Chapter 6 How to Make a Compelling Case for Change 89

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO MAKE A CASE FOR CHANGE?

People who are essential to the success of a change must believe that some- thing needs to be done now.

It’s not enough to understand that something must change, people must feel it. Making a Compelling Case is a combination of Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 support. Your audience gets what you’re talking about. They feel the urgency, and they trust the messenger.

Many use the image of seeing a burning platform to describe this stage of making a compelling case in the life of a change. It’s a nice image but it doesn’t go far enough. People need to feel the heat.

I have worked with clients along the shipping channel near Houston. There are derricks out in the water. Imagine I am sitting in an office with my client chatting and drinking coffee. Bob looks out the window and exclaims, “Look at that, Rick. That platform seems to be on fire.” I ask, “Is it one of yours?” He replies, “No, that’s a relief. Wait a second. . . .” He rum- mages through some papers and finds a phone number. He calls and alerts someone. He puts down the phone and says, “Well, that’s done. Interested in lunch?”

Now imagine that we were standing on that platform and Bob said, “Hey, Rick, are your toes getting a little toasty?” That would have beena different experience and one thatwould have gotten our full attention. People need to experience the burn- ing platform, not just see it.

When you’ve really made acompelling case for change, people are ready to act. They begin to search for ways to correct the problem or seize the opportunity. They lead and they follow willingly. They want to correct this problem—or take advan- tage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Senior managers in a financial services company didn’t believe they needed to take the time to explain to employees the business challenge they were facing. The CEO disagreed. But she said, “I could be wrong. Would each of you take a few minutes and talk to four or five people in your departments over the next week and see how savvy they are regarding the challenges facing us?” At the next senior staff meeting the tone was signifi- cantly different. The executive team had learned a lot—they learned that the employees didn’t know what was going on. That simple experiment on the CEO’s part helped her make a compelling case to her executive team