When I talk with leaders attempting to transform their businesses, I’ll ask them about the changes their installing. They’re excited about these changes, and they tend to go into great detail. I’m excited for them.

Then I ask a question they’re often not ready for: “What’s going to get your people to WANT to do these new things?”

“Want to?” they say, kind of asking, kind of saying it. “Well, I hadn’t really thought of it that way, Al.”

They scratch their heads thinking about this. “Well, they’re our people. They work for us. We pay them. So, I suppose…I guess they have to change.”

***

The reality is, our people don’t have to. Our dogs—they have to; if they want a treat, they have to sit or lie or beg. They have to. But our dogs are loyal. There is no Indog.com, no BarkedIn, no DoggyDoor. Our dogs stay with us.

Our people…that’s another matter. They can go somewhere else, do other things—especially the good ones. Or they can stay inside and resist, especially the bad ones. There IS LinkedIn, GlassDoor, Indeed and a slew of other services they can use to find something else to do.

***

All of which to say, We have to find ways to get our people to WANT to change. We can do that by modeling, listening, pulling and getting our own hands dirty. Or we can just expect them to do it because they have to…only to find out our change either never takes shape, or it doesn’t last.

Let me know what you think. I look forward to being in touch.

Al Comeaux