Calling a Halt to Mindless Change: A Plea for Commonsense Management

483 Pages·1998·1.49 MB·English

by  John Macdonald

Calling a Halt to Mindless Change
A Plea for Commonsense Management
John Macdonald
AMACOM
American Management Association International
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Calling a Halt to Mindless Change : A Plea
title:
for Commonsense Management
author: Macdonald, John.
publisher: AMACOM Books
isbn10 | asin: 0814403492
print isbn13: 9780814403495
ebook isbn13: 9780585099644
language: English
subject Organizational change.
publication date: 1998
lcc: HD58.8.M217 1997eb
ddc: 658.4/02
subject: Organizational change.
This book is available at a special discount when ordered in bulk
quantities. For information, contact Special Sales Department,
AMACOM, a division of American Management Association
International, 1601 Broadway, New York, NY 10019.
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative
information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the
understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal,
accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other
expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional
person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Macdonald, John, 1929-
Calling a halt to mindless change: a plea for commonsense
management /John Macdonald.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-8144-0349-2
1. Organizational change. I. Title.
HD58.8.M217 1997
658.4'02-dc21 97-48808\
CIP
© 1998 John Macdonald.
All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
This publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in whole or in part, in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
without the prior written permission of AMACOM, a division of
American Management Association International, 1601 Broadway,
New York, NY 10019.
Printing number
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
In an era of change
this book is optimistically dedicated
to a future that
our grandchildren will inherit
for
Andrew, Natalie, Lucas, Daniel,
Gareth, Adam, and James
Page v
Contents
Preface vii
Acknowledgments ix
Part One: Mindless Change 1
1. Between Gods 3
2. False Gods 27
3. Entrenched Fads 50
4. Recent Revolutions 62
5. Mindless Education 92
Part Two: Pause for Thought 111
6. Anticipating Change 113
7. Whatever Happened to Buck Rogers? 132
8. A Global Challenge 146
Part Three: Simple Common Sense 167
9. Purpose 169
10. Focus 180
11. Communication 195
Page vi
12. People 211
13. Stewardship 226
Further Reading and References 235
Index 239
Page vii
Preface
Originally to be entitled Between Gods, this book set out to describe a
world beset with change: a world in which whole nations, let alone
businesses, were cast adrift in a leaky boat, on an ocean in turmoil,
and without a compass. My arrogant intention was to provide a
compass for future management; but in reality it was just another
change management book.
However, my research began to challenge the original concept. I kept
finding companies that seemed to be sailing through all the storms of
change. As I examined the management practices and long-term
success of 3M, Arthur Andersen, Marks and Spencer, Wal-Mart, J.
Sainsbury, Toyota, Procter and Gamble, Motorola, and others, I found
a new perspective. These companies were continuously successful
over long periods but didn't need reengineering or any of the other
popular "revolutionary" changes. They appeared to anticipate external
change long before their competitors. They met serious problems and
made mistakes. It was not all smooth sailing, but their fundamental
seamanship (that is, their value systems) meant that they were rarely
faced with the need for radical reorganization.
I revisited my own experience in corporate life and began to realize
that the business world's clamor for change and fads was nothing new.
Present throughout the century, it exploded in the postwar years of the
1950s and has been accelerating ever since.
For many companies, each new fad or phase of change or vaunted
wisdom has left another layer of accepted barnacles that in time
encrust the organization and impede progress. For oth-

Page viii
ers, with their own strong value systems, the new "ism" is absorbed,
rejected, or adapted to strengthen the existing culture.
The result is that this book turned out rather differently from how I
began it. It now aims to examine both sides of the coin.
The degree of change currently being advocated by a host of change
masters is not only nonsense but is positively wicked advice for the
majority of organizations. They are not capable of implementing the
reengineering proposed without devastating impact on the company
and the people who work within it. Downsizing is a child of this
process. The companies that really do need radical reengineering are
the victims of a previous and long period of mindless management.
Executives should listen to the siren song of change with a healthy
dose of scepticism. A return to common sense is long overdue.
Some of the changes highlighted by the consulting gurus are
desirable. But in practical business terms, they are better envisaged as
evolutionary rather than revolutionary changes. The central section of
this book emphasizes the point that the real pace of change is well
within the normal decision-making cycles of executives. All of the
envisioned changes could have been or can be anticipated and thus
planned for. There is no need to panic or to fear change, if anticipated
change can provide a host of positive advantages.
This book now argues for a new breed of managers who reject the
helter skelter of mindless change initiated by mindless management.
Instead, the book encourages managers to view the future in terms of
evolutionary common sense.