Structural Reform

Two weeks ago, I became a cyborg. A piece of technology embedded under my left collar bone replaces the natural electrical transformer that magically sends impulses to make the heart pump. Frankly, I'm still emotionally and physically processing this information, still in a change curve whose shape and duration I'm only beginning to grasp. However, I already find myself mining the experience as a tremendously useful metaphor for change.

For example, there are few greater hurdles for decision makers embarking on change then to admit that you don't know what you don't know. It is easier to characterise first your motivator. You know that the current state isn't working. It's demonstrably painful or broken, a money loser, a customer no go. The conductive system in the heart has simply stopped functioning.

But people always want to know why? Why isn't it working? What if this means other things aren't working? We personalise it. Is this my fault? Could I have done something to have prevented this? We want to bargain. What if I just do something different? What if I fix myself? What if we work together to make it better? Denial. Do we have to? Are you sure?

Honestly, it's really a lot less important to understand why it stopped working than that if we don't do something -- quickly -- the entire organisation drops dead. This is often the case in business. Unless the broken bit is indicative of a larger system failure, it is really important to get people to focus on the specific nature of the problem itself and the solution we must put in place to get ourselves back on the right track. It doesn't really matter why it isn't working so much as the ability to clearly define the problem and point people forward to a solution.

Then, however, we run into the buzz saw of unknowns. The future state is full of unknowables. The known unknowns are those you nut out and surface before you take action. You know that you don't know how you'll respond to the various drugs and procedures. Similiarly, with a business change, you often know that there are certain people who are likely to go squirrely, but it's hard to say which direction they'll squirt. Known unknowns are scary and can cause people and leaders to drag their heels. The possiblity of an infection travelling down the entrance wound and literally drilling straight into your heart is terrifying. On the upside, however, because we know that the risk is possible, we can put mitigation strategies in place and reassure ourselves we are doing all we can.

The unknown unknowns are far trickier. By definition, you don't know what these are so it's hard to prepare. When one of these complications hits you in the back side of the head, it feels like betrayal. Today, I realised I might never be able to donate blood again. I really have no idea why but that recognition sent me into a deep funk. I cried at my desk. How banal, right? But that is a perfect example of an unknown unknown that can really impede change progress. I feel like I've been set back days in my emotional recovery. I think the only way to prepare is to accept that something like this is statistical a certainty. Even if you can't predict what it will be, bake a bit of padding into your plan to allow for you to deal with the unexpected.

Finally as I look ahead, I find myself wondering when is a structural reform 'done'. We put these arbitrary dates into project and restructure schedules, a date that signals to all involved "this is it... we're done." But are we? My cardiologist and pacemaker tech appear to think so. I'm not convinced. I'm not ready to put a pin in it and move on. People always take longer to adjust than the project plan would suggest.

“...when your heart changes, you change, and you have to make new plans.” ~ Katherine Hanniga