organisations from a more strategic perspective.

Some ask the value of such thinking, so it is important to ensure we appreciate where this high level thinking fits. It is one thing to know that what you do within your organisation is conducted efficiently and effectively and that your people enjoy working there. It is quite another to be sure that what your organisation does for your customers and stakeholders is the right thing to be doing.

There are many examples of great organisations that suddenly discovered time, technology and customers had passed them by.

Read the Full Article

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St. Anthony's  Family Care

In the case of the fourth charity we feature it is probably most appropriate to say that many of their various projects run on ‘a wing and a prayer’. Yet they continue to increase their number of clients and expand the range of programs. Their main focus is on disabled children – providing long day care, education programs, weekend respite care and various family support services. I am sure you will agree that is quite a comprehensive package run with little or no Government funding.

Below I have summarised some of their achievements:

Read the Full Article

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New Faces at changedrivers

Geoff Ward joined changedrivers in January 2007, following 30 years as a senior manager in a range of industry sectors. He has established and is the leader of the Safety Leadership and Change Practice. 

Over the last decade Geoff has become passionate about safety leadership. He has learned what managers at all levels of the organisation must do to create sustainable change and improve safety in the workplace.

Before changedrivers Geoff managed vastly different work forces in diverse industries such as Australia’s largest cement production facility, Australia’s largest wool scouring and combing mill and the Australian factory of one of the world’s largest optical lens manufacturers.

He now applies his skill to enable businesses to change behaviours and prepare for the safety challenges that exist in the workplace right now.

Chris Tait joined changedrivers as a Principal in December 2006 after leading his own management consulting practice for over 3 years. He joins Alan Ward in the Technology, Knowledge Systems and Change Management practice.

With 20 years project management experience, Chris has specialised in management consulting and change implementation practices for the past seven years. Chris has considerable experience in the field of business improvement. He has successfully developed and implemented robust processes that encourage strategic and analytical thinking in complex situations – key drivers of organisational capability.

Chris’ passion and enthusiasm for improving the capability of organisations is only bounded by the enjoyment he receives from his family - and his running!

Mark Ward joined changedrivers in February 2007 after working in the extraordinary worlds of both music and travel. From a long, varied and colourful career in the music business Mark developed practical skills in marketing, promotion and management. This vocation has been happily complimented with extensive periods of overseas travel. From either ‘on the road’ touring with musicians or simply border-hopping extended holidays, this nomadic lifestyle has brought self reliance, determination and flexibility to the fore of his personal development.

With experience in a diverse range of roles, he now brings his unique blend of knowledge based skills to changedrivers as Project Office Manager.  

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Making it Happen - Reflections on Leadership

Author: John Harvey-Jones

Published by Trafalgar Square 2005

In the early 1990s, shortly after he had retired from his role as Chairman of ICI, Sir John Harvey-Jones made the remarkable move into television as the ‘Troubleshooter’, one of the first attempts (and one of the few successful ones in my view) at reality TV. He took his own brand of leadership and common sense into twelve British businesses and learned the practical way how hard it is to change people’s thinking. In all of this he exercised some of his hallmark leadership style exemplified by the following few quotations:

• 'Leadership is the priceless gift that you earn from the people who work for you. I have to earn the right to that gift and have to continuously re-earn that right.'
• 'Basically I try to jolly things along. After all, the problems can only be solved by the people who have them. You have to try and coax them and love them into seeing ways in which they can help themselves.'
• 'It is the responsibility of the leadership and the management to give opportunities and put demands on people which enable them to grow as human beings in their work environment.'
• 'I've spent 30 years going around factories. When you know something's wrong, nine times out of ten it's the management - in truth, because people aren't being led right. And bad leaders invariably blame the people.'

Sir John Harvey Jones is one of the best-known and most admired business leaders of our time, and his achievements in transforming the chemical giant ICI from its disastrous slump into two of the best-run chemical companies in the world are still legendary. In this memoir Harvey-Jones shows how it is possible to run a large organisation with time and respect for everyone involved, and how this enables the organisation to excel.

While computers are smaller and faster than ever, mobile phones seem to acquire more bells and whistles every day and mind-boggling advances in technology are changing the practice of business, Harvey-Jones, maintains that the basic tenets of leadership will never change - decisiveness, daring, patience, empathy and know-how. Boiled down to its essence, business is about dealing fairly and honestly with people, and determining the best ways to motivate them for maximum productivity. Harvey-Jones discusses in detail the CEO's relationship with the board of directors, effective time management, and the inevitable psychological and intellectual battles that leaders must fight. The book's recurring theme is a strong emphasis on business fundamentals, insights based on Harvey-Jones' many years of experience at the highest peaks of business.

However, there are no pat solutions, his ideas are a radical and refreshing business philosophy from a proven track record.

Malcolm Anderson

Read more at: www.angusrobertson.com.au

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