The Art of Change
A Management Strategy Book
Moises Aguilar
Edited by
Dan Mulvihill
All Rights Reserved, including those of translation to foreign languages.
No part of this book may be reproduced without the written permission from the author. Brief
quotes or reviewed sections by a reviewer are allowed as long as full credit is given to the author.
It’s about giving
INTRODUCTION
PREFACE
PART ONE. FOR THE EXECUTIVE SPONSOR
INTRODUCTION TO PART ONE
TRANSLATION KEY FOR PART ONE
CHAPTER I. WAR
CHAPTER II. WHEN TO WAGE WAR
CHAPTER III. THE KICK-OFF
CHAPTER IV. THE GENERAL
PART TWO. FOR THE PROGRAM MANAGER
INTRODUCTION TO PART TWO
TRANSLATION KEY FOR PART TWO
CHAPTER V. THE FIVE FACTORS OF WAR
CHAPTER VI. GOING TO BATTLE
CHAPTER VII. BASIC STRATEGY
CHAPTER VIII. FIGHTING AN ENTRENCHED ENEMY
CHAPTER IX. DECEPTION
CHAPTER X. SETTING UP THE ARMY
CHAPTER XI. PLANNING VS. FIGHTING
CHAPTER XII. THE ARMY ON THE MOVE
CHAPTER XIII. BEST PRACTICES
CHAPTER XIV. THE GREAT GENERAL
PART THREE. FOR THE STUDENT OF LIFE
INTRODUCTION TO PART THREE
TRANSLATION KEY FOR PART THREE
CHAPTER XV. RISK ANALYSIS
CHAPTER XVI. CRITICISM
CHAPTER XVII. DEALING WITH A ROTTEN CORE
CHAPTER XVIII. USING SPIES
CHAPTER XIX. CHOOSING YOUR BATTLES
CHAPTER XX. CULTIVATING THE TAO
CHAPTER XXI. READING THE ENVIRONMENT
CHAPTER XXII. NEXT STEPS
AN AFTERWORD
APPENDIX
TRANSLATION KEY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Introduction
How this book came about
I had long been fascinated with Sun Tzu’s ancient masterpiece, the
Art of War. I was in consulting and as I read and reread the various
translations of his work I began to see his wisdom providing solutions for
my own modern day job. I awoke to the realization that the principles and
the players conducting operations in this military classic were exactly the
same as those involved in the initiatives of the contemporary corporation.
My consulting engagement was indeed a War. The more I applied his
principles, the more excited I became as I saw Sun Tzu’s world perfectly
replicated thousands of years later in front of my eyes.
Unfortunately, I was not seeing Wars being won. What I kept noticing
was that simple projects were completed successfully while large initiatives
kept running into problems time and time again. These problems were not
coming from the initiatives themselves, but from the people in charge of
them. It seemed the larger the initiative the more unwise the decisions. In
Sun Tzu’s time, these people would have lost their entire army. What I saw
was large amounts of money being wasted due to the careless and risky
moves of those in charge. Many people knew about the Art of War but
nobody seemed to understand what it said, as I could not find a single person
who made decisions along the guidelines laid down by Sun Tzu.
Sun Tzu’s approach is, in one word, merciless. Things are what they
are and you better learn what you are dealing with so you can act
accordingly. He was dealing with War and a critical wrong decision could
lose him a Kingdom. People around me were acting as if their own wrong
decisions had no negative implications. No consequences. Unfortunately,
firing them for that reason would have been as useless as beating a dog.
1
These people did not realize the danger of their behavior. Projects were
happening in spite of them, not thanks to them.
Every manager I ran into was lacking one or more of the essential
attributes Sun Tzu deemed crucial. It may have been courage, or foresight,
or humanity, or strictness, but nobody was whole. At the same time, I could
find absolutely no training in these important attributes and strategies. When
creating managers, every training program focused on logic, experience,
methodology and structured approaches. As Sun Tzu pointed out, ‘In all
fighting, the direct method may be used for joining battle, but indirect
methods will be needed in order to secure victory’. The world focused on
direct methods and was missing indirect ones. So people were being trained
to kick off projects but not to complete them. Their poor results were proof
of this realization.
I started writing The Art of Change with the intention of translating
Sun Tzu’s precise and insightful concepts into today’s corporate world and
enable high level managers to make better strategic decisions. The first task
was to find what Sun Tzu’s concepts represented in today’s world. An easy
one at first. The Ruler of the Kingdom sponsoring War became the
Executive Sponsor in charge of the corporate initiative. The General of the
armies became the Program Manager in charge of executing the initiative.
The Army became the project team. War campaigns became projects.
Supply lines became budgets. I could easily find a direct correlation between
almost all of Sun Tzu’s concepts and mine in the corporate world, except for
one ‘minor’ exception. Where was the War? What was it? And who was the
enemy? Sun Tzu’s War was clear. You either invade a country or you
defend yours from invasion. But what did it represent in today’s world?
What is truly today’s corporate War?
I struggled with this concept for some time trying to find not only the
War but also the true enemy in today's corporate world. And then one day it
came to me, not as a logical conclusion, but as a sudden epiphany. Today’s
War is Change. The Enemy is Resistance to Change.
2
It all made sense. Any large initiative represents a major Change from
the current situation and every large initiative has significant problems. It
was not the challenges in the initiative, but the resistance to the Change the
initiative implied that was creating the problems. Change is what it’s all
about.
I understood Change well. During my entire consulting career I had
worked in projects that changed the life of my clients. The favorite part of
my job was seeing how their life improved while dealing with the challenges
of Change. Even when their life would clearly get better, Change required
special and careful attention for it to happen.
Change has always been there, but before it was slow and on a small
scale. As a result, the consequences of victory or defeat were not so
enormous. In today's corporate multi national world, Change has a large
impact with many variables. It brings deeper transformation than before and
above all, must happen faster. Much faster. This is no longer the time for
amateurs. Effective and positive corporate Change has become a matter of
survival. We can no longer continue being our own worst enemy and expect
things to go well for us. The environment is simply too dangerous. If we do
not make the right decisions and at the right time, it will take us down.
This book is about Change. It discusses the corporate implications of
Change in our current world and explains what it is all about so you can
identify whom you are fighting. Who is your foe? And who is your friend? It
tells you how to kick off the war, how to plan it, how to execute it, and
above all, how to close it successfully.
The Art of Change encourages you to take charge. When your
corporation needs Change, you simply cannot appoint a committee as our
political leaders have always done. You must do it yourself. The Art of
Change will tell you how to accomplish all this with only two key players.
Two outstanding individuals playing two key roles and you shall begin to
see mountains move.
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I hope you enjoy it.
4
Preface
The end justifies the means only when the means are the end
When circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans.
Sun Tzu. The Art of War.
I cannot make you change. I can only see that you can change and act
on that insight. Neither can I help you. I can only see that you can be helped
and act on that insight. This book is for those who are ready to change.
This is a book about Change. Change affecting you as an individual
and an employee. As a by product, it affects corporations and the market, but
all must start with you. Your mindset, your performance as a professional,
and the performance of your company are all connected. If you have a high
ranking position, the influence of your mindset on the performance of your
company will be larger. If you have a low ranking position, the influence
will be less.
The kind of change we have experienced during these past decades
has allowed humankind to take a quantum leap and we have created a
society we could not have dreamed of a few hundred years ago. It is
important that we learn to deal with this new environment because it is not
going away. This is merely the beginning. We can ignore the signs and
continue with business as usual or we can start getting ready.
But, what is this change and where did it come from?
A veil has been lifted from our eyes in these past decades as we have
come to demystify power. Never more than in the past century has power
been challenged in a stronger way as the common people have grown
accustomed to pass judgment on those previously thought all powerful.
5
Nowadays, very few people relate to their employers the way our
grandparents did. The obedient and dutiful corporate man is an almost
extinct race. Maybe people have changed and are not looking at power from
the same perspective. Maybe circumstances just got too difficult to control.
Maybe the powerful themselves have become overwhelmed and react
instead of directing. Maybe all of the above.
As society has increased its capacity to generate wealth, more and
more ordinary people have had access to positions of power. Unfortunately
they did not become powerful people. They remained ordinary people, with
power. Instead of adapting to the new situation, they usually made use of
their power to remain the way they were.
As technology has evolved we have enjoyed an exponentially
increased capacity to share information. This area has been victim of
uninspired direction as evidenced by the mediocrity of the media today.
However, power and the powerful have stopped being a mystery as we
gained access to information unavailable before. It is extraordinarily harder
to keep a secret today than it was a hundred years ago, and this detail may
present some enlightening opportunities.
As society has been changing, corporations have found difficulty
adapting to the new ways. Society’s turmoil has been seen as little more than
an opportunity for profit. Those in control of corporations have acted as if
things could stay the same internally while the corporation redefined the way
it did business outwardly. The mindset of those in charge has evolved very
little in comparison with how society has changed as a whole.
The strongest disconnect between reality and the way things are is in
the relationship between employers and employees. The general discontent
is the evidence that our jobs no longer fulfill a physical need but an
emotional necessity. Putting food on the table and a roof over our heads is
not enough any more. If it were, any good paying job would be satisfying.
But such is not the case.
6
Nowadays, we do not feel fulfilled if we have to do something just
because we are told. It matters not whether it is the market, a customer or
our boss telling us. There has to be a reason for what we do and that reason
better be associated with our own growth. It can be personal or professional
growth but nowadays the process is more important than the result. As soon
as we complete something we are eager for the next assignment and our
achievements become meaningless the instant we attain them. Focus has
shifted to the process while the result has lost its previous importance. What
we value today is feeling appreciated while doing our jobs, or that the work
we do helps others, or that we can perform our job in a satisfying
environment. Only then can we feel fulfilled when doing our jobs. Only then
can we feel that the pain we go through is actually worth the effort. Only
then can we feel a sense of accomplishment.
In the meantime, the professional environment has remained stuck in
the old ways and is not fulfilling our new needs. Lacking a meaningful
purpose in our jobs (and usually our lives) we live them as a continuous
battle for the capture of attention. We compete and compete and get very
little meaning out of it. Those with talent use it in their own battle for
attention as if envious admiration could replace meaningful relationships.
The rest of the time we spend vindicating meaningless offenses that we
brought about ourselves in the first place. While we like to think that we deal
with important matters we still need to make an effort to convince ourselves
of that.
The first step out of this situation is to accept how we got here. We
have a job, a house, and a family but underneath we have no idea what is
going on. We want to do something with our lives but we doubt whether we
have the maturity or the intelligence or the work ethic necessary to achieve
our dreams. We criticize those corrupted by their positions of power but
were we in the same position, it is not certain we would do much better.
7
Worst of all, we have not made the investment to get an answer to any of
these questions.
The solution is not outside however. The answer lies in the mirror. We
have never had access to more resources than we have today. Power has
been trickling down the social structure and has started to permeate the
whole. Anybody today has access to more education, information and tools
than any king a hundred years ago. The power put in our hands is going to
force us to reevaluate the way we approach our lives, particularly in the
professional arena.
The professional environment has a built in feedback mechanism with
a short cycle. The results of our actions come back to us in a year at most
when our job is reviewed either by a board or by a manager. Performance
can be measured by objective metrics which make crystal clear whether we
met our goals or not. As the ability to capture information increases, we
should expect everyone’s job performance to be measured with absolute
objectivity much sooner than later. As the ability to share information
increases, we should expect our performance to be shared with a much wider
audience than we may like.
In an environment with no secrets only those who are really strong
can survive. It is not a question of having no flaws, but of being able to deal
with the ones we have. This kind of environment will provide a clear reading
on how things really are and how we are doing. It will be the most dynamic
society ever experienced. Our actions will produce results in an environment
that will be able to deliver unequivocal feedback on the wisdom of our
decisions. It will be up to us then to do something about it.
This environment is one of continuous change and evolution. A much
faster evolution than the one we have experienced in past years. And it is
just a question of time before we get there. The winds of change are coming.
You can stand in the way and be taken down or you can set your sails to the
highest position and be taken to places you could not have gone by yourself.
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It is up to you.
9
Part One. For the Executive Sponsor
10
Introduction to Part One
Part One is intended for the Executive Sponsor. While other people in
the company can derive benefit from this section, the activities described in
Part One are the sole responsibility of someone playing an Executive role.
The Executive Sponsor works among the Executive Ranks of the
company and is responsible for an area of the company. The area can be a
function like Marketing, Sales or Engineering, or it can be aligned to a
territory like the East or the West coast, or for very large corporations it can
be a function in one of the subsidiary companies.
In simple terms, the Executives referred to in this book can be
Directors, Partners, Vice Presidents or Executive Officers. The Executive
Sponsor (the first key player) is the Ruler responsible for the War discussed
in this book.
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Translation Key for Part One
War = Change
Enemy = those supporting the old ways who oppose Change
Ruler = Executive Sponsor
General = Program Manager
Feudal Lords = Executives
Feudal Kingdom = Company as represented by the organizational chart
Royal Court = Executive Ranks
King = Area of the company in control of the direction of the corporation
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Chapter I. War
The Name of the Game
War is vital to the nation. It is the basis of life and death, the path to
survival and destruction. It can on no account be neglected.
Sun Tzu. The Art of War.
Change is the most important aspect of today’s corporate war. Not
competition, not margins, not sales. Adapt or die. In order to survive in
today’s world, corporations need to change skins on a regular basis to adapt
to the pressures of the market and the new technology that makes their
business models obsolete. But just talking about change will not do. Change
absolutely has to happen.
While history has shown that change is the only constant in life,
humans still have a hard time coming to terms with it. While we are not so
different from the people of thousands of years ago, what took generations to
change in the past needs to be effected in a single lifetime today. And in the
corporate world, in just a few years. Companies need to change their habits
and priorities as they evolve. Employees must be continually re-educated to
the most effective way of approaching their jobs.
As resistance to change is so deeply entrenched, we must become
aware that the enemy is inside, walking the hallways. Outward change is the
red herring, the meaningless but comforting distraction that progress towards
a goal is being accomplished, when in actuality the achievement of that goal
can be found only through inward change. Companies need to change the
way they operate internally, the way they behave inside their walls. This
necessary change in behavior entails a crucial challenge to the current
philosophical structure of the company. What was King before cannot be
King for much longer or the Kingdom will disappear. And we are not talking
13
about changing the CEO. We are talking about challenging the entire status
quo within the company.
The necessary change will vary by company. The Marketing
department may take over from the Engineering department, or the Services
department from Sales, or Sales from Research. Those who have status
today will be followers tomorrow and those who are followers today will be
asked to lead. While we should expect the former not to give up their throne
willingly, we must acknowledge the real possibility that they can take the
entire company down if they do not let go. At the same time, we should
expect the latter not to be prepared for the responsibility required by their
new position, and unless we prepare them, change will be disastrous. The
poor attitude from both parties comes from their disregard of the effort of
those that came before them. No company started being large, structured,
and successful. All this was obtained with hard work and as the company
grew, everybody had to survive in a constantly changing and evolving
environment. As change got us where we are today, can we expect the
absence of change to keep us here?
This day and age is bound to bring on the ultimate test. The question
is not who can change once and survive another day. The question is who
can learn to accept change as a way of life and survive indefinitely. Security
no longer comes from standing on solid ground but by being able to ride the
wave. Businesses cannot endure solely by knowing how to make something
and how to sell it. The day to day of a business may be likened to the trials
of a traveling caravan moving through an unknown territory, making a living
by discovering where and when to exchange what.
As society evolves and speeds up, choices and needs become more
sophisticated and diverse. To keep up with this trend, business exchanges
become impersonal. The importance of whom we deal with diminishes to
give way to how transactions occur. Old values like honesty and
accountability come back as an essential business attribute but with an
14
additional twist. While old reputations were built slowly by a few people at a
time, tomorrow’s reputations will be built quickly by large numbers of
people all at once. Sooner or later the ability to exchange information will
overwhelm the ability to control it and when that time comes, things are
really going to change. Whoever is ready for that environment will survive.
Whoever is not will perish.
Corporate longevity in the 21st century will be based on a company’s
ability to change. In the past decades we have seen some companies rise to
the top only to then fade away. This trend is sure to continue and bring down
even the successful companies that have been in business a long time.
Companies need to work not only on projects that will bring change to the
corporation, they must transform their entire culture into one of change.
Change will become the basic tenet of those companies that want to become
leaders in the market. They will have developed the ability to reinvent
themselves every few years, from the inside out.
This is by far the most daunting challenge any company has ever
faced as we are not talking about losing market share, but about disappearing
altogether. To add a level of complexity to the problem, the usual
approaches that got us out of trouble in the past will no longer work and past
success will not guarantee success in the future. Old approaches based on the
whip can only work in stable environments. You can use the whip to get
gold out of the mine once the process to extract the ore is set up. When
extracting gold for the first time however, we need to approach the problem
in a more constructive way. A culture of change implies that we will always
be working on everything as though it were the first time.
A culture based on change is still unfamiliar to corporations so
projects involving change are expensive and long. They have many
interdependent components that may seem unconnected but touch diverse
areas of the company from technology, to processes, to employee evaluation
15
criteria. Since meaningful change will be geared towards having long term
impact, special attention must be given to proving value during the
execution of these projects to keep the initiative alive.
A dynamic culture ready for change links all aspects of the
corporation. Corporations will have to take a long and deep look at
themselves and be honest about what works and what does not. The value of
such a dynamic culture comes from the use of the processes that are put in
place and not from the results of individual initiatives. These processes
demand that the entire company react quickly and as a single unit so any
disconnect between the parts will become obvious. A steady and wise hand
will be needed to successfully take a corporation to this advanced stage.
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Chapter II. When to Wage War
Look before you leap
There are six kinds of terrain: open terrain, entrapping terrain,
evasive terrain, narrow terrain, steep terrain and great distances.
Sun Tzu. The Art of War.
Change needs a sponsor to occur. While the chances of Change
happening are directly proportional to the power of the Executive Sponsor,
power is not enough. Before putting things in motion, one needs to assess
the chances of coming out victorious and only act when conditions are
favorable. You cannot make a company change. You can only realize that a
company can change and act on that insight. An attitude of achieving
success at any cost will lead you to disaster. If the time is not right, you
should save your strength to fight another day.
Think of the organizational chart as a Feudal Kingdom where the
Executives are the Feudal Lords of the estates. The areas of responsibility
represent their estates. Low rank Executives will own a small estate while
chief officers will own countries. In the corporate world, estates and
countries come and go much faster than in world politics.
So just as in the old wars they were not trying to kill people but to rule
them differently, you do not want to replace people but have them work for
the new ways instead. You want them to answer to a different power. The
enemy is pretty much the same as in those old wars: the Feudal Lords in
charge of the lands, represented today by those Executives that refuse to let
go. And as in those old wars, your objective is to Capture, Neutralize, Rule
or Kill the Feudal Lords while keeping their people. Capturing entails the
Executives letting go of their old ways; Neutralizing translates into
17
preventing them from impeding Change; Ruling them translates into having
them work for a person aligned with the desired Change so they can be
controlled; and Killing them entails getting them fired or forcing them to
move on.
Which strategy to follow will depend on the situation in the company,
your negotiation skills, and your ability to understand the points of view of
the parties involved. The position they decide to take will do the rest. Those
who want to live can be captured while those who want to die can be killed.
Some express their desire to live by having a constructive disposition while
others do it by purely aiming to avoid death. Some want to die from
dissatisfaction with the current situation while others want to die by an
undeterred attachment to the old ways.
The nature of the required Change should dictate the group to be
placed in charge. If Change affects the customer approach, select the sales
area; if it affects the corporate image, marketing; and if it will drastically
modify the technical infrastructure, the technology area. Keep in mind that
the situation and not your preferences will dictate the necessary steps you
need to take, but you will be responsible for enabling the selected group to
accomplish its job.
Sun Tzu identifies six terrains which translate into six scenarios in the
corporate world. The nature of the Change, the political situation in the
company, the opportunity presented, and the probability of success play a
part in determining how you should act. Although these scenarios may not
contemplate every situation, it will be to your advantage to modify your
current situation to fit one of these scenarios and then start.
In the first scenario, Change can occur but it can come from more than
one area so the effort to bring it about could be effected by more than one
person. It also means that more than one perspective or approach can work.
In this situation the strategy is to secure control of the supply lines, or in
today’s terms, the budget. The importance of the budget cannot be under18
estimated. It is not at all important who gets the title or the recognition.
Whoever can secure the budget will have the advantage of actually dictating
direction.
The second scenario consists of a Change that would be possible to
achieve now, but if missed, would be difficult to attempt for a second time.
In this situation it is necessary to understand the strength of the enemy. If the
organization is generally open to Change you may go ahead and start, but if
the Executive Ranks oppose Change, you will find disaster if you do not
succeed. There will be no middle ground; it will be a battle to the death. You
seized the opportunity to start when the factors were in your favor and they
will not forget your opportunism if you fail.
In the third scenario, it is known that Change must occur, but there is
no sense of urgency associated with it. Those opposed are not concerned,
perhaps because they either see it as distant or they don’t see it as dangerous.
At the same time, those who desire Change are not rallying to support it
either. In this situation, even though the enemy may offer you incentive to
start, one should hold back and allow them to do the work. Offer them what
may look like an easy gain so they take it. If a new initiative comes up and
could be done according to either the old ways or the new ways, let the old
ways take it. Once work is underway, wait until you can point out the flaws
of the old ways and only then make your move. You have effectively given
the opposing Feudal Lords rope to hang themselves and they have obliged.
You have used the initiative to polarize the situation and create tension
which you can later employ to begin Change.
If an unusually complicated opportunity presents itself, you must be
especially cautious, for although succeeding via the new ways will start the
road to Change, the prospect of Change will be lost for a long time should
the initiative fail. To be effective in this fourth scenario, you must overbudget and give yourself extra time. If questions arise as to the high
estimate, cite the complexity of the opportunity and invite those supporting
the old ways to try it themselves. If the old ways want to attempt to do the
19
work, allow them to do so. If during their implementation the option to take
over the work arises, take advantage of this without hesitation.
In the next situation the path to Change involves losing one’s position
if there is failure. In this case do not try to start unless forced to. If you are
put in a position where there is no alternative but to go ahead, make as much
noise as possible. Make so much noise the entire industry hears about it.
Wait then and see if the enemy decides to create conflict and make things
difficult for you. If they do, respond; if not, do not start a conflict.
And finally, if the Change is a radical deviation from the old ways, a
strategy of creating conflict will be disadvantageous. Present what you are
doing as unrelated to what you plan to replace. Present it as an addition to
what is already there so it is not clear that the Change is going to affect
anyone until it is too late. Keep quiet, keep working and secure the success
of your initiatives.
Executing projects that involve a big component of change requires
special attention since you will likely encounter resistance from those very
people whose assistance you need. The challenge will not only come from
the implementation of the new ways but also from the abandonment of the
old ways. To succeed in this endeavor and make the right choices, it is
essential to understand both sides of the argument (the old and the new).
There will be many situations where you will need to go to the heart of the
matter and half truths simply will not work.
Hanging on to the old ways is like clutching the mast while the ship is
sinking. It looks solid but in reality it is going down. However, embracing
the new ideas will feel like a sacrifice to those attached to the old ways so
you must be both gentle and firm at the same time. Gentleness translates into
waiting for a favorable opportunity to commence Change. Instead of being
forceful, your strategy should be based on identifying what the opportunity
requires and act accordingly. Firmness translates into a firm resolve to
abandon the old ways and move to the new ways.
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If you want to convince others, you must prove your point with
results, not promises. Once your initiatives start to provide initial results
your job will become easier. Until then, what you are proposing is to replace
the safety of known situations by an intuitive knowledge of what the future
may bring. You cannot expect everyone to support you immediately as their
safety depends on future actions and decisions. Until the new processes are
stable, people will need to work harder to make the new environment
function. Your job will be to ensure people are employing their energies
constructively. Change is not something to be achieved in a day.
21
Chapter III. The Kick-off
Wait for the coin flip, Captain
Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to
the enemy's purpose.
Sun Tzu. The Art of War.
In order to identify the appropriate time to initiate Change, it is
necessary to understand those who can influence the outcome. The most
critical area to evaluate is the Executive Ranks since they are the ones who
are most likely to hinder your initiative. These Executives can be in one of
three states: planning, implementing or reacting. The ones planning want to
do things their way, those implementing want to get the benefits of their
activities, and those reacting want their life to stay as comfortable as
possible. The key is to discover what they personally expect to get from
what they are doing. Those who want something for themselves can be
manipulated. Seek to provide these Executives with what they personally
want in order to influence them.
This is the time to negotiate. The less conflictive your initiative is
perceived, the more easily you will accomplish your goals. Ideally you want
to present your goals as an addition and not a modification to their plans.
They must perceive that they will benefit by allowing you to get your job
done. The main objective is not only to ensure that they do not get in the
way but perhaps even help your initiative succeed. You should not expect
them to make your life easy. Your strategy is to agree to terms that are
beneficial to them and acceptable to you so you may achieve your goals.
During the initial conversations it is essential to identify ways to turn
obstacles into stepping stones. Do challenges appear or go away depending
on the area of the company? Can you combine your plans with the plans of
22
other Executives and collaborate with them? Are your risks someone else’s
risks as well? Do problems affect different Executives in different ways?
Can you change the order of your initiatives to benefit someone? To align
people to your cause, focus on what you share in common.
If someone openly opposes Change you will need to expend the effort
understanding why. Acting as if their concerns are not important or as if the
problem does not exist will backfire sooner rather than later. You are the one
bringing Change to the environment, and while it may be necessary, it is still
you who are creating the turmoil. Spend the necessary time up front ensuring
everyone is comfortable with how you are bringing Change so your way
becomes easier later on.
Those Executives immersed in planning should be initially reluctant
to share their ideas with you. If they are not, be cautious, as sharing their
plans prematurely may be an indication of weakness. Assess whether you
even want them as allies and if so, can it be done? If they can be made allies,
you must share your plans with them first. If they cannot be made allies,
listen to their concerns so you can present your initiative in a way that it is
not conflictive. If you are unsure about their position, start the conversation
with a broader subject to find views you share.
Those implementing will be concerned lest their initiatives are put at
risk by your coming into the picture. Collaboration at this point would be
seen as risk so stay away from them. If you want to collaborate, wait until
they get to their next planning phase.
Those reacting will be hardest to deal with. Their goals are totally
personal so finding a common objective may prove impossible. Talk to them
in order to assess how much of a problem they may be, but do not seek to
turn them into allies unless it occurs naturally.
A successful strategy to initiate Change will be the result of
understanding what those around you want. It matters not that the other be
friend or foe. By constantly listening and assessing the needs of all the
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players, you should be able to identify the individual steps that must be
taken. Learn to whom you must talk, what concessions you need to make,
and what can be accomplished soonest and what later. Do not become rigid
in specific approaches but stay open to options. Do not let your personal
preferences or past history prevent you from seeing the appropriate path. Let
things happen, find a way to take advantage of circumstances and modify
your plans accordingly. Remember, those who do not covet cannot be
manipulated. Keep the overall goal foremost in your mind and you also can
become incorruptible. While you focus on the goal which is the realization
of Change, always take the most practical steps to get there. Some steps will
be practical short term, others will be for the longer term. Focus on those
steps that facilitate closure and bring something material to the table.
People may react negatively to your proposals, and this can stem from
several reasons. Some may see your cause as egotistical and self serving.
They perceive that your primary motivation is for your own benefit and you
are trying to mask it under the label of ‘good for the company’. If that is the
case, they actually should oppose you since you have no chance of
succeeding anyway. The time will come when you will have to choose
between the initiative and yourself, and if you are acting for egotistical
reasons, you will choose wrong.
If the reason they oppose you is because they want what you have,
chances are that you are not really bringing Change. A new twist on an old
trick does not represent Change. Change requires new thinking and this
alone should make people uncomfortable. Their feeling of discomfort is a
sign that you are dealing with real Change. It is your responsibility to aim
for Change large enough so the effort is meaningful, yet not so large as to be
unmanageable.
Those who oppose you because they see flaws in your plan must be
treated as an asset. Every step you take, every initiative you implement, must
deliver something tangible in a rather short amount of time. Flaws in your
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plan have the highest potential of derailing your initiative and putting the
entire effort at risk. Take a checkpoint once in a while to ensure that you did
not lose track of where you were heading. This road is difficult and
introspection will help you stay on course as obstacles come up to derange
you.
It is not necessary to get all the Executives on your side before you
start. Select the key ones by identifying who can get things done, either for
you or against you. Pay special attention to those Executives who can
influence others and focus on the leaders not the followers. Those who will
be a problem are best dealt with as enemies through a strictly professional
relationship. Those who can be of assistance are best dealt with as allies
through a personal relationship. However, it is essential that nobody is
antagonized beyond repair and that no one be aware they are considered the
enemy. Meaningful Change is a discovery process and today’s enemy could
be tomorrow’s ally. Do not get too close to anyone nor too far away either.
If you need friends find them through hobbies not work.
Once Executives are understood and agreements have been reached,
Change can start. Once Change starts, negotiations must cease. Anyone who
wants to revisit the terms of a previously accepted agreement should be
considered as a liability from then onwards. A phase has ended and a new
one has started. Conversations are over and it is time for War.
As the Executive Sponsor in charge of bringing Change, you must
thicken your skin now as the time to implement has come. The Executive
Sponsor is the image of the coming Change and must act accordingly. Any
communication to other Executives must be carefully prepared and
delivered. You must project an image of control and command. Embody that
which others want. Do your homework before engaging other Executives,
either in the hallway or in the meeting room. Instill passion by describing the
plan to make Change a reality. Enumerate the attractive benefits to entice
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followers to your cause. Describe further advantages that Change will
provide for the company. Paint a picture so clear in everyone’s mind that
they begin wishing for what has not yet come.
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Chapter IV. The General
If you don’t have this person, don’t go
Soldiers must be treated above all with humanity but kept under
control by means of iron discipline. This is a certain road to victory.
Sun Tzu. The Art of War.
There are many players in this War to implement Change but the most
important one above all is the General, so special attention must be given to
selecting this person. A good General will bring success while a bad one will
bring disaster. The General commands the armies; takes the money from the
Executive Sponsor, the Ruler, and uses it to make War.
The General in the corporate world is the Program Manager. The
Program Manager takes the money from the Executive Sponsor and uses it
to implement Change. To create that desired Change, a wide program of
projects from the purely business to the highly technical will be necessary.
This program will combine the efforts of these individual projects to create
all the necessary components that will bring success. A good Program
Manager will bring Change, while a bad one will lose the entire team and get
the Executive Sponsor fired.
The General is the link between the conceptual understanding of
Change and its implementation. To perform this role effectively, the
Program Manager must be a person who can take an ambiguous task and
construct it into defined and achievable steps; steps defined as they relate to
the overall goal as well as to each other. In other words, the General must be
able to articulate the War Plan. Besides possessing the capacity for strategy,
this person must understand what it takes to get things done. A person that
lives among theories and plans will not do. The Program Manager must be a
doer and a person who needs to be reckoned with. By knowing when to
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attack and when to withdraw, this person never gives up. The General must
be able to bring about War, see it through and above all, bring it to closure.
Humanity and Strictness are the essential traits of the successful
Program Manager. Humanity consists of having the ability to feel empathy
for others as well as being able to understand life as seen through someone
else’s eyes. Strictness consists of making sure that the operation is executed
according to certain rules which must be applied in a consistent manner.
Humanity enables one to foresee when the rules will not be followed while
Strictness helps to know what to do when the results deviate from plan.
The General must be able to understand the dynamics of the entire
company. While not being an Executive, the Program Manager must be able
to understand the mindset of the Executive and above all the strategic
approach to take when working in the Executive Ranks. The General must
not only have the ability to speak frankly without antagonizing, but also
inspire others by taking on distressful challenges. At the same time, the
Program Manager must be able to relate to the project team. The ideal
scenario is for a General to have come up through the ranks propelled by
talent alone. When this talent is combined with Humanity, the General will
have no difficulty understanding any player.
This person must possess a natural ability to make correct decisions.
Since there is no intention in this book to discuss the concepts of right and
wrong, we will define a correct decision in general terms as that which will
enable the best for the most for the longest. The General cannot be afflicted
by strong desires, likes or dislikes. The ideal person to play this role should
possess a passionate nature while maintaining emotional control at all times.
However, having these abilities is not enough. You must place the
Program Manager in a position that affords making the right decisions. A
position that requires constant struggle to secure authority will not provide
the right foundation to work in the best interest of the project. It matters not
that the struggle comes from the General’s personality, the perception of the
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General’s abilities, the area the General reports to or where the General’s
alliances are perceived to be. It is essential that the Executive Sponsor
defends and secures the Program Manager’s position so the Program
Manager is free to act for the good of the project at all times. This defense is
the most important role the Ruler performs for the General.
What makes a project easier than War is that people do not die. What
makes it harder is that we are dealing with both material and immaterial
enemies. While the Program Manager will come up against people who
resist Change, the hardest battle will be against subtler entities, sometimes
embodied in a single person, but often hidden behind more abstract concepts
such as corporate culture, behaviors or habits. Even your own preferences,
habits, behaviors, and personality as the Executive Sponsor, or those of your
Program Manager, should be classified as enemies when not aligned with
the well being of the project. The Program Manager must understand that
one’s own ignorance is the worst enemy. Ears and eyes need to stay open at
all times to understand what works and what doesn’t, what is a correct
decision and what is a bad one, what aligns with the best for the most for the
longest and what doesn’t. When winning the War translates into getting
Change to become a reality, anything that will prevent it from happening
should be considered the enemy.
It is beneficial that the Executive Sponsor and the General develop a
trusting relationship. A coordinated effort by these two key players can
make a difference in any eventuality. The proper application of a strategy
involving these two key people will be achieved by mutual understanding of
each other’s position. Their unconditional support and mutual respect will
allow them to speak frankly when encountering difficulties and act as a
sounding board for each other. Their strategic placement within the
organization allows them to address challenges by influencing all levels in
the organization, from the topmost Executives to the project team.
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Part Two. For the Program Manager
31
Introduction to Part Two
Part Two is intended for the Program Manager. This person is in
charge of commanding the project teams. The Program Manager is the
highest rank below the Executive Sponsor and acts as a link between the
Executive Ranks and the project team.
The Program Manager is responsible for completing the projects on
time, within budget and to the customer’s satisfaction. This person has the
most important role in this book since the Program Manager’s personal
performance can bring success or failure to the entire War. The Program
Manager (the second, but most important, key player) is the General in
charge of the War for Change.
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Translation Key for Part Two
War = Change
Enemy = those supporting the old ways who oppose Change
Ruler = Executive Sponsor (Key player)
General = Program Manager (Key player)
Officials = Middle management
Army = Project team
War Campaign = Project
Battlefield = Topic
Battle = Discussion
Defenses = arguments to prove one’s point of view
Attacks = arguments to challenge enemy’s point of view
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Chapter V. The Five Factors of War
What buttons to push
The art of war is governed by five constant factors: the Tao, Heaven,
Earth, the Officials, and Method and Discipline.
Sun Tzu. The Art of War.
The five factors of War are:
1) Culture (the Tao)
2) Standards and best practices (Heaven)
3) Peculiarities of the project (Earth)
4) Middle management (the Officials)
5) Rules (Method and Discipline)
Every company has a Culture, a Corporate Culture, whether it is
intended or not. A Culture is a microcosm where certain ideas are given
importance, some seen as good and others as bad. While people are required
to aim for the good and avoid the bad, distinguishing between the two can
frequently become quite arbitrary.
At the same time, Culture is crucial for the success of any project.
Culture, and only a constructive one, will save you when your project runs
into a critical problem. At these times, the team will have to make an effort
for the good of the whole and Culture is that which represents the values of
the whole. Culture should promote teamwork and the best for the most for
the longest.
When the situation becomes critical, the team must be clear on what is
important and it is your job to prepare them for this eventuality. You need to
make the investment upfront to ensure they are able to address the problem
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immediately as it will be too late afterwards. Your team’s Culture must be
their guidance to know how to behave in any difficulty.
A constructive culture should also make clear what behaviors are not
acceptable in order to prevent the team from inflicting pain upon itself. You
must define unprofessional and unacceptable behavior so everyone has the
same understanding and will know what is both acceptable and unacceptable
for all levels in the organization. Working together every day creates
opportunities for friction totally unrelated to the project. Define rules that
help to avoid conflicting situations from the viewpoint of living in a
community and not so much from the nature of the job at hand.
If the current culture in the company presents a liability that can
prevent the project from getting done, look outside for help. Consulting
companies bring their own culture to the team, so select the one that
possesses the attributes necessary for success in your environment. You can
start working to change the culture of the company but do not make the
project depend on the completion of this activity. Changing the culture is a
long process which needs to start from the top. Your project will be long
completed before the culture of your company has changed.
Above all else, Heaven is an attack mechanism and Earth a defense
mechanism. Heaven stands for that which is immutable regardless of the
project, the environment, or the company. Industry standards and
regulations, standard corporate laws, best practices and even common sense
are part of Heaven. Earth refers to the exact location you occupy and the
implications that carries. Earth depends on the specific nature of the project
you are undertaking, the people that work for the company, whom you have
access to, who your stakeholders are, and even the guy that gets things done
without anybody knowing about it. Heaven is immutable and affects all.
Earth looks different depending on your perspective.
Heaven and Earth are especially important when the large and the
small collide. It can be a large consulting firm against a small one, or a large
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business department against a small technical department, or a large
technical department against a small consulting firm. Any combination will
apply. The small should focus on defense since defense depends wholly
upon them. The small group can survive by being specialists in a certain
area, having personal relationships with key people or getting things done
swiftly without bureaucracy. This is how a small group hides in the recesses
of Earth.
The large can entertain attack if the opportunity presents itself. If the
large decides to attack, it should do so from the heights of Heaven. They
should use best practices and industry standards, proven standard processes,
defined methodologies, and their market experience. All these factors refer
to Heaven since they will apply regardless of the environment.
Middle Management, or the Officials, includes project managers that
are part of the project, as well as middle management involved in project
activities. The Officials should be a smaller version of the General or
Program Manager, perhaps not yet possessing the same skills, but with the
potential to achieve them. In reality, this layer is the weakest of all, the
toughest to train, and the most easily corrupted.
Middle management is full of people that were hired not for their
management skills but for their ability to perform certain tasks well.
Frequently these people end up in charge of others under the erroneous
assumption they can help improve overall performance. However, these
same people are accustomed to assessing problems and solving them alone.
As managers they must assess why another person is having the problem and
then put a solution to it. The original problem as a technician has nothing to
do with their current problem as a manager.
In our current culture we undervalue the skills that make a manager
successful and we catalogue them as ‘soft skills’. In reality, they are much
harder to obtain than the so called ‘hard skills’. Soft skills are based on
maturity and should allow someone to one day become a wise General. This
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situation with middle management is so bad that it often becomes necessary
to protect your project team from their own managers. If competent Officials
cannot be found, it is better to train select people from the team to fulfill
those positions.
The Middle Management layer is also the one most easily corrupted.
When looking for information about the enemy, the best place to start is
among their disgruntled managers, always bearing in mind your own
organization carries the same vulnerability. Managers who are unfit for their
jobs will feel stuck and can easily lose their motivation and their loyalty
along with it. You cannot promote them because they are not good at their
current job, and you cannot demote them since they would become more
bitter and result in an even greater risk. To successfully manage this
situation, the Program Manager must possess the very skills the disgruntled
manager needs to develop. According to Sun Tzu, these skills are: wisdom,
sincerity, benevolence, courage and strictness. Just as you cannot give what
you do not have, you cannot teach what you are not. You must engage in an
intense effort to honestly develop these skills in the middle manager while
always having the best interest of that individual in mind. Though this effort
may not solve the skill problem, it will solve the loyalty one which is equally
important. A half committed effort will not deliver the desired results and
disloyalty will continue. Trying to solve this problem too quickly will bring
ruin as well. Strong adjustments are required for the middle managers to
perform their jobs well, so time is needed.
The fifth and last element, Rules, applies to roles, responsibilities,
processes and methodologies. The Program Manager does not interact with
the project team directly but through Rules. People only see the Rules that
govern their project and how those Rules affect them. From the point of
view of the project team, Rules are the General’s personality. Rational Rules
applied in a consistent manner will create a well organized army while
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irrational Rules applied in a random manner will create a bunch of
schizophrenics.
Rules can only be understood as seen from the eyes of others, so it is
convenient to assess regularly how Rules are perceived and make the
necessary corrections. Fairness is the most important quality to achieve.
Fairness will ask of everyone to contribute according to their position in the
team. If Rules are fair, the General will be deemed fair. The same applies for
unfair. Defined and fair Rules will promote decisive actions, since people
will know what to expect. Unclear or unfair Rules will create indecisiveness
since people will then fear unfair judgment. When presented with a problem
not covered by the Rules, do not punish the wrongdoers. Explain to them
their mistake and create a Rule from the lesson learned. Let Rules, and not
opinions, be the guide to reward or correct the people in the team. The most
important correction you can make is to the behaviors that prevent Change.
You must never tolerate the enemy in your team.
Do not make one’s victory depend on another’s ruin, always align
rewards for the good of the project, and remember that people will seek the
shortest way to get what they have been promised. Reward people based on
their contributions, not by their relationships, so the reward process is seen
as objective. Reward in public, correct in private.
The Tao and Rules keep the team together as a pack; Heaven and
Earth provide guidance when interacting with the outside world; and the
Officials are the routers of information and activity within the team. These
five components enhance the General’s ability to effectively manage and
maneuver the team in any situation.
END OF SAMPLE
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