Technology changes quickly. Anybody who doesn’t revisit old assumptions and challenge their beliefs is doomed to fall victim to the tectonic movements in the industry we call paradigm shifts.

Innovations in computer technology do not happen in boardrooms where a few old men sit around a table chomping on cigars and make decisions for the industry. Change comes from the crucible of competition where ideas are loved, debated, abandoned, revived, collaborated and implemented.

A young engineer asked me how he could influence change. He was concerned his input would not be taken seriously. Here are five ways you can influence change in your organization esp. above your pay grade.

FUTURE PULL. We are creatures of habit. Even if the current situation does not work very well, it is comfortable and familiar. How many times have you seen folks fall back into old habits? Tim Hurson‘s books Think Better outlines the concept of future pull. In order to inspire change you have to appeal to people’s emotions. Give them a picture of the future so compelling that they must change. A well crafted vision can help escape the strong gravity of the past.

FIND CHAMPIONS. Champions are folks above your pay grade who can help guide your idea through the corporate gauntlet. In the beginning ideas are easy to dismiss. Tom Kelley points out in his book The Ten Faces of Innovation that the worst idea-wrecker is the Devil’s Advocate. This persona assumes the most negative possible perspective while searching for the downside and drowning the idea in negativity without considering an alternative. When your idea is getting flamed by the Devil’s Advocate you want a strong advocate that can step in. Your champion might say this: “Now hang on. We’ve watched our customers suffer with this for too long. A new idea might help them.” or this: “Why don’t we try a pilot project and see if this is something that can work for us”.

SMALL WINS. When assembling a complicated piece of furniture I usually have a moment of self-doubt where I question whether it will come together successfully. If your idea is big and takes too long to implement, it will fall victim to doubt and lack of faith. In order to keep your stakeholders engaged you need to demonstrate steady progress. One way to do this is with small wins. As parts of your idea are implemented invite everyone to participate in a demonstration of progress. Wins encourage wins. Note that I am advocating revolutionary change through steady progress and not suggesting incremental change by thinking small.

REMOVE BARRIERS. When a project grows past a non-trivial size its complexity may overshadow the productivity of the team. To continue to create value for customers two things must happen we must: 1) reduce project complexity and 2) improve team productivity. Traditionally processes are developed in order to reduce project complexity. In his book The Innovator’s Dilemma author Clayton M. Christensen points out these very processes are barriers to change. If you want meaningful change, then challenge processes that add complexity and hurt productivity. Ask questions such as “Is this meeting really necessary?” or “Does this documentation add value to our customers? Could the time be better used to make a great product?”

NUTURE A NEW CULTURE. Change is scary particularly when it is disruptive. Nurture a collaborative environment in order to reduce fear. Be bold and avoid analysis paralysis. Invite skepticism because it is a healthy response. And lastly, realize that nobody owns a monopoly on innovative ideas. Change can come from anyone, anywhere. If not you, who? If not now, when?

photo credit: *MarS

This week at work we got vending machines. Friends, if you were like me, you don’t much think of just how those vending machines stayed stocked with chilled beverages and salty snacks. But seeing its sign glow caused my mind to race back to the time when I stocked vending machines. In fact I was part-owner of a vending machine route for a few long days.

My father has a business named Snakman. He owned a dozen or so machines. My mother took over the business when he passed away. I helped her stock the machines, inventory the business, pull together the records and count the cash that came in. I will never forget what hard work taking care of those machines was. Fortunately we sold the business to a local business owner. With joy I returned to my life as a software engineer.

Allow me to share a story from one place on the vending route. There was a house for mentally challenged folks. I smiled at the director as she asked me to only stock the machines with decaffeinated soda. While I filled the machine a man appeared in the doorway. He wore a captain’s hat and clutched an empty pipe. I wondered what he was thinking as he silently watched me. When I closed the machine back up, he left without a word.

There ya go, captain, enjoy the 7UP!

photo credit: Stéfan

Today I am in a funk. I failed to make a strategic change at work. I could complain but that’s too easy. I’m getting up again and dusting off.

I think back to my youth. I remember lying in bed reading a book. In the other room my father was practicing guitar. He was tackling the song ‘Riders in the Sky’. As I listened I could hear him start and stop the song as he made mistakes. Subconsciously I learned disappointment happens when you try to accomplish new things.

The cowboy in ‘Riders’ is asked to change his ways or be damned to an eternity of chasing ‘the Devil’s herd across the endless skies’. I believe in order to get people to change you must present them with a future which compels them to escape the emotional gravity of the present. Unfortunately, we don’t often have anything as powerful as eternal doom to compel change. I certainly didn’t.

Eventually my dad mastered the song and played it through entirely. I’d like to think he gave me the value of being persistent in the face of frustration. Friends, I will try again to introduce innovative change. But for now I’ll wait until the sound of the ‘steel-hooved cattle’ is closer.

photo credit: eye of einstein