Actionable Value, A Vital Change Management Concept

Sometimes I suffer from night cramps. (Apparently, I’m so unfit, my muscles ache in anticipation of exercise.) And so, in an effort to keep the lactic acid trip going on inside my muscles to a minimum, I do step aerobics three times a week. Just me—the only guy—and rows, and rows of women. And we’re all doing exactly the same thing, in the same way, at the same time. Yeah, I know, I’m a STEPford wife.

The first time I tried step aerobics I lasted about eight minutes. I wasn’t just exhausted, I accidentally caught my reflection in the window. Arms and legs flying everywhere. Honestly, as a doctor, I’ve hospitalized people for less.

Even so—in an attempt to at least maintain my current level of unfitness—last week I decided to formalize my relationship with these aerobics classes. And, at my local YMCA, the way to “put a ring on it” is to join the Personal Fitness Program. And, when I enrolled, two people made serious attempts to change my behavior…

Government Misdirection…

The first person (actually team of people) works for the government. In a very comprehensive folder from the YMCA—chock-a-block with good advice on improving muscle tone, enhancing flexibility and increasing endurance—were a couple of sheets from the United States Department of Agriculture. You may recognize their food-pyramid logo; complete with someone fit-looking climbing steps…could it be my future self?

News flash: Given that this is a document from the government, you know it’s going to be confusing, right? Here is my favorite “fun fat fact”: As a man between 31-50 years old I’m allowed 6 teaspoons of fat/day. A fact which would be very helpful if I spooned fat over my food from a jar labeled “government approved fat”. Given that the objective of this document is to teach me how to change my eating habits in order to improve my health, do you think this is helpful information?

My point is this: If you really want people to change their behavior, everything you say to them about a proposed transition must have high actionable value. Similarly, everything you give to them to read about the proposed change must have high actionable value. What do I mean by “high actionable value”? Simply this, tell people what they need to do in a simple, intuitive, step-by-step manner. Everything else is distracting trivia. Sometimes employee resistance is just a lack of clear direction.

Here’s another example from the government document: “Solid fats come from many animal foods and can be made from vegetable oils through a process called hydrogenation.” Very helpful when I was studying for a clinical biochemistry degree, but of absolutely no actionable value when it comes to improving my health.

Carmen Saves The Day…

Unlike the government document, my YMCA fitness instructor (an excellent example of what inspiration would look like if it had arms and legs) gave me highly actionable information. Carmen told me precisely how to calculate my target heart rate range, and then figured it out for me. She explained that I needed to be within this target heart range for 20 minutes three times a week; with five minutes of warm-up and cool down at the top and tail of each session. She also explained precisely how to monitor my heart rate on the treadmill, stair machine and when I’m on the step itself.

Finally, she got me to commit—in writing, complete with my signature—to this exercise regime for the next twelve weeks, phew. After all that up-front, public commitment on my part, there’s more chance of regime change in a medium-sized European country than of me skipping out on my exercise routine. (And, in a step aerobics class, I really do mean skipping.)

Driving Change…

When you write a document designed to drive change, think “actionable value”. When you are speaking directly to your staff about something you wish them to change—think “actionable value”. Whenever you are reading for the express purpose of learning how to achieve an objective (as opposed to reading for pleasure) think “actionable value”.

What changes are you currently trying to implement? What is the Actionable Value Score of the documents outlining the change? From governmental-confusing (1) to Carmen-clear (10). Have you explained, in a step-by-step fashion, precisely what you want your employees to do differently?

Bottom line: If you want to drive personal, professional or organizational change, think “actionable value” in word and deed.

I’m off to the gym; I know precisely what I’ve got to do and I’ve promised to do it…

I would love to hear your ideas, comments and questions; “have your say” in the box below…