Organizational Change Management (OCM) is not new. I know because I was there when it started.
The first change management model was developed by McKinsey’s Julien Phillips and published in 1982 in Human Resources Management. This was known as the “McKinsey 7S Model” because all of the seven components began with the letter “s.” However, no one noticed and nothing happened for about five years.
The mid-80s saw the growth of Manufacturing Requirements Planning (MRP) systems that, along with Japanese manufacturing techniques, brought wrenching change to American industry. This movement collided with Michael Hammer’s powerful reengineering ideas in 1990 to create a perfect storm of change. Consultants were all over it.
In 1988, the visionaries at the Consulting firm I used to work for established a Change Management practice to take advantage of the new opportunities. They did not know what it would look like or what it would do, but they knew they had to have one. When I joined the practice in 1988, it was mostly made up of people with training backgrounds, and consequently, most change management activities involved training of one stripe or another. We struggled mightily. I recall talking to a partner in the firm who wanted to know how we could help resolve a sticky organizational problem. When I told him, he said come back when we had “matured” some more.
Throughout 1988 and into 1989, we were desperate to invent or acquire ideas that could be quickly and effectively applied to complex organizational issues. We developed a methodology, we went to seminars put on by other consultants, we read books, we developed internal training, and we never stopped looking for that “silver bullet” that would work for every client change initiative.
Finally, we decided to stop trying to learn and start doing. With the cooperation of some non-risk averse partners in the firm, we began to try things out in client organizations. I remember reading a particularly influential (on me) book entitled Figuring Things Out by Tom Kramlinger and Ron Zemke. Among other great information on how to do organizational diagnostics, I learned how to apply the nominal group technique to running focus groups. A light bulb appeared over my head, and I said, “I’m going to do this at (client name).”
Needless to say, the focus groups were a resounding success and the information gleaned was used to transition the company from traditional to cellular manufacturing. I continued to use this technique with other clients until it stopped working and then moved on to something else.
The reason I mention this learning experience is because everything we know about OCM today came from similar learning experiences. Regardless of what some people believe, OCM, as practiced by consultants in the real world, did not follow in lockstep behind John Kotter and the other researchers in the field. It grew up organically through trial and error.
If you are new to OCM and would like to learn more about it, be sure to see my upcoming article Why OCM? which will appear on this Blog in December.