R Jackson Nickerson is the Frahm Family Pro- —— PRAISE FOR —— N Leading Change ecent advances in Web 2.0 technology enable fessor of Organization and Strategy at the Olin Busi- Leading Change in a Web 2.1 World ic new leadership processes and guidelines k ness School at Washington University in St. Louis. He e that can create great value for organizations. r IN A is also director of the Brookings Executive Educa- s In this important new book—the first title in the “Video communications will be at the center of tomorrow’s collaboration o tion program and a nonresident senior fellow in technologies. In Leading Change in a Web 2.1 World, Jackson Nickerson de- n Web 2.1 World new Brookings series on Innovations in Leader- Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. scribes a set of conventions that will enable people to use video more effec- ship—management expert Jackson Nickerson pro- Nickerson is editor of the Innovations in Leader- tively. Democratizing video communication in the enterprise creates a new poses a combination of processes and guidelines ship series. leadership opportunity for CEOs. This book is a handbook for managers utilizing Web 2.0 technology, which he refers to as L How ChangeCasting Builds Trust, who want to know how to use that tool.” Web 2.1, that not only will lead and direct change e — JOSH SILVERMAN, CEO, Skype a in an organization but actually accelerate it. He Creates Understanding, and Accelerates d calls this set of processes and guidelines “Change- “A brilliant, original, and timely book that stunningly reframes leadership i n Organizational Change Casting,” and it should be an important part of any for our Internet Age.” g organization’s leadership toolkit. — WARREN BENNIS, Distinguished Professor of Business, C University of Southern California, and author of Still Leading Change in a Web 2.1 World provides fresh h Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership a insights into why people and organizations are n so difficult to engage in change. It explains how “Driving organizational change is the mantra of businesses and govern- g web-based video communications, when used in ment leaders alike as many of them struggle to reinvent their organiza- e accordance with ChangeCasting principles, can be tions. Leading Change in a Web 2.1 World provides an innovative way to think i n a keyway for building trust and creating under- about this important topic. The ChangeCasting process can help elevate a standing in an organization, thereby unlocking and leader’s ability to change almost any organization. It is both accessible and a profound in the message it communicates: a must-read for 21st-century accelerating organizational change. W leaders.” — RANJAY GULATI, Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor Nickerson introduces us to two Fortune 1000 firms e of Business Administration, Harvard Business School b facing dire economic and competitive circum- stances. Both CEOs attempted extensive organiza- “Timely and frequent communication by leaders is key to getting their or- 2 . tional change using web-based video communica- ganizations aligned around achieving a common mission and goal. Jackson 1 Nickerson highlights a simple yet a very effective approach for leaders to W tions, but one used ChangeCasting while the other did not—Nickerson details how ChangeCasting use convenient tools available in today’s web-based environment to accom- o plish this through ChangeCasting. Leading Change in a Web 2.1 World should produced positive financial results for the former. The INNOVATIONS IN LEADERSHIP series, a collabo- r be required reading for anyone in a leadership role.” l He also discusses how ChangeCasting principles ration of the Olin Business School at Washington d were used so successfully by the Barack Obama — JAI P. NAGARKATTI, Chairman, President, and CEO of Sigma University in St. Louis and the Brookings Institution Aldrich and a user of ChangeCasting presidential campaign in 2008. Press, offers books that are succinct, action-oriented, and pragmatic, focused on a wide range of prob- The insights presented here will be invaluable to lems facing business and government leaders today. business executives, public officials, students of INNOVATIONS IN LEADERSHIP SERIES Each title will offer practical approaches and inno- management and organizations, and anyone who vative solutions to meet present-day challenges. needs to take organizational change from the BROOKINGS INSTITUTION PRESS drawing board to successful implementation and Washington D.C. replication. Illustration and jacket by Rich Pottern Design Jackson Nickerson Arrow vector-art © iStockphoto www.brookings.edu R Jackson Nickerson is the Frahm Family Pro- —— PRAISE FOR —— N Leading Change ecent advances in Web 2.0 technology enable fessor of Organization and Strategy at the Olin Busi- Leading Change in a Web 2.1 World ic new leadership processes and guidelines k ness School at Washington University in St. Louis. He e that can create great value for organizations. r IN A is also director of the Brookings Executive Educa- s In this important new book—the first title in the “Video communications will be at the center of tomorrow’s collaboration o tion program and a nonresident senior fellow in technologies. In Leading Change in a Web 2.1 World, Jackson Nickerson de- n Web 2.1 World new Brookings series on Innovations in Leader- Governance Studies at the Brookings Institution. scribes a set of conventions that will enable people to use video more effec- ship—management expert Jackson Nickerson pro- Nickerson is editor of the Innovations in Leader- tively. Democratizing video communication in the enterprise creates a new poses a combination of processes and guidelines ship series. leadership opportunity for CEOs. This book is a handbook for managers utilizing Web 2.0 technology, which he refers to as L How ChangeCasting Builds Trust, who want to know how to use that tool.” Web 2.1, that not only will lead and direct change e — JOSH SILVERMAN, CEO, Skype a in an organization but actually accelerate it. He Creates Understanding, and Accelerates d calls this set of processes and guidelines “Change- “A brilliant, original, and timely book that stunningly reframes leadership i n Organizational Change Casting,” and it should be an important part of any for our Internet Age.” g organization’s leadership toolkit. — WARREN BENNIS, Distinguished Professor of Business, C University of Southern California, and author of Still Leading Change in a Web 2.1 World provides fresh h Surprised: A Memoir of a Life in Leadership a insights into why people and organizations are n so difficult to engage in change. It explains how “Driving organizational change is the mantra of businesses and govern- g web-based video communications, when used in ment leaders alike as many of them struggle to reinvent their organiza- e accordance with ChangeCasting principles, can be tions. Leading Change in a Web 2.1 World provides an innovative way to think i n a keyway for building trust and creating under- about this important topic. The ChangeCasting process can help elevate a standing in an organization, thereby unlocking and leader’s ability to change almost any organization. It is both accessible and a profound in the message it communicates: a must-read for 21st-century accelerating organizational change. W leaders.” — RANJAY GULATI, Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor Nickerson introduces us to two Fortune 1000 firms e of Business Administration, Harvard Business School b facing dire economic and competitive circum- stances. Both CEOs attempted extensive organiza- “Timely and frequent communication by leaders is key to getting their or- 2 . tional change using web-based video communica- ganizations aligned around achieving a common mission and goal. Jackson 1 Nickerson highlights a simple yet a very effective approach for leaders to W tions, but one used ChangeCasting while the other did not—Nickerson details how ChangeCasting use convenient tools available in today’s web-based environment to accom- o plish this through ChangeCasting. Leading Change in a Web 2.1 World should produced positive financial results for the former. The INNOVATIONS IN LEADERSHIP series, a collabo- r be required reading for anyone in a leadership role.” l He also discusses how ChangeCasting principles ration of the Olin Business School at Washington d were used so successfully by the Barack Obama — JAI P. NAGARKATTI, Chairman, President, and CEO of Sigma University in St. Louis and the Brookings Institution Aldrich and a user of ChangeCasting presidential campaign in 2008. Press, offers books that are succinct, action-oriented, and pragmatic, focused on a wide range of prob- The insights presented here will be invaluable to lems facing business and government leaders today. business executives, public officials, students of INNOVATIONS IN LEADERSHIP SERIES Each title will offer practical approaches and inno- management and organizations, and anyone who vative solutions to meet present-day challenges. needs to take organizational change from the BROOKINGS INSTITUTION PRESS drawing board to successful implementation and Washington D.C. replication. Illustration and jacket by Rich Pottern Design Jackson Nickerson Arrow vector-art © iStockphoto www.brookings.edu 0484-3 Nickerson qx6:nickerson 8/23/10 3:21 PM Page i Leading Change IN A Web 2.1 World 0484-3 Nickerson qx6:nickerson 8/23/10 3:21 PM Page ii INNOVATIONS IN LEADERSHIP The Innovations in Leadership series, a collaboration of the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis and the Brookings Institution Press, offers books that are succinct, action-oriented, and pragmatic, focused on a wide range of problems facing business and government leaders today. Each title will offer practical approaches and innovative solutions to meet present-day challenges. Washington University and the Brookings Institution share the indelible stamp of philanthropist and businessman Robert S. Brookings, an inno- vator in responsible private enterprise and effective governance, who founded the Brookings Institution and was a major benefactor of the university and chairman of its board of trustees. The series seeks to emulate Brookings’s legacy to seek and inform in order to achieve a balance in the public and private sectors leading to improved governance at all levels of American public and private life. 0484-3 Nickerson qx6:nickerson 8/23/10 3:21 PM Page iii Leading Change IN A Web 2.1 World How ChangeCasting Builds Trust, Creates Understanding, and Accelerates Organizational Change Jackson Nickerson BROOKINGS INSTITUTION PRESS Washington, D.C. 0484-3 Nickerson qx6:nickerson 8/23/10 3:21 PM Page iv about brookings The Brookings Institution is a private nonprofit organization devoted to research, education, and publication on important issues of domestic and for- eign policy. Its principal purpose is to bring the highest quality independent research and analysis to bear on current and emerging policy problems. Inter- pretations or conclusions in Brookings publications should be understood to be solely those of the authors. Copyright © 2010 the brookings institution 1775 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20036 www.brookings.edu All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or trans- mitted in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the Brookings Institution Press. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data Nickerson, Jackson A. Leading change in a Web 2.1 world : how ChangeCasting builds trust, cre- ates understanding, and accelerates organizational change / Jackson Nickerson. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. Summary: “Provides a new personnel management model called Change- Casting, based on Web 2.0 technology, that organizations can use to bring about change and encourage more dynamic organizational structure and com- munications, with examples of how successful the model has been in practice”—Provided by publisher. ISBN 978-0-8157-0484-3 (hbk. : alk. paper) 1. Organizational change. 2. Organizational behavior. 3. Web 2.0. 4. Infor- mation technology—Management. 5. Management. I. Title. HD58.8.N497 2010 658.4'06—dc22 2010030573 2 4 6 8 9 7 5 3 1 Printed on acid-free paper Typeset in Sabon and Ocean Composition by Oakland Street Publishing Arlington, Virginia Printed by R. R. Donnelley Harrisonburg, Virginia 0484-3 Nickerson qx6:nickerson 8/23/10 3:21 PM Page v CONTENTS Preface vii 1 Introduction: A New Tool for Leaders 1 2 Managing Change: The Fundamental Test of Leadership 19 3 Why Leading Change Is So Difficult 29 4 Enabling Organizational Change 39 5 Accelerating Change in a Web 2.1 World 59 6 ChangeCasting Guidelines: The Message 69 7 ChangeCasting Guidelines: The Delivery 81 8 ChangeCasting Guidelines: The Video 91 9 Technology for Managing ChangeCasting 99 10 Did ChangeCasting Improve Performance? 111 11 Should You Adopt ChangeCasting? 125 Next Steps for Becoming a ChangeCasting Leader 135 Notes 137 Index 143 v 0484-3 Nickerson qx6:nickerson 8/23/10 3:21 PM Page vi To my parents who taught me the importance of good communication 0484-3 Nickerson qx6:nickerson 8/23/10 3:21 PM Page vii PREFACE H ow many times have you attempted to change your organization—w hether the entity is a team, division, company, government agency, or nonprofit? Like most organizations, yours probably faced severe downsizing in response to the financial cri- sis of 2008. Reducing personnel, retracting from markets, and scaling down your organization must have presented a difficult leadership challenge. Perhaps in better times you were assigned the task of implementing a new information system, manufacturing procedure, or customer- service process. Or perhaps you had iden- tified a problem or opportunity within your organization and wanted to respond to it by driving costs down or grabbing an opportunity to grow revenue. Or your change efforts may have been on a larger canvas, such as fundamentally repositioning your organization to survive the downturn, capture competitive advan- tage, locate new resources, or respond to the head office’s decision to restructure your division. Whatever attempts you made to bring about change and paths you traveled to accomplish your objec- tives, you probably wished your change efforts had progressed faster, been easier, and produced better results. If you are like most vii 0484-3 Nickerson qx6:nickerson 8/23/10 3:21 PM Page viii viii PREFACE leaders, you probably wish that your community had more eagerly embraced the change, responded to the challenge, and seized the opportunity. This book argues that recent advances in Web 2.0 technology enable new leadership processes and guidelines that can create value for organizations. The term “Web 2.0 technology” refers to Web applications that facilitate interactive information shar- ing, interoperability, user- centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web. A Web 2.0 site allows its users to interact with each other as contributors to the website’s con- tent, in contrast to websites where users are limited to the passive viewing of information that is provided to them. Examples of Web 2.0 include w eb- based communities, hosted services, web applications, s ocial-n etworking sites, video- sharing sites, wikis, blogs, mashups, and folksonomies.1 So what, then, is Web 2.1? I refer to the combination of processes and guidelines that utilize Web 2.0 technology that change people’s behavior as Web 2.1. The aim of using the specific processes and guidelines described in this book is not just leading change but accelerating it. I coined the term “ChangeCasting” to refer to the combination of Web 2.0 technology and the specific set of processes and guidelines described in this book. Generally speaking, Web 2.0 technology facilitates creativity, collaboration, and sharing among users of digital devices such as computers and smart phones. ChangeCasting is a process and set of guidelines using these media to accomplish something e lse—t o enable you to build trust and create understanding in novel ways, which, when combined with a variety of leadership approaches, can help you accelerate organizational change. Although the emer- gence of Web 2.0 technology is a precondition for the ideas