Urgency Before Vision

When I first heard John Kotter speaking about urgency before vision, I thought he was wrong. I had been preaching vision first! I told countless audiences, “Don’t take a single step forward until you have a clear vision.”

Kotter actually agrees with my statement, but he also believes “getting the vision right” is step 3 not step 1. Kotter lists the first three steps in his eight-step model as follows:

∙ increase the sense of urgency
∙ build the guiding team
∙ get the vision right

The order of these three steps is very insightful. While vision is critical before moving forward, a sense of urgency is necessary to energize the process. Without sufficient organizational energy the vision statement (or mission statement or purpose statement) is just empty words on a piece of paper or poster.

In their book, “The Heart of Change,” Kotter and Cohen state, “Without enough urgency, large-scale change can become an exercise in pushing a gigantic boulder up a very tall mountain (p.15).” How many of you have tried pushing that boulder? I have. It’s hard work and it ends in frustration. Invariably, the boulder rolls back down the mountain.

So, instead of trying to lead a change when nobody wants to follow, let’s energize the followers first. Kotter warns, “Never underestimate how much complacency exists.”

The best way to increase urgency is to show people dramatic evidence for the proposed change. If it’s visual and dramatic it will stir the emotions. Engaging the emotions is necessary to raise the energy level. Dry, analytical presentations do not inspire.

Kotter and Cohen offer two real-world examples of how companies have used dramatic visuals to increase urgency. One company videotaped an angry customer (with the customer’s approval, of course), and presented it during a staff meeting. Nobody in the staff meeting could argue with the video. This was not hearsay; this was a real customer speaking directly to them.

The other case was called “Gloves on the Boardroom Table.” In this case, a frustrated manager wanted to streamline and centralize the purchasing function. The current system was out of control. He decided to use a dramatic visual. Can you imagine the looks on the executives’ faces when they entered the boardroom and saw 424 different pairs of gloves (with price tags)? Four hundred and twenty-four different pairs of gloves from different suppliers at different prices got everybody’s attention. A sense of urgency had been established!

Are you creating a sense of urgency before you try to push change through your organization?

For further reading, I recommend Kotter and Cohen’s book, “The Heart of Change,” or my special report entitled “Overcoming Resistance to Change,” which is available on my website www.mikebeitler.com.

Please feel free to send me your questions, comments, and suggestions.