There are ten common obstacles that occur time and again when organizations and the people who compose them attempt to do things differently are outlined below...

1. Not tied to strategy.

2. Seen as a fad or quick fix.

3. Short-term perspective.

4. Political realities undermine change.

5. Grandiose expectations versus simple successes.

6. Inflexible change designs.

7. Lack of leadership regarding change.

8. Lack of measurable results.

9. Fear of the unknown.

10. Inability to mobilize commitment to sustain change.

Source: Ulrich, David. 1996. Human Resource Champions. Harvard Business School Press.

Do you recognize any of them? I don’t believe further elaboration is required. Needless to say, all must be recognized, and steps need to be put in place to deal with each of them.

Tags: selling services

Ponder Point: If it were easy, everybody would be doing it.

Let’s face it, for most product companies, getting serious about aggressively building, marketing, and selling services is a big deal—a major change. The troubling truth of the matter is that about three out of four major change efforts fail to achieve and sustain the desired objectives (Alexander, 2004). My own experience in advising organizations confirms this, and your personal experiences probably do as well. Think back over the last few years during times when you experienced the launching of initiatives (e.g., implementing an ERP or CRM system, adapting Six Sigma, going “Lean”). How many of these efforts have brought about the lasting value intended at the time of announcement?

And anyone who has participated in an organizational change effort knows the tension that develops and the resistance that naturally occurs when the people of the organization are asked to behave in new and different ways. Productivity immediately drops as water-cooler conversations (both face-to-face and electronic) speculating on the impact and political ramifications of the change and the always-present “what’s going to happen to me?” take a priority over the mundane tasks of meeting customer requirements. In addition to the obvious loss of focus and efficiency, other multiple “costs of resistance” take their toll, touching everything from loss of key employees to lowered corporate credibility to stifled innovation.