Most of us like variety, but not everyone likes change. What I’ve discovered over the years is that if I decide that it’s going to be different, I call it variety. If you tell me that it’s going to be different, I call it change!
In order to improve and keep our organizations vibrant, we have to change. In order to get change happen successfully, we need to plan it. ISO 9001 requires change management in clause 6.3 (Planning of changes), 8.4.3, (Changes to requirements for products and services), 8.3.6 (Design and development changes) and 8.5.6 (Control of changes).
Jim Muckle, retired Air Force Officer, had a program to help change happen in his organization. He taught me a couple of really important points about change. First of all, it isn’t enough just to tell people how great it’s going to be after the change. It’s equally important to show them how much of what they like will still be around after the improvement. And they need to be involved in the design – a person will move mountains to make his or her idea work. If it’s NOT their idea, they’ll build mountains (of resistance) to make sure it doesn’t work.
So tap into your expert knowledge base and get change under control. Follow the ripple effect of any change (flowcharts are good for this) and make it great!
Know Quality, Know Profits…No Quality, No Profits
If you’d like to see if our platform could help you manage change to take advantage of opportunities in your organization, schedule a demo and we’ll see if it’s a good fit for you: