Viral Change (TM)

Net-work, not more teamwork (1)

2008-05-08T13:04:00.001+01:00

This is the title of one of the chapters of my new book DISRUPTIVE IDEAS which builds upon Viral Change. Disruptive ideas will be available by the end of this month, May 2008. Organisations have become proficient in team management and teams have become the natural structure for collaboration, the default position. But in these days of inter-dependence between roles and jobs, many collaboration solutions can be found in informal networks, not in designed, cohesive teams. Let me inject another contrarian idea: you don’t need any more teams. I know, I know, teamocracies rule the waves. We all talk about teams and how to make them stronger, more effective, etc. Teams are at the centre of organisational development and somehow we have equated them to ‘collaboration’ or people working together. Teams are here to stay and I’m not going to waste any more space justifying their existence. But what we really need to do is not to refine the team machinery, but to exploit the net-work one. The organisation is composed of a number of collaborative spaces. Some of them are relatively rigid and designed - teams, task forces - while others are composed of looser connections between individuals, with different degrees and nuances of the word ‘looser’. Some communities (of practice or interest) are semi-loose, with a more or less defined membership. There are other networks of connections of a much looser nature, represented by people who sometimes know very little about each other and/or only communicate from time to time. There is a wide spectrum of connections available, but traditional management has only focused on one end; the one where structures are designed and borders given: the teams. In recent years, people of different disciplines interested in organisational life have begun to suspect that the structure of teams may not be as universally desirable as we first thought, particularly when the organisation needs to tap into intellectual capital wherever it is. We need more and more people who are able to navigate, to ride the looser informal connections where many answers to innovation lie. Teams are too predictable in their capability to answer questions such as, “is there a different way?” Even if the answer is yes, chances are ‘that way’ is to be found within the confines of the team. We need to favour looser network structures, even if we won’t have the same command and control capacity as we do with teams and taskforces. This is the price to pay. It is from those sometimes un-structured conversations that true innovation originates; it is there that many answers to questions can be found. What can you do? Next post!

Redesigning Sales Forces

2008-04-10T18:00:00.002+01:00

Redesigning pharmaceutical sales operations is probably one of the most strategically important things on the table of senior commercial executives in an operating company today. And this redesigning doesn’t only involve the field forces, but also their connections with other HQ functions such as Marketing, Medical or Sales Force Effectiveness groups.

Leandro Herrero has published a new white paper describing the methodology his company, The Chalfont Project, has used for years in their client work. This methodology combines strategy with group decision analysis, creating a shared common understanding amongst stakeholders, a common sense of purpose and shared commitment to action. This proven method will enable companies to find their most preferred option that will work.

Although the white paper is focussed on the pharmaceutical industry, the methodology equally applies to all industries when looking to redesign their sales forces.

You can read the full white paper here.

Difference in conduit of change

2008-04-03T19:38:00.001+01:00

That brings me to item 7 on my list: the difference between traditional change management and Viral Change concerning the conduit of change, i.e. how change flows through the organisation.

Following the conventional approach, the primary vehicle for the change is the management tree/structure represented in the organisation chart. VPs fire the shots and take care of directors so they are on board. Directors repeat this at their level, involving managers and their groups, sections or divisions. Managers take care of their own trees. Change is created by a sequential cascade down, via ‘the plumbing system’ of ‘burning platform signals’, communications and activities, training and review processes. Buy-in is assumed as part of the rational process. All people are equal under the tsunami!

However, in Viral Change, networks of people are the primary conduit. Signals (language, strategy, ‘burning platforms’ and directions of change) may have been started at the top, and indeed communicated down via hierarchical ‘pipes’, but change is created by social imitation in networks of influence and driven by few individuals who act as key nodes. They constitute either an informal, natural network, or they may be aided by a designed network of ‘change agents’ or ‘Change Champions’. Viral Change does not subscribe to an egalitarian view: there is no point in communicating to all and cascading down as the only mechanism to spreading change.

If you want to read more about Viral Change, you can read it all in my book of the same title: Viral Change: the alternative to slow, painful and unsuccessful management of change in organisations

Formal process of ‘the change management programme’

2008-04-01T20:19:00.002+01:00

In this item – item 6 on my list – we take a look at how Viral Change differs in its process, its approach on the change management programme.

The conventional approach's formal process is consistent with the assumed and lived model of the organisation. It stresses sequence: create a ‘burning platform first, communicate strategy, plan, distribute tasks, train, roll-out, check. It relies on processes above behaviours.

Viral Change approaches the formal process of change with the understanding of the organisation as a living, adaptable network. It stresses multi-directional influence and creation of stable change by the combination of four elements:

(1) language
(2) behaviours and their reinforcement
(3) creation of tipping points (with emphasis on ‘social imitation’)
(4) establishment of new routines or ‘cultures (see later).

In Viral Change mode, the emphasis is on behaviours above processes.

How to change a country?

2008-03-13T16:24:00.002Z

For those of us passionate about change in organisations, looking at change outside the enterprise is a learning treat. Social and political change is no different from organisational change. The only differences are the context, the scope and the interdependencies between individuals/players. What they all have in common is that human beings are the protagonists of change. Though it is unusual for me to write about non-organisational change in this blog, I am making a pleasurable exception today.

Imagine a politically conservative head of state asking a Marxist philosopher to gather ‘brains’ from all over (inside and outside the country), including all views and all political, social and technical positions. And then asking them to make suggestions on how to change the nation and create growth. This is not political fiction, nor fable, social experimentation or a PhD in democracy. It is simply France in 2008.

This remarkable process took place between July 2007 and January 2008. The head of state, of course, is Sarkozy; the Marxist philosopher is Jacques Attali and the invited brains consisted of 43 people from academia, consulting, finance, enterprises (big and small), journalism, etc. The outcome is published in the book 300 décisions pour changer la France. Rapport de la Commission pour la libération de la croissance française. (XO Editions, 2008, ISBN 978-2-84-563-373-5 - see also www.liberationdelacroissance.fr

300 proposals have become de facto ‘decisions’, as the President of France indicated that he is in a hurry and that everything needs to be implemented by October 2009. The proposals are fascinating to read, whether you agree with all of them or not. Incidentally, the 43 invitees signed off on all the ‘decisions’, even if some of them may not have been their real cup of tea, all in the interest of the common goal: to get France back to full employment and growth and change for good. Several lessons can be drawn from this for us as change evangelists/addicts/infectors:

Timeframe. It is possible to generate high quality change proposals in a shorter period of time. Six months for the above task is pretty good. They did not just sit around a table and chat, but they had numerous consultations with people and institutions, all documented in the fascinating final written output.
The membership was heterogeneous, which avoided the development of groupthink.
When the goal is worth it, challenging, exciting, etc. people roll up their sleeves and set aside tribal loyalties. And I often wonder how many ‘projects’ in our organisations have an element of excitement, discovery and ‘destiny’ (even with a small ‘d’, as I described in The Leader with Seven Faces). Many ‘activities’ are only geared towards changing the oil of the organisation instead of towards true transformation. Also, how many tribal discussions and turf wars jeopardise projects worth doing?
There is public commitment. The president has set public deadlines and has put a mechanism in place to make sure that they will be met. According to the report, this is a sort of ‘Delivery Office’ copied from Tony Blair. There is no hiding from it.

I think that this process is a model for many things, for example energy behind exciting goals and leadership (Attali is a fine, well-respected mind and author. His latest book is Une brève histoire de l’avenir)

The process and the report are not change per se, just like a massive communication programme within an organisation is not change either. But this is a good, impressive start. To the French: chapeau!

Cause-effect and Interventions

2008-03-11T22:09:00.001Z

In this fifth instalment, we take a look at how Viral Change differs from the traditional change management in its view on cause-effect and interventions in the organisation.

The conventional approach is linear dynamics territory: big problems require big changes and a proportionate change management programme. Change progresses in a steady, measurable way (milestones and calendars). The programme has a distinct Tsunami effect and the bigger the tsunami the better. ‘We have to catch all at the same time with the same intensity’

Viral Change, however, has a clear non-linear dynamics view: big changes may require a small set of key and meaningful actions or (new) behaviours. The programme resembles the butterfly management effect: small initial change in key areas suddenly appears widespread, possibly ‘revolutionary’ (phase transition and tipping points).

Leandro Herrero keynote speaker at the eyeforpharma Sales Force Effectiveness Europe conference 2008

2008-03-07T04:28:00.003Z

Leandro Herrero - a leading organisational consultant and CEO of The Chalfont Project Ltd (www.thechalfontproject.com) – will be a keynote speaker at eyeforpharma’s 6^th Annual Pharma Conference - Sales Force Effectiveness Europe 2008 in Barcelona.

Dr Leandro Herrero, founder and CEO of The Chalfont Project Ltd (www.thechalfontproject.com) – an international firm of organisational consultants - will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming eyeforpharma Sales Force Effectiveness Europe Conference 2008.

Dr Herrero will address conference attendees on April 2^nd 2008 during his keynote speech, entitled: Pharma SFE 2.0 – How to go beyond ‘more-of-the-same’ processes, IT, and standard solutions and engage in true business transformation’.

In his speech, he will discuss the following:

Five key transformations still on the to-do list:how to jump from ‘me-too’ evolution to true organisational leadership
Overcoming the pharma change management motto: ‘Change is great, you go first’
‘The emperor has no clothes’ and your CRM has no customers: is customer-centrism in pharma a myth?
Seven deadly fallacies in pharma SFE: how business transformation is impaired by disconnected structures, processes and behaviours

He will also touch on further transformations of Sales Force Effectiveness models, with focus on new Web 2.0 and Enterprise 2.0 technologies that have the potential to redesign organisational cultures.

A book signing has been scheduled for Dr Leandro Herrero at lunchtime on 2^nd April, immediately following his address. Attendees will have the opportunity for an informal conversation with Dr. Herrero and signed copies of all his books will be available for purchase.

Dr Leandro Herrero practised as a psychiatrist for more than fifteen years before taking up senior management positions in several leading companies, both in the UK and the US. He is founder and CEO of The Chalfont Project Ltd, an international firm of organisational consultants. Taking advantage of his behavioural sciences background, coupled with his hands-on business experience, he works with organisations of many kinds on structural and behavioural change, leadership and human collaboration. He has published several books, among which The Leader with Seven Faces, Viral Change and New Leaders Wanted (www.meetingminds.com).

The Chalfont Project Ltd (www.thechalfontproject.com) is an international consulting firm of organisation architects with a long-standing presence in the bio-pharmaceutical industry.

The eyeforpharma 6^th Annual Pharma Conference - Sales Force Effectiveness Europe 2008 is an in-depth exploration of the latest strategies, tools and best practices to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of your sales force. The eyeforpharma Sales Force Effectiveness Europe conference will take place at the CCIB, Rambla Prim 1-17, 08019 Barcelona, Spain from Wednesday 2^nd April 2008 through to Friday 4^th April 2008. Mention ‘SPK08’ as a discount code and receive a discount of €550.00 of the standard registration price when you register here.

Leandro Herrero to host workshop at the eyeforpharma Sales Force Effectiveness Europe conference 2008

2008-03-07T04:26:00.000Z

Leandro Herrero - a leading organisational consultant and CEO of The Chalfont Project Ltd (www.thechalfontproject.com) – will be hosting a workshop at eyeforpharma’s 6^th Annual Pharma Conference - Sales Force Effectiveness Europe 2008 in Barcelona.

Leandro Herrero, founder and CEO of The Chalfont Project Ltd (www.thechalfontproject.com) – an international firm of organisational consultants - will be hosting a workshop at the upcoming eyeforpharma Sales Force Effectiveness Europe Conference 2008. Dr Herrero will be addressing pharmaceutical industry experts and innovators from all over the world, focussing on how to improve Sales Force Effectiveness through Behavioural Change the Viral Change way.

Dr Herrero has personally led multiple organisational and cultural changes by applying the Viral Change^TM-way, which is described in his book Viral Change: the alternative to slow, painful and unsuccessful management of change in organisations (meetingminds, December 2006)

“Viral Change as a form of management of change is completely different from the conventional way,” Dr Herrero says. “It represents a truly new way of producing and sustaining changes. In Viral Change mode, a small set of behaviours, spread by a small number of internal activists, propagated like an internal infection of new ideas or routines creates long-lasting, faster and sustainable real change. Viral Change is closer to the dynamics of fashions, fads and infections than to standard management practices. Through Viral Change, the leader’s goal is to create an internal epidemic of success!”

A book signing has been scheduled for Dr Leandro Herrero at lunchtime on 2^nd April, immediately following his keynote address. Attendees will have the opportunity for an informal conversation with Dr. Herrero and signed copies of all his books will be available for purchase following both his keynote address and the workshop.

The Chalfont Project Ltd (www.thechalfontproject.com) is an international consulting firm of organisation architects with a long-standing presence in the bio-pharmaceutical industry.

Disruptive Ideas achieve bigger results

2008-03-07T04:12:00.002Z

Disruptive Ideas – the forthcoming new book by Leandro Herrero – shows organisations that all you need is a small set of disruptive ideas or powerful rules to create big impact.

In a time when organisations simultaneously run multiple corporate initiatives and large change programmes, Disruptive Ideas tells us that - contrary to the collective mindset that says that big problems need big solutions – all you need is a small set of powerful rules to create big cultural change.

In his previous book, Viral Change™, Leandro Herrero described how a small set of behaviours, spread by a small number of people could create sustainable change. In Disruptive Ideas, the follow-up book to Viral Change™, the author suggests a menu of 10 ‘structures’, 10 ‘processes’ and 10 ‘behaviours’ that have the power to transform any organisation of any size.

These 30 disruptive ideas can be implemented at any time and at almost no cost and what’s more...you don’t even need them all. But their compound effect – the 10+10+10 maths - will be more powerful than vast corporate programmes with dozens of objectives and efficiency targets.

This book will appeal to people at different levels of management or leadership, who want to reshape their culture by enhancing working practices and in general aim at greater organisational effectiveness. Its practical nature will appeal to all who want to implement key ideas – some of them contrarian or counterintuitive - that have the power to transform the organisation without having to embark upon a massive change management programme.

Leandro Herrero was a practicing psychiatrist for many years before holding senior leadership positions in top league business organisations. He is currently CEO of The Chalfont Project Ltd, an international group of organisational consultants, which he co-founded. His previous books include The Leader with Seven Faces, Viral Change and New Leaders Wanted – Now Hiring!, also published by meetingminds.

Disruptive Ideas, 10+10+10=1000: the maths of Viral Change that transform organisations
by Leandro Herrero
meetingminds, April 2008
£18.50/US $26.00, Paperback, 300 pages - ISBN: 978-1-905776-04-7
Available to pre-order at: www.waterstones.com, www.barnesandnoble.com, www.meetingminds.com and many other (online) bookshops and outlets.

Different processes and systems

2008-03-06T17:54:00.002Z

In item 4 of my list, I want to talk about how both Viral Change and traditional change management view the organisational processes and systems.

In the conventional approach, processes and systems are kept inside and well-defined so that the majority in that distribution can repeat them and ensure consistency. Predictability is key.

Viral Change, on the other hand, acknowledges formal processes and systems, but management in Viral Change(TM) mode are very sensitive to the risk of those processes and systems taking over organisational life. Emphasis on behaviours is needed to support processes, versus processes creating behaviours.

Viral Change distributes people differently

2008-03-04T17:40:00.002Z

The third item in my list focuses on how different the distribution of people is as seen from the two angles: conventional approach and Viral Change.

In the conventional approach, everything from ‘quality of the components’ to ‘flow’ assumes a bell curve distribution. Management practices consistent with this: communication reaches (or has to reach) the majority of people; change practices need to involve the majority under-the-curve acknowledging that there will be sigma deviations at both sides, for example, casualties of people who ‘will never change’.

However, in Viral Change, the organisation is a network and follows the power laws of networks where (1) a few people have multiple connections, (2) those with greater connections and perhaps influence will continue to have more and (3) spread of information, communication, influence, new behaviours new habits, etc., happens via 'tipping points'.

Different ‘structures’ in Viral Change

2008-03-01T04:53:00.001Z

Instalment two in the differences between Viral Change and the conventional change management approach shows that Viral Change sees the ‘structures’ of the organisation differently.

In the conventional approach, connections are established in a tree-like way. Organisation of ‘collaborative spaces’ takes place mainly by design: teams, task forces, committees, ‘solid lines’ and ‘dotted lines’. There is acknowledgment of the existence of a looser network of connections but it’s mainly seen as noise, or an informal communication system which is impossible to tap into, quantify or manage.

Viral Change sees the organisation as a complex system of connections, with high adaptation capabilities. Some of the connections have been formalized by design, providing relatively stable platforms of collaboration (teams, etc.) This designed architecture is superimposed to a far bigger and looser, non-designed, (‘emergent’) network of connections, or structure. A healthy dynamics between the ‘designed’ and ‘emergent’ is the key for effectiveness and success.

Viral Change sees a different, implicit model of the organisation

2008-02-25T17:15:00.003Z

In my previous post, I told you I’d be looking at the differences between Viral Change and traditional change management. Here is the first instalment: how the ‘concept of the organisation’ is different.

The conventional approach sees the organisation as machinery of bits and pieces linked by a sort of mecano-hydraulic dynamics. Information, guidelines, pressures, support or anything that flows inside, does so mainly top-down. Pushed from one side, it will have consequences on the other side. ‘Corporate goals are my objectives; my objectives are the basis for yours (direct reports)’, etc. Life percolates down the organisation chart or its ‘collaboration by design' spaces (mainly teams). The pre-determined ‘plumbing system’ described in the organisation chart is the communication highway. Influence and power are assumed to flow down the plumbing system.

Viral ChangeTM takes a different view, one where the organisation is better explained as a living organism sharing many of its characteristics. There is a formal structure of authority (represented by the organisation chart) but, beyond this, there is a multi-directional flow of influences and other dynamics. Self-adaptation and re-configuration are key to survival and grow mechanisms. Managerially, it doesn’t discard a structured system of goals, objectives, etc., but it is less concerned with absolute consistency in ‘cascades’ as long as there are a few overriding strategies and directions. An incredibly rich ‘network world’, often invisible, coexists with the plumbing system.

Viral Change vs. traditional change management

2008-02-14T22:49:00.001Z

People often ask me, ‘how does Viral Change differ from the traditional view on change management?’ The short answer is, of course, like night from day.

However, in order to illuminate the differences further, I’ll be dedicating my next few posts on clarifying how Viral Change differs from the traditional change management.

There’s 8 items on my list. Watch this space...

Viral Change: a welcome challenge

2008-02-07T22:14:00.000Z

Chris Rodgers - independent management consultant, business coach and author - welcomes Viral Change's challenge to the traditional view that big change requires big programmes. He posted the following on his blog, Informal Coalitions, and I wanted to share his views with you here as well:

I’ve just finished reading an excellent book on organizational change, Viral Change, written by Leandro Herrero. The cover of the book states:

"Lasting change in the modern organization has less to do with massive ‘communication to all’ programmes and more with the creation of an internal epidemic of success led by a small number of non-negotiable behaviours."

The book was easy and enjoyable to read. And it was pleasing to come across an approach to change that doesn't advocate the top-down, project-based, all-singing-all-dancing methodologies that tend to dominate current management thinking and practice.

Central to Viral Change is the proposition that it is people's everyday behaviours that determine an organization's 'culture', not the formal statements, structures and processes that usually emerge from conventional 'cultural change' programmes. Having established this as a key principle of the Viral Change approach, Herrero identifies 15 conventional assumptions about organizational change. He then sets out to debunk these in the remainder of the book, which is usefully arranged into three complementary sections:

In the five chapters that make up the first section, Herrero sets out his argument for the Viral Change approach. Here, he explores some of the conventional wisdom on organizational change, before putting forward his own insights into how organizations work and the implications of these for change-leadership practice.
Section 2, comprises seven chapters which deal with the four main components of Viral Change. These are described as language, new behaviours, tipping points, and rules and rituals (or 'culture'). The framing of the change, the identification of a small set of "non-negotiable behaviours", and the propagation of these behaviours through the organization's informal influence networks provide the main focus of this section.
Finally, Herrero summarises the approach that he tends to use when applying Viral Change in organizations, and ends by revisiting the 15 change management assumptions from a Viral Change perspective.

Overall, I found the book an extremely valuable resource as well as an entertaining read. Although it resonates strongly with my own perspective on the dynamics of change, it approaches the subject from a different viewpoint. This provided a healthy mixture of challenge to, and support for, my own thinking, as well as provoking further questions and insights.

Chris Rodgers is an independent management consultant, business coach and author of Informal Coalitions.

A passionate architect of Viral Change

2008-01-25T19:56:00.000Z

Pierre Morgon, Director of Primary Care at Schering-Plough, knows how to manage delicate changes. And he readily embraces the resulting human challenges. Several times he has gone through the difficult exercise of making teams do things differently at the same time as creating the right environment for them to do it in.

As Pierre Morgon worked with Leandro Herrero on several occasions, Business Digest felt he was ideally placed to provide an insider’s view on how Viral Change really works.

Read the whole interview here >>

Business Digest is a European publisher on business issues. Please visit their website to find more information on Business Digest articles and to subscribe to their monthly magazine on management and strategy.

The “behaviour champions” at Pfizer Ltd

2008-01-22T17:19:00.000Z

When Business Digest decided to devote a full dossier in their December ’07 issue to Viral Change, they also wanted to show that Viral Change is more than just a concept. So, they interviewed two industry leaders about their experience with Viral Change in their organisations.

When Philip Watts was Director of the sales department within Pfizer Ltd, he knew something had to change. Reps understood the company’s goal and mission, but didn’t really know how to behave towards their colleagues or their customers. That’s when Philip Watts met Leandro and learnt about Viral Change...

Business Digest met up with him and found out all about his experience with with Viral Change within Pfizer.

Read the whole interview here >>

Business Digest devotes dossier to Viral Change

2008-01-18T04:47:00.000Z

As I mentioned in a previous post, Business Digest planned to devote their December 07 issue to change. Their plans included devoting one dossier solely to Dr Herrero's book, Viral Change, and the implementation of the Viral Change^TMmethodology in actual business situations.

The dossier was published in their December issue on change and consisted of a review of the book and two interviews with top executives/managers whose companies have successfully implemented Viral Change^TM.

Today, I want to share with you Business Digest’s Viewpoint on Viral Change. In my next two posts, the two Viral Change–success stories get their turn.

Business Digest is a European magazine publisher on management and strategy and has been helping leaders improve their understanding of the corporate environment and its evolution since 1992. They are also a preferred partner of well-known experts such as HEC Executive Education, Key People Clubs, The European Club of Corporate Universities, WDHB Consulting Group and Crossknowledge.

New Leaders even easier to find

2008-01-16T20:48:00.000Z

In the current business environment, success requires different skills, different mental models and different approaches to reality. So why do organizations still recruit people with the same skills they needed in the past?

Leandro Herrero’s book New Leaders Wanted explores the new skills and new approaches to reality. It maps the 12 kinds of people that can literally make or break a company's success and will guide you in your search to find those people. New Leaders Wanted will help you create the conditions for extraordinary success in your organization.

The book has been available in paperback from amazon.co.uk, amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, meetingminds and many other (online) retailers since July 2007.

It is now joined by the brand-new Adobe Ebook version which is available from the following online retailers:

Powells - Diesel ebooks – Ebooks About Everything

You can read more about the book here.

Interview with Leandro Herrero

2008-01-10T19:02:00.000Z

Reader Views' Tyler Tichelaar sat down with Leandro Herrero to determine how he came to write Viral Change and what the thinking is behind the book. But most of all, to discover what it is that makes this book stand out from the traditional management of change.

You can read the full interview here.

Embracing change - a new look at old ideas

2008-01-08T20:36:00.000Z

Shannon Perry, journalist for eyeforpharma, recently wrote an article about Leandro Herrero and his book, Viral Change, which I thought I’d share with you here:

Change is tricky for any organization but Leandro Herrero, CEO of the Chalfont Project, can help. Herrero's book, Viral Change: The Alternative to Slow, Painful and Unsuccessful Management of Change in Organizations, takes on the task of educating businesses about the nature of change.

There are a lot of myths around how people do or do not embrace change when it comes. The most important thing, according to Herrero, is to understand that behavior drives change, not the other way around. If you want your employees to adopt some new system or process, you must have the behaviors in place that will support that new system. Just because the new system is better, more productive, more efficient, less costly or cumbersome, that doesn't mean your employees will adopt it easily . . . if ever.

Change in organizations, Herrero says, should be more like an infection, spreading new ideas, new ways of working and new behaviors through peer to peer influence. It is much more a viral activity (Viral Change TM), than a rational cascading down of communications from the top.

Information already moves through the company much the same way a virus moves through a body. That means, it doesn't necessarily start at the top and move systematically downward. It moves from multiple loci outwards, spreading through connections until the system is overwhelmed (the "tipping point").

It is up to a company to understand and utilize the "organizational highways" that are already in place - by taking advantage of the networks that exist in every organization and allowing information and change to disseminate outwards, peer to peer, as well as top to bottom.

Only behavioral change is "real" change
In order to get people to adopt new systems and processes, it is necessary to encourage them to make changes at the behavioral level. Like New Year's resolutions, superficial changes may only last a few days or weeks before we revert back to our old patterns. Only change at the behavioral level is effective and lasting. So what are the mechanisms that cause and support this kind of change? And why do we resist?

People resist, says Herrero, not because it is in the nature of human beings to resist all change, good or bad. If people believe that change may impact them badly - by reducing their level of control, for example - they may put up a fight. But if hold-outs see their peers being rewarded for alternative behaviors (the target behaviors), they will be infected by the viral change that's sweeping the company.

Myths of change
One of the myths Herrero wants to debunk is the idea that "big changes require big actions." Just as small frustrations can derail a large project, small, positive changes can have a cumulative effect, building toward a tipping point.

Equally, Herrero says we must let go of the notion that "only change at the top can ensure change within the organization." Of course, ideally, those at the top would be in support of change and ready and willing to model the new behaviors necessary to effect that change. But such support doesn't always happen. Viral change doesn't rely on top-down support. "Distributed leadership" means having small teams of leaders dispersed throughout a company. These leaders can effect change locally that then radiates outward through established networks.

The idea that "people are rational and will react to logical and rational requests for change" may also be more of a hindrance than a help. People are rational and are interested in hearing the reasons and logic behind making a change. But people also need to see how it will affect them and how they can have an effect on the change. If those logical reasons aren't internalized, aren't emotionally integrated, then the behavioral changes will be superficial and fleeting.

Viral change and pharma sales
The same philosophy can be applied to sales force effectiveness. As Herrero says, salespeople are often "taught" a set of responses for situations that might arise. If the customer brings up objection A, reply with reassurance B. This is ineffective because it is based on a fundamental misunderstanding of how people change. You may have a very slick presentation with lots of colorful slides and a lot of very reasonable arguments in support of your product, but in order to effect change at the behavioral level, you're going to have to appeal to customers' emotions as well as their reason. When the desired behavior emerges, reinforce and reward it and never forget that even small changes can have major impacts.

Viral Change: the alternative to slow, painful and unsuccessful management of change in organizations - by Leandro Herrero (ISBN 9781905776016 - $29.95 / £19.95) is available from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnesandnoble.com, meetingminds.com and many other (online) retailers. You can contact Leandro Herrero through the website at www.thechalfontproject.com.

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-21T18:59:00.001Z

I want to wish all my readers the very best for the holiday season! Have a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

All the best for 2008!

Leandro

Viral Change will come to the rescue of ‘Enterprise 2.0’ transformations

2007-12-20T17:21:00.000Z

Dr Leandro Herrero will be a keynote speaker at the eyeforpharma Sales Force Effectiveness Conference in Barcelona (2 - 4 April 2008). He will be focussing on how to go beyond ‘more of the same’ and on how to engage in true business transformation.

Dr Herrero will also be leading a workshop at the event, which will focus on how Viral Change can increase the Sales Force Effectiveness.

eyeforpharma is the market leader in pharmaceutical conferences, bringing pharma strategies to the busy executive. Dr Herrero is a frequent speaker at their events and was voted ‘Best Speaker’ at last year’s Monaco event.

You can register for the event here.

Enter the discount code ‘SPK08’ and receive €550 off any standard priced conference pass! Register now because the event WILL sell out!

Leandro Herrero’s audio interview on Viral Change

2007-12-18T19:39:00.000Z

Inside Scoop Live's Juanita Watson interviewed Leandro Herrero, the author of Viral Change, to gain a full understanding of the concept of Viral Change and the thinking behind the book. The result is a fascinating interview that will provide you with an in-depth view of how the author came to the Viral Change methodology and how this has translated into his book.

You can listen to that interview here.

Management of change… a short video clip

2007-12-13T19:16:00.000Z

For all of you who enjoyed the series on the 15 myths of change, Leandro Herrero has also created a short video clip on the management of change.

He has also compiled other short video posts on the following subjects:

You can also learn more about Viral Change by visiting The Chalfont Project’s website or clicking on any of the Viral Change resources on the right.