The Linked Business Models for Running a Business and Mastering Change

“In times of change, learners inherit the earth, while the learned are beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists!” – Roland Barth

IT IS ALL ABOUT PEOPLE and CHANGE:

“The only person who likes change is a baby with a wet diaper!” Mark Twain

However, change is inevitable and will increase in response to corporate resizing, organizational evolution, the changing economic climate, a fluctuating marketplace, innovation in technology, and the ever-changing landscape of our workforce.

“Either you master people skills or you become a liability. …AND… You either master change or become irrelevant.” Craig A. Stevens

Never before in history have there been this many trends or has this much information been as accessible as it is today. Just to catalog the types of information would take an enormous amount of time. Things are changing so fast that good solid research seems to turn facts into fiction and then back over and over. Just like personal diet plans, organizations are bombarded with information that can only be accessed by those doing the work. Increased information brings enlightenment yet may simultaneously cause confusion and chaos. Even the largest ships of industry, like in Energy, Microsoft, Facebook, or Google, may change direction or even break apart, based on the whims of politicians. At the same time, other never seen virtual organizations seemingly made only of smoke and mirrors rise like huge erupting volcanoes, some erupting, not exploding like Mount St Helen’s, but rather popping like bubbles. Companies that survive and prosper in this environment will have to learn how to not only tolerate change but also embrace it and use it as a competitiveness tool.

Craig Stevens developed The Linked Management Models as he worked as a business consultant for over thirty years.  At the same time, he spent over twenty years teaching in graduate schools and studying industrial and systems engineering, management, and business administration. During this time he reviewed thousands of processes, systems, internal cultures, strategic plans, articles and books on the subjects of change, quality, six sigma, Total Quality Management (TQM), ISO 9000, chaos, project and program management, executive management, organizational development, behavioral science, technology and leadership. The outcome is his creation of possibly the only holistic approach to business around, called The Linked Management Models. It is truly a roadmap to success for the confusing times of the 21st Century.

The Process of Change

Phase 1, Managing the Three Phases of Change Management – Either Master Change or Become Irrelevant. Change happens in three phases, Before, During, and After. What you do during these phases leads to success or failure. The model is the foundation of the other models and represents the overall Process of Change.

The Engine of Change

Phase 2, Mastering the Seven Attributes of the Mobile of Excellent Management – 1 – Building Excellent Leaders, 2 – Building an Excellent Culture, 3 – Mastering Excellent Customer Focus, 4 – Mastering Excellent People Skills, 5 – Building Excellent Core Competencies and Problem Solving Skills, 6 – Building Operational Excellence (Change Management and Continuous Improvement of Systems and Processes), 7 – Understanding Excellent Performance Measures. These seven attributes are required to have excellent management and can be used to drive solutions to complicated problems, assess businesses, and ensure successful change implementation. This is the model used in the 1st Geronimo Stone Book. www.geronimostone.com. Each one of the attributes is required for excellence (you can not drop one). Where most organizations fail, the order is important (Leadership always come first). Like a mobile, balance is required.

The Primary Internal Drivers of Change

Phase 3, Mastering Strategy with the Storms of Chaos – Simplify strategic planning with the Storms of Chaos Model. Mastering strategy is a primary internal driver of change required to optimize your portfolio of innovative steps to improve competitiveness. These five groups of questions make strategic planning easier to manage.

Phase 4, Mastering the Three Phases of Continuous Improvement – Continuous Improvement is another primary driver of internal changes. It can be simplified into three easy to understand phases: Phase 1 – The Assessment Phase; Phase 2 – The Problem Solving Phase; and Phase 3 – The Solution Implementation Phase. Lean Six Sigma and Continuous Improvement of Organizational Competitiveness, Quality, and Productivity can all be simplified to these three improvement phases. The simplification is especially important in service environments like retail, hospitality, and healthcare.  In each case, we start the assessment with the seven attributes of the Mobile of Excellent Mangement. Then we apply the traditional problem-solving tools of Lean, Six Sigma, and other tools to find solutions. We end with the systematic and repeatable processes of implementation based on program and project management. These three simple phases make it easier for non-engineers, non-technical, and lower-skilled workers to make innovative improvements.

The Secondary Drivers of Change

Phase 5, Mastering the Five Elements of the Drivers of Secondary Change – This model is one of the two for Secondary Drivers of Change, it consist of five elements: Element 1 – External Environmental Driven Changes; Element 2 – People Driven Changes; Element 3 – Organizational Structure Driven Changes; Element 4 – Internal Environmental Driven Changes; and Element 5 – Systems Driven Changes. Every time you make a change in your organization you add other secondary changes that are often never considered until it is too late.  This tool helps to make the secondary changes a focus during planning in a systematic and repeatable way. The introduction of a change into your organization works like introducing a metal ball into a pinball machine, the changes keep coming bouncing around until it comes to rest. Changes should be planned and managed with secondary changes in mind.

Phase 6, Mastering Systems Thinking – The Systems Thinking Model helps us to understand that everything is interrelated and must be considered together using a systems approach. Often physical systems are represented with layers (as with architectural drawings) and loops (as with processes). Combining Systems Thinking with The Drivers of Change Model allows us to simplify the way we consider the normal delays, frictions, and interactions that add risks.  Here we apply the lessons learned from understanding a systems approach.

When Craig first designed The Linked Management Models as a holistic approach to business, it was a revolutionary systems approach to addressing change. Over the years he has used these models and the many submodels to implement change and solve problems in many different industries.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]