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CHANGE WITH PASSION

negotiate2score2win

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Contents of YOUR book

I welcome YOU to the world of change!

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone

What is the book about?

Let’s navigate the change from design to implementation

Design the change

Progress drives change

Crossing the line of comfort zone

Take a chance on change

The potential of the change

How do we approach the change to be accepted?

Making changes is hard!

How do we “read” the coopetitor?

Status of the coopetitor

NEGOTIATE TO WIN

Negotiations, the fil rouge of change management

7 myths on negotiation

What debunks these myths?

The negotiation strategy

Negotiation tactics

Communication in negotiations

Some tips for communication during negotiations

START, GO, WIN! Stages of negotiations…

Let’s control the course of negotiations!

The Follow-up

HOW TO MANAGE CHANGE

Manage Change to succeed

A framework for managing the change

Manage the environment

SCORE

Manage the people

Trust is good, control is better!

5C: MATRIX TO NEGOTIATE

The idea: real-life approach with One Stop Shop

The architecture: keep it simple and smart

The 7/24 approach: simple and practical!

101 SPOTS TO AVOID!

Cut costs and spread the pain? No… Restructure and grow stronger!

Not explaining precisely enough WHAT and HOW to do it

Not assigning the Right Person to manage the change

Switching from leading the project to administering it

Don't buy time, buy solutions!

Careless planning

Failing to choose the right content of change due to following (or falling for) a methodology

Inadequate infrastructure

Keeping project plans apart

Failing to get everybody on board

Don’t negotiate

Not allowing mistakes

Not doing what you said

References

Copyright © 2017 Ervin Pfeifer, Suzana Leben

Publisher: tredition, Hamburg, Germany

ISBN

978-3-7439-5596-7 (Paperback)

978-3-7439-5597-4 (eBook)

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher.

I WELCOME YOU TO THE WORLD OF CHANGE!

Be different and change something! Be different by changing something! Do it with passion! When you do that, you will make a huge difference in what you have observed for most of your life. You should do this because your change will make a difference. For you. For everything and everyone, that surrounds you. For sure.

Difference through change.

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Yes, you are right to think that this book is different … it is! But although it is not simply a brochure, it also does not provide a comprehensive overview of everything that has been written about change so far. And, no, this book does not conform to any particular academic theory. All this has already been achieved by great authors over the years.

The book is an experience-based journey through change. It will engage your common sense and will be time well invested. However, you will need all your present knowledge and past experiences to hand in order to add your personal note to the message the book is conveying. At the very end of the journey, this should revive and reinforce your values. And, if this is achieved, we have won!

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This book shows you what works. Written through experience and tested in real life. Seasoned with lots of joy in the process too.

The book is not an endless source of a plethora of different alternatives that would require you to spend a few years to find the best solution. Quite the opposite! It makes only a few proposals that work well in practice. This should therefore prevent you from repeating some (but not all) of the mistakes we have made in the past. Have trust. You’ll be surprised to find out how well this book helps you navigate that minefield called change implementation!

Why? Having gained some fruitful experiences from a variety of approaches, we have picked out the few that will work. They have been tried and tested and are very effective. And now they are free from almost all defects and equipped with all the accessories required. It is time to take full advantage of our error-free, best-fit, all-in solutions – solutions that will produce the best possible outcome to SCORE the change you want.

The book is business oriented, but true to life too. All its contents can be used in your company in a very short time – or implemented in any other ecosystem – since it contains written restructuring initiatives, prepared tables, designed models, simple planning and reporting systems and some valuable hints that can help you work through change. While using the book, you can also take part in workshops. You can visit www.score2win.eu. You can use the web’s help-desk too. Tomorrow is not too early to get started!

Like a magician reveals his tricks, it’s high time to demystify the often-overrated role of big consultancies providing you with services in the field of restructuring, productivity and efficiency. You know full well that, at the end of the day, you are the one who does most of the consultants’ work. You don’t need the expensive “white collar” advice given to your management board. You need consultants with their sleeves rolled up to work with you in tackling the daily strategic and tactical challenges you face in your workplace!

What you really need is stimulation for that vital “click” in your head! Something to help you accept the change process in a slightly different way. Some out-of-the-box oversight throughout the change management process never goes amiss. And being given the freedom by your management board to make a few mistakes while changing things is important too. Then just add a small dash of the charisma required to engage a critical mass of people around you, and you are now ready to become a real leader for change. You are the chief change officer and your people will rally around you. They will follow through on your change.

The change is you! Be wise and change yourself first. Tomorrow, dare to take the chance and change the world!

But be warned! This is not a cookbook! This book will provide you with flesh and bones for a good stew. And it will also suggest which spices you should use to season it properly. Here, you will achieve the best results and win all three Michelin stars.

The examples described in this book should help you get a clearer picture. Its colourful and engaging graphics and interesting content should stimulate both your EQ and IQ. You will have to use your imagination, to get your primary emotions in line with your expectations and the specifics of your business environment. So, that you can make a perfect meal of it! Ok?

Just remember one thing – once you read the book, change management will not become any easier in itself.

You’ll just become much better at being able to SCORE your change and WIN.

Let’s start! ENJOY the journey!

Ervin Pfeifer

Life begins at the end of your comfort zone

Life is progress. Progress drives change. Change directs negotiation. Ergo: Life is negotiation!

This sequence of words might sound somewhat strange to some people. Doesn’t “change drives progress” or “negotiation makes change” sound better? Yes, this is true when you are a craftsman. And to be good one, you need proper tooling. Change and negotiation are great tools.

But… aren’t you a leader? An architect designing great experiences of life? Yes! That’s why you are steering toward goals, not tools. Therefore, presupposing progress, negotiations on change accompany you on your change management journey. It is the ultimate result of your profound efforts.

Have you already faced the biggest challenge while implementing something different? The human mindset and fear of failure prevent you from making progress (G. Kasparov).

Because innovators have for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new (N. Machiavelli).

But already intuitively it surely must be insane doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results (A. Einstein).

True?

Life is progress.

Progress drives change.

Change directs negotiation.

Ergo:
Life is negotiation

Yes, you often have to embrace the unknown when you are trying to reach your dreams. However, you do not need to love change. At the beginning, you should just like it, flirt with it, live it. To bring some excitement into life, live the change near to its limits. Because where the limits are, going that extra mile, there are no crowds! By choosing to be an explorer of new ventures – beyond the limits of your comfort zone, you are in fact choosing to get the most out of life. Simply to be happy! What more could you want?

You should successfully overcome your internal fear of change! Overcoming fear is the best way to lift your world up and away from its present operational mediocrity. It’s the best way to move towards the operational excellence required to enhance your company’s competitiveness.

Think… learn. Act! Get out of your comfort zone! Seize the opportunity and find the courage to make that choice. Act. Make progress possible!

Take a chance and change!

Are you narcissistic if you consider yourself to be someone who likes to try something before you decide once and for all that you don’t like it? When you try something, you take a chance on change. You cross the line and leave the comfort zone behind. For most people, this is just like entering a room with the lights out. For some it is an experience of a lifetime – when they step into the darkness, they discover they can fly!

Whether it be in your personal or business life, the invisible strings of coexistence are in the hands of change. And to change you need to negotiate. First with yourself and your mind, and then with those you share your life with. You will have to confront a negotiator’s dilemma: should you cooperate or compete with an opponent? It’s not really a dilemma. By differentiating between your opponents based on their individualities and within correspondingly selected negotiation strategy and negotiation tactics, you can mix cooperativeness and competitiveness.

So, let’s do COOPETITION!

Hmmm… but what to call a person on the other side of the negotiation table? An enemy? No! A friend? Well, usually “no” as well… An opponent? A rival? A challenger? Would you like to negotiate a change with an opponent? Won’t work! Since the focus of this book is on “coopetition”, it is inappropriate to talk of the person on the other side of the negotiation table as an opponent, an enemy… Especially not in these times when, due to the efforts to exit the recession in the world economy, trust and confidence are sadly not very lucrative for us.

When negotiating change with the intention to achieve a win-win situation, we have to call each other decent names. “Coopetition” is a dictionary-qualified word. But a person who does the coopetition is not. Therefore, dear reader, let’s introduce a new word: THE COOPETITOR! Welcome him and her into your life!

The coopetitor.

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What does passion have to do with change management? You were not asked to love change, but to first like it and flirt with it… Bringing passion into this story simply means you are employing your EQ along with your IQ. By doing that, change management will gradually but surely become something you love. You should fully accept change to develop passion for scoring the win.

What is the book about?

This book has three significant characteristics, all of which reflect the newly introduced SCORE business model for restructuring companies:

1.  a proven, most probably defect-free, all-in, One-Stop-Shop approach

2.  ready to use with short time-to-implementation

3.  the infrastructure required is cost-efficient

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1Image  The book’s holistic framework embraces all relevant topics of restructuring. It offers complete tooling for change management. It doesn’t only include restructuring in terms of its methodology and infrastructure, but also peripheral approaches. Therefore, the presented restructuring approach is in line with the understanding of the essence of change. Assuring that change happens through simplistic Project Management Office (PMO) approach and alerting to potential problems as the SCORE rolls-out in your company.

Furthermore, the book offers you not only the recipe, ingredients and a kitchen to cook up your change, but also a description about how to select the right chef – the HR contact responsible for change management. Negotiation is described as the fil rouge of change management, and this makes the SCORE a one-stop-shop for all chefs, sorry, all Chief Restructuring Officers (CROs).

2Image  The book contains methodologies and approaches that work. Not only are they simple to understand, they are also straightforward and easy to use. Following them will ensure that you do not waste time searching for the complicated methodologies or tools needed for change management in your company.

Since the book addresses restructuring topics relevant to your company, it will help you prepare activities for both short-term gains and systematic changes. And this is all for the purpose of increasing effectiveness and efficiency. Some suggestions for immediate cost-cutting activities are put forward. Alongside this, no less than 150 restructuring initiatives are presented to help boost your operational profits well above 15%. The efficient restructuring of a few key processes then concludes with the reorganization of the company.

3Image  the infrastructure required to support the SCORE model is simple and inexpensive to use. Paperwork is minimized, and the chain of command is short and transparent. The approach combines the competences of company staff, with limited recourse to external consultancy for specific problem-solving issues. Planning and reporting are straightforward and enable widespread use among the company employees.

There is one reason why such a holistic approach has not already been presented to you. An integrative approach to restructuring has rarely been presented as an independent, integrative subject in university curricula or on the agendas of specialized seminars. Until now, lectures on business process restructuring, company reorganization, project management, HR, cost cutting, procurement restructuring, negotiation, change management and the like had often been presented as isolated components rather than part of a functioning whole.

Now, almost 250 years after the industrial revolution, which was kickstarted with Watt’s steam engine and introduced new manufacturing and, consequently, management processes, you should change this! By traveling through this book’s five chapters.

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At the beginning of the journey, the book introduces you to change. This change will take you out of your performance comfort zone. By doing this, you will be able to reach for the potential that lies in the winds of change.

However, in order to select the change effectively and implement it efficiently, you will be led through 7 logical steps and 24 answers. Answers to questions about the change and about those who have to “buy-in” to the change should prepare you for the negotiations to come.

In this book, the negotiation strategy and tactics best suited to your needs are suggested using, for the first time, a less intuitive and more metric-based approach. This book therefore helps you to free your intuition and negotiate in more unconventional ways. The use of metrics-based selection for a negotiation strategy and tactics will improve your odds of winning a negotiation. At the same time, it will prove that the essence of negotiation is mostly comprised of skills that can indeed be trained. The multitasking talent that you will develop as a negotiator will just be the icing on the cake. It will help you to discover your own negotiation style and the best ways to selection the appropriate strategy and negotiation tactics for you. The ability to radiate credibility is a negotiator’s most important asset.

Once you have negotiated your way towards change, as a competent CRO, you will need to adopt effective management to consolidate the change implementation: Plan! Communicate! Perform! Control! Implement! Yes, there will be some mistakes made along the way, but just don’t repeat them!

Let’s navigate the change from design to implementation

SCORE stands for Smart COrporate Restructuring, and is executed through the SCORE approach:

Structure

Communicate

Operate

Review

Enhance.

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Want to implement changes in your business? score2win.

The SCORE methodology is about making changes happen using various tools in different phases of the approach. It aims for “Doing the right things right the first time”. In its core, it follows the KISS – “Keep it smart simple” – principle. Therefore, the simplest tools whose use comes naturally are applied.

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Let's find out how the SCORE approach will lead you through the book’s contents for you to be able to use it tomorrow in your business or private life.

S” is for STRUCTURE

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Identify. The constant of the SCORE approach are simple methods such as the 5 Why and 5W. Use them to ask questions about challenge you want to solve. By repeatedly asking Why, What, How, Who and When, you identify a logical set of answers. These gradually lead to the root causes of your challenges. Along the way, you design draft solutions in the form of TO-DOs to be performed.

5W questions: WHAT change are you designing, WHY are you doing it, HOW will you approach it, WHO will do it and WHEN is the right time to do it?

For many people it is difficult to accept that changes have to be made. Therefore, it’s important to dig wide and deep enough to understand all the circumstances of the present situation and find all future potentials. This should be done while taking into account the feelings accompanying the change, preventing fear and resistance, encouraging desire to change. It takes time and preparation. But if you make it right you will get a long list of TO-DOs as a result: hundreds of Whats (changes), justified by Whys (results /benefits), equipped with Whos (resources) and Hows (ways of doing it /approaches). Framed with Whens (timetables /deadlines). However, at this stage of designing you cannot execute the Whats without putting in some more work to make them doable. You must go into detail.

Evaluate. First of all, it is important to know who your Whos are in order to be able to rank the Whats according to Whos and Whys. You have to evaluate them. Again, you use the simplest of tools – the ABC method – to evaluate each of the Whos. Why evaluate the Whos first and not the Whys? Because the Whos are the ones who will make or break the Whats. Namely, the Whys as the outcome depend on which Whos you select to perform the Whats. You identified possible candidates during the workshops, when you first drafted the Whats required. It’s important to make sure they are up to the Whats they will be assigned to! They have to be just right, not over- or underqualified. The wrong selection of performers will cost you their salary, and even more – because you will fail to perform the Whats.

Therefore, you evaluate them according to the relationship you have with them and the ability to advance the relationship while collaborating with them. So, what should the result of an evaluation like this be? You should identify those who will do what is required. You should find those you cannot do without. Those whose relationships with you have the brightest future. You should identify those you communicate with at the same level. And you learn how integrated or dependent you are on them. Yes, it is the same with all the Whos, the internal and the external, employees and partners, stakeholders…

C” is for COMMUNICATE

Join the team… Choose! You should use all this information when communicating the Whats. Communication is not about talking and telling, it is about explaining, negotiating, understanding and buy-in the story of Whys and Whats.

Since you know the Whos, you can choose the right way to communicate with them. You will coordinate with some of them because you live separate lives and independently perform the Whats to your mutual benefit. You will cooperate with others as there is a high level of dependency and integration, but perhaps the potential to grow together is not sufficiently high. And then there are some whose potential is there, the communication is good, but the level of integration and ability to change are low…. Yeah, you will have to compete with these. But it will be a pure pleasure to work with those you can collaborate with, since you have a mutual interest in growing and nurturing your relationships and performing the Whats to achieve the best results possible.

You should try to identify as many appropriate Whos as you can from the wish list you compiled beforehand and add some more if you consider it necessary. Then benchmark them against the competition and the best in class. This is part of the assessment that helps you get to know the Whos.

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Explain. You know all the Whos and the best ways to deal with them. It is time to choose the right ones to actually work out the right Whats. You discuss the Whats with the Whos you’ve shortlisted for the task. Since they are on the same list, they are considered to be competitors for getting the Whats. You also want to discuss the Hows with them, the Whens, the constraints, the risks, and everything connected with making the Whats happen to achieve the Whys. Different Whos will present, explain and defend different approaches to making the change happen. And you should really strive to give the job to the right Who for the right price, of course.

Negotiate. You must negotiate with Whos to find the best ones for individual Whats. There will not always be a long line of Whos interested in Whats. Remember? Whos do not want changes that might affect them. Therefore, some Whats will be orphans. It does not matter which type of challenge you are talking about when persuading, or better said, negotiating with Whos in order to find the right one; you have to ensure the buy-in of the Whos in charge of performing Whats. After all, you want to execute the best Whats on the list to achieve results. And, the best ratio between the accomplished Whys and the “used” Whos. You discuss and negotiate the Whats to ensure the best conditions for achieving the Whys and to add some more Whys to the list.

O” is for OPERATE

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Equip. You have your Whos. Now it is time to work on the Hows too. First of all, in the course of this process you will consider the whole package of Whats, which are all interconnected and dependent on each other in achieving the designed Whys.

How will you monitor and control the whole picture of the Whats? Simple Image! By setting up the whole infrastructure around the SCORE: a simple monitoring and controlling tool running on inexpensive and widely spread software. And, most importantly, choosing from the Whos you’ve discovered, you’ll assemble your dream team who will follow you on the path to change. Then you will be prepared for “doing things right”.

Plan. At this point you have great elements available to prepare a detailed plan for execution. You only have to put small stones together to build the big picture. Not alone but together with your dream team. Together with all the Whos who will be in charge of the Whats. How far have you come? You have listed all the preliminary Whats, Whys, Hows, Whos and Whens. You have assessed all the Whos, negotiated the Whys and Hows. So, you know how things should proceed when working on any of them. You understand the Hows much better now, and have already at least discussed the Whens with the Whos to some extent. However, your success is still dependent on your ability to perform several Whats in parallel and assign the right Whos to these Whats.

Break it down into smaller chunks… Detail. The tool and approach that will help you to ensure prioritization and evaluation of the Whats is prepared. Now you can assign the Whos and start executing small Whats. Working together with the Whos in charge of the Whats, fragment them even further into manageable chunks, if necessary. Asses the time needed for their execution and check the Whens. Compare them with the Whens that were suggested while you were starting the design the change. Are Whens achievable? Are the designed infrastructure and approaches suitable for them? After evaluating Whens against the Whos, you should be able to see where the bottlenecks of execution could occur.

Prioritize. So far you have considered Whats individually. It’s time to have a closer look at which ones have to be executed before the others - because of urgency, the benefits or (inter)dependencies. As regards the availability of Whos, take into account also the recognized potential bottlenecks. Rank and prioritize the Whats on the basis of availability of resources, benefits and urgency. To do this, you will need a tool, prioritization criteria and a matrix, which again come with the SCORE.

Build the change… Perform. Ready… set... Go! You are fully prepared, equipped with names and numbers, with reasons, goals, tools. You understand relationships, the content dependencies, triggers, risks and much, much more… You put a lot of effort into communicating about the Whats & Whys.

You should lead by example and manage. Encourage your team and accept their mistakes. Communicate! Offer help when needed… and don’t stop. Also don’t forget to work on skills when introducing changes. Develop the personality of a SCORE chief restructuring officer.

R” is for REVIEW

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Review. Look back while working. How far have you come? How much have you deviated from the designed path? Take an especially close look at the Whys and the Hows. Are you on track? Have some of the Whos underperformed? Do they need help or do you need to replace them? Use a simple WWW method and ask yourself What Went Wrong? What Went Well?

Change. Are any changes needed to Whos, the tools in the timetable or the Whats? Make them!

E ” is for ENHANCE

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Repeat. If Whos, Whens or Whats need to be changed, return to “S” of the SCORE. Start the cycle from STRUCTURE again. This time at a higher level, improving by learning from mistakes and exploiting new potentials seen during the change-making process. The cycle should finish more quickly than before. The change-making process should be accelerated.

Branch out into more areas. While you are performing the Whats, a systemic and sustainable ecosystem grows in your environment. It creates a strong ability to implement changes on a greater scale, thus enabling you to supplement the initial package of changes with larger and more long-term Whats. Acceleration of the learning curve builds new cases on the past positive results, filling in the missing parts or linking them to form a bigger picture. Adding new, bigger projects, including business process optimization and company’s reorganization to the implementation portfolio.

DESIGN THE CHANGE

Progress drives change

Progress drives change. The significance of changes can be described by revealing its role on a path towards progress – through a matrix of progress.

Stay on the lookout for opportunities! They are all around you, just waiting for you to take them! Opportunities carry a sense of adventure and of being a pioneer of unexplored possibilities. Especially if you notice them before your rivals. You can take advantage of these opportunities. To give your life renewed purpose and value. A desire, a need, is born within you. Search for passion. Be creative – don’t just chase opportunities. Create them yourself!

Opportunity triggers change. It serves as a way to do something different with your life. But how should opportunity be seized to transform it most effectively into the change you want? And how can you ensure that the change made will have both immediate and sustainable results? Give yourself the chance to make that change! Empower people to make that change. But remember – you cannot make an omelette without breaking some eggs.

At this point, it is particularly important to change your mind-set – sometimes radically. Usually you deal with what the bankers would consider to be a typical credit risk: with willingness and ability. If the latter refers to the competence of an individual to perform the change, the former, i.e. the willingness, is achieved through three interlinked factors:

1.  the “click” in your head to overcome sometimes even subconscious resistance and reach the state of readiness for change,

2.  understanding what the change is about through learning about it, but mainly also by getting rid of fear, the faithful companion of change,

3.  a subtle push which, almost like a butterfly effect, spurs your willingness and ability into action – to help you bring about the essence of the change you want.

Butterfly effect is the sensitive dependence on initial conditions in which a small change can result in large differences. (source: Wikipedia)

Once you’ve stretched your mind by seizing the opportunity to change, your mindset and those of the other participants in the change concerned will never go back to their old ways. Once limits are re-defined, almost everything that’s properly designed can be changed through an appropriate change-making process and the use of common sense. Everyone has their role to play in this process.

After reaching the stage where you are competent and willing to make the change, it is important to note that taking on a role in a change-making process comes with responsibility. Remember the correct sequence: first competence, immediately followed by responsibility and only then followed by authorization. Your ABILITY to REACT makes all the difference between you being a doer or a don’ter!

Think before you act! Be proactive when working with others and ensure that you are all working closely as a team to make the change you want! A proactive approach gives you the platform you need to open up alternatives in your life that are closer aligned to your personal moral and company’s ethical values. As a leader, you should engage people rather than reward and punish them. The carrot and stick approach to help recognize people’s achievements is now considered passé when it comes to improving performance. People need to feel empowered to make changes themselves. Let them make mistakes! Remember: no mistakes mean no change! Enjoy being proactive. It’s a crucial element in the progress you make!

The "carrot and stick" approach refers to a combination of reward and punishment to stimulate behavior.

The path from opportunity to progress. Part 1…

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You’ve changed the mindset to seize the opportunity through well-designed change. As you are authorized to lead the dream team for its implementation, all you need to do is find a way to transform the idea of the change into a superb plan. An action plan described using the 5 Ws: What, Why, hoW, Who and When to do activities to reach the targeted solution.

When you start making the change, you need to help it along – by employing the best resources and by encouraging them through the implementation of a high-performance incentive system for your dream team performers to be rewarded properly. This is a sure-fire way to help your company beat the competition. Well-set and organized business processes that enable performance to be identified using key success factors (KSF) and promptly measured using key performance indicators (KPI) as well as a system for rewarding the doer’s should produce targeted results. Thus, you will be able to fully implement not only the action plan, but also the business plan as part of the company’s overall strategy.

The chain: opportunity - change – mindset – responsibility – proactivity – solution – result gives you with all the infrastructure required to maintain and continue progress. Do it now!

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Crossing the line of comfort zone

Our comfort zone is a lovely place to hang out. But not much happens there. Everything worth doing always happens outside our comfort zones. And getting out of the habit of doing what feels usual and comfortable will give you the lift needed to catch the potential in those winds of change. To paraphrase a famous Chinese proverb: “When the wind of change blows, some people build walls, others build windmills”.

So which camp do you fall into? Would you rather work on improving performance, harnessing the potential around you and transform them into something new? Believe us when we tell you: once you know how to steer through the change, you’ll know the answer for sure. Sailing boats look beautiful in the harbour, but they are made to sail!

Normally, it is seldom your true desire to exit your comfort zone just to have fun. When you talk about your comfort zone, you are actually referring to routines ruling your life. Rather than being insecure, you want to play it safe, even if this means being like everyone else. Maybe you are not aware of it, but you love routines, rules, procedures, lists and schedules. They make life unsurprising, thus making your living environment more predictable and safe to live in.

But is that really you? Would you rather settle for less in life, or are you striving to get the most out of it and avoid a dull life and regrets in your old age? Accept change. Enter the learning zone and leave your comfort zone behind you. And do it with passion!

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Negotiate for change. How do you combine efficient negotiation with change as a key for effective management and leadership? How do you negotiate to get someone to accept the proposed change? Remember the basic rule: by succeeding in convincing others to adopt the change you’ve designed as their own, you achieve their buy-in. Therefore, you massively increase the chances that the change will be implemented successfully.

The change itself is intangible. In terms of its form and content, it is not a tangible object like, for example, a car. But you would like to sell it anyway. How do you negotiate about something intangible? How do you grasp the tangible within the intangible? How do you avoid complicating things by doing that? Street straight talking, please! Make sure that people understand you, so that you can sell the change and they can buy into it. To get their buy-in! The difference between buying the change and the buy-in to the change is the difference between being loyal and being committed to the change. Which do you think works best?

Would saying “Open Sesame” suffice for you to step out of the comfort zone? No! But these seven steps certainly should:

1.  Select change effectively. As your desire and ability to make change are always limited, use criteria and priorities to select the right one. The right change is one that matters and can be implemented in a controlled way

2.  Be fully aware of the change you are undertaking. Learn about the change. Provide arguments to convince yourself and your team, the change-makers, and all relevant stakeholders as change-takers

3.  Don’t over- or underestimate your ability to make change. Your competences and those of your team will make the difference

4.  Engage people to get their buy-in in terms of designing, executing and living the change. Persuade using argument and reason. Dispel the fear of the unknown. In this way, you can help reduce the resistance to change

5.  Implement the change as efficiently as possible. Give proper authorizations to decision-makers. But first – authorize them to make mistakes. To make mistakes, but not to repeat them! No change comes without mistakes being made long the way. When you make changes, you make mistakes

6.  Evaluate results. Perform follow-up activities. Use the www approach: cherish What Went Well and improve What Went Wrong

7.  Reward for results. Especially since they relate to the change. This is always a special achievement!

Be systemic and systematic. The revealed SCORE model combines different restructuring techniques. They lower your costs, increase productivity and make your business more efficient by:

•    focusing on structuring effective initiatives for cost rationalisation to improve operational efficiency

•    identifying only a few key end-to-end processes to be restructured to become even more agile

•    adopting the restructured process as a flexible base for the company to reorganize in an effective way.

Using the SCORE method, you will be able to connect all restructuring approaches into a synchronized system. Imagine, changed procurement approach closely followed by the designing and implementation of restructuring initiatives, business process remodelling and company reorganization performed within a single integrated business model. The SCORE model, unlike the static analyses available in commercial and academic programs, teaches and works with you in a dynamic way, moving from the present state to improved target conditions. It defines the path, not only the resulting state of the change itself.

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Your thought patterns will be frequently addressed with a simple 5W approach. You have to answer WHAT, WHY, HOW, WHO, WHEN to implement the change, and complete this process by drawing up a structured action plan for the change implementation, within which you assign particular activities to individuals. You are ready to go! TO WORK!

Remember: get out of your comfort zone as much as possible in your personal and working lives … Seize the opportunities that life offers! Show the courage to make a choice and act! Take a chance and make that change! Make progress. And do it with passion.

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Take a chance on change

Why the need for change: Competition? Cooperation? Coopetition! Your company’s products must be competitive, both in times of prosperity and in times of recession. The price-performance must be right and bring benefits for both the buyer and you.

However, during recessions, severe macroeconomic conditions impose additional challenges on a company. The company must overcome them to succeed and to survive. Negative or slow economic growth reflects all the negative faces of the recession. Increased unemployment, lower living standards, falls in asset prices … if these are not managed properly, they can fuel the recession and cause it to worsen.

One of the strongest effects of a recession is the resulting substantial decrease in confidence. Not only in the business world, but among people and communities too. This decrease in confidence triggers a domino effect. First, we make cutbacks, which is closely followed by a decrease in investment spending. However, these are both necessary to increase future your future business revenues …

Furthermore, when your company’s management board determines that the company is unable to repay its debt to banks, this financial pressure might lead to some internal overreactions. These can include incorrectly designed – and thus ineffective – cost reductions made quickly. Ineffective cost cutting at any price may harm the company over the long term, especially if it is also aimed at employee layoffs. Lack of subtle approaches harms the stability of the company’s business processes, showing the relevant stakeholders in the entire business environment that the company is in distress.

The result? The stakeholders become more careful in doing business with the company. If they – particularly buyers and banks – take a step back and when the snowball of mistrust starts to roll down the hill, it becomes a real challenge for the company to get its business back on track. This affects its competitiveness tremendously.

You need to prevent this. By identifying those few key levers that could change the course of events dragging the company into a vicious circle. You need to do everything to rebuild the trust! You need to restructure your company in a smart way!

ME? Yes YOU! You should take the initiative to make changes! Starting in your company… Begin with small steps. Make sure that others – all relevant stakeholders that surround you - follow your lead. Multiply this by many of your “followers” in your company and other environments, throughout the whole of society, the whole ecosystem. And you’ll change it! By doing that, a proper risk assessment and risk management process will help build trust among the stakeholders.

Communicate!

In a world where recession is never far away, it is essential to talk openly of upcoming events, incoming people and their actions that can help or harm your company.

Coopetition aimed at rebuilding trust. Why are you even thinking about trust, changes and communication?! The answer is simple. Since the recession began, and whenever a crisis arises, the world around your company changes considerably and the trust among partners weakens. To rebuild this, you have to change yourself first and then communicate this change properly to your partners and competitors.

That’s life! Life is progress. Progress drives change. Change directs negotiation!

Take the procurement process in your company as an example. Unlike sales, procurement gives you greater autonomy. Therefore, you can influence buying conditions more efficiently. You can make changes happen with higher probability. Thus, procurement is one of the best entry points into a virtuous circle of change in the entire value chain of business partners. Why is that? It’s because you have two important advantages that enable successful implementation of changes throughout the entire value chain. Firstly, you have a strong personal resolve to make a change for the better. And secondly, your powers of negotiation with a supplier increases the chances of better implementing the change you intend to make.

Virtuous /vicious circle: a complex chain of events with no trend towards equilibrium. On the contrary, they reinforce themselves through a feedback loop (source: Wikipedia)

By influencing the entire value chain, you keep it balanced. You reinforce the chain by rebuilding trust among its participants. The equilibrium is restored.

Remember, what is important is collaboration! Do joint planning with key customers at the very end of the value chain sensing or even shaping their demand. Cooperate on real-time planning and execution. Manage inventory held by the supply chain efficiently and provide expedited shipping. Doing that, don’t forget to manage safety stock held by your company. Capture (big) data at the point and use them to improve performance of the value chain.

Analyses indicate that coopetition with the one whom you have to convince to accept and implement the designed change, namely with the supplier as a participant in the value chain, works. In the recession, a synonym for exaggerated distrust, value chain participants greatly appreciate mutual relationships. They intensify their cooperation, mainly in planning and reporting, in demand management and mutual reliance on each other’s services.

By doing this, they identify business and financial risks. Risks associated with the value chain they are in. They identify them with the intention of decreasing and/or transferring these risks and thus stabilizing the value chain.