A Change Is Gonna' Come

Once the change is made are you prepared? 

There's a whole lot that's involved in change. Just rushing in and making change for the sake of change can be challenging. The Republicans are in that spot right now. Benjamin Disraeli put it this way, The secret for success in life is for a person to be ready for their opportunity when it comes.

I've managed two changes in Public Radio. Both came with challenges.

Getting to Yes

Getting to yes requires more than the act of change. The follow through and clear direction after the change requires as much, if not more attention. The first change brought local control over the content. Unfortunately, there was no clear idea of the direction of the content. That lack of clarity brought dissension and confusion. Because leaders were not allowed to lead, it took about five years for the station to come about with a clear direction. To be sure, there was growth, The fits and stops stunted the growth as the majority of the staff each tried to assert their own vision. Those visions did not include the audience. They were all about personal agendas. On top of that, senior management was unprepared for the negative response from listeners. The atmosphere at the station became toxic until those elements were slowly weeded out.

The second change was more clearly planned. The direction of the programming and the content had the buy-in of the staff. There were clear estimates of the impact of the change among listeners and the supporters of the station.

Some will always resist change.

All of the staff was mobilized and ready for the impact, with the exception of top corporate management and the board. They were brought along every step of the process, but failed to clearly understand the negative impact the changes would have on certain sectors of the audience. They failed to understand the changes would not turn the audience on a dime.

Within six months the changes resulted in increased community service, significant audience changes, and increased funding within a year. That was forecast by the research. Those on top chose to ignore the findings of the research. The onslaught of phone calls by irritated members strained relationships within management. The negative feedback was also predicted and part of the preparations. The change agents paid the price, but the station thrives. A comprehensive approach to preparation led to a station that is thriving. We took the time to do it right. For those directly involved in the transition, the change went as expected.

The Republicans had seven years to prepare for their moment. For some reason, they weren't ready. True leadership is more than the act of the change. They did not invest in getting to yes.