Abstract
This paper will summarize the book, “Who Killed Change? Solving The Mystery of Leading People Through Change. Although the author tells the story within a fictitious context, the primary concept focuses on change management. The author wants to teach supervisors or managers how to effectively deal with change throughout their employees and overall organization. In addition, these factors of change could either bring an organization down, or if the manager handles change effectively, then the company could be bigger and better than ever. We will also carefully critique and synthesize the content of this story by determining how the characters could sabotage the process of change. Finally, we will conclude our discussion on the philosophy of the political pundits who are analytical thought leaders. We will strive to reach the firm understanding of how political pundits are involved inside of an organization and assists in shaping it to become a successful environment.
Introduction
In the story, “Who Killed Change” the main character, Agent Mike McNally whom is a detective, investigates a murder filled crime scene and comes to the conclusion that there are thirteen suspects who maybe possibly involved with the crime scene. The interesting characteristic about these suspects are that they are symbolic for the “key attributes within an organization that could make an organization succeed, or make it close its doors to its customers forever” (Varghese, 2011). Although some of the suspect names are hilarious and entertaining such as, Pecs with the Pencil Legs, Earnest Urgency, Victoria Vision, among others; it is crucial not to lose the message of the author and apply it to the components which an organization needs to thrive in an ever competing business society.
Thirteen Attributes of an Organization
These components, as previously mentioned consist of thirteen in total (Blanchard, 2016). The first concept is Culture. This component defines the organization and it plays an especially critical role in the process of change because supervisors have a duty to implement culture. The existing culture of the organization which is already in place have to be positioned to support any new change. In the event that it is not, the manager must take the necessary steps, or course of action to make certain that all members of the organization are on the same page with the diversity of culture.
The second concept the author wants the reader to understand is commitment. This component refers to the employee’s motivation, or willingness to change their behavior so that it falls in line with their employer’s expectations and the change initiative. In addition, commitment can be achieved within the organization if the employees are made aware of any organizational changes in advance and the companies goals or policies are fully communicated. The third concept is sponsorship which may happen to be the senior leader of the organization. The sponsor would utilize all provided resources within a company like networking, money, etc. to implement and sustain change. The sponsor also holds the responsibility to offer support on a continuous basis for any reinforcements or accountability of change. The fourth concept is the change leadership team. This consist of certain team leaders that are responsible for executing the companies daily strategies. After the sponsorship role, these members have a level of importance as well. The author believes that these particular members must be able to effectively communicate at all times.
The fifth concept is communication and that is about communicating change to the organization team members. Any communication should have consistency and the verbal messages should be delivered by well-respected figures of the company to encourage the process of change. The sixth concept is urgency and it is about urging employees to change, while at the same time accepting change. It is important to note that if an employee does not feel any sort of urgency, then they would unlikely meet the status quo necessary for the company to become successful.
The seventh concept is having a vision and allowing the employees to be a part of that vision. This will allow employees to see how much they could succeed after integrating the dynamics of change. The eighth concept is to plan strategically and effectively. The ninth concept is to have a sufficient budget for the organization. At times, it may also refer to the amount of financial resources which might be spent on bringing change throughout a company.
The tenth concept is the actual trainer and his or her role inside of the organization because this member is responsible for assessing the employees to see whether they have the appropriate skills to adhere to the required changes. The eleventh concept is the incentives or rewards which are distributed when employees make the necessary changes through their behavior, work ethics, among other changes that an employee would make for the company which they are employed for. The twelfth concept is the performance management that takes place that tracks an employee’s progress to review whether they are make the necessary changes to stay on the company’s team. The final concept, accountability talks about reprimanding employees who are not making the necessary adjustments to change as the organization evolves.
Critique and Analysis
This book has proven to be different amongst other books of the same background because this one was funny and entertaining with characters who held some levels of determination to kill the concept of change. In addition, the physical description of each character was purposely designed to sabotage the concept of change altogether. For instance, the character Clair Communication had Laryngitis, therefore making it unable to have a clear flow of communication when an organization is not able to have a certain type of dialect with one another to get the tasks done or goals in general achieved. Furthermore, it is helpful that the author “shares personal notes or reflections at the end of each chapter so that the reader could grasp the entertaining analogy from a neutral position of a management professional whose seeking guidance” (Varghese, 2011). In the final portion of our discussion, we will analyze the concept of political pundits and how it applies to the theme of this story.
Political Pundits
In conclusion, a political pundit is an individual who also may be referred to as a talking head who offers their opinion about a particular subject. In this case, the author Blanchard is the political pundit who offers his expert advice on change throughout an organization. The health organization that I was employed for focused on the concept of change. As an employee, it was critical to conform to these changes in order to stay resourceful for patients, be a dependable team player and evolve as a professional staff member. Additionally, anyone could be perceived as a political pundit within their organization if the individual asks the appropriate questions, share the same vision as the organization, network, be resourceful, and following the same concepts of change as the author pointed out in the story, “Who Killed Change”?
References
Blanchard, K. (2016). Who Killed Change? by Ken Blanchard Leading People Through Change. Kenblanchard.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016, from http://www.kenblanchard.com/whokilledchange/
Varghese, S. (2011). Who Killed Change? Forbes.com. Retrieved 1 June 2016, from http://www.forbes.com/2009/10/19/change-ken-blanchard-leadership-ceonetwork-varghese.html
Weis, T. (2016). Political Pundits. Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved 2 June 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/political-pundits/
