Storytelling – a basic condition in change management

McKinsey recently published an article on Change Management.

They refer to John Kotter who showed in 1996 that only thirty percent of change programs succeed.

McKinsey verify Kotter's result . In a survey from 2008 including 3 199 companies the result is the same – thirty percent succeeds.

They continue to look at what is important in accomplishing change. They argue that what motivates the upper management does not necessarily motivate the workers on the floor: effectiveness, efficiency, expansion etc.

Instead it’s more important for them to understand and sense a meaning of the change. What impact does it have on me, my team, my organization, my company, the society.

To accomplish understanding and a sense of meaning, McKinsey mean that there are four basic conditions that influence behavior:

1. A compelling story – to achieve understanding and acceptance
   
2. Good examples – they need to see that leaders behave in the new way
3. Reinforcing mechanisms – incentives need to be consistent with the new behavior
4. Capability building – the employees need the skills to make the required change

It’s interesting that the need for a compelling story is in first place. It makes it clear that Enterprise Storytelling is highly relevant for today’s business – regardless of size or type of industry.

The question is how many companies actually are working actively with it?

For me, this strengthens my belief that storytelling is a powerful tool in strategic development – to create a living vision and strategies that translates into long-term change.

p.s. If you would like to read the full McKinsey article, contact me via Twitter, and I send you a guest pass d.s.