Step 1 in Action

Step #1 in Action

Tough Issue: Computer System Can't Get off the Ground

Greg, the manager of a municipal water system, faced a big problem. His team needed to implement a computerized preventive maintenance system. For several years, the water division had tried to put a computerized system into operation, but the project went nowhere. Management wanted the system, but the union workers resisted it.

The workers had lots of reasons for avoiding the change. "We don't have time to learn a new system and do our jobs at the same time," some said. "Not everyone would have access to the equipment," others complained. "We haven't decided how to switch from our manual system to an automated maintenance scheduling and tracking program," still others grumbled.

Their points of view came from fear and worry about scarcity. Learn a new skill? Maybe that meant their old jobs, which they knew so well, were going to be phased out. Not have access to equipment? That might mean there would not be enough to go around. Not make the decision to switch? That was fear-based procrastination, pure and simple.

But they had to implement the system. The aging water system needed planned maintenance and it had become too complex to track efficiently with manual methods. With all the worries and fears, though, how could the managers and dozens of frontline workers come to terms and steer the water system into the future?

A Great Decision Solution

The situation in which Greg and the rest of the water division found themselves seemed hopeless. Greg knew he had to move the project ahead, but it looked too mired down for any optimism.

Greg started with the traditional management approach of selecting a group of six people to resolve the dilemma. This small group consisted of managers and workers as well as computer specialists—the obvious stakeholders and people you might expect would have the answers.

However, the solution to the real problem—getting worker buy-in—didn't come from the traditional work group approach. It came from employing the full power of Step #1—inviting all of the talent at hand, whether it was front and center or on the sidelines, to solve the problem. Here's how they did it.

Greg brought the problem to all fifty members of the utilities department workforce. He invited anyone from the department with relevant ideas or experience to join the task force.

This reaped great results. The most valuable contribution came from the most unexpected source—a maintenance worker in the separate sewer division. Tom, a blue-collar union member, had experience with the implementation of a computerized maintenance system at a former job. Because he had been invited, he offered to share his know-how. "I know how you can do this," Tom offered. "We put in a system like this at my previous job. I was skeptical at first, and it took some adjustments. Once we got it going, however, it made everyone's job better."

The rank and file of the water division valued the expertise of a fellow worker and consequently lent their support to the plan for the new system. It was a defining moment. By moving beyond the traditional limited group approach and instead including everyone, the project went ahead, backed with enthusiasm, and produced solid results.

Tough Issue: $250 Million Project Hits Wall of Resistance

A Fortune 500 corporation wanted to add a $250 million production facility on the property of its existing plant. It developed detailed plans on its own and announced them to the local community. Since no one in the community had known about the plans, much less had the opportunity to discuss them, the project met stiff resistance. "I just about fell out of my chair when I heard about it," said the mayor. Even people sympathetic to the company's presence in the community felt blind-sided.

Fearing that they would never have a voice in the planning, city officials launched a full-scale legal effort to block the project. The company's detailed plan, which it had spent a million dollars to develop, crashed and burned. But the company needed the facility. What could it do next?

A Great Decision Solution

What the company managers did was to shift gears and invite everyone in the city government and in local community groups to share their interests and develop a plan together. The outcome was a win-win solution. The corporation obtained support from the city to double the capacity of its new production facility compared to the original plan. In turn, the company committed to removing the old plant, creating bike paths, freeing up unneeded land for new community uses, and providing a reliable stream of revenue to the city for its other needs.