In 1929, the automotive industry was as hot as the Internet was in the 90's. The people who led the major companies then were as well known as Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates are today. One of them was Walter Chrysler, who wanted to build the tallest building in the world, to be named — of course — the Chrysler Building. He found himself in a race with The Bank of Manhattan Trust Company, and he won.

Willis Tower, Chicago, formerly the Sears Tower. Photographer: Carol M. Highsmith, courtesy U.S. Library of Congress.
The Chrysler Building, at a respectable height of 1,046 feet, won't stand forever. But nobody has ever deconstructed a skyscraper that tall, and we don't have any idea how to do it.
One thing is certain: the cost will be (ahem) sky-high. Since we've given so little thought to minimizing "deconstruction" cost, we now have an installed base of buildings that are stable and safe, but expensive to demolish.
So it is with organizational processes. We've designed them to effect management control — to ensure that people follow procedures and to enable management to control cost and quality. But they weren't designed for change, and that's one reason why change is so difficult.
How do organizational processes defend themselves against change? Here are three things to do to design processes that are easier to change.
- Break the performance connection
- We often tie performance evaluation to proficiency in organizational processes, which ties career advancement — and self-esteem — to a detailed knowledge of organizational processes. Once self-esteem is tied to the status quo, changing the status quo can create a threat to self-esteem. No wonder we have trouble.
- Tie performance to the ability to adapt to changing processes, rather than to skill in following processes of long standing. Reward flexibility, not compliance.
- Keep interfaces compact
- Most organizational processes
weren't designed for change,
and that's one reason
why change is so difficult - Processes have interfaces consisting of forms, contacts, documentation, and so on. To use a process, people interact with it through its interface. When the interface is complex and diffuse, and linked to many other processes, we have more difficulty changing the process.
- Make process interfaces compact. To avoid reconfiguring the rest of the company when you change a process, keep as much of the process as possible behind the interface.
- Eliminate gatekeepers
- A gatekeeper is someone whose signature you need. For example, most organizations require a supervisor's signature for certain purchases, or for time cards. Some gatekeepers exist because of legal requirements, but many are created for political reasons. Since being a gatekeeper is often a badge of status, gatekeepers tend to resist attempts the change the processes they gate-keep.
- Avoid creating new gatekeepers. Empower staff to simply sign the forms themselves.
Once you master these techniques, you can move on to a bigger project — to learning how not to rebuild the Empire State Building. Top
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For more information about the Chrysler Building, visit the PBS Web site.
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Related articles
More articles on Organizational Change:
He's No Longer Here
- Sometimes we adopt inappropriate technologies, or we deploy unworkable processes, largely because of
the political power of their advocates, and despite widespread doubts about the wisdom of the moves.
Strangely, though, the decisions often stick long after the advocates move on. Why? And what can we
do about it?
Comfortable Ignorance
- When we suddenly realize that what we've believed is wrong, or that what we've been doing won't work,
our fear and discomfort can cause us to persevere in our illusions. If we can get better at accepting
reality and dealing with it, we can make faster progress toward real achievement.
The Expectation-Disruption Connection
- In technology-dependent organizations, we usually invest in infrastructure as a means of providing new
capability. But mitigating the risk of disruption is a more powerful justification for infrastructure
investment, if we understand the Expectation-Disruption Connection.
When Your Boss Leaves Before You Do
- At some point in your career, your supervisor will leave his or her position and you'll end up reporting
to someone else. It can be a harrowing experience, even if you prepare. Nevertheless, preparation usually
produces a better outcome than winging it.
The Storming Puzzle: Patterns and Antipatterns
- Tuckman's model of small group development, best known as "Forming-Storming-Norming-Performing,"
applies to today's task-oriented work groups, if we understand the six principles that govern transitions
from one stage to another. Here are some examples.
See also Organizational Change for more related articles.
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