Stephen Carver on How Real Change Happens

Stephen Carver, Consultant Lecturer at Cranfield University, speaks at a session at the Skoll World Forum 2011. He talks about how real change really occurs.

With: Stephen Carver
Ladies and gentlemen, I'm not a futurologist, I can't predict the future. But what I do is I make it happen. The last 30 years, I've been a change manager, sometimes called a project manager. And one thing that's always stayed the same is human behavior. And it's quite interesting to see the impact of human behaviors on what the would would be.

Now, what I would like to do, let's not talk about it, I could bore you rotten with my cosmological photon complexity something, but let's do it properly, let's do a change. I've got an idea, it's an innovative idea, you could change the world, there you go. Catch. Right Sir, have you got it? Lovely.

Or the lady? Right. Chuck it to someone over there. Lovely. Well done Madam, careful. Let's throw it to someone over there. Of course having troubles there, oh dear, oh dear. Right, throw it to someone over there, if you wouldn't mind. Someone wants to catch it. Well done, you caught the change. It's a tricky thing to catch change.

But we would like to throw it to someone over there, or are you still scrubbing around on the floor? OK. Oh, well done! Oh fantastic! Oh jump now, over there, over there, over there. Okay now, oh lovely, yes, oh who's got that change. Okay, lovely, someone over here, please madam, if you wouldn't mind.

Oh, if you almost go to there and someone over there, if you wouldn't mind. Lovely. Right. And now, sir, sir, could you throw it back to me please? Oh, this could be in trouble. Not bad. Okay. Oh, no let's uphold to the end. That wasn't bad and that was about two minutes. And in the old days, that's the way change used to be done.

Someone will come up with an idea, and they'd throw it out there, and someone says, oh yeah, that's not bad, and pick it up, and say oh yeah, wonder if I could talk to that one there. And it would move around. It would take time. But the world had time. Nowadays, the world hasn't got much time and it's very impatient to create these wonderful ideas into reality.

What are half finished change initiative worth? Nothing. In fact, worst than nothing. I was talking to a clientlast week, and I actually recommended termination of a project, because it was just a disaster. and I said we cant stop because it would be seen as a failure. And there's this human psychology we started, so we're finished, but it's going to be a disaster.

It doesn't matter. Perhaps something might happen to make it look better. And it's quite an interesting human perspective. Now, okay, you took part in that change. And it took time. Why did it take time? Well I wasn't a very good change leader, was I? I had an idea, but I just chucked it to the nearest person, and they had to just deal with it.

Sometimes the change arrived, and it fell on the floor, and people had to scramble around. Sometimes people thought I don't want to be a part of this silly man's game, and it was like I hope this ball isn't going to come anywhere near to me. Well, I'm quite comfortable here. I've got a nice seat, and I'm sitting with my friends.

I feel very secure and I don't want to be a part of some silly comedian's game. And that's human nature, nothing right, nothing wrong. It's human nature, but we got to speed up that rate of change to really make things happen and make them change successfully. So, here's the challenge. Same people, same order, less time.

Can it be done?

Yes. Yeah.Interesting . Some of the people saying yes, weren't actually part of the game. And that's a lovely facet Human nature isn't it. Cause now the people who've received the bull are thinking,'oh God, it was bad enough and now I have to do this even more.' And their brains are going like jelly unless it can the drill is high but everybody is more relaxed hey yeah you could do that unless so lets do it in less.

So the people who were actually involved in that, please join in. You will get a little prize at the end from young Emily. Please join in. I want you to do it in less time. This is the new vaccine for malaria. And every 10 seconds that we waste another thousand children die. There is some social pressure for you so off we go.

I am going to leave it to the people who are involved. go go go 5 seconds are gone.

Every one walking down the road ten seconds. Careful, don't take it easy. Right. Have you got everybody? Have you got everybody?

I don't know whether it's the right order.

We were the welcome right can I hold it now? Can I just hold it? Oh, shh shh, just, Now something quite fundamental has happened. What's the most important thing these good people have done. Well they haven't put Oh, lovely. OK. Now they haven't quite organized themselves. There's a lot of "Where were you?", "I don't know", but the most important thing they have done is?

Collaborate.

Collaborate. And what's the most physical thing they have done.

driving together.

They've got together. And it's not a nice feeling, is it? It's a bit worrying. You out here, and I'm up here. then there's all these people staring at you. And that's another thing, because this is something I find is a problem with change People are comfortable, where they are. They got the big office.

And this stuff, chipboard,oh God, I hate this stuff. This stops most change. desk, offices, the way things are around here. I'd like to change but I'm comfortable. I was lucky made immune to [xx] writing my only day's first ever work first suit [xx] my first box [xx] on the office oh my gosh I [xx] [x] [x].

I said my desk. He said stop right there, that is not your desk. I thought, first [x] this is not good. I said I am sorry thought you meant that's where you want me to work. He said 'oh yeh, that's where I want you to work. But it's not your desk. It's not your desk, it's not my desk. In fact I don't think' The company owns it.

We lease it. It's chipboard. Don't fall in love with the chipboard. And if you can do that to a young graduate or someone joining your organization, do it. But most people are addicted to this stuff and it stops change. It sounds so foolish, but in my thirty years of change management the chip or the office politics, the "who gets the corner office," stops most change.

Appalling, but true.

So, these people have left security of their comfortable seats or their comfortable friends, and done a very brave thing, under a certain amount of pressure from your peers and also from me, and these dying children, this dreadful way of getting you motivated, but there you go.

Okay . Now, the next thing is, you're organizing yourselves. Yes? And are you in the order now that you think you were?

We are.

I believe so, yes.

Excellent. You realize it took them longer to organize themselves than it did to do the project the first time around? Okay, so are you now in order?

I think so.

Would you now give an estimate as to how long this change will take, because before it took about two minutes? Ten seconds.

Ten seconds? Are you?

Twenty-five.

Twenty-five? Now, the optimist, the pessimist. And two hundred fifty percent different. That's quite amazing. So which one shall we go for?

Ten.

Ten. Let's go for it.

Ten. But if we fail And that the waxing more test millions could go die so we should go tonight.


Maybe it's 14 and it's still better than OK. So we should aim higher than we should. Excellent. And now we're into human nature. And, hey, under pressure are you an optimist or a pessimist. Is there a right; is there a wrong. I've seen both win. OK. So are you going to buy into this? Ten seconds? Do you all buy into this?

Yes.

OK.

Starts at that end.

Starts at one, please. And now this team is now empowered. They're telling me what to do. And I love that moment when I'm running a team. That is why I am no longer the project manager. You know, I am just a part of the team. They push me around and tell me go and talk to this person say certain things.

I am now being managed. But, a lot of people don't like that because they like to be the boss. They like to be in charge. OK. So I will do whatever I am told. What would you like me to do, just hand it to you?

Hand it over.

Three, two. Notice the language there: "Just hand it over." OK. Jeez. and CEOs are going to get used to this. 3, 2, 1 go OK. Oh, I'm not bad. Actually that was seven seconds. Not bad! First, you see the world is now moving even faster. We saw all those expidential things. We need to go expidential.

We have to do this in two seconds. We have to do it in two seconds. Can we do it in two seconds?

Yes.


How? How? Look at this. Now, this is interesting. Okay. Now, we are now going from a linear process, notice, into more of a collaborative scrumming technique. I could go on and pull all the analogies, but I'm sure you, now it's all like this and some people are praying here as well. Now, we've really got close now, and it is a physical thing.

And okay, we can do it virtually and the world is getting closer, there has to be physical as well. Now, where do you want me?

In the middle. In the middle. So, I should come down from my lofty height up here, and really I should be in the middle. And really, as the leader of the change, I should be where all leaders should be, is on their knees in the middle now the rules are has to be touched by the same people in the same order that is the only protocol call I have your hands.

So we only want one hand for each.

Or in fact one finger will do, wouldn't it?

Yeah.

Yeah.

OK? It only has to be touched by the same people in the same order.

And I will grab it at the end rolex rolex been touched ten people in the same order.

But the way you do that is to roll it down the hill.

OK. I'll do a bit of rolling. OK. Got a group thing going on okay any one got any ideas for them. Rolex any thing else. hold it. There is an idea in the audience idea might OKok where do you want me now? in the middle. okay. I go in the middle. On my knees. Okay. Are you ready? hands off, excuse me or what, in order we did this properly otherwise we won't get back seat are you ready?

3 hang on 3, 2, 1 go yes Well done! Fantastic! Marvelous job, thank you. Emily, where's Emily? Emily? Emily, we have got some presents for you. Well done. Thank you very much indeed. Superb ran to the pool. well done. Excellent. okay. and the last thing I say God bless these people for what they did.

Thank you very much indeed, very brave, I won't forget that. As soon as I said it was over, I couldn't help it, again this is a human reaction what did they all immediately do went straight back to the security that is where we feel comfortable and it is a question I find of trying to keep that momentum going otherwise people would change feel good about it and lets go back to the old ways.

change is all about human beings. it is all about nudging the positive side and trying to reduce the negative so just by that small margin and then you can move them along and keep that change going. Ladies and gentlemen thank you very much indeed
Related Videos