Thanks for the feedback. The lack of comments on this post does make me wonder if it is indeed a bit too theoretical.

“Maybe a few stories would make it more clear.” Good idea. Obviously it’s crucial that I keep my clients’ specific situations top secret. In general, here’s the kind of thing I’m talking about…

Two organizations are merging. These organizations have a very different corporate culture and silos are forming; as employees from each company flock together. I’m asked to give a keynote at the start of their first combined meeting with the goal of leaving employees more open to the ideas of their new colleagues.

During a pre-event conference call with the organization’s leadership they explain how they have a 10 minute video explaining how, with the reorganization, everything will be more efficient. “Okay,” I ask, “what’s being lost?”

“Oh, we don’t want to focus on that, onwards and upwards…Let’s think positive.” The problem is, as I mentioned in the post, “…if you don’t discuss the elephant in the room, they [the employees] will grieve anyway and blame you for it!”

Also, in the same video, the executives present a watertight case for the merger using statistics. However, the key to persuading an audience is to give the numbers a human face. What do the percentages and bar charts mean in human terms?

Finally, these executives suggest using fear to “motivate” their staff: “If this new initiative doesn’t work we’ll all be unemployed.” Unfortunately, this kind of tactic pushes people into denial–They switch off and let the merger wash over them, refusing to engage with the change effort.

Once again, thanks for your feedback. I should ask you to read the book I’m writing

Steve

Also, you need to change steak to “stake through the heart.”

Rick