In the PMI NorCal Symposium 2008 just concluded at Stanford University, Esteri Hinman, a Capability Owner at Intel’s Corporate Platform Office, included a fabulous letter to executives in her presentation. The letter is too good–and relevant–to go unnoticed, so here it is. Please feel free to pass it along to others who need it.
Dear Executive,
We know you want to change the way we do business NOW. We recognize the business needs driving that change. But, it isn’t that simple. Transformational change takes time, lots of time. Our own people will struggle against that change. Changing people is hard work. Here’s how you can help us:
- Don’t give out a mandate unless you have the fortitude to stay with it through the YEARS.
- Provide clear prioritization: we can’t change everything at the same time.
- Celebrate the baby steps: loudly.
- Above all, remember this is about changing people’s behavior: role model the behavior’s we want, and catch people doing it right.
Sincerely,
Your Corporate Change Agents
Thank you, Esteri.
Randy Englund, NPDP, CBM
Executive Consultant, Englund Project Management Consultancy
www.englundpmc.com
Hey Randy, you forgot the PS… (of course, it wasn’t on the slide)
PS: If you can’t do these things for us, please destroy this letter, and ignore the team behind the curtain.
We’ve found through experience – if you can’t get whole hearted, 100% support (which is very rare) you’re more effective in the long run flying under the radar – as it were.
Glad to continue the conversation with any who wish to… esteri dot j dot hinman @ intel dot com