Demanding Change

change

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change as path	Going from a current state (AS-IS) to a desired state (TO-BE) - immediately, in a series of linear steps, or in a roundabout fashion. This is a programmatic notion of change.
change as maze	Navigating a complex space, where each place or state gives you access to certain other places or states, and visibility of some further places or states not directly accessible. This is a topological way of conceiving change.
change as landscape	A hybrid of the first two notions - in which certain paths are "downhill" and others are "uphill". This leads to a hedonic approach to change, which also includes notions of pleasure and resistance.

These three notions of (demanding) change provide an important counterweight to the three notions of (demanding) security described elsewhere on this website.

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challenge
principles
explaining change

elsewhere

Challenge of Change

veryard projects > change > challenge

In a large organization, every day sees many changes. Most of these changes seem fairly superficial and reversible; the challenge that is faced by consultants and managers is to make deep, meaningful and lasting changes to the organization. However, the distinction between superficial change and deep change is not always clear-cut. What some people see as a minor reform, others may perceive as a major disruption. Indeed, the person championing the change may describe it differently for different audiences.

IBM is a business that survived by redefining itself. Xerox is another well-known example. There are countless examples of other organizations that have remained committed to a particular identity and have, as a consequence, not survived. There are many others in the IT industry alone whose long-term survival appears unlikely.

Principles of Change

veryard projects > change > principles

For something to change,
it must remain something.

"We are becoming a service company."

"We are still a major software vendor."

For something to survive,
it must lose something.

"We are pre-eminent in photocopiers."

"We are pre-eminent in quality."

Both change and continuity are properties of descriptions

In understanding how change can coexist with continuity, we need to see both change and continuity as properties of descriptions. There are some descriptions of IBM and Xerox that remain true, and there are other descriptions of these companies that were once true but are now false. This notion of change has been well explored by Bateson, and more recently by K.K. Smith.

Explaining Change

veryard projects > change > explaining change

Summary	Change is a process affecting people and organizations using technologies.
The Form of Change	Understanding change. What kinds of change are there? How can new forms of change be created?
The Purpose of Change	What are the requirements for change? Where do these requirements come from? How can they be managed?
The Material of Change	What are the components of effective change? How can they be assembled?
The Process of Change	How does change happen? How can the participants engage creatively and positively with change?

The Process of Change

veryard projects > change > process

We can understand change in terms of shifting structures of energy, power, knowledge and truth.

	Energy is what drives and motivates change. There are various sources of energy, in both positive and negative forms.
	Power is what masters and controls change. Some of this power and authority may be vested in formal management structures, but some of it may be dispersed through the organization and its environment.
	Knowledge is what guides and structures change. This knowledge will often be packaged as recipes or procedures or general schemata, in which case it verges on the technological. Includes ‘know-how’ (i.e. skills) as well as ‘know-that’ (information).
	Truth is what lies underneath change. Each change reveals some aspects of the truth, and conceals others. (As with the carpet in a furnished apartment: you can move the furniture around, but you can never see all the carpet at the same time.) Each newly uncovered truth releases new energies for another cycle of change.

More Material

veryard projects > change > material

	16 Patterns of Change Patterns for Managed Change
	Requirements Change
	Business Change and Process Improvement (pdf)
	Heraclitus

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