Overview
What stops organizations doing what they
want?
Everyone is aware of the often yawning chasm between strategy on
paper and implementation in practice. There is no easy or single solution to the
complex issues involved in gaining employee commitment to a new idea or to
changing long-standing behaviour and values. Indeed, some would say that such
things cannot be changed, that new people with different attitudes have to be
brought in. Others would argue that the problem is primarily one of scale. While
you cannot tell an organization en masse to change, individuals can be coached
to do things differently and become role models for their colleagues. But the
impact of even the most evangelical managers rarely goes beyond their immediate
teams, its broader acceptance blunted by cynicism.
The three case studies in this chapter demonstrate that it is
possible, not only to change people's behaviour, but to change it on a
substantial scale.