Ask any manufacturers’ representative to speak on the subject of
change and inevitably contributions will run along the lines of:

“The only constant is change.”
“I embrace change.”
“If you don’t change, you’ll go the way of the dinosaur.”

Even those who look for/embrace/entertain change will admit, however, that it’s one thing to be willing to alter the way you think and operate, but it’s quite a different thing to actually execute meaningful change.

Taking dead aim at change and the predicament many find themselves in when they attempt to execute change is a book entitled Our Iceberg is Melting (160 pp., St. Martin’s Press). Authored by John Kotter and Holger Rathgeber, the illustrated, 45-minute read makes use of a fable about penguins to teach how to understand and manage successful change.

The authors explain that their goal in writing this book was “to draw on the incredible power of good stories to influence behavior over time — making individuals and their groups more competent in handling change and producing better results.”

“One of the beauties of a good story,” they continue, “is that you can induce action from a broad range of people, in a manner quite different from most traditional professional books.”

Penguin Leads the Charge

The “good story” or fable that Kotter and Rathgeber chose to make their points relative to change was that of a colony of Antarctic penguins facing danger as their iceberg begins to melt — probably as a result of today’s much-publicized global warming threat. As one particularly observant and astute penguin leads the charge, the colony (with a few members resisting, if not holding back) studies the problem, conducts research, mobilizes for action and then executes a plan to safeguard the colony.

The key to the penguins’ success and every message in the book is what the authors refer to as the Eight Step Process of Successful Change.

Prior to examining that process, Randy Ottinger, a business colleague of John Kotter’s, explained his view of how change is important to business in general, but independent manufacturers’ reps specifically.

According to Ottinger, “One of the messages in this book is that first individuals change and that’s followed by organizational change. The change we’re speaking about can be in large organizations, or even in the small one-three man rep business. It’s specifically important to reps that they have to be aware not only of changes in their own organizations, but also in those companies and organizations that they are connected to. It’s imperative that reps change and adapt to the changes made in their manufacturers’ and customers’ organizations.”

Admitting to the truth in the analogy of dinosaurs not changing, Ottinger continues: “The truth is that most people are not comfortable with change. For them change is difficult and their only real comfort comes when other people are changing — not them. In order to effectively appreciate change, some passion or sense of urgency has to be present in an individual. The individual must be aware of the value of change. If you’re not aware of it, there’s no urgency, no passion and probably no change.”

Manufacturers Push Change

Bringing those thoughts home to the world of the manufacturers’ representative, he continues that reps, because they are so closely connected to manufacturers that are constantly going through change, must constantly be open to new products and new approaches to selling. “In the end, however, I maintain that in this case, it’s up to the manufacturer to create much of the sense of urgency in their reps. And, for their part, reps must be open to the changes taking place with their manufacturers.”

Ottinger notes that the business world is replete with examples of companies and organizations that have embraced change and thrived, and others that have squandered opportunities and fallen by the wayside. Considering the latter first, he points to Egghead Software as a prime example. “”Egghead was the leading supplier of software just at the time when use of the PC was growing. They sold through a variety of channels and offered a great value proposition. What happened to them happened on two fronts at the same time. First, you had the huge growth of MicroSoft; and second, many of the big-box PC manufacturers started to come out and sold their products with software already installed.

“It fell to Egghead to change the way they sold and they failed to do so. At the end of the day, they didn’t take advantage of a window of opportunity to change. They were too slow to move and didn’t embrace change.”

Window of Opportunity

Conversely, he explains, “It’s hard not to stay in the world of technology when you consider Google. In particular I look at their ability to create a culture that readily adapts to change in a fast-changing world. They have a way of conducting business that promotes individuals at all levels of the company coming up with new ideas. And, they execute those ideas everywhere. That to me is the best example of a company seeing their window of opportunity and then taking advantage of it.”

Before leaving a general discussion of the subject of personal and organizational change, Ottinger spoke to the subject of the changes taking place in the workforce — specifically changes in generations. “There is greater generational diversity in the workplace today and with that comes change in the way business is conducted. While older workers may be less adaptable to change, younger people have proven themselves to be much more adaptable. The members of the older generation are used to holding the same job for long periods of time and in family businesses (like rep firms) it may be for generations. Younger people, on the other hand, expect to hold a job for two or three years and then move on. They’re constantly thinking about what they are going to do next. Given these variables, the ability to accept change is more important now than ever.”

In conclusion, Ottinger emphasizes that perhaps the number-one message in Our Iceberg is Melting is that “As the windows of opportunity continue to rapidly open and close in this ever-changing world, there is a proven methodology based on more than 30 years of research conducted by John Kotter, that will show large and small organizations how to identify and manage change. Keep in mind that a full 70% of change initiatives fail; 25% of those initiatives come up short. That leaves 5% that are truly successful and that’s what Kotter’s research is based upon. The eight step process works. I know that when I’ve come up against issues related to change. I went back to these strategies and found that they worked for me.”

The Eight Step Process of Successful Change

The process employed by the penguins to safeguard their colony in Our Iceberg is Melting is presented below. It’s worthwhile to consider how the process worked for them but at the same time consider how this process can apply to what a rep agency is facing and planning to do for the future.

• Create a sense of urgency — The book describes how after the first penguin notices the problem, that efforts are taken to have others see the same problem and appreciate the need to immediate action. This is an area of importance that Ottinger emphasizes and he maintains that “urgency starts when a window of opportunity is identified. If your senior leaders can spot that window, articulate it and agree upon what must be done, they can go out and instill that sense of urgency.”

• Pull together the guiding team — A powerful group must be assembled to guide change.

• Develop the change vision and strategy — It’s imperative that there is an understanding that the future will be quite different from the past.

• Communicate for understanding and buy in — Involve as many others so the vision and strategy will be acceptable.

• Empower others to act — Remove barriers so as many as possible are able to participate in the change.

• Produce short-term wins — It’s important that this is done as quickly as possible.

• Don’t let up — Even as initial successes are realized, individuals and business must press harder and faster and must be relentless as they initiate change until the stated vision becomes a reality.

• Create a new culture — the authors emphasize that new ways of behaving must be maintained, and succeed, until they become strong enough to replace old traditions.