Comments on: The Hidden Cost of Change

By: Jay

Jay — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:53:28 +0000

“Big changes like strategic shifts due to leadership changes tend to have human costs. For example, I’ve found over the years that any “A” player can become a “C” player if put into the wrong situation. Replacing team members is expensive and can lead to some of the opportunity costs listed above.”
Darn Skippy right!
Still, if the person in the big chair actually leads and doesn’t attempt to just dictate (BB vs. MP), huge changes can be made without disregarding the local talent.

By: Kevin Ertell

Kevin Ertell — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 15:24:50 +0000

Thanks for your comments, Chris. I have read “Leading Change” and agree that it’s a good primer for change. And your point about the difficulties of culture change being underestimated is certainly true.
It’s hard to say what the coaches truly believe, but their quotes about stability hit home for me when thinking about the business environment, particularly the bit about “Let’s change. Let’s change.”

By: Chris Eagle

Chris Eagle — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 00:43:18 +0000

Great article. John Kotter’s “Leading Change” is a short, clear book on what do look out for if you need to make wholesale change. And, likewise, an excellent primer on why wholesale change is so hard. Just the chapter on culture (which is so often underestimated) is worth the price of the book.
As an aside, I’m skeptical that the coaches quoted really believe that their key to winning was stability. My guess is that there is a much stronger correlation between ‘playoff’s made’ and ‘Hall of Fame QBs on the team’ than with ‘stability’.