Hectic? Yes.

Tired? Yes.

I am just recovering from a fever and bad sore throat.

Anyway, the last time I was in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen was about 4 years ago. Stepping back into these cities 4 years on, I felt like they are new cities that I’ve never been in before. Of course, my trip was short and hurried and I felt this way only through the glimpses of the city-scape from the taxis I was traveling in.

They say that change is good. Beijing had a major makeover because of the Olympics in 2008. Shanghai is completing its makeover for the World Expo in 2010 May. And Shenzhen, perhaps keeping up with changes in Hong Kong.

While the many “externals” are constantly changing, I found one thing unchanged throughout my trip.

What I observed is that the changes seem to be happening only on the surface. The “hardware” has been upgraded but the “software” remains the old version.

Imagine running DOS or Windows 3.0 on a Supercomputer.

But the expectation is there. If you show the world that you have modern hardware, facilities, buildings, and infrastructure, then the world is going to expect that there is a corresponding “software” that goes with it. In this context, this software is the mindset and attitude of the people.

My mission conducting the training was two-fold: (1) Introduce the new online performance management system and process that the company is implementing, and (2) teach the managers how to set effective goals with their staff members.

Both these two items were new to the managers who attended the training.

New => Change

Change => Disruptions

Handling disruptions = (Extra) Work

(Extra) Work (Without Extra Pay) => Unhappiness

Who wants change?

From my experience, most people would rather stay in their comfort zones going through the same familiar routine day in and day out. Disruptions messes people’s brains up, give them a heightened level of stimuli, and consumes more energy and emotions than usual.

So, when I started the training, the participants had no problems with goal setting. Goal setting is not new per se and many people think they know goal setting but they really don’t. What I taught was simply a new method to make their goal setting process more effective and useful.

Next, when I touched on the new performance management system and process, I started to hear noises and mumbling from the participants. Now, this system is completely new. It is a system and standard upon which the performance of every employee in the company will be evaluated each year. It is also an online system which is completely different from the paper-based performance evaluation system currently used.

As the course went on, the mumbling became louder and louder.  I stopped and asked what the matter was and got the following responses.

“Nobody asked for our feedback and opinion on this new system. Why were we not consulted?”

“The Americans [the company is an American public listed MNC] are trying to control the world again!”

“How can one standard to used across all departments to evaluate all staff?”

“This is going to introduce more work for us, not help us!”

“If I discuss career development opportunities with my staff, they will get the idea that they can switch to other roles in the company. If they are allowed to switch, that leaves me with problems!”

“Who’s going to read all these information that we generate? Are they simply going into a black hole as usual?”

By this time, lots of grumbling were aired. These were questions and issues I cannot address as it obviously wasn’t my job to do so. It was obvious to me that the change management process was not handled well by the company’s human resources department. So much for large companies with lots of resources…

Fundamentally, I have no doubt that the new system will push the organization into a more transparent and unified performance evaluation and career development system. This will introduce relative “fairness” into the company because the same standards are used on all employees. It also promotes talent management and job-fit, which will enable the right people at the right jobs. The company will certainly benefit from this change in the long term.

But the devil is always in the details and implementation process.

The problem is that this change was implemented too quickly (world-wide roll-out within 1 month) without the much needed support and buy-in process from the stakeholders. This means that not enough effort has been put into convincing the people who are supposed to make the system work. If they are not convinced, no matter how great the new system can be, it will not work.

It will be like running Windows 3.0 on a Supercomputer. Dead slow.

Indeed, nobody likes change. If the change is for a good purpose and cause, then it is worth investing the time and effort into making sure that most, if not all, parties concerned are supportive and agreeable; that their mindsets and attitudes are aligned to the direction of the change necessary.

Needless to say, my point really is that it is useless for elaborate external “improvements” when the inside (which is the heart of the matter) has never been changed at all. What good is form without substance?

Flexibility.

We are living in an age where change is happening faster than anyone of us can imagine. Like what Einstein said some time ago, answers to the same questions are changing all the time. For those of you who are studying now, most of what you are learning now will become obsolete by the time you graduate.

Coupled with the rapid advancement in technology, change doesn’t occur in a straight line, is unpredictable and come from all different sides that it is impossible to predict.

Since this is the case, the only attribute that will ensure your sustained success is your flexibility to learn new skills, find new resources, try new solutions, tread new paths.

Change causes great stress for people who have a “fixed” mindset. These are people who are stuck in their beliefs and ideas about how things SHOULD BE. They have fallen in love with “tradition” and “history.” They are always thinking, “I have done it this way in the past and it worked, and so, I shall continue to do it this way.”

They constantly take on the role of a JUDGE, comparing how things are done now with how things have been done in the past. As such, they continue to use their existing methods and processes, and are unwilling to change even when circumstances demand otherwise.

In other words, they can only think IN the box given to them.

And they would rather spend energy and time RESISTING the change rather than putting that effort into making the change work for them.

Whether you like it or not, a time like this demands rapid response to blinding changes. It is VITAL that you develop your flexibility by remaining open to all possibilities and never to close yourself off to anything. Stay alert to new ideas, information, and knowledge at all times and be willing to put them to use or test.

Remember this: It is your willingness that makes you able.

Have you ever thought of why change is so hard sometimes?

The change may be to lose weight, to quit smoking, to exercise more, to be more motivated, to be more disciplined at work or in school, to take more risk, or to do something you always wanted to but never dared.

One major reason for us not changing when we know we should is that our reference group is holding us back.

What does this mean?

Our reference group is the group of people we identify with and are around with most often. This group of people may be our family, friends, colleagues, religious group, business affiliations, school affiliations or social/community affiliations. We feel that we belong to this group and know that, in most ways, everybody in this group is similar to one another.

It is interesting to note that substantial research has shown that our current state of being is often within close range of the other individuals within our reference group – i.e. the level of salary, motivation, wealth, health, energy, achievement, happiness, etc.

For example, if your reference group consists of people earning HK$30,000 every month, it is very likely that your salary will also be about HK$30,000 a month; if your reference group consists of people who are positive with life and highly motivated, then you will very likely be positive and highly motivated; if your reference group consists of people who smokes, you will very likely be a smoker.

While all of us have the capability to change, we are limited, psychologically, by the “norm” of our reference group. When I served in the armed forces during my late teens, I was highly disciplined and could accomplish anything I put my heart and mind to. This was so because the army (my environment) demanded so and that most of my colleagues (my reference group) then did so. However, within 6 months of leaving the armed forces, I struggled to maintain the high standards that I used to have and eventually gave up trying. Why? Because my reference group had changed.

In order to make positive changes or achieve higher goals, it is vital to ensure that your reference group consists of people who are already living the change or achievements that you want. If you want to lose weight, be around healthy and fit people; If you want to be happy, be around happy people; If you want to be successful, be around successful people. This is also why finding yourself a mentor is important.

Choosing a new reference group also means that you have to give up your current affiliations – i.e. stop or at least reduce your identification towards your current reference group. You should, of course, do this slowly and gracefully or you will end up having lots of enemies. : )

Action Steps

1.       Take out a sheet of paper and start writing down what it is that you want in your life. Think about what an ideal life for you will be like – in terms of finances, relationships, time, health, career/work.

2.       Beside each item you have written down from point (1) above, list down the people whom you currently know who is living the kind of life that you want. If you don’t know anyone, think of how you can possibly know such people.

3.       Get out there. Find these people and become part of their group!