Tag Archives: Tahrir Square

Beyond Tahrir Square: Managing Large Scale Change

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In my previous post on this subject I suggested lessons from the Egyptian revolution to the world of corporate leadership. Now I do the reverse.

I would like to address the ruling military officers of Egypt and the other leaders who are now finding themselves in the midst of turmoil in the Middle East. They all are confronted with the problem of “managing large scale change.” This is not a new thing. It is also not something military men are likely to be good at because it is not about command. It is about the psychology of democracy. It is about creating a feeling of ownership and participation by a very large number of people. Many company and countries have been through this before. So… here is an open letter to the Generals of Egypt, and to all others to whom it may apply.

Dear Generals of Egypt: What Now?

Your country has passed through the beginning phase of a large scale change in culture and management practices – we sometimes call this “creative destruction.” Yes, I know. The youth and other protesters in the square think they did the hard part. But, they actually did the easy part and left you with the great challenge of creating a new system, a new culture. It won’t feel as exhilarating as marching and chanting in the square.

As it happens, I have been involved in changing the culture of large corporations over the past thirty-five years. I’ve messed it up quite a few times and succeeded at other times. In doing so, I have learned a few lessons that might prove useful. I offer them for your consideration.

1.       Communicate, Communicate, Communicate

Did I repeat myself? I said communicate… often. It will seem an unnecessary waste of time since you have serious work to do. They should be more patient, shouldn’t they? But, patience is a rare commodity when there is the excitement of major change. Your followers will want to know what the plan is. Where are we going? How are we going to get there? Where are we in the process now? Communicate by television, radio, newspapers, and… have you heard of Facebook and Twitter? Use them all! I hear that some of your citizens log in occasionally. Those who gain their news from the Internet expect to hear something new every few days. It doesn’t seem that it should be your problem. But, it is!

2.       Engage as Many as Possible – Let them Own It!

This will be very difficult for any well trained and rational military officer. You know how to make decisions. That is why you were promoted. So, why shouldn’t you make the decisions? The answer is simple. The citizens won’t just obey commands like good soldiers in an army. They think it is their revolution. They made it happen. Now, they want to participate.

I know this will seem strange advice. But, I suggest you form participative conferences in every village, in every district of city. Have someone facilitate. Have someone take notes (not on who said what, but on the recommendations that come forth). Believe it or not, I worked with one of the largest oil companies and helped them design their organization. They involved thousands of employees, gaining their input into the design.  Did they all know the right answers? No. But, by contributing, they felt that the final outcome was in some measure their own work. And because of this they were eager to implement the final design.

Your problem will be less designing the ideal system of governance, than gaining acceptance, commitment, and ownership of that system by the people. The “mess” of involving thousands of people will pay off as they agree to adhere to the final result.

3.       Think Whole-Systems: Everything Will Interact With Everything Else

This sounds like something complicated, but it is really very simple. Organizations, and countries, are like the human body. The larger system is comprised of sub-systems. For example, something going on in the brain may affect the stomach. You might be experiencing this now. In other words the human body is a system, made up of several different “sub-systems.” The digestive system, the cardio-vascular system, the nervous system are all different, yet all constantly interacting with one another. The human body cannot function in the best way unless all of the sub-systems are healthy and assisting one another.

Similarly, this thing we call democracy is a system comprised of a lot of different sub-systems. Of course, we think about the election system. Yet, this is only one sub-system of the whole-system, the culture of a democratic nation. I know this is very complicated. But, you must align all of the subsystem to the same principles if they are going to function well.

What principles? You can start with freedom of expression, freedom of religion, freedom of the press, and freedom from injustice. I am sure you can think of others, but those are good ones to start with. Now, the election process must conform to these principles. But so to must the education system, the communications systems of the press, television and Internet. The justice system of the police and courts must conform to the same principles. Business and commerce will thrive under these principles. But, you must seek alignment of your systems. You cannot have free elections, democracy, and not have a system of free press and free expression. You cannot have either of these in the absence of a justice system that operates on similar principles.

So, building this “whole-system” is a big job. It takes time in large companies. It will take a long time in your country. But, my recommendation is that you form a “steering team” to oversee the entire process of designing the new Egypt. Then this steering team can appoint “design teams” to design each of the sub-systems. You can involve a lot of very smart people in this process. And, communicating this process to your citizens, making it transparent, will encourage them. This will create trust between you and your citizens, and there is nothing more important to a leader than gaining and keeping this trust.

4. Introduce Continuous Improvement

The people of Egypt have proven that they are not children. They have proven that they have a great deal of understanding about how the world really works. It is a childish idea, that you or anyone, can design the one best and right way that things should be done in the future. My own United States Constitution was designed for continuous improvement, not for a one right final solution. Remember that the way it was originally written did not include women as full citizens and denied full rights as human beings to a large portion of our population. In truth, the Founding Fathers didn’t get it right the first time. But, they assumed that it would be improved and provided the mechanism for that improvement.

What your people want from you now, is not the final solution. They want a starting point and they want the ability to gradually improve your system of governance as people mature and gain greater understanding. You can give them this.

Well, dear generals, these are just a few ideas that have worked well in large corporations. These are essential ideas to creating lean management and culture, I think they will work in Egypt, too.

Most Sincerely,

Lawrence M. Miller

Five Leadership Lessons from Tahrir Square

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It is impossible to watch the dramatic events in Egypt without meditating on the lessons for leaders, whether of countries or companies. I would like to share five leadership lessons that stand out and should not be ignored by leaders.

1. The Greater the Control, The Greater the Tendency to Instability

It is a paradox. Mubarak maintained every form of control he could imagine over his opposition and his people. But the corollary to this absolute control is that this creates a closed system, one that failed to process feedback from its environment and this led to the ultimate instability.

This is a “whole-system” problem.  In my previous blog post I present a whole-system model that includes the internal environment, the extended environment and the external environment. Improvement comes from the feedback loops and the process of adaptation from these environments. Mubarak’s internal environment was comprised of his inner circle of trusted associates. His extended environment was the Interior Ministry and Army. The external environment was the mass of Egyptian people.

Companies expect to control, and therefore process feedback, within the internal environment. They see that as their job. In lean manufacturing, the walls between the internal and extended environment (suppliers, partners)  become extremely porous, almost non-existent.

Some time ago I was at the Honda Marysville plant and we then went to visit the Stanley plant that supplies headlight and taillight assemblies to Honda. Deliveries were made every two hours. There were “two hour piles” or inventory. Honda engineers were in the Stanley plant every day! The feedback from one to another was measured in minutes. Although a different legal entity, they acted as one organism. The more rapid the inventory turnover cycle, the more rapid must be the feedback loop, or the more “open” must be the system.

What often sinks companies (and countries!) is the failure to create “porous” walls, high rates of feedback and response to the external environment. The leaders are not reading Facebook!

There is a social law: The more successful, secure or dominant the organism (person, company or country) the higher the wall grows between it and it’s environment. The more dominant a leader like Mubarak, the less he felt a need to listen, respond, or respect those outside of his dominant circle. He wasn’t reading Facebook and didn’t take seriously the calls for reform. It is the illness of arrogance. Arrogance is the greatest enemy of learning and quality. The more arrogant, the less responsive to the external environment. History has proven this over and over again with the downfall of once great companies and countries.

2. Don’t Underestimate the Power Of Self-Organization

Those in power tend to believe that their followers will be lost without their guidance and control. Tahrir Square over the past weeks has been an incredible demonstration of the power of “self-organization.” The protesters entered Tahrir Square with no apparent leader, no organization, and no assigned responsibilities. But, given a common purpose, they organized themselves. They formed organization and took responsibility for checking those who entered the square to assure they weren’t carrying weapons. They organized sanitation. They organized medical services. They organized security and protection within the square. The developed a complex and highly effective system of communication. They were highly self-organized and this organization, done with dignity and restraint, set an example that could not be ignored. They did not elect formal leaders and no one sought to assume the role of leader. They acted with incredible maturity. And, most important, their organization was focused on clear goals and achieved those goals.

The power of self-organization is present in every organization. It is too often dismissed as a chaotic disruption to the formal lines of authority. Those who are “on-the-spot,” whether in a factory, a school, or on the streets, when empowered to solve problems most often have the capacity to self-organize. Social media, or networked intelligence, is an enabler of self-organization. Within companies we need to encourage the power of self-organization rather than fear its disruption.

3. The Worst Speech in the History of the World!

As a student and practitioner of public speaking I have attempted to learn from effective political speeches. No leader should underestimate the potential influence of an effective public presentation. There is much to be learned from Mubarak’s disastrous speech to the nation the night before his final resignation.

The demonstrators had been joyously celebrating what they believed would be his final resignation. They were horribly disappointed. Not only did he not resign, but his speech talked down to his “children” in the most condescending tone. He appeared not to understand that it was families, doctors, lawyers, workers, as well as students who had taken to Tahrir Square to protest his rule. They were tired of being treated and spoken to as if they were his children.

Mubarak’s speech was about his own dignity, his own self-importance. His speech displayed no recognition or empathy for the concerns of his followers. This is when followers cease to follow. Leaders lead by creating a sense of shared purpose, shared values and common vision that can inspire their followers. Leader’s never motivate followers by talking down to them, by expressing their own self-importance. Leaders lead by expressing empathy and creating bonds of unity with their followers. To the degree that you fail at this task, you fail as a leader.

4. Tipping Points Emerge at the Speed of the Internet

The current revolutions in the Middle East are perfect examples of tipping points. Sentiments and habits change at first as small minority views, dismissed and rejected. They slowly gain adherents. And suddenly, they have sufficient momentum to tip over the old order and create a new one.

The Egyptian revolution was in the making for thirty years. But, the power of Facebook, as Google executive Wael Ghonim has explained, enabled fifty to a hundred thousand Egyptians to collaborate instantaneously and form a consensus to action. The power of the Internet has never been demonstrated more clearly.

Every organization survives by its ability to adapt to change in the external environment. The ability to hear, to sense, to respond and adapt to changes taking place, only to be seen on the Internet, will determine your ability to survive the next tipping point in your marketplace.

5. In Purpose there is Unity; In Unity there is Power

For me, the most moving picture of all pictures coming from Tahrir Square was the picture of the mass of Muslims bowed down in daily prayer. But, it wasn’t those in prayer that moved me. Surrounding those bowed in prayer was a circle of men holding arms and facing outward, protecting the worshipers from attack. Who were these defenders? They were Christians! What more can one say?

Never underestimate the power of purpose to unite people in a common pursuit. No single group could have succeeded in this revolution. It was the power to unite diverse people in common purpose that tore down the walls of dictatorial authority. That power is latent in every organization if leaders would only call upon it.