Elise Olding

In the US tonight, President Obama gave the “State of the Union” address. I was listening to the speech with not so much of a political ear, but one of rallying a nation around change. It was a brilliant speech from that standpoint. Without judgment about the political issues let me offer my analysis of why I found the speech compelling.  It had the following components:

• Painting a vision of what the future can be
• Acknowledging the current issues and tough times
• Throwing out challenges and stretch goals
• Creating the “call to action”
• Leveraging of past successes to make the bridge for continued success
• Making declarations of outcomes that were specific and measurable
• Using personal and specific examples to drive the point home and hook the constituents emotionally
• Offering concessions and compromise
• Recognizing specific efforts of others
• Acknowledging differences while finding commonalities

This is what leading effective change is about. It requires vision, engaging others and mutually creating a road forward. I believe it starts with effective communications – something that isn’t a strong skill for many. We are agents of change, as BPMers we can act locally within our organizations and communities to “think bigger to reinvent ourselves.” Find the passion, paint the picture, engage others and work toward solutions that will make a difference.

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Category: BPM Gartner Organizational Change Strategic Planning     Tags: BPM, change, change management, communication, Obama, Organizational Change, process improvement, State of the Union

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