In Focus/Dealing with Change: Knowing Change Preferences Is a Boon for Leaders

vated more to find adequate and

timely solutions to problems than to

advance ideologies.

Eric Schmidt, currently chairman

and CEO of Google, was appointed

CEO of networking software maker

Novell in 1997. He faced a daunting

turnaround—the company was in dire

straits, with Microsoft’s Windows NT

operating system competing aggres-

sively for the same market. In the

face of this crisis, Schmidt said his

biggest challenge was retaining the

smartest employees. His strategy was

captured in a 2001 Harvard Business

Review interview:

I’ve found that the best way to

manage smart people is to let them

self-organize so they can operate

both inside and outside the manage-

ment hierarchy. They report to a

manager but they also have the lati-

tude to work on projects that interest

them, regardless of whether they

originate with their own manager.

You tell them: “Look, I don’t know

how to solve this problem, so why

don’t you throw yourself at it and fig-

ure it out? Take the time and

resources you need, and get it right.”

If they get frustrated and need to

blow off steam, you invite them to

talk with you directly—no go-

betweens. At the same time, you dis-

cuss this new component of the per-

son’s work directly with his or her

manager, and there are no reprisals

when a smart person works outside a

manager’s jurisdiction.

Pragmatists tend to focus on the

actions required to move a situation

from the current or past reality

toward a new desired outcome. They

want to solve problems and bring

plausible ideas into reality. They tend

to seek a balanced inquiry through an

exploration of multiple perspectives.

THE REVOLUTIONARIES

Originators like to challenge current

structures and systems. They encour-

age the exploration of new and alter-

native ideas and suggest possibilities

that others have not imagined.

Strategy guru Gary Hamel is a strong

advocate of revolutionary change. In

his book Leading the Revolution

(Harvard Business School Press,

2000), he writes:

We live in a world where prece-

dent has lost much of its imperial

power. Rather than wasting energy in

defending incrementalism against an

imagined foe, corporate leaders

should be working to build an inno-

vative pipeline that is chock full of

the kind of precedent-busting ideas

that have the power to transform

industries and to create new wealth.

Oh, and on a final word to share-

holders: Beware of the CEOs whose

ambitions stretch no further than the

incremental.

Originators tend to focus on new

possibilities, vision, and direction.

They encourage organizations to

begin new tasks sooner rather than

later. They often show a propensity

for action but may not be effective

implementers.

LIA • VOLUME 28, NUMBER 3 • JULY/AUGUST 2008

FREQUENT ENCOUNTERS

The three change style preferences

fall along a linear continuum extend-

ing from conservers at one extreme to

originators at the other, with pragma-

tists in the middle. About 25 percent

of the general population are con-

servers and another 25 percent are

originators; the rest are pragmatists.

Change style preferences are col-

lections of beliefs, attitudes, behav-

iors, and thought processes that

describe how people accept, manage,

and instigate change. People

encounter these preferences in vari-

ous degrees every day in their deal-

ings with others and exhibit their own

preferences just as readily when

faced with an opportunity for change.

Now that we know the characteris-

tics of conservers, pragmatists, and

originators, let’s explore how they

deal with change.

Conservers prefer to work within

the existing structure and to create

incremental changes. When facing

change, conservers

•

Generally appear deliberate,

disciplined, and organized.

•

Prefer change that maintains

the current structure.

•

May operate from conventional

assumptions.

•

Enjoy predictability.

•

May appear cautious and

inflexible.

•

Honor tradition and established

practice.

Here’s a scenario that we can use to

compare the typical viewpoints of con-

servers, pragmatists, and originators.

You are headed home late at night

on a familiar stretch of highway. Yours

is the only car on the road. As you

approach the intersection the light

changes from green to yellow. You feel

a momentary frustration because you

know from experience that this light

has a long cycle and seems to stay red

forever. What do you do?

18

Originators like to chal-

lenge current struc-

tures and systems.

They encourage the

exploration of new and

alternative ideas and

suggest possibilities

that others have not

imagined.