Is Your Organization Slowly Dying or is it Deeply Changing?

I’ve spoken to many business leaders about many serious topics. None more serious

than this. Is your Organization slowly dying or is it deeply changing? Most often the reaction I get is one of defense and denial. Who wants to even consider the slow death scenario? Well, I ask you to pay attention to what actually may be happening.

Consider the following statements I’ve heard from top executives at two different organizations:

· I’ve been in this position for four years, and every year the work pressure has increased. My people are doing all they can just to hold on. I’m fifty-seven, and I’m doing all I can to hold on. I know we need to implement this thing. I just don’t think we can do one more major change.

· From a long-run perspective, there is no choice. But, to tell you the truth, I’m not sure I have it in me. Of the eight vice-presidents, three are simply not up to taking this on. We’re all around the same age, and we’re all thinking, “If I can hang in just a couple of more years, this problem will belong to someone else.” The issue is not what’s good in the long run; it’s how to survive right now.

While both executives have recognized that a deep change is needed in their organizations, both have opted to do nothing. They have chosen short-term personal survival over long-term collective responsibility. The problem will eventually become a crisis.

The practical implementations of this deep change, or slow death dilemma, are illustrated by the following statements:

· Slow death is what we are about – little long-range planning; no vision; denial of all external criticism. We are on a course that is clear to all.

· We are dying. In the meantime, my boss goes around reducing everything to numbers and charts. He leaves the real task of leadership to others.

· I think our company has about twelve to eighteen months, and then it will be too late. I think we keep very busy because it’s a kind of opium. We don’t know how to confront the deep change process. There is no vision from the top, and the changes continue to be incremental. We are very clearly choosing slow death.

Slow Death: The Organizational Phenomenon

Slow death begins when someone, confronting the dilemma of having to make deep organizational change or accepting the status quo, rejects the option for the deep change.

The process of slow death has a number of common characteristics.

Pervasiveness:

It is especially common in conservative, “don’t rock the boat: cultures. It is not unusual to find pockets of experienced, competent, and well-intentioned people who have opted for slow death. Change is needed, but this need is denied.

Violation of Trust:

The decision makers may fully recognize the pressures for change. Instead of initiating the change, however, they choose to do other things. In this sense, the phenomenon of choosing slow death is not the same phenomenon as the often-told boiled frog story.

The boiled frog story is based on a laboratory experiment. A live frog is placed in a container of water that is gradually heated. Eventually, the water boils and the frog dies. In contrast, if a frog is taken from the cold water and placed in a container of hot water, it immediately jumps out and thus manages to survive. Organizations are said to be like the frogs in the experiment. They are likely to be unconscious of slowly evolving changes.

When an executive admits that a change is needed but opts not to make it, the executive is making a conscious choice. “If I can hang on just a couple of more years, this problem will belong to someone else.” When the executive leaps to safety, the rest of the workforce is left with the problem. This might be referred to as the “dead tadpole story”: the frog leaps to safety and the tadpoles are left to boil. Self interest triumphs over collective responsibility.

To avoid that slow death you must be committed to making the hard choices. Good leaders surround themselves with talented, open-minded, dedicated peers that can help navigate the waters of a difficult situation. Lean on them. Rely on them. Don’t let your own ego get in the way of progress.