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Case Study

Winning back at the office (A): Here we go again...

By Thomas W. Malnight and Tracey S. Keys

2 pages

December 2006

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Reference: IMD-3-1772

Two managers are exchanging emails about an offsite meeting which the company’s management team has just returned from – enthusiastic about some new “battles” (change priorities) that they have developed. The managers expect these new initiatives to run out of steam “as usual” and want to ensure their best people are not redirected to working on these initiatives. One of the managers then joins the Q&A session to hear about the battles the organization will pursue. Initially he is more preoccupied with the issue he has with his external distributors in getting a new product to market. He hears that one of the battles focuses on distribution partners. Although he is keen for the situation to improve, there is a history of failed initiatives in this area and he is sceptical that things can change. He raises the question: “What can we do now that is different?”

Learning Objective

This case is designed to promote discussion of the challenges in engaging an organization behind a proposed change agenda. In particular, how do you start to gain buy-in from managers who have experienced regular changes and may be sceptical about the new change agenda. This case can be used in conjunction with the “Jan Ryan” series (IMD-3-1574/1575) and the video case “Reflection of a ‘Must-Win’ Battle Journey Leader”(IMD-3-1592)

Keywords

Change, Must-win Battles

Settings

n/a

Type

Generalized Experience

Available Languages

English

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