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Creative Change Agent
The document outlines a framework for becoming a creative change agent within an organization, emphasizing the importance of leadership, communication, and collaboration. It details an 8-stage process for successful change implementation, highlighting necessary skills and techniques for fostering creativity. Key themes include establishing urgency, creating a guiding coalition, and anchoring new approaches in the organization’s culture.
Creative Change Agent
- 1. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 1 Becoming a Creative Change Agent: A Job Description for Staying One Step Ahead of Process Improvement Effort Al Bennett Software Engineering Manager, SEPG Chairperson SEI Authorized Lead Assessor ITT Aerospace/Communications Division 100 Kingsland Road Clifton, NJ 07014 (973) 284-2816 abennett@acdnj.itt.com
- 2. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 2 Champions for Change The Advocate “I am convinced we need to change. I will find ways to convince others, especially senior management? The President “I must transform the organization to survive. This will result in improved performance” The Official Designated Change Agent “I want to see this transformation process work really well and make his a great place for every one to work. I will learn a lot.” Management “We all want to see improvements. We are all ready doing the best we know how. We need to find a better way.” The Activist “This place sure needs some changes. I’m not going to sit around and wait for someone else to make the first move.”
- 3. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 3 • Introduce ITT Industries A/CD • Describe 8 stages of successful improvement effort • Skills needed for the change agent • Techniques for creative thinking • Creating a new culture Agenda
- 4. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 4 ITT Industries Aerospace/Communications • Space Borne Payloads • Wireless Communications • Network Solutions • Embedded Real Time Software • Approximately 100 Software Engineers, NJ 45 Software Engineers, IN
- 5. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 5 Why Improve? • Corporate Challenges • Customer Demand • Competitive Pressures • Internal Pride
- 6. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 6 8 Stages - John P. Kotter Leading Change 1 Establishing a sense of urgency 2 Creating a guiding coalition 3 Developing a vision and strategy 4 Communicating the change vision 5 Empowering for broad based action 6 Generating short term wins 7 Consolidating gains and producing more change 8 Anchoring the new approaches in the culture
- 7. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 7 Stage # Theme for organizational change • Summary statement • What ITT A/CD did - discussion of lessons learned • Change Agent Skills - what are the skills needed to be successful • Creative Keys - Techniques to unlock creativity
- 8. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 8 Stage 1 Create a Sense of Urgency • Identify the business market realities, competition, major opportunities • ITT - need to fix the place, process maturity, cycle time, and rework became metrics • Change Agent Skills - Communication, integrity, knowledge, identify cost of doing nothing • Creative Keys - competition, exaggeration, stress, deadlines, 20 questions,seek wild unusual ideas
- 9. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 9 Stage 2 Combine Forces • Assemble a group with sufficient power to lead the improvement effort, get them to work as a team • ITT – Extended SEPG • Change Agent – Team leadership, delegation, trust • Creative Keys- Choosing Sides, Rhyme Time, brainstorming, looking for synergy, Look for metaphor, turn negative into positive
- 10. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 10 Stage 3 Collaborate on the vision • Create a vision to direct the organization to common goals, and develop a strategy to meet those goals • ITT – Vision , objectives, goals and strategy, 5 strategic teams, Action Plan • Change Agent – dreaming, analytical thinking, persistence • Creative Keys - taking a nap, dreaming, thinking of what might be, improvisation
- 11. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 11 Stage 4 Communicate the change vision • Continuously communicate, using various means, SEPG models new behavior • ITT – new role for functional area managers – process owners • Change Agent – Walk the talk, Write the right, Sing the …., Dance …., Act …..,Direct • Creative Keys – Do something different, Diversify the environment
- 12. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 12 Stage 5 Commission the Marching Army • Empower the organization, change structures and systems • ITT – process documentation, measurement plan, value of defect data, Training Plan • Change Agent - dragon slayer, confrontation, risk taking, Director, Commander, Coach • Creative Keys – Follow the Leader, Simon Says, slaying dragons and sacred cows
- 13. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 13 Stage 6 Commending Success • Generate short term wins, the value of the pilot project • ITT – show case the successful projects, ROI • Change Agent - Data Collection, Prospecting for profound knowledge in the process, Communication upward and downward, planning for success • Creative Keys – Papers on the refrigerator, Celebrate, Pizza
- 14. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 14 Stage 7 Consolidating and Continuing • Using success to gain credibility and change more systems and structures • ITT – bring process improvement to other disciplines , locations • Change Agent – Mentoring, training hiring promoting and developing other change agents, • Creative Keys - Simon Says, Red Rover, Take a Nature Walk
- 15. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 15 Stage 8 Cementing the Change in the Culture • Creating the culture for continuous process improvement • ITT – Cycle Time Reduction reflected in new projects, Best Practices Symposium • Change Agent – Courage to change people , Communicating connections between new behavior and organization’s success, life long learning, • Creative Keys – Connect the dots, “Mother May I”, Rewards and promotions, Break Rooms
- 16. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 16 Wanted Creative Change Agent Actual descriptions from want ads Able to move org forward Innovative Questions everything Aggressive Intuitive Radical Assertive Jester Re engineering Black Belt Judgement Redefine your role Bring change Kid’s play Reputation “Can Do” Attitude Kindness Resolve issues Coaching Skills Know how to have fun Risk Taker Communication Skills Knowledge of CMM Set Strategic Direction Creative individual Leadership Skills Statistician Deploy improvements Management Skills Six Sigma Methods Determination Managerial Courage Teacher Direction Setter Measurement Expert Team Builder Dissatisfaction w Status Quo Motivator Team Leader Dreamer Negotiate with management Team leader Energetic Optimistic Team Player Enthusiastic Organized Evangelist Out of the box thinking Unorthodox Fun loving Overcome resistance Unusual approach History of bringing change to organization Patience Value based management Imagination Persistence Value-added Initiative Positive Motivator Visionary Program Manager Zealous
- 17. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 17 Transform your problem S C A M P E R • Substitute – swap out parts, materials, ingredients, segments • Combine – Blend, ingredients, ideas, approaches • Adapt – Borrow an idea from a competitor • Magnify or Minimize – smaller, larger, stronger, weaker • Put to other uses – How many uses of baking soda • Eliminating – remove steps, parts, materials to create something new • Reverse or Rearrange – look at your resources or problem from another angle
- 18. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 18 Creative Change Agent Process/Skills/Tools Matrix Change Step ITT Example Creative Change Agent Role/Style Job Skills Diversity Creative Suggestions Change My…. Crisis, Create a Sense of Urgency “Fix the Place” No Fun Conscience Whistle blower Cheerleader Communications, Diverse Media Play Bring Value Model New Behavior Roast the Organization Change my perspective Combine Forces, Create a powerful Change Coalition Functional Managers become change agents Coach Catalyst Connector Delegation, get best from others, Synergy People Fun, Humor, Turn negative into positive What everyone else doesn’t Share Credit “What a Great Idea” Change my approach Create a Vision Clear picture of the future Clear Goal: Reduce Cycle Time by eliminating Waste, World Class Coach Facilitator Visionary Dreamer Keep the end in view, Action Planning Physical Improv – agreement Visualize problem solved Imagine Change my prospective Communicate Change Vision Newsletters Coffee Talks Quarterly Reports Cheerleader Artist Evangelist Educator Performing Arts Music Holiday Pageant “Do something Different” Diversify the environment Change my Leisure Commission Empowered Army Rework data collection Strategy Teams Compliance Charts Captain Crusader, Warrior Risk-taker Courage Risk taker Patience Think Win-Win Spiritual Slay Dragon – myths at work “We do not have to fear ______ anymore” Change my friends Commend Success Plan for short term wins Quarterly Metrics, Rework to Process Improvement Certify Builder Cantaloupe- Grower Celebrate Credibility Reading Journal, Reward Success, Share the credit, Transform it Change environment Consolidate Wins and Produce More Do not sit on success further improvement needed Conductor Choreographer Innovator Explorer Persistence Prospector Technology Think like … “How would nature solve this problem? Change my values Cement Change in Culture Create a climate for Change Cycle time reduction reflected in bids, Best Practices Symposium Conscience Cheerleader Catalyst Coach Passion for Quality Promote those who “Personify” new values Travel Do things differently Break rooms Rewards Change my job description, Change what the org values
- 19. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 19 Al Bennett Software Engineering Manager, SEPG Chairperson SEI Authorized Lead Assessor ITT Aerospace/Communications Division 100 Kingsland Road Clifton, NJ 07014 (973) 284-2816 abennett@acdnj.itt.com Comments?
- 20. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 20 Resources • Enlightened Leadership Ed Oakley and Doug Krug • Leading Change John Kotter • 6 Thinking Hats Edward DeBono • The Change Agents Handbook David W. Hutton • Managing Martians Donna Shirley • ASTD Trainer’s Sourcebook Creativity and Innovation Eliane Biech • Whack On The Side Of The Head Roger Von Oech • A kick In The Seat Of The Pants Roger Von Oech • Why Didn’t I Think of That Roger L. Firestien • Leading On The Creative Edge Roger L. Firestien • Aha 10 Ways To Free Your Creative Spirit Jordan Ayan • What A Great Idea Charles Thompson
- 21. Aerospace/Communications Division 3/21/00 ABennett - 21 White Hat: Neutral and objective, concerned with facts and figures Red Hat: the emotional view Black Hat: careful and cautious Yellow Hat: sunny and positive Green Hat: fertile growth, creativity, new ideas Blue Hat: cool, the color of the sky, above everything else, organizing,process Ed De Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats
Editor's Notes
- #12 This area the change agent must get the change advocate the sponsor to present the vision. Reach level 3 by 2003. Many times. Say it , write it, present it in variuos forms. My sponsor reiterated his goal, fix the place. The goal was not a number, maturity level it was improvement. Measurable improvement. Continuos improvement. What are the various ways to communicate the vision? Department Meetings, Newsletter, Web pages, Email, bathroom walls. John Norquist, the mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has made a career overturning the conventional political thinking. For ten years he has been forging a new way to run his city - faster, cheaper, better. He wants to build a better quality of life not just raise a lot of money. In fact he is not interested in getting more federal funds. “The goal is the success of the people of Milwaukee”, he says, “not the growth of government The idea is for people to thrive. We organize our efforts to add value to people’s lives.” Success, Norquist says, should be measured by outcomes. City spending has been reduced by 20% and the city payroll has been cut by 10%. Unemployment has dropped to about 4.5%, property values have increased by 7.5% and crime is at its lowest level since the mid 1980s. Noquist has asked city managers to answer the question what is the purpose of this organization? The answer is simple to add value to the lives of Milwaukee’s citizens. For the police department a three page mission statement was replaced by “to reduce crime and improve the quality of life” By encouraging competition and choice for city services the school voucher system he believes stimulates quality and creativity. Source: fast company issue 20 page 158. There is tremendous value of artistic expression. Find ways to express your creative spirit, be involved in amateur theater, dance, music, art, reading. Any artists, actors, artisans, anthropologists, archeologists? The Arts help do the following: Liberate the child in you. Learn to see things differently Explore your fantasies, daydreams and visions Define your own style Relax and eliminate stress Clear away problems that interfere with our creativity Acknowledge the importance of process, not product Source: “Aha 10 ways To Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas” Jordan Ayan Keeping things in perspective is important for the change agent. Humor and fun are important for relieving stress and for bringing creative ides to the work place. Many have recognized that many new, fresh ideas are generated when a fun or humorous environment is created. There are many ways to transform your organization. Poke fun at your company or product. Write a parody of a regular meeting or the company newsletter. Have a fun room, or a toy box in your office. Where a funny tie, wacky earrings.
- #13 What are the institutions and practices that the organization holds dear for no other reason than that is the way we have always done it? It takes many in the organization to change their ways and provide the momentum for lasting change. The ITT VP enlisted the aid of the functional managers and told them they were empowered to identify and change what ever was necessary to accomplish the goals, reduced cycle time and improve the quality of work. Here the change agent needs to feel empowered or have enough courage to take on some very well established and entrenched practices. When others are venturing outside their scope of authority to influence other groups they need the encouragement and support of their advisors,advocates, sponsors. Judge Michael Matrone is described as a Change Agent in A Black Robe. By thinking outside of the box, he gets off the bench, and tries to prevent problems before they end up in his courtroom. 15 Years ago as a young assistant district attorney in the state of Florida he wanted to be called to the scene of any fatal accident so he could build a stronger case. When a drunk driver ran over a 14 year old crossing the highway, what he saw changed him. Ten years later when he became a judge he was determined to use his office to make change. He actually will conduct his courtroom and sentence drunk drivers in high school auditoriums. He sentences a second offending drunk driver and then addresses the students about thinking and having courage to make good decisions. Source: Fast Company Issue 20 Page 72 The creative process relies upon diversity of information and ideas. Expect to consider hundreds of ideas to find one really good one. Involve many people from various backgrounds and read a diversity of materials. Expect serendipity and synchronicity to play a part in identifying ideas from various sources. Buckminster Fuller, author, architect, engineering and creator of the Geodesic Dome would purchase and read whatever magazine was in the upper right hand corner of the newsstand. Next time you are looking for a solution. Take an hour off to browse freely through a bookstore. Flip through whatever come to mind and freely make connections between what you read and the creative challenge you are facing.
- #14 If the organization does not produce some measurable success from the change initiative it can quickly lose steam. Celebrating the successes can help to energize the organization. We often celebrate winning a contract we need to celebrate and showcase the successful implementations of our changes. Each quarter the ITT Industries parent would have an overview of each divisions performance. The metrics of reduced rework and cycle time became a regular presentation. Can not over emphasize the value of data. The metric of percentage rework and more recently the in-process inspections provides a power means to showcase success and failures. The methods of Taguchi and Design of Experiments has provided a great number of success stories. We have been benchmarking our success with other organizations inside and out of the ITT Industries. The change agent needs to have patience and persistence. Patience because change will be gradual. Many small changes are needed for the changes to become lasting and pervasive. Persistence because thee will be much resistance and a tendency to fall back into old habits. Passion, Patience, Persistence, Perspective and Pizza
- #15 All along it has been the intention of the VP to bring the change initiative to all of the engineering disciplines. The other disciplines such as Mechanical, Electrical, Systems Engineering have developed a maturity model and each quarter perform a self-assessment. The changes needed can not be accomplished by a few individuals. Every two weeks senior management reviews the improvement plans and status of the engineering groups. There are currently improvements planned and tracked for systems engineering, use of Robust Design Methods, Universal Tools, Software and Product Design. This is the reminder that we need to revitalize the effort. Keep the organizations long term goals in view. Connect with creative people. Find a mentor Knock down roadblocks between yourself and other people. network are keys to finding new ideas.
- #16 As the engineering process becomes stable, change must be encouraged but controlled. Kotter emphasizes life long learning and the learning organization. The Change Agent recognizes himself/herself as a learner. We want the organization to work within defined control limits but we want to be able to bring about dramatic changes which are going to give the organization competitive advantage. The CMM provides the Technology Change Process key process area. Chris Turner works for a company identified as a Fast Company. She has the role of ‘chief change agent’. Her business card simply reads “Learning Person” “It’s ;like citizen of the world,” she says. “Ultimately my hope is that people in all parts of XBS will see themselves as Learning Persons.” She provides nine tips for change agents. 1- Be open to data at the start. 2- Network like crazy 3- Document your own learning 4-Take senior management along 5- No fear 6- Be a learning person yourself 7- Laugh when it hurts 8-Know the business before you try to change anything 9- Finish what you start Source: www.fastcompany.com/online/05/changetips.html Being successful can cause the change agent to rest on past accomplishments. On the other hand, the change agent can see a bigger picture such as learn how to bring the change to the organization and appoint a number of change agent for the next initiative. Watts Humprey - changing the software culture need to change the behavior of the organization explain the new value system’ demonstrate benefits of new value system Experience consequences of new behavior Change the values of the organization people first quality technology The creative Change Agent goes beyond fixing something to creating something new, novel , valuable to the organization. “We wouldn’t think of doing it any other way” I want each of you to identify the one most important change that is needed in your organization. Is it need for a training plan, an improvement plan, an SEPG group, senior management involvement, documented policy, a documented process, an organization change. On Friday when you return to work what will you do to make that change happen. Step one create the crisis, the business need to change now or identify the cost of not making the change, describe what the change will look like, enlist others, make it happen and showcase the success. If you do not have the tools to make it happen, learn how, or invent the tools. That is what creativity is. Inventing the means to accomplish what absolutely must be done.
- #19 Keys - explore new idea open to different perspectives and possibilities understand differences choosing, connecting ideas evaluating Defer judgment strive for quantity seek unusual or wild idea combine and build ideas