136 PART II Bridging the Knowing-Doing Gap
This book is not a book about culture change as such. Its purpose is to sup- port you so that you can lead change successfully within the current cul- ture of your organization. Of course, you may find that you need to get the organization to move closer to Theory Y in order to get people involved in the way you like. As important as that is, it is only a part of culture change. Nevertheless, it is worth spending a few sentences whetting your appetite for how you might build a capacity to handle change differently into your unique organization.
If your corporate culture is based on Theory X (see chapter 5, “Ignore the Context at Your Peril”) where there is a lack of trust in the people who do the work, then don’t even try. You’ll die young. Find a place where what you value has a chance of succeeding. If your current culture leans toward Theory Y, a belief in people’s intrinsic motivation and desire to work, but it just lacks the know-how to embed effective change management practices into your culture, then it might be fruitful to explore ways to build the organization’s capacity to handle change well.
In Jim Collins’ fine book, Good to Great, he writes that the great companies “. . . paid scant attention to managing change, motivating people or creating alignment. Under the right conditions, the problems of commit- ment, alignment, motivation, and change largely melt away.” They melt away!
He goes on to say, “The good-to-great companies had no name, tag line, launch event, or program to signify their transformations. Indeed, some reported being unaware of the magnitude of the transformation at the time; only later, in retrospect, did it become clear.”5
When I first read those two paragraphs back in 2001, I was afraid organizations would give up attempts to lead change since Collins said the best ones didn’t worry about such things. I worried too much. Because so few organizations ever try to implement what they read in books, it hasn’t become a problem.
I don’t think Collins was saying, “Don’t try to lead change,” but that the great companies had created cultures where the change management process itself wasn’t as necessary.
I believe the key to making this transition lies, in large part, at the Making a Compelling Case for Change stage. The great companies don’t need to worry about making a case because that’s what they do every day. Everyone knows the important stuff about the business—strengths,