Right way to make transformations work

Right way to make transformations work: downsides inevitable but significant amount of waste and anguish avoidable.

Extract from Forbes – John Kotter:

My colleague Russell Raath and I fly often for business, so we both have a particular interest in the US Airways and American Airlines merger. In what follows, Russell offers the leaders of these airlines some excellent tips for successful corporate transformation. I hope they are heeded. We could all benefit from it.

I fly US Airways at least twice a week, usually more. I’m a loyal customer. No, let me correct that: I’m a captive customer. I’d be loyal if the service were consistent, if the experience were more pleasant, and if I didn’t see the airline treating people like cattle. Not surprisingly, the recent merger announcement between US Airways and American Airlines got my attention.

When I read about the merger announcement, I headed over to the usairways.com site and was redirected to a new site (not US Airways, not American Airlines) where they had some of the details of the merger. I accepted the terms (unusual since I don’t usually have to explicitly accept the terms of an airline’s website) and I found a promo video extolling the merits of the new (merged) airline:

– “Creating a new global airline that will continue to lead and transform”
– “$40 billion approximate projected 2013 revenue”
– “Together, serving 187 million+ customers a year”

Impressive, I thought.

I then headed over to the American Airlines website. They had a different video – which I also saw on CNBC this morning. Over images of aircraft empennage, happy baggage handlers, and attractive crew in uniforms, a narrator read:

“It’s time to make a change.
It’s time to become better versions of ourselves,
To be greater than expected
And more than you hope for.
So starting now, we begin a new chapter.
One written in passion and skill, ambition and sweat.
One where two companies take the best of themselves to create something better.
And when all is said and done, we will not only have become a bigger airline, but also something so much greater.”

Wow. That’s great.
I wonder if they have a plan for accomplishing all of that “greater than expected” and “more than you hope for” stuff. It takes more than a cool marketing video. And it certainly doesn’t happen because you have a new contemporary logo or a new name. It could come from embracing this transformation for what it is: a massive, large-scale change. This merger is an epic battle between great risks, poor odds, and the opportunity for tremendous success.

The stakes are incredibly high. The customer experience is on the line – and there are 187 million+ opportunities to prove that you got it right – or that you didn’t. (As my travel agent John has told me from his first-hand experience, the United and Continental reservation system integration hasn’t gone that well.)

Whether it is the airlines or the merger of OfficeMax and Office Depot there is a right way to making transformations work. And there are many wrong ways. As my colleague Dr. Kotter wrote in his book Leading Change, “To some degree, the downside of change is inevitable. Whenever human communities are forced to adjust to shifting conditions, pain is ever present. But a significant amount of the waste and anguish … is avoidable.”

So to Doug Parker, CEO of US Airways and Tom Horton, CEO of American Airlines, you are about to create the world’s largest airline. I, and your 187 million+ customers urge you to get it right.

Here are three pointers:

1. What you and your leaders say is important. The words in the video are great. But don’t assume that your employees are already behind them. You have a great opportunity here to inspire your entire organization with the idea of what you are creating – the world’s largest airline. You can either tell everyone that’s what you’re doing, or you can include them. Take the time to build within your employees the urgency and commitment you’ll need to be successful.

2. Who helps you lead this is important. Of course you’ll have the usual task force made up of senior people from both companies. But open up the opportunity to others as well. Once you’ve built true urgency, ask employees who want to get involved to apply to join this new transformation team. You know that “passion and skill” and “ambition and sweat” you talked about? Well, we’re all waiting to see if you really leverage it. Remember, words without actions are worse than no words at all.

3. How you lead this is important. You either tell everyone what they should do – or you ask them for their input and contribution. Your employees are the experts when it comes to their jobs. They know what gets in the way, they know what works, and they see and hear your customers talking about and comparing you to others. Why wouldn’t you want their input, their knowledge, their contribution? Let the change also come from the employees – don’t do it to them.

Get this right, and I’ll be a loyal customer – not just a captive one. I’ll be watching from my window seat every week.

Russell Raath is a senior engagement leader at Kotter International, a firm that helps leaders accelerate strategy implementation in their organizations. John Kotter is the chief innovation officer at Kotter International, and is the Konosuke Matsushita Professor of Leadership, Emeritus, at Harvard Business School.

For more about how organizations can develop the agility required to succeed in today’s rapidly changing world, read Dr. Kotter’s new article, “Accelerate!” featured in the November issue of Harvard Business Review.

More … http://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkotter/2013/02/27/if-you-want-an-ma-deal-to-work-read-this/