True Change

Drawing on her own long-term research and extensive work experience, Janice Klein reveals how the power of people (insiders who are able to see problems from outsider's perspective), approach ("pulling change"), and system (support infrastructure) combine to turn new ideas and concepts into institutionalized practices. In particular, certain people inside organizations "outsiders on the inside" are key to driving innovation, adaptation, and real change. Using examples from leading companies in MIT's Leaders for Manufacturing (LFM) and System Design and Management (SDM) Partnership -- such as Boeing, Intel, Motorola, Alcoa, Ford, Kodak, and others -- she shows how employees at all levels can learn how to become "an outsider on the inside," and be in the right place at the right time to discover opportunities to "pull" into their organization. Throughout, we grow to understand the perspectives of numerous "outsiders on the inside," by hearing their voices and observing their actions. The strategy Klein provides is relevant for any company that hopes to build a change capability, rather than attempt only to manage change.

Preface xi

1. What Is True Change? 1

2. The Process of Pulling Change 27

3. Aligning Pulls Across the Organization 51

4. Working Within the Existing Culture to Pull Change 67

5. Preparing Insiders to Wear Two Hats 95

6. Preparing Outsiders to Wear Two Hats 123

7. Getting to the Right Place at the Right Time to Pull Change 147

8. Maintaining Outsider-Insider Perspectives 171

Appendix: Research Methodology 187

Notes 197

Index 203

The Author 207

Janice Klein is a senior lecturer and researcher at MIT's Sloan School of Management. Author of a textbook, numerous book chapters, and academic journal articles, Klein has also written for Harvard Business Review and Sloan Management Review. How Outsiders on the Inside Make All the Difference

Though businesses spend millions of dollars on consultants who identify problems and suggest changes, many of these new ideas are never implemented. According to Klein, true change can only come from within an organization. The keys to successful change are creating a culture in which employees at all levels "pull change" (like "pulling inventory") as opposed to having it pushed on them, and developing the skills and processes to implement the resulting "outside" ideas.

Klein shows how to

• Turn seemingly random ideas and acts into predictable events with predictable results
• Learn the mindset of an "outsider on the inside"
• Be at the right place at the right time to "pull" change

Praise for True Change

"As an operations leader, I knew that beneficial change only came when I fixed real business problems. True Change provides an insightful, but simple and practical process that helps operational leaders access and implement those right, ‘new’ ideas that will truly improve their bottom line results."
—Bill Hanson, former vice president, Worldwide Manufacturing, Digital Equipment Corporation

"The feature of the text that resonated with me (and I am sure will resonate with individuals in positions similar to mine) is the degree to which the generalized strategies developed are in sync with my experiences. The match of the author’s observations and my experience is uncanny."
—John M. Grace, vice president, Engineering and Technology, LVS ArvinMeritor, Inc.