Change Management

vs.

Mixed Martials Arts

Guillaume Buat-Ménard

CTO

Aqueduct.co.uk

@theg

We are bombarded with the word Change

● World is changing at pace

● Faster than ever before

● We need to adapt to unpredictable

conditions at pace

● We are also bombarded with ways of doing it

Martial Arts Vs. Change Management

● For combat all martials arts believe they are

the answer

● They are one answer to a problem

Long range combat

TaeKwonDo, Karate:

● Accuracy of movements

● Repeated katas

● Ceremonies

Better teamwork in production

Scrum, Kanban:

● Accuracy of methodology

● Repeated iterative work

● Ceremonies

Close combat

Wrestling, Judo, Jiu Jitsu:

● Body combat

● Keep it close

● Immobilise opponent

Better middle management

Kanban method, Leadership training:

● Help managers be more efficient

● Keep it tight (velocity)

● Immobilise risk

Aiming for the head

Boxing, Karate:

● If the head falls everything follows

● Protect the head at all costs

● Rapid blows

● Ends fight quicker

Inspire better leadership

Beyond Budgeting, Leadership, Mentoring:

● Shadow of the leader

● Values and principles

● Vision and purpose

Mixed Martial Arts

● Since ancient Greece

● Jeet Kun Do, Jui Jitsu, MMA

● Use a live opponent

● Continuously learn & practice

Mixed Martial Arts

Take things as they are.

Punch when you have to punch.

Kick when you have to kick.

Bruce Lee

Existing change management techniques and

methodologies are good.

But they need to be used in combination with

each other for best results.

It’s early days yet for modern management

● < 50 years

● Approaches are all good

● Focused on one aspect of change

● And on one area of the organisation

The goals

What are we trying to achieve?

● We need to adapt continuously

● We need to be productive

● We need to be happy

Happiness

In fact studies show that if we are happy we will

do great work and be more productive

(Mastery, Autonomy, Purpose ~ Dan Pink).

Where to start

● Start where you are, with the people you

have and the structure you have (Kanban

Method).

● Change is hard (Kahneman) so do it by

small incremental steps.

● What’s in it for me?

What to change

Change is not just for production, all levels

need to change:

● Finance and leadership: Beyond Budgeting

● Management: Kanban Method, self

organised teams

● Production: agile (Kanban, Scrum, Lean)

Values

The most important things to get right are

values and purpose:

● Trust

● Autonomy

● Vision

● Shared goals

● Shared rewards

An organisation is like a human body, it needs

to be healthy on the inside to be healthy and

wealthy on the outside.

Organisational health

If one wants to be slimmer and healthier it is

best to adapt one’s lifestyle rather than go on a

crash diet.

Prepare your organisation for constant change

not a big bang.

Measure

Most companies say they care about their

health but they only tend to measure wealth.

Measure your organisational health.

Happiness

Happiness is not a reachable state it is a state of being.

You can be happy whilst changing, enjoy the moment

(Epicureans, Flow)

In summary

● Values are more important than techniques

● Learn/try several techniques

● Foster a culture of learning

● Foster a culture of the team

● Have a shared vision and purpose

● Share the rewards

The traditional definition of management is:

Getting work done through people.

It should be:

Developing people through work.

Books & references

● Peopleware

● Flow

● Kanban

● Beyond Budgeting

● Thinking, Fast and Slow

● Philosophy for Life: And other dangerous situations

● Agile Software Development with Scrum

● Drive