Chapter 8 How to Keep Change Alive 137

weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. People know the numbers that drive the business. They know how their contribution helps the company meet that number. So when a new enterprise-wide software system is needed, there is little push back since people can see why it isnecessary. In smaller organizations thatuse open book management practices, the companies literally open the books and people are more fully engaged in making decisions that affect the health of theorganization. (Of course, this is possible in large organizations, but it is more difficult to communicate up and down when there are many layers and locations spread across continents.)

An organization’s ability to consistently make a case requires a strong belief in people. The organization needs to believe that the employees, professional staff, and managers have what it takes to do the job and that those people are fully committed to doing the right thing. That’s a Theory Y organization in my book.

When I work in organizations, I am always interested in the extent to which people know what’s going on and the extent to which they have a say in the future of the business. That information tells me a lot about the organization’s mindset, its real set of values (not those things posted on