Looking at the approach Jim “Mattress Mack” McIngvale took
versus the approach Stanley McChrystal spoke about in his video Listen, learn, then lead; it was clear
that both of them were effective in getting what each needed in the end result
utilizing similar strategies. In our text Brown points out two different types
of strategic change implementations the 15.4 Relative Strength of Corporate
Cultures and 15.5 The Strategy-Culture Matrix; each encompasses planned change.
The Relative Strength of Corporate Culture is “characterized by the
organization’s basic values being intensely held, and widely shared.” (Brown,
2011). This specific type of strategy relates to the degree of values and the commitment
to them which will show the strength of the culture at the organization. The
Strategy-Culture Matrix is similar as it involves the culture of the
organization, but it is more flexible when it comes to the strategy change that
is implemented. In this matrix implementing changes can be done more
effectively when the culture of the organization is taken into consideration”
(Brown, 2011). Each of these requires participation of the organization and
each strategy can be evident in each of these men’s experiences.
McIngvale is the owner of a Gallery Furniture store in
Houston, Texas which is “a national leader in sales among independent furniture
stores in America”, however they faced many obstacles once the recession hit
the housing market in Texas. The recession opened their eyes to a much-needed
change if they were going to remain successful. McIngvale realized that his
company would need to make drastic changes in order change the way in which his
employees were behaving to provide his customers with what they were looking
for. McIngvale decided to implement the Influencer Training throughout his
entire company training every single employee on how to change the way they did
business. The end result has shown that not only have his employees stepped up
their game, but also that their customers have responded positively to the
implementation which led him to continue utilizing the Influencer Training
tactics. The organizational change helped McIngvale employ “six different initiatives
to innovate the way they do business, including: revamping their sales
approach, reducing delivery reworks, improving safety and employee wellness,
and reducing inventory” (Gallery Furniture). McIngvale focused on developing a
strategy that worked for his organization and would impact the culture to a
certain degree that would yield successful results. He openly communicated to
his staff a need for change, developed a plan of action, brought in a third
party to train employees and mentor them all the way through which lead to a
successful result. In this situation the culture was impacted but the strategy
was monitored in order to prevent retaliation.
Stanley McChrystal, Four-star general, conveyed lessons
learned in his Ted Talk Listen, learn,
then lead. Within his life experiences in the military he was able to
account for great leadership that affected him positively and not so great
leaders to discover that if you “can build a sense of shared purpose…by
listening and learning – and addressing possible failures” you will affect
others both positively and effectively. Throughout his account within his
stories it is clear that although each time within his career he was preparing
for what may come somehow every time it came there was a new way to handle the
situation, which required a lot of communication and training. Learning to
embrace change was critical to every situation and many times lives were at
stake. Thanks to a strong culture in a
sort of band of brothers type of relationship each soldier promised to “never
leave a man behind.” These men revolved their entire lives to what each other was
trained to do and trusted that they would do their jobs accurately. Each one
relied on the other and this required an abundance of communication and
training to take place because as time evolved so did the technology and the
type of soldier enlisting and serving beside McChrystal. These soldiers all had
a very strong commitment to similar values and cooperation which was a key
ingredient. Each woman and man had to provide support through the changes in
the hopes that everyone could embrace it openly and smoothly reinforcing one
another through any change implemented. These experiences serving relate
directly with the Relative Strength of Corporate Culture in that the military’s
culture is described as being “sometimes stronger then a marriage.” Any obstacle
presented required a great deal of acceptance among all individuals involved in
order to be effective.
Whether an organization is utilizing The Relative Strength
of Corporate Culture or The Strategy-Culture Matrix while developing a strategy
for change it will be necessary for them to pay attention to the degree of the
culture of their organization if they want to make sure they succeed
successfully. Both of these men shared their experiences of facing challenges
and having to implement a change and each of them had very similar results. In
the future no matter what the environment of change may be the strength of the organization’s
culture will be a major factor in the implementation process so applying
strategies that will impact them more positively will be key.
Gallery
Furniture - Case Studies.
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.vitalsmarts.com/casestudies/gallery-furniture/
Brown, D. R.
(2011). An experiential approach to organization development (8th ed.). Boston:
Prentice Hall.
Stanley
McChrystal: Listen, learn ... then lead | Video on TED.com [Video file].
(n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.ted.com/talks/stanley_mcchrystal.html
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