BOOK A CALL

April 28, 2023

Collaboration versus simplification for organisational change

By Russ Lewis. Published online April 28, 2023

One of my favourite books on organisational change is ‘Who Moved my Cheese?’ It’s short, and mice looking for cheese to eat is an appealing analogy.

It’s a model for managers because it covers four theoretical outcomes of change. Those outcomes are:

  • what happens if I (or we) do, or don’t make this change,
  • what won’t happen if we do, or don’t change.

Organised this way, a 2X2 matrix is revealed. One axis is the pros and cons of making the change, the other, the pros and cons of not making the change. I’ve seen other versions where one axis is personal and the other contextual. In that version, one end represents change, the other end is about avoiding or resisting change.

Organisational change as a 2X2 matrix

2X2 matrices are a comforting, logical view, that can help people reduce complex situations to smaller decisions that are easier to make. They can also help people reduce complex situations to simplistic decisions that are easier to justify. You probably had to read that twice, but 2X2 matrices reduce complex situations to something manageable. That’s both useful and dangerous.

Of course, they can be full of assumptions and predictions, which is dangerous if they become truer the more often we read them. But more worrying is the sense of authority that comes with the 2X2 grid layout. It seems to suggest completeness, that all ways of examining this topic have been investigated and the result is these four quadrants. Then, when you look at the quadrants, one is obviously superior and one horrible, leaving two that are okay-ish. You probably feel that you, or your company, are in one of these okay-ish quadrants. If the 2X2 comes from a vendor, then their solution will take you immediately into that superior quadrant.

In the cheese change book, the characters are collaborative and supportive. Their adventures take them into situations that explore these same quadrants. We read each situation as a chapter in an emerging story, set in a social context. Instead of four projections of the future along two axes with pre-determined conclusions, we are provided a rich metaphor and allowed to make sense of it for ourselves. We see the results of certain behaviours and attitudes and can draw from the characters’ learnings. Organisations are complex and change is always present or imminent. As managers, and employees, we need tools that help us navigate change and cope with its human factors. Models are an important part of sense-making and metaphors are powerful models.

Categories: ,
Tags:
Newsletter signup

    Recent Posts

    Agile India 2025 talks (slides)

    For those who attended my talks and asked for the slides, they are available here: Enjoy, and let me know how you apply the framework and put these ideas into practise.

    Read More
    Invitation to use Tensions Management to improve performance (free of charge)

    This is an invitation to meet your organisation's objectives and help develop the Tensions Management approach. I need to test and share it so organisations that are struggling can benefit, level-up, thrive and prosper. Collaborators will apply Tensions Management techniques to solve real issues in their organisations as part of a global action learning research […]

    Read More
    Levelling-up digitally disadvantaged public and third sectors: Tensions Management research

    Ever wondered why managers struggle to overcome resistance to change? Why institutions consistently talk about improvement but cannot increase operational efficiency? And why do some sectors perform so badly when compared with others? Tensions Management is a better way to overcome resistance to change, as it addresses social and technical factors simultaneously. Dr Russ Lewis […]

    Read More
    Explaining organisational resistance to change

    Flawed Advice and the Management Trap, Chris Argyris, 2000 Social tensions in organizations prevent people from doing what they privately believe to be right. People espouse one model but employ another; they do not walk the talk. The gap between words and actions is compounded (by repetition) to become the infamous strategy – execution gap […]

    Read More
    How to restore Teams Wiki data after Jan 2024

    Microsoft killed Wiki on Teams - who knew they would delete our data too - here's how to restore it

    Read More
    Transformation research update

    'Managing Tensions not People' as transformation method research update at the end of 2023 This time last year I was searching through the ambidexterity literature for tensions other than the usual explore-exploit. I built a website to publish my progress online, which I think was a diversion! Literature research update I found more than 70 […]

    Read More
    December 22, 2022
    Coding organizational tensions
    Read More
    February 21, 2021
    Agile Delivery is a challenge for organisations like yours

    Achieving Agile Delivery is the toughest challenge of an executive career, no matter if it’s called digital transformation, adoption, or DevOps. The reality behind the highly-polished powerpoint decks and magazine stories is that despite fortunes being spent over many years, Agile is ‘out of reach’ to many leaders and managers. The evidence shows that challenges remain unresolved in many […]

    Read More
    October 3, 2020
    The Agile Confessional - Episode 1, Russ Lewis

    What a priviledge to be the inaugral guest in Giles Lindsay's latest podcast adventure. We had great fun and it was a real blast! "Welcome to The Agile Confessional, a podcast that shares fun confessions from people who’ve spent a large part of their career working in the agile world. Hear the mistakes they made […]

    Read More
    1 2 3 15
    Copyright Russ Lewis 1994-2025
    linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram