Commit To Change

Introduction:

The transition is rarely smooth. Roles are being redefined. Responsibilities change. Routines are scrutinized. Like each person in the com­pany, the company itself is changing jobs, learning to take a systematic approach to satisfying customers. Crossing this river is difficult: it means leaving behind some of your old ideas about work and jobs. Most of us try to tiptoe around the pain, but it's important to talk about some of the agonies one is apt to confront.

COMMIT TO CHANGE

Senior managers are the system's gatekeepers. If, and only if, they open the gates to cultural change, will the transition begin. The leaders of world-class companies not only open the gates, they lead the transformation, putting their minds, hearts, and souls into this new management model.

Action plan for committing to change:

Goal                   Gain commitment

Participants     Senior managers and their staffs.

Steps                  •   Assess your company's performance and compare it to your

perception of how much better it could be to industry and world-class leaders.

• Learn about the new model through reading, attending conferences and seminars, and training.

• Study the management styles of the Baldrige Award winners.

• Look at your company from your customers' perspective.

• As a staff, brainstorm what the company would look like with the new management model in place.

• Identify the benefits, drawbacks, and obstacles of such a change.

• Develop a new vision, mission, policies, and values that capture the company you wish to be.

• Commit, as the company's leaders, to the long-term, permanent transition to management by quality.

• Communicate this commitment throughout the company.

• Begin work on a system of measures of senior executive and company performance based on the new management model.